In earlier news, Aung San Suu Kyi has also a plan visiting Geneva to speak to an international labor conference on June 14. In addition, Suu Kyi will give a speech in Oslo next month to accept the Nobel Peace Prize she was awarded in 1991, the Nobel Committee said on 21 May as stated by The Telegaph news.

“She will give the lecture on June 16 at 1:00pm (1100 GMT) at the Oslo city hall,” committee spokesman Sigrid Langebrekke told AFP, adding that Suu Kyi should arrive in the Norwegian capital on June 15.

Burma’s Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi (2 May 2012). Photo / AP

She will also spend a week in Britain from June 18, where she lived and studied, during which she will deliver a speech to both houses of parliament.

Last month, the National League for Democracy (NLD) led by Suu Kyi turned down to be present at re-opening of Burma’s parliamentary session on 23 April due to a row over the oath of office for members of parliament. The NLD’s Chairperson Aung San Suu Kyi was together with 42 parliamentarians, elected from her National League for Democracy (NLD) party in April by-elections. The NLD’s MPs want to take an oath using the word “respect”, rather than the wording of “safeguard” the constitution, which they state is undemocratic.

But later, Aung San Suu Kyi made a courageous verdict to take oath in the parliament on 2 May. It is an optimistic moment for many citizens who wait for the emergence of democratic system in their country. Burma opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her party pronounced to attend parliament by taking an oath to protect the constitution even though there is a dissimilar opinion about choice of words.

Suu Kyi and her group took oath in front of lower house speaker Shwe Mann on 2 May. The 66-year-old Burma’s Nobel laureate stood to read the parliamentary oath in harmony with 33 other members of her National League for Democracy party who were elected to the lower house in April by-election.

According to Suu Kyi, it was not backing down on the issue. In doing politics, there may be an issue of give and take, she told reporters in Yangon, on 30 April. She said that it was not an act of giving up but it could say showing respects to the desire of the people.

In 1988, she had returned to home temporarily to look after her ailing mother. But, she was unexpectedly caught up in the country’s democracy protest. Her risky choice to travel outside the country follows a year of exterior change in Burma after just about a quarter century of her return trip to her dying mother.

She turned down to leave the country during under house-arrest occasions. She even refused to visit her dying husband Michael Aris, a British citizen. During her free periods, fearing of not being permitted to return to Burma, she abandoned to go oversea trips. Michael Aris passed away with prostate cancer in 1999.

Although she has said previously that she would make Norway her first stop, Suu Kyi has to adjust her foreign trips starting with ‘World economic forum on East Asia 2012’ in Bangkok.

According to a Reuters News, Suu Kyi had accepted an invitation to be present at the World Economic Forum on East Asia in Bangkok next week, referring an official of her party. The NLD spokesman Nyan Win said Suu Kyi would head to neighboring Thailand on Monday (28 May).

The 66-year-old Nobel laureate had been under house-arrest for much of the last twenty year confined in her lakeside residence by previous military junta run by Sen. Gen. Than Shwe. Now, President Thein Sein quasi-civilian government has issued a passport to Burma’s Nobel laureate. As a result, she is up to travel out of the country for the first time in 24 years.

A gang of bandit-like  Burmese soldiers tortured a 48-year-old Kachin woman and then gang-raped for three days in her village church northwest of Pang Wa (Pangwa) beginning May 1, according to KWAT, citing interviews with the victim and a local villager who was forced to watch the assault.

Unarmed Kachin civilians are increasingly under attack from Burmese armed forces in retaliation for their fallen soldiers during fighting with the Kachin Independence Organization and its military wing the KIA. Daily accounts of Burmese army burning down villages, raping Kachin women, bombing innocent natives and arresting and torturing local residents are reported from local sources, KNG said.

According to KWAT a group of around 10 soldiers hit the victim with rifle butts, stabbed her with knives, stripped her naked and then gang-raped her over a period of three days in the church. The troops involved are said to be from Light Infantry Battalion 347 and Infantry Battalion 118.

KWAT says that Yu Ta Gwi, a 59-year-old man who also was tied up and apprehended by the soldiers, witnessed the brutal rape incident.  When the troops left the church on May 4, local villagers found Yu Ta Gwi and the rape victim semi-conscious in the compound. Both Yu Ta Gwi and the unnamed women were taken to a local hospital.

Yu Ta Gwi added that he was stabbed in his thigh and beaten until he collapsed and lost consciousness, according to Kachinland News.

The woman suffered psychological trauma following torture and rape. Ngwa Sa, her husband, said in tears, “she doesn’t reply to me anymore, only talk about going home and I feel very sad.”

The 48-year-old mother was left extremely traumatized by the violence and remains in an extremely fragile condition, according to KWAT.

It is very unlikely that any of the soldiers involved in the rape will be formally investigated for their actions. Burma’s newly created national human rights commission has said that it will not probe allegations against the army or other incidents that are reported to have happened in conflict areas.

Last year, similar gang-rape violence committed by Burmese soldiers also occurred. The victim, Sumlut Roi Ja, a Kachin village-woman had been seen last in October while being detained by Burmese troops near Mai Ja Yang.

Earlier this year the husband of lost victim filed a lawsuit against the soldiers with the intention of pressuring the army to reveal the destiny of his wife.  As there is no rule of law, the military-dominated Supreme Court in Naypyidaw had thrown out the case of a citizen who suffered rape and abduction by its soldiers. The law does not protect citizens; instead it defends the vicious soldiers who commit gang-rape.

In a press release issued last week highlighting the recent rape case, a KWAT spokesperson suggested that the Burmese legal system’s refusal to probe the Sumlut Roi Ja abduction case gave the army a green light to continue to target ethnic women. The message from the Naypyidaw Supreme Court is clear: the Burmese military can rape and kill ethnic women with impunity, said KWAT director Moon Nay Li.

According to Kachinland News , KIO Chairman Lanyaw Zawng Hra, KIO Central Committee, called on UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to send UN observer teams or intermediary teams to the conflict war zones, and to the towns and villages destroyed by the Burmese Army, and to the IDP camps in KIO areas.

As the Burmese army’s offensive continues grave human rights violations have reached an alarming level and the humanitarian situation has deteriorated in Kachin and Shan States. These incidents are not random acts of violence, said KWAT spokesperson Shirley Seng last year. The Burma Army is committing gang-rape and killing on a wide scale. It is clear they are acting under orders, Shirley Seng said.

KWAT demands that the regime immediately stops using rape as a weapon of war, ends the offensive against Kachin and other ethnic groups, and withdraws its troops from the ethnic areas.

A Kachin soldier mans a frontline position, facing off against Myanmar government troops about 15 kilometers (9 miles) from the headquarters of the Kachin Independence Organization, in Laiza, the area controlled by the Kachin in northern Myanmar. Pic: AP

During Ban Ki Moon’s recent visit to Rangoon and Nay Pyi Taw, the Secretary General asked all parties involved in the Kachin conflict to cease offensives and to find a peaceful resolution. However, the Burmese government did not care about the UN top envoy’s words. Ban’s three-day trip to Burma, which began April 29, coincided with the Burmese army escalating its offensive against KIO’s locations in Kachin state, especially around the rebels’ Laiza headquarters.

According to the Human Rights Watch 83-page report “‘Untold Miseries’: Wartime Abuses and Forced Displacement in Burma’s Kachin State,” the Burmese army has cruelly attacked Kachin villages, razed homes, pillaged properties, and forced the displacement of tens of thousands of people. Soldiers have threatened and tortured civilians during interrogations and raped women. The army has also used antipersonnel mines and conscripted forced laborers, including children as young as 14, on the front lines.

HRW also said in the report, which was released on 20 March, that the Burmese government has committed serious abuses and blocked humanitarian aid to tens of thousands of displaced civilians since June 2011, in fighting in Burma’s northern Kachin State. Some 75,000 ethnic Kachin displaced persons and refugees are in desperate need of food, medicine, and shelter, HRW said.

At a press conference in Washington on Thursday following her meeting with Burma’s Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin, US secretary of State Hilary Clinton said the Obama administration is “concerned about violence in Kachin State in recent weeks”, KNG reported. She added “I was very pleased to hear about new mechanisms, both official and non-governmental, to encourage meaningful dialogue. And as I said, the government must do all it can do.”

On the contrary, heavy battles continued raging across Kachin land between the Kachin Independent Army and the Burmese government’s armed forces. KIA’s 10th Battalion under 1st Brigade has fought against the Burmese Army’s 382nd LIR between Hpare village and Wa Chyawn village on May 14. KIA sources say 10 Burmese soldiers were killed in action during this encounter, according to Kachinland News.

Heavy battles have been going on adjoining of Laja-yang and Nalung villages situated near Kachin administrative capital Laiza, Kachinland News (KLN) frontline sources reported. KIA’s HQ security forces and Burma Army’s soldiers from 388^th LIR under MOC (3) and Momauk-based 320^th LIR under MOC (21) had been fighting for the whole day on May 17.

It was said that the combined armed forces of KIA and All Burma Students’ Democratic Front (ABSDF- Northern) overrun strategic Burma Army post in Laja-yang on April 27. As their base has fallen under control of the KIA, Burmese soldiers moved to a nearby higher mountain. A series of fierce battles took place when more reinforcements came to give support to those soldiers left on the mountain.  Moreover Burmese soldiers attempted to recapture former post in Laja-yang area.

Burmese armed forces stationed at Hkangkai hill base reportedly fired several rounds of 105 mm shells to Na Lung and Laja Yang villages started 6 am on 17 May. Eyewitnesses in Laiza said that echoes of Burmese Army’s artillery fire could clearly hear from their places. Most artillery shells fell along the forest environs between Laja-yang and Laiza. Quoting the KIA sources, KLN reported that soldiers from ABSDF (North) joined them in this battle fought against Burmese armed forces.

Since fighting in areas close to Laiza began, the road between Laiza and Bahmo has temporarily been closed. Even though the sound of artillery firing was heard almost the whole day on 17 May, Laiza residents go on with their usual daily lives, a resident of Laiz told KLN.

If Thein Sein government has a genuine scheme of political reform all over the country, the first thing it must to do is to stop the war in Kachin state at any cost. Human Rights Watch called on the Burmese government to ask the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to establish an office in Burma with a standard protection, promotion, and technical assistance mandate.

Elaine Pearson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch, reminds towards the international community that the situation in Burma’s Kachin state is not at a point of satisfactory. People of Burma have to go for a long way, particularly those in conflict areas, to meet the benefit from recent reform promises of the current quasi-civilian government.

In fact, the government’s armed forces are behind war crimes and crimes against humanity. The human rights violations of Burmese soldiers in Kachin State are grave breaches of international laws. It is also the duty of the current government to provide humanitarian assistance to thousands of war refugees and internally displaced populations in various ethnic states.

How much time does Burma need to bring about national reconciliation, a transition to democracy and full respect for human rights? The cost of further postponement will be paid in thousands of innocent lives, lost opportunities and prolonged civil war. President Thein Sein should not drag his feet to end war in Kachin state and also should not hesitate honoring ethnic people’s self-determination.

Speaking at the respective meetings, Minister Kyaw Hsan said his ministry has been focusing on turning media into the proficient and reliable Fourth Estate under current transition period. Since the approval of the 2008 Constitution, the ministry has taken a series of press reforms under the new charter he said. Minister Kyaw Hsan said he believed that writers and journalists organizations long for the emergence of an authentic Fourth Estate, for which the Information Ministry has to work together with all the associations.

