Burma junta official meets Aung San Suu Kyi

BBC Asia Correspondent, Bangkok, By Alastair Leithead

Aung San Suu Kyi has lodged an appeal to be released

Burma's pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi has met a government minister in Rangoon in the third such meeting since the beginning of October.

Her meeting with labour minister Aung Kyi lasted 45 minutes but no details of what they discussed have been released.

Ms Suu Kyi has been detained for 14 of the last 20 years and her latest term of house arrest was extended earlier this year.

This means she will not be able to run in elections due to be held next year.

'Dishonest'

The Burmese government appears to be more open to dealing with the international community - high level American representatives have visited the country to meet senior generals and opposition leaders to push President Barack Obama's policy of engagement.

The European Union also recently expressed a wish to work more closely with the ruling generals.

Amid all these talks Ms Suu Kyi has been opening up her own dialogue.

This meeting is the third with labour minister Aung Kyi, the government's liaison officer, and follows a letter Ms Suu Kyi wrote to the country's leader General Than Shwe, asking to meet him and to work more closely with the state.

She has recently been studying international sanctions imposed on Burma.

They would be part of any deal to release political prisoners - Ms Suu Kyi is just one of more than 2,000 being held.

It is thought the government is keen to ensure the election is seen to be legitimate, even if there are serious concerns over whether they will be free or fair.

But in a timely reminder of her fragile position, editorials in the state-run media spoke critically of Ms Suu Kyi, suggesting she had been "dishonest" in her dealings with the ruling generals and was deliberately trying to tarnish their image.

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Cultural richness

The Jakarta Post | Tue, 12/15/2009 10:57 AM

Two dancers from Myanmar perform an ancient Myanmarese dance during a cultural show at the Gedung Kesenian Jakarta, on Monday. With the support of Myanmar Embassy in Jakarta, the cultural show was jointly organized by Myanmar’s Ministry of Culture and the ASEAN Secretariat. The performance, which has the theme “The Royal Beauty of Golden Myanmar”, was the fourth in the Best of ASEAN Performing Arts series that was proposed by ASEAN Secretary General Surin Pitsuwan. The previous performances were from Indonesia, Thailand and Singapore. JP/Nurhayati

Philippines and rebels 'push for 2010 peace deal'

BBC News

Negotiators for the two sides met in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

The Philippine government and Muslim separatist rebels hope to reach a peace deal by April next year, a Malaysian facilitator has said.

Malaysia is brokering talks between the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, or Milf.

Earlier talks to end the group's decades-long insurgency in the south of the country collapsed 16 months ago.

At least 100,000 people have been killed in the conflict and two million people forced into refugee camps.

"We have agreed to begin negotiations on a comprehensive compact," said the Malaysian official brokering the talks, Othman Abdul Razak.

"We hope to sign probably by the end of the first quarter of next year, by March or early April."

He said the two sides had agreed to revive an International Monitoring Team (IMT) of ceasefire observers and an ad hoc joint action group which would try to isolate Muslim militants from criminal groups in rebel-controlled areas.

Land conflict

The two bodies pulled out more than a year ago after violence escalated in Muslim areas in the south following a Supreme Court ruling that stopped a deal between Manila and the Milf that expanded an autonomous Muslim region.

The deal seeks to put an end to a conflict that goes back decades

Non-Muslims in the region objected that the deal posed a threat to their land ownership.

Analysts note that although it is often described in religious terms - pitting Muslims against a Catholic-dominant majority - the conflict has been focused on ownership of resource-rich land.

More than 1,000 people were killed and nearly 750,000 people were displaced by fighting between security forces and Muslim rebels from August 2008 until July this year.

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(Astronaut) Wubbo Ockels on time and gravity

TEDx Amsterdam, Monique van Dusseldorp on November 27, 2009 at 10:37 am

Prof. dr. Wubbo J. Ockels is a Dutch physicist, and also the Netherlands’ original astronaut. He is a Professor of Aerospace Sustainable Engineering and Technology at the University of Delft, and tries to stimulate a mentality change among Dutch citizens.

