Soldiers Still Watch Daw Aung San Suu Kyi

Although the Burmese generals don’t want military personnel to show interest in domestic politics, detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s surprise snub of the UN special envoy last week has become a popular talking point among soldiers and officers in Burma, according to several military sources. 

“We are interested to know why Suu Kyi did not meet Gambari,” said an officer based in Naypyidaw military region command who declined to be identified for security reasons.

“We were surprised that the officials were so impolite—shouting with a loudspeaker outside the gate of Aung San Suu Kyi’s residence,” he said, referring to an incident last week when two of Gambari’s aides, accompanied by Burmese officials, stood outside her house at Inya Lake in Rangoon and called in vain for her to come out and greet the UN envoy.

The officer told The Irrawaddy that most soldiers believe that the political situation in Burma cannot improve without Suu Kyi’s involvement and that even officers admire her as the daughter of independence hero Gen Aung San, who was the founding father of the Burmese armed forces.
The officer said that many Burmese soldiers pay attention to the news, either from state-run media or through foreign-based radio stations. However, senior generals don’t usually allow military personnel to listen to or watch Suu Kyi’s political speeches.

“During the 1990 election, we recorded Suu Kyi’s speeches and secretly listened to them,” said a retired army captain.

In the 1990 general election, polls showed that soldiers and their family members throughout Burma voted for her party, the National League for Democracy, despite its anti-military stance.
Nowadays, most soldiers are still suffering from economic hardships: the government has suspended rations and stipends to family members of soldiers and officers. 

“Like many people, we also are facing hard times,” said the 24-year-old son of a wa
rrant officer in the 77tth Light Infantry Division. “Military personnel and their families also want political and social changes,” he added.

Meanwhile, VCDs of a well-known comedy troupe, Thee Lay Thee & Say Young Sone A-Nyeint, are widely available in military barracks and among soldiers’ family members. The VCDs of the troupe’s political satire performances both inside Burma and in exile are very popular among troops.
A sergeant in his early 30s from Rangoon regional military command said that soldiers made copies of the comedy performances and distributed them among themselves, despite a ban on Thee Lay Thee & Say Young Sone A-Nyeint VCDs.

In November 2007, the comedians performed at Rangoon’s Kandawgyi Lake drawing a large audience, including military officials, intelligence officers and police, all of whom seemed to enjoy the show.  

Jokes about the junta, Burma’s increasing economic hardships and UN envoy Gambari’s failed mission were generally well received by audiences, the officers said.

Joe Biden and Burma

The Democratic Party senator from Delaware, Joseph R. Biden, has been under the glare of the international media spotlight this week after being nominated as US presidential candidate Barack Obama’s running mate for the US election in November.

Joe Biden is familiar to Burma lobbyists in Washington, DC. As the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, he has been prominent in the shaping of US policy on Burma in recent years, say observers in the US capital.

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama applauds with his running mate Joe Biden after his acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention at Invesco Field at Mile High in Denver Thursday. (Photo: AP)

Alongside senators Mitch McConnell, Dianne Feinstein and congressmen Joseph Crawley, Joseph Pitts and Tom Lantos (who died in February 2008), Biden is often outspoken in his criticism of the Burmese regime.

Most recently, Biden spearheaded the Tom Lantos Block Burmese JADE (the Junta’s Anti-Democratic Efforts) Act 2008, which was signed into law by President Bush on July 29. The bill renews the act of 2007 restricting the import of gems from Burma and tightening sanctions on mining projects.

“The bill is a tribute to my dear friend, Tom Lantos, who worked tirelessly on behalf of human rights for the people of Burma, and stood by them throughout their long struggle for democratic civilian rule,” Biden said in July.

“We must continue Tom’s work. Working together with the international community, including the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), the EU, India and China, I look forward to the day when a democratic, peaceful Burma will be fully integrated into the community of nations.”

The Tom Lantos Block Burmese JADE Act marks the outline of a strong US policy on Burma. The act has three aims: to impose new financial sanctions and travel restrictions on the leaders of the junta and their associates; to tighten the economic sanctions imposed in 2003 by outlawing the importation of Burmese gems to the United States; and to create a new position of US “Special Representative and Policy Coordinator” for Burma.

The US special envoy is to work with Burma’s neighbors and other interested countries, such as the European Union (EU) and Asean.

According to Biden’s web site, the US envoy’s mission is also to develop a comprehensive approach to the Burma crisis, including pressure, dialogue and support for non-governmental organizations providing humanitarian relief to the Burmese people.

Diplomatic sources told The Irrawaddy that US officials have sat with their Chinese counterparts on Burma issues as many as 15 times this year, and that the US special envoy to Asean, Scot Marciel, has reportedly met with several Burmese officials in Rangoon.

“As far as I know, the US government knows that they need to have dialogue with the Burmese junta,” said Aung Naing Oo, a Burmese political commentator in Thailand.

“But whether the US policy on Burma changes doesn’t just depend on the new men in the US administration. We also need to be aware that Burmese lobby groups are quite strong in Washington.”

After the Burmese junta’s crackdown on Buddhist monks and demonstrators in September, 2007, Biden was quoted as saying: “The violent crackdown on unarmed civilians is a great tragedy. The international community must work together to end almost two decades of disastrous military dictatorship in Burma and promote the peaceful transition to civilian rule.”

He also noted that the Burmese junta relied heavily on military and economic assistance from China, Russia, India, and Thailand “to sustain its grip on power.”

Several Burmese dissidents said that Obama’s choice of running mate is a positive sign for Burma’s democracy movement. “If Joe Biden becomes the US Vice President, I think it will be a good thing for the people of Burma,” said Bo Kyi, the joint-secretary of the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners-Burma, a Burmese human rights group in exile.

Nyo Ohn Myint of the opposition National League for Democracy-in-exile said if the Democrats win the US election in November, the Obama administration, including Senator Biden, could instigate an effective Burma policy.

