NLD URGES BAN TO MEET DEMOCRACY ICON

“As he will be coming here on a political matter relating to Burma, he should meet NLD’s General Secretary Aung San Suu Kyi. Only after he meets her, can we say his visit has been fruitful,” Nyan Win said.

The UN chief, currently on a tour of Japan, will be on a two-day visit to Burma in an attempt to address the political imbroglio in the country and to free Aung San Suu Kyi, said Michele Montas, Ban Ki-moon’s spokesperson on Monday.

“Ban looks forward to returning to Myanmar [Burma] to address the senior leadership directly on a broad range of issues, including longstanding concerns to the United Nations and to the international community,” said Montas.

She added that Ban during his visit will try to resolve the issues of political prisoners, the resumption of dialogue between the government and the opposition, to achieve national reconciliation, and set the stage for credible elections slated for 2010.

“We also agree that the three objectives of Ban are the most important things to address regarding Burma’s political problems,” Nyan Win said. “But it is impossible to gauge if Ban will be able to solve the problems before he winds up his trip.

The announcement on Ban’s trip came following his special Envoy Ibrahim Gambari’s return from a visit last weekend to Burma’s new jungle capital Naypyitaw, where he met junta’s Foreign Affairs Minister Nyan Win.

Meanwhile, the Burma Campaign UK, a group advocating democracy and human rights in Burma, on Monday urged Ban to use his visit to deliver concrete results whether or not the regime responds positively to diplomatic pressure.

"We have had 20 years of UN envoys going back and forth to Burma and nothing to show for it. We need Ban Ki-moon to personally take the lead, but he must deliver practical results, such as the release of all political prisoners," said Zoya Phan, International Coordinator of Burma Campaign UK.

“Talking to the generals is a means to an end, but so far the UN seems to treat talks alone as a success. Ban Ki-moon must deliver the strongest possible message to Than Shwe that they can no longer defy the Security Council," she added.

The timing of Ban’s visit coincides with Aung San Suu Kyi’s trial which will resume on July 3.

Aung San Suu Kyi is currently on trial for flouting the terms of her house arrest after an uninvited American man, John William Yettaw, swam to her lakeside residence and stayed there for two nights in early May.

Montas added, Ban will also discuss the joint humanitarian effort following his visit to Burma in the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis on May 2 and 3, 2008, which left at least 140,000 dead or missing and devastated the lives of more than 2.4 million people rendered homeless with lack of food.

MISSLILE TECH SMUGGLES FROM JAPAN TO BURMA

Japanese police arrested three top businessmen on Monday on suspicion of attempting to export to Burma a measuring instrument that could be used to develop long-range ballistic missile systems, Japanese newspapers reported.

Accordingly to the newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun, Japanese police initially believed that the three—all of them presidents of Japanese companies—were trying to export the device to North Korea via Burma.

But then suspicions hardened that the nominal North Korean importer had exported other missile development-related equipment to Burma, leading the police to believe that “North Korea was attempting to promote the transfer of missile technologies, such as its Taepodong system, to Myanmar [Burma].”

The three businessmen, arrested on suspicion of violating the Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Law, were identified as Lee Kyoung Ho, 41, an ethnic Korean resident and president of the trading firm Toko Boeki; Miaki Katsuki, 75, president of a manufacturing firm; and Yasuhiko Muto, 57, president of an export agency.

According to the police, the three conspired to export the magnetic measuring device to Burma via Malaysia around January 2009 at a price of about 7 million yen (US $73,000), the newspaper report said.

Export of the device is restricted under regulations that prohibit exports of products that could be used for weapons of mass destruction.

The newspaper said that around September 2008, the company had also tried to export the same instrument to Burma’s Ministry for Industry 2, which plays a key supporting role in Burma's nuclear program as the chairman of the Myanmar [Burma] Atomic Energy Committee.

The Japanese newspaper report said both attempts to export the device were aborted immediately before shipment when Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry notified the company that it had failed to submit an export application.

The export attempts were based on an order by the Beijing office of New East International Trading Ltd, based in Hong Kong, in early 2008. The firm is believed to be under the direct control of the Second Economic Committee of the Pyongyang's Workers' Party of Korea. The committee is responsible for the party's military procurement.

North Korea has a record of selling arms and military technology to Burma. It is suspected that this may include secret nuclear technology.

In 2004, a high-ranking US government official said North Korea had proposed the sale of missiles to Burma.

A North Korean cargo ship, Kang Nam 1, left a North Korean port reportedly for Burma on June 17, and is believed to be carrying weapons, missile parts or possibly even nuclear materials. A US Naval ship is shadowing the ship, which is being monitored under UN sanctions.

FREEDOM LOGO FOR BURMA'S FUTURE

These days, every political movement needs a logo, and who better to supply the hip revolutionary imagery than street artist Shepard Fairey, whose poster of Obama ("Hope") became a cultural phenomenon unto itself -- a Warholian meta-event that combined fashion, hipsterism and a political call to action.

