GMANews.TV - Monday, April 12
Three soldiers were killed in an encounter with communist rebels in Davao City on Sunday, a military spokesman said.
The soldiers, whose identities were withheld pending notification of their relatives, were earlier wounded in the clash but later died, according to Lt. Col. Randolph Cabangbang, spokesman of the Armed Forces’ Eastern Mindanao Command.
Cabangbang said the troops were on security patrol when they caught up with a team of New People’s Army (NPA) rebels under Leoncio Pitao alias Kumander Parago in Lumiad village at about 7:10 a.m.
The military dispatched MG-520 attack helicopters to provide close air support during the encounter, but the rebels were able to flee toward the hilly portion of the village.
It was the third setback suffered by the military in two months from the hands of NPA rebels, which President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo wants crushed before her term ends on June 30, 2010.
Last month, an NPA attack in Oriental Mindoro left 11 soldiers dead. An Army investigation discovered that there was a lapse on the part of the operating troops. Six soldiers, including two officers, were sanctioned for it.
Also last month, NPA rebels attacked and burned detachment in North Cotabato, killing a militiaman and carting away dozens of firearms. - KBK, GMANews.TV
Sunday, April 11, 2010
ASEAN summit tackles Myanmar polls
by Sarah Stewart Sarah Stewart – Fri Apr 9, 6:42 am ET
HANOI (AFP) – Southeast Asian leaders on Friday pressed troublesome member Myanmar to ensure its elections this year are fair and inclusive, at a summit focused on binding together the sprawling region.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) meeting in Vietnam's capital Hanoi has been overshadowed by the Myanmar issue, as well as political drama in Thailand which forced its premier to stay at home.
"The main message that's coming out from the summit is the importance of the elections that are coming up in 2010, and not any type of elections," said Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa
"But instead an election that is free, that is fair, that is democratic, that is credible. These are qualities that Myanmar itself has said they want to fulfil. So I think the clarion call... is the importance for Myanmar to live up to the commitments."
The United States has led international condemnation of laws Myanmar has enacted for the ballot, the first in the military-run country in two decades, which effectively bar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi from participating.
ASEAN members are divided on how to handle Myanmar, which has always escaped formal censure from the 10-nation group as it adheres to a principle of non-interference in each other's internal affairs.
But as Myanmar's poor record -- including allegations of massive human rights abuses as well as a failure to shift to democracy -- again threatens to discredit the region, its neighbours reminded it of its obligations.
"The elections should be fair, democratic, with the participation of all parties," the summit's host, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, said in unusually candid terms at a closing news conference.
"This will help... stabilise the country and focus resources on development," he said, adding that he had "forwarded ASEAN's message" to the ruling generals during his visit to Myanmar last week.
The main order of business for the two-day summit was efforts to propel ASEAN towards a 2015 goal to establish a community of nations encompassing 600 million people with economic, security and social ties.
"While important progress has been made... much remains to be done," Dung said as he opened the talks.
Although the meeting's slogan is "from vision to action", analysts say ASEAN is hampered by wide development gaps within the region, entrenched domestic interests and the shortcomings and instability of some members.
Its diverse membership ranges from Laos, one of Asia's poorest nations, to the Westernised city-state of Singapore, the absolute monarchy of Brunei and the vibrant democracy of Indonesia.
The group this week took another step towards tackling long-neglected human rights concerns with the inauguration of a commission to address the rights of women and children.
Ministers also fleshed out their vision of a rules-based regional community by signing a protocol to help member nations resolve conflicts.
In a joint statement, the leaders called on regional governments to prepare to wind down economic stimulus measures brought in during the global financial crisis.
They also said they want vital road, sea and air links completed more quickly to complement efforts to integrate regional economies.
And in a separate document, the leaders called for a legally binding global pact on climate change and urged richer nations to provide them with "scaled-up" financial help to combat its effects.
ASEAN also discussed expanding relations with Russia and the United States. The 43-year-old bloc is trying to ensure it is not pushed aside by proposals for new regional groupings.
