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Snake strangulation an accident
Lawyer: Snake strangulation an accident
Wed, Jul 13, 2011 - WFTS-Tampa 1:23 | 17 views
Testimony is under way in the trial of a Sumter County couple whose Burmese python attacked and killed a 2-year-old girl.
Myanmar's Suu Kyi to attend hero father's memorial
Suu Kyi's father Gen. Aung San is an independence hero who was assassinated in 1947.
Suu Kyi has spent much of the last decade detained by authorities in the repressive nation. She was freed from house arrest in November.
Her spokesman Han Thar Myint told reporters Monday the government had invited her to attend Tuesday's ceremony at a mausoleum near the famous Shwedagon pagoda in Myanmar's main city Yangon.
The ceremony's scope has gradually been downgraded since Suu Kyi rose to prominence in a 1988 pro-democracy uprising that was crushed by the junta.
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2011/07/17/international/i211259D36.DTL#ixzz1SXvVCPbC
Burmese army's licence to rape is region's shame
In 1989, following the collapse of the Communist Party of Burma (CPB), a number of armed ethnic armies entered into a series of ceasefire agreements with Rangoon. The fighting stopped, to a degree, but deep down nobody believed it would last. It was just a matter of time before the various groups resumed fighting.
For more than two decades, the so-called peace deals rested on shaky ground with little effort to resolve differences and allow them to integrate into Burmese society and administration. The ethnic armies held their turf, running special administrative areas with a high degree of autonomy. Some entered into the lucrative drug trade. Others went into logging and gems.
The ceasefire deals were the work of former security tsar General Khin Nyunt in the years following the bloody crackdown on huge nationwide pro-democracy demonstrations in 1988. But with the regime intelligence chief ousted and put under house arrest in October 2004, things haven't been the same. Hardliners in junta were determined to disband the ethnic armies and put them under the command of the country's notorious army, locally known as the Tatmadaw.
Other groups who refused to come into the "legal fold", such as the Karen National Union, continued their armed struggle. Gross human rights violations have been committed for many years as the Tatmadaw classed civilians in areas where rebel forces were active as allies of enemy fighters. Rangoon intentionally uprooted and attacked civilians in a bid to deny rebel groups any form of support. This tactic, part of the notorious 'Four Cuts' policy, displaced hundreds of thousands of villagers, many of whom made their way to refugee camps dotted along the Thai-Burma border. But the Tatmadaw didn't stop there. Rape was has long been employed as part of their ugly tactics to demoralise ethnic armies and the local population.
A hard-hitting report released in 2002 by the Shan Women's Action Network (SWAN) - 'A Licence to Rape' - outlined in great detail the use of such a despicable ploy. International organisations and foreign governments looked into the allegations and confirmed the practice really was occurring. That was nine years ago. The junta denied it - as they do with virtually every accusation - but things appear to have hardly changed over the past decade.
Today, with a number of former ceasefire groups facing the guns of the Burmese military, the use of rape has extended to women from these ethnic communities as well. At this moment, the northern part of Shan State is the centre of attention. The area is of "crucial strategic importance for Burma's military rulers, who are seeking to secure it for major Chinese investments, including hydropower dams and transnational gas and oil pipelines," according to a recent statement released by SWAN and the Shan Human Rights Foundation (SHRF).
"Foreign governments dealing with Burma should not be silent about these atrocities. 'Business as usual' means ongoing rape in our communities," SWAN's Hseng Moon said. The latest report about rapes in Shan State comes only weeks after the Kachin Women's Association Thailand denounced the rape of 18 women and girls during renewed fighting last month in Kachin State in the far north.
Rape brings stigma, shame, and reluctance on the part of victims to speak out about what happened to them. But an increasing number of women and girls from Burma - the ones that survived - have begun to tell of their experiences of rape and other forms of sexual violence in the country's war-torn areas. Burmese Army deserters confirm that rapes occur regularly and usually go unpunished. The UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women has published material that corroborates details in 'A Licence to Rape' and adds many new cases.
Nevertheless, years on, a UN investigation has yet to take place, because the military junta refuses to grant the UN access to the country. Incidents of rape continue to be reported, and the Burmese military must surely know what is happening. But the junta engages in Orwellian double-speak. It has rejected the reports, instead launching its own investigations, which are conducted in such a manner one can hardly have confidence in their credibility.
