BurmaNet News, June 30, 2009

[Editor]

June 30, 2009, Issue #3744


INSIDE BURMA
Mizzima: NLD urges Ban to meet Aung San Suu Kyi
DVB: Suu Kyi trial held in ‘climate of censorship’
Khonumthung: Junta grabs relief meant for fire victims

ON THE BORDER
Irrawaddy: 4,000 Burmese migrants arrested in June

BUSINESS / TRADE
Xinhua: Myanmar special gem show attracts foreign traders
AFP: Myanmar mask prices soar after first swine flu case
Mizzima News: Piracy hits Burmese music industry hard

REGIONAL
Irrawaddy: Japanese police block suspected missile technology exports for
Burma

INTERNATIONAL
AFP: UN chief urges Myanmar to release Suu Kyi
AFP: UN chief Ban to visit Japan amid worries over Myanmar, NKorea

OPINION / OTHER
Washington Post: Burmese women react to brutality with inspiring courage
and dignity – Laura Bush

PRESS RELEASE
UNHCR: Resettlement of Myanmar refugees hits 50,000 mark

STATEMENT
G8 Foreign Ministers' Meeting: Chairman's statement




____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

June 30, Mizzima News
NLD urges Ban to meet Aung San Suu Kyi – Salai Pi Pi

The United Nations General Secretary Ban Ki-moon was urged on Tuesday by
the National League for Democracy to meet detained party leader Aung San
Suu Kyi during his proposed two-day visit to Burma from July 3 to 4.

Nyan Win, NLD spokesperson said his party welcomed Ban’s visit but would
like to urge him to persuade the Burmese junta for a meeting with Aung San
Suu Kyi in order to make his trip fruitful.

“As he will be coming here on a political matter relating to Burma, he
should meet NLD’s General Secretary Aung San Suu Kyi. Only after he meets
her, can we say his visit has been fruitful,” Nyan Win said.

The UN chief, currently on a tour of Japan, will be on a two-day visit to
Burma in an attempt to address the political imbroglio in the country and
to free Aung San Suu Kyi, said Michele Montas, Ban Ki-moon’s spokesperson
on Monday.

“Ban looks forward to returning to Myanmar [Burma] to address the senior
leadership directly on a broad range of issues, including longstanding
concerns to the United Nations and to the international community,” said
Montas.

She added that Ban during his visit will try to resolve the issues of
political prisoners, the resumption of dialogue between the government and
the opposition, to achieve national reconciliation, and set the stage for
credible elections slated for 2010.

 “We also agree that the three objectives of Ban are the most important
things to address regarding Burma’s political problems,” Nyan Win said.
“But it is impossible to gauge if Ban will be able to solve the problems
before he winds up his trip.

The announcement on Ban’s trip came following his special Envoy Ibrahim
Gambari’s return from a visit last weekend to Burma’s new jungle capital
Naypyitaw, where he met junta’s Foreign Affairs Minister Nyan Win.

Meanwhile, the Burma Campaign UK, a group advocating democracy and human
rights in Burma, on Monday urged Ban to use his visit to deliver concrete
results whether or not the regime responds positively to diplomatic
pressure.

"We have had 20 years of UN envoys going back and forth to Burma and
nothing to show for it. We need Ban Ki-moon to personally take the lead,
but he must deliver practical results, such as the release of all
political prisoners," said Zoya Phan, International Coordinator of Burma
Campaign UK.

“Talking to the generals is a means to an end, but so far the UN seems to
treat talks alone as a success. Ban Ki-moon must deliver the strongest
possible message to Than Shwe that they can no longer defy the Security
Council," she added.

The timing of Ban’s visit coincides with Aung San Suu Kyi’s trial which
will resume on July 3.

Aung San Suu Kyi is currently on trial for flouting the terms of her house
arrest after an uninvited American man, John William Yettaw, swam to her
lakeside residence and stayed there for two nights in early May.

Montas added, Ban will also discuss the joint humanitarian effort
following his visit to Burma in the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis on May 2
and 3, 2008, which left at least 140,000 dead or missing and devastated
the lives of more than 2.4 million people rendered homeless with lack of
food.

____________________________________

June 30, Democratic Voice of Burma
Suu Kyi trial held in ‘climate of censorship’ – Daniella Nayu

Media watchdogs have condemned the sentencing of a Burmese journalist
reporting on the trial of Aung San Suu Kyi, and said that coverage of the
trial is “very much biased” with reporters subject to intimidation.

