Sunday 16 December 2007

U.S. lawmakers to vote on giving top honor to Suu Kyi

Sunday, December 16, 2007
AP


WASHINGTON -- The U.S. House of Representatives could vote as early as next week on whether to present Congress' highest civilian honor to Myanmar democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi with.

Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace laureate kept under house arrest by her country's ruling military junta, should be recognized with the Congressional Gold Medal for "her courageous and unwavering commitment to peace," according to a bill authored by Democratic Rep. Joe Crowley and co-sponsored by 280 lawmakers.

Crowley's office said Friday that the House could vote early next week on the bill, which praises Suu Kyi's fight for democracy "despite an assassination attempt against her life, her prolonged illegal imprisonment, the constant public vilification of her character and her inability to see her children or to see her husband before his death."

Myanmar's junta received international condemnation for killing and arresting democracy protesters and Buddhist monks in September. Dissident groups put the death toll at about 200.

The country, also known as Burma, has been under military rule since 1962. The current junta came to power after snuffing out a 1988 pro-democracy movement against the previous military dictatorship, killing at least 3,000 people in the process.

Chinese officials lashed out at the United States this year after President George W. Bush presented the Dalai Lama, also a Nobel Peace Prize recipient, with the Congressional Gold Medal.

Bangladesh needs more international support: WB


Bangladesh needs more international support: WB

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-12-16 10:08

DHAKA - A top official of the World Bank pledged here Saturday the world body would provide additional US$25 million for cyclone-struck Bangladesh.


Myanmar refugees near the Thai-Myanmar border, September 2007. The European Commission said Saturday it had boosted aid to Bangladesh to more than 10.5 million euros (US$15 million) with a new package to relocate thousands of Myanmar refugees. [Agencies]

World Bank Vice President for South Asia Praful C. Patel said " More is needed, more is deserved by Bangladesh in the way of international community support as the magnitude of the devastation is huge and the challenge of rebuilding the lives of the victims is formidable."

Patel made the pledge after visiting some of the Cyclone Sidr- hit areas in Bangladesh. Previously, the World Bank made a commitment to provide US$250 million to Bangladesh to cover its immediate, mid and long-term needs.

Patel said that "The devastation caused by the cyclone was shocking," and he is convinced that the bank needs to do a bit more to help the Bangladeshi government.

He would now recommend to the Board for a quick-disbursement amount to US$100 million which will be available by January. Out of the amount, US$50 million will be provided as grant from Global Disaster Reduction Fund.

Of the total amount, US$50 million would be available by April next year to help people to rebuild their livelihoods and remaining US$125 million is for supporting the long-term vision of disaster prevention and management.

Patel said the World Bank may further increase its assistance after the assessment mission submits its report by January.

The Cyclone Sidr, one of the fiercest cyclones hit Bangladesh in the last 131 years, slammed the country's southern and southwestern areas on November 15, affecting 30 out of total 64 districts and leaving thousands of people dead and millions homeless.

U.N. Human Rights Council Sending Expert To Burma On Follow-Up Mission

Siddique Islam - AHN South Asia Correspondent

Geneva, Switzerland (AHN) -The United Nations Human Rights Council concluded its sixth session on Friday in Geneva. During the session, the 47-member body it adopted 13 resolutions and decisions.

One of those resolutions was a request that the independent expert on Burma, officially known as Myanmar, return to the South-East Asian nation for further assessments.

The Myanmar resolution, which was adopted by consensus, asks Special Rapporteur Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro to conduct a follow-up mission to look into the ongoing human rights violations there resulting from the violent repression of recent peaceful demonstrations in Burma, before the Council's next session in March 2008.

"Several reports of killings indicate that the figure provided by the authorities may greatly underestimate the reality," he wrote in a report presented to the Council earlier this week. Adding that, with at least 31 people having died during the crackdown by the government on protesters a few months ago - that is 16 more than had been acknowledged by the authorities.

Regarding Sudan, the Council adopted a resolution to extend the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the African nation by one year. In a separate resolution, the body voiced concern that the country had not implemented the many recommendations of the Group of Experts, comprised of seven independent rights experts.