He added that Maung Maung, the secretary-general of the National Council of the Union of Burma, attended the Democratic National Congress in Denver this year by invitation of the Democratic Party.

Arrested Monks Held in Rangoon Detention Center

Two young monks arrested at their Rangoon monastery on Saturday are being held at Insein interrogation center, according to colleagues.

A senior monk told The Irrawaddy that Burmese police and local authorities arrested the two monks, Damathara and Nandara, at Thardu monastery in Rangoon’s Kyimyindaing Township. He said it wasn’t known why they were arrested.

Buddhist monks walk to collect daily food. (Photo: AFP)

Meanwhile, the Thailand-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma)—the AAPP—reported on Tuesday that at least seven detained monks, including U Gambira, leader of the All Burma Monks Association (ABMA), are in poor health. Three had been tortured and stripped of their monks’ robes, the AAPP said.

The AAPP said on Wednesday that 196 monks were among Burma’s more than 2,000 political prisoners.
One prominent prisoner, Ashin Gambira, leader of the All Burma Monks’ Alliance (ABMA), had been disrobed by the authorities and appeared in court on August 20 charged with offences he allegedly committed in the aftermath of the September 2007 uprising, the AAPP said.

Gambira’s lawyer, Aung Thein, told The Irrawaddy that the charges are connected with immigration laws, contacting banned organizations, illegal contacts with foreign organizations through the Internet and other offenses.

Pyinnya Jota, a leading ABMA member who fled to Thailand in February, said: “The military government never respects monks, the sons of Buddha, if they affect the government’s interests.”
Several thousand monks led last September’s massive pro-democracy demonstrations, which were brutally suppressed by the military.

Suu Kyi Refusal to Meet Envoy Sends a Strong Message, Say Observers

Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s refusal to meet with United Nations Special Envoy Ibrahim Gambari during his visit to the country last week has put a strong spotlight on the UN’s failed diplomatic efforts, said observers and members of the country’s opposition.

“I think she sent the message not only to Gambari but also to the UN and the Burmese people that there is no tangible consequence from the last meetings,” said Win Naing, a spokesperson for the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) in Rangoon.

In a surprise move, Suu Kyi cancelled a meeting with Gambari last Wednesday and refused to meet with him again on Friday. Her refusal came amid criticism of the envoy’s meetings with groups formed by the ruling junta as a means of shoring up support for a military-drafted constitution and planned elections in 2010. 

But Suu Kyi was not the only person who did not want to meet Gambari on this trip. Some observers said that the refusal of Snr-Gen Than Shwe to meet the UN envoy was one of the reasons Suu Kyi declined to meet him.

“She obviously wants to send the message to the junta and to the UN that she is frustrated with the lack of progress,” said Larry Jagan, a British journalist who specializes in Burmese issues, speaking to The Irrawaddy on Monday.

Meanwhile, Burma’s ruling military regime moved quickly to exploit the situation. State-run television showed Gambari’s aides and Burmese officials standing in front of Suu Kyi’s house—one holding a loudspeaker—calling her to come out.

Information Minister Kyaw Hsan, who in a previous encounter with Gambari severely upbraided him for his supposed bias towards the pro-democracy leader, said: “We deeply regret that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi declined to meet with Your Excellency.”

Many Burma watchers and Burmese groups in exile were less sympathetic. Several Burmese bloggers ridiculed Gambari’s mission and UN efforts.

A Western diplomat with a keen interest in Burma said that the outcome of Gambari’s trip was “quite disappointing.”  

“Her [Suu Kyi] tactic was clearly the result of frustration at the failure of the regime to take her and Gambari seriously,” said the diplomat, noting that this was the third time that Than Shwe had failed to meet Gambari.

Although he was only supposed to meet with mid-ranking officials on this trip, the regime’s prime minister, Gen Thein Sein, finally made himself available after Suu Kyi’s cancellation.

Aye Thar Aung, secretary of the both Arakan League for Democracy and the Committee Representing the People’s Parliament, blasted the UN envoy, calling him “just a guest of the junta.”
“He is doing what the junta asked for. He is like a representative of the junta,” said the Rangoon-based Arakanese politician, echoing the sentiment of some who believe that Gambari endorsed the 2010 election.

“Mr Gambari hasn’t achieved any concrete result from this trip at all,” said Jagan.   “There is no improvement in the political situation. There was no discussion of the release of political prisoners.”
“I think his mission now must be at an end,” said Jagan.

8888 - "Burma Day"

Is Daw Aung San Suu Kyi Trying to Get the Message Out?

Neighbors of the democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi said a new message appeared last month on a large outdoor signboard in her compound, saying, “All martyrs must finish their mission.” 

The message appeared on July 19, Burma’s Martyr Day. The signboard, about 10 X 4-feet, is located on Suu Kyi’s property and can be read from the street in front of her home, where she has been under house arrest for 13 of the past 19 years.

File photo shows a poster of Burma's detained democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi outside the headquarters of the National League for Democracy in Rangoon. The party’s office was told on Tuesday by military authorities to prepare for a meeting with the UN envoy Ibrahim Gambari. (Photo: AFP)

A neighbor who asked not to be identified said the Nobel Peace Prize winner frequently changes the signboard message, using it as a way to communicate with the public.

Suu Kyi is expected to receive a visit this week by UN Special Envoy to Burma Ibrahim Gambari, who is in the country for a five-day visit to try to move the military government toward more concrete steps to national reconciliation. Observers hope she will release a new public statement through Gambari.

In addition, Suu Kyi recently received visits from her family doctor and her lawyer.

Kyi Win, a lawyer who met with Suu Kyi twice in ten days, told The Irrawaddy he went to her home on University Avenue on Sunday morning, and they discussed technical legal issues surrounding her house arrest.

“I also met with her on August 8,” he said. “She talked about several issues related to her house arrest. She was well and in good spirits.”

