Red Cross Accuses Burma of Causing “Immense Suffering”

In a rare departure from its usual diplomatic restraint, the International Red Cross denounced Burma's military government o­n Friday, saying it commits abuses against civilians and detainees that cause "immense suffering."

The regime makes thousands of detainees serve as porters for the military, exposing them to the danger of combat and other risks, the Red Cross said. It also alleged repeated abuses by the military against men, women and children living along the Thai-Burmese border, including the large-scale destruction of food supplies.

The UN and Western countries have long accused the junta of human rights abuses, such as forcing people to do unpaid manual labor and haul supplies as army porters.

The Burmese government rejects allegations of rights abuses and says it is making progress toward democracy.

Usually the Red Cross complains confidentially to governments about human rights abuses, leading to criticism of the neutral agency for failing to disclose severe violations. Its silence during the Holocaust was an extreme case, but more recently it was criticized for failing to go public with its knowledge of US abuses in Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison.

In denouncing Burma, Red Cross President Jakob Kellenberger said the organization had repeatedly complained to the government about the abuses, "but the authorities have failed to put a stop to them."

"The persistent use of detainees as porters for the armed forces is a matter of grave humanitarian concern," Kellenberger said. "The actions of the authorities have also resulted in immense suffering for thousands of people in conflict-affected areas."

Burma's military has severely restricted freedom of movement in combat areas along the Thai border, "making it impossible for many villagers to work in their fields," he said.

The armed forces have also committed "numerous acts of violence," including murder, against civilians in these areas, the Red Cross said. "They have also forced villagers to directly support military operations or to leave their homes."

The Red Cross said it based its complaints o­n observations made by the group's delegates and numerous allegations of abuse collected during private interviews with thousands of civilians and detainees.

"Many detainees used as porters have suffered from exhaustion and malnutrition and been subjected to degrading treatment," it said. "Some have been murdered."

Kellenberger said government restrictions o­n Red Cross staff made it impossible for them to move independently and hampered the delivery of humanitarian aid.

The Red Cross report made no mention of Burma's most prominent detainee, Nobel laureate and pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who has spent more than 11 of the past 18 years in detention and is currently under house arrest.

What to Do with Burma?

Asian Development Bank denied providing direct financial backing to developmental efforts in Burma under the Greater Mekong Sub-region cooperation framework, according to Mizzima news agency based in India.

Responding to inquiries by the human rights group EarthRights International, the ADB stressed that no direct loans have been provided to Burma since 1986. The article quoted the ADB's e-mail reply thus: "There is no connection of the ADB, either bilaterally or through GMS, with any government project the Government of Myanmar may be implementing, including the Tasang dam and the East-West Corridor highway in Myanmar.” The ADB's financial support to Burma as a GMS member consists of "rather nominal" amounts in technical assistance, it added.

On May 10, the People’s Daily o­nline of China presented additional insights o­n the construction and financing of the Burmese section of the East-West Corridor. It reported that work has started o­n the Thingan Nyainaung - Kawkareik section, in between the just-completed segment from Myawaddy and the to-be constructed final section to the Mawlamyne deep-sea port o­n the Bay of Bengal, thanks to aid from Thailand.

When finished, this long-awaited road would link the Indian and the Pacific oceans, greatly facilitating intraregional transportation and trade. It would bring a step closer to realization the vision of the Asian Highways, a pan-Asian network of roads stretching from Europe to the Far East.
The hesitance by the ADB and the contrasting willingness by neighboring governments to provide financial support to Burma under the same GMS scheme are emblematic of the regional bloc’s unresolved position toward its most “controversial” member state.

The military regime of Burma (called the State Peace and Development Council, or SPDC) is widely condemned for its repressive rules and economic mismanagement. International pressure is mounting o­n the SPDC to set a democratic process in motion through political reform and national reconciliation.

The US maintains extensive sanctions, including visa restrictions, an arms embargo, and bans o­n aid, investments and imports. The EU has restrictions o­n selected Burmese state-run enterprises and has recommended that its member states vote against international financial aid to Burma. Development assistance by UN agencies and other international bodies is justified o­nly for “humanitarian reasons.”

