From editor at burmanet.org Fri Oct 16 15:33:35 2009 From: editor at burmanet.org (Editor) Date: Fri, 16 Oct 2009 15:33:35 -0400 (EDT) Subject: BurmaNet News, October 16, 2009 Message-ID: <50886.63.173.78.131.1255721615.squirrel@webmail3.pair.com> October 16, 2009 Issue #3820 INSIDE BURMA AFP: Myanmar's Suu Kyi positive about sanctions meetings: lawyer DPA: Myanmar opposition leader to appeal sentence at Supreme Court Mizzima News: Ethnic groups grapple with election strategy DVB: Two child soldiers facing execution ON THE BORDER AFP: Bangladesh reinforces Myanmar border: officials IMNA: Burmese migrant workers harassed by gangs in Southern Thailand REGIONAL DVB: India urged to address human rights in Burma INTERNATIONAL DVB: Zarganar receives PEN/Pinter award OPINION / OTHER Irrawaddy: The NLD?s internal debate ? Wai Moe Bangkok Post: Migrants in a bind ? Editorial ____________________________________ INSIDE BURMA October 16, Agence France Presse Myanmar's Suu Kyi positive about sanctions meetings: lawyer Yangon ? Myanmar's detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi has said her recent meetings about sanctions with diplomats and a junta minister were positive, her lawyer told AFP Friday. She held a rare meeting last Friday with top Western diplomats to discuss sanctions imposed on the military-ruled nation, having earlier in the week met twice with Aung Kyi, the official liaison between herself and the junta. The pair had not met since January 2008. The meetings followed a letter she wrote to junta chief Than Shwe, which offered suggestions on getting sanctions lifted, marking an easing of her stance after years of advocating punitive measures against the ruling generals. "Daw Suu sees the meetings as positive and also she expects the meeting process to be effective," her lawyer Nyan Win said, after meeting with the opposition leader for an hour on Friday. "Daw" is a term of respect in Myanmar. The Nobel Peace Laureate wants to meet with diplomats again to get more facts and figures about sanctions, Nyan Win said, adding that they would not be releasing any more details of the talks for the moment. On October 2, Suu Kyi's appeal against her extended house arrest was rejected by judges, who upheld her August conviction over an incident in which an American man swam uninvited to her lakeside house. The guilty verdict for the frail 64-year-old, who has spent around 14 of the past 20 years in detention, earned her an extra 18 months' house arrest and provoked international outrage. Nyan Win said they would now prepare a revision of the appeal to submit to the Supreme Court, which they also discussed with Suu Kyi Friday. The junta refused to let Suu Kyi take power after the country's last elections in 1990, which her National League for Democracy (NLD) party won by a landslide, leading Western countries to impose sanctions. Her extended house arrest keeps her off the scene for elections promised by the regime next year, adding to criticism that the polls are a sham designed to legitimise the military regime's grip on power. The US recently unveiled a major policy shift to re-engage the junta but warned against lifting sanctions until progress is made towards democracy. ____________________________________ October 16, Deutsche Presse-Agentur Myanmar opposition leader to appeal sentence at Supreme Court Yangon ? Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Friday agreed to allow defence lawyers to appeal to the Supreme Court against her recent sentence to 18 months under house detention. "We will appeal the case up to the Supreme Court level and are preparing the appeal now," said Nyan Win, one of four attorneys in Suu Kyi's defence team. Nyan Win met with Suu Kyi Friday afternoon at her house-cum-prison in Yangon, where she had spent 14 of the past 20 years under detention. On October 2, the Yangon Division Court rejected Suu Kyi's appeal against a lower court's verdict on August 11 that found her guilty of violating the terms of her previous imprisonment by allowing US national John Yettaw to swim to her house of detention, a family compound that sits on Inya Lake. Originally the Insein Prison Court sentenced Suu Kyi to three years in jail, but the term was commuted to 18 months under house detention by Myanmar's junta supremo Senior General Than Shwe. The detention term is sufficient to keep Suu Kyi, who heads the National League for Democracy (NLD) opposition party, out of the picture while the junta stages a general election some time next year. The election is expected to be neither free nor fair. The NLD won the last election of 1990 buy a landslide, but was blocked from assuming power by the military which has ruled Myanmar since 1962. ____________________________________ October 16, Mizzima News Ethnic groups grapple with election strategy ? Mungpi New Delhi ? Two exiled ethnic political organizations have expressed their opposition against the Burmese military junta?s planned 2010 election, saying it