Distrust and displacement on Kachin frontline - The Irrawaddy
Laja Yang, Kachin State, Burma - Seng Tawng and her husband are two new names added to Kachin State’s growing number of internal refugees. “There was more fighting last Sunday,” said Maran Naw Bawk. “It was the closest yet to our village, so we think it is not safe any ...
Aung San Suu Kyi hits the campaign trail in Myanmar - Christian Science Monitor
PATHEIN, MYANMAR - “We have not seen The Lady [a popular local nickname for Aung San Suu Kyi] here in more than 20 years,” said Kyaw Win, as he linked arms with other local volunteers in Pathein to prevent the eager, surging crowd from swarming Aung San Suu Kyi's vehicle.
After sodomy acquittal, Malaysia's Anwar pressing for power - Christian Science Monitor
KUALA LUMPUR - According to Pui Yee Choong, a political researcher at Singapore's Nanyang Technological University, today's verdict will allow the incumbent government to say “that it has never been the case that anyone from the ruling party wanted to end Anwar’s political career,” she says.
China's new European trade hub: An Irish town of 18,000 - Christian Science Monitor
The Athlone Institute of Technology hosts more than 200 Chinese students – one of the links that helped bring the trade hub to the town, says Prof. Ciaran Ó Catháin, the president of the school and one of the players in the project negotiations. Professor Ó Catháin would not disclose ...
Finding Cannibals: filling the North Korea news gap - PBS Mediashift
SEOUL - Amid the news vacuum, the gossip mill prompts prurience, however, and an often vain search for non-existent horror stories. The DailyNK laments that it gets repeatedly asked - by one reporter in particular - "if we have any stories of cannibalism in North Korea.”
Meditations of a detained monk in Vietnam - Asia Times
HO CHI MINH CITY - Emerging from the anterooms of the Thanh Minh Zen monastery, Thich Quang Do nodded and smiled, extending a handshake firm enough to belie his 83 years.
Floods hit hard in southern Pakistan – The Sunday Tribune/Today’s Zaman/Evening Herald
On the road in northern Sindh, Pakistan - Dirty, tired and bedraggled, Imran beckons us over to the womenwho fled their village. They came thirty miles on foot only to spend almost three weeks here in the dead heat at this makeshift camp outside Sukkur in southern Pakistan. “Take some ...
Bad cops, mean streets – Sunday Tribune/VoA/RTÉ World Report
FREETOWN, SIERRA LEONE - The police stop us all the time. Sometimes they try to take money from us, sometimes they threaten to arrest us. But the usual trick is to check our handbags. They plant some drugs, then tell us to come with them to the station. The only ...
Sectarian tensions heat up in Lebanon – The Washington Times
BEIRUT - "A lot of Saudi money has been put into the north to cultivate Wahhabi/Salafist ideology, to counter Hezbollah," reflecting wider Sunni-Shi'ite regional rivalries, said Ahmad Moussali, a professor of political science and Islamic studies at the American University of Beirut. "These radicals see the Lebanese army as weak, ...
‘They come at night, sometimes they kill’ – The Irish Times
El-Fasher, Darfur, Sudan - Kultum explained: "Nobody is guarding the camp. If you have one donkey, one goat, they will take it. If you complain, they will kill you." She added cautiously: "You cannot see who does it, it is at night. It is too dark."
Economy key to Malaysia polls? – Asia Times
May 15th, 2012
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/NE16Ae01.html
BANGKOK – While a crackdown on protesters has added controversy to Malaysia’s pre-election run-up, economic affairs could have a bigger bearing on the result.
Speculation that parliamentary elections could be called as early as June has been dampened in the aftermath of the April 28 police crackdown on demonstrators, who sought changes to Malaysia’s electoral system.
After protesters breached police barricades around the capital’s Independence Square, security officials allegedly used excessive force by firing teargas and water-cannon and arresting over 500 protestors.
Prior to the rally, Prime Minister Najib Razak had been expected to call a snap poll in June on the back of a boost in opinion polls after his administration undertook several political and economic reforms.
