[Reuters]Singapore distancing itself from Myanmar -analysts
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Singapore distancing itself from Myanmar -analysts
Reuters
Reuters - 2 hours 36 minutes ago
BANGKOK, Oct 30 - While opposing sanctions against Myanmar in public, Singapore's government and its banks in particular appear to be quietly distancing themselves from the ruling junta, analysts and bankers said on Tuesday.
Officially, Singapore has not deviated from the line given by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong a month ago, at the height of the junta's bloody crackdown on democracy protests, that sanctions would be unlikely to shunt Myanmar towards political reform.
But gradually, signs are emerging of institutions in the city-state pulling back from involvement with the generals, for whom Singapore is a top medical and leisure destination -- and widely believed to be home to their off-shore bank accounts.
"What's going on behind the scenes, particularly on the financial side, is de facto sanctions," said Sean Turnell, author of the Burma Economic Watch journal at Sydney's Macquarie University.
The latest indication of that is Air Bagan, a small Myanmar airline on a U.S. government blacklist that will suspend flights to Singapore from Nov. 5, travel agents say.
Singapore's Today newspaper said the final blow came when Singapore banks said they would "stop dealing with" the airline, owned by Htoo Trading, with close ties to the junta's top brass.
"That would seem to be an indication that Singapore either is lining up behind the sanctions, or that they have other financial concerns or issues with Air Bagan," said Victor Comras, architect of U.S. economic sanctions against Yugoslavia in the 1990s.
EASY TARGET
It is financial links to the likes of Air Bagan that have made Singapore a target for Myanmar activists and members of the U.S. Senate desperate to find a lever to use on the junta, a regime that seems to thrive on isolation.
Banking sources told Reuters that the Monetary Authority of Singapore was unlikely to ask banks to cut ties with Myanmar firms unless there were U.N. sanctions on the country.
"Without legal authority such as U.N. sanctions, it won't be possible," a Singapore-based banking source said.
The MAS and Singapore's three banks, DBS Group Holdings , Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp and United Overseas Bank , declined comment.
But a second banking source said banks were taking measures on their own to restrict links with Myanmar companies on a case by case basis. "It is not a blanket ban. If a customer comes to us, we can't turn him away," the banker said.
Activist group Burma Campaign UK lists 10 Singapore firms on its "Dirty List" of those with involvement in Myanmar, including the three banks and conglomerate Keppel Corp .
Foreign Minister George Yeo said on Monday Singapore would act according to international agreements.
"We are an international financial centre. Whatever policy we apply to Singapore banks, we must apply to all banks operating in Singapore," he told reporters.
The police announced last week Singapore would step up efforts to detect money laundering from Nov. 1 by requiring anyone carrying or transferring more than $20,650 in or out to submit a report to immigration authorities.
While Washington and Brussels have tightened the screw gradually, Singapore has become one of the biggest investors in the former Burma. Its three banks all have offices there and firms have poured money into hotels and tourism.
Singapore senior statesman Lee Kuan Yew told an American columnist he rued advising hotel companies to go in. "They have sunk in millions of dollars there and now their hotels are empty," he said. He also called the generals "rather dumb".
(Additional reporting by Saeed Azhar in Singapore and Darren Schuettler in Bangkok)
http://nus.facebook.com/share_redirect.php?h=4d40add87b61a8154f4406d0b9940fca&url=http%3A%2F%2Fmalaysia.news.yahoo.com%2Frtrs%2F20071030%2Ftbs-myanmar-singapore-a5a65c6.html&sid=5281024986 -
i suspect Singapore could be pressurised by uncle sam.
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Or brace yourself for a series of "CSJ efforts have paid off, support CSJ" posts.Originally posted by pearlie27:i suspect Singapore could be pressurised by uncle sam. -
Well that's obvious isn't it. These sanctions are not hidden.Originally posted by pearlie27:i suspect Singapore could be pressurised by uncle sam. -
sam alone may not be effective enough, or shld i say the govt does not like them interfering with wat we want to do (even though our military ties are stronger nowadays with them allowing us to procure F-15's). however, the massive bad press throughout the world must have been the deciding push.Originally posted by pearlie27:i suspect Singapore could be pressurised by uncle sam. -
superficial sanction don't u think? so that it feeds and satisfied western moral authority and our role as Asean chief.
