US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrives in Burma

President Barack Obama announces that the US will send Hillary Clinton to Burma next month. This will be the first time a U.S. Secretary of State will be visiting the country. Her trip could signal a big change in US-Burma relations. ႏွစ္ေပါင္း ၅၀ အတြင္း ထပမဦးဆုံးအႀကိမ္ သမုိင္း၀င္ ျမန္မာႏုိင္ငံ ခရီးကုိ စတင္တဲ့ အေနနဲ႔ ဒီကေန႔ ညေနပုိင္းက ေနျပည္ေတာ္ကုိ အေမရိကန္ ႏုိင္ငံျခားေရး၀န္ႀကီး ဟီလာရီ ကလင္တန္ (Hillary Clinton) ေရာက္သြားခဲ့ပါၿပီ။ သူ႔ရဲ႕ ဒီခရီးစဥ္ အေျခအေနနဲ႔ ပတ္သက္ၿပီးေတာ့ ေနျပည္ေတာ္မွာ ဒီခရီးကုိ သတင္းယူဖုိ႔ေရာက္ေနတဲ့ မစုျမတ္မြန္ကုိ ၀ါရွင္တန္ကေန မနႏၵာခ်မ္းက တုိက္႐ုိက္ ဆက္သြယ္ ေမးျမန္းထားပါတယ္။ အေမရိကန္ နိုင္ငံျခားေရးဝန္ႀကီး ဟီလာရီ ကလင္တန္ ျမန္မာနိုင္ငံကို ဒီေန႔ညေနမွာပဲ ေရာက္လာပါတယ္။ အေမရိကန္ပိုင္ ေလယာဥ္နဲ႔ပဲ ေနျပည္ေတာ္ ေလဆိပ္ကို တိုက္ရိုက္ ေရာက္လာခဲ့တာ ျဖစ္ပါတယ္။ ျမန္မာနိုင္ငံဆီကို ႏွစ္ေပါင္း ၅၀ ေက်ာ္အၾကာမွာ ပထမဆံုး ေရာက္လာတဲ့ အေမရိကန္ နိုင္ငံျခားေရဝန္ႀကီးကို ျမန္မာဖက္က ဒုတိယ နိုင္ငံျခားေရးဝန္ႀကီး ေဒါက္တာမ်ဳိးျမင့္က လာႀကိဳပါတယ္။ နိင္ငံျခားေရးဝန္ႀကီး ဦးဝဏၰေမာင္လြင္ ကိုယ္တိုင္ လာမႀကိဳတဲ့ အေပၚမွာေတာ့ ဘာေၾကာင့္ မႀကိဳတာလဲဆိုၿပီး သတင္းေထာက္ေတြၾကားမွာ သံုးသပ္ ေျပာေနၾကပါတယ္။ ဘယ္သူကမွေတာ့ ဘာေၾကာင့္လဲဆိုတာ သိနိုင္မယ္ မထင္ပါဘူး။ တိုက္ဆိုင္ခ်င္ေတာ့ ျမန္မာနိုင္ငံကို Belarus ဝန္ႀကီးခ်ဳပ္ကလဲ မနက္ျဖန္ ဒီဇင္ဘာလ ၁ ရက္ေန႔မွာ ေရာက္ဖို႔ ရွိေနေတာ့ ေနျပည္ေတာ္ေလဆိပ္နဲဲ႔ လမ္းေတြေပၚမွာေတာ့ Belarus ဝန္ႀကီးခ်ဳပ္ကို ႀကိဳဆိုပါတယ္ဆိုၿပီး ဆိုင္းပုဒ္ႀကီးေတြေပၚမွာ ေရးထားတာကိုေတာ့ ေတြ႔ခဲ့ရပါတယ္။ ဒီေတာ့ ႏုိင္ငံျခားေရး၀န္ႀကီး ကလင္တန္ကုိယ္တုိင္ အခုလုိမ်ဳိး ထူးထူးျခားျခား လာေရာက္တဲ့ ဒီခရီးစဥ္မ်ဳိးမွာ လုံၿခံဳေရး အေျခအေနနဲ႔ ပတ္သက္လုိ႔ေရာ ဘယ္လုိေတြ ျမင္ေတြ႔ရသလဲရွင့္? လံုၿခံဳေရးဆိုရင္ေတာ့ ဒီေန႔ေလဆိပ္မွာ ၂ မ်ဳိးႀကံဳခဲ့ရပါတယ္။ အေမရိကန္ နိုင္ငံျခားေရးဝန္ႀကီး လာတဲ့အတြက္ အေမရိကန္ သံရံုးကယူတဲ့ လံုၿခံဳေရးနဲ႔ ျမန္မာ အာဏာပိုင္ေတြယူတဲ့ လံုၿခံဳေရး ၂ မ်ိဳးပါ။ ျမန္မာအာဏာပိုင္ေတြယူတဲ့ လံုၿခံဳေရးကေတာ့ ေတာ္ေတာ္ေလး တင္းၾကပ္ပါတယ္။ ဥပမာ သတင္းေထာက္ေတြကို သတ္မွတ္ေပးထားတဲ့ ေနရာမွာပဲ သတင္းယူဖုိ႔ ေျပာတာေတာင္၊ သူတုိ႔ ေျပာတာက မလိုလားအပ္တဲ့ အျပဳအမူ၊ စည္းကမ္းေဖါက္ဖ်က္တဲ့ အျပဳအမူျဖစ္ရင္ အဲဒီသတင္းဌာနဟာ Black list ၊ နာမည္ပ်က္ စာရင္းအသြင္းခံရမယ္၊ ေနာက္ထပ္ လာခြင့္ျပဳမွာ မဟုတ္ေတာ့ဘူး ဆိုတဲ့အထိကို လံုၿခံဳေရးအရာရွိက တင္းတင္းၾကပ္ၾကပ္ကို ေျပာတာပါ။ ဒါကေတာ့ အစိုးရဖက္က ယူတဲ့လံုၿခံဳေရးပါ။ အေမရိကန္ သံရံုးဖက္ကေတာ့ ပံုမွန္ထက္ထူးၿပီး လံုၿခံဳေရး ယူတယ္လို႔ေတာ့ မျမင္ပါဘူး။ တင္းေထာက္ေတြရဲ႕ စက္ပစၥည္းေတြမွာ ေပါက္ကြဲေစတဲ့ ပစၥည္းပါ မပါ အနံ႔ခံေခြးနဲ႔ လိုက္ရွာတာေလာက္ကိုပဲ ႀကဳံခဲ့ရပါတယ္။ ေလဆိပ္ပါတ္လည္မွာ ျမင္ရသေလာက္ေတာ့ လံုၿခံဳေရးယူတာကေတာ့ SB သတင္းတပ္ဖြဲ႔ကပါ။ အခုကၽြန္မတုိ႔ တည္းေနတဲ့ ဟိုတယ္က အေမရိကန္ နိုင္ငံျခားေရးဝန္ႀကီး တည္းေနတဲ့ ဟိုတယ္နဲ႔ ကပ္ရက္မွာ ရွိတာဆုိေတာ့ သူတည္းတဲ့ သဂၤဟဟိုတယ္မွာေရာ ဒီဖက္ဟိုတယ္မွာပါ ရဲအေစာင့္ေတြ ေတာ္ေတာ္မ်ားမ်ားကို ေတြ႔ေနရပါတယ္။ ဆိုေတာ့ အေမရိကန္ နိုင္ငံျခားေရးဝန္ႀကီးအတြက္ လံုၿခံဳေရးကို အိမ္ရွင္အစိုးရက တင္းတင္း ၾကပ္ၾကပ္ ယူထားတယ္လို႔ ေျပာလို႔ရပါတယ္။ ေနျပည္ေတာ္မွာ သတင္းယူရတဲ့ အေျခအေနေရာ ဘယ္လုိရွိလဲ? ဘယ္လုိလဲဆုိေတာ့ တင္းၾကပ္တဲ့ လံုၿခံဳေရးေအာက္မွာ သတင္းယူရတယ္လို႔ပဲ ေျပာရမယ္ထင္တယ္ မနႏၵာေရ။ ဥပမာ နက္ျဖန္မွာ သမၼတဦးသိန္းစိန္နဲ႔ အေမရိကန္ နိုင္ငံျခားေရးဝန္ႀကီး Hillary Clinton တို႔ သမၼတအိမ္ေတာ္မွာ ေတြ႔မယ္။ အဲဒါကုိ သတင္းယူခ်င္တဲ့ သတင္းေထာက္ေေတြ အေနနဲ႔ ျပန္ၾကားေရးက စီစဥ္ေပးထားတဲ့ ကားေတြနဲ႔ပဲ ျပန္ၾကားေရးရံုကေန စုၿပီး သြားရမွာမ်ဳိးပါ။ တခုရွိတာက အခု Mrs. Clinton လာတဲ့အတြက္ ကၽြန္မတို႔ ဗီြအုိေအ အပါအဝင္ နိုင္ငံတကာက သတင္းဌာန ေတာ္ေတာ္မ်ားမ်ားက သတင္းေထာက္ေတြကလဲ သတင္းယူဖို႔ ျမန္မာနိုင္ငံမွာ ေရာက္ေနၾကေတာ့ ဒီသတင္းေထာက္ေတြ အားလံုးအတြက္ သိခ်င္ၾကတာကို သက္ဆိုင္ရာက ေျဖၾကားေပးနိုင္ဖို႔ အစီီအစဥ္ မက်တာ တခ်ဳိ႕ေတာ့ရွိပါတယ္။ ဒါေပမဲ့လဲ ျပည္တြင္းက အထာသိေနတဲ့ သတင္းေထာက္ေတြကလဲ ေတာ္ေတာ္ေလး အကူအညီေပးၾကပါတယ္။ ေနာက္တခုက အင္တာနက္သံုးရတဲ့ အခက္အခဲပါ။ ေနျပည္ေတာ္မွာပါေနာ္၊ ဒါကေတာ့။ အခုကၽြန္မတည္းတဲ့ ဟိုတယ္ႀကီးမွာဆိုရင္ ဘယ္လိုေၾကာင့္လဲေတာ့ မသိဘူး အင္တာနက္ကို Proxy ခံၿပီး သံုးရပါတယ္။ အခု Gmail လဲဖြင့္လို႔ မရ၊ အလုပ္ Email လဲ ဖြင့္လို႔ မရေတာ့ မနႏၵာတို႔ဆီေတာင္ ပို႔ခ်င္တဲ့ အသံဖိုင္တခ်ဳိ႕ မပို႔နိုင္ ျဖစ္ေနပါတယ္။ ဒီေတာ့ သူ႔ရဲ႕ ၃ ရက္ၾကာမယ့္ ခရီးစဥ္ အတြင္းမွာေပါ့ေလ သူ ဘယ္သူေတြနဲ႔ ေတြ႔မလဲ၊ ဘာေတြ စီစဥ္ထားတာ ရွိလဲရွင့္? ဒီေန႔ညမွာေတာ့ သူ႔အေနနဲ႔ ဘယ္သူနဲ႔မွ ေတြ႔ဖုိ႔ အစီအစဥ္ မရွိေတာ့ဘူး။ နက္ျဖန္မွာေတာ့ အရင္ဆံုးက နိုင္ငံျခားေရးဝန္ႀကီး ဦးဝဏၰေမာင္လြင္နဲ႔ ႏုိင္ငံျခားေရး႐ုံးမွာ ေတြ႔မယ္။ ၿပီးသြားရင္ သမၼတဦးသိန္းစိန္နဲ႔ အေမရိကန္ နိုင္ငံျခားေရးဝန္ႀကီး ဟီလာရီ ကလင္တန္တုိ႔ သမၼတ အိမ္ေတာ္မွာ ေတြ႔ၾကပါမယ္ေပါ့ေလ။ သမၼတနဲ႔ ႏုိင္ငံျခားေရး၀န္ႀကီးကေတာ့ သူတို႔ ၂ ေယာက္ တံခါးပိတ္ ေဆြးေႏြးၾကမယ္လုိ႔ သိရတယ္။ ေနာက္ၿပီးသြားရင္ေတာ့ ျပည္ေထာင္စုလႊတ္ေတာ္ နာယက ဦးခင္ေအာင္ျမင့္နဲ႔ ေတြ႔မယ္။ ေနာက္တခါ ျပည္သူ႔လႊတ္ေတာ္ဥကၠဌ သူရဦးေရႊမန္းတို႔အျပင္ ေပါ့ေလ လႊတ္ေတာ္ ကိုယ္စားလွယ္ တခ်ဳိ႕နဲ႔လဲ မနက္ျဖန္မွာ ေတြ႔ဖို႔ရွိပါတယ္။ ေန႔လည္ပိုင္း အေမရိကန္ ႏုိင္ငံျခားေရး၀န္ႀကီး ေနျပည္ေတာ္ကေနၿပီးေတာ့ ရန္ကုန္ကို မသြားခင္မွာေတာ့ သတင္းစာရွင္းလင္းပြဲ ခနေလး လုပ္ဖုိ႔ရွိတယ္လို႔ သိထားပါတယ္။ ရန္ကုန္မွာေတာ့ ေသာၾကာေန႔ ဒီဇင္ဘာလ ၂ ရက္ေန႔ ေရာက္မွပဲ ေဒၚေအာင္ဆန္းစုၾကည္ကို အရင္ဆံုး ေတြ႔မွာပါ။ ေနာက္ တိုင္းရင္းသား ေခါင္းေဆာင္တခ်ဳိ႕နဲ႔ ေတြ႔ဖုိ႔ရွိတယ္။ ေနာက္ အရပ္ဖက္ အေျချပဳ အဖြဲ႔တခ်ဳိ႕နဲ႔လဲ ေတြ႔ဖုိ႔ရွိပါတယ္။ ၿပီးရင္ေတာ့ ဒီဇင္ဘာလ ၂ ရက္ေန႔ ညေနမွာပဲ အေမရိကန္ နိုင္ငံျခားေရး ဝန္ႀကီးက ျမန္မာနိုင္ငံကေန ျပန္သြားမွာပါ။ ရန္ကုန္ၿမိဳ႕က အထင္ကရ ေရႊတိဂံုေစတီေတာ္ကိုလဲ အေမရိကန္ နိုင္ငံျခားေရးဝန္ႀကီး ဟီလာရီ ကလင္တန္ ဖူးဖို႔ရွိတယ္လုိ႔ အစီအစဥ္ သိရပါတယ္။

China strengthens ties with Burma 28 NOV

Monday, 28 November 2011 -------------------------------------------- China strengthens ties with Burma, ahead of Clintons historic visit Suu Kyi moves from tragic icon to global go-between Clinton aims to bring Burma into fold Chinese Vice President vows to further ties with Myanmar To Reform, Stop Imprisoning Journalists China, Myanmar vow deeper ties NLD prepares to accept 1 million party members Foreign-based dissident organizations reorganizing their missions Hillary Clinton prepares for Burma trip Chief Minister Sacked for Bribery ------------------------------------------- China strengthens ties with Burma, ahead of Clintons historic visit By Zin Linn Nov 28, 2011 11:44PM UTC Burma Armys goodwill delegation led by Commander-in-Chief of Defense Services General Min Aung Hlaing left Naypyitaw by air for the Peoples Republic of China at the invitation of Peoples Libration Army of the Peoples Republic of China yesterday, the state-media said today. Commander-in-Chief General Min Aung Hlaing was accompanied by Lt-Gen Hla Htay Win of Commander-in-Chief Office, Lt-Gen Kyaw Swe, Lt-Gen Yar Pyae, senior military officers, Commander of North-East Command Maj-Gen Aung Kyaw Zaw and Commander of Yangon Command Maj-Gen Hsan Oo. According to Xinhua News, Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping on Monday hailed the countrys friendship with Myanmar (Burma) and pledged to further bilateral ties. Xi, also vice chairman of the Central Military Committee, met with Burmas Commander of the Armed Forces Min Aung Hlaing Monday morning in Beijing. The friendship, forged by leaders of the older generations, has endured changes in the international arena, Xi said. The two countries have put into effect fruitful cooperation and support each other on international and regional issues, Xi added. Chinas second-in-command Xi Jinping met Burmas military chief on Monday a few days before US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton starts a remarkable tour to the reclusive state. Burma wants a regular relationship with the United States, Shwe Mann, the speaker of the lower house of parliament in the military-dominated country said on Friday, ahead of a historic visit by US Secretary of State. After the Thein Sein government gave a political space to Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy party, the US showed gesture of warmer diplomatic ties towards the isolated nation. Shwe Mann welcomed the first historic trip by a US secretary of state to the country in 50 years and said Suu Kyi, who returns to typical politics, would be embraced by the parliament. Hillary Clinton will become the most senior US official visiting Burma within five decades on Wednesday when she arrives on a trip seen as USs steps forward in a country that has long-lasting close ties to China. However, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said last week her trip to Burma is to see whether the military-backed leadership of Burma is committed to both political and economic reform. Wed like to see more political prisoners released. We would like to see a real political process and real elections. Wed like to see an end to the conflicts, particularly the terrible conflicts with ethnic minorities, Clinton said in an interview with Fox News. Coincidentally, Burmese government peace delegation will meet with the representatives of Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) in Shweli in Chinas Yunnan Province on 29 November, Mizzima News said. On November 19 and 20, Minister Aung Min had a preliminary talk with KIO leaders in Mae Sai, Thailand. During the meeting, the KIO presented videos of the three meetings between Kachin leaders and the peace delegates of the Kachin state government to put forward to President Thein Sein. Burma had held general elections last year and freed democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest after polls. Thein Sein met Suu Kyi in August as a sign of change. Thein Sein also challenges China by shutting down an unpopular dam project at Irrawaddy confluence that planned to supply power across the Sino-Burma border. Experts say Clintons trip to Burma is not only to pressure uncertain reforms in the country, but also to urge ending the ethnic war on Chinas doorway. In the midst of growing concerns about the rise of China, Clintons tour also designed for reinforcing US power in the region. Even though, China looks as if Clintons trip would not change its relation with Burma. The friendship, forged by leaders of the older generations, has endured changes in the international arena, Xinhua quoted Vice President Xis words during the meeting with General Min Aung Hlaing. China will work with Myanmar to further bolster the comprehensive strategic partnership of cooperation, added Xi, who is widely expected to take over from President Hu Jintao in 2013. Burma (Myanmar) and China have become more close allies while the US and European countries have sanctioned the Southeast Asian nation. Senator John McCain said he hopes Clinton during her trip to Burma will be able to make important progress in establishing democracy and winning the release of political prisoners. Consequently, Clintons current visit seems to bring unique symbol as it seeks to keep on US main concern in a Southeast Asian country closely allied with China. Nevertheless, Burmese people who displeased with Chinas exploitation in their soil contentedly welcome US Secretary of State Hillary Clintons historic visit to Burma. As Clinton is expected to meet both President Thein Sein and democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, her trip may help political change in the poor country to some degree. http://asiancorrespondent.com/70802/china-strengthens-ties-with-burma-ahead-of-clinton%e2%80%99s-historic-visit/ ----------------------------------------------- Suu Kyi moves from tragic icon to global go-between Features 2011-11-28 10:19 YANGON, November 28, 2011 (AFP) - In the space of a year, Myanmar's democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been transformed from tragic icon of the country's oppression to hugely influential agent in its rapid reform process. Before her release from house arrest in November last year, the figure of "The Lady" shut away and silent in her crumbling lakeside mansion was a powerful symbol of a nation labouring under the yoke of a repressive junta. Now as Myanmar's nominally civilian government begins to make its way back to the international fold, the Nobel laureate finds herself in a position of extraordinary influence. President Barack Obama took the trouble to ring and consult Suu Kyi before announcing he was sending Hillary Clinton to visit Myanmar in the first trip by a US secretary of state in 50 years -- testament to her key place in the country's evolving global relations. "She plays a very, very important role. She's a connection between the West and Burma and the country's re-entry into the international community," said Myanmar analyst Aung Naing Oo, using Myanmar's former name. As the repercussions of the Arab Spring continue to convulse the Middle East, a Western diplomat said that Myanmar could be fortunate in having a credible figure to unite the country. "If she plays her cards right and she becomes the moderate leader that we hope she would, Myanmar is in a much better situation than many other countries," he said. "Not only do they have a government which wants reforms but they've got somebody incredibly respected like Aung San Suu Kyi." Elections last year brought a new government to power after decades of military rule, and though it remains dominated by army proxies, it has made a series of surprising reforms. Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) applied to re-register as a political party last week after boycotting much-criticised 2010 parliamentary polls -- the first step towards contesting upcoming by-elections. No date for the vote has been set, but Suu Kyi is expected to stand, a move that has been welcomed by former general and President Thein Sein. Jim Della-Giacoma, South East Asia Project Director at the International Crisis Group (ICG), said the slight, softly spoken 66-year-old is a huge asset to the opposition. "She is the one who is communicating directly with the US Congress, who are the body most responsible for lifting key sanctions -- she has an international profile that the rest of the opposition does not have," he told AFP. A move into mainstream politics is the latest chapter in the life of a woman who did not always seemed destined for the role of national heroine. She is the daughter of Myanmar's independence hero General Aung San, but she began her own political career late after spending much of her life abroad. Suu Kyi studied at Oxford University and had two sons after marrying British academic Michael Aris, appearing to settle into life in Britain. But when she returned to Yangon in 1988 to nurse her sick mother, protests erupted against the military, which ended with a brutal crackdown that left at least 3,000 dead. She took a leading role in the pro-democracy movement, delivering speeches to crowds of hundreds of thousands. Alarmed by the support she commanded, the generals ordered her first stint of house arrest in 1989. However she remained a figurehead for the NLD, which won 1990 elections by a landslide but was never allowed to take power. In 1991, she won the Nobel Peace Prize, putting her beside Nelson Mandela among the world's leading voices against tyranny. Her struggle for her country has come at a high personal cost: her husband died in 1999, and in the final stages of his battle with cancer the junta denied him a visa to see his wife. Suu Kyi refused to leave Myanmar to see him, certain she would never have been allowed to return. After years of favouring harsh measures against the regime, Suu Kyi now looks determined to be integral to her country's journey as it attempts to shake off its international isolation. "Some people are worried that taking part could harm my dignity. Frankly, if you do politics, you should not be thinking about your dignity," she told her party this month. http://www.mysinchew.com/node/67007 -------------------------------------------- Clinton aims to bring Burma into fold November 29, 2011. WASHINGTON: The US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, embarks on a historic visit to Burma this week that aims to pry open the closed nation and stir the battle for global influence on China's doorstep. Mrs Clinton will become the top US official to visit the nation in more than 50 years tomorrow as she tests the waters after dramatic but tentative reforms by the military-backed government. She is expected to meet the President, Thein Sein, and the democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Mrs Clinton has said she will press for greater progress on human rights and democracy, without offering any easing of sanctions. Advertisement: Story continues below The US has been careful not to raise expectations of a breakthrough. But Mrs Clinton's visit carries unmistakable symbolism because it seeks to advance US priorities in one of the countries most closely aligned with China. Burma's ''strategic importance to the United States is closely connected to concerns about rising Chinese influence'', John Ciorciari, an expert on south-east Asia at the University of Michigan, said. ''To Beijing, Burma offers the possibility of natural resources and warm-water ports on the Indian Ocean that could be crucial in expanding China's naval reach,'' he said. Beijing has provided the main diplomatic cover for Burma's leaders but the relationship is complicated. Some Burmese are resentful of China's overwhelming economic influence and historic border conflicts. Burma's military seized power in 1962. It held elections last year, nominally handed power to civilians and freed Ms Suu Kyi. The new government has held talks with the opposition and ethnic minorities. The US and opposition were at first cynical about the moves but Ms Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy recently said it would re-enter mainstream politics. The party won 1990 elections but was never allowed to take power. Agence France- Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/world/clinton-aims-to-bring-burma-into-fold-20111128-1o38x.html#ixzz1f0Yhnve6 ------------------------------------------- Chinese Vice President vows to further ties with Myanmar English.news.cn 2011-11-28 14:09:23 BEIJING, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping on Monday hailed the country's friendship with Myanmar and pledged to further bilateral ties. Xi, also vice chairman of the Central Military Committee, met with Myanmar's Commander of the Armed Forces Min Aung Hlaing Monday morning in Beijing. "The friendship, forged by leaders of the older generations, has endured changes in the international arena," Xi said, adding that the two states have implemented fruitful cooperation and support each other on international and regional issues. China will, as always, support Myanmar's efforts in preserving national unity, promoting economic development and improving people's livelihood, he said. He also asked Myanmar to properly settle problems and maintain a sound momentum of development. "China will work with Myanmar to further bolster the comprehensive strategic partnership of cooperation," he said. Xi proposed the two military forces to enhance exchange and deepen cooperation so to contribute to bilateral ties. Min Aung Hlaing said the two armed forces share traditional friendship and new opportunities in the new period. He pledged to strengthen military exchanges and cooperation with China in order to safeguard peace and stability in the two countries and the region. Min Aung Hlaing reiterated that Myanmar will firmly adhere to the one-China policy and support China's stance on issues concerning Taiwan, Tibet and Xinjiang. http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/china/2011-11/28/c_131274435.htm -------------------------------------------- To Reform, Stop Imprisoning Journalists By YIP WAI FONG Monday, November 28, 2011 What does it mean to be born in a sort-of junta land like Burma? If you are Burmese, you have to report to the local authorities if you decide to stay overnight at a town other than your own, or risk jail. You cannot use services such as Skype and video Gtalk, because the government has banned the use of Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP). If you are a journalist in Burma, and your job requires you to communicate with certain organizations based abroad, chances are you face jail and torture. Your jailer, the government, will barely be held accountable for violating your basic rights. This year, press freedom advocates named Nov 23 the Day to End Impunity, primarily to commemorate journalists silenced by death and the conspicuous failure to bring their killers to justice. Perhaps we should also spotlight impunity in the context of Burma, where journalists are silenced by lengthy jail term without much hope of fair trial. There are at least 14 of them currently serving sentences ranging from five to 27 years, making the country one of the world's worst places to be a journalist. An often cited case in point: 27-year-old Hla Hla Win, who is serving a sentence that is the same length as her age. She was arrested in 2009 while interviewing several people for a story commemorating the second anniversary of the monk-led uprising known as the Saffron Revolution. She was convicted because the court deemed her a criminal because of the motorcycle she rode as a passenger, her failure to register herself as a guest in the town she came to for her story and her reporting activities as an underground journalist for the Norway-based exiled news agency, the Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB). Another noteworthy case is that of Maung Zeya and Sithu Zeya, the father and son imprisoned to 13 and 18 years, respectively, for taking pictures of a bomb explosion in 2010 in Rangoon, also for DVB. In Burma, plainclothes military intelligence officers scour the streets, ready to interrogate or arrest any local carrying a camera or video camera to deter reporting activities. But some journalists take the risk nonetheless, and without them, there would have been no images and videos of monks shot and battered in 2007 leaking out for the world to witness the atrocities of the then Burmese junta. The significance of the Saffron Revolution and the resultant worldwide condemnation of its crackdown cannot be diminished---for three years later, in November 2010, the first election in twenty years was held establishing the present nominally civilian government. But in the meantime, those brave and anonymous video journalists were arrested or forced to flee into hiding or exile. Their ordeal was recorded in the poignant documentary, "Burma VJ." However, despite the the Burmese government's long record of impunity, on Nov 18, it was rewarded for its "reforms" by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), which approved its bid for the group's chairmanship in 2014. Asean is hoping that the move will encourage further change in the country. With Burma now basking in the limelight as a "reforming" country, let's put things into perspective, lest we forget what remains unchanged. The "reforms" so far are chiefly the government's warming to democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi and its release of some 200 prisoners of conscience, a category which includes imprisoned journalists. However, hundreds are still behind bars, and the government continues to deny that they even exist. It also maintains one of the world's strictest press censorship regimes to thoroughly screen all news with political implications. Until recently, it blocked the websites of foreign news media and those run by exiled Burmese which routinely cover the country with critical fervor. Although people in the country can now access these sites, a series of draconian laws is in place to control them from engaging in any forms of political expression. In short, the people of Burma are still bereft of a voice to articulate their views on the country's poverty, corruption and state violence. In a democratic system, this voice serves to keep the government informed about reality; in Burma, the government prefers to get its information from military intelligence. This leads us back to Burma's successful bid for the Asean chairmanship. Welcoming the decision, Ko Ko Hlaing, the chief political adviser to the Burmese president, reportedly said: "Be assured that we are now growing into a democratic society and we will do all our responsibilities and duties as a responsible government, reflecting the desires of the Myanmar [Burmese] people." The question is, will they release the imprisoned journalists? Yip Wai Fong has worked as a communications and publications officer at the Centre for Independent Journalism, Malaysia, and is now interning at the Southeast Asia Press Association (SEAPA) in Bangkok. The views expressed here are solely her own. http://irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=22548 ---------------------------------------- CHANNEL NEWS ASIA China, Myanmar vow deeper ties Posted: 28 November 2011 1617 hrs BEIJING: China's leader-in-waiting Xi Jinping met Myanmar's military chief on Monday and pledged stronger ties, days before US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton starts a historic trip to the closed state. Clinton will become the most senior US official to visit Myanmar in more than 50 years on Wednesday when she arrives on a trip seen as a bid to advance US priorities in a country that has long enjoyed close ties to China. Xi proposed that the nations' militaries "enhance exchange and deepen cooperation" when he met the commander-in-chief of Myanmar's armed forces, Min Aung Hlaing, in Beijing, the official Xinhua news agency said. "The friendship, forged by leaders of the older generations, has endured changes in the international arena," Xinhua quoted Vice President Xi as saying. "China will work with Myanmar to further bolster the comprehensive strategic partnership of cooperation," added Xi, who is widely expected to take over from President Hu Jintao in 2013. Myanmar and China have long been close allies, although the relationship is complicated, with some in the Southeast Asian nation resentful over Beijing's overwhelming economic influence and historic border conflicts. Myanmar -- which since last year has held elections and freed democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest -- recently defied China by shutting down work on an unpopular dam that would supply power across the border. Experts say Clinton's trip to Myanmar aims not only to test the waters after dramatic but tentative reforms in the country, but also to shake up the battle for global influence on China's doorstep. It follows a tour of Pacific nations by US President Barack Obama aimed at reinforcing US influence in the region amid growing concerns about the rise of China. During his trip, Obama announced the stationing of US troops in Australia -- a move Beijing said may not be "quite appropriate" -- and also pushed ahead a trans-Pacific free trade agreement that for now excludes China. But US influence in Myanmar is likely to be limited. Washington bans virtually all trade with the country and any decision to end sanctions would need approval from Congress. -AFP/ac http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific/view/1168081/1/.html -------------------------------------------- NLD prepares to accept 1 million party members Monday, 28 November 2011 13:23 Myo Thant Chiang Mai (Mizzima) -- Feeling its newfound strength in deciding to register and reorganize as a political party, the National League for Democracy [NLD] is preparing to accept 1 million party members. The NLD will begin distribution of application forms in a few days, said May Win Myint, one of the new founding members who signed the NLD re-registration application permit. Even former NLD members -- including party leader Aung San Suu Kyi -- will have to fill out and submit a new membership application form, May Win Myint told Mizzima. Khin Moe Moe, another of the party's new founders, said, "The membership form asks for an applicant's age, education, race, religion and address." Poet Nyein Thit, who volunteers for NLD social projects, said that ideally new members will want to become actively involved in NLD projects at all levels. "We don't set specific qualifications: anyone who wants to become involved in pro-democracy issues -- that quality will is enough to become a member," Nyein Thit told Mizzima. Senior NLD members and new members will be treated equally. If new members have the right qualities, they can be NLD candidates and contest in the coming by-elections, said Nyan Win, the NLD spokesman. "Qualified activists, ethnic people and women will be given priority and the education of the candidate-to-be will also