Burmese Junta Amends Historical Commission Law

Burma’s military government has amended the Myanmar [Burmese] Historical Commission Law, transferring authority for historical research from the ministry of education to the ministry of culture, according to an announcement in the state-run New Light of Myanmar on September 25.
The paper said that Burmese top general Snr-Gen Than Shwe signed the amendment to the Myanmar Historical Commission Law, which was first instituted in 1985.

Burmese historians contacted by The Irrawaddy said that the Myanmar Historical Commission exists to provide Than Shwe with information about customs and rules of governance that prevailed under ancient Burmese kings. 

A former history professor from Mandalay University said that Than Shwe regards himself as a king, requiring visitors to his home to sit lower than him.
“Than Shwe thinks of himself as a king,” he said. “That’s why he wants to know Burmese royal customs.”

Than Shwe has been the highest-ranking member of the Burmese junta since April 23, 1992.
Shortly after the regime seized power in 1988, it formed a historical committee to write a “true version” of Burmese history.

“Dictatorships try to lie about the country’s history and hide the true history,” said another Burmese historian. “They want to make the army a model for the country.”

The Myanmar Historical Commission was founded in 1955 by the government of U Nu, Burma’s first and only democratically elected prime minister. It consisted of prominent historians who sought to systematically compile data about the history of Burma from the earliest traceable date to the present. The Commission was placed directly under the charge of the Prime Minister’s Office.
Under the socialist government that ruled from 1962 to 1988, the commission was converted to the Directorate of Burmese Historical Research under the Ministry of Culture. In 1985, it was transferred to the Ministry of Education and its name was changed to the Universities Historical Research Department.

Sources from Rangoon University’s history department said that Burmese military government has fired at least 14 members of the Myanmar Historical Commission, including Sai Aung Tun, the retired rector of the University of Foreign Languages in Rangoon, former professor Tun Aung Chein, and Ni Ni Myint, wife of late Burmese dictator Ne Win, who formed the first military government in 1962.

China’s Grip on Burma ‘Cause for Concern’

BANGKOK — China’s grip on Burma’s natural resources has grown considerably in a short time, says a detailed investigation by a US-based human rights organization, EarthRights International (ERI).

The survey identifies 69 Chinese companies engaged in oil, gas, hydropower development and mining—a 250 percent increase on the number thought to be operating in Burma when a similar study was made one year ago.

A protester covers her mouth with an anti-dam message during a rally outside the Royal Thai Embassy last year in Makati City east of Manila, Philippines. (Photo: AP)

But the survey says there could be more than 70 Chinese companies operating across Burma because the mining sector is particularly difficult to assess.

“Given what we know about development projects in Burma and the current situation, we’re concerned about this marked increase in the number of these projects,” says ERI in a report published on Monday.

Washington-based ERI says Burma has become “geopolitically significant” to the Chinese as their mushrooming economy demands ever more natural resources, notably energy related.

Having a compliant neighbor rich in gas, oil, minerals and timber is a big plus for China, but Burma’s position on the edge of the Indian Ocean also makes it a “particularly desirable partner in China’s pursuit of energy security,” says ERI.

This is in reference to Chinese plans to develop ports and pipelines in Burma to transship large volumes of oil and gas from the Middle East, Africa and elsewhere.

“We’re concerned about the lack of information about these projects available to the public domain,” said Alek Momi, the report’s principal researcher.

The survey identifies the most firms in hydropower developments—at least 45 companies actively engaged or planning 63 projects, ranging from small dams to the massive scheme on the River Salween at Tasang.

In Burma’s mushrooming oil and gas sectors, at least 16 Chinese companies are named, including all three of China’s biggest transnational enterprises, Sinopec, China National Offshore Oil Corporation, and China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC).

ERI pinpoints the Arakan coast as one of the most significant strategic locations for China’s long-term plans for vacuuming up global oil and gas reserves.

“CNPC has signed a MoU with MOGE [Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise] for a detailed assessment of the potential construction of a crude oil terminal off the coast of Arakan State,” says the report.
A terminal for oil shipped in from the Middle East and Africa, plus pipelines across Burma into southwest China, would “increase the efficiency of China’s oil and gas imports by providing an alternative to the problematic Straits of Malacca.”

ERI names ten Chinese companies involved in mining for minerals—a sector “difficult to assess as many mining projects are small, therefore less visible and attracting less publicity.”

The ERI report comes just a few days after the Burmese junta confirmed that Chinese state-controlled China Non-Ferrous Metal Group will proceed to mine nickel in the Mandalay region.
Few details of the agreement have been disclosed. The Burmese ministry of mines claimed that the project would provide more than 1,000 jobs for local people. The nickel will be exported to China.
ERI says this will become one of the largest mining projects in Burma, with investment of US $600 million, financed by Chinese state banks, to mine and export up 40 million tons of nickel ore.
The lack of clarity on this particular project at Tagung Taung—land acquisition, environmental impact and displacement—underscores ERI’s concerns.

The group has also unearthed evidence of plans by another Chinese company, Jinbao Mining, with a convoluted ownership, to investigate prospects for mining a 10-million ton nickel deposit at Mwetaung in Chin State. 

ERI, with Southeast Asia offices in Chiang Mai, Thailand, campaigns for human rights in a number of areas but especially where transnational companies seek to trample on land rights and damage the environment.

ERI brought a successful legal action in the US against oil company Unocal—now part of Chevron—to compensate Burmese villagers for the Yadana gas pipeline through southeast Burma into Thailand. 

In China, there is no public consultation on industrial developments and land is often illegally confiscated and people forcibly evicted. 

Saffron Revolution A Year Later: It's NOT Over!

Article Written by ALTSEAN.

Illegal Burmese Rice Exports Boom on Thai Border

Rice traders in Myawaddy, opposite the Thai border town of Mae Sot, are illegally exporting hundreds of thousands of bags of rice to Thailand every week, according to sources in the local business community.

A businessman in Myawaddy said yesterday that there were around 10,000 sacks of rice piled on the Burmese side of the Moei River, which separates Mae Sot and Myawaddy, as traders waited for heavy rains to stop so they could resume the illegal export. 

Burma’s junta officially banned the border rice trade after Cyclone Nargis struck the country’s Irrawaddy delta on May 2-3. The storm devastated much of the farmland in the region, which is Burma’s main rice-growing area.

A Burmese truck driver, speaking on condition of anonymity, estimated that there are around 30 trucks transporting rice from Moulmein to Myawaddy each day, each one carrying 500 to 700 bags of rice.