In his mind-bending TEDxAmsterdam talk, Ockels explains how ‘time’ is created by human beings, as a way our brains can make sense of gravity. The speed of light is constant, because it is made by us: it’s the clock by which we have calibrated our existence. Based on this premise, Ockels proposes a new way to explore life in our galaxy.

TEDxAmsterdam: Wubbo Ockels from TEDxAmsterdam on Vimeo.

“The original Dutch astronaut, Professor Wubbo J. Ockels, sliced through the atmosphere of self-congratulation to give a mind-bending talk, based on his experiences in space. He started by berating the audience for pretending to understand the universe and mysteriously declaring, “I know what it is that you don’t know yet and it will change your life”. What we didn’t know, and were told, was that time is a creation of life, since it’s the only way our brains can make sense of gravity. This can be pithily put in the very post-Cartesian phrase: “I live, therefore time passes”. Such a view isn’t a new notion philosophically (Heidegger suggested being and time determine each other reciprocally), nor physiologically (which acknowledges time is a construct of the central nervous system) but it was not treated with seriousness in physics.”

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Iran nuclear scientist 'abducted by US'

BBC News,

Manouchehr Mottaki accused the US of abducting the scientist in Saudi Arabia

Iran has accused the US of abducting one of its nuclear scientists who has been missing since June.

Shahram Amiri disappeared in Saudi Arabia while on a Muslim pilgrimage.

Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki told journalists the Iranians expected the US to return Mr Amiri, and asked the Saudis to co-operate too.

Another Iranian official admitted on Tuesday that Mr Amiri was a nuclear scientist, something Tehran had not confirmed in previous announcements.

"Based on existing pieces of evidence that we have at our disposal the Americans had a role in Mr Amiri's abduction," Mr Mottaki said.

"The Americans did abduct him. Therefore we expect the American government to return him."

Mr Amiri worked as a researcher at Tehran's Malek Ashtar University, according to Iran's state-run Press TV channel.

However, some reports said he had also been employed by Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation, and had wanted to seek asylum abroad.

Iranian officials had refused to confirm this until now.

Mr Amiri was a nuclear scientist, news agency Mehr quoted a foreign ministry spokesman as confirming.

"Riyadh has handed over Iran's nuclear scientist Amiri to America," Ramin Mehmanparast said.

Washington has denied any knowledge of the scientist.

The US and its Western allies suspect Iran of secretly developing nuclear weapons - a claim denied by Tehran.

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Indonesian President Declares ‘Jihad’ on Corruption

The Jakarta Globe, Nurfika Osman & Camelia Pasandaran

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono delivering a nationally televised speech from the State Palace in Central Jakarta on Tuesday night ahead of World Anti-Corruption Day. (Photo: Widodo S. Jusuf, Antara)

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Tuesday night sought to regain the high ground in Indonesia’s drive to wipe out corruption, terming it a “jihad” and vowing to lead from the front.

But those involved in corruption and their supporters will strike back, Yudhoyono warned in a nationally televised speech ahead of today’s International Anti-Corruption Day, which will see street rallies around the nation.

The president’s speech came amid mounting criticism that he was faltering in his determination to tackle corruption, especially following his reluctance to deal quickly with drawn-out graft scandals involving law-enforcement agencies, members of his government and allegedly his own political party.

“I will lead the jihad against corruption,” Yudhoyono said. “Corruption has now become a common enemy.” He added that groups that had benefited from a past environment tolerant of corruption “will certainly not stay idle and they will use whatever means to halt our efforts.”

Anticorruption rallies will be allowed to proceed today, he said, but they should be orderly and peaceful. Yudhoyono, meanwhile, will leave for Bali to attend a conference.

Yudhoyono on Sunday claimed he had information that today’s planned protests would include efforts to undermine his presidency. Security officials have pointed to a recent meeting at a hotel allegedly involving activists, public leaders and politicians.

Activists have denied the claims. “We believe that the government has made wrong assumptions based on false information,” said Usman Hamid, of the Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras). “Police showed us the minutes of the meeting, which were completely different from the actual discussion. We were just planning the rally and establishing the short- and long-term goals for the fight against corruption.”

Fadjroel Rachman, of the Anti-Corruption Civil Society Coalition (Kompak), said the president’s suspicions may have inspired some groups to take over the rallies to push their own political agendas.

