BurmaNet News, June 3, 2009

[Editor]

June 3, 2009, Issue #3726


INSIDE BURMA
Irrawaddy: Court postpones Suu Kyi verdict, admits defense witnesses
AFP: Myanmar court to consider Suu Kyi witnesses
AP: Myanmar lawyer says US man had no criminal intent
Mizzima News: Activists skeptical of release of child soldiers
Mizzima News: Free Suu Kyi campaign with her portrait distribution
Khonumthung News: Radio sales up for news of Suu Kyi’s trial

ON THE BORDER
Irrawaddy: Thailand opens migrant worker registration program

BUSINESS / TRADE
Irrawaddy: Regime fears growing China dominance of Burma’s economy
Mizzima News: Fund crunch threatens rice production in Burma: WFP

ASEAN
Mizzima News: ASEAN urged to pressure junta for democracy in Burma

REGIONAL
DVB: Thailand and Bangladesh to aid Rohingya repatriation

INTERNATIONAL
Xinhua: Ban pays tribute to former UN chief and Myanmar diplomat U Thant

OPINION / OTHER
Asahi Shimbun (Japan): Time to make good on promise to Myanmar – Benedict
Rogers




____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

June 3, Irrawaddy
Court postpones Suu Kyi verdict, admits defense witnesses

The Rangoon court trying opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi agreed today
to delay the verdict it was planning to give on Friday and to hear the
evidence of three defense witnesses instead.

Nyan Win, a member of Suu Kyi’s legal team, told The Irrawaddy that the
decision to allow the witnesses to testify was “another significant stage
towards winning the case.”

Nyan Win said the decision meant that “the final verdict that was
scheduled to be held on Friday will be given later.”

A defense plea to admit the three witnesses was earlier denied by a
special provincial level court in Insein Prison. The divisional level
court now trying the case had reversed that decision, Nyan Win said.

No date had been given for the reading of the verdict, the lawyer said.

Suu Kyi is charged before the Insein Prison court with violating the terms
of her house arrest by giving shelter to an American intruder, John
William Yettaw. If found guilty, she faces a sentence of up to five years
imprisonment.
________________________________

June 3, Agence France Presse
Myanmar court to consider Suu Kyi witnesses

The trial of Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi was delayed again
on Wednesday after a court in the army-ruled country agreed to hear an
appeal of an earlier decision barring three of her defence witnesses.

The Nobel laureate's trial on charges she violated her house arrest was to
have final arguments on Friday, paving the way for a widely expected
guilty verdict and a prison sentence of up to five years.

But the final hearing was postponed after the Yangon Division Court agreed
on Wednesday to hear an appeal to include testimony from the rejected
defence witnesses, her lawyer Nyan Win said.

"The final argument scheduled for June 5 has been adjourned until a later
date," he told Reuters after the appeal hearing.

Suu Kyi, 63, faces three to five years in prison if found guilty of
breaking the terms of her house arrest by allowing an American intruder to
stay for two days after he swam to her home on May 4.

She has spent more than 13 of the past 19 years in some form of detention,
much of it a virtual prisoner inside her home on Yangon's Inya Lake.

A lower court rejected three of Suu Kyi's four defence witnesses on May
27, including two senior members of her National League for Democracy
(NLD). The prosecution was allowed 23 witnesses, but called only 14.

Activists said it was latest attempt by the regime to sabotage Suu Kyi's
defence since her trial in Yangon's Insein prison began on May 18.

She is accused of violating her house arrest under Section 22 of a
security law protecting the state from "subversive elements". Her lawyers
argue that section is no longer valid because it is based on a
constitution abolished years ago.

Her two female housemates and the American intruder, 53-year-old John
Yettaw, are charged under the same law.

Yettaw, a Missouri resident, has told the court God sent him to warn Suu
Kyi she was going to be assassinated by "terrorists".

Suu Kyi has denied any prior knowledge of his plans and blamed the
incident on a security breach, for which no officials have been punished.

