The Burmese army has been easily recruiting soldiers in cyclone-affected areas of Arakan as many families in the area are struggling for the daily survival after Cyclone Giri ravaged the region. Many underage youths have also been recruited into the Burmese army, said local people and relief workers.
A relief worker said, "The worst area for recruitment of child soldiers is Mray Bon Township. Many families in the area are facing hardships getting daily food after the cyclone. Because of this, the Burmese army is very easily able to recruit child soldiers in the area."
On 16 December, 2010, 17-year-old Khin Maung Zaw, son of U Hla Maung from Yet Chaung Village in Kha Yu Chaung Village Tract in Mray Bon Township, was recruited into the Burmese army. Khin Maung Zaw's family disagreed with the recruitment, but were unable to stop it. Khin Maung Zaw was later sent to the No. 9 western command training school.
16-year-old Min Naing, son of U Wai Kyan Aung from Awar Kyaunt Su Village in Mray Bon Township, was also recruited by the Burmese army despite his family's opposition because he has not become a novitiate in accordance with tradition. Another 16-year-old youth from the monastery school in Wa Khoke Chaung Village in Mray Bon was also recently recruited by the Burmese army. 16-year-old Maung Soe Soe Ko, son of U Kyaw Thein Chay from Pa Thone Village in Mray Bon Township was recruited by Sergeant Soe Hla and brought to Ann to attend training.
"We heard that the Burmese army recruited around 30 soldiers, mostly children, in the area recently and they were brought to the No. 9 training school for basic training. But some sources told me that the child soldiers were brought to the western command headquarters in Ann Town from the No. 9 training school in Mray Bon in army vehicles," the relief worker said.
The army recruiting team is led by Captain Aung Thu Nyein from Sakhaka 5, the Military Operation Planning Bureau, and the team is now roaming the cyclone affected area village by village to recruit soldiers.
Many youths in the area are now joining with the Burmese army after the youths have faced many difficulties with their daily survival after Cyclone Giri, said a monk from the area, who added, "The army authority is taking the opportunity to recruit soldiers in our area. The soldiers in our village have been luring youths to join the Burmese army by shooting guns into the air."
Many middle and high school level students in Giri-affected areas had to drop out of school due to the crisis their families' were facing after the cyclone. The army authority has used the opportunity to recruit them into the Burmese army.
Dhaka: Around 30 Arakanese gathered to stage a protest in front of the UN building in New York, USA, on the anniversary of the fall of Arakanese sovereignty on 31 December, 2010, demanding that their land be decolonized by Burma.
The Burmese central government has deprived Arakanese of all rights in order to monopolize the state since Burma gained independence. Arakanese people have no right to carry out their fate themselves. Many Arakanese strongly believe that independence was not for Arakan, but only for Burman people, because the British transferred administration of the state directly to Burman rulers.
"We know the UN declared on 14 December 1960 that there were no more colonies around the world, but our people are still under the colonization of Burma. So we demanded the UN to wipe out the colony system in Burma in accordance with its declaration," Ko Hla Htay said.
The Arakanese staged the protest in front of the UN under the name of the Arakan Freedom Movement committee, which was formed by some Arakanese people living in the USA. U Khine Aung Kyaw, who is also an Arakanese patriot that joined the protest, said, "Demanding the UN to decolonize is right and correct because Arakan is now a colony. There have been no rights for Arakanese people since Arakan lost its independence. Today is the 226th anniversary of the fall of Arakanese sovereignty. We have a right to demand decolonization at the UN."
During the gathering for the protest in front of the UN building, some prominent Arakanese leaders, including Dr. Aye Kyaw, delivered a speech about the current situation of Arakan as well as the history of Arakan.
After the protest, the Arakanese Freedom Movement committee send an appeal letter to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, the US government, the European Union, and other related offices around the world, demanding decolonization.
Ko Ba Khin, who is also an organizer of the protest, said, "We described in the letter the present situation of Arakan under the Burmese junta. We want the world leaders to know about our people's condition and how much they are suffering under the current military junta. We are satisfied with our activities because we can send our letter to world leaders during the day of mourning for the loss of our sovereignty. We believe our program was ended successfully." This is the first time Arakanese people have staged such a demonstration and demanded decolonization in front of the UN in New York.
