Cyclone Death Toll Increases to 84 in Burma

The death toll in Burma from Cyclone Giri, which hit the country's west coast last Friday, has climbed to at least 84, according to local residents.
Forty-eight bodies were found on Monday in Arakan State's Myebon Township, which was badly hit by the cyclone, local residents said. A further 10 bodies were found in Pauktaw Township in the same state.
Burma's state-run TV made its first mention of casualties on Monday, saying at least 27 people had died and 15 were missing.

The cyclone ripped the roofs off these buildings in Kyakphyu, Arakan State. (Demowaiyan Blog)

The category four cyclone triggered a seven meter tidal surge and heavy rains, damaging roads, bridges, power and telephone lines. 

The state-media said the number of deaths would have been higher if the government had not issued early warnings and evacuated people to safer areas.

However, non-governmental organization (NGO) relief workers in Rangoon say it remains difficult to assess the scale of the casualties and destruction on small islands off the Arakan coast.

“I think the death toll could easily increase to 100,” said a leading member of a local NGO which has sent rescue teams to the affected areas.

According to Rangoon sources, the government has only allowed local staff of international NGOs in Rangoon to visit the affected areas, while foreigners working for those NGOs are restricted to Sittwe, Arakan's state capital.

Oil pipeline fire kills 14 in Myanmar, state TV says

Source: CNN

An oil pipeline fire in Myanmar has killed 14 people and injured more than 121 others, state-run television reported.

Villagers had rushed to collect fuel that was leaking from the pipeline when it ignited, apparently when someone lit a cigarette, the national broadcaster said.

The incident happened near Pakokku, in central Myanmar.

14 Die, Hundreds Injured in Pipeline Fire in Burma

More than a dozen people die and nearly 100 are injured in a explosion and fire near an oil pipeline near a village in Pakoku Township in central Burma on Sunday, according to local residents.
The blaze took place when local villagers were collecting oil leaking from the pipeline.

“While the villagers were skimming the oil, the fire broke out. Eight people were killed and about 70 were injured,” said a local resident. Accounts of the number of dead and injured varied.

Flames reach into the sky on Sunday night after a fire in which more than a dozen people died and scores were injured. (Photo: AFP)

A doctor at a local hospital told The Irrawaddy that he knew of two people dead and 21 people injured in the accident who were are being treated at the hospital.

 
Many of the injured were from Kyaunchaung and Myit Chaykyar villages in Pakoku, said local sources, who added that many of the injured refused to go to a hospital because of fear the authorities would take action against them.

The Agency France Presse news agency reported that 14 people died and more than 100 were injured in the fire. About 200 villagers were collecting oil from the leaking state-owned pipeline when someone lit a flame to see in the dark, said a local resident.
Authorities shut down the 20-mile long pipeline after the fire ignited.  

Burma to Raise New Flag for First Time

Burma's new national flag will be raised for the first time on Thursday afternoon, according to government sources.

After the flag-raising ceremony, which will take place across the country, the country's former flags will be burnt and buried.

The new flag

The new flag, designated in the 2008 Constitution, has a central star set against a yellow, green and red background.

The mysticism that dominates the life of junta leader Snr-Gen Than Shwe will also surround the flag-raising ceremony, sources say. The old flags will be lowered by government department officials who were born on a Tuesday, while the new flags will be raised by officials born on a Wednesday.

One million flags have been made by textile factories, according to sources within the Ministry of Defence.

Other sources said that the regime aimed to fly the new flag during the period of the Burmese general election on Nov. 7.

Cyclone Giri Strikes Burma

With winds peaking at 152 kilometers per hour, cyclone Giri struck Burma's west Arakan State and is forecast to continue into central Burma until late Saturday.

The cyclone struck land near Kyaukphyu, a large island off Arakan's coast, severing phone links in several parts of the region.

After forming over the Bay of Bengal, Giri developed into a “Category II” cyclone on Friday morning, according to Myanmar Climate Change Watch.

The projected path of Cyclone Giri (Map: US Navy)

“The periphery of the cyclone hit the Arakan coast this morning, with the eye of the cyclone striking land around 3 p.m today [Friday],” said Tun Lwin of the local weather board.The cyclone was stronger than forecast on Friday morning, he said, and would likely cross Sagaing, Magwe and Mandalay Divisions.
The US Joint Typhoon Warning Center announced earlier that the cyclone is headed in the direction of Mandalay Division and may make landfall with winds of 148 kph.
State-controlled radio and TV broadcast constant warnings advising people to keep away from electricity poles and tall trees and to believe only official reports about the cyclone rather than rumors, said local residents in Rangoon.

