Burmese Army: One Blood, One Voice, One Command

The June 20 shakeup in the Burmese armed forces has raised the question of whether the top military leaders are at loggerheads.

Though not confirmed officially, as many as 150 military officers were reportedly reassigned in last week’s reshuffle. In addition, four lieutenant-generals who headed the bureaus of special operations (BSOs) were given retirement, though initial reports suggest that some BSO commanders are resisting the order to retire.

Speculation about a shake-up within the Tatmadaw (armed forces) has been rife for months.

Larry Jagan, a British journalist who specializes in Burma, wrote in The Asia Times on March 27 that the regular army commanders’ meeting could not be held for nine months due to rising tension between Snr-Gen Than Shwe and the number two general, vice Snr-Gen Maung Aye.

“Than Shwe wants to avoid the meeting because he knows—based on the evidence of his investigations—Maung Aye will demand the resignations of at least four BSO-affiliated officers, including Maung Bo and Ye Myint,” he wrote.

Maung Bo and Ye Myint are believed to have been removed in the recent reshuffle. They were under investigation on corruption charges.

Splits within the armed forces are nothing new.

Before the downfall of former military intelligence chief Gen Khin Nyunt in 2004, observers frequently suggested that Khin Nyunt was a moderate who had built a state within a state.

The trio of Than Shwe, Maung Aye and Khin Nyunt had been locked in a bitter power struggle for years until, finally, the feared intelligence chief was purged.

The army faction of Than Shwe and Maung Aye seemed to be united against Khin Nyunt who was charged with insubordination and corruption. He is now serving a 44-year suspended sentence and is under house arrest together with his family.

Now that Khin Nyunt is out of the picture, observers say the love-hate relationship between Than Shwe and Maung Aye is back on again.

At the recent reshuffle, observers noted that both Maung Aye’s and Than Shwe’s men were purged—perhaps a sign that Than Shwe has given into Maung Aye to some degree.

However, there is little doubt that Than Shwe still commands the armed forces and has appointed all his trusted “young guns” in the defense ministry, such as 60-year-old Thura Shwe Mann and Myint Swe.  

Businessmen who know Maung Aye say the army chief has no further political ambitions.

“Intra-junta rivalry is believed to be breaking down on institutional lines as much as on personalities, pitting those who graduated from the Officers Training School (OTS), like Than Shwe, against those who attended the Defense Services Academy (DSA), where Maung Aye is an alumnus,” Larry Jagan wrote.

Win Min, an exiled Burmese observer who studies military affairs, agreed that the reshuffle may be the result of a power struggle between Than Shwe and Maung Aye.
However, other observers say the recent reshuffle was a move to inject fresh blood in the army hierarchy.

Aung Kyaw Zaw, a Burma political watcher at the Sino-Burmese border, doesn’t believe there is any serious disunity among Burma’s top generals.  

“The generals are united on a common ground to prolong the military rule,” he told The Irrawaddy.

The Tatmadaw’s famous jingle is: “One blood, one voice, one command.”

Factionalism and a “dog-eat-dog” atmosphere are not feasible within the armed forces, some say.

As Kyaw Yin Hlaing, a Burmese scholar in Hong Kong, wrote in the February edition of the Journal of Southeast Asian Studies: “If the governments [of Burma] were controlled by a powerful hegemonic figure, then these struggles would end in an orderly manner.”

No More Aid through Burmese Junta: US House

In amendments to the Supplemental Appropriations Act 2008, the US House of Representatives has passed a bill that says US agencies should seek to avoid passing humanitarian relief through the military junta to cyclone victims in Burma.

Supplemental Appropriations Act 2008, passed on June 19 by the US House of Representatives—which approves the spending of the Bush administration for the fiscal year ending September 30—made specific reference to the cyclone disaster last month that resulted in the death of more than 130,000 people in the Irrawaddy delta.

Stating that the Burmese junta, or State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), has compounded the humanitarian crisis in Burma by failing to respond to the needs of the Burmese people in the wake of Cyclone Nargis and by refusing offers of assistance from the international community, Supplemental Appropriations Act states: “The Department of State and USAID should seek to avoid providing assistance to or through the SPDC.”

The bill must now be approved by the US Senate.

Even though the Bush administration has little or no alternative but to route all of its relief material through the Burmese military junta, the House mentioned twice in the bill that the government should avoid giving aid through the regime.

Under a sub-section on Food Security and Cyclone Nargis Relief , the amended text on Section 1414 (a) now reads: “For an additional amount for ‘International Disaster Assistance,’ [US] $225 million to address the international food crisis globally and for assistance for Burma to address the effects of Cyclone Nargis: Provided, that not less than $125 million should be made available for the local or regional purchase and distribution of food to address the international food crisis: Provided further, that notwithstanding any other provision of law, none of the funds appropriated under this heading may be made available for assistance for the State Peace and Development Council.
“These funds should be used to respond to urgent humanitarian requirements worldwide, including Burma, Bangladesh, the People's Republic of China, and countries severely affected by the international food crisis,” it said.

The amended bill also includes another $5.3 million in assistance for humanitarian programs along the Thai-Burmese border.

Meanwhile, Carl Gershman, president of the Washington-based National Endowment for Democracy (NED), urged Thailand and India to start thinking about what is going to be needed for a transition in Burma.

“We have to start thinking about the transition now, and to show that there is an alternative. We should also build political support for the Burmese movement now because it answers the argument of the people in Thailand and elsewhere that they have to deal with this government because there is no alternative,” he said.

For more than a decade now, the NED has provided support to many of the pro-democracy Burmese groups in exile, as well as ethnic groups inside Burma. The NED also funds several Burmese publications, including The Irrawaddy.

“Without neglecting the present, we have to start thinking about the future and start building a core of people who can think about the economy, who can think about how to organize a civil-military relationship, who can think about the constitution, think about minority rights and how to organize Burma as a multi-ethnic society with federalism and decentralization," Gershman told The Irrawaddy.

Now of course, he said, the immediate issues before the international community and the Burmese leaders in exile are the crushing of the saffron revolution last year, the “phony” referendum and the humanitarian crisis in Burma. However, there are also more long-term issues, he said.

