Waihnin Pwint Thon Speaks for Burma and Political Prisoners at the UK Labor Party Conference

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The issue of Political Prisoners and Burma has taken centre stage today at the annual British Labour Party conference being held in Manchester, UK. The short film made about this political prisoner work was shown as an introduction to the most incredible speech ever given in this country by anyone at any political conference or meeting about Burma. Waihnin Pwint Thon, daughter of jailed 88 Generation Student leader Ko Mya Aye, and one of the leading campaigners for Burma and political prisoners in her own right, gave an extraordinarily powerful speech that not only defied her young age, but deserved the lengthy standing ovation it received.


Powerful Speech: Please Click HERE

Dressed in white out of memory for her father and his colleagues of the 88 Generation Students, she brought back memories of the famous speech Daw Aung San Suu Kyi delivered at the west gates of the Shwedagon Pagoda on 26th August 1988. Today Waihnin delivered a powerful speech that elevated the issue of Burma to centre stage of the newly formed Labour Party at this most crucial time with elections fast approaching and on the day the UN General Assembly meets to discuss Burma.

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Waihnin Pwint Thon demands the release of her father Mya Aye

UN Secretary General Ban Convenes 'Friends of Burma' Meeting

Please read the detailed story HERE

US President Barack Obama (L) listens to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon(C) as he participates in the luncheon at the United Nations General Assembly on September 23 at United Nations in New York City, New York. (Photo: Getty Images)  

WASHINGTON—UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has convened a meeting of his 14-nation “Group of Friends” on Burma to discuss the current situation in the country and the Nov. 7 general election, which most of the Western world said lacks legitimacy.

The meeting on Monday evening in New York will be attended by several top diplomats, including some foreign ministers who are currently attending a General Assembly session at the UN headquarters. However, diplomatic sources said that the Burma meeting is unlikely to yield any results.

It is expected that the UN will issue a statement expressing its concern over the current situation in Burma and reiterate its call to the military junta to ensure that the election is free and fair. The meeting will be attended by Ban’s Chef de Cabinet Vijai Nambiar, who is temporarily overseeing the Good Offices of the Secretary-General on Burma.

Nine months after the secretary-general removed Special Envoy on Burma Ibrahim Gambari, Ban is yet to find a suitable replacement.              

Reflecting the disappointment of the pro-democracy Burmese people living in exile in the United States, Aung Din of the US Campaign for Burma said he does not expect anything from the UN Friends of Burma meeting. He said there will be division as usual among the 14 members of this group: Australia, Indonesia, Russia, the US, China, Japan, Singapore, Vietnam, France, Norway, Thailand, India, Portugal and the United Kingdom.

“As long as Ban Ki-moon does not assert his moral authority and demand these nations exercise a collective and effective pressure on the regime, this meeting will be nothing more than another public relations show by the UN,” Aung Din told The Irrawaddy.

“The military regime in Burma does not care about their hollow voices. It cares only about actions, such as a UN Commission of Inquiry and a total rejection of its sham election,” he said. The US Campaign for Burma, along with several other organizations, has been pressing the world body for a Commission of Inquiry into war crimes and crimes against humanity against the military junta, which has of late gained support from a host of Western countries including the US, Britain, Canada and France.

Meanwhile, US State Department Spokesman P J Crowley said that, at this point of time, it was not clear if this issue would be brought up for discussion at the Friends of Burma meeting at the UN on Monday. “I don't know if that's going to be brought up at this meeting or not. Let's wait and see,” he said, adding that that US plans to go through a “full range of issues” at the meeting.

Following his meeting with the leaders of the Association of Southest Asian Nations (Asean) in New York last week, US President Barack Obama renewed his call for the Burmese junta to release all political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi.

“The president believes in the importance of democratic reform and protection of human rights and renews his call on Burma to embark on a process of national reconciliation by releasing all political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi, and by holding free and fair elections in November,” the White House said in a statement after the meeting.

Obama and the Asean leaders agreed on the importance of stopping the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and highlighted their concerns about North Korea and Iran in the joint statement they issued, the White House said.

Last week in his meeting with Asean leaders, the UN secretary-general made a passionate appeal to help move Burma toward democracy. “I count on your support in encouraging Myanmar’s engagement with my Good Offices,” he said. “I am sorry that I have to specifically have one visional issue among 10 Asean countries, but this has become somewhat of a common concern among all issues.”

Noting that the UN and Asean share the aim of stability and development in Burma, the secretary-general said they all agree on the critical need for a democratic transition and national reconciliation, and for ensuring free, fair and inclusive elections.

“Failure to meet these expectations could undermine the credibility of the process, which, in turn, could reflect on Asean’s collective values and principles,” Ban said. “At the same time, we must also help Myanmar, so that they can address these humanitarian and development challenges.
“With Asean's support, I am committed to continue working with the government and people of Myanmar to enable a successful transition to civilian and democratic rule,” he added.
Earlier this month, Ban voiced his concern at the decision by Burma's election commission to dissolve 10 political parties, including Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy. 

262 Monks and Nuns Still in Burmese Prisons

Three years after Burma's military regime crushed monk-led protests in September 2007, at least 262 Buddhist monks and nuns remain behind bars, according to an exiled human rights group based in Thailand.

At an event marking the third anniversary of the uprising, known as the Saffron Revolution, the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners—Burma (AAPP) said that there are currently 256 monks and six nuns still in the country's notorious prisons, including some who are old and in poor health.

“According to our data, Burma holds more clerics behind bars than any other country. It is quite unfortunate that the Burmese military regime often claims it is promoting Buddhism,” said Bo Kyi, the joint-secretary of the AAPP.

“We have learned that the well-known leading monk Ashin Gambari, who is currently being held in Kale Prison [near the Indian-Burmese border], is not well due to torture and other mistreatment during interrogation and in prison,” he added.

Ashin Gambira was arrested in November 2007 and later sentenced to 63 years in prison for his role in the protests.

His sentence is second only to that of Ashin Nanda Vantha in its severity. Ashin Nanda Vantha, who is currently being held in Lashio Prison, in northern Shan State, is serving a 71-year sentence after being found guilty of a variety of charges related to the uprising.

More than 30 people are believed to have been killed when the military moved in to end the demonstrations, including Japanese photojournalist Kenji Nagai. No Burmese military official has ever been charged in connection with Nagai's murder, and despite repeated requests from the Japanese government, his belongings—including video footage of the military assault on protesters—have never been returned.

None of the victims' families are likely to see justice anytime soon. It has recently been learned that several of the leading commanders responsible for the crackdown have been promoted and may be in line to hold high-level positions after this year's election, which will see a return to ostensibly civilian rule.

It is believed that the crackdown was overseen by former Lt-Gen Myint Swe under the orders of the office of the Commander-in-Chief (Army). Assisting him in carrying out the orders was Maj-Gen Hla Htay Win, the then commander of the Rangoon Regional Military Command, and Brig-Gen Win Myint, the former commander of Light Infantry Division 77.   

Myint Swe retired from his military post as part of a reshuffle in late August and is now a candidate of the junta-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) for the Rangoon regional parliament, running in Seikgyi Khanaungto Township.

Observers in Rangoon say he is tipped by junta head Snr-Gen Than Shwe to become chief minister of the Rangoon region, where Burma’s largest city and chief commercial hub are located, after the Nov. 7 election.

Hla Htay Win has also risen significantly since the crackdown. A year after the uprising was crushed, he was promoted from major general to lieutenant general and reappointed chief of armed forces training and made a member of the ruling State Peace and Development Council. 
Win Myint, whose LID 77 was responsible for killing Nagai and an unknown number of protesters on Sept. 27, 2007, subsequently became Hla Htay Win's successor as Rangoon regional commander post and was promoted to major general. In the latest reshuffle, he was promoted to the position of military appointment general.

Marking the third anniversary of the Saffron Revolution—Burma's largest mass uprising against military rule in two decades—New York-based Human Rights Watch called for “an open and impartial investigation into the violence.”

In its statement, the group also called on the United States and Southeast Asian leaders to press the Burmese junta to end its escalating campaign of repression, release more than 2,100 political prisoners and start a genuine dialogue with the democratic opposition.

