Written by Webmaster
Kaladan Press Org
January 18, 2008
Buthidaung, Arakan State: Burma’s Border Security Force has been taking photographs of Rohingya families in Buthidaung Township since 2nd January, 2008.
The security forces, or Nasaka, are taking family group photographs (6" X 4") of Rohingya families and collecting kyat 2,000 to 2,500 from each household, says a local schoolteacher. Last year, Nasaka first photographed families in Buthidaung in order to collect census data and money.
If any family wants to remove the name of member from the list because of a death, a bride who has moved to the husband’s home, or having gone abroad for political or economic reasons, the family will have to pay kyat 2,000 to 3,000 to Nasaka.
To increase the number of members in the family list, because of a birth or a bride who has moved in with the family has to pay kyat 3,000 to 5,000, the teacher says.
The Nasaka is comprised of personnel from the army, police, immigration, customs, and military intelligence. Several groups of Nasaka led by sergeants checked all the families to see whether any person was absent from the family list. They also checked the livestock list of each family.
In Taung Bazar village tract, which consists of Yanma, Ngaran Chaung, Pauktaw Pyin and Kyee Hnoke Thei villages, the Nasaka found that 20 families had increased by new births and others lost family members who went abroad. To reduce or increase the number of family members on the list the Nasaka demands 3 gallons of kerosene or kyat 5,000 for each person. To increase or decrease the number of cows, buffaloes or goats on the livestock list, families are fined kyat 500 to 1000, said a resident who was recently photographed.
The Village Peace and Development Council (VPDC) members are responsible for providing Nasaka with lunch, tea, and cigarettes while they are taking the census data. In the evening the Nasaka returns to its nearby camp.
Since January 1, Nasaka also has been taking photographs of and collecting money from Rohingya villagers in Maungdaw Township. In southern Maungdaw Nasaka is collecting kyat 2,500 per family and kyat 2,000 in the northern side. If anybody is absent in the period of checking, he must pay kyat 5,000 as a fine for photograph next time.
Meanwhile, during the period of family listing, Rohingya wishing to get married must first seek permission from Burmese authorities, which can take up to three years to be granted. To speed up the process, say residents, payment of up to kyat 60,000 must be made to authorities, depending on the financial status of the family. Rohingya are the only group in Burma who are forced to seek the government’s approval before marriage.
Saturday, 19 January 2008
Rice mill closed in Buthidaung by police in Arakan
Written by Webmaster
Kaladan Press Org
January 18, 2008
Buthidaung, Arakan State: A rice mill belonging to a Rohingya in Shabi Bazar village of Buthidaung Township was closed by police on January 5, without any advanced warning to him, says a family member of the mill owner.
The owner was identified as Md. Zaker (35).
That day a group of police led by Zaw Thein of Buthidaung police station went to Shabi Bazar accompanied by local Village Peace and Development Council (VPDC) Chairman Lalu and arrested the mill owner on allegation that he was running the mill without official permission.
Zaker has been running the rice husking mill legally for three years, said a close neighbor.
After the arrest, he was brought to the police outpost of Shabi Bazar where he was detained for two days.
The police officer demanded kyat 150,000 for his release, however, the rice mill owner managed only kyat 130,000, after selling his belongings. Yet the police demanded that Zaker come up with the remaining 20,000 kyat, which he borrowed from friends and neighbors.
He was then released and given permission to run the rice husking mill as before. At present, the owner is free from fear of arrest and extortion money for some periods, said a close friend of the mill owner on condition of anonymity.
Kaladan Press Org
January 18, 2008
Buthidaung, Arakan State: A rice mill belonging to a Rohingya in Shabi Bazar village of Buthidaung Township was closed by police on January 5, without any advanced warning to him, says a family member of the mill owner.
The owner was identified as Md. Zaker (35).
That day a group of police led by Zaw Thein of Buthidaung police station went to Shabi Bazar accompanied by local Village Peace and Development Council (VPDC) Chairman Lalu and arrested the mill owner on allegation that he was running the mill without official permission.
Zaker has been running the rice husking mill legally for three years, said a close neighbor.
After the arrest, he was brought to the police outpost of Shabi Bazar where he was detained for two days.
The police officer demanded kyat 150,000 for his release, however, the rice mill owner managed only kyat 130,000, after selling his belongings. Yet the police demanded that Zaker come up with the remaining 20,000 kyat, which he borrowed from friends and neighbors.
He was then released and given permission to run the rice husking mill as before. At present, the owner is free from fear of arrest and extortion money for some periods, said a close friend of the mill owner on condition of anonymity.
SSA in low-level clash with state troops
Source: Saw Kanyaw
Democratic Voice of Burma
Jan 18, 2008 (DVB)–The Shan State Army-South clashed with Burmese government troops on 13 January in their first encounter this year, according to an SSA-S spokesperson.
Major Sai Lao Hseng said that the government troops took some casualties in the skirmish, which took place near Naung-aw village, not far from the Thai-Burma border in Shan state.
“It was just a small clash as our troops ran into soldiers from the government’s Light Infantry Battalion 131 about two kilometres east of Naung-aw village,” said Sai Lao Hseng.
Democratic Voice of Burma
Jan 18, 2008 (DVB)–The Shan State Army-South clashed with Burmese government troops on 13 January in their first encounter this year, according to an SSA-S spokesperson.
Major Sai Lao Hseng said that the government troops took some casualties in the skirmish, which took place near Naung-aw village, not far from the Thai-Burma border in Shan state.
“It was just a small clash as our troops ran into soldiers from the government’s Light Infantry Battalion 131 about two kilometres east of Naung-aw village,” said Sai Lao Hseng.
NLD member threatened during interrogation
Source: Naw Say Phaw and Aye Nai
Democratic Voice of Burma
Jan 18, 2008 (DVB) – A National League for Democracy member who was arrested on 13 January and released yesterday has claimed the authorities made threats against him and his family during his interrogation.
U Maung Soe, the deputy chairman of Taung Twun Gyi township NLD, was arrested by officials he assumed to be from Military Affairs Security forces.
He was blindfolded and handcuffed when he was arrested, so was unsure where he was taken for questioning, but he believed the interrogation took place in Amarapura township, Mandalay division.
During the interrogation, officials questioned U Maung Soe about some documents allegedly sent to him by Chauk township NLD member Ye Thein Naing in December 2007.
But U Maung Soe claimed he knew nothing about these documents, and so was unable to answer the questions put to him.
U Maung Soe said that he was made to stand up constantly for two days straight, and threatened by the officials to try to make him talk.
“They threatened to punch me in the face if I refused to answer and they said they were going to pull out my moustache hairs one by one,” he said.
“They also made threats against my mother and father, who are nearly 82 and 90 years old, saying they would interrogate them in the same way as me if I didn’t answer their questions.”
U Maung Soe was also made to sign an agreement promising not to talk to foreign media or other NLD members about his interrogation.
U Par Lay, the Taung Twin Gyu township NLD secretary and communications committee member, was arrested on the same day as U Maung Soe, and was released on 16 January.
U Par Lay told his wife he was taken to Mandalay by the authorities.
Democratic Voice of Burma
Jan 18, 2008 (DVB) – A National League for Democracy member who was arrested on 13 January and released yesterday has claimed the authorities made threats against him and his family during his interrogation.
U Maung Soe, the deputy chairman of Taung Twun Gyi township NLD, was arrested by officials he assumed to be from Military Affairs Security forces.
He was blindfolded and handcuffed when he was arrested, so was unsure where he was taken for questioning, but he believed the interrogation took place in Amarapura township, Mandalay division.
During the interrogation, officials questioned U Maung Soe about some documents allegedly sent to him by Chauk township NLD member Ye Thein Naing in December 2007.
But U Maung Soe claimed he knew nothing about these documents, and so was unable to answer the questions put to him.
U Maung Soe said that he was made to stand up constantly for two days straight, and threatened by the officials to try to make him talk.
“They threatened to punch me in the face if I refused to answer and they said they were going to pull out my moustache hairs one by one,” he said.
“They also made threats against my mother and father, who are nearly 82 and 90 years old, saying they would interrogate them in the same way as me if I didn’t answer their questions.”
U Maung Soe was also made to sign an agreement promising not to talk to foreign media or other NLD members about his interrogation.
U Par Lay, the Taung Twin Gyu township NLD secretary and communications committee member, was arrested on the same day as U Maung Soe, and was released on 16 January.
U Par Lay told his wife he was taken to Mandalay by the authorities.
Time for Kyaw Hsan to Switch Off
Yeni
The Irrawaddy News
www.irrawaddy.com
January 18, 2008
The official order suspending publication of Burma’s partly government-owned weekly, The Myanmar Times, and the resignation under pressure of one of its reporters, Win Kyaw Oo, in a newsroom reorganization are the latest examples of how Minister of Information Brig-Gen Kyaw Hsan is clumsily harassing the country’s media.
The Burmese-language edition of The Myanmar Times was suspended for one week as a penalty for carrying a report about a huge increase in satellite TV fees in its January 11 issue. The newspaper apparently published the story, which quoted an Agence France-Presse dispatch, without requesting the censorship board’s permission.
"The latest sanctions against news media that are already subject to censorship and self-censorship appear to be linked to recent official statements on press freedom," said the organizations Reporters Without Borders and the Burma Media Association in a joint statement.
That is true. Kyaw Hsan recently told Burma’s national association of printers and publishers that they should “place emphasis on improvement of the national economy and guard against destructionists that will undermine the national interest.” Kyaw Hsan warned editors, writers and publishers that the censorship board would “take action” if they wrote “news which can discourage the national interest.”
Since early 2006, Kyaw Hsan has been using his influence on a handful of editors and publishers in Burma to counter criticism of the country’s military regime by opposition and media groups in the West and exiles operating throughout the region.
Burma’s media groups, including The Myanmar Times, are forced to follow the junta’s party line, while some seem to do so out of genuine support for Burma’s military government.
While suppressing press freedom, Kyaw Hsan has opened wider opportunities for local journalists to get information and data from government officials. He has allowed reporters to cover natural disasters, poverty and health issues, such as HIV/AIDS—topics that were previously banned in Burma’s tightly-controlled media environment. He also presents a friendly face at press conferences.
He still has much to learn about dealing with the foreign press, however. Lesson one contains a warning not to prejudge the political leanings of a foreign media organization—as he reportedly did when inviting a team from the TV station Al Jazeera into the country to film a report on Burma. Kyaw Hsan and other generals apparently thought the TV station was anti-American because of its sometimes critical coverage of US foreign policy.
Kyaw Hsan told Al Jazeera presenter Veronica Pedrosa and her crew: “We fully understand the nature of the media and we do not ask to be biased for us. Yet, we hope that your news reports on Myanmar will be balanced and fair, reflecting the background history, actual conditions and situations.”
