Another day, another highly professional pro-Lisbon website crops up in Ireland. This time, it's "Women for Europe" (hot on the heels of We Belong, Generation Yes, Ireland for Europe, etc etc etc - you can see the whole list of links down the right hand side of 'Women for Europe').
Quite aside from our views on the Lisbon Treaty, and the growing number of suspiciously similar campaign groups (who's paying for all this?), there isn't a female in our office (including the one typing) who doesn't find this approach cheesy and patronising in the extreme.
The 'Why vote yes?' section for instance seems to suggest that tackling climate change, eradicating poverty, and protecting children and the eldery (which all have extremely tenuous links - if any - to the Lisbon Treaty) are issues that disproportionately concern the female of the species. Especially those who like attractively-iced cupcakes, judging by the nice photo in the Irish Times today.
Would "Men for Europe", staffed by a men-only team and complete with smug male photoshoots get away with this? Of course not. This is the opposite of equality in action.
On the question of who's paying for it - the whole thing smacks of EU Communications Commissioner Margot Wallstrom, who has (laudably enough) championed the participation of more women in EU politics. Another female EU Commissioner, Neelie Kroes, is photographed on the website, participating in a "Women for Europe" event. Oh and according to the Irish Times, the European Commission's most senior official, Catherine Day, will also be visiting the group ahead of the referendum on 2 October.
It's the latest shot in the European Commission-backed onslaught to make sure Irish people don't cock up its carefully-laid plans to grab control over dozens of new policy areas. No doubt many will fall for it.
Friday, July 31, 2009
Suffering and hope in a Burmese refugee camp
(This article describes the lives and hopes of Burmese refugees in a Thai-Burma border camp)
Mizzima News - Rays of sun pierce the clouds, bathing the entire mountain range and forest. At other times during monsoon season, drizzle and mist veil the mountains, including Noe Boe Mountain, hiding them from the outside world. In the far distance, from the village of Noe Boe, torrential streams of water can be seen cascading from surrounding mountains following the rain, the scent of seasonal wild flowers and the earth lingering in the air.
When night falls Noe Boe becomes silent, the sound of water flowing in the rain swollen streams mixed with night birds all that can be heard, ushering in mixed and sometimes haunting feelings for the forlorn and desolate refugees living in the camp.
These refugees came to this camp fleeing the severe oppression inflicted upon them politically, militarily, socially and religiously. Some have been here for over 12 years. Throughout their time in this camp they encounter only a miserable and hard life. For their survival they search for wild berries and vegetables in the dense forest along with frogs and fish from the streams. Occasionally, they make a salad by boiling banana buds and mixing them with raw onion, pea flour and seasoning powder. Those Karen refugees who arrived first serve as survival teachers for those who follow.
There are two types of refugees in the camp, those who receive a refugee ration and those who do not. Those with a ration need not worry about basic foodstuffs, while those without must rely on what they can scrounge from the forest and buy in the camp. For drinking water, rainwater is collected during the monsoon season from the leaf-woven roofs of huts, before it reaches the ground and turns reddish. To facilitate the collection, some build rainwater harvesting units comprising four bamboo poles and a plastic sheet. Bamboo, due to its versatility, is essential for the camp’s survival.
The monsoon season also brings with it melancholy feelings and stress, as refuges struggle to cope with daily livelihood and harsh weather conditions. Moreover, it is very sad for them to wonder when families may be reunited, when friends and colleagues can one day be visited and when they can again set foot again on the soil of their motherland. Yet, at other times the memories and thoughts of family, friends and home provides a feeling of closeness, togetherness, love and joy.
There is no proper work to be found in the camp, only the bartering of goods and services with fellow refugees. As a last resort, they have to rely on family members and friends who have been resettled in third countries to send back remittances.
The phone and Internet allows refugees, the latter at a more affordable rate, to keep in contact with family and friends abroad and update them as to their situation. Phone booths and Internet cafés are always busy and crowded, with refugees pouring out their despair, anxieties and hopes to those on the receiving end. It can be an experience of joy, pleasure, anger, sorrow and resentment – maybe even all at the same the time.
If friends living in outside countries do not want to talk with them or the money that is to be sent is not yet ready, they sometimes will not pick up the phone, leaving refugees to hear only the answering machine notifying them in a foreign language to repeatedly ‘Leave your message if any’. Phone booth owners warn them not to pick up the phone receiver before hearing the live voice on the other end to avoid unnecessary charges – a premature pick-up costing the dialer 10 baht to ‘converse’ with the answering machine, an expense few can afford on their shoestring budgets.
At other times family and friends will insist on calling back to save the refugees money. But sometimes refugees have to wait a long time at the phone booth for the return call, rushing forth whenever the phone rings, their necks extended like the ‘Padaung’ long-necks after waiting a long time in vain.
For those who can use the Internet, it is always hoped to find an Inbox full of mail. Even a single line from beloved friends can make them happy and bring encouragement. If they see friends online with a green light next to their name on Google Talk they are very happy and start to call them. And if those who are online try and ‘disappear’ once contacted in fear of being asked for money, refugees send an email to the concerned individual asking them not to try and avoid them, as they only wish to talk.
‘Peaceful coexistence’ for those in the camp encapsulates the feeling that the refugees live with body and soul existing separate. As most are simply waiting to leave, when the expected duration of wait becomes longer than expected their lives become more bitter and unpleasant, which sometimes brings with it cases of domestic violence and family conflict. It is natural to see counseling and psychotherapy services available in Noe Boe, while the owner of the liquor shop just outside the camp reaps a huge profit.
Asking each other about their situation and what news they have heard is habitual. And even if the news conveyed is false, anger is not shown, as the sharing of news is essential for the survival of everyone – daily news from prospective host countries, world news, news from around the camp and news of resettlement plans. We are happy when we hear encouraging news and despair when we hear bad news.
In the hope of expediting their departure and easing their transition into a new country, English lessons, especially with an English accent, are constantly sought after. It is a case of English, English everywhere, echoing forth from thatch roof huts and every nook and cranny of the camp.
New plants and trees are grown from seeds inadvertently thrown away during meal preparations. Around Noe Boe you can see chilly, pumpkin and papaya plants at almost every house with a courtyard. However, almost all papaya plants disappeared after a monk said, “If there is a papaya tree in front of your house, your departure date will be long” – though some housewives must lie to husbands not as superstitious, telling them that the plant was uprooted in strong winds. News spreads quickly around the camp of departure plans and the presence of any papaya plants in front of the concerned house.
Those who are lucky enough to leave and never again touch the red soil of the camp are seen off at the gate by those who are to remain behind, the sound of the engine starting on the blue bus which will carry those leaving for Mae Sot making those left behind further ponder just how long they will have to wait their turn. Tears of joy and sorrow mix in the eyes of farewells.
Those boarding the blue bus say to their friends after shaking hands, “Don’t worry, I’ll send pocket money to you when I get there”. And though they strolled together, fetched water together, gathered firewood together, searched for seasonal vegetables together, collected rations together, visited the market together, shared fortune and woe together around Noe Boe camp and the nearby forest – now these beloved friends are departing, not to return.
As for those left behind…it is back to the Internet cafes and phone booths in the hope of talking with a friend, securing a little pocket money and – just maybe – news on when they might in turn be boarding the blue bus to Mae Sot.
Mizzima News - Rays of sun pierce the clouds, bathing the entire mountain range and forest. At other times during monsoon season, drizzle and mist veil the mountains, including Noe Boe Mountain, hiding them from the outside world. In the far distance, from the village of Noe Boe, torrential streams of water can be seen cascading from surrounding mountains following the rain, the scent of seasonal wild flowers and the earth lingering in the air.
When night falls Noe Boe becomes silent, the sound of water flowing in the rain swollen streams mixed with night birds all that can be heard, ushering in mixed and sometimes haunting feelings for the forlorn and desolate refugees living in the camp.
These refugees came to this camp fleeing the severe oppression inflicted upon them politically, militarily, socially and religiously. Some have been here for over 12 years. Throughout their time in this camp they encounter only a miserable and hard life. For their survival they search for wild berries and vegetables in the dense forest along with frogs and fish from the streams. Occasionally, they make a salad by boiling banana buds and mixing them with raw onion, pea flour and seasoning powder. Those Karen refugees who arrived first serve as survival teachers for those who follow.
There are two types of refugees in the camp, those who receive a refugee ration and those who do not. Those with a ration need not worry about basic foodstuffs, while those without must rely on what they can scrounge from the forest and buy in the camp. For drinking water, rainwater is collected during the monsoon season from the leaf-woven roofs of huts, before it reaches the ground and turns reddish. To facilitate the collection, some build rainwater harvesting units comprising four bamboo poles and a plastic sheet. Bamboo, due to its versatility, is essential for the camp’s survival.
The monsoon season also brings with it melancholy feelings and stress, as refuges struggle to cope with daily livelihood and harsh weather conditions. Moreover, it is very sad for them to wonder when families may be reunited, when friends and colleagues can one day be visited and when they can again set foot again on the soil of their motherland. Yet, at other times the memories and thoughts of family, friends and home provides a feeling of closeness, togetherness, love and joy.
There is no proper work to be found in the camp, only the bartering of goods and services with fellow refugees. As a last resort, they have to rely on family members and friends who have been resettled in third countries to send back remittances.
The phone and Internet allows refugees, the latter at a more affordable rate, to keep in contact with family and friends abroad and update them as to their situation. Phone booths and Internet cafés are always busy and crowded, with refugees pouring out their despair, anxieties and hopes to those on the receiving end. It can be an experience of joy, pleasure, anger, sorrow and resentment – maybe even all at the same the time.
If friends living in outside countries do not want to talk with them or the money that is to be sent is not yet ready, they sometimes will not pick up the phone, leaving refugees to hear only the answering machine notifying them in a foreign language to repeatedly ‘Leave your message if any’. Phone booth owners warn them not to pick up the phone receiver before hearing the live voice on the other end to avoid unnecessary charges – a premature pick-up costing the dialer 10 baht to ‘converse’ with the answering machine, an expense few can afford on their shoestring budgets.
At other times family and friends will insist on calling back to save the refugees money. But sometimes refugees have to wait a long time at the phone booth for the return call, rushing forth whenever the phone rings, their necks extended like the ‘Padaung’ long-necks after waiting a long time in vain.
For those who can use the Internet, it is always hoped to find an Inbox full of mail. Even a single line from beloved friends can make them happy and bring encouragement. If they see friends online with a green light next to their name on Google Talk they are very happy and start to call them. And if those who are online try and ‘disappear’ once contacted in fear of being asked for money, refugees send an email to the concerned individual asking them not to try and avoid them, as they only wish to talk.
‘Peaceful coexistence’ for those in the camp encapsulates the feeling that the refugees live with body and soul existing separate. As most are simply waiting to leave, when the expected duration of wait becomes longer than expected their lives become more bitter and unpleasant, which sometimes brings with it cases of domestic violence and family conflict. It is natural to see counseling and psychotherapy services available in Noe Boe, while the owner of the liquor shop just outside the camp reaps a huge profit.
Asking each other about their situation and what news they have heard is habitual. And even if the news conveyed is false, anger is not shown, as the sharing of news is essential for the survival of everyone – daily news from prospective host countries, world news, news from around the camp and news of resettlement plans. We are happy when we hear encouraging news and despair when we hear bad news.
In the hope of expediting their departure and easing their transition into a new country, English lessons, especially with an English accent, are constantly sought after. It is a case of English, English everywhere, echoing forth from thatch roof huts and every nook and cranny of the camp.
New plants and trees are grown from seeds inadvertently thrown away during meal preparations. Around Noe Boe you can see chilly, pumpkin and papaya plants at almost every house with a courtyard. However, almost all papaya plants disappeared after a monk said, “If there is a papaya tree in front of your house, your departure date will be long” – though some housewives must lie to husbands not as superstitious, telling them that the plant was uprooted in strong winds. News spreads quickly around the camp of departure plans and the presence of any papaya plants in front of the concerned house.
Those who are lucky enough to leave and never again touch the red soil of the camp are seen off at the gate by those who are to remain behind, the sound of the engine starting on the blue bus which will carry those leaving for Mae Sot making those left behind further ponder just how long they will have to wait their turn. Tears of joy and sorrow mix in the eyes of farewells.
Those boarding the blue bus say to their friends after shaking hands, “Don’t worry, I’ll send pocket money to you when I get there”. And though they strolled together, fetched water together, gathered firewood together, searched for seasonal vegetables together, collected rations together, visited the market together, shared fortune and woe together around Noe Boe camp and the nearby forest – now these beloved friends are departing, not to return.
As for those left behind…it is back to the Internet cafes and phone booths in the hope of talking with a friend, securing a little pocket money and – just maybe – news on when they might in turn be boarding the blue bus to Mae Sot.
Opposition lawyer hounded by authorities
New Delhi (Mizzima) – Nyi Nyi Htwe, a lawyer belonging to the opposition camp, recently released from jail and forced out of his profession, alleged he is finding it difficult to continue with his present calling of selling government lottery tickets because he is being hounded by authorities.
The 33 year-old lawyer from Pegu town has been selling government lottery tickets to eke out a livelihood, after his bar license was revoked. He alleged that authorities had warned lottery dealers not to franchise him nor hire out a push-cart to him for selling lottery tickets.
“Since my bar license has been revoked, there is nothing that I can do to survive. I have no other business, but my wife sells lottery tickets. Since we lack capital, we have to procure tickets from bigger agents on credit. We also cannot afford to hire a permanent push-cart. The authorities have been creating obstacles,” he told Mizzima.
His business associates have been warned against dealing with him. He is currently finding it extremely difficult to franchise government lottery tickets and hiring a push-cart, given the harassment by the authorities.
Nyi Nyi Htwe was sentenced to a six-month prison term on October 30, 2008 by the northern District Court in Rangoon’s notorious Insein prison on charges of ‘contempt of court’. He was, at the time, defending three National League for Democracy members including Yan Naing Tun, who were arrested and were facing trial for praying at the Pagoda for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners.
During the trial, the judge told Nyi Nyin Htwe to tell his three clients to change their sitting postures, where they had turned their backs to the judge. But the young lawyer said “they have their rights to sit the way they want.”
The judge charged him with ‘contempt of court’ and under Article 288 and sentenced him to six-months in prison.
While he served the prison term, authorities revoked his bar license. He was released on April 28, after he completed his six-month term.
The 33 year-old lawyer from Pegu town has been selling government lottery tickets to eke out a livelihood, after his bar license was revoked. He alleged that authorities had warned lottery dealers not to franchise him nor hire out a push-cart to him for selling lottery tickets.
“Since my bar license has been revoked, there is nothing that I can do to survive. I have no other business, but my wife sells lottery tickets. Since we lack capital, we have to procure tickets from bigger agents on credit. We also cannot afford to hire a permanent push-cart. The authorities have been creating obstacles,” he told Mizzima.
His business associates have been warned against dealing with him. He is currently finding it extremely difficult to franchise government lottery tickets and hiring a push-cart, given the harassment by the authorities.
Nyi Nyi Htwe was sentenced to a six-month prison term on October 30, 2008 by the northern District Court in Rangoon’s notorious Insein prison on charges of ‘contempt of court’. He was, at the time, defending three National League for Democracy members including Yan Naing Tun, who were arrested and were facing trial for praying at the Pagoda for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners.
During the trial, the judge told Nyi Nyin Htwe to tell his three clients to change their sitting postures, where they had turned their backs to the judge. But the young lawyer said “they have their rights to sit the way they want.”
The judge charged him with ‘contempt of court’ and under Article 288 and sentenced him to six-months in prison.
While he served the prison term, authorities revoked his bar license. He was released on April 28, after he completed his six-month term.
Another person tests positive for Swine Flu in Burma
Chiang Mai (mizzima): One additional person has tested positive for the A (H1N1) virus, taking the total number of confirmed cases in the whole country to 10, according to a statement issued by the Ministry of Health.
State-run newspaper, Myanmar Ahlin, today reported that a 57-year-old man, who had returned from Singapore by flight MI-512 on July 20, has tested positive.
