U.S. Arms for Taiwan Send Beijing a Message

WASHINGTON — For the past year, China has adopted an increasingly muscular position toward the United States, berating American officials for the global economic crisis, stage-managing President Obama’s visit to China in November, refusing to back a tougher climate change agreement in Copenhagen and standing fast against American demands for tough new Security Council sanctions against Iran.

Pool Photo by David Gray

Prime Minister Wen Jiabao of China with President Obama during the president's visit to China last November.

Now, the Obama administration has started to push back. In announcing an arms sales package to Taiwan worth $6 billion on Friday, the United States leveled a direct strike at the heart of the most sensitive diplomatic issue between the two countries since America affirmed the “one China” policy in 1972.

The arms package was doubly infuriating to Beijing coming so soon after the Bush administration announced a similar arms package for Taiwan in 2008, and right as tensions were easing somewhat in Beijing and Taipei’s own relations. China’s immediate, and outraged, reaction — cancellation of some military exchanges and announcement of punitive sanctions against American companies — demonstrates, China experts said, that Beijing is feeling a little burned, particularly because the Taiwan arms announcement came on the same day that Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton publicly berated China for not taking a stronger position on holding Iran accountable for its nuclear program.
While administration officials sounded a uniform public note, cautioning Beijing not to allow this latest tiff to damage overall relations, some administration officials suggested privately that the timing of the arms sales and the tougher language on Iran was calculated to send a message to Beijing to avoid assumptions that President Obama would be deferential to China over American security concerns and existing agreements.

“This was a case of making sure that there was no misunderstanding that we will act in our own national security interests,” one senior administration official said. A second Obama administration official, also speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, said pointedly: “Unlike the previous administration, we did not wait until the end of our administration to go ahead with the arms sales to Taiwan. We did it early.”
But larger questions remain about where the Obama administration is heading on China policy, and whether the new toughness signals a fundamentally new direction and will yield results that last year’s softer approach did not.

Details Story; please read HERE

Burmese Soldiers Still Recruit Underage Youth

The Burmese army is still recruiting underage youth despite the government's agreement with the UN that such practices would stop.

In the latest incident, Kyaw Min Tun, 14, was conscripted by a soldier in Light Infantry Battalion No. 83, based in Migaungye in Taungdwingyi Township in Magway Division.

His mother, San Thar Win, told The Irrawaddy on Wednesday that her son was taken to the battalion on Jan. 19 at 4 p.m. She said a soldier from the battalion persuaded him to join by saying he would receive a 60,000 kyat (US $60) monthly salary.

She has asked the battalion to release her son, she said, but the military has not complied.
Meanwhile, Aye Myint, a leading labor activist in Pegu Division, said that two other underage youths were taken to the same battalion this month. His group, Guiding Star, works on issues involving child recruitment and forced labor.

The group received 121 recruitment complaints last year, but only about one-third of the youth were released, he said.

He said that the Burmese government should punished soldiers who recruit underage youth. Government officials have signed an agreement with the International Labour Organization to stop such recruitment but soldiers in the field continue the practice, he said.

Meanwhile, the Burmese military government has extended an agreement allowing the UN to monitor complaints of underage recruitment for one more year.

Kari Tapiola, the executive director of the ILO in Geneva, told The Irrawaddy by e-mail that the overall number of underage recruitment complaints has increased.
The forced recruitment of children into the military is a problem which has been recognized at a high level. According to the “Annual Report of the UN Secretary-General to the Security Council on Children and Armed Conflict” in March last year, the Burmese junta “continues to screen and release underage children found in its armed forces during the training process.”
The report said the ILO, together with the International Committee of the Red Cross, was instrumental in the release of 12 underage recruits and had verified the release of 23 children “mostly from involuntary military enrollment.” It was waiting for a government response in 14 other cases.
The UN said in its latest report on the situation that the military is still recruiting child soldiers.
The New York-based Human Rights Watch has said that 70,000 underage soldiers are serving in the Burmese armed forces.

Human rights groups say children are recruited at train stations, bus depots, teahouses, video halls and movie cinemas, and even while walking home at night. The groups say the youth are sometimes threatened and beaten if they refuse to agree to undergo military training. After their training, many are sent to areas where the military is in conflict with ethnic groups.

Detained US Citizen's Trial Postponed

A Burmese court has postponed the trial of detained Burmese-American activist Nyi Nyi Aung,  a.k.a Kyaw Zaw Lwin, to Feb.10, according to his aunt, Khin Khin Swe.

Speaking to The Irrawaddy on Wednesday, Khin Khin Swe said Kyi Wynn, one of Nyi Nyi Aung's lawyers, told her that the court postponed the trial to Feb. 10 instead of making a decision on Wednesday.

