Australia-Burma relations
Websites/Multiple Documents
Description:
About 375,000 results (August 2017)
Source/publisher:
Various sources via Youtube
Date of entry/update:
2017-08-22
Grouping:
Websites/Multiple Documents
Category:
Australia-Burma relations
Language:
English, Burmese (မြန်မာဘာသာ)
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Description:
The pages include information about services for Australian travellers overseas, advice about immigration and visas, information about Australia?s foreign policy and development assistance programs, and general information about Australia.
This website also contains links to other websites which outline the roles and responsibilities of the different agencies and departments of the Australian government.
Source/publisher:
Australian Embassy Burma
Date of entry/update:
2010-10-14
Grouping:
Websites/Multiple Documents
Category:
Australia-Burma relations
Language:
English
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Description:
"For as long as I can remember Australian governments have maintained Myanmar and Burma as the two names for one of Southeast Asia?s most important countries. Now — on websites and in public statements — consistency reigns among Australia?s officialdom.
This recently updated fact sheet sums it up neatly: ?The Australian Government refers to the country as Myanmar?.
Check out the government?s travel advice website for the newly Myanmarised presentation. I did a cheeky Control-F for ?Burma? and came up with nothing. Downunder, at least, the linguistic transition has occurred.
And, for those who are interested in some archival matter, my April 2012 thoughts on the topic are available here."
Nicholas Farrelly
Source/publisher:
"New Mandala"
Date of publication:
2012-11-16
Date of entry/update:
2014-07-17
Grouping:
Websites/Multiple Documents
Category:
Australia-Burma relations
Language:
English
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Individual Documents
Description:
"The Australian Government will provide an additional $12.5 million to meet urgent humanitarian needs in Bangladesh and Myanmar following Tropical Cyclone Mocha.
Tropical Cyclone Mocha caused widespread damage across Myanmar and Bangladesh when it struck on 14 May, affecting an estimated 2.4 million people and compounding an already serious humanitarian situation.
In Myanmar, Australia will provide $10.5 million to support 1.6 million affected people, through the United Nations-led response plan. This assistance will be provided to UN agencies and humanitarian partners to ensure that it does not directly benefit or legitimise the military regime.
In Bangladesh, Australia will provide $2 million to humanitarian partners, primarily to support Bangladeshi communities in the most severely affected areas.
This brings Australia’s contribution towards the Tropical Cyclone Mocha relief efforts to $13.5 million, following Australia’s initial $1 million contribution. Our initial support focused on the rapid delivery of humanitarian supplies and impact assessments.
The additional contributions build on our ongoing support for the humanitarian response in Myanmar and Bangladesh, now totalling $145 million in 2022-23.
We continue to urge the military regime in Myanmar to provide safe and unimpeded access for humanitarian assistance..."
Source/publisher:
Government of Australia
Date of publication:
2023-06-25
Date of entry/update:
2023-06-25
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
The discussion on humanitarian assistance to Burma, Australia-Burma relations, Cyclones - regional, Flooding in Burma/Myanmar
Language:
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Description:
"The Australian Government rejects this week’s court ruling in Myanmar against Australian Professor Sean Turnell.
It is more than sixteen months since Professor Turnell was detained by the Myanmar military.
He remains imprisoned in Myanmar, and we continue to call for his immediate release.
Professor Turnell has worked for Myanmar’s economic development for many years and is internationally respected for this record.
We will continue to advocate for Professor Turnell’s interests and well-being and will not stop until he is safely back with his family..."
Source/publisher:
Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs
Date of publication:
2022-06-10
Date of entry/update:
2022-06-10
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Individual Documents
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Description:
"October 28, 2021: The Australian Centre for International Justice, Justice For Myanmar and Stop Adani cautiously welcome Adani Ports’ plans to divest from their Myanmar container port business, which is a testament to grassroots campaigns for corporate accountability in Myanmar and Australia, and the work of the UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar (FFM).