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The junta has seen many rank n file soldiers deserting their post.Originally posted by LazerLordz:Well that's obvious isn't it. These sanctions are not hidden.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20071031/wl_nm/myanmar_rights_dc -
US telling the local govt to severe ties with Burma.
http://sg.news.yahoo.com/rtrs/20071105/tap-myanmar-singapore-c3bb44c.html -
Junta not welcome in Singapore's Little Burma
19 November 2007
Agence France Presse
English
SINGAPORE, Nov 19, 2007 (AFP) - Myanmar's Prime Minister Thein Sein, in Singapore for the ASEAN summit, would not be too welcome at Peninsula Plaza, the hub for the city-state's thousands of Myanmar nationals.
Thein Sein is the centre of attention here, as the gathering of leaders from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations is expected to focus on the Myanmar junta's deadly crackdown on anti-government protesters in September.
As ASEAN leaders and ministers huddled in luxury hotels, Myanmar nationals made their weekly visit to Peninsula Plaza, an ageing mall where shops and eateries with signs in flowing Burmese script are spread across four floors.
Most of those interviewed in the plaza had nothing good to say about Myanmar's ruling generals -- and did not want to be named, fearing reprisals against their relatives back home.
"We cannot believe any promise from this military government," said a man who has spent several years in the city-state.
"You mention my name or my picture, very sure the next day my mother will go to jail," the merchant said, adding he believed the junta had "so many spies" in Singapore.
The man is one of an estimated 30,000 Myanmar nationals living in the city-state, many of them drawn by jobs as labourers that pay far above what they could earn in their poverty-stricken homeland.
He said he hoped ASEAN would put more pressure on the junta through sanctions or possibly expelling them from the 10-member bloc.
"But I think if you try to kick them out, they won't care. The main thing they care about is to maintain power," he said.
ASEAN is under intense international pressure to rein in the junta, whose crackdown on the protests led by Buddhist monks claimed at least 15 lives and sparked international outrage.
One shopkeeper, selling traditional food, said the United Nations and ASEAN should send military forces to "get Myanmar."
But Robert Maung, 50, expressed doubt about whether sanctions would work unless Myanmar's powerful neighbours China and India joined in.
"ASEAN can't do much," said Maung, who stopped to meet with a friend at his shop.
One young woman who arrived just 10 months ago and is studying management while working at her family's import-export shop said simply: "I don't want to go back."
Around the plaza's central atrium, young men leaned against the railing, chatting with each other.
Sunday is their day off, a chance to visit the plaza to get a haircut, buy a bottle of cheap whisky, eat fish salad or bamboo curry from home, or relax on the bare floor with a newspaper.
Weekends are also a busy time across town at Singapore's only Burmese Buddhist temple, where a steady stream of barefoot visitors prayed before a large image of Buddha with coloured lights flashing around his head.
Maung, who has lived in Singapore for 20 years, said Myanmar's powerful junta leader Than Shwe will dare not come to the city-state, and so has sent his "puppet" Thein Sein.
"He's just like an office boy," said the retired engineer.
Not everyone at the plaza spoke as frankly.
"As you know, in our country we cannot do politics freely," one man said, politely suggesting that he could not comment further.
Even if they did not say much, some merchants clearly displayed their sympathies, with pictures of Myanmar's detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi on the walls.
A red T-shirt hanging beside the cash register in a shop that lends out Burmese books bore the slogan: "We will never forget! We will never give up!"
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2007 All reproduction and presentation rights reserved. -
Twists and turns at the summit
TODAYonline • November 20, 2007
Nazry Bahrawi
[email protected]
AS FOREIGN ministers of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (Asean) adopted a landmark charter yesterday, a stone's throw away, a handful of foreign students protested against the brutality of the Myanmar junta.
