1.25.2009

Burma News

Another Loss for Burmese Activist’s Family

2009-01-23

Burmese groups condemn the lack of health care for political prisoners after the wife of a young activist suffers a miscarriage in jail.

Family photo

Undated family photo of Kathi Aung.

BANGKOK—The 23-year-old wife of a Burmese activist involved in helping victims of Tropical Cyclone Nargis has suffered a second-trimester miscarriage in prison and has now been diagnosed with a heart condition, according to her parents.

Kathi Aung, whose husband Tun Tun has been in hiding from the authorities since September, was six months pregnant when she miscarried at O Bo Prison in Mandalay on or around Dec. 27, her parents said in an interview.

“We both cried—I am so worried,” Kathi Aung’s mother, Thi Da Aung, said of her Jan. 21 prison visit with her daughter. “She was thin and pale.” Thi Da Aung also said authorities threatened to transfer her daughter to a remote prison if she spoke to the media.

Kathi Aung is serving a 26-year sentence for allegedly crossing the Burmese border and maintaining contact with illegal organizations, although her husband says she had no involvement in politics. Her defense lawyer, Myint Thwin, said he plans to appeal her sentence to a higher court in Mandalay on Monday.

...It may have been caused by the harsh treatment she received while she was being interrogated."

Tun Tun, husband

Her father, Soe Tint, said prison doctors had diagnosed his daughter with a heart condition. “This was the news, that she has heart trouble. We are worried. We’re not familiar with politics—we’re just poor vendors.”

“At first I was so angry when I heard she had been arrested. I was so angry with my daughter and her husband. Now I’m just so sad to hear this news,” Soe Tint said.

“If she has a heart condition, it may have been caused by the harsh treatment she received while she was being interrogated,” Tun Tun said. “She was detained for two months without any contact with family.”

Outcry from exile groups

Two Burmese exile groups, the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma) and the Burmese Women's Union, on Friday cited Kathi Aung’s case in a joint statement condemning inadequate health care for political prisoners in Burma.

“The authorities have clearly failed to meet their obligations” under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, which the junta signed in 1997, the statement said.

“As a result, Kay Thi [Kathi] Aung has suffered a terrible loss. She needs urgent medical treatment,” it said, calling for the reinstatement of prison visits in Burma by the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Cyclone help


Tun Tun, 24 and known as Myo Min Oo, said from an undisclosed hiding place in December that the authorities had come looking for him in early September, at the same time that they detained a number of other activists, whose work with Nargis victims showed up gaping holes in the government's handling of the disaster.

Junta officials came looking for him, Tun Tun said at the time, but they couldn’t find him so they detained his wife.

Until September, Tun Tun had been working closely with two Buddhist monks who were helping Nargis victims in Bogalay, Dedaye, Pyapone, and other disaster-stricken towns in the south of the country, collecting donations and distributing aid to the victims.

Following the “Saffron Revolution”—a monk-led series of protests sparked by rising fuel prices, which ended in an armed crackdown in October 2007—Tun Tun worked with two monks helping cyclone victims left without government aid, first in Mandalay, then on several trips to the devastated Irrawaddy delta.

Both monks have since been arrested on suspicion of re-grouping for further mass demonstrations on the first anniversary of the crackdown on the Saffron Revolution.

According to official figures, Cyclone Nargis killed 84,537 people and left 53,836 missing and 19,359 injured.

Local people left homeless and without food or water in the wake of the storm complained that the government prevented aid from reaching those who needed it, and hindered attempts by religious groups and private individuals to plug the gap.

In December, New York-based Human Rights Watch renewed its criticism of Burma's treatment of political prisoners, both in court and in prison.

It urged ASEAN Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan to send an independent legal assessment team to monitor the situation, calling on ASEAN to address Burma's lack of respect for the rule of law when it holds its rescheduled ASEAN summit meeting in early 2009.

Original reporting in Burmese and translation by Kyaw Min Htun for RFA’s Burmese service. Burmese service director: Nancy Shwe. Written and produced for the Web in English by Sarah Jackson-Han.