Just how little he knew about the “nature of the media” was painfully apparent to Kyaw Hsan and his government colleagues when they viewed Al Jazeera’s coverage of the September demonstrations. The excellent film reports were devoured by a large international audience and made Al Jazeera the favorite source of news in Burmese households.
Kyaw Hsan’s blunders earned him the soubriquet Burma’s Comical Ali in the Bangkok English-language daily The Nation, a reference to former Iraqi Information Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf.
“In recent days, Southeast Asia has witnessed the emergence of its own version of Comical Ali, Burmese Information Minister Kyaw Hsan of the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), the highest decision-making body in Burma’s military ruled state,” the newspaper said.
Kyaw Hsan’s latest dumb move was to announce a drastic increase in the annual satellite TV fee, from the equivalent of US $5 to $800, and a $1,000 charge for each TV owned by a hotel.
The increase triggered a storm of criticism, particularly from gambling businesses which need satellite TV coverage of international football matches. The generals are said to be deeply involved in the lucrative gambling business—and Kyaw Hsan’s fee hikes were not appreciated by the top brass, who apparently remained deaf to suggestions that the move would restrict the number of households able to receive foreign broadcasts.
While Kyaw Hsan was having second thoughts about the fee rise, The Myanmar Times went ahead and reported it. Woops!
The Irrawaddy News
www.irrawaddy.com
January 18, 2008
The official order suspending publication of Burma’s partly government-owned weekly, The Myanmar Times, and the resignation under pressure of one of its reporters, Win Kyaw Oo, in a newsroom reorganization are the latest examples of how Minister of Information Brig-Gen Kyaw Hsan is clumsily harassing the country’s media.
The Burmese-language edition of The Myanmar Times was suspended for one week as a penalty for carrying a report about a huge increase in satellite TV fees in its January 11 issue. The newspaper apparently published the story, which quoted an Agence France-Presse dispatch, without requesting the censorship board’s permission.
"The latest sanctions against news media that are already subject to censorship and self-censorship appear to be linked to recent official statements on press freedom," said the organizations Reporters Without Borders and the Burma Media Association in a joint statement.
That is true. Kyaw Hsan recently told Burma’s national association of printers and publishers that they should “place emphasis on improvement of the national economy and guard against destructionists that will undermine the national interest.” Kyaw Hsan warned editors, writers and publishers that the censorship board would “take action” if they wrote “news which can discourage the national interest.”
Since early 2006, Kyaw Hsan has been using his influence on a handful of editors and publishers in Burma to counter criticism of the country’s military regime by opposition and media groups in the West and exiles operating throughout the region.
Burma’s media groups, including The Myanmar Times, are forced to follow the junta’s party line, while some seem to do so out of genuine support for Burma’s military government.
While suppressing press freedom, Kyaw Hsan has opened wider opportunities for local journalists to get information and data from government officials. He has allowed reporters to cover natural disasters, poverty and health issues, such as HIV/AIDS—topics that were previously banned in Burma’s tightly-controlled media environment. He also presents a friendly face at press conferences.
He still has much to learn about dealing with the foreign press, however. Lesson one contains a warning not to prejudge the political leanings of a foreign media organization—as he reportedly did when inviting a team from the TV station Al Jazeera into the country to film a report on Burma. Kyaw Hsan and other generals apparently thought the TV station was anti-American because of its sometimes critical coverage of US foreign policy.
Kyaw Hsan told Al Jazeera presenter Veronica Pedrosa and her crew: “We fully understand the nature of the media and we do not ask to be biased for us. Yet, we hope that your news reports on Myanmar will be balanced and fair, reflecting the background history, actual conditions and situations.”
Just how little he knew about the “nature of the media” was painfully apparent to Kyaw Hsan and his government colleagues when they viewed Al Jazeera’s coverage of the September demonstrations. The excellent film reports were devoured by a large international audience and made Al Jazeera the favorite source of news in Burmese households.
Kyaw Hsan’s blunders earned him the soubriquet Burma’s Comical Ali in the Bangkok English-language daily The Nation, a reference to former Iraqi Information Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf.
“In recent days, Southeast Asia has witnessed the emergence of its own version of Comical Ali, Burmese Information Minister Kyaw Hsan of the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), the highest decision-making body in Burma’s military ruled state,” the newspaper said.
Kyaw Hsan’s latest dumb move was to announce a drastic increase in the annual satellite TV fee, from the equivalent of US $5 to $800, and a $1,000 charge for each TV owned by a hotel.
The increase triggered a storm of criticism, particularly from gambling businesses which need satellite TV coverage of international football matches. The generals are said to be deeply involved in the lucrative gambling business—and Kyaw Hsan’s fee hikes were not appreciated by the top brass, who apparently remained deaf to suggestions that the move would restrict the number of households able to receive foreign broadcasts.
While Kyaw Hsan was having second thoughts about the fee rise, The Myanmar Times went ahead and reported it. Woops!
Western Embassy Staff Complain of Visa Problems in Burma
Wai Moe
The Irrawaddy News
www.irrawaddy.com
January 18, 2008
The Burmese junta has tightened its visa rules on Western diplomats, their family members and NGO employees working in Burma, sources told The Irrawaddy on Friday.
The diplomatic community in Rangoon was taken by surprise when the regime failed to renew or extend visas for some staff and family members of Western embassies.
An official at a Western embassy said there have been unusually long delays in the visa process for some embassy staff, NGO workers and UN officials based in Burma.
A source familiar with the Rangoon-based embassies said the difficulties have impacted about 30 diplomats, officials and family members in recent weeks.
It was unclear at the present time, if the problems are the result of an official policy or just administration difficulties or confusion, sources said.
Diplomatic sources in Rangoon told The Irrawaddy that it is difficult to know how the Burmese authorities plan to handle visas and passports these days.
The Irrawaddy called the Burma Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Naypyidaw, but the official who answered said she could not comment on the issue.
Some western diplomats said people in Western embassies appear to have more difficulties than the average foreigner who lives and works in Burma.
Some sources speculated that since several Western countries have placed visa bans on Burmese officials, the military government may be playing the same game.
Others expressed concerns that if they left they country, they may not be allowed to return.
Earlier, the passports of two Burmese staff members at the US embassy in Rangoon were seized by authorities at the Rangoon International Airport when they returned from an overseas trip. The incident took place in December.
The US has been a vocal critic of the regime, calling for a meaningful democratic transition in the country and has increased economic sanctions on the regime since the bloody crackdown in September.
After the crackdown, the US imposed targeted sanctions on dozens of Burmese officials and businesses.
>
The Irrawaddy News
www.irrawaddy.com
January 18, 2008
The Burmese junta has tightened its visa rules on Western diplomats, their family members and NGO employees working in Burma, sources told The Irrawaddy on Friday.
The diplomatic community in Rangoon was taken by surprise when the regime failed to renew or extend visas for some staff and family members of Western embassies.
An official at a Western embassy said there have been unusually long delays in the visa process for some embassy staff, NGO workers and UN officials based in Burma.
A source familiar with the Rangoon-based embassies said the difficulties have impacted about 30 diplomats, officials and family members in recent weeks.
It was unclear at the present time, if the problems are the result of an official policy or just administration difficulties or confusion, sources said.
Diplomatic sources in Rangoon told The Irrawaddy that it is difficult to know how the Burmese authorities plan to handle visas and passports these days.
The Irrawaddy called the Burma Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Naypyidaw, but the official who answered said she could not comment on the issue.
Some western diplomats said people in Western embassies appear to have more difficulties than the average foreigner who lives and works in Burma.
Some sources speculated that since several Western countries have placed visa bans on Burmese officials, the military government may be playing the same game.
Others expressed concerns that if they left they country, they may not be allowed to return.
Earlier, the passports of two Burmese staff members at the US embassy in Rangoon were seized by authorities at the Rangoon International Airport when they returned from an overseas trip. The incident took place in December.
The US has been a vocal critic of the regime, calling for a meaningful democratic transition in the country and has increased economic sanctions on the regime since the bloody crackdown in September.
After the crackdown, the US imposed targeted sanctions on dozens of Burmese officials and businesses.
>
Security Forces on Alert in Rangoon after Bombings
Min Lwin
The Irrawaddy News
www.irrawaddy.com
January 18, 2008
Increased security forces have been deployed around important buildings, upscale supermarkets and Rangoon railways stations after four bomb blasts in the country since last Friday, according to residents in Rangoon.
“There are a lot of security forces assigned downtown, especially around Sule pagoda and near Rangoon railway stations,” said one resident. “Some say they have found bombs or some type of devices.”
The latest bomb blast occurred on Wednesday in Pyinbonegyi, 105 km north of Rangoon, according to The New Light of Myanmar.
Three people have been killed in the explosions.
The first bomb went off in the new administrative capital of Naypidaw; the second in the northern town of Pyu; and the third in the main Rangoon Railway Station.
No group has claimed responsibility for the explosions.
Soldiers of the No 77 Light Infantry Division are reinforcing police and the Swan-Arh-Shin, a militia whose members helped surpress the pro-democracy protests.
Private vehicles carrying soldiers and Swarn-Ah-Shin members patrolled streets in downtown in Rangoon on Thursday night.
“They (security forces) are searching carefully. They locked the toilets in some buildings, even a toilet in Sakura Tower on Sule Pagoda Road,” said an employee in Sakura Tower, one of tallest buildings in Rangoon.
Both police and soldiers are stationed at the International Trade Centre near Puzundaung Market, the scene of a deadly bomb blast on May 7, 2005, in which two dozen people died and more than 160 were injured.
Traffic police have also been beefed up at major intersections in Rangoon, according to a Rangoon resident.
A well-inform source said the authorities are alarmed that the bomb explosions have continued in different locations and have now occurred in Rangoon.
The military regime has blamed the explosions on foreign aid organizations, claming they have sent terrorist saboteurs with explosives across the border to destabilize Burma.
The Irrawaddy News
www.irrawaddy.com
January 18, 2008
Increased security forces have been deployed around important buildings, upscale supermarkets and Rangoon railways stations after four bomb blasts in the country since last Friday, according to residents in Rangoon.
“There are a lot of security forces assigned downtown, especially around Sule pagoda and near Rangoon railway stations,” said one resident. “Some say they have found bombs or some type of devices.”
The latest bomb blast occurred on Wednesday in Pyinbonegyi, 105 km north of Rangoon, according to The New Light of Myanmar.
Three people have been killed in the explosions.
The first bomb went off in the new administrative capital of Naypidaw; the second in the northern town of Pyu; and the third in the main Rangoon Railway Station.
No group has claimed responsibility for the explosions.
Soldiers of the No 77 Light Infantry Division are reinforcing police and the Swan-Arh-Shin, a militia whose members helped surpress the pro-democracy protests.
