By Zin Linn 

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Aung San Suu Kyi officially registered her opposition party on 23 November 2011. After Suu Kyi’s party submitted its application to Union Election Commission (UEC), Lower House Speaker Thura Shwe Mann welcomed the NLD’s return to parliament politics, after it was dissolved in May 2010 for boycotting the 7 November 2010 elections. Shwe Mann also said he welcomes Aung San Suu Kyi on behalf of the People’s Parliament as she has planned competing in by-elections.

The NLD was given the green light from authorities in last November to re-enter mainstream politics, paving the way for the Nobel laureate to run for a seat in the existing parliament. Upper house speaker Khin Aung Myint, who also met Suu Kyi on 23 November 2011, described her move as constructive.

The chairman of Burma’s Union Election Commission (UEC), Tin Aye, has promised pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi that he will make sure the forthcoming by-elections are free and fair, and that the government was committed to work together with the opposition for the interests of the country.

The military-dominated Thein Sein government took office after the November 7, 2010 elections which were condemned by the West as a vote rigging parade. As a face-saving plan, President Thein Sein government has made a number of concessions which looks as if it was moving toward a visible change.

For instance, key opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi was freed from detention a week after 2010 election. There were even meetings between Suu Kyi and the liaison messenger of the new government. On August 19-2011, President Thein Sein met Aung San Suu Kyi for the first in the highest level exchange of opinion between the Nobel laureate and the authorities since her release from house arrest.

Last November, while Suu Kyi was visiting Naypyitaw for party registration process, the president, the lower house speaker and UEC chairman Tin Aye, met and agreed that the forthcoming by-elections would be free and fair even if the ruling party faced a defeat.

Shwe Mann, as acting chairman of the ruling USDP, has warned his party members to abide by the law in order to open the by-elections to be indisputable. During a meeting in January, he told his party members not to go against party’s rules and regulations as well as to keep away from mistreating upon other citizens.

Although it boycotted in last November polls, the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) led by Aung San Suu Kyi is running for parliamentary seats through these by-elections.

As by-elections are nearer, political parties’ campaigning for parliamentary seats is at top gear. However, there is mistrust in the public whether the vote will be free and fair.

According to AFP News, Aung San Suu Kyi expressed her concerns on Thursday that dead people were appearing on voter rolls in Burma ahead of upcoming by-elections, speaking in a meeting in Rangoon with Canada’s foreign minister John Baird.

“A lot of dead people seem to be prepared to vote on the first of April. We can’t have that, can we? And other things like that,” the pro-democracy leader told Canadian FM, according to a Canadian pool media report issued in Ottawa.

Suu Kyi said she has asked the election commission “to do something about this,” vowing also that her party “would complain loud and long” for remedies.

Unbelievably, the past 7 November 2010 election, won by the military-backed political proxies, was flawed by widespread complaints of vote-rigging and the exclusion of the NLD led by Aung San Suu Kyi, who was released from house arrest shortly after the polls.

If the Thein Sein government has the aptitude and readiness to follow the political reform path, it must keep its promise of managing the by-elections in a free and fair manner.

Suu Kyi called on the international community to watch closely how the elections keep going. Furthermore, how the election commission handles complaints of electoral irregularities before shaping their policy toward Burma.

Suu Kyi’s NLD party is challenging candidates for all 48 seats in the April 1 by-elections. But, former political prisoner Saw Hlaing, a member of parliament in 1990 election and an NLD candidate for one constituency in Sagaing Division was rejected by the local commission reasoning on citizenship problem. It is an unfair rejection since he was an elected-representative in the 1990 general elections.

In a press briefing after a meeting with Canadian Foreign Minister at her residence in Rangoon, Suu Kyi said her party had uncovered many irregularities in the voter lists in several areas. The respective party-candidates will have to apply to the Elections Commission to address these issues, according to NLD’s campaign manager and spokesman Nyan Win.

The serious complaints showed that many people, who live in respective constituencies, were not appeared in the voter-list and names of deceased people were put there, Suu Kyi said. Then she urged the election commission to take action promptly on such an improper hindrance.

It is really a very important issue handled by the UEC since the international community closely watches the incoming by-elections as a benchmark for lifting of sanctions.

As Election Day is approaching, the ruling party’s cases of threatening voters and abusing administrative power are increasing to a greater extent. It seems UEC Chairman Tin Aye has not enough power to supervise the April 1 by-elections to be a free and fair voting.