However, the regime shows no signs of relenting in its efforts to snuff out dissent. In February, it sentenced former political prisoner and monk Ashin Nyana to 22 years in prison for writing a Buddhist tract calling on monks to be more involved in worldly affairs. Currently held in Myitkyina Prison in Kachin State, he also served sentences in the 1980s and 1990s.  

US President Obama Urges Burma to Embark on Process of Reconciliation

WASHINGTON — US President Barack Obama on Friday urged the Burmese leadership to embark on a process of national reconciliation by releasing all political prisoners, including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.

Obama renewed his call during a meeting with the leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) in New York, held on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly. The meeting was attended by Burmese Foreign Minister Nyan Win, but there was no direct contact between him and the US president.

US President Barack Obama walks on the podium before a group photo with Asean leaders on Friday. Standing at the center behind Obama is Burmese FM Nyan Win. (Photo: Getty Images)

“The president believes in the importance of democratic reform and protection of human rights and renews his call on Burma to embark on a process of national reconciliation by releasing all political prisoners including Aung San Suu Kyi and by holding free and fair elections in November,” the White House said in a statement after the meeting.

In a joint statement issued together with their US counterpart, the Asean leaders said they “welcomed the continued US engagement with the government of Myanmar [Burma]” and expressed hope that “Asean and US engagement encourages Myanmar to undertake political and economic reforms to facilitate national reconciliation.”

Reiterating a call made at the first US-Asean meeting in Singapore last November, the statement said this year's election in Burma must be “conducted in a free, fair, inclusive and transparent manner in order to be credible for the international community.”

“We emphasized the need for Myanmar to continue to work together with Asean and the United Nations in the process of national reconciliation,” the joint statement said.

Meanwhile, in Washington, the State Department reiterated that the US does not believe that the election in November will be legitimate.

“We have made it clear all along that we think the Nov. 7 elections are going to lack legitimacy,” State Department spokesman Mark Toner said.

“We obviously remain concerned about the oppressive political environment in the country and we urge the authorities to release all the political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi, and I believe there’s 2,100 additional political prisoners,” he said.

“We don’t believe those elections can be free or fair, and we continue to urge the Burmese authorities to begin a genuine political dialogue with the democratic opposition … and also the ethnic minority leaders, as a first step towards national reconciliation,” Toner said.

Human rights groups welcome France’s support for a Commission of Inquiry into Burma crimes

Media release from FIDH, Human Rights Watch, Info-Birmanie and French Human Rights League
BURMA – War crimes and crimes against humanity

FIDH, Human Rights Watch, Info-Birmanie and French Human Rights League demand the set-up of an international commission of inquiry

They welcome France’s statement and urge the EU to support this initiative at the UN General Assembly

During a press conference held on Wednesday 22 September in Paris, the organizations Info-Birmanie, Human Rights Watch, the French Human Rights League and FIDH unanimously welcomed the statement made by France supporting the establishment of a commission of inquiry on crimes against humanity and war crimes perpetrated in Burma.

Isabelle Dubuis, Info-Birmanie’s coordinator, stated “this commission of inquiry is long overdue; its establishment would demonstrate the right to justice of the victims and would materialize the international community’s repeated calls to finally put an end to human rights abuses in Burma.” Jean-Marie Fardeau, Human Rights Watch France director “regrets that the European Union has not yet taken a public stand. We believe a joint EU position would be a strong signal sent to the others United Nations member states.” Souhayr Belhassen, President of the FIDH, reminded that “this commission is not only necessary to put an end to crimes but also awaited to bring justice to Burma.”

As the 2010 UN General Assembly has opened in New York, the French government has publicly stated its support to the set-up of an international commission of inquiry to investigate the numerous allegations of international crimes perpetrated in Burma. During the 15th session of the Human Rights Council, France’s permanent representative stated that: “Human rights are still systematically violated and France expressed its support for the Special Rapporteur’s recommendation to establish an international commission of inquiry and urges the Burmese government to fully cooperate with the latter.”

In March 2010, M. Quintana, UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Burma/Myanmar, characterized human rights violations committed in the country as being “widespread and systematic” and as being “the result of a State policy”.  His recommendation to the UN was to consider establishing the commission of inquiry on crimes against humanity and war crimes. It is the first time in twenty years that a senior UN official makes such a recommendation. His predecessor M. Pinheiro, who partook in the panel of the press conference, declared: “I am very pleased that France has joined this ‘group of honour’ of countries supporting the commission of inquiry”.

Since March, support in favour of this initiative has increased: several countries including the United States, Australia, Canada and European countries such as the Netherlands, Hungary and Czech Republic have declared their support for a UN international commission of inquiry. France is today the ninth country to take a public stand in favour of such a commission. In France, 60 MPs have urged the French government to publicly stand in favour of a commission of inquiry to put an end to the culture of impunity that has been spreading in Burma for decades and prevent the perpetration of new crimes and abuses.

The evidences gathered by different UN agencies and Burmese and international organizations are appalling: the destruction since 1996 of over 3500 villages, the overwhelming number of arbitrary killings, forced disappearances and rapes, the forced displacement of over a million people and the forced recruitment of dozens of thousands of child soldiers.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi Receives Award

She may have been detained, silenced and barred from all political activity in Burma, but Aung San Suu Kyi's struggle for democracy was recognized on Monday when she received en absentia an honorary individual membership title from the Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats (CALD).

CALD is a regional alliance of Asian liberal and democratic political parties, established in 1993.

Aung San Suu Kyi (PHOTO: Getty Images)

On the sidelines of the UK Liberal Democrats annual conference currently being held in Liverpool in England, a plaque was received on Suu Kyi’s behalf by well-known Karen activist Zoya Phan, the international coordinator of Burma Campaign UK.

CALD’s executive committee previously decided to bestow the honorary individual membership title to Suu Kyi at its meeting held in Makati City, the Philippines, on June 29, 2010. She is the first person to be awarded such a title by the organization.
In a press release on Monday, CALD said, “In bestowing the honorary individual membership title to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, CALD once again affirms its unwavering support and solidarity to the people of Burma in their continuing struggle for justice, freedom and democracy.”
Suu Kyi has been detained for 15 of the last 21 years, mostly under house arrest and separated from her family. Leader of the disbanded National League for Democracy, she is banned from voting in the Nov. 7 general election.

Despite her incarceration, Suu Kyi is admired not only by Burmese people nationwide and around the world, but by the international community at large. She has received more than 80 international awards, including the Nobel Peace Prize, which she received en absentia in 1991.

In June, Pakistan presented Suu Kyi with the Benazir Bhutto Shaheed Award for her lifelong commitment to democracy and the welfare of her people.

In May 2009, Suu Kyi was named as the recipient of the annual Mahatma Gandhi International Award for Peace and Reconciliation. The prize, also known as the MAGI Award, is given to those who inspire young people to make a commitment to nonviolence, forgiveness and reconciliation.

On Aug. 11, 2009, almost three months after she was due to be freed from her illegal six-year period of house arrest, Suu Kyi was sentenced to an additional three years in prison, which was then commuted to 18 months of house arrest under Section 401(5) of the Criminal Procedure Code.

Suu Kyi is due to be released when her period of house arrest ends on Nov. 13.

Philippines President Acquino Asked to Support UN Inquiry into Junta War Crimes

A leading international rights group, Human Right Watch (HRW), called on Philippines President Benigno S. Aquino III on Monday to support the establishment of the UN-created International Commission of Inquiry for Burma.

The international Commission of Inquiry (CoI) would investigate human rights abuses, crimes against humanity and possible war crimes committed by the Burmese military regime in Burma.

In an open letter send by the New York-based rights group to President Aquino, the HRW said, “We urge the Philippine government to join other states to publicly support the establishment of an International Commission of Inquiry for Burma and to actively engage on behalf of a UN resolution that will make it happen.”

“We encourage you to raise this issue within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which could be accomplished at the US-ASEAN summit later this week in New York,” said the letter.
HRW also highlighted the importance of the Philippines publicly supporting the CoI for Burma and that such commission should investigate reports of violations of international human rights and humanitarian law in Burma by all parties since 2002 and identify perpetrators of such violations with a view to ensuring that those responsible are held accountable.