Private vehicles carrying soldiers and Swarn-Ah-Shin members patrolled streets in downtown in Rangoon on Thursday night.
“They (security forces) are searching carefully. They locked the toilets in some buildings, even a toilet in Sakura Tower on Sule Pagoda Road,” said an employee in Sakura Tower, one of tallest buildings in Rangoon.
Both police and soldiers are stationed at the International Trade Centre near Puzundaung Market, the scene of a deadly bomb blast on May 7, 2005, in which two dozen people died and more than 160 were injured.
Traffic police have also been beefed up at major intersections in Rangoon, according to a Rangoon resident.
A well-inform source said the authorities are alarmed that the bomb explosions have continued in different locations and have now occurred in Rangoon.
The military regime has blamed the explosions on foreign aid organizations, claming they have sent terrorist saboteurs with explosives across the border to destabilize Burma.
Mandalay Journals Act as Junta Mouthpieces
Min Lwin
The Irrawaddy News
January 18, 2008
“If I do things wrong, you all have the right to write about it,” King Mindon once proudly told journalists in Mandalay.
Father of Burma’s last king, Thibaw, and founder of Mandalay in 1858, King Mindon apparently welcomed criticism of his policies, his family and himself by the local publications. One of those early newspapers, the Yadanarbone Daily, was actively encouraged by the king to write about the affairs of the palace.
King Mindon granted the media far more freedom of expression than exists today in Burma. Under the current regime there is no freedom of expression.
According to a journalist based in Mandalay, nowadays all media-related enterprises in the city are monopolized by the pro-junta Union Solidarity and Development Association and must be verified by the government’s Press Scrutiny and Registration Division.
Even journals, which mainly target rural people in upper Burma and which have always been considered essential sources of information, fall under the watchful eye of the pro-junta Union Solidarity and Development Association.
According to the journalist, five journals— the Mandalay Times, Nanmyint, Upper Myanmar, Shwe Mandalay and Mantoungyeait—are provided with financial and political support from Aung Thaung, Minister of Industry 1, and head of USDA Mandalay Division.
“These journals propagate USDA misinformation and anti-NLD (National League for Democracy) rhetoric,” said a writer in Mandalay. “They write articles criticizing international sanctions, but support the activities of deposed NLD member Dr Soe Linn and his Wuntharnu party.”
Myo Min Min, a senior member of USDA Mandalay Division, is—in name only—the publisher of Shwe Mandalay, Upper Myanmar and the Mandalay Times. However, he is directly involved with gambling and the lottery, and uses these journals to launder his money, a source in Mandalay told The Irrawaddy, although he could not provide further details.
“Some editors of these journals claim that their publications are free from government interference, but they continue to publish propaganda on behalf of the USDA and attack foreign media,” said the Mandalay-based journalist.
Shwe Mandalay, a popular journal in Burma’s second city, circulates some 3,000 copies per week and reports news and celebrity gossip. It also publicizes the activities of senior USDA officials and attacks the British Broadcasting Corporation, Radio Free Burma, the Voice of America, and the Democratic Voice of Burma, all of which are based outside the country.
During the September uprising, the journal Nanmyint expressly criticized the monks’ refusal to accept alms from military families.
It is estimated that the five journals in Mandalay and Upper Burma have a total circulation of 7,000 copies.
“I don’t buy any of those journals,” said a businessman in Mandalay. “I am not interested in reading pro-junta propaganda and the activities of USDA members.”
Meanwhile, publishing permits are strictly controlled in Mandalay. Authorities only issue licenses to USDA senior members and their cronies; permission to publish or print is out of the question for ordinary citizens.
“We tried to submit an application to publish a journal in Mandalay, but the censorship board in Rangoon refused permission,” said Ko Paing, a poet in Mandalay.
After the Second World War, Mandalay enjoyed a cultural boom. Two newspapers—Ludu, founded by two well-known journalists, Hla and Ahmar, and the Hanthawaddy, edited by Win Tin, who is now in Insein prison—were well respected publications that reported independent news and critical articles.
“The Ludu was much more free than current journals; it didn’t have to pass the censorship board before it was printed,” said an editor based in Mandalay. “In those days, it was so easy to publish and circulate a journal.”
The Irrawaddy News
January 18, 2008
“If I do things wrong, you all have the right to write about it,” King Mindon once proudly told journalists in Mandalay.
Father of Burma’s last king, Thibaw, and founder of Mandalay in 1858, King Mindon apparently welcomed criticism of his policies, his family and himself by the local publications. One of those early newspapers, the Yadanarbone Daily, was actively encouraged by the king to write about the affairs of the palace.
King Mindon granted the media far more freedom of expression than exists today in Burma. Under the current regime there is no freedom of expression.
According to a journalist based in Mandalay, nowadays all media-related enterprises in the city are monopolized by the pro-junta Union Solidarity and Development Association and must be verified by the government’s Press Scrutiny and Registration Division.
Even journals, which mainly target rural people in upper Burma and which have always been considered essential sources of information, fall under the watchful eye of the pro-junta Union Solidarity and Development Association.
According to the journalist, five journals— the Mandalay Times, Nanmyint, Upper Myanmar, Shwe Mandalay and Mantoungyeait—are provided with financial and political support from Aung Thaung, Minister of Industry 1, and head of USDA Mandalay Division.
“These journals propagate USDA misinformation and anti-NLD (National League for Democracy) rhetoric,” said a writer in Mandalay. “They write articles criticizing international sanctions, but support the activities of deposed NLD member Dr Soe Linn and his Wuntharnu party.”
Myo Min Min, a senior member of USDA Mandalay Division, is—in name only—the publisher of Shwe Mandalay, Upper Myanmar and the Mandalay Times. However, he is directly involved with gambling and the lottery, and uses these journals to launder his money, a source in Mandalay told The Irrawaddy, although he could not provide further details.
“Some editors of these journals claim that their publications are free from government interference, but they continue to publish propaganda on behalf of the USDA and attack foreign media,” said the Mandalay-based journalist.
Shwe Mandalay, a popular journal in Burma’s second city, circulates some 3,000 copies per week and reports news and celebrity gossip. It also publicizes the activities of senior USDA officials and attacks the British Broadcasting Corporation, Radio Free Burma, the Voice of America, and the Democratic Voice of Burma, all of which are based outside the country.
During the September uprising, the journal Nanmyint expressly criticized the monks’ refusal to accept alms from military families.
It is estimated that the five journals in Mandalay and Upper Burma have a total circulation of 7,000 copies.
“I don’t buy any of those journals,” said a businessman in Mandalay. “I am not interested in reading pro-junta propaganda and the activities of USDA members.”
Meanwhile, publishing permits are strictly controlled in Mandalay. Authorities only issue licenses to USDA senior members and their cronies; permission to publish or print is out of the question for ordinary citizens.
“We tried to submit an application to publish a journal in Mandalay, but the censorship board in Rangoon refused permission,” said Ko Paing, a poet in Mandalay.
After the Second World War, Mandalay enjoyed a cultural boom. Two newspapers—Ludu, founded by two well-known journalists, Hla and Ahmar, and the Hanthawaddy, edited by Win Tin, who is now in Insein prison—were well respected publications that reported independent news and critical articles.
“The Ludu was much more free than current journals; it didn’t have to pass the censorship board before it was printed,” said an editor based in Mandalay. “In those days, it was so easy to publish and circulate a journal.”
Jade Art Group Announces an Exclusive Distribution Right Agreement for Jade
Press Release
Yahoo News
January 18, 2008
NEW YORK & JIANGXI, CHINA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jade Art Group Inc. (OTCBB: JADG - News), which recently announced its foray into the jade industry and has historically been a manufacturer of both hand-carved and machine-carved wood products in China, announced today that Jiangxi SheTai Jade Industrial Co., Ltd. (“JST”), its wholly-owned subsidiary, signed an Exclusive Distribution Right Agreement with Wulateqianqi XiKai Mining Co., Ltd. (“XiKai”) for the distribution of jade.
The agreement commits XiKai to sell 90% of the raw jade material produced from its SheTai Jade mine, located in Wulateqianqi, China, to JST for a period of 50 years. Per the agreement the production from XiKai will be no less than 40,000 tons per year, with an average cost per ton for JST not to exceed RMB 2,000 (approximately USD $275). In exchange for this exclusive right, Jade Art Group would transfer 100% ownership interest in its wholly-owned subsidiary, Jiangxi XiDa Wooden Carving Lacquerware Co., Ltd. (“JXD”), and RMB 60 million (approximately USD $8.3 million) to XiKai, subject to Jade Art Group’s board and shareholder approvals.
The SheTai Jade mine’s reserves are unique, in that they include some of the oldest jade ore found in China and are subsequently of the highest quality in terms of rigidity and the size of its pieces. The characteristics of this jade are equivalent to Burma’s famous jade mines and therefore can be readily used for construction and building materials, as well as fine jewelry.
Lu-Shan Cheng, Mayor of Yujiang County, who attended the signing ceremony, said, “The Yujiang government looks forward to JST’s involvement in the region and will provide full government support.”
Hua-Cai Song, CEO of Jade Art Group, stated, “Through this Exclusive Distribution Right Agreement, Jade Art Group receives exclusive distribution rights for the jade mine with the largest reserves in China. The average selling price per ton of jade in China is roughly RMB 20,000 (approximately USD $2,750), which should enable us to reach significant profit levels. We are very excited about the Company’s new focus in the jade industry, including our association with XiKai and its extensive high-quality jade reserves.”
About Jade Art Group Inc.
Jade Art Group Inc., operating through its existing operating subsidiaries in the People’s Republic of China, is focusing its business-model on the jade industry with the formation of Jiangxi SheTai Jade Industrial Co., Ltd., its wholly-owned subsidiary, and its Exclusive Distribution Right Agreement with Wulateqianqi XiKai Mining Co., Ltd. for the distribution of jade. Jade Art Group has historically been a manufacturer of both hand-carved and machine-carved wood products in China.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS:
This document includes forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements concerning estimates of, and increases in, production, cash flows and values, statements relating to the continued advancement of Jade Art Group’s projects and other statements which are not historical facts. When used in this document, the words such as "could," "plan," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," and similar expressions are forward-looking statements. Although Jade Art Group believes that its expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, such statements involve risks and uncertainties and no assurance can be given that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ from these forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, those set forth in our reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, together with the risks discussed in our press releases and other communications to shareholders issued by us from time to time, such as our ability to raise capital as and when required, the availability of raw products and other supplies, competition, the costs of goods, government regulations, and political and economic factors in the People's Republic of China in which our subsidiaries operate.
Contact:
Jade Art Group Inc.
Wanru Zhao, 646-200-6328
wzhao@jadeartgroupinc.com
or
Winning IR Company, Ltd.
