3.28.2008
6th month memorial day of September 2007 Saffron revolution
6th month memorial day of September 2007 Saffron revolution
Dear all readers ;
As you all know, today is 6th month Memorial Day of saffron revolution.
The September ’07 demonstrations lead by the Buddhist clergy and fully supported by the overwhelming majority of the citizens, was brutally crushed by the military. This fact was well established through print and television media around the world.
Although monks in the past, during the colonial period of the British, and the Japanese occupation in 1942-45, were killed because of their involvement in political matters, never in the history of the Burmese people, have so many Buddhist monks been brutally killed, beaten, and shown absolute disregard by those in power who are, and call themselves Buddhist. It is a sad and dark chapter of
Images of the saffron’s peaceful revolution will never disappear, not only in our minds but also in the minds of people from all over the world.
We believed, everybody could not forget 2007 September. Some monks and people died in that action. Some are still in prison .Most of people in
Although, the top generals and their concerns are unbelievably rich ,there are nearly 2 millions people living around the border area and refugee camps. Some ethnic people were forced to migrate from their homes and some people migrate in such of batter life. At least 70% of children lost their right to an education . How ever, SPDC says situation in
But now, SPDC moved toward referendum under the steps of their road map. Burmese people and world society realize the referendum can’t solve the problems in
“ Well we and the generations to follow us be in a state of servitude under the military regime or will we stand up against it ? ”
It is time to show people what we desire . We want people to realize their future is in their hands. We can do many campaigns to dismantle SPDC dictatorship. It is time to realize that only the people power can force out the dictatorship.
D-Wave
3.25.2008
3.23.2008
Will Burmese migrants be able to vote?
Most countries provide some form of absentee voting for nationals who live abroad or facilitate voting for internal migrants who have returned home to vote.
Migrants represent a constituency that can be a powerful lobby in referendums and elections, and can, sometimes, determine an election’s outcome.
In Zimbabwe, The Congress of Trade Unions has called on 3 million Zimbabweans living and working in South Africa to return home to vote in the March 29th election.
In a recent election in Kelantan, Malaysia, the Barisan Nasional Party blamed its defeat on the failure of a large number of Kelantanese living outside the state to return home to vote.
In Thailand, Section 99 of the 2007 Constitution enshrines the right of Thai nationals who reside outside their constituency or outside the country to vote. In the December national election, polling booths for absentee voters were set up a week before the vote. For Thai migrants, who returned home to vote, a public holiday was declared to allow more time to travel.
In Burma, with a referendum on the constitution scheduled in May, Burmese migrants are wondering will they be able to exercise their right to vote?
Burmese migrants have never had the opportunity to vote, although many have grown up hearing stories from their parents about voting in the 1990 election, only to have the vote ignored by the junta.
While migrants fear the same thing may happen this time, they will never know unless they are able to vote.
There are many hurdles for Burmese migrants to overcome, if they are to be allowed to vote. The deck, as usual, seems stacked against them.
The first hurdle entails knowing how to register to vote. Embassies are usually the best source of information for overseas nationals on such issues, but it is no easy task to get any information from the Burmese embassy in Bangkok.
Families in Burma are being instructed to tell their migrant relatives to return home quickly to be included on the voting registrar and obtain an ID card to be eligible to vote.
If successful, that could entail making two trips home: one to register and one to cast a “No” or “Yes” vote. Such trips would not only cost migrants precious money and time, but could also cost them their legal status in Thailand.
When migrant workers in Thailand register for a temporary work permit they are legally confined to the province where they register. Crossing a provincial border could lead to the loss of their legal status and crossing the border into Burma would automatically render the migrant illegal under current laws.
Some 367,834 Burmese migrants in Thailand hold a work permit that will expire on June 30th. Registration to extend the permit for another year begins on June 1. If these migrants choose to return home to vote, would they be able to return to Thailand to register for a work permit again?
Even if the Thai government decided to support the migrants’ right to vote and facilitated their return, migrants would have another hurdle to overcome: their employers.
Employers of migrant workers are usually reluctant to give migrants time off from work; would they support a week off to return home to vote? Would their jobs be there when they returned?
According to a recent article in The Bangkok Post, Thai Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama said: “If Myanmar [Burma] wants assistance from Thailand (on the referendum), we are ready to offer help as a friendly country.” Thailand’s help is badly needed by the 360,000 registered Burmese migrants and 1.2 million unregistered migrants.
If the Burmese embassy in Bangkok becomes a polling station, Thailand’s help would be needed to issue migrants temporary travel passes to go to Bangkok to vote.
The Burmese regime could also set up polling stations located close to the Thai border specifically for migrants as they do on the American-Mexican border. In this scenario Thailand would need to provide some sort of document or amnesty on travel restrictions to allow migrants to travel safely to and from the border.
If the regime demands that migrants return home first to register and then to vote, Thailand’s assistance would be needed to provide travel documents or border passes and to ensure that employers grant workers time off to perform their civil duty and guarantee their jobs upon their return.
The Burmese regime has provided almost no information about the referendum process, the actual voting or the contents of the constitution.
If Thailand is open hearted and willing to aid Burmese migrants who want to vote in the referendum, it will be necessary to act quickly. And if Asean is truly a caring community, it will actively support systems for Burmese migrants in Malaysia and Singapore to also be able to vote.
Migrants represent a constituency that can be a powerful lobby in referendums and elections, and can, sometimes, determine an election’s outcome.
In Zimbabwe, The Congress of Trade Unions has called on 3 million Zimbabweans living and working in South Africa to return home to vote in the March 29th election.
In a recent election in Kelantan, Malaysia, the Barisan Nasional Party blamed its defeat on the failure of a large number of Kelantanese living outside the state to return home to vote.
In Thailand, Section 99 of the 2007 Constitution enshrines the right of Thai nationals who reside outside their constituency or outside the country to vote. In the December national election, polling booths for absentee voters were set up a week before the vote. For Thai migrants, who returned home to vote, a public holiday was declared to allow more time to travel.
In Burma, with a referendum on the constitution scheduled in May, Burmese migrants are wondering will they be able to exercise their right to vote?
Burmese migrants have never had the opportunity to vote, although many have grown up hearing stories from their parents about voting in the 1990 election, only to have the vote ignored by the junta.
While migrants fear the same thing may happen this time, they will never know unless they are able to vote.
There are many hurdles for Burmese migrants to overcome, if they are to be allowed to vote. The deck, as usual, seems stacked against them.
The first hurdle entails knowing how to register to vote. Embassies are usually the best source of information for overseas nationals on such issues, but it is no easy task to get any information from the Burmese embassy in Bangkok.
Families in Burma are being instructed to tell their migrant relatives to return home quickly to be included on the voting registrar and obtain an ID card to be eligible to vote.
If successful, that could entail making two trips home: one to register and one to cast a “No” or “Yes” vote. Such trips would not only cost migrants precious money and time, but could also cost them their legal status in Thailand.
When migrant workers in Thailand register for a temporary work permit they are legally confined to the province where they register. Crossing a provincial border could lead to the loss of their legal status and crossing the border into Burma would automatically render the migrant illegal under current laws.
Some 367,834 Burmese migrants in Thailand hold a work permit that will expire on June 30th. Registration to extend the permit for another year begins on June 1. If these migrants choose to return home to vote, would they be able to return to Thailand to register for a work permit again?
Even if the Thai government decided to support the migrants’ right to vote and facilitated their return, migrants would have another hurdle to overcome: their employers.
Employers of migrant workers are usually reluctant to give migrants time off from work; would they support a week off to return home to vote? Would their jobs be there when they returned?
According to a recent article in The Bangkok Post, Thai Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama said: “If Myanmar [Burma] wants assistance from Thailand (on the referendum), we are ready to offer help as a friendly country.” Thailand’s help is badly needed by the 360,000 registered Burmese migrants and 1.2 million unregistered migrants.
If the Burmese embassy in Bangkok becomes a polling station, Thailand’s help would be needed to issue migrants temporary travel passes to go to Bangkok to vote.
The Burmese regime could also set up polling stations located close to the Thai border specifically for migrants as they do on the American-Mexican border. In this scenario Thailand would need to provide some sort of document or amnesty on travel restrictions to allow migrants to travel safely to and from the border.
If the regime demands that migrants return home first to register and then to vote, Thailand’s assistance would be needed to provide travel documents or border passes and to ensure that employers grant workers time off to perform their civil duty and guarantee their jobs upon their return.
The Burmese regime has provided almost no information about the referendum process, the actual voting or the contents of the constitution.
If Thailand is open hearted and willing to aid Burmese migrants who want to vote in the referendum, it will be necessary to act quickly. And if Asean is truly a caring community, it will actively support systems for Burmese migrants in Malaysia and Singapore to also be able to vote.
3.20.2008
Referendum:"NO"Vote Gaining Momentum
By SAW YAN NAING
Thursday, March 20, 2008, -->
A vote “No” movement is gaining momentum throughout Burma as the May referendum date—still yet to be announced—draws near.
Various activists and citizens in Rangoon, Mandalay and Kachin and Arakan states are urging the public to take a stand against the military-crafted draft constitution, which has still not been made public.
The military regime announced on February 9 it would hold a national referendum on the draft constitution in May and a multi-party election in 2010.
Public reaction to the referendum has been colored by the 2007 uprising, in which the UN said at least 31 protesters including monks were killed by security forces.
Nyi Nyi, a businessman in Sittwe in Arakan State, said, “There is no reason to support the junta. I will not vote “Yes” in the referendum because there is no justice.”
A resident in Mandalay, the second largest city, predicted that almost all Mandalay citizens would vote “No” in the referendum.
“It’s not because they don’t understand the constitution,” he said, “but because they dislike the military regime.”Even government staffers are saying they will vote ‘No,’” he said.
An elderly housewife in Sittwe was coy when asked by The Irrawaddy how she would vote. “I’ve decided to vote, but it is early to tell,” she said. “Let’s see when we vote. You will realize what I mean.”
In Myitkyina, many residents told The Irrawaddy that they would vote “No,” while others said they would boycott the referendum.
Ma Brang said, “I will vote ‘No.’ Many people—almost all—in Myitkyina think like me.”
Another Myitkyina resident said, “I will not vote in the referendum. If authorities try to talk to me, I’m ready to complain to them.”
He said the constitution process was a “fake” and it failed to guarantee the rights of ethnic groups in Burma. The constitution will only guarantee that the junta is able to hold on to power, he said.
A Rangoon resident told The Irrawaddy that most of his friends are prepared to vote “No” while others they will boycott the referendum.
“For me, I will not support the referendum for sure. I’m deciding whether to vote “No” or not to vote.”
Meanwhile, Burmese activists in Rangoon have launched new anti-government campaigns against the national referendum, urging people to boycott the referendum.
Activists have also distributed VCDs filled with jokes aimed at the junta’s referendum by the well-known a-nyeint comedy troupe, Thee Lay Thee & Say Young Sone.
Meanwhile, the Burmese regime has launched its own publicity campaigns in support of a “Yes” vote on the referendum.