“We hide the rice on the backs of our trucks under bags of onions, garlic and spices,” said the truck driver.

He added that rice traders pay bribes of 200 kyat (US $0.16) per bag of rice so the trucks can pass through checkpoints set up by a Burmese military battalion stationed at Thingannyinaung and by Karen ceasefire groups, including the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army and Karen Peace Force.
A rice trader in Myawaddy said that some of the rice had to be repackaged, because Thai merchants would not accept rice in bags marked with the logos of Burmese companies.

“I haven’t seen any Burmese logos this month, but last month I saw some bags marked with the Htoo Trading Company logo,” he added.

There has been strong demand for Burmese rice in Thailand this year, due to rising prices for domestically grown rice.

Local businesspeople predicted that the illegal trade would continue if Thai demand remains strong, although there are fears that a poor harvest resulting from delays in planting this year’s crop after Cyclone Nargis could create a rice shortage in Burma.
Local observers said that there are growing concerns that the continuing export of Burmese rice to Thailand could lead to a drastic increase in rice prices in Burma.

Leaked Document Reveals Burma’s US Policy

Burma’s military leaders know they cannot stand alone in the world, but will react according to each situation with a view to balancing their relations with the world’s superpowers, said Home Affairs Minister Maj-Gen Maung Oo at a meeting of his ministers in July.

According to a confidential document acquired recently by The Irrawaddy detailing the minutes of a July 6 meeting, Home Ministry officials were briefed on relations with the United States, China and Indonesia, as well as the junta’s policy toward the 2010 elections, the National League for Democracy (NLD) and how the junta would react to future demonstrations.

According to the leaked minutes of the meeting, Maj-Gen Maung Oo told Home Ministry officials that in reaction to the global influence of the US and the West, Burma would continue to pursue “strong relations” with China, but that didn't mean that the junta was pro-Beijing. “In the modern world, we cannot stand alone,” Maung Oo reportedly said.

The leaked document also revealed that the regime plans to deploy riot police in the event of future protests or civil unrest.

“The international community criticized us for using the armed forces to crack down on [last September’s] demonstrators,” the home minister is quoted as saying. “Therefore we need to reorganize our riot police.”

He also warned officials to be prepared for the coming elections in 2010.

On foreign policy, Maung Oo criticized the US for “using humanitarian issues and democracy as a policy to overthrow governments that it disliked.”

Maung Oo slammed the US for using the UN and the “Responsibility to Protect” paradigm as part of an agenda to accuse the Burmese government of “Crimes against Humanity.” He also said the UN and associate international nongovernmental organizations (INGOs) were “puppets” of the US and the CIA.

According to the minutes of the meeting, Maung Oo forewarned his subordinates of the possibility of a third UN Security Council resolution on Burma and subsequent economic sanctions and an embargo. 

“In the event of a third presidential statement,” Maung Oo said. “There could be a resolution that the 192 members of the UN will have to follow—led by the US.”

According to the 14-page document, Maung Oo went on to accuse the US, the UN and INGOs of pushing Burma to the top of their agendas. On the Cyclone Nargis disaster, the home minister accused US relief items of providing aid to the victims “just for show” and said the US only delivered drinking water, instant noodles and medicine.

The minister is reported to have accused international aid agencies of spending humanitarian aid money on themselves and not on the cyclone victims.

“We told them to send construction materials instead of instant food,” Maung Oo continued. “But nobody did.”

He also expressed the regime's skepticism and resentment that aid was not delivered through government channels, so the authorities could not see what was being delivered.

Regarding the US naval ships’ inability to deliver aid to cyclone survivors in the Irrawaddy delta, Maung Oo is reported as saying that the Burmese junta denied the request because the regime believed the US military would find an excuse not to leave until after the 2010 elections.
He also pointed out that although the Burmese government calculated that about US $11.7 billion was needed in relief after Cyclone Nargis, the Tripartite Core Group—comprising the UN, Asean and the Burmese regime—only approved about $0.9 billion in aid, which was 12 times the difference of the junta’s calculations.

The ministry’s minutes of the July 6 meeting also make reference to the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD). Maung Oo reportedly said the regime was “not scared” of the opposition winning the election, but said that they would have to be careful because the party was backed by the US, British and French embassies.

According to the leaked document, the home minister also referred to the diplomatic standoff between Burma and Indonesia. He reportedly confirmed that there were currently no relations between the two countries at an ambassadorial level and that the first step was for the Indonesian parliament to endorse Burma's ambassador to Jakarta.

Burma Still at Bottom of List of World’s Dirtiest Countries

Military-ruled Burma is still one of the most corrupt countries in the world, ranking just ahead of Somalia and tied with Iraq for the second-lowest spot, according to the Global Corruption Report 2008, released by Transparency International (TI) today.

A map showing levels of corruption around the world (Source: Transparency International)

Denmark, New Zealand and Sweden shared the highest ranking as the world’s cleanest countries, getting the top score of 9.3 on TI’s Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI), which ranks countries on a scale from 1 to 10. They were followed by Singapore, which scored 9.2.

At the opposite end of the scale was Somalia, which has dropped from a CPI score of 1.4 last year to 1.0 this year. Somalia’s slide meant that it was now regarded as more corrupt that Burma, which it tied for last place in 2007.

Although Burma now shares second-worst status with Iraq, it has also become more corrupt since last year, according to the report. Burma’s score has fallen from 1.4 to 1.3, placing it just behind Haiti at 1.4 and Afghanistan at 1.5.

In a press release, TI highlights the fatal link between poverty, failed institutions and graft.
“In the poorest countries, corruption levels can mean the difference between life and death, when money for hospitals or clean water is in play,” Huguette Labelle, the chair of TI’s board of directors, was quoted as saying in the press release.

“The continuing high levels of corruption and poverty plaguing many of the world’s societies amount to an ongoing humanitarian disaster and cannot be tolerated,” Labelle added.
In a press release dated November 1, 2007, TI singled out Burma for its severe violations of human rights, as well as its widespread corruption.

“The United Nations Security Council as well as Burma’s neighbors must increase pressure on the Burmese government to end massive human rights abuses and crack down on endemic corruption,” the release said.

On the run in Burma

By Andrew Harding 

BBC News, Rangoon
Saturday, 22 September 2007

Buddhist monks may be able to protest in the streets of Burma, but other pro-democracy activists risk being labelled as "terrorists" and arrested by the authorities. Activist Nilar Thein has been on the run for one month.


Rangoon is looking shabbier than usual these days. It is a damp, stagnant city trapped in a snaking curve of the Irawaddy river.