Developing an alternative constitution, developing a plan for the economy and a plan for governance should be some of the top priorities, Gershman said.

“The need is to bring people together to begin thinking about the future and to do it in an active way, without neglecting the current political and humanitarian crisis,” he said.

WaSo-Robe Offering, July 6th Sunday, Fremont CA

‘The Real Disaster in Burma’ –new animated film narrated by Ricky Gervais

The poster and video can be viewed here:
http://www.burmacampaign.org.uk/therealdisaster.html

In the wake of the devastating cyclone that hit Burma on 2 May, the Burma Campaign UK today launched a new video and poster campaign to highlight the ongoing disaster in Burma – the military dictatorship.

The new animated film ‘The Real Disaster’ was created by Ogilvy Advertising and is narrated by famous comedian Ricky Gervais. It tells the story of a little girl called Khin Mar, who survived Cyclone Nargis but whose village is later destroyed by the military dictatorship. The message is ‘The real disaster in Burma is the government’.

An advertising van displaying a powerful poster of a cyclone victim with the message ‘The real disaster in Burma is the government’, will visit the following locations in London today:

Burmese Embassy, Charles Street
Buckingham Palace
House of Parliament

“If the Burmese regime cared about its people they wouldn’t leave storm victims to die, shoot at peaceful protestors and rape 5 year old girls, like Khin Mar,” said Johnny Chatterton, Campaigns Officer for Burma Campaign UK. “We are launching this campaign because the world must realise that the real disaster in Burma is the regime. The last 9 months have shown the world that the regime will stop at nothing to stay in power.”

The Burmese military dictatorship refused to allow international aid to survivors of cyclone Nargis, which hit Burma seven weeks ago, resulting in unknown thousands of deaths. Seven weeks on hundreds of thousands of people have still not received any aid as the regime broke its word to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon about allowing free access to the delta region.

However, the regime’s restrictions on aid are not new. The regime has been blocking aid to its people for two decades. In Eastern Burma the military junta has been waging a war of ethnic cleansing against Burma’s ethnic groups, driving hundreds of thousands of people from their homes. The attacks have led to one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, but the regime makes sure that very little aid reaches the victims.

NLD Members Arrested at Daw Aung San Suu Kyi Birthday Celebration

At least four members of the National League for Democracy (NLD) were arrested in Rangoon by Burmese authorities at about 11 am on Thursday while they were releasing sparrows and doves to mark of the 63rd birthday of detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

About 700 NLD members were gathered in front of their Rangoon headquarters in celebration of Suu Kyi’s birthday when the assault occurred, according to the NLD   

In this photo released by the Democratic Voice of Burma, Buddhist monks and nuns along with members of the NLD and supporters of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi gather outside the party headquarters to mark Suu Kyi's 63rd birthday, Thursday. Authorities later detained four opposition party members, NLD said. (Photo: AP/ DVB)

The arrested members were Tun Myint, Hla Aye, Maung Maung Thein and one unidentified woman, Win Naing, a member of the NLD public information department, told The Irrawaddy. Before the arrests, a violent confrontation erupted when members of Swan Ah Shin, military-backed thugs, assaulted NLD members.

Many NLD members were beaten. One NLD woman member was seriously injured, said Win Naing. 

After the assault, about 10 vehicles carrying more than 300 security personnel in uniforms and plainclothes blocked the roads leading to NLD headquarters. 

The authorities earlier had prevented NLD members from offering food to Buddhist monks, said Ohn Kyaing, a NLD spokesperson.

Uniformed police arrive near NLD headquarters in Rangoon following a violent assault by junta-backed thugs on Suu Kyi’s birthday celebrations.

Meanwhile, the All Burma Monks’ Alliance (ABMA), an underground Buddhist group heavily involved in the 2007 demonstrations, released a statement on Wednesday asking the UN Security Council and the Council of the European Union to take immediate actions to protect the Burmese people from the Burmese military government. The two groups are scheduled to meet on Thursday in New York and Brussels.  

  “We call on the UN Security Council to take effective action to stop the humanitarian crises in Burma, created by the Burmese military government,” the ABMA said in its statement.

The statement read: “We would like to call for leaders of the EU to continue to assist Burma’s democracy movement led by detained leader Aung San Suu Kyi. We request the EU to bring [Snr-Gen] Than Shwe, leader of the Burmese military junta, before the International Criminal Court to be tried for his crimes against humanity, as recommended by the European Parliament.” 

Suu Kyi completed a five-year sentence under house arrest on May 27. Under the conditions of her detention, Article 10 (b) of the State Protection Act Law 1975, a person can be detained for a maximum of five years.

However, the military regime announced in late May that Suu Kyi’s house arrest had been officially extended for one year.

The Burmese Thugs are Back in Action

After a welcome absence from the public scene in the past few months, the ugly thugs of Burma’s two pro-government militia movements, the Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA) and its sister group, Swan Ah Shin (“Masters of Force”), are back on the streets.

They turned out in force on Thursday for a birthday party—pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi was 63. They were in no mood to celebrate, however. Their aim was to break up any display of popular support for a courageous woman caged by the regime in her own home. 

The thugs attacked a rally by Suu Kyi’s supporters outside the Rangoon office of her National League for Democracy, detaining more than a dozen.

Although it’s not clear whether the unprovoked and brutal attack was launched on government orders, the regime’s hand can be seen behind most of the criminal activities of the USDA and Swan Ah Shin.

In a report to the UN Human Rights Council last December, the former UN special rapporteur on Burma, Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, said the “violent actions” of the USDA and Swan Ah Shin are taken “with government acquiescence or approval.” The report accused the regime of complicity in the groups’ abuses and of negligence in failing to prevent them and punish those responsible.

Suu Kyi’s current term of house arrest began after members of the group ambushed a convoy of her supporters in May 2003, killing many of them. The groups were also active in helping to suppress the popular demonstrations last August and September.