The Suu Kyi trial, now in its seventh week, is being held behind closed
doors in a courtroom inside Rangoon’s Insein prison.

Diplomats and reporters working for both international and domestic
agencies were allowed access to two court sessions in May, although Suu
Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) party said the move was merely
“a gesture” at open hearings.

Yesterday, Paris-based media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and
Thailand-based Burma Media Association (BMA) released a statement saying
the trial was being held “in a climate of repression and censorship”.

Last year RSF ranked Burma 170 out of 173 on their Press Freedom Index,
narrowly above North Korea, Eritrea and Turkmenistan.

Reporting on the Suu Kyi trial has been thwarted by “a clear intention to
prevent any independent coverage,” said Vincent Brossel, head of the RSF
Asia desk.

He added that private news organizations were being denied “any sort of
pro-Suu Kyi view or any independent view on the issue”, the result being
that coverage by all organisations is “very much biased”.

Regarding the fake pictures used on a pro-government website of US citizen
John Yettaw, whose visit to Suu Kyi’s compound in May sparked the trial,
BMA’s San Moe Wei said that the government is “trying to create
misunderstanding”.

“We are against this standard,” he said.

Both RSF and BMA also condemned the charges brought against journalist Zaw
Tun, who reported on the trial and was sentenced to two years imprisonment
after being arrested near Suu Kyi’s home in Rangoon.

The sentencing of Zaw Tun is just one of the many punishments handed out
to silence people from reporting on politically-sensitive events in Burma.

According to the exiled Assistance Association for Political
Prisoners-Burma (AAPP), the latest figures show that there are 42 media
activists currently being detained in prisons around Burma.

Some cases of Political Prisoner continue to be accompanied with reports
of unfair trials, lengthy sentences and torture, meaning that “some
journalists are scared”, according to San Moe Wei.

____________________________________

June 30, Khonumthung News
Junta grabs relief meant for fire victims

The Burmese military authorities have forcibly taken away most of the
relief material, meant for local Chin people, who had suffered due to a
fire in their village last April. The relief material had been supplied by
their supporters from abroad.

According to a report, the Aizawl-based Women’s League of Chin Land (WLC)
had provided relief material to the villagers of Hmunpi Kawn of Tidim
Town, Chin State in western Burma. These villagers had suffered damages
due to a fire last April. However, the Burmese military authorities have
grabbed half of the relief material meant for the villagers.

The WLC had collected some donations, including books, pencils, pens,
peanuts, sugar and medicines from Aizawl-based Burmese organizations, and
then they had given it to the villagers of Hmunpi Kawn, in the first week
of June 2009.

However, military personnel from IB 269, based in Tidim have taken away
half of the relief items, as they claimed that the relief materials were
given by illegal organizations.

"When we reached the village, we met the village headman and gave all the
relief materials, after that we returned to the border area. However, the
military personnel heard about us and they went immediately to the village
and took half of the relief material," a woman, who went to the village
and is a member of WLC said.

A local said, "It is very sad. The military personnel do not think of
helping others, despite our village being reduced to rubble.  Such an
attitude will not be in evidence in other countries, I think. Not only
that, they even tried to arrest those who had come to our village to give
us the relief material."

The SPDC government has no policy to help its countrymen and rarely
accepts relief from other countries. In Chin state, the authorities have
ordered the people not to accept any aid from outside the country, so some
organizations abroad provide aid for famine-affected people and for
victims of fire secretly.

The authorities have earlier also stolen many relief funds and materials
meant for the victims of Cyclone Nargis from the Irrawaddy Delta  areas in
May 2008, with the help of the government controlled Union Solidarity and
Development Association (USDA) and higher authorities.

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

June 30, Irrawaddy
4,000 Burmese migrants arrested in June – Lawi Weng

Some 4,000 Burmese migrants were arrested by the Thai authorities in
Thailand in June, according to a Thai Web site, www.manager.co.th.

The Thai news and entertainment Web site said that the Burmese migrants
were arrested in different regions by the Thai authorities, but the
majority were arrested in Phop Phra District in Tak Province.

It is believed that many of those arrested were sent back to Burma, while
others are being detained or were released.

A Thai police officer in Phop Phra told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday that many
Burmese are coming to Thailand in the hope they can get new work permits,
because a fresh registration of migrants in Thailand begins in early July.

