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BURMA RELATED NEWS - FEBRUARY 05, 2008
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HEADLINES
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AP - Party of Myanmar democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi seeks talks
with junta's ethnic allies
AP - Treasury Imposes Myanmar Sanctions
AFP - US expands sanctions on Myanmar regime family, tycoon
Reuters - UN envoy urges Myanmar to treat ailing prisoners
Outlook India - Indian govt criticised for Myanmar policy
PD - Chinese residents in Myanmar to hold lion dance competitions
Mizzima News - Burmese and Indian activists demand release of 34
ethnic rebels
DVB News - Monastery stops free education service
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Party of Myanmar democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi seeks talks with
junta's ethnic allies
AP - Wednesday, February 6
YANGON, Myanmar (AP) - The political party of detained opposition
leader Aung San Suu Kyi reached out Tuesday to its opponents among
Myanmar's ethnic minority groups, inviting them for discussions on
their political differences.
The invitation was directed at political parties and other ethnic
minority organizations that back the ruling junta, which has been in
power since cru****ng pro-democracy demonstrations in 1988, the
National League for Democracy said in a statement.
Suu Kyi's party won a 1990 general election but the military refused
to hand over power, putting the country into a long and bitter
political stalemate.
Many but not all of the country's fractious ethnic groups _ which have
for decades sought autonomy from the central government _ have signed
cease-fire pacts with the junta, implicitly accepting its legitimacy.
Others are in a de facto alliance with Suu Kyi's pro-democracy
movement, but have little power to influence the junta.
"The NLD understands expressing one's opinions and dissenting freely
are the practice of democracy. We also understand that having
discussions among parties is also an essence of democracy," the
party's statement said.
To that end the party invited "ethnic political parties and
organizations that have different views and opinions" to its
headquarters in Yangon, the country's biggest city.
The unexpected appeal came less than a week after Suu Kyi, in remarks
released through her party, expressed dissatisfaction and pessimism
about the prospects for reconciliation talks with the military
government.
Under international pressure after violently suppressing massive pro-
democracy protests in September last year, the junta appointed a
Minister for Relations to coordinate with Suu Kyi. But the minister,
Aung Kyi, has had just a handful of meetings with Suu Kyi, who has
complained that they seemed to be accompli****ng very little.
In a statement last week, Suu Kyi said Myanmar's ethnic minorities
must participate in any reconciliation talks if there is to be
progress in restoring political stability.
Tuesday's entreaty from the NLD statement reiterated Suu Kyi's
position, stated prominently last November in a statement released
through the U.N., sup****ting inclusion of the ethnic groups in seeking
a solution for the country's problems.
The state-controlled media at that time printed numerous statements
from the "cease-fire groups" _ ethnic organizations backing the
government _ rejecting her position as an unwanted attempt to speak on
their behalf and vowing allegiance to the junta's seven-step "road map
to democracy," which is supposed to lead to free elections.
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Treasury Imposes Myanmar Sanctions
By MARTIN CRUTSINGER,AP Economics Writer
AP - Wednesday, February 6
WA****NGTON - The Treasury Department on Tuesday announced it was
imposing financial sanctions against family members of the military-
run government of Myanmar and individuals it identified as key members
of the financial empire of Tay Za, an influential businessman in the
country.
"The president has made clear that we will continue to take action
against the military junta and those who prop it up so long as human
rights violations continue and democracy is suppressed," said Adam
Szubin, the director of Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control.
He said the new order will tighten financial sanctions against
associates of Tay Za, described by Szubin as "an arms dealer and
financial henchmen of Burma's repressive regime."
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US expands sanctions on Myanmar regime family, tycoon
AFP- Tuesday, February 5
WA****NGTON (AFP) - The United States said Tuesday it was tightening
financial sanctions against a network tied to Myanmar's military
junta, citing continuing human rights violations and political
repression.
The Treasury Department said its action targets the financial network
of Tay Za, identifying him as a "Burmese business tycoon and regime
henchman" who is an arms dealer with "close ties" to Myanmar's
military junta.
Also affected are family members of regime leaders and key additional
individuals and businesses that are part of Tay Za's financial
network, the department said in a statement.
"We are tightening financial sanctions against Tay Za, an arms dealer
and financial henchman of Burma's repressive junta," said Adam Szubin,
director of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).
President George W. Bush "has made clear that we will continue to take
action against the military junta and those who prop it up so long as
human rights violations continue and democracy is suppressed," Szubin
said.
Bush recently warned the United States would spearhead a global
campaign to step up sanctions against Myanmar's military regime if it
continues to ignore calls for a democratic transition.
The Treasury said that the action targets Tay Za's Htoo Group of
Companies, which carries out key projects on behalf of Myanmar's
junta, including the purchase of military equipment and aircraft for
the its military.
Among the individuals named Tuesday is Aung Thet Mann, a director of
Tay Za's Htoo Group of Companies.
Aung Thet Mann is the son of General Thura Shwe Mann, a senior
official in the government and a member of the State Peace and
Development Council, the Treasury said.
"Tay Za has used his business relation****p with Aung Thet Mann to win
favorable business contracts from the Burmese junta," the department
said.
