Free Burma’s Political Prisoners’ Now! Campaign
The Assistance Association of Political Prisoners (AAPP) and Forum for Democracy in Burma (FDB) have launched the Free Burma’s Political Prisoners Now! Campaign, in support of the ongoing advocacy work.
There are over 2,100 political prisoners languishing in prisons all over Burma. Free Burma’s Political Prisoners Now aims to collect 888,888 signatures before 24 May 2009, the legal date that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi should be released from house arrest. This is a united global campaign working with over a hundred groups from around the globe. The petition calls on UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to make it his personal priority to secure the release of all political prisoners in Burma, as the essential first step towards democracy in the country.
Daw Aung Suu Kyi says, “We are all prisoners in our own country.” Political prisoners are not criminals. They have courageously spoken out on behalf of those who have been silenced. The release of all political prisoners is the essential first step towards freedom and democracy in Burma. There can be no democratic transition without them. They must be allowed to freely participate in any future democratic political process.
Sign the petition on http://www.fbppn.net/
Friday, May 1, 2009
Masking fear: celebrations hide a fading Shan culture
Masking fear: celebrations hide a fading Shan culture
Beth Macdonald
Apr 30, 2009 (DVB)–On the surface, the ceremony held last weekend in the small Thai village of Piang Luang was a lavish affair, attracting exiled Shan from across Thailand to ordain new monks and celebrate a culture whose roots reach back over 1000 years.
Yet the rich aesthetic of Poi Sang Long festival masks a darker issue. Many Shan living in Thailand want to return to their state, despite the ongoing conflict between rebel groups and the Burmese army. With the army’s ever expanding presence in Shan state, they fear their culture is disappearing, and ceremonies such as this are one of the few ways in which Shan people can maintain contact with their homeland and its traditions.
“[Burmese] authorities do not allow and really limit Shan from expressing their culture,” said Siphoung, an ethnic Shan living in northern Thailand.
“They are afraid of us getting together and being unified, thinking we might do something against them.”
Government control of ethnic areas has followed an ideology of ‘Burmanization’. A report released recently on land confiscation in Burma, entitled Holding Our Ground, found that soldiers moving onto confiscated land in ethnic states were being encouraged to either bring with them their families or marry local women.
This, said the report, was part of a policy to dilute ethnic identities in Burma. “They don't allow us to learn our own literature,” says Siphoung. “Some of us would very strongly like to learn [but] we are under the control of the government.”
All this accounts for the added significance of this year’s Poi Sang Long festival, which lasted five days rather than the traditional three days. It featured 107 Sang Longs, or young boys preparing to be ordained as novice monks.
The Sang Longs, aged seven to 14, are no longer considered the sons of their earth-bound parents, but those of divine entities. This adopted heavenliness manifests itself in the prince-like attire they wear, and forbids them from setting foot on the ground. Thus, during the celebrations, the boys are carried on the backs of family and friends.
The contrast of the austerity of monastery life and that of the extravagant display of Poi Sang Long is great, but the grandness in no way reflects the daily life of the celebrants.
“It's expensive,” says Noom, a spectator and former resident of Piang Luang village, which is composed mainly of Shan immigrants.
“[The villagers] try to save money because they feel this is an important thing to do, even though they are poor.”
The display of seeming wealth and plenty can obscure what many see as the real value of the event.
“In Thailand, this is the only [time that Shan] can come together and build relationships; close relationships,” said Noom.
“[Parents] celebrate with their sons and they can invite their friends and their relatives to come.”
Even members of the nearby unofficial Shan refugee camp try to take part in the ceremony.
“When I went to the refugee camp, they lived in such a bad situation,” said Siphoung. “Even though they don't have money, [some] still make their sons Sang Longs. It shows how much they take value from it.”
Yet while the importance of the event itself is not lost on any, some have failed to grasp the greater significance of the culture it embodies.
“The older people, they will keep the culture,” says Noom, who is 21-years-old.
“Maybe the practice of Buddhism [is more important] for the old people because they are from Shan State, and they learned and they follow the culture, and they always go to the temple, but for the young, they don't care about this.”
He voiced concern that young people who stay in Thailand become too assimilated into Thai society.
“They forget about themselves. They don't want to let people know that they are Shan.
They forget about their culture,” he said But the blame cannot lie solely upon youthful ignorance. When asked why Shan teenagers hesitate to reveal their ethnic identity, Noom replied that Thai law bears some of the responsibility.
“Maybe it's the gaps between the Thai and us,” he said.
“Because we are not legal, we don't have status, we don't have the ID card. This is one reason we are afraid.”
Thailand's policy towards Shan has proved restricting. Shan immigrants are refused recognition as asylum seekers in Thailand, and denied access to humanitarian assistance and refuge, even though Karen and Karenni from Burma have been allowed to establish official refugee camps.
Many Shan continue to cross the Burma-Thai border in Shan state, fleeing from poverty and human rights abuses at the hands of Burma's ruling State Peace and Development Council.
Noom himself, who migrated from Shan state in 1996 at the age of seven, has felt the limitations of being a Shan youth. “I have [an ID card], but it is not for Thai citizenship,” he said.
“The Thai authorities allow me to stay in this area but if I want to go out I need to ask for permission. It's not comfortable, like for a Thai person.”
Poi Sang Long has remained one way to keep connected with the culture that many in Shan in Thailand already look on with an air of nostalgia.
“I feel as if it is my hometown,” said Siphoung of the celebrations.
“Before the San Long went into the temple, they walked around it. It was like they were all very unified, and I felt, suddenly, I really wanted to cry.
“I'm so happy that all Shan will come together in Thailand, and they can all conserve and still maintain the culture.”
But while Siphoung expresses gratitude that older Shan living in Thailand may cling to it, there is fear of the younger generation's emerging indifference to their culture.
“Maybe, [in Thailand], from generation to generation, little by little, it will disappear,” she says.
Beth Macdonald
Apr 30, 2009 (DVB)–On the surface, the ceremony held last weekend in the small Thai village of Piang Luang was a lavish affair, attracting exiled Shan from across Thailand to ordain new monks and celebrate a culture whose roots reach back over 1000 years.
Yet the rich aesthetic of Poi Sang Long festival masks a darker issue. Many Shan living in Thailand want to return to their state, despite the ongoing conflict between rebel groups and the Burmese army. With the army’s ever expanding presence in Shan state, they fear their culture is disappearing, and ceremonies such as this are one of the few ways in which Shan people can maintain contact with their homeland and its traditions.
“[Burmese] authorities do not allow and really limit Shan from expressing their culture,” said Siphoung, an ethnic Shan living in northern Thailand.
“They are afraid of us getting together and being unified, thinking we might do something against them.”
Government control of ethnic areas has followed an ideology of ‘Burmanization’. A report released recently on land confiscation in Burma, entitled Holding Our Ground, found that soldiers moving onto confiscated land in ethnic states were being encouraged to either bring with them their families or marry local women.
This, said the report, was part of a policy to dilute ethnic identities in Burma. “They don't allow us to learn our own literature,” says Siphoung. “Some of us would very strongly like to learn [but] we are under the control of the government.”
All this accounts for the added significance of this year’s Poi Sang Long festival, which lasted five days rather than the traditional three days. It featured 107 Sang Longs, or young boys preparing to be ordained as novice monks.
The Sang Longs, aged seven to 14, are no longer considered the sons of their earth-bound parents, but those of divine entities. This adopted heavenliness manifests itself in the prince-like attire they wear, and forbids them from setting foot on the ground. Thus, during the celebrations, the boys are carried on the backs of family and friends.
The contrast of the austerity of monastery life and that of the extravagant display of Poi Sang Long is great, but the grandness in no way reflects the daily life of the celebrants.
“It's expensive,” says Noom, a spectator and former resident of Piang Luang village, which is composed mainly of Shan immigrants.
“[The villagers] try to save money because they feel this is an important thing to do, even though they are poor.”
The display of seeming wealth and plenty can obscure what many see as the real value of the event.
“In Thailand, this is the only [time that Shan] can come together and build relationships; close relationships,” said Noom.
“[Parents] celebrate with their sons and they can invite their friends and their relatives to come.”
Even members of the nearby unofficial Shan refugee camp try to take part in the ceremony.
“When I went to the refugee camp, they lived in such a bad situation,” said Siphoung. “Even though they don't have money, [some] still make their sons Sang Longs. It shows how much they take value from it.”
Yet while the importance of the event itself is not lost on any, some have failed to grasp the greater significance of the culture it embodies.
“The older people, they will keep the culture,” says Noom, who is 21-years-old.
“Maybe the practice of Buddhism [is more important] for the old people because they are from Shan State, and they learned and they follow the culture, and they always go to the temple, but for the young, they don't care about this.”
He voiced concern that young people who stay in Thailand become too assimilated into Thai society.
“They forget about themselves. They don't want to let people know that they are Shan.
They forget about their culture,” he said But the blame cannot lie solely upon youthful ignorance. When asked why Shan teenagers hesitate to reveal their ethnic identity, Noom replied that Thai law bears some of the responsibility.
“Maybe it's the gaps between the Thai and us,” he said.
“Because we are not legal, we don't have status, we don't have the ID card. This is one reason we are afraid.”
Thailand's policy towards Shan has proved restricting. Shan immigrants are refused recognition as asylum seekers in Thailand, and denied access to humanitarian assistance and refuge, even though Karen and Karenni from Burma have been allowed to establish official refugee camps.
Many Shan continue to cross the Burma-Thai border in Shan state, fleeing from poverty and human rights abuses at the hands of Burma's ruling State Peace and Development Council.
Noom himself, who migrated from Shan state in 1996 at the age of seven, has felt the limitations of being a Shan youth. “I have [an ID card], but it is not for Thai citizenship,” he said.
“The Thai authorities allow me to stay in this area but if I want to go out I need to ask for permission. It's not comfortable, like for a Thai person.”
Poi Sang Long has remained one way to keep connected with the culture that many in Shan in Thailand already look on with an air of nostalgia.
“I feel as if it is my hometown,” said Siphoung of the celebrations.
“Before the San Long went into the temple, they walked around it. It was like they were all very unified, and I felt, suddenly, I really wanted to cry.
“I'm so happy that all Shan will come together in Thailand, and they can all conserve and still maintain the culture.”
But while Siphoung expresses gratitude that older Shan living in Thailand may cling to it, there is fear of the younger generation's emerging indifference to their culture.
“Maybe, [in Thailand], from generation to generation, little by little, it will disappear,” she says.
Energy Tribune - China Continues Pursuing Myanmar Energy Projects Despite Human Rights Concern
Energy Tribune - China Continues Pursuing Myanmar Energy Projects Despite Human Rights Concern
By Lee Geng
Posted on Apr. 30, 2009
A group of unidentified ethnic Karen refugees gather to be photographed at an undisclosed jungle camp in Northern Karen State of Myanmar in 2005. Human Rights Watch contends that the Myanmar army continues to target civilians in its war against ethnic Karen insurgents, forcibly displacing large numbers of poor villagers and committing human rights abuses such as extrajudicial killings, sexual violence and forced labor. Photo by Free Burma Rangers: AP
Chinese energy companies are continuing their investments in Myanmar, a place few western investors are willing to go due to the country’s poor human rights record.
Last month, CNPC and Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise agreed to build two pipelines at a cost of some $2.5 billion. China views one of the pipelines as a strategic alternative that will provide an alternative route for oil imports from the Middle East and Africa, thereby easing worries about dependence on energy transportation through the congested and pirate-ridden Strait of Malacca.
The agreement calls for two lines, $1.5 billion for the oil pipeline, and $1 billion for a gas line. The 1,800 kilometer gas line will begin in Myanmar’s gas fields in the Bay of Bengal -- operated by South Korea’s Daewoo International – and will terminate in Kunming city, the capital of China’s Yunnan province. The crude line will roughly follow the same route and will have initial capacity of 400,000 barrels a day. CNPC will hold a 50.9% stake in the pipelines. Myanmar Oil and Gas will own the remainder.
Last year, Daewoo signed a memorandum of understanding with CNPC for the supply of gas from Myanmar’s offshore blocks A-1 and A-3. The Daewoo-led consortium has discovered three fields—Shwe, Shwe Phyu and Mya—in blocks A-1 and A-3, with total reserves of up to 7.74 trillion cubic feet. Daewoo is expected to produce 600,000 million cubic feet of gas per day of pipeline gas or 3.7 million tons per annum of liquefied natural gas for up to 25 years. The gas is expected to begin flowing next year.
In a related development, CNOOC’s engineering arm Offshore Oil Engineering Co. Ltd. will join a consortium with France´s Technip to bid for a contract to design and build a large production facility for the Shwe gas project. The third partner in the consortium is South Korean fabricator Samsung Heavy Industries.
Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise owns a 15% stake in the Shwe project, Daewoo owns a 51% share, India´s ONGC Videsh owns 17%, and Korea Gas Corporation and India´s Gail, both own 8.5%.
The close ties between China and Myanmar will continue to be a source of frustration for western human rights groups and for countries, including the US, that have increased sanctions against the military regime in Yangon. But just as it has done in Africa, China appears far more interested in obtaining energy supplies than in concerning itself with issues like human rights.
By Lee Geng
Posted on Apr. 30, 2009
A group of unidentified ethnic Karen refugees gather to be photographed at an undisclosed jungle camp in Northern Karen State of Myanmar in 2005. Human Rights Watch contends that the Myanmar army continues to target civilians in its war against ethnic Karen insurgents, forcibly displacing large numbers of poor villagers and committing human rights abuses such as extrajudicial killings, sexual violence and forced labor. Photo by Free Burma Rangers: AP
Chinese energy companies are continuing their investments in Myanmar, a place few western investors are willing to go due to the country’s poor human rights record.
Last month, CNPC and Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise agreed to build two pipelines at a cost of some $2.5 billion. China views one of the pipelines as a strategic alternative that will provide an alternative route for oil imports from the Middle East and Africa, thereby easing worries about dependence on energy transportation through the congested and pirate-ridden Strait of Malacca.
The agreement calls for two lines, $1.5 billion for the oil pipeline, and $1 billion for a gas line. The 1,800 kilometer gas line will begin in Myanmar’s gas fields in the Bay of Bengal -- operated by South Korea’s Daewoo International – and will terminate in Kunming city, the capital of China’s Yunnan province. The crude line will roughly follow the same route and will have initial capacity of 400,000 barrels a day. CNPC will hold a 50.9% stake in the pipelines. Myanmar Oil and Gas will own the remainder.
Last year, Daewoo signed a memorandum of understanding with CNPC for the supply of gas from Myanmar’s offshore blocks A-1 and A-3. The Daewoo-led consortium has discovered three fields—Shwe, Shwe Phyu and Mya—in blocks A-1 and A-3, with total reserves of up to 7.74 trillion cubic feet. Daewoo is expected to produce 600,000 million cubic feet of gas per day of pipeline gas or 3.7 million tons per annum of liquefied natural gas for up to 25 years. The gas is expected to begin flowing next year.
In a related development, CNOOC’s engineering arm Offshore Oil Engineering Co. Ltd. will join a consortium with France´s Technip to bid for a contract to design and build a large production facility for the Shwe gas project. The third partner in the consortium is South Korean fabricator Samsung Heavy Industries.
Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise owns a 15% stake in the Shwe project, Daewoo owns a 51% share, India´s ONGC Videsh owns 17%, and Korea Gas Corporation and India´s Gail, both own 8.5%.
The close ties between China and Myanmar will continue to be a source of frustration for western human rights groups and for countries, including the US, that have increased sanctions against the military regime in Yangon. But just as it has done in Africa, China appears far more interested in obtaining energy supplies than in concerning itself with issues like human rights.
ReliefWeb - Myanmar: “Chit Oo saved my life and that of my children”
ReliefWeb - Myanmar: “Chit Oo saved my life and that of my children”
Source: International Federation of Red Cross And Red Crescent Societies (IFRC)
Date: 30 Apr 2009
By Jason Smith, IFRC, Kuala Lumpur
When one joins an international movement, such as the Red Cross Red Crescent, one hopes to meet and work alongside inspirational people whose humanitarian actions demonstrate the power of selflessness. This was certainly true for me and, deep in the heart of Myanmar's Ayeyarwaddy delta, I met someone who did just that.
Chit Oo is a healthy, handsome 20-year-old who joined the Myanmar Red Cross as a first aid educator and disaster response volunteer three years ago. He and his best friend, Naing Linn Htun, had been looking for ways to both help their village and to learn new skills.
Today, he is one of the tens of thousands of volunteers in Myanmar who offered to help during Cyclone Nargis. But his commitment to his community runs deeper than most.
Positive words
"I first joined because I was enthusiastic about saving lives and helping others," he says. These were positive words, but with a sadness behind them. I would soon learn why.
As we walked in the heat along a dusty, narrow road through rice paddies in the village of Kyein Chaung Gyi, he shared with me the story of Cyclone Nargis as it made landfall in his community, which lies a three-hour boat ride south of the town of Bogale.
Early in the morning hours of 3 May, fierce winds, high tides and unimaginable rainfall caused homes to collapse all around him. The rice paddies were filled with water and the roads - just narrow strips of dirt - were all impassable.