In early March, local authorities in Rangoon, including the Township Peace and Development Council and the Ward Peace and Development Council, were ordered to lobby residents to vote “Yes” by the chairman of the Rangoon division of the Peace and Development Council, Brig-Gen Hla Htay Win, and Home Minister Maung Oo, according to sources in the former capital.
Local authorities in Rangoon and other regions, especially in ethnic states, have also offered temporary citizen identification cards to adults while urging them to vote “Yes,” sources said.
Some residents who have openly spoken out against the referendum have been threatened by authorities, sources told The Irrawaddy.
The regime recently enacted a new law that calls for up to three years imprisonment and a 100,000 kyat (US $91) fine for anyone convicted of making anti-government statements or distributing posters opposing the referendum. The law also bans monks and nuns from voting.
Despite the restrictions, a Burmese migrant worker in Singapore, who asked for anonymity, said, “I will vote in the referendum because if I don’t vote, I will loose my vote. But I will vote “No.”
Meanwhile, the All Burma Monks Alliance released a statement this week calling on all citizens and Buddhist monks to remember the September 2007 crackdown and to boycott the May referendum and the state-run religious examinations to be held this month.
Thursday, March 20, 2008, -->
A vote “No” movement is gaining momentum throughout Burma as the May referendum date—still yet to be announced—draws near.
Various activists and citizens in Rangoon, Mandalay and Kachin and Arakan states are urging the public to take a stand against the military-crafted draft constitution, which has still not been made public.
The military regime announced on February 9 it would hold a national referendum on the draft constitution in May and a multi-party election in 2010.
Public reaction to the referendum has been colored by the 2007 uprising, in which the UN said at least 31 protesters including monks were killed by security forces.
Nyi Nyi, a businessman in Sittwe in Arakan State, said, “There is no reason to support the junta. I will not vote “Yes” in the referendum because there is no justice.”
A resident in Mandalay, the second largest city, predicted that almost all Mandalay citizens would vote “No” in the referendum.
“It’s not because they don’t understand the constitution,” he said, “but because they dislike the military regime.”Even government staffers are saying they will vote ‘No,’” he said.
An elderly housewife in Sittwe was coy when asked by The Irrawaddy how she would vote. “I’ve decided to vote, but it is early to tell,” she said. “Let’s see when we vote. You will realize what I mean.”
In Myitkyina, many residents told The Irrawaddy that they would vote “No,” while others said they would boycott the referendum.
Ma Brang said, “I will vote ‘No.’ Many people—almost all—in Myitkyina think like me.”
Another Myitkyina resident said, “I will not vote in the referendum. If authorities try to talk to me, I’m ready to complain to them.”
He said the constitution process was a “fake” and it failed to guarantee the rights of ethnic groups in Burma. The constitution will only guarantee that the junta is able to hold on to power, he said.
A Rangoon resident told The Irrawaddy that most of his friends are prepared to vote “No” while others they will boycott the referendum.
“For me, I will not support the referendum for sure. I’m deciding whether to vote “No” or not to vote.”
Meanwhile, Burmese activists in Rangoon have launched new anti-government campaigns against the national referendum, urging people to boycott the referendum.
Activists have also distributed VCDs filled with jokes aimed at the junta’s referendum by the well-known a-nyeint comedy troupe, Thee Lay Thee & Say Young Sone.
Meanwhile, the Burmese regime has launched its own publicity campaigns in support of a “Yes” vote on the referendum.
In early March, local authorities in Rangoon, including the Township Peace and Development Council and the Ward Peace and Development Council, were ordered to lobby residents to vote “Yes” by the chairman of the Rangoon division of the Peace and Development Council, Brig-Gen Hla Htay Win, and Home Minister Maung Oo, according to sources in the former capital.
Local authorities in Rangoon and other regions, especially in ethnic states, have also offered temporary citizen identification cards to adults while urging them to vote “Yes,” sources said.
Some residents who have openly spoken out against the referendum have been threatened by authorities, sources told The Irrawaddy.
The regime recently enacted a new law that calls for up to three years imprisonment and a 100,000 kyat (US $91) fine for anyone convicted of making anti-government statements or distributing posters opposing the referendum. The law also bans monks and nuns from voting.
Despite the restrictions, a Burmese migrant worker in Singapore, who asked for anonymity, said, “I will vote in the referendum because if I don’t vote, I will loose my vote. But I will vote “No.”
Meanwhile, the All Burma Monks Alliance released a statement this week calling on all citizens and Buddhist monks to remember the September 2007 crackdown and to boycott the May referendum and the state-run religious examinations to be held this month.
3.19.2008
People's Opinion on Referendum
Dear all
I want to share my opinon.As for me ,I don't trust that dictatorship.They never keep their promises .You can think back their past action.My idea is that,boycott referendum and I do accept all camping against dictatorship.
TA
I want to share my opinon.As for me ,I don't trust that dictatorship.They never keep their promises .You can think back their past action.My idea is that,boycott referendum and I do accept all camping against dictatorship.
TA
3.17.2008
NO Vote or Vote No !
No Vote or Vote no?
Dear All Readers
As you all know, this is important time for our country. Most of the people not clear for the action of No vote or vote no. What we mean are that will we be boycott the referendum or give against vote. We hard various reasons from both side .From political groups, from old politicians and many people. We really eager to hear your idea .What is the effective and ineffective of no vote and vote no.
Please send your opinion about that title.We are sure ,we will post all of your ideas on our web blog the title of the people opinion on referendum .We’d like to invite not only Burmese people but also a person who love democracy and human rights.
Thank you in advance.
Dear All Readers
As you all know, this is important time for our country. Most of the people not clear for the action of No vote or vote no. What we mean are that will we be boycott the referendum or give against vote. We hard various reasons from both side .From political groups, from old politicians and many people. We really eager to hear your idea .What is the effective and ineffective of no vote and vote no.
Please send your opinion about that title.We are sure ,we will post all of your ideas on our web blog the title of the people opinion on referendum .We’d like to invite not only Burmese people but also a person who love democracy and human rights.
Thank you in advance.
3.14.2008
One month Memorial Ceremony of Pado Man Sha
Date-March ,14 ,2008
One month memorial ceremony of Pado Man Sha (KNU and NCUB leader) celebrated at the office of NCGUB.There were nearly 150 people attented .Donated to 5 monks with lunch and some goods .General Tarmalarbol (KNU and NCGUB chairman) gave opening speech and Major Saw Hla Ngwe (KNU) gave speech about memorial of Man Sha's action for the Karen revolution and Burma's democracy movement.
Burma's Human Rights Day
Date 13March 13, 2008
Old RIT (Rangoon Institute Technology) students celebrated Burma’s Human rights day in Thai border. Nearly 60 people who are( 74 generation students, 88 generation students and 2007 saffron generation students ) some medias and some guests came there and shared their past experiences about student movement in Burma.After the discussion, they all agreed for the action of
-Try for to free all political prisoners
- Try for Dialogue
- Boycott Referendum
Some political groups such as NCGUB, BPPU sent their statements for Burma’s Human Rights day .
Old RIT (Rangoon Institute Technology) students celebrated Burma’s Human rights day in Thai border. Nearly 60 people who are( 74 generation students, 88 generation students and 2007 saffron generation students ) some medias and some guests came there and shared their past experiences about student movement in Burma.After the discussion, they all agreed for the action of
-Try for to free all political prisoners
- Try for Dialogue
- Boycott Referendum
Some political groups such as NCGUB, BPPU sent their statements for Burma’s Human Rights day .
3.12.2008
Bush Says US Will Not Abandon Burma
US President George W Bush (C) signs a proclamation honoring Women's History Month during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC. Bush paid tribute to women who have defied the governments of Belarus, Cuba and Burma, promising US help as they "stand up for the freedom of their people." (Photo:AFP) Bush Says US Will Not Abandon Burma
By LALIT K JHA
Tuesday, March 11, 2008, -->
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President George W Bush said on Monday the United States would continue to work till the “tide of freedom reaches the Burmese shores.”
Bush, addressing a meeting honoring Women’s History Month at the White House with his wife, Laura Bush, said, “America honors women like Aung San Suu Kyi of Burma.”
US President George W Bush (C) signs a proclamation honoring Women's History Month during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC. Bush paid tribute to women who have defied the governments of Belarus, Cuba and Burma, promising US help as they "stand up for the freedom of their people." (Photo:AFP)Praising Suu Kyi for her courage and commitment to the people of Burma, Bush said: “Her only crime was to lead a political party that enjoys the overwhelming support of the Burmese people. During the long and lonely years of Daw Suu Kyi's imprisonment, the people of Burma have suffered with her.” Suu Kyi has been under house arrest for 12 of the last 18 years.
“Her courage and her writings have inspired millions, and in so doing, have put fear to the hearts of the leaders of the Burmese junta,” Bush said.
Bush noted that the military regime has called a referendum in May to ratify a dangerously flawed constitution—one that bars Suu Kyi from running for political office.
Bush said: “Aung San Suu Kyi has said to the American people: ‘Please use your liberty to promote ours.’ We're doing all we can, and we will continue to do so until the tide of freedom reaches the Burmese shores and frees this good, strong woman.”
The US has imposed a series of economic sanctions against the military junta in the last seven months.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice also praised the Burmese leader on the occasion of International Women’s Day.
“We acknowledge the bravery of Aung Sung Suu Kyi in Burma,” Rice said.
Along with Suu Kyi, Bush also honored the wife of jailed Belarus opposition leader Alexander Kozulin, Irina Kozulin, who died of cancer last month; and ailing Cuban dissident Marta Beatrmz Roque Cabello.
-->
By LALIT K JHA
Tuesday, March 11, 2008, -->
TEXT SIZE
President George W Bush said on Monday the United States would continue to work till the “tide of freedom reaches the Burmese shores.”
Bush, addressing a meeting honoring Women’s History Month at the White House with his wife, Laura Bush, said, “America honors women like Aung San Suu Kyi of Burma.”
US President George W Bush (C) signs a proclamation honoring Women's History Month during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC. Bush paid tribute to women who have defied the governments of Belarus, Cuba and Burma, promising US help as they "stand up for the freedom of their people." (Photo:AFP)Praising Suu Kyi for her courage and commitment to the people of Burma, Bush said: “Her only crime was to lead a political party that enjoys the overwhelming support of the Burmese people. During the long and lonely years of Daw Suu Kyi's imprisonment, the people of Burma have suffered with her.” Suu Kyi has been under house arrest for 12 of the last 18 years.
“Her courage and her writings have inspired millions, and in so doing, have put fear to the hearts of the leaders of the Burmese junta,” Bush said.
Bush noted that the military regime has called a referendum in May to ratify a dangerously flawed constitution—one that bars Suu Kyi from running for political office.
Bush said: “Aung San Suu Kyi has said to the American people: ‘Please use your liberty to promote ours.’ We're doing all we can, and we will continue to do so until the tide of freedom reaches the Burmese shores and frees this good, strong woman.”
The US has imposed a series of economic sanctions against the military junta in the last seven months.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice also praised the Burmese leader on the occasion of International Women’s Day.
