Stars & Dignatories blog for Aung San Suu Kyi- do your part

Hi Friends,

I chanced upon this website where thousands including international politicians and Hollywood stars wrote moving tributes in an effort to get Daw Aung San Suu Kyi freed from incarceration in Burma. The website is 64forsuu.org (click here)

This post is just a small effort from me to do my bit.

Please read, pen something if you want and pass it on!

Cheers,

Dr.Huang Shoou Chyuan

Information about the project: About 64 For Suu

Welcome to the global hub for supporting, Aung San Suu Kyi, Burma's detained democracy leader, on her 64th birthday.

64 for Suu is a site where anyone from around the world can leave a message of support for Burma's imprisoned democracy leader, Aung San Suu Kyi and all of Burma's political prisoners.

We want to gather thousands of messages by Aung San Suu Kyi's 64th Birthday, June 19th 2009.

You can view video, text, twitter and image messages from around the world left by politicians, celebrities and the public in support of Aung San Suu Kyi.

Burma: Peace virgil for Aung San Suu Kyi

Hi Friends,

All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.

Edmund Burke Irish orator, philosopher, & politician (1729 - 1797)

I have used Burke’s quotation more than a few times in my posts about Burma’s actions against its own people and against Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. I still feel that its use is appropriate as the regime remains intransigient and despotic.

I have written so many posts about Burma that one may be forgiven if one thinks I have a personal “ axe to grind” with its rulers. I have neither family nor commercial ties with Burma. In fact the nearest I have been to Burma was probably Chiang Mai or Bangkok.

The only Burmese I know are humble hardworking folks, including competent operating theatre nurses, helpful IT engineers who solve my computer problems and the amiable doctors whom I meet at regional medical conferences. I know many who actually become solid Singapore citizens who add positively to our so-called hardworking “Asian” work-ethics.

Gerald Giam had eloquently written recently to the ST Forum and I shall also link his blog-post about the recent events regarding Daw Aung and the Burmese regime. Read here

I have posted extensively about Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and the Burmese regime over the past few years and I shall just link it for those who want to read them.

Link:
1. Does Myanmar deserve ASEAN? July 13 2006
http://nofearsingapore.blogspot.com/2006/07/does-myanmar-deserve-asean.html

2. Aung San Suu Kyi: Yet another year in detention! May 26, 2007
http://nofearsingapore.blogspot.com/2007/05/aung-san-suu-kyi-yet-another-year-in.html

3. Myanmar's brave Buddhist clergy and personal thoughts on peaceful protest September 24, 2007
http://nofearsingapore.blogspot.com/2007/09/myanmars-brave-buddhist-clergy-and.html

4. Burma’s despotic regime has crossed the line September 27, 2007
http://nofearsingapore.blogspot.com/2007/09/burmas-despotic-regime-has-crossed-line.html

5. Myanmar needs our support… but the silence is deafening. September 25, 2007
http://nofearsingapore.blogspot.com/2007/09/myanmar-needs-our-support-but-silence.html

6. ASEAN's rebuke of Burma welcomed but more action needed September 29, 2007
http://nofearsingapore.blogspot.com/2007/09/aseans-rebuke-of-burma-welcomed-but.html

7. Havel, Walesa and Tutu:Living proof that evil does not always triumph September 30, 2007
http://nofearsingapore.blogspot.com/2007/09/havel-walesa-and-tutuliving-proof-that.html

8. Why No Singaporean question and no Singaporean marches. October 10, 2007
http://nofearsingapore.blogspot.com/2007/10/wny-no-singaporean-question-and-no.html

9. Burma: Time for healing November 10, 2007
http://nofearsingapore.blogspot.com/2007/11/burma-time-for-healing.html

10. Burma fools the world (again) February 20, 2008
http://nofearsingapore.blogspot.com/2008/02/burma-fools-world-again.html