The groups say Adani Ports’ decision to withdraw from the project shows that the Adani Group can walk away from projects that are breaching human rights and have renewed calls for Adani to shelve its controversial Carmichael coal mine in Australia that is opposed by Traditional Owners, the Wangan and Jagalingou people. Traditional Owners have this week called for urgent intervention from the Queensland government to protect a significant cultural site that Adani is preparing to clear for its coal mine. Earlier this month Queensland Police refused Adani’s requests to remove Traditional Owners occupying Adani’s Carmichael mine site and acknowledged their cultural rights under the Queensland Human Rights Act.
The port project is a partnership with Myanmar military conglomerate Myanmar Economic Corporation (MEC) under a build-operate-transfer deal, which made Adani Ports complicit in ongoing atrocities. Adani Ports’ deal with MEC came after the Myanmar military’s 2017 campaign of genocide against the Rohingya and was identified by the FFM in their report on the Myanmar’s military’s economic interests, which called for all businesses to cut ties with the Myanmar military and its conglomerates.
In March 2021, ACIJ and JFM published Port of Complicity, a report into Adani Ports’ business in Myanmar that included new evidence of payments to the MEC and the company’s direct relationship with Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, increasing pressure on investors. Adani Ports’ initial response was to deny the stark evidence of its business relationship with MEC.
In June, Adani Ports disclosed that they had paid US$90 million to MEC.
In August, ACIJ and JFM wrote to the US Treasury urging them to reject a request from Adani Ports for a general licence to exempt them from US sanctions on MEC.
Adani Ports’ business dealings in Myanmar and Australia have severely damaged the company’s reputation. In April, Adani Ports was removed from the Dow Jones Sustainability Index after human rights and environmental groups submitted a case for review due to Adani Ports’ links to the Myanmar port project and the Adani Carmichael coal project in Australia. Adani Ports set up the Bowen Rail Company who will soon begin hauling coal from Adani’s mine to Adani’s coal port on the Great Barrier Reef, the North Queensland Export Terminal, which is operated by Adani Ports. Investors continue to exclude the company citing environmental and human rights concerns.
Adani’s decision to divest comes amid increasing troop reinforcements and attacks against people in Sagaing and Magway Regions and Chin State in north-western Myanmar and as the UN reports fears of a spike in atrocities. As the military increases their campaign of terror, businesses and their investors must ensure that they are not complicit in financing the Myanmar military’s grave crimes.
Justice For Myanmar spokesperson Yadanar Maung says:
“Adani Ports’ plan to divest shows community and investor pressure works. Business with the terrorist Myanmar military does not pay. Adani Ports should never have gone into business with MEC, knowing they would be complicit in the Myanmar military’s atrocities. Adani Ports must now find a way to exit responsibly by mitigating the impact on their Myanmar workers and recovering what they can of their $90 million payment to MEC so they do not leave a windfall for the terrorist Myanmar military. Contractors on the port, including ITD Cementation India and Singapore firms HSL Constructor Pte Ltd and Asia Infrastructure Ptd Ltd must also ensure they cut all ties with the Myanmar military. Continuing work to develop the port creates an asset that the Myanmar military will use to further finance their campaign of terror.
While we recognise that Adani Ports has finally made the right call in Myanmar, Adani Group continues to do harm to the climate and communities elsewhere. We stand in solidarity with First Nations people, the Wangan & Jagalingou and all Australians in opposing Adani’s destructive Carmichael mine project.”
Rawan Arraf, Executive Director at the Australian Centre for International Justice said:
“We welcome the decision by Adani Ports to disengage from their deeply flawed investment in Myanmar. It was untenable for Adani Ports to maintain business with a sanctioned entity and after sustained pressure from the public and investors. It is a testament to the coordinated work of activists in Myanmar who were joined by campaigners in Australia and abroad to expose its dealings in Myanmar. For years, Adani Ports ignored the clear and direct public warnings before and after it entered into business in Myanmar.
It is positive that Adani Ports has shown an apparent willingness to engage in human rights due diligence obligations by divesting from Myanmar. However, there are massive failings connected to the Adani Group’s operations in India and Carmichael that it must reconcile. The impacts on the human rights of the Traditional Owners, the Wangan & Jagalingou are severe, they face destruction of their sacred places and cultural heritage. Adani Group companies must respect the rights of the Wangan & Jagalingou people and shelve its destructive Carmichael coal mine.”