Help their neighbours
Chit Oo and Naing Linn Htun had been trained to help their neighbours, so out into the storm they both went. Moments later, Chit Oo saw a woman and three children floating in a flooded rice paddy. None of them were clothed. He jumped into the water and dragged them all to an elevated spot of land. The mother was unconscious. The three children were breathing, but exhausted.
The woman's name was Myint Myint Khine. She was thirty two years old. Her children were nine years old, five years old, and the youngest, Aung Kaung Myint, was only 18 months.
Using the training he had received in Bogale - training that he had passed on to others in his village - Chit Oo used cardio pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) to revive Myint Myint Khine. He then carried all four family members to one of the more solid structures in the village, where they along with other families stayed until dawn.
"Saved my life"
"Chit Oo saved my life, and the lives of my children," Myint Myint Khine told me, having joined us in front of a row of makeshift shops at the end of the road. "I always thank him whenever I see him, but he doesn't want to hear it."
Indeed, as she speaks, Chit Oo stands back, seeming both humble and a bit shy. Myint Myint Khine, holding her youngest, looks down at her older children. "I want them to be Red Cross volunteers. It will make me proud when they get their training one day," she says.
Chit Oo's reserved posture is about more than his humility. Cyclone Nargis, during what was one of the most challenging nights of Chit Oo's young life, had not only laid his village to waste, but had also taken the life of his best friend, Naing Linn Thun. Like Chit Oo, he had been out saving lives, and had given his own life in service to his community. Clearly, this impacted Chit Oo deeply, and he remains emotional about his loss.
"I will continue volunteering with the Red Cross always," he says. "It is my way to keep the memories of Naing Linn Htun alive."
In a sense, Chit Oo's future dedication will be Naing Linn Htun's legacy; his humanitarian spirit will live on as Chit Oo continues to teach his villagers to be safe and as he prepares to respond to the next emergency that could impact his village.
Source: International Federation of Red Cross And Red Crescent Societies (IFRC)
Date: 30 Apr 2009
By Jason Smith, IFRC, Kuala Lumpur
When one joins an international movement, such as the Red Cross Red Crescent, one hopes to meet and work alongside inspirational people whose humanitarian actions demonstrate the power of selflessness. This was certainly true for me and, deep in the heart of Myanmar's Ayeyarwaddy delta, I met someone who did just that.
Chit Oo is a healthy, handsome 20-year-old who joined the Myanmar Red Cross as a first aid educator and disaster response volunteer three years ago. He and his best friend, Naing Linn Htun, had been looking for ways to both help their village and to learn new skills.
Today, he is one of the tens of thousands of volunteers in Myanmar who offered to help during Cyclone Nargis. But his commitment to his community runs deeper than most.
Positive words
"I first joined because I was enthusiastic about saving lives and helping others," he says. These were positive words, but with a sadness behind them. I would soon learn why.
As we walked in the heat along a dusty, narrow road through rice paddies in the village of Kyein Chaung Gyi, he shared with me the story of Cyclone Nargis as it made landfall in his community, which lies a three-hour boat ride south of the town of Bogale.
Early in the morning hours of 3 May, fierce winds, high tides and unimaginable rainfall caused homes to collapse all around him. The rice paddies were filled with water and the roads - just narrow strips of dirt - were all impassable.
Help their neighbours
Chit Oo and Naing Linn Htun had been trained to help their neighbours, so out into the storm they both went. Moments later, Chit Oo saw a woman and three children floating in a flooded rice paddy. None of them were clothed. He jumped into the water and dragged them all to an elevated spot of land. The mother was unconscious. The three children were breathing, but exhausted.
The woman's name was Myint Myint Khine. She was thirty two years old. Her children were nine years old, five years old, and the youngest, Aung Kaung Myint, was only 18 months.
Using the training he had received in Bogale - training that he had passed on to others in his village - Chit Oo used cardio pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) to revive Myint Myint Khine. He then carried all four family members to one of the more solid structures in the village, where they along with other families stayed until dawn.
"Saved my life"
"Chit Oo saved my life, and the lives of my children," Myint Myint Khine told me, having joined us in front of a row of makeshift shops at the end of the road. "I always thank him whenever I see him, but he doesn't want to hear it."
Indeed, as she speaks, Chit Oo stands back, seeming both humble and a bit shy. Myint Myint Khine, holding her youngest, looks down at her older children. "I want them to be Red Cross volunteers. It will make me proud when they get their training one day," she says.
Chit Oo's reserved posture is about more than his humility. Cyclone Nargis, during what was one of the most challenging nights of Chit Oo's young life, had not only laid his village to waste, but had also taken the life of his best friend, Naing Linn Thun. Like Chit Oo, he had been out saving lives, and had given his own life in service to his community. Clearly, this impacted Chit Oo deeply, and he remains emotional about his loss.
"I will continue volunteering with the Red Cross always," he says. "It is my way to keep the memories of Naing Linn Htun alive."
In a sense, Chit Oo's future dedication will be Naing Linn Htun's legacy; his humanitarian spirit will live on as Chit Oo continues to teach his villagers to be safe and as he prepares to respond to the next emergency that could impact his village.
Monsters and Critics.com - Myanmar junta declares lawyers council unlawful
Monsters and Critics.com - Myanmar junta declares lawyers council unlawful
Asia-Pacific News
May 1, 2009, 6:36 GMT
Yangon - Myanmar's junta has declared the Burma's Lawyer Council (BLC) 'unlawful,' claiming the organization was 'hurtful to the rule of law in the Union of Myanmar, stability of the state and community peace,' state news reports said Friday.
Major General Maung Oo, minister of Home Affairs, declared the Burma Lawyers Council an illegal organization as of Friday, The New Light of Myanmar newspaper said.
The Burma Lawyers Council, which was established in a 'liberated area' in 1994, is an independent organization that has often criticized the military's imprisonment of political prisoners and abuse of the country's judicial system.
The announcement was criticized by local politicians.
'The BLC, a foreign organization, has criticized the Myanmar government because many Myanmar lawyers have been imprisoned by Myanmar government,' said one Myanmar politician, who asked to remain anonymous.
Asia-Pacific News
May 1, 2009, 6:36 GMT
Yangon - Myanmar's junta has declared the Burma's Lawyer Council (BLC) 'unlawful,' claiming the organization was 'hurtful to the rule of law in the Union of Myanmar, stability of the state and community peace,' state news reports said Friday.
Major General Maung Oo, minister of Home Affairs, declared the Burma Lawyers Council an illegal organization as of Friday, The New Light of Myanmar newspaper said.
The Burma Lawyers Council, which was established in a 'liberated area' in 1994, is an independent organization that has often criticized the military's imprisonment of political prisoners and abuse of the country's judicial system.
The announcement was criticized by local politicians.
'The BLC, a foreign organization, has criticized the Myanmar government because many Myanmar lawyers have been imprisoned by Myanmar government,' said one Myanmar politician, who asked to remain anonymous.
Myanmar tightens check on pork distributed from slaughter houses
Myanmar tightens check on pork distributed from slaughter houses
www.chinaview.cn 2009-05-01 09:50:49
YANGON, May 1 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar is stepping up administration and check on pork distributed from slaughter houses and that on sale in the markets in Yangon as part of its preventive measures against swine flu H1N1 virus in the wake of detection of the disease in some four countries, the local Biweekly Eleven reported Friday.
Despite the impact, prices of pork on sale in the markets remained unchanged with production of pork from two slaughter houses in Ywathagyi and Insein Ywama underway as normal at a rate of 40,000 to 50,000 viss (6,600 kilograms to 8,250 kilograms) perday, the report said, quoting the Yangon municipal authorities.
Employees in the slaughter houses are also being educated to be alert.
Pigs are distributed to Yangon from southwestern Ayeyawaddy division's Myaungmya and Hinthada, Bago division's southern part and Yangon division's Kayan, Thonkwa, Kawmu, Kungyangon and Tanutpin areas.
As other part of its measures in warding off swine flu virus, Myanmar has also tightened up check on incoming foreign visitors at the country's airports, seaports and border points since April 28, using infrared fever screening system or non-contact thermometer, according to the Ministry of Health.
Arrangements have also been made to keep watching on suspected patients at hospitals and to provide medicines and medical equipment, a spokesman with the ministry said.
The Myanmar Livestock Breeding and Veterinary Department has outlined some preventive measures to prevent the swine flu.
No cases of infection has been reported in Myanmar so far.
Suspected infection of swine flu in humans have been reported in Mexico, the United States, Canada and New Zealand in the third week of last month and over 100 people were suspectedly killed by the disease.
According to health experts, the flu is caused by a new strain of virus which is mixed with four genes and can spread quickly.
The health authorities warned that the Swine flu, like SARS, can become pandemic.
The World Health Organization had raised the influenza pandemic alert level to phase five, just one step shy of a global pandemic level.
www.chinaview.cn 2009-05-01 09:50:49
YANGON, May 1 (Xinhua) -- Myanmar is stepping up administration and check on pork distributed from slaughter houses and that on sale in the markets in Yangon as part of its preventive measures against swine flu H1N1 virus in the wake of detection of the disease in some four countries, the local Biweekly Eleven reported Friday.
Despite the impact, prices of pork on sale in the markets remained unchanged with production of pork from two slaughter houses in Ywathagyi and Insein Ywama underway as normal at a rate of 40,000 to 50,000 viss (6,600 kilograms to 8,250 kilograms) perday, the report said, quoting the Yangon municipal authorities.
Employees in the slaughter houses are also being educated to be alert.
Pigs are distributed to Yangon from southwestern Ayeyawaddy division's Myaungmya and Hinthada, Bago division's southern part and Yangon division's Kayan, Thonkwa, Kawmu, Kungyangon and Tanutpin areas.
As other part of its measures in warding off swine flu virus, Myanmar has also tightened up check on incoming foreign visitors at the country's airports, seaports and border points since April 28, using infrared fever screening system or non-contact thermometer, according to the Ministry of Health.
Arrangements have also been made to keep watching on suspected patients at hospitals and to provide medicines and medical equipment, a spokesman with the ministry said.
The Myanmar Livestock Breeding and Veterinary Department has outlined some preventive measures to prevent the swine flu.
No cases of infection has been reported in Myanmar so far.
Suspected infection of swine flu in humans have been reported in Mexico, the United States, Canada and New Zealand in the third week of last month and over 100 people were suspectedly killed by the disease.
According to health experts, the flu is caused by a new strain of virus which is mixed with four genes and can spread quickly.
The health authorities warned that the Swine flu, like SARS, can become pandemic.
The World Health Organization had raised the influenza pandemic alert level to phase five, just one step shy of a global pandemic level.
No case of A/H1N1 flu infected to pigs in Myanmar so far: ministry
No case of A/H1N1 flu infected to pigs in Myanmar so far: ministry
www.chinaview.cn 2009-05-01 12:14:39
YANGON, May 1 (Xinhua) -- There has been so far no case of A/H1N1 flu infected to pigs in Myanmar, a statement of the Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries said on Friday.
As part of its preventive measures against outbreak of influenza A/H1N1 in pigs of Myanmar, immediately after receiving the news about the outbreak of A/H1N1 flu in humans in Mexico, the ministry is releasing warning to different levels of its related departments across the country with officials making field trips to check the health condition of animals at pig farms, performing the surveillance of virus and raising biosecurity, the statement said.
News and information on knowledge about animal health are being announced to people in time through dailies, radio and TV, it said, adding that the inspection for safe consumption of pork and related products imported through border gateways and educative talks on animal health are being held throughout the country.
The statement also said since April 29, visitors have been screened at the country's airports, seaports and exits of borders.
According to the ministry, A/H1N1 flu has spread to 27 countries since April 17 infecting so far 2,962 people and killing160.
There has been no case of H1N1 virus in pig in the regions where A/H1N1 flu breaks out in humans, said a news release of World Organization for Animal Health (OIE).
www.chinaview.cn 2009-05-01 12:14:39
YANGON, May 1 (Xinhua) -- There has been so far no case of A/H1N1 flu infected to pigs in Myanmar, a statement of the Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries said on Friday.
As part of its preventive measures against outbreak of influenza A/H1N1 in pigs of Myanmar, immediately after receiving the news about the outbreak of A/H1N1 flu in humans in Mexico, the ministry is releasing warning to different levels of its related departments across the country with officials making field trips to check the health condition of animals at pig farms, performing the surveillance of virus and raising biosecurity, the statement said.
News and information on knowledge about animal health are being announced to people in time through dailies, radio and TV, it said, adding that the inspection for safe consumption of pork and related products imported through border gateways and educative talks on animal health are being held throughout the country.
The statement also said since April 29, visitors have been screened at the country's airports, seaports and exits of borders.
According to the ministry, A/H1N1 flu has spread to 27 countries since April 17 infecting so far 2,962 people and killing160.
There has been no case of H1N1 virus in pig in the regions where A/H1N1 flu breaks out in humans, said a news release of World Organization for Animal Health (OIE).
Al Jazeera - Myanmar survivors 'face debt trap'
Al Jazeera - Myanmar survivors 'face debt trap'
Friday, May 01, 2009
Millions of survivors of last year's deadly cyclone in Myanmar face being trapped in a worsening cycle of debt and are in urgent need of continued international aid, a leading aid group has said.
The warning by British charity Oxfam comes as Myanmar is set to mark the first anniversary of Cyclone Nargis, which left at least 138,000 people dead and more than 800,000 homeless, most in the southwestern Irrawaddy Delta region.
With the anniversary approaching, Oxfam said about 2.4 million people are continuing to feel the impact of the disaster, with hundreds of thousands still housed in temporary shelters and reliant on deliveries of food and drinking water.
Oxfam's warning has been echoed by other aid groups, including the Red Cross, which has said it continues to face "enormous challenges" in aiding the recovery process.
"One of our most important roles is helping disaster-affected populations to take part in securing their own future well-being," said Bernd Schell, the head of the Red Cross country office in Myanmar.
Aid shortfall
A United Nations appeal launched after the cyclone is due to close on Friday, a day before the anniversary of the disaster.
But despite an initially generous response, Oxfam said only two-thirds of the funds needed have been received.
In particular, it said there was a $42m shortfall in funds needed to revive the region's vital agricultural base.
Sarah Ireland, Oxfam's regional director for Southeast Asia, said Nargis had caused "a level of destruction similar to the worst-hit areas of the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami".
She said that survivors would need help for at least the next three years if they are to rebuild their lives to the levels before the cyclone.
The high winds whipped up by the cyclone resulted in sea water contaminating vital wells and turned almost two million acres of Myanmar's most fertile rice paddies into salt-contaminated wastelands.
A recovery plan prepared by the UN, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) and the Myanmar government has called for $690m to help rebuild livelihoods in the disaster region.
But aid groups say the international response to that appeal has been slow.
Oxfam says that without urgent funds, farming and fishing communities in the delta region will be unable to rebuild.
Harvest destroyed
"One of the many impacts of Cyclone Nargis was that it destroyed almost an entire harvest that farmers and fishermen had already borrowed against before the cyclone hit," Claire Light, Oxfam's Myanmar country director, said in a statement.
"That has meant many families defaulted on those loans, and haven't been able to access enough credit ever since to get back on their feet."
Fishermen also lost boats and nets in the disaster, making it impossible to earn the money they need to repay outstanding loans, the charity said.
Unless more help arrives, families who depend on fishing and farming were likely to fall further into debt, sapping their ability to provide food for their families and help rebuild their lives, Oxfam said.
The military government that rules Myanmar was widely condemned for denying foreign aid agencies access to the affected area in the first weeks after the disaster.
But while the government is now working with the United Nations and Asean, and has allowed aid agencies to work in the country, charities such as Oxfam and Save the Children say they are worried that the government may evict them at any moment.
Friday, May 01, 2009
Millions of survivors of last year's deadly cyclone in Myanmar face being trapped in a worsening cycle of debt and are in urgent need of continued international aid, a leading aid group has said.
The warning by British charity Oxfam comes as Myanmar is set to mark the first anniversary of Cyclone Nargis, which left at least 138,000 people dead and more than 800,000 homeless, most in the southwestern Irrawaddy Delta region.
With the anniversary approaching, Oxfam said about 2.4 million people are continuing to feel the impact of the disaster, with hundreds of thousands still housed in temporary shelters and reliant on deliveries of food and drinking water.
Oxfam's warning has been echoed by other aid groups, including the Red Cross, which has said it continues to face "enormous challenges" in aiding the recovery process.
"One of our most important roles is helping disaster-affected populations to take part in securing their own future well-being," said Bernd Schell, the head of the Red Cross country office in Myanmar.
Aid shortfall
A United Nations appeal launched after the cyclone is due to close on Friday, a day before the anniversary of the disaster.
But despite an initially generous response, Oxfam said only two-thirds of the funds needed have been received.
In particular, it said there was a $42m shortfall in funds needed to revive the region's vital agricultural base.
Sarah Ireland, Oxfam's regional director for Southeast Asia, said Nargis had caused "a level of destruction similar to the worst-hit areas of the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami".
She said that survivors would need help for at least the next three years if they are to rebuild their lives to the levels before the cyclone.
The high winds whipped up by the cyclone resulted in sea water contaminating vital wells and turned almost two million acres of Myanmar's most fertile rice paddies into salt-contaminated wastelands.
A recovery plan prepared by the UN, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) and the Myanmar government has called for $690m to help rebuild livelihoods in the disaster region.
