Burma: Chinese Refugees, Suu Kyi security

Refugees from Kokang, northern Burma, rest at temporary shelter in Nansan, on Chinese border (Reuters).

China's Burmese refugees

BEIJING — Chinese officials imposed an information black-out on Tuesday on the situation along its border with Burma and began taking down tents that had sheltered an estimated 30,000 refugees who fled into China to escape recent fighting between Burma’s military and ethnic rebels.

Suu Kyi to boost security at her house
YANGON, Burma — Detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi plans to repair her dilapi-dated two-story home to im-prove security, after an Ameri-can's high-profile intrusion led to her house arrest being ex-tended. Suu Kyi wants to reinforce two balconies on the upper floor, which have only glass doors, and meet with an architect to discuss other renovations, said lawyer Nyan Win: The 64-year-old Nobel Peace Prize laureate is "very keen to have her house repaired, mainly for security reasons."

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US pressures Burma on refugees

US pressures Myanmar as nervous refugees head home
Robert J. Saiget (AFP)

NANSAN, China — The United States on Monday urged Burma to cease attacks on ethnic groups as refugees who fled into China after deadly clashes between junta forces and ethnic rebels nervously headed home. Washington stepped in, piling pressure on, after thousands of people poured into China fleeing fighting in the country's remote north west in recent weeks and Beijing complained of attacks on Chinese-owned businesses.

• PHOTOS: Chinese soldier stands guard at the border separating China and Burma; Chinese guards watch Burmese crossing back into Burma (AFP). Burmese child runs past Chinese paramilitary police preparing to clean refugee camp (AP). More photos

"We urge the Burmese authorities to cease their military campaign and to develop a genuine dialogue with the ethnic minority groups, as well as with Burma's democratic opposition," US State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said.

"The brutal fighting has forced thousands of civilians to flee their homes for safety in Thailand and China, and has reduced both stability and the prospects for national reconciliation in Burma," he said. Washington was working on a "Burma strategy," he added.

Officials in China's southwestern Yunnan province have said 37,000 refugees streamed into their country after days of fighting in Kokang, a mainly ethnic Chinese region of Burma's Shan state. More>>

China urges Burma to bridle ethnic groups

China Urges Burma to Bridle Ethnic Militia Uprising at Border
Tim Johnston (Washington Post Foreign Service, Aug. 29, 2009)

Aung San Suu Kyi behind bars, rebel crack down...General Than Shwe is upbeat.

BANGKOK, Thailand -- A Burmese government crackdown on powerful ethnic militias that have challenged its rule for more than 60 years has driven 10,000 refugees into neighboring China, prompting a rare rebuke from Chinese authorities, the Burmese military dictatorship's key allies.

(WQ editorial) The father of Burma's dictator, General Than Shwe, is Chinese. China is the junta's principal enabler purchasing timber, minerals, and defending it in the UN. The countries share a border, which leads to illegal trade sideskirting sanctions.

The refugees fled over the border into China's Yunnan province in the past few days after fighting erupted between Burmese government troops and ethnic militia fighters from the Kokang region of the nation also known as Myanmar.

China called on the Burmese authorities to "properly handle domestic problems and maintain stability in the China-Myanmar border region," according to a statement from Foreign Ministry spokesman Jiang Yu. "We also urge Myanmar to protect the security and legal rights of Chinese citizens in Myanmar."

China has been balancing support for the Burmese government with backing for the armed ethnic groups that occupy much of the Burmese side of the border. The border regions are heavily influenced by China, with many Chinese businesses taking advantage of the trade in gems, timber and jade. More>>