be considered in choosing candidates," Nyan Win said. The NLD is preparing to form canvassing committees in states and regions, officials said. On Friday, Suu Kyi met with more than 50 musicians and singers at her lakeside home in Rangoon. The meeting was held to discuss songs and music for use in NLD canvassing in the coming by-election. A composer, Ye Lwin, told Mizzima that he planned to offer his help. "I'm not an NLD member," he said. "But, I'll help Amay Suu [Suu Kyi]. We believe in her. So, I'll do what she told me to do." The NLD party advocates a nonviolent movement towards multi-party democracy in Burma, which was under oppressive military rule from 1962 until March 2011, when a new military-dominated Parliament was formed after elections The party supports human rights -- including broad-based freedom of speech -- the rule of law, an end to fighting in ethnic areas and national reconciliation. The NLD party flag features a peacock, a prominent symbol in Burma. A dancing peacock was widely used in the flags of Burmese monarchies. The NLD peacock is now associated with a decades-long struggle against the military dictatorship in which hundreds of its members served terms in prison for their political activities. The party's emblem, a traditional bamboo hat, will be replaced by a new emblem yet to announced. http://mizzima.com/news/inside-burma/6227-nld-prepares-to-accept-1-million-party-members.html ------------------------------------------- Foreign-based dissident organizations reorganizing their missions Monday, 28 November 2011 13:14 Ko Wild Chiang Mai (Mizzima) -- In response to the National League for Democracy's (NLD) decision to re-register as a political party, many dissident organizations in foreign countries are reassessing their strategies and redefining their missions. Among the organizations are the NLD -- Liberated Area; the National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma (NCGUB); Members of Parliament Union -- Burma (MPU) and the National Council of the Union of Burma. The NCGUB includes five former MPs from the1990 general election and is led by Dr. Sein Win, the prime minister of the Burmese government in exile, who is Aung San Suu Kyi's cousin. After a meeting last week, the NCGUB decided that the word "Government" in its name is no longer appropriate. Dr. Tint Swe, the information minister of the Burmese government in exile, told Mizzima, "If Aung San Suu Kyi and the NLD legally enter parliamentary politics, 'NCGUB', the name of our organization, will not be appropriate anymore." However, he said he still had reservations about the current government because a military government ruled Burma for so many years. The group would continue to fight for human rights, peace in ethnic areas and work for the freedom of political prisoners, he said. The NCGUB was formed in December 1990. Tint Swe said the Norwegian government supports the group and it will continue to support its involvement in Burmese politics. The MUP, formed 15 years ago, will continue in its current form, said Tint Swe who also serves as an MPU member. The MPU comprises 32 MPs elected in the never-honoured 1990 general election. One significant change, he said, is that "the demand to convene the parliament in accord with the results of 1990 general election does not exist anymore. But, the electoral results and the support of Burmese citizens will be milestones in our history." The MPU MPs represented the National Democracy Party, from Chin, Shan, Arakan, Mon, Lahu, Zomi parties, and independent MPs. An official of the NLD-LA Foreign Affairs sub-committee said a central executive meeting last week decided to drop the name "NLD-LA" because it is tied to the 1990 general election. "The NLD-LA may be transformed into NLD groups based in foreign countries. Eight branches of NLD-LA now exists in the U.S., Japan, Australia, Canada, Malaysia, South Korea, Norway and England. The NLD-LA would work for reconciliation between the government and opposition groups, including ethnic armed groups, he said. "We helped to hold the dialogue between the Minister Aung Min and ethnic groups. NLD-LA will be involved in seeking national reconciliation and working for the development of the country," he said. Both the NLD-LA and MPU, along with Democratic Alliance of Burma and the National Democratic Front, are member groups of the NCUB. Aung Moe Zaw, the NCUB joint secretary No.1 and chairman of the Democratic Party for New Society, said that whether the member groups will continue as members of the NCUB has yet to be decided. "The NCUB needs to review its activities and structure, I think. Meetings between chairmen and secretaries of member groups need to be conducted as soon as possible. Most of our activities are related to the results of 1990 general election so we need to review whether our activities are in line with the current situation," Aung Moe Zaw said. The NCUB was formed in September 1992 and it incudes 26 pro-democracy organizations. http://mizzima.com/news/inside-burma/6226-foreign-based-dissident-organizations-reorganizing-their-missions.html ----------------------------------------------- Hillary Clinton prepares for Burma trip Shaun Tandon; November 28, 2011 - 1:19PM AFP US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton embarks on a historic visit to Burma this week that aims not only to pry open the closed nation but to shake up the battle for global influence right on China's doorstep. Clinton on Wednesday will become the top US official to visit the nation in more than 50 years as she tests the waters after dramatic - but tentative - reforms by the military-backed government. Clinton is expected to meet both President Thein Sein and democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi. She has said she will press for greater progress on human rights and democracy, without offering any let-up in biting US sanctions. The United States has been careful not to raise expectations for a breakthrough. But Clinton's visit carries unmistakable symbolism as it seeks to advance US priorities in one of the countries most closely aligned with China. Burma's "strategic importance to the United States is closely connected to concerns about rising Chinese influence," said John Ciorciari, an expert on South-East Asia at the University of Michigan. "To Beijing, Burma offers the possibility of natural resources and warm-water ports on the Indian Ocean that could be crucial in expanding China's naval reach," he said. "Successful US engagement would lessen the likelihood of a strong Sino-Myanmar (Burma) alignment in years ahead." Beijing has provided the main diplomatic cover for Burma's leaders but the relationship is complicated, with some in the South-East Asian nation resentful over China's overwhelming economic influence and historic border conflicts. Burma recently defied China by shutting down work on an unpopular dam that would supply power across the border. Burma's leaders, known for deep distrust of the outside world, have reached out in recent years to India, South-East Asian nations and, now, the United States. For the United States, progress on Burma could help resolve a main stumbling block inside the Association of South-East Asian Nations, giving new influence to the fast-growing - and mostly US-friendly - 10-nation bloc. A stronger ASEAN would allow "China to grow and be secure but not use its new economic might to force neighbours' hands on issues related to sovereignty," said Ernie Bower of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies. US President Barack Obama's administration, while saying it wants a co-operative relationship with a rising China, has recently gone on the offensive amid suspicions over Beijing's intentions. Obama recently announced the stationing of US troops in Australia's Northern Territory and has pushed ahead a trans-Pacific free trade agreement that for now excludes China. Burma's military seized power in 1962 but since last year has held elections, nominally handed power to civilians and freed Suu Kyi from house arrest. The new government has opened a dialogue with the opposition and ethnic minorities. While the United States and the opposition were at first cynical about the moves, Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy recently said it will re-enter mainstream politics. The party won 1990 elections but was never allowed to take power. http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-world/hillary-clinton-prepares-for-burma-trip-20111128-1o2gu.html ------------------------------------------ Chief Minister Sacked for Bribery 2011-11-27 Burma's new government tackles its first case of official corruption outside the military. AFP Burmese women work in a rice field, Jul. 2, 2010. A Burmese regional minister has been sacked for what local merchants say was bribery connected to the rice trade. A high-ranking Burmese regional official was dismissed Friday for what local merchants said was bribery connected to the lucrative rice trade, in the first high-profile corruption case involving a non-military official since the country's new government took office earlier this year. The chief minister of southern Burma's Tenasserim region, former Lt. Gen. Khin Zaw, was removed from his post, an anonymous government source said Friday. Merchants who operate in Tenasserim told RFA Friday that Khin Zaw had been fired for exerting undue influence over the region's highly profitable rice industry and neglecting his duties as an official. "Khin Zaw, who had previously served as Mandalay division commander, gave special favors to the Mandalay-based Aung Myinthu company as the sole distributor of rice," said one merchant, who asked to remain anonymous. "He caused hardship for rice traders as well as the local populace in the Mergui, Tavoy, and Kawthoung areas." A businessman in Kawthoung told RFA that local authorities had recently spoken to officials in the capital Naypyidaw about Khin Zaw's conduct. "Khin Zaw's dismissal followed a complaint by members of parliament from the Tenasserim region who had discovered his involvement in corruption and failure to act on badly-needed development work---especially in the local transport and the education sectors," he said. Khin Zaw served in various positions in Burma's former military junta from 1988 to 2010 and was one of 14 chief ministers appointed to oversee the country's regions and states following the country's historic elections in November last year. Enacting reform Khin Zaw's dismissal for corruption is the first of a non-military official under Burmese President Thein Sein's new nominally civilian government, which took power from the military regime in March. Thein Sein's government has sacked several military officials for corruption, including Brigadier-General Tun Than, the former commander of the Rangoon Regional Military Command, who was forced to resign in July, allegedly for corruption. Since coming to power, Thein Sein has enacted a series of reforms which have been mostly welcomed by the international community, including easing media controls, legalizing labor unions, and suspending a controversial dam project backed by China. But the United States and other Western nations that have long-running sanctions on Burma are awaiting signals from pro-democracy leader and Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, who was freed from 15 years of house arrest last November following landmark elections, on when to lift the restrictions. U.S. President Barack Obama, who is sending his Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on a visit to Burma next month, has also sought Aung San Suu Kyi's "ideas and thoughts about the best approach" to inducing reforms in Burma. Clinton will be the first U.S. secretary of state to visit the country in 50 years. Burma, which at the time was ruled by General Than Shwe's military junta, was ranked next to worst in corruption in a report released in October last year by Transparency International, a Berlin-based monitoring group. The report, "Corruption Perceptions Index 2010," ranked Burma in a tie with Afghanistan as 176th out of 178 countries, saying at the time that the military regime "controls the whole country ... so if you want to get things done, there is no alternative but to pay bribes to whoever is in charge." Reported by RFA's Burmese Service. Translated by Khin Maung Nyane. Written in English by Joshua Lipes. Copyright (c) 1998-2011 Radio Free Asia. All rights reserved.http://www.rfa.org/english/news/burma/corruption-11272011155932.html

သမိုင္းကို ေငြနဲ႔ ဝယ္လိုသူ ဦးခင္ေရႊ

စစ္တပ္နဲ ့ ေပါင္းျပီး ေခတ္ပ်က္မွာ သူေတာ္ခ်င္း ေပ်ာ္ေမြ ့ၾကပံု ။ ဆရာခင္ညြန္ ့ကေတာ့ ခင္ေရြကို ေထာင္ထဲမွာ ေစာင့္ေနတယ္ ။ "(သမိုင္းကို ေငြနဲ႔ ဝယ္လိုသူမ်ား) ဦးခင္ေရႊ မွ ဇာနယ္ဇင္း သမားမ်ားအား ေစာ္ကား ေျပာၾကားခ်က္ (အသံဖိုင္)" (သမိုင္းကို ေငြနဲ႔ ဝယ္လိုသူမ်ား) ဦးခင္ေရႊ မွ ဇာနယ္ဇင္း သမားမ်ားအား ေစာ္ကား ေျပာၾကားခ်က္ (အသံဖိုင္) by Demo Waiyen အစပိုင္း အနည္းငယ္ သည္းခံ နားေထာင္ေပးပါရန္...။ သမိုင္းကို ေငြနဲ႔ ဝယ္လိုသူမ်ားလို႔ပဲ ေခါင္းစဥ္တပ္ပါရေစ...။ ကၽြန္ေတာ္တို႔ ဗိုလ္ခ်ဳပ္တို႔လို အာဇာနည္ ေခါင္းေဆာင္ ၾကီးေတြ... သမိုင္းကို ေငြနဲ႔ ဝယ္ခဲ့ပါသလား...။ ေစတနာမွန္ရင္ လုပ္ရပ္မွန္ရင္ သမိုင္းကို ျပည္သူေတြက မွတ္တမ္းတင္မွာပါ..။ သမိုင္းေကြး သမိုင္းမမွန္သူေတြ အတြက္ေတာ့.. ျပည္သူကပဲ မွတ္တမ္းတင္မွာပါ..။ ေပးပို႔လာသည္႔ ကိုသူလြင္အား ေက်းဇူးတင္ပါသည္။ ဒီမိုေဝယံ

An Analysis of President Obama's Speech in the New Cold War

