OCTOBER, 2008 - VOLUME 16 NO.10
The Irrawaddy News
With few opportunities at home, many young Burmese look overseas for work. But before migrants can earn a dollar abroad they have to face queues, fees, bribes and sometimes danger
RANGOON — EARLY each morning a crowd of young men and women gathers in front of an imposing building on Pansodan Street in central Rangoon.
They look nervous, and they sweat in the heat as they huddle together waiting for the door to open. Security guards scold them for pushing and shout at them to be patient.
This could be a scene outside a charity foundation, with hapless refugees struggling to get their hands on food rations.
In fact, the building is Burma’s passport office. And the teeming crowd is made up of people who have come to Rangoon from across the country to try to get a passport so they can go abroad and work.
“About 1,000 people swarm outside our building every morning from Monday to Friday,” an officer at the Myanmar Passport Issuing Office told The Irrawaddy.
Most of the applicants are between 18 and 38—about two-thirds are male. Currently, the passport office is issuing some 8,000 to 10,000 Burmese passports per month, with an average waiting time of 40 days.
The anxious crowd at the passport office is yet another reminder of the dire socio-economic crisis in Burma.
With unemployment rife, the cost of living rising and few doors of opportunity open, Burmese have been leaving the country in droves over the past few years. A migrant labor organization based in Thailand estimates that as much as 10 percent of Burma’s 55 million population is now working abroad.
Burma was already an economic basket case before August 2007 when a 100 to 500 percent hike in the retail price of fuel pushed inflation even higher. The cost of basic household commodities and staple foods leapt in price and sparked last year’s anti-government uprising with Buddhist monks leading the calls for political and economic change.
But their pleas fell on deaf ears.
Then, on May 2-3, Cyclone Nargis wrought havoc on the rice-producing Irrawaddy delta, killing thousands, uprooting families and causing widespread food shortages. An exodus to work overseas followed.
“Most of the young people in my village have gone to Malaysia,” 32-year-old Hla Soe told The Irrawaddy. He said that he and 10 others from the village of Kone Gyi in Magwe Division had come to Rangoon to apply for passports. They planned to join their fellow villagers working in a factory in Malaysia.
Hla Soe said that their village was rich in groundnuts, sesame, beans and pulses, but without farm hands to work the fields much arable land had gone fallow.
Almost every laborer had left the area—the average daily wage of 1,500 to 2,000 kyat (US $1.20-1.60) being insufficient for survival, even in the fertile plains of central Burma.
“I will sell my house to finance a trip to Malaysia,” Hla Soe said. “I think most of the people who go there earn good money. Some of them can send home as much as 100,000 kyat ($80) a month!”
As the family breadwinner, Hla Soe said he is ready to go abroad as soon as he gets a passport. However, that process is fraught with exorbitant fees and frustrations.
“We’ll each have to pay at least 1.15 million kyat ($920) to an employment agency for arranging jobs and the trip to Malaysia,” said one of Hla Soe’s friends from Kone Gyi.
“My mother sold her farm to pay for my expenses,” he added. “I’ve already spent almost 100,000 kyat ($80) in the past 12 days.”
Kone Gyi is not the only village that has lost much of its workforce. Hundred of thousands of workers, from rural areas as well as urban districts, are now leaving the country—not with dreams of adventure and wealth, but just to earn enough to help their families survive.
The employment agencies in Rangoon welcome them with open arms.
According to several sources, the overseas employment agencies charge applicants 1.2 million kyat ($960) to arrange jobs and flights to Malaysia; 3.2 million kyat ($2,560) to Singapore; 1.2 million kyat ($960) to the United Arab Emirates; and as much as $11,000 to Japan—the fees reflect the amount of money migrants can expect to earn in each country.
In fact, because the export of Burmese labor is so lucrative, more than 100 private employment agencies have sprouted up in Rangoon alone.
However, even the entrepreneurs who run these employment agencies say they, in turn, are subjected to inflated fees and bureaucracy.
An agent in Kyauktada Township in central Rangoon, who spoke to The Irrawaddy on condition of anonymity, said: “If you want to set up an employment agency, you must first submit an application to the National Planning and Economic Development Ministry. If you get a license, you must then apply for another permit, this time from the Ministry of Labor.
“If you are granted a license to operate an agency, you have to pay an initial fee of 5 million kyat ($4,000) to the Labor Ministry. In total, you must spend about 20 to 25 million kyat ($16-$20,000) in office costs and bureaucratic expenses, including bribes to officials, to get started.”
All the licenses must be extended annually and hundreds of thousands of kyat in taxes have to paid to secure extensions, the agent said.
According to the manager of an employment agency in Tamwe Township, the only way to run a profitable business is to manipulate the accounts.
“The agency gets taxed for each worker it sends abroad,” he said. “If we subcontract 100 people, we write down seven in our books.”
Never far behind in the ways of manipulation and fraud, the Labor Ministry issued an order on June 6, 2008, stating that each overseas employment agency must account for no fewer than 300 workers per year. If not, its licenses would be revoked.
The Burmese junta benefits not only from charging these agencies fees and taxes, but has also set up its own overseas employment centers to take advantage of the mass migration.
Sources in Burma’s former capital said that two prominent government-run agencies, Shwe Innwa and Myanma Mahn, have been given monopolies to supply labor to markets in certain countries.
“If a worker wants to go to South Korea to work, he or she must register with the Shwe Innwa agency,” the executive director of a private agency said. “Shwe Innwa has an agreement with the South Korean Labor Ministry guaranteeing 2,000 Burmese workers a year.”
Not only are employment agencies taxed by the regime, but the workers themselves may have to pay tax into the Burmese government’s coffers, even though they are working for foreign employers and may be subject to pay tax in the host country too.
“If someone goes to Malaysia, they have to pay 50,000 kyat ($40) tax per month to the Burmese Labor Ministry,” a businessman close to the department said, adding that the tax was substantially higher for workers going to Japan and Singapore.
Burmese workers who cannot afford these costs often cross into neighboring countries illegally. An estimated 300 Burmese migrant workers are smuggled into Thailand every day.
Burma’s economic woes have been a boon to human traffickers, according to sources at the Thai-Burmese border.
Many travel to Thailand independently, simply walking through border crossings at Three Pagodas Pass, Mae Sai or Ranong. The most popular crossing point is the bridge to the Thai black market haven of Mae Sot, which is separated from the neighboring Burmese town of Myawaddy by the Moei River.
Migrants have easy access to Mae Sot because so many Burmese and Thais routinely cross the bridge to buy and sell goods on either side of the border. It costs 1,000 kyat ($0.80) to enter Thailand.
Nevertheless, many Burmese migrants wade through the river or paddle across on inflated inner tubes to avoid paying the fee.
Burma watchers estimate that many more migrants have gone to Thailand this year because of the destruction wrought by Cyclone Nargis.
“Normally, very few Burmese come to Thailand during the rainy season,” said Nai Lawi Mon, an ethnic Mon living in Sangkhlaburi. “But this year we are seeing a lot of people coming.”
It is estimated that there are more than one million Burmese migrants now living and working in Thailand, around half of whom are registered with the Thai Ministry of Labor.
The perils of illegal migration were highlighted in April when 54 Burmese migrants suffocated to death while being transported in a container truck from Ranong, near the southern Burmese border town of Kawthaung, to the Thai resort island of Phuket.
Although the tragedy prompted officials to step up efforts to stem the flow of illegal migrants into Thailand, Burmese laborers continue to make the trip, desperate to find jobs to support themselves and their families.
Those who travel through Thailand to find work in Malaysia or Singapore do so at great personal risk. There are numerous checkpoints along the way and migrants who get caught are often subjected to harassment, imprisonment and deportation.
While Thai officials appear to be doing little to prevent illegal immigration, the Burmese authorities have been carrying out a crackdown on their side of the border. A few months ago, a human trafficking ring was busted in Kawthaung.
Nevertheless, despite knowing the risks and hardships, more and more young Burmese are looking overseas for work.
A 23-year-old graduate of Dagon University in Rangoon found that his bachelor’s degree offered him few opportunities in his homeland. Eventually, he swallowed his pride and went to Malaysia to work in a factory.
“If I relied on my bachelor’s degree, I could starve,” he said. “At least I can feed myself here, working as a slave.”
Overseas jobs are not limited to men—recently more women have resorted to seeking work in foreign countries. Most head for Thailand and Malaysia and find themselves working in garment factories, assembling cell phones or sewing. In Malaysia, migrants can expect to earn 18 ringgit ($5.30) for a full day’s work.
Thandar Aung works in Singapore. She is one of an estimated 170,000 foreign maids in the country. A graduate of Rangoon University, Thandar said that maids in Singapore have to work seven days a week.
“My first employers didn’t even allow me to make a phone call,” she said. “They treated me like a slave. I worked 14 hours a day for $139 a month.” (JEG's: generous SP pays maids $0.33/hr - that is being fair and morally honest)
Inevitably, Burmese workers will continue to be exploited in foreign countries. However, as long as people are unable to earn a living in their own country, a percentage—mostly younger workers—will be drawn abroad. The subsequent brain drain and lack of labor at home will only add to Burma’s economic woes.
Additional reporting by Lawi Weng, Min Lwin and Yeni.
Friday, 3 October 2008
Time to Embrace the Truth
OCTOBER, 2008 - VOLUME 16 NO.10
The Irrawaddy News
The release last month of Burma’s longest-serving political prisoner, 79-year-old journalist Win Tin, must have briefly brightened up the restricted life of Aung San Suu Kyi, confined to her home for more than 13 of the past 19 years.
But, while more than 2,000 political prisoners remain behind bars, Win Tin’s newly won freedom is unlikely to have given her much hope that her ordeal would also soon be over.
Suu Kyi has described Win Tin as a “man of courage and integrity”—qualities these two champions of democracy share in equal measure.
In the eyes of Burma’s military regime, Win Tin was Suu Kyi’s “puppet master,” although he has rejected any suggestion that he was her mentor or the chief strategist of her party, the National League for Democracy (NLD).
His wholehearted engagement in the pro-democracy struggle, however, earned him 19 years of incarceration in Rangoon’s infamous Insein Prison, which ended on September 23 when he was freed along with at least seven other political detainees in an amnesty cynically described by the state media as an act of “loving kindness.”
The regime said the amnesty—which also gave freedom to nearly 9,000 convicted criminals—was part of its plan for a “peaceful modern discipline-flourishing democratic nation.” Its true purpose, however, was clearly to deflect international criticism at a critical time, as the country marked the first anniversary of the September 2007 uprising and as the spotlight again fell on Burma at a UN General Assembly session.
The UN record on Burma also came under scrutiny, as the UN’s “Group of Friends of Burma,” which includes the US, the EU, China and Southeast Asian countries, again called on the junta to release all its political prisoners and open talks with the opposition. There was talk of a return to Burma by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s special envoy, Ibrahim Gambari, whose missions so far have achieved virtually nothing.
For all his ineffectiveness, Gambari is the victim of a capricious regime, which has treated him like a whipping boy because of its outrage at what it sees as UN bias and international pressure.
Apart from this pressure, the impact of Cyclone Nargis has led many Burmese government officials to realize that change is long overdue.
It’s still far from clear, however, whether relief efforts being conducted by the Tripartite Core Group, consisting of representatives of the UN, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the Burmese junta, are making any significant headway.
The group’s so-called experts, handling aid money from international donors, have naively come to believe that a “humanitarian space” has opened up in the country—with some international nongovernmental organizations (INGOs), UN agencies and regime apologists claiming that this presents a window of opportunity for the 2010 election.
The regime view of this is contained in the minutes of a briefing Home Affairs Minister Maung Oo received from Than Shwe in July, in which the UN and INGOs were described as “puppets” of the US and the CIA.
Maung Oo accused the relief organizations of providing aid to the victims “just for show,” alleging that they spent humanitarian aid money on themselves and not, through regime channels, on the cyclone victims.
The US, the UN and INGOs were also accused by the minister of pushing Burma to the top of their agendas.
If a “humanitarian space” has been opened up in the Irrawaddy delta it can be closed at any time because the regime retains the sole power to do so, at any time it chooses.
It’s the same power that enables the regime to suppress the truth and imprison those who venture to speak out. Under the brutal totalitarianism of Burma, telling the truth requires great courage and brings fearful consequences.
Win Tin and Suu Kyi are victims of this perverse power. So is the activist Nilar Thein, who was hunted for more than a year, separated from her infant daughter, before being found and jailed, like her husband, for her role in the September 2007 uprising.
The release of Win Tin and a handful of other political prisoners is welcome news, but it isn’t going to change the image of the Burmese regime while Suu Kyi, Nilar Thein and more than 2,000 other pro-democracy activists remain confined.
If Burma’s generals want to show the world that they are sincerely interested in improving the country’s repressive political climate, they should set a timeframe for the release of all these prisoners. They should also make their seven-step political “road map” more inclusive, giving freedom to all political stakeholders to participate in the process and sharing power with opposition forces who were elected in the 1990 election.
No one expects that to happen anytime soon.
But there is a general belief that it’s time for the UN and the international community to push the generals to accept the words of Win Tin: “We have always believed in solving problems through democratic dialogue.”
The Irrawaddy News
The release last month of Burma’s longest-serving political prisoner, 79-year-old journalist Win Tin, must have briefly brightened up the restricted life of Aung San Suu Kyi, confined to her home for more than 13 of the past 19 years.
But, while more than 2,000 political prisoners remain behind bars, Win Tin’s newly won freedom is unlikely to have given her much hope that her ordeal would also soon be over.
Suu Kyi has described Win Tin as a “man of courage and integrity”—qualities these two champions of democracy share in equal measure.
In the eyes of Burma’s military regime, Win Tin was Suu Kyi’s “puppet master,” although he has rejected any suggestion that he was her mentor or the chief strategist of her party, the National League for Democracy (NLD).
His wholehearted engagement in the pro-democracy struggle, however, earned him 19 years of incarceration in Rangoon’s infamous Insein Prison, which ended on September 23 when he was freed along with at least seven other political detainees in an amnesty cynically described by the state media as an act of “loving kindness.”
The regime said the amnesty—which also gave freedom to nearly 9,000 convicted criminals—was part of its plan for a “peaceful modern discipline-flourishing democratic nation.” Its true purpose, however, was clearly to deflect international criticism at a critical time, as the country marked the first anniversary of the September 2007 uprising and as the spotlight again fell on Burma at a UN General Assembly session.
The UN record on Burma also came under scrutiny, as the UN’s “Group of Friends of Burma,” which includes the US, the EU, China and Southeast Asian countries, again called on the junta to release all its political prisoners and open talks with the opposition. There was talk of a return to Burma by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s special envoy, Ibrahim Gambari, whose missions so far have achieved virtually nothing.
For all his ineffectiveness, Gambari is the victim of a capricious regime, which has treated him like a whipping boy because of its outrage at what it sees as UN bias and international pressure.
Apart from this pressure, the impact of Cyclone Nargis has led many Burmese government officials to realize that change is long overdue.
It’s still far from clear, however, whether relief efforts being conducted by the Tripartite Core Group, consisting of representatives of the UN, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the Burmese junta, are making any significant headway.
The group’s so-called experts, handling aid money from international donors, have naively come to believe that a “humanitarian space” has opened up in the country—with some international nongovernmental organizations (INGOs), UN agencies and regime apologists claiming that this presents a window of opportunity for the 2010 election.
The regime view of this is contained in the minutes of a briefing Home Affairs Minister Maung Oo received from Than Shwe in July, in which the UN and INGOs were described as “puppets” of the US and the CIA.
Maung Oo accused the relief organizations of providing aid to the victims “just for show,” alleging that they spent humanitarian aid money on themselves and not, through regime channels, on the cyclone victims.
The US, the UN and INGOs were also accused by the minister of pushing Burma to the top of their agendas.
If a “humanitarian space” has been opened up in the Irrawaddy delta it can be closed at any time because the regime retains the sole power to do so, at any time it chooses.
It’s the same power that enables the regime to suppress the truth and imprison those who venture to speak out. Under the brutal totalitarianism of Burma, telling the truth requires great courage and brings fearful consequences.
Win Tin and Suu Kyi are victims of this perverse power. So is the activist Nilar Thein, who was hunted for more than a year, separated from her infant daughter, before being found and jailed, like her husband, for her role in the September 2007 uprising.
The release of Win Tin and a handful of other political prisoners is welcome news, but it isn’t going to change the image of the Burmese regime while Suu Kyi, Nilar Thein and more than 2,000 other pro-democracy activists remain confined.