But aid groups say the international response to that appeal has been slow.
Oxfam says that without urgent funds, farming and fishing communities in the delta region will be unable to rebuild.
Harvest destroyed
"One of the many impacts of Cyclone Nargis was that it destroyed almost an entire harvest that farmers and fishermen had already borrowed against before the cyclone hit," Claire Light, Oxfam's Myanmar country director, said in a statement.
"That has meant many families defaulted on those loans, and haven't been able to access enough credit ever since to get back on their feet."
Fishermen also lost boats and nets in the disaster, making it impossible to earn the money they need to repay outstanding loans, the charity said.
Unless more help arrives, families who depend on fishing and farming were likely to fall further into debt, sapping their ability to provide food for their families and help rebuild their lives, Oxfam said.
The military government that rules Myanmar was widely condemned for denying foreign aid agencies access to the affected area in the first weeks after the disaster.
But while the government is now working with the United Nations and Asean, and has allowed aid agencies to work in the country, charities such as Oxfam and Save the Children say they are worried that the government may evict them at any moment.
Reuters and AlertNet - Myanmar: Nway, one year on 01 May 2009 15:10:00 GMT Source: World Vision - Asia Pacific Pamela Sitko, World Vision Asia-Pacifi
Reuters and AlertNet - Myanmar: Nway, one year on
01 May 2009 15:10:00 GMT
Source: World Vision - Asia Pacific
Pamela Sitko, World Vision Asia-Pacific Communications
Website: http://wvasiapacific.org/
"Rice paddy, fisherman, school, students..." Nway reads out loud from her school text book with great ease. "I can read sentences now," she coos as she talks about her teacher's loving encouragement at school and her new ability to write advanced vocabulary words.
When World Vision first met nine year old Nway, she carried a blank look on her face and walked around her cyclone-ravished village in shock. She stood on the foundation of what used to be her school, her tiny legs full of scratches, and her heart broken with the knowledge that every member of her family had been killed by the cyclone.
When the cyclone struck, Nway was staying with her favourite Aunty. The pair squeezed in to the village headman's house along with 100 other people. After hours of lashing rain and 240kmh winds, night turned to day and revealed flattened rice crops, flooded roadways, houses reduced to rubble and an unprecedented death toll. In Nway's village, located several hours by boat from the nearest town, 120 people out of a population of 430 lost their lives.
Immediately after the cyclone struck, World Vision provided Nway's family and thousands of other cyclone survivors with emergency survival packs containing food, water and clothing. World Vision also looked after the mental well-being of disaster-affected children in Nway's village and around the Delta by setting up of Child Friendly Spaces, places where children play and work through their grief.
Nway shares her memories: "When I walked to my Aunt's house that day, my legs were scratched and I passed lots of dead bodies.�I wanted to help because everyone was working, but I was too scared so I only helped clean up my Auntie's yard," she recalls.
One year later, Nway is wise to the pain in the world. She wants to make it a better place.�"I want to be a doctor," she says. Her decision was made after watching a mobile
medical clinic treat the injured people in her village not long after the disaster struck.
During this year's summer break Nway is helping her Aunty sell vegetables from their garden. She wakes in the mornings, carefully smoothes dabs of Thanaka on her face (a powder made from tree bark used as a skin beautifier by women and young children) and then balances a tray of vegetables on her head as she sings out to houses on either side of her village road.
There are many more difficulties to face if Nway is to realize her dreams. She will have to attend a school away from home. Her middle school, currently under repair by the village, only accommodates students up to grade nine. Her family's income earning potential - once derived from renting eight buffalos to plough fields for other villagers - will also need to return to what it once was in order to provide Nway with the financial support to pursue her dreams.
But this little girl isn't taking "no" for an answer. World Vision's work in the community over the past year has supported her to stay at school with school supplies and a new uniform. After school, and even now in the summer break, Nway and her friends often meet for a little 'classroom talk'.
"I have four best friends," she says. "We like to memorise new words. Then we have competitions with each other," she says with a cheeky grin on her face that hints at her competitive spirit.
The girls meet not only to compete at spelling but at athletics too. "We like to play hide and seek and tag after school," says the young star. "I'm always the fastest runner," she adds.
Cyclone Nargis stuck on the evening of May 2, 2008 hitting southwest Myanmar, affecting 2.4 million people across the Ayyerwaddy Delta and Yangon. The storm resulted in an unprecedented death toll of more than 84,000 with a further 50,000 missing. It wrought severe damage and destruction over the Delta, a fertile rice farming region commonly referred to as Asia's rice bowl.
One year later we continue to work for the benefit of the children by ensuring girls and boys have the chance to go to school. Across the Delta and Yangon, we are building new schools, distributing school uniforms and setting up early childhood care and development classes for children and parents alike.
Source: World Vision - Asia Pacific
Pamela Sitko, World Vision Asia-Pacific Communications
Website: http://wvasiapacific.org/
"Rice paddy, fisherman, school, students..." Nway reads out loud from her school text book with great ease. "I can read sentences now," she coos as she talks about her teacher's loving encouragement at school and her new ability to write advanced vocabulary words.
When World Vision first met nine year old Nway, she carried a blank look on her face and walked around her cyclone-ravished village in shock. She stood on the foundation of what used to be her school, her tiny legs full of scratches, and her heart broken with the knowledge that every member of her family had been killed by the cyclone.
When the cyclone struck, Nway was staying with her favourite Aunty. The pair squeezed in to the village headman's house along with 100 other people. After hours of lashing rain and 240kmh winds, night turned to day and revealed flattened rice crops, flooded roadways, houses reduced to rubble and an unprecedented death toll. In Nway's village, located several hours by boat from the nearest town, 120 people out of a population of 430 lost their lives.
Immediately after the cyclone struck, World Vision provided Nway's family and thousands of other cyclone survivors with emergency survival packs containing food, water and clothing. World Vision also looked after the mental well-being of disaster-affected children in Nway's village and around the Delta by setting up of Child Friendly Spaces, places where children play and work through their grief.
Nway shares her memories: "When I walked to my Aunt's house that day, my legs were scratched and I passed lots of dead bodies.�I wanted to help because everyone was working, but I was too scared so I only helped clean up my Auntie's yard," she recalls.
One year later, Nway is wise to the pain in the world. She wants to make it a better place.�"I want to be a doctor," she says. Her decision was made after watching a mobile
medical clinic treat the injured people in her village not long after the disaster struck.
During this year's summer break Nway is helping her Aunty sell vegetables from their garden. She wakes in the mornings, carefully smoothes dabs of Thanaka on her face (a powder made from tree bark used as a skin beautifier by women and young children) and then balances a tray of vegetables on her head as she sings out to houses on either side of her village road.
There are many more difficulties to face if Nway is to realize her dreams. She will have to attend a school away from home. Her middle school, currently under repair by the village, only accommodates students up to grade nine. Her family's income earning potential - once derived from renting eight buffalos to plough fields for other villagers - will also need to return to what it once was in order to provide Nway with the financial support to pursue her dreams.
But this little girl isn't taking "no" for an answer. World Vision's work in the community over the past year has supported her to stay at school with school supplies and a new uniform. After school, and even now in the summer break, Nway and her friends often meet for a little 'classroom talk'.
"I have four best friends," she says. "We like to memorise new words. Then we have competitions with each other," she says with a cheeky grin on her face that hints at her competitive spirit.
The girls meet not only to compete at spelling but at athletics too. "We like to play hide and seek and tag after school," says the young star. "I'm always the fastest runner," she adds.
Cyclone Nargis stuck on the evening of May 2, 2008 hitting southwest Myanmar, affecting 2.4 million people across the Ayyerwaddy Delta and Yangon. The storm resulted in an unprecedented death toll of more than 84,000 with a further 50,000 missing. It wrought severe damage and destruction over the Delta, a fertile rice farming region commonly referred to as Asia's rice bowl.
One year later we continue to work for the benefit of the children by ensuring girls and boys have the chance to go to school. Across the Delta and Yangon, we are building new schools, distributing school uniforms and setting up early childhood care and development classes for children and parents alike.
Cyclone trauma haunts survivors in Myanmar
Cyclone trauma haunts survivors in Myanmar
Fri May 1, 2009 8:27am BST
LABUTTA, Myanmar, May 1 (Reuters) - Monsoon rains once heralded good things for Nwe Nwe, offering relief from the stifling heat and clean water for her family in Myanmar's Irrawaddy Delta.
But as the monsoon season nears, she and other survivors of Cyclone Nargis are fearful, seeing thunderstorms as a bad omen.
"Now when it rains, I rush over to the school and get my daughter. I don't want anything to happen to her," said the mother of two children aged nine and six.
A year ago as the storm slammed into the army-ruled country with 240 kph (150 mile) winds, Nwe Nwe's family huddled in their bamboo and thatch home, praying as the roof collapsed.
"I don't go out in the rain anymore. I don't like the wind. It's scary," her nine-year-old daughter said.
Aid workers say survivors are showing higher levels of anxiety in the run-up to the May 2-3 anniversary of the cyclone which killed nearly 140,000 people and left 2.4 million destitute.
Many saw loved ones die in front of their eyes. Stories abound of people who lost everything -- a boy whose 10 siblings and parents died, a village chief who lost 37 members of his family spanning three generations.
The psychological scars are less visible than shortages of shelter or food, but no less important, aid workers say.
"Everyone was saying how resilient people of Myanmar are," Brian Agland, country director for the aid agency CARE Myanmar, told Reuters.
"While that is true, there are still people who haven't gone through the process of fully grieving and understanding what happened," he said.
HIDDEN SCARS
Almost a quarter of households in the cyclone zone have reported signs of psychosocial distress, but only 11 percent have received help, according to a recovery plan launched in February by the United Nations, the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the Myanmar government.
Children, either orphaned or still living with surviving family members in makeshift shelters, are among those in need of counselling. The U.N. estimates more than 2,400 primary teachers have been trained to give psychosocial support, but it is far from enough.
After more than four decades of military rule, Myanmar's rudimentary health care system has little capacity for handling trauma victims. Aid groups are trying to fill the gaps.
The International Federation of Red Cross has trained more than 600 volunteers who make regular home visits in about 600 villages to help survivors cope with their loss.
Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), which has counselled 56,000 cyclone survivors, said it takes time to gain their trust and help them understand why the disaster occured.
"Buddhists believe in Karma," said MSF psychologist Sylvia Wamser. "It was important to show that there exists another explanation, a meteorological and scientific one."
Overcoming a deeply-held fear of ghosts has been a bigger challenge for counsellors.
"It was important to help them understand that nightmares after a critical incident are normal, not that your loved ones are restless souls," Wamser said. (Editing by Darren Schuettler and Dean Yates)
Fri May 1, 2009 8:27am BST
LABUTTA, Myanmar, May 1 (Reuters) - Monsoon rains once heralded good things for Nwe Nwe, offering relief from the stifling heat and clean water for her family in Myanmar's Irrawaddy Delta.
But as the monsoon season nears, she and other survivors of Cyclone Nargis are fearful, seeing thunderstorms as a bad omen.
"Now when it rains, I rush over to the school and get my daughter. I don't want anything to happen to her," said the mother of two children aged nine and six.
A year ago as the storm slammed into the army-ruled country with 240 kph (150 mile) winds, Nwe Nwe's family huddled in their bamboo and thatch home, praying as the roof collapsed.
"I don't go out in the rain anymore. I don't like the wind. It's scary," her nine-year-old daughter said.
Aid workers say survivors are showing higher levels of anxiety in the run-up to the May 2-3 anniversary of the cyclone which killed nearly 140,000 people and left 2.4 million destitute.
Many saw loved ones die in front of their eyes. Stories abound of people who lost everything -- a boy whose 10 siblings and parents died, a village chief who lost 37 members of his family spanning three generations.
The psychological scars are less visible than shortages of shelter or food, but no less important, aid workers say.
"Everyone was saying how resilient people of Myanmar are," Brian Agland, country director for the aid agency CARE Myanmar, told Reuters.
"While that is true, there are still people who haven't gone through the process of fully grieving and understanding what happened," he said.
HIDDEN SCARS
Almost a quarter of households in the cyclone zone have reported signs of psychosocial distress, but only 11 percent have received help, according to a recovery plan launched in February by the United Nations, the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the Myanmar government.
Children, either orphaned or still living with surviving family members in makeshift shelters, are among those in need of counselling. The U.N. estimates more than 2,400 primary teachers have been trained to give psychosocial support, but it is far from enough.
After more than four decades of military rule, Myanmar's rudimentary health care system has little capacity for handling trauma victims. Aid groups are trying to fill the gaps.
The International Federation of Red Cross has trained more than 600 volunteers who make regular home visits in about 600 villages to help survivors cope with their loss.
Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), which has counselled 56,000 cyclone survivors, said it takes time to gain their trust and help them understand why the disaster occured.
"Buddhists believe in Karma," said MSF psychologist Sylvia Wamser. "It was important to show that there exists another explanation, a meteorological and scientific one."
Overcoming a deeply-held fear of ghosts has been a bigger challenge for counsellors.
"It was important to help them understand that nightmares after a critical incident are normal, not that your loved ones are restless souls," Wamser said. (Editing by Darren Schuettler and Dean Yates)
Myanmar should release aid workers: rights groups
Myanmar should release aid workers: rights groups
AFP - Friday, May 01.
BANGKOK (AFP) – Human rights groups on Friday urged Myanmar's government to release more than 20 aid workers they said were imprisoned for making donations to cyclone victims and insulting authorities a year ago.
New York-based Human Rights Watch said the ruling junta had unfairly jailed at least 21 volunteers, including locally well-known comedian Zarganar, for helping some of the 2.4 million people affected by Cyclone Nargis, which hit May 2-3 last year.
The storm left 138,000 people dead or missing and, one year on, aid agencies estimate half a million people remain without adequate shelter.
"Donors and friends of the military government, such as China, should press Burma's generals to free activists like Zarganar who helped the survivors," said the organisation's deputy Asia director Elaine Pearson, using the country's former name.
The Thailand-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners called on regional bloc the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the United Nations to pressure the regime to release the volunteers.
"Their punishment is completely unacceptable. Their 'crimes' were to help people and tell the truth about the situation," said the group's secretary Tate Naing.
Myanmar's junta was heavily criticised in the aftermath of the cyclone last year for the slow pace at which it organised aid to the worst-hit Irrawaddy delta region and for not allowing international relief agencies access.
Authorities initially denied visas to foreign humanitarian aid workers and refused permission to nearby naval vessels from the United States, the United Kingdom and France to offload aid supplies.
In late May UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon brokered a deal that allowed a tripartite group of officials from the UN, Myanmar's government and ASEAN to coordinate aid deliveries to the delta.
But several individuals who distributed aid independently to victims were arrested by the authorities, including Zarganar who was arrested in June 2008 on various charges, including causing "public mischief".
The country's most famous comedian, Zarganar was sentenced to 59 years in prison, since reduced to 35 years, and was moved to a remote prison far from Yangon.
On Friday his sister told AFP Zarganar was undergoing tests for suspected heart disease after falling unconscious for more than two hours on April 16.
Ma Nyein said blood tests had been sent to a laboratory in the central city of Mandalay and she would be appealing for Zarganar's release to ensure he receives full medical treatment.
Human Rights Watch in their statement also urged international donors to ensure their money reached the most vulnerable cyclone victims and for the Myanmar government itself to provide more funds for survivors.
AFP - Friday, May 01.
BANGKOK (AFP) – Human rights groups on Friday urged Myanmar's government to release more than 20 aid workers they said were imprisoned for making donations to cyclone victims and insulting authorities a year ago.
New York-based Human Rights Watch said the ruling junta had unfairly jailed at least 21 volunteers, including locally well-known comedian Zarganar, for helping some of the 2.4 million people affected by Cyclone Nargis, which hit May 2-3 last year.
The storm left 138,000 people dead or missing and, one year on, aid agencies estimate half a million people remain without adequate shelter.
"Donors and friends of the military government, such as China, should press Burma's generals to free activists like Zarganar who helped the survivors," said the organisation's deputy Asia director Elaine Pearson, using the country's former name.
The Thailand-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners called on regional bloc the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the United Nations to pressure the regime to release the volunteers.
"Their punishment is completely unacceptable. Their 'crimes' were to help people and tell the truth about the situation," said the group's secretary Tate Naing.
Myanmar's junta was heavily criticised in the aftermath of the cyclone last year for the slow pace at which it organised aid to the worst-hit Irrawaddy delta region and for not allowing international relief agencies access.
Authorities initially denied visas to foreign humanitarian aid workers and refused permission to nearby naval vessels from the United States, the United Kingdom and France to offload aid supplies.
In late May UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon brokered a deal that allowed a tripartite group of officials from the UN, Myanmar's government and ASEAN to coordinate aid deliveries to the delta.
But several individuals who distributed aid independently to victims were arrested by the authorities, including Zarganar who was arrested in June 2008 on various charges, including causing "public mischief".
The country's most famous comedian, Zarganar was sentenced to 59 years in prison, since reduced to 35 years, and was moved to a remote prison far from Yangon.
On Friday his sister told AFP Zarganar was undergoing tests for suspected heart disease after falling unconscious for more than two hours on April 16.
Ma Nyein said blood tests had been sent to a laboratory in the central city of Mandalay and she would be appealing for Zarganar's release to ensure he receives full medical treatment.