is aimed to rubber stamp the junta?s rule and does not guarantee the rights of ethnics. Hkanhpa Sadan, Joint Secretary of the Kachin National Organisation (KNO) told Mizzima that his organization is not encouraging ethnic groups and others to support the junta?s 2010 elections as it will not provide any opportunity for change. ?It is a wrong conception to believe that this election can present even a slight opening of opportunity for change,? Hkanhpa Sadan elaborated. Similarly, the Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP), in an official statement on Monday, rejected the junta?s 2010 election, saying the new government elected out of the 2010 election would not act in the interests of the people, instead serving to unquestioningly carry out the junta?s will. ?The rights of the ethnic people for self-determination and protection of our customs and culture will be further endangered by this so-called Parliament,? the KNPP said. The London-based KNO also urged the ethnic Kachin?s main group, Kachin Independence Organisations (KIO), to uphold its oath to secure the Kachin peoples? rights, equality and self-determination. The KIO, along with its armed wing the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), in 1962 took a historic oath at a meeting in Bhamo in northern Burma, bordering China, committing to fight until Kachins gain their inherent rights. Hkanhpa Sadan said as the KIA took the oath, ?We urged them to remain committed and stop meeting the junta?s representatives under the banner of negotiations for the transformation of the KIA into Border Guard Force.? Burma?s military rulers have pressured ethnic ceasefire armed groups to transform their armies into a junta administered Border Guard Force, setting a deadline of this October for compliance. The KIO, along with several armed groups such as the United Wa State Army (UWSA), has thus far rejected the junta?s proposal, but continues to meet Burma Army commanders, including Lt-Gen Ye Myint, Chief of Military Affairs Security, and Northern Command commander Maj-Gen Soe Win. ?Altogether there have been 10 meetings between the KIO and the junta on this issue, and we want the KIO to remain firm in a decision to stop the meetings,? Hkanhpa Sadan emphasized. The KIO?s spokesperson and Secretary, Dr. Laja, was not immediately available for comment. The KNO and KNPP are both members of the Ethnic Nationalities Council (ENC), an umbrella organization representing ethnic nationalities in Burma. In late September, a letter sent by the ENC?s secretariat to US Senator James Webb, a strong supporter of engagement with the Burmese regime, caused confusion among Burmese opposition and ethnic groups, as the letter said the ENC supports ethnic minorities in their participation in the 2010 elections, in order that ethnics have a voice in Burmese politics and play a role in the future governance of the state. The letter said while the ENC ?in principle? does not accept the junta?s 2008 constitution and the upcoming 2010 election, ethnic nationalities are nevertheless left with no choice that they will have to participate. The letter also urged Webb not to condemn the election before it takes place but to support potential ethnic candidates and prepare them by educating them on elections and how to run for office. The letter, however, was rejected by the Chairman of the ENC, who argued he had no knowledge of the letter and that it thus does not represent the ENC?s official policy. Hkanhpa Sadan added that despite the letter, the KNO is committed to the ENC and is abiding by the principles that it has adopted in their last conference, which includes not accepting the 2010 election. ?The issue of the letter will be discussed in a future meeting, but I must say it does not reflect the ENC?s policy,? Hkanhpa Sadan stated. Similarly, the KNPP, in its statement, said as a representative of the Karenni people it is fully committed to the ENC and ?will comply with the ENC's principles regarding the 2010 election, as formulated during its last executive committee held on June 8 - 12, 2009.? ____________________________________ October 16, Democratic Voice of Burma Two child soldiers facing execution ? Nan Kham Kaew Two child soldiers in Burma have been put on death row after being accused of killing another child soldier during a fight, the sister of one of the defendants said. The family of 16-year-old Aung Ko Htway were not told about the incident, which happened in Laogai, the capital of Burma?s northeastern Shan state, for five months after the charges had been brought, said the sister. ?No one informed us about what happened to him,? she said. ?We decided to give his battalion a ring and they told us he was in prison for killing a child.? The victim is reportedly from a family with members in the pro-junta Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA). Both parents of Aung Ko Htway, a former Rangoon resident, are deceased. He was abducted by the army and enlisted