Pablo Brait, Campaigner, Market Forces said:
“Adani finally announcing that it will walk away from its business with the Myanmar military shows that with enough pressure it can be convinced to do the right thing. The next project it needs to walk away from is the climate-wrecking Carmichael thermal coal mine. Building a new coal mine at a time when coal use needs to be urgently phased out sabotages efforts to limit global warming.”..."
Source/publisher:
Australian Centre for International Justice, Justice For Myanmar, Market Forces and Stop Adani
Date of publication:
2021-10-28
Date of entry/update:
2021-10-28
Grouping:
Individual Documents
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Format :
pdf
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190.26 KB
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Sub-title:
In a statement, the shadow government also offered to make its own recommendations for a ‘non-political’ representative
Description:
"Myanmar’s shadow government said on Monday that it welcomed a decision by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) not to allow the country’s military chief to attend a summit of the regional grouping later this month.
In a statement, the National Unity Government (NUG) called the move an “unprecedented and positive step” and urged the bloc to ensure that not only junta members, but also “any individuals and organisations” associated with the regime, are barred from the summit.
“ASEAN must ensure the Myanmar representative can objectively represent the interests of Myanmar and its people,” the NUG said in its statement.
“We stand ready to provide recommendations for [a] non-political representative for ASEAN’s evaluation and consideration,” it added in response to the bloc’s announcement that it would invite an alternative representative for Myanmar to the summit.
On Saturday, Asean’s current chair Brunei announced that junta chief Min Aung Hlaing would not be invited to the upcoming summit due to his regime’s failure to implement a five-point consensus reached between the junta and the regional grouping in April.
Military spokesperson Maj-Gen Zaw Min Tun called the decision “disappointing” and remarked that the regional association’s policy of non-interference in the internal affairs of member states had been weakened due to “external pressures and other reasons,” according to a report by the BBC’s Burmese-language service.
The NUG said, however, that the military had taken advantage of the principle to prevent meaningful engagement to resolve Myanmar’s current political crisis as it continued to try to consolidate control over the country “by force and violence.”
“The junta has betrayed not only its own people but also the leadership of ASEAN,” the NUG statement said.
In a 13-minute televised address on Monday, Min Aung Hlaing accused the NUG, the ousted lawmakers’ Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH), and some ethnic armed groups of inciting violence and sabotaging the military’s efforts to restore peace and stability since the April consensus.
“We still have to solve this till today,” he said, arguing that opponents of the regime are chiefly responsible for the ongoing violence in the country.
“No one has been trying to prevent and stop their violence, but they have demanded that we solve those problems. ASEAN should help us deal with that,” he added.
Regarding last week’s postponement of a planned trip to Myanmar by ASEAN’s special envoy to the country, Erywan Yusof, the junta chief said that further negotiations would be needed before the visit could go ahead.
In his address, Min Aung Hlaing also said that those currently serving prison sentences or still in custody facing charges for their involvement in protests would soon be released.
Later in the day, the junta announced plans to release 1,316 convicted detainees and drop charges against an additional 4,320 individuals, including some who are still at large, on “humanitarian grounds.”
However, those who receive the regime’s clemency will also be required to sign a pledge stating that they agree not to take part in anti-regime activities, the announcement said..."
Source/publisher:
"Myanmar Now" (Myanmar)
Date of publication:
2021-10-18
Date of entry/update:
2021-10-18
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Australia-Burma relations, National Unity Government (NUG), Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH), Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory
Language:
more
Description:
"Australia has been criticised for not doing enough in reaction to Myanmar’s coup. It has been urged to impose targeted sanctions and be more active in its diplomacy through face-to-face meetings and shuttle diplomacy. It has been described as weak, slow and ineffective and accused of prioritising trade over human rights.
But does this criticism match the reality of what Australia has done?
Australia has put its name on statements condemning the coup in international bodies including the United Nations. Minister for Foreign Affairs Marise Payne has issued six formal statements on Myanmar since the start of February, including unequivocal language calling for the National Assembly to reconvene consistent with election results. She has spoken to more than 20 counterparts about the situation in Myanmar. Defence cooperation has been suspended (Australia already has an arms embargo on Myanmar) and development aid has been redirected to immediate humanitarian needs. As the situation has worsened, with the military using violence to suppress protests, additional humanitarian aid has been pledged.