If Burma’s generals want to show the world that they are sincerely interested in improving the country’s repressive political climate, they should set a timeframe for the release of all these prisoners. They should also make their seven-step political “road map” more inclusive, giving freedom to all political stakeholders to participate in the process and sharing power with opposition forces who were elected in the 1990 election.
No one expects that to happen anytime soon.
But there is a general belief that it’s time for the UN and the international community to push the generals to accept the words of Win Tin: “We have always believed in solving problems through democratic dialogue.”
Than Shwe Delays Signing Election Law
By MIN LWIN - The Irrawaddy NewsThe head of the Burmese military regime, Snr-Gen Than Shwe, has still not approved the country’s election law, which authorizes an election in 2010 and the constitutional backing for the Burmese armed forces to retain at least 25 percent of parliamentary seats.
Sources within the Burmese military said that although the election law had been approved by the constitution process, it was still on Than Shwe’s desk waiting to be signed.
Win Min, a Burmese military analyst based in Thailand, said that Than Shwe will not authorize the document until closer to the election date.
Rumors are circulating in Naypyidaw and Rangoon that Than Shwe and his No 2, Vice Snr-Gen Maung Aye, have argued recently about which officers would be given parliamentary seats and which would continue in military service.
Military sources said that Than Shwe is the key player in deciding which military officers run in the election.
Meanwhile, at the United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York, Burmese Foreign Minister Nyan Win said that the fifth step of the junta’s “road map”—a general election—will be completed in 2010 and that all necessary measures are being taken for the election.
He also said in his speech that all citizens, regardless of political affiliation, will have equal rights to form political parties and the government will make every effort to ensure that the election will be free and fair.
According to the constitution approved in May, 25 percent of the seats in the Burmese parliament will be reserved for members of the military, nominated by the Commander-in-Chief of the Burmese Defence Services.
Aung Kyaw Zaw, a Burmese military analyst living on the China-Burma border, said that Than Shwe wanted to keep his grip on power and was preparing to form a political party to compete in the 2010 election.
According to military sources, regional military commanders competed for Than Shwe’s approval during the constitutional referendum in May. The commanders were told that unless their regions produced a high percentage of Yes votes, they could find themselves “retired” or transferred to inactive positions.
Official figures concluded that more than 90 percent of the electorate voted “Yes” despite the process being labeled a “sham” by most observers.
Since Than Shwe seized power in 1992, he has relegated his colleagues and opponents ruthlessly if he suspected they were not loyal to him. In 2004, he purged former Prime Minister Gen Khin Nyunt and his supporters for disobeying him. Khin Nyunt has been under house arrest ever since.
Veteran NLD MP Arrested - Ohn Kyaing
By MIN LWINThe Irrawaddy News
Ohn Kyaing, a veteran Burmese journalist and elected MP who has already spent almost 15 years in prison for political activity, was arrested by the Special Intelligence Police Unit at 10 p.m. On Wednesday night at his home in Rangoon, according to a National League for Democracy (NLD) spokesman.
Ohn Kyaing, 64, is also the chairman of the NLD Cyclone Relief Committee and a member of the party’s organizing committee in Mandalay.
“We knew he was involved in cyclone relief activities,” said Nyan Win, a spokesman for the NLD. “But we don’t know why he was arrested.”
According to the NLD spokesman, Ohn Kyaing became actively involved in relief efforts for survivors of Cyclone Nargis, which swept the Irrawaddy delta on May 2-3, destroying homes and villages, and killing at least 134,000 people.
Ohn Kyaing graduated in journalism in 1972 and worked as the assistant editor then editor of Kyehmom (“The Mirror”), followed by positions at national newspapers Hanthawaddy and Botathang. He wrote under different pen names, such as Maung Chit Phwe, Aung Wint and Aung Tint.
Standing for the NLD in Mandalay in the 1990 election, Ohn Kyaing won a parliamentary seat in the party’s landslide victory. However, the Burmese military regime refused to recognize the result of the election.
Ohn Kyaing was imprisoned in September 1990 and sentenced to 17 years imprisonment for “writing and distributing seditious pamphlets and threatening state security.”
He was released on January 3, 2005, from Toungoo prison.
The Burmese military authorities have recently arrested several well-known social activists who were involved in relief efforts after Cyclone Nargis, including comedian Zarganar, journalist Zaw Thet Htwe and the chief editor of the Myanmar Tribune weekly journal, Aung Kyaw San.
Monk Escapes from Lantalang Prison
By SAW YAN NAING
The Irrawaddy News
Photo: Ashin Pannasiri
A 28-year-old Burmese Buddhist monk, Ashin Pannasiri, has successfully escaped from Lantalang Prison in Chin State and arrived in Delhi, India, after 13 days.
Ashin Pannasiri said he climbed over two barbwire fences at about 1 am on September 16, when two security guards slept.
“When I climbed the posts, my hands and legs were scraped by barbwire. It was very painful, but I didn’t care about that,” he said. “I only cared about my life.”
In the days following his escape, he traveled alone and was unsure where the roads led. He survived by eating vegetables and fruit.
“I ate fruit wherever I found it the jungle, and I drank water from streams,” he said.
The monk crossed crossed into India at the Mizoram border. During the trip, he said he avoided local residents around Mizoram, fearing arrest and punishment.
“When they [local residents] saw me, they followed me,” he said. “I was afraid of them because I heard that strangers there can be killed or seriously punished if arrested.
Burmese authorities began searching for Ashin Pannasiri in late 2007 during the time of the civil uprising because of his close relationship with leading pro-democracy monks, including monk U Gambira, who is now in Insein Prison in Rangoon.
Ashin Pannasiri was affiliated with Yangon Monastery Maha Koe Su Taik in Pyigyitagun Township in Mandalay Division. When he learned he was wanted by authorities, he said he moved north to Monywa Township in Sagaing Division to escape arrest.
However, he was arrested on October 18, 2007, at an Internet shop in Monywa Township.
He said he was tortured by authorities, both physically and mentally, during interrogation.
“They [authorities] interrogated me from 18 through 20 October. They first asked me to stand up and squat repeatedly. They tied my hands behind my back and pushed and kicked me. They beat my face with an army boot when they asked each question.”
“Finally, I couldn’t control my mind, and there was no option for me. I thought about suicide,” he said.
On October 24, 2007, he was sent to Monywa Prison in Sagaing Division where he spent seven months. On January 18, 2008, he was sentenced to three years imprisonment. Authorities charged him with multiple offenses, including possession of illegal foreign currency.
In mid-May 2008, he was moved to Kale Prison in Sagaing Division where he spent a few weeks before being sent to Lantalang Prison.
On September 15, the day before he escaped from Lantalang, he was again questioned by authorities. He said that following the interrogation, he realized he would be sent back to Kale Prison with “double punishment,” convincing him he had no option but to try to escape.
Ashin Pannasiri is now staying with friends in Dehli. He said he plans to continue to struggle for freedom and peace in Burma while in exile.
“I want to urge all monks inside and outside Burma to fight against ah-dhamma (injustice) and maintain the dhamma (justice) policy,” he said.
The Irrawaddy News
Photo: Ashin PannasiriA 28-year-old Burmese Buddhist monk, Ashin Pannasiri, has successfully escaped from Lantalang Prison in Chin State and arrived in Delhi, India, after 13 days.
Ashin Pannasiri said he climbed over two barbwire fences at about 1 am on September 16, when two security guards slept.
“When I climbed the posts, my hands and legs were scraped by barbwire. It was very painful, but I didn’t care about that,” he said. “I only cared about my life.”
In the days following his escape, he traveled alone and was unsure where the roads led. He survived by eating vegetables and fruit.
“I ate fruit wherever I found it the jungle, and I drank water from streams,” he said.
The monk crossed crossed into India at the Mizoram border. During the trip, he said he avoided local residents around Mizoram, fearing arrest and punishment.
“When they [local residents] saw me, they followed me,” he said. “I was afraid of them because I heard that strangers there can be killed or seriously punished if arrested.
Burmese authorities began searching for Ashin Pannasiri in late 2007 during the time of the civil uprising because of his close relationship with leading pro-democracy monks, including monk U Gambira, who is now in Insein Prison in Rangoon.
Ashin Pannasiri was affiliated with Yangon Monastery Maha Koe Su Taik in Pyigyitagun Township in Mandalay Division. When he learned he was wanted by authorities, he said he moved north to Monywa Township in Sagaing Division to escape arrest.
However, he was arrested on October 18, 2007, at an Internet shop in Monywa Township.
He said he was tortured by authorities, both physically and mentally, during interrogation.
“They [authorities] interrogated me from 18 through 20 October. They first asked me to stand up and squat repeatedly. They tied my hands behind my back and pushed and kicked me. They beat my face with an army boot when they asked each question.”
“Finally, I couldn’t control my mind, and there was no option for me. I thought about suicide,” he said.
On October 24, 2007, he was sent to Monywa Prison in Sagaing Division where he spent seven months. On January 18, 2008, he was sentenced to three years imprisonment. Authorities charged him with multiple offenses, including possession of illegal foreign currency.
In mid-May 2008, he was moved to Kale Prison in Sagaing Division where he spent a few weeks before being sent to Lantalang Prison.
On September 15, the day before he escaped from Lantalang, he was again questioned by authorities. He said that following the interrogation, he realized he would be sent back to Kale Prison with “double punishment,” convincing him he had no option but to try to escape.
Ashin Pannasiri is now staying with friends in Dehli. He said he plans to continue to struggle for freedom and peace in Burma while in exile.
“I want to urge all monks inside and outside Burma to fight against ah-dhamma (injustice) and maintain the dhamma (justice) policy,” he said.
Thursday, 2 October 2008
Swan Ahr Shin and Police Support Sittwe Monks
????????
(Narinjara)-Members of Swan Ahr Shin, the police, and the riot police have supported the anti-government movement led by monks in Sittwe because they are suffering the same difficulties in their daily lives, said monk leader Rakhaputta in Sittwe.
He said, "We received not only the people's support, but also the support of members of Swan Ahr Shin, riot police, and the police force for our movement at present, because they are unable to tolerate the economic hardship of their daily lives under the current military government."
People in Sittwe typically support the monk led demonstrations against the military government, but members of Swan Ahr Shin and riot police have never in the past supported the anti-government demonstrations.
Rakhaputta, who is now leading monks in Sittwe, said yesterday over the phone, "Our movement against the military government is still going on without any disturbances by the authorities because we received information from officials from those groups about how the authority plans to crack down on our movement." (this is what I call infiltrating the enemy)
He added that members of Swan Ahr Shin are also members of the public and they are suffering like everyone else. "They are in the same boat, so they understand the current situation of Burma and support our movement," he said.
Swan Ahr Shin was formed by the government with retired soldiers and police, local supporters of the government, and criminals, in order to attack people and monks when they lead anti-government activities anywhere in Burma.
During last year's Saffron Revolution, members of Swan Ahr Shin along with the police and riot police attacked many democratic and human rights activists. The authority placed Swan Ahr Shin at the forefront of the crackdown on the democracy movement in Burma.
The monk said, "You can see there have not been activities by Swan Ahr Shin this year, because they do not want to support the government again. In Sittwe, there are some members of Swan Ahr Shin but they are very close with the monks right now because they understand why monks are attempting to stage demonstrations as well as who the demonstrations are for."
The authority is still beefing up security in Sittwe after the anniversary of the Saffron Revolution has passed because there are rumors that monks in Sittwe are secretly preparing to stage demonstrations to demand the release of all monks who were detained after last year's protests.
(Narinjara)-Members of Swan Ahr Shin, the police, and the riot police have supported the anti-government movement led by monks in Sittwe because they are suffering the same difficulties in their daily lives, said monk leader Rakhaputta in Sittwe.
He said, "We received not only the people's support, but also the support of members of Swan Ahr Shin, riot police, and the police force for our movement at present, because they are unable to tolerate the economic hardship of their daily lives under the current military government."
People in Sittwe typically support the monk led demonstrations against the military government, but members of Swan Ahr Shin and riot police have never in the past supported the anti-government demonstrations.
Rakhaputta, who is now leading monks in Sittwe, said yesterday over the phone, "Our movement against the military government is still going on without any disturbances by the authorities because we received information from officials from those groups about how the authority plans to crack down on our movement." (this is what I call infiltrating the enemy)
He added that members of Swan Ahr Shin are also members of the public and they are suffering like everyone else. "They are in the same boat, so they understand the current situation of Burma and support our movement," he said.
Swan Ahr Shin was formed by the government with retired soldiers and police, local supporters of the government, and criminals, in order to attack people and monks when they lead anti-government activities anywhere in Burma.
During last year's Saffron Revolution, members of Swan Ahr Shin along with the police and riot police attacked many democratic and human rights activists. The authority placed Swan Ahr Shin at the forefront of the crackdown on the democracy movement in Burma.
The monk said, "You can see there have not been activities by Swan Ahr Shin this year, because they do not want to support the government again. In Sittwe, there are some members of Swan Ahr Shin but they are very close with the monks right now because they understand why monks are attempting to stage demonstrations as well as who the demonstrations are for."
The authority is still beefing up security in Sittwe after the anniversary of the Saffron Revolution has passed because there are rumors that monks in Sittwe are secretly preparing to stage demonstrations to demand the release of all monks who were detained after last year's protests.
Living under duress in Kachin State
by Shyamal Sarkar - KNG
30 September 2008
The Burmese military junta seems to have singled out Kachin State for some harsh treatment, one reason for which could be the daring level of dissidence among the student community, which has been repeatedly troubling the regime through poster campaigns, right under the very noses of junta officials.
The dissident students owing allegiance to the All Kachin Students Union (AKSU) have on a number of occasions in the past year put up posters demanding the ouster of the military dictators, freeing political prisoners, demanding a tripartite dialogue, putting a halt to environment unfriendly projects in the state, self determination rights among other demands, which are not new. Not just posters, activists are known to take to the streets either early in the morning or late at night and spray paint walls of government buildings, schools, colleges, markets and other key places making the same demands. The posters were put up despite the high alert in the township sounded by the junta since August.
The periodic movement carried out with precision has had junta officials including the police running from pillar to post trying to tear down the posters or white washing the spray painted walls, lest residents start getting ideas and join the angry students in their campaign against the junta.
The posting of a new Commander in the Northern Command, Maj-Gen Soe Win, who has taken charge of Kachin State, seems to have been done with a brief from the junta brass to come down on dissident activity with a heavy hand and keep people of the state on a leash.
He has gone about his mission with gusto, not uncommon among enthusiastic military officers of the regime. In the wake of students pasting anti-regime posters to denounce the 20th anniversary of the coup in the country on September 18, the Commander imposed night curfew in Myitkyina the capital of Kachin State from 10 p.m. to teach people a lesson. Then the harassment followed.
The police began rounding up people on the streets even before 10 p.m. before the curfew came into force. The idea was to create panic among people. To further hurt residents, the arrested began to be fined heavily to the tune of Kyat 10,000, equivalent to US $ 8. Shops were ordered to down shutters by 9 p.m. The police was taken to task by the Commander because they were unable to prevent activists from putting up posters.
In an effort to nab dissidents and check their activities the Military Affairs Security Unit (Sa-Ya-Pha) was told by the Commander to offer a reward of 100,000 Kyat equivalent to US $ 84 to anyone providing information about activists.
The form of harassment since the new Commander took over has been varied, but all are intent to keep people in the state under the thumb of the junta.
For instance, of a sudden junta officials began searching guest houses and hotels and started making arbitrary arrests of people they suspected. The police in Myitkyina began checking hotels which did not report overnight guests to the authorities. The hotels which allow prostitutes to operate came especially under the scanner. Prostitutes and guests were hauled away to police stations charged and detained. The prostitutes were released later. Even couples dating in parks or on roadsides were not spared.
People in Kachin state as such have been living on the edge. Suddenly the junta authorities decided that subscribers would have to shell out the costs of changing numbers of landline telephones in Myitkyina. The order issued stated that telephones starting with the code number 25 would be changed to 20 and subscribers would have to pay over 550,000 Kyat equivalent to US $ 464 each by September 30 to the State Telecommunication Office in the township.
The reason behind the change in number had to do with disruptions on landline telephones starting with the code number 25 being operated with China-made Telephone Service Operating Machines. These had to be replaced with a new Israel manufactured Telephone Service Operating Machines. Normally, the expense ought to be borne by the telephone department but here subscribers were fleeced, in all probability to save on government revenue or pocket the funds meant for the change.
From whichever angle one views the activities of the junta in Kachin State it is apparent that the people are at the receiving end and left holding the wrong end of the stick.
