From editor at burmanet.org Wed Oct 14 15:04:36 2009 From: editor at burmanet.org (Editor) Date: Wed, 14 Oct 2009 15:04:36 -0400 (EDT) Subject: BurmaNet News, October 14, 2009 Message-ID: <36561.63.173.78.131.1255547076.squirrel@webmail8.pair.com> October 14, 2009 Issue #3818 INSIDE BURMA Irrawaddy: 11 political activists sentenced at Insein Prison AP: American to stand trial in Myanmar for fraud Mizzima: EU diplomats meet NLD leaders ON THE BORDER Irrawaddy: Burmese migrants beaten, arrested in China Kaladan Press: Local authorities restrict refugee movement again DVB: DKBA moves towards border guard change ASEAN DVB: US senator urges ASEAN free trade OPINION / OTHER Irrawaddy: The message from Oslo ? Aung Zaw STATEMENT Asian Human Rights Commission: Misuse of law to imprison man who complained about electricity supply (AHRC-STM-214-2009) ____________________________________ INSIDE BURMA October 14, Irrawaddy 11 political activists sentenced at Insein Prison ? Ko Htwe Eleven political activists, including one Buddhist monk, were sentenced to between five and 10 years on Tuesday at Rangoon Northern District Court in Insein Prison. The court also passed down a sentence in absentia on two monks, Ashin Pyinnya Jota and Ashin Sandardika, from the All Burma Monks? Alliance, who have fled abroad. Sources close to prison authorities in Insein told The Irrawaddy on Wednesday that Ashin Sandimar (aka Tun Naung), Kyaw Zin Min (aka Zaw Moe), Wunna Nwe and Zin Min Shein were sentenced to 10 years imprisonment for violating the Explosives Law (Section 3) and the Unlawful Association Law (Section 6). Meanwhile, Saw Maung, Aung Moe Lwin, Moe Htet Nay, Tun Lin Aung, Zaw Latt, Naing Win and Tun Lin Oo were sentenced to five years for violating Section 6. In 2008, Ashin Sandimar, Wunna Nwe and Saw Maung were sentenced to eight years imprisonment for violating the Immigration Act (13/1) and the Illegal Organization Act (17/1), while Zin Min Shein and Tun Lwin Aung are already serving 13-year sentences for other offences related to political activities. Therefore, Ashin Sandimar, Wunna Nwe and Tun Lwin Aung have now been convicted and sentenced to 18 years each, while Saw Maung has received 13 years, and Zin Min Shein a total of 23 years. Bo Kyi, the joint-secretary of the Thailand-based rights group Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma), said, ?We can say with certainty there was no free and fair verdict. They [the activists] were tortured during interrogation and were forced to admit violating these acts.? Sources have said that some of the activists?perhaps even some of those already behind bars?tried to organize demonstrations on the second anniversary of the Saffron Revolution in September, but the authorities caught them and accused them of belonging to illegal organizations, of being terrorists, and of planning to create unrest. Meanwhile, Burmese-American activist Nyi Nyi Aung (aka Kyaw Zaw Lwin), who was arrested in early September at Rangoon Airport, appeared in court for the first time on Wednesday. ?He has been accused of violating the Cheating Offence - Section 420, and forgery,? said his lawyer, Nyan Win. Shortly after the arrest of Nyi Nyi Aung, 16 ethnic Arakan youths were arrested?seven in Rangoon and the others in Sittwe, the capital of Arakan State. They were accused of maintaining links with the Thailand-based All Arakan Students? and Youths? Congress. According to Assistance Association for Political Prisoner (Burma), 2,119 political prisoners are being held in prisons across the country. ____________________________________ October 14, Associated Press American to stand trial in Myanmar for fraud Yangon, Myanmar ? A Myanmar-born American jailed for allegedly plotting to incite unrest in the military-ruled country was brought before a court Wednesday on charges that carry a sentence of up to 14 years, his lawyer said. Kyaw Zaw Lwin was charged with fraud and forgery but not with inciting unrest, of which he was earlier accused, said his lawyer, Nyan Win. The fraud and forgery charges each carry a prison term of seven years. A hearing has been scheduled for Oct. 23 with testimony by prosecution witnesses, including immigration officials, the lawyer said. Authorities arrested the U.S. citizen, also referred to as Nyi Nyi Aung, on arrival at Yangon airport on Sept. 3. According to dissident groups he is a resident of Maryland. "Nyi Nyi Aung is well and in good spirits," said Nyan Win. A U.S. Embassy consular official was also present in the courtroom, which is inside Yangon's notorious Insein prison, said Drake Weisert, an embassy spokesman. Nyan Win said his client told him on Monday that he was physically tortured while being interrogated during the early part of his detention. He denied allegations that he was plotting to incite unrest. The U.S. Embassy said it has made a formal complaint to Myanmar's military government over Kyaw Zaw Lwin's claims that he was mistreated in prison. Myanmar authorities accused Kyaw Zaw Lwin of entering