Burma Related News - Dec 22, 2009.
TIN KYI
BURMA RELATED NEWS - DECEMBER 22, 2009
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AP - Obama has powerful tool to pressure Myanmar
Bernama - MTV Documentary On Anti-Human Trafficking Introduced In
Myanmar
Bloomberg - China Signals Resistance to Iran Sanctions, Seeks Further
Talks
The Telegraph - India wary as China spreads Nepal reach
UNICEF (press release) - Five years after tsunami, Myanmar battles
repeat disasters
EarthTimes - Chinese company wins ownership of Myanmar-China pipeline
project
VOA News - 2009 Mixed Year for Human Rights
The Nation - Thaksin told FM to help Burma get Bt1bn additional loan
Mizzima News - Nobel Laureate points out flaws in Burmese economy
Mizzima News - Poll campaigners assaulted by USDA members
The Irrawaddy - US Message to Burma: 'Engagement' Must Bring Results
The Irrawaddy - Junta Tightens Media Censorship
DVB News - Opposition party kick starts reform
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Obama has powerful tool to pressure Myanmar
By FOSTER KLUG, Associated Press Writer – Tue Dec 22, 3:03 am ET
WASHINGTON (AP) – If talks with Myanmar over democratic reforms fail,
the Obama administration could tie up large amounts of money that the
country's ruling generals stash in international banks from the sale
of natural gas.
So far the administration has been hesitant to go that route.
But pressuring banks to avoid doing business with Myanmar's leaders
could be a powerful economic weapon — one that already is being used
elsewhere. It's an approach, for example, that has been used to try to
push North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons ambitions.
Congress already has provided the power for the administration to go
after the banks and some rights groups want President Barack Obama to
use it right away, or at least if direct talks fail.
U.S. officials have just started face-to-face negotiations and want to
give them more time to show results. Imposing the banking sanctions
would be expensive and time-consuming, and Myanmar isn't a top
priority on a crowded foreign policy agenda that includes Afghanistan
and Iran.
Still, the administration has warned of tougher action if engagement
breaks down with Myanmar, also known as Burma. And the mere threat
could add force to the U.S. negotiating position.
"We will reserve the option of tightening sanctions on the regime and
its supporters to respond to events in Burma," Obama's top diplomat
for East Asia, Kurt Campbell, told lawmakers in September.
Myanmar has one of the most repressive governments in the world and
has been controlled by the military since 1962. For years, the United
States has used punishing sanctions to try to force change on the
country, with little success. Former President George W. Bush's
administration favored shunning Myanmar, and Bush's wife, Laura, and
many in Congress were strong advocates of the nascent democracy
movement there.
Now, the Obama administration has reversed the isolation policy in
favor of engagement, which it hopes will persuade the generals to
grant greater freedoms to opposition parties and minorities and to
free political prisoners.
Myanmar has since made a few symbolic gestures of good will, letting
detained democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi meet with Campbell, for
instance, and releasing some political prisoners. At the same time, it
has continued to persecute ethnic minorities, journalists and student
activists.
Obama himself spoke of a possibly stronger position on Myanmar in his
Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech. There will be engagement and
diplomacy with Myanmar, he said, "but there must be consequences when
those things fail."
Activists say financial measures that hinder Myanmar's ruling
generals' ability to access the international banking system might do
what broader economic sanctions have failed to do.
"What the Burmese government values is not its commerce with the
outside world but the financial proceeds of that commerce," said Tom
Malinowski of Human Rights Watch.
"Once the Burmese government deposits the checks in its bank accounts,
there's a lot the United States government can do to prevent that
money from being used in the international banking system."
Treasury officials have targeted 40 people and 44 entities since the
Myanmar junta killed and arrested protesters during demonstrations in
2007. Being added to the sanctions list prevents people from making
transactions in the banking system of the United States.
But a 2008 law grants the Treasury Department authority to impose
conditions on banking relationships, meaning sanctions could affect
activities of international banks.
Myanmar has lucrative natural gas deals with its neighbors and with
some European and U.S. companies, with revenues going into foreign
banks. Under its new authority, the U.S. can let these banks know it
has concerns about their association with Myanmar that could hurt
these banks' ability to work with U.S. financial institutions, said
Jennifer Quigley, advocacy director for the U.S. Campaign for Burma.
Supporters of the banking sanctions often raise North Korea, saying
that the United States effectively froze the North out of the
international banking system in 2005, hurting leader Kim Jong Il.
For the moment, the Obama administration is urging patience as it
pursues talks.
Next year's elections in Myanmar will provide a good look at the
junta's intentions. A big question will be whether high-level U.S.-
Myanmar talks lead to true participation by minorities and opposition
groups or merely let the generals consolidate power.
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December 22, 2009 13:43 PM
MTV Documentary On Anti-Human Trafficking Introduced In Myanmar
YANGON, Dec 22 (Bernama) -- A documentary film of the international
Music Television (MTV) has been introduced in Myanmar, to raise the
awareness about human trafficking in Asia and the Pacific, China's
Xinhua news agency reported, citing the official newspaper New Light
of Myanmar as saying on Tuesday.
The 30-minute film, made by the MTV EXIT (End Exploitation and
Trafficking) campaign and supported by the United States Agency for
International Development (USAID), will soon be broadcast in such
Myanmar television channels as MRTV, MWD and MRTV-4.