Human Rights Watch in their statement also urged international donors to ensure their money reached the most vulnerable cyclone victims and for the Myanmar government itself to provide more funds for survivors.
The Times of India - Manipur rebels attack from Myanmar camps
The Times of India - Manipur rebels attack from Myanmar camps
29 Apr 2009, 2302 hrs IST, Nirmalya Banerjee
KOLKATA: Rebel groups are mounting attacks on security forces in Manipur from their camps in Myanmar, taking advantage of the inaction of the
Myanmar army, it is learnt from security force sources. They are running a number of camps in Myanmar, along the international border.
Among them is the Onzia camp of United National Liberation Front about three kms inside Myanmar, opposite Chassad, housing about 75 rebels. It is believed that the rebels who mounted the ambush near Kamjong village, in Ukhrul district, about five kilometres from the Indo-Myanmar border, killing one jawan and injuring five others, had come from Onzia. Usually there are about 50 rebels in Onzia, but reinforcements were brought for the assault.
In between the Onzia camp and the international border there is a camp of the Myanmar army, manned by 10 soldiers of a light infantry regiment. The UNLF rebels had to cross the camp while entering Manipur to mount the ambush and also when returning. It would have been difficult to do so without their knowledge. It is believed that the cash rich rebels manage to buy off a section of Myanmar army personnel in the junior ranks.
There is also a Peoples Liberation Army camp at Mintha, in Myanmar, within two kms of Ukhrul-Chandel border. Further south there is a UNLF camp at Hlezeik while a camp at Tamu is a transit point for different rebel groups. East of Tamu there is a joint camp of PLA and UNLF at Euchu and 15 kms south of Tamu is an UNLF camp at Ahlaw.
According to the sources, there is an UNLF camp at Phaisat, across the Churachandpur - Chandel border in Myanmar and another at Chikka, opposite the Manipur - Mizoram border. From the latter, the rebels could cross the international border and enter Mizoram, where security forces are not present, and use it as a transit route to reach Manipur.
The sources do not rule out the possibility of the Ukhrul ambush being in retaliation against Operation Summer Storm launched jointly by the army and the police in Loktak Lake, killing 12 Peoples Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak rebels.
UNLF and Prepak are reported to be members of an umbrella organization called Manipur Peoples Liberation Front.
29 Apr 2009, 2302 hrs IST, Nirmalya Banerjee
KOLKATA: Rebel groups are mounting attacks on security forces in Manipur from their camps in Myanmar, taking advantage of the inaction of the
Myanmar army, it is learnt from security force sources. They are running a number of camps in Myanmar, along the international border.
Among them is the Onzia camp of United National Liberation Front about three kms inside Myanmar, opposite Chassad, housing about 75 rebels. It is believed that the rebels who mounted the ambush near Kamjong village, in Ukhrul district, about five kilometres from the Indo-Myanmar border, killing one jawan and injuring five others, had come from Onzia. Usually there are about 50 rebels in Onzia, but reinforcements were brought for the assault.
In between the Onzia camp and the international border there is a camp of the Myanmar army, manned by 10 soldiers of a light infantry regiment. The UNLF rebels had to cross the camp while entering Manipur to mount the ambush and also when returning. It would have been difficult to do so without their knowledge. It is believed that the cash rich rebels manage to buy off a section of Myanmar army personnel in the junior ranks.
There is also a Peoples Liberation Army camp at Mintha, in Myanmar, within two kms of Ukhrul-Chandel border. Further south there is a UNLF camp at Hlezeik while a camp at Tamu is a transit point for different rebel groups. East of Tamu there is a joint camp of PLA and UNLF at Euchu and 15 kms south of Tamu is an UNLF camp at Ahlaw.
According to the sources, there is an UNLF camp at Phaisat, across the Churachandpur - Chandel border in Myanmar and another at Chikka, opposite the Manipur - Mizoram border. From the latter, the rebels could cross the international border and enter Mizoram, where security forces are not present, and use it as a transit route to reach Manipur.
The sources do not rule out the possibility of the Ukhrul ambush being in retaliation against Operation Summer Storm launched jointly by the army and the police in Loktak Lake, killing 12 Peoples Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak rebels.
UNLF and Prepak are reported to be members of an umbrella organization called Manipur Peoples Liberation Front.
EarthTimes - Aid for Myanmar's Cyclone Nargis only a fraction of aid for tsunami
EarthTimes - Aid for Myanmar's Cyclone Nargis only a fraction of aid for tsunami
Posted : Thu, 30 Apr 2009 10:11:47 GMT
Author : DPA
Bangkok - World aid for Myanmar's Cyclone Nargis has amounted to 300 million dollars, or 2.5 per cent of what was spent on the 2004 tsunami, aid agencies said Thursday as the first anniversary of the storm approaches. "The total tsunami support was 12 billion dollars while the response to Nargis, which was very similar to the tsunami, was 300 million dollars," David Verboom, spokesman for the European Commission's Humanitarian Aid Office, said at a press conference marking the anniversary.
The December 26, 2004, tsunami killed an estimated 220,000 people in 11 countries rimming the Indian Ocean and left 500,000 people homeless alone in Aceh, Indonesia, the area worst hit by the tidal wave triggered by an earthquake off the coast of northern Sumatra.
Cyclone Nargis killed 140,000 in Myanmar, mostly in the Irrawaddy Delta, where 500,000 people continued to live under tarpaulins one year after the storm hit May 2-3.
"In the tsunami in Indonesia, we got in-kind donations double the number we actually asked for," said Bernd Schell, Myanmar officer for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
"In Nargis, a family got two tarpaulins, but for the tsunami, victims got five to six tarpaulins because we had so many in stock," said Schell, who worked for the federation in Aceh before moving to Myanmar.
Food also continues to be a problem for the victims of Nargis.
"Twelve months on, we at the World Food Programme find that we will have to continue giving food assistance to many of the most vulnerable people in the delta region," World Food Programme spokesman Paul Risley said.
"We anticipate providing food rations for a minimum of 300,000 people through the year," he added.
Indonesia and Thailand, two of the countries hardest hit by the 2004 tsunami, had good infrastructure, logistics, public utilities, dynamic economies and a lot of goodwill from the international community. Myanmar has none of these.
Myanmar, a military-run country, is ranked as a pariah state among Western democracies because of its poor human rights record and refusal to implement democratic reforms.
Some of the initial efforts to assist the Nargis victims, such as the US dispatching of its 7th Fleet to deliver relief aid, were rebuffed by Myanmar's ruling generals, who downplayed the seriousness of the disaster - the worst to hit Myanmar in decades.
Much of the initial assistance to the devastated delta region, where 2.4 million people were left homeless and without food, was provided by Myanmar's people themselves.
A full-scale international relief effort did not get under way until two weeks after the cyclone hit as the junta eased up on issuing visas for aid workers and logistics were put in place to get assistance out to the countryside.
A United Nations flash appeal for emergency aid announced shortly after the cyclone was 67-per-cent funded. Many donors balked at giving aid that might find its way into the hands of the military although aid agencies assured donors that all emergency aid would go directly to the victims.
"It is clear that the political environment was a hindrance for many donations," Verboom said.
The European Union, which provided 39 million euros (51.54 million dollars) in aid for Nargis has proven to be the largest single donor to the disaster relief effort.
It was in keeping with the EU's past role in Myanmar, where it has taken the lead as a provider of humanitarian assistance to the Myanmar people while keeping economic sanctions on its ruling generals.
"In 2007, the European Union was already providing at least a third of the assistance to Myanmar, and that figure went up in the wake of Nargis," European Union head of operations in Myanmar Andrew Jacobs said.
The EU is also taking a lead in providing funds for the post-Nargis recovery. It has committed 33 million euros to a trust fund designed to help people in the Irrawaddy Delta develop their own livelihoods and income-generating activities in the aftermath of the cyclone.
The target is to raise 100 million dollars for the fund in the next few months.
"The fund will be used for projects implemented by the UN agencies or international and local non-governmental organizations to help people recover their livelihoods not only in the cyclone-affected areas but also in other parts of the country," Jacobs said.
Posted : Thu, 30 Apr 2009 10:11:47 GMT
Author : DPA
Bangkok - World aid for Myanmar's Cyclone Nargis has amounted to 300 million dollars, or 2.5 per cent of what was spent on the 2004 tsunami, aid agencies said Thursday as the first anniversary of the storm approaches. "The total tsunami support was 12 billion dollars while the response to Nargis, which was very similar to the tsunami, was 300 million dollars," David Verboom, spokesman for the European Commission's Humanitarian Aid Office, said at a press conference marking the anniversary.
The December 26, 2004, tsunami killed an estimated 220,000 people in 11 countries rimming the Indian Ocean and left 500,000 people homeless alone in Aceh, Indonesia, the area worst hit by the tidal wave triggered by an earthquake off the coast of northern Sumatra.
Cyclone Nargis killed 140,000 in Myanmar, mostly in the Irrawaddy Delta, where 500,000 people continued to live under tarpaulins one year after the storm hit May 2-3.
"In the tsunami in Indonesia, we got in-kind donations double the number we actually asked for," said Bernd Schell, Myanmar officer for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
"In Nargis, a family got two tarpaulins, but for the tsunami, victims got five to six tarpaulins because we had so many in stock," said Schell, who worked for the federation in Aceh before moving to Myanmar.
Food also continues to be a problem for the victims of Nargis.
"Twelve months on, we at the World Food Programme find that we will have to continue giving food assistance to many of the most vulnerable people in the delta region," World Food Programme spokesman Paul Risley said.
"We anticipate providing food rations for a minimum of 300,000 people through the year," he added.
Indonesia and Thailand, two of the countries hardest hit by the 2004 tsunami, had good infrastructure, logistics, public utilities, dynamic economies and a lot of goodwill from the international community. Myanmar has none of these.
Myanmar, a military-run country, is ranked as a pariah state among Western democracies because of its poor human rights record and refusal to implement democratic reforms.
Some of the initial efforts to assist the Nargis victims, such as the US dispatching of its 7th Fleet to deliver relief aid, were rebuffed by Myanmar's ruling generals, who downplayed the seriousness of the disaster - the worst to hit Myanmar in decades.
Much of the initial assistance to the devastated delta region, where 2.4 million people were left homeless and without food, was provided by Myanmar's people themselves.
A full-scale international relief effort did not get under way until two weeks after the cyclone hit as the junta eased up on issuing visas for aid workers and logistics were put in place to get assistance out to the countryside.
A United Nations flash appeal for emergency aid announced shortly after the cyclone was 67-per-cent funded. Many donors balked at giving aid that might find its way into the hands of the military although aid agencies assured donors that all emergency aid would go directly to the victims.
"It is clear that the political environment was a hindrance for many donations," Verboom said.
The European Union, which provided 39 million euros (51.54 million dollars) in aid for Nargis has proven to be the largest single donor to the disaster relief effort.
It was in keeping with the EU's past role in Myanmar, where it has taken the lead as a provider of humanitarian assistance to the Myanmar people while keeping economic sanctions on its ruling generals.
"In 2007, the European Union was already providing at least a third of the assistance to Myanmar, and that figure went up in the wake of Nargis," European Union head of operations in Myanmar Andrew Jacobs said.
The EU is also taking a lead in providing funds for the post-Nargis recovery. It has committed 33 million euros to a trust fund designed to help people in the Irrawaddy Delta develop their own livelihoods and income-generating activities in the aftermath of the cyclone.
The target is to raise 100 million dollars for the fund in the next few months.
"The fund will be used for projects implemented by the UN agencies or international and local non-governmental organizations to help people recover their livelihoods not only in the cyclone-affected areas but also in other parts of the country," Jacobs said.
The First Post - Burma junta hides cyclone suffering with model village
The First Post - Burma junta hides cyclone suffering with model village
One year after Cyclone Nargis, the Burmese junta is hiding the continued suffering by turning one rebuilt village into a TV set
By Edward Loxton
FIRST POSTED APRIL 30, 2009
A Burmese reporter touring the Irrawaddy delta nearly one year after the region was devastated by Cyclone Nargis came across an extraordinary site.
After wading through the mud and debris of villages still struggling to recover from the deadly storm, he stumbled on a happy community of peasant farmers tending their fields and rice paddies with the help of obliging soldiers. In the evening, they returned to newly-built homes or gathered at the library that graced the tidy main street.
Much in evidence were various film crews. "They were filming a carefully reconstructed village for state TV," said the reporter, Kyi Wai. "Our village has become a kind of film studio," one woman told him. "People filmed for the TV reports are given new clothes to wear in front of the cameras. Soldiers are based here and are filmed helping us in the fields. We're even filmed reading at the new library and watching the community TV."
"TV crews created a propaganda success story reminiscent of the fake Potemkin settlements reputedly built to fool the Russian empress Catherine II during a visit to the Crimea in 1787," reported Kyi Wai for the exile magazine Irrawaddy.
The village, Thayet Thone Bin, has become a showpiece frequently being used as the background for other TV reports about the success of the cyclone relief effort. Road signs at the entrance to the village were replaced by others bearing other names in a bid to show that various villages throughout the region were also recovering well.
Nearly half the inhabitants of the village of Thayet Thone Bin died in Cyclone Nargis, which struck Burma at the beginning of May last year killing nearly 140,000 people and making 800,000 homeless. An estimated two million people lost their livelihoods, and hundreds of thousands are still destitute.
70 percent of rice paddies in the delta are still poisoned by the seawater
The cyclone survivors of Thayet Thone Bin have a famous local son to thank for their good fortune. The government's Energy Minister, Brig-Gen Lun Thi, was born there, and reportedly personally directed emergency relief for the village. Neighbouring villages weren't so lucky.
While Thayet Thone Bin prospers, villages only a few miles away are still struggling to survive as their inhabitants rely on rice handouts from relief agencies. More than 70 percent of rice paddies in much of the delta are still poisoned by the seawater that flooded the region when the cyclone struck.
The British charity Oxfam announced at a press conference in Bangkok this week that hundreds of millions of dollars were still needed to rebuild shattered communities and revive the agriculture and fishing industry of the delta.
Foreign governments and charities provided at least $315m for food aid and emergency assistance in the months after Cyclone Nargis struck but predicted that without several more years of aid, many of the 2.4 million people affected by the disaster would have a struggle returning to the life they knew.
One year after Cyclone Nargis, the Burmese junta is hiding the continued suffering by turning one rebuilt village into a TV set
By Edward Loxton
FIRST POSTED APRIL 30, 2009
A Burmese reporter touring the Irrawaddy delta nearly one year after the region was devastated by Cyclone Nargis came across an extraordinary site.
After wading through the mud and debris of villages still struggling to recover from the deadly storm, he stumbled on a happy community of peasant farmers tending their fields and rice paddies with the help of obliging soldiers. In the evening, they returned to newly-built homes or gathered at the library that graced the tidy main street.
Much in evidence were various film crews. "They were filming a carefully reconstructed village for state TV," said the reporter, Kyi Wai. "Our village has become a kind of film studio," one woman told him. "People filmed for the TV reports are given new clothes to wear in front of the cameras. Soldiers are based here and are filmed helping us in the fields. We're even filmed reading at the new library and watching the community TV."
"TV crews created a propaganda success story reminiscent of the fake Potemkin settlements reputedly built to fool the Russian empress Catherine II during a visit to the Crimea in 1787," reported Kyi Wai for the exile magazine Irrawaddy.
The village, Thayet Thone Bin, has become a showpiece frequently being used as the background for other TV reports about the success of the cyclone relief effort. Road signs at the entrance to the village were replaced by others bearing other names in a bid to show that various villages throughout the region were also recovering well.
Nearly half the inhabitants of the village of Thayet Thone Bin died in Cyclone Nargis, which struck Burma at the beginning of May last year killing nearly 140,000 people and making 800,000 homeless. An estimated two million people lost their livelihoods, and hundreds of thousands are still destitute.
70 percent of rice paddies in the delta are still poisoned by the seawater
The cyclone survivors of Thayet Thone Bin have a famous local son to thank for their good fortune. The government's Energy Minister, Brig-Gen Lun Thi, was born there, and reportedly personally directed emergency relief for the village. Neighbouring villages weren't so lucky.
While Thayet Thone Bin prospers, villages only a few miles away are still struggling to survive as their inhabitants rely on rice handouts from relief agencies. More than 70 percent of rice paddies in much of the delta are still poisoned by the seawater that flooded the region when the cyclone struck.
The British charity Oxfam announced at a press conference in Bangkok this week that hundreds of millions of dollars were still needed to rebuild shattered communities and revive the agriculture and fishing industry of the delta.
Foreign governments and charities provided at least $315m for food aid and emergency assistance in the months after Cyclone Nargis struck but predicted that without several more years of aid, many of the 2.4 million people affected by the disaster would have a struggle returning to the life they knew.
Reuters and AlertNet - One year on: Thousands of children central to Nargis response
Reuters and AlertNet - One year on: Thousands of children central to Nargis response
30 Apr 2009 14:15:00 GMT
Source: World Vision - Asia Pacific
Website: http://wvasiapacific.org/
Children have been at the heart of World Vision's response to Myanmar's Cyclone Nargis with some 17,000 youngsters cared for in special safe places during the months following the disaster.
