Thread: Burmese Weekly : Vol 36 , WE Sun 3rd Aug '08

Kerry Pushes Rice to Consider Burmese Junta’s Actions as “Crimes Against Humanity”
Posted on July 28, 2008 by sanooaung

06/17/2008

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Sen. John Kerry today sent a letter to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to express his grave concerns over the Burmese military junta’s restricting foreign aid to millions devastated by the recent cyclone, and to ask whether the junta’s actions may constitute “crimes against humanity” under international law. Kerry has requested a legal opinion from the State Department.

“The junta’s refusal to accept foreign aid has inflicted extraordinary pain and suffering on the Burmese people,” said Sen. Kerry. “The systematic restrictions on international support have denied lifesaving disaster assistance to over a million people. Our State Department should be considering every possible tool to create leverage to force the junta to allow humanitarian aid to reach the people. That includes investigating whether the junta’s actions constitute a crime against humanity under international law.”

The text of the letter is as follows:

June 17, 2008
The Honorable Condoleezza Rice
Secretary of State
U.S. Department of State
Washington, DC 20520

Dear Madam Secretary:

I write to express my serious concerns about the efforts of Burma’s ruling military junta to restrict foreign aid to the people of their country, who are recovering from the devastation wrought by Tropical Cyclone Nargis on May 3, 2008.

As you know, conditions in the cyclone’s wake have heightened the risk of starvation, disease, and deprivation. According to the UN, 2.4 million people were affected by the disaster; six weeks later, over 1 million still have not received disaster assistance.

Despite the suffering of Burma’s people, the military junta has undertaken a widespread and systematic effort to restrict the flow of international aid. The U.S. Agency for International Development recently noted that “a lack of access to areas affected by the storm continues to impose serious constraints on the effectiveness of relief operations.” The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs likewise has found that Burma’s visa process for NGO staff continues to move slowly, making a bad situation worse.

This is simply unacceptable. It is clear that the military junta’s failure to meet the most basic humanitarian needs of Burma’s people constitutes “criminal neglect,” as Secretary Gates put it, on a nation-wide scale. Its concerted efforts to prevent life-saving humanitarian aid from reaching Burma’s people raise legitimate questions as to whether the intentional inactivity of the regime warrants classification under a more egregious crime: a crime against humanity triable by international tribunals and by national courts around the world.

As you may be aware, Article VII of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court defines crimes against humanity as certain acts “committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against any civilian population.” Such crimes include a residual category of “inhumane acts of a similar character intentionally causing great suffering, or serious injury to body or to mental or physical health.”

I respectfully request that your Department review whether the military junta’s inexcusable response to Tropical Cyclone Nargis constitutes a crime against humanity under international law, and that you provide me with your legal opinion.

Thank you for your serious and timely consideration of this request. I look forward to your response.

Sincerely,
John F. Kerry

Cc: John B. Bellinger, III, Legal Advisor to the Secretary of State

source:Welcome to Massachusetts Senator John Kerry's Online Office :: Home Page

sanooaung.wordpress.com


from chat
mid this letter is from 17.june, san posted tdy for membering

Mid : opps

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US president likely to meet Burmese activists during visit Thailand
Mizzima News
Monday, 28 July 2008

New Delhi — US President George W. Bush is likely to meet Burmese activists during his trip to neighboring Thailand in early August, sources in Bangkok said.

The source said Bush may have a luncheon meeting with a few Burmese activists and political observers in Bangkok, during his two day visit to Thailand.

George and his wife Laura Bush are scheduled to arrive Thailand on August 6 to mark the 175th bilateral relationship between the two countries. It will be his last visit to Asia before his term as president expires.

Bush, who will visit Bangkok on August 6 and 7, will hold bilateral talks with Thailand's Foreign Minister Samak Sundaravej and commemorate 175 years of bilateral relations between the two countries, according to Thailand's daily newspaper, Bangkok Post.

During the visit, Bush will also deliver a speech in Bangkok.

"President Bush will deliver a speech on Asia while he is in Bangkok," the paper quoted Thailand's Foreign Ministry spokesman Tharit Jarungvat as saying. "The importance of the speech is that it will be his last speech on Asia during his presidency."

