Ramos-Horta Launches Burma Petition – The Irrawaddy
March 9th, 2010
http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=17987
Timor-Leste President Jose Ramos-Horta has launched a worldwide petition for democracy in Burma, which also calls for the release of Aung Saw Suu Kyi ahead of the election due sometime in 2010.
Speaking at Bradford University in the UK, as part of the PeaceJam event, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ramos-Horta said that Burma’s political divisions should be resolved by dialogue between all relevant parties and not through sanctions that penalize the people of the country.
His comments come after a recent controversy in which the Timor-Leste ambassador to the UN was apparently fired after voting in favour of a General Assembly resolution condemning the human rights situation in Burma. (more…)
What is Important Now: Free and Fair Elections – The Irrawaddy
March 5th, 2010
http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=17960
Tomas Ojea Quintana was appointed UN Human Rights Council Special Rapporteur on Myanmar [Burma] in May 2008. His task is “to examine, monitor, advise and publicly report on human rights situations” in Burma, one of eight countries that the Council focuses on. He is the fourth person to hold this position, and since his appointment has conducted three visits to the country. He concluded his most recent trip, from Feb. 15 to 19, with the assessment that a free and fair election could not be held in the country under current conditions.
Simon Roughneen spoke with him in the aftermath of the visit to find out more about the trip and what comes next.
Question: You expressed disappointment at not meeting Aung San Suu Kyi during your recent visit to Burma. Can you tell us why you felt it was so important to meet her at this time?
Answer: Firstly, on my two previous visits I was denied the opportunity to meet with Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been held under arbitrary detention for a long time now, and her human rights have been violated. Given the fact that the government has said it will hold elections this year, it was important that I get to meet with the leader of one of the most important political parties in the country. (more…)
Redshirts Ready for ‘Million-man’ March – The Irrawaddy
March 4th, 2010
http://www.irrawaddy.org/highlight.php?art_id=17945
Anti-government Redshirt supporters say that the Thai government must choose between suppression of its proposed “million-man” peaceful protest on March 14, or dissolution of the current Democrat-led government.
A supporter of former premier Thaksin Shinawatra holds his portrait during a protest at Democracy Monument in Bangkok last year. (Photo: Getty Images)
“Our aim is to bring down the administration,” said Sean Boonpracong, a spokesman for the Redhshirt United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship (UDD)
“We will use only peaceful means,” he said, acknowledging that Redshirt violence at the disbanded Asian summit in Pattaya and in Bangkok during the Songkran 2009 protests damaged the anti-government cause.
How a peaceful protest will force the government to choose between suppression of the protest on the one hand, and dissolution of the parliament on the other, was not clarified.
However, senior UDD member Jaran Ditthapichai told media at a Bangkok press conference on Thursday that if the protest is met with violence, then a civil war in Thailand could be possible.
“If the government suppresses us, then they will have declared civil war.” he said. “If this happens, you will not see elections of democracy in Thailand for five, maybe ten years.”
The Redshirts have pledged a peaceful march, with estimates between 500,000 and 1.3 million given as a possible turnout. UDD leaders believe that substantial portions of the army and police support their cause, which they feel will help bring down a government that was “established in the army barracks,” according to Sean Boonpracong.
The current prime minister assumed his position after anti-Thaksin Yellowshirt protestors occupied Government House and the country’s international airports, in protest at what they decried as corruption during the Thaksin era, and under the elected pro-Thaksin administrations that followed the restoration of civilian rule after the 2006 coup that removed Thaksin from office. (more…)
Nobel Laureates Urge Inquiry into Junta Crimes – The Irrawaddy
March 3rd, 2010
http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=17937
After hearing testimony from 12 women who outlined abuses they suffered at the hands of the Burmese army and military regime, a panel of Nobel peace laureates and international jurists have added to calls for such crimes to be the subject of an international investigation.
Dr. Heisoo Shin and Prof. Vitit Muntarbhorn joined Nobel peace winners Shirin Ebadi and Jody Williams in urging “the UN Security Council to refer Burma to the International Criminal Court.”