The Thai government announced in June that the country needed some two
million foreign workers for the multitude of jobs available, including
those jobs known as the “3 Ds”—dirty, dangerous or degrading—which most
Thai workers refuse.

There are up to five million Burmese migrants living and working in
Thailand, says the Migrant Assistance Program (MAP) in Chiang Mai.
However, only 500,000 registered at the Thai Ministry of Labor last year.

The Thai government is currently offering new one-year work permits to
those who registered last year.

However, Jackie Pollock, a founding member of MAP, said that some migrants
cannot afford to pay the 3,800 baht (US $112) fee for registration because
they don’t have jobs due to the economic crisis in Thailand.

Moe Swe, the head of the Yaung Chi Oo Workers Association in Mae Sot in
Tak Province, said that many of the Burmese migrants in Mae Sot couldn’t
afford to pay the registration fees due to poor wages.

Burmese workers generally get paid about 1,500 baht ($44) per month
working at a factory in Mae Sot, he said.

Thailand has recently tightened its border security to prevent an influx
of Burmese migrants into the county. Meanwhile, in Chiang Mai, police have
set up nighttime roadblocks as part of an ongoing campaign to crack down
on Burmese migrants.

Meanwhile, the Network of Action for Migrants in Malaysia and MAP
Foundation in Thailand have called on the Malaysian and Thai governments
to protect the rights of Burmese migrants and ensure that migrants can
exercise their labor, social, cultural, economic and political rights.

In a joint statement released last week, the groups called for a halt to
unjust, discriminatory and unconstitutional policies on migrants.

A report released by the US State Department in June claimed that Thailand
had not complied with international labor laws and that Thai authorities
frequently abused migrants’ rights.

____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

June 30, Xinhua
Myanmar special gem show attracts foreign traders – Chen Meihua

The current Myanmar special gem emporium, being held at the Myanmar
Conventional Center (MCC), has attracted more than 3,000 foreign gem
traders, the highest number of visitors compared with the last few years'
events.

The gem merchants attending the show are mainly from China, China's Hong
Kong and Taiwan, and Singapore, according to the organizer.

Commenting on the Myanmar gem market in Asia, some traders viewed that
Myanmar seems to have not much impact by the global economic downturn as
the country's gem and jewelry stand high in demand among Asian countries,
which suffer the least impact of the global financial crisis.

The 13-day special gem show from June 22 to July 4 put on sale the
country's quality gems and jewelries on the basis of competitive bidding.

Aimed at encouraging national gem traders to sell more quality gems and
boosting the country's gem industry, Myanmar sponsors regular gem shows
annually in March, including a mid-year one in October and a special one
occasionally.

Myanmar is not only striving for the development of its gem industry but
also endeavoring to expand new foreign markets to the United Arab Emirates
and Oman, planning to launch Myanmar gem shows there within three years.

Moreover, The Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and
Industry (UMFCCI) has sought gem trade with Sri Lanka, planning to
participate in Facet Sri Lanka 2009 gems show scheduled for September this
year in Colombo.

Myanmar, a well-known producer of gems in the world, boasts ruby, diamond,
cat's eye, emerald, topaz, pearl, sapphire, coral and a variety of garnet
tinged with yellow.

The country started to hold gem shows annually in 1964, introducing the
mid-year one in 1992 and the special one in 2004.

In the last annual gems emporium, which was the 46th held in March this
year, more than 5,000 jade lots were displayed and 191 million U.S.
dollars worth of gems and jewelry were sold out.

The event was attended by over 2,300 foreign traders mostly from China and
China's Hong Kong.

The authorities designated the proceeds from the sale of gems at these
emporiums as legal export earning to encourage the private sector in the
development of the gem industry.

Of Myanmar's 6.043 billion U.S. dollars' exports in 2007-08, gem products
stood the third after natural gas and agricultural produce with 647.53
million dollars, according to the official statistics.

The government's Central Statistical Organization also revealed that in
the fiscal year 2007-08, Myanmar produced 20,235 tons of jade and 22.668
million carats of gems which include ruby, sapphire, spinel and peridot,
as well as 225,661 mommis (846 kilograms) of pearl.

____________________________________

June 30, Agence France Presse
Myanmar mask prices soar after first swine flu case

Prices for scarce surgical masks in impoverished Myanmar have soared more
than threefold after the military-ruled nation confirmed its first case of
swine flu, residents said Tuesday.