Gradually, even Burma’s neighbors in Southeast Asia are becoming more concerned about its internal situation. In 2004, the Asean Inter-Parliamentary Myanmar Caucus was established to foster political change in Burma. In 2005, Asean issued a declaration asking for reforms and for the release of political prisoners, including Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. In 2006, Burma was compelled to renounce its turn to chair Asean, and there are now calls to suspend its membership. Still, no o­ne country in the region has so far implemented economic sanctions against Burma. Corporate investment and development aid continue unabated and have even been increasing o­n the part of some countries.

As a sub-regional bloc, the GMS has shown even less inclination than Asean to use political and economic sanctions to “reform” Burma.

GMS states are committed to working together for socio-economic development through “solidarity” and “mutual respect” and adhere to the principle of non-intervention in o­ne another’s national matters. There is agreement among them that the GMS is an economic and not a political arrangement. Therefore, it is argued that it is not the GMS’s role to put pressure o­n Burma, and that Asean is the appropriate locus for this thorny issue.

As far as GMS countries are concerned, Burma ought to have the same rights and obligations as other member states. To exclude Burma would imply giving up the entire vision of the riparian Mekong countries as constituting a unique sub-region, thus undermining the very fundamentals of the GMS program.

The economic and geo-political interests of individual GMS countries, and their corporate sectors, favor market-based rather than human rights considerations. Burma is rich in much-needed energy resources and has a role to play in Asia-wide military and trade strategies, thanks to its access to the Indian Ocean and its closeness to India. Burma’s main investors are from Asia. Of the four largest, two—China and Thailand—are GMS countries (the other two being Singapore and Japan).

This cooperative stance is not well received by the growing movement of civil society groups in the region and abroad that wish Burma's neighbors would finally bring pressure to bear o­n the SPDC. 

Burma Listed Among Most Failed States

Burma has been listed in 14th place o­n a 2007 "Failed States Index" created by the influential US magazine Foreign Policy.

Using 12 social, economic, political and military indicators, the magazine ranked 177 countries in order of their vulnerability to violent internal conflict and societal deterioration based o­n data from more than 12,000 publicly available sources. The magazine is owned by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

The index gives countries a maximum of 10 points each for its social indicators of instability, with higher scores indicating greater instability.

This year, Burma's highest scores (worst) were 9.8 for human rights (.2 behind Sudan), 9.1 for delegitimization of state and 9.1 for group grievance. Its best score was for external intervention with 4.0 points.

Burma was ranked 18th in 2006 and 23rd in 2005.

On the magazine's Web site, the authors of the index said, "One of the leading benchmarks for failed state status is the loss of physical control of territory or a monopoly o­n the legitimate use of force."

Other attributes of state failure include the erosion of legitimate authority to make collective decisions, an inability to provide reasonable public services and the inability to interact with other states as a full member of the international community.

The Failed States Index—created annually since 2005—presents a diagnosis of the problem, the first step in devising strategies for strengthening weak and failing states, according to the magazine.

According to the authors, about 2 billion people live in countries that run a significant risk of collapse.

"These insecure and unstable states are breeding grounds for terrorism, organized crime, weapons proliferation, humanitarian emergencies, environmental degradation and political extremism—threats that will affect everyone."

While Sudan and seven other sub-Saharan African countries are among the 10 most failed states, the o­nly non-African states in the lowest 10 scores were Iraq (second o­nly to Sudan) and Afghanistan, ranked eighth.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi Celebrates Birthday under House Arrest

Burma's pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi spent her 62nd birthday under house arrest o­n Tuesday while her supporters marked the event at her National League for Democracy’s headquarters in Rangoon.

According to Myint Thein, a spokesman for NLD, about 100 people—most likely from the government-backed Union Solidarity and Development Association and the “Swan Arr Shin,” a paramilitary group—were gathered outside NLD’s headquarters when Suu Kyi’s birthday was celebrated.

He said: “A military truck monitored the area and gave orders to the group around NLD’s headquarters. About 100 people were around the area with batons. We saw many threats. If they don’t stop actions like this, it’s not a good sign for the country's national reconciliation.”

Three NLD’s members who attended the celebration were arrested by authorities, he added.

Sources in Rangoon said that authorities began reinforcing security near Suu Kyi’s Inya lakeside residence and extended barbed wire barricades o­n her street since Monday night.
Other NLD members in Shwebo in Sagaing Division also were threatened by a military-backed mob that threw stones at the NLD office and placed sharp rivets that can puncture a motorbike's tire o­n a road near the building, according to Tint Tint, an NLD member.

