Journalist removed from Myanmar blacklist

Twenty-seven years after putting his name on a blacklist, Myanmar has removed Swedish journalist Bertil Lintner from the list, and granted him a visa to enter the country.  Lintner has written numerous books and articles about the country during three-plus decades, but has not been allowed to visit the country since 1989.

He says he plans to shun both Western and Myanmar officials for most of his seven-day trip, concentrating instead on talking with ordinary people, believing that to be the best way to get an accurate sense of what is going on.  Read more about it at The Irrawaddy.

Thai Rice Farmers criticize new credit cards

Thailand's Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives (BAAC) says it will hand out two million more credit cards to farmers next year to help them buy fuel, seed, fertilizer and other essential items.  That comes on top of the 800,000 cards already issued this year.  Bank officials say they hope to get a card into every one of the country's 5.8 million farming households, a move that would make the agriculture sector the kingdom's largest credit card holder.

BAAC officials say the cards will offer farmers credit at rates lower than what they currently get from suppliers.  But the head of Thailand's Rice Farmers Associationn worries that the opposite will happen, and farmers will be lured into heavier loads of debt. Last year's flooding left Thai farmers in the deepest debt in years. Forty-percent of the rice land under cultivation is already being worked by tenant farmers; increasing debt loads could force more farmers to sell their land in order to pay creditors.

Myanmar dissidents reported ready to go home

Australian broadcasting is reporting that some Myanmar dissidents who had fled to Thailand are preparing to return to home, in the wake of economic and political reforms by the Myanmar government.

The Australian news agency also says Myanmar has taken 2,000 activists and journalists off a blacklist that kept them from entering the country, but gives few details.

Tens of thousands of Myanmar citizens have taken refuge in Thailand since the 1989 elections which candidates from the National League for Democracy, the party led by Aung San Suu Kyi, won but were never allowed to take office by the military government.

However, during the past two years, the military leaders have instituted a series of political and economic reforms, culminating in elections earlier this year in which the Suu Kyi and her party were allowed to participate.

Myanmar releases UN Aid workers

Reuters news agency is reporting that two UN aid workers in Myanmar who were convicted of various charges, including inciting violence in the western province of Rakhine, have been pardoned and released.  The news agency says a UN spokesman announced the news Tuesday, but said a third aid worker remains in custody.  The trio had been sentenced to terms of two to six years in jail.
Fighting between Buddhists and Muslims in Rakhine has claimed dozens of lives since June, and displaced tens of thousands of people.  Most of the Muslims are members of the Rohingya minority group, which the UN has described as one of the most persecuted minorities in the world.

Thailand, Myanmar to hold border talks

Thailand's foreign ministry says it will hold new talks with Myanmar aimed at settling the disputed border line between the two countries.  The Bangkok Post reports that the news was released at a weekend seminar in Chiang Mai focused on border disputes between Thailand, Myanmar and Laos.

Thailand and Myanmar share 2,400km of border, of which only about 60km is marked.  It's been seven years since the two countries met to mark the remainder of the boundary.  Vasin Teeravechyan, co-chairman of the Thai-Myanmar Joint Boundary Committee, said the talks are set for October.

Army takes Thaksin's lawyer to court

Not content with accusing former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin and his supporters of trying to undermine the monarchy, now it appears that Thai officials are accusing them of defaming the military.  The Phukett Gazette reports that the head of the Thai army has filed a complaint of defamation against Robert Amsterdam, the attorney for former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his party, the UDD.  The complaint reportedly accuses Amsterdam of making defamatory comments about the army in a speech last May at a rally to commemorate the anniversary of Red Shirt protests in Bangkok.  Amsterdam says he stands by his comments: 

"As declared in a statement published on our Thai blog, Robert Amsterdam stated that he would not be discouraged by General Prayuth’s attempt to intimidate and silence those seeking answers over what happened in Thailand when more than 90 unarmed protesters were gunned down by Army snipers. Representing the Red Shirts, Amsterdam has prepared a number of critical reports including an application to the International Criminal Court advocating the initiation of an inquiry in the violence allegedly ordered by General Prayuth.  In late June, Mr. Amsterdam led a delegation of Thai representatives to a meeting with the ICC at The Hague.

"Mr. Amsterdam has also published an open letter to General Prayuth, which reads:  “If you were serious about upholding your soldiers’ reputation, you would use your remaining time as Commander-in-Chief not to make excuses for criminal behavior, but to remake the Royal Thai Army into an institution where those who abuse human rights are held to account. Submitting to a proper investigation in which the facts are examined fairly, without regard for the status of the perpetrators, by investigators who cannot be bullied into “apologizing” to you for their findings, would be a useful first step.”"

Here's a video of the speech.

Philippine Interior Minister confirmed dead

Divers have recovered the body of Philippine Interior Minister Jesse Robredo, after a small plane carrying him and three others went down off the coast of Masbate City, about 450 km south of Manila.  Divers also recovered the bodies of the plane's two pilots from the wreckage.  An aide to Robredo survived and was rescued shortly after the Piper Seneca crashed Saturday afternoon.

The plane was enroute from Cebu City to Robredo's hometown of Naga City when it began having engine problems. The pilots then diverted to an airport in Masbate, but witnesses says the plane crashed into the sea  only one kilometer short of the runway.