Myanmar's tightly-controlled state media said on Saturday that a
13-year-old girl from the commercial hub Yangon had tested positive for
the A(H1N1) virus on her return from Singapore.

"I went to many pharmacies to buy surgical masks because my office wanted
to use them to prevent swine flu. But they said they had run out," Yangon
worker Moe Moe, 28, told AFP.

"I finally found them at a pharmacy downtown but the price is really high
-- it has gone from 60 kyats (five cents) to 200 kyats (18 cents). I
bought some because I was worried I might not be able to buy them later."

State media have urged people to wear masks to prevent the spread of the
virus in crowded places and on public transport but few people are doing
so, largely because of the price, witnesses said.

At Yangon People's Hospital, prices had also increased by three times
because of the shortage.

"My child has to wear a mask at their school starting from today. He cried
and said he would not go to school if he did not have one," the father of
a five-year-old boy said at the hospital, asking not to be named.

People living on the outskirts of the city said paying so much was out of
the question.

"Where can I get the money to buy these masks every day? I cannot afford
it, I have to worry about my family's daily expenses first," said Maung
Zaw, 35.

The state-run New Light of Myanmar newspaper said Tuesday that the
country's first swine flu patient was recovering and that officials were
monitoring all those in contact with her, although there were no signs it
had spread.

Myanmar has been ruled by the military since 1962 and is one of the
world's poorest countries despite its rich resources including natural
gas.

____________________________________

June 30, Mizzima News
Piracy hits Burmese music industry hard

With the increase in music piracy and ineffective laws governing the
illegal reproduction of music, Burma's music industry has witnessed an 80
percent reduction in the release of new albums over the course of the last
two years.

The Burmese music industry, according to popular singer Saung Oo Hlaing,
barely produced 20 percent the number of new albums in the first half of
2009 as compared to previous years.

“Comparing with previous years, the number of music albums produced this
year is very low. Both prominent singers and newcomers produced several
music albums in 2005, 2006 and 2007,” Saung Oo Hlaing told Mizzima.

“But, since 2008 music production has been sluggish. And it got worse in
2009. I think so far for this year music production is only about 20
percent that of previous years,” he added.

Meanwhile, an official at the popular Latha Studio in downtown Rangoon
said sales of pirated music CDs or tapes on the black market has severely
affected the Burmese music industry.

“For producing an album, singers and producers have to invest a huge
amount of money and time, but despite their hard work and investment the
music is pirated and sold at ridiculously low prices," noted the official.
"So, singers and producers are now reluctant to produce albums."

The official said Latha Studio produced three albums in each of 2006 and
2007, but in 2008 produced only a single album. Additionally, so far there
are no music albums in line to be produced at the studio this year.

While the cost of an original music album runs approximately 1,500 kyat
($US 1.5), pirated copies can be found for only 350 kyat. With the cheaper
prices, music lovers are attracted to the pirated copies.

Nonetheless, even as the industry suffers through difficult times, new
albums continue to hit the shelves of Rangoon and stores throughout the
country.

“Nowadays, coffee mix, beverage and other companies as well as famous
hotels sponsor the production of new music as a means of promoting their
respective brands. So, most singers, including popular artists, now depend
on the availability of sponsorship,” Saung Oo Hlaing explained.

However, in a sign of the general lower level of income in rural areas of
the country, he added that in the future if he produces a new album he
will distribute it at a discount rate – even down to 500 kyat, one-third
the price in urban areas – for distribution in rural markets.

____________________________________
REGIONAL

June 30, Irrawaddy
Japanese police block suspected missile technology exports for Burma –
Arkar Moe

Japanese police arrested three top businessmen on Monday on suspicion of
attempting to export to Burma a measuring instrument that could be used to
develop long-range ballistic missile systems, Japanese newspapers
reported.

Accordingly to the newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun, Japanese police initially
believed that the three—all of them presidents of Japanese companies—were
trying to export the device to North Korea via Burma.

But then suspicions hardened that the nominal North Korean importer had
exported other missile development-related equipment to Burma, leading the
police to believe that “North Korea was attempting to promote the transfer
of missile technologies, such as its Taepodong system, to Myanmar
[Burma].”

The three businessmen, arrested on suspicion of violating the Foreign
Exchange and Foreign Trade Law, were identified as Lee Kyoung Ho, 41, an
ethnic Korean resident and  president of the trading firm Toko Boeki;
Miaki Katsuki, 75, president of a manufacturing firm; and Yasuhiko Muto,
57, president of an export agency.

