Posts Tagged ‘Forced labour’
World focus on Burma (5 January 2009)
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Suu Kyi Celebrates Independence Day with Music
The Irrawaddy News Magazine, Thailand -
By THE IRRAWADDY On Independence Day this year, Burma’s detained democracy leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, has chosen not to stay quiet behind the locked gates of …
Woman activist sentenced to 26 years in prison
Mizzima.com, India -
Kathy Aung was arrested in September 2008, at her residence in Mandalay, Burma’s second largest city, and was detained for over two months in Oh Bo prison, …
Welcome to 2008. Again
BorderFire Report, TX -
… slum conditions in Mumbai, India; Thailand’s upcoming elections; the oppression in Myanmar, formerly Burma; and the slow economy recovery in Germany. …
UWSP Proposes Wa Autonomous Region
The Irrawaddy News Magazine, Thailand -
… of Myanmar.” “This is a sign that they are preparing to establish a Wa autonomous region,” said Aung Kyaw Zwa. However, observers said that the Burmese …
Villagers forced to work on school reconstruction
Democratic Voice of Burma, Norway -
… Rangoon’s Zeegone township have been forcing local people to contribute to reconstruction work on a school destroyed by Cyclone Nargis, villagers said. …
Goods worth Kyat 600000 destroyed in Mandalay fire
Mizzima.com, India -
Several privately-owned fuel stations are located on the Mandalay-Mattaya highway in the northern outskirts of Mandalay, Burma’s second largest city. …
Than Shwe Fails to Attend Independence Day Dinner
The Irrawaddy News Magazine, Thailand -
By WAI MOE For the second time in three years, the head of Burma’s ruling military junta, Snr-Gen Than Shwe, failed to make an appearance at a state dinner …
Foreign Investment in Burma Soars
The Irrawaddy News Magazine, Thailand -
By AP RANGOON — Foreign investment in Burma—much of it from China—nearly doubled in the first nine months of 2008 compared to the same period last year, …
Africa: Policy Issues for Obama (1)
AllAfrica.com, Washington -
… oppressive regimes in Myanmar (Burma) and Sudan and resurgent ultra-nationalist Russia, which is increasingly opposing the Western military alliance …
Taunggok NLD chair’s jail term extended by 15 years
Democratic Voice of Burma, Norway -
Jan 5, 2009 (DVB)–Burmese authorities last month extended the sentence of Taunggok township National League for Democracy chairman Min Aung, …
Bangladesh to release 20 more foreign prisoners
Narinjara News, Bangladesh -
Six foreign prisoners – four Burmese, one North Korean and one Tanzanian were released last one month after their jail term of more than 15 years came to …
Activist arrested for Independence Day salute
Democratic Voice of Burma, Norway -
Aung Pe was arrested again on 27 May in Rangoon as he marched with other activists towards Aung San Suu Kyi’s house calling for her release, …
NLD marks Independence Day
Democratic Voice of Burma, Norway -
… anniversary of Burma’s independence yesterday under the close watch of the military authorities. At a ceremony held at the NLD headquarters in Rangoon, …
International astronomy year celebrates Galileo Galilei
TheDay, CT -
… western India through Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar (Burma) and China where the path of totality moves out into the Pacific Ocean east of Shanghai. …
Good Neighbour Stan Stovell
Southern Daily Echo, UK -
During the war Stan served in Burma as a medical officer for fours years before returning and doing a number of jobs from locksmith to docks worker. …
Nonfiction Reviews
Publishers Weekly, NY -
Burma, or Myanmar since 1989, is a country often obscured to the rest of the world via the political paranoia of its government. …
Junta Determined to ‘Guide’ 2010 Polls
The Irrawaddy News Magazine, Thailand -
… the world body to a minor irritant became more evident after UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon cancelled plans to visit Burma, or Myanmar, in December. …
Bush to Discuss Burma with Ban at White House
The Irrawaddy News Magazine, Thailand -
… human rights and a world free from terror. Meanwhile, in a statement issued Friday, one day before the 61st anniversary of Burma’s Independence Day, …
Global Responsibility and the Shortfall of International Policy
Middle East Times, Egypt -
In light of the apparent failure of Canada and the UN to implement and use R2P, perhaps it is time to question in a more pragmatic way just why human rights …
Gloomy milestone
The Mercury (subscription), South Africa - 10 hours ago
YANGON: Myanmar’s pro-democracy party marked the 61st anniversary of the country’s independence from Great Britain yesterday, saying it foresaw no hope for …
There’s another twist in this Leech tale
Daily News & Analysis, India -
Nupa has been fighting the Burmese military junta, and may have received tactical support from Indian intelligence until Operation Leech. …
Election In Bangladesh
Daily Mirror, Sri Lanka -
As a departure from past passive stance Sheikh has come out publicly in favor of the release of Burma’s interned leader Aung San Su Kyi but at the same time …
And now, the travel angle: Is it right or wrong to visit a country like Burma (or Myanmar, depending on your home country’s diplomatic protocol) as a …
Thai foreign policy towards Burma not easy to be undone
เดอะ เนชั่น, Thailand -
Throughout the year 1999-2000, before Thaksin came to power, the Burmese people’s struggle for democracy and open society was at its peak with all the …
World focus on Burma (18 July 2008)
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60 years of celebrating human rights
Khaleej Times, United Arab Emirates -
“The tragedy of 20 years of isolation of Burma has done no good, even though the politicians have felt good about condemning the human rights record of the …
Palm riot lawyer seeks law change
The Australian, Australia -
Mr Levitt said yesterday he had support from left-wing unions and human rights organisations, and had been contacted by the offices of two federal Liberal …
Asean Unlikely To Reach Agreement On Human Rights Issue
Bernama, Malaysia -
“The meeting from July 20 to 24 will concentrate on human rights under the Asean Charter, the definition of human rights, its scope and so on. …
NLD determined to observe Martyrs’ Day at any cost
Mizzima.com, India -
Chiang Mai – Despite the Burmese military junta’s attitude suggesting that restrictions will be imposed while observing the 63rd Martyrs’ Day which falls …
THAILAND/CAMBODIA: Row Over Ancient Temple May Sour ASEAN Spirit
Inter Press Service (subscription), Italy -
The others are Brunei, Burma, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Vietnam. Last November, ASEAN leaders signed a charter for the …
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Air Cargo News.com, NY - Yangon is the commercial capital of Myanmar, formerly Burma that continues to suffer grievously from Cyclone Nagris. Convoys of trucks laden with relief … |
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UN cuts relief flights to Burma, worrying aid groups CBC.ca, Canada - Cutbacks to United Nations aid flights to Burma next month could hamper relief efforts that have already been criticized for failing to provide adequate … |
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ASEAN bows to Myanmar’s wish not to mention Suu Kyi in statement+ TMCnet - The United Nations said Tuesday that Ibrahim Gambari, UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon’s special adviser on Myanmar, has received an official invitation … |
UN to end Myanmar aid flights on Aug. 10
The Associated Press -
BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) — A United Nations decision to end aid flights to Myanmar next month could hurt relief efforts already struggling to reach millions …
Fund raising concert to be held in Canada
Mizzima.com, India -
“They (World Vision Canada) have sponsored several children in Myanmar [Burma], so there are thousands of Canada sponsored children in Myanmar [Burma],” …
Chester’s Sex and the City theme night aids charity
Chester Evening Leader, UK -
The fundraiser at the Northgate Street venue, organised by Eileen Owens, of Bollicini, raised funds for cyclone and earthquake victims in Burma and China. …
Mizzima.com, India -
Chiang Mai – The Burmese military junta authorities arrested four NLD members from Rangoon Division yesterday. They were whisked away from their homes …
Whitby Today, UK -
The most recent activities of Shelterbox include getting permission to go into Burma – one of the only charities to gain access in those early days, …
HKG:0888
Desperate Burmese fishermen stranded in Indian coast for five months
Mizzima.com, India -
The three Burmese fishermen reportedly belong to Pyapon town in Burma’s Irrawaddy division, which was among the worst hit by Cyclone Nargis in May. …
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Authorities Plan to Buy Rice from Farmers Narinjara News, Bangladesh - A source from Maungdaw, a western border town of Burma, said that the township authority invited village chairmen to Maungdaw on Monday to explain the … |
HMS Westminster returns to Portsmouth
Portsmouth News, UK -
A month-long extension to the deployment, which included two weeks on standby off Burma after Cyclone Nargis, could have meant him missing the flight to his …
Commentary: Is Burma ready for a new election?
