MPs from Burma urge the world

MPs from Burma urge the world to reject constitution
A group of fourteen Members of the parliament elected in 1990 election have appealed the international community including fellow Members of Parliament, Senators and Congress persons not to recognise the constitution drawn by the military government.
As they are elected by the people in the 1990 general elections, they have mandate to lead the country towards democracy, the group said in the appeal issued on Monday.
The text of the proposed constitution has not yet been made public.

Exile Lawyers Council urges SPDC to clarify the draft constitution
Burma Layers Council has issued a statement calling SPDC to officially publish the draft constitution in order to avoid confusion among various copies available inside and outside the country.
BLC General Secretary U Aung Htoo says," There is only less than one month for the people to vote at the referendum, so it is the responsibility of the government to issue the draft as soon as possible".
He also points out the difference between the basic principles adopted by the National Convention and the so-called draft.
Amendment of the constitution previously requires 75 percent of the MPs and a majority vote of more than half of those who have the right to vote at the referendum. However, the draft says apart from 75 percent of MPs only with the vote of all those who have the right to vote can the main points in the constitution can be amended.

BBC NEWS

EX-PM ,THAKSIN HAS TO CRY AT THE COURT

The Assets Examination Committee (AEC) yesterday unanimously ruled to indict ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra over corruption allegations involving a Bt4-billion soft loan to Burma.
A panel headed by Sak Korsaengreung will recommend to the attorney-general within two weeks that Thaksin be charged with violating Articles 152 and 157 of the Criminal Code, for dereliction of duty and malfeasance by seeking a vested interest for the Shinawatra family.
The panel alleged Thaksin had instructed Export-Import Bank of Thailand to extend the loan to Burma to secure business interests of Shin Satellite (ShinSat) and Shin Corp, which be-longed to Thaksin's family.
The panel found Thaksin, during an "unofficial" negotiation, promised Burmese leaders more loans. When the Burmese sought additional funds, Thaksin instructed then-foreign minister Surakiart Sathirathai to respond that Thailand would increase the loan from Bt3 billion to Bt4 billion for Burma's telecommunications systems and reduce the interest rate without Cabinet approval.
The AEC said the move had cost the bank Bt140 million in damages. Total damage is estimated at Bt670 million.
Thaksin also instructed the bank to extend the grace period from two to five years, in order to secure the business interest of ShinSat and win a Bt539-million contract to develop a telecommunications system and provide equipment.
Sak said the AEC found at the time Shin Corp was the major shareholder in ShinSat. The major shareholders included Pinthongta Shina-watra, Bhanapot Damapong, Panthongtae Shinawatra, Ample Rich Investment and Yingluck Shinawatra.
Thaksin said he transferred Shin Corp shares to others before becoming premier in 2001. He denied Panthongtae, Bhanapot, Pinthongta and Yingluck held Shin Corp shares on his behalf. The panel found Thaksin's defence hard to believe because of incriminating evidence - a promissory note signed by Bhanapot.
The panel found Bhana-pot signed a Bt102-million promissory note dated March 16, 1999, to pay "Khunying Pojaman Shinawatra" for the share purchase. The panel suspected the note was written after, as Pojaman was made a khunying on May 5, 1999.
Sak dismissed Thaksin's argument the loan extension was a commitment under the Bagan Declaration as a telecommunications agreement was not included.
He said ShinSat and Shin Corp went to Burma to demonstrate telecommunications technology and although the Burmese government proposed ratifying the telecommunications agreement in the Bagan Declaration, the Foreign Ministry disapproved of it.
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SUU KYI LOSES A GOOD MAN IN BURMA'S POLITIC

