Burma Newscasts

Saturday, January 24, 2009

Obama, UN chief discuss world issues

US President Barack Obama on Friday called UN chief Ban Ki-moon to review a host of world issues, including the global economic crisis, climate change and food security, the world body and the White House said.

The two leaders also discussed the resolution of regional crises, particularly those in the Middle East and Africa, as well as ongoing efforts at UN reforms and the world body's "need for adequate political support and funding," a UN statement said.

It added that Ban was "encouraged by the US president's assurance of strong support as the organisation makes further progress in this direction," and noted that the two leaders "looked forward to mutual visits."

A White House statement meanwhile said Obama "underscored his commitment to a strong US-UN relationship and an effective UN working with us to fight climate change, poverty and terrorism."

The US leader also "voiced support for the UN's assistance mission in Iraq and his hope that the mission will expand this year and enjoy the continued leadership of the current special representative (Staffan de Mistura)."

Obama and Ban mulled ways in which the United Nations might undertake "additional management reforms to improve (the) efficiency and efficacy of the organisation in dealing with international problems," the White House said.

The UN said Ban also had a "very cordial conversation" with US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on food security, the stalled peace process in Sudan's strife-torn Darfur region, climate change and UN management reform.

Clinton stressed the importance of "working together with the UN in the Middle East, Afghanistan and Iraq" and she and Ban discussed "greater cooperation in UN reform and budgetary issues as well as mutual visits," it added.

SMH-AFP

Child Labor Widespread in Delta

The Irrawaddy News - Child labor has become widespread throughout the cyclone-ravaged Irrawaddy delta, according to sources in the region.

A member of a non-governmental organization in the delta who requested anonymity said that children aged 10 to 15 are valued sources of labor for Burmese businessmen, fishermen and farmers, because they work for much lower wages then adults—between 300 and 1000 kyat (US $0.25—0.85) per day for children, compared to wages of 1,500 to 3000 kyat ($1.25—$2.50) per day for adults.

A young boy works with a fisherman in the Delta region. (Photo: The Irrawaddy)A young boy works with a fisherman in the Delta region. (Photo: The Irrawaddy)
“Many fishing boat owners now prefer to hire children because of the difference in wages. Kids are willing to work for 300 kyat and meals,” he said.

Sources said that businesspeople in the delta also see children are easier to control and hard-working. Nowadays, children as young as eight can be found working on fishing boats, in restaurants, construction sites and with agriculture.

Myo Min lost his mother when Cyclone Nargis slashed through southwestern Burma on May 2-3. He now lives with his brother and works full-time aboard a fishing vessel in the delta.

Speaking to The Irrawaddy, 10-year-old Myo Min said, “I’m tired, but I’m just grateful to be able to survive.”

Mending nets instead of studying at the school. (Photo: The Irrawaddy)

Po Po, 11, lost his father and his elder brother in the cyclone. He then left school to work in a restaurant in Labutta Township. He washes dishes and earns about 5,000 kyat ($4.20) per month.

He admitted that he cries every night because he misses his mother.

According to a schoolteacher in Konegyi village in Labutta Township, many children are unable to continue their education because they are orphans or live with families that are struggling economically.

An estimated 400,000 children did not return to school after the cyclone, according to leading relief agency Save the Children Fund. Of those, Save the Children said they helped about 100,000 children get back to school.

The INGO estimated that about 40 percent of the 140,000 people who were killed or disappeared in the cyclone disaster were children. Many who survived were orphaned or separated from their parents, the agency said.

Will Obama be ready for radical humanitarian intervention in Burma?

By Sai Wansai - General Secretary of Shan Democratic Union

(Asian Tribune) -Even before the euphoria has died down, following the historic inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States, he moved almost with lighting speed, on his first day in the office, to tackle the issue of Guantanamo Bay detention centre closure.

Accordingly, the prison camp in Cuba would be closed down within one year and the administration has suspended trials for terrorist suspects at Guantanamo for 120 days pending a review of the military tribunals.

Many EU countries were particularly impressed with the intended Guantanamo Bay prison closure, which was seen as a right approach to undo the Bush’s era human rights violations, and restore America’s lost moral posture, befitted for a democratic superpower.

Meanwhile, Burma has been hinting that new US President should change Washington’s tough policy towards its military regime and end the “misunderstandings” of the past, according to a senior Burmese official on Wednesday.

In Obama’s inauguration speech, he states, "To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist".

Also, in the administration’s foreign policy agenda, a paragraph reads, "Seek New Partnerships in Asia: Obama and Biden will forge a more effective framework in Asia that goes beyond bilateral agreements, occasional summits, and ad hoc arrangements, such as the six-party talks on North Korea. They will maintain strong ties with allies like Japan, South Korea and Australia; work to build an infrastructure with countries in East Asia that can promote stability and prosperity; and work to ensure that China plays by international rules".

One wonders, whether the overtures or hinting of the Burmese military regime to have a better relation with Washington could be a fresh start for reconciliation and the beginning of a win-win outcome solution for the conflict within Burma and as well, the hostile Burma-U.S relationship.

Arranging a kind of the six-party talks, like in the case of North Korea, could be a possibility. The only condition to get it started is the give-and-take nature of compromising must be available.

While the US-led team wouldn’t pose a problem, the Burmese military regime will have to budge from its stance of insisting only to play by its own game plan and rules. In other words, the acceptance of political accommodation, all-inclusiveness and level playing field would have to be the agreed precondition.

The Burmese military regime couldn’t expect to better the relation with Washington without genuine compromise to end its tyrannical rule, oppression and political monopoly.

While the ethnic resistance and democratic opposition groups are well aware that Obama’s plate is full with heavy issues like global financial crisis, US troops withdrawal from Iraq, climate change, improving America’s relationship internationally, brokering peace between Israel and the Palestinians, and empowering, supporting Afghanistan government against the Taliban, which would be given priority in his decision making, they are confident that the moral and humanitarian issue involving Burma would also be definitely part and parcel of his foreign policy agenda, down the line of his priority-setting.

As it is, the Burmese military has never been ready for compromise or flexibility, where power-sharing or political accommodation is concerned. In such a situation of continued rejection from the part of Burmese military, Obama would be forced to alter his approach to help deliver reconciliation and democratisation process in Burma.

Although the diplomatic overtures to woo the Burmese military for genuine democratic change and all-inclusiveness should continue without fail, Obama could also up the ante by innovative and radical humanitarian intervention, short of military undertaking by US forces.

For example, Washington could work with Bangkok, hand-in-hand, to create sanctuaries along Thai-Burma border, where the bulk of 500,000 internally displaced persons (IDP) are struggling to survive on a daily basis. All these could take place within Burma, close to Thai border, with the help of ethnic resistance movements like Karen National Union (KNU), Shan State Army South (SSA-S), Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP), New Mon State Party (NMSP) and the likes. This way, the US military wouldn’t need to be involved physically, but only need to come up with material needs and know-how, under the supervision of UN or agreed international establishment, on how to manage and protect such sanctuaries.

If this happened, a row of other humanitarian devices and forms of aid could be carried out across the border without having to deal with the military regime. In other words, the international community could bypass the regime to help the badly needed oppressed population along the border.

For such a scenario to become a reality, Obama needs to secure Bangkok’s involvement in implementing humanitarian aids. It should be possible for the US President to co-ordinate and work closely with the newly elected Thai PM Abhisit Vejjajivat, notwithstanding ASEAN, known to be a real democrat with broad vision and not shy to take hard decision.

Imagine how such radical approach could weaken the Burmese military front-line soldiers, in contested areas, physiologically, which could lead to defection to the ethnic-democratic opposition side, provided there are facilities to accommodate and handle them. If this happen, the power of Burmese military based on coercion and fear would crumble like a house of cards.

Of course, this is just one out of many options in thinking out of the box to end the stalemate and create a new balance of power, so that the Burmese military would be willing to come to the table for genuine give-and-take discussion.

At the end of the day, a two-pronged approach of "pressure and engagement” would be the only viable approach to deal with such an entrenched military dictatorship.

What the people of Burma really need now is a real physical commitment from international stakeholders, with the lead of the United States, to give them a helping hand, once another massive uprising like last saffron revolution take place, and not just mere lip-service.

- Asian Tribune -

Scandal of new boat people damaging Thailand

This picture taken December 23 by a tourist to Thailand's Similan Islands shows handcuffed refugees under guard.

(In the Field) BANGKOK, Thailand – The emerging scandal involving the Thai army’s alleged mistreatment of hundreds of ethnic Rohingya from Burma is slowly getting more and more worrying each day.