Democratic Voice of Burma, Norway -
“I don’t think the people of Myanmar should lose hope in the UN. The UN is doing the best it can,” he went on. “When I was working there, I was doing the …
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Three Laputta Refugee Camps to Close The Irrawaddy News Magazine, Thailand - By AUNG THET WINE LAPUTTA, Burma — Burmese authorities will close three remaining refugee camps in Laputta, one of the areas hardest-hit by Cyclone Nargis, … |
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Japan Monitoring Aid Distribution to Burma The Irrawaddy News Magazine, Thailand - By LALIT K JHA / UNITED NATIONS Japanese aid to Burma for the reconstruction phase in the cyclone affected areas of the Irrawaddy Delta will be determined … |
Charges of Forced Labor Emerge in Cyclone-hit Areas
The Irrawaddy News Magazine, Thailand -
Burma’s military regime has been strongly condemned by international rights groups for its use of forced labor in building army camps and constructing basic …
Delivering Aid While Countering Corruption
The Irrawaddy News Magazine, Thailand -
But business sources in Burma say the price of FECs started to fall in the wake of Cyclone Nargis, as the junta decided to allow major international aid …
FAO Seeks Funds for Myanmar Fisheries
TheFishSite.com, UK -
MYANMAR – The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has announce that it seeks US$33.5 million to help revive Myanmar agriculture after it was devastated …
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Delivering Aid While Countering Corruption The Irrawaddy News Magazine, Thailand - By YENI The United Nations’ top humanitarian relief official, John Holmes, will visit Burma soon to assess the progress of humanitarian relief work in … |
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FAO Seeks Funds for Myanmar Fisheries TheFishSite.com, UK - MYANMAR – The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has announce that it seeks US$33.5 million to help revive Myanmar agriculture after it was devastated … |
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Burmese Guards Accepting PrePay TopUp Cards As Bribes Cellular-News, UK - Security guards on the border between Bangladesh and Burma (Myanmar) are reported to be taking bribes of mobile phone PrePay top up cards from traders … Gaza, Mediterranea – 3 week cease-fire – open the doors! Newropeans Magazine, France - It is almost like the behaviour of the military junta in Burma.” (Peace Nobel Laureate Desmond Tutu, The Independent, May 30) Israel must end the Gaza … |
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Eyeball to Eyeball at the Top of the World Minivan News, AZ - … in 1913 – the MacMahon Line, which China rejects (though it accepts that line as its frontier with Burma, which was then part of British India). … |
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Nargis devastates Rice Bowl of Asia Newstrack India, India - The devastating tropical cyclone Nargis that struck southern Burma (Myanmar) two months ago not only killed thousands of people, but also devastated the … |
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Progress unlikely from Gambari’s visit: Opposition Mizzima.com, India - Chiang Mai – Even as UN Special Envoy Mr. Ibrahim Gambari is schedule to re-visit Burma next month, the opposition at home and abroad said little is … |
Ottawa Citizen, Canada -
While his legacy to the field of international human rights is undisputed, his political legacy to his own country is still a little hazy. …
Burma to ratify ASEAN Charter: Singapore
Sydney Morning Herald, Australia -
Military-ruled Burma will officially agree next week to the ASEAN Charter, which commits Southeast Asian nations to notions of democracy and human rights, …
Grief over missing family lingers
Ottawa Citizen, Canada -
The military junta’s handling of the recent crisis remains a sore point for Mr. Aye and many other Burmese several weeks after the tragedy. …
Sailors return in time for royal visit
Portsmouth News, UK -
The British warship HMS Westminster – which rushed to assist after a devastating cyclone hit Burma – was due to return home at 10.15am. …
Donations to Myanmar Bibles doubled
Mission Network NEws (press release), Grand Rapids -
Several other ministries in Myanmar have expressed an interest in helping to distribute the New Testaments. One of WBTC’s ministry partners in Burma …
In presidential statement following day-long debate, Security …
ReliefWeb (press release), Switzerland -
The representative of the United States noted that the recruitment and use of child soldiers persisted in many countries, including Burma, Sri Lanka, …
ASEAN given grade C for its handling of Burma
Bangkok Post, Thailand -
Since Myanmar is expected to top the agenda during the ASEAN Ministerial Meeting (AMM), Yeo compared the organization to a class in school in his evaluation …
In presidential statement following day-long debate, Security …
ReliefWeb (press release), Switzerland -
The representative of the United States noted that the recruitment and use of child soldiers persisted in many countries, including Burma, Sri Lanka, …
This is time to fight human trafficking
Vanguard, Nigeria -
Are young boys from Cambodia and Burma safe from endless days and nights labouring on precarious fishing boats? The answers to these questions and many more …
Merit-makers turn out in force
Bangkok Post, Thailand -
In Tak, Burmese immigrants in Mae Sot district yesterday held a grand religious ceremony to make merit for the victims of Cyclone Nargis in Burma.