In 2008 May, when Nargis, a category IV cyclone,  hit the Irrawaddy Delta and Rangoon, more than 130,000 people were killed and millions of people were left homeless.

The 65-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner, Daw Suu, wants to Tweet

Indonesian protesters display banners and placards with pictures of Burmese democracy leader and Nobel Peace Prize-winner Aung San Suu Kyi during a demonstration in front of the Burmese embassy in Jakarta in May 2007. (Photo: Getty Images) 

RANGOON — Burma's detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi wants to sign up for a Twitter account once she is released so that she can "tweet" and keep in touch with the younger generation, her lawyer said Monday.

The 65-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner, who has been detained for 15 of the past 21 years, entered her latest period of detention in May 2003 before the Twitter era started.

Her detention expires on Nov. 13, prompting speculation she will be freed though there has been no such official announcement from the ruling military junta. The country's first election in 20 years will take place days earlier on Nov. 7, timing that analysts say was designed to keep the opposition leader locked away for the polls.

"Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's current wish is to sign up on Twitter when she is released," said her lawyer Nyan Win, who has visited her twice in the past week. "She told me she wants to use Twitter to get in touch with the younger generation inside and outside the country."

"She wishes to be able to tweet every day and keep in touch," he said.

Suu Kyi has no phone line or any access to the Internet, though she has a laptop, Nyan Win said. He described her as computer- and tech-savvy and adept with electronic gadgets.

Under the rules of her detention, Suu Kyi is allowed to read state-controlled newspapers and private local news journals and magazines, to listen to the radio and to watch state-run television but she has no satellite dish to receive foreign broadcasts.

Her lawyers are among the few people allowed to see Suu Kyi, aside from her doctors and occasional visits with UN and foreign dignitaries.

According to July statistics from the state-run Post and Telecommunication Ministry, there are 400,000 internet users in Burma, with the vast majority in the former capital Rangoon and the second-largest city of Mandalay.

Former Archbishop of South Afirca, Tutu will not Stop Support for 'Free Burma'

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CAPE TOWN — The former Archbishop of South Africa, Desmond Tutu, met with a representative from the Free Burma Campaign  in South Africa last week to discuss the  state of affairs of Burma.

She was accompanied by  Burmese citizens who live in Cape Town, who came to show their appreciation for the support Tutu has  given in speaking out against the ruling military junta in Burma. 

Tutu said that although he has stepped down from public office, he will still be a vocal supporter for a free and democratic Burma.

He said that it was only a matter of time until the Burmese military regime is brought down and  democracy will prevail. 

The former archbishop celebrated his 79th birthday last week and officially retired from the public arena. 

Tutu is a strong proponent for human rights and has spoken out against the injustices and human rights violations of various peoples around the world. 

In 2007, Tutu said he was “deeply disappointed” at South Africa’s decision to veto the UN Security Council resolution to demand an end to human rights abuses in Burma. 

Much like South Africa during its apartheid years, the people of Burma today still face human rights violations, discrimination and live under a rule of law where freedom of speech and freedom of press is non-existent.

Tutu has vigorously supported the release of  Aung San Suu Kyi who is currently under house arrest.  A fellow Nobel Laureate, her   National League for Democracy party (the main opposition) was forcibly disbanded by the regime.

With the upcoming national elections about to be held in Burma, it is more important now than ever to make the international public aware of the plight of this often overlooked nation.

Former United Nations Rights Officials Call for Burma Inquiry

Two top former human rights officials of the United Nations on Tuesday urged the European Union to support the establishment of a UN Commission of Inquiry to investigate war crimes and crimes against humanity in Burma, as recommended by the UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Burma.

The request was made by Paulo Sergio Pinheiro of Brazil and Yozo Yokota of Japan, who served as the special rapporteurs on the Situation of Human Rights in Burma in (2000-2008) and (1992-1996), respectively, in a letter to Catherine Ashton, the high representative of the EU.

