Govt. Pressure Wrecks NLD Study Program

In this photo taken on November 19, 2010, members of National League for Democracy (NLD) sell posters of Burma’s pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her father general Aung San in front of their main office in Rangoon. (Photo: Reuters)
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Foreign scholars withdrew from a planned study meeting at the National League for Democracy (NLD) headquarters after pressure from the Burmese government, according to sources.
Win Htein, of the NLD, told The Irrawaddy that many scholars were very keen to come and meet the opposition party’s leader Aung San Suu Kyi and train its members, but their planned visit had to be been canceled.
The group were due to lecture students at the Bayda Institute from June 6 to 25 before addressing NLD members from June 20 to 28, but now even the first session has been moved to pro-government NGO Myanmar Egress instead.
“I think Kyaw Yin Hlaing, who currently works in Hong Kong, is afraid the government will revoke his passport if he speaks to NLD members. If Kyaw Yin Hlaing came to visit the NLD he could get into trouble, but he should still take the risk to find out what the result would be,” said Win Htein.
Dr. Kyaw Yin Hlaing is director of Myanmar Egress and also assistant professor of the Department of Asian and International Studies at the City University of Hong Kong.
Myanmar Egress is controversial for being closely associated with individuals connected to the Burmese Chamber of Commerce, and Kyaw Yin Hlaing also supported last year’s sham election in Burma.
Htike Zaw Oo, from Tavoy Township, Tenasserim Division, is studying at the Bayda Institute and says he feels cheated by the renowned foreign-based professors who have shunned the seat of learning.
“At first we were very happy that professors from foreign countries would be teaching us. We have been preparing for the training for nearly three months. But when the fixed date arrived they [professors] canceled these plans very easily,” said Htike Zaw Oo.
The NLD study course on “the principles of political science” was the first offered by the party for two decades and was scheduled to be taught by almost a dozen foreign scholars. Young NLD members from across Burma have already arrived in Rangoon to attended the session.
“The teachers did not arrive at the opening ceremony of the Badya Institute and it is hard for them to come to the NLD. Although they did not come to the opening of the Bayda Institute, they are still teaching at Myanmar Egress. It is like a balloon which has been pierced with a needle,” said Win Htein.
“We have been planning this tuition since March but Kyaw Yin Hlaing said on the phone that he cannot give the lecture because the government put pressure on him. The professors would be teaching at Myanmar Egress and Bayda at the same time,” said Myo Yan Naung Thein of Bayda Institute.
The Irrawaddy contacted Kyaw Yin Hlaing but he refused to comment.
Burmese scholars Kyaw Yin Hlaing, Tin Maung Maung Than and US attorney Thi Han Myo Nyun will all contribute to the training program.
They will be joined by foreign scholars Robert Taylor, Robert Gregory, Martin Painter, Mark Thompson, Federico Ferrara and Brad Williams from City University of Hong Kong; Michael Montesano from Singapore’s Institute of South East Asia Study; Eric Thompson from the National University of Singapore; and N. Ganesan from the Hiroshima Peace Institute in Japan.
http://irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=21454

Burma Resistance Day

http://www.flickr.com/apps/slideshow/show.swf?v=71649

Suu Kyi to Meet Burmese Youths

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Opening remarks at UN Headquarters year-end press conference

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
UNHQ

17 December 2010

Good morning ladies and gentlemen,

Before we begin, I want to make a statement on Côte d’Ivoire.

As of this morning, the situation has taken a dangerous turn.

Let me say clearly and directly: any attempt to obstruct UN operations or blockade the Golf Hotel is totally unacceptable.

Any attack on UN forces will be an attack on the international community.

I emphasize: those responsible for the loss of civilian lives will be held accountable.

In these circumstances, it is crucial for both parties to avoid provocations or a further escalation of violence.

The response by ECOWAS and the African Union shows the continent united in its commitment to respect the constitutional order and will of the people.

That is our message, as well: the results of the election are known. There was a clear winner. There is no other option.

The efforts of Laurent Gbagbo and his supporters to retain power and flout the public will cannot be allowed to stand.

I call on him to step down and allow his elected successor to assume office without further hindrance.

The international community must send this message — loud and clear.

Any other outcome would make a mockery of democracy and the rule of law.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Since this is the final press conference of the year, let me take a few minutes to reflect with you.

