Indeed. Dialogue without a time frame is meaningless.

UN investigator meets prisoners

YANGON, Myanmar - A U.N. human rights investigator said he was able to meet with several prominent political prisoners Thursday before ending his five-day mission to Myanmar.

Paulo Sergio Pinheiro was sent by the U.N. to investigate allegations of widespread abuse in connection with the ruling junta's bloody September crackdown on pro-democracy protests.

He went to Insein Prison in Yangon, Myanmar's largest city, where he was able to talk with several political detainees, including labor activist Su Su Nway, who was arrested Tuesday, he said at a news conference at Yangon's airport.

Pinheiro also met with 77-year-old journalist Win Tin, held since 1989, and members of the 88 Generation Students group, who have been especially active in nonviolent anti-government protests in recent years. Pinheiro did not reveal details of their conversations.

He said he had requested a meeting with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who is under house arrest, but it had not been granted by the government.

He added, however, that he was satisfied with the cooperation he had received from the government, and noted that U.N. special envoy for Myanmar Ibrahim Gambari, who visited a week earlier, had been allowed to meet Suu Kyi.

One of Pinheiro's goals had been to determine the numbers of people detained and killed by the regime in the recent unrest. He privately told diplomats Wednesday that no exact number could yet be determined, according to one envoy who asked not to be identified, citing protocol.

The military government said 10 people were killed when troops opened fire on crowds of peaceful protesters on Sept. 26-27. Diplomats and dissidents, however, say the death toll was much higher.

Buddhist monks inspired and led the movement until it was brutally crushed. The authorities began their crackdown by raiding several monasteries in Yangon in the middle of the night and hauling monks away.

The government has acknowledged detaining nearly 3,000 people but says it has released most of them. Many prominent political activists, however, remain in custody.

Pinheiro had also visited Insein Prison on Monday, but was only given access to officials.

Insein has held numerous political prisoners over the years. Many former inmates describe torture, abysmal conditions and long stretches in solitary confinement.
Pinheiro's trip was otherwise dominated by meetings with junta officials. He had been given access to several detention centers in Yangon in addition to Insein, but was not allowed to meet any prisoners.

Despite worldwide criticism, the junta continued its crackdown on dissidents during Pinheiro's visit.

The latest to be detained were three people handing out anti-regime pamphlets Wednesday at a fruit and vegetable market in Yangon, witnesses said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they feared government reprisals.

The incident followed earlier arrests of two prominent dissidents.

Su Su Nway, a prominent activist who had been on the run for more than two months, was arrested Tuesday morning in Yangon as she tried to place a leaflet near a hotel where Pinheiro was staying, said exiled Myanmar dissidents in Thailand.

U Gambira, a monk who helped spearhead the pro-democracy demonstrations in Yangon, was arrested several days ago, said Stanley Aung of the Thailand-based dissident group National League for Democracy-Liberated Area.

Pinheiro said he did not get to meet with U Gambira

Canada says to impose tougher sanctions on Burma's regime

OTTAWA (Reuters) -

Canada will tighten existing sanctions against Myanmar after the military junta's recent clampdown on demonstrators, Foreign Minister Maxime Bernier said on Wednesday.

In September, the junta crushed the biggest pro-democracy protests in nearly 20 years, killing at least 10 people.Myanmar was formerly known as Burma.

"Canada has long had measures against Burma. Now, we are going to impose the toughest sanctions in the world ... they are right on moral grounds. The regime in Burma is abhorrent to Canadian values," Bernier said in a speech in Toronto.

He said Canada would:

* ban all exports to Myanmar, except for humanitarian goods, and bar all imports

* freeze Canadian assets of Myanmar citizens connected with the junta

* prohibit the provision of Canadian financial services and the export of technical data to Myanmar

* ban new investment by Canadian individuals and firms

* ban ships and aircraft registered in either country from visiting the other

"There is no more room for compromise with this odious regime," said Bernier. No figures for annual trade between the two nations were immediately available.

Last month, the House of Commons granted honorary citizenship to Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who has spent nearly 12 of the last 18 years in prison or under house arrest.

Dawn Political Discussion: The Probability of having Genuine Dialogue

Dear friends,

We cordially invite you to participate in " Dawn Political Discussion"

Topic: The Probability of having Genuine Dialogue

It doesn’t whether you are a pessimist or an optimist.

We welcome your views and comments.


Sample Question:

Pressure is one more factor to speed up the dialogue and equally negotiation between them. Is western economic sanction really effective to change the attitude of Gen than shwe and his ally? What about Tribunal Court? International Court of Justice? If they distract the path of dialogue, that would be only answer, i think. Which symbolic organization, person communicate with ethnic group? that issue is International concern especially regional countries.

13 November 2007 12:13


Sample Answer:
You can't enter into a dialogue with empty hands (pls read without tangible threats of actions that will hurt SPDC's elites and their immediate families and close associates). Hence, international actions must be in the pipeline, ready to implement once SPDC shows its insincerity. I also believe that the "targeted sanctions" are working.

Sample Answer:
Bringing these criminal generals to ICC/UN Tribunal (cooperation with our international allies) should be in the pipeline for immediate actions. Daw Suu could use this triumph card as an important bargaining chip.

Sample Answer:

Indeed. Dialogue without a time frame is meaningless. SPDC is notorious for dragging their feet. Even their own path to democracy is dragging for 19 years and counting. That is why, both Daw Suu ( in her statement ) and Mr. Gambari ( his retort to Kyaw Sann) explicitly stated dialogue/transition to democracy should be conducted within a reasonable time frame.

Read More:
http://komoethee.blogspot.com/

Breaking News: Prominent Activists Arrested

Burmese security forces have arrested two prominent anti-government activists — a Buddhist monk and a labor rights advocate, fellow dissidents said Tuesday.

The United States and other Western countries deplored the arrests during a U.N. Security Council meeting, saying they raised doubts about the ruling junta's sincerity in moving toward democracy and cooperating with the United Nations.

News of the arrests came as U.N. human rights investigator Paulo Sergio Pinheiro was on the third day of a five-day mission to investigate human rights conditions in the wake of the government's violent crackdown on pro-democracy protests in September.

U Gambira, a Buddhist monk who helped lead demonstrations in Yangon that were crushed by the military junta, was arrested several days ago, exiled Myanmar dissidents in Thailand said.

