By AWZAR THI
Column: Rule of Lords
February 7, 2008 - HONG KONG, China, For anyone grappling with the thorny problem of assigning a financial value to human life, help is at hand. Insurance companies of the world, rejoice: Burma's Defense Ministry has definitively established that one life is worth a bit less than six US dollars.
In November 2006 a low-ranking army officer came to the suburban Rangoon home of a young mother. He told her that her husband had died of malaria in a mountainous border region some three months before, while serving an infantry battalion.
How Htun Htun Naing got there in the first place is unclear. He was not a soldier. The 31-year-old had been arrested and imprisoned for gambling. Apparently he had been taken from jail and sent to carry materials for the military in the rugged war-ravaged east.
The government of Burma openly uses prisoners on labor projects. Home Ministry publications include accounts and photographs of farms and quarries where the workforce consists of inmates. Corrections Department signboards dot roads around the countryside and criminal sentences are typically for rigorous imprisonment.
However, the government has persistently denied that it uses convicts as army porters, despite numerous reports to the contrary. Human rights defenders claim that the number of prisoners used to carry supplies has increased in recent years as the number of local villagers forcibly conscripted to work has decreased. The videotaped testimonies and wounds of escaped inmates are compelling evidence.
In any event, the officer visiting Htun Htun Naing's family advised them that they should go to the concerned battalion's headquarters to look into the matter. He collected some personal documents with which to process the case but left them with nothing: neither a doctor's report nor a medical certificate to verify his account.
Htun Htun Naing's wife, struggling to raise her three small children, was in no position to travel to an army camp halfway across the country. She continued her work as usual and waited to hear more.
So it was until the following year, when the family received a letter. The form inside, dated Jan. 30 and issued by the ministry accounts office, acknowledged the death/injury of U Htun Htun Naing, son of U Myint Shwe, in the service of Infantry Battalion 250 based at Loikaw. It informed the family that in accordance with an instruction from operation headquarters, the amount of 7,200 kyat had been cleared for payment as compensation by the Myanmar Economic Bank within the financial year.
How did the ministry do its math? No criteria were given, nor supporting documents affixed. The family still has not received anything to prove that Htun Htun Naing really died as they have been told, let alone details of how he ended up working for IB 250 in the first place. All they have is this scrap of paper granting them a miserable 7,200 kyat.
Their experience is very far removed from the global standards on satisfactory redress for victims of rights abuses.
According to the United Nations principles on remedies and reparations, adopted by the General Assembly in 2005, these should be "adequate, effective, prompt and appropriate." Compensation should be "proportional to the gravity of the ... harm suffered."
Gabriela Echeverria, a legal adviser to the group REDRESS, has written that the principles "have been used as the basis for new remedies in national and international fora" and have become "a standard for governments when implementing administrative measures."
While this may be true of some countries in Europe, and perhaps increasingly in the Americas, the notion that persons who have suffered some wrongdoing at the hands of the state deserve appropriate recompense, in addition to other remedies, is still remote to most parts of Asia.
The government of Thailand offered the equivalent of around US$7,500 to each of the families of 92 dead and missing at the hands of the army after the infamous Tak Bai incident of 2004; not one officer has ever been prosecuted, despite overwhelming evidence of systemic negligence.
In Nepal, the maximum amount that can be awarded to a torture victim is a bit over US$1,000, no matter how serious the injuries suffered. And whereas the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka had previously ordered that victims of torture there be paid highly, in recent years it has reduced the sums ordered to barely a few hundred dollars.
There are of course many opinions about the meaning of words like "adequate" and "appropriate" when it comes to the pecuniary losses of human rights abuse victims, but by any standards the payments to those in Asia are paltry at best, and the payments to those in Burma, if forthcoming at all, are evidently intended only to add insult to injury.
Htun Htun Naing's family has made a complaint anyhow. They have not dared to ask for justice or even more details of how he died. Just for a review of the case and a little more money, please. So far they have heard nothing. There seems little chance that they will. They may not have proof of his death, but they have ample proof that in Burma life really is cheap; perhaps even more so than anyone had imagined.
--
(Awzar Thi is the pen name of a member of the Asian Human Rights Commission with over 15 years of experience as an advocate of human rights and the rule of law in Thailand and Burma. His Rule of Lords blog can be read at http://ratchasima.net)
Source: Up Asia Online
Friday, 8 February 2008
Burmese MI hunting monks in exile
Authorities Hunt Exiled Monks
Narinjara
February 7, 2008 - Dhaka: Burmese military authorities have been searching for two monks who recently escaped to Bangladesh in their native village in Irrawaddy Division of Burma's delta region, said U Painya Dissa.
The authorities searched the village one week after the two monks had arrived in Bangladesh in their escape from Burma and the junta.