For more than a decade, impunity for serious human rights violations has continued in Burma. An international inquiry would be a significant step toward justice, said the letter.

According to human rights groups, the Burmese junta's troops and the ethnic armed groups have been responsible for numerous serious violations of international human rights and humanitarian law, including sexual violence against women and girls, deliberate and indiscriminate attacks on civilians, summary executions of civilians and captured combatants, torture, use of child soldiers, attacks on populations' livelihood and food supplies, forced displacement of populations and use of anti-personnel landmines. Non-state armed groups in Burma also have been implicated in serious abuses, including forced labor, recruitment of child soldiers, and anti-personnel landmine use.

In the letter, the HRW also asked President Aquino,“In your inaugural address, you said that 'there can be no reconciliation without justice. When we allow crimes to go unpunished, we give consent to their occurring over and over again.'" This rings particularly true for Burma, where abuses by the military government, as well as by armed ethnic minority groups, have gone unpunished for decades.

“In promoting human rights in Burma, you would be following your mother's lead. Former President Corazon Aquino stood strong for justice in Burma,” said the letter.

The effort to establish a CoI was initiated in March by UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Burma Tomás Ojea Quintana. It is already supported by Australia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, the Slovak Republic, the UK and the US.

Burma Crackdown widened on anti-elections campaigns

Please read the detailed story HERE

Anti-elections campaigns are underway inside Burma as exiled Burmese demonstrate against the ruling junta (Reuters)

Five youths have been arrested in Rangoon after police caught them distributing leaflets calling for a boycott of the 7 November elections.

The five – Zin Min Htet, Kyaw Thiha, Chan Myay Aung, Thar Htoo Aung and Zarni Linn – are all university students in Rangoon. Two police arrived at the house of each of the five at around 1am on 17 September and carried out what appears to be a coordinated arrest. It is not yet known where they are being held.

A friend of the group said that police have also accused them of being behind a recent graffiti attack on a signboard outside the office of the Election Commission (EC) in North Okkalapa township, where the youths were arrested.

While momentum is growing among parties campaigning for the elections, the vocal pro-boycott lobby is also widening its movements. But it faces possibly severe recriminations from the junta, which is looking to place the country on lockdown with seven weeks to go until the vote.

The disbanded opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) party was warned on Saturday that continued calls for Burmese to boycott the polls could “on conviction be punishable with imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year” or a US$1,000 fine.

But not all are heeding the threat, which observers see as an attempt by Burma’s ruling generals to silence the country’s main referents and rush through the vote as smoothly as possible. A coalition of five youth activists have said they will be carrying out “visible” anti-elecitons campaigns across the country.

“The 2010 elections are based on the 2008 constitution, which was forcibly approved at the price of more than 100,000 lives lost in cyclone Nargis,” said Min Thway Thit, spokesperson for the Burma Democracy Activists Alliance (BDAA) group, referencing the referendum that was rushed through in the weeks following Burma’s worst-recorded natural disaster in May 2008.

A statement released by the BDAA said that parties competing in the polls, which are the country’s first in 20 years, are “just puppets [used] to protect the profit of the military dictators”. Despite there being a majority of apparently pro-junta parties, a number of opposition and ‘third force’ groups will be competing in the elections.

The coalition is formed ofthe  2007 Generation Students Federation, the All Burma Student Federations’ Union ABSFU), Myaylatt Students’ Organisation, the New Saffron Generation Organisation and the New Generation Youth Organisation.

It also denounced members of the international community who are supporting some of the opposition parties such as the National Democratic Force (NDF), which is formed of some former members of the NLD who rejected the party’s call for a boycott.

Source: Democratic Voice of Burma

Jail threat for Daw Aung Suu Kyi’s party

A Burmese in Malaysia protests the imprisonment of Suu Kyi (Reuters)

Please read the detailed story HERE 

Burmese state media warned opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s party on Saturday to drop protests against its dissolution, and threatened jail for anyone impeding the November vote.

Although the National League for Democracy (NLD) – officially disbanded this week – was not directly named, the report in the New Light of Myanmar newspaper said “a party” was “attempting to mislead the people into misunderstanding the law”.

The article said the party was persuading people to “protest against the elections by boycotting” the 7 November vote, the first in two decades in the military-ruled nation.

It listed a host of prohibited activities, including “undue influence” to prevent a person from voting and “instigation, writing, distributing or using posters or attempting by other means to disturb voting”.

These acts could “on conviction be punishable with imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year or with fine not exceeding one hundred thousand kyat (US$1,000) or with both,” it said.

Suu Kyi, who has been detained for much of the two decades since Burma’s last election, is due to be released just days after the upcoming vote.

The Nobel peace laureate is barred from standing in the poll because she is a serving prisoner, and the NLD opted not to register because of rules that would have forced it to expel Suu Kyi and other members.

An election commission announcement on Tuesday abolishing the NLD and other parties on the grounds that they had failed to register for the poll drew strong criticism from the West.

Critics already fear the election is simply a means to hide the military regime behind a civilian facade.
The NLD launched a counter-argument against its dissolution this week, claiming the commission lacks authority to issue the ban.

It is planning to sue the government over its abolition, as well as the 1990 poll in which the NLD won a landslide victory but was prevented from taking office by the junta.

An NLD spokesman also said the party had not committed any breach of the 1988 political party registration law, under which it was formed, which would warrant the party to be disbanded.

 However, the New Light, which is seen as a mouthpiece of the military regime, on Saturday countered that the 1988 law had been replaced with new regulations this year.

Burma’s generals have stacked the cards in their favour to ensure there will not be a re-run of Suu Kyi’s victory twenty years ago.

A new constitution, which comes into force with the election, ring-fences a quarter of the legislature for the army, while junta-friendly parties are seen as having a major advantage in the contest for the remaining seats.

Opposition parties have faced formidable hurdles, including a fee of US$500 per candidate – the equivalent of several months’ wages for most people – and a tight timetable to register candidacies.

The National Democratic Force (NDF), a breakaway opposition party created by former NLD members, is among those planning to contest the vote, a decision that put it at odds with Suu Kyi, who favoured a boycott.

But the NDF and Democratic Party (Myanmar), the other main democracy party still in the running, are fielding just a fraction of the number of candidates put up by the pro-junta parties.

Source: Democratic Voice of Burma

US Will Continue Engagement Policy After Burma's Election

Nobel Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi (Center) meets United States Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell (Right) and United States embassy charge d’affaires Larry Dinger in Rangoon on May 10, 2010. (Photo: Reuters)

Please read the detailed story HERE

WASHINGTON—Despite two rounds of failed dialogue with the Burmese military regime and the recognition that its engagement policy has made little if any progress in improving conditions inside Burma, US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Kurt Campbell said on Thursday that the Obama administration would continue its policy after Burma's Nov. 7 elections.

“We have been in close consultations with all our friends in the region about our intentions which are to keep the door open, work towards a comprehensive dialogue with the regime, and follow on with its successors with the recognition that it is among all the difficult options the best possible way to go forward,” said Campbell.

His comment followed his remarks on the “Next Steps in Engaging the Asia-Pacific Region,” and were in response to a question by Priscilla Clapp, the former Charge d’ Affairs for the US Embassy in Burma, about what policy the Obama administration would follow after the elections in Burma.

“We are faced with a predicament. I think everything today suggests that the November elections will be without international legitimacy—no observers, none of the internationally accepted norms, steps that one wants to see before this election that is taking place,” Campbell said.

He added, however, that “It is also the case that the period after the election might create new players, power relationships, new structures inside the country. We think we need to stand by and see how that plays out.”

“We think that it is going to require a combination of some pressure and some rewards if progress is to be made. We are prepared to act in both cases,” said Campbell, who has been instrumental in shaping the Obama administration’s policy on Burma and who has led the US in the two rounds of talks it has had with the Burmese regime since the Obama administration announced its policy of simultaneous engagement and sanctions.

“When the Obama administration came to power, I think there was a desire to look closely at what our approach had been to Burma. After an extensive review, in which we consulted stakeholders, non-profits and governments in the region as a whole, I think we came to the conclusion that both the kind of open engagement strategy of Asean [the Association of Southeast Asian Nations] without any particular downside and the policy of sanctions by the United States had failed to accomplish its goal of change inside the country,” he said.