“As former UN special rapporteurs on human rights in Myanmar [Burma], it is our firm conclusion that the pattern of human rights violations perpetrated by the military regime in Burma/Myanmar is severe, widespread and systematic, and directed at civilians, and may therefore violate international human rights and humanitarian laws,” Pinheiro and Yokota said.

“As the current special rapporteur has concluded, the abuses are a matter of state policy and there is more than sufficient evidence to justify the creation of such a Commission of Inquiry," the letter said.

Pinheiro and Yokota also urged that the EU should propose the commission in a forthcoming UN General Assembly resolution. “It is essential to send a strong message to the regime ahead of the elections that the international community will not continue to tolerate its violations of international humanitarian law and that impunity must end," they wrote.

The letter noted that evidence of the widespread and systematic use of forced labor, rape as a weapon of war, the forcible conscription of child soldiers, religious persecution, torture and killings is well documented and has been presented by many respected human rights organizations including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, International Federation of Human Rights (FIDH) and Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), among others.

Copies of the letter were sent to the government of Belgium, the current president of the Council of the European Union, foreign ministers of EU member states and permanent representatives of EU member states to the United Nations in New York and Geneva.

“Since 1996, over 3,500 villages in eastern Burma alone have been destroyed, and at least half a million people internally displaced. Hundreds of thousands have been forced to flee to the borders of neighboring countries, and beyond. These violations of international humanitarian law have been documented by the UN in numerous resolutions by the General Assembly and Human Rights Council, and in our own and other reports of Special Rapporteurs,” the letter said.

The two former UN officials said the new Constitution, which will come into force after the regime’s elections in November, contains a clause providing blanket immunity for all crimes, past, present and future, committed by the military, and guarantees the military a quarter of the parliamentary seats.

“The election laws issued earlier this year, the recent de-registration of Aung San Suu Kyi’s party, the National League for Democracy, and the regime’s decision to exclude many ethnic populations and parties from participating, mean that the forthcoming elections offer little hope of meaningful change in Burma. The elections, in our opinion, will perpetuate military rule and result in continuing human rights violations,” they said.

So far, 13 nations have expressed their support for the establishment of the UN Commission of Inquiry in Burma, including the United States, United Kingdom, France, Czech Republic, Slovakia, the Netherlands, Hungary, Ireland, Lithuania, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Estonia, which became the 13th supporter on Saturday.

Aung Din of the US Campaign for Burma said the European Union is the major author of the Burma draft resolution at the UN General Assembly and it has been working on a draft in Brussels since September.

Pro-democracy activists including the US Campaign for Burma are pushing the EU to include the language, "calling for the secretary-general to establish a Commission of Inquiry to investigate human rights violations in Burma" in the draft resolution, which will be submitted to the UN General Assembly soon.

So far, the EU hasn't agreed to the proposal.

Source: Irrawaddy

EU-Asia Summit Urges Release of Burma Prisoners

A policeman stands in front of pro-Tibetan activists demonstrating on October 5, in Brussels on the sidelines of the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM). (Photo: Getty Images) 

Leaders of 48 Asian and European countries urged the military junta of Burma to release political prisoners before general elections next month.

The leaders attending the biannual Asian-European Union summit, or ASEM, said they "touched upon the issue" of Aung San Suu Kyi, the opposition leader who has been under house arrest for 15 of the last 21 years, but did not specifically call for her freedom.

But a statement concluding the two-day conference said the release of detainees would help the elections be "more inclusive, participatory and transparent."

The position was included in a "Chair's Statement," which meant it did not require consensus or Burma’s agreement.

Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy was declared illegal after it failed to register by last May to take part in the election, scheduled for Nov. 7. The NLD is boycotting the vote, which it considers undemocratic. Suu Kyi filed a suit earlier Tuesday with Burma’s High Court to declare that the NLD remains a legal party.

Suu Kyi's latest term of 18 months' house arrest is due to expire on Nov. 13, but it was unclear if her detention would be extended by the junta chief, Snr-Gen Than Shwe.

The ASEM statement urged the government to talk with all parties in a process of national reconciliation, saying a free and fair election would be a step toward "a legitimate, constitutional, civilian system of government."

Source: Irrawaddy News

ASEM (Asian Europe Meeting) Will Call on Junta to Hold Free and Fair Elections

One month ahead of Burma's November elections, Asian and European leaders attending the 8th Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) in Brussels are scheduled to issue a statement on Tuesday that will reportedly press the Burmese junta to hold free, fair and inclusive elections.

