US 'careful' on easing investment ban in Myanmar
WASHINGTON – The U.S. said Wednesday it will ease its investment ban in Myanmar carefully, noting that recent democratic reforms are reversible and deplorable rights violations persist.
Kurt Campbell, the top diplomat for East Asia, also said in testimony to a congressional foreign affairs panel that the U.S. remains troubled by Myanmar's military trade with North Korea.
His cautious comments come as human rights groups voice increasing concern that the U.S., European Union and other nations are moving too fast to relax economic sanctions to reward Myanmar's shift from five decades of authoritarian rule.
Rep. Donald Manzullo, R-Ill., the panel chairman, said there is still no rule of law in the country also known as Burma, and corrupt officials and the military stand to reap a windfall from the country's rich natural resources.
"Have our European and Asian allies gone too far by rushing headlong into suspending all sanctions and immediately boosting assistance?" Manzullo told the hearing of the committee that oversees U.S. policy in Asia and the Pacific. He cautioned that a "reckless" lifting of U.S. sanctions could feed the cycle of corruption.
The EU this week suspended its economic sanctions, and Japan said it would forgive $3.7 billion in Myanmar's debt following recent special elections that saw democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi's party sweep most of the contested seats. The U.S. has said it will allow export of financial services and American investment in some sectors of the impoverished economy — such as agriculture and telecommunications — but has yet to announce details.
Campbell described the Myanmar's political opening as "real and significant" but "fragile and reversible." In his testimony he credited economic reforms and said the government has doubled spending on education and quadrupled it on health, but military spending, at 16.5 percent of the total budget, remains "grossly disproportionate."
He noted fighting and reports of severe rights violations in the northern Kachin State — scene of one of Myanmar's most entrenched ethnic insurgencies — and "deplorable" discrimination against ethnic Rohingyas in the western Rakhine State. He said that despite the releases of more than 500 political prisoners by Myanmar authorities since last October, at least several hundred are still behind bars.
Aung Din, of the U.S. Campaign for Burma, alleged that arbitrary detention and torture continues, and questioned the significance of recent political reforms.
Although Suu Kyi's party won all but two of the seats in the recent special elections, it still has less than 7 percent representation in parliament. He said the quick easing of sanctions by the U.S. and other nations meant that "the Burmese government led by President Thein Sein is the real winner" of the vote.
In his prepared testimony, Aung Din complained that U.S. officials had failed to consult with veteran student protest leaders, leaders of Suu Kyi's party and ethnic minorities before announcing its the targeted easing of bans on investment and financial services.
Campbell said the State Department would proceed "in a careful manner" on easing the sanctions, and would work with the Treasury Department to re-examine and refresh its list of sanctioned Myanmar nationals — principally military officials and their associates.
The U.S. has consulted closely with Suu Kyi, who is widely admired in Congress, as it has engaged with Thein Sein's government, lending bilateral support for its shift from diplomatic isolation of Myanmar. Suu Kyi also endorsed the EU's move to suspend its economic sanctions for a year.


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Govt relaxes NGO registration process

THE government plans to amend a law concerning the registration of local and international non-government organisations, a presidential adviser revealed last week.

“The current law for [registration of] NGOs will be amended following a proposal from a member of parliament,” adviser Dr Nay Zin Latt said last week. “The government wants to increase cooperation with NGOs … [and] intends to loosen restrictions gradually.”

The amendments come after the government cut the waiting time for registration and also extended the length of validity for registration.

The change in policy came about in 2011 after the handover to President U Thein Sein’s government and by the end of the year 280 domestic groups had registered, according to Ministry of Home Affairs statistics. However, that still represents just a small percentage of the total number of non-government groups, which is estimated at about 20,000.

“We had to wait for two years for our application to register to be approved,” said U Nay Myo from Ratana Metta Organisation, which focuses on health, child protection and livelihoods and was officially registered in March 2011. “And we still had to promise to do only social affairs.”

Among the more high-profile organisations to be able to register is the Free Funeral Service Society, led by actor Kyaw Thu. The group, which formed in 2000, had its registration revoked in 2008 after a dispute with the government but it was reinstated last month with a validity period of five years, Kyaw Thu told The Myanmar Times.

However, he said the K500,000 (about US$600) registration fee was “unfair”.

“For small organisations, how they can afford this amount? Social welfare work is not a business. Instead of having to pay this fee it would be more beneficial to use this amount to improve people’s health and education,” he added.

Despite the relaxation of the registration process, many local organisations, particularly smaller informal groups, are still not interested in applying to register, said Dr Sid Naing, country director for Marie Stopes International.

“According to the Law of Founding an Organisation, all organisations must register but the law did not come into effect until 2006,” he said. “The former government only gave a registration number to the organisations that it trusted.

“After Cyclone Nargis in 2008, the number of local NGOs rose dramatically. While some of these organisations are officially registered with the government, many are not.”

However, those that operate without official registration can face difficulties, particularly from local officials.

“We had some problem when we went in the wards. The authorities asked our team, do we have an official registration number? If we haven’t, they said only to come back and do our welfare work when we have one,” said U Kyaw Thain Tun, head of Ratna Mahal, a Yangon-based education organisation that formed in 2009.

“We applied to register officially in August 2011 and I hope to get a registration number when I go to the Home Affairs Ministry office in Nay Pyi Taw next month.”

U Myo Yan Naung Thein, director of the Bayda Institute, a political education training centre based in Yangon, said the restrictions on political activities in the current law should be removed.

“It is not fair that NGOs are unable to join political movements. This meant that during the Myitsone Dam affair some environmental NGOs did not participate,” he said. “If NGOs are able to operate freely it will improve the democratic reforms in Myanmar.

“I want to apply to register our organisation because I want to work according to the law but we cannot do so under these restrictions … I would like to suggest to the government that the 1988 registration law is too restrictive and the government should create a new law that is very free and fair.”
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Energy is an essential for development. Burma must work to ensure providing sufficient electricity and gas for all the citizens of Burma.
http://www.bdcburma.org

Urgent help needed for Burma

These are the most basic needs which is urgent and most directly benefitting the people's daily lives.

(1) Electricity - (We are now living in the stone age with no electricity ironically we have full resources and people are not getting it )
(2) Communications - internet etc..
(3) Transportation

Photo: BAYDA Institute teaching political sciences subjects with no electricity ေဗဒါေက်ာင္းမီးမရွိပဲစာသင္ရပါသည္

We need to give priority to agricultural investments that support the infrastructure and input requirements of sustainable family farming

We need resources from agricultural investments to improve the effectiveness, capacities and capabilities of the organisations and networks at all levels to be able to develop, promote and defend family farming, sustainable food systems and food sovereignty:

We need to realise a common approach in the face of harmful agricultural investments that are capturing productive resources, imposing industrial models of production, and implementing policies, strategies and research and other programmes that undermine local food systems.

We need to Increase the knowledge at all levels including individual famers’ organisations to national platforms and the regional and continental networks about the CFS (UN Committee on world
Food Security) and CSM (Committee on World Food Security) process
http://www.bdcburma.org

Burma Democratic Concern (BDCs) warmly welcome US Government Easing Sanctions on Burma: http://ping.fm/E4zE5

Burma’s transition away from military rule continues
Elections sweep Aung San Suu Kyi into parliament
by Brendan Brady on Monday, April 2, 2012 11:31am - 0 Comments

Khin Maung Win/AP
Update: Aung Sun Suu Kyi’s party won 40 of 45 seats in Burma’s by-elections on Sunday

The sun-baked dirt road was already chock full of chanting supporters when Phyu Phyu Thinn emerged from her headquarters in downtown Rangoon. They had been waiting for hours in the sweltering heat to catch a glimpse of the politician, whom they hurriedly pursued on foot after she was whisked away in an open-top vehicle. The size and furious energy of the crowd were startling sights in Burma, where stultifying and violent military rule has long suppressed public expressions of support for figures outside the ruling clique. The last time the streets of Rangoon rang with calls for political change, in 2007, soldiers gunned down scores of protesters and detained thousands more.

“We have been living in fear for a long time,” Thinn, 40, who is the country’s leading HIV activist and has served multiple stints in prison for participating in protests, told an attentive audience packed inside a Buddhist temple. “But times have changed. We should not be afraid anymore.” It is a hopeful message that Thinn and her fellow National League for Democracy (NLD) member, Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, 66, have balanced with caution as they run in parliamentary by-elections on April 1; they will mark their party’s return to electoral politics after being sidelined for over two decades.

Burma’s transition away from military rule had an inauspicious start. In November 2010, the army held a national election that was widely seen as a ploy by the junta to rule through plainclothes proxies in order to rehabilitate the country’s image and end Western-imposed economic sanctions. The army-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) was dominated by former military officers who used their patronage networks to steamroll threadbare competition: many of the NLD’s leading politicians were in jail or barred from participating. Suu Kyi was released from years of house arrest only after the vote. For good measure, the 2008 constitution reserved a quarter of all parliamentary seats and control of key ministries for the army. With its hands tied, the NLD decided to boycott the election and expressed little faith in the new regime.

But a breathtaking series of reforms over the past year has transformed the substance and tone of the power handover, lifting the climate of fear that long gripped the country and paving the way for the first steps of a democratic system to gain traction. Since taking the reins in March of last year, President U Thein Sein, a retired general, has emerged as an unlikely reformer—“Burma’s Gorbachev,” as some analysts have dubbed him. The government released hundreds of political prisoners, allowed citizens to form unions and hold public protests, relaxed media controls and attempted to de-escalate fighting with ethnic separatist armies. Thein Sein has made overtures to Suu Kyi—when the army ruled, its generals made every attempt to denigrate her—and when he addressed parliament this month, he even criticized the past leadership: “Our people suffered under various governments and different systems,” he said. “The people will judge our government based on its actual achievements.”

Thinn, the HIV activist, has been tirelessly delivering speeches and receiving garlands and warm wishes from ecstatic supporters. And in the few moments when she rests, her party’s chief symbols—Suu Kyi and the NLD’s red flag emblazoned with a peacock and star—continue to circulate the city on T-shirts, taxis and pushcarts. A year ago, such public displays of devotion to the “The Lady,” as Suu Kyi is known, were grounds for arrest. Today, NLD supporters are not losing the chance to voice their opinions. “Do you know who that is?” an exuberant commuter walking past a poster of Suu Kyi asked without leaving time for an answer. “She is our leader.”

