Safeguards Needed Before Allowing Investment, Financial Services

(Washington, DC, May 15, 2012) – The US government should not ease sanctions on business activities in Burma until adequate safeguards are in place to prevent new investment from fueling human rights abuses, Human Rights Watch said today. A US presidential order imposing a ban on investment and financial services in Burma is scheduled to expire on May 20, 2012, unless it is renewed or revised.

Hearings ended on 3 May in the trial of Thai journalist and labour organiser Somyot Pruksakasemsuk. Already held for over a year on remand, he could face up to 30 years' jail for the publication of two articles that allegedly breach Thailand's draconian lèse majesté law. At the time, he was the acting editor-in-chief of the magazine in which the articles appeared. He did not write them, and neither of them even mentions the King of Thailand.

In the end, freedom is slower to arrive than death
Justice can wait        can make way for a tranquil homeland
They honeymooned on a day of love        a truce       
The war is not over yet        However many corpses, let it be!

National Human Rights Commissioner Niran Phithakwatchara and members of an NHRC subcommittee have been accused of lèse majesté by the head of Kaeng Krachan National Park after they intervened in a project, which the park claims was implemented in honour of the King.