Australia has not minced its words. Prime Minister Scott Morrison said: ‘We have been a longstanding supporter of Myanmar’s democratic transition, including the election in November … We all hope for what I know the Myanmar people want to achieve’. Australia’s most senior diplomat Frances Adamson has called the military coup ‘catastrophic’.
There is no doubt about Australia’s position on the coup. Australia believes that a well-governed and stable Myanmar is in the interests of Australia and the region. Other countervailing interests are not significant enough for Australia to prioritise them over human rights concerns. Trade is unlikely to have an impact given Myanmar only just makes it into Australia’s top 50 export destinations. The situation of detained Australian Professor Sean Turnell, an economic adviser to ousted State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, has not stopped Australia from speaking out despite fears it might be affected by hostage diplomacy.
The question for Australia is a tactical one: what is most likely to improve the situation for the people of Myanmar? Given that Australia’s reaction has been clear and unequivocal from day one, further condemnation is unlikely to have any greater effect. There are three areas where criticism seems justified.
First, while Australia already has some targeted sanctions on Myanmar, it would have been useful to have the option to be able to impose more. Unfortunately, Australia cannot do so easily or quickly under its current system. In this, Australia lags behind, as was shown recently when it could not coordinate with other countries in imposing sanctions relating to human rights abuses in Xinjiang. A parliamentary inquiry recently recommended Australia change this by introducing new Magnitsky-style laws, and draft legislation is expected to be tabled this year.
Second, while Australia’s long-term policy is to recognise states, not governments, this is no bar to communicating with the parallel Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH) government, as other countries have reportedly done.
Third, Australia should have immediately extended the visas of Myanmar students who fear to return. While students were reportedly being assessed on a case-by-case basis, there would have been no downside to announcing a blanket extension as an interim measure, as finally happened in early May.
Australia has decided the best tactical approach is to work with ASEAN. A number of ASEAN states are putting pressure on Myanmar, particularly Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and the Philippines. In a departure from its usual diplomatic style, the bloc convened a special summit to deal with the Myanmar issue, with Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo staking political capital on its success. The summit came up with a five-point plan including the immediate cessation of violence, ASEAN provision of humanitarian assistance and a visit by an ASEAN special envoy to meet all parties and facilitate mediation of a dialogue process. In these circumstances, it is reasonable for Australia to frame the question as how it can support ASEAN’s efforts.
What is striking in the case of Myanmar’s coup is that nobody thinks it is a good idea: not ASEAN, China, Japan, South Korea, the United States, the EU nor the G7. Some, like Russia and India, have chosen not to condemn, but there is nothing to suggest they welcome the coup. In this case, there is no conflict between those who focus on human rights and democracy and those who focus on stability and development, all of which have been jeopardised.
Junta leader General Min Aung Hlaing is friendless in his attempts to maintain power by trashing Myanmar’s constitution. But it has been hard for any external forces to have influence given limited leverage. If a regime does not care about international condemnation, it can brazen it out.
Myanmar’s coup is a reminder of the limits of any external influence, not just Australia’s. This should be kept in mind through any consideration of the impact Australia could have..."
Source/publisher:
"East Asia Forum" (Australia)
Date of publication:
2021-05-14
Date of entry/update:
2021-05-15
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Human Rights and international relations, Australia-Burma relations, ASEAN-Burma relations, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état
Language:
more
Sub-title:
Exclusive: special rapporteur Tom Andrews says crimes against humanity are happening ‘before our very eyes’ and calls for urgent action against military junta
Description:
"A top United Nations expert is in direct talks with the Australian government about how to expand sanctions against Myanmar’s military regime, and warned that crimes against humanity are being “committed before our very eyes”.
Tom Andrews, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar, told Guardian Australia the government should target the commander-in-chief, whom he described as “the gang leader” responsible for mass atrocities, and should link additional sanctions with those imposed by other countries.
On Wednesday the Australian government attempted to reassure more than 3,300 Myanmar nationals in Australia that it was not planning to send them home when their visas expired, amid concerns about the dangers they might face in the wake of the 1 February coup.
