Burma veteran's medals given to Stirling Castle museum

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The family of a soldier who survived three years of forced labour on the Burma Railway have donated his medals to his regimental museum.

Kenneth McLeod, from Bridge of Weir, died in March this year, aged 92.
He was captured by the Japanese during World War II and endured injury, severe conditions and the threat of execution.
Mr McLeod's family are donating his war medals, Glengarry bonnet and sporran to the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders Museum at Stirling Castle.
The former soldier was based at Stirling Castle more than 70 years ago.
He was sent with the Argylls for training in jungle warfare in Malaya and was there when Imperial Japanese forces landed unexpectedly.

He fought with the 2nd Battalion at the Battle of Slim River but was cut off and stranded behind enemy lines and eventually captured.

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“Start Quote

We would hear the funny stories from the army but not much about anything else. He kept those experiences to himself”

End Quote Moira Johnston Kenneth McLeod's daughter

After recovering from paralysis brought on by poisoning he joined forced labour groups used for the construction of the Burma Railway and the bridge over the River Kwai.

Mr McLeod had volunteered to go to Siam rather than return to Singapore with wounded prisoners, but sabotaged his own work by farming termite eggs which he placed on joints and uprights.

His hand had also been badly injured but he continued laying rails and using a sledgehammer to chisel rock for blasting cuttings through the hillsides.

After the railway was completed the Japanese segregated Mr McLeod and the other Allied officers from the enlisted men.

He later discovered they were all to be executed but the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, forcing the Japanese surrender and the end of the war, is believed to have saved his life by 48 hours.

His daughter, Moira Johnston, said: "The army was a huge part of his life and I think it's appropriate that his medals, Glengarry and sporran are going to the regimental museum at Stirling Castle.

"As children we would hear the funny stories from the army but not much about anything else. He kept those experiences to himself."

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Burma deserves ‘Commission of Inquiry’ than ASEAN’s chair

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The new military-backed namesake civilian government of Burma faces no-win situation to acquire ASEAN’s backing for the 2014 chairmanship. If ASEAN acknowledged Burma as chairman of the group, it would definitely dishonor the name of the regional association. Burma under the former military junta missed a chance its turn as chair of ASEAN in 2006 because of strong international objections led by Western countries.
In 2004 August, activists in ASEAN area launched an international campaign calling for Burma to be disqualified from chairing the regional bloc in 2006, saying it would affects the grouping’s credibility and reputation.
At that time, a delegation led by Dr Gothom Ariya, the then secretary-general of the Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (Forum-Asia) presented Thai Foreign Ministry officials an open letter with signatures by organizations from the region, East Asia, Europe and North America. Copies of the letter addressed to respective ASEAN governments were delivered by a group of activists to member nations’ embassies in Bangkok.
The Then activists spotlighted the ASEAN diplomats in Bangkok especially about a vital report – ‘A Licence to Rape’ – released in 2002 by the Shan Women’s Action Network (SWAN). It described thoroughly the use of rape or shameful maneuver by the Burmese soldiers. The accusations were scrutinized and confirmed International organizations and foreign governments that using rape as weapon really was taking place. As the report exposed concrete evidences, the junta’s denial of it was in vain.
Moreover, the activists also explained about the most atrocious chapter of contemporary Burmese history or the latest assassination attempt by the Burmese military junta on the pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi – leader of the National League of Democracy (NLD) and her entourage at Dapeyin on 30 May 2003. Burmese troops and government sponsored goons and thugs attacked the NLD motorcade led by Aung San Suu Kyi who fortunately survived with injuries, subsequently arrested and put under house arrest.
The officials from the U.S. Embassy in Rangoon visited the site of the May 30 violent attack on Aung San Suu Kyi and her supporters and told that there was a premeditated ambush on the Lady’s motorcade. Circumstances and reports from local residents around Dapeyin indicated that the regime-backed thugs conducted the attack.
As a result, Burma lost its opportunity of becoming chairman of the ASEAN in 2006 due to tough international disapproval.
Now, another chance for Burma comes out again in 2014. Senior diplomats of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are likely to think about international opinion when they decide on whether to allow Burma to chair the regional grouping by 2014.
“We live, interact, synergize and benefit from our relationship with the (rest of the) world. Certainly we will be open to hear their sentiments,” Dr. Surin Pitsuwan, ASEAN secretary-general, told reporters Jakarta on 13 July, according to Ria Rose Uro (Interaksyon.com).
He emphasized that “ASEAN is where it is (today) because of the goodwill of dialogue partners.”
The secretary-general is attending the ministerial meetings which will run from July 15 to 23. Consideration of the matter is with the foreign ministers meeting (FMM).
Earlier, Indonesian parliamentarian Eva Kusuma Sundari, president of the ASEAN Inter-parliamentary Caucus on Myanmar (AIPMC), warned about the potential backlash from Western governments should Burma (Myanmar) take over ASEAN’s chairmanship.
Sundari said that based on their interactions with government officials in Australia, the United States (US) and the European Union (EU), the would-be impact “will not be good for ASEAN as a whole.”
“You cannot help it. These governments still look at Aung San Suu Kyi as the icon of democracy in Myanmar,” she stressed.
However, most important point to put into consideration for Burma is no other than its human rights record.
Human Rights Watch pointed out in its 6 May Statement that Burma has failed to address concerns repeatedly raised by ASEAN leaders in past summits.
“Rewarding Burma with ASEAN’s chairmanship after it staged sham elections and still holds 2,000 political prisoners would be an embarrassment for the region,” said Elaine Pearson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch.
The Kachin Women’s Association Thailand (KWAT) released a press statement on 21 June denouncing the Burmese government’s armed forces for using use of rape as a weapon of war in northern Burma offensive. According to the press release, at least 18 women and girls were gang raped by Burmese soldiers; four of whom were killed after being raped. The soldiers killed three girls and raped a woman in front of her husband, who was then forced to work for them. In frontline areas, Burmese soldiers are committing crimes freely as there are no effective or appropriate penalties in place by senior authorities.
A press release has been delivered 14 July by the Shan Women’s Action Network (SWAN) and the Shan Human Rights Foundation (SHRF) condemning Burma Army of using rape as war weapon. The Burma Army is clearly authorizing rape as a terror policy in its offensive against the Shan State Army-North (SSA-N), according to information documented by SWAN and SHRF.
In such a situation, ASEAN must think very cautiously to accept Burma at its chair so as to avoid the grouping’s ethical standard. It will be better for ASEAN to support a UN-led ‘Commission of Inquiry’ into longstanding allegations of violations of international humanitarian and human rights law in Burma.