The Township Municipal Office in Myitkyina has been collecting increasing municipal taxes from residents but they are not getting the desired services whereas army officials do. While residents and shops and establishment owners pay enhanced tax for garbage collection, the civic body accords priority to the junta's Northern Command military headquarters in the township. Despite increased taxes the municipality has done nothing to enhance its fleet of garbage trucks. Only three trucks are in working condition.
Laws are flexible and used to suit the needs of the junta authorities. Without notice traffic police began seizing Chinese manufactured motorcycle rickshaws (three wheelers) called the Tong-bee-car in Myitkyina. All this while the traffic police have been levying a charge of 3,000 Kyat equivalent to US $ 2.5 on drivers operating unlicensed three wheelers. In a town where all three wheelers are unlicensed the very act of seizing them becomes meaningless because there are no provisions to provide a license.
It is such repression that has students up in arms and recently led to an instance where a traffic policeman was thrashed by irate people when the police was seizing unlicensed motorcycles in Myitkyina. The Township Land Transportation Department (Ka-Nya-Na) announced it would issue license for motorcycles till the end of October. But most unlicensed motorcycle owners are not even remotely interested because of the high fees pegged by the junta.
The high handedness of the junta continues in Kachin State despite the areas being under the control of the Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO), which boasts an armed wing. The KIO, which has a ceasefire agreement with the junta, has always appeased the regime given the business ventures it operates courtesy the regime and the wealth it enjoys. Of late, after supporting the junta's referendum on the draft constitution, the KIO seems to be toeing the regime's line even more vehemently.
30 September 2008
The Burmese military junta seems to have singled out Kachin State for some harsh treatment, one reason for which could be the daring level of dissidence among the student community, which has been repeatedly troubling the regime through poster campaigns, right under the very noses of junta officials.
The dissident students owing allegiance to the All Kachin Students Union (AKSU) have on a number of occasions in the past year put up posters demanding the ouster of the military dictators, freeing political prisoners, demanding a tripartite dialogue, putting a halt to environment unfriendly projects in the state, self determination rights among other demands, which are not new. Not just posters, activists are known to take to the streets either early in the morning or late at night and spray paint walls of government buildings, schools, colleges, markets and other key places making the same demands. The posters were put up despite the high alert in the township sounded by the junta since August.
The periodic movement carried out with precision has had junta officials including the police running from pillar to post trying to tear down the posters or white washing the spray painted walls, lest residents start getting ideas and join the angry students in their campaign against the junta.
The posting of a new Commander in the Northern Command, Maj-Gen Soe Win, who has taken charge of Kachin State, seems to have been done with a brief from the junta brass to come down on dissident activity with a heavy hand and keep people of the state on a leash.
He has gone about his mission with gusto, not uncommon among enthusiastic military officers of the regime. In the wake of students pasting anti-regime posters to denounce the 20th anniversary of the coup in the country on September 18, the Commander imposed night curfew in Myitkyina the capital of Kachin State from 10 p.m. to teach people a lesson. Then the harassment followed.
The police began rounding up people on the streets even before 10 p.m. before the curfew came into force. The idea was to create panic among people. To further hurt residents, the arrested began to be fined heavily to the tune of Kyat 10,000, equivalent to US $ 8. Shops were ordered to down shutters by 9 p.m. The police was taken to task by the Commander because they were unable to prevent activists from putting up posters.
In an effort to nab dissidents and check their activities the Military Affairs Security Unit (Sa-Ya-Pha) was told by the Commander to offer a reward of 100,000 Kyat equivalent to US $ 84 to anyone providing information about activists.
The form of harassment since the new Commander took over has been varied, but all are intent to keep people in the state under the thumb of the junta.
For instance, of a sudden junta officials began searching guest houses and hotels and started making arbitrary arrests of people they suspected. The police in Myitkyina began checking hotels which did not report overnight guests to the authorities. The hotels which allow prostitutes to operate came especially under the scanner. Prostitutes and guests were hauled away to police stations charged and detained. The prostitutes were released later. Even couples dating in parks or on roadsides were not spared.
People in Kachin state as such have been living on the edge. Suddenly the junta authorities decided that subscribers would have to shell out the costs of changing numbers of landline telephones in Myitkyina. The order issued stated that telephones starting with the code number 25 would be changed to 20 and subscribers would have to pay over 550,000 Kyat equivalent to US $ 464 each by September 30 to the State Telecommunication Office in the township.
The reason behind the change in number had to do with disruptions on landline telephones starting with the code number 25 being operated with China-made Telephone Service Operating Machines. These had to be replaced with a new Israel manufactured Telephone Service Operating Machines. Normally, the expense ought to be borne by the telephone department but here subscribers were fleeced, in all probability to save on government revenue or pocket the funds meant for the change.
From whichever angle one views the activities of the junta in Kachin State it is apparent that the people are at the receiving end and left holding the wrong end of the stick.
The Township Municipal Office in Myitkyina has been collecting increasing municipal taxes from residents but they are not getting the desired services whereas army officials do. While residents and shops and establishment owners pay enhanced tax for garbage collection, the civic body accords priority to the junta's Northern Command military headquarters in the township. Despite increased taxes the municipality has done nothing to enhance its fleet of garbage trucks. Only three trucks are in working condition.
Laws are flexible and used to suit the needs of the junta authorities. Without notice traffic police began seizing Chinese manufactured motorcycle rickshaws (three wheelers) called the Tong-bee-car in Myitkyina. All this while the traffic police have been levying a charge of 3,000 Kyat equivalent to US $ 2.5 on drivers operating unlicensed three wheelers. In a town where all three wheelers are unlicensed the very act of seizing them becomes meaningless because there are no provisions to provide a license.
It is such repression that has students up in arms and recently led to an instance where a traffic policeman was thrashed by irate people when the police was seizing unlicensed motorcycles in Myitkyina. The Township Land Transportation Department (Ka-Nya-Na) announced it would issue license for motorcycles till the end of October. But most unlicensed motorcycle owners are not even remotely interested because of the high fees pegged by the junta.
The high handedness of the junta continues in Kachin State despite the areas being under the control of the Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO), which boasts an armed wing. The KIO, which has a ceasefire agreement with the junta, has always appeased the regime given the business ventures it operates courtesy the regime and the wealth it enjoys. Of late, after supporting the junta's referendum on the draft constitution, the KIO seems to be toeing the regime's line even more vehemently.
Burma’s ethnic Kachin woman gang raped, no action yet
Despite international pressure and condemnation, the Burmese military junta is still avoiding taking action against rapists in Kachin State, northern Burma.There was an instance of rape again in Kachin State in Loiije Township. A married woman, Sumlut Roi Ji (33) was gang raped by two Burmese construction workers, U Thein Tun Lyin (40) and U Thein Myint Swe (29) from Loije on September 21. But no action has been taken yet, a resident said.
According to a resident, Sumlut Roi Ji, who has a four-year old child, was going back home from their farm which is on the way from Bhamo to Loije. The workers followed Sumlut Roi Ji and gang raped her near Win Hkam village.
The two workers threatened Sumlut Roi Ji with a knife and gagged her. The incident occurred at around 3 pm, a resident added.
That evening, after the gang rape, the couple went to the junta’s Loije police station to register a complaint. The police arrested the rapists on September 22 and detained them at the Loije police station, a resident close to Sumlut Roi Ji told KNG.
Meanwhile, Sumlut Roi Ji's family is upset because though two weeks have passed the authorities still have not taken any action on the rapists. They feel the police are trying to hush up the case, he added.
However, now Loije's Kachin Literature and Culture organization has sent a letter to the authorities in Kachin State to take action on the rapists.
According to a resident, this is the first instance of the gang rape in Loije. Residents have urged the authorities to ensure that there is no recurrence.
On July 27, a Kachin schoolgirl, Nhkum Hkawn Din (15) was gang raped and killed by Burmese Army soldiers in Bhamo District in Kachin State, northern Burma.
Bus drivers’ licences revoked by Dala authorities
Oct 1, 2008 (DVB)–Authorities in Rangoon’s Dala township have revoked the licences of private bus drivers whom they accuse of suspending their services to mark Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s birthday on 19 June.
The move has affected main and back-up drivers of air-conditioned buses on the Twante-Rangoon route.
Relatives of the drivers told DVB that they had only decided to suspend their services temporarily because the poor conditions of the roads meant that they could not make any profit from the 200-kyat bus fare per passenger.
But authorities became suspicious because the day they suspended the Rangoon-Twante service coincided with the birthday of detained pro-democracy leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.
The service was eventually resumed after three months due to popular demand.
But the drivers' licences have still not been returned to them, making it difficult for them to earn a living.
"Their driving licences have been confiscated completely. They are not allowed to make a living from it," a relative said.
The bus fare was recently raised to 300 kyat due to the poor condition of the roads but there were no complaints from passengers, who understood the difficulties for drivers.
"The road to Twante is full of potholes and the journey is arduous,” the relative said.
“When Twante market caught fire recently, fire engines had to come from Rangoon but by the time they got here the market had burnt down completely."
There are around 30 private buses operating on the Rangoon-Twante route.
Reporting by Nam Kham Kaew
The move has affected main and back-up drivers of air-conditioned buses on the Twante-Rangoon route.
Relatives of the drivers told DVB that they had only decided to suspend their services temporarily because the poor conditions of the roads meant that they could not make any profit from the 200-kyat bus fare per passenger.
But authorities became suspicious because the day they suspended the Rangoon-Twante service coincided with the birthday of detained pro-democracy leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.
The service was eventually resumed after three months due to popular demand.
But the drivers' licences have still not been returned to them, making it difficult for them to earn a living.
"Their driving licences have been confiscated completely. They are not allowed to make a living from it," a relative said.
The bus fare was recently raised to 300 kyat due to the poor condition of the roads but there were no complaints from passengers, who understood the difficulties for drivers.
"The road to Twante is full of potholes and the journey is arduous,” the relative said.
“When Twante market caught fire recently, fire engines had to come from Rangoon but by the time they got here the market had burnt down completely."
There are around 30 private buses operating on the Rangoon-Twante route.
Reporting by Nam Kham Kaew
NLD youth member reported dead in custody - Aung Moe Lwin
Oct 1, 2008 (DVB)–Aung Moe Lwin, a 36-year-old youth member of the National League for Democracy in Natmauk township, Magwe division, is said to have died in detention, according to a source who spoke on condition of anonymity.
His family has been informed of his death.
Aung Moe Lwin went to Rangoon last year for training before the Saffron Revolution in September and stayed at Maggin monastery, where became friendly with the monks and helped look after AIDS patients.
He stayed with the monks during the demonstrations up until the monastery was sealed off and was interviewed about the arrests and beatings of monks in the crackdown.
When he suddenly disappeared from South Dagon at the beginning of August, people assumed he had gone to another monastery, as he had made friends with monks from other monasteries and stayed with them on previous occasions.
It did not become clear that Aung Moe Lwin had been arrested until a fellow detainee who had been released said that he had seen him being tortured in prison and that he was in a serious condition.
Once his arrest and detention was made public, his family expected that he would be transferred to Insein prison where they could come and visit him.
But five days ago, Aung Moe Lwin’s brother in Kyaukpadaung received a telephone call from an unnamed person who informed him that Aung Moe Lwin and another person from Meikhtila had died from an ‘over-zealous hand’ during interrogation.
On hearing this, Aung Moe Lwin’s parents went to the Rangoon divisional office where their son was last known to have been held, but they were told by an official that he was not there.
Aung Moe Lwin’s father U Thein Aung said he was determined to find out what happened to his son.
"I am proud of my son and I allowed him to do good things for the public,” U Thein Aung said.
“I will look for him until I find him. I don't think it will be easy, but I will search until I find him," he said.
“I won't give up until I find him. It is necessary to uncover the truth and I will continue to do so."
U Thein Aung arrived in Rangoon today, and has been to Rangoon divisional office, Kyeemyintaing court and Insein prison.
So far his investigations have met with denials from the authorities.
"The authorities have only said, ‘We don't know and he is not here’," U Thein Aung said.
"I want them to tell me where he is and what happened but they are hiding it, it is hard to cope with."
U Thein Aung said he had told his wife that their son was missing and wants his case to be treated as a missing person, feared dead, until the facts are established.
Reporting by DVB
His family has been informed of his death.
Aung Moe Lwin went to Rangoon last year for training before the Saffron Revolution in September and stayed at Maggin monastery, where became friendly with the monks and helped look after AIDS patients.
He stayed with the monks during the demonstrations up until the monastery was sealed off and was interviewed about the arrests and beatings of monks in the crackdown.
When he suddenly disappeared from South Dagon at the beginning of August, people assumed he had gone to another monastery, as he had made friends with monks from other monasteries and stayed with them on previous occasions.
It did not become clear that Aung Moe Lwin had been arrested until a fellow detainee who had been released said that he had seen him being tortured in prison and that he was in a serious condition.
Once his arrest and detention was made public, his family expected that he would be transferred to Insein prison where they could come and visit him.
But five days ago, Aung Moe Lwin’s brother in Kyaukpadaung received a telephone call from an unnamed person who informed him that Aung Moe Lwin and another person from Meikhtila had died from an ‘over-zealous hand’ during interrogation.
On hearing this, Aung Moe Lwin’s parents went to the Rangoon divisional office where their son was last known to have been held, but they were told by an official that he was not there.
Aung Moe Lwin’s father U Thein Aung said he was determined to find out what happened to his son.
"I am proud of my son and I allowed him to do good things for the public,” U Thein Aung said.
“I will look for him until I find him. I don't think it will be easy, but I will search until I find him," he said.
“I won't give up until I find him. It is necessary to uncover the truth and I will continue to do so."
U Thein Aung arrived in Rangoon today, and has been to Rangoon divisional office, Kyeemyintaing court and Insein prison.
So far his investigations have met with denials from the authorities.
"The authorities have only said, ‘We don't know and he is not here’," U Thein Aung said.
"I want them to tell me where he is and what happened but they are hiding it, it is hard to cope with."
U Thein Aung said he had told his wife that their son was missing and wants his case to be treated as a missing person, feared dead, until the facts are established.
Reporting by DVB
Elected MP’s health deteriorates in detention - U Nyi Pu
Oct 2, 2008 (DVB)–Elected members of parliament U Nyi Pu and Dr Tin Min Htut have been transferred to Insein prison, according to a National League for Democracy spokesperson.
U Nyi Pu is the elected representative for Gwa township and an Arakan NLD organising committee member, while Dr Tin Min Htut is an elected MP from Panatanaw township in Irrawaddy division.
NLD spokesperson U Nyan Win said U Nyi Pu’s health had suffered since his arrest in August.
“U Nyi Pu can’t move the lower part of his body and we have heard that his health is not good,” Nyan Win said.
“When he was with use he was perfectly fine, I don’t know what is happening to him now.”
Their families have not yet been allowed to visit them.
Pu Cin Sian Thang, a colleague of U Nyi Pu, also said his friend's health had deteriorated since his arrest.
U Nyi Pu and Dr Tin Min Htut were arrested on 11 and 12 August respectively.
Along with Pu Cin Sian Thang, U Thein Pe and Dr Myint Naing, the two wrote a letter to the United Nations in July protesting the SPDC's plans for a 2010 election.
Some people have speculated that the arrests were connected with the letter, but Pu Cin Sian Thang said the reason for the arrests was not clear.
Separately, U Aung Thein, the lawyer who represents National League for Democracy member Ko Thein Swe, has asked the court to release his client now that the Interior Ministry has withdrawn the charge against him, Thein Swe’s father U Min Swe told DVB.
Thein Swe was arrested for his involvement in public demonstrations in September last year.
Aung Thein wrote to the court on Tuesday to request the release of Ko Thein Swe and Yeh Min Oo, and a decision is expected next week.
Reporting by Khin Hnin Htet
U Nyi Pu is the elected representative for Gwa township and an Arakan NLD organising committee member, while Dr Tin Min Htut is an elected MP from Panatanaw township in Irrawaddy division.
NLD spokesperson U Nyan Win said U Nyi Pu’s health had suffered since his arrest in August.
“U Nyi Pu can’t move the lower part of his body and we have heard that his health is not good,” Nyan Win said.
“When he was with use he was perfectly fine, I don’t know what is happening to him now.”
Their families have not yet been allowed to visit them.
Pu Cin Sian Thang, a colleague of U Nyi Pu, also said his friend's health had deteriorated since his arrest.
U Nyi Pu and Dr Tin Min Htut were arrested on 11 and 12 August respectively.
Along with Pu Cin Sian Thang, U Thein Pe and Dr Myint Naing, the two wrote a letter to the United Nations in July protesting the SPDC's plans for a 2010 election.
Some people have speculated that the arrests were connected with the letter, but Pu Cin Sian Thang said the reason for the arrests was not clear.