Darren Minton, 212-823-0523
darren.minton@winningir.com
Source: Jade Art Group Inc.
Yahoo News
January 18, 2008
NEW YORK & JIANGXI, CHINA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jade Art Group Inc. (OTCBB: JADG - News), which recently announced its foray into the jade industry and has historically been a manufacturer of both hand-carved and machine-carved wood products in China, announced today that Jiangxi SheTai Jade Industrial Co., Ltd. (“JST”), its wholly-owned subsidiary, signed an Exclusive Distribution Right Agreement with Wulateqianqi XiKai Mining Co., Ltd. (“XiKai”) for the distribution of jade.
The agreement commits XiKai to sell 90% of the raw jade material produced from its SheTai Jade mine, located in Wulateqianqi, China, to JST for a period of 50 years. Per the agreement the production from XiKai will be no less than 40,000 tons per year, with an average cost per ton for JST not to exceed RMB 2,000 (approximately USD $275). In exchange for this exclusive right, Jade Art Group would transfer 100% ownership interest in its wholly-owned subsidiary, Jiangxi XiDa Wooden Carving Lacquerware Co., Ltd. (“JXD”), and RMB 60 million (approximately USD $8.3 million) to XiKai, subject to Jade Art Group’s board and shareholder approvals.
The SheTai Jade mine’s reserves are unique, in that they include some of the oldest jade ore found in China and are subsequently of the highest quality in terms of rigidity and the size of its pieces. The characteristics of this jade are equivalent to Burma’s famous jade mines and therefore can be readily used for construction and building materials, as well as fine jewelry.
Lu-Shan Cheng, Mayor of Yujiang County, who attended the signing ceremony, said, “The Yujiang government looks forward to JST’s involvement in the region and will provide full government support.”
Hua-Cai Song, CEO of Jade Art Group, stated, “Through this Exclusive Distribution Right Agreement, Jade Art Group receives exclusive distribution rights for the jade mine with the largest reserves in China. The average selling price per ton of jade in China is roughly RMB 20,000 (approximately USD $2,750), which should enable us to reach significant profit levels. We are very excited about the Company’s new focus in the jade industry, including our association with XiKai and its extensive high-quality jade reserves.”
About Jade Art Group Inc.
Jade Art Group Inc., operating through its existing operating subsidiaries in the People’s Republic of China, is focusing its business-model on the jade industry with the formation of Jiangxi SheTai Jade Industrial Co., Ltd., its wholly-owned subsidiary, and its Exclusive Distribution Right Agreement with Wulateqianqi XiKai Mining Co., Ltd. for the distribution of jade. Jade Art Group has historically been a manufacturer of both hand-carved and machine-carved wood products in China.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS:
This document includes forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements concerning estimates of, and increases in, production, cash flows and values, statements relating to the continued advancement of Jade Art Group’s projects and other statements which are not historical facts. When used in this document, the words such as "could," "plan," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," and similar expressions are forward-looking statements. Although Jade Art Group believes that its expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, such statements involve risks and uncertainties and no assurance can be given that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ from these forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, those set forth in our reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, together with the risks discussed in our press releases and other communications to shareholders issued by us from time to time, such as our ability to raise capital as and when required, the availability of raw products and other supplies, competition, the costs of goods, government regulations, and political and economic factors in the People's Republic of China in which our subsidiaries operate.
Contact:
Jade Art Group Inc.
Wanru Zhao, 646-200-6328
wzhao@jadeartgroupinc.com
or
Winning IR Company, Ltd.
Darren Minton, 212-823-0523
darren.minton@winningir.com
Source: Jade Art Group Inc.
INDIA/CHINA: NEGOTIATIONS WITH BURMA FUEL REGIONAL TENSIONS
English IPS News Via
Thomson Dialog NewsEdge
Source: TMC Net
WASHINGTON, Jan. 18, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Despite having fought a war in 1962, India and China are now leading trading partners: Collaboration was the mainstay of the summit held in Beijing this month by the world's two most populous countries.
They see eye-to-eye on several key geopolitical issues such as Iran and have even conducted a joint military exercise, but there is an item on the bilateral agenda that elicits somewhat less cooperation: Burma, the country that borders them both.
Burma is not as significant a thorn in the side of the emerging alliance as Tibet or issues involving territorial claims. India's provision of safe haven to the Tibetan resistance movement and China's territorial claims over parts of India both figure more prominently in cross-border tensions. But the different approaches that the two Asian powers have taken toward the resource-rich but poor and isolated Burma, the largest country in Southeast Asia, reflect important differences in tactics and philosophy.
"After 1988, India with missionary zeal cut off all contact with the junta in Burma and gave the Nehru Award to Aung Sang Suu Kyi," said Brahma Chellaney, a professor of strategic studies at the Center for Policy Research in New Delhi. Chellaney was the keynote speaker at a Jan. 16 seminar in Washington, D.C., sponsored by the Sasakawa Peace Foundation.
"By the time India reversed that policy, it realized that it had lost Burma to China," Chellaney added. "China had built reconnaissance facilities on the Coco Islands. So, this shift from a moral, value-based foreign policy to realpolitik on Burma came after India burned its hands and feet and didn't have much to show for it."
China, on the other hand, has for some time hewed close to realpolitik in its support for Burma's military government. "China always wants to have neighbors that are friendly," said Minxin Pei, director of the China Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. "Burma is like a client state. If China can't have Burma, it will deny it to another power." Although the level of trade between the two countries remains rather modest, China provides the military junta with arms, directs considerable investment into the country and often eyes Burma's energy resources.
In addition, China wants to stabilize several cross-border problems, including AIDS and refugees, said Derek Mitchell, the director for Asia in the International Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "Also there is opportunism," he added. "China sees strategic opportunity to have access, since the United States is ignoring Burma."
This strategic opportunity hinges a great deal on Burma's location. "For China, Burma is the entryway to the Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean, and it oversees vital communication lanes in the Strait of Malacca," Chellaney said. "China is busy completing the Irrawaddy Corridor involving road, river, rail, and energy-transport links between Burmese ports and Yunnan province."
China's economic growth depends on increased imports of energy, and Burma is one potential source. "Burma sits on vast gas reserves which are coveted by its neighbors," Chellaney added.
"But Burma, because it is hit by sanctions and is an isolated state, hasn't reaped those dividends," the analyst continued.
"Foreign investments in Burma's gas exploration and production have not been too significant. Sanctions have prevented Burma from accessing liquefaction technology to become a liquid natural gas exporter. Its only choice is to sell natural gas by pipeline to its immediate neighbors -- to Thailand or to China once a pipeline is complete."
Chellaney predicted that the pipeline to China, news of which broke at the end of last year, could be operational within a year.
The relationship between China and Burma, which might look cozy from the outside, is not without tension. Most of the energy and transportation plans are only at the agreement stage. "Work may have started on the pipeline," said Priscilla Clapp, former U.S. charge in Burma from 1999 to 2002. "I cannot believe that it will happen in a year. Nothing happens in a year in Burma."
Indian reports of a major Chinese military facility in Burma's Coco Islands, she added, are exaggerated. "They have some antennas down there. A few years ago India claimed that it was a major Chinese naval base, but that's bunk. The Burmese won't allow that.
The Burmese are ferociously neutral. They're not going to allow any other power to establish a military base or significant military presence in their country."
"China is a partner of last resort," Derek Mitchell said. "The isolation strategy means that the Burmese junta has to turn to China. They don't like it, but it helps them stay in power."
The competition between India and China for influence in Burma reflects a larger jockeying for power between the two Asian giants.
Although the recent summit accentuated the positive, a certain unease lurks just beneath the surface. History, for instance, continues to dog the relationship.
"The shadow of the 1962 war bedevils the China-India relationship," Chellaney said. "It not only weighs heavily on the Indian psyche, but the wounds of war are kept alive by China's assertive claims to additional Indian territory."
The different systems of political economy in China and India might also pull the two countries in divergent directions. Instead of India and China helping their fellow Asian countries to identify common norms and values -- which undergird other regional
formations such as the European Union -- the two countries might part strategic ways. Chellaney speculated that two blocs could well emerge: "a China-led coalition that values centralized domestic control and whose favorite institution is the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, versus a constellation of democracies loosely tied together by a web of strategic partnerships."
Another potential source of tension is water. All the major rivers of Asia, with the exception of the Ganges, originate in the Tibetan plateau. China's control of the headwaters of the Indus, Mekong, Yangtze, Brahmaputra and other rivers, which together serve nearly half the world's population, may prove an increasing challenge to the region, particularly as Beijing dams these major rivers for hydropower and irrigation. "If water geopolitics were to spur interstate tensions," Chellaney warned, "the Asian renaissance would definitely stall."
Minxin Pei remains somewhat more optimistic. He noted that both countries have exercised strategic restraint in recent years. In part, this restraint can be explained by the differing strategic priorities of the countries, with China looking east toward Taiwan and Japan and India primarily focusing on South Asia.
The leaders in the respective countries also "understand that gains from seizing the strategic opportunity available are far more important than possible gains from strategic competition," Pei pointed out. "Globalization means that India and China, with their cheap labor, will benefit from this opportunity. If they throw away this opportunity and engage in competition with each other, it is a lose-lose proposition."
With bilateral trade booming and sources of tension largely under the surface, India and China are not at risk of going head to head over their differing approaches to Burma any time soon.
India's realpolitik engagement with the military junta is balanced by its unofficial but close links to the democracy movement. China, meanwhile, has real economic and security interests in Burma but is sensitive to international criticisms of its positions. When he raised the Burma issue in discussions with Chinese officials, Derek Mitchell was told that Burma "wasn't on the radar screen. Chinese policy wasn't going to change, there were too many other things going on. 'What if others isolate China's position?' I asked. 'Well, then we might think about it,' they said. That's the thing that China hates the most: being isolated."
Perhaps because it is not a priority issue for the two countries, Burma might evolve from a point of contention to an opportunity for even greater cooperation. A stable Burma that is part of the international community could benefit both China and India. China has demonstrated its ability in the North Korea crisis to serve as a catalyst for compromise in a regional negotiating framework. India might take a page from this book.
"India failed to persuade the junta to engage Aung San Suu Kyi more effectively and stem the growth of Chinese influence," Brahma Chellaney concluded. "Should India give up? No, it can play the role of facilitator of a final political reconciliation in Burma."
Thomson Dialog NewsEdge
Source: TMC Net
WASHINGTON, Jan. 18, 2008 (IPS/GIN) -- Despite having fought a war in 1962, India and China are now leading trading partners: Collaboration was the mainstay of the summit held in Beijing this month by the world's two most populous countries.
They see eye-to-eye on several key geopolitical issues such as Iran and have even conducted a joint military exercise, but there is an item on the bilateral agenda that elicits somewhat less cooperation: Burma, the country that borders them both.