Su Su Nway, a prominent female activist who has been on the run for more than two months, was arrested Tuesday morning in Yangon, they said.

U Gambira, also known as U Gambiya, was a leader of the All-Burma Monks alliance, a group established to support pro-democracy protests after small demonstrations began in August.

Monks inspired and led the movement until it was crushed Sept. 26-27. The authorities began their crackdown by raiding several monasteries in Yangon, Myanmar's biggest city, in the middle of the night and taking the monks away.

Activists who have just arrived at the Myanmar-Thailand border confirmed that U Gambira had been arrested, said Stanley Aung of the Thailand-based dissident group National League for Democracy-Liberated Area.

"I am very worried about U Gambira," said Bo Kyi, head of the Thailand-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners. "I fear he will be tortured."

In an e-mail to The Associated Press, Bo Kyi appealed to Pinheiro to meet with U Gambira before he leaves Myanmar.

Other dissident groups also reported U Gambira's arrest, although details differed. Some said he was arrested Nov. 4, the same day an article he wrote was published in the Washington Post. In it, he vowed to continue the struggle against the military regime.

Another account said he lost touch with colleagues Nov. 10. He has been active in publicizing his cause abroad, apparently using a satellite phone.

Su Su Nway was arrested as she was trying to place a leaflet on a building near a hotel in Yangon where Pinheiro has been staying, the NLD-LA's Aung said.

His account confirmed one given in Yangon by a Myanmar official who insisted on anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the media. The contents of the leaflet were not known.

Pinheiro has said his mission is to determine how many people were killed and detained in the crackdown. Myanmar authorities said 10 people were killed when troops opened fire on crowds of peaceful protesters. Diplomats and dissidents, however, say the death toll was much higher.

The government acknowledged detaining almost 3,000 people but says it has released most of them. Most of the prominent political activists remain in custody.

In an address to the U.N. Security Council, Myanmar's Ambassador U Kyaw Tint Swe insisted there "had been no further arrests in connection with the demonstrations." He made no mention of Su Su Nway or U Gambira.

But Britain's ambassador to the U.N., John Sawers, said Su Su Nway's detention "raises a question mark over the regime's" assurances to U.N. envoy Ibrahim Gambari days earlier that political arrests would stop.

U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad denounced both arrests and said the junta must "release all political prisoners" if it wants to show its commitment "to cooperating with the United Nations."

Gambari said that if the arrests were confirmed, "it would be extremely worrisome because what we want to do is move forward, not back."

Nevertheless, Gambari, who visited Myanmar last week for the second time since the September turmoil, told the Security Council he was making progress in nudging the junta toward meaningful dialogue with the pro-democracy opposition. He urged the Security Council to give his diplomatic effort time to succeed.

"On balance, the positive outcomes of this latest mission show that the government of Myanmar, while stressing its sovereignty and independence, can be responsive to the concerns of the international community," Gambari said. "The situation is qualitatively different from what it was a few weeks ago."

Su Su Nway, 35, was active in the August protests of an oil price increase. She dramatically escaped arrest when pro-government thugs broke up a demonstration on Aug. 28, an event captured on video and shown on television around the world.

The September demonstrations, which attracted as many as 100,000 people at their height, grew out of the much smaller August protests.

After the Aug. 28 confrontation, Su Su Nway went into hiding, but was reported to occasionally participate in more protest activity. She had regular contact with the media until her cell phone was disconnected in early September.

The Democratic Voice of Burma, a Norway-based radio station run by Myanmar dissidents, reported that on Oct. 27, she laid flowers at the spot where Japanese journalist Kenji Nagai was shot dead a month earlier by government security forces while he was covering the Yangon demonstrations.

Su Su Nway served nine months in prison in 2005-06 for her labor activism. She is also a member of detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party.

_____

Associated Press Writer Alexandra Olson contributed to this report from the United Nations.

Will Sergio Paulo Pinheiro be another Ibrahim Gambari?

(Commentary)
Kanbawza Win

November 11, 2007 - Sergio Paulo Pinheiro has repeatedly requested the Burmese military junta to be allowed access to the country, but has been refused entry since 2003. Now the sly Junta has agreed to his visit, when Foreign Minister Nay Win wrote that he should arrive in mid-November - before a meeting of the Association of South-East Asian Nations just to forestall criticism of the Junta's handling of the protests by ASEAN leaders. If this is a positive desire of the Burmese Army then the Junta should release key figures arrested and detained and stop arresting more monks and laymen and at once stop the ethnic cleansing in Karen and Karenni states? What kind of logic is it? "Actions speak louder than words."


Read More: Click title

Security Council vows to keep pressure on Myanmar rulers

Security Council vows to keep pressure on Myanmar rulers
by Gerard Aziakou
44 minutes ago

UNITED NATIONS (AFP) - The Security Council on Tuesday welcomed recent positive steps by Myanmar rulers but the United States vowed continued pressure to ensure a "substantive dialogue" with the democratic opposition.

The 15-member council heard a briefing from UN envoy Ibrahim Gambari on his six-day mission to Myanmar last week, which he said led to some "positive outcomes".

These include the regime's decision to lift curfews in place during anti-government protests, release over 2,700 detainees and political prisoners and allow talks between opposition chief Aung San Suu Kyi and Labor Minister Aung Kyi.

"On balance, the positive outcomes of this latest mission show that the government of Myanmar, while stressing its sovereignty and independence, can be responsive to the concerns of the international community," Gambari said.

But he conceded that the regime "has yet to provide any assurance that it will lift restrictions on Aung San Suu Kyi," and cited "serious concerns about ongoing reports of human rights abuses and the willingness of the government to move forward in a new direction."

Several council members praised Gambari for his efforts but the United States and its Western allies said Myanmar rulers must do more, including allowing the UN envoy to return soon and have full access to all those he needs to see.

"He's doing a good job. His latest mission had some success," US Ambassador to the UN Zalmay Khalilzad said of the UN troubleshooter.

"But we believe there's a need for further substantive progress and the ball is in the court of the government."

"A mix of engagement and pressure needs to be applied, calibrated as circumstances warrant," Khalilzad said, making clear he was not ruling out further unilateral or multilateral sanctions if necessary.

Indonesia's UN envoy Marty Natalegawa, who chairs the council this month, stressed the members' "renewed sense of unity" in support of Gambari's mission and of ensuring a genuine dialogue between the regime and the opposition.