"It's very important that we stay in the driver's seat," Singapore Foreign Minister George Yeo said.
The group invited US President Barack Obama to attend its next summit in Vietnam later this year, to deepen ties with the region on which he has placed a renewed focus.
Indonesia said it would chair ASEAN in 2011, swapping with Brunei as the venue of the group's summits and meetings, because of a scheduling clash with its APEC host duties in 2013.
HANOI (AFP) – Southeast Asian leaders on Friday pressed troublesome member Myanmar to ensure its elections this year are fair and inclusive, at a summit focused on binding together the sprawling region.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) meeting in Vietnam's capital Hanoi has been overshadowed by the Myanmar issue, as well as political drama in Thailand which forced its premier to stay at home.
"The main message that's coming out from the summit is the importance of the elections that are coming up in 2010, and not any type of elections," said Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa
"But instead an election that is free, that is fair, that is democratic, that is credible. These are qualities that Myanmar itself has said they want to fulfil. So I think the clarion call... is the importance for Myanmar to live up to the commitments."
The United States has led international condemnation of laws Myanmar has enacted for the ballot, the first in the military-run country in two decades, which effectively bar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi from participating.
ASEAN members are divided on how to handle Myanmar, which has always escaped formal censure from the 10-nation group as it adheres to a principle of non-interference in each other's internal affairs.
But as Myanmar's poor record -- including allegations of massive human rights abuses as well as a failure to shift to democracy -- again threatens to discredit the region, its neighbours reminded it of its obligations.
"The elections should be fair, democratic, with the participation of all parties," the summit's host, Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, said in unusually candid terms at a closing news conference.
"This will help... stabilise the country and focus resources on development," he said, adding that he had "forwarded ASEAN's message" to the ruling generals during his visit to Myanmar last week.
The main order of business for the two-day summit was efforts to propel ASEAN towards a 2015 goal to establish a community of nations encompassing 600 million people with economic, security and social ties.
"While important progress has been made... much remains to be done," Dung said as he opened the talks.
Although the meeting's slogan is "from vision to action", analysts say ASEAN is hampered by wide development gaps within the region, entrenched domestic interests and the shortcomings and instability of some members.
Its diverse membership ranges from Laos, one of Asia's poorest nations, to the Westernised city-state of Singapore, the absolute monarchy of Brunei and the vibrant democracy of Indonesia.
The group this week took another step towards tackling long-neglected human rights concerns with the inauguration of a commission to address the rights of women and children.
Ministers also fleshed out their vision of a rules-based regional community by signing a protocol to help member nations resolve conflicts.
In a joint statement, the leaders called on regional governments to prepare to wind down economic stimulus measures brought in during the global financial crisis.
They also said they want vital road, sea and air links completed more quickly to complement efforts to integrate regional economies.
And in a separate document, the leaders called for a legally binding global pact on climate change and urged richer nations to provide them with "scaled-up" financial help to combat its effects.
ASEAN also discussed expanding relations with Russia and the United States. The 43-year-old bloc is trying to ensure it is not pushed aside by proposals for new regional groupings.
"It's very important that we stay in the driver's seat," Singapore Foreign Minister George Yeo said.
The group invited US President Barack Obama to attend its next summit in Vietnam later this year, to deepen ties with the region on which he has placed a renewed focus.
Indonesia said it would chair ASEAN in 2011, swapping with Brunei as the venue of the group's summits and meetings, because of a scheduling clash with its APEC host duties in 2013.
Thai "red shirts" defiant after 21 die in clashes
By Ambika Ahuja Ambika Ahuja – Sun Apr 11, 11:49 am ET
BANGKOK (Reuters) – Thai "red shirt" protesters ruled out negotiations with the government on Sunday and said they would not give up their fight for early elections a day after clashes with security forces killed 21 people.
