Junta launches fresh campaign against KNU
Mizzima News (www.mizzima.com)
November 30, 2007 - Sporadic guerilla warfare has once again shaken eastern Burma's Karen State as the Burmese Army has begun a fresh offensive against the ethnic Karen's main armed resistant group, the Karen National Union (KNU), said the General Secretary of the group.
Padoh Man Sha, General Secretary of the KNU, told Mizzima that sporadic fighting has been ongoing in Kawkreik and Myawaddy Townships in the eastern regions of Burma since September, as columns of the Burmese Army - Light Infantry Battalions 230, 231 and 549 - push into areas controlled by the KNU's 6th Brigade.
"Fighting is continuing. Since they [Burmese army] are using human shields, we [KNU] have to utilize guerilla warfare tactics with sporadic attacks," Man Sha said.
Khaing Mar Kyaw Zaw, a Karen journalist based on the Thai-Burmese border, said the Burmese Army is using the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA), a Karen armed group which has a ceasefire agreement with the junta, in their campaign against the KNU.
"The current campaign is led by the DKBA, and the Burmese army is joining them. Sources close to the DKBA say they have proclaimed that they will capture areas controlled by the KNU's 6th Brigade within 3 months," Khaing Mar Kyaw Zaw said.
She added that a source in Kawkreik Township, who is close to the DKBA, has revealed that the current campaign is designed to capture KNU dominated areas so as to clear the way for the construction of the Asian Highway, which is to pass through Kawkreik and Myawaddy Townships in Karen state.
The Burmese Army has joined the DKBA's Brigades 333, 907, 901 and Special Battalion 999 in the new campaign against the KNU.
"A DKBA Captain named Bo Mojo is said to have led the campaign and used villagers for portering as well as for human shields, to prevent the KNU from launching counter attacks," Khaing Mar Kyaw Zaw said.
However, Man Sha said that counter offensives have killed several attacking troops, with the KNU suffering only a few casualties.
"Since they [the Burmese army and DKBA] are randomly pushing their way in, they suffer more casualties. Our boys launch sporadic guerilla attacks," Man Sha added.
However, Man Sha could not provide a casualty figure for either side.
Friday, November 30, 2007
New generation ruler of Than Swe
Junta reshuffles commanders, showcases changes
Mizzima News (www.mizzima.com)
November 30, 2007 - In what, is in all probability a diversionary tactics adopted by the Burmese military junta, it has effected another military reshuffle. Critics feel it is to showcase changes in the regime in the aftermath of the brutal crackdown on September's monk-led protests, which had invited world-wide wrath.
The junta has promoted Brig. Gen Myint Soe, commander of the Taugup based No. 5 Military Operation Command as the Northwest Military Command commander, sources close to the military establishment said.
Rector of the Defence Service Academy, Brig. Gen Kyaw Swe was promoted as commander of the Southwest Command and his position was filled by Brig. Gen Zeya Aung, commander of Light Infantry Division 88.
While Brig. Gen Tin Ngwe of the War Office General Staff was posted as the commander of the Central Command, the War Office General Staff position was filled in by Brig. Gen Sann Oo, commander of the Maingnaung based No. 2 Military Operation Command.
Kale Regional Operation and Strategic Command commander Col Khin Maung Htay was also promoted as commander of the LID 99.
While there are more promotions in the offing in the military hierarchy, secrecy in the military establishment made it difficult to confirm more of the new postings. The newly appointed commanders were told to join their new posts or report to the Military Headquarters on November 28, sources said.
Prior to the appointment of several new commanders, the junta promoted the former Northwest Command Commander Maj. Gen Thar Aye to Commander of Bureau of Special Operation, former Commander of Central Command Maj. Gen Khin Zaw was promoted to Commander of Bureau of Special Operation 6 and former Commander of Southwest Command Thura Myint Aung was promoted as Adjutant General, sources said.
While the Burmese junta has a penchant for reshuffling its commanders from time to time, some critics view the current reshuffle as an effort to showcase that the junta is implementing some changes even within its own military establishment, sources said.
Win Min, a Thailand based Burma affairs analyst, said, it is about time that the junta promoted some of its commanders like Thar Aye and Thura Myint Aung but since the reshuffle came following the brutal crackdown on peaceful protesters, it could involve an effort to showcase that the junta is implementing changes.
"By reshuffling some of its commanders the junta wants to give hope to the people that there will be more economic and social stability in the country," Win Min added.
Besides, the reshuffle could also mean that the junta supremo Than Shwe is strengthening its stranglehold on the military establishment by promoting his loyalists, Win Min said.
"If we look at the reshuffle, we can see that most of the commanders are close to Shwe Mann (who is a close ally of Than Shwe). So it is like, even while going by seniority, it has been carefully planned to choose Than Shwe and Shwe Mann's allies," Win Min added, citing a rift in the top brass of the junta between Senior General Than Shwe and Vice Senior General Maung Aye.
Mizzima News (www.mizzima.com)
November 30, 2007 - In what, is in all probability a diversionary tactics adopted by the Burmese military junta, it has effected another military reshuffle. Critics feel it is to showcase changes in the regime in the aftermath of the brutal crackdown on September's monk-led protests, which had invited world-wide wrath.
The junta has promoted Brig. Gen Myint Soe, commander of the Taugup based No. 5 Military Operation Command as the Northwest Military Command commander, sources close to the military establishment said.
Rector of the Defence Service Academy, Brig. Gen Kyaw Swe was promoted as commander of the Southwest Command and his position was filled by Brig. Gen Zeya Aung, commander of Light Infantry Division 88.
While Brig. Gen Tin Ngwe of the War Office General Staff was posted as the commander of the Central Command, the War Office General Staff position was filled in by Brig. Gen Sann Oo, commander of the Maingnaung based No. 2 Military Operation Command.
Kale Regional Operation and Strategic Command commander Col Khin Maung Htay was also promoted as commander of the LID 99.
While there are more promotions in the offing in the military hierarchy, secrecy in the military establishment made it difficult to confirm more of the new postings. The newly appointed commanders were told to join their new posts or report to the Military Headquarters on November 28, sources said.
Prior to the appointment of several new commanders, the junta promoted the former Northwest Command Commander Maj. Gen Thar Aye to Commander of Bureau of Special Operation, former Commander of Central Command Maj. Gen Khin Zaw was promoted to Commander of Bureau of Special Operation 6 and former Commander of Southwest Command Thura Myint Aung was promoted as Adjutant General, sources said.
While the Burmese junta has a penchant for reshuffling its commanders from time to time, some critics view the current reshuffle as an effort to showcase that the junta is implementing some changes even within its own military establishment, sources said.
Win Min, a Thailand based Burma affairs analyst, said, it is about time that the junta promoted some of its commanders like Thar Aye and Thura Myint Aung but since the reshuffle came following the brutal crackdown on peaceful protesters, it could involve an effort to showcase that the junta is implementing changes.
"By reshuffling some of its commanders the junta wants to give hope to the people that there will be more economic and social stability in the country," Win Min added.
Besides, the reshuffle could also mean that the junta supremo Than Shwe is strengthening its stranglehold on the military establishment by promoting his loyalists, Win Min said.
"If we look at the reshuffle, we can see that most of the commanders are close to Shwe Mann (who is a close ally of Than Shwe). So it is like, even while going by seniority, it has been carefully planned to choose Than Shwe and Shwe Mann's allies," Win Min added, citing a rift in the top brass of the junta between Senior General Than Shwe and Vice Senior General Maung Aye.
Student leader Htay Kywe's mother die
Prominent 88 generation student, Htay Kywe's mother dies
Maung Dee
Mizzima News ( www.mizzima.com)
November 30, 2007 - Daw Mi Mi Lay (68), mother of Burma's prominent detained activist, Htay Kywe died on Thursday evening at her residence in Rangoon , family sources said.
She died at about 9 p.m. (local time) after suffering from brain tumor and paralysis, Htay Kywe's sister Khin San Myint, said.
"Our mother has been suffering from cancer in the abdomen for four years now. She went to Bangkok for treatment but it seems the malignant cells had spread to her brain. Half her body was paralysed," Khin San Myint, told Mizzima.
Daw Mi Mi Lay will be cremated on December 3 and family members said they will seek permission from prison authorities at Insein to allow Htay Kywe to attend the funeral service.
"We don't know whether he [Htay Kywe] will be allowed to attend the funeral service, but we want him to at least pay his last respects to mother. I feel really sorry for my brother," Khin San Myint told Mizzima even as she began to cry.
Htay Kywe, one of the 88 generation student members, who led the September peoples' protest, was arrested after visiting his mother in Shwegonedine Special Clinic when her health deteriorated.
However, fearing that his mother's health might deteriorate further, Htay Kywe requested family members not to disclose his arrest to her. Daw Mi Mi Lay died unaware about her son's detention.
"Our mother was waiting for her son. Since she was terminally ill, we did not dare disclose the truth about him [Htay Kywe]. We appealed to the authorities to allow him to come to the hospital before mother died but not long after we made the request mother passed away," continued Khin San Myint.
Htay Kywe's colleagues, the 88 generation students and the All Burma Federation of Students Union expressed sorrow over the death of Htay Kwe's mother and said they will offer flowers as a token of their grief.
"I put myself in his [Htay Kywe] shoes and I feel sad. I feel the same way as he is feeling now," said Kyaw Ko Ko from the ABFSU.
Daw Mi Mi Lay leaves behind five children including Htay Kywe.
Maung Dee
Mizzima News ( www.mizzima.com)
November 30, 2007 - Daw Mi Mi Lay (68), mother of Burma's prominent detained activist, Htay Kywe died on Thursday evening at her residence in Rangoon , family sources said.
