North of Phuket, Rohingya Tell of Killings, Beatings on Nightmare Voyage from Burma/ 12 ROHINGYAS WERE SHOT DEAD BY BURMA ARMY !!!

    12 ROHINGYAS WERE SHOT DEAD BY BURMA ARMY !!!

What will be the fate of the Rohingya group of 139, discovered by residents in a rubber plantation north of Phuket last night, were recovering today after a harrowing 22-day voyage south to Thailand with little food and water? According to the members of the group ,12 Rohingyas were already shot death by the Burma navy on their way to here. Are these Rohingya group sending to Ranong for selling to traffickers again ? Where are the UNHCR and all Human Rights related NGOs to guard and protect them ? Is this not international duty to protect the genocide escapee Rohinyas ?Are these Rohingya not deserve to be refugees as per international law ? Who are benefited from human trafficking ?We are sure if these unfortunate Rohingya were sent to Ranong ,the traffickers can  make minimum 2000 USD per head x 139 =2,78,000 US Dollars in total within a short time. This is many times more profitable money making than drug business. Some hundreds millions dollars already made this month by selling more than ten thousands Rohingyas . I am strongly asking to find out who are behind this fearful human trafficking business. In the main time , Rohingyas are faced discrimination at the hands of traffickers  .We learned that some greedy Rohingyas of Malaysia and Thailands are partly running trafficking by the help of local muscle men along side of Malaysia and Thailand boarder.This is my ardent request to news medias and government officials not to use any Rohingya from Thailand as interpreters or helpers because most of the cases these kinds of people can be easily prey in trafficking. The authority must stop Rohingya from Thailand reaching to the newly arrival boat people. Some of them are also pretended to be political , social  and religious leader of Rohingyas. Please don't allow any Rohingya and Burmese near to the Rohingya boat people . The best solution is Thai authority , UNHCR ,Reporters and IOM to handle the issue without outsider involvement . No visitors please !The interpreters can be arranged by UNHCR . It is very important to protect the Rohingyas in their native places to stop boat people. Thanks again to to the Phuketwan for high lighting this precious news.  Good luck to Alan and Chutima!

Rohingya boatpeople say they were beaten by Andaman Sea smugglers

Photo by phuketwan.com

Photo by phuketwan.com

Click a thumbnail to view more photographs

TOURISM

North of Phuket, Rohingya Tell of Killings, Beatings on Nightmare Voyage from Burma

By Alan Morison and Premkamon Ketsara

Thursday, December 26, 2013

PHOTO ALBUM Twelve people were killed on a voyage from Burma by Rohingya men, women and children, say 139 survivors whose future in Thailand was not clear today. More »

Thanks!

Your comment has been posted to the moderator for approval.

Return to complete article

PhuketWATCH Better World is Pope's Wish; Bangkok Besieged; Phuket Navy Muzzling Media

TOURISM

PhuketWATCH Better World is Pope's Wish; Bangkok Besieged; Phuket Navy Muzzling Media

By Phuketwan Reporters

Thursday, December 26, 2013

Phuket News Digest More protests set for Thailand capital; Pope and Snowden give Christmas messages; Phuket journalists win worldwide support; Rohingya mistreated; Phuket events. More READ HERE BY CLICKING "MORE"

Australian editor Alan Morison facing five years in Thai jail

Date ,December 26, 2013

Alana Schetzer

Charged: Alan Morison will face a Thai court next month. Photo: Supplied

An Australian journalist could face up to five years in jail after he was charged on Christmas Eve with bringing the reputation of Thailand's navy into disrepute.

Alan Morison's online newspaper Phuketwan published a story five months ago that included a paragraph from a Reuters article that was critical of Thai authorities' handling of the Rohingya asylum seekers from Myanmar.

Both he and his colleague Chutima Sidasathian were facing up to five years in jail and a fine of up to $3500 after they were charged with breaching the country's controversial Computer Crimes Act and bringing the navy's reputation into disrepute.
The pair were expected to face a Thai courtroom next month.