“We acknowledge the bravery of Aung Sung Suu Kyi in Burma,” Rice said.
Along with Suu Kyi, Bush also honored the wife of jailed Belarus opposition leader Alexander Kozulin, Irina Kozulin, who died of cancer last month; and ailing Cuban dissident Marta Beatrmz Roque Cabello.
-->
3.11.2008
Heightened security in Rangoon over past few days
Heightened security in Rangoon over past few days
Mizzima NewsMarch 10, 2008
New Delhi – Security has been tightened in most of the townships in Rangoon. Soldiers were seen patrolling the city in FAW military trucks imported from China and Hino TE 11 in many townships in Rangoon. Troops were deployed in some crowded and major intersections, local residents said.
Soldiers and riot police in combat gear and red, yellow and green scarves, are patrolling the city in TE 11 trucks. They also patrolled each township in commandeered Toyota Dyna pick-ups and two fire tenders totaling four to five vehicles with Swanahshin and members of Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA) in mufti onboard, accounting for 50 persons," Ko Win from South Okkalapa said.
"The colour of scarves varies for each township. For instance, they used yellow in Dagon satellite Township, red in South Okkalapa, green in Latha and Bahan Townships. They used green scarves in the diplomatic enclave," he added.
"Security has been tightened over three to four days. The soldiers with yellow scarves are patrolling in FAW trucks in our township. We heard that these trucks are also patrolling every township in Rangoon. A fire tender is sandwiched between these FAW trucks," a local resident in Tamwe said.
We learnt that three to nine vehicles are patrolling in each township of Tamwe, Kamayut, Mayangon, Thingangyun, Mingalar Taungnyunt, South Okkalapa, Dagon satellite township, North Okkalapa, Hlaing Thayar, Thaketa, Bahan, Botathaung and Latha Townships. There are about 20 uniformed soldiers in each vehicle.
"Security has been tightened in key places such as near Kandawgyi Lake, Shwedagon pagoda, in Bahan 3rd lane and in front of Town Hall. The soldiers in FAW trucks are also seen in downtown Rangoon. The soldiers with red scarves were deployed at the intersections. The FAW trucks are patrolling in downtown Rangoon," a local resident of Rangoon said.The members of the USDA and Swanahshin were seen accompanying the military trucks with two or three Dyan pickups and two fire tenders. The soldiers are wearing red scarves, he added.
The people in Rangoon speculated that the tightening of security was because of the UN special envoy Mr. Gambari's visit to Burma.
"It is very frustrating for commuters in Rangoon. The cars and buses had to stop when these patrol cars came. The patrol cars don't care for traffic rules and keep jumping the red light," Ko Win further said.
Mizzima NewsMarch 10, 2008
New Delhi – Security has been tightened in most of the townships in Rangoon. Soldiers were seen patrolling the city in FAW military trucks imported from China and Hino TE 11 in many townships in Rangoon. Troops were deployed in some crowded and major intersections, local residents said.
Soldiers and riot police in combat gear and red, yellow and green scarves, are patrolling the city in TE 11 trucks. They also patrolled each township in commandeered Toyota Dyna pick-ups and two fire tenders totaling four to five vehicles with Swanahshin and members of Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA) in mufti onboard, accounting for 50 persons," Ko Win from South Okkalapa said.
"The colour of scarves varies for each township. For instance, they used yellow in Dagon satellite Township, red in South Okkalapa, green in Latha and Bahan Townships. They used green scarves in the diplomatic enclave," he added.
"Security has been tightened over three to four days. The soldiers with yellow scarves are patrolling in FAW trucks in our township. We heard that these trucks are also patrolling every township in Rangoon. A fire tender is sandwiched between these FAW trucks," a local resident in Tamwe said.
We learnt that three to nine vehicles are patrolling in each township of Tamwe, Kamayut, Mayangon, Thingangyun, Mingalar Taungnyunt, South Okkalapa, Dagon satellite township, North Okkalapa, Hlaing Thayar, Thaketa, Bahan, Botathaung and Latha Townships. There are about 20 uniformed soldiers in each vehicle.
"Security has been tightened in key places such as near Kandawgyi Lake, Shwedagon pagoda, in Bahan 3rd lane and in front of Town Hall. The soldiers in FAW trucks are also seen in downtown Rangoon. The soldiers with red scarves were deployed at the intersections. The FAW trucks are patrolling in downtown Rangoon," a local resident of Rangoon said.The members of the USDA and Swanahshin were seen accompanying the military trucks with two or three Dyan pickups and two fire tenders. The soldiers are wearing red scarves, he added.
The people in Rangoon speculated that the tightening of security was because of the UN special envoy Mr. Gambari's visit to Burma.
"It is very frustrating for commuters in Rangoon. The cars and buses had to stop when these patrol cars came. The patrol cars don't care for traffic rules and keep jumping the red light," Ko Win further said.
Junta's Snub Singnals Failure of Gambari's Mission(irrawaddy.org)
Junta’s Snub Signals Failure of Gambari’s Mission
By WAI MOE
Monday, March 10, 2008, -->
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Burma’s military junta has spoken: there will be no role for the United Nations in determining the course of the country’s political transition to what it calls a “disciplined democracy.” This is the message that the ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) sent to the international community and the Burmese people through its treatment of the UN special envoy to Burma, Ibrahim Gambari.
Detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi (L) meets UN special envoy Ibrahim Gambari (R) on Saturday. (Photo: AFP)
The Nigerian diplomat, who has just completed his fifth visit to Burma, proposed a more inclusive process of political change in the country, and offered to send monitors to ensure that the outcome of the junta’s planned referendum on a draft constitution is accepted as legitimate. The junta said no to both suggestions. Gambari met with National League for Democracy (NLD) leader Aung San Suu Kyi twice during his five-day trip, but was denied a meeting with the junta’s supreme leader, Snr-Gen Than Shwe. Instead, he met with members of the regime’s “Spokes Authoritative Team,” consisting of Information Minister Brig-Gen Kyaw Hsan, Foreign Minister Nyan Win and Culture Minister Maj-Gen Khin Aung Myint. There were also brief meetings with other NLD leaders, representatives of ethnic groups, and officials from the pro-junta Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA) and National Unity Party (NUP). As he did during Gambari’s last visit to Burma in November 2007, Kyaw Hsan used the occasion of his latest meeting with the UN representative to send a clear message that the junta does not appreciate international interference in its affairs. The state-run mouthpiece, The New Light of Myanmar, published the full text of Kyaw Hsan’s indignant reaction to Gambari’s role in releasing a statement from Aung San Suu Kyi following his last visit. “Sadly, you went beyond your mandate,” said the information minister in his carefully worded reproach. “Some even believe that that you prepared the statement in advance and released it after coordinating with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi,” he added. He went on to accuse the UN envoy of trying to “frame a pattern desired by western countries.”Kyaw Hsan also took issue with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s calls for a more inclusive constitution-drafting process, pointing out that the NLD walked out of the National Convention two years after it first convened in 1993. The constitution, finally completed last year, is in no further need of revision, insisted Kyaw Hsan. “The majority of the people do not demand to amend it,” he told Gambari. But analysts say that most of delegates at the convention were handpicked by the junta and only a few representatives from political parties were allowed to attend the convention. Before the NLD walked out of the National Convention in November 2005, only 99 of the 702 delegates were elected officials. After meeting with Kyaw Hsan’s team, Gambari met with a member of the commission responsible for holding the referendum, Thaung Nyunt, who flatly rejected a proposal for international monitoring of the forthcoming referendum in May. “U Thaung Nyunt replied that holding the referendum for the constitution is within the State sovereignty. Besides, there were no instances of foreign observers monitoring events like a referendum,” said a report in The New Light of Myanmar. U Lwin, secretary of the NLD, told The Irrawaddy on Saturday that Gambari explained to his party that he came to Burma with a mandate from the UN Security Council.
“He also told us about his meetings with the regime officials on previous days,” said U Lwin, who declined to provide any further details.Meanwhile, observers in Burma said that the junta’s snub of Gambari showed that the generals were not interested in listening to the international community. “It is very clear that they [the junta] will do everything their own way. No matter what the international community says, they negate all voices,” said a Burmese political observer in Rangoon, adding that the chances of a national reconciliation talks taking place now are non-existent.
By WAI MOE
Monday, March 10, 2008, -->
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Burma’s military junta has spoken: there will be no role for the United Nations in determining the course of the country’s political transition to what it calls a “disciplined democracy.” This is the message that the ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) sent to the international community and the Burmese people through its treatment of the UN special envoy to Burma, Ibrahim Gambari.
Detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi (L) meets UN special envoy Ibrahim Gambari (R) on Saturday. (Photo: AFP)
The Nigerian diplomat, who has just completed his fifth visit to Burma, proposed a more inclusive process of political change in the country, and offered to send monitors to ensure that the outcome of the junta’s planned referendum on a draft constitution is accepted as legitimate. The junta said no to both suggestions. Gambari met with National League for Democracy (NLD) leader Aung San Suu Kyi twice during his five-day trip, but was denied a meeting with the junta’s supreme leader, Snr-Gen Than Shwe. Instead, he met with members of the regime’s “Spokes Authoritative Team,” consisting of Information Minister Brig-Gen Kyaw Hsan, Foreign Minister Nyan Win and Culture Minister Maj-Gen Khin Aung Myint. There were also brief meetings with other NLD leaders, representatives of ethnic groups, and officials from the pro-junta Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA) and National Unity Party (NUP). As he did during Gambari’s last visit to Burma in November 2007, Kyaw Hsan used the occasion of his latest meeting with the UN representative to send a clear message that the junta does not appreciate international interference in its affairs. The state-run mouthpiece, The New Light of Myanmar, published the full text of Kyaw Hsan’s indignant reaction to Gambari’s role in releasing a statement from Aung San Suu Kyi following his last visit. “Sadly, you went beyond your mandate,” said the information minister in his carefully worded reproach. “Some even believe that that you prepared the statement in advance and released it after coordinating with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi,” he added. He went on to accuse the UN envoy of trying to “frame a pattern desired by western countries.”Kyaw Hsan also took issue with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s calls for a more inclusive constitution-drafting process, pointing out that the NLD walked out of the National Convention two years after it first convened in 1993. The constitution, finally completed last year, is in no further need of revision, insisted Kyaw Hsan. “The majority of the people do not demand to amend it,” he told Gambari. But analysts say that most of delegates at the convention were handpicked by the junta and only a few representatives from political parties were allowed to attend the convention. Before the NLD walked out of the National Convention in November 2005, only 99 of the 702 delegates were elected officials. After meeting with Kyaw Hsan’s team, Gambari met with a member of the commission responsible for holding the referendum, Thaung Nyunt, who flatly rejected a proposal for international monitoring of the forthcoming referendum in May. “U Thaung Nyunt replied that holding the referendum for the constitution is within the State sovereignty. Besides, there were no instances of foreign observers monitoring events like a referendum,” said a report in The New Light of Myanmar. U Lwin, secretary of the NLD, told The Irrawaddy on Saturday that Gambari explained to his party that he came to Burma with a mandate from the UN Security Council.
