August 25, 2009
Yettaw to tell of arrest in Myanmar on CNN
Falcon man says he helped save life of democracy activist.
The Associated Press
John Yettaw, the Laclede County man arrested in Myanmar while attempting to liberate a detained democracy leader, will tell his story on CNN on Wednesday, according to a news release issued by Yettaw's attorney Chris Allen.
Yettaw, from the tiny town of Falcon -- about 70 miles northeast of Springfield in Laclede County -- returned to Missouri last Wednesday after generating global headlines for swimming to the home of Suu Kyi, then getting arrested and sentenced to hard labor.
Yettaw, 53, was deported Aug. 16 from Myanmar after the intervention of U.S. Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va.
The incident led to a trial that sparked global condemnation in which Suu Kyi was sentenced to an additional 18 months of detention for breaching the terms of her house arrest. She has already spent 14 of the past 20 years in detention.
Despite the additional penalties, Yettaw has told reporters he does not regret his actions and he believes he helped save her life.
Allen, whose law practice is based in Lebanon, echoed those sentiments in the news release.
"The more I am around John, and listen to the details of his story, the more I am convinced that he did in fact save Aung Sann Suu Kyi's life, and that his actions will effect positive and lasting change in Myanmar. I am excited for John to have this opportunity and I am looking forward to being with him in New York City when he tells CNN and the whole world his story," Allen said in the release.
Allen and Yettaw are traveling to New York City for the interview, which is expected to air Wednesday, according to the news release.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Monday, August 24, 2009
Saturday, August 22, 2009
THE GOVERNMENT OF CANADA PROVIDES ASSISTANCE IN THE AFTERMATH OF TYPHOON MORAKOT
Ottawa, August 17th -- The Government of Canada is providing C$50,000 to the Taiwan Red Cross Society to meet immediate humanitarian needs in the aftermath of Typhoon Morakot. In response to Taiwan's request for international assistance, the Government has also offered 200,000 water purification tablets to augment on-going relief efforts in affected regions of Taiwan.
“On behalf of the government and people of Canada, I extend our sincerest sympathies to those affected by the typhoon,” said Minister Cannon. “Canadian officials are closely monitoring the aftermath of Typhoon Morakot. We recognize that Taiwan has been particularly hard-hit by the storm.”
Canadian officials in Ottawa and representatives in Taiwan are continuing to closely monitor the situation in the aftermath of Typhoon Morakot and remain in close contact with local authorities and humanitarian partners, and stand ready to respond to further humanitarian needs.
We are working closely with local authorities and are providing consular assistance to Canadians as required. To date, there are no reports of Canadian deaths or injuries due to the typhoon.
Canadians in the affected areas who require emergency consular assistance should contact the Canadian Embassy in Beijing at 86 (10) 5139-4000, the Canadian Embassy in Manila at 63 (2) 857-9000 or 857-9001 or the Canadian Trade Office in Taipei at 886 (2) 2544-3000.
Alternatively, they may call Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada’s Emergency Operations Centre collect at 613-996-8885.
They may also send an email to sos@international.gc.ca.
Friends and relatives in Canada seeking information on Canadian citizens believed to be in the affected areas, especially in the southern and eastern regions, should contact the Emergency Operations Centre at 1-800-387-3124; those in Ottawa should dial 613-943-1055. They may also send an email to the address above.For up-to-date information, consult Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada’s travel reports for Taiwan.
- 30 -
For further information, please contact:
Natalie Sarafian
Attachée de presse/Press Secretary
L'hon./The Hon. Lawrence Cannon
Tel: 613-995-1851
“On behalf of the government and people of Canada, I extend our sincerest sympathies to those affected by the typhoon,” said Minister Cannon. “Canadian officials are closely monitoring the aftermath of Typhoon Morakot. We recognize that Taiwan has been particularly hard-hit by the storm.”
Canadian officials in Ottawa and representatives in Taiwan are continuing to closely monitor the situation in the aftermath of Typhoon Morakot and remain in close contact with local authorities and humanitarian partners, and stand ready to respond to further humanitarian needs.
We are working closely with local authorities and are providing consular assistance to Canadians as required. To date, there are no reports of Canadian deaths or injuries due to the typhoon.
Canadians in the affected areas who require emergency consular assistance should contact the Canadian Embassy in Beijing at 86 (10) 5139-4000, the Canadian Embassy in Manila at 63 (2) 857-9000 or 857-9001 or the Canadian Trade Office in Taipei at 886 (2) 2544-3000.
Alternatively, they may call Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada’s Emergency Operations Centre collect at 613-996-8885.
They may also send an email to sos@international.gc.ca.
Friends and relatives in Canada seeking information on Canadian citizens believed to be in the affected areas, especially in the southern and eastern regions, should contact the Emergency Operations Centre at 1-800-387-3124; those in Ottawa should dial 613-943-1055. They may also send an email to the address above.For up-to-date information, consult Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada’s travel reports for Taiwan.
- 30 -
For further information, please contact:
Natalie Sarafian
Attachée de presse/Press Secretary
L'hon./The Hon. Lawrence Cannon
Tel: 613-995-1851
Time Magazine: Burma's Monks Carry on Democratic Fights Vs. Junta
Time - Burma's Monks Carry On Democratic Fight vs. Junta
By HANNAH BEECH / SITTWE, BURMA – Tue Aug 18, 11:30 pm ET
The abbot leaned in but didn't bother to lower his voice. Around us were sitting half a dozen local Buddhist worshippers, including one man whose aggressive curiosity about my presence made him a likely informant for the notoriously repressive Burmese junta. No matter - the abbot had no time for fear. "This is a very famous monastery," he said, as I, the first foreign visitor to the monastery in many months, nodded. "Important people have come here throughout history: Nehru, Indira Gandhi and, of course, the Lady."
It was, in fact, the connection to Aung San Suu Kyi - the democracy icon known simply as "the Lady" in Burma, who on Aug. 11 was sentenced to 18 months of house arrest on charges condemned by leaders worldwide - that had led me to the Shwe Zedi monastery in the first place. Located in the crumbling Indian Ocean port town of Sittwe, Shwe Zedi was the monastery of U Ottama, one of Burma's most famous monks, whose pacifist resistance against the colonial British inspired independence hero Aung San, father of Nobel Peace Prize winner Suu Kyi.. The political activism of the Shwe Zedi monks has continued into modern times; in 2002, this was one of the few places Suu Kyi visited in between stints of house arrest, and she called for political change from its lawn. In September 2007, Shwe Zedi was among the first in Burma to organize peaceful prodemocracy rallies, a doomed effort that ended in the junta gunning down unarmed demonstrators on the street. "At first, I was scared to join the protests," recalls a teenage monk who participated in the mass rallies. "But I had faith that even if it failed, it was better than doing nothing."
The generals who have ruled Burma since 1962 may have a harder time keeping the faith. Most Burmese are devout Buddhists, and the junta tries to burnish its image by plastering state-controlled newspapers with articles about its cash contributions to religious causes. But no amount of merit-making can erase the specter of regime goons massacring monks, as they did in 2007 and, even more violently, in 1988. Although a frightened hush followed the most recent crackdown, Suu Kyi's trial has ignited speculation that this time, the generals have gone too far - and that religious harmony has been disturbed. "Signs that the government in Burma is losing its power are everywhere," opined a June editorial in Mizzima, a leading Burmese dissident news website. "Why [is] a military government armed to the teeth very afraid of the gentle lady who speaks softly from behind bars, as well as barefoot monks who pray peacefully?"
Certainly, the signs from the heavens haven't been auspicious of late. On May 30, the revered Danoke pagoda on the outskirts of Rangoon suddenly collapsed, killing three and injuring dozens of others. Burmese with an eye for otherworldly coincidences noted that a recent ceremony for the pagoda had been presided over by none other than the wife of Than Shwe, the junta's supremo leader. Many ruling generals are known to consult astrologers - a previous junta head once denominated the Burmese currency by nine because he considered the number lucky - and the collapse of a pagoda after being blessed by a junta family member surely dented their sense of divine right. Then, on June 4, an elevator inside a 32-story Buddha statue in Sagaing division rapidly lost altitude, injuring several passengers. "Burmese people take omens very seriously," says a newspaper editor in Rangoon. "I can assure you that the generals are very worried."
In the aftermath of the crushed 2007 protests, Shwe Zedi, like many monasteries across the country, was forced to shutter for a month. Cautiously the faithful returned, but dozens of Sittwe monks are still missing, believed either to be toiling in labor camps or to have slipped into foreign exile. Yet the monks I spoke to seemed curiously unafraid to talk. "It is our responsibility to try to change our country," said a monk who sat cross-legged on the burnished teak floor of the 19th century monastery. "If the monkhood doesn't do it, who else will?" Another monk padded over to a bookcase and pulled out a Burmese-English dictionary, flipped through it and pointed to a word: democracy.
Perhaps their outspokenness is the legacy of their monastery's activism - or the knowledge that they carry far more legitimacy in the eyes of the Burmese people than does a clutch of army men.
In September 1988, in Burma's precursor to the Tiananmen Square massacre, hundreds - if not thousands - of people were slaughtered when troops opened fire on monks, students and other peaceful protesters in Rangoon, just days after predictions had abounded that the junta was on its last legs. Two years later, the ruling generals lost badly in elections to Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy, a clear indication of the public's disenchantment with army rule. The junta ignored the poll results and tightened its grip on power. In 2010, the regime promises another nationwide poll, the final step to building what it calls a "discipline-flourishing democracy." Few doubt that the generals will ensure their victory this time through intimidation or ballot-box-stuffing.
So what can the monks of Shwe Zedi do, besides silently point at words in a dictionary? I posed the question to the abbot, who replied, "Pray." The snooping man sitting near us, who had whipped out a camera to take photos of our meeting, smirked. As I left Shwe Zedi, the abbot handed me a slip of newspaper on which rolled a tiny ivory-hued bead. It was, he said, a bone relic of the Buddha, or at least it symbolized as much. I thanked him for the gift of luck. But I couldn't help thinking that the monks of Burma - not to mention the impoverished citizens kneeling around me in their frayed sarongs - will need the relic far more than I.
By HANNAH BEECH / SITTWE, BURMA – Tue Aug 18, 11:30 pm ET
The abbot leaned in but didn't bother to lower his voice. Around us were sitting half a dozen local Buddhist worshippers, including one man whose aggressive curiosity about my presence made him a likely informant for the notoriously repressive Burmese junta. No matter - the abbot had no time for fear. "This is a very famous monastery," he said, as I, the first foreign visitor to the monastery in many months, nodded. "Important people have come here throughout history: Nehru, Indira Gandhi and, of course, the Lady."
It was, in fact, the connection to Aung San Suu Kyi - the democracy icon known simply as "the Lady" in Burma, who on Aug. 11 was sentenced to 18 months of house arrest on charges condemned by leaders worldwide - that had led me to the Shwe Zedi monastery in the first place. Located in the crumbling Indian Ocean port town of Sittwe, Shwe Zedi was the monastery of U Ottama, one of Burma's most famous monks, whose pacifist resistance against the colonial British inspired independence hero Aung San, father of Nobel Peace Prize winner Suu Kyi.. The political activism of the Shwe Zedi monks has continued into modern times; in 2002, this was one of the few places Suu Kyi visited in between stints of house arrest, and she called for political change from its lawn. In September 2007, Shwe Zedi was among the first in Burma to organize peaceful prodemocracy rallies, a doomed effort that ended in the junta gunning down unarmed demonstrators on the street. "At first, I was scared to join the protests," recalls a teenage monk who participated in the mass rallies. "But I had faith that even if it failed, it was better than doing nothing."