He also explained that his ministry is drafting print media law to systematically free the control over press.  So that journalists can do in harmony with that media law following its endorsement. According to Minister Kyaw Hsan , the works of fiction will be allowed to bring out under check-after-publish system within a few weeks.

As the law will include prescriptions on the topic of creation of press council, he said, the ministry will establish original Press Council first as a foundation to smooth the path when the law has come into existence. After the press council shaped, all kinds of publications will be allowed to publish under check-after-publish system and the press council will be responsible for all of such processes, Kyaw Hsan clarified.

Subsequently, participants of respective associations discussed in depth on objectives, future plans and progress of the associations concerned, followed by discussions on nomination of press council members, obligations and authority of the council, and enforcement of journalism ethics, the New Light of Myanmar newspaper said.

The discussants in the respective meetings were Tin Hlaing (Ledwintha Saw Chit) and Khin Maung Tun (Khin Maung Tun-Lanmadaw) from the preparation committee for formation of Myanmar Writers Association (MWA), Ko Ko (Ko Ko-Sethmu Tekkatho) and Khin Maung Lay (Phoe Thaukkyar) from the preparation committee for formation of Myanmar Journalists Association (MJA), Aye Aye Win (AP News Agency) from the Myanmar Journalists Union (MJU) and  Zaw Htaik from the Myanmar Journalist Network (MJN) correspondingly.

In his closing remarks, the Union Minister suggested overall consideration of SWOT  (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis of the past and objective conditions of the present as the most suitable solution, pledging for full cooperation by his ministry, the New Light of Myanmar newspaper said.

Burma remains among the 10 most censored nations in the world regardless of the move from a military regime to a quasi-civilian government, according to the Committee to Protect Journalist, which released their latest report in first week of May. CPJ highlights situation  of  Burma (Myanmar) as follow in its latest report.

How Censorship Works: Although Burma has transitioned from military to civilian government, released journalists among hundreds of political prisoners, and promised more reforms, its vast censorship structure remains in place. All privately run news publications in Burma are forced to publish weekly rather than daily due to stifling prepublication censorship requirements. The government’s Press Scrutiny and Registration Division (PSRD) censors news that could reflect poorly on the military or the government it backs, and imposes a complete blackout on reporting of the armed conflict with ethnic Kachin rebels in the remote north. The government dominates radio and television with a steady stream of propaganda. Laws bar the ownership of a computer without a license and ban the dissemination or posting of unauthorized materials over the Internet. Prison sentences have been used to punish reporters working for exile-run media groups. Regulations imposed in 2011 banned the use of flash drives and voice-over-Internet-protocol (VoIP) communication in Internet cafés. Local reporters with international agencies are subject to constant police surveillance; others only publish under pseudonyms to prevent possible reprisals. Foreign reporters are regularly denied journalist visas unless the government aims to showcase a state-sponsored event. Those discovered reporting on tourism visas are expelled.

Lowlight: In February 2012, the PSRD banned a commentary written by journalist Ludu Sein Win about a media conference where Ministry of Information officials discussed a proposed new media law that would allow more press freedom—including an end to prepublication censorship. Sein Win wrote tongue-in-cheek that those who attended the conference were “helping to make the rope to hang themselves.” The banned article was later published by the exile-run Irrawaddy.

The meeting was attended by Union ministers, Region and State Chief ministers, chairmen of self-administered divisions and government officials.

According to Vice-President Dr Sai Mauk Kham, effective reform strategy for development of the country would be discussed in the first session of the meeting. The Union ministers, Region and State Chief ministers, and chairmen of self-administered areas would discuss investment in the second session, e said. Those reforms – political reform, administration reform, economic reform, and social reform and so on – must be initiated fast and mindsets must be changed, he urged.

The Vice-President clarified about second phase of reform strategy yesterday was to implement the items that people wish for through pragmatic plans.  The respective ministers have to report drafted plans to the cabinet and seeking the President’s guidance for set up, he said.

There may be some sectors that need to be upgraded in ‘Development Plan’, he said. For example, on the topic of inhospitable relations between the public and the ministries, offices, and administrations in regions, states, townships and villages, ‘Public Administration Reform’ is needed, Dr Sai Mauk Kham underlined.

“We should think about Management System Development, Policy and Decision Making Process, Transparency Promotion and Good Governance, Organizational Structural Reform, Performance System Improvement, E-government Development, Establishing Public Service Ethics and Code of Conduct, and Integrated Development Plan in carrying out that reform so as to keep up with the international community,” Vice-President specified.

He also pointed out that the international community is making inquiries about investment prospects in Myanmar (Burma) and series of forums, seminars and business meetings are taking place. Yet, investors are having difficulties with different rules and laws of different departments of ministries, he said.

In conclusion, Vice President Dr Sai Mauk Kham said to consider how to initiate the reform process and how to initiate it by respective the ministries. Although there are offers from worldwide nations the country could not accept the offers as yet, he said.

Vice President even suggested lifting of unnecessary controlling practice concerning the management of foreign currency and recommended to welcome public criticism.

Although the government has been at office over one year, there are still things it cannot be implemented by the ministries, he mentioned. He clearly clarified that there were still many restrictions in the reform process. Although there were repeated discussions on reviewing weaknesses and strengths, there were still flaws. Though entrepreneurs were worked for profit, service personnel need to work with a sense of sacrifice, referring Dr Sai Mauk Kham’s discussion, the New Light of Myanmar newspaper reported.

At the same time, the country was under criticism due to its incompetent procedure for current reform. Although the poverty alleviation is one of its reform items, farmers and workers are in distress as their lands and properties have been unlawfully confiscated by the military, local authorities and cronies. As a result, unemployment problem has been seriously come forward and more than five millions of unemployed citizens have to leave the homeland in the hunt for jobs in neighboring countries.

Besides, the government is too reluctant to stop the ongoing civil war with its ethnic groups. Especially the war in Kachin state produces several thousands of IDPs and refugees along the Sino-Burma border. Without stopping such war against its own people, who will believe this government’s promise for change.

In addition, there are hundreds of political prisoners in the prisons of quasi-civilian government that guarantees the Western democracies for political reform including basic human rights warranty.

Most important case is that even though the government has repeatedly said to restore rule of law, its respective authorities, including the local administrators, judges and police, are still abusing the power without restraint. As a result, corruption is at large.

In such a moment, reform strategy of President and Vice-President may not be trusted by the majority people. As the military and its cronies are still above the law, the President’s reform strategy may not have chance to convince the average people who have no opportunity to enjoy even their basic citizen’s rights. It is too difficult for an ordinary citizen to have his proper national identity card without paying bribe to local authorities.

So, people are still suspicious as they cannot enjoy any taste of change within the grassroots. To gain the support of the grassroots, President Thein Sein government should initiate an anti-corruption operation among its most corrupted administrative officials as a good example.

Burma President Thein Sein, left, and Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung shake hands at the Government House during Tuesday, March 20, 2012 in Hanoi, Vietnam. Pic: AP

Vice-President Dr. Sai Mauk Kham, Deputy Speaker of Pyithu Hluttaw Nanda Kyaw Swa, Union ministers, region and state chief ministers, chairmen of self-administered zones, and officials also attended the meeting.

Vice President Tin Aung Myint Oo, who is said to be resigned from his position for health reasons, did not appear at the meeting. Other absentees were Upper House Speaker Khin Aung Myint, Deputy Speaker Mya Nyein, Lower House Speaker Thura Shwe Mann who are on overseas trip to Japan and Europe, respectively.

In his speech, President said that the new government has been undertaking a series of reforms covering national solidarity, prevalence of peace and stability, ensuring security of the people, enhancing the international cooperation and introduction of clean government and good governance in order to promote multiparty democratic system. In addition, he explained the importance of implementing the country-wise tasks that need reforms for improving the socio-economic status of the people as second-step strategic change.

Thein Sein also suggested the government officials make use of international financial aids in poverty reduction, human resource development and other development tasks in respective areas. The foreign supports have to be put under the proper management of the central committee, the work committee and region/state governments, he noted.

In order to fulfill those tasks, the Myanmar Socio-Economy Advisory Council has to be created, he said. As a result, social organizations and private sectors can help each other and submit proposals to the government. And social and economic organizations plus private sectors have to challenge ensuring the active participation of the people in the reform course, the President said.

After the investments, human resource development plays an important role in reform process, he said. Thus, the country needs to have skilled works at different levels in banking, hotel and tourism industry and other investment sectors. With this objective, Burma’s president has urged the millions of Burmese exiles who have been abroad for various reasons to come back home. He advised the exiles who were abroad include technicians, experts, businessmen and other careers to return.

In conclusion, the President said while carrying out reforms, the respective local-wise administrators must be polished to avoid corruption, bribery and unfriendly relations with the public.

The President made his conclusion by saying: “When it comes to the efforts for national economic development, it is needed to do business and make investment in line with the laws, rules and procedures without irregularities and to mobilize public cooperation without putting reliance on a handful of people alone. Only then, will the country be able to do good practices on a par with the international community,” the New Light of Myanmar reported.

According to some analysts, the President’s policy of good governance is still on the paper and grassroots people could not enjoy as yet. The privileged authorities and the cronies are as always above the law while workers and farmers have less benefit of equal rights in front of the law. For instance, the government fails to take action on its cronies and the military those confiscate lands and properties of workers and farmers without following the existing laws.

U4 Anti-Corruption Resource Centre highlights the corruption in Burma (Myanmar) as follow: “After more than four decades of military rule, political violence and systematic repression of democratic opposition, the country’s political and economic environment has continued to deteriorate in recent years. Myanmar faces major challenges of endemic corruption, consistently ranking at the bottom of TI’S Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI). Little is known on the specific forms and patterns of corruption in the country, but the scale of the informal and illicit economy suggests strong links between the ruling elite and organised crime activities, such as drugs and human trafficking, and illegal logging. In the absence of sound democratic institutions and an effective system of checks and balances, the legal and institutional frameworks against corruption appear rudimentary and likely to be misused by the junta for political reasons.”

The 2010 Corruption Perceptions Index, released annually by Transparency International, shows Burma (Myanmar) tied with Afghanistan as the world’s second-most corrupt nation.  

So, President Thein Sein has to work harder to materialize his speech especially on fighting against the corruption and abuses of power. Without fighting corruption and abuses of power, it will be a castle in the wind to introduce clean government and good governance with the intention of upholding multiparty democratic system.

The NLD Central Executive Committee had tried to implement its democratic process of leadership pattern since 1989. Before Aung San Suu Kyi, the then General-Secretary of the party, was under house arrest for the first time on 19 July 1989, the NLD decided to launch a party conference starting from Rangoon Division.

At that time, the NLD Rangoon Division Organizing Committee took responsibility for party conference beginning from ward-ship and village-track level in Rangoon locality. The first village that held its party conference under the supervision of the NLD Rangoon Division Organizing Committee was Sar-boo-taung village in Hle-goo Township.

AP Photo:  Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi smiles after submitting a by-election budget document to an official of the Yangon Divisional Union Election Commission office Wednesday, May 9, 2012, in Yangon, Myanmar (Burma).

After finishing respective ward-ships and village-tracks conferences, it had continued conferences for the township levels. Within four-month period ahead of 19 July 1989, the NLD Rangoon Division Organizing Committee had managed on accomplishment of around ten township-level conferences including Ta-mwe Township, Pa-un-daung township, Ah-lon Township etc.