U Painya Dissa said, "Officials from the military intelligence unit first went to Mula Mingun monastery in the town of Pyapon on 29 January to search for me, because I usually visit the monastery on 29 or 30 January every year to meet with my senior abbot there."
U Painya Dissa was living in the Mula Mingun monastery several years ago and was initiated as a monk there.
"Afterward, the authorities went to my village to look for me. The officials searched my village monastery and my houses, and asked several questions of my family, but did not arrest any of my relatives," said the monk.
U Painya Dissa's native village is Wradan Shay located in Bokalay Township of Irrawaddy Division, where his family remains.
U Painya Dissa and one other monk, U Thawa Ra, escaped to Bangladesh from Burma in the third week of January 2008 as they feared the authority would arrest them.
The two monks were involved in leading the recent monk protests in the Saffron Revolution, and they are still executive members of the monk delegation unit that was formed by monks from the seven states and seven divisions of Burma.
The two monks are now staying at Rakhine monasteries in Bangladesh and the UNHCR Dhaka office has also issued a certificate to them for security purposes.
Source: Narinjara
Narinjara
February 7, 2008 - Dhaka: Burmese military authorities have been searching for two monks who recently escaped to Bangladesh in their native village in Irrawaddy Division of Burma's delta region, said U Painya Dissa.
The authorities searched the village one week after the two monks had arrived in Bangladesh in their escape from Burma and the junta.
U Painya Dissa said, "Officials from the military intelligence unit first went to Mula Mingun monastery in the town of Pyapon on 29 January to search for me, because I usually visit the monastery on 29 or 30 January every year to meet with my senior abbot there."
U Painya Dissa was living in the Mula Mingun monastery several years ago and was initiated as a monk there.
"Afterward, the authorities went to my village to look for me. The officials searched my village monastery and my houses, and asked several questions of my family, but did not arrest any of my relatives," said the monk.
U Painya Dissa's native village is Wradan Shay located in Bokalay Township of Irrawaddy Division, where his family remains.
U Painya Dissa and one other monk, U Thawa Ra, escaped to Bangladesh from Burma in the third week of January 2008 as they feared the authority would arrest them.
The two monks were involved in leading the recent monk protests in the Saffron Revolution, and they are still executive members of the monk delegation unit that was formed by monks from the seven states and seven divisions of Burma.
The two monks are now staying at Rakhine monasteries in Bangladesh and the UNHCR Dhaka office has also issued a certificate to them for security purposes.
Source: Narinjara
No Shan State, no union, says Shan leader
By Kwarn Lake
February 8, 2008 - “If there was no Shan State, there wouldn’t be this National Day of Shan State. And if there was no Shan State National Day, there wouldn’t be the Union of Burma,” stated Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS) Chairman Col Yawd Serk during the ceremony.
Representatives of different ethnic groups such as Lahu and Pa-O attended as well as non-Shan State parties such as Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP).
“It is fantastic”, Ad Carabao expressed his feeling on the event. Ad is a famous Thai rock singer who has been involved with the Shan movement for more than 15 years, even before Col. Yawd Serk became the leader.
“It is my second visit, but it is the first time that I have the opportunity to participate in Shan State National day,” he added.
“I want the people of Shan State to be united, to obey the law of the host countries when they are outside of Shan State and to educate themselves in order to benefit the country,” said Yawd Serk in the post celebration press conference.
He also added SSA will continue its fight against drugs in Shan State, and oppose whoever is trying to destroy the environment.
7th February was designated as the national day following the founding of the Shan States Council in 1947 that challenged British rule. The event paved the way for the signing of the historic Panglong Agreement with Aung San, Burmese leader and the father of Aung San Suu Kyi, on 12 February and independence on 4 January 1948.
Source: Shan Herald Agency for News
February 8, 2008 - “If there was no Shan State, there wouldn’t be this National Day of Shan State. And if there was no Shan State National Day, there wouldn’t be the Union of Burma,” stated Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS) Chairman Col Yawd Serk during the ceremony.
Representatives of different ethnic groups such as Lahu and Pa-O attended as well as non-Shan State parties such as Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP).
“It is fantastic”, Ad Carabao expressed his feeling on the event. Ad is a famous Thai rock singer who has been involved with the Shan movement for more than 15 years, even before Col. Yawd Serk became the leader.
“It is my second visit, but it is the first time that I have the opportunity to participate in Shan State National day,” he added.
“I want the people of Shan State to be united, to obey the law of the host countries when they are outside of Shan State and to educate themselves in order to benefit the country,” said Yawd Serk in the post celebration press conference.
He also added SSA will continue its fight against drugs in Shan State, and oppose whoever is trying to destroy the environment.
7th February was designated as the national day following the founding of the Shan States Council in 1947 that challenged British rule. The event paved the way for the signing of the historic Panglong Agreement with Aung San, Burmese leader and the father of Aung San Suu Kyi, on 12 February and independence on 4 January 1948.