Bangkok was quiet, but with no resolution in sight and the prospect of more violence, the stock market, one of Asia's most buoyant, is likely to be hit when trading starts on Monday.
"The time for negotiation is up. We don't negotiate with murderers," red shirt leader Weng Tojirakarn said.
The red shirts, mostly rural and working-class supporters of ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra who was ousted in a coup in 2006, want Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva dissolve parliament and leave the country, the scene of 18 coups since 1932.
Saturday's fighting, the worst political violence in the country since 1992 with some of it taking place in well-known tourist areas, ended after security forces pulled back late in the night.
The red shirts, still numbering in the thousands, have occupied two main areas of the capital, a city of 15 million that has been under a state of emergency since Wednesday. They made no attempt to come out of their bases on Sunday and troops did not make any move toward them.
Thaksin, writing on his Twitter account (http://twitter.com/Thaksinlive), accused the government of "bringing troops from all over the country" to crush the protests.
Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thausuban vowed to return order to the streets, although he conceded that troops would not be able to take control immediately after the damage suffered in Saturday's clashes.
"The government will continue the operation to take back the roads from the protesters because their occupation is unlawful," Suthep told reporters on Sunday.
Thai political historian Charnvit Kasertsiri said the lack of an outright winner in Saturday's clashes meant the chance of more fighting was high.
"The public didn't take it lying down and were responding in kind," he said. "When the government is no longer the only user of force, then it spirals into anarchy."
"TOURISM TO BE HIT"
Foreign investors have been plowing money into Thai stocks this year, boosting the market by 7.5 percent, but the outbreak of violence since the middle of last week caused them to pause. The stock market is open on Monday but closed from Tuesday to Thursday for the Thai New Year.
"Tourism will be the very first sector to be hit and the Thai stock market should react negatively on Monday. The heavy foreign buying we have seen in the past month will hold back until the political situation is clearer," said Kasem Prunratanamala, head of research at CIMB Securities (Thailand).
There was tension outside Bangkok as well.
Thai media said around 500 red shirts again forced their way into the grounds of a Thaicom satellite earth station north of Bangkok, a flashpoint on Friday when the authorities blocked an opposition TV station.
Other reports said an M79 grenade was fired at the headquarters of the army-owned Channel 5 TV station in the northern province of Phayao early on Sunday.
On Saturday, hundreds of protesters forced their way into government offices in two northern cities, raising the risk of a wider uprising against the 16-month-old, army-backed government.
"There is no precedent for something so massive, prolonged and disruptive on the part of the underclasses," said Federico Ferrara, a political science professor at the National University of Singapore.
THAKSIN ALLIES
The protesters say Abhisit lacks a popular mandate after coming to power in a 2008 parliamentary vote following a court ruling that dissolved a pro-Thaksin ruling party. Thaksin's allies would be well-placed to win fresh elections.
Thaksin, who was elected twice but has been in self-imposed exile since 2008 when he was sentenced to jail for graft, was despised by many of the Bangkok elite but remains popular with the poor for policies like cheap health care and microcredit grants to villages.
More than 870 people were wounded on Saturday as troops fired rubber bullets and tear gas at thousands of demonstrators, who fought back with guns, grenades and petrol bombs near the Phan Fah bridge and Rajdumnoen Road in Bangkok's old quarter, one of the two bases for the month-old protest.
Four soldiers were among those killed.
Abhisit expressed regret to the families of the victims and said the army was only allowed to use live bullets when "firing into the air and in self-defense."
Among those killed was Reuters TV cameraman Hiro Muramoto, a 43-year-old Japanese national. Japan's Foreign Ministry urged the Thai government to investigate Muramoto's death.
(Additional reporting by Damir Sagolj, Warapan Worasart, Viparat Jantraprap and Jason Szep in Bangkok, Kevin Krolicki in Tokyo; Writing by Nick Macfie; Editing by David Chance and Michael Roddy)
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Malaysia detains 93 Rohingya men at sea for month
AP - Saturday, March 13
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – Malaysian authorities have picked up 93 Muslims fleeing persecution in Myanmar who said they spent 30 days at sea in a crowded wooden boat, an official said Friday.
