Inside Burma April briefer

Alert! We received information from inside Burma that some monks and students gathered at the famous Shwedagon Pagoda in the morning of 26/4/08 and a group of 100 people also protested in Tamwe Bazaar in Rangoon in the morning. Yesterday on April 27, some people gathered in Botataung and Moegaung Pagodas in Rangoon. Security people were seen posted in the areas and people dispersed in the evening. There were also reports of monks being asked to get out of buses and return to their monasteries and some security forces were taking post at some monasteries that barred monks from leaving the compounds.

Since Friday on 25th April, people inside had been seen gathering in some public areas, and pasting and distribution of stickers and leaflets in protest of drafted constitution were also seen in some areas in Rangoon. These activities indicate that momentum inside Burma is gradually rising and people are determined to show their dissent to the regime once again. And we would sincerely like to urge our friends around the world again to be vigilant on Burma at this very important time!

As the time to referendum approaching within a little over ten days, the military regime is stepping up its propaganda of "Yes" campaign for the referendum. Besides, arrests, intimidation and brutal beating continue to occur to democracy and human rights activists as well as to the members of main opposition leaders. There are some concerns expressed that some young activists are detained and tortured harshly but since they are not well-known like Min Ko Naing, they suffer in silent. We have seen arrests of young Musicians like Rappers, Zeyar Thaw and Yan Yan Chan of ACID music band already.

Some provincial and state military commanders even join the "Yes" campaign and promising the public to obtain mobile phones if they vote in favor for drafted constitution. At the same time, civil servants are warned that they would face 'the sack' if they vote against the constitution in the referendum. The attacks and vandalism to several homes of opposition party's members increased dramatically while the authorities raided the homes of NLD members in Mandalay and Rangoon. The attacks were carried out by the assailants who were on the motorbikes. This makes it clear that who are the assailants since no ordinary people in Burma are allowed to ride motorbike but only the members of USDA and the regime's thugs can possess and ride motorbike around towns.

The regime's desperate tactics running vote "Yes" campaign:

The regime is using all means to campaign the people of Burma to vote "Yes" for its constitutional referendum on May 10. All state-run media carried campaign vote "Yes" messages while the members of USDA and Swan-arr-shin were wearing T-shirts with pro-constitution messages. Leaders from the Mon National Democratic Front (MNDF) commented that the regime is just desperate to have the draft constitution approved at any cost even though people of Burma do not want to accept it. Many people including MNDF inside Burma are waiting to see how the regime would do with the result of the referendum. The state-run MRTV has been running programs attracting people to vote but some in Mon State explained that it is not going to be secret voting and therefore people are scared to vote "No". The regime had also ordered the government employees to sign a pledge that they would vote "Yes". Government staff are told to cooperate with the Referendum Holding Commission (RHC) and urged to vote "Yes".

Meanwhile, the Deputy Home Minister, Brig-Gen Phone Swe was visiting Maungdaw, Arakan State on 20/4/08 and held a meeting with many local village administrative councils to mobilize people to vote "Yes" in the referendum. About 750 village chairmen and clerks were gathered in 3 hours meeting in which the Brig-Gen Phone Swe asked the meeting attendees about anyone in the area going against the referendum. Many in Arakan State speculated that the Deputy Home Minister's visit to Maungdaw was arranged after finding out that Arakanese people will be boycotting the referendum by refusing to go to the polls. Phone Swe visited Buthidaung and Rathidaung as well.

Stepping up with luring people to vote, some military commanders had joined the "Yes" campaign. Maj-Gen Ohn Myint, the head of the Northern Command and also a chairman of the Kachin State Peace and Development Council (KSPDC) had toured Kachin State and urged local authorities and members of the USDA to persuade local residents to vote for the drafted constitution. According to a resident in Myitkyina, capital of Kachin State, persuading people to vote "Yes" included promise of mobile phone if anyone votes in favor and legal action – fines or imprisonment, was being threatened to those who go against the constitution.

The regime is also wooing rural people in Chibwe, Northern Burma by selling rice and salt distribution for locals with discounted prices. Local civilians and government servants can buy a sack of milled rice at 18,000 Kyat (US $ 16) and a package of salt for 250 Kyat. According to residents of Chibwe, these are being sold at 50 per cent discount. There are over 10,000 people in Chibwe town and the people rely on government jobs and cultivation of paddy in the surrounding mountains, the residents added.

