The Rohingyas, a Muslim minority group in Burma, were made stateless in 1982 by the military dictatorship. Thousands of Rohingyas have fled brutal suppression in their home country to poverty, misery and abuse in neighbouring Bangladesh. Bangladesh does not accept them as refugees while Burma don´t want them back.
This film describes the nightmarish legal limbo they are living in.
The Rohingyas of Burma are stateless and have been living in misery for decades. They are a forgotten people. Why is it so difficult to find a solution to their situation and to give them a life with dignity?
David William Donald Cameron , Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
(UKPA) David Cameron has hailed Burmese pro-democracy leader and Nobel laureate Aung Sang Suu Kyi as a "figure of brilliance" who should steer the West's response to the opening up of Burma.
The Prime Minister was speaking after EU leaders in Brussels vowed to ease EU "restrictive measures" following her release after seven years of house arrest in November 2010.
A summit statement said important changes taking place in Burma "are opening up important new prospects for developing the relationship between the European Union and Burma".
Mr Cameron commented: "I spoke to Aung Sang Suu Kyi at the weekend and asked her about how quickly she thought the re-engagement process should take place between countries in the West in the EU, with the Burmese regime.
"I think it is very important that we listen carefully to her, an absolute figure of brilliance in terms of what she has been through and what she is now going to achieve in that country.
"I think the message is that, yes, we should be engaging, but we should do it in stages and we should look very carefully to make sure that the by-elections that they are going to hold are fair, that prisoners go on being released, that they go on opening up and moving towards democracy.
"And as they do that I think there are opportunities for the EU and I'm delighted that the council (summit) has made such a clear statement tonight."
The EU statement said: "We will continue to ease the EU's restrictive measures if pour expectations are met. The members of the European Council reiterate the EU's readiness to assist Burma in advancing reforms."
_________________________________________________________ Jamia wants to honour Aung San Suu Kyi
New Delhi, After honouring living legends like the Dalai Lama and Amartya Sen, Jamia Milia Islamia wants to confer an honourary doctorate on Myanmar's pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi. Suu Kyi, who had spent almost 15 years under house arrest under Myanmar's military junta, is among the names that have been discussed by the University for bestowing the honour. Sources said while the University was keen to honour the symbol of resistance against a totalitarian regime, the process of accomplishing this was a long one. "Her name has been suggested at the University's decision-making bodies during discussions on the kind of people we would like to honour," said a source.
Vice Chancellor Najeeb Jung too said at a seminar at the University that the institution would like to extend this honour to the Myanmar icon. Jamia had in 2010 honoured Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama wuth an honourary degree, followed by another Nobel Laureate Sen, whose work on welfare economics, particularly on the causes of famine, has won him international acclaim. Suu Kyi, who is now on a campaign trail for an upcoming parliamentary byelection, won the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1991 for her indefatigable struggle for democracy and human rights in her country.
__________________________________________________________________ ေဒၚေအာင္ဆန္းစုၾကည္ ခ်ီးျမွင့္ျခင္းခံရသည့္ ဂုဏ္ျပဳဆုမ်ား Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s International Awards, Honors & Appointments ( 1 9 9 0 - 2 0 12 )
1. Honorary Fellow St. Hugh’s College (Oxford, UK) 1990
2. Thorolf Rafto Human Rights (Norway) 1990
3. Sakharov Freedom of Thought (European Parliamnet) 1991
4. Noble Peace Oslo, Norway 1991
5. Honorary Member International EN (Norwegian Center) 1991