She died at about 9 p.m. (local time) after suffering from brain tumor and paralysis, Htay Kywe's sister Khin San Myint, said.
"Our mother has been suffering from cancer in the abdomen for four years now. She went to Bangkok for treatment but it seems the malignant cells had spread to her brain. Half her body was paralysed," Khin San Myint, told Mizzima.
Daw Mi Mi Lay will be cremated on December 3 and family members said they will seek permission from prison authorities at Insein to allow Htay Kywe to attend the funeral service.
"We don't know whether he [Htay Kywe] will be allowed to attend the funeral service, but we want him to at least pay his last respects to mother. I feel really sorry for my brother," Khin San Myint told Mizzima even as she began to cry.
Htay Kywe, one of the 88 generation student members, who led the September peoples' protest, was arrested after visiting his mother in Shwegonedine Special Clinic when her health deteriorated.
However, fearing that his mother's health might deteriorate further, Htay Kywe requested family members not to disclose his arrest to her. Daw Mi Mi Lay died unaware about her son's detention.
"Our mother was waiting for her son. Since she was terminally ill, we did not dare disclose the truth about him [Htay Kywe]. We appealed to the authorities to allow him to come to the hospital before mother died but not long after we made the request mother passed away," continued Khin San Myint.
Htay Kywe's colleagues, the 88 generation students and the All Burma Federation of Students Union expressed sorrow over the death of Htay Kwe's mother and said they will offer flowers as a token of their grief.
"I put myself in his [Htay Kywe] shoes and I feel sad. I feel the same way as he is feeling now," said Kyaw Ko Ko from the ABFSU.
Daw Mi Mi Lay leaves behind five children including Htay Kywe.
UWSA want democracy and peace
Saturday, December 01, 2007
UWSA defy junta's pressure, refuse to sign pre-written statement
Mizzima News (www.mizzima.com )
November 30, 2007 - A Sino-Burmese border based ethnic armed group, the United Wa State Army (UWSA), said it welcomed Burma's pro-democracy leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's statement on national reconciliation and refused to sign the junta's pre-written statement.
An officer of the UWSA, who requested not to be named, told Mizzima that the group, like many other armed ceasefire groups, was pressured by the junta to sign a pre-written declaration condemning Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's statement on cooperating with the ruling junta in order to kick-start a process of national reconciliation.
"U Khin Aung Myint [Burmese Cultural Minister] came to us and pressured us to sign a pre-written statement. But we refused because we did not even see the statement. Moreover, we welcome any efforts toward national reconciliation," the UWSA officer told Mizzima by phone.
Reportedly, the Burmese Cultural Minister traveled to places along the Sino-Burmese border in October and November and held meetings with ethnic armed ceasefire groups and pressured them to sign pre-written statements against Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.
However, like the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), the UWSA was among the few groups that openly defied the junta's request and refused to sign the document.
Speaking from the UWSA's headquarters in Panghshang, eastern Shan State, the officer revealed that the group would like to see democracy and equality among all ethnic groups in Burma.
"We love democracy and peace and we don't want to face any kind of coercion or violence," he added.
UWSA was until recently widely known as one of the Burmese junta's most favored allies, and is reportedly highly involved in the cultivation of poppies and production of amphetamines along the Sino-Burmese border.
However, with the fall of Burma's former Prime Minister and Intelligence Chief, General Khin Nyunt, and the UWSA's Chairman's promise to the Chinese government in late 2004, there has been a drastic fall in opium poppy cultivation.
The UWSA is one of the 17 armed ceasefire groups that attended the Burmese military junta's long and winding National Convention that concluded this past September.
Following the conclusion of the National Convention, the UWSA, along with other ceasefire groups, has come under pressure from a Burmese military junta determined to completely disarm the ceasefire groups.
According to the UWSA officer, the Burmese junta has been pressuring the group and is banning some of its members based along the Thai-Burmese border from traveling freely and conducting business.
The junta also decided in its National Convention that Wa dominated areas in the south, close to the Thai-Burmese border, would fall under Shan administration, he added.
However he reiterated the Wa's relentless desire for self-determination, adding, "the Wa army still has 20,000 strong men and the Wa population is estimated at 500,000."
UWSA defy junta's pressure, refuse to sign pre-written statement
Mizzima News (www.mizzima.com )
November 30, 2007 - A Sino-Burmese border based ethnic armed group, the United Wa State Army (UWSA), said it welcomed Burma's pro-democracy leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's statement on national reconciliation and refused to sign the junta's pre-written statement.
An officer of the UWSA, who requested not to be named, told Mizzima that the group, like many other armed ceasefire groups, was pressured by the junta to sign a pre-written declaration condemning Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's statement on cooperating with the ruling junta in order to kick-start a process of national reconciliation.
"U Khin Aung Myint [Burmese Cultural Minister] came to us and pressured us to sign a pre-written statement. But we refused because we did not even see the statement. Moreover, we welcome any efforts toward national reconciliation," the UWSA officer told Mizzima by phone.
Reportedly, the Burmese Cultural Minister traveled to places along the Sino-Burmese border in October and November and held meetings with ethnic armed ceasefire groups and pressured them to sign pre-written statements against Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.
However, like the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), the UWSA was among the few groups that openly defied the junta's request and refused to sign the document.
Speaking from the UWSA's headquarters in Panghshang, eastern Shan State, the officer revealed that the group would like to see democracy and equality among all ethnic groups in Burma.
"We love democracy and peace and we don't want to face any kind of coercion or violence," he added.
UWSA was until recently widely known as one of the Burmese junta's most favored allies, and is reportedly highly involved in the cultivation of poppies and production of amphetamines along the Sino-Burmese border.
However, with the fall of Burma's former Prime Minister and Intelligence Chief, General Khin Nyunt, and the UWSA's Chairman's promise to the Chinese government in late 2004, there has been a drastic fall in opium poppy cultivation.
The UWSA is one of the 17 armed ceasefire groups that attended the Burmese military junta's long and winding National Convention that concluded this past September.
Following the conclusion of the National Convention, the UWSA, along with other ceasefire groups, has come under pressure from a Burmese military junta determined to completely disarm the ceasefire groups.
According to the UWSA officer, the Burmese junta has been pressuring the group and is banning some of its members based along the Thai-Burmese border from traveling freely and conducting business.
The junta also decided in its National Convention that Wa dominated areas in the south, close to the Thai-Burmese border, would fall under Shan administration, he added.
However he reiterated the Wa's relentless desire for self-determination, adding, "the Wa army still has 20,000 strong men and the Wa population is estimated at 500,000."
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
ENC urged to India for support tripartite dialogue
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Ethnic delegates seeks Indian support for tripartite dialogue
Mizzima News ( www.mizzima.com )
November 28, 2007 - The Indian government has been urged by the Ethnic Nationalities Council to use its influence over the Burmese military and help kick-start the process of national reconciliation through a tripartite dialogue. The Council is an umbrella group of Burmese ethnics in exile.
A four-member ENC delegation, visiting India's capital New Delhi, said during their meetings with Indian leaders they highlighted the need for a tripartite dialogue between the Burmese military junta, pro-democracy leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and ethnic leaders to resolve Burma's long political impasse.
"We believe Burma 's political crisis can be best solved through the process of tripartite dialogue," Dr. Lian H. Sakhong, General Secretary of the ENC said.
The ENC delegates, who are on a three-day visit, from November 25 to 27 to India at the invitation of the Indian Parliamentary Forum for Democracy in Burma (IPFDB), met Indian leaders including members of Parliament, civil societies, journalists and human rights activists.
The delegates said they briefed Indian leaders of the importance of supporting Burma's process of dialogue and argued that India 's interest would be better served by a federal democratic system in Burma.
In response to the ENC delegates' request, Indian parliamentarians said they would highlight the Burma issue at the next parliamentary session.
"We have discussed with some of the Indian Members of Parliament the Burma issue and they agreed to take it up as a Parliamentary debate in the next session," Harn Yawnghwe Director of Euro-Burma office and Adviser of ENC said.
India was one of the few countries that had in the past maintained a hard-line stance against the current Burmese military generals, when they came to power after brutally suppressing the students-led pro-democracy uprising in 1988.
Reportedly, the Indian embassy in Rangoon had sheltered Burmese student activists when the junta randomly cracked down on them and even suggested the activists flee to India for refuge.
However, Indian foreign policy on Burma took a U turn in the late 1990s, with Indian policy makers claiming the need to engage the Burmese generals in their national interest, which included countering Chinese influence on Burma.
"The Indian government should not compete with China for favours from the Burmese junta basically because of two things. Both India and China have a different political system. While India is a democracy, China is a Communist state. India should think of its long term interest, and maintaining a relationship with the junta will only hamper its image," Sakhong said.
The ENC leaders said India 's national interests as well as the interest of regional countries could only be best served with a genuine solution to Burma 's long political stalemate.
Sakhong said, Burma's political crisis can only be genuinely resolve with a tripartite dialogue that will bring an end to military rule, restoration of democracy and establishing a genuine federal system of government based on the1947 Pang long agreement, initiated by Burma 's independence hero Bogyoke Aung San.
Ethnic delegates seeks Indian support for tripartite dialogue
Mizzima News ( www.mizzima.com )
November 28, 2007 - The Indian government has been urged by the Ethnic Nationalities Council to use its influence over the Burmese military and help kick-start the process of national reconciliation through a tripartite dialogue. The Council is an umbrella group of Burmese ethnics in exile.
A four-member ENC delegation, visiting India's capital New Delhi, said during their meetings with Indian leaders they highlighted the need for a tripartite dialogue between the Burmese military junta, pro-democracy leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and ethnic leaders to resolve Burma's long political impasse.
