Thread: Aung San Suu Kyi appears at protest in Burma

Haaretz.com TV exclusive: Rare footage of the protests in Burma
By Yotam Feldman and Haaretz Staff
October 12, 2007.

Haaretz reporter Yotam Feldman received rare footage of the Burmese government's actions by rebels who hope to inform the world of the suffering of the monks, who they say were imprisoned, beaten to death, or burned alive.

In disseminating this footage, those who provided it aim to show the world the true and ongoing denial of human rights being carried out in Burma.

haaretz.com

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Blood on the monastery floor
By Yotam Feldman, Haaretz Correspondent in Burma
11/10/2007

Haaretz correspondent Yotam Feldman was in Burma at the height of last month's protests against the military junta. He describes the atmosphere in the country, where he remained until he was caught and expelled by the junta's secret service.

"The city is quiet now. Foes of the government say that the monks - the leaders of the protests - were imprisoned, beaten to death, burned while still alive. They pass on secret photographic evidence of the Burmese government's oppressive acts and hope the world will learn."

haaretz.com

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Haaretz .swf photo set ( contains 42 pic's )
haaretz.com

Waiting for a revolution
By Connie Levett, Mae Sot Thai-Burma border
October 13, 2007


Burmese exile Bo Kyi in front of photos of political prisoners held in Burma.
Photo: Jack Picone


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Yet even he cannot help feeling hopeful. "There were no leaders in 1988, now we have many leaders. In '88, it came to a sudden stop, here its a lull, not a death stop. It's spiralling and going up again. The ongoing protests will come from monks, students and civilians. We have a new generation."

theage.com.au

Stop the Terror in Burma
Commentary by U.S. first lady Laura Bush
2007-10-11
The following op-ed by U.S. first lady Laura Bush first appeared October 10 in The Wall Street Journal. It is in the public domain; there are no republication restrictions.

Stop the Terror in Burma
President Bush is preparing further U.S. sanctions against the dictatorship.
By Laura Bush
Wednesday, October 10, 2007 12:01 a.m.

It is 2 a.m. in Rangoon, Burma. In the middle of the tropical night, army troops pour into the neighborhood surrounding a peaceful Buddhist monastery. The soldiers occupy nearby homes, so that residents will not peek through their windows or go outside to witness the raid. Troops then storm the monastery, brutalizing, terrorizing and arresting the monks inside.

Eventually the monks are imprisoned inside Rangoon's former Government Technical Institute. According to one eyewitness, hundreds are crammed into each room. They have no access to toilets or sanitary facilities. Many of the monks refuse food from their military jailers. There is no space to lie down and sleep.

These are the stories of Burma's "Saffron Revolution." The protests that started a few weeks ago with a 500% spike in regime-controlled gas prices have now unleashed 19 years of pent-up national anger. As the demonstrations play out on front pages, computer monitors, and TV screens across the globe, millions of people have been inspired by the sea of orange-robed Buddhist monks standing up to the military dictatorship.
Millions have also been stunned by the junta's shameful response: nonviolent demonstrators struck down with batons, tear gas, smoke grenades and bullets; civilians, including children, seized at random; innocent men and women slain.

The generals' reign of fear has subdued the protests--for now. But while the streets of Burma may be eerily quiet, the hearts of the Burmese people are not: 2007 is not 1988, when the regime's last major anti-democracy crackdown killed 3,000 and left the junta intact. Today, people everywhere know about the regime's atrocities. They are disgusted by the junta's abuses of human rights. This swelling outrage presents the generals with an urgent choice: Be part of Burma's peaceful transition to democracy, or get out of the way for a government of the Burmese people's choosing.

Whatever last shred of legitimacy the junta had among its own citizens has vanished. The regime's stranglehold on information is slipping; thanks to new technologies, people throughout Burma know about the junta's assaults. The public mood is said to be "a mixture of fear, depression, hopelessness, and seething anger." According to reports from Rangoon, "The regime's heavy-handed tactics against the revered clergy and peaceful demonstrators have turned many of the politically neutral in favor of the recent demonstrators."

The international community, too, is distancing itself. On Saturday, during a "Global Day of Action for Burma," thousands of people marched through dozens of cities--from Kuala Lumpur to London, Sydney to Paris--in solidarity with the monks. Spiritual leaders, including Pope Benedict XVI and the Dalai Lama, have enlisted millions of faithful to pray for peace and justice in Burma.

Governments from Spain to Estonia to Panama to Australia have voiced their disapproval. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations has denounced the generals' actions as "repulsive." Burma's neighbor, Malaysia, has urged the regime to hold "unconditional" talks with Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of Burma's popularly elected National League for Democracy party. India, one of Burma's closest trading partners, has called for an inquiry into the regime's crackdown, and encouraged the junta to hasten the process of political reform.

