Burma Update
News and updates on Burma29 May 2009
[ReadingRoom] News on Burma - 29/5/09
Burmese court rejects Suu Kyi witnesses - Tim Johnston Lawyers for Aung San Suu Kyi, the detained Burmese opposition leader, expect to make their closing arguments in her trial on Monday, with the verdict to be announced shortly afterwards. On Thursday, Kyi Win, a jurist and member of Mrs Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy argued that the charges against her had been mistakenly applied. He was the only one of the four defence witnesses proposed by Mrs Suu Kyi's team that the court allowed to take the stand. Mrs Suu Kyi is charged with breaking the terms of her house arrest by allowing an American, John Yettaw, to stay the night without reporting him to the authorities. Mr Yettaw used a pair of home-made flippers to swim uninvited to her lakeside house earlier this month. Mrs Suu Kyi, 63, is fighting the charges, which carry a maximum penalty of five years' imprisonment. She told the court that she gave Mr Yettaw "temporary shelter" because he was exhausted and hungry after the swim and because she did not want to create trouble for him or for the security detail which is supposed to guard her house. Mr Yettaw, a 53-year-old veteran of the Vietnam War who lives in Falcon, Missouri, is also on trial for breaking immigration and national security laws. He seems to have had more confused motives for his quixotic mission. "He said the reason he came was in his vision he saw that Aung San Suu Kyi was assassinated by terrorists. Because of his vision, he came here to warn Aung San Suu Kyi and also the government," said Nyan Win, one of Mrs Suu Kyi's legal team. If he is convicted, Mr Yettaw could be sentenced to up to seven years in prison. Mrs Suu Kyi's trial has been widely criticised: the United States called the proceedings "outrageous", Britain's Gordon Brown said he was "deeply troubled", and a long list of Nobel Laureates and human rights activists have gathered together to demand Mrs Suu Kyi's unconditional release. And countries which have traditionally been reluctant to be too critical of the Burmese government, many of them Asian neighbours, have joined in the criticism. The Association of South East Asian Nations, an influential regional grouping of which Burma is a member, has voiced rare concern, provoking a sharp reaction from the Burmese authorities. "It is not political, it is not a human rights issue. So we don't accept pressure and interference from abroad," Maung Mynt, Burma's deputy foreign minister told ministers gathered for an Asia-Europe Meeting in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh on Thursday. But most outside observers say that Mrs Suu Kyi's treatment only makes sense when seen through the lens of Burma's internal politics. Diplomats say that even China, Burma's biggest trading partner and most influential ally, is privately unhappy with the government's decision to put Mrs Suu Kyi on trial, although it is holding fast to its policy of non-intervention in public. Security 'didn't stop' Yettaw visit - Naw Say Phaw Soldiers guarding Aung San Suu Kyi's house knew of John Yettaw entering the compound earlier this month and did little to prevent it, Yettaw told the courtroom yesterday. Burma's opposition leader is on trial for harbouring the US citizen who swam to her compound earlier this month where she is held under house arrest. Suu Kyi told the courtroom yesterday that the breach of security that allowed Yettaw into the house was the fault of authorities charged with guarding her compound, and not Suu Kyi. Yettaw yesterday added substance to this argument with claims that he had passed a number of soldiers en route to the compound. "He said, on his second visit, he was seen by about four to five soldiers on his way into her compound," said lawyer Nyan Win. "They were carrying guns with them but they didn't do anything to stop him from approaching the house, apart from throwing some stones at him." It was the second time Yettaw had visited Suu Kyi's house, the last occasion being in November 2008 when he also swam across Lake Inya. On both occasions he said he was "on a mission from God" to warn Suu Kyi and the Burmese government that a plot was being hatched by terrorists to assassinate Suu Kyi and pin the blame on the government. "He said he was only here to warn us, as God told him to and that he loves Burmese people and has respect to the Burmese Police who are very well disciplined. Global economic crisis reaches Myanmar With one of the world's most insular economies and a financial system that's largely cut off from the outside world, Myanmar would seem to have relatively little to fear from the recent global economic crisis. But as the country's military junta wraps up its trial of dissident Aung San Suu Kyi, conditions on the ground show a different reality. Key parts of the economy, including agriculture and tourism, are reeling, and business in the commercial center of Yangon is as depressed as it's been in years, residents and economists say. Credit has dried up, remittance income is falling, and thousands of migrant workers are returning from abroad at a time when jobs are unusually scarce. "People don't have money these days, and if they do have it, they don't spend it," says Kyi Kyi Win, a saleswoman at a clothing store filled with cheap shirts, pants and brand-name knockoffs a short drive from Ms. Suu Kyi's lakeside residence. Last year, she says, the shop was selling US$300 to US$400 in merchandise a day, but now it's selling less than US$100 a day. Myanmar's economic health is especially critical now, as discontent over the fate of Ms. Suu Kyi spreads. The 63-year-old Nobel laureate is accused of violating the terms of her house arrest, imposed by the government six years ago, by allowing an American well-wisher to visit her residence without state approval. Some residents hope the court decision - which is widely expected to find her guilty, potentially resulting in a prison sentence of up to five years - could ignite protests and destabilize a regime that has ruled the resource-rich nation since the 1960s. There's little indication of serious unrest now, with many residents afraid of a military crackdown if they express discontent. On Thursday, several hundred people gathered peacefully near the prison where Ms. Suu Kyi is on trial, while police vehicles continued to move throughout the city. But circumstances could change if the verdict against Ms. Suu Kyi is seen as particularly harsh. Ms. Suu Kyi is widely viewed as Myanmar's most legitimate leader after her political organization, the National League for Democracy, won Myanmar's last elections in 1990; the government ignored the results. Economic distress has played a key role in past unrest. The last major protests in September 2007, which were brutally crushed by the military, were ignited largely by a sharp rise in fuel costs. Similar unrest in 1988 came after years of disastrous socialist economic policies that left residents desperate for reform. Myanmar's economy has long suffered from high unemployment, minimal foreign investment and crumbling infrastructure. The local banking system collapsed in 2003, with 20 or more private banks closing shop after a run on deposits, and it has yet to fully recover. With few successful domestic industries, the country must rely heavily on sales of natural gas, timber and other commodities to the few countries that continue to do significant business with the regime, notably China, Thailand and India. U.S. and European sanctions have prevented all but a few Western companies from operating there. But commodity prices have collapsed over the past year, and with few links to external capital markets, Myanmar is unable to raise cash for new lending. Conditions in Yangon are especially difficult. Fewer than 300,000 of its six million residents have mobile phones, power blackouts are becoming more common and taxis are so old that the road is sometimes visible from holes in the floorboards. Abandoned colonial buildings rot in the monsoon weather, with vines growing out of broken red-brick windows. "Ask every shop, every entrepreneur, and they will tell you business is bad," says one local economist who used to teach at a Yangon university and now runs an economic journal. His publication is attracting only $200 to $300 in advertisements a week, he says, compared to $700 to $800 before the global economic meltdown. Myanmar doesn't provide timely economic information and rarely communicates with the foreign media. Official data indicates the economy grew 10% or more per year since 2000, but private analysts including the Asian Development Bank say such data is likely exaggerated, with actual growth probably less than half the government's estimates and headed even lower this year. The situation isn't all bad. Lower commodity prices have helped ease inflation, which hit 30% in recent years, and weaker demand for imported goods has improved the country's trade balance, boosting the local currency, the kyat. Some shops that cater to the small wealthy elite in Myanmar, such as computer dealers, report that business is holding up well. The government's finances are also in relatively good shape. With the help of natural gas revenues - including $2 billion in annual supplies to Thailand - the government has more than $3 billion in foreign exchange reserves, and it has significantly improved tax collection, the ADB says. But natural gas revenues have fallen by as much as 50% this year, says Sean Turnell, a Myanmar expert at Macquarie University in Sydney. And the past year has been a disaster for agriculture, which accounts for roughly 45% of Myanmar's gross domestic product. Cyclone Nargis, which killed 135,000 people in May 2008, wiped out much of the equipment and livestock in Myanmar's vital southern rice bowl, and many indebted families have been unable to replace it. Prices for beans, the country's other key farm crop with sizable exports to India, fell dramatically earlier this year, and a lack of rural credit has left farmers unable to raise money for new plantings. Kyi Thein, a farmer north of Yangon, says he's thinking of selling off his last two acres of land if conditions don't improve soon. He sold his other four acres earlier after bad weather cut his yields and made farming unprofitable. Tourism is suffering, too. Until a few years ago, it was seen as a promising new source of income for Myanmar, employing 500,000 people or more. But arrivals have declined since 2006, according to local media reports and travel agencies, especially after the 2007 protests, Cyclone Nargis, and now the global economic crisis and Ms. Suu Kyi's trial, which has scared off travelers who fear political strife. "Everything is frozen" since the trial began, says Aung Min Thein, a driver who ferries tourists to Yangon's golden temples and monasteries. Zaw Gyi, who performs similar services in the ancient Myanmar city of Bagan, says he's now working just 10 days a month, compared with 25 days in earlier years. Another big problem is falling remittance income. As many as two million Myanmar citizens live overseas, economists say, sending back