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	Freedom of expression under pressure in Burma andThailand by UN News, agencies   UN rights expert calls on Myanmar to address worrying signs of backtracking on rights in pivotal year.   The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Myanmar, Yanghee Lee, called on the country’s authorities to rapidly address ongoing challenges to the democratic reform process “before they undermine the success achieved so far.”   “I was very disturbed by reports on 10 March that excessive and disproportionate force had been used against students and other civilians and that 127 people were subsequently arrested,” Ms. Lee said during the presentation of her first report to the UN Human Rights Council. While welcoming the release of some detainees, she called for “the immediate release of all the others.”   Focusing on key issues surrounding democratic space, the expert drew special attention to the pressure on human rights defenders and journalists, including reports of regular surveillance, as well as prosecutions under outdated defamation, trespassing and national security laws, which have a severe “chilling effect on civil society activities.”   “A free and independent media has a vital role to play in any democratic society,” she said welcoming the Government’s efforts to reform media governance. “However, I am concerned that journalists are still being interrogated and arrested, and that 10 journalists were imprisoned in 2014. This needs to stop if Myanmar wants to create a meaningful democratic space.”   While noting that economic development had benefited some in the country, the independent expert urged the Government to ensure that “others are not left out” and called for “a human rights-based approach to development programmes.”   The Special Rapporteur expressed concern about the alarming escalation of fighting in the Kokang region, where over 100 civilians are reported to have died and tens of thousands have been displaced. “Even during a state of emergency, the Government has an obligation to strictly uphold fundamental human rights,” she highlighted.   “Far too often the people of Myanmar have suffered from the resurgence of violence and human rights violations in ethnic border areas,” the expert said, noting that there has been limited success in addressing the underlying issues at the heart of the conflicts, including control over and benefit from natural resources and accountability for human rights violations.   Ms. Lee warned that discrimination against ethnic and religious minorities was another factor fuelling conflict and expressed alarm on the package of four bills currently before Parliament that risks increasing tension.   “During my last visit in January 2015, I witnessed how dire the situation has remained in Rakhine State. The conditions in Muslim IDP camps are abysmal and I received heart-breaking testimonies from Rohingya people telling me they had only two options: stay and die or leave by boat,” she said.   The expert also cautioned against any provision in the Rakhine Action Plan that would classify Rohingyas as ‘illegal aliens’ and subject them to possible prolonged internment in camps or removal from the territory. “The expiry at the end of March 2015 of the temporary white cards held by many Rohingyas as identity documentation raises more uncertainties and further increases their vulnerability,” she stressed.   The Special Rapporteur made a call for collective efforts to find “meaningful ways to improve the human rights of all in Rakhine State.”   17 March 2015   A Burma (Myanmar) court has jailed a New Zealand bar manager and two Burmese colleagues for two-and-a-half years for insulting religion by using a psychedelic image of Buddha wearing headphones to promote their bar.   The case comes amid a surge in Buddhist nationalism in Burma with monks forming groups aimed at promoting the country’s Buddhist character.   New Zealander Phil Blackwood, bar manager Htut Ko Ko Lwin and bar owner Tun Thurein had all pleaded not guilty. They were sentenced to jail with labour, the court said on Tuesday.   Rights groups condemned the verdict as an assault on freedom of expression and called for the trio’s release.   “The authorities are clearly trying to make an example with this case, but ironically all it has done is hurt the image of Burma and Buddhism,” said Matt Smith, executive director of the Bangkok-based group Fortify Rights.   Some people have compared the case with recent remarks made by a prominent monk and Buddhist nationalist, Wirathu, who called a UN human rights envoy a “whore”.   A senior monk and an official in the religious affairs ministry told Reuters in January that Wirathu’s remark could harm Buddhism. He has not been charged.   At a hearing in December, Blackwood said he had not intended to offend Buddhism when he posted the image on the bar’s Facebook page to advertise a cheap drinks night.   He said he had removed the image and posted an apology when he realised it was being shared online and provoking outrage.   “These men expressed contrition for what they said was a mistake, but meanwhile extremists like Wirathu have incited violence in the name of Buddhism and publicly attacked a senior UN official with truly offensive remarks,” Smith said.   