On Friday, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon described the regime's violent repression as "abhorrent and unacceptable." Yesterday, Mr. Ban called me to say that he will send the U.N.'s special envoy to Burma, Ibrahim Gambari, back to the region "as soon as possible." Mr. Gambari will coordinate with Burma's neighboring governments, encouraging them to use their influence with the junta to bring about a transfer of power.

And last week, the United States led an effort to put Burma, for the first time in history, on the agenda of the U.N. Security Council. The United States expects that the Security Council--especially permanent members Russia and China, who typically support Burma's military dictatorship--will keep pressure on the regime.

The junta has also shut itself off economically. Money talks--and we know it speaks to those who rule the country, Gen. Than Shwe and his deputies. One of last week's more promising developments was the general's statement indicating, for the first time, his willingness to meet with Ms. Suu Kyi--but on the condition that she "stop calling for economic sanctions." The junta is feeling the financial squeeze.

The economic pressure will only grow more intense. Last week, the European Union tightened its sanctions against the regime; over the weekend, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown called for harsher measures. Amid growing outrage over the murder of a Japanese journalist, Japan--one of the largest providers of aid to Burma--is likely to suspend assistance.

President Bush has directed the U.S. Treasury Department to freeze the assets of 14 senior members of the Burmese junta. Our State Department has identified top junta officials and their immediate families--more than 200 people--as subject to a ban on entry into the U.S., and President Bush is preparing further U.S. sanctions against the dictatorship.
Gen. Than Shwe and his deputies are a friendless regime. They should step aside to make way for a unified Burma governed by legitimate leaders. The rest of the armed forces should not fear this transition--there is room for a professional military in a democratic Burma. In fact, one of Burma's military heroes was also a beloved champion of Burmese freedom: General Aung San, the late father of Aung San Suu Kyi.
As part of a peaceful transition process, the generals must immediately stop their terror campaigns against their own people. They must commit to a meaningful, unrestricted dialogue with Aung San Suu Kyi and other opposition leaders--including the demonstrating monks, the 88 Generation Students and members of Ms. Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party. The junta has taken a small, promising first step by appointing its deputy labor minister as a liaison to Ms. Suu Kyi. Now, the regime must release her--and all members of the political opposition--so they can meet and plan a strategy for Burma's transition to democracy.

Meanwhile, the world watches--and waits. We know that Gen. Than Shwe and his deputies have the advantage of violent force. But Ms. Suu Kyi and other opposition leaders have moral legitimacy, the support of the Burmese people and the support of the world. The regime's position grows weaker by the day. The generals' choice is clear: The time for a free Burma is now.

Mrs. Bush is first lady of the United States.

nato.usmission.gov

Thailand says will not take action against Myanmar
Reuters
Saturday, October 13, 2007; 2:39 AM

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thailand's army-appointed government will take no action against Myanmar's junta for its bloody crackdown on democracy protests as it lacks the moral authority, Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont said on Saturday.

Surayud, a former army chief who was installed after last year's military coup, said any action by an interim government in Bangkok could also create headaches for any successor that emerged after a December 23 general election.

"As a Buddhist country, we disagreed with the violence dealt out by the Myanmar government, especially against the monks," Surayud said in a weekly television address.

"But if we do anything that will cause bad feelings with our neighbor, that will be problematic for the new elected government," he said. "My government, therefore, is very careful on this issue."

"I think we could pressure them more if we are not an appointed government," he said, adding that Thailand continued to stand by the Association of South East Asian Nations' (ASEAN) principle of "constructive engagement" with the generals.

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washingtonpost.com

UN special envoy to confer with Thai PM on Myanmar
Saturday 13 October 2007

BANGKOK, Oct 13 (TNA) - Thai Prime Minister Gen. Surayud Chulanont said Saturday he would meet with Ibrahim Gambari, special advisor to the United Nations Secretary-General on Myanmar, Monday and that he would hear what other members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) can do to end violence in Myanmar.

Gen. Surayud said during his weekly television programme that the world community is watching what ASEAN could achieve as a team and also as members of the UN, with major friendly countries like China and India to assist and help stop the violence against protesters in Myanmar.

The Thai Foreign Ministry said in its press release that Mr. Gambari would pay a three-day visit to Thailand, starting Sunday. He is also scheduled to hold talks with Foreign Minister Nitya Pibulsonggram Monday morning.