Such optimism is curbed, however, by questions about whether the army and the party it supports will play fair and allow further reform after the election. The NLD has accused the governing party of fabricating voter rosters and vote-buying. Fears remain of backlash from hard-line elements who might be tempted to sideline Thein Sein and other reform-minded leaders before their authority is consolidated. “We must be very careful in every step we make,” said Myo Yan Naung Thein, a formerly imprisoned political activist who last year founded the Bayda Institute, an NGO that promotes awareness about democratic systems of government. “We must not show any sign that we are a threat.” And though the president has pledged to pursue ceasefires and lasting peace, the state army continues campaigns against ethnic armies that exact devastating tolls: soldiers continue to fire on civilians, rape women and conscript children as porters in front-line fighting, according to a report released by Human Rights Watch in March.

If voted in, celebrated figures like Thinn and Suu Kyi also risk their reputations by joining a government that fails to provide basic public services, suffers from rampant corruption and has driven the national economy into the ground through mismanagement. Good intentions cannot turn around decades of neglect that have left most Burmese to survive on a few dollars a day. Asked by an audience member after her speech how she would resolve shortages of clean water and electricity, Thinn’s response that, if elected, she would raise the issue in parliament did not leave listeners as inspired as did the initial impact of her reputation and fresh face.

The 48 seats to be contested on Sunday are just a fraction of the parliament’s total of more than 650. “Ultimate power still rests with the army, so until we have the army solidly behind the process of democratization we cannot say that we have got to a point where there will be no danger of a U-turn,” Suu Kyi, whose view of the reform is being used by Western governments to judge whether sanctions should be dropped, told an audience at Ottawa’s Carleton University last month via video link. But that hasn’t stopped some NLD supporters from seeing the April 1 vote as a precursor to a much larger moment. The current cover of The People’s Age, a Burmese weekly newspaper, shows voters nervously standing at the edge of a cliff with a ballot box acting as a bridge. Lying on the other side of the divide is a sign reading “2015”—the year of the next general election.

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Generalplan og folkevår
Publisert I går kl. 11:35 - 9666 visninger Innlegg
Det som nå skjer i Myanmar er en leksjon i politisk ­strategi ovenfra. Men også i folkelig styrke nedenfra.

YANGON (Dagsavisen): Det har gjort inntrykk å stå blant tusenvis av ekstatiske burmesere, som i sentrum av millionbyen Yangon og langs støvete landsbyveier jublet over at de for første gang er på vei mot noe som minner om et fritt samfunn, der de selv får bestemme hvem som skal styre landet deres.

Fortsatt er det langt igjen, og det er nå det virkelig blir krevende. Nå skal Aung San Suu Kyi og hennes parti være med å ta ansvar for å løse landets etniske konflikter og økonomiske utfordringer – og samtidig skape et demokrati. Men hvis NLD virkelig har vunnet rundt 40 av de 44 kretsene de stilte i (slik de selv hevdet i går), og de militære virkelig lar seieren forbli så total når de offisielle resultatene kommer, ja da har dette landet i det minste tatt et viktig steg framover langs veien mot demokrati.

Det har også gjort inntrykk å høre de mange stillferdige fortellingene fra aktivister som i tiår har kjempet mot militærdiktaturet, men nå samarbeider med det. Da han var ung studentaktivist, drømte Myo Yan Naung Thein om å bli selvmordsbomber. Hvis han bare kunne sprenge generalene i lufta, ville framtida bli bedre for landet hans. Etter å ha sittet ti år i fengsel, hvor armene hans ble svidd med fyrstikker og stukket med nåler mens han var bakbundet, var drømmen borte. Nå støtter han samarbeid og forsoning. «Vi må la generalene beholde overtaket. Bare slik kan vi få forandring», sa han til meg.

En kan lese dette som resignasjon, som å bli torturert til underkastelse. Etter å ha snakket med mange av disse aktivistene, framstår det for meg som noe mer. En imponerende pragmatisk og målrettet kamp som over tid kan vise seg å gi større resultater enn væpnet opprør.
Det som har skjedd i Myanmar (Burma) de siste månedene, og som toppet seg med søndagens valg, er på ett plan en styrt revolusjon ovenfra. En nøye uttenkt plan der generalene bruker valg og ytringsfrihet som redskaper for å sikre sin makt og sine økonomiske goder. En ny grunnlov er laget som sikrer immunitet og fortsatt innflytelse i parlamentet. Store rikdommer er privatisert. Forsiktig demokratisering sikrer at folket ikke gjør opprør på ny. Nå mangler det bare at sanksjonene skal bli borte så generalene kan skaffe seg en motvekt i Vesten mot Kinas stadig økende innflytelse over landet.

I dette perspektivet er det som skjer i Myanmar det motsatte av hva som har skjedd i Midtøsten de siste månedene. Det kan faktisk godt være at en styrt demokratisering ovenfra vil vise seg å være mer bærekraftig enn opprør nedenfra som presser generalene mot veggen. Myanmar ser ut til å være i en bedre posisjon enn Egypt for øyeblikket, både for generalene og folket.

Men det er ikke gitt at alt skjer etter en nøye uttenkt plan. Flere peker på at munkeopprøret, syklonen Nargis og den arabiske våren alle har presset fram endringer. Hendelsene har tatt hverandre, og skapt en bevegelse som har gått fortere enn noen hadde ventet. Slik kan det fortsette. Noe av det mest slående med å være i Yangon i én uke, var å merke hvordan alle snakket uten frykt, fra taxisjåfører til studentaktivister. Slik var det ikke for ett år siden, sier alle jeg har snakket med. Når frykten først slipper taket, er det ikke gitt at generalene kan fortsette å kontrollere utviklingen slik de har gjort hittil. Det snakkes allerede om at parlamentarikere både fra militærets parti og militærets utvalgte kvote ønsker å slutte seg til vinnerlaget og Aung San Suu Kyis parti.

Dette vil neppe skje over natta. Kanskje vil det ta flere år. Flere i Yangon peker på andre asiatiske lands overgang fra militærstyre til demokrati som modell. Både i Sør-Korea og Indonesia tok det mange år før de militæres innflytelse over politikken ble svekket.

Men selv om utviklingen i Myanmar er styrt ovenfra, har den også kommet etter mange års press nedenfra. Folk demonstrerte i gatene i 1988, 1996 og 2007. Hver gang uten vold, selv om regimet svarte med våpen. Aung San Suu Kyi har vært en sterk bærer av denne ikkevoldslinjen, en moralsk posisjon og politisk strategi som de siste årene har veltet diktatorer fra Serbia og Georgia til Tunisia og Egypt. Den amerikanske ikkevoldstenkeren Gene Sharps tekster er blitt kjent etter den arabiske våren. Sharp beskriver i boka «From dictatorship to democracy» hvordan man konkret kan kaste diktaturer gjennom målrettet, ikkevoldelig motstand. Boka ble brukt på Tahrirplassen. Men ble skrevet i Myanmar, der Sharp var rådgiver for studentaktivistene etter at de hadde rømt fra regimet i 1988. Slik er ikke Myanmar og arabervåren bare motstykker, men også beslektede fenomener.

Publisert i Dagsavisens papirutgave samme dag.
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Burma Democratic Concern (BDC) don’t want to hurt the livelihood of the ordinary people of Burma whom are suffering from reputation risk. Burma Democratic Concern (BDC) opposes anything hurting people. www.bdcburma.org

Burma Democratic Concern is on the way to support the Kachin organisation's demonstration today in London.

BURMA: LET’S STAND UP TOGETHER FOR OUR MOTHERLAND http://ow.ly/9PThl

Education starts at home and we truly believe that it is the essential part of the nation building process to educate families with parenting skills, child development and nurturing children.

Since Buddhist monasteries and Buddhist monks are essential vital part of the Burmese society and accordingly Burma must work to promote monastery education and support the welfare of the Buddhist monks.

Burma must work to ensure promoting religious freedom in Burma while Burma must have a commission which oversee the protection and promotion of (ethnics) minority rights i.e. maintaining heritage, religion, language, culture, food, writing, music and environment etc. (http://ping.fm/5GhnA)

Corruptions in Burma

Burma Democratic Concern (BDC) ၏ႏွစ္ပတ္လည္ အခမ္းအနားႏွင့္ ဆြမ္းေၾကြးအစီအစဥ္

ေလးစားအပ္ပါေသာလူၾကီးမင္းမ်ားရွင္႕

ေတာ္လွန္ေရးေန႕အထိမ္းအမွတ္၊ကိုမ်ိဳးရန္ေနာင္သိန္း၏ေမြးေန႕၊ Burma Democratic Concern (BDC) ၏ႏွစ္ပတ္လည္ အခမ္းအနားႏွင့္ ဆြမ္းေၾကြးအစီအစဥ္ကို ၂၀၁၂ မတ္လ၂၅ရက္ေန႕တြင္က်င္းပျပဳလုပ္မည္ျဖစ္သည့္အတြက္ မိတ္ေဆြအေပါင္းအားႂကြေရာက္ပါရန္ခင္မင္ေလးစားစြာဖိတ္ၾကားအပ္ပါသည္။

အခ်ိန္။ ။မနက္၁၀နာရီမွ၆နာရီထိ

ေနရာ။ ။ေကာလင္းေဒးဘုန္းၾကီးေက်ာင္း၊( လန္ဒန္)။

လိပ္စာ။ ။ 83 Booth Road, Colindale, NW9 5JU, London, United Kingdom

ဆက္သြယ္ရန္။ ။ မ်ိဳးသိမ္း ( ဖုံး။၀၇၈၇၇၈၈၂၃၈၆ )

ဥမၼာဦး ( ဖုံး။၀၇၇၂၇၂၃၆၄၁၉ )

ထိန္လင္း ( ဖုံး။၀၇၈၃၈၅၈၉၇၁၄ )

ခ်ိဳဇင္လတ္( ဖုံး။၀၇၄၁၁၉၃၅၀၇၅ )

Dear Friends,

Re: Inviting the Celebration of Burma Resistance Day, Burma Democratic Concern (BDC) Founding Anniversary & Ko Myo Yan Naung Thein's Birthday

Warm greeting to you all! I hope you all are well. I'm writing this letter to invite you all that Burma Democratic Concern (BDC) will be celebrating anniversary of Burma’s Resistance Day, anniversary of Burma Democratic Concern (BDC) founding ceremony and Ko Myo Yan Naung Thein’s Birthday on 25th March 2012 (Sunday) from 10:00 to 18:00 at The SASANA RAMSI VIHARA (Colindale Buddhist Monastery) 83 Booth Road, Colindale, NW9 5JU, London, United Kingdom http://www.sasanaramsiuk.org/eng/contact-us/

Date: 25 March 2012 (Sunday)

Time: 10:00 – 18:00

Place: The SASANA RAMSI VIHARA (Colindale Buddhist Monastery)

Address: 83 Booth Road, Colindale, NW9 5JU, London, United Kingdom

For more information please contact us at

Ko Myo Thein, myothein19@gmail.com, 07877882386, 07402859528

Ma Ohnmar Oo, shinminoo@gmail.com, 07727236419, 02084939137

Ko Htein Lin, linhtein000@gmail.com, 07838589714

Ma Cho Zin Latt, m.fransic09@gmail.com, 07411935075

You can also contact us on face book group at Burma Democratic Concern (BDC) at http://www.facebook.com/groups/30683651648/

Thank you very much and looking forward to see you all.