“So with the full support of the administration, we embarked on a dialogue with Burma on a range of issues. I think it would be fair to say today that the dialogue has been disappointing and it has been very challenging,” Campbell said.

The United States had sought some specific steps from the junta in terms of the release of political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi, the commencement of a domestic dialogue within Burma, the fairness and inclusiveness of the Nov. 7 elections and the receipt of assurances about the regime's strategic relationship with North Korea.

“Now it would be fair to say that in almost every arena, we have been disappointed in what we see today,” Campbell said. “We did say at the outset, however, that we did not expect it to be a short term process, it was going to take a long period of time. We tried to not overpromise, and at every stage we tried to be honest about where we are in the process.”

Campbell, who has met Aung San Suu Kyi during his trips to Burma, said that she has supported America’s overall approach of engagement, as have many other opposition voices inside Burma.

“In my first meeting with Aung San Suu Kyi, we spent the better part of 30 minutes discussing why initially the leadership wanted the dialogue with us. Neither of us were entirely sure. Frankly, we are still discussing going forward,” he said.
“Ultimately, however, one of the few benefits of this effort has been a better dialogue with the rest of South East Asia, the rest of Asean, about Burma.

Questioning the Burma's Election Commission Definition of 'Free and Fair'

Burma's Election Commission has announced “areas where elections will not be held,” saying the constituencies are “in no position to host free and fair elections.”

Where are the areas, why can't elections can't be held there and how does the EC define the term “free and fair”?

According to a series of EC notifications issued on Sept.16, the areas are home to ethnic nationals in Kachin, Karen, Karenni (Kayah), Mon and Shan states.

In total, there are 300 village tracts and four townships that will not be allowed to vote in the election. A village tract is a group of from two to 10 villages.

Karen State will not be allowed to hold an election in 155 village tracts in seven townships.
The state is composed of seven townships, so the ban ranges throughout the entire state.

The most unstable areas are said to be in Papun, Thandaunggyi and Kya-in-Seikkyi. According to a list of constituencies for the Karen State parliament issued by the EC on Aug. 11, Papun is composed of eight urban wards and 33 village tracts, but the EC will not allow an election in 27 village tracts or 65.8 percent of the township.

Thandaunggyi has nine urban wards and 59 village tracts. There will be no election in 36 village tracts or 52.9 percent of the township. Kya-in-Seikkyi has 16 urban wards and 51 village tracts. No election will be held in 46 village tracts or 68.6 percent of the township.

The question arises: why does the EC believe there can be free and fair elections in the remaining areas of these three townships while they say that elections can not be held in more than 50 percent   the same townships?  Additonally, there's the issue of how those candidates can represent all the voters in the township?

There are more than 1.7 million people in Karen State, according to the Statistical Yearbook 2008 issued by Ministry of National Planning and Economic Development. Karen State shares seven seats in the People's parliament (Pyithu Hluttaw), 12 seats to Nationalities parliament (Amyotha Hluttaw) and 17 seats to the Karen State parliament.

The problem doesn't end there. In Shan State, elections can't be held in four townships and 59 village tracts. The four townships—Panghsan, Narphant, Panwaing and Mongmao—are under the control of the United Wa State Army (UWSA).

These four townships include the Wa Self-administrative Division granted by the 2008 Constitution. No elections will be held in these townships because of the tension between the UWSA and the regime due to the Wa refusal to transform its army into a border guard force (BGF) under the command of the junta.

Apart from these townships, more complications abound in Mongyan, Metmung and Mongla townships. The EC named two constituencies in each township in the Shan State parliament, but the names of 16 village tracts in Mongyan, 17 village tracts in Metmung and nine village tracts in Mongla, which will not be allowed to hold an election, were not included in the constituency list of the Shan State parliament issued by the EC in Notification No. 87/2010 on Aug. 11.

Instead, the EC listed Taping village tract as Mongla constituency 1 and Tapong village tract as Mongla constituency 2. Similarly, Monglway village tract became Mongyan's constituency 2. Consequently, in these three constituencies, there will be election in one village tract.
There are more than 5.4 million people in 55 townships in Shan State. The state will have 55 seats in People's parliament, 12 seats in Nationalities parliament and 109 seats in the Shan State parliament.
A similar situation can be seen in Kachin State's Ingyangyang, Sumprabum and Mansi townships. According to the list of constituencies for the Kachin State parliament, Ingyangyan is composed of four wards and 17 village tracts, but no election will be held in 15 village tracts or 71.4 percent of the township.
Sumprabum, located in the northernmost part of the country, has three urban wards and 27 village tracts, but the EC will not allow elections in 15 village tracts or 50 percent of the township.

Similarly, Mansi is composed of four urban wards and 40 village tracts, where there will be no election in 17 village tracts or 38.6 percent of the township.

There are more than 1.5 million people in 18 townships in Kachin State, which has 18 seats in People's parliament, 12 seats in Nationalities parliament and 40 seats in the Kachin State parliament.

Not allowing elections in such a widespread ethnic area of the country raises serious issues about the Election Commission process used to determine why these constituencies will not be allowed to vote.

The commission should provide more explanation about why the constituencies do not qualify to vote, and it must be accountable in terms of providing a transparent “free and fair” election.

Civil Rights?—What Civil Rights in Burma?

Recently, the junta's Union Election Commission (EC) rejected the application of 14 independent candidates from the Kachin State Progressive Party (KSPP) to contest the election on November 7. Led by Dr. Manan Tu Ja, the KSPP was founded in March 2009. It registered at the EC to take part in the election but permission was not granted. “The Irrawaddy” reporter Ko Htwe interviewed Tu Raw, the KSPP general secretary, about the rejection.

Question: How many of you were rejected and when?
Answer: Fourteen of us were rejected on September 13. Most of us are from the KSPP central committee.

Q: So, none of you can contest the election anymore, right?
A: According to the Election Law, those who were rejected have the right to appeal. I have heard a couple of people will appeal to the state EC but I won't.

Q: What do you want to say about the EC's rejection of you and the other candidates?
A: Personally, I felt it was unfair. I felt that we, citizens of this country, didn't even have the right to enjoy our civil rights.

Q: What are going to do?
A: As we can't stand as a political party anymore, we will work as much we can for peace, justice and development in Kachin State. These issues are all interrelated. We can work for the development of our state only if there is peace in our region. Likewise, to bring peace to our state there must be justice. If possible, we want to talk about this in the parliament, but since we don't have the opportunity anymore we will raise awareness among our people, the youth and the authorities any way we can so they will understand these concepts better.

Q: The EC approved the registration of one Kachin party but said no to the KSPP and independent candidates who were associated with the KSPP. What do you think of that?
A: I think there were two reasons. The first one is the support we have gained in our area. People in Kachin State, regardless of ethnicity or religion, fully support us. I dare say that even government servants, soldiers and police here support us. So, they [the authorities] probably thought that in order for the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) to win in Kachin State there must be no KSPP. Another reason is related to the transformation of the Kachin Independent Organization (KIO) into a border guard force (BGF). The military regime has ordered the KIO to transform [its military wing, the Kachin Independence Army, into a BGF] but the KIO refused. So, the regime alleged that the KSPP had connections with the KIO. In fact, I think authorities just used this as an excuse to reject us.

Q: What do you think of the regime's accusation with regard to the KSPP's relations with the KIO?
A: We are only related to the KIO ethnically since we all are Kachin. We don't have any political or working relations with the KIO. As a political party representing Kachin State, we wanted support from people and organizations in our area. So we asked all organizations including the KIO to support us, that's all. We can't exist without their support, however.

Voting Canceled in Many Ethnic Townships

RANGOON—Several areas of Burma will not be allowed to vote in the November elections, mostly parts of the country where ethnic minorities are dominant, state media reported on Thursday.

State television said that the Election Commission had announced that "the elections will not be held in several constituencies where free and fair elections could not be held." It did not elaborate.