Earlier, Heisoo Shin said that “Burma is in violation of rights under treaties it has ratified such as the Convention on the Rights of the Child.” Burma’s army has been accused of recruiting child soldiers and using child labor by the UN and foreign governments. (more…)
Judgment Day in Thailand – ISN/The Irrawaddy
February 25th, 2010
http://www.irrawaddy.org/highlight.php?art_id=17892
Politically troubled Thailand faces “Judgment Day” on Friday when the country’s Supreme Court rules on what to do with US $2.26 billion frozen in ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s family bank accounts.
Fading Away or Looming Large? Thaksin Shinawatra addresses redshirt rally in Bangkok by videolink (Photo: Simon Roughneen)
The nub of the allegations are that Thaksin transferred his wealth to family members to sidestep a rule that he could not hold company shares while in office. It is also alleged that as PM, he implemented policies that were of commercial benefit to businesses controlled by him. The charges include his dealings with the military junta in Burma, alleging that state loans were extended to the regime to finance a deal with a company then under the control of Thaksin’s family.
The case appears to be the first of its type in Thailand. A foreign diplomat in Bangkok – speaking on condition of anonymity - said that the case is complex and difficult to second-guess. Speculation is that some or all of the one-time telecom entrepreneur’s assets will be seized, or some could be seized and some remain frozen, perhaps with with a final decision left pending for another day. We will know on Friday when the judges read the verdict.
Worries abound that seizure of Thaksin’s assets could be the spark for demonstrations like those that forced the cancellation of an April 2009 summit of Asian leaders in Thailand, which could prompt a violent counter-reaction. How the police and army respond to the demonstrations is cause for worry among the public and politicians.
The government has massed some 20,000 security forces in the capital in the lead-up to the verdict. Even before the ruling is announced, Thaksin supporters have pledged to demonstrate in March.
Thaksin’s Redshirt supporters have vowed to topple the current government, which they view as an illegitimate usurper put into place by the military coup. Redshirts claim that they will get a million supporters onto the streets in March, for what they say will be peaceful protests. (more…)
Conflicting Signals on Migrant Verification Deadline – The Irrawaddy
February 23rd, 2010
http://www.irrawaddy.org/highlight.php?art_id=17872
Speaking outside an International Labor Organisation (ILO) / Ministry of Labour meeting in Bangkok on Tuesday, Labour Minister Phaithoon Kaethong said that the Feb. 28 deadline for migrant workers to apply for the controversial Nationality Verification (NV) program stands.
Burmese migrant workers clean a fishing net as they sail out of the port of Mahachai near Bangkok, Thailand. (Photo: Reuters)
However, confusion about the deadline was exacerbated later in the day when M Thanit Numnoy, the director of Thailand’s Alien Workers Management Committee, said that the deadline for submitting nationality verification (NV) forms had been extended to March 31.
Thanit said that migrant workers will only have to express an intention in writing to enter the NV process by Feb. 28 to avoid deportation. They would then have until March 31 to complete and file the NV forms.
The Thai Foreign Ministry on Monday sought to reassure that the NV deadline would be discussed by the Thai government, in response to concerns raised by international organizations, NGOs and Thailand’s National Human Rights Commission. The reassurance came in a letter to Human Rights Watch (HRW) from the Foreign Ministry, in response to the report “From the Tiger to the Crocodile— Abuse of Migrant Workers in Thailand” which was launched on Tuesday by HRW in Bangkok.
However, Minister Phaithoon said that the issue would not be discussed at the Cabinet meeting on Tuesday.
Despite claims by NGO advocates that NV information was not reaching Thailand’s estimated 2 to 3 migrant workers, Minister Phaithoon said he saw no reason why migrants cannot apply prior to Feb. 28. The majority of the migrant workers are Burmese.
Migrant worker advocates said a clear, decisive statement on what is going to happen is needed. Andy Hall, the director of the Migrant Justice Programme at the Human Rights and Development Foundation, said, “The Thai authorities are saying different things, adding to the confusion surrounding an already-flawed policy.” (more…)
Bangladesh Pressures Rohingya after EU Visit – The Irrawaddy
February 22nd, 2010
http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=17867
The Bangladesh authorities have renewed arrests and pushback of Rohingya refugees in the days following the departure of a European parliamentary (MEP) delegation from the region bordering Burma.
This comes despite a resolution asking that the arrests and deportations be ended and similar calls from nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) working on the ground.
