OPEN YOUR EYES AND MIND

ミャンマーの動き

2010-11-08T06:27:00.003+06:30

スー・チーさん投票せず…ミャンマー総選挙

2010-11-08T06:27:00.001+06:30

【バンコク＝若山樹一郎】ミャンマーからの情報によると、同国民主化の象徴、アウン・サン・スー・チーさんは、２０年ぶりの総選挙を自宅軟禁下で迎えた。

　軍政側に期日前投票を許されたが、投票しなかった。

　スー・チーさんの拘束・自宅軟禁期間はこの２０年で約１５年間に達する。軍政が「民政移管」のためとする今回選挙でも、スー・チーさんの出馬や選挙活動は認められなかった。

　スー・チーさんの顧問弁護士キー・ウィン氏は７日、「先月２９日に行われた最高裁の再審理以降、軍政側がスー・チーさんへの面会を許可せず、現在の彼女の心境をうかがい知ることはできない」と話す。ただ、同氏によると、スー・チーさんは最近、「誰にも投票する権利と、しない権利がある。私は投票妨害もしないし、投票を呼びかけもしない」と、静観する姿勢を示したという。
読売新聞 11月7日(日)21時52分配信

「スー・チーさん１３日解放」ミャンマー軍政筋

2010-11-08T06:25:00.000+06:30

【バンコク＝深沢淳一】ミャンマーの軍事政権筋は６日、読売新聞に対し、２００３年から自宅軟禁下に置かれている民主化運動指導者アウン・サン・スー・チーさん（６５）が「１１月１３日に解放される」と語った。

　ミャンマーのテイン・セイン首相は１０月にハノイで行われた東南アジア諸国連合（ＡＳＥＡＮ）首脳会議で、スー・チーさんは「１１月のいずれかの時期に解放されるだろう」と述べていた。ただ、スー・チーさんが率いていた「国民民主連盟」（ＮＬＤ）は、ミャンマーでは２０年ぶりとなる７日の総選挙への不参加を決めて５月に解党し、現在は非公式な団体になっている。選挙後にスー・チーさんが自由の身となっても、軍政が政治活動をどこまで容認するかは不明だ。

　関係筋によると、英国在住のスー・チーさんの次男が現在、解放後の再会に備えてタイのバンコクで待機している。
読売新聞 11月7日(日)3時8分配信

Singapore PM: We won't let in too many foreigners

2010-08-09T07:34:00.002+06:30

SINGAPORE – Singapore's prime minister sought Sunday to ease concerns that the city-state is allowing in too many foreign workers who will undermine national unity.

The surge of foreigners living in Singapore has become a hot topic in the lead-up to the next general election, which the government must call by February 2012. Many of the newcomers are from China, India and other Asian countries.

"We will control the inflow, to ensure that it is not too fast and not too large," Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said during a speech ahead of Monday's National Day. "And we will make clear that citizens come first."

About 150,000 foreign workers have entered Singapore per year since 2007, and they now make up about a third of the island's 3 million work force and about a fourth of the total population of 5 million, up from 10 percent in 1990.

Local media have reported growing complaints by Singaporeans about poor quality costumer service at restaurants and retail stores, crowded subways and occasional violent crimes by foreigners. Many foreign workers may not speak fluent English, which is the most commonly spoken of Singapore's four official languages.

"It's no secret that a record influx of foreigners in recent years has led to discontent among Singaporeans, who feel crowded out of their own country," wrote Straits Times reporter Radha Basu in a recent editorial. "New immigrants are being blamed for a host of ills, from the squeeze in trains to the tussle for jobs."

Lee reiterated that foreign workers were necessary for economic growth, which the government expects to be as much as 15 percent this year. Lee said last month the government would allow more than 100,000 foreigners into Singapore this year to help keep the economy from "overheating" and inflation in check.

Singapore's decades-long boom, which has made it one of the world's wealthiest countries, has been fueled in part by foreign laborers who are willing to do jobs in areas such as construction and hospitality for lower wages than locals.

Policymakers are eyeing the inflation rate, which the government expects to rise to about 3 percent this year from 0 percent last year. The central bank in April shifted its exchange rate target from a zero percent appreciation of the Singapore dollar to a "modest and gradual" appreciation in a bid to dampen price increases.

"We cannot do without a proportion of foreign workers," Lee said Sunday. "With new arrivals living and working harmoniously with those born here, we will keep Singapore dynamic, cosmopolitan, and successful."

Singapore is seeking to diversify its economy away from manufacturing toward tourism, and foreign workers are playing a key role in building and staffing projects such as the casino resorts opened this year by Las Vegas Sands and Malaysia's Genting, which have helped attract record visitors.

"There are a lot of jobs Singaporeans wouldn't do anyway," said Gillian Koh, a senior research fellow at Singapore's Institute of Policy Studies.

Koh helped conduct a poll last year that found 63 percent Singaporeans surveyed believed the government's immigration policy was weakening national unity.

However, two-thirds of respondents also said they supported bringing in more foreigners if it helped the economy.

Singapore also tries to attract what is known locally as "foreign talent" _ educated professionals from abroad to work in the finance industry and other high-paying sectors.

Singapore's ruling People's Action Party has been in power continuously since full independence in 1965.

Goh Chok Tong, the country's prime minister from 1990 to 2004, urged Singaporeans to stop complaining about issues such as several instances of flooding this summer, soaring property prices and crowded subway trains.

"I encourage you to look at the bright side of things," Goh said in a speech late Saturday.

Goh, who is now a senior adviser to the prime minister, said Singaporeans should seek a "meaningful, more fulfilling life" rather than only the pursuit of material wealth.

"By the 90's, the Singapore Dream had been elevated to the 5 Cs cash, credit cards, car, condominium, and country club membership," Goh said. Now, Singaporeans should strive to "have a good career, live in comfort, surrounded by children, and be considerate and charitable."
By ALEX KENNEDY,Associated Press Writer - Sunday, August 8

Welcome foreign talent with an open heart: PM Lee

2010-08-09T07:29:00.001+06:30

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has called on Singaporeans to welcome foreign talent with “an open heart”.

In his televised National Day message on Sunday evening, the eve of Singapore’s 45th birthday, PM Lee acknowledged Singaporeans’ concerns about taking in foreign workers and immigrants.

However, he stressed the critical need to reinforce the Singaporean team with talent and numbers from abroad and added that the government will control the inflow, “to ensure that it is not too fast, and not too large”.

According to reports, over 150,000 foreign workers have entered Singapore per year since 2007, and they now make up about a third of the island’s 3 million work force and about a fourth of the total population of 5 million, up from 10 percent in 1990.

“We will only bring in people who can contribute to Singapore, and work harder to integrate them into our society. And we will make clear that citizens come first. After all, we are doing this for the sake of Singaporeans,” PM Lee said.

“Other countries are not only much larger than us, but have far deeper pools of talent than we have. We must make up for the shortage of Singaporean workers in our economy and the shortfall of babies in our population,” he added.

Delivering his address from the Pinnacle@Duxton, PM Lee said the government’s goal is to ensure all Singaporeans enjoy the fruits of growth.

He went on to reveal that Singapore’s economy grew 17.9 per cent in the first half of 2010 from a year earlier and the government is forecasting full-year growth of between 13 and 15 per cent.

He said workers can look forward to better wages, more overtime and higher bonuses this year but he cautioned that the exceptional growth this year may not be repeated year after year, even as the government continues to continue to grow the economy with sustained effort.

“Let us not get carried away. Risks remain in the world economy, especially in Europe and the US. The global financial system is not fully mended. Singapore is small and open. If the world economy turns bad, we will be buffeted. We need to stay vigilant and watch the developments worldwide,” he said.
By Ion Danker – August 9th, 2010

Peninsula Plaza hit by blackout

2010-08-09T07:26:00.001+06:30

A 30-hour blackout at Peninsula Plaza last Thursday has left many businesses affected.

According to a Straits Times report, the blackout affected shops in the basement and levels one to four, with power only restored at 2 a.m. on Saturday.

Shop tenants are ruing the second blackout since June 23 as the power outage disrupts their businesses and losses are expected.

The nearly 30-year-old shopping centre is a popular hangout for Myanmar workers because of the wide variety of amenities available, and many of them hope the power outages will be fixed.

Said Myanmar national Myo Thu, 25, “I’m glad the shops are open again because I came by the other day and they were all closed due to the blackout.”

Added Tun Niang, 24, “I hope they sort out the problem soon because it’s very inconvenient to travel here on my off-day, only to find the shops are closed due to the blackout.”
By Ion Danker – August 9th, 2010

＜地デジ＞アナログ放送の画面上下が黒い帯に　７月５日から

2010-04-23T20:04:00.001+06:30

総務省と放送事業者でつくる全国地上デジタル放送推進協議会は２２日、来年７月の地上デジタル放送完全移行に向けて、今年７月５日からアナログ放送の画面の上下を黒い帯にする。１１年７月２４日正午にアナログ放送が中止することなどを随時、告知し、地デジへの対応を促すのが狙い。　
７月５日以降の放送は縦横がハイビジョンと同じ比率の横長の放送となる。来年１月の実施予定だったが、広報の取り組み強化が必要と判断した。　
また７月４日午後５時５９分から１分間、アナログの番組やＣＭの放送を止め、アナログ放送終了や総務省の問い合わせ電話番号などを全画面で表示する。
4月22日20時8分配信毎日新聞

S'poreans must not create an image that new immigrants are not welcomed: SM Goh

2010-04-04T09:26:00.002+06:30

Singaporeans should not create the image that immigrants are not welcomed in the country.

Speaking at a gathering for new residents in Marine Parade on Saturday, Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong also urged new Singaporeans and permanent residents to play their part to make their community a better place to live in.

Residents are showing the way of how people in the community can bond. They also play games to break the ice and tear down barriers.

Within the neighbourhood, the list of activities that bring people is growing.

Among the many activities available at the Marine Parade Community Club to help integrate new Singapore citizens and permanent residents is an international cooking class. It's called the colourful chefs of Marine Parade where a group of citizens from Marine Parade have gotten together to share their cooking cultures with one another.

Senior Minister Goh said these programmes have one objective.

He said: "Whether a place is a nice place to live in or not depends on the people. And it depends on how we put in the effort to know one another and make this into a homely place."
This process has to be two-way and the onus is also on new immigrants and permanent residents to share and give.

Mr Goh said: "If they come into Singapore and convey the impression that they are a community apart, they are not part of us and they are here just to take from Singapore and not give back, then sooner or later, the pressure on them will be great. In other words, Singaporeans will say why take them in, they are not contributing.”

The advice to immigrants and new citizens - move fast.

SM Goh added: "The immigrants who come in must very quickly absorb the norms and values of Singaporeans. Learn to speak English if you can't speak. You have to communicate and service Singaporeans to reach out to Singaporeans. As you become part of us, the next generation, your children, they will now study in our schools and will be very much like any other Singaporean."

This readiness to integrate was very much alive in 70 new residents and their families who were at the gathering to get to know their grassroots leaders and neighbours better.

Tun Zow Myint, New Singapore citizen from Myanmar, said: "My parents knew that Singapore is a very safe place for us to move around and very close to home as well. The education system is one of the top class in the world. That's why we stick around in Singapore and bring them up here in Singapore as well."

Mr Goh added that Singapore has to tackle the challenge of a declining population by topping up with immigrants.

But it can be selective and ensure that those who came in contributed more.

Mr Goh stressed that Singapore is not alone in attracting foreign talent to sink their roots in the country.

New Zealand has a project to attract Singaporeans to work study and live there.

Currently, some 4,500 Singaporeans had applied for different visas to the country, while statistics from Australia's Immigration Department showed that the country's now home to some 50,000 Singaporeans.

Source from Channel NewsAsia,by S.Ramesh Posted: 03 April 2010 2054 hrs

Prices of HDB resale flats continue to rise

2010-04-01T17:22:00.001+06:30

SINGAPORE: Prices of HDB resale flats have continued to rise. According to the Housing Development Board's (HDB's) flash estimates, prices rose 2.7 per cent in the first quarter of this year, compared to the last quarter of 2009.

The rise was more moderate compared to the almost 4 per cent increase in the fourth quarter of 2009. It is the fourth consecutive quarter of price increase. Resale volume has, however, trended downwards.

The estimated number of resale transactions for the full quarter is about 8,500. This is about 5 per cent lower compared to the fourth quarter of 2009, which registered 8,926 cases.

HDB said the median Cash-Over-Valuation (COV) amount for the first quarter was S$25,000, an increase of S$1,000 over the fourth quarter. HDB said it will ensure an adequate supply of new flats to meet housing demand.

At least 12,000 new Build-To-Order (BTO) flats will be launched this year, with launches scheduled monthly for the next few months. This will be supplemented by flats under the Design, Build and Sell Scheme (DBSS) as well as Executive Condominiums (EC) for the higher income buyers.

If demand remains strong, HDB will launch more BTO projects in the fourth quarter of this year.

Source from Channel NewsAsia, posted: 01 April 2010 1331 hrs

Railway beyond China

2010-04-01T09:30:00.004+06:30

It will extend network via three lines in project involving 17 countries.

Three main cross-border lines
RAIL NETWORK #1
Starting in Kunming, Yunnan province, this South-east Asia line will run south through Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar and Malaysia to Singapore. The exact route is unclear.

RAIL NETWORK #2
This one will start in Urumqi, the capital of Xinjiang region, and cross Central Asian countries such as Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. It could possibly extend to Germany.

RAIL NETWORK #3
This line will connect north-eastern Heilongjiang province with eastern and southern European countries via Russia.

CHINA is planning to extend the country's rail network beyond its borders, less than two years after its first high-speed railway went into operation.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Railways confirmed the massive project, which will involve 17 nations, the Global Times newspaper said on Thursday.

Initial negotiations with some countries have already begun, the spokesman told the newspaper but did not provide details.

Experts have said that such an international rail network will not only help boost trade but also promote China's high-speed railway technology.

Professor Wang Mengshu of Beijing's Jiaotong University, who is a member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, first revealed China's plans to build a high-speed rail system that will connect different parts of the country to other Asian countries and Europe by 2025.

There will be three lines: one running through South-east Asian countries, a second one that crosses Central Asia, and a third that will link northern China to countries in eastern and southern Europe via Russia.

Straitstimes-BreakingNews

China’s super rail network: London to Beijing in two days
China is in negotiations to build a high-speed rail network to India and Europe with trains that capable of running at over 200mph within the next ten years. A trip from London to Beijing could take just two days.

The network would eventually carry passengers from London to Beijing and then to Singapore.

It would also run to India and Pakistan, Wang Mengshu, a member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and a senior consultant on China's domestic high-speed rail project, was quoted as saying.

A second project would see trains heading north through Russia to Germany and into the European railway system, and a third line will extend south to connect Vietnam, Thailand, Burma and Malaysia.

Passengers could board a train in London and step off in Beijing, 5,070 miles away as the crow flies, in just two days. They could go on to Singapore, 6,750 miles away, within three days!.

"We are aiming for the trains to run almost as fast as aeroplanes," said Wang. "The best case scenario is that the three networks will be completed in a decade," he added.

Wang said that China was already in negotiations with 17 countries over the rail lines, which will draw together and open up the whole of Central, East and South East Asia. Wang said the network would also allow China to transport valuable cargoes of raw materials more efficiently.

"It was not China that pushed the idea to start with," said Wang. "It was the other countries that came to us, especially India. These countries cannot fully implement the construction of a high-speed rail network and they hoped to draw on our experience and technology," he said.

China is in the middle of a £480 billion domestic railway expansion project that aims to build nearly 19,000 miles of new railways in the next five years, connecting up all of its major cities with high-speed lines.

The world's fastest train, the Harmony Express which has a top speed of nearly 250mph, was unveiled at the end of last year, between the cities of Wuhan and Guangzhou. Wholly Chinese-built, but using technology from Siemens and Kawasaki, the Harmony Express can cover 660 miles, the equivalent of a journey from London to Edinburgh and back, in just three hours.

The route of the three lines had yet to be decided. "We have also already carried out the prospecting and survey work for the European network, and Central and Eastern European countries are keen for us to start," Wang said.
Source from Asiantribune.com(15 March 2010)

Britain brands elections unfair

2010-03-31T20:33:00.003+06:30

LONDON - BRITISH Prime Minister Gordon Brown's office said on Tuesday there was 'no prospect' of Myanmar's first elections in two decades being 'free, fair or inclusive'.

Mr Brown said the country's military rulers had 'squandered' the opportunity for national reconciliation, and called for opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi to be allowed to participate.

The National League For Democracy said on Monday it would boycott polls expected later this year, after the country's military rulers introduced a controversial new election law.

Aung San Suu Kyi's party decided to refuse to register for the elections, a move that would have forced it to oust its detained leader and recognise the junta's constitution in the country formerly known as Burma.

'Sadly, the Burmese regime has squandered the opportunity for national reconciliation,' Mr Brown said. 'Aung San Suu Kyi must be allowed to take her rightful place at the heart of Burmese politics.' His spokesman added: 'Regrettably, recent announcements mean there is no prospect of (the elections) being free, fair or inclusive.'

Source : Straitstimes-BreakingNews

S'pore's stand on Burma polls

2010-03-31T20:27:00.001+06:30

Singapore said it would be harder for national reconciliation to be achieved in Burma because of the decision by the opposition party led by Aung San Suu Kyi to boycott the polls widely expected to take place later this year.

'We are disappointed that the new election laws have led to this result. This will make it harder for national reconciliation to be achieved,' the spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday in response to media queries.

'We have always held that national reconciliation among the stakeholders is a critical element for the legitimacy of the elections.

'This would require the participation of the National League for Democracy and other political parties. It is still not too late for all parties to reach a compromise and we urge them to do so,' the spokesman said in a statement.

The National League for Democracy (NLD), which swept the last elections in 1990 but was never allowed to take power, decided on Monday not to contest the upcoming elections.

The United States and Australia have blamed the ruling junta, which cancelled the NLD's victory in Burma's last elections held in 1990, for boxing the party into a corner and undermining hope for change after decades of military rule, Associated Press reported.

'We think this is an opportunity lost in terms of Burma's ability to demonstrate that it is willing to contemplate a different course of action, a different relationship with its own people,' said US State Department spokesman Philip Crowley, using Burma's former name.

Mr Crowley indicated that the US would continue dialogue with the junta, but Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith was downcast about prospects for reform in the pariah state, reported the Agence France-Presse.

'I don't believe that any election without the National League for Democracy can be a full, free and fair election,' he told ABC Radio.

Election laws announced by the junta earlier this month ban political parties from having prisoners, like Ms Suu Kyi, within their numbers.

Source from Asia News Network - Mar 30 7:01 PM

S'pore says not too late for all parties to reach compromise in Myanmar polls

2010-03-31T20:21:00.001+06:30

SINGAPORE: Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has expressed disappointment over the announcement by the National League for Democracy that it will not register to participate in the forthcoming elections in Myanmar.

An MFA spokesman said in a statement: "We are disappointed that the new election laws have led to this result. This will make it harder for national reconciliation to be achieved."

The spokesman said Singapore has always held that national reconciliation among the stakeholders is a critical element for the legitimacy of the elections, and this would require the participation of the National League for Democracy and other political parties.

"It is still not too late for all parties to reach a compromise and we urge them to do so," the spokesman said.

Source from Channel NewsAsia,posted: 30 March 2010 2248 hrs

Suu Kyi's opposition party to boycott Myanmar elections

2010-03-29T21:29:00.002+06:30

YANGON : Myanmar's opposition party led by Aung San Suu Kyi said on Monday it would boycott polls expected later this year, after the country's military rulers introduced a controversial new election law.

The National League For Democracy decided at a party meeting to refuse to register for the first polls to be held in two decades, a move that would have forced it to oust its detained leader and recognise the government's constitution.

But the NLD now faces dissolution in less than six weeks for failing to register, according to the new legislation brought in earlier this month for the elections due to be held by the end of November.

"The National League for Democracy has decided not to register the party," party spokesman Nyan Win said after a meeting of more than 100 senior members at NLD headquarters in the economic hub Yangon.

Under the internationally-criticised election legislation, if the party had decided to sign up for the vote it would have been forced to part with Suu Kyi because she is serving a prison term.

The vote is part of the government's seven-step "Roadmap to Democracy", which also includes a controversial new constitution agreed in a 2008 referendum held days after a cyclone ravaged the country.

Mynmar's election legislation nullifies the result of the last polls held in 1990 that were won by the NLD by a landslide but never recognised by the government. If the party had registered it would have been forced to recognise that decision.

Nobel peace laureate Suu Kyi, who has spent 14 of the past 20 years in detention, said last week she would "never accept" her party registering because the laws are "unjust".

But she said the party should decide "democratically", according to Nyan Win, who is also Suu Kyi's lawyer. Ahead of the party decision, Nyan Win had signalled his personal opposition to signing up for the vote.

"If we register, it would mean the NLD is doing everything the junta asks it to do. The NLD is working for free democracy. So we cannot accept what the government is asking," Nyan Win added.

Myanmar political analyst and pro-democracy activist Win Min said the party - which Suu Kyi helped found in 1988 after a popular uprising against the military government - would now essentially disappear.

"The party, under its current name, might not officially exist after the May 6 deadline," Win Min said. "It was very hard for the NLD members to exclude her (Suu Kyi) because she is a very influential figure in the party and in the country," he said.

In all, 115 party representatives attended the meeting as dozens of rank-and-file members gathered outside amid tight security, some wearing white tops bearing the slogan: "We believe Aung San Suu Kyi".

"We have sacrificed our life for 20 years and finally we have to give up like this. So you can imagine how we feel in our hearts," said Nann Khin Htwe Mying, a senior NLD member who arrived for the talks from eastern Karen state.

The United States has led international criticism of the new election laws, saying they make a "mockery" of democracy. Critics dismiss the planned poll as a sham designed to entrench the power of the military which has ruled since 1962.

The elections are expected to be held in the last week of October or early November, according to a senior official.

Military chief Senior General Than Shwe warned Saturday against "divisive" and "slanderous" election campaigning as he presided over the country's final annual military parade ahead of the vote.

Suu Kyi is one of more than 2,000 political prisoners held in Myanmar, which remains under US and European sanctions over its human rights r.

Source from Channel NewsAsia posted: 29 March 2010 1821 hrsecord

Govt to explore ways to increase use of CPF for buying HDB flats

2010-03-28T15:03:00.001+06:30

SINGAPORE: The government is exploring how it can further tie a person's CPF to the purchase and sale of an HDB flat.

The aim is to strengthen the message that property is an asset for one's old age.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said this at a forum organised by REACH, the government's feedback unit.

It is a growing trend that has got authorities concerned: Home-owners selling HDB flats to pay off debts, only then to ask their MP for help in getting a rental unit.

Prime Minister Lee said this goes against the aim of these homes as assets for life.

"When we help people to own a home, it's really for you for life," Mr Lee said. "When you're not so old, and you've bought the house, and now you see that the pot of gold is down there and you ignore the 'please don't break the glass sign' and you break the glass and take the money out straightaway, then what happens to you? Or more importantly, your children and your dependents? Where do they go?"

Hence, the government wants to strengthen the CPF route in the buying and selling of flats.

"Like what we've been doing with the Additional Housing Grant - that grant we give you into your CPF, you can use it to buy a house," explained the Prime Minister.

"If you sell the house, the money goes back into the CPF. So if you're buying another house, you can use that for another house. If you're not buying another house, the money is there for your old age."

On tackling income inequality, the Prime Minister said the point was not to measure the size of the gap, but to look at how the poor can be made better off.

Access to a good education and a high rate of home ownership are two of the best things the government has done.

However, Mr Lee noted there are some people who will be left behind.

"And my advice is, please try to help yourself. And particularly, please help your children to break out of this cycle," he said. "The government will help them, but you must help them too."

Said Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports: "It's not just about dollars. It's how you deliver the dollars, how you deliver assistance so that people make the right decisions for themselves and their children.

"If you were a poor person, anywhere on this planet, Singapore is the one place where you will have a roof over your head, where you will have food on the table. Even if you can't afford it, we will have meals delivered to you. You will get healthcare.

"Do not lose sight of the fundamentals. And I am confident that we have done our duty for the people who need our help."

The hour-long dialogue also saw questions on the teaching of the Chinese language, and more help for singles.

In response to a question on casino entry fees, Mr Lee said the aim was not to prevent Singaporeans and permanent residents from gambling. He added that gambling was not harmful if seen as a form of entertainment, but it does become a concern when people get addicted.

The dialogue session is part of a forum on securing Singapore's future.

Source from Channel NewsAsia, by Hoe Yeen Nie Posted: 27 March 2010 2131 hrs

UN rights council says Myanmar election laws not inclusive

2010-03-27T22:36:00.000+06:30

GENEVA : The UN Human Rights Council on Friday passed a resolution expressing concern that election laws adopted by Myanmar failed to include the necessary elements to guarantee an inclusive political process.

The resolution, which was slammed by Myanmar for being "politically motivated" and based on "unfounded allegations" was adopted without a vote.

The resolution "expresses concern that the newly adopted electoral laws do not meet the expectations of the international community regarding what is needed for an inclusive political process."

It also "calls upon the government of Myanmar to ensure a free, transparent and fair electoral process which allows for the participation therein of all voters, all political parties, and all other relevant stakeholders in a manner of their choosing."

To this end, the resolution strongly urged the ruling military to release "without delay and without conditions" the 2,100 political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi, and to allow them to participate in the upcoming elections.

The resolution came on the heels of a call made Thursday by the so-called Group of Friends of Myanmar for Myanmar's military regime to free all political prisoners and to ensure that upcoming polls are inclusive and transparent.

The group comprises Australia, Britain, China, the European Union, France, India, Indonesia, Japan, Norway, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, the United States and Vietnam.

On Wednesday, the UN Security Council also held closed-door talks on Myanmar.

Myanmar accused the EU of tabling a "politically motivated draft resolution which totally disregards and disrespects the principles we adhere to."

Myanmar ambassador Wunna Maung Lwin added that there was "clear intention to interfere in the internal affairs of Myanmar" and that the resolution "does not reflect the true situation in the country."

The government therefore "totally and categorically reject all the politicisation ... of the resolution and dissociates ourselves" from it, added the Myanmar envoy.

Source from Channel News Asia, posted: 27 March 2010 0215 hrs

Myanmar to hold polls in October or November: key official

2010-03-27T22:33:00.001+06:30

NAYPYIDAW: Myanmar will hold national elections in the last week of October or in early November, a senior official told AFP Saturday.

"The candidates will get about six months for campaigning after they have registered as political parties. The elections will be in the last week of October or early in November," the official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

The junta has not announced a date for the polls but earlier this month, it released election laws that were criticised for barring political prisoners, including opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, from standing.

New party registration laws also mean that Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) party must expel her in order to be able to contest the vote.

The elections will be the first held since 1990 polls, which the NLD won by a landslide but the results were never recognised by the military.

The NLD has yet to decide if it will take part in the vote. Critics say the polls are a sham designed to legitimise the ruling generals' grip on power, and that an NLD boycott would further damage their credibility.

Suu Kyi, a 64-year-old Nobel peace laureate, has been in detention for 14 of the last 20 years.

Source from Channel NewsAsia posted: 27 March 2010 1439 hrs

ミャンマー、公正な選挙を

2010-03-27T22:29:00.002+06:30

岡田克也外相は２６日、ミャンマーで年内に予定される総選挙で、民主化運動指導者アウン・サン・スー・チーさんが立候補できない状況となっていることについて、同国のフラ・ミン駐日大使を外務省に呼び、再考を求めた。　外相は大使に「わが国が期待している開かれた選挙とは明らかに異なり、極めて遺憾だ」と述べた。　また、外相は同日の記者会見で、２９、３０両日の主要８カ国（Ｇ８）外相会合などの場で、ミャンマー問題について関係国と協議する考えを明らかにした。
Source from www.jiji.com（2010/03/26-20:15）

UN Security Council mulls Myanmar's electoral laws

2010-03-25T09:31:00.000+06:30

UNITED NATIONS: The UN Security Council on Wednesday held closed-door talks on Myanmar with Britain and China clashing over whether it was appropriate for the 15-member body to weigh the military-ruled country's electoral affairs.

The consultations, called by Britain following Myanmar's new electoral laws that disqualify detained democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, marked the first time the council took stock of developments in the country since last August.

They came on the eve of a meeting of the so-called Group of Friends of Myanmar at UN headquarters.

Britain's UN envoy Mark Lyall Grant said many council members voiced concern about Myanmar's new electoral laws "which fall well short of what the international community expected in a free and fair process and fell short of the expectations set up in previous (council) statements."

He noted that the council had repeatedly stressed the importance of releasing all political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi, establishing a national dialogue and creating the right conditions for reconciliation.

Myanmar's new laws relate to the registration of political parties and bar anyone serving a prison term from being a member of an official party.

But China's new UN Ambassador Li Baodong, whose country maintains close ties with Myanmar, stressed that its neighbour was a sovereign state and that its upcoming general elections, the first to be held in 20 years, were a domestic matter.

He noted that holding elections was not an easy task for a poor country like Myanmar but was "a very important step in the process of national reconciliation, democracy."

"It is very important for the international community and the Security Council to help Myanmar promote a constructive, healthy environment conducive to the coming general election," Li said.

But Lyall Grant disagreed with the notion that the council should not get involved in Myanmar's electoral politics.

"We don't agree with that," he told reporters, pointing out that Myanmar was on the council's agenda.

"We believe these laws set out a process which is not conducive to free and fair elections later this year and in many ways seems designed to target Aung San Suu Kyi and the NLD opposition party and to make it very difficult for them to register for the elections," Lyall Grant said.

Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) has yet to announce whether it will take part in the polls, which are expected in October or November although the government has still not set a date.

Meanwhile, UN chief Ban Ki-moon was to chair Thursday's meeting of the Group of friends of Myanmar, which brings together Australia, Britain, China, the European Union, France, India, Indonesia, Japan, Norway, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, the United States and Vietnam.

The group was set up in December 2007 as a forum for informal discussions and for developing shared approaches to back UN efforts to promote democracy and national reconciliation in Myanmar.

Earlier this month, Ban reiterated his call for "an inclusive political process leading to fair, transparent and credible elections in which all citizens of Myanmar, including Aung San Suu Kyi can freely participate."

The 64-year-old opposition leader has been in detention for 14 of the last 20 years since the previous elections.

She was already barred from standing as a candidate under a new constitution approved in a 2008 referendum that stipulates that those married to foreigners are ineligible. Her husband, British academic Michael Aris, died in 1999.

The Nobel Peace laureate was sentenced to three years' jail last August over an incident in which a US man swam to her lakeside home. The sentence was commuted by junta supremo Than Shwe to 18 months under house arrest.

Source from Channel NewsAsia posted: 25 March 2010 0416 hrs

Malaysian viewers to get Channel NewsAsia via newly-launched IPTV service

2010-03-22T18:52:00.000+06:30

KUALA LUMPUR : More people in Malaysia will be able to tune in to Channel NewsAsia, thanks to a newly-launched IPTV service by the country's largest telco Telekom Malaysia.

The regional network will be carried on its internet services arm TM Net, as part of the basic tier channels to be launched this week.

Some 300,000 households within four residential areas in Klang Valley will be able to access TM Net's IPTV services for a start.

And Channel NewsAsia is among the 20 content providers that they will be able to watch.

Debra Soon, managing director, Channel NewsAsia, said: "I am pleased that on the 11th anniversary of Channel NewsAsia, we are signing up a strategic partnership with TM, one of the most reputable companies in Malaysia.

"We are pleased that Channel NewsAsia will be able to offer its uniquely Asian content of Asian perspectives to Malaysian viewers on TM Net, to be part of TM Net's first-year partners as it ventures into the IPTV pay TV network. We wish TM Net all the best."

Channel NewsAsia was one of the pioneer channels for TM's broadband TV trial last year, and is no stranger to Malaysian viewers.

The channel has been reporting out of Malaysia since its inception in 1999.

Jeremy Kung, Executive Vice President of Consumer, Telekom Malaysia, said: "For me, it is very informative. I have been watching Channel NewsAsia and other channels; the quality of news is pretty good."

TM's subscribers will be able to enjoy all IPTV channels, including Channel NewsAsia, without additional cost till June.

The IPTV service is delivered through a high-speed Internet connection, instead of cable.

Users will need a set up box and high-speed broadband connection.

By year-end, some 750,000 households in most parts of the Klang Valley, including the commercial and industrial hubs in southern Johore and Penang, will be able to enjoy the service.

TM currently has 4.3 million fixed line customers and 1.6 million broadband users.

In 2008, it signed an agreement with the Malaysian government to develop a high-speed broadband network within 10 years.

Telekom Malaysia, which has been tasked to develop the country's national broadband initiative, has given its commitment to upgrade its infrastructure to reach at least 1.3 million households by 2012, thus providing high-speed Internet, quality voice and high-definition IPTV to more Malaysians throughout the country."

