source MSN

13/11/2010

Pakistan used terror as a hedge against India: Clinton

Washington: Islamabad used to support terror outfits as a hedge against India and an unfriendly Afghan regime, so that the two neighbours of Pakistan do not undermine it, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said. “They (Pakistan) have in the past hedged against both India and an unfriendly regime in Afghanistan by supporting groups that will be their proxies in trying to prevent either India or an unfriendly Afghan government from undermining their position,” she said.

Clinton said now things are "changing", but she cannot confirm whether Pakistan has stopped the use of terror against India and Afghanistan. "That is changing... Now, I cannot sit here and tell you that it has changed, but that is changing," she told ABC News in an interview, the transcripts of which was released by the State Department.

Clinton accepted that the US had created certain radical outfits and supported terrorists like Osama bin Laden to fight against the erstwhile Soviet Union, but that backing has boomeranged. "Part of what we are fighting against right now, the United States created. We created the Mujahidin force against the Soviet Union (in Afghanistan). We trained them, we equipped them, we funded them, including somebody named Osama bin Laden. And it didn't work out so well for us," she said.

The Secretary of the State also said Pakistan is paying a "big price" for supporting US war against terror groups in their own national interest. "But I think it is important to note that as they have made these adjustments in their own assessment of their national interests, they're paying a big price for it," Clinton said.

"And it's not an easy calculation for them to make. But we are making progress (in Afghanistan). We have a long way to go and we can't be impatient...Well, the headlines are bad. We're going home. We cannot do that," she said.

Appearing on the same ABC show, Secretary of Defence Robert Gates said Pakistan has withdrawn an equivalent of about six divisions of its army from the Indian border and moved them. "And they are attacking the Taliban. They're attacking the Taliban -- Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, and safe havens that are a problem for us," Gates said.

"But the other piece of this, we face in both countries what they call a trust deficit, and it is because they believe we have walked away from them in the past at the toughest moments of their history. "You can't recreate that (trust) in a heartbeat. You can't recreate that in a year or two. They both worry that once we solve the problem in Afghanistan, or if we don't solve it, that either way, we will leave and leave whatever remains in their hands to deal with," he added.

Source: PTI

14/11/2010

Cheers as freed Myanmar democracy leader appears

Yangon: — Myanmar's democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, freed from seven years of house arrest, told thousands of wildly cheering supporters Sunday that she would continue to fight for human rights and the rule of law in the military-ruled nation. She spoke to about 5,000 people who crowded around the dilapidated headquarters of her political party, the first stop for the Nobel Peace Prize laureate after leaving the lakeside residence that had been her prison.

"I believe in human rights and I believe in the rule of law. I will always fight for these things," she said. "I want to work with all democratic forces and I need the support of the people." Suu Kyi earlier slipped into the small compound of her National League for Democracy as people shouted "We love Suu" amid thunderous applause.

Inside, she met with Yangon-based diplomats and was later scheduled to talk with the media, attend the funeral of a close friend and pay a customary visit to the city's sacred Shwedagon pagoda. "This is an unconditional release. No restrictions are placed on her," her lawyer Nyan Win said. There was speculation whether she would use her newfound freedom to challenge the ruling military head-on, or be more conciliatory.

In her Sunday speech, she did not sound a strident note, speaking about working toward national reconciliation and saying she bore no grudge against those who had held her in detention for more than 15 of the last 21 years. She thanked her well-wishers and asked them to pray for those still imprisoned by the regime. Human rights groups say the junta hold more than 2,200 political prisoners.

India, UN hail Aung San Suu Kyi's release
When Congress headquarters was Suu Kyi's home

In her first public appearance Saturday evening, Suu Kyi indicated she would continue with her political activity but did not specify whether she would challenge the military with mass rallies and other activities that led to her earlier detentions. "We have a lot of things to do," said Suu Kyi, the 65-year-old charismatic and relentlessly outspoken woman who has come to symbolize the struggle for democracy in the isolated and secretive nation once known as Burma. The country has been ruled by the military since 1962.

