Hope Now for Burmese People's Justice

The efforts by various pro-activist Burma groups, the United States and others have made it possible that the UN Security Council will hold an investigation into war crimes by the military Junta in Burma...
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August 8, 2009

Subject: Recent Developments Give Hope for Burmese People's Justice

Activists,

This action alert shows the promise of progressive developments helping bring justice to the Burmese people and their leader, Aung San Suu Kyi , through the actions of various groups , governments and the United Nations.  Although the verdict in her trial is set for August 11 with the outcome likely to be unfair and harsh, these legal possibilities for action in the Security Council of the United Nations seems to be fairly strong at this time.  I've included several websites with updated and historic information here.  Too, they have actions to be taken which we can contribute.  With continued effort and pressure within legal and non-violent measures and actions chances for success in freeing the thousands of political prisoners in Burma remains hopeful.

"They assert that with such overwhelming evidence from its own documents, the U.N. Security Council should establish a commission to investigate war crimes in Burma, then create a special tribunal to try those responsible for them. "
1. Activists Laud U.S. Congress for Passing Burma Sanctions,
    Ask President Obama to Organize UN Security Council Action
2. U.S. Senate's Webb to visit Myanmar this month
3. Burma Lawyers Council
4. Women’s Groups around the World Call on the UNSC to   Prosecute Senior General Than Shwe at the International Criminal Court
5. Putting Burma's Junta on Trial
arn specter, phila. arnpeace@yahoo.com
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Activists Laud U.S. Congress for Passing Burma Sanctions, Ask President Obama to Organize UN Security Council Action

U.S.  C A M P A I G N   F O R   B U R M A July 24th, 2009
Contact: Jeremy Woodrum, (202) 246-7924

Activists Laud U.S. Congress for Passing Burma Sanctions, Ask President Obama to Organize UN Security Council Action
United Kingdom and United States to Chair UN Body in August, September

(Washington, DC)  The U.S. Campaign for Burma today praised leaders in the U.S. Congress for passing a measure maintaining U.S. sanctions on the Southeast Asian country of Burma.  The bill passed in the Senate after 11:00 pm on Thursday, July 23rd.
The House of Representatives unanimously passed a similar bill on July 21st, 2009.
In an unprecedented move, 66 U.S. Senators co-sponsored the legislation, more than at any time since portions of the legislation originally passed in 2003. The bill was led by a bi-partisan group of senior senators, including Senate Minority leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Senate Intelligence Committee Chair Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Senate Majority Whip Richard Durbin (D-IL), and Senator John McCain.  At the same time, 11 of the 14 new U.S. Senators, who were elected in 2008, co-sponsored the measure. The legislation has now been sent to the White House for the signature of President Obama, who in May recently decided to extend a ban on U.S. investment in Burma.

“This strong, bi-partisan measure will help to deny hundreds of millions of dollars to Burma’s military regime,” said Aung Din, Executive Director of the U.S. Campaign for Burma, who served as a political prisoner in the country for over four years. The move comes as Burma’s military regime rejected overtures by U.S. Secretary of State Clinton appealing for the release of imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize recipient Aung San Suu Kyi in exchange for new U.S. investment in Burma, a practice ended by President Bill Clinton in 1997.  Referring to Clinton’s remarks, Burma’s state-run media said, “Demanding release of Daw Suu Kyi means showing reckless disregard for the law.”  Burma’s military regime completely controls the country’s judiciary and according to the United Nations there is no independent judiciary in Burma, but the regime has pretended it can not free Aung San Suu Kyi because she is on trial and it can not interfere in a legal case.
Aung San Suu Kyi is not just a human rights leader she led her political party the National League for Democracy to win 82% of the seats in parliament in Burma’s last election.  Its legitimacy in danger, the regime, led by Senior General Than Shwe, effectively annulled the results.
Meanwhile, the regime has continued to carry out vicious attacks against civilians in eastern Burma, forcing thousands to flee over the border into Thailand as refugees.  Since 1996, the regime has forced over a million people to flee their homes and destroyed 3,300 ethnic minority villages attacks on par with the violence in the Darfur region of Sudan.  The regime has raped ethnic women and girls, burned food supplies, laid landmines throughout the region, and recruited thousands of children into its military ranks in its attempts to wipe out any and all resistance to its rule. Observers point out that such attacks are likely to ramp-up even further in the coming months in northern Burma, as the Burmese regime seeks to disarm ethnic groups opposed to military domination.
In May, a group of five of the world’s leading judges and jurists including those with experience at the International Criminal Tribunal on Rwanda and Yugoslavia, urged the UN Security Council to initiate a commission of inquiry into crimes against humanity committed by Than Shwe’s regime.  Fifty-five members of the U.S. House of Representatives sent a letter to President Obama urging him to take action to stop these crimes. Members of Congress are also pressing the administration to organize an international arms embargo against Than Shwe’s regime.
“This move by the Congress makes it clear that there is overwhelming, bi-partisan support for stronger action on Burma,” added Aung Din.  “It’s time for the United States to lead an effort at the UN Security Council   which it will chair in September to seek action on crimes against humanity and an arms embargo.  The longer the U.S. waits, the more people will die in Burma.”