Protestors breach police barrier at Independence Sq in Kuala Lumpur on April 28 (Photo: Simon Roughneen)
Now political analysts believe that date will be pushed back to September, by which time economics could trump political or human-rights issues among voters. The government must call new polls by April 2013.
Wan Saiful Wan Jan, founder of the libertarian Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs, believes that “the economy is the biggest factor when it comes to the election. The majority of people are likely to vote based on the day-to-day economy than anything else.” (more…)
Poacher turned gamekeeper? Burma to host ASEAN human rights meeting
May 14th, 2012
http://www.irrawaddy.org/archives/4074
BANGKOK—The Asean Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) will hold its next meeting in Rangoon this June in another transitional landmark for Burma’s reformist government that nonetheless stands accused of ongoing human rights abuses.
Despite conflict between Burmese government troops and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) in the country’s far north, the AICHR “will resume their discussion at the sixth meeting in [Rangoon], Myanmar on June 3-6, 2012,” after meetings last week in Thailand, according to a press release from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean)—the ten-state regional grouping of which Burma assumes the chair in 2014.
Lajayang, Kachin state, Feb 2010. KIA soldier looks across at Burmese military position 300m away (Photo: Simon Roughneen)
The Rangoon meeting is aimed at finalizing a draft regional human rights declaration to be presented to Southeast Asian foreign ministers, but has generated mixed feelings among Burmese activists.
Cheery Zahau is a human rights analyst from the Chin region of Burma, close to India. She told The Irrawaddy that “if Burma hosts this meeting, it needs to end the ongoing human rights violations committed by the army and all security forces in ethnic areas.” (more…)
Commodity prices, cronyism threaten Burma’s economy: UN – The Irrawaddy/Asia Sentinel
May 10th, 2012
http://www.irrawaddy.org/archives/3928
http://www.asiasentinel.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4495&Itemid=217
BANGKOK—Burma’s economic prospects could be undermined by volatile commodity prices, according to the United Nations, which says that reliance on the now-lucrative oil and gas sectors could hinder fiscal modernization.
Western companies appear eager to tap into Burma’s natural resources as US and EU sanctions are relaxed or suspended in the wake of a succession of recent reforms such as the freeing of political prisoners and the holding of free and fair by-elections on April 1.
But although the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia-Pacific (UN-ESCAP) predicts 6.2 percent economic growth for Burma in 2012, the region remains vulnerable to fluctuating prices of commodities such as oil and the ongoing debt crisis in Europe.
Demand for primary resources from large “emerging” economies such as China and India has pushed oil and gas prices upwards. This means extra revenues for the Burmese government and, given the recent ending of the country’s dual exchange rate system, possibly a more transparent disclosure of the nation’s energy earnings.
But in an April research note on Burma’s economy, the US-based Carnegie Endowment for International Peace warned that “it is critical that these net earnings are transferred to the budget and used for social and infrastructure development, especially in regions with ethnic minorities.”
Otherwise, Burma could fall victim to the so-called “resource curse” with “commodity boom countries falling back in terms of overall modernization and diversification of their economies,” according to UN-ESCAP. (more…)
KNU believes Burma government is on the level – The Irrawaddy
May 4th, 2012
http://www.irrawaddy.org/archives/3599
BANGKOK – After two rounds of peace talks with the Burmese government, the Karen National Union (KNU) says that it believes the government is sincere about peace talks, but warns that substantive political issues remain to be discussed and that the 2008 constitution will likely need revising in advance of any durable settlement.
“I think you can take the government at face value,” said KNU negotiator and spokesperson Naw May Oo Mutraw. “The government has demonstrated a desire for change,” she added.
The KNUs armed wing, the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) has fought the Burmese army since the late 1940s in what is often-described as the world’s longest running civil war, but KNU leaders recently met in Burma with President Thein Sein and with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, after a first series of meetings with government interlocutors back in January.
“There are indications from the second round of talks that the government will not rely on a military solution alone to solve ethnic issues,” said Naw Zipporah Sein, General-Secretary of the KNU, speaking at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Thailand in Bangkok on Thursday night.