JOEL BRINKLEY: Subsidized gasoline keeps dictators in power
Belleville News Democrat, USA -
Remember what happened last summer when Burma raised fuel prices? A vast popular uprising that brought the world’s wrath raining down on the ruling junta. …
Burmese opposition ready to escalate pro-democracy fight
guardian.co.uk, UK –
(video included)
“After the September uprising and then the terrible cyclone response, the anger is surging. Some are considering violent means … the Burmese people are not …
Secretary Rice to Travel to the Middle East, Asia and the Pacific
US Department of State, DC -
… where she will discuss US-ASEAN cooperation as well as regional issues such as disaster relief, Burma, free trade, and food and energy security. …
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Baptist help valuable, recovery slow in Burma, China Associated Baptist Press, FL - The ABC had affiliated workers in place in Burma before the storm. American Baptists are working in partnership with the Myanmar Baptist Convention. … |
Rights & Wrongs: Singapore, Afghan Boys, Cluster Bombs, and More
World Politics Review -
UN EXPRESSES GRAVE CONCERN FOR AFGHAN BOYS — Sexual abuse of Afghan boys and their conscription into armed service are both on the rise, United Nations …
UN Food Agency Issues Appeal for Burma’s Farmers and Fishermen
Voice of America -
By VOA News A United Nations food agency is appealing for more money to help fishermen and farmers in Burma who were hard hit by Cyclone Nargis. …
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Wells Fargo donates over $37000 to Catholic Charities WANE, IN - Shortly after the Myanmar disaster, over 250 Wells Fargo team members in Fort Wayne participated in a “Jeans Day” fundraiser that yielded over $2200. … |
Rice confirms she will attend Asean meeting
Bangkok Post, Thailand -
The humanitarian disaster in Burma, free trade and food and energy security will be on the agenda, spokesman Sean McCormack said. …
Don’t make women trade-item for tourism
The New Nation, Bangladesh -
The CRS report stated that US President George W. Bush on Oct. 18, 2007 issued sanctions against North Korea, Burma, Cuba, Iran, Syria, and Venezuela, …
World focus on Burma (17 July 2008)
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Burma: Urgent appeal for cyclone-hit communities
آكي, Italy -
Rome, 17 July (AKI) – As the deadline approaches for Burma’s agricultural planting season, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization has revived …
UN humanitarian chief to revisit Burma
Mizzima.com, India -
New Delhi – The United Nations humanitarian chief, John Holmes, on Wednesday said he will visit cyclone-hit Burma again next week to reassess the relief and …
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Oxford Analytica (subscription), UK - … and keen to demonstrate their group’s diplomatic usefulness after it failed to pressure member state Burma to accept outside Cyclone assistance in May. … |
Oxford Analytica (subscription), UK -
The regime may be particularly keen not to draw parallels with national figures this year, following its widely-criticised response to Cyclone Nargis in May …
Column: Promoting democracy without force
The Saginaw News – MLive.com, MI -
In his speech at Monticello, the president cited a Burmese national who was receiving his citizenship that day but did not mention Myanmar’s (Burma) brutal …
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Burmese junta profiting from aid funds? Mizzima.com, India - … here in Burma things are done only in the black market,” the businessman told Mizzima. The source, who is also close to the Myanmar Foreign Trade Bank, … Oxford Mail, UK - By Hayley Cover The team from the town’s community college group, Girls For Sport, raised money for the Burma Cyclone disaster fund in a 10km sponsored walk … UN appeals for $33.5 million for Burma USA Today - By Khin Maung Win, AFP/Getty Images ROME (AP) — A UN food agency is appealing for $33.5 million to help small farmers and fishermen in cyclone-hit Burma. … Nargis refugees exploited to rebuild entire areas of Burma AsiaNews.it, Italy - Others are used on construction sites, preventing them from working first of all to rebuild their own homes destroyed by the passage of the cyclone, … |
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Charleston Post Courier, SC - Previous vetoes have encouraged repression in other trouble spots: Darfur, the southern Sudan and Burma. China had previously blocked the Security Council … Contributed Papers in Specimen Mineralogy RedOrbit, TX - Geological evolution of selected granitic pegmatites in Myanmar (Burma): Constraints from regional setting, lithology, and fluid-inclusion studies. … |
Low expectations for Gambari visit
Democratic Voice of Burma, Norway -
“The only thing this shows is that Mr Gambari’s role, as a negotiator for national reconciliation in Burma on behalf of the UN Security Council and General …
School classes held in temporary shelters
Democratic Voice of Burma, Norway -
Jul 17, 2008 (DVB)–School pupils returning to their studies in the cyclone-affected Pyin district of Hai Gyi, Irrawaddy division, are still waiting for …
Charges of Forced Labor Emerge in Cyclone-Hit Areas