Advertisement

Mr Morison is a former deputy editor of The Age.
He said it was the first time the military had used the little-used act against the media.
''The Thai navy has a very good reputation for rescuing tourists and generally looking after Thailand's borders pretty well, but the question of whether the Rohingya boat people are being handled in the way they should be … has been looked at pretty closely by the international media,'' he said.

A Reuters spokesperson backed the story, calling it ''fair and balanced''.
Critics of the Thai government accused it of using the Computer Crimes Act to curtail human rights and free-speech campaigners.
The Department of Foreign Affairs was aware of the case and said embassy officials in Bangkok were providing consular assistance to Mr Morison.

The Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance was concerned about the journalist's plight and what the charges could mean for press freedom in the country.
 ''The MEAA expresses its deep concern for the journalists involved in this allegation and calls on Thai authorities to drop any charges against them,'' MEAA federal secretary Christopher Warren said.

Human rights activists, lawyers and academics across the world had also voiced their support for the pair.

If the navy did not drop the charges, Mr Morison said a protest rally would be organised outside the Thai consulate in Melbourne to coincide with his court appearance.

The Rohingya people, who are Muslims, have been forced to leave their homeland after being persecuted by the country's Buddhist majority in mob rampages.
Hundreds of thousands have sought asylum in Malaysia, Bangladesh and Thailand.
The Royal Thai Navy could not be reached for comment

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/national/australian-editor-alan-morison-facing-five-years-in-thai-jail-20131225-2zwo7.html#ixzz2oWezKn77

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/australian-editor-alan-morison-facing-five-years-in-thai-jail-20131225-2zwo7.html

credid-National

Phuket Governor Asked to Advise Navy to Drop Criminal Defamation Action

We would like to ask both Puhketwan Editors and Royal Thai Navy to present statement regarding trafficking scandal of Rohingyas and news media services in this regards. The public should have full rights to access the present development. As an Rohingya activist ,I would like to see heavy punishment of traffickers and protecting the Rohingyas in their own country. I have been very upset since Puketwan editors are facing human law suit.Every freedom loving people should voice out for freedom of press and guarding dignity of journalists.
Comment of Maung Kyaw Nu ,
BRAT.

Journalist Chutima Sidasathian with Phuket Governor Maitree Intrusud

Photo by phuketwan.com

TOURISM

Phuket Governor Asked to Advise Navy to Drop Criminal Defamation Action

Wednesday, December 25, 2013

PHOTO ALBUM Phuket's Governor has been asked as chairman of the Internal Security Operations Command committee on Phuket to suggest that the Royal Thai Navy drops a criminal defamation action. More »
PLS read here ---http://phuketwan.com/tourism/phuket-governor-asked-advise-navy-drop-criminal-defamation-action-19449/

Thanks!

Your comment has been posted to the moderator for approval.

Return to complete article

People without a Country

Authint Mail |

23 December 2013 - 11:26AM GMT |

Reportage

A Rohingya child at Kiryana Talaab camp in Jammu waiting for his father and mother to return home.

Wasif Ali

The long journey to Jammu city began in 2003 for Haroon Rashid when he had just married a neighborhood girl in his Alegan village of Burma. For the persecuted Rohingya Muslims living in the largely military controlled State, it is mandatory to keep the authorities informed about every development in their life, even if a pregnant cow delivers.
Haroon, a medium-built man with a round face and dark complexion, was busy in making pre-marital arrangements and somehow forgot to inform the authorities or police about his marriage 
“It was a big mistake,” he says.
On the eight day of marriage, a contingent of armed police personnel looking for Haroon surrounded Alegan village. When he came out of his house, two police personnel dragged him to a nearby police vehicle and put him in a jail. 
“I spent six months in jail where I was subjected to all kinds of humiliation and torture. I had to pay Rs 1 lakh so that they could set me free,” Haroon says in a muffled voice.
After purchasing his freedom, Haroon chalked out a strategy to escape the persecution by Army in their own country. On the second day of his release, around 60 other Rohingya Muslims from twelve families - all victim of state excesses -