According to the police, the three conspired to export the magnetic
measuring device to Burma via Malaysia around January 2009 at a price of
about 7 million yen (US $73,000), the newspaper report said.

Export of the device is restricted under regulations that prohibit exports
of products that could be used for weapons of mass destruction.

The newspaper said that around September 2008, the company had also tried
to export the same instrument to Burma’s Ministry for Industry 2, which
plays a key supporting role in Burma's nuclear program as the chairman of
the Myanmar [Burma] Atomic Energy Committee.

The Japanese newspaper report said both attempts to export the device were
aborted immediately before shipment when Japan's Ministry of Economy,
Trade and Industry notified the company that it had failed to submit an
export application.

The export attempts were based on an order by the Beijing office of New
East International Trading Ltd, based in Hong Kong, in early 2008. The
firm is believed to be under the direct control of the Second Economic
Committee of the Pyongyang's Workers' Party of Korea. The committee is
responsible for the party's military procurement.

North Korea has a record of selling arms and military technology to Burma.
It is suspected that this may include secret nuclear technology.

In 2004, a high-ranking US government official said North Korea had
proposed the sale of missiles to Burma.

A North Korean cargo ship, Kang Nam 1, left a North Korean port reportedly
for Burma on June 17, and is believed to be carrying weapons, missile
parts or possibly even nuclear materials. A US Naval ship is shadowing the
ship, which is being monitored under UN sanctions.

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

June 30, Agence France Presse
UN chief urges Myanmar to release Suu Kyi

UN chief Ban Ki-moon urged Myanmar on Tuesday to free all political
prisoners, including detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, days
ahead of a visit to the military-ruled country.

Ban is due to arrive in Myanmar on Friday for rare talks with the military
junta, but Aung San Suu Kyi's party says he must also meet her if he hopes
to make real progress toward democratic reforms.

"They should release all political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi,"
said Ban, who was in Japan en route to Myanmar where the Nobel Peace
laureate has been detained for 13 of the past 19 years.

"They (the junta) should immediately resume dialogue between the
government and opposition leaders," he added after talks with Japanese
Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone.

His diplomatically risky two-day trip starts on the day a Myanmar court is
due to resume its trial of the 64-year-old on charges of violating her
house arrest after an American man swam to her lakeside home.

"We welcome Mr Ban Ki-moon's visit," Nyan Win, the spokesman for Aung San
Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) and a member of her legal
team, told AFP.

He said the visit would focus on three issues: "to release all political
prisoners, to start dialogue, and also to ensure free and fair elections
in 2010.

"Regarding these three things, he needs to meet with Aung San Suu Kyi."

A UN statement said Ban looked forward to meeting "all key stakeholders,"
but did not specify whether he would meet the woman he described in May as
an "indispensable patron for reconsidering the dialogue in Myanmar."

Aung San Suu Kyi is currently being held at Insein prison in Yangon where
her internationally condemned trial is taking place alongside that of
American John Yettaw. She faces up to five years in jail if convicted.

Her NLD won a landslide victory in Myanmar's last election in 1990, but it
was never recognised by the military and she has spent most of the
intervening years in detention.

Ban decided to go ahead with his mission after being briefed Sunday by his
special envoy to Myanmar, Ibrahim Gambari, who paid a short preparatory
visit to the country last week.

Gambari met twice with Myanmar Foreign Minister Nyan Win in the generals'
remote administrative capital Naypyidaw before holding talks with
Singapore's ambassador and UN staff in Yangon, but did not meet with Aung
San Suu Kyi.

The UN statement said Ban would highlight a resumption of dialogue between
the government and opposition as a necessary part of reconciliation.

He would also focus on "the need to create conditions conducive to
credible elections," as well as on the release of political prisoners, it
added.

The junta has vowed to hold elections in 2010, but critics say they are a
sham designed to entrench its hold on power and that Aung San Suu Kyi's
trial is intended to keep her behind bars during the polls.

Diplomats at the United Nations said Ban had faced a dilemma in responding
to the invitation from Myanmar's rulers.

Refusing to visit would be seen as not fulfilling his role as UN secretary
general, but to accept and return empty-handed would be seen as a slap in
the face, said a diplomat on condition of anonymity.

