National News

Friday 21 September 2007 16:02

Foreign and Commonwealth Office (National)

The Foreign Secretary comments on the situation in Burma.

The Foreign Secretary today called for a robust international response to the situation in Burma "Yesterday's briefing on Burma in the Security Council was an important step. The UK government has continually pressed the Burmese regime to stop their oppression and intimidation and called for a robust international response, including at the UN.

"The timely discussion in the Council demonstrates the international community's concern at a time when the situation in the country is tense. The Burmese authorities recently resorted to using tear gas in their attempts to suppress the peaceful demonstrations of the brave monks, whose protests reflect the will of the majority of their fellow countrymen in wanting change in Burma.

"The Security Council was united in its calls for the Burmese government to engage constructively with the UN Secretary General's envoy, Professor Gambari, and encouraged him to visit as soon as possible. We shall continue to work with our colleagues at the UN and in other multilateral bodies to keep up the pressure for positive change.

"I intend to raise the situation in Burma with colleagues in New York next week. In the meantime the UK will continue to take the lead in providing humanitarian assistance to relieve the suffering of the Burmese people."

Press Office, Downing Street (West), London SW1A 2AL

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UN moves on Burma

September 22, 2007 12:00am

THE UNITED Nations wants urgent action to end Burma's political crisis, as monks yesterday continued a week-long protest that has posed the biggest threat to the military junta in a decade.

Ibrahim Gambari, the UN Special Envoy to Burma, has told the Security Council that recent protests in the country, and the military regime's subsequent crackdowns, raised "serious concerns" and underlined the urgency of resolving the political turmoil there.

Mr Gambari told the council he planned to visit Burma but set no date.

"Undoubtedly, the developments over the last few weeks in Burma have raised serious concerns in the international community and once again underscore the urgency to step up our efforts to find solutions to the challenges facing the country," Mr Gambari told the council, a source said.

Authorities yesterday again faced the prospect of another protest march through Rangoon, Burma's biggest city.

Authorities, normally quick to crack down hard on dissent, have left the marchers unmolested, apparently wary of sparking further problems.

Around Rangoon yesterday, processions of monks converged from various monasteries in the early afternoon at the golden hilltop Shwedagon Pagoda, the country's most revered shrine, where they said prayers before marching.

During the marches, often in steady rain, as many as 1000 monks have been joined by thousands of countrymen.

Monks have carried religious flags and an upside-down alms bowl, a symbol of protest and embarrassing to the junta.

Their activities have given new life to a protest movement that began a month ago after a huge government-ordered hike in fuel prices, further causing economic hardships. The protests also reflect long pent-up opposition to the repressive military regime.

~ AP

DICTATOR WATCH(www.dictatorwatch.org)Contact: Roland Watson, roland@dictatorwatch.org

PREPARATION FOR MURDER

September 21, 2007Please forward.Reports from Burma indicate that the SPDC has given orders for its troops to fire into the groups of peaceful demonstrators that are now filling the country’s streets. It is not clear under what specific conditions this is authorized. There is also word that hospitals have been told to clear their wards, to receive large numbers of casualties.

This is preparation for murder. Under no circumstances whatsoever can this crime be permitted to occur.

There are also reports that the United States has aircraft carrier groups nearby in the Indian Ocean. The U.S. should immediately intervene, if the SPDC does attack the people of Burma. The U.K., France, Australia and others should join this effort. However, if these countries are cowards and refuse to help, America will have to act on its own. The obvious targets are Pyinmana; the major Tatmadaw bases, particularly in and around Rangoon; and the top generals’ bunker complexes. 1988 cannot be repeated!

The junta recently had representatives in Beijing and Moscow, no doubt trying to shore up support from its allies. The U.S. should make it clear to both China and Russia that it will not brook opposition to such an intervention. If China acts against the U.S., there will be a severe penalty. America is the most important customer of China, Inc. American consumers are already questioning Chinese products because of safety concerns, the working conditions under which they are manufactured, and their environmental impact. If China opposes a U.S. military initiative in Burma to end crimes against humanity, Americans will boycott Chinese products in the upcoming holiday shopping season and beyond. This will throw the Chinese economy into a recession and even perhaps a depression, and encourage its own population to rise up. In addition, the upcoming Olympics will be adisaster, if not a national disgrace.

For the SPDC to kill protestors, particularly monks, would be suicidal. Burma would explode. Even the junta’s stalwart friend, the government of Thailand, would turn in away in disgust and back whatever the U.S. wanted.

Now is the time for the soldiers in the Tatmadaw to turn against Than Shwe and Maung Aye. You cannot let yourselves be used to perpetrate mass murder against your people. Don’t shoot anyone! Free your country!

