Andrew Heyn
The Guardian, UK
November 26, 2009

Flurry of activity could prove, as so often before, to be just window dressing, writes British ambassador Andrew Heyn
This is a particularly interesting time for Burma watchers. A flurry of activity, both domestically and internationally, has aroused hopes that things might be starting to move in a positive direction. But the optimism is offset by fears that this might be a repeat of the window dressing, so often seen before, that is designed to obscure the reality of a regime conducting business as usual.

The optimists point to recent engagement by the US, and nascent dialogue between Aung San Suu Kyi and the Burmese regime. Aung San Suu Kyi has recently written to Senior General Than Shwe offering to meet him to discuss how they can work together for the benefit of the people of Burma.

Were it not for bitter experience, people might be getting ready to celebrate and preparing for a new, properly inclusive form of politics. But Burma has seen many false dawns and no one is getting too excited.

In terms of hard facts there is not much to get excited about. A few months ago I sat in the Rangoon court that, after a show trial, sentenced Aung San Suu Kyi to a further period of house arrest. More than 2,100 political prisoners remain in jail. Elections next year look like going ahead on the basis of a constitution that delivers 25% of the seats in the new national assembly to the military before a single vote has been cast. Burma’s record on human rights and wider political freedoms remains dreadful, as last week’s EU-tabled resolution in the UN’s human rights committee made depressingly clear. The economy continues to stagnate.

The most widespread reaction in Burma to these recent developments is to wait and see. People recognise that it is far too early to assess how successful renewed international efforts by the US and EU (along with the UN and Asean) will be. Neither do we know whether Senior General Than Shwe will respond positively to Aung San Suu Kyi’s conciliatory and constructive offer to work together for the benefit of all the Burmese people. In the meantime the EU remains clear that, in the absence of concrete progress on the ground, sanctions that are carefully targeted at the economic interests of the regime and its associates will stay in place. The US approach is the same. We are clear that if there is genuine irreversible progress, we will respond positively and make proportionate adjustments to our restrictive measures. In the meantime we are increasing our commitment to ordinary people through our programme of humanitarian aid, which is delivering crucial support, including for basic healthcare and for poor families in rural areas.

Everyone hopes that the optimists are right. Real change here would transform the lives of the Burmese people – not only by helping them escape the poverty trap in which so many of them find themselves mired, but also by alleviating the atmosphere of fear and suspicion in which they live.

Diplomats are spared the worst of the overt intrusions and scrutiny which are a daily reality for many people, especially those who work for political change. A small reminder of the ubiquitous nature of the security presence occurred last weekend. A visit to a pagoda, about 20 miles south of Rangoon, concluded with the close questioning of our local driver by a special branch officer who seemed to appear from nowhere after we parked the car.

I reflected how it must be for the Burmese. Without recourse to, or support from, a democratically elected government and its institutions, they would surely see the questioner an instrument of dread.

The climate of fear and suspicion is well founded. This is why those who are cynical about the government’s intentions significantly outnumber the optimists on the streets of Rangoon. The Burmese people will make their judgement about whether there has been genuine change on the basis of actions, not words.

BANGKOK, 28 November 2009 (NNT) – Mr Sergei Sabianin, the Deputy Prime Minister of Russia and the Presidential Office Head, paid a visit to Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva at the Government House in Bangkok yesterday.

The two sides discussed joint collaborations on various aspects particularly in military and security, culture, and energy development. The Russian Deputy Prime Minister stated his readiness to support Thailand for development and research of fuel resource and natural gas in the same manner as the collaboration with other countries.

Mr Abhisit said the participation of Mr Sabianin in the 4th Joint Commission (JC) Thailand – Russia held on 27 November could lead to the progress in the two countries’ relations and the expansion in diverse aspects. To tackle the collaborating expansion, Thai government presently has implemented the second phase of economic stimulation scheme. Also, the progress of ASEAN integration as a community would bring about preferable environment for investment in the country. Thailand’s EXIM bank was another organization to support the investment of the two countries.

In addition, Mr Abhisit pointed out that the meeting of the Joint Commission between Thailand and Russia should bring forward matters such as energy development for mutual benefit. Thailand was emphasizing the feasibility study of a nuclear power plant project concerning environmental effects and related issues.

Prime Minister Abhisit also expected to visit Russia in early 2010 and hoped to see strengthened relations of the two countries through the Joint Commission implementation.

News ID: 255211280024

Sat, 28/11/2009 – 09:48
IFEX
(CMFR/SEAPA/IFEX) – Condemning the problem of impunity in the Philippines, 47 IFEX members appeal for justice in the horrible massacre of a reported 28 journalists:

Attn: Members of the Philippines government, judiciary, police and military

We, the undersigned 47 members of the International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX) network join the people of the Philippines in condemning, in the strongest terms possible, the massacre of at least 57 Filipinos in the southern Philippines.