“The USDA and Swan Ah Shin have played an increasingly important role in suppressing civilian dissent”, Donald M Seekins, Professor of Southeast Asian Studies at Meio University in Japan, wrote in a report. He accused the two movements of involvement in the attacks on Suu Kyi and her supporters in May 2003 and the suppression of last year’s demonstrations.

The regime often attempts to define the USDA and Swan Ah Shin as two distinctly separate groups.
“After the September demonstrations, the authorities often explained during meetings with businesspeople that the two groups are not same, saying the USDA is a civic organization and Swan Ah Shin are people who have the responsibility to prevent unrest,” said a Rangoon businessman who has ties to the USDA.

He said Swan Ah Shin was answerable to both local authorities and the USDA, relying on them for financing.

The two groups recruit their members from different social strata. While USDA members tend to be civil servants, teachers, students and businesspeople, Swan Ah Shin attracts a criminal class of membership.

Members of Swan Ah Shin were paid between 2,000 kyat and 3,000 kyat (US $1.5 and $2.3) to help break up last year’s demonstrations.

Members of both groups receive basic military training and instruction in crowd control from the army and police.

When demonstrations and popular protests arise, thugs from the two movements are rapidly on the scene. But, like the Burmese army, they were conspicuous by their absence when a real crisis, Cyclone Nargis, hit the country.

"Last time [in August and September, 2007], they came here, just like ants, from where I don't know," a Rangoon resident told Reuters in early May. "Now I can't see any."

Arrested: Volunteers Who Bury the Dead in Burma

Seven Burmese civilian volunteer aid workers, members of a team known as “The Group that Buries the Dead,” were arrested on June 14, following their efforts to bury victims of Cyclone Nargis.

Among those arrested are Lin Htet Naing, Hnin Pwint Wei, Hein Yazar Tun and Aung Kyaw San, the group’s leader, according to Tun Myint Aung, a member of the 88 Generation Students Group. Three unidentified volunteers in the group were also arrested.

Aung Kyaw San, the chief editor of the Myanmar Tribune weekly journal, and his volunteer team of several dozen people undertook the grim task of removing some of the many corpses that still lie in the rivers and fields throughout the Irrawaddy delta.

The bodies, which had badly decomposed since the cyclone struck on May 2-3, were given simple cremation or burial rites.

“They worked to clean up the bodies around Bogalay,” an aid worker close to the group told The Irrawaddy on Thursday. "The authorities have not done much about the corpses. They volunteered to do the government's job on their own.”

Bogalay Township, one of hardest-hit areas, had tens of thousands of corpses littering the rivers, streams and fields, according to the volunteer aid worker.

“When they returned from Bogalay to Rangoon on June 14 their vehicle was stopped at a checkpoint in Pyapon Township,” he said. “They looked at their identity cards and arrested them.”
Two of those arrested, Lin Htet Naing and Hnin Pwint Wei, are leading members of the All Burma Federation of Students’ Unions. They went into hiding last year when Burma’s military government started its crackdown on monks and political activists following the civil demonstrations in September.

US Senator Wants Ruling on 'Crimes against Humanity' Charge against Regime

Influential US Sen John Kerry has asked US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to instruct her department to investigate whether the Burmese junta’s response to last month’s cyclone crisis constitutes a “crime against humanity.”

“I respectfully request that your department review whether the military junta’s inexcusable response to tropical Cyclone Nargis constitutes a crime against humanity under international law [and] that you provide me with your legal opinion,” Kerry said in the letter sent on Tuesday to Rice.

Under Article VII of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, “crime against humanity” is defined as certain acts “committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against any civilian population.”

Such crimes, said Kerry, “include a residual category of ‘inhuman acts of a similar character intentionally causing great suffering, or serious injury to body or to mental or physical health.’”

Kerry said the regime’s “systematic restrictions on international support” had “denied lifesaving” —and he added: “Our state department should be considering every possible tool to create leverage to force the junta to allow humanitarian aid to reach the people.”

Condoleezza Rice is scheduled on Thursday to chair a UN Security Council’s debate on “women, peace and security: sexual violence in situations of armed conflict.” The debate coincides with democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s 63rd birthday.

The debate follows by one day condemnation by the UN Human Rights Council of Burma’s “ongoing systematic violations of human rights” after the cyclone crisis.

The Council also called in a resolution on the Burmese junta to fully implement commitments it made to UN head Ban Ki-moon to grant relief workers access to cyclone survivors. The resolution also appealed to the regime not to send victims of the disaster back to areas where they would not have access to emergency relief, and to ensure that any relocations were voluntary, safe and carried out with dignity.

Burmese Gov’t Tightens Restrictions on Relief Efforts

As Burma’s state-run media urged private citizens to donate “cash and kind” to relief efforts in the cyclone-stricken Irrawaddy delta, donors say that the government is moving to tighten its control over private donations.

On Monday, The New Light of Myanmar, a junta mouthpiece, announced that donations could be made through the Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Sub-committee of the National Disaster Preparedness Central Committee, as well as through authorities at the district and township levels.

Although the announcement did not state that donations had to be made through these channels, sources actively involved in relief efforts say that the junta’s invitation to would-be donors was effectively an order.

“The restrictions have now been stated publicly in the government’s newspapers, but actually, tighter controls on private donations started at least two weeks ago,” said one private donor, speaking on condition of anonymity. “Donors must now get permission from the authorities before making any donations.”

According to the announcement in The New Light of Myanmar, cash donations should be made to Col Hla Thein Swe, the deputy finance and revenue minister, or to two high-ranking officials of Burma’s central bank, Maung Maung Win and Kyaw Win Tin.

Relief items should be donated to Than Oo, director general of the relief and resettlement department, or Aung Tun Khaing, an official of the social welfare department.

The newspaper also listed the officials’ phone numbers.

The junta has arrested at least five private relief workers recently. Zarganar, a well-known comedian who led relief efforts by Burmese celebrities and organized one of the biggest local relief groups was arrested on June 4.

Two female aid workers, Yin Yin Wei and Tin Tin Cho, were arrested last Thursday along with their colleague Myat Thu. Zaw Thet Htway, a journalist and a private relief worker, was arrested on Friday.