Post by By Kanbawza Win | 26 November 2011 http://taunggyitime.blogspot.com/2011/11/burmese-perspective-analysis-of.html#more The rise of China in every respect in today’s geopolitical situation has created a new bipolar world compounded by the fact that in 2000 years China, for the first time has access to the Indian via Burma due to the Burmese Junta’s survival tactics, seems that Burma will be one of the hot spots in the new impending Cold War. Admittedly neither China nor US has any real desire for a ‘New Cold War’ to start, but deep suspicion and an unwillingness to break the mould of relations are leading to the emergence of these increasingly robust hedges and weakening of moderate forces on both sides. Until now, neither the US nor China has been fully prepared to face up to the underlying divisions because they imply some difficult choices. The corporate and economics still sees China as a major new commercial opportunity, while still far short of the power to represent any sort of a challenge to the world order. There seems to be some major conflict drivers such as (1) Taiwan, (2) Energy, disagreement over the future of the Asia Pacific, in which Burma is placed in the cross road because of the main middle east oil pipeline will be dumped in Arakan (West coast of Burma) and be piped to central China. (3)Trade relations on whom a substantial degree of accord would drastically mitigate and possibly eliminate the risk of conflict and the currency exchange rate that seriously affect trade. But there is another important aspect of deep-rooted factors, sited more unequivocally at the level of ‘ideas and identity’ which make it improbable that any grand bargain over these conflict drivers – or preparedness to let economic forces gradually transform the context – is really feasible, as they touch on underlying attitudes towards the global role that each side should assume; regime threats and ideological conflict; fundamental trust in the other side’s intentions; and basic understanding of what major shifts in the global and regional balance of power imply for policy. China, meanwhile, is inclined to see, US democratization efforts in the rest of the world as part of a hegemonic strategy and calls on China to press ahead with political reforms as manipulative attempts to destabilize the country. On the other hand China is showing increasing willingness to lend support to authoritarian regimes throughout the world, particularly Burma. Hence there is the danger for the US, is that, it may engender a situation where China, not only throws up the defenses internally but is making serious efforts to stem the global democratic tide. For China, the danger is that, if it cannot tell a story that it is moving forward politically, and pursues a path of providing ostentatious support to corrupt and dictatorial regimes like Burma, it risks tainting its own political system by association, weakening the hand of international supporters who are keen to point to signs of progress, and harden an across-the-board resistance to China’s role in the world. This is an ideological dividing line that could become ever more sharply defined and is likely to be the defining feature of a new Cold War if a stable consensus cannot be reached. President Obama in his speech at the Bali summit on Nov.18th said. “I’ve underscored America's commitment to the future of human rights in the region. Today I'm announcing an important step forward in our efforts to move forward on both these fronts.” this clearly depicts not only the American values but also of the civilized community, when the word Burma was used instead of Myanmar indicating that dictators cannot change the name of the country according to their whims and fancies without the consensus of the people. But will the quasi civilian Burmese administration (အေရၿခံဳအရပ္သားအစုိးရ) admit its denial of human rights, the persecution of democratic reformers and the brutalities against the ethnic nationalities? Even now the puppet President Thein Sein is uttering that there is no political prisoners in Burma, when indeed the international community and the people of Burma already know that there are over 1,700 prisoners of conscience. This explicitly proves that the Thein Sein administration just like the previous Junta is bent on its age old trick of “Lying the very concept of truth.” What more proof is wanted than to hoodwink the US and the world to categories these political prisoners including political activist and the Buddhist monks as criminals? And yet a de facto Diaspora leader and leading opposition figures who had visited him dared to describe Thein Sein as sincere, tan amounting to mockery, if not a laughing stock of the world. Although the current Burmese administration has recently made some tentative political and economic reforms, there has been no change in their collective attitude of the country's leaders toward the decades-old ethnic issues and is no different from that of the several military backed regimes. Separate peace talks with the different ethnic armed groups are a divide-and-rule strategy to sow discord among the respective ethnic leaders. What little democratic space has been opened is confined only to DawAung San Suu Kyi and her party in order to get recognition from the international community and of lifting of sanctions. Hence even though democracy prevails, but there will be no peace and development in the country because there is no sincerity from the government. President Obama said that “We remain concerned about Burma’s closed political system, its treatment of minorities and holding of political prisoners” What sort of political system is still to be spelled out with a fake, dubious constitution and a sham election? The regime treatment of the ethnic nationalities makes it crystal clear that this quasi military administration has refused to recognise the Union of the country (authentic proof is not respecting the Panglong Concordat 1947) but rather is bent on Myarmarnization of the ethnic nationalities and is waging an all out war against the Kachin nationalities in the north? The US strategists and policymakers will have to understand that all major ethnic nationalities fight against the central government in one way or another up to this day. The ethnic Karens have been fighting against the Burmese government since 1949, why? What is the rationale of taking up arms against the central government is a fundamental question that needs to be addressed for Burma to achieve peace and stability, as even now there is no ceasefire agreement between the KNU and Thein Sein Administration in spite of the informal talks. It must be remembered that Gen Aung San the architect of the Union of Burma was fully aware that a unified Burma could not be established if equality was not guaranteed for all ethnic nationalities, which were ruled under different administrative units by the British colonial administration. He solved this problem when he said “If Burma receives one kyat, Shan will also get one kyat.” and the end result was the Panglong Concordat the basis on which the Union of Burma was formed in February 1947. The quasi government has not recognized this and this is an unmistakeable proof that the current administration is insincere. Action speaks louder than words when it demonstrated that it is still bent of ethnic cleansing with the threat of genocide to the ethnic nationalities with chemical if not nuclear weapons. So from this hypothesis, the most basic question could be asked. Is it reconciliation between the Myanmar dictatorial regimes with the Myanmar prodemocracy forces head by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi only? Why it does not include the non Myanmar (ethnic nationalities) when the struggle of Burma is both for democratic reforms and ethnic nationalities rights? One has to remember that a coin contains both head and tail as one cannot be distinguished from the other. Every country in the world has its own ethnic communities living peacefully but why the Burmese regimes are bent of ethnic cleansing? Democratic and ethnic rights must be approach simultaneously. Although individual ethnic organizations can organize informal and preliminary meetings with representatives of the Burmese regime, the political solutions will have to be discussed and sought through collective effort and representation of the ethnic nationalities, including the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC). In other words it must be what the lady (Daw Aung San Suu Kyi) proposed the second Panglong Conference. Hillary illaryClinton will be getting a pop star treatment, in visiting Burma for the first time, will not shy about raising these issues even though the longyi (Burmese sarong) wearing ex brass will not like to hear about such as the release of remaining political prisoners, the end of hostilities toward ethnic nationalities and deepening of the country's democratization process, North Korea connections etc. But one should recollect the visit of Madeleine Albright in Nov 1995 who goes back empty handed. Obviously we have some doubts whether she can achieve anything substantial in her two days trip because this puppet quasi civilian government cannot get rid the mindset of the Junta being themselves part and parcel of the system. It should also be remembered that since 1988, many political prisoners have been released in occasional amnesties, only to be locked up again when the political climate shifted. Will this window dressing be repeated with the end of Clinton visit is just another open question? President Obama's description of, “We've seen flickers of progress in these last several weeks,” hits the nail on the head for a flicker of progress is not enough to suggest that the country is on the road to major and sustained political reforms. But at the same time in this new Cold War the US has strategic and national interests in Burma in undeniable besides the issues of democracy and human rights. Clinton will want to talk about drugs with so many narco related companies in Rangoon, the country’s shady relations with North Korea (of making nuclear weapons not to use against the US or other powers but ostensibly to use against the strong major ethnic groups like Wa, Kachin and the likes) and the non-proliferation issue including China's growing influence and how to counter with the help of the United States. To repeat President Obama’s words “However, we have always had a profound respect for the people of Burma, and the promise of their country—a country with a rich history, at the crossroads of East and West; a people with a quiet dignity and extraordinary potential. For many years, both the promise and the persecution of the Burmese people have been symbolized by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. As the daughter of Burma’s founding father, and a fierce advocate for her fellow citizens, she's endured prison and house arrest, just as so many Burmese have endured repression... Last night, I spoke to Aung San Suu Kyi, directly, and confirmed that she supports American engagement to move this process forward.”So a clear message that more substantial reforms must be followed for people of Burma, whose hopes are now higher than they have been at any time in recent decades. But the regime’s sincerity is still far from the standard as seen by their actions and even though they want to repair the country's relationship with the US and normalize diplomatic ties should not happen anytime soon. The Secretary of State is going there in person to encourage towards change in a positive direction and the US is ready to forge new era in US Burma relations which acknowledge that positive changes that are underway. President Obama said, “For decades, Americans have been deeply concerned about the denial of basic human rights for the Burmese people. The persecution of democratic reformers, the brutality shown towards ethnic minorities, and the concentration of power in the hands of a few military leaders has challenged our conscience, and isolated Burma from the United States and much of the world” proves that there genuine interest in helping to improve the lives of people of the country in concrete ways. While it is too early to embark on the change of the mindset of the Generals, we believe that it is important to seize a political opening in the reclusive country as the Generals crave for legitimacy and recognition and Clinton’s visit will lend a helping hand to it. But she should also emphasis that the ex generals must at once stop the war against the ethnic nationalities and particularly humanitarianism and must not construe it as undermining the government’s task. It must open the door for international relief organizations to assess the situation of IDPs (Internally Displaced Persons) especially ethnic nationalities in the conflict zones. China handling of Spratly Island crisis hade scared the ASEAN countries out of their wits and that is one of the main reasons of why they brought in the US especially in the Bali summit where the two superpowers glared at each other. Burma seems to be the only stumbling bloc vis a vis China and now with the awarding of the chairperson of ASEAN in 2014, the ASEAN used its triumph card to prove to the world that ASEAN Chairperson is the highest stage of Constructive Engagement and will be happy to continue to exploits Burma’s natural and human resources, the whole of Southeast Asia, the most densely populated part of the globe will be on the side of America and the West against the ever growing Chinese. Everybody agreed that the goal of the visit is going to continue the momentum toward greater respect for human rights, greater movement on political reform in Burma, and also, critically, greater respect for ethnic nationalities in the context of national reconciliation. But until and unless the Generals mindset change, there can be no progress. Contemporary history has proved that these sordid Generals understand punitive actions and so Sanctions must continue to remain. Another simple logic is if they themselves have put several domestic sanctions on the people of Burma why show the US lift its sanctions. The hush agenda of the ex generals being on the wrongs side of the 70s or 80s, crave to have their ill gotten wealth to be put in the Western Banks (particularly Swiss banks) as they could not trust China/ Only then they would be in a position to pass it to their off springs. Here Sanctions become a stumbling block. Of course we welcome Hillary Clinton’s visit and understand that it is in the interest of the US and the world to keep the Chinese power and influence in check in the impending New Cold War but at the same time the US should continue to set benchmarks