While this sideshow had little bearing on the chapter of Asean history being written in Singapore, the Myanmar spectre once again cast its shadow during last night's informal dinner for Asean's leaders, their first meeting since Myanmar's crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in September.
Philippine President Gloria Arroyo, who will sign the charter today with the nine other Asean leaders, warned that her country would be hard-pressed to ratify the document within the one-year timetable that has been drawn up, if Myanmar refused to free opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
She warned: "The expectation of the Philippines is that if Myanmar signs the charter, it is committed to returning to the path of democracy and releasing Aung San Suu Kyi. Until the Philippines Congress sees that happen, it would have extreme difficulty in ratifying the Asean Charter."
The charter commits the region to economic integration, creates a rules-based legal entity and protects human rights, among other things.
In a final twist, it was revealed late last night that a controversial briefing to Asean leaders by United Nations Special Envoy Ibrahim Gambari on the situation in Myanmar, which had been scheduled for tomorrow, has been scrapped after protests by Myanmar's Prime Minister Thein Sein.
Explaining the change, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong read out a statement last night detailing how during the leaders' dinner, General Thein Sein had emphasised that Mr Gambari ought to only report to the UN Security Council and not to the Asean or the East Asian Summit (EAS) leaders.
"Prime Minister Thein Sein made clear that the situation in Myammar is a domestic affair and that Myanmar was capable of handling the situation," said Mr Lee, flanked by all the Asean heads of state except the Myanmar leader. -
ASEAN is aka a little more than talk shop.
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after throwing how much of the money (billions) they took for ERP, GST from us to give to their fellow Burmese despots?
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It's regrettable that ASEAN has to bow to Thein Sein's tantrums. After all, it's hypocritical when Burma doesn't want the Security Council involved when they want to consider this an international issue.
In a final twist, it was revealed late last night that a controversial briefing to Asean leaders by United Nations Special Envoy Ibrahim Gambari on the situation in Myanmar, which had been scheduled for tomorrow, has been scrapped after protests by Myanmar's Prime Minister Thein Sein.
Explaining the change, Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong read out a statement last night detailing how during the leaders' dinner, General Thein Sein had emphasised that Mr Gambari ought to only report to the UN Security Council and not to the Asean or the East Asian Summit (EAS) leaders.
"Prime Minister Thein Sein made clear that the situation in Myammar is a domestic affair and that Myanmar was capable of handling the situation," said Mr Lee, flanked by all the Asean heads of state except the Myanmar leader.[/b]
ASEAN covered Burma's ass and brought it back into the regional dialogue. And now when Gambari wants to address ASEAN, Burma wants to throw the ball back to the Security Council.
Time to end this table-tennis game. Thein Sein has made a fundamental error in judgement, and has eroded ASEAN's authority like a slap in the face, perhaps he knows with certainty that whatever issue that is thrown to the SC may face a Russian/China veto.
One more reason why ASEAN needs to remain resolute and not bow to blackmail from a nation that has no say in this whole matter given that they have massacred their own citizens in cold blood.
There are expatriate Burmese in Singapore calling for military intervention against the illegal regime of Burma. -
Discord at the 'Family Dinner'
Myanmar's refusal to allow Gambari briefing dampened leaders' spirits
Straits Times, The (Singapore)
Asean News
November 21, 2007
Author: Ravi Velloor & Cheong Suk-Wai
IT WAS meant to be a family gathering amid a lush setting, with consomme, seabass, roast veal, ice cream and some plain speaking on the menu.
As it turned out, Monday's informal dinner among the 10 Asean heads of government at the Shangri-La Waterfall Terrace became the most dissected event - the morning after.
What prompted the leaders to make a surprise announcement late on Monday night that they had aborted a briefing by UN Special Envoy Ibrahim Gambari on the Myanmar situation?
Ahead of the meeting, Singapore's Foreign Affairs Minister George Yeo had billed it as a 'family dinner where each member is invited to speak his mind'.
