BURMA: A MILITARY DICTATORSHIP IN ALL BUT NAME

One could be forgiven for thinking that democracy is busting out all over Burma. After all, the military junta that runs the country is making a big show of handing over power to parliament, and declaring a victory for General Than Shwe’s much-touted ‘roadmap to democracy’. The trouble is, as we all well know, real democracy is hard work and requires a lot more than a ‘roadmap’. It involves bothersome things like free and fair elections, respect for human rights and equality before the law. That’s why most people in Burma, including women and ethnic minorities, are not fooled by this superficial display of democracy in Burma. Over 2,000 political prisoners languish in Burma’s prisons in abhorrent conditions. Ethnic communities live in fear as they roam the jungle night after night trying to avoid forced labour and execution. Girls and women are left to the mercy of military gangs as they are raped, mutilated and tortured. Children are snatched from their parents and forced to porter for soldiers or used as de-facto mine sweepers. Surely, this is not what democracy entails. Burma’s fearless moral leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, has repeatedly called for national reconciliation, a process in which the National League for Democracy, ethnic nationalities and the regime could engage in genuine dialogue. There are no indications that such dialogue is on the radar screen. Instead, an inclusive political process remains elusive and human rights abuses continue unabated, especially in ethnic areas. The elections in November 2010 were neither free nor fair, so it has come as little surprise that the ‘new’ parliament looks like the old military government. Its leadership includes ex-general Thein Sein, the head of the main pro-military party and a dependable ally of general Than Shwe.  Recently the Economic Intelligence Unit put it succinctly: ‘The country remains a military dictatorship in all but name.’ Oddly, though, many countries are willing to overlook the lack of real change. Some democratic countries, like India and Germany, took Aung San Suu Kyi’s release from house arrest last November as a sign that it was time to relax the international community’s efforts to bring about change in Burma. The sad truth is that Aung San Suu Kyi is not free. Only three months after her release, a commentary in the state-run New Light of Myanmar newspaper threatened that ‘if Daw Suu Kyi and her party keep going the wrong way… they will meet their tragic ends’. And after months of silence, Burmese officials have still not granted the six Nobel Laureates who have continuously supported Aung San Suu Kyi visas to visit their sister Laureate in Rangoon. This is not an oversight. It is a clear signal that the government perceives Aung San Suu Kyi’s work with international activists a threat to the status quo. Meanwhile, Burma is violating international laws standards on a daily basis, and there is little indication that this is going to change anytime soon. The UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, Tomas Ojea Quintana, certainly recognizes this reality. At the most recent Human Rights Council session in April he reiterated his recommendation to establish a UN Commission of Inquiry in Burma. Such an action has strong support from women of Burma. Representing thousands of other women, last year 12 courageous women of Burma travelled to New York City to testify in front of an international tribunal, and describe the atrocities they have suffered under the Burmese military. They believed that their testimonies, which according to their own words are ‘normal stories inside Burma’, would provide the basis for the establishment of a UN Commission of Inquiry. It is sad to see that a year later, the international community has not matched these women’s courage. This is not the dawn of a new era in Burma; it is just business as usual. With the military steadfast in their power, women and ethnic communities of Burma will continue to suffer the same atrocities at the hands of the new ‘civilian’ regime. It is time for the international community to demonstrate that we are as committed to the people of Burma as we are to pro-democracy movements in Libya. It is time for concrete actions. The establishment of a Commission of Inquiry can no longer be delayed as it has more potential for a roadmap to democracy than any military blueprint could ever have. (END/COPYRIGHT IPS) (*) Jody Williams received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1997 for her work on banning landmines, and is the Chair of the Nobel WomenÂ's Initiative. Tin Tin Nyo is the General Secretary of the WomenÂ's League of Burma.

OP-ED: Misunderstanding Bahrain’s Shia Protesters

Listening to the rhetoric coming out of Tehran, one might assume that Bahrain's Shia opposition is relying on help from its co-religionists next door. But, in fact, the opposite is true: the Shia opposition wants nothing more than for Tehran to stay out of the sectarian dispute unfolding in the tiny kingdom.