11.Burma's cyclone disaster: Time for unconditional giving May 06, 2008
http://nofearsingapore.blogspot.com/2008/05/burmas-cyclone-disaster-time-for.html

12. Burma’s xenophobic actions leave me almost speechless! May 09, 2008
http://nofearsingapore.blogspot.com/2008/05/burmas-xenophobic-actions-leave-me.html

13. ASEAN, please expel Burma May 19, 2008
http://nofearsingapore.blogspot.com/2008/05/asean-please-expel-burma.html

14. Burma continues crackdown while the world looks the other way November 20, 2008
http://nofearsingapore.blogspot.com/2008/11/burma-continues-crackdown-while-world.html

15. Action from UN needed for Burma and Zimbabwe! December 04, 2008
http://nofearsingapore.blogspot.com/2008/12/action-from-un-needed-for-burma-and.html


I fervently support Singapore and ASEAN doing more for Daw Aung.

Hence I was very disappointed that we had gone out of the way to welcome a Burmese leader here recently and even naming an orchid after him. I think it would have been understandable if we had extended per functionary diplomatic courtesies but there was no need to bend backwards ( or in this case “bend forward”) for them. Why so "pal-ly" with a pariah of the world?

I strongly support the Peace Virgil for Aung San Suu Kyi organised by Maruah (Singapore Working Group for an ASEAN Human Rights Mechanism. ) to be held at 5.30pm on May 31 at Speakers’ Corner.

I hope all Singaporeans, even those who classify themselves as “non-political” will see that this is a non-partisan cause that all who love peace can support.

I will be there and I will be in Yellow!

Peace to Burma. Justice for all.

Dr.Huang Shoou Chyuan

Action from UN needed for Burma and Zimbabwe!

Hi Friends,

Burma’s xenophobic dictators do not deserve to be treated with any civility.

ASEAN has tried and failed miserably when it gave the junta “face” by accepting it as a member of this regional grouping. Since then, Burma has been nothing but an embarrassment for ASEAN.

Other than its being in South-east Asia, the junta has nothing else in common with the other governments of ASEAN.

These despots think nothing of killing its own citizens, keeping its opponents in prison for decades and has notoriously kept its most famous citizen, the Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi under house arrest for most part of the last 20 years!

Having seen how passive actions such as economic sanctions have failed in extracting any ounce of humanity from these despots , perhaps it is time for an activist United Nations! Time for leaders to do as they please to their own people in the name of "sovereignty" and "principle of non-interference" is over.

Such rights do not apply to inhuman monsters!

Only then will thugs like Zimbabwe’s Mugabe come to their senses and leave the political scene for the good of their own people.

Dr.Huang Shoou Chyuan

Ex-presidents, premiers urge UN chief to intervene in Myanmar
03 December 2008 2334 hrs (SST)

WASHINGTON: More than 100 former government leaders wrote to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon Wednesday asking him to travel to military-ruled Myanmar to secure the release of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners.

The prominent figures behind the letter include ex-US presidents George H.W. Bush and Jimmy Carter, former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, ex-Australian premier John Howard, former French prime minister Lionel Jospin, former Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and ex-Philippine leaders Fidel Ramos and Corazon Aquino.

"This is an unprecedented outpouring of global support for the people of Burma (Myanmar), and I am pleased that so many have joined me in spotlighting this important issue," said Kjell Magne Bondevik, former Norwegian Prime Minister.

"Today we unite to call on the United Nations to take action - the first step towards achieving national reconciliation in Burma is creating a firm deadline for the release of all political prisoners," said Bondevik, now president of the Oslo Centre for Peace and Human Rights, which together with US-based rights group Freedom Now led the initiative.

The former leaders from more than 50 nations urged Ban to personally travel to Myanmar before the end of the year to secure the release of the military junta's 2,100 political prisoners.

"This is a historic letter from leaders representing every continent and asking the UN chief to personally intervene," Freedom Now's president Jared Genser told AFP.