Any murder is reprehensible, but as freedom of expression and press freedom advocates, we are especially appalled by the most recent media reports that at least 28 of those killed in the province of Maguindanao on 23 November 2009 were journalists.

IFEX members monitor attacks on journalists and media on a daily basis, throughout the world. Our members call attention to various forms of violence and threats not just to journalists, but to the larger environments in which independent media must survive. And still, the massacre of journalists in Maguindanao staggers our community. It is a crime of such scale and horror that is incomparable to anything we have seen.

Initial reports from Maguindanao point to the massacre being politically motivated, specifically tied to a rivalry between two entrenched political clans. Among those reported killed, after all, was the wife of one clan leader who was hoping to make a run against the incumbent governor. Whatever the motives, the Philippine government must work swiftly and with urgency to bring the perpetrators of this heinous crime to justice. Beyond what is attributed to election-related violence and the reality of “warlordism” in the Philippines, we urge the Philippine government to address the larger problem of impunity that festers in Philippine society. It is this environment, where violence and crime go unpunished, that leads to tragedies such as what befell our colleagues in Maguindanao. It is the same toxic environment for which the government itself must be held accountable and take responsibility.

Our members, the Manila-based Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR), and the Bangkok-based regional Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA), of which CMFR is one of the founding members, note that the 23 November killings have increased the number of Filipino journalists killed in the line of duty this year from 3 to 31. That adds to the 81 journalists killed in the line of duty in the Philippines since 1986.

Clearly, the Maguindanao tragedy goes beyond one day’s carnage. It is rooted in impunity that begets more violence, and encourages more (and more deadly) intolerance for dissent and independent discourse. It is the same climate of impunity that our members, for years now, have been saying is at the root of the high rate of journalist killings in the Philippines.

Given these realities, we call on the Philippine government to do all that it must to halt the violence and bring the murderers to justice, as swiftly as possible.

Finally, we join the CMFR in rejecting any reaction from the government that would further limit or block independent media access to the situation in Maguindanao. Proposals to place the entire province under emergency rule, and therefore under military control, will likely restrict information where information and truth is precisely needed, and further discredit the sincerity of the government to get to the bottom of this tragedy.

We support our colleagues in the Philippines in their call for an independent fact-finding mission to Maguindanao, and stand ready to help in any way that we can. We urge caution given the volatile situation in Maguindanao, but at the same time call on the Philippine government, the police and military, to be accountable for the security and safety of any such missions in the coming days.

Signed,
Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility
Southeast Asian Press Alliance
Aliansi Jurnalis Independen (Alliance of Independent Journalists)
ARTICLE 19
Africa Free Media Trust
Association of Caribbean Media Workers
Association of Independent Electronic Media
Associação Brasileira de Jornalismo de Investigação
Bahrain Center for Human Rights
Canadian Journalists for Free Expression
Cartoonists Rights Network International
Center for Media Studies & Peace Building
Centre for Independent Journalism
Centro Nacional de Comunicación Social
Centro de Reportes Informativos sobre Guatemala
Comité por la Libre Expresión
Committee to Protect Journalists
Exiled Journalists Network
Freedom House
Hong Kong Journalists Association
IPS Communication Foundation
Independent Journalism Center
Index on Censorship
Institute for Reporters’ Freedom and Safety
Institute of Mass Information
International Federation of Journalists
International PEN Writers in Prison Committee
International Press Institute
Maharat Foundation (Skills Foundation)
Media Foundation for West Africa
Media Institute of Southern Africa
Media Rights Agenda
Media Watch
Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance
National Union of Somali Journalists
Norwegian PEN
Observatoire pour la liberté de presse, d’édition et de création
Pacific Freedom Forum
Pacific Islands News Association
Pakistan Press Foundation
Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms
Reporters Without Borders
Sindicato de Periodistas del Paraguay
Thai Journalists Association
World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters
World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers
World Press Freedom Committee
prachatai.news

Tuesday, 24 November 2009 15:10
Several Burmese migrant workers, including two children aged about 10 years, were arrested and sent to the IDC main prison by Immigration officials this morning, following an earlier raid at the Fish Box Factory. The factory is located near Banbaw Railway Station, on the Phalansoung main road, Bangkok, Thailand.
At 6 am, thirty officers from the combined forces of Thai immigration and police, arrived at the factory compound and checked work IDs of the all the workers in the rooms. At first, all workers from A. B. and C buildings were arrested and loaded onto trucks. Most were later released when authorities from the factory arrived and showed relevant working permit documents.
Two 10 Year old children and three workers were arrested. Although they had work permits, these were issued to work in a different province and so all were taken to the IDC Main prison.
The father of one of the arrested children, Kyaw Soe Min, said; “My wife and I have a work ID. He was sleeping, he tried to run when the police came but they had already circled our building”. The mother added that the child had only been in Thailand for two months.
Ko Ashaygyi (who has lived near the factory for almost ten years) said; “Before the factory had a good relationship with local authorities, but this year they may have stopped paying under the table for work IDs for new arrivals. That is why I think they might have raided the factory, but I’m not sure”.
Maung Zaw Linn, a 12 year old child from Kawkarieak, Karen State, originally staying and learning at one of the monasteries in Bangkok, was arrested when he came home to rest with his mother because he felt sick.
Ko Nyi Nyi, elder brother of Maung Zaw Linn said; “Because my younger brother was arrested, I went to the IDC main prison. The officer said to me that ‘very hard talking Burmese, Cambodian and Lao apply for passports but nothing happens. If these Burmese don’t get passports by the end of this year, we will be arresting more.’ “Ko Nyi Nyi added “It seems to me that they are pressuring us to get passports.”
Both the Thai and Burmese Governments implemented passport processing, but they do not go through smoothly or successfully. The legal term for Burmese migrant workers to stay and work in Thailand will end next February 28th.
http://www.ghre.org/en