Source: Shan Herald Agency for News
China and Myanmar Our friends in the north
KYAUKPHYU February 7, 2008 From The Economist print edition
Shunned by the West, Myanmar is developing ever closer commercial links with its neighbours, especially China
MOST locals, who are lucky if they enjoy two hours of electricity an evening, are unaware of their region's bounty: South-East Asia's biggest proven gas reserve lies in the Shwe field, just off the coast of Ramree Island. This year work will begin on a pipeline to carry these riches to China. From perhaps as early as late 2009, a parallel pipe will carry Middle Eastern and African oil from a new deep-water harbour at Kyaukphyu, bypassing the Strait of Malacca and fuelling the economy of China's south-west.
The site of the harbour, like the former fishing grounds where the gas lies, is now strictly out of bounds to locals. Despite a small poster campaign by underground activists, few people here know much about it. Those who do are worried. According to one, farmers fear losing their land. They have good reason for concern, judging from the mass dispossessions and human-rights abuses that surrounded the construction of earlier pipelines from the south to Thailand. Residents of nearby Baday Island have already been told that they must leave.
China is not the only country in the region nervous about its “energy security” and thus hungry for Myanmar's energy resources. India also hoped to buy the Shwe (“golden”) gas, offering the government soft loans and other inducements. In August India signed a $150m contract for gas exploration further south in the Gulf of Martaban. One day India hopes to build its own pipeline into its poor, remote, insurgency-ridden north-eastern states.
Until the Shwe gas comes on stream, Myanmar's biggest export market will remain Thailand. In purchases worth $2 billion a year, Thailand's electricity authority imports gas from the Yadana and Yetagun fields. But China offers the Burmese junta particular advantages. As a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, it can veto threatening resolutions, as it did a year ago (just three days before it secured exploration rights to three more offshore blocks near Ramree).
There are even reports that Myanmar may soon start conducting all its Chinese trade in the Chinese currency, the yuan. This sounds odd, since it is not fully convertible and Myanmar expects soon to have a large trade surplus. The rationale would be to avoid Western banking sanctions. American measures introduced after the crushing of monk-led protests last September hurt Burmese financial interests in Singapore. This week, America tightened sanctions on the ruling junta's families.
Chinese trade extends beyond energy. The new pipelines will follow the route of the old British-built Burma Road, which still carries timber, gold, gemstones and other Burmese raw materials north to China and brings in cheap manufactures. Around 20 Chinese companies are working in Myanmar on scores of projects including hydropower, mining and road-building as well as oil and gas. Ruili, the main border-crossing between northern Myanmar and China's province of Yunnan, has become a seedy boomtown.
Under construction, and soon to eclipse the Burma Road is a new “Southern Silk Road”, linking India to China across northern Myanmar. Parts of the long-derelict route were first opened by the Allies during the second world war to supply Chiang Kai-shek's Chinese army in its war with the Japanese. Today it gels neatly both with India's determination to develop the north-east and with China's plans to close the gap between its booming east coast and the laggardly western interior. Yunnan needs energy supplies and markets, and its businesses and officials are little bothered by the human-rights concerns that have led some Western governments to impose limited sanctions.
Shunned by the West, Myanmar is developing ever closer commercial links with its neighbours, especially China
MOST locals, who are lucky if they enjoy two hours of electricity an evening, are unaware of their region's bounty: South-East Asia's biggest proven gas reserve lies in the Shwe field, just off the coast of Ramree Island. This year work will begin on a pipeline to carry these riches to China. From perhaps as early as late 2009, a parallel pipe will carry Middle Eastern and African oil from a new deep-water harbour at Kyaukphyu, bypassing the Strait of Malacca and fuelling the economy of China's south-west.The site of the harbour, like the former fishing grounds where the gas lies, is now strictly out of bounds to locals. Despite a small poster campaign by underground activists, few people here know much about it. Those who do are worried. According to one, farmers fear losing their land. They have good reason for concern, judging from the mass dispossessions and human-rights abuses that surrounded the construction of earlier pipelines from the south to Thailand. Residents of nearby Baday Island have already been told that they must leave.
China is not the only country in the region nervous about its “energy security” and thus hungry for Myanmar's energy resources. India also hoped to buy the Shwe (“golden”) gas, offering the government soft loans and other inducements. In August India signed a $150m contract for gas exploration further south in the Gulf of Martaban. One day India hopes to build its own pipeline into its poor, remote, insurgency-ridden north-eastern states.
Until the Shwe gas comes on stream, Myanmar's biggest export market will remain Thailand. In purchases worth $2 billion a year, Thailand's electricity authority imports gas from the Yadana and Yetagun fields. But China offers the Burmese junta particular advantages. As a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, it can veto threatening resolutions, as it did a year ago (just three days before it secured exploration rights to three more offshore blocks near Ramree).