hundreds of millions of dollars each year that families use for food and other necessities. Mr. Turnell at Macquarie University says recent surveys have indicated a 30% drop in remittances from Thailand - a primary destination for Myanmar workers — since last year. In other cases, workers are coming home after striking out overseas. Kyaw Zaw, 29, says he recently spent two months in Singapore looking for a job, but with the economy there in free-fall, "there was nothing," he says. Now he's in Yangon trying to run his own business, which involves renting books to residents for about 20 cents a day. But it's hard to make a profit, he says, in part because there's no way to raise capital to buy new books and magazines. Chevron determined to retain investments in Burma - Solomon Chevron Corps has made it abundantly clear that it will not pull out of Burma but would retain its investments for compelling business reasons, and even if they do withdraw they will be replaced by other competitors. Chevron's stance was in response to a query by Mizzima regarding the company shareholder's proposal to disclose the criteria it uses to start and end investments in high-risk countries particularly Burma. The proposal by, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, an advocacy group for workers, to Chevron to disclose its criteria to decide on starting investments in a country, was supported by more than 25 per cent of the company's share holders on Wednesday. Teamsters (IBT) said the shareholders support indicates that there is growing concern among investors on Chevron's investments in Burma. In 2005 Chevron began investing in Burma after taking over the shares from another US Oil company UNOCAL, joining Total of France and PTTEP of Thailand in its investments on exploration of oil and natural gas. Human rights activists, however, have severely condemned Chevron and urged it to pull out of Burma saying its business involvement provides a financial lifeline to the Burmese military regime, which is well-known for its appalling human rights violations. "We are pleased that other Chevron shareholders recognize the enormous legal, financial, political and risks to reputation associated with operating in Burma and are demanding increased disclosure on how these decisions are made," Thomas Keegel, General Secretary-Treasurer of the Teamsters said in a statement released on Wednesday. But Gareth Johnstone, Chevron Corps' Media Advisor for Asia Pacific, told Mizzima in an email interview, "We do not disclose our investments on a country-by-country basis." He said, Chevron maintains health and social programmes that improve the quality of life of communities in Burma, where it operates. "The benefits of Yadana projects community engagement programmes along the pipeline have been confirmed by multiple third-party audits," Johnstone added. Chevron intends to be "a force for positive change" and brings international experience and a sound approach to corporate responsibility in working with communities, he said. "People living near the project are better off by virtue of Chevron and its partners being there," he said. Johnstone also said, even if Chevron pulls out of Burma "many competitors would take Chevron's place - potentially impacting the commitment and level of CE/CR activities along with programmes and opportunities for the people of Myanmar [Burma]." But Naing Htoo, a Burmese environmental activist, working with the Earth Rights International said, the Yadana project has brought in militarization along the pipeline and evidence speaks of severe human rights violations committed by the soldiers. He said, as the Burmese Army is responsible for protecting the pipeline, an increasing number of army battalions have been moved along the pipeline in Karen and Mon states of southern Burma. Rights abuses such as forced labour, land confiscation, forced relocation, rape, torture, and extra-judicial killings have increased in these states since 1992, he added. Though the Burmese regime earns over US$ 900 million from the Yadana project from 2007, the money fills the coffers of the military and is never spent on development or social welfare programmes. He said, while the benefits go to the military regime, the locals pay a heavy price for the pipeline and therefore urged the company to pull out of Burma. Editing by Mungpi Europe, ASEAN press Myanmar on Suu Kyi - Patrick Falby Asian and European foreign ministers urged Myanmar Thursday to free all political prisoners, as the country's ruling junta said the trial of Aung San Suu Kyi was neither a political nor a rights issue. Delegates in the Cambodian capital said the issue loomed over the agenda during two days of wide-ranging talks between ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the European Union (EU). "We are still deeply concerned about Mrs. Suu Kyi's detention," said Czech Foreign Minister Jan Kohout, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency. "She should be released immediately and the Burmese government must enter dialogue with all political parties," he added, using the military-ruled country's former name. The meetings concluded with a joint EU-ASEAN statement calling on Myanmar to grant early release to all political prisoners and lift restrictions on political parties. Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi faces up to five years in jail on charges of breaching her house arrest after an eccentric American man swam to her lakeside house in Yangon. However Myanmar's deputy foreign minister Maung Myint told Asian and European ministers at the meeting in Phnom Penh that the charges against the pro-democracy icon were an "internal legal issue". "It is not political, it is not a human rights issue. So we don't accept pressure and interference from abroad," he told his counterparts. "I expect that the excellencies from abroad, especially the EU, can understand more about Myanmar," he said. The minister's remarks on live video appeared to have been accidentally broadcast to reporters at the press centre outside the closed-door meetings. Although the statement was the strongest yet from the Myanmar regime, Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya said Myanmar had merely reiterated its "principle of non-interference" during meetings. "I think the minister of Myanmar did state what we know already," Kasit told reporters. Despite the controversy, the EU and European Commission used the meetings to sign an agreement to join a treaty of amity and cooperation with ASEAN. Kohout called Thursday "a very important meeting" in which the two blocs agreed to a "road map" towards cooperating on issues ranging from the global financial crisis, to human trafficking, to climate change. Myanmar has long bedevilled relations between the regions. ASEAN ministers in an informal meeting Wednesday also confronted Myanmar on its treatment of Aung San Suu Kyi. The group traditionally refrains from interfering in the internal affairs of its members, but issued a rare rebuke to Myanmar last week over the detention of the Nobel laureate. "The discussion in the room back there was that it (the issue of Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners)… affects ASEAN's image and ASEAN's collective interests," ASEAN chief Surin Pitsuwan said late Wednesday. Myanmar's rights abuses, along with North Korea's recent nuclear test, dominated much of the agenda earlier this week during similar meetings between Asian and EU ministers in Vietnam. They issued a statement in Hanoi calling for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners in Myanmar. Aung San Suu Kyi has been in detention for 13 of the past 19 years since her National League for Democracy party won a landslide victory in 1990 polls but was not allowed to take power. Q+A: Suu Kyi trial heads to inevitable verdict - Darren Schuettler The world is again raising the volume over military-ruled Myanmar and its latest crackdown on opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Here are questions and answers about the Nobel laureate's trial, which entered its ninth day on Thursday: WHAT ARE THE CHARGES? Suu Kyi is accused of breaking the terms of her house arrest by allowing an uninvited American intruder to stay for two days after he swam across a small lake to her home on May 4. She is charged under Section 22 of the Law Safeguarding the State from the Dangers of Subversive Elements. It says "any person against whom action is taken, who opposes, resists, or disobeys any order passed under this Law shall be liable to imprisonment for a period of three years to five years, or a fine of up to 5,000 kyats, or both." Suu Kyi's lawyers say Section 22 is no longer valid because it is based on a 1974 constitution abolished years ago. Her two housemates, Khin Khin Win and Win Ma Ma, are charged under the same law, and Section 109 of the Penal Code for abetting, or helping others commit a crime. John Yettaw, the American who swam to her home, faces three charges. He is accused of violating Section 22, the Immigration Act, and a municipal law that bans swimming in Inya Lake. CAN SHE GET A FAIR TRIAL? The regime says the closed prison trial is going "according to the law" and is not "political." But Myanmar's justice system has a history of stretching laws to suit the generals after nearly a half century of army rule. In Suu Kyi's case, the judges agreed to hear only one defense witness, but heard 14 from the prosecution. Before the trial began, the license of a prominent lawyer on her defense team was revoked. Her lawyers say access to their client is restricted. Critics say the "spurious" charges are aimed at jailing Suu Kyi before the junta's promised election next year. Her party won an election in 1990 only to be denied power by the military. Many other opponents have been locked up ahead of 2010. Her lawyers are hopeful for an acquittal, but the court is widely expected to deliver a guilty verdict. WHY ARE THE GENERALS AFRAID OF SUU KYI? The Nobel laureate and daughter of independence hero Aung San is Myanmar's most charismatic political figure, despite spending more than 13 of the past 19 years in detention. The generals have not forgotten that during those brief periods when she was free, Suu Kyi resumed her pro-democracy campaigning, drawing huge crowds on tours outside Yangon. "They clearly decided some time ago that it was not possible to do business with her," Derek Tonkin, a former British ambassador to neighboring Thailand, wrote recently. Junta leader Than Shwe's personal dislike for Suu Kyi is said to be so intense he once walked out of a meeting with a foreign ambassador simply because the envoy uttered her name. WOULD JAILING HER TRIGGER PROTESTS? Suu Kyi's supporters gather daily outside the police-ringed Insein prison, but there have been no major protests. People remember when serious demonstrations happened before, such as the bloody crackdown on monk-led pro-democracy marches in 2007 in which at least 31 people were killed. There was no unrest last year when the paranoid regime initially resisted badly-needed foreign aid for the cyclone-hit Irrawaddy delta. "People will be angry at the verdict, but they won't go into the streets," said