On Myanmar, UN's Gambari's On the Run, While Khalilzad of U.S. Calls the Regime a Scam Byline: Matthew Russell Lee of Inner City Press at the UN: News Analysis UNITED NATIONS, September 20 -- At the Security Council on Thursday, the UN's Ibrahim Gambari spoke of Myanmar and then ran right by the press, while U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad flared rare invective about Burma and the regime's "scam" convention. Looming over each was not only Aung San Suu Kyi, but also Laura Bush, who recently called Ban Ki-moon on the topic. Amb. Khalilzad reference "the First Lady" before deploying his statement at the Security Council stakeout, while the call made Ban Ki-moon announce that Gambari will "soon" go to Myanmar. But when on Thursday Inner City Press asked Gambari, fleeing the Council, when he will go, Gambari said he didn't know. Inner City Press asked if he would speak to all reporters, and on camera? Gambari said he'd done so recently. But much has since changed. "What about the monks?" Inner City Press asked, as Gambari headed up the stairs. Others suggested that "What about Jim Carrey?" is what Inner City Press should have shouted. Ban's spokesperson on September 20 said that "Mr. Gambari has been very willing to come and talk. He talked to you the other day and he has been very willing to be available on that subject." But his dash past reporters and the UN TV camera told a different story. Amb. Khalilzad at the stakeout, Ibrahim Gambari not shown In front of these cameras, video here, Amb. Khalilzad said We have urged Mr. Gambari and he plans to visit Burma as soon as possible. It is our expectation that when he returns he will re-engage in a meeting with the Security Council. The situation in Burma poses a threat to regional peace and stability. Therefore, it's appropriate for the Council to be engaged on this very important issue. I would be happy to take your questions. Inner City Press: Mr. Ambassador, when he goes there, what would you have him say? One, when is going to go, and two, what message should you deliver on Aung San Suu Kyi and on the treatment of the opposition, and these monks? What substantively? Ambassador Khalilzad: First, of course, we want him to go as soon as possible. His visit there requires the cooperation of the regime and we urge the regime to cooperate with him. Second is that of course, one of the key elements of the mission to Burma is the political track, and particularly within that track the release of political prisoners, the treatment of ethnic minorities, a process that can allow for political participation and determination by the people of Burma, their political future. Their recent convention has been a sham. You saw how not only the convention was not representative, but it has coincided with increased oppression of the people. So, I assured Mr. Gambari he can count on our support. We urge him to go as soon as possible, we urge the Government of Burma to cooperate with him, and we have said that we want him to come back to the Council after his visit and report so that we can take appropriate decisions. We'll see.

Gordon Brown’s historic statement on Burma

London 02 September

I deeply deplore the Burmese government's violent suppression of peaceful demonstrations. I call upon the Burmese authorities to release immediately all those detained merely for protesting at the hardship imposed on them by the government's economic mismanagement and failure to uphold fundamental human rights. I also reiterate the British Government's call for the release of all political prisoners, including Nobel Prize winner, Aung San Suu Kyi who has now spent almost 12 years of her life under house arrest.

As the lives of ordinary Burmese people continue to deteriorate, it is all the more important that all countries and organizations with an influence over the regime impress upon the generals the need for an early transition to democratic rule, full respect for human rights and genuine national reconciliation.

I support calls for the grave situation in Burma to be considered by the UN Security Council at the earliest opportunity. I also call for the UN General Assembly to address this issue.

We give our full support to the efforts of the UN Secretary-General's good offices mission. It is time for the UN human rights bodies to give this alarming situation the attention it so patently deserves.

I am asking the Foreign Secretary to discuss this issue with our European partners next week. I will seek an early opportunity to raise the situation in Burma with my counterparts in the key regional countries and with our partners in the EU and the US.

Report: Russian military tests what it calls world's most powerful non-nuclear bomb

AP Posted: 2007-09-11 14:36:11

MOSCOW (AP) - The Russian military has successfully tested what it described as the world's most powerful non-nuclear air-delivered bomb, Russia's state television reported Tuesday. Channel One television said the new ordnance, nicknamed the "dad of all bombs" is four times more powerful than the U.S. "mother of all bombs."

"The tests have shown that the new air-delivered ordnance is comparable to a nuclear weapon in its efficiency and capability," Alexander Rukhsin, a deputy chief of the Russian military's General Staff, said in televised remarks. The statement comes amid the Kremlin's efforts to restore Russia's global clout and rebuild the nation's military might. The U.S. Massive Ordnance Air Blast, nicknamed the Mother Of All Bombs, is a large-yield satellite-guided, air delivered bomb described as the most powerful non-nuclear weapon in history.