“We can only pray for a positive result,” said Khin Khin Swe who met Kyi Wynn today. 
“We have to be determined. We will support him [Nyi Nyi Aung] in whatever way we can,” she said, adding that Kyi Wynn said Nyi Nyi Aung is in good health.

Nyi Nyi Aung, 40,  suffered torture and other ill-treatment such as beatings, kickings, denial of food for seven days, sleep deprivation and denial of medical treatment for injuries sustained during torture and detention in Insein Prison, according to international rights group Amnesty International.

Nyi Nyi Aung also went on hunger strike in early December 2009 in protest against injustices in prison, according to his relatives in Rangoon. 

Nyi Nyi Aung has been detained in Insein prison since Burmese authorities arrested him at Rangoon's International Airport when he arrived on a flight from Bangkok on Sept. 3, 2009.
He was accused of using a faked Burmese identity card and illegally importing currencies into the country.

Nyi Nyi Aung, who resettled in the United States as a political refugee in 1993, returned to Burma to visit his mother, San San Tin, who is serving a 5-year prison sentence.

His cousin, Thet Thet Aung, is also in detention, serving a 65-year prison sentence for participating in the anti-government demonstrations in September 2007. 

Myanmar says Suu Kyi to be freed in November: witnesses

Myanmar says Suu Kyi to be freed in November: witnesses
By Aung Hla Tun

YANGON (Reuters) – Myanmar pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi will be freed when her house arrest ends in November, according to a government minister quoted by witnesses on Monday, but critics said that may be too late for this year's elections.

Home Minister Major General Maung Oo told a January 21 meeting of local officials the 64-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner would be released in November, a month after many observers expect the country to hold its first parliamentary elections in two decades.

The information could not be verified independently but three people who attended the meeting said the comment was made to an audience of several hundred people in Kyaukpadaung, a town about 565 km (350 miles) north of the former capital, Yangon.

The three witnesses requested anonymity.

Suu Kyi, detained for 14 of the past 20 years, was sentenced to a further 18 months of detention last August for harboring an American who swam uninvited to her lakeside home, raising questions over whether the election will be a sham.

That incident took place in May 2009, just before an earlier period of house arrest was due to end. Taking into account the three months she spent in a prison guesthouse after the incident, her 18-month sentence would end in November.

The planned election would be the first since 1990, when Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) party scored a landslide victory that the country's junta refused to recognize.

Maung Oo also said detained NLD vice-chairman Tin Oo would be released on February 13, and that the government would pursue an international-style market economy after holding "free and fair" elections, including loosening restrictions on car imports.
Tin Oo, 82, a former defense minister and retired general, has been in prison or under house arrest for more than a decade.

ELECTION TIMING NOT YET SET
Senior NLD official Khin Maung Swe said it was crucial Suu Kyi and Tin Oo were released before the election.

"The most important thing is they must be freed in good time so that they can work for national reconciliation," he said.

The military junta has not set a date for the election but has promised U.S. President Barack Obama and Southeast Asian leaders the vote would be free, fair and inclusive.

In recent months Suu Kyi has been allowed to meet the junta's liaison officer and foreign diplomats.
The NLD has not yet said whether it would take part in the elections, portrayed by the generals as a move to a multi-party democracy but derided by opponents as a sham designed to let the army retain real power.

The United States and others are reviewing policy toward the former Burma after years of sanctions and trade embargoes failed to get the junta to improve its human rights record or relax its grip on power.

Obama has offered Myanmar the prospect of better ties with Washington if it pursued democratic reform and freed political prisoners, including Suu Kyi.
(Writing by Jason Szep; Editing by Alan Raybould and Paul Tait)

Human Rights 'Deteriorating' in Burma: HRW

Burma's human rights record continued to deteriorate in 2009 ahead of a scheduled elections in 2010, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW).

In its 612-page World Report 2010, the New York-based NGO said, "The Burmese military junta systematically denies citizens basic freedoms, including freedom of expression, association and assembly.” 

Dozens of prominent political activists, Buddhist monks, labor activists, journalists and artists were arrested in Burma in 2009 and sentenced to draconian prison terms after unfair trials, the organization said, noting that the military government's human rights record continued to deteriorate last year ahead of an election announced for 2010.

In its 20th annual review of human rights practices around the globe, HRW summarized major human rights trends in more than 90 nations and territories worldwide.
It said attacks on rights monitors were not limited to authoritarian countries such as Burma and China.

"Attacks on rights defenders might be seen as a perverse tribute to the human rights movement, but that doesn't mitigate the danger," Executive Director Kenneth Roth wrote in the introduction to the World Report 2010. "Under various pretexts, abusive governments are attacking the very foundations of the human rights movement."