But, the conference process was terminated due to the then military junta’s crackdown on 19 July 1989. At the same time, the NLD’s General-Secretary was also put under house-arrest. It seemed the military regime did not want strengthening of the NLD led by Aung San Suu Kyi. Even though, the National League for Democracy party won landslide in May election of 1990 which the junta ignore to honour it.

Now, after suffering the military’s suppression for over two decades, Aung San Suu Kyi and her party revitalize once more with full strength. It was also remarkable that the party had been dissolved on 14 September 2010, in favor of declining to join in November 2010 election, although it defiantly carried on its activities through its headquarters office.

Then, in August last year, Suu Kyi had a special meeting with President Thein Sein. Afterward, the government amended the political party registration law and allowed the NLD to re-register as a political party on November 24, 2011. The NLD has sold out approximately one million party applications forms prior to the April 1 by-election, but only about 50,000 applications have been returned to Rangoon headquarters in February, Mizzima News said.

In January, the NLD has restructured its party leadership and Suu Kyi became head of the party. “According to our party structure Daw Aung San Suu Kyi became the chairman of the NLD,” spokesman Nyan Win told AFP on 11 January.

One of the party’s spokesmen Ohn Kyaing told Mizzima News that the party would be democratically reformed at every level throughout the country. The national conference will be held following lower-level conferences have been done, Ohn Kyaing said.

According to Ohn Kyaing, the issue of former members who quitted the NLD to found new parties competing in the 2010 general elections, and now want to rejoin the NLD will be taken up at the planned NLD conference.

“In our long-running struggle, some party members violated some parts of our party regulations,” he told Mizzima.

“For instance, they did not follow the decision made by the majority. The party conference is the only place that has the power to decide our party’s affairs, so we will put forward the case of those people [who violated party’s regulations] at the conference,” Ohn Kyaing said.

On 9 May, the NLD released a statement announcing on creation of the 9-member central organizing commission for convening party conference, namely Tin Oo (chairman), Nyan Win (secretary), Han Thar Myint (member), Thein Oo (member), Soe Win (member),Myo Nyunt (member), Lae Lae (member), Myint Myint Sein (member) and Khin Saw Mu (member).

In the latest steps forward, the NLD have won 43 out of 45 contested seats in the April by-election.

After two decades of house arrest by the military junta, the Nobel laureate and NLD Chairperson Aung San Suu Kyi once again officially takes public office as she won a seat in the lower house of the current parliament.

Now, the NLD led by Suu Kyi has been going to strengthen itself through a national conference planned to hold in December. Analysts believe that if the NLD could accomplish its national conference in this December, it would become the major challenger of the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) in 2015 general elections.

The watch dog group, Network for Human Rights Documentation – Burma (ND-Burma), said in its report dated 9 May 2012 that there were 85 cases of torture, 59 cases of forced labour and 114 cases of confiscation or destruction of property. Those human rights abuses were direct outcome of the continuing armed conflict between the Burmese Army and ethnic armed groups in ethnic areas across Burma.

The information gathered covers 16 categories of human rights violations (HRVs), documented in all 14 states and regions across Burma, the ND-Burma said. But, the network said that the report could not cover all HRVs occurred in the country. Because of security concerns, the network could not reach or monitor various places where human rights abuses took place.

According to ND-Burma’s report, throughout this one-year period, important political events happened in Burma. President Thein Sein granted amnesties to a number of political prisoners, though 473 still remain in prison. Moreover, 465 political prisoners’ whereabouts are under verification currently.

The report also sheds light on 1st April 2012 by-election, in which 45 parliamentary seats were contested. The opposition National League for Democracy won 43 seats with its leader Daw Aung Suu Kyi being elected as a member of parliament for the first time in history. The elections were hailed as a progress by the international community. Afterward, the European Union is set to approve a one year suspension of sanctions while the United Kingdom, Norway, Australia and the United States have announced an easing of sanctions.

However, the report says that there is still a serious concern for the human rights situation in Burma. As pointed out by the ND-Burma, the ongoing civil war in ethnic areas has directly resulted in killings, land confiscation, forced labour, child soldiers, forced relocation, torture and ill treatment. Fighting in Karen State intensified after the 2010 election, until a ceasefire agreement was reached between the KNU and the government’s peace negotiation team in January 2012.

The network also states the government’s armed forces continued offensives against the Shan State Army (south) and the Shan State Army (North) although a ceasefire agreement has been signed more than four months ago.

In brief, the report calls attention to a 17-year ceasefire agreement between the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and the Burmese armed forces which collapsed when the military attacked a KIA’s strategic post on June 9 2011. Despite President Thein Sein issued orders to halt offensives in Kachin State, his soldiers do not stop fighting there.

As a result over 70,000 Kachin people are living in an Internally Displaced Persons camp in Kachin state near the Chinese border, and there is a serious concern for human rights in relation to this on-going conflict, ND-Burma analyzes in general.

“If you look at the number of human rights violations documented in this report, you will get a picture of how serious the human rights conditions are in Burma right now, while the international community is applauding the Burmese government’s gestures toward changes. We support the government’s effort to reach peace with the armed ethnic nationality groups, but it has to be done comprehensively and indiscriminately,” said Moon Nayli, a member of Management Board of the ND-Burma.

Actually, it should be a necessity for the lifting of sanctions by the Western governments to call ending of conflict between the Burmese Army and ethnic groups. However, fighting is still going on and various sanctions have been lifted too early, the network made a criticism in its report.

Although the civilian government working for ceasefire agreements with the Karen National Union, New Mon State Party, Chin National Front and Arakan Liberation Party, warfare still continues between the government armed forces and the KIA troops. The steps forward to transform these bilateral truce accords into nationwide ceasefire agreements still remain unfulfilled, ND-Burma’s report says.

The United Nations Special Rapporteur recently visited Burma and in his progress report to the Human Rights Council in March this year, Mr. Quintana stated that “at this crucial moment in the country’s history, remaining human rights concerns and challenges should be addressed, and justice and accountability measures, as well as measures to ensure access to the truth, should be taken.”

“During this reporting period, the government has done little to improve the human rights situation across the 14 States and Regions of Burma. In this time of critical importance, the government should address the past human rights violations in order to uphold the rule of law and to deter the reoccurrence of human rights violations in the future,” said Nai Au Mon, another member of Management Board of the ND-Burma.

ND-Burma emphasizes that seeking the truth does no harm and yet it will significantly contribute to establishing justice, liberty and equality in Burma. It will help to create an environment in which individuals, institutions and government entities can work together towards an open and free society, while decreasing the amount of human rights violations and the perpetual abuse of power.

The fact is that Aung San Suu Kyi has entered parliamentary politics under the controversial constitution which was unilaterally drawn by the previous junta. Subsequently, the victory of Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy party at the by-elections last month was welcomed by the United States and European Union as a sign of advancement en route for democracy. Her attendance at parliament on 2 May represents the forward motion of transforming Burma.

A supporter holds a flag of the National League for Democracy party as they listen to Myanmar pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi's speech during her campaign trip in Myityina in Kachin State, Burma, in February 2012. Suu Kyi campaigned in the restive state with a message of reconciliation. Pic: AP

Anyhow, the US and the EU should not focus only on the progress inside the showground of the parliaments. They should also give attention to the civil war in Kachin state. Currently, the government has been handling unfairly not only upon the Kachin rebels but also on the Kachin natives.

The government shows no sympathy towards the 100,000 refugees plus IDPs along the Sino-Burma border adjacent to the Kachin rebels’ area due to brutal military offensives launched by the Burma Army. Those victims have to face terrible situations for their survival since the monsoon rains will start next month.

Then again, the Burma Army has been continuously deploying more and more battalions around the headquarters vicinity of the Kachin Independence Army, military-wing of the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO). It looks as if government’s armed forces have a plan to launch a clean-up war.

According to local news sources, warfare has increased relentlessly for the past couple of months, though the two sides met in Ruili for talks last March. A Kachin peace delegation and the Burmese government have a preliminary agreement to reduce troops in conflict areas during Ruili meeting.

On the contrary, the state-run New Light of Myanmar reported improperly that the KIA (Kachin) armed group planted a mine at the side of a RC-type bridge on Shwe Road in Eden region (4) in Tatkon Ward, Myitkyina, in Kachin State which blasted at 6:00 am on 5 May. Two police were injured from the second blast, about 50 feet far from the first explosion, while they were doing clearance.

Similarly, the KIA’s mine exploded the Hilux motorcar carrying bags of rice on Moemauk-Lwijye Road at 8:00 am of 4 May, and it claimed the bus-conductor’s life and left the driver injured, the New Light of Myanmar said. Besides, the newspaper also reported, another mine blast hit the bridge No.677/0 on Mandalay-Myitkyina Railroad near Khamti at 7:25 pm on 4 May.

The KIA armed group has been committing destructive acts such as destroying roads and bridges, opening fire on villages with heavy weapons and killing innocent civilians and service personnel,  the state-run paper said one-sidedly.

But the paper never published about the government army’s human rights abuses such as the killings, lootings, rapes, burning the villages, forced-laboring of civilians and recruiting child-soldiers.

But, the newspaper gives misinformation that the Tatmadaw (army) and national races armed groups make peace each other, the public willingly has a wish for all armed groups including KIA armed group to live together in peace.

Quite the opposite, the Kachin warfare continues as the Burmese Army has reinforced outsized troops in areas on the brink of the Kachin administrative command center Laiza and former headquarters Pa Jau during the past weeks, according to Kachinland News.  Yet, the war between KIA and government armed forces enters nearly a year without signs of decreasing.

Despite reducing clashes, a battle took place near Ban Dang village between KIA’s 5th Battalion and Burmese Army’s 141st LIR on May 4 at 11 am. One Burmese Army soldier was reportedly killed in this battle, referring frontline source, Kachinland News reported.

Furthermore, on May 4, KIA soldiers of 1st Battalion under 3rd Brigade fought against Burmese Army’s 47th LIB at Hka Wan Bang junction. KIA’s mobile battalion deterred the advance of about 200 Burmese soldiers from 105th LIB and 386th LIR between U Ga Shan and Lisu Pa Jau on May 5 at 7:30am.

Another front in northern Shan State, a fierce battle occurred between KIA’s 9th Battalion under 4th Brigade and government armed forces on Lashio-Muse road between Nam Gut and Hu Nawng on May 4. One Burmese soldier was killed and 4 wounded in this battle, quoting frontline source Kachinland News said.

On May 5, KIA’s 36th Battalion under 4th Brigade also fought against an unknown government military contingent. Two Burmese soldiers were killed and 4 wounded in this battle, said a KIA source.

A 17-year-old truce between the Burmese Government and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) broke down on 9 June 2011, sending several thousands of refugees and IDPs along the Sino-Burma border alongside Kachin rebels’ area due to harsh military offensives launched by Burma Army.

A Burmese peacemaking team and Kachin peace delegates met quite a few times since fighting resumed on June 9, 2011, as government armed forces hit KIA’s Bum-seng post near Tar Pein Hydropower Plant. Three meetings at Laja yang, near Laiza, one at Chiang Mai in Thailand and another three meetings were held at Ruili City in China. However, no substantial agreement has been achieved, Kachinland News said.

The two sides have a preliminary agreement to trim down troops in war zones from the Ruili meeting last March. KIO has over and over again asked Burmese government to pull out its troops to provide evidence for future peace meetings.

The Burmese government asked the KIO to meet in the Kachin State capital Myitkyina last month. But KIO rejected the offer to meet because it is not suitable since fighting intensifies. Recently, KIO asked Burmese government to meet at Prang Ngawn village of Loi Je Township, but Burmese government didn’t respond to KIO’s proposal.