Other diplomats said Ban faced conflicting pressures.

Veto-wielding China, a traditional ally of Myanmar, and the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations, of which Myanmar is a member, were pushing Ban to
go without setting conditions, they said.

But Western nations were pressing him to secure at least some concessions
from the military regime.

Ban's last Myanmar trip was in the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis in May last
year, when he visited devastated regions and pressured the junta into
allowing foreign aid workers into the hardest-hit areas.

He was the first UN chief in 44 years to visit Myanmar but was effectively
barred from bringing up issues of political reform.

____________________________________

June 30, Agence France Presse
UN chief Ban to visit Japan amid worries over Myanmar, NKorea

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon was to arrive in Japan Tuesday for a
three-day visit as he prepares to travel to Myanmar, where he aims to
discuss the fate of democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Ban, visiting Tokyo at the invitation of Japan, was due to meet Foreign
Minister Hirofumi Nakasone later in the day, before he visits Prime
Minister Taro Aso and Japan's opposition leader Yukio Hatoyama on
Wednesday.

His planned visit to Myanmar on Friday and Saturday comes amid the
internationally-condemned trial of the Nobel prize winning democracy
leader.

Ban's trip to Asia also coincided with reports that a North Korean ship
carrying weapons and related parts was headed to Myanmar.

Worries over proliferation intensified in Japan as Japanese police
arrested three businessmen Monday for allegedly trying to export a device
that can be used to develop weapons of mass destruction to Myanmar on
Pyongyang's orders.

Japan, which has taken a hardline stance against North Korea, historically
maintained relatively friendly relations with Myanmar, the country
formerly called Burma, and was previously its leading donor.

Tokyo drastically reduced development aid to Myanmar over human rights
concerns, particularly after the junta cracked down on pro-democracy
demonstrations led by Buddhist monks in 2007.

However, the Japanese government refused to join its Western allies in
imposing sanctions on Myanmar.

Myanmar and hardline communist North Korea, both of which are severely
criticised internationally for their human rights abuses, restored
diplomatic relations in 2007 after a 24-year rift.

Tensions in Asia have soared since North Korea's long-range rocket launch
in early April and its second nuclear test in May. Pyongyang later warned
that "dark clouds of nuclear war" are gathering over the peninsula.

____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

June 30, Washington Post
Burmese women react to brutality with inspiring courage and dignity –
Laura Bush

For two weeks, the world has been transfixed by images of Iranians taking
to the streets to demand the most basic human freedoms and rights.
Watching these courageous men and women, I am reminded of a similar scene
nearly two years ago in Burma, when tens of thousands of Buddhist monks
peacefully marched through their nation's streets. They, too, sought to
reclaim basic human dignity for all Burmese citizens, but they were beaten
back by that nation's harsh regime.

Since those brutal days Burma's suffering has intensified. In the past 21
months, the number of political prisoners incarcerated by the junta has
doubled. Within the past 10 days, two Burmese citizens were sentenced to
18 months in prison. Their offence: praying in a Buddhist pagoda for the
release of the jailed opposition leader, Aung San Suu Kyi.

That is only the tip of the regime's brutality. Inside Burma, more than
3000 villages have been "forcibly displaced" - a number exceeding the mass
relocations in Darfur. The military junta has forced tens of thousands of
child soldiers into its army and routinely uses civilians as minesweepers
and slave labourers. It has closed churches and mosques; it has imprisoned
comedians for joking about the Government and bloggers for writing about
it. Human trafficking, where women and children are snatched and sold, is
pervasive. Summary executions pass for justice, while lawyers are arrested
for the "crime" of defending the persecuted.

Rape is routinely used as a "weapon of war". In 2006 I convened a
roundtable at the United Nations to address the situation in Burma and
listened as the Burmese activist Hseng Noung described the rape victims
she had aided. The youngest victim was eight; the oldest was 80. Her words
silenced the room.

Yet time and again, the women of Burma, often the regime's chief targets,
have responded to this brutality with inspiring courage. I will never
forget visiting the remote and crowded refugee camps on the mountainous
border between Burma and Thailand. There I watched the tireless efforts of
Dr Cynthia Maung to provide life-saving medical aid for hundreds of
Burmese. I sat with victims of landmines who had lost legs or feet and
were waiting quietly, often for hours, for basic care.