Fairey has been bogged down with legal problems in recent weeks, but he's apparently found time to lend his creativity to another cause. Burmese dissident Aung San Suu Kyi is a human rights activist who has fought for years against the repressive regime of dictator Than Shwe. The Nobel Peace Prize-winning activist has been under house arrest for several years now, but that hasn't stopped her from campaigning with her political party, the National League for Democracy. In the last election, her party won a majority of seats in the Myanmar parliament but the ruling party has refused to let the winners take their seats.

The new poster of Suu Kyi was created by Fairey in cooperation with the Human Rights Action Center and the U.S. Campaign for Burma. (The two organizations are planning to stage a concert in Los Angeles in late fall to raise awareness for her democracy movement.) The colorful image depicts a smiling Suu Kyi wearing a dove design and features a sunburst emanating from behind her. The top of the poster reads "Freedom to Lead" in large letters, while at the bottom reads "Support Human Rights" and "Democracy in Burma."

While the Obama poster became a ubiquitous symbol -- featured on T-shirts, mugs, bumper stickers and of course, the Internet -- the new poster will have a tougher time reaching its audience thanks to the totalitarian practices of the Myanmar government. It's tough to say how Fairey's artwork will get past the censors, though as in other authoritarian regimes, the Internet and wireless communications have proven to be a consistent lifeline of communication with the outside. (Speaking of which, Culture Monster wonders if Fairey is working on a poster for slain Iranian protestor Neda Agha-Soltan.)

THE CELEBRATION OF DAW AUNG SAN SUU KYI 'S 64 BIRTH DAY ( FORT WAYNE, IN)

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FINAL WITNESS TO COURT IN BURMA

A court at Yangon's Insein prison last month barred two senior members of her National League for Democracy (NLD) from giving evidence, but the Supreme Court agreed to hear an appeal against the decision.

"We gave our arguments to the Supreme Court for about one hour today. We do not have a date for the decision and must wait for it to be posted on the court's list," NLD spokesman and defence lawyer Nyan Win said.

The two barred witnesses are Win Tin, a journalist who was Myanmar's longest-serving political prisoner until his release in September, and detained deputy NLD leader Tin Oo.

"Regarding today's arguments, the prosecution complained about U Win Tin as he gave interviews to foreign media. We said that that is not related to the law," Nyan Win said. U is a term of respect in the Burmese language.

Aung San Suu Kyi's lawyers earlier this month successfully appealed against a ban on a third witness, while a fourth has already testified.

The prosecution has so far had 14 witnesses, adding to opposition and international claims that the proceedings are a show trial designed to keep the democracy icon locked up ahead of elections scheduled by the regime in 2010.

The UN envoy to Myanmar, Ibrahim Gambari, may visit the country later this week ahead of a possible trip by the world body's chief Ban Ki-moon in early July focusing on the trial, officials and diplomats say.

"We hope to meet Mr Gambari when he comes, as we did on his previous visits," Nyan Win said.

Aung San Suu Kyi on Monday thanked people around the world who sent her birthday wishes and called for her immediate release as she turned 64 in jail last week.

Famous names including British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Beatles star Paul McCartney and US actor George Clooney offered support on a special website while events took place in more than 15 cities.

The charges against Aung San Suu Kyi come amid a wide-ranging crackdown on the opposition that has been carried out since the ruling generals crushed protests led by Buddhist monks in 2007.

Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, has been ruled by the military since 1962.

Suu Kyi Says Thanks for Birthday Wishes from the Cell

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Burmese democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi thanked supporters around the world who sent her greetings for her 64th birthday last week while she remained in prison.

A spokesman for her political party, Nyan Win, said Monday the Nobel Peace laureate regretted she could not thank everyone individually. He said the well-wishers whose messages he delivered to her included British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, the Japanese and Australian governments, France's foreign minister, and a US senator.

Suu Kyi is being held in Rangoon's Insein Prison while being tried for violating the terms of her house arrest when an uninvited American man swam secretly to her closely guarded lakeside home last month and stayed two days. If convicted, she faces up to five years in prison.

Lawyers met Suu Kyi and two of her companions at the prison Monday for two hours, Nyan Win said, and made preparations for their closing arguments, for which no date has yet been set.

Nyan Win said he delivered 50 packets of Indian-style Biriyani rice, chocolate cake and three bouquets of flowers to the prison for Suu Kyi's birthday last Friday but was not allowed to see her.

"She is very well," he said. "A doctor takes care of her health." Suu Kyi had been suffering from dehydration and low blood pressure just before being charged last month.

She treated her guards and the prison doctor to some of the food, he said.

Suu Kyi's trial has drawn outrage from the international community and local supporters who say the military government is using the affair as an excuse to keep her detained through elections scheduled for next year.

She has spent more than 13 of the past 19 years in detention without trial, mostly under house arrest.

