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  1. #1451
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    Authorities investigate Moulmein monasteries
    kaowao; October 30, 2007


    Moulmein: Authorities in Moulmein, Mon State last night started investigations into monks and dissidents involved in last month’s protests, based on photographs they received.

    With the help of the Union Solidarity and Development Association, police were investigating houses within the township they viewed as suspicious; these houses were allegedly involved in the processes of photographing or filming the demonstrations.

    “They (the authorities) took some photos and asked about the position other photos may have been taken along the street during the demonstrations,” said a shop owner from Moulmein.

    He added that he saw many photographers during the demonstrations and it was therefore, “…difficult to discern who was a photographer and who was working for the authorities.”

    Last night, on October 29th, the military and police invaded Monasteries and searched monks they believed could be identified through photographs.

    “Last night at around midnight they entered our monasteries and used photos to try and find the Monks who led the demonstrations last month. But they did not arrest anyone,” said a monk from a Moulmein monastery on the hill-side of the Mon capital town.

    Monks did not want any photos taken while they held the demonstrations, and in some cases they broke cameras if they saw people taking their photos; they believed most photographers were working for the authorities.

    Today town authorities continued to investigate various positions where video clips and photographs may have been taken, and were questioning potential dissidents within shops and houses along the main streets.

    kaowao.org


    ABOUT US

    Kaowao Newsgroup is committed to social justice, peace, and democracy in Burma. We hope to be able to provide more of an in-depth analysis that will help to promote lasting peace and change within Burma. Editors, reporters, writers, and overseas volunteers are dedicated members of the Mon activist community based in Thailand.
    Our motto is working together for change and lasting peace.
    Last edited by Mid; 31-10-2007 at 06:18 PM.

  2. #1452
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    Nay Win Tun: Burma's Gem Stone Tycoon
    By Wai Moe
    October 31, 2007


    Burma’s gem stone industry, one of the largest in the world, is now dominated by Nay Win Tun, who controls Burma’s largest gem trading business.


    Nay Win Tun

    [Photo: Myanmar Times]
    The CEO of Ruby Dragon Jade & Gems Co Ltd is a young businessman in his early 40s. He is believed to be among the Top 10 richest persons in Burma.

    His company donated a massive slab of jade, weighing more than 3,000 tons, to the ruling junta in the early 2,000s. The high quality jade was more than 70-feet long by 20-feet high by 16-feet wide.

    Nay Win Tun is the right hand man of Aung Kham Hti, the leader of the Pa-O ethnic ceasefire group, and is also an executive of the Pa-O National Peace Group and Jade Dragon (Gems) Co Ltd, the parent company of Ruby Dragon Jade & Gems Co Ltd.

    He manages ruby and jade mines located in Pha Kant and Tawmaw in Kachin State; Khamti in Sagaing Division; Mogok in Mandalay Division; and Mongshu in Shan State.

    The family members of high ranking Burmese army generals are believed to be shareholders of Ruby Dragon Jade & Gems Co Ltd, according to business sources.

    Nay Win Tun also owns businesses in neighboring countries such as Thailand, Singapore and China.

    He operates luxury hotels in several of Burma’s beach resorts and in Pha Kant, a popular town for jade trading in Kachin State.

    The New Light of Myanmar, the state-run newspaper, reported on March 9, 2007, that Lt-Gen Myint Swe of the Ministry of Defence attended the opening ceremony of the Royal Ruby Jade Hotel Resort and Spa in Rangoon, owned by Nay Win Tun.

    Nay Win Tun owns homes on fashionable Than Lwin Street (Windermere) and in Golden Valley in Rangoon. His business office is on Pyay Road in Rangoon.

    Rangoon is also the site of a large gem factory and a large commercial gem complex owned by Ruby Dragon & Gems Co Ltd.

    irrawaddy.org

  3. #1453
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    NLD member jailed for USDA claims


    Oct 31, 2007 (DVB)–A National League for Democracy member from Mandalay division has been given a six-year prison sentence for making accusations against Union Solidarity and Development Association officials.

    Aye Cho, an NLD member from Pyaw Bwe township, was arrested on 30 September after he reportedly went to a local USDA office and accused them of planning the assassination of NLD members.

    He was brought before Yamethin prison court the following day and sentenced to six years’ imprisonment under section 505 (b) of the penal code, which covers the making of any statement which could cause public alarm or incite an offence.

    After sentencing, Aye Cho was moved from Yamethin prison, which is in Mandalay division, to Myin Chan prison in Magwe. He was transferred two further times, first to Monywa prison in Sagaing division and then to Kalay prison.

    No prison visits have been allowed and Aye Cho’s family have said they are worried about him because he suffers from heart problems and hypertension.


    Reporting by Naw Say Phaw
    english.dvb.no


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


    Bago couple’s hearing cancelled

    Oct 31, 2007 (DVB)–Two former schoolteachers who were arrested for challenging a pro-government rally as it passed their house have been told they do not have to appear in court.

    The couple, from Paung Tal township in Bago, were arrested on 16 October after they displayed a poster denouncing the government’s crackdown on monks and civilians.

    They were due to appear in court yesterday to answer charges of inciting a riot and causing public alarm.

    When they got to the township court they were told their hearing had been cancelled and they would no longer have to attend.

    It is not clear if the police have dropped all charges against them or if they will be called upon to attend at a later date.

    Reporting by Maung Too
    english.dvb.no


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



    Over 15,000 forced to join junta-led demonstration
    October 31, 2007
    KNG
    Over 15,000 people were forced to participate in a Burmese junta-led demonstration in Kachin State, Northern Burma by the authorities, said,those who attended.