The film is narrated in 12 different languages by Lucy Lieu of
Hollywood, Rain of South Korea, Ta Ta Yang of Thailand, Karen Mok of
China, Lara Dutta of Bollywood and Myanmar vocalist Phyu Phyu Kyaw
Thein.
The film would raise the awareness of Myanmar women in human
trafficking and produce a good outcome for Myanmar youths, said the
Myanmar vocalist.
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China Signals Resistance to Iran Sanctions, Seeks Further Talks
By Bill Varner
Dec. 22 (Bloomberg) -- China signaled resistance to any U.S. and
European push for tougher United Nations sanctions on Iran, saying
talks aimed at preventing its development of nuclear weapons should be
given a chance to succeed.
“We ask for more time to be given and efforts to be made to see if we
can reach some sort of breakthrough,” La Yifan, China’s envoy for
Security Council and political affairs at the UN, said in an interview
yesterday. “The door to diplomatic efforts is not completely slammed
yet. Efforts should focus on trying to find a solution to the current
impasse.”
La’s stance reflects the difficulty the U.S., Britain, France and
Germany will have in pursuing tougher UN sanctions on Iran next month.
The Obama administration set a Dec. 31 deadline for progress on the
diplomatic track, and France’s ambassador to the UN said earlier this
month that there was no longer any reason to delay a push for
sanctions.
The U.S. and its European partners suspect Iran’s uranium enrichment
work is part of the development of a nuclear weapons capability.
China holds one of the five permanent seats on the 15- nation Security
Council, along with the U.S., France, Britain and Russia. Those veto-
wielding members and Germany, which have been trying to convince Iran
to scale back its nuclear program, offered at an October meeting in
Geneva to enrich uranium Iran needs for a reactor that makes medical
isotopes.
The Iranian government has never given a formal reply to the proposal,
which the U.S. has portrayed as a confidence- building measure. Iran
insists its enrichment program is only intended for civilian energy
projects.
‘Hardest Sell’
“Clearly, China will be the hardest sell,” Cliff Kupchan, a senior
analyst at Eurasia Group, a New York political-risk consulting firm,
said in a telephone interview. “Their position is, rhetorically at
least, more problematic than the Russian position, so the Chinese are
going to face a real test because sanctions are moving.”
China and Russia, while resisting most UN sanctions resolutions, have
voted for three measures punishing Iran for ignoring demands that it
stop enriching uranium. The resolutions have blocked financial
transactions by Iran, imposed an embargo on arms sales and banned the
travel of officials working on the nation’s nuclear and missile
programs.
“The gap between Russia and China is opening,” Kupchan said. “My
instinct is that Russia will be the deal maker.”
Iran Stance Cited
La cited Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki’s statement last
week that his government might agree to exchange enriched uranium for
nuclear fuel rods outside its territory. He was responding to the
proposal for Iran to send 1,200 kilograms of its low-enriched uranium
to Russia and then France for processing into reactor fuel, to ensure
it isn’t boosted to weapons grade.
“We note the recent remarks by Iranian authorities of a kind of
continued willingness to have an exchange,” La, 43, said. “With regard
to the venue and also the modalities of such exchanges, those are the
issues that a solution should be found through continued discussion.”
European nations have proposed sanctions against Iran that would
further hit its nuclear program and its financial system, French
Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said yesterday. The list doesn’t
impact Iran’s domestic fuel industry because that would hurt the
population and be “counter-productive,” Kouchner told reporters in
Paris.
The U.S. House voted last week to support possible pressure on
companies that sell gasoline to Iran. Iran depends on gasoline imports
because of limited refining capacity at home.
Obama Administration
The U.S. administration favors a new push for sanctions, although it
wants to give Iran until the end of the year to respond to offers to
enrich uranium outside the country, according to Kouchner.
“The Russians are on board and the Chinese will follow,” Kouchner
said, though he criticized Chinese companies for signing commercial
and industrial contracts with Iran.
Asked about statements indicating that the West’s patience has run
out, La called those remarks “unfortunate” and expressed hope that
there will “not be a spiraling out of control” of the discussion.
On Nov. 27, the UN International Atomic Energy Agency censured Iran
for concealing an enrichment plant, with the U.S., Russia, China,
France and the U.K. all voting for the motion.
Sudan, Myanmar
La praised the Obama administration’s overall commitment to diplomacy
on the Iranian issue, as well as conflicts with North Korea, Sudan and
Myanmar.
“The Obama administration is taking the right approach” on North
Korea, La said, adding that U.S. envoy Stephen Bosworth’s recent trip
to North Korea was “highly useful.”
The U.S. is working with China, Russia, Japan and South Korea to
persuade North Korea to abandon its nuclear arms. North Korea has
committed to resuming those so-called six-party talks.
La said Obama’s efforts at engagement with Sudan, over the conflict in
Darfur, and Myanmar’s military junta over its repression of political
opponents and ethnic minorities, is producing results. Further
Security Council involvement with either nation isn’t warranted at
this time, he said.
“If you compare the situation in Darfur today with that of two years
ago you can see a significant improvement,” he said. “Let’s give them
a fair chance to find a solution.”