US TRACES NORTH KOREAN NU-SHIP TO BURMA

"This administration - and our military - is fully prepared for any contingencies," Obama said in an interview with CBS when asked about reported North Korean intentions to fire a missile toward Hawaii on or about July 4.

Obama's comments came from a partial transcript of an interview that will air Monday on "The Early Show."

The U.S. suspects the cargo ship Kang Nam is carrying missiles and related parts, said the South Korean news network YTN, citing an intelligence source in the South.

Myanmar's military government, which faces an arms embargo from the United States and the European Union, has reportedly bought weapons from North Korea.

YTN said the U.S. has deployed a destroyer and is using satellites to track the ship, which was expected to travel to Myanmar via Singapore.

The ship is reportedly the first North Korean vessel to be tracked under the new UN sanctions.

Two U.S. officials said Thursday that the U.S. military had begun tracking the ship, which left port Wednesday and was traveling off China.

Tensions on the Korean peninsula have spiked since North Korea conducted its second nuclear test explosion May 25.

It later declared it would expand its atomic bomb program and threatened war to protest the UN sanctions imposed in response to its nuclear test.

PRAYERS GO TO JAIL IN BURMA

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YANGON (AFP) – Myanmar has jailed two supporters of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi for one and a half years for insulting religion after they prayed at a pagoda for her release, her party has said.

Chit Pe and Aung Saw Wai, members of the detained Nobel laureate's National League for Democracy (NLD) party, were each sentenced last week, according to lawyer and NLD spokesman Nyan Win.

"They were sentenced... under the act of insulting religion," Nyan Win said.

The pair were arrested at their homes in April after they led a religious ceremony at a pagoda in Twante, about 40 kilometres (30 miles) west of Yangon, at which they offered prayers for their leader's freedom.

In a separate case, three youth members of the NLD were arrested ten days ago and are being held in custody, Nyan Win said.

"We do not know the details about their arrest but they were detained on remand under the Explosives Act," Nyan Win said.

Myanmar's military regime has kept Aung San Suu Kyi in detention for 13 of the past 19 years, after refusing to recognise the NLD's landslide victory in the country's last elections in 1990.

The pro-democracy icon is currently being held in Yangon's notorious Insein prison on charges of breaching her house arrest rules in May, when an American man swam uninvited to her lakeside residence.

Her supporters in the predominantly Buddhist country have traditionally prayed at pagodas for her freedom and for the release of the country's other political prisoners.

Myanmar authorities have frequently enforced the law against insulting religion -- which carries a penalty of up to two years in prison -- since Buddhist monks led protests against the junta in September 2007.

Aung San Suu Kyi turned 64 on Friday and supporters worldwide marked the day with calls for her release -- from British Prime Minister Gordon Brown to US actors Julia Roberts and George Clooney.

Myanmar's top court will on Wednesday hear an appeal by her legal team to overturn a ban on two defence witnesses in the trial.

"We are preparing our arguments for the Supreme Court," Nyan Win said.

The main trial, at Insein prison, is set to resume on Friday.

British PM's wife hosts BURMA VJ film on Aung San Suu Kyi 's 64 th birthday anniversary

Sarah Brown hosted the first-ever film screening at the prime minister's Downing Street offices to raise awareness for a campaign calling on Myanmar's military junta to release Aung San Suu Kyi before elections next year.

At least one minister and various charity bosses were to attend the showing of "Burma VJ", which a Foreign Office spokesman said "exposes the atrocities and injustices that have been taking place under the military regime."

It is comprised largely of footage filmed over a number of days by an undercover network of video journalists -- VJs -- using concealed cameras. It is due to be released nationwide on July 14.

Brown was in Brussels for a meeting of European Union leaders.

Aung San Suu Kyi has spent 13 of the last 19 years in detention since the junta refused to recognise her National League for Democracy's (NLD) landslide victory elections in 1990.

The Nobel Peace Prize laureate is set to spend her birthday on Friday at Yangon's notorious Insein prison, where she is being held on charges of having violated her house arrest after an American man swam to her lakeside house.

The Downing Street screening is in aid of the campaign '64 Words for Aung San Suu Kyi', in which world leaders including Brown and celebrities such as George Clooney and Julia Roberts sent her messages of support.


*********Britain wants more Myanmar sanctions over Suu Kyi*************************


LONDON (Reuters) – Britain wants further targeted international financial sanctions to increase pressure on Myanmar to free opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners, a minister said on Thursday.

Suu Kyi, who turns 64 on Friday, is on trial for allegedly violating the terms of her house arrest.

Her trial, set to resume on June 26, has angered Britain and other Western countries, which say it is aimed at excluding her from elections next year.

Foreign Office Minister Ivan Lewis said the European Union would consider further sanctions against Myanmar's military government once Suu Kyi's trial was over.

"We (Britain) continue to believe that further targeted financial sanctions would increase pressure on the regime," he told reporters.

