(Commentary) Among the many e-messages coming from Iran in recent days, I found one from a woman especially moving: "...this is the most authentic, grassroots and beautiful movement,...
Mizzima News -Among the many e-messages coming from Iran in recent days, I found one from a woman especially moving: "...this is the most authentic, grassroots and beautiful movement from the people, by the people and for the people."

Iranians have spoken with defiant demonstrations in the hundreds of thousands and in rallies elsewhere, including one last weekend near Paris, drawing 90,000 in protest against alleged widespread election fraud and the unleashing of terror by state security forces.
 

The ayatollahs' election monitors this week admitted that the number of ballots cast in fifty cities on June 12th exceeded the number of eligible voters, although they insisted, unconvincingly, that this affected only three million votes. Adding to the mounting skepticism is an analysis by the respected Chatham House and Institute of Iranian Studies at St. Andrew's University, which challenges the official results based on a comparison of the 2009 votes with those of 2005.

The study reveals that in a third of all provinces the official results, if accurate, would have required Ahmadinejad to win over not only all 'conservative' voters, all former centrist ones and all new voters, but up to 44 percent of formerly 'reformist' voters despite a decade of conflict between the two groups.   

Among numerous other indications of ballot stuffing are reports that before the election a number of officials in the Interior Ministry (where the votes were counted) were fired because their loyalty to Ahmadinejad was questioned. In sum, the incumbent's declared victory by eleven million votes now looks likely fabricated.    


The ongoing confrontation of ballots and bullets across Iran underlines an important major issue of the 21st century: how the direction in the Koran -- ''commanding right and forbidding wrong''-- is to be resolved in 48 nations with Muslim majority populations.   

Recent voting trends are revealing. Indonesia, the largest Muslim democracy, held parliamentary elections in April 2009. Support for fundamentalist parties declined. Most voters seemed concerned about good governance and economic development. Overall, support for fundamentalist parties fell from 39% to 29.5%. The largest, the Prosperous Justice Party, won only 8.4% of the votes.   

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's Democratic Party captured 20.5% of the popular vote and he is expected to win re-election in the upcoming presidential ballot. His strategy of co-opting the good governance agenda and launching a wide-ranging anti-corruption campaign was well received.


Similar conclusions can be derived from elections during 2008 in Pakistan and Malaysia. In both, most of the electorate voted for parties that promised good governance. Parties that had purely religious agendas did not do well. In Pakistan, votes went overwhelmingly to secular parties.

In Malaysia (which has a 65% Muslim majority), voters resoundingly rejected the ruling party in four major states despite its attempts to appeal to religious sentiments. For the first time since independence in 1957, the government fared very poorly; it was seen as corrupt and inefficient.

The elections in all three countries ? Indonesia, Pakistan and Malaysia ? as well as the more recent one in Lebanon, have important implications for other governments the world over: the best thing they can do is to encourage good governance that will deliver on education, economic growth and stability.  


Iran is a vitally important country to the world for many economic, geographic and security reasons. Its culture is thousands of years old and it has a large and youthful population ? almost two-thirds of Iranians are under the age of thirty.   

What has transpired in Iran in recent days is home-grown and the brave people of Iran should be applauded for trying to establish a government for all. They might not succeed this time, but the momentum for change and greater freedom is rising and cannot be easily stopped.
 
The world was transfixed by Neda Soltan lying in a pool of blood, presumably because she got out of a car caught in traffic within sight of a sniper. The international community must consider with care its role in the future of Iran. Western governments should look for ways to be supportive without attempting to co-opt this movement into their own agendas. We hurt more than help if we are seen using the Iranians' movement to accomplish our ends. Democracy will come to Iran, but it will come not because of international agendas, but because the people of Iran want it and are prepared to sacrifice for it.
 