“He also told us about his meetings with the regime officials on previous days,” said U Lwin, who declined to provide any further details.Meanwhile, observers in Burma said that the junta’s snub of Gambari showed that the generals were not interested in listening to the international community. “It is very clear that they [the junta] will do everything their own way. No matter what the international community says, they negate all voices,” said a Burmese political observer in Rangoon, adding that the chances of a national reconciliation talks taking place now are non-existent.
Gambari Meets Daw Aung San Su Kyi(irrawaddy.org)
Gambari Meets Suu Kyi
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Saturday, March 8, 2008, -->
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The UN special envoy to promote political reconciliation in Burma met Aung San Suu Kyi and other opposition party members Saturday, a day after being rebuffed by the country's military rulers.
Suu Kyi, who has been detained without trial for 12 of the past 18 years, was seen being driven from the residence where she is held under house arrest to the state guest house where Ibrahim Gambari was staying. Gambari, representing UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, was scheduled to hold talks with Suu Kyi, but details of their meeting were likely to be closely held.
UN envoy Ibrahim Gambari (far R) meets foreign diplomats upon his arrival in Rangoon. Burma's ruling junta has refused to amend its proposed constitution, which bars democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi from running in elections. (Photo: AFP/MNA-HO)The UN envoy earlier held talks with representatives of ethnic groups, non-governmental organizations and several political parties including executives of Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party.
At their one-hour morning meeting with Gambari, five NLD leaders told him of their desire for an accelerated dialogue with the junta and the release of political prisoners, according to one of the party members present.
The United Nations holds a similar position, but the junta shows no sign of implementing either action. Burma has been in a political deadlock since the junta, which seized power in 1998, refused to honor the results of a 1990 general election won by Suu Kyi's party.
Gambari told the NLD executives that he would try his utmost to press their case, but also suggested that they should grab any opportunities offered by the junta, said the party official, who asked not to be identified because he is not authorized to speak to the press.
The junta's top spokesman told Gambari at a Friday meeting that that the government had done enough to hold a dialogue with Suu Kyi, by appointing a ministerial level liaison officer for her and announcing that junta chairman Snr-Gen Than Shwe would be willing to meet her if she gave up her "confrontational attitude" and stopped calling for sanctions against the junta.
Information Minister Brig-Gen Kyaw Hsan told Gambari that Burma has no political prisoners and that Suu Kyi was detained because she tried to disrupt stability of the country, state-controlled media reported.
Kyaw Hsan also expressed unhappiness with Gambari's trips to other countries in the region to seek their support for political reform in Burma.
Gambari arrived Thursday on his third trip to Burma since the junta's deadly crackdown on nonviolent pro-democracy protesters in September sparked a global outcry. The visit came amid growing concerns that the government is ignoring calls for political reform and is tightening its grip on power.
The junta said last month that it would hold a constitutional referendum in May and general elections in 2010—the first specific dates for steps in a previously announced "roadmap to democracy."
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Saturday, March 8, 2008, -->
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The UN special envoy to promote political reconciliation in Burma met Aung San Suu Kyi and other opposition party members Saturday, a day after being rebuffed by the country's military rulers.
Suu Kyi, who has been detained without trial for 12 of the past 18 years, was seen being driven from the residence where she is held under house arrest to the state guest house where Ibrahim Gambari was staying. Gambari, representing UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, was scheduled to hold talks with Suu Kyi, but details of their meeting were likely to be closely held.
UN envoy Ibrahim Gambari (far R) meets foreign diplomats upon his arrival in Rangoon. Burma's ruling junta has refused to amend its proposed constitution, which bars democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi from running in elections. (Photo: AFP/MNA-HO)The UN envoy earlier held talks with representatives of ethnic groups, non-governmental organizations and several political parties including executives of Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party.
At their one-hour morning meeting with Gambari, five NLD leaders told him of their desire for an accelerated dialogue with the junta and the release of political prisoners, according to one of the party members present.
The United Nations holds a similar position, but the junta shows no sign of implementing either action. Burma has been in a political deadlock since the junta, which seized power in 1998, refused to honor the results of a 1990 general election won by Suu Kyi's party.
Gambari told the NLD executives that he would try his utmost to press their case, but also suggested that they should grab any opportunities offered by the junta, said the party official, who asked not to be identified because he is not authorized to speak to the press.
The junta's top spokesman told Gambari at a Friday meeting that that the government had done enough to hold a dialogue with Suu Kyi, by appointing a ministerial level liaison officer for her and announcing that junta chairman Snr-Gen Than Shwe would be willing to meet her if she gave up her "confrontational attitude" and stopped calling for sanctions against the junta.
Information Minister Brig-Gen Kyaw Hsan told Gambari that Burma has no political prisoners and that Suu Kyi was detained because she tried to disrupt stability of the country, state-controlled media reported.
Kyaw Hsan also expressed unhappiness with Gambari's trips to other countries in the region to seek their support for political reform in Burma.
Gambari arrived Thursday on his third trip to Burma since the junta's deadly crackdown on nonviolent pro-democracy protesters in September sparked a global outcry. The visit came amid growing concerns that the government is ignoring calls for political reform and is tightening its grip on power.
The junta said last month that it would hold a constitutional referendum in May and general elections in 2010—the first specific dates for steps in a previously announced "roadmap to democracy."
3.08.2008
POLITICAL PRISONER DIES OF TB
Political Prisoner, ‘Afraid of Nothing,’ Dies of TB
By SAW YAN NAING
Friday, March 7, 2008, -->
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A political prisoner, Win Tin, also known as Annul, a youth member of the main opposition National League for Democracy, died on Thursday in Tharrawaddy Prison in Burma, while serving a 24-year sentence of hard labor, according to a human rights group. Win Tin, 30, died of tuberculosis in the prison in Pegu Division, according to the Thailand-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma). A Muslim, Win Tin was arrested in 1999 for his political activities.
Myat Hla, the chairman of the NLD office in Pegu, said, “He [Win Tin] had been suffering from tuberculosis for a long time. We heard often that his health condition was bad, and he didn’t receive medical treatment in prison. This morning, when his family members went to see him, he had already died.”
Win Tin is survived by his wife. He joined the NLD when he was teenager and was very active in the political movement, said Myat Hla.
“He was afraid nothing,” he said.
Bo Kyi, the joint secretary of the AAPP, said Win Tin had suffered from tuberculosis since 2002. He didn’t receive proper medical treatment in spite of specific requests from his family members to prison authorities, he said.
“Medical treatment in Burmese prisons is very poor,” said Bo Kyi. “If the authorities don’t provide sufficient medical treatment, more prisoners will die in the future.”
The military government charged Win Tin with activities destructive to the stability of the regime.
The AAPP estimates that there are 1,864 political prisoners in Burmese prisons.
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By SAW YAN NAING
Friday, March 7, 2008, -->
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A political prisoner, Win Tin, also known as Annul, a youth member of the main opposition National League for Democracy, died on Thursday in Tharrawaddy Prison in Burma, while serving a 24-year sentence of hard labor, according to a human rights group. Win Tin, 30, died of tuberculosis in the prison in Pegu Division, according to the Thailand-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma). A Muslim, Win Tin was arrested in 1999 for his political activities.
Myat Hla, the chairman of the NLD office in Pegu, said, “He [Win Tin] had been suffering from tuberculosis for a long time. We heard often that his health condition was bad, and he didn’t receive medical treatment in prison. This morning, when his family members went to see him, he had already died.”
Win Tin is survived by his wife. He joined the NLD when he was teenager and was very active in the political movement, said Myat Hla.
“He was afraid nothing,” he said.
Bo Kyi, the joint secretary of the AAPP, said Win Tin had suffered from tuberculosis since 2002. He didn’t receive proper medical treatment in spite of specific requests from his family members to prison authorities, he said.
“Medical treatment in Burmese prisons is very poor,” said Bo Kyi. “If the authorities don’t provide sufficient medical treatment, more prisoners will die in the future.”
The military government charged Win Tin with activities destructive to the stability of the regime.
The AAPP estimates that there are 1,864 political prisoners in Burmese prisons.
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Gambeari toMeet NLD on Saturday(news from irrawaddy.org)
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Gambari to Meet NLD on Saturday
By WAI MOE
Friday, March 7, 2008, -->
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UN Special Envoy to Burma Ibrahim Gambari is scheduled to meet with senior members of the main Burmese opposition party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), on Saturday, according to a party official. Nyan Win, a spokesperson for the NLD, told The Irrawaddy on Friday that authorities informed him that the NLD was permitted to meet with Gambari and that five persons representing the party were allowed at the meeting.
UN special envoy Ibrahim Gambari(C-L) meets with Burma's Foreign Minister Nyan Win(C-R) in Rangoon on Thursday. (PHOTO: AFP/MNA-HO)
“Five members of the central executive committee will go and meet with the UN special envoy tomorrow,” said Nyan Win. “The NLD will talk over the issue of establishing inclusive participation in the national reconciliation process and a meaningful dialogue.”He also said that the party expected its leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, to be included in Saturday’s meeting, though he didn’t confirm whether she would, in fact, attend. On Friday, the UN special envoy met for two hours with Information Minister Brig-Gen Kyaw Hsan, who is also head of the military council’s information committee. Later, he met with Aung Toe, the head of the Supreme Court, who has also been appointed chief of the referendum commission under official decree 3/2008. The UN Information Center announced on its website that Gambari arrived in Rangoon on Thursday, where he held talks with Nyan Win. He also met with the UN Country Team in Burma and the Diplomatic Corps, as well as a representative of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).A UN press release stated: “In the next few days, Mr Gambari expects to continue consultations with a broad range of representatives of Burmese society, including [dissident and ethnic] groups which he was not able to see during his last visit.” The last time Gambari visited Burma was in early November, when he flew firstly to Naypyidaw. Although he was snubbed by Snr-Gen Than Shwe, he was given permission to meet with Suu Kyi at a government guest house in Rangoon.Gambari is currently on his third trip to the country since the junta’s brutal crackdown on monk-led demonstrations in September, and his fifth visit since May 2006.
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By WAI MOE
Friday, March 7, 2008, -->
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UN Special Envoy to Burma Ibrahim Gambari is scheduled to meet with senior members of the main Burmese opposition party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), on Saturday, according to a party official. Nyan Win, a spokesperson for the NLD, told The Irrawaddy on Friday that authorities informed him that the NLD was permitted to meet with Gambari and that five persons representing the party were allowed at the meeting.