In particular, the Council said it was worried about the fact that perpetrators of past and ongoing human rights violations and international humanitarian law in the war-ravaged Darfur region have not been brought to justice.

More than 200,000 people have been killed in the area and at least 2.2 million others displaced since rebels began fighting government forces and allied militia known as the Janjaweed in 2003.

EU to help Myanmar refugees

DHAKA: The European Commission said yesterday it had boosted aid to Bangladesh to more than E10.5mn ($15mn) with a new package to relocate thousands of Myanmar refugees.
The latest amount of E$1.5mn is in addition to E2.5mn allocated for victims of floods earlier this year and E6.5mn to help survivors of last month’s Cyclone Sidr.
The funds from the European Commission Humanitarian Aid department (ECHO) will provide shelter, water, sanitation and access to healthcare for members of the Rohingya ethnic group living near Teknaf in Bangladesh’s southeastern Cox’s Bazar district, which borders Myanmar.
“In the region of Teknaf around 10,000 undocumented Rohingya refugees need to be relocated in order to empty over-crowded camps where living conditions are appalling,” an ECHO statement said.
“The commission funding will help this population resettle in a suitable place where their immediate needs will be met,” it said, adding that they were the victims of a “forgotten crisis”.
Those in the camps are among an estimated 28,000 Rohingyas still in Bangladesh who have fled persecution in Myanmar over many years. Bangladesh authorities insist the Teknaf refugees are illegal immigrants and should return to Myanmar.
Since the 1990s, some 236,000 Rohingyas have been repatriated to Myanmar. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has condemned the living conditions of the Teknaf refugees as “squalid” and called for them to be moved swiftly.–AFP

U Kovida's Speech at USF Ceremonty

Commencement Speech by Sayadaw U Kovidabhivamsa

Dear Venerable Sangha (monks) in Burma,

Today is the 5th waxing day of the month of Natdaw, B.E. 1369 [according to the Burmese calendar] and December 14, 2007 [according to the Gregorian calendar].

From the Commencement Ceremony for USF Graduate Students currently being conducted at the Saint Ignatius Church on the USF (Jesuit University of San Francisco) campus, I am letting all the monks – hundreds of thousands -- in Burma know that you have been collectively awarded an Honorary Degree in recognition of your courage, loving kindness, compassion and commitment to conduct non-violent protests against a brutal, repressive, military regime.

I am thrilled and honored to accept the Honorary Degree on your behalf.

You should feel extremely honored because USF has a long tradition of recognng the heroic efforts of people, who – like all of you -- are willing to give up possessions and make the supreme sacrifices in order to secure the human and democratic rights of people especially those living “in constant fear” under oppressive dictators.

USF honored six members of the Society of Jesus were killed in El Salvador – nearly twenty years ago -- for their courageous denunciations of a repressive government. In 2003, USF conferred an honorary degree to His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

USF is continuing the tradition by honoring you – all the courageous monks in Burma – for upholding your noble beliefs and actions. On your behalf, I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to USF.


Dear Members of the Board of Trustees, Faculty members, Family members of Students, and Honored Guests,

This honorary degree being conferred to the courageous monks of Burma is living proof that people all around the world do care about the plights of those being brutally tortured and killed by repressive military dictatorships that have no conscience about human and democratic rights.

This University is leading by example to other institutions in the free world – academic, religious, social, local, regional, global – that they should recognize the hardships of people “forced to be voiceless and suffer silently for decades” and that they could and should help the courageous people who have put their lives on line to lead non-violent protests against the heartless regimes especially those who consider “chanting of loving kindness a crime”.


The Burmese monks all over the world are unified under the recently formed International Buddhist Monks Association called Sasana Moli. To help the noble cause of the courageous monks inside Burma (who constantly face torture and death), the monks outside of Burma are working with people and organizations wishing to bring back peace and happiness to the world in general, and Burma in particular. The honorary degree given by USF definitely gives all of us – inside and outside Burma – much needed encouragement and conviction to carry on our noble tasks.


Dear Graduate Students attending Commencement,


On behalf of the monks of Burma, I would like to congratulate you for completing graduate studies from USF, which is known not only for its excellent academic and extracurricular programs, but also for its mantra: “educating minds and hearts to change the world.”

