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  1. #1351
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    bp2.blogger.com

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    demoi: daw aung san suu kyi has met with SPDC

    25 Oct 07, 09:47
    demoi: i'm listening DVB radio

  3. #1353
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    Aung San Suu Kyi leaves her home Thursday to meet with government official
    The Associated Press
    Published: October 25, 2007


    YANGON, Myanmar: Pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi — under house arrest for 12 of the last 18 years — left her home Thursday afternoon to meet with a Myanmar government official, a diplomat said.

    Three cars arrived at her home and drove her to a government guest house, where she was to hold talks with a newly appointed liaison minister, Aung Kyi. The information came from a diplomat who did not want to be identified for political reasons.

    A retired general, Aung Kyi was appointed to the post on Oct. 8 to hold talks with Suu Kyi.

    iht.com

  4. #1354
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    Monks uncertain about examinations
    Thu 25 Oct 2007
    IMNA

    Monks are unsure whether the Burmese military junta would allow them to sit for the annual examination in the wake of the protests against the military regime, said an abbot in a monastery.

    "We are not sure whether we will have our examinations or not. We are not even sure that if there are examinations whether we should sit for it," said the abbot who had about 50 student monks before last month's protest.

    All his students were ordered to go home when the junta cracked down on monk-led protests in the end of September.

    snip

    monnews-imna.com


    the first opportunity for the general population to see how many are missing ???

  5. #1355
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    New Light of Myanmar
    Last updated on Thursday, October 25, 2007.

    Minister supplicates on religious affairs to State Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee Sayadaws



    A group of unscrupulous destructive elements tried to taint noble clear waters of Sasana

    Yangon, 24 Oct - Minister for Religious Affairs Brig-Gen Thura Myint Maung supplicated on religious affairs to Sayadaws of State Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee at the hall of committee on Kaba Aye Hill in Mayangon Township this evening.



    snip

    All Myanmar Young Monks Union that initially led the monk's protest was founded with seven monks in June 2007. The member monks were U Pannajota (a) Natsaw of Maggin monastery in Thingangyun as chairman, U Visuddacara of Bago monastery in Mingalataungnyunt as secretary, and U Ottara (a) Naga of Nagayon monastery in Kaba Aye, U Candima (a) Apulay of Nyaungdon monastery in Pazundaung, U Gambhira (a) U Candobhasa (a) Hlaing Bwa (a) Nyi Nyi Lwin of Panditayama monastery in Mandalay, U Kesara (a) U Kay (investigation still under way to ascertain his monastery) and U Obhasa/U Pamokkha (investigation still under way to ascertain his monastery) as members. Names such as Natsaw, Naga and Apulay were their code names (nick names) they had dubbed each other during the time they were serving prisons terms. I will explain the matter in detail later. Due to the incitement of All Myanmar Young Monks Union, about 140 monks holding placards demanding for bringing down commodity prices staged a protest in Sittway on 28 August, and about 60 monks recited Parittas and dispensed Metta in procession, which in reality was a non-violence anti-government activity, in Pakokku on 5 and 6 September.

    The so-called All Myanmar Monks United Front demanded the authorities to make a formal apology, to solve the public food, clothing and shelter problems, to release political prisoners including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and to initiate national reconciliation, with its discontentment to the security personnel for their handling of monks' protest walk in Pakokku as the reason. The group in making instigation in advance announced through some foreign media that monks would stage a general boycott on 18 September if the authorities failed to comply with the said four demands.

    After the occurrence of monk protests in Sittway and Pakokku due to the incitement of All Myanmar Young Monks Union, other groups such as Sangha Samaggi in Mandalay and Sotujana Bikkhu in Pakokku came into being. All Myanmar Monks United Front was founded on 9-9-2007 to ensure a single command. The intention of forming the front was to organize all members of the Sangha to participate in its activities and to systematically control all activities. Sangha Representatives Steering Committee was formed with 15 monks. Of the 15, U Ghosita was assigned duty to Thingangyun area, U Kovida (Nan Oo monastery) to Mingala Taungnyunt area, U Nandasiri (Pwinbyu-Ngwekyayan monastery) to South Okkalapa area, and U Candasiri (a) Payit to Shwethein Dhamma Theingi monastery to start all Samgha protests at the same time. Investigation is under way to find out the assigned areas of U Adhipati, U Neminda and U Thavara. The ones who tied a white cloth around his arm or forearm is a leader of monk protests in Yangon Division. All the 15 monks have visited Maesot in Thailand and some of them have attended explosive courses and community organizer (CO) courses there.

    The main instigators of the incident in Sittway were U Kovida of Takkasila Pariyatti monastery in Dagon Myothit (East) and U Komala (a) Kyaw Sein (a) Judo Kyaw Sein of Adithan monastery in Sittway. U Pannajota (a) Natsaw and U Gambhira (a) U Candobhasa (a) Hlaing Bwa (a) Nyi Nyi Lwin of All Myanmar Young Monks Union visited Mandalay and neighbouring areas in upper Myanmar to spread the disturbances to all parts of the nation. Secretary of the union U Visuddasara made contacts with monasteries inside and outside the country and media through telephone and e-mail. Hence, artless monks who were not familiar with secular affairs began to take part in the protests leading to the wrong road of even making demands that were not concerned with religion.

    We have found that bogus monks who had already infiltrated the members of the Sangha toured various parts of the nation to incite the entire people to take part in the monks protest. Due to those instigative acts, there occurred monks' protest walks in Yangon and some states and divisions beginning 18 September with the excuse that the government failed to take any measures to respond to the demands of the front. The front assigned 15 representatives to supervise the Sangha movement to be staged on the platform of Shwedagon pagoda on 24 September. The front also set out the timetable and planned routes for the protest. It also formed the discipline group with the participation of 20 monks the next day to lead the protest.