Among the issues discussed was the exact nature of the law the junta used to detain her under house arrest. She asked her attorney to research Act 10/B to determine if it was lawful.

She also asked him to look into the freedom of movement restrictions that are placed on two women who live with Suu Kyi in the compound. She noted that they have not been charged or convicted of any offense and to restrict their movement is illegal, her lawyer said.

Burma analysts and the international community would like to hear more from Suu Kyi, who has been largely silent following the devastation caused by Cyclone Nargis. 

In November, she sent a message to the world through Gambari about the meetings that had taken place between her and the junta’s laison officer, Minister Maj-Gen Aung Kyi.

“I expect that this phase of preliminary consultations will conclude soon so that a meaningful and time bound dialogue with the SPDC leadership can start as early as possible,” she said in the statement.

She said that "in the interest of the nation” she was ready to cooperate with the military in order to make progress in reconciliation efforts and she welcomed the necessary good offices role of the United Nations to facilitate talks between her and the junta.

While noting that she is leader of the National League for Democracy, she said national reconciliation must include discussions with a broad spectrum of society.

“It is my duty to give constant and serious considerations to the interests and opinions of as broad a range of political organizations and forces as possible, in particular those of our ethnic nationality races,” she said.

Perhaps as a result of Gambari’s role in releasing her public message, he faced criticism from the junta and was denied meetings with senior generals and the junta’s leader Snr-Gen Than Shwe when he returned in March.
He was relegated to meetings with Information Minister Brig-Gen Kyaw Hsan, Foreign Minister Nyan Win and Culture Minister Maj-Gen Khin Aung Myint.

 Kyaw Hsan told Gambari the regime was uncomfortable with Suu Kyi’s public statement, according to The New Light of Myanmar, a state-run newspaper.

“Sadly, you went beyond your mandate,” he said, according to sources familiar with the meeting. “Some even believe that you prepared the statement in advance and released it after coordinating with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.”

Kyaw Hsan accused the UN envoy of trying to “frame a pattern [message] desired by Western countries.”

Win Min, a Burmese political observer in Thailand, told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday, “Gambari won’t dare to take Suu Kyi’s statement again. He experienced the generals’ anger during his last trip in March.”

Activists Decry Arrests as UN Envoy Returns to Burma

As Ibrahim Gambari, the United Nations special envoy to Burma, returned to the country on Monday for his latest round of talks aimed at achieving political reconciliation, the ruling regime showed its determination to suppress dissent with a fresh round of prison sentences for its critics. 
Officials of the National League for Democracy (NLD) said that five young activists from its branch in Taunggok, Arakan State received two-and-a-half-year prison sentences on August 15 for participating in a small street rally to mark the 20th anniversary of the August 8, 1988 pro-democracy uprising.

“They [the Burmese junta] have again taken an unlawful action,” said Thein Hlaing, the leader of the NLD’s Taunggok branch. “They did not even give us a chance to consult with lawyers before handing down the sentences for the five protesters.

“The authorities did not talk with witnesses, but simply took action against [the activists] under two laws which prohibit joining a protest and creating public unrest,” he added.

Thein Hlaing added that on the same day the sentences were passed down for the five activists, who were among 43 people taking part in the anniversary rally, a solo protester calling for the release of NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners was also taken into custody.

Meanwhile, the regime’s intelligence personnel and military forces have been actively hunting down members of two other dissident groups, the All Burma Federation of Student Unions (ABFSU) and ’88 Generation Students.

In a statement released on Monday, ABFSU announced that three of its members, Aung Kyaw, Htain Lin and Chit Tun Lwin, and two members of the ’88 Generation Students group, Mar Mar Oo and Myo Thant, were arrested on August 7 as part of a security sweep being conducted by the authorities.

The ABFSU statement expressed concern about the fate of the arrested students, who were taken to an unknown location. Their families have not yet been informed of their arrests and no information is available about the charges against them, the statement said.

The latest round of arrests sends a sobering message to Gambari, who will be in Burma for five days on his fourth visit to the country since a deadly crackdown on peaceful, large-scale protests last September.

Despite the UN’s high-profile role in humanitarian aid efforts in Burma since Cyclone Nargis struck the country’s Irrawaddy delta on May 2-3, the world body has made no discernible progress on the political front.

It is not clear if Gambari will meet detained democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi or senior members of the ruling junta during his stay.

On Sunday, Suu Kyi, who has been under house arrest since May 2003, was permitted to meet her lawyer for the second time this month and her doctor for the first time since February.

Meanwhile, officials from the NLD and the Committee Representing the People’s Parliament (CRPP), a group formed in 1998 to push for recognition of the results of the 1990 election, which the party won overwhelmingly, expressed hope that the UN envoy’s visit would help ease tensions between the NLD and the regime.

Aye Thar Aung, a CRPP official, said that he hoped to have a chance to discuss the recent arrests of two group members, Nyi Pu and Dr Tin Min Htut, as well as other activists, although it was unclear if he would be able to meet Gambari.

Nyi Pu, chairman of the NLD Taunggok branch in Arakan State, and Dr Tin Min Htut, an elected member of parliament from Panthanaw constituency in Irrawaddy Division, were arrested early last week.

Although it is not known why the pair was arrested, both had signed an open letter, along with other NLD members, to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, urging the UN to reject the junta’s constitution as illegitimate.

UN Claims only $1.5 Million Lost in Cyclone Relief Effort

The United Nations estimated that it has lost only US $1.56 million—not $10 million, as earlier cited—in relief funds for Burmese cyclone survivors due to foreign exchange rules imposed by the country’s military regime.

Storm victims stand outside their shacks after they rebuilt them with tarpaulin and leftover pieces from the river after Cyclone Nargis hit Ohnpinsu village in the Irrawaddy delta. (Photo: AFP)

UN spokesperson Farhan Haq disclosed the figure in a statement released on Thursday. He said that the amount represented 4.5 percent of local expenditure, or 1 percent of total contributions to the relief effort. 

