16 October 2008

JAKARTA (AFP) — A coalition of humanitarian groups heavily criticised Thursday a report on Myanmar’s cyclone disaster, saying it glossed over the junta’s obstruction of aid and human rights abuses.

The Burma Partnership, which represents 19 aid organisations, released an “alternative” report to provide what it said was a more accurate picture of the response to Cyclone Nargis, which left 138,000 people dead or missing in May.

“When we studied the Post-Nargis Joint Assessment report prepared by the UN, ASEAN and the Burmese regime, we realised that it failed to describe the obstruction of aid and human rights abuses committed by the military regime in the areas affected by the cyclone,” Khin Ohmar of the Burma Partnership told a press conference.

“As independent civil society organisations, we felt the need to tell the other side of the post-Nargis story.”

The generals ruling Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, drew international outrage by refusing to allow a foreign-led aid response in the immediate aftermath of the storm.

But they dropped their resistance after coaxing from Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) chief Surin Pitsuwan.

The official joint report was released to much fanfare at an ASEAN conference in Singapore in July.

But Ohmar said it failed to highlight issues such as blocking and misappropriation of aid and substandard treatment of survivors at relief camps.

It omitted cases of human rights violations such as orphans turned into child soldiers, survivors forced to do reconstruction work and farm land confiscated by the military regime, she said.

The coalition’s recommendations include an independent system to monitor aid distribution and for all relief agencies to make public their activities.

“We hope international governments will consider using the new report to ensure funding reaches people who need the most help and that the recovery process will be implemented with the most transparency and accountability,” Ohmar said.

Thai MP and coalition member Kraisak Choonhavan criticised Surin for failing to meet the organisers to discuss the alternative report.

He said he felt “let down” by Surin’s late cancellation of a meeting in Jakarta, home to the ASEAN secretariat.

“They did not give any reason for cancelling. I feel let down and it makes it necessary for us to be more vocal. I am very disappointed,” he said.

16 October 2008
Irrawaddy (report by Wai Moe)

Surin Pitsuwan, the secretary-general of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), has cancelled a scheduled appearance at a press conference where he was to receive a critical report by Burmese pro- democracy groups evaluating the post-Nargis Joint Assessment (PONJA) report compiled by Asean, the United Nations and Burma’s junta.

Organizers of the press conference in Jakarta said Surin cancelled his appearance as well as a scheduled meeting with Burmese dissidents because of an emergency.

Mira Maruto, a press conference spokesperson, told The Irrawaddy on Thursday that Surin Pitsuwan was scheduled to attend the conference organized by the Burma Partnership, the Asean Inter-Parliament Myanmar Caucus (AIPMC) and the National Press Club of Indonesia.

A media advisory said Surin would attend and officially receive the Post-Nargis Analysis Report, which was to be presented by Burmese dissident Sann Aung, who won an electoral seat in the 1990 election.

The critical report was written by Yuki Akimoto, the director of the Burma Information Network, based in the US, and supported by a workshop conducted by the project Another Development for Burma held in August-September. The report is critical of the PONJA report assembled by Asean, the United Nations and Burmese authorities.

“The Post-Nargis Analysis Report explores the obstructions to aid and human rights abuses committed by the Burmese military regime and the corruption that has occurred in the cyclone-hit region,” said a media advisory.

Thai member of Parliament Kraisak Choonhavan, the president of AIPMC, and Khin Ohmar, the coordinator of Burma Partnership, were speakers at the press conference. Both Kraisak and Surin are members of Thailand’s Democrat Party.

Some observers suggested Surin may have felt pressure from the Burmese regime not to attend the press conference which was organized by groups supporting the pro-democracy movement in Burma.

Meanwhile, Burmese activist Ko Shwe, who provided information for the critical report, was forced to miss the conference because of a failure to receive a visa from the Indonesian embassy in Bangkok. Ko Shwe was one of the main speakers scheduled to appear at the press conference.

16 October 2008

Mizzima (report by Zarni)

Chiang Mai – A new report launched on Thursday reveals that Burma’s military rulers have abused the rights of victims of Cyclone Nargis by blocking aid supplies, among other wrongdoings.