6. Humanities Human Rights Award (USA) 1991
7. Honorary Member International PEN (Candian Center) 1991
8. Marisa Bellisario Price Italy 1992
9. Annual Award of the International Human Rights Law Group (USA) 1992
10. Honorary President Students’ Union London School of Economics and Political Science (UK) 1992
11. Honorary Member International PEN (English Center) 1992
12. Honorary Life Member University of London Union (UK) 1992
13. Honorary Professional Fellowship Law and Society Trust (SriLanka) 1992
14. Honorary Doctorate in Political Science Thammasat University (Thailand) 1992
15. International Simon Bolivar prize UNESCO 1992
16. Prix Litteraire des Droits de I’Homme Nouveaux Droits de I’Homme, France 1992
17. Honorary Member World Commission on Culture and Development (UNESCO) 1992
18. Member Academie Universelle des Cultures (Paris) 1993
19. Rose Prize arbejderbevaegelsens International Forum/ International Forum of
the Danish Labour Movement, Copehagen 1993
20. Victor Jara International Human Rights Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law,
Los Angeles, USA 1993
21. Member of the Advisory Board Francois-Xavier Bagnoud Center for Health and Human Rights, Harvard University 1993
22. Honorary Doctorate of Law University of Toronto (Canada) 1993
23. The Freedom of the City Commune of Giugliano, Italy 1993
24. Bremen Solidarity City of Bremen, Germany 1993
25. Premio Mujer Progresista (Federacion Mujeres Progresistas / Spanish Federation of
Progressive Women, Madrid) 1993
26. Honorary Doctorate Philosophy & Letters, Free University of Brussels 1994
27. Honorary Adviser Forum of Democratic Leaders in the Asia-Pacific 1994
28. The Freedom of the City Aversa, Italy 1995
29. Liberal International Prize for Freedom Britain’s Liberal Democracy Party, UK 1995
30. Honorary Doctorate of Laws Queen’s University, Canada 1995
31. Jawaharlal Nehru Award for International Understanding (for 1993) India 1995
32. Gandhi Award Simon Fraser University, Canada 1995
33. Honorary Doctorate of Civil Law University of Oxford 1995
34. IRC Freedom Award International Rescue Committee 1995
35. Companion of the Order of Australia 1996
36. Liberal International Prize (UK) 1996
37. Asia Human Rights of Law (Japan) 1996
38. W. Averell Harrimen Democracy Award National Democratic Institute U.S.A 1996
39. Rajiv Shmirti Parashka [ Rajiv Gandhi Memorial Award] India 1996
40. Empty Chair Award Women of the Year Lunch, London, UK 1996
41. Honorary Doctorate of Law Charles University in Prague, Czech Republic 1997
42. Honorary Doctorate of Letters Sydney University of Technology, Australia 1997
43. Honorary Doctorate of Letters California Chapman University, U.S.A 1997
44. Honorary Doctorate of Law Natal University, South Africa 1997
45. Honorary Doctorate of Law America University, Washington D.C, U.S.A 1997
46. Distinguished Alumni Award Central University/ Delhi University 1997
47. Honorary Citizenship of Rome (Italy) (May 23, 1997)
48. Honorary Doctorate of Letters Glasgow University (UK) 1997
49. Pearl S. Buck Woman’s Award Pearl S. Buck Foundation (USA) 1997
50. International Award St. Angela’s Peace and Justice Group, Waterford (Eire) 1997
51. Profiles in Courage Award Kennedy Society of Denmark 1997
52. Honorary Doctorate Cambridge University (June 1998) 1998
53. Freedom of the City (Oxford, UK) 1998
54. Honorary Doctorate of Laws University of Wales, Cardiff 1998
55. Honorary Doctorate of Laws University of Bristol (UK) 1998
56. Honorary Doctorate of Laws University of Melbourne (Australia) 1998
57. Honorary degree Universite’ catholique de Louvain, Belgium – December 1998
58. Honorary Degree University of Bath (UK) – December 1998
59. Honorary Degree Bucknell University – May 1999
60. Freedom Award International Republican Institute, USA (October 1999) 1999
61. The Freedom of the City of Dublin Award Ireland (November 1999)
62. 2000 CAW Nelson Mandela Human Rights Award Canada (December 2000) 2000
63. Presidential Medal of Freedom Award U.S.A (December 2000) 2000
64. Collage United Nations Prize 2001 Germany (June 2001) 2001
65. International Social Welfare Prize University of Southern California School of Social Work
(December 8) 2001