Parliamentarians from India, Nepal, Singapore and Britain on Friday strongly expressed the need for regional governments to support Burma’s democracy movement at the ‘Consultation Meeting on Parliamentarians’ Solidarity for the Struggle of Democracy in Burma,’ organized by Indian Parliamentarians’ Forum for Democracy in Burma (IPFDB), at the Constitution Club in New Delhi on November 27, 2009. Photo – Salai Pi Pi/Mizzima

http://www.mizzima.com/gallery/photo-news/2989-photo-news-november-2009.html

by Usa Pichai
Saturday, 28 November 2009 13:46

Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – Thailand has started searching for a suitable location to build the second Thailand-Burma Friendship Bridge on the Moei River even as the Thai Deputy Commerce Minister is slated to visit Burma to discuss border trade.

Tak provincial officials are surveying for a location to build a new bridge, which may be situated in Thasailoud village in Mae Sot district. Search is also on for another land about 1000 rais [250 acres] to build a ‘One Stop Service Center’ (OSS) and warehouses to support border trade and logistics on the Tak province border with Myawaddy township of Burma.

Weerachai Rakamthong, Director of Maesot’s Department of Highway said that the survey and designing of a new bridge would take about one year, as the department is seeking a consensus among local residents to widen the Tak-Maesot road which is 86 kilometres long, according to a report in a Thai news website Manager .

Meanwhile, an official from the Tak Provincial Department of Commerce revealed that Alongkorn Polbutra, Thailand’s Deputy Minister of Commerce is scheduled to visit Burma from December 8 to 13 for discussions on commerce and bilateral relationship in the border area with Burmese leaders and key ministers.

During the trip, the Thai Deputy Minister will propose to the Burmese government to open a tourism route from Maesot-Myawaddy-Moulmein and to consider building of the second and maybe the third friendship bridge on Moei River. He will propose construction of a road from Maesot-Myawaddy and Kohkareik township 28 kilometres in length with a budget of 872 million Baht [26.4 million US$]. Early last month, Thailand‘s cabinet approved the project with the aim of developing a border economic zone in Mae Sot district of Tak province, bordering Myawaddy township in Burma.

The first project is to build the second Thailand-Burma Friendship Bridge on Moei River to cater to the increasing need for transportation of goods through the border. In addition, it would serve the scheme of the East-West Corridor economics. The development plan includes building Special Economic Zones, logistics centres and warehouses near the border of Mae Sot district.

The economic zone in Tak Province project was started three years ago with the objective of boosting trade and it was expected to stop workers migrating to big cities such as Bangkok or nearby provinces by providing more job opportunities near the border.

According to the Ministry of Commerce, in 2008, the trading on the border of Thailand and Burma accounted for 144,000 million Baht [4,363 million US$], in Myawaddy alone. Mae Sot accounted for about 20,000 million Baht [606 million US$]. It is expected that the new economic zone would push it up to 40,000 million Baht [1,202 million US$], excluding income from tax and other investments.
read http://democracyforburma.wordpress.com/2009/11/27/surin-looking-beyond-cross-border-conflicts-accelerates-aec-establishment/

Handcuffing of Burmese-American in court protested
by Mungpi
Friday, 27 November 2009 22:18

New Delhi (Mizzima) – The lawyer of detained (alias) Nyi Nyi Aung, said he had objected to handcuffing the accused during the trial and had submitted an objection letter, but it was rejected by the court.

Kyi Win, one of the defence attorneys of the Burmese-American, on Friday told Mizzima that Kyaw Zaw Lwin has been handcuffed during the court sessions, which he said was against Burma’s law.

“I have submitted an objection letter, but it was rejected and he [Kyaw Zaw Lwin] continues to be handcuffed during the session,” said Kyi Win, adding that Kyaw Zaw Lwin was handcuffed on Friday, where five prosecution witnesses were cross-examined at Rangoon’s notorious Insein prison.

