Burma Related News - Sep 01, 2006.
- From: "Tin Kyi" <maungtinkyi@xxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 1 Sep 2006 17:02:43 +0000 (UTC)
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BURMA RELATED NEWS - SEPTEMBER 01, 2006.
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HEADLINES
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AFP - US pushing to have Myanmar issue put on formal Security Council
agenda
CNA - Desperate HIV sufferers in Myanmar turn to weeds for cure
PD - Myanmar strives to be polio-free nation
Jakarta Post - China urged to act responsibly
Travel Daily News - Intrepid continues suspension on trips to Myanmar
News-Medical-Net - U.N. High Commissioner calls on Thai Government to
address spread of HIV in refugee camps
Bernama - UN: Early Resolution Of Myanmar Refugee, Migrant Labour Issues
DVB News - Su Su Nway wins 2006 John Humphrey Freedom Award
DVB News - Reaction of Su Su Nway on hearing news that she is to be
given John Humphrey Award
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US pushing to have Myanmar issue put on formal Security Council agenda
12 minutes ago
UNITED NATIONS (AFP) - US Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton
said that he had taken steps to have the issue of Myanmar formally put
on the agenda of the Security Council this month because of the policies
of the Yangon government.
Bolton told reporters that he has written to the incoming president of
the council, Greek Ambassador Adamantios Vassilakis, asking that the
subject of Myanmar be added to the agenda of the council "because of the
threat to international peace and security that the policies and actions
of the Burmese regime have caused."
He recalled that the Security Council heard two briefings from UN Under
Secretary General for Political Affairs Ibrahim Gambari last December
and in June on human rights abuses and political repression in the
military-ruled southeast Asian country.
But the issue was not formally put on the agenda because of opposition
of some countries, notably China.
Bolton said the United States was now confident of getting enough
support within the council to prevail in a vote to have the issue
formally entered on the agenda.
Washington, a vocal critic of Myanmar, has led efforts to pressure the
ruling junta in Yangon to change its repressive policies, including the
house arrest of democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi.
Myanmar in May extended her detention for another year, defying an
international outcry demanding the release of the 61-year-old Nobel
peace laureate.
The United States also imposed economic sanctions on Myanmar, while the
State Department branded the military-run nation as among the world's
worst offenders for trafficking in humans. The military has ruled
Myanmar since 1962.
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Channel NewsAsia
Desperate HIV sufferers in Myanmar turn to weeds for cure
Posted: 01 September 2006 1211 hrs
YANGON : Aung Naing, a doctor of traditional medicine in Myanmar,
believes in the healing power of herbs, but even he is worried about
claims being made in the media about a common weed in the military-run
nation.
Easily available on sidewalks in the capital Yangon, the flowering Siam
weed has been widely reported in local media as a cure for HIV -- a
tempting claim in one of the world's poorest countries where few can
afford expensive life-prolonging anti-retroviral drugs.
"What I have learned from one HIV-infected person was that she recovered
by using this herb," reads a typical dispatch in the Yangon Times
weekly.
"It can be taken twice daily. Even in seriously ill people, it can show
results after two weeks. The virus decreases. If they continue taking
it, the effect will be greater. The person who is taking this herb is
still alive," the story said.
But 58-year-old Aung Naing, who has been interested in traditional
medicine since high school, worries that people are clinging to a false
hope and may not take HIV seriously if they believe it can so easily be
cured.
"If the media exaggerates without any official research, it could be bad
for the people," he says. "It will be dangerous if people do not pay
attention to this epidemic because of this herb."
The weed is a kind of herb known in Latin as Eupatorium Odoratum. A
spoonful of juice squeezed from the plant that people in Myanmar call
"bi sat" is believed not only to cure HIV, but cancer too.
Although Aung Naing urges caution in the seemingly miraculous powers of
Siam weed, he remains a great believer in the power of nature, and urges
more research.
"These herbs seem not to have much toxicity. People can test it, it's
cheap. and easily available on sidewalks. I don't want to object to it,
but I also cannot guarantee it," he says, adding that traditionally,
Siam weed was used to treat muscles aches and fever.
Myanmar, formally known as Burma, was once one of the richest and most
promising nations in Southeast Asia. But more than five decades of
military rule have left the country impoverished and isolated.