Speaking to The Irrawaddy on Thursday, Aung Myo Min, the director of Thailand-based Human Rights Education Institute of Burma, said, “The Burmese military junta commits systematic human rights abuses and crimes against humanity every year.”
Bo Kyi, the joint-secretary of the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners in Burma, pointed the finger at Russia and China, saying the two countries "supported Burma and other regimes that are committing human rights abuses.”

He added: "The United Nations has many weaknesses because it cannot take action against abusers of human rights. It should revise and amend its policies and mechanisms on human rights.”
Of detained pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi’s trial last year, the report said, "The trial dragged on for three months, with frequent delays and with international fair trial standards lacking.”

It said that “an estimated 2,100 political prisoners remain incarcerated for their peaceful activities in Burma. More than 230 Buddhist monks involved in the 2007 protests remain in prison.”
In 2009, international calls increased for an investigation into war crimes and crimes against humanity in Burma, and for a UN arms embargo to be imposed,” the report said. "But China, Russia and North Korea still sell arms to the Burmese military junta.”

The report also criticized the Burmese armed forces. “The Burmese military continues to perpetrate violations against civilians in ethnic conflict areas, including extrajudicial killings, forced labor and sexual violence,” it said, expressing concern about internally displaced people, refugees and child soldiers.

HRW said that despite the growth in the human rights movement, human rights defenders remain vulnerable and greatly in need of support by rights-respecting governments.

"Governments that consider themselves human rights supporters often keep silent in the face of these abuses by allies, citing diplomatic or economic priorities," Roth said. "But that silence makes them complicit in the abuse. The only proper response to serious human rights violations is to turn up the heat on the abusers."

“There is no country in the world which fully respects human rights," said Aung Myo Min. "Most world powers, including the US, China and Russia, have cooperated with human rights abusers in their national interests or as an act of economic or foreign policy.”

The report said human rights monitors had been killed in Russia, Sri Lanka, Kenya, Burundi and Afghanistan, while Sudan and China routinely shut down human rights groups.

US Seeks Ban on Importing Burmese Python

WASHINGTON — The United States wants to ban the import of Burmese pythons and eight other large constrictor snakes, as the Obama administration believes such large snakes endanger America's fragile ecosystem.

“The Burmese python and these other alien snakes are destroying some of our nation's most treasured—and most fragile—ecosystems,” said US Interior Secretary Ken Salazar on Wednesday.

US Riverside County Department of Animal Services employees display an 11-foot Burmese python in August, 2009, that was captured by animal control officers in Lake Elsinore, Calif. (Photo: AP)

Salazar said the US Fish and Wildlife Service will publish the proposed rule in the Federal Register in early February. At that time, it will also make a draft economic analysis and draft environmental analysis available to the public. The public will have 60 days to comment on the proposal.

“The Interior Department and states such as Florida are taking swift and common sense action to control and eliminate the populations of these snakes, but it is an uphill battle in ecosystems where they have no natural predators. If we are going to succeed, we must shut down the importation of the snakes and end the interstate commerce and transportation of them,” Salazar said.

The nine species proposed to be included in the ban are: the Burmese python, northern African python, southern African python, reticulated python, green anaconda, yellow anaconda, Beni or Bolivian anaconda, DeSchauensee's anaconda, and boa constrictor. Over the past 30 years, about a million of these nine species have been imported into the United States and current domestic production of some species likely exceeds import levels.

Sen. Benjamin Cardin, the chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Water and Wildlife Subcommittee, praised Salazar for trying to protect hreaten sensitive ecosystems by listing the species as “injurious wildlife” under the Lacey Act.

“Invasive species like these pose serious threats to native species across the country and can have a severe impact on America's natural ecosystems, as well as our agriculture, economy and human health,” he said.

Under the Lacey Act, the Secretary of the Interior is authorized to regulate the importation and interstate transport of species determined to be injurious to humans, the interests of agriculture, horticulture or forestry, and the welfare and survival of wildlife resources.

According to the US Geological Survey, Burmese pythons and other large constrictor snakes are highly adaptable to new environments and are opportunistic in expanding their geographic range. More than 1,200 of the snakes have been removed from Everglades National Park since 2000, with others having been removed from the Florida Keys, along Florida's west coast, and farther north along the Florida peninsula. Burmese pythons threaten many imperiled species and other wildlife. Two Burmese pythons were found near Crocodile Lake National Wildlife Refuge and the remains of three endangered Key Largo wood rats were found in their stomachs, it said.

Burma's Youth Take The Lead, We Should Follow

The mechanisms of oppression and exclusion in Burma may be exceedingly harsh, but they do not deter Burma's youth from challenging the military junta in new and creative ways.

On Burma's 62nd Independence Day (January 4th), residents of Mon and Shan states woke up to find anti-regime graffiti sprawled across the main roads and public spaces: the work of brave Mon and Shan youth. In another part of the country, a group of young Burmese artists, called Generation Wave, use hip-hop and graffiti to inspire the youth to stand up to authority. Such acts of defiance can lead to arrest, torture, and lengthy jail sentences.

