Siam News Network

A top U.S. lawmaker is applauding political reforms in Burma, but says more change is needed.  Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell recently returned from a trip to Burma, where he met with democracy leader and Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and President Thein Sein.

The Senate’s top Republican took to the chamber floor to deliver a hopeful and cautiously-optimistic message on Burma, which he described as having been one of the world’s “most isolated and oppressed” nations.

“Many of us wondered if things would ever change in Burma.  After my recent visit, I am pleased to say that change is clearly in the air,” said McConnell.  “It appears Burma has made some progress towards democracy in the past six months, made more than it has in decades.  I can tell you this is welcome news.”

Mitch McConnell is a lead author of annual bills imposing sanctions on Burma.  He praised the country’s transition toward civilian rule and the freeing of political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi, who spent much of the past two decades under house arrest.  The two met last week in Rangoon.

“By her courage and her patience, that justice delayed would not be justice denied, Aung San Suu Kyi has kept the hope of freedom in her country alive,” added McConnell.  “Never did I think I would get to meet the Nobel laureate in person.  And, Mr. President, it was quite a moment.”

McConnell said Burma’s government has taken “undeniably positive steps towards reform,” and endorsed the exchange of ambassadors between Washington and Rangoon, but he said more must be done.

“The government of Burma still has a substantial way to go to achieve real and lasting reform,” said McConnell.  “I do not support, and I do not think the [Obama] administration would support lifting the [U.S.] sanctions that have been imposed unless there is much further progress.”

McConnell listed upcoming parliamentary elections as an important test of that progress, and urged a full reconciliation between Burma’s government and the country’s ethnic minorities.  He also demanded full disclosure of Burma’s dealings with North Korea.

In a recent interview with the Washington Post newspaper, Burma’s president argued his country has complied with Western demands, adding he would like to see U.S. sanctions eased and eventually dropped.

Original post:
US Lawmaker Notes Progress in Burma

New Delhi business newspaper economic times says that India and Thailand will sign a free trade agreement by the middle of this year, according to Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra.

See the rest here:
Thailand to expand trade and investment with India

Sectors linked to external demand (namely, manufacturing, hotels and transport) have been the main contributors to growth since the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis, and have also determined the dynamics of the economy in 2008-09. These sectors have accounted for almost all of the annual changes in real GDP.
Overall, domestic demand should provide a positive but limited contribution to growth: vulnerable households lost ground in 2009 and risks are substantial in 2010, as falling agricultural output due to the current drought may offset opportunities from the improved overall economic environment. Household consumption levels, which are highly correlated with the poverty rate, contracted in 2009 despite the rebound in the last quarter of the year, suggesting a likely increase in the poverty rate compared to 2008, especially when compounded by the loss in purchasing power from the food and fuel crisis of 2008. The outlook for 2010 is uncertain : average wages are likely to increase, thanks to the reallocation of labor from agriculture to manufacturing. Although labor markets appear very tight, with unemployment below 1 %, the data do not account for the large number of workers who moved to lower-productivity jobs in agriculture and informal services due to the crisis. Many of these workers are now returning to manufacturing, which offers higher wages than agriculture.

Total shareholder returns (TSR) for 2009 are calculated by assuming that investors reinvest all cash received over the course of the year to determine a total return from one’s investment. The 2009 analysis covers 505 companies from the Stock Exchange of Thailand and the Market for Alternative Investment and is based on share valuations as of Dec 31 and dividend payments made over the 2009 calendar year.
The TSRs for the two groups are similar.

In response to octogenarian magnate Rupert Murdoch’s Twitter tirade against Google, accusing the Internet search giant of being a “piracy leader,” the company has hit back by dismissing Murdoch’s remarks as “just nonsense.”

Murdoch’s Twitter rant against Google, as well as President Barack Obama, coincided with the White House recently raising concerns about anti-piracy legislation – the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) – which is being debated in Congress.

read more

For many, the foot of one of the most active volcanoes in the world is not considered as a desirable place to live. Yet, residents living near Mount Merapi in Indonesia have chosen to face the risks rather than to move further away from the mountain.

Tens of thousands of Indonesians typically live the slopes of the volcano, with agricultural activities being the economic backbone of these villages due to the rich volcanic soil.

However, residents near the mountain are prone to evacuations and a loss of their livelihood. A lethal eruption in November, 2010 claimed more than 200 lives and displaced about 278,000 people.

Government officials reported economic losses from the eruption will surpass $600 million (5.5 trillion Rupiah), due to the death of livestock and damage to the tourism, manufacturing and agricultural sectors.

More than a year has passed, but some areas leading toward Mount Merapi are still filled with half buried houses and burned trees set against a gray landscape of volcanic ash serve as grim reminders of the devastation.

But this has not deterred many from returning to their homes and starting economic activities almost immediately after the government declared volcanic activity had declined.

In Srunen, a village of 150 households in the Cangkringan district, villagers have already rebuilt their homes, made of concrete and bricks, signifying that they are here to stay.

Locals say Srunen is one of many small villages that face a high likelihood of being totally devastated by the next massive eruption.