    The front also organized some artistes to take part in the protest with providing meals and other necessities for the monks as a reason. It even used means of intimidation in agitating the remaining monks and the people to take to the streets. According to the investigation we have found that U Indaka, U Gosita, Than Naing of NLD and Nga Mae (his real name not known yet) discussed the monk protests at Maggin Monastery at 9 am on 25-9-2007. Than Naing and Nga Mae requested the monks to stop in front of NLD HQ for ten minutes to dispense metta as NLD representatives-elect and members were waiting for the monks at NLD HQ, adding that arrangements had been made for the protester monks to give talks in front of the City Hall. When the protesters arrived at the Bronze Buddha Image Pagoda at the east archway of the Shwedagon at 11 am they discussed with the members of the steering group. The said schedule was agreed by all. NLD made a request saying that if the government did not agree to the demands of the monks till 26 and 27 for holding a dialogue; that NLD representatives would form an interim government on 28-9-2007 if the government failed to hold a dialogue; and that the monks and the people should be organized to support the interim government. In response to the NLD request, U Ghosita said that if the government did not accept the demand, a demonstration with the participation of the largest number of monks and people would be staged on 28.

    Htay Kywe of the so-called 88 generation students issued an announcement to form a mass movement supervisory committee with the participation of nine groups � All Myanmar Monks United Front, Sotujana Bikkhu, Sangha Samagga, 88 generation students group, 88 generation information union, artistes organization, writers and poets group, nationalities cooperation group and lawyers union � in September. We are able to expose that in order to issue the said announcement, Htay Kywe was making phone contacts with U Gambhira, U Obhasa and U Pannajota every other day from the date protests broke out and till month end; and that he was closely controlling the protests. The glaring overall view is that All Myanmar Monks United Front was continuously inciting the public through the media in collusion with NLD and the so-called 88 generation student group.

    The results of our questioning work show that Maggin monastery, Shwedaung monastery and Nyaungdon monastery ignited the monk activities in Yangon Division; that were U Pandavamsa (a) Pyi Kyaw and U Javana (a) Mokseik of Shwedaung monastery, U Visuddasara of Bago monastery, U Candima (a) Apulay of Nyaungdon monastery, U Indaka (a) Panama of Maggin monastery were acting from behind the scenes. The results also indicate that U Ghambira (a) Nyi Nyi Lwin was the main driving force in making contacts with Tun Myint Aung of the so-called 88 generation student group with the intention of organizing the so-called 88 generation group to take part in the protest and generating monks' protests in Yangon and Mandalay in September.

    We have found out that most of the members of the steering group of the All Myanmar Monks United Front are ex-convicts; and that they had met with and become closely associated with Min Ko Naing and Ko Ko Gyi who would later name themselves the so-called 88 generation students and other politicians in the prison. U Pandavamsa,U Indaka, U Pannajota, U Candasiri, U Vasava and U Ottara were imprisoned for their involvement in the formation of young monks union during the1988 unrest and monks strike in 1990. While serving prison terms, U Pannajota was dubbed Nat Saw; U Indaka, Panama; U Ottara, Naga; U Pandavamsa, Pyi Kyaw; and U Candasiri, Payit. After being released from prison in 1996, U Pandavamsa (a) Pyi Kyaw became a senior resident monk living in a separate building at Shwedaung monastery. U Candasiri (a) Payit was residing at his former Shwethein Dhamma Theingi monastery and U Pannajota (a) Nat Saw, at his former Alon Zawtanayama monastery. U Ottara became the abbot monk of Kaba Aye Nagayone monastery and U Vasava at Thingyangyun Maggin monastery. U Indaka (a) Panama became a lecturer monk at Maggin monastery.

    In 1998, U Pannajota (a) Nat Saw and U Candasiri (a) Payit were arrested for the second time and sentenced to 14 years imprisonment for their attempts to form the young monks union for the second time. Thanks to amnesty they were released from prison in 2005. U Candasiri (a) Payit was allowed to reside at Shwethein Dhamma Theingi monastery in Thingangyun. U Pannajota (a) Nat Saw lived at the monastery where U Pandavamsa (a) Pyi Kyaw was residing. U Eindaka (a) Panama became the abbot monk of Thingangyun Maggin monastery when the abbot monk U Vasava passed away. U Pannajota (a) Nat Saw became a lecturer monk at the monastery. As I have already explained that most of the monks who hatched plots with intention of generating a monks protest are not real monks. They are ex-convicts and bogus monks.

    Most of the members of the said steering group faced imprisonment for breaching the existing law. In addition, some of them have attended courses to generate disturbances and commit terrorist acts in Thailand recently. U Gambhira (a) Nyi Nyi Lwin arrived at Maesot together with another monk in July 2005. He met with AAPP in-charge Bo Kyi and also attended community organizer course (CO) there. He accompanied U Osatha of Chaukhtatgyi, U Issariya (a) Gyaung Gyaung of Maggin monastery, U Pakatha and U Obhasa of the monastery (name is not known yet) and an ex-GTC teacher monk whose monk name is not known yet of Htaukkyant Tawya monastery to Maesot in 2006 to attend CO. Clandestine supporters of U Gambhira were Ko Nyein Chan (chairman of political defiance committee), Min Naing (internal liaison in-charge of Forum for Democracy in Burma-FDB) and Kyaw Htet (vice-chairman of FDB). In addition to their direct assistance to U Gambhira, Ko Nyein Chan sent hundreds of thousands of kyats to him through his brother Aung Kyaw Kyaw. We have information saying that internal and external terrorists are making contacts with U Gambhira who is at large to send explosives and related equipment and communication equipment to blow up bombs inside the country.