The United Kingdom chairs the UN Security Council in August. ##

Army recruits youths by providing money and food to families

Paletwa: Tribal youths are being recruited by the Burmese Army on the Indo-Burma border from the southern part of Chin State by providing opportunities including food to the youth’s families, said a local source.

The army stationed in border areas has been recruiting many tribal youths including Khami, Mro and Chin to serve in the Burmese Army by providing opportunities including food to the youth’s family members, the source said.

If a youth agrees to join the army, it gives 100,000 kyats cash to him as well as food supplies like rice, oil, and salt, chilly to the family of the youth, he said.

The recruitment is being done by some battalions including LB 35, LIB 289 and LIB 550 on the Indo-Burma border.

Three Khami youths from Prin Dai village in Paletwa Township joined the LB 34 last week after they were given such opportunities by the army. They were identified as Pro Aung, (21) son of late Kho Ret, Tun Lin (19) son of Owe Lan and Rarmu (20) son of U Kri Daung.

Village residents said that families have been facing famine since the beginning of the rainy season. So they are pushing the youths to join the army in order to get food.

Even though the army authorities are providing opportunities to the youths, many tribal youths are unwilling to join the army.

“We have bitter experiences regarding the Burmese Army. The army has used our people as porters, tortured and sometimes soldiers have raped women in the area for decades. Therefore many youths refused to join the army,” an elder said.

According to source close to the army, the number of youths joining the army has fallen in recent years. So the army authorities are trying to lure and recruit Burmese youths by providing many opportunities.

At present, some tribal families on the Indo-Burma border are facing a famine situation and there is shortage of rice. So the army authorities are taking advantage to recruit youths by supplying food to their family members.

hailand : 4,000 Burmese Migrants Arrested in June

Some 4,000 Burmese migrants were arrested by the Thai authorities in Thailand in June, according to a Thai Web site, Manager Online.

The Thai news and entertainment Web site said that the Burmese migrants were arrested in different regions by the Thai authorities, but the majority were arrested in Phop Phra District in Tak Province.


Burmese migrants sit on a Thai police van after arriving at Ranong provincial court to hear charge of illegal entry in Ranong province, southwestern Thailand on January.
(Photo: AP)

It is believed that many of those arrested were sent back to Burma, while others are being detained or were released.

A Thai police officer in Phop Phra told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday that many Burmese are coming to Thailand in the hope they can get new work permits, because a fresh registration of migrants in Thailand begins in early July.

The Thai government announced in June that the country needed some two million foreign workers for the multitude of jobs available, including those jobs known as the “3 Ds”—dirty, dangerous or degrading—which most Thai workers refuse.

There are up to five million Burmese migrants living and working in Thailand, says the Migrant Assistance Program (MAP) in Chiang Mai. However, only 500,000 registered at the Thai Ministry of Labor last year.

The Thai government is currently offering new one-year work permits to those who registered last year.

However, Jackie Pollock, a founding member of MAP, said that some migrants cannot afford to pay the 3,800 baht (US $112) fee for registration because they don’t have jobs due to the economic crisis in Thailand.

Moe Swe, the head of the Yaung Chi Oo Workers Association in Mae Sot in Tak Province, said that many of the Burmese migrants in Mae Sot couldn’t afford to pay the registration fees due to poor wages.

Burmese workers generally get paid about 1,500 baht ($44) per month working at a factory in Mae Sot, he said.

Thailand has recently tightened its border security to prevent an influx of Burmese migrants into the county. Meanwhile, in Chiang Mai, police have set up nighttime roadblocks as part of an ongoing campaign to crack down on Burmese migrants.

Meanwhile, the Network of Action for Migrants in Malaysia and MAP Foundation in Thailand have called on the Malaysian and Thai governments to protect the rights of Burmese migrants and ensure that migrants can exercise their labor, social, cultural, economic and political rights.In a joint statement released last week, the groups called for a halt to unjust, discriminatory and unconstitutional policies on migrants.

A report released by the US State Department in June claimed that Thailand had not complied with international labor laws and that Thai authorities frequently abused migrants’ rights.

Burmese women’s groups pressured to cancel protest

by Nem Davies


New Delhi (Mizzima) - Two Burmese women’s organizations in the Indo-Burmese border town of Moreh were forced to cancel a planned protest rally to be held on Friday after authorities pressured the officer who had issued permission for the rally to cancel the authorization.

The Kuki Women’s Human Rights Organisation (KWHRO) and the Women’s League of Burma (WLB) sought permission from the Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) of Tengnoupal Subdivision of Moreh in India’s northeastern state of Manipur, bordering Burma, to hold a protest rally demanding the release of Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi on her 64th birthday on June 19.

Though the ADC gave permission, the women’s leaders said they were later persuaded by the ADC to cancel the plan.

“We already received permission on June 16. But this morning we were requested to cancel the plan,” Ngangai Haokip, a presidium board member of WLB told Mizzima.