In April, the EU extended visa bans and asset freezes on officials and firms linked to Myanmar's rulers for another year, citing human rights and democracy concerns.

Suu Kyi faces three to five years in prison if found guilty of breaking the terms of her house arrest by letting an American intruder stay for two days after he swam to her home in May.

Lewis said Suu Kyi was being tried on "ridiculous and bogus trumped-up charges." Britain wants U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to visit Myanmar soon after the trial is over, Lewis said.

Ban's mission would be to send "very strong messages about what we require of the Burmese (Myanmar) regime if there is to be any prospect in the future of an easing of sanctions and any kind of normalization of international relations."

Britain wants all political prisoners freed and political reforms leading to a civilian, democratic government.

Western diplomats at the United Nations said this week that Myanmar's rulers had invited Ban to visit in early July.

The British ambassador to Myanmar, Mark Canning, speaking by video link from Yangon, said there was no doubt Suu Kyi would be found guilty, and that she would probably be sentenced to a further period of house arrest, rather than sent to jail.

He said the trial has been a disaster for the Myanmar government by raising Suu Kyi's profile.

Countries such as Singapore and Thailand were saying that investment from their countries would not flow to Myanmar until the situation was more stable, he said.

Suu Kyi has been detained for more than 13 of the last 19 years. Myanmar's junta has refused to recognize a 1990 landslide election victory by her National League for Democracy.

(Editing by Kevin Liffey)

U.N.'s Ban urged to help free Myanmar prisoners

The petition calls on Ban and his special envoy to Myanmar, Ibrahim Gambari, to secure the release of Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader of the democratic opposition in the country formerly known as Burma, and other political prisoners.

Suu Kyi is currently on trial for allegedly violating the terms of her imprisonment.

U.N. spokeswoman Michele Montas confirmed on Tuesday that Gambari had received the petition.

"The release of all political prisoners is the first and most important step toward freedom and democracy in Burma," the petition says. "We, the undersigned, call upon U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to make it his personal priority to secure the release of all of Burma's political prisoners."

More than 670,000 signatures were collected in some 220 countries and territories, said the petition organizers, who include former political prisoners and human rights activists.

Among the Burmese activists behind the petition are Khin Ohmar, vice chairwoman of the Burmese Women's Union, and former political prisoners Tate Naing and Aung Din.

Myanmar is holding 2,100 political prisoners and since October more than 350 prisoners have been given jail sentences of up to 104 years, according to a statement issued by the Czech Republic, which has helped publicize the petition.

Among the world figures who signed the petition is former Czech President Vaclav Havel, who spent many years in prison due to his activities as an anti-communist dissident.

The trial of Suu Kyi and of American John Yettaw, whose uninvited visit to her home last month was deemed a breach of her house arrest, is set to resume on June 26. Suu Kyi faces up to five years in prison if found guilty.

Ban is considering a visit to Myanmar next month to personally urge the junta generals to keep their promises to democratize.


*************China Adds ‘Democracy,’ ‘Economic Growth’ to Burma Policy ************

According to a Chinese language news website, www.news.qq.com, Wen said in order to achieve Burma’s national reconciliation, safeguard national stability and economic development, Beijing hoped the military government would promote democracy.

Apart from the political situation in Burma, Wen also spoke of the nearly six decade long diplomatic ties between the neighboring countries as well as sustained bilateral relations.

The Chinese media reported that Maung Aye said during his meeting with Wen on Tuesday that “Paukphaw,” or deep friendship relation between Burma and China, have been deepen even more. He thanked the Chinese government for its aid for economic and social development in Burma.

Maung Aye also said Burma supported the one-China policy when he met with Premier Wen, the Chinese media reported.

Aung Kyaw Zaw, a Burmese analyst based on the Sino-Burmese border, said it was a positive step for Bejing to add democracy, national reconciliation and economic development to its old policy of “stability” in Burma.

“Wen Jiabao’s words of national reconciliation, stability and economic development to Gen Maung Aye reflected China’s current Burma policy,” he said.

However, other Burma observers are still skeptical about China’s policy on Burma, saying Beijing only focuses on its own economic and military interests in regard to Burma.

“I do not expect much out of this visit and certainly not Chinese pressure on Naypyidaw to adopt reforms,” Jeff Kingston, the director of Asian Studies at Temple University’s Japan campus, told The Irrawaddy.

“China wants stability on its border and even if it has some reservations about the SPDC's methods and capabilities, it shows no inclination to gamble on democracy or condemn human rights abuses.”

He noted that Burma’s powerful neighbors, China and India, are its largest trading partners and their dependence on natural resources and desire for a stable Burma trump their interests in a free and democratic Burma.

“The development of Burma is for their own interests,” he said.

During his China visit, Muang Aye was accompanied by ministers and seniors officials of Burma’s Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of National Planning and Economic Development, Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Energy as well as representatives from Burmese businesses.