66. AI Neuharth Free Spirit Award U.S Foundation, Washington, USA 2003
67. MTV Humanitarian Award, “Free Your Mind” MTV Europe, EDINBURGH,UK 2003
68. The 2004 TIME 100, The most influential people in the world today TIME Magazine 2004
69. Kwangju Human Rights Award May 18 Memory Foundation from South Korea 2004
70. TIME’s Asia’s Hero 2004 TIME MAGAZINE 2004
71. The Honorary Citizen of Paris France 10/ 12/ 2004
72. Honorary Doctorate in Politics, Philosophy and Economics Rangsit University,
Thailand 13/ 12/ 2004
73. Outstanding Women in Buddhism United Nations Gender and Religious Department 8/ 03/ 2005
74. Honorary Degree in Political Science Thammasat University,Thailand 19/ 06/ 2005
75. Freedom of the City Award The City Council of Edinburgh, Scotland 16/ 06/ 2005
76. Freedom of Galway City Galway city, Ireland June 2005
77. UNISON Honorary Membership UNISON, Britain’s largest trade union, June 2005
78. Olof Palme Prize Sweden, February 2006
79. Freedom Award Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute, USA March 2006
80. New Statesmen Magazine Hero New Statesmen Magazine, May 2006
81. Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Deshprem Award, India 2007, March 2007
82. An honorary doctorate (LLD) honoris causa Award from University of Cape Town,
South Africa, December 2007
83. Freedom of Glasgow (the freedom of Scotland’s largest city) 2007
84. Rome for Peace and Humanitarian Action 2007
85. Special Award for Lifetime Achievement in Politics 2007
86. “Abogados de Atocha” international prize from Spain, 22 January 2008
87. Congressional Gold Medal, United States of America, 24 April, 2008
88. Honorary Canadian Citizenship, May 6, 2008
89. The Freedom of the City, June 10, 2008
90. Catalonia International Prize 2008, MOTHERS OF COURAGE (shard with Dr. Cynthia Maung),
November, 2008
91. Honorary Member of the Club of Madrid, November 20, 2008
92. Honorary Council Member, December 20, 2008
93. Trumpet of Conscience Award, January 19, 2009
94. Freedom of the City of Glasgow, March 4, 2009
95. Mahatma Gandhi International Award for Peace and Reconciliation – MAGI Award, May 22, 2009
96. Democracy and Peace Award of Japanese Diet Member’s League Japanese Diet Members’
League in support of Democracy in Myanmar, Tokyo, Japan (2009, June 19)
97. The Honorary Doctor of Laws (LLD) at Derry’s Millennium Forum, the University of Ulster in Derry,
Ireland, UK on Tuesday, July 7, 2009. (2009, June 24)
98. The Ambassador of Conscience Award the recipient of Amnesty International’s highest honorary
(Irish band U2 is publicly announcing Aung San Suu Kyi’s award Monday night at a Dublin concert.)
(2009, July 27)
99. Benazir Bhutto Shaheed Award for Democracy instituted. The Pakistan People’s Party,
Islamabad, Pakistan. (2010, June 21)
100. Honorary Individual Membership. Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats
(CALD) (2010, June 29)
101. Queen of Myanmar’s Democracy and Human Rights. Manav Ekta Parishad, India
(2010, November 25)
102. National Order of the Legion of Honour (2011, Janauary 16)
103. ‘Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Award for Democracy (2012 ,Janauary 25).....
When Burmese President Thein Sein came to power there was a lot of speculation that he would just be a puppet, with Than Shwe following the Ne Win model of pulling strings behind the scenes. But if anyone has been pulling strings behind the scenes, even if not literally, it has been Khin Nyunt.
President Thein Sein speak in Parliament. Photo: Mizzima
The agenda followed by Thein Sein appears so eerily similar to initiatives by Khin Nyunt, the ousted intelligence chief and prime minister, that they could be using the same blueprint. The difference now is that Than Shwe isn’t there to block its implementation.
Khin Nyunt wanted an end to Burma’s pariah status. He wanted Burma to become a more modern and powerful country, taking its rightful place in the region and the world.
To do this, he understood that there would have to be some kind of accommodation with Aung San Suu Kyi. He understood that the horrific human rights abuses committed in ethnic states was damaging to Burma’s reputation, and that the conflict needed to be ended.
