Anti-Government Graffiti in Arakan State

Narinjara News

Many anti-military government statements were spray painted on the streets of Taungup in southern Arakan State recently, said a teacher from the town.

"Many townspeople say the red scripts in the early morning of Thursday at several important places in our town, but we do not know who wrote the statements in spray paint on the streets," he said.

The unknown spray painters had written statements in Burmese that translate as, "All people are living in ready position because the battle against the military government will be restarted very soon," and "The power mad person Than Shwe must fall before 2008."

The teacher said, "Many walls and streets at the jetty, night market, cinema hall, hospital, bridges, and a crowded place called 'Nyung Pin Gri tree' were used by the unknown persons to display writing against the military government."

The police in Taungup, however, cleaned off the graffiti soon after they received information about it. Police reportedly spent at least two hours scrubbing the words from the streets and walls of the town.

Additionally, a number of anti-government posters and pamphlets were hung on walls and trees around town on the same day, in order to raise awareness about possible anti-government demonstrations in the future.

The anonymous dissidents wrote that if the Burmese military government does not change anything in regard to politics in Burma before 2008, they would stage demonstrations again by sacrificing their lives.

The teacher said the police are looking for evidence and clues about the anti-government activists in Taungup, and most of the NLD members in the town are being targeted by police after the incident.

Taungup is a small town in Arakan State, but is very against the military junta. During the monk-led demonstrations in September, nearly a dozen demonstrations broke out in the town and about 20 people were arrested by the military authority. Township NLD secretary Ko Min Aung was also sentenced to nine and a half years in prison for his involvement in the demonstrations there.

"The unity of people in Taungup is strong, and I hope the demonstrations will emerge again in Taungup if the military government doesn't change any politics in 2008," the teacher said.

UN Envoy on Burma Gives White House Briefing

By VOA News 17 December 2007

Ibrahim Gambari (r) meets at the White House with Laura Bush, 16 Dec 2007

The United Nations' special envoy to Burma has made a visit to Washington.

Envoy Ibrahim Gambari met Monday at the White House with First Lady Laura Bush and National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley.

The United Nations says they discussed ongoing U.N. efforts to promote democratic change in Burma.

Gambari is scheduled to give a briefing on his efforts to a meeting of the U.N. General Assembly in New York on Tuesday.

In a resolution adopted last Friday, the U.N. Human Rights Commission in Geneva called on Burma's ruling military to lift restraints on peaceful political activity.

The 47-member Council also said it plans to send its special envoy, Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, back to Burma to report on what has happened since the September crackdown.

Pinheiro told VOA last week that he was disappointed at the Burmese government's reaction to a report he presented to the UNHRC. In that report, he said at least 31 people were killed in the Burmese government's crackdown on demonstrators.

Burma has rejected Pinheiro's findings and claims that less than half that number of people were killed.

Some information for this report was provided by AP.