The generals who have ruled Burma since 1962 may have a harder time keeping the faith. Most Burmese are devout Buddhists, and the junta tries to burnish its image by plastering state-controlled newspapers with articles about its cash contributions to religious causes. But no amount of merit-making can erase the specter of regime goons massacring monks, as they did in 2007 and, even more violently, in 1988. Although a frightened hush followed the most recent crackdown, Suu Kyi's trial has ignited speculation that this time, the generals have gone too far - and that religious harmony has been disturbed. "Signs that the government in Burma is losing its power are everywhere," opined a June editorial in Mizzima, a leading Burmese dissident news website. "Why [is] a military government armed to the teeth very afraid of the gentle lady who speaks softly from behind bars, as well as barefoot monks who pray peacefully?"
Certainly, the signs from the heavens haven't been auspicious of late. On May 30, the revered Danoke pagoda on the outskirts of Rangoon suddenly collapsed, killing three and injuring dozens of others. Burmese with an eye for otherworldly coincidences noted that a recent ceremony for the pagoda had been presided over by none other than the wife of Than Shwe, the junta's supremo leader. Many ruling generals are known to consult astrologers - a previous junta head once denominated the Burmese currency by nine because he considered the number lucky - and the collapse of a pagoda after being blessed by a junta family member surely dented their sense of divine right. Then, on June 4, an elevator inside a 32-story Buddha statue in Sagaing division rapidly lost altitude, injuring several passengers. "Burmese people take omens very seriously," says a newspaper editor in Rangoon. "I can assure you that the generals are very worried."
In the aftermath of the crushed 2007 protests, Shwe Zedi, like many monasteries across the country, was forced to shutter for a month. Cautiously the faithful returned, but dozens of Sittwe monks are still missing, believed either to be toiling in labor camps or to have slipped into foreign exile. Yet the monks I spoke to seemed curiously unafraid to talk. "It is our responsibility to try to change our country," said a monk who sat cross-legged on the burnished teak floor of the 19th century monastery. "If the monkhood doesn't do it, who else will?" Another monk padded over to a bookcase and pulled out a Burmese-English dictionary, flipped through it and pointed to a word: democracy.
Perhaps their outspokenness is the legacy of their monastery's activism - or the knowledge that they carry far more legitimacy in the eyes of the Burmese people than does a clutch of army men.
In September 1988, in Burma's precursor to the Tiananmen Square massacre, hundreds - if not thousands - of people were slaughtered when troops opened fire on monks, students and other peaceful protesters in Rangoon, just days after predictions had abounded that the junta was on its last legs. Two years later, the ruling generals lost badly in elections to Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy, a clear indication of the public's disenchantment with army rule. The junta ignored the poll results and tightened its grip on power. In 2010, the regime promises another nationwide poll, the final step to building what it calls a "discipline-flourishing democracy." Few doubt that the generals will ensure their victory this time through intimidation or ballot-box-stuffing.
So what can the monks of Shwe Zedi do, besides silently point at words in a dictionary? I posed the question to the abbot, who replied, "Pray." The snooping man sitting near us, who had whipped out a camera to take photos of our meeting, smirked. As I left Shwe Zedi, the abbot handed me a slip of newspaper on which rolled a tiny ivory-hued bead. It was, he said, a bone relic of the Buddha, or at least it symbolized as much. I thanked him for the gift of luck. But I couldn't help thinking that the monks of Burma - not to mention the impoverished citizens kneeling around me in their frayed sarongs - will need the relic far more than I.
International Crisis Group: Executive Summary and Recommendations , Aug 20, 2009
Just sharing a recent report from ICG "Myanmar Towards the Elections".
Please see below for the Executive Summary and Recommendations from ICG, there are specific separate recommendations for ASEA, Western Governments, UN Secretary General, Burmese Junta, Political Oppositions, NGOs and Donors. Please also find the attached for detail report. It may be a controversial report but worth to read its analysis of the situation.
Myanmar: Towards the Elections
Asia Report N°174
20 August 2009
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS
The bizarre prosecution and conviction of opposition leader and Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi for violating her house arrest has returned attention to repression in Myanmar, as preparations were underway for the first national elections in twenty years, now scheduled for 2010. This further undermined what little credibility the exercise may have had, especially when based on a constitution that institutionalises the military’s political role. The UN Secretary-General’s July visit, which produced no tangible results, added to the gloom. But while the elections will not be free and fair – a number of prominent regime opponents have been arrested and sentenced to prison terms over the last year – the constitution and elections together will fundamentally change the political landscape in a way the government may not be able to control. Senior Generals Than Shwe and Maung Aye may soon step down or move to ceremonial roles, making way for a younger military generation. All stakeholders should be alert to opportunities that may arise to push the new government toward reform and reconciliation.
At first glance, the obstacles to change seem overwhelming. The 2008 constitution entrenches military power by reserving substantial blocs of seats in the national and local legislatures for the army, creating a strong new national defence and security council and vesting extraordinary powers in the commander-in-chief. It prevents Aung San Suu Kyi from standing for president, even if she were not imprisoned. It is extremely difficult to amend. And while not all regulations relating to the administration of the elections have been announced, they are unlikely to offer much room for manoevre to opposition parties.
But the elections are significant because the controversial constitution on which they are based involves a complete reconfiguration of the political structure – establishing a presidential system of government with a bicameral legislature as well as fourteen regional governments and assemblies – the most wide-ranging shake-up in a generation. The change will not inevitably be for the better, but it offers an opportunity to influence the future direction of the country. Ultimately, even assuming that the intention of the regime is to consolidate military rule rather than begin a transition away from it, such processes often lead in unexpected directions.
This report looks at the elections in the context of Myanmar’s constitutional history. It examines key provisions of the 2008 constitution and shows how many of the controversial articles were simply taken from its 1947 or 1974 predecessors. Noteworthy new provisions include strict requirements on presidential candidates, the establishment of state/regional legislatures and governments, the reservation of legislative seats for the military, military control of key security ministries, the authority granted to the military to administer its own affairs (in particular military justice) and the creation of a constitutional tribunal.
Criticism of the constitution from groups within Myanmar has focused on military control, ethnic autonomy, qualifications for political office, and the very difficult amendment procedures. The main reaction of the populace to it and the forthcoming elections is indifference, rooted in a belief that nothing much will change. Some of the so-called ceasefire groups – ethnic minorities that have ended their conflicts with the government – are endorsing ethnic political parties that will take part in the polls. These groups take a negative view of the constitution but feel that there may be some limited opening of political space, particularly at the regional level, and that they should position themselves to take advantage of this. There are increased tensions, however, as the regime is pushing these groups to transform into border guard forces partially under the command of the national army.
The National League for Democracy (NLD), winner of the 1990 elections, has said it will only take part if the constitution is changed, and it is given the freedom to organise. Assuming this will not happen, it is not yet clear if it will call for a complete boycott in an attempt to deny the elections legitimacy or urge its supporters to vote for other candidates. A boycott could play into the hands of the military government, since it would not prevent the election from going ahead and would mainly deprive non-government candidates of votes, potentially narrowing the range of voices in future legislatures.
The Myanmar authorities must make the electoral process more credible. Aung San Suu Kyi and all other political prisoners must be released now and allowed to participate fully in the electoral process; politically-motivated arrests must cease. It also critical that key electoral legislation be promulgated as soon as possible, in a way that allows parties to register without undue restriction, gives space for canvassing activities and ensures transparent counting of votes.
The international community, including Myanmar’s ASEAN neighbours, must continue to press for these measures while looking for opportunities that the elections may bring. This will require a pragmatic and nuanced strategy towards the new government at the very time, following a deeply flawed electoral process, when pressure will be greatest for a tough stance. The new Myanmar government, whatever its policies, will not be capable of reversing overnight a culture of impunity and decades of abuses and political restrictions. But following the elections, the international community must be ready to respond to any incremental positive steps in a calibrated and timely fashion. To have any hope of inducing a reform course, it is critical to find ways to communicate unambiguously that a renormalisation of external relations is possible.
RECOMMENDATIONS
To Members of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN):
1. Make clear to Myanmar authorities that ASEAN member states support the release of political prisoners; enactment of timely and reasonable administrative regulations for registration of political parties; permission for domestic and foreign election monitors to be present throughout the country no less than a month before the scheduled polling date; and a green light for freedom of movement for print and broadcast journalists from ASEAN countries.
2. Consider offering, as and when appropriate, parliamentary exchanges with the newly elected government, assistance in setting up parliamentary committees and other steps that might push the door open a little wider.
3. Outline for Myanmar authorities the steps they would have to take for the elections to be perceived as credible.
4. Build on the positive example set by ASEAN following Cyclone Nargis by acting as a “diplomatic bridge” between Myanmar and the international community – explaining the latter’s concerns to Myanmar and viceversa.
To Western Governments:
5. Articulate clear expectations for the electoral process and highlight where it fails to meet international standards.
6. State clearly what the West expects of Myanmar in order for relations to improve; send clear messages before the post-election government is in place that a process of normalising relations is possible; and indicate that positive steps will be met with timely, calibrated responses.
7. Suspend restrictions on high-level bilateral contacts with the new government, along with restrictions on its members’ travel, to enable the diplomatic exchanges that will be required in order to communicate the necessary messages.
8. Maintain the targeted financial sanctions against individual leaders, while keeping them under review so that they can be adjusted in light of developments.
To the UN Secretary-General and the relevant agencies of the UN System:
9. Keep an active good offices process, including the personal engagement of the Secretary-General as well as the efforts of his Special Adviser, so as to be in a position to take advantage of any unexpected opportunities that may arise. A multi-level political presence on the ground can be valuable in this respect.
10. Consider providing relevant and appropriate electoral assistance, while abiding by UN standards, including technical discussions with the Myanmar authorities at an early stage on international expectations and experiences from other countries.
11. Begin, through relevant bodies (such as the United Nations Development Programme) and in cooperation with other international institutions (such as the World Bank), activities aimed at strengthening the capacity of civilian institutions of governance. This should be implemented in an incremental manner, based on careful assessments of the space for conducting such activities.
To the Myanmar Government:
12. Release Aung San Suu Kyi and all other political prisoners.
13. Desist from pre-election arrests and prosecution of perceived political opponents or dissidents.
14. Promulgate fair administrative laws and regulations relating to the conduct of the election as soon as possible.
15. Minimise restrictions on the registration of political parties and on canvassing activities and put in place procedures to ensure the transparent counting of votes.
16. Give greater importance to the ethnic dimension of the political situation, including by:
a) implementing a nationwide ceasefire and ensuring and facilitating humanitarian access to former conflict areas;
b) taking steps to reduce tensions with ethnic political and ceasefire organisations and giving them assurances about their political and military status in the lead-up to the elections; and
c) committing to select chief ministers from among the elected representatives of state legislatures.
To Other Stakeholders in Myanmar, including the Political Opposition:
17. Encourage the broadest possible participation in the election process, even if individual parties or organisations choose not to participate.
18. Encourage full participation of the electorate in campaigning and voting.
To Donors, Non-Governmental Organisations and Institutes:
19. Support the provision of in-country civic education to the Myanmar electorate if possible, as well as through exiled media organisations and international Burmese-language radio stations.
20. Support the exposure of new legislators to the workings of other legislatures, particularly those in the region and in other countries that are emerging or have recently emerged from authoritarian rule, in order to build capacity and work towards normalising relations.
21. Be prepared to respond quickly to opportunities to rebuild and/or reform key political and economic institutions, as well as social infrastructure, if or when opportunities arise.
22. Provide humanitarian and development support to ethnic regions, particularly special autonomous areas.
Yangon/Brussels, 20 August 2009
Please see below for the Executive Summary and Recommendations from ICG, there are specific separate recommendations for ASEA, Western Governments, UN Secretary General, Burmese Junta, Political Oppositions, NGOs and Donors. Please also find the attached for detail report. It may be a controversial report but worth to read its analysis of the situation.