According to the veteran lawyer, who earlier this year co-defended detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, Burma’s law does not permit an accused to be handcuff unless there is any special exception.

“Besides, the Presidential decree 4/77, which is known as the handbook for the courts, also prohibits such practice,” Kyi Win said.

While there are no technical complications in handcuffing the accused during the trial, Kyi Win said, it indicates the level of rule of law prevailing in the courts in Burma.
“It’s not that there is any problem in handcuffing Kyaw Zaw Lwin, but it looks odd for the court and the whole proceeding. Since there is no threat of his [Kyaw Zaw Lwin] escaping, as the proceedings are being conducted inside the well-guarded prison, they should simply abide by the Presidential decree,” he added.

The Judge of Southern District court in Insein prison, after hearing five witnesses on Friday adjourned the court fixing the next hearing of prosecution witnesses for December 4.

Kyaw Zaw Lwin, a naturalised American citizen, was arrested on September 3, and charged under provisions of the Burmese law related to fraud, possession of counterfeit documents, and failure to declare money on customs forms.

The U.S embassy in Rangoon told Mizzima that it is following the case closely as it takes seriously the obligation to safeguard the welfare and interests of Americans abroad.

An official at the embassy said, it has repeatedly made clear to the Burmese government that they must respect Kyaw Zaw Lwin’s rights and the international conventions concerning the treatment of foreign prisoners.

“We will continue to do all we can to assure that Kyaw Zaw Lwin is treated fairly and well,” said the official, adding that so far they have been granted regular access to the detained Burmese-American and had met him five times.

The Burmese-American, as a student had actively participated in the nation-wide 1988 protests led by students. He was forced to flee to neighbouring Thailand along with fellow students following the junta’s crackdown.

He was later resettled in Maryland in United States, where he was naturalised as a citizen.

Both his mother and sister were also arrested and are currently serving time in Burma’s prisons, for their activism.

Some information provided by Salai Han Thar San

BANGKOK, 27 November 2009 (NNT) – The ASEAN’s Secretary-General suggested that ASEAN member countries should consider the establishment of an ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) more imnportant than cross-border conflicts derived from concepts of nation states.

Dr Surin Pitsuwan, Secretary-General of the ASEAN, said that cross border conflicts between ASEAN member countries has caused regional discord and delayed the establishment of the AEC.

He explained that colonialism brought the concept of a nation state into the region. The concept forced ASEAN countries to consider territorial borders seriously and led to nationalism. He said that this was an origin of cross border conflicts and suggested that the region needed to look back before colonialism.

“Our ancestors would not care about the exact boundary back then. Why do we have to fight for the boundary when we still care and share together?” Dr Surin questioned.

The Secretary-General, 57, stated that the concept was too new to the region where human control was more important than boundary accuracy. ASEAN as a cultural community was not ready to adapt to the concept.

He said that the reason why Thailand had more cross-border problems came from its location in a central position. Thailand has over 5,000 km of borders with 4 countries. This is the longest in the region. Only 56 km has been ratified by the Thai national legislature. The rest has been under control of committees.

Dr Surin emphasized that looking beyond border and colonialism mentality was one way for ASEAN to move forward to being a single community. He said that “there is still a community when boundaries becomes meaningless.” However, Dr Surin mentioned that to move forwards the region should have a similar economic level to the EU.

“It would be easier if each country’s economy is not much different. What is left is to create a mutual feeling of a single community among our people”, Dr Surin said.

Dr Surin hoped that the AC would be a rule-based community as expected. He said that if every country tried to work together it would reduce conflicts in the long run.

“ASEAN now has a dispute mechanism in the charter. For political issues, ASEAN member countries have signed the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation (TAC) with other developed countries to provide all possible assistance to disputing parties”, Dr Surin said.

News ID: 255211270034

2009 Patterns and Trends of Amphetamine-Type Stimulants and Other Drugs in East and South-East Asia

A hidden camera has provided a rare glimpse inside Burma’s mental health system, used to incarcerate opposition figures and politically active monks.

At one hospital where activities were filmed by a Burmese video journalist, there are hundreds of patients, and not enough supplies to go around.

The head nurse explains that clothes and shoes are needed. She also acknowledges criminals are held there, confined because of their mental condition. It appears from the film that some of the (patients) in the hospital are monks.

The footage shows they are allowed to keep their heads shaven but are forced to give up their robes – although some defy that rule.

It is not known how many were rounded up after the monk-led Saffron Revolution, crushed by the military junta in September 2007.

Many observers have long suspected that Burma’s junta has confined political monks to mental institutions to treat what the regime claims is a sickness.

Bo Kyi, of the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma), told Australia Network’s NewsHour: “After the September revolution, some monks were sent to mental hospitals, also other activists.

“The military regime regard them as the crazy man or something.” The video of monks in the mental institution appears to be confirm of reports that opposition groups have been receiving for years.

Bo Kyi says: “Because we cannot go to mental hospitals, it’s really difficult to collect information.