Please read full story -pages 1 to 6 here --
http://www.authintmail.com/article/reportage/people-without-country

PLAY OF THE DAY/PHUKETWAN'S READER FORUM: Have Your Say

Posted by Maung Kyaw Nu,President,Burmese Rohingya Association in
Thailand (BRAT) on December 25, 2013 02:2

PLAY OF THE DAY

PHUKETWAN would like to wish all readers and supporters a cheerful Christmas and a Happy New Year. Despite what the doomsayers said, 2013 was a year in which Phuket conquered some of its problems and focused on the ones yet to be fixed.

PHUKETWAN'S READER FORUM: Have Your Say

Re: Phuket Defamation Case: Reporters Set for Court or Jail Next Month
Maung Kyaw Nu,President,Burmese Rohingya Association in Thailand (BRAT) wrote on Wednesday December 25, 2013 at 02:23

We are very much disturbed of this inhuman case against reputable two journalists of Phuketwan. This case is against ...

View complete comment

Re: Phuket Defamation Case: Reporters Set for Court or Jail Next Month
Mr Man wrote on Wednesday December 25, 2013 at 10:30

Glad to see they are also taking Reuters on. BIG mistake. These ill-advised officials are about to see just how littl...

View complete comment

Re: Phuket Defamation Case: Reporters Set for Court or Jail Next Month
reader wrote on Wednesday December 25, 2013 at 09:47

If the Thai authorities do this, then there will be serious international repucussions. Thailand does not want to go ...

View complete comment

Re: Phuket Defamation Case: Reporters Set for Court or Jail Next Month
Ciaran wrote on Wednesday December 25, 2013 at 09:25

Love the cartoons - fantastic. Merry Christmas to Phuketwan and keep up the good fight.

View complete comment

Re: Phuket Defamation Case: Reporters Set for Court or Jail Next Month
Sean wrote on Wednesday December 25, 2013 at 00:23

I love the cartoon! Also the ones on the site linked!

View complete comment

Re: Phuket Defamation Case: Reporters Set for Court or Jail Next Month
Phil wrote on Tuesday December 24, 2013 at 23:44

So glad to hear you won't be in prison for Christmas. Wishing you all the best of luck for the court hearing.

View complete comment

Re: Phuket Taxi Drivers Blockade Resort 'Often' in Voucher Wrangle

PLEASE READ HERE -http://phuketwan.com

Phuket Defamation Case: Reporters Set for Court or Jail Next Month

We are very much disturbed of this inhuman case against reputable two journalists of Phuketwan. This case is against humanity and freedom of expression .Since June 2013 ,Rohingya have been subjected hidden genocide in their own land in Burma. Hundreds of thousands of Rohingyas were killed ,burned alive and buried alive in the mass graves but due to lack of freedom of press in Burma ,the real massacre news was not come out to the world. Burma is known as dark country where every freedom were stolen by the dictatorial regime. But ,we are enjoying freedom of press out side the Burma. Now we are very upset of resent disturbance of press freedom in Thailand due to defamation case against the journalists. It needs to be settled before going to court hearing. We thank to all journalists including Phuketwan who are continue highlighting news about fearful trafficking and plights of Rohingyas.This is the ethic of journalism . We can not read any news of Rohingyas boat people in this week due to this trouble. MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL.
Comment by Maung Kyaw Nu,
BRAT.

Phuket Defamation Case: Reporters Set for Court or Jail Next Month

Latest Two Phuket journalists will probably have to decide next month whether to apply for bail or go straight to jail next month in a contentious defamation action by the Royal Thai Navy.
Please read here-http://phuketwan.com/tourism/phuket-defamation-case-reporters-court-jail-month-19446/

UPDATE Phuket Defamation Case: Reporters Offered Chance to Speak About Democratic Law Reforms/FREEDOM OF PRESS IS DEMOCRACY !KEEP RESPECT THE JOURNALISTS!

FREEDOM OF PRESS IS DEMOCRACY !KEEP RESPECT THE JOURNALISTS!