That is not to say he was a true reformer, far from it. As U.S. diplomatic cable from August 2005, released by Wikileaks, revealed, “The hypothesis being that the disgraced prime minister was a moderate or a reformer who lost out to the hard-liners in a power struggle ... General Khin Nyunt was a hard-liner, albeit a more polished and approachable one. He was a pragmatist who cultivated foreign countries and a purported dialogue with the opposition simply as a means to mollify the international community and perpetuate the regime’s absolute control.”
This is the man who ran Burma’s torture chambers. He knew about horrific abuses taking place such as the use of rape as a weapon of war by the Burmese Army, but denied it. He defended the dictatorship internationally, and was effective in doing so.
Thein Sein has a similar track record of direct links to human rights abuses and defending the dictatorship on the international stage. He was twice named by the U.N. special rapporteur on human rights in Burma for ordering his troops to commit human rights abuses while he was a regional commander in Shan State. He mastered skills in delaying and duping the international community while representing the regime on a committee to tackle the use of child soldiers, and later became the international face of the dictatorship, as Khin Nyunt had done, in the role of prime minister.
The similarities between the political approaches of Khin Nyunt and Thein Sein were evident from the moment Thein Sein became president. Thein Sein’s headline-grabbing inaugural speech to Parliament had echoes of the language used by Khin Nyunt. There was a more open acknowledgement of problems that existed and promises that action would be taken to address them.
Khin Nyunt expended political capital negotiating with Aung San Suu Kyi to bring her and her party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), into the National Convention. Indeed, it is thought an agreement was almost in place before he was arrested and placed under house arrest.
Thein Sein has also done the same, reaching agreement for the NLD to enter Parliament.
Khin Nyunt also negotiated cease-fire agreements with armed ethnic political parties, as Thein Sein has belatedly started to do after first breaking three cease-fires. In another similarity, negotiations addressing the political issues at the root cause of the conflict have also been put off until a later date. In the case of the round of cease-fire agreements made 20 years ago, that later date never arrived.
In 2003, Khun Nyunt announced the seven-stage roadmap which would lead to the drafting of a new constitution and elections. This was widely seen at the time as designed to head off proposed international sanctions following the detention of Aung San Suu Kyi following the Depayin Massacre. Thein Sein chaired the National Convention drafting the principles of that Constitution, and led the pro-military party into the elections.
Khin Nyunt also knew the value of engaging with the international community. Like Thein Sein, and in stark contrast to Than Shwe who often claimed to be “too busy,” he is much more willing to meet diplomats and visiting ministers.
This was a tactic that Khin Nyunt found highly effective. Many diplomats and U.N. officials based in Burma fell under his spell, just as many appear to have fallen under the spell of Thein Sein now.
There are undoubtedly similarities in approach between Thein Sein and Khin Nyunt. The big question: is the end goal the same? Khin Nyunt’s end goal wasn’t democracy and human rights. It was about taking off the rough edges off the dictatorship in order to get sanctions lifted and international legitimacy.
Thein Sein has gone further than Khun Nyunt was able to go. However, despite some very welcome developments, it is noticeable that so far no repressive laws have been repealed, and no power relinquished at all. In a recent interview with the Washington Post, President Thein Sein pointedly refused to make a commitment to repeal censorship laws instead saying; ‘The media needs to take responsibility and proper actions. Media freedom will be based on the accountability they have.”
If Thein Sein wants to show he is a real reformer, he needs to go beyond “Plan Khin Nyunt” and implement deeper reforms, such as repealing repressive laws and bringing in new laws which guarantee the rule of law and a democratic society.
So far, however, it just looks like Khin Nyunt’s plan, which along with his new freedom, gives Khin Nyunt more than one reason to be happy.
Millions of residents of western Myanmar have been stripped of citizenship and basic human rights. Will Suu Kyi help?
The Rohingya ethnic group of Myanmar is not recognised by the government [GALLO/GETTY]
Akbar Ahmed
Al Jazeera
January 30, 2012
This article is the first in a series by Ambassador Akbar Ahmed, a former Pakistani high commissioner to the UK, exploring how a litany of volatile centre/periphery conflicts with deep historical roots were interpreted after 9/11 in the new global paradigm of anti-terrorism - with profound and often violent consequences. Incorporating in-depth case studies from Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, Ambassador Ahmed will ultimately argue that the inability for Muslim and non-Muslim states alike to either incorporate minority groups into a liberal and tolerant society or resolve the "centre vs periphery" conflict is emblematic of a systemic failure of the modern state - a breakdown which, more often than not, leads to widespread violence and destruction. The violence generated from these conflicts will become the focus, in the remainder of the 21st century, of all those dealing with issues of national integration, law and order, human rights and justice.