Arakan State was an independent country from nearly 3225 BCE to 1784 CE, when the Burmese king, Bodaw Phaya, invaded and occupied the kingdom. Since then Arakan has been continually ruled by other powers - passing under British rule and Japanese rule for a short period before becoming part of an independent Burma in 1948.
A survey by Abac Poll of Assumption University has found that more than70 per cent of respondents feel Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has shown stronger leadership this year compared to last year.
The opinion poll was involved 2,381 people aged 18 up in 17 provinces during Dec 1-14.
Mr Abhisit's leadership indices were measured at: 74.9 per cent for honesty, 74.1 per cent for his ability to stay composed, 72 per cent for moral standards, 71.7 per cent for adhering more to the interests of the majority than of close associates, 71.2 per cent for his reliability, 70.5 per cent for his charisma, and 68.9 per cent for his being democratic.
To the question what non-economic problems they wanted urgently solved, 78.9 per cent of the respondents pointed to division s among people in the country, 78.7 per cent wanted land reform for agriculture, and 75.3 per cent wanted the government to do away with social disparities, followed by problems over corruption, drugs and other crimes.
NEW YORK – A newly released report by the US National Archives details the close collaborative relationship between Nazi leaders and the grand mufti of Jerusalem, , indicating that Nazi authorities planned to use Husseini as their leader after their conquest of Palestine.
Husseini was paid handsomely by the Nazis for his efforts, recruited Muslims for the SS and was promised that he would be made Palestine’s leader after its Jewish population of 350,000 had been murdered.
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The report, Hitler’s Shadow: Nazi War Criminals, US Intelligence and the Cold War, was prepared on the basis of thousands of documents declassified under the 1998 Nazi War Crimes Disclosure Act.
“Hitler’s Shadow” is an addendum to a 2004 US government report, US Intelligence and the Nazis.
The new report’s authors, Norman J.W. Goda of the and Richard Breitman of American University, said the addendum was particularly important.
“We thought the information was significant and detailed,” Breitman told The Jerusalem Post regarding the newly uncovered facts on the Jerusalem mufti in particular.
“We thought the April 1945 contract between the [German] Foreign Office and Husseini was striking evidence of an ideological collaboration both sides hoped would continue after the war.”
Husseini, who died in Beirut in 1974, was apparently paid 50,000 marks per month, and 80,000 additional marks a month for living expenses, according to a contract with the Germans. This was a time when a German field officer typically earned 25,000 marks a year.
According to the report, on November 28, 1941, told Husseini that the Afrika Korps would “liberate” Arabs in the Middle East and that “Germany’s only objective there would be the destruction of the Jews.”
“SS leaders and Husseini both claimed that Nazism and Islam had common values as well as common enemies – above all, the Jews,” the report states.
In fall 1943, it says, Husseini went to the Croatia, a German ally, to recruit Muslims for the Waffen-SS.
“During that trip he told the troops of the newly formed Bosnian-Muslim 13th Mountain Waffen-SS division that the entire Muslim world ought to follow their example,” the report states.
Husseini also organized a 1944 mission in which Palestine Arabs and Germans would carry out sabotage and propaganda after German planes dropped them into Palestine by parachute.
“Husseini insisted that the Arabs take command after they landed and direct their fight against the Jews of Palestine, not the British authorities,” according to the report.
As late as 1945, the German Foreign Office rewrote its contracts with Husseini.
At that point, the outcome of the war was no longer in question, and therefore the contracts are significant as indications of Nazi intentions to work with the mufti in future political-ideological campaigns in Arab lands.
In October 1945, the report said, the British head of Mandatory Palestine’s Criminal Investigation Division told the US assistant military attaché in Cairo that the mufti might be able to unite Palestine’s Arabs and “cool off the Zionists. Of course, we can’t do it, but it might not be such a damn bad idea at that.”
Husseini was paid handsomely by the Nazis for his efforts, recruited Muslims for the SS and was promised that he would be made Palestine’s leader after its Jewish population of 350,000 had been murdered.
RELATED:
CIA Report details ties between US and ex-Nazis
US Jew who posed as neo-Nazi sues ex-SS officer
The report, Hitler’s Shadow: Nazi War Criminals, US Intelligence and the Cold War, was prepared on the basis of thousands of documents declassified under the 1998 Nazi War Crimes Disclosure Act.