    A bicycle-rickshaw driver was coerced into burning a picture of US President George W Bush.

    One person from each family in Waingmaw city were directed to join the demonstration to counter the recent monk-led demonstrations across the country, by the junta's Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA) Chairman, U Min Kyi and the Special Branch police security forces of the city, the villagers told KNG today.

    People from all villages in Waingmaw including some villagers eight miles away from the city had to march to Waingmaw downtown from their villages shouting slogans, carrying posters and loudspeakers in keeping with the junta's plans.

    The demonstration started at 7 a.m. and ended at 9:30 a.m. local time on October 25, according to participants.

    At the demonstration, 13 year old children and 60 year old people were seen. Some of them were from Nongtarlaw, Makhati, Ga Ra Yang, Shwe Nyaungpyin, Khatcho, Washong, Wayan and Mukchyik, the villagers added.

    During the demonstration, the protesters had to shout slogans against US's economic sanctions and overseas Burmese radio services such as the BBC, VOA, DVB and RFA. A bicycle-rickshaw driver was forced to burn a picture of US President George W Bush, participants said.

    The demonstrators also slogans supporting the junta's seven-step road map to ''disciplined democracy'' and the outcome of the National Convention (NC), the participants added.

    The villagers who refused to join the demonstration were threatened with severe action by the authorities, the villagers in Ga Ra Yang told KNG today.

    On September 29, over 20,000 people in Kachin State were forced to attend the a rally supporting the outcome of the NC in Myitkyina, Capital of Kachin State on the direct orders of Commander Maj-Gen Ohn Myint of Kachin State.

    The Waingmaw USDA Chairman U Min Kyi was the key person who had organized the mass NC rally in Myitkyina in last month, said residents.

    Several Chairmen of Village Administration (Ya-Ya-Ka) ran away from the demonstration giving different excuses to the junta's Waingmaw administration (Ma-Ya-Ka).


    About the author: The Kachin News Group (KNG) is a non-profit,
    an independent media organization and covering Kachin, Burma
    and regional issues.


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


    Mizzima News (Mizzima News - Specialising in Burma-Related News and Multimedia)

    October 31, 2007 - After more than a month at Mandalay's Ohbo prison, Par Par Lay is a free man again. Burmese authorities released the prominent comedian on Tuesday.

    snip

    mizzima.com


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




    Police round up 1,600 illegal workers from a seafood market in Samut Sakhon province on Wednesday.
    Manop Puttivarodom
    nationmultimedia.com


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


    Than Shwe: The Man in the Iron Mask [Commentary]
    By Aung Zaw
    October 31, 2007

    In order to see positive political change in Burma it’s clearly necessary to understand the psyche of Than Shwe and his men.



    [Photo: AFP]




    Various informed sources close to the armed forces and the military government have disclosed to me that Than Shwe told his generals at an emergency meeting that they have to prepare for the worst and hope for the best.

    He asked his men to launch a diplomatic, “damage control” offensive after the brutal crackdown in September. But he is not prepared to surrender his seven step “road map”.

    The sources also said that the regime’s propaganda machine is running well at the higher level and among the soldiers. The regime’s spin on events is that the US and exiled media were behind the September uprising. Officers said the strength of American staff at the newly built US embassy in Rangoon had been increased just before the uprising.

    During the uprising, soldiers and officers were instructed to beat and kill monks and to raid monasteries, where they were told “bogus monks” had infiltrated the Sangha community with the aim of destabilizing the state.

    Soldiers and their families were also ordered to watch state-run Myanmar television and to avoid popular foreign TV broadcasters like the BBC, CNN and Al Jazeera during the uprising in September.

    This clearly indicates that soldiers and their families, who are Buddhist, are not happy with the crackdown on the monks. Rangoon’s Ngwe Kyaw Yan monastery, a prime target of army raids, was frequently visited by the families of some army officers.

    Some high ranking generals reportedly received angry phone calls and complaints from family members who regularly visit Ngwe Kyaw Yan monastery and other temples.

    snip

    irrawaddy.org
    Last edited by Mid; 31-10-2007 at 09:48 PM.

  4. #1454
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    Many Mon arrested in shrimp raids
    kaowao; October 31, 2007


    Samut Sakhon, Thailand: Early Wednesday morning Thai police raided the Samut Sakhon shrimp market where many Myanmar migrants work. It is believed they arrested more than 1,000 people, most of whom were Mon ethnics from Myanmar.

    Thai authorities detained all workers including those who held employment licenses to work in the province.

    “Most bosses here don’t confirm our status as workers or aid us to get permits, as they are anxious we will change jobs once we are allowed to work with more freedom,” said a worker who escaped from the morning raid.

    He added that when the Thai police began their raid they did so with a task-force easily 700-strong, and that everyone present was detained, including many children. In addition to the shrimp market, this same task force also raided nearby communities, a seafood processing company, a frozen seafood company, and a low-income workers encampment. All raids occurred on the same morning and within a five kilometre radius of the market.


    Thai polices raid in Samut Sakhon today (MCOT)

    The police came with seven trucks and began their raids at 4 a.m.; a Mon shop owner in Samut Sakhon province said Thai police were still searching and arresting migrant workers until well into the afternoon, with three trucks still present.

    “They (Thai authorities) didn’t check anyone’s employment documents, they just nabbed all the workers, forced them into the waiting trucks and drove them straight to the police station.”