World Vision's 108 Child Friendly Spaces - established as safe spaces for recovery and learning - have been central to meeting children's needs across the devastated southwest of the country. Many have since been taken over and are being directly run by the communities themselves.
The Spaces were a response to the destruction of schools and homes, as well as to the massive losses by children of relatives and family members. Community volunteers were trained not only in how to run the Spaces but also on how to spot and support those children suffering from psycho-social distress brought about by the cyclone that killed or injured some 138,000 people.
The Spaces are just one of many programmes run by World Vision which has a total current field budget of USD 32 million.
Mia Marina, Emergency Response Support Manager, said: "These special places have played a critical role in the lives of children. Many communities have told us how much they value the special attention being paid to their youngsters. Not only did they give children a place of their own in which to play, meet friends and recover a sense of normalcy but they also allowed parents to get on with rebuilding their lives knowing their children were being cared for."
One parent told World Vision that the Space in his remote village was the best thing that had happened to them as a family. All his eight children were attending. He was especially happy his six year old son, who had physical disabilities prior to the cyclone, was also able to attend along with 80 children. The training of volunteers to run the Spaces was also having a long-lasting impact. "Local volunteers have learned about the various stages of child development, the different skills children should have at these ages and how to teach different age groups," said Mia.
In other villages the Spaces had inspired communities to host non-formal education classes, to teach children basic reading, writing and numeracy skills, while elsewhere World Vision is helping volunteers to organise classes on parenting and early childhood development for children aged 0-3. In addition, World Vision is also building and furnishing 16 schools.
"Today, our children are better able to express themselves and share their ideas and opinions. They are more creative in the way they play," said one local teacher whose own children attend a Child Friendly Space.
World Vision's Programme overview:
The agency's eight-month emergency response programme has since morphed into a one-year programme that is focused on helping communities towards long-term recovery.
During the emergency phase World Vision provided food and non-food items (including emergency shelters) and ran water, sanitation and hygiene, child protection, health and livelihood programmes that reached over 347,000 people in Yangon and the Delta.
In the current phase World Vision is targeting 100,000 people in Bogale, Pyapon and Hainggyi, focusing on livelihood recovery, child protection, water, sanitation and hygiene, and disaster risk reduction.
World Vision operated relief and development programmes in Myanmar for 24 years before the cyclone struck and has 600 staff, almost entirely all nationals, based in country.
A few key results:
Food aid provided to over 314,000 in 12 townships
Temporary shelter kits given to 56,793 families in Yangon and the Delta.
Cooking sets handed to 32,334 families in the Delta
Livelihoods: 90 hand tractors, 75 threshing machines 247 boats provided
Tools provided to enable communities to clean 313 ponds and wells
56 World Vision-supported mobile health clinics, served more than 13,000 people in 36 remote villages
400 volunteers trained in child protection, child rights and life-skills
World Vision is constructing 16 schools, complete with furniture
30 Apr 2009 14:15:00 GMT
Source: World Vision - Asia Pacific
Website: http://wvasiapacific.org/
Children have been at the heart of World Vision's response to Myanmar's Cyclone Nargis with some 17,000 youngsters cared for in special safe places during the months following the disaster.
World Vision's 108 Child Friendly Spaces - established as safe spaces for recovery and learning - have been central to meeting children's needs across the devastated southwest of the country. Many have since been taken over and are being directly run by the communities themselves.
The Spaces were a response to the destruction of schools and homes, as well as to the massive losses by children of relatives and family members. Community volunteers were trained not only in how to run the Spaces but also on how to spot and support those children suffering from psycho-social distress brought about by the cyclone that killed or injured some 138,000 people.
The Spaces are just one of many programmes run by World Vision which has a total current field budget of USD 32 million.
Mia Marina, Emergency Response Support Manager, said: "These special places have played a critical role in the lives of children. Many communities have told us how much they value the special attention being paid to their youngsters. Not only did they give children a place of their own in which to play, meet friends and recover a sense of normalcy but they also allowed parents to get on with rebuilding their lives knowing their children were being cared for."
One parent told World Vision that the Space in his remote village was the best thing that had happened to them as a family. All his eight children were attending. He was especially happy his six year old son, who had physical disabilities prior to the cyclone, was also able to attend along with 80 children. The training of volunteers to run the Spaces was also having a long-lasting impact. "Local volunteers have learned about the various stages of child development, the different skills children should have at these ages and how to teach different age groups," said Mia.
In other villages the Spaces had inspired communities to host non-formal education classes, to teach children basic reading, writing and numeracy skills, while elsewhere World Vision is helping volunteers to organise classes on parenting and early childhood development for children aged 0-3. In addition, World Vision is also building and furnishing 16 schools.
"Today, our children are better able to express themselves and share their ideas and opinions. They are more creative in the way they play," said one local teacher whose own children attend a Child Friendly Space.
World Vision's Programme overview:
The agency's eight-month emergency response programme has since morphed into a one-year programme that is focused on helping communities towards long-term recovery.
During the emergency phase World Vision provided food and non-food items (including emergency shelters) and ran water, sanitation and hygiene, child protection, health and livelihood programmes that reached over 347,000 people in Yangon and the Delta.
In the current phase World Vision is targeting 100,000 people in Bogale, Pyapon and Hainggyi, focusing on livelihood recovery, child protection, water, sanitation and hygiene, and disaster risk reduction.
World Vision operated relief and development programmes in Myanmar for 24 years before the cyclone struck and has 600 staff, almost entirely all nationals, based in country.
A few key results:
Food aid provided to over 314,000 in 12 townships
Temporary shelter kits given to 56,793 families in Yangon and the Delta.
Cooking sets handed to 32,334 families in the Delta
Livelihoods: 90 hand tractors, 75 threshing machines 247 boats provided
Tools provided to enable communities to clean 313 ponds and wells
56 World Vision-supported mobile health clinics, served more than 13,000 people in 36 remote villages
400 volunteers trained in child protection, child rights and life-skills
World Vision is constructing 16 schools, complete with furniture
Myanmar cyclone victims still need shelter, jobs
Myanmar cyclone victims still need shelter, jobs
By MICHAEL CASEY, Associated Press Writer
Thu Apr 30, 8:30 am ET
BANGKOK (AP) – Hundreds of thousands of people are still without decent jobs and housing a year after Cyclone Nargis ripped through Myanmar, leaving many vulnerable to the coming monsoon rains and mired in a life of poverty, humanitarian groups said Thursday.
Foreign governments and charities provided $315 million for food aid and emergency assistance in the months after the tropical storm hit the country May 2-3, 2008, leaving 138,000 people dead or missing and another 800,000 homeless.
But international charities and U.N. agencies like the World Food Program say hundreds of millions of dollars are still needed over the next several years to rebuild the delta's decimated infrastructure and provide farmers and fishermen with the cash they need to regain their livelihoods.
Many noted the funds raised so far are about 40 times less than $12 billion raised for the 2004 tsunami, even though Nargis was the worst natural disaster in Myanmar's modern history and the world's fifth deadliest in the past 40 years.
"We can provide a farmer and his family with food in a weekly ration, but that same farmer will need cash to purchase seeds, to restore fields and replace the plows and livestock they lost," WFP spokesman Paul Risley told reporters at a news conference in Bangkok.
Risley said his agency expects to provide food rations through the year for 350,000 people while the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said 100,000 people are still living in tents and in need of permanent shelter.
"Tens of thousands more live in temporary, substandard shelters, which will not be able to withstand another storm," said Bernd Schell, the head of the IFRC's country office in Yangon.
When the cyclone hit, a massive wall of water rushed across the low-lying delta, flattening or washing away almost everything in its path. Some 450,000 homes were destroyed and 350,000 damaged. About 75 percent of health facilities were damaged, as were 4,000 or more schools.
The military regime that rules Myanmar, also known as Burma, was widely condemned for denying foreign aid agencies access to the delta in the weeks that followed the disaster.
But it eventually allowed them in and now 90 percent of survivors have been provided with food, clean drinking water and basic shelter needs. A year later, however, aid groups worry that cash is running short.
The British charity Oxfam also warned of the need for fresh funds, saying many poor families face the bleak prospect of falling deeper in debt if they don't get help from the outside world.
The Tripartite Core Group — representing Myanmar's government, U.N. agencies and the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations — released a three-year reconstruction plan in February that calls for $700 million in additional funding. It could not provide figures on how much has been raised so far, though it said Britain, Japan and several European nations have promised to contribute.
By MICHAEL CASEY, Associated Press Writer
Thu Apr 30, 8:30 am ET
BANGKOK (AP) – Hundreds of thousands of people are still without decent jobs and housing a year after Cyclone Nargis ripped through Myanmar, leaving many vulnerable to the coming monsoon rains and mired in a life of poverty, humanitarian groups said Thursday.
Foreign governments and charities provided $315 million for food aid and emergency assistance in the months after the tropical storm hit the country May 2-3, 2008, leaving 138,000 people dead or missing and another 800,000 homeless.
But international charities and U.N. agencies like the World Food Program say hundreds of millions of dollars are still needed over the next several years to rebuild the delta's decimated infrastructure and provide farmers and fishermen with the cash they need to regain their livelihoods.
Many noted the funds raised so far are about 40 times less than $12 billion raised for the 2004 tsunami, even though Nargis was the worst natural disaster in Myanmar's modern history and the world's fifth deadliest in the past 40 years.
"We can provide a farmer and his family with food in a weekly ration, but that same farmer will need cash to purchase seeds, to restore fields and replace the plows and livestock they lost," WFP spokesman Paul Risley told reporters at a news conference in Bangkok.
Risley said his agency expects to provide food rations through the year for 350,000 people while the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said 100,000 people are still living in tents and in need of permanent shelter.
"Tens of thousands more live in temporary, substandard shelters, which will not be able to withstand another storm," said Bernd Schell, the head of the IFRC's country office in Yangon.
When the cyclone hit, a massive wall of water rushed across the low-lying delta, flattening or washing away almost everything in its path. Some 450,000 homes were destroyed and 350,000 damaged. About 75 percent of health facilities were damaged, as were 4,000 or more schools.
The military regime that rules Myanmar, also known as Burma, was widely condemned for denying foreign aid agencies access to the delta in the weeks that followed the disaster.
But it eventually allowed them in and now 90 percent of survivors have been provided with food, clean drinking water and basic shelter needs. A year later, however, aid groups worry that cash is running short.
The British charity Oxfam also warned of the need for fresh funds, saying many poor families face the bleak prospect of falling deeper in debt if they don't get help from the outside world.
The Tripartite Core Group — representing Myanmar's government, U.N. agencies and the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations — released a three-year reconstruction plan in February that calls for $700 million in additional funding. It could not provide figures on how much has been raised so far, though it said Britain, Japan and several European nations have promised to contribute.
Mission Network News Myanmar's hope: a year after devastation
Mission Network News
Myanmar's hope: a year after devastation
Posted: 27 April, 2009
Myanmar (MNN) ― Cyclone Nargis, a category 5 storm, tore through Burma in May 2008, leaving utter destruction in its wake. For the poverty-stricken survivors, the struggle for continued existence leeched at their hope.
Yet, one year later, Jacqueline Koster of the Christian Reformed World Relief Committee says it's encouraging to see how much progress has been made. Despite long delays for aid shipments, as well as government resistance to "outside" help, the teams were able to get in because of their longstanding partnerships.
Immediately following the storm, an appeal went out. Christian Reformed Church constituents responded generously to the needs in Burma/Myanmar with over $750,000 in donations to CRWRC. Working in partnership with World Concern, CRWRC responded to the most urgent needs of those affected, particularly in the low-lying township of Labutta.
Using private funds matched by the Canadian Foodgrains Bank (CFGB) and the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), CRWRC was able to support people in 30 villages through a range of activities.
CRWRC also provided staff to assist during the emergency assessments and the rehabilitation phase. Josh Folkema, Hans Helleman, and Lorraine and Marvin VanderValk provided managerial oversight as well as technical support to the project.
Koster says, "CRWRC has supported the rebuilding of 282 houses to date. Obviously, shelter is one of the key priorities after a disaster, especially trying to get things done before the monsoon season begins again, which is actually this month."
It's now a race against time. "One of the strategies that we've been using is to drop off the materials even though the construction won't begin until a few months from now--but sort of getting the materials into the right places so they don't have to be transported during the monsoon season."
Thus far, CRWRC's partnerships have also brought: 400 kitchen starter kits, food for 10,000 people, seven wells, two ponds, 42 oxen, six rice granaries, 660 fishing boats, and 1586 fishing nets.
Fishing nets? Consider this story from the village of Thaung Lay, where the population is half what it was prior to the cyclone. There, Kan Kung has been working hard to re-establish his livelihood. Before Nargis, he was a fisherman with eight nets and a boat, but the storm surge washed away everything except the clothes he was wearing. He lost all his children, his mother, his nieces, and his nephews.
CRWRC gave him a fish net. He also borrowed a boat from a relative. "It took me one and a half months to earn enough for a second net, which I bought second-hand," explains Kung. "But now I have six nets, and I am earning as much, if not more, than I was before Nargis, because there are less fishermen now and less nets filling the waterways." Nothing can replace his family, but surviving members now have a chance.
The non-material benefit? This project has helped people rebuild their lives because the local church acts as the hands and feet of Christ. Says Koster, "We were working with quite a large Karen Baptist community there. It's almost a reverse, where our faith is strengthened by seeing the strength of their faith in these communities and the trust that they put in God in their day-to-day lives."
Myanmar's hope: a year after devastation
Posted: 27 April, 2009
Myanmar (MNN) ― Cyclone Nargis, a category 5 storm, tore through Burma in May 2008, leaving utter destruction in its wake. For the poverty-stricken survivors, the struggle for continued existence leeched at their hope.
Yet, one year later, Jacqueline Koster of the Christian Reformed World Relief Committee says it's encouraging to see how much progress has been made. Despite long delays for aid shipments, as well as government resistance to "outside" help, the teams were able to get in because of their longstanding partnerships.
Immediately following the storm, an appeal went out. Christian Reformed Church constituents responded generously to the needs in Burma/Myanmar with over $750,000 in donations to CRWRC. Working in partnership with World Concern, CRWRC responded to the most urgent needs of those affected, particularly in the low-lying township of Labutta.
Using private funds matched by the Canadian Foodgrains Bank (CFGB) and the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), CRWRC was able to support people in 30 villages through a range of activities.
CRWRC also provided staff to assist during the emergency assessments and the rehabilitation phase. Josh Folkema, Hans Helleman, and Lorraine and Marvin VanderValk provided managerial oversight as well as technical support to the project.
Koster says, "CRWRC has supported the rebuilding of 282 houses to date. Obviously, shelter is one of the key priorities after a disaster, especially trying to get things done before the monsoon season begins again, which is actually this month."
It's now a race against time. "One of the strategies that we've been using is to drop off the materials even though the construction won't begin until a few months from now--but sort of getting the materials into the right places so they don't have to be transported during the monsoon season."
Thus far, CRWRC's partnerships have also brought: 400 kitchen starter kits, food for 10,000 people, seven wells, two ponds, 42 oxen, six rice granaries, 660 fishing boats, and 1586 fishing nets.
Fishing nets? Consider this story from the village of Thaung Lay, where the population is half what it was prior to the cyclone. There, Kan Kung has been working hard to re-establish his livelihood. Before Nargis, he was a fisherman with eight nets and a boat, but the storm surge washed away everything except the clothes he was wearing. He lost all his children, his mother, his nieces, and his nephews.
CRWRC gave him a fish net. He also borrowed a boat from a relative. "It took me one and a half months to earn enough for a second net, which I bought second-hand," explains Kung. "But now I have six nets, and I am earning as much, if not more, than I was before Nargis, because there are less fishermen now and less nets filling the waterways." Nothing can replace his family, but surviving members now have a chance.
The non-material benefit? This project has helped people rebuild their lives because the local church acts as the hands and feet of Christ. Says Koster, "We were working with quite a large Karen Baptist community there. It's almost a reverse, where our faith is strengthened by seeing the strength of their faith in these communities and the trust that they put in God in their day-to-day lives."
Nasdaq - Aung San Suu Kyi Party Members Meet In Myanmar - Spokesman
Nasdaq - Aung San Suu Kyi Party Members Meet In Myanmar - Spokesman
Apr 27, 2009 | 11:38AM
YANGON (AFP)--Members of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi's party came from across Myanmar Monday to discuss elections planned for next year by the ruling junta, said a spokesman.
Around 100 members of the National League for Democracy gathered at party headquarters in Myanmar's largest city ahead of a full meeting starting Tuesday, said spokesman Nyan Win.
The detained Nobel Peace Laureate's party hasn't yet said whether it will take part in the general elections - which critics say are a sham aimed at entrenching the power of Myanmar's military government.
"About 100 party members have come to the headquarters. We invited organizers from states and divisions (around the country). Now we will prepare for tomorrow's meeting," Nyan Win told AFP.
"We will discuss the coming elections. We can't say whether we will make decisions. It will be known after the discussions," he added.
He said the meeting of party members from around Myanmar was usually an annual event, but didn't take place last year.
The NLD won a landslide victory in the country's last elections in 1990, but the ruling generals refused to let the party take office.
The military has announced the polls next year under its so-called "roadmap to democracy". Diplomats say the junta may be aiming for a date in March 2010.
