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Tuesday July 1, 9:54 AM
Mandela's birthday will bring
sage advice
By Toby Reynolds
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) -
After overcoming nearly three decades of imprisonment and almost a lifetime of
racial discrimination to forge South Africa's peaceful post-apartheid democracy,
Nelson Mandela's advice is worth listening to.
And, as part of
celebrations to mark his 85th birthday this month, Mandela plans to extend some
of that wisdom to an audience of two billion young people via a special
television broadcast on the big day, July 18.
The former South African
president and Nobel peace laureate will commandeer an hour on MTV, the
international music channel, to discuss three subjects close to his heart:
HIV/AIDS, the struggle for democracy, and reconciliation.
Since stepping
down from front-line politics in 1999, when he handed the reins of South
Africa's fledgling democracy to President Thabo Mbeki, Mandela has concentrated
on what he considers the world's ills.
AIDS -- a disease ravaging
sub-Saharan Africa -- is top of the list. With as many as one in nine South
Africans carrying the HIV virus, Mandela has repeatedly used his international
stature to urge young people to battle the epidemic.
In December last
year, he carried his AIDS campaign to a global audience in an MTV concert staged
in Cape Town.
While the broadcast featured stage shows by Sean "P.
Diddy" Combs and Alicia Keys, Mandela broached more serious matters, introducing
a young rape victim who had contracted HIV, and highlighting the discrimination
she suffered as a result.
POLITICAL FIRE STILL BURNS
Mandela has not completely abandoned the fiery politics that made him
the apartheid government's number one enemy in the 1950s and 60s and landed him
in prison for 27 years.
The revered peacemaker has returned to the
limelight more than once to rebuke U.S. President George W. Bush and British
Prime Minister Tony Blair for their handling of this year's Iraq conflict, and
for what he says is their disregard of United Nations unity.
And, ahead
of his 85th birthday, some of that fighting spirit is still on view.
During the interviews recorded for the birthday programme, Mandela
renewed his attack on Bush, and also rounded on Israeli Prime Minister Ariel
Sharon -- this time focussing on their approach to the Middle East peace
process.
Confronted by the grievances and faltering faith of a Ugandan
infected with HIV, a Burmese democracy activist, and an Israeli and a
Palestinian robbed of family members by fighting between their two sides,
Mandela advocated hope, and trust in peaceful means.
He had words of
encouragement for Ugandan Henry Luyombya, an HIV-positive AIDS activist who said
he was running out of faith in his work to raise awareness of the disease in his
country and to fight the stigma attached to it.
"I asked Mandela how he
managed to survive under hard conditions, and what motivated him...And he told
me he didn't do it own his own. In our struggle against HIV/AIDS we need a
combined effort," 23-year-old Luyombya said.
ENCOURAGEMENT...AND
HARSH WORDS
Mandela also told Min Zin, who is campaigning for
democratic change in military-ruled Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, that he
had no need to feel guilt because his political activities had separated him
from his family.
"He said you shouldn't feel guilt because you are doing
a good thing," said the 29-year-old activist.
But when Mandela came to
speak to Israeli Guy Levy, who lost his sister to a Palestinian suicide bomber,
and to Palestinian Jumana Issa Al-Ali, whose father was shot by Israeli
soldiers, his words were less comforting.
He told them that Palestinians
and Israelis had to suppress their anger with each other to achieve peace. "Your
blood (says)...these people have treated me cruelly in the past, and I do not
want to have any dealings with them, but your brain speaks a different
language."
He slammed the election of Sharon and his right-wing
government earlier this year as "suicidal" for peace, and said Bush's sidelining
of Palestinian President Yasser Arafat was a big mistake for a man who was
"President of the United States, not President of Palestine".
HECTIC PACE
Mandela maintains a pace that would
exhaust a person decades younger.
His charity work, channelled largely
through the Nelson Mandela Foundation, keeps him busy raising funds and he is
frequently called on to meet visiting luminaries ranging from football star
David Beckham to the foreign minister of France.
But South Africa's
grand old man -- known affectionately to millions of South Africans by his clan
name "Madiba" -- has made more time for young people both at home and abroad,
and his birthday special could mark his broadest cross-generational appeal yet.
MTV executive Bill Roedy told Reuters he hoped the programme would reach
at least two billion young people, and that Mandela's influence, together with
the youths he spoke to, would raise awareness of the issues they covered.