    Police Major-General Suchart Muenkaew, who led the team, told the Thai media this afternoon that the search started from a report in a local newspaper about the influx of alien workers in Samut Sakhon.

    kaowao.org


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



    October 31, 2007 – United States President George Bush has telephoned the Secretary General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, to make clear his belief that the international community must demand nothing less than fundamental and meaningful reform from Burma's ruling generals.

    "The President emphasized the need to maintain a clear message to the military regime that real political change aimed at a restoration of human rights and democracy is required to end the crisis," Presidential spokesperson Dana Perino told reporters in Washington.

    snip

    mizzima.com

  5. #1455
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    Innovest Strategic Advisors Announce New Burma Screen

    October 31, 2007 - Innovest Strategic Value Advisors, Inc., in response to strong client demand, today announced a new screening tool to track the ever-increasing risk for corporate operations in Burma. Recent events of the last six weeks have brought to public attention the human rights record of the Burmese Government, which for the last 20 years has been implicated in a litany of abuses, including murder, torture, rape, detention without trial, massive forced relocations, and forced labor. Companies operating in Burma, in turn, are also facing additional criticism from NGOs and pressure groups over their roles in the country.

    Operations in Burma could lead to reputational damage for companies as well as financial consequences in the form of lawsuits, boycotts, and losses from both divestments as well as sanctions or restrictions currently being discussed by the United Nations, the European Union and others. From its universe of over 2000 global publicly traded companies, Innovest's Burma Screen has identified 138 companies, a number significantly higher than similar screens offered by other, more traditional sources.

    snip

    About Innovest

    Innovest Strategic Value Advisors is an internationally recognized investment research and advisory firm specializing in analyzing companies' performance on environmental, social, and strategic governance issues, with a particular focus on their impact on competitiveness, profitability, and share price performance.


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


    Escape from Myanmar 2:42

    CNN's Dan Rivers profiles a Buddhist monk who led the protests in Myanmar and escaped to tell his tale.

    News & Videos about the crisis in Myanmar - CNN.com


    Source: CNN | Added October 30, 2007

  6. #1456
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    Key NLD leaders released

    Oct 31, 2007 (DVB)–National League for Democracy spokesperson and people’s parliament representative U Myint Thein was released today, as were 17 other activists from Rangoon and Magwe division.
    U Myint Thein had been held in Insein prison in Rangoon prior to his release today.

    Also among those released were Magwe division NLD chairman and people’s parliament representative Han Zaw, NLD women’s leader Leh Leh and Htaung Kho Htan, a parliament representative and member of the Committee representing the People’s Parliament. Zomi National Congress leader and elected member of parliament Pu Chin Sian Thang and veteran politician Amyotharyay Win Naing were also freed.

    Eleven NLD members from Magwe division, were also released from detention.

    Chit Zaw Thet, Maung Soe and Nyat Gyi from Nat Mauk township, Khin Win from Yaynanchaung township and Ye Tint from Magwe township had been arrested in connection with last month’s protests, along with Taungdwingyi township NLD members Bo Ni, Par Lay, Bo Sati, Kyaw Naing and Out Ko Ko.

    NLD spokesperson Nyan Win has accused the Burmese government of rounding up NLD members, including those who played no part in the September protests, in order to disrupt their activities.

    Magwe township NLD secretary U Myint Oo and Pakokku people's parliament representative U Hlaing Aye remain in detention.

    Reporting by Maung Too
    english.dvb.no

  7. #1457
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    rumors from to-days chat indicate that the internet is down in Burma , again .

  8. #1458
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    Mizzima News

    November 1, 2007 - Following a monk protest on Wednesday in Pakokku, in central Burma, authorities called the town's monastery trustees and requested them to control monks from staging more protests, a local monk said.

    Thein Swe, chairman of the Township Peace and Development Council, on Wednesday afternoon summoned the monastery trustees, who comprise the managing committees of the monasteries, and asked them to control the monks from protesting, said the monk.

    "The chairman mainly requested the Gawpaka (trustee committee) to stop the monks and control them from conducting another protest," said the monk, who declined to be named for fear of reprisal.

    On Wednesday 73 monks in Pakokku openly defied the Burmese military junta by staging yet another protest rally. The protest is the first following the junta's brutal suppression of peaceful monk-led protests in September.

    Authorities feared that yesterday's protest by the monks might gain momentum, with more monks joining in, and that it would spread to other parts of the country and ignite yet another nationwide monk-led protest, said the local monk.

    However, monks in the four big monasteries in Pakokku seem to be determined to continue the protests, though their next actions remain uncertain, added the monk.

    mizzima.com

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    November 1, 2007 - Having tied for second to last in the 2006 survey of national corruption, it seemed to ask a lot of Burma to put in a worse showing for 2007. But Burma has done just that, sharing the title of world's most corrupt country with war ravaged and impoverished Somalia.

    The annual Corruptions Perception Index (CPI), a product of Transparency International, paints a grim picture for the short-term prospect of improvement inside Burma, stating from the outset that the existence of strong and accountable public institutions is essential, and that "a strong correlation between corruption and poverty continues to be evident."

    "Countries torn apart by conflict pay a huge toll in their capacity to govern. With public institutions crippled or non-existent, mercenary individuals help themselves to public resources and corruption thrives," Huguette Labelle, Chair of Transparency International, went on to add.
    Echoing calls for increased sanctions on the Burmese junta's financial assets and ability to conduct financial transactions, the CPI report argues that: "The first order of business is to improve transparency in financial management, from revenue collection to expenditure, as well as strengthening oversight and putting an end to the impunity of corrupt officials."
    "Criticism by rich countries of corruption in poor ones has little credibility while their financial institutions sit on wealth stolen from the world's poorest people," cautions Akere Muna, Vice Chair of Transparency International.

    snip

    mizzima.com

  10. #1460
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    thanks Ko-Htike...