The announcement is the first sign from governmentthat the country's first election in two decades may not go as smoothly as desired, despite its tight control over its organization and rules. Pro-democracy groups, as well as Western nations and human rights organizations, have already criticized the election as unfair and undemocratic, though the accusations have hardly ruffled the junta's confidence.

The announcement said the Nov. 7 election had been canceled in several townships of the Kachin, Karenni, Karen, Mon and Shan states, including four townships in the Wa self-administered division.

Ethnic groups in those areas, which lie mostly along the eastern and northern border, are at odds with the ruling junta over its insistence that they integrate their semi-autonomous security forces into the government's border guard forces.

The ethnic minorities pose a real threat to the junta, since the government is hard pressed to ensure security in some areas where ethnic guerrilla militias are strong. Many ethnic groups have sought more autonomy from the government since Burma's independence in 1948, and the government maintains uneasy cease-fires with them.

The Election Commission announced earlier this week that 37 political parties will contest the election. It said on Tuesday that five established parties including detained democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy—which won a landslide victory in the last election in 1990, but was not allowed to take power by the military—and the second-place party in the 1990 polls, the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy, have been dissolved for their failure to reregister to participate in th election.

The NLD decided to boycott the election, saying it was illegitimate and unfair. Among other official limitations, the recently enacted election laws would not allow Suu Kyi to run or even remain a member of her own party. The military-backed Constitution already has clauses that would bar her from holding office.

'No One Dares to Confront the Army' in Burma

Detailed story, please read HERE

On the night of Sept. 4th, a deadly shooting occurred after a dispute between local youth and Burmese army officers from Infantry Battalion 59 near the California restaurant, located on Mya Street in southern Zaiganaing Ward, Pegu. Soon after a fight, Aung Thu Hein, 23, and Soe Pai Zaw ,19, were shot to death by a group of soldiers. Irrawaddy reporter Min Naing Thu interviewed Aung Thu Hein's aunt about what happened.

Question: Have the authorities made any more attempts to negotiate with you lately? 

Answer: Not really. The funeral was over on Sept. 7. They haven't come to us since.

Q: News came out that authorities gave you 1 million kyat [US $1,086]. Is that true?

A: That is true. They actually did. But we didn't accept it, but other families did. We didn't accept any financial offer. We bought a coffin by ourselves. We requested the authorities to allow us to take care of my beloved nephew's final departure.

Q: We heard only five monks were allowed to lead the ritual for the funeral. Were monks invited by the authorities?

A: Authorities suggested that we only bring five monks to the cemetery because it's only a small space there. So, we held the merit-sharing ceremony for the deceased with five monks. We really didn't mind about the number of monks.

Q: I spoke with one of Soe Pai Zaw's cousins on the day of the funeral, and he said people were not allowed to see the bodies. Do you know anything about that?

A: I am not aware of whether Soe Pai Zaw's relatives were allowed to see him or not. But, all of our kin had a chance to view my nephew's body. Cousins came here by motorcycles before the funeral. They all were allowed to see the body. Of course, they were questioned about how they were related to Aung Thu Hein.

Q: Who questioned them?

A: I don't know exactly as they were in plainclothes. But, the army did not come to the funeral. My mother explicitly said no army at the funeral. You know…. we felt really hurt. There were no army personnel at the funeral, but there were policemen.

Q: The state-run FM radio stations reported that the army was forced to open fire because “delinquents” attacked them first and tried to grab the soldiers' guns. Tell us what happened?

A: They had drinks at California restaurant. So did the soldiers. Then, a motorcycle carrying an army officer hit a three-wheeled taxi carrying my nephew and his friends. They exchanged bad words and then had a fight. My nephew and his friends came back to our ward after that. The soldiers followed them about 45 minutes or an hour later and shot them to death. The place where they were shot was quite far from California restaurant.

Q: Were your nephew and his friend outside at the time of the shooting?

A: Before the shooting took place, a bunch of them, including my nephew, were playing guitar and just enjoying their time. Later, his friends took him to a teashop to cheer him up as he was about to return to Rangoon. But, I heard they happened to go to a bar instead. I was about to go to bed and heard gun shots. I didn't hear my nephew's voice. If I did, I would have interfered. If my nephew hurt someone, I usually went to their parents and apologized to them myself. My nephew was not an aggressive kid. I knew him well. So I remained inside the house as I did not hear his voice. May we were scared of the gun fire. When I tried to go out of the house to find out what was going on, I was told not to by a police second lieutenant who lived in front of our house and was on leave for his mother's funeral. He said, “Don't go! That wasn't firecrackers, but gunfire.” Automatic gunfire continued then.

Q: Aung Thu Hein and his friends had thought it was over when they returned from the quarrel.

A: When they were about to walk back home soldiers appeared from both sides on Mya street and shot at them.

Q: Were there any witnesses?
A: People living on that street saw the entire incident with their eyes, but no one dared to testify against the army.

No Legal Progress in Pegu Shooting

Legal proceedings have yet to start against Burmese army soldiers who murdered two young men in Pegu on Sep. 4, according to a relative of one of the victims.

Speaking to The Irrawaddy on Thursday, a relative of Aung Thu Hein, one of the young men killed in the shooting, said, “No one from the military has come and told us what action they are taking against those who shot Aung Thu Hein, so, we don't know what is going on.”

Aye Myint, who is a lawyer and a leading labor activist with the labor rights organization Guiding Star in Pegu, said, “They have lowered the curtain on the incident and kept quiet since.”

According to state-run newspaper  The New Light of Myanmar on Sept. 10, legal proceedings against the two army soldiers who shot the two young men are underway.

The newspaper said serious action would be taken against those involved in the shooting, but it described the dispute as a common occurrence among young men and accused Burmese politicians and the exiled media of creating unrest among the Burmese public by publicizing the deaths.

State law in 1956 allowed the prosecution of soldiers who killed civilians, and civilians had the right to appeal to have a case heard in a civilian court if they did not like the military court, according to Aye Myint.

“After 1988, they (the military junta) have not handed over soldiers who committed crimes to civilian courts for prosecution, and civilians have no right of access to legal proceedings in military courts,” he said.

“Today,  no civilian dare ask what the military is doing, regardless of whether it is within the law or not,” he said.

Two civilians, Aung Thu Hein, 21, and Soe Paing Zaw, 17, were shot dead on Sept. 4 by two Burmese army officers after a dispute broke out between the officers and the young men when they were drinking. At least one of the officers was allegedly beaten up in the ensuing fight.

A according to The New Light of Myanmar, one of the officers involved escaped the brawl and came back to the scene with soldiers armed with assault rifles.

In an interview with The Irrawaddy published on Thursday, Aung Thu Hein's aunt said soldiers followed the two men for around 45 minutes, cornerned them near their homes and shot them in cold blood as the two apologized and pleaded to be arrested.

“People feel very unhappy about this as they can do nothing to the military after they killed those two boys. It is a total abuse of human rights,” said Aye Myint.

“I will not allow this story to fade away and keep quiet about it. I will try to expose the murder and get it brought to the court,” adding that he would interview eyewitnesses at the scene soon.

The UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Burma, Tomás Ojea Quintana, also said he would include the deaths of the two men in his report to the United Nations General Assembly in November.
The family of one of the victims, Soe Paing Zaw, accepted the army's offer of 1 million kyat in compensation. But, Aung Thu Hein's family has refused the army's blood money.

Burma Election Commission Rejects Ethnic Minorities Individual Kachin Candidates

In this photo taken in January, people wear traditional costumes and dance during the annual Manaw Festival in Myitkyina, the capital of Kachin state in northern Burma. (Photo: Reuters)

After previously rejecting the registration application of the Kachin State Progressive Party (KSPP), Burma's Election Commission (EC) has now rejected the applications of 14 leading KSPP members, including its founder Tu Ja, who alternatively applied to run as individuals.

Speaking to The Irrawaddy on Thursday, KSPP Secretary Tu Raw, said: “I feel the refusal is unfair and we have not been given the right that every citizen should have to compete in the election. We will now have no opportunity to debate issues on a political stage like the new parliament.” 

“We have a chance for appeal to the Division Sub EC. There may be one or two candidates who make an appeal, but I personally will not appeal,” said Tu Raw, who had hoped to compete for the Pyithu Hluttaw (People's Parliament) in Waingmaw Township in Kachin Division.