We don’t know yet exactly what happened, but a dark picture of hundreds of deaths at sea is emerging, and some are laying the blame with the Internal Security Operations Command of the Thai army.

The Rohingya have long been persecuted in Burma (or Myanmar as the junta renamed it) - many are stateless, living in horrendous poverty on Burma’s border with Bangladesh, unwanted and downtrodden.

Some 200,000 are on the Bangladeshi side of the border, scraping a living in sprawling refugee camps.

That context perhaps explains why so many thousand each year risk their lives in unseaworthy boats to try and find a better life in south-east Asia.

The men that boarded those boats must have known the journey would be perilous. They kissed good-bye to their wives and children and embarked on a voyage that was fraught with risk, destination unknown, but with the ultimate hope it would be transformative.

Just the slimmest chance of earning a few dollars a day in Malaysia, Indonesia or Thailand made it seem worth gambling with their lives. Watch how the refugees’ plight came to light

Reported on: 22Jan09

Then imagine their overwhelming relief and delight at finally sighting land after days or perhaps even weeks adrift.

They’d made it - but what these refugees didn’t know was this was Thailand, not Malaysia, and the reception would be less than welcoming.

What happened next is unclear. The army insists it did nothing wrong, that it was villagers who took the Rohingya to a remote island in December, where they cared for them until they were ready to leave.

But according to many of the Rohingya survivors’ accounts, relayed to aid groups, they were detained by soldiers, beaten and intimidated and then towed back out to sea in their engineless boats, without sufficient food or water.

The lucky ones made it to either the Andaman Islands or Indonesia after weeks drifting at sea but many drowned as they jumped off the boats to try and make it to distant lights on the horizon or swimming in vain towards passing boats.

In the last couple of days the story has focused on another group of 46 Rohingya who came ashore in Thailand just last Friday.

Their whereabouts remains unknown. It’s the same story for another group of 80 Rohingya who also arrived recently, possibly part of the original group which arrived in December.

The U.N. has asked for access to these 126 supposedly detained refugees, but the Thai government has dragged its feet for days.

Perhaps it simply doesn’t know what became of them or perhaps it has something to hide?

There are reports that they may have already left Thailand, but that leaves more questions. When? How? The fear of course is that they have been dumped at sea again.

If this is true, it is utterly reprehensible and those responsible should be brought to justice.

The Thai prime minister has launched an inquiry, but many are wondering whether this will really result in any prosecutions. Read more from Dan Rivers on the scandal

All told, more than 500 Rohingya are missing and if the survivors are to be believed, the Thai army needs to be held to account.

This represents a major test of the credibility of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva.

I hope he has the courage to pursue a thorough, impartial and exhaustive inquiry into what has happened.

He needs to move fast - if these Rohingya are still in Thai custody, he must tell us where.

If they are not, who authorized their release, when were they set free and crucially how?

The prime minister has constantly reminded international audiences of the need to rebuild Thai society through the rule of law. This is his chance to put the rhetoric into action.

Posted by: CNN Bangkok correspondent, Dan Rivers

Rights abuse? You wouldn't read about it

By Andrew Walker

(SMH) - Harry Nicolaides was herded, shackled, into a Bangkok holding cell on Monday. He was sentenced to three years in prison for the contents of a single paragraph. The Melbourne author's crime was to write a short passage referring to the private life of Thailand's crown prince in a self-published novel that sold only 10 copies.

He was sentenced under Thailand's draconian lese-majeste law, which forbids any frank discussion of the royal family. In the wake of the conviction, he threw himself on the mercy of the people he was accused of offending, petitioning the palace for a royal pardon.

Australian writer Harry Nicolaides in a criminal court cell.
Photo: AP

On Wednesday, this newspaper reported that the Thai army had - on two separate occasions - pushed about 1000 Burmese boat people back into international waters. The refugees were escaping from the Burmese regime's persecution of ethnic minorities. More than 500 are now said to be dead or missing.

The Thai military stands accused of detaining the refugees and beating and whipping them, before setting them adrift without motors or sufficient food and water. The Government says it has launched an investigation, while the local army commander denied the accusations, arguing his men gave the refugees provisions and "helped them on their way".

Thailand's human rights reputation has taken a battering. These two incidents represent a serious challenge for the new Prime Minister, Abhisit Vejjajiva, who says he is determined to restore his country's reputation after last year's political turmoil.

His Government came to power a month ago, after the dramatic occupation of Bangkok's international airport by protesters determined to overthrow the previous government. The protesters crippled Thailand's lucrative tourism industry, and shredded its long-cultivated image as a foreigner-friendly destination.

Abhisit presents himself as an urbane and modern leader (and Oxford educated to boot), one who can guide Thailand through the international financial crisis, restore the rule of law, and repair the country's damaged image.

But the Nicolaides case and the humanitarian tragedy of the Burmese boat people are not isolated incidents that can easily be dealt with by public relations spin. They relate to the role of two of the country's most powerful institutions - the monarchy and the army - which helped bring Abhisit to power.

The Government has placed protecting the monarchy's reputation at the top of its political agenda. Heightened political divisions over the past few years have generated increasing comment domestically and internationally about the political role of the royal family. There is unprecedented discussion about the palace's support for the campaign waged by the People's Alliance for Democracy against Thailand's former government, which was democratically elected in December 2007.

The Economist suggested - in a now infamous article - that the Thai king had "lost faith in democracy" by endorsing a series of military coups during his reign and remaining silent throughout last year while the ultra-royalist PAD campaigned to overthrow an elected government.

Forbes magazine encouraged further discussion by reporting that the king was the world's richest royal, with assets worth $US35 billion ($54 billion), while Thai internet bulletin boards regularly feature barely coded anti-royal comments that are especially critical of the Queen, given her open support for the PAD's campaign.

There has been a vigorous royalist backlash to this outbreak of free speech. The Ministry of Information and Communication Technology has tried to block thousands of websites that carry material on the royal family, army units have been ordered to monitor the internet for inappropriate content and ordinary citizens have been encouraged to report anti-royal comments to police.

The crackdown is serious: a political activist was sentenced to six years in prison for criticising the king at a public rally, while another is in prison awaiting trial and facing the prospect of an even heavier sentence.

Just this week came another charge of lese-majeste. An academic at a prestigious university was charged because eight paragraphs in his book about the military coup in September 2006 referred to the political influence of the king.

Nicolaides was in the wrong place at the wrong time, caught up in a campaign of good old-fashioned political repression. It is clear the Thai Government is willing to sacrifice freedom of speech for protection ofthe royal family's image.

But how will it respond to human rights abuses perpetrated by the army? The gravity of the charges over its actions towards the Burmese boat people, plus ongoing international scrutiny, should prompt firm action against the perpetrators. But this is far from inevitable, as there are bigger political issues involved.

The extent of military influence within the Government is not clear, but Abhisit owes his commanders big favours. His path to the prime ministership goes back to the 2006 coup, which overthrew Thaksin Shinawatra's populist government and sent him into exile.

The military-controlled government that followed put in place a new constitution. This included provisions that could be used to undermine a pro-Thaksin government if one was to regain power, which is exactly what happened in December 2007, at the first post-coup election.

The newly elected government had to live with judicial interference and speculation about another coup for much of its short life. Its fate was sealed when the army refused to move on PAD protesters who occupied Government House and, later, the international airport.

The army chief even took the extraordinary step of calling on Abhisit's predecessor, Somchai Wongsawat, to resign during the airport crisis. When the ruling party was finally dissolved by the Constitutional Court, the army chief played a key role in persuading government politicians to defect to Abhisit's camp, giving him the numbers to win the parliamentary vote for prime minister.

The army is politically powerful, and Abhisit can be expected to come under pressure not to expose it to undesirable domestic and international scrutiny. There is no lese-majeste law that can be called upon to cover up reports of refugee mistreatment. But already Abhisit seems to be laying the groundwork for a minimalist investigation, suggesting that media coverage of the incident may be exaggerated and that witnesses may have misunderstood what they were seeing. On Thursday he even seemed to endorse the army action, announcing a crackdown on illegal immigrants, declaring "we will push them out of the country".

The brutal dirty work against the unfortunate refugees is alleged to have been done by the internal security operations command, a military unit dating from Thailand's fight against communist insurgents during the Cold War. It was given expanded powers after the 2006 coup, and its broad national security brief may grant it protection from close scrutiny.

But whatever the outcome of the investigation, the incident is the latest in the army's very patchy human rights record. There is a well-documented history of forced repatriation of refugees by army units. And in the southern Muslim provinces, the army's heavy-handed response to low-level insurgency has compounded grievances and strengthened the cause of anti-government elements.