She said the reasons for the request to cancel the plan were not officially declared, though the ADC had been pressured by his superiors to rescind the permission.

“The ADC was also pressured to ensure that we publish the cancellation of the program in the newspaper,” Ngangai added.

Earlier, the KWHRO, an ethnic Kuki women’s group working to promote the rights of women in Burma, and WLB, an umbrella Burmese women’s organization, planned to march through Moreh in protest against the continued detention of Burmese Nobel Peace Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and the current trial against her.

The program was planned as part of the global action for commemoration of the detained Burmese pro-democracy leader’s 64th birthday, on June 19. On Friday, Burmese activists and supporters across the world are set to hold prayer meetings, protest rallies, solidarity concerts and speeches in honor and solidarity with the Burmese democracy icon.

But Ngangai said the program in Moreh had been rescheduled to a simple and small cake-cutting ceremony to mark the occasion

Pressure from the ADC on the women’s groups to cancel their program came after the Imphal-based online Hueiyen News Service published a critical article on June 17 questioning the authority of the ADC to grant permission to protest to foreign organizations.

The article, entitled “How can an ADC permit foreigners to hold protest rally at Moreh?”, points out that allowing Burmese activists to protest in Moreh could provoke Burma’s military junta and eventually jeopardize diplomatic ties between India and Burma.

“With Moreh, being a town bordering Myanmar [Burma], any activity such as an open protest rally held there aimed at criticizing the ruling junta in Myanmar [Burma] is bound to certainly provoke the junta,” the article argued.

While it is still unknown who pressured the ADC to alter the original ruling, Ngangai speculated, “Now the ADC is worrying for his life and position after having originally given permission.”

Meanwhile, observers in Moreh conjectured pressure by Manipuri militants on the behest of the Burmese military could be behind the reversal of fortunes, as several Manipuri armed groups, including the United National Liberation Front (UNLF), reportedly benefit from close relationships with the Burmese military, even maintaining bases on Burmese soil.

Burmese Army extorts money from vehicle owner

June 5 : The Burmese Army has been extorting money from vehicle owners in Falam town and other parts of the township including Tibil village. This has come in the way of villagers selling their chilies in Mizoram.

Vehicle owners are reluctant to operate their service, affecting the sale of the local produce - chilies.

According to sources the authorities of the Burmese Army’s LIB 268 based in Tibual collect between Kyat 30,000 to 50,000 per service vehicle plying between Falam town, Chin state to the Tibil border area of Mizoram state in India. Vehicle owners are reluctant to operate their service, affecting the sale of the local produce -- chilies.

"Traders hire a vehicle for Kyat 4 lakhs a trip. And the army collects Kyat 50,000 per vehicle.  The vehicle driver has to pay Kyat 30,000 and the handyman has to pay Kyat 10,500. Besides the owners have expenses like vehicle tax, vehicle maintenance and diesel. We cannot make much profit so we do not want to ply our vehicles," said a vehicle owner.

Most people in these 50 villages grow chili as their source of income and they sell it to Mizoram state, India during summer. They can produce 5 lakhs tins of chili annually.

"With the rainy season approaching we can't hire any vehicle. Our chilies are getting moist. It is our source of income and we are totally dependent on it. After selling chilies we buy rice and can pay children's school fees," said a local.

Similarly, the LIB 266 based in Vuangtu and Lungler also collect Kyat 500 per tin of chili produced in Than Tlang township, Chin state.

"We have been carrying chilies to Mizoram on horseback. The military collects Kyat 500 per tin of chili on the way. We do not get permission to go without paying what they demand," said a local farmer.

Burmese army returns child soldiers

(DVB)–The Burmese army has reportedly handed eight child soldiers back to their families in a ceremony in Rangoon attended by international monitoring bodies such as UNICEF and Save the Children.

The ceremony, reported in the state-run New Light of Myanmar newspaper, was conducted by the army-run Work Committee for Prevention against Recruitment of Minors, whose stated aim is to find and demobilise child soldiers in the military.

“We think this is a positive step by the army, and it was the first time we were invited to such an event,” said a spokesperson from UNICEF in Burma, who have been monitoring use of child soldiers in the country.

In 2002, Human Rights Watch named Burma’s ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) as the world’s leading recruiter of child soldiers.

The problem however is not confined to the government, with several of the armed opposition groups, including the Karen National Union, believed to also recruit child soldiers.

Use of child soldiers contravenes even Burmese domestic law, and has been cited by former senior legal adviser to the International Criminal Court (ICC), Morten Bergsmo, as a reason for bringing Burma’s ruling general, Than Shwe, to trial at the ICC.

Similarly, a report released last month by the Harvard Law School said that the situation for Burma’s child soldiers warranted significant attention from the UN Security Council.

“I think it [the ceremony] is about pretending that they’re actually doing something rather than really taking all the reforms that need to be taken,” said David Mathieson, Burma analyst at Human Rights Watch.

“If they’re releasing eight children, then great for those eight children, but that’s not all of them and a lot more needs to be done before the problem goes away,” he said, adding that the SPDC were looking for “congratulation” on the issue.

