5. Stop the Rot

Two former United Nations' officials urged Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to act firmly to stop the rot and further destruction of judicial independence.

Former UN special adviser to UN Secretary-General on Ethics Tunku Abdul Aziz and former UN Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers Datuk Param Cumaraswamy say the video clip showing a named lawyer discussing over the handphone how he is influencing judicial appointments should be treated seriously.

"We urge the Prime Minister to present to his Majesty the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to set up a tribunal for the removal any judge found guilty of gross misconduct and abuse of power. In the mean time, suspect or suspects must be suspended from office," they said in a joint-statement.

Abdul Aziz and Param, both past presidents of Transparency International Malaysia, said in a press conference that they had also handed over a letter, containing further allegations against a judge, to the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA).

Param said the three-page anonymous letter, written in English, but in crude and intemperate language, was received by him three to four days prior to July 20.

Param said he had written to the judge on July 20, and also attached a copy of the anonymous letter containing the allegations, but there was no response.

Among the several allegations in the anonymous letter was judges had discussed a recent decision in a suit involving a named lawyer featured in the video recording.

Param said the judgment eventually was delivered in favour of the named lawyer.

Abdul Aziz and Param also urged the Bar Council to act swiftly and institute disciplinary proceedings against the named lawyer under Section 88A of the Legal Profession Act and suspend him from practice until the disposal of the disciplinary process.

They said it was not the first time the named lawyer has been seen "unusually friendly" with the named judge.

They said the Federal Constitution should be amended to provide for an independent judicial commission for selection and recommendation of judicial appointments, promotions and to deal with receiving and investigating complaints against judges.

"We acknowledge that there are some fine judges of integrity within the system. We urge them to remain steadfast and uphold their oath of office amidst the present crisis of confidence in the system," they said.

Abdul Aziz said it would send a "terribly wrong signal" not only to the nation but also internationally, if the government did not act - The Sun (Earlier Edition).

4. Crisis of Justice

Lawyer, Malik Imtiaz Sarwar, says:

"The lack of urgency on the part of the Government is a strong indication of a lack of appreciation of the seriousness of the matters at hand. A more sinister interpretation of this attitude suggests that the Government may not be keen on getting to the truth, or to the truth too quickly. Does the Government not see that a tainted judiciary and the possibility of the uncertainty in the administration of justice is potentially destructive to its own interests, to the extent that those interests are separate and independent from the interests of the rakyat, as much as it to those of the rakyat?"

"It is said that, in the country of the blind, the one-eyed is king. How true, but before our so-called law minister believes this to be so, let him be forewarned that more than 2,000 lawyers have already marched to say that they can see with both eyes and that they are not colour-blind when it comes of issues of justice."

"The Government should start taking this seriously. Lawyers talk of flood-gates. There is a tsunami on the way."

Read all about it here.

3. The Bulldog

by Denis D. Gray, AP

The old soldier who leads Myanmar is called "the bulldog" — for good reason.

Pro-democracy demonstrators by the thousands may be willing to sacrifice themselves in the streets but stand little chance of success unless they — or other forces — can oust a lowly, high school dropout with delusions of royal grandeur from his post of virtually absolute power.

Senior Gen. Than Shwe has shown no willingness to step down as head of the ruling junta, compromise with protesters, or listen to international calls for reform in Myanmar, also known as Burma.

After snubbing special U.N. envoy Ibrahim Gambari for three days, Than Shwe finally met him Tuesday. That came only after his foreign minister told the United Nations that change "cannot be imposed from outside."

"The very fate of Burma is linked to Than Shwe, whose manic, xenophobic and superstitious character bode ill for a country that needs to pull itself into the 21st century and into the international community of democratic nations," says the Irrawaddy, a Thailand-based news magazine that maintains a "Than Shwe Watch" column.

Although there is continuing speculation about rivalries within the top military ranks, Than Shwe (pronounced tawn shway) wields near-absolute control over one of the world's largest armies, a 400,000-strong force that turned its guns on university students, brutally beat Buddhist monks, and hauled thousands away to unknown incarceration sites.