Bush is also expected to raise Burma issue during his talks with Thai officials including Foreign Minister Samak.

During his term as the President of the United States, Bush implemented stricter economic and financial sanctions against Burma's military rulers and pushed for a United Nations Security Council resolution on Burma.

But his effort, which was backed by the United Kingdom and France, however, failed to yield any result and ended up as a UNSC's Presidential statement, as two other veto wielding countries – China and Russia – objected to the resolution.

Bush will fly to China after ending his visit to Thailand for the Beijing Olympics, which will have its opening ceremony on August 8.

mizzima.com


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UK underwriters 'helping Myanmar's brutal regime'
Monday July 28, 2008
By Nick Mathiason

The London insurance connection propping up the murderous Myanmar military dictatorship can be revealed in a development that will acutely embarrass leading City of London figures.

Three Lloyd's of London operators will be named as helping to insure the junta's state-owned airline Myanma Airways this year. They are Kiln, Atrium and Catlin. All were contacted by the Observer and asked to explain their involvement but refused to comment.

Other Lloyd's syndicates have shared the risk of insuring the junta's shipping interests. Without shipping and aviation insurance, the Myanmar Government would not be able to export gems, timber, clothing, oil and gas, which would lead to economic ruin for the generals running the oppressed southeast Asian nation.

The London insurance involvement, to be exposed this week in a report by Burma Campaign UK, will acutely damage the reputation of the City. It is likely to trigger a wave of campaigns aiming to force Lloyd's of London to recommend its members pull business from Myanmar. Campaigners are demanding a meeting with Lloyd's chairman Lord Levene.

"The insurance industry is helping to fund the Burmese dictatorship. Insurance companies, including members of Lloyd's, are putting profits before ethics. They don't care that they're helping Burma's brutal regime fund the purchase of guns, bullets and tanks for their campaigns of repression and ethnic cleansing. In an age where companies like to claim they behave ethically, the truth is these companies are helping to finance a regime that rapes, tortures and kills civilians," said Johnny Chatterton, Burma Campaign UK's campaign officer.

Lloyd's argued its members were not breaking the law by insuring Myanmar's key infrastructure. While the US has imposed across-the-board sanctions on Myanmar, the European Union has taken a limited stance. EU sanctions cover gems and timber but not financial services.

Despite pressure from the European Parliament to extend sanctions, heads of state have failed to unanimously approve the measure.

Lloyd's said: "Unless there are official international sanctions in place, we do not instruct the market where it can and cannot write business."

Lloyd's intransigence will put pressure on the UK Government to intervene. Prime Minister Gordon Brown has made plain his disapproval of any business trading with Myanmar. It is unclear whether the Foreign Office has raised the issue with senior Lloyd's officials.

The Burma Campaign report will expose eight other insurance companies. By Myanmar law, all insurance has to goes through Myanma Insurance, in which the state is the sole shareholder.

- OBSERVER

nzherald.co.nz

74

Junta Approves Investment in Cyber City
By MIN LWIN
Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Twelve local and foreign information technology companies have been given permission by Burma’s ruling regime to invest in the country’s largest IT center, the Yadanabon Cyber City, according to Rangoon-based industry sources.

The Burmese companies include the semi-government-owned Myanmar Teleport and eight privately-owned companies, including FISCA Enterprise, MCC and Fortune International, Htoo Trading, Myanmar World Distribution, Nibban, Tamoenyel Chanthar Tun Wai Thar, Yadanabon Cyber Corporation and Myanmar Info-Tech.


An Internet café in Rangoon provides limited access to the World Wide Web.

Three foreign companies have received the go-ahead: the Russian-owned firm CBOSS, Maxinet of Australia and Global Technology, which is believed to be based in either Thailand or the UK.

According to well-informed sources, the regime rejected proposed investments by Shin Satellite of Thailand, ZTE and Alcatel Shanghai Bell of China and Malaysia’s IP Tel Sdn Bhd.

The 12 companies agreed to spend a total of US $22 million at the Yadanabon site. They have been assigned 12 plots, with a combined area of 70 acres, according to a report in

The Myanmar Times weekly, published in Rangoon.