Ancient buses rattle past gloomy warehouses and bright pagodas. Grand colonial buildings green with moss back onto dark courtyards reeking of sewage and decay.


The generals who rule Burma moved out of the city last year, having built themselves a brand new - and spectacularly pointless - capital nine hours drive to the north. Thousands of frustrated civil servants were forced to follow them, almost overnight.


Since then, the authorities seem to have stopped paying for Rangoon's upkeep. And the trees now loom low over the avenues, patting the heads of passing cars.


Pro-democracy 'terrorists'
Today, somewhere in this city of nearly five million people, a Burmese woman called Nilar Thein is on the run.

Nilar Thein is number five on a long list of "terrorists" in Burma

She is 35, with a broad, open face, dark shoulder-length hair, and a reputation for extreme stubbornness.



She has been hiding for a month now - moving every couple of days to a new house - hunted by a huge force of security officials, plain-clothed policemen, informers and hired thugs.


Nilar is number five on a long list of "terrorists" - the generals' title for almost anyone who dares to challenge them.


They have already arrested her husband, Jimmy, and more than 100 other pro-democracy activists. No-one knows where they are being held, or what will happen to them.


The authorities stopped allowing the Red Cross to visit their jails, and more than 1,000 political prisoners, a couple of years ago.
Used as bait


Nilar and Jimmy lived in a small second floor apartment in the north of Rangoon. Not too far from the house where Burma's democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi is still being kept under house arrest.

Nilar's five month baby, Sunshine, is left with her grandmother

Their apartment is now guarded by plain-clothed policemen. Two at the door. Two outside. Two across the road. They are waiting to see if Nilar will come back for something rather precious - her five-month-old daughter, Nay Kyi, or Sunshine.



Nilar took the child with her at first. But Sunshine's cries were in danger of giving them both away. Now Jimmy's elderly mother is looking after her.
One night recently, Nilar sneaked back close enough to hear her baby crying through an open window.


"They are using her as bait," she said. "I should be breast feeding her. But I cannot give in."


She is, a friend told me admiringly, a stubborn woman.


88 Student Generation
Nilar and Jimmy are members of what is known as the 88 Student Generation, a reference to the last major uprising against the military here back in 1988.


They have both spent time in jail already. Nilar nine years, Jimmy 16. They both thought hard about whether to have a child at all, given their particular "lifestyles".


And now Rangoon is swirling with rumours that Jimmy's dead - tortured and killed in prison. The rumours are probably not true. Maybe they have been spread deliberately, to get Nilar to give up.


More likely they are just a product of the silence that festers here, in the absence of any independent news.
The newspapers in Rangoon are all tightly controlled. No pictures about monks demonstrating this week. Instead there are photos of the generals giving lavish gifts to monasteries.


Inside are venomous editorials - styled, it seems, on the North Korean model - lashing out at traitors within, and devious foreign enemies.


Sense of paranoia
I read the papers over breakfast, then stepped out of the hotel wrapped in a cloud of paranoia. Surely the authorities have spotted the foreign journalist. Why is that man watching me from the cafe over the road? Did this taxi driver just happen to be driving past at the right time?


There is good reason to be wary. On the phone, diplomats and activists here talk carefully - no names, no details. Rangoon slang. In the past few weeks, hundreds of mobile phones have been cut off by the authorities.
The police write down the number plates of cars on certain roads. Informers watch every street corner. E-mail is restricted too - Yahoo and Gmail accounts are often blocked.Well, half blocked.


For all the security and the fear, this is not a competently- run country. And it is not China.
Hotels and internet cafes use dozens of proxy servers to bypass the government's crude attempts to police the internet.


Public protests

Buddhist monks marched through the streets of Rangoon in protest

And that is why footage of the latest protests here - of the thugs beating up demonstrators and of hundreds of monks marching through Rangoon - is leaking out to the world.



The protests seem to have caught everyone by surprise. Certainly, almost no-one expected them to gain such momentum.


They were triggered by the government's unannounced, overnight decision to slash fuel subsidies. Isolated in their new capital, the generals either did not know or care what impact this would have. Suddenly millions of people could not afford the bus home, or to school.


So, how will the thieves react to this extraordinarily public humiliation? Will they crack down like in 1988, or sit back and wait for fear to do its job?


There are 400,000 monks in Burma. The fact is that so far, most have not taken to the streets. Sitting quietly in his monastery, an older monk explained to me that everyone is born afraid here - and the army will never run out of bullets.


Hoping for change
Something has changed this week in Burma. Perhaps something profound.


But there is a lot of wishful thinking going on too. It is so tempting to imagine a velvet revolution. Nilar Thein and Jimmy reunited with their baby daughter. Aung San Suu Kyi walking calmly out of prison, her uncompromising stance finally vindicated after years of isolation.


But the odds are still not good. The generals have their own version of reality - their surreal capital, their shiny new constitution. Their plans for carefully supervised elections later in the year.


Somewhere in the backstreets of Rangoon, Nilar Thein is sitting alone and alert, waiting for the wrong sort of knock at the door. Hope is keeping her going. But in Burma, hope hurts.

UN Should Put More Pressure on Burma: France

Expressing complete dissatisfaction with the lack of progress in Burma, a top French diplomat said yesterday that United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon should put more pressure on the country’s ruling junta.

Speaking to reporters outside the Security Council at the UN headquarters in New York, the French ambassador to the UN, Jean Maurice Ripert, also said that France does not accept the Burmese regime’s unilateral decision to hold a referendum on a draft constitution in May of this year, to be followed by a general election in 2010.

“They are trying to get a fait accompli: after the cyclone, let’s go to the election. No. The process was decided unilaterally and not [in consultation] with the opposition,” Ripert said, referring to Cyclone Nargis, which devastated a wide swath of the country a week before the referendum on May 10.
Ripert also offered conditional support for the diplomatic efforts of Ibrahim Gambari, the UN special envoy on Burma, who visited the country last month without achieving any tangible results.
He said that Gambari should continue his “good offices” mission on behalf of the secretary-general, “but at the same time the secretary-general should put some more pressure on the Burmese authorities so that they commit themselves to the five points and to the benchmarks the Security Council has decided last year.”

The UN Security Council has repeatedly called on the regime to release democratic opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners and begin a meaningful dialogue with Suu Kyi’s party, the National League for Democracy, and ethnic minority groups.

Referring to internal discussions within the Security Council, the French envoy said he disagreed with those who claim that there has been some improvement in the situation in Burma.
“I am absolutely unaware what kind of progress,” Ripert said.