UN special envoy Ibrahim Gambari(C-L) meets with Burma's Foreign Minister Nyan Win(C-R) in Rangoon on Thursday. (PHOTO: AFP/MNA-HO)
“Five members of the central executive committee will go and meet with the UN special envoy tomorrow,” said Nyan Win. “The NLD will talk over the issue of establishing inclusive participation in the national reconciliation process and a meaningful dialogue.”He also said that the party expected its leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, to be included in Saturday’s meeting, though he didn’t confirm whether she would, in fact, attend. On Friday, the UN special envoy met for two hours with Information Minister Brig-Gen Kyaw Hsan, who is also head of the military council’s information committee. Later, he met with Aung Toe, the head of the Supreme Court, who has also been appointed chief of the referendum commission under official decree 3/2008. The UN Information Center announced on its website that Gambari arrived in Rangoon on Thursday, where he held talks with Nyan Win. He also met with the UN Country Team in Burma and the Diplomatic Corps, as well as a representative of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).A UN press release stated: “In the next few days, Mr Gambari expects to continue consultations with a broad range of representatives of Burmese society, including [dissident and ethnic] groups which he was not able to see during his last visit.” The last time Gambari visited Burma was in early November, when he flew firstly to Naypyidaw. Although he was snubbed by Snr-Gen Than Shwe, he was given permission to meet with Suu Kyi at a government guest house in Rangoon.Gambari is currently on his third trip to the country since the junta’s brutal crackdown on monk-led demonstrations in September, and his fifth visit since May 2006.
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3.07.2008
Hopes Dim for Gambari Breakthrough ( news from irrawaddy .org )
Hopes Dim for Gambari Breakthrough
By WAI MOE
Thursday, March 6, 2008, -->
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The UN special envoy to Burma, Ibrahim Gambari, arrived in Burma on Thursday amid limited expectations that he will be able to persuade the country’s ruling generals to engage in genuine national reconciliation talks with the opposition.A statement issued by the UN ahead of the envoy’s visit said that Gambari “hopes to stay as long as necessary” in Burma and to meet with “all the groups he was not able to see during his last visit.” It added that his itinerary was still under discussion with the junta.
UN Special Envoy Ibrahim Gambari (Photo: Ernest Harsch)Meanwhile, sources in Rangoon said that security in the country’s largest city has been tight since Wednesday, the day before Gambari’s visit was scheduled to begin. “There are soldiers and riot police with red scarves in stand-by position at every street corner in the city. Some of them are in trucks and some of them are standing on the street,” said a housewife in Rangoon on Thursday. This is Gambari’s third trip to the country since the junta’s brutal crackdown on monk-led demonstrations last September, and his fifth since his first visit in May 2006. Burma’s opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) expressed cautious optimism over this latest visit, but noted that little has changed since Gambari was last in the country in November 2007. “We are hopeful for this trip. But his previous proposal, which called for a meaningful dialogue, is not yet in progress. He should put more energy into pursuing his dialogue proposal,” said NLD spokesperson Nyan Win.While the opposition continues to call for dialogue, the regime has come up with other plans designed to satisfy international demands for progress in the country’s political impasse. Observers note that this will be Gambari’s first chance to hold face-to-face talks with the generals since their unexpectedly announced last month that they planned to hold a constitutional referendum in May, to be followed by a general election in 2010.During previous trips, the envoy made several suggestions for a democratic transition and economic development, calling for a meaningful dialogue and an inclusive process in drafting the constitution, as well as a proposal to form a committee to fight poverty. But by declaring a referendum and elections which exclude the country’s democracy icon, Aung San Suu Kyi, the regime has indicated that the envoy’s suggestions have fallen on deaf ears.In a statement released on Tuesday, the London-based Burma Campaign UK said that Gambari’s current visit will “make or break” the UN envoy’s efforts in the country. “If Gambari comes back with anything less than a date for genuine talks with Aung San Suu Kyi and ethnic groups, and a commitment for the release of all political prisoners, then his mission has failed,” the group’s director, Anna Robert, said in the release.“Gambari must make the regime understand that it cannot continue with the sham referendum and elections it has proposed,” she added. Expectations of some sort of breakthrough were much higher in November 2007, following Gambari’s last visit to Burma. Returning to the United Nations to report on the progress of his diplomatic efforts, Gambari delivered a message from Aung San Suu Kyi which referred to her occasional meetings with a junta liaison, Aung Kyi. In her statement, she said that “the phase of preliminary consultations will conclude soon so that a meaningful and time bound dialogue with the junta leadership can start as early as possible.”She went on to indicate the scope of the proposed talks:“In this time of vital need for democratic solidarity and national unity, it is my duty to give constant and serious considerations to the interests and opinions of as broad a range of political organizations and forces as possible, in particular those of our ethnic nationality races,” said Suu Kyi in the statement. In an open letter to Gambari, Souhayr Belhassen, president of the Paris-based International Federation for Human Rights, expressed concern over the military regime’s exclusive approach to the constitution-drafting process. “We hope that your forthcoming visit to Burma will contribute [to efforts]to induce the Burmese government to create the condition for dialogue and reconciliation by putting an immediate end to the house arrest of Aung San Suu Kyi and by releasing all political prisoners,” said Belhassen.
By WAI MOE
Thursday, March 6, 2008, -->
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The UN special envoy to Burma, Ibrahim Gambari, arrived in Burma on Thursday amid limited expectations that he will be able to persuade the country’s ruling generals to engage in genuine national reconciliation talks with the opposition.A statement issued by the UN ahead of the envoy’s visit said that Gambari “hopes to stay as long as necessary” in Burma and to meet with “all the groups he was not able to see during his last visit.” It added that his itinerary was still under discussion with the junta.
UN Special Envoy Ibrahim Gambari (Photo: Ernest Harsch)Meanwhile, sources in Rangoon said that security in the country’s largest city has been tight since Wednesday, the day before Gambari’s visit was scheduled to begin. “There are soldiers and riot police with red scarves in stand-by position at every street corner in the city. Some of them are in trucks and some of them are standing on the street,” said a housewife in Rangoon on Thursday. This is Gambari’s third trip to the country since the junta’s brutal crackdown on monk-led demonstrations last September, and his fifth since his first visit in May 2006. Burma’s opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) expressed cautious optimism over this latest visit, but noted that little has changed since Gambari was last in the country in November 2007. “We are hopeful for this trip. But his previous proposal, which called for a meaningful dialogue, is not yet in progress. He should put more energy into pursuing his dialogue proposal,” said NLD spokesperson Nyan Win.While the opposition continues to call for dialogue, the regime has come up with other plans designed to satisfy international demands for progress in the country’s political impasse. Observers note that this will be Gambari’s first chance to hold face-to-face talks with the generals since their unexpectedly announced last month that they planned to hold a constitutional referendum in May, to be followed by a general election in 2010.During previous trips, the envoy made several suggestions for a democratic transition and economic development, calling for a meaningful dialogue and an inclusive process in drafting the constitution, as well as a proposal to form a committee to fight poverty. But by declaring a referendum and elections which exclude the country’s democracy icon, Aung San Suu Kyi, the regime has indicated that the envoy’s suggestions have fallen on deaf ears.In a statement released on Tuesday, the London-based Burma Campaign UK said that Gambari’s current visit will “make or break” the UN envoy’s efforts in the country. “If Gambari comes back with anything less than a date for genuine talks with Aung San Suu Kyi and ethnic groups, and a commitment for the release of all political prisoners, then his mission has failed,” the group’s director, Anna Robert, said in the release.“Gambari must make the regime understand that it cannot continue with the sham referendum and elections it has proposed,” she added. Expectations of some sort of breakthrough were much higher in November 2007, following Gambari’s last visit to Burma. Returning to the United Nations to report on the progress of his diplomatic efforts, Gambari delivered a message from Aung San Suu Kyi which referred to her occasional meetings with a junta liaison, Aung Kyi. In her statement, she said that “the phase of preliminary consultations will conclude soon so that a meaningful and time bound dialogue with the junta leadership can start as early as possible.”She went on to indicate the scope of the proposed talks:“In this time of vital need for democratic solidarity and national unity, it is my duty to give constant and serious considerations to the interests and opinions of as broad a range of political organizations and forces as possible, in particular those of our ethnic nationality races,” said Suu Kyi in the statement. In an open letter to Gambari, Souhayr Belhassen, president of the Paris-based International Federation for Human Rights, expressed concern over the military regime’s exclusive approach to the constitution-drafting process. “We hope that your forthcoming visit to Burma will contribute [to efforts]to induce the Burmese government to create the condition for dialogue and reconciliation by putting an immediate end to the house arrest of Aung San Suu Kyi and by releasing all political prisoners,” said Belhassen.
3.06.2008
Gambari Arrives in Burma
Gambari Arrives in Burma
By REUTERS / BANGKOK
Thursday, March 6, 2008, -->
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UN special envoy Ibrahim Gambari arrived in Burma on Thursday amid waning optimism about his mission to get the military junta to start talks with the opposition on political reform.It will be Gambari’s first chance to hold face-to-face talks with the generals since their unexpected announcement last month of a constitutional referendum to be held in May, to be followed by a general election in 2010.
Gambari (Photo: Reuters)“Gambari should tell the generals that marching a fearful population through a stage-managed referendum will not advance democracy or reconciliation in Burma,” Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement.“A referendum under these repressive conditions will only cement in place continued military rule,” he said.It is Prof Gambari's fifth visit to Burma since he was appointed in early 2006 and his third since a crackdown on monk-led pro-democracy demonstrations last September.The continued house arrest of National League for Democracy (NLD) leader and Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, and the opposition's boycott of the constitution-drafting process, have led many foreign governments to reject the charter and election timeline as a sham.The NLD has criticized it, but stopped short of calling on supporters to vote no in the referendum.“Our leaders will talk to him about some bare essentials we would like to see in the referendum to be held in May,” NLD spokesman Nyan Win said on Wednesday.Prof Gambari's message to the junta on his previous visits has been to release all political prisoners, and include the opposition and Burma's ethnic groups in the constitution-drafting process.His requests appear to have fallen on deaf ears, as has his push to get the generals to engage in direct talks with Suu Kyi, whom Gambari is expected to meet during his visit. The rest of his itinerary has not been disclosed.
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By REUTERS / BANGKOK
Thursday, March 6, 2008, -->
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UN special envoy Ibrahim Gambari arrived in Burma on Thursday amid waning optimism about his mission to get the military junta to start talks with the opposition on political reform.It will be Gambari’s first chance to hold face-to-face talks with the generals since their unexpected announcement last month of a constitutional referendum to be held in May, to be followed by a general election in 2010.
Gambari (Photo: Reuters)“Gambari should tell the generals that marching a fearful population through a stage-managed referendum will not advance democracy or reconciliation in Burma,” Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement.“A referendum under these repressive conditions will only cement in place continued military rule,” he said.It is Prof Gambari's fifth visit to Burma since he was appointed in early 2006 and his third since a crackdown on monk-led pro-democracy demonstrations last September.The continued house arrest of National League for Democracy (NLD) leader and Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, and the opposition's boycott of the constitution-drafting process, have led many foreign governments to reject the charter and election timeline as a sham.The NLD has criticized it, but stopped short of calling on supporters to vote no in the referendum.“Our leaders will talk to him about some bare essentials we would like to see in the referendum to be held in May,” NLD spokesman Nyan Win said on Wednesday.Prof Gambari's message to the junta on his previous visits has been to release all political prisoners, and include the opposition and Burma's ethnic groups in the constitution-drafting process.His requests appear to have fallen on deaf ears, as has his push to get the generals to engage in direct talks with Suu Kyi, whom Gambari is expected to meet during his visit. The rest of his itinerary has not been disclosed.