Several sources from computer universities said that the objective of the Yadanabon Cyber City project is to tighten control over Internet connections across the country and prevent users from gaining access to or distributing information critical of the regime.

The 10,000-acre Yadanabon site was established in June 2006. It includes seven training and human resources development buildings, 30 factory plots, a convention center and a research and development area. There are also fiber-optic cables connecting the site with other cities in Burma and satellite connections with India, China and Thailand.

Over one-fifth of the total area of the site will be used for the production of software and hardware. The project is located in the town of Yadanabon Myothit, near Pyin Oo Lwin (Maymyo), about 67 km east of Mandalay.

A journalist from Mandalay said that IT professionals based in the city have shown little interest in investing in the Yadanabon Cyber City because it is too remote from urban areas.

Burma has three Internet service providers—the state-owned Myanmar Posts and Telecommunications (MPT), BaganNet/Myanmar Teleport (formerly known as Bagan Cybertech) and Information Technology Central Services (ITCS), launched by the government-aligned Union Solidarity and Development Association in 2007. All are based in Rangoon.

Meanwhile, the Burmese military regime approved www.khitlunge.com.mm, a Web site launched by ITCS to spread government propaganda and counter media attacks by exiled Burmese media groups.

Burma has some of the world’s most restrictive Internet policies, banning blogs and exiled news providers critical of the country’s ruling junta. However, access to prohibited Web sites is often possible through use of proxy servers.

According to the Open Net Initiative Bulletin, Burma is one of 30 counties that have less than one percent Internet penetration, with an estimated 300,000 Internet users nationwide in 2005.

irrawaddy.org


Mid : on trying to access www.khitlunge.com.mm this is the response
Server is too busy




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Source: United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs - Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN)
Date: 29 Jul 2008


Soe Soe, Myanmar: "Life is totally bleak"



OUTKWIN, 29 July 2008 (IRIN) - Almost three months since Cyclone Nargis struck southern Myanmar - leaving nearly 140,000 dead or missing - many storm-affected people lack basic necessities of food and shelter.

In the village of Outkwin, Pyapon Township, deep inside Myanmar's badly affected Ayeyarwady Delta, one such survivor, Soe Soe, 28, told IRIN about the hardship she faces, as well as the birth of her son, named after the storm.

"That night I went into labour in a small bamboo, thatched house on the banks of the Pyapon River to deliver my first child. But as the wind roared, my husband and I struggled outside only to see our home destroyed right before our very eyes.

"As the rain poured down and the water began to reach my chest, my husband lifted me on to some floating debris. As I lay there, the labour pains became so painful I began to scream. I needed help.

"Finally, among the broken pieces of wood I gave birth around six in the morning, but almost died in the process. I had lost so much blood. Both my husband and the woman who had helped me deliver thought I was gone. But a single hope kept me hanging on - that my son needed me.

"After the cyclone, I thought the worst was over. But finally I understood that the worst of our hardship - bringing our lives back to where they were - had only just begun.

"We could not rebuild our home. We have neither money to buy materials, nor assistance to build. If my neighbour hadn't had the compassion to share her makeshift hut with us, we would have been left to live in a displaced persons camp. My neighbour collected material from what was left of her own house to build this place. Now, my son Nargis and I have been living here with four other families. My husband, a fisherman, has been away at sea for two months and has yet to return.

"I hope he comes back soon. I have so many debts to pay back and my son needs medical treatment.

"For medical fees, I had to borrow some money from a local money-lender at a high interest rate - 30 percent per month.

"But there are no choices here. You do what you need to do to survive. Not just for my son's medical bills, but also food. Occasionally, the local authorities bring rice to us, but it's never enough. I still need to buy some rice, as well as vegetables and other things for cooking.

"Of course, I know I shouldn't be borrowing money at such high interest rates, but I don't know what else to do. I feel I should thank her for allowing me to borrow the money given I have nothing to offer her in collateral.

"My husband earns just $30 a month and our debts far exceed that now.