Source from Channel NewsAsia by Malaysia Bureau Chief Melissa Goh Posted: 22 March 2010 1443 hrs

Three arms of cyber security being introduced

2010-03-22T18:00:00.000+06:30

Singapore: New programmes to boost Singapore's internet security against cyber threats are set to roll out with the target set on the public, private and people sectors.

This includes an Industry Code of Practice on infocomm security to be issued late 2010 with specific security controls and expectations outlined to ensure security is in place to deal with both current and emerging cyber threats.

The Code of Practice to be periodically audited by IDA to ensure that ISPs observe the Code that will be incorporated into the telecommunications regulatory framework and aligned with international standards and best practices.

Mr Lui Tuck Yew, Acting Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts revealed this Monday, at the annual Information Security Seminar organised by the Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) and the Association of Information Security Professionals.

There will also be sharing of infocomm security information among ISPs through IDA coordination so that ISPs and IDA can make make more informed decisions and undertake early steps to cyber threats.

Various measures will also be adopted to protect the public sector infocomm infrastructure from cyber threats such as Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) while end-users will be educated to take personal responsibility in protecting themselves against cyber threats.

This include an effort by the Cyber Security Awareness Alliance and National Crime Prevention Council to develop a ‘Virtual Cyber Security Park’ portal to help students learn about cyber wellness and security via interactive mode such as educational online gaming.

Social networking websites will also be leveraged to promote cyber security along with seminars and outreach events to raise awareness among businesses including the Small and Medium enterprises.

The three programmes under the Infocomm Security Masterplan 2 (MP2) are part of an overall effort to enhance Singapore’s infocomm security preparedness by strengthening different areas of cyber security.

Source by channelnewsasia.com Posted: 22 March 2010 1126 hrs

SE Asia's first Universal Studios opens in Singapore

2010-03-18T18:10:00.001+06:30

SINGAPORE : Southeast Asia's first Universal Studios theme park, featuring rides and attractions from box-office hits such as "Shrek" and "Madagascar", opened to enthusiastic crowds in Singapore on Thursday.

Hundreds of visitors including foreign tourists lined up to be among the first into the 20-hectare (50-acre) park, part of the US$4.4-billion Resorts World Sentosa casino complex built by Malaysia's Genting Group.

The casino, Singapore's first, started operations last month as part of a drive to draw more visitors to the city-state, which relies on man-made attractions to entice tourists.

Singaporean newlyweds Raymond Ling and Liew See Eng took the day off to try the roller-coaster rides at the seaside amusement centre.

"The whole goal was to come here first and experience the most terrifying rides. We'll definitely be taking it as many times as we can," Ling told AFP after getting off a ride called "Battlestar Galactica Human".

"It was very scary! At the first drop, I felt like my heart was going to come out," Liew said after their front-seat experience.

The park has seven zones of movie-themed attractions, including an area devoted to Steven Spielberg's "Jurassic Park" and a version of Hollywood's famous "Walk of Fame".

Nine-year-old Chai Jing Xuan, a Singaporean girl who was one of the first to try the "Shrek 4D Adventure" ride, gave it a thumbs-up. "The best part of the ride was seeing the donkey. He was very funny," she said.

Chinese tourist Huang Wenhui, 26, an engineer who was in Singapore for a one-day stopover, joined the early crowds. "I'm not a thrill-seeker, but I'm enjoying the whole experience very much," he said.

The park houses 24 rides and attractions in all, with 18 of them originally designed or adapted for Singapore.

The theme park is also promoting itself overseas, especially to neighbouring countries.

Liang Wern Ling, director, Destination Sales, Resorts World Sentosa, said: "Asian markets are our target markets. For example, Malaysia , Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam and China. What we have been doing is going out to the market itself, talking to travel agents, to our business partners, to create awareness.

"So basically travel agents are very excited to sell our products. For the next few weeks, we expect to receive more frequent independent travellers, because of the tour groups because this is not actually the travel season for the region."

Asia's only other Universal Studios movie theme park is located in Japan, while the two others are in California and Florida.

Under a phased opening, Resorts World Sentosa launched four premium hotels and a shopping and dining strip in January, followed by the casino and a convention centre last month.

Singapore gave the green light for casino gambling in 2005, hoping to boost the country's tourism appeal and draw more visitors. A marine life park, a maritime museum, a spa and two more hotels will open at Resorts World Sentosa after 2010.

Marina Bay Sands, Singapore's second casino complex, is scheduled to open on April 27. It is now being completed by US-based Las Vegas Sands.

Singapore welcomed 9.7 million visitors last year, down 4.3 per cent from 2008 as the global recession hit travel demand, but arrivals have begun to pick up. There were 908,000 visitors in January, up 17.6 per cent from a year ago.

Source from Channel NewsAsia posted: 18 March 2010 1547 hrs

NUS, NTU & SMU raise fees to better reflect citizenship privileges

2010-03-18T18:06:00.001+06:30

SINGAPORE: All three Singapore public universities are raising tuition fees for the incoming cohort of students.

The increase will also be sharper for permanent residents and foreign students in line with the government's policy of reflecting the responsibilities and privileges of citizenship.

Singapore Management University (SMU) said fees for all undergraduate programmes will be adjusted by three per cent for the incoming cohort.

All undergraduate programmes except for Law will cost S$9,890 a year. Law will cost S$10,920 a year. The tuition fees will remain unchanged for the four years of their university studies.

Tuition fees paid by Singaporean undergraduates at National University of Singapore will go up by four per cent for the incoming cohort, except for Architecture, Business, Law and Pharmacy.

Tuition fees for Architecture and Business will go up by seven per cent. Fees for Law and Pharmacy will increase by 10 per cent.

Fees for the incoming intake of students for postgraduate courses at NUS will be adjusted upwards by four per cent. And they will be increased by three per cent each year for the remaining duration of the course.

Incoming NUS undergrads who are PRs will pay between S$720 and S$2,810 more for their courses. Fees for foreign students admitted into NUS this year will increase by between S$800 and S$3,120.

Over at Nanyang Technological University, fees for non business programmes are S$6,890 for Singapore Citizens, S$8,270 for Permanent Residents and S$11,030 for foreign students.

For the business programme, the fees are S$7,490 for Singapore Citizens, S$8,990 for PRs and S$11,990 for foreign students.

Returning National Servicemen will continue to enjoy tuition fees based on the year they were offered a place.

The fee revision does not affect current cohorts at the three universities.

Like NUS, NTU will also lift the one-year fee revision deferment that last year's cohort has enjoyed. They will implement the fees for them in accordance with the schedule that was announced to them last year.

The three universities have given the assurance that no Singaporean will be deprived of a varsity education for financial reasons. They have various schemes for needy students.

Source from Channel NewsAsia by Mustafa Shafawi Posted: 18 March 2010 1503 hrs

Singapore experiences employment growth in 2009 despite recession

2010-03-15T19:42:00.001+06:30

SINGAPORE : Singapore experienced employment growth during the recession last year.

The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) said the labour market was more resilient than in previous downturns, supported by the Resilience Package and concerted tripartite efforts to save jobs.

The labour market rebounded quickly in the second half of last year, offsetting the job losses experienced in the first half.

Total employment grew by 37,500 in the fourth quarter alone, double the gains of 14,000 in the previous quarter.

The figure is also higher than the 21,300 in the fourth quarter of 2008.

The bulk of the employment gains came from the services sector which added 31,500 workers. This was supported by hiring for the year-end festivities and the Integrated Resorts (IRs).

For the whole of 2009, services employment rose by 55,600.

Construction added 4,600 workers in the fourth quarter, bringing its total gains to 25,100 in 2009.

Going forward, analysts said the global economic recovery is expected to continue supporting job creation in Singapore.

"Perhaps the biggest swing from last year will be in manufacturing, which saw a contraction with the slowdown in exports. And now it's rebounding together with the improved exports demand," said David Cohen, director at Action Economics.

But with improved hiring sentiments, companies will have to deal with the problem of talent retention.

"The challenge will be how do you retain these people. How are you going to make sure that the sacrifices they have put in are now being restored - the wage freeze or benefits freeze, and so on. If you don't do so quickly and properly, then you will find that people will be thinking of looking at other opportunities elsewhere, which will lead to higher attrition (rates)," said David Ang, executive director of the Singapore Human Resource Institute.

Another challenge for the labour market is the growing number of job seekers who have been looking for work for at least 25 weeks. The number of long-term unemployed jumped to 13,900 last year, up 1,000 from 2008.

But as the workforce base grew in 2009, the long-term unemployment rate remained unchanged at 0.7 per cent.

This increase numerically is something that we should pay attention to. (We should) make full use of this upturn, make full use of this productivity drive, and emphasis on retraining and upgrading, to help as many of these long-term unemployed gain employment," said Heng Chee How, Deputy Secretary-General of the Labour Movement.

Driven by strong employment growth in the fourth quarter of 2009, the overall unemployment rate improved significantly. It fell from 3.4 per cent in September to 2.1 per cent in December.
Source : By Joanne Chen, Channel NewsAsia Posted: 15 March 2010 1834 hrs

Singapore Institute of Technology to set 6 campuses across the island

2010-03-15T19:19:00.001+06:30

SINGAPORE: The upcoming Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT) will have a total of six campuses islandwide by 2014. Five of the campuses will be co-located within Singapore's five polytechnics while its headquarters will be set up at a location yet to be decided.

This follows the signing of a master agreement between SIT and the polytechnics.

The new Singapore Institute of Technology has been touted as a more convenient and cheaper pathway for polytechnic graduates seeking a university degree.

The students will be able to obtain their degrees in just two years through SIT and the school fees of around S$9,000 per year is much lower than if they were to head overseas.

So, it's only fitting that SIT campuses be co-located within the five polytechnics.

Aside from infrastructure, the polytechnics will provide teaching resources and other necessary facilities.

Professor Tan Chin Tiong, president, Singapore Institute of Technology, said: "If you look at polys currently, they are very well-built in terms of infrastructure - the labs, studios and the teaching classrooms that they already have. I would say they are world-class, so there's no reason not to leverage on what they already have."

Besides the five campuses which will be completed by 2014, S-I-T is also planning a separate HQ campus which will provide student services.

So far, five overseas universities have agreed to offer degree programmes.

They are the Technical University of Munich, DigiPen Institute of Technology, Newcastle University, University of Nevada, and the Culinary Institute of America.

About half of SIT's faculty will come from overseas varsities and the remainder from Singapore.

Polytechnic faculty who have the potential will also be identified to teach as Adjunct Lecturers.

Tan Hang Cheong, principal, Singapore Polytechnic, said: "If you look at the polytechnic lecturers now, the majority of them have a least a post-graduate, a masters degree.So I think it's the wrong perception to think polytechnic lecturers are all basic degree holders That was in the past, but now it's a very different scenario."

SIT's first eight degree programmes will be rolled out in August.

Its long term plan is to link up with up to 15 overseas varsities to offer degree programmes.
Source from Channel NewsAsia By Jeremy Koh Posted: 15 March 2010 1847 hrs

MOM announces measures to strengthen management of foreign workers in S'pore

2010-03-13T11:19:00.002+06:30

SINGAPORE : The Manpower Ministry (MOM) wrapped up the debate on its budget on Friday by announcing measures to strengthen the management of foreign workers in Singapore. It also stressed the need to enhance workplace safety and health across all sectors.

Foreign workers in Singapore constitute almost one-third of the total workforce and employment agents play a key role in managing them.

However, there has been a spike in the number of errant employment agencies over the last two years.

There are currently some 2,300 employment agencies as at the end of last year.

Last year, MOM received 1,280 complaints from employers, foreign workers and members of the public, regarding employment agency malpractices - an 80 per cent increase compared to the year before.

Lee Yi Shyan, Minister of State for Manpower, said: "By making it an offence for persons to knowingly engage an unlicensed employment agency, we intend to break the collusions involving kickbacks between employment agencies and errant employers."

On the cards is raising the standards and accountability of people who work for the employment agencies.

The ministry also wants to ensure adequate deterrence on some of the penalties imposed.

This will involve increasing penalties for some offences to impose costs that commensurate with the large potential gains from malpractices.

Mr Lee said: "The maximum penalty for operating an employment agency without a licence at S$5,000 pales in comparison to the fees that some foreign workers pay to come to Singapore. We can all look forward to many progressive changes to the employment agencies regulatory framework in this coming year.

" We hope to ensure better compliance and improve the standard of recruitment practices among employment agencies in Singapore. In doing so, Singapore will remain a choice destination for experienced and skilled foreign workers."

MOM also agrees with Members of Parliament who feel more can be done to facilitate better matching between employers and foreign domestic workers. At the last count, there were nearly 196,000 foreign domestic workers in Singapore.

This means that about one in every five homes in Singapore relies on a maid to help out at home.

Among the improvements proposed is a standard bio-data template for the industry, so that employers have enough information when choosing a maid.

Hawazi Daipi, Senior Parliamentary Secretary (Manpower), said: "MOM will be engaging the Foreign Domestic Worker Association for Skills Training to introduce a Settling-In Programme that includes lessons on Singapore's culture, norms, financial management and stress management."

The courses, to be held on weekends at some community centres, will start from May.

Mr Hawazi added that workplace safety and health for all workers will be another area of priority.

He said: "In the course of MOM's work, we have seen cases where stakeholders failed to engage their SME subcontractors to ensure that work was carried out safely.

"We would like to stress that whilst work can be outsourced, the duties of principals to ensure that work is done safely cannot be outsourced.

"Being the person who engages the contractor, the principal has the responsibility to hire the right subcontractor for the job, and ensure that it is able to carry out its work not only competently, but also safely.

"We will thus be amending the Workplace Safety and Health Act (WSHA) later this year, to ensure that principals remain accountable for the safety and health of the employees of their contractors and subcontractors, whether or not they direct the work."

The construction and marine sectors accounted for 63 per cent of the workplace fatalities last year. MOM said it will continue to address the challenges in these two risky sectors in 2010.

Besides addressing sector-specific risks, it will also work with industry to tackle riskier work activities conducted across several sectors.

Mr Hawazi said that last year, the industry took the helm and formed two task forces to improve the safety of work at height and crane operations.

The task forces identified gaps in safety management and made recommendations ranging from capability building, promotion and outreach, to regulatory issues.

MOM has been working closely with the industry to implement the recommendations.

From September next year, the WSHA will be extended to all workplaces.

This means that some 1.4 million workers from 16 industry sectors will be covered by the Act.
Source from Channel NewsAsia by S Ramesh Posted: 12 March 2010 1731 hrs

Census of Singapore population to be carried out

2010-03-13T11:16:00.002+06:30

SINGAPORE : Some 200,000 selected households will receive notification letters from now till June, as the Department of Statistics begins gathering data for the Census of Population 2010.

The census, which costs some S$12 million to conduct, will end in September.

The census, which is done every 10 years, has two new sections - transportation and employment.

It wants to find out how long Singaporeans take to get to school or work.

For those who are not working or studying, the census wants to know why they are not working and if they are actively looking for a job.

Other key information to be collected include data on demographic profile, economic status, education and religion.

Chief Statistician at the Department of Statistics, Wong Wee Kim, said Census 2010 will adopt a register-based approach, similar to the last census conducted in 2000.

She explained: "We conduct what we call a register-based census, which basically means that a significant portion of the data are already collected from the administrative sources. So the additional information that are not available from the administrative sources are the ones we need to collect through the survey."

Of the 60 items to be answered by the individuals, nine are obtained by the register-based approach.

Information gathered from the census will provide a detailed profile of how Singapore's population is changing. It will also provide key inputs for policy planning and programme formulation by the public sector agencies for the community.

The selected households will be given two weeks to reply either through the Internet, over the phone or face-to-face interviews at home.

Together with the notification letter, an Internet user guide and survey guide will also be provided.

For those who are overseas for 12 months or more, Ms Wong said a shorter set of questions will be used instead.

On average, a family of four respondents would take less than 30 minutes to complete the survey.

Ms Wong said: "We have (made) great improvements in terms of Internet summation, to make it easier and user-friendly for the respondents. And then for the field interview, we have a new gadget - Ultra Mobile PC - that puts in a lot of encryption when we survey the respondents."

On the challenges faced by the department in conducting such a large-scale survey, Ms Wong said: "With a more sophisticated user, there will be more data requirement. So we need to (strike a) balance between collecting the data and servicing the user, because we also do not want to increase the respondent's burden."

She added that all information collected will be confidential and protected, in line with the Statistics Act.

Some 500 staff have been roped in to help out with interviews as well as pre- and post-survey work.

Further information on the Census of Population 2010 can be found on the Census 2010 homepage at www.singstat.gov.sg/c2010.
Source from Channel NewsAsia by Claire Huang Posted: 12 March 2010 1652 hrs

Myanmar's News

2010-03-12T10:02:00.004+06:30

Myanmar's Suu Kyi urges united response to 'unjust' law

YANGON: Myanmar's detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi Thursday called on her people to respond to an "unjust" election law issued by the military government that bars her from the vote, her lawyer said. Under the laws enacted Monday, which have sparked international anger, Suu Kyi faces exclusion from her own National League for Democracy (NLD) and is prevented from standing in the elections expected in October or November. "The people and political forces have to respond united to such an unjust law," Suu Kyi said according to her lawyer and NLD spokesman Nyan Win, after he visited the democracy icon, who has been locked up for 14 of the last 20 years. "She didn't think such a repressive law would come out," he told AFP, adding that her disposition was "more cheerful" than expected during the meeting. Under the legislation - slammed as a "mockery" by the United States - the Nobel Peace Laureate is not allowed to run in the election on the grounds that she is a serving prisoner. On Thursday Myanmar's ruling government also unveiled on state television its handpicked election commission to oversee the polls, leading to criticism from rights groups that the body would not be impartial. It cited an order signed by General Tin Aung Myint Oo, the number five in the hierarchy, and named the chairman of the new commission as Thein Soe, without giving further details. The new laws also officially annul the result of Myanmar's last elections in 1990, which the NLD won by a landslide. The military government never allowed the party to take power. But in a surprise move, authorities permitted the reopening of around 300 NLD offices which were shut after an attack by a pro-government mob on Suu Kyi's motorcade in May 2003 which left dozens of people dead. "They have not yet informed our party headquarters but the authorities have informed regional and divisional offices that they can reopen," Nyan Win said. The new laws give parties just 60 days from Monday to decide whether to register, but the NLD has not yet said if it will do so. Suu Kyi's house arrest was extended by 18 months in August after she was convicted over an incident in which a US man swam to her home. UN chief Ban Ki-moon Wednesday renewed his appeal to the military government to free the 64-year-old and let her take part in the elections and Britain expressed "regret" over Suu Kyi's exclusion. The United States, which has imposed heavy sanctions on Myanmar but recently launched a policy of increased engagement with the military government, reacted angrily to the new laws. "The political party registration law makes a mockery of the democratic process and ensures the upcoming election will be devoid of credibility," US State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said Wednesday. The Philippines on Thursday described the law affecting Suu Kyi as a "farce", becoming the first member of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to publicly comment. The group includes Myanmar. But China, which has huge investments in neighbouring Myanmar, said the laws were a matter for Myanmar alone. “These are the internal affairs of Myanmar, which need to be properly resolved by the government and people of Myanmar," said Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang. Analysts said the laws proved that the elections were mainly aimed at legitimising and entrenching the generals' grip on power and were a "survival strategy". "Accordingly, it is almost sure that the 2010 elections will not achieve genuine democracy in Myanmar," Toshihiro Kudo, from the Institute of Developing Economies in China, Japan, said in emailed comments. A UN expert said Thursday that human rights violations in Myanmar may amount to crimes against humanity and could warrant a UN inquiry. "According to consistent reports, the possibility exists that some of these human rights violations may entail categories of crimes against humanity or war crimes under the terms of the statute of the International Criminal Court," said Tomas Quintana in a report to be examined next Monday at the Human Rights Council. Quintana, who visited the country in February, pointed out that the "mere existence of this possibility" requires the Myanmar government to investigate the allegations.

Source from Channel NewsAsia posted: 11 March 2010 2129 hrs

Myanmar annuls Suu Kyi's 1990 election win

YANGON: Myanmar's military government has used new election laws to officially annul the result of polls in 1990 that were won by Aung San Suu Kyi's opposition party, state media said Thursday. The government is planning to hold elections later this year, the first in the country since Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy swept to victory two decades ago. The NLD was prevented from taking power by the military at the time but the result has not been formally cancelled until now. Suu Kyi has spent 14 of the subsequent 20 years in detention. "The result of the multi-party democracy elections, held under a deleted law, is automatically abolished as it is not in accordance with the constitution," said a clause in one of the laws printed in state newspapers. The military government enacted the long-awaited new electoral laws on Monday and details have emerged during the week. The most controversial of them says that the NLD must expel Suu Kyi from its ranks or be dissolved on the grounds that a person serving a prison term cannot be a party member. Suu Kyi was sentenced to three years' jail in August over an incident in which a US man swam to her lakeside home, but her sentence was commuted by military chief Than Shwe to 18 months under house arrest. Another law says that the government itself will hand-pick members of the country's new electoral commission. No date for this year's elections has been set but they are expected to be in October or November.

Source from Channel NewsAsia Posted: 11 March 2010 1657 hrs

UN urges Myanmar to let Aung San Suu Kyi contest polls
UNITED NATIONS: UN chief Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday renewed his appeal to Myanmar rulers to let detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi take part in upcoming polls after new election laws disqualified her. "The Secretary General reiterates his call for the Myanmar authorities to ensure an inclusive political process leading to fair, transparent and credible elections in which all citizens of Myanmar, including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, can freely participate," his office said in a statement. In a law printed for the first time Wednesday in state newspapers, Myanmar's military junta said that anyone serving a prison term cannot be a member of a political party. Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) - which won Myanmar's last elections in 1990 but was stopped from taking power by the junta - would in turn be abolished if it failed to obey the rules. The United Nations said it was carefully studying the new laws, adding: "the indications available so far suggest that they do not measure up to our expectations of what is needed for an inclusive political process." Myanmar's Political Parties Registration Act also gives the NLD just 60 days from Monday, when the law was enacted, to register as a party if it wants to take part in the elections, or else face dissolution. The NLD has yet to announce whether it will take part in the polls promised by the junta, which are expected in October or November although the government has still not set a date. The 64-year-old Suu Kyi has been in detention for 14 of the last 20 years since the previous elections. She was already barred from standing as a candidate under a new constitution approved in a 2008 referendum that stipulates that those married to foreigners are ineligible. Her husband, British academic Michael Aris, died in 1999. The Nobel Peace laureate was sentenced to three years' jail last August over an incident in which a US man swam to her lakeside home. Suu Kyi's sentence was commuted by junta supremo Than Shwe to 18 months under house arrest.

Source from Channel NewsAsia posted: 11 March 2010 1022 hrs

Suu Kyi must quit party under new election law: party spokesman

YANGON: Myanmar's new election laws mean the opposition National League for Democracy must expel detained leader Aung San Suu Kyi from its ranks ahead of polls this year, a spokesman said Wednesday. Details of the Political Parties Registration Act published in state newspapers say that anyone serving a prison term cannot be a party member and that parties that fail to obey this will be abolished. Nobel Peace laureate Suu Kyi was sentenced to three years in jail in August over an incident in which a US man swam to her lakeside home. The sentence was commuted by military head Than Shwe to 18 months under house arrest. "I have noticed that we have to expel Daw Suu. Their attitude is clear in this law," NLD spokesman Nyan Win told AFP. "I was extremely surprised when I saw this, I did not think it would be so bad." The new law also gives the NLD 60 days to register as a party if it wants to take part in the elections, which the military government has promised some time this year. The NLD has not yet decided whether it wants to participate. Under Suu Kyi's leadership the party won Myanmar's last elections in 1990 by a landslide but the military government annulled the result. Suu Kyi has been in detention for 14 of the subsequent 20 years. Suu Kyi was already barred from standing as a candidate under a new constitution approved in a 2008 referendum, under a clause stipulating that those married to foreign nationals are not eligible. Her husband, British academic Michael Aris, died in 1999. "The NLD also needs to reply clearly but I cannot say how we will respond," Nyan Win said. "What I can say now is the law is meant to safeguard the constitution. It will be a very big problem for us as they asked us to obey a constitution that we cannot accept," he added. The law also bans people from any religious order - including Buddhist monks - and members of the civil service from standing in the elections. It is the second of five laws to have been enacted on Monday ahead of the polls, for which the military government has given no date but which are expected to be in October or November. The first law stipulates that the military government itself will hand-pick members of the electoral commission, sparking worries but not surprise from rights groups. "Basically, the laws will formalise what is already a repressive system leading up to the election," David Mathieson, a Myanmar expert at Human Rights Watch, said Tuesday. Critics have said the elections are a sham designed to legitimise the ruling generals' grip on power while Suu Kyi languishes in detention. Aung Din from the US Campaign for Burma, which uses Myanmar's former name, on Wednesday called for worldwide action in response to the new laws. "Now, the ball is in the court of the United Nations, United States, and the international community, who have been repeatedly calling for Myanmar to make an inclusive, free and fair election." The United States voiced doubt Tuesday over whether the upcoming elections would be credible amid concern over the way the military government is drafting the laws. "We urge the authorities to begin a genuine political dialogue with all stakeholders as a first step towards credible elections," State Department spokesman Philip Crowley told reporters.

Source from Channel NewsAsia posted: 10 March 2010 1244 hrs

Myanmar says junta to pick electoral body members

YANGON: Military-ruled Myanmar issued the first details of long-awaited polling laws Tuesday, revealing that the junta itself will pick all members of the country's new election commission. The government enacted five new laws on Monday ahead of elections promised later this year, although the regime has still not given a date for the vote, the Southeast Asian nation's first since 1990. State-run newspapers on Tuesday published the full two-page text of the first of the laws, the "Union Election Commission Law", signed by junta supremo Senior General Than Shwe. The law will "form a union election commission to supervise the practising of the Union of Myanmar people's rights to elect or stand for election as well as the political parties," the text said. But it said that the military junta, officially known as the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), would itself appoint the five-member commission. All members must be over 50 and "shall be deemed by the SPDC to be an eminent person, to have integrity and experience, to be loyal to the state and its citizens and shall not be a member of a political party." The commission would be responsible for designating constituencies, compiling voter lists and "supervising political parties to perform in accordance with the law". The body also has the power for "postponing and abolishing elections of the constituencies where free and fair elections cannot be held due to natural disaster or due to local security situation," the law said. The 1990 elections were won by the opposition National League for Democracy party of Aung San Suu Kyi, but the junta annulled the results and has kept Suu Kyi under house arrest for 14 of the last 20 years. The NLD has not yet said whether it will participate in this year's promised elections, saying it will wait until it sees the full details of all the election laws. Details of the law for the registration of political parties are expected to be released on Wednesday. A new constitution agreed in a May 2008 referendum just days after a devastating cyclone that killed up to 138,000 people in Myanmar effectively bans Suu Kyi from standing in the polls.

Source from Channel NewsAsia Posted: 09 March 2010 1227 hrs

Pay hike for social workers from 1 April

2010-03-11T09:51:00.000+06:30

SINGAPORE: Social workers will see their salaries go up by 14 to 16 per cent from 1 April. The pay hike is part of measures to attract and retain dedicated professionals in the sector. The revision will cost the government an additional S$3.9 million per year. In a job that has seen more than its share of people joining and leaving, Teo Tee Loon has tremendous "staying power". He has been a social worker for 18 years - much longer than the average three to five years that others would stay on. Mr Teo attributed the shortage of social workers to the demands of the job. It is often high pressured where he said the "burn out rate is quite high". There is usually a turnover after three to five years. Like his peers, Mr Teo welcomed news that his pay is going up. Mr Teo, who is the executive director of Lakeside Family Service Centre, said: "It's not just a matter of the pay increasing but the recognition that goes with it. So, when people begin to see that social work is a profession that is recognised and pay is just part of that recognition, then the status of that profession goes up. "It's fine to say that this is a profession that's very noble and so on but if the pay is very low then people will always have the perception that maybe this is not a very credible profession. "If the profession commands a certain level of pay then people will say, 'OK, this is something people will take seriously as a profession, just like being a doctor or a lawyer'. "We are always mindful of the need for staff welfare, training and development so those are HR issues that each organisation will have to contend with and improve in order to improve staff retention." Assistant Professor Ester C L Goh at the NUS Department of Social Work agreed that more needs to be done. "There must be a more long-term and comprehensive plan to keep people in their jobs. One of the very important aspects is really professional supervision. "Without professional supervision and quality supervision, young social workers find it very hard to stay in their jobs because the nature of social work is that it is very demanding in every aspect. "So if they are thrown into the deep end when they first start the job, it is quite understandable why they want to quit after a while because it is just too demanding." There are now 600 social workers in Singapore. The number is not enough to meet the increasing demand for social services. It is also estimated that there will be a shortfall of about 60 social workers every year for the next five years. The last time the salaries of such workers were revised was in 2007. Speaking in Parliament on Wednesday, Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports, Vivian Balakrishnan, said: "We will benchmark their pay to the pay of medical social workers and we need to make sure our social workers get the respect and remuneration which they so richly deserve." As the government works to build a pool of dedicated workers to provide professional support, it will also push on with its "many helping hands" approach. To meet the needs of vulnerable families, five new Family Service Centres will be opened in areas of high demand, with the first three in Bedok, Telok Blangah and Tampines. The first is expected to start operations in the first quarter of 2010. The additional centres will bring the total number of Family Service Centres to 41. Dr Balakrishnan said: "So the key is to continue to work on our many-helping- hands model, but even as we do so, never, never lose sight of the fact that we still want people to own their own lives and owning their own lives means owning their problems, taking responsibility for it and making the right choices and living with the consequences of those decisions." Separately, to enhance the quality of childcare, MCYS announced a slew of measures, including a Child Development Network to provide technical help and consultancy to childcare centres. The network will play an active role in reaching out and connecting with 800 childcare centres, as well as 10,000 professionals and workers in the sector. There will also be an Early Years Development Framework (by 2011) to review the training and quality standards.

Channel NewsAsia by Imelda Saad Posted: 10 March 2010 1945 hrs

More marks for Mother Tongue orals at "N", "O" & "A" levels from 2012

2010-03-11T09:48:00.001+06:30

SINGAPORE: From 2012, the oral component of the Mother Tongue languages will be given greater weightage in the "O", "N" and "A" level examinations. The increase will range from five per cent to 20 per cent, and will apply to the Chinese, Malay and Tamil papers. At "N" level, the marks given to the oral component will make up 40 per cent, instead of the current 35 per cent. For "O" Level, the weightage will be 35 per cent, higher than the current 30 per cent. And for those taking the language at "A" level, it will be 30 per cent, higher than the current 20 per cent. As for students taking the "B" paper at "O" level, the weightage will be 50 per cent, instead of 40 per cent. That at "A" level will be 50 per cent, significantly higher than the current 30 per cent. The Ministry of Education (MOE) will also introduce more differentiated approaches to the teaching and learning of the Mother Tongue languages. The changes will first apply to the Chinese language, but will be extended to Malay and Tamil gradually. For starters, the ministry will be working with the Singapore Centre for Chinese Language to develop a diagnostic tool to assess students' oral competence. This will help to determine their fit for the different modules. It will also give teachers a better sense of the students' language ability to help them customise the teaching approaches. The diagnostic tool would be developed and prototyped this year. This was one of the initiatives highlighted by Senior Minister of State for Education and National Development, Grace Fu, in Parliament during the debate on the budget estimates for the Education Ministry. Ms Fu said MOE will also be providing schools with a high concentration of students from English Language-speaking (EL) homes with an additional Chinese Language (CL) teacher to enable them to further customise their teaching. This is on top of the two additional teachers all primary schools received in 2007 for the new Chinese Language (CL) modular curriculum. There will be more extensive use of EL to teach students with greater needs in the learning of CL. Ms Fu said there is room to leverage more on information and communication technologies (ICT) tools and applications. MOE intends to incorporate more ICT-based language learning into the syllabus design so that it forms a bigger proportion of the learning experience. An ICT-based language resource package constituting 10 to 15 per cent of Mother Tongue Language (MTL) curriculum across all levels will be provided to all schools. MOE is also developing a text-to-speech technology that automatically evaluates the student's pronunciation. At secondary level, additional focus will be placed on the use of ICT tools and learning platforms such as wikispaces for discussions, and the use of blogs. MOE will roll out a web-based MTL portal to schools starting from 2012. Ms Fu said students who face exceptional difficulties coping with the learning of CL would be better served by CL 'B' which places greater emphasis on practical communication skills. "I understand that students are enjoying the lessons so much that in some cases, even those who had been exempted from CL are asking to join the classes!" She said. "The students tell us that they recognise the importance of being able to communicate verbally in CL, and that the content of the CL 'B' lessons is pitched at a suitable level and enjoyable." The percentage of students taking CL 'B' at 'O' Level has increased slightly from two per cent to four per cent (about 1,500 students) between 2001 and 2009. That of students offering CL 'B' at 'A' Level has stayed around 2 per cent (about 250 students). "With more students coming from predominantly EL-speaking homes, we expect that there will be more students offering CL 'B' in future," Ms Fu said. To enhance the accessibility of CL 'B' instruction, MOE will support secondary schools with a high concentration of students weak in CL to offer school-based CL 'B' lessons. At the junior college and centralised institute level, MOE will relax the eligibility criteria - from the current 'O' level E8 grade or below to D7 grade or below, to allow more students to benefit from taking 'A' Level CL 'B'.

