Hello Everyone,
Joyful greetings to you and your loved ones!
Happy New Year!!!
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
A Word of Hope for Burma
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Thank you for all that you do for USCB and the people of Burma. |
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Thursday, December 24, 2009
Please support BADA;DONATE TODAY; Also Join Annual Meeting on Jan 17
BADA's 2010 ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
WE CORDIALLY INVITE YOU TO
Dear Friends,
We would like to invite you to BADA's 2010 Annual General Meeting. We are marking the 9th anniversary of BADA. BADA was founded on Jan 7th, 2001 by the people of San Francisco Bay Area to advocate for freedom of the people of Burma. Come celebrate the new year with us and get the latest update on BADA's programs.
When: Sunday, January 17, 2010
Lunch 11am - 12pm; Program 12pm- 3pm
Where: Union City Library
34007 Alvarado-Niles Road Union City, California 94587
In the spirit of the holidays, help us continue and expand our work in the community by making a tax-deductible Special Holidays Donation to BADA.
Your contributions will help us:
1. Empower community-based local campaigns to promote human rights in Burma.
2. Support the education of migrant and refugee students in the Thai-Burma border through BADA's Children Education Fund.
3. Provide humanitarian assistance inside Burma.
With your kind support, we further pledge to do more for the people of Burma. Please make your tax-deductible contribution now by clicking the Special Holidays Donation to BADA. BADA is a 100% volunteer-based 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.
2010 AGM Steering Committee
Burmese American Democratic Alliance (BADA)
www.badasf.org
WE CORDIALLY INVITE YOU TO
Dear Friends,
We would like to invite you to BADA's 2010 Annual General Meeting. We are marking the 9th anniversary of BADA. BADA was founded on Jan 7th, 2001 by the people of San Francisco Bay Area to advocate for freedom of the people of Burma. Come celebrate the new year with us and get the latest update on BADA's programs.
When: Sunday, January 17, 2010
Lunch 11am - 12pm; Program 12pm- 3pm
Where: Union City Library
34007 Alvarado-Niles Road Union City, California 94587
In the spirit of the holidays, help us continue and expand our work in the community by making a tax-deductible Special Holidays Donation to BADA.
Your contributions will help us:
1. Empower community-based local campaigns to promote human rights in Burma.
2. Support the education of migrant and refugee students in the Thai-Burma border through BADA's Children Education Fund.
3. Provide humanitarian assistance inside Burma.
With your kind support, we further pledge to do more for the people of Burma. Please make your tax-deductible contribution now by clicking the Special Holidays Donation to BADA. BADA is a 100% volunteer-based 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.
2010 AGM Steering Committee
Burmese American Democratic Alliance (BADA)
www.badasf.org
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Burma Threatens Thailand's stability: Bangkok Govenor
Please read the detailed story HERE
BANGKOK — Speaking at a dinner talk on Tuesday night, Bangkok Gov. M.R. Sukhumbhand Paribatra said that Thailand's already precarious stability faces additional pressure from its neighbor Burma.
Addressing a forum at the Bangkok Sheraton Grande Hotel, the Democrat Party deputy secretary-general and former deputy foreign minister said, “A major source of regional instability is the large standing army maintained by the Myanmar [Burmese] government.”
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| Bangkok governor M.R. Sukhumbhand Paribatra. (Source: Facebook) |
He compared Thailand's 430,000-strong military with Burma's, which has been estimated at more than 500,000 and is thought to be the largest standing army in Southeast Asia.
Commenting on the Burmese junta's attempts to upgrade and expand its military, Paribatra said, “Myanmar [Burma] has been modernizing [its military] for a long time, and this could fuel a regional arms race.”
Thailand spends less than 5 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP) on defense, he said, while the military dictatorship in Naypidaw is thought to allocate around one-third of the country's GDP to military spending.
Accurate figures for Burma's military spending are not available, but several organizations including the Soros Foundation believe that around 40 percent of Burma's GDP is spent on the military.
Thailand is about to start a military modernization program based on two five-year procurement and upgrade phases, according to Paribatra. Thailand's defense spending as a proportion of GDP has declined relative to the rest of southeast Asia in recent years.
The increasingly close relationship between the Burmese junta and the Communist regime in North Korea is also causing concern in Thailand. Both sides are collaborating on conventional military means and rumors circulate that Naypyidaw is seeking Pyongyang's assistance in developing some form of nuclear capability. North Korea itself tested nuclear weapons in early 2009.
Focusing on domestic Burmese politics, Paribatra said that the lack of national reconciliation in Burma would mean continued violence and instability, especially in the borderlands where ethnic minorities live. This would lead to more displacement, and, inevitably, Thailand would receive additional refugees coming in to the north. More than 130,000 Burmese refugees already live in camps along northern Thailand's border with Burma.
The Burmese junta's armed forces attacked the ethnic Kokang militia in northern Shan State close to the Chinese border in late August, causing 37,000 refugees to flee to China. It was suggested that this was a prelude to a wider assault on ethnic minority groups.
Militias representing the 17 “cease-fire groups” have been ordered to become border guard forces that would be part of the junta state security apparatus. However, most have either refused or ignored the request, prompting speculation that the junta's growing and well-equipped forces will attack the recalcitrant ethnic militias before and possibly after the planned 2010 national elections.
Paribatra likened the internal displacement situation in Burma to that of Sudan's western Darfur region, where government forces and allied militias have carried out what the US believes to be genocide since early 2003.
Another source of concern for Thailand is the Burmese drug trade, he said. UN figures show Burma produced an estimated 410 tons of opium in 2008 (enough to make 40 tons of heroin), making the country the world's second-largest producer after Afghanistan, which accounts for 90 percent of world output. Burma is also a major source for methamphetamine, much of which is trafficked to Thailand from northern Shan State.
Despite the concerns, Thailand has an ambivalent relationship with Burma. Economists believe the Thai economy depends on cheap Burmese labor provided by an estimated 3 million Burmese migrants.
He said gas piped from the Shwe Field helps meet Thailand's electricity needs even though Burmese citizens frequently go without power, and this despite long-standing allegations that junta forces have perpetrated atrocities and human rights violations in the vicinity of the Yadana Pipeline, which carries the gas south to Thailand.
Thailand is also involved in a highly controversial project to build dams on the Salween River, less than 50 km from the Thai-Burma border–though this has been hit by recent fall-off in Thailand electricity needs.
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Detained US Citizen On Hunger Strike
Nyi Nyi Aung, the Burmese-American arrested in September, has been on a hunger strike in Insein prison since Friday in protest against prison injustices, family members told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday.
“He is demanding authorities deal with injustices and repression facing political prisoners,” said Nyi Nyi Aung's aunt, Khin Khin Swe, who met him during yesterday's family visit.
“He will not stop his hunger strike until and unless he sees better health care for prisoners and is assured of other prisoners' rights,” she said.
Since Nyi Nyi Aung, 40, launched his hunger strike, his family members have expressed concern about his health.
“He still looks fine. But we are very worried about him,” said Khin Khin Swe.
Nyi Nyi Aung, a Burmese political activist who resettled in the United States as a political refugee in 1993, was arrested at Rangoon's International Airport on Sept. 3 this year when he arrived on a flight from Bangkok.
According to the Burmese state-run newspapers, Nyi Nyi Aung entered Burma eight times between November 2005 and September 2009.
Although the Burmese government initially accused him of engaging in terrorist activities, he is now charged with using fake documents and carrying excessive amounts of foreign currency into Burma, according to a press statement from the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), a Thailand-based organization working for the political prisoners in Burma, released on Monday.
According to AAPP, Nyi Nyi Aung was brutally tortured during the interrogation, and his mother, 61, and a female cousin, 32, are serving long sentences in separate prisons for political offenses.
Speaking to The Irrawaddy on Tuesday, Bo Kyi, joint secretary of AAPP, said: “Hunger strikes sporadically take place inside Burma's prisons. The authorities usually handle them by negotiation or use of force.”
Hunger strikes usually happen when restrictions on prisoners are too severe. Prisoners usually demand basic rights and better health care and food, according to a former political prisoner, Bo Bo Oo, who was released last September after 20 years in jail.
Bo Bo Oo launched two hunger strikes, one lasting five days and another eleven days while he was living in Myingyan prison, demanding journals and newspapers to read and better food. Bo Bo Oo said the authorities later acceded to his demands.
But the authorities can sometimes be quite tough in handling prisoners' demands, Bo Kyi said. “We have the case of Aung Kyaw Moe, a political prisoner who died in Tharrawaddy Prison during a hunger strike calling for his release, which was long overdue, in 1998.”
