PLEASE CLICK THE IMAGE TO ENLARGEMeanwhile, in the country's biggest city, Yangon, recently released political prisoners helped celebrate the 20th anniversary of the founding of the party led by the detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. The police and other security personnel kept a close watch Saturday on the headquarters of the party, the National League for Democracy.
No protests directly related to the anniversary of the crackdown were noted in Yangon, where the demonstrations last year drew up to 100,000 people. The junta put down the protests with force, killing at least 31 and detaining thousands.
But in the western port city of Sittwe, about 100 Buddhist monks marched peacefully in heavy rain for about 30 minutes, according to witnesses who asked not to be named for fear of being harassed by the authorities.
The monks' march took the form of their morning round of begging for alms, but it is widely understood that such a large number of monks marching in an organized fashion represents a veiled protest.In Yangon, six truckloads of riot police officers with shields and batons were deployed near the opposition party offices. People attending the ceremony there were videotaped and watched by at least 50 plainclothes security personnel.
The ceremony, attended by about 350 people, including National League for Democracy members, diplomats and reporters, was also a homecoming for Win Tin, a senior party member who was freed last week after 19 years in jail.
In an anniversary statement, the party reiterated its call for the immediate release of all political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi - who has spent 13 of the past 19 years under house arrest - and her deputy, Tin Oo. It also called for the freedom of Buddhist monks and ethnic leaders arrested by the junta.
The National League for Democracy was founded in 1988 after an abortive pro-democracy uprising and since then has faced nearly constant harassment from the ruling junta. When the party's candidates won a majority in general elections in 1990, the military refused to let it take power.
Separately on Saturday, the so-called Group of Friends, which includes the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the European Union, the United States, Russia, China, Britain and France, called on the ruling junta to release all political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi, and to start talks with the opposition.
No protests directly related to the anniversary of the crackdown were noted in Yangon, where the demonstrations last year drew up to 100,000 people. The junta put down the protests with force, killing at least 31 and detaining thousands.
But in the western port city of Sittwe, about 100 Buddhist monks marched peacefully in heavy rain for about 30 minutes, according to witnesses who asked not to be named for fear of being harassed by the authorities.
The monks' march took the form of their morning round of begging for alms, but it is widely understood that such a large number of monks marching in an organized fashion represents a veiled protest.In Yangon, six truckloads of riot police officers with shields and batons were deployed near the opposition party offices. People attending the ceremony there were videotaped and watched by at least 50 plainclothes security personnel.
The ceremony, attended by about 350 people, including National League for Democracy members, diplomats and reporters, was also a homecoming for Win Tin, a senior party member who was freed last week after 19 years in jail.
In an anniversary statement, the party reiterated its call for the immediate release of all political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi - who has spent 13 of the past 19 years under house arrest - and her deputy, Tin Oo. It also called for the freedom of Buddhist monks and ethnic leaders arrested by the junta.
The National League for Democracy was founded in 1988 after an abortive pro-democracy uprising and since then has faced nearly constant harassment from the ruling junta. When the party's candidates won a majority in general elections in 1990, the military refused to let it take power.
Separately on Saturday, the so-called Group of Friends, which includes the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the European Union, the United States, Russia, China, Britain and France, called on the ruling junta to release all political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi, and to start talks with the opposition.
NLD HOLDS ITS ANNIVERSARY IN RANGOON AND FORT WAYNE
-->“Win Tin said the fight for democracy hasn’t ended yet,” NLD spokesman Win Naing told ,“He said the NLD alone can’t work it out. He said we need to cooperate together with ethnic and pro-democracy forces.”
Freed as part of a government amnesty, the NLD’s Win Tin and Khin Maung Swe were appointed to the party’s Central Executive Committee, while another released member, Than Nyein, was reassigned to his former position as vice-chairman of the Rangoon Division Organizing Committee, according to NLD spokesman Win Naing.
Prominent ethnic Arakanese leader Aye Thar Aung, who is secretary of the Committee Representing the People’s Parliament (CRPP), welcomed the return of the NLD members and said he believed that the CRPP should also be more active in dealing with the NLD.
