Burma's credibility at stake, says Abhisit
By: BANGKOK POST AND AGENCIES
Published: 20/05/2009 at 12:00 AM
Newspaper section: NewsThailand, as chair of Asean, has added its voice to calls for the immediate release of Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Burma's ruling junta is apparently rushing Mrs Suu Kyi's trial so she could be handed a jail sentence as early as next week. The Thai and Asean call is an attempt to prevent that.

"The Government of the Union of Myanmar [Burma] is reminded that the Asean leaders have called for the immediate release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi," the statement from Asean said.

The statement was issued after senior Asean officials discussed the matter at talks held in Phuket on Monday.

Thailand used the statement to express its "grave concern" about Mrs Suu Kyi's situation given her fragile health.

Burma's democracy icon has been on trial since Monday for breaking house arrest rules. Her six-year house detention sentence is due to expire next Wednesday.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said yesterday Thailand was closely monitoring developments in Burma in the hope it would heed Asean's call. But Thailand had no plan to impose a deadline over the issue.

He said Asean had shown its readiness to "contribute constructively to the national reconciliation process and the peaceful transition of democracy" in Burma, and warned the Burmese regime that its credibility was now at stake.

But Aung Naing Oo, a Chiang Mai-based Burmese political analyst, was sceptical about the likely impact of the Asean statement.

The member states held no sway over the country's political reforms, the former student leader said. With China and India remaining silent on the issue, the Burmese junta had no reason to soften its stance on detaining Mrs Suu Kyi.

Asean and Thailand should do more than just call for her immediate release, said Win Min, a professor at the All Ethnic International Open University Programme at Chiang Mai University.

"Asean should tell the ruling State Peace and Development Council that it would be difficult or impossible to support the 2010 elections unless Mrs Suu Kyi was released and the election process was inclusive for her party," he said.

Yesterday, five witnesses - including four police officers who said they arrested American John Yettaw after he spent two days at Mrs Suu Kyi's lakeside house - gave evidence at the closed-door trial being held at Insein prison.

"They are trying to finish [the trial] as soon as possible," Nyan Win, the spokesman for Mrs Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD), told reporters.

Nyan Win said the trial could be finished by as early as next week.

He said the prosecution was expected to call 22 witnesses, all but one of whom are police. The senior officer who filed the original complaint against Mrs Suu Kyi testified on Monday.

Critics say the military regime has trumped up the charges to keep Mrs Suu Kyi locked up during elections due next year, and also to beat the May 27 deadline when her latest six-year period of detention expires.

Mrs Suu Kyi has spent 13 of the past 19 years in detention, most of them under house arrest at her residence.

Mr Yettaw and two of Mrs Suu Kyi's female political aides, who live at the house, are also on trial at the jail.

"The witnesses described the situation when they arrested him. They said they watched him as he swam and at first they thought he was a thief," Nyan Win said, recounting the testimony by the four policemen yesterday."But they said that they knew as soon as he came to the bank of the lake that he was a foreigner. Then they took him to the special branch."

Political knives sharpened for Chartchai
By: AEKARACH SATTABURUT and PRADIT RUANGDIT and MANOP THIP-OSOD
Published: 20/05/2009 at 12:00 AM
Newspaper section: NewsBhumjaithai Party leader Chavarat Charnvirakul insists he will replace Chartchai Pookyaporn as deputy agriculture and cooperatives minister despite his insistence on staying in the cabinet.





Beleaguered Deputy Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister Chartchai Pookyaporn appears composed as he heads to a news conference at the ministry.



"I'm a senior person. I will not get into a war of words with [Mr Chartchai]," said Mr Chavarat, who is the interior minister, after Mr Chartchai announced at a press conference he would not quit.

The Bhumjaithai leader earlier said he wanted Mr Chartchai to be replaced for failing to attend party meetings or join in other activities.

Mr Chartchai is a member of a faction led by banned politician Sora-at Klinprathum. A Bhumjaithai source said Mr Sora-at was manoeuvring for a replacement because he had been in conflict with Mr Chartchai.

The source said Mr Chavarat had ordered Mr Chartchai to resign. Mr Chartchai said he would do so after finishing his current tasks at the Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry.

But at a news conference, Mr Chartchai said he had no plans to quit.

Mr Chartchai's comments to reporters had upset Mr Chavarat and Newin Chidchob, a key figure in Bhumjaithai, the source said.

The source quoted a Bhumjaithai executive as saying: "If he's not going to resign during the party meeting on May 21 [Thursday], we'll use a resolution from the meeting of the party's MPs to force him out."

The source said Mr Chartchai had performed well as a deputy minister but had failed to contribute to the party's political activities.

Bhumjaithai will meet tomorrow to discuss Mr Chartchai's replacement. A strong candidate is Nakhon Phanom MP Supachai Phosu, the source said.

In the wake of reports of a cabinet change under the Bhumjaithai quota, the Puea Pandin Party is demanding another cabinet seat.

Puea Pandin spokesman Alongkot Maneekart said the party held 24 House seats but only received three cabinet portfolios. With 24 MPs the party should get an additional cabinet seat.

It was hardly fair that Bhumjaithai, which has just a few seats more than Puea Pandin, had more cabinet ministers, Mr Alongkot said.

Democrat spokesman Buranaj Samuttaraks and other new MPs denied Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva was facing pressure from about 50 members for changes.

Nipit Intarasombat, an MP from Phatthalung, said reshuffling cabinet portfolios now would split the party.

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