“Aung Kyaw Moe was ordered to halt his hunger strike and was beaten to death when he refused to do so,” said Bo Kyi. “Sometimes, if the authorities do not wish to negotiate with the hunger-striking prisoners, they deprive them of water upon which hunger-striking prisoners depend to stay alive.”
A total of 2,173 political prisoners are being held in prisons throughout Burma. Despite repeated calls by the international community for the release of political prisoners, there is no sign of this happening soon.
“He is demanding authorities deal with injustices and repression facing political prisoners,” said Nyi Nyi Aung's aunt, Khin Khin Swe, who met him during yesterday's family visit.
“He will not stop his hunger strike until and unless he sees better health care for prisoners and is assured of other prisoners' rights,” she said.
Since Nyi Nyi Aung, 40, launched his hunger strike, his family members have expressed concern about his health.
“He still looks fine. But we are very worried about him,” said Khin Khin Swe.
Nyi Nyi Aung, a Burmese political activist who resettled in the United States as a political refugee in 1993, was arrested at Rangoon's International Airport on Sept. 3 this year when he arrived on a flight from Bangkok.
According to the Burmese state-run newspapers, Nyi Nyi Aung entered Burma eight times between November 2005 and September 2009.
Although the Burmese government initially accused him of engaging in terrorist activities, he is now charged with using fake documents and carrying excessive amounts of foreign currency into Burma, according to a press statement from the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), a Thailand-based organization working for the political prisoners in Burma, released on Monday.
According to AAPP, Nyi Nyi Aung was brutally tortured during the interrogation, and his mother, 61, and a female cousin, 32, are serving long sentences in separate prisons for political offenses.
Speaking to The Irrawaddy on Tuesday, Bo Kyi, joint secretary of AAPP, said: “Hunger strikes sporadically take place inside Burma's prisons. The authorities usually handle them by negotiation or use of force.”
Hunger strikes usually happen when restrictions on prisoners are too severe. Prisoners usually demand basic rights and better health care and food, according to a former political prisoner, Bo Bo Oo, who was released last September after 20 years in jail.
Bo Bo Oo launched two hunger strikes, one lasting five days and another eleven days while he was living in Myingyan prison, demanding journals and newspapers to read and better food. Bo Bo Oo said the authorities later acceded to his demands.
But the authorities can sometimes be quite tough in handling prisoners' demands, Bo Kyi said. “We have the case of Aung Kyaw Moe, a political prisoner who died in Tharrawaddy Prison during a hunger strike calling for his release, which was long overdue, in 1998.”
“Aung Kyaw Moe was ordered to halt his hunger strike and was beaten to death when he refused to do so,” said Bo Kyi. “Sometimes, if the authorities do not wish to negotiate with the hunger-striking prisoners, they deprive them of water upon which hunger-striking prisoners depend to stay alive.”
A total of 2,173 political prisoners are being held in prisons throughout Burma. Despite repeated calls by the international community for the release of political prisoners, there is no sign of this happening soon.
Monday, December 7, 2009
Holiday Appeal: Will you make a Special Holiday Donation for Burma?
Dear All,
As the year comes to an end, I would like to thank you for your dedication to the U.S. Campaign for Burma. Without our grassroots members, our efforts to support the non-violent struggle for democracy and human rights in Burma, under the leadership of the world's only imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize Recipient Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, would not be possible.
Over the past year, your calls to Congress resulted in record backing for the renewal of comprehensive sanctions on Burma's military regime. Your volunteer hours with USCB at dozens of U2 concerts across the country brought 10,000 new supporters into our movement. And your contributions have allowed us to continue to keep the American public and policy makers focused on Burma, with USCB cited in more than 5,000 media articles, including the New York Times, the Washington Post, and CNN.
2010 will be the most critical year for Burma in twenty years. With a showcase election on the horizon, broken ceasefire agreements between the regime and ethnic resistance groups, and a new U.S. policy towards Burma, we need your support now more than ever.
I appeal to you to make a tax-deductible gift to U.S. Campaign for Burma.
With your contributions, we will continue our plans to push for the United Nations to set up a Commission of Inquiry intocrimes against humanity in Burma, the release of over 2,100 political prisoners including Aung San Suu Kyi, and realizing of a meaningful and time-bound dialogue among political forces inside Burma toward national reconciliation.
This holiday season, we will be sharing video messages from Burma's celebrity supporters on our webpage:www.uscampaignforburma.org. And we will continue to keep you updated on our advocacy efforts as the year wraps up. 2010 will change Burma forever; we are asking your support to make sure these are positive developments.
We are truly grateful for your commitment to USCB and the struggle for freedom, justice and democracy by the people of Burma.
Best Wishes,
Aung Din
Executive Director
U.S. Campaign for Burma
aungdin@uscampaignforburma.org
Please make your holiday gift today -- Donate Here
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Urgent Action for Crimes Against Humanity in Burma
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Hi Burma And, |
US Teacher Deported by no reason
An American English teacher working for the American Center in Rangoon was deported on Saturday, according to a source close to the US Embassy in Rangoon who spoke to The Irrawaddy on conditions of anonymity.
Christina Peterson was briefly detained at a highway bus station in Rangoon on her way back from the American Consulate in Mandalay, where she had given a talk on environmental issues. Some members of the National League for Democracy (NLD) also participated in the talk, according to the source.
“She just talked about environmental issues in Mandalay. The moment she got off the bus in Rangoon, she was immediately taken to the airport and wasn't even allowed to go back to her room,” the source said.
Peterson had been working for the American Center in Rangoon as an English teacher since 2007, and she was also an organizer of an environmental club for the center. The American Center provides English language courses and runs a library popular among young people in Rangoon.
Last May, US citizens Jerry Redfern and his wife Karen Coates, who were teaching feature writing and photography in Mandalay, were also forced to leave the country.
Christina Peterson was briefly detained at a highway bus station in Rangoon on her way back from the American Consulate in Mandalay, where she had given a talk on environmental issues. Some members of the National League for Democracy (NLD) also participated in the talk, according to the source.
“She just talked about environmental issues in Mandalay. The moment she got off the bus in Rangoon, she was immediately taken to the airport and wasn't even allowed to go back to her room,” the source said.
Peterson had been working for the American Center in Rangoon as an English teacher since 2007, and she was also an organizer of an environmental club for the center. The American Center provides English language courses and runs a library popular among young people in Rangoon.
Last May, US citizens Jerry Redfern and his wife Karen Coates, who were teaching feature writing and photography in Mandalay, were also forced to leave the country.
Urgent action for crimes against humanity and war crimes in Burma
Urgent action for crimes against humanity and war crimes in Burma
For many years the United Nations has ignored widespread and systematic crimes committed by Burma’s military junta, including the destruction of more than 3,300 villages in eastern Burma, widespread use of rape as a weapon of war against ethnic minorities, the forced displacement of over 1 million refugees and internally displaced people, tens of thousands of child soldiers, and millions used as slave labour.
Despite these appalling crimes, no government is speaking out on this issue. The British Government should urge the United Nations to establish a Commission of Inquiry, which would investigate these crimes and could lead to prosecutions. So far the British Government has remained silent.
Please write to your MP and ask them to support the call for the United Nations to investigate crimes against humanity in Burma.
Take action here:
http://www.burmacam paign.org. uk/index. php/campaigns/ crimes-against- humanity/ 13/132
Or you can post a letter to your MP. Below are suggested points for you to include in your letter:
* State your concern about crimes against humanity in Burma. There is well documented evidence including from UN General Assembly and Commission on Human Rights resolutions over many years of widespread torture, forced displacement, sexual violence, extra-judicial killings and forced labour and that civilians are deliberately targeted.
* For many years, the United Nations has ignored widespread and systematic human rights violations and war crimes committed by the military regime.
* Ask your MP to sign Early Day Motion 238, which calls upon the British Government to urge the United Nations to establish a Commission of Inquiry into these crimes and to support the International Labour Organization referring the dictatorship’s use of forced labour to the International Court of Justice.
You can send your letter to your MP at:
House of Commons
London, SW1A 0AA
Campaign Update
Our campaign for a global arms embargo is working!
Thanks to your emails, momentum for a global arms embargo against Burma is growing as Timor-Leste becomes the 32nd country, and the first Asian country, to back an arms embargo.
Switzerland also announced its support for a global arms embargo against Burma in October and in August, Australia announced its support for a global arms embargo for the first time.