But Khalilzad's deputy, Alejandro Wolff, said members could not agree on how this sense of unity should be expressed.

He said the United States and its allies wanted a formal presidential statement while others were opposed. He said consultations would continue Wednesday.

In the meantime, Natagalewa in his capacity as council president hailed the "recent positive developments", but said members expressed concern "that many prisoners are still in jail and new arrests have occurred."

They also urge Myanmar to 'create conditions for dialogue and reconciliation by relaxing, as a first step, the conditions of detention of Aung San Suu Kyi and by pursuing the release of political prisoners and detainees," he added.

After his huddle with the council, Gambari told reporters that he planned to return to Myanmar at the invitation of the government, although "no exact date has been set".

His visit last week was his second since September when the junta crushed the biggest pro-democracy protests in nearly 20 years.

Gambari said he planned to attend a summit of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on November 21 at the invitation of its current chairman Singapore.

Britain's UN envoy Jon Sawers stressed the need for Myanmar rulers "to reciprocate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's readiness to co-operate."

He said the regime "must remove the restraints on her access to her party, and allow other opposition leaders, ethnic minority leaders and other stakeholders to meet with Aung San Suu Kyi and with one another freely and without impediment in order to ensure a genuine, inclusive and meaningful dialogue."

In Myanmar, police Tuesday arrested labor activist Su Su Nway as she distributed anti-government leaflets while a UN rights envoy held talks with members of the junta, which drew international criticism for its deadly crackdown on pro-democracy protests.

Making his first visit to the country in four years, Paulo Sergio Pinheiro is probing the death toll from the bloody suppression -- put at 10 by the regime but thought by diplomats and rights groups to be far higher -- and other rights abuses.

Special Adviser briefs SG on outcome of Myanmar visit

12 November 2007

Secretary-General
SG/SM/11273
________________________________________
Department of Public Information • News and Media Division • New York

SPECIAL ADVISER BRIEFS SECRETARY-GENERAL ON OUTCOME OF MYANMAR VISIT

The following statement was issued today by the Spokesperson for United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon:

The Secretary-General was briefed today by his Special Adviser, Ibrahim Gambari, on the outcome of his recent visit to Myanmar. As a result of this visit, a process has been launched that will hopefully lead to a meaningful and substantive dialogue with concrete outcomes within an agreed timeframe.

The Secretary-General welcomes the willingness expressed by both sides to work with the United Nations to this end.

The Secretary-General reiterates that the return to the status quo that existed before the crisis is not sustainable and he encourages the Government and all relevant parties to redouble their efforts towards achieving national reconciliation, democracy and full respect for human rights.

He looks forward to his Special Adviser’s early return to Myanmar, as part of an open and regular process of mutual engagement.

Beware democracy's siren song

Beware democracy's siren song

Christopher Smith
Mizzima News (www.mizzima.com)

November 9, 2007 – Democracy. On the streets of Rangoon, the ideal of democracy lingered on the minds and in the hopes of thousands, perceptively growing as the days of protests reached their climax in late September. Though the tinder for the fire was an economy stretched to its breaking point, in the end it was in the dream of democracy, a democracy to set Burma free, in which so many people took solace.

But democracy is not an answer – it is an ideal, an oft forgotten observation that is now vividly playing itself out on the streets of Tbilisi, the Republic of Georgia's capital and some 3,479 miles distant from Rangoon.

In 2003, around Tbilisi's City Hall, over a hundred thousand people gathered in a mass protest against the purportedly corrupt and illegitimate government headed by former Soviet Minister for Foreign Affairs Eduard Shevardnaze. It was a call for "true democracy" and symbolic in reaffirming the young Republic's freedom.

On the waves of such popular support, opposition leader Mikheil Saakashvili was swept into office in a landslide electoral victory. A euphoric atmosphere in the nation's capital broadly welcomed in a new era of democracy, the Republic of Georgia had come of age. Western governments and press largely portrayed the event as a victory for both Georgia and democracy.

Today, scenes and images from the streets of Tbilisi are eerily reminiscent of Rangoon a little over a month ago…one capital positing itself as a beacon of democracy while the other languishes under the iron fists of a military regime.

Riot police, better outfitted than their counterparts in Rangoon thanks to a stronger economy and Western ties, charge civilian demonstrators in central Tbilisi. Ironically, the protestors are looking to replace the "true democracy" of 2003 with the "true democracy" of 2007. Meanwhile the United States State Department continues to tell Georgians that "true democracy" exists somewhere down the road.

"Our democracy needs the firm hand of the authorities," Saakashvili told his subjects the other day. Georgian democracy in this sense seems to strongly resemble the junta's repeated insistence on a "guided democracy" for Burma.

Already state media in Georgia reports over 500 civilians have been injured as a result of the government's violent crackdown, while the plug has been pulled on independent media in the country.

President Saakashvili, speaking to the country, responded to the violent crackdown by stating that: "The police acted in a way like the police would have acted in any other democratic state." The adjective democratic in the President's statement could easily have been dropped altogether, as Burmese state media in the days following the violent crackdown in Rangoon liberally posted pictures of riot police putting down protests across the globe, making an analogous argument to that of Saakashvili.

"If we let these forces destabilize Georgia now, we will lose a chance to have a future; we will lose the chance to restore the country's territorial integrity," continued the President, and echoing the Burmese junta's relentless claim that without a strong army at the center, Burma's territorial integrity would be jeopardized.

As in Burma, the Republic of Georgia is home to ethnically delineated regions, regardless of the actual percentage of ethnic populations within each area. Whereas Burma has the likes of a Kachin or Karen state, Georgia is saddled with Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

Following the protests and crackdown in Burma, the junta blamed international governments and organizations of fuelling the unrest. Likewise, the democratic Georgian government has sought to pin the blame for its current crisis on the backs of subversive Russian agents.

The New Light of Myanmar meticulously reports on the number of visits American diplomats make to opposition offices. Similarly, Georgian state media has come out with photographs of opposition leaders meeting Russian representatives.

Widespread condemnation of the role of China in supporting the Burmese junta and denying the legitimate democratic aspirations of Burmese people is coupled with civilian opposition on the streets of Tbilisi accusing the United States of denying "true democracy" by propping up an illegitimate government.