But while her release thrilled her supporters -- and also clearly thrilled her -- it came just days after an election that was swept by the ruling junta's proxy political party and decried by Western nations as a sham designed to perpetuate authoritarian control. Many observers have questioned whether it was timed by the junta to distract the world's attention from the election. It is also unlikely that the ruling generals will allow Suu Kyi, who drew huge crowds of supporters during her few periods of freedom, to actively and publicly pursue her goal of bringing democracy to Myanmar.

While welcoming the release, European Commissioner Jose Manuel Barroso urged that no restrictions be placed on her. "It is now crucial that Aung San Suu Kyi has unrestricted freedom of movement and speech and can participate fully in her country's political process," he said.

President Barack Obama called Suu Kyi "a hero of mine." "Whether Aung San Suu Kyi is living in the prison of her house, or the prison of her country, does not change the fact that she, and the political opposition she represents, has been systematically silenced, incarcerated, and deprived of any opportunity to engage in political processes," he said in a statement.

Others in Myanmar hailed Suu Kyi as the only one who might unite the poor, isolated country. "She's our country's hero," said Tin Tin Yu, a 20-year-old university student, standing near the house later Saturday night. "Our election was a sham. Everyone knows it, but they have guns so what can we do? She's the only one who can make our country a democracy."

Critics say the Nov 7 elections were manipulated to give the pro-military party a sweeping victory. The new government is unlikely to win the international legitimacy that it craves simply by releasing Suu Kyi because the recent elections were so obviously skewed, according Trevor Wilson, former Australian ambassador to Myanmar. What happens next will depend on what kind of restrictions the regime puts on Suu Kyi -- and what she says if she is allowed to speak, said Wilson. "We will have to wait and see. It could be a little bit of a cat-and-mouse game," Wilson said.

Suu Kyi has said she would help probe allegations of voting fraud, according to Nyan Win, who is a spokesman for her party, which was officially disbanded for refusing to register for the polls. Such actions have provoked military crackdowns in the past. Myanmar's last elections in 1990 were won overwhelmingly by her National League for Democracy, but the military refused to hand over power and instead clamped down on opponents.

Suu Kyi was convicted last year of violating the terms of her previous detention by briefly sheltering an American man who swam uninvited to her lakeside home, extending a period of continuous detention that began in 2003 after her motorcade was ambushed in northern Myanmar by a government-backed mob.

Suu Kyi took up the democracy struggle in 1988, as mass demonstrations were breaking out against 25 years of military rule. She was quickly thrust into a leadership role, mainly because she was the daughter of Aung San, who led Myanmar to independence from Britain before his assassination by political rivals.

She rode out the military's bloody suppression of street demonstrations to help found the NLD. Her defiance gained her fame and honour, most notably the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize. In 1989, she was detained on national security charges and put under house arrest. Out of the last 21 years, she has been jailed or under house arrest for more than 15.

Suu Kyi's freedom had been a key demand of Western nations and groups critical of the military regime's poor human rights record, which includes the continued detention of some 2,200 political prisoners and brutal military campaigns against ethnic minorities. The military government, seeking to burnish its international image, had responded previously by offering to talk with her, only to later shy away from serious negotiations.

Source: AP

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14 November 2010

Suu Kyi 'ready for talks' to resolve Burma's problems

Ms Suu Kyi said her party was investigating allegations of fraud in the elections

Burma's pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi has told the BBC she is ready for talks with all groups to achieve national reconciliation.

A day after her release from house arrest, she said it was time to "sort out our differences across the table".

Ms Suu Kyi also said she intended to listen to what the Burmese people and her international supporters wanted as she planned her next steps.

The Nobel Peace Prize winner has spent 15 of the past 21 years in detention.

World leaders and human rights groups have welcomed her release.

US President Barack Obama said it was "long overdue", while UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said Ms Suu Kyi was an "inspiration", and urged Burma to free all its remaining 2,200 political prisoners.