    It is about mother feeling
    (this is the poem meaning, sorry for my poor translation, i doesn't meet the real feeling of poem - Ko-Htike said)

    Mom said, "mom won't cry"
    she got a son,
    her son joined to sanga(monk) and
    learn about buddhism at Rangon.

    He want s to become well educated monk,
    so his mother let him go.

    But this year,
    she got only a piece of blood stain robe,
    and a photo of her son.

    And a short note with blood,
    the note said,
    "share the good-deed to me after our country got freedom"

    She said, i am waiting here for your return,
    but i know you can't come back home,
    i am crying in my mind, but i won't cry,
    and i will share good-deed to you after our country got freedom

  11. #1461
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    Burmese regime rejects UN criticism


    Nov 1, 2007 (DVB)–The Burmese government has complained to the United Nations resident and humanitarian coordinator in Rangoon about a statement issued by the UN country team in Burma.

    The country team’s statement was released on 24 October to mark United Nations Day.

    A press release issued by the Burmese Permanent Mission to the UN in Geneva yesterday said the Burmese government was “extremely disappointed” by the statement, which it said ignored the government’s successes in concluding the National Convention, economic development and gains made in the areas of education, health and transportation.

    “The Country Team should realize that there could be much better gains without the sanctions imposed upon Myanmar by some countries,” the Burmese statement added.

    snip

    english.dvb.no


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



    Army Wives and Daughters Attend Military Training
    11/1/2007

    Buthidaung: As the situation in Burma continues to be unstable, the army authority in Arakan has been conducting military trainings for dependent women connected to the army, including soldiers' wives and daughters, said an army sergeant from Buthidaung on condition of anonymity.

    He said the military training for the women is aimed at teaching them to defend the battalion headquarters when the army men are gone to the frontlines or other locations. The military trainings are being held at several army battalion headquarters throughout the state, and most of those in attendance are young women.

    snip

    narinjara.com


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


    Three Burmese want asylum in Australia
    November 1, 2007 - 11:09AM


    Three Burmese men waiting in a small town in Papua New Guinea after fleeing their country's military regime hope they will be granted asylum in Australia.

    The trio illegally crossed into PNG from Indonesian Papua by boat in April after years living on the edge in Thailand and Malaysia.

    They are having their requests for refugee status assessed by PNG authorities after spending three months in jail in the town of Vanimo.
    Kyaw Tun Aung, 26, Mau Soe Naing, 31, and Myo Nyunt, 43, are meanwhile being looked after by a Vanimo businessman.

    The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) office in PNG has confirmed they are persons of concern.

    snip

    theage.com.au

  12. #1462
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    Mizzima News

    November 1, 2007 - After about two weeks of slow speed Internet line recovery, users in Rangoon today said access to the World Wide Web has been once again cut-off.

    Internet users in Rangoon said, the internet lines, which have been made accessible for 24 hours since mid October, once again went off at about 8 a.m (local time).

    Officials at the Myanmar Teleport, one of the only two Internet Service Providers in Burma, said the lines face interruption due to technical problems and it remain uncertain when normal lines could be re-install.

    'The Oversea Gateway is down. And we don't know when the problem would solve. It went off since this morning,' an official at the Myanmar Teleport, the ISP which mostly provides services for civilian use and commercial activities, told Mizzima.

    However, some believes that the internet might have been cut-off with a purpose and as a precautionary step to prevent the flow of information as it did in the recent August and September protests.

    snip

    mizzima.com


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


    Transparency International strongly condemns continuing rights abuses by corrupt Burmese government
    Bali, 01 November 2007


    Anti-corruption campaigners point to strong causal link between corruption and massive human rights abuses

    The United Nations Security Council as well as Burma’s neighbours, must increase pressure on the Burmese government to end massive human rights abuses and crack down on endemic corruption, said the global members of Transparency International (TI) in a statement issued at the leading anti-corruption organisation’s annual meeting in Indonesia.

    snip

    transparency.org

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    Boycott of Burma's 'Blood Rubies' Urged by Rights Advocates
    By Kate Woodsome
    Hong Kong
    01 November 2007

    snip

    Thailand is one of the biggest processing centers for Burmese rubies.


    Employee of Myanmar Gems displays pearls on sale


    Pornchai Chuenchomlada is the president of the Thai Gem and Jewelry Traders Association in Bangkok.

    He says a U.S. boycott will not be effective because the high demand for rubies will just drive the stones to the black market.

    Pornchai says it is not necessary to boycott the gems, because Burma's military government showed what he calls restraint during the September crackdown.

    "We are a little bit happy because during the protest… the government didn't kill so many people, it killed some of them. You know, in this situation, we consider it a little bit violent," he said.

    snip

    voanews.com

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    LINKY

    about:
    Brutal Burmese Dictators believe contact with women's underwear will sap their powers. Hope they're right? READY...AIM...VOTE!
    In support of a recently launched global campaign calling on people to 'fling' women's panties at Burmese embassies around the world, we crafted a 'voting game' where everyone can express their opinion.

    Directions:
    Use your mouse to shoot a colourful assortment of underwear at the unsuspecting junta leader General Than Shwe. We're keeping track of all the throws and hits of everyone who plays - so pitch as many panties as you desire, in fact, the more the better!