The Irrawaddy News Magazine, Thailand -
Burma’s military regime has been strongly condemned by international rights groups for its use of forced labor in building army camps and constructing basic …
Junta private arrested for bank-burglary
Shan Herald Agency for News, Thailand -
… of interrogation and have banned any information leakingout, said a source. Myanmar Economic Bank is a state-owned bank and runs in every township in Burma.
CBBC Newsround, UK -
But I also got help children across the world who are affected by disasters such as Burma and China, who we have been told about. …
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MEP: EU leaders ‘too weak’ on human rights EurActiv, Belgium - Also the role China plays in a country like Burma. It is a country which is illegitimately repressed by a junta that prevents international assistance for … |
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Louisville Courier-Journal, KY - … Burma have largely been feckless. Nonetheless, there have been two noteworthy responses recently to grotesque, state-sponsored abuses of human rights. … Myanmar court charges 14 for Suu Kyi protest Reuters UK, UK - The group, arrested by pro-junta thugs outside the headquarters of Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) on June 19, were also charged with unlawful … |
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UN Humanitarian Chief to Visit Burma Next Week The Irrawaddy News Magazine, Thailand - By LALIT K JHA / UNITED NATIONS The United Nations’ top humanitarian relief official, John Holmes said on Wednesday that he would visit Burma next week to … A talking shop – or an EU of the east? New Statesman, UK - The organisation’s response to the catastrophe unleashed by Cyclone Nargis on Burma in May this year was hesitant and tardy, and its condemnation of the … Roundhay folk give generously to Christian Aid week Roundhay Today, UK - This year especially Christian Aid has helped with the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis in Burma, Cyclone Sidr in Bangladesh and Typhoon Fengshen in the … New Statesman, UK -
I asked Suu Kyi what she thought of tourists coming to Burma. “Let the junta know tourism is waiting to happen the moment they change on human rights,” she .. |
Cronyism; unhealthy competition in media market Mizzima.com, India - … in other businesses in Myanmar (Burma), stemmed from part of the government’s mismanagement of the country’s business environment,” the editor said. … guardian.co.uk, UK - These youths all came from areas where human trafficking and child labour are ongoing problems. They weren’t well-healed ‘young parliamentarians’ or … ANALYSIS: ASEAN finally gets something right on Myanmar Monsters and Critics.com - Myanmar’s military junta, in their inimitable style, turned the natural disaster into a diplomatic one, by initially blocking the free-flow of international … |
‘Indy’ stars as zoo mangroves open
South Devon Herald Express, UK -
She said the devastating cyclone in Burma which claimed more than 20000 lives earlier this year would have been far less destructive had not the natural …
It’s Time For Asean To Deliver
Sin Chew Jit Poh, Malaysia -
In the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis in Burma, Asean took on an unprecedented role, attempting to coordinate relief and reconstruction and intercede between …
US reverses decision to sanction Chevron over Burma
Radio Australia, Australia -
The US House of Representatives passed a package of sanctions to pressure American businesses out of Burma in the wake of the junta’s crackdown on …
Asian students take in America
SIU – Daily Egyptian, IL -
But political and economic factors in Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, have made the career difficult, he said. Myanmar, a nation of roughly 47 million, …
India and Southeast Asia ties: 2000 years and still going
Jakarta Post, Indonesia -
In January 1948, India and Burma gave support to Indonesia’s independence struggle by holding a conference in New Delhi to support it, and for the first …
Matthew Bourne, in town to talk Wilde
The List, UK -
… on Burma, an Amnesty lecture, two debates, readings from imprisoned writers and the annual Amnesty award for a theatre production about human rights. …
Burma after Nargis: Devastated, depressed and dejected
The New Nation, Bangladesh -
The devastating tropical cyclone Nargis that struck southern Burma (Myanmar) two months ago, has revealed to the world that it was even less disastrous …
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Cartoon exhibition to raise funds for cyclone victims Democratic Voice of Burma, Norway - Jul 17, 2008 (DVB)–More than 200 cartoonists are participating in a fundraising cartoon exhibition in Rangoon to support victims of Cyclone Nargis, … |
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Support plea for repressed kingdom in the clouds Phayul, Tibet - It borders India, Nepal, Bhutan, Burma and China. • It is split into three provinces Amdo, Kham and U-Tsang, which together with western Kham is referred to … |
Irreconcilable Enemy? Examining Hamas and Hezbollah
Global Politician, NY -
