Myanmar nationals remember demo victims with 'Rambo' screening

Myanmar nationals remember demo victims with 'Rambo' screening
Asia One
Feb 3, 2008

SINGAPORE - HUNDREDS of Myanmar residents in Singapore gathered on Sunday for a unique tribute to victims of last September's crackdown in their homeland - a screening of the new 'Rambo' movie.

In the fourth film of the series, ageing Vietnam war veteran John Rambo takes on the Myanmar military as he and a group of mercenaries try to rescue Christian missionary-aid workers captured by the army.

The film, which portrays Myanmar's military as sadistic and depraved, is set against a backdrop of persecution of the country's ethnic Karen people.

'Just like Rambo is in the movie, Burma is waiting for a hero or someone to lead the revolution,' said engineer Maung Zaw, one of the Myanmar nationals who attended the screening at a central Singapore cinema.

All 600 tickets for the event was sold, said Aung Sayar Pyi, of the Overseas Burmese Patriots group which organised it.

'I'm happy to see the event as a success. We managed to sell out the entire cinema,' he said.

Several dozen of them wore T-shirts in red, the colour favoured by activists expressing their opposition to the regime.

'We are one', the front of the shirts read, while the back said, 'We pursue peace, justice and democracy for Burma', the country's former name which is still favoured by activists and the US government.

Organisers said they received permission from Singapore's media watchdog to hold a special programme before the film started. They planned to sing their country's national anthem, and show slides about the September crackdown which sparked worldwide outrage.

The demonstrations in Myanmar led by Buddhist monks became the biggest threat to the ruling junta in nearly two decades.

New York-based Human Rights Watch, in its annual report released Thursday, placed the death toll from the crackdown at about 100, far higher than the 15 dead reported by the junta. --

NZ taxpayer supports brutal regime (Kordia contract's link)

Murray McCully
MP National Party
Foreign Affairs Spokesman
Scoop NZ
February 4, 2008

Press Release: New Zealand National Party
February 3, 2008

Helen Clark must explain why a taxpayer-owned company is doing contract work for the Government of Myanmar (Burma), given her position on flights to Kuwait and the sanctions imposed on Fiji says National Party Foreign Affairs spokesman Murray McCully.

"The decision appears totally inconsistent with Ministerial tantrums over Air New Zealand carrying Australian troops to Kuwait, and with the sanctions currently in place against Fiji."

Mr McCully says 100% Government-owned engineering company, Kordia (formerly BCL) has been working with a Thai firm, ALT Inter Corporation, through a joint venture called Kordia(tm) Solutions Thailand, to undertake engineering work on cell-tower installations in Myanmar.
The work has been undertaken for Myanmar Post and Telecommunications, an agency of the Myanmar government.

"Helen Clark and her colleagues must be fully aware that the military dictatorship in Burma is arguably the most brutal and repressive regime in the world. These guys make Frank Bainimarama look like a junior choir-boy.

"The Opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi has been under arrest for decades. Meanwhile thousands of Burmese citizens, including large numbers of Burmese monks, were targeted in last years' brutal crackdown.

"It would be hard to find a regime with a more despicable track-record."

Mr McCully says Helen Clark and her colleagues had a "collective ministerial melt-down" when they were told that 80% Government-owned Air New Zealand was carrying Australian troops to Kuwait. They have also employed firm sanctions against the regime in Fiji, stopping Fijian boy scouts and soccer players from entering this country.

"It is hard to reconcile these actions with the decision to allow a wholly taxpayer-owned company to carry out engineering work for the Butchers of Burma - especially when it is likely that the communications facilities they are constructing will be used as a tool for the continued suppression of the Burmese people.

"Fairness and consistency must be essential elements of our foreign policy if the positions adopted by our government are to enjoy support at home and respect on the international stage. Neither of these characteristics would appear to have been employed in this case and I call upon Helen Clark to provide an explanation," Mr McCully says.

See Also:
Newsletter & Link outlining Kordia contract, 8 pages pdf file

NZ Government dragging chain on Burma issues

Government dragging chain on Burma issues
Press Release: Green Party
Scoop
4th February 2008

Green Party Foreign Affairs Spokesperson Keith Locke has criticised the Government for giving the green light to a publicly owned company, Kordia, to build cell-phone towers in Burma.

"It's shocking that our Government should be encouraging a state-owned company to help the Burmese regime, one of the most ruthless in the world," said Mr Locke says.

"This is not the way to conduct a moral foreign policy.

"If New Zealand truly supports democracy in Burma, we should heed the call of imprisoned pro-democracy leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, not to do business with the regime.