“But when it comes to the rights of the child you should never get congratulations for something like that because it never should have happened in the first place,” he said.

Reporting by Francis Wade

Burmese Army on High Alert After Unidentified Reconnaissance Plane Spotted

Buthidaung (Narinjara), Jun 2 : The Burmese army in the Buthidaung cantonment has been put on high alert after an unidentified reconnaissance plane was spotted taking photos of military bases in the area last week, said a source close to the army.

The source said, "An unidentified reconnaissance plane flew over Buthidaung last week secretly snapping photos but the authorities knew a plane intruded into Burma's airspace on that day."

After the incident took place, high army authorities put security forces in the area on high alert.

The town of Buthidaung, 80 miles north of Sittwe, is the largest military base in western Burma, with at least 15 army battalions, including an artillery battalion, stationed there. A brigade, called Sakakha 15 in Burmese, and the military operation planning bureau are also stationed in the area.

The source reported that a military official said, "The Burmese army officials suspect the reconnaissance plane was from the US Air Force, but have not officially disclosed that this happened."

The Burmese military authorities in the area are anxious about the unidentified plan intruding into their territory.

It has also been learned that Kha Kha Kyi, the defense bureau in Burma's new capital Naypyidaw, also knew of the incident and some high technical officials from the air defense force have been sent to Buthidaung to investigate the incident.

Forced recruitment of tribal youths into Burmese Army

Dhaka: Officers have forcibly recruited Khami tribal youths, especially from Pelatwa and Buthidaung Township on the western Burma border to serve in the Burmese Army, said Aung Soe a Khami youth in the area.

“Army officers from LIB 55 and 289 have recruited our youths in the border area with the help of some Khami leaders who are supporters of the Burmese Army. Some Khami youths have joined the army while some have fled from the areas to avoid recruitment,” Aung said.

Khami is an ethnic nationality of Burma and most Khami people live in Arakan state and southern Chin State.

“Most of our youths are unable to speak Burmese language fluently but yet the army officials recruited them. The Burmese Army needs more youths to serve in the armed forces, so they have recruited young men no matter who they are,” Aung said.

Army officials have to provide some assistance like rice and money to the family after recruiting youths from the families.

Aung Said, “Two bags of rice and 10,000 Kyats have been given by army officials to the families whose youth joined the Burmese Army.”

The Burmese Army has recently registered a decrease in the number of youths joining in two western provinces after many youths in Arakan and Chin went looking for jobs in Thailand and Malaysia illegally.

“Most of our youths were engaged in mountain cultivation with the family before but they are now leaving for neighbouring countries like Thailand, Malaysia and India as well as Bangladesh looking for jobs. There are good jobs for our young people,” Aung said.

The Burmese junta has disallowed mountain cultivation in the western parts of Burma to prevent deforestation. Because of this many Khami young people became jobless and later left for neighbouring countries. The remaining youths in the area have been forced to join the army.

The recruitment of Khami youths started this year and local army officials are carrying out the plan in accordance with the instructions of senior Burmese Army officials from the western command based in Ann.

Burmese Army delegates in Kolkata

New Delhi – A Burmese Army delegation led by Brig Gen Tin Maung Ohn, Deputy Commander of the Northwest Military Command, arrived in Kolkata, West Bengal on Wednesday on a goodwill visit.

The delegates’ Kolkata leg of the visit came after it attended the 36th bi-annual Indo-Burma border meeting held on May 26, at the Assam Rifles headquarters in Imphal, capital of Manipur state in northeast India.

While details of the Kolkata visit are still unknown, a military source in the city said, the Burmese team has arrived on a good will visit and will meet several Indian Army officials.

Brig-Gen Tin Maung Ohn heading a 15-member delegation met the 17 member team led by Assam Rifle’s Maj Gen AK Choudhury during the 36th bi-annual Indo-Burmese liaison meeting in Imphal.

India and Burma in recent years have stepped up bilateral relations including military cooperation and have been regularly holding meetings between the defence establishments of the two countries.

An Indian journalist, who has long covered Indo-Burma relations, said both Indian and Burmese military delegates have discussed a final strategy to crackdown on northeast rebel groups, several of which are reportedly operating from Burmese soil.

“They have come to finalize the plans for a counter insurgency operation in Sagaing Division,” the journalist told Mizzima, referring to the North-western division in Burma, bordering India’s Nagaland and Manipur states.

A similar meeting was also held in Nagaland in April 2008. The meeting focused on issues related to cross-border insurgency, arms smuggling and border management.

During his last visit, Brig Gen. Tin Maung Ohn and his team also travelled to Kolkata, and met Lt. Gen. V.K Singh, the General Officer Commanding-in- Chief of the Eastern Command and Lt. Gen. P.K. Goel, the Chief of Staff of the Eastern Command.

Burmese Citizens are Angry, but Silent

By KYAW ZWA MOE

The trial of Aung San Suu Kyi has gripped the hearts of the Burmese people because they respect and love her. Rationally, however, they know they can have little affect on the junta’s show trial now unfolding in Insein Prison.