an exiled Burmese analyst. However, "if something happened to her during this process, or in Insein prison, then I think all bets are off," said Sean Turnell, a Myanmar expert at Australia's Macquarie University. WHAT CAN THE WEST DO? Not much. Despite daily denunciations, renewed sanctions and threats of more punitive measures, the generals are unmoved. The trial has reignited a debate over sanctions, with calls for better coordinated and targeted "smart" measures against the junta brass and their cronies. Opponents of sanctions argue they are largely symbolic, sometimes hit the wrong targets, and ineffective without buy-in from regional heavyweights China and India. Activists say the West should push Beijing to exert its influence on Myanmar, which gets Chinese military hardware and loans in exchange for energy concessions to Chinese firms. Others say China will never get tough with its "client state" and a new approach is needed. But there's no agreement on how. ….AND MYANMAR'S NEIGHBOURS? Myanmar's partners in the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) have tried to coax reforms from the generals for the past decade and failed. Repeated calls for Suu Kyi's release are ignored, as are efforts to "engage" the junta. ASEAN admits the trial has hurt its image, and fears its stubborn member will damage their relations with the West, but the group is far from expelling the generals as some wish. However, the trial is a major test of the new ASEAN Charter and its commitment to rule of law, human rights and freedoms. Analyst Thitinan Pongsudhirak said it would be a "travesty" if the group failed to take "concrete punitive steps to redress the junta's blatant violation of the ASEAN Charter's provisions." (Editing by Alex Richardson) NLD issues list of demands to junta - Min Lwin Burma's opposition party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), marked the 19th anniversary of its election victory by issuing a statement to the Burmese military government with a list of political demands. Speaking to The Irrawaddy on Wednesday, party spokesperson Ohn Kyaing confirmed that the NLD had demanded that the junta:
The National League of Democracy headquarters in Rangoon. (Photo: AP) The NLD pointed out in the statement that the Burmese military regime had broken the 1990 election law that required that parliament would be formed of parliamentarians elected in the 1990 national election. The party further contended that the military government had previously accepted that the national convention would be made up of elected members of parliament (MPs). However, in the 1993 national convention, only 107 members out of 702 representatives at the convention were MPs - just 15.2 percent of the Burmese people's representatives. The others were hand-picked by the junta. The five-page statement also claimed that when the military junta reconvened the national convention in 2004, only 13 elected MPs out of 1,086 representatives were invited - a mere one percent of democratically elected representatives. The NLD, led by detained leader Suu Kyi, won the 1990 national election with a landslide 82 percent of votes, but were never allowed to take office. Also on Wednesday, the NLD released another statement on behalf of Suu Kyi. Link to that story: http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=15746 The NLD marked the 19th anniversary of its election victory at its party headquarters in Rangoon at 12 o'clock noon on Wednesday. The event was attended by party members, MPs, representatives from allied ethnic parties, veteran politicians and Rangoon-based diplomats. Several dozen members of the pro-junta Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA) and Swan Arr Shin were stationed around the NLD headquarters in Bahan Township, but no trouble was reported. "They [USDA and Swan-Arh-Shin] are waiting in three trucks on the street," said a local resident in Bahan Township, "while plain-clothes policemen are coming and going around the NLD headquarters." Meanwhile, Asian and European Union foreign ministers made a joint-statement during a two-day meeting in Hanoi on Tuesday, calling on the Burmese junta to release detained political prisoners, as international pressure mounts on the regime over its trial and detention of Suu Kyi. In their statement, the foreign ministers called on Burma to prepare for and conduct elections scheduled for next year in a free and fair manner and encouraged the military government to engage all stakeholders in an inclusive process in order to achieve national reconciliation, and economic and social development. Burma's opposition grimly protests military government - Tom Johnston For Burma's beleaguered opposition, Wednesday marked a series of grim anniversaries: 19 years since the vote in which democracy advocate Aung San Suu Kyi led her party to a victory the military refused to recognize, and six years since she was last free. Suu Kyi is on trial in Rangoon's Insein prison on charges that she breached the terms of her house arrest after a U.S. citizen swam to her lakeside home and stayed overnight there. About 250 supporters of her National League for Democracy gathered outside the party's dilapidated headquarters in Rangoon on Wednesday, despite a significantly heavier-than-usual police presence on the streets. The group released birds and prayed for Suu Kyi and other jailed opposition figures. "We call for the immediate and unconditional release of all political prisoners," Ohn Kyaing, an opposition member, told the crowd. The gathering was a stark contrast to May 27, 1990, when jubilant crowds believed the opposition had unseated the military government. But it soon became clear that the army was not willing to hand over the reins of power. Suu Kyi's challenge to the army provoked a crackdown that resulted in her spending almost 13 of the past 19 years under house arrest. Her party has been reduced to a shell by arrests and intimidation as the military consolidated power. Suu Kyi and two housekeepers charged with her could face up to five years in prison if they are found guilty. Her uninvited visitor, John Yettaw, who says he wanted to warn her that he had had a vision and believed her life was in danger, could face seven years in prison if he is convicted of immigration offenses and entering a restricted zone. Supporters of Suu Kyi, 63, say that if she is forced to spend five years in the notoriously unsanitary conditions of Insein prison, her life could indeed be in danger. They say Burmese authorities are using Yettaw's visit as an excuse to keep her locked up until after elections they have scheduled for next year. In a statement to the court Tuesday, Suu Kyi said the incident "occurred because of a security breach" by authorities. "However, until now no action has been taken on security," she said, apparently referring to the security officers the government has stationed at her home. She has denied knowing in advance about Yettaw's plans but said she did not notify the authorities because she was trying to protect him. "My political colleagues are serving long prison terms without any consideration or protection from the law," she said in the statement. "I allowed him to take temporary refuge in my political belief that I will not push anyone into custody." "It does not matter who are the intruders or whatever their motive, I just did it out of my political belief." On Wednesday, the court rejected three of four witnesses her defense team wanted to testify, calling their testimony an attempt at "vexation or delay or for defeating the ends of justice," the Associated Press reported. Jailing Suu Kyi again 'not good for region': Thai FM - Supalak Ganjanakhundee Jailing Burma's opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi again could risk regional security, Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya said yesterday in defending Thailand's decision to issue an Asean chairman's statement on the issue as made with the "best of intentions". "It is worrisome that the trial to extend her detention would not be a good thing for the region," Kasit told reporters on the sidelines of the Asia Europe Meeting in Hanoi. Burma could not protest that Suu Kyi's case would not affect regional security. As long as there was instability there, it could affect the whole region, he said. Thailand as the current chair of Asean would continue to dialogue with Burma although the junta regarded the move as intervention in the country's internal affairs, he said. Many countries welcomed and praised Thailand's brave decision to respond to the situation, he said. "What we said (in the chairman's statement) is not different from what the Asean leaders had voiced in concern during the summit in Thailand," he said. The foreign ministers of Asean would discuss the situation in Burma and Suu Kyi's trial again when they meet in Phnom Penh from May 27-28, he said. Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva as the chair of Asean issued a statement on May 18 expressing "grave concern" over Suu Kyi's situation as she faced a trial in connection with American John Yettaw, who swam across the Inya Lake to her residence where she has been under custody since May 2003. Suu Kyi testified at a court in Rangoon yesterday that she did not violate the terms of her house arrest when she temporarily sheltered the American man. The Burmese junta has lashed out the Asean chairman's statement, saying it was not in conformity with Asean practice, incorrect in facts and interference in Burma's internal affairs. The junta has "sadly noted" that Thailand had "failed to preserve the dignity of Asean, the dignity of Burma and the dignity of Thailand". The Foreign Ministry yesterday issued a clarification, saying the issuance of the Asean chairman statement was a "similar action [that] had been taken before". Asean senior officials had discussed and expressed their views on May 18 when they met in Phuket and agreed that Thailand should issue a statement about recent developments concerning Suu Kyi and to inform Asean foreign ministers accordingly, said the Foreign Ministry's press statement. In practice, a joint Asean statement is a negotiated text that must be prepared by officials and approved by foreign ministers or leaders. "An Asean chairman's statement, however, is issued by the government which is the current chair of Asean, without the need for joint drafting by Asean officials," it said. End Burma's system of impunity - Paulo Sergio Pinheiro The Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, has spent 13 years under house arrest in Myanmar. This week, the Burmese junta is likely to extend her detention for up to five years under the trumped-up charge of allowing a visitor into her compound. During eight years as United Nations Special Rapporteur on Myanmar, I repeatedly called on the Burmese junta to release Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi and Burma's 2,100 other political prisoners, to no avail. It is imperative that she be released immediately for the country's process of reconciliation to move forward. But while Suu Kyi has deservedly received a great deal of international attention over the past two