Despite this reality, Burma's youth continue to dare to do what is right for their country, unfazed by the enormity of the risks involved. The destruction of villages, systematic rape against ethnic women, forced labor, forced conscription, and arbitrary killings by the Burma Army are an everyday reality for many of these youth.

Show your solidarity with these brave youth by supporting international action to end mass atrocities in Burma. One way to help halt the violence is to establish a UN Commission of Inquiry to investigate crimes against humanity and war crimes in Burma. 

Email your Representative and urge them to co-sponsor House Resolution 898, which calls on the Obama administration to take concrete action on Burma by establishing a UN Commission of Inquiry. The culture of impunity in Burma needs to end! Do your part to make it happen!

Sincerely,

Campaigns Coordinator
U.S. Campaign for Burma

US Not 'Unendingly Patient' with Burmese Junta

WASHINGTON — The US State Department today said time is running out for the Burmese junta to make progress in restoring democracy and releasing political prisoners including Aung San Suu Kyi.
“We are not unendingly patient. We will need to see some clear steps in due course,” Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Kurt Campbell said.

US officials are looking for greater clarity in the coming weeks, he said. 

As the State Department's point man on Burma, Campbell has held two rounds of dialogue with the Burmese military junta since October of last year after Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced the new US policy on Burma, which simultaneously follows a track of political engagement and economic sanctions.

Referring to the dialogue with the junta, Campbell said the US has had some follow-up direct interactions with the Burmese authorities.

“I think we are going to be looking at a subsequent set of discussions in the near future,” he said. “I would say to date it’s a mixed bag.”

“We have seen certain things that we have watched carefully. We have seen higher-level engagement with Aung San Suu Kyi. And we have seen other developments that we’ve looked at closely, but at the same time there are, of course, areas of real concern.”

Continuing problems include ethnic minority issues and the fairness and credibility of the upcoming national election, in addition to the detention of an American citizen inside the country.
 “I think we went into this, both the review and a new set of policy priorities, with a very clear understanding of the challenges, that we had to be patient and that we had to recognize the enormous challenges that have come with every attempt and strategy for dealing with the regime,” he said.  

More than 140 MPs call for investigation into crimes against humanity in Bur

The Burma Campaign UK today welcomed the news that more than 140 MPs have signed an Early Day Motion (EDM) calling for an investigation into crimes committed by the regime in Burma, tabled by members of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Democracy in Burma (APPG Burma).

The motion says that the members are concerned about the escalating systematic human rights abuses being perpetrated against the people of Burma by the military dictatorship and the well documented evidence over many years of widespread torture, forced displacement, sexual violence, extra-judicial killings and forced labour and that these actions constitute crimes against humanity and war crimes.

In addition, it calls on the UK government to urge to the United Nations to establish a Commission of Inquiry into these crimes and to support the International Labour Organization referring Burma to the International Court of Justice for its use of forced labour.

In less than two months, the motion has been signed by a total of 141 Members of Parliament from 7 parties: Conservative Party, Democratic Unionist Party, Independent Labour, Labour Party, Liberal Democrats, Scottish National Party, and Social Democratic and Labour Party. So far, it is the highest ranking EDM on foreign policy.

“It is encouraging that more than 140 MPs from the British parliament have shown how seriously they take widespread human rights violations committed by the military regime,” said Nang Seng, Campaigns Officer at Burma Campaign UK. “I hope more MPs will sign and it is also essential that the UK government listens to what MPs have been calling for and ends its silence on this issue.”

Last month, MPs from the main opposition parties called on the UK government to support a United Nations Commission of Inquiry into crimes against humanity in Burma during a parliamentary debate in the UK parliament.

All Monks' Alliance urged to release two person with life sentence for information leak

The All Burma Monks' Alliance (ABMA) has urged the Burmese military junta to release two persons who were sentenced to death last week for releasing state secrets to exiled media, according to a statement on Tuesday.

The ABMA, the group that spearheaded the 2007 Saffron Revolution, is a leading opposition group with members in exile and within Burma.

The statement said that the death sentences are a disgrace, inappropriate and that they threaten all civil servants.

Win Naing Kyaw and Thura Kyaw were sentenced to death for their role in the release of information about a secret trip to North Korea by Burmese generals in connection with the procurement of military weapons.

“They are brave people who dare to leak secret information from the military government,” said the statement.

The statement said dialogue is the only way to solve the political differences in the country and putting people in prison will not solve the conflict. More than 20 other persons have been arrested in an investigation of the leaked information, which included documents, photographs and video. Their fate is unknown.

Burma currently has 2,177 political prisoners, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, a rights group based in Thailand.