“That is why last Friday we submitted details of our plans and registered the members of those organizations [taking part] in the rally. This is to avoid the presence of illegal protesters and organizations,” Fadjroel said.

Reacting to the president’s speech on Tuesday, he said Yudhoyono had little reason to boast about the country’s progress against corruption, as reflected in a slight increase in the country’s corruption perception index, from 2.6 last year to 2.8 this year, according to Transparency International.

“Improving 0.2 points is insignificant, and we are far behind Thailand, Brunei Darussalam and Malaysia,” he said.

In his speech, Yudhoyono also seemed to voice support for the harried Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK). “A strong and capable KPK is still very much needed. Therefore I approve of wiretapping by the authorities but it should also be appropriately and properly regulated,” he said.

In a move widely criticized by activists as designed to weaken the KPK, Communications and Information Technology Minister Tifatul Sembiring is pushing for a law that would regulate the body’s wiretapping powers.

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EU: Jerusalem should be capital of two states

BBC News

Israel recently approved new construction in East Jerusalem

European Union ministers have called for Jerusalem to serve as the capital of both Israel and a future Palestinian state as part of a negotiated peace.

The foreign ministers dropped an earlier reference stating explicitly that East Jerusalem should be the capital of a Palestinian state.

Palestinians welcomed the statement, while Israel said it was "nothing new".

Jerusalem's status is one of the most sensitive and complex issues of the entire Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

"If there is to be a genuine peace, a way must be found through negotiations to resolve the status of Jerusalem as the future capital of two states," the statement from EU foreign minsters said.

"The EU will not recognize any changes to the pre-1967 borders including with regard to Jerusalem, other than those agreed by the parties."

Israel, which captured the West Bank in 1967, currently claims sovereignty over the entire city, and claims it as its capital.

Its government welcomed what it called the "balancing and improving" of the EU text, but said it ignored "the primary obstacle to achieving a resolution between Israel and the Palestinians: the Palestinian refusal to return to the negotiating table".

"Israel regrets that the EU has chosen to adopt a text that, although containing nothing new, does not contribute to the renewal of negotiations," it said.

Rafik Alhussieni, chief of staff to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, said: "The statement as a whole is satisfactory because it says that Jerusalem should be the capital of both states and because it refers to the land as occupied land... and mentions that the settlements are illegal and built on occupied land."

On Monday, scores of Palestinians had protested at the French and Swedish consulates in Jerusalem in support of the Swedish EU presidency's proposal for an explicit reference on the east of the city, AFP news agency reported.

Israeli claims of sovereignty over Jerusalem are recognised internationally, and East Jerusalem is considered to be occupied territory.

Palestinians hope to establish the capital of their future state in East Jerusalem.

Solar Storm Could Zap Power Grid in 2013 : NASA

Data center managers will need to keep an eye on the solar weather, because a geomagnetic storm (now predicted for May 2013) could knock out electric power.

(Solar and Heliospheric Observatory - website)

CIO.com, by Mitch Betts

MON, DECEMBER 07, 2009 — Computerworld — Alarmist news reports earlier this year warned that solar storms coming in 2012 will cripple electric power, GPS equipment and communications systems for months, creating an electronic apocalypse not dreamt of since the days of pre-Y2k hysteria. Those reports then spread throughout a blogosphere already saturated with hype about the Hollywood disaster flick 2012 .

The truth is more complicated.

Solar storms bombard the Earth's magnetic field with bursts of radiation, which can in turn disrupt the power grid and satellites. In fact, "the great geomagnetic storm of March 1989" zapped northeastern Canada's Hydro-Quebec power grid, leaving millions of people without electricity for up to nine hours, according to a National Academy of Sciences report.

In a worst-case scenario, a solar storm could cause $1 trillion to $2 trillion in damage to the world's high-tech infrastructure, the 2008 report said.

But the severity of the next solar storm is unclear, as is the timing.

Several years ago, NASA predicted that the peak in the next cycle of solar weather would occur in 2012 -- a date that coincidentally aligned with other forecasts of doom. The space agency's more recent prediction (made May 29) said the peak for sunspot activity will be in May 2013 -- though additional revisions are expected.