The American is also accused of immigration violations and breaking a
municipal law against swimming in Inya Lake.

The West has condemned the "show trial" as a ploy to keep the charismatic
leader of the NLD in detention during the junta's promised elections next
year.

Critics say the polls, part of the junta's seven-step "roadmap to
democracy", will entrench nearly a half century of military rule in the
former Burma.
____________________________________

June 3, Associated Press
Myanmar lawyer says US man had no criminal intent

An American facing trial for swimming to the home of Myanmar's opposition
leader Aung San Suu Kyi was motivated by religious fervor rather than
criminal intent and should receive a light sentence, his lawyer said
Wednesday.

John W. Yettaw is being tried along with Suu Kyi, who is accused of
violating the terms of her house arrest by allowing the American to stay
for two days after he secretly entered her lakeside compound.

The case, which was set to conclude Friday, will push into at least next
week after a Divisional Court agreed to hear a defense appeal to readmit
three witnesses, one of Suu Kyi's lawyers, Nyan Win, said Wednesday. The
court will take up the appeal Friday.

The lower District Court earlier disqualified all but one defense witness
— legal expert Kyi Win. Those rejected were all members of Suu Kyi's
National League for Democracy party: prominent journalist and former
political prisoner Win Tin, the party's vice chairman Tin Oo, currently
under house arrest, and lawyer Khin Moe Moe.

Both Yettaw and the Nobel Peace laureate could face up to five years in jail.

"I am confident my client could face a lenient sentence. He had no
criminal intent, and the only criminal charge he could face would be for
lurking house-trespass," said Yettaw's lawyer, Khin Maung Oo. Lurking
house-trespass is a legal, English-language term used in Myanmar.

Yettaw is also being tried for violating the immigration law and swimming
in Inya Lake.

The lawyer said his client was not a religious fanatic but rather a devout
Mormon who "came with a mission" to warn Suu Kyi that "terrorists" were
going to assassinate her and then put the blame on the government.

The lawyer said Yettaw was not engaged in a publicity stunt to reap
popularity or to tarnish anyone's image.

Suu Kyi likewise has called Yettaw sincere, and rebuked some of her
followers who have called him a "fool" and a dupe for getting her into
trouble.

"Mr. Yettaw was not acting on instructions by any individual or
organization. He is a very religious man, and he acted on his own belief,"
said the lawyer, when asked about the government's earlier allegation that
anti-government forces engineered the intrusion to embarrass the regime.

Khin Maung Oo said his client was certified 10 years ago as suffering from
post-traumatic stress disorder. He added that he has experienced several
family tragedies, including the death of a son.

Yettaw was wounded while serving in the U.S. military, according to family
members. He continues to draw U.S. government disability payments each
month.

The trial has drawn condemnation from the international community and Suu
Kyi's local supporters, who worry that the junta has found an excuse to
keep her detained through elections planned for next year.

"This show trial is the regime's latest political play to ensure she is
out of the way for the 2010 elections," said Myanmar activist Khin Omar,
of the Forum for Democracy in Burma. Omar said he hoped the Suu Kyi trial
will spur the international community, and the United Nations Security
Council in particular, to take action against the regime.

"It is not too late for something good to come out of this," she said at a
panel discussion in Bangkok on Tuesday night.

____________________________________

June 3, Mizzima News
Activists skeptical of release of child soldiers – Salai Pi Pi

State-run newspapers on Wednesday reported that eight minors who had
joined the military of their own volition were returned to their parents,
a rare case in military-ruled Burma, which is often criticized for
forcibly recruiting children into the armed forces.

The junta’s mouthpiece New Light of Myanmar on Wednesday stated, “The Work
Committee for Prevention Against Recruitment of Minors today handed over
eight minors who joined the Tatmadaw [military] of their own accord to
their parents.”

The incidence, however, was received with skepticism by rights activists,
believing the move a “showpiece” and accusing the junta of secretly
continuing to recruit children into the military.