“Aung San Suu Kyi is still under house arrest. … There is no release of political prisoners. On the contrary, there are signs that there are still some arrests going on in Burma. There is no progress vis-a-vis political dialogue,” the French ambassador said.

Ripert said he wanted to see the Security Council put some conditions on cooperation with the Burmese authorities and impose a deadline for political progress. He conceded, however, that his position does not enjoy majority support in the Council.

Buddhist Monk Makes Suicide Bid at Shwedagon

RANGOON — A Buddhist monk tried to kill himself this week at Burma's most sacred temple in an apparent protest against economic hardship, witnesses said Wednesday.

The monk, who appeared to be in his fifties, was taken to Rangoon General Hospital after slashing his own throat Tuesday afternoon at the hilltop Shwedagon Pagoda, said the witnesses, who asked not to be named so as not to draw the attention of the country's military authorities.

"The monk said he tried to kill himself because he was desperate. He said he came to Yangon [Rangoon] to take medical treatment and he ran out of money," said one of the trustees of the pagoda, who also asked for anonymity.

The trustee said the monk, whose name has not been released, was in stable condition.
It was the second suicide bid by a monk at the pagoda this year.

In March, 26-year-old Kyaw Zin Naing set himself on fire at the temple after shouting anti-government slogans, according to witnesses. He died later of burn injuries.

Witnesses to Tuesday's suicide bid did not hear the monk shout any anti-government slogans.
The Shwedagon temple has a history as a center for mass political gatherings, and was a focus for Buddhist monks and pro-democracy protesters last September.

Tuesday's incident occurred at a time when the authorities have tightened security in Rangoon and other cities to try to prevent any protests this month marking the first anniversary of last year's mass anti-government demonstrations.

Those protests began as small demonstrations complaining that the military government had failed to ease the economic burdens of the people. They later turned into broader anti-government protests, spearheaded by militant monks and bringing as many as 100,000 people out into the streets on Rangoon, the country's biggest city.

The army eventually stepped in to quash the peaceful protests by force, killing at least 31 people and detaining hundreds.

Another political significant anniversary is being marked this week. On September 18, 1988, the army intervened to smash massive pro-democracy demonstrations and grab absolute power from a weak interim government, suspending the constitution.

Junta Warns Soldiers against Demonstrations

Burmese military command in Rangoon has alerted all members of the armed forces and warned them and their families not to become involved in any future anti-government demonstrations.

In a memorandum issued on August 28—a copy of which was passed secretly to The Irrawaddy—soldiers were warned that pro-democracy activists, such as monks and students, might try to entice or motivate them to participate in demonstrations in Rangoon.

The memorandum also said that military headquarters in Naypyidaw had authorized all battalion commanders to strictly observe and control the activities of armed personnel and their families.
Family members were to be prohibited from leaving military compounds; only armed soldiers who were on duty had permission to leave the grounds, the memorandum said. 

Military command also told soldiers that, in the event of protests, the army was prohibited from interfering. Instead, the police and the General Administrative Department under the Ministry of Home Affairs would assume responsibility for any action. The armed forces should concentrate on collecting intelligence, the memo said.

Battalion commanders have been ordered to withhold the identity cards of family members and no trips or visits outside the military compounds have been permitted since early August.

“I can’t go to visit my grandparents because my ID card has been kept by the battalion captain,” said a family member of a soldier from a Light Infantry Battalion based in Naypyidaw. 

“It seems that Snr-Gen Than Shwe is worried his soldiers and their families are going to rebel against him,” said a military source in Rangoon. “He doesn’t seem to trust anyone.”

Join Burma Vigil to Mark the 1st Anniversary of Saffron Revolution (Sept. 26)

Burma Vigil
on The 1st Anniversary of Saffron Revolution

FRIDAY, SEPT. 26, 6:00 – 8:00 pm
UNION SQUARE, SAN FRANCISCO
301 Post Stret, San Francisco, CA 94102
(415) 781-7880, Get directions Download Flyers MS Word PDF

A year ago, led by Buddhist monks, hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets of Burma peacefully to cry out for an end to the long-standing military dictatorship there. Today, raising Buddhist flags and reciting prayers of love on the street is a crime punishable by beating and death. Many monks have been disrobed, beaten, humiliated, tortured, and killed, and there are reports of a massacre in the jungle. The military junta has raided monasteries and private homes in the middle of the night, dragging away those they suspect of involvement. Over 4,000 monks and thousands more protesters were arrested and the Burmese population is living in fear.

The people of Burma need our help. Despite countless military crackdowns over the past 20 years, their brave struggle for freedom continues. Please join us on the anniversary of Burma's Saffron Revolution Day to appeal to the UN and the international community to take swift and effective measures to stop injustice, and establish Burmese democracy and rule of law. Let's lift our voices for democracy in Burma as we commemorate the peaceful and heroic protests of last September.

Contact/more info: www.badasf.org;

Min Ko Naing Defiant at Hearing: Lawyer

A lawyer for Min Ko Naing, a leading figure from Burma’s nationwide pro-democracy uprising in 1988, said that the detained activist was defiant when he appeared in court at Rangoon’s Insein Prison on Tuesday.

“You can sentence us to a thousand years in prison for our political activities, but we will continue to defend ourselves in accordance with the law. Nobody can hide from justice,” the lawyer quoted Min Ko Naing as saying to the presiding judge.

Min Ko Naing

Nyi Nyi Hlaing, a lawyer for Min Ko Naing and 34 other members of the 88 Generation Students’ Group, said that the defendants were facing a variety of charges related to their involvement in last year’s protests against a drastic fuel price hike by the ruling junta.

The charges include violations of Electronics Act 33A, the Illegal Organizations Act 17/1 and Section 4 of SPDC Law No 5/96, which prohibits actions that “endanger the national convention.”

The accused were also charged with violating Article 130B of the Penal Code, which prohibits libel against friendly foreign powers. The charge stems from the group’s alleged criticism of China and Russia for their role in vetoing a draft UN Security Council resolution o¬n Burma in January 2007.
Nyi Nyi Hlaing told The Irrawaddy that the prosecution also accused Min Ko Naing and his colleagues of speaking with the exiled media. Recorded interviews and other items uploaded to Web sites operated by Burmese exiles were exhibited as evidence.

On Tuesday, the 35 detained former student leaders appeared in the Rangoon East District Court, located in Insein Prison, with their lawyers and family members to hear the charges against them.
According to relatives of the defendants, the 88 Generation Students’ Group requested on August 27 to be permitted to appear in court without handcuffs. They also requested the presence of witnesses during the court hearing, in accordance with international laws. However, only family members were allowed to enter the courtroom.