This February is the 65 anniversary of Burma’s Panglong agreement which guarantees to form a democratic federal union. The agreement has been ignored by the military leaders as they did not support ‘Federalism’ since the 1962 military coup. The Panglong Agreement was signed on Feb. 12 1947, between General Aung San and the leaders of Chin, Kachin and Shan ethnic groups guaranteeing to establish a genuine federal union of Burma.

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.

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A work coordination meeting between Union Election Commission (UEC) and respective State/Region and District sub-commissions for holding by-elections to fill up vacant seats in respective parliaments, held at the UEC office in capital Nay-Pyi-Taw Tuesday morning, the New Light of Myanmar reported today.

In his briefing, Chairman of Union Election Commission, U Tin Aye said that to take lesson from the experience gained in previous elections; measures are to be taken to ensure free and fair election in the upcoming by-election. It is also necessary to supervise the political parties in accord with the law, he said.

The junta-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), led by ex-general Thein Sein, takes hold of 259 seats out of 325 in the House of Representatives, 129 seats out of 168 in the House of Nationalities and 495 seats out of 661 in regional parliament respectively during the last 7 November 2010 polls.

However, the USDP was accused of tampering with advance ballots, and bribing or menacing voters. Spokespersons for the National Democratic Force (NDF), the Democratic Party (Myanmar) and the All Mon Region Democracy Party (AMRDP) alleged that the vote-counting was seriously out of order. Opposition parties said their members had witnessed ballot boxes full of advance votes being brought into polling stations for counting after the polls had closed.

The Asian Network For Free Elections (ANFREL) released a statement dated 9 November 2010 criticizing ballot counting procedures made by the Union Election Commission (UEC). It said the counting process was not made transparent to the public and the media beginning with the first advance voting period.

The complaints about the previous 2010 polls ranged from lack of transparency in vote-counting to no privacy in many of the nation's nearly 40,000 polling booths. Parties also complained of threats from local authorities and forced early voting for the junta's proxy party. Most of the leaders from opposition parties stated unanimously that this election is totally far away from free, fair and openness.

Concerning 2010 election, the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, who just released from house-arrest, told the BBC, "From what I have heard, there are many, many questions about the fairness of the election, and there were many allegations of vote-rigging, and so on."

On the contrary, during 10 January coordination meeting between UEC and respective State/Region and District sub-commissions for holding by-elections, the UEC chairman added that a systematic measure needs to be adopted to disseminate knowledge about the election to the people and develop check and balance system among the political parties. Election process must be carried out in accordance with the law without any bias and malpractices, said the chairman.

After that, the participants discussed processes of by-election. The coordination meeting came to an end with the concluding remarks by the UEC chairman Tin Aye, a former general.

Critics criticized the previous 2010 voting was rigged and premeditated to protected the supremacy of the military, which has ruled Burma for five decades. 

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By Zin Linn,

Burma’s President Thein Sein Government has announced it has cut back on the sentences of some prisoners who got grave punishments such as death sentence, life sentence and more than 20 to 30 years imprisonments. Those inmates will be released beginning on 3 January on humanitarian grounds.

State-owned televisions and radios said Monday that President Thein Sein has already signed a leniency decree in order to mark the country’s 64th anniversary of independence.

According to the Eleven Media Group (EMG), the decree says that death sentences will be commuted to life term, while some prisoners serving above 30 years will have their punishments reduce to 30 years. The inmates serving between 20 to 30 years must be cut back equal to 20 years. Those serving less than 20 years will have their sentences cut by one-fourth. For instance, 20 years sentence will have to enjoy 5 years cutback.

According to an official from prison department, those inmates corresponding to the presidential decree will be freed starting tomorrow. It was not clearly mentioned whether the authorities would take account of political prisoners.

It seems the president’s clemency order has been carefully implemented to keep in custody several prominent student activists who had been sentenced 65-year prison terms since September 2007. According to this so-called amnesty the political prisoners such as Min Ko Naing, Ko Ko Gyi, Jimmy, Htay Kywe, Pyone Cho, Khun Htun Oo and many more will have to spend 30 years behind bars.

If current government were to say that they are the new civilian government, it has to free all political prisoners who were jailed by the previous junta. If the government thinks itself as a democratic one, then it must not allowed keeping political prisoners in prison.