Burma’s semi-civilian government has lifted restrictions on freedom of speech, association and media, but reforms have been accompanied by a rise in Buddhist nationalism.   The main targets of the nationalist movement have been Muslims, who make up about 5% of Burma’s 53 million people. At least 240 people have been killed in sectarian violence since June 2012, most of them Muslims.   Parliament is due to debate laws, including regulations on religious conversions and interfaith marriages, which were initially proposed by a “committee to protect race and religion”, one of the main Buddhist nationalist groups associated with Wirathu.   Mar 2015   Archaic laws enforced by Thai military crack down on criticism of monarchy, writes Samantha Hawley.   Thailand''s age-old law, lèse-majesté, is being used more than ever by the ruling military. The laws make it an offence to criticise, insult or mock the monarchy. And if you do, you can expect lengthy jail time.   At cinemas all over Thailand, after the shorts and before the main movie, the national anthem rings out.   And everyone in the theatre must stand to pay respect. And when I say "must", I mean "must".   It''s the law: if you don''t stand, you could be detained under the nation''s lèse-majesté laws.   A morning jog around Bangkok''s Lumpini Park is interrupted by the anthem too. Everyone must stop in their tracks and stand still. It''s against the law not to.   In Britain, mocking the royal family is a national pastime. In Thailand, it''s one of the most serious offences, punishable by up to 15 years in jail.   Article 112 of Thailand''s criminal code states that anyone who defames or insults the monarchy will be punished.   Bail is often denied and trials are held without media scrutiny. Exactly what the offence was is often never made public, because detailing it could be repeating the crime.   Since the military took power in a bloodless coup in May last year, the use of this draconian law, which was first drafted in the early 1900s, has dramatically increased.   In recent weeks, it''s the case of two university students that''s shocked international onlookers.   Two young Thais, both in their early 20s, were jailed for two-and-a-half years for insulting the monarchy in a university play.   The father of one of the students, who''s nicknamed Bank, spoke to me via telephone after the sentencing.   "I am disappointed," he says. "I thought and I hoped it would be suspended."   The students received two-and-a-half years jail for a perceived slur against the royalty. They were originally sentenced to five years behind bars, but that was reduced because they pleaded guilty.   Bank''s father says he''s worried about what his son''s future will hold, once he''s released from prison. "He will have a record after he is out of prison, won''t he? I am afraid it will ruin his future."   The laws also apply to the hundreds of thousands of foreigners who visit Thailand each year. Visit the related web page
	1.3 million Rohingya have been stripped of all rights by Tom Andrews United to End Genocide Myanmar/Burma   Despite heartening news of political reforms in Burma, recurring violence and looming humanitarian crises raise questions of the government’s ability and willingness to protect civilians.   United Nations officials and independent human rights groups have reported evidence of direct state complicity in ethnic cleansing and severe human rights abuses, blocking of humanitarian aid and incitement of anti-Muslim violence, constituting ominous warning signs of grave human rights abuses.   The Rohingya Muslim ethnic minority in Burma have been called “the most oppressed people on Earth”. They suffer vicious attacks and systematic abuse by Burma’s government.   The 1.3 million Rohingya have been denied citizenship and stripped of all rights. They are forced to live in Apartheid conditions where they cannot travel, work or even marry without permission. Over 140,000 were forced in situations similar to concentration camps after their homes and villages were burnt to the ground in 2012, and remain there today.   The government of Burma denies their very existence, prohibiting the use of their name and pressuring foreign officials not even to utter the word Rohingya. According to Burma’s President Thein Sein, “There are no Rohingya” in Burma.”   Unless the policies of hate end in Burma, the crisis will only escalate. Fleeing the threat of genocide in Burma, over 100,000 ethnic minority Rohingya have taken a perilous journey to leave the country by sea.   With an enormous amount of influence in Burma, the U.S. has a moral obligation to confront the source of this hell – Burma’s systematic repression and endangerment of 1.3 million Rohingya people living there. Unless the policies of hate end in Burma, the crisis will only escalate.   “What you say over there, is heard over here. Please, keep speaking out for us.” That’s what Bibi Khadija said to me in a sweltering refugee camp in Malaysia this summer. I met Bibi, an ethnic minority Rohingya, who fled the country fearing for her and her family’s life. Bibi is one of hundreds of thousands of Rohingya who has taken the perilous journey to escape the ominous warning signs of genocide in Burma.   http://endgenocide.org/conflict-areas/burma-backgrounder/ Visit the related web page
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