Stressing that Thailand -- whose population like its neighbour Myanmar is mainly Buddhist -- Gen. Surayud said his government's role towards attempts to end the violence in Myanmar was not less than other countries.

Thailand disagrees with the use of violence against the Myanmar people, especially against monks, and it hopes that the State Peace and Development Council government would understand, he said, adding that his administration had also sent a letter stating the Thai government's stance to the Myanmar government.

Gen. Surayud said his government which was installed by the military following a bloodless coup on September 19, 2006 must, however, be cautious in expressing opinions to the Myanmar administration.
He said his government did not want to leave any problem for the new Thai government which will be formed after the general election to be held December 23.

On October 2, Gen. Surayud sent a letter to Senior General Than Shwe, chairman of Myanmar's State Peace and Development Council, calling on the junta leader to halt violent actions against his country's Buddhist monks.

He said in the letter that Thailand could not accept the use of violence against the Buddhist monks in Myanmar, adding that what further action could be taken would depend on consultations among the 10-member ASEAN, of which Thailand is a founding member.

In September, Thailand and ASEAN expressed grave concern over the Myanmar government's use of violence against demonstrators and called upon it to exercise the utmost restraint and resume efforts to end street protests through peaceful means.

ASEAN's stance came after almost two weeks of repression in which the Myanmar authorities said 10 people were killed as the recent protests were dispersed. However, diplomats and activists say the number of dead was many times higher. (TNA)-E111

MCOT Public Company Limited

Condolences sent for Burma's Soe Win
Last Updated 13/10/2007

China's Prime Minister Wen Jiabao has sent his condolences to Burma following the death of his counterpart Soe Win.

Soe Win, considered one of the hardliners of the isolated military regime, died Friday after a long illness.

Believed to be 59, Soe Win had been treated in Singapore since March, reportedly for leukemia.

He is understood to have returned to Rangoon in the last few weeks.

snip

radioaustralia.net.au

UN envoy's return to Burma may still be in Nov.
Posted: Saturday, October 13, 2007

U.N. envoy Ibrahim Gambari may not return to Burma until November to press the embattled nation into a move toward democratic reform, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon said on Friday.

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christiantoday.com

Thousands bussed to junta rally
October 13, 2007




'Every factory' ordered to send 50 workers

snip

People were bussed in by the military to hear officials boast of the ruling junta's plan to build what it calls a "discipline-flourishing" democracy. One participant told the AFP news agency that every factory in Rangoon's industrial zone had been forced to send 50 workers to the rally.

The crowd chanted slogans denouncing foreign media and "internal and external destructive elements" - a reference to detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her many international supporters.

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newsdeskspecial.co.uk

Originally Posted by Mid

Condolences sent for Burma's Soe Win
Last Updated 13/10/2007

China's Prime Minister Wen Jiabao has sent his condolences to Burma following the death of his counterpart Soe Win.

Soe Win, considered one of the hardliners of the isolated military regime, died Friday after a long illness.

Believed to be 59, Soe Win had been treated in Singapore since March, reportedly for leukemia.

He is understood to have returned to Rangoon in the last few weeks.

snip

radioaustralia.net.au

Good riddance to Soe Whatno Win...

Myanmar cuts curfew hours shorter
2007-10-13


YANGON, Oct. 13 (Xinhua) -- The Myanmar authorities Saturday further cut its original 8-hour curfew imposed on the biggest city of Yangon to four hours, which is to last from 11 p.m. to 3 a.m. (local times), according to an announcement broadcast by loudspeakers on the authorities' vehicles patrolling around the city.

The curfew had been cut short, for the first time, on Oct. 2 to 6 hours from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. instead of the original 9 p.m. to 5a.m..

The Yangon Division General Administrative Department authorities issued on Sept. 25 night an 8-hour curfew order and banned gathering of more than five people in Yangon for 60 days until Nov. 23, which applies to almost all townships in Yangon.

xinhuanet.com

Burmese in Mizoram beaten up for gambling
2007-10-13

October 13, 2007 - Three Burmese illegal migrants were caught and beaten up by a Mizo Village Defence Party for selling Thai lottery coupons in Aizawl, capital of Mizoram state in northeast India.


Thai lottery tickets (photo - www.thai.blog)

They were rounded up when they were selling coupons and waiting for their regular customers to bet on Thai lottery numbers (known as 'Che Thi' in Burmese) in a restaurant in Aizawl market at around noon today.

‘Che Thi' is a kind of gambling where people bet on the first three digits of the Thai lottery number that are announced twice a month. Many in poverty stricken Burma gamble overwhelmingly on 'Che Thi’.