Last month, more than 100 activists, including members of Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy and relief workers, journalists, monks and lawyers, were each given harsh sentences of up to 68 years in prison.

Their jailing came in the wake of a crackdown on those involved in protests in mid-2007 that were brutally crushed by the military government.

The letter by the former world leaders recalled that the UN Security Council had on October 11 last year issued a presidential statement urging the early release of all political prisoners in Myanmar.

The United Nations also had set the release of all political prisoners as one of its benchmark goals for 2008.

However, in direct defiance of these demands, the military junta has instead increased the number of political prisoners from 1,200 in June 2007 to over 2,100, the letter stated.

"The Burmese people are counting on the United Nations to take the required action to achieve the breakthrough they desperately need to both restore democracy to their country and address the serious humanitarian and human rights challenges that they face," it said.

It further urged Ban to encourage the Security Council to take "concrete action" if these efforts are not successful by the end of December 2008.

Ban's special envoy Ibrahim Gambari has made four visits to Myanmar since a bloody uprising a year ago but failed to revive a dialogue between detained democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and the junta.

Ministers from permanent Security Council member states Britain, the United States, France, Russia and China as well as other countries including Myanmar's ASEAN neighbours Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam met at the sidelines of the UN summit in September and called on the junta to make "tangible" progress on political reforms ahead of any visit by Ban before year-end.

Ban had made a lightning visit to Myanmar in May after the military rulers came under international fire for not allowing foreign aid into the country following a cyclone that left 138,000 people dead or missing.

The junta relented at the end after the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) said it would act as an aid channel. - AFP/de

ASEAN, please expel Burma

Dear Friends,

I sent the following letter to the Forum page last nght in response to Foreign Minister George Yeo’s statements about Burma. Yes, I know it was the eve of Vesak Day but I was really "Tak Boleh Tahan"(Malay for "cannot take it anymore") and could not just ignore the crimes of these Burmese junta and enjoy my holiday!

In brief, Yeo said,

“We must respect the autonomy of countries and accept the fact that they know local situations better than foreign people ever can”

and

“I don’t see how this (ie force-fed aid) can be done because if we try to do that, it will only make the situation worse and it will increase the suffering of the people in Myanmar”

Coincidentally, Alex Au has also just posted an article (read Burma should be suspended from ASEAN) of a similar vein calling on ASEAN to suspend Burma’s membership. I think suspension is too lenient- expulsion would be more appropriate.

I am not too hopeful that my letter will see the light of day in the print edition- but where there is life, there is hope!

Cheers

Dr.Huang Shoou Chyuan

PS: Can someone forward me the digital version of the Sunday Times article that quoted George Yeo saying those inappropriate statements? Thank you

The letter to the Editor of MSM (Mainstream Media) Forum Page

19 May, 2008

Dear Editor,

I am very disappointed by the sentiments expressed by our Foreign Minister George Yeo.

He said in response to reporters’ concern about the inexplicably poor response of Burma’s junta to do more for its own people and whether aid can be force-fed to this ASEAN nation,

“We must respect the autonomy of countries and accept the fact that they know local situations better than foreign people ever can”

and

“I don’t see how this (ie force-fed aid) can be done because if we try to do that, it will only make the situation worse and it will increase the suffering of the people in Myanmar”

ASEAN had seen it fit to invite Burma to be a member but membership must entail both privileges and obligations. If any member ceases to discharge her duties to her citizens, more must be done by ASEAN to encourage this member to fall in line with internationally accepted standards. If a member remains intransigent, expulsion must be an option to seriously consider.

If ASEAN does nothing, it will risk being labelled at best an “old boys’ club” and at worse a collaborator of a human rights violator.

What must Burma do before we say “Enough is enough”? Its leaders had disregarded an election that it had lost, kept a celebrated Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi , incarcerated for decades and now this non-chalant attitude to its people’s sufferings.