Washington, DC - The image of a smiling Daw Aung San Suu Kyi receiving flowers from her supporters is a powerful message of freedom and optimism in Myanmar, the symbol of democracy in a country which has known nothing but authoritarian oppression for decades.
Yet few ask one of the most pressing questions facing Daw Suu Kyi. How will she deal with the Rohingya?
"The Rohingya," you will ask. "Who are they?"
The Rohingya, whom the BBC calls "one of the world's most persecuted minority groups", are the little-publicised and largely forgotten Muslim people of the coastal Rakhine state of western Myanmar. Their historic lineage in Rakhine dates back centuries, as fishermen and farmers. Over the past three decades, the Rohingya have been systematically driven out of their homeland by Myanmar's military junta and subjected to widespread violence and the total negation of their rights and citizenship within Myanmar. They are a stateless Muslim minority.
The continued tragedy of the unrecognised Rohingya, both in Myanmar and as refugees abroad, casts a dark shadow over the bright hopes and prospects for democracy in a country plagued by violence and civil war. Suu Kyi is ideally placed to extend democratic reforms to all ethnic peoples, including the Rohingya, in a free Myanmar.
Though the Rohingya may be small in number at less than two million, the real lesson of the Arab Spring is that no notion of democracy can succeed without the inclusion of all people within a country's borders. Every member of society, regardless of race and religion, must be given their due rights as citizens.
"While many ethnic minorities in Myanmar have been the victims of the central government's oppressive measures, the Rohingya stand apart in that their very existence is threatened."
While many ethnic minorities in Myanmar have been the victims of the central government's oppressive measures, the Rohingya stand apart in that their very existence is threatened. The Rohingya's plight abroad as refugees in places such as Bangladesh and Thailand has seen glimmers of the media spotlight, but less attention has been brought to the underlying cause of their flight: the violence and cultural oppression at home.
These policies were enacted by Myanmar's government to force the Rohingya outside of Myanmar as a result of their being Muslim and ethnically non-Myanma. The government erroneously labelled them as "illegal Bengali immigrants" in their efforts to eradicate the Rohingya culture.
Kings to refugees
Yet, the long history of the Rohingya and the Rakhine state contradicts the government's claims. The medieval Kingdom of Arakan, encompassing the Muslim Rohingya, was once an enlightened centre of culture, knowledge and trade, displaying a harmonic blend of Buddhism and Islam in its administration and court life. The kingdom's cosmopolitan and international capital city, Mrauk U, was described in the 17th century as "a second Venice" by a Portuguese Jesuit priest and was often compared to Amsterdam and London by travellers and writers of the time.
It was the 1784 military conquest by Bodawpaya, the king of Burma (now Myanmar), that transformed this once vibrant kingdom into an oppressed peripheral region. After this, many haunting tales began to circulate of Burmese soldiers rounding up the Rohingya in bamboo enclosures to burn them alive, and marching thousands to the city of Amarapura to work, effectivley as slave labour, on infrastructure projects.
Rohingya boat people stuck in limbo
With the rise to power of the military junta in 1962 under General Ne Win, a policy of "Myanmarisation" was implemented as an ultra-nationalist ideology based on the racial purity of the Myanma ethnicity and its Buddhist faith. The Rohingya, as both Muslims and non-Myanma, were stripped of their legitimacy and officially declared foreigners in their own native land. With the passage of the junta's 1982 Citizenship Law, they effectively ceased to exist legally.
Stripped officially of their citizenship, the Rohingya found their lives in limbo: prohibited from the right to own land or property, barred from travelling outside their villages, repairing their decaying places of worship, receiving an education in any language or even marrying and having children without rarely granted government permission. The Rohingya have also been subjected to modern-day slavery, forced to work on infrastructure projects, such as constructing "model villages" to house the Myanmar settlers intended to displace them, reminiscent of their treatment at the hands of the Burmese kings of history.