“The family members could be present and listen to the court proceedings, but [the defendants] were still in handcuffs,” said Aung Thein, another lawyer for the group.

Most of the accused have been in detention since August 21, 2007, when they were arrested for leading a march against sharp increases in the price of fuel and other commodities on August 19.
Many are veterans of Burma’s pro-democracy movement who have spent more than a decade in prison for their political activities.

Besides Min Ko Naing and Ko Ko Gyi, other prominent members of the 88 Generation Students’ Group who are now in detention include Htay Win Aung, Min Zeya, Mya Aye and Kyaw Min Yu (also known as Jimmy).

Lawyers for the group expressed doubt that they would receive a fair trial, saying that the authorities had already decided that they were guilty.

“Nobody should predict the outcome of a trial before a verdict has been reached,” said Aung Thein, referring to a press conference given by police chief Brig-Gen Khin Ye, who repeatedly declared that the defendants were guilty of a variety of crimes.

Nine other political activists who were not present at Tuesday’s hearing were also among the accused. They include Tun Myint Aung and Soe Tun, who are still in hiding, and Nilar Thein, who was arrested on Wednesday, and Mar Mar Oo, who was apprehended two weeks ago.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi Wins Concessions from the Regime

Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi has won some concessions from the military regime, including future deliveries of international magazines and personal mail, according to her lawyer, Kyi Win.

Kyi Win visited Suu Kyi on Thursday, and on Friday he told The Irrawaddy that in return for the government concessions she agreed to accept deliveries again of food and household supplies.

A protester from the National League for Democracy holds a portrait of the pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi during a rally demanding the release of Suu Kyi near the Burmese Embassy in Seoul on June 3. (Photo: Reuters)

Suu Kyi’s refusal of outside supplies since August 15 fuelled rumors that she was on a hunger strike.“She was aware that people are worried about her health,” said Kyi Win “But she said that she knows well how to take care of herself.”
Suu Kyi’s doctor, Tin Myo Win, would visit her on Sunday and then report on her health and on the reports that she had been on a hunger strike, Kyi Win said.
Suu Kyi would again accept outside supplies after the Sunday meeting with her doctor, who would bring her letters from her two sons, who live abroad.

Kyi Win said she would also be allowed to receive international magazines such as Time and Newsweek and local newspapers.
He told The Irrawaddy: “She is very happy. I’m very happy too. It is positive for both the authorities and her.”

Suu Kyi had been demanding better conditions of her house arrest, including access to information, deliveries of private mail and monthly visits by her physician.

Her party spokesman, Nyan Win, said she had also asked for Internet access, but it wasn’t known whether that request would be granted.

Kyi Win said Suu Kyi had also pressed for greater freedom of movement for the two women who help her in the household.

One of the women was admitted to hospital this week, suffering from an undisclosed illness, and the authorities denied visitors access to her ward.

The other housekeeper, Khin Khin Win, a member of Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy, was now allowed to move freely in and out of Suu Kyi’s compound on University Avenue, Kyi Win said.

The lawyer said that during their two-hour meeting on Thursday he and Suu Kyi had discussed a legal appeal against her current term of house arrest.

Suu Kyi was now prepared also to meet the regime’s liaison minister, Aung Kyi, and a meeting had been scheduled for September 15, Kyi Win said.

Suu Kyi has spent more than 13 of the past 19 years under house arrest. Her current term of detention began in May, 2003, after her convoy was attacked by thugs backed by the regime.

Join Parade for Burma this Sunday at Solano Stroll Street Fair

Join Burma Supporters at Solano Stroll Parade to spread awareness
San Francisco Bay Area Burma supporters to join the Solano Stroll Parade this year again and speared awareness about situation in Burma. A one mile long street celebration is attended by more than 100,000 annually form Bay Area, California and other states. 

Important to know:

* Parade begin at 10AM with about 100 participating groups (Burmese will be one of them); it usually last about 1 1/2 hour.
* Parade participants to gather at 9:00 a.m. SHARP at the corner of FRESNO AVENUE and SOLANO AVENUE, Berkeley CA 94707;
  Look for people with Burmese dresses and drums. Bring sings and banners and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi photos. All Burma Supporters are welcome to join in. Call 510 485 3751 for questions/informati on.
* After the Parade, please visit BADA/Burma booth at 1244 Solano Avenue (@Masonic Avenue). Also visit 75 Entertainers / 50 Food Booths / 120 Arts and Crafters and 150 Local Non-Profits. 26 Blocks of free fun!

See a YouTube Video here: http://www.youtube. com/watch? v=DSziBGGW- fA

Also check out our last year Burma supporter's participation information: http://www.badasf. org/2007/ SolanoStrollSumm arySept9. htm.

Please join us at the Parade to help highlight the situation in Burma and speared the awareness about her to thousands. Burma needs you again!

Let's Parade for Burma at Solano Stroll! Please join!  

Solano Stroll is the East Bay's largest street festival! The Solano Avenue Merchants Association invites you to come and see what makes Solano Avenue such a wonderful place. Participants and the event guests visit from everywhere throughout California; as well as neighboring states from Nevada to Maine. Every cuisine imaginable** Filling the streets with hundreds of thousands.

34th Annual, 2008 Solano Stroll - Street Celebration  
Sunday, September 14, 10am - 6pm
Solano Avenue in Berkeley & Albany, CA

Parade at 10AM with about 100 participating groups (Burmese will be one of them); it usually last about 1 1/2 hour.
Also visit 75 Entertainers / 50 Food Booths / 120 Arts and Crafters and 150 Local Non-Profits. 26 Blocks of free fun!  
*** In 2002, the Stroll was honored by the Library of Congress as a National Local Legacy. ***

PRE-PARADE GATHERING SPOT TO JOIN BURMA SUPPORTERS!! !

At 9:00 a.m. SHARP at the corner of FRESNO AVENUE and SOLANO AVENUE, Berkeley CA 94707; Look for people with Burmese dresses and drums. 

All are invited to participate in the parade with us. Feel free to show up that morning to join BADA and other Burma supporters at the corner of Fresno Avenue and Solano Avenue, Berkeley, CA. We'll be carrying the banners, sings, flags and photos of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and other leaders.

More information, please contact Anil Verma at 510 485 3751, parade@badasf. org. Also visit www.badasf.org.