On Myanmar, the “signs are positive,” La said, that democratic
elections may be held next year.
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The Telegraph - India wary as China spreads Nepal reach
SUJAN DUTTA
New Delhi, Dec. 21: When Nepal army chief Chhatraman Singh Gurung was
being feted with the honorary rank of general in the Indian Army here
last week, his deputy was quietly signing a deal with a visiting
Chinese military delegation in Kathmandu.
To analysts in Kathmandu, the two developments will inevitably evoke a
familiar description of Nepal -- that of “a yam stuck between two
boulders”. The boulders, of course, are India and China.
But in New Delhi, the military establishment is concerned that India’s
army and government are risking losing a space they have traditionally
held on to.
General Torun Jung Bahadur Singh, who was acting as army chief in
Kathmandu in the absence of Gurung, signed a deal with Major General
Jia Jialing, deputy director in the foreign relations cell of the
Chinese Peoples’ Liberation Army. The Chinese pledged 20.8 million
yuan (Rs 14.2 crore approximately) as aid for “non lethal” military
equipment.
Nepal’s ammunition-starved army is looking for newer and surer sources
of supply since India began turning off the tap of military aid in
2001 and then almost brought it to a halt in 2005.
To the defence establishment in New Delhi, the signs are unmistakable:
China is stepping-in in Nepal just as it had in Sri Lanka and before
that in Myanmar because India has been chary of continuing with
military aid to neighbours beset by domestic troubles.
Sri Lanka has all but moved on after brutally crushing the three-
decade LTTE insurgency with military might in May this year. Sri
Lanka’s army was using Chinese weaponry and ammunition apart from the
outdated Indian equipment it had in its arsenal.
In Myanmar, where India was shy of courting the military junta because
of Delhi’s political support to the democracy movement of Aung San Suu
Kyi and the fear of international criticism, it has stepped up visits
and exchanges. Three years ago, India even supplied field guns and a
maritime surveillance aircraft to Myanmar.
But by then the Chinese were everywhere, investing in Myanmar’s ports,
highways and industries and helping prop up its army militarily.
For the military establishment in India, the waning of goodwill in Sri
Lanka and Myanmar is a loss that it is now trying to make up. In
Nepal, senior Indian Army officers say, there cannot be a waiting
period.
Nepal is vastly different for India from the island nation or from
Myanmar. With neither of those countries does India have an open
border. The unique India-Nepal relationship grants reciprocal
citizenship rights (minus voting rights) to the residents of each
country. Nepalese Gorkhas serve in the Indian Army in large numbers.
The move to fete General Gurung and resume arms supplies to Nepal’s
army, sources argue, should be seen in this context — and not merely
from the point of view of touching off sensitivities among the
Himalayan nation’s Maoists.
One officer said that when Prachanda headed the government before
being forced to quit over the reinstatement of the former Nepal army
chief, General Rukmangad Katawal, there were moves by Kathmandu to get
closer to China.
Prachanda’s defence minister and former chief of the Nepal Maoists’
militia, Ram Bahadur Thapa (Badal), visited Beijing in September 2008.
The Chinese army’s deputy chief, Lt Gen Ma Ziaotian, who also oversees
India-China military relations and was in charge of their two joint
drills, met Prachanda in December last year.
Now, Prachanda’s successor and Nepal’s current Prime Minister, Madhav
Nepal, is scheduled to visit China on December 26.
The Chinese have expressed concern over the Tibetan protests in Nepal
at a time Kathmandu is reported to have sought Indian military help to
build an airstrip for its army’s air wing in Surkhet near Nepal’s
border with Tibet. The Nepal Maoists have been quick to allege that
India intends to use such an airstrip as a base for operations against
China in the event of hostilities.
After being given his honorary rank and hosting General Deepak Kapoor
at a lavish reception in the Nepalese embassy in Delhi last week,
General Gurung is understood to have invited the Indian Army chief to
Kathmandu.
Traditionally, a new Indian Army chief’s first visit has been to Nepal
where he, too, is given the honorary rank. Kapoor’s predecessor,
General J.J. Singh, now governor of Arunachal Pradesh, was twice
advised against visiting Nepal for the ceremony. Kapoor has visited
many countries and is now in the last leg of his tenure.
Whether Kapoor will accept the invitation and visit Kathmandu before
he retires early next year will be a demonstration of the Indian
government’s diplomatic intent in the face of the resurgent Maoists in
Nepal.
The resumption of arms supplies — armoured personnel carriers, Insas
rifles, ammunition and possibly even tanks — to Nepal’s army and a
visit by Kapoor will demonstrate not only New Delhi’s resolve in
encouraging an “apolitical and professional” military in Nepal but
also its determination to maintain its strategic and political space
in the Himalayan country that China is nibbling into.
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UNICEF (press release)
Five years after tsunami, Myanmar battles repeat disasters
By Sandar Linn
NGAPUTAW TOWNSHIP, Myanmar, 21 December 2009 – In spite of the battle
for life and livelihood since the tsunami hit in 2004, daily life
continues in remote Phone Daw Pyae in Ngaputaw Township.
The impact left by the tsunami on Myanmar was less severe compared to
some other neighbouring countries. Nevertheless, Ngaputaw Township –
along with Rakhine State parts of the Irrawaddy Division and
Tanintharyi Division– was hit hard.