If the government is straightforward, the inhumane war in Kachin State can stop simply. But, government seems unsympathetic towards its own people and it turns a deaf ear to people’s sobs.  Without ending war against the minority Kachin people, the US and EU ought to pay no heed to the so-called democratic reform run by the quasi-civilian government of Burma.

People read weekly journals to buy at a roadside shop in Yangon, Burma. Pic: AP.

Seeing Aung San Suu Kyi’s pragmatic political move, people believe that Burma (Myanmar) is struggling at an intersection in order to start a political restructuring. The quasi-civilian government led by President Thein Sein wants to maintain the country under limited or guided democracy while the majority population wishes a genuine chapter of democratic changes. Especially, citizens are demanding freedom of expression and association while the Union Government is dogmatically vetoing the basic rights of the citizens.

If the government is sincere enough concerning democratic reforms, the media must be free from the outset since free speech plus access to information is fundamental to a healthy democracy. But, free press has had no chance so far in Burma. The political opposition as well as journalists and media personnel are under the strictest rules and regulations by the successive military regimes including the present so-called civilian government.

In the 1950s, Burma was at the vanguard of press freedom in Southeast Asia. The country had the benefit of a free press without censorship office. As many as three dozen newspapers, including English and Chinese dailies, existed between 1948 and 1962 under the civilian government. Even the prime minister’s office was never closed to journalists in those days. They were also free to set up relations with international news agencies.

The situation changed in 1962, when the military seized power. All newspapers were nationalized by the then junta led by Gen. Ne Win. The junta established a Press Scrutiny Board to enforce strict censorship practices on all forms of printed matter, including advertisements and obituaries. Since then, the military junta’s censorship and self-censorship are commonplace, and have severely restricted political rights and civil liberties.

The Press Scrutiny and Registration Division is a major oppressive tool of the then military regime. Not surprisingly, Burma stands downgraded from a free state to a prison state. No printed matter can be published without the PSRD’s permission. Photos, cassette tapes, movies and video footage also need the censor’s stamp before reaching the people. At the same time, the military concentrates to stop the flow of uncensored radio news in Burmese available from international broadcasting stations.

Moreover, the junta has come to dominate the media industry through publication companies owned by generals and their cronies. The radio, television and other media outlets are monopolized for propaganda warfare by the military regime and opposition views are never allowed. The regime does not even allow religious discourse.

Now, President Thein Sein government has been at the administrative center declaring itself as an elected civilian institute. However, the policy of free speech or expression is still unchanged. The PSRD office is still running on behalf of the one-year old President Thein Sein government.

No private owned daily newspapers are allowed to date. No independent radios or televisions are permitted so far.  Private owned journals and periodicals have to publish under various threats by PSRD as usual.

Information minister Kyaw Hsan promised more media freedom during a two-day conference (19-20 March) in Yangon. Kyaw Hsan made an opening address at the conference.

“The goal of our current media reforms is the emergence of a genuine fourth estate in our democratization process where journalists have the right to seek, receive and impart information and news that are accurate, objective, fair and balanced,” Kyaw Hsan said in his speech.

On the other hand, PSRD or state censor-board has been stepping up barring on news and interviews on corruptions, abuses of law, land confiscation cases by cronies, mismanagement of ministries and war against ethnic groups. As long as the Press Scrutiny and Registration Department existed, citizens could not enjoy the freedom of press and freedom of expression as their basic rights.

Moreover, the country needs abandoning the repressive laws which are directly against the basic citizens’ rights.

Reporters Without Borders and the Burma Media Association urge the Burmese authorities to improve thoroughly the laws governing freedom of expression – especially the 1962 Printers and Publishers Registration Act, the 1950 Emergency Provisions Act, article 505/B of the criminal code, the 1996 Television and Video Act, the 1996 Computer Science Development Act, the 1923 Officials Secrets Act and the 1933 Burma Wireless Telegraphy Act.

It is an optimistic moment for many citizens who anticipate for the emergence of democratic system in their country. Burma opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her party pronounced yesterday to attend parliament by taking an oath to protect the constitution even though there is a dissimilar idea about choice of words.

The National League for Democracy (NLD) party also released a statement (No. 17/04/12) on Monday concerning the wording of the oath issue. The statement says that although the NLD representatives-elect have to take oath in line with the Article 125 (A) of the 2008 Constitution, their attitude of to “respect and abide” by the Constitution may not be changed.

The National League for Democracy (NLD) party also released a statement (No. 17/04/12) on 30 April concerning the choice of words with the oath issue. The statement says that although the NLD representatives-elect have to take oath in line with the Article 125 (A) of the 2008 Constitution, their attitude of to respect and abide by the Constitution may not be changed.

Moreover, the statement says that they have determined to be present at the parliament, as an indication of respect to the wishes of the voters and also taking into consideration the requests made by members of parliament from ethnic democratic parties led by Dr Aye Maung of Rakhine National Development Party.

The group has taken oath in front of lower house speaker Shwe Mann. The 66-year-old Burma’s Nobel laureate stood to read the parliamentary oath in unison with 33 other members of her National League for Democracy party who were elected to the lower house in April, an AFP reporter said.

In actual fact, the National League for Democracy (NLD) turned down to attend on 23 April re-opening of Burma’s parliamentary session due to a row over the oath of office for members of parliament. The NLD’s Chairperson Aung San Suu Kyi was together with 42 parliamentarians, elected from her National League for Democracy (NLD) party in April by-elections. The NLD’s MPs want to take an oath using the word “respect”, rather than the wording of “safeguard” the constitution, which they state is undemocratic.

According to Suu Kyi, it was not backing down on the issue. In doing politics, there may be an issue of give and take, she told reporters in Yangon, on Monday. She said that it was not an act of giving up but it could say showing respects to the desire of the people.

The UN secretary-General Ban Ki-moon praised pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi Tuesday for backing down over a boycott of parliament which had threatened to stall the fragile reform process, AFP News said. After his first ever talks with the Nobel laureate, Ban hailed Suu Kyi as a “real leader” who had shown “flexibility” in climbing down over a refusal to take a parliamentary oath therein ending a political impasse.

At the meeting, UN Secretary-General Mr Ban Ki-moon said that he paid a visit to Myanmar (Burma) to encourage progress of the transition to democracy in the country.  In addition, UN will normalize its operations in Myanmar at full power as fast as possible, Mr. Ban said.

As said by Mr. Ban, the UN would assist in technology, managing and financial sectors for taking the census in Myanmar (Burma) in 2014. The world body will also support relations between Myanmar and international community in dealing with trade and business sectors and in elimination of opium cultivation through UNODC, he added.

Mr. Ban also welcomed and encouraged the hard work of the government for national reconciliation efforts. He also promised to take part more in peace making processes of Burma or Myanmar. The UN would distribute peace funds to the Union Government and region and state governments, he said. Moreover, he also guaranteed that the UN would help out in clearing land mines and would create opportunities for the UN and INGOs providing humanitarian aids to conflict areas.

He also welcomed the establishment of the National Human Rights Commission and expressed his hope for full cooperation with the UNHCR and pledged the UN’s technical assistance to the nation. He was delighted that the Vice-President would attend the RIO + 20 Conference on Sustainable Development. The United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD) is being organized in pursuance of General Assembly Resolution 64/236 (A/RES/64/236), and will take place in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil on 20-22 June 2012.

Mr. Ban also invited the President to attend the UN General Assembly in September, expecting the President would be present at the assembly, Mr Ban Ki-moon said.

Afterwards, President Thein Sein expressed democratic transition in his country would get faster and he expressed gratitude to the assistance and encouragement of the UN. Thein Sein said that he has pledged to make more efforts for gaining a full-grown democracy in the country.  He continued telling two processes for peace and stability – political stability and the process for elimination of internal conflicts – in the country.

According to the President, the government has kept in relations with all political parties to start an inclusive political process. The government has also reached a stage to cooperate with the National League for Democracy, he said. The Government would continue to practice the democratic principles and freedom correctly, he added.

Concerning cessation of conflicts, the Government may possibly achieve a stage for ceasefire and peace processes with 10 armed groups, out of 11, he said. He expressed his expectation that the government could make peace with the KIO despite inconsistency in some facts.

The President said that Ministry of Border Affairs was carrying out providing humanitarian aids to the conflict areas in cooperation with international non-governmental organizations including UNDP, WFP, ICRC.

The President urged the UN to take part in the rural development and poverty alleviation process in Myanmar (Burma). He also urged the UN to provide necessary assistance for taking the census in the country which has received technical and training assistance from ESCAP.

Thein Sein also urged Mr. Ban to encourage international economic organizations to do more investment in Myanmar (Burma) regarding the trade and economic sectors. He also urged him to advocate the EU to fully lift of sanction on his country.

He also guaranteed to cooperate with UNODC and neighbouring countries to grow opium-substitute crops and to eliminate drug abuse in the nation.

Concerning the national reconciliation processes, the president said that ministries, Union-level peacemaking groups and international organizations and all ethnic groups were working together to sign final peace agreements at the parliament.

According to President Thein Sein, the NLD would have rights to participate in the peace processes in the parliament. He even expressed his wishes of strengthening relations between Myanmar (Burma) and the UN and to get more involvements in world’s peace making process of the UN.

In fact, the National League for Democracy (NLD) refused to attend the April 23 re-opening of Burma’s parliamentary session because of a row over the oath of office for representatives-elect.

NLD chairperson Aung San Suu Kyi boycotted the session along with 42 parliamentarians elected from her National League for Democracy (NLD) party in April by-elections. The NLD’s MPs want to take an oath using the word “respect”, rather than the wording of “safeguard” the constitution, which they state is undemocratic.

Burma’s state-run TV and newspaper reported on November 6, 2011 that President Thein Sein has signed a law that amends three key areas of the Political Party Registration Law. Both houses of the Burmese Parliament had earlier endorsed the amendments.

In the previous law the wording said that all political parties must “protect” the State’s Constitution. In the amendment law the word “safeguard” was changed to “respect and abide” by the Constitution.

The President Thein Sein government is set to gain by bringing Suu Kyi and her party back into the current parliamentary structure, which will increase the government’s apparent legitimacy at home and overseas.

Suu Kyi said she was not backing down on the oat issue, however. “Politics is an issue of give and take,” she told reporters in Yangon on Monday. “We are not giving up, we are just yielding to the aspirations of the people.” (AP)

The National League for Democracy (NLD) party also released a statement (No. 17/04/12) on Monday concerning the wording of the oath. The statement says that although the NLD representatives-elect have to take oath in line with the Article 125 (A) of the 2008 Constitution, their attitude to “respect and abide” by the Constitution may not be changed.

Moreover, the statement says that they have determined to be present at the parliament, “as a gesture of respect to the wishes of the voters and also taking into consideration the requests made by members of parliament from ethnic democratic parties led by Dr Aye Maung of Rakhine National Development Party.”

Suu Kyi’s recent actions seem to have favoured the Thein Sein government. She has met several Western government leaders including British PM David Cameron and EU high-ranking diplomat Catherine Ashton. Suu Kyi also agreed to call for the suspension of European Union (EU) sanctions as a sign of optimism towards President Thein Sein and pro-reformists in his government. Last week in Luxembourg, the EU announced the suspension of most sanctions except an arms embargo against Burma for one year while it assesses the country’s progress, AP News said.

