Burma Report BR-I 82
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BURMA REPORT March 2010 Issue N° 82 jrefrmh = rSwfwrf; Free all political prisoners, free Aung San Suu Kyi, free Burma. THE BURMANET NEWS - February 26, 2010, Issue #3905 , "Editor" <[email protected]>, <www.burmanet.org> PRESS RELEASE - February 26, 2010 - Foreign and Commonwealth Department (UK) Failure of Aung San Suu Kyi appeal The denial of Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s appeal against her sentencing in August 2009 was condemned today by Foreign Office Minister Ivan Lewis, although he said it came as no surprise. In his statement this morning on the verdict, Mr Lewis said: "The rejection of Aung San Suu Kyi’s appeal is a further, sad indictment of the Burmese regime. The military government continues to suppress all dissent, deny Burma’s people their fundamental freedoms, and detain democratic and ethnic leaders. I urge the regime to recognise that in a country of over one hundred ethnic groups, there can be no national reconciliation, no peace and no prosperity without an inclusive political process. The elections planned for later this year present an historic opportunity to reverse Burma’s bitter decline into poverty and international isolation. The UK government will continue to do all it can to press them to seize this opportunity. The EU and the entire international community stand ready to respond quickly and positively to tangible progress." Mr Lewis’ statement supported the earlier announcement from Prime Minister Gordon Brown who said: "I am appalled and saddened that Aung San Suu Kyi's appeal against the sentence imposed by the regime has been denied. That failed appeal is sadly no surprise. From start to end, the sole purpose of this show trial has been to prevent Daw Suu Kyi from taking part in elections. In my open letter to Aung San Suu Kyi in December, I said that this should be a historic year for Burma. Free, fair and genuinely inclusive elections would allow the country to move forward, to map a new path. But while she is kept out of political life and while over 2100 other prisoners of conscience remain incarcerated, the regime's elections will not gain recognition nor international legitimacy." The UK government continues to be at the forefront of international efforts to free Aung Sang Suu Kyi. Her sentencing to a further 18 months house arrest in August 2009, following a sham trial, provoked widespread international outrage. This denial of her appeal has cast further doubt on the legitimacy of the elections the regime plan this year. ********************************************************************************************************** The Irrawaddy - Newsletter for Friday, February 26, 2010, [email protected], www. irrawaddy.org High Court Rejects Suu Kyi's Appeal By BA KAUNG - Friday, February 26, 2010 - <http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=17898> Burma's highest court on Friday rejected Aung San Suu Kyi's appeal against her continued detention under house arrest, according to her lawyer. “The Supreme Court rejected our arguments against the sentences of Daw Suu and two of her inmates,” said the lawyer, Nyan Win. He said that he will make a final appeal to Burma's chief justice within the next one or two days.Suu Kyi had her latest round of house arrest extended in August for violating the terms of her house arrest by briefly sheltering an uninvited American intruder in her home in May 2009. Burma's highest court heard final arguments by the lawyers of Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and government lawyers on Jan. 18. In a trial widely condemned as a farce, the 64-year-old Nobel Peace Prize laureate was initially sentenced to three years in prison with hard labor, but the sentence was commuted to 18 months house arrest by junta chief Snr-Gen Than Shwe FOR PEACE, FREEDOM, DEMOCRACY AND HUMAN RIGHTS IN BURMA Page 2 Burma Report - Issue - 82 March 2010 Suu Kyi's lawyer argued that her house arrest extension was unlawful because it was based on provisions from the 1974 Constitution which was no longer in effect. Government lawyers countered that the 1974 Constitution could still be cited since it was not officially abolished. “The court today accepted the arguments made by the government lawyers,” Nyan Win said. Diplomats from France, Britain, Australia and the United States gathered in the courtroom to hear the decision, he said. National League of Democracy party spokesman Khin Maung Swe said, “The decision shows that the election will be nowhere near all-inclusive, free and fair. With the party leader detained, the party remains in a difficult position on the election.” Meanwhile, European diplomats and NLD leaders on Burmese activists shout a slogan during a rally calling for the release of Friday met for a discussion about the upcoming election their pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi in front of the Burmese Embassy in Seoul, South Korea lat year. (Photo: AP) and the