Myanmar: Towards the Elections
Asia Report N°174
20 August 2009
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS
The bizarre prosecution and conviction of opposition leader and Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi for violating her house arrest has returned attention to repression in Myanmar, as preparations were underway for the first national elections in twenty years, now scheduled for 2010. This further undermined what little credibility the exercise may have had, especially when based on a constitution that institutionalises the military’s political role. The UN Secretary-General’s July visit, which produced no tangible results, added to the gloom. But while the elections will not be free and fair – a number of prominent regime opponents have been arrested and sentenced to prison terms over the last year – the constitution and elections together will fundamentally change the political landscape in a way the government may not be able to control. Senior Generals Than Shwe and Maung Aye may soon step down or move to ceremonial roles, making way for a younger military generation. All stakeholders should be alert to opportunities that may arise to push the new government toward reform and reconciliation.
At first glance, the obstacles to change seem overwhelming. The 2008 constitution entrenches military power by reserving substantial blocs of seats in the national and local legislatures for the army, creating a strong new national defence and security council and vesting extraordinary powers in the commander-in-chief. It prevents Aung San Suu Kyi from standing for president, even if she were not imprisoned. It is extremely difficult to amend. And while not all regulations relating to the administration of the elections have been announced, they are unlikely to offer much room for manoevre to opposition parties.
But the elections are significant because the controversial constitution on which they are based involves a complete reconfiguration of the political structure – establishing a presidential system of government with a bicameral legislature as well as fourteen regional governments and assemblies – the most wide-ranging shake-up in a generation. The change will not inevitably be for the better, but it offers an opportunity to influence the future direction of the country. Ultimately, even assuming that the intention of the regime is to consolidate military rule rather than begin a transition away from it, such processes often lead in unexpected directions.
This report looks at the elections in the context of Myanmar’s constitutional history. It examines key provisions of the 2008 constitution and shows how many of the controversial articles were simply taken from its 1947 or 1974 predecessors. Noteworthy new provisions include strict requirements on presidential candidates, the establishment of state/regional legislatures and governments, the reservation of legislative seats for the military, military control of key security ministries, the authority granted to the military to administer its own affairs (in particular military justice) and the creation of a constitutional tribunal.
Criticism of the constitution from groups within Myanmar has focused on military control, ethnic autonomy, qualifications for political office, and the very difficult amendment procedures. The main reaction of the populace to it and the forthcoming elections is indifference, rooted in a belief that nothing much will change. Some of the so-called ceasefire groups – ethnic minorities that have ended their conflicts with the government – are endorsing ethnic political parties that will take part in the polls. These groups take a negative view of the constitution but feel that there may be some limited opening of political space, particularly at the regional level, and that they should position themselves to take advantage of this. There are increased tensions, however, as the regime is pushing these groups to transform into border guard forces partially under the command of the national army.
The National League for Democracy (NLD), winner of the 1990 elections, has said it will only take part if the constitution is changed, and it is given the freedom to organise. Assuming this will not happen, it is not yet clear if it will call for a complete boycott in an attempt to deny the elections legitimacy or urge its supporters to vote for other candidates. A boycott could play into the hands of the military government, since it would not prevent the election from going ahead and would mainly deprive non-government candidates of votes, potentially narrowing the range of voices in future legislatures.
The Myanmar authorities must make the electoral process more credible. Aung San Suu Kyi and all other political prisoners must be released now and allowed to participate fully in the electoral process; politically-motivated arrests must cease. It also critical that key electoral legislation be promulgated as soon as possible, in a way that allows parties to register without undue restriction, gives space for canvassing activities and ensures transparent counting of votes.
The international community, including Myanmar’s ASEAN neighbours, must continue to press for these measures while looking for opportunities that the elections may bring. This will require a pragmatic and nuanced strategy towards the new government at the very time, following a deeply flawed electoral process, when pressure will be greatest for a tough stance. The new Myanmar government, whatever its policies, will not be capable of reversing overnight a culture of impunity and decades of abuses and political restrictions. But following the elections, the international community must be ready to respond to any incremental positive steps in a calibrated and timely fashion. To have any hope of inducing a reform course, it is critical to find ways to communicate unambiguously that a renormalisation of external relations is possible.
RECOMMENDATIONS
To Members of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN):
1. Make clear to Myanmar authorities that ASEAN member states support the release of political prisoners; enactment of timely and reasonable administrative regulations for registration of political parties; permission for domestic and foreign election monitors to be present throughout the country no less than a month before the scheduled polling date; and a green light for freedom of movement for print and broadcast journalists from ASEAN countries.
2. Consider offering, as and when appropriate, parliamentary exchanges with the newly elected government, assistance in setting up parliamentary committees and other steps that might push the door open a little wider.
3. Outline for Myanmar authorities the steps they would have to take for the elections to be perceived as credible.
4. Build on the positive example set by ASEAN following Cyclone Nargis by acting as a “diplomatic bridge” between Myanmar and the international community – explaining the latter’s concerns to Myanmar and viceversa.
To Western Governments:
5. Articulate clear expectations for the electoral process and highlight where it fails to meet international standards.
6. State clearly what the West expects of Myanmar in order for relations to improve; send clear messages before the post-election government is in place that a process of normalising relations is possible; and indicate that positive steps will be met with timely, calibrated responses.
7. Suspend restrictions on high-level bilateral contacts with the new government, along with restrictions on its members’ travel, to enable the diplomatic exchanges that will be required in order to communicate the necessary messages.
8. Maintain the targeted financial sanctions against individual leaders, while keeping them under review so that they can be adjusted in light of developments.
To the UN Secretary-General and the relevant agencies of the UN System:
9. Keep an active good offices process, including the personal engagement of the Secretary-General as well as the efforts of his Special Adviser, so as to be in a position to take advantage of any unexpected opportunities that may arise. A multi-level political presence on the ground can be valuable in this respect.
10. Consider providing relevant and appropriate electoral assistance, while abiding by UN standards, including technical discussions with the Myanmar authorities at an early stage on international expectations and experiences from other countries.
11. Begin, through relevant bodies (such as the United Nations Development Programme) and in cooperation with other international institutions (such as the World Bank), activities aimed at strengthening the capacity of civilian institutions of governance. This should be implemented in an incremental manner, based on careful assessments of the space for conducting such activities.
To the Myanmar Government:
12. Release Aung San Suu Kyi and all other political prisoners.
13. Desist from pre-election arrests and prosecution of perceived political opponents or dissidents.
14. Promulgate fair administrative laws and regulations relating to the conduct of the election as soon as possible.
15. Minimise restrictions on the registration of political parties and on canvassing activities and put in place procedures to ensure the transparent counting of votes.
16. Give greater importance to the ethnic dimension of the political situation, including by:
a) implementing a nationwide ceasefire and ensuring and facilitating humanitarian access to former conflict areas;
b) taking steps to reduce tensions with ethnic political and ceasefire organisations and giving them assurances about their political and military status in the lead-up to the elections; and
c) committing to select chief ministers from among the elected representatives of state legislatures.
To Other Stakeholders in Myanmar, including the Political Opposition:
17. Encourage the broadest possible participation in the election process, even if individual parties or organisations choose not to participate.
18. Encourage full participation of the electorate in campaigning and voting.
To Donors, Non-Governmental Organisations and Institutes:
19. Support the provision of in-country civic education to the Myanmar electorate if possible, as well as through exiled media organisations and international Burmese-language radio stations.
20. Support the exposure of new legislators to the workings of other legislatures, particularly those in the region and in other countries that are emerging or have recently emerged from authoritarian rule, in order to build capacity and work towards normalising relations.
21. Be prepared to respond quickly to opportunities to rebuild and/or reform key political and economic institutions, as well as social infrastructure, if or when opportunities arise.
22. Provide humanitarian and development support to ethnic regions, particularly special autonomous areas.
Yangon/Brussels, 20 August 2009
Sunday, August 16, 2009
US senator thanks Burmese junta for American's release from jail
Rangoon - US Senator Jim Webb expressed gratitude Sunday to Burma's junta chief for honouring his request to free an American national who swam to the house-cum-prison of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi on May 3, providing a pretext for both to be jailed.
Webb held talks with Burma's military leader Senior General Than Shwe on Saturday during which he requested the release of John William Yettaw, 54, sentenced to seven years in jail for swimming to Suu Kyi's family compound in Rangoon.
Yettaw was scheduled to accompany Webb on his privately chartered plane out of Rangoon on Sunday afternoon to Bangkok, sources confirmed.
The US senator, a Democrat from Virginia who is chairman of the US Senate's East Asia and Pacific Affairs Subcommittee, also requested that Than Shwe release Suu Kyi, whom he met Saturday, but did appear to have secured her freedom.
"I am grateful to the Myanmar government for honouring these requests," said Webb, in a statement released on his personal website. "It is my hope that we can take advantage of these gestures as a way to begin laying a foundation of goodwill and confidence- building in the future." //DPA
Webb held talks with Burma's military leader Senior General Than Shwe on Saturday during which he requested the release of John William Yettaw, 54, sentenced to seven years in jail for swimming to Suu Kyi's family compound in Rangoon.
Yettaw was scheduled to accompany Webb on his privately chartered plane out of Rangoon on Sunday afternoon to Bangkok, sources confirmed.
The US senator, a Democrat from Virginia who is chairman of the US Senate's East Asia and Pacific Affairs Subcommittee, also requested that Than Shwe release Suu Kyi, whom he met Saturday, but did appear to have secured her freedom.
"I am grateful to the Myanmar government for honouring these requests," said Webb, in a statement released on his personal website. "It is my hope that we can take advantage of these gestures as a way to begin laying a foundation of goodwill and confidence- building in the future." //DPA
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, BURMESE COMMUNITY INVITED TO THE SUMMERWORKS THEATRE FESTIVAL
On Sunday August 16, 6pm at the Theatre Centre, the Burmese community will attend the final performance of 7 Days 7 Days, a play depicting the struggles of a family torn apart by the brutal military dictatorship in Burma.
This is the first time the story of Burma's struggle has been on a Canadian Stage and the first opportunity for the Burmese community to have their history reflected back to them through theatre in their new home, and share their history with the Toronto community.
This week marks the 21st anniversary of the crackdown on peaceful demonstrations in Burma which killed over 3,000 civilians. 7 Days 7 Days runs concurrent to other events commemorating the crackdown, including a 2 week screening of award-winning Burma VJ: Reporting from a Closed Country at the Royal Cinema.
On August 11, the regime sentenced another 18 months to Nobel Peace Prize Winner and Honourary Canadian Citizen Aung San Suu Kyi. She has been under detention for 14 of the past 20 years. Today, she is the world’s only Nobel Peace Prize Laureate in prison. There are over 2100 political prisoners in Burma’s notorious prisons.
Free tickets are offered to Burmese community members to ensure the event is accessible.
Please join us:
7 Days 7 Days
The Theatre Centre (Queen and Dovercourt)
Sunday August 16th, 6pm.
For more information, please contact Ulla Laidlaw at 416.605.2588 or Zaw Kway at 416 358 2318.
This is the first time the story of Burma's struggle has been on a Canadian Stage and the first opportunity for the Burmese community to have their history reflected back to them through theatre in their new home, and share their history with the Toronto community.
This week marks the 21st anniversary of the crackdown on peaceful demonstrations in Burma which killed over 3,000 civilians. 7 Days 7 Days runs concurrent to other events commemorating the crackdown, including a 2 week screening of award-winning Burma VJ: Reporting from a Closed Country at the Royal Cinema.
On August 11, the regime sentenced another 18 months to Nobel Peace Prize Winner and Honourary Canadian Citizen Aung San Suu Kyi. She has been under detention for 14 of the past 20 years. Today, she is the world’s only Nobel Peace Prize Laureate in prison. There are over 2100 political prisoners in Burma’s notorious prisons.