decades, Myanmar's ethnic minorities — more than one-third of the population - have suffered without international outcry. For Myanmar's process of national reconciliation to be successful, the plight of the minorities must also be addressed. Over the past 15 years, the Burmese Army has destroyed over 3,300 villages in a systematic and widespread campaign to subjugate ethnic groups. U.N. reports indicate that Burmese soldiers have frequently recruited child soldiers, used civilians as minesweepers and forced thousands of villagers into slave labor. An official policy of impunity has empowered soldiers to rape and pillage. According to one account, in December 2008 a Burmese soldier marched into an ethnic Karen village in eastern Myanmar and abducted, raped and killed a 7-year old girl. Authorities refused to arrest the soldier; instead, officers threatened the parents with punishment if they did not accept a cash bribe to keep quiet. In 2002, I received a report about 625 women who were systematically raped in Myanmar 's Shan State over a five-year period. There was not a single account of successful prosecution. I repeatedly documented the military's many abuses in reports to the U.N. General Assembly and the U.N. Commission on Human Rights. My work is only one example of U.N. efforts in Myanmar - since 1990, U.N. representatives have visited the country 37 times in an attempt to facilitate dialogue and promote human rights. They have exhausted all domestic and diplomatic remedies without achieving human rights protection and national reconciliation in Myanmar. And while the U.N. General Assembly and the U.N. Human Rights Council have passed over 35 resolutions regarding Myanmar, the U.N. Security Council has yet to pass a single one. The United Nations will not be successful until the Security Council acts to directly address our stagnant efforts. It is clear that the attacks in Myanmar will continue. It is equally evident that the country's domestic legal system will not punish those perpetrating crimes against ethnic minorities. It is time for the United Nations to take the next logical step: The Security Council must establish a commission of inquiry into crimes against humanity and impunity in Myanmar. The Security Council took similar steps with regard to Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur. The situation in Myanmar is equally as critical. Creating a commission of inquiry will accomplish three important goals: First, it will make the junta accountable for its crimes with a potential indictment by the International Criminal Court. Second, it will address the widespread culture of impunity in Burma. Third, it has the potential to deter future crimes against humanity in Myanmar. For two decades, ethnic minorities in Myanmar have suffered while our diplomatic efforts failed to bear fruit. The time has come for the Security Council to act. Paulo Sergio Pinheiro was the United Nations special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar from 2000 to 2008. China drawn into Myanmar's border strife - Brian McCartan While the world concentrates on the trial of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi for violating the terms of her house arrest, another drama is playing out on Myanmar's northern border with China. Here the junta is bullying ethnic ceasefire groups into transforming their armies into border guard militias in a move that threatens to plunge the north back into civil war. Beijing is avoiding involvement in the Suu Kyi drama, but in northern Myanmar, it has no choice. On April 28, simultaneous meetings were held between Myanmar military commanders and representatives of every major ethnic ceasefire army in the north and northeast of the country. In Myitkyina, Brigadier General Soe Win, the Northern Command commander met with leaders of the Kachin Independence Organization/Army (KIO/A), and the National Democratic Army-Kachin (NDA-K). The Shan State Army (North) (SSA-N) met with Major General Aung Than Htut, Northeastern Command commander, in Lashio, the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) met with Brigadier General Win Maung and meetings were held with the National Democratic Alliance Army (Eastern Shan State) (NDAA-ESS). Most importantly, Lieutenant-General Ye Myint met with the United Wa State Army (UWSA) in Tangyan, eastern Shan State. The ethnic insurgents were all given the same three options: surrender, become a border guard force under the Myanmar army, or elderly leaders must retire and establish a political party to contest the 2010 elections. Under the military regime's plan as outlined to the groups on April 28, the ethnic armies would be incorporated into the Myanmar army as a border guard force in their respective areas. Each group must submit a full inventory of manpower, weapons and units and a list of members who would be retired. Battalions would be set at 326 men and officers with at least 30 coming from the Myanmar army. Command of each battalion would be split between two ethnic officers and one army officer. The military says it will assume responsibility for salaries and benefits on the same level as regular soldiers. A six-month time frame was given for the transformation. Three levels of committees which would oversee the process are dominated by senior Myanmar army officers with almost no participation by ethnic insurgent officers. Ethnic representatives said they would have to consult their respective leaderships to which the Myanmar officers gave an end of June deadline for a reply. On May 20, the UWSA rejected Ye Myint's proposal, saying they would prefer to maintain their current ceasefire status, although they would consider the idea in the future. Myanmar-watchers believe that the other groups will follow the UWSA's lead and the MNDAA, NDAA and SSA-N have reportedly rejected the proposal. The ceasefire groups say that although this is a change from the previous demands for "exchanging arms for peace", it is still not enough. At issue for the ethnic groups is the lack of guarantees for autonomy in their areas under Myanmar's new constitution approved in a controversial May 2008 referendum. Although the constitution allots six townships to be designated as Wa Self-Administered Divisions, Bao Youxiang, chairman of the UWSA, said in a speech on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the founding of his organization on April 17, "The government of Myanmar has finally enfranchised the Wa ethnic region with the status of an autonomous prefecture, which doesn't fully satisfy our request." The Wa have been using the term "Wa government" in their official documents since late 2008, but the junta has yet to respond to a Wa request to review the constitution and identify the area as the Wa State government special region. The Kachin groups have claimed in the past that they will not give up their arms since their demands for autonomy for Kachin State were ignored during the national convention which drafted the new constitution. A Kachin State Progressive Party was formed earlier this year separate from the KIO/A and NDA-K to contest the 2010 elections. Handing over control of their armed wings to the Myanmar army would separate them from the political leadership - a move that finds little support in an area where power often comes from the barrel of a gun. After over 40 years of armed struggle, none of the groups is keen to relinquish the armed forces which they see as protecting the areas for which that they have fought so hard. It could also mean losing control over the lucrative trade in timber, jade, gems, drugs and arms. Reports from Shan State and Kachin State reported by the exile Shan Herald Agency for News and the Kachin News Group indicate that there is little support for the junta's proposal. For many it is seen as a total disregard for the ethnic groups' calls for greater autonomy and democracy - the two issues that sparked the insurgency in northern Myanmar in the first place. The threat of a resumption of hostilities in northern and northeastern Myanmar is no small affair and many of the groups have been preparing for that eventuality. The KIO/A claims to have 20,000 soldiers as well as a militia and sources close to the Kachin say there has been increased recruitment and training in recent years. The NDAA, MNDAA and SSA-N each have several thousand men under arms. The UWSA is by far the largest ethnic army in Myanmar with some 25,000 men. It has acquired more sophisticated weapons - much of it from China - including, according to a March 2008 Jane's Intelligence Review report, anti-aircraft artillery and surface-to-air missiles such as the Chinese HN-5N. Sources close to the Wa say that they have also acquired 120mm howitzers and 130mm field artillery and training from the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) in how to use them. In a move for self-sufficiency, the Wa have even established an arms and ammunition manufacturing plant in their territory. Weapons have become so plentiful they the group has apparently been acting as brokers or selling directly to other insurgent groups in Myanmar and in northeastern India. Tensions have already been growing between the government and the ceasefire groups. Relations between the two suffered a heavy blow when Lieutenant-General Khin Nyunt, the former spy chief and architect of the ceasefires, was arrested in 2004 and his military intelligence apparatus largely dismantled. In December 2008, Major General Kyaw Phyoe, the Golden Triangle commander in Myanmar's northeast, ordered the UWSA to disarm. The Wa ignored the order and in January forced Ye Myint and his delegation to disarm before entering Wa territory to hold discussions with the UWSA. China is Myanmar's biggest supporter, but it is also highly influential with the ceasefire groups in northern and northeastern Myanmar. None of the groups would survive long without China's patronage. China's relations with many of the groups go back to its support of the Burmese Communist Party (BCP) in the 1970s. Beijing later cut off its support for the BCP in the 1980s, a situation that contributed to the 1989 mutiny that saw the dissolution of the BCP and the formation of many of the present ethnic armies including the UWSA, MNDAA and NDAA. Concern over the stability of Myanmar and its military regime as well as the reality that the successor groups to the BCP as well as the KIA control most of the Myanmar-China border led Beijing to maintain ties with the groups. For the ethnic organizations, this has meant access to Chinese weaponry as well as Chinese development aid and investment in roads, hydropower projects, agricultural projects and cross-border trade. What the groups provide in exchange is a buffer zone from possible instability as a result of the policies of Myanmar's erratic rulers. In addition, the UWSA and other groups which have become notorious for narcotics production and trafficking, have agreed to ban opium cultivation in their territories and curb the heroin trade to China. Instead, much of the heroin and methamphetamines they produce is transported to Thailand and increasingly to Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. Beijing, however, has also moved closer to Myanmar's military rulers once it became clear in the early 1980s that a communist takeover was not likely. China has become Myanmar's greatest arms supplier and has blocked attempts by Western countries to bring the Myanmar issue before the United Nations Security Council. Despite growing international furor over the arrest and continued detention of Aung San Suu Kyi, Beijing has made it clear it does not want to get involved. Yet, this support is not absolute. Following the crackdown on demonstrators in 2007, China encouraged Myanmar's generals to move toward national reconciliation. In December 2008, Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi urged Myanmar's ruler, Senior General Than Shwe, to honor the UN's request for an inclusive political process. Most recently, during a visit by Myanmar General Tin Aye to China in April, PLA chief of staff Chen Bingde told him China hoped its southern neighbor could attain stability, economic development and national reconciliation. In addition, say some analysts of the China-Myanmar border, Beijing is waiting to see which way US policy will go on Myanmar. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced in February that there would be a review of US policy on Myanmar. Under the George W Bush administration, there was increased interest in the plight of Myanmar's ethnic groups. Several members of the US Congress protested at the gross human-rights abuses committed by the Myanmar army in the border areas against ethnic civilians, especially after a report by the Shan Women's Action Network (SWAN) detailing the systematic use of rape in Shan State by the Myanmar army was released in 2001. American aid to refugee camps and programs along the Thai-Myanmar border was increased. Ethnic representatives were brought to the US to brief members of congress and Charm Tong, chairwoman of SWAN, met with Bush in 2005. Should the US decide to provide more support to the ethnic groups, China may want to continue or even increase its support as a counterbalance. Shan State, however, remains problematic for the US due to the drug trade. In 2005, the US Justice Department indicted several leaders of the UWSA, including offering a US$2 million reward for Wei Hsueh-Kang, perhaps Myanmar's most notorious drug trafficker. The State Department's annual report on narcotics trafficking in 2008 said the UWSA remained the dominant heroin trafficking group in the region and the Treasury Department in November called the UWSA the most powerful drug trafficking organization in Southeast Asia. The US has rejected several previous proposals from groups in Shan State, including the UWSA, going back to 1973 to exchange an end to the drug trade for assistance against the government and development aid. Beijing's influence over the ceasefire groups means, should it decide it is in its best interests, it could force them to acquiesce to the junta's demands, transform their armies into border militias and join the electoral process. This, however, is not likely to happen as China's interests for the moment are better served by keeping the status quo. China's main interest is stability in Myanmar that allows its strategic and economic interests to remain unthreatened. In addition to its economic activities in the ethnic ceasefire areas, China has become intensely involved in mining and last year beat out India for the 30-year rights to an oil and gas concession off Myanmar's southwestern coast. Of perhaps more importance is Myanmar's strategic position as a gateway for trade from China's remote Yunnan province and as a transit point for oil and gas through a recently agreed pipeline project that will allow China to receive oil and gas without having to send its tankers through the easily blocked Malacca Straits. The greatest threat to those interests would be the resumption of civil war in northern Myanmar, which would result in the destruction of border trade zones, the creation of a huge refugee population and the blockage of important routes for trade, natural resources and the new oil and gas pipeline. Most Myanmar analysts believe that any attempt by the government to force the ceasefire groups to surrender or put their military wings under the control of the Myanmar army would be met with force. The May 20 decision of the UWSA to reject the proposal would not likely have been made without consultation with the Chinese and this creates a dilemma for Myanmar's generals. Should they force the ceasefire groups to obey and risk renewed fighting and angering China, or back off on one of the key steps on the roadmap to democracy? Ye Myint has offered to return to UWSA headquarters at Panghsang on the Chinese border to discuss the matter further. The Wa have apparently accepted the offer, but a date has yet to be set. Burmese people need outside help to achieve freedom - Dr. Thaung Htun CASE 47/2009 sounds mundane enough. But, as this case unfolds, the future of a nation is in the balance. The number is the file reference of Aung San Suu Kyi's trial in Insein Prison in Rangoon, which started on May 18. The entire world knows the charges are trumped up and that the military regime is simply seeking to find a neat means of locking up the democracy leader again. Yet, inexplicably, we watch as the trial goes on. Here is a moment when the international community must pause and consider the history that is unfurling around it. Now is the time for world governments and organizations to act and to end the 47-year-long military dictatorship in Burma. The facts are that Aung San Suu Kyi's period of house detention was due to come to an end on May 27. This period of incarceration should be deemed illegal not only in relation to international law, but in contravention of Burma's own legal statutes and by the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention. So, finding a "legal" means of locking up Aung San Suu Kyi again, and to deny her any connection with elections planned in 2010, became an imperative for the junta. It is also a sign that the Burmese military is panicking as international pressure mounts for Aung San Suu Kyi's release. This trial is a rash and hurried lurch by a jittery regime to temper the waves of outcry over its hardline approach. International inaction might be understandable, but not perhaps justified, if we were talking about a tiny nation on the margins of regional and global relations. Burma is none of these things. With a population of some 50 million, it is potentially one of Asia's richest and most go-ahead countries. Traditionally high literacy rates and high rates of English-language competency add to its potential. Burma is also positioned in a strategically vital area, nestled between India and China. Quite apart from the moral imperative, there is a significant strategic motivation to secure democracy in Burma. The possibility of "failed state" status - a categorization that may already apply - for such a strategically and economically important nation should focus even the mind of the most Realpolitik-enamored policy wonk. The regional implications alone are significant. The international community must approach this current crisis with both short-term and longer-term agendas in mind. First, and most pressingly, the immediate and unconditional release of Aung San Suu Kyi, along with the remaining 2,000-plus political prisoners in Burma, must be secured. The best means of doing this will likely be through an immediate visit to Burma by the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, and action to which he has already committed. Intervening in this way would be a powerful symbol, and few share his ability to directly defuse the current tensions and to facilitate a multi-party dialogue to lead towards a process of national reconciliation of all relevant parties. This action would be best empowered through an emergency session of the United Nations Security Council. Here, a presidential statement can mobilize the Secretary-General's Office and can also discuss initiatives for a medium-term international response to the current situation and beyond. Once the immediate crisis has been resolved, the international community will then have to consider the future of Burma. The National League for Democracy, the party led by Aung San Suu Kyi, has been clear that it aims for reconciliation not retribution. Recently, the NLD produced the Shwegondaing Declaration, which confirmed the party's belief in ensuring that the military is part of the process of national rebuilding. No democracy can take root amid the turmoil of revenge and power grabs. A long-term solution requires a mature view and, driven by the non-violent and conciliatory approach of Aung San Suu Kyi herself, Burma's democracy movement is keenly aware of its responsibilities. A viable plan of action has already been devised by the NLD, the wider democracy movement, ethnic parties and the government in exile. The US has recently extended targeted sanctions on Burma, yet has also raised the possibility of a softly-softly approach. How this might be played out remains the purview of Washington, but we would stress that the time is now and that our plan offers a sustainable means of bringing a lasting democracy to Burma. Burma 's critical moment appears to have arrived and it needs the ability to act and to move quickly, as well as a cool hand amid the chaos to guide the process to a longer-term conclusion. We beseech the international community to seize this moment, to help our country recover and to ensure Aung San Suu Kyi one day is allowed to be free among the people for whom she has sacrificed so much. Dr Thaung Htun is the UN representative for the National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma - the government in exile. Burma's last chance - Aung Din As an exile supporting the democracy movement, led by Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, in my homeland, Burma, I have placed faith and confidence in the international community to help end the tyranny of the military regime. Many countries in the world, including the United States, the European Union, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), China, India, Japan, Canada, Australia and Korea have been involved in addressing the situation in Burma with different levels of interest, influence and responsibility. We appreciate those efforts, but the time has come to re-evaluate how best to collectively engage the international community to push for freedom in Burma. The common belief is that nothing will change in Burma without serious action from China and India, Burma's two most powerful neighbors, and Asean. However, we must realize that Burma is a virtual captive state of China. Beijing sells weapons to Burma's generals and provides loans and grants that keep the regime afloat. In return, China receives concessions on gas and oil drilling and energy corridors for strategic pipelines. India, the world's largest democracy, abandoned Burma's democracy movement a decade ago in the hopes of cozying up to the regime's generals to check Chinese expansionism and for help in dealing with border issues. We assume that Asean, of which Burma is