To its credit, Canada's Harper government has taken a firm stand against the terror of Khamenei-Ahmadinejad. Yet, to side unequivocally with the people of Iran, more should be done, including:

• Supporting the demand of the Iranian opposition for a nuclear-weapons-free Iran, with equal rights for women, minority communities and all religions; separation of church and state; the rule of law and an independent judiciary; representative democracy; and good relations with neighbors and the world. A first step here would be to follow the lead of the 27 EU countries and delist the PMOI opposition as a terrorist organization.

• Support the work of Iranian Canadians and others in their efforts toward good governance and the rule of law. For example, Canada should play a more active role in the work of Stop Child Executions, led by Iranian-born Canadian Nazanin Afshin-Jam.

•  Propose additional UN sanctions against Iran's government until an election can be held with sufficient independent monitoring to provide a fair process.

In her email quoted above, the young Iranian woman also spoke of "a spirit of fraternity, determination, resistance, courage, solidarity and generosity that no word can describe." It is this spirit the international community should share because the blood shed by Iranians are sacrifices made for the basic rights of us all.   

(David Kilgour is co-chair of Canadian Friends of a Democratic Iran, a member of the Muslim-Christian Dialogue of Ottawa and a former MP)

The government of Thailand has been urged by Asian lawmakers and activists not to repatriate Karen refugees, who recently fled to Thailand in the wake of fighting along,...
Chiang Mai (mizzima) ? The government of Thailand has been urged by Asian lawmakers and activists not to repatriate Karen refugees, who recently fled to Thailand in the wake of fighting along the border.

Kraisak Chunhavan, chairman of the Asean Inter-Parliamentary Myanmar Caucus (AIPMC) expressed concern over the situation on the Thai-Burma border where the fighting between the Burmese Army and an ethnic armed group is on, resulting in several thousand Karen villagers fleeing for shelter on the Thai side.

Kraisak insisted that the Thai government should provide humanitarian aid to these villagers and AIPMC will propose to the Thai government, as the current chairman of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), to work with member countries to promote democracy and sustainable peace in Burma.

?We are worried because the situation is still vulnerable. Many more refugees are coming to Thailand and we believe that the Thai government will not send these people back while the fighting continues because it is the principle of the Asean Charter to protect the rights of the people,? Kraisak said.

On Monday, the Karen Women?s Organization (KWO) released a statement expressing concern over the current situation of repatriation of families who recently arrived in Thailand in Tha Song Yang of Tak Province.

KWO said these women, if repatriated, will be vulnerable to abuses including sexual harassment and the children are already exhausted from running. Evidence of two Karen teenaged girls raped and killed is proof of a well founded fear of women being abused if they return. The group called on the international community to do whatever they can to stop possible repatriation by the Thai Army.

The group said, the Thai government and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) should urgently chalk out a procedure to obtain proper consent from the villagers, over the possibility of returning to their villages or to ask if they want to take refuge in Thailand. They should not be forced back in keeping with respect for international law.

"The Thai authorities should at least wait and observe the situation. Forcing back these people during the rainy season and to the place where they still have every reason to fear for their lives is inhuman and a violation of their rights," said Dah Eh Kler, the Secretary of KWO. "These people just fled to the border a few weeks ago from fear and fresh memories of attacks."

Similarly, Action Network for Migrants, a network of migrant workers activists and organization also in a statement urged the Thai government and related organizations to reconsider the policy that will not register new refugees to live in refugee camps along the borders. The authorities should allow non government organizations to provide education for the new comers children, which is a basic human right.

Burma?s High Court on Wednesday heard defense arguments for allowing two more witnesses in the controversial trial against pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, but did not make...
New Delhi (mizzima) - Burma?s High Court on Wednesday heard defense arguments for allowing two more witnesses in the controversial trial against pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, but did not make any ruling on the matter.

Nyan Win, a member of Aung San Suu Kyi?s legal team, said the defense team argued it is in accordance with the law to allow the remaining two witnesses ? Tin Oo, Vice-Chairman of the National League for Democracy (NLD), and Win Tin, a veteran journalist and Central Executive Committee member of the NLD.