Thirteen family members, 74 passengers on the same flight and 130 of Rangoon’s Mingaladon Airport staff are being monitored by Health Department officials, the paper revealed.
According to official statements issued so far, the people, who have tested positive, had all returned from Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia and India.
The health officials checked over 1.9 million people, who crossed the border gates, according to an official announcement.
However, many people doubt the actual figures and statistics of virus-positive people in the whole country because several hundreds daily cross the porous borders to Burma’s neighboring countries Thailand, China, Bangladesh and India.
Dr. Voravit Suwanvanichkij, Research Associate at the Center for Public Health & Human Rights of John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, said there exists an alarming situation in Burma, as most people do not cross the borders into neighbouring countries through official check-points.
Thailand, where the virus is widespread, shares a border line of over 2,000 kilometres, with Burma. With people going in and out of the border area and avoiding the official check-points, along with the lack of public health system, the situation is very alarming, the doctor said.
“With an almost non-functional public health system, most infections are likely to thrive without being diagnosed or even noticed,” he added.
In Thailand, 9000 persons have tested positive and 65 were killed by the A (H1N1) virus. The disease has spread to 170 countries globally and over 130,000 people have tested positive.
State-run newspaper, Myanmar Ahlin, today reported that a 57-year-old man, who had returned from Singapore by flight MI-512 on July 20, has tested positive.
Thirteen family members, 74 passengers on the same flight and 130 of Rangoon’s Mingaladon Airport staff are being monitored by Health Department officials, the paper revealed.
According to official statements issued so far, the people, who have tested positive, had all returned from Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia and India.
The health officials checked over 1.9 million people, who crossed the border gates, according to an official announcement.
However, many people doubt the actual figures and statistics of virus-positive people in the whole country because several hundreds daily cross the porous borders to Burma’s neighboring countries Thailand, China, Bangladesh and India.
Dr. Voravit Suwanvanichkij, Research Associate at the Center for Public Health & Human Rights of John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, said there exists an alarming situation in Burma, as most people do not cross the borders into neighbouring countries through official check-points.
Thailand, where the virus is widespread, shares a border line of over 2,000 kilometres, with Burma. With people going in and out of the border area and avoiding the official check-points, along with the lack of public health system, the situation is very alarming, the doctor said.
“With an almost non-functional public health system, most infections are likely to thrive without being diagnosed or even noticed,” he added.
In Thailand, 9000 persons have tested positive and 65 were killed by the A (H1N1) virus. The disease has spread to 170 countries globally and over 130,000 people have tested positive.
A(H1N1) infection could be alarming in Burma: Experts
New Delhi (Mizzima) – Even as Burma’s Ministry of Health on Thursday announced that the number of human infection of type A (H1N1) virus in the country has increased to 10, health experts sounded the alarm bell saying given the poor public health system, there is a likelihood of more people being infected with the virus in rural areas.
“With an inadequate public health care system the situation could be alarming and difficult to control. What is more alarming is that it could go undiagnosed,” Dr. Voravit Suwanvanichkij, Associate Researcher at Center for Public Health in John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health said.
The government’s announcement, carried by its mouthpiece newspaper, said surveillance of the flu is being conducted at the Rangoon international airport as well as in the border gates. From April 28 to July 13, the government claims that it has tested 1.9 million people.
The New Light of Myanmar on Thursday reported detection of the tenth person infected with the virus stating that all the detected people have come from a visit abroad including Thailand and Singapore.
A veteran doctor at a private clinic in Rangoon said the possibility of the virus going unnoticed in rural areas is high as Burma lacks an adequate public health care system.
“It is very likely that the disease could spread in the rural areas, because these areas do not have proper health care and because the virus is easily transmittable,” the doctor said.
“I do not fear detecting the virus, but my worry is that it could spread to a large number of people because in neighbouring countries we have heard of such an outbreak,” he added.
Dr. Vit, however, praised the Burmese military junta, which often blacks out news and information regarding outbreak of diseases or even natural disasters, for announcing the detection of the virus.
“It is a delight to know that the government is forthcoming in announcing the situation on the ground,” he said.
But he fears that with the lack of a public health care system, the number of cases of infection might have risen alarmingly while remaining undetected.
Currently, authorities are referring patients infected with A(H1N1) virus to the Wai Bagi hospital in Rangoon’s North Okklapa Township for treatment. But critics fear that if the number of cases of infection increases, the 100 bed Wai Bagi hospital may not be able to accommodate patients.
But an assistant medical officer at the Wai Bagi Hospital assured that they could switch strategies in case the number of cases of infection goes up and would be able to cope with an outbreak.
“We can always switch strategies. It’s not that we prefer changing it but we need to utilise our resources to the maximum. So there is no need to worry,” the doctor said.
Meanwhile in neighbouring Thailand, the type A(H1N1) has claimed the lives of 65 people. In India the number of infected till Tuesday was 475 while in China till July 27, 1930 people had been infected.
The A(H1N1) virus has killed over 800 people. According to a recent United Nations World Health Organisation (WHO) estimate, the A(H1N1) virus could infect a total of 2 billion people across the world.
“With an inadequate public health care system the situation could be alarming and difficult to control. What is more alarming is that it could go undiagnosed,” Dr. Voravit Suwanvanichkij, Associate Researcher at Center for Public Health in John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health said.
The government’s announcement, carried by its mouthpiece newspaper, said surveillance of the flu is being conducted at the Rangoon international airport as well as in the border gates. From April 28 to July 13, the government claims that it has tested 1.9 million people.
The New Light of Myanmar on Thursday reported detection of the tenth person infected with the virus stating that all the detected people have come from a visit abroad including Thailand and Singapore.
A veteran doctor at a private clinic in Rangoon said the possibility of the virus going unnoticed in rural areas is high as Burma lacks an adequate public health care system.
“It is very likely that the disease could spread in the rural areas, because these areas do not have proper health care and because the virus is easily transmittable,” the doctor said.
“I do not fear detecting the virus, but my worry is that it could spread to a large number of people because in neighbouring countries we have heard of such an outbreak,” he added.
Dr. Vit, however, praised the Burmese military junta, which often blacks out news and information regarding outbreak of diseases or even natural disasters, for announcing the detection of the virus.
“It is a delight to know that the government is forthcoming in announcing the situation on the ground,” he said.
But he fears that with the lack of a public health care system, the number of cases of infection might have risen alarmingly while remaining undetected.
Currently, authorities are referring patients infected with A(H1N1) virus to the Wai Bagi hospital in Rangoon’s North Okklapa Township for treatment. But critics fear that if the number of cases of infection increases, the 100 bed Wai Bagi hospital may not be able to accommodate patients.
But an assistant medical officer at the Wai Bagi Hospital assured that they could switch strategies in case the number of cases of infection goes up and would be able to cope with an outbreak.
“We can always switch strategies. It’s not that we prefer changing it but we need to utilise our resources to the maximum. So there is no need to worry,” the doctor said.
Meanwhile in neighbouring Thailand, the type A(H1N1) has claimed the lives of 65 people. In India the number of infected till Tuesday was 475 while in China till July 27, 1930 people had been infected.
The A(H1N1) virus has killed over 800 people. According to a recent United Nations World Health Organisation (WHO) estimate, the A(H1N1) virus could infect a total of 2 billion people across the world.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Law of unintended consequences
There's a detailed double page spread in the Evening Standard tonight about the case of Deborah Dark, a grandmother wanted in France under the European Arrest Warrant (EAW). The case relates to 21 kg of cannabis that was found in her car at the French border back in 1988 (21 years ago). Some of the details of her case are pretty shocking.This is a classic case of the 'dangerous unintended consequences' of EU legislation.
The EAW was designed to facilitate extradition between member states for serious crimes, but is now routinely used for offences which were never discussed when it first came off the books.
The EAW was bulldozed through in September 2001 in the wake of the 9/11 terror attacks. The justification for it was that new rules were needed to tackle cross-border organised crime such as terrorism, in the uncertain new world.
The press release from Antonio Vitorino, then EU Commissioner for Justice and Home Affairs, said at the time, "The European Commission is calling for greater harmonisation and closer cooperation in combating terrorism and crime." Vitorino is quoted saying "Terrorist acts are committed by international gangs with bases in several countries, exploiting loopholes in the law created by the geographical limits on investigators and often enjoying substantial financial and legal treatment between states".
In a debate in the House of Commons in December 2002 on the Extradition Bill ,which implemented the EU Framework Decision on the EAW, the Home Office Minister John Denham said:
"In future, cases within the EU should take about three months, as opposed to nine to twelve months at the moment. The current timetable for bringing serious criminals to justice does a great disservice to the victims of crime... The European Arrest Warrant means that serious criminals accused of fiscal offences will no longer be able to hide within the EU."
There are a couple of instances where the EAW has been used to expedite the extradition of terror suspects across the EU and ensure they stand trial. But there is increasing evidence to suggest the legislation is taking on something of a life of its own.
According to an article in European Voice today, a report issued in May has revealed that while some member states examine each arrest warrant request to check if the crime is serious enough to transfer a suspect to another member state, other EU countries consider such a check superfluous.
The extradition of people like Deborah Dark was not what was intended when Ministers were thinking of ways to tackle serious and organised crime. But that's little consolation - the EAW hangs over her head, even though she has already been aquitted by two different courts.
And so she becomes another sad example of what happens when knee-jerk EU legislation goes wrong.
The Evening Standard article ends on a pessimistic note, with the recognition that because this is EU law, it will be a complete nightmare to overturn.
WWOOF Volunteering
This sound very cool!
"WWOOF stands for world wide opportunities on organic farms. It is a network which started in the UK in 1971. Now it has become an international movement that is helping people share more sustainable ways of living. WWOOF is an exchange. In return for volunteer help, hosts offer food, accommodation and opportunities to learn about organic lifestyles. Volunteers usually stay 2-4 weeks and work an agreed number of hours per day. Work is in our organic garden and helping with the continuing renovation of buildings. All volunteers need to be members of the WWOOF organisation."
http://www.wwoof.org/
Recession-fighting backpackers take green vacations on European farms
By Jeannie Nuss (CP) - 2 days ago
source
SANTA EULALIA DEL MONTE, Spain — Backpackers pining for European adventure have discovered life on the farm, shovelling manure, feeding pigs and making butter as a recession-beating way to sate their wanderlust.
Their ticket to an earthy taste of the Old Continent is an innovative Web site that connects travellers with a network of organic farms stretching from Portugal to Turkey and around the world.
World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms, an organization founded in Britain, has been around since 1971 but has lured many more volunteer farmhands in recent years as hard economic times forced people young and not so young to seek a cheap way to take a European vacation.
This year 15,700 of them are scattered across Europe getting their hands good and dirty, compared to 6,400 in 2004, WWOOF says. The number of hosts is up, too, roughly doubling to 2,240 in that same time span. The organization also offers farm stays in the Americas, Africa, the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific region.
For a few hours of work a day - other chores include milking goats, collecting honey and making compost - volunteers get a place to stay, fresh food to eat and a bargain.
"I didn't have enough money to stay on any other way," said Alex Mansfield, 21, a guitar-toting philosophy student from Massachusetts who traded in the city life of his study-abroad experience in Salamanca, Spain, for a few weeks on an isolated farm. "It gets expensive, having to eat and sleep under roofs."
Along with three other Americans and an Argentinean, Mansfield spent part of this summer on an ever-changing volunteer force at Centro Ammehula, a ghost hamlet transformed into an organic farm, tucked away on a craggy mountainside of Spain's northwest Galicia region.
The setting was scenic but the accommodations modest: several metal trailers and tents surrounding a bonfire area, all of it 14 kilometres from the nearest supermarket. But the volunteers, feasting on fresh lettuce and lip-staining strawberries from the farm, don't seem to mind.
"It feels so good to be right near the food you're about to cook," said former New York schoolteacher Talia Kahn-Kravis, 23, as she squirted milk from a goat's udder into a plastic bucket.
Like Kahn-Kravis, supporters of the slow food movement, which began in Italy as a backlash against fast food, are praising the return to the farms.
"It's one of the ways of recovering relationships with food," said Cinzia Scaffidi, director of the Slow Food Study Center in Italy.\
Centro Ammehula's owner, Martin Verfondern, 51, said WWOOF is not just about growing fresh produce. More importantly, he says, it fosters cultural understanding.
"WWOOF is the perfect anti-discrimination device," said the Dutchman born in Germany, who has lived on the Spanish farm for 11 years. "We have Germans and Israelis sitting at a table together without problems. It's a really great way of getting to know more of a country than only the national prejudices."
While Spain is seeing an increase in foreigners eager to take a stab at farming, it is hardly the only European nation attracting attention.
"It's a way to spend time in places without spending money," said WWOOFer Elliott Smith, 21, who has traveled to Italy and Belgium during vacations from an organic Beaujolais vineyard outside of Lyon, France. "Everybody wants to travel a bit and the big thing is to do it without going totally broke."
Aside from having a travel base camp among a crop of thin-skinned Gamay grapes, the linguistics student from Texas said his "farmer French ... increased tenfold."
Recent graduates and college students like Smith and Mansfield make up a significant portion of WWOOF's volunteers, although farmhands come from walks of life as varied as the chores they do, said Chemi Pena, spokesman for WWOOF in Spain.
"The profile of farms is really diverse," he said.
Julie Bateman, a mother of two and slow food advocate, packed up her 10-and 13-year-old children and left her home in Charleston, S.C., for a volunteer farming stint in Italy this summer.
"WWOOFing with the two children is certainly a twist on the normal travel and WWOOFing in general," said Bateman, 42.
For many volunteers, WWOOF is creating a class of green-thumbed do-gooders, more conscious of their carbon footprints.
"A lot of people maybe come here to do a cheap Eurotrip," said New York native Kahn-Kravis, as she picked strawberries. "But in reality, you can't do this without learning a bunch and having a more holistic approach to life."
If You Go...
WORLDWIDE OPPORTUNITIES ON ORGANIC FARMS: http://www.wwoof.org/. Food and lodging at an organic farm in exchange for volunteering to work at the farm. Annual registration fees vary by country, but are typically around $US30-35 (20-25 euros). Opportunities on every continent.
Copyright © 2009 The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_GC4zlPbEl0o/SnG-4OVkVzI/AAAAAAAAG50/c9TlAEkgle0/s400/p1040831.jpg
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Found this on youtube
source
"WWOOF stands for world wide opportunities on organic farms. It is a network which started in the UK in 1971. Now it has become an international movement that is helping people share more sustainable ways of living. WWOOF is an exchange. In return for volunteer help, hosts offer food, accommodation and opportunities to learn about organic lifestyles. Volunteers usually stay 2-4 weeks and work an agreed number of hours per day. Work is in our organic garden and helping with the continuing renovation of buildings. All volunteers need to be members of the WWOOF organisation."
http://www.wwoof.org/
Recession-fighting backpackers take green vacations on European farms
By Jeannie Nuss (CP) - 2 days ago
source
SANTA EULALIA DEL MONTE, Spain — Backpackers pining for European adventure have discovered life on the farm, shovelling manure, feeding pigs and making butter as a recession-beating way to sate their wanderlust.
Their ticket to an earthy taste of the Old Continent is an innovative Web site that connects travellers with a network of organic farms stretching from Portugal to Turkey and around the world.
World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms, an organization founded in Britain, has been around since 1971 but has lured many more volunteer farmhands in recent years as hard economic times forced people young and not so young to seek a cheap way to take a European vacation.
This year 15,700 of them are scattered across Europe getting their hands good and dirty, compared to 6,400 in 2004, WWOOF says. The number of hosts is up, too, roughly doubling to 2,240 in that same time span. The organization also offers farm stays in the Americas, Africa, the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific region.
For a few hours of work a day - other chores include milking goats, collecting honey and making compost - volunteers get a place to stay, fresh food to eat and a bargain.