We need to build a global consensus on a UN arms embargo against Burma, in order to help overcome expected opposition at the Security Council by Russia and China. We are targeting 10 countries at time, asking them to support a global arms embargo. Please take action here:
www.burmacampaign. org.uk/arms- embargo
Aung San Suu Kyi update
In recent weeks, Aung San Suu Kyi has managed to use sanctions as leverage to persuade the Generals to resume dialogue. She met the regime’s Liaison Minister twice in October and she also met the UK Ambassador and the deputy heads of the Australian and US missions in Burma. However, so far it has only been low level officials talking about talks.
Meanwhile, the number of political prisoners is rising. There are currently more than 2,100 political prisoners and at least 128 political prisoners are in poor health due to the harsh prison conditions, transfers to remote prisons where there are no doctors, and the denial of proper medical care. The dictatorship has also increased arrests and harassment of democracy activists, and is escalating attacks against ethnic civilians.
Want monthly news updates on Burma?
Sign up to our free monthly newsletter Last Month in Burma. To subscribe, simply send a blank email to lastmonth-subscribe @lists.burmacamp aign.org. uk
Previous editions are available here:
http://www.burmacam paign.org. uk/lastmonth
Many thanks for your support.
-Burma Campaign, U.K.-
For many years the United Nations has ignored widespread and systematic crimes committed by Burma’s military junta, including the destruction of more than 3,300 villages in eastern Burma, widespread use of rape as a weapon of war against ethnic minorities, the forced displacement of over 1 million refugees and internally displaced people, tens of thousands of child soldiers, and millions used as slave labour.
Despite these appalling crimes, no government is speaking out on this issue. The British Government should urge the United Nations to establish a Commission of Inquiry, which would investigate these crimes and could lead to prosecutions. So far the British Government has remained silent.
Please write to your MP and ask them to support the call for the United Nations to investigate crimes against humanity in Burma.
Take action here:
http://www.burmacam paign.org. uk/index. php/campaigns/ crimes-against- humanity/ 13/132
Or you can post a letter to your MP. Below are suggested points for you to include in your letter:
* State your concern about crimes against humanity in Burma. There is well documented evidence including from UN General Assembly and Commission on Human Rights resolutions over many years of widespread torture, forced displacement, sexual violence, extra-judicial killings and forced labour and that civilians are deliberately targeted.
* For many years, the United Nations has ignored widespread and systematic human rights violations and war crimes committed by the military regime.
* Ask your MP to sign Early Day Motion 238, which calls upon the British Government to urge the United Nations to establish a Commission of Inquiry into these crimes and to support the International Labour Organization referring the dictatorship’s use of forced labour to the International Court of Justice.
You can send your letter to your MP at:
House of Commons
London, SW1A 0AA
Campaign Update
Our campaign for a global arms embargo is working!
Thanks to your emails, momentum for a global arms embargo against Burma is growing as Timor-Leste becomes the 32nd country, and the first Asian country, to back an arms embargo.
Switzerland also announced its support for a global arms embargo against Burma in October and in August, Australia announced its support for a global arms embargo for the first time.
We need to build a global consensus on a UN arms embargo against Burma, in order to help overcome expected opposition at the Security Council by Russia and China. We are targeting 10 countries at time, asking them to support a global arms embargo. Please take action here:
www.burmacampaign. org.uk/arms- embargo
Aung San Suu Kyi update
In recent weeks, Aung San Suu Kyi has managed to use sanctions as leverage to persuade the Generals to resume dialogue. She met the regime’s Liaison Minister twice in October and she also met the UK Ambassador and the deputy heads of the Australian and US missions in Burma. However, so far it has only been low level officials talking about talks.
Meanwhile, the number of political prisoners is rising. There are currently more than 2,100 political prisoners and at least 128 political prisoners are in poor health due to the harsh prison conditions, transfers to remote prisons where there are no doctors, and the denial of proper medical care. The dictatorship has also increased arrests and harassment of democracy activists, and is escalating attacks against ethnic civilians.
Want monthly news updates on Burma?
Sign up to our free monthly newsletter Last Month in Burma. To subscribe, simply send a blank email to lastmonth-subscribe @lists.burmacamp aign.org. uk
Previous editions are available here:
http://www.burmacam paign.org. uk/lastmonth
Many thanks for your support.
-Burma Campaign, U.K.-
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi Rated Top Global Thinker
Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi has received high praise from Foreign Policy, a well-known US-based magazine featuring essays written by world leaders and thinkers.
In the magazine's first-ever annual list of the "Top 100 Global Thinkers" published in its December issue, Aung San Suu Kyi is ranked 26th, appearing alongside such globally-renowned figures as US President Barack Obama (ranked 2nd), British Prime Minister Gordon Brown (74th) and Bill and Hillary Rodham Clinton (6th).
In the magazine's first-ever annual list of the "Top 100 Global Thinkers" published in its December issue, Aung San Suu Kyi is ranked 26th, appearing alongside such globally-renowned figures as US President Barack Obama (ranked 2nd), British Prime Minister Gordon Brown (74th) and Bill and Hillary Rodham Clinton (6th).
French cultural personalities attend a silent gathering to support detained Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi in October in front of the Paris city hall. (Photo: Getty Images)
The magazine praises her for “being a living symbol of hope in a dark place,” while Obama comes second for "reimagining America's role in the world."
Foreign Policy said: “Taking inspiration from Mohandas Gandhi and Buddhist principles of nonviolence, Aung San Suu Kyi built a mass movement in opposition to the Burmese junta and has spent 14 of the last 20 years under house arrest since winning a general election in 1989.
“In a famous 1990 speech, Aung San Suu Kyi argued that when 'fear is an integral part of everyday existence,' political leaders inevitably give in to corruption, and called for a 'revolution of the spirit' in Burma.
“She was thrown in prison and today is rarely able to communicate with the outside world," the magazine said. "[She] changed her stance on the international sanctions against Burma this year, offering to help the junta's leaders get the sanctions lifted.”
Veteran Burmese politician and journalist Win Tin, 80, confirmed Suu Kyi's prominence in a conversation with The Irrawaddy on Tuesday.
“We should appreciate her political ideas and morality because she not only inspires the older generations but youth as well," he said. "She is a very kind and courageous leader. She has said, ‘If we need democracy, we need discipline and responsibility.’ She practices what she preaches.
“Her ideas are like a pure lotus in the fire, and her noble thoughts and morality influence her character and methods. She has great metta [goodwill] and kindness for other people,” Win Tin said.
Speaking to The Irrawaddy on Tuesday, Naing Naing, a prominent Burmese dissident and member of the National League for Democracy (NLD), supported Foreign Policy's asssessment, saying, “Like other martyrs, Suu Kyi is a beacon in the darkness Burmese people have lived in since Gen Ne Win's coup in 1962.”
“There is no doubt that she deeply believes in non-violence, and she faces any problem with great skill. She has shown she is ready to cooperate with anyone for the welfare of country.
“She said we all should fear doing misdeeds. She cannot bear untruth and will not tolerate unfairness. She reacts without hesitation to any situation with wise words. She represents an ideal and is an inspiration for us all,” he said.
Other southeast Asians rated as top thinkers by the magazine include Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim (32nd) and Indonesian political analyst Rizal Sukma (92nd).
Suu Kyi is the pro-democracy leader of the NLD and the only daughter of Burmese national leader General Aung San.
Currently under house arrest having spent more than 14 of the past 20 years in some form of dentention under Burma's military regime, Suu Kyi has received more that 80 international awards, including India’s Gandhi Award (2009), the Jawaharlal Nehru Award (1993) and the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize.
With several famous books and essays such as "Freedom from Fear" (1991), "Aung San Of Burma: a Biographical Portrait by his Daughter" (1991), "The Voice of Hope" (1997) and "Letters from Burma" (1997) to her name, she has expressed her ideology and beliefs in writing and in speech.
In "The Voice of Hope," she said : “The only real prison is fear, and the only real freedom is freedom from fear.”
In her famous essay "Freedom from Fear," she said: “It is not power that corrupts but fear. Fear of losing power corrupts those who wield it and fear of the scourge of power corrupts those who are subject to it.”
Awarding Suu Kyi the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991, the Chairman of the Nobel Peace Prize Committee, Francis Sejested, said she is "an outstanding example of the power of the powerless."
Friday, November 27, 2009
Thanksgiving—Kachin-style
Contributed by Htoi Aung
MAI JA YANG, Kachin State — Nomin clears his throat to translate. “He says it is a Biblical concept that the first crop must be shared in this way. In Kachin culture, we also have a traditional Thanksgiving.”
The pastor smiled politely. “All year we plant everything we need and then we bring our crops to church and praise God. Here we bring together our strength and what we have as a people. We call it Nlung Nnan Sha Poi—the first rice festival.”