  15. #1465
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    Monks warned against protesting

    Nov 1, 2007 (DVB)–Following yesterday’s peaceful demonstration in Pakokku, local authorities have urged monks not to go ahead with any further protests, according to a local monk.

    Township authorities summoned the monastery administrators from about five high-profile monasteries and told them to urge the monks not to not to continue with their protests, according to an unnamed monk.

    The monks themselves were not invited to attend the meeting.

    “The meeting lasted about an hour and the township authorities told the monastery administrators to tell us not to continue with the protests,” said the monk.

    The local authorities did not say if any action would be taken against the monks if they continued to demonstrate.

    Around 200 monks from several monasteries in Pakokku joined the demonstration yesterday, which they said was a continuation of the protests held in August and September.

    Security forces did not intervene in yesterday’s demonstration, and those involved have not so far faced any repercussions from the authorities.

    One monk who took part in the march told DVB yesterday that there would be more and larger protests in the future, as their demands for lower commodity prices, national reconciliation and the release of political prisoners had still not been met.

    “We did not have much time to organise the protest as we did not actually plan for it, so there weren’t a lot of monks. But there will be bigger and more organised protests soon,” the monk said.

    By Naw Say Phaw
    english.dvb.no


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



    Arrests and release continue in Arakan
    Thursday, 01 November 2007
    News - Narinjara News
    Sittwe: Twp protesters were released by the authorities in Arakan State, Burma recently after they were sentenced to prison for their involvement in the pro-democracy protests in Arakan, said a politician.


    Ko Than Kyaw, a prominent former student leader in Arakan State, was released from Sittwe prison on October 22. He had been sentenced to six months in prison by the military authorities on October 11.

    Police in Sittwe had arrested him on October 5 on the accusation that he was leading pro-democracy demonstrations in Sittwe in September.

    The other freed detainee is Ko Soe Win, from Taungup Township in Arakan, who was released from Thandwe prison last week. Ko Soe Win was sentenced to four years in prison for demanding Than Shwe's excommunication for the torture of monks in Pakkoku by military personnel.

    Ko Soe Win was arrested by authorities on September 10 during a solo protest in Taungup, a southern township of Arakan State.

    Although two protesters were recently released, authorities arrested another protester in Sittwe on October 23.

    A well-known politician said U Kyaw Sein, from Mizan Ward in Sittwe, was arrested by police from a house in Sittwe where he was hiding.

    U Kyaw Sein is a former monk and was involved in the recent monk-led protests in Sittwe. He later discarded his religious robes out of fear of arrest by the government.

    A young monk, U Indri Ya, who was sentenced to seven and- a-half years in prison, is becoming mentally deranged in Sittwe prison following severe torture during interrogations.

    bnionline.net


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





    From: niknayman

    youtube.com

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    Quote Originally Posted by Mid
    Aung San Suu Kyi appears at protest in Burma By Sarah Marcus and agencies Last Updated: 4:17pm BST 22/09/2007
    Quote Originally Posted by Mid
    Democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi greets Myanmar monks 09-22-2007, 06h03 YANGON (AFP)

    Monk Who Led Marchers to Suu Kyi's House Escapes to Thailand
    By Yeni/Mae Sot
    November 1, 2007

    Sitting in a small, dark apartment in Mae Sot on the Thai-Burmese border, a 24-year-old monk speaks in a soft, quiet voice, "I am an ordinary monk."



    But, Ashin Kawvida, is far from ordinary. He was among the leaders of the first column of monks who marched through the streets of Rangoon on September 18.

    But September 22 is the day Ashin Kawvida will remember forever. It will go down in Burmese history books.

    As the leader of a marching column of monks, he decided to turn a corner and enter University Avenue, the street where Aung San Suu Kyi lives.

    snip

    irrawaddy.org

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  18. #1468
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mid View Post
    Army Wives and Daughters Attend Military Training
    11/1/2007

    Buthidaung: As the situation in Burma continues to be unstable, the army authority in Arakan has been conducting military trainings for dependent women connected to the army, including soldiers' wives and daughters, said an army sergeant from Buthidaung on condition of anonymity.


    Training for Demonstration Crackdowns in Arakan
    11/2/2007

    The Burmese military authority in Arakan State is currently conducting multiple riot crackdown trainings for police and civil servants in all townships in Arakan State, with the aim of quickly putting down any demonstrations if they break out again in Arakan.

    An official from Buthidaung said, "Most from the government were not willing to attend the training, but the authority forced us to attend. Demolition of riots and demonstrations is not a concern of ordinary government servicemen, but now we are learning the tactics of cracking down on peoples' demonstrations."

    The trainings have been conducted by the authorities after information began spreading among the people that monks and students are preparing to hold another demonstration against the military government in the very near future.

    "I think the authority is willing to create hostility between civilians and government servicemen for demolition of peoples' demonstration by the government employees," the official said.

    The authority opened trainings in many townships in Arakan State last week, including the border townships of Rathidaung, Buthidaung, and Maungdaw, to quell possible demonstrations in the near future.

    At the training in Buthidaung, 96 people are in attendance, among those, half are government civil servants and the rest are police. The training is being held under the supervision of Light Infantry Battalion 234 based in Buthidaung. At the Maungdaw training, 60 people are attending, of whom 23 are civil servants and 37 are police. It has also been learned that since the trainings started, many government offices in Arakan State, besides schools and hospitals, have been forced to close due to the absence of employees who are attending the riot demolition trainings.

    narinjara.com


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


    Myanmar junta sends mixed signals ahead of UN envoy visit
    4 hours ago

    YANGON (AFP) — Myanmar freed more people arrested during September's wave of protests but also cut Internet access Friday in an apparent bid to limit the flow of information ahead of UN envoy Ibrahim Gambari's visit.