Why has the Rose Revolution of 2003, heralded as the onset of a bright new democratic future, come to such a state? How can the streets of democracy in Tbilisi come to resemble the streets of authoritarian rule in Rangoon – in their protests, violence and bloodshed?

Simply speaking, the social and economic ills of the country were neglected or are as of yet unsuccessfully settled. It has already been shown that the question of rights and autonomy in ethnic regions of Georgia were inadequately solved with the advent of republican democracy in 2003 . Another example of a social ill which continues to plague the country is a pervasive culture of corruption. Such problems take much more time and effort to solve than a simple alteration in political orientation, however drastic such an alteration is.

Economically, despite an impressive double-digit gain in gross domestic product annually since 2003, the internationally acceptable economic figures are countered domestically with statistics that point to such economic ills as unemployment hovering around fifteen percent.

How many times did democratic voices on the streets of Rangoon rise up in a call for "freedom"? Countless. Yet, the true significance of the moment was left largely unnoticed. In that moment, on streets either drenched with heavy rain or a relentless sun, in their demands for freedom…the people were free.

The rebel, writes Albert Camus, finds freedom in the revolution. But once the revolution is over, even if waged and won in the name of freedom, the freedom experienced is lost. "The rebel affirms the impossibility of total freedom while he claims for himself the relative freedom necessary to recognize this impossibility," reads Camus' work.

There is nothing that can diminish the courage and sincerity of the protestors in their calls for democracy, who for a fleeting moment in time were free. But a democratic election in and of itself is no solution, a fact to which the streets of Tbilisi now attest.

Political change will come to Burma, and it very well may be a democratic swing. However victory will be decided by what is done, in the name of democratic governance or otherwise, to combat and cure the social and economic ills of the country.

Do not fear and steer a course away from the siren song of democracy, but understand the truth in democracy's allure. And while charting a course in the direction of democracy's refuge, confront and address the questions that will ultimately decide if Burma's next democratic experiment is a success or failure. There is much word to be done.

$100 oil to put Myanmar junta over a barrel again

By Ed Cropley
Sun Nov 11, 1:13 AM ET

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Oil was $72 a barrel in August when a budget crunch forced Myanmar's ruling generals to slash fuel subsidies, sparking protests that snowballed into the biggest anti-junta uprising in two decades.

Since then, crude prices have climbed 35 percent to near $100 a barrel, and with no new revenues coming in from natural gas sales or anywhere else in a shambolic economy, the regime has little option but to raise fuel prices again, analysts say.

"The pressure must be on," said Sean Turnell of Australia's Macquarie University and author of the Burma Economic Watch academic journal, predicting state-subsidized diesel, which doubled in August, may have to rise by as much as 40 percent.

The added burden on households already struggling to cope with inflation estimated at around 50 percent a year could well trigger another round of protests against 45 years of unbroken military rule.

Even though it is believed to have the world's 10th largest natural gas reserves, promising $2 billion a year in sales to China for the next four decades, most of the off-shore fields are undeveloped and will not make money until 2009 at the earliest.

The only major existing client is Thailand, which paid $2.2 billion last year -- half of all Myanmar's official foreign exchange earnings. The rest comes mainly from exports of gems and timber and tourism, a sector crippled by the latest crackdown.

Myanmar also has plenty of crude oil, but a lack of refinery investment since the British left in 1948 forces it to buy nearly all its fuel -- basically diesel, gasoline, and compressed natural gas (CNG) -- at a premium from abroad.

Turnell estimates that in August, the former Burma's fuel bill consumed 30 percent of its gas receipts from Thailand, a proportion now likely to be well over 40 percent given crude price rises since then.

LESSONS LEARNED

In August, the doubling of diesel and five-fold rise of CNG prices came without warning, sparking chaos in a country whose once-promising economy has been crippled by disastrous attempts at home-grown socialism, corruption, and more latterly, Western sanctions.

Yangon's CNG-powered buses ground to a halt as conductors and drivers had no idea what fare to charge, and many commuters had to walk home because they could not afford a taxi.

"I don't think they can carry on subsidizing fuel prices," said Aung Naing Oo, a student activist who fled to Thailand during a 1988 crackdown on a nationwide uprising in which an estimated 3,000 people were killed.

"But I'm sure they've learnt from their mistakes, and if they do raise prices, it will be slow and incremental," he said.

A dramatic drop-off in tourist arrivals since soldiers were sent in to end September's protests, killing at least 10 people -- and probably many more -- is also likely to compound the pressure on the generals' budget.

Two weeks after the crackdown, hotels had slashed room rates by as much as 80 percent and flights from Singapore or Bangkok were virtually empty as tourists, repulsed by television images of the violence, chose to stay away.

One rare factor in the junta's favor is the tendency for rice prices to drop around the October-November harvest, a major pressure valve in a country where the U.N. says 10 percent of the population, or 5 million people, do not have enough to eat.

However, as 2008 progresses, food stockpiles will start to diminish, prices will go up, and the social conditions that sparked August's anti-junta protests could start all over again.

"For now, people will have enough rice, but after a few months crunch time will come again for many families," Aung Naing Oo said.

(Editing by Michael Battye and Alex Richardson)

UN seeks to count the dead and detained in Myanmar

UN seeks to count the dead and detained in Myanmar
The Associated PressPublished: November 11, 2007

YANGON, Myanmar: A UN human rights envoy arrived Sunday in Myanmar on a mission to get inside the country's prisons to determine the numbers of people killed and detained since the regime's crackdown on pro-democracy protesters.

Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro, the UN's independent rights investigator for Myanmar, had been barred from visiting the country since November 2003. He has said he will abandon his current visit unless he gets full support from the junta.

"I hope I will have a very productive stay," Pinheiro told reporters after arriving at his hotel in Yangon, Myanmar's largest city. He added, "I'm just very happy to be back here after four years."

Accompanied by the authorities, Pinheiro headed first to Bago, a town 80 kilometers, or 50 miles, north of Yangon, a government official said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the news media. Buddhist monasteries in Bago were among those targeted by the crackdown after monks joined anti-government street protests.

After getting initial permission last month for his five-day visit, Pinheiro said he would demand access to prisons and try to determine the number of people killed and detained since the junta's crackdown. "If they don't give me full cooperation, I'll go to the plane, and I'll go out," he said before the trip.