On 15 May 2011, President Thein Sein had signed a “general amnesty” order No. 28/2011 commuting death sentences to life imprisonment and cutting one year from prisoners’ jail terms. Although over 14,600 inmates were released at that time, there were only a few political prisoners who had already served their jail-terms.

Again on 11 October 2011, President Thein Sein government announced releasing 6,359 prisoners under an amnesty for elderly, ailing and obedient prisoners. As of 12 October, the several prisoners were released under general pardon. But, at the end of the day only about 200 political prisoners were freed.

Even though prominent political prisoners Gen. Hso Ten, Zarganar and Su Su Nway were released, many other prominent student leaders such as Min Ko Naing, Ko Ko Gyi, Min Zeya, Htay Kywe and ethnic leader Khun Tun Oo have been languishing in tarnished jails in Burma.

On that occasion, Ojea Quintana, the United Nations special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar (Burma), said some of the most significant dissidents had not been released and more than 1,000 prisoners of conscience remained behind bars. The UN rights investigator for the isolated country wants many more freed without delay.

There are 42 prisons and 109 hard-labor camp under the prison department of Burma. However, until now, President Thein Sein government continues to reject the existence of political prisoners in Burma.

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 By Zin Linn,

Although President Thein Sein has issued an order dated 10-December to Burma’s Commander-in-Chief to stop the fighting against the KIO, the Burmese soldiers in the Kachin-frontline do not obey the presidential guidance so far. On the contrary, the war keeps going on and Kachin natives continue running and hiding for their lives in the jungle.

So, the observers consider that whether the military chief abides by the presidential order. Saying peace words as its policy, the government is raising its offensive against the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) on the other hand. The Burma Army’s all-out offensives are becoming higher than ever in Kachin State.

The fighting seems ruthless as Burmese soldiers commit various crimes – such as looting, killing, raping and burning down the civilians’ villages – on this brutal front line. In fact, ordinary Kachin people are just naive citizens of the country and soldiers should spare their lives and belongings.

In recent months, several native women and girls were gang raped by Burmese soldiers. Many were killed after being raped. The soldiers raped and killed girls and women in front of their relatives. Many civilians were forced to work as porters or human shield for government forces.

More than 30,000 displaced victims have sought shelter at government-run camps in eastern Kachin State in mid-December, putting a strain on limited food supplies, mostly from local donors.

According to the BBC Burmese Service Radio, fighting are going on in the KIA 4th Brigade controlled area in Northern Shan State, since 25 December to date. As said by a KIA 4th Brigade commander Col. Zaw Rao, government troops fired with artilleries for eight rounds and they also used chemical weapons yesterday battle.

Some KIA fighters suffered dizziness and vomit due to government soldiers’ poisonous mortar shells, the KIA officer said. Although KIA’s side had no wounded persons, government troops had at least ten casualties in yesterday armed conflict, Col. Zaw Rao said.

In actual fact, President Thein Sein has released an order to halt fighting in the Kachin frontline since 10 December. But, during Christmas period, Col. Zaw Rao said that the government armed forces have continued open fire on KIA troops sporadically. It’s amazing that even though the president has ordered for ceasefire, the government forces on the frontline turn a deaf ear to his order, col. Zaw Rao told the BBC.

Hence, it is really essential for the president to try influencing on his armed forces to abide by the presidential instructions. And also, it’s time to end the civil war, particularly the war against KIA.

If Burmese troops have used chemical weapons, the president must resolutely order them to stop immediately. By doing so, president has to show the country is on the right transformation path. This act of using prohibited weapon breaks the Geneva Protocol which banned use of chemical and biological weapons in both civil and foreign conflicts. President Thein Sein’s government has to take responsibility for the use of such chemical weapons.

Meanwhile, President Thein Sein’s peacemaking team leader Aung Min exposed he has prepared to meet the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC), the alliance of 11 armed groups in which Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) is a key member. He announced the plan during a meeting with Hkun Okker from PaO National Liberation Organization (PNLO), in Bangkok.

Burmese people are confused over the war between the KIA and Burma Army. While the president is speaking about the importance of national unity, his government army has been increasing the hostilities in ethnic Kachin areas.

So, it becomes a question among the societies, as the government soldiers disobey the guide-line of the country’s highest authoritative president. People are curious whether there are high-ranking military officers who disagree with the president’s policy of political change.