"Whether you agree with his political views...the moral authority that
Nelson Mandela has is another quality that resounds with our audience."
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UN refugee agency hits back at Thai criticism over Myanmar
exiles
BANGKOK, July 1 (AFP) - The United Nations refugee agency defended
itself Tuesday against the Thai government's allegation that it has violated the
kingdom's sovereignty by granting refugee status to Myanmar exiles.
The
government has said it wants to become involved in the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) process because it currently had no details of
the identities or whereabouts of those who won refugee status.
The UNHCR
said in a statement, however, that it had always been willing to work with Thai
authorities on the issue and that it regularly shared details of applicants for
refugee status.
"The latest list was shared with the government on 13
June 2003. Statements to the contrary are therefore not accurate," it said.
"UNHCR has repeatedly invited the participation of the Royal Thai
Government in the refugee status determination process... UNHCR therefore
welcomes the new offer made recently by the government for (the two sides) to
work more closely on this issue, including through issuing joint documentation
to refugees."
The UNHCR is empowered to grant refugee status in Thailand
because the nation is not a signatory to the UN treaty on refugees, and does not
have its own legislation governing the determination of refugee status.
The agency said, however, that for nearly three decades it had done so
with the "full consent and cooperation" of the Thai government, and had dealt
with more than 1.3 million refugees over that time.
The attack on the
UNHCR followed the arrests of 11 Myanmar democracy activists for illegal entry
after they were found organising a demonstration calling for the release of
detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
Myanmar dissidents, many of
whom fled their military-ruled country after the bloody democracy crack-down of
1988, have in the past staged violent incidents in Thailand.
In October
1999, five armed rebels were involved in a day-long siege at the Myanmar embassy
in Bangkok, in which nearly a hundred people were taken hostage, which was
followed by another dramatic stand-off at a major hospital.
Prime
Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said Tuesday that Thailand should have the last word
in any dispute with the UNHCR over granting refugee status.
"In the case
that Thailand and the UNHCR cannot agree, the UNHCR should abide by Thailand's
demands as Thailand is a sovereign state and we do not have to comply with
whatever they want," he told reporters.
Thaksin also expressed
frustration over objections expressed by western countries to his plan to "put
in order" the issue of exiled Myanmar activists.
"All the generous
western countries can accept these people instead. It's not fair that Thailand,
which is not a rich country, should have to shoulder the burden," he said.
Thaksin said that apart from discussions with the UNHCR planned for
Wednesday, Thailand needed to talk with rights groups on how to balance the
dissidents' rights with the need for national security.
He said Thailand
had for many years allowed the UNHCR to issue refugee status, known as "person
of concern" status here, but that it had failed to monitor the card holders.
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Hoover's
PTT to penetrate Chinese, Myanmar fuel
markets
June 30, 2003 6:20pm
Section: Corporate News -
PTT Plc, the recently-privatised petroleum authority, is poised to penetrate
Chinese and Myanmar markets for petrol and cooking gas, a senior PTT executive
announced today.
Mr. Apisit Rujikeatkamjorn, Vice President of PTT's Oil
Business Group, said that the Chinese state enterprise Sinopex had recently
urged PTT to expedite plans to distribute cooking gas to the Chinese provinces
of Yunnan and Sezchuan, due to increased demand for cooking fuel.
Noting
that China was now off the World Health Organization (WHO) list for countries
affected by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), he expressed belief that
demand for cooking fuel would continue to grow this year in line with the
rapidly expanding Chinese economy.
At present, he said, PTT was
deliberating whether to send the gas via road from Chiang Rai and Myanmar, a
160-170 kilometre route, or to send it via boat on the Mekhong River, which
would be considerably more expensive. PTT was now waiting permission from the
Myanmar government to allow its vehicles to pass through Myanmar on the way to
China, he said, adding that China would be responsible for transportation from
the border town of Mae Sai onwards.
Mr. Apisit said that PTT also planned
to sell cooking gas to Myanmar, and that the Myanmar Ministry of Energy had
agreed for PTT to establish a gas cylinder filling plant across the border from
Mae Sai, at a cost of Bt4-5 million. Under the agreement, PTT would sell the gas
to Myanmar, and it would then be packaged under a Myanmar brand.
"The
export of cooking gas to China and Myanmar is one way of boosting marketing
channels", he said, adding that PTT also hoped to sell petrol to Myanmar. At the
moment, he said, PTT was awaiting approval from the Myanmar cabinet to open
another border crossing at Mae Sot, which would enable PTT to send another 50
million litres of petrol to Myanmar each year.