Burma is not as significant a thorn in the side of the emerging alliance as Tibet or issues involving territorial claims. India's provision of safe haven to the Tibetan resistance movement and China's territorial claims over parts of India both figure more prominently in cross-border tensions. But the different approaches that the two Asian powers have taken toward the resource-rich but poor and isolated Burma, the largest country in Southeast Asia, reflect important differences in tactics and philosophy.
"After 1988, India with missionary zeal cut off all contact with the junta in Burma and gave the Nehru Award to Aung Sang Suu Kyi," said Brahma Chellaney, a professor of strategic studies at the Center for Policy Research in New Delhi. Chellaney was the keynote speaker at a Jan. 16 seminar in Washington, D.C., sponsored by the Sasakawa Peace Foundation.
"By the time India reversed that policy, it realized that it had lost Burma to China," Chellaney added. "China had built reconnaissance facilities on the Coco Islands. So, this shift from a moral, value-based foreign policy to realpolitik on Burma came after India burned its hands and feet and didn't have much to show for it."
China, on the other hand, has for some time hewed close to realpolitik in its support for Burma's military government. "China always wants to have neighbors that are friendly," said Minxin Pei, director of the China Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. "Burma is like a client state. If China can't have Burma, it will deny it to another power." Although the level of trade between the two countries remains rather modest, China provides the military junta with arms, directs considerable investment into the country and often eyes Burma's energy resources.
In addition, China wants to stabilize several cross-border problems, including AIDS and refugees, said Derek Mitchell, the director for Asia in the International Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "Also there is opportunism," he added. "China sees strategic opportunity to have access, since the United States is ignoring Burma."
This strategic opportunity hinges a great deal on Burma's location. "For China, Burma is the entryway to the Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean, and it oversees vital communication lanes in the Strait of Malacca," Chellaney said. "China is busy completing the Irrawaddy Corridor involving road, river, rail, and energy-transport links between Burmese ports and Yunnan province."
China's economic growth depends on increased imports of energy, and Burma is one potential source. "Burma sits on vast gas reserves which are coveted by its neighbors," Chellaney added.
"But Burma, because it is hit by sanctions and is an isolated state, hasn't reaped those dividends," the analyst continued.
"Foreign investments in Burma's gas exploration and production have not been too significant. Sanctions have prevented Burma from accessing liquefaction technology to become a liquid natural gas exporter. Its only choice is to sell natural gas by pipeline to its immediate neighbors -- to Thailand or to China once a pipeline is complete."
Chellaney predicted that the pipeline to China, news of which broke at the end of last year, could be operational within a year.
The relationship between China and Burma, which might look cozy from the outside, is not without tension. Most of the energy and transportation plans are only at the agreement stage. "Work may have started on the pipeline," said Priscilla Clapp, former U.S. charge in Burma from 1999 to 2002. "I cannot believe that it will happen in a year. Nothing happens in a year in Burma."
Indian reports of a major Chinese military facility in Burma's Coco Islands, she added, are exaggerated. "They have some antennas down there. A few years ago India claimed that it was a major Chinese naval base, but that's bunk. The Burmese won't allow that.
The Burmese are ferociously neutral. They're not going to allow any other power to establish a military base or significant military presence in their country."
"China is a partner of last resort," Derek Mitchell said. "The isolation strategy means that the Burmese junta has to turn to China. They don't like it, but it helps them stay in power."
The competition between India and China for influence in Burma reflects a larger jockeying for power between the two Asian giants.
Although the recent summit accentuated the positive, a certain unease lurks just beneath the surface. History, for instance, continues to dog the relationship.
"The shadow of the 1962 war bedevils the China-India relationship," Chellaney said. "It not only weighs heavily on the Indian psyche, but the wounds of war are kept alive by China's assertive claims to additional Indian territory."
The different systems of political economy in China and India might also pull the two countries in divergent directions. Instead of India and China helping their fellow Asian countries to identify common norms and values -- which undergird other regional
formations such as the European Union -- the two countries might part strategic ways. Chellaney speculated that two blocs could well emerge: "a China-led coalition that values centralized domestic control and whose favorite institution is the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, versus a constellation of democracies loosely tied together by a web of strategic partnerships."
Another potential source of tension is water. All the major rivers of Asia, with the exception of the Ganges, originate in the Tibetan plateau. China's control of the headwaters of the Indus, Mekong, Yangtze, Brahmaputra and other rivers, which together serve nearly half the world's population, may prove an increasing challenge to the region, particularly as Beijing dams these major rivers for hydropower and irrigation. "If water geopolitics were to spur interstate tensions," Chellaney warned, "the Asian renaissance would definitely stall."
Minxin Pei remains somewhat more optimistic. He noted that both countries have exercised strategic restraint in recent years. In part, this restraint can be explained by the differing strategic priorities of the countries, with China looking east toward Taiwan and Japan and India primarily focusing on South Asia.
The leaders in the respective countries also "understand that gains from seizing the strategic opportunity available are far more important than possible gains from strategic competition," Pei pointed out. "Globalization means that India and China, with their cheap labor, will benefit from this opportunity. If they throw away this opportunity and engage in competition with each other, it is a lose-lose proposition."
With bilateral trade booming and sources of tension largely under the surface, India and China are not at risk of going head to head over their differing approaches to Burma any time soon.
India's realpolitik engagement with the military junta is balanced by its unofficial but close links to the democracy movement. China, meanwhile, has real economic and security interests in Burma but is sensitive to international criticisms of its positions. When he raised the Burma issue in discussions with Chinese officials, Derek Mitchell was told that Burma "wasn't on the radar screen. Chinese policy wasn't going to change, there were too many other things going on. 'What if others isolate China's position?' I asked. 'Well, then we might think about it,' they said. That's the thing that China hates the most: being isolated."
Perhaps because it is not a priority issue for the two countries, Burma might evolve from a point of contention to an opportunity for even greater cooperation. A stable Burma that is part of the international community could benefit both China and India. China has demonstrated its ability in the North Korea crisis to serve as a catalyst for compromise in a regional negotiating framework. India might take a page from this book.
"India failed to persuade the junta to engage Aung San Suu Kyi more effectively and stem the growth of Chinese influence," Brahma Chellaney concluded. "Should India give up? No, it can play the role of facilitator of a final political reconciliation in Burma."
EU's Myanmar envoy to launch whirlwind diplomatic tour
Monsters & Critics
January 18, 2008
Brussels - The European Union's special envoy for Myanmar, Piero Fassino, said Friday he is to launch a whirlwind diplomatic tour of Asia in a bid to accelerate the process of reconciliation in the troubled state.
The visits to India, Japan, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia and Russia are intended to move the political process in Myanmar into a 'more substantial phase,' Fassino told journalists in Brussels.
'The countries of Asia can play a very great role in the process... In October and November, India and China played a positive role, (and) I think that at this moment, their governments can realize a very strong influence,' he said.
'We want to keep the question of Myanmar as one of the priorities on the international agenda,' he said.
Fassino's jet-propelled diplomacy is set to focus on building international support for a renewed visit by the UN's special envoy, Ibrahim Gambari, to the Asian state, four months after mass protests against Myanmar's military regime were put down by the authorities.
'We have to concentrate all our efforts for Mr Gambari to go there as fast as possible, and to achieve some substantial steps,' Fassino said.
Such steps should help create 'a real dialogue between all actors in Myanmar in an atmosphere of mutual trust,' he said.
They could include the release of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other political figures and the creation of a structured dialogue with a timetable for talks, Fassino said.
And the Myanmar authorities should involve opposition figures in the creation of a new constitution - a process currently in the sole hands of government allies, he said.
While Fassino said that targeted sanctions - imposed by the EU and US, but rejected by Asian states - had an important part to play in the diplomatic process, he stressed that the current round of visits would focus on other issues.
'If you have a strategy A and start talking about a strategy B, then strategy A is gone. The core of our strategy is to make sure that a dialogue is opened in Myanmar,' he said.
'If Mr Gambari goes to Myanmar, it's a good step. After that, we'll discuss it with the EU and with Mr Gambari,' he said.
Fassino is set to visit Thailand and Indonesia next week, India and Russia in February, Vietnam and Cambodia in early March and Japan later in the spring, he said.
January 18, 2008
Brussels - The European Union's special envoy for Myanmar, Piero Fassino, said Friday he is to launch a whirlwind diplomatic tour of Asia in a bid to accelerate the process of reconciliation in the troubled state.
The visits to India, Japan, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia and Russia are intended to move the political process in Myanmar into a 'more substantial phase,' Fassino told journalists in Brussels.
'The countries of Asia can play a very great role in the process... In October and November, India and China played a positive role, (and) I think that at this moment, their governments can realize a very strong influence,' he said.
'We want to keep the question of Myanmar as one of the priorities on the international agenda,' he said.
Fassino's jet-propelled diplomacy is set to focus on building international support for a renewed visit by the UN's special envoy, Ibrahim Gambari, to the Asian state, four months after mass protests against Myanmar's military regime were put down by the authorities.
'We have to concentrate all our efforts for Mr Gambari to go there as fast as possible, and to achieve some substantial steps,' Fassino said.
Such steps should help create 'a real dialogue between all actors in Myanmar in an atmosphere of mutual trust,' he said.
They could include the release of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other political figures and the creation of a structured dialogue with a timetable for talks, Fassino said.
And the Myanmar authorities should involve opposition figures in the creation of a new constitution - a process currently in the sole hands of government allies, he said.
While Fassino said that targeted sanctions - imposed by the EU and US, but rejected by Asian states - had an important part to play in the diplomatic process, he stressed that the current round of visits would focus on other issues.
'If you have a strategy A and start talking about a strategy B, then strategy A is gone. The core of our strategy is to make sure that a dialogue is opened in Myanmar,' he said.
'If Mr Gambari goes to Myanmar, it's a good step. After that, we'll discuss it with the EU and with Mr Gambari,' he said.
Fassino is set to visit Thailand and Indonesia next week, India and Russia in February, Vietnam and Cambodia in early March and Japan later in the spring, he said.
The joke's on Myanmar now
Chris McGreal
NZ Herald
January 19, 2008
From their shop front theatre in Mandalay, the Moustache Brothers tell bad jokes in barely comprehensible English about Myanmar's backward-looking generals and, every few years, they get flung into jail for it.
There are three in the troupe - actually two brothers and their cousin - and each evening they wait for the tourists to turn up and justify their performance of slapstick, dance and strangled humour about the Army looking after itself while the rest of Myanmar goes to the dogs.
It's not the money they need the tourists for, although that undoubtedly helps in a country where most people spend most of their cash just on feeding their families. But in the peculiar world inhabited by Myanmar's military leadership, jokes against the Government are just about acceptable provided they are told to foreigners.