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By Zin Linn

Burma’s Nobel laureate and leader of the National League for Democracy (NLD) Aung San Suu Kyi left Rangoon for Naypyitaw to visit Union Election Commission in order to carry out registration process of her political party. Suu Kyi together with U Tin Oo, U Nyan Win, U Han Thar Myint and Dr. Nge Nge have arrived at the Thin-ga-ha hotel in Naypyidaw this morning, as said by The Messager Journal.

At 10:10 am Friday, Suu Kyi and her associates met with UEC Chairman U Tin Aye and seven commission members, namely U Myint Naing, U Aung Myint, U Thar Oo, Dr. Daw Myint Kyi, U Win Kyi, U Nyunt Tin and U Win Ko.

Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) was given the green light from government last month to rejoin mainstream politics, paving the way for the Nobel laureate to run for a seat in the new parliament. The NLD was stripped of its status as a legal political party by the junta in 2010 after it chose to boycott the election, saying the rules were unfair.

NLD’s application to return to the political arena came days before the US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton’s Burma visit on 30 November. Twenty-one senior members including Suu Kyi, Tin Oo and Win Tin made the submission in the capital Naypyitaw on 25 November.

The Union Election Commission allowed the formation of the NLD as the application to register was in accordance with the law, the state-run New Light of Myanmar newspaper reported on 13 December.

After signing papers as part of the NLD re-registration as a political party, Suu Kyi has met with parliament speakers, said a parliamentary official in the capital Naypyidaw. According to the latest news, U Khin Aung Myint, the Upper House Speaker, met Suu Kyi 1:15 pm today at the parliament. Lower House Speaker Shwe Mann, third-ranking general in the previous junta, also met the Nobel laureate from 1:35 to 2:35 pm according to parliamentary source. The details of the discussion topics were not released.

Both speakers welcomed the leader of key opposition party with open arms, the parliamentary source said.

The Nobel laureate was released a few days after the controversial 2010 November election, having spent much of the past two decades in custody, and she is now planning to play a part in the upcoming by-elections expected early April next year even though no voting date has been set.

Since coming to power in March, the new military-backed government dominated by former generals has made a series of reformist moves in an apparent attempt to reach out to political opponents and the West.

Suu Kyi expressed cautious hope earlier this month that democracy would come to Burma, as she welcomed Hillary Clinton to the home in Rangoon city that was her prison for years during a landmark visit by the US Secretary of State.

On 17 November, the NLD welcomed the approval of Burma’s bid to chair Southeast Asia’s regional bloc in 2014, saying it would boost political change in the inaccessible nation.

The NLD’s 18 November decision indicates that it has confidence in government’s recent political reforms by the military-backed government which has been under watch for suspicion due to exile political dissident groups.

Many democracy-supporters in the country and members of the National League for Democracy back up the idea of re-entering the NLD to play in the national politics.In its 18-November statement, the party said the “NLD has unanimously decided to re-register as a political party… and will run in the elections”.

The NLD won an election in 1990 by a landslide, while Suu Kyi remained under house arrest, but the ruling generals never allowed the party to take power.

Meanwhile, Aung Min, the government’s Railways Minister, hinted remaining political prisoners could be freed as early as next month, according to a participant in recent peace talks with the Karen National Union (KNU). The minister informed two specific dates when the releases would take place, the first on Jan 4, Burma’s Independence Day, and the second on February 12, the Union Day.

According to the National League for Democracy party’s list of political prisoners, the estimated number is 591. According to today press release of Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma) AAPP, there are at least 1,572 individuals in Burma who have been arrested and sentenced on political grounds and are believed to currently be in prison.

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By Zin Linn 

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By Zin Linn 

Ongoing civil war in Kachin State has been on the rise in various fronts. Burmese government armed forces expanded their offensive without listening the people’s voices for peace talks in Kachin State. 

There was a skirmish between Burmese government soldiers and Kachin Independence Army’s (KIA) last week. Burma Army’s Light Infantry Battalion No. 386 based in Namma was attacked by KIA troops in two separate locations according to local eyewitnesses’ report. Three government soldiers were killed in action in northern Kachin state, where in recent months the worst hostilities has been taken place and damage the country’s peace and stability within almost two decades. 

On 3 November, one government soldier was killed and three others injured after an assault on a convoy roaming near Lagawng Kahtawng village located between the Mogaung ferry station and Lawa. The attack was made by the Kachin Independence Army’s battalion No. 14 under the command of the Hugawng valley-based KIA’s 2nd Brigade and fighters from the People’s Army. The People’s Army is separate from the KIA and instead led by a civilian command under the Kachin Independence Organization’s Department of General Administration, as said by the Kachin News Group (KNG). 

