A prominent exiled Myanmar opposition lawmaker yesterday called on the Philippines to take a more prominent role in pushing for genuine democratic changes in the isolated state.
Khun Myint Tun, who is a member of Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD), said atrocities continued in his homeland and urged the UN to withdraw its recognition of the ruling military junta.
He said it was time for ASEAN “and the United Nations to be more serious in crafting tangible ways to bring democracy back” to Myanmar, including pressuring the generals to open up dialogue with the opposition.
“ASEAN should talk about dialogue. ASEAN should discuss the Burma issue during dialogues with China,” Khun Myint Tun said, using the country’s former name.
Khun Myint Tun said he was in Manila to “urge the Philippine government as a member state of ASEAN to reject the Burmese junta’s so-called road map to democracy and to take a lead in forwarding a genuine tripartite dialogue in Burma.”
The Philippines has warned it will not ratify ASEAN’s charter if the junta continues to detain democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi.
ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
The group has often been criticized for its “constructive engagement” policy towards Myanmar, even as foreign ministers issued a strong statement expressing “deep disappointment” over the continued detention of Aung San Suu Kyi last month.
Myanmar’s military rulers had “ruthlessly murdered monks, students and people who had demonstrated peacefully for dialogue,” Khun Mying Tun said, referring to a crackdown on protestors last year that the UN has said left 31 dead.
Khun Myint Tun was elected a member of parliament in 1990, when Aung San Suu Kyi led the NLD to a landslide win that was never recognized by the junta.
He was imprisoned for seven years until 2003, but continues to work in exile for reforms in Myanmar.
Meanwhile, US first lady Laura Bush, an outspoken critic of Myanmar’s junta, met yesterday with refugees from the country.
Accompanying US President George W. Bush on a three-country swing through Asia, Laura Bush flew to the Thai-Myanmar border to spend the day at the Mae La refugee camp and a health clinic run by a woman known as the “Mother Teresa of Burma.”
Mae La is home to 38,000 Karen, an ethnic minority group that rights organizations say is the target of a violent military crackdown in Myanmar.
Laura Bush was greeted at the camp by Karen dancers. She attended English and math classes for children at the camp and an orientation briefing for refugees going to third countries.
“We are refugees. Our dream is that we want to go home. But repatriation with dignity and safety is not possible right now,” community leader Mahn Htun Htun told her during a discussion.
SEEKING CHANGE: A hospital worker said she did not vote in previous elections, but ‘now I can see that maybe my vote can change the system and the country’ Voting closed yesterday across the Solomon Islands in the south Pacific nation’s first general election since the government switched diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan to Beijing and struck a secret security pact that has raised fears of the Chinese navy gaining a foothold in the region. The Solomon Islands’ closer relationship with China and a troubled domestic economy weighed on voters’ minds as they cast their ballots. As many as 420,000 registered voters had their say across 50 national seats. For the first time, the national vote also coincided with elections for eight of the 10 local governments. Esther Maeluma cast her vote in the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
HYPOCRISY? The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday asked whether Biden was talking about China or the US when he used the word ‘xenophobic’ US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called for a hike in steel tariffs on China, accusing Beijing of cheating as he spoke at a campaign event in Pennsylvania. Biden accused China of xenophobia, too, in a speech to union members in Pittsburgh. “They’re not competing, they’re cheating. They’re cheating and we’ve seen the damage here in America,” Biden said. Chinese steel companies “don’t need to worry about making a profit because the Chinese government is subsidizing them so heavily,” he said. Biden said he had called for the US Trade Representative to triple the tariff rates for Chinese steel and aluminum if Beijing was