"We believe Burma 's political crisis can be best solved through the process of tripartite dialogue," Dr. Lian H. Sakhong, General Secretary of the ENC said.
The ENC delegates, who are on a three-day visit, from November 25 to 27 to India at the invitation of the Indian Parliamentary Forum for Democracy in Burma (IPFDB), met Indian leaders including members of Parliament, civil societies, journalists and human rights activists.
The delegates said they briefed Indian leaders of the importance of supporting Burma's process of dialogue and argued that India 's interest would be better served by a federal democratic system in Burma.
In response to the ENC delegates' request, Indian parliamentarians said they would highlight the Burma issue at the next parliamentary session.
"We have discussed with some of the Indian Members of Parliament the Burma issue and they agreed to take it up as a Parliamentary debate in the next session," Harn Yawnghwe Director of Euro-Burma office and Adviser of ENC said.
India was one of the few countries that had in the past maintained a hard-line stance against the current Burmese military generals, when they came to power after brutally suppressing the students-led pro-democracy uprising in 1988.
Reportedly, the Indian embassy in Rangoon had sheltered Burmese student activists when the junta randomly cracked down on them and even suggested the activists flee to India for refuge.
However, Indian foreign policy on Burma took a U turn in the late 1990s, with Indian policy makers claiming the need to engage the Burmese generals in their national interest, which included countering Chinese influence on Burma.
"The Indian government should not compete with China for favours from the Burmese junta basically because of two things. Both India and China have a different political system. While India is a democracy, China is a Communist state. India should think of its long term interest, and maintaining a relationship with the junta will only hamper its image," Sakhong said.
The ENC leaders said India 's national interests as well as the interest of regional countries could only be best served with a genuine solution to Burma 's long political stalemate.
Sakhong said, Burma's political crisis can only be genuinely resolve with a tripartite dialogue that will bring an end to military rule, restoration of democracy and establishing a genuine federal system of government based on the1947 Pang long agreement, initiated by Burma 's independence hero Bogyoke Aung San.
Friday, November 23, 2007
WLB organized worldwide for protecting women rights
Mizzima News (www.mizzima.com)
November 23, 2007 - Burma's women's leadership does not stop with detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. A new publication profiles and draws attention to the detention and plight of some twenty other women who performed critical functions during the protests of August and September.
Accordingly, a group of rights activists is calling for 16 days of campaigning to bring attention to the plight of Burmese women activists in the country's ongoing struggle for human rights and democracy, from November 25, International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, to December 10, International Human Rights Day,
"For women of Burma who face and are under state-sanctioned violence this call cannot be more relevant than ever and the international community needs to have strong commitment and will to work harder towards protecting and securing women's human rights," reads a statement from the Asia-Pacific Peoples' Partnership for Burma (APPPB).
APPPB says that international focus and assistance to the struggles of Burma's women is especially important, as there exist no domestic organizations inside Burma to which the women can turn for help. Women's organizations in Burma are said to fall under the jurisdiction of the military and are managed by wives of military personnel.
A majority of the cases that the release studies concern women who have been active since the 1988 uprising and had since joined ranks with the 88 generation students movement.
Women 'fugitives' arrested are subjected to harsh prison conditions with scant medical attention. Some of those that fled arrest are chronicled as having to leave children behind, while others have had relatives arrested in their place.
The report goes on to mention that in addition to the number of arrests made against women activists on the streets of Rangoon and throughout Burma, the regime detained hundreds of nuns who, in their pink dress, participated alongside monks in the mass protests of late September.
Five women still on the run from Burmese authorities, including Phyu Phyu Thin and Ni Mo Hlaing, also yesterday sent a letter addressed to several United Nations officials. The missive calls on the international organization and its representatives to undertake a thorough study of human rights abuses perpetrated against women at the hands of the military junta.
In the run-up to the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, the Women's League of Burma (WLB) has initiated a Women's Human Rights Defenders Campaign.
The group is calling on the release of all detainees by December 10. According to a WLB statement released today, 106 women, inclusive of six nuns, remain in custody.
"We are particularly concerned that the women, including nuns, recently detained are facing gender and sexual violence in addition to the other deprivations and unacceptable conditions in the prisons," says WLB spokesperson Paw Hset Hser.
The Campaign was launched this morning at the Foreign Correspondents Club in Bangkok. WLB brings together a dozen national and ethnic-based Burmese women's rights groups.
November 23, 2007 - Burma's women's leadership does not stop with detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. A new publication profiles and draws attention to the detention and plight of some twenty other women who performed critical functions during the protests of August and September.
Accordingly, a group of rights activists is calling for 16 days of campaigning to bring attention to the plight of Burmese women activists in the country's ongoing struggle for human rights and democracy, from November 25, International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, to December 10, International Human Rights Day,
"For women of Burma who face and are under state-sanctioned violence this call cannot be more relevant than ever and the international community needs to have strong commitment and will to work harder towards protecting and securing women's human rights," reads a statement from the Asia-Pacific Peoples' Partnership for Burma (APPPB).
APPPB says that international focus and assistance to the struggles of Burma's women is especially important, as there exist no domestic organizations inside Burma to which the women can turn for help. Women's organizations in Burma are said to fall under the jurisdiction of the military and are managed by wives of military personnel.
A majority of the cases that the release studies concern women who have been active since the 1988 uprising and had since joined ranks with the 88 generation students movement.
Women 'fugitives' arrested are subjected to harsh prison conditions with scant medical attention. Some of those that fled arrest are chronicled as having to leave children behind, while others have had relatives arrested in their place.
The report goes on to mention that in addition to the number of arrests made against women activists on the streets of Rangoon and throughout Burma, the regime detained hundreds of nuns who, in their pink dress, participated alongside monks in the mass protests of late September.
Five women still on the run from Burmese authorities, including Phyu Phyu Thin and Ni Mo Hlaing, also yesterday sent a letter addressed to several United Nations officials. The missive calls on the international organization and its representatives to undertake a thorough study of human rights abuses perpetrated against women at the hands of the military junta.
In the run-up to the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, the Women's League of Burma (WLB) has initiated a Women's Human Rights Defenders Campaign.
The group is calling on the release of all detainees by December 10. According to a WLB statement released today, 106 women, inclusive of six nuns, remain in custody.
"We are particularly concerned that the women, including nuns, recently detained are facing gender and sexual violence in addition to the other deprivations and unacceptable conditions in the prisons," says WLB spokesperson Paw Hset Hser.
The Campaign was launched this morning at the Foreign Correspondents Club in Bangkok. WLB brings together a dozen national and ethnic-based Burmese women's rights groups.
Well Know KIO/KIA Intelligent Officer released by Junta
KIO senior intelligence chief released by junta
November 23, 2007
KNG
Senior intelligence chief, Lt. Gala Brang Shawng of the Kachin Independence Organization's (KIO) who had been detained by Burmese military junta authorities was released on Monday after repeated requests by KIO leaders, a member of his family said.
"He is now at the KIO military headquarters in Laiza controlled area. He moved there after his release from jail," said the family member.
Lt. Gala Brang Shawng was arrested with a pistol early last month at Burma Army checkpoint in Shadau village on Myitkyina-Mandalay Highway, 14 miles south of Myitkyina.
The KIO had requested the junta twice by sending official letters appealing for his release to the Northern Military Command Headquarters (Ma-Pa-Kha) in Myitkyina. It made another request early this month when KIO leaders met Maj-Gen Ye Myint, Chief of Military Affairs Security of the ruling junta in Myitkyina.
Meanwhile, the Burmese Army's, Infantry Battalion No.146 detained five KIO soldiers and three office staff yesterday morning at Dingga Controlled Areas Office in Dawhpum Yang region under the KIO's 3rd Brigade.
November 23, 2007
KNG
Senior intelligence chief, Lt. Gala Brang Shawng of the Kachin Independence Organization's (KIO) who had been detained by Burmese military junta authorities was released on Monday after repeated requests by KIO leaders, a member of his family said.
"He is now at the KIO military headquarters in Laiza controlled area. He moved there after his release from jail," said the family member.
Lt. Gala Brang Shawng was arrested with a pistol early last month at Burma Army checkpoint in Shadau village on Myitkyina-Mandalay Highway, 14 miles south of Myitkyina.
The KIO had requested the junta twice by sending official letters appealing for his release to the Northern Military Command Headquarters (Ma-Pa-Kha) in Myitkyina. It made another request early this month when KIO leaders met Maj-Gen Ye Myint, Chief of Military Affairs Security of the ruling junta in Myitkyina.
Meanwhile, the Burmese Army's, Infantry Battalion No.146 detained five KIO soldiers and three office staff yesterday morning at Dingga Controlled Areas Office in Dawhpum Yang region under the KIO's 3rd Brigade.
SPDC tentionly arrested to 8 KIA/KIO servicemen
Eight KIO servicemen detained by Burmese Amy
November 22, 2007
KNG
In a sudden swoop, and in another instance of arm twisting by the military junta, the Burmese Army, Infantry Battalion N0. 146 this morning detained five soldiers and three office staff of the Kachin Independent Organization (KIO), the main ethnic Kachin ceasefire group in the state in Northern Burma, insiders said.
All the detainees are from at Dingga Controlled Areas Office in Dawhpum Yang region under the KIO’s 3rd Brigade, including the office in-charge and second-office in-charge, an accountant and five soldiers, an officer of the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), battalion No.(12) near Dingga Office told KNG this evening.
Till the time of writing this report the reasons behind the arrests are not known but the KIA officers in the area admitted that military tension between the KIA and the Burma Army has escalated since last weekend, according to KIA Battalion 12 sources.
The detention of the KIO servicemen comes in the wake of illegal Chinese wireless landline phones being suddenly seized in KIO liaison offices and from homes of officials' in two major cities of Kachin State—Bhamo and Myitkyina by the ruling junta, five days ago.