The move came six days after Burma held its first elections in 20 years, which was won by the biggest military-backed party, the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), but widely condemned as a sham.

Ms Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) won the last election in 1990, but was never allowed to take power. It was disbanded by the military authorities after it decided to boycott last week's polls.

'Not fearful'

In her first interview since being released, Ms Suu Kyi told the BBC's Alastair Leithead in Bangkok by telephone that one of the first things she had to do was "to listen to what the people have to say".

"The only thing is that if you talk to a large crowd, it's difficult to listen to them. You have to do all the talking. But that's not what I want to do.

"I want to listen to what the people want. I want to listen to what the other countries want, what they think they can do for us, what we think then that they could do for us, and to work out something that is acceptable to as many people as possible," she added.

Asked how she would describe her future role, she said: "I just think of myself as one of the workers for democracy. Well, better known, perhaps, than the others here in Burma but one of those working for democracy."

Ms Suu Kyi said she was prepared to hold talks with all factions in Burma to help launch a process of national reconciliation.

"I think we will have to sort out our differences across the table, talking to each other, agreeing to disagree, or finding out why we disagree and trying to remove the sources of our disagreement," she said.

"There are so many things that we have to talk about."

The NLD was currently investigating allegations of fraud in last week's elections, she said, and would soon publish a report.

"From what I've heard there are many, many questions about the fairness about the election and there are many allegations of vote-rigging and so on."

Ms Suu Kyi said she was not fearful of risking re-arrest by continuing to push for democracy, even though she accepted that it was a possibility.

"I'm not fearful, not in the sense that I think to myself that I won't do this or I won't do that because they'll put me under arrest again. That I don't have in mind," she explained.

"But, I know that there's always the possibility that I might be re-arrested. It's not something that I particularly wish for, because if you're placed under arrest you can't work as much as you can when you're not under arrest."

But she stressed that her situation under house arrest had been much better than that of other political prisoners who are in jail.

Ms Suu Kyi added that, during her time in detention she had never felt alone, partly thanks to the BBC, which kept her in touch with the rest of the world.

Earlier on Sunday, Ms Suu Kyi was mobbed by her supporters as she made her way for the first time since her release from her house to the NLD's offices.

The 65-year-old said freedom of speech was the basis of democracy, but warned a crowd of about 4,000 people in Rangoon that if they wanted change they would have to go about getting it in the right way.

"We must work together," she told them. "We Burmese tend to believe in fate, but if we want change we have to do it ourselves."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A correspondent BBC News, Rangoon

---

Earlier on Sunday, Aung Sang Suu Kyi had to struggle through the throngs of jubilant supporters to reach the podium where she was supposed to speak. Thousands had gathered to hear her.

They were probably expecting Ms Suu Kyi to make clear what she planned to do now that she was free - in the event she asked for help. She said she could not do it alone, and was "ready to work with all democratic forces" - an appeal perhaps to an opposition bitterly divided over the recent election here to unite once more.

She told the crowd she believed in the rule of human rights and the rule of law and felt no antagonism to those who had kept her detained for much of the past two decades. The basis of democratic freedom, she said, was freedom of speech. But she cautioned that if her supporters wanted to get to where they wanted, they had to do it the right way. "Do not give up hope," she added.

Ms Suu Kyi's words were measured and careful, she will know that the military leaders who rule this country will be scrutinising her every move and today she was careful not to provoke them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Aung San Suu Kyi

• Born 1945, daughter of Burma's independence hero, General Aung San, assassinated in 1947
• 1960: Leaves Burma and is later educated at Oxford University
• 1988: Returns to care for sick mother and is caught up in revolt against then-dictator Ne Win
• 1989: Put under house arrest as Burma junta declares martial law
• 1990: NLD wins election; military disregards result
• 1991: Wins Nobel Peace Prize
• 1995: Released from house arrest, but movements restricted
• 2000: Near continuous period of house arrest begins
• Sept 2007: First public appearance since 2003, greeting protesting Buddhist monks
• November 2010: NLD boycotts first election in 20 years and is disbanded; House arrest ends

Source : BBC

15/11/2010

Jammu and Kashmir removed from list of disputes under UN

Betwa Sharma
United Nations, Nov 14 (PTI) In a significant development, Jammu and Kashmir has been removed from the UN list of unresolved disputes, giving a setback to Pakistan which has been asking the world body to intervene on the issue.