Yours faithfully,

Burma Democratic Concern (BDC)

@ To restore Democracy, Human Rights and Rule of Law in Burma

http://www.bdcburma.org/
http://bdcburma.wordpress.com/
http://bdc-burma.blogspot.com/
http://twitter.com/bdcburma
http://www.youtube.com/user/bdcburma
http://www.facebook.com/groups/30683651648/
http://www.sasanaramsiuk.org/eng/contact-us/
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Myo-Yan-Naung-Thein/34751114240

Burma must educate her citizens of their rights, responsibilities and necessity of taking responsibilities in order to lay the concrete democratic foundation for future generations of Burma bearing in mind that Burma has gone through nearly half the century of successive various dictatorships and military dictatorships together with armed conflicts. http://www.bdcburma.org

Burma Democratic Concern (BDC) truly believes that it must be one of our primary tasks to educate our children with knowledge, technology and employable skills while ensures teaching humanitarian caring, humanity values and human development.

Burma must build the society of tolerance. To meet that end Burma must work to prosper the culture of dialogue, research, reasoning, question mark, freedom from fear, boosting self-confident and nurturing positive attitude in Burma.

သူငယ္ခ်င္းတို့ေရ၂၄ ႏွစ္ေျမာက္ ကိုဘုန္းေမာ္က်ဆံုးျခင္း ( ျမန္မာျပည္ လူ႕အခြင္႕ေရးေန႕ ) အထိမ္းအမွတ္ ဆႏၵျပပြဲကို Burma Democratic Concern ( BDC) မွ ၾကီးမွဴး၍က်င္းပျပဳလုပ္မည္ျဖစ္ပါ၍ တက္ေရာက္ၾကပါရန္ ေလးစားစြာ ဖိတ္ၾကားအပ္ပါသည္။ ရက္စြဲ။ ။ ၁၃၊ ၀၃၊ ၂၀၁၂။ ( အဂၤါေန႕)

အခ်ိန္။ ။ ၁၂း၃၀ မွ ၁၃း၃၀။

ေနရာ။ ။ ျမန္မာသံရံုးေရွ႕။

19A Charles Street Mayfair, London W1J 5DX
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Burma Democratic Concern (BDC) is organising the Burma’s Human Rights Day Demonstration on 13 March 2012 from 12:30-13:30 in front of the Burmese embassy in London, UK.

Burma’s Human Rights Day

Last 23 years ago, Burmese people spearheaded by the young students showed their bravery calling for change so as to restore democracy and human rights in Burma. The then military dictator General Ne Win responded by opening fire on unarmed peaceful protesters killing thousands. Phone Maw is one of the very first students who died for the country defying military suppressions which trigger nation-wide mass uprising resulting in successfully toppling three decades long one-party dictatorship in Burma. During the mass uprising, thousands of people died as the result of violent military crack-down. Since then, Burma democracy movement has been honouring Phone Maw and fallen heroes on every March 13, as the Burma’s Human Rights Day.

၂၄ ႏွစ္ေျမာက္ ကိုဘုန္းေမာ္က်ဆံုးျခင္း ( ျမန္မာျပည္ လူ႕အခြင္႕ေရးေန႕ ) အထိမ္းအမွတ္ ဆႏၵျပပြဲ

Burma Democratic Concern ( BDC) မွ ၾကီးမွဴး၍ ကိုဘုန္းေမာ္က်ဆံုးျခင္း ( ျမန္မာျပည္ လူ႕အခြင္႕ေရးေန႕) ဆႏၵျပပြဲကို က်င္းပျပဳလုပ္မည္ျဖစ္ပါ၍ တက္ေရာက္ၾကပါရန္ ေလးစားစြာ ဖိတ္ၾကားအပ္ပါသည္။

၁။ ျမန္မာျပည္တြင္း ဒီမိုကေရစီႏွင္႕ လူ႕အခြင္႕ေရး အျပည္႕အဝရရိွေရး။

၂။ ဘက္မလိုက္ေသာ တရားဥပေဒစိုးမိုးမႈ႕ရွိေရး။

၃။ ျပည္တြင္း NLD စာရင္းအရ က်န္ရိွေနေသးေသာ ႏုိင္ငံေရးအက်ဥ္းသားအားလံုး ခၽြင္းခ်က္မရိွ လြတ္ေပးေရး။

၄။ လြတ္လပ္ျပီး တရားမွ်တေသာ ၾကားျဖတ္ေရြးေကာက္ပြဲ က်င္းပေပးေရး။

၅။ ျမန္မာျပည္တြင္း၌ သမဂၢမ်ား လူ႕မူ႕ေရး အသင္းအဖြဲ႕အစည္းမ်ား တရားဝင္ လြတ္လပ္စြာ ဖြင္႕ခြင္႕ျပဳေရး။

၆။ လြတ္ေျမာက္လာေသာ ႏိုင္ငံေရး အက်ဥ္းသားအားလံုးကို ခၽြင္းခ်က္မရိွ ႏိုင္ငံကူးလတ္မွတ္ထုတ္ေပးေရး ႏွင္႕ လြတ္လပ္စြာ သြားလာစည္းရံုးခြင္႕ျပဳေရး။

ရက္စြဲ။ ။ ၁၃၊ ၀၃၊ ၂၀၁၂။ ( အဂၤါေန႕)

အခ်ိန္။ ။ ၁၂း၃၀ မွ ၁၃း၃၀။

ေနရာ။ ။ ျမန္မာသံရံုးေရွ႕။

19A Charles Street Mayfair, London W1J 5DX
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Freed Myanmar Activist Considers Reconciliation
March 5, 2012, 5:46pm
YANGON, (AFP) - For veteran dissident Ko Ko Gyi, freedom after almost two decades behind bars has brought guarded optimism about Myanmar's future, and no thoughts of revenge against the regime.

The former student activist, one of hundreds of political prisoners released in January in the country formerly known as Burma, said that he was ready for reconciliation if the quasi-civilian government continues its reforms.

''We had a bitter experience for a very long time, but we can forgive, not only myself, but also my comrades,'' he told AFP in an interview.

''We do not want to dwell on the past, but instead face the brighter future... It is not going to be easy to forget, and we say that if we have to engage in politics the time is now, not in the past.''

Ko Ko Gyi said he and other prominent former student leaders who were at the vanguard of a failed 1988 uprising would give their full support to opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who is standing for a seat in parliament for the first time in April 1 by-elections, as well as to a new generation of activists.

''There is now a change of guard on the streets from us to the younger generation,'' he said.

''I am now 50 for example. I am now more engaged in politics in this democratic space, but we welcome the involvement of more and more younger students to this cause.''

He said his group would engage with civil society and pointed to the government's decision last year to halt a Chinese-backed mega-dam in response to public opposition as an example of the potential of people power.

But more than a month after he was freed along with hundreds of other political detainees, Ko Ko Gyi said he had yet to enjoy true liberty.

''Freedom? There is no new freedom. Sometimes they are still watching,'' he said at his home in Yangon, referring to intelligence agents in civilian clothes he believes have been assigned to watch him.

'I still hear the clanging of cell doors'

Ko Ko Gyi lost the best years of his youth in jail, and has seen many of his fellow activists succumb to both physical and mental torture.

He hides his pain beneath an easy smile and a piercing set of eyes that quickly spot even the smallest of movements, a typical trait among those who have spent many years in detention.

''The images still reflect in my mind. I hear prison voices in my head, and I still hear the clanging of cell doors in the morning and in the evening,'' he said.

As vice-president of the All Burma Federation of Student Unions, Ko Ko Gyi was one of the most prominent activists who stood up to the junta in 1988.

The military brutally crushed the peaceful protests, leaving thousands of people dead.

Ko Ko Gyi was detained for 44 days the following year for his role in the rallies. He was arrested again in 1991 for his activism and sentenced to two decades in jail with hard labour.

He was released after more than 13 years behind bars, but was detained again in 2007 for supporting the ''Saffron Revolution'' monk-led protests the same year, which also triggered a bloody military crackdown.

Fellow student leader Min Ko Naing, who headed the All Burma Federation of Student Unions, was jailed for 16 years over the 1988 protests. He was also arrested in 2007 and freed in January this year.

'I lost my youth'

Ko Ko Gyi said he and his colleagues were routinely tortured, but what hurt more was not knowing when he would see his family and friends again, and watching fellow activists lose their minds while in prison.

His parents died one after the other while he was locked up, leaving his younger brother to support the family financially while he languished in jail.

''I am single. I have never married because there was no time to find a suitable partner or to get married. I lost my youth,'' he said.

Ko Ko Gyi said compared with many of those imprisoned for criminal offences, the political detainees were closely watched and were allowed fewer visitors.

But as Myanmar faced tighter international scrutiny over its tentative steps towards reforms, his jailers allowed small concessions, including access to books.

''Inside, my companions were Gandhi and Mandela,'' Ko Ko Gyi confided, referring to former South African president and anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela and Indian pacifist Mahatma Gandhi.

When he was much younger Ko Ko Gyi was impressed by Cuba's Fidel Castro and his rebellion launched with only 12 rifles, though he said his own experience had taught him to be more pragmatic.

The release of Ko Ko Gyi and other political prisoners is part of a raft of reforms by the regime that has included allowing Aung San Suu Kyi and her party to return to mainstream politics and giving more freedom to the media.

He said that while the number of seats at stake in the April polls, 48, was not enough to change the balance of power in parliament, Aung San Suu Kyi's inclusion -- if she wins a seat as widely expected -- would be significant.

''Aung San Suu Kyi's voice is not the same as the others. It carries a heavier weight... So we believe she can represent in the parliament on behalf of the democratic groups.''