According to the media reports, Suu Kyi meet U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in Yangon on Tuesday or International Workers’ Day, which is a holiday in Burma. So, observers think the NLD’s Members of Parliament may attend assembly in order to take oath at parliament in Nay Pyi Taw on Wednesday.

According to Kachinland News, Fighting has increased significantly for the past few weeks though the two sides met in Ruili for talks last month. Kachin peace delegation and Burmese government have a preliminary agreement to reduce troops in conflict areas during Ruili meeting.

But Burmese Army violated the 1994 truce and overran the KIO controlled territory which was previously agreed by both sides. KIO has time and again asked Burmese government to pull out its troops to prove seriousness and reliability for future peace meetings.

As of 26 April, heavy fighting occurred near Laiza as Kachin armed forces made an effort to block attempts by the Burma army which distributed reinforcements and supplies to strategic positions so as to menace the KIO’s Laiza HQ. Reports from the ground indicate that fighting was particularly fierce at Laja Yang, less than three miles from Laiza, Kachin News Group said.

An official in Laiza told the Kachin News Group that the Burma army is continuing efforts to reinforce all government positions within a 10 mile radius of Laiza.  Burma Army’s military buildup comes into view as a footing for a final full-scale offensive.

According to KIO officials, on 26 April, mortar shells fired by Burma’s armed forces killed two children and injured two adults during skirmishing in central Kachin State. The deaths occurred at Kone Law village, located about half way between Bhamo (Manmaw) and the KIO’s Laiza headquarters, on the Bhamo-Myitkyina road.

The scenario illustrates that while Burmese government is saying rhetorical peace plan, its armed forces have been advancing to crush the KIO’s military base. It means the government has no genuine purpose to begin political negotiations though it managed to strike insubstantial peace deals with other ethnic rebel groups including KNU, SSA, NMSP and KNPP.

Heavy fighting continues close to Laiza. There was an armed conflict on April 22, between KIA’s 5^th Brigade soldiers and Burmese Army’s 388^th LIR in Laja Yang, just about 12 miles from Laiza. Quoting local sources Kachinland News reported that at least 2 Burmese soldiers were killed and another two wounded in this battle.

Moreover, heavy battles took place between KIA’s mobile battalion and Burmese Army’s  105^th LIB and a combined force of about 400 soldiers from 383^rd LIR, 386^th LIR and 389^th LIR near Na Hpaw, KIA’s former headquarter, on April 22. It was a long fight for about 5 hours beginning 3:25 pm. Burmese soldiers were on their way to reinforce Na Hpaw position when they were ambushed by KIA’s mobile battalion.

Burma Army provided food rations and military equipment to its Na Hpaw frontline-base by air for no less than 7 times on April 22, referring local sources Kachinland News reported.

The government’s peacemaking team and KIO peace delegation announced a joint-statement on 10 March after peace talks for the third time at Jingcheng Hotel in Shweli, China.

The joint-statement said as follow:

(1) The two sides have satisfied the peace talks between the Union level peace-making group of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar and KIO’s central delegation.

(2) The peace talks have seen progress and the two sides could build trust during the meetings.

(3) The peace talks will continue through political means.

(4) The two sides believe that military tensions would be decreased as a result of the peace talks.

(5) The two sides will continue to discuss the issues related to the outposts in conflict areas until the two sides reach an agreement and will carry on the agreement after setting dates.

However, KIO has rejected an offer to meet in Myitkyina for a fourth round of peace talks, Mizzima News said.

The KIO could not meet in Myitkyina at this time, its spokesman La Nang said, since the government has been escalating its military measures in the area.  Government’s reinforced its troops around the KIO’s Laiza headquarters, and looks like to be preparing an all-out offensive on KIO outposts.

La Nang said the government recently airlifted military supplies and reinforcements to their Na Phaw outpost linking the KIO’s old headquarters in Pajau and Laiza.

A 17-year-old truce between Burmese Government and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), Burma’s second largest rebel groups, broke down on 9 June 2011 sending nearly nearly 100,000 refugees plus IDPs along the Sino-Burma border adjacent to Kachin rebels’ area due to harsh military offensives launched by Burma Army.

If the unfair war in Kachin State will not stop, majority people may not recognize the so-called democratic reform run by the quasi-civilian government of Burma.

Burma President Thein Sein. Pic: AP.

Aung San Suu Kyi, Chairperson of the NLD, was, along with 43 parliamentarians, elected from her National League for Democracy (NLD) party in April by-elections. The NLD’s MPs want to take an oath using the word “respect”, rather than the wording of “safeguard” the constitution, which they state is undemocratic.

On November 4, 2011, Burma’s President Thein Sein had signed an amendment law on political parties in an obvious effort to persuade National League for Democracy party led by democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi to reregister as a party recognizing the new political structure.

Burma’s state-run TV and newspaper publicized on November 6, 2011 that President Thein Sein has signed a law that amends three key areas of the Political Party Registration Law. Both houses of the Burmese Parliament had earlier endorsed the amendments.

In the previous law the wording said that all political parties must “protect” the State’s Constitution. In the amendment law the word “safeguard” was changed to “respect and abide” by the Constitution.

According to the new law, the previous two clauses were also changed. One clause said that serving prisoners are restricted from being a member of a political party and another clause said that a political party needs to contest at least three parliamentary seats in an election.

At that time, analysts believe that the aim of amending the law is to pave the way for the National League for Democracy reregistering as a legal party. According to those amendments on political parties, the NLD took part in the April 1 by-elections that was the first electoral contest of its public reputation in two decades.

The President Thein Sein government seems to take advantage of bringing Suu Kyi and her party back into the current parliamentary structure which would increase the government’s perceived legitimacy at home and overseas.

However, Aung San Suu Kyi and members of her NLD party skipped their first appearance in parliament amid a row over a fidelity oath on 23 April.  The National League for Democracy (NLD) has objected to the oath that requires parliamentarians swearing to safeguard the country’s constitution.

Suu Kyi has said one of her priorities as an elected parliamentarian is to advocate an amendment of the 2008 constitution, under which 25 per cent of the parliament seats are reserved for unelected military officials.

In frequent media interviews, Suu Kyi expressed her aspiration to work together with the new government to push for some changes to help the people of Burma. Well-informed sources close to the government said that the government wanted Suu Kyi and members of her party in parliament to give itself legitimacy.

Most Burma watchers believe that the participation of 43 NLD legislators, including Suu Kyi in the existing parliament, would definitely improve the military-dominated government’s image and legitimacy.

But, there are some concerns among the public because of ruling party’s general secretary Htay Oo’s comments that it’s unnecessary to change the wording “respect” instead of “safeguard”.

Suu Kyi and 42 other elected lawmakers from her party were absent as the latest assembly session got under way in the capital, Naypyitaw, on Monday. The party had said it would not join until the oath issue was resolved.

Opposition spokesman Nyan Win told ‘The Associated Press’ that he believed the dispute would be solved within 10 days, and other party officials have said there is support within President Thein Sein’s government to change the oath.

The party was “not disappointed” with its current inability to sit in the legislative body, Nyan Win said. “We are cooperating with the government, so the problem will be overcome.”

Meanwhile in Luxembourg on Monday, the EU announced the suspension of most sanctions except an arms embargo against Myanmar for one year while it assesses the country’s progress, AP News said.

Hkun Tun Oo, a senior Shan ethnic politician who released from jail in January, told The Associated Press the EU’s temporary suspension was the right move “because if things do not improve within a year, sanctions can be renewed.”

Analysts believe that Thein Sein knows well about Suu Kyi’s clout on the Western democracies and realizes her contribution as essential, since Burma has been preparing to take ASEAN Chair in 2014, and it has also been trying entire ending of Western sanctions that have hindered the country’s economic development since 1988.

If President Thein Sein ardently desired to pursue the irreversible democratic path, it would be his duty to act as mediator between his ruling party and the NLD chaired by Suu Kyi.

In fact, he himself has signed a law that amends three key areas of the Political Party Registration Law last year. In the revision law the word “safeguard” was changed to “respect and abide” the Constitution.

Pic: AP

The military-dominated Burmese government gets hold of an enormous army, so-called state-owned land of natural resources and oppressive tools such as secret police, arbitrary courts plus prisons and so on. By using such advantageous opportunities, they always consider to take hold of supreme power forever. So, the poor powerless people, most are ethnic citizens, have been suffering under military boots for many decades.

For instance, there are nine refugee-camps where many thousands war refugees have taken shelter along the Thai-Burma border for more than two decades. Furthermore, there are nearly 100,000 refugees plus IDPs along the Sino-Burma border adjacent to Kachin rebels’ area due to harsh military offensives launched by Burma Army.

The Government’s state-owned newspaper, the New Light of Myanmar, said on March 11 that Union level peace-making group and a central delegation of Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) held peace talks for the third time at Jingcheng Hotel in Shweli in China from March 8 to 10.The two sides announced a joint-statement on 10 March after talking about the peace issues in detail.

Even though the statement said, “The peace talks will continue through political means,” no date was set for the next round of talks.

The 11-March joint-statement by government and KIO said that military tensions would be decreased as a result of the peace talks. But, the situation on the ground is quite opposite. Over the past the few months, heavy fighting took place often all along KIO-controlled territory between Namtu and Mandong townships where the massive Shwe gas-pipeline project is going forward.

The KIO has suggested that the first thing the government should agree is on distribution of armed units and their positions. KIO spokesman Brig-Gen Gun Maw said that one key point of difference between the two sides is the future of Burma Army’s bases in the KIO controlled region.

Even though the two sides have to continue talking about the outposts in conflict zones, the government armed forces do not stop deploying along the conflict areas in Kachin’s territories. Therefore, it will have to take much time to reach an agreement of ending this ongoing war.

It looks like government’ peacemaking team has no collaboration with Burma Army. In fact, Burma’s current quasi-civilian government led by President Thein Sein is not too different from previous Lt. Gen. Thein Sein’s regime, the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC). The point is that the military-backed winning party, the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), takes charge of the union government as well as all state and regional governments.

Consequently, state and regional governments have to abide by the central government’s guidelines and they cannot exercise their autonomy.

So, according to government’s peace policy, every ethnic rebel group has to talk with regional or state government separately to reach agreements for ceasefire. All ethnic armed groups know that the first step for peace is cessation of hostilities or temporary ceasefire.

But, to discuss ceasefires only with state governments would be inadequate and fruitless. Because the state governments have no authority above the respective military commands. Although there are truces in respective ethnic areas, unexpected armed clashes are still taking place. It seems military commanders do not go along with the government’s ceasefire-policy.

On the other hand, the government intends to talk to ethnic rebel groups separately, sending regrets to talk to the ethnic alliance armed oppositions groups – the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC). This kind of government’s stance is dishonest toward ethnic nationalities since it is setting up to use ‘divide-and-rule’ strategy towards the different ethnic rebel groups.

In response to the question posed by visiting UK prime minister David Cameron on 13 April, Hkun Tun Oo, leader of Shan Nationalities League for Democracy (SNLD), said the danger of the regime’s refusal to return power in the 2015 polls is still an omnipresent one, especially if the National League for Democracy (NLD) wins another landslide, quoting an informed source in Rangoon, Shan Herald Agency for News (S.H.A.N.) said.

“No one can deny that change has begun,” the 69 year old Hkun Tun Oo, leader of SNLD said. “But whether or not it is real or irreversible still remains a question.”

To some analysts, Thein Sein cannot run the government independently. He has to play the game in line with the eleven-member security and defense committee which is totally controlled by the military-backed USDP.