The 46 nations attending ASEM will also call on Burma to release its more than 2,100 political prisoners, including pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. “The timely release of those under detention would contribute to these elections being more inclusive, participatory and transparent,” said a draft of the ASEM chairman's summary obtained by several news organizations. 

Burmese Foreign Minister Nyan Win, second from right, along with other participants in the 8th Asia-Europe Meeting. (Photo: eutrio.be)

In connection with ASEM, the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) released a statement that urged ASEM attendees to take action against the Burmese junta and called for the release of political detainees and the end of suppression of ethnic minorities and democracy supporters.

The ITUC added that it was concerned that “some in the international community are viewing the national elections in Burma next month as a reason to relax pressure on the regime.”

“The elections are deeply flawed: pro-democracy voices have been excluded, other parties have been prevented from campaigning effectively, and regardless of the outcome of the vote, the military is guaranteed effective control of government under a flawed constitution,” the ITUC statement said.

Burmese Prime Minister Thein Sein, who has not attended any ASEM, sent Foreign Minister Nyan Win to represent Burma's military regime.

Previously, the 7th ASEM, held in Beijing in 2008, called on the Burmese junta to engage all stakeholders in an inclusive political process for national reconciliation and economic and social development.

“In this regard, they [the ASEM leaders] called for the lifting of restrictions placed on political parties and early further release of those under detention,” said the statement of the ASEM chairman. 
In the run-up to the Nov. 7 election, Burma's first in 20 years, Burma continues to keep political dissidents in prison and exclude them from the political process. The National League for Democracy, Burma's main opposition group led by Suu Kyi, has boycotted the polls.

The junta is likely to face another international call for free, fair and inclusive polls during the 17th Summit of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) to be held in Hanoi on Oct 28-30, which US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is scheduled to attend.

The 46 ASEM countries include the 27 members of the European Union and the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, plus Australia, China, India, Japan, Mongolia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Russia and South Korea.

The Case for a Burmese Vote

Source: NYTimes.com

The elections set for Nov. 7 in Myanmar are a travesty of democracy — but they are welcome nonetheless.

Their main purpose is to dress the military regime in new civilian-looking clothes; a secondary purpose is to appease international criticism by putting on an electoral show. The possibility of real change in the power structure is the last thing the generals have in mind.

Yet the generals are sowing some seeds of change which might in time flower into something more plural and democratic, and provide regional as well as national forums for future debate. Meanwhile money from gas, minerals and privatization of state assets is seeping into a once austere military-socialist system, corrupting it and slowly undermining it.

In short, it is hard to argue that Myanmar will be any worse after the elections than it is now. It might start getting better.

The main opposition group, the National League for Democracy headed by Aung San Suu Kyi, whose victory in the 1990 election was overturned by the military, has good reason to boycott the polls. Its leader is under house arrest and unable to run. The apparatus of an oppressive regime and its captive media makes campaigning — and boycott calls — hazardous. Hundreds of political prisoners remain in jail, including monks held in the wake of the 2007 demonstrations in which many were killed. Government-backed parties, principally the Union Solidarity Development Party and its allies in ethnic minority regions, are destined to win. The military also has 25 percent of the seats allotted to it.
In the longer run the N.L.D. itself may be best served by its boycott. But Myanmar could also be served by the prospect that a few members from other opposition parties will be elected and create a thin democratic wedge.

A comparison can be made between Myanmar and the last decade of Suharto’s rule in Indonesia, when some parliamentary opposition became possible and, as the offspring of generals, sought wealth and business through access to government contracts and privatizations. Pluralism and competition began to sprout.

Of course there are many differences, not least that Suharto had a relatively open economy. But in Myanmar the generals are taking off their uniforms to become civilian ministers. Their families and associates are enjoying the fruits of privatization, and opening bank accounts in Singapore.

However badly managed Myanmar’s economy and its major domestic enterprises may be, plenty of money will come from new gas, pipeline and power projects to keep many a well-connected ex-officer in the style to which Southeast Asian businessmen have long been accustomed, and there will be many opportunities to acquire state and joint-venture assets. The power of money will be diversified.
Competition is growing for foreign deals after years in which China had a near-monopoly. In response to India’s bid for Myanmar gas and American attempts, so far unsuccessful, to engage with the military, China has been further bolstering its ties, most recently by inviting the Myanmar leader Than Shwe to Beijing. China is well aware that the United States is now more interested in limiting China’s influence than punishing the generals for repression.