They say the government has discouraged them from returning to Srunen . As an incentive, the Indonesian government has proposed providing more than $3,200 (30 million Rupiah) and a small plot of land elsewhere.

However, Jumilah, 39, a cattle farmer, said no one in the village took up the government’s offer because the compensation was too low. “At the mountainside, we have ample land for farming and cattle-rearing, as well as to build our homes,” he said. “Why should we settle for smaller plots of land?”

Jumilah, who lost five cattle and her home in the eruption, recently bought two cattle from the compensation she received. But it will take time before the cattle produces enough milk to be sold. To get by, she sells fruits at a roadside stall leading toward the volcano.

Jumilah said she once earned between $21 (200,000 Rupiah) and $38 (350,000 Rupiah) monthly from selling milk, but her income is even lower from selling fruits now, as she has to buy the produce from growers.

Dargo, 45, who was also a cattle farmer, said it is not unusual for the villagers to return to their devastated villages after an eruption. “This is our home. What is there to be afraid of? But, if we move, where will we go?”

However, not all residents have gotten to choose.

Yoto, 63, is still living in a makeshift camp after more than a year since the volcano erupted. She is among the thousands of villagers who are permanently displaced. During the 2010 eruption, her village of Glagahmalang was entirely buried in sand.

She said the camp is likely to be her home for the rest of her life. “The government has declared our village to be too dangerous to live in, and hence, all villagers are ordered to move to this campsite,” she said.

From owning two large houses and five cattle and land for farming, Yoto now lives in a two-room house measuring six meters by six meters in the campsite, and is dependent on donations for living. She is also uncertain of her future should the donations be depleted, which is expected to end this year.

Peering over the site where her village once stood, Yoto said despite the bleak outlook, she has since accepted her fate for living beneath the volcano. “I have lost everything, but I choose not to think about it, as it will make me even sadder,” she said.

Yet, Yoto’s fate does not deter the optimism of villagers who have chosen to return to their homes.

Indonesia, which is made up of 17,000 islands in Southeast Asia, has some of the world’s most active volcanoes, being situated in the Pacific Ring of Fire.

Continue reading here:
Economic Life Slowly Returns to Indonesia’s Mount Merapi

British Foreign Secretary William Hague, on a visit to Burma, says European Union economic sanctions will not change until authorities release all political prisoners.  The top British diplomat made the comments after holding separate meetings with democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and Burma’s military-backed leaders. 

Hague held talks Friday morning with Burma’s opposition and Aung San Suu Kyi at her lakeside home in Rangoon. Hague’s visit is the first in more than 50 years by the former colonial power’s top diplomat.

Following the meeting, the British foreign secretary told reporters it was an exciting time in Burma as there was a real chance for democracy in the country after decades of military rule.

He voiced support for the government’s reform efforts, including opening a dialogue with Aung San Suu Kyi, loosening its iron grip on the media, allowing labor unions, and releasing some political prisoners.

But, Hague said much more needs to be done, in particular, giving freedom to all remaining political prisoners, estimated to be in the hundreds.  He acknowledged widespread disappointment this week with the government’s Independence Day amnesty, which saw only about 30 such prisoners released.

“It is not possible to say a country is free and democratic while people are still in prison on grounds of their political beliefs.  And, so it is vital for such prisoners to be released if European Union restrictive measures are to be changed,” Hague said.

The EU and United States limit diplomatic relations, trade and investments with Burma because of the military’s violent suppression of democracy movements. But expectations are growing that those restrictions could soon be relaxed.

The EU announced Thursday it would open a representative office in Burma to manage humanitarian aid programs and facilitate political dialogue.

Hague met the same day with leaders of the government, including President Thein Sein, who promised all political prisoners would be released without giving a timetable.

His government is also allowing Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy to contest by-elections in April after being sidelined from the historic 2010 election.  The Nobel Prize winner told reporters Friday her goals were clear.

“All political prisoners should be released and there should be all efforts made to put an end to ethnic conflict within our country,” she said.  “And, certainly we would like to see free and fair by-elections.  And, I must add I would like to see the NLD winning very well in those elections.”  

Aung San Suu Kyi was under house arrest for most of the past two decades for challenging military rule and was banned from contesting office.

She was released just days after the 2010 election.  Her NLD won Burma’s previous election in 1990 but the military refused to give up power.

More:
Britain to Maintain Sanctions Until Burma Frees Political Prisoners

Burma’s pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi met late Monday at her lakeside home with billionaire American philanthropist George Soros, the latest public figure to pay the Nobel Prize laureate a visit since her release a year ago from 15 years of on-and-off house arrest.

Soros, whose foundation supports grantees that provide uncensored news on Burma and activists who call public attention to abuse of power, arrives in the wake of a stream of visits, predominantly by senior foreign dignitaries.

Political Science Professor Carl Thayer of the Australian Defense Force Academy says influential business and political leaders are lining up to ride the crest of change in Burma and to reinforce reform efforts.

“As intelligent as she is, she has been relatively isolated,” he says. “And she needs, I think, the advice of people like Soros and others, the financing and foundations, and people on the ground to provide and reinforce her efforts.”