Source from Channel NewsAsia by Hoe Yeen Nie Posted: 10 March 2010 1511 hrs

from Channel News Asia

2010-03-06T21:04:00.005+06:30

Housing policy changes not enough for some PRs to take up citizenship

SINGAPORE : The government has sharpened the differentiation in housing benefits enjoyed by citizens and permanent residents (PRs), but some PRs have said it is still not enough for them to take up citizenship. And as revealed in Parliament on Friday, households comprising one citizen and one PR will now have to pay more to buy an HDB flat. A new quota for non-Malaysian PRs has also been implemented to prevent enclaves from forming in estates. 28-year-old Vina Mubtadi has been a PR for the last 1.5 years. She recently married a Singaporean, and the couple hopes to buy a flat soon and start a family. With rising housing prices already a concern, the latest changes in housing policy will make it even more expensive for them to own a home. Still, Ms Vina said she is not quite ready to give up her Indonesian citizenship, despite the carrot being dangled by the Singapore government. She said: "If I give up my nationality, that means I cannot have a property there in Indonesia. But if I stay a PR (in Singapore), although I have to pay a higher price to own a property here, but at least I can have a property here and I can also have a property in Indonesia." Previously, a household comprising one Singapore citizen and one PR would have enjoyed the same level of housing subsidies as a Singaporean couple. With the changes, Singaporeans married to PRs will receive S$10,000 less in housing grants if they buy a resale flat. Alternatively, they will have to pay a S$10,000 premium if they buy a new HDB flat. However, the amount will be restored if the PR family member becomes a citizen, or if the couple has a child who is Singaporean. National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan had also announced a new quota for non-Malaysian PRs in housing estates. He noted that this would help to encourage integration. Market watchers said this may affect Singaporean homeowners more than the PRs. David Poh, senior group district director, PropNex, explained: "If a certain estate has reached its maximum PR quota, then Singaporeans can only choose to sell to Singaporeans. So they cannot be so choosy about it, because if a PR wants to buy their house, they cannot sell it to them. So they probably cannot ask for too high a price. "Whereas if you are a PR living in an estate with a full PR quota, then you can choose to sell to both Singaporeans and PRs. In this case, you probably can ask for a slightly higher price." The quota is set at five per cent at the neighbourhood level, and eight per cent at the block level. This is in addition to the Ethnic Integration Policy already in place. HDB said that 13 out of the 162 neighbourhoods islandwide are likely to be affected by the new quota for PRs.

Source By Joanne Chan, Channel NewsAsia Posted: 06 March 2010 1911 hrs

Greater differentiation between Singapore Citizen & PR for public housing

SINGAPORE: National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan announced in Parliament on Friday changes in housing policy to promote citizenship in HDB households and encourage social integration. To promote citizenship and reinforce the privilege that comes with it, households comprising one Singapore Citizen and one Permanent Resident (PR) will have their CPF Housing Grant reduced by S$10,000 when buying a resale flat. This will also apply to Design, Build and Sell Scheme flats and Executive Condominiums. Should such households opt for a new flat, they will have to pay a 10,000-dollar premium on top of HDB's selling price. Previously, PRs married to Singapore Citizens enjoyed the same subsidies as Singaporean couples. However, HDB will restore the S$10,000 should the PR family member take up citizenship, or if the couple has a child who is Singaporean. Furthermore, in Parliament on Friday, Members of Parliament (MPs) aired concerns over PR enclaves. Christopher de Souza, MP, Holland-Bukit Timah GRC said: "It is natural that people feel comfortable with their own kind, from similar backgrounds and culture. However, this could lead to a situation where integration within the Singaporean community is delayed or hampered." In response, Mr Mah said on top of fulfilling ethnic quotas under the Ethnic Integration Policy, non-Malaysian PRs will be subject to an additional quota, at 8 per cent at the block level, and 5 per cent at the neighbourhood level. HDB said Malaysian PRs are excluded because of close historical and cultural links. Mr Mah said: "PR enclaves are not a problem today, but as always, we try to look ahead. And if we see the trend, we should put precautionary measures in place early. Otherwise, it may be too late when the problem is already there, and you have to unravel the problem later. "It is important that PRs integrate well in our local communities as they are long-term residents of Singapore." The Ethnic Integration Policy will also be revised for Indians and other ethnic races living in HDB estates. At the neighbourhood level, their quota will go up from 10 per cent to 12 per cent. At the block level, it will be 15 per cent from the current 13 per cent. There will be no change to the ethnic quotas for Chinese and Malays. For Chinese, it is 84 per cent at the neighbourhood level and 87 per cent at the block level. For Malays, it is 22 per cent at the neighbourhood level and 25 per cent at the block level.

Source By Joanne Chan/Hoe Yeen Nie, Channel NewsAsia Posted: 05 March 2010 2025 hrs

SG_Home_Breaking-News

2010-03-05T20:46:00.003+06:30

PRs not driving up prices
By Melissa Pang
THERE is no evidence to show that specific buyer groups such as permanent residents (PRs) and private owners are driving up flat prices.
Touching on concerns voiced by several MPs on the escalating HDB flat prices and COV (Cash-Over-Valuation) levels, Minister for National Development Mah Bow Tan said that 'cases of PRs paying high COV are the exception, not the rule'.
He said that in 2009 there were 58 cases where COV exceeded $70,000. And only eight cases, or 14 per cent, involved PRs. Another 19 per cent, or 11 cases, involved PPOs (private property owners).
Mr Mah also said that although private owners pay higher COVs in general, their numbers are not large enough to drive up prices. He urged Singaporeans to adopt 'longer-time view and not over-react, and do things we regret and have to reverse down the road'.
The minister reiterated that the HDB resale market is a free market, and should be kept that way. He also cautioned against raising the loan ceiling to cover COV as sellers would only take advantage of liberal credit to raise prices.
On subletting concerns, Mr Mah said that of the 682,000 flats that have fulfilled the Minimum Occupation Period (MOP) and are eligible for subletting, only 23,200 or 3 per cent are sublet, which suggests that most flat owners are buying their flats for occupation, and not rental.
He also assured Singaporeans that HDB will step up enforcement against unauthorised subletting of flats.

S'pore-PR couple pays more
By Jessica Cheam

THE Government on Friday further sharpened the differentiation in housing benefits between citizens and PRs. Currently, all Singaporean couples and a citizen-PR couple are eligible to buy new flats and apply for housing grants if they buy resale flats.
With immediate effect, a citizen-PR couple will have to pay a $10,000 premium for new HDB flat. If they buy a resale flat, they will get $10,000 less in their housing grant. For example, if a Singaporean who marries a PR is eligible for a CPF Housing Grant when they buy a resale flat, they will get $20,000, or $30,000 if they are staying near their parents, instead of $30,000 or $40,000 respectively.
However, if the PR family member eventually takes up citizenship, or the couple has a child who is a citizen, this $10,000 will be given back to them. Eligible households can apply to HDB within six months of the change in household citizenship status to claim the $10,000 Citizen Top-Up via CPF.
National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan, who announced the new policy in Parliament on Friday, said it is meant 'to provide an incentive for PRs to take up citizenship... and also reinforce the principle that Singaporeans are our priority'.
Mr Mah also pointed out that despite growing concerns of some residents or immigrants pushing up HDB flat prices, 'there is no evidence that specific buyer groups, like PRs and private property owners are driving up prices'.
As of 2009, PRs make up 14 per cent of the population living in HDB flats, but PR families own only 5 per cent of HDB flats, said Mr Mah.

New flat quota for PRs
By Jessica Cheam

THE Government has imposed a limit on the number of flats non-Malaysian permanent residents can buy in any public housing block or estate, with immediate effect.
The quota will be set at 5 per cent for neighbourhoods and 8 per cent for blocks and will apply on top of the existing Ethnic Integration Policy (EIP).
National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan said in Parliament on Friday that this was meant to prevent foreigner enclaves in HDB estates.
'Even though PR enclaves are not a problem today, we should put precautionary measures in place early. Otherwise, it might be difficult to unravel problems later,' he cautioned. 'It is important that PRs integrate well in our local communities as they are long-term residents in Singapore.'
The HDB said PRs buy flats all over Singapore, but there are some towns in the western and northern regions where the proportion of PRs owning flats are slightly higher than the national proportion of 5 per cent.

(The quota for the limit on the number of flats PRs can buy will be set at 5 per cent for neighbourhoods and 8 per cent for blocks and will apply on top of the existing Ethnic Integration Policy.)

Levy not perfect but works
By Esther Teo
MANPOWER Minister Gan Kim Yong defended Singapore's system of foreign worker levies yesterday, saying that while it is not a perfect system, it is a practical system that works.
It works because companies which desperately need foreign workers to operate can still get them, but the system also gives them incentive to cut their reliance on these workers, he said.
The foreign worker levy - which is set for its first increase come July and further hikes over the next two years till 2012 - is a fee that companies pay to employ each foreign worker.
It works in tandem with a dependency ratio, which stipulates that in order for companies to have access to foreign workers, they also have to hire locals.
Mr Gan's comments come after many MPs expressed concern during the Bud-get debate that the levy hikes will increase business costs, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises.
Companies may pass on this cost to consumers, or even leave Singapore to operate abroad, they added.

'Foreigner' issue gets airing
By Rachel Chang
PERHAPS applying for the PAssion card, the People's Association's membership card, should be made compulsory for new arrivals.
This could get more permanent residents and new citizens to participate in community activities, suggested Dr Teo Ho Pin (Bukit Panjang).
Or maybe Inter-Racial Confidence Circles (IRCCs), present in each constituency to oversee relations among ethnic groups, could expand their remit to defusing any tension between Singaporeans and newcomers, said Mr Sam Tan (Tanjong Pagar GRC).
These were among several suggestions made yesterday by MPs on how to better integrate new arrivals in Singapore, and all had the same bottom line: More must be done to ease the strain of the influx of foreigners in the last few years.
The discontent of Singaporeans who see newcomers as competition for jobs, flats, school places and hospital beds has been well publicised.
As Ms Indranee Rajah (Tanjong Pagar GRC) put it: 'If Singapore is a family, the Singapore citizen is the biological child asking (the Government), 'Why do you care for my foster brother or sister more than me?''

Source : The Straits Times(Mar 5, 2010)

Fewer new PRs and citizens

2010-03-05T20:42:00.001+06:30

THE Government hears and understands Singaporeans' concerns about the influx of immigrants in recent years, Deputy Prime Minister Wong Kan Seng said yesterday.
So it has refined the requirements for permanent residents (PRs) and new citizens, even as it continues to take them in to top up Singapore's declining population, he told Parliament.
As one indication, there were 59,500 new PRs last year, down from 79,200 in 2008, and 19,900 new citizens, compared to 20,500 a year ago.
'I know that this is a matter which Singaporeans care deeply about, and rightly so, as it concerns the value of our citizenship,' he said.
'We will ensure that those who become one of us are of suitable quality, and not only contribute to Singapore economically but also integrate well into our society,' he added.
Mr Wong, who is also Home Affairs Minister and oversees population issues, spoke during the debate on his ministry's plans for the coming financial year.

Source : The Straits Times_breaking-news

Sentosa Theme Park opens March 18

2010-03-05T18:17:00.002+06:30

SINGAPORE : Resorts World Sentosa will open the gates of the Universal Studios Singapore theme park on March 18 at 8.28am. Ticket sales for the soft opening phase will begin at 9 am on March 10 and on March 13, the park's first guests will be team members of Resorts World Sentosa, who will be the first to enjoy Universal Studios Singapore with their families. As it's still during the theme park's preview phase, there will be limited tickets and certain attractions may be temporarily unavailable as Universal Studios Singapore continues its technical and creative adjustments. A news release from Resorts World Sentosa said ticket prices will therefore be partially rebated by shopping and dining vouchers valid for use at Universal Studios Singapore. Mr Tom Williams, Chairman and CEO, Universal Parks & Resorts, said: "We are thrilled to be taking the next step toward a grand opening, and we are excited that, at Universal Studios Singapore, guests from throughout the region will get to experience the excitement and adventure our parks are so well known for around the world." Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay, Executive Chairman of Resorts World Sentosa, added, "we are excited to be gearing up to take our first guests on the rides, which are naturally the highlight of the park. This is the region's only Universal Studios theme park, and it will be a tourism crown jewel for not just Singapore, but Asia as a whole." Tickets for the preview phase must be purchased online at www.rwsentosa.com, or via phone bookings at +65 6577 8899. Tickets can also be purchased for future dates only at the ticket booths from 9am to 6pm daily at Universal Studios Singapore.

CNA : Posted: 05 March 2010 1213 hrs

Source : Channel News Asia

Announcement from MM Embassy(Singapore)

2010-03-02T14:43:00.001+06:30

Weekly Eleven News(No.21,Vol.5,March 3 Wednseday 2010)

2010-03-02T14:15:00.004+06:30

Source : Weekly Eleven News(No.21,Vol.5,March 3 Wednseday 2010)

Fair to highlight varsity options in Japan

2010-03-01T16:08:00.002+06:30

No wish to join the crowd in the United States, Britian or Australia for higher studies?

You may want to consider Japan and and education fair this week will let you find out more about 12 universities in that country.

The fair is cohosted by National University of Singapore(NUS) and the University of Tokyo; and its show case includes famous schools like Keio University and Waseda University.

Japan, which has some 700 institutions of higher learning, is no slouch in the education field.

It has 11 schools in the top 200 of the Times Higher Education-QS World University Ranking 2009, with the university of Tokyo the highest-ranked at No.22.

The Embassy of Japan here was unable to reveal the number of Singaporean students in japan.

But Ms Xu Yinghui, president of the Singapore Students' Association(Japan), knows of more scholarship holders from the Economic Development Board(EDB), Public Service Commission and Defence Science and Technology Agency, who are choosing to go japanese universities over US or British ones.

The association has 80 members. In the past five years, it has seen doubling of members, said Ms Xu, 20, an EDB scholarship holder who studying economics at Hitotsubashi University.

Asked why she chose japan, she said : "The best way to distinguish myself from my peers would be to master the understanding of a regional powerhouse economy which requires a foreign language."

The Japanese University Graduates Association of Singapore has 360 members, said its head of membership Jimmy Ng.

In the past five years, 40 people have joined, added Mr Ng, 60, who studies at Kyoto University.

He has retired form his job as a managing director at a Japanese construction equipment company.

Mr Gerald Choo, 24, a Ministry of Education scholarship holder studying chemistry at the University of Tokyo, noted that the school fees are the same, "whether you are Japanese or not".

His annual undergraduate tution fees are 535,800 yen (S$8,000).

Annual tution fees for undergraduates can come up to £29,400 (S$65,700) at King's College in London, and US$37,400 (S$52,200) at the University of Michigan in the United States.

But lessons taught in Japanese can pose a challenge. Singaporeans typically spend a year in Japan learning the language before they start tertiary studies.

"We're seeing a large number of scholarship holdres who come with no Japanese language background and start learning Japanese from scratch in language schools", said Ms Xu.

Some schools, such as the University of Tokyo, offer some graduate and undergraduate courses conducted in English.

For those who have heard about the demanding Japanese education system, is it full-time stress on campus?

No, said Mr Dennis Chia, 22, a liberal arts student at Waseda University. He noted that time is spent in school, as well as on a co-curricular activity and a part-time job.

The Study in Japan Fair will be held on Thursday at the University Hall at NUS' Kent Ridge campus from 2pm to 6pm.

thesundaytimes January 10,2010
by Debby Kwong

Levy for mid-level skilled foreign workers to reach peak in July 2012

2010-02-24T13:42:00.002+06:30

SINGAPORE: The levy for mid-level skilled foreign workers will reach its peak in July 2012. For companies reliant on such workers, it means potentially having to fork out up to five times more to hire them.

Makino Asia, a precision engineering company, has found a way to cut its reliance on foreign manpower and also raise its productivity.

Through customisation, process change and skills upgrading, the company has almost tripled its production capacity with the same number of workers. It is now producing 120 machines with about 400 workers instead of just 50 six years ago.

The company has among its workforce some 30 Work Permit and six S-Pass holders, who are mainly technicians from Malaysia. Such workers feature strongly within the services and manufacturing sectors because of the lack of locals who can fill the available jobs.

The S Pass was introduced in 2004 to help companies hire mid-level skilled manpower. These are foreign workers with qualifications and earning at least S$1,800 a month. S Pass holders are capped at 25 per cent of a company's workforce.

Over the past six years, this group has grown exponentially. Over the past three years alone, the numbers have doubled to reach 82,000 as of December last year.

From July, there will be a two-tier levy for S Pass holders - Basic Tier and Tier 2. It is hoped that this will moderate the growth of such workers.

If a company has more than 20 per cent of S Pass holders in its workforce, it would have to pay more to hire such workers. The ceiling for the basic tier will be lowered in July 2012.

Levy rates will be adjusted every 6 months until July 2012. By then, companies could pay up to S$250 for each S Pass holder (for Tier 2).

In summary:

Levy tiers from July 2010

Basic: 0-20% of workforce

Tier 2: 20-25% of workforce

Levy tiers from July 2012

Basic: 0-15% of workforce

Tier 2: 15-25% of workforce

Levy rates from July 2010

Basic: up from S$50 to S$100

Tier 2: introduced, at S$120

Levy rates from July 2012

Basic: Gradually increase to reach S$150

Tier 2: Gradually increase to reach S$250

The higher costs may affect the bottom line of some companies, but observers say it will also force employers to think out of the box.

Stephen Lee, president of Singapore National Employers Federation, said: "Yes, indeed this is a concern for companies with many S Pass holders. It is primarily the company's responsibility to look at ways to increase productivity. We cannot push this to the workers."

Dr Moh Chong Tau, CEO of Makino Asia, said: "If you say we increase (the levy)to S$250 today, then it will be a great impact. The three years allow them to adjust, improve themselves and therefore reduce the cost of manufacturing.

"I can tell you that foreign workers from China are not getting cheaper either as it goes along. Therefore, it will come to a day when we cannot depend on foreign workers."

Even in the healthcare sector, the response seems to be optimistic.

Human resource director at the Singapore General Hospital, Esther Tan, said: "A small percentage of our total nursing manpower is made up of foreign nurses, who are mostly S Pass holders.

"With the adjustments in levy for S Pass holders, there will invariably be some increase in manpower cost but this will not be significant".

By Imelda Saad, Channel NewsAsia Posted: 23 February 2010 2359 hrs

MOM releases details on foreign worker levy changes

2010-02-24T13:36:00.002+06:30

SINGAPORE: The Ministry of Manpower (MOM) has released details on the planned increases in S Pass and Work Permit worker levy rates announced in the 2010 Budget on Monday.

The key changes are the introduction of new tiers and an adjustment of the rates every six months.

The construction sector will see the most changes.

Singapore currently has 1.05 million foreign workers. Of these, 856,000 are Work Permit holders - with 245,000 in the construction industry.

Between July this year and July 2012, the sector will see a 25 per cent reduction in man-year entitlements - meaning the number of foreign workers employed according to project value.

In addition, come 1 July 2011, the government will phase out the unskilled Work Permit holders category in the construction industry and reclassify the remaining ones as "basic skilled".

The ministry will also introduce a new tier for "higher skilled" workers who have relevant experience.

With these refinements, the levy for each "higher skilled" worker will be increased. Come 2012, it will be S$200 - up from S$160 in July this year. For those holding basic skills, it will be S$300 in 2012.

Andrew Khng, president of Singapore Contractors Association, said: "There will be an impact on business costs. But if it is progressively done, the impact will be marginal for the first few months. Then later, we will have to ... modify our work methods.

"We should be looking at more mechanisation and more innovative ways of construction, which I think now is a wake-up call for those contractors who have not been pursuing this because of too much work in the last few years.

"The association will help members to grow in tandem with our call to move towards mechanisation and also to upgrade the skills of the manpower or foreign workers in Singapore."

In manufacturing, the the basic tier will also increase from S$160 in July this year to S$200 in July 2012. For those in the second tier category, the levy will rise from S$180 this year to S$300 in 2012.

Stephen Lee, president of Singapore National Employers' Federation, said: "They worry that although it is only S$10 per step ... the sheer number they employ is very large, so this will add to the costs.

"Then some companies are a bit at a loss as to how they can increase productivity. So there is a job here for the tripartite partners to work together and work at industry level, especially for those which don't have in-house capability, to hold their hands to increase productivity."

The ministry said the levy changes will be gradual over the next three years to give businesses time to adjust, and there will be no changes to the levy for foreign domestic workers.

By S Ramesh, Channel NewsAsia Posted: 23 February 2010 1637 hrs

S$2.5b to be spent over 5 years on workers training

2010-02-23T13:57:00.002+06:30

SINGAPORE: The drive for higher productivity will also mean raising the skills level of workers, especially older, low-wage workers.

And the government has earmarked S$2.5 billion over the next five years to expand the Continuing Education and Training system (CET).

It will also introduce a three-year Workfare Training Scheme as well as enhance the Workfare Income Supplement.

Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam said this when he presented the 2010 Budget Statement in Parliament on Monday.

40-year-old Woon Puay Guan has benefited from the Workfare scheme. He received about S$900 in payouts last year which helped him support his parents.

Mr Woon said: "My salary is very low. My mom doesn't work. (With the Workfare) I can give more money to my mother. My father stays in a nursing home, so I can use the money to pay for it."

Workfare, which started in 2007, acts as an incentive for low-wage workers like Mr Woon to stay employed.

From this year, the government is expanding the scheme, by an extra $100 million a year. In all, about 400,000 workers are expected to benefit.

Maximum payouts will go up by between S$150 and S$400, while the income ceiling will now be raised to S$1,700 - up from $1,500.

The government says this is to ensure Workfare benefits keep pace as workers upgrade their skills.

And efforts to develop a comprehensive skills upgrading system will take centrestage over the next few years. The government hopes to send the message that workers can continue to learn and add value to their jobs, whatever their age.

But for a start, incentives will be needed to get things moving. Under the new Workfare Training Scheme, subsidies for employers will cover 90 to 95 percent of course fees and manpower costs. Workers qualify for cash grants of up to $400 a year if they complete their training. The scheme is aimed at older workers, but younger recipients like Mr Woon may also apply.

Mr Woon said: "My education is very low, and my English is very poor. If can go and upgrade, it'll be better for me. Finding a job will also not be so difficult."

Mr Woon recently found a job as a cook, earning $1,200 a month - more than his previous salary as factory worker.

And with life looking up a little, he hopes to find the time for an English or computer class.

By Hoe Yeen Nie, Channel NewsAsia Posted: 22 February 2010 1655 hrs

HDB committed to build sufficient, affordable housing for citizens

2010-02-23T13:41:00.001+06:30

SINGAPORE : The Housing and Development Board (HDB) is committed to providing sufficient and affordable flats to first-time Singaporean homebuyers, and it will make no distinction between indigenous and new citizens.

Senior of Minister of State for National Development, Grace Fu, said this in Parliament on Monday in reply to a question on how many new citizens rented homes, compared with those who bought properties.

Ms Fu said the government does not track the type of properties rented or owned by new citizens.

"As a policy, we do not distinguish between indigenous and new citizens. Our commitment in housing is to provide sufficient and affordable flats for first-time Singaporean homebuyers, whether new citizens or otherwise. I wish to reassure the House that HDB continues to uphold this commitment," she said.

By Evelyn Choo, Channel NewsAsia Posted: 22 February 2010 2049 hrs

Foreign worker levies to go up from July

2010-02-23T12:32:00.002+06:30

SINGAPORE: Foreign worker levies are going up for both Work Permit and S-Pass holders. The increases will be phased in gradually over the next three years.

Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam, presenting the 2010 Budget Statement in Parliament on Monday, said the increases will be "calibrated and carefully phased in".

For a start, levy rates will go up between $10 to $30 for most Work Permit holders on July 1 this year. Adjustments will be made in 2011 and 2012.

In the next three years, companies can expect a gradual total increase of about $100 on average per worker in manufacturing and services.

The construction industry will see a larger increase, according to the minister.

Changes will also be made for S Pass workers, with two levy tiers instead of one. The rates for the first and second tiers will be $100 and $120 in July this year - going up from a single rate of $50 currently.

Further adjustments will be made till rates reach $150 and $250 by July 2012.

Mr Tharman spent some time explaining the thinking behind raising the foreign worker levies. He said that in the past, companies were able to get the workers they needed and expand during boom time. In fact this growth enabled household incomes to rise significantly from 2005 to 2008.

"This was therefore not a strategy of 'growth at all costs', but of growing our economy to raise Singaporean incomes," he said.

But with foreigners making up a third of the workforce, there is a limit to how many more Singapore can absorb. And if foreign workers are too readily available, employers will not have enough incentive to carry out the all-important goal of raising productivity.

Channel NewsAsia

By Hwee Goh/Joanne Chan, Channel NewsAsia Posted: 22 February 2010 1628 hrs

Channelnewsasia.com_Singapore localnews

アップルiPadが嫌な8つのこと

2010-01-29T18:05:00.000+06:30

iPadに世間は持ちきりの中、米ギズモードのアダム記者はご立腹の様子です。何が彼をそんなに激昂させるのか。彼の言い分を聞いてみましょう。
大きすぎるこんな大きくちゃ、もちながらタイプしにくいでしょ。この大きさで親指でタイプするなんてミスタイプしまくり。マルチタスクじゃないこれは非常に面倒。ノートブックの代わりとして考えた時に、マルチタスクじゃないってのは致命傷です。ネットみながらTwitterアプリを駐在させとくとかできないんですよ？　emailをチェックしている間にAIMも起動できないんですよ？　これじゃ僕は買いたくありません。カメラ非搭載iPadには前面＆後面カメラともに非搭載です。なんで搭載してないんでしょ？　ビデオチャットが出来ないわけですよ。これからソーシャルなコミュニケーションって大事じゃないんでしょうか。タッチキーボードアップルのあの入力方法です。iPhoneのキーボードがそのまま大きくなったキーボードは、寝椅子に座って打つのはすごく不便だと思うんですよね。HDMI端子無しiTunesからダウンロードしたHDビデオをテレビで再生したい時どうするの？　Apple TVをわざわざ買わなきゃイケないんですかね？iPadという名前iPodとかぶりますし、ネーミングセンスないでしょ。Adobe Flash非対応既存のiPhoneユーザーからしてみれば、Flash非対応なんて気にしないのかもしれませんが、ウェブページにポッカリと穴が開くのは見てられません。気にしないことが一番なんでしょうけど、気になって夜も眠れませんよ。アダプターもしネットブックなどの代わりと考えるなら、いろんなものと繋ぎたいですよ。デジタルカメラとかその他いろいろなデバイスに。はっきり言って足りないです。さてさて、日本のみなさんはどうお考えでしょうか。Adam Frucci（遠藤充）

Notes for 26 Jan 2010

2010-01-26T21:29:00.001+06:30

BOP(Bottom of the pyramid)
Spiritual quotient(SQ)

Remarks by the President Obama at the Acceptance of the Nobel Peace Prize

2009-12-11T16:41:00.002+06:30

Your Majesties, Your Royal Highnesses, distinguished members of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, citizens of America, and citizens of the world:

I receive this honor with deep gratitude and great humility. It is an award that speaks to our highest aspirations -- that for all the cruelty and hardship of our world, we are not mere prisoners of fate. Our actions matter, and can bend history in the direction of justice.

And yet I would be remiss if I did not acknowledge the considerable controversy that your generous decision has generated. (Laughter.) In part, this is because I am at the beginning, and not the end, of my labors on the world stage. Compared to some of the giants of history who've received this prize -- Schweitzer and King; Marshall and Mandela -- my accomplishments are slight. And then there are the men and women around the world who have been jailed and beaten in the pursuit of justice; those who toil in humanitarian organizations to relieve suffering; the unrecognized millions whose quiet acts of courage and compassion inspire even the most hardened cynics. I cannot argue with those who find these men and women -- some known, some obscure to all but those they help -- to be far more deserving of this honor than I.

But perhaps the most profound issue surrounding my receipt of this prize is the fact that I am the Commander-in-Chief of the military of a nation in the midst of two wars. One of these wars is winding down. The other is a conflict that America did not seek; one in which we are joined by 42 other countries -- including Norway -- in an effort to defend ourselves and all nations from further attacks.

Still, we are at war, and I'm responsible for the deployment of thousands of young Americans to battle in a distant land. Some will kill, and some will be killed. And so I come here with an acute sense of the costs of armed conflict -- filled with difficult questions about the relationship between war and peace, and our effort to replace one with the other.

Now these questions are not new. War, in one form or another, appeared with the first man. At the dawn of history, its morality was not questioned; it was simply a fact, like drought or disease -- the manner in which tribes and then civilizations sought power and settled their differences.

And over time, as codes of law sought to control violence within groups, so did philosophers and clerics and statesmen seek to regulate the destructive power of war. The concept of a "just war" emerged, suggesting that war is justified only when certain conditions were met: if it is waged as a last resort or in self-defense; if the force used is proportional; and if, whenever possible, civilians are spared from violence.

Of course, we know that for most of history, this concept of "just war" was rarely observed. The capacity of human beings to think up new ways to kill one another proved inexhaustible, as did our capacity to exempt from mercy those who look different or pray to a different God. Wars between armies gave way to wars between nations -- total wars in which the distinction between combatant and civilian became blurred. In the span of 30 years, such carnage would twice engulf this continent. And while it's hard to conceive of a cause more just than the defeat of the Third Reich and the Axis powers, World War II was a conflict in which the total number of civilians who died exceeded the number of soldiers who perished.

In the wake of such destruction, and with the advent of the nuclear age, it became clear to victor and vanquished alike that the world needed institutions to prevent another world war. And so, a quarter century after the United States Senate rejected the League of Nations -- an idea for which Woodrow Wilson received this prize -- America led the world in constructing an architecture to keep the peace: a Marshall Plan and a United Nations, mechanisms to govern the waging of war, treaties to protect human rights, prevent genocide, restrict the most dangerous weapons.

In many ways, these efforts succeeded. Yes, terrible wars have been fought, and atrocities committed. But there has been no Third World War. The Cold War ended with jubilant crowds dismantling a wall. Commerce has stitched much of the world together. Billions have been lifted from poverty. The ideals of liberty and self-determination, equality and the rule of law have haltingly advanced. We are the heirs of the fortitude and foresight of generations past, and it is a legacy for which my own country is rightfully proud.

And yet, a decade into a new century, this old architecture is buckling under the weight of new threats. The world may no longer shudder at the prospect of war between two nuclear superpowers, but proliferation may increase the risk of catastrophe. Terrorism has long been a tactic, but modern technology allows a few small men with outsized rage to murder innocents on a horrific scale.

Moreover, wars between nations have increasingly given way to wars within nations. The resurgence of ethnic or sectarian conflicts; the growth of secessionist movements, insurgencies, and failed states -- all these things have increasingly trapped civilians in unending chaos. In today's wars, many more civilians are killed than soldiers; the seeds of future conflict are sown, economies are wrecked, civil societies torn asunder, refugees amassed, children scarred.

I do not bring with me today a definitive solution to the problems of war. What I do know is that meeting these challenges will require the same vision, hard work, and persistence of those men and women who acted so boldly decades ago. And it will require us to think in new ways about the notions of just war and the imperatives of a just peace.

We must begin by acknowledging the hard truth: We will not eradicate violent conflict in our lifetimes. There will be times when nations -- acting individually or in concert -- will find the use of force not only necessary but morally justified.

I make this statement mindful of what Martin Luther King Jr. said in this same ceremony years ago: "Violence never brings permanent peace. It solves no social problem: it merely creates new and more complicated ones." As someone who stands here as a direct consequence of Dr. King's life work, I am living testimony to the moral force of non-violence. I know there's nothing weak -- nothing passive -- nothing naïve -- in the creed and lives of Gandhi and King.

But as a head of state sworn to protect and defend my nation, I cannot be guided by their examples alone. I face the world as it is, and cannot stand idle in the face of threats to the American people. For make no mistake: Evil does exist in the world. A non-violent movement could not have halted Hitler's armies. Negotiations cannot convince al Qaeda's leaders to lay down their arms. To say that force may sometimes be necessary is not a call to cynicism -- it is a recognition of history; the imperfections of man and the limits of reason.

I raise this point, I begin with this point because in many countries there is a deep ambivalence about military action today, no matter what the cause. And at times, this is joined by a reflexive suspicion of America, the world's sole military superpower.