    The above-mentioned incident is a clear evidence that All Myanmar Monks United Front was making contacts with NLD inside the country, Min Ko Naing-led so-called 88 generation student group, Peer Group led by Phyu Phyu Thin, AAPP outside the nation, and FDB a coalition of six anti-government groups that are taking refuge at the border to cause unrest in various parts of the nation. We have found out that the front has been continuously making contacts with foreign radio stations such as BBC, VOA, RFA and DVB to use them as a harbinger and to incite the public.

    Moreover, we have already released news reports saying that anti-government elements and their supporting groups failed to achieve their goal in making arrangements to blow up bombs during the time the National Convention was in progress to cause political instability and undermine the National Convention. The government has been constantly watching their steps with security awareness as they are going to commit terrorist acts at every time they get the opportunity. When security personnel acting on information searched Nan Oo monastery, they found US$ 27, one yuan, 22 kinds of electronic equipment and one block of high explosive in U Kovida's suitcase. According to further information, we have come to know that Ashaygyi (a) Min Min living at the monastery carried the solid explosives to ChaungU town together with Phyu Tok of the town on 19-8-2007. Ashaygyi's father U Kyaw Htay buried the explosives in a one-foot deep hole under the ground. When the personnel concerned searched the compound of the house of U Kyaw Htay (61) son of U Ba Shein they found 47.5 blocks of TNT explosives weighing 3.525 viss that were hidden in a one-foot deep hole under the ground.

    The TNT cartridges can kill people and they are high explosives made in a big nation. They are ready-to-use type in the battlefield. It is obvious that the plans are premeditated part of destruction. These are attempts of the anti-government groups with the assistance of FDB and NCGUB. It was regrettable that bogus monks were involved in such attempts.

    Authorities concerned are questioning those who led or took part in or followed the recent protests. Some monks were questioned unavoidably. After being persuaded, the monks took part in the protests artlessly. However, they were released as soon as possible. Being the Buddhists ourselves, we handled the protests with utmost care and control for peace and stability of the people. As a result, no monk has passed away. Action will be taken against bogus monks who led the protests, those who involved in the destruction attempts and those who committed political and economic acts and those who violated social codes of conduct according to law.

    Those bogus monks did not act in conformity with the rules of Sangha. U Pandavamsa (a) Pyi Kyaw went to the border area and smuggled in motorcycles and trafficked timber for one year. He was a bookie of chehti (three-digit gambling) and two-digit gambling. According to the confession of Ma Ei, 24, daughter of U Than Htay of Taungzun Village, Bilin Township, she had an affair with Pyi Kyaw. They lived together illegally. She became pregnant two times� in February and August 2005. Abortion was made under the arrangement of Pyi Kyaw. Hnin Hnin (a) Hnin Nwe Moe who did sundry matters of Ngwekyayan Monastery and U Tezinda (a) Toke Kyi were bookies of two-and three-digit and football gambling. They lived together. Thanda Kyaw, sister of Hnin Hnin, who lived with her, had an affairs with monk Maung Tint and she fell in love with monk Ngakhe.

    U Zawana (a) Mokeseik drank liquor daily and gave some predictions about two- and three-digit gambling. He practised alchemy. He earned about K 100,000 a month as the winners of three-digit gambling donated cash to him. He used the money in practising alchemy. He had food at the tea shop without going round the town to accept offerings of food. In the evenings, he usually drank a mixture of liquor and honey. U Panñajota (a) Nat Saw made contact with Bo Kyi of Thailand-based AAPP group. He received a lot of money for U Indaka (a) Panama, U Issariya (a) Gyoung Gyoung, U Kovida and U Gambhira and their connections and distributed cash to them.

    According to the investigation and information, a team comprising personnel of CID, SID and Religious Affairs Department together with some witnesses inspected and searched Ngwekyayan Pariyatti Sarthintaik on 28 and 29 September. In the rooms of the monks and boxes they seized anti-government documents, documents related to two and three-digit gambling, pornographic books and pictures, VCDs, condoms, knives, other things that are not concerned with the monks.

    They also seized anti-government documents, pornographic VCDs, books and photos, condoms, tonic, contraceptive pills, women's wares, weapons such as jingali, catapults, iron rods, knives, scaber, foreign exchange, liquor bottles, vouchers of two and three-digit gambling and others that do not relate to the monks in Shwetaung monastery in Mingala Taungnyunt Township, Thirigandayon monastery, Yangon monastery, Pyinmana, Shwenyaungbin, Seiktathukha, Shwetaungmaw, Zatilayama and Dhammazeya monasteries in South Okkalapa Township, Kyauksardaw Ashay, Dhamma Waiponla and Zeyathukha monasteries in Thingangyun Township, Tekkathila and Maha Zeya Theikda Pahtan monasteries in Dagon East Township, Zeyathukha monastery in Thuwunna and Khemathiya monastery in Dagon South Township.

    Most of the leading monks of the Front who organized the protests in August and September were ex-convicts, those who were married, drank liquor, did gambling, cooperated with anti-government organizations, accepted monetary assistance and went abroad and attended political courses.

    So, it is clear that they were masterminds behind the recent protests, after committing acts that are against the Sasana, and re-entering the Religious Order.

