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H16533

Headlines : Human Rights

Summary:

The dictators in Burma continue to rule their country with an iron fist, despite widespread condemnation for their actions from around the world. Democratic reforms are nowhere in sight, and no real diplomatic pressure is being exerted by any of the world’s most powerful states.

The Burmese generals have financial and military support from many sources, including China, India, Thailand and the international oil corporations, Chevron and Total, who all have long-standing natural gas and petroleum investments in the country. Politicians in the U.S., France, China and India are far more interested in preserving access to those resources than they are in promoting democracy and human rights.

For background, see Chevron’s Pipeline Is the Burmese Regime’s Lifeline and Total Denial: Burmese peasants fight Unocal, as well as India signs Burma gas agreement and Burmese junta profits from Chinese pipeline. In addition, very little attention has been paid to the IMF’s role in cutting Burma’s food and fuel subsidies.

[Posted By neurolingo]

By Mark Tran
Republished from Guardian UK

Arrests target people who attempted to send evidence of crimes out of the country

The Burmese military has intensified its crackdown on political opponents despite pledges given to a senior UN official, a human rights group said today.

According to Amnesty International, there have been 96 arrests since November, when Burma’s prime minister, Thein Sein, assured Ibrahim Gambari, the UN’s special envoy to Burma, that there would be no more arrests.

“Four months on from the violent crackdown on peaceful demonstrators, rather than stop its unlawful arrests the Myanmar government has actually accelerated them,” said Catherine Baber, director of Amnesty International Asia-Pacific programme.

Amnesty said the arrests in December and January targeted people who had tried to send evidence of the crackdown abroad and clearly showed the government’s priority was to silence its critics.

Those arrested since November include Buddhist monks, trade unionists, pro-democracy dissidents and members of the National League for Democracy, led by the Nobel peace prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi.

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