But the world must remember that it was not simply international institutions -- not just treaties and declarations -- that brought stability to a post-World War II world. Whatever mistakes we have made, the plain fact is this: The United States of America has helped underwrite global security for more than six decades with the blood of our citizens and the strength of our arms. The service and sacrifice of our men and women in uniform has promoted peace and prosperity from Germany to Korea, and enabled democracy to take hold in places like the Balkans. We have borne this burden not because we seek to impose our will. We have done so out of enlightened self-interest -- because we seek a better future for our children and grandchildren, and we believe that their lives will be better if others' children and grandchildren can live in freedom and prosperity.

So yes, the instruments of war do have a role to play in preserving the peace. And yet this truth must coexist with another -- that no matter how justified, war promises human tragedy. The soldier's courage and sacrifice is full of glory, expressing devotion to country, to cause, to comrades in arms. But war itself is never glorious, and we must never trumpet it as such.

So part of our challenge is reconciling these two seemingly inreconcilable truths -- that war is sometimes necessary, and war at some level is an expression of human folly. Concretely, we must direct our effort to the task that President Kennedy called for long ago. "Let us focus," he said, "on a more practical, more attainable peace, based not on a sudden revolution in human nature but on a gradual evolution in human institutions." A gradual evolution of human institutions.

What might this evolution look like? What might these practical steps be?

To begin with, I believe that all nations -- strong and weak alike -- must adhere to standards that govern the use of force. I -- like any head of state -- reserve the right to act unilaterally if necessary to defend my nation. Nevertheless, I am convinced that adhering to standards, international standards, strengthens those who do, and isolates and weakens those who don't.

The world rallied around America after the 9/11 attacks, and continues to support our efforts in Afghanistan, because of the horror of those senseless attacks and the recognized principle of self-defense. Likewise, the world recognized the need to confront Saddam Hussein when he invaded Kuwait -- a consensus that sent a clear message to all about the cost of aggression.

Furthermore, America -- in fact, no nation -- can insist that others follow the rules of the road if we refuse to follow them ourselves. For when we don't, our actions appear arbitrary and undercut the legitimacy of future interventions, no matter how justified.

And this becomes particularly important when the purpose of military action extends beyond self-defense or the defense of one nation against an aggressor. More and more, we all confront difficult questions about how to prevent the slaughter of civilians by their own government, or to stop a civil war whose violence and suffering can engulf an entire region.

I believe that force can be justified on humanitarian grounds, as it was in the Balkans, or in other places that have been scarred by war. Inaction tears at our conscience and can lead to more costly intervention later. That's why all responsible nations must embrace the role that militaries with a clear mandate can play to keep the peace.

America's commitment to global security will never waver. But in a world in which threats are more diffuse, and missions more complex, America cannot act alone. America alone cannot secure the peace. This is true in Afghanistan. This is true in failed states like Somalia, where terrorism and piracy is joined by famine and human suffering. And sadly, it will continue to be true in unstable regions for years to come.

The leaders and soldiers of NATO countries, and other friends and allies, demonstrate this truth through the capacity and courage they've shown in Afghanistan. But in many countries, there is a disconnect between the efforts of those who serve and the ambivalence of the broader public. I understand why war is not popular, but I also know this: The belief that peace is desirable is rarely enough to achieve it. Peace requires responsibility. Peace entails sacrifice. That's why NATO continues to be indispensable. That's why we must strengthen U.N. and regional peacekeeping, and not leave the task to a few countries. That's why we honor those who return home from peacekeeping and training abroad to Oslo and Rome; to Ottawa and Sydney; to Dhaka and Kigali -- we honor them not as makers of war, but of wagers -- but as wagers of peace.

Let me make one final point about the use of force. Even as we make difficult decisions about going to war, we must also think clearly about how we fight it. The Nobel Committee recognized this truth in awarding its first prize for peace to Henry Dunant -- the founder of the Red Cross, and a driving force behind the Geneva Conventions.

Where force is necessary, we have a moral and strategic interest in binding ourselves to certain rules of conduct. And even as we confront a vicious adversary that abides by no rules, I believe the United States of America must remain a standard bearer in the conduct of war. That is what makes us different from those whom we fight. That is a source of our strength. That is why I prohibited torture. That is why I ordered the prison at Guantanamo Bay closed. And that is why I have reaffirmed America's commitment to abide by the Geneva Conventions. We lose ourselves when we compromise the very ideals that we fight to defend. (Applause.) And we honor -- we honor those ideals by upholding them not when it's easy, but when it is hard.

I have spoken at some length to the question that must weigh on our minds and our hearts as we choose to wage war. But let me now turn to our effort to avoid such tragic choices, and speak of three ways that we can build a just and lasting peace.

First, in dealing with those nations that break rules and laws, I believe that we must develop alternatives to violence that are tough enough to actually change behavior -- for if we want a lasting peace, then the words of the international community must mean something. Those regimes that break the rules must be held accountable. Sanctions must exact a real price. Intransigence must be met with increased pressure -- and such pressure exists only when the world stands together as one.

One urgent example is the effort to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons, and to seek a world without them. In the middle of the last century, nations agreed to be bound by a treaty whose bargain is clear: All will have access to peaceful nuclear power; those without nuclear weapons will forsake them; and those with nuclear weapons will work towards disarmament. I am committed to upholding this treaty. It is a centerpiece of my foreign policy. And I'm working with President Medvedev to reduce America and Russia's nuclear stockpiles.

But it is also incumbent upon all of us to insist that nations like Iran and North Korea do not game the system. Those who claim to respect international law cannot avert their eyes when those laws are flouted. Those who care for their own security cannot ignore the danger of an arms race in the Middle East or East Asia. Those who seek peace cannot stand idly by as nations arm themselves for nuclear war.

The same principle applies to those who violate international laws by brutalizing their own people. When there is genocide in Darfur, systematic rape in Congo, repression in Burma -- there must be consequences. Yes, there will be engagement; yes, there will be diplomacy -- but there must be consequences when those things fail. And the closer we stand together, the less likely we will be faced with the choice between armed intervention and complicity in oppression.

This brings me to a second point -- the nature of the peace that we seek. For peace is not merely the absence of visible conflict. Only a just peace based on the inherent rights and dignity of every individual can truly be lasting.

It was this insight that drove drafters of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights after the Second World War. In the wake of devastation, they recognized that if human rights are not protected, peace is a hollow promise.

And yet too often, these words are ignored. For some countries, the failure to uphold human rights is excused by the false suggestion that these are somehow Western principles, foreign to local cultures or stages of a nation's development. And within America, there has long been a tension between those who describe themselves as realists or idealists -- a tension that suggests a stark choice between the narrow pursuit of interests or an endless campaign to impose our values around the world.

I reject these choices. I believe that peace is unstable where citizens are denied the right to speak freely or worship as they please; choose their own leaders or assemble without fear. Pent-up grievances fester, and the suppression of tribal and religious identity can lead to violence. We also know that the opposite is true. Only when Europe became free did it finally find peace. America has never fought a war against a democracy, and our closest friends are governments that protect the rights of their citizens. No matter how callously defined, neither America's interests -- nor the world's -- are served by the denial of human aspirations.

So even as we respect the unique culture and traditions of different countries, America will always be a voice for those aspirations that are universal. We will bear witness to the quiet dignity of reformers like Aung Sang Suu Kyi; to the bravery of Zimbabweans who cast their ballots in the face of beatings; to the hundreds of thousands who have marched silently through the streets of Iran. It is telling that the leaders of these governments fear the aspirations of their own people more than the power of any other nation. And it is the responsibility of all free people and free nations to make clear that these movements -- these movements of hope and history -- they have us on their side.

Let me also say this: The promotion of human rights cannot be about exhortation alone. At times, it must be coupled with painstaking diplomacy. I know that engagement with repressive regimes lacks the satisfying purity of indignation. But I also know that sanctions without outreach -- condemnation without discussion -- can carry forward only a crippling status quo. No repressive regime can move down a new path unless it has the choice of an open door.

In light of the Cultural Revolution's horrors, Nixon's meeting with Mao appeared inexcusable -- and yet it surely helped set China on a path where millions of its citizens have been lifted from poverty and connected to open societies. Pope John Paul's engagement with Poland created space not just for the Catholic Church, but for labor leaders like Lech Walesa. Ronald Reagan's efforts on arms control and embrace of perestroika not only improved relations with the Soviet Union, but empowered dissidents throughout Eastern Europe. There's no simple formula here. But we must try as best we can to balance isolation and engagement, pressure and incentives, so that human rights and dignity are advanced over time.

Third, a just peace includes not only civil and political rights -- it must encompass economic security and opportunity. For true peace is not just freedom from fear, but freedom from want.

It is undoubtedly true that development rarely takes root without security; it is also true that security does not exist where human beings do not have access to enough food, or clean water, or the medicine and shelter they need to survive. It does not exist where children can't aspire to a decent education or a job that supports a family. The absence of hope can rot a society from within.

And that's why helping farmers feed their own people -- or nations educate their children and care for the sick -- is not mere charity. It's also why the world must come together to confront climate change. There is little scientific dispute that if we do nothing, we will face more drought, more famine, more mass displacement -- all of which will fuel more conflict for decades. For this reason, it is not merely scientists and environmental activists who call for swift and forceful action -- it's military leaders in my own country and others who understand our common security hangs in the balance.

Agreements among nations. Strong institutions. Support for human rights. Investments in development. All these are vital ingredients in bringing about the evolution that President Kennedy spoke about. And yet, I do not believe that we will have the will, the determination, the staying power, to complete this work without something more -- and that's the continued expansion of our moral imagination; an insistence that there's something irreducible that we all share.

As the world grows smaller, you might think it would be easier for human beings to recognize how similar we are; to understand that we're all basically seeking the same things; that we all hope for the chance to live out our lives with some measure of happiness and fulfillment for ourselves and our families.

And yet somehow, given the dizzying pace of globalization, the cultural leveling of modernity, it perhaps comes as no surprise that people fear the loss of what they cherish in their particular identities -- their race, their tribe, and perhaps most powerfully their religion. In some places, this fear has led to conflict. At times, it even feels like we're moving backwards. We see it in the Middle East, as the conflict between Arabs and Jews seems to harden. We see it in nations that are torn asunder by tribal lines.

And most dangerously, we see it in the way that religion is used to justify the murder of innocents by those who have distorted and defiled the great religion of Islam, and who attacked my country from Afghanistan. These extremists are not the first to kill in the name of God; the cruelties of the Crusades are amply recorded. But they remind us that no Holy War can ever be a just war. For if you truly believe that you are carrying out divine will, then there is no need for restraint -- no need to spare the pregnant mother, or the medic, or the Red Cross worker, or even a person of one's own faith. Such a warped view of religion is not just incompatible with the concept of peace, but I believe it's incompatible with the very purpose of faith -- for the one rule that lies at the heart of every major religion is that we do unto others as we would have them do unto us.

Adhering to this law of love has always been the core struggle of human nature. For we are fallible. We make mistakes, and fall victim to the temptations of pride, and power, and sometimes evil. Even those of us with the best of intentions will at times fail to right the wrongs before us.

But we do not have to think that human nature is perfect for us to still believe that the human condition can be perfected. We do not have to live in an idealized world to still reach for those ideals that will make it a better place. The non-violence practiced by men like Gandhi and King may not have been practical or possible in every circumstance, but the love that they preached -- their fundamental faith in human progress -- that must always be the North Star that guides us on our journey.

For if we lose that faith -- if we dismiss it as silly or naïve; if we divorce it from the decisions that we make on issues of war and peace -- then we lose what's best about humanity. We lose our sense of possibility. We lose our moral compass.

Like generations have before us, we must reject that future. As Dr. King said at this occasion so many years ago, "I refuse to accept despair as the final response to the ambiguities of history. I refuse to accept the idea that the 'isness' of man's present condition makes him morally incapable of reaching up for the eternal 'oughtness' that forever confronts him."

Let us reach for the world that ought to be -- that spark of the divine that still stirs within each of our souls. (Applause.)

Somewhere today, in the here and now, in the world as it is, a soldier sees he's outgunned, but stands firm to keep the peace. Somewhere today, in this world, a young protestor awaits the brutality of her government, but has the courage to march on. Somewhere today, a mother facing punishing poverty still takes the time to teach her child, scrapes together what few coins she has to send that child to school -- because she believes that a cruel world still has a place for that child's dreams.

Let us live by their example. We can acknowledge that oppression will always be with us, and still strive for justice. We can admit the intractability of depravation, and still strive for dignity. Clear-eyed, we can understand that there will be war, and still strive for peace. We can do that -- for that is the story of human progress; that's the hope of all the world; and at this moment of challenge, that must be our work here on Earth.

Thank you very much.

Vitamin D deficiency linked to strokes, heart disease

2009-11-18T08:21:00.002+06:30

Oily fish such as salmon are rich in Vitamin D

WASHINGTON - Insufficient intake of vitamin D, long known to play a key role in bone health, may significantly increase a person's risk of stroke, heart disease and even death, a US study said Monday.

Examining 27,686 Utah patients aged 50 or older with no history of cardiovascular disease, the study found those with very low vitamin D levels were 77 percent more likely to die early than those with normal levels.

They were also found to be 45 percent more likely to develop coronary artery disease and 78 percent were more likely to have a stroke, said the research by the Heart Institute at the Intermountain Medical Center in Salt Lake City.

Those with very low levels of vitamin D were twice as likely to develop heart failure, said the study which was due to be presented later Monday at a conference organized by the American Heart Association in Orlando, Florida.

"If increasing levels of vitamin D can decrease some risk associated with these cardiovascular diseases, it could have a significant public health impact," said study co-author Heidi May, noting that vitamin D deficiency is easily treatable.

"When you consider that cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in America, you understand how this research can help improve the length and quality of people's lives."

Studies have shown that Vitamin D also helps regulated key body functions such as blood pressure, inflammation and glucose control -- all related to heart disease -- and that deficiency of the vitamin is associated with musculoskeletal disorders.

Brent Muhlestein, another co-author of the study and the director of cardiovascular research at Intermountain, stressed that because the study was only observational, definitive links between vitamin D deficiency and heart disease could not be established.

He called for randomized treatment trials of patients with insufficient levels of the vitamin.

Two thirds of the Utah population does not get enough vitamin D, according to the study.

The researchers chose Utah -- home to the Mormon church -- in part because the population consumes low levels of tobacco and alcohol, thus allowing them to focus the study on vitamin D's effects on the cardiovascular system, explained Muhlestein.

The patients were divided into three groups based on their vitamin D levels -- normal (over 30 nanograms per milliliter), low (15-30 ng/ml) or very low (less than 15 ng/ml) -- and were followed for a year to determine whether they developed some form of heart disease.
Source : AFP/ar,Channel News Asia
Posted: 17 November 2009 1148 hrs

Remarks by Secretary Clinton at APEC Singapore Conference

2009-11-15T19:05:00.004+06:30

Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of State
Suntec Conference Center
Singapore
November 11, 2009

SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, good afternoon. Thank you very much for coming here this afternoon. Before I get started on my comments concerning the important meetings being held here at the APEC ministerial, I want to take a moment to recognize the fact that today is Veteran’s Day in the United States, and I want to acknowledge the veterans and our men and women in uniform and their families, many of whom are deployed in very difficult places around the world. I cannot emphasize enough our appreciation for their dedication and sacrifice.

Here in Singapore, we’ve had a productive day of discussion, covering the full range of regional and global issues confronting our nations. I have stressed the Obama Administration’s commitment to substantive cooperation. That is a commitment that I have felt very strongly about and made clear on my first trip as Secretary of State to Asia earlier this year. And when President Obama arrives here later this week, he will underscore our view that APEC is an essential forum for engagement and for common action.

I very much appreciate the hard work that Singapore has put in to making this meeting a success, and I thanked the two co-chairs of the ministerial, Minister Yoh, and Minister Lim, for their leadership. During this morning’s APEC foreign ministers breakfast, we covered major regional security issues. North Korea’s nuclear program is of foremost concern, and the United States is committed to making progress on this issue.

Our Special Representative for North Korea Policy, Ambassador Stephen Bosworth, will visit Pyongyang in the near future. The decision to send him was reached after extensive consultation with our partners in the Six-Party process. They share our view that Ambassador Bosworth can use this opportunity to press the basic principles of the September 2005 joint statement, including full, peaceful, verifiable denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, and work toward the resumption of the Six-Party Talks.

We have made the purpose and parameters of this visit clear to the North Koreans. This is not a negotiation; it is an effort to pave the way toward North Korea’s return to the Six-Party process. Let me emphasize that our expectations of Pyongyang have not changed and will not change, nor has our commitment to the Six-Party process. We will use diplomacy and we will work closely with our partners to find a peaceful path to our shared objective on the Korean Peninsula.

We also discussed the United States approach to Burma. We have begun engaging the Burmese authorities in high-level dialogue to advance our goals of democratic reforms and human rights. Burma’s neighbors and members of ASEAN have an especially important role to play in encouraging the Burmese Government to move forward on reform, to start a meaningful internal dialogue with Aung San Suu Kyi, political parties, and ethnic minorities; and to hold credible, fair elections in 2010. I reiterated that U.S. sanctions will remain in place until we see meaningful progress in key areas.

In the ministerial meetings and over lunch through the rest of the day, we discussed a wide range of economic and foreign policy issues, especially expanding trade and ensuring sustainable and inclusive growth. I talked about American efforts to advance development and spread opportunity through increased funding and new initiatives.

And I want to say a few words about the pressing global challenge that will be a focus of attention in the coming weeks as we move toward the meeting in Copenhagen. We’ve had fruitful discussions today on climate change. The United States has taken dramatic steps in the past year to change the way we use energy at home, and we have taken our seat at the table in international climate negotiations. We believe all nations have a responsibility to address this urgent global challenge, and we are prepared to assume our share of responsibility.

Going forward, we are committed to reaching the goal of a global, legally binding climate agreement. And we will continue working vigorously with the international community toward that end. If we all exert maximum effort and embrace the right blend of pragmatism and principle, I believe we can secure a strong outcome at Copenhagen, and that would be a stepping stone toward full legal agreement. We cannot let the pursuit of perfection stand in the way of progress, but there are clear metrics by which we will judge the result at Copenhagen.

First, any agreement must involve immediate global action in which all nations do their fair share. We cannot afford further delay. Second, any agreement should cover all of the major issues, including adaptation, financing, technology cooperation, dissemination of technology, forest preservation, and others. It should include a commitment to strong mitigation actions like national reduction targets for developed countries and actions by major developing countries that will reduce their emissions significantly compared to business as usual.

Third, any agreement must include a commitment to a system that will ensure transparency and accountability with regard to the implementation of domestic actions. Fourth, any agreement must endorse funding facilities to assist developing countries. We are prepared to support a global climate fund that will support adaptation and mitigation efforts and a matching entity to help developing countries match needs with available resources. Funding through the new global climate fund and a technology mechanism will help developing countries identify what they need, where to get it, and how to finance, operate, and maintain it.

These are the yardsticks we will use to measure the outcome. But under any circumstance, Copenhagen is not the end of the process. It is part of our larger collective commitment to hold ourselves and others accountable, to speed the transition to a low-carbon global economy, and to leave a cleaner, greener planet for our children and grandchildren. So as we emerge from Copenhagen, we have to continue on this course with urgency and resolve.

Again, I thank our hosts here in Singapore for their excellent hospitality and planning of these meetings, and I would be happy to take some of your questions.

MODERATOR: We have time for a few questions. Are there questions? Dave Gollust from Voice of America.

QUESTION: Madame Secretary --

SECRETARY CLINTON: Oh, here comes a microphone, Dave.

QUESTION: Oh, I’m sorry. Okay. Do you have any indication from Kurt Campbell’s initial soundings with the Burmese that they really will be amenable to changing the political setup that they have for next year? And would the return of Aung San Suu Kyi herself to political life in Burma be a condition for a more normal United States relationship with Burma?

SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, Dave, as you know, we had two very high American diplomats, Assistant Secretary Kurt Campbell and Deputy Assistant Secretary Scot Marciel, go to Burma last week and spend a considerable amount of time meeting with not only government officials, but also in a private meeting with Aung San Suu Kyi, members of political opposition and ethnic groups. It was a very thorough and constructive set of visits, and the United States is committed to a process to try to encourage and support Burma’s path to democracy.There is a lot of work to do. We have no illusions that any of this will be easy or quick. But we have consulted broadly with our allies and partners in this region, particularly within ASEAN, and we have a lot of solidarity as we move forward with what is a more calibrated approach. We’re seeking to see a process inside Burma that would inspire and permit dialogue among all of the stakeholders so that there could be a growing consensus within Burma itself about the way forward. This is a very challenging situation, as many of the countries represented here at this meeting can attest, but the United States is committed to moving forward and staying in close consultation with the parties inside Burma as well as other countries that share our goal for a more peaceful, stable, democratic Burma. We think this has to be resolved within the Burmese people themselves, so we are not setting or dictating any conditions. We want to help facilitate the space and opportunity for the Burmese people to try to work out the challenges they face in having free and credible elections and setting forth a plan for a more prosperous and peaceful future.

MODERATOR: Next question, Sondang Sirait from SCTV Indonesia.

QUESTION: Madame Secretary, we know that you held a meeting with the Indonesian foreign minister this morning. If you could tell us about what you talked about in the meeting? And also about the upcoming meeting between President Obama and President SBY this weekend?

SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, we had an excellent meeting with the foreign minister today. We covered a broad range of issues, some affecting our bilateral relationship, some affecting regional and other global issues. And I think it would be fair to say that it was such a comprehensive discussion that we ran out of time before we each had to get back to our respective responsibilities. But I am very impressed by the foreign minister. His grasp of the issues that – not only his country, but to – all of us now face. His principled and pragmatic approach toward working through those issues was extremely impressive, and I look forward to working with him.We will be establishing our strategic dialogue between our two countries, and we also anticipate seeing Indonesia play a larger and larger role in the region and on the global stage, as it is doing, for example, in the G-20. In particular, the experience that Indonesia has over the last 10 years of transitioning to a vibrant democracy, we believe, is very relevant in Asia, and in particular, in Burma. And we have learned a lot from our conversations with our Indonesian counterparts.We really congratulated the minister, and of course, President SBY for a very impressive win and an electoral victory. There will be a great deal for our presidents to discuss when they see each other here over the weekend. I know that President Obama has a very special place in his heart for Indonesia and is looking forward to visiting soon. There is just a very positive relationship between our two countries, and we want to broaden and deepen that and take it to a new level.MODERATOR: Next question, Lachlan Carmichael from AFP.QUESTION: Madame Secretary, three questions on North Korea: Do you support, does the United States support the South Korean version of events that the North Korean boat crossed in – crossed the border? And with whom did you discuss this today? And finally, do you have any second thoughts about sending Ambassador Bosworth to North Korea in light of these events? I think the goal was to send him there by the end of the year.SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, Lachlan, as you know, there have been flare-ups of the sort we have seen over the last day between North and South Korea over a number of years. There is a set of issues around territorial waters that often serve as a backdrop to this kind of confrontation. I have no reason to question the accounts that we are receiving. We are obviously hoping that the situation does not escalate, and we’re encouraged by the calm reaction that has been present up until now.I’ve spoken, obviously, with my team back in Washington and with Kurt Campbell and the others who have responsibility for this region while we’ve been here. But this does not in any way affect our decision to send Ambassador Bosworth. We think that is an important step that stands on its own. It is connected to our efforts, along with our Six-Party partners, to move toward resumption of the Six-Party process. We think that is critically important. So we are certainly counseling calm and caution when it comes to any kind of dispute, especially one that can cause repercussions and damage that could be quite difficult to contend with. But at the same time, we’re moving ahead with our planned visit for Ambassador Bosworth.

MODERATOR: The last question will go to Channel News Asia, Augustine Anthuvan.

QUESTION: Madame Secretary, I’d just like to revisit the question my colleague asked earlier about Myanmar. It’s significant for ASEAN, and of course, there is a substantial Burmese community here in Singapore. Secretary Campbell, when he spoke before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, he emphasized, underscored to senior Chinese Government officials the need for Beijing to play a positive role in promoting reform in Burma. I’d like to hear your thoughts, ma’am, on expanding on what exactly you would like to see from China. And a related question, of course, is that you said it’s very much left to the people of Myanmar to see how things unfold in 2010 for the elections. But what sort of role can ASEAN play in terms of on-the-ground, independent observers during the elections? Thank you very much, ma’am.

SECRETARY CLINTON: Thank you very much, and I think those are important questions because we need a broad response by the nations in the region. Certainly, China has the opportunity to play a very positive role, as does Thailand, India, and other ASEAN countries. We would like to see countries individually and through ASEAN reach out to the Burmese leadership, persuade them that it is time to start planning for free, fair and credible elections in 2010 – 2010 is nearly here – that it would be useful to have validation of those elections. And again, countries in the region and certainly, institutionally, ASEAN can offer support to ensure that the elections are viewed as credible.But I think it’s also important to recognize that left alone, the internal problems within Burma are not confined within Burma’s borders. We’ve seen refugee flows out of Burma, people taking to boats, ending up in Malaysia, ending up in Indonesia, ending up in Australia, crossing the border into Thailand. That instability is not good for anyone. Any country that does business in Burma wants to be sure that their investments and their business are safe. And the best way to ensure that is to move toward democracy and the kind of stability that democracy creates, the kind of investment climate that will attract even more businesses.So we look to all the countries in the region to play a role, and we particularly anticipate ASEAN playing a significant role. I mean, if we’re able to encourage the Burmese leadership to meet in dialogue with representatives of various aspects of Burmese society, we hope that that can be encouraged by other nations and by ASEAN, maybe facilitated by ASEAN, because planning for these elections must be a priority, and how it is monitored is something to be discussed and analyzed. But what’s important is getting some confidence that these will be free, fair, and credible elections. Otherwise, the Burmese leadership and the results of the election will not have international legitimacy. And since the Burmese leadership has said they want to have such elections, we hope that they will work with us to try to make sure that those elections gain credibility and that their results are respected globally.

Thank you very much.