  He noted that an earlier estimate of $10 million, cited by John Holmes, the UN’s under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs, following a visit to Burma in late July, was based on a very rough, preliminary calculation.

The UN spokesperson also said that the new figure was the maximum amount that could have been lost.
Following his visit to Burma in July, Holmes acknowledged that the loss of aid funds through the government’s exchange rate mechanism was “a very serious problem.”
Daniel Baker, the UN humanitarian coordinator in Burma, also said that the discrepancy was a source of double concern. 

“We are not getting the full value of dollars donated for emergency relief, and donors are extremely worried and keen to see that this issue is resolved,” said Baker in a joint statement by the UN, Burmese government and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.   

Meanwhile, the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) announced on Thursday that the Canadian government has contributed an additional $11 million to help victims of Cyclone Nargis, which hit Burma on May 2-3, affecting an estimated 2.4 million people.

CIDA also pledged to provide more than $30 million in aid for victims of a massive earthquake that struck China’s Sichuan Province in May.    

Conrad Sauve, secretary general of the Canadian Red Cross, which received $2 million of Ottawa’s aid for Burma, said that the money will be used to help affected communities to rebuild houses, schools and clinics, as well as to support community-based health initiatives and provide economic support for those who have lost their livelihoods.

The Canadian government has so far contributed a total of $25 million to the Burmese relief effort. The latest contribution was in response to a pledge to match the value of private donations by Canadians.

“We are very pleased with Canada’s quick response to the cyclone victims in Burma,” said Tin Maung Htoo, executive director of Canadian Friends of Burma.

Did China Bend to Critics Before Olympics? Not Much

BEIJING — Remember the "Genocide Olympics"? Remember all the talk that China's anxiety to let nothing spoil the Beijing Games had left it vulnerable to demands for a change in its dealings with the outside world?

Children from supposedly 56 Chinese ethnic groups cluster around the national flag during the opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, on August 8. Children from China's dominant Han population were used in a key part of the Olympics opening ceremony, not youngsters from all 56 ethnic groups as claimed, an official said in comment published Friday. (Photo: AFP)

After a barrage of pressure from actress Mia Farrow, film director Steven Spielberg and a band of Nobel Prize winners over its policy on Darfur ahead of the Games, China appeared to bend, and its critics crowed that they had hit a raw nerve.

But what price did China really pay for its day in the sun?

In foreign policy terms, not much.
"I don't see them changing their policy to get Western approval," said Andrew Nathan, professor of political science at Columbia University. "They have no need to change anything they do in foreign policy to make themselves look good."

Even on the eve of the Games, when one might have thought the pressure to toe a Western line was greatest, China vetoed a UN resolution slapping sanctions on Zimbabwe's government for alleged election rigging and intimidation of the opposition.

Indeed, the Games are much more likely to change the way China is perceived from outside—resurgent, confident and proud—than the other way around.

It is true that there was some policy movement on Sudan from China, one of Khartoum's top oil customers and its biggest arms supplier, and it came after shrill criticism that Beijing had failed to use its sway to end bloodshed in the western region of Darfur.

China backed a UN resolution authorizing a hybrid UN-African Union peacekeeping force in Darfur, it nudged Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir to accept the force, and it contributed its own engineers.

Andrew Small of the German Marshall Fund of the United States in Brussels said the meshing of China's Sudan policy with the Olympics was an unexpected jolt for Beijing, one that challenged bureaucratic resistance to a more accommodating approach.

"Once it was in the air that the Olympics could be affected by these issues, they had to sit down and think much more concentratedly about each of them," he said.

Shi Yinhong, professor of international security at Beijing's Renmin University, said the Games also encouraged China to be more public and pro-active on its hitherto discreet Sudan policy.

Sticking to principle
However, there was no u-turn moment that transformed China from a Khartoum ally to a follower of Western policy on Sudan: its policy was, and still is, much more nuanced.

For instance, in 2005 China abstained from a UN vote that authorized the International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor to investigate Darfur, angering Khartoum, which wanted it to use its veto. 

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi Discusses Detention with Her Lawyer

Burma’s pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi has had a rare meeting with her lawyer to discuss her continuing house arrest, a National League for Democracy (NLD) spokesman reported on Monday.

The meeting between Suu Kyi, head of the NLD, and lawyer Kyi Win was held on Friday at the Nobel laureate’s Rangoon home, where she has been confined for most of the past 19 years.

NLD spokesman Nyan Win said the two-hour meeting was the first between Suu Kyi and her lawyer since 2004.

“Aung San Suu Kyi has a full right to meet with any lawyer due to the recent one-year extension of her house arrest,” Nyan Win said.

The two discussed what further legal action should be taken in light of the extension of her house arrest, which was contrary to Burmese law, he said.

The NLD has lodged an appeal against the extension of Suu Kyi’s house arrest, but has heard nothing from the authorities.

Aung Htoo, General Secretary of the Thailand-based Burma Lawyers Council, said the meeting was a positive sign, but emphasized that international legal assistance was still needed in the fight to secure Suu Kyi’s release. Burmese domestic laws alone were insufficient.

“Burma’s military junta obviously breaks Burma’s domestic laws by continuing illegally to detain Aung San Suu Kyi,” he said.

Aung Htoo said the continued detention of Suu Kyi detention should be brought before the International Criminal Court, which had legal mechanisms to deal with the case.

While the junta allowed Suu Kyi’s lawyer to meet her on Friday, Burmese authorities arrested 48 activists in Taunggok, Arakan State, as they marched around town to mark the 20-year anniversary of the 1988 uprising. Five protestors were still being held on Monday.

Human rights activist Myint Aye was also arrested on Friday—one day after the departure of the new UN human rights envoy for Burma, Tomas Ojea Quintana.