Aye Myint, a lawyer from Pegu town advocating and fighting against the
recruitment of child soldiers said the paper’s claims were contradictory
to the prevailing situation, as he has received several parental
complaints of children being recruited into the military.

He said just months ago family members of a child, who had reportedly gone
missing in December, approached him explaining they had received a letter
from their son saying he is now in a military camp in central Burma.

While unable to confirm the facts of the missing child, he said he is
working on the case and will bring it to the attention of the liaison
office of the International Labor Organisation in Rangoon, through which
he has been able to rescue a number of boys from military camps in the
past.

“The number of children being returned back to their parents would only be
a small percentage of the total children in the military,” he emphasized.

Meanwhile, Aung Myo Min, Director of the exile-based Human Rights
Education Institute of Burma (HREIB), welcomed the junta’s action of
returning the eight kids to their parents but voiced concern for those who
remain in the camps.

“Earlier the junta blatantly denied having children in their barracks, but
this is a significant confession. It is definitely a progressive
development,” affirmed Aung Myo Min.

He said HREIB has documented the presence and recruitment of child
soldiers into the Burmese Army and expresses his hope that the junta will
release additional children from their barracks.

But Aung Myo Minn said he is skeptical of the junta’s claim of the
children joining the army upon their own will, because the Army is
notorious for abducting children from the streets, railway and bus
stations and other public places.

“We still need to raise the question on whether the children had joined
the Army of their own will, as there are many incidents in which the
regime has forcibly recruited children,” he said.

Additionally, Aung Myo Min expressed concern for the children’s mental and
moral health due to their experiences in the military.

Additional reporting by Niangboi
____________________________________

June 3, Mizzima News
Free Suu Kyi campaign with her portrait distribution – Ko Wild

A ‘free Aung San Suu Kyi campaign’ has started with the distribution of
the democracy icon’s portraits in Yenanchaung, Magwe Division and Myingyan
in Mandalay Division, local people and the National League for Democracy
party members said.

Youth activists and Yenanchaung NLD Township Organizing Committee members
jointly conducted the ‘free Daw Aung San Suu Kyi campaign’ by distributing
500 prints of her portraits in their area starting yesterday. The people
from religious backgrounds and all other walks of life took the portraits
with great enthusiasm, they said.

“The Township Organizing Committee members distributed the prints at
teashops in their area. People from cheroot factories and many local
people, especially in the market area came and asked for the prints.  We
gave them only to the people who enthusiastically asked for it. There were
villagers coming to the market by cars and motorboats. Some people came
from the west side (of Irrawaddy River). Some monks and novices took the
portraits to their villages. The campaign was successful,” Yenanchaugn
Township NLD Vice-Chairman Daw Khin Saw Htay told Mizzima.

In developed countries, they are forging ahead successfully on the five
pillars of the executive, the judiciary, the legislature, the media and
education. But in Burma civil war is still raging and the country is still
backward and underdeveloped and wallowing in abject poverty. The regime
should join hands with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi on whom ethnic people repose
trust to stop this civil war, she added.

While the campaign was on there was no harassment by the local authorities
in Yenanchaung but the police closely monitored the situation in Myingyan.
They questioned some of the campaigners.

A youth campaigner in Myingyan, who took part in the movement said: “We
distributed photographs in the blocks and wards yesterday.  Today we
distributed about 3,000 copies in Myingyan municipal market and
Ayemyathida market. Soon after that, the police heard about it and they
came and watched the situation. They asked shopkeepers in the market, who
were the people who had come and distributed the prints. The police
deployed its forces around the market and at the busy and crowded
intersections in the town. The people, however, welcomed the campaign. The
most favourite portrait of Daw Suu is the one with her standing by her
father Bogyoke’s (General) side,” he said.

Similar movements were launched in Meiktila yesterday. The portraits went
out of stock as people from Yawngshwe and Mandalay asked for more and more
copies.