“Hitler’s Shadow” is an addendum to a 2004 US government report, US Intelligence and the Nazis.
The new report’s authors, Norman J.W. Goda of the and Richard Breitman of American University, said the addendum was particularly important.
“We thought the information was significant and detailed,” Breitman told The Jerusalem Post regarding the newly uncovered facts on the Jerusalem mufti in particular.
“We thought the April 1945 contract between the [German] Foreign Office and Husseini was striking evidence of an ideological collaboration both sides hoped would continue after the war.”
Husseini, who died in Beirut in 1974, was apparently paid 50,000 marks per month, and 80,000 additional marks a month for living expenses, according to a contract with the Germans. This was a time when a German field officer typically earned 25,000 marks a year.
According to the report, on November 28, 1941, told Husseini that the Afrika Korps would “liberate” Arabs in the Middle East and that “Germany’s only objective there would be the destruction of the Jews.”
“SS leaders and Husseini both claimed that Nazism and Islam had common values as well as common enemies – above all, the Jews,” the report states.
In fall 1943, it says, Husseini went to the Croatia, a German ally, to recruit Muslims for the Waffen-SS.
“During that trip he told the troops of the newly formed Bosnian-Muslim 13th Mountain Waffen-SS division that the entire Muslim world ought to follow their example,” the report states.
Husseini also organized a 1944 mission in which Palestine Arabs and Germans would carry out sabotage and propaganda after German planes dropped them into Palestine by parachute.
“Husseini insisted that the Arabs take command after they landed and direct their fight against the Jews of Palestine, not the British authorities,” according to the report.
As late as 1945, the German Foreign Office rewrote its contracts with Husseini.
At that point, the outcome of the war was no longer in question, and therefore the contracts are significant as indications of Nazi intentions to work with the mufti in future political-ideological campaigns in Arab lands.
In October 1945, the report said, the British head of Mandatory Palestine’s Criminal Investigation Division told the US assistant military attaché in Cairo that the mufti might be able to unite Palestine’s Arabs and “cool off the Zionists. Of course, we can’t do it, but it might not be such a damn bad idea at that.”
Husseini’s CIA file, the report states, indicates that wartime Allied intelligence organizations gathered a “healthy portion” of the incriminating evidence against him.
This evidence “is significant in light of Husseini’s lenient postwar treatment,” the report notes. Husseini was allowed to flee to Syria after the war despite enough evidence to bring him to trial as a war criminal.
“Together, the Army and CIA records will keep scholars of World War II and the Cold War busy for many years,” the report’s authors conclude.
This evidence “is significant in light of Husseini’s lenient postwar treatment,” the report notes. Husseini was allowed to flee to Syria after the war despite enough evidence to bring him to trial as a war criminal.
“Together, the Army and CIA records will keep scholars of World War II and the Cold War busy for many years,” the report’s authors conclude.
On the heels of the largest influx of Ethnic refugees from Burma to Thailand in a decade, assistance organisations are calling for a global response in ensuring a holistic system of aid is in place for those displaced.
Medics from Mae Tao Clinic on the outskirts of Mae Sot, Thailand provide aid to some of the 500-odd refugees at a temporary shelter near Mae Koe Kan village, western Thailand, on December 1, 2010. The people from eastern Karen State south of the border town of Myawaddy near Mae Sot, Thailand, fled continuing clashes that flared late last month between the Burmese Army and a Democratic Karen Buddhist Army splinter faction. The Forum of Burma’s Community-Based Organisations, a bloc of more than 20 aid groups based along the border, including the Mae Tao clinic, has written to supporters to pressure governments and aid organisations to work towards designing a concrete plan to deal with an expected rise in Burmese refugees fleeing to Thailand. Photo: Brennan O’Connor/Nomad Photos
“In order to ensure the safety of such civilians [those fleeing Burma], there needs to be a concrete plan in place for Thai authorities and non-governmental organisations to provide the necessary protection and assistance to civilians until they feel safe for them to return home,” stipulates the appeal missive.