"Sometimes, I wonder what the future holds. Right now life is totally bleak."

lm/ds/mw [END]

reliefweb.int

121

Dengue fever outbreak in Monywa
Reporting by Khin Hnin Htet

Jul 29, 2008 (DVB)–Residents of Monywa township in Sagaing division have reported an outbreak of dengue haemorrhagic fever among children, some of whom are said to have died of the disease.

One local resident said the local health system had been overwhelmed by the number of cases.

"Monywa hospital was running out of beds for patients and families had to bring along their own beds so their children could be admitted to the hospital," the resident said.

snip

Dr Than Nyein denied medical treatment
Reporting by Khin Hnin Htet

Jul 29, 2008 (DVB)–Long-term political prisoner and Kyauk Tan township's elected people's parliament representative Dr Than Nyein is still awaiting proper medical attention after being diagnosed with suspected liver cancer in February.

Dr Than Nyein, who is being held in Prom prison, has been suffering from kidney stones and liver problems and was diagnosed with suspected liver cancer at Bago divisional hospital in February, according to his wife Daw Khin Aye.

His family has been appealing to the prison authorities to allow him to seek medical assistance since the diagnosis but have so far received no response.

"We have been sending a number of appeal letters to the prison authorities but the prison authorities never responded to them," said Daw Khin Aye.

snip

Nine monks arrested in Rangoon
Reporting by Khin Hnin Htet

Jul 30, 2008 (DVB)–Nine monks have reportedly been arrested by authorities while waiting at Rangoon railway station to return to their monasteries for a retreat to mark Buddhist lent, according to an eyewitness.

A Rangoon resident who witnessed the incident said the railway police arrested the nine monks as they arrived at the station on 15 July.

“The monks did not come as a group. They came separately and were at the railway station before the train departed,” the witness said.

“They appeared to be on their own and were not seen to be communicating with each other or doing something together,” he said.

“But the railway police came and arrested the nine monks and sent them to Insein prison.”

The Rangoon resident said he did not know if the monks had been charged with any offence.

DVB is investigating the incident and trying to establish which monasteries the monks belonged to and where they were heading before their arrests.

ends

Aung Lan farmers pressured after ILO complaint
Reporting by Naw Say Phaw

Jul 30, 2008 (DVB)–Farmers in Magwe division's Aung Lan township have come under pressure from local authorities after filing a forced labour complaint to the International Labour Organisation.

The farmers reported to the ILO that local authorities had ordered them to grow sugar cane on their farms after declaring that the land was the property of the defence department.

A farmer from Thabyaypin village in Aung Lan said farmlands in nearby Sapyanjet that local farmers had been working on for generations were seized by local authorities earlier this month.

"Officials from Aung Lan township's sugar factory 5, led by major Ye Naing, seized the land and then forced us to sign an agreement to grow sugar cane on the land," the farmer said.

"They threatened to kick us off the land if we refused to grow sugar cane," he said.

"The farmers were really frustrated by that and about 50 of them filed a report to the ILO about the abuse."

The farmers were later summoned to see township Peace and Development Council chairman U Myint Ngwe, who demanded they tell him who had filed the report and why.

snip

english.dvb.no

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Paddy fields destroyed by crabs in Ngapudaw
Phanida Wednesday, 30 July 2008

Chiang Mai — With no major outbreak reporting in Burma's cyclone hit areas, initial fears of 'second wave of death' have slowly subsided but farmers in several parts of Irrawaddy delta said they are faced with fresh threats of the crabs that are cutting of crops in their farmlands.

Farmers in cyclone-hit Ngapudaw Township in Irrawaddy Division said, fresh water crabs have emerge into the farms and are destroying the paddy crops, which they have recently completed sowing, and are causing huge loss to the farmers who are at their wits end.

The strange crabs, which enjoys the soil mixed with sea water, cuts through the paddy grown in many villages including Thingangone, Thanyinmu, Zeephyuseik, Ngakone, Konedanpotta, Khwaychaung, Kotaung villages in Ngapudaw Township, local farmers said.

An official of the Agriculture Department in Ngapudaw told Mizzima that the crabs usually go down to the rivers and creeks along with the full moon as heavy rain start pouring down in mid-July.