There are even reports that Myanmar may soon start conducting all its Chinese trade in the Chinese currency, the yuan. This sounds odd, since it is not fully convertible and Myanmar expects soon to have a large trade surplus. The rationale would be to avoid Western banking sanctions. American measures introduced after the crushing of monk-led protests last September hurt Burmese financial interests in Singapore. This week, America tightened sanctions on the ruling junta's families.
Chinese trade extends beyond energy. The new pipelines will follow the route of the old British-built Burma Road, which still carries timber, gold, gemstones and other Burmese raw materials north to China and brings in cheap manufactures. Around 20 Chinese companies are working in Myanmar on scores of projects including hydropower, mining and road-building as well as oil and gas. Ruili, the main border-crossing between northern Myanmar and China's province of Yunnan, has become a seedy boomtown.
Under construction, and soon to eclipse the Burma Road is a new “Southern Silk Road”, linking India to China across northern Myanmar. Parts of the long-derelict route were first opened by the Allies during the second world war to supply Chiang Kai-shek's Chinese army in its war with the Japanese. Today it gels neatly both with India's determination to develop the north-east and with China's plans to close the gap between its booming east coast and the laggardly western interior. Yunnan needs energy supplies and markets, and its businesses and officials are little bothered by the human-rights concerns that have led some Western governments to impose limited sanctions.
Taunggok NLD protestors charged and released
By Naw Say Phaw
Feb 7, 2008 (DVB)–Two National League for Democracy members who were arrested for staging a small protest have been charged and released, and claim they were beaten while in detention.
NLD members Ko Than Htay and Ko Zaw Naing, from Taunggok township, Arakan state, were arrested on 22 January after they rode around the township on bicycles shouting out pro-democracy slogans.
They were charged with violating movement restrictions, despite not being subject to any such restrictions, and released by Taunggok township court on the afternoon of 5 February.
Zaw Naing said that the judge told them they were charged with movement restriction violation because it was a minor offence that would not incur a heavy penalty.
“The judge said we could be released without any harsh punishments for this offence, whereas if we were charged with political offences we could face 10 to 20 years in prison,” Zaw Naing said.
“But we insisted that they charge us for our protest activities.”
Zaw Naing said the township police chief, judge, and township authorities had held a meeting and decided to let them go, but now they have been given real movement restrictions and have to sign in at the local police station every month.
They are also required to inform the authorities in advance if they plan to travel.
Both men said they had been beaten and mistreated by the township chairman, police chief and deputy police chief during their interrogation.
Zaw Naing said he was repeatedly beaten by the police chief at the township Peace and Development Council office and again when he had been transferred to the police station.
“I explained to them that we protested because we are hungry and have no food, but they were not pleased with that answer, and so they beat us until we gave them the answer they wanted,” Zaw Naing said.
“They beat me up so badly that my son could not even recognise me when he visited me in detention to bring me food.”
Than Htay said that he was also treated badly during interrogation.
“The township chairman kicked me when I was in the township PDC office and asked me how many dollars I had been given to stage the protest,” Than Htay said.
“I told him that I did it of my own free will because we have no food, and that I did not get any money from anyone,” he said.
“At the police station, about seven police officers, including deputy police chief Maung San, handcuffed me and beat me until I was nearly deaf.”
The two men said they would continue to protest in future if they thought it was necessary.
Feb 7, 2008 (DVB)–Two National League for Democracy members who were arrested for staging a small protest have been charged and released, and claim they were beaten while in detention.
NLD members Ko Than Htay and Ko Zaw Naing, from Taunggok township, Arakan state, were arrested on 22 January after they rode around the township on bicycles shouting out pro-democracy slogans.
They were charged with violating movement restrictions, despite not being subject to any such restrictions, and released by Taunggok township court on the afternoon of 5 February.
Zaw Naing said that the judge told them they were charged with movement restriction violation because it was a minor offence that would not incur a heavy penalty.
“The judge said we could be released without any harsh punishments for this offence, whereas if we were charged with political offences we could face 10 to 20 years in prison,” Zaw Naing said.
“But we insisted that they charge us for our protest activities.”
Zaw Naing said the township police chief, judge, and township authorities had held a meeting and decided to let them go, but now they have been given real movement restrictions and have to sign in at the local police station every month.
They are also required to inform the authorities in advance if they plan to travel.
Both men said they had been beaten and mistreated by the township chairman, police chief and deputy police chief during their interrogation.
Zaw Naing said he was repeatedly beaten by the police chief at the township Peace and Development Council office and again when he had been transferred to the police station.
“I explained to them that we protested because we are hungry and have no food, but they were not pleased with that answer, and so they beat us until we gave them the answer they wanted,” Zaw Naing said.
“They beat me up so badly that my son could not even recognise me when he visited me in detention to bring me food.”
Than Htay said that he was also treated badly during interrogation.