Rohingya boat people stuck in limbo
The denial of citizenship and rights was accompanied by a military strategy of physical and cultural war designed to drive the Rohingya out of Myanmar.
The initial push of the military's ethnic cleansing campaign came in 1978 under Operation Naga Min, or Operation King Dragon. The purpose of this operation was to scrutinise each individual within the state as either a citizen or alleged "illegal immigrant". This resulted in widespread rape, arbitrary arrests, desecration of mosques, destruction of villages and confiscation of lands among the Rohingya people. In the wake of this violence, nearly a quarter of a million Rohingya fled to neighbouring Bangladesh, many of whom were later repatriated to Myanmar where they faced further torture, rape, jail and death.
In 1991, a second push, known as Operation Pyi Thaya or Operation Clean and Beautiful Nation, was launched with the same purpose, resulting in further violence and another massive flow of 200,000 Rohingya refugees into Bangladesh.
Non-governmental organisations from Europe and North America estimate that 300,000 Rohingya refugees remain in Bangladesh, with only 35,000 residing in registered refugee camps and receiving some sort of assistance from NGOs.
Acknowledging the Rohingya
Those remaining, more than 250,000, are in a desperate situation without food and medical assistance, largely left to slowly starve to death. The December 2011 refugee repatriation agreement reached between Myanmar President Thein Sein and Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will exclude the Rohingya, due to their lack of Myanmar citizenship, one of the conditions for repatriation for the expected 2,500 returning refugees.
The Rohingya predicament underlines a paradox for the world's great faiths, straddling the divide between Islamic Asia and Buddhist Asia. Each emphasises compassion and kindness and yet, we see little evidence of this in their dealings with the Rohingya people.
As part of this current study on the relationship between centre and periphery in the Muslim world, we recently interviewed Dr Wakar Uddin, Chairman of The Burmese Rohingya Association of North America (BRANA). A gentle and learned man, he is an energetic ambassador for his Rohingya people with a firm grasp of regional history. All the Rohingya want is the reinstatement of their citizenship in their own land, as revoked by the former dictator General Ne Win, and the dignity, human rights and opportunities that come with it.
Suu Kyi and the National League for Democracy have a unique opportunity to reach out to the Rohingya people and include them in the new democratic process. The NLD should work with the central government to expand the role of all ethnic minorities as full Myanma citizens.
By acknowledging their rights, the government will bestow upon the Rohingya the dignity and the responsibilities of citizenship and present opportunities for mutual cultural understanding and the repatriation of the thousands of refugees existing in purgatory, separated from their homes and families. Great strides have recently been made by the Myanmar government towards the creation of an open and democratic political system and an end to ethnic violence, yet this is only the beginning.
With the recognition of the Rohingya as Myanma citizens, Suu Kyi will honour the memory of her father, Aung San, as he, before his untimely and tragic death, also reached out to ethnic minorities to participate in an independent Myanmar. Only then can a democratic and modern Myanmar be legitimate and successful in the eyes of its own people.
But the first step is to acknowledge the Rohingya exist.
This article is based on research being conducted by Professor Akbar Ahmed, Ibn Khaldun Chair of Islamic Studies at American University, Washington, DC, and Harrison Akins, a Research Fellow attached to the Chair, for the forthcoming study, Journey into Tribal Islam: America and the Conflict between Center and Periphery in the Muslim World, to be published by Brookings Press, exploring the conflict between Muslim tribal groups and central governments across the Muslim world in the context of the US-led 'war on terror'.
Ambassador Akbar Ahmed is currently the Ibn Khaldun Chair of Islamic Studies at American University in Washington. Ahmed is a former Pakistani High Commissioner to the UK and former administrator in Waziristan and Balochistan. He is the award-winning author of numerous books, including Discovering Islam, and Journey into America: The Challenge of Islam (Brookings Press, 2010).
