Mungpi, Mizzima News, 27 April 2010.
Oklahoma City (Mizzima) – European Union foreign ministers on Monday agreed to extend its existing economic sanctions against military-ruled Burma for another year, and called on the military regime to stop “violation of international human rights and humanitarian law”.
“The Council deems it necessary to extend the restrictive measures provided for in the current EU decision by another year,” a statement by the Foreign Ministers of the 27 European nations said.
Showing posts with label Politics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Politics. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Junta 'Frustrating,' Says Ban
By LALIT K. JHA, The Irrawaddy News Magazine, March 26, 2010.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Friday the Burmese military junta's effort to make the upcoming election inclusive, free and fair is “frustrating” and “disappointing.”
Speaking after a meeting of the Group of Friends on Myanmar [Burma] at UN headquarters in New York, Ban said that he is grateful for the continuing support and commitment of the members.
Authoritative sources told The Irrawaddy that the 15-member group was sharply divided and unable to arrive at a unanimous decision as to what should be the next step forward for the UN and, in particular, the good offices role of the UN secretary-general.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Friday the Burmese military junta's effort to make the upcoming election inclusive, free and fair is “frustrating” and “disappointing.”
Speaking after a meeting of the Group of Friends on Myanmar [Burma] at UN headquarters in New York, Ban said that he is grateful for the continuing support and commitment of the members.
Authoritative sources told The Irrawaddy that the 15-member group was sharply divided and unable to arrive at a unanimous decision as to what should be the next step forward for the UN and, in particular, the good offices role of the UN secretary-general.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Myanmar deports jailed Burmese-American activist
By Papitchaya Boonngok, Reuters, Mar 18 2010.BANGKOK (Reuters) - Army-ruled Myanmar deported a Burmese-American activist on Thursday after sentencing him last month to three years in prison for forgery and immigration offences.
Nyi Nyi Aung, a U.S. citizen, was sent home after serving five weeks of his sentence. The reason for his deportation, which was agreed by the junta on Wednesday, was not immediately known.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Change Comes to Myanmar, but Only on the Junta’s Terms
By THE NEW YORK TIMES, March 17, 2010.PYAPON, Myanmar — In the dried mud of the Irrawaddy Delta, workers are welding together the final pieces of a natural-gas pipeline that the country’s ruling generals say will keep the lights on in Yangon, Myanmar’s main city, after years of debilitating blackouts.
Residents who for years were lucky to get eight hours of power a day may soon have the luxury of refrigerators that stay cold and televisions that stay on.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Myanmar polls 'devoid of credibility': US
(AFP) – Mar 9, 2010WASHINGTON — The United States hit out Wednesday at Myanmar's military junta for excluding political prisoners from taking part in upcoming elections, saying the polls were now "devoid of credibility."
Under the new election laws unveiled Wednesday, Myanmar opposition icon Aung San Suu Kyi faces exclusion from her own party and is barred from standing in the polls later this year.
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Junta Should Go Before ICC, Nobel Laureates Tell Ban
By LAWI WENG, Irrawaddy News, March 6, 2010.
In a meeting with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in New York on Thursday, three activists, including two Nobel Peace Prize winners, called on the UN Security Council to refer Burma's junta to the International Criminal Court for its abuses against women.
Thin Thin Aung, a presidium board member of the Women's League of Burma (WLB), and Nobel laureates Shirin Ebadi and Jody Williams told Ban that sexual violence and other abuses against women in Burma are widespread and systematic, and can only be addressed by referring the matter to the ICC.
In a meeting with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in New York on Thursday, three activists, including two Nobel Peace Prize winners, called on the UN Security Council to refer Burma's junta to the International Criminal Court for its abuses against women.
Thin Thin Aung, a presidium board member of the Women's League of Burma (WLB), and Nobel laureates Shirin Ebadi and Jody Williams told Ban that sexual violence and other abuses against women in Burma are widespread and systematic, and can only be addressed by referring the matter to the ICC.
U.S. increasingly wary as Burma deepens military relationship with North Korea
By John Pomfret, The Washington Post. March 4, 2010.
The Obama administration, concerned that Burma is expanding its military relationship with North Korea, has launched an aggressive campaign to persuade Burma's junta to stop buying North Korean military technology, U.S. officials said.
Concerns about the relationship -- which encompass the sale of small arms, missile components and technology possibly related to nuclear weapons -- in part prompted the Obama administration in October to end the George W. Bush-era policy of isolating the military junta, said a senior State Department official, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject.
The Obama administration, concerned that Burma is expanding its military relationship with North Korea, has launched an aggressive campaign to persuade Burma's junta to stop buying North Korean military technology, U.S. officials said.
Concerns about the relationship -- which encompass the sale of small arms, missile components and technology possibly related to nuclear weapons -- in part prompted the Obama administration in October to end the George W. Bush-era policy of isolating the military junta, said a senior State Department official, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Sad but not unexpected
By Stephen Lillie, Philippine Daily Inquirer.Posted date: March 02, 2010.
Burma’s Supreme Court has just rejected the appeal of democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi against a verdict finding her guilty of violating the rules of her house arrest. The outcome is disappointing but not unexpected. The process was never about the rule of law or justice, and the trial itself was a sham. There was really no reason to think the appeal would be any better.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Oscar Hopes High for 'Burma VJ'
Credit: Irrawaddy News, March 2, 2010.The documentary “Burma VJ” is in the running for an Oscar for best feature-documentary at the 82nd Annual Academy Awards show which will be broadcast worldwide on Sunday night in the United States.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Canada condemns rejection of Suu Kyi freedom bid
Credit: AFP, Feb 27, 2010.MONTREAL (AFP) - The Canadian government said Friday it was "deeply disappointed" that Myanmar's Supreme Court had rejected an appeal by opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi against her extended house arrest.