Myanmar to stir up protests by Buddhist monks, who led pro-democracy demonstrations in 2007 that were brutally suppressed by the junta. Authorities said he confessed to plotting with dissident groups outside the country, and accused him of links to several activists inside Myanmar who planned to set off bombs. Nyan Win said his client was charged with forgery for allegedly making a national identity card. Lawyers Nyan Win and Kyi Win led the legal team that defended pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi in a recent high-profile trial that resulted in an extension of her house arrest. She is currently serving an 18-month sentence after spending 14 of the past 20 years in detention. Kyaw Zaw Lwin's mother is serving a five-year jail term for political activities and his sister was sentenced to 65 years in prison for her role in the 2007 pro-democracy protests, activist groups and family members said. ____________________________________ October 14, Mizzima EU diplomats meet NLD leaders ? Mungpi New Delhi - A delegation of European Union diplomats on Wednesday met leaders of Burma?s opposition party ? the National League for Democracy ? wanting to know its stand on the ruling junta?s planned 2010 elections. Khin Maung Swe, a central executive committee member of the NLD said, the delegation, comprising 20 diplomats, visited the NLD office in West Shwegondine Street and asked how the NLD views Aung San Suu Kyi?s cooperation to help ease sanctions, and whether the NLD is seeking power-sharing with the junta in making a demand to revise the 2008 constitution. ?Our reply is that we are not seeking for power-sharing, but are demanding a revision of the 2008 constitution, so the political process can be broad based and inclusive,? Khin Maung Swe told Mizzima ?We are not demanding power, we are asking the government to ensure that the constitution guarantees the people their rights,? Khin Maung Swe told Mizzima. The diplomats, from Bangkok?s Swedish Embassy, Rangoon?s British, Italy, German and French embassies, according to Khin Maung Swe, were mainly visiting the office to seek information that may help shape the European Union?s common position on Burma. EU, like the United States, has maintained sanctions against Burma?s ruling junta and in April extended its sanctions for another year. ?We believe that the visit was part of the EU?s effort to find useful information in helping Burma to achieve democracy,? the NLD leader said. The EU delegation?s visit came days after the visit by diplomats of US, UK and Australia to the NLD office. On Friday, US, UK and Australian diplomats met detained party leader Aung San SUu Kyi and also met the NLD CEC. Welcoming the EU delegation?s visit Khin Maung Swe said, ?We are glad that the EU and the international community are taking interest in the Burma issue. We would like to urge all to take further action for Burma to achieve democracy.? ____________________________________ ON THE BORDER October 14, Irrawaddy Burmese migrants beaten, arrested in China ? Saw Yan Naing Chinese police have been cracking down recently on illegal Burmese migrant workers with beatings commonplace and about 50 migrants arrested every day, according to sources on the Sino-Burmese border. The crackdown started around Sept. 25. Several detained migrants have alleged they were badly beaten and were charged 300 yuan (US $44) for their release. Immediately after their release, the Burmese migrants were forcibly repatriated, said the sources. Ma Grang, a merchant in the Chinese border town of Ruili, said he met with a factory worker named Myo Win and his friend who claimed they were badly beaten by the Chinese police, and have since returned to Burma. ?They were beaten with batons on their back, legs and chest. I saw the bruises,? said Ma Grang. ?Myo Win was not able to work for a few days.? He said that Chinese police did not systematically beat up illegal Burmese migrant workers in the past. ?However, this time, they are treating the migrants brutally,? he said. He added that Burmese migrant workers in Ruili?a border town in southwestern Yunnan Province which lies opposite the Burmese town of Muse?are currently living in fear and dare not go outside their living quarters. Awng Wa, a source on the Sino-Burmese border, confirmed that the Chinese authorities had increased restrictions on migrating or visiting Burmese people. In the past, Burmese people could cross the border and stay in Ruili for more than a week at a time. With the current crackdown, Burmese are only allowed to stay on Chinese soil for seven days. Anyone violating the rule is fined 600 yuan ($88), he said. Sources in Ruili speculated that the police crackdown had been initiated to prevent the flow of illegal Burmese migrant workers into China. Others, however, claimed the Chinese were responding to attacks by Burmese government troops against ethnic Kokang and Han Chinese migrants in Burma in August. During the Burmese government attacks, about 37,000 ethnic