The Moustache Brothers have been part of the tourist trail since two of its members, Par Par Lay and Lu Zaw, were released from seven years in labour camps for bringing humour to what everyone in Myanmar knows: the system is so riddled with corruption you cannot tell the difference between a thief and a government worker.
The Moustache Brothers have reached an uneasy truce with the regime (Lay was detained for a month after the pro-democracy demonstrations in September) that permits them to perform, provided it's in English, only in their own theatre and for tourists.
This has left the troupe in agreement with the junta on one thing at least: that a tourist boycott of Myanmar is a mistake. The military wants foreigners to keep coming because they provide a kind of legitimacy as well as hard currency. That is a good reason not to go. But ordinary Burmese say tourism provides many with the means to feed their families.
Some money will fall into the state's hands but, as a reporter pretending to be a tourist - the only way a journalist can get into Myanmar - it was easy enough to direct where most of the cash goes by avoiding corporate hotels, eating in smaller restaurants and buying from family-owned shops.
Tourists are witnesses to the state of the monasteries after the regime purged them of monks to break the pro-democracy protests. The monks who remain are often willing to talk discreetly about the assaults on them and their supporters.
It's not clear-cut, though. The sports and cultural boycott of apartheid South Africa stung many whites because it said that, however much they saw themselves as an outpost of European civilisation, most of Europe did not agree with them.
But popular boycotts of countries such as Myanmar or Zimbabwe have less impact than hitting a regime where it really hurts. Zimbabwe's ruling elite can no longer go shopping in Europe and they have been forced to pull their children out of British boarding schools and American universities. Their companies are blacklisted. That hurts.
Britain can afford to take the moral high ground on Myanmar because it has no weapons deals at stake or oil interests to protect. Which is why we do not hear much from France on the subject: Myanmar is the home of the Total oil company, which hands over hundreds of millions of dollars a year to the regime.
The Moustache Brothers can give you chapter and verse on this. If you want to help Myanmar, they say, come and visit. Just don't fill your car up with Total petrol on the way from the airport.
- OBSERVER
NZ Herald
January 19, 2008
From their shop front theatre in Mandalay, the Moustache Brothers tell bad jokes in barely comprehensible English about Myanmar's backward-looking generals and, every few years, they get flung into jail for it.
There are three in the troupe - actually two brothers and their cousin - and each evening they wait for the tourists to turn up and justify their performance of slapstick, dance and strangled humour about the Army looking after itself while the rest of Myanmar goes to the dogs.
It's not the money they need the tourists for, although that undoubtedly helps in a country where most people spend most of their cash just on feeding their families. But in the peculiar world inhabited by Myanmar's military leadership, jokes against the Government are just about acceptable provided they are told to foreigners.
The Moustache Brothers have been part of the tourist trail since two of its members, Par Par Lay and Lu Zaw, were released from seven years in labour camps for bringing humour to what everyone in Myanmar knows: the system is so riddled with corruption you cannot tell the difference between a thief and a government worker.
The Moustache Brothers have reached an uneasy truce with the regime (Lay was detained for a month after the pro-democracy demonstrations in September) that permits them to perform, provided it's in English, only in their own theatre and for tourists.
This has left the troupe in agreement with the junta on one thing at least: that a tourist boycott of Myanmar is a mistake. The military wants foreigners to keep coming because they provide a kind of legitimacy as well as hard currency. That is a good reason not to go. But ordinary Burmese say tourism provides many with the means to feed their families.
Some money will fall into the state's hands but, as a reporter pretending to be a tourist - the only way a journalist can get into Myanmar - it was easy enough to direct where most of the cash goes by avoiding corporate hotels, eating in smaller restaurants and buying from family-owned shops.
Tourists are witnesses to the state of the monasteries after the regime purged them of monks to break the pro-democracy protests. The monks who remain are often willing to talk discreetly about the assaults on them and their supporters.
It's not clear-cut, though. The sports and cultural boycott of apartheid South Africa stung many whites because it said that, however much they saw themselves as an outpost of European civilisation, most of Europe did not agree with them.
But popular boycotts of countries such as Myanmar or Zimbabwe have less impact than hitting a regime where it really hurts. Zimbabwe's ruling elite can no longer go shopping in Europe and they have been forced to pull their children out of British boarding schools and American universities. Their companies are blacklisted. That hurts.
Britain can afford to take the moral high ground on Myanmar because it has no weapons deals at stake or oil interests to protect. Which is why we do not hear much from France on the subject: Myanmar is the home of the Total oil company, which hands over hundreds of millions of dollars a year to the regime.
The Moustache Brothers can give you chapter and verse on this. If you want to help Myanmar, they say, come and visit. Just don't fill your car up with Total petrol on the way from the airport.
- OBSERVER
Soldier, Soldier, Could You Please Help Me, I Have Just Been Hit By Your Truck?
Original Source : Nicknayman
Translated: Nay Chi U - Who is Who in Burma
January 18, 2008
The second of a convoy of three army trucks, full of soldiers, hit a middle age woman near Daw Yin Wine Nursery School, Eight Mile, Rangoon. While the leading truck just drove on, the other two came to a halt in the middle of the road.
None of the soldiers came out to even look at the middle-aged lady victim, much less to provide her with any aid. The driver of the second truck, who actually hit the lady, carried her to the roadside to lay her on the pavement.
A Mazda 4-wheel drive (usually military vehicles) arrived about half an hour later but took no action. The injured lady's situation is not known at the time of writing.
(Burma has the second largest standing army in Asia with over 400,000 men under arms. The military consumes more than half the nation's budget and its leaders control every aspect of Burma's government.
The Burmese junta are almost unique in spending the nations resources to arm 'brave' soldiers who spend their lives intimidating, abusing, violating or even killing their own people).
Translated: Nay Chi U - Who is Who in Burma
January 18, 2008
The second of a convoy of three army trucks, full of soldiers, hit a middle age woman near Daw Yin Wine Nursery School, Eight Mile, Rangoon. While the leading truck just drove on, the other two came to a halt in the middle of the road.
None of the soldiers came out to even look at the middle-aged lady victim, much less to provide her with any aid. The driver of the second truck, who actually hit the lady, carried her to the roadside to lay her on the pavement.
A Mazda 4-wheel drive (usually military vehicles) arrived about half an hour later but took no action. The injured lady's situation is not known at the time of writing.
(Burma has the second largest standing army in Asia with over 400,000 men under arms. The military consumes more than half the nation's budget and its leaders control every aspect of Burma's government.
The Burmese junta are almost unique in spending the nations resources to arm 'brave' soldiers who spend their lives intimidating, abusing, violating or even killing their own people).
ICRC Will Be Informed Of Maltreatment In Prisons
Original Report: DVB
Translated: Nay Chi U - WiWiB
January 17, 2008
There are many political prisoners, who were charged under one or more different sections of Acts but have not been put on trials, which prolongs their imprisonment and not being given appropriate treatment for their well being. Now, their families are taking actions - demanding Senior General Than Shwe to take responsibility of the situation and sort it all out, as a head of the State. Copy of their letters, dated 16th January, have been also sent to military chief commander of Rangoon Division as well as to The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
Families of Ko Than Zaw Myint, Ko Thant Zin Myo, Ko Kyaw Soe Win and Ko San Win, all from Hlaing Thar Yar, who have been detained in Insein prison after protesting for lower commodity price in August 2007, have jointly signed the letter.
Ko Than Zaw Myint's father U Tin Yu explained the need for the action as the prisoners were neither being put on trials nor given permission to see their lawyers.
"They have not been allowed to have representatives so we tried to obtained their general power but the lawyers are not allowed to see them. It is understood that their trial date is 18th January so we got everything ready (to defend at court), but we have been directed to follow to many different offices, where we have been told 'The matter needs to be dealt with superiors'. We don't know who those superior persons are. We don't know where to find them."
He pointed that not only the youths have been held for over 5 months but also their charges have been changed from one to another, which explains the lack of the existence of State's Laws and Legislation.
"First it was 505 b and 147. Then the next week, they were told that their charges had been changed. It just proves the country's instability situation of Laws and Justice. Public can not trust anything. But then, there is nothing to be trusted. Right from the bottom of the system, everyone seems to be doing whatever they think is the best for them."
When the father heard the news of his son Ko Than Zaw Mying's possible trial on 14 January, he rushed and made many wasted journeys between Kamar Yut magistrate court and Insein prison. (so that he may have a chance to see his lawyer).
Only when he went to the prison yesterday, he learnt that his son was remanded on that day, by a visiting judge, who came to the prison, on that day.
"By about 4 pm, they were gathered in the prison to be told that their trial will be on 28 January. When my son questioned the judge why the remand wasn't given in court, where it should be, he replied that it was for their own security."
It is reported that some of the detainees are suffering from weaken heart, high blood pressure, etc,. and some suffered the violent physical abuse under Swan Arr Shin militia and USDA (union solidarity and development association) members, during their arrest. However, no one had received appropriate health treatments.
"We were given Barmitones and Paracetamol tablets each, but I am suffering from heart problems. Ko Kyaw Soe Win is suffering from high blood pressure and couldn't even get up but the doctor didn't do anything that is effective."
Translated: Nay Chi U - WiWiB
January 17, 2008
There are many political prisoners, who were charged under one or more different sections of Acts but have not been put on trials, which prolongs their imprisonment and not being given appropriate treatment for their well being. Now, their families are taking actions - demanding Senior General Than Shwe to take responsibility of the situation and sort it all out, as a head of the State. Copy of their letters, dated 16th January, have been also sent to military chief commander of Rangoon Division as well as to The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
Families of Ko Than Zaw Myint, Ko Thant Zin Myo, Ko Kyaw Soe Win and Ko San Win, all from Hlaing Thar Yar, who have been detained in Insein prison after protesting for lower commodity price in August 2007, have jointly signed the letter.
Ko Than Zaw Myint's father U Tin Yu explained the need for the action as the prisoners were neither being put on trials nor given permission to see their lawyers.
"They have not been allowed to have representatives so we tried to obtained their general power but the lawyers are not allowed to see them. It is understood that their trial date is 18th January so we got everything ready (to defend at court), but we have been directed to follow to many different offices, where we have been told 'The matter needs to be dealt with superiors'. We don't know who those superior persons are. We don't know where to find them."
He pointed that not only the youths have been held for over 5 months but also their charges have been changed from one to another, which explains the lack of the existence of State's Laws and Legislation.
"First it was 505 b and 147. Then the next week, they were told that their charges had been changed. It just proves the country's instability situation of Laws and Justice. Public can not trust anything. But then, there is nothing to be trusted. Right from the bottom of the system, everyone seems to be doing whatever they think is the best for them."