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Burma refugee says he was a killer

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THE Australian Federal Police will investigate claims by a Burmese refugee living in Australia that he murdered dozens of political dissidents in Burma while working as an undercover agent for the military regime in the late 1980s.
The man, Htoo Htoo Han, told The Age yesterday he can no longer keep his past a secret and has begged for forgiveness from the families of his victims.
''I want to apologise to the people of Burma,'' he said. ''I want to say sorry for what I've done, please forgive me for what I did, for the people who will never come home.
''I have achieved a lot in Australia, I've become an artist, been involved in global justice issues, environmental issues. I'm a changed person.
''So I became very guilty about something I did when I was very young. I have nightmares, I couldn't sleep, I struggle with this nightmare for a very long time. Sooner or later, the truth will come out.''
Mr Han - an Australian citizen who has married and has three young children - has been a prominent figure in the Burmese refugee community in Australia, which was yesterday reeling in the wake of the 44-year-old artist's claims, originally reported by Australian Associated Press.
Mr Han told The Age yesterday he could not remember exactly how many people he had ''destroyed'' while working undercover for the military intelligence service in the wake of the anti-regime uprising in 1988. It is impossible to verify Mr Han's claims, but he provided The Age with a list of 24 people aged between 18 and 48 he claims to have murdered, along with the locations in which the killings took place and descriptions such as ''student'', ''Islam'' and ''Burmese Communist Party''. He said the actual number of people he killed was greater.
A spokesman for Attorney-General Robert McClelland described the claims as ''extremely serious'' and said they would be referred to the AFP for ''assessment''.
''Australia has a strong framework in place for protecting the Australian community from the perpetrators of war crimes and for ensuring their proper investigation and prosecution,'' the spokesman said.
Opposition foreign affairs spokeswoman Julie Bishop last night called for Mr Han's claims to be referred to the International Criminal Court for investigation.
Mr Han said that as a young army officer, he was ordered to infiltrate the student opposition movement. He then identified targets for assassination and arranged for them to be arrested by security services.
He said he would then put a hood over their heads and shoot them in the back of the head. Their bodies were taken to a cave to be burned and their ashes thrown into a river, leaving no evidence of the executions.
Mr Han said he spared many of his intended victims because of their age, or because he knew them or their families.
He said he was later imprisoned in Burma in order to spy on opposition members in jail, before travelling to Thailand in 1993 and infiltrating the Burmese student movement in exile. He arrived in Australia in 1996 and was eventually given citizenship.
Burmese community members were in shock yesterday over Mr Han's claims.
Prominent Burmese dissident Dr Myint Cho said he found it difficult to believe Mr Han was capable of what he claimed to have done.
''To be frank, Htoo Htoo Han is unlikely to be a war criminal,'' Dr Cho said.


Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/national/burma-refugee-says-he-was-a-killer-20110718-1hlpy.html#ixzz1SXrv1I38


Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/national/burma-refugee-says-he-was-a-killer-20110718-1hlpy.html#ixzz1SXrcfmbo

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Myanmar to dredge major river, improve navigation

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YANGON, Myanmar (AP) -- Myanmar is planning to dredge the Irrawaddy river, where the buildup of sediment is threatening its navigability and the movement of goods through the country.
The Weekly Eleven News reported Thursday that sediment in the river has narrowed sections of it to just 30 yards (meters), down from several miles (kilometers) wide.
Chinese technicians hoping to win the contract have begun to survey the 1,300-mile- (2,100 kilometer-) long river, The Myanmar Times reported.
China's Tianjin Dredging has already won a contract to open up part of the Yangon river, a smaller waterway that leads to the country's most important port. Yangon port handles about 90 percent of Myanmar's shipping cargo.
That project will enable a 39,000-ton vessel to dock at Yangon, up from 17,000 tons.

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Earthquake topples buildings in southwestern China near Myanmar, 24 dead, 207 hurt

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China - An earthquake toppled houses and damaged a hotel and supermarket in China's extreme southwest near the border with Myanmar on Thursday, killing at least 22 people and injuring more than 200, officials and state media said.
Photos from the scene showed buildings that buckled, crushing their lower floors. Police, firefighters and soldiers rushed to the area to pull out people trapped in the rubble, including a man and girl stuck in the stairwell of a four-story building, according to state broadcaster China Central Television.
One sidewalk was lined with injured people, lyingon blankets and being shielded from the sun by large vendor umbrellas.
The quake hit while many people, including students, were home for a customary midday rest, the broadcaster said. In addition to the 22 killed, 201 people have been injured, it said. The report said at least two students were among those killed but didn't give details.
The website of the Chinese government earthquake monitoring station said the magnitude-5.8 quake was centred on Yunnan province's Yingjiang county and struck just before 1 p.m. (0500 GMT) at a depth of six miles (10 kilometres). The U.S. Geological Survey measured the quake at a magnitude of 5.4 and at a deeper 21 miles (35 kilometres).
Tremors continued to be felt in the area throughout the afternoon and evening, according to CCTV reporter Shu Qian, who was at the disaster scene in Yingjiang County.
The quake's epicenter was in Shiming Village, just over a mile (two kilometres) from the county seat, but triggered a power outage across Yingjiang, which has a population of about 300,000 people, Xinhua said.
By evening, the power supply was still cut off, though water and communications didn't appear to be damaged, Shu said.
An official on duty at the quake monitoring centre, Gao Shaotang, said many houses had been destroyed. Xinhua said the army was sending 400 soldiers to the site for rescue efforts.
A government team that includes the Civil Affairs Ministry has also been dispatched to the quake-stricken area, CCTV said. About 5,000 tents, 10,000 quilts and 10,000 coats are also being sent from the central government.
The mountainous area lies 1,500 miles (2,400 kilometres) southwest of Beijing, close to the border with Myanmar, and is home to many ethnic groups on both sides of the border, which sees heavy traffic in people and goods.
Xinhua said the quake-prone region has been hit by more than 1,000 minor tremors over the past two months.
The Myanmar Meteorological Department released a statement saying a quake had hit some 230 miles (370 kilometres) northeast of Mandalay, the country's second-largest city.
The statement did not mention injuries, damage or the specific area of Myanmar most affected by the quake. Authorities in the tightly ruled country tend not to immediately discuss the effects of natural disasters.
Much of the area on the Myanmar side been under the control of various armed ethnic groups, who have battled the Myanmar military to remain free from central government control.

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Suu Kyi must say sorry for sanctions: Myanmar media

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Myanmar state media on Saturday demanded Aung San Suu Kyi and her party apologise for opposing the lifting of Western sanctions, days after warning of "tragic ends" for the democracy icon.
"They have to mend their ways, begging public pardon for the acts they have breached in their interests, at the expense of that of the nation and the people" said an opinion piece that ran in several state newspapers.
It is the latest in a string of anti-sanctions columns after a statement from Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) said punitive measures helped pressure the authorities and had not affected the economy significantly.
Seemingly threatening remarks warning that the opposition figurehead and her party "will meet their tragic ends" if they continued to support sanctions, led the US to raise fears over Suu Kyi's safety earlier in the week.
The media criticism is the first to have explicitly targeted the Nobel Peace Prize winner since she was released from seven years of house arrest last November, days after a controversial election.
Saturday's comments seemed to acknowledge that Myanmar, controlled by the military since 1962, has failed to progress in line with regional neighbours and laid much of the blame on Western sanctions.
"If the people of a country are in dire straits in consequence of economic sanctions, that is the worst human rights violation," the piece said.
The NLD has reacted cautiously to the week's commentary, saying it had not received any official response from the authorities to its statement on sanctions.
"Daw Suu didn't say anything about these articles. We have no comment," said party spokesman Nyan Win. Daw is a term of respect in Myanmar.
Suu Kyi's release reignited debate over the effectiveness of the financial and trade blocks, enforced notably by the United States and the European Union in response to the junta's human rights abuses.
Some observers see the sanctions issue as her only leverage with the authorities because Western nations are considered unlikely to scrap the measures without her support.
In its statement issued last week, the NLD stressed that any end to sanctions on Myanmar should be linked to an improvement in the junta's human rights record, notably the release of political prisoners.
The remarks came days after Washington said it was premature to ease sanctions on Myanmar and urged the regime to take more concrete steps.
A new parliament convened for the first time in January, but it is dominated by retired generals and critics accuse the country's political system of hiding the army's power behind a civilian facade.
Suu Kyi's party has no voice in the legislature as it was disbanded for opting to boycott the November vote because the rules seemed designed to bar its figurehead from participating.