“But definitely we knew that monks were in hospital because of their participation in the monk struggle and the other sorts of protests.”

That kind of treatment has helped the regime silence political opposition, particularly from Buddhist temples and monasteries.

Generous donations also ensure some toe the line.

But some monks will speak out.

“There will be other monks who will appear again,” says one – unafraid of the risk of years in prison or a mental hospital, just for speaking to a journalist.

“They won’t be afraid to die.

“If there is any grime, there will be someone who will clean that grime.”
http://www.unpo.org/content/view/10402/236/
http://australianetworknews.com/stories/200911/2755187.htm?desktop

National League for Democracy (NLD) central executive member Win Tin and Arakanese leader Aye Thar Aung reaffirmed in a Burmese language letter to a conference being held by Burmese exiles in Tokyo this week that the roadmap to breaking Burma’s political deadlock lies in the release of political prisoners, a review of the 2008 Constitution and genuine political dialogue.

Aye Thar Aung wrote that the 2010 election under the 2008 Constitution will not bring democracy and ethnic rights to Burma.

Genuine dialogue between the military junta, ethnic leaders and NLD leaders has to take place before the election, he said. He called the 2008 Constitution “one-sided” and said both cease-fire and non-cease-fire ethnic groups have rejected it.

Win Tin added that releasing pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and having international observers monitoring the election are keys to making progress in the political crisis. The NLD leader reaffirmed that if the junta followed these conditions and acknowledged the result of the 1990 election, the NLD would participate in the election next year.

Both Win Tin and Aye Thar Aung warned the 2008 Constitution and the proposed 2010 election will threaten peace and stability if the junta proceeds with its plans without agreement from other parties.

Their comments have revealed nothing new since they were based on similar declarations made by the NLD at Shwegonedaing in April.

Many Burmese people as well as Burma observers agree that genuine dialogue between all stakeholders in Burmese politics offers the best path to resolution of the political situation in Burma. However, no genuine dialogue has taken place inside the country in more than 20 years.

Under the leadership of Suu Kyi, the NLD called for dialogue with the military junta shortly after the party was formed on September 27, 1988. The junta did not respond.

In the early 2000s, there were some meetings and dinners attended by leaders including Suu Kyi and Snr-Gen Than Shwe, but observers said the meetings were for show only and resulted in increased tensions rather than greater dialogue.

Following international condemnation of the junta over crackdowns on mass demonstrations in September 2007, the junta appointed Labor Minister Aung Kyi to hold meetings with Suu Kyi.

The two met a few times between October 2007 and January 2008 but then the meetings stopped.

The meetings only resumed in October after Suu Kyi sent a letter to Naypyidaw requesting permission to meet with Western diplomats to learn about the condition of sanctions on Burma.

On Nov. 11, Suu Kyi sent another letter to the junta requesting a meeting with Than Shwe, but the junta chief has yet to reply.

Many in Burma and abroad are optimistic that something positive will happen in the coming months ahead of the 2010 election. Given lessons from the past and recent events, however, others are skeptical that progress will be made.

Writing about positive change in Burma in Britain’s Guardian news blog on Wednesday, British ambassador Andrew Heyn said: “the optimism is offset by fears that this might be a repeat of the window dressing, so often seen before, that is designed to obscure the reality of a regime conducting business as usual… Burma has seen many false dawns and no one is getting too excited.”
Irawaddy

By MARWAAN MACAN-MARKAR

BANGKOK — Eighteen months after the powerful Cyclone Nargis tore through military-ruled Burma, one question that dogged early relief efforts has lost relevance: does the country have an active civil society to help victims?

The amorphous network of Burmese civilians, ranging from Buddhist monks in villages to middle-class women in cities like Rangoon, are winning praise as the unsung heroes who stepped in to aid and rebuild communities crushed by that May 2008 natural disaster.

The efforts by civil society groups in Burma, also known as Myanmar, became significant in the wake of the bureaucratic hurdles the secretive and oppressive junta erected to stop foreign aid workers flying in to help. Many international relief agencies with foreign staff complained that they were hit with restrictions on their movement in the devastated Irrawaddy Delta besides the tighter visa controls.

The inroads made by local civil society groups were highlighted this week by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, a 10-member regional bloc, during a pivotal meeting of international donors to raise US$ 103 million for recovery efforts through mid-2010. Asean, together with the United Nations and the Burmese government, played a lead role in a unique partnership to mobilize funds and help implement reconstruction efforts.

The 42-year-old Asean includes Brunei, Burma, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. “Asean’s partnership with the civil society in the implementation of these projects does not only enhance people’s well-being and livelihoods building more resilient communities, but also empowers the communities,” said Surin Pitsuwan, Asean secretary-general, in his prepared comments to the donor meeting held here on Wednesday. “Through a participatory approach, the communities have become more engaged in identifying their own needs (and) planning recovery.”