In 2004 there were two notorious cases of military brutality. In April, 28 militants were killed when the army stormed the sacred Krue Se mosque after a poorly managed siege. One of the commanders involved in the mosque killings, Colonel Manat Kongpan, is accused of leading the recent push-back action against the Burmese boat people. In October about 80 protesters suffocated when they were detained and stacked like logs in army trucks for a three-hour journey to a military base.

No one has been punished for these incidents, which took place under the watch of Thaksin, the champion of the notorious "war on drugs" that claimed over 2000 lives in a nationwide rampage of extrajudicial killings.

Abhisit is undoubtedly keen to distance his administration from the excesses of the Thaksin era. So far, despite some hitches, he has succeeded in presenting a positive image to the international community. After the political turmoil of the past year, his leadership holds out the attractive prospect of stability, perhaps even reconciliation.

But unless his Government is willing to expose the monarchy and the military to internationally acceptable standards of scrutiny and accountability, his human rights credibility will be compromised and he will bear a heavy burden of repression.

Murderous military brutality cannot go unpunished, especially when writing a paragraph about the private life of a prince in an unread book lands you in jail for three years.

Dr Andrew Walker is a senior fellow at the College of Asia and Pacific at the Australian National University, and convenor of New Mandala, a website on mainland South-East Asian affairs.

Friday, January 23, 2009

Migrant Crackdown Won’t Solve Problem: Rights Groups

By LAWI WENG
The Irrawaddy News

The Thai government’s vow to crackdown on illegal migrants will not solve the country’s migrant problems, say human rights groups.

Jackie Pollock, a founding member of the Chiang Mai-based Migrant Assistance Program (MAP), said, “A crackdown is not a good solution. It’s just making migrants’ lives more risky. The best solution is to offer new registration and let them come out and stay legally.”

Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said on Thursday the government would crackdown on illegal migrants, while commenting on allegations that the Thai navy has mistreated Rohingya boat people by forcing them back out to sea.

“We have to solve the illegal immigrant problem otherwise it will affect our security, economy and the opportunities of Thai laborers,” he said. “We will push them out of the country.”

Adisorn Kerdmongkol, a team organizer with the Migrant Working Group (MWG) based in Bangkok, said, “The root cause of the problem for illegal Burmese migrants is the political crisis in Burma. They have no food there so they have to come to Thailand.

The Thai government should offer legal status to solve the long-term problem. They should not only focus on a security crack down in the country."

Estimates say there are about 4 million Burmese migrants living and working in Thailand. About 500,000 are legally registered with the Thai Ministry of Labor.

The Thai government earlier this month announced it would not offer illegal Burmese migrants a chance to register for legal status this year. Several hundred illegal migrants were arrested in Bangkok in recent weeks.

Recently, the Thai government has expressed concerns about more and more Rohingya illegal migrants arriving by boat in southern Thailand.

The English-language newspaper, Bangkok Post, reported on Friday that the government is considering whether to set up a coastguard center with a mission to block the influx of illegal immigrants trying to enter the country by boat.

Prime Minister Abhisit instructed the National Security Council (NSC) to study the idea. The center would work with in cooperation with other agencies, including the navy and Marine Police Division.

In the meantime, officials said they are waiting to deport 4,880 Rohingya for illegally entering Thailand. Security officials were ordered to boost efforts to track down human traffickers helping illegal migrants.

The Thai navy has been accused of misconduct against the Rohingya, including torture. The navy denied the charge, saying the illegal migrants were given food and water before being turned back to sea.

Human rights groups, including International Refugees and Human Rights Watch, claim the Rohingya boat people were forced back out to sea with little food and water. The groups said as many as 300 Rohingya are missing.

On Tuesday, the UNHCR asked the Thai government to grant access to the boat people rounded up in the recent incidents for interviews. The agency said it believes 126 Rohingya are in the custody of Thai authorities, following the detentions and allegations.

Meanwhile, Indonesia detained 193 Rohingya illegal migrants from Bangladesh and Burma who were in boats drifting off Indonesia’s Aceh Province on January 7.

Indonesia Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda told the reporters in Jakarta: “Indonesia is working with their countries of origin and the International Organization for Migration to properly repatriate the migrants.”

“Based on interviews they are economic migrants,” he said. “They are not political asylum seekers.”

Zachary Michaelson Seeks to Raise Awareness on Burma

New York, NY (Webwire)-- Zachary Michaelson, a New York-based financial consultant and lecturer, has announced his intention to launch an awareness campaign to further expose the plight of religious and ethnic minority groups in Burma (Myanmar). Using the Internet, media and other forms of communication, Michaelson hopes his efforts will bring much needed attention to the people of the war-torn region of Southeast Asia.

“The Burmese military government is currently intimidating, imprisoning, torturing and murdering anyone who even talks about democracy,” says Zachary Michaelson.

“We must make sure those standing for democracy and human rights in Burma are defended,” Michaelson adds.

A graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, Zachary Michaelson has championed human rights around the globe and is currently a coordinator for the Manhattan chapter of Amnesty International.

In December, Michaelson helped coordinate and promote a film screening of ‘In the Shadow of the Pagodas: The Other Side of Burma.’ The event also featured a distinguished panel of former Burmese political prisoners who were incarcerated for campaigning against the military dictatorship.

In addition to his efforts on Burma, Zachary Michaelson has also tutored Sudanese refugees and performed orphanage work for citizens of Africa and Central America.

In the coming months, Michaelson will be highlighting the atrocities of the Burmese government through his Internet public awareness campaign.

“Education and awareness are the first steps to implementing change and I will be doing all I can to help,” he says. “People of conscience cannot witness evil quietly.”

For more information, visit the NYU home page of Zachary Michaelson at http://homepages.nyu.edu/~zm13 or visit http://www.aimanhattan.org/ .

Thailand Asks Neighbors to Cooperate on Illegal Immigration

By Daniel Schearf

This undated handout photo released by Thai Royal Navy on January 18, 2009 shows illegal immigrants from Bangladesh and Burma after they were escorted by Thai navy to Similan island

(VOA) - Thailand is asking its neighbors to share information and procedures for handling illegal immigrants after being accused of abusing refugees from Burma. Meanwhile, Thailand has deported more than a hundred of the alleged refugees without granting United Nations requests to see them.

Officials from Thailand's foreign ministry met Friday with ambassadors from Burma, India, Bangladesh, Indonesia, and Malaysia.

The neighbors discussed cooperation on illegal immigration across the Andaman Sea.

The meeting, and Thailand's call for cooperation, came after hundreds of Rohingya boat people washed up on shores in Thailand, Indonesia, and India with stories of abuse by the Thai military.

A human rights group said late last year nearly 1,000 Rohingya refugees were detained, beaten, and then left for dead at sea. The Thai military denies the accusations. The Thai government says it will investigate but maintains the Rohingya are economic immigrants and not refugees.

Tharit Charungvat talks to reporters, 22 Jan 2009 - "Prevention is what we're talking about, said Tharit Charungvat, a Thai foreign ministry spokesman. "We have to work together to exchange information and intelligence of how they treat these people and share with us the information after they interview or interrogate all these people so we know exactly how these people have been sent out."

The Rohingya are a Muslim minority from Burma who fled persecution in the Buddhist country. Many are now living stateless in Bangladesh where people smuggling rings are believed responsible for at least some of their boat trips to find better lives.

Thai authorities late Friday said the last 126 Rohingya in their custody had been deported but it was not clear if they were taken by land or pushed back out to sea.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees had asked Tuesday for access to the 126 Rohingya detained in Thailand but was never granted access.

Indonesia has nearly 200 Rohingya in its custody and has also refused to give the U.N. agency access.

USDA will not contest in 2010 election: Official

by Salai Pi Pi

New Delhi (Mizzima) – The pro-government organization – Union Solidarity and Development Association – in Burma's western Chin state on Friday denied rumors that it will be changed into a political party to contest the ensuing 2010 general elections.

An official in the USDA office in Hakha, capital of Chin state, said that there has been no decision to fight the elections that the Burmese regime has declared to hold in 2010.

"So far, we have no information from above to prepare for a transformation of the organization into a political party," an official in Hakha's USDA office, who declined to named, told Mizzima.

"We have not held any political campaigns," the official said. "Till now we are only engaged in activities related to rural development work."

The official told Mizzima that the USDA in Chin state will keep staying out of political campaigns but focus only on regional development work in the area.

"The USDA is a civilian organization. It will continue to function as a civil society," he added.

However, other sources in Hakha town said that USDA had actually selected a few individuals to be candidates in the ensuing elections.