OFAC also designated Thiha, Tay Za's brother and business partner, and
U Kyaw Thein, a director of Tay Za's business ventures in Singa****e.
The companies designated include Myanmar Avia Ex****t Company Ltd.,
Ayer Shwe Wah Company Limited and Pavo Aircraft Leasing Pte. Ltd. in
Singa****e.
Four spouses of senior government officials have also been named: Khin
Lay Thet, the wife of General Thura Shwe Mann; Myint Myint Ko, the
wife of Construction Minister Saw Tun; Tin Lin Myint, the wife of
Lieutenant-General Ye Myint; and Myint Myint Soe, the wife of Foreign
Affairs Minister Nyan Win.
The deparment's designation action against the individuals and firms
freezes any assets they may have under US jurisdiction and bars
Americans from conducting business with them at the risk of heavy
fines and prison time.
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UN envoy urges Myanmar to treat ailing prisoners
05 Feb 2008 17:25:18 GMT
GENEVA, Feb 5 (Reuters) - A United Nations human rights investigator
called on Myanmar's junta on Tuesday to provide urgent medical care to
ailing demonstrators and activists imprisoned since its bloody
crackdown on dissent last year.
Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, U.N. special rap****teur on human rights in
Myanmar, said he had received re****ts expressing "serious concerns
regarding the health conditions of some of the prisoners who require
immediate care and specific medication".
He gave no details in a statement urging Burmese authorities to
"secure urgent medical treatment for the prisoners".
Pinheiro also expressed dismay that four months after the crackdown,
"peaceful demonstrators, political and human rights activists continue
to be arrested, detained and sentenced to prison terms under the
security laws of Myanmar".
The prosecutions were a "flagrant abuse of people's right to a free
and fair trial", according to the Brazilian lawyer and U.S.-based
professor acting in the independent post since 2000.
Amnesty International said in a recent re****t that 96 activists had
been arrested since November despite the junta's pledge that the
crackdown would stop. The London-based group also had received re****ts
of detainees being tortured.
Pinheiro said after a visit to Myanmar in November that at least 31
people had died and up to 4,000 were arrested in the clashes in which
troops and riot police used tear gas, live ammunition and rubber
bullets.
Following his re****t to the U.N. Human Rights Council in December, it
called on Myanmar to prosecute those who committed abuses during the
crackdown and to free Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and all other
political prisoners.
The 47-member forum said Pinheiro should be allowed to revisit Myanmar
and re****t to its March 3-28 session. A U.N. official said on Tuesday
that there had been no reply to his request for a visa.
Myanmar said in December that only 80 of the nearly 3,000 arrested
were still detained for questioning.
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Outlook India
Indian govt criticised for Myanmar policy
KOLKATA, FEB 5 (PTI) The Burmese Democratic Forces (IBBDF) today
criticised Indian government for establi****ng close ties with the
military junta in Myanmar and urged the country not to invest in oil
and gas sector of the neighbouring country.
"India, despite being the world's largest democracy, has failed to
sup****t the aspirations of the people of Myanmar for democracy," IBBDF
spokesperson M Kim said.
"During September 2007 uprising, Petroleum Minister Murli Deora signed
a USD 150 million investment in Myanmar's oil and gas sector," Kim
said.
India should scrap the deal for the interest of the people of Myanmar,
she said, adding it would only boost the morale of the military rulers
of the country.
The people of Myanmar greatly expected that India would actively
sup****t their fight for democracy, Kim said.
Kim also demanded release of 34 Myanmarese langui****ng in Indian jails
for the past ten years.
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People's Daily Online
Chinese residents in Myanmar to hold lion dance competitions
+-13:25, February 05, 2008
Myanmar-Chinese residing in the Chinatown area in Myanmar's biggest
city of Yangon will hold the third traditional lion dance competitions
during the forthcoming lunar new year, an event organizer told Xinhua
Tuesday, two days ahead of the fall of Chinese Spring Festival.
Arranged to take place on a historically famous street named Sint Oh
Dan in the Chinatown, the series of lion dance competitions will be
participated by six amateur lion dancing groups of local Myanmar-
Chinese and the contests will run for four consecutive nights starting
next Monday, the 5th day of the Chinese new calendar year, said Zhou
Baofu, who is a Guangdong native.
These groups are Y.S.L, Global Lion, Dragon, Lion Boy, Pearl Black and
the Last Don, he said.
Winning dancing groups will repeat their wonderful performances to the
satisfaction of the audiences, Zhou said.
The southern-style lion dance competitions will be part of the rare
activities of the Myanmar-Chinese in celebration of the traditional
Chinese new year or spring festival and joined by dancing groups of
younger generations, he said.
The competitions are planned to start only on the 5th day of the new
year as the participating groups are busy with their new year house-to-
house calls at residences of some dignitaries of theMyanmar-Chinese
community and some social associations for seasonal greetings during
the first four days of the new year according to the traditional
practice of spending the festival in Myanmar, Zhou went on to say.