Truth be told Minister, whatever anyone does cannot “increase the suffering” more than what Burma’s poor citizens are undergoing now.

ASEAN must stop sitting on its hands and desist from giving Burma’s military junta any more encouragement to go about business as usual!

Dr. Huang Shoou Chyuan

Link: ASEAN meets to discuss about Burma ( No Action Talk Only - NATO)

Burma fools the world (again)

Hi Friends

Burma makes a fool of the international community once again.

It now has a draft constitution which more or less says, “ Anyone who is named Aung San Suu Kyi cannot participate in the 2010 elections.”

Okay, it actually stipulates that anyone who is married to a foreigner (even if the latter has long died) or who have children who are not Burma nationals cannot take part in domestic politics.

All these tailor-made laws and constitutions have a déjà vu effect about it.

Deja vu effect (or history repeating itself)

Now, let me think.... what does all this tinkering of the country’s laws remind me of?

Hey, isn’t it a real coincidence that the Malaysian elections has been hastily fixed for early Mar 08? Do you guys think early elections was called because the Malaysian economy is booming and the Barisan Nasional is confident of getting an overwhelming mandate from all the ethnic races- including from the Indians? And the electorate has forgotten how well their Health Minister Dr.Chua has performed ( in and out of bed)?

Or do you think that former deputy PM Anwar Ibrahim’s automatic disqualification till later in Mar 08 has anything to do with the election date?

Before I am accused of being arrogant and of belittling our ASEAN neighbours, let me be fair and state that such dastardly actions are not unknown on our own very shores. Really!

But I am getting old and my memory is fading... was it at our general elections when the polling date coincided with the disqualification period of some opposition politician? Someone please jolt my memory- was it JBJ ( again) or someone else?

Anyway it just goes to show that in the politics of this neck of the woods, the incumbent party always tries all tricks ( legal or otherwise) to stay in power! Like someone famously said, their job is not to help the opposition win!

ASEAN’s reaction ( or not) to Burma’s action

Going back to Burma’s situation, I do not think that Foreign Minister George Yeo’s statement,” But this is their own country, this is their own history, what can we do about it?" is particularly helpful to the cause of justice.

He could at least say, “Hey, if you continue like this, I don’t "friend" you!” or in diplomatic-speak, “ Burma’s actions are anachronistic and ASEAN and the rest of the international community cannot be expected to stand idly by while you continue to .... blah blah”

Sigh, in the real world, bad people continue to do bad things and the rest of the world just look away!

“All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing”
Edmund Burke

Dr.Huang Shoou Chyuan

Myanmar citizens with foreign husbands barred from domestic politics

By S. Ramesh, Channel NewsAsia Posted: 20 February 2008 0220 hrs

SINGAPORE :

Myanmar citizens who have a foreign husband and whose children are not Myanmar nationals cannot take part in domestic politics.

This is the regulation stipulated by the country's new Constitution.

Myanmar's Foreign Minister Nyan Win gave this update when he briefed ASEAN foreign ministers at their retreat in Singapore on Tuesday, according to Singapore Foreign Minister George Yeo who spoke to the media.

Mr Yeo was responding to a question on whether the Myanmar minister had given any indication if opposition leader Aung Syan Syu Kyi can take take part in the country's elections which is slated to be held in 2010.

According to Mr Nyan Win, this eligibility criteria has been around since 1974 and would be carried forward in the new Constitution.

Mr Yeo said "We (the ASEAN Foreign Ministers) expressed our views on this. It is not keeping with the times that certainly such a provision would be very odd in any other country in ASEAN. But this is their own country, this is their own history, what can we do about it?"

Separately, ASEAN's Foreign Ministers attending the informal retreat are due to spend the greater part of Wednesday discussing how members are implementing the ASEAN Charter.