PTT currently sends 100
million litres of petrol to Myanmar each year via Mae Sai and Ranong.
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Taiwan News
Friend expresses
confidence over Suu Kyi's mental state
2003-07-01 / Agence
France-Presse /
Concerns for Myanmar democracy icon Aung San Suu
Kyi's health emerged Monday as she marked one month in detention at the hands of
the military rulers who have given no indication of when she will be freed.
The British government has said that the 58-year-old National League for
Democracy (NLD) leader is being held in a two-roomed hut at the notorious Insein
jail without even a change of clothes.
A close family friend of the
feisty opposition leader, who is typically immacuately dressed with flowers worn
in her hair, said he was confident she would remain in strong spirits despite
the harsh conditions.
But he said there were concerns a chronic stomach
condition which has troubled her for many years may flare up again.
"I'm
not worried about her mental strength, mentally she's a very strong person. I'm
just worried about her health," the friend told AFP.
"She has a stomach
problem, which means she can't eat just any type of food that is given to her."
Rumours have been circulating among Myanmar-watchers that Aung San Suu
Kyi had gone on a hunger strike in protest at the junta's move to take her into
"protective custody" in the wake of violent protests on May 30.
But the
family friend said he believed that was unlikely.
He said that during
times of political upheaval she adopts a strict regimen of meditation and
minimal food and water, and that this together with her refusal of poor-quality
prison food could have sparked the rumours.
"She is always prepared for
any eventuality and before going on trips she goes on a minimal diet and
retreats into meditation so that she can withstand these sorts of situations
very well," he said.
Despite a mounting international outcry, Myanmar's
ruling junta has given no sign of when it will release Aung San Suu Kyi.
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Bangkok Post - Tuesday 01 July 2003
Burmese at Suan Pueng `to toe line'
Sunan Ochakachorn -
Ratchaburi
Burmese students at the holding centre in Suan Pueng
district have pledged not to engage in unruly activities in protest against
Rangoon's detention of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
Provincial
Governor Komes Daengthongdee said yesterday the Burmese students had promised to
toe the line and not take part in disruptive protests.
Mr Komes said the
students were free to express support for the people they respected, but they
must obey the centre's rules.
Burmese dissidents who fled persecution in
their country were earlier housed at the Maneeloy holding centre in Pak Thor
district.
Some of them later became involved in violent anti-Rangoon
activities, causing Thai authorities to close down the Maneeloy
centre.
They were moved to the Tham Hin centre in Suan Pueng for better
control. Of about 200 students at Tham Hin, 20 are awaiting transfer to a third
country.
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Bangkok Post - Tuesday 01 July 2003
PM threatens deportations
No protests, obey the rules,
dissidents told
Post reporters
Burmese
dissidents will be deported if they continue to misbehave by harbouring
movements on Thai soil to sabotage the Burmese government, Prime Minister
Thaksin Shinawatra said.
If the dissidents persisted in disregarding the
law by causing disruption outside their holding area, sending them back to Burma
would be the only option.
Mr Thaksin said he had lost patience with
Burmese dissidents wandering about uncontrolled.
The dissidents,
including students in self-exile, were often seen converging in front of the
Burmese embassy in Bangkok to pressure the Rangoon junta to release opposition
leader Aung San Suu Kyi from detention.
Mr Thaksin said the students had
overstepped the mark. If the law-breaking continued, the government would have
little choice but to send them back, even though the students would be subject
to harsh punishment at home.
``But if they act sensibly, we will try to
sympathise with them on humanitarian grounds,'' Mr Thaksin said.
The
prime minister was speaking after repeating his calls for the United Nations
High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to work with Thai authorities by
restricting the movements of Burmese dissidents in designated areas.
The
Burmese dissidents, mostly students, are categorised as persons of concern. The
government is upset that the UNHCR hands them refugee cards while being unable
to regulate them. Some card-holders have been caught peddling drugs.
On
the surface they appeared driven by ideology, Mr Thaksin said. They reportedly
included die-hard opponents of the Burmese junta.
Mr Thaksin said it was
high time ``the rules of the game'' were imposed on the dissidents.
While
the responsibility for containing the dissidents did not fall solely on the
UNHCR, the agency must work with Thai authorities and in respect of a common set
of rules.