The defamation case against two respectable journalists damages Thailand's image in the world. It will be better if the caretaker government timely intervenes and withdraws the case.The blind eying of random trafficking of Rohingya is condemned.Traffickers must be traced out and booked for trail. The freedom of the press must be ensured .

Posted by Maung Kyaw Nu,President,Burmese Rohingya Association in Thailand (BRAT) on December 24, 2013 02:54

UPDATE Phuket Defamation Case: Reporters Offered Chance to Speak About Democratic Law Reforms

Latest If prosecuted by the Royal Thai navy, two Phuket journalists aim to speak to reform groups in Bangkok about why the laws should be changed to prevent the military suing the media.
Please read here --http://phuketwan.com/tourism/phuket-defamation-case-reporters-offered-chance-speak-democratic-law-reforms-19436/

Phuket Defamation Case: Journalists Mystified By Navy Stance/FREEDOM OF PRESS AND SAFEGUARD OF JOURNALIST MUST BE RESPECTED!

FREEDOM OF PRESS AND SAFEGUARD OF JOURNALIST MUST BE RESPECTED!

We ardently request to all journalists and civil societies worldwide to stand by Morison and Chutima  to be dropped  from defamation case filed by Royal Thai navy.We would also like to ask help form  respectable journalists and civil societies of the world ,to continue voice out humanitarian crisis of Rohingya boat people and genocide and ethnic cleansing in their homeland. We do hope that hidden human trafficking along the side of Thailand and Malaysia borders and continue genocide against Rohingya in Arakan is an international concern  .We wish everybody's help !

Comment of Maung Kyaw Nu,BRAT.

Alan Morison and Chutima Sidasathian: ''past the stage of being scared''

Photo by phuketwan.com

TOURISM

Phuket Defamation Case: Journalists Mystified By Navy Stance

By Justin Heifetz, Bangkok Post

Sunday, December 22, 2013

Latest A criminal defamation action on behalf of the Royal Thai Navy is likely to focus unwanted attention on the navy and the treatment of Rohingya boatpeople in Thailand. More »
Please read here---
http://phuketwan.com/tourism/phuket-defamation-case-journalists-mystified-navy-stance-19433/

Thanks!

Your comment has been posted to the moderator for approval.

Return to complete article

Phuket Defamation Case: Call for Navy to Investigate Allegations of Abuse/CPJ DEFENDING FOR PW JOURNALISTS ARE EXCELLENT !

     CPJ DEFENDING FOR PW JOURNALISTS ARE EXCELLENT !

We absolutely endorsed constantly reporting of Rohingya victims, one of the most oppressed communities in the world,by PW Editors Alan Morison and Chutima Sidasathian. The Rohingyas are under hidden genocide  by their own government for decades . Due to that reason ,many Rohingyas voyaged for neighboring countries  including Thailand. Here they are maltreated and fall at the trap of notorious human traffickers. They have been faced deathly treatment at the concentration camps of traffickers for months. The Phuketwan bravely opened inhuman treatment of Rohingya boat people to the world. Is that a crime ???I would also like to thanks to all media freedom loving people including The Committee to Protect Journalists ,CPJ  stance for justice of PW journalists.

Commented by Maung Kyaw Nu,BRAT.

Photo by phuketwan.com

TOURISM

Phuket Defamation Case: Call for Navy to Investigate Allegations of Abuse

By Committee to Protect Journalists

Saturday, December 21, 2013

Latest A New York-based organisation that seeks to protect journalists has called on the Royal Thai Navy to investigate serious allegations of abuse. More

Please read here--
http://phuketwan.com/tourism/phuket-defamation-case-call-navy-investigate-allegations-abuse-19428/

Navy Captain Uses Computer Crimes Act to Sue Journalists for Criminal Defamation

Two Phuketwan journalists are facing jail from December 24

Photo by phuketwan.com

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

PHUKET: A captain acting on behalf of the Royal Thai Navy has accused two Phuketwan journalists of damaging the reputation of the service and of breaching the Computer Crimes Act.