Gulf Company မွ ကုိကုိလတ္ဆုိသူသည္ PIA ေလေၾကာင္းလုိင္း ကုိယ္စားလွယ္ ျဖစ္ေၾကာင္း Mansik Company တာ၀န္ခံကုိ Visa မေပးရန္ ျမန္မာသံရံုးသုိ႕ ကုိကုိလတ္က တားျမစ္၍ သတင္းေပးပုိ႕ခဲ့ပါသည္။
With political reform apparently under way, both Burmese and international observers are optimistic about Burma’s future. But there are dangers ahead, and some feel that the Burmese government is opting for economic growth and stability rather than true freedom. Certainly for Burma’s long-suffering Christian and Muslim populations, the future looks uncertain.
Will Burma’s press be free after new media reform bill?
he third regular session of the first Pyithu Hluttaw (Lower House) and the third regular session of first Amyotha Hluttaw (Upper House) opened at the Pyithu Hluttaw Building in Nay-Pyi-Taw, Thursday. President of Myanmar (Burma) Thein Sein sent a message to the Speakers of the Lower and the Upper Parliaments, the New Light of Myanmar said on Friday.
The President said in his message: “In successfully reforming the all sectors of the nation for the sake of the people and the nation, we had to promulgate 15 new laws and make amendments and supplements.”
The junta-sponsored existing parliament allows 330 civilian seats in the 440-member House of Representatives (Lower House). Under the 2008 constitution, the remaining 110 seats are filled with appointed military officers. In the 224-seat House of Nationalities (Upper House), 168 are elected and 56 are appointed by the boss of the armed forces. Remarkably, 77% of the parliamentary seats have been seized by the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) in the 2010 November polls which were distinguished for vote-rigging prescription.
When the new parliament first started opening on January 31 2011, tight security had been set up around the parliament building as part of the measures for a grand scale celebration. At that time, the area around the Naypyitaw was under surveillance with army units patrolling day and night.
There were even restrictions on the members of parliament, according to invitations delivered to MPs calling them for the first parliament sessions. The new MPs were not allowed to carry cameras, computers, mobile phones, radios, voice recorders, electronic gadgets, handbags and miscellaneous items.
During that first parliamentary session, no visitors were allowed into the parliamentary compound. Uninvited guests might risk a prison term under rules made clear to lawmakers; authorized officials said even senior military officers were not permitted to go through without special permission.
For the period of that first parliamentary session, 18 reporters from domestic and foreign news agencies arrived in Naypyidaw, according to Mizzima News. But, the journalists did not receive permission from the Information Ministry to cover the historic first sessions which assembled for the first time in 22 years on January 31, 2011.
Additionally, reporters were not allowed to take photographs near the Parliament building. Only four reporters from state-run Myanmar Radio and Myawaddy TV were given permission to cover the Parliament. They were not even allowed to enter the Parliament and had to shoot their video from a room surrounded by glass, Mizzima said.
One remarkable thing is that on this latest third regular assembly of the first parliament sessions, mobile phones were allowed use in the parliament building, but agree holding devices without disturbance to the parliament discussion, the Eleven Media Group (EMG)news said Friday.
Moreover, not only domestic correspondents but also foreign reporters have been allowed to cover the news on the parliament discussions during this House Sessions. Media personnel were placed at the top floor above the parliament assembly hall. They were also allowed to carry cameras, video-cameras, computers, voice recorders and other necessary papers.
Apart from the 26 domestic reporters, there are altogether eleven reporters from foreign news agencies, including Mr. Jason Szep (Southeast Asia Bureau Chief) from Reuters News of Britain, Mr.Toru Kitamura from Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS), Mr.Tetsuo Okabe fromJi Ji News Agency Japan, Mr. Yuzo Yamashita from Nippon Television Network (NTV) and Ms.Lin Xi from China Central Television (CCTV), according to EMG news.
Since the new Thein Sein government came to power in March 2011 after the controversial 2010 November elections, Burma’s authorities have made a minor moderation to the rigid censorship rules for certain publications, while keeping a tight grip on news journals.
In an interview by telephone on Wednesday, Tint Swe, director of the Press Scrutiny and Registration Department (PSRD), repeatedly told Radio Free Asia (Burmese Service) that claiming freedom of expression in Burma will be better after the new Press Law, which is still in the process of being endorsed in the parliament.