?The High Court doesn?t make immediate decisions and will take some time before announcing their decision. And we don?t know when that announcement will be,? Nyan Win said.

However, Nyan Win added that the High Court judges told them it might be impossible to accept Tin Oo as a witness as he is currently under house arrest.

The judges further explained, according to Nyan Win, that as Win Tin has given several interviews to the exile-based Democratic Voice of Burma, BBC and Radio Free Asia, in which he demonstrated a distinct difference of opinion to that of the authorities, he may not qualify either.

But Kyi Win, Aung San Suu Kyi's primary lawyer, said the law prescribes that in finding the truth even criminals serving a death sentence can be brought as witnesses.

?My instinct told me that this will be the kind of excuse they would use to reject Tin Oo. But the law permits the accused to call anybody as a witness, as long as the witness has relevance,? Kyi Win said.

He added that during his experience as a lawyer he has seen judges order a commission be sent to prisons to hear the testimony of prisoners claimed as witnesses for the accused.

With regard to the judges' complaint concerning Win Tin, Kyi Win elaborated that everybody has the right to have their own opinion and having a different opinion to the government is not a crime.

?What we are fighting is for equal representation in front of the court and since the lower court [at Insein prison] has not mentioned any reasons for rejecting the defense witnesses, it is against the law [to exclude the candidates],? he added.

The Insein prison court where Aung San Suu Kyi is facing trial originally scheduled the hearing of the second defense witness? Khin Moh Moh ? for Friday. But Kyi Win said there would be no hearing until the High Court makes the decision on whether to allow more witnesses.

The Burmese Nobel Peace Laureate, who has been under some form of detention for more than 13 of the past 19 years,  is currently facing trial under charges of breaching her previous term of detention by ?harboring? an American man for two days at her lakeside home in early May.

Observers and opposition elements believe the trial, which could see Aung San Suu Kyi sentenced to up to five years of further imprisonment if found guilty, is a pretext to continue detaining her in order to further clear the way for the junta?s planned 2010 general election ? the country's first since the military annulled a 1990 ballot, which saw the NLD emerge the clear winner.

The Burmese Army has significantly increased its military presence in northern and eastern Burma, where ethnic ceasefire armed groups are based, following their widespread rejection of the junta

New Delhi (Mizzima) ? The Burmese Army has significantly increased its military presence in northern and eastern Burma, where ethnic ceasefire armed groups are based, following their widespread rejection of the junta?s proposal to transform to a border guard force.

An official of the United Wa State Army (UWSA) told Mizzima on Wednesday that they have witnessed the Burmese Army relocating more troops along with arms including mortars in bases near their controlled areas in eastern Shan State.

?We have seen the Burmese Army moving in more troops, in what seems like a preparation for a war,? the official said.

He told Mizzima that the junta is likely to mount more pressure on them after they rejected the proposal to transform their army into a ?Border Guard? force.

?Changing our army?s name is not a problem but if we accept their proposal, we will lose our forces, so it?s not possible for us,? he said.

In late April, the junta proposed to ceasefire armed groups to change their armies into a ?Border Guard?, which will be supervised by the junta.  According to the junta?s plan, each battalion of the border guard will consist of 326 soldiers out of which 30 soldiers from the Burmese Army will be included.

However, most of the ceasefire groups including the UWSA have reportedly rejected the junta?s proposal, triggering renewed tension between the Burmese Army and the rebels.

But the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA), an ethnic Karen rebel group  which split from the mainstream Karen resistance army ? the Karen National Union, have not rejected the junta?s proposal.

?We do not anticipate war, nobody wants to fight, we are still open to talks with them [junta] but we need to defend ourselves, so now, we have alerted all our troops to be ready,? the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, added.

UWSA controls two special regions in northern Shan State, bordering China and eastern Shan state, bordering Thailand.

Meanwhile, sources said, the Burmese junta has also increased its military presence in northern Burma?s Kachin State in areas controlled by the Kachin Independence Organization/Army (KIO/A).