a member, will act responsibly to persuade the regime to stop its brutality against its own people. However, as several members of it, namely Cambodia, Vietnam, Brunei and Laos are being ruled by the authoritarian governments, similar to the regime in Burma, no meaningful action from Asean can be expected. They all cannot be depended on to facilitate negotiations between the regime and its people. To date, no consensus has been reached between the nations involved in dealing with Burma. Meetings on Burma at the United Nations Security Council always typically ended with divisions among the 15 members. Some states, led by the U.S., France and Britain would like to see focused, direct involvement by the Security Council. Others, led by China and Russia, want to push the Burma issue out of the Security Council, arguing that internal political strife does not rise to the level necessary for Security Council involvement. By using the "threat of a veto," China effectively limits the role of the Council in Burma to statements of concern that lack accountability because they are not backed up by a credible threat of international action. The same divisions exist among the 14 member nations, known as "Friends of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Burma." The situation has become frustrating. People die, intimidation and oppression continue, and nothing gets done. Meanwhile, Aung San Suu Kyi is facing charges of violating her house arrest and will likely be sentenced to still more years under an armed guard isolated from her people. Talk alone is not meaningful action. Continuing within this framework will only help the regime to strengthen its grip on power. Redesigning a new and effective international mechanism is urgently required to help the people of Burma. The time has come to think outside the diplomatic box for the creation of a new international alliance to deal with Burma's intransigent regime. The governments of Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines, which can be called the "Asean Five," have expressed their willingness to see a peaceful solution in Burma. They all have a desire to mediate between the Western democracies and the regime, as they are eager to improve the image of Asean, which has been tainted badly by the generals in Burma. Establishing a small multinational partnership on Burma, with participation of the U.S., the EU and the Asean Five, can be the driving force behind a new mechanism to bring attention, pressure, carrots and sticks to a multinational negotiating process with the regime and Burma's democracy movement. The "Seven Friends of Burma" (SFB) would call senior diplomats from the group to meet as soon as possible and develop a mutually acceptable mechanism with common goals and clear benchmarks for change in Burma, and then share responsibility to act together to end Burma's manmade disaster. The U.S. and EU should be prepared to offer incentives to the regime, and the Asean Five could take responsibility for being the "front-men" in securing positive changes from the regime in order for such incentives to be realized. Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono would be the perfect candidate for the group to negotiate with Senior Gen. Than Shwe, the paramount leader of the regime, to accept this mechanism and explain a process that brings permanent peace to Burma while addressing concerns of both the regime and democracy movement. Incentives alone may not work; therefore, threatening to bring Burmese generals before the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity they have committed could be powerful leverage to assist the SFB in their work. This smaller group will be able to act more nimbly and have more flexibility than the larger groups that have dominated discussion on Burma without meaningful action. There are pitfalls to this process. The Asean Five may be reluctant to engage in such a manner, and China may make the situation difficult by putting pressure on the group members to back off its client state. This new alliance will not be successful without strong leadership of U.S. President Barack Obama, along with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. The position of the U.S. Policy Coordinator on Burma, created by the Tom Lantos Block Burma Jade Act of 2008, should be filled as soon as possible as a signal of continuing U.S. commitment and seriousness towards Burma. The U.S. policy review on Burma that started three months ago should be finalized by maintaining sanctions and pressure, increasing diplomacy and taking a leadership role in the SFB. In the end, true change must come from inside Burma. Yet real international action—whether in regards to Chile, Argentina, Guatemala, South Africa, the Philippines, Northern Ireland, or countless other countries—has proven a winning component of change. Situations that previously appeared intractable have a way of changing when the right strategy and high-level, constant attention are in place. We, democracy activists, look to leadership from the United States and hope for action from President Obama. Aung Din served over four years in prison in Burma, as a political prisoner between 1989 and 1993. He is now the executive director of the Washington, D.C.-based U.S. Campaign for Burma, which advocates the U.S. Congress and administration regarding U.S. policy on Burma. http://www.feer.com/international-relations/20098/may56/Burmas-Last-Chance The Elders demand release of Aung San Suu Kyi on 27 May 2009 The Elders - a group of eminent global leaders founded by Nelson Mandela - have repeated their call for the release of their fellow Elder Aung San Suu Kyi as her latest 6-year period of house arrest is due to expire. Chair of The Elders, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, said: "Despite the latest efforts to exclude and silence our sister Aung San Suu Kyi, she remains a symbol of hope for her nation and the world. We are moved by her courage and dignity. She shows the same steel as Nelson Mandela, who endured 27 years in prison. Like him, she has right and goodness on her side." Daw Suu Kyi is due for release on 27 May after 6 years under house arrest, but was re-arrested on 13 May and is being held in the notorious Insein prison with thousands of other political prisoners. Her re-arrest followed an uninvited visit to her house by an American citizen. Daw Suu Kyi, her doctor and two staff members are on trial and face five years in prison if found guilty. Former United States President Jimmy Carter said: "Aung San Suu Kyi is a hero for those who believe in human rights and democracy. Her ongoing detention is a further reflection on the integrity of the government." Mary Robinson, former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said: "It hurts profoundly that an eminent woman leader has been wrongly held under house arrest for 6 years and now faces being even further punished for conduct over which she had no control." The Elders are currently meeting in Morocco and have kept an empty chair for Aung San Suu Kyi, as they always do. Their discussions covered a range of global issues, including events in Burma/Myanmar. The Elders urge ASEAN governments in particular to make it clear to Myanmar's leaders that their current actions are jeopardising the legitimacy of elections due in 2010 and the results will not be recognised unless minimum conditions are met. Those conditions should include the release of all political prisoners, an inclusive national process to review the 2008 constitution and participation by the NLD and other parties in the 2010 election. International observers must also be allowed to supervise the 2010 poll. The Elders also address the government of Myanmar - urging leaders to increase spending on the health, education and welfare of the people and to accept further humanitarian assistance to help alleviate their country's poverty and suffering. Lakhdar Brahimi, former Algerian Foreign Minister, called on ASEAN leaders to send a strong message to the government of Burma/Myanmar: "ASEAN must put the wellbeing of the people of Burma and the region above all else. My fellow Elders and I urge ASEAN to insist that minimum election conditions are met as an important step towards ending the terrible suffering and poverty of the Burmese people. "The legitimacy of the 2010 poll is dependent on the government meeting those minimum conditions. If it does not, ASEAN and the rest of the world should not accept the election results." Former Brazilian President, Fernando Henrique Cardoso, said: "The government of Myanmar is looking for acceptance, especially in the region. The leaders must be told that their current efforts will result in failure. The path to acceptance is inclusive dialogue with the NLD and other parties, the release of political prisoners and peaceful transition to a more open society." The Elders said that the entire trial of Aung San Suu Kyi and her companions is a gross travesty of justice. Desmond Tutu: "We should be very aware that this government will try to convince the world that they are making concessions in relation to Aung San Suu Kyi. I fear that they will find her guilty - but return her to house arrest instead of prison. This is not a concession - it is a manipulation of an illegal process. It must not be accepted by any government, ASEAN or the UN. She must be freed." Desmond Tutu: Aung San Suu Kyi, a member of the Elders, remains a symbol of hope for her nation like our founder Nelson Mandela. Lakhdar Brahimi: ASEAN leaders must reject election results in 2010 if minimum conditions are not met. Mary Robinson: Aung San Suu Kyi is being punished for conduct over which she had no control. Jimmy Carter: Aung San Suu Kyi is a hero… Her ongoing detention is a further reflection on the integrity of the government. Fernando Henrique Cardoso: The path to acceptance for the government of Burma/Myanmar is inclusive dialogue and transition to a more open society. Aung San Suu Kyi tells Burmese court she did not break terms of house arrest Aung San Suu Kyi, the Burmese opposition leader, told a court today that she had no prior knowledge of an American man's plan to visit her home in Rangoon and had not broken the terms of her house arrest. She faces up to five years in prison for allowing John Yettaw to spend two days at her lakeside compound earlier this month. She has already spent 13 of the last 19 years in detention. "I didn't know about [the visit] immediately. I was informed about it at 5am. My assistant told me that a man had arrived," she told the court, according to reports. Asked whether she reported his visit immediately to authorities, she answered: "No, I did not." Suu Kyi said she gave Yettaw "temporary shelter" and that he left just before midnight on the same day. A small number of diplomats and Burmese journalists were allowed into the court today to see proceedings on the seventh day of the trial, most of which has been conducted behind closed doors. "Thank you for your concern and support. It is always good to see people from the outside world," Suu Kyi said as she was escorted out of the court by four policewomen following testimony that lasted just 25 