Burma: UN Security Council Must Take the Lead

Brussels, 27 August 2007:

In a letter to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, the ITUC has called on the UN Security Council to develop a firm and coordinated international response to the deteriorating situation in Burma. Latest reports indicate that some 65 people, including members of the National League for Democracy and human rights defenders, have been arrested by the military regime for taking part in peaceful protests over a recent five-fold increase in the price of fuel.

“On top of the burden of years of military dictatorship, Burmese people are now not able to meet even the basic cost of transportation to make a living, and the price of cooking fuel is now beyond reach for many”, said ITUC General Secretary Guy Ryder. “The UN Security Council put Burma on its agenda as a permanent item less than a year ago, and the Council needs to demonstrate real leadership. Without this, things can only get worse for Burmese workers and their families”, he added.

According to reports, the Military regime has deployed troops and armoured vehicles in various parts of the capital Rangoon and elsewhere in the country, and fears are growing that the regime will once again resort to heavy force in order to impose its will. In its appeal to Secretary General Ban, the ITUC asks him to use his authority to request the Security Council to meet and discuss the situation as a matter of urgency.

___________________________________

Founded on 1 November 2006, the ITUC represents 168 million workers in 153 countries and territories and has 305 national affiliates. For more information, please contact the ITUC Press Department on +32 2 224 0204 or +32 476 621 018.

NLD Mandalay Division

Hollywood celebrities appeal to UN chief to help free Suu Kyi

WASHINGTON, Sept 6, 2007 (AFP) - Twenty-eight Hollywood celebrities have written to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to personally intervene to secure the release of military-ruled Myanmar's democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi.

"We urge you to take action to secure her immediate release," said the celebrities, including movie stars Jennifer Aniston, Dustin Hoffman, Owen Wilson , Robin Williams, and Anjelica Huston, in their letter sent Wednesday.

The world's only imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize recipient, Aung San Suu Kyi, 62, has been held under house arrest in Myanmar for 11 of the past 17 years.Her National League for Democracy (NLD) won elections in 1990, but military rulers of Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, never recognized the result.

Although she was an elected leader of the Myanmar people, with her party winning 82 percent of the seats in parliament, "the military regime cruelly locked her up along with many members of her party," the celebrities told Ban.

They also noted that according to the UN, the military junta had burned down or destroyed over 3,000 villages in eastern Myanmar, forcing over one million people to flee their homes.

"This courageous, brave woman whom many call 'Burma's Nelson Mandela' should be released and the military regime should end its attacks on civilians," they said.

Their effort, organized by Oscar-winning actress Huston along with two groups, the Human Rights Action Center and US Campaign for Burma, came as pro-democracy supporters staged rare street protests against the junta in Myanmar.

Defying a clampdown on dissent that had drawn sharp condemnation from US President George W. Bush, the protestors have been staging a series of demonstrations against a staggering increase in fuel prices.

The almost daily protests mark the most sustained demonstrations against the military regime in at least nine years.

Aung San Suu Kyi, among about 1,200 political prisoners in Myanmar, "is a woman that is taking on a brutal military dictatorship with nothing more than the truth in her heart and the support of her people," said Jack Healey, founder of the Human Rights Action Center.

"The situation inside Burma is grave, similar to that in Darfur. The silence of the world on Aung San Suu Kyi is unconscionable, " said Jeremy Woodrum, co-founder of the US Campaign for Burma.

Two of the signatories, Hollywood stars Eric Szmanda from the television show "Crime Scene Investigation" and Walter Koenig from "Star Trek" recently traveled to refugee camps on the Thailand-Myanmar border to press for more UN help.

Huston became interested in Aung San Suu Kyi and Myanmar after learning about the situation from Healey. Support for human rights runs in her family.

Her father, the director John Huston, led the efforts against McCarthyism -- a period of extreme anti-communist suspicion inspired by the tensions of the Cold War -- in 1950s Hollywood.

Hollywood Stars urge UN To Act on Burma

Thursday, September 6, 2007; 2:02 AM

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - More than 25 celebrities including actors Jim Carrey, Dustin Hoffman and Robin Williams on Thursday urged the United Nations to help win freedom for Myanmar democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. The stars signed a letter calling on U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to intervene personally to win immediate freedom for the Nobel laureate, who has spent most of the past 17 years in prison or under house arrest in military-ruled former Burma.