Suu Kyi has spent more than 11 of the past 17 years under house arrest. The latest round of house arrest began o­n May 30, 2003, when her motorcade was ambushed by a government-orchestrated mob in Depayin, in Burma’s northwest Sagaing Division.

However, an article written o­n Tuesday in state-run newspaper The New Light of Myanmar criticized the democracy leader: “Daw Suu Kyi destroys the country and breaks up the unity of ethnic minorities inside the country. She is also a main factor in the murder of her father. She married a foreigner. She is a destroyer.”

Despite calls from the leaders of various countries and activists worldwide, there is no sign of Burma’s military government will release her, according to Aung Naing Oo, an exiled Burmese political analyst.

“The military sees Aung San Suu Kyi as a main rival for political power," he said. "Yet there is no hope for her release.”

Theatres across the world unite for Aung San Suu Kyi

For the first time ever, some of the world’s most influential theatres are joining together to read an extract of a new play about Aung San Suu Kyi to celebrate her birthday on June 19th. Venues include the National Theatre and RADA in London,  and PARC in Japan. Such support reminds the people of the world and the military junta of Burma that through theatre Suu’s message of a democratic Burma can reach hearts and minds all over the world.  Suu Kyi is the symbol of hope for the millions of people in Burma and she is the world’s only imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize laureate political prisoner and is known as the ‘Mandela’ of Burma. She is the leader of Burma’s democracy movement and is to spend her 62nd birthday in isolation under the rule of the military junta, this is the 11th birthday she has endured while under house arrest, her term of which was extended indefinitely last month. The United Nations condemned her detention as illegal only two weeks ago.


The Lady of Burma, written and directed by Richard Shannon, will also be presented at the House of Commons on June 19th in a landmark reading by actress Liana Mau Tan Gould, who performed at the Old Vic Theatre for the gala performance with Annie Lennox in November 2006. So far, theatres in Norway, India, Italy, Ireland, Jamaica, U.S.A, Australia, Japan, England, Wales, Scotland, Spain, Portugal, Canada, Zimbabwe and Cyprus to name a few are all holding a reading to remember Suu on her birthday.

International actor Kabir Bedi, known for his ground breaking roles from Bollywood to Hollywood, is joining up with Rt Hon Ian McCartney MP – Foreign Office Minister responsible for Burma, William Hague MP– Conservative Shadow Foreign Secretary and Michael Moore MP – Liberal Democrat Shadow Foreign Secretary on June 19th 2007 at the House of Commons. Kabir Bedi, known as ‘the voice’ in Bollywood, will read a special extract about Aung San Suu Kyi. He is one of the most famous international actors to have come out of India and joins us in London after his spell in Yorkshire with the IIFAs. In the James Bond film ‘Octopussy’ he played Gobinda, the villain who battled Roger Moore. In ‘Ashanti’ he stars with Michael Caine. His career spans 3 decades in 3 continents in film, television and theatre. Most recently in the UK he starred in London’s West End musical adaptation of M.M. Kayes “The Far Pavillions”. With over 60 Bollywood movies to his name and the success of the record breaking Italian-German-French television series ‘Sandokan’ where he played the title hero as a romantic freedom fighting pirate, The Burma Campaign UK are delighted to have his support in the struggle for democracy in Burma.

Kabir Bedi has a family legacy of remarkable commendation - his mother, an English woman from Derbyshire, was the first western woman to be ordained as a Buddhist nun, who then went on to become one of Mahatma Gandhi’s hand picked followers during India’s struggle for independence. Kabir spent many years in Burma and is fully supportive of the campaign to see the release of Aung San Suu Kyi. Kabir Bedi said “I have known Burma since I was a child and care deeply about it. I’m attending this event to show my support for the restoration of democracy in Burma and for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi.”

Suu Kyi has called for people around the world to join the struggle for freedom in Burma and now the Burma Campaign UK and Kabir Bedi call for people around the world to remember Suu Kyi on her special day. The Lady of Burma is not just a story of a political figure but that of a wife and mother. Suu Kyi was married to an Englishman called Michael Aris, who died while she was under house arrest in 1999. In addition to the Nobel Peace Prize, she has won the Sakharov Prize from the European Parliament and the United States Presidential Medal of Freedom.

The Burma Campaign UK is part of a global movement to promote democracy and human rights in Burma.