The campaigners said that they would ceaselessly continue the movement.
____________________________________

June 3, Khonumthung News
Radio sales up for news of Suu Kyi’s trial

Sales of radio sets have been going up in Kalemyo and Tamu Township,
Sagaing division western Burma, with more and more people tuning into
foreign radio program to listen to news about Aung San Suu Kyi’s trial.

"I used to sell only three radio sets a month earlier. But now I sell five
radios a day as the demand is increasing because people want to listen to
news of Daw Suu's trial," said a local shop keeper.

The local people are remotely not interested in the junta run newspapers
and radio. They are keen to listen to BBC, VOA and RFA for Suu Kyi’s
trial. They have gone to the extent of selling their domestic animals to
buy a radio.

“I sold my chickens and purchased a radio. It cost me Kyat 8,000. I read
about Daw Suu’s trial in the New Light of Myanmar newspaper everyday but I
do not believe what they say. I have faith in VOA, BBC and RFA.  I listen
to these programmes at 6 p.m. every day,” said a local woman.

Most women are worried about Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and her trial. They are
offering prayers for her day and night.

“I am really worried about her. I am praying for her health, for her to
emerge victorious in her trial and that the junta can do no harm to her,”
said a woman on condition of anonymity.

Similarly, a report said that most Chin people in Chin state are keenly
following Suu Kyi’s trial. Some went to Mizoram state, India to buy
radios.

“We are totally dependent on radios as we live in remote areas. But we
have to hide the radio sets when soldiers come to our place. We go to
school teachers who have radio sets to listen to VOA, BBC news at 6 p.m.,”
said a local.

Although the military junta prohibits listening to BBC, VOA and RFA news
in the country, families of troops and some soldiers listen secretly, said
a relative of a soldier.

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

June 3, Irrawaddy
Thailand opens migrant worker registration program – Lawi Weng

The Thai government has agreed to offer a new round of registration for
work permits for non-citizens illegally working in Thailand, according to
Thai non-government organizations.

Jackie Pollock, a founding member of the Thailand-based Migrant Assistance
Programme (MAP), said the new registration process requires a
recommendation from an employer. The registration process started on
Monday.

Myo Thaw, who uses one name, a member of the Labor Rights Promotion
Network (LPN), which is based in Mahachai in Samut Sakhon Province said
that the new migrant work permits will have different colors to show the
category of work.

A worker will have the right to change jobs, but it must be in the same
field of work.

According to the LPN, there are 76,000 Burmese workers who have legal work
permits and more than 224,000 workers awaiting a new registration cycle in
Mahachai.
Meanwhile, the Thai government also has agreed to allow Burmese workers
who now hold work permits to apply for work passports from Burma. About
500,000 people are legally registered to work with the Thai ministry of
labor.

However, observers said many Burmese are hesitant to apply to the Burmese
government for fear of being sent back to Burma.

It is estimated that there are about 4 million Burmese migrants living and
working in Thailand.

____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

June 3, Irrawaddy
Regime fears growing China dominance of Burma’s economy – William Boot

The military regime in Burma is becoming increasingly concerned about
China’s growing economic domination and will be worried that tougher
Western sanctions could push the country’s biggest gas field into Chinese
hands.

That’s the view of a Burma economy expert as the outcome of the Aung San
Suu Kyi trial draws closer and an extension of her long detention
threatens to trigger more penalties against the generals by the European
Union and the United States.

Tougher sanctions could force global oil and gas giants Total of France
and Chevron of the US to give up their operation of the Yadana gas field
in the Andaman Sea, said economics professor Sean Turnell, of Macquarie
University in Sydney, Australia.

“This would not be a desired outcome by the regime. They are already
worried about China’s dominance of the economy,” he told The Irrawaddy.

“If China was to grab this [Total operation], ahead of the big Shwe gas
project already bottled up by them, Burma’s economic vassal state destiny
would be almost complete.