for normalizing relations with the Burmese government as they seem to understand only punitive actions like sanctions and de-recognition to drive them to the reasoning table. There seems to be some major conflict drivers such as (1) Taiwan, (2) Energy, disagreement over the future of the Asia Pacific, in which Burma is placed in the cross road because of the main middle east oil pipeline will be dumped in Arakan (West coast of Burma) and be piped to central China. (3)Trade relations on whom a substantial degree of accord would drastically mitigate and possibly eliminate the risk of conflict and the currency exchange rate that seriously affect trade. But there is another important aspect of deep-rooted factors, sited more unequivocally at the level of ‘ideas and identity’ which make it improbable that any grand bargain over these conflict drivers – or preparedness to let economic forces gradually transform the context – is really feasible, as they touch on underlying attitudes towards the global role that each side should assume; regime threats and ideological conflict; fundamental trust in the other side’s intentions; and basic understanding of what major shifts in the global and regional balance of power imply for policy. China, meanwhile, is inclined to see, US democratization efforts in the rest of the world as part of a hegemonic strategy and calls on China to press ahead with political reforms as manipulative attempts to destabilize the country. On the other hand China is showing increasing willingness to lend support to authoritarian regimes throughout the world, particularly Burma. Hence there is the danger for the US, is that, it may engender a situation where China, not only throws up the defenses internally but is making serious efforts to stem the global democratic tide. For China, the danger is that, if it cannot tell a story that it is moving forward politically, and pursues a path of providing ostentatious support to corrupt and dictatorial regimes like Burma, it risks tainting its own political system by association, weakening the hand of international supporters who are keen to point to signs of progress, and harden an across-the-board resistance to China’s role in the world. This is an ideological dividing line that could become ever more sharply defined and is likely to be the defining feature of a new Cold War if a stable consensus cannot be reached. President Obama in his speech at the Bali summit on Nov.18th said. “I’ve underscored America's commitment to the future of human rights in the region. Today I'm announcing an important step forward in our efforts to move forward on both these fronts.” this clearly depicts not only the American values but also of the civilized community, when the word Burma was used instead of Myanmar indicating that dictators cannot change the name of the country according to their whims and fancies without the consensus of the people. But will the quasi civilian Burmese administration (အေရၿခံဳအရပ္သားအစုိးရ) admit its denial of human rights, the persecution of democratic reformers and the brutalities against the ethnic nationalities? Even now the puppet President Thein Sein is uttering that there is no political prisoners in Burma, when indeed the international community and the people of Burma already know that there are over 1,700 prisoners of conscience. This explicitly proves that the Thein Sein administration just like the previous Junta is bent on its age old trick of “Lying the very concept of truth.” What more proof is wanted than to hoodwink the US and the world to categories these political prisoners including political activist and the Buddhist monks as criminals? And yet a de facto Diaspora leader and leading opposition figures who had visited him dared to describe Thein Sein as sincere, tan amounting to mockery, if not a laughing stock of the world. Although the current Burmese administration has recently made some tentative political and economic reforms, there has been no change in their collective attitude of the country's leaders toward the decades-old ethnic issues and is no different from that of the several military backed regimes. Separate peace talks with the different ethnic armed groups are a divide-and-rule strategy to sow discord among the respective ethnic leaders. What little democratic space has been opened is confined only to DawAung San Suu Kyi and her party in order to get recognition from the international community and of lifting of sanctions. Hence even though democracy prevails, but there will be no peace and development in the country because there is no sincerity from the government. President Obama said that “We remain concerned about Burma’s closed political system, its treatment of minorities and holding of political prisoners” What sort of political system is still to be spelled out with a fake, dubious constitution and a sham election? The regime treatment of the ethnic nationalities makes it crystal clear that this quasi military administration has refused to recognise the Union of the country (authentic proof is not respecting the Panglong Concordat 1947) but rather is bent on Myarmarnization of the ethnic nationalities and is waging an all out war against the Kachin nationalities in the north? The US strategists and policymakers will have to understand that all major ethnic nationalities fight against the central government in one way or another up to this day. The ethnic Karens have been fighting against the Burmese government since 1949, why? What is the rationale of taking up arms against the central government is a fundamental question that needs to be addressed for Burma to achieve peace and stability, as even now there is no ceasefire agreement between the KNU and Thein Sein Administration in spite of the informal talks. It must be remembered that Gen Aung San the architect of the Union of Burma was fully aware that a unified Burma could not be established if equality was not guaranteed for all ethnic nationalities, which were ruled under different administrative units by the British colonial administration. He solved this problem when he said “If Burma receives one kyat, Shan will also get one kyat.” and the end result was the Panglong Concordat the basis on which the Union of Burma was formed in February 1947. The quasi government has not recognized this and this is an unmistakeable proof that the current administration is insincere. Action speaks louder than words when it demonstrated that it is still bent of ethnic cleansing with the threat of genocide to the ethnic nationalities with chemical if not nuclear weapons. So from this hypothesis, the most basic question could be asked. Is it reconciliation between the Myanmar dictatorial regimes with the Myanmar prodemocracy forces head by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi only? Why it does not include the non Myanmar (ethnic nationalities) when the struggle of Burma is both for democratic reforms and ethnic nationalities rights? One has to remember that a coin contains both head and tail as one cannot be distinguished from the other. Every country in the world has its own ethnic communities living peacefully but why the Burmese regimes are bent of ethnic cleansing? Democratic and ethnic rights must be approach simultaneously. Although individual ethnic organizations can organize informal and preliminary meetings with representatives of the Burmese regime, the political solutions will have to be discussed and sought through collective effort and representation of the ethnic nationalities, including the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC). In other words it must be what the lady (Daw Aung San Suu Kyi) proposed the second Panglong Conference. Hillary illaryClinton will be getting a pop star treatment, in visiting Burma for the first time, will not shy about raising these issues even though the longyi (Burmese sarong) wearing ex brass will not like to hear about such as the release of remaining political prisoners, the end of hostilities toward ethnic nationalities and deepening of the country's democratization process, North Korea connections etc. But one should recollect the visit of Madeleine Albright in Nov 1995 who goes back empty handed. Obviously we have some doubts whether she can achieve anything substantial in her two days trip because this puppet quasi civilian government cannot get rid the mindset of the Junta being themselves part and parcel of the system. It should also be remembered that since 1988, many political prisoners have been released in occasional amnesties, only to be locked up again when the political climate shifted. Will this window dressing be repeated with the end of Clinton visit is just another open question? President Obama's description of, “We've seen flickers of progress in these last several weeks,” hits the nail on the head for a flicker of progress is not enough to suggest that the country is on the road to major and sustained political reforms. But at the same time in this new Cold War the US has strategic and national interests in Burma in undeniable besides the issues of democracy and human rights. Clinton will want to talk about drugs with so many narco related companies in Rangoon, the country’s shady relations with North Korea (of making nuclear weapons not to use against the US or other powers but ostensibly to use against the strong major ethnic groups like Wa, Kachin and the likes) and the non-proliferation issue including China's growing influence and how to counter with the help of the United States. To repeat President Obama’s words “However, we have always had a profound respect for the people of Burma, and the promise of their country—a country with a rich history, at the crossroads of East and West; a people with a quiet dignity and extraordinary potential. For many years, both the promise and the persecution of the Burmese people have been symbolized by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. As the daughter of Burma’s founding father, and a fierce advocate for her fellow citizens, she's endured prison and house arrest, just as so many Burmese have endured repression... Last night, I spoke to Aung San Suu Kyi, directly, and confirmed that she supports American engagement to move this process forward.”So a clear message that more substantial reforms must be followed for people of Burma, whose hopes are now higher than they have been at any time in recent decades. But the regime’s sincerity is still far from the standard as seen by their actions and even though they want to repair the country's relationship with the US and normalize diplomatic ties should not happen anytime soon. The Secretary of State is going there in person to encourage towards change in a positive direction and the US is ready to forge new era in US Burma relations which acknowledge that positive changes that are underway. President Obama said, “For decades, Americans have been deeply concerned about the denial of basic human rights for the Burmese people. The persecution of democratic reformers, the brutality shown towards ethnic minorities, and the concentration of power in the hands of a few military leaders has challenged our conscience, and isolated Burma from the United States and much of the world” proves that there genuine interest in helping to improve the lives of people of the country in concrete ways. While it is too early to embark on the change of the mindset of the Generals, we believe that it is important to seize a political opening in the reclusive country as the Generals crave for legitimacy and recognition and Clinton’s visit will lend a helping hand to it. But she should also emphasis that the ex generals must at once stop the war against the ethnic nationalities and particularly humanitarianism and must not construe it as undermining the government’s task. It must open the door for international relief organizations to assess the situation of IDPs (Internally Displaced Persons) especially ethnic nationalities in the conflict zones. China handling of Spratly Island crisis hade scared the ASEAN countries out of their wits and that is one of the main reasons of why they brought in the US especially in the Bali summit where the two superpowers glared at each other. Burma seems to be the only stumbling bloc vis a vis China and now with the awarding of the chairperson of ASEAN in 2014, the ASEAN used its triumph card to prove to the world that ASEAN Chairperson is the highest stage of Constructive Engagement and will be happy to continue to exploits Burma’s natural and human resources, the whole of Southeast Asia, the most densely populated part of the globe will be on the side of America and the West against the ever growing Chinese. Everybody agreed that the goal of the visit is going to continue the momentum toward greater respect for human rights, greater movement on political reform in Burma, and also, critically, greater respect for ethnic nationalities in the context of national reconciliation. But until and unless the Generals mindset change, there can be no progress. Contemporary history has proved that these sordid Generals understand punitive actions and so Sanctions must continue to remain. Another simple logic is if they themselves have put several domestic sanctions on the people of Burma why show the US lift its sanctions. The hush agenda of the ex generals being on the wrongs side of the 70s or 80s, crave to have their ill gotten wealth to be put in the Western Banks (particularly Swiss banks) as they could not trust China/ Only then they would be in a position to pass it to their off springs. Here Sanctions become a stumbling block. Of course we welcome Hillary Clinton’s visit and understand that it is in the interest of the US and the world to keep the Chinese power and influence in check in the impending New Cold War but at the same time the US should continue to set benchmarks for normalizing relations with the Burmese government as they seem to understand only punitive actions like sanctions and de-recognition to drive them to the reasoning table.