Ko Ko Gyi feels that while change is in the air, the reforms have yet to be felt by ordinary people, and are in part driven by a desire by the regime to improve ties with the West and attract more investment and tourists.

''When I was freed from prison in January, there were so many flash bulbs and so many young journalists who surrounded us. This was a strange situation, and I have never been used to being exposed. So yes, there are some changes instituted that we need to recognise,'' he said.

''But more needs to be done. There is simply no other choice,'' he said, as three police officers walked slowly in front of his house.

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‎"Poor people can imagine what it's like to be rich, but the rich can't imagine what it's like to be poor"

When we consider about development and change, we should aimed at meeting the basic needs of the poorest first in Burma. We need to start thinking about the people who are struggling day to day for the survival. Only when these people developed in skills and have equal rights to access like others, then we can really see the progress of the country.
http://www.bdcburma.org

Burma: We are with exploited strike workers of Tai Yi (BST)

22 Feb 2012

Burma Democratic Concern (BDC) sends our solidarity with strike workers of Tai Yi shoe factory of Burma who are peacefully demanding to have fare pay, better employee rights and better working condition. We are with the strike workers of Tai Yi of Burma.

We are very sad to learn that the workers from Chinese Owned Tai Yi shoe factory which is located in Hlaing Thar Yar Industrial Zone in Rangoon, Burma are mostly rural women who are just asking for 150 kyat (19 cents) per hour from 75 kyat (less that 10 US cents) an hour. The workers got to work at least 50 hours a week but they are struggling to survive day in and day out due to low wages since they only make around 60,000 kyat ($75) a month including overtime.

Burma Democratic Concern (BDC) would like to urge Burmese government, International Labour Organisation (ILO) and all the citizens of Burma to lend your support for the exploited strike workers of Tai Yi shoe factory of Burma.

Tai Yi shoe factory workers’ strike of Burma highlight the urgent need of the establishment of labour unions, flourishing labour rights and enforcing fair labour laws.

For more information please contact Burma Democratic Concern (BDC) at

U Myo Thein [United Kingdom]
Director, Burma Democratic Concern (BDC)
Phone: 00-44-208-493-9137, 00-44-787- 788-2386

U Khin Maung Win [United States]
Director, Burma Democratic Concern (BDC)
Phone: 001-941-961-2622

Daw Khin Aye Aye Mar [United States]
Patron, Burma Democratic Concern (BDC)
Phone: 001 509-783-7223

U Tint Swe Thiha [United States]
Patron, Burma Democratic Concern (BDC)
Phone: 001-509-582-3261, 001-509-591-8459

昂山素季的国度
不知此景是否让昂山素季想起牛津的夏末野餐，在离开英国23年以后，这并非常见的场合。仅仅在一年多以前，这还是一块外人不得踏足的禁地，而当时处于软禁中的昂山素季，仍是这个国家最大的敏感词。有一段时间，军政府甚至不允许人民说出“素季”这个名字，于是人民就改口尊称她为“夫人”。“两年前，这些明星不可能来见她，”这次聚会的组织者Myo Yan Naung Thein说，“他们只能在心中默默地支持。但现在不同了，人们迫不及待地要表现出他们对夫人的支持。”

http://ping.fm/TUMMT

Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi's political party has warned that by-elections may not be fair because of restrictions on campaigning.

National League for Democracy (NLD) spokesman Nyan Win said they face "many difficulties", such as getting approval to use public venues for rallies.

Aung San Suu Kyi, who was released from house arrest in 2010, is running for one of 48 parliamentary seats in April.

The polls are being seen as a test of the government's commitment to reform.

The NLD boycotted Burma's last election in 2010 but agreed to rejoin the electoral process after the military backed government brought in a series of democratic reforms.

"What we want is fair play, but the restrictions have increased lately. It is very difficult to say that the upcoming by-elections could be free and fair," NLD spokesman Nyan Win said in a news conference in Rangoon.

Specifically, he says that the party has been stopped from using three sports fields for the rallies.

'Hugely symbolic'
Even if the NLD wins all 48 seats, the military-backed government would still have a commanding majority in parliament.

But, the BBC's Jonah Fisher in Bangkok says, opposition victory would be seen as hugely symbolic.

Although insignificant in terms of numbers, the conduct of the election will go a long way towards deciding whether Western sanctions to Burma will be lifted.

The 2010 elections saw a military junta replaced with a nominally civilian government backed by the armed forces.

Since then, the new administration has embarked on a series of reforms, prompting the NLD to rejoin the political process.

Western nations have said that they will match progress on reform with movement on sanctions.

The NLD had won a landslide victory in the 1990 election, but the ruling military junta at the time did not allow the party to assume office.

Ms Suu Kyi, who won the Nobel Peace Prize, was under house arrest at the time. This is the first time that she has run for a parliamentary seat.
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BURMA RELATED NEWS - FEBRUARY 15, 2012

Reuters - Exclusive:Myanmar peace can be reached within 3 months: minister
Reuters - Myanmar eyes skytrain, underground for biggest city - minister
Aljazeera - Myanmar: Ceasefire does not mean peace
Calcutta News - Myanmar's democracy aids in better ties, trade: India
The Economic Times - India says Myanmar's democratic path will strengthen bilateral ties
Channel NewsAsia - IE Singapore, SBF lead business mission to Myanmar
Bernama - Myanmar Establishes Diplomatic Ties With Two More Countries
Bernama - Myanmar-EU Relations Improve As Myanmar Heads For Change, Reform
NPR - Opposition Leader Bets On Myanmar Reforms
ASIAONE - Myanmar 'will make Asean chairmanship a success'
Asia Times Online - Precarious balance for Myanmar reform
Asia News Network - EU official sees Burma roadmap within the year
Wall Street Journal (blog) - Suu Kyi to China: Myanmar More Than Just an Investment Opportunity
Wall Street Journal (blog) - Singapore Presses Its Advantage in Myanmar
The Financial Times - Myanmar agrees to hold UN donor conference
European Commission (Press Release) - EU Commissioner for Development Andris Piebalgs, Yangon, 14 February 2012
Korean Central News Agency - Floral Basket to DPRK Embassy by Myanmar Political Party
The Irrawaddy - Burma's Govt Does the Right Thing; Activists Wonder Why
The Irrawaddy - Opposition MPs Take Aim at Army Influence
The Irrawaddy - Myanmar: On Claiming Success
Mizzima News - Cheap Chinese car popular in Burma
Mizzima News - Suu Kyi, Thein Sein campaigning on jobs
Mizzima News - Rights commission to avoid ethnic conflict issues
DVB News - Govt vehicle hits landmine, one dies
DVB News - Abducted Kachin woman still missing
DVB News - S’pore keen on stake in Burma’s economy
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Exclusive:Myanmar peace can be reached within 3 months: minister
By Martin Petty | Reuters – 3 hrs ago

NAYPYITAW, Myanmar (Reuters) - Myanmar's government expects to reach ceasefire deals with all of the country's ethnic minority rebel armies within three months before starting a process of political dialogue towards "everlasting peace", its top peace negotiator said on Wednesday.

In his first interview with a foreign news organization, Aung Min, a retired general and minister for rail transportation tasked with negotiating an end to the decades-old conflicts, said Myanmar's 49 years of military rule had not let peace prevail but the new civilian-led government was winning the trust of the rebel armies.

Long-lasting political solutions with economic incentives for conflict areas were within reach, he said.

"This is a chronic disease that has been happening for over 60 years. Successive governments couldn't cure the disease because the remedy didn't fit," Aung Min said.

"Things have changed in our country and this situation has now changed, this has allowed us to find the remedy."

Peace with the rebels, most of whom demand autonomy under what they call a "genuine federal system", has been set by the United States and the European Union as a condition for lifting sanctions on the former Burma, an underdeveloped but resource-rich country that has wilted under international isolation and inept army rule.

But Aung Min said the government's motive was not the lifting of sanctions.

"I don't consider other factors. We are all brethrens, no matter whether ethnic fighters or soldiers die, they are all our families," he said.

Nine of 16 rebel groups had signed ceasefire agreements with the government and he expected six more deals to be reached within a few months, including with the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), one of the biggest groups, which the Myanmar military is still fighting.

He said the Kayah Nationalities Progressive Party (KNPP) would sign a deal on March 1 and five smaller parties were ready to put down their arms.

He declined to comment on the conflict in Kachin State, which rages on despite an order by President Thein Sein and the armed forces commander-in-chief for troops to end offensives.

Aung Min also said Senior General Than Shwe, the former dictator who ruled Myanmar with an iron fist for 18 years, had no influence on his former prodigies now in charge of the nominally civilian government.

"U Than Shwe has retired completely. We don't need to follow his orders or influence. There is now virtually no contact," Aung Min said. U is a Burmese honorific.

"He has a big library next to his residence. When he was in power he had no time to read books and he's reading now. We owe a debt of gratitude to him for his leadership during the transitional period, for the peaceful transition from military rule to a democratic society."

"He doesn't need to be involved. I'm very sure he'll be pleased with the situation now, looking at it from afar."

Many people in Myanmar suspect the reclusive and highly secretive former strongman, a psychological warfare specialist, has maintained a behind the scenes role.

Aung Min's comments were the first by a member of the new government lauding Than Shwe for his role in the transition since he stepped aside on March 30 last year to make way for Thein Sein's nominally civilian government.

"IT CAN TAKE TIME"

Aung Min also rejected speculation that there was conflict in the government between reformers and hardline remnants of the junta.

"This is all rumors. We are all united behind the president," he added.

Thein Sein had laid down a three-step plan for peace with the rebel groups that involved ceasefires, political agreements and resettlement of displaced people, then a special assembly of parliament in which all of the groups would cement long-term deals, he said.

Ethnic Burmans, the country's traditional rulers, make up about two-thirds of its estimated 60 million people.

A major issue since the country gained independence from Britain in 1948 has been the demand from ethnic minority groups for self-determination.

Aung Min would not say whether that could be possible, but said arrangements could be made under a 2008 constitution, which could be amended, and the groups would be encouraged to form political parties and join parliament.

"Dialogue may take some time and then we will have a national assembly, but the more it talks, the longer it will take. The flexibility depends on the groups, we can push this through fast, or it can take time," he said.

It was difficult to gain the trust of the ethnic minority factions, he said, but most were sincere about peace and some leaders had stayed with him at his home in Naypyitaw, he said.

"At first they didn't trust me, they carried out body searches on me for weapons, they weren't brave enough to eat food I had brought, in case I poisoned them," he said.