"I didn't have enough money to stay on any other way," said Alex Mansfield, 21, a guitar-toting philosophy student from Massachusetts who traded in the city life of his study-abroad experience in Salamanca, Spain, for a few weeks on an isolated farm. "It gets expensive, having to eat and sleep under roofs."
Along with three other Americans and an Argentinean, Mansfield spent part of this summer on an ever-changing volunteer force at Centro Ammehula, a ghost hamlet transformed into an organic farm, tucked away on a craggy mountainside of Spain's northwest Galicia region.
The setting was scenic but the accommodations modest: several metal trailers and tents surrounding a bonfire area, all of it 14 kilometres from the nearest supermarket. But the volunteers, feasting on fresh lettuce and lip-staining strawberries from the farm, don't seem to mind.
"It feels so good to be right near the food you're about to cook," said former New York schoolteacher Talia Kahn-Kravis, 23, as she squirted milk from a goat's udder into a plastic bucket.
Like Kahn-Kravis, supporters of the slow food movement, which began in Italy as a backlash against fast food, are praising the return to the farms.
"It's one of the ways of recovering relationships with food," said Cinzia Scaffidi, director of the Slow Food Study Center in Italy.\
Centro Ammehula's owner, Martin Verfondern, 51, said WWOOF is not just about growing fresh produce. More importantly, he says, it fosters cultural understanding.
"WWOOF is the perfect anti-discrimination device," said the Dutchman born in Germany, who has lived on the Spanish farm for 11 years. "We have Germans and Israelis sitting at a table together without problems. It's a really great way of getting to know more of a country than only the national prejudices."
While Spain is seeing an increase in foreigners eager to take a stab at farming, it is hardly the only European nation attracting attention.
"It's a way to spend time in places without spending money," said WWOOFer Elliott Smith, 21, who has traveled to Italy and Belgium during vacations from an organic Beaujolais vineyard outside of Lyon, France. "Everybody wants to travel a bit and the big thing is to do it without going totally broke."
Aside from having a travel base camp among a crop of thin-skinned Gamay grapes, the linguistics student from Texas said his "farmer French ... increased tenfold."
Recent graduates and college students like Smith and Mansfield make up a significant portion of WWOOF's volunteers, although farmhands come from walks of life as varied as the chores they do, said Chemi Pena, spokesman for WWOOF in Spain.
"The profile of farms is really diverse," he said.
Julie Bateman, a mother of two and slow food advocate, packed up her 10-and 13-year-old children and left her home in Charleston, S.C., for a volunteer farming stint in Italy this summer.
"WWOOFing with the two children is certainly a twist on the normal travel and WWOOFing in general," said Bateman, 42.
For many volunteers, WWOOF is creating a class of green-thumbed do-gooders, more conscious of their carbon footprints.
"A lot of people maybe come here to do a cheap Eurotrip," said New York native Kahn-Kravis, as she picked strawberries. "But in reality, you can't do this without learning a bunch and having a more holistic approach to life."
If You Go...
WORLDWIDE OPPORTUNITIES ON ORGANIC FARMS: http://www.wwoof.org/. Food and lodging at an organic farm in exchange for volunteering to work at the farm. Annual registration fees vary by country, but are typically around $US30-35 (20-25 euros). Opportunities on every continent.
Copyright © 2009 The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_GC4zlPbEl0o/SnG-4OVkVzI/AAAAAAAAG50/c9TlAEkgle0/s400/p1040831.jpg
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Found this on youtube
source
Bad for democracy
Further to yesterday's post on EU propaganda, see EUobserver today for some more snippets of what the institutions have been up to - and Open Europe's own experiences at the hands of the political campaign at the heart of DG Communications.
There is also a good piece on the International News Service, which repeats Open Europe's finding that the Commission has earmarked €885m to spend on efforts to promote a “common European identity” among the under-25s in a campaign which deliberately confuses the difference between information and propaganda.
There is also a good piece on the International News Service, which repeats Open Europe's finding that the Commission has earmarked €885m to spend on efforts to promote a “common European identity” among the under-25s in a campaign which deliberately confuses the difference between information and propaganda.
back and better than ever
kimmswick got locked in the neighbor's garage on friday night and we didn't find him until sunday night at 11:30pm! every time i see him now i'm glad that the little dude is back. what a buddy!
enjoy the pic of kimmswick imitating the batman animated series logo
enjoy the pic of kimmswick imitating the batman animated series logo
The Beard of Swaran Singh - Part Two.
I am sitting here near Seattle on the hottest day ever recorded here. 102F, 38.9C. Not all that hot in Amritsar or Las Vegas, but deadly hot to these weak Seattlites. I'm OK, with a fan and a spray bottle of water.
So, for a summer break...
I know I have posted about Bhai Swaran Singh and his beard before, but I just came across this Youtube video and want to share it with you.
First, a still from the video:
Then the caption from the video:
And, at last, the video itself:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvnWUftW4uE
Happy summer to all (in the Northern Hemisphere). Happy winter to you in the hemisphere of Oz.![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_tTQso43z0c2t5umGqK8RxjZbQCZ78TvsM5IK4XyF6K6MDA6m7Ku3bVnjG-yNAo385c-2a55U3wKcbOHSTXmgtauxBMe-rxTHz6pk-WJz8PQQc2xGfurz-sparK6s1fGeglzWX0agmNp1M_E3dNbGfo=s0-d)
So, for a summer break...
I know I have posted about Bhai Swaran Singh and his beard before, but I just came across this Youtube video and want to share it with you.
First, a still from the video:
Then the caption from the video:
Mar. 11 - A Canadian man who has grown a beard that measures over seven feet long is all set to be endorsed in the record books.
Swaran Singh, a music teacher from Canada who is visiting his native Punjab, is the pride of all the Sikhs for sporting a beard that measures over 7 feet long.
He expects it to be endorsed in the Guinness Book of World Records.
As a devout Sikh, Singh wanted to inspire the young members of his community to retain the hair and not crop it.
(SOUNDBITE) (Punjabi) SWARAN SINGH: "God blessed every man with beard, but I have received special blessing from Him. I have done nothing special except caring it (beard). I have never applied any special hair oil on my beard and of course, I haven't done this for the sake of Guinness record."
And, at last, the video itself:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvnWUftW4uE
Happy summer to all (in the Northern Hemisphere). Happy winter to you in the hemisphere of Oz.
Playing games
British business leaders have today been fighting it out on the newswires about the extent of the cost that the EU's new Agency Workers' Directive will impose on the British economy, as we struggle to lift ourselves out of recession. The BCC reckons it is going to cost the economy £1.5bn a year (see here for Open Europe's take on why the Directive is a bad idea).
Meanwhile, over in la-la land, a two-day conference is underway for 350 'experts', who have been bussed over to Goteburg at taxpayer expense from for a vital conference on "the creativity and cultural habits of children and young people."
Let's see... cultural habits of children... That will be, watching cartoons, building lego and dressing up? Playing sports? Or maybe practicising the piano or going to ballet lessons. That's fairly cultural.
According to the Swedish presidency of the EU, "the conference is taking place within the context of the European Year of Creativity and Innovation." Ah yes, the old EU-themed years.
Each year there is a different theme. 2008 was the European Year of Intercultural Dialogue, on which the Commission splashed €7 million on efforts such as “information and promotion campaigns, particularly in cooperation with the media, at Community and national level to disseminate the key messages concerning the objectives of the European Year of Intercultural Dialogue.”
2007 was the European Year of Equal Opportunities for All, 2006 was the European Year of
Workers’ Mobility, and 2005 was the European Year of Citizenship through Education.
This all sounds very nice. Except that, it is just another example of the EU's far-reaching and multi-faceted propaganda campaign to try and sell the idea of EU integration. Underlying all of these kinds of cultural and educational initiatives is a clear objective to help engender support for 'building Europe'.
Don't take our word for it though - take Jan Figel's - who is EU Education and Culture Commissioner.
Referring to last year's 'theme' he said:
“There are plenty of good reasons why the Union should work on intercultural dialogue… Firstly, building Europe has always meant integrating histories, value systems, and world views. There is a strong sense in which our process of integration has always been a dialogue between cultures.... finally, intercultural dialogue is linked to a more political goal: creating a sense of European citizenship.”
Indeed last year's website states: “Intercultural dialogue has an increasingly important role to
play in fostering European identity and citizenship."
For more on this and other examples of the EU propaganda machine at work, see our December 2008 publication, "The hard sell: EU communication policy and the campaign for hearts and minds":
http://www.openeurope.org.uk/research/hardsell.pdf
But hang on a sec. The EU has no mandate to legislate in the area of 'youth' or 'culture'. So what right has it got to spend money on these things anyway?
Meanwhile, over in la-la land, a two-day conference is underway for 350 'experts', who have been bussed over to Goteburg at taxpayer expense from for a vital conference on "the creativity and cultural habits of children and young people."
Let's see... cultural habits of children... That will be, watching cartoons, building lego and dressing up? Playing sports? Or maybe practicising the piano or going to ballet lessons. That's fairly cultural.
According to the Swedish presidency of the EU, "the conference is taking place within the context of the European Year of Creativity and Innovation." Ah yes, the old EU-themed years.
Each year there is a different theme. 2008 was the European Year of Intercultural Dialogue, on which the Commission splashed €7 million on efforts such as “information and promotion campaigns, particularly in cooperation with the media, at Community and national level to disseminate the key messages concerning the objectives of the European Year of Intercultural Dialogue.”
2007 was the European Year of Equal Opportunities for All, 2006 was the European Year of
Workers’ Mobility, and 2005 was the European Year of Citizenship through Education.
This all sounds very nice. Except that, it is just another example of the EU's far-reaching and multi-faceted propaganda campaign to try and sell the idea of EU integration. Underlying all of these kinds of cultural and educational initiatives is a clear objective to help engender support for 'building Europe'.
Don't take our word for it though - take Jan Figel's - who is EU Education and Culture Commissioner.
Referring to last year's 'theme' he said:
“There are plenty of good reasons why the Union should work on intercultural dialogue… Firstly, building Europe has always meant integrating histories, value systems, and world views. There is a strong sense in which our process of integration has always been a dialogue between cultures.... finally, intercultural dialogue is linked to a more political goal: creating a sense of European citizenship.”
Indeed last year's website states: “Intercultural dialogue has an increasingly important role to
play in fostering European identity and citizenship."
For more on this and other examples of the EU propaganda machine at work, see our December 2008 publication, "The hard sell: EU communication policy and the campaign for hearts and minds":
http://www.openeurope.org.uk/research/hardsell.pdf
But hang on a sec. The EU has no mandate to legislate in the area of 'youth' or 'culture'. So what right has it got to spend money on these things anyway?
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Karen armed wing intends to recruit before Burmese army assault
The embattled armed wing of the largest Karen political group intends to recruit soldiers amongst Three Pagoda Pass township’s Karen population as the Burmese military government forces prepare to assault the Karen regional base.
The Karen National Union’s (KNU), Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), is intending to recruit soldiers after it has become evident that the Burmese Army will continue its offensive against the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) at brigade No. 6 located in the are of Three Pagoda Pass township.
The KNLA has been conducting brief military trainings for young men over the age of 18 throughout Karen territory for the past few years. The trainings have been conducted so that if necessary the men would be available to fight in the army.
The KNLA has already informed Karen villages that it will be recruiting villagers to serve in its army group. KNLA has not yet begun recruiting, but its efforts will focus on the Zami river area. Yet some villagers, including young men who were previously trained, are fleeing to Thailand, according to a Sa Ya Pa (Burmese military intelligence) who talked with Karen residents from TPP Township. There are Ten villages have along the Zami River and most consist of mostly Karen residents.
“I heard that the KNLA is trying to recruit villagers for their army,” said a Karen resident from TPP. “If there are 3 men in one household, the KNLA will take 2 men, and if you have 2 men in a house they will take 1.”
On July 8th the Burmese army State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) combined forces with the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) in a joint offensive against the KNLA brigade No. 6 forces in the temporary Tae Tone Lone camp, 12 kilometers outside Three Pagodas Pass. The KNU is preparing their forces to push back against the DKBA.
The recent fall of the KNLA base, brigade No. 7, led to a mass exodus of Karen refugees to the Thai-Burma border in the face of human rights abuses committed by the advancing SPDC –DKBA combined force. According to KNU sources, the SPDC and DKBA joint campaign is advancing towards the brigade No. 6 stronghold.
This increase in violence has caused problems throughout the Karen community. During recent fighting between the DKBA and the KNU, 2 DKBA soldiers were killed, according to a DKBA source. Since, the DKBA has blocked Karen villagers from Maketa from entering TPP township.
“About 10 Karen villagers who were suffering from illness went to get treated at a hospital,” commented a trader close to the DKBA. “When they arrived outside TPP town at the check point, DKBA and Burmese soldiers didn’t allow them to enter the town. So they had to go through the forest to enter town.”
monnews-imna
The Karen National Union’s (KNU), Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), is intending to recruit soldiers after it has become evident that the Burmese Army will continue its offensive against the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) at brigade No. 6 located in the are of Three Pagoda Pass township.
The KNLA has been conducting brief military trainings for young men over the age of 18 throughout Karen territory for the past few years. The trainings have been conducted so that if necessary the men would be available to fight in the army.
The KNLA has already informed Karen villages that it will be recruiting villagers to serve in its army group. KNLA has not yet begun recruiting, but its efforts will focus on the Zami river area. Yet some villagers, including young men who were previously trained, are fleeing to Thailand, according to a Sa Ya Pa (Burmese military intelligence) who talked with Karen residents from TPP Township. There are Ten villages have along the Zami River and most consist of mostly Karen residents.
“I heard that the KNLA is trying to recruit villagers for their army,” said a Karen resident from TPP. “If there are 3 men in one household, the KNLA will take 2 men, and if you have 2 men in a house they will take 1.”
On July 8th the Burmese army State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) combined forces with the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) in a joint offensive against the KNLA brigade No. 6 forces in the temporary Tae Tone Lone camp, 12 kilometers outside Three Pagodas Pass. The KNU is preparing their forces to push back against the DKBA.
The recent fall of the KNLA base, brigade No. 7, led to a mass exodus of Karen refugees to the Thai-Burma border in the face of human rights abuses committed by the advancing SPDC –DKBA combined force. According to KNU sources, the SPDC and DKBA joint campaign is advancing towards the brigade No. 6 stronghold.
This increase in violence has caused problems throughout the Karen community. During recent fighting between the DKBA and the KNU, 2 DKBA soldiers were killed, according to a DKBA source. Since, the DKBA has blocked Karen villagers from Maketa from entering TPP township.
“About 10 Karen villagers who were suffering from illness went to get treated at a hospital,” commented a trader close to the DKBA. “When they arrived outside TPP town at the check point, DKBA and Burmese soldiers didn’t allow them to enter the town. So they had to go through the forest to enter town.”
monnews-imna
DKBA ramps up civilian abuses and set sights on Brigade 6
imna-Karen people are fleeing in droves to Thailand as the Democratic Karen Buddhist Association (DKBA) commits ongoing human rights abuses.
The Thailand Burma Border Consortium (TBBC) recently reported on the tense situation to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the Thailand-based Karen Refugee Committee (KRC).
According to the report, about 200 Karen people have reached the Tha Song Yang district, Tak province in the last 24 hours alone, mainly taking temporary shelter at the Mae U Su site.
The report also detailed DKBA abuses such as forced recruitment, portering and the extortion of money, food, and livestock. Such abuses have become push factors for Karen migration and the creation of many Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).
This month the DKBA and the Burmese army have launched a joint offensive against the Karen National Union (KNU), the main political party of the Karen people. Brigade 7 area has already fallen and the combined forces are now targeting Brigade 6, which includes 18 villages between Three Pagodas Pass Township and Kyainnseikyi Township.
The general secretary of the KRC said, “The number of Karen people arriving in Thailand has increased to 500 people [in the Tha Song Yang district]. Since [fighting began] between the KNU and the DKBA, Karen people have fled to Thailand. Karen people are seeking shelter from the NGOs and the Thai government.”
