<p>SWAN strongly denounces the Burma Army build-up around the Shan ceasefire area in Ke See township, central Shan State, which led to the rape of a young disabled woman on the eve of the November 7 election.</p>

<p>Mr. Salil Shetty, Secretary General of AI paid a call on Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva on the occasion of his visit to Thailand, at Thai Koo Fah Building, the Government House.</p> <p>The Secretary General of Amnesty International asked the Prime Minister on issues interested by the public and media, such as the political situation, situation in the southern border provinces, situation of displaced persons fleeing from fightings in Myanmar, and l&egrave;se majest&eacute; law.</p>

<p>The Asian Network For Free Elections(ANFREL) calls attention to an important point from November 7th &amp; 8th&lsquo;s counting activities that requires the State Peace and Development Council(SPDC) and the Union Election Commission(UEC) of Myanmar to urgently clarify why the counting process was not made transparent to the public and the media beginning with the first advance voting period. </p>

<p>President Barack Obama&rsquo;s trip to Southeast Asia provides a critical opportunity to reaffirm the United States&rsquo; commitment to human rights and democracy in the region.&nbsp; His stop in Jakarta should be used to recognize the potential of Indonesia in particular as a long-term partner of the U.S. in promoting respect for human dignity throughout the region.</p>

<p>Reporters Without Borders and the Burma Media Association call for the release of Japanese journalist Toru Yamaji, the head of the Tokyo-based news agency APF, who was arrested in the eastern border town of Myawaddy on 7 Nov after apparently entering from Thailand. He was reportedly taken by helicopter to the Burmese capital, Naypyitaw, for questioning by military intelligence.</p>

<p>Despite the Burmese military regime&rsquo;s claims that the entire country will enjoy electricity after the 2010 election, its national power development plans, set to be rubberstamped by its incoming proxy government, spell otherwise. The vast majority of the country&rsquo;s natural resources are destined for export, not for nationwide electrification. </p>

<p>(Hong Kong, November 5, 2010) The Asian Human Rights Commission on Wednesday launched a new campaign webpage on the case of Chiranuch Premchaiporn, the director of the independent online news service Prachatai, who is facing multiple criminal charges over material that readers posted onto her website.</p>

<p>A journalist in the southern Philippine city of General Santos claims that unidentified men have been watching his house. General Santos City is located in the southernmost Philippine island of Mindanao. It is approximately 1,049 kilometers south of Manila.</p>

<p>Writer Sukprida Banomyong, well-known son of the late senior statesman Pridi Banomyong and the late Thanpooying Poonsuk Banomyong, spent much of the latter part of his life defending and reviving the legacy of his father and the 1932 revolt. </p>

<p>In the space of less than a week, the army chief, the defence minister and the police chief have publicly declared war on &quot;the anti-monarchist movement&quot; by vowing to put behind bars those making defamatory remarks about and criticising the institution. The approach is simply wrong, is undemocratic and won't solve the &quot;problem&quot;.</p>

<p>As the countdown to the national elections in Burma commences, the view that it would be neither free nor fair is almost a foregone conclusion. With both mainstream and new media inside the country being suppressed by military authorities, and outsiders banned from covering, results of the farcical elections will be far from credible.</p>

<p>The Network for Democracy and Development (NDD) released a report today entitled, &ldquo;<a href="http://www.google.co.th/url?sa=t&amp;source=web&amp;cd=1&amp;ved=0CBUQFjAA&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.scribd.com%2Fdoc%2F40798313%2FNDD-A-Violent-Past-to-a-Brutal-Future&amp;rct=j&amp;q=Burma%3A%20A%20Violent%20Past%20to%20a%20Brutal%20Future%3B%20The%20Transformation%20of%20a%20Paramilitary%20Organization%20into%20a%20Political%20Party.&amp;ei=Kw3RTLGOMZSisAPCuL2dCw&amp;usg=AFQjCNEs4lJJBNVHVZvcPZWbVD5BSTi5pQ&amp;cad=rja"><em>Burma: A Violent Past to a Brutal Future; The Transformation of a Paramilitary Organization into a Political Party.</em></a>&rdquo; The report looks at the history of the junta-backed social organization, the Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA), and its transformation to the political party, the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP).</p>