Two other journalists from the Reuters news agency are expected to face similar charges shortly.

The Phuketwan journalists, Alan Morison and Chutima Sidasathian, denied the charges and were fingerprinted when they presented themselves today at Vichit Police Station, south of Phuket City.

They are due to reappear on December 24. The pair face a maximum jail term of five years and/or a fine of up to 100,000, baht

It's believed to be the first time an arm of the military in Thailand has sued journalists for criminal defamation using the controversial Computer Crimes Act.

The accusations come from Captain Panlob Komtonlok of Royal Thai Navy 3, which oversees the Andaman Sea coast, and they centre on a paragraph in a report by Reuters on July 17 that was in part republished in Phuketwan later the same day.

In response to presentation of the charges today, Alan Morison and Chutima Sidasathian issued the following statement:

PHUKETWAN is a small news outlet based on Phuket with a very small staff. Our main aim is to end corruption and make Thailand a better place for residents and visitors.

The Royal Thai Navy, according to Wikipedia, has more than 70,000 active personnel. One of the Navy's aims, we believe, is also to make Thailand a better place.

Despite the difference in size, relations between the two organisations have always been cordial since Phuketwan was launched in 2008.

Both organisations have a deep interest in Rohingya boatpeople from Burma (Myanmar). The Navy apprehends the boatpeople or ''helps on'' boats towards Malaysia. Phuketwan reports what happens to these people.

Ironically, it was Navy Vice Admiral Supot Pruksa who first introduced Phuketwan journalists to the word ''Rohingya'' during an interview at the Navy Base on Phuket in October, 2008.

Just a few weeks later, the Royal Thai Navy supplied Phuketwan with photographs of boatpeople being apprehended, and laid out in neat rows on Andaman beaches.

And it was a Royal Thai Navy spokesman who first suggested in December 2008 that the United Nations should be involved in the process of dealing with the increasing numbers of boatpeople fleeing Burma.

'Human Rights Tragedy on Phuket's Doorstep,' that article began. ''LARGE numbers of Rohingya have been sailing 'like sardines in a can' to the Andaman coast of Thailand this month, seeking refuge from starvation and persecution.''

Phuketwan took the hint from the Royal Thai Navy and began seriously investigating what was happening to Rohingya boatpeople off the coast of Thailand.

We discovered that Thailand's military was involved in inhumane pushbacks. When other news organisations accused the Navy of being involved, Phuketwan's journalists defended the Navy.

We said it was not the Navy but another branch of the military. Since then, we have continued to closely report what has been happening to the Rohingya boatpeople.

We are shocked to learn now that the Navy is using a controversial law to sue Phuketwan for criminal defamation.

The allegations in the article are not made by Phuketwan. They are made by the highly-respected Reuters news agency, following a thorough investigation.

The article specified in the document is headlined 'Thai Military Profiting From Trade in Boatpeople, Says Special Report.'

It is likely that the Reuters account was published in scores of newspapers all around the world. The mystery is why the Navy has chosen to sue Phuketwan journalists over these allegations.

It should be noted that Phuketwan continues to admire and support the Royal Thai Navy in several ways.

We applaud the Navy in rescuing hundreds of tourists, stranded offshore from Phuket and the Andaman coast in violent storms. At such times, they will always be heroes.

We also support the Navy's program of protecting and preserving the Andaman region's turtles. We seldom miss the annual hatchling release at the Navy's Cape Panwa base on Phuket.

Phuketwan has even suggested that Navy officers should be put in charge of all of Phuket's beaches so that they can protect the natural environment and at the same time impress tourists with their grace and charm.

It should be noted that Phuketwan has won international awards for upholding human rights and for its investigative reporting of the Rohingya issues.

The Rohingya have no spokesperson, no leader, but through Phuketwan's ongoing coverage, the torment of these people continues to be revealed.

Their forced exodus from Burma is a great tragedy. Yet how they are treated in the seas off Thailand and in Thailand remains a constant puzzle.

