84,000 Karen Civilians Call on Ban Ki-moon to Help Stop Attacks in Burma - Latest News - Karen National Union 28 Feb 2011 On Monday 28 February 2011, a petition signed by 84,000 Ethnic Karen civilians will be handed in the office of the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, and other world leaders, including British Prime Minister David Cameron and Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard. The petition delivery will take place in 8 countries including Japan, Norway, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, and Canada. The 84,000 ethnic Karen civilians have signed a petition calling on the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to take effective action to immediately stop the Burmese dictatorship attacking civilians and committing gross human rights abuses against them. The petition was organised by the Karen National Union (KNU), the largest political organisation representing the Karen people in Burma, at the request of Karen civilians in cooperation with local community leaders and supported by Karen communities and organisations around the world. Organizations taking actions and supporting the petition 1. Countries 1.
Philippines, 3 other Asean countries agree to adopt common visa scheme InterAksyon.comThe online news portal of TV5 MANILA - The Philippines, Myanmar, Cambodia and Indonesia have agreed to develop a common smart visa system to boost tourism across Southeast Asia. During the 22nd World Economic Forum (WEF) on East Asia, ministers and tourism authorities of the four Asean member-states said they will facilitate travel in the region by developing a common smart visa system. Tourism ministers of the four Asean member-states have signed the “Statement of Intent on SMART Visa” during the ongoing WEF meeting taking place in Nay Pyi Taw from June 5-7. “By signing this letter of intent, ministers and tourism authorities agree to work hand-in-hand for the implementation of this system, whose objective will be that of eliminating those barriers to the movement of tourists which are currently creating disincentives to travel. It also builds on the single visa scheme for tourism travel between Cambodia and Thailand that began this year.
Karen National Union Burma and WMD: In the news again - Pale Moon Andrew Selth is a Research Fellow at the Griffith Asia Institute and author of Burma and Weapons of Mass Destruction: Not If, but How, Why and What. Despite Burma's promise last year to cut its defence ties with North Korea and not to pursue any weapons of mass destruction (WMD) programs, these two problems simply will not go away. Naypyidaw's relations with the international community have greatly improved over the past year or so, but the potential remains for these issues to bring Burma's diplomatic rapprochement and domestic reform to a grinding halt. Given North Korea's past sales of conventional arms to Burma and likely involvement in a ballistic missile production program, if not a nuclear weapons development program, it was a relief to all concerned when President Thein Sein told the US Secretary of State in December 2011 that Burma would sever its military links with North Korea. Both the WMD and North Korea issues, however, remain of concern. Photo by Flickr user racoles.
Burmese blogger wins top US award Imprisoned Burmese blogger Nay Phone Latt, whose role in disseminating news of the September 2007 uprising in Burma won him international applaud, has received the prestigious PEN/Barbara Goldsmith award. Speaking prior the award ceremony last night in New York, PEN president Kwame Anthony Appiah said that Nay Phone Latt, who was arrested in January 2008 and sentenced to 20 years in prison, “represents a younger generation of Burmese who are longing for freedom and willing to pay the cost of speaking out in its defense”. According to news alerts following his sentencing, the 29-year-old was arrested for posting satirical cartoons of Burmese junta chief Than Shwe on his blog. The charge of “causing public alarm” accounted for two of 20 years he is to spend in prison. He was also a prolific writer, and posted regular articles during the so-called Saffron Revolution in 2007 that partly compensated for the media blackout enforced by the regime.