    I would also like to supplicate on some movements of monks in other countries. I have learnt that some monks from a few monasteries in the US, which is opposing Myanmar, are trying to meet with US President Bush to interfere in Myanmar's internal affairs. Moreover, I have learnt that the 80th birthday reception of monk U Panñavamsa residing in the US is due to be held in Los Angeles; that ex-convict U Kovida who used to reside in Masoeyein Monastery in Myanmar will organize some monks in the US and will attend the reception; that at the reception a Sangha organization under the name of �Sangha Okshaung will be formed; and that a high-ranking official of the US will meet the organization to jointly attack Myanmar. However, the majority of the monks of the monasteries in the US do not get involved in the anti-Myanmar government movements and keep on carrying out religious duties.

    As you know, some of the monks in the US are, indeed, absconders who fled the nation to other countries like Nat Saw, Panama, Naga and Nyi Nyi Lwin. Members of the steering committee of the Sangha who were behind the recent protests and then fled the nation may be in the US now. Some monks in the US are not true ones because they have violated the existing laws. Therefore, it has become apparent that such a handful of bogus monks do not represent the members of the Sangha in Myanmar who observe the Vinaya rules. And they are not the monks who deserve reverence of Myanmar people. Therefore, I would say, the organizations whether they are named Sangha Okshaung or Sangha Maggi made up of some bogus monks are not lawful.

    In addition, Sangha Okshaung organization to be formed in the US will not represent the entire monks of Myanmar. In Myanmar, Sangha Ganas at all levels have been formed systematically under the leadership of the State Sangha Maha Nayak Committee in accord with the Vinaya rules, procedures, and rules and regulations. It is absolutely unacceptable that a US President is hatching plots to use a handful of monks in the propaganda campaign as if they represented the entire mass of members of the Sangha.

    snip

    myanmar.com

  6. #1356
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    Sources: Suu Kyi has left home
    updated 31 minutes ago

    YANGON, Myanmar (CNN) -- Pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi left her Yangon home, where she has been under house arrest, and flew via military helicopter to the capital, Nay Pyi Taw, military sources told CNN Thursday.

    Her departure on Wednesday night came amid diplomatic efforts by U.N. envoy Ibrahim Gambari to get Myanmar's military rulers to talk with the opposition in the aftermath of a bloody government crackdown.

    snip

    edition.cnn.com
    Last edited by Mid; 25-10-2007 at 05:04 PM.

  7. #1357
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    Diplomat: Suu Kyi to Meet With Govt
    Oct 25

    YANGON, Myanmar (AP) -- Pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, under house arrest for 12 of the last 18 years, left her home Thursday afternoon to meet with a Myanmar government official, a diplomat said.

    Three cars arrived at the Nobel peace laureate's home and drove her to a government guest house, where she was to hold talks with a newly appointed liaison minister, Aung Kyi. The information came from a diplomat who spoke on condition of anonymity for political reasons.

    A retired general, Aung Kyi was appointed to the post on Oct. 8 to hold talks with Suu Kyi.

    It is not clear if this is Suu Kyi's first meeting with Aung Kyi.

    His exact duties have not been detailed, but it appeared Aung Kyi would coordinate all of Suu Kyi's contacts with both the regime and the United Nations, which is seeking to end the political deadlock between democracy advocates and the junta.

    snip

    hosted.ap.org

  8. #1358
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    Diplomat: Suu Kyi Meets With Govt
    Oct 25

    YANGON, Myanmar (AP) -- Pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi - under house arrest for 12 of the last 18 years - met for about one hour with a Myanmar government official Thursday afternoon, a diplomat said.

    Suu Kyi, a Nobel peace laureate, was driven a few minutes from her home to a government guest house, where she held talks with newly appointed liaison minister, Aung Kyi. The information came from a diplomat who did not want to be identified for political reasons.

    snip

    hosted.ap.org


    almost a duplicate , note was to hold changed to she held , looks as if cnn's helicopter never got off the ground .............

  9. #1359
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  10. #1360
    I am in Jail

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    ^ Wow, a country with a backbone. Well done.

  11. #1361
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    Huge tax rise on loudspeakers

    Oct 25, 2007 (DVB)–Authorities in Aung Lan township, Magwe division, have raised the annual tax on loudspeakers this week from 150 kyat to 15,000 kyat, according to local residents.

    snip

    The loudspeaker owner added that monasteries and community groups would also be affected by the increase.

    "They are also charging tax on loudspeakers owned by monasteries, pagodas and other social associations," he said.

    Reporting by Maung Too
    english.dvb.no


    ..............................................


    Back to normal?:


    Business tycoon Tay Za's Ferrari (red) and Lamborghini (yellow) reappear at his residence.

    The sports cars of close associate of Sr. Gen Than Shwe's family, were hidden during the "saffron revolution" in late August and September.

    A Rangoon resident said "On the surface life has returned to normal in Yangon".
    Photo: Mizzima.

    mizzima.com

  12. #1362
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    Women Recall Life in Prisons, Interrogation Centers
    By Shah Paung
    October 25, 2007

    snip

    She said the authorities arrested her for praying at a Shwemawdaw Pagoda on a Tuesday.

    She said authorities believed she was praying for democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, who was born on a Tuesday.

    However, she said Tuesday was also the day she was born, and she was simply praying for good health.

    snip

    irrawaddy.org


    ..............................................


    Activists Urge Thailand to Revise Burma Gas Deal
    By Sai Silp
    October 25, 2007

    Activists in Thailand urged PTT, the country's largest state-owned energy provider, to reconsider its business dealings in Burma which help to support the military regime.

    Peace for Burma Coalitions, a grouping of civil organizations in Thailand and Burma, submitted a letter to representatives of PTT Co. Ltd., Thailand’s biggest energy producer to revise its investment in Burma.