Quintana was unable to meet Suu Kyi but had talks with NLD party members and the government’s Labour Minister Aung Kyi, who was assigned to coordinate the junta's contacts with the democracy leader after the bloody crackdown on anti-government protests led by Buddhist monks last September.

Quintana said he had received "good signs" that the ruling junta accepted the need for his mandate to investigate widespread claims of human rights abuses in the country.

Burma's democratic revolution

The desire for freedom cannot be suppressed. Photo: AFP

THOUSANDS of people joined mass protests outside Burmese embassies throughout the world yesterday to commemorate the tragic events in Rangoon twenty years ago. Many international personalities, including actress Mia Farrow, joined them, all calling for the immediate release of the detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and a swift move towards democracy. Before leaving for Beijing to attend last night's opening ceremony for the Olympics, President Bush and his wife Laura added their support to the cause during their visit to Thailand.

"The spirit of 8.8.88 must never be allowed to die," said a leading spokesperson for the exiled opposition, Zin Linn, who participated in the mass pro-democracy demonstrations twenty years ago. Although there had been sporadic street protests and demonstrations for almost a year, the mass strike and rally called on August 8, 1988 marked a major turning point for the pro-democracy movement. The date was chosen because it was meant to be auspicious -- a reflection of the deep-rooted superstition that grips almost all Burmese.

Hundreds of thousands of students, civil servants and monks marched through Rangoon -- then the capital -- calling for democracy and an end to military rule. These protests grew, bringing Burma to a standstill for weeks and threatening to topple the country's one-party state. The universities had been shut several months earlier, after the initial student protests, and student leaders emerged to command the movement.

"We felt that there was no justice or freedom. So we decided we had to bring about an uprising that would end single-party rule," said one of these leaders, Aung Din -- now exiled in the US.

"We called for 'Democracy,' but none of us knew what it meant at the time," said another student activist, Aung Naing Oo -- now exiled in Thailand. "We had to look it up in the dictionary -- but we knew we wanted freedom and an end to military repression."

Six weeks after the start of the mass protests, on September 18, 1988, the army moved against the protesters, crushing the democratic movement. Thousands of students and activists died, as the military mercilessly crushed the protests. The foreign minister at the time, Ohn Gyaw, in an interview in Rangoon a few years after the events, insisted that only four people died, and that they were killed in the stampede, and not by soldiers' guns.

Most analysts suggest that some 3,000 people died in the military's mopping up operations, while many military officials openly admit -- albeit privately -- that at least 6,000 perished. In fact, a military intelligence officer close to the former intelligence chief, now under house arrest, told The Daily Star recently that General Kin Nyunt's own assessment was that more than 10,000 people were killed. "Many bodies were quietly cremated so that there was no evidence of the massacre," he said.

Since then, there seems to have been very little movement towards genuine political change. Many Burmese believed that, with twenty years of no progress, Burma is destined to remain under a military dictatorship for decades to come. "What is certain is that change will only come from within the country," said Aung Zaw, editor of the independent Burmese news website and magazine, Irrawaddy. "But more than that, I cannot predict."

Hopes of a new era were again raised last year, when the country's monks joined the street protests against the military regime, spawning a new movement dubbed the "Saffron Revolution." Again, the military's only course of action was to crush the movement with brutal force. The country's activists were jailed or forced underground.

But last year's events showed that things have changed in Burma over the last twenty years, even if much of it is intangible. For years, many local Burmese businessmen have described Burma as a social volcano ready to erupt -- all it needs is a spark, and that could come any time.

No one wants a repeat of the massive social upheaval that happened in the wake of the events of August twenty years ago. What most people don't understand is that the "people's movement" twenty years' ago came very close to toppling the military government.

"We were on the brink of giving into the protesters," the senior intelligence officer, Brigadier General Thein Swe -- now serving 197 years in prison for corruption and treason -- told a close confidante. "If the demonstrations had gone on for another two weeks, we would have been forced to give up and withdraw back to the barracks," he mused.

But the protesters gave up first -- leaving thousands dead -- and even more were forced to flee abroad. More than a quarter of a million Burmese have sought political refuge since the end of the student-led protests 20 years ago. The first batch took months to trudge through the jungles in Burma's border areas close to China, India and Thailand. They had to elude Burmese troops who would have killed them on sight, and suffered illness and disease on the way -- many were decimated by diarrhea, malaria, dengue fever and starvation.

Thousands have poignant personal stories of tragedy. Many left behind their parents and siblings; others left their own young offspring behind in the care of their grandparents, as they would not have survived the arduous journey to freedom. These young children have grown into adults without having known or seen their parents.

Although the "Saffron Revolution" cannot be compared too closely to the events twenty years ago, it did politicise a new generation of students -- all of whom are too young to remember 1988. They are likely to return to the streets as the root causes of last year's protests -- spiralling food and fuel prices have now been resolved. But one lesson of the last twenty years is that protests do not always produce political change.

"You can expect spontaneous demonstrations against the military -- but the problem is that you have to be organised," said Min Zin, a leading political activist who fled Burma more than a decade ago and is currently studying in the US. "My concern is whether it can lead to a genuine political change."

The junta now has forced the country to ratify a new constitution, which essentially institutionalises military rule, and promised a fresh election within the next two years. Burma's military rulers face a quandary, for they now have to garner the public's support as they seek to move from military to civilian government as outlined in the new constitution.

So the next two years will be uncertain as the regime prepares for these polls.

"It is in times of uncertainty that protest and change seem to happen in Burma," the independent Burmese academic at Chiang Mai University, Win Min, told The Daily Star. "The next two years are likely to be volatile -- with more protests, led by the monks and the students, are almost certain."

Reminder: Berkeley Flag Raising 8:08 am & SF Burma Day Rally 4 pm & Global Justice for Burma 6 pm

Join Burma Day Actions on Friday, August 8, 2008

In honor of the 20th Anniversary of the people of Burma's August 8, 1988 popular uprising against Burma's military regime, the city of San Francisco and Berkeley has declared: 

BURMA DAY: AUGUST 8.