When the father heard the news of his son Ko Than Zaw Mying's possible trial on 14 January, he rushed and made many wasted journeys between Kamar Yut magistrate court and Insein prison. (so that he may have a chance to see his lawyer).
Only when he went to the prison yesterday, he learnt that his son was remanded on that day, by a visiting judge, who came to the prison, on that day.
"By about 4 pm, they were gathered in the prison to be told that their trial will be on 28 January. When my son questioned the judge why the remand wasn't given in court, where it should be, he replied that it was for their own security."
It is reported that some of the detainees are suffering from weaken heart, high blood pressure, etc,. and some suffered the violent physical abuse under Swan Arr Shin militia and USDA (union solidarity and development association) members, during their arrest. However, no one had received appropriate health treatments.
"We were given Barmitones and Paracetamol tablets each, but I am suffering from heart problems. Ko Kyaw Soe Win is suffering from high blood pressure and couldn't even get up but the doctor didn't do anything that is effective."
Senior Attorney's Assessment On PP's Charges And Trials
Original Source : Democratic Voice of Burma
Translated: Nay Chi U - Who is Who in Burma
January 17, 2008
The recently detained political prisoners could be put into two main groups: 1)the August commodity prices group and 2)the September protest group.
Until now, it is not known of any trial for the August group yet. However, some of the September group have been through trials. Some of them appeared before their regional township magistrate courts, some being held at the main magistrate court and some were being remanded to be heard inside Insein prison.
When given remands, there could be multiple charges, but often, some or all of the charges could be dropped too. Ko Thein Shwe, for instance, was charged under 4 or 5 different sections but now the judge has confirmed only one: 505b.
As far as the security police are concerned, they will have to charge the defendants with series of Sections of the relevant Acts. However, if the prosecution can't get witnesses enough for each charge, then the court will have to examine the case and reduce or amend the charges. Under these conditions, there will be much delay in the cases.
Some other cases need approval from the Ministry of Home Affairs, where they check and reassess the case, so quite often the magistrate courts will have to wait and so they keep giving remands.
Magistrate courts also work within office hours. It is not uncommon for a judge to deliver the remand inside prison for some cases. It just means that there will not be any hearing yet. In some cases,the remand could be given in the prison for security reasons too.
Basically, the defendants' future is now entirely in the hands of court, which keep them in custody. Therefore any issue relating to those defendants is the direct responsibility of the magistrates court. The court must make sure that they are informed of any of the defendants' well-being issues, while being in custody.
Usually, a judge would ask the defendant if there is anything he or she wants to say, during the remand. It is a normal practice for any judge to give a chance to the defendant for their say.
" The court hearing will be on this day. Have you anything you wish to say? The prosecution witness is not present today for the following reason (....... ), this is according to the law. Have you anything you wish to say? If not, the next court hearing will be on the following date (........)"
(U Aung Thein)
Translated: Nay Chi U - Who is Who in Burma
January 17, 2008
The recently detained political prisoners could be put into two main groups: 1)the August commodity prices group and 2)the September protest group.
Until now, it is not known of any trial for the August group yet. However, some of the September group have been through trials. Some of them appeared before their regional township magistrate courts, some being held at the main magistrate court and some were being remanded to be heard inside Insein prison.
When given remands, there could be multiple charges, but often, some or all of the charges could be dropped too. Ko Thein Shwe, for instance, was charged under 4 or 5 different sections but now the judge has confirmed only one: 505b.
As far as the security police are concerned, they will have to charge the defendants with series of Sections of the relevant Acts. However, if the prosecution can't get witnesses enough for each charge, then the court will have to examine the case and reduce or amend the charges. Under these conditions, there will be much delay in the cases.
Some other cases need approval from the Ministry of Home Affairs, where they check and reassess the case, so quite often the magistrate courts will have to wait and so they keep giving remands.
Magistrate courts also work within office hours. It is not uncommon for a judge to deliver the remand inside prison for some cases. It just means that there will not be any hearing yet. In some cases,the remand could be given in the prison for security reasons too.
Basically, the defendants' future is now entirely in the hands of court, which keep them in custody. Therefore any issue relating to those defendants is the direct responsibility of the magistrates court. The court must make sure that they are informed of any of the defendants' well-being issues, while being in custody.
Usually, a judge would ask the defendant if there is anything he or she wants to say, during the remand. It is a normal practice for any judge to give a chance to the defendant for their say.
" The court hearing will be on this day. Have you anything you wish to say? The prosecution witness is not present today for the following reason (....... ), this is according to the law. Have you anything you wish to say? If not, the next court hearing will be on the following date (........)"
(U Aung Thein)
Taunggok Bottling Up
Original Source: Naw Say Paw
Democratic Voice of Burma
Translated: Nay Chi U
Who is Who in Burma
January 18, 2008
For trying unsuccessfully to express their feelings over the management of the 'authorities', citizens of Taunggok are now guarded by heavily armed security forces while members of the National League for Democracy Party are being followed and watched in a most intolerably intimidating manner.
Just a day after the disrupted peaceful demonstration in the town, the locals are trying to bottle up their tensions and unhappiness over the ill-treatment they have received from authorities. It is reported that security is extremely tight here although schools and markets are all now open again.
"Cars full of armed riot police are following NLD members' every footstep. Swan Arr Shin Militia and USDA members have positioned themselves at all the road junctions and teashops. They are holding cameras and walkie talkies to provide the usual level of intimidation. Apart from that, everything else could be called normal."
It is also reported that many locals, including farmers from the surrounding area have made attempts to come and join the peaceful protest.
The public have been struggling to put up with 'forced' fire guard duties, other 'forced' labour, a 'forced' reduction in rice price for sale to the military, a 'forced' sunflower growing project that no farmer wanted to be involved in, as well as 'forced' cash "donations" to the 'authorities'. It was their frustration and tensions that they were trying to express, peacefully but clearly, in yesterday's protests.
"Unfortunately, we are even more angry now that our peaceful demonstrations have been forcibly dispersed. We have been unhappy for many long years with so much disappointment and bad feelings about the general mismanagement, which have all been bottled up. When it is going to explode, I can't tell but it will, sooner or later."
Other Arakan (Rakhine) regions, such as Sitttwe, Mun Aung and Thun Dwe, where active protests were held during the September protests, also see the increase of armed forces while more troops have been positioned in Rangoon.
Democratic Voice of Burma
Translated: Nay Chi U
Who is Who in Burma
January 18, 2008
For trying unsuccessfully to express their feelings over the management of the 'authorities', citizens of Taunggok are now guarded by heavily armed security forces while members of the National League for Democracy Party are being followed and watched in a most intolerably intimidating manner.
Just a day after the disrupted peaceful demonstration in the town, the locals are trying to bottle up their tensions and unhappiness over the ill-treatment they have received from authorities. It is reported that security is extremely tight here although schools and markets are all now open again.
"Cars full of armed riot police are following NLD members' every footstep. Swan Arr Shin Militia and USDA members have positioned themselves at all the road junctions and teashops. They are holding cameras and walkie talkies to provide the usual level of intimidation. Apart from that, everything else could be called normal."
It is also reported that many locals, including farmers from the surrounding area have made attempts to come and join the peaceful protest.
The public have been struggling to put up with 'forced' fire guard duties, other 'forced' labour, a 'forced' reduction in rice price for sale to the military, a 'forced' sunflower growing project that no farmer wanted to be involved in, as well as 'forced' cash "donations" to the 'authorities'. It was their frustration and tensions that they were trying to express, peacefully but clearly, in yesterday's protests.
"Unfortunately, we are even more angry now that our peaceful demonstrations have been forcibly dispersed. We have been unhappy for many long years with so much disappointment and bad feelings about the general mismanagement, which have all been bottled up. When it is going to explode, I can't tell but it will, sooner or later."
Other Arakan (Rakhine) regions, such as Sitttwe, Mun Aung and Thun Dwe, where active protests were held during the September protests, also see the increase of armed forces while more troops have been positioned in Rangoon.
Concerns Over 5 NLD Youths, Daw Pon
Original report: Democratic Voice of Burma
Translated: Nay Chi U - Who is Who in Burma
January 18, 2008
Concerns are growing for the well-being of the 5 members of the National League for Democracy Party, Youth Wing, Daw Pon, as except for one, the families have not seen them since their arrest earlier this month.
Ko Kyaw Kyaw Lin, Ko Kyaw Zin Win, Ko Ko Aung, Ko Nayzar Myo Win and Ko Han Soe were arrested by people who called themselves the 'authorities', at the beginning of January.
With so many different repressive 'authorities' on the loose, their families encountered problems when they could not say exactly who arrested them and when, which is delaying the enquiry according to Daw Tin Lay Win, Ko Kyaw Zin Win's mother. "I was told by the PDC chief that Kyaw Kyaw Lin was arrested on 3 Jan and Kyaw Zin Win was caught on 4 January. I was also told that unless I could tell them who arrested them, they wouldn't do anything". Ko Kyaw Zin Win, who was on the run since the September protest was arrested on 4 January.
Family members are particularly worried for Ko Kyaw Kyaw Lin, who needs regular medication for TB and Ko Kyaw Zin Lin, who recently had a hernia operation, said Daw Tin Lay Win.
Ko Ko Aung, who has been detained in Dagon police station is the only one who has been seen by the family. Ko Nayzar Myo Win and Ko Han Soe, who were in custody in Kyauk Tada police station, were permitted food and personal items but not family visits.
Daw Hla Hlaw Win, whose son Ko Nayzar Myo Win was arrested on 5 January said, " They said just for one or two questions, please lend us your son for a while, so he went. They told me they were 'Da Na'or civil police, but later, I was told they were 'Ta La Ya - Naing': military intelligence, so I followed them. They told me to come the next day so I went, but I could only leave clothing for him. I haven't been allowed to see him. "
"I was told that I couldn't see my son because he has something to do with political charges under a Section of Act 6, which means I couldn't see him. I don't know if my son is really has contravened that Act but they have authority, and they told me. They arrested him and they charged him. When I asked them to explain a bit more, they could tell nothing useful or helpful. When they took him away, they promised me that it would only be for a while but I haven't seen him since. How am I supposed to feel, as a parent ?
She added that she heard Ko Nayzar Myo Win could appear before court on 21 January.
Translated: Nay Chi U - Who is Who in Burma
January 18, 2008
Concerns are growing for the well-being of the 5 members of the National League for Democracy Party, Youth Wing, Daw Pon, as except for one, the families have not seen them since their arrest earlier this month.
Ko Kyaw Kyaw Lin, Ko Kyaw Zin Win, Ko Ko Aung, Ko Nayzar Myo Win and Ko Han Soe were arrested by people who called themselves the 'authorities', at the beginning of January.