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3.05.2008
Mandalay Monks Lunch Anti-referendum Poster Camping (news from irrawaddy.org)
Mandalay Monks Launch Anti-referendum Poster Campaign
By WAI MOE
Tuesday, March 4, 2008, -->
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Buddhist monks in Mandalay in upper Burma on Monday launched a harshly worded poster campaign urging a “Vote No” against the government’s referendum on a draft constitution, said sources close to the campaign. Meanwhile, the All Burma Monks Alliance earlier issued a hard-hitting statement ridiculing the referendum, the election and the regime.
Buddhist novices walk to collect alms and offerings in Rangoon. (Photo: AFP)Teams of volunteers have put up anti-regime posters in Amarapura Township in Mandalay, a monk who asked not to be identified told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday.“The posters say the current situation is more important than ‘a fire on your head,’” he said. “If your head is on fire, only you will die. If you endorse the constitution, the next generation will also die.” The posters warn people not to endorse the draft constitution for the sake of children, he said. The posters were put up in at least six locations in Amarapura Township, including several monasteries and Yadanapon University. The posters call the junta’s leader, Snr-Gen Than Shwe, “Killer Than Shwe” and say the draft constitution is a plan to colonize citizens under military rule. The posters also say, “Free Burma!” and “Free Daw Aung San Suu Kyi!” said the source. “We don’t accept a colonizing constitution,” the posters proclaim. “We should reject the constitution in the referendum. We should bury our fear.” In a separate poster campaign in other townships in Mandalay, posters urged monks to boycott the official examinations held by the government. “Monk activists called on other monks not to participant in the government-organized monk examinations which are scheduled to be held this month,” said a monk in downtown Mandalay. He said only about 20 percent of the eligible monks have registered for the examinations. Earlier, the All Burma Monks Alliance (ABMA), a group of anonymous monks who played a leading role in the September pro-democracy uprising, released a statement on February 11 condemning the junta’s decrees (1/2008 and 2/2008) calling for a referendum on the draft constitution in May and a general election in 2010.The ABMA said the decrees were unjust because the regime has failed to honor the 1990 election results. A tripartite dialogue between the junta, the main opposition parties and ethnic groups is the only way to achieve true national reconciliation, said the statement. “We condemn the junta decrees because they wipe out people’s desires and prolong the military rule in the country,” the statement said. Another influential group of monks, the Sasana Moli International Burmese Monks Organization, also issued a statement criticizing the referendum and election, and calling for national dialogue. All political prisoners, including the democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, should be released, the statement said.
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By WAI MOE
Tuesday, March 4, 2008, -->
TEXT SIZE
Buddhist monks in Mandalay in upper Burma on Monday launched a harshly worded poster campaign urging a “Vote No” against the government’s referendum on a draft constitution, said sources close to the campaign. Meanwhile, the All Burma Monks Alliance earlier issued a hard-hitting statement ridiculing the referendum, the election and the regime.
Buddhist novices walk to collect alms and offerings in Rangoon. (Photo: AFP)Teams of volunteers have put up anti-regime posters in Amarapura Township in Mandalay, a monk who asked not to be identified told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday.“The posters say the current situation is more important than ‘a fire on your head,’” he said. “If your head is on fire, only you will die. If you endorse the constitution, the next generation will also die.” The posters warn people not to endorse the draft constitution for the sake of children, he said. The posters were put up in at least six locations in Amarapura Township, including several monasteries and Yadanapon University. The posters call the junta’s leader, Snr-Gen Than Shwe, “Killer Than Shwe” and say the draft constitution is a plan to colonize citizens under military rule. The posters also say, “Free Burma!” and “Free Daw Aung San Suu Kyi!” said the source. “We don’t accept a colonizing constitution,” the posters proclaim. “We should reject the constitution in the referendum. We should bury our fear.” In a separate poster campaign in other townships in Mandalay, posters urged monks to boycott the official examinations held by the government. “Monk activists called on other monks not to participant in the government-organized monk examinations which are scheduled to be held this month,” said a monk in downtown Mandalay. He said only about 20 percent of the eligible monks have registered for the examinations. Earlier, the All Burma Monks Alliance (ABMA), a group of anonymous monks who played a leading role in the September pro-democracy uprising, released a statement on February 11 condemning the junta’s decrees (1/2008 and 2/2008) calling for a referendum on the draft constitution in May and a general election in 2010.The ABMA said the decrees were unjust because the regime has failed to honor the 1990 election results. A tripartite dialogue between the junta, the main opposition parties and ethnic groups is the only way to achieve true national reconciliation, said the statement. “We condemn the junta decrees because they wipe out people’s desires and prolong the military rule in the country,” the statement said. Another influential group of monks, the Sasana Moli International Burmese Monks Organization, also issued a statement criticizing the referendum and election, and calling for national dialogue. All political prisoners, including the democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, should be released, the statement said.
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3.04.2008
5 PEOPLE KILLED IN RANGOON SHOOTOUT (News from mizzima.com)
5 killed in Rangoon shootout
Mizzima NewsMarch 4, 2008
Five people were shot dead yesterday near opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi's residence in Rangoon.
One man and four women were shot in their heads in a rare gunfight, as the possession of firearms is strictly controlled in the military ruled country.
Mizzima has learnt that the male victim is Charlie, a businessman and the father-in-law of the owner of Fuji coffee house, located near the site of the shooting. Charlie is a native of Mogok.
"They are not friendly with the neighbors", said a resident of University Avenue, speaking of Charlie and his family.
The accident happened in a house near to Nobel Peace Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi's home and the state-run guest house 'Sanelaekanthar' where the opposition leader has met the junta's liaison officer.
The last shooting of a civilian by another civilian in the nation's commercial hub and former capital was more than two decades ago when a man was shot by a gun using a silencer in a gambling related incident.
Ordinary citizens are not allowed to own weapons in Burma, which has been under military rule since 1962.
Mizzima NewsMarch 4, 2008
Five people were shot dead yesterday near opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi's residence in Rangoon.
One man and four women were shot in their heads in a rare gunfight, as the possession of firearms is strictly controlled in the military ruled country.
Mizzima has learnt that the male victim is Charlie, a businessman and the father-in-law of the owner of Fuji coffee house, located near the site of the shooting. Charlie is a native of Mogok.
"They are not friendly with the neighbors", said a resident of University Avenue, speaking of Charlie and his family.
The accident happened in a house near to Nobel Peace Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi's home and the state-run guest house 'Sanelaekanthar' where the opposition leader has met the junta's liaison officer.
The last shooting of a civilian by another civilian in the nation's commercial hub and former capital was more than two decades ago when a man was shot by a gun using a silencer in a gambling related incident.
Ordinary citizens are not allowed to own weapons in Burma, which has been under military rule since 1962.
Burmese Migrants Keen To Vote In Referendum (news from irrawaddy.org)
Burmese Migrants Keen to Vote in Referendum
By VIOLET CHO
Monday, March 3, 2008, -->
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Although Burma’s military government has not made any provisions to include non-resident Burmese citizens in next May’s national referendum, many migrants say they plan to vote “no” to the junta’s recently completed constitution if they are given the chance.
Early last month, the ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) announced plans to hold a referendum on a constitution which critics say is intended to enshrine military control over the country’s political destiny.
In the Thai-Burmese border town of Mae Sot, the Yaung Chi Oo migrant workers’ association is conducting a program to educate Burmese migrants in Thailand about the constitution, which it says is unfair and doesn’t represent the will of the people.
“We have been explaining and asking people to vote against the military referendum if they are allowed to vote,” said Moe Swe, an executive member of Yaung Chi Oo.
He added that even if migrants are denied an opportunity to vote, they can still pass on what they learn to relatives and friends inside Burma, where there is less access to information about the SPDC’s efforts to win mass support for the constitution.
The referendum and an election slated to take place in 2010—part of the junta’s seven-step “road map to democracy”—are expected to be carefully stage-managed to ensure that the regime does not face another humiliating electoral defeat like the one it experienced in 1990, when the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) won national elections by a landslide.
There are millions of Burmese living outside of the country, but the Burmese regime has yet to indicate whether they will be permitted to take part in the referendum.
More than one million Burmese live in Thailand, where many seem determined to find a way to have their say in their country’s first vote in 18 years. “I am a Burmese citizen, so it is important for me to vote in the referendum,” said Aung Naing Htun, a Burmese migrant working in Mae Sot. “I’ve heard that the government will not allow us [migrants] to vote, but I will try to find a way to vote ‘no’ to the military’s constitution.”
Myint Myat, another Burmese migrant, said that she and her friends have decided to return to their hometown to vote in the referendum. “If the government gives permission for migrants to take part, there are many people who will go back to Burma to vote,” she added.
For some, however, the possible denial of official permission is not the only obstacle. Many are too preoccupied with their day-to-day survival to worry about taking part in the regime’s deliberately opaque political process.
Mae Sot factory worker Mi Nge says that she doesn’t plan to vote, because she doesn’t understand the government-written constitution, and she is too busy trying to make a living to find the time to figure it out.
Burmese living further afield face additional difficulties in exercising their rights. Even those working in parts of Thailand not near the border, such as in the cities of Bangkok and Chiang Mai, say that the cost of returning to Burma to vote would be prohibitive.
There are also sizeable Burmese communities in other parts of Asia, including Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea and Japan. Burmese embassies in these countries say they do not have any clear plan for their citizens who cannot go back to Burma to vote.
Staff at the Burmese embassy in Singapore told The Irrawaddy that they have not been informed of any policy regarding Burmese nationals who want to vote, but who are unable to return to the country.
Burmese embassy staff in Seoul confirmed that there were no plans to enable Burmese living in South Korea to vote, but added that if the right to vote is extended to expatriates, it will only include those who possess legal work permits.
There are large numbers of illegal migrants from Burma living in South Korea and Japan, including many political exiles who are strongly opposed to the junta’s referendum.
One Burmese migrant working legally in a Seoul said he had no interest in the referendum, but said that he would vote “no” if he is forced to cast a ballot by the embassy.
In Singapore, many young Burmese have begun organizing a petition against the military’s constitution. According to an organizer of the campaign, which also calls for elections, about 700 Burmese migrants in the city-state have signed the petition.
All of the signatures will be sent to the Singaporean Parliament and the United Nations Security Council, as well as to other Burmese organizations lobbying against the referendum.
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By VIOLET CHO
Monday, March 3, 2008, -->
TEXT SIZE
Although Burma’s military government has not made any provisions to include non-resident Burmese citizens in next May’s national referendum, many migrants say they plan to vote “no” to the junta’s recently completed constitution if they are given the chance.
Early last month, the ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) announced plans to hold a referendum on a constitution which critics say is intended to enshrine military control over the country’s political destiny.
In the Thai-Burmese border town of Mae Sot, the Yaung Chi Oo migrant workers’ association is conducting a program to educate Burmese migrants in Thailand about the constitution, which it says is unfair and doesn’t represent the will of the people.