The 74-year-old junta leader has remained publicly silent throughout the crisis, sequestering himself in his remote, bunker-like capital, filtering news from the demonstrations and the outside world through the narrow prism of more than a half-century of military service.

"As long as he is No. 1, things probably will not change. He is very, very stubborn, and he doesn't see the problem being with his council but with the demonstrators," says Donald M. Seekins, a Myanmar scholar at Japan's Meio University.

Naypyitaw (pronounced NAY'-pee-daw), or "Royal City," is the new capital deep in the countryside that Than Shwe ordered built in a bizarre act laden with royal pretensions.

Numerous, but unconfirmed, stories have circulated about the portly, bemedaled Than Shwe acting like a king and his daughters ordering military officers to treat them as royalty. Diplomats say some members of his family and possibly even Than Shwe himself are also locked into corrupt dealings with rich businessmen, a common practice among the military elite.

It also is rumored that the very mention of Aung San Suu Kyi (pronounced ahng sahn soo chee), the detained opposition leader who has become an international icon for democracy, is said to throw him into spasms of anger.

One of the few glimpses into his life came last year when a video surfaced depicting the extravagant wedding of one of his daughters, further fueling deep-rooted hatred of the military among the population in one of the world's poorest countries.

The leaked video showed his daughter, Thandar Shwe, wearing a staggering collection of diamond encrusted jewelry and extravagant clothing as the normally grim-faced junta members sat on gold-trimmed chairs and enjoyed a five-tiered wedding cake and champagne.

The Irrawaddy said the wedding cost $300,000 and the bridal couple received wedding gifts worth $50 million.

Than Shwe's early years were hardly so glittering.

Born in the central part of the country during the days of British colonial rule, he did not finish high school and worked as a postal clerk before joining the army at the age of 20.

It is not uncommon for ordinary people in Myanmar not to finish high school. But among its elite, many are highly educated, with university and postgraduate degrees.

The young officer served for a time in the army's psychological warfare department, and in 1962 helped Gen. Ne Win stage a coup against a democratic government that ushered in 45 years of continuous military control.

Rising through the ranks, he was posted to the country's frontier areas where the government has waged a brutal campaign against ethnic minority rebels — a campaign that continues to this day.

Along the way, he developed a reputation as an inward looking hard-liner, and later as an adept political manipulator who trusted few and tolerated no rivals.

To insure loyalty of the officer corps, he ordered that the salaries of battalion commanders be raised tenfold.

In 1992, four years after the military gunned down thousands in a failed pro-democracy uprising, Than Shwe emerged as the chairman of the State Peace and Development Council, the country's 12-member ruling body.

When the council's intelligence chief, Gen. Khin Nyunt, began to accumulate considerable power, Than Shwe in 2004 had him placed under house arrest and imprisoned or purged hundreds of his followers.

Khin Nyunt, a relatively flexible, sophisticated man who had initiated a dialogue with Suu Kyi, was regarded by some as a hope for at least some change in Myanmar.

"I met Gen. Than Shwe three times and found that he is a strongman with a great deal of self-confidence," said Thailand's former army chief, Gen. Sonthi Boonyaratglin. "He has a strong belief that he has been doing the best for his country, so I think it will be hard to change anything in Myanmar despite the pressure from all over."

Two exit scenarios are touted: that one of his rivals, possibly the junta's No. 2 man, Senior Gen. Maung Aye (pronounced mawng ay), will overthrow him, or that nature will take its course. Than Shwe suffers from hypertension, diabetes and possibly intestinal cancer.

(Associated Press Writer Sutin Wannabovorn contributed to this report from Bangkok)

2. Video Tape Scandal

A lawyer, Malik Imtiaz Sarwar, in his blog DISQUIET analyses the issues and says a Royal Commission is the ONLY way to go about the Video Tape Scandal.