According to Aung Kyaw Zaw, www.news.qq.com also recently republished an article by Swedish journalist Bertil Lintner on North Korea’s involvement in tunnel and underground facility construction in Burma.

Observers say Beijing is observing the relationship between Burma and North Korea, and does not want North Korea to help the Burmese generals achieve nuclear or missile capabilities, such as in Iran and Syria.

“Definitely, China will not want two more nuclear power countries on its northeast and southwest border,” Aung Kyaw Zaw said.

In last year, officials of Burma and North Korea exchanged a number of visits. Burmese foreign minister Nyan Win visited North Korea in October 2008. In November 2008, North Korean Deputy Foreign Minister Kim Young Il stopped in Burma before he flew to Iran. The junta’s No 3 leader, General Shwe Mann, reportedly visited Pyongyang in April 2008.

During Maung Aye visit to China, Kim Jong Un, 26, the favored youngest son of the North Korean dictator, Kim Jong Il, also made a secret trip from Pyongyang to Beijing last week.

“It is interesting that Maung Aye's visit follows that by a delegation from North Korea, two pariah regimes that owe much to Beijing's support—economic, diplomatic and military,” said Kingston.

MOTHER GLORY

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JUNTA IS SEEKINGHELPER FOR FUTURE

On Sunday, the junta’s mouthpiece newspaper reported the visit of Sri Lankan President Rajapaksa to Burma. Rajapaksa was received in Naypyitaw by the Burmese Army Chief Snr. Gen Than Shwe -- a rare gesture by the junta supremo.

Similarly, Singapore’s former Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong on a four-day visit to Burma last week had meetings with Than Shwe and other junta brass.

Win Tin said, such visits are indications that the junta is seeking support from regional countries. He said the junta had not anticipated that there would be such a loud outcry from the international community by putting on trial Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

“It [junta] seems to have miscalculated on the strong support for Aung San Suu Kyi by the international community,” Win Tin said.

The junta wants to gauge China’s reaction over the mounting pressure and is likely to go ahead and sentence the Burmese Nobel Peace Laureate, if China gives the green signal, he said.

According to Win Tin, the junta is determined to sentence Aung San Suu Kyi to a prison term and put her away before their proposed 2010 general elections. But it had not anticipated such an outburst from the international community.

Sources said Thura Shwe Mann, the third leader in the Burmese military hierarchy, last week visited China without making any official announcement. On Monday, the Chinese News Agency Xinhua reported that Vice-Senior General Maung Aye, number two in the military hierarchy, is visiting China.

Observers believe these visits are aimed at explaining and trying to convince China about the junta’s stand regarding the trial of Aung San Suu Kyi and the regime’s plans ahead.

Win Tin said, “Whatever the circumstances, the junta is likely go ahead with its plan if China approves.”

A HIGH NOBEL BUDDHIST MONK OF TIBET SENDS PRISE TO DAW SUU

LAWYAR MEETS the Nobel Peace Prize winner in jail

The Nobel Peace Prize winner faces up to five years in jail on charges of breaching the conditions of her house arrest after a bizarre incident in which an American man, John Yettaw, swam to her lakeside home in May.

Nyan Win, a spokesman for Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) and a member of her legal team, said before the visit that they would now try to get the remaining two witnesses at the trial.

They are Win Tin, a dissident journalist who was Myanmar's longest serving prisoner until his release in September, and Tin Oo, the detained deputy leader of the NLD.

'We will submit application to the high court tomorrow,' Nyan Win said.

So far only one legal expert, Kyi Win, has testified on behalf of Aung San Suu Kyi. The prosecution has called 14 witnesses, most of them policemen. Her trial is due to resume on Friday for a procedural hearing.

Aung San Suu Kyi's lawyers had initially accused the ruling junta of trying to push through to a widely expected guilty verdict, but diplomats said the regime now wanted to buy time to defuse the storm of protest over the trial.

US President Barack Obama has described the court proceedings as a 'show trial' while Myanmar's usually reticent Asian neighbours have expressed strong concerns. -- AFP

JUNTA DIGS OUT MONEY FROM NATION BY WIRELESS LAW

In the wake of Cyclone Nargis which lashed Burma in May 2008, people rely more on cheap short wave radios which are affordable by common people to get true facts and information relating to Burma. The use of these cheap radios among the people has increased considerably.

“After Nargis, Chinese manufactured radios have been on brisk sale. Now after Daw Suu has been put on trial, the radio is more in demand among people. Radios are selling like hot cakes. A radio can be bought at a mere Kyat 4, 500,” an electric appliances and electronic goods dealer said.

Most of the people are unaware about the need to pay tax for the use of the radio, a postal office staff said.

“It’s unimportant. No one knows about paying tax for listening to the radio,” he said.

Though the reminder was issued to pay radio tax through the state-run media, the postal offices in Burma haven’t yet received any specific instruction regarding the tax or the reminder, he added.