The report, entitled ‘Post-Nargis Analysis: The Other Side of the Story,’ was released on Thursday by nineteen Burmese organizations and reveals that the junta continues to violate the rights of natural disaster victims by blocking aid supplies and forcibly confiscating land.

Ko Shwe, a Karen environmentalist who visited the delta in the aftermath of the cyclone, said: “The report mainly highlights the human rights abuses committed by the junta against the victims, abuses which are not included in the Post-Nargis Joint Assessment (PONJA).”

The report, evaluating PONJA and jointly conducted by the United Nations, Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the Burmese regime, reveals that the junta’s rights violations worsened a rights situation already made vulnerable by the cyclone that hit Burma on May 2-3.

Ko Shwe said the PONJA report failed to describe the obstruction of aid and human rights abuses committed by the military regime in areas affected by the cyclone.

“So, as independent civil society organizations, we felt the need to tell the other side of the post-Nargis story by producing this report,” he said in a media advisory released by organizers of a press conference to mark the report’s release.

The report said PONJA distorted the nature of the response by the military government in the aftermath of the cyclone. It also recommends that information on aid distribution and the PONJA report be made available to the public while establishing an independent system to monitor the distribution of aid.

“Given the limited access to independent information under the regime’s censorship, we believe our input and recommendations offer a crucial and substantive contribution to the post-Nargis recovery,” said Khin Ohmar, Coordinator of Burma Partnership and one of the organizers of and speakers at the press conference.

Dr. Surin Pitsuwan, the General Secretary of ASEAN, was invited to the press conference in Jakarta on Thursday to receive a copy, but canceled his appearance.

“Maybe he [Surin] wants to avoid press coverage on evaluating PONJA,” speculated Ko Shwe.

According to Imelda Sari of the National Press Club of Indonesia, who co-organized the conference, Kraisak Choonhavan, President of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Myanmar Caucus, and Yuki Akimoto, Director of the Burma Information Network, also spoke at the press conference – each of whom assisted in the compilation of the report.

16 October 2008

Jakarta, Indonesia

New Report Reveals the Other Side of Post-Nargis Joint Assessment Report (PONJA)

Today a report entitled “Post-Nargis Analysis: The Other Side of the Story” was launched by nineteen of Burma’s civil society organizations.  The report reveals cases of aid obstruction, human rights abuses, intimidation, and corruption that have occurred in the cyclone-hit region. The post-Nargis analysis report was released today in Jakarta because Indonesia holds a key position within both the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the United Nations Security Council,  and is the host country of the ASEAN Secretariat.

“When we studied the Post-Nargis Joint Assessment (PONJA) report prepared by the UN, ASEAN and the Burmese regime, we realized that it failed to describe the obstruction of aid and human rights abuses committed by the military regime in the areas affected by the cyclone. So, as independent civil society organizations, we felt the need to tell the other side of the post-Nargis story by producing this report,” said Ko Shwe, one of the primary sources for the report and a Karen environmental activist who visited the delta in the aftermath of the cyclone.

The report stresses that the description in the PONJA report distorts the nature of the response by the military regime.  Furthermore, the report claims that the PONJA report omits reference to cases of human rights abuses, intimidation, and corruption that have occurred in the cyclone-hit region.

It recommends that information on aid distribution and the PONJA report be made available to the public in local language, and an independent system be put in place to monitor and evaluate aid distribution to ensure that the assistance is being provided fairly and effectively within Burma.  It also suggests that all parties involved in relief efforts for the cyclone victims, including governments, financial institutions, and international NGOs, maintain maximum transparency and provide public information regarding their activities by adhering to the UN Inter-Agency Standing Committee’s Operational Guidelines on Human Rights and Natural Disasters.

“Given the limited access to independent information under the regime’s censorship, we believe our input and recommendations offer a crucial substantive contribution to the post-Nargis recovery,” said Khin Ohmar, Coordinator of Burma Partnership.

The report also urges the international community to consider having independent civil society groups as additional counterparts in the post-Nargis assessment and recovery implementation processes.