The polls are set to be held under a new constitution that was approved in May last year, days after Cyclone Nargis devastated southern regions of the country and left 138,000 people dead or missing.
Myanmar has been ruled by the military since 1962 and is under tough sanctions imposed by the U.S. and European countries because of its human rights records and continued detention of Aung San Suu Kyi.
Apr 27, 2009 | 11:38AM
YANGON (AFP)--Members of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi's party came from across Myanmar Monday to discuss elections planned for next year by the ruling junta, said a spokesman.
Around 100 members of the National League for Democracy gathered at party headquarters in Myanmar's largest city ahead of a full meeting starting Tuesday, said spokesman Nyan Win.
The detained Nobel Peace Laureate's party hasn't yet said whether it will take part in the general elections - which critics say are a sham aimed at entrenching the power of Myanmar's military government.
"About 100 party members have come to the headquarters. We invited organizers from states and divisions (around the country). Now we will prepare for tomorrow's meeting," Nyan Win told AFP.
"We will discuss the coming elections. We can't say whether we will make decisions. It will be known after the discussions," he added.
He said the meeting of party members from around Myanmar was usually an annual event, but didn't take place last year.
The NLD won a landslide victory in the country's last elections in 1990, but the ruling generals refused to let the party take office.
The military has announced the polls next year under its so-called "roadmap to democracy". Diplomats say the junta may be aiming for a date in March 2010.
The polls are set to be held under a new constitution that was approved in May last year, days after Cyclone Nargis devastated southern regions of the country and left 138,000 people dead or missing.
Myanmar has been ruled by the military since 1962 and is under tough sanctions imposed by the U.S. and European countries because of its human rights records and continued detention of Aung San Suu Kyi.
Vartican Radio - Religious Oppression Continues in Myanmar
27/04/2009 18.35.29
Vartican Radio - Religious Oppression Continues in Myanmar
(27 Apr 09 - RV) EU foreign ministers today extended sanctions against Myanmar for another year to push for democratic change. The ministers called on Myanmar’s military regime to take steps to make planned 2010 elections.
Meanwhile, two members of detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi's political party were arrested last week and charged with insulting religion after they prayed for the release of political prisoners. Myanmar’s military junta, which has held power since 1962, tolerates no dissent. The current junta came to power in 1988 after crushing a nationwide pro-democracy uprising and has stepped up its campaign against opposition politicians and activists ahead of elections planned for next year. Religious oppression in Myanmar, also known as Burma, has been widespread for years.
The East Asia Team Leader for Christian Solidarity Worldwide, Ben Rogers, told us more about religious persecution in the country.
Vartican Radio - Religious Oppression Continues in Myanmar
(27 Apr 09 - RV) EU foreign ministers today extended sanctions against Myanmar for another year to push for democratic change. The ministers called on Myanmar’s military regime to take steps to make planned 2010 elections.
Meanwhile, two members of detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi's political party were arrested last week and charged with insulting religion after they prayed for the release of political prisoners. Myanmar’s military junta, which has held power since 1962, tolerates no dissent. The current junta came to power in 1988 after crushing a nationwide pro-democracy uprising and has stepped up its campaign against opposition politicians and activists ahead of elections planned for next year. Religious oppression in Myanmar, also known as Burma, has been widespread for years.
The East Asia Team Leader for Christian Solidarity Worldwide, Ben Rogers, told us more about religious persecution in the country.
EU Extends Myanmar Sanctions, Urges Suu Kyi’s Release (Update1)
EU Extends Myanmar Sanctions, Urges Suu Kyi’s Release (Update1)
By James G. Neuger
April 27 (Bloomberg) -- European Union governments announced a 12-month extension of sanctions against the military rulers of Myanmar to protest the suppression of the pro- democracy movement led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.
The EU prolonged a ban on weapons sales to Myanmar, curbs on European financing for Myanmar’s state-run companies and a travel ban on junta leaders and top generals, foreign ministers said in a statement in Luxembourg today.
“Our basic calls for the rights of minorities and the rights of the opposition to be recognized remain very strong indeed,” U.K. Foreign Secretary David Miliband told reporters. “We have not forgotten the need for political reform.”
The military, in command of the nation of 48 million people since 1962, plans elections next year after adopting a new constitution that opposition groups have denounced as a sham.
The EU called for the release of political prisoners including Suu Kyi and said the leaders of Myanmar, once known as Burma, “have still to take the steps necessary to make the planned 2010 elections a credible, transparent and inclusive process.”
Two members of Suu Kyi’s party were arrested last week and charged with insulting religion after they prayed for the release of Myanmar’s 2,100 political prisoners, the Associated Press reported April 24. Suu Kyi, 63, has spent 13 of the past 19 years under house arrest.
By James G. Neuger
April 27 (Bloomberg) -- European Union governments announced a 12-month extension of sanctions against the military rulers of Myanmar to protest the suppression of the pro- democracy movement led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.
The EU prolonged a ban on weapons sales to Myanmar, curbs on European financing for Myanmar’s state-run companies and a travel ban on junta leaders and top generals, foreign ministers said in a statement in Luxembourg today.
“Our basic calls for the rights of minorities and the rights of the opposition to be recognized remain very strong indeed,” U.K. Foreign Secretary David Miliband told reporters. “We have not forgotten the need for political reform.”
The military, in command of the nation of 48 million people since 1962, plans elections next year after adopting a new constitution that opposition groups have denounced as a sham.
The EU called for the release of political prisoners including Suu Kyi and said the leaders of Myanmar, once known as Burma, “have still to take the steps necessary to make the planned 2010 elections a credible, transparent and inclusive process.”
Two members of Suu Kyi’s party were arrested last week and charged with insulting religion after they prayed for the release of Myanmar’s 2,100 political prisoners, the Associated Press reported April 24. Suu Kyi, 63, has spent 13 of the past 19 years under house arrest.
Myanmar comedian jailed for activism reported ill
Myanmar comedian jailed for activism reported ill
AP - Tuesday, April 28
YANGON, Myanmar (AP) – A popular comedian jailed by Myanmar's military government for his social and political activism is ill and being denied proper medical care, relatives said Monday.
The sister-in-law of Zarganar, who is serving a 35-year sentence in Myitkyina prison in northernmost Kachin State, said he fainted in his cell 10 days ago due to high blood pressure and is suffering from hepatitis.
"He lost consciousness for two hours on April 16 and his cellmates called for medical help. His cellmates revived him but he has not been given any proper medical checkup since," said sister-in-law Htway Htway, whose elder sister recently visited the detainee and said he looked pale and sick.
Htway Htway said the family has asked prison authorities to arrange a proper medical checkup for 48-year-old Zarganar, but their requests have been ignored.
Myanmar's military, which has held power since 1962, tolerates little dissent. It frequently arrests artists and entertainers regarded as opposing the regime. It ramped up its crackdown on the opposition after Buddhist monks led pro-democracy protests in September 2007.
The number of political prisoners has almost doubled to 2,100 since June 2007, according to international human rights groups. The most prominent among them is opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who is under house arrest and has spent more than 13 of the last 19 years in detention.
Zarganar was arrested in June last year after he gave interviews to foreign news outlets criticizing the junta's slow response to Cyclone Nargis, which left nearly 140,000 people dead or missing. He was convicted of causing public alarm and illegally giving information to foreign media.
Several activists including Zarganar _ whose name means "tweezers" and whose comedy routines are banned for their jokes about the junta _ delivered donated relief supplies to the storm-shattered Irrawaddy delta.
Zarganar was initially sentenced to 59 years in prison in November but the term was reduced to 35 years in February.
AP - Tuesday, April 28
YANGON, Myanmar (AP) – A popular comedian jailed by Myanmar's military government for his social and political activism is ill and being denied proper medical care, relatives said Monday.
The sister-in-law of Zarganar, who is serving a 35-year sentence in Myitkyina prison in northernmost Kachin State, said he fainted in his cell 10 days ago due to high blood pressure and is suffering from hepatitis.
"He lost consciousness for two hours on April 16 and his cellmates called for medical help. His cellmates revived him but he has not been given any proper medical checkup since," said sister-in-law Htway Htway, whose elder sister recently visited the detainee and said he looked pale and sick.
Htway Htway said the family has asked prison authorities to arrange a proper medical checkup for 48-year-old Zarganar, but their requests have been ignored.
Myanmar's military, which has held power since 1962, tolerates little dissent. It frequently arrests artists and entertainers regarded as opposing the regime. It ramped up its crackdown on the opposition after Buddhist monks led pro-democracy protests in September 2007.
The number of political prisoners has almost doubled to 2,100 since June 2007, according to international human rights groups. The most prominent among them is opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who is under house arrest and has spent more than 13 of the last 19 years in detention.
Zarganar was arrested in June last year after he gave interviews to foreign news outlets criticizing the junta's slow response to Cyclone Nargis, which left nearly 140,000 people dead or missing. He was convicted of causing public alarm and illegally giving information to foreign media.
Several activists including Zarganar _ whose name means "tweezers" and whose comedy routines are banned for their jokes about the junta _ delivered donated relief supplies to the storm-shattered Irrawaddy delta.
Zarganar was initially sentenced to 59 years in prison in November but the term was reduced to 35 years in February.
Myanmar junta threatened by satellite TV
Myanmar junta threatened by satellite TV
AP - Friday, April 24
YANGON, Myanmar (AP) - Satellite dishes that allow people to get international news and entertainment programs should be banned in Myanmar because foreign powers are using them to sow unrest and spread immorality, a state-run newspaper said Friday.
Writing in the Myanma Ahlin newspaper, a writer who identified himself as Ko Gyi said foreign countries were flooding the country with entertainment programs that citizens are enjoying without realizing they have a darker purpose _ to destabilize the country and spread immoral behavior.
"Some big nations are using satellite dishes as their own media tools to influence other countries under the pretext of entertainment," Ko Gyi wrote. "They are using them to interfere in the internal affairs of other countries, to instigate unrest and to destroy nationalism in some targeted nations. It is high time to prohibit the sale of satellite dishes."
The article did not single out any one country nor any specific programs.
Most middle class homes and shops use satellite dishes to tune into foreign sports events, soap operas and to circumvent the junta's tightly controlled state media. The dishes are commonplace in big cities like the commercial capital of Yangon.
The government occasionally launches crackdowns on the dishes _ forcing users to pack them away in boxes until the threat has passes.
Last year, authorities dramatically raised the annual fee for the dishes in an apparent move to limit access to foreign news channels that beamed in global criticism of its 2007 crackdown on pro-democracy protests. The license fee increased from 6,000 kyat ($6) to 1 million kyat ($1,000) _ an unaffordable sum to most people in Myanmar. It is equivalent to about three times the annual salary of a public school teacher.
As a result, many have chosen to operate their dishes illegally.
The fee hike may have been a response to the images broadcast into Myanmar of troops beating Buddhist monks during anti-government street demonstrations that were sparked by a spike in fuel prices.
The broadcasts were made by groups including the Democratic Voice of Burma, a Norway-based shortwave radio station and Web site that is run by exiled Myanmar dissidents.
AP - Friday, April 24
YANGON, Myanmar (AP) - Satellite dishes that allow people to get international news and entertainment programs should be banned in Myanmar because foreign powers are using them to sow unrest and spread immorality, a state-run newspaper said Friday.
Writing in the Myanma Ahlin newspaper, a writer who identified himself as Ko Gyi said foreign countries were flooding the country with entertainment programs that citizens are enjoying without realizing they have a darker purpose _ to destabilize the country and spread immoral behavior.
"Some big nations are using satellite dishes as their own media tools to influence other countries under the pretext of entertainment," Ko Gyi wrote. "They are using them to interfere in the internal affairs of other countries, to instigate unrest and to destroy nationalism in some targeted nations. It is high time to prohibit the sale of satellite dishes."
The article did not single out any one country nor any specific programs.
Most middle class homes and shops use satellite dishes to tune into foreign sports events, soap operas and to circumvent the junta's tightly controlled state media. The dishes are commonplace in big cities like the commercial capital of Yangon.
The government occasionally launches crackdowns on the dishes _ forcing users to pack them away in boxes until the threat has passes.
Last year, authorities dramatically raised the annual fee for the dishes in an apparent move to limit access to foreign news channels that beamed in global criticism of its 2007 crackdown on pro-democracy protests. The license fee increased from 6,000 kyat ($6) to 1 million kyat ($1,000) _ an unaffordable sum to most people in Myanmar. It is equivalent to about three times the annual salary of a public school teacher.
As a result, many have chosen to operate their dishes illegally.
The fee hike may have been a response to the images broadcast into Myanmar of troops beating Buddhist monks during anti-government street demonstrations that were sparked by a spike in fuel prices.
The broadcasts were made by groups including the Democratic Voice of Burma, a Norway-based shortwave radio station and Web site that is run by exiled Myanmar dissidents.
Myanmar arrests opposition politicians for praying
Myanmar arrests opposition politicians for praying
Fri Apr 24, 12:38 am ET
YANGON, Myanmar (AP) – Two members of detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi's political party were arrested and charged with insulting religion after they prayed for the release of political prisoners, a party spokesman said Friday.
National League for Democracy spokesman Nyan Win said authorities arrested Chit Pe, the party's deputy chairman, and party member Aung Saw Wei in Twante on Tuesday. Both took part in a prayer service for the release of political prisoners which was held at a pagoda in the township, about 20 miles (32 kilometers) south of Yangon.
Nyan Win said the two were charged with insulting religion, which carries a possible two-year jail sentence.
"The government is suppressing anyone who opposes or challenges them," Nyan Win said. "If a Buddhist is arrested and charged for praying at a pagoda, what can they do?"
Myanmar's military, which has held power since 1962, tolerates no dissent. The current junta came to power in 1988 after crushing a nationwide pro-democracy uprising and has stepped up its campaign against opposition politicians and activists ahead of elections planned for next year.
In recent months, military courts have sentenced hundreds of pro-democracy activists to prison terms of up to 104 years.
Myanmar now has more than 2,100 political prisoners, according to rights groups. The most prominent among them is Suu Kyi, who has spent more than 13 of the last 19 years under detention. She is currently under house arrest.
Fri Apr 24, 12:38 am ET
YANGON, Myanmar (AP) – Two members of detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi's political party were arrested and charged with insulting religion after they prayed for the release of political prisoners, a party spokesman said Friday.
National League for Democracy spokesman Nyan Win said authorities arrested Chit Pe, the party's deputy chairman, and party member Aung Saw Wei in Twante on Tuesday. Both took part in a prayer service for the release of political prisoners which was held at a pagoda in the township, about 20 miles (32 kilometers) south of Yangon.
Nyan Win said the two were charged with insulting religion, which carries a possible two-year jail sentence.
"The government is suppressing anyone who opposes or challenges them," Nyan Win said. "If a Buddhist is arrested and charged for praying at a pagoda, what can they do?"
Myanmar's military, which has held power since 1962, tolerates no dissent. The current junta came to power in 1988 after crushing a nationwide pro-democracy uprising and has stepped up its campaign against opposition politicians and activists ahead of elections planned for next year.
In recent months, military courts have sentenced hundreds of pro-democracy activists to prison terms of up to 104 years.
Myanmar now has more than 2,100 political prisoners, according to rights groups. The most prominent among them is Suu Kyi, who has spent more than 13 of the last 19 years under detention. She is currently under house arrest.
EU to prolong sanctions against Myanmar for a year
EU to prolong sanctions against Myanmar for a year
15 mins ago
BRUSSELS (AFP) – EU foreign ministers are set on Monday to prolong sanctions against Myanmar, while expressing their readiness to ease them and hold high-level talks if there is "genuine progress".
The European Union "deems it necessary to extend the current EU common position by another year, including the restrictive measures," reads a draft text to be adopted by the foreign ministers when they meet Monday in Luxembourg.
The 27-nation bloc "underlines its readiness to revise, amend or reinforce the measures it has already adopted in light of developments on the ground," the draft text adds.
The EU member states will also renew their perennial call for the immediate release of all political prisoners -- especially opposition leader and Nobel prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi --- and for "a peaceful transition to a legitimate civilian system of government.
The Myanmar military seized power in 1962 and maintains virtually total control on every aspect of life in the nation, formerly known as Burma.
The EU sanctions -- in place since 2006 -- include a travel ban and the freezing of assets of Myanmar's leaders and their relatives, as well as a ban on arms exports to Yangon.
The sanctions also limit diplomatic relations between the Southeast Asian nation and the European bloc.
The decision to renew the sanctions puts paid to any lingering hopes of a rapprochement which were fostered last month when the EU's senior Myanmar envoy said the European Union could consider easing its sanctions in April if it sees democratic progress.
Those sanctions were increased in 2007, due to a crackdown on Buddhist protests, to include a ban on timber, metals, minerals, precious stones from Myanmar and a ban on new investment in Myanmar companies operating in these sectors.
European and other nations are now looking forward to a general election to be held in Myanmar next year as a chance for the junta to ease its grip on power.
However the Myanmar authorities "have still to take the steps necessary to make the planned 2010 elections a credible, transparent and inclusive process based on international standards," the EU document said.
The text stresses that "the EU stands ready to respond positively to genuine progress in Burma/Myanmar," offering the possibility of ministerial level dialogue on their margins of an ASEM foreign ministers meeting in Hanoi next month.