“We have been explaining and asking people to vote against the military referendum if they are allowed to vote,” said Moe Swe, an executive member of Yaung Chi Oo.
He added that even if migrants are denied an opportunity to vote, they can still pass on what they learn to relatives and friends inside Burma, where there is less access to information about the SPDC’s efforts to win mass support for the constitution.
The referendum and an election slated to take place in 2010—part of the junta’s seven-step “road map to democracy”—are expected to be carefully stage-managed to ensure that the regime does not face another humiliating electoral defeat like the one it experienced in 1990, when the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) won national elections by a landslide.
There are millions of Burmese living outside of the country, but the Burmese regime has yet to indicate whether they will be permitted to take part in the referendum.
More than one million Burmese live in Thailand, where many seem determined to find a way to have their say in their country’s first vote in 18 years. “I am a Burmese citizen, so it is important for me to vote in the referendum,” said Aung Naing Htun, a Burmese migrant working in Mae Sot. “I’ve heard that the government will not allow us [migrants] to vote, but I will try to find a way to vote ‘no’ to the military’s constitution.”
Myint Myat, another Burmese migrant, said that she and her friends have decided to return to their hometown to vote in the referendum. “If the government gives permission for migrants to take part, there are many people who will go back to Burma to vote,” she added.
For some, however, the possible denial of official permission is not the only obstacle. Many are too preoccupied with their day-to-day survival to worry about taking part in the regime’s deliberately opaque political process.
Mae Sot factory worker Mi Nge says that she doesn’t plan to vote, because she doesn’t understand the government-written constitution, and she is too busy trying to make a living to find the time to figure it out.
Burmese living further afield face additional difficulties in exercising their rights. Even those working in parts of Thailand not near the border, such as in the cities of Bangkok and Chiang Mai, say that the cost of returning to Burma to vote would be prohibitive.
There are also sizeable Burmese communities in other parts of Asia, including Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea and Japan. Burmese embassies in these countries say they do not have any clear plan for their citizens who cannot go back to Burma to vote.
Staff at the Burmese embassy in Singapore told The Irrawaddy that they have not been informed of any policy regarding Burmese nationals who want to vote, but who are unable to return to the country.
Burmese embassy staff in Seoul confirmed that there were no plans to enable Burmese living in South Korea to vote, but added that if the right to vote is extended to expatriates, it will only include those who possess legal work permits.
There are large numbers of illegal migrants from Burma living in South Korea and Japan, including many political exiles who are strongly opposed to the junta’s referendum.
One Burmese migrant working legally in a Seoul said he had no interest in the referendum, but said that he would vote “no” if he is forced to cast a ballot by the embassy.
In Singapore, many young Burmese have begun organizing a petition against the military’s constitution. According to an organizer of the campaign, which also calls for elections, about 700 Burmese migrants in the city-state have signed the petition.
All of the signatures will be sent to the Singaporean Parliament and the United Nations Security Council, as well as to other Burmese organizations lobbying against the referendum.
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Three People Arrested For Comments On Refrerendum (news from irrawaddy.org)
Three People Arrested for Comments on Referendum
By WAI MOE
Monday, March 3, 2008, -->
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Three Rangoon men were arrested on Friday for casual comments they made about the Burmese referendum and general election, according to sources. A businessman who spoke on condition of anonymity told The Irrawaddy on Monday that three car brokers at the Rangoon car market were taken away by Burmese special police after they made casual comments in support of the main opposition National League for Democracy. “Members of the USDA [Union Solidarity and Development Association, the pro-junta mass organization] came and talked about the new constitution and referendum at the car market on Friday,” said the source.“Then the brokers told the USDA members in joking that they ‘should not waste their time’ because in the final days people would vote as recommended by the NLD [led by Aung San Suu Kyi]. Later the special police came and arrested three of them.” The Burmese military government has scheduled a referendum on a draft constitution in May and a general election in 2010, as the fourth and fifth step of its “road map to democracy” process.Aung Thein, a lawyer in Rangoon, said the arrests may be the first such cases since the junta passed a new decree on February 26 forbidding negative comments about the referendum, which allows a sentence of up to three years imprisonment. “But we don’t know if the people arrested will be charged under that decree,” he said. He said that authorities have an option to charge people who speak out against the constitutional process under emergency acts 3 and 4 under decree 5/96 announced in 1996, barring negative comments. Anyone found guilty under that decree could receive up to 20 years in prison. Meanwhile, five people, mostly family members of 88 Generation Students group members, were arrested last week. They are Thanda Win, the wife of Mya Aye, a leader of the 88 Generation Students group; Hla Moe, the husband of 88 group member Mie Mie; Kanet, the brother of Marky, an 88 group member; and Naing Htwe and May Mie Lwin. No reasons for the arrests are known at this time among the Rangoon activist community.
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By WAI MOE
Monday, March 3, 2008, -->
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Three Rangoon men were arrested on Friday for casual comments they made about the Burmese referendum and general election, according to sources. A businessman who spoke on condition of anonymity told The Irrawaddy on Monday that three car brokers at the Rangoon car market were taken away by Burmese special police after they made casual comments in support of the main opposition National League for Democracy. “Members of the USDA [Union Solidarity and Development Association, the pro-junta mass organization] came and talked about the new constitution and referendum at the car market on Friday,” said the source.“Then the brokers told the USDA members in joking that they ‘should not waste their time’ because in the final days people would vote as recommended by the NLD [led by Aung San Suu Kyi]. Later the special police came and arrested three of them.” The Burmese military government has scheduled a referendum on a draft constitution in May and a general election in 2010, as the fourth and fifth step of its “road map to democracy” process.Aung Thein, a lawyer in Rangoon, said the arrests may be the first such cases since the junta passed a new decree on February 26 forbidding negative comments about the referendum, which allows a sentence of up to three years imprisonment. “But we don’t know if the people arrested will be charged under that decree,” he said. He said that authorities have an option to charge people who speak out against the constitutional process under emergency acts 3 and 4 under decree 5/96 announced in 1996, barring negative comments. Anyone found guilty under that decree could receive up to 20 years in prison. Meanwhile, five people, mostly family members of 88 Generation Students group members, were arrested last week. They are Thanda Win, the wife of Mya Aye, a leader of the 88 Generation Students group; Hla Moe, the husband of 88 group member Mie Mie; Kanet, the brother of Marky, an 88 group member; and Naing Htwe and May Mie Lwin. No reasons for the arrests are known at this time among the Rangoon activist community.
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3.03.2008
US Criticizes Burma's New Draf Contitution (voa news )
US Criticizes Burma's New Draft Constitution
By VOA News 20 February 2008
Aung San Suu Kyi (May 2002)The United States has criticized a constitution proposed by Burma's military government that bans pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi from seeking office.
White House national security spokesman Gordon Johndroe said Wednesday Burma's military government should start working on a new draft.
Burmese officials said earlier that Aung San Suu Kyi would not be allowed to run under the proposed charter because she was married to a foreigner. The democracy leader was married to a British citizen, who died of cancer in 1999.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, also voiced its concern, but says it will not interfere in Burma's domestic affairs. Singaporean Foreign Minister George Yeo called Burma's decision to bar Aung San Suu Kyi from participating in future elections odd and out of date, but added that the group could do little about it. Singapore currently holds ASEAN's rotating presidency.
Executive director of the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Myanmar Caucus based in Malaysia, Roshan Jason, called ASEAN's statement "weak." A recently signed charter calls on member states to protect human rights in the region.
Burma's previous constitution was scrapped in 1988, and the country recently announced plans to hold a national referendum in May to approve the new document. General elections are scheduled to follow in 2010.
Aung San Suu Kyi has spent 12 of the last 18 years under some form of detention and remains under house arrest in Rangoon.
Her party won elections in 1990, but the military government refused to recognize the results and prevented the party from taking office.
US Impose More Sanctions On Burmese Firms(voa news)
US Imposes More Sanctions on Burmese Firms
By VOA News 25 February 2008
The United States has imposed new sanctions on businesses and individuals linked to Burma's military leaders.
The U.S. Treasury Department said Monday that the sanctions apply to "two key financial operatives of the Burmese regime."
It said the restrictions prohibit U.S. citizens from doing business with the Burmese company Asia World Company Limited, controlled by Steven Law and his father, Lo Hsing Han.
The sanctions also apply to two hotel chains owned by Tay Za, a Burmese businessman listed by the Treasury as "an arms dealer and financial henchman of Burma's repressive junta."
A top Treasury Department official, Stuart Levey, the under secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, said U.S. sanctions will continue to target people until Burma's government stops its violent oppression of its people.
President Bush said Monday the situation in Burma remains "deplorable." In a statement, Mr. Bush expressed concern about the Burmese government's refusal to talk with the opposition and ethnic minority groups.
He also noted concerns about the arrest of political activists and journalists, and the persecution of ethnic minorities in eastern Burma.
The U.S. began tightening sanctions against Burma's military leaders after their bloody crackdown last year on pro-democracy demonstrators.
A military government has ruled Burma since 1962. The political opposition won elections in 1990, but the government refuses to recognize the poll and is keeping opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi under house arrest.
By VOA News 25 February 2008
The United States has imposed new sanctions on businesses and individuals linked to Burma's military leaders.
The U.S. Treasury Department said Monday that the sanctions apply to "two key financial operatives of the Burmese regime."
It said the restrictions prohibit U.S. citizens from doing business with the Burmese company Asia World Company Limited, controlled by Steven Law and his father, Lo Hsing Han.
The sanctions also apply to two hotel chains owned by Tay Za, a Burmese businessman listed by the Treasury as "an arms dealer and financial henchman of Burma's repressive junta."
A top Treasury Department official, Stuart Levey, the under secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, said U.S. sanctions will continue to target people until Burma's government stops its violent oppression of its people.
President Bush said Monday the situation in Burma remains "deplorable." In a statement, Mr. Bush expressed concern about the Burmese government's refusal to talk with the opposition and ethnic minority groups.
He also noted concerns about the arrest of political activists and journalists, and the persecution of ethnic minorities in eastern Burma.
The U.S. began tightening sanctions against Burma's military leaders after their bloody crackdown last year on pro-democracy demonstrators.
A military government has ruled Burma since 1962. The political opposition won elections in 1990, but the government refuses to recognize the poll and is keeping opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi under house arrest.
3.01.2008
Burma's Referendum-'History is Repating Itself'(news from irrawaddy.org)
Burma’s Referendum—‘History is Repeating Itself’
By WAI MOE
Friday, February 29, 2008, -->
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The lack of official tolerance of dissidents in Burma and of openness gives rise to concern that the planned constitutional referendum will not be free and fair. The top junta generals seem too confident about the likely result.
Chapter III of the law providing for the referendum law determines that a referendum commission is to be formed. But the legislation does not make clear how the members of the commission and sub-commissions will be chosen or whether the selection process will be free and fair.
The law provides for the formation of sub-commissions for states and divisions. District divisions will have 15 members, ward or village sub-commissions five to 20 members.