The Australian government has condemned the coup and the killing of more than 700 civilians, but has not announced any sanctions beyond those applying to five military figures who have been on the list since 2018. Human rights groups have criticised Australia for appearing to act slower than some of its key allies and partners..."
Source/publisher:
"The Guardian" (UK)
Date of publication:
2021-04-14
Date of entry/update:
2021-04-15
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Sanctions - general, Australia-Burma relations, 2021 Burma/Myanmar coup d'état, Political prisoners and other violations in Burma - reports, Right to Life: reports of violations in Burma, Armed conflict in Burma - attacks on civilians, The UN and Burma - news and commentary
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169.4 KB
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" Australia has suspended its defence cooperation programme with Myanmar, Foreign Affairs Minister Marise Payne said, amid an intensified crackdown by the country’s military on massive protests against last month’s coup.
Australia will also redirect immediate humanitarian needs to Rohingyas and other ethnic minorities, Payne said in a statement late Sunday.
“We will prioritise the most pressing humanitarian and emerging needs and seek to ensure our humanitarian engagement is with and through non-government organisations, not with government or government-related entities,” Payne said.
Australia bilateral defence ties with Myanmar’s military are restricted to non-combat areas such as English language training.
Canberra will also continue to demand the immediate release of Sean Turnell, an economist and adviser to deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi, authorities said. Turnell has been detained with limited consular access since the Feb. 1 coup that overthrew Myanmar’s elected government.
Hundreds of people gathered in Australia’s largest city of Sydney over the weekend urging the Australian government to take a strong stance against the coup.
The Southeast Asian country has been plunged in turmoil after the army took over control of the country and detained elected leaders, with daily protests that United Nations said had killed more than 50 people.
“We continue to strongly urge the Myanmar security forces to exercise restraint and refrain from violence against civilians,” Payne said..."
Source/publisher:
"Reuters" (UK)
Date of publication:
2021-03-03
Date of entry/update:
2021-03-08
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Freedom of opinion and expression: - the situation in Burma/Myanmar - reports, analyses, recommendations, Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Right to Life: reports of violations in Burma, Human Rights and international relations, Discrimination against the Rohingya, Political role of the Tatmadaw, Politics and Government - global and regional - general studies, strategies, theory, Australia-Burma relations
Language:
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Sub-title:
Suspend Military Ties; Press for Accountability
Description:
"Australia should avoid dealings with Myanmar that play down its military’s egregious rights abuses, Human Rights Watch said today in a letter to Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne. Human Rights Watch urged the Australian government to immediately end military ties with Myanmar.
A meeting on January 29, 2020 between Australia’s ambassador to Myanmar, Andrea Faulkner, and Myanmar’s military commander-in-chief, Sr. Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, overlooked the general’s responsibility for grave crimes committed against ethnic Rohingya Muslims since 2017. Min Aung Hlaing used the meeting to bolster his public image and to present a picture of normal relations between the Australian and Myanmar militaries that undercuts efforts by other governments to isolate a commander implicated in serious abuses. “Australia should be sanctioning Min Aung Hlaing, not taking photos and exchanging gifts with someone who should be investigated for mass atrocities,” said Elaine Pearson, Australia director at Human Rights Watch. “In its meetings with Myanmar officials, Australia should never give the impression that it’s business-as-usual with no repercussions for Myanmar’s ethnic cleansing campaign against the Rohingya.”
In 2018, the United Nations-backed Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar recommended that Myanmar’s top military generals should be investigated for genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. The UN report named six high-ranking military commanders, including Sr. Gen. Min Aung Hlaing..."
Source/publisher:
Human Rights Watch (USA)
Date of publication:
2020-02-02
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-21
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Human Rights Watch Reports on Burma/Myanmar, Australia-Burma relations
Language:
more
Sub-title:
Exclusive: Australia accused of giving legitimacy and credibility to a military accused of mass atrocities
Description:
"The commander-in-chief of Myanmar’s defence forces – recommended by the UN for investigation and prosecution for war crimes and genocide – has met with Australia’s ambassador and says he wants to train more of his officers in Australia.
Senior General Min Aung Hlaing is the supreme commander of Myanmar’s military, known as the Tatmadaw, which has been accused of genocide in its systematic persecution of the ethnic and religious minority Rohingya.