တကယ္ေျပာင္းတာလား on Burma 19 November 2011

News & Articles on Burma Saturday, 19 November 2011 ------------------------------------------- Obstacles lie ahead in Burma's bid for reform KIA pushes back Burmese Army troops from Laiza headquarters UN's Ban says he will visit Myanmar, urges reforms EU Hails Myanmar Moves, Reviewing Policy Key US senators hail Clinton Burma trip Gillard warns Burma has a lot more to do Clinton to visit Burma for fact-finding U.S. sees Burma reforms as strategic opening to support democracy Suu Kyi party to register for election Myanmar dissident returns to politics US sanctions on Myanmar to continue Analysis: US overtures may lure Myanmar from China Myanmar regime loosens its grip on elections Suu Kyi's party decides to enter legal politics for democratization in Burma --------------------------------------------- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - -- - - - - - - -- - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 19 November 2011 Last updated at 12:45 GMT Obstacles lie ahead in Burma's bid for reform By David Loyn BBC News, Naypyidaw, Burma Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi has announced she is ready to re-enter politics, but many obstacles still lie ahead for a country still coming to terms with reform. Driving through the Burmese countryside, I passed a Land Rover that must have been half a century old, four monks clinging to its green frame, as they rattled through the countryside, saffron robes blowing in the breeze. Women with their faces daubed in sandalwood paste under conical straw hats glanced up as we passed. Behind them, a man stood under an awning rhythmically treading a water pump to irrigate the paddy fields as they worked. Our destination could not have been more different from this timeless scene. The neat lawns in the strange fantasy-land of the new capital Naypyidaw, carved out of the jungle, where everything is on a gargantuan scale. When it was built, civil servants were told to move north overnight from Rangoon - disrupting families and lives. Suicide rates in this weird place are said to be very high. There are tens of thousands of hotel rooms, empty most of the year, except during a gem fair, when Chinese buyers descend on Naypyidaw to deal in Burma's mineral wealth. The presidential palace with its vast air-conditioned spaces, and chandeliers sparkling with thousands of lights, seem more than incongruous in a country where state spending on health per person is less than $1 (?0.70) per year. The new town exists in a fantasy economy. As it is a capital city, foreign diplomats will be expected to move here, and areas have been marked out for them already. But one Western embassy worked out that the way the sites are being financed, it would cost $70m over 30 years if they took up the offer. But in a military state, normal economics have been turned on their head for a long time. There are several exchange rates for the Burmese currency, as black market money flows in and out of the country. In the wings The real power here lies in the hands of men who are called "cronies" in normal conversation. Like Russian oligarchs, the cronies in Burma are the men behind the scenes, close to China and outside democratic control as they profit from monopolies in timber, gems and gas. Continue reading the main story Start Quote In a sequence of carefully choreographed moves, the government is easing its relationship towards this iconic figure End Quote They are watching in the wings, as a government with reform on its mind moves steadily away from the corruption and repression of a world that, in the past, suited them well. Change means that recently released prisoners can write in dissident newspapers that are no longer censored and are distributed openly. Until only a few months ago there were daily attacks on the BBC in Burma's main newspaper. Aung San Suu Kyi said that one of the biggest signals of change was that she, for the first time, had been able to talk openly to the BBC in Rangoon, after I was given an unprecedented visa. The political impact of all this is seismic. Bumping along in the back of a van on our way to see a school opened in the last year by Aung San Suu Kyi's supporters, Myo Yan Naung Thein, the leader of the last major student protest back in 1996, told me in clear and stark terms that protest is over. He and his comrades - who made new alliances in jail - have formed a loose network of pro-democracy groups, backing Aung San Suu Kyi, and working within the system for the first time. He said: "If you can't beat them, join them." In a graphic image, the former student leader said that if Burmese people were willing to line up, 10 by 10 by 10 in front of soldiers shooting, then revolution would be possible, as they would wear out the will of the army after thousands had died. "But," he concluded, "we don't have enough blood to shed". In calling off protests, the pro-democracy activists are putting all their trust in secret conversations that the new President Thein Sein has had with Aung San Suu Kyi. In a sequence of carefully choreographed moves, the government is easing its relationship towards this iconic figure - not unlike the way white South Africa changed course and opened Nelson Mandela's prison doors. Posters of Aung San Suu Kyi are openly for sale on the streets, and she will run for parliament, probably next year. But Aung San Suu Kyi has not brought all of her party with her in her decision to compromise with the regime. There was another protest by Buddhist monks in Mandalay this week. Small demos like these are a distraction. More widespread protests though could destabilise the confidence built between Aung San Suu Kyi and the reformist president and his allies. And it would strengthen the hand of hard-liners opposed to reform in the strange fantasy capital. Formidable obstacles to reform remain and high hopes rest on the slender figure of Aung San Suu Kyi. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-15798106 --------------------------------------------- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - -- - - - - - - -- - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -------------------------------------------- KIA pushes back Burmese Army troops from Laiza headquarters Kachin News Group The Kachin Independence Army (KIA) troops pushed back Burmese Army soldiers from its Laiza headquarters on Thursday, seizing many arms and field artillery, said frontline sources. Almost all government military columns in the N'tap Bum mountain range, about 8 miles southwest of Laiza headquarters in eastern Kachin State were pushed back to the mountainsides, said KIA officers from the headquarters. According to KIA officers on the frontline, Burmese soldiers are fleeing from the strategic mountain range discarding their arms and artillery. A KIA officer on the frontline told Kachin News Group, "We can push most Burmese troops out of the mountain range today. We seized weapons from the Burmese Army but small numbers of soldiers remain in the mountain range". A resident of Laiza said on Thursday afternoon, that people in the KIA headquarters relaxed from 24-hours monitoring when they heard that the Burmese troops in the strategic mountain range close to the headquarters had been pushed away from the mountain. ntapbumKIA officers on the frontlines said they seized the largest number of weapons from government troops in the mountain range in the five-month war. A resident of Laiza said he saw some mortar rounds and small arms in Laiza today morning, which were brought back to Laiza from the mountain by KIA troops. About 1,000 Burmese troops arrived on the N'Tap Bum since mid-October in order to capture Laiza headquarters. The Burmese Army has been using an unidentified chemical weapon (or poison gas) in their offensive against the Kachin troops. Dozens of Kachin soldiers became unconsciousness, were given to bouts of vomiting and weakness after they breathed in the poisonous gas when mortar rounds loaded with it were fired. KIA officers in Laiza said government troops tried to control the military strategic mountain range thrice but failed every time. If government troops control the mountain range, it may pave the way to capture Laiza, according to KIA officers. http://kachinnews.com/news/2156-kia-pushes-back-burmese-army-troops-from-laiza-headquarters.html ------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - -- - - - - - - -- - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - UN's Ban says he will visit Myanmar, urges reforms AFP United Nations leader Ban Ki-moon said on Saturday he planned to visit Myanmar "as soon as possible", after talks with President Thein Sein where he urged progress on nascent reforms. "I am also planning to visit Myanmar as soon as possible -- he invited me so I accepted his invitation," Ban told a press conference after the meeting with Thein Sein. "I strongly urged him it is not necessary to wait 'til 2014 but even before that they should take all the political reforms," he said, referring to the date when Myanmar will host the Southeast Asian bloc's annual summit. "I told him that there will be huge expectations... and he should meet the expectations of the the international community." UN envoy to Myanmar, Vijay Nambiar, said that Ban's visit had not been finalised but would take place "in the next few months". Myanmar's new nominally civilian government has called for the lifting of punishing sanctions imposed by the United States and other nations during its decades of military rule. "I think there is a movement now to consider looking at these issues again," Nambiar said of the sanctions, adding that the decision was "for the countries concerned" to make. "I think it is important that the people, the livelihoods of the people... are developed. All actions should be taken in order to reach that goal," he said. http://news.yahoo.com/uns-ban-says-visit-myanmar-urges-reforms-075622994.html -------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - -- - - - - - - -- - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - EU Hails Myanmar Moves, Reviewing Policy 19 Nov 2011 The European Union on Friday welcomed Myanmar allowing the party of democracy leader, Aung San Suu Kyi to take part in upcoming by-elections, and was looking at whether such reforms could justify the bloc further easing its sanctions, reports Reuters. The EU said positive moves by Mynamar's civilian government since elections last year had exceeded expectations, but it urged the reclusive Asian country to release more dissidents. "The EU has always stated that it will respond to positive events in the country. The restrictive measures have already been partly modified this year," EU foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton said in a statement. "A more substantial review of EU policy is already under way." The opposition National League for Democracy (NLD), led by Suu Kyi, said on Friday it would contest the forthcoming by-elections, after the government amended its law on registration of political parties. The party boycotted last year's national election, and Friday's move was seen as further sign of political rapprochement. "The continuing positive developments in Myanmar are a source of great hope and encouragement," Ashton said. "I look forward to them continuing, including a further substantial release of political prisoners." Ashton said "the European Union will want to accompany Myanmar on the path it is taking, both with political and economic engagement." However, she stressed that "fair and transparent elections leading to a wider representation of the people" would be a key factor in making national reconciliation a reality. The EU comments came after U.S. President Barack Obama said on Friday he saw "flickers of progress" and would be sending Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for a historic visit that could help Myanmar emerge from a half century of isolation. Clinton's December 1 visit would be the first by a U.S. secretary of state since a 1962 military coup ushered in decades of military rule that ended in March, when a nominally civilian parliament was established. Some Western governments believe the military remains in charge. Ashton said she looked forward to talking directly to interlocutors in Myanmar and a spokesman said the EU was working on plans to send a top EU official to Myanmar, but no dates had been set. Ashton sent her top foreign policy adviser to Myanmar earlier this year, and the EU, in a move to encourage reform, slightly eased sanctions in April by ending travel bans and asset freezes on 24 civilian government officials. "A year ago, most were sceptical about transition," an EU official said. "Six months ago, most began to realize reforms were kicking in. Today, there is a different climate in the country." The new government has called for peace with minority groups, displayed some tolerance of criticism, suspended an unpopular Chinese-funded dam project, freed about 230 political prisoners and improved relations with Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace laureate who was released from house arrest in 2010. However, large numbers of political prisoners remain and EU officials have said they would wait to see how many were actually freed when judging the government's sincerity. "We are cautiously optimistic. Without a doubt, positive steps have been taken, but there is also much that remains," Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt said. "It is good to have a diplomatic engagement policy of trying to influence (matters)." http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/eu-hails-myanmar-moves-reviewing-policy/103168/ ----------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - -- - - - - - - -- - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Key US senators hail Clinton Burma trip AFP November 19, 2011, 8:53 am AP Enlarge photo Key US senators have hailed Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's planned visit to Burma next month, expressing hopes it would spur greater democratic reforms in the formerly military-ruled country. "Burma is moving in the right direction, but actions still speak louder than words," said Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry, a Democrat sometimes mentioned as a possible successor to Clinton as the top US diplomat. Kerry praised Burma's new political reforms but said its government must "unconditionally release all prisoners of conscience" and halt "atrocities" in battling ethnic minority rebels along its border with Thailand. "To help keep the Burmese government on the right track, President Obama and Secretary Clinton are implementing a forward-leaning approach that combines principled engagement and energetic pressure," he said. News of Clinton's trip - the first by a US secretary of state in 50 years - came as opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi's party said it would return to Burma's official political arena after years of marginalisation under military rule. Clinton's trip would be the most significant US policy move on the country in many years, after decades of using sanctions to isolate the country over human rights abuses by generals who refused to shift to democracy. However, since elections a year ago, the new nominally civilian government has surprised observers by holding direct talks with Suu Kyi, freeing 200 dissidents and freezing work on an unpopular mega-dam. Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy announced Friday it would re-register as a political party and take part in upcoming by-elections, after years of being sidelined and repressed. The party, which won 1990 polls in a landslide but was never allowed to take power, refused to participate in the country's first vote in 20 years because of rules that would have forced it to expel imprisoned members. Senator John McCain, the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, hailed Suu Kyi's return, saying "Burma has reached an important milestone today on its path to a more democratic system." "This is an important step toward greater political reconciliation in Burma, and I think Secretary Clinton's decision to visit the country sends the right signal of America's support for the ongoing process of change," he said. Like Kerry, McCain called on Burma to release "prisoners of conscience", cease attacks against ethnic minorities and move forward with "dialogue and reconciliation". "A lot remains to be done in order for the Burmese people to enjoy the greater freedom and democracy that they both desire and deserve," he said. Democratic Senator Jim Webb, who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations East Asian and Pacific affairs subcommittee, said Clinton's trip will help determine how serious Burma is about democratic reforms. "I am hopeful that Secretary Clinton's visit will provide an opportunity to closely examine any substantive improvements in our relations during this transitional period," said Webb, who has long called for greater US engagement with Burma. Webb also called for Washington "to take advantage of all of the tools at our disposal to facilitate Burmese economic development, political reconciliation, and ultimately greater progress toward democratic governance." In 2009, Webb became the first US lawmaker to visit Burma in more than a decade and the only US official to meet with its former junta leader, Than Shwe. "Burma is now in the midst of a key transitional period that has yielded greater opportunities for interaction with government leaders and civil society, and restructuring of government and military institutions," said Webb. http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/world/11824451/key-us-senators-hail-clinton-burma-trip/ --------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - -- - - - - - - -- - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Gillard warns Burma has a lot more to do Karlis Salna, AAP South-East Asia Correspondent, AAP November 19, 2011, 10:19 pm Prime Minister Julia Gillard has not ruled out a boycott of the 2014 East Asia Summit if Burma fails to make good on its stated commitment to democratic and human rights reform. Since holding elections a year ago following almost four decades of military rule, Burma has been ushered back into the broader international political arena. It was last week given the green light to chair the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN), and consequently the East Asia Summit, in 2014 after making further commitments to economic and political reform. But Ms Gillard, who spoke with Burma's President Thein Sein on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit in Bali on Saturday night, has warned that Australia's support for the new government and any review of current sanctions would carry strict conditions. While Australia does not have any direct economic sanctions against Burma, it does have financial and travel sanctions against individual members of the new regime who were part of the former military junta. "I made the point to him that Australia welcomes the progress that has been made in Burma," Ms Gillard told reporters in Bali on Saturday. "We're welcoming the developments; the developments are happening rapidly. We will obviously calibrate issues about sanctions against change as it occurs." "But I do want to be very, very clear. There is a lot more to do in Burma." The new government in Burma has won approval for recently holding direct talks with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi as well as freeing 200 political prisoners. As many as 2000 dissidents, however, remain imprisoned in Burma, while there are also concerns about ongoing conflicts with and treatment of ethnic minorities. "There is a lot more to do, a lot more to do in Burma in releasing political prisoners, in ensuring that there is proper democratic structures and that there is proper responses for human rights and I made that point directly to the president," Ms Gillard said. Ms Gillard also refused to rule out a boycott of the East Asia Summit if Burma failed to make good on its commitment to political and human rights reform. "Any decision about attending the summit in 2014 would be taken in 2014," she said. "The bigger point that I am making is that of course East Asia Summit nations would want to see continued progress between now and 2014." Ms Gillard's comments come after Kevin Rudd became the first Australian foreign minister to visit Burma in almost a decade. The US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, will now also visit Burma to examine whether its military-backed leadership is committed to political and economic reform. Mrs Clinton, whose visit early next month will be the first by a US secretary of state in 50 years, said the trip is aimed at testing new government's "true intentions". "We're hoping, most certainly for the people of Burma, that this is real. But if it is, the United States will support and encourage it," she said in an interview with CNN. "We'd like to see more political prisoners released. We would like to see a real political process and real elections. We'd like to see an end to the conflicts, particularly the terrible conflicts with ethnic minorities," she said. "But we think there's an opportunity and we want to test it." http://nz.news.yahoo.com/a/-/world/11832318/gillard-warns-burma-has-a-lot-more-to-do/ ------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - -- - - - - - - -- - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Clinton to visit Burma for fact-finding 19 November 2011 | 10:44:53 AM | Source: AFP US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Friday her trip to Burma is to find out whether the military-backed leadership there is committed to both political and economic reform. "One of the reasons that I'm going is to test what the true intentions are and whether there is a commitment to both economic and political reform," Clinton said in an interview with CNN television. Her historic visit to Burma, announced by President Barack Obama, follows several visits made by US special envoy Derek Mitchell as well as conversations Clinton and Obama have had with Burma's democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi. "And there certainly does seem to be an opening," Clinton said during the interview with the US network on the Indonesian island of Bali, the venue for a regional summit she and Obama are to attend. "Now how real it is, how far it goes, we're going to have to make sure we have a better understanding than we do right now. But at least there has been some forward movement," Clinton said. "And in this part of the world, we have examples of countries that did finally get on a democratic path after authoritarian regimes, military dictatorships, all of the problems that have been around for a long time," she said. "So we're hoping, most certainly for the people of Burma, that this is real. But if it is, the United States will support and encourage it," the chief US diplomat said, referring to Myanmar by its former name. In another interview with Fox News, Clinton said there were specific steps she expected from Myanmar. "We'd like to see more political prisoners released. We would like to see a real political process and real elections. We'd like to see an end to the conflicts, particularly the terrible conflicts with ethnic minorities," she said. "But we think there's an opportunity and we want to test it." Obama said Friday he would send Clinton to Burma on December 1-2, the first visit there by a US secretary of state for 50 years, to encourage democratic reform. The announcement came as Suu Kyi's party said it would return to Myanmar's official political arena after years of marginalisation under military rule. http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/1606307/Clinton-to-visit-Burma-for-fact-finding ---------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - -- - - - - - - -- - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - U.S. sees Burma reforms as strategic opening to support democracy By David Nakamura and William Wan, Saturday, November 19, 10:09 AM BALI, Indonesia --- Burma seemed poised for a historic shift Friday as dissident leader Aung San Suu Kyi ended her long boycott of the country's authoritarian political system and President Obama announced plans to send the U.S. secretary of state there for the first time in half a century. The back-to-back announcements were the clearest sign yet of how seriously the Obama administration and Suu Kyi --- the standard-bearer of Burma's long- persecuted democracy movement --- are taking the political changes instituted by the country's leaders. "After years of darkness, we've seen flickers of progress," Obama said from Indonesia, where he was attending a summit with Asian leaders, who anointed Burma the next chair of their regional grouping. The nominally civilian government of President Thein Sein --- who, like many members of the leadership, is a former military officer --- has released some political prisoners, allowed greater freedom for the media and outlined an agenda of political and economic opening. The shifts this year come as the leaders of Burma, also known as Myanmar, seem to be reevaluating their regional allegiances. As they make overtures to the United States, they are showing increasing concern about the power and assertiveness of longtime ally China. China issued a veiled warning after Obama's announcement that Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton would visit Burma on Dec. 1 and 2. "We are willing to see the U.S. and other Western countries improve contacts with Myanmar and make better relations," said Liu Weimin, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman in Beijing. "At the same time, we hope that both the domestic and foreign policies of Myanmar are conducive for the peace and stability of Myanmar." In making his decision, Obama consulted with Suu Kyi during a 20-minute phone call while en route to Indonesia --- the first conversation between them. According to senior administration officials, the two compared thoughts on the new leadership's commitment to reform in a country that has seen five decades of repressive military rule, isolation from the West and ethnic violence. A gamble by Suu Kyi For Suu Kyi, a 1991 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, the decision to work with the government is a gamble fraught with national and personal consequences. Burma seemed similarly poised for reform two decades ago when her party decisively won a 1990 general election. Instead, the ruling military junta barred Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy from power and kept her under house arrest for most of the next two decades. In an interview Thursday with the Telegraph, a British newspaper, Suu Kyi voiced optimism about the measures undertaken by the new government. "There has been change, not sufficient yet but we'll get there," she said. "I hope it will come along steadily and at a fast enough pace to make it credible. With the right kind of institutions, starting with the rule of law, Burma could progress very quickly." In her conversation with Obama, Suu Kyi endorsed his intention to send Clinton to Burma as a way to encourage the government to build on its actions. http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/us-sees-burma-reforms-as-strategic-opening-to-support-democracy/2011/11/18/gIQA22gwZN_story.html?wprss=rss_world --------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - -- - - - - - - -- - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Suu Kyi party to register for election Updated: 18:55, Saturday November 19, 2011 Democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi's opposition announced its return to Burma's political arena on Friday, as the country's reforms received a dramatic seal of approval from the United States. After speaking directly to Nobel laureate Suu Kyi for the first time, in a call from Air Force One, US President Barack Obama said Hillary Clinton would next month become the first US secretary of state to visit Burma for 50 years. ' Attending an Asian summit in Indonesia, Obama said Clinton's December 1-2 trip was designed to stoke 'flickers' of democratic reform in a country that for decades has been blighted by military rule and international isolation. In rare elections a year ago, Burma's military rulers gave way to a nominally civilian administration which released Suu Kyi from years of house arrest and has since made a surprising series of conciliatory gestures. Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) said it would re-register as a political party and contest coming by-elections after boycotting last year's poll -- paving the way for the 66-year-old democracy heroine to run for office. She told her party on Friday that they should rejoin the mainstream political process and contest all 48 seats available in upcoming by-elections. 'Why? The NLD has not worked as a political party for a long time so we need to practise as a political party again,' she said to party delegates in Rangoon, before their official decision to re-register was announced. The NLD won a landslide victory in polls in 1990 but the then-ruling junta never allowed the party to take power. Suu Kyi, although a figurehead for the campaign, was under house arrest throughout. Burma's next election was not held until November last year, and the NLD boycotted it -- mainly because of rules that would have forced it to expel imprisoned members. Suu Kyi was again under house arrest. EU chief diplomat Catherine Ashton welcomed the 'courageous' return of the NLD to the political arena as another sign of 'great hope' in the military-dominated nation. 'This is a courageous and welcome decision. Fair and transparent elections leading to a wider representation of the people in the Burmese parliament will be a key step towards making national reconciliation a reality,' she said. After spending 15 of the past 22 years in detention, Suu Kyi hinted to her party on Friday that she would stand for office herself in the by-elections. No polling dates have yet been set. 'If I think I should take part in the election, I will. Some people are worried that taking part could harm my dignity. Frankly, if you do politics, you should not be thinking about your dignity,' she said. 'I stand for the re-registration of the NLD party. I would like to work effectively towards amending the constitution. So we have to do what we need to do.' Party spokesman Nyan Win said the group would re-register as soon as they could, possibly next week. Asked whether Suu Kyi would stand, he said: 'I believe she will.' Burma's 2010 election, widely discredited by outside observers, brought the army's political proxies to power after decades of outright military rule, but the new government has surprised critics with its recent reformist moves. It has held direct talks with Suu Kyi, freed about 200 dissidents from jail, frozen work on an unpopular mega-dam and passed a law giving workers the right to strike. As a reward for its conciliatory moves, Burma has won South-East Asia's backing to chair the region's ASEAN bloc in 2014, despite concerns the move was premature. Analysts say the return of the NLD would add to the legitimacy of the army-backed government, which is seeking to end its global isolation by loosening political shackles -- but would also increase the relevance of the popular but long-excluded Suu Kyi. Renaud Egreteau, Burma expert at Hong Kong University, said Suu Kyi had been led 'back to the game' by Prime Minister Thein Sein. 'It is he and his entourage who have brought Aung San Suu Kyi back to the front of the stage because they need her,' he told AFP. http://www.skynews.com.au/world/article.aspx?id=686941&vId=2858927&cId=World --------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - -- - - - - - - -- - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Myanmar dissident returns to politics BALI, INDONESIA November 18, 2011 Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar's most prominent democracy campaigner, announced Friday that she would rejoin the political system of the military-backed government that persecuted her for more than two decades. Her announcement came shortly after U.S. President Barack Obama disclosed that he was sending Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on a visit there next month, the first by a U.S. secretary of state in more than 50 years. The re-entry of Aung San Suu Kyi and her party into formal politics was seen as a milestone in reconciliation efforts between the military leadership and the country's democracy movement, whose members were jailed and repressed during years of authoritarian rule. The party's decision was unanimous, according to a statement. (c) Copyright (c) The Edmonton Journal http://www.edmontonjournal.com/Myanmar+dissident+returns+politics/5737223/story.html --------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - -- - - - - - - -- - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - US sanctions on Myanmar to continue Last Updated: Saturday, November 19, 2011, 12:41 US sanctions on Myanmar to continue Washington: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has ruled out lifting sanctions on Myanmar, arguing that more concrete steps need to be taken by the new government in the Asian country. "We're not ending sanctions. We are not making any abrupt changes," Hillary told the Fox news in an interview. President Barack Obama said in Indonesia that he is sending Hillary to Myanmar to hold talks with the government and the pro-democracy leaders including Aung San Suu Kyi. Scheduled to travel to Myanmar on December 01, Hillary would be the first US Secretary of State to travel to Myanmar in 50 years. Justifying the decision, she said a wind of change is blowing in Myanmar, but more still needs to be done. "Part of why I'm going is to make my own evaluation as to how serious and sincere they are. We are encouraged by some of the steps that they've taken, but they have to do more. And we've consistently said that," Hillary told the MSNBC. "They have to release all political prisoners. I mean, that just is a condition. They need to begin to look at how they resolve these ethnic conflicts that have driven tens of thousands of Burmese of different ethnicities into refugee status. They have to have a real electoral system with an open door to political parties and free expression. I mean, this is about whether they are on a path to democracy," Hillary said. "There is still a lot to be done and it has to be tested, but I'm going to go and meet with, obviously, Aung San Suu Kyi, but the highest levels of the government, civil society, other members of the opposition, and just convey that the United States is prepared to support a peaceful institutionalisation of democracy," she told Fox news. "We'd like to see more political prisoners released. We would like to see a real political process and real elections. We'd like to see an end to the conflicts, particularly the terrible conflicts with ethnic minorities. But we think there's an opportunity and we want to test it," she said. In another interview to the CNN, Hillary said she is going to Myanmar to test the waters there. "One of the reasons that I'm going is to test what the true intentions are and whether there is a commitment to both economic and political reform," she said. "We have followed the situation very closely. We had the first-ever special envoy to Burma, created by the Congress, appointed by the Administration, over the last several months, has been there several times. I've talked to Aung San Suu Kyi; the President has. We've had many interactions with her through top officials, along with others. And there certainly does seem to be an opening," Hillary said. "Now how real it is, how far it goes, we're going to have to make sure we have a better understanding than we do right now. But at least there has been some forward movement... So we're hoping, most certainly for the people of Burma, that this is real. But if it is, the United States will support and encourage it," she added. PTI http://zeenews.india.com/news/world/us-sanctions-on-myanmar-to-continue_742641.html ------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - -- - - - - - - -- - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - November 19, 2011 3:21 AM Analysis: US overtures may lure Myanmar from China (AP) WASHINGTON --- The first visit to Myanmar in a half-century by the top U.S. diplomat opens a door for that nation's military-dominated government to reduce its international isolation and dependence on a staunch but mistrusted ally: China. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will travel to Myanmar, also known as Burma, on Dec. 1-2, to meet with government and opposition leaders. It is the culmination of a two-year effort to engage with a repressive regime the U.S. had long shunned. Washington hopes to encourage further democratic reform rose after Myanmar staged elections last year that ushered in a government of civilians, albeit dominated by a military structure that had directly ruled the country since 1962. The new government also freed and began high-level talks with Nobel laureate and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. The Obama administration's diplomatic overtures have a strategic intent, too, of seeking to expand U.S. ties in economically vibrant Southeast Asia as a counter to the growing influence of China. China has been an all-weather friend to its southern neighbor, Myanmar, and its ruling generals. After a bloody 1988 crackdown on democracy protesters that heralded Myanmar's descent into pariah status, China provided diplomatic support, investment and weaponry, while Western nations imposed tough economic, trade and political sanctions. Despite that backing, Myanmar's fiercely nationalistic leaders have an ingrained suspicion of China and are wary of becoming in thrall to another power. They have sought to balance China's influence by building ties with a neighbor to the west, India. "Burma has always been uncomfortable with both of those relationships and wants to balance them with others," said Priscilla Clapp, who served as the top U.S. diplomat in the country between 1999 and 2002. "That's the choice they are making now." She said that many of the older generation of army officers that now hold senior positions in the government first gained their military experience fighting insurgents who once controlled large tracts of the vast country's north, backed by China under then-ruler Mao Zedong. China has long since ended that support. And its economic footprint has grown in the past two decades, particularly in the north of the country, through investments and exploitation of natural resources, such as oil, gas, minerals and timber. The Chinese influence has bred resentment among the wider population, said Aung Din, a former political prisoner in Myanmar and now executive director of the U.S. Campaign for Burma. Probably the single most significant decision made by the new government of President Thein Sein has been to suspend work on a massive, China-backed hydropower dam in northern Kachin State that would have yielded major revenues from electricity exports. Thein Sein said the project, which would have flooded an extensive area and disrupted the flow of the nation's main Irrawaddy River, was against the will of the people. His decision also sent a powerful signal at a time the U.S. was making energetic efforts to engage Thein Sein's government: Myanmar was not beholden to China. Myanmar will have to do more to get what it really wants from Washington: the lifting of sanctions. That would require the approval of Congress, where some influential lawmakers have strong personal interest in restoring democracy to Myanmar. The country will first need to fully reconcile with Suu Kyi, release its political prisoners and make peace with ethnic insurgents. In the meantime, the Obama administration can reward progress with significant gestures. Clinton's visit, the first by a U.S. secretary of state since John Foster Dulles in 1955, is a diplomatic boost to Thein Sein and rewards the tentative reforms he has initiated so far that could yet face resistance from hard-liners in the military establishment. Clinton's visit also should strengthen the hand of Suu Kyi, who gave her green light for the trip and whose approval will be key to further U.S. steps to deepen ties with the government. Even if Myanmar's government unclenches its fist to meet the extended hand that the Obama administration says it is offering, do not expect lightning political change. Washington has welcomed the decision of Suu Kyi's party to contest coming by-elections after unfair regulations were amended. But even if it should fare well, her party will have limited leverage. The military-proxy party controls nearly 80 percent of the seats. ____ --------------------------------------------- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - -- - - - - - - -- - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - EDITOR'S NOTE --- Matthew Pennington covers U.S.-Asian affairs for The Associated Press. WASHINGTON (AP) --- The first visit to Myanmar in a half-century by the top U.S. diplomat opens a door for that nation's military-dominated government to reduce its international isolation and dependence on a staunch but mistrusted ally: China. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will travel to Myanmar, also known as Burma, on Dec. 1-2, to meet with government and opposition leaders. It is the culmination of a two-year effort to engage with a repressive regime the U.S. had long shunned. Washington hopes to encourage further democratic reform rose after Myanmar staged elections last year that ushered in a government of civilians, albeit dominated by a military structure that had directly ruled the country since 1962. The new government also freed and began high-level talks with Nobel laureate and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. The Obama administration's diplomatic overtures have a strategic intent, too, of seeking to expand U.S. ties in economically vibrant Southeast Asia as a counter to the growing influence of China. China has been an all-weather friend to its southern neighbor, Myanmar, and its ruling generals. After a bloody 1988 crackdown on democracy protesters that heralded Myanmar's descent into pariah status, China provided diplomatic support, investment and weaponry, while Western nations imposed tough economic, trade and political sanctions. Despite that backing, Myanmar's fiercely nationalistic leaders have an ingrained suspicion of China and are wary of becoming in thrall to another power. They have sought to balance China's influence by building ties with a neighbor to the west, India. "Burma has always been uncomfortable with both of those relationships and wants to balance them with others," said Priscilla Clapp, who served as the top U.S. diplomat in the country between 1999 and 2002. "That's the choice they are making now." She said that many of the older generation of army officers that now hold senior positions in the government first gained their military experience fighting insurgents who once controlled large tracts of the vast country's north, backed by China under then-ruler Mao Zedong. China has long since ended that support. And its economic footprint has grown in the past two decades, particularly in the north of the country, through investments and exploitation of natural resources, such as oil, gas, minerals and timber. The Chinese influence has bred resentment among the wider population, said Aung Din, a former political prisoner in Myanmar and now executive director of the U.S. Campaign for Burma. Probably the single most significant decision made by the new government of President Thein Sein has been to suspend work on a massive, China-backed hydropower dam in northern Kachin State that would have yielded major revenues from electricity exports. Thein Sein said the project, which would have flooded an extensive area and disrupted the flow of the nation's main Irrawaddy River, was against the will of the people. His decision also sent a powerful signal at a time the U.S. was making energetic efforts to engage Thein Sein's government: Myanmar was not beholden to China. Myanmar will have to do more to get what it really wants from Washington: the lifting of sanctions. That would require the approval of Congress, where some influential lawmakers have strong personal interest in restoring democracy to Myanmar. The country will first need to fully reconcile with Suu Kyi, release its political prisoners and make peace with ethnic insurgents. In the meantime, the Obama administration can reward progress with significant gestures. Clinton's visit, the first by a U.S. secretary of state since John Foster Dulles in 1955, is a diplomatic boost to Thein Sein and rewards the tentative reforms he has initiated so far that could yet face resistance from hard-liners in the military establishment. Clinton's visit also should strengthen the hand of Suu Kyi, who gave her green light for the trip and whose approval will be key to further U.S. steps to deepen ties with the government. Even if Myanmar's government unclenches its fist to meet the extended hand that the Obama administration says it is offering, do not expect lightning political change. Washington has welcomed the decision of Suu Kyi's party to contest coming by-elections after unfair regulations were amended. But even if it should fare well, her party will have limited leverage. The military-proxy party controls nearly 80 percent of the seats. ____ EDITOR'S NOTE --- Matthew Pennington covers U.S.-Asian affairs for The Associated Press. http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-215_162-57328112/analysis-us-overtures-may-lure-myanmar-from-china/ ---------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - -- - - - - - - -- - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Myanmar regime loosens its grip on elections Party of imprisoned opposition leader Suu Kyi to contest upcoming vote By Damien McElroy And Alex Spillius, Daily Telegraph, With Files From Reuters November 19, 2011 3:08 AM Hillary Clinton next month will become the most senior Western official to visit Myanmar in decades as Washington intensifies its effort to encourage what it called "flickers of progress" from the military regime. U.S. President Barack Obama telephoned Aung San Suu Kyi, the opposition leader and fellow Nobel Peace Prize winner, from Air Force One to get her blessing for a visit by the U.S. Secretary of State, the first in more than 50 years. In a conversation that was unthinkable just six months ago, U.S. officials said that "the president was very struck by both her substantive observations and her warmth. They reviewed the progress that has been made in Burma [which the regime calls Myanmar], including her release, her dialogue with the government, the release of some political prisoners, and legislation that could open the political system further." En route to a summit in Indonesia, where he will encounter Thein Sein, Myanmar's military-backed president, Obama said: "For decades Americans have been deeply concerned about the denial of basic human rights for the Burmese people." He said that the current environment in Myanmar was a rare opening that could help millions of people "and that possibility is too important to ignore." "After years of darkness, we've seen flickers of progress in these last several weeks," he added. Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) announced Friday it would re-register as a political party and contest coming byelections after boycotting an election last year. "The NLD has not worked as a political party for a long time so we need to practice as a political party again," Suu Kyi said. The NLD won a landslide victory in 1990, but the ruling junta never allowed the party to take power. Suu Kyi was placed under house arrest, a sentence that would last for 20 years. Myanmar's next election was not held until November last year, and the NLD boycotted it, mainly because of rules that would have forced it to expel imprisoned members. Myanmar recently amended the political party law removing the clause barring anyone convicted of a crime from joining a party or taking part in an election, paving the way for those who had served a prison term, including Suu Kyi, to contest the polls. The decision to amend the party laws was widely seen as a move to bring the NLD into Myanmar's new legislative apparatus, which has operated more freely than expected and allowed the kind of public debate that was forbidden under the military. Now aged 66, Suu Kyi hinted that she would contest one of the 48 by-election seats available. No polling dates have been announced. "If I think I should take part in the election, I will," she told senior party members in Rangoon. "Some people are worried that taking part could harm my dignity. Frankly, if you do politics, you should not be thinking about your dignity." Ko Ko Hlaing, a senior adviser to Sein, said the NLD's decision was a "significant step". "[Suu Kyi's] party will be a formidable opposition force in the parliament. That is a very good formula for the democratic system," he said. ? Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Myanmar+regime+loosens+grip+elections/5737953/story.html#ixzz1e9nFHgi5 ---------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - -- - - - - - - -- - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Suu Kyi's party decides to enter legal politics for democratization in Burma By Zin Linn Nov 19, 2011 12:16AM UTC The National League for Democracy party (NLD), led by Burma's Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi has decided to re-register officially so as to take part in upcoming elections. Out of 116 central committee members of the party, 106 representatives join in Friday meeting to make a historic decision. The NLD declined to register as a party ahead of 2010 polls because of a restriction that prevented Aung San Suu Kyi and several politicians under detention from running in the polls. Mainstream of the representatives supported in favor of re-registering as a legal party, after the government amended some clauses of the party registration law. The government also showed some soft stances including release of some political prisoners and reducing some media limitations in recent months, some sources said. The NLD's Friday decision indicates that it has confidence in government's recent political reforms by the military-backed government which took office after the controversial elections in November 2010. On Thursday, the National League for Democracy party welcomed the approval of Burma's bid to chair Southeast Asia's regional bloc in 2014, saying it would boost political change in the inaccessible nation. Many democracy-supporters in the country and members of the National League for Democracy back up the idea of re-entering the NLD to play in the national politics. In its Friday statement, the party said the "NLD has unanimously decided to re-register as a political party... and will run in the elections". Most Burma watchers believe the participation of some NLD legislators including Suu Kyi in the existing parliament would definitely improve the military-dominated government's image and legitimacy. According some analysts, Suu Kyi's decision seems to be originated in a negotiation with President Thein Sein in August, in Nay Pyi Taw. To amend party registration law and to free political prisoners seem to be part of the said compromise consequently. Meanwhile, US President Barack Obama declared in Bali today that he will send Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to Burma next month---for the first visit to the country by a US secretary of state since military rule was first imposed nearly 50 years ago. In his official statement, Obama said, "Last night, I spoke to Aung San Suu Kyi, directly, and confirmed that she supports American engagement to move this process forward. So today, I've asked Secretary Hillary Clinton to go to Burma. She will be the first American Secretary of State to travel to the country in over half a century, and she will explore whether the United States can empower a positive transition in Burma and begin a new chapter between our countries." "That possibility will depend upon the Burmese government taking more concrete action. If Burma fails to move down the path of reform, it will continue to face sanctions and isolation. But if it seizes this moment, then reconciliation can prevail, and millions of people may get the chance to live with a greater measure of freedom, prosperity, and dignity. And that possibility is too important to ignore." So, some observers believe that NLD's today decision seems to be interconnected with international encouragement by the US and other Western democracies. The international community including the UN has been pushing Burma (Myanmar) to free the remaining political prisoners as well as to give a political space for the NLD. Furthermore, the United States, the European Union and the United Nations are also asked the regime to stop warring against ethnic rebel groups and open a meaningful political dialogue with the ethnic groups who launched armed struggles for their self-determination for more than fifty years. If those ethnic rebellions were not resolved within a few months, the task to create reconciliation between government and the ethnic groups would likely be taken care by the NLD following the expected bi-elections in the near future. Hence, after a tough decision of reregistering, the NLD headed by Suu Kyi has to face many more struggles including the constitutional issues on the road to democratization of the nation. http://asiancorrespondent.com/69935/suu-kyi%E2%80%99s-party-decides-to-enter-legal-politics-for-democratization-in-burma/