“The township chairman kicked me when I was in the township PDC office and asked me how many dollars I had been given to stage the protest,” Than Htay said.
“I told him that I did it of my own free will because we have no food, and that I did not get any money from anyone,” he said.
“At the police station, about seven police officers, including deputy police chief Maung San, handcuffed me and beat me until I was nearly deaf.”
The two men said they would continue to protest in future if they thought it was necessary.
Monastery warned not to accept visitors
Reporting by Aye Nai
Democratic Voice of Burma
Feb 7, 2008 (DVB)–A monastery in the border town of Kawthaung, Tenasserim division, that provides accommodation to poor travellers, has been told by local authorities not to accept visitors, monks at the monastery said.
Aung Dhamma Yeikthar monastery in Kawthaung's Padauk Shwe Wah ward has been providing accommodation to poor job seekers from across Burma who come to find better paid jobs in Ranong district across the border in Thailand.
A monk from the monastery said that a group of local officials called a representative monk from the monastery into a meeting and warned him to stop receiving visitors.
"The township's Sasana administration chief, the township head monk and the township Peace and Development Council chairman were in the meeting," the monk said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
"They warned us that the monastery has been very crowded and told us not to accept visitors anymore. This will make it difficult for people to find a place to sleep."
Democratic Voice of Burma
Feb 7, 2008 (DVB)–A monastery in the border town of Kawthaung, Tenasserim division, that provides accommodation to poor travellers, has been told by local authorities not to accept visitors, monks at the monastery said.
Aung Dhamma Yeikthar monastery in Kawthaung's Padauk Shwe Wah ward has been providing accommodation to poor job seekers from across Burma who come to find better paid jobs in Ranong district across the border in Thailand.
A monk from the monastery said that a group of local officials called a representative monk from the monastery into a meeting and warned him to stop receiving visitors.
"The township's Sasana administration chief, the township head monk and the township Peace and Development Council chairman were in the meeting," the monk said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
"They warned us that the monastery has been very crowded and told us not to accept visitors anymore. This will make it difficult for people to find a place to sleep."
Child recruits returned to families
Reporting by Aye Nai
Democratic Voice of Burma
Feb 7, 2008 (DVB)–Four children who were sold to an army recruiter in Kyi Myint Taing township on 23 January have been returned to their families, who were asked to pay for their transport, local market vendors said.
The children were detained by market security guards at the Central Model Fish Market and then sold to sergeant Soe Myint, who took them to Danyingon military recruitment centre.
According to a vendor at the market, the children were brought back from Danyingon in the early hours of 24 January, the day after the story was made public by several news agencies.
“Sergeant Soe Myint returned the children at around 2am in a military vehicle,” the vendor said.
“He asked for 30,000 kyat from the parents for transportation fees, and the children have been banned from entering the fish area of the market for six months.”
The parents were unable to afford the 30,000 kyat demanded by Soe Myint, so the vendors in the market came up with the money to free the children.
One market vendor said that Soe Myint was well known for buying children from the market in this way, and had made a lot of money from it.
The Burmese regime has claimed that there are very few cases of child military recruitment in the country, and says that those involved in the practice will face punishment.
However, the United Nations and international rights organisation Human Rights Watch have both recently drawn attention to the problem of child recruitment in Burma.
The government has taken no action against Soe Myint or the market security guards.
Democratic Voice of Burma
Feb 7, 2008 (DVB)–Four children who were sold to an army recruiter in Kyi Myint Taing township on 23 January have been returned to their families, who were asked to pay for their transport, local market vendors said.
The children were detained by market security guards at the Central Model Fish Market and then sold to sergeant Soe Myint, who took them to Danyingon military recruitment centre.
According to a vendor at the market, the children were brought back from Danyingon in the early hours of 24 January, the day after the story was made public by several news agencies.
“Sergeant Soe Myint returned the children at around 2am in a military vehicle,” the vendor said.
“He asked for 30,000 kyat from the parents for transportation fees, and the children have been banned from entering the fish area of the market for six months.”
The parents were unable to afford the 30,000 kyat demanded by Soe Myint, so the vendors in the market came up with the money to free the children.
One market vendor said that Soe Myint was well known for buying children from the market in this way, and had made a lot of money from it.
The Burmese regime has claimed that there are very few cases of child military recruitment in the country, and says that those involved in the practice will face punishment.
However, the United Nations and international rights organisation Human Rights Watch have both recently drawn attention to the problem of child recruitment in Burma.
The government has taken no action against Soe Myint or the market security guards.
Blogger charged with Emergency Provision Act
By Nem Davies
Mizzima News
www.mizzima.com
February 7, 2008 - Police in Rangoon have charged a Burmese blogger, Nay Phone Latt, who is believed to be in detention, under an emergency act, according to a close friend.
Nay Phone Latt, age 28, who went missing on January 29, has been charged with article 5 (J), Emergency Provision Act, at the Dagon Police station in Rangoon, said the close friend, who wished not to be named.