I do not mean to suggest the dictatorship of Burma is similar to the “inconsequential participants” of a barroom brawl. Nor should we “reconcile” ourselves …
SAM DONNELLON: Like it or not, these Games must be covered
MiamiHerald.com, FL -
Sales of arms to Burma’s military junta receded after last September’s bloody crackdown of dissidents, and China took a more prominent role in UN attempts …
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Singapore: MFA Spokesman’s Comments on the Myanmar Government’s … ISRIA (subscription), DC - “Singapore welcomes the Myanmar government’s decision to invite UNSG Special Advisor Professor Ibrahim Gambari to visit Myanmar again in August 2008. … |
Why sanctions on President Mugabe are bound to fail
Business Daily Africa, Kenya -
Indeed, one only needs to look at Burma where alienation and sanctions against the Burmese junta has not helped topple the regime even after several years. …
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UN Asks Donors to Give More as Rising Food, Fuel Prices Threaten … Voice of America - The biggest increases are for Somalia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan, Zimbabwe and Burma. West Africa also had one of the biggest increases, … |
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UN official to visit Myanmar next week Reuters - UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) – UN humanitarian chief John Holmes said on Wednesday he would visit Myanmar next week to check on aid delivery to the isolated … |
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Myanmar: Where is happiness in Burma for Waso festival ? OpEdNews, PA - In Burma, full-moon is for contemplation, and monks do not travel. In this special day, the Buddha tried to spread His teaching of peace and happiness to … |
Help Cyclone Victims in Myanmar
Concierge, NY -
… and to help victims of the recent cyclone. by Brook Wilkinson Remember the devastating cyclone that hit Myanmar (also known as Burma) back in May? …
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Eyeball to eyeball at the top of the world Mmegi Online, Botswana - … in 1913 – the MacMahon Line, which China rejects (though it accepts that line as its frontier with Burma, which was then part of British India). … |
City business supports cyclone victims
MK News, UK -
The funds will go towards aid efforts in Burma (Myanmar) as it tries to recover from the effects of the natural disaster which wrecked thousands of lives in …
‘Free Daw Suu’ campaigners charged with instigating public unrest
Mizzima.com, India -
Chiang Mai – Fourteen members of Burma’s opposition party – National League for Democracy – who were arrested for protesting on their leader Daw Aung San …
Frogs, not chocolate: Post-cyclone survival in Burma
Reuters AlertNet, UK -
On May 30th, four weeks after Cyclone Nargis struck Burma, the New Light of Myanmar, one of the government’s propaganda mouthpieces, ran a particularly …
US House vote to bar Burmese gems
Mizzima.com, India -
New Delhi – In a renewed pressure, United States’ House Foreign Affairs Committee on Tuesday voted unanimously to block Gems and Jewelries from Burma to …
Republicans trying to make Rangel an issue for Kirkpatrick and others
PolitickerAZ, Arizona -
… once represented the repressive regime in control of Myanmar – formerly known as Burma. When the Burmese junta refused to allow foreign aid into its …
Signal Magazine, VA -
Also, the 3rd Marine Logistics Group, based in Japan , recently used the capability while deployed to Burma as part of Joint Task Force Caring Response, …
The National Interest Online, DC -
Instead, it would have numerous and unsettling parallels with the Soviet Union: contempt for human rights abroad and civil liberties at home even as it …
SINGAPORE’S economic SUCCESS IS ITS SHIELD
Nation Multimedia, Thailand -
The latest report by the London-based International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI) is a case in point. …
Guardian Unlimited, UK -
We were told that liberal democracy was triumphant and that the new era of globalisation would bring about the spread of democracy and human rights. …
ဆိုင္ကလုန္းမုန္တိုင္းဒဏ္ ျပန္လည္ထူေထာင္ေရးမွာ စစ္အစိုးရက အဓမၼလုပ္အားခိုင္းေစလာႏိုင္ ဟု အိုင္အယ္လ္အို သတိေပးေနၿပီ
ဆိုင္ကလုန္းမုန္တိုင္းဒဏ္ ျပန္လည္ထူေထာင္ေရးမွာ စစ္အစိုးရက အဓမၼလုပ္အားခိုင္းေစလာႏိုင္ ဟု အိုင္အယ္လ္အို သတိေပးေနၿပီ
ဒီႏွစ္ ေမလက တိုက္ခတ္ခဲ့တဲ့ ဆိုင္ကလုန္းမုန္တိုင္းအၿပီး ပ်က္စီးသြားတာေတြကို လက္ရွိ ျမန္မာစစ္ အစိုးရက ျပန္လည္တည္ေဆာက္ဖို႔အတြက္ ကေလးသူငယ္ေတြကိုေတာင္ ခ်န္မထားပဲ အရင္ထက္ ပိုၿပီး အဓမၼ လုပ္အားခိုင္းေစတာေတြ ရွိလာႏိုင္တယ္လို႔ ႏိုင္ငံတကာ အလုပ္သမားသမဂၢ (အိုင္အယ္လ္အို ILO ) က ၃ဝ-၅-၂ဝဝ၈ ေန႔မွာ သတိေပးလိုက္ပါတယ္။
ျမန္မာစစ္အစိုးရက လမ္းပန္းအဆက္အသြယ္ေတြ တည္ေဆာက္ေရးမွာ ေက်းရြာသားေတြကို အဓမၼ လုပ္အားခိုင္းေစတာေတြ၊ စစ္တပ္အတြက္ ေပၚတာဆြဲတာေတြကို အေတာ္မ်ားမ်ား လုပ္ေဆာင္ေနခဲ့ပါတယ္။ ဒီကိစၥအေပၚမွာ အိုင္အယ္လ္အိုနဲ႔ စစ္အစိုးရတို႔ ျပင္းျပင္းထန္ထန္ သေဘာထားကြဲလြဲေနခဲ့ၾကတာ ဆယ္ႏွစ္ေက်ာ္ ရွိေနပါၿပီ။
ေမလ ၂ ရက္ေန႔က ျမန္မာႏိုင္ငံမွာ တိုက္ခတ္သြားတဲ့ ဆိုင္ကလုန္းမုန္တိုင္းေၾကာင့္ လူအေသအေပ်ာက္ ၁၃၄ဝဝဝ ရွိခဲ့ၿပီး အဲဒီေနာက္ပိုင္း ႏိုင္ငံတကာအကူအညီေတြ ေပးလာတာကို စစ္အစိုးရက ခြင့္ျပဳဖို႔ တုန္႔ဆိုင္းေနခဲ့ပါတယ္။ ဒီအတြက္ အေနာက္အုပ္စု ဒီမိုကေရစီႏိုင္ငံေတြက စစ္အစိုးရကို ျပင္းျပင္းထန္ထန္ ေဝဖန္ေနခဲ့ပါတယ္။ လွ်ဳိ႔ဝွက္လွတဲ့ စစ္အစိုးရဟာ အရြယ္မေရာက္ေသးတဲ့ ကေလးသူငယ ္ ေတြကို စစ္တပ္ထဲ အဓမၼဆြဲသြင္းၿပီး စစ္မႈထမ္းေဆာင္ခိုင္းေနတာကိုလည္း အိုင္အယ္လ္အိုက စိုးရိမ္မကင္း ရွိေနပါတယ္။