The chairman of the Rangoon Division Peace and Development Council, Brig-Gen Hla Htay Win and Home Minster Maung Oo ordered members of township and ward peace and development councils to lobby residents to vote in favor of the constitution. Spokesman of the Shan State Army – South (SSA-South), Sai Lao Hseng, said that local authorities were using threats to force people to vote "Yes" in the referendum.

An aggressive "Yes" campaign claimed the life of a USDA member, Tun Thein (26), in Sittwe, Arakan State who was stabbed several times with a knife by Tun Lin, a 19 year old young man. The young man is in police custody. Members of USDA have not just been vigorously campaigning "Yes" vote for the referendum but also attacking and harassing several activists and NLD members in this town.

Myitkyina residents issued temporary national card by USDA:
Residents in Myitkyina were issued with national ID cards but of temporary nature by the USDA members who collected thousands of Kyats to issue out the IDs to people. The regime had also ordered to those who received temporary cards to cast "Yes" vote in the referendum. The residents were also told not to go anywhere before the referendum.

Mon State sees both campaigns "Yes" and "No" strongly:

Towns of Southern Mon State – Moulmein, Ye, Mudon and Thanphyuzayat – saw strong campaign to vote "Yes" by the regime and its backed organizations and "No" fliers by democracy activists were seen in public areas but were later removed by the authorities. For many residents in these towns, this was the very first time they have seen such campaigns. Village headmen were warned by their higher authorities that they would be held responsible if "No" result come out of their territory. Local authorities in towns and remote areas of Mon State were ordered that the schools should be turned into polling stations.

People's Opinions:

Almost everyone in Burma is saying whatever you vote in the referendum will come out "Yes" anyway but they are determined to express their feeling in discontent with the military regime which cannot bring the country to a more prosperous society instead poorer than ever. Many people are aware that the regime not only plans out well until 2010 elections but it has planned out beyond 2010 by instigating terror in the public. Many people talk about the polling booths which will not be of secret voting and concern that there will be repercussion if they vote "No". Vote counting is also to be done with the last 10 people voting at the polling booths and the total and final result will be announced from the new capital, Naypyidaw. Critics commented that this is to rig the votes indefinitely compared to 1990 elections where the final results were announced at each polling station.

Polling stations opened for oversea Burmese:

Outside the country, as the time gets closer, the regime has been ordering its embassies in some Asian countries to open up polling stations for Burmese citizens living abroad. Burmese embassies in South Korea, Singapore, Japan, Thailand, and Malaysia have already opened to Burmese people who live and work abroad to vote for the constitutional referendum. The embassy in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia urged the Burmese who possess passports or work permits (180,000 out of 500,000 Burmese living in Malaysia have legal documents) to vote at the embassy from 19th – 27th April. About 50,000 Burmese are currently living in Singapore and most of them have legal documents. Burmese embassy in Singapore will accept voting from 26th to 29th April and the embassy in South Korea suggested the citizens to vote on 27th April and has been lobbying people to support the regime's written constitution by voting "Yes".

Ongoing Arrests, Assaults & Harassment:

Some activists who opposed the regime's constitution were attacked and harassed by unknown assailants who believed to be the regime's backed thugs from the USDA and Swan-arr-shin group.

A leading human rights activist, Myint Aye and a member of the NLD and Tin Yu were attacked separately in Rangoon. Other NLD members, Thi Han, Win Thein and U Myint Hlaing (72) were also beaten up by thugs in Rangoon in separately accounts just last week that U Myint Hlaing needed to be hospitalized after the incident.

Two NLD members, Myint Soe and Aung Ko Ko, in Mandalay were attacked on 20/4/08. Three NLD members in South Dagon Myothit in Rangoon were raided by more than a dozen of unidentified officials on 22/4/08. Homes of Lay Lwin, Ma Cho and Thin Soe were searched thoroughly. Several NLD members in North Okkalapa Township were harassed as they walked home.

Recently, two NLD members, Thi Han and U Myint Hlaing (72), in Rangoon were assaulted. NLD members in Arakan State and Irrawaddy Division were harassed and assaulted by assailants for their political activities.

Another NLD member, Tin Win, was arrested for wearing "No" message on his T-shirt, and one NLD party official was also arrested in Rangoon for putting up a "No" poster.

Some NLD members arrested during Water Festival still remained in detention:
Since the last week of Burmese Buddhist New Year, at least 60 people had been arrested in Sittwe, Arakan State for wearing T-shirts with "No" word. According to the NLD Arakan State, around 30 people were released but about 20 are still remained in detention.