“I hear complaints all the time from people in Burma about Chinese
dominance of the economy, and it’s something I think the junta is right to
be concerned about,” said Turnell, who publishes the Burma Economic Watch
report.

The Yadana gas field is the biggest single income earner for the regime,
believed to put more than US $200 million in its pockets annually.

Yadana produces over 18 million cubic meters per day, most of which is
sold to Thailand.

Total, the field operator, holds more than 31 percent of the project,
while Chevron, the second-largest shareholder, has a 28 percent stake and
Thailand’s PTTEP—which buys the gas—has 25.5 percent.

The state-owned Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise, a silent partner, has 15
percent.

China has rejected EU and US calls for it to intercede in the trial of Suu
Kyi, saying it does not interfere in the domestic affairs of other
countries.

But the Beijing government does seek to influence in other ways which
benefit it.

In addition to already muscling out other foreign bidders for the 200
billion cubic meters of gas in the still-to-be-developed Shwe field off
the coast of Arakan State, Beijing has secured an agreement from the
Burmese to build an oil pipeline through their country from a specially
built port on the Bay of Bengal. This will allow the Chinese to save costs
by reducing the transport time of Middle Eastern and African shipments.

France’s Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner has also suggested a Total
withdrawal from Burma would have a limited effect because China would fill
the vacuum.

“That’s not to say we’re not considering it. We have to weigh things
carefully,” he recently told the French parliament.

Total slipped through the net of previous European sanctions, which bars
importing timber, minerals, gems and metals from Burma.

“Forcing Total to divest, or even threatening it, could be something that
would indeed jolt the regime,” said Turnell. “They would care about this.
It’s not just a swap of one for another, but something else.

“You don’t want to hand over pricing power of your most important export
commodity to your principal customer,” Turnell said.

“Yet this is what would happen if Total divested and China took its place.
It would be a monopoly buyer able at will eventually to push down the
prices Burma gets for its gas.”

Last week, Total’s partner Chevron came under new pressure over its
business activities in Burma. Two major US trade unions attempted at the
Californian firm’s annual general meeting to force the management to
justify its continued association with a “pariah military regime.”

____________________________________

June 3, Mizzima News
Fund crunch threatens rice production in Burma: WFP – Solomon

Farmers in the cyclone affected areas in Burma are in acute need of cash
and credit assistance to buy inputs for the ensuing monsoon planting
season, the United Nations World Food Programme said.

Chris Kaye, country director of the WFP in Rangoon, told Mizzima on
Wednesday, “The current priority of the assistance community generally is
to help ensure small farmers have the required cash and credit to purchase
inputs for the current planting season.”

While WFP is able to continue work without many problems in distributing
food assistance, “food and water remains critical for cyclone survivors,
in many areas of Burma’s Irrawaddy delta” he said.

But he said the current priority is to help farmers, whose farms were
inundated and destroyed by the cyclone, plant crops in the current
planting season.

The Irrawaddy delta, also known as Burma’s rice bowl, was laid waste by
the deadly Cyclone Nargis, leaving at least 130,000 dead or missing and
devastating the lives of more than 2.4 million people.

Sean Turnell, Professor of Economics in Macquarie University in Australia
said in an earlier interview to Mizzima that the rural economy in Burma is
on the verge of collapse due to lack of funds and micro-credit system.

Earlier, he said, most farmers rely on money lenders for loan or credit,
but with the impact of the cyclone, farmers can no longer rely on money
lenders as they face equal devastation.

He said farmers are facing extreme difficulties as they were unable to get
enough cash from the sale of their paddy products in the last season,
because of the decreasing prices caused by the global economic recession.

He urged the Burmese regime to inject money in the rural economy to help
the farmers.

Meanwhile, farmers in the Irrawaddy delta complained of lack of available
funds even for borrowing and are desperately in need of assistance to be
able to plant in the current season.

“We are facing difficulties in starting our work because of financial
problems. It is very difficult to get loans,” said a farmer who could only
cultivate half an acre in the last monsoon.