ျမန္မာႏိုင္ငံမွာ မုန္တိုင္းဒဏ္ေၾကာင့္ အပ်က္အစီး အဆံုးအရွံဳး ႀကီးမားသြားတာကို အစိုးရအာဏာပိုင္ေတြေရာ၊ ျပည္သူေတြကပါ ျပန္လည္ထူေထာင္ရာမွာ အဓမၼလုပ္အားခိုင္းေစမႈေတြ၊ အရြယ္မေရာက္ေသးတဲ့ ကေလးေတြကို အလုပ္လုပ္ခိုင္းတဲ့ ကိစၥေတြ ၊ လူကုန္ကူးတဲ့ကိစၥေတြနဲ႔ ေျပာင္းေရႊ႕အလုပ္သမား ကိစၥေတြ တိုးပြားလာဖို႔ ရွိေနတာကို ကုလသမဂၢလက္ေအာက္ခံ အဖြဲ႔အစည္းေတြနဲ႔ ကယ္ဆယ္ေရး ဝန္ထမ္းေတြက သိေနရမွာ ျဖစ္တယ္လို႔ အိုင္အယ္လ္အိုက ေျပာဆိုလိုက္ပါတယ္။
ျပန္လည္တည္ေဆာက္ေရး လုပ္ငန္းေတြမွာ ဘယ္လိုပံုစံမ်ဳိးနဲ႔မဆို အဓမၼ ခိုင္းေစတာေတြ မရွိႏိုင္ေစဖို႔ အိုင္အယ္လ္အိုက ေသခ်ာေပါက္လုပ္ေဆာင္မွာ ျဖစ္တယ္လို႔ ျမန္မာအာဏာပိုင္ေတြအေနနဲ႔ ပူးတြဲလုပ္ေဆာင္ေနတဲ့ အိုင္အယ္လ္အိုက ၃ဝ - ၅ - ၂ဝဝ၈ ေန႔စြဲနဲ႔ အစီရင္ခံစာ ထုတ္ျပန္ထားပါတယ္။
ရန္ကုန္မွရွိတဲ့ အိုင္အယ္လ္အို ဆက္သြယ္ေရးတာဝန္ခံျဖစ္တဲ့ စတိ ဗ္ မာရွဲလ္က လာမယ့္ ဇြန္( ၁၃ ) ရက္ထိ က်င္းပမယ့္ ႏိုင္ငံတကာ ႏွစ္စဥ္ အလုပ္သမားကြန္ဖရင့္အတြက္ ဒီအစီရင္ခံစာကို တင္သြင္းတာ ျဖစ္ပါတယ္။ အဲဒီကြန္ဖရင့္မွာ အိုင္အယ္လ္အို အဖြဲ႔ဝင္ ( ၁၈၂ ) ႏိုင္ငံပါဝင္တဲ့ ေကာ္မတီတရပ္ဟာ အေရးပါလွပါတယ္။ ေကာ္မတီဝင္ေတြက ၃၁ - ၅ - ၂ဝဝ၈ ေန႔မွာ ျမန္မာ့အေရးကို ေဆြးေႏြးၾကမွာ ျဖစ္ပါတယ္။
“ လူေနမႈအဖြဲ႔အစည္းေတြကို ကူညီတာဟာ အေရးပါတယ္လို႔ အိုင္အယ္လ္အိုက သေဘာထားပါတယ္။ ဒါေပမယ့္ အဲဒီလို ကူညီႏိုင္ဖို႔ တည္ေဆာက္ေရး လုပ္ငန္းေတြလုပ္တဲ့အခါမွာ ႏိုင္ငံတကာ စံထားခ်က္ အတိုင္းသာ ျဖစ္ရပါမယ္ “ လို႔ စတိဗ္ မာရွဲလ္က ရိုက္တာသတင္းဌာနကို ေျပာျပပါတယ္။
အခုခ်ိန္ထိမွာေတာ့ ေလမုန္တိုင္းေဘးဒုကၡနဲ႔ ပတ္သက္ၿပီး အဓမၼလုပ္အားခိုင္းေစတာေတြအေပၚ အတည္္ျပဳႏိုင္တဲ့ တိုင္တန္းထားတာေတြမရွိေသးပါဘူး။ ဒါေပမယ့္ ဒါမ်ဳိးေတြ ျဖစ္မေနပါဘူးလို႔ က်ေနာ္တို႔ မေျပာရေသးပါဘူး လို႔လည္း သူက ဆက္ေျပာပါတယ္။
အဓမၼလုပ္အားခိုင္းေစတာကို ဖ်က္သိမ္းဖို႔ ၂ဝဝဝ ခုႏွစ္ေအာက္တိုဘာလမွာ ျမန္မာစစ္အစိုးရက တရားဝင္ အမိန္႔ထုတ္ျပန္ထားခဲ့ပါတယ္။ အိုင္အယ္လ္အိုရဲ႕ သေဘာတူညီခ်က္ ကြန္ဗင္းရွင္းကို ျမန္မာႏိုင္ငံက အတည္ျပဳ လက္မွတ္ေရးထိုးထားတာျဖစ္လို႔ အဓမၼလုပ္အားခိုင္းေစတာကို တားျမစ္ရတာ ျဖစ္ပါတယ္။ အဲဒီေနာက္ ( ၂ ) ႏွစ္ အၾကာမွာ ဂ်ီနီဗာ အေျခစိုက္ အိုင္အယ္လ္အိုဟာ အဓမၼ လုပ္အားခိုင္းေစတာေတြ ပေပ်ာက္သြားေအာင္ ကူညီဖို႔ ရန္ကုန္မွာ ရံုးခြဲတခု ဖြင့္လွစ္ခြင့္ ရခဲ့ပါတယ္။
ဒါေပမယ့္ ႏိုင့္ထက္စီးနင္း ခိုင္းေစမႈေတြရွိေနေသးလို႔ အဲဒါေတြကို အိုင္အယ္လ္အိုက ရွ ွ ာေဖြ ေဖာ္ထုတ္ရာမွာ မႏွစ္ကဆိုရင္ ျမန္မာႏိုင္ငံထဲမွာ အဓမၼ လုပ္အားေပးခဲ့ရသူေတြဟာ အိုင္အယ္လ္အိုကို မတိုင္တမ္းဖို႔ ၿခိမ္းေျခာက္ အၾကပ္ကိုင္ခံရတာေတြ၊ ဖမ္းဆီးထိန္းသိမ္းခံရတာေတြရွိေနတဲ့အေၾကာင္းကို အစီရင္ခံစာမွာ ထည့္သြင္း ေဖာ္ျပထားပါတယ္။ ဒီလိုမ်ဳိး ၿခိမ္းေျခာက္အၾကပ္ကိုင္ခံရတာ၊ ဖမ္းဆီးတာေတြ ရွိေနလို႔လည္း အဓမၼ လုပ္အားေပးခဲ့ရသူေတြဟာ ေရွ႕ဆက္လုပ္ေဆာင္သင့္တာကို မလုပ္ႏိုင္ပဲ ျဖစ္ေနခဲ့ရပါတယ္။ အမွန္တကယ္ရွိရမယ့္ စာရင္းအတိအက်ကိုလည္း မရႏိုင္ခဲ့ပါဘူး။
အဓမၼလုပ္အားခိုင္းေစမႈရွိရင္ တရားဝင္တိုင္တန္းႏိုင္တယ္လို႔ ၂ဝဝရ ခုႏွစ္ ေဖေဖာ္ဝါရီလမွာ လုပ္ငန္းစဥ္ သတ္မွတ္ထားတာရွိၿပီး၊ အဓမၼ လုပ္အားေပးခိုင္းတာ ခံရေၾကာင္း ( ၈၉ ) ႀကိမ္ တိုင္တန္းခဲ့တာကိုလည္း အစီရင္ခံစာမွာ ေရးသားထားပါတယ္။
အဓမၼ လုပ္အားေပးခံရတာကို မတိုင္ တမ္း ဖို႔ ၿခိမ္းေျခာက္ အၾကပ္ကိုင္ခံရတာ၊ ဖမ္းဆီးတာေတြရွိေနလို႔ လြတ္လြတ္လပ္လပ္ တရားဝင္ မတိုင္တန္းႏိုင္ေတာ့ပဲ အမ်ားႀကီး ကန္႔သတ္လိုက္သလို ျဖစ္ခဲ့ရပါတယ္။ ဒါေၾကာင့္ (၈၉) ႀကိမ္ တိုင္တန္းထားတယ္ဆိုေပမယ့္ အမွန္တကယ္ရွိေနတဲ့ စာရင္းလို႔ မသတ္မွတ္ႏိုင္ပါဘူး။
မႏွစ္က ေမေဒးေန႔မွာ အလုပ္သမားအခြင့္အေရးအေၾကာင္း ေဆြးေႏြးတင္ျပပြဲ လုပ္ဖို႔စည္းရံုးရာမွာ ပါဝင္ ကူညီတယ္ ဆိုၿပီး အလုပ္သမားလူငယ္ ( ၆ ) ေယာက္ကို စစ္အစိုးရ အာဏာပိုင္ေတြက ေထာင္ဒဏ္ အႏွစ္ ( ၂ဝ ) ကေန ( ၂၈ ) ႏွစ္ထိ ျပစ္ဒဏ္ခတ္ခဲ့ပါတယ္။ သူတို႔ဟာ အခုခ်ိန္ထိ ေထာင္ထဲမွာပဲ ရွိေနေသးတယ္လို႔ အိုင္အယ္လ္အို အစီရင္ခံစာမွာ ေဖာ္ျပထားပါတယ္။
မူရင္းေဆာင္းပါး – Myanmar may use forced labor in cyclone recovery: ILO
Fri May 30, 2008 12:09pm EDT
http://www.reuters.com/article/newsMaps/idUSL3057668120080530
မူရင္း ေဆာင္းပါးရွင္ – Stephanie Nebehay ( တည္းျဖတ္သူ – Laura MacInnis ႏွင့္ Mary Gabriel )
ျမန္မာဘာသာျပန္ – လြင္ေအာင္စိုး (၃၁ ေမလ ၂ဝဝ၈ ခုႏွစ္)
Myanmar may use forced labor in cyclone recovery: ILO
Fri May 30, 2008 12:09pm EDT
By Stephanie Nebehay
GENEVA (Reuters) – The International labor Organisation warned on Friday of an increased risk Myanmar’s ruling military may try to use forced labor — including children — to rebuild the country after this month’s cyclone.
The ILO has been at loggerheads with the former Burma for more than a decade over what the United Nations agency calls a widespread practice of forcing villagers to work on infrastructure projects or as porters for the army.
It is also concerned about the recruitment of minors into military service in the secretive state whose ruling junta has been heavily criticized by the West for its reluctance to let in foreign aid workers following Cyclone Nargis, which struck on May 2 and left 134,000 people dead or missing.
As Myanmar seeks to recover from the devastating storm, the ILO said U.N. agencies and relief workers must be aware of “the increased risk of incidences of forced labor, child labor, human trafficking and migrant labor as the authorities and individuals come to grips with the sheer size of the tragedy.”
The ILO is working with Myanmar authorities to “ensure that the reconstruction effort does not involve the use of forced labor in any of its forms,” it said in a report on Friday.
Steve Marshall, ILO’s liaison officer in Yangon, submitted the report to the annual International labor Conference, being held in Geneva through June 13. A key committee of ILO’s 182 member states will hold a debate on Myanmar on Saturday.