This afternoon, a convoy of Burmese military trucks crossed Balaminhtin Irrawaddy River Bridge from Myitkyina to Waingmaw, --- areas east of Irrawaddy River where the KIO headquarters is located, eyewitnesses in Myitkyina told KNG.
On the other hand, the three Burma military battalions including Waingmaw based Infantry Battalion N0. 58 and Shwenyaungbin based Light Infantry Battalion No. 321 are operating in the gold mining areas in Nam San Yang near Laiza, the KIO controlled areas. The army has arrested and driven out the gold miners, said locals.
This is the latest in terms of military pressure by the junta on the KIO after it refused to issue a statement opposing Burma's democracy leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's November statement released in Singapore by UN special envoy Mr. Ibrahim Gambari.
November 22, 2007
KNG
In a sudden swoop, and in another instance of arm twisting by the military junta, the Burmese Army, Infantry Battalion N0. 146 this morning detained five soldiers and three office staff of the Kachin Independent Organization (KIO), the main ethnic Kachin ceasefire group in the state in Northern Burma, insiders said.
All the detainees are from at Dingga Controlled Areas Office in Dawhpum Yang region under the KIO’s 3rd Brigade, including the office in-charge and second-office in-charge, an accountant and five soldiers, an officer of the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), battalion No.(12) near Dingga Office told KNG this evening.
Till the time of writing this report the reasons behind the arrests are not known but the KIA officers in the area admitted that military tension between the KIA and the Burma Army has escalated since last weekend, according to KIA Battalion 12 sources.
The detention of the KIO servicemen comes in the wake of illegal Chinese wireless landline phones being suddenly seized in KIO liaison offices and from homes of officials' in two major cities of Kachin State—Bhamo and Myitkyina by the ruling junta, five days ago.
This afternoon, a convoy of Burmese military trucks crossed Balaminhtin Irrawaddy River Bridge from Myitkyina to Waingmaw, --- areas east of Irrawaddy River where the KIO headquarters is located, eyewitnesses in Myitkyina told KNG.
On the other hand, the three Burma military battalions including Waingmaw based Infantry Battalion N0. 58 and Shwenyaungbin based Light Infantry Battalion No. 321 are operating in the gold mining areas in Nam San Yang near Laiza, the KIO controlled areas. The army has arrested and driven out the gold miners, said locals.
This is the latest in terms of military pressure by the junta on the KIO after it refused to issue a statement opposing Burma's democracy leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's November statement released in Singapore by UN special envoy Mr. Ibrahim Gambari.
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
ASEAN's Charter and establishment of brief History
Media Release
ASEAN Leaders Sign ASEAN Charter
Singapore, 20 November 2007
The ASEAN Charter was signed today, 20 November 2007, by the Leaders of the 10 ASEAN Member States at the 13th ASEAN Summit in Singapore. It comes as ASEAN celebrates its 40th anniversary of its founding in 1967.
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE ASEAN CHARTER
For the first time after 40 years of regional cooperation, ASEAN Member States have codified organic Southeast Asian diplomacy, listed key principles and purposes of ASEAN.
The Charter represents a momentous occasion for ASEAN Member States to reiterate their commitment to community-building in ASEAN, as can be seen in the Preamble, and to reposition ASEAN to better meet challenges of the 21st century with new and improved ASEAN structure, as shown in Chapter IV.
ASEAN Secretary-General Ong Keng Yong says that “the ASEAN Charter will serve the organisation well in three interrelated ways, such as, formally accord ASEAN legal personality, establish greater institutional accountability and compliance system, and reinforce the perception of ASEAN as a serious regional player in the future of the Asia Pacific region”.
HISTORIC AGREEMENT
The ASEAN Charter is, therefore, an historic agreement among the ten Member States to establish the legal and institutional framework for ASEAN as the premier inter-governmental organization of the region.
There are 13 Chapters, 55 Articles, and 4 annexes in the ASEAN Charter.
It was drafted by the High Level Task Force on the Drafting of the ASEAN Charter, consisting of one representative from each of the 10 Member States.
After its signing, the Charter will have to be ratified (or formally accepted to be bound) in every Member State.
It will come into force on the 30th day after the deposit of the tenth instrument of ratification (or instrument of acceptance) with the Secretary-General of ASEAN.
After that, the Charter will be registered with the Secretariat of the United Nations.
PEOPLE-ORIENTED ASEAN
ASEAN is moving from being State-centric to be more people-oriented. At least 10 of the 15 stated purposes of ASEAN in Chapter I concern the livelihood and well-being of peoples in ASEAN.
DEMOCRACY, HUMAN RIGHTS, FUNDAMENTAL FREEDOMS
Adherence to democratic values, and respects for human rights and fundamental freedoms are stipulated in three separate places in the Charter : the Preamble, the Purposes, and the Principles.
This is to emphasize that all ASEAN Member States share the same aspiration and common desire to promote democracy, human rights, fundamental freedoms, rule of law, and good governance.
ASEAN Human Rights Body
The Charter calls for the establishment of an ASEAN human rights body as a new organ of ASEAN. This is a new and important commitment in ASEAN as far as promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms of peoples in ASEAN are concerned.
The terms of reference for the ASEAN human rights body shall be determined by the ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meeting.
ADDITIONAL PRINCIPLES
The Charter includes these two among the key principles of ASEAN : “shared commitment and collective responsibility in enhancing regional peace, security and prosperity“ and “enhanced consultations on matters seriously affecting the common interest of ASEAN”.
LEGAL PERSONALITY
In Chapter II, ASEAN Member States confer on ASEAN a legal personality, which is separate from theirs.
Details of what ASEAN can or cannot do with its legal personality will be discussed and stated in a supplementary protocol after the signing of the Charter.
MEMBERSHIP CRITERIA
The membership criteria are stated in Chapter III, Article 6.
IMPROVED STRUCTURE
There are interesting institutional changes that the ASEAN Charter will bring about include. See details in the attachment.
Essentially, the improved structure will enable ASEAN to improve coordination, ensure prompt implementation of decisions and agreements, and speedy response to new opportunities and challenges.
Important changes include :
Convening ASEAN Summit twice a year, instead of once a year
ASEAN Foreign Ministers to serve as the ASEAN Coordinating Council
Single Chairmanship for key high-level ASEAN bodies
Appointment of Member States’ Permanent Representatives to ASEAN, to form a Committee of Permanent Representatives, in Jakarta
Establishment of an ASEAN human rights body
ENTITIES ASSOCIATED WITH ASEAN
Chapter V of the Charter concerns engagement with entities associated with ASEAN. Five categories of these entities are listed in Annex 2. First on the list is the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA), which is the key partner in government of ASEAN.
The Secretary-General of ASEAN is in charge of updating the list, upon the recommendation of the Committee of Permanent Representatives in Jakarta.
CONSULTATION AND CONSENSUS
The Charter reaffirms as “a basic principle” decision-making in ASEAN by consultation and consensus.
Where consensus cannot be achieved, the ASEAN Summit may decide on how a specific decision can be made.
If there is a serious breach of the Charter or non-compliance, the matter will be referred to the ASEAN Summit for decision.
FLEXIBLE PARTICIPATION IN ECONOMIC SCHEMES
The Charter permits flexible participation in the implementation of economic commitments in ASEAN, including the use of the ASEAN Minus X formula where there is a consensus to do so.
Under the ASEAN Minus X formula, a Member State may opt out from certain economic schemes that it is not yet ready to participate, although it has taken part in determining and approving such economic schemes in the first place.
NEW DISPUTE SETTLEMENT MODALITIES
ASEAN may establish new dispute settlement mechanisms where necessary.
Disputes in the ASEAN Economic Community may be referred to the 2004 ASEAN Protocol on Enhanced Dispute Settlement Mechanism for some solution.
The ASEAN Chairman and the Secretary-General of ASEAN can be requested to provide good offices, conciliation or mediation in a dispute. This is a new initiative in ASEAN.
Unresolved disputes shall be referred to the ASEAN Summit for its decision.
SINGLE CHAIRMANSHIP
Chair of the ASEAN Summit will be the same Chair of other key ASEAN bodies, including the three Community Councils, the ASEAN Coordinating Council, the ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meeting, and the ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting (ADMM), as well as their respective Senior Officials Meetings (SOMs), and also the Committee of Permanent Representatives to ASEAN, to be established in Jakarta.
It is possible that the ASEAN Economic Ministers Meeting (AEM) may also be included under the Single ASEAN Chairmanship.
The ASEAN Chairmanship will start on 1 January and end on 31 December.
ENGLISH AS THE WORKING LANGUAGE OF ASEAN
The Charter reaffirms that English is the working language of ASEAN.
(This is one of the few things that ASEAN has outdone the European Union, where every official EU document must be written in at least three languages.)
ASEAN IDENTITY
Under Chapter XI, the following will add to the creation of ASEAN identity:
ASEAN Motto : “One Vision, One Identity, One Community”
ASEAN flag
ASEAN emblem
ASEAN Day : 8 August
ASEAN anthem (there shall be one)
(Two more things that ASEAN has outdone the EU : ASEAN will have the motto and anthem; whereas the EU has already abandoned its earlier plan to adopt “United in Diversity” as the European motto, and Beethoven’s Ode to Joy as the European anthem.)
ACCREDITATION OF AMBASSADORS TO ASEAN
States that are Dialogue Partners of ASEAN and relevant inter-governmental organizations, such as the EU, may appoint and accredit Ambassadors to ASEAN. But there is no Jakarta residency requirement for these Ambassadors to ASEAN.