Life in the communities was wrecked and major disruptions in
livelihood occurred with lost boats and destroyed fishing nets.
Restoring livelihoods
UNICEF, along with local and international partners, supported a full
range of activities to restore livelihood and transform young lives
affected by the tsunami.
Communities received assistance in getting back on their feet with new
homes for affected people, a new school and a new rural health centre.
Essential drugs and insecticide treated bed nets were also supplied.
Unfortunately, some of the communities were battered by repeat and
severe natural disasters that jeopardized these restoration efforts.
“When one disaster after another took away my loved ones and the basic
essentials that we need to live on, such as a home, a small boat, a
fishing net – life became infinitely harder,” said Hnin Hnin Ei, 30, a
single parent and a former resident of Phone Daw Pyae village.
The surviving families of the village now live in Government-funded
new housing, built much farther away from the coast and on higher
ground.
Repeat disasters
Disaster response after the tsunami opened the door for humanitarian
agencies to reach the remote fishing communities who are exposed to
the frequent wrath of nature.
As tsunami interventions were phased out, massive emergency relief and
recovery efforts had to be mounted to get through the devastations
caused by Cyclone Nargis, the worst natural disaster that the country
has faced in its recent history.
“Everybody in the community had to work extraordinarily hard and we
were there to support after the disasters,” said UNICEF Field Officer
for Ayeyarwaddy Division Daw Khin Khin Pyone. “However, the way to
recovery has been slow and hampered – the chain of disasters broke the
backbone of the community.”
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EarthTimes - Chinese company wins ownership of Myanmar-China pipeline
project
Posted : Tue, 22 Dec 2009 09:52:04 GMT
Yangon - China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) has secured exclusive
ownership and management rights over a planned 771-kilometre, overland
Myanmar-China crude oil pipeline, industry sources said Tuesday. The
contract signing was witnessed by Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping
and Maung Aye, vice chairman of Myanmar's ruling military junta, over
the weekend in Naypyitaw, Myanmar's military capital, CNPC said in a
statement posted on its website.
Under the terms of the agreement, CNPC is allowed to outsource the
construction and operation of the project to CNPC-controlled Southeast
Asia Crude Pipeline Co Ltd.
"The agreement also stipulates that Myanmar government shall ensure
the company's ownership and exclusionary right to the pipeline and
guarantee the safety of the pipeline," the company statement said.
The pipeline is to extend from Madeira on the western coast of
Myanmar; run through Rakhine, Magway, Mandalay and Shan states; and
enter China at Ruili in Yunnan province.
It is to have an annual delivery capacity of 12 million tons in its
first stage.
The pipeline would allow China to shorten oil deliveries from the
Middle East by cutting out the need for oil tankers to travel through
the Malacca Straits.
Xi witnessed the signing of 16 agreements during his two-day visit to
Myanmar Saturday and Sunday.
Four of the agreements were between the two governments and the
remaining 12 were between private companies.
China is Myanmar's fourth-largest foreign investor with a total
investment of 1.3 billion dollars. Bilateral trade between the two
neighbours reached 2.6 billion dollars in 2008.
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VOA News - 2009 Mixed Year for Human Rights
Amid repression and violence, there were signs of hope
Adam Phillips | New York 22 December 2009
From Iran to Myanmar, from Darfur to Guanatanamo, 2009 has been a year
of many challenges – and significant progress – for human rights
around the world.
Human rights abuses continue in Darfur, Sudan
Tom Malinowski, a seasoned foreign policy expert – and the Washington
advocacy director for Human Rights Watch, is deeply aware of the human
capacity for cruelty and the brute exercise of power. He cites
continued human rights abuse in the Darfur region of Sudan as an
example. Ethnic cleansing by Arab "jinjaweed" militias and the
Sudanese government has diminished from its peak earlier in the
decade, but intense, if more sporadic, violence continued there in
2009.
"There have been cases of civilians being bombed from the air by the
Sudanese air force, and violence associated with ongoing conflict
between the government and rebel groups," Malinowski says.
Large numbers of Darfuris have been "ethnically cleansed" from their
home villages and are living in crowded camps of internally displaced
persons. "The people in those camps [continue to be] vulnerable when
they try to leave to gather food [and] firewood."
There has been some progress in alleviating that crisis. In March,
the International Criminal Court indicted Sudan's president Omar al-
Bashir for alleged war crimes in Darfur, and increasing international
pressure is being brought to bear on governments which directly or
indirectly support regimes like his.
China is asked take a leading role
Malinowski notes that as China continues to emerge as a major world
power, its leaders are being held accountable as never before. "China
has long been under pressure for its miserable human rights record at
home. But only in the last few years has it felt any pressure with
respect to its relationships with other governments that violate human
rights."
China has made some interventions with its allies with both Sudan and
Myanmar, urging them to at least ease up on the violence and
oppression. "Unfortunately," says Malinowski, "China hasn't used a lot
of the leverage that it has with these countries in terms of arms
sales, [and] economic deals."
2009 was a mixed year for democracy activists
It was a mixed year for democracy activists with continued repression
in Cuba, Myanmar [formerly Burma] and North Korea. 2009 also saw the
rise of a massive opposition movement in Iran which claimed to have
won the national elections in June. Government authorities declared
the incumbent president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, to be the winner.