Whatever was spoken, the effect was this, said a diplomat who was present: 'Myanmar looked Asean hard in the eye and the rest of us blinked.'
Host Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong opened the discussion by telling his nine fellow leaders that it would make sense for the grouping to ride on the UN Secretary-General's effort to tell the world that there indeed had been movement inside Myanmar.
After all, no less than Myanmar's icon of democracy, Ms Aung San Suu Kyi, had endorsed the Gambari efforts for a national reconciliation. Besides, he said, it would be a message to the world that Asean was trying to be on top of the situation in its backyard.
After all, Asean had issued a strong statement on Sept 27 in New York.
'It cannot be business as usual. That was why Singapore thought it would be a good idea for Gambari to brief the East Asia Summit. That was Mr Lee's point,' said a person who listened to the speech.
Diplomats familiar with the developments said that there were some murmurs when Singapore initially mooted the proposal. But as no one objected to the idea, Singapore went ahead and invited Professor Gambari to address the summit.
However, even as the UN envoy was winging his way to Singapore from New York, the winds shifted.
Another diplomat said that as late as last Wednesday, Myanmar had said explicitly that it had no objections to the Gambari briefing.
But around the weekend, Myanmar sent word that the briefing was not a good idea, but did not reject it.
By then, said a summit participant, the Chinese had also voiced objections to the Gambari briefing for the EAS. But their concerns centred on whether the briefing would be in a formal setting, hence lending the EAS more weight over the Myanmar situation than China felt necessary.
Singapore, acting as the Asean chair, reassured China that the setting would be informal. The Chinese then relented.
Even as early as Monday morning, Myanmar Foreign Minister Nyan Win told his fellow Asean foreign ministers that it was acceptable for Prof Gambari to brief the Asean grouping, but not the EAS. The Asean leaders accepted this position, according to a source, especially after initial rumblings that some did not like the idea of the briefing going beyond the group's 10 members.
But by the time Myanmar's Prime Minister Thein Sein arrived in Singapore, there was a volte face. No Gambari briefing, he said.
'It was obvious he was here on a short leash,' said a diplomat.
'The real issue was never Gambari. The real issue is what role you want Asean to play,' he added.
At Monday's dinner discussion, which some observers described as 'heated', Mr Thein Sein simply would not budge.
There was no need for Prof Gambari to brief the East Asia Summit or the Asean leaders, he said firmly. Every Asean nation is a UN member and if they wanted Prof Gambari's report, they could ask their envoys to the United Nations in New York to get a report from him.
His message came down to this, said a person who listened to Mr Thein Sein's speech: 'I look after my own house. You cannot come in and rearrange the furniture. The furniture may not be great but I do it the way I want it. Period.'
Faced with his intransigence, other senior summit members spoke up. Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines and Malaysia suggested that this no longer could be considered a domestic matter.
One diplomat reported what was said by one leader: 'The rest of the world thinks that this is a matter that concerns Asean also and have begun to hit at us.'
Mr Thein Sein remained immovable. It is a matter between Myanmar and Prof Gambari, he said, and between Prof Gambari and his UN bosses.
Asean? The grouping has no role in it.
The entreaties were in vain. Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia wilted and made the point that 'one of our members is objecting'.
That was the end of the consensus.
That triggered the three-hour brainstorm among the leaders to come up with a Chairman's Statement to explain why they had to call off the Gambari briefing.
Just as family quarrels will inevitably have its eavesdroppers, the night's drama was heightened when a microphone was accidentally switched on and it fed back into the media room snippets of the leaders' angst-filled exchange on how to word the statement.
When Mr Lee finally appeared before the media, flanked by the others, the message had been crystallised to this: Myanmar was 'on its own' in its dealings with the UN and the international community.
Less than eight hours later, the man without an audience to brief landed here and immediately declared himself 'very disappointed' with Myanmar's stance.
But Asean's loss, as it turned out, proved to be individual members' gain, as several of them sought to meet Prof Gambari separately, including at cocktails just before last night's gala dinner. Some even hugged him.