In “clearance operations” begun in August 2017, thousands of Rohingya were murdered, women and girls were gang raped, while pregnant women were targeted for torture and murder. Other people were burned alive in their homes, and more than 700,000 Rohingya fled over the border to Bangladesh.
Australia’s ambassador, Andrea Faulkner, met Min Aung Hlaing on 29 January at the Bayintnaung Villa in the capital, Naypyidaw. The pair exchanged gifts and posed for photos. Human Rights Watch has said Australia’s decision to take the meeting risked giving legitimacy and credibility to a military accused of mass atrocities..."
Source/publisher:
"The Guardian" (UK)
Date of publication:
2020-02-20
Date of entry/update:
2020-02-21
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Arakan (Rakhine) State - reports etc. by date (latest first), Genocide, Discrimination against the Rohingya, Burmese refugees in Bangladesh, Australia-Burma relations
Language:
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Description:
"The euphoria about the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in Indonesia and elsewhere in South and Southeast Asia (SEA) has been felt since 2017, particularly following the country’s participation in the BRI Summit in Beijing that year, where Indonesia (along with other SAARC and ASEAN member states) was expected to receive massive investments from China to support several infrastructure projects.
This year, the debates concerning the BRI are again becoming prevalent after Indonesia’s Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs Luhut Binsar Panjaitan as Indonesia’s representative signed 28 BRI projects last April. Among the various debated subjects is the growing concern about the real nature of the BRI. Is that a Chinese developmental initiative or a geopolitical instrument that uses debt-trap as a tool to bring targeted countries into the desired terms..."
Source/publisher:
"Modern Diplomacy"
Date of publication:
2019-11-19
Date of entry/update:
2019-11-21
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
“One Belt, One Road” initiative, Burma/Myanmar's relationship with the Global Economy, Burma's economic relations with China, Australia-Burma relations, China-Burma relations
Language:
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Description:
"They may not be the first two countries that come to mind when people think of the Pilbara, but last week Australia’s ambassadors to Myanmar and Kuwait visited the region.
The visits were part of the Australian Government’s Global Heads of Mission Meeting, in which all ofAustralia’s heads of mission headed to Canberra to consider Australia’s response to foreign trade, development policy challenges and opportunities.
They then travelled to locations around regional Australia to help the community understand how the Australian Government’s work overseas delivers benefits to all, and to listen and respond to local perspectives.
Australia’s ambassador to Myanmar Andrea Faulkner visited Karratha and said WA was the State which had the most, in a business sense, to do with her patch.
“There’s real opportunities in Myanmar for the oil and gas sector,” she said
“Woodside is Australia’s biggest investor in Myanmar.
“They’re involved in exploration of LNG on the West coast.”
While in Karratha, Ms Faulkner met with the Murujuga Aboriginal Corportation, Yara Pilbara, Woodside, the City of Karratha, the Pilbara Development Commission, Bush Lolly Cafe, Karratha Senior High School, Yindjibarndi Aboriginal Corporation and Rio Tinto..."
Source/publisher:
The West Australian (Australia) via "Pilbara News"
Date of publication:
2019-09-22
Date of entry/update:
2019-09-23
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Australia-Burma relations, International Relations, Burma/Myanmar's Foreign relations, general
Language:
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Description:
"Regular readers of The Interpreter will know that, over the past few years, this site has closely followed the Australian government?s efforts to grapple with the diplomatic implications of the formal change of Burma?s name in 1989 to Myanmar. The indications are that this saga may finally be over..."
Andrew Selth
Source/publisher:
"The Interpreter"
Date of publication:
2016-08-10
Date of entry/update:
2017-05-01
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Australia-Burma relations
Language:
English
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Description:
Introduction...
The Historical Contexts...
Australian Ambassador to Myanmar...
Working Under Military Authoritarian Rule...
Myanmar in 2000: Ready Or Not For Change?...
Engagement Versus Disengagement...
Australia?s ?Limited Engagement? Initiatives...
Encounters with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi...
Bilateral Sanctions and Successful Alternative Approaches...
Early Australian Public Diplomacy Possible in Myanmar...
Reflections on Coming to Terms with Myanmar: Personally and as Convener, ANU Burma/Myanmar Update 2004?13...