Meanwhile, a Mon monk, Ashin Uk Kong Sa, 28, was arrested by special police about 2 p.m. On Thursday in Thanbyuzayat Township in Mon State, after he launched a campaign opposing the 2010 election, Mon sources said.

A friend of the monk told The Irrawaddy: “The special police arrested Ashin Uk Kong Sa for painting “No 2010 Election” along the highway from Moulmein to Ye townships to mark New Year's. When he was arrested, police seized a video camera, a computer and leaflets opposing the 2010 election. Later, a computer hard drive was seized from his room.

He was treated at Moulmein Hospital after he was disrobed and tortured by authorities while being detained in Thanbyuzayat Township, sources said

New Mon State Party sources said that Ashin Uk Kong Sah, who is well-known in the Mon community, has been transferred to an interrogation center in Rangoon. 

Invitation to BADA's 2010 ANNUAL MEETING

WE CORDIALLY INVITE YOU TO
BADA's  2010 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

Dear BADA Members,

We would like to invite you to BADA's 2010 Annual General Meeting. We are marking the 9th anniversary of BADA. BADA was founded on Jan 7^th, 2001 by the people of San Francisco Bay Area to advocate for freedom of the people of Burma. Come celebrate the new year with us and get the latest update on BADA's programs.

When:  Sunday, January 17, 2010
             Lunch 11am - 12pm; Program 12pm- 3pm
             (Burmese potluck lunch will be served to all attendees.)

Where: Union City Library

             34007 Alvarado-Niles Road Union City, California 94587
             (Walking distance from the Union City BART station. Map )

In the spirit of the new year, help us continue and expand our work in the community by making a tax-deductible Special New Year Donation to BADA.

Your contributions will help us:

1.      Empower community-based local campaigns to promote human rights in Burma.
2.      Support the education of migrant and refugee students in the Thai-Burma border through BADA's Children Education Fund.
3.       Provide humanitarian assistance inside Burma.

With your kind support, we further pledge to do more for the people of Burma. Please make your tax-deductible contribution now by clicking the  "Make A Donation" Button at the top right corner of this page. BADA is a 100% volunteer-based 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.

Anil Verma, Ah Chan, Jen Low, Thura Ko and Han Tun

2010 AGM Steering Committee
Burmese American Democratic Alliance (BADA)

ANTI-DICTATORSHIP PEOPLES’ FREEDOM MOVEMENT IN BURMA

 

Letter of Invitation

01-10-10

 

The battle of political defiance No.405-"Anti- Dictatorship, People's Freedom Movement" will continue.   Our late General Aung San wrested the country's independence from colonial rule and paid with his life. He was assassinated on July 19, 1947, on the eve of the country's freedom by a native lackey of the British colonialists.

Today the ruling military junta in Burma is seeking to acquire a sort of legitimacy to its otherwise illegal rule since 1988 until today via its so-called seven step road map.
The junta's penultimate step - holding an election in 2010 - is poised to be launched at any moment today; a ploy to hoodwink the international community and acquire much needed semblance of legality for continued military rule until eternity only.

The military drawn constitution contains nothing of substance in terms of democratic ideals and offering  much less for ethnic minorities in regard to their rights and posterity in the country.
Than Shwe drawn military constitution will only serve to add invincibility (constitutional impunity) to the ruling generals in the aftermath of the sham 2010 elections as obviously.
And the US led international community is swallowing bait, line and sinker by yelling for free and fair elections in 2010 only in place of pushing for review of the flawed and self-serving constitution endorsed under dubious circumstances in 2008 in the midst of Today we honor our nation’s independence by continuing our fight for the freedom and democracy in our mother land. Cyclone Nargis that killed 140,000 people and rendered 2.5 million homeless and devasted the country's delta region. Until today the junta is neglecting to help the people substantially other than yelling for outside help.

On this day while marking the 405 weeks of our struggle, we demand the ruling military junta in Burma to review its flawed constitution in addition to release all political prisoners held in Burma and hold a dialogue with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and ethnic leaders as well prior to holding the elections.

And lastly, we reinterated our call on the US, EU and others to pressure the ruling junta to subject its self-serving tool (constitution) to protect itself from 'crimes against humanity' to public scrutiny as called for by many among the global community and the people of Burma; anything short of this is UNACCEPTABLE to say the least.

 

In conclusion, we have nothing left for us to depend on but our own. Due to the prevailing circumstances, we the people of Burma must fight for the restoration of freedom and democracy in Burma in order to enjoy the real independence of Burma. The first and fundamental step for us to begin is to confront our own fear and to face the reality by all means possible. The duped regime is set to rule the country no matter what. The fallacy of regime's way to democracy, which will lead the people all the way down to hell, will not solve the country's problem as we see it. Even if the regime can manage to repeat Ne Win's rule, the economic down turn, social injustice, human rights violations will lead a social upheaval sooner or later.