The ‘Lady of Burma’ will premiere at the Edinburgh fringe festival this summer, presented by the Burma Campaign UK and producer Louise Chantal.

Notes to Editors

Aung San Suu Kyi isn’t allowed to see her two sons, grandchildren, family, friends or colleagues as all visitors are banned. Her phone line is cut and her post is intercepted. In 1999 Suu Kyi’s husband, Michael Aris, died of cancer - the Burmese authorities refusing her a visit from him prior to his death. Many of her supporters have been jailed or killed, notably in the Depayin massacre of May 2003, when up to a hundred were beaten to death by a regime militia.

*Aung San Suu Kyi was held under house arrest from 1989-1995, and again from 2000-2002. She was again arrested in May 2003 after the Depayin massacre. She is currently under house arrest in Rangoon. Aung San Suu Kyi’s message is a simple one – that only by “fighting fear can you truly be free” – a message Burma’s military fears and aims to silence.

* Burma is ruled by one of the most brutal and corrupt regimes in the world responsible for the widespread use of forced labour. Over 1 million people have been forced from their homes since 1988. There are currently at least 1100 political prisoners in Burma, many of whom are routinely tortured, and as many as 70,000 child soldiers – more than any other country in the world. Rape is used as a weapon of war against ethnic women and children. Nearly half the government budget is spent on the military and just 19p per person per year on health. One in ten children die before their fifth birthday.
*‘She is my pin-up!  She inspires me with her gentle determination…. Men, armed to the teeth, are running scared of her. When those men are no more than the flotsam and jetsam of history her name will be emblazoned in letters of gold. She has already won, and they know they have lost. I love her, and I am in awe of her.’  Archbishop Desmond Tutu

* The lady of Burma play can be seen in full at the Edinburgh Festival 2007 at Assembly @ St George’s West, 58 Shandwick Place, Edinburgh from the 3-27 August at 16.45 daily
Box office: 0131 623 3030
[url=http://www.assemblyfestival.com]http://www.assemblyfestival.com[/url]
Venues and theatre companies organising readings on 19th June 2007 worldwide include:
59e59 Theatres
New York
[url=http://www.59e59.org]http://www.59e59.org[/url]

The Athenaeum Centre (UK)
Warminster
Contact: Tony Jackson 07968028694
Barrow Street Theatre
New York
[url=http://www.barrowstreettheatre.com]http://www.barrowstreettheatre.com[/url]
Compagnia del teatro Nuovo, Naples Italy
M.d’amoro@rhul.ac.uk
Casa Asia (Spain)
Barcelona, Spain
[url=http://www.casaasia.es]http://www.casaasia.es[/url]

Gekidan Kaitaisha, Japan
Tokyo [url=http://www.kaitaish.com]http://www.kaitaish.com[/url]
Hamilton Dramaturgy (USA)
Quakertown, Pennsylvania
[url=http://www.hamiltonlit.com]http://www.hamiltonlit.com[/url]

Highway Diner
Edinburgh, Scotland
Contact: Laura Cameron Lewis lauracameronlewis@mac.com
Julie Morgan, MP (Wales)
Cardiff North
Contact: Paul Johnston, write2pj@hotmail.com
Melbourne, Australia (Australia)
Contact: Judith, Jmoshea@ozemail.com
National Student Drama Festival (UK)
http://www.nsdf.org.uk/
National Theatre, London
contact: Lucinda Morrison: press1@nationaltheatre.org.uk
Orisha Tales Repetory Radio Theatre Company (USA)
New York City
Contact: David Wright, osungumi@aim.com
The Oslo Centre for Peace and Human Rights (Norway)
Contact: Hilde Salvesen, hilde.salvesen@oslocenter.no
The Oxford Playhouse
[url=http://www.oxfordplayhouse.com]http://www.oxfordplayhouse.com[/url]
PARC – Japan Centre, Tokyo
[url=http://www.jah.ne.jp]http://www.jah.ne.jp[/url]
Portchester Amnesty Group (UK)
Contact: Valerie, vagar@excite.com
Promotional Options (Jamaica)
Kingston 10, Jamaica W.I.
Contact: David Smith
Ranga Shankara – Bangalore, India
rangashankara@rediffmail.com
contact: Shiva Pathak
Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (UK)
[url=http://www.rada.org]http://www.rada.org[/url]
Riverside Studios (UK)
http://www.riversidestudios.co.uk/
Rooftop Theatre Group (Cyprus)
Nicosia, Cyprus
http://www.rooftoptheatregroup.org/index.html
Contact: Ellada Evangelou, info@rooftoptheatregroup.org
Shaftesbury Theatre (UK)
http://www.shaftesbury-theatre.co.uk/
Soho Theatre (UK)
[url=http://www.sohotheatre.com]http://www.sohotheatre.com[/url]
Stranmillis University College (N.  Ireland)
Belfast, Co Antrim,  Northern Ireland
[url=http://www.stran.ac.uk]http://www.stran.ac.uk[/url]
St. Hugh’s College (UK), Oxford
http://www.st-hughs.ox.ac.uk/
Theatre Clwyd
Mold, North Wales
http://www.clwyd-theatr-cymru.co.uk/
Wizard Oil Productions (USA)
New York City
http://www.wizardoilproductions.org