While the United Nations and a number of Western countries have spoken out against the use of rape in Burma's military campaigns, members of the Asean community have been conspicuously quiet.
In 2000, the UN Security Council recognised that gender-based violence thwarts security and adopted Resolution 1325, which calls on parties in conflict to respect the rights of women and children, and particularly to prevent gender-based violence. In 2004, Asean governments vowed to end the impunity states like Burma have enjoyed and signed the Declaration to Eliminate Violence Against Women in this region. But these resolutions won't mean much unless action is taken.
Burma refuses to live up to the standards of decency that Asean has set for itself. That says a lot about its government and its military. But what about Asean countries and the organisation itself? Surely more can be done. Sadly, there seems to be little political will to do anything about ongoing atrocities in Burma. Asean needs to act, because its credibility erodes every day that nothing is done.
Burma veteran's medals given to Stirling Castle museum
The family of a soldier who survived three years of forced labour on the Burma Railway have donated his medals to his regimental museum.
Kenneth McLeod, from Bridge of Weir, died in March this year, aged 92.He was captured by the Japanese during World War II and endured injury, severe conditions and the threat of execution.
Mr McLeod's family are donating his war medals, Glengarry bonnet and sporran to the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders Museum at Stirling Castle.
The former soldier was based at Stirling Castle more than 70 years ago.
He was sent with the Argylls for training in jungle warfare in Malaya and was there when Imperial Japanese forces landed unexpectedly.
He fought with the 2nd Battalion at the Battle of Slim River but was cut off and stranded behind enemy lines and eventually captured.
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End Quote Moira Johnston Kenneth McLeod's daughterWe would hear the funny stories from the army but not much about anything else. He kept those experiences to himself”
After recovering from paralysis brought on by poisoning he joined forced labour groups used for the construction of the Burma Railway and the bridge over the River Kwai.
Mr McLeod had volunteered to go to Siam rather than return to Singapore with wounded prisoners, but sabotaged his own work by farming termite eggs which he placed on joints and uprights.
His hand had also been badly injured but he continued laying rails and using a sledgehammer to chisel rock for blasting cuttings through the hillsides.
After the railway was completed the Japanese segregated Mr McLeod and the other Allied officers from the enlisted men.
He later discovered they were all to be executed but the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, forcing the Japanese surrender and the end of the war, is believed to have saved his life by 48 hours.
His daughter, Moira Johnston, said: "The army was a huge part of his life and I think it's appropriate that his medals, Glengarry and sporran are going to the regimental museum at Stirling Castle.
"As children we would hear the funny stories from the army but not much about anything else. He kept those experiences to himself."
Burma deserves ‘Commission of Inquiry’ than ASEAN’s chair
In 2004 August, activists in ASEAN area launched an international campaign calling for Burma to be disqualified from chairing the regional bloc in 2006, saying it would affects the grouping’s credibility and reputation.
At that time, a delegation led by Dr Gothom Ariya, the then secretary-general of the Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (Forum-Asia) presented Thai Foreign Ministry officials an open letter with signatures by organizations from the region, East Asia, Europe and North America. Copies of the letter addressed to respective ASEAN governments were delivered by a group of activists to member nations’ embassies in Bangkok.
The Then activists spotlighted the ASEAN diplomats in Bangkok especially about a vital report – ‘A Licence to Rape’ – released in 2002 by the Shan Women’s Action Network (SWAN). It described thoroughly the use of rape or shameful maneuver by the Burmese soldiers. The accusations were scrutinized and confirmed International organizations and foreign governments that using rape as weapon really was taking place. As the report exposed concrete evidences, the junta’s denial of it was in vain.
Moreover, the activists also explained about the most atrocious chapter of contemporary Burmese history or the latest assassination attempt by the Burmese military junta on the pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi – leader of the National League of Democracy (NLD) and her entourage at Dapeyin on 30 May 2003. Burmese troops and government sponsored goons and thugs attacked the NLD motorcade led by Aung San Suu Kyi who fortunately survived with injuries, subsequently arrested and put under house arrest.
The officials from the U.S. Embassy in Rangoon visited the site of the May 30 violent attack on Aung San Suu Kyi and her supporters and told that there was a premeditated ambush on the Lady’s motorcade. Circumstances and reports from local residents around Dapeyin indicated that the regime-backed thugs conducted the attack.
As a result, Burma lost its opportunity of becoming chairman of the ASEAN in 2006 due to tough international disapproval.