The Burmese military junta has widely used Article 5 (J), which could land an offender up to seven years of imprisonment, as a tool in suppressing dissidents and political activists.
"He was charged on February 3 at Dagon police station. We knew of the charges through police officer Soe Thein, who was among those that arrested him," the friend said.
Though Nay Phone Latt is reportedly charged and being detained at the Ministry of Home Affairs, so far there is no date for a trial. Family and friends told Mizzima they are preparing to confront the charges through legal avenues once the trial starts.
"We are still waiting and we will wait for about a month, and if necessary we will seek legal aid from lawyers," a family friend of Nay Phone Latt told Mizzima.
Meanwhile, a close friend of Nay Phone Latt's family said, the police have reportedly returned the Jeep, which Nay Phone Latt was reportedly driving when he was arrested, on Thursday afternoon.
Source: Mizzima News
Mizzima News
www.mizzima.com
February 7, 2008 - Police in Rangoon have charged a Burmese blogger, Nay Phone Latt, who is believed to be in detention, under an emergency act, according to a close friend.
Nay Phone Latt, age 28, who went missing on January 29, has been charged with article 5 (J), Emergency Provision Act, at the Dagon Police station in Rangoon, said the close friend, who wished not to be named.
The Burmese military junta has widely used Article 5 (J), which could land an offender up to seven years of imprisonment, as a tool in suppressing dissidents and political activists.
"He was charged on February 3 at Dagon police station. We knew of the charges through police officer Soe Thein, who was among those that arrested him," the friend said.
Though Nay Phone Latt is reportedly charged and being detained at the Ministry of Home Affairs, so far there is no date for a trial. Family and friends told Mizzima they are preparing to confront the charges through legal avenues once the trial starts.
"We are still waiting and we will wait for about a month, and if necessary we will seek legal aid from lawyers," a family friend of Nay Phone Latt told Mizzima.
Meanwhile, a close friend of Nay Phone Latt's family said, the police have reportedly returned the Jeep, which Nay Phone Latt was reportedly driving when he was arrested, on Thursday afternoon.
Source: Mizzima News
Blogging for Suu Kyi
By KAY LATT
The Irrawaddy
February 7, 2008 - “I’ve got a better idea,” the barber says. “Let’s create a blog for Daw Suu, so she can get the word out to the world!”
“I wish I were a blogger,” says Maung Kaung, sitting in the barber’s chair.
“Why?” asks the barber as he trims away at the back of his client’s head.
“A blogger can write anything he wants and everyone can read it,” states Maung Kaung assertively.
The barber pauses for a minute, looking in the mirror. “What is a blog anyway? I really don’t get it,” he whispers.
U Toke Kyee has been sitting on the barber’s bench reading a journal. Now he jumps into the conversation: “Oh barber, you are too out of date to understand! A blog is just a space in the Internet where you can create your own world.”
The barber looks up and nods happily. “I like the sound of that,” he says. “Maybe I’ll create a blog. How much does it cost to do it?”
“Perhaps as much as a long sentence in Insein Prison,” mutters Maung Kaung under his breath.
But the barber’s eyes are still sparkling as he looks up at the ceiling: “No, no. I just want to share all my experiences with people around the world,” he says. “Friends I have never even met.”
Maung Kaung and U Toke Kyee fall silent, lost in thought.
The barber muses happily and starts shaving Maung Kaung’s neck. He looks happy again.
“I’ve got a better idea,” he says finally. “Let’s create a blog for Daw Suu, so she can get the word out to the world!”
U Toke Kyee puts down his newspaper. “That’s not a bad idea, barber,” he replies. “Then they could stop taking her back and forth to that government guest house; and she wouldn’t have to slip messages to that great oaf Gambari in order to get a speech out.”
“But who’s going to volunteer to be Suu Kyi’s secret blogger?” asks Maung Kaung.
The barber responds quickly: “Why not you? You said you wanted to be a blogger. You could find a job inside Suu Kyi’s compound and start getting her messages out to the world!”
Maung Kaung shifts uncomfortably in the seat: “But there’s no Internet access in Daw Suu’s house; and there’s no telephone line either.”
U Toke Kyee raises a finger and exclaims: “Ah! But you could use the wireless network from the new US embassy—it’s on the same street.”
Maung Kaung shakes his head: “No. It would never be permitted. And another problem is electricity. It’s only on for six hours a day.”
The barber ponders a minute while he snips the hair from his customer’s nostrils.
“No problem, old boy,” he states. “We’ll send in some batteries every day.”
Maung Kaung checks his shaved face in the mirror and rubs his chin, admiring how smooth it feels. He thinks for a minute and responds: “The best solution is to get Daw Suu to move to Naypyidaw. Then she will have access to telephone lines and wireless and everything.”
