Tuesday, September 30, 2008

STUDENTS STAGE PROTEST IN SITTWE (BURMA)


This opposition movement arisen from the region filled with opposition spirit and having high anti-government attitude, scared the authority. "The school ferry followed the protesting students and met them at Bandoola junction, about 8 miles from their college, but the students refused to board the ferry and came back to their homes on foot", one of the demonstrators said. This is the exam period and the students staged demonstration in protest of school authority's harsh treatment to them in dealing with them, he said.Sittwe Technical College responded by phone, “Nothing happened, everything is over and OK", when contacted by Mizzima. About 150 monks launched silent protest of marching in procession in Sittwe on Saturday morning marking the first anniversary of Saffron Revolution. This demonstration erupted amid the tight security imposed in all major cities in Burma to prevent the fresh monks-led demonstration again.


Burmese regime's barking dog urges lifting 'counter-productive' sanctions

"These sanctions are unwarranted," he told the UN General Assembly, referring to "unilateral" sanctions imposed by the European Union and the United States.
The sanctions were imposed on Myanmar's military regime for its refusal to release political prisoners, including democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, end repression of minority groups and start genuine national reconciliation.
"They are not only unfair but immoral. They are counter-productive and deprive the countries of their right to development," Nyan Win said.
He also pointed out that Myanmar has "abundant land and natural resources to be able to make a meaningful contribution to energy and food security of our country and beyond."
"In order for us to fulfill our potential we need unfettered access to markets. We need modern technology. We need investment," the Myanmar minister added. "The sooner the unjust sanctions are revoked and the barriers removed, the sooner will the country be in a position to become the rice bowl of the region and a reliable source of energy."
Last July, US President George W. Bush renewed a ban on imports from Myanmar and also signed a new law that aims to keep Myanmar's gems from entering US markets via third-party countries.
In parallel, the US Treasury Department slapped financial sanctions on 10 companies owned or controlled by the Myanmar government or government officials, including companies involved in the gem trade.
The European Union also tightened its own sanctions against Myanmar in May, including an embargo on the import of timber, gems and metals from Myanmar.
The 27-nation bloc also extended the list of Myanmar leaders and their relatives subject to a travel ban and assets freeze.

Burma’s State Media Still Mum on Tainted Milk Powder

“Most families are still using the cheap Chinese-made unsafe milk powder,” a Rangoon resident said. “The government hasn’t publicized to avoid use of China-imported milk powder in state-run newspapers.”She said the general public has received no clear information from state-run media about tainted baby milk formula. The semi-official Myanmar Times weekly newspaper earlier published a story that said all imported dairy products from China had been banned, but failed to cite the reason. There was no mention of specific brands.

The newspaper reported on Monday that the Burmese Commerce Minister said it barred entry of all dairy products made in China since Tuesday last week.
The health ministry is testing samples of dairy products, especially from China, according to Kyaw Myint, a health ministry official, the newspaper reported.
According to the report, Burmese military government said it will destroy 16 tons of powdered milk made by one of the 22 Chinese dairy companies that produced melamine-tainted products. The milk was confiscated in Rangoon last week.
However, the Chinese brands of Yashili, Suncare and Red Cow milk powder are popular in Burma and are still selling at local markets in Rangoon, said a sales manager at a Rangoon commodity company.
“I found prohibited milk powder at local markets,” he said. “Most people can’t afford Thai imported milk powder, so they buy the [Chinese] milk powder because it is cheaper than other imported milk powder.”
“A 500-gram box of Chinese-made Red Cow is 800 kyat (US $0.64). Thai-made milk powder is four times more,” he said.
He said some Rangoon stores, including City Mart stores and Ocean Supercenter, have informed customers that they are not selling Chinese-made milk powder.
Meanwhile, the privately owned weekly Voice Journal published on Monday reported that some Rangoon supermarkets and local markets are still selling Chinese-made milk powder.
The Sanlu Group, based in Shijiazhuang, one of China’s best-known dairy product companies recalled 700 tonnes of its formula on September 12 after the product was linked to the tainted milk scandal, which so far has made 53,000 Chinese children ill and caused the death of at least four babies.
Melamine can cause kidney stones and other complications. An ingredient in plastics and fertilizers, the chemical has been banned in foods, but was introduced by dairy suppliers in China to give watered-down milk the appearance of having higher protein levels.
China is the world’s second biggest market for baby milk powder. Sanlu has been the top-selling company in the sector for 15 years, with 18.3 percent of sales in 2007. In 2006, the country produced 32.2 million tons of milk, up from 8.6 million tons in 2000.
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