Aye Thar Aung told The Irrawaddy that the NLD had not been able to bring about any tangible improvements in democratic reform in Burma within the last 20 years as hoped.
Before his 19 years in prison, Win Tin served as a secretary of the NLD and was senior advisor to detained leader Aung San Suu Kyi. He was arrested in 1989 and sentenced to a total of 20 years imprisonment on a series of trumped up charges, such as “instigation to civil disobedience” and “secretly publishing anti-government propaganda.”
He was released on September 23 along with 9,001 other prisoners, only a handful of whom are considered political prisoners. According to a Thailand-based human rights group, the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma), there are more than 2,000 political prisoners still behind bars in Burma.
During the 20th anniversary ceremony in Rangoon, Win Tin called for the release of all political prisoners, including the detained Buddhist monks, Tin Oo of the NLD and leaders of the 88 Generation Students group—Min Ko Naing, Ko Ko Gyi and Htay Kywe.
That same day, several members of the NLD—including active youth member Htet Htet Oo Wai—were arrested by security forces and later released, said Nyan Win, the party’s spokesman.
On September 22, the NLD released a statement calling for a review of the junta’s constitutional process. The statement urged Burmese authorities to reconsider the state constitution, calling the draft constitution “one-sided” and lacking the participation of the 1990-elected members of parliament.
Then on Saturday at the anniversary ceremony, the NLD released another statement calling for the ruling junta to release all political prisoners, reopen NLD offices and convene a people’s parliament. More than 300 participants, including NLD members, veteran Burmese politicians and foreign diplomats, attended the 20th anniversary of the NLD’s founding. The NLD was later warned by the head of Burma’s police, Brig-Gen Khin Yi, to withdraw its statement, because the authorities saw it potentially motivating citizens to undertake activities critical of the military government. The NLD is the main opposition party in Burma and won a landslide victory—392 out of 492 seats—in parliamentary elections in 1990. However, the current Burmese government, led by Snr-Gen Than Shwe, ignored the election results and refused to transfer power to Suu Kyi’s NLD.
Prominent ethnic Arakanese leader Aye Thar Aung, who is secretary of the Committee Representing the People’s Parliament (CRPP), welcomed the return of the NLD members and said he believed that the CRPP should also be more active in dealing with the NLD.
Aye Thar Aung told The Irrawaddy that the NLD had not been able to bring about any tangible improvements in democratic reform in Burma within the last 20 years as hoped.
Before his 19 years in prison, Win Tin served as a secretary of the NLD and was senior advisor to detained leader Aung San Suu Kyi. He was arrested in 1989 and sentenced to a total of 20 years imprisonment on a series of trumped up charges, such as “instigation to civil disobedience” and “secretly publishing anti-government propaganda.”
He was released on September 23 along with 9,001 other prisoners, only a handful of whom are considered political prisoners. According to a Thailand-based human rights group, the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma), there are more than 2,000 political prisoners still behind bars in Burma.
During the 20th anniversary ceremony in Rangoon, Win Tin called for the release of all political prisoners, including the detained Buddhist monks, Tin Oo of the NLD and leaders of the 88 Generation Students group—Min Ko Naing, Ko Ko Gyi and Htay Kywe.
That same day, several members of the NLD—including active youth member Htet Htet Oo Wai—were arrested by security forces and later released, said Nyan Win, the party’s spokesman.
On September 22, the NLD released a statement calling for a review of the junta’s constitutional process. The statement urged Burmese authorities to reconsider the state constitution, calling the draft constitution “one-sided” and lacking the participation of the 1990-elected members of parliament.
Then on Saturday at the anniversary ceremony, the NLD released another statement calling for the ruling junta to release all political prisoners, reopen NLD offices and convene a people’s parliament. More than 300 participants, including NLD members, veteran Burmese politicians and foreign diplomats, attended the 20th anniversary of the NLD’s founding. The NLD was later warned by the head of Burma’s police, Brig-Gen Khin Yi, to withdraw its statement, because the authorities saw it potentially motivating citizens to undertake activities critical of the military government. The NLD is the main opposition party in Burma and won a landslide victory—392 out of 492 seats—in parliamentary elections in 1990. However, the current Burmese government, led by Snr-Gen Than Shwe, ignored the election results and refused to transfer power to Suu Kyi’s NLD.