The University mantra is in complete agreement with the teachings of Buddha. He said, in “Thera” verse 141

A paraphrase is as follows:


If one studies [diligently] under a mentor, one gains bahusuta (general knowledge).

Bahusuta gives rise to nana (wisdom) and learning (education).

Wisdom and learning enables one to reason: differentiate the good and the bad, the right and the wrong.

An educated mind, then, is able to do good things not only for one, but for others as well.

May you be able to use the University mantra, the education provided by the University and the faculty, and words of wisdom provided by the monks and other religious practitioners to lead good lives and to help work for the benefit of your families, your organizations, your nation, and the world. May you have the courage to make sacrifices – if and when needed – to help bring peace on earth.

On behalf of the monks in Burma, I wish physical and spiritual well-being for all working or studying in USF, to all those attending this ceremony, and to the people all over the world.


I hope that in the not-too-distant future, the monks in Burma will be able to reciprocate the generosity of USF by inviting all of you over to Burma to attend a “Thanksgiving” ceremony.

Thanks.

Signed – U Kokida

The Role of Buddhism in the Wake of the Crackdown

By Shah Paung
December 14, 2007

Dhamma sermons are usually attended almost exclusively by elderly people; however, since the crackdown on peaceful demonstrators in September, more and more laypersons, especially youths, are turning up at monasteries to listen to Buddhist sermons. Attending dhamma

sermons is now a way for Burmese people to vent their defiance against the military government.

Pilgrims at the famous Kyaikhtiyo Pagoda of Mon State [Photo:AFP]

An ancient Sanskrit word meaning “justice” or “the law of nature,” dhamma is taught by monks to Buddhist devotees at monasteries. Recently, these sermons have become popular events in Burma and a series of dhamma talks is currently being held from December 11 to 15 in South Okkalapa Township in Rangoon.

An eyewitness said that about 1,000 people have been attending the sermons, including many young people. The roads around the monastery have been blocked between 7 p.m. and 8 p.m. each night because many people are finishing their work early to attend the sermons. Even former soldiers have been attending.

Sermons on dhamma are being given by well-known monks and abbots such as U Kawthala, Ashin Sundadhika, U Jotika, U Kovida, U Nyanithara and Ashin Say Keinda, who is currently a lecturer at the International Theravada Buddhist Missionary University in Rangoon.

In their talks, the monks often recount the words of Lord Buddha, telling their subjects that life is suffering and that, to atone for their sins, those who have committed evil acts would be committed to “ape-nga-ye” (the Buddhist version of “hell”).

“We feel sad about the recent crisis,” a former solider who requested anonymity told The Irrawaddy. “Until now we have felt nothing but pain when we think about [the crackdown on monks].”

He said that since he was a child, he had been taught that soldiers were here to protect the nation, the religion and the language. However, under current circumstances, the government’s actions have completely contradicted that moral.

The ex-soldier served the military for 10 years until 2001 and is now nearly 40. He said that he now works in social welfare and follows religious issues. He estimated that more and more people were listening to dhamma talks since the crackdown because the sermons remind people about the forces of good and evil.

Buddhist monks at the Kyaikhtiyo Pagoda [Photo:AFP]

From students at a grade 4 level upward, laypersons are flocking to monasteries and to dhamma talk events, he claimed. Close to 90% of the population of Burma is Buddhist.

He went on to say that dhamma sermon VCDs and tapes were selling well all over the country. The organizers of dhamma events were making the VCDs and tapes by themselves and distributing them quietly. The Burmese military government has banned the distribution of dhamma VCDs and tapes through the country’s censorship board. However, devotees have been making copies and sharing them with others.

Khin Oo, a woman resident in Rangoon, says the dhamma sermons are encouraging and she feels consoled when she listens to them. Often, she says, the sermons involve subtle jokes, indirectly criticizing the military government for oppressing and killing its own people.

She said that the most popular dhamma VCDs were the talks by U Kovida and U Nyanithara, which were recently banned by the authorities.

The title of the U Nyanithara VCD is “The Way of Dumb People,” a pointed criticism of people who believe in astrology and commit evil acts. It is supposedly dedicated to the junta’s leader, Snr-Gen Than Shwe, who is known to be a strong believer in astrology. A second VCD featuring U Nyanithara is titled “The Ending of the King.”