    Another 46 people, mostly from democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) party, were released late Thursday, party spokesman Nyan Win said, bringing the total number of people freed during the last week to 165.

    But dozens of NLD members were among the hundreds still believed to be imprisoned, Nyan Win told AFP.

    snip

    afp.google.com


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


    Myanmar about to expel U.N. country head -diplomat
    Fri Nov 2, 2007 3:13pm IST


    BANGKOK (Reuters) - Myanmar's military junta is preparing to expel United Nations country chief Charles Petrie for a statement he issued last month drawing attention to deepening poverty, a diplomat said on Friday.

    Petrie had been summoned to a meeting in the former Burma's new capital, Naypyitaw, for an official dressing down for the Oct. 24 statement, the diplomat said.

    Afterwards, he and colleagues were given a letter saying the military government would not support any request by the U.N. to renew Petrie's assignment, due to end "pretty much now", the diplomat said.

    Petrie is the U.N.'s most senior diplomat in Yangon and had been laying the groundwork for the second visit on Saturday of special envoy Ibrahim Gambari since September's bloody crackdown on monk-led pro-democracy protests.

    in.reuters.com


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



    Junta gauges Kachin leaders' attitude before Gambari visit
    November 2, 2007
    KNG

    A senior military officer of the Burmese ruling junta met Kachin leaders yesterday morning before the United Nations (UN) special envoy Ibrahim Gambari's visit to Burma tomorrow, said a local source.

    Maj-Gen Ye Myint, Chief of Military Affairs Security met representatives of the strongest Kachin ceasefire group, the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) in Myitkyina, capital of Kachin State, Northern Burma, the KIO sources said.

    At the meeting, KIO leaders maintained the need to start a meaningful post-National Convention political dialogue between the KIO and the junta based on the KIO's 19-point demand for autonomy for Kachin State, which was submitted at the final session of the NC, last September, the KIO sources said.

    The meeting comes at a time when the KIO is facing severe criticism and pressure from the Kachin people for supporting the outcome of the NC and initiating talks on changing the nomenclature of the KIO.

    kachinnews.com
    Last edited by Mid; 02-11-2007 at 06:18 PM.

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    Young students in peace rally in Akyab
    02 November 2007

    Akyab, Arakan State: Young students staged a peaceful rally near Lawkananda pagoda on October 31, said a local in Akyab.

    The young students' between the ages of 10 and 13 years marched peacefully to the Lawkananda pagoda with red ribbons on their head without writing any , holding a red flower bouquet in one hand while another held a pigeon, he added. They were boys and girls from different schools in Akyab.

    The students made groups of five and one row had five groups. There were around 100 students.

    The students stayed at the pagoda from 2 pm to 3 pm where they released the pigeons and shouted "we need peace, not military rule".

    The security forces of Lawkananda tried to divide and break the groups and send the students back home but they did not move from the pagoda compound till 3 pm.

    Students in Akyab hung anti junta cartoon posters in the entrance wells of famous Buddhist temples and monasteries on the night of October 29, said a student.

    kaladanpress.org


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



    Burma crises a symptom of Asean's flaws
    Fri, November 2, 2007

    Singapore - Prominent human rights activists noted that there are many disturbing parallels between the crises in Burma and Asean.

    "Asean's inaction on Burma reflects Asean's institutional weaknesses", said Debbie Stothard of the Alternative Asean Network on Burma.

    It can be recalled that Asean came out with a statement expressing 'revolt at the violent crackdown', after the violent dispersals of protest actions in Burma. Stothard said this statement is not enough and Asean can do more actions considering the influence that Asean countries can exert on Burma.

    She noted that "Burma, whose military is the largest consumer of fuel in the country, relies on petrol and diesel from Malaysia and Singapore. Thailand and Singapore are the biggest sources of Burma's foreign direct investments.

    Burma's military junta also relies on Singapore's financial services to store and move the wealth that they drain away from the country. Indonesia currently chairs the United Nations Security Council, the body most feared and respected by Burma's military junta.

    Why can't Asean take decisive action to pressure Burma move towards freedom and democracy"?

    Stothard also said that Asean has failed to act on other burning issues such as the extrajudicial killings in the Philippines and the increasing violence in southern Thailand.

    "If Asean cannot deal with problems in our own backyard, how can we hope Asean to be truly responsive to the dynamics in the region?", Stothard declared.

    Rafendi Djamin, meanwhile of the Solidarity for Asian Peoples'Advocacy Working Groups on Asean and Human Rights, said that there is a gap between Asean policymakers and citizens.

    "The Asean policymakers fail to respond to the people's issues that is why people are indifferent to the Asean," Djamin said.

    Djamin challenged civil society groups to push Asean to transform from a highly elitist to a more people-oriented institution.

    nationmultimedia.com


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


    Myanmar internet link with outside world fails for second day
    2007-11-02
    Editor: Song Shutao

    YANGON, Nov. 2 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar's internet link with the outside world continued to fail on Friday, the second day since Thursday without web access internationally.

    snip

    xinhuanet.com
    Last edited by Mid; 02-11-2007 at 08:25 PM.

  20. #1470
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    No Thai haven for Burmese dissidents
    By Amy Kazmin in Mae Sot, Thailand
    Published: November 2 2007

    He spent 15 years as a political prisoner, including seven in solitary confinement, for activism in Burma's 1988 popular uprising.