Awng Wa, an activist working inside Kachin state said, troops have been reinforced in the Burmese Army, based near the KIO?s main headquarter in the Sino-Burma border town of Laiza.

?More soldiers have arrived in battalion 2 at Daw Hpum Myang [which is close to Laiza],? said Awng Wa.

He said the junta has reinforced the army battalions with more troops since they began proposing the transformation of the KIA into a border guard force.

?It looks to me that a conflict might break out between the KIO and the Burmese Army anytime soon,? he added.

An unconfirmed report received by Mizzima said, leaders of the KIO including Vice-President (1) of the KIO Lt-Gen Gauri Zau Seng, during a meeting with a Burmese junta official in Myitkyina of Kachin state last week, rejected the proposal.

But when contacted by Mizzima, Gauri Zau Seng declined to clarify the matter and referred to the KIO?s spokesperson Colonel Gun Maw. But Col Gun Maw, however, could not be reached for comment.

Sources said, the KIO has been holding meetings within the organisation to discuss the junta?s proposal and had formed a seven-member committee to deal with the issue and to negotiate with the junta. Lt-Gen Gauri Zau Seng is the leader of the team.

As part of its preparation, KIO in turn has stepped up recruiting new cadres and has called back old comrades. They are also returning into the forests, sources said.

Similarly, the Shan State Army-South (SSA-S), which has not signed a ceasefire agreement with the junta, said the Burmese Army has also been expanding its presence in eastern and northern Shan states.

Major Long Sai of the SSA-S told Mizzima, that it is the fallout of rejecting the junta?s proposal by ethnic ceasefire groups and the military junta is likely to launch stronger military operations.

?They [junta] are despatching more artillery battalions,? said Long Sai. ?They always regarded us as their enemy but we are only fighting for our rights and freedom,? he added.

?I want to call on all ceasefire groups to continue trying what we want and we all have the same goal,? said Long Sai.

Since the beginning of June, the Burmese Army along with their allies - the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) ? launched a military offensive against the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), the armed wing of the KNU.

In the operation, which forced thousands of Karen villagers to flee to Thailand, the joint forces of the Burmese Army and the DKBA overran the bases of KNLA?s 7th Brigade.  

But a Sino-Burma border based analyst Aung Kyaw Zaw told Mizzima that so far there is no sign to indicate that the junta will conduct a fresh military offensive against the ceasefire armed groups. Not until the junta completes its planned elections in 2010, he said.

There is heightened security in Rangoon with at least 30 army trucks with uniformed riot police personnel, patrolling the city on Wednesday. The army trucks are each carrying at least 20 policemen and are patrolling various townships of Rangoon, eyewitnesses said.
New Delhi (Mizzima) ? There is heightened security in Rangoon with at least 30 army trucks with uniformed riot police personnel, patrolling the city on Wednesday.

The army trucks are each carrying at least 20 policemen and are patrolling various townships of Rangoon, eyewitnesses said.

?We can see about 30 to 40 army trucks carrying uniformed policemen patrolling the city. It looks like they are on high alert. They also have machine guns mounted on the trucks. They came to our township at about 3 p.m. (local time),? an eyewitness from Insein Township told Mizzima.

?Earlier, when they patrolled like they are doing now, the police would carry shields but today they had a policeman standing on the truck with a machine gun mounted on the hood,? he added.

Another local resident said he had seen about three army trucks, full of riot police, patrolling downtown Rangoon near the City Hall, which is one of the busiest places in town.

?They had the trucks covered with shields and had batons and guns in their hands,? he said.

A source near the Insein prison told Mizzima that the riot police No. (8) have been relocated and repositioned near the Insein prison.

Some of the townships, where eyewitnesses saw army trucks patrolling include San Chuang and Dagon South.

The reason for the sudden tightening of security, however, remains unknown but some believe it could be because of the United Nations special envoy Ibrahim Gambari, who reportedly is planning to visit the country later this week.