We wish the Royal Thai Navy would clear its reputation by explaining precisely what is happening to the Rohingya in the Andaman Sea and in Thailand.

By instead using a controversial law against us, the Navy is, we believe, acting out of character.

We can only wonder why a good organisation finds it necessary to take such unusual action instead of making a telephone call or holding a media conference.

Phuket Writer: Sandy Beaches, Freedom and Fear/PLEASE PRAY FOR NOBLE JOURNALISTS!

PLEASE PRAY FOR  NOBLE JOURNALISTS!

As a representative of International Advocacy Group of Rohingya Community and Human Rights Defender ,I applaud PW editors Alan Morison and Chutima Sidasathian to voice out  Rohingya boat people's untold suffering before the world. I respect your courage and  journalist ethic to characteristically highlighting Rohingya,one of the most persecuted ethnic minorities in the world,boat people's various types of tragedies after landing in Thailand. We are also disturbed of learning defamation case against you due to presenting the real facts of our community faces in Thailand.  We do believe that you will win the case .Our Rohingya community is praying for you.Truth will prevail! May God bless you!ng

Maung Kyaw Nu,

Alan Morison and Chutima Sidasathian: Free on December 24, 2011

Photo by Lana Willocks

Phuket Writer: Sandy Beaches, Freedom and Fear

By Lana Willocks

Thursday, December 19, 2013

Latest The beautiful Phuket that visitors see is not the whole Phuket. Phuketwan journalists constantly check on the other side, where tourists seldom venture. More »
pls read here -http://phuketwan.com/tourism/phuket-writer-sandy-beaches-freedom-fear-19415/

Thanks!

Your comment has been posted to the moderator for approval.

Return to complete article

Thailand] Drop defamation, computer crimes charges against Phuket journalists

By seapa

:
• Alerts, Campaigns, Media Law
• December 19, 2013

Two journalists based in Phuket, Thailand were charged yesterday under the country’s controversial Computer Crimes Act for relaying a report implicating the Thai Navy in human trafficking.

Journalists Alan Morison and Chutima Sidasathian of online the tourism news site Phuketwan appeared before a Phuket police station to be fingerprinted after receiving summonses for an online article published on 17 July titled, “Thai Military Profiting from Trade in Boatpeople, Says Special Report.”

The article quoted extensively from a Reuters article titled, “Special Report: Thai authorities implicated in Rohingya Muslim smuggling network”.
The article describes the role of security authorities – not just Thai and not just the Navy – who profit from the exodus of Rohingya from Rakhine state in eastern Myanmar, to escape persecution and violence.

Captain Panlob Komtonlok of Royal Thai Navy 3, which has jurisdiction over the Andaman coast, filed the criminal charges under section 14 Thailand’s controversial Computer Crimes Act of 2007 and for damaging the reputation of the service.
Morison and Chutima are scheduled to appear before the court on 24 December for indictment. If found guilty they could face a jail term of up to five years and a 100,000 baht (approximately USD 3,300) fine.

SEAPA condemns this unjustified action, which is a form of intimidation against members of the media who publish critical stories against state authorities.
If the Thai Navy wants to disprove its tolerance of the acts of its personnel described in the article, a better approach would have been to conduct or allow an impartial official investigation into the matter of complicity on the crime of human trafficking against Rohingya refugees.

Targeting a small online news outlet for publishing what is essentially a humanitarian story reflects a bully’s strategy to silence critics, sending a strong warning that anyone who expresses something they disapprove of will be prosecuted. The Navy is thus using its authority for the wrong purpose of silencing critics instead of for upholding accountability of the conduct its forces and its overall duty to respect human rights.
Their action also reinforces the criticism against the Computer Crimes Act of 2007, which makes online users liable for content originally published by others. While it is not clear at this point whether similar charges will be filed against Reuters or their reporters, we wish to reiterate that such an approach is flawed.

