STATEMENT REGARDING THAI PRIME MINISTER'S COMMENT BY 88GSE

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MILTARY RUSH AND UN CLOSE AIRLIFT TO BURMA

An estimated 30,000 people besieged the village—Kyaut Oe, 12 miles east of Taungoo—before the regional military command enacted a decree banning large assemblies of people.
The diamond that sparked the “gem-rush” was reportedly found in a Kyaut Oe creek and was bought by a dealer for 300,000 kyat (US $250). Rumors spread rapidly that the real worth of the gem was up to five times that amount.
Many residents joined the rush to the village but came away empty-handed.
One explanation for the presence of a diamond in Kyaut Oe’s creek is that it might have come from a collapsed pagoda or shrine. The abbot of Kyaut Oe’s monastery informed authorities of the discovery of the gem.
Popular interest in diamonds in Burma grew after Than Shwe’s daughter Thandar smothered herself with gems when she married two years ago. She wore so many that Southeast Asian newspapers reported a rise in the price of diamonds in the run-up to the wedding. Some sources from Nay Pyi Daw say to 88GSE that many precious diamonds wearing on the head of Thanda Shwe in her weeding show were from the ancient pagodas and buddhists' temples in Northern Shan State and Central Burma (Mandalay).

UN close airlift to Myanmar

UN humanitarian aid coordinator Daniel Baker says the costly airlift could not continue forever. He adds that it was no longer really necessary. Food can also be shipped to the region by boat. The most important aid goods have already arrived in Myanmar and all those in need have been reached: "We did a joint assessment report in June. We only found a very few isolated communities which have not received any support at all. So we immediately supplied them with aid. But that doesn't answer the more important question: who may have got aid at some point in the past and needs more aid now?"

Lack of Cooperation

Even though the certificates were abolished following pressure from Mr Baker, donor countries are still concerned about whether their money is being well spent. This is compounded by the fact that it is still difficult for aid workers to obtain visas. Editor-in-Chief Kyaw Zwa Moe of the monthly magazine Irrawaddy News says the regime is still the main obstacle to an efficient aid operation. However, he says that the UN is also to blame, mainly because of a lack of cooperation. "If the UN organisations worked together they would have known which villages have not received any food yet. They might need more cooperation from one agency to another."Daniel Baker admits there's room for more cooperation. In the past months, the UN has repeatedly collaborated with the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), which has often acted as mediator between the international aid community and the Burmese regime. Collaboration between the UN and local aid organisations has not materialised yet, but Mr Baker says the UN is working on it: "In a major disaster like this, no government in the world can do it with it's own resources. We all need to work together. And in fact given the Myanmar context we have been able to achieve a measure of that."

THAI STUPID PM UNDER SIEGE

"This is the first time as far as I'm aware that protesters have ever occupied effectively what is the White House of Thailand," said CNN's Dan Rivers, who had to shout above the loud chants of the crowd.
Protests outside the Government House have been going on for months, but Rivers said the demonstrations "stepped up a quantum leap" on Tuesday. He said hundreds of protesters continue to pour into the streets outside the Government House late in the day. Watch more about the Bangkok protests »
Samak, who has been unable to get into his official residence, held a news conference Tuesday night refusing to back down and warning protesters that police will be moving in to disperse the crowds.
Other government ministers were also prevented from attending a weekly cabinet meeting inside the building.
But the protesters showed no sign of ending their demonstrations and have tried to fortify their positions with razor wire. Protesters also rallied outside the ministries of finance and agriculture
Some anti-government protesters also shut down a state-run television station in Bangkok. Armed with guns and knives, they briefly stopped NBT television's programming before police arrested 80 of them, the Thai News Agency reported.
The protests were the latest by the People's Alliance for Democracy, which says Samak's administration is a proxy for former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a coup in 2006 and fled to England.
He returned to Thailand after Samak came to power in parliamentary elections in December. Thaksin fled again this month, just as he was to appear in court in a corruption case.The alliance contends that Samak is trying to amend the constitution so that Thaksin does not have to face the charges. It also blames the government for not trying to extradite the former prime minister.