According to official figures from Myanmar's Health Ministry, about
338,000 people in the country of 47 million are infected with HIV, with
some 30,000 receiving anti-retroviral (ARV) treatment supplied by the
government.
However the United Nations says that Myanmar suffers one of the worst
AIDS epidemics in Asia, with up to two percent of adults, or 550,000
people, living with HIV.
The monthly cost for the ARV medicine -- about 50,000 kyats (45 US
dollars) -- is not affordable for most infected people in this
impoverished country, and many have to rely on traditional medicine.
Than Htut, deputy director of Myanmar's occupational health division,
says that the government would never sanction the use of an untested
medicine like Siam weed.
"There might be some exceptional and individual success cases in curing
HIV with traditional medicine," he says. "But the ministry never accepts
the individual blind evidence and never gives permission for producing
HIV medicine."
Medical doctors also warn against giving to much attention to an
unproven, potentially dangerous drug.
"I do not want to comment or say it is not good, but we need time to
know the exact effectiveness of this herb," a medical doctor who does
not wish to be named tells AFP.
"The media should not highlight it, because our traditional medicine has
not had much scientific research. It is so early," he says.
As for people living with HIV, any offer of hope for a better life is
treated with cautious optimism.
"Some say it encourages and improves the body's resistance. I believe if
we take care of our behaviour, our resistance will go up," a 46-year-old
HIV sufferer, who has been on ARVs for two years, tells AFP.
"But if the information is wrong, the situation could be worse ... For
me, I will try and stay healthy under the instruction of my medical
doctor."
Traditional doctors are not making any promises about curing the HIV
epidemic.
"I just instruct my patients to go to the health department if they have
a positive result from a blood test," Aung Naing says.
"But if they want to rely on traditional medicine, I prepare some
medicine for them to improve their body's resistance. I never guarantee
it.
"They are like people who are drowning. They want to grab a reed in the
water."
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People's Daily Online - September 01, 2006
Myanmar strives to be polio-free nation
The official newspaper New Light of Myanmar Friday stressed the
importance to continue working towards a polio-free country despite
enjoying the status since 2003.
The emphasis was made in the light of a likely recurrence in May this
year of the disease in the already-recognized by a regional committee as
polio-free Southeast Asian nation with the case being that a highly
infectious polio, caused by a virus like wild-type polio virus, was
suspected in Pin Oo Lwin township, northern Mandalay division.
Facing such probability of polio recurrence, the Myanmar health
authorities have planned to continue feeding oral polio vaccination
(OPV) to children in every region on annual national immunization days
(NIDs) to check the spread of the virus timely, the newspaper said in an
editorial.
Meanwhile, Sept. 3 and Oct. 1 have been designated by the authorities as
this year's NIDs and more than two million children in 80 townships in
Mandalay, Magway, Sagaing, Shan and Kachin divisions and states are
targeted to be given OPV, the paper said, urging the entire people to
take part in the NIDs activities to bring about health for children and
continue to keep the country as a polio-free nation.
Myanmar has been working towards eradicating polio since 1996,
sponsoring the NIDs biannually and giving OPV to children under five
years of age.
The country has vaccinated at least 95 percent of the children under
five, the authorities claimed.
The last case of wild polio was reported in Myanmar in 2000 and since
then there has been no cases of the disease for three consecutive years.
(Source: Xinhua)
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The Jakarta Post - September 01, 2006
China urged to act responsibly
Abdul Khalik, Jakarta
A seminar Thursday urged China to live up to its obligations as a
regional power by amicably settling its differences with Japan and South
Korea, while helping resolve the North Korean nuclear row and the
Myanmar issue.
"It is time for China to assume a role as a regional power instead of
pursuing narrow interests in the region," Rizal Sukma of the Centre for
Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) told participants of a
seminar organized by the group in Jakarta.
He said the region's stability depended on China's ability to settle its
rivalry and historical antagonism with Japan and South Korea. He added
that China's behavior in its territorial disputes with other East Asian
countries and in the South China Sea would be a key issue for regional
security.
China has for years been involved in territorial disputes with several
countries, including Japan, Malaysia and the Philippines, in the oil and
gas-rich South China Sea.
"China should also trust Indonesia and ASEAN in its conflict with
Taiwan. No Indonesian leader, for instance, is crazy enough to deviate
from the one-China policy," Rizal said.