"Neither her original trial nor the appeal process has met international standards of due process, demonstrating a complete disregard for the rule of law," Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon said in a statement.
US lawmaker seeks to punish Myanmar on Suu Kyi
Credit: AFP, Feb 26, 2010.WASHINGTON — The United States on Friday criticized Myanmar's Supreme Court for not releasing Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, with one lawmaker saying the time had come to tighten sanctions.
The military-ruled nation's highest court rejected an appeal by the democracy champion to be freed from house arrest. The verdict comes ahead of elections which have raised deep suspicions among the opposition and overseas.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Amnesty warns Burma minorities face growing repression
BBC News, 16 February 2010.Burma's ethnic minorities are vulnerable to increased repression ahead of elections in the country later this year, a rights group has warned.
Amnesty International said minority groups were important for the political opposition of the country.
But it said their role had not been sufficiently recognised, as international attention tended to focus on opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
Monday, February 15, 2010
UN Envoy Arrives in Burma
VOA News, 15 February 2010.The top United Nations human rights envoy arrived in Burma Monday for a five-day visit to evaluate progress on human rights in the military-ruled nation.
Tomas Ojea Quintana is expected to urge the military government to allow opposition and ethnic political parties to participate in upcoming elections.
Quintana has said he also wants to meet Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, who remains under house arrest.
Saturday, February 13, 2010
From Burma to Zimbabwe, It Was One Rotten Week
Credit: Alex Wagner, Politics Daily, Feb 13, 2010.Presumably, "you" meant the international community, and specifically the U.S. government, which is working on targeted sanctions against Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps in an effort to put the stops on the country's nuclear ambitions. On Thursday, the 31st anniversary of the Islamic Revolution, there were widespread reports of harsh police crackdowns on "anti-government" forces, including the use of tear gas and pepper spray, and attacks on a senior opposition leader. With an eye toward last year's opposition campaigns run largely through e-mail and social networks, Internet service was significantly slowed and sites like Gmail were inaccessible inside the country.
Suu Kyi aide Tin Oo released in Myanmar
CNN News, February 13, 2010.YANGON, Myanmar (CNN) -- A senior leader of the party of Myanmar pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi was released Saturday night at the end of his six-year house arrest.
Tin Oo, vice chairman of Suu Kyi's NLD party, was freed after a government officer entered the home and read a release order.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Burma jails US citizen who was 1988 student activist
BBC News, 10 February 2010.A Burmese court has sentenced a US citizen to three years in prison for fraud and forgery, despite calls by 50 US lawmakers for his release.
Rights activist Nyi Nyi Aung was convicted for forging an identity card, failing to declare currency at customs and violating immigration law.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Burmese-American Awaits Verdict in Myanmar Case
By THOMAS FULLER, New York Times, February 9, 2010.BANGKOK — At last count there were more than 2,100 political prisoners in Myanmar, according to human rights groups that track the opaque workings of the penal system in that country, formerly known as Burma. Among them is Nyi Nyi Aung, who spent years campaigning for Burmese democracy in exile before obtaining American citizenship.
On his fifth trip back, in September, he was arrested. On Wednesday, a court in Myanmar is scheduled to announce a verdict on charges of forgery, possession of undeclared foreign currency and failure to renounce Myanmar citizenship. He could face 12 years in prison.
Friday, January 29, 2010
Burma jails reporter for 13 years
Credit: BBC News, 29 January 2010.A military court in Burma has sentenced a journalist to 13 years in prison for working illegally for foreign media organisations, his lawyer has said.
Ngwe Soe Lin, who reported for the Norway-based Democratic Voice of Burma, was convicted of violating immigration laws and the Electronics Act.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Sanction-hit Air Bagan keen to launch new routes
Credit: Min Thet, Mizzima News, 07 January 2010.Air Bagan, owned by Burma's business tycoon Tay Za, is keen to launch new air routes.
Tay Za, close to the junta leaders, is one of the business tycoons under US economic sanctions.
"Due to economic sanctions (imposed by the USA and European Union countries), we could not operate on certain routes. But in 2010-2011 during the tourist season, we want to try to operate on new routes, though it cannot succeed if sanctions continue," said an Air Bagan officer, who did not want to be named. The new routes that it is keen on are: Rangoon-Bangkok and Rangoon-Singapore.
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Junta stuck in a Burmese daze
Credit: Andrew Ryvern, guardian.co.uk, January 23, 2010.
With imagination and willpower, ordinary Burmese have managed to survive an oppressive military government that openly condemns them to poverty and isolation.
Yangon, Burma's commercial hub and until recently its capital, is a case in point. With its boulevards lined with fading colonial buildings and streets filled with vintage automobiles, the city once known as Rangoon looks like it belongs in the previous century. But these are not the only things out of date.
With imagination and willpower, ordinary Burmese have managed to survive an oppressive military government that openly condemns them to poverty and isolation.
Yangon, Burma's commercial hub and until recently its capital, is a case in point. With its boulevards lined with fading colonial buildings and streets filled with vintage automobiles, the city once known as Rangoon looks like it belongs in the previous century. But these are not the only things out of date.
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