I DO NOT WANT TO GO TO A ZOO ANY MORE

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POSTED BY ANH

Human Rights Activist Attacked in Rangoon

A leading human rights activist has been attacked by two unidentified men in Rangoon, according to dissident sources. Myint Aye, 54, the founder of the Human Rights Defenders and Promoters (HRDP) was attacked and beaten in Sanchaung Township, Rangoon on Thursday evening. He was admitted to Rangoon General Hospital.
Myint AyeMyint Aye told The Irrawaddy by phone on Friday that two men had attacked him and beat him about the head with batons at about 9 p.m. On Thursday evening while he was walking home. “I don’t know who did it, because I couldn’t see,” he said. “I don’t have any personal problem with anyone. I just promote and defend human rights in my country.” “If I was attacked because I believe deeply in human rights, I would like to say to my attackers that I will not give up my stand,” he added. Myint Aye reported the assault to the township court in Sanchaung. In an incident last year, two other members of HRDP, Myint Naing and Maung Maung Lay, were brutally attacked by members of the junta-backed Union Solidarity and Development Association. The two activists were seriously injured and hospitalized at the Rangoon General Hospital in critical condition. Myint Naing was later sentenced to eight years imprisonment for reporting the crime under the State Emergency Act.Than Lwin, an elected representative in the 1990 election and member of the National League for Democracy (NLD), was also attacked by pro-junta thugs wearing steel knuckledusters in June 2007 as he returned home from a pagoda in Madaya Township, where he had been praying for the release of NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Than Lwin and some of his family members were later imprisoned because they complained to the authorities about the attack. Than Lwin is currently in Mandalay prison. One of his eyes has been damaged by an infection resulting from the attack, according to one of his family members. “The latest attack on a human rights activist, U Myint Aye, shows there is not real law enforcement in the country,” said Bo Kyi, joint secretary of the Assistant Association for Political Prisoners-Burma, a Burmese human rights group in exile. “Not only U Myint Aye, but other human rights and democracy activists have been attacked previously,” he said.” These kinds of situations are unacceptable.”

IRRAWADDY NEWS
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Soaring Rice Prices Raise Alarms in Asia

Philippine activists warn about possible riots. Aid agencies across Asia worry how they will feed the hungry. Governments dig deeper every day to fund subsidies.
A sharp rise in the price of rice is hitting consumer pocketbooks and raising fears of public turmoil in the many parts of Asia where rice is a staple.
Part of a surge in global food costs, rice prices on world markets have jumped 50 percent in the past two months and at least doubled since 2004. Experts blame rising fuel and fertilizer expenses as well as crops curtailed by disease, pests and climate change. There are concerns prices could rise a further 40 percent in coming months.
The higher prices have already sparked protests in the Philippines, where a government official has asked the public to save leftover rice. In Cambodia, Prime Minister Hun Sen ordered a ban on rice exports on Wednesday to curb rising prices at home. Vietnamese exporters and farmers are stockpiling rice in expectation of further price increases.
Prestoline Suyat of the May one Labor Movement, a left-wing workers group, warned that "hunger and poverty may eventually lead to riots."
The neediest are hit hardest.
Rodolfo de Lima, a 42-year-old parking lot attendant in Manila, said "my family will go hungry" if prices continue to rise.
"If your family misses a meal, you really don't know what you can do, but I won't do anything bad," said de Lima, whose right foot was amputated after he was shot during a 1985 gang war.
Others might not be so restrained, said Domingo Casarte, 41, a street vendor.
"There are people who are hotheaded," he said. "When people get trapped, I can't say what they will do."
The US Department of Agriculture forecasts global rice stocks for 2007-08 at 72 million tons, the lowest since 1983-84 and about half of the peak in 2000-01.
The higher prices are stretching the budgets of aid agencies providing rice to North Korea and other countries, particularly with donations already falling.
Jack Dunford, head of a consortium in Thailand helping more than 140,000 refugees from military-ruled Myanmar [Burma], said soaring rice prices and a slumping US dollar are forcing cuts in already meager food aid.
"This rice price is just killing us," he said. "This is a very vulnerable group of people under threat."
China is among several countries in the region that subsidize rice prices, an increasingly expensive proposition.
Rice prices have almost doubled in Bangladesh in just a year, sparking resentment but no unrest yet. Repeated floods and a severe cyclone last year have cut production, forcing the government to increase imports.
In Vietnam, a major rice exporter, the crop has been hit by a virus called tungro and infestations of the brown planthopper insect.
Farmers there say they are not benefiting from the higher prices.
"The rice price has gone up 50 percent over the past three months, but I'm not making any more money because I have to pay double for fertilizer, insecticides and labor costs," said Nguyen Thi Thu, 46, a farmer in Ha Tay Province, just outside Hanoi.
Another farmer, Cao Thi Thuy, 37, in Nam Dinh Province, 120 kilometers (75 miles) south of Hanoi, said exporters have actually been paying less for rice over the last week.
"If the world prices are going up still, then Vietnamese rice-exporting companies are benefiting, not us," she said. "They tell us that now weather is better, and rice can grow more easily, so we should not expect higher prices."
Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, worried about anything that could spark a "people power" revolt against her, is assuring the public that rice won't run out or skyrocket in price during the traditionally lean months of July to September.
This week, she arranged the purchase of up to 1.5 million tons from Vietnam. She also has ordered a crackdown on price manipulation, hoarding and profiteering on subsidized rice, and will hold a food summit April 4.
Things are so tight that Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap has asked people not to throw away leftover rice and urged fast-food restaurants, which normally give customers a cup of rice with meals, to offer a half-cup option to cut waste.
The Philippines is facing "a perfect storm," said Sen Mar Roxas, president of the Liberal Party.