Support the people of Burma in their continued quest for freedom by joining the following actions on Burma Day:

Join City officials, monks, communit leaders, activists and Burma Suppoerter.

1. Berkeley Burma Day Burmese Flag Raising
Friday August 8, 2008, at 8:08 AM
(Ceremony 7:45 - 8:30 am)
Berkeley City Hall, Berkeley
2180 Milvia Street
(between Allston Way and Center St; One block from the downtown Berkeley BART station)
(The flag poles are in the pack behind this New City Hall Building. You need to walk along Allston or Center towards
Martinluthar King Jr. Way; You can't miss it)

2. San Francisco Burma Day Rally
Friday August 8, 2008, 4-7 PM
Union Square, San Francisco
333 Post Street
San Francisco, CA 94108

Sponsored by SF 8888 Action Committee: Burmese American Democratic Alliance, www.badasf.org; Burmese American Women's Alliance www.bawalliance. org, Buddhist Peace Fellowship, www.bpf.org; Burmese Youth Association, Clear View Project, www.clearviewprojec t.org; 8888 Generation Students (Exile), 88gse.blogspot. com; www.flowersofhope4b urma.org; 650 756 5887, BFUU Social Justice Committee and Human Rights Watch/San Francisco

Also Join this event after the Rally:

3. Global Justice for Burma
Frey Norris Gallery, 456 Geary Street, San Francisco, California
August 8; 6-9 pm

Many in Rangoon Wear Black on 8.8.88 Anniversary

Many Rangoon residents donned black clothing to mark Friday’s 20th anniversary of 1988 uprising, and noticeably more police and plainclothes security personnel were seen on city streets.
Members of Burma’s opposition National League for Democracy held a commemorative rally in Yenangyaung Township, Magwe Division, and food offerings were made at eight of the city’s monasteries to mark the occasion. Offerings were also made at monasteries in Rangoon.

Activists shout a slogan in front of China Embassy in Bangkok on August 8 to mark the 20th anniversary of the 1988 uprising. Around Asia, activists were planning to mark the anniversary with demonstrations at embassies of both Burma and China, a key ally of Burma. The protest also coincides with the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Beijing. (Photo: AP)

Although security was tightened in Rangoon and other centers, no arrests were reported on Friday. The previous day, however, the authorities arrested Myo Teza, a leader of the All Burma Federation of Students’ Unions, and two of his colleagues.

Students at Rangoon University reported tightened security at the campus, where entry was restricted to two gates. University staff had reportedly been warned not to tolerate any political activity by their students.

In a statement marking the anniversary, the 88 Generation Students Group urged the Burmese military government to release all political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi and ethic leaders and to begin talks with Suu Kyi. The statement repeated the group’s rejection of the regime’s plan to hold a general election in 2010.

In several cities around the world, including in such Asia countries as Thailand, Malaysia, Japan and South Korea, anti-regime protesters held anniversary demonstrations in front of Burmese and Chinese embassies.

Mrs Bush Visits Mae Lah Refugee Camp

MAE SOT — Burmese residents of a refugee camp near the Thai-Burmese border appealed on Thursday to US first lady Laura Bush to help them resettle in the West.

Mrs Bush promised them to do all she could as she toured the Mae Lah camp near the Thai border town of Mae Sot. Around 40,000 refugees live in Mae Lah, the biggest refugee camp in Thailand.

US first lady Laura Bush, center left, is flanked by her daughter Barbara as she talks with a Karen refugees family at Mae Lah refugee camp near the Thai-Burmese border. (Photo: AP)

The refugee community gave Mrs Bush and her daughter Barbara a warm welcome, performing traditional Karen dances and showing them the camp’s schoolrooms.

In one classroom, a student had written on the blackboard: “My life in refugee camp is better than Burma but I do not have opportunities to go outside of my camp.”

The vice camp leader, Mahn Htun Htun, appealed directly to Mrs Bush to help more Burmese refugees resettle in the US.
“We are refugees and our dream is to go back home,” he said, “We have no peace in Burma now, the possibility for us is to go to third countries.”

Mrs Bush replied that the best option would be to “see a change in the Burmese government,” in which case “people could move home in safety.”

She said: "Most people do not want to have to move to third countries. They would rather move to their home villages in safety and security."

One Burmese refugee who has been selected, along with his family, for resettlement in the US said Washington should increase the pressure on the Burmese regime so that conditions allowing refugees to return could be created.

The refugee, Saw Mardecair, thanked the US, however, for taking in large numbers of Burmese.
Mahn Htun Htun drew attention to the plight of 13,000 newly-arrived refugees who, he said, lacked adequate food and shelter.

Mrs Bush later visited the Mae Tao clinic, the Burmese migrant health care center founded by Dr Cynthia Maung, who said she hoped the first lady would raise in the US the humanitarian problems she had seen in the border area.

“All countries in the world have to come together and work together for change in Burma,” said Dr Maung.

Children welcomed Mrs. Bush to the clinic with a performance of traditional Burmese songs.

Bush, First Lady’s Busy Days in Thailand

Security is tight in Bangkok and Tak Province as the US President and first lady are scheduled to arrive in Thailand on Wednesday.

US President George W Bush, accompanied by his wife, Laura Bush, is making his third visit to Thailand since he assumed office in 2000.

Bush and his Thai hosts mark 175 years of relations, which began with an 1833 treaty and gifts of a ceremonial sword, gold watch and silver basket from President Andrew Jackson to King Rama III.
Bush attends an honorary dinner at Government House on Wednesday after private discussions with Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej.

Bush is to deliver the address in a convention center on Thursday morning to a crowd of foreign diplomats, Thai government leaders and business officials.