A line of smiling Kachin musicians greeted the congregation at the gate of the Mai Ja Yang Baptist Church. The sound of bamboo flutes, an iron bell and marching drums set a festive tone.
Children ran around the courtyard and others shot marbles amid the polished Sunday shoes and flip-flops. The courtyard buzzed with laughter as people shuffled to the immaculate church. Everyone stopped at one of the wood alms boxes to drop in a few Chinese yuan or Burmese kyat before crossing under a flower draped archway.
Inside, nearly 800 people looked toward a high stage covered with bouquets. At the foot of the stage was a cornucopia of rice stalks, tamarind, sugar cane, squash, orchids, roses, eggs, ginger, cherry tomatoes, mandarins, marigolds, pomegranates, dragon fruit, corn, a carved melon candle holder, and a Bible. The offerings were beautifully arranged by loving hands.
“We can eat this entire stage!”said a Kachin woman, gazing at the display.
The festivities offered a well-deserved break to the villagers' daily toil. In Kachin State, the average income is about US $1 a day, and as an ethnic minority, rural villagers are marginalized to the lowest level of poverty. Living on the border of China's Yunnan Province, most Kachin in Mai Ja Yang depend on two things: selling their sugar cane crop and the meager civil services provided by a revolutionary political organization that struggles against the military government.
Fifteen years ago, after 46 years of civil war, the regime proposed a ceasefire. In the name of stability and development, the Kachin Independence Organization established an autonomous zone on a range of hills the size of the Gaza Strip and started to rebuild hospitals, teacher training colleges and churches.
Burma's military government, the State Peace and Development Council, began to sell off the remainder of Kachin State to foreign investors who bought up rights to mining, logging and hydropower dams. Chinese laborers took much of the work, the SPDC took the wealth and the Kachin people got leftovers.
Kachin villagers are usually lumped into the “armed ethnic groups” category, frequently mentioned after political prisoners and pro-democracy activists. There are few opportunities for Kachin, especially those living behind rebel lines. Pair this with a history of wicked oppression and limited contact with the outside world, and you can begin to understand the plight of the Kachin today.
As one young woman put it, “We are a forgotten people, but we know who we are.”
The students of Mai Ja Yang's Intensive English Program (IEP) had prepared their holiday offering all week. In a drafty cement hall under the flickering light provided by the Chinese power company, 56 students will sing “Praise Ye Jehovah.”
But these students bring more than a simple hymn of praise. In a way, the IEP students are themselves an offering to the community. English is a major step toward realizing a better career and more thriving communities.
“I want to be a teacher so I can help my community develop,” said one student. “There are many poorly educated people in Kachin. I want them to develop their lives. I want to serve my country as well as I can.”
To open the day's festivity, the IEP students carried handwoven baskets lined with flowers and grain and brimming with fruit and vegetables.
“Every family has brought a basket for the church,” Nomin said. “Every family has a garden and they bring a lot of things. The baskets are offerings to the pastors and the deacon and their families. It will also go back to the people. ”
Following the musicians around the church and down the isle, the students placed their offerings at the foot of the stage. The floor swelled with baskets, displaying the natural wealth of the farming community for all to see.
Children from the primary school took the stage, each holding a vegetable or fruit. One by one they said a few words praising the land.
Standing beneath the words “The Lord loves those who give with a cheerful heart,” the pastor read from “Psalms.” He spoke about thankfulness and encouraged the congregation to give, not out of duty or to be seen as someone of status, but to give through sacrifice and happiness.
MAI JA YANG, Kachin State — Nomin clears his throat to translate. “He says it is a Biblical concept that the first crop must be shared in this way. In Kachin culture, we also have a traditional Thanksgiving.”
The pastor smiled politely. “All year we plant everything we need and then we bring our crops to church and praise God. Here we bring together our strength and what we have as a people. We call it Nlung Nnan Sha Poi—the first rice festival.”
A line of smiling Kachin musicians greeted the congregation at the gate of the Mai Ja Yang Baptist Church. The sound of bamboo flutes, an iron bell and marching drums set a festive tone.
Children ran around the courtyard and others shot marbles amid the polished Sunday shoes and flip-flops. The courtyard buzzed with laughter as people shuffled to the immaculate church. Everyone stopped at one of the wood alms boxes to drop in a few Chinese yuan or Burmese kyat before crossing under a flower draped archway.
Inside, nearly 800 people looked toward a high stage covered with bouquets. At the foot of the stage was a cornucopia of rice stalks, tamarind, sugar cane, squash, orchids, roses, eggs, ginger, cherry tomatoes, mandarins, marigolds, pomegranates, dragon fruit, corn, a carved melon candle holder, and a Bible. The offerings were beautifully arranged by loving hands.
“We can eat this entire stage!”said a Kachin woman, gazing at the display.
The festivities offered a well-deserved break to the villagers' daily toil. In Kachin State, the average income is about US $1 a day, and as an ethnic minority, rural villagers are marginalized to the lowest level of poverty. Living on the border of China's Yunnan Province, most Kachin in Mai Ja Yang depend on two things: selling their sugar cane crop and the meager civil services provided by a revolutionary political organization that struggles against the military government.
Fifteen years ago, after 46 years of civil war, the regime proposed a ceasefire. In the name of stability and development, the Kachin Independence Organization established an autonomous zone on a range of hills the size of the Gaza Strip and started to rebuild hospitals, teacher training colleges and churches.
Burma's military government, the State Peace and Development Council, began to sell off the remainder of Kachin State to foreign investors who bought up rights to mining, logging and hydropower dams. Chinese laborers took much of the work, the SPDC took the wealth and the Kachin people got leftovers.
Kachin villagers are usually lumped into the “armed ethnic groups” category, frequently mentioned after political prisoners and pro-democracy activists. There are few opportunities for Kachin, especially those living behind rebel lines. Pair this with a history of wicked oppression and limited contact with the outside world, and you can begin to understand the plight of the Kachin today.
As one young woman put it, “We are a forgotten people, but we know who we are.”
The students of Mai Ja Yang's Intensive English Program (IEP) had prepared their holiday offering all week. In a drafty cement hall under the flickering light provided by the Chinese power company, 56 students will sing “Praise Ye Jehovah.”
But these students bring more than a simple hymn of praise. In a way, the IEP students are themselves an offering to the community. English is a major step toward realizing a better career and more thriving communities.
“I want to be a teacher so I can help my community develop,” said one student. “There are many poorly educated people in Kachin. I want them to develop their lives. I want to serve my country as well as I can.”
To open the day's festivity, the IEP students carried handwoven baskets lined with flowers and grain and brimming with fruit and vegetables.
“Every family has brought a basket for the church,” Nomin said. “Every family has a garden and they bring a lot of things. The baskets are offerings to the pastors and the deacon and their families. It will also go back to the people. ”
Following the musicians around the church and down the isle, the students placed their offerings at the foot of the stage. The floor swelled with baskets, displaying the natural wealth of the farming community for all to see.
Children from the primary school took the stage, each holding a vegetable or fruit. One by one they said a few words praising the land.
Standing beneath the words “The Lord loves those who give with a cheerful heart,” the pastor read from “Psalms.” He spoke about thankfulness and encouraged the congregation to give, not out of duty or to be seen as someone of status, but to give through sacrifice and happiness.
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Searching for Burmes General, Than Shwe
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Benedict Rogers, the deputy chairman of the human rights commission for the Conservative Party in the UK, is also a journalist and human rights advocate who is coauthor of a biography about Burmese dictator Snr-Gen Than Shwe. He spoke to The Irrawaddy's correspondent Zarni Mann in New Delhi about his soon-to-be-publishe d book.
Benedict Rogers
Question: How did the idea of writing a biography of Than Shwe come to mind?
Answer: Both myself and co-writer Jeremy Woodrum from US Campaign for Burma felt that there are many biographies of other dictators from around the world––Kim Jong-il, Saddam Hussein, Robert Mugabe and others––but there was no biography available about any of the Burmese dictators.
We felt that a biography of a dictator is a good way of telling the story of what is happening in the country under his rule. So, we thought it was time to let the world know something about Than Shwe and about what is happening in Burma.
Q: How do you collect the required facts and data about him while there is no freedom of press in Burma? How difficult is it?
A: We are facing a number of difficulties. Firstly, we could not speak to or get access to Than Shwe himself, so that makes it difficult to write a biography about him. We could not get access to people close to him either. And another difficulty was that neither Jeremy nor I speak Burmese. So even though there's a lot of material in Burmese, we found difficulties in accessing it. However, we were able to interview a number of defectors from the Burmese army who have known Than Shwe at different times in his career, so we do have some first-hand information. Also, we interviewed diplomats who met Than Shwe.