In reality, no one could predict that President Thein Sein’s regime would be on the road of democracy irreversibly. The case is that the quasi-civilian government is proficiently using ‘divide-and-rule’ strategy right through the peace talks amid ethnic groups.

With such an insightful approach, sanctions have strengthened both the legitimacy and possibility of political dialogue in Burma. In fact, sanctions are effective tools to advance the dialogue process between the regime and the opposition.

The United States on Tuesday eased financial sanctions on Burma to enable private U.S.-based groups to do charity work in the impoverished country, according to today AP News.

The announcement by the Treasury Department is the first of a series of rewards from Washington in response to the country’s by-elections this month. The U.S. also has a plan to appoint a permanent ambassador for the first time in more than two decades, as a sign of reducing restrictions on American investment and the export of other financial services. But, trade sanctions will not be lifted immediately.

Australia and Norway also followed the example of the US.

Burma’s Nobel laureate and democracy icon is no longer under house arrest. The National League for Democracy (NLD) led by Aung San Suu Kyi isn’t an unregistered or illegal political party right now. It has even won 43 seats in the recent bi-elections. Most analysts agree to consider such kind of circumstances as positive comparing to past two decades.

It is true that Suu Kyi’s NLD won 43 out of the 45 seats in by-elections, a grand victory in the face of broad irregularities and threats during the campaign time. However, the NLD’s official opposition place in parliamentary politics of Burma is not a well-built fortress, as the party holds somewhat 7 per cent of seats in the assembly.

Again, Thein Sein government released hundreds of political prisoners including prominent 88 generation student activists and ethnic politicians. Many see it as a positive move although they were detained several years without breaking any criminal law. However, there are many more political prisoners still behind bars.  It is also necessary to release unconditionally all remaining political prisoners under fabricated terrorism charges.

During ASEAN’s two-day annual summit meeting in Cambodia, ASEAN leaders agreed urging western countries to lift sanctions against Burma.  But, many dissidents, inside and outside of the country, consider lifting of sanctions seems a little earlier. Actually, the government needs many more things to do with the aim of consolidating the reforms.

Western Democracies need to put emphasis on the military-monopolized 2008 Constitution which gives too much power to military such as 25 per cent parliamentary seats without contesting in elections and it also officially allows the military boss to hold power on security reasons. It is required to amend the military dominant provisions in keeping democratic norms.

Average citizens feel the present ground situation as unchanged. Especially, people displease with the law courts tainted with corruptions. The current government needs to establish ‘Independent Judicial System’ to prevent discrimination, injustice and imitation of rule of law.

Today, citizens have no rights to enjoy the fair proceedings. Most court judgments were made by superior government officials rather than the respective judges. In such a moment, people feel government’s reform scheme as a fruitless.

An exceptional shortcoming which does not go match with reform is the ongoing civil war with the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO). Western democracies must think time and again on the topic of lifting of sanctions as an incentive for the President Thein Sein government.

They ought to urge the Thein Sein government to stop military offensives against ethnic minority people. Currently, the war against the Kachin people is at its peak and burning villages, looting, rape and extra judicial killing are still going on. There are over 60,000 Kachin war refugees on the Sino-Burma border without any humanitarian assistance from the ruling government.

Hence, Western democracies that imposed sanctions on Burma should observe obvious facts of additional reforms, including the release of all political prisoners, genuine talks headed for national reconciliation, with all ethnic groups oppressed by the Burma Army. Economic reform is also crucial to grant equal business opportunity to each and every one and to stop current crony capitalism including unruly land confiscations from poor farmers.

To strengthen its reform agenda, the Burmese government needs to endorse or stick to additional international instruments, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), the Convention against Torture (CAT), and the Rome Statute.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) says it does, while others do not agree with lifting sanctions in a hurry. In fact, there are still a number of human rights abuses happening in ethnic areas and situation needs to see more reforms, especially in political and economic equality.

Many intercontinental governments have used sanctions to make the regime correct its unacceptable deeds in the areas of human rights and jurisdiction.

The point is clear: the military leaders cannot persist to ignore the hope of the people, and that they must look for a nonviolent solution through political dialogue to resolve the political stalemate in Burma.

With such a focus, sanctions have strengthened both the legitimacy and possibility of political dialogue in Burma, and they are effective tools to advance the dialogue process between the regime and the opposition.

All foreign investments so far have been helping to finance the military regime, which spent more than 40% of national funds to build up the armed forces. It is needless to repeat how Burma’s military regime has been mistreating its own populace. Piles of reports by UN Human Rights Special Rapporteurs and credible international human rights organizations have recorded the undeniable.

People believe that foreign investment under the military rule is more beneficial to the regime and more harm to the people of Burma. Therefore, those who are investing in military-run Burma are indirectly responsible for the human rights violations committed by the Burma Army and its impediment to democratic reform in Burma.

Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been calling constantly for amending the junta-made 2008 constitution, saying that its automatic allocation of 25 percent of the parliamentary seats to unelected representatives of the military is not democratic.

The National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma (NCGUB), Burmese government in exile, has advised Washington not to relieve sanctions against Burma’s current quasi-civilian government.  The NCGUB and various rights groups support U.S. engagement with Burmese government, but they also would like to pressure for transform.

During ASEAN’s two-day annual summit meeting in Cambodia, ASEAN leaders agreed to ask western countries to lift sanctions against Burma, while the EU is shifting direction towards lifting sanctions.

However, Western democracies must think over and over again regarding lifting of sanctions as a reward for the Thein Sein government. They must urge the Thein Sein government to stop military offensives against ethnic minority people. Currently, the war against the Kachin people is at its height and burning villages, looting, rape and extra judicial killing are still going on. There are more than 60,000 Kachin war refugees on the Sino-Burma border without any humanitarian assistance from the ruling government.

Besides, it is also necessary to release unconditionally all remaining political prisoners with fabricated terrorism charges. According to former political prisoner Zarganar the release of political prisoners are conditional under threat of ‘Section 401 of the Criminal Procedure Code’.

The military regime uses Section 401 as the legal mechanism for those amnesties. Article (1) of Section 401 grants the President the power to suspend a sentence, while article (3) gives power to cancel that suspension and order re-arrest of a person at any time without a warrant, requiring that he or she must serve the remainder of the original sentence.

Western Democracies need to focus on the current 2008 Constitution which gives too much power to military such as 25% regular parliamentary seats without contesting in elections and it also allows the military chief to retake power on security reasons. It is required to amend the military dominant provisions in keeping democratic norms.

Moreover, numerous acres of farmland were confiscated from the poor common farmers by the military and their cronies all over the country.  All the lands confiscated by the military around the country without fair compensation or land replacement must be returned to the poor farmers.

In addition, the previous junta withdrew professional licenses from various citizens who support democratic causes. It is necessary to restore licenses of lawyers, physicians, engineers and other professionals whose work-permits were revoked by military due to their support to democracy movement.

Furthermore, the current government needs to establish ‘Independent Judicial System’ to prevent discrimination, injustice and charade of rule of law. Today, citizens have no rights to enjoy the fair proceedings. Most court judgments were made by high-ranking government officials instead of the respective judges.

Additionally, it is essential to change current top down nomination process in government’s bureaucratic system or political cronyism pattern. It is also important to provide equal business opportunity to each and every one and to stop current crony capitalism with connection to military authorities.

And also one crucial thing to take action seriously is eradication of drug trafficking in Burma. Poppy growing and opium production in Shan State have increased over the past two years due to authorities as well as armed groups are involving in the drug trade and growing economic despondency caused by cronyism, corruption and unprofessional conduct of the establishment.

The making of illicit drugs in Burma has considerable international, regional and national end results. At the international level, the opium and heroin produced in the country are consumed in Asia distributed through China and Thailand as well as the rest of Asia, reaching destinations as far away as Australia, North America and Europe. There are 6 well-known drug lords in Burma’s current parliament, who represented the army-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), according to Shan Herald Agency for News (S.H.A.N.).

To be frank, ASEAN leaders are committing hasty generalization to lift sanctions on Burma, although there are many more inappropriate things against a free society. In reality, ASEAN did not help anything en route for change in Burma. It even has no record of stating disapproval of Burma Army’s human rights abuses in the ethnic areas as a morally first-class grouping.

Without addressing the above mentioned issues, lifting of the US and the EU Sanctions would be unwise.

Naw Si Pho Ra Sein, second from right, general secretary of the Karen National Union (KNU), talks to journalists during a press conference after meeting with Myanmar's pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi at her lakeside residence Sunday, April 8, 2012, in Yangon, Myanmar. The leaders of Myanmar's most enduring ethnic rebel group have met with opposition leader Suu Kyi a day after meeting with the president. Pic: AP

Present at the Liaison Office opening ceremony were Union Ministers Aung Min, Soe Thein and Khin Yi, Bago Region Minister for Security and Border Affairs Col Thet Tun, departmental officials, members of social organizations and towns elders. The KNU ‘s Secretary-General Naw Zipporah Sein, General Saw Saw Mu Tu Say Poe and peace negotiators from both sides also attended the occasion, the newspaper said.

Union Minister Aung Min, Bago Region Security & Border Affairs Minister Col Thet Tun and Secretary-General of KNU Naw Zipporah Sein jointly opened the office properly.

A Grand Tiger car for the liaison-office was presented to General Saw Mu Tu Say Poe by Union Minister Soe Thein. Afterwards, the union ministers and members of KNU arrived at Bago and Chief Minister of Bago Region Nyan Win, Bago Region ministers and officials welcomed the group at Shwe Wah Tun Hotel and hosted a dinner there.

The regional level peacemaking group and the KNU peacemaking group held peace talks at the hotel Wednesday. The participants in the talk were Union Ministers Aung Min, Soe Thein, Khin Yi, Region Chief Minister Nyan Win, Commander Brig-Gen Nyo Saw, Lt-Col Zaw Naing Oo of the Commander-in-Chief Office, the minister for Bago Region security and border affairs, the minister for Karen national race affairs, members of the KNU peacemaking team and peace-talk members from the both sides.

Bago Region Minister for Security and Border Affairs Col Thet Tun and Member of the Central Standing Committee of KNU Saw Thaw Thi Bwe exchanged minutes of the meeting. At some point in the meeting, the two sides discussed a prolongation of the ceasefire and establishment of liaison offices, the New Light of Myanmar said.

The Bago Region Chief Minister hosted a luncheon for participants of the peace talks at the hotel and presented souvenirs to the KNU peacemaking group led by Secretary-General of the KNU Naw Zipporah Sein and General Saw Mu Tu Say Poe.  Afterward, Naw Zipporah Sein and Region Chief Minister U Nyan Win each presented flower baskets and K 500,000 to Oaktha Thanzin Music Band who entertained them with songs during the luncheon.

On Monday, the Karen National Union peace talk delegation met with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi for two hours at her home in Rangoon. The KNU discussed with the NLD leader and recently elected Members of Parliament their ongoing peace talks with government and their efforts to build a long-standing peace in the country, KNU general secretary Naw Zipporah Sein told Karen News.

Naw Zipporah and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi held a joint press conference at Nobel laureate’s residence after their meeting.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi also made a public speech to the large gathering of journalists, Karen News reported.

“It is a pleasure and special to meet the KNU delegation. The NLD’s aim is to establish a genuine democratic federal union and to make this happen, we believe that it requires the united inclusiveness off all ethnic groups. If we can continue to meet like this we can exchange our views, we can know more from each other, it can be supportive for the national reconciliation,” Daw Suu said.