"They didn't accept gifts and souvenirs in case there were bombs or booby-traps. I had to win their trust and confidence and I was humble with them."

He said he had approached foreign firms, many of which ran factories that were damaged during neighboring Thailand's floods last year, with a view to setting up in former conflict zones once peace deals had been reached.

Myanmar migrant workers and refugees, many of whom are in Thailand, would be encouraged to return with offers of incentives like higher wages than Thailand offers, land for farming, factory jobs and development projects in villages.

"In the past we never thought of a post-ceasefire agreement, before this, it has just been ceasefires. This is our plan for eternal peace," he said.
********************************************************
Myanmar eyes skytrain, underground for biggest city - minister
NAYPYITAW, Myanmar | Wed Feb 15, 2012 8:11am EST

Feb 15 (Reuters) - Myanmar's is in talks with foreign companies with a view to building elevated and underground train systems for the commercial capital Yangon, the country's rail transport minister said on Wednesday

"We are now talking with international companies for the construction of both a skytrain and underground train system for the commercial capital Yangon," the minister, Aung Min, told Reuters in an interview.

"There is no such project planned for Naypyitaw," he said, referring to the small, newly built capital.

The former capital, Yangon, is Myanmar's biggest city with an estimated 6 million of the country's 60 million people living there.

Aung Min said the train systems in Bangkok and Beijing were models for the planned Yangon system.

"The (interested) companies are Singaporean, Japanese and Germany and American ... We are now talking with them."

Asked how long it might take to build the system, he said: "We will implement this on a build, operate and transfer policy, so it depends on the terms."
********************************************************
Aljazeera - Myanmar: Ceasefire does not mean peace
Violence in the border regions have not ended, despite a reported ceasefire between the government and Karen rebels.
Francis Wade Last Modified: 15 Feb 2012 13:46

Chiang Mai, Thailand - Just weeks after news reports emerged of a historic ceasefire agreement between Myanmar's government and the rebel Karen National Union, the crackle of gunfire once again sounded in the country's east.

Amid jubilation that the world's longest-running civil war could be nearing an end, a Myanmar battalion on January 24 shelled a camp in Karen state housing internally displaced persons. Already attuned to life in the volatile frontier region, the camp's inhabitants fled, adding to the migration of civilians that have spent more than 60 years fleeing back and forth between their villages and jungle hideouts, pursued by marauding Myanmar troops.

The shelling, and other reports of clashes since January 12 when the two sides shook hands, spotlights the fragility of these ceasefires.

Further north in Shan state, a similar situation has unfolded: Opposition Shan State Army (SSA) troops attempting to withdraw last week from locations in the east of the state - one of a number of points agreed upon when a truce was signed in January - came under fire from Myanmar soldiers who had blocked their exit. The SSA's chief, Yawd Serk, later told followers that the government had downgraded its peace efforts, and once again its frontline troops are on high alert.

While budgets and by-elections are being hotly debated in the capital, President Thein Sein’s much-vaunted reform programme is not being witnessed in the border regions. Disparate ethnic minority groups there have long been sidelined from the political process, and conflict and coercion (including a ban on schools from teaching in the native tongue) has been used to attempt to assimilate them into the Burman majority.

But there is another increasingly evident disconnect between Naypyidaw and Myanmar’s periphery: Thein Sein appears now to have little control over his army. Twice in the past two months he has ordered troops to end attacks on rebels, with little success.

Any hope for a quick solution to the civil war is naive: Mutual animosity in these border regions runs deep, and distrust of the government is entrenched throughout these ethnic groups.

The Karen war has been raging since 1948, following an insurrection aimed at securing an independent Karen state (a result of a promise to the Karen from the departing British that never materialised), and the collateral in eastern Myanmar has been huge: More than half a million people are internally displaced in the unforgiving frontier terrain, while nearly 150,000 populate camps in neighbouring Thailand. Researchers have also documented some 3,300 villages razed by the Myanmar army.

So in this context the jubilation that initially greeted the agreement is understandable - any possible end to such a drawn-out and debased conflict should be celebrated.

But time and again Naypyidaw has reneged on past deals struck with ethnic armies. The KNU themselves are highly suspicious of the motives at play within the government, and are aware that bringing a decades-old struggle for autonomy to an end before that goal is properly realised will anger those who have lost much in this fight. Even the KNU's vice president, David Takapaw, told the New York Times this week that, "The grass roots are very much concerned that it [signing the ceasefire] went too quickly - they thought it was a sell-out. There is a feeling that we have been cheated."

This points to a tension within the ranks of the group at a time of great flux. But it also signals a gulf in thinking between those involved in the conflict, and the outside players attempting to influence events in Myanmar.

The EU and US say an end to the civil war is a perquisite for lifting sanctions and kick-starting business, a prospect that has guided the reform efforts of the new government, which cloaks its public overtures to ethnic armies in the rhetoric of human rights. These same people steering the government towards becoming an acceptable ally, who have applauded the ceasefires, somewhat naively see the conflict itself as the main problem in Karen state, rather than the heavy militarisation of rural regions that will linger way beyond any nominal truce to ensure that genuine peace remains a distant prospect.

Despite the fanfare, these ceasefire deals do not signify a valediction to a Myanmar of old. Rather, the priorities of the government have changed. While the former junta was explicit about wishing to see ethnic groups either assimilated ("Burmanised"), pacified or wiped out, Thein Sein has been forced to adopt a different approach that nevertheless seeks to bring the majority of the country under Naypyidaw's control. More pro-market than any past administration, he has put Myanmar through the facelift necessary to attract foreign investment and to ensure those investors can safely exploit the conflict-torn border regions where resistant armies currently hinder access to natural resources.

He first tried to do this using sheer force. In 2010 the government offered rebels one of two ultimatums: assimilate into the Myanmar army as Border Guard Forces or get crushed.

Widespread refusals to transform into border militias triggered a wave of fighting last year, and what had been lasting ceasefires between the government and three armed groups - the Kachin Independence Army, the Shan State Army (North) and the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army - were broken. In Kachin state, which until June last year had enjoyed relative peace for the past 17 years, up to 55,000 people are now displaced.

Failure to rout these groups, in battles that pitched rebels knowledgeable of their terrain against teenage soldiers often deployed from urban areas, forced Thein Sein along a different path. While the finer detail of the Karen talks have not been revealed, it is highly likely that the president's negotiating team offered the KNU sizeable business concessions along the frontier with Thailand, where cross-border trade in timber and other goods can generate significant returns. It would be a tantalising prospect for the group, which for decades has relied on small-scale logging ventures for revenue while the likes of the Kachin, who signed ceasefires in the mid-1990s, profited from lucrative exports of teak and jade to China.

But the deals will not create fully autonomous zones for the Karen, which had become the group's key demand in recent decades. Instead it appears troops from each side will be able to pass through one another's territory; with that, the potential for abuse of civilians by the Myanmar army remains high. Moreover, with a record that suggests heavy militarisation of regions rich in energy potential is a requirement for Myanmar, the looming investment in Karen state and elsewhere, much of which will focus on hydropower and mining, brings the threat of greater troop presence.

The Karen Human Rights Group, whose teams document abuses of civilians in the volatile state, warned in a report late last year that rosy assessments of Myanmar were being made by the international community without heeding the voices of rural people, who remain off the radar for visiting dignitaries but whose situation makes them - not outside observers - the best placed to gauge the quality of reform.

It also forewarned that nascent ceasefire deals would not necessarily mean an end to violence: "Viewing the current human rights situation in eastern Burma only through the narrow lens of the horrors of war distorts the reality of the situation and ignores the devastating effects of ingrained abusive practices."

The fire fights in Karen state are the more prominent face of a litany of problems stemming from militarisation that include forced labour, land confiscation, forcible recruitment, pillage, and so on. These will remain as long as Naypyidaw feels it necessary to keep troops in areas with populations that do not want to be brought under his control, particularly within whose lands lie precious bounty for the country's rulers.

A rushed ceasefire deal is a short-term fix for a government bent on winning plaudits, but will not solve the core problems that keep these border regions perennial areas of flight for their inhabitants.

Francis Wade is a journalist with the Democratic Voice of Burma, and has written this article in a personal capacity.
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Myanmar's democracy aids in better ties, trade: India
Calcutta News.Net
Wednesday 15th February, 2012 (IANS)

As Myanmar moves forward with its democratisation process, India Wednesday said the new civilian dispensation in its neighbouring country was paving the way for furthering of their bilateral relations and for increased two-way trade.

India's Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai said the destinies of the neighbours was closely linked due to their shared land and sea borders.

"I have no doubt that as Myanmar continues on its new path charted out by its leaders, the strong ties between our two countries will only deepen and strengthen even further," Mathai said at a seminar on "India-Myanmar Relations: Strengthening Ties and Deepening Engagements" here.

The event was organised by Global India Foundation, a diplomacy think-tank, and the Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad Institute of Asian Studies.

Mathai said the bilateral relations between the two nations will help in "a new identity being created" in the region as a result of the enhanced economic and cultural ties.

"We are conscious of the need for greater land, air and sea connectivity between our two countries to facilitate trade. But as investment climate in Myanmar improves and connectivity improves, Indian companies are bound to invest in a variety of sectors," he said.

He said Indian business companies are actively assessing opportunities in Myanmar and the Indian government was happy to collaborate with Indian business for the Enterprise Indian Show held in Yangon last year.

The Indian foreign secretary said the most critical area of focus in India-Myanmar ties was the people-to-people contact.

He said the Indian government had extended support to Buddhist pilgrims from Myanmar and is also trying to encourage more tourist visits by extending visa-on-arrival scheme for them.

However, he acknowledged the need for increasing the air connectivity between the two countries.

In his remarks, Global India Foundation member-secretary Omprakash Mishra said India's Look East policy of the last two decades will produce result as the country's North-eastern region's connectivity and people-to-people contact improves with its neighbours such as Myanmar.
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15 Feb, 2012, 03.45PM IST, PTI
The Economic Times - India says Myanmar's democratic path will strengthen bilateral ties

NEW DELHI: With Myanmar taking steps to restore democracy, India today said the new path charted by it would help strengthen ties between the two countries and enable increased investment from Indian companies there.

"I have no doubt that as Myanmar continues on its new path charted out by its leaders, the strong ties between our two countries will only deepen and strengthen even further," Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai said at a function here.

He said as the "destinies" of the two countries are closely linked both on land and on the sea, "a new identity will be created" in the region with enhanced economic and cultural ties.