US Condemns Burma in Human Trafficking Report

Burma is not doing enough to stop the flow of human trafficking—especially of women and children—according to a US State Department report “Trafficking in Persons" released o­n Tuesday.
Increasing numbers of ethnic Burmese girls and women have been leaving Burma in hope of finding work since the 1990s, the report said.

"With economic conditions in Burma worsening, this trend has continued and now ethnic females appear to be trafficked in significant numbers both within the country and to neighboring countries," the report said.

The annual US government report surveys the global effort to combat human trafficking.
Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Algeria, Equatorial Guinea and Malaysia were added to the worse countries list for the first time, along with other permanent offenders such as Burma, Cuba, Iran, North Korea and Syria.

The report said Burma does not even conform to the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking in persons, which the report calls a form of “modern day slavery.”
“The military regime and its civilian officials have direct involvement in trafficking for forced labor and the unlawful conscription of child soldiers,” the report said.

Aye Aye Mar, the director of Social Action for Women in Mae Sot, a border town in Thailand, said, “It is common to see Burmese people, especially children age 5 to10, being trafficked into Thailand.”
The Burmese NGO assists displaced Burmese women and children who are being trafficked or people who are in a crisis situation after having fled from their country out of fear for their lives.
Aye Aye Mar said many Burmese parents are unaware of human trafficking and have made wrong decisions by allowing traffickers to take their children. She said parents of lost children come to her seeking help almost every day.

Recently, The International Labour Organization's deputy regional director, Guy Thijs, told The Nation newspaper in Bangkok that “many child workers are still trapped here in Thailand by vicious human traffickers.”

Burmese children have been trafficked to neighboring countries for sexual exploitation, forced labor and as indentured street beggars, according to the US report. 

Children from Burma's rural areas are trafficked into larger cities to work at menial labor.
A Rangoon journalist told The Irrawaddy it's common for child laborers to be smuggled into the city from rural villages to work in teashops, food stalls or markets.

Burmese Military Seizes Land in Shan State for Physic Nut Crops

A government-backed militia in northern Shan State confiscated nearly 1,000 acres of farmland earlier this year from villagers in Muse Township and has begun clearing the land in preparation for the planting of physic nut trees, according to residents in the Burma-China border town.
Villagers who complained about the seizure of land were told that the militia had acted under orders from Maj-Gen Aung Than Htut, head of the Burmese army’s Northeast Command.

Some villagers’ land was taken without any form of compensation. Others were paid a small compensation, estimated by local sources to be as little as 10,000 to 50,000 kyat (US $8 to $40) for small farms, or 100,000 to 500,000 kyat ($80 to $400) for tea and orange plantations.

Residents told The Irrawaddy o­n Monday that the Muse-based militia, led by a man named Sein Win, has been seizing farms and tea and orange plantations since the beginning of 2007.

“Without land, villagers who mainly rely o­n agriculture will find it more difficult to survive and will be forced into day labor to feed their families,” o­ne local resident said.

According to another local resident, many of the area’s farms have been in operation for generations, and current owners often have no legal documents that verify their ownership of the land.

The recent seizure of land is not the first time that villagers in the region have lost out to Burma’s aggressive campaign o­n physic nut production. Residents in Muse say that the militia has been seizing tracts of land since the beginning of 2007.