Now, another chance for Burma comes out again in 2014. Senior diplomats of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are likely to think about international opinion when they decide on whether to allow Burma to chair the regional grouping by 2014.
“We live, interact, synergize and benefit from our relationship with the (rest of the) world. Certainly we will be open to hear their sentiments,” Dr. Surin Pitsuwan, ASEAN secretary-general, told reporters Jakarta on 13 July, according to Ria Rose Uro (Interaksyon.com).
He emphasized that “ASEAN is where it is (today) because of the goodwill of dialogue partners.”
The secretary-general is attending the ministerial meetings which will run from July 15 to 23. Consideration of the matter is with the foreign ministers meeting (FMM).
Earlier, Indonesian parliamentarian Eva Kusuma Sundari, president of the ASEAN Inter-parliamentary Caucus on Myanmar (AIPMC), warned about the potential backlash from Western governments should Burma (Myanmar) take over ASEAN’s chairmanship.
Sundari said that based on their interactions with government officials in Australia, the United States (US) and the European Union (EU), the would-be impact “will not be good for ASEAN as a whole.”
“You cannot help it. These governments still look at Aung San Suu Kyi as the icon of democracy in Myanmar,” she stressed.
However, most important point to put into consideration for Burma is no other than its human rights record.
Human Rights Watch pointed out in its 6 May Statement that Burma has failed to address concerns repeatedly raised by ASEAN leaders in past summits.
“Rewarding Burma with ASEAN’s chairmanship after it staged sham elections and still holds 2,000 political prisoners would be an embarrassment for the region,” said Elaine Pearson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch.
The Kachin Women’s Association Thailand (KWAT) released a press statement on 21 June denouncing the Burmese government’s armed forces for using use of rape as a weapon of war in northern Burma offensive. According to the press release, at least 18 women and girls were gang raped by Burmese soldiers; four of whom were killed after being raped. The soldiers killed three girls and raped a woman in front of her husband, who was then forced to work for them. In frontline areas, Burmese soldiers are committing crimes freely as there are no effective or appropriate penalties in place by senior authorities.
A press release has been delivered 14 July by the Shan Women’s Action Network (SWAN) and the Shan Human Rights Foundation (SHRF) condemning Burma Army of using rape as war weapon. The Burma Army is clearly authorizing rape as a terror policy in its offensive against the Shan State Army-North (SSA-N), according to information documented by SWAN and SHRF.
In such a situation, ASEAN must think very cautiously to accept Burma at its chair so as to avoid the grouping’s ethical standard. It will be better for ASEAN to support a UN-led ‘Commission of Inquiry’ into longstanding allegations of violations of international humanitarian and human rights law in Burma.
Burma refugee says he was a killer
The man, Htoo Htoo Han, told The Age yesterday he can no longer keep his past a secret and has begged for forgiveness from the families of his victims.
''I want to apologise to the people of Burma,'' he said. ''I want to say sorry for what I've done, please forgive me for what I did, for the people who will never come home.
''I have achieved a lot in Australia, I've become an artist, been involved in global justice issues, environmental issues. I'm a changed person.
''So I became very guilty about something I did when I was very young. I have nightmares, I couldn't sleep, I struggle with this nightmare for a very long time. Sooner or later, the truth will come out.''
Mr Han - an Australian citizen who has married and has three young children - has been a prominent figure in the Burmese refugee community in Australia, which was yesterday reeling in the wake of the 44-year-old artist's claims, originally reported by Australian Associated Press.
Mr Han told The Age yesterday he could not remember exactly how many people he had ''destroyed'' while working undercover for the military intelligence service in the wake of the anti-regime uprising in 1988. It is impossible to verify Mr Han's claims, but he provided The Age with a list of 24 people aged between 18 and 48 he claims to have murdered, along with the locations in which the killings took place and descriptions such as ''student'', ''Islam'' and ''Burmese Communist Party''. He said the actual number of people he killed was greater.
A spokesman for Attorney-General Robert McClelland described the claims as ''extremely serious'' and said they would be referred to the AFP for ''assessment''.
''Australia has a strong framework in place for protecting the Australian community from the perpetrators of war crimes and for ensuring their proper investigation and prosecution,'' the spokesman said.
Opposition foreign affairs spokeswoman Julie Bishop last night called for Mr Han's claims to be referred to the International Criminal Court for investigation.