The KSPP is the most popular political party in Kachin State, receiving the support of almost all local organizations and residents, including local authorities, and so the junta-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) attempted to block the KSPP registration, said Tu Raw.

“The USDP knows that it is impossible for them to compete with the KSPP in Kachin State, and so it tried to stop our party from being registered,” he said. According to one of the KSPP candidates, the USDP also tried to stop the fourteen individual candidates from receiving EC approval.

Tu Ja, the former vice-chairman of the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) who formed the KSPP in March 2009, said the other reason the EC didn’t approve its registration was because it believed the KSPP had ties with the KIO.

“The second reason they won't allow us to register as a party or as individual candidates is the party's alleged ties with the KIO,” he said.
The KIO is an armed cease-fire group. The military junta has ordered the KIO to transform its troops into a border guard force, but the KIO has thus far refused.

Section 12(a)(3) of the Political Parties Registration Law (PPRL) denies registration to any party that is involved with groups launching armed rebellions or involved with associations declared to be "unlawful associations."

Tu Raw said that while the party does not have direct ties with the KIO, it does recieve support from all influential organizations in Kachin State.
“We have ethnic ties with the KIO, but not political ties and not the same agenda. If we don’t get support from that group, it would make it difficult for our party movement in the region,” he said.

At present, the only political party running an election campaign in Kachin State is the Unity Democracy Party of Kachin State (UDPK), a pro-junta ethnic party allied with the USDP.

However, the USDP, the Shan Nationals Democratic Party (SNDP) and the National Unity Party (NUP) have said they will compete in Kachin State as well.

So far, out of the 42 political parties that have applied, the EC has allowed 39 parties to register, including ethnic Karen, Mon, Palaung and Pa-O parties, according to the state-run The New Light of Myanmar newspaper.

Burmese Election Commission Disbands NLD

NLD supporters celebrate Union Day 2009 outside the party's headquarters in Rangoon. 

Burma's Union Election Commission (EC) officially announced on Tuesday evening the dissolution of 10 political parties, including the main opposition party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), which is led by detained pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi.

The state-run radio and television announced at about 6 p.m on Tuesday that the NLD had been dissolved as it did not register as a political party for the November general election.

The dissolved parties include five parties that were previously accepted by the EC under the party registration process. The state media said the five had been dissolved for failing to complete their candidates lists in time. There are now 37 political parties that have been granted registration.

The registered parties have been told they can campaign through state-run media such as radio and television for 15 minutes each. They, however, need to inform the EC seven days in advance before running a party campaign ad.

The five previously registered parties that were dissolved were named as: the Union Karen League, the Myanmar New Society Party, the Mro National Party, the Myanmar Democracy Congress and the Regional Development Party (Pyay).

The other five parties were dissolved because they did not re-apply for registration, the Burmese media said. 

The five parties dissolved for not fulfilling this obligation were named as: the NLD, the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy, the Union Pa-O National Organization, the Shan State Kokang Democratic Party and the Wa National Development Party. 

The state media said all 10 parties in question could no longer participate in any form of political activity.

Nobel Peace Prize winner Suu Kyi's NLD won the country's last election, in 1990, by a landslide, but was never allowed to take power.

Taiwanese Spies on Burmese Soil?

Detailed story, please read HERE

Despite its close relationship with Beijing and its professed adherence to the one-China policy, Burma's junta has allowed Taiwanese spies to operate in the country for nearly two decades, according to Burmese intelligence sources.

The sources said that dozens of Taiwanese agents have been working in Burma with the regime's knowledge since the early 1990s, when a network led by a colonel using the Burmese name Win Naing was first uncovered.

Chinese President Hu Jintao (center left) and Burmese junta leader Snr-Gen Than Shwe (center right) attend a welcoming ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Sept. 8. (Photo: Getty Images)

The Taiwanese agents were initially arrested, but were soon released under orders from the office of the Commander-in-Chief (Army), also known as the Ka Ka Kyi, which also instructed Burmese officials to keep quiet about the incident. 

“The Ka Ka Kyi ordered us to suppress all information about the arrest of the Taiwanese spies so we could make a deal with them to get useful information about China,” a former intelligence officer who was active at the time told The Irrawaddy.

“The Taiwanese spy network is believed to be still active in Burma, particularly in Rangoon, Mandalay, Myitkyina, Lashio and in border towns. The agents are Burma-born Taiwanese who speak Burmese fluently,” he said.
Although they have no formal diplomatic relationship, Burma and Taiwan have strong ties dating back to the years after the Chinese Civil War ended with the defeat of the nationalist Kuomintang Party in 1949.

According to a Burmese researcher based in Taipei, there are around 100,000 Taiwanese citizens of Burmese origin living on the island.

“Most of them live in and around the capital. There is even a Burmese town in Taipei, with branches of popular Burmese teashops, restaurants and music production companies,” said the researcher, speaking on condition of anonymity. 

“The Burmese regime says that it follows the one-China policy and has no diplomatic ties with Taiwan. But there is definitely a lot of interaction between Burma and Taiwan—some of it secret, but much of it quite open. For example, Taipei has four flights to Rangoon a week.”

The relationship has never, however, been entirely friendly. Although many Kuomintang supporters settled in Burma after fleeing China in 1949, the Burmese army launched a successful offensive against Kuomintang forces in the country in the late 1950s. This, and anti-Chinese riots a decade later, resulted in successive waves of migration to Taiwan.

Despite such episodes in their shared history, however, the two sides have maintained a relatively high level of contact. Until Taiwan’s Democratic Progressive Party came to power in May 2000, Taipei had economic and cultural offices in Rangoon and Mandalay. Since then, it is believed that informal trading offices and Chinese temples have served to represent Taiwan's interests in Burma and handle its dealings with the regime.

Recent evidence of continuing close ties came in June 2009, when the Taiwan External Trade Development Council signed a trade agreement with Burma’s Federation of Chambers of Commerce.

Although the Burmese regime counts Beijing as its most important ally, it should come as little surprise that it would engage in a secret arrangement with Taiwanese spies to keep an eye on its giant neighbor to the north. Just as the junta's relationship with India is seen as part of an effort to counterbalance China's growing influence, its ties with Taiwan are likely borne of its fundamental distrust of Beijing's long-term intentions.

In a paper on problems facing Sino-Burmese relations, Chinese Burma scholars Li Chenyang and Lye Liang Fook noted that the regime's leaders vividly remember China’s support for the Burmese Communist Party, which sought to overthrow military rule in the past. They also said that the junta is wary of becoming too dependent on China, as it will then have more leverage over Burma.
One sign of this distrust, they suggested, was the fact that the Burmese junta leaders never travel to China for medical treatment.

Opposition Leader: China’s Burma Policy Could Backfire

Burma's junta chief Snr-Gen Than Shwe (center), accompanied by the Chinese Ambassador to Burma, Ye Dabo (center right), visits the Burmese Pavilion at the Shanghai World Expo on Sept. 10, 2010. (Photo: Reuters)

Beijing’s advocacy on behalf of the Burmese junta could negatively impact both China’s long-term interest in Burma and the perception of China as a “responsible stakeholder” within the international community, said a prominent Burmese opposition leader on Friday.

Win Tin, a leader of the National League for Democracy (NLD) who spent 19 years in prison, told The Irrawaddy on Friday that as one of the most powerful nations in the world and the country with the world's second largest economy, China must take a more responsive role in Burma affairs with respect to such issues as stability, democratization and ethnic minority rights.

“If the Chinese leaders praise the regime while not being more responsive on issues that affect the people of Burma, China will fail to win the hearts of the people and this could effect China's long term interests in the country. It could also undermine hope in the international community for China to become a responsive stakeholder in international affairs,” said Win Tin.

He said China’s promotion of Burma's repressive regime and unfair elections through a non-inclusive political process could spark more anti-Chinese sentiment among Burmese which in turn could threaten the stability of Chinese investments in Burma.

China’s policy on Burma focuses primarily on stability, but a political process based on elections that are not free, fair and inclusive will cause instability in Burma and negatively effect China's interests in the country, Win Tin said.