A list of radio users have been compiled this year and articles appeared recently in the state-run media reporting the government’s policy which says satellite receivers and dishes should not be permitted for public use.

Moreover, the Ministry of Communication is selling USD 50 worth one-time-use mobile SIM cards, envelopes and is now introducing three-months-advance bill payment for telephone users.

Though it issued a reminder to pay radio tax, the satellite receiver annual fees are yet to be accepted by the department concerned.

DAW AUNG SAN SUU KYI UNDER HOUSE ARREST AGAIN

Aung San Suu Kyi under house arrest again
The Burmese military junta is preparing to put pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, currently facing trial in Rangoon’s Insein court, under house arrest again, this time in a military base on the outskirts of Rangoon, sources close to the military said.

The source said, the junta is preparing to put the Nobel Peace Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi in a house in Ye Mon town, which is also the base of the Light Infantry Division (11), on the outskirts of Rangoon.

Though the trial against the Burmese democracy icon continues to be held in the northern district court in Insein prison, the junta has already decided to put Aung San Suu Kyi under house arrest yet again, the source added.
"The rumor sprades around Rangoon and most of the residents in the city are angry", said Tin Aye (a member of NLD Youth).
"Now the finial match is almost done and I do not see any kind of action to rescuse Daw Aung San Suu Kyi from international governments and overseas Burmese activists", Myint Maung(Rangoon Business man) tell 88GSE.
That news flows out from Junta office after Former Singapore prime minister Goh Chok Tong visited Myanmar to amid international pressure on the military regime to halt its trial of democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi.



***********Junta court grants Suu Kyi 1 more witness and ban on two Suu Kyi witnesses
A Myanmar court ruled Tuesday that pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi will be allowed to have one more defense witness — not three as requested by her lawyers — at a trial that has sparked global outrage.

The Yangon Divisional Court reversed a decision by the lower court judges presiding over Suu Kyi's trial to disqualify three defense witnesses, leaving her defense team with just one.

The higher court's ruling means that two senior member of Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy will still be barred from giving testimony. The Nobel Peace Prize laureate is on trial on charges of breaking the terms of her house arrest.

Suu Kyi's lawyers immediately said they planned to appeal the decision.

"The court has only partly accepted our appeal," said defense attorney Nyan Win, who said Suu Kyi's legal team planned to appeal to the High Court later this week to seek the reinstatement of the other two witnesses.

It was not clear if an appeal would delay closing arguments, which were scheduled to begin on Friday, or if it would be permitted.

The mostly closed-door trial, which started May 18, is taking place inside Insein Prison, home to many of the junta's political prisoners.

Security was tightened outside the Divisional Court ahead of the ruling. Truckloads of riot police were stationed near the court, where a group of pro-junta supporters gathered outside. Anti-government protests are illegal in Myanmar.

Suu Kyi's defense team had argued that Suu Kyi was legally entitled to have more witnesses, particularly in such an important case, Nyan Win said ahead of Tuesday's ruling. He said the decision to bar all but one witness was "not in accord with the law."
The three witnesses rejected by the lower court were all members of the National League for Democracy party, although the two who remained disqualified are more senior. Tuesday's ruling reinstated the lawyer Khin Moe Moe as a witness, but maintained the disqualification of prominent journalist and former political prisoner Win Tin, and the party's vice chairman Tin Oo, currently under house arrest.

Nyan Win said he believed the court did not accept Win Tin and Tin Oo because "These two persons are very senior members of the party and these people can give statements with political essence."

The court had approved 23 prosecution witnesses, of whom 14 took the stand, according to Suu Kyi's lawyers.

The defense has not contested the basic facts of the case but argues that the relevant law has been misapplied by the authorities. They also assert that any intrusion was the responsibility of the security forces guarding the house.

Two women members of Suu Kyi's party who are her sole companions in house arrest and the American, John Yettaw, are being tried with her on the same charge.

Former Singapore PM visits Burma

Goh was set to meet Myanmar's junta chief Senior General Than Shwe, Prime Minister Thein Sein and other senior officials on the "goodwill" trip, a Myanmar official and a Singaporean statement said.

The visit comes just days after the Singaporean government said that expelling Myanmar from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was not the way to bring about reform in the army-ruled country.

"Mr Goh Chok Tong arrived in Yangon this afternoon to start his four-day goodwill visit," the Myanmar official, who did not want to be named, told AFP.

"He will meet with Senior General Than Shwe and other senior leadership in Naypyidaw (Myanmar's remote administrative capital) on Tuesday."

Singapore said that Goh was visiting Myanmar for the first time in 11 years at the invitation of Thein Sein, after the Myanmar premier visited the island city state in March.

It said Goh would "use the visit to update himself on developments in the country" but did not mention Aung San Suu Kyi, who is on trial on charges of breaching her house arrest that could leave her in jail for up to five years.