DRESSES, SIGNS AND BANNERS

1.  Please wear your national dress to celebrate our culture
2.  We will have flags, banners and signs for you to carry and help spread the awareness about situation in Burma
3.  You are encouraged to bring large photos of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and others
4. We will need some of you to volunteer and carry some banners and signs

Some Parade Rules

The Parade Participants shall begin checking in at 8:15AM and absolutely no later than 9:00AM!
Please do not stop for any reason except for a health and/or safety issue.
There will be no throwing candy during the parade. 
The most important thing you must do in the parade is be safe. The second most important is to have fun

More info on the Stroll (What you can do after The Parade)

The fun begins at 8 a.m. with the traditional pancake breakfast at Veterans' Memorial Park in Albany, followed by the opening of Solano Avenue businesses and Stroll booths at 10AM. But the real kickoff is the theme parade with about 100 groups at 10AM. After the parade, you can visit one of 75 entertainers, 50 food booths, 120 juried arts and crafters, games, wacky art cars, and 150 community organizations, not to mention the unique and popular shops already here on the Avenue.

You will hear the best in local music, dance and other performances and absolutely stunning costumes from all over the globe!

Stop by Environmental Alley at the top of Solano where you can learn all about getting green, and what we can do as a planet to help sustain our environment!

Then, at the very bottom of Solano, 26 blocks down is Kidtown for the youngsters, with giant slides, Dr. Solar and his Traveling Medicine Show, carnival games, stilt walkers, face painters, jugglers, and much, much more.

This alcohol-free event promotes the unique traits of Solano Avenue, helping local businesses, local artists, and community organizations to thrive. The Stroll solidifies community spirit, neighbors find old friends, and families enjoy an afternoon in the sun.

Transportation information for Fair goers

Fairgoers can Stroll one way and ride the free shuttles the other way on parallel Marin Ave. The shuttles run 10AM-7PM from the North Berkeley BART station to The Alameda and Marin Avenue, one block South of Solano Avenue. There is a second free shuttle along Marin Avenue so you can Stroll one way and ride the other. Just flag it down at any corner between The Alameda, in Berkeley - to Kains Avenue, in Albany.

Shuttles are wheelchair accessible. Ride your bike and enjoy free valet bicycle parking at Wells Fargo Bank, 1800 Solano Avenue – Berkeley.

You can also use AC Transit – bus numbers #18, #72, or #79.
Special handicapped parking is available on the east and west sides of The Alameda, north of Solano.
Here's a link to a Google map of Solano Ave At The Alameda, Berkeley, CA 94707

Come be a part of this wonderful community event!

Crime, Murder Mounting in Rangoon

A 29-year-old man was stabbed to death by four assailants at a small marketplace in Hlaing Tharyar Township at 8 p.m. On Tuesday. According to an eyewitness in the Rangoon suburb, the victim was walking with a woman when he was attacked. However, the woman was left unharmed and nothing was stolen.

Local police are reportedly investigating the murder, but no one has been arrested.
The incident was just the latest in a spate of murders, assaults, robberies and burglaries in Hlaing Tharyar. A police officer told The Irrawaddy that since Cyclone Nargis hit Burma in early May, there has been an average of one serious crime per day in the western suburb.

Armed robbery has become increasingly common in Hlaing Tharyar, the policeman said, with cyclone victims being most at risk.

“Many people from cyclone-affected villages in the Irrawaddy delta, such as Dedaye, have taken refuge in Hlaing Tharyar over the last few months,” he said. “They bring all their money and possessions with them. This makes them a target for robbers who are mainly looking for gold.”
Much of Hlaing Tharyar was also affected by the cyclone and many people lost their homes and possessions.

“Housebreaking is common here,” said a resident. “I rent a house to a family who brought all their belongings with them. Now everything has been stolen.”

Last week, a 40-year-old officer from the Internal Revenue Department was murdered at his home in downtown Rangoon. Police investigating the case have said that he may have known his assailants.

Rangoon police are still looking for the culprits that executed five people in their home on Inya Road earlier this year.

And, in a case publicized by several local weekly journals, a couple from Rangoon’s Thingangyun Township were murdered in August. One suspect has been arrested.
According to journalists in Rangoon, local police are warning people who live in apartments to lock doors and gates, but at the same time telling residents that they (the police) will not be responsible for any burglaries.

Burmese Activists in Japan Begin Hunger Strike

Burmese political activists in Japan have begun a hunger strike to demand the release of detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and to call on the United Nations and Japan to take action on Burma, according to the Joint Action Committee of the Burmese Community in Japan (JAC).

Than Swe, a spokesperson for the JAC, told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday that five members of Japan-based Burmese organizations began a 72-hour hunger strike yesterday at 6 p.m. in front of the UN office in Tokyo.

He described the move as a “first step” in a series of planned protests. 

“For the second step, five other participants will start another 72-hour hunger strike” after the first strike is finished, said Than Swe. This will be followed by an unlimited hunger strike, he added.
The five activists taking part in the first hunger strike were identified as Moe Tint Tint Khine, Aung Tun Lin, Nyi Nyi Nge, Kyaw Min Tun and Tin Aung.

“We are awfully worried about Aung San Suu Kyi, who has refused to accept food for three weeks,” said Moe Tint Tint Khine, one of the participants. “We began the hunger strike to get action on Burma from the international community.”

Rumors have been circulating since mid-August that Suu Kyi has been refusing food deliveries to her home by members of her party, the National League for Democracy (NLD).

According to NLD sources, Suu Kyi has not received a food delivery since August 15. However, there has been no independent confirmation that she is on a hunger strike.

The NLD released a statement on Friday that Suu Kyi’s safety and well-being are the responsibility of the Burmese military authorities who have unlawfully detained her.

The Burmese police chief, Khin Yee, on Sunday denied that Suu Kyi was on a hunger strike.

Burmese Junta Cracks Down on Monks, Activists

Perhaps fearing another uprising during the anniversary of last year’s demonstrations, Burmese security forces are now closely monitoring those who were  involved in the 2007 uprising, and have recently arrested several activists and monks in Rangoon, according to dissident sources.

A senior Buddhist monk from Thanlyin Marlayon monastery in Thanlyin Township in Rangoon was arrested after security forces raided the monastery on Friday, according to a statement released by the Thailand-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners—Burma (AAPP). 

More than 20 plainclothes security officials raided the monastery on Friday morning at about 2 a.m. and searched the monastery for about 40 minutes. The authorities then arrested a 58-year-old monk named U Thilawontha, said the statement. It was not known where the monk was taken.
AAPP said that security forces warned the remaining monks not to go outside and deployed plainclothes security guards—believed to be intelligence officials—around Thanlyin Marlayon monastery.