    After his release in 2005, he joined others in peaceful campaigns to encourage Burmese to express their discontent with the military regime.

    In May, though, Nay Tin Myint fled to Thailand and sought protection at the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in Mae Sot, a Thai border town.

    To his dismay, the UNHCR said it could not help.

    In 2004, after decades of permitting the UNHCR to process refugee claims, Bangkok assumed the responsibility itself, amid concerns about Burmese pro-democracy activities in Thailand.

    Three years on, Bangkok has yet to set up a fully functioning system for processing refugee claims, while refusing to let the UNHCR do so.

    That leaves Nay Tin Myint and others at risk of being swept up by routine Thai deportations of Burmese migrant workers. "There is no security for me here," he says.

    snip

    With the Burmese junta now fulminating against him in state newspapers, he remains anxious about his possible deportation.

    "If the Thai police send me back, I will be killed," he says.

    ft.com


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


    ABSDF pledges to fight on for democracy

    Nov 2, 2007 (DVB)–The All Burma Students’ Democratic Front vowed yesterday to continue with its armed struggle to bring democracy to Burma, during celebrations for the group’s 19th anniversary.

    The ABSDF’s celebrations were held yesterday in a location along the Thai-Burma border and were attended by about 200 Burmese democracy activists.

    The group’s leader Than Khe said during his speech at the event that the group is planning to increase its activities in support of the democracy movement in Burma, and urged people inside the country not to give up.

    "The ABSDF will increase its activities from all sides to help people of Burma in their fight for democracy," said Than Khe.

    "I strongly believe we should fight against the government both politically and with armed force. We promise play our role by continuing our [armed] fight against the junta."

    Reporting by Htet Yazar
    english.dvb.no


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


    Protests and repression continue
    11/02/2007 13:50
    MYANMAR - UN

    In the meantime the government is making sure that the situation “doesn’t slip from their control” during the UN envoys permanence. For the last 24 hours access to internet has been restricted, with users unable to link up to international websites. The junta had already block access in September, to halt the flood of information and images of the repression against the Buddhist monks from leaving the country.

    Following the October 31 protests by monks from Pakokku, where over 200 bonzi returned to the streets to protest for the first time in weeks, the local authorities summoned the monastery administrators from about five high-profile monasteries and told them to urge the monks not to not to continue with their protests, unnamed monks referred to the Democratic Voice of Burma website.

    Despite the unprecedented violence inflicted by the military junta, on the monks and civilians, tortured disappeared or cremated the silent protests continue. The Buddhist religious continue with their boycott of all alms offered by military or members of their families, a very strong sign of dissent in a country as deeply religious as Myanmar.

    News has also arrived of protests within the prisons: two days ago a group of 70 detainees rebelled within the prison of Insein loudly contesting the “false” image projected by State TV news. The guards intervened with force leaving two people gravely injured.

    asianews.it


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


    Myoma Monastery in Maungdaw watched
    Friday, 02 November 2007

    Maungdaw, Arakan State: The authorities have been watching the Myoma Monastery in Maungdaw since October 27, said a local.

    The monastery is being monitored by the police, Township Peace and Development Council (TPDC), the junta's puppet organization the United Solidarity and Development Association (USDA) and the paramilitary (people forces recruited by government).

    The authorities are watching and checking the Myoma Monastery three times a day. They check early morning when the monks take their food offered to them by people at about 4 am; the second check is made at around 4:30 pm when the monks go for prayers and finally they check again in the night when the monks are going off to sleep, said a police source.

    snip

    kaladanpress.org


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


    Fiasco as Gambari flies in
    02 November 2007

    Local UN staff thrown out by junta

    The staff of the UN office in Rangoon have been ordered out of the country by the ruling junta – on the eve of UN special envoy Ibrahim Gambari’s latest visit to Burma, writes Edward Loxton for The First Post.

    Charles Petrie, head of the Rangoon UN bureau, has been told that his credentials and those of his colleagues will not be renewed, according to the news agency Reuter.

    snip

    newsdeskspecial.co.uk


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



    Myanmar criticizes UN resident organization statement on country
    2007-11-02


    YANGON, Nov. 2 (Xinhua) -- The Myanmar state radio criticized a recent statement of the United Nations Country Team in a night broadcast Friday, saying that "the contents in the statement are groundless."

    The UN country team's statement, issued on Oct. 24 on the occasion of UN Day, expressed concern about the humanitarian situation in the country and called for greater public expenditures in social sectors, an improved operating environment for international humanitarian organizations and a significant scaling up of international assistance to address the need of the poor.

    The official radio also said the economic figures of Myanmar covered in the statement do not conform to the facts.

    The state radio also said the Foreign Ministry has lodged protests for two times over the statement.

    snip

    xinhuanet.com


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


    Women Resort to Selling Their Hair to Survive in Burma
    Friday, November 2, 2007
    Souce: Democratic Voice of Burma

    DVB interviewed Daw Le Le, a member of the National League for Democracy, regarding her experience in custody since being detained on the 29th of Septenber.

    During the interview, she revealed that she met a fellow NLD member in prison who told her that she had to sell her daughter's hair in order to put up a deposit for a trishaw. She received about 20,000 kyats (~ 15 USD) in payment. However, as she was detained on that very day, she had to use this money.

    While Daw Le Le did not mention explicitly what the money was being used for, she mentioned that it was possible to get the prison staff to buy basic provisions for them. She also mentioned that the stay in prison was tougher for those who were not anticipating their arrests, and had no money or extra clothing with them.