Such an approach has strengthened accountability and transparency, winning “trust and confidence among communities, local authorities and other humanitarian agencies,” added Surin in describing local initiatives following the disaster that killed more than 140,000 people and affected close to 2.4 million others.

The top UN official in Burma echoes the Asean sentiment about the position local civil society groups have carved out for themselves in the months since Nargis. “During the past 18 months I have seen an extensive enlargement of civil society,” revealed Bishow Parajuli, the UN humanitarian coordinator in Burma. “There are new civil society groups emerging.”

“Civil society plays an important role in every aspect of life,” added Parajuli during a press conference that followed the donor meeting, where industrialized nations committed to pump in US$ 88 million to help fund recovery programs through 2010 in the devastated delta. “There is an extensive effort to build civil society.”

Such praise stands in contrast with an unflattering view of Burmese civil society expressed by some international aid workers following the cyclone. One study that describes local responses to Nargis quotes an international aid worker saying, in September last year, “There is no civil society in Myanmar.”

But the reality was the opposite, adds this study published in the Humanitarian Practice Network’s online magazine. “In the wake of Cyclone Nargis, the remarkable civil society response has clearly and undeniably proved that it is alive, and doing great things against all odds,” said the December 2008 study. “More than 500 local (civil society groups) were supported in the Nargis response, albeit in an ad hoc and usually insufficient way.”

“Given the constraints to direct implementation by INGO (international non-governmental organizations), Nargis was the perfect opportunity for agencies to change their way of working, even if on a small scale, by supporting local initiatives,” added the report. “A number of small programs run by donors and INGOs provided grants, largely under US$ 5,000, to hundreds of self-help groups, spontaneously organized in response to the cyclone.”

The social fabric in Burma is behind this trend. “The country has a strong cohesive society, and people look after one another,” said Paul Sender, head of the British humanitarian agency Merlin’s office in Burma. “People who hadn’t suffered from the terrible events of Nargis came out to help.”

“The people proved their capacity through such efforts,” he told IPS. “At the height of our post-Nargis work, we had 12 expatriate staff and 350 national staff.

Over the last one and a half years, there has been a lot of transfer of skills to the local staff.”
But in Burma, where politics has invaded most corners of life, even the work of local civil society groups helping Nargis victims required caution, “because the government feels threatened by high-profile efforts of individuals or civil society groups,” explained Benjamin Zawacki, the Burma researcher for the global rights lobby Amnesty International. “The government feels that it should be helping and getting all the credit for its efforts.”

“The critical role that civil society groups played providing critically needed assistance after Nargis has been done by many by maintaining a low profile,” he said in an IPS interview. “They were the only consistent viable relief efforts to save lives soon after the cyclone—even at great risks to themselves.”

Yet not all Burmese helping the Nargis victims have been fortunate. In late October the junta arrested 10 political activists and journalists “for accepting relief donations from abroad,” Amnesty revealed this week. “Their whereabouts is unknown and it is not clear whether any charges have been brought against them.”

They join the list of other Burmese civilians and political activists who have been imprisoned since June 2008 for forming ad hoc groups to provide relief to Nargis victims. Among the most famous is Zarganar, a popular comedian, who was slapped with a 59-year prison sentence for his humanitarian work.

IPS

FRIDAY, 27 NOVEMBER 2009 14:31 HSENG KHIO FAH

In response to widespread reports saying that Burmese migrants may join the anti-government rally in Thailand, Chiangmai based Shan workers organizations said that they have a strict policy not to intervene in their host country’s internal affairs because they are only “guest residents”.

On Wednesday, Thai officials imposed restrictions along the northern Thai-Burma border due to a report that migrant workers might join the red-shirt demonstrations against Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejajiva during his scheduled (now cancelled) visit to Chiangmai on Saturday to attend the annual Thailand Chamber of Commerce meeting.

The Worker Solidarity Association (WSA) said that the group’s stand is non-interference. “We have warned our members to stay neutral and not to get involved with either red or yellow shirts because it is our Thailand’s domestic affair,” said Sai John, Chairman of the WSA. Likewise, Migrant Workers Federation (MWF) says one of its policies is not to engage in the political affairs of their host country. Its members have never taken part in any political activities in the past and will remain so in the future as well, according to its chairman Sai Aung Htay.

“We are only people fleeing from the heat of our country to seek sanctuary. We are not associated with any political group. If there are members who do not follow this policy, he/she should withdraw from membership,” he said. “As workers, our rights are to only ask for equal treatment from our employers and the government if we are not treated equally and get equal pay.”

According to Jeerasak Sukonthachart, Director of Thailand’s Department of Employment, if migrants are found among the protestors they would be repatriated to their homeland and their employers will also face trial.

He said that, according to Thai law, migrant workers are not allowed to join political demonstrations because it is illegal.

To this, a Shan elder responded, “Workers are hired employees. They can only do what their employers tell them to. They are not in a position to lead their employers. It is unfair to blame them for what is happening between the red and yellow shirts.”