    The letter asked PTT to stop negotiations with the regime and to look for gas sources elsewhere. PTT has signed an exploratory agreement with the generals to look for gas in the M9 Block in the Gulf of Mataban.

    In early October, Jitrapong Kwangsuksatit, a senior executive of PTT, said the company planned to sign an agreement to purchase natural gas from the M9 Block, in spite of the civil unrest in Burma. The new gas field is expected to be in full operation by 2012.

    Somsri Harnananthasuk, a representative of the group, told The Irrawaddy on Thursday that Thailand should show its concern for democracy in Burma by using its energy deals as leverage over the regime, which relies heavily on energy contracts to stay in power.

    Somsri said the international community is watching Thailand, which has yet to pressure the regime to move toward democracy.

    Somsri noted that Thailand has other important business deals with the generals, including a hydropower project on the Salween River, which was negotiated by the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand.

    The letter said that the junta earns about US $160 million each month from Thailand.

    The PTT investment in Burma is of no benefit to the people of Burma, the letter said, but only goes to support the military, which is engaged in a systematic suppression of the rights of ethnic minorities as well as Buddhist monks and average citizens.

    irrawaddy.org

  13. #1363
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    25 Oct 07, 12:54
    Kyant-Phont-Mone: This time sanctions hit directly.
    25 Oct 07, 12:52
    Kyant-Phont-Mone: Kyat-Pyay shopping centre is like a Ghost Town.

  14. #1364
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mid View Post
    Sources: Suu Kyi has left home
    updated 31 minutes ago

    YANGON, Myanmar (CNN) -- Pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi left her Yangon home, where she has been under house arrest, and flew via military helicopter to the capital, Nay Pyi Taw, military sources told CNN Thursday.

    Her departure on Wednesday night came amid diplomatic efforts by U.N. envoy Ibrahim Gambari to get Myanmar's military rulers to talk with the opposition in the aftermath of a bloody government crackdown.

    snip

    edition.cnn.com

    Suu Kyi freed for possible talks
    updated 13 minutes ago

    snip

    A U.S. diplomat in Yangon, citing local sources, told CNN Suu Kyi was possibly headed for a meeting with the country's newly appointed liaison officer.

    The diplomat said she witnessed a convoy carrying Suu Kyi leave home at around 2 p.m. (3:30 a.m. ET), and had been told by local sources that she was to meet with U Aung Kyi at a Yangon guest house where she has previously met with government officials.

    snip

    Military sources had previously told CNN that Suu Kyi left her home Wednesday night and flew via military helicopter to the capital, Naypyidaw.

    snip

    edition.cnn.com

  15. #1365
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    Myanmar's detained Suu Kyi has talks with junta
    Thu Oct 25
    By Aung Hla Tun


    YANGON (Reuters) - Detained Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi held talks with a representative of the ruling junta for more than an hour on Thursday, state television said.

    It said nothing about what she discussed with Aung Kyi, a senior member of the junta appointed go-between after the United Nations sent a special envoy to Myanmar, also known as Burma, to promote reconciliation and reform in the wake of the army's crackdown on pro-democracy protests in September.

    Suu Kyi was taken from her villa and de facto prison of the last four years to a state guesthouse to meet Aung Kyi, and state television said the talks had lasted 75 minutes.

    It gave no further details, but a security source said the 62-year-old Nobel laureate had been returned to her lakeside villa, where she has spent more than 11 of the past 18 years under house arrest.

    snip

    ca.today.reuters.com
    Last edited by Mid; 25-10-2007 at 09:33 PM. Reason: formatting

  16. #1366
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    Boys listed for recruitment into Burma Army
    News - S.H.A.N.
    Thursday, 25 October 2007

    Boys have had their names recorded at the Mueng Shu football ground by military battalion based in Mueng Shu, for recruitment into the Burma Army, said sources from central Shan State.

    On October 17, local boys in Palaung, Chinese, Shan, aged between 14 and 20, living in Mueng Shu were lined up at Mueng Shu football ground by authorities. About 100 of them have been sent to the army recruitment department.

    "It has not happened before They recruit three boys if you have five sons, one if you have three and one out of two. Some parents don't want their children to be in the army and allow them to run away. The authorities have said if a name is listed and the candidate runs away the family must pay 500,000 Kyat as fine," said a youth in Mueng Shu.

    snip

    bnionline.net

    .................................................. .....

    Opium addiction rises in Northern Kayah
    News - Kantarawaddy Times
    Thursday, 25 October 2007

    Drug addicts in Loi Kaw, De Maw So and Shar Daw, Kayah State are now more into opium than methamphetamine compared to last few years, said Karenni Anti-Drugs and Action committee (KADAC).

    Following the ban on use, buying and selling of methamphetamine tablets by Kanrenni ceasefire groups, drug addicts have turned to opium.

    "It's easy to buy opium because poppy cultivated in their area. They used Yaba (methamphetamine) in the past. Now it's not easy to buy Yaba. So opium consumption has increased in the area," said Dominish of the KADAC.

    Kayah locals plant poppy and produce opium in their area. Therefore opium is easy to buy at teashops, betel-nut shops, liquor stores, and restaurants, said Dominish.

    Opium is mixed with powder of banana leaf and dried in Myinn Khwar leaves to be smoked. Most drug addicts are young school boys and labourers, and only a few are poppy farmers.

    Methamphetamine could be bought easily at shops in 2005 and 2006 like opium now.

    snip

    bnionline.net

    .................................................. .....

    Monks kept away from rice donation

    Oct 25, 2007 (DVB)–The annual rice donation ceremony in Magwe division is to go ahead with some restrictions, despite local authorities’ earlier concerns that monks would boycott the event.