Separately, U Aung Thein, the lawyer who represents National League for Democracy member Ko Thein Swe, has asked the court to release his client now that the Interior Ministry has withdrawn the charge against him, Thein Swe’s father U Min Swe told DVB.
Thein Swe was arrested for his involvement in public demonstrations in September last year.
Aung Thein wrote to the court on Tuesday to request the release of Ko Thein Swe and Yeh Min Oo, and a decision is expected next week.
Reporting by Khin Hnin Htet
'The Revolving Door': Plight of Burmese refugees in Malaysia
By Zarni
Chiang Mai (Mizzima)- In the first ever instance of highlighting the lives of refugees, particularly Burmese, Malaysian rights campaigners have launched a new book compiling eight stories on the pathetic situation of Burmese refugees.
The book titled, 'The Revolving Door', highlights the precarious state that Burmese refugees are in, in Malaysia while seeking refuge from persecution in their home country – Burma.
Dr. Irene Fernandez, author of the book, which was launched on Saturday, said, "I wrote this book as we need to present the responsibilities and understanding of the Malaysians, and also the international community to know more about violence towards these people."
Dr. Fernandez, in her book highlights the need for Malaysians to understand refugees and other foreign workers in their land. She said Burmese refugees and other foreign workers are often subjected to deportation from the border on arrest by the Malaysian authorities.
In the process of deportation of the refugees from the Malaysian border, the refugees are exposed and are vulnerable to human traffickers, who wait for Malaysian authorities to deport them and then charge a huge sum of money to help them get back into Malaysia, she said.
"This situation that the refugees are facing is like a revolving door, so I named the book 'The Revolving Door'," Dr, Fernandez told Mizzima.
According to her, most refugees, including women, children, pregnant women and elders, once arrested by Malaysian authorities are deported to the Thai-Malay border after the courts take a decision. And right at the border, the refugees are met by human traffickers, who demand huge sums of money to help them go back in.
Most often the refugees are charged between 1300 and 2000 Malaysian Ringgits (377 to 581 US Dollar) by the traffickers.
Dr. Fernandez hopes the book, which compiles eight stories of Burmese refugees, will bring about a better understanding about the lives and struggles of refugees and foreign workers in Malaysia.
"We hope that there will be some changes from this. Once people read this book they will understand these poor people and may think for them and they could recognize the refugees," said Dr. Fernandez.
Malaysia, an emerging economic tiger of Southeast Asia, in recent years has become a destination for many refugees and migrant workers from regional countries including Burma, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Vietnam and Nepal.
According to the Kuala Lumpur based Burma Workers' Rights Protection Committee, Malaysia hosts at least 400,000 refugees and migrants from Burma alone.
Meanwhile, Burmese refugees and migrant workers said with the continued harassment by Malaysian Volunteer Corps known as RELA, the book would bring some light on the plight they have long suffered.
"We welcome this book both for Burmese refugees and Burmese migrant workers. We feel like it is a ray of hope for Burmese in Malaysia, who are out of range of protection both from workers' rights and human rights groups," said Ye Min Htun, Secretary of BWRPC.
According to Burmese workers and refugees, they are often raided by RELA groups and are randomly arrested even if they hold legal work permits or refugee recognition certificates issued by the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR).
The Burmese then are forcibly imprisoned in detention camps and are sentenced for deportation.
Dr. Fernandez said her book urges the Malaysian government to recognise the Burmese refugees and stop violating their rights.
"We would also like to urge the international community to respond on this horrific situation of Burmese refugees in Malaysia," Dr. Fernandez added.
Dr. Fernandez was awarded 'The Right Livelihood Award' in 2005 for her courageous and outstanding work against human rights violations. The award was established in 1980 by Jakob von Uexkull, and is presented annually, usually on December 9, to honour those 'working on practical and exemplary solutions to the most urgent challenges facing the world today'.
In 1995, Dr. Fernandez was arrested by Malaysian authorities and charged with 'maliciously publishing false news' on the abuse of the rights of migrant workers, malnutrition, physical and sexual abuses, the appalling working conditions of workers and for presenting facts about the situation in detention camps, where many migrant workers end up and die.
Despite being on bail pending an appeal, she - the founder of Tenaganita organization, courageously carries on her work to stand for the rights of refugees and foreign workers.
Chiang Mai (Mizzima)- In the first ever instance of highlighting the lives of refugees, particularly Burmese, Malaysian rights campaigners have launched a new book compiling eight stories on the pathetic situation of Burmese refugees.
The book titled, 'The Revolving Door', highlights the precarious state that Burmese refugees are in, in Malaysia while seeking refuge from persecution in their home country – Burma.
Dr. Irene Fernandez, author of the book, which was launched on Saturday, said, "I wrote this book as we need to present the responsibilities and understanding of the Malaysians, and also the international community to know more about violence towards these people."
Dr. Fernandez, in her book highlights the need for Malaysians to understand refugees and other foreign workers in their land. She said Burmese refugees and other foreign workers are often subjected to deportation from the border on arrest by the Malaysian authorities.
In the process of deportation of the refugees from the Malaysian border, the refugees are exposed and are vulnerable to human traffickers, who wait for Malaysian authorities to deport them and then charge a huge sum of money to help them get back into Malaysia, she said.
"This situation that the refugees are facing is like a revolving door, so I named the book 'The Revolving Door'," Dr, Fernandez told Mizzima.
According to her, most refugees, including women, children, pregnant women and elders, once arrested by Malaysian authorities are deported to the Thai-Malay border after the courts take a decision. And right at the border, the refugees are met by human traffickers, who demand huge sums of money to help them go back in.
Most often the refugees are charged between 1300 and 2000 Malaysian Ringgits (377 to 581 US Dollar) by the traffickers.
Dr. Fernandez hopes the book, which compiles eight stories of Burmese refugees, will bring about a better understanding about the lives and struggles of refugees and foreign workers in Malaysia.
"We hope that there will be some changes from this. Once people read this book they will understand these poor people and may think for them and they could recognize the refugees," said Dr. Fernandez.
Malaysia, an emerging economic tiger of Southeast Asia, in recent years has become a destination for many refugees and migrant workers from regional countries including Burma, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Vietnam and Nepal.
According to the Kuala Lumpur based Burma Workers' Rights Protection Committee, Malaysia hosts at least 400,000 refugees and migrants from Burma alone.
Meanwhile, Burmese refugees and migrant workers said with the continued harassment by Malaysian Volunteer Corps known as RELA, the book would bring some light on the plight they have long suffered.
"We welcome this book both for Burmese refugees and Burmese migrant workers. We feel like it is a ray of hope for Burmese in Malaysia, who are out of range of protection both from workers' rights and human rights groups," said Ye Min Htun, Secretary of BWRPC.
According to Burmese workers and refugees, they are often raided by RELA groups and are randomly arrested even if they hold legal work permits or refugee recognition certificates issued by the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR).
The Burmese then are forcibly imprisoned in detention camps and are sentenced for deportation.
Dr. Fernandez said her book urges the Malaysian government to recognise the Burmese refugees and stop violating their rights.
"We would also like to urge the international community to respond on this horrific situation of Burmese refugees in Malaysia," Dr. Fernandez added.
Dr. Fernandez was awarded 'The Right Livelihood Award' in 2005 for her courageous and outstanding work against human rights violations. The award was established in 1980 by Jakob von Uexkull, and is presented annually, usually on December 9, to honour those 'working on practical and exemplary solutions to the most urgent challenges facing the world today'.
In 1995, Dr. Fernandez was arrested by Malaysian authorities and charged with 'maliciously publishing false news' on the abuse of the rights of migrant workers, malnutrition, physical and sexual abuses, the appalling working conditions of workers and for presenting facts about the situation in detention camps, where many migrant workers end up and die.
Despite being on bail pending an appeal, she - the founder of Tenaganita organization, courageously carries on her work to stand for the rights of refugees and foreign workers.
Burmese Exile Media Web Site Again Under Attack
By SAW YAN NAING
The Irrawaddy News
The Web site of the Mizzima Burmese news organization in exile has again come under attack by pro-regime hackers.
Sein Win, editor of the Mizzima news agency, said the site, www.mizzima.com, had been briefly knocked out on Wednesday morning by hackers calling themselves “Independence Hackers from Burma.” The attack lasted about 10 hours.
Visitors to the site found a crude, ungrammatical message reading: “Dear MIZZIMA Readers...Listen Please, Why Hack This Website?... Because we are Independence Hackers from Burma. We Born for Hack Those F**king Media Website, Which Are Ever Talk about only Worse News for Our Country. We are very sorry for Webadmin, You Need to More Secure Your Website. Now We Warn to All Media Webadmins That is "Prepare to More Secure Your Work."
Mizzima and three other exiled Burmese Web sites—The Irrawaddy, the Democratic Voice of Burma and Khitpyaing—came under cyber attack late last month.
Mizzima was hacked while the three other sites were bombarded by a so-called “distributed denial-of-service”, or DDoS, which overloads Web sites with an unmanageable amount of traffic.
The attacks coincided with the first anniversary of the regime’s brutal suppression of monk-led demonstrations in September 2007.
Exiled media groups, bloggers, reporters inside Burma and citizen journalists played major roles in reporting on the September 2007 uprising.
As Burmese commemorated the September 2007 uprising, the authorities intensified their watch over Internet cafes in Rangoon. In some Internet cafes, users have to show their ID, while informers observe students playing video games. Buddhist monks complain that they are treated like criminals if they are seen using the Internet.
The Irrawaddy News
The Web site of the Mizzima Burmese news organization in exile has again come under attack by pro-regime hackers.
Sein Win, editor of the Mizzima news agency, said the site, www.mizzima.com, had been briefly knocked out on Wednesday morning by hackers calling themselves “Independence Hackers from Burma.” The attack lasted about 10 hours.
Visitors to the site found a crude, ungrammatical message reading: “Dear MIZZIMA Readers...Listen Please, Why Hack This Website?... Because we are Independence Hackers from Burma. We Born for Hack Those F**king Media Website, Which Are Ever Talk about only Worse News for Our Country. We are very sorry for Webadmin, You Need to More Secure Your Website. Now We Warn to All Media Webadmins That is "Prepare to More Secure Your Work."
Mizzima and three other exiled Burmese Web sites—The Irrawaddy, the Democratic Voice of Burma and Khitpyaing—came under cyber attack late last month.
Mizzima was hacked while the three other sites were bombarded by a so-called “distributed denial-of-service”, or DDoS, which overloads Web sites with an unmanageable amount of traffic.
The attacks coincided with the first anniversary of the regime’s brutal suppression of monk-led demonstrations in September 2007.
Exiled media groups, bloggers, reporters inside Burma and citizen journalists played major roles in reporting on the September 2007 uprising.
As Burmese commemorated the September 2007 uprising, the authorities intensified their watch over Internet cafes in Rangoon. In some Internet cafes, users have to show their ID, while informers observe students playing video games. Buddhist monks complain that they are treated like criminals if they are seen using the Internet.
Win Tin’s Logical Principles
By KYAW ZWA MOE
The Irrawaddy News
The expression, Suu Hlut Twe, offers three simple ideas to break the country’s chronic political stand off between the military and political opposition groups.
Suu stands for pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and the unconditional release of all political prisoners.
Hlut stands for Hluttaw (people’s parliament) and the convening of parliament with the representatives of the 1990 elections.
Twe stands for dialogue between the military government and opposition groups.
Those were three basic ideas that prominent journalist-turned-politician Win Tin held to during his 19-year imprisonment. It was his commitment to the pro-democracy movement that helped him overcome harsh obstacles in prison, said the 79-year-old NLD opposition leader days after his release in late September.
Win Tin said he will continue to work toward those simple principles in the ongoing struggle for democracy. Win Tin, who was a secretary in Suu Kyi’s opposition National League for Democracy before his arrest in 1989, was reappointed to his old position as a member of the party’s Central Executive Committee on September 27 during the NLD’s 20th anniversary in Rangoon.
Win Tin’s principles harkens back to the NLD policies in place following the 1990 elections. In the passage of years, the military regime has consistently dismissed all NLD proposals and, instead, gone its own way—following its “road map” to democracy that simply excludes all opposition groups and main ethnic political parties.
Burma’s Foreign Minister Nyan Win told the UN General Assembly on Monday, “Peace and stability now prevails in almost all parts of the country.” The former military officer said the government’s road map offers the best chance for a return to civilian rule.
The junta’s planned election in 2010 is the next step on its road map. After the election, the junta claims it will hand over power to a civilian government. Last year the junta concluded its 14-year National Convention, which drafted a constitution, since approved that guarantees the military will control the pseudo-civilian government.
The regime’s foreign minister told the UN assembly, “All citizens, regardless of political affiliation, will have equal rights to form political parties and to conduct elections campaigns.” However, some former political prisoners and activists are likely to be banned from taking part in the election.
The NLD boycotted the junta’s National Convention in 1995 and consistently criticized the regime’s road map as illegitimate, calling it one-sided and lacking the participation of the 1990-elected members of parliament. Last week, in a statement the NLD called for the junta to review the constitution.
The head of Burma’s police, Brig-Gen Khin Yi, warned NLD’s leaders to withdraw their critical statement, saying it could provoke citizens to make critical comments against the government, which—by law—is illegal in Burma because it could provoke instability.
Similar demand by the UN special envoy, Ibrahim Gambari, was also ignored by the regime.
On Saturday, the UN’s Group of Friends of Myanmar—composed of the United States, Britain, China, Southeast Asian countries and the European Union—again called for the release of all political prisoners.
But it’s quite unlikely. The junta’s recent release of less than 10 political prisoners, including Win Tin, won it praise from some countries. The release was part of a general amnesty for about 9,000 prisoners convicted of criminal offenses.
The remaining 2,000 political prisoners are unlikely to enjoy an amnesty anytime soon. The junta considers the jailed pro-democracy advocates “destructive elements of the country” and, as a result, most of them have no chance of release until after the 2010 election.
Recently, The Irrawaddy learned from intelligence sources that an election law for the upcoming 2010 election is now on Than Shwe’s desk in Naypyidaw waiting to be signed. He’s still the only person who has the power to determine Burma’s course.
Win Tin’s Suu Hlut Twe policy is logical. Like everything in Burma, however, the ideas have to be acceptable to Than Shwe.
The Irrawaddy News
The expression, Suu Hlut Twe, offers three simple ideas to break the country’s chronic political stand off between the military and political opposition groups.
Suu stands for pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and the unconditional release of all political prisoners.
Hlut stands for Hluttaw (people’s parliament) and the convening of parliament with the representatives of the 1990 elections.
Twe stands for dialogue between the military government and opposition groups.
Those were three basic ideas that prominent journalist-turned-politician Win Tin held to during his 19-year imprisonment. It was his commitment to the pro-democracy movement that helped him overcome harsh obstacles in prison, said the 79-year-old NLD opposition leader days after his release in late September.
Win Tin said he will continue to work toward those simple principles in the ongoing struggle for democracy. Win Tin, who was a secretary in Suu Kyi’s opposition National League for Democracy before his arrest in 1989, was reappointed to his old position as a member of the party’s Central Executive Committee on September 27 during the NLD’s 20th anniversary in Rangoon.
Win Tin’s principles harkens back to the NLD policies in place following the 1990 elections. In the passage of years, the military regime has consistently dismissed all NLD proposals and, instead, gone its own way—following its “road map” to democracy that simply excludes all opposition groups and main ethnic political parties.
Burma’s Foreign Minister Nyan Win told the UN General Assembly on Monday, “Peace and stability now prevails in almost all parts of the country.” The former military officer said the government’s road map offers the best chance for a return to civilian rule.
The junta’s planned election in 2010 is the next step on its road map. After the election, the junta claims it will hand over power to a civilian government. Last year the junta concluded its 14-year National Convention, which drafted a constitution, since approved that guarantees the military will control the pseudo-civilian government.
The regime’s foreign minister told the UN assembly, “All citizens, regardless of political affiliation, will have equal rights to form political parties and to conduct elections campaigns.” However, some former political prisoners and activists are likely to be banned from taking part in the election.
The NLD boycotted the junta’s National Convention in 1995 and consistently criticized the regime’s road map as illegitimate, calling it one-sided and lacking the participation of the 1990-elected members of parliament. Last week, in a statement the NLD called for the junta to review the constitution.
The head of Burma’s police, Brig-Gen Khin Yi, warned NLD’s leaders to withdraw their critical statement, saying it could provoke citizens to make critical comments against the government, which—by law—is illegal in Burma because it could provoke instability.
Similar demand by the UN special envoy, Ibrahim Gambari, was also ignored by the regime.