Remarks by President Barack Obama at Suntory Hall

2009-11-15T18:40:00.002+06:30

Suntory Hall, Tokyo, Japan(November 14, 2009)
PRESIDENT OBAMA: Thank you so much. Arigatou. Thank you very much. (Applause.) Good morning. It is a great honor to be in Tokyo -- the first stop on my first visit to Asia as President of the United States. (Applause.) Thank you. It is good to be among so many of you -- Japanese and I see a few Americans here -- (applause) -- who work every day to strengthen the bonds between our two countries, including my longtime friend and our new ambassador to Japan, John Roos. (Applause.) It is wonderful to be back in Japan. Some of you may be aware that when I was a young boy, my mother brought me to Kamakura, where I looked up at that centuries-old symbol of peace and tranquility -- the great bronze Amida Buddha. And as a child, I was more focused on the matcha ice cream. (Laughter.) And I want to thank Prime Minister Hatoyama for sharing some of those memories with more ice cream last night at dinner. (Laughter and applause.) Thank you very much. But I have never forgotten the warmth and the hospitality that the Japanese people showed a young American far from home.
And I feel that same spirit on this visit: In the gracious welcome of Prime Minister Hatoyama. In the extraordinary honor of the meeting with Their Imperial Majesties, the Emperor and Empress, on the 20th anniversary of his ascension to the Chrysanthemum Throne. In the hospitality shown by the Japanese people. And of course, I could not come here without sending my greetings and gratitude to the citizens of Obama, Japan. (Applause.)
Now, I am beginning my journey here for a simple reason. Since taking office, I have worked to renew American leadership and pursue a new era of engagement with the world based on mutual interests and mutual respect. And our efforts in the Asia Pacific will be rooted, in no small measure, through an enduring and revitalized alliance between the United States and Japan.
From my very first days in office, we have worked to strengthen the ties that bind our nations. The first foreign leader that I welcomed to the White House was the Prime Minister of Japan, and for the first time in nearly 50 years, the first foreign trip by an American Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, was to Asia, starting in Japan. (Applause.)
In two months, our alliance will mark its 50th anniversary -- a day when President Dwight Eisenhower stood next to Japan's Prime Minister and said that our two nations were creating "an indestructible partnership" based on "equality and mutual understanding."
In the half-century since, that alliance has endured as a foundation for our security and prosperity. It has helped us become the world's two largest economies, with Japan emerging as America's second-largest trading partner outside of North America. It has evolved as Japan has played a larger role on the world stage, and made important contributions to stability around the world -- from reconstruction in Iraq, to combating piracy off the Horn of Africa, to assistance for the people of Afghanistan and Pakistan -- most recently through its remarkable leadership in providing additional commitments to international development efforts there.
Above all, our alliance has endured because it reflects our common values -- a belief in the democratic right of free people to choose their own leaders and realize their own dreams; a belief that made possible the election of both Prime Minister Hatoyama and myself on the promise of change. And together, we are committed to providing a new generation of leadership for our people and our alliance.
That is why, at this critical moment in history, the two of us have not only reaffirmed our alliance -- we've agreed to deepen it. We've agreed to move expeditiously through a joint working group to implement the agreement that our two governments reached on restructuring U.S. forces in Okinawa. And as our alliance evolves and adapts for the future, we will always strive to uphold the spirit that President Eisenhower described long ago -- a partnership of equality and mutual respect. (Applause.)
But while our commitment to this region begins in Japan, it doesn't end here. The United States of America may have started as a series of ports and cities along the Atlantic Ocean, but for generations we have also been a nation of the Pacific. Asia and the United States are not separated by this great ocean; we are bound by it. We are bound by our past -- by the Asian immigrants who helped build America, and the generations of Americans in uniform who served and sacrificed to keep this region secure and free. We are bound by our shared prosperity -- by the trade and commerce upon which millions of jobs and families depend. And we are bound by our people -- by the Asian Americans who enrich every segment of American life, and all the people whose lives, like our countries, are interwoven.
My own life is a part of that story. I am an American President who was born in Hawaii and lived in Indonesia as a boy. My sister Maya was born in Jakarta, and later married a Chinese-Canadian. My mother spent nearly a decade working in the villages of Southeast Asia, helping women buy a sewing machine or an education that might give them a foothold in the world economy. So the Pacific Rim has helped shape my view of the world.
And since that time, perhaps no region has changed as swiftly or dramatically. Controlled economies have given way to open markets. Dictatorships have become democracies. Living standards have risen while poverty has plummeted. And through all these changes, the fortunes of America and the Asia Pacific have become more closely linked than ever before.
So I want everyone to know, and I want everybody in America to know, that we have a stake in the future of this region, because what happens here has a direct effect on our lives at home. This is where we engage in much of our commerce and buy many of our goods. And this is where we can export more of our own products and create jobs back home in the process. This is a place where the risk of a nuclear arms race threatens the security of the wider world, and where extremists who defile a great religion plan attacks on both our continents. And there can be no solution to our energy security and our climate challenge without the rising powers and developing nations of the Asia Pacific.
To meet these common challenges, the United States looks to strengthen old alliances and build new partnerships with the nations of this region. To do this, we look to America's treaty alliances with Japan, South Korea, Australia, Thailand and the Philippines -- alliances that are not historical documents from a bygone era, but abiding commitments to each other that are fundamental to our shared security.
These alliances continue to provide the bedrock of security and stability that has allowed the nations and peoples of this region to pursue opportunity and prosperity that was unimaginable at the time of my first childhood visit to Japan. And even as American troops are engaged in two wars around the world, our commitment to Japan's security and to Asia's security is unshakeable -- (applause) -- and it can be seen in our deployments throughout the region -- above all, through our young men and women in uniform, of whom I am so proud.
Now, we look to emerging nations that are poised as well to play a larger role -- both in the Asia Pacific region and the wider world; places like Indonesia and Malaysia that have adopted democracy, developed their economies, and tapped the great potential of their own people.
We look to rising powers with the view that in the 21st century, the national security and economic growth of one country need not come at the expense of another. I know there are many who question how the United States perceives China's emergence. But as I have said, in an interconnected world, power does not need to be a zero-sum game, and nations need not fear the success of another. Cultivating spheres of cooperation -- not competing spheres of influence -- will lead to progress in the Asia Pacific. (Applause.)
Now, as with any nation, America will approach China with a focus on our interests. And it's precisely for this reason that it is important to pursue pragmatic cooperation with China on issues of mutual concern, because no one nation can meet the challenges of the 21st century alone, and the United States and China will both be better off when we are able to meet them together. That's why we welcome China's effort to play a greater role on the world stage -- a role in which their growing economy is joined by growing responsibility. China's partnership has proved critical in our effort to jumpstart economic recovery. China has promoted security and stability in Afghanistan and Pakistan. And it is now committed to the global nonproliferation regime, and supporting the pursuit of denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.
So the United States does not seek to contain China, nor does a deeper relationship with China mean a weakening of our bilateral alliances. On the contrary, the rise of a strong, prosperous China can be a source of strength for the community of nations.
And so in Beijing and beyond, we will work to deepen our strategic and economic dialogue, and improve communication between our militaries. Of course, we will not agree on every issue, and the United States will never waver in speaking up for the fundamental values that we hold dear -- and that includes respect for the religion and cultures of all people -- because support for human rights and human dignity is ingrained in America. But we can move these discussions forward in a spirit of partnership rather than rancor.
In addition to our bilateral relations, we also believe that the growth of multilateral organizations can advance the security and prosperity of this region. I know that the United States has been disengaged from many of these organizations in recent years. So let me be clear: Those days have passed. As a Asia Pacific nation, the United States expects to be involved in the discussions that shape the future of this region, and to participate fully in appropriate organizations as they are established and evolve. (Applause.)
That is the work that I will begin on this trip. The Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum will continue to promote regional commerce and prosperity, and I look forward to participating in that forum this evening. ASEAN will remain a catalyst for Southeast Asian dialogue, cooperation and security, and I look forward to becoming the first American President to meet with all 10 ASEAN leaders. (Applause.) And the United States looks forward to engaging with the East Asia Summit more formally as it plays a role in addressing the challenges of our time.
We seek this deeper and broader engagement because we know our collective future depends on it. And I'd like to speak for a bit about what that future might look like, and what we must do to advance our prosperity, our security, and our universal values and aspirations.
First, we must strengthen our economic recovery, and pursue growth that is both balanced and sustained.
The quick, unprecedented and coordinated action taken by Asia Pacific nations and others has averted economic catastrophe, and helped us to begin to emerge from the worst recession in generations. And we have taken the historic step of reforming our international economic architecture, so that the G20 is now the premier forum for international economic cooperation.
Now, this shift to the G20, along with the greater voice that is being given to Asian nations in international financial institutions, clearly demonstrates the broader, more inclusive engagement that America seeks in the 21st century. And as a key member of the G8, Japan has and will continue to play a leading and vital role in shaping the future of the international financial architecture. (Applause.)
Now that we are on the brink of economic recovery, we must also ensure that it can be sustained. We simply cannot return to the same cycles of boom and bust that led to a global recession. We can't follow the same policies that led to such imbalanced growth. One of the important lessons this recession has taught us is the limits of depending primarily on American consumers and Asian exports to drive growth -- because when Americans found themselves too heavily in debt or lost their jobs and were out of work, demand for Asian goods plummeted. When demand fell sharply, exports from this region fell sharply. Since the economies of this region are so dependent on exports, they stopped growing. And the global recession only deepened.
So we have now reached one of those rare inflection points in history where we have the opportunity to take a different path. And that must begin with the G20 pledge that we made in Pittsburgh to pursue a new strategy for balanced economic growth.
I'll be saying more about this in Singapore, but in the United States, this new strategy will mean that we save more and spend less, reform our financial systems, reduce our long-term deficit and borrowing. It will also mean a greater emphasis on exports that we can build, produce, and sell all over the world. For America, this is a jobs strategy. Right now, our exports support millions upon millions of well-paying American jobs. Increasing those exports by just a small amount has the potential to create millions more. These are jobs making everything from wind turbines and solar panels to the technology that you use every day.
For Asia, striking this better balance will provide an opportunity for workers and consumers to enjoy higher standards of living that their remarkable increases in productivity have made possible. It will allow for greater investments in housing and infrastructure and the service sector. And a more balanced global economy will lead to prosperity that reaches further and deeper.
For decades, the United States has had one of the most open markets in the world, and that openness has helped to fuel the success of so many countries in this region and others over the last century. In this new era, opening other markets around the globe will be critical not just to America's prosperity, but to the world's, as well.
An integral part of this new strategy is working towards an ambitious and balanced Doha agreement -- not any agreement, but an agreement that will open up markets and increase exports around the world. We are ready to work with our Asian partners to see if we can achieve that objective in a timely fashion -- and we invite our regional trading partners to join us at the table.
We also believe that continued integration of the economies of this region will benefit workers, consumers, and businesses in all our nations. Together, with our South Korean friends, we will work through the issues necessary to move forward on a trade agreement with them. The United States will also be engaging with the Trans-Pacific Partnership countries with the goal of shaping a regional agreement that will have broad-based membership and the high standards worthy of a 21st century trade agreement.
Working in partnership, this is how we can sustain this recovery and advance our common prosperity. But it's not enough to pursue growth that is balanced. We also need growth that is sustainable -- for our planet and the future generations that will live here.
Already, the United States has taken more steps to combat climate change in 10 months than we have in our recent history -- (applause) -- by embracing the latest science, by investing in new energy, by raising efficiency standards, forging new partnerships, and engaging in international climate negotiations. In short, America knows there is more work to do -- but we are meeting our responsibility, and will continue to do so.
And that includes striving for success in Copenhagen. I have no illusions that this will be easy, but the contours of a way forward are clear. All nations must accept their responsibility. Those nations, like my own, who have been the leading emitters must have clear reduction targets. Developing countries will need to take substantial actions to curb their emissions, aided by finance and technology. And there must be transparency and accountability for domestic actions.
Each of us must do what we can to grow our economies without endangering our planet -- and we must do it together. But the good news is that if we put the right rules and incentives in place, it will unleash the creative power of our best scientists, engineers, and entrepreneurs. It will lead to new jobs, new businesses, and entire new industries. And Japan has been at the forefront on this issue. We are looking forward to being a important partner with you as we achieve this critical global goal. (Applause.)
Yet, even as we confront this challenge of the 21st century, we must also redouble our efforts to meet a threat to our security that is the legacy of the 20th century -- the danger posed by nuclear weapons.
In Prague, I affirmed America's commitment to rid the world of nuclear weapons, and laid out a comprehensive agenda to pursue this goal. (Applause.) I am pleased that Japan has joined us in this effort, for no two nations on Earth know better what these weapons can do, and together we must seek a future without them. This is fundamental to our common security, and this is a great test of our common humanity. Our very future hangs in the balance.
Now, let me be clear: So long as these weapons exist, the United States will maintain a strong and effective nuclear deterrent that guarantees the defense of our allies -- including South Korea and Japan. (Applause.)
But we must recognize that an escalating nuclear arms race in this region would undermine decades of growth and prosperity. So we are called upon to uphold the basic bargain of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty -- that all nations have a right to peaceful nuclear energy; that nations with nuclear weapons have a responsibility to move toward nuclear disarmament; and those without nuclear weapons have a responsibility to forsake them.
Indeed, Japan serves as an example to the world that true peace and power can be achieved by taking this path. (Applause.) For decades, Japan has enjoyed the benefits of peaceful nuclear energy, while rejecting nuclear arms development -- and by any measure, this has increased Japan's security and enhanced its position.
To meet our responsibilities and to move forward with the agenda I laid out in Prague, we have passed, with the help of Japan, a unanimous U.N. Security Council resolution embracing this international effort. We are pursuing a new agreement with Russia to reduce our nuclear stockpiles. We will work to ratify and bring into force the test ban treaty. (Applause.) And next year at our Nuclear Security Summit, we will advance our goal of securing all the world's vulnerable nuclear materials within four years.
Now, as I've said before, strengthening the global nonproliferation regime is not about singling out any individual nations. It's about all nations living up to their responsibilities. That includes the Islamic Republic of Iran. And it includes North Korea.
For decades, North Korea has chosen a path of confrontation and provocation, including the pursuit of nuclear weapons. It should be clear where this path leads. We have tightened sanctions on Pyongyang. We have passed the most sweeping U.N. Security Council resolution to date to restrict their weapons of mass destruction activities. We will not be cowed by threats, and we will continue to send a clear message through our actions, and not just our words: North Korea's refusal to meet its international obligations will lead only to less security -- not more.
Yet there is another path that can be taken. Working in tandem with our partners -- supported by direct diplomacy -- the United States is prepared to offer North Korea a different future. Instead of an isolation that has compounded the horrific repression of its own people, North Korea could have a future of international integration. Instead of gripping poverty, it could have a future of economic opportunity -- where trade and investment and tourism can offer the North Korean people the chance at a better life. And instead of increasing insecurity, it could have a future of greater security and respect. This respect cannot be earned through belligerence. It must be reached by a nation that takes its place in the international community by fully living up to its international obligations.
So the path for North Korea to realize this future is clear: a return to the six-party talks; upholding previous commitments, including a return to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty; and the full and verifiable denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. And full normalization with its neighbors can also only come if Japanese families receive a full accounting of those who have been abducted. (Applause.) These are all steps that can be taken by the North Korean government if they are interested in improving the lives of their people and joining the community of nations.
And as we are vigilant in confronting this challenge, we will stand with all of our Asian partners in combating the transnational threats of the 21st century: by rooting out the extremists who slaughter the innocent, and stopping the piracy that threatens our sea lanes; by enhancing our efforts to stop infectious disease, and working to end extreme poverty in our time; and by shutting down the traffickers who exploit women, children and migrants, and putting a stop to this scourge of modern-day slavery once and for all. Indeed, the final area in which we must work together is in upholding the fundamental rights and dignity of all human beings.
The Asia Pacific region is rich with many cultures. It is marked by extraordinary traditions and strong national histories. And time and again, we have seen the remarkable talent and drive of the peoples of this region in advancing human progress. Yet this much is also clear -- indigenous cultures and economic growth have not been stymied by respect for human rights; they have been strengthened by it. Supporting human rights provides lasting security that cannot be purchased in any other way -- that is the story that can be seen in Japan's democracy, just as it can be seen in America's democracy.
The longing for liberty and dignity is a part of the story of all peoples. For there are certain aspirations that human beings hold in common: the freedom to speak your mind, and choose your leaders; the ability to access information, and worship how you please; confidence in the rule of law, and the equal administration of justice. These are not impediments to stability, they are the cornerstones of stability. And we will always stand on the side of those who seek these rights.
That truth, for example, guides our new approach to Burma. Despite years of good intentions, neither sanctions by the United States nor engagement by others succeeded in improving the lives of the Burmese people. So we are now communicating directly with the leadership to make it clear that existing sanctions will remain until there are concrete steps toward democratic reform. We support a Burma that is unified, peaceful, prosperous, and democratic. And as Burma moves in that direction, a better relationship with the United States is possible.
There are clear steps that must be taken -- the unconditional release of all political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi; an end to conflicts with minority groups; and a genuine dialogue between the government, the democratic opposition and minority groups on a shared vision for the future. That is how a government in Burma will be able to respond to the needs of its people. That is the path that will bring Burma true security and prosperity. (Applause.)
These are steps that the United States will take to improve prosperity, security, and human dignity in the Asia Pacific. We will do so through our close friendship with Japan -- which will always be a centerpiece of our efforts in the region. We will do so as a partner -- through the broader engagement that I've discussed today. We will do so as a Pacific nation -- with a President who was shaped in part by this piece of the globe. And we will do so with the same sense of purpose that has guided our ties with the Japanese people for nearly 50 years.
The story of how these ties were forged dates back to the middle of the last century, sometime after the guns of war had quieted in the Pacific. It was then that America's commitment to the security and stability of Japan, along with the Japanese peoples' spirit of resilience and industriousness, led to what's been called "the Japanese miracle" -- a period of economic growth that was faster and more robust than anything the world had seen for some time.
In the coming years and decades, this miracle would spread throughout the region, and in a single generation the lives and fortunes of millions were forever changed for the better. It is progress that has been supported by a hard-earned peace, and strengthened by new bridges of mutual understanding that have bound together the nations of this vast and sprawling space.
But we know that there's still work to be done -- so that new breakthroughs in science and technology can lead to jobs on both sides of the Pacific, and security from a warming planet; so that we can reverse the spread of deadly weapons, and -- on a divided peninsula -- the people of South can be freed from fear, and those in the North can live free from want; so that a young girl can be valued not for her body but for her mind; and so that young people everywhere can go as far as their talent and their drive and their choices will take them.
None of this will come easy, nor without setback or struggle. But at this moment of renewal -- in this land of miracles -- history tells us it is possible. This is the --America's agenda. This is the purpose of our partnership with Japan, and with the nations and peoples of this region. And there must be no doubt: As America's first Pacific President, I promise you that this Pacific nation will strengthen and sustain our leadership in this vitally important part of the world. Thank you very much. (Applause.)

その真理は、例えば、私達のビルマへの新しいアプローチの指針になっています。長年にわたる善意の努力にもかかわらず、米国による制裁も他国による関与もビルマ国民の生活を改善することができませんでした。このため、私達は今、指導者層と直接話し合い、民主的改革への具体的措置が講じられるまでは現行の制裁は継続することを明瞭に伝えています。私達は、統一され、平和的で繁栄し民主的であるビルマを支持します。そして、ビルマがその方向に移行するならば、米国とのより良い関係が可能です。講じられなければならない明確な措置があります。アウン・サン・スー・チーを含む全ての政治囚の無条件釈放、少数民族グループとの紛争の停止、未来に向けての共有されたビジョンに関する政府、民主的反対勢力、少数民族グループの間の本物の対話などです。それが、ビルマ政府が自国民の欲求に答えることができる方法です。それがビルマに本当の安全と繁栄をもたらす道です。

Myanmar diplomat: Junta may free Suu Kyi for poll

2009-11-09T18:50:00.001+06:30

SINGAPORE – Myanmar's military-ruled government may release pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi soon so she can play a role in next year's general elections, according to a senior Myanmar diplomat.
The remarks by Min Lwin _ rare for a Myanmar government official on an overseas visit _ were in line with vague comments in recent years by the junta that it intends to free Suu Kyi soon. But officials have given no time frame and have made no real moves to release her despite hinting they would.
Nobel Peace Prize laureate Suu Kyi has been detained for 14 of the past 20 years, and not been able to speak publicly since she was last taken into detention in May 2003. A court recently sentenced the 64-year-old to an additional 18 months of house arrest for briefly sheltering an uninvited American in a trial that drew global condemnation.
That would prevent her from participating in next year's elections _ the first in two decades _ unless she is granted a special release.
"There is a plan to release her soon ... so she can organize her party," Min Lwin, a director-general in the Foreign Ministry, told The Associated Press at the Manila airport before boarding a flight to Singapore en route to Yangon. He refused to elaborate, and it was not clear if he meant that Suu Kyi would be allowed to campaign.
There is also no indication that the government would allow Suu Kyi to run in the election. Myanmar's constitution includes provisions that bar Suu Kyi from holding office and ensure the military a controlling stake in government.
Suu Kyi's party, the National League for Democracy, has not yet decided whether to take part in the polls, which it says would be held under a constitution established last year by undemocratic means.
Min Lwin said the proposal to free Suu Kyi was not influenced by the recent change in U.S. policy under President Barack Obama, who is seeking to engage Myanmar, also known as Burma. The Bush administration had shunned any direct talks with the reclusive Southeast Asian nation.
Although Myanmar welcomes the new American policy of "pragmatic engagement," Min Lwin said he did not expect any major changes in the near future, mainly because U.S. sanctions are still in force.
Min Lwin was in Manila to attend a two-day meeting of fellow diplomats from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the United States.
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and Ambassador for ASEAN Affairs Scot Marciel held separate talks last week with Myanmar's ruling generals and Suu Kyi in the highest-ranking visit by American officials to Myanmar in 14 years.
Obama will meet ASEAN leaders on Nov. 15, on the sidelines of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Singapore, bringing him in rare contact with Myanmar's prime minister, Gen. Thein Sein.
The Myanmar junta chief, Senior Gen. Than Shwe, typically shuns official meetings outside Myanmar.
Officials have not said if Obama will meet privately with Thein Sein. The last U.S. president to meet a Myanmar head of state was Lyndon B. Johnson, who held talks with then-Prime Minister Ne Win in September 1966 during a state visit to Washington, according to Richard Mei, the U.S. Embassy spokesman in Myanmar.
Despite their new approach to Myanmar, U.S. officials have said that tough sanctions against the junta will remain in place until talks with its generals result in long-demanded democratic reforms.
Seven ASEAN member states _ Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam _ belong to APEC, which includes the U.S. and other Western and South American nations. The three ASEAN members not in APEC are Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar.

Source : news.yahoo.com.sg

By JIM GOMEZ,Associated Press Writer - Tuesday, November 10

Obama to Meet With Prime Minister of Myanmar

2009-11-09T18:42:00.001+06:30

MANILA — President Obama plans to meet with the prime minister of Myanmar along with other Southeast Asian leaders next Sunday, in a high-level affirmation of the new policy by Washington of engaging the military-ruled country despite its dismal human rights record.
The meeting between Mr. Obama and leaders of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations will take place on the sidelines of the annual summit meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Singapore, the U.S. ambassador for Asean affairs, Scot Marciel, said Saturday.
Prime Minister Thein Sein of Myanmar will attend the meeting, which marks the 32nd anniversary of Washington’s relations with Asean, said a senior Myanmar diplomat, Min Lwin. The junta chief, Senior Gen. Than Shwe, typically shuns official meetings outside the country.
The talks would be the highest-level contact between Myanmar and the United States in decades.
Officials have not said whether Mr. Obama will meet privately with Thein Sein. The last U.S. president to meet with a Myanmar head of state was Lyndon B. Johnson. He talked with Ne Win, who was then the prime minister, in September 1966 in Washington, according to Richard Mei, the U.S. Embassy spokesman in Myanmar. The country was then called Burma.
Under Mr. Obama, Washington has reversed the policy of the administration of President George W. Bush of shunning Myanmar in favor of direct talks with the country, which has been under military rule since 1962.
Myanmar welcomed the shift in U.S. policy, Min Lwin said, describing the change as “positive.”

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: November 8, 2009

Obama to meet Myanmar, other ASEAN leaders

2009-11-08T09:19:00.000+06:30

By JIM GOMEZ, Associated Press Writer Jim Gomez, Associated Press Writer – Sat Nov 7, 5:14 am ET
MANILA, Philippines – President Barack Obama will meet leaders of Southeast Asian nations, including Myanmar, in a high-level affirmation of Washington's new policy of engaging the military-ruled country despite its dismal human rights record.
The Nov. 15 meeting between Obama and leaders of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations will take place on the sidelines of an annual summit of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Singapore, U.S. Ambassador for ASEAN Affairs Scot Marciel said Saturday.
Myanmar's prime minister, Thein Sein, will attend the meeting, which marks the 32nd anniversary of Washington's relations with ASEAN, senior Myanmar diplomat Min Lwin told The Associated Press in Manila.
The junta chief, Senior Gen. Than Shwe, typically shuns official meetings outside Myanmar.
The talks are to be the highest-level contact between Myanmar and the U.S. in decades.
Officials have not said if Obama will meet privately with Thein Sein. The last U.S. president to meet a Myanmar head of state was Lyndon B. Johnson, who held talks with then Prime Minister Ne Win in September 1966 during a state visit to Washington, according to Richard Mei, the U.S. Embassy spokesman in Myanmar.
Under Obama, Washington has reversed the Bush administration's policy of shunning Myanmar in favor of direct talks with the Southeast Asian country that has been ruled by the military since 1962.
Myanmar welcomes the shift in U.S. policy, Min Lwin said, describing the change as "positive."
Marciel and Min Lwin were in Manila along with other senior ASEAN diplomats to finalize the agenda for Obama's meeting with ASEAN leaders. The talks will focus on trade, energy, health, climate change, food security, disaster response and security issues, Philippine Foreign Undersecretary Enrique Manalo said.
"What we're trying to do is to step up and increase our engagement with ASEAN," Marciel said.
Philippine Foreign Secretary Alberto Romulo has said ASEAN welcomes the Obama administration's new policy of engagement with Myanmar, adding that Southeast Asian governments have continued talking with the junta while constantly prodding it to move toward democracy.
"All of us talk with Myanmar," he said. "There is no harm in talking."
ASEAN has faced a barrage of criticism in past years over its failure to coax democratic reforms from the junta or to win freedom for detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and some 2,000 other political prisoners.
Nobel Peace Prize laureate Suu Kyi has been detained for 14 of the past 20 years, mostly under house arrest.
Despite their new approach to Myanmar, also known as Burma, U.S. officials have said that tough sanctions against the junta will remain until talks with its generals result in long-demanded democratic reforms.
Seven ASEAN member states — Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam — belong to APEC, which includes the U.S. and other Western nations. The three ASEAN members not in APEC are Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar.
Source : news.yahoo.com
Associated Press writer Jocelyn Gecker in Bangkok contributed to this report.

Japan urges Myanmar to release Suu Kyi before poll

2009-11-08T09:15:00.001+06:30

By Yoko Nishikawa Yoko Nishikawa – Sat Nov 7, 10:08 am ET
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan urged Myanmar Saturday to release detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi before next year's election, adding it was ready to provide more aid if democratization in the country advanced.
The comments came a few days after a U.S. delegation made a landmark visit to Myanmar as part of a new policy of engagement by the Obama administration.
"It is extremely important that Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners are all released before the general election to be held in 2010," Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama told Myanmar's visiting prime minister, according to a Japanese Foreign Ministry spokesman.
Hatoyama also urged General Thein Sein to ensure all stakeholders could take part in the election.
Japan has distanced itself from the policy of Western powers, which have imposed tough sanctions on Myanmar, and from that of China, which has pumped billions of dollars into the country.
It has preferred engagement and dialogue to push for democratization of the authoritarian military-run state, and welcomed Washington's recent move, saying it was getting closer to Tokyo's approach.
The talk between Hatoyama and General Thein Sein took place on the sidelines of the Tokyo summit among Japan and five Mekong region countries -- Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam.
It was the first time since 2003 a Myanmar leader had visited Japan.
Hatoyama acknowledged signs of improvement in the democratization process in the country formerly known as Burma, and welcomed improving ties between Washington and Myanmar.
"Based on recent positive moves, Japan will gradually expand its assistance to Myanmar in areas of humanitarian assistance, including those through NGOs, and human development assistance," Hatoyama was quoted as telling General Thein Sein.
"If the general election in 2010 is conducted in a manner we expect, Japan will be in a position to strengthen its assistance to Myanmar," he added.
In the fiscal year that ended in March 2008, Japan provided 1.18 billion yen ($13.13 million) in grant aid and 1.64 billion yen in technical assistance to Myanmar.
(Editing by Andrew Roche)

Source : news.yahoo.com

Japan to increase aid to Myanmar

2009-11-08T09:11:00.001+06:30

TOKYO (AFP) – Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama on Saturday said Japan plans to increase aid to Myanmar gradually while hailing Washington's latest efforts to engage the military-ruled country.
"Japan plans to expand our humanitarian aid and assistance for human resources development gradually," a Japanese foreign ministry official quoted Hatoyama as saying at a meeting with his Myanmar counterpart Thein Sein.
Hatoyama did not mention a specific sum, according to the official who was in the bilateral meeting.
He said the decision on greater aid stemmed from the junta's recent release of political prisoners, signs of a resumed dialogue with pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and improved ties with the United States, said the official.
Hatoyama also told Thein Sein that Japan would increase assistance further if Myanmar's planned general elections next year are held in a fair way, the official said, adding the premier did not elaborate on what this aid could be.
Hatoyama met Thein Sein, Myanmar's first premier to visit Japan since 2003, at Japan's first summit with five countries along the Mekong River, which also include Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam.
Japan has given about two billion yen (22 million dollars) worth of aid to Myanmar annually over the past few years.
It is mostly disaster relief and humanitarian assistance as Tokyo has shunned loans and grants to the nation criticised for human rights abuses.
Thein Sein thanked Hatoyama for Tokyo's assistance and called for more investment from and trade with Japan, according to the Japanese official.
He also said the nation was preparing law for general elections so that any party can participate, the official said.
Speaking at a press conference after the Mekong-Japan summit, Hatoyama hailed the US government's dialogue with Myanmar.
"America's greater interest in Myanmar... will benefit the Mekong region as a whole," Hatoyama said. "America is gaining greater interest in the region and we welcome it."
The administration of US President Barack Obama has recently changed its policy on Myanmar, saying it would push for engagement with the military regime because sanctions on their own had failed to bear fruit.
US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Kurt Campbell and his deputy Scot Marciel held rare meetings with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and premier Thein Sein on a two-day visit ending Wednesday.
Japan has maintained trade and dialogue with Myanmar, warning a hard line on Myanmar would push the junta closer to neighbouring China, its main political supporter and commercial partner.
Source : news.yahoo.com

新生児の泣き声にも“訛り”

2009-11-06T20:48:00.002+06:30

新生児は子宮の中で言語を覚え始め、生まれたときには既にその言語特有のアクセント、いわば“訛り”のようなものを身に付けているという研究が発表された。　胎児は耳で聞くことで言語に慣れていくという見解は特に目新しいものではない。誕生直後の新生児が複数の異なる言語を耳にすると、ほとんどの場合、母親の胎内で聞こえていた言語に最も近い言語を好むような態度を示すことが複数の研究で既にわかっている。　ただし、言語を認識する能力と発話する能力とはまったく別のものである。　ドイツ、ビュルツブルク大学発話前発育・発育障害研究センターのカトリーン・ヴェルムケ氏が率いる研究チームは、フランス人とドイツ人各30人、計60人の健康な新生児の泣き声の“メロディ”を調査した。　ただしヴェルムケ氏によると、このメロディ、つまりイントネーションは、厳密に言えばアクセントとは異なるという。アクセントとは、単語の発音の仕方に関連するものだ。　一般的に、フランス語を母国語とする人は語尾を上げ、ドイツ語を母国語とする人は逆に語尾を下げるということが知られている。また、メロディ（話し言葉のイントネーション）が言語の習得において決定的に重要な役割を果たすということもわかっている。「ここから、新生児の泣き声の中から何らかの特徴があるメロディを探すというアイデアを思いついた」とヴェルムケ氏は明かす。　今回の研究に参加した新生児の泣き声のメロディは、胎内で聞いていた言語と同じイントネーションをたどっていた。例えば、フランス人の新生児は泣き声の最後の音が高くなった。「胎児や乳幼児がメロディを感じ取り再現することから、人間の言語習得の長いプロセスが始まることは明らかだ」とヴェルムケ氏は語る。　また今回の発見で、言語の発達プロセス以上のことが明らかになる可能性もある。「乳幼児の泣き声などの発声をさらに分析すれば、人間の祖先がどのようにして言語を生み出したのかという謎の解明にも役立つかもしれない」。

Source : news.yahoo.co.jp
この研究結果は2009年11月5日発行の「Current Biology」誌に掲載されている。
Matt Kaplan for National Geographic News

Japanese Society of Child Science

新生児のお世話のポイント（０～１ヵ月）

新生児から３歳児まで－ことばの芽生え

Suu Kyi in landmark talks

2009-11-05T18:38:00.003+06:30

YANGON - A United States State Department official met Ms Aung San Suu Kyi yesterday in a visit that marked the highest-ranking talks between an American and Myanmar's detained opposition leader in 14 years.Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Kurt Campbell, accompanied by his deputy Scot Marciel, also met Myanmar's prime minister as Washington seeks a new era of engagement with the military regime.Mr Campbell, the top US diplomat for East Asia, greeted Ms Suu Kyi with a handshake after she was driven to his lakeside hotel in Yangon where they met privately for two hours.Mr Campbell and his deputy, Mr Marciel, are the highest-level Americans to visit Myanmar since 1995. The topic of talks with Ms Suu Kyi was not immediately known. But the meeting was her first trip in years outside the confines of her home and a nearby government guesthouse, where she has met United Nations and military government officials in the past. The 64-year-old Ms Suu Kyi has been detained for 14 of the past 20 years, mostly under house arrest and for shorter periods at Myanmar's notorious Insein Prison.Ms Suu Kyi was upbeat as she emerged from the hotel and joked with photographers who asked her to smile."Do I look pretty when I smile," she asked. "Hello to you all," she said, before getting into a car that whisked her back to her tightly-guarded home.Earlier yesterday, Mr Campbell and Mr Marciel held talks with Prime Minister Thein Sein in the administrative capital Naypyidaw.The two-day trip is a follow-up to discussions in New York in September between US and Myanmar officials, the highest-level US contact with the regime in nearly a decade.The US visit is the second step in "the beginning of a dialogue with Burma", State Department spokesman Ian Kelly told reporters in Washington on Tuesday.

Source : http://www.todayonline.com/World/EDC091105-0000092/?Suu-Kyi-in-landmark-talks-

U.S. delegation holds talks with Myanmar's Suu Kyi

2009-11-05T08:04:00.000+06:30

YANGON (Reuters) – A top U.S. official held rare talks with Myanmar's detained opposition leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, on Wednesday as part of Washington's highest-level visit to the isolated army-ruled country in 14 years.

The Nobel Peace Prize winner met United States Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell for more than two hours at a hotel near Yangon's Inya lake, close to her home where she has been detained for much of the past two decades.

Later, at Yangon airport before the U.S. delegation left the former Burma, Campbell said the United States wanted to improve relations with the government but the authorities needed to take concrete steps toward that end, too.

Describing the visit as an exploratory mission designed to explain the results of a U.S. policy review toward Myanmar, he said the United States advocated "strong support for human rights, the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and all other political prisoners and the pursuit of democratic reform."

"At every meeting, the United States underscored its strong commitment to see Burma as a place that respects the human rights of its people, promotes democracy, and abides by U.N. resolutions with regards to proliferation," he added.

Earlier, Suu Kyi and Campbell had posed for photographs together but did not answer reporters' questions.

Campbell, Washington's top official for East and Southeast Asia, met earlier on Wednesday with Myanmar Prime Minister Thein Sein.

On Tuesday, Campbell held talks with top junta officials in the remote new capital Naypyidaw, but he did not meet junta supremo Than Shwe, the aging general who has tightly controlled the former Burma for the past 17 years.

In the meetings, Campbell told government leaders "the U.S. is prepared to take steps to improve the bilateral relationship, but it will be a step-by-step process, and must be based on reciprocal and concrete efforts by the Burmese government," U.S. State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said.

The U.S. officials "reaffirmed our support for dialogue between the government and the opposition," Kelly told reporters in Washington. "The goal of such dialogue would be a national reconciliation and a fully inclusive political process in Burma."

Both sides seem ready to edge toward some sort of rapprochement.

Myanmar is keen to see Western sanctions lifted and has allowed Suu Kyi to raise the issue with diplomats in meetings that the junta normally forbids.

The United States has refused to lift its trade embargo on the resource-rich country and says dialogue would supplement sanctions rather than replace them.

Kelly said on Wednesday Washington would need to see specific steps by Myanmar before considering lifting sanctions.

But the U.S. government announced in September it would pursue deeper engagement to try to spur democratic reforms in Myanmar and is pressing for free, fair and inclusive elections next year.

"Toward that end," Campbell said, "we urge the Burmese government to allow Aung San Suu Kyi more frequent interactions with stakeholders, especially the central executive committee of her own party."

State TV reported that Campbell had asked the authorities to let Suu Kyi meet committee members of her National League for Democracy (NLD) before he met her.

That was agreed, MRTV said, but Suu Kyi pulled out of the meeting because one member, NLD vice chairman Tin Oo, 82, was excluded. He has been under house arrest since May 2003.

The NLD was the clear winner the last time polls were held in 1990. The military refused to recognize the NLD victory. The party has yet to say whether it will contest next year's vote.

Source : http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20091104/pl_nm/us_myanmar_usa_6
By Aung Hla Tun Aung Hla Tun – Wed Nov 4, 4:51 pm ET
(Additional reporting by David Alexander in Washington; Writing by Martin Petty and Alan Raybould; Editing by Alex Richardson and Paul Simao)

US envoy meets Suu Kyi

2009-11-05T07:55:00.003+06:30

Visit raises level of diplomatic engagement with Myanmar junta

Mr Campbell leaving the Inya Lake Hotel with Ms Suu Kyi yesterday after a two-hour meeting. He was the most senior US official to meet her in 14 years. -- PHOTO: AFP

BANGKOK - A TWO-HOUR meeting in Yangon yesterday between a top American official and Myanmar's detained pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi has significantly raised the level of diplomatic engagement between the United States and Myanmar.

US Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell became the highest-ranking American official to visit the Nobel Peace laureate in 14 years.

Earlier, he met Myanmar Prime Minister Thein Sein in the administrative capital of Nyapyidaw before flying to Yangon.

State television, which on Tuesday ignored the American delegation's visit, broadcast footage of both meetings.

Mr Campbell greeted Ms Suu Kyi, 64, with a handshake at the Inya Lake Hotel near her home where she has been detained on and off for the past 20 years.

Dressed in a traditional Myanmar jacket, Ms Suu Kyi was upbeat as she emerged from the hotel after the meeting.
Source : www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/SE%2BAsia/Story/STIStory_450480.html
By Nirmal Ghosh, Thailand Correspondent
nirmal@sph.com.sg

US envoy in landmark talks with Suu Kyi

2009-11-05T07:51:00.001+06:30

YANGON: A top US official held talks with Aung San Suu Kyi on Wednesday as Myanmar's ruling junta gave the democracy icon a rare break from house arrest during Washington's highest-level visit in 14 years.

Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Kurt Campbell also met Myanmar Prime Minister Thein Sein as part of efforts by the Obama administration to re-engage with the hardline military regime.

Nobel laureate Suu Kyi met Campbell for two hours at a luxury hotel in Yangon - the first time she had appeared in front of the media other than at her home or in prison since her current period of detention began in 2003.

Campbell said at Yangon airport that in the "exploratory mission" he had underscored "strong support for human rights, the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and all other political prisoners, and the pursuit of democratic reform."