 

Keep in mind, Daw Suu had repeatedly said that if you really want democracy, put your own effort. Don't wait for somebody else. You are the master of your soul. We are on our own to fight back the regime. We are the ones who can make up our own history by showing the world that we can achieve the international standard democracy at our own cost. Our courage, determination and unity will be tested in this battle.

 

Remember, our job as non-violent activists is to let the world know that the atrocities and social injustices are still going on in Burma, and that is why we keep on doing what we suppose to. Media cooperation and sympathy of our honest and noble struggles are greatly appreciated.

 "LONG LIVES DAW AUNG SAN SUU KYI." "DOWN WITH MURDEROUS DICTATORS IN BURMA"

 

Venue:  SPDC embassy

2300 S St NW

Washington DC

Time:     11:00 AM

Date:      January 11, 2010 (Monday)

 

 

All the freedom lovers of Burma are cordially invited to participate in this historic event.

 

 

Contact: Arkar Soe (301-213-0605) for further information.

 

 

Campaign Planning Committee

Washington DC

USA

Holding camera or using Internet: New Enemies of the State in Burma

In recent days, the Burmese military junta has imposed harsh sentences, including the death penalty, on five citizens accused of leaking information, demonstrating once again that it doesn't tolerate the free flow of information.

For leaking information about military ties between Burma and North Korea, a special court held in Rangoon’s notorious Insein Prison sentenced ex-Maj Win Naing Kyaw and his associate, Thura Kyaw, to death.

Young Internet users in Rangoon. Despite the popularity of Internet cafes in urban areas, access to information in Burma remains strictly controlled. (Photo: AP)

Pyan Sein, another aide to Win Naing Kyaw—who is the former personal assistant of late Secretary 2 Lt-Gen Tin Oo—received a 15-year prison sentence. Both Thura Kyaw and Pyan Sein worked for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.A few days before these sentences were handed down, two very different figures received severe sentences for sharing sensitive information with the outside world.
On Dec. 31, video journalist Hla Hla Win and her assistant Myint Naing were sentenced to 26 years in prison for attempting to smuggle video footage about the country to the Norway-based Democratic Voice of Burma.

According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners-Burma (AAPP), a Burmese human rights group based in Thailand, more than 40 people are currently in jail for their work in media.
Bo Kyi, joint-secretary of the AAPP, said the number of media workers in prison has dramatically increased since the junta’s crackdown on monk-led demonstrations in September 2007.

During the mass demonstrations, authorities were surprised by the technologically sophisticated flow of information that allowed the international media to publish and broadcast evidence of human rights violations by security forces.

“However, the case of Maj Win Naing Kyaw and his associates is quite unusual. It is the first time since the current regime seized power 21 years ago that government officials with important positions have been sentenced to death for  leaking information,” said Bo Kyi.

Anyone who goes to one of Burma’s prisons will notice a sign at the entrance which says: “You must follow the State Secrets Act.” Although the sign doesn't provide any further explanation of what constitutes a violation of this notorious law, Win Naing Kyaw’s case serves as a powerful demonstration of just how jealously the state guards its secrets in Burma.

Actually, however, Win Naing Kyaw and Thura Kyaw were sentenced to death under Section 3 of the 1950 State Emergency Act, which has been used many times over the past six decades to silence political dissidents.

Since the current regime seized power in 1988, however, it has not executed any prisoners sentenced to death, saying that as a provisional government, it would leave it to a future government to carry out executions.
“Anyone can be charged under the State Emergency Act, Section 3, if they disturb state security forces such as armed forces personnel,” said veteran lawyer Thein Nyunt, of the opposition National League for Democracy's legal committee.

“Burma’s State Emergency Act can be quite widely applied, allowing the state to charge anyone accused of discussing confidential matters relating to the state,” he said.

Following the 1988 uprising, well-known dissidents, including monk leader Kaviya and student leader Kyaw Min Yu were charged under Section 3 of the State Emergency Act. Kaviya was sentenced to death by a military court, while Kyaw Min Yu was sentenced to life imprisonment.
“The State Emergency Act are quite old as they were started in 1950. They don't fit with today,” said Thein Nyunt. “Using it could make many judicial problems in the country.”

Another infamous act used by the junta to punish dissidents is the Electronics Act. In recent years, from the trials of members of the prominent 88 Generation Students group to that of Win Naing Kyaw, dozens of dissidents have been charged under this law, receiving long prison sentences.
The act prohibits sending information, including photo and videos, which the authorities think can be used to damage the state’s image.

“Since the crackdown in September 2007, Internet users or anyone holding a camera or audio recorder is regarded as a potential enemy of the state in Burma,” said the AAPP's Bo Kyi.