Lt-Gen Kyaw Win, from Burma’s Ministry of Defense, and Maj-Gen Aung Than Htut attended a physic nut growing ceremony and inspected a physic nut plantation near the Lashio-Muse Road in Shan State in mid-May, according to a press report in Burma’s state-run The New Light of Myanmar.

The report added that physic nut crops have been planted o­n 2,785 acres of land in Lashio in 2006-07, with another 1,200 acres expected to be planted in the next year.

Burma’s military government in the last year has adopted a national plan to cultivate some 7 million acres of physic nut crops throughout the country in a bid to cut the country’s dependence o­n oil imports.

Junta Clamps Down on Ethnic Culture Groups

Burma’s military government has begun to target ethnic culture organizations by refusing to renew work registrations, according to group members.

The Mon Literature and Culture Committee attempted to renew their work registration in early May but were informed by Ministry of Culture a few weeks later that their application had been refused without explanation, according to o­ne committee member.

The member said ethnic representatives from Mon, Karen and Shan states held a meeting o­n June 2 in the Mon State capital of Moulmein to discuss the situation.

A second cultural association, the Shan Literature and Culture Committee in Rangoon, said they applied for registration in November 2006 but have yet to receive a reply from authorities.

“We were required to apply for registration, but we don’t know whether we’ll receive it or not,” a senior member of the committee told The Irrawaddy o­n Friday. 

Committee members are unsure what effect the refusals might have o­n other cultural activities in Burma.

“For yearly events such as Shan dancing festivals, they [the government] can not ban it because it is o­ne of our annual celebrations,” the Shan committee member said.

“The Burmese authorities are trying to ban our ethnic cultural works,” said a senior member of the Karen Literature and Culture Committee. “Now we are trying to find out why.”

The Karen group sent a letter to the Ministry of Culture last month to seek an explanation, but they have yet to receive any response, according to the Karen committee member. He added that the group’s leader is currently trying to negotiate with authorities in Rangoon.

Some group members believe Burmese authorities are concerned about possible links between ethnic organizations and outside groups, particularly political opposition groups.

“They want to destroy us. They seem as much afraid of literature and culture groups as they are of armed organizations,” said a Karen committee member. “That could be o­ne reason why they don’t want us to work freely.”

Ethnic cultural groups have operated in Burma since the 1960s and 1970s.

Recent refusals of culture group registrations follow the refusal in mid-May by the Ministry of Home Affairs to renew registrations for more than 20 social welfare organizations. The ministry later announced that groups could submit letters of appeal, according to o­ne Rangoon-based social group whose registration renewal was refused. 

Social groups affected by the decision included the Free Funeral Services Society and the Chinese Traders Association.

Burmese Ethnic Leaders Skeptical as Junta Prepares to Resume National Convention

Burma's ethnic minority leaders expressed skepticism o­n Wednesday about the results of the country’s National Convention following the military government’s announcement that the body will convene its final session o­n July 18.

State-run The New Light of Myanmar reported o­n Wednesday that junta leaders decided to make the announcement during a meeting of the National Convention Committee o­n Tuesday in Naypyidaw.

“It will be the final session,” Secretary 1 Lt-Gen Thein Sein, who also serves as the chairman of the National Convention, was quoted as saying in the New Light report.
Burma’s ethnic leaders were quick to react. Aye Tha Aung, chairman of the Arakan League for Democracy and the secretary of the Committee Representing People’s Parliament, said the constitution that will be produced by the convention will not establish democracy in the country, and neither will any future elections.

One of the goals of the convention is the drafting of a new state constitution.
“My evaluation of the current situation, as well as the future of our country, is that nothing good will come from the government’s unilateral approach,” said Aye Tha Aung. “They can continue to do things o­ne-sidedly, but the political parties and ethnic groups won’t accept it.”

Aye Tha Aung added that he expects the international community and the UN would also reject any unilateral solutions by the ruling junta that failed to honor the wishes of the Burmese people.
Nai o­ng Ma-nge, a spokesperson for the ethnic ceasefire group New Mon State Party, said the drafting of a new constitution must involve the participation of all of Burma’s ethnic groups and political parties, particularly those of the National League for Democracy, the unanimous winners of Burma’s ill-fated 1990 elections.

The NMSP, which participated in previous sessions of the convention, has since withdrawn its delegates citing the lack of free discussions.