With so many different repressive 'authorities' on the loose, their families encountered problems when they could not say exactly who arrested them and when, which is delaying the enquiry according to Daw Tin Lay Win, Ko Kyaw Zin Win's mother. "I was told by the PDC chief that Kyaw Kyaw Lin was arrested on 3 Jan and Kyaw Zin Win was caught on 4 January. I was also told that unless I could tell them who arrested them, they wouldn't do anything". Ko Kyaw Zin Win, who was on the run since the September protest was arrested on 4 January.
Family members are particularly worried for Ko Kyaw Kyaw Lin, who needs regular medication for TB and Ko Kyaw Zin Lin, who recently had a hernia operation, said Daw Tin Lay Win.
Ko Ko Aung, who has been detained in Dagon police station is the only one who has been seen by the family. Ko Nayzar Myo Win and Ko Han Soe, who were in custody in Kyauk Tada police station, were permitted food and personal items but not family visits.
Daw Hla Hlaw Win, whose son Ko Nayzar Myo Win was arrested on 5 January said, " They said just for one or two questions, please lend us your son for a while, so he went. They told me they were 'Da Na'or civil police, but later, I was told they were 'Ta La Ya - Naing': military intelligence, so I followed them. They told me to come the next day so I went, but I could only leave clothing for him. I haven't been allowed to see him. "
"I was told that I couldn't see my son because he has something to do with political charges under a Section of Act 6, which means I couldn't see him. I don't know if my son is really has contravened that Act but they have authority, and they told me. They arrested him and they charged him. When I asked them to explain a bit more, they could tell nothing useful or helpful. When they took him away, they promised me that it would only be for a while but I haven't seen him since. How am I supposed to feel, as a parent ?
She added that she heard Ko Nayzar Myo Win could appear before court on 21 January.
Hpyar Pone NLD Member Remanded Again
Original Source: Aye Aye Mon
Democratic Voice of Burma
Translated: Nay Chi U
Who is Who in Burma
January 18, 2008
Ko Thein Swe, spokesman for the National League for Democracy Party, (Youth) Pyar Pone, who was arrested in connection with the September protests, was remanded again for 2 more weeks, according to his family.
Despite news that he would appear before Bahan magistrates court, he was remanded again last Wednesday, U Min Swe, his father explained.
It has been the third time that Ko Thein Swe has been arrested since 1988. His father U Min Swe himself, is a veteran political prisoner.
Democratic Voice of Burma
Translated: Nay Chi U
Who is Who in Burma
January 18, 2008
Ko Thein Swe, spokesman for the National League for Democracy Party, (Youth) Pyar Pone, who was arrested in connection with the September protests, was remanded again for 2 more weeks, according to his family.
Despite news that he would appear before Bahan magistrates court, he was remanded again last Wednesday, U Min Swe, his father explained.
It has been the third time that Ko Thein Swe has been arrested since 1988. His father U Min Swe himself, is a veteran political prisoner.
Police Deploy to Key Places in Taungup
Taungup: Many police constables have been deployed in key places in Taungup after a public demonstration was foiled by authorities yesterday, reports a resident.
"Many police constables with full equipment are still deployed at Faungdaw Oo temple and the central market from yesterday, but the situation is normal today," he said.
The central market was open this morning after being closed by authorities yesterday when protesters had gathered in front of the market to form a procession and march in the streets against the military government.
Yesterday, people around Taungup Township had plans to stage a demonstration in Taungup, but the protest was foiled after government authorities intercepted and blocked the procession.
Many security forces, including police and army personnel, blocked the entrance gates of Taungup yesterday to prevent people coming from rural areas to join the demonstration.
"Our program failed yesterday but we have not given up our plan. We are going to stage another demonstration in the near future," he said, adding, " Because we are unable to tolerated the government oppression of our people who are now facing many social difficulties such as poverty."
The demonstration was arranged to demand the release of political prisoners from the town, including some members of the NLD, who are being detained at Thandwe prison, but most people coming from rural Taungup to join the demonstration were demanding a stop the forced purchase of rice from farmers and the forced cultivation of sunflowers in a government project.
People from Taungup gave an ultimatum to the military government one month ago by hanging posters in the town stating that they would be staging a demonstration if the government does not change the political situation in 2007. The demonstration emerged a month after the ultimatum was issued to no apparent effect.
Taungup in Arakan State played an active role in September's monk-led "Saffron Revolution" and many demonstrations broke out in the township.
A political analyst said the demonstrations will emerge again in Taungup after the authority withdraws the police force from key places and reduces the security in the town, because "people from Taungup are united and they are at the forefront of the Burmese democracy movement."
"Many police constables with full equipment are still deployed at Faungdaw Oo temple and the central market from yesterday, but the situation is normal today," he said.
The central market was open this morning after being closed by authorities yesterday when protesters had gathered in front of the market to form a procession and march in the streets against the military government.
Yesterday, people around Taungup Township had plans to stage a demonstration in Taungup, but the protest was foiled after government authorities intercepted and blocked the procession.
Many security forces, including police and army personnel, blocked the entrance gates of Taungup yesterday to prevent people coming from rural areas to join the demonstration.
"Our program failed yesterday but we have not given up our plan. We are going to stage another demonstration in the near future," he said, adding, " Because we are unable to tolerated the government oppression of our people who are now facing many social difficulties such as poverty."
The demonstration was arranged to demand the release of political prisoners from the town, including some members of the NLD, who are being detained at Thandwe prison, but most people coming from rural Taungup to join the demonstration were demanding a stop the forced purchase of rice from farmers and the forced cultivation of sunflowers in a government project.
People from Taungup gave an ultimatum to the military government one month ago by hanging posters in the town stating that they would be staging a demonstration if the government does not change the political situation in 2007. The demonstration emerged a month after the ultimatum was issued to no apparent effect.
Taungup in Arakan State played an active role in September's monk-led "Saffron Revolution" and many demonstrations broke out in the township.
A political analyst said the demonstrations will emerge again in Taungup after the authority withdraws the police force from key places and reduces the security in the town, because "people from Taungup are united and they are at the forefront of the Burmese democracy movement."
Dhaka and Naypyidaw Meeting to Clarify Maritime Boundary for Gas Exploration
Dhaka: High level delegations from Burma and Bangladesh will meet at Burma's new capital of Naypyidaw within a month to discuss a maritime boundary dispute between the two neighboring countries, according to a press report.
Bangladesh will send its delegation, led by Additional Foreign Secretary MAK Mahmood, to Burma in a month in order to clarify the position of the maritime boundary with Burma for gas exploration. The issue of the maritime boundary has not been discussed by the two neighbors in 21 years.
The boundary dispute has intensified over the past five years as both India and Burma rushed into exploration for gas in offshore areas allegedly within Bangladesh territory.
Bangladesh is now preparing its case for gas exploration like Burma and India in the Bay of Bengal, and eagerly wants to clarify the maritime boundary with Burma. Bangladesh has not been able to invite tenders for block bidding as the maritime boundaries have not been properly demarcated, said the report.
Dhaka - Naypyidaw relations have been good over the past year and the two countries have signed a number of agreements in key areas such as road links, border management, and energy cooperation.
Bangladesh is hoping that the problem of maritime boundary demarcation will be easily solved by negotiations between the two neighbors.
"We have, during the past year, developed an excellent bilateral relationship with Burma. It is our view that this would be further strengthened when we resolve the issue of maritime boundaries," Bangladesh Foreign Affairs Adviser Dr. Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury told reporters yesterday.
The sensitivity of the issue has kept the maritime boundary dispute off the bilateral agenda over the last few years, said one official, adding that warmer relationship have made it possible to start talks to resolve the matter.
India, Burma, and Bangladesh have not demarcated their territorial waters, although India and Burma have agreed on an "equidistant" boundary that allows them to explore gas in the Bay of Bengal.
One foreign ministry official said Bangladesh's delay in claiming its maritime territories has allowed both India and Burma to creep into Bangladesh territory in the Bay of Bengal.
Bangladesh's previous government claimed in 2006 that Burma had encroached 18,000 square kilometers into Bangladesh waters and floated gas exploration tenders.
India was alleged to have encroached 19,000 square kilometers into Bangladesh waters.
The caretaker government is reported to have plans to explore deepwater fossil fuel within Bangladesh's claimed 200 nautical miles of territorial water in the Bay of Bengal.
According to the Law of the Sea, Bangladesh claims 12 nautical miles of territorial sea, 200 nautical miles of Exclusive Economic Zone, and 350 nautical miles of continental shelf in the Bay of Bengal.
The country has been allowed ten years to justify its claim since it ratified the United Nations Convention on the Laws of the Sea in 2001.
Bangladesh will send its delegation, led by Additional Foreign Secretary MAK Mahmood, to Burma in a month in order to clarify the position of the maritime boundary with Burma for gas exploration. The issue of the maritime boundary has not been discussed by the two neighbors in 21 years.
The boundary dispute has intensified over the past five years as both India and Burma rushed into exploration for gas in offshore areas allegedly within Bangladesh territory.
Bangladesh is now preparing its case for gas exploration like Burma and India in the Bay of Bengal, and eagerly wants to clarify the maritime boundary with Burma. Bangladesh has not been able to invite tenders for block bidding as the maritime boundaries have not been properly demarcated, said the report.
Dhaka - Naypyidaw relations have been good over the past year and the two countries have signed a number of agreements in key areas such as road links, border management, and energy cooperation.
Bangladesh is hoping that the problem of maritime boundary demarcation will be easily solved by negotiations between the two neighbors.
"We have, during the past year, developed an excellent bilateral relationship with Burma. It is our view that this would be further strengthened when we resolve the issue of maritime boundaries," Bangladesh Foreign Affairs Adviser Dr. Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury told reporters yesterday.
The sensitivity of the issue has kept the maritime boundary dispute off the bilateral agenda over the last few years, said one official, adding that warmer relationship have made it possible to start talks to resolve the matter.
India, Burma, and Bangladesh have not demarcated their territorial waters, although India and Burma have agreed on an "equidistant" boundary that allows them to explore gas in the Bay of Bengal.
One foreign ministry official said Bangladesh's delay in claiming its maritime territories has allowed both India and Burma to creep into Bangladesh territory in the Bay of Bengal.
Bangladesh's previous government claimed in 2006 that Burma had encroached 18,000 square kilometers into Bangladesh waters and floated gas exploration tenders.
India was alleged to have encroached 19,000 square kilometers into Bangladesh waters.
The caretaker government is reported to have plans to explore deepwater fossil fuel within Bangladesh's claimed 200 nautical miles of territorial water in the Bay of Bengal.
According to the Law of the Sea, Bangladesh claims 12 nautical miles of territorial sea, 200 nautical miles of Exclusive Economic Zone, and 350 nautical miles of continental shelf in the Bay of Bengal.
The country has been allowed ten years to justify its claim since it ratified the United Nations Convention on the Laws of the Sea in 2001.