UN KNOWS IT IS PERFECT HOSTAGE IN BURMA

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Activists Stage Protest against Constitution

A group of activists staged a rare protest in front of the Rangoon headquarters of the National League for Democracy (NLD) on Thursday, calling on Burmese citizens to vote against a proposed constitution which will give sweeping powers to the country’s armed forces.

A member of the NLD said that more than 30 protesters wearing T shirts emblazoned with the word “No” gathered at the party’s headquarters as hundreds of others came to attend a ceremony marking Burma’s Armed Forces Day.

Protesters in front of the National League for Democracy headquarters in Rangoon.

According to the NLD member, some the protesters wore prison uniforms and shackles, while others held the flags of the United Nations and the Anti-Fascist People’s Freedom League, Burma’s main political party prior to the military takeover in 1962.

“They shouted slogans against the junta’s constitution and called on people to vote ‘no’ at the polling stations,” the NLD member told The Irrawaddy on Thursday, adding that some members of the party joined in the protest.

The rare show of defiance lasted just 30 minutes and attracted the attention of security forces stationed around the NLD’s headquarters, who photographed the protesters.

According to witnesses, the demonstrators also distributed pamphlets calling on voters to go to the polls and vote against the constitution. Under a new law enacted in February, it is illegal to publicly criticize the referendum or the constitution. Violations are punishable by fines and three-year prison sentences.

Meanwhile, sources said that a signboard with the words, “Never Deceive the Nation,” appeared today in front of the home of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

“The signboard has the words and a portrait of [Burmese independence hero and father of Aung San Suu Kyi] Aung San, painted by Suu Kyi,” said a member of the NLD.

IRRAWADDY NEWS

CHINA BLOCKED FOOD AND WATER FOR MONKS

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REGIME SHUT REAL STORY FOR BOAT CAPSIZES

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"UN IS LETTING CIVILIANS DOWN IN BURMA ",SAY BURMESE ACTIVISTS.

The All Burma Monks’ Alliance and the 88 Generation Students group issued a joint statement on Wednesday accusing the UN and its special envoy, Ibrahim Gambari, of letting the Burmese people down in their struggle for democracy.
The statement, coming six months after the September crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrations, declared: “With or without the help of the UN Security Council, we are ready to determine our own future. We are prepared to confront the worst.”
The two groups accused Gambari of “supporting the one-sided acts of the military junta and suggesting that democracy forces surrender.”
Their joint statement also complained that the plight of the Burmese people had actually worsened since Ban Ki-moon took over as UN Secretary General. The suppression of dissidents hadn’t ceased, the statement said—on the contrary, the arrests of pro-democracy activists had recently increased.
The two groups also condemned the governments of China, Russia and South Africa, accusing them of protecting the Burmese regime in UN votes. They called for greater pressure on the junta from EU countries.
They also reiterated calls for people to vote “No” in the upcoming referendum on a new constitution. “We all are determined to vote ‘no’ on the junta’s sham constitution in the upcoming referendum,” they said. “Our ‘No’ vote is not only to the sham constitution, but also to the junta.”
Pyinya Jota, a leader of the All Burma Monks’ Alliance, urged Burmese monks to campaign for a free and fair constitutional referendum.
In a telephone interview with The Irrawaddy from his hiding place in Rangoon, Soe Htun, a member of the 88 Generation Students group, said, “It is very hard for us to operate in [this] rigid situation. We even have to disguise ourselves when we go out. We have to be very careful. We could be arrested at any time.”
Soe Htun said that authorities were employing informers to gather information about pro-democracy activists. Some informers were posing as taxi drivers, he said.About 18 dissidents, including members of an underground activist group, the Generation Wave, were arrested earlier this month and are still being held.Soe Htun said the Burmese people should hold no hope for concessions from the military regime. “The military regime doesn’t want to have political dialogue, so we have to prepare for the worst,” he said. “We have to rely on ourselves. We have to fight bravely for a system that we want.” Meanwhile, a boycott of state examinations by many monks, which started on March 24, is continuing, with only about 300 monks in Rangoon and some 60 in Sittwe reportedly turning up to sit the tests. Monks are also boycotting the exams in Mandalay and in Pakokku, central Burma, where last September’s demonstrations began.
Thousands of monks are remaining in their monasteries rather than attend the examinations, according to sources.
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JOINT STATEMENT FROM BURMA ABOUT FAILURE OF UN

