BRIEFLY NOTED (October 2009)

Food Shortages Reported in Kokang Area

Refugees from Kokang in Burma’s Shan State rest at a temporary shelter at the border town of Nansan in China’s yunnan Province. (Photo: Reuters)

Tens of thousands of Kokang civilians are experiencing food shortages, partly because UN and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) have suspended aid projects after clashes between government troops and Kokang militias. An estimated 120,000 people in the area rely on the UN and NGO agencies for food and other aid, according to the World Food Programme. About 100 UN and NGO aid workers were trapped in the Kokang capital Laogai after Burmese government troops and Kokang forces clashed in August. Many of the aid workers were involved in community development, helping former opium farmers grow substitute crops. On Sept. 25, the Burmese regime announced that all Chinese without ID cards in Kokang must leave the country.

Little to Show for Billions Spent in East Timor

East Timorese money changers offer their services at a Dili market. (Photo: Reuters)

A decade after East Timor broke from Indonesia and prompted one of the most expensive UN-led nation-building projects in history, there is little to show for the billions spent. According to an Associated Press report, the world has given more than US $8.8 billion in assistance to East Timor since it voted for independence in 1999. This works out to $8,000 for each of East Timor’s 1.1 million people, one of the highest per person rates of international aid. But little of the money, perhaps no more than a dollar of every 10, appears to have made it into East Timor’s economy. Instead, it goes toward foreign security forces, consultants and administration, among other things. In the meantime, poverty has increased. President Ramos-Horta said the world needs to rethink its aid model.

Some Political Prisoners Receive Amnesty

Family members of political prisoners wait outside Insein Prison in Rangoon on Sept. 18. (Photo: THE IRRAWADDY)

At least 128 political detainees were released as part of an amnesty for prisoners in Burma, amounting to just more than 5 percent of the total number of political prisoners believed to be held by the military government. They included 41 members of the opposition National League for Democracy, three of whom were elected to serve in parliament in 1990, and six members of the 88 Generation Students group. New York-based Human Rights Watch urged the release of all Burmese political prisoners, accusing the regime of doubling the number of political prisoners to 2,211 since it cracked down on pro-democracy protests in September 2007. Insein Prison director Zaw Win denied that Burmese prisons held any political dissidents. He told a news briefing inside the prison that about 250 prisoners sentenced under security laws—under which many political prisoners are convicted—would be among the 7,114 prisoners released.

Junta to Form Proxy Party

The Burmese government has reportedly selected more than 300 proxy candidates to run in the general election in 2010. The candidates will run under the banner of the National Politics Party, a proxy party for the military. Many of the candidates were selected from military personnel who graduated from the National Defense University in Naypyidaw. The candidates will undergo a three-month training process prior to the election.