"We stated clearly that the United States is prepared to take steps to improve the relationship but that process must be based on reciprocal and concrete efforts by the Burmese government," Campbell said in a statement.

The US diplomat said he and his deputy, Scot Marciel, had also urged the regime to let Suu Kyi meet more often with members of her National League for Democracy (NLD) Party ahead of elections that are due in 2010.

The duo were not allowed to meet the reclusive head of Myanmar's junta, General Than Shwe. They instead held talks with Premier Thein Sein in the remote administrative capital Naypyidaw.

"They reaffirmed our support for dialogue between the government and the opposition," US State Department spokesman Ian Kelly told reporters in Washington.

Kelly said Washington had no plans to mediate between the government and the democratic opposition leaders.

"As I say, this is a step-by-step process... This visit was primarily meant to underscore our call for the government to have a dialogue... with the opposition. But we want to see the Burmese government start taking some concrete steps towards such a dialogue."

During the talks with Suu Kyi "we affirmed our commitment to a dialogue among the government, the opposition, and the ethnic groups," Campbell said.

Dressed in a pink and maroon traditional outfit, the 64-year-old Suu Kyi did not answer questions after the meeting with the US duo but smiled to reporters and joked: "Am I beautiful when I smile?"

Suu Kyi has spent most of the last two decades in detention and the junta, which has ruled since 1962, gave her an extra 18 months of house arrest in August, effectively ruling her out of next year's widely criticised elections.

The opposition leader was sentenced after being found guilty of harbouring an American man who swam to her lakeside house earlier in the year. Journalists saw her in prison at the trial but were not allowed to take pictures.

Campbell and Marciel also met senior members of the NLD, which described the talks as "positive".

"We discussed the transition to democracy and focused on the dialogue between Aung San Suu Kyi and Senior General Than Shwe. From their side they didn't say much. They just listened," NLD spokesman Khin Maung Swe told AFP.

Campbell was the highest ranking US official to travel to Myanmar - formerly known as Burma - since Madeleine Albright went as US ambassador to the United Nations in 1995 during Bill Clinton's presidency.

The trip was a follow-up to discussions in New York in September between US and Myanmar officials, the highest-level US contact with the regime in nearly a decade.

President Barack Obama's administration in September announced a dramatic change in policy because isolating Myanmar had failed, but said it would not ease sanctions without progress on democracy and human rights.

September's talks dealt with US calls for free and fair elections and the release of Suu Kyi, but also with concerns about Myanmar's possible military links with nuclear-armed North Korea.

The first major sign of a thaw came in August when Than Shwe held an unprecedented meeting with visiting US Senator Jim Webb, which yielded the release of John Yettaw, the American detained for swimming to Suu Kyi's house. - AFP/yb/de

Source : Channel News Asia

Posted: 04 November 2009 1132 hrs

US envoys set for rare Myanmar visit

2009-11-03T09:57:00.000+06:30

YANGON: Two senior US envoys are due to arrive in Myanmar Tuesday for talks with the ruling military government and democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, on the most high profile American visit to the country in 14 years.

The visit by Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Kurt Campbell and his deputy Scot Marciel is the latest move by President Barack Obama's administration to engage the military government.

The US pair are unlikely to see the reclusive head of the military government Than Shwe, but will instead meet Prime Minister Thein Sein in the remote jungle capital of Naypyidaw on Tuesday, Myanmar officials said.

They will then travel to Yangon on Wednesday to meet Nobel Peace laureate Suu Kyi, whose plight sparked international outrage earlier this year when her house arrest was extended by 18 months, they said.

Campbell is the highest ranking US official to travel to Myanmar since Madeleine Albright went as US ambassador to the United Nations in 1995 under the administration of President Bill Clinton.

"We see this visit as the start of direct engagement between the US and Myanmar government," Nyan Win, a spokesman for Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy Party (NLD), told AFP.

"But we do not expect the exact and big change from this meeting. This visit is just a first stage."

He said the NLD had been told that the US envoys would meet the party's central executive committee at their headquarters on Wednesday and would meet Suu Kyi the same day.

The Obama administration recently shifted US policy because its longstanding approach of isolating Myanmar had failed to bear fruit, but has said it would not ease sanctions without progress on democracy and human rights.

The military government extended Suu Kyi's house arrest after she was convicted in August over an incident in which a US man swam to her lakeside house but critics say the charges were trumped up to keep her off the scene for elections in 2010.

The visit by Campbell and Marciel is a follow-up to discussions in New York in September between US and Myanmar officials, which marked the highest-level American contact with the military government in nearly a decade.

In August, Than Shwe held an unprecedented meeting with visiting US senator Jim Webb, a leading advocate of engaging the military government. The visit also secured the release of John Yettaw - the American swimmer in the Suu Kyi case.

Thein Sein told Asian leaders at a summit in Thailand last month that the military government sees a role for Suu Kyi in fostering reconciliation ahead of the promised elections but it was not clear what form this would take.

The charge d’affaires at the US embassy in Yangon, Larry Dinger, said in an interview with the semi-official Myanmar Times newspaper published this week that Washington wanted to make progress on "important issues" but would maintain sanctions "until concrete progress is made".

A foreign diplomat in Yangon said the visit was "important but at the same time without immediate consequence".

"It is necessary to be cautious. Everyone knows there is a risk of relations going cold again in two months," the diplomat said.

The NLD won Myanmar's last elections in 1990 by a landslide, which the military government refused to acknowledge, and has since faced a campaign of oppression.

The 64-year-old Suu Kyi has spent 14 of the past 20 years in detention. But last month the generals granted her two rare meetings with a minister and allowed her to see Western diplomats.

The talks followed a letter she wrote to Than Shwe in late September, offering her co-operation in getting Western sanctions lifted after years of favouring harsh measures against the ruling generals.
Source : ChannelNewsAsia

Posted: 03 November 2009 1058 hrs
AFP/yb

US envoys in Myanmar 'unlikely to meet junta chief'

2009-11-02T20:14:00.001+06:30

YANGON (AFP) – Two senior US envoys travelling to military-ruled Myanmar this week will meet detained democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi but are unlikely to see the reclusive junta chief, an official said Sunday.
Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Kurt Campbell and his deputy Scot Marciel are planning the visit in the latest move by President Barack Obama's administration to engage the regime.
They will go to the remote administrative capital of Naypyidaw on Tuesday and meet Prime Minister Thein Sein, a Myanmar official told AFP on condition of anonymity.
This is the highest level government member the pair will meet, the official said, suggesting that they will not be granted talks with regime leader Than Shwe.
They will travel to Yangon Wednesday to meet Suu Kyi and members of her National League for Democracy (NLD) before departing the country, the official added.
The visit is a follow-up to discussions in New York in September between US and Myanmar officials, which marked the highest-level American contact with the regime in nearly a decade.
The Obama administration shifted its policy because its longstanding approach of isolating Myanmar had failed to bear fruit, but said it would not ease sanctions without progress on democracy and human rights.
In August, Than Shwe held an unprecedented meeting with a visiting US senator, Jim Webb, a leading advocate of engaging the junta.
But if, as the official's comments suggest, Than Shwe does not want to meet the US delegation this week, he may leave the capital during their visit, said activist and scholar Win Min in northern Thailand.
"He doesn't want to make significant concessions even though he wants to get the US to lift sanctions," Win Min said, noting that the leader avoided a request to meet UN special envoy Razali Ismail in 2003 by visiting the west coast and leaving the then premier to see the envoy.
A State Department official, Stephen Blake, quietly visited Myanmar in March to hold talks with both junta members and the opposition. It was the first trip by a US envoy to the country in more than seven years.
Campbell told a congressional panel last month that the dialogue would "supplement rather than replace" the sanctions regime.
The chief US diplomat for Asia acknowledged that the talks, which aim to press for democratic reform in Myanmar ahead of elections promised by the ruling generals for 2010, would be neither simple nor straightforward.
Thein Sein told Asian leaders at a summit in Thailand last weekend that the junta sees a role for Suu Kyi in fostering reconciliation ahead of the elections, but it was not clear what form this would take.
The 64-year-old Nobel peace laureate has spent 14 of the past 20 years in detention, and in August was placed under a further 18 months' house arrest, effectively barring her from taking part in the polls.
But last month the generals granted her two rare meetings with Labour Minister Aung Kyi, the official liaison between her and the junta, and a meeting with Western diplomats.
The talks followed a letter she wrote to Than Shwe in late September, offering her co-operation in getting Western sanctions lifted, after years of favoring harsh measures against the generals.
Suu Kyi's NLD party won the last elections in 1990 by a landslide, which the junta refused to acknowledge.

Source : http://news.yahoo.com

US envoy to meet Aung San Suu Kyi on Myanmar trip

2009-11-02T20:06:00.002+06:30

US Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell is scheduled to hold talks with Aung San Suu Kyi during a visit to Myanmar this week, but is unlikely to meet the junta chief, sources said Monday. Campbell and US Deputy Assistant Secretary Scot Marciel are scheduled to arrive in Myanmar's former capital of Yangon Tuesday morning and fly directly on to the military's new headquarters of Naypyitaw, government sources confirmed.
In Naypyitaw, 350 kilometres north of Yangon, Campbell is to meet with Information Minister Kyaw Hsan, Chief Justice Aung Toe and representatives of the Union Solidarity Development Association (USDA), the political arm of the junta. There was no meeting scheduled with military supremo Than Shwe, said sources who requested anonymity.
Campbell and Marciel are scheduled to return to Yangon Wednesday, where, they would meet Nobel peace laureate Suu Kyi at 2 pm at her home-cum-prison near Inya Lake, military sources confirmed.
They also plan talks with leaders of the Suu Kyi' opposition National League for Democracy (NLD), the Committee Representing People's Parliament and the pro-junta National Unity Party (NUP).
Marciel is to travel on to Thailand to participate in a public forum at Chulalongkorn University Thursday on US foreign policy towards Myanmar, and also brief Thai government officials.
Suu Kyi has welcomed Campbell's visit, seen as part of US President Barack Obama's diplomatic effort to engage with the pariah regime to encourage democratic reforms.
Myanmar has been under military rule since 1962. Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) party won a 1990 general election by a landslide, but has been denied power by the military for the past 19 years - of which she has spent 13 years under house arrest.
Another election is planned in 2010, but the international community is not expected to accept its outcome unless Suu Kyi and some 2,100 other political prisoners are freed beforehand and the NLD is allowed to contest the polls.

Source : www.earthtimes.org

A glimmer of light for Myanmar

2009-10-28T13:31:00.001+06:30

Simon Tisdall (Today,28Oct2009)
CAUTIOUS optimism expressed by Asian leaders at the weekend that the situation of isolated, benighted Myanmar is taking a turn for the better may prove to be more than the usual diplomatic doublespeak.
Recent, relatively positive signals from the ruling military government do not amount to a change of heart. But out of darkness, a glimmer of light shows.
One hopeful indication came when detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi was temporarily released from house arrest to meet foreign diplomats and junta functionaries. The regime is also tentatively re-engaging with western governments, including the United States, which is due to send a
high-level delegation soon. Last month, Myanmar Prime Minister Thein Sein promised the United Nations that presidential and legislative elections due 2010 would be “free and fair”.
Despite Ms Suu Kyi’s sentencing in August to a further 18 months’ detention, Mr Thein Sein reportedly told leaders at last weekend’s 16-nation Asia-Pacific summit in Hua Hin that he was “confident she can contribute
to the process of national reconciliation”. Mr Manmohan Singh, India’s Prime Minister, said: “There was an atmosphere of hope that the leadership is moving towards normalising its relationship with the US (and) that next year’s election should see a reconciliation of the various segments of Myanmar society.”
There are several reasons for the regime’s shifting stance, western observers say. One is that the junta has begun to recognise it needs the legitimacy that only a relatively transparent poll process can bring. Domestically,
the creation of regional legislatures may defuse ongoing, historically violent tensions with the country’s 16
ethnic groups. Internationally, a respectable election could trigger an easing of sanctions and additional aid and investment.
Senior General Than Shwe,76, head of the junta, is said to be hoping to stand down next year, for reasons of age and possible infirmity. He was committed to the regime’s so called “road map” to democracy and felt he had done “a good job” in holding the country together, one analyst said. Now Gen Than Shwe wanted to secure his legacy and the future safety of himself and his family by regularising, within defined limits, Myanmar’s relations
with the West.
Another reason for taking advantage of US President Barack Obama’s willingness to reopen dialogue is said to be a desire to counter China’s growing influence. Harsh words from Beijing over the recent forced exodus of 30,000 mostly ethnic Chinese Burmese from Kokang into Yunnan province
came as a sharp reminder that China, historically, was Myanmar’s “No 1 enemy”, and its security and commercial interests do not necessarily coincide with Yangon’s.
US officials stress that Mr Obama is not offering the generals an easy option; sanctions would remain in place
until there was a quantifiable improvement in the regime’s behaviour, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said last month.
But even circumscribed interaction with the US, underpinned by joint demonstrations of mutual interest
over issues such as North Korea, would give the junta a strategic alternative to China and its other overbearing
neighbour, India.
Scepticism that this apparent shift will lead to anything more than a sham election, decked out with democratic
window-dressing to deflect western critics and hoodwink international opinion, is natural, given the junta’s record since it stole the 1990 polls. The evident risk for Mr Obama, the UN, and others is that they will be suckered into supporting the insupportable.
There’s no doubt the 2010 election project is highly problematic. Myanmar’s new constitution guarantees the continuing ascendancy of the military. New political candidates and parties will be vetted, Iranstyle. Lack of free media, the absence of independent scrutiny, and intolerance of open debate do not sit well with the holding of “free and fair” polls. And one deliberate side-effect may be the sidelining of Ms Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD), the winners in 1990, whose ageing leadership now faces a cruel dilemma: either participate in the elections, thereby lending credibility to a possible political travesty, or hold back and risk irrelevance.
In other words, a careful balance must be struck. Any western policy aimed at bringing the generals in from
the cold should be carefully calibrated to strengthen, not undermine, the legitimate aspirations of Myanmar’s people. Getting the balance wrong will risk prolonged darkness in a land where, as British writer Rudyard Kipling might have put it, it was the light that failed.

Asia lets Myanmar off hook over Suu Kyi again

2009-10-27T20:03:00.000+06:30

HUA HIN, Thailand - Asian leaders barely mentioned Myanmar democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi at a weekend summit, making a mockery of the region's grand claims for its new rights body, analysts said.
Leaders of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which includes Myanmar, devoted just three lines to the military-ruled nation's political situation in the nine pages of their final declaration.
While the statement called for elections promised by the junta in 2010 to be "fair, free, inclusive and transparent", it made no mention of the opposition leader, who has been detained for 14 of the past 20 years.
The summit at the Thai resort of Hua Hin opened with the inauguration of ASEAN's first human rights body, hailed by members as "historic" but widely derided by activists, given the lack of action on Myanmar.
"The whole thing is a bit of a farce," David Mathieson, a Myanmar expert at Human Rights Watch, told AFP.
"There were pretty low expectations for the human rights commission and ASEAN has probably fulfilled these expectations. There's no way ASEAN can maintain any credibility while kowtowing to the Burmese leaders," he added.
Burma is Myanmar's former name.
Suu Kyi had her house arrest extended in August for 18 months after she was convicted over an incident in which an American man swam uninvited to her home. It effectively keeps her out of the way for next year's elections.
A senior Southeast Asian diplomat confirmed to AFP that Myanmar and Suu Kyi were not discussed at the ASEAN leaders' retreat, although they did come up when the bloc met with leaders from China, Japan and South Korea on Saturday.
Myanmar's Prime Minister Thein Sein told his counterparts that the junta could relax the conditions of Suu Kyi's detention, a Japanese official said - but this possibility was earlier raised by the junta at her conviction.
The rights commission's launch was also marred by a row over the barring of rights activists from Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, the Philippines and Singapore, who were meant to meet ASEAN leaders at Hua Hin to discuss the new watchdog.
The Myanmar representative, Khin Ohmar, said their exclusion was an "extreme disappointment", but not a surprise.
"Now the trial is done and Aung San Suu Kyi is back in house arrest, ASEAN is coming back to avoiding the whole Burma issue again," she added.
Khin Ohmar said ASEAN was prevented from applying any real pressure on the military regime because of its long-standing policy of non-interference in members' internal affairs.
"As long as they have that they will not be able to solve the Burma problem", she added.
Myanmar's ruling generals did allow Suu Kyi two meetings with a minister this month after she wrote a letter to junta chief Than Shwe offering suggestions for getting Western sanctions against Myanmar lifted.
The move coincided with a recent shift in US policy to re-engage the isolated regime, after decades of hostility.
"These are positive developments and I think Myanmar authorities have promised their commitment to the... roadmap (to democracy)", Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya told reporters in Hua Hin.
The positions of ASEAN and the international community "remain firm", he said, reiterating the call for free and fair elections and the release of all political prisoners.
But ASEAN nations have been reluctant to admonish Myanmar when they face their own rights issues, especially in communist Vietnam and Laos but also in Thailand, which has been under fire for its treatment of ethnic minorities.
"The change in the US approach reduces the pressure on ASEAN to push for reform in Myanmar," said Bridget Welsh, a Southeast Asia expert at the Singapore Management University.
"ASEAN has usually had limited impact on reforms in Myanmar, and this pattern is likely to continue," she added.

Myanmar sees role for Suu Kyi in political process

2009-10-27T20:01:00.000+06:30

HUA HIN, Thailand (AFP) - Myanmar's prime minister told Asian leaders Sunday that the ruling junta sees a role for democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi in fostering reconciliation ahead of elections in 2010, Thailand said.
Premier Thein Sein's comments to a regional summit in Thailand came after the government allowed the detained Suu Kyi to have a rare meeting with a minister, and as the United States sought to engage the regime.
Nobel peace laureate Suu Kyi, 64, was placed under a further 18 months' house arrest in August, effectively barring her from taking part in elections promised by the ruling generals in 2010.
But Thein Sein "feels optimistic that she can also contribute to the process of national reconciliation," Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva quoted his Myanmar counterpart as saying at a briefing to Asian leaders.
He did not say if Thein Sein indicated whether this meant she would be allowed to take part in the electoral process.
Thein Sein was quoted by Japanese officials as saying on Saturday that the conditions of Suu Kyi's detention could be relaxed if she behaves.
She was convicted in August over an incident in which an American man swam to her lakeside house.
Abhisit said the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was pleased that the United States, which maintains strict sanctions against Myanmar, was now following its lead in trying to engage the junta.
"The one thing we all agreed on is that we welcome signs of further engagement in response to some developments in Myanmar. ASEAN has always argued that engagement is the right approach," Abhisit said.
Rights groups earlier criticised ASEAN for failing to mention Suu Kyi in their final summit declaration and for devoting just three lines to the military-ruled nation's political situation in the nine-page document.
But Abhisit denied that the group had softened its stance on Myanmar, having previously issued direct appeals for her release. The group has long faced western criticism for failing to take on the junta.
"It is not true. It was discussed. Everybody agrees that we should help Myanmar move forward in completing their roadmap so that it will lead to democracy," Abhisit said.
Myanmar announced a "roadmap to democracy" in 2008, starting with a controversial constitution that was forced through just days after a deadly cyclone and culminating in the elections.
"During the meeting (with Myanmar), there was a report that several detainees had been released. Everyone wants to see Myanmar's success," Abhisit said.
Indian premier Manmohan Singh, whose government makes few comments on its smaller neighbour, said that recent engagement between Washington and Myanmar's ruling generals was encouraging.
"There was an atmosphere of hope that the Myanmar leadership is moving towards normalising relations with the United States, that they are working towards national reconciliation," Singh told a news conference.
"That's what we all welcome, that the next year's elections should see the reconciliation of the various segments of Myanmar society."
A US delegation is set to make a rare "fact-finding" mission to Myanmar later this month after the administration of President Barack Obama announced recently that it would pursue engagement with the junta.
But it said that it would not look at changing sanctions until there had been progress on democracy.
Suu Kyi has been detained for 14 of the last 20 years since her party won a landslide victory in Myanmar's last democratic elections. The regime refused to recognise the victory.

Dec 21, 2012: End of the World?

2009-10-12T20:18:00.002+06:30

Next apocalypse? Mayan year 2012 stirs doomsayers

By MARK STEVENSON,Associated Press Writer - Sunday, October 11
MEXICO CITY – Apolinario Chile Pixtun is tired of being bombarded with frantic questions about the Mayan calendar supposedly "running out" on Dec. 21, 2012. After all, it's not the end of the world.
Or is it?
Definitely not, the Mayan Indian elder insists. "I came back from England last year and, man, they had me fed up with this stuff."
It can only get worse for him. Next month Hollywood's "2012" opens in cinemas, featuring earthquakes, meteor showers and a tsunami dumping an aircraft carrier on the White House.
At Cornell University, Ann Martin, who runs the "Curious? Ask an Astronomer" Web site, says people are scared.
"It's too bad that we're getting e-mails from fourth-graders who are saying that they're too young to die," Martin said. "We had a mother of two young children who was afraid she wouldn't live to see them grow up."
Chile Pixtun, a Guatemalan, says the doomsday theories spring from Western, not Mayan ideas.
A significant time period for the Mayas does end on the date, and enthusiasts have found a series of astronomical alignments they say coincide in 2012, including one that happens roughly only once every 25,800 years.
But most archaeologists, astronomers and Maya say the only thing likely to hit Earth is a meteor shower of New Age philosophy, pop astronomy, Internet doomsday rumors and TV specials such as one on the History Channel which mixes "predictions" from Nostradamus and the Mayas and asks: "Is 2012 the year the cosmic clock finally winds down to zero days, zero hope?"
It may sound all too much like other doomsday scenarios of recent decades _ the 1987 Harmonic Convergence, the Jupiter Effect or "Planet X." But this one has some grains of archaeological basis.
One of them is Monument Six.
Found at an obscure ruin in southern Mexico during highway construction in the 1960s, the stone tablet almost didn't survive; the site was largely paved over and parts of the tablet were looted.
It's unique in that the remaining parts contain the equivalent of the date 2012. The inscription describes something that is supposed to occur in 2012 involving Bolon Yokte, a mysterious Mayan god associated with both war and creation.
However _ shades of Indiana Jones _ erosion and a crack in the stone make the end of the passage almost illegible.
Archaeologist Guillermo Bernal of Mexico's National Autonomous University interprets the last eroded glyphs as maybe saying, "He will descend from the sky."
Spooky, perhaps, but Bernal notes there are other inscriptions at Mayan sites for dates far beyond 2012 _ including one that roughly translates into the year 4772.
And anyway, Mayas in the drought-stricken Yucatan peninsula have bigger worries than 2012.
"If I went to some Mayan-speaking communities and asked people what is going to happen in 2012, they wouldn't have any idea," said Jose Huchim, a Yucatan Mayan archaeologist. "That the world is going to end? They wouldn't believe you. We have real concerns these days, like rain."
The Mayan civilization, which reached its height from 300 A.D. to 900 A.D., had a talent for astronomy
Its Long Count calendar begins in 3,114 B.C., marking time in roughly 394-year periods known as Baktuns. Thirteen was a significant, sacred number for the Mayas, and the 13th Baktun ends around Dec. 21, 2012.
"It's a special anniversary of creation," said David Stuart, a specialist in Mayan epigraphy at the University of Texas at Austin. "The Maya never said the world is going to end, they never said anything bad would happen necessarily, they're just recording this future anniversary on Monument Six."
Bernal suggests that apocalypse is "a very Western, Christian" concept projected onto the Maya, perhaps because Western myths are "exhausted."
If it were all mythology, perhaps it could be written off.
But some say the Maya knew another secret: the Earth's axis wobbles, slightly changing the alignment of the stars every year. Once every 25,800 years, the sun lines up with the center of our Milky Way galaxy on a winter solstice, the sun's lowest point in the horizon.
That will happen on Dec. 21, 2012, when the sun appears to rise in the same spot where the bright center of galaxy sets.
Another spooky coincidence?
"The question I would ask these guys is, so what?" says Phil Plait, an astronomer who runs the "Bad Astronomy" blog. He says the alignment doesn't fall precisely in 2012, and distant stars exert no force that could harm Earth.
"They're really super-duper trying to find anything astronomical they can to fit that date of 2012," Plait said.
But author John Major Jenkins says his two-decade study of Mayan ruins indicate the Maya were aware of the alignment and attached great importance to it.
"If we want to honor and respect how the Maya think about this, then we would say that the Maya viewed 2012, as all cycle endings, as a time of transformation and renewal," said Jenkins.
As the Internet gained popularity in the 1990s, so did word of the "fateful" date, and some began worrying about 2012 disasters the Mayas never dreamed of.
Author Lawrence Joseph says a peak in explosive storms on the surface of the sun could knock out North America's power grid for years, triggering food shortages, water scarcity _ a collapse of civilization. Solar peaks occur about every 11 years, but Joseph says there's evidence the 2012 peak could be "a lulu."
While pressing governments to install protection for power grids, Joseph counsels readers not to "use 2012 as an excuse to not live in a healthy, responsible fashion. I mean, don't let the credit cards go up."
Another History Channel program titled "Decoding the Past: Doomsday 2012: End of Days" says a galactic alignment or magnetic disturbances could somehow trigger a "pole shift."
"The entire mantle of the earth would shift in a matter of days, perhaps hours, changing the position of the north and south poles, causing worldwide disaster," a narrator proclaims. "Earthquakes would rock every continent, massive tsunamis would inundate coastal cities. It would be the ultimate planetary catastrophe."
The idea apparently originates with a 19th century Frenchman, Charles Etienne Brasseur de Bourbourg, a priest-turned-archaeologist who got it from his study of ancient Mayan and Aztec texts.
Scientists say that, at best, the poles might change location by one degree over a million years, with no sign that it would start in 2012.
While long discredited, Brasseur de Bourbourg proves one thing: Westerners have been trying for more than a century to pin doomsday scenarios on the Maya. And while fascinated by ancient lore, advocates seldom examine more recent experiences with apocalypse predictions.
"No one who's writing in now seems to remember that the last time we thought the world was going to end, it didn't," says Martin, the astronomy webmaster. "There doesn't seem to be a lot of memory that things were fine the last time around."

Suu Kyi lawyers hopeful for Myanmar appeal

2009-10-02T08:39:00.001+06:30

YANGON: Lawyers for Myanmar opposition icon Aung San Suu Kyi said on Thursday that they were "hoping for the best" as they braced for a court ruling on the Nobel laureate's appeal against her extended house arrest.

Judges are set to announce on Friday whether they will uphold the pro-democracy leader's conviction over an incident in which an American man swam uninvited to her house, earning her an extra 18 months in detention.

"Of course we are hoping for the best," said Nyan Win, her lawyer and spokesman for her National League for Democracy (NLD) party.

"We have prepared what we need. The result will depend on the court and we are hoping for the immediate release of Daw Suu," he told AFP. Daw is a term of respect in Myanmar.

The military-ruled country faces intense international pressure to free the 64-year-old Suu Kyi, especially from the United States, which Wednesday held the highest-level talks with Myanmar in nearly a decade.

The Obama administration's decision to re-engage with Myanmar comes after years of stalemate proved unproductive but Washington has warned against lifting sanctions until the junta moves on democracy.

"Lifting or easing sanctions at the outset of a dialogue without meaningful progress on our concerns would be a mistake," said Kurt Campbell, the US assistant secretary of state for Asian affairs, who met the Myanmar delegation.

He said that the US side laid out clear demands for the regime, including freeing political prisoners such as Suu Kyi, who has spent most of the past two decades under house arrest.

Her NLD won the country's last elections in 1990, which the ruling generals refused to acknowledge, and her extended house arrest now keeps her off the scene for elections promised by the regime for 2010.

This has added to widespread criticism that the polls are a sham designed to legitimise the junta's grip on power.

In August a court at Yangon's notorious Insein prison originally sentenced her to three years' hard labour but junta chief Than Shwe reduced the sentence to 18 months house arrest.

Two female assistants living with Suu Kyi received the same sentence and have also appealed.

John Yettaw, the eccentric American who triggered the debacle by swimming to her lakeside mansion in May, was sentenced to seven years' hard labour but the regime freed him following a visit by US Senator Jim Webb.
By Channel News Asia

Posted: 01 October 2009 1828 hrs/(AFP/sc)

NS and benefits enjoyed by PRs top dialogue with PM Lee

2009-10-02T08:31:00.001+06:30

SINGAPORE : National service for new arrivals and ideas to help integrate permanent residents and new citizens with Singaporeans were some of the issues discussed with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong during his hour-long dialogue with women professionals on Thursday.

The dialogue was attended by representatives from 25 women's organisations.

Besides raising several issues, they also spoke of their experiences. These concerned Singapore's education system, national service for new citizens, and benefits enjoyed by citizens and permanent residents.

Mr Lee said: "I have to have a clear distinction between citizens, and non-citizens and between citizens who do NS and citizens who have not done NS. And that is what we have tried to do. That is why every few years we have a RECORD Committee, and we have to make a clearer distinction between the citizens and the PRs.

"When it comes to education fees, we have widened the difference between citizens and PRs and we will continue to widen (it). Similarly healthcare, in our hospitals, PRs pay significantly more than citizens in all classes of wards, and that also gradually we will widen.

"And then between the PRs and the foreigners, we have another clear differentiation in treatment. So I cannot make it completely flat because intrinsically it is not comparable.

"But I can redress some of this sense of 'not quite fair', and we can do more of these measures. But I cannot stop people bringing the people in, and unfortunately I cannot do away with NS."

Some mothers suggested that national service be broken up, instead of two years at a go.

Mr Lee responded: "It is better to have the two years as one block and compact it. From the SAF point of view, it is better because two years as one block, I am genuinely making full use of the soldier... train, go on course, become a specialist or officer, posted to a unit, train to operate a unit and become a proper operational which can actually deploy and fight and then ORD. If I do it three months here, six months there, I am just pretending to have a battalion."

Mr Lee stressed that the challenges faced by Singapore - be it the economic crisis or population shortfall - cannot be solved by the government alone. All Singaporeans must unite to tackle them together. - CNA/ms
By S Ramesh, Channel NewsAsia Posted: 01 October 2009 2346 hrs

Ban stresses vital role of South-East Asian nations regarding Myanmar

2009-09-28T22:07:00.001+06:30

26 September 2009 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today stressed the important role of South-East Asian nations in encouraging Myanmar to do what is in the best interests of its people and of the wider region.
Addressing a gathering at UN Headquarters of the foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Mr. Ban said Myanmar has an opportunity to demonstrate to its people and to the international community its clear commitment to an inclusive political transition.
“It is an opportunity Myanmar should not miss,” Mr. Ban said, adding that ASEAN countries have an important role to play in this effort – first and foremost to ensure the well-being of the people of Myanmar, but also in the wider interest of peace and security in the region.
In a report released this week, Mr. Ban voiced disappointment and concern that meaningful steps have yet to be taken by the Myanmar Government following the recent visit by his Special Adviser Ibrahim Gambari, and called the house arrest of opposition leader and Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi “a serious setback to the prospects of genuine national reconciliation, democratic transition and the rule of law.”
He told ASEAN leaders that it is important that Myanmar responds to the concerns of the international community in a timely and concrete manner.
“The recent release of a number of political prisoners as part of the larger amnesty announced last week, while a step in the right direction, falls short of expectations,” he stated.
“Our collective interest is to find ways to encourage Myanmar to free Aung San Suu Kyi and all other political prisoners, start a genuine political dialogue and create conditions conducive to credible elections.”
In addition, he stated that next year’s election – the first in two decades – must be held in an inclusive and credible manner if they are to advance stability, democracy, reconciliation, national development and respect for human rights.
“The international community must send a strong, unified message,” he stated.
Mr. Ban made a similar call earlier in the week when he convened a meeting of the Group of Friends on Myanmar, comprising 14 countries and the European Union.
Participants at today’s meeting had a “productive, frank and wide-ranging exchange of views” on a range of issues of common concern, according to a joint press statement issued after the gathering.
“The meeting stressed the importance of nurturing an effective partnership between ASEAN and the UN that will help both organizations address effectively the challenges affecting Southeast Asia and the world.”