Dr. Sein Win re-elected PM of government in exile

Dr. Sein Win has been re-elected the Prime Minister of the Burmese government in exile for another term in a routine MPU meeting. The meeting of the 'Members of Parliament...

Rights groups demand fair treatment for migrant workers in Thailand

Thailand-based migrant workers organizations and rights groups responded to the Thailand Government's plan of cracking down on illegal migrant workers severely, ...
Burma launches new crackdown on religious groups
Religious Intelligence Ltd - England,UK
Many Christians in Rangoon and across Burma worship in private residences as the government has forbidden the construction of new churches since it came to ...
See all stories on this topic
Thailand Asks Neighbors to Cooperate on Illegal Immigration
Voice of America - USA
Officials from Thailand's foreign ministry met Friday with ambassadors from Burma, India, Bangladesh, Indonesia, and Malaysia. ...
See all stories on this topic
US Treasury Blocks Assets of 25 Pursuant to Burmese JADE Act
Diamonds.net - New York,NY,USA
The Act forbids import of gemstones from Myanmar, formerly called Burma, to the US, either through direct means or through third-party countries. 1. ...
See all stories on this topic
Another Loss for Burmese Activist’s Family
自由亚洲电视 - Washington DC,USA
Burmese groups condemn the lack of healthcare for political prisoners after the wife of a young activist suffers a miscarriage in jail. ...
See all stories on this topic
Gambari's return fails to inspire Burmese Opposition
Mizzima.com - New Delhi,Delhi,India
by Mungpi New Delhi (Mizzima) - Burma's main opposition party - the National League for Democracy - said it does not expect United Nations special envoy ...
See all stories on this topic
Will Obama be able to change things in Burma?
เดอะ เนชั่น - Thailand
Many EU countries were particularly impressed with the closure of Guantanamo, Meanwhile, Burma is hinting that he change Washington's tough policy towards ...
See all stories on this topi

Blogs Alert for: Burma news

Chin activist’s prison term reduced on appeal | Burma Bloggers ...
BBN: KNU Brigade 2 victory news In the afternoon of December 1, 2008, a Karen soldier from Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) Second Brigade Battalion 5 approached [...] ...
Burma Bloggers' Network - http://www.burmabloggers.net/
Put people before politics, development secretary urges BBC | Ekklesia
News Brief. Put people before politics, development secretary urges BBC. By staff writers. 24 Jan 2009. Array. International Development Secretary Douglas Alexander has joined aid agencies in urging the BBC to broadcast a charitable ... might become concerned that the suffering of people in Gaza was not taken as seriously as suffering in other conflicts, since the BBC has been willing to allow appeals for the Democratic Republic of Congo and Burma, both mired in conflict. ...
Latest News from Ekklesia - http://www.ekklesia.co.uk/
DiJurnal News: Opposition Thailand urged to Singapore and Burma to ...
By dijurnal
Opposition Thailand urgend to Singapore and Burma to boycott in order the ASEAN summit meeting that will be held in Thailand on 27 February. The protester supporters of former Prime Minister of Thailand Thaksin Shinawatra issued the ...
DiJurnal News - http://dijurnal.blogspot.com/
Arakan National Newspaper Jan 09[1] « democracy for burma
CREATOR · Karen Tear by TRUE MYANMAR Burmese SCRIBD · Moe Hnin Phyu from Burma Democratic Concern (BDC) on 2010 Elections VDO English and Independence Day Campaign · Khitpyaing news print edition NEW ERA Journal Burmese ...
democracy for burma - http://democracyforburma.wordpress.com/
Obama - the first 100 hours « Save Burma
72 Absorbed the news that the specially commissioned piece of music by John Williams played “live” at his inauguration by a quartet of world-class musicians had in fact been recorded two days’ previously. ...
Save Burma - http://antidictatorship.wordpress.com/
- Thai government faced with new abuse charges click
- Myanmar-Chinese in Myanmar prepare for new year celebration click
- Thais deny boat people abuse claims click
- UN envoy to visit Myanmar, but reform hopes low click
- Myanmar puppet players to perform in Tokyo click
- Int'l private college to provide scholarship to Myanmar students click
- Int'l organization to help Myanmar conduct research on forestry click