Mr Han said that as a young army officer, he was ordered to infiltrate the student opposition movement. He then identified targets for assassination and arranged for them to be arrested by security services.
He said he would then put a hood over their heads and shoot them in the back of the head. Their bodies were taken to a cave to be burned and their ashes thrown into a river, leaving no evidence of the executions.
Mr Han said he spared many of his intended victims because of their age, or because he knew them or their families.
He said he was later imprisoned in Burma in order to spy on opposition members in jail, before travelling to Thailand in 1993 and infiltrating the Burmese student movement in exile. He arrived in Australia in 1996 and was eventually given citizenship.
Burmese community members were in shock yesterday over Mr Han's claims.
Prominent Burmese dissident Dr Myint Cho said he found it difficult to believe Mr Han was capable of what he claimed to have done.
''To be frank, Htoo Htoo Han is unlikely to be a war criminal,'' Dr Cho said.
Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/national/burma-refugee-says-he-was-a-killer-20110718-1hlpy.html#ixzz1SXrv1I38
Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/national/burma-refugee-says-he-was-a-killer-20110718-1hlpy.html#ixzz1SXrcfmbo
Myanmar to dredge major river, improve navigation
The Weekly Eleven News reported Thursday that sediment in the river has narrowed sections of it to just 30 yards (meters), down from several miles (kilometers) wide.
Chinese technicians hoping to win the contract have begun to survey the 1,300-mile- (2,100 kilometer-) long river, The Myanmar Times reported.
China's Tianjin Dredging has already won a contract to open up part of the Yangon river, a smaller waterway that leads to the country's most important port. Yangon port handles about 90 percent of Myanmar's shipping cargo.
That project will enable a 39,000-ton vessel to dock at Yangon, up from 17,000 tons.
Earthquake topples buildings in southwestern China near Myanmar, 24 dead, 207 hurt
China - An earthquake toppled houses and damaged a hotel and supermarket in China's extreme southwest near the border with Myanmar on Thursday, killing at least 22 people and injuring more than 200, officials and state media said.
Photos from the scene showed buildings that buckled, crushing their lower floors. Police, firefighters and soldiers rushed to the area to pull out people trapped in the rubble, including a man and girl stuck in the stairwell of a four-story building, according to state broadcaster China Central Television.
One sidewalk was lined with injured people, lyingon blankets and being shielded from the sun by large vendor umbrellas.
The quake hit while many people, including students, were home for a customary midday rest, the broadcaster said. In addition to the 22 killed, 201 people have been injured, it said. The report said at least two students were among those killed but didn't give details.
The website of the Chinese government earthquake monitoring station said the magnitude-5.8 quake was centred on Yunnan province's Yingjiang county and struck just before 1 p.m. (0500 GMT) at a depth of six miles (10 kilometres). The U.S. Geological Survey measured the quake at a magnitude of 5.4 and at a deeper 21 miles (35 kilometres).
Tremors continued to be felt in the area throughout the afternoon and evening, according to CCTV reporter Shu Qian, who was at the disaster scene in Yingjiang County.
The quake's epicenter was in Shiming Village, just over a mile (two kilometres) from the county seat, but triggered a power outage across Yingjiang, which has a population of about 300,000 people, Xinhua said.
By evening, the power supply was still cut off, though water and communications didn't appear to be damaged, Shu said.
An official on duty at the quake monitoring centre, Gao Shaotang, said many houses had been destroyed. Xinhua said the army was sending 400 soldiers to the site for rescue efforts.
A government team that includes the Civil Affairs Ministry has also been dispatched to the quake-stricken area, CCTV said. About 5,000 tents, 10,000 quilts and 10,000 coats are also being sent from the central government.
The mountainous area lies 1,500 miles (2,400 kilometres) southwest of Beijing, close to the border with Myanmar, and is home to many ethnic groups on both sides of the border, which sees heavy traffic in people and goods.
Xinhua said the quake-prone region has been hit by more than 1,000 minor tremors over the past two months.
The Myanmar Meteorological Department released a statement saying a quake had hit some 230 miles (370 kilometres) northeast of Mandalay, the country's second-largest city.
The statement did not mention injuries, damage or the specific area of Myanmar most affected by the quake. Authorities in the tightly ruled country tend not to immediately discuss the effects of natural disasters.
Much of the area on the Myanmar side been under the control of various armed ethnic groups, who have battled the Myanmar military to remain free from central government control.