According to a July 19th story by the Human Rights Foundation of Monland, the Burmese military’s Southeast Command (SEC) has begun using a variety of internal tactics in Karen State, including using DKBA name registries to require two baskets of rice per household, with a 10,000 kyat penalty for failing to provide this.
The Thailand Burma Border Consortium (TBBC) recently reported on the tense situation to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the Thailand-based Karen Refugee Committee (KRC).
According to the report, about 200 Karen people have reached the Tha Song Yang district, Tak province in the last 24 hours alone, mainly taking temporary shelter at the Mae U Su site.
The report also detailed DKBA abuses such as forced recruitment, portering and the extortion of money, food, and livestock. Such abuses have become push factors for Karen migration and the creation of many Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).
This month the DKBA and the Burmese army have launched a joint offensive against the Karen National Union (KNU), the main political party of the Karen people. Brigade 7 area has already fallen and the combined forces are now targeting Brigade 6, which includes 18 villages between Three Pagodas Pass Township and Kyainnseikyi Township.
The general secretary of the KRC said, “The number of Karen people arriving in Thailand has increased to 500 people [in the Tha Song Yang district]. Since [fighting began] between the KNU and the DKBA, Karen people have fled to Thailand. Karen people are seeking shelter from the NGOs and the Thai government.”
According to a July 19th story by the Human Rights Foundation of Monland, the Burmese military’s Southeast Command (SEC) has begun using a variety of internal tactics in Karen State, including using DKBA name registries to require two baskets of rice per household, with a 10,000 kyat penalty for failing to provide this.
Mon residents, fearful of terminating cease fire, don’t want Border Guard Force
IMNA,Amidst mounting political tension, Mon people explain that they don’t want the Mon National Liberation Army (MNLA) to be put under Burmese army control nor become a people’s militia force.
Nevertheless, they also express not wishing to end the ceasefire with the military government, a change that would open the door to increased fighting, as has been seen recently in Karen State.
As the State Peace and Development Council, or SPDC, continues to put pressure on the New Mon State Party (NMSP), to place their army (MNLA) under the reconstitution of a Border Guard Force (BGF) or change it into a government-aligned people’s militia force, party officials and residents remain unconvinced.
“What the SPDC offers the NMSP so far, we don’t agree with either. We Mon People can create our own development through education, health care, and community development. If we agree with SPDC policy, the NMSP will [no longer represent] the Mon people and the MNLA can’t protect us,” said a Mon resident on July 24th at a meeting in Ye Township.
The NMSP must give a response to the SPDC by the end of this month and thus held town hall-style meetings to gauge residents’ opinions.
“We can’t agree what the SPDC offers to the NMSP; their policy will finish [our army]. Not only are we worried about the cease fire ending, but also we have to know that NMSP power has decreased during the cease fire term with the SPDC,” said a leader of youth monks active in politics.
Nai Rotsa, vice-chairperson of the NMSP, listened to opinions in Moulmein district; Nai Aung Min of the NMSP’s Central Executive Committee (CEC) held a second meeting at the Central Headquarters in Ye Township. CEC member Nai Htar Wara, held a third meeting in Tavoy district and Nai Tla Nyeh (CEC) held a fourth in Thaton district.
Currently, the NMSP is holding an emergency meeting at the Central Headquarters to discuss with their members how to respond to the SPDC.
IMNA has received reports that some businessmen and politicians are concerned about the state of the cease fire and the possibility of future violence between the SPDC and NMSP; therefore, they’ve pressured the NMSP to become a BGF or people’s militia force.
Various Mon groups have publicly denounced the attempts by the SPDC to transform the military of Mon State. The Mon Affair Union (MAU), the Overseas Mon Community Committee (OMCC), along with monks and university students from ‘inside Burma’ sent an open letter to the NMSP strongly negative toward the SPDC offer and asking for them to fight back.
Nevertheless, they also express not wishing to end the ceasefire with the military government, a change that would open the door to increased fighting, as has been seen recently in Karen State.
As the State Peace and Development Council, or SPDC, continues to put pressure on the New Mon State Party (NMSP), to place their army (MNLA) under the reconstitution of a Border Guard Force (BGF) or change it into a government-aligned people’s militia force, party officials and residents remain unconvinced.
“What the SPDC offers the NMSP so far, we don’t agree with either. We Mon People can create our own development through education, health care, and community development. If we agree with SPDC policy, the NMSP will [no longer represent] the Mon people and the MNLA can’t protect us,” said a Mon resident on July 24th at a meeting in Ye Township.
The NMSP must give a response to the SPDC by the end of this month and thus held town hall-style meetings to gauge residents’ opinions.
“We can’t agree what the SPDC offers to the NMSP; their policy will finish [our army]. Not only are we worried about the cease fire ending, but also we have to know that NMSP power has decreased during the cease fire term with the SPDC,” said a leader of youth monks active in politics.
Nai Rotsa, vice-chairperson of the NMSP, listened to opinions in Moulmein district; Nai Aung Min of the NMSP’s Central Executive Committee (CEC) held a second meeting at the Central Headquarters in Ye Township. CEC member Nai Htar Wara, held a third meeting in Tavoy district and Nai Tla Nyeh (CEC) held a fourth in Thaton district.
Currently, the NMSP is holding an emergency meeting at the Central Headquarters to discuss with their members how to respond to the SPDC.
IMNA has received reports that some businessmen and politicians are concerned about the state of the cease fire and the possibility of future violence between the SPDC and NMSP; therefore, they’ve pressured the NMSP to become a BGF or people’s militia force.
Various Mon groups have publicly denounced the attempts by the SPDC to transform the military of Mon State. The Mon Affair Union (MAU), the Overseas Mon Community Committee (OMCC), along with monks and university students from ‘inside Burma’ sent an open letter to the NMSP strongly negative toward the SPDC offer and asking for them to fight back.
Three Kachin peace groups give into junta
Three Kachin ceasefire groups in northern Burma last week, gave into the demands of the Burmese military junta of transforming their armed-wings into the kind of forces that the regime wants, said sources close to the groups.
The New Democratic Army-Kachin (NDA-K), the Lasang Awng Wa Peace Group in Kachin State and the Kachin Defense Army (KDA) in northeast Shan State agreed to transform their armed-forces to a Border Guard Force or local militia, said sources in the three outfits.
KDA and Lasang Awng Wa Peace Group agreed to convert their forces into local militia groups with less manpower than it has now, said insiders.
The KDA led by Mahtu Naw based in Kawng Hka near Kutkai Town was formerly the 4th brigade of the Kachin Independence Army (KIA). It has about 500 soldiers. It has been receiving rations from the ruling junta since it surrendered in 1990.
Kachins in northeast Shan State are terribly upset over the KDA agreeing to transform to a local militia group, said a Kachin resident in Muse.
Similarly, the Lasang Awng Wa Peace Group is also ready to transform its force, which accounts for about 200, to a local militia group because it is in no position to oppose the orders of the junta after it split from the mother unit the KIO/A in January 4, 2004.
The group is based in Gwi Htu Pa near the Kachin State capital Myitkyina, where it was set up by former Northern Command Commander Maj-Gen Ohn Myint of the Burmese Army in late 2004. It receives rations from the regime, said insiders.
The New Democratic Army-Kachin (NDA-K) in Kachin State agreed to transform to a battalion of a Border Guard Force on June 24 in the meeting with the junta's Northern Command Commander Brig-Gen Soe Win in the organizational headquarters in Pang Wah, said Baptist pastor-turned NDA-K officer, Lt-Col Nhkum Doi La.
The Zahkung Ting Ying led NDA-K was formerly the Army Division No. 101 of the Communist Party of Burma (CPB) after it split from the mother unit the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) in 1968 and signed a permanent peace agreement with the junta on December 15, 1989.
Currently the NDA-K has about 800 soldiers and at least 500 of them are receiving monthly salaries from the junta, said NDA-K officers.
However, the KIO/A, the original mother unit of the three Kachin peace groups has refused to transform its armed-wing. It has told the junta that it could change to a State Security Force not a Border Guard Force.
kachinnews
The New Democratic Army-Kachin (NDA-K), the Lasang Awng Wa Peace Group in Kachin State and the Kachin Defense Army (KDA) in northeast Shan State agreed to transform their armed-forces to a Border Guard Force or local militia, said sources in the three outfits.
KDA and Lasang Awng Wa Peace Group agreed to convert their forces into local militia groups with less manpower than it has now, said insiders.
The KDA led by Mahtu Naw based in Kawng Hka near Kutkai Town was formerly the 4th brigade of the Kachin Independence Army (KIA). It has about 500 soldiers. It has been receiving rations from the ruling junta since it surrendered in 1990.
Kachins in northeast Shan State are terribly upset over the KDA agreeing to transform to a local militia group, said a Kachin resident in Muse.
Similarly, the Lasang Awng Wa Peace Group is also ready to transform its force, which accounts for about 200, to a local militia group because it is in no position to oppose the orders of the junta after it split from the mother unit the KIO/A in January 4, 2004.
The group is based in Gwi Htu Pa near the Kachin State capital Myitkyina, where it was set up by former Northern Command Commander Maj-Gen Ohn Myint of the Burmese Army in late 2004. It receives rations from the regime, said insiders.
The New Democratic Army-Kachin (NDA-K) in Kachin State agreed to transform to a battalion of a Border Guard Force on June 24 in the meeting with the junta's Northern Command Commander Brig-Gen Soe Win in the organizational headquarters in Pang Wah, said Baptist pastor-turned NDA-K officer, Lt-Col Nhkum Doi La.
The Zahkung Ting Ying led NDA-K was formerly the Army Division No. 101 of the Communist Party of Burma (CPB) after it split from the mother unit the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) in 1968 and signed a permanent peace agreement with the junta on December 15, 1989.
Currently the NDA-K has about 800 soldiers and at least 500 of them are receiving monthly salaries from the junta, said NDA-K officers.
However, the KIO/A, the original mother unit of the three Kachin peace groups has refused to transform its armed-wing. It has told the junta that it could change to a State Security Force not a Border Guard Force.
kachinnews
KIA troops take to forests for possible war with Burmese Army
Troops of the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) are going into the forests from their army battalions in Burma's northern Kachin State for a possible war with the Burmese Army. This, despite having accepted the junta's strategy of transforming the armed-wing in principle, said local sources.
Columns of KIA soldiers are heading for the frontline. The KIA’s activity is mainly concentrated in the areas around Laiza, the headquarters and the border trade centre of KIA and its political wing the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), said sources close to KIA soldiers.
A KIO serviceman of the KIA 3rd Brigade in Bhamo district told KNG, "Now, all KIA soldiers are entering the bushes. Many KIA soldiers have fanned out around the KIO/A headquarters in Laiza on the Sino-Burma border."
An eyewitness told KNG today, she surprisingly saw several columns of Burmese Army soldiers on the road between Bhamo and Kai Htik, the border trade route between China and Burma in Bhamo district.
All KIA soldiers are equipped with sophisticated guns and ammunition. They have been ordered to standby 24 hours in their army bases, KIA sources said.
The KIA’s preparation is to defend itself from the Burmese troops. It is not offensive in nature, according to KIA officials.
Maj-Gen Gunhtang Gam Shawng, Chief of Staff of KIA reiterated that the junta's proposal of transforming KIA into a battalion of border guard force before the end of this year is a load of nonsense. The KIA’s transformation will be considered after all political problems between the KIO and the junta are resolved.
On the other hand, political leaders of the KIO met the junta's army officials at least twice on transforming the KIA in Myitkyina, the capital of Kachin State in the last two weeks, said KIO/A's headquarter sources.
As of now, Kachin political leaders are against the junta's proposal of transforming KIA to a battalion of a border guard force. All Kachin political organizations, Kachin university students in the entire country and Kachin people both inside Burma and abroad are against this move.
The KIA is one of strongest ethnic armed groups in the country because it connects with all Kachin people and is supported by all Kachins in Burma and abroad.
Unless the political problems are resolved first, the transformation of KIA is unacceptable for both KIA and the Kachin people.
kachinnews
Columns of KIA soldiers are heading for the frontline. The KIA’s activity is mainly concentrated in the areas around Laiza, the headquarters and the border trade centre of KIA and its political wing the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), said sources close to KIA soldiers.
A KIO serviceman of the KIA 3rd Brigade in Bhamo district told KNG, "Now, all KIA soldiers are entering the bushes. Many KIA soldiers have fanned out around the KIO/A headquarters in Laiza on the Sino-Burma border."
An eyewitness told KNG today, she surprisingly saw several columns of Burmese Army soldiers on the road between Bhamo and Kai Htik, the border trade route between China and Burma in Bhamo district.
All KIA soldiers are equipped with sophisticated guns and ammunition. They have been ordered to standby 24 hours in their army bases, KIA sources said.
The KIA’s preparation is to defend itself from the Burmese troops. It is not offensive in nature, according to KIA officials.
Maj-Gen Gunhtang Gam Shawng, Chief of Staff of KIA reiterated that the junta's proposal of transforming KIA into a battalion of border guard force before the end of this year is a load of nonsense. The KIA’s transformation will be considered after all political problems between the KIO and the junta are resolved.
On the other hand, political leaders of the KIO met the junta's army officials at least twice on transforming the KIA in Myitkyina, the capital of Kachin State in the last two weeks, said KIO/A's headquarter sources.
As of now, Kachin political leaders are against the junta's proposal of transforming KIA to a battalion of a border guard force. All Kachin political organizations, Kachin university students in the entire country and Kachin people both inside Burma and abroad are against this move.
The KIA is one of strongest ethnic armed groups in the country because it connects with all Kachin people and is supported by all Kachins in Burma and abroad.
Unless the political problems are resolved first, the transformation of KIA is unacceptable for both KIA and the Kachin people.
kachinnews
Ninth grade schoolgirl dies of Dengue in Myitkyina
A schoolgirl in the ninth grade died in Myitkyina public hospital, in Burma's northern Kachin State on July 23 at about 7 a.m. from Dengue Hemorrhagic Fever (DHF), said local sources.
Despite the high incidence of dengue and several deaths, especially among children, the Burmese military junta has remained apathetic in checking the spread of the disease and coming to the aid of the hospital in Myitkyina, which is spilling over with patients, locals said.
Hkawng Naw (16) studied in grade nine in No. 5 State High School in Myitkyina, the capital of Kachin State. She died of dengue -- bleeding from her nose and mouth in Myitkyina public hospital, said hospital sources.
Hkawng Naw was hospitalized on July 22 night in a critical condition, hospital sources said.
Relatives of Hkawng Naw said she was hospitalized too late because she was from a very poor family, which had no money to admit her to the hospital. Her father Hkawng Hkawng is dead. Her mother Ja Hkawn lives in No. 294, Section 5 in Du Kahtawng (or Du Mare) Quarter in Myitkyina.
As in the case of Hkawng Naw, many patients suffering from dengue in Myitkyina cannot afford to go to the hospital, said a nurse.
At the moment, there are over 120 child patients afflicted by dengue in the ‘Children’s Ward’ in the hospital. The hospital is overcrowded with patients and some have been put on bed shelves and on platforms and corridors outside the children’s ward, hospital sources said.
Besides, there are over 70 DHF and Malaria patients over the age of 13 in the adult ward at the moment, said hospital sources.
So far the Burmese military junta authorities of Myitkyina have not initiated any action to check the disease but some private donors have provided dozens of drips in the children’s ward, said sources.
The number of DHF afflictions among both children and adults are increasing by the day and new patients are arriving in the hospital. But most patients are not being recorded as DHF cases by the duty-nurses on the instruction of Dr. Khin Tin, the head of the hospital, said sources close to him.
According to hospital sources, the number of children and adult dengue patients in the hospital is much more than last year. However, many patients do not go to the government hospitals or clinics outside but stay at home unless their condition turns critical, given the high treatment costs.
kachinnews
Despite the high incidence of dengue and several deaths, especially among children, the Burmese military junta has remained apathetic in checking the spread of the disease and coming to the aid of the hospital in Myitkyina, which is spilling over with patients, locals said.