At his recent dhamma talk in Rangoon U Kovida referred to the Burmese junta as the second “Azartathet.” (Azartathet is an infamous villain who killed his father for power in Buddhist folklore). His sermon also included commentary on the September demonstrations. U Kovida, a Buddhist PhD scholar, is an abbot at Mizzima Gon Yee Monastery in Rangoon’s Thakayta Township.

The Irrawaddy News

Burma: A Cry For Help

It was 1988 when the populace started to raise some glimmer of hope. Tired of the one-party rule, economic deprivation, and oppression, the people of Burma staged protests that eventually led to a popular uprising called the 8888 or the Four Eights Uprising.

But in a classic move by the ruling class, a "faction" within the military led by General Sau Mung seized power and violently crushed the uprising and established a new order. It was more of a facelift to the old.

The Burmese people, ever hungry for liberty and in pursuit of their democratic ideals, tried. And so did the thousands of students, and monks, and other ordinary citizens that were killed in the process. More people eventually died in the purge by the so-called military intelligence.

It was a cry for help. And the world was not paying attention.

Perhaps until the people ran out of tears, and more blood came out of their sunken eyes, we would start to notice.

The main repercussion of the famous uprising was not so significant until it was somehow proved that it eventually gave way for parliamentary elections two years later. In 1990 pro-democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy topped the national parliamentary elections, only to be annulled later by the regime.

And the military, in its effort to protect the country's "stability and security", placed Aung San Suu Kyi under house arrest. Even a Noble Peace Prize wouldn't deter the junta to change its mind.

Recently, thousands of Buddhist monks were on the streets again for days, defying the junta's call to do otherwise. It continues to attract a few thousands more. Once again, as they did in the past, they are trying to catch the world’s attention to their pitiful circumstance.

And as I watched in disbelief events in the country known as Myanmar, a protester running away from the men in uniform fell. He was just lying there in the pavement. Amidst the chaos in the background, I could see no movement. He was just there... dead.

It was just like watching an amateur hunter in action. Aim for the flock and surely you'll hit a duck.

In probably the same scenario thirty or even ten years ago, a protester was murdered. On live broadcasts, murders are being committed, the victims helplessly evident and the perpetrators quite obvious. But justice, as it always was, will still remain quite an illusion.

In cold-blood, in broad daylight, without much of a twitch in the eye for the loss of human life, the military regime of Myanmar had done it yet again. Such arrogance.

Now the world is watching. But are we really?

The Burmese people are endlessly crying for help. As much as they pray to their beloved Buddha, their tears are not just for their own people but ultimately, for the rest of the world.

And all we could do is watch.


We Can Help Burma

Posted October 8, 2007 | 05:25 PM (EST)




The word "issue" -- the Darfur issue, the Iraq issue, the homelessness issue -- is kind of irksome, but it hints at a vital fact: As Americans of a certain economic status and social class, our "issues" are other people's lives. As a journalist and as an American, I struggle to use my privilege, accorded me by birth and by experience, to unearth information and eyewitness testimony about such issues. But lately, with the Iraq occupation, Darfur, and the festering aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, this doesn't feel like nearly enough.

For a few months in 2002, Burma was my issue, my story. The country was in the news because the military junta, the State Peace and Development Council, had decided to release from prison several hundred members of the National League for Democracy, the party of Daw Aung Sang Suu Kyi, Nobel Peace Prize winner and usually imprisoned opposition figure. A United Nations special envoy, Razali Ismail, was due to visit Rangoon and have talks with the junta's leaders, Senior General Than Shwe, General Maung Aye, and General Khin Nyunt.

I traveled to Burma, ostensibly as a tourist, but actually as a freelance reporter, since the regime doesn't willingly host visits from journalists or others prone to scrutinizing its subjugation of its people. I knew that speaking directly to people -- interviewing -- might land them in jail. So I didn't do much of that. Instead, I observed. I also showed up dutifully at the headquarters of the NLD several days in a row, hoping for an audience with Aung Sang Suu Kyi. Each day I would arrive, make my request, and wait.