“It is a fake convention,” Cin Sian Thang, chairman of the Zomi National Congress, told The Irrawaddy o­n Wednesday. "It doesn’t deserve the name National Convention.”
State media reports in Burma said the final session will see the adoption of all remaining chapters of the constitution as well as a review of previously approved sections to ensure the absence of “flaws and weaknesses.”

Burma’s ruling junta selected 1,081 delegates—most of them supporters of the regime—for the last session of the convention. Delegates from the NLD did not attend because the government refuses to release the party’s general secretary, pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, and Vice Chairman Tin Oo.

Officials from the NLD told The Irrawaddy o­n Wednesday they were not ready to comment o­n the resumption of the National Convention.

Burma’s National Convention has been roundly criticized by the international community and activists inside and outside the country for being stage-managed by the ruling junta and not representing all sections of Burmese society.

The convention’s previous session convened at Nyaung Hnapin camp in Hmawbi Township from October 10 to December 29, 2006, during which delegates were said to have agreed o­n basic principles for a new parliamentary system, the role of the armed forces and the “Fundamental Rights and Duties of Citizens.”

Burma’s 88 Generation Students Group Slams China, Russia

The Burmese regime’s extension of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s house arrest had the support of China and Russia, Burma’s 88 Generation Students group charged o­n Monday.

The group also criticized China and Russia for vetoing a draft UN Security Council resolution o­n Burma, saying they had "missed an opportunity to respond to the situation in our country constructively, collectively and effectively within the United Nations framework."

Ko Ko Gyi, a leader of the group, said China and Russia “should recognize the fact that the stability of the region is better if Burma becomes a democratic country."

Both China and Russia maintain close relations with the Burmese junta and have repeatedly said Burma’s problems were the domestic concern of a sovereign state.

China's Foreign Ministry restated Beijing’s policy recently in a statement saying Suu Kyi’s continuing detention was an internal affair. China "hopes to see Myanmar [Burma] maintain political stability and continue to make progress in the process of national reconciliation," the Chinese Foreign Ministry statement said.

The 88 Generation Students group, however, charges that while China and Russia claim they want to see prosperity and stability in Burma they refuse to join the international community in calling for democratization, including the release of all political prisoners.

"With the strong backing of China and Russia, Burmese generals extended Daw Suu's detention for another year,” said Ko Ko Gyi. “It means that hope for our country's national reconciliation is turned down again."

Despite the veto by China and Russia of the US and British-sponsored motion to put Burma o­n the agenda of the Security Council, the US will continue to raise the issue of human rights violations by the Burmese military government, the new US Ambassador to the UN, Zalmay Khalilzad, told The Irrawaddy last month.

UN Declares Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi’s Detention Illegal

Washington, D.C.

A Press Release from FREEDOM NOW

Today, Freedom Now released a strongly-worded ruling from the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention finding that Aung San Suu Kyi is being detained illegally by the military junta in Burma.

The Working Group stated:
“The unsubstantiated hints of the Government [of Burma] to [Ms. Suu Kyi’s] “activities detrimental to peace and tranquility” and to Suu Kyi’s “campaign with the intention of harming the integrity of the Union” are irrelevant . . . because not even the Government asserts [she] has ever resorted to violence or incited to hostility or violence . . . In light of the foregoing, the Working Group renders the following opinion. The deprivation of liberty of Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi is arbitrary being in contravention of Articles 9, 10, and 19 of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights. . . The Working Group believes that under the circumstances the adequate remedy would be the immediate release of Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi.”(emphasis added).

Under Working Group procedures, the decision was provided exclusively to the Burmese junta for 21 days before being released to Freedom Now, which litigated the case at the UN with authorization of a member of Ms. Suu Kyi’s family. The Working Group is an independent and impartial tribunal, whose membership is currently comprised of experts from Algeria, Iran, Hungary, Paraguay, and Spain. Previously, the Working Group issued three other opinions – 8/1992, 2/2002, and 9/2004 – that Ms. Suu Kyi’s prior terms of house arrest were also in violation of international law. After Ms. Suu Kyi’s political party and its allies won the 1990 elections in Burma with more than 80% of the vote, she has spent more than 11 of the last 17 years under house arrest, and continuously since 2003.

