Tag Archives: Burma

Two Reports on Haiti / The U.S. Hopes for COP16 Progress / A Burmese Opposition Leader is Freed

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From Haiti, we’ve got reports on the cholera outbreak and an effort to restore the island’s devastated libraries. The United State hopes for progress during an upcoming international conference on climate change. Take a look at the U.S. election, from a different angle. Governments need help in fighting corruption. At the APEC forum in Japan, free trade is on the table. See how translating American plays into Russian is a form of cultural diplomacy. And, after years of house arrest, a Burmese pro-democracy activist is released to applause from the United States.

Cholera Mortality Rate Declines in Haiti
As the number of Haitians infected with cholera continues to climb, the overall mortality rate from the disease is decreasing, the State Department’s Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs Philip J. Crowley says. Crowley says the shrinking mortality rate results from efforts to control the disease by the Haitian government, the U.S. and other international partners. At right, women cover their mouths and noses at a Haitian hospital.

 

Rebuilding Haiti’s Libraries
The American Library Association so far has collected $25,000 in donations for Haiti’s libraries from individuals, civic and youth groups, businesses and local libraries.

U.S. Seeks COP16 Progress
The United States expects progress toward a legally binding, global accord on climate change during the international COP16 meeting later this month in Cancún, Mexico. “It is profoundly in our own economic, environmental, and national security interests to act,” says Jeffrey Miotke, climate change coordinator for the U.S. special envoy for climate change.

A Discussion of the Midterms
As Americans headed to the polls November 2, international relations students at the University of Jordan spoke with political scientist Michael Cornfield via a digital video conference to learn more about the American electoral process. High on their list of questions: How would the results of the midterm elections affect the peace process?

Citizens’ Anti-Corruption Role
Civil society — including nonprofit organizations and citizen-activists — must demand accountability from governments for the fight against corruption to be effective, according to the hosts of an international conference meeting in Bangkok.

Talking Free Trade in Asia-Pacific
President Obama and other Asia-Pacific leaders pledge to work toward greater economic integration and creation of an Asia-Pacific free trade area. The 21-economies that make up the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum issue a joint statement after their meeting in Japan that praises APEC as “an engine for progress in the world’s most economically dynamic region.”

“The New American Plays for Russia”
Through “The New American Plays for Russia” project, American theater organizations and Russian theater professionals are working together to bring contemporary American drama to Russian audiences.

U.S. Welcomes Burma’s Release of Suu Kyi
President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton welcome the release of Burmese pro-democracy leader and Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest. Obama said Suu Kyi, right, “is a hero of mine and a source of inspiration for all who work to advance basic human rights in Burma and around the world.”

Human Rights in Burma / A U.S. Election Update / Kids And Robots

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Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton backs a probe of human rights violations in Burma. We also have three more reports in our continuing coverage of the U.S. midterm elections, including one on President Obama’s campaign travels. The U.S. and Japan mark a 50 year relationship. The U.S.  urges support for the Lebanese government. Obama’s portfolio for his coming trip to India is packed largely with economic issues.  Learn how lost early American films turned up in a Russian film archive. You can study anything, virtually. In an international program for journalists, Bob Woodward stresses the importance of facts. Meet American fine-art photographer Peter Steinhauer and his Southeast Asian inspirations. And finally, here’s yet another reason robots are cool.

A Focus on Human Rights in Burma
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton backs an international inquiry into human rights abuses in Burma and pledges U.S. support for efforts to improve the lives of its citizens. Speaking in Hawaii at the beginning of a 13-day visit to the Asia-Pacific region, Clinton, right, promises to “seek accountability for the human rights violations that have occurred in Burma.”


Obama’s Daily Campaigning
President Obama was warmly welcomed to the popular comedy program The Daily Show, but during his lengthy interview with host Jon Stewart it became clear the appearance was very much a campaign stop. With congressional Democrats facing tough challenges in the 2010 midterm elections, the comedy show’s first interview with a sitting U.S. president was another in a series of more than 25 campaign stops for Obama in recent weeks.

The Muslim Vote in America
The week before national midterm elections in the U.S., discussions over Islam’s place in America is prompting American Muslims to make their voices heard through voting. Various Muslim organizations are working to acquaint American Muslims with the voting process and to encourage voter turnout.

America’s Endangered Senators
On Election Day, only 37 U.S. senators will be chosen, but some of those political contests are among the most contentious in the 2010 elections. The 2010 midterm elections include 12 Democrats and 11 Republicans seeking re-election and 14 “open” seats (no incumbent running) that currently are split evenly between Democrats and Republicans.

The U.S.-Japan Alliance at 50
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Japanese Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara marked the 50th anniversary of the U.S.-Japan alliance with praise for a relationship “based on deep friendship between our people, on mutual respect, and on common goals and values.” The two met in Honolulu on the first day of Clinton’s seven-nation Asia-Pacific tour. 

U.S. Urges Support for Lebanon
The United States urges support for the Lebanese government as it works to reduce the threat posed by instability and conflict, says U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice.