Hkawng Naw (16) studied in grade nine in No. 5 State High School in Myitkyina, the capital of Kachin State. She died of dengue -- bleeding from her nose and mouth in Myitkyina public hospital, said hospital sources.
Hkawng Naw was hospitalized on July 22 night in a critical condition, hospital sources said.
Relatives of Hkawng Naw said she was hospitalized too late because she was from a very poor family, which had no money to admit her to the hospital. Her father Hkawng Hkawng is dead. Her mother Ja Hkawn lives in No. 294, Section 5 in Du Kahtawng (or Du Mare) Quarter in Myitkyina.
As in the case of Hkawng Naw, many patients suffering from dengue in Myitkyina cannot afford to go to the hospital, said a nurse.
At the moment, there are over 120 child patients afflicted by dengue in the ‘Children’s Ward’ in the hospital. The hospital is overcrowded with patients and some have been put on bed shelves and on platforms and corridors outside the children’s ward, hospital sources said.
Besides, there are over 70 DHF and Malaria patients over the age of 13 in the adult ward at the moment, said hospital sources.
So far the Burmese military junta authorities of Myitkyina have not initiated any action to check the disease but some private donors have provided dozens of drips in the children’s ward, said sources.
The number of DHF afflictions among both children and adults are increasing by the day and new patients are arriving in the hospital. But most patients are not being recorded as DHF cases by the duty-nurses on the instruction of Dr. Khin Tin, the head of the hospital, said sources close to him.
According to hospital sources, the number of children and adult dengue patients in the hospital is much more than last year. However, many patients do not go to the government hospitals or clinics outside but stay at home unless their condition turns critical, given the high treatment costs.
kachinnews
Nargis survivors still waiting for shelter
YANGON,(IRIN) - Shelter is still one of the most pivotal issues to affect survivors of Cyclone Nargis today, the UN says.
The UN Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT) estimates that more than 450,000 people are in dire need of shelter assistance across southern Myanmar, almost 15 months after the worst natural disaster to strike the southeast Asian nation.
"Up to 130,000 families remain exposed and are suffering under severe weather conditions due to a lack of sustainable shelter," Bishow Parajuli, the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Myanmar, confirmed.
More than 700,000 homes were destroyed or damaged, creating what could easily be described as the greatest shelter needs at any one time since the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.
Although emergency shelter relief efforts were well funded - reaching around 95 percent of those affected - early recovery or transitional shelter needs have been sidelined.
An amount of US$150 million was requested for shelter repair and reconstruction under the Post Nargis Recovery Plan (PONREPP) - a three-year recovery strategy running to 2011 - but only US$50 million has been received.
Of the 360,000 homes the government estimates were destroyed outright, the international community and its partners have rebuilt just 24,000, while the government, largely through the private sector in designated areas of the Ayeyarwady Delta, has built another 10,000.
"This is horrifically low," David Evans, UN-HABITAT acting country director, told IRIN, describing the international response to date as less than 7 percent of the actual needs.
"I would expect this to be around 40 to 50 percent at this point," Evans said, estimating the cost of an individual home at about $700.
Building initiative
About 209,000 families have rebuilt their own homes alone over the past year, UN-HABITAT estimates - largely through informal means.
In the tiny village of Kan Seik, a seaside community in Myanmar's badly affected Dedaye Township, dozens of ramshackle homes have been hastily rebuilt from the storm's debris.
Most are flimsy and it is only a matter of time before the winds take them again.
Of Kan Seik's 193 homes, 192 were destroyed by Nargis, leaving residents such as 35-year-old Daw Thin Thin Kyi and her three children no choice but to rebuild with whatever they could find around them.
While on the surface, life in the Twanty Township, just 80km southwest of Yangon, appears to have returned to normal, life at the village level has yet to recover.
About half the homes in the 220 villages that comprise Twanty were destroyed or badly affected.
And while typically a family of five would have lived in an area of 10 sqm before Nargis, many today live in less than half that.
"Most people were unable to rebuild to pre-Nargis levels," Ne Myo, a programme officer for CARE International, said, citing the inevitable financial constraints of rebuilding for this largely landless population.
"There is no work here," said 33-year-old Bibi San, outside her home in Talaot Htaw, a village of just 1,600. Her husband earns barely $1 a day as a casual labourer.
While happy to have put a roof back over her head, she laments the arrival of this year's monsoon rains as well as her rising debt burden. "When it rains, the water pours in. Sometimes the children get ill," the mother of two said.
But Bibi San could also be described as lucky. As part of the self-recovery group - accounting for almost 60 percent of all destroyed homes - at least she is not one of the 450,000 cyclone survivors still unassisted.
"If they could have helped themselves, they would have been part of the self-recovery group, rather than live in the atrocious conditions they live in now," Evans said of this group, some of whom are living with nothing more than a piece of plastic over their heads almost 15 months after the disaster.
"Unfortunately, we know we're not going to get to them and the agencies have no funding," Evans said, noting that it would take a minimum of $50 million to assist them.
More than 140,000 people were killed and another 2.4 million affected by Cyclone Nargis, which swept across southern Myanmar and the Ayeyarwady Delta in May 2008.
The UN Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT) estimates that more than 450,000 people are in dire need of shelter assistance across southern Myanmar, almost 15 months after the worst natural disaster to strike the southeast Asian nation.
"Up to 130,000 families remain exposed and are suffering under severe weather conditions due to a lack of sustainable shelter," Bishow Parajuli, the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Myanmar, confirmed.
More than 700,000 homes were destroyed or damaged, creating what could easily be described as the greatest shelter needs at any one time since the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.
Although emergency shelter relief efforts were well funded - reaching around 95 percent of those affected - early recovery or transitional shelter needs have been sidelined.
An amount of US$150 million was requested for shelter repair and reconstruction under the Post Nargis Recovery Plan (PONREPP) - a three-year recovery strategy running to 2011 - but only US$50 million has been received.
Of the 360,000 homes the government estimates were destroyed outright, the international community and its partners have rebuilt just 24,000, while the government, largely through the private sector in designated areas of the Ayeyarwady Delta, has built another 10,000.
"This is horrifically low," David Evans, UN-HABITAT acting country director, told IRIN, describing the international response to date as less than 7 percent of the actual needs.
"I would expect this to be around 40 to 50 percent at this point," Evans said, estimating the cost of an individual home at about $700.
Building initiative
About 209,000 families have rebuilt their own homes alone over the past year, UN-HABITAT estimates - largely through informal means.
In the tiny village of Kan Seik, a seaside community in Myanmar's badly affected Dedaye Township, dozens of ramshackle homes have been hastily rebuilt from the storm's debris.
Most are flimsy and it is only a matter of time before the winds take them again.
Of Kan Seik's 193 homes, 192 were destroyed by Nargis, leaving residents such as 35-year-old Daw Thin Thin Kyi and her three children no choice but to rebuild with whatever they could find around them.
While on the surface, life in the Twanty Township, just 80km southwest of Yangon, appears to have returned to normal, life at the village level has yet to recover.
About half the homes in the 220 villages that comprise Twanty were destroyed or badly affected.
And while typically a family of five would have lived in an area of 10 sqm before Nargis, many today live in less than half that.
"Most people were unable to rebuild to pre-Nargis levels," Ne Myo, a programme officer for CARE International, said, citing the inevitable financial constraints of rebuilding for this largely landless population.
"There is no work here," said 33-year-old Bibi San, outside her home in Talaot Htaw, a village of just 1,600. Her husband earns barely $1 a day as a casual labourer.
While happy to have put a roof back over her head, she laments the arrival of this year's monsoon rains as well as her rising debt burden. "When it rains, the water pours in. Sometimes the children get ill," the mother of two said.
But Bibi San could also be described as lucky. As part of the self-recovery group - accounting for almost 60 percent of all destroyed homes - at least she is not one of the 450,000 cyclone survivors still unassisted.
"If they could have helped themselves, they would have been part of the self-recovery group, rather than live in the atrocious conditions they live in now," Evans said of this group, some of whom are living with nothing more than a piece of plastic over their heads almost 15 months after the disaster.
"Unfortunately, we know we're not going to get to them and the agencies have no funding," Evans said, noting that it would take a minimum of $50 million to assist them.
More than 140,000 people were killed and another 2.4 million affected by Cyclone Nargis, which swept across southern Myanmar and the Ayeyarwady Delta in May 2008.
Legally Suu Kyi is innocent: Defence lawyer
New Delhi (Mizzima) – The over two-month long trial of Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi points to her innocence, legally and the verdict to be pronounced on Friday will put to acid test the rule of law in the military-ruled country, her lawyer said on Tuesday.
Nyan Win, one of Aung San Suu Kyi’s lawyers told Mizzima after the arguments put forward by the defence on Tuesday that testimonies of the witnesses, arguments of lawyers of both the defence and the prosecution have all proved that the Burmese pro-democracy leader is innocent.
“As far as I have analysed the trial, legally there is no evidence to convict her [Aung San Suu Kyi,” said Nyan Win, adding that it would surprise him and the other members of the defence team if the verdict pronounces her guilty.
On Tuesday Nyan Win submitted his clarification on the prosecution’s arguments stating that there are no grounds to charge the Nobel Peace Laureate and the charges filed by the prosecution are not valid as the 1974 constitution is no more in effect.
Fellow party member and one of the spokesperson of the National League for Democracy, Ohn Kyaing told Mizzima earlier that he believed legally there is no ground to charge and convict the Burmese democracy icon but expressed concern that the court might not independently take a decision.
“I think the court will convict her because that’s the junta’s plan,” he said.
Like Ohn Kyaing, observers and critics believe that the junta is using the incident of John William Yettaw’s visit to Aung San Suu Kyi’s home as an excuse to charge her and sentence her to yet another prison term, in a move to keep her out of the 2010 election scenario.
But Nyan Win said, the defence team has not given up, and is willing to go to any extent in trying to bring justice to the pro-democracy leader.
“Aung San Suu Kyi has agreed with us and has given us permission to continue fighting the case legally and we plan to take the case to higher courts if the verdict pronounces her guilty,’ Nyan Win said.
Opposition activists widely believe that the military has chalked out a plan to sentence Aung San Suu Kyi before the end of July to avoid the verdict coinciding with the ensuing anniversary of the 8.8.88 uprising on August 8.
But the junta, which initially thought of sentencing Aung San Suu Kyi in a short trial, is also taking into account the possible reaction – both international and domestic - that may erupt in the wake of her being sentenced.
Win Tin, a senior leader of the NLD and veteran journalist, earlier told Mizzima that pronouncing Aung San Suu Kyi guilty and sentencing her to a prison term could provoke peoples’ anger that could lead to yet another mass movement particularly in Burma’s former capital city Rangoon.
Nyan Win, one of Aung San Suu Kyi’s lawyers told Mizzima after the arguments put forward by the defence on Tuesday that testimonies of the witnesses, arguments of lawyers of both the defence and the prosecution have all proved that the Burmese pro-democracy leader is innocent.
“As far as I have analysed the trial, legally there is no evidence to convict her [Aung San Suu Kyi,” said Nyan Win, adding that it would surprise him and the other members of the defence team if the verdict pronounces her guilty.
On Tuesday Nyan Win submitted his clarification on the prosecution’s arguments stating that there are no grounds to charge the Nobel Peace Laureate and the charges filed by the prosecution are not valid as the 1974 constitution is no more in effect.
Fellow party member and one of the spokesperson of the National League for Democracy, Ohn Kyaing told Mizzima earlier that he believed legally there is no ground to charge and convict the Burmese democracy icon but expressed concern that the court might not independently take a decision.
“I think the court will convict her because that’s the junta’s plan,” he said.
Like Ohn Kyaing, observers and critics believe that the junta is using the incident of John William Yettaw’s visit to Aung San Suu Kyi’s home as an excuse to charge her and sentence her to yet another prison term, in a move to keep her out of the 2010 election scenario.
But Nyan Win said, the defence team has not given up, and is willing to go to any extent in trying to bring justice to the pro-democracy leader.
“Aung San Suu Kyi has agreed with us and has given us permission to continue fighting the case legally and we plan to take the case to higher courts if the verdict pronounces her guilty,’ Nyan Win said.
Opposition activists widely believe that the military has chalked out a plan to sentence Aung San Suu Kyi before the end of July to avoid the verdict coinciding with the ensuing anniversary of the 8.8.88 uprising on August 8.
But the junta, which initially thought of sentencing Aung San Suu Kyi in a short trial, is also taking into account the possible reaction – both international and domestic - that may erupt in the wake of her being sentenced.
Win Tin, a senior leader of the NLD and veteran journalist, earlier told Mizzima that pronouncing Aung San Suu Kyi guilty and sentencing her to a prison term could provoke peoples’ anger that could lead to yet another mass movement particularly in Burma’s former capital city Rangoon.
Suu Kyi warns junta on 2010 elections
(DVB)–Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has again warned the ruling junta in Burma that without national reconciliation prior to next year, the 2010 elections would be futile.
The government has penciled in March next year for the first general elections since Suu Kyi’s opposition National League for Democracy party won a landslide victory in 1990 that was never honoured.
The opposition leader was speaking to her lawyer Nyan Win on Friday during what should have been the final day of her trial.
“Daw Suu said the upcoming elections in 2010 would not be credited as legitimate unless national reconciliation has been carried out before that,” said Nyan Win, adding that she had urged the United Nations to warn the junta about the necessity of reconciliation.
Today is expected to be the final day of Suu Kyi’s trial, which was delayed on Friday by the prosecution team failing to testify.
Critics claim the trial is a ploy to keep her in detention beyond the 2010 elections, although Burma’s revised constitution which was ratified two weeks after cyclone Nargis last May bars her from running for office.
Earlier this month the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon visited Burma in an attempt to kick start dialogue between the ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) and opposition groups, as well as push for the release of Suu Kyi.
Nyan Win said that Suu Kyi’s comments reflected the general feeling within the party, and this had been stressed to Ban Ki-moon during his visit.
Prosecution lawyers are today expected to give their final statements in the trial in which Suu Kyi has been charged with breaching conditions of her house arrest.
It is unclear when a verdict is likely to be given. If, as is widely expected, Suu Kyi is found guilty, she could face a sentence of up to five years.
A number of delegates attending the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Regional Forum last week independently called for her release, while a joint communiqué issued following the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting said her release was a necessary prerequisite for free and fair elections next year.
Reporting by Thurein Soe
The government has penciled in March next year for the first general elections since Suu Kyi’s opposition National League for Democracy party won a landslide victory in 1990 that was never honoured.
The opposition leader was speaking to her lawyer Nyan Win on Friday during what should have been the final day of her trial.
“Daw Suu said the upcoming elections in 2010 would not be credited as legitimate unless national reconciliation has been carried out before that,” said Nyan Win, adding that she had urged the United Nations to warn the junta about the necessity of reconciliation.
Today is expected to be the final day of Suu Kyi’s trial, which was delayed on Friday by the prosecution team failing to testify.
Critics claim the trial is a ploy to keep her in detention beyond the 2010 elections, although Burma’s revised constitution which was ratified two weeks after cyclone Nargis last May bars her from running for office.
Earlier this month the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon visited Burma in an attempt to kick start dialogue between the ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) and opposition groups, as well as push for the release of Suu Kyi.
Nyan Win said that Suu Kyi’s comments reflected the general feeling within the party, and this had been stressed to Ban Ki-moon during his visit.
Prosecution lawyers are today expected to give their final statements in the trial in which Suu Kyi has been charged with breaching conditions of her house arrest.
It is unclear when a verdict is likely to be given. If, as is widely expected, Suu Kyi is found guilty, she could face a sentence of up to five years.
A number of delegates attending the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Regional Forum last week independently called for her release, while a joint communiqué issued following the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting said her release was a necessary prerequisite for free and fair elections next year.
Reporting by Thurein Soe
Burma’s information ministry in new email campaign
(DVB)–The Ministry of Information in Burma has begun emailing government-generated newsletters to exiled Burmese activists and journalists in an attempt to counter news-sharing by exiled opposition groups.