"But the crabs cannot go back as there has been no rain in mid-July. It stopped raining since July 12," the official said.

The crabs destroyed both the long and short stem of paddy, causing it impossible to revitalized, while a replacement seed cannot be grown, he added.

"The crabs, however, cannot destroy the paddy which has fully grown. But in this season, growing time has been delayed and some seeds failed to grow. Failure of the seeds is also a major problem," a farmer from Thingangone village told Mizzima.

snip

mizzima.com

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Burma’s Fishery Industry near Standstill

By MIN LWIN
Wednesday, July 30, 2008

The Burmese offshore fishing industry is at a near standstill because of high fuel prices and a shortage of human resources and other supplies, say sources in Rangoon.

A businessman from the fishing community said about one-fifth of the offshore fishing fleet, including trawlers and drifters, now engage in daily fishing trips.

“They can’t afford to pay for diesel,” he said. “A normal trip consumes about 100 barrels of diesel. A barrel of diesel is around 320,000 kyat (US $273)”


A motorized canoe passes by fishing boats anchored in the middle of the Rangoon river.
(Photo:AP)

According to the Myanmar Offshore Fishing Vessel Owners Association, there are 536 registered offshore fishing vessels; about 100 vessels are now working.

snip

irrawaddy.org


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132

Bomb explodes in Telecommunication Office in Mudon
Thu 31 Jul 2008, IMNA

A bomb exploded near the Burmese military regime's Central Agriculture Research and Training under the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation in Mudon Township, Mon State, Burma last night.

The bomb went off in the Telecommunication Office precincts in front of Central Agriculture Research and Training in the eastern part of Kyone paik village about 20 miles from Moulmein, the capital of Mon State but no one was injured.

The authorities have not been able to identify the bomber yet. "It seems to be an internal affair and there were only three people present," an observer from the town said.

The local authorities are investigating. The office was built in 1996 and the local authorities seized a rubber plantation for constructing the building without paying compensation.

In July last year, a small bomb exploded in a brothel near the Azin Dam in Mudon.

monnews-imna.com


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138

New UN rapporteur to vist Burma next week

New York (dpa) - A United Nations rapporteur is scheduled to visit Burma next week to discuss human rights concerns, it was announced Thursday.

The UN rapporteur for human rights, Tomás Ojea Quintana, will be in Burma from Sunday to Thursday for a first visit to the country, which has not considered human rights issues a top priority.

Quintana has requested to meet a number of government officials, heads of state institutions as well as ethnic groups, political parties, religious groups and non-governmental organisations.

The UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, which employs the rapporteur, said he will visit Rangoon and areas affected by the devastating Cyclone Nargis in May, the Kayin state in the southeast and Rakhine state on the coast of the Bay of Bengal.

"The special rapporteur wishes to engage in a constructive dialogue with the authorities with a view to improving the human rights situation of the people of Myanmar," the council said in a press release announcing the visit. The UN uses the name for Burma adopted by the military dictatorship.

Special rapporteurs on human rights work independently and without pay, and they report back to the council in Geneva.

Ibrahim Gambari, the UN secretary general's special adviser, is scheduled also to visit Burma in mid-August, a trip postponed from May because of the cyclone. It will be his fourth trip in the past year to try to persuade the military government to institute democratic reforms and releaseg political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of the main opposition National League of Democracy.

bangkokpost.com


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Zarganar and Zaw Thet Htway appear in court
Reporting by DVB

Jul 31, 2008 (DVB)–Prominent comedian and activist Zarganar and sports writer Zaw Thet Htway have appeared in court for the first time since they were arrested in June.

The two appeared before Western Rangoon provincial court in Insein prison and were charged with violating section 505(b) of the penal code for inciting offences against the state or causing public alarm.

The charge carries a maximum penalty of two years’ imprisonment.

snip


Airline passenger held over gun possession
Reporting by Naw Say Phaw

Jul 31, 2008 (DVB)–A woman was apprehended at Kawthaung airport in Tenasserim division at 9am today after she was found to be in possession of a gun, according to an airport employee.

The woman, who was said to be in her 40s, was due to travel with Air Mandalay from Kawthaung to Tavoy, the division’s capital.