So data center managers need to keep an eye on space weather, just as they keep an eye on terrestrial weather. Check out the National Weather Service's Space Weather Prediction Center at www.swpc.noaa.gov.

Above: This plot of sunspot numbers shows the measured peak of the last solar cycle in blue and the predicted peak of the next solar cycle in red. Credit: NOAA/Space Weather Prediction Center. [more]

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Bob Dylan song adopted by Copenhagen climate summit

BBC News, By Barbara Plett, BBC UN correspondent, New York

Bob Dylan - now 68 - first performed the song in 1962

Bob Dylan has star billing at the climate change summit in Copenhagen… or at least, his music does.

The United Nations has adopted one of his songs, A Hard Rain's A Gonna Fall, as its unofficial anthem for the talks.

This is a song best known for channelling the fears of a generation living under the threat of nuclear war.

Dylan performed it for the first time in 1962 at the height of the Cold War, shortly before a plan by Moscow to station atomic missiles in Cuba set off a crisis between the United States and the Soviet Union.

But Hard Rain has weathered well, and is now being invoked to highlight this generation's fear of environmental calamity.

That is testimony to the enduring and universal power of its lyrics, says David Fricke, a senior editor at the Rolling Stone music magazine in New York.

"Let me just quote some lines and see if any sound familiar," he says.

"'I've stepped in the middle of seven sad forests; I've been out in front of a dozen dead oceans; I heard the roar of a wave that could drown the whole world.'

"What about this don't we recognise? All of those images and the pictures those words conjure, they're as familiar as a cable news report four minutes ago!"

The song has inspired numerous covers by various musicians. It also inspired a UN environmental photographer, Mark Edwards.

His Hard Rain odyssey began in 1969, when he was rescued by Tuareg nomads after getting lost in the Sahara Desert.

"My rescuer rubbed two sticks together," recalls Mr Edwards.

"He made a fire and we had a nice cup of tea. Then he turned his battered old cassette player on, and Bob Dylan sang 'A Hard Rain's A Gonna Fall.'

"I was fascinated by the lyrics, and I decided to illustrate each line of the song. In the years that followed I added pictures as I saw them."

Scepticism

The UN is exhibiting his work at the climate change conference, accompanied by the release of a rare live recording of Bob Dylan performing the song, which the UN is using as an unofficial soundtrack to the summit.

"What the exhibition does, and what Dylan's lyrics allow us to do, is to illustrate all of our global problems," explains Mr Edwards.

"Poverty, population expansion, conventional pollution. If we want to solve climate change, if we really want to deal with this huge issue, we've got to see the whole of it, we've got to respond to this problem in totality."

Others are less enthusiastic, including Max Schulz, an energy expert at the Manhattan Institute think tank.

He is sceptical about doomsday climate change predictions, and he is also a Bob Dylan fan who thinks the UN is exploiting a great song for its own narrow purposes.

"The idea that the UN is now taking a Bob Dylan tune and putting it up to be the anthem for Copenhagen seems to me kind of silly," he says.

"And trying to play on the environmental alarmism of the song seems doubly silly.

"It is not clear from anything that we know about the song that it has anything to do with environmental harm or destruction: it's a bizarre song, it's an inscrutable one."

But regardless of what Bob Dylan did or did not mean, A Hard Rain's A Gonna Fall clearly remains an indictment, says David Fricke, and a stark warning to today's leaders.

"It really shows that if we don't address things, the hard rain is not only 'gonna' fall," he says, "but it's been falling already, and we've haven't been paying attention."

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Karzai willing to talk to Taliban

The Jakarta Post, Associated Press, Kabul | Thu, 12/03/2009 10:18 PM

Afghan President Hamid Karzai

Afghan President Hamid Karzai said Thursday that he's willing to talk with the Taliban chief in a bid to bring peace to the country if the move would have the backing of the United States and other international partners.

Karzai said in an interview with The Associated Press that "sections of the international community" had undermined previous peace overtures to the Taliban by harassing mediators "even though they had quit the insurgency." He did not offer specific examples.