Pinheiro has a history of prickly relations with the ruling generals. He abruptly cut short a visit in March 2003 after finding a listening device in a room at a prison where he was interviewing political detainees. Later that year, he accused the junta of making "absurd" excuses to keep political opponents in prison.

The junta, which has long been criticized of human rights abuses, has come under renewed international pressure since it crushed pro-democracy demonstrations led by Buddhist monks in September. The government says 10 people were killed in the Sept. 26-27 crackdown, though diplomats and dissidents say the death toll was much higher.

Amnesty International, based in London, submitted a letter to the Myanmar authorities Friday expressing concern over "grave and ongoing human rights violations" committed since the crackdown, including "widespread arbitrary detentions, hostage-taking, beatings and torture in custody and enforced disappearances."

Statement by Mr. Gambari on behalf of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi – 8 November 2007

Singapore, 8 November 2007 - As you know, I have just completed a mission to Myanmar from 3 to 8 November, where I met today with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. In my capacity as Special Adviser to the Secretary-General for Myanmar, I was authorized by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi to make the following statement on her behalf:

• I wish to thank all those who have stood by my side all this time, both inside and outside my country. I am also grateful to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr. Ban Ki-moon, for his unwavering support for the cause of national reconciliation, democracy and human rights in my country.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Statement by Mr. Gambari on behalf of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi – 8 November 2007

As you know, I have just completed a mission to Myanmar from 3 to 8 November, where I met today with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. In my capacity as Special Adviser to the Secretary-General for Myanmar, I was authorized by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi to make the following statement on her behalf:
• I wish to thank all those who have stood by my side all this time, both inside and outside my country. I am also grateful to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr. Ban Ki-moon, for his unwavering support for the cause of national reconciliation, democracy and human rights in my country.

• I welcome the appointment on 8 October of Minister Aung Kyi as Minister for Relations. Our first meeting on 25 October was constructive and I look forward to further regular discussions. I expect that this phase of preliminary consultations will conclude soon so that a meaningful and timebound dialogue with the SPDC leadership can start as early as possible.

• In the interest of the nation, I stand ready to cooperate with the Government in order to make this process of dialogue a success and welcome the necessary good offices role of the United Nations to help facilitate our efforts in this regard.

• In full awareness of the essential role of political parties in democratic societies, in deep appreciation of the sacrifices of the members of my party and in my position as General Secretary, I will be guided by the policies and wishes of the National League for Democracy. However, in this time of vital need for democratic solidarity and national unity, it is my duty to give constant and serious considerations to the interests and opinions of as broad a range of political organizations and forces as possible, in particular those of our ethnic nationality races.

• To that end, I am committed to pursue the path of dialogue constructively and invite the Government and all relevant parties to join me in this spirit.

• I believe that stability, prosperity and democracy for my country, living at peace with itself and with full respect for human rights, offers the best prospect for my country to fully contribute to the development and stability of the region in close partnership with its neighbours and fellow ASEAN members, and to play a positive role as a respected member of the international community.


I am now scheduled to return to New York to brief the Secretary-General on all the aspects of my mission. I will therefore not be able to take any questions at this time.

Activists on the run - 06-Nov-07

OPINION: Give Myanmar a big taste of democracy

By AMY CHEW
06 November, 2007

Indonesia, which was ruled by a military government for 32 years and transformed itself into the world’s third-largest democracy, wants to share its experiences with the military rulers of Myanmar, writes AMY CHEW TO the outside world, Myanmar's defiance defies logic.

In the face of international revulsion at the brutal crackdown on last month's peaceful protests by the country's Buddhist monks, the regime continues to detain thousands and hunt for dissidents.

In 1988, a large-scale student uprising was crushed with the same brutality.

The brutality, according to Indonesia's special envoy to Myanmar, retired Lt-Gen Agus Widjoyo, reflects the regime's "poverty of ideas" as three generations of military officers rise through the ranks without experiencing democracy or civilian rule.


Read More: Click title

Burma's Amazing Grace (Commentary)

By, May Ng
Justice for Human Rights in Burma

November 7, 2007 - In 1779, former slave trader John Newton wrote a hymn called Amazing Grace. It became a symbol of religious influence in overcoming slavery, a most cruel episode in modern history. While the world's first liberal democracy was being founded in America, the end to the African slave trade was brought on by the religious movement of the time.

The Burmese monks chant the 'Metta Sutta,' the sutra of loving kindness to radiate the spirit of love to all beings. By trying to counter the worldly conflict from a spiritual basis the monks in Burma bring awareness to the suffering of their people and the injustice done by the rulers. After giving up the worldly possessions for a path to enlightenment, the holy monks come to share the lives of ordinary people through alms collection, and from coming in contact with people at the monasteries, a traditional form of civil society in Burma. Their unusual protest on behalf of the people demonstrates the gravity of the suffering in Burma today.

Read More: Click title

A return to status quo is unacceptable: U.N.

Mizzima News (www.mizzima.com)

November 8, 2007 – United Nations Special Envoy to Burma, Ibrahim Gambari, has issued a blunt warning to Burma's military government that a return to the status quo of pre-protest Burma is unacceptable.

Read More: Click title

U.N. Envoy Ends 2d Trip to Myanmar

By THOMAS FULLER
Published: November 9, 2007

BANGKOK, Nov. 8 — A United Nations mission to broker negotiations between Myanmar’s military government and prodemocracy leaders ended with little progress today after the United Nations special envoy left the country without meeting the junta’s longtime leader, Senior Gen. Than Shwe.

Further, Mr. Gambari’s suggestion that he directly broker talks between the pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and representatives of the junta was rejected, according to Myanmar’s state-run media.

The envoy, Ibrahim Gambari, met for an hour with Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi, whom the junta has kept under house arrest for 12 of the last 18 years, beginning after her party won overwhelmingly in general elections in 1990. Mr. Gambari left carrying a message from her, which will be made public later, said Charles Petrie, the top United Nations official in Myanmar.
Read More: Click title

Asean asked to reconsider financial ties with Burma

The Nation
by Supalak G Khundee

The United States has asked Asean members to reconsider its financial relationship with the Burmese military junta as part of the mounting pressure on the regime to move forward to democracy.

"We ask them to think about their financial relationship with Burma and to ensure whether their banks are being used to shelter the financial assets of the Burmese regime," said Kristen Silverberg, US State Department's Assistant Secretary, Bureau of international Organisation Affairs.