as a soldier in 2006 whilst waiting at a railway station with friends, his sister said. Aye Myint, a lawyer from the Guiding Star grassroots legal advocacy group, said he will give assistance to the family to take the case to the International Labour Organisaiton (ILO). ?According to [Burma?s] 1993 Child Law, a child should not be punishable by death or an imprisonment exceeding 10 years of detention,? he said, adding that authorities ?have neglected this?. Furthermore, he said, Aung Ko Htway was recruited as a child solider, which is illegal under Burmese law. A report recently complied by Guiding Star found that at least 107 child soldiers were recruited by the army between May and August this year. Only around 35 of these were sent home while the rest remain in the army. He said it took time for the ILO to solve each cases because they have to deal diplomatically with minister-level officials from the ruling State Peace and Development Council. The ILO is the only external body in Burma with a mandate to deal with recruitment of child soldiers, which comes under the banner of forced labour. In June the ILO called for a revision of a section of Burma?s constitution which appeared to justify the use of forced labour for ?duties assigned by the Union in accord with the law in the interest of the public?. In the past two year the organisaiton has received more than 150 complaints of child labour, although it warns that risk of government retribution against complainants means that many cases are not reported. ____________________________________ ON THE BORDER October 16, Agence France Presse Bangladesh reinforces Myanmar border: officials Chittagong, Bangladesh ? Bangladesh has reinforced its border with Myanmar, sending 3,000 extra troops to the area, military officials said Friday, amid new tensions over a disputed stretch of gas-rich sea. Bangladesh announced last weekend it had gone on high alert over reports Myanmar had boosted troops along its border with Bangladesh. "We have sent an extra 3,000 troops" to the frontier area in the past week, Colonel Didarul Alam Chowdhury, Chittagong sector commander of the Bangladesh Rifles border force, told AFP. "We are ready to resist any attacks or intrusion into our territory by Myanmar forces," he said. Dhaka said earlier this month it had asked a UN tribunal to resolve the decades-old row with neighbours Myanmar and India over territorial boundaries in the Bay of Bengal, which holds significant hydrocarbon reserves. "We have offered to hold talks as we want to settle the border issues with Myanmar amicably to avert any confrontation," Chowdhury added. Bangladesh Armed Forces Division Brigadier General Abidus Samad confirmed the troop deployment. "We've sent 3,000 troops to strengthen our position," Samad told AFP. It was not immediately known how many soldiers were already assigned to the border area. Dhaka's Foreign Minister Dipu Moni denied earlier on Friday any tension along the border. She issued a statement saying she met with her counterpart from Myanmar, Nyan Win, on the sidelines of the Asia Cooperation Dialogue in the Sri Lankan capital earlier in the week. "Regarding recent media reporting on troops movement along the Bangladesh-Myanmar border, the Myanmar Foreign Minister stated that no such event has taken place and these (are a) routine exercise by their border security force," the Bangladesh statement said. ____________________________________ October 16, Independent Mon News Agency Burmese migrant workers harassed by gangs in Southern Thailand ? Tala Lawi Incidents of Thai gangs harassing and robbing Burmese migrant workers in Southern Thailand are on the rise, claim several migrant workers interviewed by IMNA. A Mon migrant worker, employed at a rural rubber plantation in Hat Yai district in Trang Province in Southern Thailand, reported to IMNA that on October 11, he and his wife were robbed of by a gang of three Thai teenagers. The gang stole 440 baht and a cell phone. Nai Myint Aung, aged 30, informed IMNA that he and eight of his friends are already paying 50 baht per month to a different Thai gang, and have been doing so for the past eight months. Nai Myint Aung told IMNA that if he or his friends fail to pay the monthly extortion fee, the gang follows them back to their homes and harasses their families. Nai Myint Aung reported to IMNA that on the afternoon of October 11th at 2pm he left his boss?s home, where he had received his paycheck of 7000 baht, and entered the local market. The gang of Thai teenagers followed him from the marketplace to his neighborhood. Nai Myint Aung claimed that the gang stopped his motorbike and seized his wife who accompanied him, threatening the pair with a knife. The gang then searched his wife?s body and stole 440 baht and her cellular phone. A Thai neighbor of the pair, a-35 year-old man, saw the Nai Myint Aung and his wife being attacked, and phoned the police, causing the gang to scatter. Nai Myint Aung reported to IMNA that