The omission of Jammu and Kashmir from a list of disputes under the observation of the UN Security Council was noticed by Pakistan whose envoy has lodged a protest.

"Jammu and Kashmir dispute was not mentioned in the context of unresolved long-running situations," said Amjad Hussain B Sial, Pakistan'' acting envoy to the UN.

"We understand this was an inadvertent omission, as Jammu and Kashmir is one of the oldest disputes on agenda of the Security Council," he added.

Sial was speaking at the UN General Assembly session, which was discussing the functioning and reform of the Security Council. It was organised by the UK that holds the presidency of the Security Council this month.

Pakistan has been asking the UN to intervene to help resolve the issue but India has always maintained that it has to be resolved bilaterally between the two countries.

Arundhati Roy speaks her mind trash

Arundhuti Roy is speaking trash for her personal gain. And she wants some cheap media publicity. We are sorry for Arundhuti , Though we support freedom of expression but her expression are such a low and irresponsible act on the face of people who esteemed her as a great writer. She is using and exploiting some anti-social sentiment to a broader field and showing her courage to insult a biggest democratic country marked as one nation.
It is India which thinks democracies thrive on dissent.
India claims to be the biggest democracy on earth, and that democracy is alive and kicking, at least, in India, if not in Jammu and Kashmir. Demand of a genuine democracy is that people must be allowed to express their views without fear or intimidation; and Arundhati Roy is an Indian citizen, so she is enjoying her democratic right!

On the other hand Pakistan also occupies two parts of State of Jammu and Kashmir, namely Azad Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan, from which Pakistan generously gave away around 2200 sq miles to China in 1963 to improve bilateral relations.
Pakistan has military strength to control the Kashmiri territory under its occupation, but has no legal cover to justify this occupation. It has no legal mandate to be in control of the Kashmiri territory, but still has managed to divert attention away from areas under its control and call them 'azad' meaning free; and many Kashmiri collaborators happily advance the cause of Pakistan.

Many in Pakistan, especially writers and scholars know shallowness of Pakistan's stand on Kashmir. They also know that people of so called Azad Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan are not happy with what Pakistan and its secret agencies do to the people of these areas; and yet they decide to remain quiet. Their conscience does not trouble them, and they follow the government policy on issue of Kashmir. They happily promote government's version on Kashmir, knowing well that it is based on lies.
They know, as it has been confirmed by many impartial surveys that people of Jammu and Kashmir DONOT want to join Pakistan; and yet they broadcast lies that people of Jammu and Kashmir are desperate to join Pakistan. They are reluctant to speak about plight and exploitation of the people living under Pakistani occupation; and will only focus on events taking place on other side of the LOC.

Can Pakistani society produce one prominent writer, scholar and human rights champion who has guts to challenge Pakistan's Kashmir policy; and tell the world that Pakistan's control of Kashmiri territory is not legal? Someone who could tell the world people of Jammu and Kashmir State living on this side of the LOC are also deprived of their fundamental human rights. Or is this too much to ask, and Pakistani writers, intellectuals and scholars will continue to follow the out of date policy of Islamabad?

( Source kashmirawareness)

26/10/2010

Kashmir has never been part of India: Arundhati Roy

Allahabad: Booker prize winner and activist has whipped up yet another storm by stating rather vocally that Kashmir was never a part of India.

The Jammu and Kashmir Police is looking into the controversial speech of Arundhati Roy on Jammu and Kashmir's accession to India and does not rule out taking action against the high profile writer and activist. In fact, sources in the government said that a case under 124-A under Indian Penal Code for sedition is possible against Hurriyat Conference Chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani and writer Arundhati Roy for their anti-India speeches.