On Saturday, the UN’s Group of Friends of Myanmar—composed of the United States, Britain, China, Southeast Asian countries and the European Union—again called for the release of all political prisoners.
But it’s quite unlikely. The junta’s recent release of less than 10 political prisoners, including Win Tin, won it praise from some countries. The release was part of a general amnesty for about 9,000 prisoners convicted of criminal offenses.
The remaining 2,000 political prisoners are unlikely to enjoy an amnesty anytime soon. The junta considers the jailed pro-democracy advocates “destructive elements of the country” and, as a result, most of them have no chance of release until after the 2010 election.
Recently, The Irrawaddy learned from intelligence sources that an election law for the upcoming 2010 election is now on Than Shwe’s desk in Naypyidaw waiting to be signed. He’s still the only person who has the power to determine Burma’s course.
Win Tin’s Suu Hlut Twe policy is logical. Like everything in Burma, however, the ideas have to be acceptable to Than Shwe.
Generals Authorized to Buy Land Cruisers
By LAWI WENG
The Irrawaddy News
The latest perk for Burma’s senior military officials is a Toyota Land Cruiser, according to a source close to the military government.
"Nowadays the talk in the army is the news that all high ranking military officers above major general have permission to buy Land Cruisers," the source told The Irrawaddy.
Low-ranking officials are unhappy about the news, said the source, griping that the vehicles could end up being sold on the black market.
"The permit allows buying a vehicle for 140,000,000 kyat (US $112,450). But a vehicle that’s bought could be sold on the black market for 500,000,000 kyat ($401,606)," according to the source. The price for a 2009 Toyota Land Cruiser in the United States is around $65,000.
About 50 high ranking officers above major general work in the Ministry of Defense.
Abuse of power and corruption are common in the military government. According to the Global Corruption Report 2008, recently released by Transparency International, Burma is one of the most corrupt countries in the world, ranking just ahead of Somalia and tied with Iraq at the second-lowest ranking.
Meanwhile, about 1,000 vehicles that were seized in southern Burma for not having legal registration papers were auctioned this week by Southeast Command in Moulmein, according to a source with the Mon ceasefire group.
Sources at the New Mon State Party said the vehicles, seized in the past few years, have been re-registered with new titles and licenses. The number of vehicles to be sold is not known. In the past, such vehicles were usually sold to businessmen favored by the regime.
The source said about 50 vehicles were sold or traded last week at the Southeast Command in Moulmein.
A Toyota Mighty 8 Hilux brought from 10,000,000 kyat ($8,032) to 30,000,000 kyats ($ 24,096), depending on the model’s year.
Most vehicles were seized from local residents or members of the Mon ceasefire group. In 2003, the regime passed a law allowing seizure of vehicles without legal registration papers and imprisonment of the owner for up to three years.
The Irrawaddy News
The latest perk for Burma’s senior military officials is a Toyota Land Cruiser, according to a source close to the military government.
"Nowadays the talk in the army is the news that all high ranking military officers above major general have permission to buy Land Cruisers," the source told The Irrawaddy.
Low-ranking officials are unhappy about the news, said the source, griping that the vehicles could end up being sold on the black market.
"The permit allows buying a vehicle for 140,000,000 kyat (US $112,450). But a vehicle that’s bought could be sold on the black market for 500,000,000 kyat ($401,606)," according to the source. The price for a 2009 Toyota Land Cruiser in the United States is around $65,000.
About 50 high ranking officers above major general work in the Ministry of Defense.
Abuse of power and corruption are common in the military government. According to the Global Corruption Report 2008, recently released by Transparency International, Burma is one of the most corrupt countries in the world, ranking just ahead of Somalia and tied with Iraq at the second-lowest ranking.
Meanwhile, about 1,000 vehicles that were seized in southern Burma for not having legal registration papers were auctioned this week by Southeast Command in Moulmein, according to a source with the Mon ceasefire group.
Sources at the New Mon State Party said the vehicles, seized in the past few years, have been re-registered with new titles and licenses. The number of vehicles to be sold is not known. In the past, such vehicles were usually sold to businessmen favored by the regime.
The source said about 50 vehicles were sold or traded last week at the Southeast Command in Moulmein.
A Toyota Mighty 8 Hilux brought from 10,000,000 kyat ($8,032) to 30,000,000 kyats ($ 24,096), depending on the model’s year.
Most vehicles were seized from local residents or members of the Mon ceasefire group. In 2003, the regime passed a law allowing seizure of vehicles without legal registration papers and imprisonment of the owner for up to three years.
Reports of Rape Surface in Cyclone-devastated Delta
By KYI WAI
The Irrawaddy News
LAPUTTA — Reports of rape and other abuses of women are surfacing as communities in Burma’s Irrawaddy delta continue to recover from May’s Cyclone Nargis.
Women were particularly vulnerable in the cyclone and its aftermath, when social order broke down. Many complain their plight was ignored by local authorities and the military.
One 20-year-old woman from a village in Laputta District said three men who responded to her cries for help the day after the cyclone raped and tried to rob her.
One villager reported seeing two men armed with knives rape a 15-year-old girl before drowning her. “I was afraid to try and help the girl and I pretended to be dead,” he confessed.
The rapes and killing continued weeks after the cyclone, as devastated communities tried to restore normal life, according to villagers.
A resident of Gyin Yah village in Laputta District said that a month after the cyclone he had discovered the body of a teenage girl who had been raped and killed, then dumped in a rice paddy.
Some villagers accused military authorities of trying to prevent news of rape and pillage becoming public. Villages allowing news of the abuses to escape were threatened with destruction, sources said.
One man from Kyane Gone village in Laputta District said a soldier had tried to drag away his daughter as they waited for aid at a military base. He had complained to an officer, who had angrily sent him away.
A woman survivor from Sate Gyi village in Laputta Township said: “I don’t dare return to my home. I’m the only woman survivor and would be the only woman among eight men.”
The Irrawaddy News
LAPUTTA — Reports of rape and other abuses of women are surfacing as communities in Burma’s Irrawaddy delta continue to recover from May’s Cyclone Nargis.
Women were particularly vulnerable in the cyclone and its aftermath, when social order broke down. Many complain their plight was ignored by local authorities and the military.
One 20-year-old woman from a village in Laputta District said three men who responded to her cries for help the day after the cyclone raped and tried to rob her.
One villager reported seeing two men armed with knives rape a 15-year-old girl before drowning her. “I was afraid to try and help the girl and I pretended to be dead,” he confessed.
The rapes and killing continued weeks after the cyclone, as devastated communities tried to restore normal life, according to villagers.
A resident of Gyin Yah village in Laputta District said that a month after the cyclone he had discovered the body of a teenage girl who had been raped and killed, then dumped in a rice paddy.
Some villagers accused military authorities of trying to prevent news of rape and pillage becoming public. Villages allowing news of the abuses to escape were threatened with destruction, sources said.
One man from Kyane Gone village in Laputta District said a soldier had tried to drag away his daughter as they waited for aid at a military base. He had complained to an officer, who had angrily sent him away.
A woman survivor from Sate Gyi village in Laputta Township said: “I don’t dare return to my home. I’m the only woman survivor and would be the only woman among eight men.”
Myanmar detains political ally of Aung San Suu Kyi
YANGON, Myanmar (IHT): Myanmar's military authorities have detained a prominent former journalist and political ally of detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, the opposition party said Thursday.
Police took 64-year-old Ohn Kyaing from his home Wednesday evening, said Nyan Win, the spokesman for Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy.
"The reason why he was detained was not known," Nyan Win said.
Ohn Kyaing was released from prison in 2005 after serving 15 years of a 17-year prison sentence for "writing and distributing seditious pamphlets" and threatening state security.
Ohn Kyaing joined the NLD after a long career in journalism and won a parliamentary seat in 1990 — elections that were overwhelmingly won by Suu Kyi's party but which the military junta refused to recognize.
Until then, he had worked at several newspapers and written articles under the pen name "Aung Wint."
Ohn Kyaing is a close friend and former colleague of Win Tin, another former journalist turned opposition politician, who was the longest-serving political prisoner in Myanmar until his release Sept. 23. Win Tin served 19 years behind bars.
Asked to comment on the detention of Ohn Kyaing, Win Tin said, it "is not unusual and something we have to expect. He is a close colleague, a good friend and a highly qualified man."
The Home Ministry, which is in charge of police, could not be reached for comment Thursday. Authorities seldom comment on arrests of this nature.
Myanmar has been under military rule for 46 years and is one of the world's poorest and most authoritarian nations. Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, has been detained for 13 of the last 19 years.
Police took 64-year-old Ohn Kyaing from his home Wednesday evening, said Nyan Win, the spokesman for Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy.
"The reason why he was detained was not known," Nyan Win said.
Ohn Kyaing was released from prison in 2005 after serving 15 years of a 17-year prison sentence for "writing and distributing seditious pamphlets" and threatening state security.
Ohn Kyaing joined the NLD after a long career in journalism and won a parliamentary seat in 1990 — elections that were overwhelmingly won by Suu Kyi's party but which the military junta refused to recognize.
Until then, he had worked at several newspapers and written articles under the pen name "Aung Wint."
Ohn Kyaing is a close friend and former colleague of Win Tin, another former journalist turned opposition politician, who was the longest-serving political prisoner in Myanmar until his release Sept. 23. Win Tin served 19 years behind bars.
Asked to comment on the detention of Ohn Kyaing, Win Tin said, it "is not unusual and something we have to expect. He is a close colleague, a good friend and a highly qualified man."
The Home Ministry, which is in charge of police, could not be reached for comment Thursday. Authorities seldom comment on arrests of this nature.
Myanmar has been under military rule for 46 years and is one of the world's poorest and most authoritarian nations. Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, has been detained for 13 of the last 19 years.
Wednesday, 1 October 2008
Blogger produced before court again - Nay Phone Latt and GW
by Phanida
Chiang Mai (Mizzima)– Youth blogger and writer Nay Phone Latt held in Insein prison, was produced in court again.
Today the court heard one of his cases where he is being charged under section 505(b) of the Penal Code (inducing crime against public tranquility). His court hearing started in early July this year.
"A policeman from Bahan police station testified today as the prosecution witness. He said my son got involved in demonstrations without being able to produce any evidence and exhibits such as a photograph in court," his mother Aye Than said.
He has been kept in solitary confinement in Insein prison special cell since early July this year, when the court started hearing his case. He was not allowed to stroll outside his cell, his mother added.
"He is disappointed as he is in solitary confinement. Maung Weik (business tycoon) is in the neighbouring cell. But he is allowed to troll outside the cell. My son and Zarganar are not allowed to do so. Though he is a youth, I worry about his health in the prison environment," Nay Phone Latt's mother said.
Nay Phone Latt was arrested and detained on January 29 this year and was charged under 505(b) of the Penal Code, section 32(a), 36 of the Video Law and section 33(a), 38 of the Electronic Law.
The hearing was adjourned today by the court, which was hearing the cases of 35 students of the 88-generation, including Ko Min Ko Naing after an argument between the judge and the accused on addressing them as defendants.
"The student leaders reacted immediately as soon as the judge referred to them as defendants. They said they are just the accused and could not be referred to as defendants before being formally charged by the court after it hears prosecution and defence witnesses. The court had to adjourn the hearing after that," a family member of one of the 88-Generation Students, Ko Ko Gyi, said.
Similarly other 88-Generation Students, Sithu Maung and six others, were produced before the court today. They were accused of staging demonstrations protesting against the rising fuel prices.
Advocate Khin Maung Shein said that they are presenting an argument for discharge of the case against the student leaders made under section 124(a) of the Penal Code (disaffection towards State and government) as no case against the accused has been made out which would warrant their conviction.
"We presented our argument made under section 253 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) to consider discharging the accused from the case on hearing the last witness. The accused have to suffer a lot because of this wrongful charge. So the accused should be discharged as no case against them has been made out under section 124(a) of the Penal Code, we argued in court," he added.
The authorities changed the charges made against the student leaders later --- from the previous 124(a) of the Penal Code to new charges made under sections 505(b) (inducing crime against public tranquility), 143 and 145 (unlawful assembly), and 295 (insulting religion) of the Penal Code. These student leaders face prison terms ranging from two to a maximum of 8 years if found guilty.
Chiang Mai (Mizzima)– Youth blogger and writer Nay Phone Latt held in Insein prison, was produced in court again.
Today the court heard one of his cases where he is being charged under section 505(b) of the Penal Code (inducing crime against public tranquility). His court hearing started in early July this year.
"A policeman from Bahan police station testified today as the prosecution witness. He said my son got involved in demonstrations without being able to produce any evidence and exhibits such as a photograph in court," his mother Aye Than said.
He has been kept in solitary confinement in Insein prison special cell since early July this year, when the court started hearing his case. He was not allowed to stroll outside his cell, his mother added.
"He is disappointed as he is in solitary confinement. Maung Weik (business tycoon) is in the neighbouring cell. But he is allowed to troll outside the cell. My son and Zarganar are not allowed to do so. Though he is a youth, I worry about his health in the prison environment," Nay Phone Latt's mother said.
Nay Phone Latt was arrested and detained on January 29 this year and was charged under 505(b) of the Penal Code, section 32(a), 36 of the Video Law and section 33(a), 38 of the Electronic Law.
The hearing was adjourned today by the court, which was hearing the cases of 35 students of the 88-generation, including Ko Min Ko Naing after an argument between the judge and the accused on addressing them as defendants.
"The student leaders reacted immediately as soon as the judge referred to them as defendants. They said they are just the accused and could not be referred to as defendants before being formally charged by the court after it hears prosecution and defence witnesses. The court had to adjourn the hearing after that," a family member of one of the 88-Generation Students, Ko Ko Gyi, said.
Similarly other 88-Generation Students, Sithu Maung and six others, were produced before the court today. They were accused of staging demonstrations protesting against the rising fuel prices.
Advocate Khin Maung Shein said that they are presenting an argument for discharge of the case against the student leaders made under section 124(a) of the Penal Code (disaffection towards State and government) as no case against the accused has been made out which would warrant their conviction.
"We presented our argument made under section 253 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) to consider discharging the accused from the case on hearing the last witness. The accused have to suffer a lot because of this wrongful charge. So the accused should be discharged as no case against them has been made out under section 124(a) of the Penal Code, we argued in court," he added.
The authorities changed the charges made against the student leaders later --- from the previous 124(a) of the Penal Code to new charges made under sections 505(b) (inducing crime against public tranquility), 143 and 145 (unlawful assembly), and 295 (insulting religion) of the Penal Code. These student leaders face prison terms ranging from two to a maximum of 8 years if found guilty.
Cyber cafes ordered to close early
IMNA - Suffering from an unnamed fear on the 1st anniversary of the saffron revolution the Burmese military junta has ordered cyber cafes to close early in the capital of Mon state, Moulmein (Mawlamyine).
According to cyber café owners in the city, government officials went to each café in Moulmein and ordered owners to close before 8 p.m.
"Earlier, we could use the internet until midnight. But the café owners are closing early and not allowing customers to stay beyond 8 p.m.," an internet user in Moulmein told IMNA.
In Moulmein there were six cyber cafes—the MYC, MCC, POST, INFORMATIC, HTAKASON and SKY NET.
According to an internet shop owner and a surfer the regime has blocked them from accessing dissident websites and media websites in exile.
Monks students and Moulmein university students rely on the internet to communicate with the outside world even though they are closely monitored.
Currently the Burmese military junta officials have deployed additional security in Moulmein city and have been closely watching Ye monastery, Shin Phyu monastery and university students. The military has also tightened security in the place where Moulmein monks started marching during the saffron revolution.
During the September 2007 saffron revolution thousands of monks in Moulmein joined hands with university students and demonstrated against the military junta in Rangoon.
According to cyber café owners in the city, government officials went to each café in Moulmein and ordered owners to close before 8 p.m.
"Earlier, we could use the internet until midnight. But the café owners are closing early and not allowing customers to stay beyond 8 p.m.," an internet user in Moulmein told IMNA.
In Moulmein there were six cyber cafes—the MYC, MCC, POST, INFORMATIC, HTAKASON and SKY NET.
According to an internet shop owner and a surfer the regime has blocked them from accessing dissident websites and media websites in exile.
Monks students and Moulmein university students rely on the internet to communicate with the outside world even though they are closely monitored.
Currently the Burmese military junta officials have deployed additional security in Moulmein city and have been closely watching Ye monastery, Shin Phyu monastery and university students. The military has also tightened security in the place where Moulmein monks started marching during the saffron revolution.
During the September 2007 saffron revolution thousands of monks in Moulmein joined hands with university students and demonstrated against the military junta in Rangoon.
