Xi during his meeting with Burma’s number two military strongman Maung Aye on Tuesday, said China valued good-neighbourly relations with Burma,

China wants stability in Burma: Xi
by Salai Pi Pi
Wednesday, 17 June 2009 22:11

New Delhi (Mizzima) – China’s Vice President Xi Jinping has conveyed to the visiting Burmese Vice-Senior General Maung Aye his country’s willingness to help military-ruled Burma achieve stability and prosperity, according to China’s official media.

Xi during his meeting with Burma’s number two military strongman Maung Aye on Tuesday, said China valued good-neighbourly relations with Burma, which has been maintained for the last six decades, a report by Xinhua said.

“He [Xi] stressed that the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence were the cornerstone of China’s diplomacy, and as a good neighbour, China hoped Myanmar would overcome difficulties to achieve stability and prosperity,” the report said.

Meanwhile, Aung Kyaw Zaw, a Sino-Burma border based observer on Wednesday said, Xi’s expression of ‘stability and prosperity’ is unclear and does not indicate what China wants to see as a state of stability in the military-ruled country.

“The words ‘stability and prosperity’ could mean a lot. It could also mean stability under military rule or stability through national reconciliation into transition to a democratic government,” Aung Kyaw Zaw pointed out.

The neighbourhood bully flexes its muscles

By: KYAW ZWA MOE
Published: 17/06/2009 at 12:00 AM
Newspaper section: News
One of the favourite tactics of the Burmese junta is its “bully” policy. The latest attacks on the army of the Karen National Union (KNU) on the Thai-Burma border are ample proof.

The troops of the military regime and its cease-fire group, the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA), have launched sustained clashes since early June. In two weeks, the conflict has forced an estimated 4,000 to 6,000 Karen villagers to flee their homes.

Many of them are hiding in the jungle while some are arriving in Thailand as displaced people.

Within the past fortnight, the Burmese military and DKBA troops have fired more than 200 mortar rounds in clashes with the Karen National Liberation Army, the military wing of KNU, in Pa-an district of Burma’s eastern Karen State.

The current rainy season is an unusual time for the regime to launch its military campaign, with at least 6,000 soldiers of several battalions in the area. Local Karen sources say that more troops are being deployed into the area.

This military campaign is linked by three factors: pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, neighbouring Thailand and the KNU rebels, one of the oldest surviving rebel armies in Southeast Asia.

A few days after Mrs Suu Kyi was charged with breaching the terms of her house arrest, Thailand, as the current chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), took the unusual step of denouncing the junta’s trial of Mrs Suu Kyi and calling for her immediate release.

The generals in Naypyidaw were furious and responded by attacking the Thai government in state-run newspapers, which said the announcement by Thailand interfered in the internal affairs of an Asean member country and disregarded the principle of non-interference in the Asean charter.

The junta’s newspapers wrote: “The Thai government is not a good friend and is interfering in Burma’s internal affairs.”

Since then, the two governments have exchanged verbal volleys and the junta continues to publish articles critical of Thailand’s stance.

One of the consequences of Burma’s offensive against the KNU is that many Karen villagers strike out for one of the Karen shelters on the border, where hundreds of thousands of Karen escapees now live.

Thailand now faces a fresh flow of Karen asylum seekers. Last week, Thai commander Lt-Gen Thanongsak Aphirakyothin, whose unit operates along Thailand’s western border, said that a total of 1,741 Karen have entered Thailand from eastern Burma since the fighting started.

The commander said: “Most of the refugees are women and children.”

David Takarpaw, vice chairman of the KNU, said: “The attack is continuous.” And Sally Thompson, deputy executive director for the Thailand-Burma Border Consortium that assists refugees, said: “There is still shelling in the areas.”

They indicate that Thailand can expect more refugees in the coming weeks and months. Thailand, which has caused “political problems” for the regime, now has a problem of its own caused by Burma.

Isn’t this an act of bullying?

GENEVA – Five independent United Nations human rights experts* on Tuesday urged the authorities of Myanmar to ensure that the trial of Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader of the National League for Democracy and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, and two of her aides, is “fair and open.”

16 June 2009
GENEVA – Five independent United Nations human rights experts* on Tuesday urged the authorities of Myanmar to ensure that the trial of Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader of the National League for Democracy and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, and two of her aides, is “fair and open.”

“So far, the trial of Aung San Suu Kyi and her aides has been marred by flagrant violations of substantive and procedural rights,” said Leandro Despouy, the Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers. Pointing to the fact that, to date, the trial has mostly been conducted behind closed doors and that the media have been prevented from speaking to the defence lawyers, Despouy said that “Transparency in the administration of justice is a pre-requisite of any State governed by the rule of law.”
continue

http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2009/06/un-rights-experts-criticize-suu-kyi.php

8888 People Power Vol 3 No 3 – Jun 2009

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Regional commander forcibly sells notebooks to schools in Shan State-e price of the book was already cut in advance from teacher’s salaries.

WEDNESDAY, 17 JUNE 2009 17:34 HSENG KHIO FAH
The Chairman of Shan State (North) Peace and Development Council and Commander of Northeastern Region Command Maj-Gen Aung Than Htut has been forcibly ordering all government schools in each township in northern Shan State to buy exercise books delivered by him saying that it is compulsory, according to sources from the Sino-Burma border.

The books were delivered to the schools since schools started at the beginning of June. He also set a deadline for the teachers to send the money by the end of June.

The money is now being collected by teachers in every school, said a source.

A dozen exercise book was sold at least for Kyat 3,600 (US$ 3.6) while the market price for good quality exercise books is just over Kyat 2,000 (US$ 2), a local source in Lashio said.

“The qualities of their books were bad and the pages were very thin,” he said.