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WALK FOR FREEDOM IN BURMA

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Walking For Freedom (Fox12 News)
March 21, 2008 05:39 PM
Nampa — They’ve taken a vow to walk from Portland, Oregon to New York City to hand deliver a signed petition to the United Nations Security Council.
It’s day number 21, more than 400 miles for 27 year old Zaw Htwe… and he’s tired.
“Just whole body pain, but we gotta keep walking and you know,” said Htwe.They are two Burmese refugees escaped from a country they describe as an in-humane military monopoly. Burma is located in Southeast Asia, nestled between India, Thailand, and China and has been run for the last 19 years by the State Peace and Development Council…although the country has been anything but peaceful.“Our country is genocide and torture the human violation you know, child soldier, and labor forced, the woman raised and killed,” said walking partner Athein.In 1988 at only 7 years old Htwe remembers one of Southeast Asia’s darkest moments. Millions of students, professionals, and civilians were gunned down and imprisoned in response to a peaceful march to bring an end to the social dictatorship. So now, twenty years later, he is marching peacefully in remembrance of his fallen brothers and sisters.“Right now the military government trying to arrest people who like to make peace, freedom, and democracy and human rights, and they arrest and torture people,” said Htwe.
Upon arriving in New York the men will implore the United Nations to make a change in Burma…they say this is the year for a revolution.“So I believe that for 2008, bring freedom to our country, and our people, ” said Athein.
They have also created a website explaining their mission, with the letter they hope to present to the UN Security Council.

US ACTIVISTS ARE READY TO BOYCOTT AND FRENCH IS WATCHING THE SITUATION IN TIBET

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French minister may boycott Games opener if Tibet repression worsens
Paris - The French junior minister for human rights, Rama Yade, told the daily Le Figaro, in an interview published Tuesday, that she might boycott the opening ceremony of the 2008 Olympic Games if the crisis caused by Tibetan anti-Chinese protests worsens.
Asked if she would attend the August 8 festivities, Yade said, "No-one yet knows the makeup of the French delegation (to the Games). All I can say that if the situation deteriorates, I don't see how I can take part in this sporting event without reacting." The Paris-based media rights group Reporters Without Borders has urged government officials around the world to boycott the opening ceremony in Beijing.Yade also told the newspaper that she was prepared to receive the Dalai Lama "willingly and without reservations." Like French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Yade called on the Chinese authorities to resume talks with the exiled Tibetan religious leader's representatives.
"A saying by Confucius goes, 'To dominate others, that is being strong. To dominate oneself, this is being powerful.' The ball is now in the court of the Chinese authorities," Yade said