Naypyidaw auctions seized vehicles in southern Burma
Tue 30 Sep 2008, IMNA
The Burmese military establishment in Mon State has been auctioning vehicles seized from residents in southern Burma on the orders of Naypyidaw.
The vehicles are kept in Moulmein Stadium and the Southeast Command has been urging ethnic cease-fire groups and business establishments to buy it.
According to New Mon State Party (NMSP) sources, the order to auction vehicles came from Naypyidaw, "But I am not sure when the order came."
Sources in NMSP, which reached a cease-fire with the Burmese government in 1995, said Naypyidaw drew up the prices depending on the make of the vehicles.
The organization which pays the auction price will get the vehicles from the Southeast Command.
The auction began early this month, following which local car prices fell.
According to car traders, prices of old Toyota and Hilux cars dropped from 17 million Kyat (13,386 US$) to 12 million Kyat (9,449 US$).
"We are facing losses for over a month. Many stopped buying these cars, even though the cars have license," a car dealer told IMNA.
More than a thousand illegal vehicles which were seized in 2003-2004 have been stored at the Southeast Command base.
Most vehicles were seized from local residents and the cease-fire group. In 2003 the Burmese regime made a new law where those who owned illegal cars and things imported from neighbouring countries would face three years in prison and started seizing the cars.
The NMSP, Karen Peace Front (KPF) and Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) had their vehicles seized. The junta only gave back the seized cars to DKBA.
NMSP lost dozens of cars in 2003 and does not dare to buy it back afraid that regime's law is not consistent.
Some businessmen from Moulmein industrial zone are interested and most of them are close to military officers.
The Southeast Command sold vehicles at low prices in 2004 after they seized it. The colours of the seized vehicles were changed.
The Burmese military establishment in Mon State has been auctioning vehicles seized from residents in southern Burma on the orders of Naypyidaw.
The vehicles are kept in Moulmein Stadium and the Southeast Command has been urging ethnic cease-fire groups and business establishments to buy it.
According to New Mon State Party (NMSP) sources, the order to auction vehicles came from Naypyidaw, "But I am not sure when the order came."
Sources in NMSP, which reached a cease-fire with the Burmese government in 1995, said Naypyidaw drew up the prices depending on the make of the vehicles.
The organization which pays the auction price will get the vehicles from the Southeast Command.
The auction began early this month, following which local car prices fell.
According to car traders, prices of old Toyota and Hilux cars dropped from 17 million Kyat (13,386 US$) to 12 million Kyat (9,449 US$).
"We are facing losses for over a month. Many stopped buying these cars, even though the cars have license," a car dealer told IMNA.
More than a thousand illegal vehicles which were seized in 2003-2004 have been stored at the Southeast Command base.
Most vehicles were seized from local residents and the cease-fire group. In 2003 the Burmese regime made a new law where those who owned illegal cars and things imported from neighbouring countries would face three years in prison and started seizing the cars.
The NMSP, Karen Peace Front (KPF) and Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) had their vehicles seized. The junta only gave back the seized cars to DKBA.
NMSP lost dozens of cars in 2003 and does not dare to buy it back afraid that regime's law is not consistent.
Some businessmen from Moulmein industrial zone are interested and most of them are close to military officers.
The Southeast Command sold vehicles at low prices in 2004 after they seized it. The colours of the seized vehicles were changed.
ENC calls on the international community to help starving people in Chin State after crops are destroyed
Wed 01 Oct 2008, IMNA
More than a hundred thousand people in Chin State, in northwest Burma, face starvation after a plague of rats destroyed crops in the area. Burma’s military government is offering no help, says the Ethnic Nationalities Council (ENC).
According to an ENC statement made on September 30th, people from more than twenty villages – one fourth of Chin State’s population – face food shortages and disease. More than two thousand ethnic Chin people have fled to India in search of food. At least thirty children have died from lack of food, though the number is thought to be higher.
The ENC, a Thailand-based exile group comprised of representatives from Burma’s many ethnic groups, called upon the international community for support. “We call on UN agencies such as the World Food Programme, UN OCHA [United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs], UNDP [UN Development Program] and other international aid organization to provide food and assistance to people who have faced food shortages since 2006, while the military government ignores the case,” ENC General Secretary Duwa Mahkaw Hkun Sa told IMNA.
“The food crisis in Chin State has reached a point where immediate action is warranted in order to prevent a human tragedy of great proportions. The international community should now act immediately on this crisis to avert a Nargis-like situation,” says Dr. Salai Lian Hmung Sakhong, ENC Vice Chairman, in an official statement by the group. ENC also called upon the government of India and Mizoram to extend assistance to avert a humanitarian tragedy in Chin State.
The junta, on the other hand, has disregarded the situation and is providing no help to Chin State. It has even prevented international NGOs from providing aid to the region, says Duwa Mahkaw Hkun Sa. The ENC statement addressed the junta’s restrictions, demanding the junta “immediately to allow complete and unfettered access to the affected area in Chin state and cooperate fully with aid organizations and provide them a conductive environment for a meaningful and effective relief efforts in Chin State.”
The situation is likely to get worse, as the rats have destroyed rice paddies and other farmland. The crop destruction comes at a time when Burma is already struggling to recover from the loss of twenty percent of its rice paddies, which were destroyed by Cyclone Nargis in May. The boom in the rat population, and the attendant impact on agriculture of the region, is being caused by the life cycle of “Melocanna Baccifera,” a type of bamboo that flowers once every fifty years and, according to a report by the Chin Human Rights organization, covers one fifth of Chin State. After flowering in 2006, the bamboo produced a fruit with a large nutrient-rich seed. Rats fed on the seeds, their population skyrocketed and the animals eventually descended upon farms looking for food.
More than a hundred thousand people in Chin State, in northwest Burma, face starvation after a plague of rats destroyed crops in the area. Burma’s military government is offering no help, says the Ethnic Nationalities Council (ENC).
According to an ENC statement made on September 30th, people from more than twenty villages – one fourth of Chin State’s population – face food shortages and disease. More than two thousand ethnic Chin people have fled to India in search of food. At least thirty children have died from lack of food, though the number is thought to be higher.
The ENC, a Thailand-based exile group comprised of representatives from Burma’s many ethnic groups, called upon the international community for support. “We call on UN agencies such as the World Food Programme, UN OCHA [United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs], UNDP [UN Development Program] and other international aid organization to provide food and assistance to people who have faced food shortages since 2006, while the military government ignores the case,” ENC General Secretary Duwa Mahkaw Hkun Sa told IMNA.
“The food crisis in Chin State has reached a point where immediate action is warranted in order to prevent a human tragedy of great proportions. The international community should now act immediately on this crisis to avert a Nargis-like situation,” says Dr. Salai Lian Hmung Sakhong, ENC Vice Chairman, in an official statement by the group. ENC also called upon the government of India and Mizoram to extend assistance to avert a humanitarian tragedy in Chin State.
The junta, on the other hand, has disregarded the situation and is providing no help to Chin State. It has even prevented international NGOs from providing aid to the region, says Duwa Mahkaw Hkun Sa. The ENC statement addressed the junta’s restrictions, demanding the junta “immediately to allow complete and unfettered access to the affected area in Chin state and cooperate fully with aid organizations and provide them a conductive environment for a meaningful and effective relief efforts in Chin State.”
The situation is likely to get worse, as the rats have destroyed rice paddies and other farmland. The crop destruction comes at a time when Burma is already struggling to recover from the loss of twenty percent of its rice paddies, which were destroyed by Cyclone Nargis in May. The boom in the rat population, and the attendant impact on agriculture of the region, is being caused by the life cycle of “Melocanna Baccifera,” a type of bamboo that flowers once every fifty years and, according to a report by the Chin Human Rights organization, covers one fifth of Chin State. After flowering in 2006, the bamboo produced a fruit with a large nutrient-rich seed. Rats fed on the seeds, their population skyrocketed and the animals eventually descended upon farms looking for food.
Journal Suspended after Running Child Labor Photo
The photograph that appeared in Tuesday’s True News ran with the caption: “A Burmese child working on a construction site in Phuket, Thailand.”By MOE MYINT YAN
The Irrawaddy News
RANGOON — Two weekly publications have been suspended by Burma’s notorious censorship board, after being accused of violating rules and regulations, local journalists said on Tuesday.
The decision came after a large photograph depicting a Burmese child working on a construction site in Thailand appeared on the front page of Tuesday’s True News. It is unknown why Action Times has been suspended as it did not run the picture or one similar.
“The Press Scrutiny and Registration Board summoned the editors of True News and Action Times and ordered them to stop publishing their journals for two months and one month respectively,” said a Rangoon-based journalist who is close to staff at the two publications.
The censorship board reportedly accused the editors of failing to submit clear draft layouts to its office for inspection.
According to the board’s regulations, every journal in Burma must submit a draft of its final layout with clear photographs, captions and pullouts.
A freelance journalist in Rangoon who requested anonymity told The Irrawaddy that the Press Scrutiny and Registration Division’s decision is related to the sensitive photograph published on the front page of True News.
The caption under the photograph that ran in Tuesday’s journal read: “A Burmese child working on a construction site in Phuket, Thailand.”
However, another source, who claimed to have spoken to a reporter at True News, said the censorship board had passed the photo and its caption, so the journal published it.
According to a source within the Press Scrutiny and Registration Division, certain authorities were annoyed by this photo and because the censorship board had failed to spot it.
The source said that the head of the censorship board, Maj Tint Swe, was reportedly admonished by Minister of Information Kyaw Hsan over the incident.
Rights group to probe Burma war crimes
By P. Parameswaran in Washington
News.com - October 01, 2008
AN independent US group is to carry out unprecedented studies to determine whether Burma's military rulers, accused of rampant human rights abuses, have committed international crimes.
The Centre for Constitutional Democracy at Indiana University's school of law said it would launch the research based on anecdotal human rights evidence of "severe mistreatment" of marginalised ethnic groups by the military junta.
"At this stage of the project, I can't honestly say that there are international crimes," the centre's executive director, David Williams, told AFP by telephone.
"What I can say is there may be, and part of our goal would be to gather the evidence and try to come out with some objective conclusions about whether there are or not," he said.
The centre's goal, he said, was to make focused research "in areas where perhaps it is most likely that international crimes were committed".
Only the Hague-based International Criminal Court (ICC) can determine whether international crimes, such as war crimes and crimes against humanity, have been committed by any individual or group.
So far, Professor Williams said, there has been no institutional focus on possible international crimes committed by Burma's junta, which imposed a bloody crackdown of pro-democracy protests in September last year that was condemned worldwide.
The crackdown - according to United Nations figures - left 31 people dead and 74 others missing, and resulted in thousands of arrests.
The military rulers had also come under international fire and were called "heartless" by some humanitarian groups for initially not allowing foreign aid into the country when a cyclone left 138,000 people dead or missing in May.
Burma also houses more than 2100 political prisoners, including democracy icon and Nobel peace prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, who has spent more than 12 of the last 18 years under house arrest.
Prof Williams said that although the ICC had not initiated any study on the military junta's record so far, "ours might be a good place for them to get started".
"It might help the various investigators know where to go and what allegations to examine and so forth," he said.
When asked whether in his personal opinion some of the junta's actions could be deemed as international crimes, Prof Williams said: "What I might be able to say is that it looks to me, in my professional opinion, like there is a good chance that it is.
"And it makes sense therefore to bring a prosecution because there is enough evidence that a court should be able to see it," he pointed out.
The university group's staff had been for the last six years helping ethnic groups inside Burma - at their request - draw up constitutional reforms in their struggle to win greater freedom and rights.
Law professor David Williams had smuggled himself into Burma on various occasions and worked on constitutional reforms with the Karen ethnic group, waging the world's longest running civil war against the government since 1947.
"I am hearing endless stories about how the military government is murdering villagers, it's blowing up rice paddies so that they dry out, it's setting fires to villages, it's laying mines in those villages so that when the people come back some of them get blown up," he said.
"The result is that they have to move often to hills and find a new place to build a village and start growing rice. That means in a relatively short period of time there is famine because old rice paddies have to be abandoned."
Prof Williams said while he did not witness the Burma military units attacking the Karen guerrilla resistance units, he saw "evidence of the military going after the civilian population".
"That's just the tip of the iceberg in itself and that doesn't constitute conclusive evidence of an international crime but it makes you think," he said.
News.com - Article from: Agence France-Presse
News.com - October 01, 2008
AN independent US group is to carry out unprecedented studies to determine whether Burma's military rulers, accused of rampant human rights abuses, have committed international crimes.
The Centre for Constitutional Democracy at Indiana University's school of law said it would launch the research based on anecdotal human rights evidence of "severe mistreatment" of marginalised ethnic groups by the military junta.
"At this stage of the project, I can't honestly say that there are international crimes," the centre's executive director, David Williams, told AFP by telephone.
"What I can say is there may be, and part of our goal would be to gather the evidence and try to come out with some objective conclusions about whether there are or not," he said.
The centre's goal, he said, was to make focused research "in areas where perhaps it is most likely that international crimes were committed".
Only the Hague-based International Criminal Court (ICC) can determine whether international crimes, such as war crimes and crimes against humanity, have been committed by any individual or group.
So far, Professor Williams said, there has been no institutional focus on possible international crimes committed by Burma's junta, which imposed a bloody crackdown of pro-democracy protests in September last year that was condemned worldwide.
The crackdown - according to United Nations figures - left 31 people dead and 74 others missing, and resulted in thousands of arrests.
The military rulers had also come under international fire and were called "heartless" by some humanitarian groups for initially not allowing foreign aid into the country when a cyclone left 138,000 people dead or missing in May.
Burma also houses more than 2100 political prisoners, including democracy icon and Nobel peace prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, who has spent more than 12 of the last 18 years under house arrest.
Prof Williams said that although the ICC had not initiated any study on the military junta's record so far, "ours might be a good place for them to get started".
"It might help the various investigators know where to go and what allegations to examine and so forth," he said.
When asked whether in his personal opinion some of the junta's actions could be deemed as international crimes, Prof Williams said: "What I might be able to say is that it looks to me, in my professional opinion, like there is a good chance that it is.
"And it makes sense therefore to bring a prosecution because there is enough evidence that a court should be able to see it," he pointed out.
The university group's staff had been for the last six years helping ethnic groups inside Burma - at their request - draw up constitutional reforms in their struggle to win greater freedom and rights.
Law professor David Williams had smuggled himself into Burma on various occasions and worked on constitutional reforms with the Karen ethnic group, waging the world's longest running civil war against the government since 1947.
"I am hearing endless stories about how the military government is murdering villagers, it's blowing up rice paddies so that they dry out, it's setting fires to villages, it's laying mines in those villages so that when the people come back some of them get blown up," he said.
"The result is that they have to move often to hills and find a new place to build a village and start growing rice. That means in a relatively short period of time there is famine because old rice paddies have to be abandoned."
Prof Williams said while he did not witness the Burma military units attacking the Karen guerrilla resistance units, he saw "evidence of the military going after the civilian population".
"That's just the tip of the iceberg in itself and that doesn't constitute conclusive evidence of an international crime but it makes you think," he said.
News.com - Article from: Agence France-Presse
Burma’s State Media Still Mum on Tainted Milk Powder
By MIN LWIN
The Irrawaddy News
The Burmese military government has still failed to take strong action to protect the public following the revelation of tainted powdered milk products imported from China, according to sources in Rangoon.
“Most families are still using the cheap Chinese-made unsafe milk powder,” a Rangoon resident said. “The government hasn’t publicized to avoid use of China-imported milk powder in state-run newspapers.”
She said the general public has received no clear information from state-run media about tainted baby milk formula.
She told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday that the semi-official Myanmar Times weekly newspaper earlier published a story that said all imported dairy products from China had been banned, but failed to cite the reason. There was no mention of specific brands.
The newspaper reported on Monday that the Burmese Commerce Minister said it barred entry of all dairy products made in China since Tuesday last week.
The health ministry is testing samples of dairy products, especially from China, according to Kyaw Myint, a health ministry official, the newspaper reported.
According to the report, Burmese military government said it will destroy 16 tons of powdered milk made by one of the 22 Chinese dairy companies that produced melamine-tainted products. The milk was confiscated in Rangoon last week.
However, the Chinese brands of Yashili, Suncare and Red Cow milk powder are popular in Burma and are still selling at local markets in Rangoon, said a sales manager at a Rangoon commodity company.
“I found prohibited milk powder at local markets,” he said. “Most people can’t afford Thai imported milk powder, so they buy the [Chinese] milk powder because it is cheaper than other imported milk powder.”
“A 500-gram box of Chinese-made Red Cow is 800 kyat (US $0.64). Thai-made milk powder is four times more,” he said.