Looking ahead, fellow negotiator Saw Kwe Htoo Win said that if there is a settlement, once-unthinkable developments such as Karen militiamen joining the national army might be possible. “If there is a political solution, the KNLA can join the union army”, he said. (more…)
A historic moment for Aung San Suu Kyi: 5 things to know – Christian Science Monitor
May 2nd, 2012
Once possibly the world’s best-known political prisoner, today Aung San Suu Kyi made the historic move to lawmaker, after a swearing-in ceremony at Myanmar’s parliament in the capital of Naypyidaw. Here are five things about her.
Who is Aung San Suu Kyi?
Subject of a recent Hollywood biopic, the much-criticised The Lady, Aung San Suu Kyi spent most of the last two decades under house arrest. Her crime? Winning a landslide victory in a 1990 election, held two years after she made her political debut in the country then known as Burma and a year after the the military rulers renamed the country Myanmar.
In 1988 Suu Kyi arrived back in Burma to tend to her ailing mother, but was soon drawn into the political ferment. Opponents of Burma’s military rulers sought a leader, after student-led pro-democracy protests were crushed by Burma’s army with around 3000 dead and thousands more arrested. As the daughter of Burma’s post World War II independence hero, General Aung San, Suu Kyi was the obvious choice despite spending much of her life to date outside the country, married to a British academic and living in Oxford with two young sons. Her maiden political speech on August 26 1988 drew around a half-million people to an area around Yangon’s Shwedagon Pagoda. (more…)
Aung San Suu Kyi ends boycott to make Myanmar parliamentary debut – Christian Science Monitor
May 1st, 2012
BANGKOK, THAILAND – Aung San Suu Kyi will take her seat in Myanmar’s military-stuffed parliament on Wednesday, after reversing a brief boycott over the wording of an oath of fealty to the country’s junta-era constitution.
The former political prisoner was scheduled to join the Myanmar (Burma) parliament on April 23, after her National League for Democracy (NLD) Party won 43 out of 45 seats in April 1 by-elections. But Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi asked that the text of the oath be changed from a pledge to safeguard the constitution, which has many provisions her party disagrees with, to one that stipulates only “respect.”
A standoff ensued over subsequent days, but it appears that the wildly-popular Aung San Suu Kyi yielded after sounding out other Burmese opposition figures and constituents. Speaking to reporters in Yangon on Monday, the recently-elected MP said “we are not giving up; we are just yielding to the aspirations of the people.”
The event highlights the challenges facing the Burmese opposition as they make their long-awaited foray into the country’s parliamentary politics – and into an institution still dominated by the same army that formally-ceded power after a November 2010 parliamentary election that in turn followed five decades of harsh military rule. (more…)
Blind Dissident Evades Chinese Police, Seeks Asylum at U.S. Embassy – National Catholic Register
April 30th, 2012
China is likely to allow Chen Guancheng to go to the United States, says the group close to the human-rights activist
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Blind dissident Chen Guancheng’s dramatic escape from house arrest in China has led to his seeking asylum at the U.S. Embassy in Beijing.
Chen, 40, was imprisoned last week due to his opposition to China’s one-child policy, which includes forced abortions and sterilizations.
Chen escaped April 22 from his heavily guarded farmhouse in Shandong province. The whereabouts and well-being of his family and several associates remains unconfirmed, although there have been reports that some family members have been arrested by Chinese authorities.
“The Chinese government has reacted predictably, with a show of strength, by detaining a number of Chen’s relatives and friends, and we are deeply concerned for their welfare,” said Andrew Johnston, advocacy director of Christian Solidarity Worldwide, a London-based organization “working for religious freedom through advocacy and human rights, in the pursuit of justice,” according to its website.
With U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton headed to Beijing for meetings Thursday, Chen’s bid for refuge inside the U.S. Embassy could, on the face if it, create a breach between the two countries.