The website responsible for the emails is the Kyaymon online newspaper, run by the government’s Ministry of Information, which carries headlines such as ‘Shame on you Clinton’ and ‘America’s ugly failure in the ASEAN summit’.
When approached by DVB, the assistant editor of Kyaymon, Aung Kyaw Thwin, said that the action was entirely orchestrated by the government.
“We have been sending you newsletters under direction from our information minister and there is no personal motive behind this,” he said.
Burma’s information minister, Brigadier General Kyaw Hasn, has reportedly sent out instructions to all media workers in Burma that include statements such as “strive for realization of the seven-step Road Map through media” and “train better qualified press workers who favour the profit of the nation”.
A UK-based Burmese journalist, Bo Bo Lan Sin, said that the newsletters were actually a refreshing alternative to other more generic government news.
“[Kyaymon] newsletters are not that boring; the more news variety than the government blogs,” he said, adding that he had only recently found out who was sending the emails.
His comments were echoed by the secretary of the Burma Media Association, San Moe Wei.
“The whole thing is clear; they are sending out the newsletters because no one bothers to go on to their websites and read their news,” he said.
State-run media, such as the Myanma Ahlin newspaper, is loaded with news on ribbon-cutting ceremonies and editorials penned by pro-government journalists.
Burma’s media environment is amongst the most repressive in the world, with media watchdog Reporters Without Borders last year ranking it 170 out of 173 in its annual Press Freedom Index.
Media laws are very tough, and journalists inside Burma face severe punishment if seen to be criticising the government.
Media workers are often under strict surveillance, with internet café owners forced to take screen-shots of each computers every five mintues which are then sent to the Ministry of Information.
“It’s easy for them to get a hold of our email addresses; they surf through blogs and find out which internet user is ‘politically concerned’”, said Burmese blogger, Mr Thinker.
“The media in exile has been using this newsletter method to spread their information and now [the government] has begun to do the same thing.”
It is unclear how many people the government is targeting in this campaign, although the email received by DVB had been sent to around 400 other addresses.
Reporting by Ahunt Phone Myat
The website responsible for the emails is the Kyaymon online newspaper, run by the government’s Ministry of Information, which carries headlines such as ‘Shame on you Clinton’ and ‘America’s ugly failure in the ASEAN summit’.
When approached by DVB, the assistant editor of Kyaymon, Aung Kyaw Thwin, said that the action was entirely orchestrated by the government.
“We have been sending you newsletters under direction from our information minister and there is no personal motive behind this,” he said.
Burma’s information minister, Brigadier General Kyaw Hasn, has reportedly sent out instructions to all media workers in Burma that include statements such as “strive for realization of the seven-step Road Map through media” and “train better qualified press workers who favour the profit of the nation”.
A UK-based Burmese journalist, Bo Bo Lan Sin, said that the newsletters were actually a refreshing alternative to other more generic government news.
“[Kyaymon] newsletters are not that boring; the more news variety than the government blogs,” he said, adding that he had only recently found out who was sending the emails.
His comments were echoed by the secretary of the Burma Media Association, San Moe Wei.
“The whole thing is clear; they are sending out the newsletters because no one bothers to go on to their websites and read their news,” he said.
State-run media, such as the Myanma Ahlin newspaper, is loaded with news on ribbon-cutting ceremonies and editorials penned by pro-government journalists.
Burma’s media environment is amongst the most repressive in the world, with media watchdog Reporters Without Borders last year ranking it 170 out of 173 in its annual Press Freedom Index.
Media laws are very tough, and journalists inside Burma face severe punishment if seen to be criticising the government.
Media workers are often under strict surveillance, with internet café owners forced to take screen-shots of each computers every five mintues which are then sent to the Ministry of Information.
“It’s easy for them to get a hold of our email addresses; they surf through blogs and find out which internet user is ‘politically concerned’”, said Burmese blogger, Mr Thinker.
“The media in exile has been using this newsletter method to spread their information and now [the government] has begun to do the same thing.”
It is unclear how many people the government is targeting in this campaign, although the email received by DVB had been sent to around 400 other addresses.
Reporting by Ahunt Phone Myat
Suu Kyi Verdict Set for Friday
YANGON, Myanmar (AP) — The high-profile trial of Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi concluded on Tuesday with the court announcing it will deliver its verdict at the end of the week, officials and diplomats said.
Judge Thaung Nyunt said the court will make its ruling on Friday, according to an Asian diplomat in the courtroom and a government official. Both spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
Suu Kyi's lawyers had expected a verdict next month. Details on why the court set the earlier date were not immediately available.
Defense lawyers gave their final statements on Tuesday in the case that has drawn international condemnation from world leaders, the United Nations and Hollywood celebrities.
The detained 64-year-old Nobel Peace Prize laureate is accused of violating the terms of her house arrest by harboring an uninvited American man who swam to her lakeside home and stayed for two days.
Suu Kyi faces up to five years in prison. She is widely expected to be convicted, although there has been speculation she may stay under house arrest rather than serve time in prison.
Suu Kyi has been in detention for nearly 14 of the last 20 years.
Defense lawyer Nyan Win said before the start of Tuesday's session that he held out hope for a verdict in Suu Kyi's favor.
"We are confident that we will win the case if things go according to the law," he said.
Suu Kyi and three other defendants were scheduled to reply to arguments presented on Monday by prosecutor Myint Kyaing, the lawyer said.
Diplomats from Japan, Singapore, Thailand and the United States were allowed to attend the trial on Tuesday, one of the diplomats said, citing embassy protocol for speaking on condition of anonymity.
Suu Kyi won London-based Amnesty International's highest award on Monday for her defense of human rights, underscoring international support for her struggle to bring democracy to the military-ruled country.
At a concert on Monday in Dublin, Ireland, U2's Bono publicly announced the award—Amnesty's Ambassador of Conscience Award—before 80,000 cheering fans. The rights group said it hopes its highest honor would help deter Myanmar's junta from imposing any harsh new punishments on her.
But neither international outrage, nor offers of closer ties with the U.S. if Suu Kyi is freed, appear to have deflected the ruling junta's determination to neutralize—if not imprison—her.
Suu Kyi emerged as the country's democracy icon during a popular uprising in 1988, which was brutally suppressed by the military that has ruled the country since 1962.
Yettaw, meanwhile, was also charged with violating terms of Suu Kyi's house arrest—as an abettor—and could be sent to prison for five years. He also faces a municipal charge of swimming in a non-swimming area and is accused of immigration violations.
Yettaw pleaded not guilty and explained in court he went to warn Suu Kyi after having a dream she would be assassinated.
irrawaddy
Judge Thaung Nyunt said the court will make its ruling on Friday, according to an Asian diplomat in the courtroom and a government official. Both spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
Suu Kyi's lawyers had expected a verdict next month. Details on why the court set the earlier date were not immediately available.
Defense lawyers gave their final statements on Tuesday in the case that has drawn international condemnation from world leaders, the United Nations and Hollywood celebrities.
The detained 64-year-old Nobel Peace Prize laureate is accused of violating the terms of her house arrest by harboring an uninvited American man who swam to her lakeside home and stayed for two days.
Suu Kyi faces up to five years in prison. She is widely expected to be convicted, although there has been speculation she may stay under house arrest rather than serve time in prison.
Suu Kyi has been in detention for nearly 14 of the last 20 years.
Defense lawyer Nyan Win said before the start of Tuesday's session that he held out hope for a verdict in Suu Kyi's favor.
"We are confident that we will win the case if things go according to the law," he said.
Suu Kyi and three other defendants were scheduled to reply to arguments presented on Monday by prosecutor Myint Kyaing, the lawyer said.
Diplomats from Japan, Singapore, Thailand and the United States were allowed to attend the trial on Tuesday, one of the diplomats said, citing embassy protocol for speaking on condition of anonymity.
Suu Kyi won London-based Amnesty International's highest award on Monday for her defense of human rights, underscoring international support for her struggle to bring democracy to the military-ruled country.
At a concert on Monday in Dublin, Ireland, U2's Bono publicly announced the award—Amnesty's Ambassador of Conscience Award—before 80,000 cheering fans. The rights group said it hopes its highest honor would help deter Myanmar's junta from imposing any harsh new punishments on her.
But neither international outrage, nor offers of closer ties with the U.S. if Suu Kyi is freed, appear to have deflected the ruling junta's determination to neutralize—if not imprison—her.
Suu Kyi emerged as the country's democracy icon during a popular uprising in 1988, which was brutally suppressed by the military that has ruled the country since 1962.
Yettaw, meanwhile, was also charged with violating terms of Suu Kyi's house arrest—as an abettor—and could be sent to prison for five years. He also faces a municipal charge of swimming in a non-swimming area and is accused of immigration violations.
Yettaw pleaded not guilty and explained in court he went to warn Suu Kyi after having a dream she would be assassinated.
irrawaddy
US Wants to Put Asean ‘Into Its Pocket’: Junta Media
A Burmese state-run newspaper on Sunday said that the United States is trying to sound out the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) and “put it into its pocket.”
The New Light of Myanmar said in a news commentary that if Asean does what the US has asked, it will fall under the control of the US. It also criticized US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for urging Asean members to put pressure on the Burmese military government to enact democratic reforms.
Clinton, who attended the Asean Regional Forum last week in Thailand, called on the Burmese junta to release pro-democracy leader Suu Kyi and, as an incentive, hinted that such a move could help convince the current US administration to lift its investment sanctions on the military-ruled country.
Detained for nearly 14 of the last 20 years, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Suu Kyi is currently on trial for allegedly violating the terms of her house arrest and faces a possible five-year prison sentence.
The US foreign secretary also exerted pressure on Asean to expel Burma from the regional body if Suu Kyi was not released.
“In reality, her remarks amounted to interfering in the affairs of Asean,” reported The New Light of Myanmar. “If Asean does what the US secretary of state has asked, it will come under control of the US. This means the US is trying to sound the Asean out and put it into its pocket.”
Speaking to The Irrawaddy on Monday, Thankin Chan Tun, a veteran Burmese politician, said, “It [the newspaper article] will not bring about anything good for the Burmese people. On the other hand, the US could put more sanctions on the country.
“In fact, Burma is a small country, so the military regime should try to be on good terms with other nations,” he added.
The commentary also suggested that US calls for Suu Kyi's release were part of a long-term plan to place someone in power in Burma whom it can control.
“It shows that the Burmese military regime will do what they like and are not concerned about the international community,” said Han Thar Myint, a spokesperson for the opposition National League for Democracy, on Monday. “Moreover, it shows that they do not intend to release Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.”
irrawaddy
The New Light of Myanmar said in a news commentary that if Asean does what the US has asked, it will fall under the control of the US. It also criticized US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for urging Asean members to put pressure on the Burmese military government to enact democratic reforms.
Clinton, who attended the Asean Regional Forum last week in Thailand, called on the Burmese junta to release pro-democracy leader Suu Kyi and, as an incentive, hinted that such a move could help convince the current US administration to lift its investment sanctions on the military-ruled country.
Detained for nearly 14 of the last 20 years, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Suu Kyi is currently on trial for allegedly violating the terms of her house arrest and faces a possible five-year prison sentence.
The US foreign secretary also exerted pressure on Asean to expel Burma from the regional body if Suu Kyi was not released.
“In reality, her remarks amounted to interfering in the affairs of Asean,” reported The New Light of Myanmar. “If Asean does what the US secretary of state has asked, it will come under control of the US. This means the US is trying to sound the Asean out and put it into its pocket.”
Speaking to The Irrawaddy on Monday, Thankin Chan Tun, a veteran Burmese politician, said, “It [the newspaper article] will not bring about anything good for the Burmese people. On the other hand, the US could put more sanctions on the country.
“In fact, Burma is a small country, so the military regime should try to be on good terms with other nations,” he added.
The commentary also suggested that US calls for Suu Kyi's release were part of a long-term plan to place someone in power in Burma whom it can control.
“It shows that the Burmese military regime will do what they like and are not concerned about the international community,” said Han Thar Myint, a spokesperson for the opposition National League for Democracy, on Monday. “Moreover, it shows that they do not intend to release Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.”
irrawaddy
Several Die in Kachin State’s Worst Dengue Fever Outbreak
An outbreak of dengue fever in Myitkyina, capital of Burma’s Kachin State, has claimed several lives, according to local residents.
Myitkyina’s public hospital wards are full of dengue patients and many residents are seeking medical attention in private clinics, local sources say. Most of the patients are children and elderly people.
“The situation is terrible,” said one local resident, Ma Grang.
Local hospitals and clinics are overburdened by the increasing number of cases, and Ma Grang said many patients waited in vain all day for treatment. The Kachin News Group reported that more then 120 children are being treated in a local hospital known as the “Children’s Ward.”
Hospital and clinic staff told The Irrawaddy they had no authority to give out information on the outbreak, which began in mid-June. No official death toll has been reported.
The Kachin News Group reported that a 16-year-old schoolgirl, Hkawng Naw, was among the recent victims,. She died on July 23.
Dengue fever outbreaks occur every year in Kachin State, but the current epidemic is the worst ever.
irrawaddy
Myitkyina’s public hospital wards are full of dengue patients and many residents are seeking medical attention in private clinics, local sources say. Most of the patients are children and elderly people.
“The situation is terrible,” said one local resident, Ma Grang.
Local hospitals and clinics are overburdened by the increasing number of cases, and Ma Grang said many patients waited in vain all day for treatment. The Kachin News Group reported that more then 120 children are being treated in a local hospital known as the “Children’s Ward.”
Hospital and clinic staff told The Irrawaddy they had no authority to give out information on the outbreak, which began in mid-June. No official death toll has been reported.
The Kachin News Group reported that a 16-year-old schoolgirl, Hkawng Naw, was among the recent victims,. She died on July 23.
Dengue fever outbreaks occur every year in Kachin State, but the current epidemic is the worst ever.
irrawaddy
Seventh H1N1 Flu Case Reported in Burma
Burma has confirmed a seventh case of H1N1 flu after a man tested positive for the virus on Tuesday.
State media reported that a man, 25, who returned from Thailand on Thai Airways Flight TG305 on July 16, was found ill and transferred from his township health department to Waibagi Specialist Hospital on Saturday.
“A blood sample from the patient tested positive for the new influenza H1/N1 flu virus at the National Health Laboratory,” the state media reported.
Six family members living with the patient are being kept home in quarantine, the report said, while 244 passengers on the same flight are under surveillance.
A total of seven persons have been infected with the virus to date. Four have been discharged from hospital after recovering, and three remain under treatment.
“A total of 96 new influenza (H1/N1) virus suspects were examined at the National Health Laboratory, and seven were found to be infected with the virus,” state media reported.
A drug seller from Mingalar market told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday that: “The demand for masks is very low. Chinese ones only cost around 30 kyat [US $.03 cents], others are 40 kyat.
Initially prices reached as high as 250 kyat for one mask when the disease first broke out, but now it seems people don’t care about swine flu because only a few are wearing masks.”
The first case of new flu A/H1N1 in Burma was confirmed on June 27, when a 13-year-old girl with symptoms was tested positive after returning from Singapore.
A student from Rangoon said: “I understand swine flu, and I am not afraid of it. I see most people don’t wear masks now.”
Worldwide, swine flu has caused 816 deaths, according to data published on Monday by the World Health Organization.
Overall, 134,503 cases of infection have been reported to the WHO. But the UN health agency added that since countries are no longer required to test and report individual cases, the figure reported "understates" the actual number.
irrawaddy
State media reported that a man, 25, who returned from Thailand on Thai Airways Flight TG305 on July 16, was found ill and transferred from his township health department to Waibagi Specialist Hospital on Saturday.
“A blood sample from the patient tested positive for the new influenza H1/N1 flu virus at the National Health Laboratory,” the state media reported.
Six family members living with the patient are being kept home in quarantine, the report said, while 244 passengers on the same flight are under surveillance.
A total of seven persons have been infected with the virus to date. Four have been discharged from hospital after recovering, and three remain under treatment.
“A total of 96 new influenza (H1/N1) virus suspects were examined at the National Health Laboratory, and seven were found to be infected with the virus,” state media reported.