PSRD’s director said that the press law had already been drafted by Burma’s Ministry of Information and sent to the Attorney General’s office for approval. After adopting the media reform bill, the role of Press Scrutiny and Registration Department will be finished, Tint Swe told RFA.
U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell made the following statement on the Senate Floor Thursday regarding his meeting in Burma with Nobel Laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and the steps the oppressed country has taken towards forming a democratic society:
Washington, D.C.– U.S. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell made the following statement on the Senate Floor Thursday regarding his meeting in Burma with Nobel Laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and the steps the oppressed country has taken towards forming a democratic society:
“I want to briefly address my colleagues on a very important trip I took recently to a country that, for much of the past 50 years, has ranked among the world’s most isolated and oppressed by its own government. Many of us wondered if things would ever change in Burma. But after my recent visit, I’m pleased to say that change is clearly in the air.
“It appears that Burma has made more progress toward democracy in the past six months than it has in decades. As one who has taken a strong interest in Burma for over 20 years, and as the lead author in this chamber of an annual sanctions bill aimed at encouraging the Burmese government to reform, this is welcome news.
“On this trip I had the great honor and privilege to meet the woman who, for over two decades, has embodied the struggle for peace in her oppressed country.
“After Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s political party won 80 percent of the vote in a free and fair election in 1990, the Burmese military regime dismissed the results and kept her under house arrest for most of the last 22 years. Scores of other political reformers were jailed or tortured, and the regime waged a brutal campaign against ethnic minorities, driving many from their homes to refugee camps.
“But by her courage and patience that justice delayed would not be justice denied, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has kept the hope of freedom in her country alive.
“I’ve long admired Daw Aung San Suu Kyi from afar. She once took a great risk to smuggle out of Burma a letter thanking me for my support, a letter I proudly have to this day. But never, Mr. President, did I think I would get to meet the Nobel Laureate in person. It was quite a moment.
“Following an election in 2010 that was widely thought to be unfree and unfair, the new civilian government in Burma has made undeniably positive steps toward reform. In addition to releasing Daw Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest, scores of other political prisoners have been freed. In my visit, I spoke with two who had just been released days before my arrival.
“And one of the longest-standing armed conflicts in the world—the Burmese government’s campaign against the ethnic minority called the Karen—has apparently been brought to a close.
“Many Karen people who have fled Burma now call Kentucky home. I had the chance to meet with many of them, and other refugees from Burma now resettled in Kentucky, at Louisville’s Crescent Hill Baptist Church this Saturday. I enjoyed meeting them and was pleased to relay to them the same message I share with my colleagues today—that change is in the air for their country.
“Because of all these positive developments, I applaud Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s recent decision to exchange ambassadors with Burma for the first time in 20 years.
“Of course, the government of Burma still has a substantial way to go to achieve real, lasting reform. I would not support, and I don’t think the administration would support, lifting the sanctions that have been imposed unless there is much further progress.
“The next test will be elections to fill 48 seats of the national parliament on April 1. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi intends to run as the representative of a district with a significant Karen population.
“This election will give the new government an opportunity to hold the first free and fair elections in Burma since 1990, and also demonstrate the seriousness of its recent reform efforts.
“The government must also fully and peacefully reconcile with Burma’s ethnic minorities. This is vital.
“Reports indicate that the military continues to engage in hostilities with the Kachin. That is troubling. And questions about Burma’s relationship with North Korea must be answered.
“As the new government enacts reforms, we should respond with meaningful gestures of our own in hopes of encouraging further positive developments from Burma’s leaders. Reformers like new president Thein Sein, whom I also met on my trip, are strengthened when they can show results. Steps like exchanging ambassadors with the United States would enable them to do just that.
“My trip to Burma has filled me with hope for its people—hope that they will one day be free to elect their own leaders, and hope that every person, regardless of ethnic group, can enjoy equal rights and full protection under the rule of law.
“It also reaffirmed for me that the desire to be free is universal, and that the patient, yet persistent leadership of one woman can make a tremendous difference.
“These are exciting times for all who care about the future of the people of Burma, Mr. President. I know that includes a great many of my colleagues. Burma has quite a long way to go, but it is moving in the right direction.