He met Philippine President Gloria Arroyo briefly and is scheduled to meet other leaders today.
One delegate described Myanmar's decision as one 'they will regret'.
But on Monday night, Mr Thein Sein did not look like he had lost his appetite over that thought. He ended his meal with ice cream ensemble and fruit, after he was done with his plain speaking.
[email protected]
[email protected]
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY CAROLYN HONG
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SOME reactions to the cancellation of Professor Ibrahim Gambari's briefing:
ANOTHER TIME
'We live to fight another day. We don't want to come across as being too confrontational in a situation like this. What is important is we want to focus our summit on our Charter...and our commitment to do the economic community, so we don't want it to be a big distraction.'
- MR ONG KENG YONG, Asean Secretary-General
UNITY IMPORTANT
'Myanmar understands that its problem is important for Asean, and the credibility of Asean. That's why the chairman made a statement. Unity in Asean is important, but as an Asean family, everyone was bound to have different feelings on Myanmar. Asean has to help Myanmar, and not harm it.'
- MR DINO PATTI DJALAL, Indonesian presidential spokesman
ASEAN MATTER
'It is an Asean matter. We will continue to support the UN but we cannot take the matter out of the Asean forum and take it into some other forum.'
- DATUK SERI SYED HAMID ALBAR, Malaysian Foreign Minister
TAKING NO SIDES
'China respects, firstly, Myanmar's stand, and secondly, Asean's stand on the issue.'
- MR QIN GANG, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman
Copyright, 2007, Singapore Press Holdings Limited -
ASEAN MATTER
'It is an Asean matter. We will continue to support the UN but we cannot take the matter out of the Asean forum and take it into some other forum.'
- DATUK SERI SYED HAMID ALBAR, Malaysian Foreign Minister
TAKING NO SIDES
'China respects, firstly, Myanmar's stand, and secondly, Asean's stand on the issue.'
- MR QIN GANG, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman
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Firstly, the compromise to take it from the EAS to ASEAN was already offered.
Secondly, China's support for Burma given that its a de-facto client state is worrying for those who want ASEAN to play a stronger role in representing the nations within. -
Burma faces critics, allies at East Asia summit
Article from: Agence France-Presse
By Martin Abbugao in Singapore
November 21, 2007 03:44pm
REGIONAL pariah Burma will face its critics and allies in 16-nation talks between countries in south east Asia, as well as China, Japan, Australia and New Zealand.
The East Asia Summit is being held on the heels of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) annual talks, which were overshadowed by a row over how to deal with Burma, its most troublesome member.
Burma Prime Minister Thein Sein scored a victory by forcing the cancellation of UN envoy Ibrahim Gambari's planned briefing on the crisis in the military state, which he had been due to give to the East Asia gathering.
But he is likely to face a tougher reception in the wider summit, which takes in the 10 ASEAN countries together with outspoken Burma critic Australia, as well as China, India, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea.
Thailand's foreign minister acknowledged that Thein Sein could face some harsh words at the afternoon talks.
"To be realistic about it, I don't think that would come ... as a surprise, would it?" Nitya Pibulsonggram told AFP.
The UN envoy issue
Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said he was "disappointed" with the cancellation of the Professor Gambari briefing and called on Asian nations to support the envoy's efforts, singling out the junta's close ally China.
"I hope that countries around East Asia - all of them, ASEAN countries but also importantly China and others - will all find ways of reinforcing the work of Professor Gambari," Mr Downer told reporters after meeting with the envoy.
"It's very important that there is real and genuine progress... in Burma," he said.
"Professor Gambari thinks he's making some early progress, but of course we would like to see a lot more progress for us to be satisfied that things are heading in the right direction in Burma.
"We think there's a very long way to go."
Prof Gambari reiterated his disappointment at the abrupt cancellation, but said he had had an "enormous opportunity to meet with individual leaders" in Singapore.
"They are united behind support for the secretary-general's good office and they promise to do everything possible to make sure that this succeeds," he said in a television interview.