Ban Reviews Latest Developments In MyanmarMonday
, 29 September 2008, 9:51 amPress Release: United Nations
Myanmar: Ban reviews latest developments with ‘Group of Friends’
27 September 2008 – Members of a group of nations helping Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in his efforts to spur change in Myanmar today encouraged the Government of the Asian country to work more closely with the UN to deal with issues of concern, including the release of the long-detained political prisoner Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.
The Group of Friends on Myanmar, which comprises 14 countries and one regional bloc, also unanimously backed the Secretary-General’s good offices on this issue and its implementation through his Special Adviser, Ibrahim Gambari. The Group’s comments were made in a statement issued by the spokesperson of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who convened and chaired a high-level meeting of the countries in New York today.
That statement described today’s meeting as “a useful and constructive discussion,” and noted that the involvement of so many high-level officials indicated “the importance that the international community attaches to the situation in Myanmar.”
The participants included the Secretary-General of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the High Representative of the European Union (EU), as well as government ministers from concerned countries, according to the statement.
“While noting the recent actions taken by the Government of Myanmar, members of the Group also further encouraged it to work more closely with and respond more positively with the United Nations good offices to address key issues of concern to the international community, especially the release of prisoners, including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, and the initiation of an all-inclusive dialogue between the Government and the opposition.”
Ms. Suu Kyi has been under house arrest for 12 of the past 18 years and her current period of detention started in 2003.
The Group of Friends also “encouraged all parties in Myanmar to seize the opportunity of the UN good offices, while stressing the responsibility of the Myanmar Government to demonstrate its stated commitment to cooperation with the good offices through further tangible results.”
The Group, founded in December last year, represents a balanced range of views on Myanmar and was set up to hold informal discussions and develop shared approaches to support UN efforts. The Friends are: Australia, China, the EU, France, India, Indonesia, Japan, Norway, Russia, Singapore, the Republic of Korea, Thailand, the United Kingdom, the United States and Viet Nam.
Myanmar: Ban reviews latest developments with ‘Group of Friends’
27 September 2008 – Members of a group of nations helping Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in his efforts to spur change in Myanmar today encouraged the Government of the Asian country to work more closely with the UN to deal with issues of concern, including the release of the long-detained political prisoner Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.
The Group of Friends on Myanmar, which comprises 14 countries and one regional bloc, also unanimously backed the Secretary-General’s good offices on this issue and its implementation through his Special Adviser, Ibrahim Gambari. The Group’s comments were made in a statement issued by the spokesperson of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who convened and chaired a high-level meeting of the countries in New York today.
That statement described today’s meeting as “a useful and constructive discussion,” and noted that the involvement of so many high-level officials indicated “the importance that the international community attaches to the situation in Myanmar.”
The participants included the Secretary-General of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the High Representative of the European Union (EU), as well as government ministers from concerned countries, according to the statement.
“While noting the recent actions taken by the Government of Myanmar, members of the Group also further encouraged it to work more closely with and respond more positively with the United Nations good offices to address key issues of concern to the international community, especially the release of prisoners, including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, and the initiation of an all-inclusive dialogue between the Government and the opposition.”
Ms. Suu Kyi has been under house arrest for 12 of the past 18 years and her current period of detention started in 2003.
The Group of Friends also “encouraged all parties in Myanmar to seize the opportunity of the UN good offices, while stressing the responsibility of the Myanmar Government to demonstrate its stated commitment to cooperation with the good offices through further tangible results.”
The Group, founded in December last year, represents a balanced range of views on Myanmar and was set up to hold informal discussions and develop shared approaches to support UN efforts. The Friends are: Australia, China, the EU, France, India, Indonesia, Japan, Norway, Russia, Singapore, the Republic of Korea, Thailand, the United Kingdom, the United States and Viet Nam.
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