2010 was a big year for multilateralism — a big year for the United Nations.

We adopted a forward-looking action plan on the Millennium Development Goals.

We mobilized $40 billion for the new Global Strategy on Women’s and Children’s Health. And we just established a high-level Commission on accountability to ensure that commitments are tracked and results delivered.

We are making progress in the malaria fight.

After years of effort, we created UN Women and hired a dynamic new head of the agency, Michelle Bachelet.

We made advances in Nagoya on biodiversity.

In Cancun, Governments took an important step forward in building a low-emissions, climate resilient future.

They agreed on a balanced package of measures that formalizes mitigation pledges from all countries and ensures increased accountability for them. They made progress on forest protection, climate finance, adaptation and technology. We will build on this foundation as we look to COP 17 in South Africa.

We completed the first successful NPT Review Conference in ten years, and were able to advance my five-point plan on nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation.

We supported highly sensitive elections in Afghanistan and Iraq.

We strengthened the UN’s capacities for preventive diplomacy and mediation.

All told, we supported 34 different mediation, facilitation and dialogue efforts this year.

The persistent work of UN envoys helped, for example, to ease the crisis in Kyrgyzstan and keep a transition to democracy on track in Guinea. Next week, the Deputy Secretary-General will attend the inauguration of the newly elected civilian President of Guinea.

We advanced the fight against impunity by strengthening the International Criminal Court.

We have continued to assist Member States in resolving difficult issues and undertaking impartial inquiries on sensitive matters from the Flotilla incident to the Bhutto Commission to the Special Tribunal on Lebanon.

We enhanced efficiency and effectiveness on the ground through a first-of-its-kind Global Field Support Strategy, which concentrates support for various peacekeeping missions in single, more efficient regional hubs.

We responded to the devastating earthquakes in Haiti and Chile, as well as the floods in Pakistan. And we helped amplify the voices of the vulnerable, the billions around the world facing global economic insecurity.

Looking ahead, our challenge is to carry our progress forward.

Resources are tighter. Demands on the UN are growing. This requires us to focus more on prevention, preparedness, being proactive, being persistent – all within a framework that is transparent and accountable.

I will have much more to say next month on our agenda for 2011.

For the moment, let me say:

We will continue to closely watch the situation in Côte d’Ivoire.

In Sudan, I am deeply concerned by the recent clashes in Darfur. And in just a few weeks, the people of Southern Sudan will exercise their right to vote on their future.

The United Nations remains committed to supporting the parties to the Comprehensive Peace Agreement and holding the referendum on January 9 next year. And we will work to help the two sides address common challenges in the aftermath.

We will seek to advance the Middle East peace process to realize the two-state solution, despite the absence of direct talks.

I once again urge the parties to engage seriously and be forthcoming on substance.

A meeting of the Quartet principals is expected early in the new year.

We will also continue to focus on improving life in Gaza. And I repeat: Israel must meet its obligation to freeze all settlement activity, including in East Jerusalem.

With respect to Myanmar, despite its serious shortcomings, the elections and the release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi were significant developments. Myanmar can and should build on them.

Our strategy is one of long-term comprehensive engagement. We will continue to work to help Myanmar meet the objectives of national reconciliation, democratic transition and respect for human rights.

And we will seek progress on many of the longer-term challenges – including peace and security in the Korean Peninsula, the Iranian nuclear issue, bringing a stable government to Somalia, and helping to reunify Cyprus.

With regard to Cyprus, we have worked to increase the momentum in the talks, and I plan to meet leaders next month in Geneva. Between now and then, I hope they will continue to build on common ground as I urged them to do last month here in New York.

Finally, a few words on Haiti.

I am concerned about allegations of fraud in the recent elections. A second round is scheduled for mid-January.

We will continue to support free and fair elections that reflect the will of the Haitian people.

I urge all candidates and their supporters to remain calm and refrain from violence.

With respect to the cholera challenge, our first priority continues to be saving lives. We are working to reassure the population that the disease can be managed through early treatment and some clear and simple steps.

It is crucial to get this message out, far and wide.

And we need more funding. The Cholera Response Strategy that we launched last month is still only 21 percent funded. Haiti needs more doctors, nurses, medical supplies, and it needs them urgently.

As you know, there are several theories on the origins of the cholera outbreak in Haiti.