"Aung San Suu Kyi is not just a charismatic leader, she is the elected leader of the Burmese people," said the letter, whose signatories also included actors Owen Wilson, Susan Sarandon and Jennifer Aniston as well as Irish singer Damien Rice. Rice is a long-time supporter of Suu Kyi.

"This courageous, brave woman whom many call 'Burma's Nelson Mandela' should be released and the military regime should end its attacks on civilians," the letter said.

The celebrity letter campaign was spearheaded by the Human Rights Action Center and the U.S. Campaign for Burma, both based in Washington.Intensifying repression in the impoverished Southeast Asian state has also drawn the attention of U.S. first lady Laura Bush, who personally telephoned the U.N. secretary-general last week to express concerns about a crackdown on dissidents.

On Tuesday, Bush told a small group of reporters in an interview at the White House that she hoped to raise Myanmar's profile at the U.N. General Assembly later this month.

Leaflets at US, British embassies in Myanmar decry support for democracy movement

Wed Sep 5, 8:51 PM ET

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) - Leaflets demanding that U.S. and British diplomats stop their ``blatant support'' of pro-democracy protests in Myanmar were left in front of those countries' embassies Wednesday, saying they should cease their interference or be driven out.

Myanmar's government has detained scores of activists and used gangs of hired thugs to suppress a rare wave of protests triggered by fuel price hikes last month of as much as 500 percent.

Despite the pressure, protests have been have been continuing sporadically, with one involving as many as 1,000 people claimed to have taken place Wednesday.

``We, Myanmar people, are going to punish those Myanmar traitors who rely on foreign countries,'' said one of several leaflets left in front of the embassies. ``Your blatant support and encouragement toward those scoundrels amounts to insulting the Myanmar people. We demand that such actions be stopped immediately.

'' Another, signed by the ``New Generation Burma Students Union,'' vowed that ``All traitors, neo-colonialists and embassies that interfere in the internal affairs of our country will be driven out.''

The junta and the state-controlled press have frequently accused the U.S. and Britain of colluding with pro-democracy activists in efforts to oust the government.

Both nations have imposed economic and political sanctions against the junta because of its poor human rights record and failure to hand over power to a democratically elected government.

U.S. President George W. Bush said he would raise the issue of human rights violations in Myanmar, also called Burma, at a weekend summit of the 21-member Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum.

The leaflets left in front of the embassies were copies of handwritten pages and included several poems. All were critical of either the pro-democracy movement or the embassies. They were signed by unknown groups.

Asked to comment on the leaflets, Shari Villarosa, the top U.S. diplomat in Myanmar, said, ``We support free speech but it's something to which all citizens of the country have the right, and should not be arrested.''

She said she would not be surprised if the people who left the leaflets had official encouragement.

A British diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity in keeping with diplomatic etiquette, said the embassy was concerned that the leaflets had a threatening tone, so had lodged a request with Myanmar authorities for protection.

About 1,000 people staged a protest march Wednesday in Bogalay, a town in the Irrawaddy delta 130 kilometers (80 miles) south of Yangon, the opposition National League for Democracy party said.

The report could not be independently confirmed, and sometimes such accounts exaggerate the number of people taking part. Many of the protests in the past week have involved a handful of people, in one case two men standing at a marketplace with placards. NLD spokesman Nyan Win said the head of the party's local chapter, who organized the protest, was later detained.

On Monday, Myanmar's government announced that a National Convention had finished drawing up guidelines for a new constitution, said to be the first step in a seven-stage ``roadmap to democracy.''

But U.S. State Department spokesman Tom Casey said Tuesday the results ``do not represent the will of the Burmese people, nor are they a step toward democracy.''

The guidelines give the military substantial unelected representation in parliament, and also disqualify presidential candidates who are ``entitled to the rights and privileges of a ... foreign country'' _ thereby barring Nobel Peace Prize laureate Suu Kyi, the detained head of the NLD, whose late husband was British.

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AHRC open letter to the UN on Burmese situation

Dear Mr Ban Ki-moon,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is writing to you with regard to your statement of August 23 concerning the consequences of the August 15 increase of fuel prices in Burma and repeated protests in the former capital that are now reported to be spreading to other parts of the country.

First, you express concern that arrests have been carried out by "the authorities" . In fact, most of the protests are being blocked and persons taken away by gangs of thugs mobilised as proxies for the police and military. These are not "pro-government" groups as reported in many news items over the last few days, nor do they have any legal basis. They are an unofficial arm of the state that has been systematically organised through township and ward councils and the government's mass body, the Union Solidarity and Development Association, for some years now, including for the purposes of the lethal attack on a convoy carrying the opposition party leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and her supporters at Depayin in 2003.