LIBYA: RIGHT AND WRONG

The Libyan rebels deserve the help of all democrats. Colonel Gaddafi is indefensible. The international coalition that is attacking him lacks credibility. A democracy is not built with foreign bombs. The contradictions implicit in these four statements give rise to a certain uneasiness about Operation Odyssey Dawn, especially to people on the left, writes Ignacio Ramonet, director of Le Monde diplomatique en espanol

BURMA: A MILITARY DICTATORSHIP IN ALL BUT NAME

One could be forgiven for thinking that democracy is busting out all over Burma. After all, the military junta that runs the country is making a big show of handing over power to parliament, and declaring a victory for General Than Shwe’s much-touted ‘roadmap to democracy’. The trouble is, as we all well know, real democracy is hard work and requires a lot more than a ‘roadmap’. It involves bothersome things like free and fair elections, respect for human rights and equality before the law. That’s why most people in Burma, including women and ethnic minorities, are not fooled by this superficial display of democracy in Burma. Over 2,000 political prisoners languish in Burma’s prisons in abhorrent conditions. Ethnic communities live in fear as they roam the jungle night after night trying to avoid forced labour and execution. Girls and women are left to the mercy of military gangs as they are raped, mutilated and tortured. Children are snatched from their parents and forced to porter for soldiers or used as de-facto mine sweepers. Surely, this is not what democracy entails. Burma’s fearless moral leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, has repeatedly called for national reconciliation, a process in which the National League for Democracy, ethnic nationalities and the regime could engage in genuine dialogue. There are no indications that such dialogue is on the radar screen. Instead, an inclusive political process remains elusive and human rights abuses continue unabated, especially in ethnic areas. The elections in November 2010 were neither free nor fair, so it has come as little surprise that the ‘new’ parliament looks like the old military government. Its leadership includes ex-general Thein Sein, the head of the main pro-military party and a dependable ally of general Than Shwe.  Recently the Economic Intelligence Unit put it succinctly: ‘The country remains a military dictatorship in all but name.’ Oddly, though, many countries are willing to overlook the lack of real change. Some democratic countries, like India and Germany, took Aung San Suu Kyi’s release from house arrest last November as a sign that it was time to relax the international community’s efforts to bring about change in Burma. The sad truth is that Aung San Suu Kyi is not free. Only three months after her release, a commentary in the state-run New Light of Myanmar newspaper threatened that ‘if Daw Suu Kyi and her party keep going the wrong way… they will meet their tragic ends’. And after months of silence, Burmese officials have still not granted the six Nobel Laureates who have continuously supported Aung San Suu Kyi visas to visit their sister Laureate in Rangoon. This is not an oversight. It is a clear signal that the government perceives Aung San Suu Kyi’s work with international activists a threat to the status quo. Meanwhile, Burma is violating international laws standards on a daily basis, and there is little indication that this is going to change anytime soon. The UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, Tomas Ojea Quintana, certainly recognizes this reality. At the most recent Human Rights Council session in April he reiterated his recommendation to establish a UN Commission of Inquiry in Burma. Such an action has strong support from women of Burma. Representing thousands of other women, last year 12 courageous women of Burma travelled to New York City to testify in front of an international tribunal, and describe the atrocities they have suffered under the Burmese military. They believed that their testimonies, which according to their own words are ‘normal stories inside Burma’, would provide the basis for the establishment of a UN Commission of Inquiry. It is sad to see that a year later, the international community has not matched these women’s courage. This is not the dawn of a new era in Burma; it is just business as usual. With the military steadfast in their power, women and ethnic communities of Burma will continue to suffer the same atrocities at the hands of the new ‘civilian’ regime. It is time for the international community to demonstrate that we are as committed to the people of Burma as we are to pro-democracy movements in Libya. It is time for concrete actions. The establishment of a Commission of Inquiry can no longer be delayed as it has more potential for a roadmap to democracy than any military blueprint could ever have. (END/COPYRIGHT IPS) (*) Jody Williams received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1997 for her work on banning landmines, and is the Chair of the Nobel Women's Initiative. Tin Tin Nyo is the General Secretary of the Women's League of Burma

SEVEN BILLION OF US COUNTING ON EACH OTHER

World population will soon reach seven billion, and the decisions taken now will have a major impact on life in the 21st century. Our greatest challenge is meeting the needs of current generations without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own.

TWO CRISES CAUSED BY HUMANS: JAPAN AND LIBYA

Japan lies on and near known tectonic fault lines, but the earthquake of March 11, magnitude 9 on the Richter scale, was the strongest in recent Japanese history, 1000 times more powerful than the magnitude 7 earthquake in Haiti last year which killed more than 250,000 people. Earth tremors in Japan are not unexpected, but we still cannot predict the precise moment and location they will strike. Some animals seem to know, but with short warning time.

HAVANA REBORN

Havana is being reborn. I can't be sure whether this is taking the best form possible. The first elements of the "updating of the Cuban economic model" have been made official. At the meeting of the Congress of the Cuban Communist Party in mid- April, this model will be given a definitive form and plans. The effects of the new policy have begun to be felt in an accelerated fashion on the face of a city that for the last fifty years seems to have been stuck in time (and even slid backwards with intensifying deterioration).