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Myanmar must act now to promote democracy or face years of instability – Ban

24 September 2009 – The time has come for Myanmar’s leaders to make “clear and fundamental choices” – release democracy leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and all other political prisoners and hold legitimate elections or else face generations of instability and poverty – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned today.
“It is up to them to choose how to respond to the aspirations of their people and to the expectations and encouragement of the international community,” he says in his latest report on the situation of human rights in Myanmar to the General Assembly. “I believe that this choice may determine the prospects for peace, democracy and prosperity for the coming generations.”
Mr. Ban voices disappointment and concern that meaningful steps have yet to be taken by the Myanmar Government following the recent visit by his Special Adviser Ibrahim Gambari, calling the house arrest of Ms. Suu Kyi “a serious setback to the prospects of genuine national reconciliation, democratic transition and the rule of law…
“The Government’s failure to release Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is a missed opportunity for Myanmar to signal its commitment to a new era of political openness,” he adds, laying out three immediate concerns that must be addressed to ensure the credibility of the political process, with elections scheduled for next year.
These are: the release of all political prisoners and their free participation in political life; the commencement of dialogue between the Government, the opposition and ethnic stakeholders; and the creation of conditions conducive to credible and legitimate elections.
“Now is the time for the Myanmar Government to address these concerns in order to ensure that the political process serves the interest of all of the people of Myanmar, in a way that is unifying rather than divisive and that is broadly acceptable to the international community,” he writes.
“In this regard, I expect that the Government will take the necessary steps consistent with its commitments to ensure that the elections are fully inclusive, participatory and transparent, and are prepared and conducted in accordance with international standards.”
He also calls on the Government, in cooperation with the international community, to move from ceasefire agreements with a majority of armed ethnic groups to durable peace.
“This requires the exercise by both sides of maximum flexibility in negotiations that must be responsive to their respective concerns and interests, including those on the future status of armed groups, addressing of local development needs and curtailment of criminal activities in border areas,” he says.
“Equally important to the prospects of durable peace and democracy is the need to address the pressing humanitarian and socio-economic challenges facing the people of Myanmar,” he adds, calling for unlocking the country’s economic potential and harnessing Myanmar to rapid advances taking place elsewhere in the region to overcome poverty, raise living standards, promote social peace and pave the way for broader change.
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Myanmar: Ban calls for international action to help ensure credible elections

23 September 2009 – Myanmar’s friends and neighbours must “do more in the best interests of Myanmar and its people” by persuading the Government to hold credible elections next year, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today.
“We will work hard for democracy, national reconciliation and human rights in Myanmar,” Mr. Ban said as he convened a meeting of the Group of Friends on Myanmar, comprising 14 countries and one regional bloc.
“The year 2010 will be a critical year for Myanmar. The first planned election in 20 years must be held in an inclusive and credible manner to advance prospects for stability, democracy and national development,” he added in a statement read to the media by his Special Adviser, Ibrahim Gambari.
Mr. Ban cited three important aspects for action by the Friends. First, they should urge Myanmar to work with the UN to ensure an inclusive process of dialogue and create the necessary conditions for credible elections.
Second, they should uphold the UN role with regard to Myanmar’s immediate and long-term challenges since the Organization has invaluable experience in fostering national reconciliation, promoting respect for human rights, supporting sustainable development and helping countries make the transition to democracy.
Finally, they should signal the international community’s willingness to help the people of Myanmar address the political, humanitarian and development challenges they face.
As he did last week, Mr. Ban called the recent release of some political prisoners a step in the right direction, but one that did not go far enough. All political prisoners must be released, including democracy leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, he said.
The Group of Friends, founded in December 2007, represents a balanced range of views on Myanmar and was established to hold informal discussions and develop shared approaches to support UN efforts. Its members are Australia, China, the European Union, 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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SECURITY COUNCIL PRESS STATEMENT ON MYANMAR

The following Security Council press statement on Myanmar was read out today by Council President John Sawers ( United Kingdom):
The members of the Security Council reaffirm their statements of 11 October 2007, 2 May 2008 and 22 May 2009 on Myanmar, and reiterate the importance of the release of all political prisoners.
In this context, the members of the Security Council express serious concern at the conviction and sentencing of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and its political impact.
The members of the Security Council note the decision of the Government of Myanmar to reduce Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s sentence and urge the Government of Myanmar to take further measures to create the necessary conditions for a genuine dialogue with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and all concerned parties and ethnic groups in order to achieve an inclusive national reconciliation.
The members of the Security Council reiterate their support for the good offices role of the Secretary-General.
The members of the Security Council affirm their commitment to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Myanmar, and in that context, reiterate that the future of Myanmar lies in the hands of all of its people.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Secretary-General, in Statement to Media Following Meeting on Myanmar,Calls for Prisoners’ Release, Reconciliation, Human Rights

Following is UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s statement to the media on the high-level meeting of the Group of Friends on Myanmar, read by Ibrahim Gambari, Special Adviser to the Secretary-General, in New York today, 23 September:
Today I convened the second meeting of the Group of Friends on Myanmar at the level of Foreign Ministers. The high turnout demonstrates the strong collective interest of all the Friends in the future of Myanmar, and reaffirms the broad support for my good offices.
The year 2010 will be a critical year for Myanmar. The first planned election in 20 years must be held in an inclusive and credible manner to advance prospects for stability, democracy and national development.
As I said today in my address to the General Assembly, we will work hard for democracy, national reconciliation and human rights in Myanmar. The release of some political prisoners last week is a step in the right direction, but it falls short of our expectations. All political prisoners must be released -- including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.
Our meeting today has given the Group of Friends an opportunity to consolidate unity of purpose and action in three important respects, and I call on the Friends, especially Myanmar’s friends and neighbours, to do more in the best interests of Myanmar and its people.
First, to urge Myanmar to work with the United Nations to ensure an inclusive process of dialogue and create the necessary conditions for credible elections consistent with the five-point agenda that the Group of Friends has endorsed, and with the proposals that I left with Myanmar’s senior leadership during my recent visit.
Second, to uphold the role of the United Nations with regard to Myanmar’s immediate and long-term challenges. The United Nations has invaluable experience in fostering national reconciliation, promoting respect for human rights, supporting sustainable development and helping countries make the transition to democracy.
Third, to signal the international community’s willingness to help the people of Myanmar address the political, humanitarian and development challenges they face, in parallel and with equal attention, and in particular to advance the Millennium Development Goals. But, Myanmar needs to help us to help them.
I am encouraged by the constructive spirit of the discussions so far. I welcome the willingness of the Friends to make joint efforts towards national reconciliation, a democratic transition and genuine respect for human rights in Myanmar.

Secretary Clinton's remarks on engagement with Burma while at the United Nations

2009-09-25T12:12:00.006+06:30

Remarks At United Nations After P-5+1 Meeting

Hillary Rodham Clinton
Secretary of StateUnited Nations
New York City
September 23, 2009
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SECRETARY CLINTON: (In progress) to give you brief readouts on two meetings this afternoon. The first was a meeting I participated in called by Security Council Ban Ki-moon about the policies and approaches toward Burma. A number of countries were represented, and I reported that our policy process, which has been underway for some time now, is almost complete, and I gave a preview.
I had announced this review back in February, and the major messages are as follows. First, the basic objectives are not changed. We want credible, democratic reform; a government that respond to the needs of the Burmese people; immediate, unconditional release of political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi; serious dialogue with the opposition and minority ethnic groups. We believe that sanctions remain important as part of our policy, but by themselves, they have not produced the results that had been hoped for on behalf of the people of Burma.
Engagement versus sanctions is a false choice, in our opinion. So going forward, we will be employing both of those tools, pursuing our same goals. And to help achieve democratic reform, we will be engaging directly with Burmese authorities. This is a policy that has broad consensus across our government, and there will be more to report as we go forward.
Secondly, most of you were here when Foreign Minister Miliband read out the statement that has been negotiated among the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, China, Russia, and of course, the European Union as represented by the High Representative Javier Solana. Let me just make four points about this statement, which I hope you will get a copy of and peruse, because I think it’s a very powerful statement that expresses these specific agreements.
First, the group remains united in pressing Iran to comply with its international obligations on its nuclear program, and it has serious concerns about Iran’s lack of compliance to date, particularly on the unanswered questions about the possible military dimensions of Iran’s nuclear program.
Secondly, the countries remain united in support of a dual track of engagement and pressure as a means of persuading Iran to comply with its obligations.
Thirdly, the ministers expressed a clear expectation that Iran should come to the talks on October 1st, ready to engage in serious and substantive discussions with a sense of urgency and a review of the practical steps that need to be taken on the nuclear issue, and that we will decide next steps on the basis of the meeting’s outcome.
And finally, we are committed to this dual-track policy. No one should underestimate our intention to follow through on either or both of these tracks. It depends on Iran’s response. And some of you have heard me say this numerous times – this process is now firmly up to Iran. It is Iran’s choice as to how they choose to proceed. And we are looking to the meeting on October 1st to get a clear indication of their intentions.
So those are the two meetings that I know have particular interest to a number of you, that I wanted to give you quick readout.

Mark

QUESTION: Secretary Clinton, did you discuss in any detail enhanced sanctions, and did you sound out the Chinese and the Russians as to their willingness to join, if necessary, the first part if your dual strategy doesn’t produce results?
SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, Mark, we have agreed among us that we’re not going to go beyond what is in this statement, because the statement represents a very significant level of agreement among all of us. It clearly references the dual-track policy, and it clearly references consequences. So I think that we will now await the results of the October 1st meeting and take stock at that time.

QUESTION: Madame Secretary, how exactly --
SECRETARY CLINTON: Matt – Matt?

QUESTION: How exactly do you intend to engage directly with the Burmese authorities?
SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, again, we will be offering more specifics about that. But I wanted to preview this policy for our partners in the Friends of Burma group, and also to signal that the United States will be moving in a direction of both engagement and continued sanctions, to be sure that the Burmese leaders – some of whom, as you know, are in our country or about to come to our country – understand where we are in our policy review process.

Yeah.

QUESTION: Secretary Clinton, what specifically do you need to see from Iran after this talk for them to avoid consequences? When you say you want a clear indication of their intentions, what do you need to see?
SECRETARY CLINTON: Well, I will speak for myself and for our Administration. As we have said consistently, we want to see a serious effort by Iran to discuss the nuclear issue, which we are putting on the table, as we have made clear in this statement. And we are also looking for Iran to recognize that they are at a turning point. They have a choice to make. We have consistently said that Iran is entitled to peaceful nuclear power. They are not entitled to a nuclear weapons program. They do have rights, which we are willing to respect and recognize. But they also have responsibilities.
And as we set forth in this agreement, the serious concerns of the international community have been set out in five separate Security Council resolutions. So it is time for Iran to engage with the international community – this process is set up to do that – and for them to accept the opinion of the international community as referenced in this statement that they need to make clear their nuclear program, invite the IAEA in to see everything, and work toward peaceful nuclear energy that can be verified and completely accepted by the international community. Thank you.

Myanmar's Suu Kyi said to welcome new US approach

2009-09-25T11:51:00.003+06:30

YANGON, Myanmar – Detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi welcomes a U.S. initiative to step up contacts with Myanmar's military government, a spokesman for her political party said Thursday.

Nyan Win, spokesman for the National League for Democracy party, said Suu Kyi agreed with plans announced by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton for the Obama administration to engage in direct high-level talks with the junta as part of efforts to promote democracy in Myanmar.

Washington has for many years taken a hard-line approach toward the junta, applying political and economic sanctions while trying to keep it isolated.

Nyan Win spoke after he met Suu Kyi at her home, where she is serving her latest term of house arrest. He and other lawyers are involved in her appeal of her 18-month sentence for violating the terms of her previous house arrest by allowing an uninvited American visitor in May to stay for two days.

Suu Kyi "said she accepted the idea of engagement by the U.S. administration. She said she has always espoused engagement, however, (she) suggested that engagement had to be done with both sides _ the government as well as the democratic forces," Nyan Win said.

Clinton announced the new U.S. approach Wednesday at the United Nations after meeting with counterparts from a number of countries that are trying to convince Myanmar's authoritarian regime to reform, allow dissent and release thousands of political prisoners, including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Suu Kyi.

Clinton said U.S. sanctions against members of Myanmar's leadership would remain in place but that those measures would now be accompanied by outreach. For months, Clinton had lamented that the sanctions alone were having little impact.

"We believe that sanctions remain important as part of our policy, but by themselves they have not produced the results that had been hoped for on behalf of the people of Burma," Clinton told reporters, using the country's traditional name.

"Engagement versus sanctions is a false choice in our opinion," she said. "So, going forward we will be employing both of those tools, pursuing our same goals."

AP - Friday, September 25

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Burmese Opposition Supports New U.S. Approach
By SETH MYDANS
Published: September 24, 2009

BANGKOK — The decision by the United States to engage the ruling junta in Myanmar drew the endorsement Thursday of the nation’s most high-profile dissident, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, but analysts cautioned that the change would not have a significant effect in the near term.

On Wednesday, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said that the United States would pursue engagement but maintain the economic sanctions that have been put in place to punish the government of Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, for its human rights abuses and restrictions on political freedom.

“Engagement versus sanctions is a false choice in our opinion,” she said. “So, going forward we will be employing both of these tools, pursuing our same goals. To help achieve democratic reform we will be engaging directly with Burmese authorities.”

The shift in policy was the result of a review that was first announced by Mrs. Clinton in February when she said neither the sanctions imposed by Western countries nor the “constructive engagement” of Myanmar’s Asian neighbors had succeeded in affecting the government’s behavior.

It represented the most significant modification of administration policy toward Myanmar in decades. But analysts said it was likely to face opposition in Congress, where many members strongly support an unflinchingly antagonistic approach to the junta.

Analysts and activists said the new policy entailed a difficult balancing act between carrot and stick, and they said they did not expect it to produce significant effects in the near term.

Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi has been a long-time advocate of sanctions but has also tried to engage the ruling generals in a dialogue and has said any future government would have to include the military.

“She said she accepts direct engagement but it must be on both sides,” said her lawyer, U Nyan Win, after visiting her Thursday. By both sides, he said she meant both the government and the opposition.

Speaking at the United Nations, Mrs. Clinton did not provide specifics and some analysts voiced concern that the new policy would be only cosmetic, while others said it could undermine the pressure that the West has brought to bear on the ruling generals.

“I think we have to keep our short-term expectations fairly low,” said Thant Myint-U, a Burmese historian who is the author of “The River of Lost Footsteps.”

“I don’t think talking to the generals will influence much their plans for next year’s elections or will lead anytime soon to dialogue between them and Aung San Suu Kyi,” he said. “But we have to look at the long-term picture, and the more engagement there is from the outside world, especially from the United States, the more quickly we’re going to see the country move in the right direction.”

Debbie Stothard, coordinator of Altsean-Burma, a regional human rights group, said many Burmese activists were concerned that the junta could take the new policy as a tacit endorsement of its current behavior, giving it “a honeymoon in terms of moving forward with reform.”

“It’s a very tough balancing act if you want to moderate between a big carrot and a big stick,” she said. “It requires a lot of mindfulness and a lot of finesse, and, speaking to the generals, a clear sense of principle.”

She pointed to the failed policy of engagement by Myanmar’s neighbors in Southeast Asia who, in their desire to maintain a working relationship, had allowed the junta to “deliver token gestures instead of genuine and irreversible reform.” Over the years, the junta has carried out a policy of promises and gestures toward the outside world while maintaining a strong grip over its own people, crushing pro-democracy demonstrations by force.

The generals have not been moved by ever-tighter economic restrictions and diplomatic pressure, which have been undermined by continuing trade from Myanmar’s neighbors and have pushed the country into a closer embrace with its biggest trade partner, China.

The generals clung to power in 1990 after losing a parliamentary election to the National League for Democracy and since then have jailed thousands of political opponents, including the monks and their supporters who demonstrated in the streets two years ago. Washington imposed additional sanctions at that time, to little evident effect.

Most recently, the regime convicted Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi of violating the terms of her house arrest after an American intruder spent two days at her villa. She was sentenced to house arrest for the next 18 months, a period that will ensure that she is out of the public eye during a parliamentary election scheduled for early next year.

Josef Silverstein, an expert on Myanmar who is an emeritus professor at Rutgers University, has grown skeptical over the years as he has watched the world try one futile policy after another to influence the junta.

“How are you going to engage and whom are you going to engage and, if they can say it, what subject are they going to take up first?” he said.

He added: “We are not going to go to war with them. And if we are not going to war with them, we haven’t figured out a peaceful means, not only to get them to listen to us but to get them to respond in a positive way.”

News of 23 SEP 2009

2009-09-23T10:08:00.005+06:30

General Debate of the 64th session of the UN General Assembly

We will work hard for freedom and democracy in Myanmar. The release of somepolitical prisoners last week falls short of what is needed. We call on Myanmar's friends and neighbors to do more, much more, in the best interests of Myanmar and its people. If next year's elections are to be accepted as credible and inclusive, all political prisoners must be released — including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.

By Ban Ki-Moon , Secretary General of the United Nations (New York,23 SEP 2009)

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Suu Kyi party seeks meeting of detained leaders

YANGON : The party of Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi said on Tuesday it had urged the chief of the ruling military government to allow a meeting between its detained leaders so they can discuss upcoming elections.
The Nobel Laureate's National League for Democracy (NLD) has not yet said if it will participate in next year's polls, which critics say are a sham designed to legitimise the military regime's iron grip on power.
"We wrote a letter to Senior General Than Shwe on September 16," party spokesman Nyan Win told AFP, referring to the reclusive military leader.
"The main thing we urged for is permission for a get-together of the detained party leaders Aung San Suu Kyi, Tin Oo (vice chairman) and our central executive committee members," he said.
He said they wanted to lay down NLD policy for the future and make "important decisions according to the recent political situation".
"I cannot say whether they will decide for (participating in) the forthcoming elections or not. But the elections matter will be included in their consideration at the meeting," Nyan Win said.
The NLD won a landslide victory in the country's last elections, in 1990, but was never allowed to govern, and pro-democracy icon Suu Kyi has been in detention for 14 of the past 20 years.
She had her house arrest extended by 18 months in August, when she was found guilty of breaching her detention rules after an American man swam uninvited to her home in May.
Her sentence, which keeps her off the scene for the elections, provoked international outrage and she has appealed against the ruling, with a verdict due in October.
Tin Oo has also been under house arrest since 2003.
Myanmar's military government announced that it would hold the elections in 2010 after approving a controversial constitution in May 2008, just days after devastating Cyclone Nargis hit the country.
The military government released a batch of political activists earlier this month as part of an amnesty for more than 7,000 prisoners, but UN chief Ban Ki-moon has
pressed the government to free those still being held, including Suu Kyi. AFP/ms
Posted: 22 September 2009 1711 hrs

Singapore banks reject Myanmar junta cash report

2009-09-11T19:08:00.001+06:30

SINGAPORE (AFP) - - Two Singapore banks have rejected a report by a US-based rights group that said Myanmar's ruling junta deposited billions of dollars with them.

DBS Group Holdings and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp (OCBC) said in separate statements late Thursday that there was no truth in the report by EarthRights International (ERI).
"ERI's report is categorically untrue and without basis," a DBS spokesperson said in the brief statement.
A spokesperson from OCBC also rejected the report.
EarthRights International had said in a report released Thursday that energy giants Total and Chevron were propping up the Myanmar military regime with a gas project that allowed the junta to stash almost five billion US dollars in the two Singaporean banks.
The report said the junta had kept the revenues earned from the project off the national budget and stashed almost all of the money offshore with DBS and OCBC.
"Total and Chevron's Yadana gas project has generated 4.83 billion dollars for the Burmese regime," one of the reports said, adding that the figures for the period 2000-2008 were the first ever detailed account of the revenues.
"The military elite are hiding billions of dollars of the peoples' revenue in Singapore while the country needlessly suffers under the lowest social spending in Asia," said Matthew Smith, a principal author of the report.
French energy giant Total has also rejected the report, saying the document was riddled with errors and false interpretations.
AFP - Friday, September 11

090909

2009-09-09T15:43:00.006+06:30

Suu Kyi's party hopeful for her release
Posted: 09 September 2009 0053 hrs

YANGON : The party of Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi said on Tuesday it was hopeful that she would be unconditionally released after a court agreed to hear an appeal against her recent conviction. Lawyers for the Nobel laureate and the country's ruling military are due to present legal arguments on September 18, after Suu Kyi challenged last month's guilty verdict for sheltering an American man who swam to her lakeside home. The regime has ordered her to spend another 18 months under house arrest, softening the original sentence of three years' hard labour. But the order still keeps her off the political scene during elections scheduled for 2010. "There could be changes as the court has accepted our appeal," said Nyan Win, her lawyer and a spokesman for her National League for Democracy (NLD), referring to Yangon divisional court's decision on Friday to hear the case. "We are hoping for her unconditional release, which is also what we wanted," he told AFP. "We will meet with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi this week after we get permission from the authorities. We need to get last instructions from her for the final arguments," Nyan Win said. Daw is a term of respect in Burmese. The appeal would focus on the fact that a 1974 constitution under which the 64-year-old was originally detained had been superseded by a new constitution approved last year, her lawyers have said. The guilty verdict sparked international outrage and the imposition of further sanctions against Myanmar's powerful generals, who have already kept Suu Kyi locked up for 14 of the past 20 years. Suu Kyi insisted on her innocence during the trial held at Yangon's notorious Insein Prison, saying that she allowed US military veteran John Yettaw to stay for two nights at her home because he was ill. Yettaw was sentenced to seven years' hard labour for the stunt in early May, but was freed after a visit by US senator Jim Webb last month on what the regime said were compassionate grounds because of health problems. The move raised expectations of a possible thaw in the tense relations between Myanmar and the United States, which has reviewed its policies towards the country under the administration of President Barack Obama. But in a sign of the lingering suspicions, the government mouthpiece New Light of Myanmar newspaper noted Tuesday that US and British diplomats visited the NLD's Yangon headquarters 28 times in August alone. The diplomats met with party leaders "and presented small and big envelopes to them," the state-run daily said. "As National League for Democracy has kept in contact with embassies of the United States of America and Britain and has carried out their instructions, people have criticised the party for its actions and have kept a watchful eye on it," it added. - AFP /ls

An 'Election' Burma's People Don't Need

By U Win Tin

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Much attention has been focused on Sen. James Webb's recent visit to my country and his meetings with Senior Gen. Than Shwe and incarcerated Nobel Peace Prize recipient Aung San Suu Kyi. I understand Webb's desire to seek a meaningful dialogue with the Burmese ruling authorities. Unfortunately, his efforts have been damaging to our democracy movement and focus on the wrong issue -- the potential for an "election" that Webb wants us to consider participating in next year as part of a long-term political strategy. But the showcase election planned by the military regime makes a mockery of the freedom sought by our people and would make military dictatorship permanent.

In our last free election, the Burmese people rejected military rule in a landslide, awarding our National League for Democracy party more than 80 percent of the seats in parliament. Yet the military has refused to allow the NLD to form a government. In the 19 years since that election, Burmese democracy activists have faced imprisonment, intimidation, torture and death as they have peacefully voiced demands for justice, individual and ethnic rights, and a democratic form of government that is representative of all Burma's people.

While never ending our struggle for democracy, the NLD has continually sought to engage the regime and open a dialogue -- based on peace and mutual respect -- that could address Burma's critical political as well as social problems. Make no mistake -- these two issues are linked. Burma was once the rice bowl of Asia. Today, because of the regime's destructive economic policies and its use of oppression to maintain military rule, Burma is a shattered, poverty-stricken country.
The regime is seeking to place a veneer of legitimacy on itself through showcase "elections" and claiming that "disciplined democracy" will be instituted next year. Yet in May 2008, just days after a massive cyclone devastated Burma and killed more than 100,000 people, the regime used a farcical process to claim that 93 percent of voters chose to adopt a constitution that permanently enshrines military rule and prevents those with undefined "foreign ties" from holding public office -- catch-all provisions that would bar Suu Kyi and democracy activists from seeking office.
Some international observers view next year's planned elections as an opportunity. But under the circumstances imposed by the military's constitution, the election will be a sham. We will not sacrifice the democratic principles for which many millions of Burmese have marched, been arrested, been tortured and died to participate in a process that holds no hope whatsoever for bringing freedom to our country.
The demands of the NLD are reasonable. In April we issued another declaration to encourage engagement with the military that called for the release of all political prisoners, a full review of the constitution, reopening of all NLD offices and the right to freely organize. The regime's answer is the continued jailing of Suu Kyi and 2,000 other activists, massive military offensives against ethnic groups and the enforcement of rules to gag democracy.
How can the international community play a meaningful role? First, officials such as Webb should stop fear-mongering about China. His language about containing China, and working with Burma's regime to do so, is based on an outdated and unrealistic thesis. Suu Kyi rejected such notions by informing Webb that "we will not deal with anyone with fear and insecurity. We will deal with anyone, China, America, India, equally and friendly. As we can't choose our neighbors, we understand that we need to have a good relationship with China." Second, the NLD encourages other countries and international organizations to engage with Burma's military leaders to persuade them to engage with us and Burma's ethnic groups. The United States and many other nations have imposed sanctions on Burma. That is their decision and in keeping with their justified solidarity with the democratic values that we all hold so dear. If the regime genuinely engages with the NLD and ethnic representatives, releases political prisoners, ceases attacks against ethnic minorities and takes additional steps to build a true democratic state, these sanctions will be repealed at the right time.
In the meantime, let no one doubt our resolve. The NLD is a reflection of Burmese society. We will not be cowed or coerced into participating in a fatally flawed political process that robs the Burmese people of the freedom for which we struggle. We stand ready to engage, but we are more than willing to continue our struggle for the democratic values that so many have given their lives and their freedom to achieve.

U Win Tin is a member of the Central Executive Committee and a founder of Burma's National League for Democracy party. He was a political prisoner from 1989 to 2008.

温泉卵の作り方(お湯 )

2009-08-16T10:01:00.003+06:30

1.卵を冷凍庫で凍らせておく。前の晩から入れとけばいいでしょう。
2.鍋に、湯を沸かします。分量に気をつけてください。
卵１個のときは、１リットル
卵２個のときは、１．２リットル
卵３個のときは、１．８リットル
卵４個のときは、２リットル
3.湯が沸いたら、火を止めて湯に卵を入れ、ふたをします。
4.２０分間放置した後、すぐ冷水で十分に冷やします。
出来上がりです。お湯の分量と、放置時間を、やはり調整してくださいね。

温泉卵の作り方
半熟卵の作り方
温泉卵の作り方

ビルマ民主化

2009-08-15T23:23:00.002+06:30

ビルマは破産などしていない、国民の貧困の原因は軍政の政策　ショーン・ターネル

ビルマ（ミャンマー）の経済発展は東南アジア諸国のなかで最も遅れ、国民は貧困にあえいでいる。その一方で、軍事政権は大量の天然ガスを中国など周辺諸国に輸出している。ではこの外貨収入は何に使われているのか。ビルマ・エコノミック・ウォッチの編集者で、オーストラリアのマッカリー大学助教授（経済学）のショーン・ターネル氏は、「ビルマは破産などしていない　国民の貧困の原因は軍政の政策」と題する米紙ウォールストリート・ジャーナルへの寄稿（日本語訳・ビルマ情報ネットワーク掲載）で、その実態を明らかにしている。（ベリタ編集部）　　ビルマは破産などしていない　国民の貧困の原因は軍政の政策　ショーン・ターネル（寄稿文）　ウォールストリート・ジャーナル　2009年8月6日　　　民主化指導者アウンサンスーチー氏の裁判が長引く中、ビルマ（ミャンマー）が再び注目を浴び、軍事政権といかに付き合うべきかも議論された。クリントン米国務長官は、軍政の気を引くために開発援助を与える可能性を示唆したほどだ。一般にビルマは貧しいと思われている。しかし実際には軍政は見かけほど貧しくはない。　　　ビルマはアジア太平洋地域の主要な天然ガス産出国として台頭している。現在、その大半はタイに輸出されているが、新しく開発中のガス田からは、大量のガスがまもなく中国に輸出される。天然ガスの価格上昇と需要拡大で、ビルマのガス輸出額は飛躍的に伸び、今年度の貿易黒字は約25億ドルにも上る見込みだ。ビルマの外貨準備高も年度末には50億ドル相当に達するだろう。　　　だがこうした歳入はビルマの国家会計にはほとんどまったく反映されない。理由は簡単だ。ビルマ政府は、天然ガスによる米ドルベースの収入を「公定」の為替レート（6チャット＝1米ドル）で政府会計に計上しているからだ。公定レートは実勢レートの200倍近くであるから、公定レートを使うと天然ガスによる収入は実際の200分の1になる。このため公式には、天然ガスによる収入は歳入全体の1％にも満たないことになってしまう。だが実勢レートでこの収入を換算すれば、ビルマの歳入全体の倍以上になり、ビルマの財政赤字はほとんど解消することになる。　　　このような会計操作の背景には、ビルマの外貨収入を政府会計から「隔離」することによって、その外貨収入を軍政や政商が自由に使えるようにしたいという思惑があるのだろう。会計操作を可能にしているのは国営の外国貿易銀行と、軍政に協力的な海外のいくつかの銀行だ。　　　こうして作った財源で潤った軍政は、気の遠くなるような規模の買い物を立て続けに行っている。たとえば新しい行政首都ネピドー（「王の座」の意）の建設や、ロシアや（未確認だが）北朝鮮からの核技術導入費用などだ。なお核技術の使用目的はわかっていない。　　　こうした政府の振る舞いはビルマでは珍しくない。軍政は1962年にクーデターで政権を握って以来一貫して、国内生産物がもたらす収入を独占し、基本的な市場機構を解体していった。ビルマには実効的な物権は存在しないし、法の支配も弱い。マクロ経済政策の立案も気まぐれで予測不可能な上、不正確な情報に基づいている。軍政の歳出は歳入をはるかに上回り、それを糊塗するための貨幣増刷により、インフレが生じている。主要な企業の大半は軍が所有しており、トランスペアレンシー・インターナショナルの指標によれば、国の腐敗度は世界で下から2番目である。　　　ビルマの失墜は見るに耐えないほどだ。かつては東南アジアでもっとも豊かな国の一つで、世界一の米の輸出国だった。それが今日、国民の食糧さえ事欠きかねない状況だ。1950年のビルマの国内総生産（GDP）は、隣国タイとほぼ同じだった。両国は宗教・文化・物理的諸条件の類似性が高いにもかかわらず、今日ではタイのGDPはビルマの7倍である。　　　ビルマの国民は貧しいが、国民を弾圧する政権の側は違う。この等式を変えることこそが、ビルマの経済発展につながる本当のカギとなるのであり、国際社会の努力が向けられるべきなのだ。

2009年08月14日10時49分掲載

Burma Isn’t Broke: The junta, not a lack of resources, is to blame for the people’s poverty,” The Wall Street Journal, August 6, 2009　

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Burma Isn’t Broke
The junta, not a lack of resources, is to blame for the people’s poverty.

By SEAN TURNELL
link
The drawn-out show trial of democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi has once again focused attention on Burma and sparked discussion on how to engage the regime. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton recently suggested development aid as a carrot to coax the generals to talk. But contrary to popular belief, the junta isn’t as poor as it claims to be.
Burma has emerged as a major regional supplier of natural gas in Asia-Pacific. At present, most of this gas is sold to Thailand, but new fields will shortly provide for vast sales to China. Rising gas prices and increasing demand have caused the value of Burma’s gas exports to soar, driving a projected balance-of-payments surplus for this fiscal year of around $2.5 billion. Burma’s international reserves will rise to over $5 billion-worth by the end of the year.
These revenues make next to no impact on the country’s official fiscal accounts, however. The reason is simple: Burma’s U.S. dollar gas earnings are recorded in the government’s published accounts at the local currency’s “official” exchange rate of around six kyat to a dollar. This rate overvalues the currency by nearly 200 times its market value and undervalues the local-currency value of Burma’s gas earnings by an equivalent amount. Recorded at the official rate, Burma’s gas earnings translate into less than 1% of budget receipts. By contrast, if the same gas earnings are recorded at the market exchange rate, their contribution would more than double total state receipts, and largely eliminate Burma’s fiscal deficit.
The motivation for this sleight of hand is probably to “quarantine” Burma’s foreign exchange earnings from the country’s public accounts, thereby making them available to the regime and its cronies. This accounting is facilitated by Burma’s state-owned Foreign Trade Bank and some willing offshore banks.
Flush with these funds, Burma’s military rulers have embarked upon a spending binge of epic proportions, including indulging themselves in the creation of a new administrative capital named Naypyidaw, or “abode of kings.” They are also buying nuclear technologies of uncertain use from Russia and possibly from North Korea.
This kind of behavior is par for the course in Burma. The military junta took power in a 1962 coup and has consistently expropriated the country’s output while dismantling its basic market institutions. There are no effective property rights in Burma, and the rule of law is weak. Macroeconomic policy making is capricious, unpredictable and ill-informed. The regime spends greatly in excess of its revenue and resorts to the printing presses to finance its spending, creating inflation. Most of Burma’s prominent corporations are owned by the military, and the country is judged by Transparency International as the second most corrupt in the world.
Burma’s fall from grace has been incredible to watch. The country was once one of the richest in Southeast Asia and the world’s largest rice exporter. Today, Burma can barely feed itself. In 1950, the per capita of GDP of Burma and its neighbor, Thailand, were virtually identical. Today, Thailand’s GDP is seven times that of its former peer, despite very similar religious, cultural and physical endowments.
The people of Burma are poor, but the regime that oppresses them is not. Changing this equation is the true key to economic development in Burma, and the outcome to which the efforts of the rest of the world should be directed.
Mr. Turnell is the editor of Burma Economic Watch and an associate professor in economics at Macquarie University in Sydney.