    The rice donation has been held annually for the past five years to mark the end of Buddhist lent, and has always been a popular event, but local authorities were worried that this year monks would refuse to accept alms from government supporters.

    The local Peace and Development Council refused to organise the ceremony, so it will now be planned by the Ministry of Religious Affairs and its local offices.

    Township authorities still appear cautious about the event, which will be widely publicised, and have issued restrictions on monks attending in an apparent attempt to prevent large groups of monks assembling.

    Only one monk from each monastery will be invited to the ceremony to receive the donations. The rest of the alms will be taken to the monks at their monasteries.

    Reporting by Aye Nai
    english.dvb.no

    .................................................. .....

    Burmese police keep up hunt for protesters

    October 25, 2007 - The Burmese police have intensified its search for people who are believed to have been involved in the Buddhist monk-led street rally against the Burmese military junta in Kalay town in Sagaing division, northwestern Burma.



    Monks lead anti-Junta demonstration held on the street of Kalay town, Sagaing division in northwestern Burma in September, 2007.
    (Photo - a citizen journalist in Burma)

    The police in Kalay with pictures they recorded during the demonstrations are looking for the suspected students and other activists.

    "They (police) came to my home and took me to the police station accusing me of participating in last months anti-junta demonstrations.
    They released me after interrogating me for around eight hours," a local in Kalay said.

    Security forces have also been watching the movement of a daughter of Dr. Thein Win of the National League for Democracy in Kalay. It is very likely that the security forces are planning to arrest her as soon as she comes out from her house, he added.

    snip

    khonumthung.com

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    Myanmar appoints new chief for national investment commission
    2007-10-25

    snip

    According to official statistics, foreign investment in Myanmar hit 14.6 billion U.S. dollars as of March this year.

    The foreign investment, scattered in 408 projects, came from 28countries and regions, of which Thailand, Singapore, United Kingdom and Malaysia took the lead.

    Myanmar enacted the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Law in late1988 and the energy sector which comprises of oil and gas and hydropower is now seen as the main contributor to the increase in FDI in the country in the future.

    xinhuanet.com

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    Peace for Burma Activists Held Demonstations In Front Of PTT Offices
    Thursday, October 25, 2007


    Peace for Burma activists held demonstrations in front of Thai gas giant PTT offices on Thursday. Activists also submitted a written request to PTT to withdraw from Burma for the time being, and to only resume its operations in Burma after democratic reforms.

    Demonstrators held banners with slogans such as "No more investment in Burma". A spokesman from Peace for Burma, Ko Macy, told DVB that current investments in Burma not only benefit the junta, but also make things much worse for the country and its people.

    "We would like to request investors to look at the situation in Burma, to consider the well-being of the people, and stop their investments until the democratic reforms are in place."

    For the original article in Burmese, please follow this link: http://burmese.dvb.no/news.php?id=2584

    Source: Democratic Voice of Burma
    flamingpeacocks.blogspot.com


    ..............................................


    October 25, 2007
    Mizzima News

    While the Burmese military junta claims to have release several detainees, arrested in connection with the recent protests, it has arrested eight more key activists over the week, activists said.

    The Thailand based Asia-Pacific Peoples' Partnership on Burma said student activist D-Nyein Aye and 88 generation member Aung Naing were arrested from hiding on Tuesday, while a youth member of the National League for Democracy Thein Swe was arrested on Monday.

    The APPB also said another five activists were picked up by the authorities on Saturday, accounting for eight arrests over the week.

    Khin Onhmar, coordinator of the APPPB, said the junta continues to hunt-down key activists even as it claims to be releasing several of those arrested earlier.

    "The junta wants international pressure to ease off and is therefore releasing several detainees," she added.

    Meanwhile, Tate Naing of the Assistance Association of Political Prisoners – Burma (AAPP-B), said the Burmese junta has arrested more than 4,000 monks, activists and ordimary people since it began cracking down on the largest public demonstration in two decades in September.

    The junta said it has released a majority of those arrested and only 190 more remain in detention, Tate Naing said "there are at least 700 people still remaining in custody."

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    V4 countries call on Burma to liberate political prisoners
    25.10. 2007

    Prague- The foreign ministers of the Visegrad Four (V4) called today on Burma to release political prisoners, including dissident Aung San Suu Kyi, Nobel Peace Prize winner.

    Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg read out the statement to journalists.

    The ministers of the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia also called on Burma to provide complete information on the fate of the Buddhist monks and democratic activists in connection with the recent repressive measures taken in the country.

    Schwarzenberg said the V4 statement is fully in harmony with EU and U.N. policies.

    snip

    ceskenoviny.cz


    ..............................................


    UN Envoy Arrives In Japan For Talks On Myanmar
    Oct 25, 2007 |


    TOKYO (AP)--A U.N. envoy arrived in Japan late Thursday, wrapping up a six- nation regional tour aimed at drumming up international support to get Myanmar to end its crackdown on pro-democracy activists.

    Ibrahim Gambari, who flew from China, is to meet Friday with Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda and Foreign Minister Masataka Komura, government officials said.

    nasdaq.com

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    Burma's pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi has held her first meeting with the senior military official appointed to liaise with her. She spent just over an hour with former general Aung Kyi, state media said.
    Aung Kyi was given the task of liaising between the government and Ms Suu Kyi earlier this month, in an apparent concession to international pressure.