Some Shan workers admit they were given red shirts by their employers for what purpose they were not told.

There are more than 2 million migrant workers in Thailand, at least one-third of whom are Shans, according to one estimate.
shanland

Number of journalists killed in massacre rises to 29

Published on 26 November 2009

In the same country
23 November 2009 – Twelve journalists killed on Mindanao island in “dark day for press freedom”
21 August 2009 – Harassment by provincial authorities could send newspaper editor back to prison
10 August 2009 – Grenade attack on newspaper columnist’s home, no one hurt
Reporters Without Borders notes that the authorities have finally arrested Andal Ampatuan Jr, the leading suspect in the 23 November massacre of 57 people in Maguindanao province. Local reporters have meanwhile told Reporters Without Borders that the toll of journalists killed in the massacre has risen to 29.
“All the bodies have been located and identification is almost complete,” a reporter based in the nearby city of Koronadal said. “According to the local media’s tally, we lost 29 colleagues in this tragedy.” The local authorities are preparing a funeral service to pay tribute to the victims. And the government has provided financial assistance to families.
http://www.rsf.org/spip.php?page=article&id_article=35090

Burma: Under military dictatorship—Half the century

1988: Current junta came to power—Gunned down 3000 peaceful demonstrators

1990: Junta held the election—Aung San Suu Kyis party NLD won landslide—Junta refuses to recognize it

1993: Junta draft the constitution—Hand-picked delegations—It took 14 years

2008 May: Cyclone Nargis struck Burma—250, 000 died & 2.5 million homeless—Adopt the constitution unilaterally

Aung San Suu Kyi, Democratic and Ethnics groups say— NO !

WHY ???

Please see the 2008 Constitution Discussion video at Burma Democratic Concern (BDC)s bdcburma channel at youtube.

COMING SOON !!!

Invitation for the 10 December 2009 Demonstration in UK

Lichtgeschwindigkeit 85 OBAMISTAN

die ungeschnittene extemporierte Piraten-Presseschau –

am Samstag, 21. November 2009,

von Dr. Dietmar Moews im Alphons-Silbermann-Zentrum Berlin

Pankow Niederschönhausen; Aufnahmezeit um 21 Uhr;

ferner ein Sonderheft der Kölner Zeitschrift für Soziologie und Sozialpsychologie

aus der Zeit der eminenten Soziologen René König und Alphons Silbermann:

ENTWCKLUNGSSOZIOLOGIE; Czempiel/Schweitzer: Weltpolitik der USA –

Einführung und Dokumente, hrsg. Schriftenreihe der Bundeszentrale für

politische Bildung;

Carsten Herrmann-Pillath, Michael Lackner Hrsg. mit Doris Fischer und Christoph Müller-Hofstede:

Länderbericht CHINA – Politik, Wirtschaft und Gesellschaft im chinesischen Kulturraum

Piratenthema heute: OBAMISTAN – die ärmlichen Erfolge des

US-Präsident Barack Obama bei seinem Versuch, auf seiner Rundreise

durch Japan, Nordkorea, in Singapur, Burma, Shanghai, China und

Südkorea, als pazifischer Präsident eine politische Konsonanz

mit den asiatischen Staaten einzuleiten. Taiwan der demokratischen

Nationalchinesen auf Formosa wurde ausgelassen – Obama

besuchte nicht, wie vorher Bush, eine christliche Kirche in China

und traf auch nicht den Dalai Lama in Tibet – es half aber nichts.

Obama wollte hope und change verwirklichen – Hoffnung und

Veränderungen, die seine Wähler erwarten, Multilateralismus statt

Unilateralismus, Konzillianz statt missionarischen Druck.

Der neue Ministerpräsident Japans, Hatoyama, stellte infolge

vorgenommener Verlegung amerikanischer Truppen in Japan

das bestehende Bündnis mit den USA in Frage. Japan wird

zukünftig nicht mehr US-Kriegsschiffe betanken. Japan lehnt

auch die us-amerikanischen Vorschläge zur Klimakonferenz ab.

Chinas Präsident Hu Jintao ist in keiner einzigen Punkt Obamas

auf die USA eingegangen. Weder zur Frage der iranischen Atombombe,

den Drohungen Nordkoreas gegen die USA, oder hinsichtlich der

riesigen chinesischen Dollarreserven erreichte Obama etwas.

Das diktatorische China will bei den Importen aus USA selbst

die Preise beeinflussen. China will auch zukünftig den US-Markt

für die chinesischen Exporte nutzen und nimmt deshalb inkauf,

den inflationären Dollar zu stützen, damit die eigenen Handelsüberschüsse

und amerikanischen Schatzpapiere nicht gefährdet werden.

Rechtsstaatlichkeit, Bürgerrechte und sonstige piratenpolitischen

Werte sind in China nicht gefragt. Die politischen Differenzen

zwischen CHINA und den PIRATEN sind punkto staatliche

Repression und Willkür als Herrschaftsinstrumente groß.