“Saving Aung San Suu Kyi”

BY HTUN AUNG GYAW

“Saving Aung San Suu Kyi” Campaign

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is on hunger strike and we all need to save her life by using our entire network inside out. Saving her life means saving Burma future. It is time we all need to come together and demanded for her freedom and free Burma.

It is obvious that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is on hunger strike even though the regime refused she is not on strike. Here is the fact that she did not accept the food starting on August 25, 2008. If there is no acceptance from her to take food means she is on strike.

We fully support her courageous act but we are gravely concern about her health and her life because she is not only the most capable leader in our country who has ability to unite all the various political organizations and activist groups, but also she is well respected by the world as democracy icon who believe in non-violent struggle.

We, Burmese, and democracy loving people around the world need to save her from the military yoke, which has been unlawfully detained her since May 30, 2003. Her motorcade was ambushed by the regime in Depeyin, which killed at least 60-100 people from her supporters. No single person who committed the brutal murder was persecuted but she was under house arrest even though many of her supporters were murdered.

Five years have been past, and she is still under house arrest. Finally she tried to meet her lawyer and find out how she could contest the regime in legal action but it seems there is no way she could challenge the regime on legal ground because there is no law existed in Burma under General Than Shwe’s rule.

She wrote a quotation of her father General Aung San in front of her entrance gate which said, “ Azani (Hero) can do his/her work until it is done.” It means she is ready to sacrifice her life for justice and freedom. We all know she will not only demand for her release, she will demand for all political prisoners.

We urgently like to appeal to the world and Burmese communities to stand together with one voice to save “Aung San Suu Kyi”. Saving Aung San Suu Kyi is a moral cause and if we save her we are saving Burma future.

Please use your channel to spread the words that she is on strike.
We strongly demand the Than Shwe’s regime to release Aung San Suu Kyi and all political prisoners immediately and unconditionally. Please approach to the US, EU and democratic communities to write letters and gather in front of the Burmese Embassy to start a huge protest.

THAI PM PUSHES BURMA INTO HOT WATER AND GEM AUCTION

Samak showed sadistic tendencies when he started criticising the West for demanding that Aung San Suu Kyi be released from her 12-year-long house arrest. He has completely ignored the reality inside Burma, and even very foolishly observed that the West could have a deeper level of discussions with the junta if the opposition party's leader was not part of the scheme. Obviously Samak forgot that Suu Kyi and her party, National League of Democracy, won the 1990 elections by a landslide, but that the military junta refused to recognise their victory.
He also forgot that over the past two decades, the junta has imposed stringent rules over its citizens, building up a tight police state where the public is under constant surveillance. When the Buddhist monks and students took to the streets in September last year to rally against the junta, they were met with force. Asean came out with the strongest statement in its history condemning one of its members, but the junta remained unrepentant.
Now, the junta is moving confidently ahead in imposing its political roadmap on the Burmese people by passing a new constitution in May and planning national elections in 2010. Meanwhile, Samak continues to completely ignore Burma's hunger for democracy.
Thailand has had to support more than two million refugees and migrant workers escaping hardship and oppression in their country. The Thai administration obviously does not realise that making Burma a democracy would be beneficial because the people would want to return home. As the leader of Thailand, Samak should have understood that it is democracy that gave him power in the first place.
However, when he met UN special envoy for Burma Ibrahim Gambari, Samak ended up openly endorsing the junta's planned 2010 election, saying naively that he would talk the junta into allowing outside observers. Samak should have realised that there is no way anybody could influence the junta.
When the international community wanted to help victims of Cyclone Nargis in early May, the junta was recalcitrant. At first, it blocked outside assistance out of fear of intervention, whereas immediate aid could have saved thousands of lives. After repeated assurances by Asean, some international organisations were allowed in. Now, it appears that the junta benefited handsomely from the tricky foreign policy exchange regulations, which enabled the authorities to put millions in their pockets. It is uncertain how much money they have made off with, but the real picture will emerge soon. Already, the news has had an adverse effect on potential sources of assistance.
It is obvious that Samak's stance on Burma will have huge ramifications on Thailand and its standing in the global community. Samak has always been quick to jump on any chance that would help him maintain power, even if it means serving as a front man for a convicted criminal liked Thaksin Shinawatra. Whether or not Samak can continue as prime minister in the weeks ahead, he has already created enough ways to further isolate Thailand. Worse yet, it would further affect the role of the Asean chair over the next 16 months.
With such a strong endorsement of the Burmese junta, it is now possible that some of the Asean dialogue partners would seek to boycott the meetings scheduled in December in Bangkok. Perhaps we should expect more diplomatic disasters if Samak continues as prime minister.