J&K Police looking into controversial speech

The Jammu and Kashmir Police is looking into the controversial speech of Arundhati Roy on Jammu and Kashmir's accession to India and does not rule out taking action against the high profile writer and activist.

Highly-placed sources in the state home department said the transcript of the speech delivered yesterday at a seminar 'Wither Kashmir: Freedom or enslavement' organised by Coalition of Civil Societies (CCS) here has been handed over to the legal department for examination.

Meanwhile, the law officers of Delhi Police have concluded that there is a case for booking writer Arundhati Roy and hardline separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani for sedition under Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code. But the decision on whether to actually take action will be made only after further consultations at the highest level, sources in the Home Ministry said.

Delhi Police sources said they had sought legal opinion on the nature of charges, if any, against Geelani and Roy, and clearance from the Home Ministry.

If legal opinion favours registering a case against the Booker prize winner, the state police would register the same, sources said. Roy is alleged to have questioned Jammu and Kashmir's accession to India.

"Kashmir has never been an integral part of India. It is a historical fact. Even the Indian government has accepted this," she said, and also alleged that New Delhi became a "colonising power" soon after its independence from British rule.

This is not the first time the writer has run into rough weather over her speeches. Earlier, her pro-Naxal write up and speeches had forced Chattisgarh Police to seriously think of booking her for waging war against the country.

On another occasion, Biswajit Mitra, a former BSP leader, had accused her of supporting naxals and demanded action against her following which Director General of Chattisgarh Police Vishwa Ranjan had asked the state legal department to give their opinion.

Roy has come under criticism for her article on naxals -- "Gandhian with guns". The Chief of Chattisgarh Police had said in April this year, "I do not know whether Arundhati Roy has been wrongly influenced by others or she is actually a mole in the civil society. How do I know?"

Cong wants Arundhati to withdraw J&K statement

A senior Congress leader asked noted writer and activist Arundhati Roy to withdraw her statement on Kashmir, saying it was 'contrary to historical facts' and could mislead the nation and the international community.

Reacting to the comment made by the writer at a seminar in Kashmir on Sunday, AICC member Satya Prakash Malaviya said, "It was really surprising to see such an irresponsible statement from someone who is one of the country's best-known writers.

"She must withdraw her statement which is contrary to historical facts and could mislead the nation as well as the international community," he said. The Booker Prize winning author had said "Kashmir has never been an integral part of India. It is a historical fact. Even the Indian government has accepted this."

The former Union Minister said that Roy "would do better to brush up her knowledge of history and know that the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir had acceded to the Union of India after its erstwhile ruler Maharaja Hari Singh duly signed the Instrument of Accession on October 26, 1947.

"And the state, consequently has become as much an integral part of India as all the other erstwhile princely states have."

Source: Agencies

Eggs with the oldest known embryos of a dinosaur found

Eggs with the oldest known embryos of a dinosaur found
By Katia Moskvitch Science reporter, BBC News



An artist's impression of what the dinosaurs might have looked like

Palaeontologists have identified the oldest known dinosaur embryos, belonging to a species that lived some 190 million years ago.

The eggs of Massospondylus, containing well-perserved embryos, were unearthed in South Africa back in 1976.

The creature appears to be an ancestor of the family that includes the long-necked dino once known as Brontosaurus.

The study in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology also sheds light on the dinosaurs' early development.

The researchers used the embryos to reconstruct what the dinosaurs' babies might have looked like when they roamed the Earth.

Having studied the fossilised eggs, the team, led by Professor Robert Reisz of the University of Toronto Mississauga in Canada, discovered that the embryos were the oldest ones ever found of any land-dwelling vertebrate.

"This project opens an exciting window into the early history and evolution of dinosaurs," said Professor Reisz.

