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Posts Tagged ‘Weekly Highlights’ (17 found)
26 July – 1 Aug: India Welcomes Than Shwe, Sets Aside Principles of Democracy
Earlier this week, Senior General Than Shwe concluded his five-day tour of India. The tour included a visit to the mausoleum of India’s treasured non-violence advocate Mahatma Gandhi, ceremonial receptions hosted by high-level Indian officials and a series of delegation level talks and treaty signings […]
• • •19 – 25 July: ASEAN Foreign Ministers Criticize but Fail to Act on Burma
Foreign ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) met earlier this week for the 43rd ASEAN Ministerial Meeting to discuss various regional issues, including Burma’s upcoming elections. In contrast to the statements of support for the elections that emerged from the bloc’s 16th summit earlier this year, this ministerial meeting saw foreign ministers expressing more apprehension than support. “Myanmar, I think, got an earful last night,” said Surin Pitsuwan, ASEAN Chairman, “ASEAN is very much concerned.”[…]
• • •Thingyan Bombing Shows Instability Under SPDC Rule
On 15 April 2010, a string of bomb explosions in Rangoon brutally interrupted the city’s Thingyan festivities, leaving 170 civilians injured and killing 10. The three blasts rocked the city at 3pm in a lakeside park pavilion sponsored by Than Shwe’s grandson. While not entirely unprecedented in a country marked by civil unrest, the recent bombings were the deadliest since those on 7 May 2005, which resulted in 19 deaths and over 150 injured.[…]
• • •ASEAN All Talk, No Action on Burma
ASEAN held their 16th Summit this past week in Hanoi, Vietnam, where they discussed enhancing economic cooperation and inaugurated the Commission on the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Women and Children (ACWC). The ASEAN leaders were also forced to discuss the issues of Burma’s human rights situation under the military regime and it’s manipulation of the electoral process in the lead up to this year’s polls […]
• • •ASEAN Must Step Up on Human Rights and Burma
The ASEAN Inter-governmental Commission of Human Rights (AICHR) held its first meeting in Jakarta from 28 March to 1 April. Delegates discussed the Rules of Procedure (RoP), the guidelines according to which the body will operate, and the first 5-year work plan, both of which will be taken up at the 16th ASEAN Summit that begins today in Hanoi. Civil society from throughout ASEAN gathered to raise important human rights cases, including that of Burma, only to be ignored by the new body. As representative[s] of a human rights institution, the refusal to meet with civil society is in itself a contradiction of the spirit and principles of human rights,” said Yap Swee Seng, co-convener of Solidarity for Asian Peoples Advocacy Task Force on ASEAN Human Rights and the Executive Director of the Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (Forum-Asia). […]
• • •Quintana’s Report Sparks Debate and Action; NLD Decides Not to Register
UN Special Rapporteur Tomas Ojea Quintana’s courageous report calling for a UN-sanctioned investigation into crimes against humanity and war crimes has already carried ripple effects from Geneva to New York to Jakarta, fueling discussions in both the UN Human Rights Council and the UN Security Council, and prompting civil society to demand action from the new ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights […]
• • •Quintana’s Recommendations to the UNHRC Must be Supported
On 15 March, UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Myanmar, Tomas Ojea Quintana, presented his progress report on the country to the 13th session of the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC). In his report, Quintana documented the “gross and systematic violation of human rights” being carried out at the hands of the military regime.[…]
• • •Threat of Civil War and Unjust Election Laws, Recipe for Democracy?
On 8 March, the junta began releasing its election laws. The first two to be released—the Election Commission and Political Party Registration Laws—made it clear that these elections will be truly undemocratic and carried out exactly as the junta wants. Political parties will now have 60 days—until 7 May—to submit their registration in order to run in the elections. Some parties are already preparing to register, including at least three organized by the junta-backed Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA), and the pro-junta National Political Alliance, consisting of nine smaller groups.[…]
• • •International Women’s Day Marked Around the World
Today marks the International Day of Women. The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners-Burma released a brief today on the situation of 177 female political prisoners in Burma’s prisons. In their press release, AAPP stated that these women are an important force within the pro-democracy movement and should be released immediately with all other political prisoners […]
• • •Rejection of Daw Suu Appeal Bodes Ill for “Democratic” Elections
On 26 February, Burma’s Supreme Court rejected Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s appeal to end her house arrest, giving no reason for the decision. However, Daw Suu’s lawyers are not giving up. Nyan Win said they are preparing for a special appeal, asking the chief justice of Burma to convene a panel of judges to […]
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