The Irrawaddy News Magazine [Covering Burma and Southeast Asia]

NEWS IN BRIEF
News in Brief

OCTOBER, 2010 - VOL.18 NO.10

Junta Chief Visits China as Election Approaches

Chinese President Hu Jintao, left, and Burma’s military junta leader Snr-Gen Than Shwe, right, review the Chinese People’s Liberation Army honor guards during a welcoming ceremony. (Photo: AFP)

A Burmese delegation led by regime leader Snr-Gen Than Shwe concluded a five-day visit to China on Sept. 11 after winning Beijing’s backing for Burma’s first election in 20 years, set to take place on Nov. 7. The state-run New Light of Myanmar reported that Chinese President Hu Jintao “expressed thanks for the clarification of the plans for the elections and ... fully believed the Myanmar [Burmese] government would achieve success in development and the transition process.” It also said that China vowed “not to accept and support any groups who would carry out anti-Myanmar government movements in border areas”—a reference to ethnic armed groups based along Burma’s northern border with China, who continue to resist pressure to form border guard forces under Burmese military command ahead of the election.

Obama Meets Asean Leaders in New York

US President Barack Obama, center, flanked by leaders from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. (Photo: AFP)

US President Barack Obama and leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) met in New York on Sept. 24 on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session. In a joint statement, the US and Asean said they are committed to strengthening relations and underscored the growing strategic importance of their relationship. The summit focused on economic as well as global and regional issues, including non-proliferation, counter-terrorism efforts and climate change. Obama also renewed his call on Burma’s junta to embark on a process of national reconciliation by releasing all political prisoners and holding a free and fair election in November.

UN ‘Group of Friends’: Free Suu Kyi, Political Prisoners

Members of the Hong Kong Coalition for a Free Burma protest the election. (Photo: AP)

The 14-nation “Group of Friends” on Burma, formed by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, urged the Burmese military junta to make the November election inclusive, participatory and transparent, and repeated its call for the release of all political prisoners, including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. Meanwhile, a Washington-based legal group, Freedom Now, said that Suu Kyi must be released by Nov. 13 when she completes her current 18-month sentence. The group’s assessment is consistent with a public comment by Burmese Minister for Home Affairs Maung Oo in January that Suu Kyi “will be released this November.”

Suu Kyi’s Mentor Dies

Thakin Ohn Myint

Thakin Ohn Myint, regarded as Aung San Suu Kyi’s mentor as well as her father’s colleague and confidante during Burma’s struggle to end British colonial rule, died peacefully at his home in Rangoon at the age of 92. As a former comrade of independence hero Aung San, he maintained a close friendship with Suu Kyi’s mother Khin Kyi and the rest of the family. He shared his thoughts and opinions openly with the future National League for Democracy (NLD) leader during her many visits to Burma in the 1970s and 80s, and was undoubtedly one of her greatest political influences. As a former prisoner himself, Ohn Myint also co-chaired the NLD’s humanitarian committee, which offered financial and moral support to political prisoners and their families.

Majority of Cyber Attacks Came from Chinese IP Addresses

The Internet sites of the Democratic Voice of Burma, The Irrawaddy and the Mizzima news service were interrupted after being overwhelmed by a flood of incoming messages known as a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack. The majority of the cyber attacks on The Irrawaddy came through China, with a lower number from the US and Australia. Other attacks on exiled media came through at least nine different countries, including the US. The attacks crippled the websites of Burmese exile media organizations in the final week of September, coinciding with the third anniversary of protests led by Buddhist monks in Burma. A similar attack on these sites also occurred in September 2008, on the first anniversary of the monks’ protests.

Suu Kyi’s Party Marks 22 years

As it marked its 22nd anniversary on Sept. 27, Burma’s disbanded National League for Democracy (NLD) party said it is currently reconsolidating and will be revitalized when its leader Aung San Suu Kyi is released from detention. Although the party was disbanded last month after failing to register for the Nov. 7 election, senior party officials say the party still exists and will continue its struggle for democracy in Burma. Despite jail threats, the NLD has sent its representatives out to spread the message among the electorate that Burmese citizens have the right not to vote and that they can exercise that right should they find no alternative to the NLD.

Burma War Crimes Commission Receives Growing Support

A proposed UN Commission of Inquiry to investigate war crimes and crimes against humanity in Burma has received growing support, with the governments of Lithuania, the Netherlands and New Zealand becoming the latest to back the move. Australia, the UK, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, the US, Canada and Hungary have already voiced their support. New York-based Human Rights Watch has also urged the Japanese and Philippines governments to publicly support the establishment of the commission. At a press conference, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon did not explicitly come out in favor of the commission, saying that it was something that needed to be decided by the UN’s member states.

Thailand’s Redshirts Mark Coup Anniversary

Redshirt protesters gather at Bangkok’s Ratchaprasong intersection. (Photo: http://en.wikipedia.org)

Thousands of anti-government Redshirt protesters defied a state of emergency in Thailand’s capital on Sept. 19 to stage their first major demonstration since their street protests were ended by a deadly military crackdown in May. Thousands of people gathered at Bangkok’s Ratchaprasong intersection, a glitzy shopping district that was occupied by the group from April to May. The crowd, exuberant but peaceful, spilled into the streets and snarled traffic, while hundreds of police stood by. Another demonstration was held in the northern city of Chiang Mai, the hometown of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, whose ouster in a coup on Sept. 19, 2006, has sharply polarized Thai society.

All Civil Servants to Relocate to Naypyidaw

All government employees in Rangoon have been ordered to move to the new capital Naypyidaw by April 2011 at the latest, according to a Burmese army officer. A government housing scheme in Naypyidaw has been extended to accommodate nearly 30,000 more civil servants and their families. In February 2006, the regime began relocating certain ministries—such as the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health—to Naypyidaw while other departments and their staff remained in the former capital.

Ethnic Leaders Discuss Military Cooperation

Amid growing expectations of renewed conflict with Burmese government forces, leaders of several ethnic armed groups, including some with cease-fire agreements with the regime, met in Chiang Mai in northern Thailand to discuss military tactics and consolidate their alliances. The leaders attending the conference were from the Kachin Independence Organization, the Shan State Army–North, the New Mon State Party, the Chin National Front, the Karenni National Progressive Party and the Karen National Union.

China Attacks US-Asean Statement on South China Sea Dispute

Beijing lashed out at plans by the United States and Southeast Asian countries to issue a joint statement calling for a peaceful settlement of territorial disputes in the South China Sea, saying that it would only complicate matters and sharpen differences. China claims sovereignty over the entire sea and all the island groups within it and regards any US involvement in the disputes as unwelcome interference. Four members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations—Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and the Philippines—are claiming South China Sea island groups, which lie amid rich fishing areas and possibly huge oil and natural gas deposits. The contested islands straddle busy sea lanes that are a crucial conduit for oil and other resources fueling China’s fast-expanding economy.