Not all reports have reached the same conclusion. MINUSTAH and the Government of Haiti have conducted a number of tests. All so far have been negative.

But there remain fair questions and legitimate concerns that demand the best answer that science can provide.

That is why, pursuant to close consultation with Dr. Margaret Chan of WHO, I am announcing today the creation of an international scientific panel to investigate the source of the cholera epidemic in Haiti.

The panel will be completely independent and have full access to all UN premises and personnel. Details on the panel will be provided when finalized.

We want to make the best effort to get to the bottom of this and find answers that the people of Haiti deserve.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Looking back and looking ahead, I want to reiterate a point that I believe defines today’s complex and connected world.

Truly global action requires mobilizing support, creating broad alliances and building coalitions.

In the search for solutions, progress does not come with big bangs, but with steady, determined steps.

It is the accumulation of these small steps, these steady elements of progress that set the stage for larger changes — the breakthroughs of tomorrow.

We live in a unique multilateral moment — a world changing in the most dramatic ways since the end of World War II.

The United Nations must keep pace.

We have made progress this year. But we can and must continue.

Thank you for all your support and now I will be happy to take your questions.

http://www.un.org/apps/news/infocus/sgspeeches/statments_full.asp?statID=1039#

APNewsBreak: Laura Bush speaks by phone to Suu Kyi

Updated: Dec 17, 2010 – 13:27PM

Jamie Stengle
AP
DALLAS -Former first lady Laura Bush, a longtime advocate for free elections in Myanmar, spoke for the first time Friday with the isolated Asian country’s pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who was released last month after more than seven years of house arrest.

Bush told The Associated Press that “it was thrilling” to finally get to speak to Suu Kyi by phone.

“I was especially happy to hear how strong her voice was and how enthusiastic,” Bush said.

Suu Kyi, who won the 1991 Nobel Peace prize for her nonviolent struggle for democracy, was first arrested by Myanmar’s military junta in 1989 and has spent 15 of the past 21 years in detention.

Bush, the wife of former President George W. Bush, has advocated for free elections in Myanmar, also known as Burma, and has spoken out many times about Suu Kyi’s plight, raising the issue at United Nations meetings and with U.S. senators.

Bush said Suu Kyi told her that during her house arrest, she listened to the Voice of America on the radio and was aware of how much support she had around the world. She said she also knew of a 2008 visit Bush and her daughter, Barbara, made to a refugee camp in Thailand for political refugees from Myanmar.

“She was very forthcoming but we both assumed the call was bugged. She was circumspect and so was I,” Bush said.

Suu Kyi’s release last month came a week after Myanmar’s first election in 20 years, which was widely seen as a sham. The 1990 election was won in a landslide by Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party, but the military refused to hand over power and instead clamped down on its opponents.

Bush said that it appears that the government is allowing Suu Kyi to conduct the meetings and phone calls she wants.

“I hope I’ll have the chance to speak with her again,” Bush said. “I hope that someday we’ll have the chance to meet face to face.”

The former first lady said she also told Suu Kyi about an effort by the George W. Bush Presidential Center to be a repository for the papers and oral histories of political dissidents struggling to spread democracy. Bush said Suu Kyi was receptive to the idea of one day being interviewed for the project.

The center, which will be made up of a presidential library, museum and policy institute, is set to open in February 2013 on the campus of Southern Methodist University in Dallas, the city George and Laura Bush moved to after he left office in 2009.

VALIDATED BY WIKILEAKS ON BURMA URANIUM SALES

December 16, 2010

Wikileaks is in the process of releasing over 250,000 United States
diplomatic cables. The less than 1% published so far have already changing
the way we think about the world. Hitherto secret information has been
revealed about one country after another. The cables have also made
evident that the U.S. regularly lies in its public statements about
international issues. The government isn t even close to being open with
American citizens and the people of the world.

For Burma, the Obama Administration is obliged under the Tom Lantos JADE
Act to disclose publicly what it knows about the SPDC s nuclear program.
The State Department has refused to publish the Act s Report on Military
and Intelligence Aid, even in the face of our Freedom of Information
filing, which was made eight months ago.

Wikileaks has provided an extraordinary opportunity to circumvent this
blackout. The organization has 1,864 cables from the United States Embassy
in Rangoon, and additional cables from other locations mention Burma as
well.