"Most of the candidates are delegates who had attended the national convention," the source told Mizzima.

According to the source, USDA has selected national convention delegates U Thatmang, and U Lakung and another independent U Ngikung, a retired Township administration official as candidates.

The USDA official, however, denied nominating candidates for the forthcoming poll saying, "We did not nominate any one as a candidate but I can't say if the people will pick up individuals from USDA for their organization in future."

The USDA was established by Burmese military Supremo Senior General Than Shwe in 1993, and is the largest civil society in Burma with a membership of over 20 million.

Dala NLD youth member jailed - Htet Soe Linn

(DVB)–The mother of recently imprisoned Dala National League for Democracy youth coordinator Htet Soe Linn has accused local authorities of framing her son to put a stop to his political activities.

Htet Soe Linn was imprisoned for two and a half years on Wednesday for disrupting a public official on duty, despite a request by the prosecutor to drop the case.

Win Myint said Htet Soe Linn was first arrested in September 2008 and accused of being involved in a fight between his younger brother Thet Paing Linn and a special police officer.

"On 23 September, Thet Paing Linn got into a quarrel with Special Police officer Kyaw Myo Win, but Htet Soe Linn wasn't involved in the fight as he was asleep at home at the time," said Win Myint.

Htet Soe Linn was later released on bail pending his trial.

Dala township NLD secretary Tun Lwin, who went to of Htet Soe Linn's court hearing on Wednesday, said the prosecutor had previously tried to drop the case against the youth member.

"The prosecutor, who is named Yazar, had already agreed to drop the case but the court judges and the police would not accept it so the hearing continued," said Tun Lwin.

Win Myint said a group of special police officers led by officer Ko Ko Aung then came to search their house on 11 January and they claimed to have found an explosive device in their compound.

"Ko Ko Aung and a group of special police officers came to our house at around 2am on 11 January and told Htet Soe Linn to go with them as they had some questions for him," said Win Myint.

"After Htet Soe Linn left the house with some of them, the rest began searching our house and Ko Ko Aung started digging in our compound and claimed he had found some explosives there."

Tun Lwin said Htet Soe Linn was then released again on 19 January as the court did not have enough evidence to build a case against him in connection with the explosive device.

On Wednesday, Htet Soe Linn, Thet Paing Linn and two other local youths were sentenced to two and a half years’ imprisonment by Dala township court on the earlier charges of disturbing a government official on duty.

Tun Lwin said Htet Soe Linn’s case was another example of the dysfunctional justice system in Burma.

"This is a very ugly incident and discredits the image of the judicial system in Burma," he said.

"Now we can say there are two different groups of people in our country; the group which is above the law and the others who are abused by the law."

Reporting by Aye Nai

Chin activist’s prison term reduced on appeal - Kyaw Soe

(DVB)–Eastern Rangoon Provincial Court yesterday upheld an appeal by ethnic Chin activist Kyaw Soe and reduced his jail term by 13 years, according to his lawyer.

Kyaw Soe, also known as Kamlam Koup, is the son of the Zomi National Congress chairman and 1990 people's parliament representative Pu Cint Sian Than.

He was arrested in connection with the September 2007 demonstrations and was sentenced to 33 years’ imprisonment by South Dagon township court in November last year.

His lawyer Kyaw Ho said Kyaw Soe will now serve his two seven-year jail terms under the Press Law concurrently, followed by two other two-year sentences for sedition and causing public disorder, which will also be served concurrently.

The court also decided to combine his three sentences under the Unlawful Assembly Act so he will serve the two terms of two years and one of three years concurrently, bringing his term down from seven to three years.

His sentences under the Immigration Act remains unchanged.

In total, the decision decreases Kyaw Soe’s sentence by 13 years down to 20 years.

Kyaw Ho said the appeal for Pu Cint Sian Than's nephew Anthony, who was sentenced to 14 years’ imprisonment, was rejected.

Reporting by Khin Hnin Htet

Ethnic Minorities Hold the Key to Burma’s Future

By MIN ZIN
The Irrawaddy News

Ceasefires that cannot be transformed into political settlements and a lasting peace are typical examples of protracted deadlocks. When neither party seems willing or able to resolve this situation, the deadlocks have the potential to trigger an escalation strategy in conflict. This is the point that the Burmese military and ceasefire ethnic groups have now reached. The question is what strategy options are available for both parties.

The Burmese military has initiated ceasefire agreements with no less than 17 ethnic rebel groups since 1989 and has allowed the groups to retain their arms and control somewhat extensive blocks of territory over the past twenty years. This shows uncharacteristic tolerance on the part of the military, which, like the whole Burman population to some extent, has a chauvinistic and patronizing attitude toward ethnic minorities.

The Burmese junta has accepted this situation for at least three reasons. First, the ceasefire accords have allowed the military to avoid multiple enemy fronts in the aftermath of the 1988 pro-democracy uprising and to focus mainly on suppressing political opposition in central Burma.

Secondly, the ceasefire condition that prevails in the border areas has enabled the Burmese military to make unprecedented advances in its relations with neighboring countries¬ especially China and Thailand ¬in both security and economic terms. The neighbors that once supported Burma’s ethnic rebels along their borders as a key part of their buffer policy or because of an ideological affinity have now shifted to the policy of full economic cooperation with the Burmese junta through massive investment and border trade.

Lastly, the ceasefire accords give the military regime the much-needed political legitimacy that they have lost since the bloody crackdown on the 1988 pro-democracy uprising. The regime constantly points to the ethnic ceasefire groups as the most defining feature of its “national reconsolidation” policy and as evidence of its claims to legitimacy.

However, the success of the military’s strategic tolerance is now about to be put to the test, as the regime must do two things before the 2010 elections to ensure that the progress it has made toward establishing a so-called “disciplined democracy” is meaningful.

First of all, the military needs to redraw the map of Burma under its new constitution. The basic state structure, consisting of seven centrally located regions surrounded by seven ethnic states, will remain the same. This favors the continuing dominance of the Burman majority, who live mostly in the seven regions. Some states, however, will see their maps being redrawn, with five Self-Administered Zones (for Naga, Danu, Pa-O, Pa Laung and Kokang ethnic groups) and one Self-Administered Division (for Wa ethnic group) designated by the military. The seventeen “special regions” established in the ethnic ceasefire areas are due to expire when the military redraws the map in accordance with the new constitution. Re-mapping must also be done soon so that the junta can establish new electoral constituencies in the country, especially in the ethnic areas. However, there is still no consensus among all parties concerned with regard to the drawing up of a new map, and this issue remains contentious.

Secondly, and more importantly, the military needs to disarm the ceasefire groups, reclaim territory from them, and push them to transform themselves into political parties ready to contest the 2010 election. This will be a major test of the military’s “contained Balkanization” of the ethnic areas; failure to achieve these goals could trigger an outright conflict and, in the worst case scenario, initiate another era of regional instability.

The question is how ethnic ceasefire groups will respond to the regime’s plans for their future. The indications so far suggest that ethnic groups will not likely give in to the junta’s demands. The United Wa State Party (UWSP), for example, now refers to itself as the “Government of Wa State, Special Autonomous Region, Union of Myanmar” in official documents. The UWSP, which has long pressed the regime to designate the Wa territory as a “state” in the constitution, has refused to call the area under its control “Shan State Special Region 2” in accordance with the terms of their ceasefire agreement or “Shan State Self-Administered Division” in accordance with the military’s new constitution.

Two other strong ceasefire groups, ¬the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) and the New Mon State Party (NMSP), ¬have already officially stated that they will not contest the 2010 election. The NMSP even went so far as to say that it does not accept the military’s constitution.

There are two things the ceasefire groups can and should do. The first would be to resist the regime’s forced disarmament under the current conditions. Some groups may take part in the 2010 election through their proxy ethnic parties, but they must not give in to the regime’s demands for the disarmament of their troops or the loss of territories under their control.

Secondly, they should convey the message to neighboring countries, ¬particularly China and Thailand, and regional groupings such as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations¬, that the 2010 election, which will be held under the military’s constitution, will in no way contribute to stability or a smooth political transition to democracy and ethnic autonomy.

Genuine national reconciliation and nation-building must precede the restructuring of the state. The neighboring countries and the regional group should, therefore, be reminded that the situation of “contained Balkanization” in Burma could easily lead to a resumption of localized arm conflicts between certain ethnic ceasefire groups and the Burmese army unless the latter negotiates an acceptable political resolution with fourteen major ceasefire groups whose strength reaches over 40,000 armed troops. Such a situation would particularly alarm China, since the most volatile areas are around the Sino-Burmese border, where formidable Wa and Kachin ethnic groups are based.