The Rohingya men, an ethnic group not recognized by Myanmar's military regime, had apparently been chased out of Thai waters before they were detained Wednesday off Malaysia's northern resort island of Langkawi, said Zainuddin Mohamad Suki, an officer with the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency.
The Thais denied they chased the boat away.
A fishing boat had earlier reported to the agency that the men were asking for food and water from passing vessels after their open boat experienced engine failure, he said.
Initial investigations showed they had been at sea for 30 days after fleeing their homeland, he said.
"Some of the men said they were chased out of Thai waters earlier before they made their way to Langkawi. They said they were sailing aimlessly in the hope of finding a country that will accept them," Zainuddin told The Associated Press.
Vimon Kidchob, spokeswoman for the Thai Foreign Ministry, however, said troops gave the men food and water, suggesting the men left Thai waters of their own accord.
"The Rohingyas were not chased out of the Thai waters. Thai troops on the Andaman Coast found a group of non-Thai people in boats, so they gave the people food and water and let them continue their journey," she said.
Thailand has acknowledged in the past towing away boats of Rohingyas, hoping they will land in other countries.
The Muslim Rohingyas number about 800,000 in Myanmar where they are denied full citizenship and face widespread abuses including forced labor, land seizures and rape, rights groups say.
Hundreds of thousands have fled to Bangladesh, Malaysia and the Middle East, and rights groups have expressed concern they will be tortured or killed if forced to return to Myanmar.
Zainuddin said some of the men detained suffered minor injuries and have been given medical treatment.
All 93 have been handed over to the immigration department in northern Kedah state and are likely to be sent to a detention center, he added.
Kedah immigration officers could not be immediately reached for comment.
Malaysia has the biggest number of Rohingya refugees in the region, more than 14,000, many of whom have stayed for years in the country, working illegally in plantations or factories, officials said.
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – Malaysian authorities have picked up 93 Muslims fleeing persecution in Myanmar who said they spent 30 days at sea in a crowded wooden boat, an official said Friday.
The Rohingya men, an ethnic group not recognized by Myanmar's military regime, had apparently been chased out of Thai waters before they were detained Wednesday off Malaysia's northern resort island of Langkawi, said Zainuddin Mohamad Suki, an officer with the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency.
The Thais denied they chased the boat away.
A fishing boat had earlier reported to the agency that the men were asking for food and water from passing vessels after their open boat experienced engine failure, he said.
Initial investigations showed they had been at sea for 30 days after fleeing their homeland, he said.
"Some of the men said they were chased out of Thai waters earlier before they made their way to Langkawi. They said they were sailing aimlessly in the hope of finding a country that will accept them," Zainuddin told The Associated Press.
Vimon Kidchob, spokeswoman for the Thai Foreign Ministry, however, said troops gave the men food and water, suggesting the men left Thai waters of their own accord.
"The Rohingyas were not chased out of the Thai waters. Thai troops on the Andaman Coast found a group of non-Thai people in boats, so they gave the people food and water and let them continue their journey," she said.
Thailand has acknowledged in the past towing away boats of Rohingyas, hoping they will land in other countries.
The Muslim Rohingyas number about 800,000 in Myanmar where they are denied full citizenship and face widespread abuses including forced labor, land seizures and rape, rights groups say.
Hundreds of thousands have fled to Bangladesh, Malaysia and the Middle East, and rights groups have expressed concern they will be tortured or killed if forced to return to Myanmar.
Zainuddin said some of the men detained suffered minor injuries and have been given medical treatment.
All 93 have been handed over to the immigration department in northern Kedah state and are likely to be sent to a detention center, he added.
Kedah immigration officers could not be immediately reached for comment.
Malaysia has the biggest number of Rohingya refugees in the region, more than 14,000, many of whom have stayed for years in the country, working illegally in plantations or factories, officials said.