Q: Do you think this book will help the democracy movement in Burma?
A: I hope it will. That's the aim of the book. It is to shed light on the situation, on the nature of the regime and the nature of Than Shwe. And I think, by exposing what kind of person he is, what kind of people the regime are, it will help inform the international community better and help raise awareness. And that, hopefully, will help the Burmese democracy movement.
Q: By writing about Than Shwe, what did you find out about the kind of the man he is?
A: It seems that he is a more intelligent person than people give him credit for. I think he is very skilled at dividing people, dividing his rivals within his army and dividing his opponents. He is also skilled in tactics; you know, he is trained in psychological warfare and I think he uses that to some extent.
It is also clear that he is quite a boring person. But, in many ways, that was the secret of his success––he kept quiet until he got to the top. He didn't show any great ambition or any particular skills. His superiors didn't feel threatened by him and so he kept getting promoted until he got to the top.
Also, many people say that early on in life, he had quite a simple lifestyle and he was not as corrupt as he is today. And so clearly this is a person who has been corrupted by power.
I think he is someone who believes in only one thing––holding onto power and protecting his family and his legacy. He is clearly inspired by the ancient Burmese warrior kings. That's why he built Naypyidaw, and he has a statue of three kings in Naypyidaw. So, on the one hand, he is quite boring and quite simple; on the other hand, he has been influenced by history and astrology and psychological warfare.
Q: Do you have any remarkable or memorable moments from your time collecting data and writing this book?
A: I was told that one night about midnight in Maymyo, he suddenly felt the desire for a particular type of cake. So, he ordered his soldiers to go out and find that cake. They couldn't find a cake like that anywhere in Maymyo at all. So they had to go all the way to Mandalay. They woke up a shopkeeper in the middle of the night to buy a cake, and took it back to him.
This is an amusing story for me.
Q: When will the book be released?
A: We just finished writing it. It will take some months to get it ready for publishing. We definitely want to publish it before the election, because I think––after the election––we don't know what Than Shwe's position will be and people might lose interest in him. I would like it to be published sooner. It's currently in the hands of the publisher, so it's up to them to get it out as soon as possible.
Benedict Rogers, the deputy chairman of the human rights commission for the Conservative Party in the UK, is also a journalist and human rights advocate who is coauthor of a biography about Burmese dictator Snr-Gen Than Shwe. He spoke to The Irrawaddy's correspondent Zarni Mann in New Delhi about his soon-to-be-publishe d book.
Benedict Rogers
Question: How did the idea of writing a biography of Than Shwe come to mind?
Answer: Both myself and co-writer Jeremy Woodrum from US Campaign for Burma felt that there are many biographies of other dictators from around the world––Kim Jong-il, Saddam Hussein, Robert Mugabe and others––but there was no biography available about any of the Burmese dictators.
We felt that a biography of a dictator is a good way of telling the story of what is happening in the country under his rule. So, we thought it was time to let the world know something about Than Shwe and about what is happening in Burma.
Q: How do you collect the required facts and data about him while there is no freedom of press in Burma? How difficult is it?
A: We are facing a number of difficulties. Firstly, we could not speak to or get access to Than Shwe himself, so that makes it difficult to write a biography about him. We could not get access to people close to him either. And another difficulty was that neither Jeremy nor I speak Burmese. So even though there's a lot of material in Burmese, we found difficulties in accessing it. However, we were able to interview a number of defectors from the Burmese army who have known Than Shwe at different times in his career, so we do have some first-hand information. Also, we interviewed diplomats who met Than Shwe.
Q: Do you think this book will help the democracy movement in Burma?
A: I hope it will. That's the aim of the book. It is to shed light on the situation, on the nature of the regime and the nature of Than Shwe. And I think, by exposing what kind of person he is, what kind of people the regime are, it will help inform the international community better and help raise awareness. And that, hopefully, will help the Burmese democracy movement.
Q: By writing about Than Shwe, what did you find out about the kind of the man he is?
A: It seems that he is a more intelligent person than people give him credit for. I think he is very skilled at dividing people, dividing his rivals within his army and dividing his opponents. He is also skilled in tactics; you know, he is trained in psychological warfare and I think he uses that to some extent.
It is also clear that he is quite a boring person. But, in many ways, that was the secret of his success––he kept quiet until he got to the top. He didn't show any great ambition or any particular skills. His superiors didn't feel threatened by him and so he kept getting promoted until he got to the top.
Also, many people say that early on in life, he had quite a simple lifestyle and he was not as corrupt as he is today. And so clearly this is a person who has been corrupted by power.
I think he is someone who believes in only one thing––holding onto power and protecting his family and his legacy. He is clearly inspired by the ancient Burmese warrior kings. That's why he built Naypyidaw, and he has a statue of three kings in Naypyidaw. So, on the one hand, he is quite boring and quite simple; on the other hand, he has been influenced by history and astrology and psychological warfare.
Q: Do you have any remarkable or memorable moments from your time collecting data and writing this book?
A: I was told that one night about midnight in Maymyo, he suddenly felt the desire for a particular type of cake. So, he ordered his soldiers to go out and find that cake. They couldn't find a cake like that anywhere in Maymyo at all. So they had to go all the way to Mandalay. They woke up a shopkeeper in the middle of the night to buy a cake, and took it back to him.
This is an amusing story for me.
Q: When will the book be released?
A: We just finished writing it. It will take some months to get it ready for publishing. We definitely want to publish it before the election, because I think––after the election––we don't know what Than Shwe's position will be and people might lose interest in him. I would like it to be published sooner. It's currently in the hands of the publisher, so it's up to them to get it out as soon as possible.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Top Generals Hold Final meeting of 2009
Commanders of the Burmese armed forces (the Tatmadaw) began their final meeting of 2009 in Naypyidaw on Tuesday, with the proposed 2010 election reportedly high on the agenda.
The top junta brass meet every four months. The current meeting was postponed from October.
High-ranking Burmese army officers watch a parade during Armed Forces Day in the administrative capital of Naypyidaw on March 27, 2009. (Photo: Getty Images)
Observers say that, apart from the 2010 election, the meeting is expected to discuss tension with ethnic cease-fire groups over the proposed border guard force, US-Burma relations and the status of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
The junta leader Snr-Gen Than Shwe and the other top three generals might nominate potential Tatmadaw election candidates, observers say. The military-backed Constitution reserves 25 percent of the future upper and lower houses of parliament for military officers nominated by the Tatmadaw commander-in- chief.
"We can expect to hear something at the conclusion of the meeting," a Rangoon-based journalist told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday. "All key military officials are attending. This is the last meeting of commanders in 2009, so they have to decide something."
The meeting takes place as rumors circulate that the junta's No.2, Vice Snr-Gen Maung Aye, is likely to retire from the military. Maung Aye has reportedly told his close friends that he would like to retire after the election to a house he is building in Naypyidaw.
"I've heard that Vice Snr-Gen Maung Aye may retire from the military and politics, although Than Shwe is not likely to give up his military role," said Chan Tun, a veteran Rangoon politician.
Other observers say Than Shwe has not yet decided whether to step down after the election and is not yet ready to name a date for the poll.
Under the 2008 constitution, the Tatmadaw and its commander-in- chief will hold a paramount position in Burma's power structure. The commander-in- chief will automatically act as a vice president, with authority to abolish parliament for reasons of security. Since the military takeover in 1962, whoever was in charge of the Tatmadaw has also controlled the whole country.
If Than Shwe resigns his Tatmadaw position, his No. 3, Gen Thura Swe Mann, 62, is well placed to succeed him, although the junta's No. 4, Gen Thiha Thura Tin Aung Myint Oo, who is three years younger, is also being named as a possible successor. No love is lost between the two generals.
The London-based think tank, The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), in a Burma report in October, tipped Shwe Mann for the post, but said conflict within the leadership could threaten the Tatmadaw's long-term grip on power.
"A post-election shuffle of positions, with appointments to newly-established posts of president and vice-president, could prove to be destabilizing, " said the EIU.
The junta's plan to transform the armed cease-fire groups into a Border Guard Force poses another threat to stability. The plan, first floated in April, is opposed by key cease-fire groups, including the biggest, the United Wa State Army. The junta has extended its deadline for acceptance of the plan for a further month, until the last week of December.
The possibility of fresh military offensives along the Sino-Burmese border and the possible Chinese response are also certainly on the Naypyidaw agenda.