On 4 November, two more government soldiers from the same military column were killed and many more injured after a mine planted by the KIA’s Battalion 14 exploded as a Burmese convoy travelled the well-known Stillwell Road (also known as Ledo Road). According to local witnesses, the explosion took place on the Lawa to Dumbung section of the road near the Sai Lin Hka stream. 

The bodies of two government soldiers were buried near the stream whereas other injured soldiers were transported to Mogaung for treatment. In accordance with eyewitnesses’ report, before wounded soldiers were moved their uniforms were changed with civilians clothes, the local witnesses said. 

A source close to the Burmese army said that the convoy under attack had been on its way to help 5 wounded government soldiers who had survived an attack on 2 December at Dai Kri. At some point in the Dai Kri attack, which occurred between Ma-U Pyin and Nam Ya in the Hpakant jade mining area, the Kachin resistance guerrillas killed five soldiers and seized a variety of guns and ammunition, KNG said. 

Moreover, a surprise attack by the Kachin Independence Army in Mongkoe in Shan state killed at least 18 Burmese army personnel early Monday morning, as said by eyewitnesses’ report. The attack was occurred in downtown Mongkoe where the Government’s Military Strategic Office stationed and a police station at its next-door. 

Among the dead was Major Maung Maung Myo, the commander of the Infantry Battalion No. 129 based in Chin-shwe-hawy (Nyan-kun), the KIA confirmed. Although most of the slain were soldiers, two of the dead were members of the local police force, the KIA officers said. 

Several housings and offices in the military compound of the Strategic Bureau were also destroyed during the raid, a local resident said. The battle of Mongkoe near the Sino-Burma border was the most recent clash between the KIA and the government forces in an increasingly violent conflict that began in June this year. 

In keeping with the Kachin News Group referring a KIA official, the raid was lasted just about 45-minute and done by KIA Battalions 36 and 38 under the 4th Brigade based in Northern Shan State. In addition, Corporal Sumlut Gam Seng of the KIA’s Battalion 36 died in action during the raid, the KIA official said. 

During a military offensive against the KIA, Burmese armed forces shattered electricity power supply cables using artillery fire in Ga Ra Yang village on Nov. 1, referring KIO officials the Kachin News Group reported. 

Since then on, residents of Myitkyina, the capital city of Kachin state, have been living without electricity at present. The Burmese Army knowingly destroyed the power supply lines to the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) controlled area, said KIO officials. 

While fighting between the KIO and the Burmese army continues, preliminary talks between the two sides stay behind lacking any hopeful result. Late last month representatives from the KIO met with Burmese government representatives in both Thailand and China to thrash out ending the war which began in last June. 

Some analysts believe armed conflicts in Kachin State possibly will become wider since the Kachin resistance groups refuse to accept the junta’s new constitution which says Burma Army is the only military institution in the country. 

The Kachin rebels also consider the nominally civilian government which steadfast in the 2008 constitution will not let their basic rights or self-determination in accordance with the 1947 Panglong Agreement. 

The KIO leadership has constantly declared that it will not make an armistice without facts that a truce will be pursued by crucial political dialogue.

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Burma’s Thein Sein government looks to be on the verge of a historic move as democracy icon and key opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi recently decided to take part in the country’s official political arena and President Obama declared plans to send the US Secretary of State to Burma for the first time in half a century.

In an interview with Fox News, the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said there were specific steps she expected from Burma. According to Ms. Clinton, the US desires to see more political prisoners released and to see a real political process and genuine elections. In addition, the US wants to see an end to the conflicts, particularly the terrible conflicts with ethnic minorities, the US Secretary of State said.

Since the US has clearly called for an end to the war against the ethnic people, the Thein Sein government appears to open a first phase of cessation of hostilities plan.

For instance, U Aung Min, union minister of railway transport and special representative of President Thein Sein, met delegations from Shan, Karen, Karenni, Chin and Kachin armed ethnic groups at a secret location on the Thai-Burma border on November 19, according to the Shan Herald Agency for News (S.H.A.N.).

Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS), Karen National Union (KNU) and Chin National Front (CNF) had reportedly agreed to sign ceasefire accords with respective state governments after preparatory meeting with U A ung Min.