Chapter VII of the legislation says that if a situation requiring a dissolution of referendum voting for any treason, the ward or village-tract sub-commissions may dissolve some polling booths or all polling booths within their area.
“This section is really stupid,” a Rangoon political observer told The Irrawaddy. “The referendum law is full of tricks allowing the regime to do as it pleases.”
Burma’s main opposition party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), in a special statement on the law on Thursday, said the junta’s approach, excluding opposition voices, lacked legitimacy and badly affected the national reconciliation process.
“The NLD won more than 80 percent of parliamentary seats in the 1990 election,” said the NLD. The statement pointed out that a decree passed by the regime after the 1990 election, known as 1/90, said the work of writing a constitution would be undertaken by those elected in the 1990 poll.
Critics point out that those who led the National Convention and the constitution drafting committee would now also lead the referendum commission. That meant that the junta denied an inclusive process in drafting the constitution and transition to democracy, ignoring the reaction of the international community.
In a reaction to the referendum law, the US said on Thursday that the path to national reconciliation in Burma lies in the release of political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi, and the establishment of a meaningful dialogue between the junta leadership, democratic forces and ethnic minorities leading to a transition to democracy.
“A credible political transition in Burma must be inclusive and transparent. It must involve universal suffrage, secrecy and security of the ballot, and freedom of speech and association, among other internationally accepted standards,” said US State Department Spokesman Tom Casey.
Thein Nyunt, a lawyer, told The Irrawaddy on Thursday that he noticed the junta referendum law is quite similar to legislation in the early 1970s providing for a referendum in 1973.
“Under the previous law, anyone who was against the referendum could be sentenced to one year’s imprisonment,” he said. “But now people can receive three years imprisonment under the terms of the present law.”
The junta has also not withdrawn decree 5/96, which threatens opponents of the constitution with prison terms of up 20 years. “Unless the 5/96 decree is withdrawn, we cannot say the referendum will be free and fair,” Thein Nyunt said.
Many Burmese say no referendum or election can be held while the junta ignores the voice of the majority. “After soldiers beat and killed monks on the streets last September, this call for a referendum on the junta’s agenda is humiliating,” said a Rangoon school teacher.
In the 1990 poll, local, respected people were able to participate in the election commissions and sub-commissions. But, according reports in Burma, members of the junta-backed mass organization, Union Solitary and Development Association (USDA), will make up the referendum commissions and sub-commissions.
A journalist in Rangoon, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that the referendum law seems to close the door on the country’s dissidents, and a new generation will now have to live under repressive rule.
The question arises: how can the junta be so confident in the referendum after its brutal crackdown on the September 2007 demonstrations?
The junta displayed a similar confidence in the 1990 election, believing the pro- junta National Unity Party would win handsomely. Its confidence now is based on the official claim that the USDA has 24 million members, making up about two thirds of Burma’s electorate.
Aung Kyaw Zaw, a Burmese political analyst based on the Sino-Burma border said the large number of USDA members among Burma’s 32 million voters “could make the generals think they have the upper hand in the referendum and election. History is repeating itself.”
Aung Kyaw Zaw said it was “out of question” that students, teachers and civil servants had been forced to join the USDA.
By WAI MOE
Friday, February 29, 2008, -->
TEXT SIZE
The lack of official tolerance of dissidents in Burma and of openness gives rise to concern that the planned constitutional referendum will not be free and fair. The top junta generals seem too confident about the likely result.
Chapter III of the law providing for the referendum law determines that a referendum commission is to be formed. But the legislation does not make clear how the members of the commission and sub-commissions will be chosen or whether the selection process will be free and fair.
The law provides for the formation of sub-commissions for states and divisions. District divisions will have 15 members, ward or village sub-commissions five to 20 members.
Chapter VII of the legislation says that if a situation requiring a dissolution of referendum voting for any treason, the ward or village-tract sub-commissions may dissolve some polling booths or all polling booths within their area.
“This section is really stupid,” a Rangoon political observer told The Irrawaddy. “The referendum law is full of tricks allowing the regime to do as it pleases.”
Burma’s main opposition party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), in a special statement on the law on Thursday, said the junta’s approach, excluding opposition voices, lacked legitimacy and badly affected the national reconciliation process.
“The NLD won more than 80 percent of parliamentary seats in the 1990 election,” said the NLD. The statement pointed out that a decree passed by the regime after the 1990 election, known as 1/90, said the work of writing a constitution would be undertaken by those elected in the 1990 poll.
Critics point out that those who led the National Convention and the constitution drafting committee would now also lead the referendum commission. That meant that the junta denied an inclusive process in drafting the constitution and transition to democracy, ignoring the reaction of the international community.
In a reaction to the referendum law, the US said on Thursday that the path to national reconciliation in Burma lies in the release of political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi, and the establishment of a meaningful dialogue between the junta leadership, democratic forces and ethnic minorities leading to a transition to democracy.
“A credible political transition in Burma must be inclusive and transparent. It must involve universal suffrage, secrecy and security of the ballot, and freedom of speech and association, among other internationally accepted standards,” said US State Department Spokesman Tom Casey.
Thein Nyunt, a lawyer, told The Irrawaddy on Thursday that he noticed the junta referendum law is quite similar to legislation in the early 1970s providing for a referendum in 1973.
“Under the previous law, anyone who was against the referendum could be sentenced to one year’s imprisonment,” he said. “But now people can receive three years imprisonment under the terms of the present law.”
The junta has also not withdrawn decree 5/96, which threatens opponents of the constitution with prison terms of up 20 years. “Unless the 5/96 decree is withdrawn, we cannot say the referendum will be free and fair,” Thein Nyunt said.
Many Burmese say no referendum or election can be held while the junta ignores the voice of the majority. “After soldiers beat and killed monks on the streets last September, this call for a referendum on the junta’s agenda is humiliating,” said a Rangoon school teacher.
In the 1990 poll, local, respected people were able to participate in the election commissions and sub-commissions. But, according reports in Burma, members of the junta-backed mass organization, Union Solitary and Development Association (USDA), will make up the referendum commissions and sub-commissions.
A journalist in Rangoon, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that the referendum law seems to close the door on the country’s dissidents, and a new generation will now have to live under repressive rule.
The question arises: how can the junta be so confident in the referendum after its brutal crackdown on the September 2007 demonstrations?
The junta displayed a similar confidence in the 1990 election, believing the pro- junta National Unity Party would win handsomely. Its confidence now is based on the official claim that the USDA has 24 million members, making up about two thirds of Burma’s electorate.
Aung Kyaw Zaw, a Burmese political analyst based on the Sino-Burma border said the large number of USDA members among Burma’s 32 million voters “could make the generals think they have the upper hand in the referendum and election. History is repeating itself.”
Aung Kyaw Zaw said it was “out of question” that students, teachers and civil servants had been forced to join the USDA.
Nld Sues Junta(News from Irrawddy.org)
NLD Sues Junta
By WAI MOE
Friday, February 29, 2008, -->
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Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) has attempted to sue the ruling junta over the government’s failure to adhere to an existing law and decree that specifies that elected representatives from the 1990 elections should be responsible for drafting the constitution, according to a party official on Friday. Nyan Win, a leading spokesman for the NLD, told The Irrawaddy on Friday that the party filed a lawsuit against the ruling junta at the high court in Rangoon. “According to the electoral law of 1989 and decree 1/90, the junta has a responsibility to call a people’s parliamentary meeting with the elected representatives from the 1990 general election,” he said.
NLD headquarters in Rangoon However, the military junta has never called a parliamentary meeting, and now the ruling generals have announced laws—1/2008 and 2/2008—for the referendum on a new constitution and fresh elections. This shows that the junta broke its promise as well as the law itself, said Nyan Win. The high court in Rangoon, however, denied accepting a lawsuit by the NLD against the ruling junta. “The authorities at the high court took more than one hour. But later staff came and told us that they cannot accept the lawsuit,” Nyan Win said. He added that the NLD told the court that the junta’s failure to call parliament was a national affair and that the case against the ruling junta was a matter of asking the court to respect the people’s voice. The NLD had expected the court to reject the lawsuit, but the party proceeded because it wanted to adhere to the rule of law in the country, the spokesman said. In a special statement on Thursday, the NLD dismissed the national referendum on the draft constitution, which is planned for May, because of its lack of legitimacy. In the statement, the NLD said the draft constitution was “not inclusive and unclear,” because the Burmese military regime had not heeded the calls of the international community and the United Nations. The statement also said that the planned national referendum would not be free and fair because the junta broke its promise to discuss the drafting of the new constitution with the representatives elected in the 1990 parliamentary elections. The international community, including the UN and the United States, also called on the Burmese military junta to put in place conditions for "inclusive and transparent" voting, ahead of the constitutional referendum set for May.Tom Casey, a US State Department spokesman, said in a statement on Thursday that a credible political transition in Burma must be inclusive and transparent. “It must involve universal suffrage, secrecy and security of the ballot, and freedom of speech and association, among other internationally accepted standards,” he added.
By WAI MOE
Friday, February 29, 2008, -->
TEXT SIZE
Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) has attempted to sue the ruling junta over the government’s failure to adhere to an existing law and decree that specifies that elected representatives from the 1990 elections should be responsible for drafting the constitution, according to a party official on Friday. Nyan Win, a leading spokesman for the NLD, told The Irrawaddy on Friday that the party filed a lawsuit against the ruling junta at the high court in Rangoon. “According to the electoral law of 1989 and decree 1/90, the junta has a responsibility to call a people’s parliamentary meeting with the elected representatives from the 1990 general election,” he said.
NLD headquarters in Rangoon However, the military junta has never called a parliamentary meeting, and now the ruling generals have announced laws—1/2008 and 2/2008—for the referendum on a new constitution and fresh elections. This shows that the junta broke its promise as well as the law itself, said Nyan Win. The high court in Rangoon, however, denied accepting a lawsuit by the NLD against the ruling junta. “The authorities at the high court took more than one hour. But later staff came and told us that they cannot accept the lawsuit,” Nyan Win said. He added that the NLD told the court that the junta’s failure to call parliament was a national affair and that the case against the ruling junta was a matter of asking the court to respect the people’s voice. The NLD had expected the court to reject the lawsuit, but the party proceeded because it wanted to adhere to the rule of law in the country, the spokesman said. In a special statement on Thursday, the NLD dismissed the national referendum on the draft constitution, which is planned for May, because of its lack of legitimacy. In the statement, the NLD said the draft constitution was “not inclusive and unclear,” because the Burmese military regime had not heeded the calls of the international community and the United Nations. The statement also said that the planned national referendum would not be free and fair because the junta broke its promise to discuss the drafting of the new constitution with the representatives elected in the 1990 parliamentary elections. The international community, including the UN and the United States, also called on the Burmese military junta to put in place conditions for "inclusive and transparent" voting, ahead of the constitutional referendum set for May.Tom Casey, a US State Department spokesman, said in a statement on Thursday that a credible political transition in Burma must be inclusive and transparent. “It must involve universal suffrage, secrecy and security of the ballot, and freedom of speech and association, among other internationally accepted standards,” he added.
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