The UNHCR, he said, may be oblivious to the fact that the
Burmese had been roaming the streets.
``Laxity has gone on long enough,''
Mr Thaksin asserted.
He insisted the government would not allow any
elements intent on sabotaging other countries to base themselves on Thai
soil.
Mr Thaksin did not mind if the Burmese students were rebuking the
junta from within the confines of the holding centre. But they must not do so
walking around.
``We set up camps for them and that's where they must
stay,'' he said.
The government was worried dissidents ``let loose''
could endanger security.
``I don't think Thais would fancy the notion of
granting citizenship indiscriminately to all foreign nationals being sheltered
here,'' Mr Thaksin said.
The longer Burma detained Mrs Suu Kyi, the more
the country would suffer in the long run due to international sanctions, he
said.
Poverty would worsen and Thailand, already hard-pressed coping with
its own poor, was in no position to look after refugees from a neighbouring
country.
Meanwhile, Foreign Affairs Minister Surakiart Sathirathai was to
meet the UNHCR representative today to review the rules governing the issuance
of refugee cards.
From now on, the minister maintained, the UNHCR must
seek government approval before distributing the cards.
Figures showed
that up to 1,500 people of concern had received the cards. The government knew
nothing about where they lived or even their names.
They must be
traceable for security reasons. Only the UNHCR had records of them, he said.
Mr Surakiart said he would do his utmost to convince the agency to agree
to the criteria review.
The foreign minister said 17,000 foreign
nationals, Burmese included, were in Thailand but did not have refugee cards.
Another 120,000 displaced people were here as well.
``The government has
to know where they are,'' he said.
Mr Surakiart said Burmese students
and other foreign nationals had travelled freely around the country holding
refugee cards which entitled them to move only in their designated camps.
Leniency would now give way to a strict screening process. Mr Surakiart said the
UNHCR renewed the cards almost indefinitely.
Previous talks with the
UNHCR to curtail the number of Burmese refugees had failed. But the
circumstances had changed with Burma edging closer to national reconciliation.
This should make repatriating the refugees or sending them to a third country
more viable.
--------------------------------------------------------------
The Nation
BURMA REFUGEES: Govt wants
UN to alter label policy
Rungrawee C
Pinyorat
Published on Jul 1, 2003
Urges UNHCR
to share information on registered exiles
The government will meet
officials of the UN High Commission for Refugees tomorrow to discuss the status
of Burmese exiles living in Thailand and revamp the way the agency labels them.
The government is unhappy with UNHCR's policy of issuing
"persons-of-concern" status to the Burmese without first advising it.
Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai said the UN had the right to
grant the status to any foreigner seeking UN protection but Thailand, as a
sovereign country with security concerns, should be told how many people are
granted the status and their activities.
"We expect to make our position
clear to UNHCR that, among other things, we wish to have the authority to
endorse the status granted to anyone in our territory," Surakiart said.
"We will tell the UNHCR to discuss with us its procedures for granting
the status, otherwise we would be unable to protect and oversee our own security
and sovereignty," Surakiart said.
The UN's persons-of-concern status has
again become a hot issue after a number of Burmese exiles staged a series of
protests in front of the Burmese Embassy in Bangkok to protest the military
junta's detention of Aung San Suu Kyi.
Police last week arrested 11
Burmese exiles who joined the protests and distributed leaflets attacking
Burma's military junta. Some of them were persons-of-concern under the
protection of the UN.
When the government complained that it was never
advised about the exact number of the Burmese holding the status, the UNHCR
argued that it had the right to issue the status without informing the
government.
"The UNHCR has informed us that they granted the status to
about 1,400-1,500 Burmese taking shelter in Thai territory. They know the names
and addresses while the government knows nothing," Surakiart said.
The
government is taking the issue more seriously now that the situation in Burma is
relatively stable and not generating more asylum-seekers. Foreign Ministry
spokesman Sihasak Puangketkaew said the government would also discuss with UNCHR
officials the conditions and requirements of those who want to apply for the
status.
The persons-of-concern identity cards should also specify
issuing and expiry dates, Sihasak said.
Prime Minister Thaksin
Shinawatra has already told the interior and foreign ministries to limit the
movements of the Burmese. He said they certainly should not be permitted to
stage protests against neighbouring governments.
"The Burmese are
entitled to stage protests against their government in camps we provide. They
can say what they want," he said.