Meanwhile, upon junta chief Snr-Gen Than Shwe's arrival in Beijing on Sept.7, Chinese government spokeswoman Jiang Yu said at a press conference that the Chinese leaders would not talk about Burma’s election in meetings with the top general.

 “The general election in Myanmar [Burma] is its internal affairs. We always uphold the principle of non-interference in others' internal affairs,” she said. 

She added that China hoped the international community would provide constructive help for the Burmese elections by refraining from taking any action that has a “negative impact on its [Burma's] domestic political process as well as regional peace and stability.”

She said a peaceful, stable and progressing Burma serves not only the Burmese people but also  the countries in the region. She added that Burma’s internal issues “should be independently resolved” by the Burmese regime and people.

According to reports by China’s Xinhua News Agency, Chinese leaders such as President Hu Jintao, No. 2 leader Wu Bangguo and Premier Wen Jiabao did not directly mention the elections in Burma during meetings with Than Shwe and the Burmese delegation on Sept. 8 and 9, talking only about the concrete ties between the two countries.

“The [Burma] policy will remain unchanged regardless of changes in the international situation,” Hu said, adding that it was China's unswerving policy to solidify and develop good neighborly cooperation with Burma.

On Thursday, Than Shwe affirmed to the Chinese leaders his commitment to “developing strategic relations with China” in the post-election period, including in the formation of the new government.
Bates Gill, a China expert and the director of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, said in his report, “China Becoming a Responsible Stakeholder,” that China’s trend towards becoming a responsible stakeholder looked set to continue for the near- to medium-term, because it is so clearly in Chinese interests to maintain and even strengthen this posture. 

“China’s more responsible approach to world affairs in the past decade-plus can be attributed to three powerful motivations for the Chinese leadership: (1) alleviate external tensions in order to better address domestic challenges; (2) reassure neighbors about a growing China’s peaceful intentions and defuse the emergence of soft containment or other counterbalancing against China; and (3) work to balance, but not confront, the United States,” he said. 

However, “On questions of human rights, and particularly Beijing’s support for abusive governments around the world, China’s hoped-for acceptance as a 'responsible great power' falters most,” Gill said.

“Close and supportive relations with countries such as Burma and Zimbabwe, while coming under some reconsideration in Beijing, are not consistent with the responsible stakeholder concept,” he said.

Burma's largest armed ethnic group, UWSA Deploy Troops at Thai Border

Burma's largest armed ethnic group, the United Wa State Army (UWSA), has deployed three battalions from its headquarters in Panghsang to southern Shan State close to the Thai border in as preparations mount for a military showdown with the Burmese amy, sources close to the UWSA say.  

The three battalions—comprising some the Wa army's elite troops—were dispatched within the last few days. The battalions were led by veteran commander Wei Hsaitang who has extensive frontline experience and is strategically familiar with the geography of southern Shan State where many Wa people live, the sources said.

Saeng Juen, an editor at the Thailand-based Shan Herald Agency for News said that Wei Hsaitang first became notorious as a warrior when the Wa battled former drug warlord Khun Sa’s Mong Tai Army in 1989-96.

The mobilization comes as tensions increase between Naypyidaw and several ethnic cease-fire groups that have refused at accede to the junta's border guard force (BGF) plan.

The UWSA has an estimated 30,000 soldiers, some 4,000 of whom are based in villages around the Shan State-Thai border where 60,000-120,000 Wa people live.

Saeng Juen said that the headmen of several Wa villages organized a public gathering in Mongton Township in southern Shan State on Sept. 7-8 when they explained preparations and evacuation plans to the assembled crowd.

There are no reports of Burmese army reinforcements in southern Shan State, said Saeng Juen. However, The Irrawaddy reported on Wednesday that government forces had mobilized close to the Chinese border in areas traditionally controlled by Shan Wa and Kachin armies.  

An official from the UWSA in Panghsang told The Irrawaddy on Thursday: “We have to wait and see what happens after Snr-Gen Than Shwe comes back from China. We think that his talks with the Chinese government will include border stability issues.”

He said, however, that he does not believe the Burmese regime will order an offensive against the UWSA before or during the general election, which is on Nov. 7, but perhaps in the post-election period.

On April 23-24, small clashes occurred between UWSA units in southern Shan State and Burmese government troops, according to Thai soldiers posted at Ang Khang hill, about 23 kilometers from the Fang District border with Shan State.

No Justice After Burmese Army Shootings

The UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Burma, Tomás Ojea Quintana, said on Tuesday he would include the recent killings of two young men by Burmese army soldiers in his forthcoming report to the United Nations general assembly in November.

In an interview with Radio Free Asia, the UN envoy said he is currently looking into the details of the deadly incident in Pegu township last weekend, describing the killings as a violation of human rights.

The funerals of the two young men, Aung Thu Hein, 22, and Soe Paing Zaw, 18, were held in a tense atmosphere on Tuesday.  They were shot dead by soldiers from the Southern Command's Infantry Battalion 59 on Saturday after a dispute between them and officers from the battalion near a local restaurant.

Family members said they have no hope of legal recourse over the deaths of their loved ones.
“How can we rely on the legal system? We can't even file this case at the police station,” said Aung Thu Hein's aunt. 

No one except close family members was allowed to see the corpses before they were cremated, and security was tight all over the town during the funeral.

“Plainclothes security officials were everywhere. They questioned us about how we were related to the victims before allowing us to see their bodies,” she said.

According to locals, the family of one of the victims accepted the army's offer of one million kyat (US $1,000) in compensation, but the other family has not.

Several candidates of political parties contesting in the November election as well as members of the National League for Democracy, which is boycotting the polls, attended the funeral to show solidarity with the victims' families.

“This incident shows us that this lawless government can do whatever it wants with impunity. This is a threat to the public which will last until election day,” said Thein Htay, the leader of the Union of Democracy Party, who attended the funeral.

“I was photographed once and checked three times on my way from Rangoon to Pegu for the funeral,” he said.

Quintana has recently recommended that the UN establish a Commission of Inquiry into war crimes and crimes against humanity by the Burmese government. The idea has increasingly received the support of a number of countries including the United States.

Hungary announces support, keep pressure on the EU for Burmese Regime

Pressure on the European Union (EU) to support an UN investigation into crimes against humanity in Burma is growing.  This week three prominent dissident groups in Burma, the All Burma Monks Alliance, the 88 Generation Students and the All Burma Federation of Student Union sent an open letter to the EU asking for their support.  

The pressure is working--just this week Hungary announced it supports the establishment of a Commission of Inquiry into crimes against humanity in Burma!

Thank you to all of those who called the EU Ambassadors to the UN and Washington, DC. We need more calls! If you are not able to call, click here to send an email!

Right now, the EU is drafting a resolution on Burma that it will introduce at the UN General Assembly meeting (UNGA) which will begin on the 3rd week of September.  We need your help to make sure this resolution calls for the establishment of a Commission of Inquiry into Crimes Against Humanity in Burma.  We need you to call the ambassadors again as soon as possible. 

This is long over due. There have already been 19 UN General Assembly resolutions on Burma since 1991, but none have mentioned the Commission of Inquiry and none have taken serious action. Following UN Special Rapporteur Tomas Quintana's call for the investigation this March, some of the UN's most powerful players, including the US and UK, have endorsed his recommendation.   Support for the Commission of Inquiry is the highest it has even been.  But this is not enough, we need the EU, a major sponsor of the draft resolution on Burma, to include the call for the Commission of Inquiry in this UNGA resolution.

Below, we have included instructions on how to call or email.

Myra Dahgaypaw

---

Instructions:

1) Dial one of the numbers below and ask to speak to the corresponding ambassador (if you are not able to call, please email or fax).
Hi, may I speak to Ambassador XXX, I would like to ask him to support an UN Commission of Inquiry into Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes in Burma.