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khonumthung.com

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
PRESS RELEASE
News Flash
AI Index: ASA 16/029/2007 (Public)
News Service No: 197
13 October 2007

Myanmar: Arrests continue amid grave fears for safety of detainees

Four people have been detained overnight in Yangon as part of a continuing crackdown by the military authorities.
The four detainees include prominent activists Htay Kywe (39), Mie Mie (F, 35 also known as Thin Thin Aye), and Aung Thu (43) who are members of the 1988 Generation Students group. All have been imprisoned previously for their peaceful activism for human rights and democracy.
Amnesty International is seriously concerned for the safety or Htay Kywe, Mie Mie and Aung Thu, who are at grave risk of torture and ill-treatment.
Continued arrests fly in the face of the promises made this week by the Myanmar authorities to cooperate with the United Nations. On Thursday the UN Security Council strongly deplored the violent crackdown and called for the early release of all political prisoners. Instead, arrests continue amid grave fears for the safety of those detained, including torture and ill-treatment.
The international community must insist on concrete action from the Myanmar authorities - for an end to the arrests of peaceful protestors, for guarantees for the safety of all detained, including access to the detainees by independent observers, and for the immediate release of all prisoners of conscience.

Public Document
amnestyusa.org

Defence likely to take over MPT
Media Alert
Mizzima News
October 12, 2007

The Ministry of Defence and Communications will take over the Myanmar Post and Telecommunication near future, according to sources.

Tech savvy people splashed photographs of protests by monks and of the brutal crackdown around the world. Digital pictures and videos were uploaded in blogs embarrassing the Burmese military junta no end. This led the regime's plan to substitute army men in civilian posts at the MPT, sources said.

While the peaceful demonstrators were being beaten up and shot on streets of the biggest city Rangoon, on September 28, the junta shut down the internet to check the information flow.

However, believing that the mass protests are over and have been effectively controlled since Oct 4, the junta restored internet connection but it continues to be unstable.

The junta is scanning the internet and is on the lookout for anyone trying to send out information to the outside world.

Some cafes are warning users against surfing political sites because the MPT and Myanmar Teleport (formerly known as Bagan) are monitoring the net, an internet user said.

The news of protests had attracted employees of private business houses and some companies restricted the time of use of the internet for their work, according to an IT programmer.

bnionline.net

Myanmar newspaper denounces Japanese video journalist Nagai
Sunday, October 14, 2007 at 05:51 EDT

BANGKOK — Myanmar's major state-run newspaper on Saturday ran an article denouncing Japanese video journalist Kenji Nagai who was shot dead while covering pro-democracy protests in Yangon. The article carried by the Kyaemon (Mirror) newspaper said Nagai entered Myanmar on a tourist visa and covered the protests, causing the tragedy. "He should have applied for a journalist visa," it said.

The article, more than one page in length, also described Nagai's death as "an accident," saying he was "in the wrong place at the wrong time." Regarding the video camera that Nagai was using when he was fatally shot Sept 27 as he stood in front of security forces while covering a demonstration near Yangon's Sule Pagoda, the article said it is understandable that his family wants it returned but "it is difficult to know how it was lost."

japantoday.com

A Few Voices From the Deepening Silence
By SETH MYDANS Bangkok
Published: October 14, 2007



CLOSELY WATCHED Burmese soldiers guard Sule Pagoda in Yangon, a site of protests last month.
Gabriel Mistral/European Pressphoto Agency


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But few outsiders have heard their individual voices. The ruling junta crushed the protests at the end of the month, and since then has carried out a campaign of nighttime arrests, cleansing monasteries and neighborhoods of people they say rose up against them. The fear has returned, people say, and is sharper than before.

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nytimes.com

New Light of Myanmar

Ambassadors sign in Book of Condolences opened for late Prime Minister General Soe Win

Yangon, 13 Oct� The Book of Condolences for the demise of Member of the State Peace and Development Council Prime Minister General Soe Win on 12 October is opened at the Pyithu Hluttaw Building on Pyay Road, here.