his wife had luckily had the foresight to stow his paycheck in her brassiere, and thus the pair managed to escape the attack without losing the 7000 baht he?d just received. Nai Myint Aung claimed to IMNA that he fears that the gang will continue to cause problems for his family, as the group likely remembers his motorbike number. His Thai neighbor, who came to his rescue the day of his attack, allegedly urged him to report the incident to the police, but Nai Mynit Aung says he fears that reporting the gang to the Thai police will only result in more violence. Reportedly, his fellow workers at the rubber plantation where he is employed have heard rumors of a Thai gang killing a family in the area who reported them to the authorities, and he does not want his family to meet a similar fate. Mi Hlaing, Nai Myint Aung?s wife, told IMNA, ?The Thai gangs know that most of the Mon migrant workers go to the market [once a week] to buy goods. That?s why the gangs perform a robbery every week on the way [to the market].? Mi Hlaing added that she and her family previously lived in Thailand?s Phanga Province, but that after an incident 2 months ago where a 50-year-old Thai man attempted to rape her, she and her husband decided to move to the Hat Yai area. A Mon worker named Mi Mee, from Pattaya, also in Southern Thailand, claims that during the last ten days, Thai gangs have stolen a gold necklace, 2000 baht, and three mobile phones from migrant workers in the Pattya area; the rape of a migrant woman in the area has also been attributed to gang activity. Mi Mee explained to IMNA that migrant workers in Southern Thailand feel that they must face the abuse of Thai gangs in the area with patience, because the Burmese workers need their jobs in Thailand too much to cause trouble. ____________________________________ REGIONAL October 16, Democratic Voice of Burma India urged to address human rights in Burma ? Joseph Allchin The Indian government should pay closer attention to human rights abuses in its foreign policy towards Burma, an international watchdog urged this week. The call was made as directors of the New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) met in New Delhi on Wednesday for the organisation?s quarterly meeting. India has become less inclined to challenge Burma?s abject human rights record as relations between the two countries have steadily warmed over the past decade. ?India has been very silent about what?s going on next door,? said HRW Burma researcher, David Mathieson. ?They are playing it low key for their own self interest; it?s got nothing to with the people of Burma.? Alongside the foreign policy plea were calls for India to improve on its own internal human rights record, notably towards minority groups such as the lower-caste Dalits. The two countries recently ended high-level talks focused on greater military cooperation, with little discussion on human rights reportedly taking place. According to Mathieson, it was a ?very ominous sign? that the two militaries were apparently so close. ?[India] should be ashamed of themselves trying to help this very brutal, nasty army,? he said. India was also urged by HRW to raise human rights issues at ?multilateral forums such as the United Nations, both at the General Assembly in New York and the Human Rights Council in Geneva?. According to Kim from the Delhi-based Burma Centre, India?s former president, A P J Kalam, in 2006 agreed not to bring up Burma?s human rights record at international forums during an official visit to Burma. India has repeatedly said that it needs to cooperate with the junta over border-based Indian and Burmese insurgents who utilise one another?s territory. The Burmese junta?s plan to create border security forces out of ceasefire groups has also raised concern in India. Delhi is said to be concerned that these groups, many of them ethnic insurgents themselves, will not be able to contain India?s northeastern rebels. ____________________________________ INTERNATIONAL October 16, Democratic Voice of Burma Zarganar receives PEN/Pinter award ? Joseph Allchin Imprisoned Burmese comedian and satirist Zarganar has been chosen by one of Britain?s top poets to receive the prestigious PEN/Pinter award. The award, named after the late British playwright Harold Pinter, is given annually to one British literary figure and one international ?imprisoned writer of courage?, according to the PEN organization, which advocates freedom of expression. British poet Tony Harrison, known for his poems sent from the frontline of the Bosnian war, was chosen for the main prize. He in turn picked Zarganar for the second prize. Carole Seymour-Jones, chair of English PEN's writers in prison committee, received the award on Zarganar?s behalf and paid tribute to ?the wise fool of Burma?. She also paid tribute to the award?s namesake, who was an ardent supporter of imprisoned writers. The assistant director of English PEN, Sarah Hesketh, told DVB today that the award