Goh is now a senior minister in the cabinet of his successor, Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. Goh succeeded Singapore founding father Lee Kuan Yew -- Lee Hsien Loong's father -- as prime minister in 1990 and stepped down in 2004.

He will visit Myanmar's second largest city, Mandalay, and also officially open a hospital in Yangon completed with Singaporean assistance as part of a recovery plan following last year's devastating Cyclone Nargis, it said.

Myanmar has faced rare criticism from fellow members of ASEAN, including Singapore, in recent weeks since it put Aung San Suu Kyi on trial over a bizarre incident in which an American man swam to her lakeside house.

Last month Singapore said it was "dismayed" by the charges against her and urged the junta to release her.

But the Singaporean government added that ASEAN should not expel the most troublesome of its 10 member nations, saying that the bloc will have greater influence on Myanmar by maintaining dialogue.

Myanmar's ruling generals have kept Aung San Suu Kyi in detention for 13 of the past 19 years since refusing to recognise her party's landslide victory in elections in 1990.

**********Myanmar court set to rule on witnesses for Suu Kyi**************
Suu Kyi is charged with violating the terms of her house arrest because an uninvited American man swam secretly to her closely guarded lakeside home and stayed for two days. The Nobel Peace Prize laureate has been detained without trial for more than 13 of the past 19 years, including the last six.

The trial has drawn condemnation from the international community and Suu Kyi's local supporters, who worry that the ruling junta has found an excuse to keep her detained through elections planned for next year.

Two women members of Suu Kyi's party who are her sole companions in house arrest and the American, John Yettaw, are being tried with her on the same charge.

The defense has not contested the basic facts of the case but argues instead that the relevant law has been misapplied by the authorities. They also assert that any intrusion was the responsibility of the security forces guarding the house.

Closing arguments in her trial, which ran for nine days, have been postponed until Yangon Divisional Court rules on the witnesses not allowed by the District Court judges conducting her trial. They disqualified all but one defense witness, legal expert Kyi Win.

Those rejected by the lower court were all members of Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party: prominent journalist and former political prisoner Win Tin, the party's vice chairman Tin Oo, currently under house arrest, and lawyer Khin Moe Moe.

According to Nyan Win, one of Suu Kyi's lawyers, the court approved 23 prosecution witnesses, of whom 14 testified. He has described the rejection of three defense witnesses as "unfair and unjust."

If the Divisional Court rejects their appeal to have the witnesses heard, said Suu Kyi's lead attorney, Kyi Win, the defense team would appeal to the High Court, which could further delay the trial. The High Court is Myanmar's top court.

A radio station that serves a a propaganda organ for the junta, Padauk Myay, said Sunday that efforts by Suu Kyi's attorneys to reinstate the defense witnesses were just a pretext to allow Win Tin and Tin Oo to discuss party affairs with Suu Kyi.

Court delays Aung San Suu Kyi trial,/ Peace Walk to Burma

Closing arguments in the case of the Nobel laureate were adjourned for a third time, without explanation, until June 12, her lawyer Nyan Win said.

"The hearing has been put back," he told Reuters. "No reason was given."

Suu Kyi's political party has expressed "grave concern" about her health during the trial, but Nyan Win said she appeared fit and well when she stood before the court early on Friday.

"Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was also present today, she is in good health," he added.

Suu Kyi's lawyers on Friday told the Yangon Division Court that a lower court's decision to accept only one defense witness, while hearing 14 from the prosecution, was grossly unfair.

"This is not in accord with the law to reject defense witnesses like this. We pointed it out," Nyan Win said.

Judges postponed until June 9 their ruling on whether to re-instate the banned defense witnesses, Win Tin, a senior National League for Democracy (NLD) member, the party's detained vice-chairman Tin Oo, and lawyer Khin Moe Moe.

Suu Kyi, 63, faces three to five years in prison if found guilty of breaking the terms of her house arrest by allowing an American intruder to stay for two days after he swam to her home on May 4.

A conviction is widely expected in the former Burma, where the courts routinely bend the law to suit the country's military rulers.

LAWFUL TRIAL?

The junta insists the trial will unfold "according to the law." Critics say the charges have been trumped up to keep the charismatic NLD leader in detention during elections next year.

***********Refugees are walking to bring peace to Burma*************************
They are burning our villages, raping the ladies and forcing children into the military. We need coordinated actions from the international community," he said. "I chose on my own to become a soldier."

Now he, along with four other Myanmar refugees, is making a peace walk from Fort Wayne, Ind., to New York City. Part of their walk took them through Putnam County as they walked down U.S. Route 224 carrying signs.

The five-member group is in solidarity with the Long March and Hunger Strike campaign that is urging the U.N. Security Council to take action for the freedom of Myanmar and for the immediate release of Aung San Suu Kyi, 1991 winner of the Nobel Peace Prize and 2000 U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom award winner who is now in jail.