Aung San Suu Kyi proved a positive view on meeting with the KNU. She said, “When the NLD was running for the election we explained a national peace building process needed three things – a ‘rule of law’, ‘a national peace’ and an ‘amendment of the constitution’, all these are related to national reconciliation. Using these three main topics we will work for national reconciliation.”

According to Naw Zipporah Sein, discussions with the Nobel laureate were about all citizens of Burma need to get involved in nation’s politics.

“We agreed that national peace building has to be related to allowing all citizens and all ethnic people to participate and for the the government to be responsible,” She said.

The KNU peace talk delegations was led by general secretary Naw Zipporah Sein and Saw Mu Tu Say Poe.  The KNU members Saw Ah Toe, Saw Kwe Htoo Win, Saw Ronger Khin, Naw May Oo Mutraw, Saw Thaw Thi Bwe, Naw Blooming Night Zan, Saw Hla Tun, Naw Htoo Paw were also included in the team. They all met with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi after the KNU federal peace talks with the Burmese Government delegation in Rangoon, Karen News said.

Refugees take a rest in their camp in Myitkyina, Kachin State, Burma, in December 2011. Pic: AP

The two sides agreed to work step-by-step for a nationwide cease-fire and to end conflict in ethnic areas. Both sides also agreed to undertake people’s safety including resettlement of thousands of refugees displaced by armed conflicts in the Karen state, and also to cooperate on removal of landmines.

President Thein Sein also met six delegates from the Karen National Union (KNU) on April 7 in Naypyidaw, according to a government official who asked not to be named, following negotiations with ministers in Rangoon on Friday, AFP News said.

On the contrary, government has delayed to settle down the conflicts in Kachin state. The Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) has offered to end ongoing warfare if the government will commence talks for a nationwide ceasefire. But Burmese government authorities did not show any positive signal.

Instead, recently in April, the Burmese Army was preparing to launch a major offensive against Kachin’s administrative capital Laiza, the Kachinland News reported. Fierce fighting between the KIA’s 19^th Battalion of 5th Brigade and Burmese soldiers broke out on April 6 as the Burmese Army has substantially increased its attacks directed at the headquarters of the KIO’s Administrative Headquarter.

A 17-year-old armistice between the Burmese Government and the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), Burma’s second largest rebel groups, collapsed on June 9, 2011, sending more than 50,000 Kachin war-refugees fleeing across the Sino-Burma border into  makeshift shelters on the Chinese side.

According to local witnesses, the Burmese army has suffered serious fatalities since the Kachin resistance troops used surprise ambush attacks.  As said by the KIO, intercepts of the Burmese army’s radio messages revealed a shocking number of lethally wounded soldiers on the side of the government armed forces, Kachin News Group said.

Kachin State in Northern Burma is extremely vital to China and unruly armed clashes between the Burmese Army and the KIO could have an impact on its business enterprises exploiting the region as a channel for twin-gas-energy-pipeline to its southwestern province of Yunnan.

Building of a twin oil and gas pipeline from Kyauk-pru in southeastern Arakan State of Burma, across middle-Burma and Kachin State, to China’s Yunnan province is going ahead. In addition, the Kachin State is home to many hydropower projects including Myitsone dam designed to provide electricity to China.

The project is headed by a Chinese state-owned firm China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) in partnership with Burma’s state-owned Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE). After the billion-dollar twin pipeline project is completed, it will send oil and gas energy from Burma’s Kyaukpru deep-seaport in Arakan State to China’s Yunnan province.

According to KNG, the KIA’s Eighth Battalion has controlled a long stretch of northern Shan State slated to be the route of the Shwe-gas pipeline project. Currently the Eighth Battalion is under attack at key points along the pipeline route.  This includes Namtu, Mandong, Nam Kham and KIA positions near Muse close to the Chinese border.

Armed clashes between the Burma Army and the armed wing of Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) resumed in northern Burma in March after both sides failed to reach an agreement during the latest round of peace talks, which were held March 8-10 in China.

The state-owned newspaper, the New Light of Myanmar, said on March 11 that a Union level peace-making group and a central delegation of the Kachin Independence Organization held peace talks for the third time at Jingcheng Hotel in Shweli in the People’s Republic of China from March 8 to 11.

The two sides announced a joint statement after talks. The joint statement said that the two sides have satisfied the peace talks between the Union level peace-making group of the government and KIO’s central delegation.

The statement said the peace talks had seen progress and the two sides could build trust during the meetings. The peace talks will continue through political means. It also mentioned that military tensions would decrease as a result of the peace talks.

The two sides will continue to discuss the issues related to the outposts in conflict areas until achieving an agreement, as mentioned in the joint-statement.

But, the primary agreements of Ruili’s meetings publicized on March 11 was that both sides agreed they were neglected by the government army. The latest fighting in northern Shan state came less than 24 hours after a joint statement issued on March 11 by delegates from both the KIO and the Burmese government.

The joint-statement said: “The two sides believe that military tensions would be decreased as a result of the peace talks.”

Meanwhile, approximately 1,000 government soldiers from Tactical Operations Command 1 and 2 plus infamous 88th LID took a stronghold in Gang-Dau-Yang and Daw-Hpum-Yang in preparation for a major assault on Kachin headquarters.

Local sources reported that 13 Burmese Army trucks transported heavy artillery including 105 mm, 120 mm howitzers and field guns to Gang Dau Yang since last Wednesday. Skirmishes occur daily near Npawn village and Ja Hta village as Burmese Army continues its offensive to get a stronghold in areas around Gang-Dau-Yang.

“Latest troops movements and transportation of military equipment all indicated that Burmese Army is preparing for a major assault,” the Kachinland News said, quoting a local observer. Local sources also say that Burmese Army’s Bureau of Air Defence got 3 fighter jets ready at Nampong Air Force Base in Myitkyina for an upcoming assault on KIA.

KIO has constantly asked the government to withdraw its troops toward the line agreed upon in the 1994 ceasefire accord to show its peace proposal is sincere and genuine. The most recent battles took place in the KIO’s territories accepted during the 1994-2011 ceasefire period.

The KNU delegation told the public about the KNU’s ongoing ‘peace talks’ and the mission team said they sought cooperation from all Karen people in their endeavor to attain a long-lasting peace in Burma.

Naw Zipporah Sein, general secretary of the KNU explained to the large crowd the objectives of the KNU peace process and requested all Karen people to participate with the KNU for peace.

Naw Zipporah Sein said, “The KNU is trying to build a lasting peace by holding talks with the government; our aim is for all of our people to be able to live in peace, have stability and to be able progress their lives. To build peace for the Karen nation is the cause of all Karen people – we need the support of every Karen, their cooperation and their advice.”

According to Karen News, the KNU delegation arrived at 4pm on 6 April in Rangoon and stayed at the Sedona Hotel. Railways Minister Aung Min, head of Burmese government peace delegation, offered a dinner for the KNU representatives at the Sedona Hotel on Friday. Before dinner, railways minister Aung Min and the KNU’s secretary Naw Zipporah Sein explained their political stance on the peace talk’s procedure and urged all people to work together for peace.
A large contingent of journalists, Karen leaders, other ethnic parties’ leaders, foreign guests and government ministers attended the dinner.

Minister Aung Min told the gathering that Karen people inside Burma had promised to help the KNU peace process. The Karen People Party (KPP) joint chairman Saw Say Wah Nyunt told Karen News that he offered his support and he would like to help the KNU peace process as much as he can.

Burma’s Thein Sein government has expected signing a preliminary ceasefire with the Karen National Union (KNU), one of the world’s oldest rebellions, at peace talks in January. The KNU has been struggling for equal right and self-determination since January 31, 1949 and has been fighting against the Burma’s successive military regimes for more than 60 years.

The peace-talk between the Karen National Union (KNU) and the Burmese government was the commencement of the second stage of a three-phase procedure outlined by the Burma’s quasi-civilian government.

On January 12, the 19-member peace-talk delegation of the Karen National Union (KNU) had meeting with Burmese government representatives in Pa-an Town, capital of Karen State. As reported by Karen News, the KNU listed 11 key points including a demand for the Burmese government to stop military operations in ethnic areas, to start a nationwide ceasefire as soon as possible, to guarantee the human rights and safety of civilians, to build trust, to plan development projects that allow full participation and decision making of local villagers, to immediately stop forced labor and to stop excessive taxation and extortion of villagers.

Friday peace-talk agreement looked like based on the key points of 12 January peace meeting. Both sides agreed to work gradually for a countrywide break in fighting and bring to end warfare in ethnic areas.

According to The Associated Press News, The points agreed upon Friday included to work step-by-step for a nationwide cease-fire and end to conflict in ethnic areas; to set up a code of conduct to maintain a cease-fire that guarantees the security of the people; and to draw up plans to resettle internally displaced people and ensure work and food security in their home areas.

On the contrary, government has delayed to settle down the conflicts in Kachin state. The Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) has offered to end ongoing warfare if the government will commence talks for a nationwide ceasefire. But Burmese government authorities did not show any positive signal, according to La Nang, a spokesman for the KIO.

Last Sunday April 1, the same day as the national by-elections, four government soldiers died and several others were seriously injured following heavy fighting between Kachin forces and the Burma army in the Pangsai area, Kachin News Group said.

On Thursday, members of the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) captured and then destroyed a government strategic checkpoint in northern Shan state at Pangsai (Kyukok), quoting eyewitnesses report, KNG said.

The recent Burmese by-election is a hot topic for leaders at the 20th ASEAN Summit in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Pic: AP

In its press statement, Eva Kusuma Sundari, Indonesian MP and AIPMC President said, “While the elections in [Burma] this Sunday can be seen as a step in the right direction, we must not forget that they have been overshadowed not only by widespread and well documented allegations of electoral improprieties, but also the continued violence and human rights abuses taking place in the ethnic areas.”

“We congratulate Daw Aung Sang Suu Kyi on this historic day for her and her party and we stand by her in her continued efforts to bring human rights, justice and democracy to the people of Myanmar. But the hard work is still to come and we must not be distracted too long by this election. The serious issue of continued conflict and human rights abuses in the ethnic areas must be brought to the forefront, as the human toll of these conflicts continues to be too high for any of us to ignore,” Ms. Eva said.

AIPMC calls on ASEAN to monitor closely the situation of human rights in Burma, especially, the continued violent conflict in ethnic areas.

The caucus also spotlights Tomás Ojea Quintana’s latest report in March that Burma’s legal institutions were not capable of investigating and bringing human rights cases to legal process. AIPMC says in its press statement that ASEAN needs to watch closely Mr. Quintana’s report, which emphasised attacks against civilian populations, extrajudicial killings, sexual violence, internal displacement, land confiscations, the use of human shields, the recruitment of child soldiers, as well as forced labour and portering.

Cambodian MP and AIPMC Vice President Mr. Son Chhay said, “It is still unclear whether this government sees itself as a transitional government or the real representatives of the people of Burma. We must not hold back until real and substantive reforms have been enacted and the army is neutralised as a political force,”

“We can take a moment to celebrate the election victory for Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, who continues to be an inspiration to us all, but the hard work for her and her country is still to come. And it is our responsibility as fellow members of the ASEAN community to stand by her and the Burmese people as they continue to strive for genuine change in their country. We will continue to impress upon our parliaments how important this issue is,” he said.

The caucus also points out that even if Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy Party have done a courageous job, their small percentage of seats in Parliament leaves them with little constitutional power. The caucus also urges reformers in the government to support country’s transition to democracy along with backing of the international community and ASEAN.