was also an effort to publicise Zarganar?s plight and that of all the ?people on the ground [in Burma] who speak out? but are not acknowledged. Zarganar was sentenced in November 2008 to 59 years, later reduced to 35 years, after giving interviews to foreign media in which he criticized the Burmese junta?s reaction to cyclone Nargis in May 2008. He is currently detained in Myintkyina prison in Burma?s eastern Kachin state, and was earlier this year reported to have been denied adequate healthcare despite suffering from hypertension and jaundice. The satirist has long included political material in his performances and was previously jailed in 1988. His sharp political wit is credited with affording him such a formidable reputation. Fellow comedian and former colleague, Godzilla, said he was ?extremely pleased to hear the news that Zarganar is being honoured.? ____________________________________ OPINION / OTHER October 16, Irrawaddy The NLD?s internal debate ? Wai Moe Burma?s main opposition party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), has adopted what it calls a ?survival policy? for years. But, ahead of the 2010 election, the issue of whether the party continues to apply that policy is being brought into question within the party?s ranks. Following Suu Kyi?s incarceration in 1989, some NLD leaders, mainly ex-military officers, introduced a party line known as the ?survival policy,? which would ensure that despite arrests and the threat of disbanding by the military authorities, the NLD party would maintain its position within Burmese society. Others, most notably Suu Kyi loyalists, known as the ?intellectual group,? introduced what they called the ?principle policy,? which encouraged members to remain active within the democracy movement even if the NLD is abolished by the military regime. NLD sources recently told The Irrawaddy that more and more ideological debates and peripheral discussions concerning participation in the upcoming election have been occurring regularly among NLD members. Last week, NLD members from Pegu and Mandalay divisions sent a joint letter calling for the NLD to hold a national conference to debate the issues surrounding the NLD?s role in next year?s election. ?We have called for a national conference because this is an important time in our country?s history,? said Myint Myint Aye, an NLD organizer from Meiktila Township in Mandalay Division. ?But so far, headquarters has not responded or made any comment about a meeting.? Khin Maung Swe, a member of the NLD?s Central Executive Committee, said the involvement of more townships was required before a national conference could be tabled.? He told The Irrawaddy that the NLD would call a conference involving representatives from across the country when the electoral laws are announced and political parties are free to form and associate. Khin Maung Swe was one of the NLD?s executive members who met with a 20-strong delegation from the EU on Wednesday. At the meeting, European diplomats asked the NLD representatives to clarify the party?s stance on various issues surrounding the 2010 election, the lifting of economic sanctions on Burma, and a review of the 2008 Constitution. Though Khin Maung Swe toned down suggestions of a party convention, veteran NLD leader Win Tin said the convening of a party convention is important. Senior NLD members said that despite ongoing debates on various election issues among its members, the party?s official line was still the three conditions for participation in the election that the party announced in April in its Shwegondaing Declaration. The three conditions are: the unconditional release of all political prisoners; the amendment of any provisions in the 2008 Constitution ?not in accord with democratic principles?; and an all-inclusive free and fair poll under international supervision. However, some NLD members have said that they want to take part in the election whether through the NLD, a splinter group or even independently, even though they recognize the 2008 Constitution is undemocratic. ?Yes, there are debates over elections,? said Ohn Kyaing, a senior party member. ?But since democracy values debates and different opinions, we must accept that some members want to take part in the election while others do not. ?However, for the present moment, the party policy is aligned with the Shwegondaing Declaration,? he said. He added that the NLD would be able to decide clearly on the upcoming election and the future of the party after Naypyidaw announces the electoral law. Although she has spent most of the last 20 years in detention, the NLD?s general secretary, Aung San Suu Kyi, is still the most influential person in the party, and no one doubts her opinions will be vital in deciding how the party approaches the election and how it sees its future. The NLD leadership recently requested permission from the junta to arrange a meeting between Suu Kyi and the other party leaders to discuss the party?s