A prominent writer in Rangoon summed it up in a phone conversation with The Irrawaddy on Wednesday: “The trial has made people feel helpless and even more hopeless.”

There are three factors that account for the lack of even modest public protests by ordinary citizens and political activists—economic hardship, harsh military oppression and lack of opposition leadership.

The people know the trial of the pro-democracy leader is rigged, and that she will soon be sentenced to up to five years in prison. They’re angry, but their anger is suppressed, boiling but contained—they can’t afford to let it overcome their daily struggle to survive and provide for their families.

Win Tin, a prominent member of Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD), the main opposition party, said: “People are angry, but they are more concerned with their daily living.”

There’s no doubt that many people are unwilling to openly show their support for Suu Kyi because of the junta’s well-known willingness to use violence against citizens, which creates real, understandable fear. Images of the bloody crackdown on the monk-led protests in 2007 are still fresh in people’s minds.

“The trial has made people harbor more hatred towards the generals than ever,” the writer said, speaking on condition of anonymity. “On the other hand, they are more frightened.”

For Burma, the political tide turned on May 14 when Suu Kyi was transferred from her home to Insein Prison and charged with violating the terms of her house arrest after an eccentric American intruder swam across Inya Lake and illegally entered her compound, where he remained for two days.

A lack of leadership within the political opposition has been a topic of concern. About 2,100 political prisoners, including many potential leaders, are in jail.

Sein Win, an outspoken and well-known Rangoon journalist, told The Irrawaddy on Wednesday, “The leading political party is weak.”

Even so, the ailing, respected journalist said he still believes in the people: “Our people are as courageous as ever since the era of the independence struggle,” in the early 20th Century.

On Wednesday, the NLD held its 19th anniversary of the election in which it won by a landslide, only to see the junta not honor the results, and it issued a strong statement calling for the release of its leader, Suu Kyi.

Since the trial began last week, the junta has beefed up security around Insein Prison and infiltrated members of Sawn Arr Shin, a junta-backed paramilitary group, among Suu Kyi’s supporters, who maintain a vigil outside the gates.

One supporter at the prison said, “They provoke us. One of them deliberately uttered a provocative remark: “‘Why are you guys coming to see the wife of a kalar?’” referring to Suu Kyi’s marriage to a British citizen. In Burmese, kalar is a vulgar term that refers to an Indian and Western people. The supporter said, “We have to hold back our anger.”

While anger is suppressed inside the country, the uproar within the international community is louder than ever.

“It is time for the Burmese government to drop all charges against Aung San Suu Kyi and unconditionally release her and her fellow political prisoners,” US President Barack Obama said on Tuesday. “Aung San Suu Kyi has represented profound patriotism, sacrifice and the vision of a democratic and prosperous Burma.”

The international community, including the European Union and the United Nations Security Council, has all expressed their concerns about Suu Kyi’s trial. Even members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations have been more outspoken than ever against the junta.

However, seasoned observers are skeptical that the international community will take further steps beyond expressing concern. Again, the ruling generals are experts at gauging international reaction and moving ahead with disdain, ever tightening their grip on power while nullifying the moves of the opposition.

The international community’s competing policies of economic sanctions versus constructive engagement have both had little impact on the junta’s hold on power or influenced its movement toward democratic reconciliation.

Both critics and dissents are also saddened that mounting pressure from the international community will likely have no affect on the trial’s verdict or sentence. After attending the trial last week, British Ambassador to Burma Mark Canning summed it up, “I think this is a story where the conclusion is already scripted. I don’t have confidence in the outcome.”

What wasn’t scripted was the spontaneous sign of respect by international diplomats last week and on Tuesday, who rose to their feet when Suu Kyi walked into the courtroom. The gesture spoke louder than words.

Protest And Hunger Strike Demanding Aung San Suu Kyi’s Release

By Van Biak Thang
Chinland Guardian
19 May, 2009

More than 200 people yesterday joined a 'heated-up' demonstration in front of Burmese Embassy in London, as part of a global day of action for Aung San Suu Kyi, whose 'illegal' trial has drawn into a second day in Rangoon's notorious Insein Prison after being charged with breaching security laws following an intrusion by the American swimmer into her lakeside residence.

The protesters, angered by the brutal and inhumane behaviours of SPDC, demanded the immediate release of Burma's pro-democracy leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi along with other political prisoners, shouting slogans including 'Free innocent Aung San Suu Kyi, right now'.

Anna Roberts, Director of Burma Campaign UK, told Chinland Guardian: “Today, there has been a fantastic turnout demonstrating in front of the Burmese Embassy in London. It shows that how angry people are at what the regime has done, arresting Aung San Suu Kyi on trumped-up charges and trying to keep her in detention."

"Clearly, the regime wants to make sure that Aung San Suu Kyi and all voices that represent are squashed before their sham election in 2010 next year. What was very clear from the demonstration today is that people want to see the international communities take actions and to see the United Nations, the EU and Burma's neighbours translate what they have said 'they are concerned about Aung San Suu Kyi' into actions.”

