EBO “
News Summary:
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1. Two Buddhist nuns detained in rare
protest in
2.
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Two Buddhist nuns detained in rare protest in
Thursday in the capital of military-ruled
quashed
the gathering and detained two Buddhist nuns. Witness accounts of the
incident
varied on key details, including what the protest was about and how many
people
participated. But the accounts agreed that the two nuns were detained after
demonstrating opposite City Hall, which is near Sule
Pagoda, the traditional center
of
the capital.
The nuns were holding a sign protesting high commodity prices, according
to some
witnesses,
all of whom insisted on anonymity. The two nuns were quickly taken
inside
City Hall by security police, the witnesses said. It was not immediately clear
what
further action might be taken against them.
have
seen the real value of its kyat currency plunge, driving up prices of fuel and
staples.
Another account said the nuns held up a banner depicting the fighting
peacock,
the
symbol of the pro-democratic opposition.
There has been little progress made since National League for Democracy
party
leader
Suu Kyi began closed-door talks with the ruling junta in late 2000.
Hopes for a breakthrough in resolving the country's political deadlock
were
heightened
in May last year when Suu Kyi was freed from 19 months of house
arrest,
but since then there have been no substantive talks between
the
government and opposition.
Although anti-government protests, which risk severe punishment of
several
years'
imprisonment, are extremely rare, the City Hall site has seen a handful
of
protests in recent years.
A law student, Thet Naung Soe, staged a
protest there in August last year,
and
for his action was sentenced to 14 years in prison in November.
A former professor of the
a
peaceful solitary protest in front of city hall in Nov. 2001 and was arrested
and
sentenced to seven years imprisonment.
---------------------------------
By Marwaan Macan-Markar
fleeing
persecution from nearby conflicts may be on its last legs. The United Nations
High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and human-rights activists are
troubled
by
signs that the humanitarian policies for which
may
soon change in the wake of ominous signs emerging from the country's
national-security establishment.
On Friday, Forum-Asia, a Bangkok-based regional rights watchdog, added
its voice
to
those of rights groups who have been objecting to plans by the Thai military
establishment to clamp down on refugees from conflict-ridden
sanctuary
in this country. On December 29, General Winai Phattiyakhul, the newly
appointed
secretary general of the powerful National Security Council, said:
"From now on,
anymore."
His words came in the wake of the military telling 64 members of the
Karen ethnic
community
on December 24 that they had three days to leave
back
to neighboring
"I don't agree with these steps," said Jaran
Ditapichai, a member of the Thai Human
Rights Commission. "We have appealed to the army not to send people back."
But these words have done little to stop the chill spreading among the
many refugees
and
political activists from
"There is a sense of fear and insecurity that the people are
feeling due to what is
going
on," said Masao Imamura, an analyst based in
Chiang Mai for EarthRights International, an
environmentalist and rights lobby.
Last year, for instance, the Thai government announced it was hoping to
close
at
least 10 camps along the Thailand-Myanmar border where refugees from the
Karen and Kareni ethnic groups live. That came
on top of Thai authorities' crackdown
on
a rights group working for another ethnic-minority group from
Indrika
Ratwatte of the UNHCR said the Thai government should
not act in a manner
that
will squander its reputation as a country with an impressive humanitarian
record.
"When it comes to refugees,
unlike
other more developed countries in the region who closed their doors
on
refugees fleeing the
"The vast majority of Burmese refugees want to go back home, as was
the case
with
those who came here during the
want
to go back when the conditions are right, when they can return and live
in
safety and with dignity."
Life in
grip
waging
on some of the country's ethnic minorities. The Thai authorities should think
again
before calling for Myanmese refugees to be
repatriated, argues Jaran, the Thai
human-rights commissioner. "The conditions in
be
pushed back."
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