The Post-Nargis Analysis report delegation consists of Kraisak Choonhavan, the President of ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Myanmar Caucus (AIPMC) and a Thai Member of Parliament; Khin Ohmar, Burma Partnership Coordinator; and Yuki Akimoto, Director of the Burma Information Network (BurmaInfo).  The press conference to release the “Post-Nargis Analysis: The Other Side of the Story” was hosted by the Burma Partnership and ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Myanmar Caucus, together with the National Press Club of Indonesia.

Karen Environment and Social Action Network (KESAN)
KESAN is a local organization working alongside local communities in Karen State, Burma, to build up capacities in nature resource management, raise public environmental awareness and support community-based development initiatives.
Tel: +66 890107015

Burma Partnership
Burma Partnership is a movement of organizations and individuals that aims to develop a strong broad-based partnership of peoples of the Asia-Pacific advocating and mobilizing a movement for promoting freedom, democracy and human rights in Burma.
Tel: +66 1 884 0772, +66 1 466 5406
E-mail: partnership@csloxinfo.com, apppb.blogspot.com

ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Myanmar Caucus
18-2 Commercial Centre, Taman Adabi Indah,
Off Jalan Klang Lama, 58100 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Tel +603-7984 7318, +603-7980 1393
Fax +603-7983 7318, +603-7981 7782
E-mail: info@aseanmp.org, www.aseanmp.org

National Press Club of Indonesia
Gedung Ariobimo Sentral Lantai 4
Jl. HR Rasuna Said Kav X-2 No 5, Jakarta 12950
Tel: +62 21 529 09152
Fax: +62 21 2525750
Email: npci_08@yahoo.com

Media Contacts:

Ko Shwe (KESAN) +66 890107015
Khin Ohmar (Burma Partnership) +62 811 893 126 (INA #)
Imelda Sari (NPCI) +62 811 971930

14  October  2008

Jakarta

The  Burma  Partnership,  ASEAN  Inter-Parliamentary Myanmar Caucus and National Press Club of Indonesia will host the release of a Post-Nargis Analysis report to respond to the Post-Nargis Joint Assessment (PONJA) Report. The press conference event will be  held  on  Thursday,  16 October  2008  at  Hotel  Intercontinental Midplaza  Jakarta,  Jl.  Jend. Sudirman  Kav  10-11  from  14:30  -16:30 WIB.  The  Secretary  General  of  ASEAN  Dr  Surin Pitsuwan has been invited to attend  the press conference and officially receive  the Post-Nargis Analysis report. A discussion will  follow with speakers  from Burma  and Thailand: Khin Ohmar, Burma  Partnership Coordinator; and Kraisak Choonhavan,  the  President  of  the ASEAN  Inter-Parliamentary Myanmar Caucus (AIPMC) and a Thai Member of Parliament.

The  Post-Nargis  Analysis  report was  compiled  and  written  by  Yuki  Akimoto, Director  of  the Burma Information Network (BurmaInfo). The report came as a result of a workshop organized by the project Another Development for Burma in August-September 2008 in which a number of civil  society  organizations  discussed  the  role  of  international  financial  institutions  in Burma  in general and  in  the Post-Nargis Joint Assessment process. The report  is created  to respond  to  the PONJA Report compiled by  the Tripartite Core Group which consists of  the ASEAN, Burma’s military regime and UN. The PONJA report was launched during the ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meeting  in  Singapore  on  20-21  July,  2008.  The  Post-Nargis  Analysis  report  explores  the obstructions  to  aid  and  human  rights  abuses  committed  by  the  Burmese  military  regime  and corruption  that have  occurred  in  the  cyclone-hit  region. The Burma Partnership  and  other  civil society organizations who had been observing throughout the relief phase felt the need to tell the other side of the story by producing this report.

Members of the media are invited to this event; special interviews separate from this event are also possible. Please contact Mira Maruto to set the interview schedule.

For further information please contact:

Khin Ohmar (Burma Partnership)
Mobile : +6681 884 0772 (Thai Number)
+62 811 893 126 (Indonesia Number)

Mira Maruto
Mobile: +62 819 705 998/021 3921617
E-mail: mmaruto@ndi.org

Imelda Sari (NPCI)
Mobile: +62 811 971930
E-mail: npci_08@yahoo.com