THAI IS HAPPY FOR GIVE AND TAKE POLICY WITH THE REGIME

Thai security forces raided the homes of three top Karen National Union leaders and the office of one Burmese student group on Tuesday in Mae Sot. The purpose of the early morning raid was not clear.
Thai soldiers and police, arriving in four vehicles, entered the homes of KNU leaders Padoh Myat Maung, an administrator; Lt-Col Paw Doh; and KNU Commander in Chief Mu Tu.
They also raided the office of the Karen University Student Group on the outskirts of Mae Sot, a center of exiled Burmese opposition groups since 1988. None of the leaders or officers of the student group were arrested.
Gen Mu Tu is believed to be on a hit list, following the assassination of Mahn Sha, the general secretary of the KNU, who was shot in his office in Mae Sot by unknown gunmen in February.
Following the raid, security forces took away more than 20 people who had no refugee documentation. They were released a short while later after negotiations with the authorities.
Rumors spread through Mae Sot following the raid, causing many KNU leaders and others to speculate if there was a connection between the raid and the recent visit of Thai government leaders with junta Snr-Gen Than Shwe in Naypyidaw, the Burmese capital.
Burmese analyst Aung Naing Oo, who is based in Chiang Mai, said the raid was “suspicious” and could be linked to recent actions by exiled groups opposing the upcoming referendum on the Burmese constitution.
Many exiled groups and community organizations in Mae Sot began closing their offices for security reasons. Rumors circulated that there would be more raids.
Opposition group leaders in Mae Sot had predicted that security conditions would deteriorate prior to the referendum.
“The condition of the Burmese people in Mae Sot is getting more unstable now,” said one leader.
The raid occurred about two weeks after Thai premier Samak Sundaravej and a high ranking delegation made a “goodwill” visit to Burma which appeared to renew a cooperative policy that had been pursued by former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
After the visit, Thai Foreign Minister Nappadon Pattama offered to assist the regime in the May constitutional referendum process, if asked.
Later, Noppadon told a forum of the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies, “Quietly though slowly, we aim to turn this burden of proximity [with Burma] into a pragmatic opportunity for the sake of the people of Myanmar, our next door neighbor.”

FLAME OF SHAME FOR OLYMPIC IN CHINA

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FLAME OF SHAME FOR OLYMPIC IN CHINA
OLYMPIA, Greece (CNN) -- Greece condemned human rights protesters who disrupted the Olympic torch lighting ceremony Monday.
Policemen detain a protester as he holds a banner at the beginning of the flame-lighting ceremony.
Three protesters charged onto the field of an ancient Greek stadium to unfurl a banner calling for a boycott to the Beijing Summer Games.
The brief disruption unnerved thousands of spectators, dignitaries and Olympic officials who packed into the sprawling ancient stadium to watch actresses posing as priestesses light the Olympic flame from the sun's rays.
More protests, however, followed later as the torch relay began. A Tibetan woman covered herself with red paint and lay on the ground, forcing torchbearers to weave around her as other protesters shouted "Flame of shame."
"The government condemns every attempt to interfere with the ceremony for the lighting of the Olympic flame through actions that have no relation at all with the Olympic spirit," said Evangelos Antonaros, Greece's junior government spokesman.
And a senior Greek Olympics official said: "We have Tibetans popping out of every corner protesting during the torch relay. It will be very difficult to guard this relay." View map of all countries torch will visit »
Jacques Rogge, International Olympic Committee president: "We have expressed our deep concern for what happens in Tibet.
"We've also of course expressed the wish that this should be resolved peacefully as soon as possible. But of course yes, violence is not compatible with Olympic values."
He said he was engaged in a "silent diplomacy" with Beijing on Tibet but ruled out a boycott of the Games.
Police confirmed they had detained three French protesters, members of the Paris-based media rights group Reporters Without Borders. Watch the protests in Greece »

REGIME SETS PLAN TO BEAT DOWN FUTURE UPRISING IN MAY

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POSTED BY ANH

88GSE CALLS FOR INTERNATIONAL UNITY WITH TIS STATEMENT

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A MAN IN THE FIRE FOR FREDOM IN BURMA

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WESTERN GOVS NEED TO SHOUT LOUDLY

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88GSE CALLS FOR UN ON CHINA AND TIBET CRISIS

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The Nation Editorial view and point

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BURMESE SPOOK EXPRESSES IN UN