"Prosauropods are the first dinosaurs to diversify extensively, and they quickly became the most widely spread group, so their biology is particularly interesting as they represent in many ways the dawn of the age of dinosaurs."
'Awkward' bodies

Massospondylus belonged to a group of dinosaurs known as prosauropods, the ancestors of sauropods - huge, four-legged dinosaurs with long necks.

Having studied the tiny (20cm-long) skeletons, the researchers noted that the embryos were almost about to hatch - but never had the chance.



While the embryos are only about 20cm long, the adults are thought to have reached some five metres in height

Interestingly, the report says, the embryos looked quite different compared to the adult animals.

Once hatched, the babies would have had rather long front legs, meaning that they would have been walking on all fours rather than on two legs like the adults.

The embryos' heads were also disproportionally big, but it is believed the adult Massospondylus, which were about five metres in length, had relatively tiny heads and long necks.

The little ones' anatomy would have changed with age.

The paper stated that the rather awkward body of the embryos suggested that just like humans, the hatchlings would have required parental care - and if in this case, it would be the earliest known example of parental care.

Burma generals 'sign Aung San Suu Kyi release order'

Burma generals 'sign Aung San Suu Kyi release order'

Aung San Suu Kyi has been detained for 15 of the past 21 years

Reports from Burma say military authorities have signed an order authorising the release of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

But hopes she would be freed on Friday were dashed: there has been no official confirmation of a release order.

A leader of her NLD party told 2,000 supporters gathered at its headquarters to go home and return on Saturday.

Ms Suu Kyi has been detained for 15 of the past 21 years, and her house arrest term expires on Saturday.

There has been increased police activity outside her house in Rangoon, Burma's largest city, but no formal statement from military officials.

However, Ms Suu Kyi is not expected to accept a conditional release if it excludes her from political activity.

The 65-year-old was originally due to be released last year, but a case involving an American who swam across Inya Lake to her home, claiming he was on a mission to save her, prompted the latest 18-month detention.

'Significant impact'

The BBC is banned from reporting in Burma but correspondent Alastair Leithead is monitoring developments from the capital of neighbouring Thailand, Bangkok.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
At the scene
A correspondent BBC News, Rangoon

All day rumours have circulated that Aung Sang Suu Kyi could soon be free, and all day the crowds outside the offices of the NLD have grown.

The building is constantly watched by government intelligence agents, yet still they came, defiantly wearing white T-shirts emblazoned with the face of their icon.

News spread that the papers for Aung Sang Suu Kyi's release had been signed, though no one could actually confirm that, the anticipation grew.

The crowd moved off along the road towards the lakeside house that has been the pro-democracy leader's prison for so long.

Then the word came that the release would not after all be today, but perhaps tomorrow, and still no official statement from the military government.

Aung Sang Suu Kyi and her loyal supporters must, it seems, wait a little longer.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~``
He says a number of sources inside Burma have told the BBC that documents authorising Ms Suu Kyi's release have been signed.

Officials have reportedly visited her home in University Avenue to deliver them.

About 2,000 of her supporters gathered at NLD headquarters in anticipation of her release. Some wore T-shirts saying: "We stand with you."

"Young and old, NLD members and non-members are gathering here with excitement to welcome her. At one point, we got the news that she was released and we all shouted with joy," Yazar, an NLD youth leader, told the BBC's Burmese service.

But by early evening a party leader told people to go home because it seemed unlikely she would be freed on Friday.

A man waiting outside the gate to Ms Suu Kyi's home said little had changed.

"People are waiting in groups here and there, maybe more than 100 in total - many of them are journalists," he told the BBC. "Security is normal as usual. No increase. The gate is closed as before, that's it."
A vehicle passes a checkpoint near the home of Aung San Suu Kyi (12 November 2010) Witnesses said there had been no increased security outside Ms Suu Kyi's home in Rangoon

Ms Suu Kyi's lawyer said: "There is no law to hold her for another day. Her detention period expires on Saturday and she will be released."

"They should release her for the country," Nyan Win added.

Earlier this week, he told the BBC that she would "not accept a limited release".

"[It] must be unconditional. As we all know, she never accepted limited freedom in the past."