ABOUT ASEAN:
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations or ASEAN was established on 8 August 1967 in Bangkok by the five founding Member States, namely, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand. Brunei Darussalam joined on 8 January 1984, Viet Nam on 28 July 1995, Lao PDR and Myanmar on 23 July 1997, and Cambodia on 30 April 1999.
The ASEAN region has a population of about 567.5 million, a total area of 4.5 million square kilometres, a combined gross domestic product of over US$1 trillion, and a total foreign trade of over US$ 1.4 trillion.
The ASEAN Secretariat is in Jakarta. It was established in 1976, 10 years after the organization was founded.
Its homepage is at www.aseansec.org
The five-year term of the incumbent Secretary-General of ASEAN, H.E. Ong Keng Yong from Singapore, will end on 31 December 2007. He will be succeeded by H.E. Dr. Surin Pitsuwan, a former Foreign Minister of Thailand.
Interesting Changes to the ASEAN Institutional Framework
The ASEAN Charter will introduce the following institutional changes to ASEAN:
ASEAN will, for the first time after 40 years of existence, be conferred with a legal personality of an Inter-Governmental Organization. Details will have to be worked out in a supplementary protocol.
ASEAN Leaders shall meet (at least) twice a year : one among themselves to focus on ASEAN Community affairs; the other (the usual one) will include meetings with Dialogue Partners in ASEAN+1 (with China, Japan, RoK, India), ASEAN+3, and EAS.
Three ASEAN Community Councils shall be established
ASEAN Political and Security Community (APSC) Council [with 5 Sectoral Ministerial Bodies]
ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) Council [12 ]
ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC) Council [12 ]
ASEAN Foreign Ministers will form the ASEAN Coordinating Council (ACC) to assist ASEAN Leaders in preparing for Summits, with support from SG and ASEC.
The ASEAN Ministerial Meeting (AMM of Foreign Ministers) will be renamed as “ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meeting” and will be one of the four Sectoral Ministerial Bodies of the APSC Council.
They will continue to participate in the ARF.
And they will also be Members of the SEANWFZ Commission (SEANWFZ is the Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone. The Treaty on SEANWFZ was signed in Bangkok on 15 December 1995.)
Single ASEAN Chairmanship
Chair of the ASEAN Summit will be the same Chair of other key ASEAN bodies, including the three Community Councils, the ACC, the ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meeting and the ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting (ADMM), as well as their respective Senior Officials Meetings (SOMs), and also the Committee of Permanent Representatives to ASEAN [to be established in Jakarta].
The ASEAN Chairmanship will start on 1 January and end on 31 December.It is possible that the ASEAN Economic Ministers Meeting (AEM) may also be included under the Single ASEAN Chairmanship.
Committee of Permanent Representatives to ASEAN
Each Member State shall appoint a Permanent Representative to ASEAN (ASEAN PR), who will reside in Jakarta.
Collectively the ASEAN PRs shall form the Committee of Permanent Representatives.
Essentially the new Committee will take over many of the regional functions of the ASEAN Standing Committee (ASC), including external relations, supervising the ASEAN Secretariat, etc.
Dialogue Partners and “relevant inter-governmental organizations” may appoint and accredit Ambassadors to ASEAN (but no residency requirement).
Article 46 reads :
“Non-ASEAN Member States and relevant inter-governmental organisations may appoint and accredit Ambassadors to ASEAN. The ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meeting shall decide on such accreditation.”
ASEAN human rights body
It will be a new organ of ASEAN.
The TOR will have to be formulated after the signing of the Charter, and approved by the ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meeting.
ASEAN Foundation
The ASEAN Foundation, which is located in Jakarta, will be accountable to the Secretary-General of ASEAN. (It used to be directly supervised by the Board of Trustees, consisting mainly of ASEAN Ambassadors to Indonesia in Jakarta.)
ASEAN Committees in Third Countries and International Organisations
The important role of the ACTC is reaffirmed in Article 43 of Chapter XII : External Relations.
ASEAN National Secretariats
Article 13 of Chapter IV reaffirms the role of the ASEAN National Secretariats in serving as “the national focal Point”.
Decision-Making will continue to be based principally on consultation and consensus (Article 20, Chapter VII: Decision-Making)
“1. As a basic principle, decision-making in ASEAN shall be based on consultation and consensus.”
“2. Where consensus cannot be achieved, the ASEAN Summit may decide how a specific decision can be made.”
“3. Nothing in paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article shall affect the modes of decision-making as contained in the relevant ASEAN legal instruments.”
“4. In the case of a serious breach of the Charter or non-compliance, the matter shall be referred to the ASEAN Summit for decision.”
As advised by the ASEAN Economic Ministers, flexible participation is permissible under Article 21: Implementation and Procedure, Paragraph 2, which reads:
“2. In the implementation of economic commitments, a formula for flexible participation, including the ASEAN Minus X formula, may be applied where there is a consensus to do so.”
English is reaffirmed as the working language of ASEAN in Article 34, Chapter X : Administration and Procedure.
Under Chapter XI, the following will add to the creation of ASEAN identity:
ASEAN Motto : “One Vision, One Identity, One Community”
ASEAN flag
ASEAN emblem
ASEAN Day : 8 August
ASEAN anthem (there shall be one)
Enhanced Mandate and Role of the Secretary-General of ASEAN
The Secretary-General of ASEAN will have enhanced mandate and role in :
Monitoring progress of implementation of Summit decisions and ASEAN agreements;
Ensuring compliance with economic commitments, especially those in the ASEAN Economic Community Blueprint;
Reporting to the ASEAN Summit on important issues requiring decision by ASEA N Leaders;
Interpreting the ASEAN Charter if and when requested;
Interacting with Entities Associated with ASEAN;
Representing ASEAN’s views in meetings with external parties;
Advancing the interest of ASEAN and its legal personality.
4 Deputy Secretaries-General (DSGs)
2 DSGs from the usual national nomination under the alphabetical order, serving a one 3-year term.
2 other DSGs from open recruitment, whose 3-year term may be renewed by another 3-year.
However, these 4 DSGs and the SG will have to come from 5 different Member States – to ensure equitable distribution of the senior posts.
Each of the three ASEAN Community Councils will be served by one of the DSGs.
The fourth DSG may concentrate on ASEC affairs and narrowing the development gap among ASEAN Member States.
No change to the equal sharing of the contribution to the annual operating budget of the ASEAN Secretariat.
In the current financial year, ASEC has been given US$9.05 million. Thus each Member State contributes US$905,000 to the budget.
The ASEAN Secretariat staff now consists of SG, 2 DSGs (from Cambodia and Indonesia—Lao PDR and Myanmar are next in line to nominate theirs), 60 openly-recruited staff from 9 Member States (none from Brunei Darussalam), and about 200 support staff (almost all are Indonesians).
ASEAN Leaders Sign ASEAN Charter
Singapore, 20 November 2007
The ASEAN Charter was signed today, 20 November 2007, by the Leaders of the 10 ASEAN Member States at the 13th ASEAN Summit in Singapore. It comes as ASEAN celebrates its 40th anniversary of its founding in 1967.
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE ASEAN CHARTER
For the first time after 40 years of regional cooperation, ASEAN Member States have codified organic Southeast Asian diplomacy, listed key principles and purposes of ASEAN.
The Charter represents a momentous occasion for ASEAN Member States to reiterate their commitment to community-building in ASEAN, as can be seen in the Preamble, and to reposition ASEAN to better meet challenges of the 21st century with new and improved ASEAN structure, as shown in Chapter IV.
ASEAN Secretary-General Ong Keng Yong says that “the ASEAN Charter will serve the organisation well in three interrelated ways, such as, formally accord ASEAN legal personality, establish greater institutional accountability and compliance system, and reinforce the perception of ASEAN as a serious regional player in the future of the Asia Pacific region”.
HISTORIC AGREEMENT
The ASEAN Charter is, therefore, an historic agreement among the ten Member States to establish the legal and institutional framework for ASEAN as the premier inter-governmental organization of the region.
There are 13 Chapters, 55 Articles, and 4 annexes in the ASEAN Charter.
It was drafted by the High Level Task Force on the Drafting of the ASEAN Charter, consisting of one representative from each of the 10 Member States.
After its signing, the Charter will have to be ratified (or formally accepted to be bound) in every Member State.
It will come into force on the 30th day after the deposit of the tenth instrument of ratification (or instrument of acceptance) with the Secretary-General of ASEAN.
After that, the Charter will be registered with the Secretariat of the United Nations.
PEOPLE-ORIENTED ASEAN
ASEAN is moving from being State-centric to be more people-oriented. At least 10 of the 15 stated purposes of ASEAN in Chapter I concern the livelihood and well-being of peoples in ASEAN.
DEMOCRACY, HUMAN RIGHTS, FUNDAMENTAL FREEDOMS
Adherence to democratic values, and respects for human rights and fundamental freedoms are stipulated in three separate places in the Charter : the Preamble, the Purposes, and the Principles.
This is to emphasize that all ASEAN Member States share the same aspiration and common desire to promote democracy, human rights, fundamental freedoms, rule of law, and good governance.
ASEAN Human Rights Body
The Charter calls for the establishment of an ASEAN human rights body as a new organ of ASEAN. This is a new and important commitment in ASEAN as far as promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms of peoples in ASEAN are concerned.
The terms of reference for the ASEAN human rights body shall be determined by the ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meeting.
ADDITIONAL PRINCIPLES
The Charter includes these two among the key principles of ASEAN : “shared commitment and collective responsibility in enhancing regional peace, security and prosperity“ and “enhanced consultations on matters seriously affecting the common interest of ASEAN”.
LEGAL PERSONALITY
In Chapter II, ASEAN Member States confer on ASEAN a legal personality, which is separate from theirs.