"But it is not right that they come to
Bangkok and protest. We do not like any situation that we cannot control."
---------
Only police show up at rally
More
than 100 police cordoned off the Burmese Embassy yesterday while a police car
with a mobile prison cell stood ready to take away any Burmese demonstrators
calling for the release of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
But
nobody, Burmese or otherwise, turned up.
On Sunday, Police Chief Sant
Sarutanond said he would arrest any Burmese exiles staging political protests in
Thailand. His words followed a tip from Rangoon that Burmese dissidents planned
to kidnap Burmese diplomats or Thai officials to exchange for Suu Kyi's freedom.
Police yesterday stood guard outside the embassy, where a rally was
expected to mark the one-month anniversary of Suu Kyi's most recent detention by
the junta.
From early morning, dozens of uniformed police and about 80
in plain clothes waited around the building. Fences were erected to prevent
protestors from entering the embassy compound.
"If any Burmese shows up
to protest, round them up. If they are Thai NGOs [non-governmental
organisations] or Ramkhamhaeng students, let them be," a police officer
instructed his subordinates on duty outside the embassy.
One police
officer from the Yan Nawa district commented as he unlocked the doors of the
mobile prison cell: "We should leave the door open so we won't waste our time
when they [Burmese protestors] come".
A Muslim Burmese who visited the
embassy to pay his monthly taxes to his home government was a little surprised
by the police presence. He said he also wanted Suu Kyi to be released and hoped
the Burmese economy improved. Islam has long been suppressed in Burma, said the
man, a native of Arakan state who is a long-time resident of Thailand.
Thai authorities arrested 11 Burmese exiles on Thursday who they said
were preparing for political protests in Bangkok. All|hold papers issued by the
United Nation High Commissioner for Refugees.
Authorities have declared
their intention to tighten regulations on Burmese exiles in the Kingdom in a bid
to curtail their political activities in the country.
--------------------------------------------------------------
Asian Tribune
Date :
2003-07-01
16,000 Burmese may be moved from national
park
By Piyanart Srivalo
Bangkok,
July 01: The government is considering relocating at least 16,000 Burmese
displaced persons from the Salween National Park to a district in Mae Hong Son
to prevent further encroachment on the park.
Deputy Prime Minister Suwit
Khunkitti said the government had reason to believe that the Burmese were being
hired by influential people to fell trees in the park and smuggle them across
the border to illegal sawmills, from which the processed wood was later smuggled
back across the border to be sold in Thailand. Suwit said yesterday the
relocation plan would prevent the park, which straddles Tak and Mae Hong Son,
from being further encroached on. The Burmese would be moved to forest land in
Mae Hong Son's Mae La-oon village, in Mae Lamaluang district.
Suwit said
13,000 Burmese displaced persons were registered and 3,000 were not.
The
Cabinet will make a final decision on the issue today. With the help of the
National Security Council, the relocation plan could be completed in two months,
he said.
After the relocation, park officials would grow trees in the
area. Suwit said the National Park Department had compiled a master plan to
protect northern forests.
He said the department would monitor aerial
photos every three months to make sure the forests were not being encroached
upon.
- The Nation -
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The Courier-Journal - Monday, June 30, 2003
McConnell leads fight to end oppression in
Myanmar
Senator pushes for sanctions against Asian country.
By JAMES R. CARROLL
jcarroll@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
WASHINGTON ? Traveling
in Asia in 1999, Sen. Mitch McConnell tried to visit Myanmar ? the former Burma
? but the Asian country's ruling military junta denied him a visa.
"They
know my name," said McConnell, R-Ky., who wanted to talk to the leader of the
pro-democracy opposition in the country that has been under military rule since
1988.
McConnell has been the most active Senate opponent of the junta
since a foreign policy aide on his staff got him interested about a decade ago
in Myanmar, and he has worked to pressure the regime to end its repression and
turn over power to a popularly-elected government.
Myanmar has attracted
renewed attention since generals cracked down last month on pro-democracy
opponents, led by Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi.
On June 11,
the Senate overwhelmingly passed a package of economic sanctions against Myanmar
co-sponsored by McConnell and Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif. They have asked
the House to do likewise following the one-week Fourth of July recess.
McConnell also has encouraged President Bush and Secretary of State
Colin Powell to take up the cause of freedom for Myanmar's 50 million residents.
