Monday, December 19, 2011

Myanmar seeks final peace pacts with ethnic rebels (AP)

YANGON, Myanmar ? Myanmar is negotiating peace with major ethnic rebel groups and is determined to achieve a permanent peace with them in three to four years, the government's top negotiator said Friday.

Peace talks based on mutual respect are being held with the Shan, Mon, Karen, Kayah and Kachin groups, with the government's only condition being that the groups not demand to secede, said Aung Thaung, who heads the government's Peace Committee.

He told reporters that President Thein Sein ordered an end to fighting with Kachin rebels in the north Dec. 10 but skirmishes continued because communicating with troops in remote areas was difficult.

Myanmar for decades has been at odds with the ethnic groups who seek greater autonomy, but a military junta that took power in 1988 signed cease-fire agreements with many. Some of those pacts were strained as the central government sought to consolidate power, and combat resumed.

However, the new military-backed but elected government has embarked on reforms to try to end its international isolation. Western governments had imposed political and economic sanctions on Myanmar because of repression under the junta.

Ending war with ethnic rebels is one of the condition set by the West for improved relations, a point emphasized by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton during her visit to Myanmar earlier this month.

A prominent Kachin mediator said government troops are continuing to attack Kachin villages and called for the recent cease-fire to be enforced.

The Kachin have been fighting the government since June, when the army tried to break up some of their militia strongholds.

"If the president's order is not immediately implemented and fighting not stopped, it could lead to distrust and further misunderstanding," Kachin mediator Rev. Saboi Jum told The Associated Press.

He said government attacks had continued at least as late as Wednesday.

"It seems that the president's order to stop fighting has not reached to the lower levels," he said.

Aung Thaung, a top member of the ruling pro-military Union Solidarity and Development Party, vowed the government will try its best to achieve peace.

"It could take some three to four years to achieve peace with ethnic groups but we are determined to achieve permanent peace during our term of office," he told local reporters.

Aung Thaung said "there is no peace in the country for more than six decades. Myanmar is the only country in the world where ethnic conflict has continued for six decades and the world looked down upon us. Thus we have vowed to try our best to achieve peace with armed ethnic groups."

He led a government delegation that met on Nov. 29 for peace talks with the Kachin Independence Organization in Ruili in China's Yunnan province.

A few days later, the Shan State Army-South rebel group reached a cease-fire agreement at the provincial level with the government. The group is one of the biggest not to previously sign a cease-fire with the government.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/asia/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111216/ap_on_re_as/as_myanmar_ethnic_rebels

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Sunday, December 18, 2011

Denver forms committee to explore 2022 Olympics (AP)

DENVER ? The city of Denver is forming a committee that will look into bidding for the 2022 Winter Olympics.

The committee will present findings to mayor Michael Hancock and Gov. John Hickenlooper, who said Friday the idea of a bid is worth taking seriously.

The International Olympic Committee awarded the 1976 Winter Games to Denver, but the city later turned them down. IOC president Jacques Rogge said this year that the history would not have a bearing on a future Denver bid.

The Reno-Tahoe area is also considering making a run at the 2022 Games, though the U.S. Olympic Committee is not committed to backing an American bid; the USOC wants to resolve a revenue-sharing dispute with the IOC before committing to bids.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/sports/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111216/ap_on_sp_ol/oly_denver2022_bid

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Saturday, December 17, 2011

Should U.S. Fear China's Commitment to Increase Military Might? (ContributorNetwork)

COMMENTARY | The current ruckus over satellite pictures of a Chinese aircraft carrier represents misdirected panic at the moment but it is a good wake up call for the American people. The aircraft carrier, photographed by DigitalGlobe, is a refurbished or completed carrier from Russia, according to a CBS News report.

There have been several reports surfacing of China's increased interest in building its military might. The Pentagon also has expressed concern about China's increased desire to increase the major weapons arsenal. A January article appearing on the Australian website The Age confirms the Chinese are hiding their military buildup.

It will take the Chinese decades to catch up to the U.S. military superiority but this is no reason for the U.S. to cut back. Under President Barack Obama, the weakened state of the U.S. military and the sad state of the economy is giving countries around the world an opportunity to take advantage of the U.S.

The next election will determine whether the U.S. can salvage its standing as a world power or whether they will be weak when it comes to dealings with China. Many of the Republican candidates for president have already expressed concern the U.S. rising debt to China is becoming a serious security risk.

The nation's debt cannot continue to rise. China is financing their growing military arsenal on the backs of workers in the U.S. If Congress does not step up to seriously curtail entitlements and out of control government spending the Chinese will own the U.S. financially and be a stronger world power the U.S. militarily.

The general presidential election in November will send the Chinese and the world a statement. If Obama wins the election it will be more of the same failed policies in regards to China. If the Republican candidate wins the election an immediate message will go out to our enemies overseas. It is time to get the United States' house in order and time to set the Chinese straight.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/science/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20111217/pl_ac/10701235_should_us_fear_chinas_commitment_to_increase_military_might

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