SEAPA also reiterates the media and human rights community’s long-standing call to decriminalize defamation, in order to better uphold the right to freedom of opinion expression and press freedom.

worldview : Ethnic Violence in Myanmar / Urgent need to act

Editorial»worldview : Ethnic Violence in Myanmar

• Urgent need to act
• The New York Times

DEC 16 - Anti-Muslim sentiment in Myanmar is threatening to derail the significant progress the country has made toward democracy since the military junta formally stepped down in 2011. In June and in October 2012, rampages in Rakhine State against Rohingyas, a minority Muslim group, left scores dead. A far smaller number of Buddhists have also been victims of lethal violence. Hundreds of thousands of Muslims have fled Myanmar, a Buddhist-majority nation. Most sought asylum in Bangladesh and Malaysia. Recently, thousands have taken refuge in or been forcibly displaced to camps within Myanmar.

A group of radical Buddhist monks known as 969 and their de facto leader Ashin Wirathu are to blame for fanning the flames of anti-Muslim hysteria. But the government of Myanmar is also culpable: Despite a stated commitment to safeguarding human rights and promoting democracy and the rule of law, the government has taken no real action to address the violence or stem hate speech. In May, a law was revived limiting Rohingyas to two children, a direct violation of their basic human rights.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, who is expected to run for election in Myanmar’s 2015 presidential elections, has been tragically silent. She rejects Human Rights Watch’s charge that the plight of the Rohingyas amounts to ethnic cleansing.

The United Nations passed a resolution on Nov. 21 calling on Myanmar to grant Rohingyas citizenship—denied them under a 1982 law. The government of Myanmar has rejected the resolution.

President Thein Sein needs to act urgently to investigate human rights abuses against Rohingyas, hold perpetrators to account, allow humanitarian groups access to camps and protect basic human rights, including the right to citizenship for people who have called Myanmar home for generations.
Posted on: 2013-12-17

US blacklists Myanmar firms for NKorea arms trade

Dec 17, 12:52 PM EST By MATTHEW PENNINGTON Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The United States imposed sanctions Tuesday on a Myanmar military officer and three companies it accuses of involvement in the continuing, illicit arms trade with North Korea. The designations do not directly target Myanmar's government but will deepen doubts over the nation's compliance with U.N. Security Council resolutions. Cutting Myanmar's military ties with North Korea has been a key goal of the U.S. policy to end Myanmar's long international isolation after its democratic reforms. In response to the reforms in the country also known as Burma, Washington has eased its longstanding restrictions on trade and investment, although not on export of arms. In a sign of enduring U.S. concerns, Treasury has periodically expanded the blacklist of individuals and companies it considers to be bad actors. As of Tuesday, they include Lt. Col. Kyaw Nyunt Oo, said to act on behalf of the Burmese Directorate of Defense Industries, or DDI, which is already sanctioned. Its chief, a general, was blacklisted in July. Treasury also targeted Soe Min Htike Co. Ltd. and Excellence Mineral, describing them in Tuesday's statement as Myanmar companies working with North Korean officials to import materiel for military weapons programs as recently this June; and Asia Metal, said to have constructed buildings and supplied construction materials for a DDI factory compound where approximately 30 North Koreans were still working as of December 2012. Myanmar's government has said its arms trade with North Korea has stopped and it complies with the U.N. sanctions which are intended to deny Pyongyang revenue for expanding nuclear and ballistic missile programs. U.S. officials say Myanmar has curtailed the trade, but not ended it. "The revenues from these continuing military sales directly support North Korea's illicit activities," Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence David S. Cohen said in a statement. "We will continue to target this activity in Burma, and the region, as we work with our international partners to shut down North Korea's dangerous and destabilizing weapons proliferation." Designation of a company or individual on the Treasury list prohibits U.S. persons from transactions with them, and freezes any assets they may have subject to U.S. jurisdiction. The military cooperation with North Korea was forged during Myanmar's international isolation. The State Department has said that in late 2008, when Myanmar officers visited Pyongyang, they signed a memorandum of understanding with North Korea on assistance to build medium range, liquid-fueled ballistic missiles. © 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.