“From the ILO’s perspective it is important to assist communities but the reconstruction work must be done in line with international standards,” Marshall told Reuters on Friday.
So far, there have not been any verified reports of forced labor linked to the disaster, he said, adding: “We’re not saying it isn’t happening.”
Myanmar passed a decree in October 2000 abolishing forced labor, which is banned under an ILO Convention it has ratified. The Geneva-based agency was allowed to open an office there two years later to help it eradicate the practice.
But the ILO said in its report some victims of forced labor were harassed or detained in the past year when they sought to report abuses. This had discouraged many others from coming forward and distorted official figures.
Some 89 allegations of forced labor have been lodged under a complaints mechanism set up in February 2007, the report said.
“The incidence of harassment and detention of persons associated with its application has severely limited its operation,” it said of the mechanism. “The number of complaints therefore cannot be seen to reflect the size of the issue.”
Six young labor activists, sentenced to between 20 and 28 years in jail last year for helping organise a May Day workers’ rights seminar, remain in prison, the ILO report said.
(Editing by Laura MacInnis and Mary Gabriel)
http://www.reuters.com/article/newsMaps/idUSL3057668120080530
Courage to Resist
Courage to Resist:
A new report details how women activists have been hunted down, assaulted, tortured and framed with false charges, and their family members threatened and held hostage in the recent crackdown in Burma.
Download - English 
Source: Women’s League of BurmaWebsite: http://www.womenofburma.org/
World Focus on Burma (14-11-2007)
- The impressive – but limited – soft power of the United Nations
Daily Star – Lebanon, Lebanon -
For example, in the aftermath of the recent government crackdown in Myanmar (Burma), the secretary general was able to send a representative to the country, … - Final Refuge
Minneapolis City Pages, MN -
While Burma (which the military government calls “Myanmar,” a name the United States does not recognize as legitimate) has recently made headlines because .. - Pressure on Myanmar junta can work, UN envoy says
Reuters Canada, Canada -
Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, has been under military rule since 1962, and the government has ignored a 1990 landslide election victory by Suu Kyi’s … - Prominent Monk, Labor Leader Arrested In New Myanmar Crackdown
AHN -
U Gambira, who headed the All-Burma Monks pro-democracy alliance, was active in promoting his cause abroad using a satellite phone. … - UN envoy praises changes in Burma
BBC News, UK -
“On balance, the positive outcomes of this latest mission show that the government of Myanmar can be responsive to the concerns of the international … - UN envoy positive on Myanmar trip, West doubtful
Malaysia Star, Malaysia -
It was Gambari’s second visit to the country formerly known as Burma since at least 10 people, and probably more, were killed in September’s ruthless … - UN envoy to meet junta as Security Council vows to keep pressure
AFP -
MYANMAR (AFP) — A UN human rights envoy was Wednesday due to meet with top Myanmar junta officials as the Security Council said the generals must to more to .. - UN Envoy:Myanmar Rulers Took Positive Steps,Must Do More -AFP
EasyBourse.com, France -
UNITED NATIONS (AFP)–UN envoy Ibrahim Gambari told the UN Security Council Tuesday that Myanmar’s rulers have taken “positive steps” since his visit last … - Dialogue only way forward in resolving Myanmar crisis, says UN envoy
UN News Centre -
13 November 2007 – The United Nations Special Envoy to Myanmar today urged the South-East Asian nation to immediately begin talks between the Government and … - The ‘conventional thinking’ on sanctions
Politico, DC -
In stark contrast to his statements on Cuba policy, Obama noted, “President Bush is right to try to increase pressure on Burma’s repressive regime. … - UN envoy cautiously upbeat about progress on Myanmar crisis, but …
International Herald Tribune, France -
AP UNITED NATIONS: A UN envoy said he was making progress in nudging Myanmar’s military junta toward meaningful dialogue with the pro-democracy opposition … - Prominent Myanmar Activists Arrested
The Associated Press -
The Democratic Voice of Burma, a Norway-based radio station run by Myanmar dissidents, reported that on Oct. 27, she laid flowers at the spot where Japanese … - UN envoy gives positive report on trip to Myanmar
Xinhua, China -
13 (Xinhua) — UN special envoy to Myanmar Ibrahim Gambari Tuesday gave a positive report of his latest trip to the Southeast Asian country, saying it has … - Official media: Two ethnic organizations criticizes Aung San Suu …
Xinhua, China -
14 (Xinhua) — Two ethnic organizations in Myanmar, in their latest announcements published in Wednesday’s official media, have criticized the ethnic part … - Mid-year gems emporium opens in Myanmar
Xinhua, China -
In the 44th annual Myanmar gems emporium held in March this year and attended by 3421 merchants including over 2000 foreign ones, 3652 lots of jade, … - Buddhists in India protest against Burma’s military junta
Thaindian.com, Thailand -
Myanmar has seen hundreds of thousands of Buddhist monks protesting in the country for the last few weeks, calling for democracy and an end to the military … - Naga support to Myanmar rebels
Thaindian.com, Thailand -
Myanmar has seen a large number of Buddhist monks protesting in the country for the last few weeks, calling for democracy and an end to the military … - Myanmar opens gem auction amid tightening sanctions
AFP -
YANGON (AFP) — Myanmar opened a lucrative auction of gems on Wednesday despite tightening Western sanctions and calls for a boycott from top international … - Singapore doctor — and alleged banker — to Myanmar’s generals
AFP -
“Singapore has been the favourite place for them to stash their money,” said Debbie Stothard of the Alternative ASEAN Network on Burma, a human rights group … - Report: PTTEP Mulls Tie-Up With China
Houston Chronicle, United States -
… National Petroleum Corp. and China National Offshore Oil Corp. already have interests in petroleum exploration areas in Myanmar, also known as Burma. … - Al Jazeera English to celebrate one year anniversary
Australian-Media.com.au, Australia -
Just recently the channel was acclaimed for producing unparalleled and exclusive coverage from Myanmar, Burma – where undercover reporters vividly portrayed … - Burma in line for new sanctions
National Post, Canada -
OTTAWA – Canada is expected to announce new sanctions against Burma in the wake of a clampdown by the military junta that killed at least 13 people and … - Canada imposes new sanctions on Myanmar
Globe and Mail, Canada -
Canada will impose “the toughest sanctions in the world” on Myanmar, also known as Burma, to further isolate its military junta after September’s violent … - China says Myanmar should not be “another Iraq”
Reuters India, India -
BEIJING (Reuters) – China does not want Myanmar to become “another Iraq”, a senior Chinese diplomat said on Wednesday, stressing his country’s opposition to … - Dhaka ‘illogical’ to keep Delhi out of Asian highway: expert
Earthtimes, UK -
Instead, the then government of Begum Khaleda Zia proposed a link with Myanmar and also an India-Bangladesh-Myanmar road link. Bangladesh approached India … - Bangla foreign advisor for tripartite initiative to resolve …