John Prasetyo from the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry said
that as a responsible regional power, China must address the perception
that it is a threat, especially an economic one, to the member states of
the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
"With many Chinese products entering Indonesia illegally and pushing
local companies out of business, most people here see China as a threat.
The Chinese government should address this problem. China should provide
leadership in the region instead of creating competition for developing
countries," he said.
Several other participants urged China to fight its drug manufacturing
problem. Crystal methamphetamine and cocaine believed to have been
manufactured in China have recently flooded Indonesia.
On Tuesday, police confiscated 950 kilograms of crystal meth in Teluk
Naga, Tangerang. The drug was allegedly sent from China. In November
last year, police raided a Cikande factory, seizing tons of materials to
make crystal meth and millions of ecstasy pills, believed to have been
smuggled from China and Hong Kong.
A speaker at the seminar, Ma Ying, the deputy director for Asia-Pacific
Studies at the Shanghai Institute for International Studies, said the
Chinese government was willing to enhance cooperation with other Asian
countries, especially ASEAN. His colleague, Wu Ji-nan, said China had
begun collaborating with ASEAN in addressing several regional problems,
including terrorism and the security of sea lanes.
"The key is how to address the regional disputes in a peaceful way," Wu
told participants.
On cooperation within the East Asian Community, Ma believes ASEAN should
be in the driver's seat in establishing the community. Rizal said that
although Indonesia realized the East Asian Summit was used as medium to
balance the major powers, such as the U.S. and China, Indonesia would
not want to be coerced into taking sides.
The East Asian Summit, which was attended by ASEAN countries plus China,
Japan, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand, discussed regional
issues.
Other countries and groups, including Russia, the European Union and the
U.S., have also expressed interest in attending the summit.
"The East Asia Summit should become part of efforts to develop the East
Asian Community, instead of just a consultative meeting between ASEAN
and its partners," Rizal said.
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TravelDailyNews
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
Intrepid continues suspension on trips to Myanmar
Theodore Koumelis
Intrepid Travel will continue it?s suspension of tours to Myanmar.
Intrepid chose to suspend trips to Myanmar (Burma) in 2001 following
much internal and external debate over the human rights issues resulting
from the country?s military junta.
This week saw Intrepid Travel revisit that debate and following the
careful consideration of the vast research gathered and the opinions of
both pro-travel NGOs and NGOs who choose to boycott Myanmar, Intrepid
has elected to continue its decision and not travel to Myanmar.
While boycotting travel to Myanmar is a controversial debate, Intrepid
who have a strong belief in responsible tourism felt that with a growth
in tourism comes an increased need for further infrastructure to feed
that tourism and thus support is given to the government and its
approach to human rights and forced labour. Travelling in Myanmar is
virtually impossible without contributing to the government and with
numerous reports stating that no other country has a stronger link
between its human rights abuses and the tourism industry, Intrepid were
led to their conclusion.
Intrepid Travel communications manager, Jen Bird, communications manager
for Intrepid, says: ?As an operator with a strong belief in responsible
tourism we?ve always paid a considerable amount of interest in the
impact tourism has on the destinations that we visit. Our original
decision to suspend travel to Myanmar in 2001 was a result of a great
deal of research and the gathering of opinions from recognised experts.
When we came to re-visit our policy on Myanmar last week we again looked
at both internal and external research and felt that our concerns
regarding human rights abuses and the impact of tourism on government
policies warranted a continued suspension. This decision has been
strongly supported by our return travellers and we greatly look forward
to a time when the decision can be reversed and we can return to
Myanmar.?
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News-Medical-Net
U.N. High Commissioner calls on Thai Government to address spread of HIV
in refugee camps along Thai-Myanmar border
Disease/Infection News Published: Friday, 1-Sep-2006
U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterrez on Wednesday during
a four-day trip to Thailand called on Thailand's government to address
the spread of HIV within refugee camps along the Thai-Myanmar border,
according to Thailand's deputy government spokesperson Chalermchai
Mahakitsiri, AFP/Today Online reports.
Guterrez met with Thailand's Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra at the
government house in Bangkok after visiting the Than Him refugee camp in
Thailand's western Ratchaburi province.
About 10,000 ethnic Karen who fled from Myanmar inhabit the camp
(AFP/Today Online, 8/30).
Overall, about 140,000 refugees, mostly Karen, live in nine camps near
the Thai-Myanmar border (Shah, Irrawaddy, 8/30).