A primary school in Si Aw village, Laogai (Laukkai) was ordered to buy 5 dozens and the price of the book was already cut in advance from teacher’s salaries. And teachers therefore have to recollect from the students, an INGO worker in Laokai told SHAN.

“The book doesn’t have any logo. It is only written FUJI on the cover,” he said.

School days for the present academic year is different from previous years as there is only a day off in a week. “They [junta] are trying to complete all exams before the forthcoming 2010 general elections,” he added.

Junta authorities had just finished issuing national IDs cards for people in Laogai last month, according to him.

http://www.shanland.org/

Karen Women’s Organization calls for increased international pressure to end SPDC military Offensives

16th, June 2009

The Karen Women’s Organization is gravely concerned at the renewed displacement and suffering of civilians caused by the Burmese regime’s latest military offensive in Pa-An District of Karen State, and calls for increased international pressure to bring an immediate end to the fighting.

Since June 2, 2009, troops from five battalions of the regime, the State Peace Development Council (SPDC) and three battalions of the Democratic Buddhist Karen Army (DKBA) have been shelling and attacking villages close to the Thai border. This has caused almost 4,000 villagers from 20 villages, mostly women and children, to flee to Thailand.

Among the Karen refugees, over 800 are children under thirteen years old, including over twenty breastfeeding babies. There are also 20 pregnant women. The KWO is deeply concerned for the health and welfare of these vulnerable populations, particularly during the onset of the rainy season. “People have fled with frighten and exhaustion said KWO spokesperson Blooming Night Zan. “I saw one mother struggling to care for her two-day-old baby. It made me so sad and angry with the SPDC and DKBA for carrying out these attacks.”

Time and again our people have been forcibly uprooted by such attacks of the military regime. This cycle of displacement and suffering must be brought to an end.

Statement by Karen Community Based Organizations (KCBOs) on SPDC-DKBA Offensive

June 17, 2009

Burmese military attacks its people in order to secure power in 2010

The State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) and Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) attacked the Karen National Liberated Army Brigade 7 since the beginning of June. This has forced about 3,500 villagers to abandon their villages and flee for their lives in Thailand.

“The villagers were terrified from escaping for their lives. It is heartbreaking to see pregnant women and new born babies in this heavy rainy time struggling.”
Naw Hsa Moo , Karen Student Network Group Secretary.

The Karen CBOs call on the SPDC/DKBA to immediately cease the attacks in Pa-an district, withdraw their troops and let the villagers return to their villages to live a normal life.

We request the international community to continue to provide humanitarian assistance to those recently displaced to Thailand and to support Karen CBOs efforts in providing emergency needs and to further support community development to those displaced civilians in Karen State.

We strongly urge the SPDC to stop all offensives in the border areas of Burma and to invite the Karen National Union to discuss the end to civil war in Karen State. We urge the SPDC to release Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners, and to hold open tripartite dialogue with democratic forces and ethnic representatives.

The offensive is one of the indicators of how desperately the SPDC wants their 2010 election plan to have their desired outcome. It is clear that the SPDC is using 2009 to shut down all possible opposition to their plan to ensure that their hold on power is ratified by their highly undemocratic election process next year.

Burmese Army soldiers abandon 210 wives in eight villages

6/17/2009
Burmese Army soldiers have deserted over 210 women from eight villages located near the town of Rathidaung, 20 miles north of Sittwe, after marrying them, said a youth who compiled a list.

“I have collected the names of the women, who were deserted by Burmese soldiers from only eight villages in Rathidaung Township, but I could not collect the names of women from other villages and townships in Arakan state,” he said.

The list compiled by the youth comes after three army battalions were sent to Rathidaung to be stationed from 1992 to 2008. The three battalions are LIB 536, 537 and 538.

The eight villagers are – Kha Naung Gyi, Say Kan, Kan Byin, Taung Hla Maw, Wra Thit Kay, Nga Tauk Tuu Chay and two other wards in Rathidaung- northeast east and south.

Among the 210 women, some were widowed after the soldiers died on the frontline in eastern Burma. But most of the women were abandoned by the Burmese soldiers.

“I saw many children with the women but I did not get the chance of compiling a list of children due to security problems. I hope to collect the children’s list soon,” he said.
According to a local source, many Arakanese women married Burmese soldiers in Arakanese tradition where there is no need for documents and registers.

a Junta editorialist writing under the name Kyaw Ye Min said the “KNU issue…

… will come to an end” if Thailand follows China’s lead and practices a policy of non-interference in Myanmar. The editorial said the KNU’s refusal to make peace was because “remnant KNU members are aided and abetted … [at] KNU stations under the name of refugee camps” in Thailand.“There remain only a handful of KNU remnants and they are taking shelter at the so-called refugee camps in [Thailand],” he wrote. “Then, they frequently leave their camps, secretly enter Myanmar and wage guerrilla attacks.”

“Such unnecessary issue takes place in none of the borders Myanmar shares with other neighbouring countries. The root cause of issues on [internally displaced persons] and refugees in the Thai-Myanmar border is that [Thailand] accept and let the problems keep on taking place.” The statement came a week after fighting between Tatmadaw-controlled forces and KNU guerrillas close to Ler Per Her camp in eastern Kayin State forced thousands of IDPs to flee across the border and into Thailand.

The New Light of Myanmar said Myanmar’s current relationship with Thailand was under “unprecedented” strain and Thailand is no longer “a good neighbouring country”.

“Though the relations between Thailand and Myanmar were good during the time of the former [Thai] prime minister, at present the relations between the two countries are under strain which had been unprecedented in the history,” Kyaw Ye Min wrote.

Kyaw Ye Min is brainwashed

ask villagers back by Kwekalu Karen News

http://www.kwekalu.net/update/askvillagersback.html