She was detained by Kawthaung authorities and is currently being questioned.

Air Mandalay and Kawthaung police station were unavailable for comment.

snip

english.dvb.no


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Nearly entire Htoi Ra Yang population suffer from Malaria and cholera
Thursday, 31 July 2008

Nearly the entire population of the Htoi Ra Yang village, 30 miles from the Sinbo logging fields in Kachin State, northern Burma has been afflicted by malaria and cholera, a source said.



Villagers suffering from the diseases are now under medical care of the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) and the UK based Health Unlimited (HU).

The village is under the joint control of the Burmese military government and the KIO and it has a little over 200 villagers.

“The diseases in the village are a fall out of mosquitoes breeding in dirty water. In the monsoons most villagers suffer from cholera,” said a health worker from HU who recently returned from Htoi Ra Yang village.

snip


Chinese security agents allege Kunming bus bombers entered from Burma
Thursday, 31 July 2008

Chinese security agents have alleged that the bombers of three public buses in Kunming in Yunnan Province on July 21 morning, are Xinjiang rebels from Northern China and they entered from Burma, said sources close to the security agents.

snip

kachinnews.com


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Riot Police in Maungdaw Face Hunger
7/31/2008


Maungdaw: The families of riot police in regiment number 2 based in Maungdaw are facing starvation as the government salary is inadequate for their daily survival, reports the wife of one riot policeman.

She said, "I am dear to tell you the real situation among our riot police families because we are unable to stay silent during this crucial period of hunger. My husband's salary is only 30,000 kyat, but the price of normal rice is 25,000 kyat per [50 kilo] sack in the market of Maungdaw. How can we carry out our daily life with such a small salary? So many families in the regiment are facing starvation."

A source said at least ten families in the regiment are facing starvation today; another ten families will be facing starvation tomorrow, but it is not permanent hunger among the regiment families.

"I'm not sure how to say it, but it is like a rotating system where a family gets money today from outside and the family is okay for food today. If not okay, the family faces starvation. All the families' survival depends on corrupt money from outside," the woman said.

As the salary is inadequate for family survival, many riot police constables are involved in unlawful work in the area. They are particularly involved in cutting wood from the government land to sell in Bangladesh through wood smugglers.

The woman said, "Yes, many riot police are involved in wood smuggling, but some riot police are working on construction sites as day laborers, and some are working as rickshaw pullers to earn money for their family's survival. We need food, so we have to go outside to look for money."

However, the riot police also have to share their earnings with their regiment commander whenever they earn money at outside jobs.

"A riot police has to pay 1,000 kyat illegally to the riot police commander every day for permission if he wants to work outside as a rickshaw puller. Other police also have to share their earnings with the commander," she said.

Many riot police are solving their problem of hunger this way, but they are not always able to meet their families' needs. When that happens, the families must go hungry.

A source from Maungdaw said many riot police families are begging for food from monasteries in Maungdaw after facing hunger day after day.

Maungdaw is a border town in western Burma where commodity prices are double what they are in other parts of the country. Because of this, many government servicemen are unable to provide for their daily needs with the government salary, and many officials subsequently become involved in corruption in the township. #

ends



Ferry Boat Sinks, 30 Die
7/31/2008


Buthidaung: A ferry boat sank on the Mayu River in Buthidaung Township, 80 miles north of the Arakan State capital Sittwe, on 27 July, killing 30 on board, said a witness.

He said, "The boat sank in the confluence between the Mayu River and Sai Din Creek in southern Buthidaung when the boat was returning to Nyung Chaung Village from Buthidaung."

The boat sank as it was trying to cross through the heavy current of a whirlpool that formed at the confluence of the two waterways.

"Four people were rescued by local people, but the other passengers, about 30 people that were mostly women and children, were killed in the sinking boat," he said.

According to a local source, all the victims were Muslims who were traveling to their native villages after trading and visiting the markets in Buthidaung. The victims were from villages located between the town of Buthidaung and Nyunt Chaung Village.