The generals will also undoubtedly consider the initiative taken two weeks ago by Suu Kyi, who wrote to Than Shwe asking for a meeting and also for permission to meet leaders of her party, the National League for Democracy (NLD). In her conciliatory letter, Suu Kyi also thanked the junta for allowing her to meet a visiting US delegation and western diplomats.
According to sources close to the NLD, the junta is likely to grant Suu Kyi's request for a meeting with her party leaders, although it is uncertain whether the NLD vice-chairman ex-Gen Tin Oo, would be allowed to attend.
Tin Oo—the only former top general to oppose the junta—has been under house arrest since 2003 and the regime has consistently prevented him from meeting Suu Kyi and other NLD leaders. He is regarded by the junta as a traitor.
The top junta brass meet every four months. The current meeting was postponed from October.
High-ranking Burmese army officers watch a parade during Armed Forces Day in the administrative capital of Naypyidaw on March 27, 2009. (Photo: Getty Images)
Observers say that, apart from the 2010 election, the meeting is expected to discuss tension with ethnic cease-fire groups over the proposed border guard force, US-Burma relations and the status of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
The junta leader Snr-Gen Than Shwe and the other top three generals might nominate potential Tatmadaw election candidates, observers say. The military-backed Constitution reserves 25 percent of the future upper and lower houses of parliament for military officers nominated by the Tatmadaw commander-in- chief.
"We can expect to hear something at the conclusion of the meeting," a Rangoon-based journalist told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday. "All key military officials are attending. This is the last meeting of commanders in 2009, so they have to decide something."
The meeting takes place as rumors circulate that the junta's No.2, Vice Snr-Gen Maung Aye, is likely to retire from the military. Maung Aye has reportedly told his close friends that he would like to retire after the election to a house he is building in Naypyidaw.
"I've heard that Vice Snr-Gen Maung Aye may retire from the military and politics, although Than Shwe is not likely to give up his military role," said Chan Tun, a veteran Rangoon politician.
Other observers say Than Shwe has not yet decided whether to step down after the election and is not yet ready to name a date for the poll.
Under the 2008 constitution, the Tatmadaw and its commander-in- chief will hold a paramount position in Burma's power structure. The commander-in- chief will automatically act as a vice president, with authority to abolish parliament for reasons of security. Since the military takeover in 1962, whoever was in charge of the Tatmadaw has also controlled the whole country.
If Than Shwe resigns his Tatmadaw position, his No. 3, Gen Thura Swe Mann, 62, is well placed to succeed him, although the junta's No. 4, Gen Thiha Thura Tin Aung Myint Oo, who is three years younger, is also being named as a possible successor. No love is lost between the two generals.
The London-based think tank, The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), in a Burma report in October, tipped Shwe Mann for the post, but said conflict within the leadership could threaten the Tatmadaw's long-term grip on power.
"A post-election shuffle of positions, with appointments to newly-established posts of president and vice-president, could prove to be destabilizing, " said the EIU.
The junta's plan to transform the armed cease-fire groups into a Border Guard Force poses another threat to stability. The plan, first floated in April, is opposed by key cease-fire groups, including the biggest, the United Wa State Army. The junta has extended its deadline for acceptance of the plan for a further month, until the last week of December.
The possibility of fresh military offensives along the Sino-Burmese border and the possible Chinese response are also certainly on the Naypyidaw agenda.
The generals will also undoubtedly consider the initiative taken two weeks ago by Suu Kyi, who wrote to Than Shwe asking for a meeting and also for permission to meet leaders of her party, the National League for Democracy (NLD). In her conciliatory letter, Suu Kyi also thanked the junta for allowing her to meet a visiting US delegation and western diplomats.
According to sources close to the NLD, the junta is likely to grant Suu Kyi's request for a meeting with her party leaders, although it is uncertain whether the NLD vice-chairman ex-Gen Tin Oo, would be allowed to attend.
Tin Oo—the only former top general to oppose the junta—has been under house arrest since 2003 and the regime has consistently prevented him from meeting Suu Kyi and other NLD leaders. He is regarded by the junta as a traitor.
Tokyo Support for NLD Stand on 2010 Election
The conditions set by Burma's opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) for its participation in the election planned for 2010 won the support of around 400 participants in a symposium in Tokyo on Monday.
The conditions, contained in the so-called Shwegondaing Declaration of April 2009, include the unconditional release of all political prisoners; a review of the provisions in the 2008 Constitution “not in accord with democratic principles”; and an all-inclusive free and fair poll under international supervision. The declaration is named after the Rangoon district where the NLD has its headquarters.
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| About 400 participants attended the International Symposium on Burma 2009 in Tokyo. (Photo: http://nldlajb.blogspot.com) |
About 400 Burmese dissidents, regional activists, foreign diplomats, Japanese government ministers and parliamentarians attended the Tokyo symposium.
Several Burmese dissidents contacted by The Irrawaddy on Monday said the Shwegodaing Declaration is the only gateway to reach genuine national reconciliation in Burma. They urged the Japanese government not to support the 2010 election and called for a boycott of the poll if the declaration's conditions were not met.
Tin Win, a Burmese dissident living in Tokyo and one of the organizers of the symposium, said the international community, including Japan, should give a clear message to the Burmese regime that they won't recognize the result of the 2010 elections if the junta fail to respond to the demands of the NLD.
The symposium was also attended by regional activist groups such as the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Myanmar Caucus, People Forum of Burma, members of the Japanese Trade Union Confederation and 26 representatives of Burmese opposition and ethnic groups, mostly based in Japan.
Tin Win said Japan government ministers attending the symposium promised the Burmese dissidents to undertake a serious review of Japan's Burma policy. He said it was especially encouraging that ministers from the newly-elected Democratic Party of Japan and Japanese scholars had been actively involved in the symposium.
Burma watcher Jeff Kingston, director of Asian Studies at Temple University’s Japan campus, said Japan's Democratic Party was a stronger supporter of human rights in Burma than the outgoing government. Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama and Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada are both members of a parliamentary Burma study group and are therefore well-informed and sympathetic about the plight of the Burmese and political prisoners, Kingston said.
“If Aung San Suu Kyi is to play a role in lifting sanctions, the junta has to create conditions that will enable her to so do and that means restoring her political rights, allowing free and fair elections and respecting the outcome even if military proxies do not prevail,” said Kingston.
Monday, November 23, 2009
UN Slams Burma over Forced Labor Practices
GENEVA — The UN labor agency has criticized Burma for failing to abolish forced labor more than a decade after the global body first took up the issue with the Southeast Asian country, officials said Friday.
The International Labor Organization adopted a resolution last week saying it is "deeply concerned" that Burma continues to imprison people who claim to have been subject to forced labor or were involved in complaints against the practice, said spokeswoman Laetitia Dard.
The resolution called for the immediate and unconditional release of the prisoners, as well as of all other people detained for political or other labor activism. Foreign governments and human rights groups have for years urged Burma to release pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been detained for 14 of the past 20 years, mostly under house arrest.
Burma has consistently maintained that it is making good-faith efforts to eliminate forced labor and recognize the right of its citizens to make complaints on the subject without fear of punishment. The ILO resolution acknowledged that the country was cooperating regarding complaints.
The Geneva-based ILO has since 1998 been investigating forced labor being used in Burma to aid the governing military junta and to build roads and other projects. The latest resolution also expresses concern about forced labor being used in infrastructure projects such as building oil and gas pipelines.
The International Labor Organization adopted a resolution last week saying it is "deeply concerned" that Burma continues to imprison people who claim to have been subject to forced labor or were involved in complaints against the practice, said spokeswoman Laetitia Dard.
The resolution called for the immediate and unconditional release of the prisoners, as well as of all other people detained for political or other labor activism. Foreign governments and human rights groups have for years urged Burma to release pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been detained for 14 of the past 20 years, mostly under house arrest.
Burma has consistently maintained that it is making good-faith efforts to eliminate forced labor and recognize the right of its citizens to make complaints on the subject without fear of punishment. The ILO resolution acknowledged that the country was cooperating regarding complaints.
The Geneva-based ILO has since 1998 been investigating forced labor being used in Burma to aid the governing military junta and to build roads and other projects. The latest resolution also expresses concern about forced labor being used in infrastructure projects such as building oil and gas pipelines.
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Burmese Junta Seeks to Win Hearts and Minds with FM Radio
Please read the detailed story HERE
RANGOON — The 3-year-old girl with thanaka on her face thrilled to the sound of her own voice as she sang along to a song coming out of a cheap, Chinese-made radio. It was one o’clock on a Saturday afternoon, and she was listening to her favorite children’s program on Mandalay’s local FM radio station.