“People who have a history of political activity have the most trouble when they get involved in relief work. People who have contact with the opposition party also find it difficult. Other relief workers who do not have good relations with the authorities also get into trouble,” said Khin Zaw Win, a Burmese researcher and relief worker in Rangoon.

Analysts say the recent arrests were an attempt by the ruling junta to weaken Burma’s civil society, which has gained strength through its involvement in relief efforts after the cyclone.

Meanwhile, villagers in Laputta Township in the Irrawaddy delta, one of the worst-hit areas, complained about corruption by local authorities, the main opposition party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday.

Kyi Win, a member of the NLD’s disaster response committee, said that the party received a letter from residents of the villages of Nyaung Lein and Peti, explaining that local authorities took 20 head of cattle which were supposed to be distributed to farmers who lost livestock in the disaster.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's Birthday Invitation, June 22nd Los Angeles

Burmese Police Arrest Aid Activist

Burmese police detained a prominent activist who was distributing aid to cyclone survivors in the Irrawaddy delta, colleagues said on Sunday.

Zaw Thet Htway was taken into custody on Saturday while staying at his parent's home in the central Burmese town of Minbu, 400 kilometers (250 miles) northwest of Rangoon, said colleagues who requested anonymity for fear of government reprisals.

The arrest followed the June 4 detention of Burma's most popular comedian, Zarganar, who was working with Zaw Thet Htway to deliver donations of relief supplies to the cyclone-shattered Irrawaddy delta. Both are outspoken critics of the junta.

Zarganar's arrest came after he had given interviews to foreign news outlets and criticized the military regime's slow response to survivors of the May 2-3 cyclone, which killed at least 78,000 people and left another 56,000 missing.

In one of the interviews, Zarganar said he and more than 400 entertainers in Burma had volunteered to aid victims of the cyclone, making several trips to the delta to help some of the more than 2 million survivors.

The day after the comedian was detained, the junta began publishing daily warnings in state-controlled media against people who send "video footage of relief work to foreign news agencies." Many believe the government suspects Zarganar and his co-workers of providing videos from their relief missions to anti-junta groups.

International rights groups have called for Zarganar's release.

"To arrest one of Burma's most famous public figures for talking to the media at the time he was distributing aid shows the Burmese government is more concerned with controlling its citizens than assisting them," Brad Adams, the Asia director of Human Rights Watch, said on Friday.
Zarganar has been already imprisoned several times. Most recently, he was held for three weeks for providing food and other necessities to Buddhist monks who spearheaded anti-government protests in Rangoon last September.

Zaw Thet Htway, formerly an editor of a popular local sports newspaper, was arrested in 2003 for allegedly plotting to "overthrow the government through bombings and assassinations."

He was convicted of high treason and sentenced to death, but was later given a reduced sentence and released in 2005 after serving 18 months in prison.

Burmese Generals Deserve to be Flogged: US Congressman

It is the Burmese generals, who have indulged in gross violations of human rights against its own citizens and prevented the establishment of democracy in the country, that need to be flogged and not Aung San Suu Kyi, an influential US Congressman has said.

A Burmese woman holds a candle next to a picture of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi during a rally to celebrate her 63rd birthday in Bucheon, west of Seoul, South Korea. (Photo: AP)

"It is the SPDC generals, brutal dictators with their crimes against humanity and campaigns of ethnic cleansing, who deserve to be stripped of power and placed under arrest for many years to come," Congressman Joe Pitts said on June 12.

Pitts, a Republican, who represents Pennsylvania's Lancaster Chester and Berks counties, made the speech on the floor of the House of Representatives, after Burmese state-run media said Aung San Suu Kyi deserved to be beaten like an errant child for threatening national security.

"Madam Speaker, I rise today over the comments made by the brutal generals, military dictators in Burma, saying that Aung San Suu Kyi, Nobel Peace Prize winner and rightful leader elected by the people, deserves to be flogged. Come again?" Pitts said.

Pitts said these are the generals who stonewalled for weeks and refused to allow desperately needed humanitarian aid to get to the people after Cyclone Nargis.

These are the generals who order their military to attack ethnic groups throughout the country and in 1988 issued a blood assimilation order to their troops to marry or rape the ethnic women in order to "purify" the ethnics’ blood lines, he said.

Pitts alleged the generals forcibly conscript children to serve as soldiers in their army and plant land mines around the villages they attack so that returning villagers get maimed or killed.

The authoritarian rulers pillage or plunder the resources of Burma so they can have huge weddings with millions of dollars of jewels around the necks of their daughters, Pitts said.

Meanwhile on June 12, the US Senate approved renewal of import restrictions contained in the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act of 2003.

"Last month, the whole world got a close look at the SPDC's contempt for human life when a devastating cyclone hit Burma," said Senator Mitch McConnell from Kentucky.

"No one can say with certainty what the full toll of death and destruction is from the storm, but we do know the junta greatly compounded matters through inaction and its utter disregard for the Burmese people," McConnell said before the Senate decided to renew the sanctions.

This bill is the same legislation the Senate has passed in prior years. If enacted, it would extend import sanctions for another year unless the regime takes a number of tangible steps toward democracy and reconciliation.

He said the SPDC severely restricted the entry of relief workers into Burma. Four US navy ships carrying much-needed supplies for Burmese people were turned away time and again by the regime, he alleged.

McConnell said: "Estimates put as many as 135,000 people dead or missing after the cyclone hit on May 3, and many of those deaths must lie at the feet of the SPDC for its outrageous acts of criminal neglect."

The bill, however, would not hinder or block US efforts to provide humanitarian aid to Burma in the wake of the cyclone. This bill imposes sanctions on trade, not humanitarian aid, McConnell said.

"America is a friend to the people of Burma. That is why we stand against Burma's tyrannical ruling regime," he said. Besides McConnell, Senator Dianne Feinstein and Senator John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee, were its co-sponsors.

US City, Berkeley, Declares August 8 ‘Burma Day’

Expressing solidarity with the people of Burma and their relentless struggle to fight for democratic rights, a university city in California has decided to observe August 8 as “Burma Day.”