Looking for an Election in Burma's Political Fog

Please read  HERE for a detail story:

Burmese military supremo Than Shwe's reaffirmation in an Independence Day speech on Monday of his plan to hold a general election this year failed to clear away any of the political fog that has shrouded Burma for months past.

Beneath the surface gloom, however, the dynamics among different political camps inside the country is in motion, even if it is only barely palpable.

While elections seem inevitable this year, many opposition groups still view them as a regime maneuver to further entrench military rule.

“If no change takes place before the election, the miseries of the country will continue for the next 20 or 30 years,” said Win Tin, the outspoken leader of the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD).

This week, other NLD officials reiterated their commitment to the 2009 Shwegondaing declaration as a prerequisite for the election. The declaration calls for a review of the controversial 2008 Constitution, political dialogue and the unconditional release of all political prisoners, including the party leader, Aung San Suu Kyi.

Karen Girl, 7, Raped and Killed: KWO

The Karen Women’s Organization (KWO), which is based in Mae Sot on the Thai-Burmese border, reported on Monday that a seven-year-old Karen girl was raped and murdered by a Burmese soldier in Pegu Division on December 27.

Speaking to The Irrawaddy on Wednesday, KWO Assistant Secretary Blooming Night Zan said that the girl was playing outside her house in Ma Oo Bin village in Nyaunglebin Township at 5 pm. At around the same time, a Burmese soldier from Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) 350 was seen entering the village. Villagers said they heard a girl scream for help a short time later, followed by gunfire.

“The victim’s uncle ran to the scene and found the girl’s body. She had been shot three times in the chest and she had been raped,” said Blooming Night Zan.

The family of the victims and the village headman urged the battalion commander to investigate the crime. However, the commander didn’t take any action, she said.

The incident follows a report on January 6 by a Mon human rights group that in November a 17-year-old Mon girl was gang-raped in Yephu Township, northern Tenasserim Division, by seven Burmese soldiers from Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) 107.

Aue Mon, a member of the Human Rights Foundation of Monland (HURFOM), said the victim was raped while working alone at her family’s betel nut plantation on November 13.

The HURFOM reported the victim’s mother as saying: “Both the captain and his solders raped my daughter. She nearly died. My daughter was crying when she told the story. Those soldiers are not human. They are like animals.”

According to HURFOM, the victim’s family was afraid of the army and has since left the village.

Both organizations have previously accused the Burmese military of using systematic rape as a weapon to terrorize ethnic people living along the borders.

In 2004, KWO published a report titled “Shattering Silences” which claimed that Burmese troops systematically raped Karen women. The report documented 125 cases of sexual violence committed between 1988 and 2004. The report said that half of the rapes were committed by military officers, 40 percent were gang-rapes, and in 28% of the cases the women were killed after being raped.

“Women are not safe in the Karen conflict zone. We want the UN to put pressure on the Burmese military to stop using rape as a weapon of war,” said the assistant secretary of KWO.

Women’s organizations in other ethnic areas have reported similar incidents. In 2002, the Shan Women’s Action Network (SWAN) released a report titled “Licence to Rape,” which detailed testimonies from 173 ethnic Shan women who had been raped or encountered sexual violence at the hands of Burmese soldiers.

Burmese Regime Privatizing to Retain Control of Resources

As Burma gears up for elections to be held sometime later this year, the country's military junta is moving ahead with plans to transfer ownership of key industries to business firms closely associated with the ruling generals.

On Wednesday, state-run newspapers reported that the No. 2 Mining Enterprise, operating under the Ministry of Mines, signed a contract with the privately owned DELCO Co Ltd on apportionment of tin and tungsten quotas at the Kanpauk Mine in southern Burma.

Downtown Rangoon is seen in the evening. Residents of Rangoon are always experiencing insufficient power supply as the government's hydropower plants does not supply electricity sufficiently. (Photo: AP)

Although little is known about the ownership of DELCO, the company is on the UK’s financial sanctions list, along with 1,225 other businesses run by senior military officials or their cronies. It is also one of four private firms that recently received a Build-Operate-Transfer agreement for hydro-power projects in Burma.
Some analysts have suggested that the junta has begun to privatize energy generation as a way to address the country's electricity shortages. Despite abundant energy resources, domestic power consumption lags far behind neighboring countries due to a lack of infrastructure and decades of economic mismanagement.

Increasing access to electricity is key to Burma's economic development. At present, however, households in Rangoon and Mandalay receive just six hours of electricity per day, while factories have power 12 hours a day. People and businesses in other areas generally rely on their own diesel-powered generators to meet their electricity needs.

On Dec. 31, the state-owned newspaper Myanma Ahlin reported that the regime had awarded a major contract for construction of two hydro-power plants to a company owned by Tay Za, Burma's richest businessman and a close associate of Snr-Gen Than Shwe, head of the ruling regime.
On the same day, the official English-language mouthpiece, The New Light of Myanmar, trumpeted the junta's far-sighted energy plans: “With the aims of increasing the supply of more electricity and contributing to building the industrialized nation, the Ministry of Electric Power No. 1 had adopted the 30-year long-term electricity development strategic plan and is implementing the hydro-power projects in line with the five-year short-term plans.”