"Protests were put down very violently. There were show trials," notes
Malinowski. "We've seen … the rise of a very oppressive, almost a
police military state in Iran. And yet the opposition movement has
continued to make its voice heard."
Guantanamo Bay
Many human rights groups criticized former U.S. President George W.
Bush, whose second term in office ended in January, for sullying
America's reputation as a human rights champion. One of the most
controversial charges centered on the aggressive prisoner
interrogations – what critics have called government-sanctioned
torture – at the U.S. military's detention facilities in Guantanamo
Bay, Cuba.
"The good news is that the Obama Administration categorically decided
that that will not happen again," says Malinowski. "President Obama
has banned the use of the cruel techniques that were used on al Qaeda
prisoners under the Bush Administration [and] he has abolished the use
of these secret detention facilities in which the torture took place.
There has been a sharp break from the past."
Women in Afghanistan still face challenges
Human rights activists say that women's rights have improved in
Afghanistan since late 2001, when the U.S. and its allies forced the
repressive Taliban-led government from power. But Malinowski asserts
that women in Afghanistan still face many challenges to their rights
and freedoms. "In fact, for many girls and women in Afghanistan, the
notion of going to school is something that still means a great deal
of fear. There is still a tax on girls and women who step out of their
homes, who try to get educated, who try to enter the workforce, who
try to live normal lives."
Troubled world economy poses indirect threat to migrants' human rights
According to the Geneva-based International Organization for
Migration, the continuing worldwide economic crisis in 2009 caused
greater hardship in the developing world than it did in the developed
world because many people were already living economically marginal
lives.
For instance, many North Africans once migrated legally to Spain to do
menial jobs. But unemployment in Europe was high this past year, and
immigrants were far less welcome than before. Women and children have
been especially vulnerable to sexual exploitation, and even slavery,
at the hands of smugglers.
The human rights of male migrants within Africa were also at greater
risk in 2009. Earlier this year, the IOM issued a report looking
especially at how young men from East Africa, the Horn of Africa, were
being smuggled to South Africa in search of employment. "Whilst we
didn't find any obvious instances of trafficking for purposes of
exploitation," says IOM spokesman Jean-Phillipe Chauzy, "we do know
that those young migrants are being exploited at some point in their
journey and being smuggled at high risk across international borders."
Reasons for both caution and hope in 2010
In spite of these continuing abuses, Tom Malinowski of Human Rights
Watch believes respect for human rights is growing worldwide. "Over a
period of the last few decades, human rights issues have become
increasingly prominent in international relations." He asserts that
"despite many continuing terrible events around the world," more
people today enjoy human rights – the right to change their
government, the right to speak their minds, and the right to worship
freely – than 30 or 40 years ago.
Though hopeful that the human rights situation will improve in 2010,
Tom Malinowski and other activists say they will continue to fight for
a world where safety, economic security and freedom from fear for all
people are assured.
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SURAKIART TESTIFIES
Thaksin told FM to help Burma get Bt1bn additional loan
By THE NATION
Published on December 23, 2009
Ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra ordered the Foreign Ministry to help
Burma get an additional Bt1-billion loan from the Export-Import Bank
of Thailand (Exim Bank) despite the ministry's strong objection, Bt300
million of which might have been used to buy equipment from his
telecom empire, former foreign minister Surakiart Sathirathai
testified yesterday.
Surakiart, who was foreign minister in the Thaksin government from
2001-04, told the Supreme Court that Thaksin personally intervened in
the total Bt4-billion loan deal with Burma back in 2003-04.
Surakiart and graft-buster Klanarong Chantik yesterday testified
before the court to wrap up the prosecution's case to seize Bt76
billion from Thaksin and his former wife, Pojaman.
In cross-examining Surakiart, the defence surprisingly asked if he had
knowledge of Burma using Bt300 million of the loan to buy equipment
from ShinSat.
It was unclear why the defence raised the issue when it could reflect
poorly on Thaksin.
Surakiart replied that he was only aware of such a purchase during the
investigation by the Assets Examination Committee.
The former premier has been accused of hiding his assets illegally and
abusing his office by implementing at least five government measures
to benefit his family's vast shareholdings in Shin Corp, which was
eventually sold to Temasek Holdings of Singapore in 2006.
The court yesterday asked for more documentary evidence and witnesses
for two more hearings, scheduled for January 12 and January 14.
In his testimony Surakiart said he recalled that Burma's foreign
minister, in October 2003, had officially asked for a low-interest
Exim Bank loan of Bt3 billion to buy machinery, building materials and
other products from Thailand.
Later on, Surakiart said, Burma sought an additional US$24-million
(Bt798 million) credit line to develop its telecom infrastructure.
"As the foreign minister, I raised my objection because the government
could face criticism due to the fact that the Shinawatra family was a
major shareholder of Thailand's telecom giant [Shin Corp].
"At the time, several countries had also imposed trade sanctions on
Myanmar [Burma]. Initially, there was no reaction from PM Thaksin
until Myanmar's officials asked Thai counterparts at a regional
meeting in Phuket if it's possible to increase the loan from Bt3
billion to Bt5 billion."