Image Section...
Bibliography.
Trevor Wilson
Source/publisher:
ANU Press
Date of publication:
2016-00-00
Date of entry/update:
2016-04-28
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Australia-Burma relations
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
1.36 MB
Local URL:
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Description:
Australian involvement and
the Shan?s resistance: "SMEC, an Australian-based services
company that morphed out of the Snowy
Mountains Engineering Corporation, was
recently handed a petition containing
23,717 signatures opposing a giant dam on
the upper Salween River at Mong Ton that
would effectively divide Myanmar?s warshocked
Shan state in half. It was not the
first time it had been told the idea stinks.
Undeterred, SMEC went back to the
protest ing villages and continued its work.
Later the Burma Army took five protesters,
later releasing them. Some were beaten
and slapped.
SMEC is the public face of a consortium
planning the dam. Its task, conducting the
Environmental and Social Impact Assessments (EIAs and SIAs), takes it into
potentially affected villages. SMEC finds
itself heroically taking one for the gang: the
disaster-prone Three Gorges Corporation;
Sinohydro, which has been involved in
several controversial dam projects in the
past; the Myanmar Electricity Power
Enterprise; and state energy monopsony
Thai Electricity Generating Authority.
There are rumours that a UK team of
engineers, Malcolm Dunstan and Associates
—involved in dam building in Myanmar in
the past and, because of human-rights
violations on the sites, placed on the UK
Burma Campaign?s ?Dirty Company? list—
might also be involved, but those could
not be substantiated.
SMEC has been meeting the people of Shan
state, seeking agreement to build the Tasang
dam at Mong Ton. It has faced serial
rejection (a story detailing that rejection,
with a critique of SMEC?s procedures, was
removed from Asian Correspondent after
legal threats from SMEC). Meetings have
been cancelled due to local hostility. Shan
women have risen to their feet, their voices
rich and challenging, telling the SMEC
representatives that, having survived years
of war, they refuse to let their ancestral lands be drowned to produce unneeded electricity for China
and Thailand..."
Melody Kemp
Date of publication:
2015-00-00
Date of entry/update:
2016-01-31
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Language:
English
Format :
pdf
Size:
170.69 KB
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Description:
"There were plenty of hours leaning against walls, sitting on step-ladders or standing on steps at the recent Assocaition of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in Naypyitaw. With the limited information reporters were getting from ASEAN leaders in the Summit rooms, I turned to the reporters to ask them of their impressions of the Summit, and more broadly, Naypyitaw..."
Olivia Cable
Source/publisher:
"New Mandala"
Date of publication:
2014-11-24
Date of entry/update:
2014-12-14
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Dialogue/reform/transition in Burma/Myanmar - analyses and statements, Australia-Burma relations
Language:
English
more
Description:
"...In Myanmar, just five days ago, The Department of Immigration announced it was giving an unspecified amount to the country over a five year period to strengthen ?capacity for stronger border management?. Indeed Scott Morrison, at the beginning of the year, strangely referred to borders as ?Australia?s greatest asset? and since that time has channeled millions in aid and Department of Immigration and border security funding to export border technologies throughout the region under the rhetoric of ?anti-people smuggling?, including in Cambodia. In the Myanmar case, it is clear that this is a blatant attempt to deal with the hundreds of thousands of Rohingya asylum seekers trying to make their way to Australia. There are currently 140,000 Rohingya in displacement camps and an unknown number who have already tried to make the perilous trip southwards..."
Tim Frewer
Source/publisher:
"New Mandala"
Date of publication:
2014-12-05
Date of entry/update:
2014-12-14
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Australia-Burma relations
Language:
English
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Description:
"In his speech, Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott highlighted the fact that trade between ASEAN countries and Australia today is eighty times larger than it was forty years ago. Furthermore, two-way investment is $155 billion dollars. Today, one million people visit Australia every year from ASEAN countries, and 2.5 million Australian?s visit ASEAN countries every year. More than 100,000 students from ASEAN countries study in Australia every year. According to Abbot this is a sign of the strength of the relationship between Australia and the nations of ASEAN.