Kokang?who are widely considered to be ethnic Han Chinese?and first-generation Chinese migrants had to flee from Laogai in Burma across the Chinese border. Many Chinese reported that they had lost their businesses as a consequence. An estimated 90 percent of businesses in Laogai are?or were?owned by Chinese businesspeople. Ma Grang said many businessmen in Ruili have suggested that the crackdown against Burmese migrants is a reciprocal gesture because of what happened to Chinese people in Burma recently. Awng Wa told The Irrawaddy he believed both motives were in play?the Chinese police were cracking down on Burmese in revenge for the Laogai seizure, and to curtail the number of migrants crossing into Yunnan Province, he said. ____________________________________ October 14, Kaladan Press Local authorities restrict refugee movement again Kutupalong, Bangladesh ? Local authorities from Morischa border check post under the Ukeya police station have restricted Arakanese Rohingya refugees from Kutupalong to cross the check post for their daily work in other areas, said Abu Alam, the camp refugee committee secretary. Today early, morning, Arakanese Rohingya refugees from the unregistered refugee camp, were going for their daily work in Cox?s Bazaar and other parts of Ukeya area by local bus. But, when the refugees reached the border check post of Morischa, the security personnel did not allow them to pass and told them to go back to the camp, he added. When the refugees asked the security personnel at the check post about the reason for the restriction as going to work is their only way of survival the security personnel avoided answering, the secretary said. ?We are not recognized by the UNHCR as refugees and we do not get any support from any quarter. We worked for our families? survival, for which we need to move for jobs. If the Bangladesh government restricts our movement, how is it different from the Burmese military junta,? asked Rafique, a committee member from the camp. ?We came here to save our lives from the Burmese military junta. We don?t want to settle here. When our country becomes peaceful and democracy is restored, we will go back to our country,? he added. The unregistered Kutupalong refugee camp has more than 30,000 people who are working for their survival in areas near the camp and Cox?s Bazaar as daily labourers and rickshaw pullers. The camp is getting little support from ACF and MSF for a hygienic system in the camp, supply of biscuits to the young, supply of household items and medical treatment. Today, because of the border check post block more than 50 refugees returned to the camp. ____________________________________ October 14, Democratic Voice of Burma DKBA moves towards border guard change The pro-junta Democratic Karen Buddhist Army is to present the Burmese government with a list of battalions that will be transformed into border guard forces, officials from the group said. The list is due to be sent tomorrow to the government?s military affairs security chief, Lieutenant General Ye Myint. The ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) has been urging ceasefire groups in Burma to transform into border guard forces prior to the 2010 elections, although many have so far refused. A Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) official said that those appointed to the border guard group would be given military and administration training in December in Moulmein, the capital of Burma?s eastern Mon state. ?There would be 360 personnel, including 30 Burmese army members, in each new battalion,? said the DKBA official. ?We don?t know how many battalions would be formed.? He said that DKBA leaders are now holding a five-day conference, due to end tomorrow, in Karen state. The government has reportedly told the DKBA that new border guard forces would be under the direct control of the commander-in-chief of the country?s Defence Services. The highest position in the group would be major?s rank, while the age range for personnel in each battalion will be 18 to 50 years old. Another DKBA official said Ye Myint came to the DKBA headquarters at the end of September and told the group to dismantle its Tactical Operation Command unit. An official at the DKBA?s 999th Battalion said some members within the group were disappointed with the age and rank limits for the border militia group. A number of battalions accommodate people who are over 50 years old, many of whom rank above major, who would face demotion once the transformation has taken place. Resistance to the government?s border guard plan has come from the majority of Burma?s ceasefire groups, who claim that the move would erode their autonomy and significantly weaken their clout. The government is attempting to bring more armed groups back into the ?legal fold?, and thus permit them to create political parties, prior elections next. Ostensibly the move would bring more support for the government. ____________________________________ ASEAN October 14, Democratic