As of the time this statement was posted, at least nineteen of the
released cables involve Burma, and eight of these deal with nuclear and
related issues:

– The possible construction of a nuclear reactor – 04Rangoon88

– A large underground site in Magway, with North Korean workers –
04Rangoon1100

– How the SPDC s growing nuclear program is a barrier to U.S. engagement,
with reference to the detection of increasing military purchases from
North Korea and an alarming increase in the number of nuclear science
students studying in Russia (which number Dictator Watch first disclosed)
– 09Beijing2868

– The possible shipment of uranium ore to China – 07Rangoon105

– China revealing that Burma s North Korea relationship includes a nuclear
component and that the North is providing hardware and Russia software and
training – 09Rangoon502

– China promoting the idea that Burma-North Korea
cooperation is acceptable – 09Rangoon732

– An offer to sell uranium to the Embassy in Rangoon – 08Rangoon749

– Burma named as a WMD proliferation risk – 09State80163

The uranium sale cable is from September 23, 2008. It reports that a
Burmese national gave the embassy a vial that purportedly contained U-238.
The seller claimed to have 50kg of uranium-bearing rock in Rangoon, and
access to at least 2,000 kg more in Karenni State. However, it is not
clear when the offer took place. The cable header refers to another
communication from 2007 – State162091.

This cable validates intelligence about the availability of Burmese
uranium that Dictator Watch has previously published, albeit with some
differences.

At the end of 2006, we learned that a Burmese broker was offering to sell
yellowcake (low refined uranium). Our initial response was to inform the
U.S. We don t want a dirty bomb with Burmese uranium to go off someday in
New York, London or Bangkok. We were told to stay away from it – we had
offered to help arrange a sting – from which we concluded that the U.S.
already knew about it.

In July 2007 we mentioned the situation for the first time in an article,
Burma: A Threat to International Security and Peace. There was no
response, official or press, to our information. We subsequently described
the case in more detail in a 2009 article, Elements of a Nuclear Weapons
Program, Threat Assessment for Burma. In this piece we disclosed that the
broker had referred to a 60kg supply of yellowcake that was stored at an
industrial center near Bangkok, and that the material was under the
control of a Wa general. We also revealed that we had learned of a second
broker. There was no response to this information either.

While there are differences, U-238 versus yellowcake, and 50 versus 60
kilograms, we think it is likely that the broker that approached the
Rangoon Embassy was the same as the first that we heard about. We would
like to know the result of the U.S. testing on the sample that the Embassy
received, and why America didn t work to stop the broker. As far as we are
concerned, the threat of terrorism using Burmese uranium remains critical.

If the U.S. is interested, we can provide additional information on the
broker, from a document that mentions the yellowcake.

We have no doubt that as the bulk of the Burma cables are published, more
about the SPDC s role in weapons of mass destruction proliferation will
become known. We would also comment that these are State Department cables
– the CIA, of course, knows more than State – and that the latest cable is
from early 2010. Unquestionably, the U.S. has substantial and more recent
intelligence about the SPDC s proliferation, which in the interests of
openness it should reveal, without the need for a Wikileaks.

Suu Kyi moves cautiously

The newly freed Aung San Suu Kyi has been giving out cautious signals of what she plans to do now that she is back in sunlight. While her release from long detention was surely a seminal event not only for the people of her country but also for the rest of the world, it was how she intended to make use of her freedom that became an important question for many. Perhaps there was reason enough here for such a question. In her previous stints of fitful freedom, Ms. Suu Kyi’s refusal to go soft on the military junta ruling her country swiftly saw her back in lonely imprisonment. That as well as the feeling in a good many quarters that her idealism had all along been getting the better of her judgement may well have played a role in her present change of attitude. Where earlier she was vociferously in favour of outside nations clamping sanctions on her country unless the regime relented, now she appears to have shifted ground just a little.

And that shift has largely to do with how she perceives the role of the United States in an evolution towards democracy in her country. She does not believe any more that American engagement with the junta is ruinous for pluralism. The position fits in rather well with that adopted by the Obama administration, which clearly has come round to the idea that a dialogue, after all, with the military regime is better than a so far fruitless policy of isolation of it. One may quite be mystified by the way in which the military, in power since 1962, has hung on despite international condemnation of it. Sanctions have not worked, for the simple reason that a good number of nations, notably the country’s neighbours, have regularly maintained trade with Myanmar. That has certainly not earned the regime any respect. It has only demonstrated its entrenched nature. Such a reality now seems to have dawned on Suu Kyi, who has nevertheless urged Washington to keep its eyes open and remain alert about what happens from here on in Myanmar. Her emphasis on human rights is a sign that while she may be ready to change tactics in pursuit of her politics, her goal remains unflagging.