The aforementioned resistance and warnings should be accompanied by two political demands: a review of the constitution, and the release of political prisoners, including Shan ceasefire leader Hso Ten and Shan MP-elect Khun Htun Oo. These demands are largely in line with those of the mainstream opposition in central Burma and the international community.

However, the ceasefire groups must be strategic and coordinated in their action. Otherwise, they will face inter-group divisions¬ with some groups giving in and others resisting against disarmament ¬as well as intra-group splits ¬with one part of a group surrendering and another part resuming fighting.

Many ceasefire groups have, in fact, issued collective statements in the past to raise their political demands with the junta. When the military resumed the National Convention in 2004, collective demands were issued to the regime on two occasions ¬by eight groups the first time, and by 13 the second (with the KIO and the NMSP joining in both efforts). Their demands included the right to discuss and revise the undemocratic principles and procedures of the convention, the right of elected representatives from the 1990 election to participate in the convention, and the clear distribution of power to the states.

Similar collective efforts should now be used to achieve the two key political goals of a constitutional review and the release of political prisoners. A broad, well-coordinated effort must be strategically articulated not only to consolidate the domestic power bases of ethnic groups, but also to persuade neighboring countries to engage in and facilitate an acceptable political resolution in Burma.

If the ceasefire groups fail to stand together and be strategic at this critical historical juncture, they will lose their ground and eventually succumb to the junta’s “divide and conquer” tactics.

In the long run, ethnic minorities will be the ultimate losers under the military’s constitution. Burma will remain a highly centralized state in the post-2010 era. The undemocratic power of the president and the brooding presence of the military at every level of government in the ethnic states will not produce anything approaching the level of autonomy desired by ethnic minorities.

While military-owned businesses, junta cronies, foreign investors and traders, and ethnic drug lords and elites plunder the natural resources of the ethnic states, local ethnic populations will continue to be denied economic opportunities. This situation is already common in many areas. For example, logging companies from China bring their own cutters, drivers and laborers to work their concession in the Wa ethnic area, leaving locals impoverished and susceptible to social ills such as drug abuse, prostitution and diseases.

In the post-2010 era, ethnic states will also see their environment further destroyed by greedy businesses and bad governance. The preservation of ethnic identity will be at serious risk as states or self-administered communities will have almost no authority over the issues of language or cultural and religious rights.

Moreover, since a military chief will independently administer military affairs in the post-2010 era, including the recruitment of troops and the deployment of military forces, the issues of child soldiers, forced relocations, forced labor, landmines, internally displaced persons, the flow of refugees to neighboring countries, and rape and other rights violations – all of which are associated with the military’s unchecked interests and behavior¬ – will remain unresolved, especially in ethnic minority areas.

Relentless repression and the darkest side of economic globalization will continue to cause lives in the ethnic states to be, as Hobbes described, “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.”

It is now up to the leaders of ceasefire groups to decide whether they will betray the 60-year long struggle for their ethnic people or stand together with an effective strategy to fight for equal ethnic rights. The rest will be history.

Min Zin is a Burmese journalist in exile and a teaching fellow at the University of California, Berkeley, School of Journalism.

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Chin Refugee Faces Possible Deportation from Malaysia - William Mung

By Van Biak Thang
Chinland Guardian

A Chin refugee, who has been detained at different detention camps in Malaysia since last November, will be transferred today to Machap Umboo Detention Camp where he will await deportation, Chinland Guardian has learned.

William Mung, an ethnic Chin from Southern Chin State of Burma, was arrested on 22 November 2008 by the Malaysian law enforcement while waiting for the bus at Melaka Bus Station. The 25-year-old faced immigration charges in court on 4 December 2008 and was sentenced to 3 months in jail.

"Mung seems to be in good health but is losing weight and getting thin," according to a foreign friend who asks not to be named, and who visited the detention camp yesterday. "I bought some food and other stuffs including toothpaste and toothbrush from the shop inside the camp as no outside food is allowed," she explains.

The UNHCR office in Malaysia sent legal counsels during his court appearance although William Mung, a Dai-Chin from Awmsoi Village of Matupi township in Burma, is not yet recognized by the office, sources said.

The US Senate Foreign Relations Committee is currently investigating possible involvement of Malaysian enforcement authorities in a human smuggling activity where undocumented migrants, including refugees and asylum seekers, are subjected to deportation in collusion with human traffickers operating across the border in Thailand.

Two other Chins are also said to be detained at the same detention camp. Hundreds of Chin refugees and asylum seekers are currently being detained in detention centres across Malaysia.

Shwekey Hoipang, a Dai-Chin pastor and activist based in the UK, said more than 1000 from Dai descent in Southern Chin State alone are in Malaysia with many more at refugee camps in Thailand. "It is sad that they have to face these hardships in Malaysia after having escaped from brutalities and human rights abuses in Burma," he said.

A church minister from Kluang district tried to visit William in jail on two occasions but was denied access both times after he was transferred to Kluang jail on 4 December 2008.

AIDS Patients Forced to Leave Monastery

By THE IRRAWADDY

Authorities have forced 35 people living with HIV/AIDS to leave a monastery in Rangoon where they were receiving free treatment, according to sources close to the monastery.

A caregiver at the monastery told The Irrawaddy that on Tuesday, local authorities ordered the patients to move to the Wai Bar Gi Infectious Diseases Hospital in Rangoon’s North Okkalapa Township. However, only 26 of the patients went to the hospital, the source said.

The patients, including two young children, were from various parts of Burma and were too poor to go to a hospital, the source said. He added that some were receiving antiretroviral (ARV) drugs at the monastery, but were not in such serious condition that they needed to be hospitalized.

Another source said that authorities inspecting construction on an extension of the monastery told the abbot that the unauthorized “guests” were not permitted to stay. The abbot now fears that his monastery will be shut down, the source added.

In October 2007, following the monk-led protests known as the Saffron Revolution, the authorities raided Maggin Monastery in Rangoon’s Thingangyun Township and expelled its resident monks. The monastery, which also provided free healthcare to people with HIV/AIDS, was suspected of harboring social activists.

The abbot of the monastery, U Indaka, was sentenced to more than 20 years imprisonment for his involvement in the Saffron Revolution.

Burmese Monk Suffering After UNHCR Rejection - U Thuriya

Dhaka (Narinjara): A Burmese monk, U Thuriya, who was involved in the Saffron Revolution protests in 2007, has been suffering mentally after the UNHCR Dhaka office rejected his application for refugee status, said an abbot who accepted him to stay at his monastery.

"I am really worried about his health because sometimes he refuses to take his food and medicine. He has been staying along in the monastery without talking after returning from Dhaka," the abbot said.

U Thuriya, who is 25 years old, was wanted to arrest by the Burmese military authority for his involvement in the many protests during 2007's Saffron Revolution in Sittwe. At the time, the monk was a student from Pathein monastery located in Kon Dan Ward in Sittwe.

"I am all Burmese people here know about U Thuriya and why he came from Burma. He escaped from Burma to Bangladesh out of fear of arrest by the Burmese military authority. But we are unable to understand the decision of the UNHCR on his case," the abbot said.

U Thuriya fled from Sittwe to Bangladesh through his native border town of Buthidaung in northern Arakan soon after the Burmese military authority began an armed crackdown on the monk movement in Burma in 2007.

U Thuriya once told Narinjara that he had crossed many dangerous places in the border area on his way to Bangladesh, but he luckily escaped Burma with the help of local tribes people in the border area.

After he arrived, he came to Dhaka to apply for refugee status with the UNHCR, but the UNHCR rejected his claim for asylum after only one interview. U Thuriya's register Number was 393-08C-00044, and he was given notice of rejection on 22 October, 2008.

The abbot said, "U Thuriya is now a helpless monk and he has no future. All monasteries in Bangladesh have refused him shelter because he is a Burmese citizen. It is impossible for them to accept such a foreigner for studying in a monastery in Bangladesh without permission of the authorities."

U Thuriya is now staying at a small monastery in a remote village in Bangladesh's Chittagong Hill Tract and is suffering from malaria, but is not getting medical treatment.

According to Burmese refugees, the UNHCR Dhaka office not only denied U Thuriya's claims for asylum, but also other monks such as U Rakha Wanta and Wiraw Zana, who played leading roles in the Saffron Revolution in Arakan State.

There is a joke among Burmese refugees in Bangladesh that if you want recognition as a refugee by the UNHCR in Dhaka, you must be a mountain cultivator. The joke emerged after some cultivators were recognized as refugees while many other monks and citizens who were victims of the junta had their claims rejected.