Mizzima.com, India -
Describing Bangladesh as a “very good friend of Myanmar [ Burma]“, the advisor said Bangladesh was eager to expand bilateral economic relations. … - Burma’s blood gems linked to Beijing Olympics
Mizzima.com, India -
The appeal, released Monday in New York, states that while “Burma’s rubies and jade are prized for their beauty, the ugly truth is that the trade in these … - Gambari points toward cautious optimism; international reaction mixed
Mizzima.com, India -
November 14, 2007 – Ibrahim Gambari, the United Nations Special Envoy to Burma, says that while not all of his mission’s goals were met, there have been … - Boycott clouds gem show in Myanmar
International Herald Tribune, France -
“If it comes from Burma it has magic to it,” said Peggy Jo Donahue, a spokeswoman for Jewelers of America. “It’s very difficult and painful for a lot of gem … - Britain welcomes positive UN report on Myanmar
Xinhua, China -
… be taken to ensure that the people of Myanmar have their voice heard about their own future. “The eyes of the world are still on the situation in Burma. … - Myanmar rejects “interferences” in domestic affairs
Reuters -
Deputy Defense Minister Aye Myint told a news conference at the ASEAN Defense Ministers Meeting in Singapore that the former Burma was “stable”, … - UN envoy pushes for non-junta meetings
AFP -
YANGON (AFP) — A UN human rights envoy Wednesday pressed Myanmar’s junta to allow him to meet people other than officials and expressed concern over the … - Myanmar opens gem auction amid tightening sanctions
AFP -
YANGON (AFP) — Myanmar opened a lucrative auction of gems on Wednesday despite tightening Western sanctions and calls for a boycott from top international … - Burma pearls restore swine
Melbourne Herald Sun, Australia -
BURMA opened a lucrative auction of gems yesterday, despite tightening Western sanctions and calls for a boycott from top international jewellers after the … - Myanmar’s junta deceiving its own people and the UN
AsiaNews.it, Italy -
But for Ibrahim Gambari, who yesterday spoke to the Security Council, some progress is being made in talks with Burma’s military rulers. … - Burma: Media blackout blocks updates on country’s security
Adnkronos International Italia, Italy -
The US envoy to the United Nations Zalmay Khalilzad on Wednesday complained that the military leaders in Burma (or Myanmar) have made no move to accept … - Burma Detains 3 More Activists During Visit of UN Human Rights Envoy
Voice of America -
By VOA News Witnesses in Burma say three more activists have been arrested as UN human rights envoy Paulo Sergio Pinheiro meets with Burmese military … - Canada imposes sanctions against Burma
Canada.com, Canada -
The repression in Burma, also known as Myanmar, has grown worse in the past weeks and months,” Bernier said. “People are being arrested, people are being … - Canada announces tougher sanctions against Burma
CTV.ca, Canada -
Canada announced tougher sanctions against Burma today in response to a violent crackdown by the country’s military junta on demonstrators last September. … - Ottawa announces Myanmar sanctions
AFP -
“The regime in Burma is abhorrent to Canadian values (and) we are going to impose the toughest sanctions in the world,” Bernier said in a policy speech. … - Foreign Secretary statement on Burma
PR-USA.net (press release), Bulgaria -
Stresses the need for the Government of Myanmar to create conditions for dialogue and reconciliation by relaxing, as a first step, the conditions of … - Growing impact of HIV/AIDS on teenage girls
The New Nation, Bangladesh -
… has estimated that as many as 50 percent of sex workers in Kenya were HIV-positive; 45 percent in Guyana; and 50 percent in Myanmar (Burma). … - ILO asks Myanmar to declare forced labour banned
Reuters -
The statement reflected concern over the fate in Myanmar, the former Burma, of an accord in February this year allowing the ILO office in Yangon to … - Dams May Damage Mekong River, Groups Say
National Geographic, DC -
The river— which runs through China, Myanmar (Burma), Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam—already faces threats from pollution, climate change, .. - Chinese Premier to Discuss Climate
Houston Chronicle, United States -
The situation in Myanmar, also called Burma, would probably not occupy a high place on the agenda, although some leaders would probably discuss it, He said. … - Sanctions on Burma inadequate
New Democratic Party of Canada (press release), Canada -
… Critic Paul Dewar (Ottawa Centre), criticized the Conservatives for taking half-measures against the junta regime in Burma, also known as Myanmar. … - ASEAN honor on the line in Burma future
The Standard, Hong Kong -
Southeast Asian leaders will seek to capitalize on signs of progress in Burma at their annual summit next week, hopeful their controversial engagement of …
Human Rights Watch calls for total ban on Burmese gems, jade
2007 November 13
Rangoon – New York-based Human Rights Watch on Tuesday called on China and Thailand to join the European Union and US in banning imports of gems and jade from Burma, where the state-run trade is allegedly financing military rule and human rights abuses.
“The sale of these gems gives Burma’s (Myanmar’s) military rulers quick cash to stay in power,” said Arvind Ganesan, director of the Business and Human Rights Program at Human Rights Watch in a statement made availablein Bangkok.
The call for a complete ban on Burma gems and jade has coincided with the opening Tuesday of a government-run auction of precious stones in Yangon, where more than 2,000 buyers have flocked for the bi-annual event.
Burma, the world’s largest supplier of rubies and jade, earned an estimated 300 million dollars last year from its gem auctions.
Working conditions at government-controlled gem and jade mines in Burma are notorious for using forced labour and allowing atrocious health conditions, with HIV/AIDs and tuberculosis running rampant among the labourers.
Burma’s ruling junta is already under international censure for cracking down on protests led by Buddhist monks last September.
“It is simply unconscionable for traders to help Burma’s generals sell off the country’s natural resources for their own benefit while average people are victimized and harassed,” said Ganesan.
“Trading in Burmese gems bolsters the country’s military rulers at a time when they are committing serious human rights abuses, driving their people into further poverty, and rejecting calls for political reconciliation.”
In the wake of the September crackdown, the European Union has imposed new sanctions to block the import of Burma precious and semi precious stones, and US Congress is considering legislation that would ban the purchase of Burma-mined gemstones, closing a loophole in existing US sanctions that allows gems from Burma to be sold in the US if they have been processed in a third country.
Thailand is the largest importer/processer of Burmese gemstones while China is the main importer of Burmese jade.
“Burmese jade, which is popular in China, reportedly is increasingly sought after for use in products commemorating the 2008 Beijing Olympics,” said Human Rights Watch.
India is another major importer of Burma gemstones, which are cut and polished and exported.
“The governments and companies that have stopped buying Burmese gems deserve credit for not supporting human rights abusers,” said Ganesan. “The rest have the blood of Burmese on their hands.” (dpa)
http://www.bangkokpost.com/topstories/topstories.php?id=123531
