Protester Detained & Role of Burma's Military in 2010 Elections

On March 27, 2009, a protester in Twate Township, Rangoon was arrested by police according to an observer (as reported in Mizzima News).

The protester, who is a private tutor named Aung Phe, was taken away by authorities after standing for over five hours outside of the National League for Democracy (NLD) office building. On-lookers reported that he did not shout or hold any signs. However, his presence was enough to elicit arrest.

This incident is just one of the numerous examples of how Burma's government (currently, the military junta) will crack down on any protesters, regardless of the level of their action. Under the threat of arrest and imprisonment, the leaders of the government are prohibiting free speech.

As the country of Burma looks ahead to the 2010 free democratic elections, the military is preparing to assist in making a "smooth transition to democracy," according to the Democratic Voice of Burma. The government's second in command, Vice-Senior General Maung Aye, spoke to graduates of the Defense Services (Army) Officers Training School in Rangoon on April 10, 2009 (as reported by the Democratic Voice of Freedom). In his remarks, Maung Aye told the audience that the government is expecting a period of instability as the country transitions to democratic leadership. In 1990, free elections were held in Burma. Although the NLD won by an overwhelming amount, the residing government (the military junta) refused to relinquish their position. Since that election, Burma's constitution has been revised but without the imput of the NLD. In addition, according to the new constitution, the head of the NLD, Aung San Suu Kyi, is prohibited from running.

The comments of General Maung Aye give us an idea of what to expect from the future 2010 election. It does not seem as if much progress has been made toward democracy since 1990 because the NLD has been eliminated from the planning of the elections and prohibited to have their leader participate. The fact that the government is preparing their troops to control the public's anticipated reaction to the elections shows us that detainments and arrests such as the one on March 27 will probably continue to happen even if and when the democratic elections take place.

~ Sarah Popovich (Group: Burma)

BURMA: U.S. Diplomat Meets With Junta

A senior U.S. diplomat made an unexpected visit to Burma, in the hopes of shaping a new policy America takes with the ruling military junta.

Stephen Blake, the State Department's director of the Office for Mainland Southeast Asia, was the first American diplomat to visit Naypyidaw, the government's new location. This visit came a month after the new Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the U.S. would be reviewing its policies toward the Burma, in hopes of making some headway in terms of human rights and to "more effectively help the Burmese people". Gordon Druguid, spokesman for the State Department, was careful to note that this does not indicate a change in policy towards the junta, but said, "While we have not yet finalized our approach, we remain committed to encouraging a genuine dialogue between the Burmese authorities and opposition that leads to a free and democratic Burma that respects the rights of its diverse citizens and is at peace with its neighbors."

Blake met with 3 different groups during his trip: the foreign minister, U Nyan Win; the opposition party, National League for Democracy (NLD); and representatives of the minority group, which has recently been in the news for suffering human rights abuses.

The Burmese state-run newspaper, New Light of Myanmar, described the talks as "cordial discussions on issues of mutual interests and promotion of bilateral relations".

The State Department made note that visits like this have happened before with people of Blake's seniority, but the junta noted it was the first diplomat to do so. Blake's visit was part of a five nation tour in the region.

I believe that this visit is a good sign that Burma is not off the new administration's radar. The pointed words by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton show a commital to the mission of bringing democracy to Burma. She was reported saying, "Clearly, the path we have taken in imposing sanctions hasn’t influenced the Burmese junta." This blunt language and proposed change in policy should be recognized and applauded. Ideally, the United States would also put pressure on nations in the ASEAN to speak up, and try to generate more of a response from the official international community.

Also, it's good to hear that after 18 years the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has declared that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's detention is a violation of international and Myanmar law. Maybe in another 15 years we can get some action in Darfur.

--by Alex Hammer

Burma-Quintana urges release of prisioners for upcoming eletion

The Burmese government has yet to release all of its political prisoners as promised. Last month Burmese military rulers released over 6,300 prisoners, but only 29 of those were political prisoners. United Nations human rights investigator, Tomas Ojea Quintana, is urging the Burmese government to release the political prisioners before the upcoming election in 2010 to "ensure the election and its aftermath comply with international standards of a democratic society." Along with releasing the prisoners, Quintana is insisting on immediate health care given to the prisoners. A reliable source also informed Quintana that these political prisoners did not receive a fair trial for their so-called crimes against them and that their lawyers were thrown in contempt of court. Hopefully in the coming weeks, a substanial number of prisoners will be released. It seems as though the Burmese government is releasing political prisoners little by little just to show that they are making SOME progress, which in reality is very little progress. "The most prominent of the remaining 2,100 political prisoners is opposition leader and Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been detained for 13 of the last 19 years."

Protests in Burma

Our semester-long project about the current level of press freedom in Burma is focused on a series of protests called the Saffron Revolution which happened in the fall of 2007. Thousands of citizens and reporters were arrested and some were even killed.