Thai activists reject peace talks offer
Reuters - Monday, March 22
By Boontiwa Wichakul
BANGKOK - Opposition activists in Thailand rejected a government offer for dialogue on Sunday after Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva ruled out dissolving parliament and assigned a junior minister to attend the talks.
Red-shirted supporters of ousted former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, who rallied for an eighth day on Sunday, insisted they had not closed the door but would talk only with Abhisit and on the condition that house dissolution was on the agenda.
Abhisit earlier said Education Minister Chinnaworn Boonyakiat would represent the government at Monday's talks, which irked the opposition, who have vowed to protest in Bangkok for at least two more weeks, with reinforcements coming in from the provinces.
"We will talk with the prime minister only," one of the protest leaders, Jatuporn Prompan told reporters. "No one will meet with Chinnaworn."
The protests have so far been peaceful, which helped lift Thai stocks to a 20-month high last week, with foreigners continuing to pour money into the bourse, attracted by some of the cheapest valuations and best dividend yields in Asia.
About 30,000 "red shirts" remained at their encampment in Bangkok's historic heart, a day after at least twice that number fanned out across the city on motorcycles and pickup trucks to drum up support for their campaign.
Abhisit has refused to bow to pressure to dissolve parliament, insisting the country is too divided to face an election. Analysts said the talks would be futile because neither side had anything to bring to the table. Abhisit said the government was willing to listen to the "red shirts'" grievances but immediate house dissolution was not an option.
"Everyone from the coalition parties agree that the government will not dissolve the house," Abhisit said in a televised news conference.
"We should not go into too much detail, but we will probably discuss broad principles such as the right timing for house dissolution, and how," he said in an earlier address.
But analysts said the stakes were too high for both sides and talks were unlikely to produce any compromise.
"There's nothing to talk about," said Somjai Phagaphasvivat, a political scientist at Bangkok's Thammasat University.
"The minimum the 'red shirts' will accept is house dissolution and the government will not yield to that. The root cause of the problem will not be addressed and talks will just pave the way for more protests and upheaval in future."
GOVT SEEN UNLIKELY TO FALL
Investors and most analysts believe Abhisit's government is unlikely to fall as it has the backing of the military and wealthy establishment elites, accused by the "red shirts" of meddling in politics and undermining democracy.
Somjai said the premier's likely tactic was to wait for the protesters, many of whom are from rural areas, to become tired, frustrated and disheartened, and run out of steam.
"Abhisit is holding all the cards," he added. "He knows this can't go on for months."
The lack of violence and stability of a government that has put Southeast Asia's second largest economy on course for recovery has reduced short-term risk concerns. But investors remain hesitant about long-term expansion in a country beset by deep social rifts.
Much of the divisiveness centres on Thaksin, the assumed leader and financier of the movement, who is loved by Thais as much as he is loathed.
Overthrown in a 2006 coup and sentenced in absentia to two years in prison for graft, the twice-elected Thaksin is fighting to return from self-imposed exile and wrestle back de facto political power through his allies in the opposition party.
Security was stepped up late on Saturday after two attacks on what the authorities said were symbolic targets. It was not known who was behind the attacks and protesters denied responsibility.
A grenade exploded in the compound of the Defence Ministry, close to the protest site, slightly wounding two people, while an explosive device was hurled at the headquarters of the National Anti-Corruption Commission in Nonthaburi, near Bangkok.
Protest leaders were planning to raise the intensity of their rally on Monday and Tuesday. They might seek to make Abhisit's job impossible by following him and blocking his every move.
The premier is avoiding his office, parliament and his home for security reasons and has based himself at a heavily fortified military compound, travelling around the city by helicopter.
By Boontiwa Wichakul
BANGKOK - Opposition activists in Thailand rejected a government offer for dialogue on Sunday after Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva ruled out dissolving parliament and assigned a junior minister to attend the talks.