The secretary of AAPP, Tate Naing, told The Irrawaddy that at least nine activists and monks, including U Thilawontha, have been arrested in Rangoon within the past four days.

The arrested activists were named as Ko Ko, Maung Nge, Saw Maung and Tin Myo Htut. Four unidentified Buddhist monks in Rangoon were also arrested, the AAPP secretary said.

The activists were reportedly members of three anti-government groups in Rangoon known as “Generation Wave”; “The Best Manure,” or “Myay All Zar” in Burmese; and the “New Generation Movement for Justice,” sometimes known as simply “Justice.” 

“Security guards have now been deployed all over the place,” said Tate Naing.   
On Wednesday, Tin Myo Htut (aka Kyaw Oo), a member of Generation Wave, was arrested in Rangoon on the way to meet some friends, a source in Rangoon said.    

“Most dissidents keep running and hiding because the police are tracking them down,” he told The Irrawaddy on Friday. “The authorities are scared of a repeat of last September’s protests.”   
The source added that another member of Generation Wave has been missing for two days.
Meanwhile, in Pakokku Township in Magwe Division, plainclothes security guards have been deployed in public areas and around local monasteries for several days, said a monk in Pakokku.   
More than 30 activists were arrested by Burmese military authorities in August, of whom 21 were imprisoned, according to the AAPP.

Burma Activists Trial – “More Charges Than Bin Laden”

Thirty-five people were dragged into a court in Rangoon in handcuffs for a third day today. They are charged with hundreds of offences, mostly for their alleged involvement in the peaceful pro-democracy uprising in September last year.

As charges were read out today Min Ko Naing, leader of the 88 Generation Students, who make up thirteen of the 35 on trial, made a speech condemning the so-called trial, and ridiculing the number of offences they were being charged with. ‘There are more charges than would be made against the terrorist Osama Bin Laden’, he stated. Some activists could face 15 separate charges, and face spending the rest of their lives in jail.

For a second day, one of the lawyers for the defendants was barred from entering the court. He had been vocal in demanding that the trial be conducted according to the law, which allows members of the media and public to attend the trial. Only state media have been allowed to attend. International observers are also banned.

“The trial is a farce,” said Wai Hnin, Political Prisoners Campaigner at Burma Campaign UK, and daughter of Mya Aye, of the 88 Generation activists on trial. “They have committed no crimes, but the regime is scared of them and wants to keep them locked up forever. Why is the United Nations silent even though the Security Council called for the release of political prisoners?”

The number of political prisoners in Burma has almost doubled in the past year, totalling 2,056.
All hopes for the release of the prisoners are now pinned on a visit to Burma in December by United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon. The release of all political prisoners is at the top of his agenda, and will be the benchmark by which the success of his visit will be judged.

“Ban Ki-Moon must secure the release of all prisoners as the first step towards genuine talks and a transition to democracy,” said Wai Hnin. “Anything less will mean his visit will be a failure.”

NLD Calls Junta to Ensure Well-being of Suu Kyi

RANGOON — The political party of detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi urged Burma's military government Friday to ensure her well-being as she continued to refuse food deliveries to protest her detention.

The National League for Democracy "expressed concern" that Suu Kyi has not accepted food delivered to her home for almost three weeks, the party said in a statement.

It did not say whether she was on a hunger strike, a question that has remained unanswered since the first mention of her refusal to accept food over a week ago.

The 63-year-old Nobel Peace Prize laureate has been held in detention by the ruling military junta for 13 of the past 19 years, mostly under house arrest, and relies on food delivered by her party for sustenance.

Friday's statement called Suu Kyi's action a protest, which had only been alluded to until now.
"She is refusing food supplies in protest against ... her unlawful detention under the security law," the party said.

Suu Kyi also wants greater freedom of movement for two female companions who live with her and help take care of the house, it said. They are currently not allowed to leave the compound.
She is also protesting that authorities have not allowed her to receive a monthly medical checkup by her physician as they earlier promised, it said. A doctor visited Suu Kyi on August 17, but her previous checkup was in January, the party said.

"Her safety and well-being are the soul responsibility of the authorities who have unlawfully detained her," it said.

Suu Kyi's lawyer, Kyi Win, was allowed to meet with her for 30 minutes on Monday, and said she told him that "I am well but I have lost some weight."

Rumors of a possible hunger strike have circulated widely in Rangoon, where Suu Kyi's isolation has only increased the mystique that surrounds her.

Similar hunger strike rumors spread in 2003 and in 1989, but proved untrue.

Supporters have speculated that Suu Kyi is frustrated over the United Nations' failure to bring about democratic reform in the country, which has been ruled by the military since 1962.
Suu Kyi canceled meetings with UN special envoy Ibrahim Gambari during his six-day visit to Burma last month, and he left without seeing her.

UN envoys and other senior officials have visited the country nearly 40 times since 1990, and the UN General Assembly has passed numerous resolutions calling for change.

Exiled Dissident Visits Burma

An exiled Burmese dissident who recently traveled back to his troubled homeland said that the purpose of his visit was to gain a better understanding of the economic and humanitarian challenges facing the country, not to talk politics.

Zaw Oo, head of the Vahu Development Institute, based in Chiang Mai, Thailand, told The Irrawaddy that he made a four-day trip to Burma in July as an economist interested in the weaknesses exposed by Cyclone Nargis, the biggest natural disaster to strike the country in generations.

Zaw Oo, head of the Vahu Development Institute

The prominent exiled dissident added that he did not discuss politics during his visit. He also confirmed that he was planning to return to Burma again in the near future.

Returning to Burma for the first time in nearly two decades, Zaw Oo said he was saddened by the widespread poverty that he witnessed there.

As a former policy advisor to the National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma (NCGUB), the government in exile, and director of the Burma Fund, the NCGUB’s think tank, he was once an outspoken opponent of the regime. He was also a leader of the All Burma Students’ Democratic Front, an insurgent group formed by Burmese students in 1988.

Some Burmese activists in exile compared Zaw Oo’s trip to one made by Zarni, co-founder of the Free Burma Coalition, in May 2004. Sources close to the Burmese authorities said, however, that the two trips were handled very differently by officials.

During his one-day trip, Zarni met with high-ranking military intelligence officers, including members of a think tank formed by Brig-Gen Than Tun and Col Hla Min, deputies of the former spy chief Gen Khin Nyunt.

Zaw Oo, by contrast, met mainly with lower ranking figures, including an officer of the Military Security Affairs, which replaced the Military Intelligence Service after the ouster of Gen Khin Nyunt in Oct 2004. Sources also said that Zaw Oo faced some problems applying for a visa.