"We are conscious of the need for greater land, air and sea connectivity between our two countries to facilitate trade. But as investment climate in Myanmar improves and connectivity improves, Indian companies are bound to invest in a variety of sectors," he said.

He said Indian business companies are actively assessing opportunities in Myanmar and the Indian government was happy to collaborate with Indian business for the enterprise Indian show held in Yangon in 2011.

Stating that people-to-people contact is another area of focus with Myanmar, Mathai noted the government have extended support to Buddhist pilgrims from Myanmar and is also trying to encourage more tourist visits by extending tourist visa on arrival scheme for the nationals from the country.

"We hope to soon sign a cultural exchange programme which will systematise cultural interaction between our two countries," he said.
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Channel NewsAsia - IE Singapore, SBF lead business mission to Myanmar
By Linette Lim | Posted: 15 February 2012 1855 hrs

SINGAPORE: A business mission to Myanmar jointly led by International Enterprise Singapore (IE Singapore) and the Singapore Business Federation (SBF) has been received by President Thein Sein on Wednesday.

During the visit, the delegation met with top government officials and ministers where they outlined immediate and long-term plans for Myanmar's growth and development.

"There is much potential for Myanmar to achieve balanced, inclusive and sustainable growth, and these useful insights on the market, with its untapped potential, have provided us with many prospects for business collaboration," said Tony Chew, Mission Leader and SBF chairman.

"Our delegation is encouraged by the Myanmar ministers and business community to establish operations in Myanmar to tap on the competitive advantages offered."

In a statement, SBF said the ministers also "shared steps taken to create a more business friendly environment in Myanmar, through the revision of foreign investment laws and introduction of tax incentives, amongst others".

On Monday, the delegation had also called on U Myint Swe, Chief Minister of Yangon Region, and U Hla Myint, Mayor of Yangon City.

The Chief Minister touched on investment opportunities for Singapore companies in Myanmar, highlighting areas such as hospitality, power supply, utilities, municipal waste management sectors and industrial infrastructure.

"Myanmar officials and businessmen are very receptive of Singapore's participation in the development of their economy," said Tan Soon Kim, Deputy Mission Leader and Group Director for Southeast Asia Group, IE Singapore.

"A key factor that differentiates Singapore companies from others is our ability to provide a comprehensive set of solutions, as we offer a whole value chain of services. An example would be our industrial parks, where we have different companies that can build, manage the park, provide the power and utilities, process and manage the waste and also the logistics services."

Taking place from February 12 to 18, the IE-SBF Myanmar Business Mission includes 115 participants representing 74 Singapore-based companies.

They will be involved in networking and business matching sessions, as well as seminars and site visits to find out more about the business opportunities in Myanmar.

Myanmar has been earning international praise for its fast pace of economic and political reforms since its first civilian President, ex-military man Thein Sein assumed office last March. This has also raised the possibility of the lifting of US and EU sanctions on the country.

In a widely anticipated by-election on April 1, pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy (NLD) party will contest more than 40 parliamentary seats.
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15 Februari, 2012 13:12 PM
Myanmar Establishes Diplomatic Ties With Two More Countries

YANGON, Feb 15 (Bernama) -- Myanmar has established diplomatic ties with two more countries -- Malawi and Bhutan at ambassadorial level in the start of 2012, according to official sources from Nay Pyi Taw Wednesday.

Two joint communiques on the establishment were respectively signed between Myanmar's Ambassador and the High Commissioner of Malawi in New Delhi on Jan 30 and between Permanent Representative of Myanmar to the United Nations and his Bhutan counterpart in New York on Feb 1, Xinhua news agency reported.

The diplomatic establishment with Malawi and Bhutan has brought the total number of countries in the world with which Myanmar has such links to 105 and 106 since it regained independence in 1948.

According to the Foreign Ministry, Myanmar has so far set up embassies in 30 countries and two permanent missions in New York and Geneva, and four consulates-general in China's Hong Kong, Kunming and Nanning, and India's Calcutta, respectively.

Meanwhile, 28 countries have their embassies in Myanmar. In addition, China and India have respectively set up consulates- general in Myanmar's Mandalay, the second largest city, while Switzerland in Yangon and Bangladesh in Sittway.
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February 15, 2012 13:47 PM
Myanmar-EU Relations Improve As Myanmar Heads For Change, Reform

YANGON, Feb 15 (Bernama) -- Relations between Myanmar and the European Union (EU) started to improve as Myanmar is heading for change and reform which are being gradually introduced after a new civilian government took office in March 2011, Xinhua news agency reported.

European Union Commissioner for Development Andris Piebalgs visited Myanmar from Feb 12 to 14. At the conclusion of his visit on Tuesday, Piebalgs voiced support and encouragement for Myanmar' s current change and reform, saying that such measures may lead to the easing of sanctions on the country.

"The measures will be fully reviewed in April. The conduct of by-elections on April 1 and the release of political prisoners will influence the outcome", Piebalgs said.

In constructive talks with President U Thein Sein, Speaker of the House of Representatives U Shwe Mann and four ministers including Foreign Minister U Wunna Maung Lwin in Nay Pyi Taw, Piebalgs announced a new aid package of 150 million euros (US$200 million) for the next two years, doubling EU aid since 1996.

The fund, which will beef up the current aid provided by the United Nations and non-governmental organizations since 1996, is said to finance projects in the areas of health, education and livelihood.

The EU had provided 174 millions euros to Myanmar since 1996 to help fight malaria and tuberculosis and improve infrastructures in rural areas.

He disclosed that the aid had been able to help almost 90,000 people cultivate the land and have access to food, bring 6 million children to school and treat 2 million people with malaria and 600, 000 with HIV.

He also expressed readiness to increase aid to foster Myanmar's development in the coming years when market access is restored.

He commended the government for the significant progress in advancing the peace process, agreeing with the government "to explore support for the peace process in the ethnic states".

He discussed with the government on cooperation on human rights, rule of law and release of political prisoners.

He encouraged the government to ensure a free and fair electoral process during the campaign and on election day.

Piebalgs hoped that after April by-elections, Myanmar and the EU could engage in a new chapter of political, economic and development cooperation.

He added that he had an open and constructive meeting with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi in Yangon and visited an EU- funded project in Dala township.

He disclosed that EU will open a representative office in Yangon to manage aid programs by the end of April.

Meeting in Brussels in January, EU foreign ministers, recognizing Myanmar's political reforms, agreed to ease travel restrictions on its senior government officials, lifting the visa ban on Myanmar's president, vice presidents, cabinet members and parliamentary speakers.

The reforms have included the release of hundreds of political prisoners, the freeing of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi from years of house arrest and allowing her and her party to participate in the April parliamentary by-elections and agreeing to pursue peace efforts with ethnic armed groups.

Further easing of restrictions will be possible as Myanmar introduces more reforms.

EU introduced sanctions on Myanmar in 1996 which was renewed annually. The sanctions also included barring EU companies and organizations from investing in Myanmar.

Piedalgs claimed that his trip to Myanmar was "to assess the ongoing reform and encourage their continuation".

It was also the first trip to Myanmar by a top EU official after the new government took office in March 2011 and started reform.
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NPR - Opposition Leader Bets On Myanmar Reforms
by Anthony Kuhn, February 15, 2012

The military-backed government of Myanmar, also known as Burma, has surprised many skeptics with the pace of its political reforms — releasing political prisoners, easing censorship and making peace with ethnic insurgents.

But none of these reforms have won it as much praise as its efforts to mend fences with opposition leader and Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. After nearly two decades under house arrest, Suu Kyi is now aiming to work for democracy within the system by running for a seat in parliament.

Lately, she has been on the campaign trail, standing up through the sunroof of her SUV, gathering up bouquets of flowers and cheers from well-wishers. Her supporters pack the dusty roads leading to the township of Kawhmu, the rural constituency she hopes to represent.

Campaigning For Parliament

At the entrance to one village, Suu Kyi is greeted by ethnic Karen residents, chanting a traditional welcome. The farmers' mouths are stained a rusty red from chewing betel nut. Their cheeks are smeared with a white herbal sunblock. Kawhmu is deep in the countryside, a four-hour drive from Yangon, the country's largest city.

Suu Kyi says she chose the area for its ethnic diversity. The area was hard-hit by Cyclone Nargis in 2008, and many residents were angry at the government's slow and feeble response to the emergency.

Suu Kyi asks the villagers for their support as they sit in a sun-baked field. She says she's wary of making campaign pledges, warning that the road to a better Burma will not be an easy one. The recent political reforms haven't changed much in Kawhmu. There's not much industry and not many jobs here.

"I and a lot of folks here want to vote for Suu Kyi," says 25-year-old farmer Sa Tun Lin. "I don't understand politics too well, but I want to choose someone who will work hard for the benefit of the people."

Suu Kyi is the daughter of Gen. Aung San, the Burmese national hero who negotiated independence from Great Britain in 1947. She didn't get into politics until 1988, and she has spent much of the time since then under house arrest.

Suu Kyi's party, the National League for Democracy, boycotted the 2010 elections as unfair. It was not until last December that she announced that she had changed her mind and decided to return to electoral politics.

Skepticism Over Reforms

Some of her colleagues, including the party's co-founder, 82-year-old Win Tin, think she is too optimistic.

"I don't know whether you can trust, you see, this government or this president and so on," he says. "You cannot easily trust the army. The army can take power at any time according to that constitution."

Win Tin, a journalist who spent nearly two decades in jail for his political activism, would prefer to build up the party before competing in elections. But he says he knows that Suu Kyi is "The Lady," and the only person with the charisma and credentials needed to lead the Burmese pro-democracy movement.

"We have some different opinions on some issues," he concedes, "but anyhow, I stand with her, I follow her and I support her."

If she's elected to parliament, Suu Kyi says she wants to revise the constitution, which mandates a leading role for the army and gives it the right to invoke emergency powers that can be exercised without any accountability.

'Joining Our Efforts'

Even if Suu Kyi and her party sweep the April 1 by-elections, the military and the ruling party will still hold an overwhelming advantage in parliament. Pushing any major revisions through will be difficult.

Speaking at party headquarters, Suu Kyi says diplomatically that she's not trying to get the military to give up any of its power.

"I would like the military to cooperate with us in building democracy in Burma," she insists. "It's not a matter of relinquishing anything, but of joining in our efforts."

Suu Kyi appears to be gambling that the new administration is serious about democratic reform. The government, meanwhile, is gambling that embracing Suu Kyi will persuade foreign powers to lift their sanctions on Myanmar.