Red-shirted supporters of ousted former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, who rallied for an eighth day on Sunday, insisted they had not closed the door but would talk only with Abhisit and on the condition that house dissolution was on the agenda.
Abhisit earlier said Education Minister Chinnaworn Boonyakiat would represent the government at Monday's talks, which irked the opposition, who have vowed to protest in Bangkok for at least two more weeks, with reinforcements coming in from the provinces.
"We will talk with the prime minister only," one of the protest leaders, Jatuporn Prompan told reporters. "No one will meet with Chinnaworn."
The protests have so far been peaceful, which helped lift Thai stocks to a 20-month high last week, with foreigners continuing to pour money into the bourse, attracted by some of the cheapest valuations and best dividend yields in Asia.
About 30,000 "red shirts" remained at their encampment in Bangkok's historic heart, a day after at least twice that number fanned out across the city on motorcycles and pickup trucks to drum up support for their campaign.
Abhisit has refused to bow to pressure to dissolve parliament, insisting the country is too divided to face an election. Analysts said the talks would be futile because neither side had anything to bring to the table. Abhisit said the government was willing to listen to the "red shirts'" grievances but immediate house dissolution was not an option.
"Everyone from the coalition parties agree that the government will not dissolve the house," Abhisit said in a televised news conference.
"We should not go into too much detail, but we will probably discuss broad principles such as the right timing for house dissolution, and how," he said in an earlier address.
But analysts said the stakes were too high for both sides and talks were unlikely to produce any compromise.
"There's nothing to talk about," said Somjai Phagaphasvivat, a political scientist at Bangkok's Thammasat University.
"The minimum the 'red shirts' will accept is house dissolution and the government will not yield to that. The root cause of the problem will not be addressed and talks will just pave the way for more protests and upheaval in future."
GOVT SEEN UNLIKELY TO FALL
Investors and most analysts believe Abhisit's government is unlikely to fall as it has the backing of the military and wealthy establishment elites, accused by the "red shirts" of meddling in politics and undermining democracy.
Somjai said the premier's likely tactic was to wait for the protesters, many of whom are from rural areas, to become tired, frustrated and disheartened, and run out of steam.
"Abhisit is holding all the cards," he added. "He knows this can't go on for months."
The lack of violence and stability of a government that has put Southeast Asia's second largest economy on course for recovery has reduced short-term risk concerns. But investors remain hesitant about long-term expansion in a country beset by deep social rifts.
Much of the divisiveness centres on Thaksin, the assumed leader and financier of the movement, who is loved by Thais as much as he is loathed.
Overthrown in a 2006 coup and sentenced in absentia to two years in prison for graft, the twice-elected Thaksin is fighting to return from self-imposed exile and wrestle back de facto political power through his allies in the opposition party.
Security was stepped up late on Saturday after two attacks on what the authorities said were symbolic targets. It was not known who was behind the attacks and protesters denied responsibility.
A grenade exploded in the compound of the Defence Ministry, close to the protest site, slightly wounding two people, while an explosive device was hurled at the headquarters of the National Anti-Corruption Commission in Nonthaburi, near Bangkok.
Protest leaders were planning to raise the intensity of their rally on Monday and Tuesday. They might seek to make Abhisit's job impossible by following him and blocking his every move.
The premier is avoiding his office, parliament and his home for security reasons and has based himself at a heavily fortified military compound, travelling around the city by helicopter.
Cambodia: Ban on Marriages to South Korean Men
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: March 19, 2010
Cambodia has temporarily barred its citizens from marrying South Korean men, after two dozen women were sold into marriage by matchmakers, an official said Friday. Koy Kuong, a Foreign Ministry spokesman, said the ban would remain in place while the government worked to ensure that South Korean men hoping to marry Cambodian women were able to first prove that they were single and did not have a prison record. “We want to make sure that their marriages are real marriages, not fake, and not involved with human trafficking,” Mr. Koy Kuong said. It was the second time the government had imposed such a ban.