Economy Tops Obama India Agenda
Expanding economic ties and growing business relationships between the United States and India will be atop the agenda as President Obama travels to South Asia beginning Nov. 6. Deputy National Security Advisor for International Economic Affairs Mike Froman says India represents “one of the most important emerging economic relationships for the United States, both multilaterally and bilaterally.”

“Lost” Silent Films Found
Some of America’s early film history that was thought to have been lost forever has been recovered. Ten films from Hollywood’s silent film era have been found in Gosfilmofond, the Russian state film archive, restored, copied and presented to the Library of Congress. “This is like finding a lost Picasso,” says Pat Loughney, chief of the library’s $200 million Packard Campus for Audio Visual Conservation. At left, a still image from the 1922 crime drama Kick In, one of the found films.

Learning Virtually Anything
Salman Khan hopes to make his online classroom “the world’s first free, world-class virtual school where anyone can learn anything.” Based in California, the Khan Academy received a $2 million grant from Google to build the software needed to translate its content into the world’s most-spoken languages.

Woodward on Journalism
American investigative journalist Bob Woodward met with some 150 journalists from 125 countries in an interactive session at the U.S. Department of State as part of the Edward R. Murrow Program for Journalists, named for the award-winning and pioneering broadcast journalist. Woodward stressed the importance of what he called “neutral fact-getting” and meticulous reporting.

Visions of Vietnam 
American Peter Steinhauer is a successful Hong Kong-based fine-art photographer whose work is displayed in museums and galleries worldwide, and also at the U.S. embassies and consulates in Vietnam and Burma. Steinhauer was inspired by a 1993 trip to Vietnam, and his work primarily consists of landscapes and portraits portraying Vietnamese culture.

Robots Draw Kids to Science
Robots that kick soccer balls, solar-powered vehicles and helmets that offer virtual bike rides were some of the attractions at America’s first national science exposition, the grand finale of two weeks of activities intended to motivate more young people to pursue careers in science. The expo drew an estimated half million visitors to the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

Burma's NLD: One Month to Live?

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[image src="http://photos.state.gov/libraries/amgov/3234/Week_2/041410_AP09092705364_300.jpg" caption="NLD party members welcome guests to a 2009 anniversary celebration wearing trademark T-shirts bearing a white star and fighting peacock. " align="left"]

The Burmese public received an official apology from the country’s leading pro-democracy political party, the National League for Democracy, which is led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.   We want to “officially apologize to the public for our failed policies in the struggle for democracy,” an April 6 NLD statement said, attributing its failure to unilateral oppression by the military authorities.  Now the party faces dissolution under controversial election laws set by the ruling military junta.

Founded in 1988, the party won a landslide victory in Burma’s last general election, which was held in 1990.  However, the country’s military regime refused to let the NLD take power, and ever since its members have faced persecution from the regime, ranging from intimidation to arrests.  Suu Kyi herself has been held in jail or under house arrest for 14 of the past 20 years.

The military regime announced laws for a new round of elections set for later this year, but Suu Kyi and thousands of other dissenters have been barred from participating.  The NLD announced March 29 it would not register to participate in the election, citing “unfair and unjust laws” surrounding the process.

The 22-year-old movement faces a critical dilemma.  It can revisit its decision and participate in an election that is almost certain to be unfair, and risk giving the results some legitimacy, or it can continue on its path to boycott the process and be forced to go completely underground.  The junta has declared that any party that does not register for the election before May 7 faces dissolution.

Rank-and-file NLD party members are apparently divided upon what to do.  Some may decide to form a separate pro-democracy party in order to contest seats in the election and have continued, if limited, official sanction to operate, while others say they want the party to continue its work outside the political sphere through social welfare activities, humanitarian aid work, and cooperation with opposition allies.  It will also be working to urge voters to boycott the proposed vote.

The NLD says it wants to continue its nonviolent advocacy for Burmese democracy.  What would you advise it to do?

Film about Burmese Underground Journalists Up for Oscar

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Coverage by citizen journalists brought international attention to the 2007 Saffron Revolution.

Coverage by citizen journalists brought international attention to the 2007 Saffron Revolution.

In their tightly controlled media climate, most Burmese will not be able to watch the upcoming Academy Awards March 7, but their political repression will have the world’s attention. Among the Oscar nominees for best feature documentary is the film Burma VJ, which chronicles undercover Burmese journalists and how they were able to capture and smuggle out footage of the military government’s brutal crackdown of the 2007 Saffron Revolution.

U Gawsita, a Burmese monk who is featured in the film, welcomed the Academy Award nomination in an interview with thewrap.com. “It shows that the world is standing with the oppressed people of Burma. It’s not ignoring the suffering of the people.”