However, some observers say they suspect that the recent effort to increase the country's energy capacity has more to do with the junta's short-term goal of ensuring victory in this year's election.
“People are fed up with the electricity shortage. They can't even get enough tap water because of the lack of electricity. If the military government can solve this problem, people would appreciate it,” said a Rangoon-based journalist who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Privatization of Burma's energy resources will also help to ensure that the current elite is able to retain control of a key sector of the economy after the election, when, under the new Constitution, elected local governments will be allowed to manage and distribute electricity from small- and medium-sized power plants.

By transferring ownership of these plants to companies run by leading military figures or others closely connected with them, “the generals will make sure that state firms are firmly in their grip before the election and transition,” according to a Rangoon-based businessman.
The 2008 Constitution contains similar provisions granting states and divisions the right to manage their mining and forestry resources. However, since 2006, a growing number of state-run enterprises in these two sectors have been handed over to private businesses.

According to official statistics, 380 small gold mines have been partly or totally privatized in recent years, while more than 500 ruby and jade mines in Shan State, Kachin State, Sagaing Division and Mandalay Division, including the well-known Mogok and Mongshu mines, have come under private ownership.

“Generally speaking, releasing the state’s grip on business is good for the market economy and a part of Burma's economic liberalization. 

Burmese American Women Alliance Annual Meeting and Election 2010 Invitation

Dear All,

BAWA wishes you a very Happy New year and hopes everyone is doing well.
It is again the time of the year for BAWA to have an annual general body meeting and election.

We would like to invite you all to come out and suppose BAWA election. We will give an update of BAWA's 2009 Activities that we have leaded, and/or participated. We will also share our plans for 2010 and our vision for the future. Financial report will be presented and new changes to Bylaw will be informed as well.
Please mark your calendar and make sure to come out to support BAWA and its causes.

Where: 19400 Sorenson Ave, Cupertino, CA 95014
When: Saturday January 23th 2010 at 1PM-3PM

Refreshments will be served. You are welcome to bring snacks or drinks to share also.

With Regards,
Burmese American Women Alliance.

Burmese-American Makes Court Appearance in Rangoon

U.S. Embassy officials say a detained Burmese-American has made another court appearance in Burma's main city, Rangoon.

A statement from the U.S. Embassy in Rangoon says Burmese-born pro-democracy activist Kyaw Zaw Lwin, also known as Nyi Nyi Aung, appeared in court Tuesday. The statement says a consular officer from the U.S. Embassy attended the hearing.

Lwin was arrested in September on his arrival in Burma. Last week a court charged him with forgery and currency violations.

U.S. Embassy officials have visited Lwin in jail, and attended his court appearances. The U.S. has called on Burma to follow international standards of due process in the case.

His next court appearance is scheduled for Friday.

Lwin settled in the United States after fleeing Burma in the late 1980s.

A letter signed by 53 U.S. lawmakers calling for Lwin's immediate release was sent to the Burmese government last month. The letter says the activist is being held for his pro-democracy activities, and that his detention raises doubts about efforts to improve relations between the U.S. and Burma's military-led government.

The human rights group Freedom Now says Lwin has been tortured since his arrest. Last month Lwin launched a hunger strike to protest his treatment.

Embassy officials say he has since ended his hunger strike and is now receiving regular medical attention.

US renews hand to Myanmar

US renews hand to Myanmar
Wed Dec 30, 4:00 pm ET

WASHINGTON (AFP) – The United States on Wednesday renewed its offer of better ties with Myanmar if it makes progress on democracy as the military-ruled nation prepares to mark independence from Britain next week.

In a statement ahead of the 62nd anniversary on Monday, the US State Department offered its "warmest wishes" to the people of Myanmar and its "unwavering support" for the nation's independence.

"The United States stands ready to take steps to improve bilateral relations based on reciprocal and meaningful efforts by the Burmese government to fulfill the Burmese peoples' democratic aspirations," it said, using Myanmar's former name of Burma.

"We support the peaceful efforts of people everywhere to exercise freely their universal human rights, and we look forward to the day when Burma's citizens will be able to do so. We hope that day will come soon," it said.

Myanmar has detained democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi for most of the past two decades and has long been a US pariah. The junta routinely uses Independence Day to denounce "neo-colonialists" interfering in its affairs.

But the United States has opened high-level dialogue with the junta, part of President Barack Obama's policy of reaching out to US adversaries.

The junta plans to hold elections next year which the opposition fears will be a sham. Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy swept the last elections in 1990 but was never allowed to take power.