A drug seller from Mingalar market told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday that: “The demand for masks is very low. Chinese ones only cost around 30 kyat [US $.03 cents], others are 40 kyat.
Initially prices reached as high as 250 kyat for one mask when the disease first broke out, but now it seems people don’t care about swine flu because only a few are wearing masks.”
The first case of new flu A/H1N1 in Burma was confirmed on June 27, when a 13-year-old girl with symptoms was tested positive after returning from Singapore.
A student from Rangoon said: “I understand swine flu, and I am not afraid of it. I see most people don’t wear masks now.”
Worldwide, swine flu has caused 816 deaths, according to data published on Monday by the World Health Organization.
Overall, 134,503 cases of infection have been reported to the WHO. But the UN health agency added that since countries are no longer required to test and report individual cases, the figure reported "understates" the actual number.
irrawaddy
Suu Kyi Insists Her Trial Will Test Rule of Law in Burma
Aung San Suu Kyi insisted after Tuesday’s final session of her trial before Friday’s scheduled verdict that the proceedings would show “whether or not the rule of law exists in the country,” according to her lawyer Nyan Win.
Suu Kyi made the comment to Nyan Win after the court announced a verdict would be announced on Friday. Suu Kyi is charged with breaking the terms of her house arrest order by giving refuge to an American trespasser, John Yettaw, and faces a maximum sentence of five years imprisonment if convicted.
Nyan Win, who is also a spokesman of Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy, told The Irrawaddy that his legal team had tried its best in accordance with the law.
Suu Kyi was innocent, Nyan Win insisted. “She [Suu Kyi] did not break the law. According to the law, it will be unlawful if the court even sentences her.”
During Tuesday’s two-hour morning session, a defense plea for more witnesses to be heard was rejected by the court, Nyan Win said.
Win Tin, an NLD executive leader who joined Suu Kyi supporters outside Insein Prison on Tuesday, said her two female companions and Yettaw also appeared at Tuesday’s session.
Suu Kyi’s companions Khin Khin Win and Win Ma Ma also face a charge of giving unlawful refuge to Yettaw. They are represented by Hla Myo Myint.
Nyan Win was one of four lawyers representing Suu Kyi at Tuesday’s session. The others were Kyi Wynn, Hla Myo Myint and Khin Htay Kywe, according to Khin Maung Swe, an NLD spokesperson.
Diplomats from Japan, Singapore, Thailand and the US were allowed to attend Tuesday’s session, according to an Associated Press report.
Last weekend, Suu Kyi told Nyan Win that she is unhappy with the continual delays in her trial, which she said gave the prosecution more time to prepare its final arguments. The trial began on May 18 and has been interrupted by several adjournments.
The proceedings against Suu Kyi have drawn wide international condemnation.
Last week, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and several Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) foreign ministers called for the release of Suu Kyi and more than 2,100 other political prisoners during the Asean Ministerial Meeting and Asean Regional Forum at Phuket in southern Thailand.
The Burmese state-owned newspaper, The New Light of Myanmar, carried an editorial last weekend saying that “demanding the release of Suu Kyi means showing reckless disregard for the law.”
The opposition leader has spent nearly 14 of the past 20 years under house arrest. Her latest term of detention began in May 2003, when she and her supporters came under attack by junta-backed thugs while traveling in central Burma.
irrawaddy
Suu Kyi made the comment to Nyan Win after the court announced a verdict would be announced on Friday. Suu Kyi is charged with breaking the terms of her house arrest order by giving refuge to an American trespasser, John Yettaw, and faces a maximum sentence of five years imprisonment if convicted.
Nyan Win, who is also a spokesman of Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy, told The Irrawaddy that his legal team had tried its best in accordance with the law.
Suu Kyi was innocent, Nyan Win insisted. “She [Suu Kyi] did not break the law. According to the law, it will be unlawful if the court even sentences her.”
During Tuesday’s two-hour morning session, a defense plea for more witnesses to be heard was rejected by the court, Nyan Win said.
Win Tin, an NLD executive leader who joined Suu Kyi supporters outside Insein Prison on Tuesday, said her two female companions and Yettaw also appeared at Tuesday’s session.
Suu Kyi’s companions Khin Khin Win and Win Ma Ma also face a charge of giving unlawful refuge to Yettaw. They are represented by Hla Myo Myint.
Nyan Win was one of four lawyers representing Suu Kyi at Tuesday’s session. The others were Kyi Wynn, Hla Myo Myint and Khin Htay Kywe, according to Khin Maung Swe, an NLD spokesperson.
Diplomats from Japan, Singapore, Thailand and the US were allowed to attend Tuesday’s session, according to an Associated Press report.
Last weekend, Suu Kyi told Nyan Win that she is unhappy with the continual delays in her trial, which she said gave the prosecution more time to prepare its final arguments. The trial began on May 18 and has been interrupted by several adjournments.
The proceedings against Suu Kyi have drawn wide international condemnation.
Last week, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and several Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) foreign ministers called for the release of Suu Kyi and more than 2,100 other political prisoners during the Asean Ministerial Meeting and Asean Regional Forum at Phuket in southern Thailand.
The Burmese state-owned newspaper, The New Light of Myanmar, carried an editorial last weekend saying that “demanding the release of Suu Kyi means showing reckless disregard for the law.”
The opposition leader has spent nearly 14 of the past 20 years under house arrest. Her latest term of detention began in May 2003, when she and her supporters came under attack by junta-backed thugs while traveling in central Burma.
irrawaddy
John Edwards has a sex tape?
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For more perspective on this story, click on the above links.
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We couldn't resist posting this because of our interest in the power of social media.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
What do you mean you haven't got time?
For anyone who didn't catch our press summary this morning, the Government has admitted that it will not carry out an Impact Assessment (IA) on the EU's proposed new Directive on hedge funds and private equity - otherwise known as the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive.
The idea of an IA is to weigh the costs and benefits of proposed regulation to see if it is worth it.
In response to an FOI request by Open Europe, the team at the Treasury confirmed that,
"because of the foreshortened time scale on which the directive is being negotiated, we will not be publishing a formal impact assessment."
Foreshoretened time scale? Well, the proposal is certainly being rushed through at a worryingly fast pace. It's widely acknowledged that the Commission, in the wake of the financial crisis, was under immense pressure from the European Parliament and some member states to quickly produce a Directive on hedge funds (never mind that most commentators agree that alternative investments funds were not a cause behind the crisis as even the Commission's press release on the AIFMD states). The result was a very poorly drafted, unworkable and inconsistent draft Directive.
This is precisely why a good, robust Impact Assessment is so essential. The "foreshortened time scale" and the poorly drafted Directive make it even more important that the Government (in a transparent manner) assesses what the proposal will actually mean in practice and how it can be improved.
But does the Treasury really not have time? The proposal was tabled on 30 April, and will be subject to revisions and negotiation throughout the summer and autumn. We know EU documents can sometimes be a bit of a snooze-fest but surely there is a crack team at the Treasury who can put a partial IA together during this time period?
Government guidelines explicitly state that "any proposal that imposes or reduces costs on businesses or the third sector requires an Impact Assessment" and theBERR Department for Business, Innovation and Skills website instructs Ministers to "make use of the UK Impact Assessment when lobbying other member states to win support for the UK position."
In fact, back in 2003 Tony Blair promised:
"no proposal for regulation which has an impact on business, charities or voluntary bodies should be considered by Ministers without a regulatory impact assessment being carried out."
This might all seem a bit obscure, but it's extremely important. A rigorous IA can identify potential costs and benefits of EU proposals and identify the impact on jobs, competiveness, growth and the rest of it. Used properly, it can inform UK negotiators when arguing over the details of important EU rules in high-level meetings in Brussels.
Last year, we spent six painful months going through over 2,000 of the UK Government's IAs. In the subsequent report, we recommended that the Government use IAs as a bargaining tool, to lay out which aspects of EU proposals would be unworkable, or that would impose un unacceptable cost. Of course, this would require a rigorous IA produced in time to inform the UK negotiating position - which, again, is what the Department for Business also recommends.
As we've said before, if this were a proposal that affected the French agriculture sector or the German auto industry it would have been strangled at birth. Although the UK Government finally has begun to pay some attention to the AIFM directive, it needs to do far more to show that it's willing to fight the UK corner on this one.
Starting with an assessment of what the hell it's all about.
The idea of an IA is to weigh the costs and benefits of proposed regulation to see if it is worth it.
In response to an FOI request by Open Europe, the team at the Treasury confirmed that,
"because of the foreshortened time scale on which the directive is being negotiated, we will not be publishing a formal impact assessment."
Foreshoretened time scale? Well, the proposal is certainly being rushed through at a worryingly fast pace. It's widely acknowledged that the Commission, in the wake of the financial crisis, was under immense pressure from the European Parliament and some member states to quickly produce a Directive on hedge funds (never mind that most commentators agree that alternative investments funds were not a cause behind the crisis as even the Commission's press release on the AIFMD states). The result was a very poorly drafted, unworkable and inconsistent draft Directive.
This is precisely why a good, robust Impact Assessment is so essential. The "foreshortened time scale" and the poorly drafted Directive make it even more important that the Government (in a transparent manner) assesses what the proposal will actually mean in practice and how it can be improved.
But does the Treasury really not have time? The proposal was tabled on 30 April, and will be subject to revisions and negotiation throughout the summer and autumn. We know EU documents can sometimes be a bit of a snooze-fest but surely there is a crack team at the Treasury who can put a partial IA together during this time period?
Government guidelines explicitly state that "any proposal that imposes or reduces costs on businesses or the third sector requires an Impact Assessment" and the
In fact, back in 2003 Tony Blair promised:
"no proposal for regulation which has an impact on business, charities or voluntary bodies should be considered by Ministers without a regulatory impact assessment being carried out."
This might all seem a bit obscure, but it's extremely important. A rigorous IA can identify potential costs and benefits of EU proposals and identify the impact on jobs, competiveness, growth and the rest of it. Used properly, it can inform UK negotiators when arguing over the details of important EU rules in high-level meetings in Brussels.
Last year, we spent six painful months going through over 2,000 of the UK Government's IAs. In the subsequent report, we recommended that the Government use IAs as a bargaining tool, to lay out which aspects of EU proposals would be unworkable, or that would impose un unacceptable cost. Of course, this would require a rigorous IA produced in time to inform the UK negotiating position - which, again, is what the Department for Business also recommends.
As we've said before, if this were a proposal that affected the French agriculture sector or the German auto industry it would have been strangled at birth. Although the UK Government finally has begun to pay some attention to the AIFM directive, it needs to do far more to show that it's willing to fight the UK corner on this one.
Starting with an assessment of what the hell it's all about.
Successful edition of the Air Malta Syracuse regatta
The 49th edition of the Malta Syracuse Regatta, which anuallly attracts some of the best Maltese and Sicilian boats , was successfully held recently.
This was the second time that Air Malta sponsored this event, which saw the participation of 66 yachts that competed in the race between Siracusa and Malta.
Every year this classic race organised by the Royal Malta Yacht Club and Lega Navale Italiana Sezzione Siracusa alternates start lines, and this year it terminated at the Marsamxett Harbour.
'Wolverine' was the overall winner in the ORC category as well as 1st in IRC Class B and winner of the Easy Perfection Trophy, while Maltese yacht ‘Ton Ton’ won the IRC category A, closely followed by the Italian boat ‘Nautilus 227’. Air Malta’s 'Maltese Falcon II' yacht came in third.
The prize-giving ceremony was organised at the Grand Harbour Marina under Fort St Angelo. The prizes were awarded by Dr Brock Friesen, Air Malta Chief Officer Commercial and Georges Bonello DuPuis, Commodore of the Royal Malta Yacht Club.
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Monday, July 27, 2009
A lesson in caution against unnecessary EU rules
Over the weekend John Black, President of the Royal College of Surgeons, called for the Government to have the courage to "step in and suspend" EU rules which will bring junior doctors' hours down to 48 a week from Saturday.
Matt Jameson Evans, chair of campaign group RemedyUK, said: "We already know most doctors are against EWTD [European Working Time Directive], we just need the leadership to do the right thing here."
Let this be a lesson to all those in Europe - UK Labour MEPs included - who voted at the end of last year to abolish the opt-out from the working time directive as it applies to the rest of the economy. That includes firefighters, police officers, ambulance workers - and plenty of other people whose dedication and flexible workings hours are central to the health of the country. The vote triggered a tense round of negotiations in Brussels from which the UK Government eventually emerged unscathed, albeit by the skin of its teeth - but the current Swedish Presidency of the EU is keen on relaunching the talks, and the fight will be back on before long.
It is several years since the UK lost in negotiations to end the opt-out for doctors - when it was impossible to foresee the situation in which the rules would begin to apply in the future (EU regulations take an average of 2 years to come into effect).
Presumably, no-one imagined we'd be smack in the middle of a pig flu pandemic, for example.
Matt Jameson Evans, chair of campaign group RemedyUK, said: "We already know most doctors are against EWTD [European Working Time Directive], we just need the leadership to do the right thing here."
Let this be a lesson to all those in Europe - UK Labour MEPs included - who voted at the end of last year to abolish the opt-out from the working time directive as it applies to the rest of the economy. That includes firefighters, police officers, ambulance workers - and plenty of other people whose dedication and flexible workings hours are central to the health of the country. The vote triggered a tense round of negotiations in Brussels from which the UK Government eventually emerged unscathed, albeit by the skin of its teeth - but the current Swedish Presidency of the EU is keen on relaunching the talks, and the fight will be back on before long.
It is several years since the UK lost in negotiations to end the opt-out for doctors - when it was impossible to foresee the situation in which the rules would begin to apply in the future (EU regulations take an average of 2 years to come into effect).
Presumably, no-one imagined we'd be smack in the middle of a pig flu pandemic, for example.
Suu Kyi Unsatisfied with Trial Delay: Lawyer
Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi is unhappy with the repeated delays in the current trial against her, according one of her lawyers.
Nyan Win, a member of Suu Kyi’s legal team, told The Irrawaddy on Friday that she complained about the court’s decision to adjourn her trial until Monday because it gave the prosecution extra time to prepare its final arguments. Suu Kyi’s defense team made its closing arguments on Friday.
“I’m not satisfied with the delay,” Suu Kyi told her lawyer.
Kyi Win, Suu Kyi’s chief defense counsel, told the court on Friday that his client maintains that she is not guilty of the charges against her. He argued that under the 1974 law that she is accused of violating, it is not a crime to speak to a stranger or offer him food.
He also said that his client did not break the terms of her house arrest because she did not contact any outsiders by phone or letter.
Suu Kyi, 64, has been on trial at Rangoon’s notorious Insein Prison court since May 18. She is accused of illegally allowing an intruder, US national John William Yettaw, to stay at her home for two days.
The trial has provoked international outrage and is widely regarded as a ploy to allow the Burmese junta to keep Suu Kyi in detention ahead of elections slated for next year.
Critics say the trial has been highly biased. They note that the court approved 23 witnesses for the prosecution, of whom 14 appeared on the stand, while only two of the four witnesses requested by the defense were permitted to appear in court.
Burma does not have an independent judiciary.
Suu Kyi has spent nearly 14 of the past 20 years under house arrest. Her latest detention began in May 2003, when she and her supporters came under attack by junta-backed thugs while traveling in central Burma.
irrawaddy
Nyan Win, a member of Suu Kyi’s legal team, told The Irrawaddy on Friday that she complained about the court’s decision to adjourn her trial until Monday because it gave the prosecution extra time to prepare its final arguments. Suu Kyi’s defense team made its closing arguments on Friday.
“I’m not satisfied with the delay,” Suu Kyi told her lawyer.
Kyi Win, Suu Kyi’s chief defense counsel, told the court on Friday that his client maintains that she is not guilty of the charges against her. He argued that under the 1974 law that she is accused of violating, it is not a crime to speak to a stranger or offer him food.
He also said that his client did not break the terms of her house arrest because she did not contact any outsiders by phone or letter.