He said some Rangoon stores, including City Mart stores and Ocean Supercenter, have informed customers that they are not selling Chinese-made milk powder.
Meanwhile, the privately owned weekly Voice Journal published on Monday reported that some Rangoon supermarkets and local markets are still selling Chinese-made milk powder.
The Sanlu Group, based in Shijiazhuang, one of China’s best-known dairy product companies recalled 700 tonnes of its formula on September 12 after the product was linked to the tainted milk scandal, which so far has made 53,000 Chinese children ill and caused the death of at least four babies.
Melamine can cause kidney stones and other complications. An ingredient in plastics and fertilizers, the chemical has been banned in foods, but was introduced by dairy suppliers in China to give watered-down milk the appearance of having higher protein levels.
China is the world’s second biggest market for baby milk powder. Sanlu has been the top-selling company in the sector for 15 years, with 18.3 percent of sales in 2007. In 2006, the country produced 32.2 million tons of milk, up from 8.6 million tons in 2000.
The Irrawaddy News
The Burmese military government has still failed to take strong action to protect the public following the revelation of tainted powdered milk products imported from China, according to sources in Rangoon.
“Most families are still using the cheap Chinese-made unsafe milk powder,” a Rangoon resident said. “The government hasn’t publicized to avoid use of China-imported milk powder in state-run newspapers.”
She said the general public has received no clear information from state-run media about tainted baby milk formula.
She told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday that the semi-official Myanmar Times weekly newspaper earlier published a story that said all imported dairy products from China had been banned, but failed to cite the reason. There was no mention of specific brands.
The newspaper reported on Monday that the Burmese Commerce Minister said it barred entry of all dairy products made in China since Tuesday last week.
The health ministry is testing samples of dairy products, especially from China, according to Kyaw Myint, a health ministry official, the newspaper reported.
According to the report, Burmese military government said it will destroy 16 tons of powdered milk made by one of the 22 Chinese dairy companies that produced melamine-tainted products. The milk was confiscated in Rangoon last week.
However, the Chinese brands of Yashili, Suncare and Red Cow milk powder are popular in Burma and are still selling at local markets in Rangoon, said a sales manager at a Rangoon commodity company.
“I found prohibited milk powder at local markets,” he said. “Most people can’t afford Thai imported milk powder, so they buy the [Chinese] milk powder because it is cheaper than other imported milk powder.”
“A 500-gram box of Chinese-made Red Cow is 800 kyat (US $0.64). Thai-made milk powder is four times more,” he said.
He said some Rangoon stores, including City Mart stores and Ocean Supercenter, have informed customers that they are not selling Chinese-made milk powder.
Meanwhile, the privately owned weekly Voice Journal published on Monday reported that some Rangoon supermarkets and local markets are still selling Chinese-made milk powder.
The Sanlu Group, based in Shijiazhuang, one of China’s best-known dairy product companies recalled 700 tonnes of its formula on September 12 after the product was linked to the tainted milk scandal, which so far has made 53,000 Chinese children ill and caused the death of at least four babies.
Melamine can cause kidney stones and other complications. An ingredient in plastics and fertilizers, the chemical has been banned in foods, but was introduced by dairy suppliers in China to give watered-down milk the appearance of having higher protein levels.
China is the world’s second biggest market for baby milk powder. Sanlu has been the top-selling company in the sector for 15 years, with 18.3 percent of sales in 2007. In 2006, the country produced 32.2 million tons of milk, up from 8.6 million tons in 2000.
DKBA Recruited Villagers for Assault on KNLA
By VIOLET CHO
The Irrawaddy News
The Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA), a splinter group of the Karen National Union (KNU), reportedly forcibly recruited villagers to bolster its forces for a military offensive against the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA).
According to the Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG), which documents the human rights situation in Karen State, the DKBA Brigade 999, led by Maung Chit Thu, began a recruiting campaign in mid-August, ordering village heads in T’Nay Hsah Township, Pa’an District, to muster local people to take part in an assault on a stronghold of the KNLA’s Sixth Brigade in Kawkareik district.
Selection was carried out by a lottery system. Those chosen were enlisted for at least 18 months service in the DKBA army.
Poe Shan, field director of KHRG, said: “About 175 villagers from 11 villages in Pa-an district are now intensively being trained to be soldiers in the DKBA army.”
Villagers selected under the lottery system could hire others to take their place, but had to guarantee that the replacements would not desert the army. Villages were also required to pay the DKBA 300,000-400,000 kyat (US $235-313) for the upkeep of each recruit.
A KNLA Sixth Brigade official confirmed that DKBA battalions 907, 903 and 333 were being deployed for a military offensive. The Sixth Brigade was ready to confront the attackers, he said.
Hser Gay, a senior member of the Brigade’s taxation department, said the DKBA wanted to wrest control of Kawkareik district from the KNLA because of the economic advantages to be gained, in logging and mining.
Several skirmishes between KNLA and DKBA forces have occurred this year, and DKBA troops overran a KNLA Battalion 201 base in early July, forcing many Karen villagers to flee across the border to Thailand.
Despite the military buildup, the KNU is proceeding with preparations for its 14th congress, at which successors will be chosen for its assassinated General Secretary Padoh Mahn Sha and deceased President Ba Thein Sein.
The Irrawaddy News
The Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA), a splinter group of the Karen National Union (KNU), reportedly forcibly recruited villagers to bolster its forces for a military offensive against the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA).
According to the Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG), which documents the human rights situation in Karen State, the DKBA Brigade 999, led by Maung Chit Thu, began a recruiting campaign in mid-August, ordering village heads in T’Nay Hsah Township, Pa’an District, to muster local people to take part in an assault on a stronghold of the KNLA’s Sixth Brigade in Kawkareik district.
Selection was carried out by a lottery system. Those chosen were enlisted for at least 18 months service in the DKBA army.
Poe Shan, field director of KHRG, said: “About 175 villagers from 11 villages in Pa-an district are now intensively being trained to be soldiers in the DKBA army.”
Villagers selected under the lottery system could hire others to take their place, but had to guarantee that the replacements would not desert the army. Villages were also required to pay the DKBA 300,000-400,000 kyat (US $235-313) for the upkeep of each recruit.
A KNLA Sixth Brigade official confirmed that DKBA battalions 907, 903 and 333 were being deployed for a military offensive. The Sixth Brigade was ready to confront the attackers, he said.
Hser Gay, a senior member of the Brigade’s taxation department, said the DKBA wanted to wrest control of Kawkareik district from the KNLA because of the economic advantages to be gained, in logging and mining.
Several skirmishes between KNLA and DKBA forces have occurred this year, and DKBA troops overran a KNLA Battalion 201 base in early July, forcing many Karen villagers to flee across the border to Thailand.
Despite the military buildup, the KNU is proceeding with preparations for its 14th congress, at which successors will be chosen for its assassinated General Secretary Padoh Mahn Sha and deceased President Ba Thein Sein.
Karen Group Opposes Salween River Dams
By SAW YAN NAING
The Irrawaddy News
The Burmese government’s plan to build two major hydropower dams—the Wai Gyi and Hat Gyi—on the Salween River in eastern Burma threatens the human rights of local residents and the biodiversity of the area, says an environmental organization.
According to the report “Khoe Kay: Biodiversity in Peril” released by the Thailand-based Karen Environmental and Social Action Network (KESAN) on Monday, more than 40 rare seeds and animal species in the Salween River watershed are likely to vanish if the Burmese government completes construction of the hydropower dams.
Ko Shwe, a researcher who spent three months collecting data in the area, said, “According to our research, we found about 394 different species. Among them, there are 40 indigenous species including plants and animals. If the dam is completed, these species will be totally vanished.”
The report urged the government to conduct a professional environmental assessment as well as an environmental impact study before construction work begins on the hydropower dams.
The Wai Gyi and Hat Gyi dams are both located in Karen National Union controlled areas.
Meanwhile, Saw Nay, the director of Karen River Watch, said the Hat Gyi dam on the lower Salween River threatened several thousands of residents as well as wildlife.
According to its research, about 5,000 reside in more than 20 villages in the upper Hat Gyi dam area will be forced to relocate if the dam is completed, he said. He said human rights abuses such as forced labor, forced relocation, the disappearance of culture heritage as well as environmental damage including disforestation and flooding are likely to occur.
The Hat Gyi dam, the first to be built, is designed to power a 600-megawatt turbine. The project is expected to be complete by 2010.
The Hat Gyi dam project has drawn strong protests from nongovernmental organizations concerned about the potential environmental impact and the dam’s effect on the livelihood of villagers.
The Irrawaddy News
The Burmese government’s plan to build two major hydropower dams—the Wai Gyi and Hat Gyi—on the Salween River in eastern Burma threatens the human rights of local residents and the biodiversity of the area, says an environmental organization.
According to the report “Khoe Kay: Biodiversity in Peril” released by the Thailand-based Karen Environmental and Social Action Network (KESAN) on Monday, more than 40 rare seeds and animal species in the Salween River watershed are likely to vanish if the Burmese government completes construction of the hydropower dams.
Ko Shwe, a researcher who spent three months collecting data in the area, said, “According to our research, we found about 394 different species. Among them, there are 40 indigenous species including plants and animals. If the dam is completed, these species will be totally vanished.”
The report urged the government to conduct a professional environmental assessment as well as an environmental impact study before construction work begins on the hydropower dams.
The Wai Gyi and Hat Gyi dams are both located in Karen National Union controlled areas.
Meanwhile, Saw Nay, the director of Karen River Watch, said the Hat Gyi dam on the lower Salween River threatened several thousands of residents as well as wildlife.
According to its research, about 5,000 reside in more than 20 villages in the upper Hat Gyi dam area will be forced to relocate if the dam is completed, he said. He said human rights abuses such as forced labor, forced relocation, the disappearance of culture heritage as well as environmental damage including disforestation and flooding are likely to occur.
The Hat Gyi dam, the first to be built, is designed to power a 600-megawatt turbine. The project is expected to be complete by 2010.
The Hat Gyi dam project has drawn strong protests from nongovernmental organizations concerned about the potential environmental impact and the dam’s effect on the livelihood of villagers.
Silencing voices of dissent
Bangkok Post - On the approaching anniversary of the barbaric Burmese government crackdown and murders of monks and newsmen, web and Internet sites run by Burmese dissidents overseas came under heavy cyber attack; "We regret to inform you that the Irrawaddy web site is still unavailable," said an email from that popular magazine; also under denial-of-service flood attacks were the Burmese-language New Era Journal, and the Democratic Voice of Burma, based in Oslo; the blocking appeared to be coming from sites in China and Russia, the usual source for cyberwar activities, where both the government and pay-for-play hackers are generally friendly to the Burmese dictatorship; inside Burma, the extraordinarily slow Internet connections decelerated several more teeth-grinding degrees as intimidating government agents stepped up their already bullying surveillance of all customers; of course the Burmese regime knew absolutely nothing of what could cause any of this.
Iranian officials said Sunni hackers launched a series of cyberwar attacks on hundreds of Shiite web sites, including one run by the top Shiite cleric Ayatollah Ali Hussein al-Sistani; special targets were sites of seminaries and popular Shiite teachers; the officials blamed Sunni Wahhabis, particularly a group identified with the United Arab Emirates, for breaking into Shiite-run sites and defacing them with the slogan "group-xp" and Arab-language banners denouncing Shiite beliefs; unlike the Burma cyberwar, the pro-Wahhabi hackers struck fast and left the web sites defaced but fully accessible.
Pasa Intermation announced it had launched Namathai, a proxy service allowing surfers to type Internet addresses in Thai characters; the service aims to have 25,000 users within 15 months tied to what is called the Thai Internet Address translation system for people wholly illiterate in English.
If you noticed the mood was a little glum at Pantip Plaza - a new "study" by Business Software Alliance said that Montenegro is the world's top software pirate, with 83 per cent of all programs copied, not bought; meanwhile, BSA "reported" use of illegal PC software dropped an entire two per cent in Thailand in only one year, to a mere 78 per cent piracy rate - not even in the Top Five in Asia, and now just 32nd in the world.
Thai negotiators from the Intellectual Property Department went to Peru to listen to US delegates to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) Intellectual Property Expert Group plead for international support for laws against anyone intercepting and using cable and satellite transmission; deputy director-general Wiboonlasna Ruamraksa laughed and said maybe later, because since the content is already copyright, why have another law about it?
The International Intellectual Property Alliance described Thailand harshly as something of a piracy haven for cable and satellite hijackers, with illegal decoding boxes and smart cards freely available, and precisely 1.33 million customers of pirated cable and pay-TV broadcasters. Jareuk Kaljareuk, president of the Federation of National Film Association, explained that tougher piracy laws will help the Thai economy by attracting more film companies, especially for post-production.
Samsung of South Korea announced it will be pushing large-screen, large-format display (LFD) monitors this year, average price 50,000 baht and sized 40 to 82 inches.
True Internet Gateway announced plans to run your CAT Telecom a little competition by building a submarine cable directly to the US, doubling the nation's Internet bandwidth overnight; it's almost finished except for the planning, finding some foreign partners, finding some local partners such as your TOT ... just a couple of details, really. Your CAT Telecom president Phisal Jorpocha-udom actually signed a contract with Marubeni (Thailand) for a two billion baht fibre-optic network; the network is to radiate out from Bangkok with 9,000km of cable; the Office of the Auditor-General says the whole deal is non-transparent and your CAT Telecom doesn't care.
Stung by the growing popularity of VoIP international phone services charging around 1.5 baht per minute, your CAT Telecom cut its own Internet-based overseas rates to 75 satang (about 3) per minute to major countries including the US, UK, China and Singapore, from fixed-line or mobile; like the private competitors, you will need to prepay with cards available at stores or online at http://www.cat2call.com.
The Department of Livestock Development announced plans for an "e-traceability" project for 8,000 chicken farms; the web-based venture will track birds everywhere, meaning small- and medium-scale farmers will not have to invest in their own technology.
The National Telecommunications Commission assured Thai mobile operators that foreign companies will definitely not be allowed to run third-generation (3G) phone networks without Thai partners; in addition, every foreign firm will be given a deadline to cover 90 per cent of the country within a certain time frame or lose its investment.
Iranian officials said Sunni hackers launched a series of cyberwar attacks on hundreds of Shiite web sites, including one run by the top Shiite cleric Ayatollah Ali Hussein al-Sistani; special targets were sites of seminaries and popular Shiite teachers; the officials blamed Sunni Wahhabis, particularly a group identified with the United Arab Emirates, for breaking into Shiite-run sites and defacing them with the slogan "group-xp" and Arab-language banners denouncing Shiite beliefs; unlike the Burma cyberwar, the pro-Wahhabi hackers struck fast and left the web sites defaced but fully accessible.
Pasa Intermation announced it had launched Namathai, a proxy service allowing surfers to type Internet addresses in Thai characters; the service aims to have 25,000 users within 15 months tied to what is called the Thai Internet Address translation system for people wholly illiterate in English.
If you noticed the mood was a little glum at Pantip Plaza - a new "study" by Business Software Alliance said that Montenegro is the world's top software pirate, with 83 per cent of all programs copied, not bought; meanwhile, BSA "reported" use of illegal PC software dropped an entire two per cent in Thailand in only one year, to a mere 78 per cent piracy rate - not even in the Top Five in Asia, and now just 32nd in the world.
Thai negotiators from the Intellectual Property Department went to Peru to listen to US delegates to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) Intellectual Property Expert Group plead for international support for laws against anyone intercepting and using cable and satellite transmission; deputy director-general Wiboonlasna Ruamraksa laughed and said maybe later, because since the content is already copyright, why have another law about it?
The International Intellectual Property Alliance described Thailand harshly as something of a piracy haven for cable and satellite hijackers, with illegal decoding boxes and smart cards freely available, and precisely 1.33 million customers of pirated cable and pay-TV broadcasters. Jareuk Kaljareuk, president of the Federation of National Film Association, explained that tougher piracy laws will help the Thai economy by attracting more film companies, especially for post-production.
Samsung of South Korea announced it will be pushing large-screen, large-format display (LFD) monitors this year, average price 50,000 baht and sized 40 to 82 inches.
True Internet Gateway announced plans to run your CAT Telecom a little competition by building a submarine cable directly to the US, doubling the nation's Internet bandwidth overnight; it's almost finished except for the planning, finding some foreign partners, finding some local partners such as your TOT ... just a couple of details, really. Your CAT Telecom president Phisal Jorpocha-udom actually signed a contract with Marubeni (Thailand) for a two billion baht fibre-optic network; the network is to radiate out from Bangkok with 9,000km of cable; the Office of the Auditor-General says the whole deal is non-transparent and your CAT Telecom doesn't care.