Many Burmese refugees believe that such decisions are mistakes that occur in the UNHCR Dhaka office because of weak interpreters who are unable to understand modern words or usages of spoken Burmese and Arakanese.

UN Seeks Interviews with Rohingyas Held by Thailand

By LAWI WENG
The Irrawaddy News

The Thai government has refused an initial request by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees to talk directly with Burmese Muslim Rohingya boat people, saying the agency should first establish guidelines with Thai authorities.

"The agency should come and talk to us about how to work together. Our work together should be based on cooperation and appropriate rules," Thailand's prime minister told reporters, adding that he wanted to discuss the matter with the Burmese government also.

Leading human rights groups, such as International Refugees and Human Rights Watch, claim that the Thai navy mistreated Rohingya boat people from Burma, forcing many back out to sea with little food and water. The groups said as many as 300 Rohingya are missing.

On Tuesday, the UNHCR asked the Thai government to grant access to the boat people for interviews. The agency said it believes 126 Rohingya are in the custody of Thai authorities.

However, Kitty McKinsey, a spokesperson for the UNHCR in Bangkok, told The Irrawaddy that the UNHCR has welcomed the prime minister's comment, but, “We haven’t received any formal statement from the government yet.”

According to Thailand's English-language daily, Bangkok Post, 4,880 Rohingya have been arrested for illegally entering the Thailand, and 90 percent are still waiting for repatriation.

Since the early 1990s, a rising number of Rohingya refugees have taken to boats, many not sea worthy, and fled Burma and Bangladesh for political and economic reasons, trying to reach Thailand and Malaysia.

Experts say the number of boat people may increase this year due to the impact of the global economic downturn on one of the poorest regions of Asia.

"A more viable and long-term solution to the problem of cross-border illegal immigrants would be for countries in the region—Burma, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Cambodia, Indonesia and Thailand—to sit together and address the problem in earnest, possibly with participation of the UNHCR," said a recent editorial in Bangkok Post.

Burmese refugees participate in a demonstration outside the office of the
UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia,
Wednesday. (Photo: AP)

Meanwhile, at least 50 Burmese demonstrated on Wednesday outside the UNHCR office in Malaysia to protest against alleged discrimination by the agency.

Aung Kyaw Moe, 37, the protest group's spokesperson, told AFP news agency: "They divided us along ethnic group lines and won't allow some of us to enter the UNHCR office," he said, saying it was causing ethnic tension among the various refugee communities. The UNHCR has denied allegations that it discriminates between ethnic groups.

The majority of asylum-seekers in Malaysia are Rohingya Muslims while the rest are Christian Chins, Karen and Shan.

Gambira transferred to Hkamti prison: Prison official

by Ko Wild

Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – Detained veteran Monk Gambira, who was allegedly staging a hunger strike in Mandalay prison, has been transferred to the remote Hkamti prison, his family members said citing prison officials.

A prison official told his mother Daw Ray, who tried to visit Gambira on Wednesday at Obo prison in Mandalay, that he had been transferred to Hkamti prison in Sagaing Division, about 300 miles north of Mandalay, on January 17.

According to the prison officials, he was transferred to another prison only after a medical check-up was conducted.

However, the prison officials refused to answer questions about the hunger strike believed to have been staged by Gambira, who is 29-years-old.

The child soldier-turned-political enthusiast monk was charged with 16 cases in the end of last year, including insulting religion and committing crime against public tranquility. He was sentenced to a total of 68 years in prison.

News about Gambira's hunger strike appeared, while he was on his way to Hkamti prison.

Gambira joined the monk-led September 2007 protests, while he was pursuing his 'Dhamasariya' religious studies. In the protest, thousands of people and monks took to the streets and demanded political solution through negotiation and dialogue by reciting Metta Sutra. He led this protest.

In the protest, popularly known as the Saffron Revolution later, at least 30 people were shot dead by the armed forces. After the protest was brutally suppressed, he had to flee from the scene and was on the run. But, he was finally arrested by the authority in Singai Township, Mandalay Division on November 4, 2007.

The military regime also sentenced his elder brother Aung Kyaw Kyaw to 14 years of imprisonment and his younger brother Aung Ko Ko Lwin and brother-in-law Moe Htet are still facing trial in Insein prison, charged with illegal border crossing cases.

1,114 prisoners languish in Buthidaung jail

(Kaladan Press) -Buthidaung, Arakan State: Nearly 1,114 prisoners are languishing in Buthidaung jail for a long time. They were sentenced to prison on different allegations by the authorities, according to sources.

The prisoners were sentenced by the court on various accusations such as--- marrying without permission, drug and logs smuggling to Bangladesh from Burma--- while some are political prisoners.

At present, there are nearly 100 Rakhines and nearly 1,000 Rohingyas including 58 Rohingya women in Buthidaung jail. Most of the Rohingya women were arrested and sentenced to jail for marrying without permission.

Though the jail has a capacity of only 200, at present, 1,114 prisoners are lodged in the jail, according to a recently released prisoner from Buthidaung jail.

On November 28, Ko Htay Kyway, a student leader, three Sayadaw and one political leader were brought to Buthidaung jail from Rangoon. Ko Htay Kyway was sentenced to 65 years imprisonment.

Besides, Ashin U Ethiriya, a leader of the saffron revolution in Sittwe, Ko Than Htwee including seven youth leaders from Taunggup township who participated in the democracy movement last year were also transferred to Buthidaung's notorious jail from Sittwe jail. They are made to do hard work in jail.

Moreover, on December 30, last year 473 prisoners from Buthidaung, Sittwe (Akyab), Kyaukpru, Sandway townships were sent to hard labor camp in Youchaung under Minbya Township to work in construction of the Akyab-Rangoon high way. However, on January 10, some warm clothes and blankets have been sent to the labor camp, according to official sources.

Five soldiers commit suicide in Arakan in 2008

Narinjara News

Five soldiers of the Burmese Army in northern Arakan committed suicide in 2008 but the reasons for killing themselves are not known, said an army clerk from Buthidaung on condition of anonymity.

"According to an army report, they committed suicide after the army authorities refused let them go from the army. They wanted resign from the army," he said

The soldiers who committed suicide are : Zaw Ko from Battalion 550 based in Ponna Kyaunt on 12 March 2008; Zaw Zaw Min from Battalion 536 based in Rathidaung on 15 April 2008; Win Myint from Battalion 538 based in Rathidaung; Zaw zaw Thein from battalion 378 baed in Mrauk U on 13 November and unidentified soldier from battalion 551 based Buthidaung on 15 December.

According army sources, they committed suicide with their arms while at the army headquarters.

Though many soldiers have deserted the army with or without arms suicides are a rarity in the Burmese Army. However, incidents of suicide have increased over the last few years.

Most soldiers in the Burmese Army want to leave the army due to poor salary and other facilities but the higher authorities do not allow soldiers to retire, said the army clerk.

China Censors Obama's Speech

By ANITA CHANG / AP WRITER
The Irrawaddy News

BEIJING — The official Chinese translation of President Barack Obama's inauguration speech was missing his references to communism and dissent, while a live broadcast on state television Wednesday quickly cut away to the anchor when the topic was mentioned.

The comments by the newly installed US president veered into politically sensitive territory for China's ruling Communist Party, which maintains a tight grip over the Internet and the entirely state-run media. Beijing tolerates little dissent and frequently decries foreign interference in its internal affairs.

At one point, Obama said earlier generations "faced down communism and fascism not just with missiles and tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring convictions." He later addressed "those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent—know that you are on the wrong side of history."

The Chinese translation of the speech, credited to the Web site of the official China Daily newspaper, was missing the word "communism" in the first sentence. The paragraph with the sentence on dissent had been removed entirely.

The censored version was carried by the state-run Xinhua News Agency and posted on popular online portals Sina and Sohu. Another portal, Netease, used a version without the paragraph mentioning communism, but retaining the part about dissent.

The news channel of state broadcaster China Central Television broadcast the speech live early Wednesday local time, but appeared caught off-guard by the statement about facing down communism.

The translator had no sooner said "fascism and communism" when the audio faded out from Obama's speech and cameras cut back to the studio anchor, who seemed flustered for a second before turning to ask an expert what challenges the president faces in turning around the US economy.

Wang Jianhong, deputy director of the CCTV general editing department, said he did not stay up to watch the inauguration broadcast but suggested the transition was a normal part of the program.

"There are breakaways even when broadcasting China's own meetings," he said. "Americans might care a lot about the presidential inauguration, but Chinese may not be very interested."

No one in the editing department of the China Daily Web site was immediately available to answer questions.