15 mins ago
BRUSSELS (AFP) – EU foreign ministers are set on Monday to prolong sanctions against Myanmar, while expressing their readiness to ease them and hold high-level talks if there is "genuine progress".
The European Union "deems it necessary to extend the current EU common position by another year, including the restrictive measures," reads a draft text to be adopted by the foreign ministers when they meet Monday in Luxembourg.
The 27-nation bloc "underlines its readiness to revise, amend or reinforce the measures it has already adopted in light of developments on the ground," the draft text adds.
The EU member states will also renew their perennial call for the immediate release of all political prisoners -- especially opposition leader and Nobel prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi --- and for "a peaceful transition to a legitimate civilian system of government.
The Myanmar military seized power in 1962 and maintains virtually total control on every aspect of life in the nation, formerly known as Burma.
The EU sanctions -- in place since 2006 -- include a travel ban and the freezing of assets of Myanmar's leaders and their relatives, as well as a ban on arms exports to Yangon.
The sanctions also limit diplomatic relations between the Southeast Asian nation and the European bloc.
The decision to renew the sanctions puts paid to any lingering hopes of a rapprochement which were fostered last month when the EU's senior Myanmar envoy said the European Union could consider easing its sanctions in April if it sees democratic progress.
Those sanctions were increased in 2007, due to a crackdown on Buddhist protests, to include a ban on timber, metals, minerals, precious stones from Myanmar and a ban on new investment in Myanmar companies operating in these sectors.
European and other nations are now looking forward to a general election to be held in Myanmar next year as a chance for the junta to ease its grip on power.
However the Myanmar authorities "have still to take the steps necessary to make the planned 2010 elections a credible, transparent and inclusive process based on international standards," the EU document said.
The text stresses that "the EU stands ready to respond positively to genuine progress in Burma/Myanmar," offering the possibility of ministerial level dialogue on their margins of an ASEM foreign ministers meeting in Hanoi next month.
Mixed reports over Myanmar's border activities
Mixed reports over Myanmar's border activities
Thu, Apr 23rd, 2009 2:16 am BdSTDial 2324 from your mobile for latest news
Cox's Bazar, Apr 21 (bdnews24.com) – Mixed reports came from Cox's Bazar on Wednesday over Myanmar's disputed border fencing activities, including construction of an earthen weir within 80 yards of zero point.
BDR officials claimed Wednesday the neighbouring nation's border force Nasaka had ceased activities.
Lieutenant colonel Sakhawat Hossain, captain of Cox's Bazar-based 17 Rifles Battalion, told bdnews24.com: "I visited that area of the border around noon today. Myanmar ceased construction of the weir after midday."
"Nasaka has managed to pile up earth along a 100 yard stretch, but it is no threat to us in any case," he said.
However, Majharul Anwar Chowdhury Sifat, Union Parisad chairman of Palongkhali, on the Myanmar border, said Nasaka was continuing "full swing" with construction of the weir with only a short break in the afternoon.
"They have already completed 300 yards of the weir since Monday," he added.
Myanmar began construction of the earthen embankment Monday within 80 yards of Border Pillar 20, opposite Palongkhali under Ukhia Upazila in Cox's Bazar.
Myanmar army personnel and local Rakhain youths were assisting Nasaka, said locals of the sparsely populated border area.
Lt Col Sakhawat said on Tuesday the Myanmar border force had invited BDR to company commander-level talks that might be held within a few days.
"A timetable has not been fixed yet," he said.
Thu, Apr 23rd, 2009 2:16 am BdSTDial 2324 from your mobile for latest news
Cox's Bazar, Apr 21 (bdnews24.com) – Mixed reports came from Cox's Bazar on Wednesday over Myanmar's disputed border fencing activities, including construction of an earthen weir within 80 yards of zero point.
BDR officials claimed Wednesday the neighbouring nation's border force Nasaka had ceased activities.
Lieutenant colonel Sakhawat Hossain, captain of Cox's Bazar-based 17 Rifles Battalion, told bdnews24.com: "I visited that area of the border around noon today. Myanmar ceased construction of the weir after midday."
"Nasaka has managed to pile up earth along a 100 yard stretch, but it is no threat to us in any case," he said.
However, Majharul Anwar Chowdhury Sifat, Union Parisad chairman of Palongkhali, on the Myanmar border, said Nasaka was continuing "full swing" with construction of the weir with only a short break in the afternoon.
"They have already completed 300 yards of the weir since Monday," he added.
Myanmar began construction of the earthen embankment Monday within 80 yards of Border Pillar 20, opposite Palongkhali under Ukhia Upazila in Cox's Bazar.
Myanmar army personnel and local Rakhain youths were assisting Nasaka, said locals of the sparsely populated border area.
Lt Col Sakhawat said on Tuesday the Myanmar border force had invited BDR to company commander-level talks that might be held within a few days.
"A timetable has not been fixed yet," he said.
Nasdaq - EU Official Sees No Chance Of Formal Myanmar Aid Talks
Nasdaq - EU Official Sees No Chance Of Formal Myanmar Aid Talks
Apr 23, 2009 | 2:24PM
MANILA (AFP)--The European Union sees no chance of formal talks with Myanmar on aid for development projects until the junta brings about democratic reforms, the head of the bloc's aid office said Tuesday.
Koos Richelle said European countries had been trying to engage the regime but it has been intent to "seclude itself from the rest of the world."
"It is not us punishing them, it's them not opening up for what we consider to be normal contact," he said at the close of a two-day conference in Manila between Asian and European aid officials.
Myanmar was devastated by a cyclone one year ago which left 138,000 people dead or missing.
Despite a huge international relief effort, the secretive junta stalled on issuing visas to foreign aid workers and prevented some humanitarian supplies from entering the country, drawing worldwide condemnation.
"We are not a money machine throwing envelopes over the fence," Richelle - the director-general of the European Comission's EuropeAid Coooperation Office - told reporters.
"We want to contribute to the quality of life in a country, and if we have the impression that it is not possible, then there is no possibility for us to cooperate."
He said the European Commission, the executive branch of the 27-member E.U., appreciates "situations where there is democracy, where there is full-pledged policy dialogue."
The European Commission has already given tens of millions of euros in aid for the cyclone victims as part of humanitarian support, separate to specific projects such as for infrastructure.
The European Union's senior Myanmar envoy said recently it was considering easing sanctions on the junta if it relaxes curbs on the political opposition ahead of elections planned for 2010.
Apr 23, 2009 | 2:24PM
MANILA (AFP)--The European Union sees no chance of formal talks with Myanmar on aid for development projects until the junta brings about democratic reforms, the head of the bloc's aid office said Tuesday.
Koos Richelle said European countries had been trying to engage the regime but it has been intent to "seclude itself from the rest of the world."
"It is not us punishing them, it's them not opening up for what we consider to be normal contact," he said at the close of a two-day conference in Manila between Asian and European aid officials.
Myanmar was devastated by a cyclone one year ago which left 138,000 people dead or missing.
Despite a huge international relief effort, the secretive junta stalled on issuing visas to foreign aid workers and prevented some humanitarian supplies from entering the country, drawing worldwide condemnation.
"We are not a money machine throwing envelopes over the fence," Richelle - the director-general of the European Comission's EuropeAid Coooperation Office - told reporters.
"We want to contribute to the quality of life in a country, and if we have the impression that it is not possible, then there is no possibility for us to cooperate."
He said the European Commission, the executive branch of the 27-member E.U., appreciates "situations where there is democracy, where there is full-pledged policy dialogue."
The European Commission has already given tens of millions of euros in aid for the cyclone victims as part of humanitarian support, separate to specific projects such as for infrastructure.
The European Union's senior Myanmar envoy said recently it was considering easing sanctions on the junta if it relaxes curbs on the political opposition ahead of elections planned for 2010.
Business Standard - Govt imports 37,000 tonne of pulses from Myanmar
Business Standard - Govt imports 37,000 tonne of pulses from Myanmar
Press Trust of India / New Delhi April 23, 2009, 14:27 IST
India has contracted to import 37,000 tonnes of pulses from Myanmar on a government-to-government basis and the commodities are likely to arrive at Indian ports next month.
"The contract for import of 30,000 tonnes of black matpe (urad) and 7,000 tonnes of pigeon peas (tur) has been finalised and these pulses would arrive here in May," a top government official told reporters here today.
This import has been finalised by STC on behalf of the government as both India and Myanmar have agreed to pulses trade on a government-to-government basis, he added.
The entire quantity of tur would come in May, while urad would arrive in two tranches, the official said.
Last year, a delegation of Indian officials had visited Myanmar to finalise an agreement with that country's government for importing pulses on a government-to-government basis. STC is the nodal agency for this purpose.
Under the government-to-government import, the risk of price escalation is minimised as India has agreed to pay the market rate for the pulses instead of floating tender, an expert said.
Since the government of Myanmar is the supplier, it has to export the pulses at a particular price, agreed by both the countries, he said, adding India imports mainly tur, urad and rajmah from the neighbour.
Press Trust of India / New Delhi April 23, 2009, 14:27 IST
India has contracted to import 37,000 tonnes of pulses from Myanmar on a government-to-government basis and the commodities are likely to arrive at Indian ports next month.
"The contract for import of 30,000 tonnes of black matpe (urad) and 7,000 tonnes of pigeon peas (tur) has been finalised and these pulses would arrive here in May," a top government official told reporters here today.
This import has been finalised by STC on behalf of the government as both India and Myanmar have agreed to pulses trade on a government-to-government basis, he added.
The entire quantity of tur would come in May, while urad would arrive in two tranches, the official said.
Last year, a delegation of Indian officials had visited Myanmar to finalise an agreement with that country's government for importing pulses on a government-to-government basis. STC is the nodal agency for this purpose.
Under the government-to-government import, the risk of price escalation is minimised as India has agreed to pay the market rate for the pulses instead of floating tender, an expert said.
Since the government of Myanmar is the supplier, it has to export the pulses at a particular price, agreed by both the countries, he said, adding India imports mainly tur, urad and rajmah from the neighbour.
Alibaba News Channel - China group says $800 million Myanmar mine on track
Alibaba News Channel - China group says $800 million Myanmar mine on track
Published: 21 Apr 2009 21:17:51 PST
BEIJING, April 22 - A Chinese mining giant has said it is committed to an $800 million ferro-nickel mine in northern Myanmar, which officials said will eventually lift the impoverished southeast Asian nation's GDP by over 2 percent.
Executives from the China Non-Ferrous Metal Group (CNMC) told visiting Myanmar Prime Minister Thein Sein, a general in the ruling junta, they would strive to complete preparations for the big mine at Tagaungtaung in northern Myanmar as early as possible, the China Nonferrous Metal News reported on Tuesday.
The Chinese-language newspaper reached subscribers on Wednesday.
CNMC underscored the economic importance of the project and the support it has received from Chinese leaders seeking to shore up ties with Myanmar, also called Burma and largely shunned by Western governments.
"The Tagaungtaung ferro-nickel mine is the biggest cooperative project between China and Myanmar in the mining sector," the Group's general manager, Luo Tao, told Thien, who was attending a regional business forum on the southern Chinese island of Hainan, according to the paper.
The global slump and sharp falls in metals prices have forced several companies to abandon or put on hold their plans for new mines.
But China has pressed forward with investments that will give it a more secure hold on resources when growth revives. And it has also kept close to Myanmar's ruling junta even as other Asian nations criticise the generals for their harsh political grip.
Luo said the mine will produce 80,000 tonnes of ferro-nickel, an alloy used in stainless steel production, and lift Myanmar's gross domestic production by over 2 percent. But he did not say when the mine will open.
Earlier reports on the CNMC website (www.cnmc.com.cn) said the Tagaungtaung mine would take 30 months to build, meaning operation could start around early 2011, eventually producing about 22,000 tonnes of pure nickel content every year.
The latest report did not specify how much of a stake the Myanmar government has in the mine, an issue that apparently contributed to delays in the project.
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao has given his "close concern and vigorous support" to the mining deal, which was signed in July 2008, said the paper. And Myanmar Prime Minister Thien said he would solve any problems the project encounters, it also said.
Tagaungtaung, also rendered as Tagaung Taung, is a mineral-rich area about 320 kilometres (200 miles) north of Mandalay.
The junta, which has ruled the former Burma since 1962, has refused to recognise a 1990 landslide election victory of the opposition National League for Democracy. Its leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, has been under house arrest for most of the past two decades.
China has kept close ties with the junta, but Beijing has also been frustrated by narcotics flowing from Myanmar into its southwest.
Published: 21 Apr 2009 21:17:51 PST
BEIJING, April 22 - A Chinese mining giant has said it is committed to an $800 million ferro-nickel mine in northern Myanmar, which officials said will eventually lift the impoverished southeast Asian nation's GDP by over 2 percent.
Executives from the China Non-Ferrous Metal Group (CNMC) told visiting Myanmar Prime Minister Thein Sein, a general in the ruling junta, they would strive to complete preparations for the big mine at Tagaungtaung in northern Myanmar as early as possible, the China Nonferrous Metal News reported on Tuesday.
The Chinese-language newspaper reached subscribers on Wednesday.
CNMC underscored the economic importance of the project and the support it has received from Chinese leaders seeking to shore up ties with Myanmar, also called Burma and largely shunned by Western governments.
"The Tagaungtaung ferro-nickel mine is the biggest cooperative project between China and Myanmar in the mining sector," the Group's general manager, Luo Tao, told Thien, who was attending a regional business forum on the southern Chinese island of Hainan, according to the paper.
The global slump and sharp falls in metals prices have forced several companies to abandon or put on hold their plans for new mines.
But China has pressed forward with investments that will give it a more secure hold on resources when growth revives. And it has also kept close to Myanmar's ruling junta even as other Asian nations criticise the generals for their harsh political grip.
Luo said the mine will produce 80,000 tonnes of ferro-nickel, an alloy used in stainless steel production, and lift Myanmar's gross domestic production by over 2 percent. But he did not say when the mine will open.
Earlier reports on the CNMC website (www.cnmc.com.cn) said the Tagaungtaung mine would take 30 months to build, meaning operation could start around early 2011, eventually producing about 22,000 tonnes of pure nickel content every year.
The latest report did not specify how much of a stake the Myanmar government has in the mine, an issue that apparently contributed to delays in the project.
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao has given his "close concern and vigorous support" to the mining deal, which was signed in July 2008, said the paper. And Myanmar Prime Minister Thien said he would solve any problems the project encounters, it also said.
Tagaungtaung, also rendered as Tagaung Taung, is a mineral-rich area about 320 kilometres (200 miles) north of Mandalay.
The junta, which has ruled the former Burma since 1962, has refused to recognise a 1990 landslide election victory of the opposition National League for Democracy. Its leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, has been under house arrest for most of the past two decades.
China has kept close ties with the junta, but Beijing has also been frustrated by narcotics flowing from Myanmar into its southwest.
The Heights - Scholarship issue points to institutional lollygagging
The Heights - Scholarship issue points to institutional lollygagging
Published in the Thursday, April 23, 2009 Edition of The Heights
By Heights Editorial Board
Controversy has arisen surrounding the naming of the Asian-American scholarship offered to rising seniors by Boston College. The scholarship has remained unnamed throughout its 14-year existence, and to many on campus, this has represented a lack of recognition of Asian-American issues on part of the administration.
Student groups on campus recently joined in a movement to name the scholarship for an Asian role model. Through a process that included resolutions passed by the Undergraduate Government of BC (UGBC) Senate and the AHANA Caucus, students nominated activist Aung San Suu Kyi as the new namesake. Additionally, 200 letters of support were collected from the student body expressing the need to name the scholarship. However, when student leaders presented their idea to University President Rev. William P. Leahy, S.J., for final approval, it was neither accepted nor rejected outright.
This result is understandably frustrating for students in the Asian community on campus who have spent years researching candidates, especially for seniors. There exists no explicit framework or rubric for how a scholarship namesake is to be selected. This seems to indicate that the University administrators hold the final authority on choosing the name, a prerogative they have finally claimed in the last week. However, at the same time, the administration has been remiss in their duties to name the Asian-American Scholarship. They have allowed it to exist without a namesake for over 14 years, an unbelievable oversight. Therefore, the onus of name proposal and selection has fallen to student leaders, a duty they have taken very seriously over the past few years. Then, at the culmination of their work, University administrators are unwilling to support their democratically and prudentially-chosen namesake.
Aung San Suu Kyi is eminently qualified to have the scholarship named in her honor. The scholarship's mission statement outlines the ideal recipient - a student with a commitment to academic excellence and a passion for social justice. Suu Kyi is distinct in her activism for being a prisoner of conscience, detained in her Myanmar house for the past 18 years. She founded Myanmar's National League for Democracy in 1988 and led nonviolent protests against the ruling military junta.
Her high profile as a champion of democracy led to her election as the nation's prime minister, a decision that the military junta thereafter nullified. The military dictatorship gave her the option of a permanent exile, but Suu Kyi chose to stay under house arrest rather than leave her people. She has received the Nobel Peace Prize and the Sakharov Prize for freedom of thought.
We believe that a scholarship should be named after a person who is an exemplar of what recipients should aspire to. Therefore, in the vacuum caused by University foot-dragging, the administration undermines a certain amount of credibility by not honoring students' judicious and democratic selection of Aung San Suu Kyi.