Although Berkeley—located in northern California to the east of the San Francisco Bay—does not have much of a Burmese population, the city council at its meeting on Tuesday, June 10, unanimously passed a series of resolutions expressing strong solidarity with the people of Burma.

In the US Congress, the city is represented by Congresswoman Barbara Lee, a well-known advocate of the restoration of democracy in Burma at Capitol Hill.

Commending the people of Burma for 46 years of struggle against a brutal dictatorship and honoring the 20th anniversary of the 1988 popular uprising, the Berkeley City Council in its resolution declared August 8 as “Burma Day.”

Under Berkeley’s new resolution, on August 8, every year, the city of Berkeley will raise the national flag of Burma and the city will continue to raise the Burmese national flag until a "genuine democracy" is restored in Burma. The flag for this ceremony will be provided by the Burmese American Democracy Alliance.

"By these actions, the Council of the City of Berkeley will help promote the 8/8/88 commemorations held by the Burmese American Democratic Alliance, the Buddhist Peace Fellowship and other allies," said the resolution, which was tabled by the Peace and Justice Commission of the city council.

Berkeley City Council also thanked Congresswoman Barbara Lee for writing to US President George W Bush, urging him not to attend the Beijing Olympics because of its pro-junta policies on Burma.

The resolution further urged Lee and senators Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein to do whatever they could to ensure aid is delivered to Burma, with or without the junta's permission, using any means possible except military invasion or force.

Copies of the resolution are to be sent to Liu Qi, the president of the Beijing Olympic Organizing Committee; and its main sponsors Coca-Cola, McDonald's, General Electric, Johnson & Johnson, Kodak, Visa, Lenovo, Panasonic, Samsung, Manulife Financial, Atos Origin and Omega.

The letter to these companies will communicate Berkeley's opposition to human rights violations by the Chinese government and its opposition to the political cover that these companies give the Chinese government through their sponsorship of the Olympics in China.

Burma Red Tape Delays Cyclone Aid, Agencies Say

Please read the detailed story HERE

Ten thousand pregnant women among Burma's estimated 2.4 million cyclone survivors are in urgent need of proper care, a UN official said Wednesday, as fresh questions were raised about the government's willingness to accept foreign assistance.

International aid agencies are expressing concern over new and complicated guidelines established by Burma's government for carrying out assistance programs to victims of last month's cyclone.

Myanmar [Burma] Red Cross volunteers distributing relief supplies to families and community members in Mawlamyinegyun in the Irrawaddy Delta division. (Photo: AFP/ FRC-HO)

The guidelines, distributed on Tuesday by the government at a meeting with UN agencies and private humanitarian organizations, would require a large amount of paperwork and repeated contacts with national and local government agencies. The new guidelines require most activities by the foreign agencies to be cleared with not only the relevant government ministry and local authorities concerned, but also with the so-called Tripartite Core Group, comprising representatives of the government, UN agencies and the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, of which Burma is a member.

In response, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent societies said the humanitarian community was expressing concerns that "additional steps for seeking approval may unnecessarily delay the relief response."

"The meeting was assured by the concerned ministries that this would not be the case and that delays would definitely not be a consequence of the approval process outlined," the IFRC said in a report issued on Wednesday.

Amanda Pitt, a spokeswoman for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, said at a press conference in Bangkok, Thailand, that UN agencies were currently assessing the new guidelines.

At the same press conference, a spokesman for the United Nations Population Fund said pregnant women in the cyclone-affected areas of Burma were facing increased health risks.

The maternal mortality rate in Burma even before the storm was 380 per 100,000 births—almost four times the rate in neighboring Thailand and 60 times the rate in Japan, said William A. Ryan.
More than 100 women give birth every day in the area affected by the cyclone, he said.

"The destruction of health centers and the loss of midwives have greatly increased the risks," said Ryan. "It is clear that many pregnant women do not have anywhere to go to deliver with skilled assistance."

He said the wrecked health facilities need to be rebuilt with the capacity to handle emergency obstetrics.

Ryan said that compared to many other countries, Burma has a fairly high number of births attended by midwives—but the comparison is to other countries that are desperately poor.
Foreign aid organizations have faced a series of hurdles in trying to provide help for victims of the May 2-3 storm, starting with the government's reluctance to grant anything but a handful of visas to foreign helpers.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon last month traveled to Burma to meet with the chief of the ruling junta, Snr-Gen Than Shwe, who agreed to allow aid workers into the affected area "regardless of nationality," according to Ban. The general also agreed to allow the UN to bring in 10 helicopters to fly supplies to the hard-hit Irrawaddy delta.

Although the helicopters have been allowed in—with some delay—aid agencies say the government has continued dragging its feet over visa applications and allowing foreigners access to the most devastated areas.

The UN estimates that Cyclone Nargis affected 2.4 million people and that more than 1 million of them, mostly in the Irrawaddy delta, still need help. The cyclone killed at least 78,000 people, according to the government.

Although the government says the relief operations have now reached the post-emergency recovery phase, aid agencies are concerned that many people still are lacking necessities.

"What we're concerned about is premature returns to areas where the services are not yet in a position to be used, to try and make sure we can reach people the best we can no matter where they are," said the UN's Pitt.

France Hurtubise of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent societies said providing shelter remains a priority. 

Burma Says No Tax Deductions from Foreign Donations

Burma's ruling military junta denied reports Wednesday that it was deducting 10 percent from foreign donations to cyclone victims, saying all incoming funds were spent on relief efforts.
The state-owned New Light of Myanmar newspaper said foreign radio broadcasts had wrongly accused the government of deducting the tax from donations deposited in the Myanmar Foreign Trade Bank.

The state bank, which usually deducts 10 percent from all foreign currency deposits, has opened special accounts to accept US dollars, euros and Singapore dollars from which all donations would be fully channeled to cyclone survivors, the newspaper said.

Organizations and individuals who have misused relief funds sent from abroad will be punished, it said.