“I did not get any monetary support or material for farming except
tarpaulins,” he said.

He said like him, most farmers are still unable to cultivate all their
farmland as they have no money to buy inputs for cultivation. And some
have already stopped farming.

UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) earlier told Mizzima that
shortage of fund is becoming a big challenge in continuing with the
recovery work.

Shin Imao, FAO’s representative in Burma told Mizzima, rice production has
drastically plummeted and the recovery of livelihoods and food security is
still a big challenge.

“Production is down, so we need to have more quick responses to assist
farmers to recover production,” said Imao.

Rice production in the delta dropped drastically after Cyclone Nargis
struck, “with the produce 45 per cent less than previous years,” Imao
said.

____________________________________
ASEAN

June 3, Mizzima News
ASEAN urged to pressure junta for democracy in Burma – Usa Pichai

ASEAN should use its charter and the ASEAN community should work out a
mechanism to mount pressure on the Burmese military junta to usher in
democracy in the country, a seminar in Bangkok concluded.

Several organizations including the Foreign Affairs Committee of The
Senate of Thailand and the Thai Action Committee for Democracy in Burma
(TACDB) organized a conference “Roles of Thailand and ASEAN in Democracy
Development in Burma; a case of Aung San Suu Kyi ” on Tuesday, in the Thai
Parliament in Bangkok.

Surapong Chainam, Counselor of Minister of Foreign Affairs said that the
outcome of the trial which was postponed to June 5 is predictible because
there is no rule of law in Burma.

“This case is a significant test for the unity of ASEAN countries,
particularly the ASEAN Charter which has several articles related to human
rights issues, rules of law and good governance. It depends on ASEAN
whether it would let the charter be only a paper or gain its holiness,”
Surapong said according to a report in a Thai News Agency.

Meanwhile, Laddawan Tantiwittayapitak from TACDB said that ASEAN must use
the charter beneficially to create justice for the people. “However, it’s
hard work, so the ASEAN and Thai Parliament should collaborate to work on
development of democracy in Burma such as to observe Aung San Suu Kyi’s
trial, impeach Burma from ASEAN membership or discuss with China which
plays an important role vis a vis the  Burmese government.”

He also added that Thailand’s statement on the trial was not interference
with Burma’s internal affair and the member countries in ASEAN did not go
against this action.

On Wednesday, 22 women members of the Thai Parliament petitioned Burma's
junta to drop the current charges against democracy leader Aung San Suu
Kyi and free her immediately.

"As a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, and as a longstanding democracy
advocate, Daw (Mrs) Aung San Suu Kyi has been an inspiration not only to
women MPs in Thailand but also for all adherents and participants of
democratic ideals worldwide," the 22 Thai women said in a statement which
is the first such statement by a group of women MPs in Thai Parliament on
a diplomatic matter.

"We believe her action, if committed, was an act out of mercy and out of
her concern for a fellow human being. The incident warrants no trial of
detention," the Thai MPs' letter to Burma's military rulers said.

"We, the undersigned women members of Thai Parliament, strongly urge for
the unconditional release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and other political
detainees," it said.

There are 62 women MPs out of a total of 474 MPs in Thailand's Lower House.

Last week, 30 Thai senators also signed a petition urging for justice for
Aung San Suu Kyi, which was submitted to the Prime Minister of Burma
through the Burmese Embassy in Thailand to express their concern over the
trial with their standpoint based on good relations between Thailand and
Burma.

____________________________________
REGIONAL

June 3, Democratic Voice of Burma
Thailand and Bangladesh to aid Rohingya repatriation – Rosalie Smith

Thailand and Bangladesh are to take action to stem the flow of Rohingya
refugees into Burma’s neighbouring countries and will help with
repatriation back to Burma, said the Thai foreign minister yesterday.

The Muslim Rohingya are a minority in Burma and have the fled the country
in increasing numbers in recent years.