Children are not the only ones who enjoy listening to the radio in Burma. Many adults also like to make their favorite radio programs part of their daily routines.
“I tune in to Rangoon City FM every morning to listen to the famous astrologer San Zarni Bo,” said a bus driver in Burma’s main commercial hub. “I don’t usually listen at any other time of day, unless I can find the time.”
In an era when much of the rest of the world finds it entertainment on the Internet, inexpensive handheld radios are still the technology of choice for most Burmese looking to take their minds off of their mundane lives. And increasingly, they’re finding the distraction they seek on local FM stations licensed by Burma’s ruling military regime.
Although most programming on these stations is not overtly political—unlike the heavy-handed propaganda of the state-run media—it often serves to counter the influence of Burmese-language shortwave radio stations based abroad, which are generally highly critical of the junta.
Especially since the monk-led Saffron Revolution of September 2007 and last May’s Cyclone Nargis, shortwave radio stations have become an important source of reliable, uncensored information in Burma. But at the same time that stations such as the Democratic Voice of Burma and the Burmese-language services of the BBC, Radio Free Asia and Voice of America have become fixtures in the lives of ordinary Burmese, local radio stations, usually run by municipal governments, have also become more popular.
“People who are interested in politics certainly listen to overseas radio stations, but they are mostly from the older generation. For the young, FM radio has more appeal, because these stations have more youth-oriented entertainment,” said a media analyst who asked to remain anonymous.
FM radio stations are relatively new to Burma’s media scene. Rangoon City FM went into operation in November 2001, and Mandalay FM began broadcasting in April 2008. Both stations are owned by their respective City Development Committees and operate in cooperation with the privately owned Forever Company.
An executive from Mandalay FM said that the station broadcasts 18 hours a day to reach the widest possible audience. He added that programming centers on music and other light entertainment.
Despite this emphasis on non-political content, however, the stations—many of which are run by cronies of the regime, including Zay Kabar, Shwe Taung, Shwe Than Lwin, and Thein Kyaw Kyaw—also broadcast commentaries that toe the official line on issues of the day.
To make sure that the pro-junta message reaches as many people as possible, taxi drivers who work for regime-affiliated companies are instructed to tune into the stations when they have passengers, according to a driver for the Parami Taxi Company, owned by the Myanmar Economic Holdings Co. Ltd, a military enterprise.
The success of the radio stations operating in Burma’s biggest cities has recently led to the creation of new stations in other parts of the country. In the past few months, four new stations have appeared: Pyinsawatti FM in Arakan State; Cherry FM in Shan State; Shwe FM, which reaches Pegu Division, Mon State, Karen State and Tenasserim Division; and Pattamya FM, which broadcasts to Kachin State, Sagaing Division and Chin State.
“Our target is every listener, young or old,” said a spokesperson for Pattamya FM, which has been broadcasting 14 hours daily, from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., since Oct. 1. “We carry news, art, literature, music, movies, and health and education programs. We also provide up-to-date reports on political developments.”
Residents of Shan State said that Cherry FM’s programming consists mostly of popular music, Shan songs and other entertainment programs, but also includes pro-junta news coverage.
“The station has broadcast some news programs belittling [pro-democracy leader] Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. Listeners like the music, but they don’t like to listen to those programs. Most just switch off the radio as soon as they come on,” said a resident of Lashio, adding that exiled radio stations were difficult to access in the area.
Some local residents said they saw the recent emergence of FM stations as part of an effort to win voters’ support for pro-regime candidates in next year’s planned general election. They also said that some people in rural areas mistook the new stations for foreign-based shortwave radio stations, which generally have poor reception in remote parts of the country.
RANGOON — The 3-year-old girl with thanaka on her face thrilled to the sound of her own voice as she sang along to a song coming out of a cheap, Chinese-made radio. It was one o’clock on a Saturday afternoon, and she was listening to her favorite children’s program on Mandalay’s local FM radio station.
Children are not the only ones who enjoy listening to the radio in Burma. Many adults also like to make their favorite radio programs part of their daily routines.
“I tune in to Rangoon City FM every morning to listen to the famous astrologer San Zarni Bo,” said a bus driver in Burma’s main commercial hub. “I don’t usually listen at any other time of day, unless I can find the time.”
In an era when much of the rest of the world finds it entertainment on the Internet, inexpensive handheld radios are still the technology of choice for most Burmese looking to take their minds off of their mundane lives. And increasingly, they’re finding the distraction they seek on local FM stations licensed by Burma’s ruling military regime.
Although most programming on these stations is not overtly political—unlike the heavy-handed propaganda of the state-run media—it often serves to counter the influence of Burmese-language shortwave radio stations based abroad, which are generally highly critical of the junta.
Especially since the monk-led Saffron Revolution of September 2007 and last May’s Cyclone Nargis, shortwave radio stations have become an important source of reliable, uncensored information in Burma. But at the same time that stations such as the Democratic Voice of Burma and the Burmese-language services of the BBC, Radio Free Asia and Voice of America have become fixtures in the lives of ordinary Burmese, local radio stations, usually run by municipal governments, have also become more popular.
“People who are interested in politics certainly listen to overseas radio stations, but they are mostly from the older generation. For the young, FM radio has more appeal, because these stations have more youth-oriented entertainment,” said a media analyst who asked to remain anonymous.
FM radio stations are relatively new to Burma’s media scene. Rangoon City FM went into operation in November 2001, and Mandalay FM began broadcasting in April 2008. Both stations are owned by their respective City Development Committees and operate in cooperation with the privately owned Forever Company.
An executive from Mandalay FM said that the station broadcasts 18 hours a day to reach the widest possible audience. He added that programming centers on music and other light entertainment.
Despite this emphasis on non-political content, however, the stations—many of which are run by cronies of the regime, including Zay Kabar, Shwe Taung, Shwe Than Lwin, and Thein Kyaw Kyaw—also broadcast commentaries that toe the official line on issues of the day.
To make sure that the pro-junta message reaches as many people as possible, taxi drivers who work for regime-affiliated companies are instructed to tune into the stations when they have passengers, according to a driver for the Parami Taxi Company, owned by the Myanmar Economic Holdings Co. Ltd, a military enterprise.
The success of the radio stations operating in Burma’s biggest cities has recently led to the creation of new stations in other parts of the country. In the past few months, four new stations have appeared: Pyinsawatti FM in Arakan State; Cherry FM in Shan State; Shwe FM, which reaches Pegu Division, Mon State, Karen State and Tenasserim Division; and Pattamya FM, which broadcasts to Kachin State, Sagaing Division and Chin State.
“Our target is every listener, young or old,” said a spokesperson for Pattamya FM, which has been broadcasting 14 hours daily, from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., since Oct. 1. “We carry news, art, literature, music, movies, and health and education programs. We also provide up-to-date reports on political developments.”
Residents of Shan State said that Cherry FM’s programming consists mostly of popular music, Shan songs and other entertainment programs, but also includes pro-junta news coverage.
“The station has broadcast some news programs belittling [pro-democracy leader] Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. Listeners like the music, but they don’t like to listen to those programs. Most just switch off the radio as soon as they come on,” said a resident of Lashio, adding that exiled radio stations were difficult to access in the area.
Some local residents said they saw the recent emergence of FM stations as part of an effort to win voters’ support for pro-regime candidates in next year’s planned general election. They also said that some people in rural areas mistook the new stations for foreign-based shortwave radio stations, which generally have poor reception in remote parts of the country.
Help Burma: Fundraising Event Nov 22, 2009
Burma Needs You to Act Now!
Please join the fund raiser event
organized by
volunteer committee for
Project Help Burma
San Francisco Bay Area
Proceeds will support public heath and education issues helping to promote the welfare of Burmese people inside Burma.
11:00 AM to 3 :00PM ; November 22, 2009 (Sunday) Little Theater,
Serramonte Del Rey (“Former Jefferson High School”) 699 Serramonte
Serramonte Del Rey (“Former Jefferson High School”) 699 Serramonte
Blvd, Daly City, CA 94015
Burmese food (23 items)
Burmese & Ethnic
Cultural dances
Burmese famous singer
*
Welcome to all sponsor And donor.