Nyan Win said she would meet with the NLD's central committee, members of the media and the public once she was freed.

The British ambassador to Burma, Andrew Heyn, has told the BBC that the UK and EU are pressing hard for Ms Suu Kyi's unconditional release, and that her freedom would have a "significant impact".

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Aung San Suu Kyi

* Born 1945, daughter of Burma's independence hero, General Aung San assassinated in 1947
* 1960: Leaves Burma and is later educated at Oxford University
* 1988: Returns to care for sick mother and is caught up in revolt against then-dictator Ne Win
* 1989: Put under house arrest as Burma junta declares martial law
* 1990: NLD wins election; military disregards result
* 1991: Wins Nobel Peace Prize
* 1995: Released from house arrest, but movements restricted
* 2000: Near continuous period of house arrest begins
* Sept 2007: First public appearance since 2003, greeting protesting Buddhist monks
* November 2010: NLD boycotts first election in 20 years and is disbanded
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Boycott
The increasing speculation that the ruling generals may sanction Aung San Suu Kyi's release follows the country's first elections in 20 years on Sunday.

On Thursday, state media announced that partial results showed that the biggest military-backed party, the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), had secured a majority in both houses of parliament.

The USDP had won 190 of the 219 seats so far declared in the 330-seat lower House of Representatives, and 95 of 107 seats in the 168-seat upper House of Nationalities, the reports said.

Those elected included the leader of the USDP, Prime Minister Thein Sein, who retired from the military as a general in April to stand.

The junta has said the election marks the transition from military rule to a civilian democracy, but the opposition, many Western governments and human rights groups have said the election was neither free nor fair.

The NLD - which won the last election in 1990 but was never allowed to take power - was ordered to dissolve after refusing to take part.

A quarter of seats in the two new chambers of parliament will be reserved for the military. Any constitutional change will require a majority of more than 75% - meaning that the military will retain a casting vote.
Source : BBC
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Aung San Suu Kyi, soon to be released, faces tough political landscape in Burma

By Tim Johnston
Friday, November 12, 2010; 12:09 PM

BANGKOK - For much of the past 20 years, a crumbling villa on the shores of Rangoon's Lake Inya has been both home and prison to Aung San Suu Kyi, the focal figure in Burma's long struggle for democracy.

Her latest term of house arrest, imposed last year for allowing an exhausted and possibly mentally ill American tourist to stay the night after he swam across the lake, expires Saturday. If she is released, as is expected, it will be into a country suffering its latest bout of dashed hopes for democracy.

Suu Kyi, 65, remains by all accounts unbowed. She has spent the past seven years at the home on Rangoon's University Avenue that she inherited from her father, independence hero Aung San, with only housekeepers for company.

"The energy is still there; the commitment is still there. She has all the things that everyone says - she's poised and elegant and a very impressive figure - but she's also well-informed," said Andrew Heyn, the British ambassador to Burma (also known as Myanmar) and one of few foreigners to have met with Suu Kyi recently. "The message I got when I spoke to her, not only by what she said but by her body language, is that this is a woman who wants to stay involved."

In many ways, Burma's political landscape has changed little since the previous elections in 1990, when Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy won a landslide victory, only to have it snatched away by the military.
Her latest term of house arrest, imposed last year for allowing an exhausted and possibly mentally ill American tourist to stay the night after he swam across the lake, expires Saturday. If she is released, as is expected, it will be into a country suffering its latest bout of dashed hopes for democracy.

Suu Kyi, 65, remains by all accounts unbowed. She has spent the past seven years at the home on Rangoon's University Avenue that she inherited from her father, independence hero Aung San, with only housekeepers for company.

"The energy is still there; the commitment is still there. She has all the things that everyone says - she's poised and elegant and a very impressive figure - but she's also well-informed," said Andrew Heyn, the British ambassador to Burma (also known as Myanmar) and one of few foreigners to have met with Suu Kyi recently. "The message I got when I spoke to her, not only by what she said but by her body language, is that this is a woman who wants to stay involved."