However, at the same time, the war against the Kachin rebels has been ongoing, with heavy casualties. On November 21, 37 soldiers belonging to a Burmese Army’s company died in action in N’Tap Bum war zone in Kachin State, northern Burma. The news was confirmed by a porter who escaped. He ran away from the Burmese military column and escaped to the KIA controlled area.

According to the porter, the soldiers were killed in the combat with Kachin Independence Army (KIA) soldiers in different places in the N’Tap Bum mountain range, about 8 miles southeast of KIA headquarters Laiza, near the Sino-Burma border, Kachin News Group reported.

More than 1,000 Burmese troops have been secretly deployed in the strategic mountain range since mid-October aiming to capture Laiza, KIA officials in Laiza said. On November 17, the Kachin armed forces successfully pushed back Burmese troops deployed in the mountain range and lots of arms and ammunition were seized by Kachin soldiers, said KIA officials.

However, skirmishes continue between KIA soldiers and the remaining Burmese troops in the mountain range, said KIA officers on the frontline.

Meanwhile, a peculiar yellow rain fell in Mai Ja Yang town Kachin State on Sunday, residents said. The yellow rain fell there in three different places in the town. The dark yellow rain fell from black clouds just like rain, according to residents there. The same yellow rain also fell in Mai Ya Yang on November 21, as said by residents.

As a result, children in Mai Ja Yang and those of people in refugee camps are suffering from coughs, said a health volunteer in the town. The reason of the cough was not known so far. Almost all children suffering from coughing had oral drought and continuing cough.

Until now, the KIO authorities and residents have no idea what the yellow rain is. The rain fell like paste unlike common rain-water, said eyewitnesses. They are extremely worried, wondering whether it is acid rain or chemical rain, a resident told Kachin News Group on Monday.

Most residents believe it could be the end result of the poison gas used by Burmese Army fighting against KIO troops near Mai Ja Yang. Burmese soldiers had attacked KIO with chemical weapons earlier this month, a victim said.

This act violates the Geneva Protocol which banned use of chemical and biological weapons in both civil and foreign conflicts. President Thein Sein’s government has to take responsibility for the use of such chemical weapons.

In brief, while other ethnic groups are on the way to negotiation, the Kachin group has been under attack. The government should not differentiate KIO from other groups.

If President Thein Sein really wants democratic reform in Burma, all the wars with respective ethnic rebels including KIA must be stopped immediately.

Credit : Zin Linn

by zin linn,

The Burmese government’s appointed human rights body – Myanmar National Human Rights Commission (MNHRC) – has submitted an open letter to President Thein Sein today calling for the release political prisoners or their transfer to prisons close to their families.

The MNHRC ‘s chairman Win Mra has urged the president to liberate prisoners of conscience. The appeal comes as speculation mounts about a new amnesty covering some of the country’s estimated 18,000 political prisoners.

Burma’s state-owned newspapers have published an open letter from National Human Rights Commission chairman Win Mra, calling on President Thein Sein to grant amnesty “as a reflection of magnanimity,” or to transfer political prisoners in remote prisons to facilities with trouble-free access for their family members.

Family members of Burma prisoners wait outside Insein Prison in Yangon Oct. 12, 2011 following an announcement that more than 6,300 inmates would be released. Unfortunately, very few of those were political prisoners. Pic: AP.

A similar and first appeal letter was published on October 11 and the next day the government announced an amnesty of 6,359 prisoners, including over 200 political prisoners. On October 12, the President Thein Sein government released 6,359 prisoners under an amnesty for elderly, ailing and obedient prisoners.

On November 10, speaking in Honolulu ahead of a weekend Asia-Pacific summit, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said that the United States was ready to become a “partner” of Burma if it makes good on signs of reform in the long-isolated country.

“Many questions remain, including the government’s continuous locking up of political prisoners and whether reform will be sustained and extended to include peace and reconciliation in the ethnic minority areas,” Clinton said.

Earlier in November, two senior US officials—State Department human rights chief Michael Posner and special envoy for Burma Derek Mitchell—also toured Burma and said they had constructive meetings with Burmese government officials and military leaders. They said if there is proof of true reform, the US “will be partners in that effort,” though they noted that the lifting of key sanctions, including a law barring US support for international loans to Burma, would require action by the US Congress.

In the October amnesty, prominent political prisoners Gen. Hso Ten, Zarganar and Su Su Nway were released. However, many more prominent student leaders such as Min Ko Naing, Ko Ko Gyi, Min Zeya, Htay Kywe and ethnic leaders such as U Khun Tun Oo are still languishing in jail.