Silverberg was in Thailand Monday for the last leg of her Asian tour which also took her to China and Vietnam to address the Burma issue.

In Bangkok, she met Foreign Ministry's PermanentSecretary Virasakdi Futrakul and incoming Asean Secretary General Surin Pitsuwan.

Washington has imposed sanctions on the military regime after a severe crackdown against massive street protests in September. The European Union and Australia have agreed to the US approach. The Americans are hoping many governments will do the same to put more pressure on the regime.

"This is no time for 'business as usual' with the Burmese regime," Silverberg said in a briefing with a selective group of media.

Justice not revenge

Shan Herald Agency for News - 5 November 2007
By: Feraya Nangmone

In ordinary life sensible people try to avoid dangerous psychopathic criminals and do not try to be “nice” to them. Those of us with common sense would try to avoid such criminals if we do not wish to be harmed by them. It is advised by experts that we should not even go out of our way to be polite to them to win them over; so why are people like UN and Asean trying to be diplomatic and persuade the SPDC to change their ways, because Burma’s military dictators are psychopathic criminals, and as such, they will never change unless they are in danger of losing their power or their lives.

“Those who have no conscience at all are a group unto themselves, whether they are homicidal tyrants or merely ruthless social snipers.

Read More: Click title

Hello! Mr. Ibrahim Gambari and the International Community

(Commentary)

By Kanbawza Win

November 4, 2007 - The news that the Burmese junta has called the most senior United Nations Coordinator, Charles PETRIÉ, to Naypyidaw and reprimanded him mercilessly, just for saying the truth about the dire state of the Burmese economy that led to the mass protests on the eve of Ibrahim Gambari visit, indicates that they have no will to cooperate with the UN body. Even though this is not unexpected, because the Burmese military's mindset is to "Lying the very concept of truth," it takes one more proof to the situation that they are dumb on dialogue and negotiations and that force is the only option.

Read More: Click title

Building Sandcastles on a Stormy Beach

Dr. Sein Myint
Mizzima News (www.mizzima.com)

November 2, 2007 – Building sand castles on beaches is a common pastime for children and adults alike. Usually they are built during calm and serene weather, sometimes at an exotic holiday resort but also at nearby seaside beaches. They are certainly not built in stormy weather when treacherous winds, waves and rain will destroy and demolish the fragile structures within minutes or seconds. Are we building another sandcastle on the stormy beach?......................

Unknown numbers of monks and civilians are still unaccounted for. Despite some recent releases, hundreds more are still languishing in prisons throughout the country. The crackdown on the streets of Burma has not yet drawn to a close. The prison walls are still echoing tormented sounds and cries of pain. Bereaved families are still searching for their loved ones.

(This article is devoted to the courageous individuals from Pakkoku who, by giving statements to a Radio Free Asia reporter about the military authority's brutalities against the monks there that ignited the September Saffron Revolution in Burma, now languish in prison)

Dr. Sein Myint serves as Director for Policy Development with Justice for Human Rights in Burma (JHB).

UN in Burma: a history of failed efforts

BANGKOK, Thailand -

Efforts in recent years by the United Nations to achieve reconciliation between the ruling military and pro-democracy forces in Myanmar have been punctuated by frustration, false hopes and failure:

1989: Pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi detained and put under house arrest after the military's brutal suppression of an uprising a year earlier.

1998: Peruvian diplomat Alvara de Soto named special U.N. envoy to break deadlock between military and democracy advocates. U.N. and World Bank propose financial incentives for change that then-Foreign Minister Win Aung calls "offering a banana to a monkey and asking it to dance."

1990: U.N. Commission on Human Rights names Sadako Ogata to assess the human rights situation in Myanmar. She is followed by Yozo Yokota and the current post holder, Paulo Sergio Pineiro.

April 4, 2000: Malaysian diplomat Razali Ismail appointed special U.N. envoy for Myanmar. He later acknowledges a company he chairs does business with the Myanmar regime.

Sept. 2000: Suu Kyi, released in 1995, placed under house arrest again.

Nov. 29, 2001: Razali say he's "hopeful that some significant progress could be made in the near future."

2002: Razali helps secure the release of Suu Kyi from house arrest and the regime declares "the era of confrontation is over."

2003: Suu Kyi is put back under house arrest.

Jan. 4, 2006: Razali resigns as envoy, frustrated at being barred from entering the country for nearly two years.

May 20, 2006: Nigerian diplomat Ibrahim Gambari becomes the first foreigner to meet Suu Kyi in more than two years amid renewed talk of a "breakthrough."

May 22, 2007: Gambari appointed special U.N. envoy. Suu Kyi's house arrest extended three days later.

Sept. 2007: Protests over a surge in consumer goods prices brings thousands to the streets. The military is deployed to crush the demonstrations. At least 10 are killed and thousands detained.

Sept. 29: Gambari arrives for four-day visit to Myanmar, meeting junta leaders and Suu Kyi. The regime later holds a brief meeting with Suu Kyi.

Oct. 11: U.N. Security Council, in its first formal statement on Myanmar, says it "strongly deplores" situation in country.

Nov 2: Junta says it intends to expel top U.N. diplomat in the country.

Nov. 3: Gambari arrives in Myanmar in another effort at reconciliation.

Statement of the United Nations Country Team in Burma

In Burma, the peaceful demonstrations that followed the sudden hike in fuel prices on 15 August highlighted that many of these aspirations are not yet a reality for the people here. The events clearly demonstrated the everyday struggle to meet basic needs, and the urgent necessity to address the deteriorating humanitarian situation in the country. These are the same messages that the United Nations Country Team in Burma has been endeavouring to bring to the Government’s attention for some time.

UN: Challenges and emerging issues for 2007

Funding for HIV is dominated by a limited number of international donors. Ministry of Health expenditure on HIV is low. No official figures exist, but the UNAIDS Country Office estimates that in 2005 the Ministry of Health spent US$ 137 000 on HIV, equivalent to less than half of US$ 0.01 per person. This compares with US$ 1.43 per capita in Thailand and US$ 0.07 per capita in Cambodia, the other two high-prevalence countries in south-east Asia.