Deploring Myanmar verdict, Ban urges immediate release of Aung San Suu Kyi

2009-08-12T20:30:00.001+06:30

11 August 2009 – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today deplored the decision by a Myanmar court to sentence pro-democracy leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi to an additional 18 months of house arrest, and urged that she be released immediately.
“The Secretary-General is deeply disappointed by the verdict in respect of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi,” his spokesperson said in a statement. “The Secretary-General strongly deplores this decision.”
Ms. Suu Kyi, who leads the National League for Democracy (NLD), was reportedly convicted of violating state security laws after an uninvited United States citizen gained access to her home. She has already spent over 12 years under house arrest.
Mr. Ban urged the Government to “immediately and unconditionally” release Ms. Suu Kyi and to engage with her without delay as an essential partner in the process of national dialogue and reconciliation.
“Unless she and all other political prisoners in Myanmar are released and allowed to participate in free and fair elections, the credibility of the political process will remain in doubt,” today's statement added.
The Government had refused Mr. Ban's request to meet with Ms. Suu Kyi when he visited the South-East Asian nation in July, losing what the UN chief called a “unique opportunity” to show its commitment to a new era of political openness.
He added that allowing the visit “would have been an important symbol of the Government's willingness to embark on the kind of meaningful engagement that will be essential if the elections in 2010 are to be seen as credible.”
The sentence was also condemned by four independent UN human rights experts. “This was a baseless trial convened by the Government of Myanmar to exclude Aung San Suu Kyi from the 2010 elections,” they stated in a joint news release in Geneva, in which they reiterated their call for her immediate and unconditional release.
“The court was not independent, judicial guarantees were disregarded, and charges under the State Protection Act were unsubstantive. As we have stated time and again, this trial should never have occurred in the first place.”
They also cited the fact that a lawyer from the defence team had his license revoked and that Ms. Suu Kyi was allowed to consult with defence lawyers only sporadically. Also, only two of the five witnesses called by the defence were permitted to testify.
The experts, who are unpaid, work in an independent capacity and report to the UN Human Rights Council, are: Vice Chairperson-Rapporteur of the Working Group on arbitrary detention El Hadji Malick Sow; Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression Frank La Rue Lewy; Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders Margaret Sekaggya; and Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar Tomas Ojea Quintana.
Security Council members discussed the situation during consultations this afternoon. Ambassador John Sawers of the United Kingdom, which holds the rotating Council presidency this month, said consultations were likely to resume tomorrow.

Opening remarks at press encounter following meeting with Group of Friends on Myanmar

Statement attributable to the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General on Myanmar

2009-08-12T20:29:00.000+06:30

The Secretary-General is deeply disappointed by the verdict in respect of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. The Secretary-General strongly deplores this decision. The Secretary-General urges the Government to immediately and unconditionally release Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and to engage with her without delay as an essential partner in the process of national dialogue and reconciliation. Unless she and all other political prisoners in Myanmar are released and allowed to participate in free and fair elections, the credibility of the political process will remain in doubt.

New York, 11 August 2009

東海地震

2009-08-12T08:36:00.004+06:30

「３０年内にＭ８級」８７％の確率…東海地震
想定される東海地震は静岡県中西部を震源域とする巨大地震で、政府の地震調査委員会は、規模はマグニチュード８程度、今後３０年以内に発生する確率は８７％と予測している。

　日本列島の太平洋側では、フィリピン海プレートが陸側のプレートの下に潜り込んでいる。その動きによって地下にひずみがたまり、限界を超えるとプレートがずれて津波を伴う巨大地震が起きる。こうした地震は駿河湾沖から四国沖にかけて１００～１５０年周期で繰り返し発生しており、東から、地域別に「東海地震」「東南海地震」「南海地震」と呼ばれる。

　東海地域では、１７０７年（宝永地震、マグニチュード８・６）、１８５４年（安政東海地震、同８・４）に大地震が起きた。だが、２０世紀以降、東南海、南海では、それぞれ１９４４年、４６年に発生しているのに、東海地域では発生していない。

　政府は東海地震対策として、７８年に大規模地震対策特別措置法を制定し、同地域での防災対策を強化。静岡・愛知両県の計２１か所に地下の岩盤のひずみを測る「体積ひずみ計」を設置した。地震発生前に起こるとされる「前兆すべり（プレスリップ）」をとらえるためだが、今回の地震前に、予兆は検出されなかった。

　気象庁地震予知情報課の横田崇課長は１１日午前の記者会見で「想定している東海地震とは違うタイプだったため、前兆現象が起きなかったのだろう。前兆をとらえて警戒宣言を出すという東海地震の監視体制は、今後も変えない」と語った。

最終更新:8月11日12時49分
by YOMIURI ONLINE(読売新聞)
東海地震に関する基礎知識
東海地震に関連する情報第３号について

Obama leads world condemnation of Suu Kyi verdict

2009-08-12T08:34:00.001+06:30

US President Barack Obama led global calls on Tuesday for the immediate release of Aung San Suu Kyi and the European Union pledged new sanctions after her house arrest was extended.

Obama called for Suu Kyi's "immediate, unconditional release" and denounced the "unjust decision" after she was ordered to remain under house arrest for a further 18 months, beyond elections due in 2010.

A court convicted the Nobel peace laureate at the end of a marathon trial for breaching the terms of her detention, following a bizarre incident in which an American man swam uninvited to her lakeside home in May.

The United Nations Security Council adjourned an emergency session without agreement on a statement to condemn the verdict, but UN chief Ban Ki-moon said earlier he was "deeply disappointed" by the move.

Ban called on Myanmar's ruling generals "to immediately and unconditionally release" the democracy icon.

Incensed by the verdict, 14 fellow Nobel peace laureates wrote an open letter to the UN Security Council denouncing the verdict.

The sentence, which effectively ruled out any possibility of the 64-year-old standing in polls next year, provoked immediate calls for tougher sanctions against the military rulers who prevented Suu Kyi from taking power after her party won elections in 1990.

The European Union's Swedish presidency said the 27-nation bloc "will respond with additional targeted measures against those responsible for the verdict," a move hailed by French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

"The sentence is an obstacle to the introduction of political and democratic reform in Myanmar," Merkel said.

This "political trial," Sarkozy's office said, "is solely aimed at preventing Aung San Suu Kyi from waging her struggle for a democratic and free Burma."

Gordon Brown, prime minister of Myanmar's former colonial power Britain, said he was "saddened and angry" at the "sham trial."

The verdict was "extremely regrettable," said Japanese Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone.

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said Suu Kyi's continued detention was "unjustified and unacceptable on all accounts."

Former Czech President Vaclav Havel, who was imprisoned during the communist era, said the house arrest extension was "scandalous" and reflected the "political cynicism of one of the toughest totalitarian regimes in the world."

Criticism was more muted closer to home, but Malaysian Foreign Minister Anifah Aman said Suu Kyi should be released immediately and called for an urgent meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) regional bloc.

"They don't want her to be out before the election," said Philippine Foreign Secretary Alberto Romulo, while an Indonesian foreign ministry spokesman said Jakarta was "very disappointed" by the verdict.

Myanmar's giant neighbour India refrained from denouncing the outcome, but foreign ministry spokesman Vishnu Prakash said New Delhi "has emphasised to the government of Myanmar the need to expedite the political reform and national reconciliation process."

Prakash called for a "broad-based" process that includes various ethnic groups and said that in this context, "the issue of the release of political prisoners will no doubt receive due attention."

There was no reaction out of Myanmar's two other powerful regional neighbours, China and Thailand, which have, along with India, been accused in the past of helping to prop up the junta in Yangon.

Irene Khan, secretary general of London-based Amnesty International, described the verdict as "shameful" and "nothing more than legal and political theatre."

New York-based Human Rights Watch called the conviction a "reprehensible abuse of power" and urged regional allies to press for her release.

AFP/de
by channelnewsasia.com

Myanmar faces more sanctions over verdict on Suu Kyi

2009-08-12T08:31:00.002+06:30

Criticism poured in for Myanmar Tuesday over the sentencing of Aung San Suu Kyi as the EU promised more sanctions and one of its key regional partners called for the democracy icon's immediate release.

After the authorities ordered the Nobel laureate to remain under house arrest for a further 18 months following a trial in Yangon, protesters rallied outside Myanmar's diplomatic missions to denounce the outcome.

The sentence, which effectively ruled out any possibility of the 64-year-old standing in polls next year, provoked immediate calls for tougher sanctions against the military rulers who prevented Suu Kyi from taking power after her party won elections in 1990.

"The EU will respond with additional targeted measures against those responsible for the verdict," the European Union's Swedish presidency said in a statement on behalf of the 27-nation bloc.

President of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso said Suu Kyi's continued detention was "unjustified and unacceptable on all accounts".

An EU source said a "written procedure" had been launched to beef up the sanctions which could come into force on Friday if there was no opposition from the bloc's members.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy said any new EU sanctions had to hit the junta where it hurt.

The new measures "must in particular target the resources that they directly profit from, in the wood and ruby sector," said a statement from his office.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also denounced the sentence.

"She should not have been tried and she should not have been convicted," she said, speaking during a visit to eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

Gordon Brown, prime minister of the former colonial power Britain, said he was "saddened and angry" at the verdict in the "sham trial".

"This is a purely political sentence designed to prevent her from taking part in the regime's planned elections next year," he said.

The British premier said it was time for an arms embargo against the junta by the UN Security Council, whose permanent members include Myanmar's traditional ally China.

Criticism was more muted closer to home but Malaysia's foreign minister said Suu Kyi should be released immediately and called for an urgent meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) regional bloc.

"We were hoping that the junta will release her unconditionally and will hold an election to enable Suu Kyi and other political detainees to participate in that election," Anifah Aman told AFP.

Philippine Foreign Secretary Alberto Romulo made a similar point: "They don't want her to be out before the election," he told reporters.

And a third ASEAN member Indonesia said it was "very disappointed" by the verdict in a statement from a foreign ministry spokesman.

In July, ASEAN rejected US calls to expel Myanmar from the group and opposed sanctions on Myanmar.

There was no reaction from China, Thailand and India, Myanmar's three powerful regional neighbours. In the past they have been accused of helping to prop up the junta in Yangon.

Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said the verdict was a "new low" for the military government in Myanmar.

"The Australian government is convinced that Aung San Suu Kyi was tried on spurious charges and not granted a fair hearing," he said. Sanctions would continue "until we see genuine political change".

In Japan, about 100 activists, many of them refugees from Myanmar, protested outside Myanmar's embassy, waving portraits of the Nobel laureate and challenging the ambassador to explain the ruling.

Irene Khan, secretary general of London-based Amnesty International, described the verdict as "shameful" and "nothing more than legal and political theatre".

New York-based Human Rights Watch called the conviction a "reprehensible abuse of power" by the junta and urged regional allies to press for her release.
by channelnewsasia.com
AFP/ir (Posted: 11 August 2009 1923 hrs)

Myanmar's Suu Kyi gets 18 months under house arrest

2009-08-12T08:30:00.003+06:30

Myanmar democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi was Tuesday ordered to stay under house arrest for 18 months after a prison court convicted the Nobel laureate at the end of her internationally condemned trial.

The court at Yangon's Insein jail sentenced her to three years imprisonment and hard labour for breaching the terms of her house arrest following an incident in which a US man swam to her lakeside residence in May.

The head of the ruling military governmtn signed a special order commuting the sentence and allowing the frail 64-year-old to serve out just a year and half under house arrest, Home Affairs Minister General Maung Oo said outside the court.

The ruling means that she will still be in detention during multi-party elections promised by the iron-fisted military government next year. Her party won a landslide victory in the country's last democratic polls.

American John Yettaw, 54, the man who swam to her house, was sentenced to a total of seven years hard labour and imprisonment on three separate charges but it was not clear if the terms would run consecutively or concurrently.

Security forces sealed off the area around the notorious jail and the government allowed diplomats from all foreign embassies in Yangon and local journalists to attend the hearing, officials and witnesses said.

Suu Kyi has already been in detention for 14 of the past 20 years since Myanmar's ruling military government refused to recognise her National League for Democracy's landslide victory in elections in 1990.

It was not clear whether she would serve the new period in detention at her crumbling lakeside villa or at another location.

State-run newspapers carried a commentary Tuesday that warned Suu Kyi's supporters not to cause trouble and told foreign countries not to meddle in Myanmar's affairs.

"The people who favour democracy do not want to see riots and protests that can harm their goal," said the version in the government mouthpiece New Light of Myanmar.

"Nevertheless, some persons who do not want national interest are resorting to a variety of means to disrupt the national goal, taking full advantage of the trial against Daw Aung San Suu Kyi."

Critics had accused the military government of using the charges as an excuse to keep her locked up for the elections due in 2010, particularly as they were lodged just days before the latest period of her house arrest was due to expire.

The military has ruled the impoverished nation with an iron fist since 1962.

Her lawyers argued during the trial that she could not be held responsible for Yettaw's actions, and that the legal framework for her initial detention at her house was under a 1975 law that has been superseded by later constitutions.

Suu Kyi told the court that she did not report the American to the authorities for humanitarian reasons. The military government says she gave food, shelter and assistance to Yettaw, who has diabetes.

Yettaw, a Mormon whose teenage son died two years ago in a motorbike crash, had testified that he swam to her house after receiving a "message from God" that he must protect Suu Kyi against a terrorist plot to assassinate her.

Yettaw got three years for breaching security laws, three years for immigration violations and one year for a municipal charge of illegal swimming.

The case has drawn international outrage at Myanmar's military government, which is already under stiff US and European Union sanctions. Diplomats said that the EU was set to impose further restrictions in the case of a guilty verdict.

But the reclusive Than Shwe has resisted all calls for Suu Kyi's release, and he snubbed UN chief Ban Ki-moon's requests to visit the opposition leader in jail when Ban visited Myanmar in July.

Ban is set to meet a 14-nation advisory group on Myanmar that includes the United States, Britain, Russia and China next month on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.

Democratic US Senator Jim Webb is due to visit Myanmar later this month -- the first US lawmaker to visit the country in more than 10 years.
by channelnewsasia.com
AFP/yb (Posted: 11 August 2009 1454 hrs)

Myanmar's Suu Kyi braces for trial verdict

2009-08-12T08:26:00.002+06:30

Myanmar democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi could finally hear the verdict in her internationally condemned trial Tuesday after a series of delays to a case in which she faces a possible five-year jail term.

Officials said the release from hospital late Monday of a US man who sparked the trial by swimming to the Nobel peace laureate's house meant the judgment may now go ahead as scheduled at Yangon's notorious Insein Prison.

Diplomats and Myanmar authorities had warned that American John Yettaw's treatment for a series of epileptic fits could cause the latest in a series of postponements in the nearly three-month-old trial.

Diplomats from all foreign embassies in Yangon were permitted to attend Tuesday's scheduled hearing, official sources said. Most of the trial has been held behind closed doors.

Security forces sealed off the area around the prison, witnesses said.

But the status of Tuesday's hearing was still unclear, despite the confirmation by an official source that Yettaw had been discharged from hospital after a week of treatment.

"We have not got any information about Mr Yettaw. If he appears in court today the verdict could be reached. It will start at 10:00 am (0330 GMT), then we will know," Suu Kyi's lawyer Nyan Win told AFP.

"What I am hoping for is the unconditional release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi," he added, using a traditional Burmese term of respect.

The 64-year-old Suu Kyi is charged with breaching the conditions of her house arrest following the bizarre incident in which Yettaw, a former US military veteran, swam across a lake to reach her heavily secured villa in May.

The court is widely expected to hand down a guilty verdict but the sentence remains a matter of speculation, with many diplomats in Yangon predicting that she will be jailed or placed under house arrest for up to three years.

She has already been in detention for 14 of the past 20 years since Myanmar's ruling military government refused to recognise her National League for Democracy's landslide victory in elections in 1990.

Seven senior members of the NLD applied to the authorities on Monday for permission to attend the verdict hearing, but had not yet received an answer, said May Win Myint, one of the NLD members involved.

"Daw Aung San Suu Kyi should be freed according to the law. We are also preparing for the worst," she said at the party's headquarters in Yangon.

The case is proving to be a major headache for Myanmar's powerful generals, caught between growing international pressure to free Suu Kyi and what critics say is their determination to keep her locked up during elections due in 2010.

UN chief Ban Ki-moon last week pressed Myanmar to free political prisoners, including Suu Kyi, after convening a meeting of a 14-nation advisory group on Myanmar that includes the United States, Britain, Russia and China.

A visit to Myanmar later this week by Democratic US Senator Jim Webb - the first US lawmaker to visit the country in more than 10 years - could further complicate the timing of the verdict, diplomats said.

Suu Kyi's lawyers have hailed the repeated delays as a sign that the judges have "serious legal problems" - but analysts say the real decisions are being made by reclusive military leader Than Shwe from Myanmar’s capital Naypyidaw.

Diplomats say that Myanmar is listening closely to its allies China and Russia, which have so far steered clear of saying that the trial is an internal matter, thereby granting the military government a free hand.

State media at the weekend warned "power-craving" opportunists to abandon their plans of "trying to incite riots under the pretext of Daw Suu Kyi's case".

Yettaw's illness, after what the national police chief said was a campaign of religiously inspired fasting since his arrest in May, made fresh delays possible in the case.

Myanmar officials said at the weekend that Yettaw's health was improving and that he was "eating well".

The Mormon also faces up to five years in jail on charges of abetting Suu Kyi's breach of security laws, immigration violations and a municipal charge of illegal swimming.
by channelnewsasia.com
AFP/yb (Posted: 11 August 2009 1102 hrs)

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi – my inspiration to be my father’s daughter

2009-08-09T01:31:00.005+06:30

Jewel Philemon
“As my father’s daughter, I felt I had duty to get involved in this struggle,” said Daw Aung San Suu Kyi when she made up her mind to give up her idyllic life at Oxford University and rededicate it to a non-violent movement to bring democracy to the Burmese people.
Who is Aung San Suu Kyi? I hardly knew her and would have not known the woman, her life and those that have inspired her, as well as those that she has inspired, if not for the “Free Aung San Suu Kyi” event organised by MARUAH and held at the Speakers’ Corner in June. Why had over 400 people (both Singaporeans and Burmese) turned up to urge the government of Singapore to mediate with the Burmese junta for the release of this woman? I had to find out!
Except for the fact that she was born as the third child of national leader Bogyoke Aung San and for Daw Khin Kyi, she led pretty much an ordinary life, up until 1988. What happened in 1988? What or who could inspire a 43 year old woman to leave the relative comfort of London and Oxford to move to Rangoon? Forsaking the security of her family to live a life of sacrifice for the freedom of her people?
As I read and re-read her biography, I realised that her transformation was not sudden but gradual. The inspiration for Aung San Suu Kyi’s transformation to be the leader of Burma happened way back in 1977, when she started the research to write the biography of her father while raising her children in Oxford.
Justin Wintle writes in his biography, “Perfect Hostage”, “Suu Kyi doesn’t remember Aung San well, but does recall him picking her up every day when he came home from work. Her most treasured possession was a doll he brought back from London for her in 1947, following his talks with the British government. After his death, her mother made sure that his children had a moral image of him as an example to follow. Suu Kyi’s first ambition was to become a soldier. “Everyone referred to my father as bogyoke, which means ‘general’,” she wrote, “so I wanted to be a general too because I thought this was the best way to serve one’s country, just like my father had done.””
But the research on her father, which culminated in the publication of the biography of her father, Aung San, made her realise the hero her father was. And his life compelled her to be her father’s daughter, follow in his foot-steps and rise up to be the servant-leader that her people trust and revere. She only knew her father almost four decades after her birth.
Just like Aung San Suu Kyi, my father is my inspiration. I thought how privileged I was that I did not have to wait 40 years to know my father. I have seen my him reaching out and touching the lives of many people. I had often wondered, “What is his motivation?” He has always been fearless in speaking out for the disadvantaged, and yet being so full of love, faith and hope. I have always known him to be ‘cool’ even in the most trying of situations. He is truly my hero, my inspiration.
Just as Auns San Suu Kyi became the inspiration for the pro-democracy movement in Burma, which started on 8.8.88, by giving a speech at Shwe Dagon Pagoda and staked her claim as her father’s daughter to bring freedom to Burma, she has also further inspired me, a sixteen-year-old, to be my “father’s daughter”.

The Online Citizen.com's Link
Saturday, 8 August 2009, 10:16 am

George Yeo’s Meet the People Session at McDonald’s

2009-08-09T01:28:00.000+06:30

The focus then shifted to ASEAN and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. Mr. George Yeo said “it is very sad that she has been imprisoned for so many years.” But he was quick to add that we must not oversimplify the problems in Burma. He felt that as the country was very complex in its make up with the Burmese making up only about 50% of the total population of the entire population of Burma, only the military could hold the entire country together. He added that it was the military that had ruled Burma from independence and that it was Aung San Suu Kyi’s father, General Aung San, that was the original military man that had ruled the country since independence.
He said that it was also General Aung San created the rule that a Burmese who married a foreigner cannot rule the country and that now Aung San Suu Kyi is married to a foreigner. Mr Yeo said it was because her husband is a foreigner and from the ‘western world’ that the ‘western world’ has come to support Aung San Suu Kyi and have failed to recognise the rule of the military. The problem in Burma is actually “a very deep family dispute”, he said, and the road to democracy for Burma is long and that the elections next year is but a small step towards that goal.
He said that ASEAN has worked well in keeping the peace in this region, in subjecting the member nations to peer pressure and in trying to forge economic integration.

Sunday, 2 August 2009, 1:47 am

SM Goh's comment

2009-08-07T16:12:00.002+06:30

Mr Goh also touched on the situation in Myanmar. He said while pro—democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi is seen by the West as the solution, she is also "part of the problem" because she believes she is the government.

Mr Goh noted that Ms Suu Kyi’s political party needs to seek a fresh mandate in the 2010 general election.

Channel NewsAsia - Friday, August 7

First high-speed Internet services expected in first half of 2010

2009-08-06T07:51:00.001+06:30

Download and watch high-resolution movies within minutes, or get diagnosed by your doctor in the comfort of your own home - all these could soon take place as the first high-speed internet services are expected to be available in the first half of next year.

Some 32,000 houses in Singapore will soon be getting installations of fibre-to-the-home in the next few months, which will enable them to get ready for the ultra-high speed broadband network, capable of delivering speeds of one Gigabit per second and above.

Residents in several areas islandwide will soon get letters informing them of the free installation, which takes about four hours to complete. These areas include Jurong, Pasir Ris, Geylang and Upper East Coast.

Residents have five weeks to respond to the letter. Homeowners who decline the initial offer will have to pay for future requests, at S$220 for a high-rise apartment and S$450 for a landed property.

The company in charge, OpenNet, plans to cover at least 15 per cent of all homes and commercial buildings by the end of this year.

Tiong Onn Seng, director of Projects & Operations at OpenNet, said: "At this moment, we have about close to 1,200 workers out in the field who do the outside plant cabling. We're also sourcing for other contractors, training up as many workers in the field as far as possible."

To meet demand, it plans to add another 100 workers in the next four months.

The cables that connect the homes to the central offices will have to pass through manholes. As a security measure, the manholes can only be opened by licensed contractors with special keys.

The Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore has also met some 700 retail service providers to discuss the kind of high-speed internet services they can provide.

Lui Tuck Yew, Acting Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts, said: "There's great potential for some of these small companies to come together and think through the services they can offer.

"So whether it's IPTV, whether its gaming, high speed games, whether it's more educational programmes, whether it's telemedicine, I think the possibilities are immense."

About 95 per cent of all homes and other buildings are expected to be high-speed broadband ready by 2012.

By Valarie Tan, Channel NewsAsia Posted: 05 August 2009 1528 hrs

Facts on Foods That Speed Up Metabolism

2009-07-22T14:05:00.003+06:30

Revving Your Engine
Metabolism is a process that breaks down carbohydrates, fats and proteins in the food you eat to make the energy your body needs to build and maintain itself. Proper nutrition keeps your body functioning well, but the right foods can also speed up your metabolism. The amount of calories you eat, your genes and the amount of calories that you burn while eating and exercising determine your metabolism. The body breaks down carbohydrates, then fats and finally proteins. The food that you eat makes up 5 to 10 percent of your metabolic rate.

Stocking Your Cupboard
Foods that speed up your metabolism are vegetables, fruits, lean proteins, fish, healthy fats and whole grains. Look for these vegetables when shopping: spinach, broccoli, carrots, asparagus, cabbage, beet roots, assorted beans and dark, leafy vegetables. Any type of fresh fruit is good for you, but try eating blueberries, melons, apples, citrus fruits and tomatoes. Skinless poultry and eggs are excellent sources of protein. The omega 3 fatty acids in fish boost your metabolism by burning up to 400 calories a day. The enzymes in your body that burn fat increase while those that store fat decrease. If you are not a fish eater, take omega 3 capsules that contain a minimum of 300 milligrams total of EPA and DHA. Eat healthy fats like nuts and peanut butter. Whole grains found in brown rice, cereal, barley and oats speed up your metabolism as well. Consume foods with B vitamins, magnesium and fiber to increase your metabolism.

Too Much of a Good Thing
Portion control is still important. Just because these foods are good for you doesn't mean that you can go overboard. Eat several small meals and healthy snacks throughout the day. A good habit to start is reading the Nutrition Facts Labels on food containers. These labels tell what a single serving size is and the nutrients found in that serving.

Losing While You Eat
Know the caloric content of the foods that you eat. Nutrition Facts Labels tell the number of calories in a serving also. There are negative calorie foods that burn more calories during digestion than the foods contain themselves. For most people, a healthy number of calories per day is between 2,200 and 2,800 depending on their sex and size.

Balance It Out
Eating the right foods to speed up your metabolism and supplement your diet by incorporating other good habits. Drink plenty of water during the day. Six to eight glasses is a good goal. Exercise at least three times a week. Use free weights to help stimulate your metabolism by building muscle tone.

About this Author

Lynn Harris is a freelance writer who has worked in health insurance and benefits for two and a half years. She writes on topics such as health issues concerning expectant mothers and young children, in addition to fitness and exercise. Lynn keeps herself fit by incorporating healthy eating, various forms of cardio and strength training into her daily life.

Kids' lower IQ scores linked to prenatal pollution

2009-07-22T09:04:00.003+06:30

Researchers for the first time have linked air pollution exposure before birth with lower IQ scores in childhood, bolstering evidence that smog may harm the developing brain.
The results are in a study of 249 children of New York City women who wore backpack air monitors for 48 hours during the last few months of pregnancy. They lived in mostly low-income neighborhoods in northern Manhattan and the South Bronx. They had varying levels of exposure to typical kinds of urban air pollution, mostly from car, bus and truck exhaust.

At age 5, before starting school, the children were given IQ tests. Those exposed to the most pollution before birth scored on average four to five points lower than children with less exposure.

That's a big enough difference that it could affect children's performance in school, said Frederica Perera, the study's lead author and director of the Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health.

Dr. Michael Msall, a University of Chicago pediatrician not involved in the research, said the study doesn't mean that children living in congested cities "aren't going to learn to read and write and spell."

But it does suggest that you don't have to live right next door to a belching factory to face pollution health risks, and that there may be more dangers from typical urban air pollution than previously thought, he said.

"We are learning more and more about low-dose exposure and how things we take for granted may not be a free ride," he said.

While future research is needed to confirm the new results, the findings suggest exposure to air pollution before birth could have the same harmful effects on the developing brain as exposure to lead, said Patrick Breysse, an environmental health specialist at Johns Hopkins' school of public health.

And along with other environmental harms and disadvantages low-income children are exposed to, it could help explain why they often do worse academically than children from wealthier families, Breysse said.

"It's a profound observation," he said. "This paper is going to open a lot of eyes."

The study in the August edition of Pediatrics was released Monday.

In earlier research, involving some of the same children and others, Perera linked prenatal exposure to air pollution with genetic abnormalities at birth that could increase risks for cancer; smaller newborn head size and reduced birth weight. Her research team also has linked it with developmental delays at age 3 and with children's asthma.

The researchers studied pollutants that can cross the placenta and are known scientifically as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Main sources include vehicle exhaust and factory emissions. Tobacco smoke is another source, but mothers in the study were nonsmokers.

A total of 140 study children, 56 percent, were in the high exposure group. That means their mothers likely lived close to heavily congested streets, bus depots and other typical sources of city air pollution; the researchers are still examining data to confirm that, Perera said. The mothers were black or Dominican-American; the results likely apply to other groups, researchers said.

The researchers took into account other factors that could influence IQ, including secondhand smoke exposure, the home learning environment and air pollution exposure after birth, and still found a strong influence from prenatal exposure, Perera said.

Dr. Robert Geller, an Emory University pediatrician and toxicologist, said the study can't completely rule out that pollution exposure during early childhood might have contributed. He also noted fewer mothers in the high exposure group had graduated from high school. While that might also have contributed to the high-dose children's lower IQ scores, the study still provides compelling evidence implicating prenatal pollution exposure that should prompt additional studies, Geller said.

The researchers said they plan to continuing monitoring and testing the children to learn whether school performance is affected and if there are any additional long-term effects.

Pediatrics

OPEN YOUR EYES AND MIND

ミャンマーの動き

スー・チーさん投票せず…ミャンマー総選挙

「スー・チーさん１３日解放」ミャンマー軍政筋

Singapore PM: We won't let in too many foreigners

Welcome foreign talent with an open heart: PM Lee

Peninsula Plaza hit by blackout

＜地デジ＞アナログ放送の画面上下が黒い帯に ７月５日から

S'poreans must not create an image that new immigrants are not welcomed: SM Goh

Prices of HDB resale flats continue to rise

Railway beyond China

Britain brands elections unfair

S'pore's stand on Burma polls

S'pore says not too late for all parties to reach compromise in Myanmar polls

Suu Kyi's opposition party to boycott Myanmar elections

Govt to explore ways to increase use of CPF for buying HDB flats

UN rights council says Myanmar election laws not inclusive

Myanmar to hold polls in October or November: key official

ミャンマー、公正な選挙を

UN Security Council mulls Myanmar's electoral laws

Malaysian viewers to get Channel NewsAsia via newly-launched IPTV service

Three arms of cyber security being introduced

SE Asia's first Universal Studios opens in Singapore

NUS, NTU & SMU raise fees to better reflect citizenship privileges

Singapore experiences employment growth in 2009 despite recession

Singapore Institute of Technology to set 6 campuses across the island

MOM announces measures to strengthen management of foreign workers in S'pore

Census of Singapore population to be carried out

Myanmar's News

Pay hike for social workers from 1 April

More marks for Mother Tongue orals at "N", "O" & "A" levels from 2012

from Channel News Asia

SG_Home_Breaking-News

Fewer new PRs and citizens

Sentosa Theme Park opens March 18

Announcement from MM Embassy(Singapore)

Weekly Eleven News(No.21,Vol.5,March 3 Wednseday 2010)

Fair to highlight varsity options in Japan

Levy for mid-level skilled foreign workers to reach peak in July 2012

MOM releases details on foreign worker levy changes

S$2.5b to be spent over 5 years on workers training

HDB committed to build sufficient, affordable housing for citizens

Foreign worker levies to go up from July

アップルiPadが嫌な8つのこと

Notes for 26 Jan 2010

Remarks by the President Obama at the Acceptance of the Nobel Peace Prize

Vitamin D deficiency linked to strokes, heart disease

Remarks by Secretary Clinton at APEC Singapore Conference

Remarks by President Barack Obama at Suntory Hall

Myanmar diplomat: Junta may free Suu Kyi for poll

Obama to Meet With Prime Minister of Myanmar

Obama to meet Myanmar, other ASEAN leaders

Japan urges Myanmar to release Suu Kyi before poll

Japan to increase aid to Myanmar

新生児の泣き声にも“訛り”

Suu Kyi in landmark talks

U.S. delegation holds talks with Myanmar's Suu Kyi

US envoy meets Suu Kyi

US envoy in landmark talks with Suu Kyi

US envoys set for rare Myanmar visit

US envoys in Myanmar 'unlikely to meet junta chief'

US envoy to meet Aung San Suu Kyi on Myanmar trip

A glimmer of light for Myanmar

Asia lets Myanmar off hook over Suu Kyi again

Myanmar sees role for Suu Kyi in political process

Dec 21, 2012: End of the World?

Suu Kyi lawyers hopeful for Myanmar appeal

NS and benefits enjoyed by PRs top dialogue with PM Lee

Ban stresses vital role of South-East Asian nations regarding Myanmar

Secretary Clinton's remarks on engagement with Burma while at the United Nations

Myanmar's Suu Kyi said to welcome new US approach

News of 23 SEP 2009

Singapore banks reject Myanmar junta cash report

090909

温泉卵の作り方(お湯 )

ビルマ民主化

Deploring Myanmar verdict, Ban urges immediate release of Aung San Suu Kyi

Statement attributable to the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General on Myanmar

東海地震

Obama leads world condemnation of Suu Kyi verdict

＜地デジ＞アナログ放送の画面上下が黒い帯に　７月５日から