Prof Gambari also said he had held a "very frank and a very constructive meeting" with Thein Sein and Burma's Foreign Minister Nyan Win.
China, seen as one of the few countries with any influence over Burma's ruling generals, spoke out after the bloodshed in September, involving protesting monks, to urge the junta to "show restraint", restore stability and work towards democracy.
But Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao reiterated this week that sanctions and pressure would not help reconciliation efforts in Burma, which has been run by the military for more than four decades.
The nuclear business
Aside from the Burma furore, the Asian leaders are expected to pledge to increase the region's forest cover by at least 15 million hectares (37 million acres) by 2020, and promote the use of nuclear energy.
A draft statement obtained by AFP said the leaders will throw their support behind a UN plan as the "core mechanism" for tackling global warming.
It says the 16 leaders will agree to cooperate on the "development and the use of civilian nuclear power", amid concerns soaring oil prices could hurt regional economic growth.
The summit comes ahead of a crucial UN-backed conference on the Indonesian island of Bali next month to discuss a successor treaty to the Kyoto Protocol on climate change.
Mr Downer expressed optimism that China and India would agree to eventually cut greenhouse gas emissions.
"On climate change, what we want is the East Asia summit to reinforce the excellent work of the APEC leaders in September and help to pave the way for a successful Bali meeting in December," he said.
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Japan, Singapore leaders agree to back Gambari over Myanmar issue
21 November 2007
Organisation of Asia-Pacific News Agencies
English
SINGAPORE, Nov. 21 Kyodo - Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda and his Singapore counterpart Lee Hsien Loon agreed Wednesday to jointly throw their weight behind U.N. special envoy Ibrahim Gambari in addressing the issue of Myanmar, Japanese officials said.
In their bilateral talks on the sidelines of regional summit meetings hosted by Singapore, the two leaders also confirmed they will further strengthen bilateral ties, with Lee expressing his support for Japan's position over North Korea and resumption of its refueling support for U.S.-led antiterrorism operations in and around Afghanistan, the officials said.
Lee was quoted as telling Fukuda that problems in Myanmar should be resolved by the people of Myanmar themselves, and the international community needs to take a realistic approach, and Fukuda expressed appreciation over Lee's efforts over the matter.
On North Korea, Fukuda sought that participants to the regional summits issue ''an appropriate message'' to Pyongyang, and said Japan hopes to see progress, with concrete steps by North Korea, in bilateral terms, including the abduction issue, as well as the country's denuclearization.
Fukuda also reiterated his plan to maximize efforts to resume Japan's refueling mission in the Indian Ocean for Japan to continue playing a role in the fight against terrorism, according to the officials.
2007-11-21 21:34:39
© Copyright 2007. OANA. All rights reserved. -
well china already make it clear its first support is Myanmar than follow by 2nd Asean.Originally posted by LazerLordz:ASEAN MATTER
'It is an Asean matter. We will continue to support the UN but we cannot take the matter out of the Asean forum and take it into some other forum.'
- DATUK SERI SYED HAMID ALBAR, Malaysian Foreign Minister
TAKING NO SIDES
'China respects, firstly, Myanmar's stand, and secondly, Asean's stand on the issue.'
- MR QIN GANG, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman
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Firstly, the compromise to take it from the EAS to ASEAN was already offered.
Secondly, China's support for Burma given that its a de-facto client state is worrying for those who want ASEAN to play a stronger role in representing the nations within.
The thing is if China did not support Myanmar, Maynmar would be force to dealt with Asean. if It goes to security council that is end of the line. But China and Russia is objecting to a sanction so Myanmar can safetly out do the rest.
Signing the charter is a good first step. -
So hows the situation there man, has democrat "concerned Chee" solved their woes or financed more protests with the funds he solicited from the public after the chain of events ?
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Where is the money Chee. You can run but you cannot hide..ok you can hide because you are only a pi sai. Why are you not staging anymore protests ?
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I think ASEAN's purpose is to keep the lines of communication open and as transparent as possible.
I don't think it's intention is to force conformity.