Abbott observed the weight ASEAN countries now have. For example, Malaysia is on the verge of becoming a high-income country. Indonesia is on its way to being a democratic superpower of Asia and Singapore?s GDP per head is higher than Australia?s. These ?indisputable facts? are a tribute to the work which ASEAN countries have done. Abbott sees Australia as having played its part to advance the region. Abbott made mention that Australia will set up an ASEAN-Australia Council, which seeks to work on people-to-people, institution-to-institution and business-to-business links in Asia. Furthermore, Australia will establish a Mekong business initiative, which seeks to develop small businesses in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. Abbott hopes ASEAN countries are now aware of the New Colombo Plan, where students from Australia are going to the region to compliment the flow of students from Southeast Asia to Australia..."
Olivia Cable
Source/publisher:
"New Mandala"
Date of publication:
2014-11-13
Date of entry/update:
2014-12-13
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Australia-Burma relations
Language:
English
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Description:
Burma?s military government dominates the country?s politics and its economy.[1] It has continued to repress political opponents (including Aung San Suu Kyi) and its record in economic development and human rights is considered widely to be poor. While a number of Western governments have condemned the Burma regime?s policies, its relations with neighbouring countries (most notably China) have facilitated the regime in resisting external influence. The government has recently unveiled a new Constitution and has declared that elections will be held in 2010. Attention will focus in the next two years on whether the proposed elections will simply result in the consolidation of the military?s dominance or provide an avenue for some change. This Background Note outlines major recent developments in relation to Burma and Australia?s policies towards it.
Frank Frost
Source/publisher:
Parliment of Australia
Date of publication:
2009-10-16
Date of entry/update:
2010-10-14
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Australia-Burma relations
Language:
English
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Description:
On October 5, 2009, Human Rights Watch sent a letter to Australia?s Foreign Minister Stephen Smith, urging Australia to work closely with its Asian neighbors to ensure a united front in addressing the human rights situation in Burma.
Kenneth Roth
Source/publisher:
Human Rights Watch
Date of publication:
2009-10-05
Date of entry/update:
2010-10-14
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Australia-Burma relations
Language:
English
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STEPHEN SMITH
Source/publisher:
Australian Government
Date of publication:
2010-02-10
Date of entry/update:
2010-10-14
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Australia-Burma relations
Language:
English
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Description:
Radio Australia?s new Burmese language service began on 9th November 2009, with two news broadcasts. Radio Australia?s Chief Executive, Hanh Tran, said Burma?s elections next year and increased international attention on the military-led country prompted the decision to start the new radio service.
Source/publisher:
Australia Network/Radio Australia
Date of entry/update:
2010-10-14
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Australia-Burma relations
Language:
Burmese, English
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Description:
"Breaking ranks with the international community, Australia�s Foreign Minister Alexander Downer became the first Western official to visit Burma in decades...
It is clear that despite calls from the international community the junta has no real commitment to improving human rights or bringing about real political change, in Burma. It only took 24 hours in Burma to confirm that for Australian Foreign Minister, Alexander Downer.
After meeting with junta leaders and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, Downer told the world that the junta has no current plans to discuss national reconciliation with the opposition. He also told the Thai Foreign Minster in Bangkok that the time had come to increase the pressure on Burma. Now, Australia says it will put more public and moral pressure on Rangoon to show good faith and begin talks with the opposition. On his visit to Burma, Downer�s remarks made many observers think that Australia was considering a policy shift on Burma.
Unlike most Western democratic countries, Australia previously believed it could persuade the junta with friendly "limited engagement" to respect human rights and restore democracy in Burma. Australia never held much faith in isolating Burma and has continued to maintain diplomatic ties with Rangoon..."
Dr Myint Cho
Source/publisher:
"The Irrawaddy" Vol. 10, No. 8
Date of publication:
2002-10-00
Date of entry/update:
2003-06-03
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Australia-Burma relations
Language:
English
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Description:
Will Australia?s approach to the human rights problems in Burma succeed where others have failed? No, writes Josef Silverstein.
Josef Silverstein
Source/publisher:
"The Australian"
Date of publication:
2000-08-22
Date of entry/update:
2003-06-03
Grouping:
Individual Documents
Category:
Constructive Engagement, Australia-Burma relations
Language:
English
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