minutes. Mark Canning, the British ambassador to Burma, told the Guardian that Suu Kyi looked "composed and confident", and had suggested that some of the questions directed at her should instead be asked of Yettaw, seated just a few metres away. Canning said the regime had been "taken aback" by the strength of international opposition to Suu Kyi's arrest. "That's why they have allowed us to attend some of the hearings, to give the impression they are being transparent in the hope of warding off any more criticism," he said. Though few expect Suu Kyi to be acquitted, Canning said continued pressure could force the court to consider a lighter sentence. "There's no doubt in my mind that this will end in a guilty verdict, but they may trim their custodial ambitions and give her another year under house arrest rather than five years in prison. "That way they can keep her out of the way during the elections next year. That is what this is all about." Suu Kyi's denials came as the country's military junta claimed it had considered releasing her from house arrest, but had changed its mind after she provided food and clothing for Yettaw. "These things infringed on existing law and we unavoidably and regretfully had to take legal action against her," Brigadier General Myint Thein told reporters. Suu Kyi had been scheduled to be freed tomorrow after six consecutive years under house arrest. Yettaw, 53, said he swam across a lake to Suu Kyi's residence using homemade flippers on 4 May, apparently to tell her of his premonition that she was about to be assassinated. Her lawyers say she asked Yettaw to leave immediately and only allowed him to stay when he complained of feeling unwell and too tired to swim back across the lake. Thein said the junta had been prepared to free her from house arrest on humanitarian grounds and because she is the daughter of Burma's founder, Aung San. Defence lawyers complained they had been given little time to prepare after prosecutors suddenly decided not to call their last eight witnesses, a move that reinforced fears that the trial is being rushed to conclusion, perhaps as early as this week. "It could be that they have already written the verdict," her lawyer, Nyan Win, said. Four witnesses are expected to testify in Suu Kyi's defence, including Win Tin, Burma's longest serving political prisoner until his release last year, and Tin Oo, the vice-chairman of Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD), who has been under house arrest since 2003. Suu Kyi pleaded not guilty to the charges last week, but observers believe she will be found guilty to allow the government to detain her during elections scheduled for next year. The NLD won elections in 1990 but the military, which has ruled the country since 1962, ignored the results and placed her in detention. Britain and the US have condemned the trial, and last week Thailand expressed "grave concern" over Suu Kyi's treatment, saying her trial threatened Burma's "honour and credibility". Although Burma has ignored Western threats to impose sanctions, it is unaccustomed to defending itself from criticism by fellow members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations [Asean] and yesterday accused Thailand of interfering in its domestic affairs. "It is sadly noted that [Thailand] failed to preserve the dignity of Asean, the dignity of [Burma] and the dignity of Thailand," it said in a statement. Today, Thailand said its criticism "reflects the desire for the process of national reconciliation in [Burma] to move forward on the basis of inclusiveness". The British foreign office minister, Bill Rammell, who is attending the meeting of European and Asian foreign ministers (Asem) in Hanoi, called on the international community to step up pressure on Burma's generals to release Suu Kyi and other political prisoners and begin the process of reconciliation. "I don't think it is too late for that to happen," he told Reuters at the Hanoi summit. "I think during the course of discussions in Asem I detect a change in tone from the Asian neighbours, whereas previously the first point of reference was this is a matter for Burma, it is a matter of sovereignty. "Now there is a willingness to acknowledge that what Burma is doing has actually cost the rest of the region. For example, the significant number of refugees is beginning to impact on a number of the regional neighbours and there is change in tone and we need to push that further." Two female members of Suu Kyi's party who lived with her are standing trial on similar charges. Both have pleaded not guilty. Yettaw, who has also been charged with breaking security laws, initially proclaimed his innocence but now wants to enter a guilty plea, reports said. Myanmar ends Suu Kyi house arrest, keeps her detained: party Myanmar officially ended Aung San Suu Kyi's six-year house arrest Tuesday - but she remains in jail facing charges over an incident in which a US man swam to her house, her party said. Nyan Win, a spokesman for the National League for Democracy (NLD), said a senior policeman gave Aung San Suu Kyi papers notifying her that the restriction orders keeping her at her lakeside home had been lifted. But he said her supporters "don't know whether we should be happy or sad" since she is currently held at Yangon's notorious Insein prison facing a five-year jail term on charges of breaching the terms of her house arrest. "Police Brigadier General Myint Thein came to the prison and read out an order cancelling the continued restriction order, released and dated today. They gave one copy to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi," Nyan Win told reporters. "It means that she is free from detention" under the relevant section of Myanmar's draconian Law Safeguarding the State from the Dangers of Subversive Elements, he said. Her lawyers had argued that her six years under house arrest were due to expire Wednesday, and pointed to a UN panel?s ruling that her house arrest was already illegal under both Myanmar and international law. Myint Thein, the police official, had told reporters and diplomats just hours before the order was lifted that the military regime had the legal right to keep Aung San Suu Kyi under house arrest for another six months. "We don't know whether we should be happy or sad, because she is still in detention on these charges. I cannot guess the verdict but according to the law she should be completely free," Nyan Win said. The Nobel Peace Prize winner has spent 13 of the last 19 years under house arrest since the military junta refused to recognise the NLD's landslide victory in the country's last elections, in 1990. She was charged on May 14 with violating the terms of her house arrest by assisting American man John Yettaw, who swam to her house under cover of darkness and spent two nights there. Frequency of rape by Burmese army appalls researchers - Rosalie Smith Rape of women by Burmese soldiers in Kachin state is common, and could be part of a campaign of ethnic cleansing by the Burmese army, a group investigating human rights abuses in northern Burma has found. Despite a ceasefire agreement in 1994 between the Burmese army and the Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO), human rights violations remain very serious, said Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) who recently conducted a three-week research trip in Kachin state. "We heard many stories of land confiscation, religious discrimination, human trafficking and various other violations," said Benedict Rogers, South Asia's Advocacy Officer for CSW. Rogers was particularly appalled by the frequency of rape. In the CSW report, a Kachin claims that Burmese army soldiers raping Kachin women is a deliberate policy aimed at "mixing blood", designed to achieve "ethnic cleansing", although the report acknowledge the difficulty in verifying this accusation. Earlier this month, however, a group of British MPs urged the United Nations to investigate "a campaign of ethnic cleansing Burma's military regime is carrying out against its ethnic nationalities," including use of "rape as a weapon of war". The report highlighted the impunity which the Burmese army can operate under, documenting cases of rape and human trafficking that went ignored by authorities. "We met for example a 21-year-old woman who had been raped just a few months ago. She had been getting off a train on her way to her village to visit her mother," he said. "Two soldiers had approached her, raped her and then strangled her and left her for dead." Like many others, she has filed complaints to the authorities but the perpetrators have not been punished. Another threat to Kachin women is human trafficking. The report states that since 2006, there have been 138 documented cases of human trafficking in Kachin state. The cases have primarily involved women between the ages of fifteen and 30 years who are usually trafficked to China and sold as wives to local men. Many of them have been sold multiple times. The tense situation in Kachin state has been compounded since the Burmese regime asked the KIO to disarm and turn into border guards, which the KIO seem unlikely to accept, say CSW. Security Council wants Myanmar's Suu Kyi released The U.N. Security Council on Friday called for the release of all political prisoners in Myanmar including Aung San Suu Kyi and expressed concern at the "political impact" of the pro-democracy leader's trial. A press statement approved by all 15 council members reiterated the need for Myanmar's military leaders "to create the necessary conditions for a genuine dialogue" with Suu Kyi and other opposition and minority groups "to achieve an inclusive national reconciliation." The United States had initially urged the council to adopt a stronger presidential statement, which becomes part of the council's official record. But diplomats said it was downgraded to a press statement to get approval from China and Russia, which have close ties to Myanmar's military government. The statement was issued as a court in Myanmar accepted the charge that Suu Kyi violated the terms of her house arrest after an American man swam to and entered her lakeside home earlier this month. She has been in detention without trial for more than 13 of the past 19 years, and the court's decision means that her trial will likely proceed to a verdict that could see her jailed for up to five years. Earlier Friday, the ruling junta alleged that anti-government forces engineered the visit to Suu Kyi's house to embarrass the regime and aggravate its relations with the West. Suu Kyi, two women who live with her and the American have all pleaded innocent. Myanmar has been ruled by the military since 1962. The current junta seized power in 1988 and refused to honor the results of a 1990 general election won by Suu Kyi's party. If she is imprisoned as a result of the current trial, she will be out of the government's way during upcoming elections in 2010. In the press statement, "the members of the Security Council express their concern about the political impact of recent developments relating to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi." Council members reiterated the importance