Myanmar to hold gems auction despite trading ban

‘The mid-year emporium will be held in the coming October. We cannot release detailed information for now,’ an official from the Myanma Gems Enterprise told AFP.
‘The sales will be based on a competitive bidding system as usual,’ he added.
Myanmar last held a gems auction in June in the immediate aftermath of a deadly cyclone that swept the country's south, leaving 138,000 people dead or missing.
At a previous sale in March, 7,700 lots were sold, valued at more than 100 million euros (153 million dollars).
Myanmar, one of the world's poorest countries, is the source of some of the globe's most beautiful rubies. Each auction brings in more than 100 million dollars, making it a key source of revenue for the ruling junta.
The United States blocked imports of Myanmar's gems in July, passing new legislation to prevent the gems entering US markets via third-party countries.
Europe also intensified economic sanctions on the regime after a deadly crackdown on pro-democracy protesters last year, while Washington and human rights groups have urged gem buyers to boycott the sales.
Myanmar's two biggest customers, neighbouring China and Thailand, have continued to attend the frequent gem auctions.

SUU KYI ON HUNGER STRIKE FOR UN WORTHLESS TRIP , BUT UN DENY

Myanmar's detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi failed to retrieve food delivered to her home amid speculation she may have launched a hunger strike.Nyan Win, spokesman for the National League for Democracy, said Tuesday he could not confirm whether Suu Kyi was refusing to eat, but said bags of food delivered Monday to a checkpoint outside her heavily guarded house were not picked up.
Suu Kyi has been under house arrest for 13 of the past 19 years, and she relies on the NLD's food deliveries for survival. It remains unclear whether Suu Kyi has launched a hunger strike since her supporters are barred from meeting her.
Burmese dissident groups based in neighboring Thailand said Monday she began a hunger strike on Aug. 15 and hasn't accepted food since.
"If Daw Aung San Suu Kyi continues to refuse food from her comrades, her health will be of serious concern," one group, the National League for Democracy (Liberated Area), said in a statement.

Burma's opposition lambasts UN envoy for irrelevant 'praise' job

Burma's main opposition party – the National League for Democracy – on Monday lambasted the United Nations special envoy Ibrahim Gambari for praising the activities of the 'Tripartite Core Group' saying the diplomat failed to see beyond the junta's projection of the situation in Burma.Nyan Win, spokesperson for the NLD, said Gambari is out of touch with the ground realities in Burma and his failure to resist the junta from planning his itinerary during his trip further prevented him from getting up close to the true situation.Gambari said the 'Tripartite Core Group', that leads relief efforts for cyclone victims, had provided an effective model for cooperation and collaboration between the international community and Burma.TCG, formed with representatives of the Burmese junta, ASEAN and the UN, should extend beyond the humanitarian response in the areas affected by Cyclone Nargis to include social and economic development assistance in the rest of the country, he added.The remarks of the Nigerian diplomat, who on Saturday concluded his six-day visit to the country, came following his meeting with members of the TCG August 18.But Nyan Win said, "He [Gambari] may not know the reality as that visit was planned and showcased by the junta. And it is impossible for him to understand the true situation in such a short time."Nyan Win said the UN envoy by visiting and making remarks on the humanitarian activities has been derailed in his mission to facilitate political dialogue between Burma's opposition groups and the government."We feel that he [Gambari] is trying to appease the junta so much that he is being derailed off his main track," Nyan Win added.Gambari, during his six-day visit to Burma, met junior ministers of the Burmese junta but failed to meet military supremo Snr. Gen. Than Shwe as well as detained opposition leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.Sources said, the UN undersecretary general for political affairs, was not even invited to visit Burma's new jungle capital, Nay Pyi Taw, where Than Shwe and other senior military leaders of the junta, who call themselves the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) are ensconced.David Scott Mathieson, Burma consultant of the Human Rights Watch, said, the military junta had used the visit of Gambari for their benefit and to showcase their work."Any visiting envoy to Burma is like that. They are going to see the things that the SPDC wants them to see. So they only see the SPDC's made up shows," Mathieson said, apparently referring to previous UN envoys including Razali Ismail, predecessor to Gambari who until December 2005 served as the UN Secretary General's special envoy to Burma."Gambari needs to look at both sides," Mathieson added.