"In writing, Myanmar said it would also want to buy asphalt and
building materials from Thailand. Afterwards, PM Thaksin asked the
Foreign Ministry about its position. I said I'm against it.
"Then, PM Thaksin suggested that we should meet half-way. Myanmar had
asked for Bt5 billion so we should give them Bt4 billion. That's the
deal," recalled Surakiart, who was also deputy premier in the final
year of the Thaksin government.
Meanwhile, Klanarong, a former member of the Asset Examination
Committee, told the court there were at least five policy measures
executed during Thaksin's tenure which caused public damage of Bt70
billion.
First, state-owned TOT lost a big chunk of revenue when the Thaksin
government issued an executive decree to convert the telecom
concession fees into an excise tax.
Second, TOT lost an estimated Bt60 billion in revenue after a
concession contract with Advanced Info Service (AIS), a unit of Shin
Corp, was amended to reduce the concession fee from a progressive rate
of 20-30 per cent of revenue to a flat rate of only 20 per cent.
Third, the telecom concession contract was amended to help AIS reduce
its investment requirement by Bt10 billion, thus boosting its profits.
Fourth, the satellite concession contract was amended to help ShinSat,
another unit of Shin Corp, make money from the iPSTAR satellite rather
than investing in a back-up satellite.
Fifth, state-owned Exim Bank was ordered to provide the Bt4-billion
loan to Burma to buy services from ShinSat.
Altogether, the government's measures helped boost the share price of
Shin Corp and benefited its major shareholders, he said.
Thaksin insisted last night that he was unfairly charged of being
"unusually wealthy" by the post-coup Assets Examination Committee and
said he had some Bt60 billion in assets before entering politics many
years ago.
In his weekly Internet-based radio broadcast, he said the value of
Shin Corp shares held by his family rose and fell naturally, without
his political influence.
Meanwhile Thaksin insisted last night that he was unfairly charged of
being "unusually wealthy" by the postcoup Assets Examination Committee
and said he had some Bt60 billion in assets before entering politics
many years ago.
In his weekly Internetbased radio broadcast, he said the value of Shin
Corp shares held by his family rose and fell naturally, without his
political influence.
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Nobel Laureate points out flaws in Burmese economy
Tuesday, 22 December 2009 19:00 Mungpi
New Delhi (Mizzima) - The high cost of rural credit, low investment in
education, and lack of participatory political process has dragged
down Burma’s economy, Prof Joseph Stiglitz the Nobel Prize winning
economist said.
Following his trip to Burma last week, Prof Joseph Stiglitz on Monday
held a press conference in Singapore and told reporters that he had
advised Burma to reform its rural credit system, invest more on
education and open up political participation, in order to sustain its
economy.
“Without an intensive effort to develop, Burma may fall further
behind, ‘In economics you have to run to stay still. The world is
changing and you have to change too’,” Prof Stiglitz said.
At the press briefing, a transcript of which was received by Mizzima,
Prof Stiglitz said he had advised the Burmese generals to increase
investments in education, as the gap between educated old people and
the uneducated younger generation is getting bigger.
Burma has many well educated people in their fifties but there is a
big gap emerging between these old people and the younger generation,
Prof Stiglitz said.
“If you don’t renew your human capital it depreciates just like human
capital,” Prof Stiglitz said. “Current investment levels in education
are not enough to renew human capital at the level the country
requires.”
The former World Bank Chief, during the press conference organized by
the United Nations Economics and Social Commission for Asia-Pacific
(UNESCAP) said, the cost of credit in rural areas of Burma is as high
as 10 per cent a month, and that hinders farmers from realizing their
full capacity.
“The cost of credit in rural areas is as high as 10 per cent a month.
It is very clear from the evidence that this is a real problem with
credit…irrigation increased agricultural potential but because farmers
could not get credit to buy fertilizer and seeds, they could not
realize their full potential,” Prof Stiglitz said.
According to Dr. Sean Turnell, Associate Professor at the Department
of Economics of Macquarie University in Australia, Burma’s rural
credit system has totally collapsed with no cash available.
Turnell, in an earlier interview to Mizzima, said the Burmese
government needs to revive the rural credit system by pumping in cash
earned from selling its natural resources including sales of oil and
natural gas.
The Nobel Prize winning economist said he had also advised the Burmese
generals to use the money earned from sale of natural resources for
widespread development, urging “the government not to squander this
opportunity.”
Prof Stiglitz told the Burmese government that “You can’t separate
economic and political processes. If you want to achieve political and
economic stability then you have to engage in participatory
processes.”
“We hope that this is a moment of change. It would be a mistake to
miss this opportunity,” he added.
Prof Stiglitz was visiting the military-ruled Southeast Asian nation
on the invitation of the UN Under-Secretary-General and ESCAP’s
Executive Secretary Noeleen Heyzer, who organised a series of seminars
on development and poverty reduction.
During the trip, the Nobel Laureate was able to visit various places
and meet local officials and get a sense of the country side and the
villages.
Prior to his visit, some critics expressed concern that the
economist’s expert advice might fall on deaf ears, as the Burmese
military government, that has ruled the country for nearly half a
century, is known to be less interested in developing the country but
are only determined to hang on to power.
Despite the speculation, Prof Stiglitz said he was encouraged by the
reaction of the Burmese Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation Maj-Gen
Htay Oo and Deputy Minister of Economics, who were attentively
listening and asking numerous questions.