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This is very importent message from Daw Aung San Suu kyi , direct telephone message to Burma democratic people who love in Japan ,

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Burma Campaign Japan(BCJP Television ) will brocast on live program .
This is very  importent message from Daw Aung San Suu kyi , direct telephone message to Burma democratic people who live in Japan ,we be brocast to the world and inside Myanmar at 11th Feb ,2011 .at 1pm to 2pm Japan Time.please support our leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi .The present situation of Burma is so serious ,militery government make trick to the world , Burma is preparing to open its first session of parliament in more than two decades, a major step in the ruling military's self-styled transition to democracy but one being carried out with little fanfare or public enthusiasm.

There is muted hope that Monday's convening of the new legislature will be a step, however small, in the right direction for the country, also known as Myanmar, that has seen the army rule with impunity since a 1962 coup ended the last legitimate parliamentary democracy. Still, with a quarter of the seats in the upper and lower houses reserved for the military and the remainder dominated by political parties loyal to the outgoing junta, there is little chance for an actual return of power to the people.

The junta for years has been touting the convening of parliament as the penultimate step in its so-called roadmap to democracy, leaving only the task of having it elect a president. Current junta chief Senior Gen. Than Shwe, however, is expected to remain the country's guiding force, no matter what position he holds in the new regime.

While the general public is curious who may become head of state — even though it is certain to be a prominent member of the junta — there appears to be little popular interest in parliament's opening. Last November's election and the widespread perception the junta cheated to ensure a victory by its proxies has done little to quell criticism that the road map is nothing more than army rule by a different name.

Even the military has done little to highlight the simultaneous opening of the 440-seat lower house and 224-seat upper house in a massive new building in Naypyitaw, the remote city to which the capital was moved from Yangon in 2005.

There are few if any of the propaganda billboards that normally trumpet momentous state occasions. Neither the press nor the foreign diplomatic community has been invited to attend, which is tantamount to saying "stay away."

While the credibility of the road map was long ago dismissed by opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy party — which boycotted the polls and consequently was dissolved under a new election law — some antimilitary parties prefer to look at the bright side.

They expressed optimism that despite being a minority, they will be able to make proposals and work for democratic changes within a legal framework that was previously absent.

"Our experience of 20 years trying to make our voices heard from the streets hasn't yielded any result. But this time I am optimistic that we can achieve something as we are going to talk in the parliament," said Thein Nyunt, an elected representative and former leader of the National Democratic Force, a party formed by breakaway members of Suu Kyi's NLD.

Others, however, note that the combination of military and pro-military lawmakers can push through or block any legislation and constitutional amendments on their own. The pro-junta Union Solidarity and Development Party combined with military appointees will account for 85 percent of seats in the lower house and 83 percent in the upper house.

"Generally speaking, having a parliament is better than not having a parliament. However, this parliament is a military-dominated parliament that will lack independence," said 90-year old Thakin Chan Tun, a former ambassador and veteran politician.

He said there is little doubt that Than Shwe will be the one pulling parliamentary strings.

"The parliament will only perpetuate military rule. ... Do not expect democratic changes to come," he said.

Parliamentary democracy is an unfamiliar concept in Burma. A single-party parliament under late dictator Ne Win last met in 1988, when a crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrations tossed out the old constitution and installed the current junta.

Suu Kyi's party won elections in 1990, but the military refused to hand over power and did not allow parliament to convene. They locked Suu Kyi away for most of the past 21 years, freeing her a week after November's elections.

With the legislative process being new to most, incoming lawmakers have been given a booklet on legislative basics, including instructions on how to use green, yellow and red buttons to vote. There is a dress code as well. All lawmakers are to wear traditional attire — women must wear long-sleeved jackets — with representatives of ethnic minorities donning the garb of their respective groups.

Any real debate is unlikely, though. Words that endanger national security or the unity of the country are banned and any protest staged within parliament is punishable by up to two years in prison.

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