Voice of Burma US senator urges ASEAN free trade ? Francis Wade Restrictions on US trade with Burma should not hinder the establishment of a Free Trade Agreement between Washington and Southeast Asian nations, a top US senator has said. Legislation is set to be introduced this week by Dick Lugar, US senator for Indiana, that will encourage Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations between the US and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), a statement on the senator?s website said. ?The United States should proceed to develop a comprehensive strategy toward engaging ASEAN in serious FTA discussions,? Lugar said. The US is already party to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and Central America-Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR). An FTA is an agreement between countries to eliminate tariffs and preferences on goods and service traded. According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), six ASEAN countries, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam and Singapore, are expected to grow at around four percent next year, more than many of the world?s advanced economies. Lugar said however that access to ASEAN markets by China, India, Australia, New Zealand and South Korea are giving these countries ?a competitive edge over the US in Southeast Asia?. An FTA agreement between ASEAN nations, New Zealand and Australia is due to come into force on 1 January next year. Australia?s trade minister, Simon Crean, said today that the agreement will cover 600 million people and a combined Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of around $AUS3 trillion. Lugar?s comment comes a month before US president Barrack Obama is due to make his first address at an ASEAN summit, scheduled for mid-November. It also comes shortly after the US announced it would begin dialogue with the ruling junta in Burma, whilst maintaining sanctions, after years of isolation. Lugar said that ongoing restrictions on trade with Burma ?should not deter US efforts to reach an FTA with the rest of ASEAN?. ?President Obama?s possible meeting with ASEAN leaders while in Singapore will reflect the significance of the US-ASEAN relationship,? he said. Observers say the US policy shift is being done in part to counter China?s growing influence over Burma, and the ASEAN region. ASEAN nations are also said to be concerned about China?s political, economic and military dominance in the region. It was Lugar who in 2006 introduced legislation to establish the first US ambassador to ASEAN. ____________________________________ OPINION / OTHER October 14, Irrawaddy The message from Oslo ? Aung Zaw The decision to award the Nobel Peace Prize to US President Barack Obama has caused controversy and surprise around the world. At home, some Republicans and conservative hardliners portrayed Obama as the darling of ?European leftist elites.? Some political pundits even said that he should turn down the prize from what they described as an ?anti-American committee.? ?This is not Obama's fault,? said Ari Fleischer, a former Bush spokesman, noting that the president did not seek out the Nobel Prize. Fleischer then argued that it is fair game for Republicans to question an award for a president who so far appears to be ?all show and no substance.? Obama admitted that he was also taken by surprise after learning he won the Nobel Peace Prize but said he was ?deeply humbled.? The US president said he did not see the Nobel Prize ?as recognition of my own accomplishments,? but rather as an acknowledgment of the objectives he and his administration have set for the US and the world. ?I do not feel that I deserve to be in the company of so many transformative figures that have been honored by this prize,? Obama said. Thorbjorn Jagland, chairman of the Nobel committee that chose Obama for the Peace Prize, defended the decision and praised the president?s efforts to heal the divide between the West and the Muslim world and scale down the anti-missile shield in Europe. ?All these things contributed to?I wouldn?t say a safer world?but a world with less tension,? he said. Obama plans to go to Oslo to accept the award. Well, it?s a relief that at least this Nobel laureate is not under house arrest. In 1991, when the Nobel Peace Prize committee announced the award of that year?s Peace Prize to detained democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi people in Rangoon listened to the news on the BBC?s Burmese service with jubilation. They saw the award as a resounding reproof to the Burmese regime. Suu Kyi also learned the news from her radio at home and told visiting US congressman Bill Richardson and New York Times reporter Philip Shenon in February 1994 that she had felt humbled. Suu Kyi?s son Alexander Aris accepted the award in Oslo on her behalf in December 1991, and said in an acceptance speech: ?Firstly, I know that she would begin by saying that she accepts the Nobel Prize for Peace not in her own name but in the