According to The Arakan Project, 68 Rohingya have been arrested by the Bangladeshi police and security forces since the MEPs left the country. Eight persons were put in jail with the remainder sent back to Burma, in violation of the principle of non refoulement which says that refugees should not be sent back to the country from where they fled without their consent and without guarantees for their security and rights. (more…)
Electing to imprison – RTÉ World Report/ISN
February 22nd, 2010
http://www.rte.ie/news/2010/0228/worldreport.html
http://www.isn.ethz.ch/isn/Current-Affairs/Security-Watch/Detail/?lng=en&id=112923
Burma’s military junta frees one opposition figure as many others languish in prison, while setting up up front parties to compete in what can only be a sham election.
When people in the West think of Burma, thoughts most likely turn to the iconic opposition figure Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been locked up for most of the past 20 years, more or less spanning the time since Nelson Mandela’s release from jail in South Africa. Her crime: winning the country’s single election held since independence from Britain.
Burma is due to hold elections again this year, but Suu Kyi is not permitted to run. The military regime in charge of the country since 1962 seems determined to hold onto power and looks likely to use the elections to try to craft some form of civilian veneer for continued army rule.
The constitution reserves 25 percent of the seats in the proposed new parliament for the army, which is enough to block any attempt to change the law in Burma.
As for the rest, the army is setting up front parties, with officers and civil servants resigning their posts, under orders from the top, to ‘compete’ in the elections. (more…)
Japan and Southeast Asia Take Stock of China’s Rise – The Irrawaddy
February 20th, 2010
http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=17856
As China’s economic and political rise makes itself felt in Asia, Japan and Southeast Asia face serious foreign policy dilemmas in the coming years.
In 1990, Japan’s economy was double the size of the rest Asia combined, as the country looked set to challenge America’s global economic primacy. After two decades of flat performance, however, this has changed. Some projections claim that China is already the second largest economy in the world, having overtaken Japan, and others predict that the Chinese economy will be 5-6 times larger than Japan’s within the next 40-50 years.
Adding to concerns about Japan’s position in Asia is recent friction in its relationship with its most important ally, the United States. Despite wrangles between Tokyo and Washington over naval bases and troop deployment in Japan, however, the alliance between the two countries is steady and remains crucial to security in the wider region, Prof Takashi Shiraishi, currently a member of the Japanese cabinet office, told a forum at Chulalongkorn University.
Supporting this view is the fact that distrust of China still outweighs Japanese public resentment of the US presence. According to opinion polls, more than half the population have a negative opinion of China. Prof Kitti Prasirtsuk, a Thai academic based at Thammasat University who specializes in Japanese politics, said that there is a growing wariness in Japan of Beijing’s longer-term strategic intentions. (more…)
Rohingya Can Only Starve in Bangladesh – The Irrawaddy
February 18th, 2010
http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=17842
Pressure is mounting on the Bangladesh Government to cease what European Parliamentarians and NGOs are calling “an unprecedented crackdown” on Rohingya refugees now settled outside the two official camps in Cox’s Bazaar District near the Burmese border.
A Rohingya woman stands with her child in front of makeshift huts in a refugee camp in Cox's Bazaar. (Photo: Reuters)
As Dhaka clamps down on Rohingya refugees, local anti-Rohingya sentiment—never far from the surface in a relatively-poor region of Bangladesh—has been whipped-up by the authorities and by local media.
The recent crackdown in Bangladesh risks creating a humanitarian crisis for tens of thousands of refugees who already face precarious living conditions.
“All they [Burmese Rohingya] can legally do is starve,” said Paul Critchley, mission head for Médecin Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) in Bangladesh.
Speaking at a press conference in Bangkok on Thursday, Critchley said women and girls have been raped leaving the camp to collect firewood, which they hope to sell and earn some meager resources for their families.
MSF said it is imperative the Government in Dhaka and the UNHCR do more to help the unregistered Rohingya, whose living conditions are getting worse as they are crowding into a crammed, unsanitary area without any support infrastructure.
MSF, which is operating a basic healthcare program at an unoffical camp at Kutapalong in Ukhia, said, “As camp numbers continue to swell, conditions pose a significant risk to people’s health.”
Around 30,000 Rohingya have flocked to the makeshift camp.
Of an estimated 230,000 Burmese Rohingya refugees thought to be in Bangladesh, only around 28,000 are registered as refugees and receive UNHCR-led assistance. The rest try to survive unaided and unprotected in villages and slums in south-eastern Bangladesh. (more…)