In meeting with international government and non-governmental leaders, the FCOB urges advocates to push for an end to hostilities; commencement of a tripartite dialogue among Burmese authorities, ethnic and political opposition leaders; involvement of the UN refugee body, the UNHCR; and, acceptance of the Royal Thai government in facilitating both time-sensitive assistance and repatriation.
On November 8 alone, one day after Burma’s general election, around 30,000 Burmese were estimated to have fled to Thailand in the face of fresh hostilities between the Burmese Army and an armed ethnic opposition group. In the vicinity of the Burmese border town of Myawaddy, 25,000 were believed to have crossed into Thailand.
Though most of those who initially fled are judged to have since returned, FCOB estimates 3,600 continue to receive assistance along the Thai border, with a few thousand more stranded on the Burmese side and an unknown number of refugees in hiding on the Thai side of the frontier.
FCOB, buttressing its appeal, cautions that in the wake of the troubled November election along with the continued rejection of the central government’s Border Guard Force proposal by several armed ethnic groups, “further escalations in conflict and insecurity are likely in the ethnic areas bordering Thailand, India and China”.
The appeal was signed by FCOB co-ordinator Dr. Cynthia Maung, the highly respected founder of the Mao Tao Clinic on the outskirts of Mae Sot, a short distance from Myawaddy.
The FCOB also encouraged supporters to protest outside Burmese embassies around the world on December 10, UN International Human Rights Day.
Secret Documents Add to Suspicions About Myanmar's Nuclear Aspirations
Monday, December 13, 2010
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Secret cables from the U.S. Embassy in Rangoon, released by the web site WikiLeaks, have added to long-standing suspicions about Myanmar's nuclear ambitions and its alleged covert cooperation with North Korea.
Though not definitive, as the relationship has been difficult to prove, the cables add new evidence of a series of links between Myanmar, also known as Burma, and nuclear-aspiring North Korea, that have been rumored for several years.
One cable from September 2008 reports "a Burmese civilian met with members of USDAO (U.S. US Defense Attaché Office) Rangoon and offered to sell Uranium-238." (The embassy bought it.) Another from 2004 quotes a Burmese officer saying that he had witnessed North Korean technicians helping to construct an underground facility in the foothills more than 300 miles northwest of Rangoon.
While the leaked documents report nuclear intentions, the cable's author notes that it does not confirm North Korean cooperation. "This account is perhaps best considered alongside other information of various origins indicating the Burmese and North Koreans are up to something," the cable says.
David Steinberg, a professor at the Georgetown School of Foreign Service specializing on Burma-Myanmar, North Korea and U.S. policy in Asia, said the cables generally do not reveal any new information, but rather confirm what people already knew.
"North Koreans have provided military equipment, no question about it," he said. "[Burma] does have uranium deposits in the country naturally. Whether they are being exploited is the question, but there are places that are fenced off that may be sights for uranium excavation."
As the Washington Post reports, Myanmar has largely dismissed the reports of its nuclear intentions that are based mainly on "information from defectors, intercepted materials and analysis of satellite photos," the article says.
The Rangoon cables also offer other insights. One from January 2008reported that China, Burma's most powerful ally, was growing impatient with the small, secluded nation. "Chinese Fed Up," a subhead reads.
Steinberg explained that this is a legitimate concern. China has the same policy for both North Korea and Myanmar, he explained: "Stability on the border, economic development across the border and no refugees."
The cables could raise questions about the U.S. policy in the region, he said. After nearly 20 years of a U.S. policy that advocated for regime change, the Obama administration has eased diplomatic isolation of Myanmar's military junta.
"As long as we talk about regime change they are going to resist," Steinberg said. "We have to accept the government. (The U.S. does not have an ambassador there). We don't have to like it, but we do have to recognize the government."
The prolonged weakness in the US and Europe may be the least of Asia's troubles in 2011, economists say, as the region fights potentially destabilizing inflationary pressures.
Asia will lead global growth in 2011, with China, now the world's second largest economy, steady at about 10 percent growth, the government-affiliated Chinese Academy of Social Sciences forecasts.
With a strong rebound in the US or Europe just as unlikely as a relapse into a "double-dip" recession, Asia is easing its way out of stimulus programs launched during the financial crisis. But the US Federal Reserve's effort to nurture job creation through fresh "quantitative easing" has governments across the Pacific maneuvering to keep price pressures from spiraling out of control.