Officials have raised the possibility that that once in parliament, Suu Kyi could go from lawmaker to Cabinet minister. Her party won a landslide electoral victory in 1990, but the ruling junta refused to stand aside. Whether Suu Kyi and the party could some day have another chance at holding power will have to wait at least until the next general election in 2015.
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ASIAONE - Myanmar 'will make Asean chairmanship a success'
By Samantha Boh Wednesday, Feb 15, 2012

Singapore welcomes Myanmar's chairmanship of Asean in 2014, Foreign Affairs and Law Minister K. Shanmugam said yesterday.

As the face of the 10-member organisation, Myanmar will have to defend Asean's interests as well as its own, he said.

The country will have to reassure external partners that, under its chairmanship, Asean would make progress towards a more united and connected Asean community.

"The world will be watching. Given the stakes, I am confident that Myanmar will work hard to make its Asean chairmanship a success," said Mr Shanmugam.

Myanmar voluntarily skipped its turn as chairman in 2005 and Asean foreign ministers agreed at the time to allow it to assume the position when it was ready.

Mr Shanmugam said Singapore's bilateral relations with Myanmar remain good, and that Singapore will continue to support the country through capacity building, economic and human-resource development, and public administration.

In response to a question as to whether Myanmar's chairmanship would be reviewed should it regress to its previous state of affairs, Mr Shanmugam said significant developments in Myanmar should be encouraged.

If "the course changes", further consideration will be needed, but "we will cross that bridge when we come to it", he said.
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Feb 16, 2012
Asia Times Online - Precarious balance for Myanmar reform
By Larry Jagan

BANGKOK - The future of Myanmar's reform process is in question as hardliners and liberals in government ramp up an increasingly bitter power struggle. Change in Myanmar remains fragile despite some encouraging reform signals and growing international goodwill towards President Thein Sein.

So far, though, President Thein Sein's good intentions have produced only limited practical change. Now, there are growing fears that the recent political gains, including the release of political prisoners and allowances for the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) to contest upcoming by-elections, could be reversed.

The reason is that the more liberal-minded ministers who support Thein Sein and his reform agenda are being cramped by persistent pressure from hardliners led by Vice President Tin Aung Myint Oo and other ministers who seem intent to derail reforms despite publicly declaring their support for democratic change.

Analysts and activists are split on whether these signs of change are genuine or a smokescreen to hide the regime's real intention to keep the military in power for as long as possible under the guise of civilian rule. Myanmar's pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi has so far tentatively endorsed Thein Sein's reforms but according to sources close to her remains cautious.

Much rides for all sides on by-elections scheduled for April 1, where 46 of parliament's total 664 seats will be up for grabs and Suu Kyi will contest a seat on the outskirts of Yangon. The NLD overwhelmingly won polls held in 1990 but the military annulled the results and maintained its grip on power. The party failed to register and contest the 2010 elections and was banned as a result.

Both the European Union and United States have indicated they may roll back their economic and financial sanctions with more progress on reforms, including the holding of free and fair by-elections in April. The elections should also provide clarity about whether government reformers or hardliners are on the ascendency as well as the pace and extent of future reforms.

According to one government insider's estimate, around 20% of current ministers are in the liberal camp while another 20% fall with the hardliners. The other 60% are believed to be sitting on the fence waiting to see and side with whoever wins the intensifying power struggle, according to the government insider.

Other observers believe that the apparent divisions and splits among the ruling elite, both sides with military backgrounds, are being well-orchestrated and stress that the nature of the regime has not changed. They believe that even though the old military guard - led by former junta leader Senior General Than Shwe - have retired they still pull strings from behind the political curtain.

"President Thein Sein is a puppet of the new Myanmar government's strategy known as the eight-steps," said Aung Lynn Htut, a former military intelligence officer who defected when stationed as a diplomat in Washington in 2005, told Asia Times Online. "Than Shwe still directs policy and controls everything from behind the door," he said.

Others with links to top members of Thein Sein's government disagree and argue that the new nominally civilian government is sincere in its desire to bring reform, development and peace to Myanmar after decades of devastation and destruction under heavy-handed military rule.

"Thein Sein and his supporters are motivated by a 'gentlemen's' agenda," Myanmar academic, writer and editor Nay Win Maung, who died of a heart attack on January 1, frequently said of the new government he personally advised. Old soldiers now in government and aligned with Thein Sein are now motivated by a new sense of fair play and public duty, sources close to the current Myanmar leadership told this correspondent.

Many of them now claim to have abhorred Than Shwe's abusive rule, including its mass corruption, international isolation and the tarnished image it gave the army across the country. To reverse Than Shwe's legacy is one of the key drivers behind Thein Sein's reform agenda, they contend.

Thein Sein recently told Norway's development minister that he had wanted to reform the country for a long time but was frustrated by Than Shwe's control, according to diplomats in Yangon. Thein Sein's wife told Suu Kyi that her husband wanted to introduce reforms for more than a decade but was powerless to do so, even when serving as prime minister under the previous Than Shwe-led military junta.

Pent up reformer
Some close to Thein Sein believe that the 2007 mass demonstrations by Buddhist monks against the previous military junta he led and the devastation and destruction caused the following year by Cyclone Nargis impressed on him the need for dramatic change, according to military sources in the capital, Naypyidaw.

Thein Sein was reportedly physically shaken by the devastation he observed when inspecting storm-hit areas and overseeing the government's relief work after Cyclone Nargis, a close aide to the president told Asia Times Online. Nor is Thein Sein apparently alone in this view: there are also many in the bureaucracy and military who are firmly committed to his democratic reform agenda.

"There are those in the military with honorable intentions and who want to be seen as improving the sorry lot of the people," said David Steinberg, a Myanmar expert at the US's Georgetown University. These same soldiers have a strong sense of nationalism and strong desire to redeem the honor of the military, Steinberg said.

Reforms have so far been implemented in an ad hoc, personalized manner. For example, Railways Minister Aung Min now leads the government's negotiations with various armed ethnic rebel groups to sign ceasefire agreements. Some of the ethnic leaders involved in the talks who spoke with this correspondent say that they trust in Aung Min's sincerity.

"It's personal," an ethnic Karen leader told Asia Times Online soon after the armed Karen National Union (KNU) signed a truce last month to end hostilities and agreed to exchange liaison offices with the government. Trust with the Karen was built during relaxed drinking sessions at preliminary meetings held last November in Thailand's northern Chiang Rai province, according to a source familiar with the situation.

During one of the toasts, Aung Min apparently endeared himself to certain Karen representatives when he pleaded personally that the KNU refrained from attacking public railways. There had been several attacks on Myanmar's railways earlier in the year that were believed to have been carried out by the KNU.

Some observers believe that personalized approach could eventually backfire. "Everything appears to be the result of personal connections - even the relationship between Aung San Suu Kyi and the president," said a former European diplomat who has spent more than 15 years involved in Myanmar. "That is the major flaw in this whole process - there is no overall plan so it can be thrown out overnight if circumstances change."

"Until these changes are institutionalized, there is a danger of them being reversed in the future, especially if corruption continues and there is violence," said Thailand-based former activist and development specialist Aung Naing Oo, who recently visited Myanmar for the first time in over 20 years.

The overriding concern of Myanmar's ruling establishment - both liberals and hardliners alike - is to maintain peace and stability during the political transition. Fear of renewed bouts of unrest could explain why the highly anticipated release of political prisoners was delayed for several months. Those fears also likely motivated the recent arrest and questioning of Buddhist monk U Gambira, who was recently released early from a 68-year prison sentence for his role in the 2007 uprising against the government.

Than Shwe's transitional plan clearly intended to delay reforms and pit military groups against one another in a divide and rule fashion. The 2008 constitution, which was passed in a sham referendum and embodies Than Shwe's vision for the Myanmar's political future, was intended to create a system of power sharing whereby no individual would become powerful enough to challenge his position and family's wealth. Than Shwe famously detained and harassed the family members of former long time military dictator Ne Win.

Than Shwe's new system also aims to create a structure that makes legal change difficult, including a requirement than over three-quarters of parliament must agree to make constitutional amendments. A quarter of parliament is made up of military representatives, giving the military virtual veto power over any proposed charter change.

Gentleman's agreement
However, Than Shwe seems to have failed to foresee that new President Thein Sein, speaker of the lower house Shwe Mann and army chief General Min Aung Hlaing would reach a "gentlemen's agenda" in ruling the country. This agreement has spurred an accelerated reform process that has gained momentum and moral authority through Suu Kyi's public support and upcoming participation in the process.

Often overlooked in Myanmar's evolving transition is the role parliament has played in the reform process. Analysts and activists widely believed that the upper and lower houses of the new National Assembly would rarely meet and when they did would dutifully follow a pre-arranged script - much like the Burma Socialist Program Party (BSPP) parliament in the mid-1970s did under Ne Win.

So far that has not been the case. Parliament speaker Shwe Mann was apparently devastated when Than Shwe overlooked him and chose Thein Sein as president, confining Shwe Mann instead to what was expected to be a rubber stamp parliament. To give parliament a more representative veneer, Shwe Mann has lent his support to Suu Kyi's and the NLD's participation in the upcoming by-elections.

He also reportedly told US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton during a meeting at Naypyidaw in December that he wanted to make Myanmar's new parliament as good as the US Congress.

"We have taken the necessary measures so that the upcoming by-elections will be free, fair and credible," Shwe Mann told European Union development commissioner Andris Piebalgs, speaking through an interpreter, earlier this week.

The manner in which the by-elections are held, even more than the actual results, may indicate the future direction of the gentlemen's agreement. At the least, the by-election results will affect the ruling Union Solidarity Development Party (USDP), which swept the November 2010 elections in a contest foreign observers said lacked credibility but is expected to face stiffer competition, including from the NLD, at the next general elections scheduled for 2015.

Thein Sein has unofficially announced that he will only serve one term as president; Shwe Mann has made it clear he would like to one day serve as president. To win a free and fair election in 2015, however, he will need to purge the USDP of dead wood and obstacles - including hardliners like Aung Thaung, Htay Oo and Maung Maung Thein, according to Shwe Mann's senior advisors.

The hope among Shwe Mann's allies in government is that a lopsided by-election win for the NLD will provide him with the political excuse to clean house and purge hardliners opposed to reforms. If Suu Kyi wins a seat in parliament, Shwe Mann will be expected to allow her to become opposition leader. However, any strategy leveraging Suu Kyi to gain political ground against hardliners will be fraught with dangers and could open new divisions with those who currently support the reform process.