party's political stand, the party officials said. At the party's headquarters in Rangoon, four Central Executive Committee (CEC) members of the NLD, including dissident journalist Win Tin, met with diplomats from the embassies of Britain, France, Norway, Italy and the United States, according to party spokesman Khin Maung Swe. The meeting took place hours after the Burma's highest court rejected Suu Kyi's appeal against her continued detention under house arrest. The discussion was centered on the question of whether the NLD would join the election or not, Khin Maung Swe said. “The diplomats asked us our position toward the election and what they can do for us,” he said, adding that during the discussion, the NLD party officials echoed Suu Kyi's recent comment that the time was not right to decide about participation in the election. The party officials also emphasized the importance of meetings between Suu Kyi and the regime chief, Snr-Gen Than Shwe, and also between Suu Kyi and the party's CEC members. The party has not yet decided whether to participate in the election and party officials claim they are still holding on to the party's Shwegondaing Declaration which calls for a review of the controversial constitution, political dialogue and the unconditional release of all political prisoners, including NLD leader Suu Kyi. The Burmese regime has announced that it will hold a general election this year although it has yet to set a date or issue election laws. Many fear that elections are merely a facade for the military regime to legitimize its rule in the eyes of the outside world. ****************************************************************************************************** < [email protected] > - [email protected] Chinland Guardian.com - <http://chinlandguardian.com/news-2009/898-eu-rebukes-burma-on-elections-plan.html> EU Rebukes Burma on Elections Plan 12 February 2010: The European Parliament has issued fresh rebukes at Burma’s military regimes’ continued failure to improve human rights and to meet international expectations regarding the planned elections this year. Citing an array of continued violations in Burma, the legislative organ of the world’s most powerful regional bloc in a resolution on Tuesday says that the EU cannot consider the elections to be free and fair under the present conditions. The European legislature in Brussels also issued a list of lengthy demands to the long-reigning Southeast Asian military junta. Among the demands are to start an inclusive political dialogue with all concerned parties, including the ethnic groups aimed at national reconciliation and a transition to democracy. For the elections to be considered free and fair, says the EU, Burma must allow the participation of all voters, all political parties and all stakeholders in the electoral process and accept international observers. The new resolution came in the wake of fresh military offensives in Burma’s eastern Karen State by the military junta, and ongoing efforts by Thai authorities to push back thousands of Karen refugees fleeing the continuing onslaught back FOR PEACE, FREEDOM, DEMOCRACY AND HUMAN RIGHTS IN BURMA Page 3 Burma Report - Issue - 82 March 2010 to Burma amidst amounting international concerns for their well-beings. Zoya Phan, International Coordinator at the Burma Campaign UK welcomes the new resolution, but urges the European Commission, the administrative arm of the European Union to heed the resolution. “We strongly welcome the European Parliament’s support, and call on the Commission’s officials to stop ignoring these Resolutions, and instead act on them,” the official at the UK-based advocacy organization says. The fresh condemnations of Burma’s military junta came at the same time that the EU was looking to review its Burma policy in the wake of a new US policy approach announced last year, which seeks to engage the regime while existing sanctions remain in place. Chinland Guardian. ****************************************************************************************************** THE BURMANET NEWS -February 18, 2010 - Issue #3899 -"Editor" <[email protected]> www.burmanet.org Asia Tribune - Thu, 2010-02-18 01:57 — editor - <http://asiantribune.com/news/2010/02/18/burma%E2%80%99s-junta-pulls-wool-over-uns-eyes> Burma’s junta pulls the wool over the UN's eyes - By - Zin Linn Burma’s junta sentenced four women activists to two years imprisonment with hard labor on the same day U.N. special envoy Tomas Ojea Quintana arrived for a five-day visit to evaluate progress on human rights in the country. The four women were arrested on 3rd October 2009, after being accused of offering Buddhist monks alms that included religious literature, said Nyan Win, spokesman for the opposition National League for Democracy headed by detained Nobel Peace prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi. “When passing the sentence, the court could not provide strong evidence against them as there is no (reliable) witness,” their lawyer Kyaw Ho said.