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Arakan Abbot Arrested

Detained Abbot Ashin Pyinnya Sara teaches children at the monastery.(Photo: FREEDOM BURMA)

Authorities sealed the Mahamuni Buddha Vihara Monastery, which also serves as a shelter for orphans, in Kandawgyi ward in Sittwe in Arakan State in early August, and police say they will charge the abbot, Ashin Pyinnya Sara, with having sexual relations with a woman and inappropriate use of donations. A teacher at the monastery who spoke to the abbot at the police station, said the abbot was weak and looked like he had been tortured, which the police denied. The teacher also said: “Local people think that apart from sexual affairs there were other reasons behind the arrest of Ashin Pyinnya Sara, because the woman who he was accused of having sex with has never filed a complaint.”

Khmer Rouge Jailer Faces 19 Years for 16,000 Dead

A tourist looks at photos of victims on display at the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.(Photo: AFP)

A war crimes tribunal in July sentenced the Khmer Rouge chief jailer to a prison term that will see him serve less than half a day for every person killed at the notorious torture center he commanded. Survivors expressed anger and disbelief that a key player in the genocide that wiped out a quarter of Cambodia’s population could one day walk free—despite being convicted of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Kaing Guek Eav, known as Duch, was the first major Khmer Rouge figure to face trial more than three decades after the “killing fields” regime tried to turn the country into a vast agrarian society—leading to the deaths of 1.7 million people. As commander of the top secret Tuol Sleng prison—code named S-21—the 67-year-old Duch admitted to overseeing the torture and deaths of as many as 16,000 people.

Clinton Warns Burma on North Korea Cooperation

North Korea's Foreign Minister Pak Ul Chun, Left, viewers a jade Buddha at the Shwe dagon Pagoda in Rangoon.(Photo: AP)

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned Burma’s military rulers against any cooperation with North Korea on a nuclear program. In Vietnam for regional security talks with senior officials from around Southeast Asia, Clinton said the US was concerned about reports that North Korea had delivered military equipment to Burma. Meanwhile, North Korea’s Foreign Minister Pak Ui Chun’s visit to Burma in July was shrouded in secrecy. Burma did not officially announced the visit and few details have leaked out about the nature of the trip, which was Pak’s first since the two countries resumed diplomatic ties in 2007.

Leaked Document Reveals USDP Tactics

A leaked document from the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) led by Thein Sein, the Burmese prime minister, has outlined a wide range of tactics—including the use of cadres of hardcore criminals—aimed at achieving a landslide victory in the upcoming election. The document describes the election as a “battle” and sketches plans for the party’s election campaign. “Criminals and thugs must be organized. Otherwise, they could be used by other political parties to bully, torture and extort from us,” the 10-page document said. The military regime created the USDP on April 29, when Thein Sein and 26 ministers and senior officials formed the party out of the regime’s mass civic organization called the Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA), which was disbanded.