Article: NY Times: Mynamar's Courts Subvert Rule Of Law
No surprise there . Not often we see an article with a bit of depth about the courts in Mynamar so we thought we'd better reference it
Here's the introduction
And while we are on the subject we were wondering if somebody should start a petition to force Hilary Clinton just to get a few hours sleep a week. If GWB had worked her hours he'd have been dead halfway through his first term..actually that would make a great graph .. hours worked by the current sec of state compared to hours worked by previous president.
The full article can be found at http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/04/world/asia/myanmar-uses-law-to-stifle-dissent-activists-say.html?_r=1
YANGON, Myanmar — Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton concluded her visit to Myanmar on Friday by telling reporters at the American Embassy that she was “cautiously hopeful” that Myanmar was emerging from decades of military dictatorship. But that was little solace for U Phoe Phyu.
Related
At virtually the same moment that Mrs. Clinton was making her remarks, Mr. Phoe Phyu, a 31-year-old lawyer and former political prisoner, stood before a court just a half-hour drive away to face charges of illegal assembly and disobeying government orders. He was arrested in October after leading a farmers’ protest against land confiscation by big companies with government connections.
Amid the optimism that marked Mrs. Clinton’s visit, Mr. Phoe Phyu’s case has become a sobering reminder of the distance Myanmar has yet to travel toward full political freedom and of the ways the government continues to use the judiciary to repress opposition and to stifle the press, which was blocked from publishing news of the case.
“There has been absolutely no change in the courts,” Mr. Phoe Phyu said in an interview on Friday before his court appearance. “There is no rule of law.”
U Tun Lin Oo, a member of a charitable organization that assists farmers in the country, said he believed that the government brought charges against Mr. Phoe Phyu because the issue of land confiscation was potentially explosive.
“The government is very afraid that farmers will get organized,” Mr. Tun Lin Oo said.
Farmers represent more than two-thirds of Myanmar’s population of 55 million and are among the country’s poorest residents.