Free tickets are offered to Burmese community members to ensure the event is accessible.
Please join us:
7 Days 7 Days
The Theatre Centre (Queen and Dovercourt)
Sunday August 16th, 6pm.
For more information, please contact Ulla Laidlaw at 416.605.2588 or Zaw Kway at 416 358 2318.
US senator meets Burmese junta chief, Aung San Suu Kyi
Rangoon - US Senator Jim Webb, on a mission to "re-engage" Washington in South-East Asia, met Burma's military supremo as well as detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi Saturday, government officials said.
Webb, a Democrat from Virginia who is chairman of the US Senate's East Asia and Pacific Affairs Subcommittee, arrived in Burmese military capital, Naypyitaw, Friday when he held talks with Prime Minister Than Sein and government-backed civil organizations.
On Saturday, Webb met with junta chief Senior General Than Shwe, making him the first US politician to have a personal chat with the military supremo since he assumed power in 1992.
After meeting Than Shwe, Webb flew on to Rangoon where he met with Nobel peace prize laureate Suu Kyi at a government guest house, government sources said.
Suu Kyi was taken under army guard from her house-cum-prison for the brief meeting.
The nature of Webb's talks with Than Shwe and Suu Kyi were not disclosed, but Webb was expected to give a press conference in Rangoon Sunday prior to his departure for Bangkok.//DPA
Webb, a Democrat from Virginia who is chairman of the US Senate's East Asia and Pacific Affairs Subcommittee, arrived in Burmese military capital, Naypyitaw, Friday when he held talks with Prime Minister Than Sein and government-backed civil organizations.
On Saturday, Webb met with junta chief Senior General Than Shwe, making him the first US politician to have a personal chat with the military supremo since he assumed power in 1992.
After meeting Than Shwe, Webb flew on to Rangoon where he met with Nobel peace prize laureate Suu Kyi at a government guest house, government sources said.
Suu Kyi was taken under army guard from her house-cum-prison for the brief meeting.
The nature of Webb's talks with Than Shwe and Suu Kyi were not disclosed, but Webb was expected to give a press conference in Rangoon Sunday prior to his departure for Bangkok.//DPA
Friday, August 14, 2009
Duty Free Shoppers at the airports, beware
Can’t believe if this is true but I received three emails of the same subject already. Apparently this is one scam widely discussed online about duty free shops in second world countries’ airports, don’t accept any FREE gift from the duty free shop even though the cashier says it is FREE, and to check your bag before leaving the shop,
Unbelievable, but please apply caution.
All those who travel a lot, please be very, very careful. Read ahead...
An Indian was detained in Bangkok for stealing a box of cigarettes in a duty-free shop in Bangkok International Airport . He had paid for chocolates and a carton of cigarettes. The cashier put a packet of cigarettes extra into his bag and he thought it was a free pack. He was arrested for shop-lifting and the Thai Police extortion price was 30,000 Baht for his release. He spent two nights in jail and paid 500 Baht for an air-conditioned cell, 200-300 baht for each visitor, and 11,000 baht for his final release. The Police shared the money in front of his eyes. On top of that, he was charged in court and fined 2,000 baht by the magistrate and handcuffed and escorted to his plane. His passport was stamped "Thief".
While there, his relatives requested help from the Indian Embassy and was told that they are helpless, many Asians are victimised similarly daily and letters and phone-calls to the Thai authorities are ignored. He shared a cell with a Singaporean the first night who paid 60,000 baht for his release. The second night was a Malaysian national who paid 70,000 baht.
Mind you this was not in a shanty shop in downtown Bangkok but in a duty free shop at the Bangkok Int'l Airport . BE WARNED. The above 100% correct information because Mr.Rajan Khera's customer from India faced exactly the same scenario mentioned above when he was in transit at Bangkok Int'l Airport coming to Taipei .
Someone went through the same ordeal in Dubai . He bought stuff at the Duty Free upon entering. The girl at Duty Free put a bottle of cologne in his shopping bag (he did not even see it happen). He was arrested for stealing ( this is before he even picked up his luggage ). He sat at the airport jail (where he was harassed for the whole day. (NO FOOD, NO WATER) for one day and only after he paid a fine (bribe of US 500..). That is all the cash he had in his pocket at the time. They l et him go. These are scams that are happening all over the place. Please BE CAREFUL! All of this is pre-planned and the people who work at the airport know who to target
Unbelievable, but please apply caution.
All those who travel a lot, please be very, very careful. Read ahead...
An Indian was detained in Bangkok for stealing a box of cigarettes in a duty-free shop in Bangkok International Airport . He had paid for chocolates and a carton of cigarettes. The cashier put a packet of cigarettes extra into his bag and he thought it was a free pack. He was arrested for shop-lifting and the Thai Police extortion price was 30,000 Baht for his release. He spent two nights in jail and paid 500 Baht for an air-conditioned cell, 200-300 baht for each visitor, and 11,000 baht for his final release. The Police shared the money in front of his eyes. On top of that, he was charged in court and fined 2,000 baht by the magistrate and handcuffed and escorted to his plane. His passport was stamped "Thief".
While there, his relatives requested help from the Indian Embassy and was told that they are helpless, many Asians are victimised similarly daily and letters and phone-calls to the Thai authorities are ignored. He shared a cell with a Singaporean the first night who paid 60,000 baht for his release. The second night was a Malaysian national who paid 70,000 baht.
Mind you this was not in a shanty shop in downtown Bangkok but in a duty free shop at the Bangkok Int'l Airport . BE WARNED. The above 100% correct information because Mr.Rajan Khera's customer from India faced exactly the same scenario mentioned above when he was in transit at Bangkok Int'l Airport coming to Taipei .
Someone went through the same ordeal in Dubai . He bought stuff at the Duty Free upon entering. The girl at Duty Free put a bottle of cologne in his shopping bag (he did not even see it happen). He was arrested for stealing ( this is before he even picked up his luggage ). He sat at the airport jail (where he was harassed for the whole day. (NO FOOD, NO WATER) for one day and only after he paid a fine (bribe of US 500..). That is all the cash he had in his pocket at the time. They l et him go. These are scams that are happening all over the place. Please BE CAREFUL! All of this is pre-planned and the people who work at the airport know who to target
UK agrees with Thailand's statement on Burma
The United Kingdom supports Thursday Thailand's statement on Burma which called for the country to release all political prisoners including Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
UK Ambassador to Thailand Quinton Quayle said that UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown also condemned Burmese court's ruing on Suu Kyi which put her under house for another 18 months.
The envoy was speaking after visiting Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva at the Government House.
Speaking in Thai, Quayle said that the ruling did not help the reconciliation process in Burma.
The ruling which saw Suu Kyi under house arrest clearly showed that the junta wanted to block her from joining the national election in 2010.
by Piyanart Srivalo
The Nation
UK Ambassador to Thailand Quinton Quayle said that UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown also condemned Burmese court's ruing on Suu Kyi which put her under house for another 18 months.
The envoy was speaking after visiting Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva at the Government House.
Speaking in Thai, Quayle said that the ruling did not help the reconciliation process in Burma.
The ruling which saw Suu Kyi under house arrest clearly showed that the junta wanted to block her from joining the national election in 2010.
by Piyanart Srivalo
The Nation
Thursday, August 13, 2009
ကဲ မင္းဘာတတ္ႏုိင္ေသးလဲ?
၁။
ေတာ္ၿပီ ေတာ္ၿပီ၊ သည္းခံႏုိင္တာထက္ကုိ လြန္လာၿပီ။
လူၾကားထဲမွာမုိ႔ ေအာင့္အည္းသည္းခံေနလုိက္ရေပမယ့္ ေက်နပ္လုိ႔ေတာ့ မဟုတ္ဘူးေနာ္။
ေအး၊ ငါ့ကုိ သတၱိမ႐ွိဘူးလုိ႔လဲ မထင္လုိက္ေလနဲ႔။ တကယ္က စိတ္ထဲ႐ွိတဲ့အတုိင္း ငါက ဖြင့္ခ်လုိက္ခ်င္တာ။ ေဘးက မဆုိင္တဲ့လူေတြကုိ အားနာေနရလုိ႔သာေပါ့။
ေအးပါ၊ မင္းအခြင့္သာတုန္းမွာေတာ့ ငါ့ကုိ အားရေအာင္ ႏွိပ္စက္ထားဦးေပါ့။
ဒါေပမဲ့၊ မင္း တခု သိထားရမွာက အခုလုိ ၿငိမ္ေနလုိက္ရတာကုိပဲ ငါ့စိတ္ထဲမွာ အင္မတန္ မေက်မခ်မ္း ျဖစ္ရတယ္ ဆုိတာပဲ။
၂။
ဟား ဟား ဟား၊ ကဲ ငါ့အလွဲ႔ေရာက္ၿပီ။
အခု ဘယ္သူမွ မ႐ွိေတာ့ဘူး၊ မင္း ဘာတတ္ႏုိင္ေသးလဲ?
အံမယ္၊ မင္းက ငါ့ကုိ ဒုကၡေပးခ်င္ေသးတယ္ေပါ့ေလ။ လာေလ၊ စိန္လုိက္စမ္း၊ ကမ္းမြန္။
ကမ္းမြန္၊ လားစမ္းပါကြ၊ ဘယ္မွာ သြားပုန္းေနတာလဲ? ကမ္းမြန္၊ လာၿပီလား၊ လာၿပီဆုိရင္ ကဲကြာ၊ ခ်ၿပီ --
ဘူ
အား ဟား၊ မွတ္ပလား။ မင္းလုိ ငါ့ဗုိက္ထဲမွာေနၿပီး ေလလုံးထြားေနတဲ့ေကာင္ကုိ အခုလုိ အားရပါးရ အက်ယ္ႀကီး အသံျမည္ေအာင္ ေပါက္ထုတ္လုိက္ရမွပဲ ငါေက်နပ္ေတာ့တယ္။
(အင္တာနက္မွာ ဖတ္လုိက္ရေသာ စာတပုဒ္)
ေတာ္ၿပီ ေတာ္ၿပီ၊ သည္းခံႏုိင္တာထက္ကုိ လြန္လာၿပီ။
လူၾကားထဲမွာမုိ႔ ေအာင့္အည္းသည္းခံေနလုိက္ရေပမယ့္ ေက်နပ္လုိ႔ေတာ့ မဟုတ္ဘူးေနာ္။
ေအး၊ ငါ့ကုိ သတၱိမ႐ွိဘူးလုိ႔လဲ မထင္လုိက္ေလနဲ႔။ တကယ္က စိတ္ထဲ႐ွိတဲ့အတုိင္း ငါက ဖြင့္ခ်လုိက္ခ်င္တာ။ ေဘးက မဆုိင္တဲ့လူေတြကုိ အားနာေနရလုိ႔သာေပါ့။
ေအးပါ၊ မင္းအခြင့္သာတုန္းမွာေတာ့ ငါ့ကုိ အားရေအာင္ ႏွိပ္စက္ထားဦးေပါ့။
ဒါေပမဲ့၊ မင္း တခု သိထားရမွာက အခုလုိ ၿငိမ္ေနလုိက္ရတာကုိပဲ ငါ့စိတ္ထဲမွာ အင္မတန္ မေက်မခ်မ္း ျဖစ္ရတယ္ ဆုိတာပဲ။
၂။
ဟား ဟား ဟား၊ ကဲ ငါ့အလွဲ႔ေရာက္ၿပီ။
အခု ဘယ္သူမွ မ႐ွိေတာ့ဘူး၊ မင္း ဘာတတ္ႏုိင္ေသးလဲ?