Their plight hit the headlines in January this year when around 1000
Rohingya refugees landed ashore in Thailand, only to towed back out to sea
by Thai authorities. Around 550 were thought to have died.

Thai foreign minister Kasit Piromya said that he and his Bangladeshi
counterpart had agreed tripartite dialogue with Burma to find a solution
to the problem.

The Burmese government have initially been reluctant to grant repatriation
to Rohingya who had fled the country’s western Arakan state, claiming they
would have to prove they came from Burma in the first place.

This would be almost impossible, however, given that Rohingya in Burma are
denied legal status.

“There would need to be assurances from the government of [Burma] that the
returning Rohingya people would not be penalized for leaving [Burma] in
the first place,” said Kitty McKinsey, spokesperson for the UN
Humanitarian Commission for Refugees in Asia.

Thousands of Rohingya are believed to leave Burma each year for Malaysia
and Thailand, while around 250,000 have sought refuge on the Bangladeshi
side of the Burmese border.

“It’s not at all clear that these people would voluntarily go back to
Myanmar,” McKinsey said.

“What would help the Rohingya would be if they were admitted to a
screening process in Thailand to have their claims heard and to determine
whether they are legitimate refugees,” McKinsey explained.

Last month Human Rights Watch reported of the plight of the Rohingyas
stating that Thailand’s ‘deterrence policy’ in treating the Rohingyas has
violated international legal obligations towards asylum seekers.

The report stated Thailand has claimed that Rohingya are merely economic
refugees and are a threat to national security.

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

June 3, Xinhua
Ban pays tribute to former UN chief and Myanmar diplomat U Thant

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, marking the 100th anniversary of the
birth of U Thant, on Wednesday paid tribute to the memory of the former
United Nations chief and voiced hope for a better future for the land of
his birth, Myanmar.

Addressing guests at a lunch held at the UN Headquarters in New York, Ban
recalled that during his mission to Myanmar last year in the aftermath of
Cyclone Nargis, he took the opportunity to visit the U Thant mausoleum in
Yangon to pay his respects.

Ban said that he will visit Myanmar this year.

The secretary-general highlighted the many ways the "quiet diplomat"
worked hard for the principles of the United Nations, including helping to
defuse Cold War tensions.

U Thant also oversaw the Organization's growth, both in membership and
scope, and helped lay the foundations for what is now called sustainable
development, Ban said.

U Thant's roots as a teacher also provided the seeds for the UNU niversity
and the Institute that bears his name, which is built on the concept of
"One World," he said.

The crises of the past year -- the food crisis, the energy crisis, the
financial crisis and the economic crisis -- emphasized the
interconnections of our "One World," said the secretary-general.

"We see them also with climate change," he added. "Many of the countries
that joined the United Nations while U Thant was secretary-general will be
among the worst affected by climate change."

"This is why I call for global solidarity whenever I speak," stated Mr.
Ban, who said he will continue to do so between now and December, when
governments meet to seal a deal on climate change at a UN conference in
Copenhagen.

The event was organized by the U Thant Institute, the UN Office for
Partnerships and the UN Department of Public Information (DPI).

____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

June 3, Asahi Shimbun (Japan)
Time to make good on promise to Myanmar – Benedict Rogers

Burmese democracy leader and Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi stood trial
last month on new, false charges --despite having spent 13 of the past 19
years under house arrest. She has committed no crime: Indeed, it is the
regime that is criminal.

Her imprisonment is typical of this immoral and barbaric junta. A year
ago, the military regime in Myanmar (Burma) imposed a sham Constitution
through a rigged referendum, which enshrines military rule and excludes
the democracy movement and major ethnic groups. The referendum was a
rubber stamp, in which the regime claimed 99 percent turnout, with 92.4
percent in favor of the new Constitution. Yet, the authorities threatened,
harassed, intimidated and bribed the people into voting "yes," and in some
places people were denied the vote altogether; local officials cast
ballots on their behalf. The backdrop was a law which prohibited criticism
of the Constitution and imposed prison sentences on campaigners for a no
vote.