Stung by the growing popularity of VoIP international phone services charging around 1.5 baht per minute, your CAT Telecom cut its own Internet-based overseas rates to 75 satang (about 3) per minute to major countries including the US, UK, China and Singapore, from fixed-line or mobile; like the private competitors, you will need to prepay with cards available at stores or online at http://www.cat2call.com.
The Department of Livestock Development announced plans for an "e-traceability" project for 8,000 chicken farms; the web-based venture will track birds everywhere, meaning small- and medium-scale farmers will not have to invest in their own technology.
The National Telecommunications Commission assured Thai mobile operators that foreign companies will definitely not be allowed to run third-generation (3G) phone networks without Thai partners; in addition, every foreign firm will be given a deadline to cover 90 per cent of the country within a certain time frame or lose its investment.
Myanmar on the cyber-offensive
By Brian McCartan
MAE SOT, Thailand (ATimes)- The distributed denial of service attacks, or DDoS, that hit and disabled several exile media websites between September 17 to 19, are widely held to be the latest attempt by Myanmar's military regime to silence its legion of critics.
The cyber-attacks, which flood a website with information requests which block regular traffic and eventually overload and crash it, coincided with the run-up to last year's "Saffron" revolution, in which soldiers opened fire and killed Buddhist monks and anti-government demonstrators. But the junta's cyber-warfare specialists appear to have wider designs than just censoring an uncomfortable anniversary and they are receiving plenty of foreign assistance in upgrading their political dissent-quashing capabilities.
The Defense Services Computer Directorate (DSCD) was set up by the War Office in around 1990, originally with the aim of modernizing the military's communications and administration systems. By the mid-1990s, however, the center had become much more focused on Information Warfare operations, according to a signals intelligence expert who spoke with Asia Times Online.
The center became responsible for monitoring telephone calls, faxes, e-mails and other forms of electronic data exchange. Another computer center was later set up at the Directorate of Defense Services Intelligence (DDSI), Myanmar's main military intelligence service. The DSCD is aimed more at military communications, while the intelligence service's computer center is more politically focused, including monitoring opposition groups both within and outside Myanmar.
The service was disbanded in 2004 after the arrest of former prime minister and intelligence chief General Khin Nyunt. It was later reformed as the Military Affairs Security (MAS), which has also presumably taken over cyber-warfare functions, and its capabilities have reportedly substantially improved in recent years.
Singapore has been the military's main partner in bolstering those capabilities. The DSCD was originally set up with computers from Singapore and the city-state has been heavily involved in the cyber-units technological evolution, including upgrades to the regime's computerized information systems hardware and training, says the signals intelligence expert. The intelligence service's center was also set up with Singapore-provided assistance.
Several opposition media sources, including The Irrawaddy magazine and Democratic Voice of Burma satellite television station, have said they received information that the most recent attacks on their Websites may have been conducted by Myanmar military officers trained or undergoing training in Russia and China. A longtime analyst of Myanmar's signals intelligence capabilities noted that many of the officers who have undergone training in Russia and China have taken courses in computing and information technology.
While China has been heavily involved in improvements to the Myanmar military's radio communications and, together with Singapore, connecting major military commands with fiber-optic cable, it apparently has been less involved in developing the regime's cyber-warfare capabilities, experts say.
The opposition movement has become noted for its extensive usage of the Internet to send and receive information, reports and news the regime has tried to suppress. As activists and underground journalists have become more tech-savvy, the intelligence service has become more determined to counter the outflow of information. Much of this has taken the form of harassment and more recently DDoS attacks.
Long-running media list server, BurmaNet News, has been a target of Myanmar's junta, which is known to have posted misleading and often inaccurate information to discredit the pro-democracy movement. In 2000, a wave of e-mail messages were received by activists with attachments containing a virus that many suspected came from the regime.
Exile-run political groups, human-rights groups and non-governmental organizations have all repeatedly accused the regime of launching viruses, and Trojan horses, defacing websites, sending waves of spam e-mail and even purchasing domain names with political significance. Although it is difficult to prove who exactly is behind the waves of cyber-harassment, the sheer volume of the attacks points to the regime's trained cyber-specialists, experts say.
Last year, the day after the regime's violent crackdown on street protesters, the Thailand-based Burmese media organization The Irrawaddy was hit by a virus that also infected visitors to their site. The timing of the attack raised suspicions of the junta's involvement.
In July 2008, the websites of the exile-run, Oslo-based Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB) and New Delhi-based Mizzima News were hit by DDoS attacks that shut down their websites for several days. The attacks followed both news organizations' extensive reporting on the junta's inept and some say corrupt response to the Cyclone Nargis disaster.
On September 17, another wave of DDoS attacks was launched, this time against The Irrawaddy, DVB and the Bangkok-based New Era Journal. Two community forums, Mystery Zillion and Planet Myanmar, were disabled and shut down by similar attacks in August. Although not political in nature, both websites provided information and instruction on how to circumvent the regime's tough Internet controls and firewalls, which include blocks on internationally hosted e-mail services gmail and Yahoo!.
Strategic attacks
Analysts say the cyber-attacks have notably ramped up during the anniversaries of the August 1988 pro-democracy uprising and military repression, and the September 2007 crackdown. Servers involved in the most recent attacks have apparently been situated in Russia and China - however, experts say this may have been done by hackers trying to cover their tracks.
According to communications security expert and Australian National University Professor Desmond Ball, DDoS attacks are relatively simple and can be engineered without the aid of powerful computers or an advanced computer science degree. Similar attacks, he says, have been carried out against Taiwan and Japan for years by young nationalistic Chinese hackers.
DDoS attacks, redirection and defacing of websites are all overt forms of cyber-harassment, but the real essence of cyber-warfare, says Ball, lies in the ability to penetrate a computer or a network, cover your tracks to avoid detection on the way in and out and steal information or disrupt systems without the target knowing that they have been hacked.
The military regime's capabilities in this regard may be where the real danger lies, he says. So far there is little known about the ability of Myanmar's government cyber-warriors to carry out these attacks, partly because the nature of these kinds of attacks is to remain undetected.
Internet security among computer users worldwide is notoriously lax and this includes Burmese exile political and media organizations. Without firewalls and anti-virus programs configured properly and IT specialists monitoring computer systems - an expensive proposition for most exile groups - they are at a distinct disadvantage against the junta.
Domestically, the regime has spent considerable effort to block the flow of information into the country through the use of filtering software that block certain media, human rights and political sites, as well as gambling, pornography and other sites deemed socially unacceptable. Through the use of proxy servers and encrypted webmail services, many of Myanmar's citizens have been able to circumvent some of these controls.
Their tech savvy was shown to the world in September 2007, when graphic images and video of the military's brutal crackdown on protesters were broadcast from an instant army of citizen reporters, who sent their files to outside news organizations over the Internet. In Myanmar's heavily controlled communications environment, there are only a handful of Internet service providers (ISPs), all of them either state-owned or with strong government ties, and thus easy for the regime to disconnect.
Exile groups and much of the media pointed to the three-day period between the beginning of the crackdown in late September 2007 and the shutdown of the Internet as evidence of the junta's lack of technical expertise. Ball, however, contends that the opposite is true.
The generals were willing to endure some international criticism in order to monitor who was communicating with whom before shutting the system down altogether. This information would likely have fueled their post-demonstration manhunts, where thousands were put behind bars, he says.
Myanmar's original ISP is the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications, which was later joined by Bagan Cybertech, a private communications company established by the son of former intelligence chief Khin Nyunt. Following his arrest, the company was partially taken over by the government and renamed BaganNet/Myanmar Teleport.
A third ISP was reportedly set up by the government-supported mass organization the Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA) in 2007 and is known as Information Technology Central Services. In July 2008, a fourth ISP was launched called Hanthawaddy National Gateway.
Established with technical assistance from China's Alcatel Shanghai Bell, the service is currently only available to military officers, but is expected to eventually expand throughout the country. Alcatel Shanghai Bell is represented locally by Myanmar tycoon Tay Za, a close associate to the country's leader Senior General Than Shwe and other senior officers.
Speculation as to the extent of the regime's cyber-warfare capabilities comes during a fast expansion of Internet access across the country. In addition to two new ISP providers, the generals are pushing local and foreign investment in its Yadanabon Cyber City project, located east of Mandalay.
Over one-fifth of the 4,500 hectare city is slated for computer hardware and software factories and is expected to have modern Internet services available through ADSL, CATV, Triple Play and Wi Max. In July, 12 local and foreign companies, including CBOSS of Russia, agreed to invest US$22 million in the development of the city.
Although ostensibly a civilian initiative, much of the technology to be developed, built and used there would have dual use capabilities, experts say.
Brian McCartan is a Chiang Mai-based freelance journalist. He may be reached at brianpm@comcast.net.
MAE SOT, Thailand (ATimes)- The distributed denial of service attacks, or DDoS, that hit and disabled several exile media websites between September 17 to 19, are widely held to be the latest attempt by Myanmar's military regime to silence its legion of critics.
The cyber-attacks, which flood a website with information requests which block regular traffic and eventually overload and crash it, coincided with the run-up to last year's "Saffron" revolution, in which soldiers opened fire and killed Buddhist monks and anti-government demonstrators. But the junta's cyber-warfare specialists appear to have wider designs than just censoring an uncomfortable anniversary and they are receiving plenty of foreign assistance in upgrading their political dissent-quashing capabilities.
The Defense Services Computer Directorate (DSCD) was set up by the War Office in around 1990, originally with the aim of modernizing the military's communications and administration systems. By the mid-1990s, however, the center had become much more focused on Information Warfare operations, according to a signals intelligence expert who spoke with Asia Times Online.
The center became responsible for monitoring telephone calls, faxes, e-mails and other forms of electronic data exchange. Another computer center was later set up at the Directorate of Defense Services Intelligence (DDSI), Myanmar's main military intelligence service. The DSCD is aimed more at military communications, while the intelligence service's computer center is more politically focused, including monitoring opposition groups both within and outside Myanmar.
The service was disbanded in 2004 after the arrest of former prime minister and intelligence chief General Khin Nyunt. It was later reformed as the Military Affairs Security (MAS), which has also presumably taken over cyber-warfare functions, and its capabilities have reportedly substantially improved in recent years.
Singapore has been the military's main partner in bolstering those capabilities. The DSCD was originally set up with computers from Singapore and the city-state has been heavily involved in the cyber-units technological evolution, including upgrades to the regime's computerized information systems hardware and training, says the signals intelligence expert. The intelligence service's center was also set up with Singapore-provided assistance.
Several opposition media sources, including The Irrawaddy magazine and Democratic Voice of Burma satellite television station, have said they received information that the most recent attacks on their Websites may have been conducted by Myanmar military officers trained or undergoing training in Russia and China. A longtime analyst of Myanmar's signals intelligence capabilities noted that many of the officers who have undergone training in Russia and China have taken courses in computing and information technology.
While China has been heavily involved in improvements to the Myanmar military's radio communications and, together with Singapore, connecting major military commands with fiber-optic cable, it apparently has been less involved in developing the regime's cyber-warfare capabilities, experts say.
The opposition movement has become noted for its extensive usage of the Internet to send and receive information, reports and news the regime has tried to suppress. As activists and underground journalists have become more tech-savvy, the intelligence service has become more determined to counter the outflow of information. Much of this has taken the form of harassment and more recently DDoS attacks.
Long-running media list server, BurmaNet News, has been a target of Myanmar's junta, which is known to have posted misleading and often inaccurate information to discredit the pro-democracy movement. In 2000, a wave of e-mail messages were received by activists with attachments containing a virus that many suspected came from the regime.
Exile-run political groups, human-rights groups and non-governmental organizations have all repeatedly accused the regime of launching viruses, and Trojan horses, defacing websites, sending waves of spam e-mail and even purchasing domain names with political significance. Although it is difficult to prove who exactly is behind the waves of cyber-harassment, the sheer volume of the attacks points to the regime's trained cyber-specialists, experts say.
Last year, the day after the regime's violent crackdown on street protesters, the Thailand-based Burmese media organization The Irrawaddy was hit by a virus that also infected visitors to their site. The timing of the attack raised suspicions of the junta's involvement.
In July 2008, the websites of the exile-run, Oslo-based Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB) and New Delhi-based Mizzima News were hit by DDoS attacks that shut down their websites for several days. The attacks followed both news organizations' extensive reporting on the junta's inept and some say corrupt response to the Cyclone Nargis disaster.
On September 17, another wave of DDoS attacks was launched, this time against The Irrawaddy, DVB and the Bangkok-based New Era Journal. Two community forums, Mystery Zillion and Planet Myanmar, were disabled and shut down by similar attacks in August. Although not political in nature, both websites provided information and instruction on how to circumvent the regime's tough Internet controls and firewalls, which include blocks on internationally hosted e-mail services gmail and Yahoo!.
Strategic attacks
Analysts say the cyber-attacks have notably ramped up during the anniversaries of the August 1988 pro-democracy uprising and military repression, and the September 2007 crackdown. Servers involved in the most recent attacks have apparently been situated in Russia and China - however, experts say this may have been done by hackers trying to cover their tracks.
According to communications security expert and Australian National University Professor Desmond Ball, DDoS attacks are relatively simple and can be engineered without the aid of powerful computers or an advanced computer science degree. Similar attacks, he says, have been carried out against Taiwan and Japan for years by young nationalistic Chinese hackers.
DDoS attacks, redirection and defacing of websites are all overt forms of cyber-harassment, but the real essence of cyber-warfare, says Ball, lies in the ability to penetrate a computer or a network, cover your tracks to avoid detection on the way in and out and steal information or disrupt systems without the target knowing that they have been hacked.
The military regime's capabilities in this regard may be where the real danger lies, he says. So far there is little known about the ability of Myanmar's government cyber-warriors to carry out these attacks, partly because the nature of these kinds of attacks is to remain undetected.
Internet security among computer users worldwide is notoriously lax and this includes Burmese exile political and media organizations. Without firewalls and anti-virus programs configured properly and IT specialists monitoring computer systems - an expensive proposition for most exile groups - they are at a distinct disadvantage against the junta.
Domestically, the regime has spent considerable effort to block the flow of information into the country through the use of filtering software that block certain media, human rights and political sites, as well as gambling, pornography and other sites deemed socially unacceptable. Through the use of proxy servers and encrypted webmail services, many of Myanmar's citizens have been able to circumvent some of these controls.
Their tech savvy was shown to the world in September 2007, when graphic images and video of the military's brutal crackdown on protesters were broadcast from an instant army of citizen reporters, who sent their files to outside news organizations over the Internet. In Myanmar's heavily controlled communications environment, there are only a handful of Internet service providers (ISPs), all of them either state-owned or with strong government ties, and thus easy for the regime to disconnect.
Exile groups and much of the media pointed to the three-day period between the beginning of the crackdown in late September 2007 and the shutdown of the Internet as evidence of the junta's lack of technical expertise. Ball, however, contends that the opposite is true.
The generals were willing to endure some international criticism in order to monitor who was communicating with whom before shutting the system down altogether. This information would likely have fueled their post-demonstration manhunts, where thousands were put behind bars, he says.
Myanmar's original ISP is the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications, which was later joined by Bagan Cybertech, a private communications company established by the son of former intelligence chief Khin Nyunt. Following his arrest, the company was partially taken over by the government and renamed BaganNet/Myanmar Teleport.
A third ISP was reportedly set up by the government-supported mass organization the Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA) in 2007 and is known as Information Technology Central Services. In July 2008, a fourth ISP was launched called Hanthawaddy National Gateway.
Established with technical assistance from China's Alcatel Shanghai Bell, the service is currently only available to military officers, but is expected to eventually expand throughout the country. Alcatel Shanghai Bell is represented locally by Myanmar tycoon Tay Za, a close associate to the country's leader Senior General Than Shwe and other senior officers.
Speculation as to the extent of the regime's cyber-warfare capabilities comes during a fast expansion of Internet access across the country. In addition to two new ISP providers, the generals are pushing local and foreign investment in its Yadanabon Cyber City project, located east of Mandalay.
Over one-fifth of the 4,500 hectare city is slated for computer hardware and software factories and is expected to have modern Internet services available through ADSL, CATV, Triple Play and Wi Max. In July, 12 local and foreign companies, including CBOSS of Russia, agreed to invest US$22 million in the development of the city.
Although ostensibly a civilian initiative, much of the technology to be developed, built and used there would have dual use capabilities, experts say.
Brian McCartan is a Chiang Mai-based freelance journalist. He may be reached at brianpm@comcast.net.
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