Much of the film’s footage came from amateur journalists associated with the Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB), based in Oslo, Norway. In a video interview with the National Endowment for Democracy, DVB Executive Director Khin Maung Win says the station, which has expanded from shortwave transmissions to satellite television, is able to reach 10 million Burmese per month — a significant crack in the regime’s near monopoly on information. Providing DVB with content is a risky undertaking, since cameras must be hidden and footage must be clandestinely sent out of the country. There are now 10 DVB journalists in prison, but Win said that “even though they know the risk, they are committed.”

Their job is to cover precisely what the military regime is trying to hide, such as human rights violations and activities of opposition figures such as National League for Democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Given their constraints, Win said probably only about 20 to 30 percent of the military’s abuses can be documented, but even that small percentage shows “the power of media and how it can challenge the authority.”

Burma VJ director Anders Ostergaard emphasized the importance of citizen journalism to democracy.

“I believe it’s very powerful. We saw the same thing happening in Iran in the spring. It is here to stay, and I think it’s a very powerful tool for democracy and awareness. We tend to think that new technology is always ‘big brother is watching you,’ but it can also be ‘little brother is watching you.’ And that’s quite a good thing,” Ostergaard said.

What is the state of citizen journalism in your country, compared with Burma? How much do you rely upon “unofficial” news sources?

It’s Been a Long Time Since That Rock and Roll

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null(I’m listening to “Rock and Roll” by Led Zeppelin)

The soft underbelly of free speech in the Web 2.0 world is the ability of governments to shut down centralized servers and effectively cut people off from Twitter, Facebook, WordPress, and other content hosting sites. The same thing can happen to SMS. We’ve seen it happen in Burma, and as recently as this week in Iran.

So what is the remedy? Blogger “Michael Anti,” who was recently a New York Times correspondent in Beijing suggests that the old Web 1.0 mechanisms of chatrooms, listservs and email are still viable ways to disseminate political and other information that the authorities might be seeking to block.

“Email and chatrooms aren’t as centralized,” he says. “There are chatrooms on thousands of servers, and it’s hard for the government to block every chatroom overseas.” Also, people who still use the Post Office Protocol (POP) mail, as opposed to the Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP), are difficult to block. With POP, you generally log on, download your messages to the computer, delete them from the server, and then disconnect.

Government officials and businesses are also fond of their Gmail, Hotmail and Yahoo accounts, so it’s less likely that you’ll see popular servers like those getting blocked by the authorities, he says.

With Web 1.0 technology, you don’t have the same opportunity to interact online and make your original material available to the entire world, but it still functions as a sort of marketplace for trading and disseminating information. So even if Facebook and Twitter access in a particular country are subject to political events, there are still listservs available. They’re easy to build with a list of email addresses and difficult to block.

This is also a great opportunity to plug one of my favorite publications: the Handbook for Bloggers and Cyber-Dissidents put out by the Paris-based Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

Obama speaks out against Aung San Suu Kyi’s detention

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As Burmese Human Rights activist Aung San Suu Kyi is on trial, accused of violating the terms of her home detention, President Obama issued a statement calling for her release. “I strongly condemn her house arrest and detention,” Obama said of the Nobel Peace Prize recipient.

“Aung San Suu Kyi’s continued detention, isolation, and show trial based on spurious charges cast serious doubt on the Burmese regime’s willingness to be a responsible member of the international community,” Obama said. “This is an important opportunity for the government in Burma to demonstrate that it respects its own laws and its own people.”

The full text of Obama’s statement is available on the White House Web site.

Remembering Burma’s short month of press freedom

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August 8, 2008, marks 20 years since Burmese students began a pro-democracy uprising against the military regime led by General U Ne Win. The “8888 uprising” ultimately was crushed and military rule re-imposed at the cost of about 3,000 civilian lives.

But the yearning for a free press made the summer of 1988 one of the country’s richest in journalistic and literary activity.

Between August 25 and 27, the staffs of Burma’s official newspapers joined in calls for the government’s resignation, formation of an interim government and multiparty elections. State journalists also demanded the right to report accurately on the demonstrations.

For three days, no newspapers appeared; on the fourth day, readers saw photos of peaceful marches and articles that recounted their demands.

Even more remarkable were the nearly 100 unofficial publications that sprang up between August 27 and September 21. Along with reports and photos of the demonstrations, they carried long interviews with opposition leaders, including Aung San Suu Kyi and articles from the Western press on how to conduct democratic elections. They also provided a platform for personal statements and editorials by leading journalists who had been blacklisted or driven into silence.

In her 1993 report Inked Over, Ripped Out, Professor Anna Allott described the period as “the Burmese version of glasnost,” and wrote “Journalistic activity continued to increase in intensity and effectiveness, almost as if the free, unofficial publications were spurring the official press to give more accurate information.”

The military forcefully re-imposed its rule with a September 16 massacre of civilians and a September 18 coup. The official newspapers disappeared September 19 and 20, and resurfaced in their old forms – with little real news or objective comment. The unofficial newspapers all but disappeared and the state censorship bureau became even more restrictive than it had been before 1988.

Want to find out more? Read Professor Allot’s report and my recent article about how Burmese writers have been coping with the state censors.

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