“We were told later by some of the foreign diplomats that this event
was a 'major breakthrough' and that they had never heard of this kind
of discussion in public before, and that this may have been the first
time the military had heard these sorts of things,” Prof Stiglitz
said.
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Poll campaigners assaulted by USDA members
Tuesday, 22 December 2009 21:15 Myint Maung
New Delhi (Mizzima) – Five members of a political party were allegedly
assaulted by Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA)
members on December 19, while campaigning for the 2010 general
election.
About 20 USDA members led by Township USDA Secretary Myint Lwin and
about 200 villagers beat them up while they were organizing an
election talk show in Ahlat Chaung village, across Kyimyindine
Township, leaders of the Union of Myanmar National Political League
said.
“About 200 people led by Myint Lwin and Setkalay Village Tract Peace
and Development Council Chairman Nyunt Tin accosted us. When I asked
them who was leading the group and requested they be controlled, Myint
Lwin said that he was the leader and asked us what we are doing there.
Then they beat us up with sticks and pelted stones on us,” the party
Vice-Chairman Ye Htun told Mizzima.
Daw Kyu Kyu (Ahlat Chaung) was injured in the head and Aye Aye Maw on
her shoulder. They are being treated at the hospital. Three others
sustained slight injuries, it is learnt.
Flags and party symbols of the organization, the flag of the State,
flags with peacock on a tri-colour background, the flag of 88-
Generation Students and Youths with the fighting peacock in a red
background were all set on fire, Ye Htun alleged.
The talk show was being held with the permission of the Rangoon
Command Commander Maj. Gen. Win Myint. They had held similar events
during the campaign in Syriam, Kayan, Thone Gwa townships in Rangoon
Division, he said.
It is learnt that the Kyimyindine police station is recording
statements of 26 people after a complaint was lodged. Over 40 party
members witnessed the incident.
The police officer on duty in nearby Set San police station under the
Ahlat Chaung administrative area refused to answer Mizzima’s
queries.
Despite announcing the 2010 election, the junta is yet to enact and
promulgate the required laws and regulations for the election and
registration of political parties.
The 88-Generation Students and Youths Organization (Union of Myanmar)
has also often been holding similar campaign talk shows in Rangoon
Division.
Though the Democratic Party and United Parties League have announced
that they will contest the 2010 election, they are yet to campaign.
The United Parties League comprises of breakaway ‘National League for
Democracy’ (NLD) party called ‘Wuntharnu NLD party’, National Politics
NLD Youth (Meiktila), Patriotic National Politics Association
(Taungdwingyi), Peace and Progress Organization, National Politics
Rakhine State, Demo NLD (Sagaing Division), Advocators of National
Politics, G-7, New Generation Students of Political Economy Study,
individuals and some delegates of the National Convention.
The Democratic Party is led by veteran politician U Thu Wei and other
leaders are daughters of some famous political leaders.
*************************************************************
The Irrawaddy - US Message to Burma: 'Engagement' Must Bring Results
By WAI MOE - Tuesday, December 22, 2009
The Burmese junta could face tougher US financial sanctions if
Washington's new policy of direct engagement with the regime fails to
produce results.
That's the message contained in recent remarks by legislators in
Washington and US diplomats in Asia. It was also highlighted in a
report by an Associated Press
correspondent, who said: “The Obama administration has already a
powerful economic weapon if talks with Myanmar [Burma] fail to achieve
democratic reform: pressuring banks to avoid doing business [with the
Burmese regime.]”
The agency report said the US Congress had already approved powers
enabling the Administration to act against banks doing business with
Burma.
The Administration's new policy on Burma links sanctions with direct
engagement. The Burmese regime has, in effect, been served notice that
sanctions will continue as long as no progress is scored in the
contacts now taking place between US and junta officials.
This “carrot and stick” policy is the subject of wide discussion among
US diplomats in Southeast Asia. Some senior US diplomats in the region
told The Irrawaddy recently that
if the junta generals believe engagement with Washington is giving
them legitimacy they are totally wrong.
One diplomat said if the engagement policy produces no results within
one year, further US actions are possible.
Some critics of the new policy point out that a similar approach
followed by the US toward North Korea for more than 15 years had
failed to prevent Pyongyang’s nuclear program.
The US diplomat said, however: “The Burma issue is quite different
from North Korea. All in Washington know the US cannot engage with the
junta without result.”
The US announced the conclusion of its Burma policy review on
September 28. On the following day, Kurt Campbell, US assistant
secretary of state for East Asian affairs, met with a Burmese
delegation led by U Thaung, a former Burmese ambassador to Washington
who is currently the minister of national planning.
In early November, Campbell paid a landmark visit to Burma, where he
met Burmese Prime Minister Gen Thein Sein and pro-democracy leader
Aung San Suu Kyi, as well as opposition and ethnic leaders.
While directly engaging with the junta, the US continues to monitor
business contacts closely. On Dec. 16, the US Treasury Department
announced it was fining the Swiss banking giant Credit Suisse AG US
$536 million for working with countries on the US sanctions list,
including Burma. The fine is the biggest in the history of the
department’s office of foreign assets control.