policies, including those regarding the election. The junta has reportedly not responded to date. However, the military authorities have allowed Suu Kyi?s lawyers?who are also NLD members?to meet with her during her recent trial on charges of harboring an American intruder, John W Yettaw. In the past two weeks, Suu Kyi has met with the junta?s liaison officer, ex-Maj-Gen Aung Kyi, as well as with Western diplomats to talk about the current issues, which observers say would include the lifting of international sanctions, the NLD?s policy toward the 2010 election and her views on the 2008 Constitution. Suu Kyi was able to relate the details of those meetings to her lawyer, NLD spokesman Nyan Win, on Friday. However, Nyan Win declined to provide details of Suu Kyi?s talks when asked by The Irrawaddy. ?Daw Aung San Suu Kyi?s decisions significantly affect NLD policies,? said Aye Thar Aung, the secretary of the umbrella group the Committee Representing the People?s Parliament. ?So Suu Kyi?s meetings with her colleagues are important for the NLD itself and for Burmese politics. ?Whether the NLD goes ahead with its ?survival policy? or ?principle policy,? it has to cultivate sharp tactics and unify while the junta effectively uses divide-and-rule tactics ahead of the election,? Aye Thar Aung said. ?The NLD has to think beyond itself to bring about changes in the country.? ____________________________________ October 16, Bangkok Post Migrants in a bind ? Editorial There is no question about it. Thailand needs to solve the problem of underground migrant workers, now estimated at 3 million strong. The challenge is how to do it right. The annual registration system has failed miserably because the procedures are too complicated and costly, and job registration does not automatically extend to migrants the medical and welfare protection that Thai workers receive. Given the registration's failure, the government is now requiring all migrant workers to verify their nationalities with their home countries so they may enter Thailand legally with passports and may continue working in Thailand. Like the ineffective annual registration, this nationality verification system is bound to fail. It is not only because the complex system offers little benefit. For many migrant workers, it is simply too dangerous. The majority of underground workers are from Burma and a large number of them are from ethnic groups facing violent persecution at home from the Burmese military junta. The Mon, Karen and Rohinya, for example. Turning themselves in and revealing their identities will likely put their lives at risk, as well as those of their families back home. The nationality verification deadline has been set for the end of February 2010. According to the cabinet resolution, only those carrying nationality verification documents may stay and work. Those who do not will be deported. There is little chance of the 3 million migrant workers meeting the deadline, which is only four months away. The nationality verification system requires the migrant workers to go through different layers of bureaucratic red tape in both Thailand and Burma. Yet, the migrant communities have received little information about how to go about it. Nor any systematic support. Confused and fearful, they have become easy prey for brokers who work in hand in glove with corrupt officials on both sides of the border. The problem is not only about being enormously overcharged. Many have become victims of cheating by bogus brokers. Given the confusing situation, uncertain benefits and fear of persecution, many migrant workers have chosen to play wait-and-see, despite the threat of deportation. For them, it would not be too difficult to cross the porous border and pay their way back into Thailand when there are still many corrupt officials and greedy employers looking for cheap slave labour. Labour and human rights groups have come up with recommendations to ease the knots in nationality verification. Among these are: extending the deadline, allowing the ones who have not yet completed the verification process to continue working, supplying the workers with clear and exact information, and regulating the brokers to prevent fraud, debt bondage and human trafficking. Making the verification system transparent, accessible and affordable is crucial for it to succeed. So it would be a mistake for the government to ignore these recommendations, the most difficult of which to implement would be the one calling for Burmese authorities to set up nationality verification centres in Thailand, as talking sense with the junta is easier said than done. Which brings home the fact that the root cause of the problem is in Burma. So long as the junta continues to terrorise its people, this problem will not go away. But until these knots can be unravelled through internal and external pressures, Thailand cannot deny its responsibility to regulate and provide migrant workers with decent welfare and work benefits.