London-based Burmese Embassy was closed on the day with a placard reading ‘Today, Embassy is temporarily closed. Sorry for the inconvenience’. The London Police had to block the street as it was filled up with protesters including mothers with babies.

Benedict Rogers, East Asia Team Leader of Christian Solidarity Worldwide UK, told Chinland Guardian: "Today is a very important demonstration and an important expression of outrage, anger, and disgust at the decision by the regime to put Aung San Suu Kyi in Insein prison and to come up with full charges. And I think all of us here are expressing that outrage. We need to see Daw Aung San Suu Kyi as representative of the sufferings in the whole of Burma and it is absolutely right that we focus on her plights today and in the immediate future because her situation is very grave and dangerous and she is such an important person for all of Burma but we also need to remember the sufferings of the peoples of Burma. And until all the people of Burma can be free, we will not stay silent."

"We hope that the leaders of this world - of the UN, of the EU, of China and ASEAN - will also hear their consciences and will stop working with this regime and stop tolerating what they are doing, and actually take action to free Aung San Suu Kyi and to bring an end to the suffering of the people of Burma," continued Ben Rogers, highlighting in his message the famous speech of Martin Luther King saying ‘stand up for truth, righteousness and justice’.

Other key speakers included representatives from National League for Democracy (Liberated Area, UK), Women of Burma UK, Burma Muslin Association, Karen National Union, Kachin National Organisation, Chin Community, Arakan Rohingya National Organisation, Wai Hnin Pwint Thon (daughter of political prisoner Mya Aye), Burma Democratic Concern, human rights activists and other Burmese organisations.

Miss Dim Lian, on behalf of the Chin in the UK, told the protesters: "The Chin people are also deeply saddened by the awakening of this horrendous news. Shocking as it is, but I hope this may not come to you all as a surprise, as we are immune to the Burmese authority's inhumane and relentless behaviours.”

“Burma is a country known for its brutal regime's atrocities against its own people mainly on three accounts: ethnicity, politics and religion. The charge against Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is the most visible manifestation of the regime's atrocity and brutality. She is a woman who sacrifices her freedom for the freedom of Burmese people. We, the Chin people, pray that God will sustain her, comfort her and keep her in peace in this most difficult time,” she added.

After the demonstration, a group of Burmese protesters started a 24-hour hunger strike to show their solidarity with Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners.

A multi-faith prayer service, where Buddhists, Muslims, Christians and non-believers gathered in unity, was last Sunday held at a Buddhist monastery in Colindale, North London. A Chin pastor, who wants to remain unnamed, attended the service, representing the Chin and Burmese Christians in the UK.

The global day of action for Aung San Suu Kyi took place in more than 20 cities around the world, calling on world’s leaders and the international communities to take action on Burma and to free Aung San Suu Kyi, whose terms of detention is officially expiring late this month.

Bravery Fills Secret Burmese Dispatches

Burma VJ (2008)

By A. O. SCOTT

(NYT) -Many of the images in “Burma VJ: Reporting From a Closed Country” are shaky and blurred, captured with video cameras small enough to be quickly concealed in circumstances of danger and chaos. The lack of cinematic polish emphasizes the urgency of these pictures and the bravery of the anonymous camera operators — “VJ” stands for “video journalists” — who risked their safety, their freedom and their lives to record popular protests against the military government of Myanmar and the regime’s brutal response.

Directed by Anders Ostergaard, a Danish filmmaker, this documentary is largely a collage of those clandestine videos, recorded in August and September 2007 and narrated by a Burmese pro-democracy activist known as Joshua, whose face and identity are shrouded for his own protection. Joshua and his colleagues are haunted by memories of the early 1990s, when the military junta known as Slorc (an acronym for the State Law and Order Restoration Council) responded to its electoral defeat by Aung San Suu Kyi by cracking down ruthlessly on the citizens of the country that nearly everyone in this film pointedly calls Burma, rather than the new name imposed on it by Slorc.

As public defiance of the regime grows through the late summer of 2007, Joshua hopes the result will be different. He is part of the Democratic Voice of Burma, a network of journalists who discreetly gathered information about Burmese life by interviewing ordinary people and recording their everyday activities. When small, apparently spontaneous demonstrations begin in the capital, the group’s cameras are there to witness the events, and as video circulates at home and abroad, the gatherings grow bigger and bolder.

Somewhat reluctantly, Joshua flees to Thailand, where, via cellphone and Internet, he receives firsthand reports and raw footage of a rapidly escalating movement. Myanmar’s normally quiescent Buddhist monks emerge as the symbolic and strategic linchpin of anti-government activity, and images of their defiance spread around the world in spite of the government’s ban on foreign journalists.

“Burma VJ” is a rich, thought-provoking film not only because of the story it tells, which is by turns inspiring and devastatingly sad, but also because of the perspective it offers on the role that new communications technologies can play in political change. The viral videos of the Democratic Voice of Burma are like the hidden printing presses of earlier underground revolutionary movements, except that the portability of the cameras and the ease of Web and satellite-based distribution make them harder to suppress.