Published: March 19, 2010
Cambodia has temporarily barred its citizens from marrying South Korean men, after two dozen women were sold into marriage by matchmakers, an official said Friday. Koy Kuong, a Foreign Ministry spokesman, said the ban would remain in place while the government worked to ensure that South Korean men hoping to marry Cambodian women were able to first prove that they were single and did not have a prison record. “We want to make sure that their marriages are real marriages, not fake, and not involved with human trafficking,” Mr. Koy Kuong said. It was the second time the government had imposed such a ban.
American released from Myanmar returns to US soil
By BRETT ZONGKER, Associated Press Writer Brett Zongker, Associated Press Writer – Fri Mar 19, 6:48 pm ET
CHANTILLY, Va. – A pro-democracy activist jailed for months in Myanmar after trying to visit his sick mother in prison arrived home in the United States on Friday, capping weeks of discussions between the ruling military junta and the U.S. State Department.
Nyi Nyi Aung (nee nee ong) was reunited with his fiance at Washington Dulles International Airport. He gave Wa Wa Kyaw (wah wah chaw) a long hug and said he was thankful to be home.
Still, the homecoming was bittersweet, he said.
"My freedom is not really the point. We want to try to reach freedom for Burma," Nyi Nyi Aung said, using the other name for Myanmar. "My family and friends all stay in prison, so I feel not really happy."
The 40-year-old has worked full-time in recent years from his Maryland home, funded by grants, to promote democracy in Myanmar. A political refugee, he became a U.S. citizen in 2002 after seeking asylum but has traveled back to his homeland many times without incident.
This time Nyi Nyi Aung, also known as Kyaw Zaw Lwin (chaw zow loo-ehn), was arrested in Yangon's international airport upon arrival Sept. 3, accused of plotting to stir political unrest.
Authorities took him to an interrogation center where he said he was beaten and denied food and water for a week. The Washington-based advocacy group Freedom Now said he was held in solitary confinement and later placed in a military dog kennel with no light, bathroom or bed.
Nyi Nyi Aung was convicted in February of forging a national identity card, possessing undeclared foreign currency and failing to renounce his Myanmar citizenship when becoming an American citizen. He denied the charges.
Conditions improved somewhat when Nyi Nyi Aung was sent to prison, he said.
"The prison was physically fine, but mentally, they torture you," he said.
He had lost 20 pounds by the time he returned home, said his fiance Wa Wa Kyaw.
"He looks tired, exhausted," she said. "He's very strong in spirit."
The couple lives in Montgomery Village, Md., and Nyi Nyi Aung last returned to Myanmar in 2008. Last year, he desperately wanted to return, knowing the health of his mother, who has cancer, is failing.
"He was having nightmares about his mother," said Wa Wa Kyaw.
He was the only known U.S. political prisoner in Myanmar, though at least 2,100 other political dissidents are detained there, according to the group Freedom Now.
The New Light of Myanmar newspaper, a mouthpiece for the junta, said the government pardoned and deported Nyi Nyi Aung after giving "special consideration to bilateral friendship" after the U.S. State Department requested his release.
A U.S. consular official escorted him out of Myanmar, and the State Department in Washington welcomed Nyi Nyi Aung's return Friday.
"His release is not something that happened just because the Burmese decided to be nice," said State Department spokesman Gordon Duguid. "It happened because U.S. officials over several weeks made a determined effort to engage Burmese contacts that they have developed over the past year to make it clear how important his release is to the United States.
"That quiet diplomacy has paid off with his arrival here today."
Ties between the two countries are strained.
The United States recently modified its strict policy of isolating the junta with hopes that increased engagement would encourage change. But the Obama administration has said it will not lift sanctions on Myanmar unless it sees concrete progress toward democratic reform. Most notably, U.S. officials seek the release of detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and freedom for her party to participate in elections expected later this year.
As a teenager in Myanmar, Nyi Nyi Aung helped organize students during the country's 1988 pro-democracy uprising, which was violently suppressed by the military, and later fled to the United States.