It was Karzai's first interview since President Barack Obama announced a new strategy for the Afghan war, including 30,000 US reinforcements. Obama said in his Tuesday address that if all went well, the US could begin withdrawing troops in July 2011.

Karzai said Thursday that the target to begin troop withdrawals would give an "impetus and a boost" for Afghans to work toward taking control of their own nation.

"We must talk to the Taliban as an Afghan necessity. The fight against terrorism and extremism cannot be won by fighting alone," Karzai said, adding that he would be willing to talk with Taliban chief Mullah Omar.

"Personally, I would definitely talk to Mullah Omar," he added. "Whatever it takes to bring peace to Afghanistan, I, as the Afghan president, will do it. But I am also aware that it cannot be done by me alone without the backing of the international community."

Karzai offered to talk with Mullah Omar soon after the Taliban was ousted in the US-led invasion of 2001, but he backed off under US pressure. Since then he has offered to talk with Taliban members who were willing to quit the insurgency.

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Stevie Wonder becomes UN peace messenger

Radio Netherlands Worldwide, 3 December 2009 - 9:46am

Stevie Wonder becomes UN peace messenger
(Photo: Stevie Wonder - Flickr/Loren Javier)

US singer Stevie Wonder has been appointed “UN messenger of peace” with a special focus on people with disabilities.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon described the blind pop singer as “a true inspiration to young people all over the world about what can be achieved despite any physical limitations.”

UN messengers of peace are usually celebrities who promote UN activities.

Stevie Wonder who became blind as a child learnt to play the harmonica, piano and drums by the age of nine. He has sold over 100 million records.

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'We must play an active role to establish a nuclear weapon free world'

The Netherlands, as a member of Nato and host to the International Court of Justice, needs to declare itself in support of nuclear disarmament.

By Ruud Lubbers, Max van der Stoel, Hans van Mierlo and Frits Korthals Altes

NRC International, December 2009 11:06, Opinion

US president Obama has been in office for nearly a year and since his inauguration he has repeatedly stated the necessity of a world without nuclear weapons. Together with his Russian counterpart Dimitri Medvedev, he affirmed this in a statement in London last April. Four days later in Prague, he gave what has already become a historic speech, in which he called for a nuclear-weapon-free world and acknowledged the moral responsibility of the United States to take the lead in nuclear disarmament.

Illustration Dario

Obama’s initiative at the UN Security Council in September, where again he committed himself to the elimination of nuclear weapons, was another highly significant step. On this occasion, he also honoured the four American security policy veterans (Henry Kissinger, Sam Nunn, George Shultz and William Perry) who, in a January 2007 opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal, broke with the Cold War logic of deterrence. Looking back, this article was an essential turning point in the global debate on nuclear weapons.

This celebrated initiative by the American ’Group of Four’ was followed by similar initiatives in a number of countries, including the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Norway and Poland. Two well-known names in the global movement are Helmut Schmidt and Douglas Hurd. From the moment he took office, president Obama has joined their plea and thereby implicitly expressed a generally positive view of the ‘Global Zero’ movement, which was initiated in 2008.

Not be too modest

It is of critical importance the Non-Proliferation treaty review conference, to be held in May 2010, be successful. This is why we believe the Netherlands should now express its support for the goal of a nuclear-free world, newly stated by president Obama. Our support is necessary because, thus far, neither Nato nor the EU have done so. In our view, the Netherlands should not be too modest. We are one of the ‘founding fathers’ of what now is the European Union. We were at the foundation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (Nato). From day one we have been party to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). And we have a special nuclear record, both with regard to the peaceful use of nuclear technology (Urenco) and our participation in the nuclear tasks of Nato.

It is impossible do away with the existing knowledge of nuclear technology. However, at the present time, it is both possible and crucial to use it responsibly. The Cold War is truly over; it ended twenty years ago. A nuclear arsenal to restrain superpowers is no longer needed. In combating terrorism, deterrence with weapons of mass destruction has no purpose. Let us be clear, not only did nuclear weapons give shape to the Cold War, the Cold War also shaped the control of nuclear weapons; and that reality has definitely come to an end. This is the main reason why the existence of nuclear weapons has become much more dangerous than before.

