Least Democratic & Most Oppressive BURMA

US State Department reported Burma as most oppressive country along with China, Cuba and North Korea.

London-based World Audit Organization ranked Burma as 150th, the very rock bottom, in the ranking of democracy status of world's countries.

NEW DIRTY LIST PUBLISHED

The Burma Campaign UK has published a new edition of the 'Dirty List', which exposes companies directly or indirectly funding the regime in Burma. A total of 101 companies feature on the list. You can view the list at: http://www.burmacampaign.org.uk/dirty_list/dirty_list.php

UNSC Briefing

Council members heard a briefing from a senior UN official and held talks behind closed doors.

The UK ambassador to the UN said that despite disagreement over whether Burma was a threat to peace and security, all showed concern about the situation.

Burma is not on the Security Council agenda and cannot be discussed in regular meetings, or be the subject of resolutions.

Burma has managed to stay off the UN Security Council's agenda but it did not stop this rare discussion of the Burmese government's record.

The under-secretary general for political affairs, Ibrahim Gambari, told council members in a closed meeting that despite hopes of reform the past year had proven very disappointing.

More than 1,000 political prisoners are still detained, the council heard.

[Comment by Sai Wan Sai: Junta's apologist might find consolation in the fact that the recent discussion is non-binding and informal. But the fact is that the democratic opposition camp as a whole is gaining momentum and the informal briefing in the UNSC is a good start. Half a loaf is better than no bread, so goes the saying. Who knows that we won't be getting the whole loaf of bread sooner than later.

Below are few lines of recent, update report for your inputs. One of the conditions imposed by China and like-minded countries was that the Security Council discussion of Myanmar be a one-time event. Discussions regarding politically sensitive situations in Sudan and Zimbabwe faced similar resistance by China and Russia, which generally object to interference in a country's internal affairs, as well as African countries. But Britain and the U.S. slipped them onto the agenda, and now problems in both African countries are being addressed by the council. ]

ETHNIC NATIONALITIES COUNCIL (Union of Burma) Statement

   ENC Welcomes ASEAN¡¯s Effort to Resolve the Political Crisis in Burma

    The Ethnic Nationalities Council (ENC) welcomes ASEAN¡¯s call for therelease of political prisoners and for democratic reform in Burma.

   ENC Chairman, Saw Ba Thin Sein, congratulates the political courage shown bythe ASEAN leaders. I am glad Burma has come to the attention of ASEAN. It islong overdue, he said. It is good for the entire region that ASEAN hasfinally abandoned its policy of non-interference in the internal affairs ofmember states and is pressing the military regime to release politicalprisoners and institute democratic reforms in our country.

Rohingya Youth Development Forum Statement on International Human Rights Day

Today, people in all across the world are celebrating the International Human Rights Day 2005 in the fifty-seven years after the Universal Declaration of Human Rights prohibited all forms of torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, torture remains unacceptably common. Rohingya Youth Development Forum (RYDF), Arakan-Burma warmly welcomes and salutes.

The theme of this year is denoted as: "Torture and Global Efforts to Combat It " which has been going on in the world by various states.

 This is an opportunity of the people of the world to express rights and to call upon the international community to ensure the basic and fundamental rights of those who have been denying meeting the framework.

 Being a member state, the Burma has been involved in gross human rights violation and deliberately ignoring the calls of international community for the political reforms in the country, even criticize the report of world leaders the former Czech President Vaclav Havel and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Bishop Desmond Tutu, titled "Threat to the Peace: A Call for the UN Security Council to Act in Burma".

 The scheme of Burmese military regime is likely total ignorance to the world that has been grossly violating legitimate rights for equality, liberty and fraternity, including citizenship, of various ethnic groups that have been living in Burma.

 As part of a highly orchestrated and criminal government strategy to deny legitimate rights to the minorities, the State Peace & Development Council (SPDC) regime uses rape, humiliation, torture, arbitrary arrest, extra judicial killing, forced relocation, taxation, ethnic, religious and racial discrimination against the ethnic minority people as weapons of war towards ethnic cleansing in Burma. The situation includes many ethnic groups like the Kuki, Naga, Pa-o, Palaung, Rohinger etc. in many parts of the country.