Suu Kyi, 64, has been on trial at Rangoon’s notorious Insein Prison court since May 18. She is accused of illegally allowing an intruder, US national John William Yettaw, to stay at her home for two days.
The trial has provoked international outrage and is widely regarded as a ploy to allow the Burmese junta to keep Suu Kyi in detention ahead of elections slated for next year.
Critics say the trial has been highly biased. They note that the court approved 23 witnesses for the prosecution, of whom 14 appeared on the stand, while only two of the four witnesses requested by the defense were permitted to appear in court.
Burma does not have an independent judiciary.
Suu Kyi has spent nearly 14 of the past 20 years under house arrest. Her latest detention began in May 2003, when she and her supporters came under attack by junta-backed thugs while traveling in central Burma.
irrawaddy
Rangoon Residents Ordered to Watch for Flu-like Symptoms
Burmese authorities are closely monitoring all new arrivals from abroad after four travelers were discovered with the A H1N1 virus after clearing immigration at Rangoon International Airport. The four were diagnosed with the flu-like disease after immigration officials allowed them entry to the country
Authorities in charge of Rangoon’s townships and neighborhood zones have been instructed to list all residents arriving from abroad and to monitor their health, sources said. The information has to be passed to the city’s Township Peace and Development Council.
“We have to note the addresses of people arriving from abroad and closely monitor their health. If they get sick, we have to report to the authorities,” said one source who is in charge of an urban zone of Rangoon’s Tamwe Township.
Another zone leader, in Rangoon’s Mayangone Township said residents were being asked to report any cases of flu-like illness in their neighborhoods.
The precaution has come in for criticism from the Myanmar Medical Association, where an official pointed out that authorities in charge of townships and neighborhood zones were not qualified physicians and lacked knowledge of the A H1N1 virus.
“They are not medics,” he said. “They can even be affected by the A H1N1 virus if they talk to affected people.”
irrawaddy
Authorities in charge of Rangoon’s townships and neighborhood zones have been instructed to list all residents arriving from abroad and to monitor their health, sources said. The information has to be passed to the city’s Township Peace and Development Council.
“We have to note the addresses of people arriving from abroad and closely monitor their health. If they get sick, we have to report to the authorities,” said one source who is in charge of an urban zone of Rangoon’s Tamwe Township.
Another zone leader, in Rangoon’s Mayangone Township said residents were being asked to report any cases of flu-like illness in their neighborhoods.
The precaution has come in for criticism from the Myanmar Medical Association, where an official pointed out that authorities in charge of townships and neighborhood zones were not qualified physicians and lacked knowledge of the A H1N1 virus.
“They are not medics,” he said. “They can even be affected by the A H1N1 virus if they talk to affected people.”
irrawaddy
KNU Rejects Junta Report
One of Burma’s last remaining insurgent forces, the Karen National Union (KNU), has rejected a report by state-run newspaper The New Light of Myanmar which said that 22 KNU soldiers recently surrendered to the Burmese army.
The New Light of Myanmar reported on July 23 that 22 soldiers of Battalion 18 under Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) Brigade 6, including high-ranking officers such as Capt Saw Lay Ke, had surrendered to the Burmese army in Thingannyinaung in southern Karen State with eight small arms and assorted ammunition.
Maj Hla Ngwe, joint secretary (1) of the KNU, the political wing of the KNLA, rejected the report, calling it “junta propaganda.”
He added: “We have already checked all our battalions in Brigade 6, and none of our troops disarmed.”
However, a Karen source at the Thai-Burmese border confirmed that a group of former KNLA soldiers had joined the Burmese army a few days ago.
“They [the defecting soldiers] are former Karen soldiers. But as far as I know, they are not currently enlisted with the KNLA,” said the source.
Burma’s state press reported that the Burmese government is providing assistance to the defecting soldiers and their 15 family members, totaling 37 people.
The 1949-founded KNU has been fighting for autonomy from the Burmese military regime for six decades and is one of the few remaining factions that has never signed a ceasefire agreement with the Burmese government.
According to the Burmese regime’s official figures, 17 ethnic armed groups have signed ceasefire agreements with the Burmese government since 1989.
irrawaddy
The New Light of Myanmar reported on July 23 that 22 soldiers of Battalion 18 under Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) Brigade 6, including high-ranking officers such as Capt Saw Lay Ke, had surrendered to the Burmese army in Thingannyinaung in southern Karen State with eight small arms and assorted ammunition.
Maj Hla Ngwe, joint secretary (1) of the KNU, the political wing of the KNLA, rejected the report, calling it “junta propaganda.”
He added: “We have already checked all our battalions in Brigade 6, and none of our troops disarmed.”
However, a Karen source at the Thai-Burmese border confirmed that a group of former KNLA soldiers had joined the Burmese army a few days ago.
“They [the defecting soldiers] are former Karen soldiers. But as far as I know, they are not currently enlisted with the KNLA,” said the source.
Burma’s state press reported that the Burmese government is providing assistance to the defecting soldiers and their 15 family members, totaling 37 people.
The 1949-founded KNU has been fighting for autonomy from the Burmese military regime for six decades and is one of the few remaining factions that has never signed a ceasefire agreement with the Burmese government.
According to the Burmese regime’s official figures, 17 ethnic armed groups have signed ceasefire agreements with the Burmese government since 1989.
irrawaddy
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Henry Louis Gates arrested for being "uppity black man"
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/a... - http://zennie2005.blogspot.com/2009/0... - It's all over the Internet: Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates was arrested by Cambridge police officer Sgt. James Crowley after trying to pry open the lock, which was already damaged, to his own Cambridge home with the help of his driver, who picked him up from a trip to China. President Obama, in a press conference on his health care initiative, chimes in by saying "the Cambridge Police acted stupidly." President Obama's totally right. Here's why. Distributed by Tubemogul.
Erin Andrews video peep show on CBS? Why?
http://www.zennie62.com - http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-b...
For More information on this story, click on the above links.
"Obama not American" believers: are they just racist?
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/a... - You know, I'm sick of racists. Just plain tired of em. You know who they are - or maybe they're you. People who are really upset that America elected a black man as president but since they feel they can't say so without the anonymity of the Internet, they craft other means of expressing their anger, like hanging on the to the crazy idea that President Obama's not an American citizen. Distributed by Tubemogul.
Chris Brown: do you accept his apology? A poll.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/a... - http://zennie2005.blogspot.com/2009/0... - Today, singer Chris Brown, who violently struck his girlfriend the lovely and talented Rihanna earlier this year, gave a video-based apology to his fans and the World on his website and YouTube.
To review the story, Brown was arrested in the early morning hours after he and Rihanna had an argument over a text message she found in his phone from one of Brown's lovers that Rihanna didn't know the existence of. What Brown did during the argument was horrifying, CNN.com reports: The incident began when Rihanna, who was riding in the sports car driven by Brown, found a text message on his cell phone from "a woman who Brown had a previous sexual relationship with," according to a sworn statement by Los Angeles Police Detective DeShon Andrews. "A verbal argument ensued," followed by the physical attack, the statement said. It went on to describe the assault in great detail, saying Brown punched Rihanna numerous times and put her in a headlock, restricting her breathing and causing her to start to lose consciousness. He threatened to beat her and kill her, according to the statement, and he bit her ear and her fingers. Eventually, "Robyn F. began screaming for help and Brown exited the vehicle and walked away," the statement said. "A resident in the neighborhood heard Robyn F.'s plea for help and called 911, causing a police response. An investigation was conducted and Robyn F. was issued a Domestic Violence Emergency Protective Order."
That's a terrible level of violence and so much so that I personally find it hard to believe the appology he gave, and you can see in my video above. In an effort to gauge public opinion in the wake of Chris Brown's video, I created this poll:
More on pollsb.com
The poll captures not just the "Yes, I believe him" or "No, I don't" choices, it has three others: Yes, but I believe he cares more about his career than Rihanna; Sort-of. I need to see more from him; and Chris doesn't need to apologize for anything.
The last choice is deliberately controversial. It came from an episode of Oprah I happened to see where she and Tyra Banks had what could be called a kind of "town-hall" studio meeting on the incident in March. There' a teenager said "I kind of think she deserved it. If a girl has enough nerves to hit a boy, she should get hit back." That (not mentioned in the Salon blog article for some reason) set both Oprah and Tyra into orbit, and me too. I could not believe what I was hearing, but she said it.
I wanted to capture that view with this poll, if possible. Of course, given the fact that I'm focusing on it here, that it's rather ugly, and a choice in the poll, means those who would normally pick that choice may avoid it here. Still, one never knows so here it is in the poll.
What do you think? Take the poll and let's see what you and the public thinks. My view is Chris made the video for himself; he never once mentions Rihanna in the video and since she was the focus of his anger, she should be the first person on his mind beyond his fans. That's telling and may also mean Brown really feels no remorse for what he did to her, but what he did to his career.
The sentence of "labor" was really stupid. Brown's a public figure and should have been made to be a spokesperson against domestic violence, not just taking some course in anger management. What the judge was thinking here, I don't know, but it was the wrong way to go.
Oakland's Green Building: 1100 Broadway
http://oaklandfocus.blogspot.com - Oakland's first tall green building is 1100 Broadway. It won the U.S. Green Building Council's "Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design" (LEED) award. Distributed by Tubemogul.
Friday, July 24, 2009
London? So passé, chéri
If anyone is in any doubt about the motivation behind the recent, very controversial, tranche of EU proposals for financial regulation, they should take a look at the FT today. There can be no doubt that this is first and foremost about raising rivals' costs.
According to the paper:
Nicolas Sarkozy is planning a massive expansion of the business district on the north-western edge of Paris to challenge the City of London as Europe's pre-eminent financial centre. In spite of his tirades against financial capitalism, Mr Sarkozy wants a bigger slice of the business.
The blueprint for La Défense - which includes several spectacular skyscrapers and, eventually, a further 1m sq m of office space to the west of the arch - lies at the heart of Mr Sarkozy's plans for le Grand Paris : a vast programme of infrastructure improvements and governance reforms that he hopes will turn Paris into Europe's economic powerhouse.
The French government is intent on taking advantage of the City's woes and its battered reputation to turn Paris into a competitive financial centre. 'It is clear today that the City is in great difficulty and that is an opportunity for France to reinforce its financial attractiveness," Patrick Devedjian, the minister in charge of La Défense expansion, said last month. His ambition was to turn La Défense into a "great financial centre, rival to the City of London.
It continues:
French politicians and financiers have long supported regulatory harmonisation inside the European Union as a way of levelling the playing field with London. With the crisis sweeping aside political resistance, especially in the UK, they are closer than ever to getting their way.
French bankers are counting on EU rules on bank capital requirements to end what they see as the advantages afforded to British banks under existing UK definitions. France is also clamouring for an EU clampdown on hedge funds, which many in the industry in London regard as a protectionist onslaught against funds based offshore or in the US.
We just hope the Treasury have read their pink pages today.
After the Lords EU Committee criticised the Government for being "behind the ball game" in the ongoing negotiations on the proposed regulations in Brussels, it is increasingly felt that the Government simply isn't doing enough to fight the potentially damaging regulations coming from the EU.
Regarding the proposed regulations for hedge funds and other investment funds, for instance, in its recent White Paper on financial regulation the Treasury sounded about as tough as a bag of marshmallows:
"at the EU level, the European Commission published a proposal for a directive on Alternative Investment Fund Managers on 29 April 2009. The Government welcomes the Commission’s attention to this important issue and supports the principle of a coordinated EU approach to hedge fund regulation as part of a broader international effort. However, we believe that the proposal, which was produced in a very short time and with no public consultation, requires significant improvement. The Government will engage positively in the EU debate with the aim of developing a directive that achieves the necessary improvements in the EU regulatory framework, without imposing unnecessary burdens."
Gosh - watch out Europe!
The Government also fuelled fears this week about the proposals for increased EU supervisory and regulatory powers for EU bodies. Lord Pearson of Rannoch received a worrying set of answers from Lord Myners, the Financial Services Secretary to the Treasury, when he asked for clarification about the plans:
To ask Her Majesty's Government... whether they foresee overall control of the United Kingdom's financial system and its supervision resting with the European Union or with Parliament.
Lord Myners replied:
The European Commission has confirmed that day-to-day supervision of financial institutions should remain at the member state level.
It continued:
According to the paper:
Nicolas Sarkozy is planning a massive expansion of the business district on the north-western edge of Paris to challenge the City of London as Europe's pre-eminent financial centre. In spite of his tirades against financial capitalism, Mr Sarkozy wants a bigger slice of the business.
The blueprint for La Défense - which includes several spectacular skyscrapers and, eventually, a further 1m sq m of office space to the west of the arch - lies at the heart of Mr Sarkozy's plans for le Grand Paris : a vast programme of infrastructure improvements and governance reforms that he hopes will turn Paris into Europe's economic powerhouse.
The French government is intent on taking advantage of the City's woes and its battered reputation to turn Paris into a competitive financial centre. 'It is clear today that the City is in great difficulty and that is an opportunity for France to reinforce its financial attractiveness," Patrick Devedjian, the minister in charge of La Défense expansion, said last month. His ambition was to turn La Défense into a "great financial centre, rival to the City of London.
It continues:
French politicians and financiers have long supported regulatory harmonisation inside the European Union as a way of levelling the playing field with London. With the crisis sweeping aside political resistance, especially in the UK, they are closer than ever to getting their way.
French bankers are counting on EU rules on bank capital requirements to end what they see as the advantages afforded to British banks under existing UK definitions. France is also clamouring for an EU clampdown on hedge funds, which many in the industry in London regard as a protectionist onslaught against funds based offshore or in the US.
We just hope the Treasury have read their pink pages today.
After the Lords EU Committee criticised the Government for being "behind the ball game" in the ongoing negotiations on the proposed regulations in Brussels, it is increasingly felt that the Government simply isn't doing enough to fight the potentially damaging regulations coming from the EU.
Regarding the proposed regulations for hedge funds and other investment funds, for instance, in its recent White Paper on financial regulation the Treasury sounded about as tough as a bag of marshmallows:
"at the EU level, the European Commission published a proposal for a directive on Alternative Investment Fund Managers on 29 April 2009. The Government welcomes the Commission’s attention to this important issue and supports the principle of a coordinated EU approach to hedge fund regulation as part of a broader international effort. However, we believe that the proposal, which was produced in a very short time and with no public consultation, requires significant improvement. The Government will engage positively in the EU debate with the aim of developing a directive that achieves the necessary improvements in the EU regulatory framework, without imposing unnecessary burdens."
Gosh - watch out Europe!
The Government also fuelled fears this week about the proposals for increased EU supervisory and regulatory powers for EU bodies. Lord Pearson of Rannoch received a worrying set of answers from Lord Myners, the Financial Services Secretary to the Treasury, when he asked for clarification about the plans:
To ask Her Majesty's Government... whether they foresee overall control of the United Kingdom's financial system and its supervision resting with the European Union or with Parliament.
Lord Myners replied:
The European Commission has confirmed that day-to-day supervision of financial institutions should remain at the member state level.
It continued:
(Lord Pearson): To ask Her Majesty's Government... whether they have power to prevent overall control of the United Kingdom's financial system and its supervision passing to the European Union; and, if so, whether they will exercise that power.
(Lord Myners): The European Commission has indicated its intention to use Article 95 of the EC treaty as the legal basis for its proposals to establish a European System of Financial Supervisors. The European Commission has confirmed that day-to-day supervision of financial institutions should remain at the member state level.
Day-to-day supervision? What does that mean? Doesn't sound much like power or control to us. It's like the Chief Executive of a company being told by the Board that that they're in charge of the daily machinations of the office, but the real power - the decision-making - lies elsewhere. Great.
It's clear we need a much tougher approach. In fact, going back to the grand ambitions detailed in the FT today, as we wrote recently, the Government could learn a thing or two from the French approach to EU negotiations. Earlier this week, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said in a speech to Polish ambassadors:
"In Europe, I have learned something - I should say that with President Sarkozy it is quite easy to see - you have to be determined, solid, a little bit demanding."
Exacte.
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