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(1) Burmese Military Team arrives in Guwahati
(2) More strict on cars without licenses in Karen and
(3) Analyzing the current political situation with
releasing prisoner
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Burmese Military Team
arrives in Guwahati
=========================================
Nava Thakuria
Mizzima News (www.mizzima.com), (Business
& Trade)
Guwahati:
a group of army officials who
arrived in Guwahati, the capital of
participate in the inaugural
ceremony of the India-Asean car rally.
The Burmese team also includes Sports Minister Brig-Gen. Thura Aye
Myint and were officially welcomed
by GOC 4 Corps Indian senior Army
officer Lt. Gen. Anoop Singh Jamwal at the Army
cantonment in Narangi,
Guwahati.
The team was air-lifted by Indian Air Force chopper from the
Moreh-
Tamu border to Guwahati
after they reached that point from
the capital of
Meanwhile, Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan
Singh, the economist-
turned-politician, said the
northeast will emerge as the connecting
bridge between
"As Mumbai has been known as the gateway to
times, Guwahati
in the northeast will emerge as the gateway for
eastern nations in the
post-colonial time," said Prime Minister Singh
at a gathering in Guwahati Nov. 21 after inaugurating the state
capital complex.
The prime minister will also flag off the India-Asean rally organized
by
Confederation of Indian Industries.
Organized with an aim to promote trade, commerce and tourism
in the
northeast, the rally will cross
through Tamu,
Kengtung and Tachilek
(
(
20-day
schedule.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Military more strict
on cars without licenses in Karen and Mon States
=====================================================================
Independent Mon News Agency (Business)
Military authorities are going to be stricter about catching
cars
without licenses in
“If we compare it to previously, military authorities are
searching
cars without licenses more and
strictly checking on cars without
licenses,” a senior member of the
New Mon State Party officers based
inside
“Even cars that held our party document for traveling can’t
take a
trip, and we can’t give guarantees
for these cars,” he added.
“The news that the military government is going to give back
the cars
is not true. That is wrong. The
authorities are searching the cars
more,” said a car owner (who didn't
want to identify herself for
security reasons) from
An IMNA source reported that military authorities have been
crushing
cars without licenses and took the
cars to the Military Southeast
Command.
“Military authorities are also searching for more cars in
Karen state,
and also plan to crush the cars in
border town where the major
vehicles trader in
the illegal cars,” Min Thit Swe reported.
In
authorities at the end of October,
and about 30 cars owned by some
Thai businessmen were also seized by military authorities in
the first
week of November.
“A lot of car owners fear what authorities have done to
them. It was a
strong shock to their businesses
and people,” said a car owner in
Mudon.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Analyzing the current
political situation with releasing prisoner
=================================================================
By Htun Aung Gyaw
Mizzima News (www.mizzima.com)
The recent announcement made by the State Peace and
Development
Council (SPDC) that they were to release nearly 4,000
prisoners
excited Burmese citizens and
scholars abroad. There are two questions
that come to mind: Is this a
real first step for democratic change?
Or is it a move to make a temporary release to ease
international
pressure, while consolidating
political power within the ruling elite?
* Real Intention for Change
If the SPDC has real intention for change, the generals need
to
release all political prisoners
including Aung San Suu Kyi.
We have to wait and see within 10 to 20 days who will be
released. We
need to give them time to release
all political prisoners before the
end of 2004.
Releasing all political prisoners is the first positive step
of proof
that there will be real change in
the near future followed by the
liberalization of political parties
and news media.
After people have freedom of _expression and organization,
the next
step will be dialogue between the
opposition parties and the regime
with the intention to build trust
among different groups to find a
common ground and solve the
country's political problems by peaceful
means.
If the above steps occur within a couple of months,
direction is going to be good.
* Another possible option
Another possible option is that General Than
Shwe follows a similar
decision made by General Ne Win in 1980. After Ne Win
consolidated his
power, he released all political
prisoners by issuing general amnesty
law 2/80.
In
soldiers, students and monks. The
students are known as Kyaung Tha,
sons of school, the monks are known
as Phaya Tha, sons of God
(Buddha), and the soldiers are known as Sit Tha, sons of war. Since
1962 students have been suppressed and tightly controlled,
but the Ne
Win government has not succeeded in controlling the monk
sector. The
soldiers are under his command. The
only thing he needed to do at the
time was control the monk sector.
Before 1980, monks were free from investigation while
traveling within
the country. They did not
need ID cards. They did not need to inform
local authorities to visit any
place inside the country. Also people
who wanted to enter the monkood did not need to inform or win approval
from authorities. But in
1980, Ne Win's regime successfully pressured
and persuaded all the different
Buddhist sects to accept a law which
required all monks to carry ID
cards issued by the government and
approved by their local monk
authorities. All monks in the country
had to register in every state and
division where they stayed, and the
law still applies today. This
kind of restriction made by the Ne Win
regime was successful in
controlling movement of the monks.
* Method of releasing prisoners
When N e Win had no fear of his two strongest opponents, he
confidently announced the amnesty
law to release all political
prisoners.
First, the authorities singled out the prisoners who already
served
their jail terms and released them
immediately. Second, they released
prisoners who already served
two-thirds of their jail term. Third,
they released prisoners who already
served one-third of their jail
term.
Those left behind were life term and death sentence
prisoners who were
considered not fit to be released,
even though two-thirds of their
jail term had been reduced.
It is significant to note that all of the
prisoners were labeled criminals,
even though one-third were political
prisoners. Also, most political
prisoners were released in the later
batches late at night.
Political prisoners who already had life terms and death
sentences
were finally released after 16 days
of the official announcement.
This is because at first the government refused to label
them as
political prisoners. Finally the
government had to recognize them as
political prisoners and release
them in accordance with the amnesty
order.
Resembling this previous move made by the Ne Win regime, Than Shwe is
using a similar style. One
crucial difference is that his
announcement did not mention
political prisoners, it only used the
word prisoners. Ne
Win's code 2/80 announcement was clearer than the
current announcement.
After the 2/80 announcement, many families of political
prisoners came
to the Insein
Prison gate and waited all day long. But their loved
ones never came out. They saw
many prisoners but not the political
ones.
They returned home with lowered heads and heavy
hearts. The next day
they came again and went home
without greeting their sons and
daughters. It was like
torture to all parents, wives, sons and
daughters whose father, son or
husband were in prison.
The jailors told the families there were no political
prisoners and ll
were criminals. Later
however, political prisoners were released at
night using prison trucks.
Recently, the regime released a mix of prisoners including
prominent
student leader Min Ko Naing.
What is the reason for releasing (political) prisoners? The
reason is
that Than Shwe's
clique has the confidence to release political
prisoners, thereby reducing
international pressure and improving their
image prior to the coming ASEAN
summit.
Why do they have confidence? Because within the military clique
the
rival Khin Nyunt group has been
eliminated once and for all. There is
no longer a rival within the top
brass. Than Shwe has to concentrate
on international affairs and show
the world they are making some
progress. But only making a
superficial change will not convince the
world. Within a short period of
time, their true strategy will be
exposed. The UN has been
fooled so many times by the regime and the
SPDC is running out of tactics. They cannot fool the
world forever,
it is time for them to be punished
if they still refuse to respect the
people's will. We all will
wait and see which course they will
choose. Good or bad, it is for them
to decide.
Burma News International is a network of nine exiled media
groups
such as Mizzima
News, Shan Herald Agency for News, Kao Wao News Group,
Khonumthung News Group, Narinjara News, Kaladan Press
Network,
Independent Mon News Agency, Karenni Information
Network Group and Network Media Group.
.........................
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