One day, while I waited to speak to an NLD official, there was a free, weekly health screening going on for indigent mothers and children. The tiny headquarters was full of women and infants.
I mentioned to a young man who sat next to me, a new NLD member, that I was surprised how little surveillance there was of the headquarters -- and of me. I had visited nearly a half a dozen times and never drawn any special scrutiny by police or other agents of the state. He smiled at me, then gestured with his head, almost imperceptibly, toward two casually dressed men lounging across the street and sipping tea. "Military intelligence," he said.

Eventually, I was granted an interview with U Lwin, a party spokesman. He was circumspect. He told me that many NLD members had been released, but others had been quietly jailed, too. Suu Kyi was being permitted to make low-key -- and heavily monitored -- visits to NLD offices in other parts of the country, but she wasn't allowed to speak with the press. So when The Lady, as Suu Kyi's supporters call her, made an appearance at the office and I asked her for permission to photograph her, she declined my request, gently.

"If we make one mistake, this will finish us," U Lwin told me. Indeed.

U Lwin and The Lady were right to be cautious. Nothing changed in 2002. UN envoy's Ismail's meeting with junta leaders lasted 15 minutes, "hardly long enough to sit down and pick up a cup of tea," Josef Silverstein, a scholar on Burma, told me.

"Per capita income, reported months ago to be about $300, is in free fall," I wrote in Newsweek International in November 2002. The UN had reported that Burma's HIV rate was one of the world's highest (1 in 50 adults infected). Human Rights Watch Report noted that an estimated 20% of active-duty soldiers in the army were under the age of 18. The price of rice had tripled outside Rangoon, according to the NLD.

The advocacy group Altsean was unequivocal about who was to blame for Burma's abject condition: "The humanitarian situation is man-made; the junta is directly responsible on numerous levels for inadequate access to basic needs." The junta's response? Hire an American public relations firm, DCI Associates, to burnish its international image.

I published a story. Then, the US invaded Iraq. Burma receded for me. I stopped paying attention.

Last month, along with so many others around the world, I watched the Burmese stand up to the junta. They took to the streets and were crushed by the military, the Tatmadaw, and then intimidated into silence. For now. The world now wrings its hands. We apparently have little leverage over the already isolated and brutal SPDC. So Burma fades from front pages.

But our powerless is an illusion. Yes, there are petitions to sign. We can lobby Congress and protest at the UN. That's not enough. I emailed a Burma activist and advocate for suggestions about concrete things to do.

She suggested donating to established organizations that provide aid and services to Burmese, inside and outside the country. She pointed me toward a number of groups working directly to alleviate the suffering of Burmese, particularly refugees. The Mae To Clinic in Mae Sot, Thailand, provides medical care to refugees and migrant workers. You can donate at www.maetaoclinic.org/donate.html

Global Health Access also runs health programs that keep Burmese healthy and alive. See what they do at www.ghap.org.

You can also contribute at: www.ghap.org/how_to_help/money/

All these groups accept -- and need -- volunteers, too.

You can also support Burmese women by shopping. WEAVE, Women's Education for Advancement and Empowerment, was started in 1990 to provide sustainable work for Burmese refugee women, particularly those from ethnic groups that are discriminated against inside the country. Go to www.weave-women.org to see what they do -- and to become a customer. WEAVE also runs an Early Childhood Development Program, a health education project, and other essential initiatives.

There are many advocacy, activist and media organizations focusing on Burma that one can visit online for information and suggestions for actions. The Women's League of Burma is an umbrella group comprised of 12 leading organizations: www.womenofburma.org.

Altsean is a human rights group that monitors Burma, publishes periodic reports and briefings, and advocates for change. You can buy copies of their reports -- and T-shirts -- via Pay Pal, at www.altsean.org/Store/Store.php.

Altsean is also spearheading an effort to pressure the UN Security Council to take action on Burma, www.unscburma.org

Subscriptions to the Irrawaddy, the excellent, informative, and courageous news magazine about Burma written by exiles, can be ordered at www.irrawaddymedia.com/shop/.

Even if the Burma "issue" recedes from our popular news media, the nation's people still need our support.