The United Nations estimates that Cyclone Nargis affected 2.4 million people and that more than 1 million of them, mostly in the hardest-hit Irrawaddy delta, still need help. The cyclone killed more than 78,000 people, according to the government.

In separate reports, state media said there have been no outbreaks of contagious diseases in storm-hit areas and that 911 staffers from international aid organizations and neighboring countries were issued visas to enter the country between May 5 and June 5.

The junta has been criticized for dragging its feet on issuing visas and, until recently, not allowing foreign aid workers into the Irrawaddy delta, where most victims are.

Briefing foreign aid agencies in Rangoon on Tuesday, the government stressed that all aid deliveries had to be coordinated with Burmese authorities at both the central and local levels.

On Tuesday, a major operation was launched to assess the needs of storm survivors in a sign the junta is finally cooperating in international aid efforts five weeks after the cyclone buffeted the country.

Some 250 experts from the UN, the government and Southeast Asian nations headed into the Irrawaddy delta Tuesday by truck, boat and helicopter for a village-by-village survey, the United Nations said.

Over the next 10 days, they will determine how much food, clean water and temporary shelter the 2.4 million survivors require, along with the cost of rebuilding houses and schools and reviving the agriculture-based economy.

June 15 Event Invitation

Burmese Junta Attacks Media's Cyclone Coverage

Burma's military junta lashed out at its own citizens and foreign media Friday for what it called distorted coverage of the aftermath of a devastating cyclone.

The attack came after authorities detained a popular comedian who had just returned from helping survivors of the disaster and had said government aid was not reaching some victims.

Burmese comedian Maung Thura, better known by his stage name of Zarganar, talks on his mobile phone at his home in Rangoon. Burma's most popular comic, known for his jibes against the military regime and recently for helping cyclone victims, has been taken from his home by police. (Photo: AP)

Unconfirmed reports circulated Friday in Rangoon that at least a dozen people involved in filming cyclone victims in the Irrawaddy delta had been arrested.

The state-run New Light of Myanmar, considered a mouthpiece for the junta, accused "self-seekers and unscrupulous elements" of working in collusion with foreigners to shoot video films featuring made-up stories in the storm-ravaged areas in the delta.

"Those foreign news agencies are issuing such groundless news stories with the intention of tarnishing the image of Myanmar [Burma] and misleading the international community into believing that cyclone victims do not receive any assistance," the report said.

The military regime has been criticized by international agencies for holding up shipments of food, water and temporary shelter supplies to some 1 million desperate survivors of Cyclone Nargis.

Well-known comedian Maung Thura—whose stage name is Zarganar—was taken from his home in Rangoon by police Wednesday night after going to the Irrawaddy delta to donate relief items to survivors, his family said.
A family member said Friday that they had heard nothing from Zarganar and the regime has given no reason for his detention.

"We stopped our cyclone relief activities (Thursday), but we will have to resume our relief assistance tomorrow," the relative said.

Zarganar, 46, known both for his anti-government barbs and his work for cyclone victims, was taken into custody after police searched his house and confiscated some belongings. He and his team had made video records of their relief activities and Zarganar gave interviews to foreign media.

A representative for the human rights group Amnesty International said Zarganar's detention was indicative of the kinds of human rights concerns the group was trying to highlight in Burma.
"There's simply no doubt this was done for political reasons ... but has an extra element because it can presumed to be linked to the humanitarian assistance effort," Amnesty researcher Benjamin Zawacki said.

In a report, Amnesty International cited several cases of forced labor in exchange for food in the delta and accused the regime of stepping up a campaign to evict the homeless from shelters.
The London-based group also said authorities in several cyclone-hit areas continue to divert aid despite the junta's pledge to crack down on the practice.

"Unless human rights safeguards are observed, tens of thousands of people remain at risk," Amnesty said in its report. "Respect for human rights must be at the center of the relief effort."
The government says Cyclone Nargis, which struck Burma May 2-3, killed 78,000 people and left an additional 56,000 missing. The UN says more than 1 million still desperately need food, shelter or medical care.

This week, Zarganar gave interviews to several overseas media outlets, including the British Broadcasting Corp, that were critical of the government relief effort.

The junta is sensitive to being embarrassed abroad and has a record of persecuting people who give interviews to foreign media.

In an interview with the Thailand-based magazine Irrawaddy, Zarganar said he and more than 400 entertainers in Burma had volunteered to aid cyclone victims, making many trips to the delta.
Some areas, he said, had neither been reached by the government nor international relief agencies. 

Rally for One month Anniversary of Cyclone (Saturday June 7)

Dear friends,

 

As part of nationwide effort to raise awareness for the cyclone survivors and recommit ourselves to vigilance against oppression, we will be holding a one month cyclone anniversary rally coming Saturday ( June 7) . Let our voices be heard. Together, we can change the status quo in Burma . In order to accommodate another event on the same day, this rally will start at 4 p.m. We hope to see you there!

WHAT:          One Month Anniversary of Cyclone Nargis

One month after the devastating cyclone hit Burma , the cyclone survivors are still without basic relief as Burma ’s military regime continues hindering the international community from providing basic relief such as food, water and medical supplies.  The regime also illegally extended the house arrest of Aung San Suu Kyi, Burma ’s rightful and elected leader and sentenced U Gambiya to death for peacefully leading the "Saffron Revolution" last year. In light of the humanitarian crisis and gross human rights abuses going on in Burma , a rally is being held to continue to raise awareness and to show support for immediate humanitarian intervention.

WHERE:          In front of Kodak Theater on Hollywood Blvd.

6801 Hollywood Boulevard
Hollywood, CA 90028

                                ( Exit Hollywood Blvd off 101 Freeway).

WHEN:             Saturday, June 7, 2008. 4.00 – 6.00 p.m

Burma's Army Accused of Killing, Torturing Ethnic Karen

While Burma's ruling military fails its people suffering after a devastating cyclone, it is committing crimes against humanity in a brutal campaign against ethnic Karen civilians, an international human rights group said Wednesday.

The London-based Amnesty International said the Karen in eastern Burma are being killed, tortured and forced to work for the military while their villages are burned and their crops destroyed.