Read More: Click Title

Singapore is deeply disappointed on Junta's decision

MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
SINGAPORE
3 NOVEMBER 2007

MFA Spokesman's Comments on the announcement by the Government of the Union of Myanmar on the Discontinuation of Assignment of the UNDP Resident Coordinator in Myanmar

Commenting on the announcement by the Government of the Union of Myanmar on the Discontinuation of Assignment of the UNDP Resident Coordinator in Myanmar the MFA Spokesman said:

"Singapore is deeply disappointed to learn of the Myanmar government's decision to discontinue the assignment of the UNDP Resident Coordinator Charles James Petrie in Myanmar. This announcement has come at a most inopportune time, just before the arrival of UNSG Special Advisor Ibrahim Gambari. It also sends an inconsistent message about Myanmar's willingness to continue engaging the UN in improving its domestic political and socio-economic situation.

Singapore urges the Myanmar government to continue keeping up its engagement with the UNDP and UNSG Good Offices, as they offer hope for Myanmar to resolve key socio-economic problems, and to work towards peaceful national reconciliation with all groups in the country."

It’s time to consider how to bring the brutal generals to justice

By Bertil Lintner
November 1, 2007 -The Irrawaddy

It’s time to consider how to bring the brutal generals to justice

Nothing galvanized the Burmese nation against its colonial masters more than a proclamation in 1917 saying that British officials would not have to remove their shoes when entering Buddhist temples, pagodas and monasteries.

It may sound strange to Westerners that this caused such an outcry, but, to the Burmese, it was the ultimate insult against their religion. The “Shoe Issue” dominated nationalist agitation in the 1920s, and it marked the beginning of the end of colonial rule in Burma.

Today, history is repeating itself, but in a much more brutal way. During the recent crackdown on the Buddhist clergy, heavily armed Burmese government soldiers not only tramped into sacred places of worship with their army boots on, but they also stole gold objects, televisions, mobile phones, fans and other items from the monasteries.

Monks were beaten, arrested and some were even killed. The army’s stampede into the monasteries should be seen as the beginning of the end of military rule in Burma.

But the question is, how will military rule end and a democratic order replace it? Certainly not through some kind of “dialogue” with junta leader Than Shwe and his coterie of thugs, who have shown time and again that they are willing to do anything to cling on to power, even desecrating the country’s holiest institution.

“Dialogue” followed by “national reconciliation” are popular buzz words with the NGO community, and with the donors on which they depend. But, under present circumstances, such a scenario is totally unrealistic. Worse, it is playing into the hands of the junta, as it gives it the benefit of the doubt.

For, as Kyaw Zwa Moe pointed out in an online commentary carried by The Irrawaddy on October 9, after the crackdown, “It’s game time again for the generals.” Having killed lots of people, the junta’s standard tactic is to throw out some bait to the international community to keep them guessing—and criticism at bay.

This time it is the appointment of a deputy labor minister Maj-Gen Aung Kyi to “liaise” with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. It would be a serious mistake to see this as a “concession”; the junta is just buying time by making some foreign observers believe that progress is in motion.

At the same time, the junta is showing its intransigence by rebuffing resolutions by the UN Security Council and clinging to its own “roadmap” to “disciplined democracy,” a euphemism for continued military rule. At home, the generals have organized “mass rallies” in support of themselves.

A Canadian friend, Bradford Duplisea, sent me an e-mail after reading about this soi-disant “spontaneous outburst” of pro-junta sentiment: “While reading the most recent news from Burma, I remembered this quote from George Orwell’s 1984: ‘All over Oceania this morning there were irrepressible spontaneous demonstrations when workers marched out of the factories and offices and paraded through the streets with banners voicing their gratitude to Big Brother for the new, happy life his wise leadership has bestowed upon us’.”

Clearly, Burma’s Big Brother is no more likely than “Oceania’s” to listen to reason; it will just go on as before, whipping people into line, with brute force, if necessary.
Thus, the recent crackdown on the monks and others should also give Western—and Asian—proponents of “engagement” with the so-called State Peace and Development Council something to think about.

Among the most vocal of those advocates is Robert Taylor, who, in an essay in the 2004 National Bureau of Asian Research report, “Reconciling Burma/Myanmar,” suggested that the junta would be a good partner for the US in its war against terror. Another advocate of “engagement,” Morten Pedersen, a Dane who in his recent book, “Promoting Human Rights in Burma: a Critique of Western Sanctions Policy,” asserts that the best way to promote human rights in Burma is to cozy up to the generals.

Even more bizarrely, when monks and others were being killed and arrested in Rangoon, the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, a German foundation, organized a Burma tour, in which, according to The New Light of Myanmar of October 7, “thirteen scholars with two from the European Union and the European Parliament” took part. The FES delegation visited a showcase “drug eradication project” in a remote corner of northeastern Burma, where, the paper said, they were received by “U Phon Kyar Shin,” who, in fact, is Peng Jiasheng, one of Burma’s most notorious drug lords.

Clearly, a more enlightened approach is needed, and the time has come to explore the possibilities of bringing the top leadership of the present junta to international justice.
Presently, there is only one international institution that can deal with crimes against humanity: the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands. But there are other ways as well. The Serbian dictator Slobodan Milosevic, for instance, was tried by a special UN-initiated International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. The UN Security Council also set up a special court to try the perpetrators of genocide in Rwanda. In Cambodia, another special court is now trying some of the leaders of the Khmer Rouge, who are being held responsible for crimes against humanity when they were in power from 1975 to 1979.

The ICC was established in 2002 as a permanent tribunal to prosecute individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. The ICC should not be confused with the International Court of Justice, usually called the World Court, which is also based in The Hague and is the United Nations’ organ that settles disputes between nations, such as the 1962 settlement of the question of Thai or Cambodian ownership of the Preah Vihear temple complex.

Although crucial states such as China, India and the United States have not joined the ICC, it has managed to open investigations into four cases: Northern Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Central African Republic, and Darfur in Sudan. To date, the ICC has issued eight arrest warrants and two suspects, Congolese warlords, are in custody, awaiting trial.

The ICC’s Office of the Prosecutor acts independently and is empowered to open an investigation under three circumstances:
* When a situation is referred to the office by a state party;
* When a situation is referred by the UN Security Council, acting to address a threat to international peace and security;
* When the Court’s Pre-Trial Chamber authorizes the Prosecutor’s Office to open an investigation on the basis of information received from other sources, such as individuals or NGOs.