Statement
U KYAW TINT SWE (Myanmar), expressed appreciation for the Secretary-General’s good offices, noting the complex challenges of transforming the country into a democratic society, while at the same time forging national reconciliation and maintaining unity. It was no easy task. In the course of his good offices efforts, many of the things that Mr. Gambari had discussed with the Government had come to fruition. For example, the Government had lifted the curfew, withdrawn the military from public areas in major cities and released some 2,600 persons, including 780 monks, from detention. The National Convention had been concluded and 8,552 prisoners had been released to mark that historic occasion. Dialogue and cooperation with ILO continued.
He said the Special Adviser’s discussions with the authorities had been “very useful”, because both sides had been able to understand each other and draw parameters for cooperation with the United Nations. It was also gratifying that Myanmar’s neighbours saw the situation as it really was and acknowledged the progress made during the visit. It had been possible to explain the inclusive nature of the National Convention process, which laid down the fundamental principles to be enshrined in the draft constitution. The National Convention had comprised some 1,080 delegations, 635 of whom were from ethnic nationalities. It had also included representatives of the political parties and of the 17 insurgent groups that had returned to the legal fold. Myanmar had endured more than 40 years of insurgency because of the weakness of the 1947 Constitution. Some ethnic nationalities had reservations about the constitution’s provisions. It was, therefore, of the utmost importance to include their representatives and those of former insurgent groups in the National Convention process, so as to ensure their acceptance of the fundamental principles.
Under the fundamental principles adopted by the National Convention, he said, in addition to the existing seven states and seven divisions, the ethnic nationalities with sizeable populations would be allowed to form self-administered zones, in fulfilment of one of their most important aspirations. The boundaries of the existing states and the new self-administered zones had also been agreed by the representatives of the National Convention. The Constitution Drafting Commission had completed that task, and the draft constitution containing those agreements, as well as qualifications for taking part in the elections, would be put to a nationwide referendum in May. The Government had assured Mr. Gambari that it would be free and fair. Everyone -– those supporting the Government and those opposed to its policies -– would be allowed to participate on equal terms both in the referendum and in the elections.
Given the complexity of the challenges facing Myanmar, the Government had come a long way and made significant strides in its seven-step political road map, he said. The country had been cooperating, and would continue to cooperate, with the United Nations. After all, cooperation with the Organization was the cornerstone of its foreign policy. Myanmar was not a threat to international peace and security, as all its neighbours could attest. Additionally, the country was making significant strides in its national reconciliation and democratization process. “No Security Council action is warranted with regard to Myanmar,” he concluded.

FULL PRESENTATION OF GAMBARLI'S BREFING IN UN

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THAI DOES NOT KNOW WHAT BUDDHISM IS

THAI PM DOES NOT KNOW WHAT BUDDHISM IS AND WHAT SPOOKS ARE
Asean Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan has warned Thai premier Samak Sundaravej that the Burmese political situation requires “in-depth understanding and respect for its sensitivity” and advised the new Thai prime minister to be cautious before commenting on issues related to Burma, the Bangkok Post reported on Wednesday.Prime Minister Samak and an official Thai delegation paid a “goodwill” visit to Burma last Friday and met with junta leader Snr-Gen Than Shwe in the capital, Naypyidaw.
After the one-day visit, Samak said Burma had “peace and order” and called Than Shwe “a good Buddhist” who meditated and prayed every day. On his television program on Sunday, Samak offered to mediate between Burma and the international community. He also said that Westerners are too critical of Burma, but that he had new-found respect for the junta.“Killings and suppression are normal there, but we have to understand the facts,” said Samak. “The general view of this country has always been one sided; but there are two sides to a coin.” However, Surin, who was Thai foreign minister during the Democrat-led coalition government from mid-1997 to 2001, said the Thai government should “gauge its readiness to explain Burma to the world.”As head of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, he stated that Asean supports the reconciliation process in Burma and the role of the United Nations through handling the Burma issue. The Burmese military regime has been criticized by the international community for its human rights violations and for the brutal crackdown on Buddhist monks and protesters during a nationwide uprising in September last year." Thai people need to learn about buddhism if their PM has to say Burma's regime who is killing uncountable civilian is a good and deep buddhist in his eyes", said a buddhist from Burma.
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88 BLOOD IS STILL FRESHING FOR FREEDOM

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THE DEMOCRATIC ACTIVISTS IN FORT WAYNE HOLD 20TH ANNIVERSARY OF BURMA'S HUMAN RIGHT DAYS. THEY ARE STANDING FOR FREEDOM FOR BURMA AND THEIR BLOOD IS STILL FRESHING FOR PEOPLE OF BURMA.…
_ reported by Aung Myint Htun
The memorial services by pro-democracy activists in Fort Wayne USA for the fallen student heroes (Ko Phone Maw, Ko Soe Naing,….) brutally murdered by the military junta in Burma twenty years ago on March 13, 1988 (which is now known as Phone Maw Day OR Burma Human Rights Day).