On Friday, March 20, at least 20 people in Twante Township in Rangoon protested against the cyclone reconstruction committee because they claimed that the reconstruction fees were not used appropriately within their village. They marched four miles to the committee's office demanding the reconstruction of their homes which were destroyed in Cyclone Nargis of 2008. The protesters reportedly dispersed around 5 PM on Friday after the committee claimed that it would look into their problems.

This news shows that the people of Burma are passionate about their rights. It is interesting to see that people refuse to be silenced by the military junta which is known for its brutal crackdown on the protesters of the Saffron Revolution. According to the Mizzima, there was no violence during the protests and the protesters returned to their homes.

- Sarah Popovich (Burma)

BURMA: Johns Hopkins Calls For U.N. Investigation Into Junta Cyclone Response

Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Medicine is asking the United Nations to investigate the military junta's response to Cyclone Nargis in Burma. Chris Beyer of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health says that the junta mishandled the situation to a criminal point, even calling the situation a "crime against humanity".

The cyclone, which hit last year, has killed over 130,000 people, and caused $10 billion in damages. The military junta government was very strict about allowing aid in, even though many countries were offering, the junta turned back many, citing problems with the packages, and other reasons for not accepting the aid. Many claim that the junta's stalemate and playing games with relief efforts caused more deaths than could have been prevented had aid gotten to where it was needed in time. There were reports of people being forced to leave shelters early, forced to do manual and child labor for aid, and sent back to dilapidated conditions, this being only a few of the criticisms.

The call to action by Johns Hopkins goes against a recent report by the U.N., ASEAN, and the Burmese junta, claiming that the junta is beginning to have a "higher degree of confidence". The tripartite report recommended another $700 million in relief funding.

It is my opinion that this is a step in the right direction, because letting the junta off the hook for all the damage they have caused is criminal and morally bankrupt, so here's to Johns Hopkins for not letting this issue get lost over time, as so many human rights abuses seem to go among the televised media and public in general (though the former might be the reason for the latter). This call for the U.N. to act will most likely be shut down by Russia and China, the two nations who (almost) always cast a vote against human rights investigations, condemnations, etc.

-- by Alexander Hammer

Release of Thousands Begins in Burma

On Saturday, February 21, 2009 it was reported by my fellow teammate Sarah Popovich that over 6,000 prisoners were to be released. Just a few hours ago, the Washington Post as well as the Deutsche Welle have reported that the Burmese government has began to release the 6,300 prisoners. Of those prisoners being released less than 20 were political prisoners. "Zaw Myint Maung, who was elected to parliament in the annulled 1990 elections and was given a 20-year sentence in 1991", was on of the political prisoners released. Also a number of monks who had been imprisoned since 2003, for refusing to except funds from Gen. Khin Nyunt, Burma's prime minister at the time who was later fired and arrested in 2004.

The release comes shortly after the visit of two United Nations officials, Tomás Ojea Quintana, a special rapporteur on human rights and Ibrahim Gambari, secretary-general's special advisor on Burma. This was 'Quintana's second visit to Burma in six months, and he gave a bleak assessment of the situation',"The human rights situation in Myanmar is still challenging," he said after his visit, referring to the country by the name its military rulers prefer. "It's difficult to affirm that the human rights situation has improved." Gambari reported after meeting with political prisoner and National League for Democracy leader, Daw Aung San Suu Kyiz. "I told the government that now is the time to demonstrate Myanmar's commitment to addressing concretely the issues of concern to the international community - particularly the release of political prisoners and the resumption of dialogue between the government and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi."

There seems to be some progress being made with the release of these prisoners. Burma is schedule to hold elections next year, and that is where true progress shall be made.

Bayyina Black, Burma Group

http://www.dw-world.de/dw/function/0,,12215_cid_4047767,00.html
http://www.voanews.com/english/2009-02-20-voa51.cfm

Burma: Ethnic Minority Abuses

Burma is in the news again, and just like before, it's not for a good reason. The Islamic ethnic minority group known as the Rohingya have been enduring human rights violations. The Rohingya lived in the region for over 1,000 years, but they are denied citizenship because they are not one of the countries 135 accepted ethnic groups. When they go to escape the harsh conditions in Burma, the group is beaten and abused even on the way out.

Rohingya travel on boats from Burma, up the coast to Malaysia. These boats fit hundreds of them,, but they've stopped reaching their destinations. Recently there has been an issue with Thai military pulling over the Rohingya refugees, abusing them, then towing them far from shore and leaving them out there in a boat, presumably with no method of direction because many of the people do not make it back. The Rohingya want to go to Malaysia for the job opportunities, which are better than Burma's for them, and many are being abused on the way there. The United States has recently called for the abuses of the Rohingyan people to stop, and says the situation is a matter of "concern".
--By Alexander Hammer