Details of what ASEAN can or cannot do with its legal personality will be discussed and stated in a supplementary protocol after the signing of the Charter.
MEMBERSHIP CRITERIA
The membership criteria are stated in Chapter III, Article 6.
IMPROVED STRUCTURE
There are interesting institutional changes that the ASEAN Charter will bring about include. See details in the attachment.
Essentially, the improved structure will enable ASEAN to improve coordination, ensure prompt implementation of decisions and agreements, and speedy response to new opportunities and challenges.
Important changes include :
Convening ASEAN Summit twice a year, instead of once a year
ASEAN Foreign Ministers to serve as the ASEAN Coordinating Council
Single Chairmanship for key high-level ASEAN bodies
Appointment of Member States’ Permanent Representatives to ASEAN, to form a Committee of Permanent Representatives, in Jakarta
Establishment of an ASEAN human rights body
ENTITIES ASSOCIATED WITH ASEAN
Chapter V of the Charter concerns engagement with entities associated with ASEAN. Five categories of these entities are listed in Annex 2. First on the list is the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA), which is the key partner in government of ASEAN.
The Secretary-General of ASEAN is in charge of updating the list, upon the recommendation of the Committee of Permanent Representatives in Jakarta.
CONSULTATION AND CONSENSUS
The Charter reaffirms as “a basic principle” decision-making in ASEAN by consultation and consensus.
Where consensus cannot be achieved, the ASEAN Summit may decide on how a specific decision can be made.
If there is a serious breach of the Charter or non-compliance, the matter will be referred to the ASEAN Summit for decision.
FLEXIBLE PARTICIPATION IN ECONOMIC SCHEMES
The Charter permits flexible participation in the implementation of economic commitments in ASEAN, including the use of the ASEAN Minus X formula where there is a consensus to do so.
Under the ASEAN Minus X formula, a Member State may opt out from certain economic schemes that it is not yet ready to participate, although it has taken part in determining and approving such economic schemes in the first place.
NEW DISPUTE SETTLEMENT MODALITIES
ASEAN may establish new dispute settlement mechanisms where necessary.
Disputes in the ASEAN Economic Community may be referred to the 2004 ASEAN Protocol on Enhanced Dispute Settlement Mechanism for some solution.
The ASEAN Chairman and the Secretary-General of ASEAN can be requested to provide good offices, conciliation or mediation in a dispute. This is a new initiative in ASEAN.
Unresolved disputes shall be referred to the ASEAN Summit for its decision.
SINGLE CHAIRMANSHIP
Chair of the ASEAN Summit will be the same Chair of other key ASEAN bodies, including the three Community Councils, the ASEAN Coordinating Council, the ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meeting, and the ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting (ADMM), as well as their respective Senior Officials Meetings (SOMs), and also the Committee of Permanent Representatives to ASEAN, to be established in Jakarta.
It is possible that the ASEAN Economic Ministers Meeting (AEM) may also be included under the Single ASEAN Chairmanship.
The ASEAN Chairmanship will start on 1 January and end on 31 December.
ENGLISH AS THE WORKING LANGUAGE OF ASEAN
The Charter reaffirms that English is the working language of ASEAN.
(This is one of the few things that ASEAN has outdone the European Union, where every official EU document must be written in at least three languages.)
ASEAN IDENTITY
Under Chapter XI, the following will add to the creation of ASEAN identity:
ASEAN Motto : “One Vision, One Identity, One Community”
ASEAN flag
ASEAN emblem
ASEAN Day : 8 August
ASEAN anthem (there shall be one)
(Two more things that ASEAN has outdone the EU : ASEAN will have the motto and anthem; whereas the EU has already abandoned its earlier plan to adopt “United in Diversity” as the European motto, and Beethoven’s Ode to Joy as the European anthem.)
ACCREDITATION OF AMBASSADORS TO ASEAN
States that are Dialogue Partners of ASEAN and relevant inter-governmental organizations, such as the EU, may appoint and accredit Ambassadors to ASEAN. But there is no Jakarta residency requirement for these Ambassadors to ASEAN.
ABOUT ASEAN:
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations or ASEAN was established on 8 August 1967 in Bangkok by the five founding Member States, namely, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand. Brunei Darussalam joined on 8 January 1984, Viet Nam on 28 July 1995, Lao PDR and Myanmar on 23 July 1997, and Cambodia on 30 April 1999.
The ASEAN region has a population of about 567.5 million, a total area of 4.5 million square kilometres, a combined gross domestic product of over US$1 trillion, and a total foreign trade of over US$ 1.4 trillion.
The ASEAN Secretariat is in Jakarta. It was established in 1976, 10 years after the organization was founded.
Its homepage is at www.aseansec.org
The five-year term of the incumbent Secretary-General of ASEAN, H.E. Ong Keng Yong from Singapore, will end on 31 December 2007. He will be succeeded by H.E. Dr. Surin Pitsuwan, a former Foreign Minister of Thailand.
Interesting Changes to the ASEAN Institutional Framework
The ASEAN Charter will introduce the following institutional changes to ASEAN:
ASEAN will, for the first time after 40 years of existence, be conferred with a legal personality of an Inter-Governmental Organization. Details will have to be worked out in a supplementary protocol.
ASEAN Leaders shall meet (at least) twice a year : one among themselves to focus on ASEAN Community affairs; the other (the usual one) will include meetings with Dialogue Partners in ASEAN+1 (with China, Japan, RoK, India), ASEAN+3, and EAS.
Three ASEAN Community Councils shall be established
ASEAN Political and Security Community (APSC) Council [with 5 Sectoral Ministerial Bodies]
ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) Council [12 ]
ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC) Council [12 ]
ASEAN Foreign Ministers will form the ASEAN Coordinating Council (ACC) to assist ASEAN Leaders in preparing for Summits, with support from SG and ASEC.
The ASEAN Ministerial Meeting (AMM of Foreign Ministers) will be renamed as “ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meeting” and will be one of the four Sectoral Ministerial Bodies of the APSC Council.
They will continue to participate in the ARF.
And they will also be Members of the SEANWFZ Commission (SEANWFZ is the Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone. The Treaty on SEANWFZ was signed in Bangkok on 15 December 1995.)
Single ASEAN Chairmanship
Chair of the ASEAN Summit will be the same Chair of other key ASEAN bodies, including the three Community Councils, the ACC, the ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meeting and the ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting (ADMM), as well as their respective Senior Officials Meetings (SOMs), and also the Committee of Permanent Representatives to ASEAN [to be established in Jakarta].
The ASEAN Chairmanship will start on 1 January and end on 31 December.It is possible that the ASEAN Economic Ministers Meeting (AEM) may also be included under the Single ASEAN Chairmanship.
Committee of Permanent Representatives to ASEAN
Each Member State shall appoint a Permanent Representative to ASEAN (ASEAN PR), who will reside in Jakarta.
Collectively the ASEAN PRs shall form the Committee of Permanent Representatives.
Essentially the new Committee will take over many of the regional functions of the ASEAN Standing Committee (ASC), including external relations, supervising the ASEAN Secretariat, etc.
Dialogue Partners and “relevant inter-governmental organizations” may appoint and accredit Ambassadors to ASEAN (but no residency requirement).
Article 46 reads :
“Non-ASEAN Member States and relevant inter-governmental organisations may appoint and accredit Ambassadors to ASEAN. The ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meeting shall decide on such accreditation.”
ASEAN human rights body
It will be a new organ of ASEAN.
The TOR will have to be formulated after the signing of the Charter, and approved by the ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meeting.
ASEAN Foundation
The ASEAN Foundation, which is located in Jakarta, will be accountable to the Secretary-General of ASEAN. (It used to be directly supervised by the Board of Trustees, consisting mainly of ASEAN Ambassadors to Indonesia in Jakarta.)
ASEAN Committees in Third Countries and International Organisations
The important role of the ACTC is reaffirmed in Article 43 of Chapter XII : External Relations.
ASEAN National Secretariats
Article 13 of Chapter IV reaffirms the role of the ASEAN National Secretariats in serving as “the national focal Point”.
Decision-Making will continue to be based principally on consultation and consensus (Article 20, Chapter VII: Decision-Making)
“1. As a basic principle, decision-making in ASEAN shall be based on consultation and consensus.”
“2. Where consensus cannot be achieved, the ASEAN Summit may decide how a specific decision can be made.”
“3. Nothing in paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article shall affect the modes of decision-making as contained in the relevant ASEAN legal instruments.”
“4. In the case of a serious breach of the Charter or non-compliance, the matter shall be referred to the ASEAN Summit for decision.”
As advised by the ASEAN Economic Ministers, flexible participation is permissible under Article 21: Implementation and Procedure, Paragraph 2, which reads:
“2. In the implementation of economic commitments, a formula for flexible participation, including the ASEAN Minus X formula, may be applied where there is a consensus to do so.”
English is reaffirmed as the working language of ASEAN in Article 34, Chapter X : Administration and Procedure.
Under Chapter XI, the following will add to the creation of ASEAN identity:
ASEAN Motto : “One Vision, One Identity, One Community”
ASEAN flag
ASEAN emblem
ASEAN Day : 8 August
ASEAN anthem (there shall be one)
Enhanced Mandate and Role of the Secretary-General of ASEAN
The Secretary-General of ASEAN will have enhanced mandate and role in :
Monitoring progress of implementation of Summit decisions and ASEAN agreements;
Ensuring compliance with economic commitments, especially those in the ASEAN Economic Community Blueprint;
Reporting to the ASEAN Summit on important issues requiring decision by ASEA N Leaders;
Interpreting the ASEAN Charter if and when requested;
Interacting with Entities Associated with ASEAN;
Representing ASEAN’s views in meetings with external parties;
Advancing the interest of ASEAN and its legal personality.