Although the Government released 6,359 prisoners last month, most of them were ordinary criminals. In addition, the government constantly refuses to recognize that there are nearly 2,000 political prisoners in its notorious prisons.

A major amnesty in the coming days would coincide with the start of an Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit on the island of Bali in Indonesia. It would make stronger Burma’s efforts to take over the rotating ASEAN chairmanship in 2014, two years earlier than timetabled. So, the release of political prisoners would be seen as a positive development favoring its ASEAN chair bid, which is likely to be decided at this forthcoming summit.

The MNHRC‘s chairman Win Mra’s plea plainly referred to political prisoners, although the term was not applied. The amnesty message coincided with a press conference of the opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, celebrating the first anniversary of her liberation from house arrest.

Irrawady Myitsone Dam Construction site

Anti-Dam poster on Salween River.

Oversea Kachins display a placard in protest against Myitsone Dam.

By Zin Linn>>

Burma’s President Thein Sein has signed an amendment law on political parties in a noticeable effort to persuade National League for Democracy party led by democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi to reregister as a party recognizing the new political structure.

President Thein Sein signed the amendments to the Political Party Registration Law on Friday as senior US diplomats and a special UN envoy were ending their visits pushing his government to drive forward with democratic reforms.

Burma’s state-run TV and newspaper publicized on Friday that President Thein Sein has signed a law that amends three key areas of the Political Party Registration Law. Both houses of the Burmese Parliament had earlier endorsed the amendments.

In the previous law the wording said that all political parties must “protect” the State’s Constitution. In the amendment law the word “safeguard” was changed to “respect and abide” the Constitution.

According to the new law, previous two clauses were also changed. One clause said that serving prisoners are restricted from being a member of a political party and another clause said that a political party needs to contest in three parliamentary seats at least in an election.

Many analysts believe that the aim of amending the law is to pave a way for the National League for Democracy reregistering as a legal party. If so, the NLD may take part in the upcoming by-elections that would be the first electoral contest of its public reputation within a two-decade time.

Thein Sein government seems to take advantage of bringing Suu Kyi’s party back into the current parliamentary structure which would make the government healthier authenticity at home and overseas.

At the same time, Burma is expected to release at least 600 political prisoners in the coming days, government and opposition sources said, as part of an amnesty program by President Thein Sein’s nominally civilian government. A top government official, who asked to remain anonymous told Radio Free Asia (Burmese Service) in an interview Thursday that the release would likely come next week.

“I expect the release date will be Nov. 10, which is the important Buddhist Full Moon holiday,” he said.

“Student leaders Min Ko Naing and Ko Ko Gyi, and Shan Nationalities League for Democracy (SNLD) leader Kun Htun Oo are on the list. The list of those to be released has been submitted to the National Defense and Security Council by the president,” the source said.

Another official, also speaking anonymously, said he believed the release would “benefit national reconciliation.”

The opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) claims that several hundred political prisoners are yet to be freed. Suu Kyi and Labor Minister Aung Kyi have met several times to talk about the political prisoner situation.

Tin Oo, vice chairman of the NLD, told RFA that the two sides had been making considerable steps forward in resolving their differences, indicating that releases were expected the coming week.

The government visible moves – amending the party registration law, planning to free more political prisoners and some soft stances on media freedom – are believed to be a step ahead toward change. But, there are many unconvinced dissident groups inside and outside of the country.

According to those groups, Burmese government eagerly wants lifting of Western sanctions, financial assistance from monetary institutions and supporting of ASEAN Chairmanship in 2014. So, to fulfill its needs in a short period, there is no other way except to persuade Suu Kyi joining on its boat.

Sources close to the NLD also predicted that Suu Kyi and some of her party members are expected to take part in the upcoming by-election with full strength.

The NLD spokesman Nyan Win said the party was likely to get re-registered under an amended party registration law that removed clauses the NLD had pointed out as inappropriate and undemocratic.

In an interview with Radio Free Asia (Burmese Service), Nyan Win said that he considers she may stand in a by-election if the law was amended. “I personally want her to do so,” he added.

Even though, if she would decide to stand in the by-election after the law was amended, she may need to have the consent of the NLD Central Executive Committee. The next by-elections seem to be held belatedly this year.