Last year it was my great privilege to present a Vital Voices award to
17-year-old Charm Tong, who testified before UN officials and eloquently
described the systematic military campaign of rape and abuse waged against
women in Burma's Shan state. She spoke unflinchingly, even though her
audience included representatives of the very regime she condemned.

More of us in America should make such courage our courage. At this
moment, Suu Kyi, 64 and in fragile health, faces sentencing on trumped-up
charges. The junta leaders wish to undermine the Nobel Peace laureate's
influence before next year's elections. Leaders from around the world have
called forcefully for the junta to release Suu Kyi and the 2100 other
political prisoners it is holding. But the world must do more than express
concern.

A new report from Harvard Law School asks the UN Security Council to
establish a commission of inquiry into crimes against humanity and war
crimes in Burma. Harvard's panel of international law experts has
catalogued the junta's "widespread and systemic" human rights violations.
The Security Council has already referred the crisis in Darfur to the
International Criminal Court. It should do the same for Burma.

With the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, planning to visit Burma, it is
crucial he press the regime to take immediate steps to end human rights
abuses, particularly in ethnic minority areas. There have been 38 UN
resolutions condemning these abuses, yet the horrors continue unabated.

But Aung San Suu Kyi's continued example of civil courage - like those
brave protesters in Iran - reminds all of us that no matter how callous
the regime, it cannot lock up what she stands for: the fundamental desire
of all people to live in freedom and with dignity. During the brief
moments that foreign diplomats were allowed to observe her show trial, Suu
Kyi calmly apologised for having to greet them in a prison, saying, "I
hope to meet you in better times." We should all share her hope - and add
our voices to those who risk so much to protest tyranny and injustice in
Burma and beyond.

Laura Bush is the former first lady of the United States.

____________________________________
PRESS RELEASE

June 30, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
Resettlement of Myanmar refugees hits 50,000 mark

This is a summary of what was said by UNHCR spokesperson William Spindler
– to whom quoted text may be attributed – at the press briefing, on 30
June 2009, at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.

The world's largest resettlement program today passed a new milestone when
the 50,000th Myanmar refugee left a camp in Thailand to begin a new life
in the United States. Resettlement from the nine refugee camps along the
Thai-Myanmar border has been going on since 2004, but got an enormous
boost in early 2005 when the United States made a very generous offer to
give new homes to refugees from the camps.

For refugees around the world, return to their home country is usually the
preferred option. But these refugees, most of whom have been in Thailand
for more than 20 years, see little realistic prospect of returning to
Myanmar any time soon. They also are not able to settle permanently in
Thailand.

So for them, resettlement in a third country is the best option. For this
reason we are very grateful to countries like the United States, Canada,
Australia, Finland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway and Sweden for
offering refugees a chance to begin new lives.

The man who was precisely the 50,000th person to depart is an ethnic
Karenni school teacher who had been in Ban Mai Nai Soi refugee camp in Mae
Hong Son province in northern Thailand since 1996. He and his wife and
2-year-old daughter left Bangkok this morning at the start of a 28-hour
plane journey – their first time on a plane – that will bring them to
their new home in Camden, New Jersey.

The man, Plu Reh, who had taught primary school in the camp, spoke
optimistically to our staff about the opportunities in the United States
for a good education for his daughter and for further education for
himself and his wife.

Some 112,000 registered Myanmar refugees remain in the nine camps along
the Thai-Myanmar border. UNHCR expects to resettle a further 6,000 to
7,000 of them this year.

____________________________________
STATEMENT

June 26, G8 Foreign Ministers' Meeting
Chairman's statement


. Myanmar: We are deeply concerned about the recent developments. A real
process of dialogue and national reconciliation is needed, with the full
participation of representatives of all political parties and ethnic
groups, leading to transparent, fair and democratic multiparty elections.
In this regard we call on the Government of Myanmar to release all
political prisoners, including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi whose continued
detention would undermine the credibility of the elections planned for
2010.

We reaffirm our full support to the UN Secretary General’s good office
mission and the initiatives aimed at fostering dialogue and democratic
transition in Myanmar, demanding international community to do likewise.
We call on the Government of Myanmar to fully cooperate with the UNSG
Special Advisor, as well as with the Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in
Myanmar. We remain prepared to respond positively to substantive political
progress undertaken by Myanmar
.

http://www.esteri.it/MAE/IT/Sala_Stampa/ArchivioNotizie/Approfondimenti/2009/06/20090626_G8Meeting.htm