    Scan from BBC web video report.
    BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | Suu Kyi meets Burmese minister
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    (='.'=) I will not be pushed, filed, stamped, indexed, briefed, debriefed, or numbered. My life is my own.
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    A crucifix on his neck, monk escapes Myanmar
    By Thomas Fuller
    Published: October 25, 2007



    Ashin Kovida, a leader of the protest movement in Myanmar who escaped to Thailand Oct. 18, is seen here with the crucifix he wore to disguise his identity during his escape.
    (Thomas Fuller/IHT)

    MAE SOT, Thailand: One of the main organizers of the September protest marches in Myanmar, Ashin Kovida, a 24-year-old Buddhist monk, escaped to Thailand last week by carrying a false identification card, dying his hair blond and wearing a crucifix.

    On Thursday, Ashin Kovida offered details of his harrowing escape and insights into what has remained a central question about the September protests: Who organized the orderly lines of saffron-robed monks who marched through Yangon - and how.

    Ashin Kovida crossed the border to Thailand illegally and said Thursday that he was planning to request refugee status.

    He is wanted by Myanmar's military government, which accuses him of storing explosives in his monastery in Yangon, the largest city in Myanmar.

    The monk called that accusation absurd

    In a six-hour interview in this border town, he painted a picture of a bare-bones organization, a group of 15 monks in their 20s who organized the September demonstrations.

    He said he had been elected leader of the group and had been inspired by videos of the popular uprisings in Yugoslavia against the government of Slobodan Milosevic.

    The group received financial help from three well-known Burmese dissidents - an actor, a comedian and a poet - but did not receive any foreign assistance during their protests, Ashin Kovida said.

    Eight of the 15 monks in his organizing committee are missing, he said. The other six, he said, are hiding in Yangon.

    Known to have been arrested was Thin Thin Khaing, 42, whom he described as his adoptive mother. He said she was taken from her home in the early hours of Oct. 12. Her driver, Phoe Wa, was also detained, and their car impounded, he said.

    Thin Thin Khaing has not formally adopted Ashin Kovida but served as his sponsor in the monkhood. Ashin Kovida said he believed that the authorities had detained her to put pressure on him to give himself up.

    Hlaing Moe Than, 37, a lead organizer of students in the September demonstrations who also fled to Thailand, was shown a picture of Ashin Kovida on Thursday and confirmed the more recent refugee's identity.

    "He is one of the famous leaders among the Buddhist monks during the protests," Hlaing Moe Than said.

    Ashin Kovida led daily protests through Yangon from Sept. 18 through Sept. 27, the day after the authorities began raiding monasteries.

    One of his main preoccupations, he said, was being able to feed the thousands of monks who had come to Yangon from other regions. He also worried about the presence of what he called "fake monks," who he suspected had been planted by the military government.

    The spark for the demonstrations was warning shots fired by the police at monks on Sept. 5 in the central Burmese city of Pakokku.

    "The first time I heard the information, I was speechless," Ashin Kovida said. "It was an unbelievable thing."

    His fellow monks were outraged and looked for ways to respond. They decided to disengage themselves completely from the government, refusing all alms, support and contacts.

    Older monks and abbots urged the monks to carry out their protests inside the monasteries, but Ashin Kovida said younger monks had defied those directives thinking that protesting within their cloistered world would not do any good.

    Ashin Kovida reached out to students he had met during alms collections and began to plan the protest marches through Yangon.

    "We realized that there was no leadership," he said. "A train must have a locomotive."

    He said he had helped supervise the printing of pamphlets that would be distributed to monasteries, titled: "The monks will come out onto the streets."

    "There were students and young people who were on our side," Ashin Kovida said. The students made up the pamphlets on their computers, printed them out and made photocopies.

    "We had to do hundreds of them," he said. "We delivered to all the monasteries in Rangoon. We tried to distribute to other regions as much as possible." Yangon is also known as Rangoon.

    On Sept. 18, he said, he led the first line of monks through the streets in Yangon.

    On Sept. 19, a crowd of about 2,000 protesters, including 500 monks, was sitting on the tiled floor inside the Sule Pagoda when Ashin Kovida stood up and addressed them.

    "To continue demonstrations in a peaceful way we must have leadership," Ashin Kovida remembered saying. "I call on 10 monks to come join me in the front."

    Fifteen monks came forward, he said, the crowd cheering them on.

    They formed what they called the Sangga Kosahlal Apahwe, the Monks Representative Group. Ashin Kovida was elected chairman.

    Ashin Kovida then addressed the crowd again with a short speech.

    "In this country at present we are facing hardships," Ashin Kovida recalled saying. "People are starving, prices are rising. Under this military government there are so many human rights abuses. I call on people to come to join together with us. We will continue these protests peacefully every day until we win. If there are no human rights there is no value of a human."

    Ashin Kovida said he had led a week of daily protests, meeting with his group of organizers in the mornings and beginning the marches at noon. He heard reports on the Burmese-language service of the BBC about other monks who had organized themselves but he never met those groups.

    The demonstrations were peaceful and unhindered until Sept. 26, when the riot police blocked the monks' path, charged them and dispersed them.
    "The police pulled the monks' robes and beat them," Ashin Kovida remembered. "Nuns were stripped of their sarongs."

    Dozens of monks were taken into detention; Ashin Kovida escaped by climbing over a brick wall.

    The next day, Sept. 27, as the crackdown intensified, Ashin Kovida said, he changed out of his robes and put on a sarong and short-sleeve shirt.

    He fled to a small village about 65 kilometers, or 40 miles, outside Yangon and with the help of relatives and friends hid in a small abandoned wooden hut.

    He was so afraid of attracting the attention of neighbors that he suppressed his coughs and never left the house, which had no running water. For two weeks he lived in the dark hut, with no way of bathing. He relieved himself using a plastic bucket. Friends occasionally dropped off food.