But not impossible. While much of the film offers the stirring drama of a population shaking off passivity and fear and standing up to tyranny, the denouement shows that old-fashioned police-state repression can still overpower a rebellion fueled by new media. The cameras are on hand to record the eventual crackdown in horrific detail — there is something indelibly and uniquely appalling about the sight of soldiers firing on crowds of their fellow citizens — but they cannot alter the terrible course of events. And so the narrative of “Burma VJ” takes on a somber, elegiac cast, as the potential for freedom flares up and is, in short order, snuffed out.

The story is not over, of course, as a glance at recent headlines suggests. The cruelty and paranoia of the Myanmar government may yet be overcome by the patience and resilience of people like the brave and anonymous monks, students and office workers glimpsed in “Burma VJ.” But while the film refuses despair, it also declines to traffic in hopes that may prove, once again, illusory. Instead it tries, with a fascinating mixture of directness and sophistication, to tell the truth.

BURMA VJ

Reporting From a Closed Country

Opens on Wednesday in

Manhattan.

Directed by Anders Ostergaard; written by Mr. Ostergaard and Jan Krogsgaard; directors of photography, Simon Plum and Burmese video journalists; edited by Janus Billeskov Jansen and Thomas Papapetros; music by Conny Malmqvist; produced by Lise Lense-Moller; released by Oscilloscope Laboratories and HBO Documentary Films. At Film Forum, 209 West Houston Street, west of Avenue of the Americas, South Village. In English and Burmese, with English subtitles. Running time: 1 hour 25 minutes. This film is not rated.

Two Burmese Die in Malaysian Detention Center

By WAI MOE


KUALA LUMPUR — Two Burmese migrant workers who were detained at an immigration detention center in Malaysia have died of leptospirosi, an ailment caused by unhealthy drinking water, sources said.

According to the Burma Worker Rights Protection Committee, two migrant workers died in Bukit Mertajam at Bukit Mertajam Hospital following their detention in Juru Immigration Detention Center in Pulau Pinang Province.

“We heard that a second Burmese from the immigration camp died on Monday. On May 12, another Burmese died of the same cause,” said Ye Min Tun, the secretary of the group. The names of the dead were not available.

“There is no proper drinking water system for detained foreigners,” said Ye Min Tun.
“There is no health care for detainees.”

Malaysian health officials told local newspapers that about 25 people from the immigration camp have contracted leptospirosi and are being treated now. One man is in critical condition.

Leptospirosis is commonly transmitted by allowing water that has been contaminated by animal urine to come into contact with unhealed cuts or abrasions on the skin, eyes or mucous membranes. It is a relatively rare bacterial infection in humans, health experts said.

“Out of the 23 cases under treatment as of yesterday, one has died. Three were discharged, leaving 19 cases still under treatment now,” said Director-General of Health Tan Sri Dr Mohd Ismail Merican, in a statement.

Former inmates said that water storage facilities in the detention camp are near toilet areas. There are three buildings in the camp. An estimated 700 foreigners, held by immigration authorities for various offenses, are detained there.

Earlier this year, two Burmese migrant workers died at a detention center. Two men, indentified as Ko Paul and Kyaw Swa, died in January 2008, sources said. No cause of death was given.

“After they tighten the rules in the centers, immigration officials and RELA [a government-backed group that focuses on illegal immigration] harassed detainees at the center,” said a former detainee who spoke on condition of anonymity.

He said that during searches detainees are sometimes beaten. RELA is a mass group that is used to suppress illegal migrant workers in Malaysia. Human rights groups say RELA members are not trained properly as professionals. In 2005, authorities granted RELA the right to help oversee immigration detention centers and arrest illegal migrants.
In an effort to escape economic hardship at home, millions of Burmese migrant workers are in neighboring countries in Southeast Asia, particularly Malaysia and Thailand.

Malaysia is home to an estimated 500,000 Burmese migrant workers, illegally or legally, while Thailand hosts at least 2.5 million migrant workers from Burma.

“Malaysia is not a good place for foreigner migrants, particularly migrant workers,” said Latheefa Koya, a well-know Malaysian human rights lawyer. Human rights standards for migrant workers are low, she said, and there is also a high level of xenophobia, which compounds the problem.

Malaysia needs to reform its migrant worker laws, which now allow systematic abuse of migrant workers, she said.

This story was written under a 2009 Southeast Asian Press Alliance Fellowship

Three Village Leaders Abducted by Armed Group

Paletwa (Narinjara): Three village leaders, including two village chairmen, were abducted by an unidentified armed group on the western Burmese border on 24 April, after the group entered Pri Zaw Village on the border to extort money, said a relative of one of the victims.

He said, "I came to the Bangladesh border to enquire about their condition but I have not heard anything about them. An eleven-member group armed with guns abducted the men on the night of 24 April and brought them to the border area near Bangladesh."

The victims have been identified as U Sein Aung, chairman of Pri Zaw Village, U Wai Ni Kyaw, chairman of Mraung Village, and U Tun Aung, a village leader from Mraung Village in Paletwa Township in Chin State.

"The armed group took two chickens and two baskets of rice from our village. Afterward, our chairman was abducted and taken from the village," he said.