Min Ko Naing could go blind:

Well-known student leader of the 88' Generation Students Group, Min Ko Naing, could go blind as the authorities refused to permit him to see an eye specialist on 22/4/08. US State Department spokesman, Tom Casey said "We condemn the failure of Burma's authorities to provide proper medical treatment to a number to a number of prisoners, who may suffer irreparable damages due to the lack of prompt medical attention". Min Ko Naing will not be the first political activists to loose the eye sight as a result of the regime's refusal to give permission to see proper doctors. Some NLD leaders have lost their eye sights due to same problem and another student leader of GSG, Hla Myo Naung may likely to face the same fate.

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's health:

Meanwhile, the main opposition party's spokesman, Nyan Win, reiterated about the health of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, who has not been seen by her physician since January.

Two bomb blasts in Rangoon:

Rangoon downtown was shaken by two bomb blasts on 20/4/08 – one at 36th Street in Kyauktada Township and another one went off at 32nd Street near Traders Hotel one hour apart from each other. Series of bombs have been detonated since early this year and there was a grenade explosion in Lacha township in Southern Shan State during the traditional new year festival. The military regime had warned in early April that terrorists might be executing bombings as the time to the referendum is closing in.

Karen villagers driven out from villages due to army offensive:

According to reports from the Free Burma Rangers (FBR) and the Committee for Internally Displaced Karen People (CIDKP), about 2,000 villagers were forced out of their villages in Mon and Kyauk Gyi Township since March due to ongoing army offensive by the military regime. Another around 2,000 villagers in Papun District have also been forced to flee into the jungle as a joint campaign against ethnic Karen armed groups was launched by Military Operations Commands 4 and 16 in northern Karen State.

Burmese detainees in Malaysia stormed immigration office & set ablaze:

Some 72 Burmese who had been detained in a camp located in Lenggeng State, just outside of Kuala Lumpur forced their way to an administrative office and set it ablaze after hearing that they had been denied asylum in a third country. Malaysia has 39,000 refugees from Burma registered with the UNHCR and 13,000 and 12,000 (out of 39,000) are of Rohingya Muslim minority and other minority ethnic groups respectively, including Chin, Rakhine and Burman.

Shorter stays proposed to curb visitors from Burma:

Thailand's officials had proposed a shorter stay (from one week to one day) for everyone visiting Thailand from Burma in Ranong after the death of 54 migrants who tried to make to Phuket Island to work as migrant workers. The proposal was made at a meeting between the Thai and Burmese officials. Fourteen of 67 survivors from suffocation ordeal which killed 54 Burmese migrant workers in badly ventilated truck are being held at the Ranong's Immigration office as witnesses.

Diplomatic and Trade Ties with Burma

Thailand ~ Thailand sealed a successful deal with Burma to develop a deep-sea port at Tavoy on the Andaman Sea coast. According to Hong Kong-based logistics expert, the port will be of convenient to Thais as it will be capable of handling ocean-going oil tankers and within easy reach of the Bangkok region.

India ~ India also obtained the deal with Burma to redevelop the old rice port of Sittwe on the edge of Bay of Bengal.

China ~ China is also working on a major new port construction at Kyauk Phyu on Ramree Island which will necessitate a 1,500-kilometre highway and similar length pipeline to reach Kunming, the capital of China's bordering Yunnan Province.

International effort on Burma

US ~ The US had used stronger words against the regime in Burma in their newly drafted statement and circulated within the UN for not freeing and permitting to get proper medical treatment for the political prisoners. The statement included the regrets on slow progress taken by the regime in complying with the UNSC's demands for political dialogue and release of all political prisoners. US is hoping that the UN Security Council (UNSC) will unanimously agree on the drafted statement. US Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad told reporters that the statement was to send "a strong message to the regime but also to the people of Burma and to the world".

British ~ British Ambassador John Sawers also supported the new statement and said that "I think it's important that the council express itself before the referendum."

France ~ France's Human Rights Minister, Rama Yade, said on 25/4/08 on her 3-days visit to Cambodia that she hopes Burma's referendum on a new constitution will be held under clear and transparent conditions while pointing out that the military regime had rejected the UN Special Envoy Ibrahim Gambari's offer of a team of foreign observers at the referendum.

This is all for the last week of April Burma briefer.

In solidarity,

The Burma Partnership Secretariat