While China officially welcomes the approaching elections, it may well be worried about the weakening of its own influence in the long run, or of a nationalist backlash against Chinese influence. Indians once ran much of Myanmar’s trade, only to be expelled, and have their assets seized, following the 1962 military coup.

The ultimate impact of elections on Myanmar’s rebellious ethnic minorities is also an issue for China — as it is for the integrity of a Myanmar in which only 70 percent of the population is ethnic Burmese. A semblance of democracy and devolution could start to bring an end to decades of intermittent conflict — or it could be the precursor of more warfare, particularly in the Shan and Kachin states, which abut China’s Yunnan Province.

China wants peace in these regions, but preferably through the government’s accommodation with rebel groups and not central government control. It wants to avoid crises such as the one in 2009, when 30,000 refugees fled to China to escape an army offensive. Meanwhile the Yunnan provincial government and Chinese businessmen mostly just want uninterrupted trade — which includes drugs and illegal mining and logging.

For Myanmar as a whole, the generals are trying to modernize their control system. But whether in the longer term they can keep control of change is questionable. Therein lies hope.

US Congressman called to Release Daw Aung San Suu Kyi Now

WASHINGTON—A key US lawmaker on Thursday called on the Burmese military regime to set Aung San Suu Kyi free and says rumors that she will be released in November are a ploy to gain legitimacy in the upcoming election..

“We've seen this 'catch and release' game by the Burmese junta before—they release Aung San Suu Kyi to create a facade of change and then turn around and unfairly arrest her again," Congressman Joseph Crowley said.

“If the military junta was really serious about making changes and carrying forward fair and democratic elections, they would release her now, along with the other members of her party,” said the congressman from New York who has sponsored several laws and resolutions against the military junta in the past.

"Unfortunately, the claim that they may release her is a ploy to legitimize these unfair elections, and further proof that the junta will do or say just about anything to maintain power," he said.
Meanwhile, several lawmakers from both the Republican and Democratic parties introduced a resolution in the House of Representatives condemning the Burmese military regime’s undemocratic upcoming elections on Nov. 7.

The resolution denounces the regime’s election as “the one-sided, undemocratic and illegitimate actions of the State Peace and Development Council [official name of the regime] that seeks to legitimize military rule through a flawed election process”.

Welcoming the resolution, Aung Din of the United States Campaign for Burma, said: “This is a timely and necessary action on the part of the US Congress to warn the US administration not to wait and see, but to take effective action without further delay to stop the regime’s plan to build a permanent military dictatorship in Burma, with the help of China, India, and North Korea.”
The resolution denounces the regime’s dissolution of the National League for Democracy (NLD) party, led by Suu Kyi.

The resolution says that “no government in Burma can be considered democratic or legitimate without the participation of Aung San Suu Kyi, the NLD, and ethnic nationalities and the full restoration of democracy, freedom of assembly, freedom of movement, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and internationally recognized human rights for all Burmese citizens.”

An influential American lawmaker on Thursday also introduced a resolution in the US House of Representatives calling on the Burmese regime to immediately recognize the Rohingya people “as full and equal citizens of Burma.”

The resolution, introduced by Congressman Christopher Smith, also urges the Burmese military regime to lift all restrictions on movement, marriage and access to education. It calls for an end to the regime’s campaign of religious and ethnic persecution “amounting to crimes against humanity throughout Burma.”

Co-sponsored by Congressman James McGovern and Joseph Pitts, the resolution urges the government of Bangladesh to address “the dire humanitarian conditions and food insecurity in the makeshift camps” along its border with Burma, in co-operation with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and to “desist from forcing unregistered Rohingya to return to Burma.”

It also highlights the situation of Rohingyas in Saudi Arabia and urges the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to allow Rohingyas “access to education and livelihoods.”

Addressing Burma’s crimes against humanity, the resolution urges the US to “proactively support” the recommendation by the UN Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in Burma for the establishment of a UN Commission of Inquiry.

“This legislation underscores the plight and human rights abuses endured by the Rohingyas with the hope and expectation that the light of scrutiny will result in new actions by the many governments that can and should provide assistance and refuge to the Rohingyas,” said Congressman Smith.