In many ways, Burma's political landscape has changed little since the previous elections in 1990, when Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy won a landslide victory, only to have it snatched away by the military.
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Factbox: Facts about Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi
(Reuters) - Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of Myanmar's fight against military dictatorship, is scheduled to be released from house arrest on November 13, six days after a military-backed party won the first election in two decades.

Here are some facts about Suu Kyi, who went from being an housewife in England to a Nobel peace prize laureate incarcerated for 15 of the last 21 years because of her fight for democracy in the former Burma.

-- Born in Rangoon (now Yangon) in June 1945, she is daughter of General Aung San, an independence hero assassinated in 1947. Her mother, Khin Kyi, was also a prominent figure.

-- She studied politics in New Delhi and philosophy, politics and economics at Britain's Oxford University. In 1972, she married British academic Michael Aris.

-- Suu Kyi returned to Yangon in April 1988 to take care of her dying mother at a time of countrywide pro-democracy protests against the army regime. Keen to continue her father's legacy, she entered politics and helped set up the National League for Democracy (NLD) party, becoming its secretary-general and calling for an end to military rule.

-- The junta placed the charismatic and popular Suu Kyi under house arrest in July 1989 for "endangering the state." The next year, even without her, the NLD won 392 of 485 parliamentary seats in Myanmar's first election in almost 30 years. The military refused to relinquish power.

-- Suu Kyi, awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991, has been in prison or under house arrest off and on for 15 years since 1989.

-- Her husband died in Britain in 1999. Suu Kyi declined an offer from the junta to go to Britain for his funeral, fearing she would not be allowed back if she left.

-- She was initially freed in 1995, but was not allowed to travel outside Yangon to meet supporters. A pro-junta gang attacked a convoy carrying Suu Kyi, top party officials and supporters near Depayin town in 2003. The junta said four people were killed. Rights groups said as many as 70 were killed in the ambush. She was detained again soon after.

- She was found guilty on August 11, 2009, of breaking a security law by allowing American intruder John Yettaw to stay at her lakeside home for two nights. Critics said the charges were trumped up to stop her from having any influence over the polls.

-- She has since made several offers to the junta to lobby the international community to lift a wide range of sanctions on the country, most of which have been in place for more than two decades. Junta strongman Than Shwe never responded and the regime described her move as "insincere" and "dishonest."

-- Suu Kyi's said she "would not dream" of taking part in last Sunday's election and her NLD boycotted the vote. As a result, the party was officially dissolved.

- A breakaway NLD faction did contest, but won only a handful of seats.

(Compiled by Bangkok Newsroom; Editing by Robert Birsel and Ron Popeski)



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
She was a fighter. She fought for the people in her

country. She does not live for wealth, prosperity and fame.

She was imprisoned for reasons that are not clear. Denied

her right to form a government. Her country is not

developed and its people are still living below the poverty

level while they are able to live better. She needs the

support of the international community to change the

current situation towards a better life. Let her free, gave

her the opportunity to bring a better life to the people of

her country.

International Human Rights Activist and Democracy Leader

Nobel Peace Prize, Eleanor Roosevelt Human Rights Award,

Presidential Medal of Freedom Recipient .

Nobel Peace Prize 1991

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in

1991. The decision of the Nobel Committee mentions:[113]

The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the

Nobel Peace Prize for 1991 to Aung San Suu Kyi of Myanmar

(Burma) for her non-violent struggle for democracy and

human rights.

My bengali poem November 2010

my bengali poem

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Orkut makes people disappointed

Whatever information ( even news or educational) you share among friends Orkut will say as spam or bar you doing this . LOL see the picture below my finger shot. (for enlarged pic. press ctrl and plus sign key)

Obama’s parting words to India: Yes, we can

New Delhi: Invoking and celebrating the idea of India, US President Barack Obama on Monday evening underlined how the shared values between the two countries could — and should — forge an enduring partnership in the 21st Century.

Hope a better understanding among nations