Tag Archives: burma/myanmar

Opinion: a real chance to stop murder, torture and organised sexual violence in Burma

By Antony Hook | Published 17th September 2010 - 6:39 pm

On 29 November 2003, a woman’s body was discovered near a farm by her husband and other people from her village. She was 20 years of age and her name was Naang Sa. She and her husband Zaai Leng had been approached, three days before, by 40 soldiers from the Burmese Army. Zaai Leng was tied up and Naang Sa was gang raped. The soldiers took her back to their base and her dead body was left at an unknown time during those three days, completely unconcealed, to be found by those who loved her.

Events such …

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Posted in Conference, Op-eds | 6 Comments

Opinion: We mustn’t forget Burma

By Jonathan Fryer | Published 5th January 2009 - 12:21 pm

With the world’s attention focussed (rightly) on Gaza, the ongoing tragedy of Burma/Myanmar remains almost unseen. Just as the Israelis are keeping foreign journalists out of Gaza, so the Burmese junta stops reporters getting in there to see what is happening. Moreover, now that last year’s cyclone has been forgotten by the outside world and the monks’ protests have been quashed, Burma just isn’t ‘news’ as far as the global media is concerned, with a few noble exceptions such as the BBC World Service.

Nonetheless, the bloody repression there continues, including the torture of political prisoners. On 30 December, nine members of the National League for Democracy (NLD) were arrested in Rangoon (Yangon) for demonstrating in favour of the release from house arrest of their leader, Aung San Suu Kyi. Suu Kyi (who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991) has spent more than 12 of the past 18 years in detention, her ‘crime’ being that her party won Burma’s last democratic election in 1990 – a result which the junta simply refused to accept.

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Posted in Europe / International, Op-eds | 2 Comments

Conference policy motion: “Extention of the remit of the International Criminal Court”

By Brian Mathew | Published 28th August 2008 - 8:45 am

This motion is being moved at conference by North Somerset, North Wiltshire and Westminster Liberal Democrats. The mover, Brian Mathew, explains.

Our policy motion, entitled “The Extension of the Remit of the International Criminal Court”, was conceived a year ago, following a long consideration of the plight of populations persecuted by their own governments. We want to celebrate the role the International Criminal Court has had in bringing some rogue ex-heads of state to justice, while bemoaning the fact that not all nations (including the US) are signatories, and until the recent attempt at bringing Sudan’s President

…

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Jonathan Fryer’s Diary of a Euro-candidate

By Jonathan Fryer | Published 17th July 2008 - 3:12 pm

Saturday

The sun shines on London Pride, as fellow London Euro-candidates Dinti Batstone, Christopher Le Breton, John Pindar and I march with members of the LibDem LGBT campaigning group, DELGA. They have arranged a stall right in front of the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square. While Nick Clegg addresses the rally there, our Euro-team hands out special focuses, highlighting Sarah Ludford MEP’s call for the US to end its entry ban on people living with HIV/AIDS. I’ve vowed I won’t set foot in the States again until that iniquitous prohibition is lifted. By the end of the afternoon, the boys and girls miling around are in the mood for some serious partying, but I am sensible and head off to Eltham for the Greenwich LibDems’ summer barbeque. Keeping in touch with local parties and reminding them about Europe is a high priority.

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Posted in News | Also tagged | 1 Comment

PMQs: Nick tackles Gordon on Afghanistan

By Stephen Tall | Published 21st May 2008 - 6:03 pm

International affairs dominated Prime Minister’s Questions today, with both Nick Clegg and David Cameron choosing to put their best statesmanlike foot forward. While the Tory leader led on the ongoing humanitarian disaster in Burma, Nick focused on that ‘forgotten’ theatre of war, Afghanistan, and attacked the ‘cold war’ priorities of defence spending.

Judge for yourselves how Nick did. You can watch the exchange on YouTube, or read the Hansard transcript.

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Posted in News, PMQs | Also tagged , | 3 Comments

The Independent View: Foreign intervention should be supported by liberals

By Daniel Furr | Published 21st May 2008 - 12:31 pm

Those former left-wing pioneers who founded the neoconservative movement in Washington should not be treated like war criminals or fathers of the ‘new imperialism’. In fact the doctrine should be welcomed and supported by us liberals.

We liberals believe in a society based on liberty, justice and a constitutional government, whether it is in are own country or abroad. But we have struggled since Iraq to maintain the common principles following the Liberal Democrats’ vote against the war. And to hear Nick Clegg at the last conference shun “neo-con wars” was almost unbearable to listen to. Why criticise foreign intervention or …

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Posted in Europe / International, The Independent View | 46 Comments

An Indian Intervention

By Gavin Whenman | Published 3rd October 2007 - 11:38 pm

The monks have gone, transported to northern prisons or shot dead, and “normalcy” has returned to the streets of Burma, in the word of the country’s United Nations ambassador. But is there more the international community, in particular its neighbour’s, could have done to force the hand of the military junta and bring democracy to Burma? Yes, there is, and the answer lies in India.

During the protests in Burma over the past two weeks, the UN showed how ineffective its current structural system could be. Meetings were held, debates were had, but in the end no concrete action was taken, doubtless because Russia and China would have vetoed it anyway, just as they vetoed a resolution criticising the regime in January of this year. Even if they had the political will, the US and UK are not equipped to launch a military expedition to Burma in defence of democracy – forces are too tied up in Iraq and Afghanistan at the moment. So, another country needs to be willing to intervene, but which one?

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Posted in Op-eds | 5 Comments