"What is remarkable is the way in which Thein Sein and company have reached out to her [Suu Kyi] since August last year [when they first met in Naypyidaw]," said Justin Wintle, a British academic and writer of a biography on Suu Kyi. "The signs are that this has not been a cynical move. One way of dealing with your political enemies is to co-opt them, but this is a genuine attempt to reconfigure Myanmar," he said.

Yet even this potentially crucial move reflects the ad hoc nature of Myanmar's still tentative reform process. If Suu Kyi is elected to parliament at the upcoming by-elections, she will quickly emerge as a challenger to Shwe Mann and the USDP's current dominance at the 2015 polls. "I know, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it," Shwe Mann reportedly recently replied to his son Toe Naing Mann, according to sources close to the family.

Larry Jagan previously covered Myanmar politics for the British Broadcasting Corporation. He is currently a freelance journalist based in Bangkok.
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EU official sees Burma roadmap within the year
Yasmin Lee Arpon Asia News Network
Publication Date : 15-02-2012

Burma is likely to come up within a year a comprehensive plan charting its political and economic reforms, a move that is seen boosting the confidence of the international community, a ranking European Union official said Tuesday.

Andris Piebalgs, EU commissioner for development, said the situation continues to evolve in Burma and a free and credible by-elections in April would be very crucial in sustaining the optimistic response so far to the government policy of opening up its economy and improving its political environment.

"I believe the political issues, the by-elec

Press release at the conclusion of the visit to Myanmar of the Special Adviser to the Secretary-General for Myanmar, Mr. Vijay Nambiar, from 12 to 17 February 2012
UNIC
17 Feb 2012

Press release at the conclusion of the visit to Myanmar of the Special Adviser to the Secretary-General for Myanmar, Mr. Vijay Nambiar, from 12 to 17 February 2012

The Special Adviser to the Secretary-General for Myanmar, Mr Vijay Nambiar, concluded today a five-day visit at the invitation of the Government of Myanmar. In Naypyitaw, the Special Adviser was received by President Thein Sein, Speaker Shwe Mann, Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin, and the Ministers of Labour and Social Welfare, Border Affairs, Industry, Railways, and Immigration, as well as the Union Peace Committee and Union Election Commission. Jointly with Vice-President Sai Mauk Kham, the Special Adviser inaugurated the Conference on Development Options for Myanmar organized by the United Nations and the Government of Myanmar. The Special Adviser also met with the General Secretary of the USDP. In Mon and Kayin States, the Special Adviser met with the respective Chief Ministers and members of the State government and legislature and local ethnic representatives. He also visited a field project of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), and met with local civil society partners. In Yangon, the Special Adviser met again with NLD Chair Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. He also held separate meetings with civil society, ethnic and business representatives.

One year after the formation of the new Government and the launch of political and economic reforms under the leadership of President Thein Sein, the changes currently underway in Myanmar have attained an unprecedented level of initiative, as recognized by a range of stakeholders across the political spectrum. The Special Adviser strongly commends President Thein Sein and the Myanmar authorities for their determination and commitment to move the country forward in a way that meets the needs and aspirations of the peoples of Myanmar. He welcomes the openness with which the Myanmar authorities recognize the challenges, as well as opportunities, inherent to such a process. This has raised much expectation inside and outside the country, particularly in the context of Myanmar’s responsibilities as Chair of ASEAN in 2014.

During his meetings the Special Adviser highlighted three priorities that define domestic and international perceptions of the pace of reform:

• It is necessary to ensure that both the process leading to, and the conduct of, the by-elections on 1 April 2012 are credible, and that they are seen to be so by all. This includes ensuring conditions for a level playing field for all parties to compete openly and addressing complaints swiftly and transparently. The by-elections will be a critical test of the Government’s commitment to broaden and enhance the credibility of the democratic process in the country.

• Peace and national reconciliation are central to Myanmar’s overall stability and development. Recent successful efforts by all parties to reach ceasefire and peace agreements have brought Myanmar closer than ever to a historic achievement. Progress is now needed with regard to the situation in Kachin State, including the needs of the displaced population.

Overcoming decades of strife and mistrust through inclusive political dialogue remains an important prerequisite to building a durable peace, which the country requires in order to move forward as one.

• It is urgent that the Government delivers on the socio-economic needs of the people so that they start benefitting in real terms from the reforms so far. Health, education and job creation remain key responsibilities for both central and local authorities in order to empower people to participate fully and equitably in the country’s development and growth. Only through the formulation and implementation of sound economic policies can this change be accelerated in the interest of the entre population of Myanmar.

It is self-evident that neither peace nor development can be sustained without respect for human rights and the rule of law. Building on the recent release of political prisoners and other measures, further steps are necessary in order to build trust and enable the democratic transition to succeed.

The Special Adviser welcomes the Government’s recognition of the value of partnership with the United Nations to help Myanmar meet the challenges and opportunities before it. The good offices of the United Nations are ready to work with all stakeholders in this important task. The Special Adviser also feels that the international community must respond more robustly to the needs of the Myanmar people by lifting current restrictions on UN programmes. Now is the time to step up support and to adjust existing policies in order to help build conditions for sustaining the reform and for the betterment of Myanmar’s peoples.

Yangon, 17 February 2012
http://www.bdcburma.org

PRESS RELEASE
17th February 2012
ASEAN should support and promote a credible and transparent process of peace and reconciliation in Myanmar and mechanism of human rights protection
JAKARTA -- The ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Myanmar Caucus (AIPMC) today welcomed the upcoming visit of ASEAN Secretary General Dr. Surin Pitsuwan to Myanmar on 20 February but noted its continued and deep concern regarding the slow progress on the protection of human rights in Myanmar.
AIPMC views Dr. Surin’s visit as a key opportunity for ASEAN to ensure it engages with all political actors in Myanmar and fully exercises its role and duty to encourage and assist the government there to continue and improve on its transition towards full democracy.
The ASEAN secretary general’s visit comes at a time of hopeful change but also a time of continued concern. AIPMC would like to bring the following issues to the attention of Dr. Surin, and urges him and ASEAN to review its mandate and the options open to its various regional body’s and commissions in helping to address these concerns.
Violent conflict and human rights abuses persist in ethnic areas of Burma that are rich in natural resources and have become the target of aggressive investment for physical exploitation, such as in Kachin, Shan and Karen states. Despite the recent and welcome release of hundreds of prisoners of conscience, the Naypyidaw government has still failed to clarify the number, status and whereabouts of remaining political prisoners. There is also no transparency regarding the policy of releasing political prisoners and there is no guarantee that the government will relax restrictions as part of reforms of freedom of expression.
The government’s efforts to sign ceasefires with armed ethnic groups in an apparent first step towards national peace talks have so far failed to make any major inroads towards national reconciliation. In fact, on the contrary, the efforts have in some cases led to increased friction and distrust between the state and ethnic minority leaders, who have questioned the government’s true intentions.
Accountability for human rights violations in Myanmar remains extremely weak and impunity is inevitable. There is an urgent need to reform the judicial system. Issues of land rights, including widespread reports of forced and uncompensated evictions to make way for the development of mega projects, such as the proposed deep-sea port in Dawei, remains an area of major concern.
Despite these concerns, AIPMC considers Dr. Surin’s visit an important step in Myanmar’s transition to democracy. The visit of the secretary general is an opportunity for ASEAN to ‘re-integrate’ Myanmar into the regional grouping. Since Myanmar was officially accepted as a member in 1996, ASEAN has been under constant pressure from civil society organizations and the international community regarding Myanmar’s human rights record. Myanmar has prevented ASEAN from developing into a credible and effective regional organisation, rather than merely a forum of countries of Southeast Asian nations. Myanmar has always been the thorn in ASEAN’s side. The external pressure and internal confusion ASEAN faced when deliberating whether to skip Myanmar’s turn to take the rotating chairmanship in 2006 marked how its rogue member has at times threatened ASEAN’s internal stability as well as its relationship with strategic global partners.
Regarding this, Dr. Surin on his visit should ensure that Myanmar is ready to lead ASEAN in 2014, to be the face of ASEAN to the world and seriously implement the ASEAN charter. Dr Surin should raise for discussion some critical problems that continue to prevent further reform in Myanmar, including: a lack of strong and stable democratic state institutions, including the Parliament and national commissions, due to the vacuum of law, leadership and capacity; the government’s failure to fully engage in an inclusive and genuine roadmap for national peace and reconciliation (efforts to date have been insubstantial and have failed to contribute to any significant political change which guarantee the rights of ethnic groups or an end to the ongoing conflicts); the threat posed by current economic policy to the environment, sustained economic growth in the future, as well as the political, civil and economic rights of ordinary people; and, the urgent need to reform the legal system to ensure the rule of law, as a current lack of any mechanism of accountability means impunity and cronyism remain issues of major concern.
Dr. Surin should impress upon the Naypyitaw government and all political actors in Myanmar the urgency of embarking on national peace and reconciliation efforts, as well as exploring with them possible roles ASEAN could play in that process. ASEAN should facilitate democracy in Myanmar further by supporting ucpoming by-elections there in April and opening up dialogue with the opposition, in particular with National League for Democracy (NLD) leader Aung San Suu Kyi. ASEAN’s communication with opposition members, if and when elected to Parliament, should be developed further to facilitate the ongoing transition in Myanmar. ASEAN should work further to ensure the protection of human rights with systematic efforts to prevent the reoccurrence of rights abuses with credible laws, institutions and apparatus. ASEAN should also promote mechanisms of repatriation for refugees and economic migrants through constructive cooperation among ASEAN countries. ASEAN should also seriously tackle the issue of human trafficking and increase efforts to abolish its practice in the region.
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The ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Myanmar Caucus (AIPMC) is a network formed in an inaugural meeting in Kuala Lumpur, on 26-28 November 2004 by and for Parliamentarians from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries. The aim is advocating for human rights and democratic reform in Myanmar/Burma. Its members represent both the ruling and non-ruling political parties of countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Philippines and Cambodia.
For more information/ interview with AIPMC MPs, please contact AIPMC Secretariat: Agung Putri Astrid +62 81514006416

Precarious balance for Myanmar reform
By Larry Jagan

BANGKOK - The future of Myanmar's reform process is in question as hardliners and liberals in government ramp up an increasingly bitter power struggle. Change in Myanmar remains fragile despite some encouraging reform signals and growing international goodwill towards President Thein Sein.

So far, though, President Thein Sein's good intentions have produced only limited practical change. Now, there are growing fears that the recent political gains, including the release of political prisoners and allowances for the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) to contest upcoming by-elections, could be reversed.
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