The referendum was held just a week after Myanmar's worst humanitarian
disaster. A cyclone struck the country on May 2. The storm, and the
regime's initial refusal of international aid, caused the deaths of at
least 140,000 people and the displacement of 2.5 million others. The
regime's failure to help the victims, and its rejection--and subsequent
restriction--of outside help, was criminal. To proceed with a vote when
people were struggling for survival added to the callousness.

The regime's inhumanity was exposed for all to see, though it was a
continuation of its record of barbarity. The brutal crackdown on Buddhist
monks in the "Saffron Revolution" in 2007 shocked the world. Among the
dead was Japanese photojournalist Kenji Nagai. The junta's decades-long
campaign of ethnic cleansing in eastern Myanmar amounts to crimes against
humanity--rape as a weapon of war, forced labor, the use of human
minesweepers, the killing of civilians, and the destruction of more than
3,300 villages have turned Myanmar into Asia's Darfur. Suu Kyi is now the
world's only detained Nobel Peace Prize laureate. The United Nations has
ruled that her detention violates international and Burmese law.

With this background, one would expect Japan to be outspoken. As the
leading democracy in the region, Japan could use its influence to promote
change in Myanmar. Instead, the Foreign Ministry is pursuing a program of
extraordinary appeasement.

Myanmar's regime recently announced the release of 6,313 prisoners, and
Japan welcomed their release. However, only 30 of these are political
prisoners. Japan's Foreign Ministry made no mention of the more than 2,100
prisoners of conscience who languish in prison, subjected to horrific
torture. In the past the regime has recruited criminals released from
prison into its proxy militia organizations, which it uses to physically
attack democracy activists. It would not be surprising if the regime
recruited those recently released for the same purpose.

In the past year, I have met with Japanese Foreign Ministry officials on
two occasions. Both times I thought I had entered a scene from "Alice in
Wonderland." Prior to the referendum, when I raised concerns about the
process, a Foreign Ministry official sprang to the regime's defense. "They
are trying their best," he told me. "No system is perfect." He compared
Myanmar's referendum with the Florida count in the 2000 U.S. presidential
election, acknowledging that perhaps some "mistakes" happen. When I
reminded him that Burmese campaigners for a vote against the Constitution
were jailed, he argued that the junta had introduced "due process." When
asked to explain, he replied: "They don't just lock people up. They have a
trial first."

In March, I met the same man again, and his rhetoric had not changed. The
regime is planning elections in 2010, which will be as rigged as the
referendum. But the Foreign Ministry welcomes the elections and is
providing technical assistance. I reminded him that no one believes these
elections will be remotely free and fair. His answer? "It is very
difficult to know what is the meaning of free and fair."

And now, after Suu Kyi has been moved to the notorious Insein Prison, on
new, completely false charges, the Foreign Ministry merely "observes" the
situation with "deep concern." Her defense lawyer's license has been
revoked, but Japan still hopes that the international community will give
"high regard for a general election in 2010." Come on.

Japan has a historical obligation to Myanmar, from its relationship with
Aung San and the Thirty Comrades through its occupation of Burma in World
War II to Suu Kyi's time studying in Kyoto and the murder of Kenji Nagai.
Foreign Ministry officials of the kind I have met do Japan no favors at
all. Their acquiescence in the regime's dirty work should be replaced with
a robust rejection of the regime's sham elections, and pro-active
leadership in support of an arms embargo at the U.N. Security Council.
Japan should introduce targeted financial sanctions aimed at the generals
ruling Myanmar, and support a U.N. commission of inquiry into crimes
against humanity. It is time to fulfill the false promises Japan made
almost 70 years ago--to help the Burmese people liberate themselves and
have the genuine independence they have sacrificed so much to achieve.

* * *

Benedict Rogers is a writer and human rights activist with Christian
Solidarity Worldwide.(IHT/Asahi: June 2,2009)