The proposed sanctions would bar all exports from Myanmar to the United
States. Last year, those exports included more than $360 million in textiles,
apparel and footwear ? shirts, blouses, slacks, dresses and shoes typically sold
in department stores. Those goods account for about 85 percent of Myanmar's
sales to this country.
Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del. and the ranking
Democrat on the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, called McConnell "the
acknowledged leader" in bringing global attention to the Asian country's plight.
That assessment is shared by activists seeking to restore democracy in
the former Burma, the name still officially used by the U.S. government.
McConnell and other critics of the military regime view the new name, adopted by
the junta in 1989, as a symbol of repression and refuse to use it, although
Myanmar is its name in the United Nations.
Once part of India and
independent from Great Britain since 1948, the former Burma has been ruled by
various military leaders since 1962. The current regime changed the country's
name because it considered Burma to be a vestige of colonial times.
The
new name recognizes the indigenous Mramma people credited with making the
country a major power in the 9th century. Myanmar means "the first inhabitants
of the world."
Once considered the richest and most literate country in
Asia, Myanmar is now impoverished and overrun by disease and malnutrition.
McConnell views the country's situation as compelling.
"This
regime needs to be squeezed by the entire world (and) isolated. We should not
abandon the people of Burma during the greatest moment of their need," he said
on the Senate floor.
That advocacy has brought McConnell accolades from
the Free Burma Coalition, an 8-year-old human rights group made up of American
and Burmese students, academics and political activists, as well as refugees
from the country.
"We joke around here that they're probably going to
build a shrine to Senator McConnell after they regain their freedom," said
Jeremy Woodrum, director of the Washington office of the coalition."The name
Mitch McConnell is known all along the border in Thailand in the refugee camps.
McConnell "has been absolutely essential in focusing public attention on
the crisis," said Mathea Falco, chairwoman of the Council on Foreign Relations'
Independent Task Force on Burma. "Without champions like Mitch McConnell, most
of the world would not be paying attention."
McConnell first pushed for
sanctions in 1993, and began urging bans on U.S. investments and U.S. aid to the
regime. In 1997, President Clinton barred private investments in Myanmar.
In the last three years, McConnell repeatedly has taken to the Senate
floor, written opinion articles and issued public statements about the country.
He also served with Falco on the Burma task force.
"The number of truly
oppressive regimes in the world now are limited ? that's the good news,"
McConnell said in an interview last week. But the country is among the worst
remaining, and it needs to be pressured to change, he said.
He believes
one way is through the pocketbook, since Myanmar's military leaders benefit most
from export revenue.
Among the backers of sanctions are major American
department stores and the American Apparel and Footwear Association. Saks Fifth
Avenue, Burlington Coat Factory and several other clothing chains already have
agreed not to sell goods from Myanmar.
Officials at the Myanmar Embassy
in Washington did not return a call last week seeking comment.
Critics
of sanctions question their value, especially if Myanmar's neighbors don't cut
off trade as well.
"Sanctions will make us feel better, but I'm
skeptical they will actually do any good," said Dan Griswold, associate director
of the Center for Trade Policy at the Cato Institute, a Washington-based
libertarian think tank.
Griswold said Myanmar is run by "an odious
regime." But with sanctions, he said, "The people that are hurt are usually the
people we say we are trying to help."
The sanctions would end only after
the military government ? the State Peace and Development Council ? showed
progress on human rights, released some 1,400 political prisoners including Suu
Kyi, and moved toward reinstating a democratically elected civilian government.
Suu Kyi and members of her National League for Democracy were arrested
May 30 after an attack by paramilitary forces backed by the ruling junta. Some
of Suu Kyi's supporters were killed. She had been free from house arrest only a
year.
As part of the new crackdown, league offices were closed, more
than 100 pro-democracy advocates were arrested and schools and universities were
shuttered.
Suu Kyi was elected the nation's leader with 82 percent of
the vote in 1990 but has never been permitted to serve. She was under house
arrest from 1989 to 1995, and again from 2000 to 2002. Even when she was
released her movements were restricted. Many elected members of the country's
parliament also have been imprisoned.
The military regime is blamed for
torturing and murdering opponents, subjecting thousands to forced labor,
sanctioning rape by soldiers, trafficking in young people as sex slaves, and
engaging in the production and sale of opium and amphetamines.
In
addition, Myanmar has 70,000 child soldiers, the largest number among the
handful of nations that have ignored international condemnation of the use of
children in warfare.
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