"We used our own money to come over and do this walk," Min Oo said. He said they would present a petition to the U.N. Security Council upon their arrival in New York City. "We are campaigning for the freedom of Burma [the former name of Myanmar] and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi."

Min Oo said they sometimes stay in hotels and other times camp out on their journey. They left Fort Wayne, Ind., on May 27 when Aung San Suu Kyi's house arrest was supposed to have ended. They plan to arrive in New York City by Sept. 9 and make their presentation on Sept. 27.

"Our country has been under military control for two decades. We feel this peace march is very important. Dire situations call for dire actions from the international community," Min Oo said.

Keep up the Pressure

“That was very significant,” he said of the strong messages of support for Suu Kyi from a number of world leaders, including US President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

He also thanked Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and other leading Thai politicians, who have been unusually outspoken in their criticism of Suu Kyi’s detention, even raising the issue at meetings of regional leaders.

Win Tin also welcomed UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s promise to return to Burma “as soon as possible.” He added, however, that the UN chief must be prepared to press for tangible results.

“If he leaves Burma empty-handed, it will be a setback,” he said.

He also warned against any slackening of pressure on the regime, which he said was now stalling Suu Kyi’s trial in the hope that the international outcry would lose momentum.

The veteran politician, who spent 19 years in Rangoon’s notorious Insein Prison, where Suu Kyi is currently being held, said that the court agreed to hear an appeal of an earlier decision barring three of her defense witnesses because the regime was trying to buy time.

The Nobel laureate’s trial on charges she violated her house arrest was to have final arguments on Friday, paving the way for a widely expected guilty verdict and a prison sentence of up to five years.

Suu Kyi, 63, faces three to five years in prison if found guilty of breaking the terms of her house arrest by allowing an American intruder to stay for two days after he swam to her home on May 4.

Although the trial has resulted in tighter restrictions on Suu Kyi, the intense international attention that it has attracted has actually made life slightly easier for beleaguered democratic opposition forces, according to Win Tin.

Before Suu Kyi’s arrest and transfer to Insein prison, activists and dissidents in Burma were powerless to make a move without the regime pouncing on them, “but now we have some breathing space here,” he said.

Win Tin also said he suspected the regime was behind the bizarre incident that landed Suu Kyi in a special court at Insein Prison.

“It was a set up,” he said, questioning why John William Yettaw, the American man who swam to Suu Kyi’s house on May 4, was able to get a visa to return to Burma after police were informed that he had breached the tight security around her home late last year.

Suu Kyi’s personal physician, Tin Myo Win, had reported this first intrusion to the police on December 4, 2008. Yettaw entered her compound on November 30 and was immediately told to leave. It was not clear what prompted him to attempt a repeat of his earlier illegal entry into Suu Kyi’s residential compound.

Regime Detains Women, Children Over Rare Protest

The banner said "Please help as my husband was arrested unjustly," according to the official.

No further details of the women could be obtained and the U.S. embassy wasn't immediately available for comment.

More than 2,100 political prisoners are currently in Myanmar jails, according to U.N. figures, many serving decades-long sentences and often kept in grim conditions.

The embassy is near a road that leads to the house of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who is in jail facing trial on charges of breaching her house arrest after an American man swam uninvited to her lakeside residence.

The Nobel laureate's legal team was due in court on Friday to appeal against a ruling by the trial judges barring three out of the four defense witnesses from testifying.

"We are preparing for tomorrow as we have to give our statement," said Nyan Win, a spokesman for Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy, or NLD, and also one of her lawyers.

He said the team had to go to the trial court at Insein prison on Friday for final arguments in the case to be officially postponed, before attending the separate Yangon divisional court for the hearing on the witnesses.

"The (trial) court will give us another date for final arguments. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi will also appear at the trial and we have to tell her about the revision (appeal) for defense witnesses," he said.

The three barred witnesses were Win Tin, a dissident journalist who was Myanmar's longest serving prisoner until his release in September; Tin Oo, the detained deputy leader of Suu Kyi's party; and lawyer Khin Moe Moe.

Myanmar's ruling junta has already kept Suu Kyi in detention for 13 of the past 19 years and the latest attempt to lock her up has provoked international outrage.

The U.S. State Department criticized Myanmar's ruling junta late Wednesday, saying it had put Suu Kyi on trial "for being polite."

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon reiterated in a speech marking the centenary of the birth of U Thant, the late U.N. chief who died in 1974, that he intended to visit Myanmar soon.

"It is a sad irony that U Thant's vision of democracy has not been realized in his own country. That is why I would like to visit Myanmar again this year," he said in the remarks issued by the world body.

Japan meanwhile said it had sent a special envoy to Myanmar to talk to the junta about the opposition leader. Kenichiro Sasae, deputy minister for foreign affairs, was to meet senior officials, a ministry spokesman said.

Myanmar's ruling generals say the case is an internal matter.

The country, formerly known as Burma, has been ruled by the military since 1962. The NLD won the popular vote in 1990 elections but was never allowed to take power.