"The U.N. High Commissioner expressed his concern over the spread of
AIDS in camps which house Myanmar ethnic displaced person[s] in both
Ratchaburi and Tak provinces," Chalermchai said (AFP/Today Online,
8/30).
He did not provide further information about the meeting except to say
that Thaksin has "ordered the Public Health Ministry to send doctors" to
address the situation
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UN: Early Resolution Of Myanmar Refugee, Migrant Labour Issues
BANGKOK, Sept 1 (Bernama) -- Eighty million refugees worldwide are
currently seeking for temporary or long-term shelter, resettlement in
third countries or awaiting return to their homelands, the United
Nations's top refugee official said.
Currently, only 70,000 are being resettled annually, Thailand news
agency (TNA) quoting UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Antonio
Guterres as saying.
"That's a worldwide number, and now the United States government has
committed to receiving some 6,000 Karen refugees annually from camps
along the Thai-Myanmar border," he said.
No refugees will be returned to their countries of origin against their
wishes, the official said emphasizing the UN's commitment to the
principle of "non-refoulement" which protects refugees from being
involuntarily returned to places where their lives or freedoms could be
threatened.
Praising the Thai government's responsiveness to UNHCR concerns
regarding the long-term needs of 140,000 ethnic Karen from neighbouring
Myanmar, the UN refugee head said that Thailand had agreed to extend
education and health benefits to the refugees in camps and would soon
allow refugees to be employed here.
Leaving Thailand on an upbeat note regarding resolution of long-term
Myanmar migrant labour and refugee issues while the two populations
"don't compare" both migrants and refugees have much to contribute to
Thai society and economy.
Guterres, who is also a former Portuguese prime minister assured that
Myanmar government would issue temporary visas for migrant workers, and
Thai government authorities would provide Thai national smart card
electronic identity to refugees living in camps along the Myanmar
border.
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Su Su Nway wins 2006 John Humphrey Freedom Award
Aug 31, 2006 (DVB) Burmese pro-democracy activist Su Su Nway, who
courageously challenged the ruling military junta's use of forced labour
and won a historic court ruling against the regime last year, is the
winner of Rights & Democracy's 2006 John Humphrey Freedom Award.
Su Su Nway, 34, from Htan Manaing Village, Rangoon Kawmoo Township, came
to the world's attention last year for her inspiring individual efforts
to see the junta's representatives in her village brought to justice for
forcing her and her neighbours to repair a road without pay. Su Su
Nway's determination paid off last year when a judge sentenced the
village Chairman and a deputy to eight months in prison under an
untested law passed in 1999 that bans compulsory labour. The verdict was
the first ever against the military regime's long-standing practice of
forced labour.
But a few months later, she was tried for ?insulting and disrupting a
government official on duty,? and sentenced last October to 18-months in
the notorious Rangoon Insein Prison. Su Su Nway, who suffers from a
heart condition, endured nine months in Insein before authorities
finally bowed to international pressure and released her on June 6, 2006
..
Rights & Democracy presents the John Humphrey Freedom Award each year to
an organization or individual from any country or region of the world,
including Canada , for exceptional achievement in the promotion of human
rights and democratic development. Named in honour of John Peters
Humphrey, a McGill University law professor who prepared the first draft
of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Award includes a
speaking tour of Canadian cities to help increase awareness of the
recipient's human rights work.
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Reaction of Su Su Nway on hearing news that she is to be given John
Humphrey Award
Aug 31, 2006 (DVB) - "As it is an award recognising the efforts for
democracy and human rights and truth (in Burma), I want to say that we
are feeling very happy and proud with public leader, Auntie Suu (Aung
San Suu Kyi), who are struggling for democracy and human rights and the
people of Burma. Although I am glad to hear that I received this award,
I am feeling happier to know that it is becoming more obvious that all
the people (of Canada) and the world are constantly supporting the
struggle for democracy in Burma.
I especially want to thank the elders (leaders) concerned who gave me
the award and the people of the country concerned. Although the prize
was given to me, I regard it as a prize given to all the people of
Burma.
I feel very encouraged by being given the award. When working for the
truth, I am feeling very, very proud and happy because the award is like
tonic which helps me work harder several folds. I want to say that I
will increase my efforts (and) struggle for democracy and human rights
in Burma (and) do my best for matters regarding peace of the whole
world."
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