of their first-ever statement on Myanmar in October 2007 and a second presidential statement in May 2008 "and, in this regard, reiterate the importance of the release of all political prisoners." Their statement did not single out Suu Kyi. But Britain's U.N. Ambassador John Sawers said "the reiteration of our call for the release of all political prisoners is very pointed when the most prominent of those political prisoners is standing in the dock on, frankly, charges which stand no credibility." U.S. deputy ambassador Rosemary DiCarlo said the council has now added its voice to those of U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and other leaders from the region and elsewhere. So far, however, Myanmar's government has ignored all appeals for Suu Kyi's release. "We will continue speaking out to get that impact that we need," DiCarlo said. "We know Rome wasn't built in a day and one statement isn't necessarily going to do the trick but we will continue to do so." Villagers flee from DKBA troops out to recruit - Ko Wild Villagers of Kawkereik district, Karen State are fleeing from troops of the 'Democratic Karen Buddhist Army' (DKBA) who come to their villages to forcibly recruit soldiers for its army. DKBA's 999th Brigade mainly recruits villagers under the age of 30 in Kyonebai, Chaungphyaar, Kawkabaung, Ohntabin villages in Kyonedoe Township in this district through the village chairmen. They are forcibly recruiting even villagers in the 40 to 50 age group if their preferred age group is not available. The villagers in these villages have to flee from the clutches of DKBA to avoid going to the frontline. "They recruited 25 people from Kyonebai and 10 men from Chaungphyar, Ohntabin and Kawkathaung. No one dares to go with them. All have had to flee from their homes. But they have to give soldiers to them anyhow. The youth might think of going with the DKBA if they are not meant to do combat duty. But now they have to go to the frontline in Karenni and Kachin State for combat duty," a local villager told Mizzima on condition of anonymity. The DKBA issued orders which said those who do not wish to serve in their army must pay hundreds of thousands of Kyats for hiring a person instead of them. All these substitutes must have passed at least the 8th grade. The parents of these youths are in trouble and miserable. "Many people are in trouble as they cannot find both soldiers and cash. Some mothers and grandmothers are crying their heart out. Some youths went to monasteries to be ordained as monks to avoid conscription. But they cannot escape from the DKBA's clutches. So now the children are fleeing between Kyonedoe, Pa-an and Myawadi towns," he added. Another local resident told Mizzima that the conscription of soldiers by DKBA is now rampant in all the villages in Kawkereik district and the deadline for sending soldiers to them is just three days away. Now they have to give soldiers besides giving cash in the past. "The DKBA is demanding fees frequently from the villagers in the range of Kyat 40,000 to 50,000. So the villagers are scared of them. We have not yet found any solution to this serious problem. Many armed groups are here, the Peace Council, DKBA and KNU. All come in turns. And then they recruit soldiers forcibly from us. We fear all of them," he said. Similar forcible recruitment has been reported in Paikyone Township in Pa-an District and it is learnt that there are about 200 new forcibly recruited soldiers from Kwanbi and Maethane villages in Hlaing Bwe Township, he said. DKBA is the breakaway faction of the KNU which split from the mother unit in 1994 and signed a ceasefire agreement with the SPDC (junta). Burma 'necessitates' foreign intervention The political and humanitarian crisis in Burma has reached a point whereby it is affecting neighbouring countries and therefore justifies foreign interference, said the head of a pan-Asian coalition group on Burma. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) bloc, of which Burma is a contentious member, has come under fire recently for its policy of non-interference after refusing to go beyond vocal criticism of the trial of Burma's Aung San Suu Kyi. Thailand, who holds the revolving chair of ASEAN, expressed "grave concern" last week but said it would not use strong measures or economic sanctions to pressure the regime into releasing Suu Kyi. But Debbie Stothard, coordinator of Alternative ASEAN Network on Burma (ALTSEAN-Burma), says that the non-interference policy should not apply to Burma. "We see that the situation in Burma is not just a domestic affair," she said, adding that millions of refugees have left Burma for neighbouring countries. "So this is a situation you must interfere in; if you don't interfere all the other countries will also be affected." The comments were backed by Thai MP, Kraisak Choonhavan, who also heads the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Myanmar Caucus. "I think it necessitates international or forced intervention," he said. "It would be very difficult to arrive at that, but now there is a movement of those who want to protect the people of Burma by bringing the International Criminal Court (ICC) into play. "If they [ICC] are in their right mind and they go through the facts, there is no denying that [junta leader] Than Shwe and his cronies should be persecuted at the ICC. "But politics gets in the way - Russia and China always opposes that, and that is the biggest obstacle to overcome." The Generals are Angry - Kyaw Zwa Moe Even during her trial, Aung San Suu Kyi has the ability to make her captors - the powerful ruling generals - angrier and more rancorous than ever. The generals are now angry not only with Burma's pro-democracy leader but also with neighboring Thailand which, as current alternate chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), issued a fairly critical statement against Suu Kyi's trial and imprisonment. During a meeting with three diplomats from Singapore, Thailand and Russia last week in the Insein Prison compound, Suu Kyi told the Thai diplomat that she looked forward to working with Asean one day. How did Burma's ruling generals interpret her remark? To work with the regional grouping, Suu Kyi would have to be a leader or high-ranking official of the Burmese government. To the generals - who are hypersensitive about power-sharing - her words were clearly defiant, a challenge to their authority. They probably thought, "How dare you? You're a criminal who violated our law. And you are standing trial!" Allowing thirty Rangoon-based diplomats to attend Suu Kyi's trial for one day last week backfired. The junta wanted to give an appearance of openness, of conducting a legally correct judicial proceeding. But Suu Kyi grabbed the opportunity to use her political podium. The 63-year-old Nobel Peace laureate told the diplomats, "There could be many opportunities for national reconciliation if all parties so wished…," according to a statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Singapore, whose ambassador met with Suu Kyi in the compound of Insein Prison. She also expressed the view that "it was not too late for something good to come out of this unfortunate incident," referring to her trial following the arrest of an American John William Yettaw, who swam across Inya Lake and stayed overnight in her compound, thus violating - in the junta's eyes - the terms of her house arrest. On Sunday, an angry Burmese government strongly rejected Thailand's statement, claiming "The statement of Thailand issued as the alternate chairman of Asean deviates from the principles of the Asean Charter and is tantamount to interfering in the internal affairs of Burma." It said that to issue statements, Asean must prepare a draft at the level of a senior officials meeting and then submit it to the foreign ministers level to seek further approval. Statements are to be issued only after a consensus, it said, and "Thailand did not allow it to be discussed. It informed the foreign ministers only after the issue of the statement." Obviously, the generals are angry with any person, or any country, that challenges their maniacal hold on power. It's most likely they underestimated the outrage and pressure from the international community that's erupted since Suu Kyi was arrested and charged on May 14. Her trial has led to the US renewing its sanctions policy and strengthened the likelihood that the US policy will be tougher following its current policy review. Also, on Friday, the UN Security Council issued a council statement expressing its concern about Suu Kyi's arrest and trial and the current deadlocked political situation. Suu Kyi will be sentenced to from three to five years, either under house arrest or in prison. The best alternative is, of course, house arrest, avoiding the onerous and dangerous conditions at the infamous Insein Prison. Either way, the generals will have succeeded in keeping Suu Kyi out of the public eye and off the political stage during the buildup to the 2010 general election. Angry at Suu Kyi. Angry at Thailand. Angry at the meddlesome international community - the generals are angry. Now the question is: Who's afraid of the angry generals, and how will the international community deal with them? Thirty diplomats, ten reporters attend Suu Kyi Trial - Saw Yan Niang Thirty diplomats and 10 journalists were allowed to attend the third day of Aung San Suu Kyi's trial in Rangoon's Insein Prison on Wednesday. Suu Kyi thanked them for coming and for their support, the journalists reported. Three of the diplomats were allowed to meet Suu Kyi briefly at the conclusion of Wednesday's proceedings. The three were the Ambassador of Singapore, who is doyen of the diplomatic corps in Burma, and senior Russian and Thai diplomats. A British diplomat, requesting anonymity, told The Irrawaddy that the Russian ambassador had been invited because his country is currently president of the UN Security Council, while Thailand has the chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean). Britain's ambassador, Mark Canning, said the court displayed all the customary legal "paraphernalia," but he doubted whether Suu Kyi would receive a fair trial. "I think this is a story where the conclusion is already scripted," he told the BBC. Canning, who did not meet Suu Kyi, said: "She was composed, upright, crackling with energy…very much in charge of her defense team." One journalist said Suu Kyi had appeared "as calm as ever." One prosecution witness, a police official, gave evidence on Wednesday. Two women were asked by the prosecution to display some religious robes allegedly left at Suu Kyi's house by the American, John William Yettaw, who is accused of illegally staying in her home. Five Burmese journalists working for foreign news agencies, including AFP and Reuters, and five who work for local journals and magazines - Myanmar Times, Snap Shot, The Yangon Times, Popular Journal and Weekly Eleven - were permitted to attend the trail. The five local journalists, chosen by the Burmese authorities, work for publications that have a close working relationship with the Information Ministry. |
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