name of all the people of Burma. ?She would say that this prize belongs not to her but to all those men, women and children who, even as I speak, continue to sacrifice their wellbeing, their freedom and their lives in pursuit of a democratic Burma. Theirs is the prize and theirs will be the eventual victory in Burma's long struggle for peace, freedom and democracy.? The prize came at a high price for the Burmese people, as a frustrated regime that same year brutally crushed a peaceful demonstration by Rangoon students who were celebrating the award to Suu Kyi. Many of the arrested students were thrown into prison to serve sentences of up to 12 years. The regime denounced the decision of the Nobel Committee to honor Suu Kyi. The state-run media even went so far as to suggest that the Central Intelligence Agency had played a role in the decision. The regime?s twisted logic saw the award as Western interference in Burmese affairs and Suu Kyi was described as ?the darling of the West.? Francis Sejersted, who headed the Nobel Award Committee, said Suu Kyi had been chosen for the award because she was ?one of the most extraordinary examples of civil courage in Asia in recent decades.? Nevertheless, the award had its critics, within and outside Burma. Suu Kyi entered politics after returning to Burma from London in 1988 to nurse her ailing mother Khin Kyi. She was drawn into the tumultuous events of that year, and in 1989 the regime placed her under house arrest. In just a few months she had become a figurehead. Her first public speech at Rangoon?s Shwedagon Pagoda drew hundreds of thousands of people who know her only as the daughter of Burma?s independence hero Aung San. Three years after that first venture into Burmese politics, Suu Kyi was awarded the Nobel Prize. It is fair to ask what she had done to deserve it. One prominent European statesman played a key role in the Nobel Peace Prize Committee?s decision. Former Czech President Vaclav Havel, a staunch supporter of the Burmese democracy movement, nominated Suu Kyi for the award. In an interview in 2001 with The Irrawaddy?s correspondent Min Zin, Havel described Suu Kyi as a friend and said she deserved the prize because of her non-violent struggle for democracy. Havel said dialogue and national reconciliation were the best options in breaking Burma?s political impasse. Today, his country, the Czech Republic, continues to play a leading role in Europe in promoting Burma?s cause. (It?s ironic that Havel recently expressed his disappointment at Obama?s decision to put off a meeting with Dalai Lama until after a US-China summit.) The critics who once questioned the Nobel Peace Committee?s decision in 1991 to award the Peace Prize to Suu Kyi now quietly admit that she did indeed deserve it. They recognize her principled commitment to fight for democratic change in Burma and see how she has inspired many at home and abroad as a symbol of democratic struggle in the international arena. Still, some argue that because of the Nobel Peace Prize, Suu Kyi?s non-violent struggle places her in a straightjacket because she has to refrain from calling for the downfall of the current regime. Yet it must be said that the award of the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize to Suu Kyi gave the Burmese people hope, boosted their morale and the struggle for democratic change. Whatever the doubts that Suu Kyi will live to see the changes she dreams of, she definitely plays a key role in pushing for a peaceful transition of power in Burma and injecting a theme of dialogue in the often violent and vicious Burmese political culture. In the years since 1991, Suu Kyi has shown the world that she did indeed deserve the Nobel Peace Prize. Now, President Obama faces a huge test of his own. He has to convince critics that the medal is not for show but for achievement. The US president is in illustrious company?the Dalai Lama, Desmond Tutu and other great names?who all share more than a place on the Nobel roll of honor. They are all additionally bound by their regard and support for a woman who has met the highest Nobel standards?Aung San Suu Kyi. ____________________________________ STATEMENT October 13, Asian Human Rights Commission Misuse of law to imprison man who complained about electricity supply (AHRC-STM-214-2009) Last week the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) issued an urgent appeal on the case of a man in Burma who has been imprisoned as a consequence of making repeated complaints about electricity supply and other poor services in his neighbourhood of Rangoon. The complainant, U Khin Maung Kyi, 45, in August had called the township electricity supply office over problems with the service to his house. He had argued with the staff on the phone. Thereafter, officials brought a security bond order against him. But because there is already a criminal case pending, he was imprisoned instead of being released on the bond. (The full details of the case are in the appeal: AHRC-UAC-133-2009 .) The case deserves our attention not because it is particularly bad--in comparison to many other cases in Burma it is not--but because it is indicative of how in a perverted system of law and government administration any law can be used for any purpose, including to jail a man whose so-called crime was merely to have been an annoyance to government personnel. The law under which Khin Maung Kyi has been jailed is the 1961 Restriction and Bond Act. Under that act, if the authorities have credible information that a person or persons are likely to commit a criminal offence, they can apply for a good behaviour bond to be placed on the person or persons. The types of offences for which the act is envisaged are listed under its section 3. They include housebreaking, theft, robbery, procurement, criminal intimidation, destroying railway lines or bridges, arms offences, endangering law and order, or abetment of such crimes. The list is rather long and some of the offences, including the last--under which Khin Maung Kyi was accused--are ambiguous. In any event, it is clear that the making of repeated telephone calls to a government office does not constitute grounds for the issuance of an order. That this is the case is all the more obvious when considering the contents of the Courts Manual. The manual makes strenuously clear to judges that rumours of possible offences are not satisfactory grounds for issuing these orders. Judges have a special obligation to check that the facts are credible. It states in section 376(1) of chapter XVI that: "No person should be called upon to give security except under credible, clear and substantial information. Although a police report is credible information, Magistrates must not take action too readily upon such reports..." The manual and later the 1961 act were both introduced at a time that the courts in Burma were still functioning according to legal principles rather than the policy-directives of a military regime. Therefore they do not consider explicitly a case like that made against a man who merely had the affrontery to complain about his electricity supply. They also both presume that a judge will act more or less according to the concept of a judge that once existed: that of a judicial officer rather than an executive officer in judicial garb. The absurdity of the current case speaks to the vast gap that now exists between the notion of a judge in Burma of the past and the one of the present. A further disturbing feature of the case is that the form on which the order for the bond made against Khin Maung Kyi was prepared had been filled out beforehand. Only the sections for his name, the date and the signature of the judge were filled out on the day of the order. This suggests two things: that this court is giving out these orders frequently enough that its officials find it expedient to fill out the necessary documentation in batches; and, that the actual circumstances of each order do not matter. Anyone looking at the bond orders for this court would find that the grounds for the orders are the same. There is no way to identify the specific grounds for the orders and therefore there is no need for "credible, clear and substantial" information on which to obtain them. Any official wanting to restrict or deny someone his or her liberty can front up at the court and have an order issued as a formality. In this manner, the court is not only endorsing police and executive officials' decisions to restrict the already limited freedoms of citizens in Burma; it is actively encouraging them to continue to make baseless requests of the same type. This has effects for the system as a whole. It reassures the police that they need not be serious and diligent in any of their work. They can front up to trial without evidence and get convictions. They can cajole and buy their way through anything. Although the problems in U Khin Maung Kyi's case are indicative of features of the legal system in Burma that will not be addressed until the country experiences considerable political change, the Supreme Court could issue detailed guidelines about the use of the 1961 Restriction and Bond Act so as to prevent these types of glaring abuses. The guidelines should stipulate the types of circumstances under which such orders can and cannot be issued and reinforce the responsibility of the judge to conduct a genuine enquiry when he or she receives a request for an order of this sort. These guidelines would not of course solve any of the deeper systemic problems that underlie the present case, but could at least serve to prevent the needless imprisonment of a few more people like Khin Maung Kyi, and in the process may help to ameliorate the worst effects of the abuse of security bonds on other parts of Burma's already profoundly damaged legal system. About AHRC: The Asian Human Rights Commission is a regional non-governmental organisation monitoring and lobbying human rights issues in Asia. The Hong Kong-based group was founded in 1984.