He says "The special Investigative Panel has no powers in law to compel the surrendering of documents, the attendance of witnesses and so on."

"This raises an interesting question. If the Panel has no investigative powers, then why is the Government insistent on adopting this course of action instead of putting in place a fully empowered Royal Commission ?"

Read all about it here.

Should members of this Panel ask for an upgrade to a Royal Commission?

1. Envoy meets Suu Kyi

Interest in Myanmar stems from the fact that it is the only member of ASEAN still under a military regime (45 years of it) and is not democratic yet. It requires the full support of all ASEAN countries to change and become one. And the time is now.

A UN envoy met Myanmar's detained democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi and leaders of the ruling junta Sunday, as he tried to broker an end to a bloody crackdown on anti-government protests.

Ibrahim Gambari (pic, left) met with Aung San Suu Kyi for more than an hour, the UN said in a statement. The rare encounter, seen as a sign of intense pressure on the regime, took place at a government guest house in the main city of Yangon.

Gambari was dispatched by UN chief Ban Ki-moon to intervene after the regime unleashed a military campaign to shut down the demonstrations several days ago, leaving at least 13 dead and hundreds arrested.

The four days of repression, which has seen live rounds, baton charges and tear gas used against monks, protesters and civilians alike, succeeded in largely shutting down the demonstrations over the weekend.

Gambari arrived in Myanmar Saturday and travelled to the remote official capital of Naypyidaw for talks with senior leaders where he was expected to convey worldwide outrage over the violence.

The UN said the Nigerian-born envoy has not yet seen junta supremo Senior General Than Shwe (pic, right) but "looks forward" to meeting him before departing from Myanmar. It did not say when he would leave.

It said Gambari "conveyed a message" from the UN chief in talks with Acting Prime Minister Lieutenant-General Thein Sein and Minister for Information Brigadier General Kyaw Hsan.

The White House had led the international community in urging the regime to allow Gambari to meet with Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel laureate who has spent much of the past two decades in detention at her lakeside home.

In dramatic scenes a week ago, the 62-year-old opposition leader stepped out of her home in tears to greet Buddhist monks who marched past the house where she has been confined for most of the past 18 years.

The march was part of nationwide rallies which erupted two weeks ago led by the revered Buddhist monks, and have evolved into the most potent challenge to the ruling junta for some two decades.

Myanmar analyst Win Min said the rare meeting with Aung San Suu Kyi showed the regime was feeling the heat from intense worldwide criticism.

"There is a lot of pressure from the UN Security Council," he said, adding it could raise hopes for progress in the stalled reconciliation process between the Myanmar regime and its opponents.

"Initial signs are that some kind of negotiations could follow, through Gambari, but we have to be cautious because, in the past, they sent signals of opening but changed course later on," he said.

Gambari's predecessor as UN envoy to Myanmar, the veteran Malaysian diplomat Razali Ismail, said he must come away from Yangon with a real result.

The envoy "must get a promise from the military that they will not shoot the people who express their views. We cannot let the people down," he told AFP.

However, former US ambassador to the UN John Bolton said Myanmar's closest ally China held the key to political change.

"Burma (Myanmar) knows Gambari represents a divided UN Security Council. The question of Burma depends on China. One could well ask how long China is going to tolerate this military regime and its oppression inside Burma," Bolton said during a visit to Britain.

Beijing on Saturday made its most direct appeal yet for restraint, with Premier Wen Jiabao calling for "stability through peaceful means" as well as reconciliation.

The protests first erupted last month after a massive hike in fuel prices, but escalated two weeks ago with the emergence of the Buddhist monks on the front line and drew up to 100,000 people onto the streets last week.

Yangon remained in lockdown on Sunday, with thousands of police and soldiers effectively repressing major demonstrations as they patrolled the city and crushed any sign of dissent.

Troops focused on areas near Aung San Suu Kyi's home and major roads where Gambari's convoy was travelling - AFP.