The president will visit Mercy Center, which serves children who live in Bangkok slums, while his wife Laura will travel to a refugee center in Mae Sot in Tak Province on the border with Burma.
Ten exiled Burmese, including The Irrawaddy editor, Aung Zaw, will have a private lunch with Bush and discuss a wide range of issues regarding Burma.

Laura Bush will meet with refugees at the Mae La Refugee Camp and also visit Dr Cynthia Maung at the Mae Tao Clinic in Mae Sot. The first lady has waged a vigorous campaign for human rights in Burma.

Thai Foreign Minister Tej Bunnag said Bush is expected to deliver a statement on the US stance regarding the political situation in Burma.

The Thai foreign minister reiterated that “the Thai government still maintains its policy of non-intervention in Burma's internal affairs,” according to a report on the Thai News Agency Web site on Wednesday.

Nonetheless, he said Thailand will cooperate in seeking a way out of the political conflicts in the neighboring country in a constructive manner under the framework set forth by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, a regional grouping of countries. Thailand has assumed the chairmanship this year.

Thai officials have increased security in Bangkok and Mae Sot. About 200 US security officials have been in Mae Sot since early this week.

US President Bush Set to Meet Burmese Activists

US President George W Bush will have a private lunch with Burmese activists in exile in Bangkok on Thursday in a stopover on his way to the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics.

“He will have a lunch in Bangkok with Burmese activists and hear their stories,” said Dennis Wilder, a press officer at the White House. “And then he will be interviewed by the press in Thailand that broadcast into Burma, so that he can give a message directly to the Burmese people.”

US President George W. Bush, left, and first lady Laura Bush wave upon their arrival at a Seoul military airport in Seongnam, South Korea, the first stop on their week-long visit to Asia. (Photo: AP)

First lady Laura Bush will travel to Mae Sot, near the Thailand-Burma border, where she will visit the Mae La Refugee Camp, the largest on the border. She will also visit a refugee clinic operated by Dr Cynthia Maung, according to the White House.

 “The US policy on Burma is already very heavily influenced by [Burmese] activists,” said John Virgoe, the Southeast Asia director of the International Crisis Group. “I am not surprised he is interested to meet with activists.”

Nyan Win, a spokesperson of Burma’s main opposition party, the National League for Democracy, told The Irrawaddy on Monday that the party welcomed Bush’s meeting with exiled activists.

Thakin Chan Tun, a veteran politician and former Burmese ambassador to China, said, “President Bush’s meeting with Burmese activists shows how he and his wife strongly support Burma’s democracy movement.”

The US administration has strongly supported the democracy struggle in military-ruled Burma since 1988, the year thousands of demonstrators were killed by the military regime.

Bush has been under criticism by human rights activists around the world because of his decision to attend the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics.

Virgoe said the US is not very outspoken about human rights in China. “When we talk about China, of course, human rights is not on top of the [US] agenda,” he said.

During Bush’s eight years in office, the US has witnessed several important events in Burmese history. The democracy movement leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her convoy were ambushed in Depayin in Sagaing Division, northern Burma in May 2003 by thugs, backed by the junta. More than 100 people were reportedly killed. After the attack, Suu Kyi was placed under house arrest.

“The [Burmese] military authorities should release Aung San Suu Kyi and her supporters immediately,” Bush said in early June 2003. “We have urged Burmese officials to release all political prisoners and to offer their people a better way of life, a life offering freedom and economic progress.”

In July 2003, Bush signed economic sanctions against the military regime. “These measures reaffirm to the people of Burma that the United States stands with them in their struggle for democracy and freedom,” Bush said.

In September 2007, hundreds of thousands of demonstrators led by Buddhist monks marched in Rangoon, the largest city in the country and many other towns, calling for a better life and national reconciliation. Burmese troops killed at least 30 people, including a Japanese photojournalist. Thousands of monks and activists were arrested.

Since the brutal crackdown in 2007, the US has put fresh “targeted sanctions” on the Burmese generals and their cronies. The new sanctions affect many state-controlled businesses and large businesses doing deals with the junta.

Deadly Cyclone Nargis hammered Burma on May 2-3, causing an estimated 134,000 deaths. The junta stalled for weeks, blocking large shipments of foreign aid and access to the affected area by   foreign relief experts.

Bush sent a group of US Navy vessels, led by the aircraft carrier USS Essex, to stand by near Burma. Some aid from the vessels was shipped into the country by air, but the regime denied the massive amounts of aid the US was ready to provide to the devastated Irrawaddy delta. 

Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a political scientist at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, said the impact of US policies on Burma is limited. “He [George W Bush] needs to put pressure on China, India, Thailand and Asean on the Burma issue. He needs to put more pressure on countries that trade with Burma,” he added.

Security Tightens as 8.8.88 Anniversary Burma Campaign Begins

A Burmese student movement has launched a so-called “Red Campaign” ahead of the anniversary of the 1988 uprising, spraying red paint on the walls of schools and other public places in Rangoon to remind people of the event.

The campaign, organized by the student-based “Generation Wave,” despite stepped up security by police and troops.

“The army and riot police are everywhere,” said Burmese clerk who works for an international non-governmental organization in Rangoon. Security was also reportedly tightened in Mandalay.

The anniversary of the uprising and its brutal suppression falls on August 8. Up to 3,000 protesters are thought to have died in clashes with the authorities, while 2,000 arrested during and after the uprising are still in prison.

Moe Thway, a leading member of “Generation Wave” told The Irrawaddy on Monday that the movement had organized the “Red Campaign” to raise awareness among young people of the significance of August 8, 1988.

“We are doing this as evidence that we are not defeated, despite military suppression,” he said. “We young people will continue our struggle for justice and freedom for all Burmese citizens.”

The campaign kicked off as the UN Human Rights Council investigator for Burma, Tomas Ojea Quintana, arrived in Rangoon on his first mission to the country.

Thai, Burmese Note 8-8-8 Anniversary

BANGKOK — Burmese and Thai activists in Bangkok on Sunday renewed their efforts to bring democracy to Burma at a 20-year anniversary commemoration of the 8-8-88 uprising.