4 Deputy Secretaries-General (DSGs)
2 DSGs from the usual national nomination under the alphabetical order, serving a one 3-year term.
2 other DSGs from open recruitment, whose 3-year term may be renewed by another 3-year.
However, these 4 DSGs and the SG will have to come from 5 different Member States – to ensure equitable distribution of the senior posts.
Each of the three ASEAN Community Councils will be served by one of the DSGs.
The fourth DSG may concentrate on ASEC affairs and narrowing the development gap among ASEAN Member States.
No change to the equal sharing of the contribution to the annual operating budget of the ASEAN Secretariat.
In the current financial year, ASEC has been given US$9.05 million. Thus each Member State contributes US$905,000 to the budget.
The ASEAN Secretariat staff now consists of SG, 2 DSGs (from Cambodia and Indonesia—Lao PDR and Myanmar are next in line to nominate theirs), 60 openly-recruited staff from 9 Member States (none from Brunei Darussalam), and about 200 support staff (almost all are Indonesians).
Monday, November 19, 2007
Aung San Suu Kyi's third time meeting with SPDC's representer
ေဒၚေအာင္ဆန္းစုၾကည္ႏွင့္ နအဖ ဆက္ဆံေရး၀န္ႀကီး ထပ္မံေတြ႕ဆံု
NEJ/ ၂၀ ႏို၀င္ဘာ ၂၀၀၇
အမ်ဳိးသားဒီမိုကေရစီအဖြဲ႕ခ်ဳပ္ အေထြေထြအတြင္းေရးမႉး ေဒၚေအာင္ဆန္းစုၾကည္ႏွင့္
နအဖဆက္ဆံေရး၀န္ႀကီး ဦးေအာင္ၾကည္တို႔ တတိယအႀကိမ္ေျမာက္ေတြ႕ဆံုေၾကာင္း
ယေန႔ထုတ္ နအဖ စစ္အစိုးရပိုင္ သတင္းစာမ်ားတြင္ ေဖာ္ျပသည္။
ယမန္ေန႔ညေန (၃) နာရီက ရန္ကုန္ၿမိဳ႕ စိမ္းလဲ့ကန္သာဧည့္ေဂဟာ၌ (၁) နာရီနီးပါး
ေတြ႕ဆံုခဲ့ေၾကာင္း သတင္းဓာတ္ပံုႏွင့္တကြပါရွိၿပီး ေတြ႕ဆံုမႈႏွင့္ပတ္သက္သည့္ အေသး
စိတ္အခ်က္အလက္မ်ားကို ေရးသားထားျခင္းမရွိေခ်။
ၿပီးခဲ့သည့္ ေအာက္တိုဘာ (၈) တြင္ နအဖစစ္အစိုးရက ဦးေအာင္ၾကည္ကို ဆက္ဆံေရး
၀န္ႀကီးအျဖစ္ ခန္႔အပ္ခဲ့ၿပီးေနာက္ ေအာက္တိုဘာ (၂၅) တြင္ တႀကိမ္ ၊ ႏို၀င္ဘာ (၉) တြင္
တႀကိမ္ ေဒၚေအာင္ဆန္းစုၾကည္ႏွင့္ ဦးေအာင္ၾကည္တို႔ ေတြ႕ဆံုေဆြးေႏြးမႈ (၂) ႀကိမ္ျပဳလုပ္ ခဲ့ၿပီးျဖစ္သည္။
NEJ/ ၂၀ ႏို၀င္ဘာ ၂၀၀၇
အမ်ဳိးသားဒီမိုကေရစီအဖြဲ႕ခ်ဳပ္ အေထြေထြအတြင္းေရးမႉး ေဒၚေအာင္ဆန္းစုၾကည္ႏွင့္
နအဖဆက္ဆံေရး၀န္ႀကီး ဦးေအာင္ၾကည္တို႔ တတိယအႀကိမ္ေျမာက္ေတြ႕ဆံုေၾကာင္း
ယေန႔ထုတ္ နအဖ စစ္အစိုးရပိုင္ သတင္းစာမ်ားတြင္ ေဖာ္ျပသည္။
ယမန္ေန႔ညေန (၃) နာရီက ရန္ကုန္ၿမိဳ႕ စိမ္းလဲ့ကန္သာဧည့္ေဂဟာ၌ (၁) နာရီနီးပါး
ေတြ႕ဆံုခဲ့ေၾကာင္း သတင္းဓာတ္ပံုႏွင့္တကြပါရွိၿပီး ေတြ႕ဆံုမႈႏွင့္ပတ္သက္သည့္ အေသး
စိတ္အခ်က္အလက္မ်ားကို ေရးသားထားျခင္းမရွိေခ်။
ၿပီးခဲ့သည့္ ေအာက္တိုဘာ (၈) တြင္ နအဖစစ္အစိုးရက ဦးေအာင္ၾကည္ကို ဆက္ဆံေရး
၀န္ႀကီးအျဖစ္ ခန္႔အပ္ခဲ့ၿပီးေနာက္ ေအာက္တိုဘာ (၂၅) တြင္ တႀကိမ္ ၊ ႏို၀င္ဘာ (၉) တြင္
တႀကိမ္ ေဒၚေအာင္ဆန္းစုၾကည္ႏွင့္ ဦးေအာင္ၾကည္တို႔ ေတြ႕ဆံုေဆြးေႏြးမႈ (၂) ႀကိမ္ျပဳလုပ္ ခဲ့ၿပီးျဖစ္သည္။
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Paulo Sergio Pinheiro with Burmese Junta for investigation
UN Human Rights Envoy Visits Myanmar
By AYE AYE WIN
Associated Press Writer
UN Human Rights Envoy Visits Myanmar
YANGON, Myanmar (AP) -- A U.N. human rights envoy entered Myanmar for the first time in four years Sunday on a mission to uncover how many people were killed and detained since September's bloody crackdown on pro-democracy protesters.
Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, the U.N.'s independent rights investigator for Myanmar, has said he is determined to gain access to the country's prisons and detention centers as part of an investigation into wide-ranging allegations of abuse committed by the military regime.
Pinheiro had been barred from the country since November 2003. He submitted a proposed itinerary to the ruling junta before arriving in the country for a five-day trip, but it was still being "fine-tuned," Aye Win, the U.N. spokesman in Myanmar, said Sunday evening.
"I hope I will have a very productive stay," Pinheiro told reporters after flying into Yangon, Myanmar's largest city, earlier in the day. He added, "I'm just very happy to be back here after four years."
Pinheiro has a history of prickly relations with the ruling generals. He abruptly cut short a visit in March 2003 after finding a listening device in a room at a prison where he was interviewing political detainees. Later that year, he accused the junta of making "absurd" excuses to keep political opponents in prison.
Accompanied by authorities, Pinheiro's first stop in Myanmar was the town of Bago, 50 miles north of Yangon, the U.N. said in a statement. Buddhist monasteries in Bago were among those targeted by the crackdown after monks joined anti-government street protests.
Pinheiro then returned to Yangon to meet officials at Shwedagon Pagoda, the country's most revered shrine and a flash point of unrest during the protests.
The junta, which has long been criticized for human rights abuses, has come under renewed international pressure since crushing the demonstrations. Myanmar authorities have said 10 people were killed when troops opened fire on peaceful protesters in Yangon on Sept. 26 and 27. Diplomats and dissidents, however, say the death toll was much higher and that an unknown number of people remain in custody.
Pinheiro cited unidentified sources as saying last month that between 30 and 40 monks and 50 to 70 civilians were allegedly killed.
Amnesty International submitted a letter Friday to Myanmar authorities expressing concern over "grave and ongoing human rights violations" committed since the crackdown, including "widespread arbitrary detentions, hostage-taking, beatings and torture in custody and enforced disappearances."
The London-based human rights group said about 700 political prisoners remain in custody. It demanded that Pinheiro be given full and unrestricted access to the country's detention centers.
Pinheiro has said he will abandon his current visit unless he gets full support from the junta.
"If they don't give me full cooperation, I'll go to the plane, and I'll go out," he said last month after getting the green light to return to Myanmar.
He said that since the crackdown he has received "worrying reports of death in custody, torture, disappearances, ill-treatment, and lack of access to food, water or medical treatment in overcrowded unsanitary detention facilities."
The U.N. Human Rights Council condemned the crackdown at an emergency session Oct. 2 and urged an immediate investigation of the rights situation in Myanmar.
Pinheiro's trip comes three days after the departure of U.N. envoy Ibrahim Gambari, who attempted during a six-day visit to kick-start talks between the junta and the pro-democracy opposition.
As a result of Gambari's trip, detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi was allowed to meet the leaders of her opposition party on Friday for the first time in three years. Suu Kyi said through a party spokesman she was "very optimistic" about the prospects of dialogue with the government.
The regime cracked down on Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party after it won elections in 1990. Instead of honoring the election results, the military stepped up a campaign of arrest and harassment of the party members, and eventually closed most of its offices.
Suu Kyi has been detained for 12 of the past 18 years, and continuously since May 2003.
By AYE AYE WIN
Associated Press Writer
UN Human Rights Envoy Visits Myanmar
YANGON, Myanmar (AP) -- A U.N. human rights envoy entered Myanmar for the first time in four years Sunday on a mission to uncover how many people were killed and detained since September's bloody crackdown on pro-democracy protesters.
Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, the U.N.'s independent rights investigator for Myanmar, has said he is determined to gain access to the country's prisons and detention centers as part of an investigation into wide-ranging allegations of abuse committed by the military regime.