Maryland Rep. Chris Van Hollen said in a statement that the imprisonment was an affront to the rule of law.
"While I am pleased Nyi Nyi Aung has been set free, we must continue to press for the release of all political prisoners held by the Burmese junta," Van Hollen said.
___
Associated Press Writer Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report.
CHANTILLY, Va. – A pro-democracy activist jailed for months in Myanmar after trying to visit his sick mother in prison arrived home in the United States on Friday, capping weeks of discussions between the ruling military junta and the U.S. State Department.
Nyi Nyi Aung (nee nee ong) was reunited with his fiance at Washington Dulles International Airport. He gave Wa Wa Kyaw (wah wah chaw) a long hug and said he was thankful to be home.
Still, the homecoming was bittersweet, he said.
"My freedom is not really the point. We want to try to reach freedom for Burma," Nyi Nyi Aung said, using the other name for Myanmar. "My family and friends all stay in prison, so I feel not really happy."
The 40-year-old has worked full-time in recent years from his Maryland home, funded by grants, to promote democracy in Myanmar. A political refugee, he became a U.S. citizen in 2002 after seeking asylum but has traveled back to his homeland many times without incident.
This time Nyi Nyi Aung, also known as Kyaw Zaw Lwin (chaw zow loo-ehn), was arrested in Yangon's international airport upon arrival Sept. 3, accused of plotting to stir political unrest.
Authorities took him to an interrogation center where he said he was beaten and denied food and water for a week. The Washington-based advocacy group Freedom Now said he was held in solitary confinement and later placed in a military dog kennel with no light, bathroom or bed.
Nyi Nyi Aung was convicted in February of forging a national identity card, possessing undeclared foreign currency and failing to renounce his Myanmar citizenship when becoming an American citizen. He denied the charges.
Conditions improved somewhat when Nyi Nyi Aung was sent to prison, he said.
"The prison was physically fine, but mentally, they torture you," he said.
He had lost 20 pounds by the time he returned home, said his fiance Wa Wa Kyaw.
"He looks tired, exhausted," she said. "He's very strong in spirit."
The couple lives in Montgomery Village, Md., and Nyi Nyi Aung last returned to Myanmar in 2008. Last year, he desperately wanted to return, knowing the health of his mother, who has cancer, is failing.
"He was having nightmares about his mother," said Wa Wa Kyaw.
He was the only known U.S. political prisoner in Myanmar, though at least 2,100 other political dissidents are detained there, according to the group Freedom Now.
The New Light of Myanmar newspaper, a mouthpiece for the junta, said the government pardoned and deported Nyi Nyi Aung after giving "special consideration to bilateral friendship" after the U.S. State Department requested his release.
A U.S. consular official escorted him out of Myanmar, and the State Department in Washington welcomed Nyi Nyi Aung's return Friday.
"His release is not something that happened just because the Burmese decided to be nice," said State Department spokesman Gordon Duguid. "It happened because U.S. officials over several weeks made a determined effort to engage Burmese contacts that they have developed over the past year to make it clear how important his release is to the United States.
"That quiet diplomacy has paid off with his arrival here today."
Ties between the two countries are strained.
The United States recently modified its strict policy of isolating the junta with hopes that increased engagement would encourage change. But the Obama administration has said it will not lift sanctions on Myanmar unless it sees concrete progress toward democratic reform. Most notably, U.S. officials seek the release of detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and freedom for her party to participate in elections expected later this year.
As a teenager in Myanmar, Nyi Nyi Aung helped organize students during the country's 1988 pro-democracy uprising, which was violently suppressed by the military, and later fled to the United States.
Maryland Rep. Chris Van Hollen said in a statement that the imprisonment was an affront to the rule of law.
"While I am pleased Nyi Nyi Aung has been set free, we must continue to press for the release of all political prisoners held by the Burmese junta," Van Hollen said.
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Associated Press Writer Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report.
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