“If I have to state my view, there has been no progress in Burma. But I still have a positive view,” said Dr Charnvit Kasetsiri, a historian and the former rector of Thammasat University, in a keynote speech.  “The situation in Burma is serious, but it is not hopeless.”

The commemoration was co-hosted by the Faculty of Liberal Arts at Thammasat University and the Thai Action Committee for Democracy in Burma (TACDB) in collaboration with several organizations working on Burma issues. 

A panel discussion, “A Two-decade Overview on Changes in Burma,” included Burmese and Thai democracy activists and scholars. Panel participants included Dr. Naruemon Thubchumpon, the director of Master of Arts in International Development Studies at Chulalongkorn University; Dr. Thaung Htun;  Ajarn Pornpimon Trichot; Nang Hseng Noung of the  Presidium of Women’s League of Burma (WLB); and Aung Thu Nyein, an exiled Burmese scholar.

“In the last 20 years, even though I have witnessed a sort of fluctuation in Thai policy towards Burma,” said Dr. Thaung Htun, a representative of the National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma (NCGUB), “the support of Thai academia and civil society organizations remain unchanged and it is a great encouraging sign.” However, ordinary Thai citizens need to be more aware of the Burmese issue, he said.

Regarding the NCGUB’s efforts during the coming UN General Assembly, he told The Irrawaddy, “At this moment, we haven’t seen the concrete conclusion or comment made by the UN secretary-general regarding the progress and the outcome [of the constitutional referendum]. We have a plan to advocate the background history of the referendum process and how it failed to be inclusive and to reflect the will of the people.  

“We will convince all the international players [that] the key is to find a solution, and the 2010 election is not a solution for our country.”

Ajarn Pornpimon Trichot, a senior researcher at the Institute of Asian Studies at Chulalongkorn University, who visited Burma soon after Cyclone Nargis, said “Distrust is rampant in Burmese society, resulting in a difficult situation to cooperate with each other and this has been for 20 years.”

She said distrust can be overcome with more people-to-people cooperation and understanding.

“Some of the people can overcome [distrust] because a lot of them from all walks of life came out and helped people [after Cyclone Nargis] with love and compassion,” she said. “These kinds of activities [should] keep going on and on.

“In fact, the Burmese people are strong, hardworking and determined to develop their livelihood. I am surprised that the Burmese government treats their citizens as enemies.”

Other Thai academic and civil organizations involved included the Thai Allied Committee of the Burma Foundation, the Cross Cultural Foundation, the Peace Foundation and the Alternative Asean Network on Burma.

“It is very important to remind the Thai community and the world that though we haven’t seen change, we expect it will come soon,” TACDB chairperson Laddawan Tuntivityapitak told The Irrawaddy. The TACDB is one of the staunchest Thai groups in support of Burmese activists in Thailand.

Meanwhile, a group of Burma supporters have launched a Thai-English bilingual Web site www.thaifreeburma.org to inform Thai citizens on Burmese issues.

About 100 Thai and Burmese activists, academics and students attended the commemoration. After the panel discussion, participants placed white roses on a black desk in remembrance of the Burmese people killed by the military government in 1988.

Bush: Burma’s Neighbors Not Interested in Sanctions

WASHINGTON — US President George W Bush said on Thursday that neighboring countries do not favor economic sanctions against Burma, and this is one of the reasons US sanctions have not been as successful as he would have liked.

"There are some countries in the neighborhood that are not interested in joining," Bush told Suthichai Yoon of the National Media Group of Thailand in an interview, the transcript of which was released by the White House.

Bush said sanctions are not working more effectively because many neighboring countries do not apply them. Observing that unilateral sanctions are effective only to a certain extent, he urged other countries to join the US which has slapped the Burmese junta with a series of sanctions, the last round early this week.

Praising the Burmese democracy advocate, Aung San Suu Kyi, for her courage, Bush said: "Here is a very heroic woman that was elected overwhelmingly by her people and has now been under house arrest by a group of military guys that just simply won't allow the will of the people to flourish."
The US president, who will meet with several Burmese dissidents while in Bangkok, in another roundtable interview with foreign print media, acknowledged there is a difference of opinion within the Association of Southeast Asia Nations about how hard to push Burma to move toward democracy. "I'm at one end of the ledger,” he said. “And we'll continue to press hard."

On meeting with Burmese dissidents in Bangkok, Bush said: "My message is going to be one directed to the people in Burma when I meet with some of the activists, and Laura is going to be meeting with some of the people that she got to know."

Bush thanked the people of Thailand and its government for their humanitarian help to the people of Burma in the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis.

"I think it's very constructive and very helpful,” he said. “And I will be speaking to activists to let them know that the United States of America hears their voices. You know, it's a tough issue for some countries. 

"I do want to thank the Thai government for its understanding of the refugee issue, particularly as relates to the border policy,” he said. “I think it's been very wise and very humane." 
Meanwhile, three leading Burmese dissident groups—the All Burma Monk's Alliance, the 88 Generation Students and the All Burma Federation of Student Union—urged UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to review the mission of the United Nations in Burma.

The statement said: "The United Nations is stepping back from its benchmarks, which is the realization of an all party-inclusive, democratic, participatory and transparent process of national reconciliation."

Instead of working toward these benchmarks, the UN has allowed the Burmese military regime to embark on a unilateral and brutal path, forcing democracy groups to live in a repressive, untenable position, it said.

"If the secretary-general openly and strongly asks the Security Council take action on Burma, we believe that China and Russia might change their position," the statement said.
The statement expressed disappointment with the role played by UN Special Envoy to Burma Ibrahim Gambari, who will visit Burma in August: "Instead of convincing the regime with a forceful voice and the strength of moral authority, it seems that he was convinced by the regime that there was no other way [but] to accept their unilateral actions."