US backs election observers for Burma

The United States on Tuesday asked the UN Security Council to pressure the military government in Burma to allow international election observers for a constitutional referendum planned for May.

US ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad said the preparations for the vote are reason for concern, citing the fact that the text of the proposal had not yet been released.

The Burmese ruling junta has pledged to hold a referendum to seek public approval for a draft constitution that will then pave the way for a general election sometime in 2010.

The military-appointed national convention set up by the regime to draft the constitution - a process that took 14 years - has been judged a sham by many international observers.

United Nations special envoy Ibrahim Gambari, who was in Burma last week, requested that the regime allow for international monitors to observe the referendum process and assure it is free and fair.

His request was rejected.

The Security Council is divided over the next step, with China opposing a public statement on the issue.

Since 1962, Burma has been ruled by a military regime which hs turned the country into one of the world's worst human rights violators, including two brutal crackdowns on pro-democracy movements in 1988 and last September. Thousands of political dissidents, including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, have been arrested under their rule.

The last general election held in Burma was in 1990. The National League for Democracy (NLD) party led by Suu Kyi won by a landslide, but the military simply ignored the polls.

Suu Kyi has spent 12 of the past 18 years under house arrest in her Rangoon home.

Mar 19, 2008

SEND YOUR LETTER TO UN AS WE SHOW

READ THIS LETTER AND SEND TO UNSG MR. BANKIMOON VIA YOUR EMAIL

You can see the Email address on the web as following

www.badasf.org.

March 18, 2008
Your Excellency,
I would like to acknowledge your efforts to overcome the political stalemate and bring about a speedy political transition to democracy in Burma. The dictatorship is wrong, harmful, and has no place in Burma, and your efforts to reject this regime are appreciated.
You and your predecessors have sent various envoys trips to Burma to address this matter. Unfortunately, however, your efforts have failed to secure even the release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, nor to broker truthful and meaningful dialog. Your efforts have also failed to realize any progress towards establishing democracy in Burma.
In recent history, the people of Burma have repeatedly rejected dictatorship through various means, including uprisings and an historic election. In 1988 they rose up, only to be brutally crushed. In 1990, the people overwhelmingly voted for the National League for Democracy and its representatives in Burma's historic Election, but the results were put aside. The people rose up against the brutal regime yet again last year in September and October. As always, the regime responded with ruthless force and brutal crackdowns while the world watched.
The people of Burma have endured so much hardship and suffering in the past 46 years due to successive brutal and dictatorial regimes. Charles Petrie, top UN officer in the Myanmar Country Team, has released very grim data on the plight of the Burmese people on the occasion of UN Day on Oct 24, 2007. In fact, during all these years of UN involvement and visits by the UN envoys, the country has sunken even deeper into poverty. The people continue to suffer greatly and our opposition has been crushed ever more fiercely, while the regime's grip on power has flourished and its officials and their cronies have thrived more than ever.
The world was on edge during the protests and crackdowns in late 2007, hoping the UN would help bring about progress, but now the regime is again strengthening its authority and legalizing military rule through the one-sided and sham process called the Roadmap to Democracy. The historic results of the 1990 election will be erased forever in Burma through this fake referendum to be held in May 2008, and people will be forced to accept a constitution with which they do not agree.
Your envoy's last visit to Burma from March 6 to March 10 has failed yet again. The regime has not only openly denied Aung San Suu Kyi, her party, and her elected representatives any role in the process they are working toward, but it has also clearly rejected any international interference.
Therefore, it is clear that your powerless and low-level envoy's visits to Burma have in effect helped the regime buy time and quell the world's outrage and anger over various crackdowns, while allowing them to elude the international community. Your envoy's meager efforts have allowed the regime to realize their true ambition of holding on to power at any cost.
It has been clear to us for many years, and should be clear to you by now, that there is no more room for low-level and powerless envoy visits to Burma. They will not bring about change, as we have already seen. Any more attempts of such ineffective diplomacy will only waste our precious time, and give more time to the dictatorship to bury its roots even deeper in Burma. The time has come for you and the United Nations Security Council to step up and get tough on the regime. As proven by the already-demonstrate d facts, anything short of powerful diplomacy backed by the measures outlined by the Security Council will be more harmful than helpful to Burma and her people. The Regime does not understand diplomacy; it understands the voice of power. In fulfilling your priority of building a stronger United Nations for a better world, you must make sure Burma issues are resolved in a speedy and peaceful manner. It is time for you to get involved as the General Secretary of the world's body.
Furthermore, the time has arrived for the United Nations Security Council to start taking concrete measures through binding resolution calling for the release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and all political prisoners; establishing a comprehensive arms embargo; and enforcing strong collective and comprehensive economic and financial sanctions. Only forceful measures will change the regime's attitude and their continued refusal to release their grip on power, through a peaceful and truly democratic process.Therefore we call upon you to:
Visit Burma with due respect to help break the political stalemate as the world's most powerful diplomat.
Start providing leadership in establishing, through binding resolutions, the concrete actions outlined above by the Security Council.
Sincerely