“As we have seen across the region, we cannot always rely on individuals, no matter how well meaning they may seem. We have to have the laws that protect us, as people can be changed and turned by power. When you change to a new political system, there will necessarily be many legal loopholes, and these holes must be plugged as quickly as possible. You must strengthen the systems and you have to neutralise the power of the army,” said Mr. Son Chhay.

According to AIPMC, Sunday’s by-elections were far from ideal. The Burmese government has to ensure that outside election monitors, including those from ASEAN, be given total access to any future elections.

Underscoring the call of ASEAN Secretary General Dr. Surin Pitsuwan, AIPMC also calls on ASEAN leaders in the coming Summit in Phnom Penh to put into their agenda most advantageous efforts to promote the political transition in Burma with respect to human rights. The caucus also suggests ASEAN to keep on constructive engagement with the government, the opposition and the ethnic groups.

Moreover, in its press release, the caucus encourages ASEAN to pressure the government of Burma to go swiftly toward conducting a comprehensive and transparent review of the 2008 Constitution and all national legislation. This review should be fully participatory, involving political opposition, civil society, and ethnic nationalities, and be carried out with the aim of amending, repealing or replacing laws that are inconsistent with international human rights and democratic standards, the press statement says.

In conclusion, AIPMC urges the Burmese government to ratify or accede to additional international instruments, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), the Convention against Torture (CAT), and the Rome Statute.

The government of Burma must stuff domestic laws with provisions laid out in those international instruments, AIPMC said ahead of the ASEAN Summit in Phnom Penh.

Myanmar pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi waves to supporters from her vehicle during her election campaign in Aung Pan in Aung Pan township, Southern Shan State, Myanmar, in early March 2012. Pic: AP

The National League for Democracy’s (NLD) victory would make a major landmark in the country where the military dictatorship has ruled for five decades. It would not only make the major honor for the NLD’s political mission but also spotlight the vital role of Aung San Suu Kyi who had been locked up in her lakeside residence for two decades by the previous military regime.

Over a thousand supporters of Suu Kyi and her party were gathering in front of the NLD headquarters claiming and hailing the victory of the National League for Democracy in Burma’s former capital, Rangoon since the news of voting results were informing on a digital billboard there.

In the afternoon of the polling day, there were complaints by several voters that they couldn’t mark ticking on their ballot papers as the sheets were coated with wax at the box of National League for Democracy. Voters attempted repeatedly to make the ticking mark. Afterward there were two to three scratches. When some voters asked the polling station staff for a new ballot paper,  they were denied.

However, the news emerged through Facebook and Twitter that the NLD’s chairperson Suu Kyi was leading 65 percent of the vote in 82 of 129 polling booths in her constituency. Yangon Press International (YPI) and the Shwe Myit Ma Kha Media Group reported that NLD’s candidates won nearly 40 constituencies, according to unofficial vote counting results.

After the event of Sunday night, NLD personnel were vigilantly proud of the victory. Believing themselves to be succeeding in 44 constituencies in the remarkable by-elections, this promotes Aung San Suu Kyi as vital champion for a free Burma.

According to Reuters News, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has given cautious support to a by-election in Burma (Myanmar) that has given pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi a seat in the lower house of parliament.

“The United States congratulates the people who participated, many for the first time, in the campaign and election process,” Clinton said on Sunday following a meeting on the Syrian conflict in Istanbul, Reuters News said.

Pic: AP

Although Suu Kyi’s party won 44 seats out of 660 lower house, it may not be enough to  pressure the government’s ruling party.  Nevertheless, if Suu Kyi possesses a seat in parliament, it will provide the opposition parties a way to attempt to amend the undemocratic clauses of the 2008 constitution.

On the other hand, analysts deem Burma’s new quasi-civilian government’s wishes for Suu Kyi to get a seat in parliament so as to persuade the international community to honor its reform process. Thein Sein government also knows very well that without Suu Kyi’s recommendation it could not afford to lift the economic sanctions imposed by the Western democracies due to the country’s bad human rights records.

After voting results showed the NLD’s big triumph, the party’s chairperson, Suu Kyi released a kindly statement intended for all NLD candidates and supporters to be polite in their success, and to be geared up to cooperate in the company of other opposition parties and the ruling administration.

According to the Union Election Commission, the official election results will be declared within a week. So far, people cannot enjoy their happiness for victory of Aung San Suu Kyi’s party because of the past experiences in 1990 and 2010 respectively. They have to wait and see the UEC’s official announcements worriedly. No one can dare say that there will not be any alteration with the results.

Present at the meeting were departmental heads, local and foreign-based diplomats, invited representatives of the UN headquarters, representatives of the ASEAN Chairman, ASEAN countries, partner countries and European Union and correspondents of foreign countries, the paper said.

According to Foreign Minister, the elections are to be free, fair and transparent. The imminent by-elections are to be held for 40 seats in the lower house, 6 seats for upper house and 2 seats for Region Parliament, totaling 48 seats. However, by-elections for three lower house constituencies in Kachin State will not take place due to security reasons.

The poll-observers are free to go to any constituency and witness the process of elections, including making documentaries and news reporting apart from inside the polling station, the FM clarified.

He highlighted some provisions of the Election Law concerning the polling stations. He explained that ‘Election Rule 39 (A)’ guarantees secret voting for all eligible voters. In accordance with ‘Rule No. 48’ the responsible officer of the polling station must ensure the rule of law at the polling station, that the election is free and fair and the systematic entry into the polling station.

“From the beginning of voting until the end, only authorized persons, such as members of the polling station, eligible voters, police or security personnel assigned by the local election commission, members of the commission and sub-commission, candidates of respective constituency, their representatives and their assigned assistants are permitted to enter the polling station,” FM Wunna Maung Lwin said.

Apart from those approved persons, no one else is allowed to enter the polling station, he said. Maung Lwin also said that observers have to keep in mind the provisions of Chapter 13 of the Election Law.

“Article 60 prohibits disturbance to voters who come to the polling station to cast his or her vote. Article 61 prohibits on the day of election, canvassing for votes or discouraging people not to vote within the radius of 500 yards of the polling station. Article 63 prohibits the entry into the polling station without the permission of the polling station officer. Article 64 also prohibits making fraudulent accusations against the election process,” Maung Lwin explained.

According to the election law, observers can watch the process of voting from outside of the voting station. The controversial law says that one can witness the process of counting ballots, just from outside of the polling station. Observers can meet political parties, their representatives and the public, but must not interfere with their voting.

In conclusion, he asked the observers to respect the sovereignty of the nation and fully abide by the rules and regulations of the Election Commission and authorities of the polling station.

Meanwhile, as Sunday’s election approaches, more accusations of irregularities are emerging. In many rural areas, the local administrative committee members who were appointed by the ruling party have forced the people to cast their votes for the USDP in many ways. In several constituencies, they influence voters by lending money without interest so as to buy their votes.

Meanwhile, the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) led by Aung San Suu Kyi has complained of widespread inaccuracy in official voter-lists, which lost hundreds of names and put the same name in repeatedly. The worst is that the authorities put the names of dead people in the lists.

On Friday, opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi said at a news conference that campaign irregularities threatened the neutrality and fairness of the Sunday by-elections.

“I don’t think we can consider it a genuine free and fair election if we consider what has been happening here over the last few months,” the democracy icon told a news conference on Friday, ahead of Sunday’s by-elections, according to AFP News Agency.

“It is the rising political awareness of our people that we regard as our greatest triumph,” she said.

“We don’t at all regret having taken part,” Suu Kyi added – as reported by AFP.

The Burmese government agreed to give permission for two poll observers each from the United States, the European Union, Japan, China, South Korea, the United Nations as well as ASEAN members to monitor the elections. Every country was allowed send three journalists to cover the election news.

In reality, the invitations for international poll observers came too late and with too many limits. It looks contrived as the regime the lifting of sanctions imposed by the Western democracies.

Unless the government itself abides by its existing laws, the Sunday by-elections may damage the reform plans supported by President Thein Sein.

There are 48 parliamentary seats vacant throughout the country. However, voting has been postponed in three constituencies in Kachin state where authorities reasoned security concerns. But the NLD will stand in only 44 out of 45 vacant seats after one of its candidates was barred by the local election commission.

Burma’s Nobel laureate and democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi is contesting for a parliamentary seat in this by-election for the first time since her party was banned to take political power after landslide victory in 1990 elections. The April 1 vote has been watched closely by foreign governments who are taking into consideration to lift long-lasting economic sanctions.

Even though the NLD wins all the seats, the military-backed ruling party would still have a powerful majority in the legislative body.

On 14 March, Chairperson of the National League for Democracy Aung San Suu Kyi presented the party’s policy, stance and work programmes through state-owned radio and TV. In her campaign speech, she called for flourishing democracy under rule of law.

“ Public fear reigned in the country as the rule of law had been hampered due to various ways such as the putting of judicial system under control of the government machinery, nationalization of media and the revoking of the people’s rights to speak, write, hear and express freely by passing strict media and sensor rules. Democracy will not flourish unless the people have freedom from fear and human rights. With the rule of law, the people will really enjoy protection by law and the taste of freedom,” she said during her campaign broadcast.

One remarkable point of view she mentioned was directly relating to the Burma Army.

 “According to the political experiences and incidents of Myanmar (Burma), I believe that the endeavours for development of Myanmar call for essential participation of the Tatmadaw (Armed Forces),” she said in her campaign speech via the state-owned Radio and Television.

“Actually, a constitution is a charter placed between the people and the rulers. It can be amended, changed or abolished when necessary. It is found that the present constitution is not in conformity with democratic norms and standards,” she added.

“One clear example is that only the rule of people by the representatives elected by the people is the true essence of democracy. It has been known to all that in the 2008 constitution, the parliamentary seats of unelected representatives account for 25 percent of all.”

“As there are unelected representatives in the respective Hluttaws (Parliaments), it is not in conformity with democratic principles. The National League for Democracy has publicly announced the sections of the constitution that need amendments,” she made a plain criticism on the unelected representatives of the military in her speech.

However, on 27 March, which democrats regard as Anti-fascist Resistance Day and military marks as Armed Forces Day, Commander-in-Chief of Defense Services General Min Aung Hlaing said that according to the Constitution, military personnel taking seats in various Hluttaws (Parliaments) is to serve for the benefits of the National Political responsibilities.

Min Aung Hlaing said that ‘the Defense Services is mainly responsible for safeguarding the Constitution’ according to section 20, sub-section (f).

He reiterated that the armed-forces have to safeguard the National Constitution as the crucial responsibilities in building up a modern developed democratic nation.

In conclusion, he repeated that the armed-forces will have to safeguard the constitution as a major responsibility while building up a democratic nation. It looks as if Min Aung Hlaing’s 67^th Anniversary Armed Forces Day speech contrasts with Suu Kyi’s campaign speech.

Some analysts consider that as a protégé of former senior-general Than Shwe, Min Aung Hlaing clearly voiced to safeguard the 2008 constitution which gives extraordinary power to the Commander-in-Chief of Defense Services.

Then, it is a new political puzzle for the people of Burma with regard to Min Aung Hlaing. If he believes to change the country into a modern, developed and democratic nation, he should convince the role of the military institution which in fact is particularly set up for the defense purpose and nothing to do with the administrative or legislative responsibilities.

If Commander-in-Chief of Defense Services wants a modern developed nation, he should not be in the way of Burma’s Nobel laureate who wins substantial support of the mainstream population. He should not be dogmatic about the previous junta made constitution as an unchangeable.