“The great majority of the transactions involved Iran, although there
were also transactions that appear to have violated US sanctions on
Sudan, Libya, Burma, Cuba, and the former Liberian regime of Charles
Taylor,” the US Treasury Department announced.
In September, the US-based watchdog Earthrights International accused
two Singapore-based banks, the Overseas Chinese Banking Corporation
(OCBC) and DBS Group (previously known as the Development Bank of
Singapore) as “offshore repositories” for the Burmese junta’s revenues
from the Yadana gas project. The junta has earned at least $5 billion
so far from the project.
Burma observers suspect that the Burmese generals and their cronies
have lodged many millions of dollars in financial institutions in
Singapore, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Dubai.
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The Irrawaddy - Junta Tightens Media Censorship
By ARKAR MOE - Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Burmese journalists say the state's censorship board has cracked down
hard following the publication of a story about a young girl's
malpractice death in a Rangoon clinic.
The latest round of censorship follows a flurry of articles recently
over a two week period about the death of a student, Khine Shunn Leh
Yee, 15, who died as a result of a surgeon's malpractice in a Rangoon
private clinic.
The stories are believed to have prompted the Myanmar [Burma] Medical
Council, a governmental organization, to open an investigation which
led to a five-year suspension of the doctor's license to practice. The
girl's family received compensation from the clinic. The government
also banned similar stories.
Journalists say the censorship board, called the Press Scrutiny and
Registration Division, has imposed tighter restrictions in its never-
ending effort to restrictfreedom of the press in the country's print
and broadcast media.
An officer at the Press Scrutiny and Registration Division told The
Irrawaddy on Tuesday, “The censorship board will ban any news or
articles about social issues which show or reflect weakness in the
system controlled by the Burmese regime.”
An editor of a Rangoon-based journal told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday
that the stories led to more people coming forward to the media with
their experiences about malpractice and other problems in private
hospitals, as well as other social justice issues.
He said, “All journals tried to publish news about workers at the
Wong Hong Hung textile factory in Hlaing Tharyar industrial zone 3 in
Rangoon this week. But, the censorship board warned us not to publish
this information. News about a house maid in Irrawaddy Division who
was humiliated and hospitalized also was banned.”
The junta has a well-earned reputation as “an enemy of the press,” but
Burmese journalists say they try to work around the restrictions when
possible.
Ohn Kyaing, a former journalist and member of the opposition National
League for Democracy (NLD), told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday, "If there
is censorship in the media and publishing, it has very bad affects
throughout society. People need to have reliable information. The
censorship board is a major obstacle to freedom of information and the
press.”
An independent press is seen as an essential ingredient in democracy,
say analysts.
Maung Wun Tha, a veteran writer and editor, told The Irrawaddy, “The
government should understand the essential role that the media plays
in social development. The media can reflect people's opinion and that
is important to allow society to improve itself.”
“In open societies, factual information and reasonable perspectives,
or viewpoints, are viewed as useful and something that can make civil
society stronger,” he said.
The Committee to Protect Journalists(CPJ) in December 2009 released a
series of reports on journalists imprisoned around the world. Burma,
which has jailed nine journalists, was ranked in the top five nations
for imprisoning journalists, along with Iran, China, Cuba and Eritrea.
Kyi Wai and Aung Thet Wine also contributed to this story.
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Opposition party kick starts reform
Dec 22, 2000 (DVB)–Reform of the youth wing of Burma’s main opposition
party is underway following a warning from detained leader Aung San
Suu Kyi that the party was being restricted by an ageing leadership.
The National League for Democracy (NLD) youth coordinator (2), Hla Oo,
said that work had already begun on a Rangoon division NLD youth
network. He added that the party’s women’s network was also being
shaken up.
“Our objectives are to reinforce the party with youth working groups
and install these across divisions and states,” he said. “Township-
level groups are to implement the youth working groups in villages.”
Currently there are around 70 NLD youth networks across Burma. A rare
meeting between Suu Kyi and three elderly party members exposed a
potentially weak upper rung, which analysts then followed with a
suggestion for new blood in the party.
At 64, Suu Kyi is the youngest of the 11-member central executive
committee (CEC), while nine are in their 80s and 90s and most of them
are said to be in bad health.
It will be the first time in the party’s 21-year history that any
significant reorganization has taken place. Development of the party
has been severely hindered by Suu Kyi’s spells under house arrest,
which in total amount to 14 of the past 20 years.
“We aim to form youth working groups in townships in all 14 divisions
in states across the country and to strengthen the youth network,” Hla
Oo said. “We have called for a meeting on 1 January next year to
discuss how to work on forming these working groups and what kind of
responsibilities to set them.”
The head of the NLD’s information wing, Khin Maung Swe, added that an
office is being set up in the party’s Rangoon headquarters for Suu
Kyi, in spite of her continued house arrest.
“For a couple of years, we have been planning to build a room upstairs
and the building owners have already approved it,” he said. “We think
it would be good to have a room up there.”
The NLD, which Suu Kyi formed in 1988, the year she returned to Burma
from Britain, is yet to announce whether it will participate in highly
controversial elections next year.
Without a revision of the 2008 constitution, critics of the junta
claim that the election will only serve to cement military rule in the
country, which has been governed by a junta since 1962.
Reporting by Khin Hnin Htet
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