    On Oct. 12, when his adoptive mother was detained, the news was immediately relayed to him. He fled into the night, barefoot.
    "I ran down a large road," he said. "Whenever a car came I hid in the bushes."

    He reached a friend's house before dawn, borrowed some clothes and headed back to Yangon, wearing a light-blue baseball cap, reading glasses and a sarong.

    Friends in Yangon helped him dye his hair, which was growing in, blond. He bought a crucifix in a local market and several days later boarded a bus heading toward the Thai border.

    He passed about eight checkpoints - he could not remember exactly how many - on the way to the border. He used a fake identity card, and reached the border town of Myawadi on Oct. 17. The next morning he crossed the Moei River to Thailand in a boat.

    Ashin Kovida faces almost certain detention if he returns to Myanmar.
    In the Oct. 18 edition of The New Light of Myanmar, the state-run newspaper, he was accused of hiding "48 yellowish high-explosive TNT cartridges" in his monastery.

    "They just want to associate the monks with violence and terrorism," Ashin Kovida said.

    "I have been in the monkhood since I was so young," he said. "My whole life I have been studying only Buddhism and peaceful things."

    He said his father is a carpenter and his mother runs a small market stall selling onion and chilies. Both live in Rakhine State, in northwest Myanmar near the border with Bangladesh.

    Many in Myanmar will not be able to forgive the government for the crackdown on monks, he said.

    "It's a stain on the history of Burma," Ashin Kovida said. "Inside Burma now, a lot of students and people are organizing the next step against the SPDC" - the acronym for the military government. "I think it will be the same time as the Olympics in China," he said, referring to the 2008 Games in Beijing. "That is my own opinion."

    Pornnapa Wongakanit contributed reporting from Mae Sot.





    Last edited by Mid; 26-10-2007 at 12:53 AM.

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    October 25, 2007 - Offices of pro-democracy Burmese opposition groups in Thailand will be searched by security personnel in the kingdom as part of an "operation", informed sources told Mizzima.

    The nation-wide operation will be launched in two weeks. Sources say the measure follows the Burma military junta's claims that Thai-based organizations instigated or were helping recent anti-regime protesters in the neighbouring country.

    The regime has linked the monks leading the demonstrations in August and September with Maesot based organizations.

    The Burmese Religion Minister Brig Gen Thura Myint Maung, in the state-run newspaper today said, "Bogus [fake] Monks" who are in contact with opposition groups based in Thailand had instigated the recent protests in Burma.

    Myint Maung, citing the names of monks who organized the protests, said, "All 15 monks have visited Maesot in Thailand and some of them have attended explosive training courses and community organizer (CO) courses there."

    mizzima.com

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    World Buddhist Sangha Council wants UN to restrain Myanmar
    October 25, 2007
    The Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka)

    Colombo, Sri Lanka -- The World Buddhist Sangha Council and the international organization of Buddhist monks have appealed to the UN to take immediate action to compel the Myanmar government to exercise restraint and stop them killing, torturing and detaining innocent monks as well as civilian protesters.


    Image by Jamie McLeod

    The Council has also appealed to the UN to ensure persons detained are treated humanely and according to international laws. A press release issued by Secretary General (English section) of the Sangha Council, Ven. Bellanwila Wimalaratana Thera says:

    We send this letter of appeal to you to express our concern and strong condemnation and displeasure towards the unfortunate incidents taking place in Myanmar, a prominent Buddhist country. First we express our sympathy to those affected and share the pain and suffering experienced by innocent Buddhist monks together with the civilian masses.

    The Buddhist Monks who have come forward to give voice to the continuous hardships of the people through peaceful protests and in order to request the Government to take measures to alleviate the suffering of the people.

    We are horrified to hear through the international media, the harsh, brutal and inhumane way the rulers are going about crushing and suppressing these unarmed protesters, by using their military might.

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    Burma: Army attacks displace hundreds of thousands
    Source: Human Rights Watch (HRW)
    Date: 25 Oct 2007

    New York, October 25, 2007) – Burmese army attacks on ethnic minority villages have forcibly displaced hundreds of thousands of civilians in eastern Burma, creating dire humanitarian conditions, Human Rights Watch said today.

    The Burmese army continues to destroy civilian villages in its counterinsurgency operations. It often uses depopulated areas for military-controlled business concessions and infrastructure projects such as gold mines and hydroelectric dams, three of which are planned close by on the Salween River, near the Thai border.

    Human Rights Watch welcomed the release on October 19 of the 2007 annual internal displacement survey carried out by the nongovernmental Thailand Burma Border Consortium (TBBC) and its local partner organizations.

    The TBBC found that as of mid-2007 there were 503,000 internally displaced people (IDPs) in surveyed sites in eastern Burma. The report states that 99,000 IDPs were believed to be in hiding from Burmese army patrols, 109,000 were in military-controlled relocation sites, and 295,000 people were in areas controlled by armed groups with some ceasefire arrangements with the ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC).

    The TBBC surveyed IDPs in Tennasserim Division, Mon State, Karen State and Pegu Division, Karenni State and southeastern Shan State.

    “As well as attacking monks and democracy protestors in Rangoon, Burma’s military junta is forcing ethnic minority villagers to flee their homes in the country’s border areas,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “The international community must not ignore the dire humanitarian situation fueled by army abuses in rural Burma.”

    snip

    reliefweb.int

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    . . . and again violence and oppression proves stronger than peace and freedom.

    Bastards, but with countries like Thailand being stumm and even assisting the Junta . . . what chance?!

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