WHAT WOULD A TSUNAMI DO FOR A BREEDER REACTOR?

In the 1970s Japan, the United States, France, Germany, Britain, the Soviet Union, and China were all developing major breeder reactor programmes. Breeder reactors are nuclear power plants that produce more nuclear fuel than they consume generating electricity.

HOW SAFE IS NUCLEAR POWER?

We all can only feel deep sympathy and compassion for the victims of the terrible catastrophe that befell Japan on 11 March 2011. One of the world's largest earthquakes ever of magnitude 9, a 10-meter tsunami that flattened many coastal areas, freezing weather for the survivors sleeping in the open, shortages of food and water, and a series of explosions and fires at the six nuclear power plants in Fukushima, with the danger of a meltdown that would release huge amounts of radioactivity.

WORLD SOCIAL FORUM – WINNING THE BATTLE OF IDEAS

Paradoxically, just as history is proving the World Social Forum right in many of its predictions and analyses, the major media, those "shapers of public opinion", are not increasing but in fact sharply decreasing their coverage of it. This silent treatment is a clear obstacle to the expansion of the WSF and a cause of real concern for many of its innumerable organisers and participants.

COMMODITY PRICE VOLATILITY ACCELERATES

Commodity producers are again reaping the benefits of high growth, particularly from high-demand importers, like China, and are increasingly formalising their integration into global commodity value chains. There is a growing recognition that, properly managed, resource rents can provide an important tool in the fight against poverty.

AS PROTESTS ENGULF NORTH AFRICA, WHERE IS THE VOICE OF THE AFRICAN UNION?

As the world discusses the protests and battles sweeping North Africa -most recently in Libya- where is the African Union (AU)? Numerous multilateral bodies have called for respect for human rights and an end to state-sponsored violence, including the European Union (EU), the Arab League, and the United Nations.

WOMEN PREFERRED TARGET FOR IRE OF REGIME

Not so long ago, my colleague Nasrin Sotoudeh was the lawyer that so many of us human rights defenders in Iran called when our own government harassed us or put one of us, or a family member, in jail.

LATIN AMERICA: INTEGRATION AND INCLUSION

As is well known, all countries, and the small ones in particular, are having a hard time adapting to a shrinking world that is ever more globalised, interconnected, and interdependent, with multiple centres and multiple peripheries. Given the infinite number of connections, the traditional forms of production and distribution have changed. Transnational corporations control an important part of world trade and dictate the new regulations to which we have no choice but to adapt.

OP-ED: Women in Agriculture – Gender Gaps Are Holding Back Development

On the occasion of the 100th celebration of International Women’s Day, the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) presented a surprising and alarming assessment of the situation of rural women, based on a comprehensive analysis of men and women farmers around the world.

The Problem of Refugees & Asylum-Seekers in Africa

As hundreds and thousands of refugees and migrant workers continue to be caught up in the political turmoil in North Africa, the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is playing a lead role in reaching out to the displaced providing them mostly with food, shelter and medicines.

IRAN IMPRISONS HUMAN RIGHTS BEACON NASRIN SOTOUDEH

Not so long ago, my colleague Nasrin Sotoudeh was the lawyer that so many of us human rights defenders in Iran called when our own government harassed us or put one of us, or a family member, in jail.

CUBA: BETWEEN SOCIALISM AND THE MARKET

The process of change now taking place in Cuba has given rise to radical analyses in which a part of the left denounces the betrayal of socialism while a part of the right proclaims the collapse of the regime. Seen from the island itself, things are no where near so simple. Quite to the contrary.

AFRICA: CORRECTING HISTORICAL INJUSTICES IN THE WORLD TRADE RULEBOOK

Why did Africa move from being a net exporter to a net importer of food in the 1980s when the prices of its key commodity exports tumbled and its agriculture slowed down? Its food trade deficit is now around USD 20 billion and, given the current rise in prices, could get much worse.

Is India Moving towards Population Stabilization?

During a recent visit to India, I heard a great deal of talk among my friends and acquaintances about India's 'demographic dividend.' Almost half of India's current population is below 25 years of age. If properly educated and trained, this young work force could vastly accelerate the process of India's economic growth in the next several decades and lift hundreds of millions out of poverty. India's economy has been growing at the annual rate of about 9 per cent, for several years now, and this could go up higher as more young people join the work force.

OP-ED: Democracy Is No Panacea

The Egyptian people have every reason to be proud. They have provided the world with a shining example of how to overthrow a dictator within three weeks with hardly any violence - their message of freedom, unity and solidarity will remain for years in the collective memory of the Middle East and the entire world.