Zaw Oo denied this, and said that he was well-treated by the authorities when he was in Burma. He said that he met with all of the officials he needed to meet, adding, however, that the meetings were not held formally.

He declined to provide any details about the ranks of the officials he met.

Yin Yin Oo, the sister of Deputy Foreign Minister Kyaw Thu and an official with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, reportedly played a significant role in helping Zaw Oo to get a visa, according to sources in Rangoon.

Zaw Oo said that his trip wasn’t like Zarni’s because he didn’t go to Burma to talk about politics. “I only talked about Nargis and economic issues there,” he said.

He said that the impact of Cyclone Nargis made many government officials realize that there is a need for change. He added that UN relief experts now have ministerial-level access to the government.

He also said that his trip made him realize that many exiles don’t have a complete picture of the situation inside Burma.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s Lawyer Denies She Won’t Meet Regime Minister

Burma’s opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) has denied a report in the regime’s official newspaper that the party’s leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, is refusing to meet the minister charged with liaising between her and the government.

The government mouthpiece, The New Light of Myanmar, reported on Wednesday that Suu Kyi had declined a scheduled meeting with Labor Minister Aung Kyi on Tuesday. The meeting had been arranged at the request of the United Nations following the latest, unsuccessful mission to Burma by special envoy Ibrahim Gambari at the end of August, the newspaper said.

The New Light of Myanmar reported that Suu Kyi had told her lawyer, Kyi Win, that she didn’t want to meet Aung Kyi. She also declined a visit by her doctor, the newspaper said.

Suu Kyi also declined a meeting with Gambari.

“For the time being, she wants to meet no one, except advocate U Kyi Win,” said The New Light of Myanmar.

Kyi Win said that when he met Suu Kyi on Monday she had said she was prepared to meet Aung Kyi but had added: “However, there are problems to be solved.”

Kyi Win said: “She also said that she felt weak and tired, and asked me to appeal for understanding.” The lawyer said she had lost weight but otherwise appeared to be well.
The NLD says Suu Kyi has told it not to deliver any more food or supplies to her home, but has denied she is on a hunger strike.

Suu Kyi has been allowed to meet Kyi Win three times in the past month. The lawyer said that at their Monday meeting they had discussed an appeal against the regime’s latest detention order. The Nobel laureate has been under house arrest for 13 of the past 19 years, and is now in the sixth year of continuous detention.

Another city has, meanwhile, honored Suu Kyi by making her an honorary citizen.
Dundee in Scotland has given her the “freedom of the city,” a rare honor reserved for outstanding personalities.

Anna Roberts, Director of the Burma Campaign-UK, who will collect the award on Suu Kyi’s behalf, said such prestigious honors “are really important for raising awareness of the situation of Aung San Suu Kyi herself, but also more widely about all of the people in Burma.

"It's a great occasion to be able to raise the profile of Burma and also to let people know inside Burma that the world has not forgotten and that they are campaigning to help bring freedom and democracy to Burma.

"Aung San Suu Kyi herself will probably hear about this award and people inside Burma certainly do take great courage and they feel very supported by acts like this.

"She remains a powerful source of hope and inspiration for the people of Burma and it's important that we never forget and we never stop campaigning for her release and [the release of] all political prisoners in Burma."

Burmese Reporter Arrested over Murder Story

A reporter for a leading Rangoon journal was arrested on Monday after being summoned and rebuked by the authorities last week for reporting on the murder of a couple in Rangoon’s Thingangyun Township.

Police from Kyauktada Township in Rangoon arrested Saw Myint Than, the chief reporter for the Flower News Journal, on Monday night and is now holding him at the local police station, according to sources. 

Saw Myint Than was reportedly charged with at least three offences, including violations of Section 17/A of the Electronics Act, which bans contact with organizations deemed to be unlawful, and Article 124/A of the Criminal Code, which forbids expressions of disrespect towards the government.

Last week's Tuesday, Saw Myint Than was summoned by police and threatened with arrest for reporting on the murder. He was also warned that the journal’s publishing license could be revoked.
“His situation is not good,” said a journalist in Rangoon. “It is like the authorities have lost patience and have done this to make an example of him.”

Another journalist said that Saw Myint Than was accused of spreading rumors after reports of his interrogation by the police last week appeared in the Burmese exiled media. Officials reportedly asked him if he was working for The Irrawaddy, which is based in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
His story about the murder passed through the military regime’s censorship board, the Press Scrutiny and Registration Division, and was also published in other journals, including Weekly Eleven and Voice Weekly.

It is common practice in Burma for news of crimes written by independent reporters to be censored. All stories in the print media must pass through the censorship office.
Meanwhile, several journalists in Rangoon confirmed that the Burmese authorities have tightened restrictions on access to government ministries. According to sources, journalists who visit government offices are now required to provide detailed information about who they are working for.

Security Beefed up in Burma's Major Cities

Burmese authorities have increased security in Rangoon and other cities that were at the center of last year’s Buddhist monk-led protests, according local residents.

Residents claimed that security has been stepped up due to fears of a repeat of last year’s protests against the military government, which erupted one year ago this month. Sources said that the increased security may be deployed until the end of the month.

Other major locations where security forces have been increased are Burma’s second-largest city, Mandalay; Sittwe Township in Arakan state; Pegu Division; and Pakokku Township in Magwe Division.

“Security forces are now deployed all over Rangoon,” said one resident of the former capital. “The authorities are using more forces than we have ever seen before.” 

A senior monk at Bawdi Mandine Monastery in Pakokku Township said that security forces were often seen patrolling downtown and some plainclothes security guards were deployed in public areas and around local monasteries, including his monastery.

“They are worried about the possibility of protests this month because of the protests that happened in September last year. So they are preparing in advance,” said the monk. “We think that they will deploy the security guards until the end of September.”

Pakokku Township was the scene of the first crackdown on protesting Buddhist monks last year. Burmese troops tied monks to utility poles and beat them with the butts of their rifles, sparking outrage that spread to other cities.

Pyinya Zawta, an exiled leader of the underground All Burma Monks Alliance, said that security forces, including members of the Union Solidarity and Development Association, have been deployed in local monasteries and public areas such as markets. 

Speaking from the Thai border town of Mae Sot, he said that he had received reports that security has been especially tight around Mandalay’s New Masoeyein Monastery for the past three days.
As part of a brutal crackdown, the authorities raided more than 130 monasteries in Mandalay alone, forcibly defrocking and imprisoning monks. Tens of thousands of peaceful protesters were detained throughout the country, and according to the United Nations, 31 people were killed.