Mr George Yeo, who is currently the ASEAN's Chair said, before getting down to discussions, Malaysia, Laos and Brunei will hand over documents to the ASEAN Secretary-General as their respective countries had completed ratifying the ASEAN Charter.

This brings the number of ASEAN member countries who have ratified the Charter to four, including Singapore.

Singapore was the first to hand over the documents to the new Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan in Jakarta.

Observers say a top priority for ASEAN now is to set up a dispute settlement mechanism, as spelt out in the Charter.

Such a mechanism already exists to deal with disputes in the economic arena.

Another aspect of the Charter that has drawn much interest is the ASEAN Human Rights Body.

The terms of reference for this body has to be worked out and there's a committee looking into this matter.

All ASEAN Foreign Ministers are attending the two-day retreat in Singapore, except Malaysia's Syed Hamid Albar.

He is busy with preparations for the upcoming general elections.

Mr Syed Hamid is represented by the Secretary-General of Malaysia's Foreign Affairs Ministry. - CNA/de

Burma: Time for healing

Myanmar's Suu Kyi says 'time for healing' after meeting with govt officials

(AFP 10th Nov 2007)

YANGON : Detained Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi is optimistic after meeting Friday with a military official and believes it is time for the "healing process" to start, her party said.

The pro-democracy leader also met with members of her National League for Democracy for the first time in more than three years amid hopes of a thaw in relations with the generals who crushed street protests against their rule in September.

Aung San Suu Kyi met with three senior party members -- Aung Shwe, Lwin, Nyunt Wai -- and spokesman Nyan Win before meeting with Labour Minister Aung Kyi, whom the generals appointed as a go-between following international outrage at their deadly crackdown.

"Daw Aung San Suu Kyi said she believed the ruling authorities have the will for national reconciliation," Nyan Win said in a statement read out to reporters after the meetings.

"Daw Aung San Suu Kyi said the bad events in September and October were sorrowful, not only for the NLD, but also for the government and the people," Nyan Win said.

"She said we have to work for the healing process first. We also discussed the necessary things to achieve the healing process," he said, adding that he could not release details.

Military leader Senior General Than Shwe had previously offered dialogue with Aung San Suu Kyi but on condition that she drop her support for international sanctions, which have been further tightened since the September crackdown.

"Regarding these demands, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi said she will try to get a solution for these demands," Nyan Win said.

Asked to compare a previous meeting in 2004 and Friday's, Nyan Win said: "This time the discussion is more optimistic and more workable," adding that it was also Aung San Suu Kyi's view following her meeting with Aung Kyi.

"The main thing we discussed is Daw Aung San Suu Kyi asked for suggestions from us regarding the dialogue process and we discussed the suggestions, Nyan Win said, adding he could not disclose details.

"We will continue to work with Major General Aung Kyi from now on," he said.

The meetings follow UN special envoy Ibrahim Gambari's six-day mission to Myanmar, which he said had led to progress towards establishing a dialogue between the military and the country's pro-democracy movement.

Aung San Suu Kyi, in a statement read out by Gambari in Singapore, said she was willing to cooperate with the military, which has ruled Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, for the past 45 years.

"In the interest of the nation, I stand ready to cooperate with the government in order to make this process of dialogue a success," she said.

It was the first such pledge since she was last put under house arrest in 2003.

Aung San Suu Kyi, daughter of independence hero General Aung San, has spent 12 of the past 18 years under house arrest at her lakeside home in Yangon.

She welcomed the appointment last month of Aung Kyi as the government's go-between, describing October 25 talks with him as "constructive".

"I expect that this phase of preliminary consultations will conclude soon so that a meaningful and timebound dialogue with the SPDC (government) leadership can start as early as possible," said Aung San Suu Kyi, widely known as "The Lady."

Any dialogue with the military would be "guided by the policies and wishes" of her party, but she would also need to consult with other groups and ethnic minorities, according to her statement read by Gambari.