Pinheiro had been barred from the country since November 2003. He submitted a proposed itinerary to the ruling junta before arriving in the country for a five-day trip, but it was still being "fine-tuned," Aye Win, the U.N. spokesman in Myanmar, said Sunday evening.
"I hope I will have a very productive stay," Pinheiro told reporters after flying into Yangon, Myanmar's largest city, earlier in the day. He added, "I'm just very happy to be back here after four years."
Pinheiro has a history of prickly relations with the ruling generals. He abruptly cut short a visit in March 2003 after finding a listening device in a room at a prison where he was interviewing political detainees. Later that year, he accused the junta of making "absurd" excuses to keep political opponents in prison.
Accompanied by authorities, Pinheiro's first stop in Myanmar was the town of Bago, 50 miles north of Yangon, the U.N. said in a statement. Buddhist monasteries in Bago were among those targeted by the crackdown after monks joined anti-government street protests.
Pinheiro then returned to Yangon to meet officials at Shwedagon Pagoda, the country's most revered shrine and a flash point of unrest during the protests.
The junta, which has long been criticized for human rights abuses, has come under renewed international pressure since crushing the demonstrations. Myanmar authorities have said 10 people were killed when troops opened fire on peaceful protesters in Yangon on Sept. 26 and 27. Diplomats and dissidents, however, say the death toll was much higher and that an unknown number of people remain in custody.
Pinheiro cited unidentified sources as saying last month that between 30 and 40 monks and 50 to 70 civilians were allegedly killed.
Amnesty International submitted a letter Friday to Myanmar authorities expressing concern over "grave and ongoing human rights violations" committed since the crackdown, including "widespread arbitrary detentions, hostage-taking, beatings and torture in custody and enforced disappearances."
The London-based human rights group said about 700 political prisoners remain in custody. It demanded that Pinheiro be given full and unrestricted access to the country's detention centers.
Pinheiro has said he will abandon his current visit unless he gets full support from the junta.
"If they don't give me full cooperation, I'll go to the plane, and I'll go out," he said last month after getting the green light to return to Myanmar.
He said that since the crackdown he has received "worrying reports of death in custody, torture, disappearances, ill-treatment, and lack of access to food, water or medical treatment in overcrowded unsanitary detention facilities."
The U.N. Human Rights Council condemned the crackdown at an emergency session Oct. 2 and urged an immediate investigation of the rights situation in Myanmar.
Pinheiro's trip comes three days after the departure of U.N. envoy Ibrahim Gambari, who attempted during a six-day visit to kick-start talks between the junta and the pro-democracy opposition.
As a result of Gambari's trip, detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi was allowed to meet the leaders of her opposition party on Friday for the first time in three years. Suu Kyi said through a party spokesman she was "very optimistic" about the prospects of dialogue with the government.
The regime cracked down on Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party after it won elections in 1990. Instead of honoring the election results, the military stepped up a campaign of arrest and harassment of the party members, and eventually closed most of its offices.
Suu Kyi has been detained for 12 of the past 18 years, and continuously since May 2003.
Saturday, November 10, 2007
Democray Hero likely appearing on State run media news
Suu Kyi Is Front-Page News in Myanmar
By AYE AYE WIN
Associated Press Writer
YANGON, Myanmar (AP) -- Detained democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi received rare front-page billing Saturday in Myanmar's state-controlled press, which said the ruling military junta was "putting energy" into democratic reforms demanded by the international community.
Suu Kyi, under house arrest, was allowed to meet leaders of her opposition party Friday for the first time in more than three years and told them she believes the generals intend to work toward democracy.
The junta, which came under renewed international pressure after it crushed pro-democracy demonstrations led by Buddhist monks in September, allowed the meeting after the latest in a series of visits by U.N. envoy Ibrahim Gambari.
Immediately before and after talks with her political allies, Suu Kyi met with Aung Kyi, the general appointed as the "minister for relations" with the opposition leader, according to the New Light of Myanmar newspaper.
The regime's tightly controlled newspapers published a photograph of Suu Kyi and Aung Kyi, smiling and shaking hands at a government guest house - an indication the government was keen to publicize the meeting even though it has not commented on what was discussed.
It was the third time in a month that Suu Kyi's image has appeared in state-controlled media, which refused for years to print her picture or even refer to her by name. Suu Kyi has been detained for 12 of the past 18 years, and continuously since May 2003.
"While putting energy into the democratization process, the government has been making efforts for the national reconsolidation," the New Light of Myanmar wrote in its front-page story. It did not elaborate.
Outside observers said they were doubtful the meeting was a real sign of change.
"This meeting was conducted in a government-controlled guesthouse, which in all likelihood was bugged by Burmese intelligence services, inhibiting open discussion," Human Rights Watch said in a statement Saturday.
The group added the generals had "yet to release political prisoners and protesters, end military rule or even hold serious discussion with the political opposition."
Suu Kyi, however, told her colleagues she was "very optimistic" about the prospects of dialogue with the government, which cracked down on her National League for Democracy party after it won elections in 1990, said Nyan Win, a spokesman for the party.
"She believes that the ruling SPDC has the will to achieve national reconciliation," said Nyan Win, who attended the meeting at the government guest house. The junta refers to itself as the State Peace and Development Council.
Suu Kyi suggested the military rulers could make a conciliatory gesture by releasing political prisoners, but appeared to concede she herself will remain detained for the immediate future. She told her colleagues she will ask the government for two liaison officers of her choice to communicate with her party's officials on her behalf.
Suu Kyi said she will also ask Aung Kyi to arrange for her to see the other party leaders whenever necessary.
"She is full of ideas," Nyan Win said, adding that the Nobel peace laureate looked "fit, well and energetic like before."
The government says 10 people were killed in the Sept. 26-27 crackdown on pro-democracy protests, though diplomats and dissidents say the death toll was much higher. Thousands were arrested, with the events triggering intense global condemnation.
The roots of Myanmar's crisis are in the military's refusal to hand over power after Suu Kyi's party won a 1990 general election. The junta now says it is following a seven-step "road map" to democracy that is supposed to culminate in free elections, though it has not set a timeline for the process.
Myanmar experts were cautious about the prospects for reconciliation. A previous U.N.-initiated dialogue in 2002-2003, begun when Suu Kyi was serving an earlier term of house arrest, withered without making any headway.
The regime, which is notoriously thin-skinned about foreign criticism, also faces further scrutiny about its human rights record.
The U.N.'s special investigator for human rights in Myanmar, Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, has been invited for a five-day visit starting Sunda
By AYE AYE WIN
Associated Press Writer
YANGON, Myanmar (AP) -- Detained democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi received rare front-page billing Saturday in Myanmar's state-controlled press, which said the ruling military junta was "putting energy" into democratic reforms demanded by the international community.
Suu Kyi, under house arrest, was allowed to meet leaders of her opposition party Friday for the first time in more than three years and told them she believes the generals intend to work toward democracy.
The junta, which came under renewed international pressure after it crushed pro-democracy demonstrations led by Buddhist monks in September, allowed the meeting after the latest in a series of visits by U.N. envoy Ibrahim Gambari.
Immediately before and after talks with her political allies, Suu Kyi met with Aung Kyi, the general appointed as the "minister for relations" with the opposition leader, according to the New Light of Myanmar newspaper.
The regime's tightly controlled newspapers published a photograph of Suu Kyi and Aung Kyi, smiling and shaking hands at a government guest house - an indication the government was keen to publicize the meeting even though it has not commented on what was discussed.
It was the third time in a month that Suu Kyi's image has appeared in state-controlled media, which refused for years to print her picture or even refer to her by name. Suu Kyi has been detained for 12 of the past 18 years, and continuously since May 2003.
"While putting energy into the democratization process, the government has been making efforts for the national reconsolidation," the New Light of Myanmar wrote in its front-page story. It did not elaborate.
Outside observers said they were doubtful the meeting was a real sign of change.
"This meeting was conducted in a government-controlled guesthouse, which in all likelihood was bugged by Burmese intelligence services, inhibiting open discussion," Human Rights Watch said in a statement Saturday.
The group added the generals had "yet to release political prisoners and protesters, end military rule or even hold serious discussion with the political opposition."
Suu Kyi, however, told her colleagues she was "very optimistic" about the prospects of dialogue with the government, which cracked down on her National League for Democracy party after it won elections in 1990, said Nyan Win, a spokesman for the party.
"She believes that the ruling SPDC has the will to achieve national reconciliation," said Nyan Win, who attended the meeting at the government guest house. The junta refers to itself as the State Peace and Development Council.
Suu Kyi suggested the military rulers could make a conciliatory gesture by releasing political prisoners, but appeared to concede she herself will remain detained for the immediate future. She told her colleagues she will ask the government for two liaison officers of her choice to communicate with her party's officials on her behalf.
Suu Kyi said she will also ask Aung Kyi to arrange for her to see the other party leaders whenever necessary.
"She is full of ideas," Nyan Win said, adding that the Nobel peace laureate looked "fit, well and energetic like before."
The government says 10 people were killed in the Sept. 26-27 crackdown on pro-democracy protests, though diplomats and dissidents say the death toll was much higher. Thousands were arrested, with the events triggering intense global condemnation.
The roots of Myanmar's crisis are in the military's refusal to hand over power after Suu Kyi's party won a 1990 general election. The junta now says it is following a seven-step "road map" to democracy that is supposed to culminate in free elections, though it has not set a timeline for the process.
Myanmar experts were cautious about the prospects for reconciliation. A previous U.N.-initiated dialogue in 2002-2003, begun when Suu Kyi was serving an earlier term of house arrest, withered without making any headway.
The regime, which is notoriously thin-skinned about foreign criticism, also faces further scrutiny about its human rights record.
The U.N.'s special investigator for human rights in Myanmar, Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, has been invited for a five-day visit starting Sunda
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