Reductions in and the eventual abolishment of nuclear weapons were codified in the Non-Proliferation Treaty in 1968. However, the nuclear weapon states have interpreted its Article VI in such a way that they have fulfilled their obligations only by reducing the numbers of nuclear weapons. Moreover, it is becoming increasingly difficult to explain why some countries should and others should not be allowed to possess nuclear weapons. The primary responsibility to solve these issues lies with the two nuclear weapon states that have the largest arsenals: the United States and Russia. Presidents Obama and Medvedev have now taken the initiative and, as their efforts become more visible, China, the United Kingdom and France must necessarily follow.

Legal capital on the world

Has the Netherlands been too silent? The Netherlands has a special reason to clearly and publicly declare itself in support of a world free of nuclear weapons in compliance with Article VI of the NPT. This particular reason is our position as the host of the International Court of Justice. The ICJ unanimously declared on July, 8 1996, “there exists an obligation to pursue in good faith and bring to a conclusion negotiations leading to nuclear disarmament in all its aspects under strict and effective international control". If we truly believe The Hague is 'the legal capital of the world', we must stand by that statement.

Foreign minister responds

In response to the Dutch version of this opinion article published in NRC Handelsblad Dutch minister of foreign affairs Maxime Verhagen said he has repeatedly advocated for a nuclear free world. However, he does not agree the Netherlands should take the lead in achieving this. He believes this is up to Russia and the United States, the two main nuclear powers. Western countries should not take unilateral action while these two nations are in negotiations, as this would be "counter productive," he said.

As a member of Nato the Netherlands should make itself heard in the upcoming revision of its Strategic Concept. We have gratefully benefited from the nuclear protection of the United States. Now we must show ourselves a strong ally by supporting Obama’s goal of achieving a world without nuclear weapons according to the faithful implementation of Article VI of the NPT.

Given the clear indications the United States takes nuclear disarmament very seriously and that the original objective of deterrence has lost its validity, we need to ensure that neither the United States nor the other Nato allies wait for each other. The Netherlands should play an active role, so that the revision of the Strategic Concept will lead to the withdrawal of American nuclear weapons from the territories of non-nuclear weapon states.

Understandably the events of September 11, 2001 raised the security concern of terrorism, which indeed needs to be taken very seriously. However, it is precisely because of this threat that there is all the more reason to reduce and ban nuclear weapons. Such weapons are useless in the battle against terrorism. In fact, their existence presents an increased risk precisely because there are terrorists.

The role of Europe

The Netherlands has a special responsibility as one of the creators of the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) in 1957. Since then, with every new enlargement of the EU, each new member state hands over its fissile material to the EU. The time has come for this system to enter into practice worldwide through the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Finally, there is the role of Europe. The Lisbon Treaty strengthens the role of the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy. This raises the question whether this high representative could afford not to take a position on nuclear disarmament. This seems inconceivable, given the reality of the United Kingdom and France as nuclear weapon states. But prominent British security policy veterans Douglas Hurd and George Robertson (a former secretary general of Nato) are part of the “Global Zero” movement that has been lobbying for a world without nuclear weapons. And French president Nicolas Sarkozy, Gaullist as he may be, has declared himself in favour of a new multi-polar world and named the former president of Doctors without Borders (MSF) as his minister of foreign affairs. These developments should make it possible for the strengthened high pepresentative to express positions on this matter on behalf of Europe.

The significance of the action of the first ‘Group of Four’ (Kissinger, Nunn, Shultz and Perry) lies in the fact that during the time they held responsibilities inside the government, they used the threat of nuclear weapons as a means to maintain peace. Though it is unusual, we as Dutch 'policy veterans’ consider this to be the right moment to speak out and join our former colleagues in their call for a world without nuclear weapons.

Ruud Lubbers is a former prime minister of the Netherlands, Max van der Stoel is a former minister of foreign affairs, Hans van Mierlo is a former minister of defence and of foreign affairs, Frits Korthals Altes was minister of justice.

U.S. President Barack Obama speaks alongside Russian President Dmitry Medvedev during their bilateral meeting in Singapore November 15, 2009. (REUTERS/Jason Reed)

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