Weiterhin hält China die Yüan-Währung unterbewertet und

beklagte gebetsmühlenhaft den Protektionismus der westlichen

Handelspartner. Bei der Pressekonferenz in Peking durften die

Journalisten Obama keine Fragen stellen. Obamistan blickt auf

den Pazifik, kann aber auf Asean als Ordnungsmacht keine

Akzente setzen. Obama muss die wirtschaftich gestärkten

Schwellenländer China, Indien und Brasilien zukünftig als

strategische Mitspieler, besser noch als Partner behandeln.

Als letzte Station besuchte Obama, Südkorea, wo er eine gewisse

Rivalität mit China anklingen ließ. Die EU und Deutschland hängen

finanzpolitisch, wirtschaftlich und militärisch mit den USA eng zusammen,

ja, wenn nicht von Abhängigkeit gesprochen werden soll. Es gibt

grundsätzlich eine Wertegemeinschaft, die aber kollossal einseitig

ausgelegt wird. Entwicklungssoziologisch müssen die USA und

Europa im Dialog bleiben. Die europäische Vielfalt und die

amerikanische Selbstgenügsamkeit stehen dem entgegen.

Die Leipziger Volkszeitung ist eine Bildzeitung, die selbst

auf dem Titel keinerlei weltpolitische Themen führt. Auch zum

Thema Massendatenspeicherung und Überwachungsstaat gereichte

der Kreditkartenskandal für die Leipziger Volkszeitung vom Wochenende

nicht aus, ein Piratenthema kritisch zu beleuchten.

Produktion, Performance, Autor, Direktion: Dr. Dietmar Moews;

Aufnahmetechnik und Admin: Piratencrew Berlin;

Musik: 8 days the beads zum Mp3-Download von dietmarmoews.com

Bangkok, 25 November 2009
ASEAN, in partnership with the UN and humanitarian partners, mobilised over US$ 88 million to assist Cyclone Nargis survivors with recovery activities at the Post-Nargis and Regional Partnership Conference in Bangkok today.
The conference – co-chaired by Dr Surin Pitsuwan, Secretary-General of ASEAN and Dr Noeleen Heyzer, Under Secretary General of the United Nations and Executive Secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) – aimed to raise funds to address critical needs for the continuing reconstruction in cyclone affected areas.

“While much has been done, there are many affected communities across the Delta who are still highly vulnerable and require urgent continued humanitarian assistance, especially in the areas of shelter, livelihoods, water, sanitation and hygiene, education and health,” said Dr Surin Pitsuwan in his opening statement. “If support is not forthcoming soon, gains made over the past 18 months will be quickly lost, and the window to provide timely assistance will close.”

Dr Noeleen Heyzer also called for increased funds for recovery activities in her statement.

“Today, we are in danger of falling short of our promise to the people of the Ayeyarwady Delta. International support for the post-Nargis recovery effort has helped open an extraordinary window of opportunity for the international humanitarian community to work with ASEAN and the Government of Myanmar,” Dr Heyzer said. “However, so far only a small portion of the total appeal for humanitarian assistance has been met by the international community. If we are to continue our work for the victims of Cyclone Nargis, additional resources are urgently needed.” Cyclone Nargis struck Myanmar on 2 and 3 May 2008, causing catastrophic destruction and at least 140,000 fatalities. Damages were estimated at over US$4 billion, which made it the most damaging cyclone ever recorded in the region.

At the conference today, the donor community pledged an approximate total of $88 million, over 85% of the $103 million appeal. Pledges came from Australia, Denmark, Germany, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, the Netherlands, the European Commission, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, the United Kingdom and the United States, amongst others.

The contribution will be used towards the provision of 17,800 new houses, 40 new schools, 16 cyclone shelters, livelihood programs for 1 million people, water and sanitation facilities for 800,000 people, education facilities to 35,000 students and health services to 900,000 individuals as mapped out in the Prioritised Action Plan of the Post-Nargis Recovery and Preparedness Plan (PONREPP).

“I wish to express on behalf of the affected people, our heartfelt thanks to the governments and peoples of all countries and organisations who have contributed towards Nargis relief and recovery, and for their continued generosity and kind assistance,” said U Kyaw Thu, Chairman of the Civil Service Selection and Training Board and Chairman of the Tripartite Core Group. He went on to request all humanitarian donors to continue to prioritise the recovery efforts according to the PONREPP Action Plan.

The conference was attended by around 140 participants, including representatives of ASEAN Members States, heads of diplomatic missions, UN agencies and national and non-governmental organisations.

————————–

Contact details:

Mai Phuong Tang
Communications Officer, ASEAN Humanitarian Task Force
Coordinating Office in Yangon
Tel: +951 544500 Ext. 428
mai.aseanhtf@gmail.com