Burma Abuzz Over Possible Release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi

RANGOON — The detention of Burma's democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi expires early next month, but officials said Friday that only the ruling junta chief knows exactly when she will be granted freedom.

The Nobel Peace laureate has been locked away for 15 of the past 21 years, ever since her opposition party swept the country's last elections in 1990, and the military refused to cede power.

Her latest term of house arrest ends Nov. 13, just days after the junta plans to hold the first elections since those ignored polls—timing that analysts say is hardly coincidental. There is wide speculation the junta will release her as an olive branch to the international community after its expected win in elections that many observers have decried as so rigged as to be meaningless.

But Suu Kyi's detention is considered a matter of national security and officials say any decision to release her would be made at the last-minute by Snr-Gen Than Shwe, the junta chief.

"We can assume that she will be released on Nov. 13, but we cannot say with certainty that it will happen. Only the junta chief will know if or when the release can happen," said one of two officials interviewed. "It is too early to say that she will be released on Nov. 13."

Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter.

Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy opposition party is boycotting the elections, which it calls unfair and undemocratic. As a result of not registering for the polls, the party has been dissolved, leaving no group that can effectively challenge the junta-backed party, which is expected to sweep the polls.

Critics call the country's first elections in two decades a sham and say the military shows no sign of genuinely relinquishing power.

The London-based rights group Burma Campaign UK issued a statement to express caution over recent reports about Suu Kyi's imminent freedom.

"We'll believe it when we see it," said Mark Farmaner, the group's director. "Regime officials have said similar things in the past, and Aung San Suu Kyi has remained in detention."

If Suu Kyi is released, it would be wrong to attach too much political significance to it, Farmaner said.
"She has been released twice before without there being any political change in the country," he said. "It is more likely that the dictatorship will try to use her release to attempt to persuade the international community to relax pressure on them."

The international community has long demand the release of Suu Kyi and more than 2,100 political prisoners.

Censors Bar Reporting of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's Voting Right

Rangoon residents read state-run and private publications at a city stall (photo: AP)

  Burma's press censors have barred domestic news agencies from reporting about pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi's name appearing on the electoral role in the November election, according to sources in Rangoon's media.

An executive editor from a news journal told The Irrawaddy that when private journals tried to report that Suu Kyi and her companions—Khin Khin Win and Win Ma Ma—were included in the voters' list of No.1 Golden Valley Ward, Bahan Township in Rangoon, the Ministry of Information's Press Scrutiny and Registration Division (PSRD) prevented them from doing so.

“The PSRD didn't allow us to report about Suu Kyi getting the right to vote because it didn't want to see her name in the media. In fact, news about a person's voting right would not affect anyone,” the editor said, adding that Suu Kyi was not included when the eligible voters' list was first announced on September 20 but her name was added on Sept. 23.

On Monday, however, the English version of The Myanmar Times reported that Suu Kyi and her companions were included on the electoral roll but Suu Kyi could only cast her vote in advance since she was under house arrest. The Burmese-language edition of the same publication and other Burmese media were prevented from reporting the story.

Apart from restricting mention of Suu Kyi's name and news related to the 1990 election and the National League for Democracy on the media, the PSRD reportedly continues to bar any reporting that criticizes the 2008 Constitution and negative opinion regarding the upcoming election.
“There is no freedom of information in the country, though private media constantly struggles against the restrictions,” said a journalist in Rangoon, doubting that private media will be allowed to freely report during the election.

The PSRD issued a directive in July warning private media to be careful carrying news about the election laws and the Constitution, saying that any criticism and incorrect reporting on these issues would lead to a permanent revocation of publishing permit.

A politician in Rangoon said that without media freedom the coming election in Burma cannot be free and fair.

The PSRD also reportedly forced news journals to carry articles saying that calling for an election boycott contravenes the election law and can be punished with a 5-20 year prison term and a 100,000 kyat [US $107] fine.

The PSRD reportedly also censored news about the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) using the state budget for election campaign activities such as road construction and giving out loans and has removed news related to the number of confirmed voters for the USDP and its attempt to collect advance votes.

Thirty-seven political parties, including the USDP lead by the military regime's incumbent premier Thein Sein, will contest the election on Nov. 7.