The problem here is that, if the UN Security Council determined that the crimes committed by Burma’s ruling junta did pose a threat to international peace and security, permanent members China and Russia could veto such a resolution. Nevertheless, it is necessary for the discussion to move away from repeating the “dialogue” mantra, and to involve experts on international law to examine the possibilities of seeking justice for the victims of Burma’s present junta.

A campaign to bring the top leaders of the junta before the ICC or some other international judicial body would send a clear signal to other Burmese officers that the behavior of the Burmese army is unacceptable. It could also encourage those other officers to realize that it is pointless to continue to support an atavistic and anachronistic regime, which has no future. Then, a dialogue might eventually be possible, not with the incorrigible junta stalwarts, but with more reasonable army officers.

A main problem that Burma will have to face when the present regime collapses is that the civilian opposition does not have adequate capacity to fill the ensuing power vacuum. Burma has not had a truly civilian government since 1962 and lacks people with administrative skills and experience. For 45 years, Burma has had no power centers other than the military, and civil society has been almost totally suppressed, so a transition to civilian rule is not going to be easy.

However, Than Shwe and his closest associates are not going to give up power voluntarily, or negotiate away their power and privileges—and street demonstrations are not enough to oust their regime.

Burma’s only hope is a meeting of minds between elements of the armed forces and the pro-democracy movement. Together, they may be able to hold the country together when the junta falls. But first those alternative military elements have to be identified in order to isolate the top leadership.

Involving international judicial expertise could be the first step forward, but that should not be seen merely as a tactical maneuver. Those responsible for the carnage in Rangoon and elsewhere must be held accountable for what they have done, and it is only reasonable that the victims of their brutal rule are demanding justice.

As with a dialogue, national reconciliation can be achieved between more moderate elements of the armed forces and the population at large. But not with Than Shwe and his cronies.

Playing God in Burma (Commentary)

Mizzima News:
By May ng

But in reality, during the last 25 years, in places like Cambodia, Uganda, and Rwanda, the international community has failed to stop massive human rights violations, including genocide. This time, the U.N. should take immediate action for a change, to stop the Myanmar regime from continuing their crimes against humanity in Burma............................

But the days of China playing God in Burma may hit their limit. Warren Buffett, until then together with the Chinese government the largest stake holder of Petro China, sold most of his shares on September 30, publicly claiming to take profit, while the stock and oil prices were still going up. Petro China is the publicly listed division of the China National Petroleum Co., which had come under harsh criticism for doing business with the repressive government of Sudan first, and now also for doing business with the Myanmar military government.

Previously, Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway Inc. had sold a small stake in the Chinese oil company a few days before July 31, when the United Nations passed a groundbreaking resolution. The agreement, brokered largely with the support of China, authorizes a U.N. peacekeeping force of 26,000 to police Darfur.

Burmese monks are peaceful and have no way of resisting the government's aggression. But the time for China to face its own devil may be coming.

(May Ng is from the Southern Shan State of Burma and a regional officer for Justice for Human Rights in Burma.)


Read More: Click title

Junta expels top UN official

The junta ruling Myanmar has ordered the expulsion of Charles Petrie, the top United Nations diplomat stationed in the country, United Nations officials said Friday.

The move comes on the eve of a visit by the United Nations special envoy to Myanmar, Ibrahim Gambari, whose six-day trip is intended to support reconciliation between the junta and its opponents. Aye Win, the United Nations spokesman in Myanmar, said Gambari's visit would proceed as scheduled.

Petrie, the United Nations humanitarian coordinator, was told to leave the country because of a critical statement issued recently by his office, said Hak-Fan Lau, a United Nations spokesman in Bangkok.

The statement, sent out Oct. 24, urged the government to listen to dissenting voices in Myanmar and warned of a "deteriorating humanitarian situation."

It concluded with a reference to the mass protests that were brutally suppressed. "The concerns of the people have been clearly expressed through the recent peaceful demonstrations, and it is beholden on all to listen," the statement said.

On Oct. 25, Myanmar's Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a protest note, saying the United Nations statement was "unprecedented" and "very negative" and complained that Myanmar officials were not notified in advance of its publication.

Petrie traveled to Naypyidaw, the Burmese capital, this morning to see government officials and was handed a letter as he was leaving their meeting.

The letter accused Petrie of "acting beyond his capacity in issuing the statement."

"The government of the Union of Myanmar does not want Petrie to continue to serve in Myanmar, especially at this time when the cooperation between Myanmar and the United Nations is crucial," the letter said.

Reached by telephone in Yangon, Petrie said he could not comment before discussing the matter with Gambari, who is arriving late Saturday.

Before any statement can be made there needs to be consultation within the United Nations to gauge the implication for Gambari's mission," Petrie said. In an interview on Thursday, before the expulsion was announced, Petrie said he drafted the statement to "help trigger dialog and consultation on the underlying causes for poverty."

"Many of the issues that were raised over the last two months by monks and others were exactly the same issues that we have been trying to raise for the last four to five years," Petrie said.

Link: http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/11/02/asia/03myanmar.php

Red Cross asks for access to detainees in Myanmar

GENEVA (Reuters) - The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) renewed its appeal on Thursday for access to people detained in Myanmar after the junta crushed a pro-democracy uprising.

Dozens of families had approached the humanitarian agency seeking to contact relatives missing since arrests in August and September, it said.

"Although the government has announced the release of hundreds of detainees over the past few weeks, the fate and whereabouts of those still detained in relation with the recent events remain unclear," Pierre Kraehenbuehl, ICRC director of operations, said in a statement.

The situation was a great source of anxiety for many families, he said in his second public appeal in two weeks.

The junta says nearly 3,000 people, including Buddhist monks, were arrested, although all but a few hundred have now been released.

Official media say 10 people were killed when soldiers cleared protesters from the streets of Yangon and other cities, but Western governments say the toll was probably far higher.

The Swiss-based ICRC wants to be allowed to talk to prisoners in private and make repeat visits to follow up on its confidential recommendations.

Until late 2005, the ICRC regularly visited all prisons and labor camps in Myanmar, but it says it has not been able to visit any political prisoners since then because the authorities would not allow private interviews.

In June, the ICRC accused the junta of serious violations against civilians and prisoners, including forcing them to serve as army porters walking ahead of soldiers through minefields.

Read More: Click Title

China's So-Called Internal Affair