NLD HAS TO TAKE ACTION AGAINST REGIME IN BURMA

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US IS READY TO REJECT, BUT NEEDS MORE ORGANIZE

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THAI PM COMPARES THAI KING WITH BURMA REGIME

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TIBETANS ON THE ROAD, BUT UNDER BLOODY MEANS RESPONDED BY CHINA

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BAGAN IS DRYING UP AND WAITING FOR FOREIGN TOURISTS

BAGAN IS DRYING AND WAITING FOR FOREIGN TOURIST

It may be awash with cultural splendors, topped off by the 1,000-year-old temples of Pagan, but a reviled military government has ensured Burma has never been flooded with foreign tourists.

Six months after September's bloody crackdown on monk-led protests, that trickle of visitors—350,000 in 2006 compared to 13 million in neighboring Thailand—has all but dried up.The former Burma's rigidly controlled domestic newspapers admit tourism almost halved in the three months after the crackdown, in which the United Nations says at least 31 people were killed.

But in Pagan, a mystical plain studded with more than 4,000 temples and stupas on the banks of the mighty Irrawaddy River, hotel and restaurant operators say occupancy rates and takings are just 20-30 percent of the same time last year.

Given that the unrest, and the shocking images of soldiers attacking monks and unarmed demonstrators, fell on the eve of the "cool season"—the traditional peak time for tourism—the decline is threatening many with ruin.

"There are so few visitors at the moment," said tour guide Aung Myint with a shake of the head. "Many people are wondering how they will support their families during the low season. Now is when we're meant to be making all our money."

Although it only took a few days for the junta to crush the biggest democracy protests in 19 years, pictures, including the shooting of a Japanese journalist, reinforced the image of the former British colony as an unstable, hostile place.

Besides a growing number of Russian tour groups, the only visitors who appear to have shrugged off scruples or the perception of risk are German.

"I don't know why but most of the tourists now are Germans," said Aung Thein Myint, owner of a swish open-air restaurant on the banks of the Irrawaddy, where takings in October and November were down by 80 percent.

"They seem to think that until they start shooting Germans, it's still safe to visit," he said.

BLAME IT ON THE MEDIA

In typically uncompromising tone, the junta—the latest face of 46 years of unbroken military rule—blames the decline on the foreign media and dissidents who smuggled out pictures and reports of atrocities on the Internet.

"Some foreigners attempted to tarnish the image of Burma by posting in the Web sites the photos of the protest walks," Deputy Tourism Minister Aye Myint Kyu, a brigadier-general, wrote in state-run papers in January under a widely known pseudonym.

However, in one sense he is right: coverage of the crisis put the oft-forgotten southeast Asian nation firmly in the world spotlight and bolstered the cries of many anti-government organizations telling potential visitors to stay away.

Under the slogan "The cost of a holiday could be someone's life", groups such as the Burma Campaign UK argue that every tourist dollar props up a regime that uses forced labor, child soldiers and systematic rape of ethnic minority women—allegations the junta denies.

Boycott campaigners also say that the jobs of people working in tourism are an unfortunate but unavoidable consequence of the wider effort to overthrow the generals.

"The tourism industry in Burma is tiny.

Than Shwe in coma flew to Singapore today

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