The full translation of Obama's speech could be viewed on the Web site of Hong Kong-based broadcaster Phoenix Satellite Television, which has a reputation as a more independent news source. The China Daily Web site posted Obama's full remarks in English only.

PM Abhisit: No access to boat refugees

(Bangkok Post)-Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva refused to grant UN experts access to 126 boat people from Myanmar, following allegations that the Thai army had left them to die on the open seas.

He dodged reporters' questions on a request from the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) to visit the group, and urged it instead to work with Thai authorities.

"The agency should come and talk to us about how to work together. Our work together should be based on cooperation and appropriate rules," Abhisit told reporters.

"They (the UN) should understand that every country has this problem (of refugees)," he said, adding that he wanted to discuss the matter with Myanmar.

Late Tuesday, the UNHCR announced it had asked the Thai government for access to the refugees to assess their needs.

Spokesman Ron Redmond said 80 of the migrants were being held on Sai Daeng island off the Thai coast in the Andaman Sea.

Another 46 have been handed over to the Thai military authorities with no further information on their current location, he said.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it spoke with UNHCR frequently and may arrange a meeting with agency officials to discuss the matter further.

Survivors and a human rights group have accused the army and navy of detaining and beating up to 1,000 members of the Rohingya minority from Myanmar late last year, before towing them out to sea with little food and water.

Nearly 650 of the Muslim Rohingya have been rescued in waters off India and Indonesia.

Some of them told officials that they had been beaten in Thailand before being set adrift in barges with no engines or navigational equipment.

The spokesman for the country's state security body, Colonel Thanatip Sawangsaeng, said Tuesday the case was being investigated.

He added that the army chief had said that the military "followed international standards and adhered to humanitarian principles."

Mr Abhisit said he had requested further photo evidence and information from the navy on Thailand's routine treatment of illegal immigrants.

Permanent Secretary for Foreign Affairs Virasakdi Futrakul said neighbouring countries would be invited to a joint discussion on the Rohingya, describing them as a "regional problem".

"The ministry will invite ambassadors from Myanmar, India, Bangladesh and other countries who also have a problem with the Rohingya to discuss the problem and what kind of measures they use," Virasakdi told AFP.

"The Rohingya people are not only one country's problem but a problem for the whole region."

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Burmese refugees protest in front of UN office in Malaysia

by Myint Maung

New Delhi (Mizzima) - Nearly three hundred Burmese refugees on Wednesday demonstrated in front of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) office in Malaysia's capital of Kuala Lumpur, demanding recognition of refugee status and equal treatment among refugees.

The protestors, mainly Rohingyas from Burma's western Arakan state, said they were being treated differently and were not being granted equal status by the UN agency.

Nyi Nyi, a leader of the protestors, said they held a brief demonstration and submitted their demands in writing to an official from the agency.

"We are demanding recognition as refugees, equal treatment by the office and a cessation to official corruption in granting refugee recognition," Nyi Nyi said.

Nyi Nyi added that they were met by a protection officer from the UNHCR office, to whom they handed their demands.

The UNHCR, however, denied the allegation, saying they treat all refugees equally.

Yante Ismail, the UNHCR Kuala Lumpur office spokesperson, was quoted by the AFP as saying, "UNHCR's policies towards all refugee groups are nondiscriminatory. We do our utmost to assist and protect all refugees."

"The UNHCR will continue to engage different refugee communities to address their problems," she stipulated.

According to the UNHCR there are some 45,400 refugees and asylum seekers in Malaysia, of whom approximately 40,000 are from Burma – with the majority of the Burmese refugees reportedly Rohingya Muslims from Burma's Arakan state.

NLD member jailed for two years for disturbing officials - Thein Soe

by Ko Wild

Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – A member of the National League for Democracy, Burma's main opposition party, was arrested and sentenced to two years in prison on charges of disturbing officials carrying out their duty at the behest of the authorities of the Township Peace and Development Council of Rangoon's suburban township of South Dagon on Monday.

Thein Soe, an NLD member, was charged under article (189) of the criminal code, an offence for disturbing officials carrying out their duty, by the police in-charge of North Dagon police station. He was sentenced by justice Daw Htay Htay to two years in jail

Thein Soe's wife Khin Moe Moe told Mizzima that her husband had been actively monitoring the activities of township and police officials and would frequently intervene if he saw that the officials were corrupt and were out to suppress the people.

"He protested against the township authorities recruiting child soldiers and he knew all about the corrupt practices of the police. So, may be that is why they [the official] wanted to get rid of him," she said.

Thein Soe was informed that he had been charged for disturbing officials while carrying out their duty since October last year.

Thein Soe, an active member of the NLD, had served as one of the security and information officers into recording events during the detained Nobel Peace Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi's political tour in upper Burma in 2003.

Burmese refugees protest in front of UN office in Malaysia

Thai government to investigate Rohingya abuse claims

By Larry Jagan
Mizzima News

Thailand's government has promised to investigate claims that the country's military authorities abused hundreds of Rohingya by pushing them back out to sea to die. At the same time, the UN has appealed to Thai authorities to be given access to survivors of the incidents believed to be in custody in southern Thailand.

Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva says Thailand will investigate allegations that the Thai navy cast members of the Muslim minority population from Burma adrift in the Andaman Sea in southwest Thailand last month. The country's Defense Minister will investigate the accusations and report back to the Prime Minister as soon as possible, according to Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban.

The premier also assured human rights activists who met him earlier this week that his government would not tolerate any violation of the rights of Burmese boat people.

"If any officials committed such inhumane acts against [the Rohingya refugees] they will be punished," he promised.

Thailand's Army chief, General Anupong Paochinda, later told journalists that the military was investigating the incident. However the army chief added that he was confident that no Thai officials used violence when dealing with migrant workers and refugees. "They all adhere to international standards and principles of human rights in dealing with illegal immigrants," he said.

However human rights activists based in Thailand fear that hundreds, if not thousands, of Rohingya are dead after being pushed back into the sea by Thai authorities. Up to 200 people are missing while more than 300 others are already known to have drowned after they were set adrift by Thai soldiers, some with their hands tied behind their backs in boats without engines, survivors and human rights activists told Mizzima.

The United Nation's refugee agency has already voiced its concern about these reports and urged the government to investigate the incidents. They are now calling for Thai authorities to give them access to some of the Burmese refugees, who are believed to be in Thai custody in southern Thailand somewhere near Ranong.

"We have asked the Thai government for access to two groups totaling 126 Rohingya boat people, who are in custody in southern Thailand, in order to assess their situation and determine whether any of them are in need of international protection," said a UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) spokesperson, Ron Redman.

The Rohingya in custody are in two groups, around 80 who are believed to have survived the ordeal of being cast adrift after they reached Thailand and a further 46 boat people who were detained by Thai naval authorities off the west coast of Thailand last Friday. But the actual whereabouts of these people is shrouded in mystery. Local Thai naval authorities deny that they are holding any migrant workers in custody.

"We continue to stress that the Thai government should take all measures to make sure the lives of the Rohingya boat people are not put at risk," the UNHCR spokesperson added.

The UNHCR's latest request follows their initial response last week to media reports of the Thai authorities' inhumane treatment of Burmese migrant workers and refugee seekers. "We request the Thai government to take all measures necessary to ensure that the lives of Rohingya are not at risk and they are treated in accordance with humanitarian standards," regional spokeswoman Kitty McKinsey said in Bangkok on Friday.

Yet so far there has been no official response to any of UNHCR's requests. The UN body cannot even confirm how many Burmese Muslims are being detained or their whereabouts.

"But what is needed now is not a knee-jerk response – to what is the tip of the iceberg – but a clear policy position and procedures for processing would be migrants and refugees in keeping with accepted international standards," Sunai Pasuk, a Thai-Burma specialist with the US-based Human Rights Watch told Mizzima.

"It's a real test for the [Thai] Democrat-led government. Will it maintain its integrity and really fulfill its promises to protect human rights and international laws or will it compromise its values in the interest of maintaining good relations with the country's top military brass," asked Sunai.

The Rohingya live in northern Arakan state, in western Burma, bordering Bangladesh. For decades, many have fled social and religious persecution by Burmese military authorities there. Most human rights activists believe that the abuses committed by the junta in the Muslim dominated areas of western Burma are worse than anywhere else in the country.

"Burma's Rohingya minority is subject to systematic persecution – they are effectively denied citizenship, they have their land confiscated, and many are regularly forced to work on government projects," Ben Zawacki, Amnesty International's Burma researcher told Mizzima.