According to a border source, most of the villages know the armed group that abducted the three men, but no has revealed its identity for fear of retaliation.

"We do not know why the armed group abducted our chairman and we do not know the organization's name. We have to enquire about the abduction and later may be able to reveal the organization's name," the relative said.

On the western Burmese border, especially in Paletwa Township, there are two or three insurgent groups that sometimes patrol the area in order to ambush SPDC soldiers in the area.

According to a local villager source, the villagers in the area live in a very risky position because both the insurgent groups and the Burmese army abduct and kill villagers whenever they are unable to meet their demands for money, food, or information.

In addition the recent abduction, an elder monk was assassinated by unknown assailants in upper Sami Village in Paletwa Township last week.

Migrants sent back to Burma

Mae Sot - Scores of illegal Burmese immigrants were crammed into trucks and expelled from this city in Thailand this morning, just five kilometers from the Burmese border.

The police arbitrarily searched the busy market quarter of the town in the morning demanding to see identification and arresting those without papers.

An itinerant worker, whose mother was sent back to the border and sent home via the Thai-Burma Friendship Bridge, said: “It doesn’t matter, I’ll go meet her at the bridge in the morning and she can come home.”

His boss concurred: “No problem, very easy for her to come back.”

11 Army Battalions Deployed to Construct Border Fence

Maungdaw, Dec 20 : At least eleven Burmese army battalions have been deployed along the Burmese border near Bangladesh to erect barbed-wire fences, said a source close to the army. The source said that previously there were seven battalions deployed along the border from Maungdaw Township in Arakan to Paletwa in southern Chin State, a distance of 200 kilometers. Another four battalions, three from Buthidaung Township and one from Rathidaung Township, have been sent to the border recently. The battalions from Buthidaung were identified as Light Infantry Battalions 535, 564, and 353, while the fourth battalion from Rathidaung Township is LIB 536. The seven battalions already stationed along the border are Light Battalions 55 and 20, and Light Infantry Battalions 289, 344, 234, 538, and 263. Burmese military authorities have also deployed many police and riot police at many outposts along the border to work with the army on the border fence construction. The border situation between Bangladesh and Burma has been increasingly tense with the multiple army battalions being sent to reinforce troops along the border in Burma. Bangladesh border forces are closely watching the situation after Burma began construction on the fence. According to a Bangladesh source, one naval ship equipped with highly sophisticated equipment, including radar covering 15 nautical miles, has been deployed in the Bay of Bengal near Burmese waters.

Funding Death and Tyranny

Saturday, March 7, 2009
By Carlos(Buffalohair)Guevara

No incident spells out Than Shwe’s greed better than Cyclone Nargis. Though it is becoming popular to say sanctions have not worked in Burmese politics one must realize sanctions have not been fully implemented. With a host of major corporations contributing massive amounts of money to the criminal regime in spite of sanctions, it is clear sanctions were not given an opportunity to work. Much of the aid donated for Cyclone Nargis was sold into the black market like so much other aid the country received over the years. That is common knowledge and it is surprising so many people who’ve traveled into Burma never made that connection.

Insiders within Burma repeatedly said that people who voted against the Constitutional Referendum or were pro democracy received no aid at all in spite of world relief efforts. Religious persecution was rampant in the aftermath as well as the continual killing of the Karen and other tribal people. Than Shwe’s continued crimes against humanity has gone unabated even during the cyclone. People who volunteered to bury the dead were arrested and tortured as bodies were left to rot in waterways, trees and every where else. Tribal people were left to fend for themselves while he sold food stuffs and building supplies on the black market. It was also reveled that outside observers were taken to photo-ops and strategically placed relief efforts to “show” how much Than Shwe cared for his people. It was all a sham since he failed to show the observers the actual suffering that was caused by not only Cyclone Nargis but from his ambivalence and murderous death squads.

The cyclone yielded Than Shwe an abundance of orphaned children to use as slaves and child soldiers. The bounty that was given to Burma from a concerned world was used to complete his jungle capital (Naypyidaw) as well as his cyber city Yadanabon. Weapons and hard cash was also the end product of cyclone aid which went into the pockets of his inner circle. Giving Than Shwe and his criminal regime more aid and money would only fill the coffers of his elaborate money laundering machine and not the people it was intended for. The black market has always been Than Shwe’s choice when it came to aid of any kind and the suffering people continually were left to fend for themselves.

Aid to this criminal regime would have horrific consequences for the civilian population his military is murdering at this juncture. He would spend it on more advanced military equipment so he can resupply his killing machine. Rockets and more land mines would be purchased as well as bullets and more military hardware. Of course his jungle capital and his cyber city would benefit from such a bounty, that is a given. And to think the Burmese people looked to the outside world for help when this criminal mad man decided to ignore the election results. Now the people of Burma fear the outside world will fund their continued systematic demise as the world turns a deaf ear on their cries for democracy. There is no excuse for the stupidity of world leaders and their economic development minions who purported the advantages of an illegal election. Or were they in the deep pockets of Than Shwe all along?

Your Devil’s Advocate