Secondly, you encourage "all parties to avoid any provocative action". In fact, this is an offensive and completely inappropriate remark. Was the unannounced doubling of charges for diesel fuel and quintupling of those for compressed natural gas not an enormous provocation of millions in Burma who for years have been struggling to survive day by day?

If not protest, then what should the people of Burma do? In short, do you deny them the right to take to the streets and assert that they won't be parties to their own impoverishment and degradation any longer?

Thirdly, the notion of "constructive dialogue" is anyhow spurious. Surprisingly, the United Nations continues to pretend that such a thing exists in dealing with the Burma, perhaps for want of anything else.

Why is it that after a remarkable week in which people in Burma have taken to the streets in the sincere hope of support and interest from abroad they have obtained only three sentences from the UN secretary-general, through a spokesperson?

Please immediately convene a special meeting with your special envoy on Burma, the UN under-secretary- general for political affairs and concerned persons to assess the current situation and propose specific responses and strategies. Please also consider how the question of Burma can again be brought before the Security Council. Without your firm resolve, the people of Burma will again find themselves forced to struggle alone, as they have on so many occasions in the past.

Basil Fernando

Executive Director

Asian Human Rights Commission,

Hong Kong

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/08/25/pda/opinion_30046448.html

Burma ends charter-drafting process with no timeframe for polls

YANGON -- Burma's military rulers Monday officially concluded their 14-year-old constitution drafting process with no timeframe set for a general election and return to democracy, delegates said.

National Convention chairman Lieutenant General Thein Sein in his closing remarks said the constitution drafting-process had required altogether 11 sessions, six between 1993 to 1996, and five between 2004 to 2007.

The conclusion of the National Convention marks the first step on Burma's so-called "roadmap" to "discipline flourishing democracy."

Thein Sein, a senior member of the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), as Burma's ruling junta styles itself, gave no timeframe Monday for a referendum to endorse the draft charter, nor for the future polls, delegates said.

The National Convention dubbed a sham by many Western observers and Burma's chief opposition party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), was officially launched on October 2, 1992, to draft a new charter for the country which had by then been under military rule for the past 30 years.

The military has argued that a new constitution was necessary before it could hand over power to a civilian government, a manoeuvre that was quickly seen as a ploy to hang on to power in the aftermath of the 1990 general election which the NLD, led by Aung San Suu Kyi, had won by a landslide.

The convention process, stalled in 1996 by an NLD walkout, was resurrected in 2004 as the first step in the junta's so-called roadmap to democracy.

Burma has been under military rule since 1962 when General Ne Win toppled the government of U Nu, the country's first and last elected prime minister after it was granted independence from Great Britain in 1949.

The draft charter has provided a dominant role for the military in the next government. At the final session the role of political parties, declaration of state of emergency, creation of the national flag, national emblem, national anthem and amendments were concluded.

//(Deutsche Presse-Agentur)

Bush to press for action over Burma

By Andrew Ward in Washington Published: September 2 2007 22:27 Last updated: September 2 2007 22:27

President George W. Bush will pressure Asian leaders to do more to halt alleged human rights abuses in Burma when he attends a summit of Asia-Pacific leaders in Sydney this week.

The White House has voiced alarm about a recent clampdown on pro-democracy activists in Burma, reviving longstanding US antipathy towards the country's military junta.

Mr Bush has vowed to raise the issue with Chinese President Hu Jintao and south-east Asian leaders at the Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation summit in Sydney.

Washington has long been frustrated by the reluctance of neighbouring countries to use their economic leverage to force change in Burma, one of the poorest and most repressed nations in Asia.

Laura Bush, US first lady, last week added her voice to the calls for international action on Burma and criticised the United Nations for "staying quiet" on the issue. The comments grabbed attention because Mrs Bush rarely speaks out on political issues.

Mrs Bush telephoned Ban Ki-moon, UN Secretary-General, to express “deep concern” over the situation and chide the UN for its inaction. “By staying quiet, the United Nations — and all nations — condone these abuses,” she said.

The remarks represented an unusually blunt rebuke of Mr Ban by the White House, which had hoped for improved relations with the UN under his leadership.

Burma’s military junta has detained dozens of protestors over recent weeks after a rebellion against a state-mandated increase in fuel prices. The clampdown adds to a long history of alleged human rights abuses in Burma.

“We strongly condemn the ongoing actions of the Burmese regime in arresting, harassing and assaulting pro-democracy activists for organising or participating in peaceful demonstrations,” said Dennis Wilder, Asia director at the US national security council.

Gordon Brown, the British prime minister, on Sunday joined the calls for the release of those held after the street protests against fuel price rises.

Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2007