The Burmese junta extended Ms. Suu Kyi’s house arrest despite an international outcry demanding her release. The global appeal included calls by the UN Secretary-General, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, 14 UN Human Rights Rapporteurs, ASEAN, European Union, and 59 former Presidents and Prime Ministers led by former Norwegian Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik.
“We are gratified the UN has reaffirmed that Aung San Suu Kyi is being held in violation of international law. Nevertheless, this judgment is about much more than the detention of one courageous woman,” said Jared Genser, President of Freedom Now. “Her detention is a symbol of the ongoing oppression of the Burmese people. The real question is how long will Burma’s bold-face defiance of the United Nations, ASEAN, EU, and so many others be tolerated?” he added.

For more information, contact FREEDOM NOW
P.O. Box 30155 • Bethesda, Maryland 20824-0155 • + 1 202 320-4135 • jgenser@freedom-now.org

Rights Groups Condemn Continuing Detention of Suu Kyi

The Burmese government's crackdown o­n supporters of detained democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi had become increasingly violent, a leading human rights group said o­n Friday.
The Burmese military government recently detained a total of 72 people involved in a prayer campaign for the release of Suu Kyi and held them without trial, the Thailand-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma) said in a statement.

"The Burmese regime has been persistently threatening, arresting and detaining pro-democracy and human rights activists," the statement said. Beatings and illegal arrests had increased, it added.
Last month, supporters of Suu Kyi and youth members of her National League for Democracy visited Buddhist pagodas in Rangoon to pray for her release, but were blocked by supporters of the junta—members of the Union Solidarity and Development Association, a junta-backed pseudo-social organization, and the Phythu Swan Arr Shin, a paramilitary group.

 Suu Kyi has been held under house arrest since May 30, 2003, after her motorcade was attacked by a junta-backed mob during a political tour of northern Burma. She has been detained for a total of 11 of the last 17 years without charge or trial. Last week, the military government extended her house arrest for a further year.

Meanwhile, a UN panel has denounced Suu Kyi's continuing detention as a violation of international law and called for her immediate release.

The UN Working Group o­n Arbitrary Detention—an independent UN tribunal of experts from Algeria, Iran, Hungary, Paraguay, and Spain—informed Jared Genser, president of the US rights group Freedom Now, that "the deprivation of liberty of Ms Aung San Suu Kyi is arbitrary, being contravention of Articles 9, 10 and 19 of the Universal Declaration o­n Human Rights."

In the statement by Freedom Now, Jared Genser said: "Her detention is a symbol of the o­ngoing oppression of the Burmese people. The real question is how long will Burma's bold-faced defiance of the United Nations, Asean, EU and so many others be tolerated?"

Source: Irrawaddy 

Rights Groups Condemn Continuing Detention of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi

The Burmese government's crackdown o­n supporters of detained democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi had become increasingly violent, a leading human rights group said o­n Friday.

The Burmese military government recently detained a total of 72 people involved in a prayer campaign for the release of Suu Kyi and held them without trial, the Thailand-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma) said in a statement.

"The Burmese regime has been persistently threatening, arresting and detaining pro-democracy and human rights activists," the statement said. Beatings and illegal arrests had increased, it added.

Last month, supporters of Suu Kyi and youth members of her National League for Democracy visited Buddhist pagodas in Rangoon to pray for her release, but were blocked by supporters of the junta—members of the Union Solidarity and Development Association, a junta-backed pseudo-social organization, and the Phythu Swan Arr Shin, a paramilitary group.

 Suu Kyi has been held under house arrest since May 30, 2003, after her motorcade was attacked by a junta-backed mob during a political tour of northern Burma. She has been detained for a total of 11 of the last 17 years without charge or trial. Last week, the military government extended her house arrest for a further year.

Meanwhile, a UN panel has denounced Suu Kyi's continuing detention as a violation of international law and called for her immediate release.

The UN Working Group o­n Arbitrary Detention—an independent UN tribunal of experts from Algeria, Iran, Hungary, Paraguay, and Spain—informed Jared Genser, president of the US rights group Freedom Now, that "the deprivation of liberty of Ms Aung San Suu Kyi is arbitrary, being contravention of Articles 9, 10 and 19 of the Universal Declaration o­n Human Rights."

In the statement by Freedom Now, Jared Genser said: "Her detention is a symbol of the o­ngoing oppression of the Burmese people. The real question is how long will Burma's bold-faced defiance of the United Nations, Asean, EU and so many others be tolerated?"