But according to China Aid, a Texas-based group that assists China’s hard-pressed dissidents and religious-freedom advocates — and which says it offered Chen a route to the U.S. using an “underground railroad” via rural China and Thailand — a deal is likely in the coming days. (more…)
Malaysia rally turns ugly – The Diplomat/RTÉ World Report
April 28th, 2012
http://the-diplomat.com/2012/04/29/malaysia-rally-turns-ugly/
http://www.rte.ie/news/av/2012/0429/worldreport.html# - radio story (realplayer required)
Police turned on tens of thousands of protesters demonstrating for electoral reform in Malaysia on Saturday. It might not help the government’s image ahead of elections
KUALA LUMPUR – On Saturday, tens of thousands of yellow and green-clad protestors seeking changes to Malaysia’s electoral system were driven back from the city’s Independence Square by volleys of water-cannon and teargas fired after protestors pushed through barricades sealing-off the plaza. Almost 400 demonstrators were subsequently arrested by police, including some seen being dragged away holding bloodied faces and bruised limbs.
Protestors flee teargas near Masjid Jamek in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday (Photo: Simon Roughneen)
Moments after Malaysia’s parliamentary opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim addressed the crowd at the frontline, several protestors at the barricades suddenly shouted “back, back”, before pushing through the police lines around the Dataran Merdeka, or Independence Square, the iconic downtown location where the protestors sought to hold their sit-down demonstration seeking changes to how Malaysia holds elections.
Bersih, which means ‘clean’ in Malay, is a grouping of NGOs and activists who say that Malaysia’s election system is skewed in favour of the current government, a coalition that has governed Malaysia since independence from Great Britain in 1957. Recent electoral reforms proposed by the government do not go far enough, say the protest leaders, who have been criticised in some quarters locally for being too close to Malaysia’s parliamentary opposition. Bersih says that anyone is free to support their electoral reform cause, including the current government. (more…)
Reform storm gathers in Malaysia – Asia Times
April 27th, 2012
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/ND28Ae01.html
KUALA LUMPUR – Almost 10 months after security forces forcibly broke-up an electoral reform protest in the national capital, a chaotic repeat looms as the Malaysian government and city authorities attempt to close off the city center square where activists hope 100,000 people will gather this weekend to seek sweeping changes to the country’s electoral system.
More of the same on Saturday? Riot police fire tear gas at protestors approaching Merdeka Sq in Kuala Lumpur, on July 9 last (Photo: Simon Roughneen)
The rally organizers, known as Bersih (Malay for ‘clean’) 3.0, are a coalition of nongovernmental organizations and rights groups who say they want Malaysia’s electoral laws amended. Opposition MPs allege that tens of thousands of irregularities persist on the electoral register, while Bersih’s calls for the election commission to resign will have acquired added momentum by allegations Friday that the EC head and deputy head failed to disclose past membership of the governing party . The rally is being held ahead of anticipated snap polls later this year.
During a Bersih rally last July 9, over 1,600 people were arrested and scores injured, including opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim. Police fired tear gas and water cannon at tens of thousands of peaceful protestors at various locations in Kuala Lumpur. The crack down hit Prime Minister Najib Razak’s reform credentials and signaled his United Malays Nasional Organization (UMNO) party’s resistance to meaningful electoral reform before the next polls, which must be held by April 2013. (more…)
As US and Vietnam get closer, rights concerns grow – Christian Science Monitor
April 24th, 2012
Five days of joint US-Vietnam naval exercises that started Monday in Vietnam are the latest signals of growing cooperation between the one-time enemies.
But as the US and Vietnam get close, Vietnam’s human rights record is raising questions among activists regarding whether the US is sufficiently vocal about political, economic, and free speech violations in Vietnam, a one-party state ruled by the Communist Party where all other political parties are banned.
Deputy Asia Director at Human Rights Watch Phil Robertson says, “There is a real need for sustained US pressure on Vietnam to free political prisoners, respect freedom of expression and the vibrant blogosphere that is making Vietnam one of the fast growing users of the Internet in South East Asia, and repeal repressive laws that Hanoi uses to quash individuals and groups that the government doesn’t like.” (more…)