Myanmar Sees West Easing Sanctions Soon as Clinton to Visit (Adds China’s vice president meeting with Myanmar armed forces chief in 15th paragraph.) Nov. 28 (Bloomberg) -- Myanmar President Thein Sein is seeking to reconcile with political opponents to expand the economy and prompt Western nations to reconsider sanctions that have hurt the country’s poor, one of his advisers said. Relations with the U.S. and Europe have “improved in a short span of time and they will consider lifting sanctions soon,” Nay Zin Latt, a political adviser to Thein Sein, said in an e-mail interview. Thein Sein has released hundreds of political prisoners, eased censorship and sought peace talks with ethnic groups seeking independence since taking power nine months ago after an election that ended five decades of military rule. Myanmar’s steps toward democracy follow uprisings in the Middle East and North Africa that felled dictators, and as support for parties in Malaysia and Singapore that have ruled for decades declines. ‘Top-Down’ IMF Advice U.S. ‘Very Genuine’
Thailand to kick out Burmese refugees - Asia, World - The Indepe Activists say that up to 3,000 ethnic Karen, who were forced from eastern Burma last summer, could be "voluntarily repatriated" as early as today. While the Thai authorities insist that no one will be forced to return to Burma against their will, they have said that those who want to go home could start returning immediately. It has been claimed that officials have already been putting pressure on some of the refugees. "Sending these refugees back to Burma is sending them back to possible death, slave labour or forced recruitment as soldiers," said Zoya Phan, of the Burma Campaign UK. The ethnic Karen of eastern Burma have long struggled, unsuccessfully, to create their own federal state. Over the past two decades, about 100,000 Karen refugees have taken shelter in camps strung along the Thailand-Burma border. During the Second World War, many ethnic Karen joined forces with the British to oppose Japanese troops seizing control. But activists say the dangers are too high.
Burma and WMD: Lost in translation Andrew Selth is a Research Fellow at the Griffith Asia Institute and author of Burma and North Korea: Conventional Allies or Nuclear Partners? Over the past ten years, the public debate about Burma's nuclear ambitions and possible missile purchases has generated more heat than light. This is perhaps to be expected, given the dearth of reliable information on these issues, the emotive nature of the subject matter and the fact that, since the abortive 1988 pro-democracy uprising, Burma-watching has become highly politicised. Yet there may be another reason why the debate has at times been unproductive — even misleading — and that is the nature of the language employed. Academics and other professional analysts are under considerable pressure to write deliberately, and to choose their words with great care. This emphasis on precision, however, is not usually characteristic of journalists and activists. Indeed, the term 'program' itself means different things to different people.
Burma and N Korea slam UN reports Burma and North Korea have rejected UN condemnation of human rights abuses at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. Recommendations by the UN special envoy to Burma "violated the right of a sovereign state", Burma's UN envoy told the UN Human Rights Council. He said that the report from Tomas Quintana contained allegations based on "unverifiable sources". North Korea's UN envoy "categorically" rejected the UN report describing the country as "one big prison". Political prisoners UN special envoy Tomas Quintana, who visited Burma last month has recommended a UN inquiry into whether war crimes and crimes against humanity are being committed there. Mr Quintana told the UN Human Rights Council that elections due this year could not be credible, because the military rulers had failed to remedy human rights abuses. These included the recruitment of child soldiers and the jailing of more than 2,000 prisoners of conscience.
Philippines dubs Myanmar election a farce | World By Ambika Ahuja HANOI (Reuters) - Myanmar's election is a democratic farce, the Philippines said in a document outlining President Benigno Aquino's position at an Asian summit this week where differences over the military-ruled nation could bring discord. The 10-member Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) faces divisions over reclusive and recalcitrant Myanmar, days before its first election in two decades, at the gathering in Vietnam of leaders aiming to forge an economic and political union in the next five years. Myanmar's grim record on human rights damages ASEAN's reputation and credibility and is an obstacle to cooperation with some of its international partners. It is also a source of friction within ASEAN, which groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Some ASEAN members, such as the Philippines and Indonesia, have been pressing for reform.
Than Shwe Visits Laos to Discuss Border Security As the Burmese junta chief Snr-Gen Than Shwe kicked off a three-day state visit to the neighboring communist nation of Laos on Friday, Naypyidaw is reported to be in talks with Vientiane over border security, the Burmese elections and bilateral ties. The New Light of Myanmar reported on Saturday that Than Shwe and his delegation were seen off at Naypyidaw Airport by Vice Snr-Gen Maung Aye and other senior officials on Friday morning. Border security is expected to be high on Burma’s agenda during the Laos visit, and it was notable that Than Shwe and top officials Shwe Mann and Tin Aung Myint Oo were accompanied by newly appointed joint Chief of Staff (Army, Navy, Air Force) Lt-Gen Min Aung Hliang, as well as the commander of Triangle Regional Military Command Brig-Gen Than Tun Oo. Reports from the Lao capital also noted that Than Shwe will brief his counterparts about Burma’s election scheduled for next month.