အံမယ္၊ မင္းက ငါ့ကုိ ဒုကၡေပးခ်င္ေသးတယ္ေပါ့ေလ။ လာေလ၊ စိန္လုိက္စမ္း၊ ကမ္းမြန္။
ကမ္းမြန္၊ လားစမ္းပါကြ၊ ဘယ္မွာ သြားပုန္းေနတာလဲ? ကမ္းမြန္၊ လာၿပီလား၊ လာၿပီဆုိရင္ ကဲကြာ၊ ခ်ၿပီ --
ဘူ
အား ဟား၊ မွတ္ပလား။ မင္းလုိ ငါ့ဗုိက္ထဲမွာေနၿပီး ေလလုံးထြားေနတဲ့ေကာင္ကုိ အခုလုိ အားရပါးရ အက်ယ္ႀကီး အသံျမည္ေအာင္ ေပါက္ထုတ္လုိက္ရမွပဲ ငါေက်နပ္ေတာ့တယ္။
(အင္တာနက္မွာ ဖတ္လုိက္ရေသာ စာတပုဒ္)
Predictable Injustice for Suu Kyi
Please go to below link to read and write your comments.
http://www.themarknews.com/articles/419-predictable-injustice-for-suu-ky
To the surprise of no one, on August 11, 2009, Judges Thaung Nyunt and Nyi Nyi Soe found Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, Burmese opposition leader and Nobel Peace laureate, guilty of violating the terms of her house arrest. They immediately sentenced her and her two companions to three years hard labour. There have been no reports indicating whether sentencing submissions were made to the judges before the decision was reached.
In an action that revealed the lack of an independent judiciary in Burma, the sentence was immediately commuted to 18 months house arrest for Daw Suu and her two companions Khin Khin Win and Win Ma Ma. That commutation was done by an order signed by the military dictator of Burma, General Tan Shwe. Clearly Than Shwe could not have had time to make an order to commute the sentence unless he knew the verdict and sentence before they were handed down.
Among western democracies there was outrage at the ruling and the sentence.
Perhaps the strongest reaction was from Canada’s Prime Minister Stephen Harper. He condemned the sentence, called it not in accordance with the rule of law, said the charges were baseless, and that there was no due process in the trial. He said Canada believes the regime had manufactured an excuse to keep Daw Suu from participating in the elections scheduled for 2010. He called for the release of all of Burma’s political prisoners (they number 2,100).
French President Nicolas Sarkozy called the sentencing brutal and unjust. The EU stated that it was ready to impose targeted sanctions against those involved in the case.
American Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called for the release of Suu Kyi and said she should not have been convicted.
Fourteen Nobel Peace Prize recipients are calling for the UN Security Council to establish a commission of inquiry into crimes against humanity committed by the Burmese military regime. The British and French governments are calling on the same body to impose a global arms ban against the regime.
Some ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) countries indicated that they find the decision unacceptable. The strongest ASEAN reaction came from the Philippines, which called the verdict “incomprehensible and unjust.”
It should be noted that much of the international investment in Burma comes from the ASEAN countries. ASEAN has for years been engaged in a meaningless process with the Burmese Generals called “constructive engagement.”
A respected NGO called Security Council Report has put out Update Report No. 1 Myanmar, which outlines possible actions by the Security Council.
The UN Secretary-General has been active with regard to Burma but on his recent visit to the country he was denied the opportunity to meet with Aung San Suu Kyi.
Will any of this make a difference in Burma? Sadly I think the answer to that question is no.
The two major influences on Burma are China and India.
Clearly China will take no steps to curb (or even discourage) the inhuman treatment of the people of Burma by the generals of the State Peace and Development Council. China, in its own self-interest, regards all internal matters as not a proper concern for the international community.
India, the world’s largest democracy, has gone from support of democracy in Burma in 1988 to a position of almost total silence. Important Indian leaders like Jawaharial Nehru and Indira Gandhi must be spinning in their graves at the inaction of the Indian government on such important issues as freedom, justice, and democracy in a neighbouring country. Prime Minister Monmohan Singh should be ashamed of, and censured for, his silence regarding these important issues.
And where is Sonia Gandhi? Why is she not speaking out in support of an iconic woman political leader from a close-by country?
India’s conservative and pro-junta position on Burma is widely believed to derive from three considerations: an eagerness to enlist Burma’s help in fighting insurgencies in its turbulent north-east, India’s interest in Burma's natural gas reserves, and India’s anxiety to contain and counter China's influence in Burma, and more broadly, Southeast Asia.
India is making a major mistake. When democracy comes to Burma, the country’s new government will favour the neighbours who supported the struggle for democracy.
It pains me to say this, but unless there is concerted international action, or a change of heart by some of the military leaders in Burma and an overthrow of Than Shwe, change in the country is not close on the horizon.
Article written by Paul Copeland
http://www.themarknews.com/articles/419-predictable-injustice-for-suu-ky
To the surprise of no one, on August 11, 2009, Judges Thaung Nyunt and Nyi Nyi Soe found Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, Burmese opposition leader and Nobel Peace laureate, guilty of violating the terms of her house arrest. They immediately sentenced her and her two companions to three years hard labour. There have been no reports indicating whether sentencing submissions were made to the judges before the decision was reached.
In an action that revealed the lack of an independent judiciary in Burma, the sentence was immediately commuted to 18 months house arrest for Daw Suu and her two companions Khin Khin Win and Win Ma Ma. That commutation was done by an order signed by the military dictator of Burma, General Tan Shwe. Clearly Than Shwe could not have had time to make an order to commute the sentence unless he knew the verdict and sentence before they were handed down.
Among western democracies there was outrage at the ruling and the sentence.
Perhaps the strongest reaction was from Canada’s Prime Minister Stephen Harper. He condemned the sentence, called it not in accordance with the rule of law, said the charges were baseless, and that there was no due process in the trial. He said Canada believes the regime had manufactured an excuse to keep Daw Suu from participating in the elections scheduled for 2010. He called for the release of all of Burma’s political prisoners (they number 2,100).
French President Nicolas Sarkozy called the sentencing brutal and unjust. The EU stated that it was ready to impose targeted sanctions against those involved in the case.
American Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called for the release of Suu Kyi and said she should not have been convicted.
Fourteen Nobel Peace Prize recipients are calling for the UN Security Council to establish a commission of inquiry into crimes against humanity committed by the Burmese military regime. The British and French governments are calling on the same body to impose a global arms ban against the regime.
Some ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) countries indicated that they find the decision unacceptable. The strongest ASEAN reaction came from the Philippines, which called the verdict “incomprehensible and unjust.”
It should be noted that much of the international investment in Burma comes from the ASEAN countries. ASEAN has for years been engaged in a meaningless process with the Burmese Generals called “constructive engagement.”
A respected NGO called Security Council Report has put out Update Report No. 1 Myanmar, which outlines possible actions by the Security Council.
The UN Secretary-General has been active with regard to Burma but on his recent visit to the country he was denied the opportunity to meet with Aung San Suu Kyi.
Will any of this make a difference in Burma? Sadly I think the answer to that question is no.
The two major influences on Burma are China and India.
Clearly China will take no steps to curb (or even discourage) the inhuman treatment of the people of Burma by the generals of the State Peace and Development Council. China, in its own self-interest, regards all internal matters as not a proper concern for the international community.
India, the world’s largest democracy, has gone from support of democracy in Burma in 1988 to a position of almost total silence. Important Indian leaders like Jawaharial Nehru and Indira Gandhi must be spinning in their graves at the inaction of the Indian government on such important issues as freedom, justice, and democracy in a neighbouring country. Prime Minister Monmohan Singh should be ashamed of, and censured for, his silence regarding these important issues.
And where is Sonia Gandhi? Why is she not speaking out in support of an iconic woman political leader from a close-by country?
India’s conservative and pro-junta position on Burma is widely believed to derive from three considerations: an eagerness to enlist Burma’s help in fighting insurgencies in its turbulent north-east, India’s interest in Burma's natural gas reserves, and India’s anxiety to contain and counter China's influence in Burma, and more broadly, Southeast Asia.
India is making a major mistake. When democracy comes to Burma, the country’s new government will favour the neighbours who supported the struggle for democracy.
It pains me to say this, but unless there is concerted international action, or a change of heart by some of the military leaders in Burma and an overthrow of Than Shwe, change in the country is not close on the horizon.
Article written by Paul Copeland
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Asean calls for release of Aung San Suu Kyi
Thailand, as the Chair of Asean on Wednesday, expressed its "disappointment" over Burma's ruling on its opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
The grouping which Burma is a member called for immediate release of all political prisoners including 64-year-old Aung San Suu Kyi.
The call came a day after Burma's court sentenced Aung San Suu Kyi another 18 months for breaching condition of her house arrest after an American John Yettaw swam across the Inya Lake to stay two nights at her resident in Rangoon in May.
The grouping which Burma is a member called for immediate release of all political prisoners including 64-year-old Aung San Suu Kyi.
The call came a day after Burma's court sentenced Aung San Suu Kyi another 18 months for breaching condition of her house arrest after an American John Yettaw swam across the Inya Lake to stay two nights at her resident in Rangoon in May.
One minute action to Honour Daw Aung San Suu Kyi
One minute action to Honour Daw Aung San Suu Kyi
From:
Sent: August 11, 2009 7:25:12 PM
To:
Today, Nobel peace laureate and democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi was sentenced to another year and a half in detention by Burmese junta.
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's treatment is just the tip of the iceberg of the brutality of the Burmese regime -- spanning 40 years of murder, torture, mass rape, and slave labour.
Leaders around the world are moving beyond words and calling for concrete action -- 14 Nobel Peace Prize recipients, including Mikhail Gorbachev, Desmond Tutu, Elie Wiesel, and Jody Williams are calling for the UN Security Council to establish a commission of inquiry (investigation) into crimes against humanity committed by the military regime.
Further, the British and French governments are calling for the UN Security Council to impose a global arms embargo on the regime, with the British Prime Minister Gordon Brown stating that "nothing less than global arms embargo" should be imposed on the Burmese regime. Brown also said "I also believe that the UN Security Council - whose will has been flouted - must also now respond resolutely and impose a worldwide ban on the sale of arms to the regime."
Now, it's time for you to help build a powerful effort to overcome China's resistance at the UN Security Council.
Please go to below address to join the call for action:
http://www.avaaz.org/en/jail_the_generals
From:
Sent: August 11, 2009 7:25:12 PM
To:
Today, Nobel peace laureate and democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi was sentenced to another year and a half in detention by Burmese junta.
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's treatment is just the tip of the iceberg of the brutality of the Burmese regime -- spanning 40 years of murder, torture, mass rape, and slave labour.
Leaders around the world are moving beyond words and calling for concrete action -- 14 Nobel Peace Prize recipients, including Mikhail Gorbachev, Desmond Tutu, Elie Wiesel, and Jody Williams are calling for the UN Security Council to establish a commission of inquiry (investigation) into crimes against humanity committed by the military regime.
Further, the British and French governments are calling for the UN Security Council to impose a global arms embargo on the regime, with the British Prime Minister Gordon Brown stating that "nothing less than global arms embargo" should be imposed on the Burmese regime. Brown also said "I also believe that the UN Security Council - whose will has been flouted - must also now respond resolutely and impose a worldwide ban on the sale of arms to the regime."
Now, it's time for you to help build a powerful effort to overcome China's resistance at the UN Security Council.
Please go to below address to join the call for action:
http://www.avaaz.org/en/jail_the_generals
Statement by the Prime Minister of Canada
Statement by the Prime Minister of Canada
11 August 2009
Ottawa, Ontario
Prime Minister Stephen Harper issued the following statement on the Burmese regime’s decision to sentence Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi to 18 months house arrest:
“Canada strongly condemns the Burmese regime’s decision to sentence Aung San Suu Kyi to a further 18 months house arrest.
“This decision is clearly not in accordance with the rule of law: the charges laid against her were baseless and her trial did not come close to meeting international standards of due process. Her continued detention is unwarranted, unjustified, and vindictive.