According to some analysts, the government’s reforms, including a rare meeting between Aung San Suu Kyi and President Thein Sein and the recent release of over 200 political prisoners, are intended for shedding Burma’s friendless situation and giving it some consistency with the international community.

However, there are many democracy-supporters who dare not believe the Thein Sein government’s current steps forward as real change. Because, the civil war in Kachin State has been going on under full-scaled offensives and government’s soldiers are still abusing basic human rights widely. Besides, there are more than 20,000 war-refugees and IDPs along Sino-Burma border without having any humanitarian assistance due to brutal attacks by government’s soldiers.

Credit: Zin Linn

By Zin Linn

The Chinese army secretly transported dozens of Burmese troops inside its border on 21 October morning to fight against the Kachin Independence Army, which is resisting an offensive by Burmese regiments, referring local witnesses, Kachin News Group reported.

As said by eyewitnesses, approximately 30 Chinese military trucks clandestinely transported Burma Army’s soldiers from the Chinese border- trade city of Ruili (Shweli) to Jang Hkawng, another border town close to Loije on the Burmese side. Only two or three trucks in the military convoy were carrying Chinese troops and the rest carried Burmese soldiers, added local witnesses.

The aim of the maneuver seems to recapture two strategic positions which recently fell to the KIA at Jan Mai and Maw Shwi, near Loije, border-based military observers said. In the four month-long civil war, the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) seized two important frontline posts of Burma Army in Kachin State on 11 October, following more than 20 hours combating.

Concurrently, over 2,000 Chinese troops have arrived on the Sino-Burma border, where KIA strongholds have been positioned since early this month, said natives on the border. As stated by eyewitnesses, Chinese soldiers take military exercises every afternoon from 4 pm to 6 pm, in Jang Hkawng.

The Kachin Independence Army has taken counter action to the huge 6,000 megawatt Myitsone Hydropower Project with armed resistance. The armed-clashes displaced tens of thousands of Kachin war refugees, and ended a 17-year long armistice agreement between the Burmese army and the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) and its military wing KIA.

Kachin State which is situated in northern Burma (Myanmar) has been seriously facing appalling environmental change. Kachin State holds large areas of intact natural woodland, and is one of the most important biodiversity spots in the region. It has been under threat since 1994 when the KIO, agreed to a ceasefire with the Burmese military regime.

After ceasefire, the KIO was allowed to keep hold of its arms and get hold of some protective power while yielding defensible authority of natural resources to the then military regime. By agreeing ceasefire KIO has to give in privileges of Kachin State’s extraordinarily rich natural resources to the junta. For that reason, many Kachin people consider that ceasefire agreement causes abject poverty together with environmental damages in their land.

As the Burmese junta has a bad reputation with its human rights records, it offers the natural resources of the country to China in order to get shelter from the international criticism. As for KIO’s part, exploitations of the Kachin State’s natural resources by the Burmese and Chinese governments are unacceptable. Because, all natural resources management are approved by Burmese authorities without local consultation and such acts exacerbate animosity between the Burmese government and the Kachin community.

By accusing KIO’s self defensive war as jeopardy of border stability and China’s vested interests, Burmese authorities seem inviting China’s pressure in its ethnic affairs. The agreement to build seven hydropower dams on the Irrawaddy River and its tributaries with the China Power Investment Corporation (CPI) has been resulting forced relocation without consultation or compensation. Moreover, it will become the cause of flooding in Kachin Srate.

In October 2009, the Thailand-based Kachin Development Networking Group (KDNG) published a report – “Resisting the Flood” – highlighting the implementation of the Myitsone dam project on the Irrawaddy River.

The report demanded a halt to the project that is sponsored by the China Power Investment Corporation (CPI), its main investor and contractor. The dam project creates unwelcome impacts like social, environmental, livelihood, cultural and security problems for tens of thousands of people in the neighbouring area of the dam.

The report states that more than 15,000 people in 60 villages around the dam sites are being forcibly relocated without proper resettlement plans being drawn up by the Burmese military regime. These individuals have lost their means of livelihood such as farming, fishing and collection of non-timber forest products.

However, China selfishly affirms on dam-projects in Burma amidst serious complaints of the Burmese population. Hence, many people believe that the Burmese government has been escalating its military pressure on the KIO in order to protect China’s vested interest in Kachin State.

As a result, citizens think that China is pulling the strings in Burma’s politics in order to exploit not only natural resources but also to take advantage of regional politics.



Credit by: Asian Correspondent