“Yeah,” mutters the barber. “And also, the generals could get her to live next door and stop worrying about US missiles raining down on them!”
Source: The Irrawaddy News - (www.irrawaddy.org)
The Irrawaddy
February 7, 2008 - “I’ve got a better idea,” the barber says. “Let’s create a blog for Daw Suu, so she can get the word out to the world!”
“I wish I were a blogger,” says Maung Kaung, sitting in the barber’s chair.
“Why?” asks the barber as he trims away at the back of his client’s head.
“A blogger can write anything he wants and everyone can read it,” states Maung Kaung assertively.
The barber pauses for a minute, looking in the mirror. “What is a blog anyway? I really don’t get it,” he whispers.
U Toke Kyee has been sitting on the barber’s bench reading a journal. Now he jumps into the conversation: “Oh barber, you are too out of date to understand! A blog is just a space in the Internet where you can create your own world.”
The barber looks up and nods happily. “I like the sound of that,” he says. “Maybe I’ll create a blog. How much does it cost to do it?”
“Perhaps as much as a long sentence in Insein Prison,” mutters Maung Kaung under his breath.
But the barber’s eyes are still sparkling as he looks up at the ceiling: “No, no. I just want to share all my experiences with people around the world,” he says. “Friends I have never even met.”
Maung Kaung and U Toke Kyee fall silent, lost in thought.
The barber muses happily and starts shaving Maung Kaung’s neck. He looks happy again.
“I’ve got a better idea,” he says finally. “Let’s create a blog for Daw Suu, so she can get the word out to the world!”
U Toke Kyee puts down his newspaper. “That’s not a bad idea, barber,” he replies. “Then they could stop taking her back and forth to that government guest house; and she wouldn’t have to slip messages to that great oaf Gambari in order to get a speech out.”
“But who’s going to volunteer to be Suu Kyi’s secret blogger?” asks Maung Kaung.
The barber responds quickly: “Why not you? You said you wanted to be a blogger. You could find a job inside Suu Kyi’s compound and start getting her messages out to the world!”
Maung Kaung shifts uncomfortably in the seat: “But there’s no Internet access in Daw Suu’s house; and there’s no telephone line either.”
U Toke Kyee raises a finger and exclaims: “Ah! But you could use the wireless network from the new US embassy—it’s on the same street.”
Maung Kaung shakes his head: “No. It would never be permitted. And another problem is electricity. It’s only on for six hours a day.”
The barber ponders a minute while he snips the hair from his customer’s nostrils.
“No problem, old boy,” he states. “We’ll send in some batteries every day.”
Maung Kaung checks his shaved face in the mirror and rubs his chin, admiring how smooth it feels. He thinks for a minute and responds: “The best solution is to get Daw Suu to move to Naypyidaw. Then she will have access to telephone lines and wireless and everything.”
“Yeah,” mutters the barber. “And also, the generals could get her to live next door and stop worrying about US missiles raining down on them!”
Source: The Irrawaddy News - (www.irrawaddy.org)
UNICEF Chief Says Burmese Newspapers Misstated Facts
By THE IRRAWADDY
www.irrawaddy.org
February 7, 2008 - The Burmese Minister of Health, Dr Kyaw Myint, said UNICEF’s chief health officer in Burma has explained in a letter that international newspapers misstated facts about the child morality rate in Burma, according to a report in The New Light of Myanmar.
Dr Osamu Kunii, the chief of UNICEF’s heath and nutrition section in Burma, sent a letter to Dr Kyaw Myint on Wednesday saying that some newspapers had misstated facts in the annual report and misquoted him.
“He [Osamu Kunii] said he was sorry for the misunderstanding if had adverse effects on the hard work of the ministry of health and government,” The New Light of Myanmar reported.
The UNICEF annual report stated that there was a child death rate of 104 deaths for each 1,000 children in Burma. The World Health Organization has said the Burmese child mortality rate was 66 deaths for every 1,000, according to the state-run newspaper.
A spokesperson in the UNICEF office in Rangoon was not available when The Irrawaddy contacted it for comment.
Osamu Knnii, quoted in a The Associated Press story in late January, said that between 100,000 to 150,000 children under five years of age die every year in Burma, many from preventable diseases.
The UNICEF annual report, "The State of the World's Children," rated Burma as having the 4th highest child mortality rate in the world, surpassed in Asia only by Afghanistan which has the third-worst record after Sierra Leone and Angola.
Most of Burma's health care is funded through international groups.
The military government spends about 3 percent of its annual budget on health care annually, compared with 40 percent on the military, according to a report published this year by researchers from the University of California (Berkeley) and Johns Hopkins University in the United States.
Source: The Irrawaddy News
www.irrawaddy.org
February 7, 2008 - The Burmese Minister of Health, Dr Kyaw Myint, said UNICEF’s chief health officer in Burma has explained in a letter that international newspapers misstated facts about the child morality rate in Burma, according to a report in The New Light of Myanmar.