Ms. Suu Kyi must be encouraged in the careful moves she makes toward egging, by slow degrees, Myanmar toward democracy. The regime, for all its self-confidence generated by the recent ‘elections’, will need to engage not just with America but with Suu Kyi as well. The woman who led her party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), to a landslide electoral triumph in 1990, is in every sense Myanmar’s face to the outside world. It is for the Obama administration and other democratic nations to see that Aung San Suu Kyi remains the symbol of her people’s aspirations. And it is for Myanmar’s generals to make sure they do not again make the mistake of ignoring her. So far, she has refused to fade away or be silenced.

MM

http://www.thedailystar.net/newDesign/news-details.php?nid=163092

Suu Kyi says recent Burma election ‘flawed’

Fights to help her party regain legal status
Last Updated: Tuesday, November 16, 2010 | 4:45 PM ET Comments0Recommend0
CBC News
LISTEN TO THE AUDIO INTERVIEW by clicking the play button on the photo below, or visit The Current’s website to hear the interview.

AUDIO:In her first Canadian interview, pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi speaks with The Current after her release in Burma.

Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi says the recent election in Burma was “greatly flawed” and she will keep pushing for change in her country now that she’s been released from house arrest.

Full results have yet to be released for the recent election in Burma — the first elections in 20 years in the country, which is also known as Myanmar.

But initial figures give the main military-backed party a solid majority, a result decried by many observers who say the election was a sham.

Suu Kyi, 65, told Anna Maria Tremonti, host of CBC’s The Current, that it is widely known that the “elections were greatly flawed,” despite official claims the elections were a success.

The 1991 Nobel laureate and devout Buddhist has promoted a non-violent movement for democracy in Burma, which has been ruled by the military since 1962.

She was released Saturday, after spending more than seven continuous years under house arrest. After her release, she told the BBC she was hoping for a “non-violent revolution.”

“A revolution simply means a great change — that is how I’m defining it. And we do need great changes in Burma, and I would like to bring it about through non-violent means.”

Myanmar’s pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, centre, is greeted by supporters at her National League for Democracy’s party headquarters in Rangoon on Monday. (Reuters)She said she is eager to hear the views of Burmese people, though she conceded she is still making adjustments after spending 15 of the last 21 years under house arrest.

“I think spending so many hours a day now working with other people is a little strange, because years and years I’ve been on my own every day,” she said.

“If you want democracy, you’ve got to be prepared to accept the responsibilities of democracy — you can’t simply ask for the rights of democracy. And if you’re talking about government of the people, for the people, by the people, the people have to be actively involved.”

She said she hopes to sit down with generals to talk about possible solutions, and said she’s not worried about the possibility that she’ll be arrested again.

“I do what I can while I’m free,” she said. “If they arrest me again, then I’ll do what I can while I’m under arrest.”

Meanwhile, Burma’s military government warned Tuesday against filing complaints over the Nov. 7 election.

The official Union Election Commission warned that political parties making fraudulent complaints about the polls can face harsh legal punishment.

Suu Kyi had previously said she would work with members of her party, the National League for Democracy, to investigate allegations of election fraud.

She later said that while her party plans to issue a report, it has no plans to protest the results of the elections as it didn’t take part.

Since her Saturday release, Suu Kyi has shuttled between her lakeside home and the headquarters of her National League for Democracy party. She filed an affidavit with the court as part of an effort to overturn the party’s dissolution.

Suu Kyi a legal offensive Tuesday, filing a document with the country’s High Court to have her political party reinstated after the junta disbanded it earlier this year.”I am challenging the decision of the authorities that they can dissolve our party just like this, because this is against the law,” she said.

The party was disbanded for failing to reregister after choosing not to take part in the election, complaining conditions set by the junta were unfair and undemocratic.

http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2010/11/16/aung-san-suu-kyi.html#ixzz15UI1Ob8Ahttp://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2010/11/16/aung-san-suu-kyi.html

Myo Thein on BBC world service have your say

Burma: Myo Yan Naung Thein on CSOs & Democracy for Burma