In the past month, Aung San Suu Kyi met with the U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Thailand’s Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, and foreign ministers from Indonesia and Japan. Later this week, British Foreign Secretary William Hague is expected to visit.

Hague’s visit will coincide with a general amnesty for prisoners announced Monday by Burma’s state media.

In what is typically a regular gesture to mark Burma’s Independence Day, selected prisoners will have their sentences reduced beginning Tuesday. It is not clear how many in jail will be affected by the amnesty or how many political prisoners will be included.

Burma is holding hundreds of people for their political beliefs. Clinton and other officials visiting Burma have joined Aung San Suu Kyi in calling for their immediate release.

Thitinan Pongsudhirak, Director of the Institute of Security and International Studies at Bangkok’s Chulalongkorn University, says Clinton’s visit opened the way for diplomatic engagement with Burma, also known as Myanmar.

“It is a green light for other countries to begin to lift sanctions [and] provide development assistance,” he says. “They have to be careful by not promoting the commercial interests too much too soon. There are some dissident groups that see all of this as a big kind of commercial deal.”

Burma is a major source of natural gas, gems, and timber, but trade is limited by Western countries because of economic sanctions over the military’s suppression of democracy and human rights.

Since the government of President Thein Sein took office in March, replacing overt military rule, it won praise for a series of liberal political and economic moves. President Thein Sein held direct talks with Aung San Suu Kyi after assuming office.

Thitinan says cooperation between the two is vital for the momentum of reform to be sustained. He says there are still hardliners in the government who would derail the process if it goes too fast.

“The momentum that we are seeing is just unprecedented and breathtaking,” he says. “It is going to be difficult to reverse some of it without incurring a great cost to the Myanmar rulers. Even if they want to slow it down, to reverse it, now they are in too deep. Now I think leading up to the Myanmar chairmanship of ASEAN 2014. I expect the reforms to be sustained.”

On Sunday, Burmese authorities hiked gas prices by 30 percent. A similar unannounced price jump in 2007 sparked protests that were later crushed by the military.

Continue reading here:
In Burma, Visiting Dignitaries Line Up to Ride Crest of Change

Burma is set to hold a by-election April 1 in a vote in that will test democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party.

Burmese government officials, who asked not to be named, informed media organizations of the election date Friday.  Forty-eight parliamentary seats will be at stake.  The officials said parties intending to take part in the vote need to submit their list of candidates no later than January 31.

Aung San Suu Kyi formally registered her National League for Democracy as a political party last week, clearing the way for her to run in the election.  She has not yet announced the constituency in which she expects to run.

The NLD was stripped of its status as a party last year because it refused to participate in controversial national elections, in which the popular democracy advocate was not permitted to run.

The election produced a new government which, while still dominated by past and present military officers, has implemented a series of reforms including loosened press restrictions and the beginning of dialogue with its critics.

Aung San Suu Kyi and her NLD were overwhelming winners in Burma’s 1990 election, but were never permitted to take office. The Nobel peace laureate spent most of the years since then under house arrest.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP.

See the article here:
Burma Sets By-Election for April 1

By Shibani Mahtani and James Hookway Reuters Billionaire hedge fund manager George Soros speaks at the Central European University in Budapest in November. Billionaire hedge fund manager and philanthropist George Soros is scheduled to become the next big international name to meet with Myanmar’s pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Monday in a fresh sign that the country is continuing to open up to the outside world. Nyan Win, spokesman for Ms.

Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy said Friday that the two are scheduled to meet in Yangon on Jan. 2 and that they will likely discuss the ongoing work of Mr.

Soros’s charitable foundation in the country.

The U.S.-based financier’s Open Society Foundation donates around $2 million a year to projects in the country, often supporting educational programs and scholarships, and he is believed to be touring some of those projects this week with members of his family. Mr.

Soros, 81 years old, couldn’t immediately be reached for comment. His visit follows the early December visit of Hillary of Clinton, who became the first U.S.

Secretary of State to visit the country in over 50 years.

That trip helped further warm the blossoming relations between the two countries since Myanmar’s military rulers handed power to a new, nominally civilian government in March.

Since then, the country has made tentative steps towards implementing a broader democracy, including freeing hundreds of political prisoners, engaging with long-persecuted ethnic minorities and allowing Ms.

Suu Kyi’s political group to contest elections after she was detained for years under house arrest. Government advisers have described the reforms “irreversible” and the U.S. has responded by lifting a block on development assistance to the country , effectively freeing up specialists from the International Monetary Fund and World Bank to help Myanmar officials liberalize their ossified economy.

The Indonesian and Japanese foreign ministers also have visited Myanmar in the past week. William Hague, Britain’s foreign secretary, is scheduled to visit the country next week. U.S. and European Union, though, continue to impose strict sanctions on the country and are pressing Myanmar’s government to release all of the some 2,000 political prisoners still believed to be held in detention.

That prevents Mr.

Soros from investing in the country, if he wanted to do so. Local media reports , meanwhile, say that Mr.

Soros will also take in sights at popular tourist destinations such as Inle Lake and Bagan.

Link:
George Soros Heads to Myanmar