"New Zealand has been the most backward Western country in implementing sanctions against the Burmese junta. The US has sanctions in investments in Burma, as well as on imports. The European Union bans the import of items such as timber and gemstones. Australia, the EU and the US all have frozen the financial assets for the junta.

"In answer to my Written Parliamentary Questions our Government says it is waiting for the UN to move. It will be a long wait because China will veto any sanctions resolutions in the Security Council.

"Our Government also claims there is not a legislative basis to introduce sanctions, yet there is no sign of urgency to introduce empowering legislation. New Zealand has imposed unilateral sanctions in the past, against South Africa and Rhodesia using the Customs Act. [See the Government's answer last month to my Written Parliamentary Question 20836]

"The least the Government should do today is give a moral lead, first off by preventing any state-owned company helping the junta through its operations in Burma.

Burmese Resistance and the Starling Theory

By: Goldie Shwe and Terry Evans
Opinion by: Terry Evans
Scoop NZ
February 4th, 2008

In Burma, where the gun-toting junta is the only authority, it is hardly surprising that most people just keep their heads down and get on with the daily struggle of putting enough food on the table. Making yourself conspicuous in the eyes of the military or their plain-clothes thugs could result in imprisonment on the slightest pretext.

So how on earth have the people of Taunggok, located about 50 miles north of Thandwe, a major seaport in Southern Burma, managed to taunt the all-powerful junta in a defiant display of resistance?

These days most Burmese civilians are too frightened even to look a son or daughter of a military officer straight in the eye when they are out shopping in a big super store. However, in Taunggok, people openly express their displeasure at the corrupt officials who are ruining their country. While the majority of Burmese in towns and cities were still nursing the wounds inflicted by the generals during last September’s protests, the people of Taunggok regrouped and planned a fresh round of demonstrations. When forced to abandon this idea by an increased military presence in the town, they started a poster war against the junta instead.

Where do they get their courage? How do they manage to display these never-say-die attitudes? The answer is quite simple: they just stick to basics, and use their animal instincts to take on the predatory military. The repressed residents of Taunggok have worked out that, when you are so far from the top of the food chain, you must be united to survive against the increasingly violent junta.

Recently, researchers have discovered how vast flocks of starlings manage to stay together when under attack by predators, never leaving any of their number isolated and vulnerable. Each starling constantly tracks seven others as they fly, in order to respond instantly to changes of direction. Cohesion may be threatened under attack, but the flock can regroup very quickly, ready to deal with the next threat.

Similarly, the residents of Taunggok have discovered that unity is strength. Just like starlings, they are vigilant and stick closely together. It is no easy task to paste up a poster in the middle of a town infested by security patrols without friends to watch your back.

No one hesitates to stand up and be counted, either in print or on the streets. When a petition goes around, everyone wants to sign it; a call to rally once more inspired 200 people to assemble in the town centre. Even two lone youths, shouting democracy slogans on the streets, attracted an anxious and protective crowd, ready to regroup as quickly as a flock of starlings once threatened.

These simple starling-like tactics have confused the junta. They cannot understand why the residents of Taunggok will not submit to their military might, as citizens of larger towns and cities have done. The people of Taunggok know that winning democratic freedom is the only way to improve their lives. To achieve their goal, they understand they must be united, a close-knit community, in order to counter intimidation by corrupt local authorities. Just as starlings are aware of potential predators, the brave people of Taunggok know their enemy is the junta and its corrupt minions, who can snatch them at any time. Like the starlings, the Taunggok residents will not leave a member of their flock isolated and vulnerable.

Taunggok was overwhelmed by the government troops on 17 January, but the people still plan further demonstrations. Such a show of solidarity would force the junta to deploy even more troops, potentially outnumbering the population of the town and putting pressure on military resources. The Burmese army is the second largest army in Asia (and the largest, if you include all the newly recruited child soldiers), but in Burma there are at least 50 people to every thug in a uniform.

Adopting the starling theory – taking care of your own and protecting one another from harm – could have a powerful effect on the rest of the country. Imagine the benefits to the people of Burma if the residents of every town were to follow the courageous example set by the Taunggok citizens.

Ordinary Burmese would begin to feel the strength that comes with unity. Knowing that their lives were more secure with the support of their comrades would increase the resolve of the people to fight back against the junta. The swaggering soldiers, who have gained military honours for the abuse, violation and murder of their own citizens, would be revealed for the vicious criminals that they are and be subjected to increased public contempt.

The courageous citizens of Taunggok have proved that strength flows from unity. They have also shown the importance of responding to a threat without delay. These crucial yet simple lessons learnt from the starlings appear to be gaining traction for the people of Taunggok; the rest of Burma may soon follow their courageous example.