Dr Osamu Kunii, the chief of UNICEF’s heath and nutrition section in Burma, sent a letter to Dr Kyaw Myint on Wednesday saying that some newspapers had misstated facts in the annual report and misquoted him.
“He [Osamu Kunii] said he was sorry for the misunderstanding if had adverse effects on the hard work of the ministry of health and government,” The New Light of Myanmar reported.
The UNICEF annual report stated that there was a child death rate of 104 deaths for each 1,000 children in Burma. The World Health Organization has said the Burmese child mortality rate was 66 deaths for every 1,000, according to the state-run newspaper.
A spokesperson in the UNICEF office in Rangoon was not available when The Irrawaddy contacted it for comment.
Osamu Knnii, quoted in a The Associated Press story in late January, said that between 100,000 to 150,000 children under five years of age die every year in Burma, many from preventable diseases.
The UNICEF annual report, "The State of the World's Children," rated Burma as having the 4th highest child mortality rate in the world, surpassed in Asia only by Afghanistan which has the third-worst record after Sierra Leone and Angola.
Most of Burma's health care is funded through international groups.
The military government spends about 3 percent of its annual budget on health care annually, compared with 40 percent on the military, according to a report published this year by researchers from the University of California (Berkeley) and Johns Hopkins University in the United States.
Source: The Irrawaddy News
Shan are Silenced, as Burma’s Chinese Celebrate
By SAW YAN NAING
Irrawaddy News
www.irrawaddy.org
February 7, 2008 - The Shan National Day and Chinese New Year fall on the same day in Burma this year. But while the country’s Chinese residents are celebrating on Thursday, the native Shan are officially barred from publicly marking the occasion.
The regime banned the Shan festival, also known as Shan State Day, in 2001, apparently because it was worried about growing political awareness among the Shan.
The festival commemorates the day when the Shan nation adopted its own flag and national anthem on February 7, 1947.
A resident of the Shan capital, Taunggyi, told The Irrawaddy on Thursday that no celebration of the Shan festival was being held there. Many Chinese residents were gathering to celebrate Chinese New Year, she said.
The woman, a member of the opposition National League for Democracy, said the official ban on the Shan celebration was a further indication of how the regime was suppressing the Shan people.
Low-key ceremonies were being held in some locations, however.
In Rangoon, alms were offered to monks at a Shan monastery in the city’s Mayangone Township. The organizer of the ceremony, Nang Boe Seng, said: “We are celebrating so that our [Shan] people do not forget our culture, tradition and religious customs. We also want the young generation to love and uphold our culture.”
The day’s program included dance and music on Thursday evening by Shan performers, including the famous Shan singers Sai Htee Saing and Sai Khan Lait and Burmese singer Zaw Paing.
The Shan National Day was also being observed on Thursday in celebrations in Loi Taileng, headquarters of Shan State Army—(South).
Outside Burma, Shan migrants working and living in Chiang Mai, northern Thailand, also celebrated the festival.
Despite the ban on Shan National Day observances in Burma, the regime permitted celebrations of the Shan New Year festival in Taunggyi in December.
Source: The Irrawaddy News
Irrawaddy News
www.irrawaddy.org
February 7, 2008 - The Shan National Day and Chinese New Year fall on the same day in Burma this year. But while the country’s Chinese residents are celebrating on Thursday, the native Shan are officially barred from publicly marking the occasion.
The regime banned the Shan festival, also known as Shan State Day, in 2001, apparently because it was worried about growing political awareness among the Shan.
The festival commemorates the day when the Shan nation adopted its own flag and national anthem on February 7, 1947.
A resident of the Shan capital, Taunggyi, told The Irrawaddy on Thursday that no celebration of the Shan festival was being held there. Many Chinese residents were gathering to celebrate Chinese New Year, she said.
The woman, a member of the opposition National League for Democracy, said the official ban on the Shan celebration was a further indication of how the regime was suppressing the Shan people.
Low-key ceremonies were being held in some locations, however.
In Rangoon, alms were offered to monks at a Shan monastery in the city’s Mayangone Township. The organizer of the ceremony, Nang Boe Seng, said: “We are celebrating so that our [Shan] people do not forget our culture, tradition and religious customs. We also want the young generation to love and uphold our culture.”
The day’s program included dance and music on Thursday evening by Shan performers, including the famous Shan singers Sai Htee Saing and Sai Khan Lait and Burmese singer Zaw Paing.
The Shan National Day was also being observed on Thursday in celebrations in Loi Taileng, headquarters of Shan State Army—(South).
Outside Burma, Shan migrants working and living in Chiang Mai, northern Thailand, also celebrated the festival.
Despite the ban on Shan National Day observances in Burma, the regime permitted celebrations of the Shan New Year festival in Taunggyi in December.
Source: The Irrawaddy News
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