“Canada believes the Burmese regime has manufactured an excuse to keep Aung San Suu Kyi in detention to ensure she will not be able to participate in the proposed 2010 elections. This is just the latest evidence that this regime is not serious about pursuing legitimate democratic elections in Burma. Canada calls for the regime to unconditionally free all political prisoners and allow all citizens, including opposition groups, to freely participate in the electoral process.
“Canada is appalled by the ongoing repressive actions of the Burmese regime and its continued disregard for the fundamental freedoms and basic human rights of the people of Burma. We have imposed the toughest sanctions in the entire world against the regime to protest its treatment of its people. We are proud to have conferred honorary Canadian citizenship on Aung San Suu Kyi in recognition of her ongoing struggle to promote freedom and democracy in Burma.
“We will continue to stand with the people of Burma and insist that their human rights be respected and their voices heard.”
11 August 2009
Ottawa, Ontario
Prime Minister Stephen Harper issued the following statement on the Burmese regime’s decision to sentence Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi to 18 months house arrest:
“Canada strongly condemns the Burmese regime’s decision to sentence Aung San Suu Kyi to a further 18 months house arrest.
“This decision is clearly not in accordance with the rule of law: the charges laid against her were baseless and her trial did not come close to meeting international standards of due process. Her continued detention is unwarranted, unjustified, and vindictive.
“Canada believes the Burmese regime has manufactured an excuse to keep Aung San Suu Kyi in detention to ensure she will not be able to participate in the proposed 2010 elections. This is just the latest evidence that this regime is not serious about pursuing legitimate democratic elections in Burma. Canada calls for the regime to unconditionally free all political prisoners and allow all citizens, including opposition groups, to freely participate in the electoral process.
“Canada is appalled by the ongoing repressive actions of the Burmese regime and its continued disregard for the fundamental freedoms and basic human rights of the people of Burma. We have imposed the toughest sanctions in the entire world against the regime to protest its treatment of its people. We are proud to have conferred honorary Canadian citizenship on Aung San Suu Kyi in recognition of her ongoing struggle to promote freedom and democracy in Burma.
“We will continue to stand with the people of Burma and insist that their human rights be respected and their voices heard.”
Friday, August 7, 2009
ေက်းဇူးျပဳျပီး ဖတ္ျဖစ္ေအာင္ဖတ္ပါ (အျမန္ဆံုးလက္ဆင့္ကမ္းေပးၾကပါ အေရးၾကီးသည္)
ေက်းဇူးျပဳျပီး ဖတ္ျဖစ္ေအာင္ဖတ္ပါ (အျမန္ဆံုးလက္ဆင့္ကမ္းေပးၾကပါ အေရးၾကီးသည္)
သတိမမူဂူမျမင္
စကားဦး - ယၡဳပို႔စ္ မွ်ေဝတင္ျပရျခင္းသည္ ျမန္မာနိုင္ငံအတြင္း ေမြးဖြားၾကီးျပင္းၾကေသာ ျမန္မာ(ဘာသာမေရြး လူမ်ိဳးမေရြး)လူမ်ိဳးမ်ား၏Human Rights ကို ရည္စူးပါသည္။ က်ေတာ္သည္ ဗုဒၶဘာသာဝင္တစ္ေယာက္ျဖစ္ပါသည္ ဘာသာေရးသည္ လူတစ္ေယာက္၏ ယံုၾကည္ရာ၊ မ်ိဳးစဥ္ဆက္ကိုးကြယ္ရာ၊ နီးစပ္ၾကီးျပင္းရာ တို႔နွင့္ သက္ဆိုင္ေသာေၾကာင့္ မည္သည့္ဘာသာသည္ အေကာင္းဆံုးဟု အျငင္းမပြါးလိုပါ၊ လူသားတစ္ေယာက္၏ လြတ္လပ္စြာယံုၾကည္ ကိုးကြယ္နိုင္ျခင္းသာျဖစ္ပါသည္။ ထို႔ေၾကာင့္ European နိုင္ငံမ်ားနွင့္ Human Rights ကို တန္ဖိုးထားက်င့္သံုးေသာ နိုင္ငံမ်ားတြင္ Freedom of conscience -လြတ္လပ္စြာယံုၾကည္ ကိုးကြယ္နိုင္ျခင္း ကို လူသားတိုင္း၏ ယံုၾကည္မႈအျဖစ္ တန္ဖိုးထား ကာကြယ္ေပးထားပါသည္။ ထိုဥပေဒ တစ္ရပ္တည္းနွင့္ပင္ ကမာၻေပၚရွိ မည္သည့္နိုင္ငံမွ လူမ်ိဳး ဘာသာမေရြးအား ၎တို႔၏ နိုင္ငံမ်ားတြင္ ခိုလံုခြင့္မ်ားေပး၍ ကာကြယ္ေစာင့္ေရွာက္ထားသည္မွာ လက္ေတြ႕ျဖစ္ပါသည္။
စစ္အစိုးရလက္ေအာက္မွအႏွိပ္စက္ခံျမန္မာလူမ်ိဳးဘဝ
ဒီရက္ပိုင္းေတြမွာ ရိုဟင္ဂ်ာေလွစီးျပႆနာျဖစ္တဲ့ အခ်ိန္၊
ကမၻာ့သတင္းမီဒီယာမ်ားမွာ ထိပ္တန္းသတင္း အျဖစ္လူေတြစိတ္၀င္စားလာတဲ့ အခ်ိန္၊
အစၥလာမ္ဘာသာ၊ က်မ္းဂန္ ႏွင့္ ၎တို႕၏တမန္ေတာ္မ်ား အားေစာ္ကားထားေသာ အီးေမးမ်ား online တြင္က်ယ္က်ယ္ျပန္႔ျပန္႔ လႈပ္ရွားလာတဲ့ အခ်ိန္၊
ရိုဟင္ဂ်ာျပႆနာကို အေျခခံျပီး အစိုးရ ဘေလာက္ဟု ယူစရေသာ ဘေလာက္မ်ားတြင္ ရိုဟင္ဂ်ာဆန္႔က်င္ေရးမွစျပီး အစၥလာမ္ဆန္႕က်င္ေရး အထိေရးသားလာျခင္း၊
အစၥလာမ္ဘာသာ၀င္မ်ားႏွင့္ ဗုဒၶဘာသာ၀င္မ်ားအၾကား အထင္အျမင္လႊဲမွားေစေသာ ေဆာင္းပါးမ်ား ဆက္တိုက္ေဖာ္ျပလာျခင္း၊
ဤသည္တို ့သည္အားလံုးတိုက္ဆိုင္စြာ ျဖစ္ေပၚလာတာလား?
သို႔တည္းမဟုတ္ ရည္ရြယ္ခ်က္ရိွရိွ ခ်ိန္ကိုက္ျပီးလုပ္ေဆာင္ေနတာလား?
ဒီျပႆနာမျဖစ္ခင္ ျမန္မာအစိုးရနဲ႔ ဘဂၤလားေဒရွ္ တို႕ ေရပိုင္နက္ျပႆနာျဖစ္ပြားခဲ့တာ အခုထိမေျပလည္ေသးပါ။
ေရႊ၀ါေရာင္ေတာ္လွန္ေရးတြင္ တိုင္းရင္းသားျမန္မာမြတ္စလင္မ္မ်ား လည္း အျခားေသာ ဘာသာ၀င္မ်ားႏွင့္လက္တြဲျပီး ဆရာေတာ္ၾကီးမ်ားႏွင့္ လက္တြဲပါ၀င္ခဲ့မႈအား စိုးရိမ္လ်က္ရွိေသာ နအဖအစိုးရအေနျဖင့္ တိုင္းရင္းသား အစၥလာမ္ဘာသာ၀င္မ်ားႏွင့္ ေသြးခြဲမႈမ်ားျပဳလုပ္ရန္ plan မ်ားႏွင့္ အစဥ္ၾကိဳးပမ္း ေနခ်ိန္တို႔တြင္ ေနာက္ဆံုး သတင္းရရွိခ်က္အရ နအဖ အစိုးရအေနျဖင့္ ျပည္တြင္း၌ လူမ်ိဳးေရး၊ ဘာသာေရးအဓိကရုဏ္းတခု ဖန္တီးရန္ရိွေၾကာင္း ၾကားသိရပါသည္။
အစၥလာမ္ဘာသာ၊ က်မ္းဂန္ ႏွင့္ ၎တို႕၏တမန္ေတာ္မ်ား ကိုေစာ္ကားထားေသာ အီးေမးမ်ား၊ ထိုေစာ္ကားသူ၏ ေနာက္ထပ္အီးေမးတေစာင္္ တို႔အျပင္ အစၥလာမ္ဆန္ ့က်င္ေရးေဖာ္ျပလာေသာ စစ္အစိုး ရ လိုလားသည့္ ဘေလာက္ေဆာင္းပါးမ်ားကိုေအာက္ပါ link မ်ားတြင္ ၾကည့္နိုင္ပါသည္
padaukmyay.blog (ပိေတာက္ေျမသည္ ေန႔စဥ္ နံနက္ပိုင္းမ်ားမွစတင္က အသံလႊင့္ေနေသာ အသံလႊင္ဌာနတစ္ခုျဖစ္ပါသည္။)
kyeesaytaman.blog
kyeesaytaman.blog
kyeesaytaman.blog
ywetwar.blog (သူကေတာ့ ဘာသာေ႐းေဆြးေနြးတဲ့ forum ေတြမွာ အစၥလာမ္အေၾကာင္းေဝဖန္ေရးသားၿပီး အစၥလာမ္ blog အေတာ္္မ်ားမ်ားမွာ သူ့့ ့ blog address ေပးထားခဲ့ပါတယ္။ သူသည္ ႐ုရွႏိုင္ငံတြင္ပညာသင္ယူေနေသာ ျမန္မာ့စစ္တပ္မွ စစ္ဗိုလ္တစ္ေယာက္ ျဖစ္ပါသည္။ )
(ျမန္မာျပည္တြင္ ဗုဒၶဘာသာ ခရစ္ယာန္ မြတ္စလင္တုိ႔ဆုိသည္မွာ အနည္းနဲ႔အမ်ား ပတ္ၿပီး အမ်ိဳး ေတာ္ေနၾကတာေတြရွိပါတယ္။ မြတ္စလင္ေတြဟာ ေရွးျမန္မာဘုရင္ေတြလက္ထက္ ကတည္းက ျမန္မာျပည္မွာ ေနထုိင္လာခဲ့သည္၊ ဘုရင္ေတြဆီမွာ အမွဳေတာ္ထမ္းခဲ့တာေတြ သမိုင္းမွာရွိပါတယ္၊ ဦးကုလား မဟာရာဇ၀င္တုိ႔၊ မွန္နန္းရာဇ၀င္တုိ႔မွာပါတယ္၊ နယ္ခ်ဲ႔အဂၤလိပ္၀င္တုံးကလည္း ဘုရင့္တပ္ကမြတ္စလင္ေတြ ခုခံကာကြယ္ခဲ့ ၾကတယ္လုိ့ဖတ္ဖူးပါတယ္။ လြတ္လပ္ေရးတုိက္ပြဲမွာလည္း မြတ္စလင္ေတြပါၾကတယ္။ ျမန္မာလူမ်ိဳးအခ်င္းခ်င္း ၿငိမ္းၿငိမ္းခ်မ္းခ်မ္း ေနဖုိ႔ စည္း ရုံးရမဲ့အစား သတ္ျဖတ္ဖုိ႔မီးေမြးတာ မေကာင္းပါေႀကာင္း.....)