This morning and afternoon, Dean of the Diplomatic Corps Cambodian Ambassador Mr Hul Phany, Ambassador of the People's Republic of China Mr Guan Mu, Laotian Ambassador Mr Kouily A Souphakhet, Egyptian Ambassador Mr Youssef Kamal Botros Hanna, Singaporean Ambassador Mr Robert Chua Hian Kong, Filipino Ambas-sador Mr Noel C Cabrera, Bangladeshi Ambassador Mr Mohammed Khairuz-zaman, Thai Ambassador Mr Bansarn Bunnag, Russian Ambassador Mr Mikhail M Mgeladze, Vietnamese Ambassador Mr Tran Van Tung, Malaysian Ambassador Dato Shaharuddin Bin Md-Som, Australian Am-bassador Mr Robert Joseph Davis, Indian Ambassador Mr Bhaskar Kumar Mitra, Ambassador of Brunei Darussalam Pehin Datu Inderasugara Brig-Gen (B ), Dato Paduka Haji Mohammad Yusof bin Abu Bakar, Japanese Ambassador Mr Yasuaki Nogawa, Charge d'Affaires ai of Pakistan Mr Habibur Rehman and Indonesian Charge d'Affaires ai Mr Philemon Arobaya signed in the Book of Condolences.

myanmar.com

Myanmar nationals call for more intervention from ASEAN
By Julia Ng, Channel NewsAsia
Posted: 14 October 2007 1605 hrs

SINGAPORE: Myanmar nationals in Singapore are calling for more involvement from ASEAN and the international community to help resolve the crisis in Myanmar.

Some 2,000 of them – mostly dressed in red as a sign of unity – gathered at the Burmese Buddhist Temple in the Balestier area to pray for those who died in the crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in Myanmar on Sunday.

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channelnewsasia.com

Myanmar restores Internet
Sun 14 Oct 2007, 7:25 GMT
By Aung Hla Tun

YANGON (Reuters) - Myanmar's ruling generals have restored public Internet access, more than two weeks after cutting Web connections to stem the flow of images of mass protests and a ruthless crackdown that outraged the world.

The junta also reduced a curfew to just four hours, but arrests of opponents and participants in the protests -- the biggest challenge to 45 years of military rule in the former Burma since 1988 -- continued despite international pressure for talks with the opposition.

"The Internet connection was restored on Saturday afternoon, but we still haven't decided whether or not to reopen our internet cafe yet," a Yangon Internet cafe owner said.

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africa.reuters.com


currently chat box's have only outsiders contributing

Bloodshed stains the road to Mandalay
A correspondent in Mandalay
October 15, 2007

EVERY night the curfew falls like a cloak across Mandalay, Burma's second city and the heartland of its monkhood -- hiding a reign of terror unseen by the outside world.

The trishaws vanish from the streets. The lamps of temples and mosques dim. People lurk in pools of light on their doorsteps, some brazenly cradling radios to their ears - but soon retreat indoors.

Then come the sounds of dread. Sitting on the roof of a deserted $16-a-night hotel, you can hear the growl of engines carried by an easterly breeze that sighs out of the Shan hills.

Thousands of people remain incarcerated in four detention centres around Mandalay, controlled by the Burmese army's 33rd division.

Its commanders have broken the political power of the 200 monasteries here and shattered the Buddhist clergy as an organised force. They have instituted the severest repression inflicted on this city for two decades.

These are the conclusions of a covert visit to Mandalay in which students, intellectuals, monks and local business people took the risk of speaking to a foreign reporter, sometimes in whispers, to tell of their ordeal.

They did so because almost no details of what was happening in the city had become known to the international community.

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theaustralian.news.com.au

US renews calls for UN envoy to head straight to Myanmar
33 minutes ago

TEL AVIV (AFP) - US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called on UN envoy Ibrahim Gambari on Sunday to return to Myanmar as soon as possible, echoing White House calls for him to drop plans to tour southeast Asian capitals first.

"We are encouraging special envoy Gambari to get back to Burma as soon as possible," she told reporters as she flew into Israel at the start of a new Middle East tour, using Myanmar's former name.

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news.yahoo.com


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U.N. tries to organize Asian response to Burma
Updated 4m ago

RANGOON, Burma (AP) — Burma's ruling junta restored Internet access but kept foreign news sites blocked, partially easing its crackdown as a U.N. envoy headed to Asia on Sunday to convey the world's demands for democratic reforms in the country.

Foreign news websites, including the BBC and CNN, remained inaccessible along with blogs and overseas-hosted dissident sites, which had provided many inside tightly controlled Burma with their only information about recent pro-democracy protests.

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usatoday.com

Myanmar holds state funeral for late PM
2007-10-14


Late Myanmar Prime Minister General Soe Win's family members are seen at the state funeral ceremony in Yangon, Myanmar, Oct. 14, 2007.
Myanmar held a state funeral in Yangon Sunday afternoon for late Prime Minister General Soe Win who passed away on Friday.
(Xinhua/MNA)

xinhuanet.com

from todays chat , UNCONFIRMED .

my friends live in n.dagon and thanlyin...ppl outside yangon dont seem to know a lot wot really happend.....they r under govt' propaganda

and

whenever i tried to tell them wot really happend, phone was cut off...