“ No Entrance Fee ”
Draft Program: 11 am - 3 pm (Food sale of 23 items); 12 pm - 1:00 pm (Cultural dances); 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm (Songs and music)
Getting there by BART and BUS:
Take BART to Colma BART Station. At Colma BART take the SamTrans bus #120 going towards Serramonte Shopping Center (ask the bus driver for the right bus). DO NOT get off the bus at the Shopping Center, but continue on the #120 bus about 1/2 mile west of the Shopping Center. Ask the bus driver to let the bus passengers off at Serramonte Del Rey, it will be across the road from the bus stop. See the attached #120 schedule for Fares and Sunday time schedule. I have also included a File showing the SamTrans (San Mateo County Transit) routes.
Take BART to Colma BART Station. At Colma BART take the SamTrans bus #120 going towards Serramonte Shopping Center (ask the bus driver for the right bus). DO NOT get off the bus at the Shopping Center, but continue on the #120 bus about 1/2 mile west of the Shopping Center. Ask the bus driver to let the bus passengers off at Serramonte Del Rey, it will be across the road from the bus stop. See the attached #120 schedule for Fares and Sunday time schedule. I have also included a File showing the SamTrans (San Mateo County Transit) routes.
Committee for Project Help Burma
More info: http://projecthelpb urma.blogspot. com/
 | Mohinga MemoriesFew people I know could turn down a bowl of mohinga, the piquant, complex medley of rice noodles and other ingredients in a savory fish-based broth widely regarded as the country’s national dish. Read More: http://www.irrawadd y.org/article. php?art_id= 17145 |
| Burmese Dance The Burmese dance uses graceful and lively movements to tell a story. Whether it's a tale of ancient history, political strife, unwavering love or spiritual journeys, the Burmese dancer conveys emotion and action with the common postures of everyday life. The dance steps are executed very slowly with random burst of rapid leaps and movements. With colorful and elaborate costumes, it is clear to see how the Burmese dance has entertained for centuries, and because of its lasting legacy, a talented Burmese dancer is highly respected as a source of national pride. |  |
Friday, November 20, 2009
‘Burma VJ’ Short-listed for Oscar
The award-wining film “Burma VJ” has been placed on the short list for consideration for one of the movie industry’s top prizes—the Oscar for best feature-documentary.
“Burma VJ,” which tells the story of how Burmese video journalists filmed the September 2007 demonstrations in Rangoon, is among 15 productions on the 2010 Academy Awards short list. The list will be whittled down to five finalists, to be announced in February 2010, and the winner will take the stage at the Oscar presentations in Hollywood on March 7.
“Burma VJ” has already won 33 awards—including the World Cinema Documentary Film Editing and Golden Gate Persistence of Vision prizes.
Most of the material for the film was shot by Burmese video journalists at great personal risk and smuggled out to the Norway-based Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB). A Danish professional film-maker, Anders Østergaard, took over direction of the film, which was released to wide acclaim this year.
Several of the video journalists were arrested and sentenced to terms of imprisonment. Many others are in hiding.
Toe Zaw Latt, DVB’s Thailand bureau chief, told The Irrawaddy on Friday the inclusion of “Burma VJ” on the Oscars short list had come as a surprise.
“We only wanted the world to know how difficult it is for journalists to work in Burma and to show the world how big the uprising was,” he said.
The video journalists whose work created “Burma VJ” fed the outside world with evidence of the brutality used by the authorities to suppress the peaceful demonstrations. They infuriated the regime by slipping by every attempt to close media access to the bloody events on Rangoon streets.
Among Hollywood professionals to hail the achievements of the video journalists was actor Richard Gere, who described “Burma VJ” as an important and credible document.
Toe Zaw Latt said the inclusion of “Burma VJ” on the Oscars short list would give heart to the video journalists still in prison. ‘This will help them a lot. They will be very happy to hear the news.”
“Burma VJ,” which tells the story of how Burmese video journalists filmed the September 2007 demonstrations in Rangoon, is among 15 productions on the 2010 Academy Awards short list. The list will be whittled down to five finalists, to be announced in February 2010, and the winner will take the stage at the Oscar presentations in Hollywood on March 7.
“Burma VJ” has already won 33 awards—including the World Cinema Documentary Film Editing and Golden Gate Persistence of Vision prizes.
Most of the material for the film was shot by Burmese video journalists at great personal risk and smuggled out to the Norway-based Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB). A Danish professional film-maker, Anders Østergaard, took over direction of the film, which was released to wide acclaim this year.
Several of the video journalists were arrested and sentenced to terms of imprisonment. Many others are in hiding.
Toe Zaw Latt, DVB’s Thailand bureau chief, told The Irrawaddy on Friday the inclusion of “Burma VJ” on the Oscars short list had come as a surprise.
“We only wanted the world to know how difficult it is for journalists to work in Burma and to show the world how big the uprising was,” he said.
The video journalists whose work created “Burma VJ” fed the outside world with evidence of the brutality used by the authorities to suppress the peaceful demonstrations. They infuriated the regime by slipping by every attempt to close media access to the bloody events on Rangoon streets.
Among Hollywood professionals to hail the achievements of the video journalists was actor Richard Gere, who described “Burma VJ” as an important and credible document.
Toe Zaw Latt said the inclusion of “Burma VJ” on the Oscars short list would give heart to the video journalists still in prison. ‘This will help them a lot. They will be very happy to hear the news.”
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Kachin against Irrawaddy Dam Project
Detailed story, please read HERE
If there is one confluence of the Irrawaddy River that is famous throughout Burma, it is the Mali and N’Mai rivers, located 27 miles from Myitkyina, the capital of Kachin state.
The confluence is many things to the Kachin people: a source of livelihood; a location of amazing biodiversity that attracts tourists; a potent emblem of identity; and a historical beacon (legend says that it’s the birth place and residence of the Father Dragon and his two sons, Hkrai Nawng and Hkrai Gam).
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| A man prepares to pan for gold on the Irrawaddy River at the confluence the N’mai and Mali rivers, an area where the largest hydropower dam in the network will be located. (Photo: AMY SMITH and JOHN CAMPBELL) |
Since August, the sole road leading to this sanctuary has witnessed a spike in vehicle traffic. The dragon’s sleep has been disturbed by a continual convoy of shinny white Mitsubishi jeeps, their occupants obscured through smoked colored windows. The convoy’s route is a 7 mile stretch between the river and the newly established offices of the Burmese regime friendly Asia World Company, a construction company that contracted with the Power Investment Corporation, a Chinese state company developing the hydro scheme project that will send most of the electricity into China's energy-hungry Yunnan Province, according to International Rivers, a nongovernmental agency.
Asia World has started the construction of the hydroelectric projects at Chibwe, on the N’Mai River, that will lead to the resettlement of hundreds of villagers. For local residents, the vehicles and the buildings are the foreboding signs of the coming social and environmental storm.
The confluence will be home of a 152-meter high dam; the 7th and largest in the dam network on the N’mai and Mali rivers. The network will generate thousands of megawatts of hydroelectricity (capacity of 3,600 MW for the confluent dam alone).
The design is the brainchild of the China Southern Power Grid Company and its construction was authorized by the SPDC. The dams represent a huge financial windfall for the SPDC and an energy bonanza for China.
The custom with economic deals of this nature in Burma is that the decision making is centralized and the contract details are kept from public view. The contract was signed in 2007. While the details are murky, the costs, financially and environmentally, will be significant. The dam’s construction will be ecologically ruinous, razing the confluence’s biodiversity. Perhaps more profound will be the social repercussions: 15,000 villagers face imminent displacement.
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| Men work to find gold near the site where a 152-meter high dam will be located, forcing many villagers to relocate. (Photo: AMY SMITH and JOHN CAMPBELL) |
Up to a few weeks ago, these local communities, living for generations in the 60 villages on the 766 km square to be flooded by the dam, have never officially been told that they would have to move. Now, they have received eviction notices and ordered to leave.
Most of their livelihoods will be destroyed as well as their houses and other assets. If the scenario is similar to what has happened at other dam construction sites, they will receive no compensation. The army is expected to increase its presence in the region, and with it the number of human rights likely will rise.
The villagers are manifestly poor, the victims of decades of civil strife and government neglect. They have no allies and face powerful adversaries. Their plight appears hopeless. Yet, out of their desperation, a resistance has swelled among the local communities.
Undeterred, villagers held protests at the planned construction site in October, as 20,000 Chinese workers were waiting to be transferred to the area. Local communities, deprived of the minimum to insure their survival, refuse to leave the site.Many villagers said they would rather die in their villages than leave the confluence.
The tension has been ratcheted up and support for opposition has increased among the villagers.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Obama in Asia / E-mail Congress for Burma
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We support the principles outlined in President Obama's new Burma policy. However, the Obama administration has yet to provide a mechanism to hold the junta accountable for their human rights violations including attacks against ethnic minority groups. |
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