၎စစ္အစိုးရ၏ အာဏာတည္တန္႕ေရး၊ ၂၀၀၇ ေရႊ၀ါေရာင္ေတာ္လွန္ေရးတြင္ စစ္အစိုး မ်က္ႏွာပ်က္ခဲ့သည္မ်ားကို ျပည္သူမ်ားေမ့ေျပာက္သြားေစရန္ လူမ်ိဳးေရး၊ ဘာသာေရးအဓိကရုဏ္းမ်ားျဖစ္ေစရန္ တစ္ေျမထည္းေမြး ျမန္မာျပည္သူအခ်င္းခ်င္းကိုေသြးခြဲရန္ ရည္ရြယ္ထားပါသည္။ ျမန္မာတိုင္းရင္းသားတိုင္း၊ ဘာသာတိုင္းသတိႏွင့္ေနၾကပါရန္...။
ျမန္မာညီအကိုေမာင္ႏွမမ်ား ကိုယ့္ေသြး၊ ကိုယ့္အသက္၊ ကိုယ့္မိသားစုႏွင့္ အိုးအိမ္မ်ားမဆုံး႐ႈံးၾကေအာင္ စစ္အစိုးရ၏ ပရိယာယ္မွမျငိတြယ္ေစရန္ွေဝးေဝးေရွာင္ၾကပါ။
ျမန္မာႏိုင္ငံသားမ်ား (ၾကက္အခ်င္းခ်င္းအိုးမဲသုတ္ျပီခြတ္ခို္င္ေနသလို)စစ္အစိုးရ၏အကြက္ထဲသို့မ၀င္မိေစရန္ရည္ရြယ္ပါသည္ ဒီစာေလးကိုသူငယ္ခ်င္းမ်ားထံအျမန္ဆံုး ျပန္လည္မွ်ေ၀ေပးေစလိုပါသည္----------
ယခုေနာက္ဆံုးသတင္းရရွိသည္မွာ ၄င္းတို႔သည္ ယခု အကယ္ဒမီေပးပြဲၿပီးသည့္ေနာက္ပိုင္းတြင္ အဆိုပါလူမ်ိဳးေရးအဓိကရုန္းမ်ား ေပၚေပါက္လာေအာင္ ၾကံေဆာင္ၾကမည္။ ၿပီးေနာက္တြင္ ၄င္းတို႔အလိုက် ဗိုလ္က်စိုးမိုးေရးကို အဓြန္႔ရွည္ေစရန္ နည္းအမ်ိဳးမ်ိဳးျဖင့္ ဆက္လက္ လုပ္ေဆာင္သြားၾကမည္။ ဒါေၾကာင့္ အားလံုး သတိရွိၾကပါ။ ဘယ္သူခြဲခြဲ တို႔မကြဲ အျမဲစည္းလံုးမည္ ဆိုေသာ ေဆာင္ပုဒ္ကို ျပည္သူမ်ားအားလံုး လက္ကိုင္ထားၿပီး တရုတ္အားကိုး ပုစိန္ရိုးျဖစ္ေနေသာ ရက္စက္ၾကမ္းၾကဳတ္သည့္ စစ္အစိုးရကို ပူးေပါင္းဆန္႔က်င္ၾကပါ။ (ျမန္မာတရုတ္မ်ားကုိ မဆိုလိုပါ)
တို႔ ဗုဒၶဟာ အလယ္အလတ္လမ္းစဥ္ကိုသာ ျပသခဲ့တယ္။ အစြန္းမေရာက္ေစဖို႔ ဆံုးမခဲ့တယ္။ အားလံုးနဲ႔ ၿငိမ္းခ်မ္းေအာင္ေနရမယ္။ ဘာသာတရားေတြဟာ တကယ္ကို ၿငိမ္းခ်မ္းၾကပါတယ္။ ၿငိမ္းခ်မ္းမႈေတြေၾကာင့္ ကမာၻႀကီးမွာ ေပ်ာ္စရာေတြရွိေနတာ။ အဲဒီေပ်ာ္ရႊင္မႈေတြကို သင္တို႔ရဲ႕ အတၱေတြနဲ႔ အေရာင္မဆိုးၾကပါနဲ႔။ ဘာသာတရားေတြကို ေစာ္ကားတဲ့သူဟာ လူလို႔ေတာင္ မသတ္မွတ္သင့္ဘူး။ ဒီလိုကိစၥေတြကို အမ်ားပိုင္းလုပ္ၾကတာလဲ တို႔ထဲက လူနည္းစုေတြပဲ။ ဒါေၾကာင့္ ႏိုင္ငံတကာအသိုင္းအ၀ိုင္းမွာ ျမန္မာဆိုရင္ သိပ္ကိုရွက္ဖို႔ေကာင္းရတယ္။
သတိမမူဂူမျမင္
စကားဦး - ယၡဳပို႔စ္ မွ်ေဝတင္ျပရျခင္းသည္ ျမန္မာနိုင္ငံအတြင္း ေမြးဖြားၾကီးျပင္းၾကေသာ ျမန္မာ(ဘာသာမေရြး လူမ်ိဳးမေရြး)လူမ်ိဳးမ်ား၏Human Rights ကို ရည္စူးပါသည္။ က်ေတာ္သည္ ဗုဒၶဘာသာဝင္တစ္ေယာက္ျဖစ္ပါသည္ ဘာသာေရးသည္ လူတစ္ေယာက္၏ ယံုၾကည္ရာ၊ မ်ိဳးစဥ္ဆက္ကိုးကြယ္ရာ၊ နီးစပ္ၾကီးျပင္းရာ တို႔နွင့္ သက္ဆိုင္ေသာေၾကာင့္ မည္သည့္ဘာသာသည္ အေကာင္းဆံုးဟု အျငင္းမပြါးလိုပါ၊ လူသားတစ္ေယာက္၏ လြတ္လပ္စြာယံုၾကည္ ကိုးကြယ္နိုင္ျခင္းသာျဖစ္ပါသည္။ ထို႔ေၾကာင့္ European နိုင္ငံမ်ားနွင့္ Human Rights ကို တန္ဖိုးထားက်င့္သံုးေသာ နိုင္ငံမ်ားတြင္ Freedom of conscience -လြတ္လပ္စြာယံုၾကည္ ကိုးကြယ္နိုင္ျခင္း ကို လူသားတိုင္း၏ ယံုၾကည္မႈအျဖစ္ တန္ဖိုးထား ကာကြယ္ေပးထားပါသည္။ ထိုဥပေဒ တစ္ရပ္တည္းနွင့္ပင္ ကမာၻေပၚရွိ မည္သည့္နိုင္ငံမွ လူမ်ိဳး ဘာသာမေရြးအား ၎တို႔၏ နိုင္ငံမ်ားတြင္ ခိုလံုခြင့္မ်ားေပး၍ ကာကြယ္ေစာင့္ေရွာက္ထားသည္မွာ လက္ေတြ႕ျဖစ္ပါသည္။
စစ္အစိုးရလက္ေအာက္မွအႏွိပ္စက္ခံျမန္မာလူမ်ိဳးဘဝ
ဒီရက္ပိုင္းေတြမွာ ရိုဟင္ဂ်ာေလွစီးျပႆနာျဖစ္တဲ့ အခ်ိန္၊
ကမၻာ့သတင္းမီဒီယာမ်ားမွာ ထိပ္တန္းသတင္း အျဖစ္လူေတြစိတ္၀င္စားလာတဲ့ အခ်ိန္၊
အစၥလာမ္ဘာသာ၊ က်မ္းဂန္ ႏွင့္ ၎တို႕၏တမန္ေတာ္မ်ား အားေစာ္ကားထားေသာ အီးေမးမ်ား online တြင္က်ယ္က်ယ္ျပန္႔ျပန္႔ လႈပ္ရွားလာတဲ့ အခ်ိန္၊
ရိုဟင္ဂ်ာျပႆနာကို အေျခခံျပီး အစိုးရ ဘေလာက္ဟု ယူစရေသာ ဘေလာက္မ်ားတြင္ ရိုဟင္ဂ်ာဆန္႔က်င္ေရးမွစျပီး အစၥလာမ္ဆန္႕က်င္ေရး အထိေရးသားလာျခင္း၊
အစၥလာမ္ဘာသာ၀င္မ်ားႏွင့္ ဗုဒၶဘာသာ၀င္မ်ားအၾကား အထင္အျမင္လႊဲမွားေစေသာ ေဆာင္းပါးမ်ား ဆက္တိုက္ေဖာ္ျပလာျခင္း၊
ဤသည္တို ့သည္အားလံုးတိုက္ဆိုင္စြာ ျဖစ္ေပၚလာတာလား?
သို႔တည္းမဟုတ္ ရည္ရြယ္ခ်က္ရိွရိွ ခ်ိန္ကိုက္ျပီးလုပ္ေဆာင္ေနတာလား?
ဒီျပႆနာမျဖစ္ခင္ ျမန္မာအစိုးရနဲ႔ ဘဂၤလားေဒရွ္ တို႕ ေရပိုင္နက္ျပႆနာျဖစ္ပြားခဲ့တာ အခုထိမေျပလည္ေသးပါ။
ေရႊ၀ါေရာင္ေတာ္လွန္ေရးတြင္ တိုင္းရင္းသားျမန္မာမြတ္စလင္မ္မ်ား လည္း အျခားေသာ ဘာသာ၀င္မ်ားႏွင့္လက္တြဲျပီး ဆရာေတာ္ၾကီးမ်ားႏွင့္ လက္တြဲပါ၀င္ခဲ့မႈအား စိုးရိမ္လ်က္ရွိေသာ နအဖအစိုးရအေနျဖင့္ တိုင္းရင္းသား အစၥလာမ္ဘာသာ၀င္မ်ားႏွင့္ ေသြးခြဲမႈမ်ားျပဳလုပ္ရန္ plan မ်ားႏွင့္ အစဥ္ၾကိဳးပမ္း ေနခ်ိန္တို႔တြင္ ေနာက္ဆံုး သတင္းရရွိခ်က္အရ နအဖ အစိုးရအေနျဖင့္ ျပည္တြင္း၌ လူမ်ိဳးေရး၊ ဘာသာေရးအဓိကရုဏ္းတခု ဖန္တီးရန္ရိွေၾကာင္း ၾကားသိရပါသည္။
အစၥလာမ္ဘာသာ၊ က်မ္းဂန္ ႏွင့္ ၎တို႕၏တမန္ေတာ္မ်ား ကိုေစာ္ကားထားေသာ အီးေမးမ်ား၊ ထိုေစာ္ကားသူ၏ ေနာက္ထပ္အီးေမးတေစာင္္ တို႔အျပင္ အစၥလာမ္ဆန္ ့က်င္ေရးေဖာ္ျပလာေသာ စစ္အစိုး ရ လိုလားသည့္ ဘေလာက္ေဆာင္းပါးမ်ားကိုေအာက္ပါ link မ်ားတြင္ ၾကည့္နိုင္ပါသည္
padaukmyay.blog (ပိေတာက္ေျမသည္ ေန႔စဥ္ နံနက္ပိုင္းမ်ားမွစတင္က အသံလႊင့္ေနေသာ အသံလႊင္ဌာနတစ္ခုျဖစ္ပါသည္။)
kyeesaytaman.blog
kyeesaytaman.blog
kyeesaytaman.blog
ywetwar.blog (သူကေတာ့ ဘာသာေ႐းေဆြးေနြးတဲ့ forum ေတြမွာ အစၥလာမ္အေၾကာင္းေဝဖန္ေရးသားၿပီး အစၥလာမ္ blog အေတာ္္မ်ားမ်ားမွာ သူ့့ ့ blog address ေပးထားခဲ့ပါတယ္။ သူသည္ ႐ုရွႏိုင္ငံတြင္ပညာသင္ယူေနေသာ ျမန္မာ့စစ္တပ္မွ စစ္ဗိုလ္တစ္ေယာက္ ျဖစ္ပါသည္။ )
(ျမန္မာျပည္တြင္ ဗုဒၶဘာသာ ခရစ္ယာန္ မြတ္စလင္တုိ႔ဆုိသည္မွာ အနည္းနဲ႔အမ်ား ပတ္ၿပီး အမ်ိဳး ေတာ္ေနၾကတာေတြရွိပါတယ္။ မြတ္စလင္ေတြဟာ ေရွးျမန္မာဘုရင္ေတြလက္ထက္ ကတည္းက ျမန္မာျပည္မွာ ေနထုိင္လာခဲ့သည္၊ ဘုရင္ေတြဆီမွာ အမွဳေတာ္ထမ္းခဲ့တာေတြ သမိုင္းမွာရွိပါတယ္၊ ဦးကုလား မဟာရာဇ၀င္တုိ႔၊ မွန္နန္းရာဇ၀င္တုိ႔မွာပါတယ္၊ နယ္ခ်ဲ႔အဂၤလိပ္၀င္တုံးကလည္း ဘုရင့္တပ္ကမြတ္စလင္ေတြ ခုခံကာကြယ္ခဲ့ ၾကတယ္လုိ့ဖတ္ဖူးပါတယ္။ လြတ္လပ္ေရးတုိက္ပြဲမွာလည္း မြတ္စလင္ေတြပါၾကတယ္။ ျမန္မာလူမ်ိဳးအခ်င္းခ်င္း ၿငိမ္းၿငိမ္းခ်မ္းခ်မ္း ေနဖုိ႔ စည္း ရုံးရမဲ့အစား သတ္ျဖတ္ဖုိ႔မီးေမြးတာ မေကာင္းပါေႀကာင္း.....)