Published in the Thursday, April 23, 2009 Edition of The Heights
By Heights Editorial Board
Controversy has arisen surrounding the naming of the Asian-American scholarship offered to rising seniors by Boston College. The scholarship has remained unnamed throughout its 14-year existence, and to many on campus, this has represented a lack of recognition of Asian-American issues on part of the administration.
Student groups on campus recently joined in a movement to name the scholarship for an Asian role model. Through a process that included resolutions passed by the Undergraduate Government of BC (UGBC) Senate and the AHANA Caucus, students nominated activist Aung San Suu Kyi as the new namesake. Additionally, 200 letters of support were collected from the student body expressing the need to name the scholarship. However, when student leaders presented their idea to University President Rev. William P. Leahy, S.J., for final approval, it was neither accepted nor rejected outright.
This result is understandably frustrating for students in the Asian community on campus who have spent years researching candidates, especially for seniors. There exists no explicit framework or rubric for how a scholarship namesake is to be selected. This seems to indicate that the University administrators hold the final authority on choosing the name, a prerogative they have finally claimed in the last week. However, at the same time, the administration has been remiss in their duties to name the Asian-American Scholarship. They have allowed it to exist without a namesake for over 14 years, an unbelievable oversight. Therefore, the onus of name proposal and selection has fallen to student leaders, a duty they have taken very seriously over the past few years. Then, at the culmination of their work, University administrators are unwilling to support their democratically and prudentially-chosen namesake.
Aung San Suu Kyi is eminently qualified to have the scholarship named in her honor. The scholarship's mission statement outlines the ideal recipient - a student with a commitment to academic excellence and a passion for social justice. Suu Kyi is distinct in her activism for being a prisoner of conscience, detained in her Myanmar house for the past 18 years. She founded Myanmar's National League for Democracy in 1988 and led nonviolent protests against the ruling military junta.
Her high profile as a champion of democracy led to her election as the nation's prime minister, a decision that the military junta thereafter nullified. The military dictatorship gave her the option of a permanent exile, but Suu Kyi chose to stay under house arrest rather than leave her people. She has received the Nobel Peace Prize and the Sakharov Prize for freedom of thought.
We believe that a scholarship should be named after a person who is an exemplar of what recipients should aspire to. Therefore, in the vacuum caused by University foot-dragging, the administration undermines a certain amount of credibility by not honoring students' judicious and democratic selection of Aung San Suu Kyi.
American Chronicle - Myanmar: The refugee factory
American Chronicle - Myanmar: The refugee factory
' Joe Fleishman '
April 15, 2009
Myanmar – the largest nation in South East Asia and one of the poorest nations in the world. But it was not always like this. It had a bright past which ends up in the darkness of poverty. All the wealth that Myanmar had has swollen by their military lead government. To make their way unhindered they have done whatever is needed. They brutally suppressed country´s movement for democracy, kept democratic leader and Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi captive for many years. Yet there is any sign of releasing her.
Day by day Burma´s military government is causing trouble not only in their country its neighbors are also facing significant trouble handling Myanmar refugees. In 1991 more than a million Rehinga refugees from Myanmar´s northern region flee to the neighboring Bangladesh. At that time Bangladesh and Myanmar were about to start a war.
Fortunately that conflict was solved by dialog but still more than 30 thousand Myanmar refugees are living in Bangladesh. They are causing huge social and political problem for that country. People of Northern Myanmar speak Bangla - the official language of Bangladesh. They are Muslim like Bangladeshi people and they look like Bangladeshi people. So they can easily camouflage with the society –hiding their identity, make it difficult for the government to separate who is refugee and who is not. These refugees are hired for low payment by the local companies resulting local people to face trouble to get standard payment.
Another dangerous part of these Myanmar refugees is those who are not getting any job or don´t have a certain future -they are shaking their hand with the Islamic terrorists. Islamic militants are selecting them increasing growing concern for the country.
Another group of these people of Northern Myanmar took to the ocean. They use small boat to cross Bay of Bengal to reach another Muslim nation Malaysia. Some of them are use Thailand as their transit point. Thai authorities reacted very offensively to prevent flooding of refugees. CNN and some other news media have focused how Thai officials push Myanmar refugees in to the open ocean without any food and water. Most of these refugees are never seen again. Many countries and United Nation has expressed their concern about this incidence. Thai government has rejected the accusation but also said they would investigate. However only a handful of people could ultimately made it to Malaysia.
These movements of refugees are an agonizing issue for its neighbors. For the international rule they cannot do much but it is also very difficult to stay quite. Some sources said, Myanmar is once again accumulating troops in northern Arakan region threatening once again another outbreak of refugees to the neighbors. Myanmar sounds they have little headache for the feelings of the neighbors.
Myanmar is isolated from the international community. There are many sanctions have imposed on this impoverish nation. Sanctions came from west and United Nations –which has little effect on Myanmar government. Diplomatic effort does not work here. Some countries like China are behind the Myanmar government. Myanmar has no problem to work with its fellow ASIAN nations –many of which are ruled by such dictators. Military rulers are having not problem to deal with sanctions. Without the effort from all the courtiers miseries in Myanmar is far from over.
' Joe Fleishman '
April 15, 2009
Myanmar – the largest nation in South East Asia and one of the poorest nations in the world. But it was not always like this. It had a bright past which ends up in the darkness of poverty. All the wealth that Myanmar had has swollen by their military lead government. To make their way unhindered they have done whatever is needed. They brutally suppressed country´s movement for democracy, kept democratic leader and Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi captive for many years. Yet there is any sign of releasing her.
Day by day Burma´s military government is causing trouble not only in their country its neighbors are also facing significant trouble handling Myanmar refugees. In 1991 more than a million Rehinga refugees from Myanmar´s northern region flee to the neighboring Bangladesh. At that time Bangladesh and Myanmar were about to start a war.
Fortunately that conflict was solved by dialog but still more than 30 thousand Myanmar refugees are living in Bangladesh. They are causing huge social and political problem for that country. People of Northern Myanmar speak Bangla - the official language of Bangladesh. They are Muslim like Bangladeshi people and they look like Bangladeshi people. So they can easily camouflage with the society –hiding their identity, make it difficult for the government to separate who is refugee and who is not. These refugees are hired for low payment by the local companies resulting local people to face trouble to get standard payment.
Another dangerous part of these Myanmar refugees is those who are not getting any job or don´t have a certain future -they are shaking their hand with the Islamic terrorists. Islamic militants are selecting them increasing growing concern for the country.
Another group of these people of Northern Myanmar took to the ocean. They use small boat to cross Bay of Bengal to reach another Muslim nation Malaysia. Some of them are use Thailand as their transit point. Thai authorities reacted very offensively to prevent flooding of refugees. CNN and some other news media have focused how Thai officials push Myanmar refugees in to the open ocean without any food and water. Most of these refugees are never seen again. Many countries and United Nation has expressed their concern about this incidence. Thai government has rejected the accusation but also said they would investigate. However only a handful of people could ultimately made it to Malaysia.
These movements of refugees are an agonizing issue for its neighbors. For the international rule they cannot do much but it is also very difficult to stay quite. Some sources said, Myanmar is once again accumulating troops in northern Arakan region threatening once again another outbreak of refugees to the neighbors. Myanmar sounds they have little headache for the feelings of the neighbors.
Myanmar is isolated from the international community. There are many sanctions have imposed on this impoverish nation. Sanctions came from west and United Nations –which has little effect on Myanmar government. Diplomatic effort does not work here. Some countries like China are behind the Myanmar government. Myanmar has no problem to work with its fellow ASIAN nations –many of which are ruled by such dictators. Military rulers are having not problem to deal with sanctions. Without the effort from all the courtiers miseries in Myanmar is far from over.
The Japan Times - EDITORIAL: Humiliation in Thailand
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
The Japan Times - EDITORIAL: Humiliation in Thailand
Who should be more embarrassed after the cancellation of the ASEAN summit that was to have been held last weekend in Pattaya, Thailand: Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva or the Association of Southeast Asian Nations as whole? Mr. Abhisit is certainly in the hot seat after insisting that the summit can and should go ahead as planned (after a previous cancellation) and the spectacle accompanying his government's failure to protect the assembled grandees was broadcast to the world. But equally troubled is ASEAN, which has, as usual, turned a blind eye to the domestic travails of a member nation. As a result, it has been unable to conduct badly needed business. At a time when the world is being told that the future belongs to Asia, regional institutions are demonstrating their impotence.
It is tempting to call the chaos in Thailand karma. Mr. Abhisit came to power last December when his supporters capped months of protests against the previous government by occupying and closing Bangkok's two main airports. That forced the cancellation of the originally scheduled ASEAN summit. A court dissolved the then ruling party on charges of corruption, several lawmakers shifted their loyalties, and Mr. Abhisit was elected prime minister.
Supporters of the previous government vowed to reverse that turn of events and they have borrowed the tactics of their opponents. They took to the streets to block the government from functioning and aimed to disrupt the rescheduled ASEAN meeting. They overran the conference center where the summit was to be held, forcing Mr. Abhisit to declare a state of emergency and to evacuate the leaders who were present.
Having achieved that goal, they moved back to Bangkok. About 40,000 protesters gathered at Government House to set up roadblocks and barricades. Sunday night the prime minister declared a state of emergency and by Monday police were firing shots in the air to disburse the protesters; those actions had little effect. Government supporters have taken matters into their own hands; clashes have killed two people and put dozens of others in the hospital.
The protesters seek the resignation of Mr. Abhisit and the restoration of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, driven from office by a military coup in 2006. Officially, he was ousted on charges of corruption; in fact, his real crime was challenging the power of Bangkok elites by establishing a rural power base. Mr. Abhisit and his supporters are backed by the traditional elites, who are discomfitted by real democracy — one man, one vote. They are now reaping the seeds of the extra-parliamentary maneuvers they practiced against Mr. Thaksin's successors.
The key question for Thailand is what the military will do. It intervened to overthrow Mr. Thaksin and wrote a new constitution that enshrined its power and that of the Bangkok elites. Yet the first elections after the new charter was passed brought Mr. Thaksin's supporters back to office. While the military had no stomach to intervene again, it stood aside when mass protests challenged a government for which it had little sympathy. After turning a blind eye to that round of civil disobedience, a crackdown against Mr. Thaksin's supporters would destroy whatever is left of its image and could permanently fracture the country. Yet, having launched 18 coups since the 1930s, the possibility of yet another is rising — especially as Mr. Thaksin makes nightly phone calls to his supporters from exile and urges them to rise up against the government in a "people's revolution."
But the events of last weekend have not only blighted the images of Mr. Abhisit and his country. The Pattaya summit was to mark ASEAN's (once-delayed) emergence as a reinvigorated institution. The charter agreed last year was to begin a new era for a group often derided as a "talk shop," more interested in process than substance. Coming on the heels of the Group of 20 summit, which, with four Asian nations, is another sign of the shift in global power to the East, the ASEAN meetings would have demonstrated the region's readiness to step up and take concrete action in the face of the global economic crisis.
Instead, the summit was canceled and its participants evacuated. At the meetings, China was to announce plans to create a $10 billion investment cooperation fund and offer $15 billion in credit to Southeast Asian nations. That proposal will proceed, but the symbolism of the lost opportunity — launching the fund at the ASEAN summit — is inescapable.
ASEAN insists on its policy of noninterference in the affairs of member states. That policy has kept the group from addressing insurgencies that plague the region, border conflicts, or the insult to decency that is the government of Myanmar. But never before has ASEAN's willingness to stay silent had such a direct impact on the organization itself. The reluctance to hold Thailand accountable for disregarding its own democratic principles has kept ASEAN from conducting its own business. The question now is whether Mr. Abhisit and ASEAN will learn from this experience. Business as usual no longer looks like an option.
The Japan Times - EDITORIAL: Humiliation in Thailand
Who should be more embarrassed after the cancellation of the ASEAN summit that was to have been held last weekend in Pattaya, Thailand: Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva or the Association of Southeast Asian Nations as whole? Mr. Abhisit is certainly in the hot seat after insisting that the summit can and should go ahead as planned (after a previous cancellation) and the spectacle accompanying his government's failure to protect the assembled grandees was broadcast to the world. But equally troubled is ASEAN, which has, as usual, turned a blind eye to the domestic travails of a member nation. As a result, it has been unable to conduct badly needed business. At a time when the world is being told that the future belongs to Asia, regional institutions are demonstrating their impotence.
It is tempting to call the chaos in Thailand karma. Mr. Abhisit came to power last December when his supporters capped months of protests against the previous government by occupying and closing Bangkok's two main airports. That forced the cancellation of the originally scheduled ASEAN summit. A court dissolved the then ruling party on charges of corruption, several lawmakers shifted their loyalties, and Mr. Abhisit was elected prime minister.
Supporters of the previous government vowed to reverse that turn of events and they have borrowed the tactics of their opponents. They took to the streets to block the government from functioning and aimed to disrupt the rescheduled ASEAN meeting. They overran the conference center where the summit was to be held, forcing Mr. Abhisit to declare a state of emergency and to evacuate the leaders who were present.
Having achieved that goal, they moved back to Bangkok. About 40,000 protesters gathered at Government House to set up roadblocks and barricades. Sunday night the prime minister declared a state of emergency and by Monday police were firing shots in the air to disburse the protesters; those actions had little effect. Government supporters have taken matters into their own hands; clashes have killed two people and put dozens of others in the hospital.
The protesters seek the resignation of Mr. Abhisit and the restoration of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, driven from office by a military coup in 2006. Officially, he was ousted on charges of corruption; in fact, his real crime was challenging the power of Bangkok elites by establishing a rural power base. Mr. Abhisit and his supporters are backed by the traditional elites, who are discomfitted by real democracy — one man, one vote. They are now reaping the seeds of the extra-parliamentary maneuvers they practiced against Mr. Thaksin's successors.
The key question for Thailand is what the military will do. It intervened to overthrow Mr. Thaksin and wrote a new constitution that enshrined its power and that of the Bangkok elites. Yet the first elections after the new charter was passed brought Mr. Thaksin's supporters back to office. While the military had no stomach to intervene again, it stood aside when mass protests challenged a government for which it had little sympathy. After turning a blind eye to that round of civil disobedience, a crackdown against Mr. Thaksin's supporters would destroy whatever is left of its image and could permanently fracture the country. Yet, having launched 18 coups since the 1930s, the possibility of yet another is rising — especially as Mr. Thaksin makes nightly phone calls to his supporters from exile and urges them to rise up against the government in a "people's revolution."
But the events of last weekend have not only blighted the images of Mr. Abhisit and his country. The Pattaya summit was to mark ASEAN's (once-delayed) emergence as a reinvigorated institution. The charter agreed last year was to begin a new era for a group often derided as a "talk shop," more interested in process than substance. Coming on the heels of the Group of 20 summit, which, with four Asian nations, is another sign of the shift in global power to the East, the ASEAN meetings would have demonstrated the region's readiness to step up and take concrete action in the face of the global economic crisis.
Instead, the summit was canceled and its participants evacuated. At the meetings, China was to announce plans to create a $10 billion investment cooperation fund and offer $15 billion in credit to Southeast Asian nations. That proposal will proceed, but the symbolism of the lost opportunity — launching the fund at the ASEAN summit — is inescapable.
ASEAN insists on its policy of noninterference in the affairs of member states. That policy has kept the group from addressing insurgencies that plague the region, border conflicts, or the insult to decency that is the government of Myanmar. But never before has ASEAN's willingness to stay silent had such a direct impact on the organization itself. The reluctance to hold Thailand accountable for disregarding its own democratic principles has kept ASEAN from conducting its own business. The question now is whether Mr. Abhisit and ASEAN will learn from this experience. Business as usual no longer looks like an option.
International Trade Union Confederation ITUC - Burma: Five FTUB Members Released
International Trade Union Confederation
ITUC - Burma: Five FTUB Members Released
Brussels, 15 April 2009: The ITUC welcomed the release of the five members of the Federation of Trade Unions of Burma (FTUB) who had been arrested on 1 April, after their return from the first FTUB Congress ever. It has now been confirmed that they returned safely to their homes in Rangoon on 10 April, albeit after having been warned to cease any dealings with the FTUB.
It was through international solidarity that the five were released. The ITUC therefore wants to acknowledge the rapid intervention, following its own request, of the Office of the ILO Director General, which resulted in this positive outcome. The FTUB extended its heartfelt thanks to the international labour movement as well, which had been very quick in mobilising itself and reacting to the arrests.
"We will continue to closely monitor the situation in the future through our colleagues in the FTUB", stated Guy Ryder.
ITUC - Burma: Five FTUB Members Released
Brussels, 15 April 2009: The ITUC welcomed the release of the five members of the Federation of Trade Unions of Burma (FTUB) who had been arrested on 1 April, after their return from the first FTUB Congress ever. It has now been confirmed that they returned safely to their homes in Rangoon on 10 April, albeit after having been warned to cease any dealings with the FTUB.
It was through international solidarity that the five were released. The ITUC therefore wants to acknowledge the rapid intervention, following its own request, of the Office of the ILO Director General, which resulted in this positive outcome. The FTUB extended its heartfelt thanks to the international labour movement as well, which had been very quick in mobilising itself and reacting to the arrests.
"We will continue to closely monitor the situation in the future through our colleagues in the FTUB", stated Guy Ryder.
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