"The inflation outlook is really critical at this point," UBS economist Duncan Wooldridge said in a recent conference call, noting that excluding Japan, consumer price inflation in Asia has been averaging about 5 percent.
"From my perspective there's really only one thing that matters at this point: inflation," he said.
China's consumer price inflation surged to a 28-month high of 5.1 percent in November. The government raised interest rates in October for the first time since the financial crisis struck and has shifted to a "prudent" monetary policy for 2011 from one that was "relatively loose," signaling its intent to tighten credit as it fights price hikes.
Focusing on the politically sensitive food prices that are said to account for up to three-quarters of the latest inflationary spike, the Chinese government ordered a crackdown on commodity speculation, price caps for edible oil and subsidies for the poor.
It is already claiming some success in bringing prices for some vegetables and fruits lower. Meanwhile, the weather problems—like drought in south China and floods in Pakistan and Thailand—that have pushed food prices higher should moderate by midyear, according to most forecasts.
But inflation remains a threat, especially for emerging economies that are attracting large inflows of money from investors seeking higher returns than they can get from US Treasurys and shares. The surging liquidity is adding to pressures on Asian economies to either raise interest rates or let currencies that already have gained substantially against the weak US dollar appreciate further.
"Emerging economies can stop inflation if they are determined," says Shanghai-based independent economist Andy Xie. But he figures that an effective strategy would require raising exchange rates by up to 50 percent and interest rates by 10 percent.
"There is almost zero chance for them to pursue such a contractionary policy," he says.
Those options, while unpalatable, reflect the region's relative strength compared with the US, EU and Japan, says a report by Macquarie Securities.
"Treading the fine line between growth undershoot and inflation overshoot is a challenge that is particular to Asia," it says.
Japan, now the world's No. 3 economy after it was overtaken by China this year, faces no such dilemma. Though its economy gained momentum in the third quarter, that is fading as slowing overseas demand and the strong yen bite into exports, while deflation continues to stymie growth.
With recession-stricken Americans unable to resume the kind of freewheeling spending that powered growth for much of the past two decades, the recovery increasingly hinges on Asian resilience.
"Asia is depending on demand in this part of the world," says David Cohen, a regional economist for Action Economic in Singapore. "That's where it's going to have to come from."
So far, China's rebound has largely been powered by massive bank lending in support of government stimulus, backed by steady, double-digit growth in consumer spending. The benefits spill across the region, from coal and iron ore miners in Australia and Indonesia, to semiconductor makers in South Korea and Taiwan.
As they launch a new five-year economic plan and prepare for a leadership transition in late 2011, China's leaders have signaled their determination to keep growth at a steady pace with a recent announcement that they will stick to a "prudent" monetary policy for the coming year, says Ye Tan, a popular economic commentator in Shanghai.
"In my view, they are sending the message that once the government curbs inflation, it will carry on with another round of investment to ensure it can meet its growth goals for 2011," Ye says.
Thousands of cyclone victims in Arakan State are still living in temporary huts two months after Giri struck the area as they have been unable to repair their damaged homes due to the high price of local construction materials, said villagers.
The price of bamboo is up to 30,000 kyat for 100 pieces since the cyclone hit, while the price of stitched palm leaf flaps is over 30,000 kyat for 1,000 pieces.
In Arakan State, the homes are traditionally constructed with nipa palm and wood pillars.
"We build the roof of homes with nipa palms and wells of home with bamboo in our state. The prices of such materials are going up recently. All residents have given up repairing their homes that were damaged during the Giri attack in Arakan State," he said.
The people of Arakan in cyclone-affected areas are still living in poor conditions as they have no homes, but there has been no relief aid to help them rebuild.
A housewife in Taung Sai Kan in Mray Bon Township said that in the area of Taung Sai Kan, there are over 40 villages, but no one has received any plastic sheets, canvas, or tents. Neither the government nor NGOs have provided any material for home repairs in the area. 
However, his organization is trying hard to get some funds for home repairs, he added.
Most Giri victims throughout Arakan State are extremely anxious for their health because the cold season is just starting. Many people will have their health affected if they are living in temporary huts without roofs and wells during the cold season.
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