Ambassador's Contacts

(1) His Excellency Mr. Pedro Serrano, Ambassador, Acting Head of the Delegation of the European Union to the United Nations Tel. (212) 371 3804
Fax (212) 758 2718
Email: delegation-new-york@ec.europa.eu

(2) His Excellency Ambassador João Vale de Almeida, European Union Ambassador and Head of the EU Delegation to the United States
Telephone: (202) 862-9500; Fax: (202) 429-1766. Email: catherina.bagnall@ec.europa.eu

2) It is likely that they will ask you to leave a message with his assistant.
Hi Ambassador XXXX.  As you may know, the United States has already pledged its support for a UN-led Commission of Inquiry into crimes against humanity in Burma. This is a much needed step as the military regime in Burma has been brutally suppressing ethnic minorities and human rights defenders for more than four decades. Recently, the level of violence has been on the rise. Since 1996, the regime has burned down over 3,500 villages, and instances of rape and forced labor by the military are well documented. That is why I urge the EU to join the United States, the United Kingdom, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Australia in calling for this important measure towards accountability and justice in Burma.  

*  We know that the EU is writing a draft resolution on Burma that it will submit at the upcoming UNGA 65th session.  We want the EU to make sure that its draft resolution includes a call to Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon to set up a Commission of Inquiry. 

*  We believe that this is the right moment to take this action to pressure the regime to stop its sham election and to start negotiations with the democratic opposition led by Aung San Suu Kyi for real and sustainable national reconciliation and democratization.

3) You may want to leave your number in case they would like to call you back.

 If you have any further questions about why you should support a Commission of Inquiry in Burma, feel free to call me at XXXXX
4) Thank them for taking the message!

5) Email myradah@uscampaignforburma.org to let us know how the call went.

Families Denied Access to Pegu Shooting Victims

Family members have been refused permission to see the bodies of the two young men who were shot dead on Saturday by Burmese soldiers in Pegu, according to the victims' relatives.

Aung Thu Hein, 23, and Soe Paing Zaw, 19, were shot dead execution-style by soldiers from Infantry Battalion 59 of the Southern Regional Military Command, which is based in Pegu, some 50 km north of Rangoon, after a dispute between local men and soldiers at a restaurant.

Speaking to The Irrawaddy on Tuesday, a relative of Soe Paing Zaw said, “The authorities did not allow us to see his body.”

He said that half of the people attending Tuesday's funeral were military authorities and that security was tight on the way to the cemetery. The cremation of the two men had been scheduled for noon on Tuesday but the authorities changed the time to 11 a.m., he added.

According to a medical officer at Pegu General Hospital, Aung Thu Hein had been shot six times while Soe Paing Zaw had been shot four times.

“I heard that no action had been taken against the offenders,” said Aung Thu Hein’s aunt.

State-run radio programs on Myanmar Radio and Padaunt Myae FM reported that the two men had been shot because they tried to wrest weapons from the soldiers.

“Pegu is like an army barracks, because there are so many soldiers, in and out of uniform,” said Myat Hla, the chairman of the National League for Democracy (NLD) in Pegu who is currently suspended from his post for demanding the resignation of aging NLD leaders.

A local in Pegu told The Irrawaddy: “I saw local police, firemen and members of the Union Solidarity and Development Association on the way to the cemetery.”

The Union Democratic Party (UDP), whose chairman Thein Htay intends to run in the general election in Pegu Township for the Upper House, on Monday released a statement urging the authorities to take action against the killers.

Burmese Army Mobilizes near Chinese Border

The Burmese military government has mobilized hundreds of soldiers into areas near the Sino-Burmese border controlled by armed ethnic groups, including the United Wa State Army (USDA), the National Democratic Alliance Army (NDAA), the Shan State Army (SSA-North) and the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO).

The move comes at a time when junta supremo Snr-Gen Than Shwe is on a five-day trip to China.

Sources from Burma's northeastern ethnic areas said that the Tatmadaw, or Burmese government forces, have reinforced their troops around the region where a lengthy dispute has continued between Naypyidaw and the ethnic armies over transformation of the ethnic cease-fire groups' battalions into border guard force (BGF) units under the command of the Tatmadaw.

“In past five days, we have learned that more troops have been mobilized near Wa territory in northern Shan State,” a source close to the UWSA told The Irrawaddy on Monday. “Tensions mounted on Friday as several Tatmadaw battalions  surrounded UWSA troops while they [the Wa] were on patrol. About 15 army trucks were involved in the incident.”

Last week, Naypyidaw ordered all government and NGO staff to leave UWSA and NDAA areas in Shan State where about 40 unarmed military officials were stationed. The officials had been stationed in the area since former Communist forces signed a cease-fire agreement with the Burmese junta in 1989.

Ethnic sources said the withdrawal could signal the junta’s intention to attack the ethnic armies after a deadline to join the BGF passed on Sept. 1.
Burmese government forces also mobilized into areas close to SSA-North bases, particularly near the group's Brigade 1 base, putting fresh pressure on the cease-fire group to join the BGF ahead of the election on Nov. 7.

“Unusual troops mobilizations were reported in Tangyang [near Wa territory], Mong Ya and Mong Hsnu,” said Saengjuen Sarawin, an editor with The Shan Herald Agency for News. “The troops are from two newly deployed battalions under Military Operations Command 1 and 2.”

Commenting on a potential offensive with the ethnic groups, he said the Tatmadaw might not send in a massive number of troops as it did in the 1970s and 80s, but that they will be prepared with more strategic weapons such as artillery and rocket launchers.

Meanwhile, China has tightened security along the Sino-Burmese border near Mong La and set up surveillance across the border. However, traders report that it is still a case of “business as usual,” sources said.

Apart from the Burmese army mobilization in Shan State, KIO sources in Laiza, the headquarters of the Kachin group, said Tatmadaw maneuvers had been reported near the KIO-controlled area.

Sources said the KIO maintained that there will be no polling stations allowed in KIO territory for the election. 
“The KIO will arrange transportation if voters want to leave to vote in the election,” a KIO source said. “But we won’t allow polling stations in our area while the [BGF] dispute is ongoing.”

The KIO, the UWSA, the NDAA and the SSA-North are yet to confirm whether they will permit elections in their areas. Naypyidaw has not sent election officials to the areas in question although Lt-Gen Ye Myint, the former chief of the Military Affairs Security, told the groups in August that all ethnic groups would be expected to cooperate with election officials when they arrived in early September.

Sources said that ethnic leaders are watching closely as to how relations develop as a result of Than Shwe's visit to China.

Beijing has played a mediating role between Naypyidaw and the ethnic groups, many of which are historically close to China.

Publicly or privately, Chinese officials have said that stability and development along the border is vital and they do not wish to see a resumption of hostilities as in August 2009 when some 37,000 Kokang- Chinese refugees fled to China to avoid conflict.

Two Burmese Civilians Shot Dead after Dispute with Soldiers

Burmese soldiers march during ceremonies on March 27, marking the 65th anniversary Armed Forces Day in Naypitaw. (Photo: AP)

Two young men were shot dead in a dispute with soldiers of the Southern Region Military Command in Pegu, some 50 km north of Rangoon.
Local sources identified the victims as Aung Thu Hein, 22, and Soe Paing Zaw, 18. The sources said they were shot dead execution-style by soldiers from the Command's Infantry Battalion 59 on Saturday after a dispute between local young men and officers from the battalion near a local restaurant.
One Pegu eye-witness reported: “After arguing with local youngsters, about 10 soldiers, including officers, came back to the town with arms, looking for the young men they had had problems with. The soldiers found them near a local teashop and shot them after more arguing.”
A medical official at the Pegu General Hospital, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Aung Thu Hein had six gunshot wounds, while Soe Paing Zaw had four. Hundreds of angry residents gathered at the hospital.
A battalion general staff officer reportedly offered the families of the dead men 1 million kyat (US $1,000) compensation, provided they remained silent on the incident, which fueled further anger.
“My nephew was quite innocent. He was killed unjustly. So how can we calm down? We don’t want any money. We only want truth and justice,” said Aung Thu Hein’s aunt.
State-run radios such Myanmar Radio and Padaunt Myae FM reported the two young men had been shot at because they tried to wrest weapons from the soldiers.
“This is misinformation as well as an insult, not only to victims’ families, but also to all of us,” said a Pegu lawyer, Aye Myint.
The funerals of the two dead men are scheduled for Tuesday. Local authorities are very nervous at this time because of the anniversary of the Sept 2007 uprising and the approaching November election.