An estimated 147,800 Karen people remain refugees in their own land because the junta forcibly relocated them from their villages to camps, in efforts to stamp out a decades-old rebellion by a segment of the Karen community seeking autonomy from the central government.

"These violations constitute crimes against humanity ... involving a widespread and systematic violation of international human rights and humanitarian law," an Amnesty report said.

The government has repeatedly denied similar allegations in the past, saying it was only engaged in security operations in Karen State aimed at wiping out "terrorists."

Amnesty said the continuing campaign is the fourth turbulent episode in the country's recent history.

The others include a brutal crackdown on pro-democracy protests last September, a recent referendum on a constitution designed to perpetuate military rule and "a humanitarian and human rights disaster in the wake of Cyclone Nargis," it said.

The international community has sharply criticized the junta for barring foreign aid workers from areas worst hit by the cyclone and itself providing little help to survivors.

Amnesty said that unlike in earlier campaigns against the Karen National Union, the key rebel group, the current one that began 2 1/2 years ago has "civilians as the primary targets."

The group said it documented cases of more than 25 Karen civilians killed by the military in Karen State in the two years since July 2005.

One farmer working in his field in a township KNU controlled was beaten and shot by soldiers after he told them the location of a rebel camp. Another farmer told of a civilian detainee being stabbed in the chest and then dropped down a mountain slope "just like an animal."

"If they found us they would kill us, because for the Burmese army the Karen and the Karen National Union are one," a 35-year-old villager in Thandaung township told Amnesty.

Arbitrary arrests, sudden disappearances, forced labor and portering for the military continue to be widespread, Amnesty said. A woman from Tantabin township said she and other porters were forced to act as human minesweepers, and that some stepped on mines.

To purportedly separate civilians from the armed rebels, villagers have been forcibly relocated from their homes into camps where men, women and children are also forced to work for the military. Often the villages they left behind were torched.

Monks Stepped In Where the Burmese Authorities Failed

More than 800 monks prayed for the victims of Cyclone Nargis on Tuesday at a Rangoon ceremony in which one senior cleric criticized the regime’s response to the catastrophe.

Pyinya Thiha, a senior monk at Thardu monastery in Rangoon’s Kyeemyindine Township, accused the junta of exacerbating the plight of the cyclone survivors by thinking only of its own interests and placing restrictions on the delivery of aid. He called on the regime to allow international aid workers access to the cyclone-devastated areas.

Buddhist monks walk to a monastery to have lunch in Twantay, 30 miles southwest of Rangoon. More than 800 monks prayed for the victims of Cyclone Nargis on Tuesday at a Rangoon ceremony. (Photo: AFP)

About 100 nuns and more than 500 members of the general public attended the prayer ceremony, in Thardu monastery.

  Pyinya Thiha said the junta was guilty of a “double injustice” in its approach to the catastrophe. “The current situation is not important for them [but] it is very important for the survival of the people now in trouble.

“It is necessary to see human beings with the eyes of a human being. They [the junta] should not see human beings as animals.”
Aid for the cyclone survivors should take priority over everything else, Pyinya Thiha told The Irrawaddy.

Monks would do “whatever we can for the victims,” he promised. The monks of the Thardu monastery distributed relief supplies daily in Rangoon Division’s Hlaing Tharyar and Kyeemyindine Townships, and prayed every evening for the cyclone victims.

Monks had already delivered relief supplies—from food to mosquito nets—to about 200 villages in the Irrawaddy delta, he said.

Monasteries throughout the Irrawaddy delta and Rangoon division had taken in refugees from cyclone-hit areas. Monks had also helped clear up the cyclone damage.

One Hlaing Tharyar Township resident, Tin Yu, said the authorities didn’t dare prevent the monks from helping cyclone survivors, some of whom were still sheltering in monasteries, despite official pressure to leave. The assistance provided by the monks had been “very encouraging.”

UN: Burma Aid Costs Soar as Junta Plays Hard Ball

The ruling junta's refusal to permit the use of military helicopters even from friendly neighboring countries is hampering aid to Burma's cyclone survivors and dramatically increasing costs, a United Nations report said.

More survivors of the disaster are now receiving some assistance, although in many cases it doesn't meet essential needs, the UN said in a report circulated Tuesday.

UN workers stack supplies onto a World Food Programme airplane in Bangkok headed to Burma. (Photo: AFP)

A total of 1.3 million survivors have been reached with assistance by local and international humanitarian groups, the Red Cross and the UN, said the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in a situation report dated June 2.

  It said that in Burma's Irrawaddy delta, the area hardest hit by Cyclone Nargis, the proportion of people reached with assistance had increased to 49 percent from 23 percent on May 25.

However, the report warned that "There remains a serious lack of sufficient and sustained humanitarian assistance for the affected populations."

"This is compounded by the lack of a clear knowledge of the locations, numbers of families, and level of assistance required, as well as a clear understanding of the support being provided by the Government of Myanmar [Burma] to its people."

The UN has estimated that 2.4 million people are in need of food, shelter or medical care as a result of the storm, which the government said killed 78,000 people and left another 56,000 missing.
The junta had promised UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon that foreign relief workers would be allowed into areas worst affected by the storm in the Irrawaddy delta after they were initially barred.

The UN's World Food Program warned Tuesday that its effort to supply food to the storm's victims, while satisfactory, is facing escalating costs.

Paul Risley, a spokesman for the agency in Bangkok, Thailand, said it is currently able to supply survivors with rice obtained inside Burma, and has about six week's supply on hand, considered a reasonable safety net.

WFP appealed to the international community for US $70 million to fund its operations in the impoverished Southeast Asian nation, but was facing a 64 percent shortfall of that target, Risley said.

He warned that logistical aspects of the operations, such as the chartering of helicopters, are causing expenses to soar.

In previous large scale disasters—such as the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami and Pakistan's 2005 earthquake—military helicopters are used to meet the massive immediate emergency requirements, he said. Thailand and Singapore have many such aircraft on hand, he said.

"For political reasons, the Myanmar government was reluctant to approve their use," Risley said. Burma was reportedly able to field only seven helicopters of its own.

After UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon won Burma's agreement to allow in helicopters to work for WFP, the UN agency was compelled to charter 10 privately owned military-grade helicopters: one from nearby Malaysia, and the others from Ukraine, Uganda and South Africa.

The helicopters had to be shipped to Bangkok aboard huge cargo planes. The Canadian government arranged commercially chartered flights to have four helicopters hauled from Ukraine, and an Australian air force plane transported two from South Africa. But a Russian plane had to be chartered to carry the three others from Uganda, at a cost of "roughly US$1 million," said Risley.
WFP must also pay for each hour the helicopters are used, plus associated costs for pilots and ground crew, meaning "expenses can rise very rapidly," he said.

Only one helicopter has arrived in Burma so far, and it flew its first flight there from Rangoon to the Irrawaddy delta town of Laputta on Monday, carrying half a ton of high-energy biscuits.
The other nine are in Thailand and "ready to fly," Risley said, adding that WFP hopes they could be transferred to Burma by the end of the week.

Because of the costs of the helicopters and other equipment WFP needs to hire—such as boats and barges for river transport inside Burma—"expenses will probably go higher than estimated," he said.

Burmese Junta Ignores Complaints of Corruption

Victims of Cyclone Nargis are growing impatient not only with the slow pace of aid into the devastated Irrawaddy delta, but also with the authorities’ failure to curb corruption in the handling of relief supplies.  

“I wonder why the Prime Minister is so reluctant to respond to my letter,” said a woman in her fifties, sitting in her home—a flimsy bamboo construction that has not had a proper roof since the cyclone.

The woman, who identified herself as Daw Khin, was referring to a letter she and three other women had sent to Prime Minister Gen Thein Sein three weeks ago, describing how the chief of their village in Hlaing Tharyar Township, on the outskirts of Rangoon, had misappropriated aid intended for needy storm victims.

After weeks of waiting for the authorities to take some action, she and her neighbors said that the village headman was still selling sacks of rice to local traders instead of distributing it to cyclone victims, and still keeping plastic sheeting for himself.

The letter is just one of dozens that have been submitted to government officials by residents of cyclone-affected areas in Rangoon and Irrawaddy Divisions. Most contain complaints of local officials pilfering scant relief resources, and none have received any response or resulted in any action by the government.

In Pyapon, one of the worst-hit areas, trishaw drivers submitted a letter to township authorities in the second week of May, describing how the chairmen of township quarters were selling sacks of rice to local traders.

“We saw them selling the rice with our own eyes. They usually sell the goods at night,” said the trishaw driver who wrote the letter and urged others to sign it.

Despite the boldness of their action, the trishaw drivers remained wary of discussing it openly. As they spoke about their letter, they looked around to make sure there were no members of the junta-backed Union Solidarity and Development Association within earshot.

A group of people in Kungyangone, about 50 km from Rangoon, also said they have seen no actions taken against local administrators since they sent a letter to the prime minister accusing quarter authorities of selling packages of food and other supplies from Thailand.

In a remote village in Bogalay Township, an elderly man who wrote a letter of complaint said that the village chairman had taken relief supplies for himself and replaced them with lower quality products.

“The chairman and his relatives are eating noodles from Thailand, but we’re getting Burmese-made noodles,” said the man, whose letter was signed by others in his village.

Last month, the military government announced that it would welcome any letter of complaint and take prompt action against corrupt officials. However, so far, no charges have been laid against any official.

“The junta seems unwilling to handle this problem now. If they do, it would mean acknowledging that there is widespread corruption,” said one observer. “It would make them lose credibility with the international community.”

When asked what they expected to achieve with the letters, most said they were not sure yet how the authorities would respond. But they said they knew they would be in trouble if local authorities found out about the charges they’ve made against them.

“But at least we can show that we are brave enough to reveal what’s really happening down here to the prime minister,” said Daw Khin.

ILO: Burma May Use Forced Labor in Cyclone Recovery

The International Labour Organisation warned on Friday of an increased risk Burma's ruling military may try to use forced labor—including children—to rebuild the country after last month's cyclone.

The ILO has been at loggerheads with Burma for more than a decade over what the United Nations agency calls a widespread practice of forcing villagers to work on infrastructure projects or as porters for the army.

It is also concerned about the recruitment of minors into military service in the secretive state whose ruling junta has been heavily criticized by the West for its reluctance to let in foreign aid workers following Cyclone Nargis, which struck on May 2 and left 134,000 people dead or missing.
As Burma seeks to recover from the devastating storm, the ILO said UN agencies and relief workers must be aware of "the increased risk of incidences of forced labour, child labour, human trafficking and migrant labour as the authorities and individuals come to grips with the sheer size of the tragedy."

The ILO is working with Burmese authorities to "ensure that the reconstruction effort does not involve the use of forced labour in any of its forms," it said in a report on Friday.

Steve Marshall, ILO's liaison officer in Rangoon, submitted the report to the annual International Labour Conference, being held in Geneva through June 13. A key committee of ILO's 182 member states held a debate on Burma on Saturday.

"From the ILO's perspective it is important to assist communities but the reconstruction work must be done in line with international standards," Marshall told Reuters on Friday.

So far, there have not been any verified reports of forced labor linked to the disaster, he said, adding: "We're not saying it isn't happening."

Burma passed a decree in October 2000 abolishing forced labor, which is banned under an ILO Convention it has ratified. The Geneva-based agency was allowed to open an office there two years later to help it eradicate the practice.

But the ILO said in its report some victims of forced labor were harassed or detained in the past year when they sought to report abuses. This had discouraged many others from coming forward and distorted official figures.

Some 89 allegations of forced labor have been lodged under a complaints mechanism set up in February 2007, the report said.

"The incidence of harassment and detention of persons associated with its application has severely limited its operation," it said of the mechanism. "The number of complaints therefore cannot be seen to reflect the size of the issue."

Six young labor activists, sentenced to between 20 and 28 years in jail last year for helping organize a May Day workers' rights seminar, remain in prison, the ILO report said.