"The regime creates conditions and circumstances that make it clear to the Rohingyas that they are not wanted or welcome in the country; so it's no surprise that they try to flee the country by the thousands," he added.

Since Burma's independence from Britain, there have been several successive surges of Muslim refugees fleeing the country, amounting to millions. The first massive wave was in the late 1970s, when tens of thousands fled to Bangladesh – though nearly all of them were later repatriated. Since the early nineties though, tens of thousands of Burmese Muslims have fled the increased social and religious repression and sought asylum and work abroad; most of them escaping to Bangladesh in the first instance.

Now many Burmese migrants are trying to get further afield – particularly to Indonesia and Malaysia. Their first stop though is Thailand, and thousands have been taking their chances and making the perilous two-week long voyage by sea from Bangladesh to southern Thailand on the first leg of their journey. The period from November to February is when most of the trips are made as the seas are generally not so rough.

But in the past few months thousands of illegal immigrants from Bangladesh and Burma have been rounded-up by Thai soldiers and transferred to an island off the coast of southern Thailand, near Ranong, before being allegedly put into boats without engines and set adrift.

"Nearly a thousand Burmese immigrants who were held on Koh Sai Daeng [or Red Island] were left drifting in international waters by Thai military authorities in the past few weeks, in at least two separate incidents," a local Burmese resident in Ranong told Mizzima on condition of anonymity.

In the first incident, around the 18th of December, 412 Burmese refugees were placed on board a large barge, hands tied behind their backs, and towed out to sea with little food or water, according to survivors from the boat. They originally had some five separate boats, but were transferred to an open-deck boat. "At first we refused to get into the boat, but then the guards threw at least four of us overboard, with their hands tied behind their backs," according to a survivor who declined to be identified.

"We were tied up and put into a boat without an engine," Zaw Min, one of the few survivors from the boat told Mizzima. "We were then towed into the high seas by a motor boat and set adrift," he said.

"The food and water ran out within a few days," said another survivor. "We were starving for nearly two weeks and feared we would never see dry land again," he added.

The boat drifted for more than ten days in the Andaman Sea, before being rescued by the Indian coast guard. The survivors are now being held in jail on Little Andaman Island. They were all severely dehydrated, according to a local medical official.

"The Thai authorities obviously wanted us to die on the boat," said Zaw Min.

Only 107 Burmese migrants survived the ordeal, according to refugee workers in contact with the group. There were also four dead bodies on board when the boat was beached. In all, more than 300 Burmese perished, according to researchers with a regional NGO, the Arakan Project. Most of those who died did so when they jumped overboard and tried to swim to safety when they saw land and lights on the island. The area is renowned for its rough seas and shark infested waters.

Just before the New Year, Thai authorities towed 580 Rohingyas out to sea in four boats, according to Arakan Project researchers monitoring Rohingya movements. They had arrived in Thai waters in five different boats. One of these boats ended up back near the Thai coast and 81 Burmese Muslims were rescued by a Thai fishing trawler and handed over to Thai authorities on January 6th. Originally they were detained once again on Koh Sai Daeng, but were recently moved to an unknown location, according to local residents. They comprise one of the two groups to which the UNHCR wants access.

The second boat beached on Sabang Island just off the Indonesian province of Aceh, on the 7th of January. The 193 Burmese Muslims on board were rescued and are now being held in police custody. The third boat was rescued by Indian authorities on Tillanchang Island in the Andamans and around 150 refugees transferred to a hospital for treatment, according to Indian authorities.

The fourth boat is still missing and more than 200 Burmese refugees on board are now feared dead.

However, Thai authorities dismiss these incidents as fantasy. "We never push them back to the sea," said one official, Lieutenant Colonel Tara Soranarak, an inspector in the Ranong immigration office.

"We have our procedure to deport the migrants to their home country after processing them through the Thai legal system," he added.

While this may have been the case in the past, many human rights activists believe there has recently been a change of policy. Instead of being handed over to police and immigration officials, they are now apparently taken into custody by the military.

"This change of policy is certainly for security reasons," said Amnesty's Ben Zawacki. "While the Rohingyas are not alone in being repatriated or turned back, other Burmese ethnic minorities – like the Karen, Karenni, Mon and Shan – are dealt with more sympathetically."

Privately, Thai officials have expressed concern that the Rohingya, who are Muslims, may be headed to join the rebellion in southern Thailand, where insurgents are seeking greater autonomy.

All the Burmese Muslims who have been detained and cast adrift originally set off from Cox's Bazaar, on Bangladesh's eastern coastline, which is also close to the border with Burma. "All of them paid 10,000 baht to traffickers in Bangladesh for the journey to Thailand," Chris Lewa, who heads the Arakan Project, told Mizzima. It costs a further 18,000 to 23,000 baht for Thai traffickers to transport them from Thailand to Malaysia.

Last year more than 5,000 Burmese refugees fleeing in boats from Bangladesh and Burma were detained by Thai authorities. Many others have successfully managed the dangerous journey to Malaysia and Indonesia. But many more may have perished en route to Southeast Asia, without anyone ever knowing. Hundreds of boats leave Bangladesh at this time of year, leading to hundreds, if not thousands, of deaths, according to Lewa.

In the past two years thousands of Burmese Muslim migrants have been tempted to head to Southeast Asia after the safer route to Saudi Arabia was blocked when it became impossible to get Bangladeshi papers permitting a direct flight.

But this latest tragedy has helped highlight the continuing problem fleeing Burmese Muslims face – repression and persecution in their own country, an uncertain future in Bangladesh and being left to the small mercies of human traffickers. The Thai response may be draconian, but all countries in Southeast Asia are likely to take a harder line against illegal immigrants in the future in the face of the international economic down-turn and credit crunch.

"What is needed is a regional solution" said Ben Zawacki. "There are at least five countries affected by this latest stream of refugees and migrant workers, so its time for Thailand to talk to Bangladesh, Burma, India, Indonesia and Malaysia, for starters. ASEAN may also be able to play a role in resolving this issue."

Most experts involved with the issue agree. "It's a regional issue," said Lewa. "Thailand cannot solve it alone, but should collaborate with the counties concerned and international agencies to find a solution to this problem."

The UNHCR is also endorsing this approach. "Because the plight of the Rohingyas is a regional problem, UNHCR is urgently seeking to discuss with the Thai government ways that all concerned countries can address the root causes that impel the Rohingya to put their lives at risk on such perilous journeys," said spokesperson Ron Readman.

While the Thai Foreign Minister is planning to raise the issue with his counterparts in neighboring countries, according to Thai diplomatic sources, there are so far no plans to call a summit. "Because of the increasing urgency of this issue and the increasing size of the problem, we will coordinate closely with the countries concerned and will also consider raising this issue in such forums as BIMSTEC," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a press statement emailed to Mizzima.

As an initial step, the Thai government plans to invite the ambassadors from the concerned states to discuss the matter after it has more details from the Defence Ministry's investigation, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Tharit Charungvat told journalists on Tuesday.

Many countries, and even the UN, have in the past tried to help resolve this problem; but efforts have thus far proved unsuccessful largely due to the intransigence of Burma's military rulers. Prophetically, during the height of the last mass exodus of Burmese Muslim refugees from Arakan more than fifteen years ago, the then Bangladeshi Foreign Minister, Mustifizur Rahman, told Mizzima the Rohingya problem can never be solved while the Generals are still in power in Burma.

JEG's BURMA NEWS

WHO is WHO in BURMA, Translations into English

FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER

Blogging LIVE

There Live Blogging

JOTMAN

MIZZIMA News

KALADAN Press - Dedicated for Rohingya Media

SHAN HERALD AGENCY FOR NEWS

DANIEL PEDERSEN

INNER CITY PRESS - UN

RADIO FREE ASIA NEWS

Saturday, January 24, 2009

Friday, January 23, 2009

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Recent Posts from Burma Wants Freedom and Democracy

Recent posts from WHO is WHO in Burma

THE NUKE LIGHT OF MYANMAR

LABELS Select

ADOPT A PEN-PAL

BURMESE PRISONERS ABROAD

BURMA NEWS LINKS

Korea Dictator a Nuclear threat

BDC: Burma's Radio

GENERATION WAVE - Free Them All

URGENT Call to ALL BLOGGERS to show Solidarity for:

FREE THEM ALL NOW

BLOGGERS FOR BURMA

DOCUMENTS TO READ - SCRIBD

QUOTE on Justice

Arakan Refugee Relief Committee

FREE BURMA RANGERS- OK

SEELAN PALAY's Blog

SINGAPORE DEMOCRATS' NEWS

Status of Chinese People

About Me

Followers

Blog Archive

TINY URL

U R

Network