၎စစ္အစိုးရ၏ အာဏာတည္တန္႕ေရး၊ ၂၀၀၇ ေရႊ၀ါေရာင္ေတာ္လွန္ေရးတြင္ စစ္အစိုး မ်က္ႏွာပ်က္ခဲ့သည္မ်ားကို ျပည္သူမ်ားေမ့ေျပာက္သြားေစရန္ လူမ်ိဳးေရး၊ ဘာသာေရးအဓိကရုဏ္းမ်ားျဖစ္ေစရန္ တစ္ေျမထည္းေမြး ျမန္မာျပည္သူအခ်င္းခ်င္းကိုေသြးခြဲရန္ ရည္ရြယ္ထားပါသည္။ ျမန္မာတိုင္းရင္းသားတိုင္း၊ ဘာသာတိုင္းသတိႏွင့္ေနၾကပါရန္...။
ျမန္မာညီအကိုေမာင္ႏွမမ်ား ကိုယ့္ေသြး၊ ကိုယ့္အသက္၊ ကိုယ့္မိသားစုႏွင့္ အိုးအိမ္မ်ားမဆုံး႐ႈံးၾကေအာင္ စစ္အစိုးရ၏ ပရိယာယ္မွမျငိတြယ္ေစရန္ွေဝးေဝးေရွာင္ၾကပါ။
ျမန္မာႏိုင္ငံသားမ်ား (ၾကက္အခ်င္းခ်င္းအိုးမဲသုတ္ျပီခြတ္ခို္င္ေနသလို)စစ္အစိုးရ၏အကြက္ထဲသို့မ၀င္မိေစရန္ရည္ရြယ္ပါသည္ ဒီစာေလးကိုသူငယ္ခ်င္းမ်ားထံအျမန္ဆံုး ျပန္လည္မွ်ေ၀ေပးေစလိုပါသည္----------
ယခုေနာက္ဆံုးသတင္းရရွိသည္မွာ ၄င္းတို႔သည္ ယခု အကယ္ဒမီေပးပြဲၿပီးသည့္ေနာက္ပိုင္းတြင္ အဆိုပါလူမ်ိဳးေရးအဓိကရုန္းမ်ား ေပၚေပါက္လာေအာင္ ၾကံေဆာင္ၾကမည္။ ၿပီးေနာက္တြင္ ၄င္းတို႔အလိုက် ဗိုလ္က်စိုးမိုးေရးကို အဓြန္႔ရွည္ေစရန္ နည္းအမ်ိဳးမ်ိဳးျဖင့္ ဆက္လက္ လုပ္ေဆာင္သြားၾကမည္။ ဒါေၾကာင့္ အားလံုး သတိရွိၾကပါ။ ဘယ္သူခြဲခြဲ တို႔မကြဲ အျမဲစည္းလံုးမည္ ဆိုေသာ ေဆာင္ပုဒ္ကို ျပည္သူမ်ားအားလံုး လက္ကိုင္ထားၿပီး တရုတ္အားကိုး ပုစိန္ရိုးျဖစ္ေနေသာ ရက္စက္ၾကမ္းၾကဳတ္သည့္ စစ္အစိုးရကို ပူးေပါင္းဆန္႔က်င္ၾကပါ။ (ျမန္မာတရုတ္မ်ားကုိ မဆိုလိုပါ)
တို႔ ဗုဒၶဟာ အလယ္အလတ္လမ္းစဥ္ကိုသာ ျပသခဲ့တယ္။ အစြန္းမေရာက္ေစဖို႔ ဆံုးမခဲ့တယ္။ အားလံုးနဲ႔ ၿငိမ္းခ်မ္းေအာင္ေနရမယ္။ ဘာသာတရားေတြဟာ တကယ္ကို ၿငိမ္းခ်မ္းၾကပါတယ္။ ၿငိမ္းခ်မ္းမႈေတြေၾကာင့္ ကမာၻႀကီးမွာ ေပ်ာ္စရာေတြရွိေနတာ။ အဲဒီေပ်ာ္ရႊင္မႈေတြကို သင္တို႔ရဲ႕ အတၱေတြနဲ႔ အေရာင္မဆိုးၾကပါနဲ႔။ ဘာသာတရားေတြကို ေစာ္ကားတဲ့သူဟာ လူလို႔ေတာင္ မသတ္မွတ္သင့္ဘူး။ ဒီလိုကိစၥေတြကို အမ်ားပိုင္းလုပ္ၾကတာလဲ တို႔ထဲက လူနည္းစုေတြပဲ။ ဒါေၾကာင့္ ႏိုင္ငံတကာအသိုင္းအ၀ိုင္းမွာ ျမန္မာဆိုရင္ သိပ္ကိုရွက္ဖို႔ေကာင္းရတယ္။
Statement of 8888 (Canada)
Statement on 21st Anniversary of the Brutal Crackdown on Burma’s
Nationwide Democracy Uprising (8888)
August 8, 2009
Today marks the 21st anniversary of Burma’s Nationwide Democracy Uprising which is known as
the 8/8/88 uprising: – millions of people marched and demanded the restoration of democracy in
Burma and an end of the military dictatorship which had ruled the country since 1962. In 1988 the
military brutally cracked down on peaceful demonstrators and killed over 3000 people, including
monks and students.
Aung San Suu Kyi emerged as the leader of democracy movement and her party, the National
League for Democracy (NLD), won 82% of the parliamentary seats in the national election held in
1990. The people of Burma had overwhelmingly rejected military rule but the military refused to
transfer power to Burma’s democratically elected leaders.
Nobel Peace Prize Winner and Honourary Canadian Citizen, Aung San Suu Kyi has been under
detention for 14 of the past 20 years. On May 13, 2009 she was charged under the regime’s Law
Safeguarding the State from the Dangers of Subversive Elements. She is being held in Insein
Prison after an incident when an American national swam across Inya Lake and, unable to do the
return swim, stayed at her house for two days. She is the world’s only Nobel Laureate in prison.
The Burmese regime, the State Peace and Development Council, has ignored numerous demands
from the UN Security Council, the UN Secretary General, world leaders, celebrities, ASEAN and
the international community that the SPDC release all political prisoners including Aung San Suu
Kyi and work towards a national reconciliation.
Senior General Than Shwe and the Burmese military regime have committed crimes against
humanity on its own citizens, including systematic rape and ethnic cleansing.
The free and democratic world has the responsibility to intervene on behalf of humanity. The
people of Burma call for the UN Security Council members, including China and Russia, to support
putting an end to Burma’s long-standing crisis that threatens regional stability.
We, the undersigned organizations, call for the following UN Security Council binding resolutions if
the junta does not release all political prisoners including Aung San Suu Kyi and does not start a
time bound national reconciliation process immediately:
1. A declaration that the junta’s planned 2010 elections are not inclusive and are
illegitimate
2. The imposition of an arms embargo
3. The establishment of a commission of inquiry in regard to crimes against
humanity.
International Burmese Monks Organization (Canada) Parliamentary Friends of Burma
National League for Democracy (LA) Canada Branch Canadian Campaign for Free Burma
Burmese Students Democratic Organization Karen Canadian Community
Chin Human Rights Organization Free Burma Federation
Burmese Muslim Association (Canada) Arakanese Canadian Society (Toronto)
United Democratic Youth League (Canada Branch) Burma Watch International
Burma Forum Canada
Contact Persons:
Hon. Larry Bagnell M.P. 613 995 9368; Zaw Kyaw 416 358 2318; Tin Htut bsdo.toronto@gmail.com.
Nationwide Democracy Uprising (8888)
August 8, 2009
Today marks the 21st anniversary of Burma’s Nationwide Democracy Uprising which is known as
the 8/8/88 uprising: – millions of people marched and demanded the restoration of democracy in
Burma and an end of the military dictatorship which had ruled the country since 1962. In 1988 the
military brutally cracked down on peaceful demonstrators and killed over 3000 people, including
monks and students.
Aung San Suu Kyi emerged as the leader of democracy movement and her party, the National
League for Democracy (NLD), won 82% of the parliamentary seats in the national election held in
1990. The people of Burma had overwhelmingly rejected military rule but the military refused to
transfer power to Burma’s democratically elected leaders.
Nobel Peace Prize Winner and Honourary Canadian Citizen, Aung San Suu Kyi has been under
detention for 14 of the past 20 years. On May 13, 2009 she was charged under the regime’s Law
Safeguarding the State from the Dangers of Subversive Elements. She is being held in Insein
Prison after an incident when an American national swam across Inya Lake and, unable to do the
return swim, stayed at her house for two days. She is the world’s only Nobel Laureate in prison.
The Burmese regime, the State Peace and Development Council, has ignored numerous demands
from the UN Security Council, the UN Secretary General, world leaders, celebrities, ASEAN and
the international community that the SPDC release all political prisoners including Aung San Suu
Kyi and work towards a national reconciliation.
Senior General Than Shwe and the Burmese military regime have committed crimes against
humanity on its own citizens, including systematic rape and ethnic cleansing.
The free and democratic world has the responsibility to intervene on behalf of humanity. The
people of Burma call for the UN Security Council members, including China and Russia, to support
putting an end to Burma’s long-standing crisis that threatens regional stability.
We, the undersigned organizations, call for the following UN Security Council binding resolutions if
the junta does not release all political prisoners including Aung San Suu Kyi and does not start a
time bound national reconciliation process immediately:
1. A declaration that the junta’s planned 2010 elections are not inclusive and are
illegitimate
2. The imposition of an arms embargo
3. The establishment of a commission of inquiry in regard to crimes against
humanity.
International Burmese Monks Organization (Canada) Parliamentary Friends of Burma
National League for Democracy (LA) Canada Branch Canadian Campaign for Free Burma
Burmese Students Democratic Organization Karen Canadian Community
Chin Human Rights Organization Free Burma Federation
Burmese Muslim Association (Canada) Arakanese Canadian Society (Toronto)
United Democratic Youth League (Canada Branch) Burma Watch International
Burma Forum Canada
Contact Persons:
Hon. Larry Bagnell M.P. 613 995 9368; Zaw Kyaw 416 358 2318; Tin Htut bsdo.toronto@gmail.com.
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