    Her cell mate had a similar story to share; Daw Le Le noticed that clumps of her hair were missing. The woman told her that she had to sell her hair to get by because her family was in financial difficulties.

    For the original article in Burmese, please click here.

    flamingpeacocks.blogspot.com
    Last edited by Mid; 02-11-2007 at 11:31 PM.

  21. #1471
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    Junta authorities campaign in rural areas
    Fri 02 Nov 2007
    IMNA

    In a bid to divert attention from the brutal crack down on monk-led protests last month, the military junta authorities have begun a campaign in the rural areas by showing a video clip about a military officer's trip to the Buddha Gayar, in Nepal.

    The video was about a trip by the former Southeast Command Commander Major General Thura Myint Aung to Nepal and about the funds he donated in 2005. The first show was held in Kwan- hlar village Mudon Township, Mon State.

    The monks in the rural areas said the junta is doing this because they want to cover what they had done to monks. They are trying to show only the good things.

    Now the authorities are holding the video show in Kawn-hlar village, sources said.

    The villagers were not interested in the show. They went to the place where the show was being held but didn't look at it, the source said.

    Most elders in the township are very interested in the earlier protests led by monks and hope that protest would be revived. They talked to each other about the protests and offered yellow robes to the members of the Buddhist order for a special purpose (Kahtain Khin in Burmese).

    monnews-imna.com

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    The Burmese Junta's Hidden Victims
    Mark P. Lagon, Director, Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons
    Op-Ed
    The Wall Street Journal Asia
    November 2, 2007

    The startling images of fearless saffron-robed monks in the streets of Rangoon and the violent crackdown that followed exposed Burma to world scrutiny. What we don't see behind these images is the desperation of the Burmese people whose freedom and livelihoods have been drastically curtailed under the repressive regime. Many of these people face literal enslavement at home and extreme exploitation in neighboring countries. They are victims of human trafficking, a phenomenon that destabilizes the region and bleeds trauma far beyond Burma's borders.

    Burma's ruling generals systematically employ forced labor to maintain their repressive grip on the country. The regime forces men, women and children to work for its benefit -- providing rice to feed the huge parasitic military force, constructing roads and buildings, and serving as porters for military convoys and human mine sweepers in the battlefields in the border regions. As the regime continues its gross mismanagement of the country and economic and social conditions deteriorate further, the number of victims of trafficking can only be expected to grow.

    United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has reported to the U.N. General Assembly that the Burmese military conscripts children into the army. Although the regime prevents an accurate assessment of the magnitude of this problem, many believe that Burma has the largest number of child soldiers in the world. Burma holds another notorious distinction: The International Labor Organization considers Burma to harbor a significant share of the estimated 2.2 million victims of state-imposed forced labor globally.

    Facing bleak economic conditions and the prospect of forced labor at home, millions of Burmese have had to flee their homes and villages, usually without legal documents, making them even more vulnerable to human trafficking and the predations of corrupt officials.

    Among these most vulnerable are girls and women from Burma's ethnic minorities, who reside in the horseshoe of mountainous regions surrounding Burma's flat heartland bordering China, India, Bangladesh and Thailand. Rape is widespread in Burma. Shan, Karen, Chin, Mon and other ethnic minority women and girls live in daily fear of sexual violence by their military oppressors, including as sex slaves in military camps in their regions. Their communities are powerless to protect them and so they flee.

    After successfully escaping slavery in Burma, however, another cruel fate awaits too many Burmese. Instead of laying claim to the freedom and economic security they hoped for, they are preyed upon by traffickers and exploitative employers. They are pushed into the sex trade or into highly predatory economic sectors in neighboring countries. Some Kachin, Shan and Burman girls and women enter the sex trade in China and other neighboring countries. International Labor Organization research conducted in 2006 suggests that many of the estimated two million Burmese migrant workers in Thailand work under exploitative conditions.

    The United Nations Protocol on Trafficking in Persons calls on governments to protect foreign victims of trafficking, including legal alternatives to deportation to countries where they face hardship or retribution. Greater government efforts need to be made to protect this highly vulnerable group of victims.

    The only solution to address the underlying problems behind Burma's crisis is a genuine political dialogue between the regime and the Burmese people, leading to a transition to a government truly representative of the diverse Burmese population. The U.S. has intensified its financial sanctions targeting Burmese junta leaders. The international community is urging the regime to immediately and unconditionally release those detained for peaceful activism and to fully cooperate with U.N. Special Envoy Ibrahim Gambari.

    Regional leaders must recognize that the junta's iron rule, marked by night-time raids, detained political prisoners, slave-like conditions of Burmese at home and degradation in neighboring states are indicative of a rotten core -- and can no longer be dismissed as just "an internal matter."

    ---

    Mark P. Lagon is American Ambassador-at-large against human trafficking and Director of the U.S. State Department's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons.

    state.gov

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    youtube.com

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    Burmese Embassy in London wants Free Burma & Free Daw Aung San Suu Kyi
    Saturday, 3 November 2007









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


    Memorandum to India 's vice-president by Burmese activists

    November 3, 2007 - Burmese pro- democracy activists under the banner of 'Campaign for Democracy Movement in Burma' handed over a memorandum to the Vice-President of India Mohammad Hamid Ansari who arrived in Aizawl, capital of Mizoram state, northeast India yesterday.

    The memorandum urges India to stop selling military hardware and to halt training Burmese military officers.

    snip

    khonumthung.com
    Last edited by Mid; 03-11-2007 at 02:46 PM.

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