The Nigerian diplomat met Aung San Suu Kyi on Thursday after warning the military against a return to the status quo that existed before the mass pro-democracy protests were put down.

His mission ended without a meeting with military leader Senior General Than Shwe, although the UN envoy met several officials and NLD members.

The pro-democracy protests began in mid-August after a massive hike in the price of everyday fuel, but escalated into the biggest threat to the generals in nearly 20 years when Buddhist monks emerged to lead the movement. - AFP /ls

My comments:

Hi friends,

I am glad that Gambari seems to be making some progress acting as a bridge between Daw ASSK and the junta.

I am pleasantly surprised that finally true reconciliation is not totally impossible without further bloodshed.

Let us not delude ourselves that the junta is just going to give up and leave the political sphere for ASSK's NLD to step right in. These control-freak dictators will use all their powers to ensure that their own interests are safe-guarded and protected.

This live drama is literally unfolding before our eyes. As they say, the plot thickens...

Akan datang ( Malay for "coming soon"). Stay tuned for the next episode.

Just happy for Burma and could not suppress my delight.

Cheers

Dr.Huang Shoou Chyuan

Aung San Suu Kyi: Yet another year in detention!

Hi Friends,

All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.

Edmund Burke Irish orator, philosopher, & politician (1729 - 1797)

It is shameful that in this day and age, Myanmar continues to mistreat its own people with impunity and in total disregard to basic human rights.

Efforts to free Aung San Suu Kyi are made more difficult by countries like energy-hungry China who are eyeing her resources.

More should be done to get the Nobel Peace Prize winner freed!

I wrote this (Does Myanmar deserve ASEAN) in July 2006 and NOTHING has changed since then!




Dr.Huang Shoou Chyuan



1. Burma extends Suu Kyi's detention

Burma's military junta has extended the house arrest of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi by one year, officials say.

25 May 2007 BBC News

The move was swiftly condemned by the United States, which called for Ms Suu Kyi's immediate release.

The pro-democracy leader's latest period of detention, which began in May 2003, had been due to expire on Sunday.

Ms Suu Kyi has spent 11 of the last 18 years under house arrest. In 1990 her National League for Democracy won polls that were annulled by the army.

She has never been allowed to take power.

The extension order was widely expected, as under Burmese law Ms Suu Kyi's house arrest must be renewed every 12 months.

A US State Department spokesman described the decision as "unfortunate" and "condemnable", and urged other countries to put pressure on Burma to release Ms Suu Kyi and other political prisoners.

Last week, 59 world political leaders including former US Presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter, and former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung, called for her release in a letter to Burma's military ruler, General Than Shwe.

In November 2006, Ms Suu Kyi was allowed to leave her house to meet UN envoy Ibrahim Gambari for one hour.

Burma's military junta took power in 1988.


2. China will stay out of Myanmar's affairs

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

23 May 2007

BEIJING -- China said Wednesday that the detention of Myanmar democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi is an internal matter for the Southeast Asian country's government, declining to join other nations urging her release.

China's stance came a day after the 10-country Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, broke with its core policy of noninterference and pointedly called on Myanmar's military-backed government to release Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate.

China's Foreign Ministry said in a statement that "the Aung San Suu Kyi matter is Myanmar's internal affair. The Chinese side hopes to see Myanmar maintain political stability and continue to make progress in the process of national reconciliation."

The discord between ASEAN and Myanmar - one of its members - puts China in a bind.

China has worked hard to build close relations with the group's members, seeing their support as crucial to its economic and geopolitical rise, and is trying to portray itself as a responsible world player. But Beijing has also provided diplomatic support to Myanmar's junta and crucial investment, especially in oil, gas and minerals.

In a sign of this balancing act, China, along with Russia, vetoed a U.S.-backed resolution in the U.N. Security Council in January, calling on Myanmar to end political suppression. However, in doing so, China's U.N. ambassador said Beijing would support ASEAN in its policies toward Myanmar.