He anticipated that such lion dance activities could be inherited
generation by generation, noting that by sponsoring such activities,
it can give rise to outstanding lion dancing teams to take part in
international events to win pride for both Myanmar and Myanmar-
Chinese.
The four-day competitions include ground dancing and on-table dancing
and the event is to a close on next Thursday night with a prize-
presentation ceremony to be attached.
During last year's first such competitions, six other lion dancing
groups namely "Dragon Tiger", "Blue Blood", "Dragon Head", "Red Lion",
"Sky Dragon" and "The Last Don" took part.
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Mizzima News (www.mizzima.com)
Burmese and Indian activists demand release of 34 ethnic rebels
Nem Davies
February 4, 2008
India based Burmese activists today demanded that the Indian
government immediately release 34 Burmese ethnic rebels, who on
February 8 will complete 10 years in prison in India.
Over 50 Burmese activists and their Indian sup****ters today staged a
protest rally in Kolkata as the ethnic Arakan and Karen rebels, are
currently lodged in Kolkata's Presidency Jail, and are being tried in
the City Sessions Court.
At the rally activists demanded that India immediately release the
ethnic rebels, as they have been held for the past 10 years without a
proper trial that could ensure justice.
"They [the rebels] are not terrorists. They are freedom fighters of
Burma, who were fighting the brutal military regime. So, we are
calling for their immediate release. We are demonstrating here so that
people coming to the court will know about them," said Kim, a
spokesperson of the Burmese activists.
The 34 rebels, who were arrested on February 8, 1998, at Andaman and
Nicobar Islands, were initially held for eight years in the island,
without a proper trial.
Based on the appeal made by human rights activists, the Supreme Court
of India in October 2006 ordered the transfer of the rebels to
Kolkata's Presidency jail and to conduct a day to day trial at the
City Sessions Court.
During the year-long trial at the City Sessions Court several key
witnesses from the prosecutor's side failed to appear to testify, the
defense counsel for the 34 rebels told Mizzima.
The trial, however, stopped abruptly when the City Sessions Court
judge A****m Kumar Roy was suddenly transferred. The trial was last
held in September 2007.
"Actually there is no trial being held today. We moved an application
before the court that the trial should restart or if this court has no
power of holding the trial then the case should revert back to the
concerned court for trial," Akshay Kumar Sharma, one of the defense
counsels told Mizzima.
Sharma added that the court had ordered February 8 as the next date
for argument on the application and for the Central Bureau of
Intelligence (CBI), the main prosecutor, to reply.
"It has been 10 years that they [the rebels] are langui****ng in jail
and again the trial is halted because of lack of a judge. The trial
has been halted for three to four months now. We are demanding the
immediate resumption of the trial by appointing a new judge," Kim an
activist said.
"Or else the case should be transferred to the high court," Kim added.
Despite submitting the application today, the defense counsel said the
actual resumption of the trial may still take time.
Analyzing the hearings conducted throughout 2007, Sharma said with key
witnesses from the prosecutors failing to appear, the case is in
favour of the rebels, who claim to be freedom fighters and not gunner
runners. They are unfortunate victims of India's Intelligence agency.
According to the rebels, they were double crossed by Indian
Intelligence, who promised them the use of Landfall Island of Andaman
and Nicobar as a base to fight the Burmese military junta in return
for monitoring and sharing information on Chinese naval bases in Coco
Island in the Bay of Bengal.
However, the rebels said, upon arrival on Landfall Island, the Indian
intelligence killed their leaders and arrested them claiming that they
were gun runners, who were supplying weapons to Indian insurgents
operating in the Northeast India.
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Monastery stops free education service
Feb 5, 2008 (DVB)-A free tuition service at Ngway Kyar Yan monastery
in South Okkalapa town****p, Rangoon, that provided extra cl***** to
students from 10 town****ps in the surrounding area, has been
suspended.
Ngway Kyar Yan monastery has been inviting respected tutors to teach
extra cl***** at the monastery every year for the past 14 years, and
around 2,000 to 3,000 students have attended each year.
Burmese students often rely on outside tuition to supplement the low
standard of teaching in schools, but many are unable to afford a
private tutor.
The monastery was running its cl***** in the lead-up to the grade 10
exams, which are the level required for university entrance and take
place in February each year, and monks were able to get popular
teachers to provide their services to the monastery free of charge.
One student said that educational op****tunities for poorer students
would suffer without the free cl*****.
"This is very bad for students who cannot afford to pay private
tutors, because the education programme at Ngway Kyar Yan monastery
was taught by well-known tutors and the monastery also provided all
the teaching materials, textbooks and notebooks," the student said.
A monk who was involved in running the service also believed that it
would prevent some students from accessing a good education.
"This free education service is necessary for people who want to
pursue an education but can't afford it," he said.
"These services are helping our nation by building the capacity of our
students, and this is something the country should be happy about."
It is not clear why the cl***** have been stopped, but students
speculated that it was due to the participation of monks from the
monastery in last year's demonstrations.
Ngway Kyar Yan is a lecturing monastery, where over 1000 monks were
studying before raids on the monastery following the monk-led protests
in September last year.
Since the crackdown, only 40 monks have been left at the monastery.
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