Many bodies were recovered from the river and the authorities in the area are still searching for the remaining bodies using machine boats. People in Arakan State travel via ferry boats around Arakan State because there are many rivers and creeks in the region. Such tragedies are not uncommon in Arakan during the rainy season. #

narinjara.com


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Burma on Bush Agenda while in Thailand
By LALIT K JHA
Thursday, July 31, 2008

WASHINGTON — US President George W Bush will travel to South Korea, Thailand and China next week before taking part in the opening ceremony for the Beijing Olympics.

While in Thailand, Bush, accompanied by his wife, Laura, will make a major policy statement on Burma while also meeting Burmese opposition group members.

On his second day in Thailand, Bush will attend a briefing by nongovernmental organizations and US agencies on the Cyclone Nargis relief effort.

"He will have a lunch in Bangkok with Burmese activists and hear their stories. And then he will be interviewed by the press in Thailand that broadcasts into Burma, so he can give a message directly to the Burmese people," said Dennis Wilder, the senior director for Asian affairs at the National Security Council.

snip

irrawaddy.org

See Also : https://teakdoor.com/thailand-and-asi...tml#post708297


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Myanmar warns against more bomb attacks
2008-08-01

YANGON, Aug. 1 (Xinhua) -- The Myanmar authorities warned on Friday against more bomb attacks following Wednesday's mine explosion in northeastern Kayin state and urging people in the country to remain vigilant against more such probability, official media reported.

The mine explosion in the state's Leiktho, Hpa-an at night caused collapse of and damage to a pylon located between the areas of Lawpyita and Toungoo, said the New Light of Myanmar.

The authorities blamed the country's largest anti-government ethnic armed group, the Kayin National Union (KNU), responsible for the incident. According to the report, Myanmar's state-run Electric Power Enterprise is regularly supplying power through Lawpita-Kalaw-Thazi power line in order not to disrupt the power supply.

The authorities also appealed to the public to come forward timely with information about the terrorists.

snip

xinhuanet.com


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181

1st Myanmar woman to referee in Beijing Olympic soccer event
2008-08-02

YANGON, Aug. 2 (Xinhua) -- A Myanmar female referee is to make her debut in the upcoming women's soccer event at the Beijing Olympic Games next week in China, according to state-run newspaper The Myanmar Alin on Saturday.

Myanmar's international female linesperson Kaw Jar, who will be the first Myanmar women's referee permitted to take such responsibility in the Olympic Games history, will referee as a linesperson in the Olympic women's soccer event in the Beijing Summer Games in China from Aug. 6 to 23, the paper said.

snip

xinhuanet.com


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US twist to Thaksin court case
By Peter J Brown

Thailand's Supreme Court decided this week to proceed with a criminal conflict-of-interest case against former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra over his role in approving a 4 billion baht (US$119 million) government-to-government loan made to Myanmar's military-run government to purchase satellite services sold by his family-owned communications business.

snip

atimes.com

See Also : https://teakdoor.com/business-finance...ourt-case.html


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Quote on Freedom - 8808

August 8 is not only a day to recognize China’s achievements,
but also an occasion to recall
the unfulfilled aspirations of the Burmese people.
--President G. Bush

paraussies.blogspot.com

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QUOTE OF THE DAY



My message is going to be one directed to the people in Burma when I meet with some of the activists, and Laura is going to be meeting with some of the people that she got to know.
— US President George W Bush

irrawaddy.org


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Burma, India Close to Signing Chindwin Dams Agreement
By WILLIAM BOOT
Friday, August 1, 2008

India and Burma are reported to be close to signing an outline agreement to allow an Indian state company to build two large hydroelectric power systems on the River Chindwin.

The projects have been under discussion for years but are now moving to a formal memorandum of understanding, says The Financial Express of India.

The newspaper puts the cost of the two projects at around US $3.5 billion.

snip

irrawaddy.org


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Troops on standby in Burma for massacre anniversary
By Nick Meo
02 Aug 2008

Thousands of heavily-armed Burmese security forces have been moved to the outskirts of Rangoon days before the twentieth anniversary of an uprising which came close to bringing down the military regime.

snip

telegraph.co.uk

See Also : https://teakdoor.com/thailand-and-asi...tml#post709804 (8:8:88)