UN Denies Its Envoy's Visit to Myanmar Was Worthless

The United Nations rejected criticism by Myanmar's opposition party that last week's visit by envoy Ibrahim Gambari was worthless, saying it was part of the UN's objective of holding regular talks with the junta.
The visits are a ``process, not an event,'' Marie Okabe, deputy spokeswoman for Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, said in New York yesterday. ``One should not make a judgment on the process based on each individual visit.''
Gambari didn't meet with Myanmar's military leader Senior General Than Shwe or Aung San Suu Kyi, the head of the opposition National League for Democracy. The envoy should be more effective and negotiate with the junta and the opposition, Nyan Win, the NLD's spokesman, said by phone from Myanmar yesterday.
Gambari was making his fourth visit since the junta deployed soldiers last September to end the most serious pro- democracy demonstrations in 20 years in the country formerly known as Burma. The U.S. says the military government has failed to meet pledges made after the unrest to pursue national reconciliation and open talks with Suu Kyi.
``Mr. Gambari has told us he has had extensive and open discussions with the government and other interlocutors, which in itself is necessary in order to broaden and deepen the process as expected by the secretary-general,'' Okabe said, according to a UN transcript. Ban intends to return to Myanmar for a visit ``when conditions are right,'' she said.
Political Body
Gambari met with the Union Solidarity and Development Association, a political body set up by the junta that will probably represent the military's interests in elections scheduled for 2010.
``We told Mr. Gambari to do his work, his job and that meeting with other bodies is useless,'' Nyan Win said yesterday. Opposition parties may not support more visits by Gambari in the future, he said.
Suu Kyi, 63, who has been under house arrest for 12 of the 18 years since the NLD won elections that weren't recognized by the military, didn't show up for a meeting with Gambari on Aug. 20. Nyan Win said he didn't know why she didn't attend.
Other opposition members said Suu Kyi was either ill or sending a message she was unhappy with the UN's efforts to promote talks with the regime.
``Suu Kyi didn't show up because Mr. Gambari is going around with the military's agenda and he's being exploited by the military,'' said Zin Linn, a spokesman for the National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma, a government-in- exile formed by winners of the 1990 election, said yesterday.
State of Health
Myanmar's government made the arrangements for the meeting with Gambari, Okabe said at her briefing.
``To his regret, the meeting did not take place,'' she said. ``We are not going to speculate as to why she was not able to attend.''
The junta denied that Suu Kyi is on hunger strike, Agence France-Presse reported from the former capital, Yangon, today. The reports are rumors that aren't true, the news agency cited an unidentified government official as saying.
The NLD is ``very concerned'' about Suu Kyi's health ``because we have no access to her,'' Nyan Win said last week by phone from Myanmar.
Suu Kyi, who underwent gynecological surgery in 2003 and needed treatment in the hospital in 2006, was suffering from low blood pressure and was unable to leave her bed, Japan's Nikkei news agency reported at the time, citing an unidentified person close to the military regime.
The military has ruled the nation of 47 million people since 1962.

THAI PM'S DESTRUCTIVE VIEW AND UN WASTES TIME

Thai PM Says West Uses Myanmar's Suu Kyi As Political Tool

"Europe uses Aung San Suu Kyi as a tool. If it's not related to Aung San Suu Kyi, you can have deeper discussions with Myanmar," he told reporters after the Bangkok meeting.
"Aung San Suu Kyi is one thing. The (international community) should talk about how to bring democracy in Myanmar and focus on the constitution and the elections," he added.
Samak said he would relay that message in a meeting with United Nations secretary general Ban Ki-moon in New York next month.
Gambari left Myanmar on Saturday after failing to secure a meeting with Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been under house arrest for most of the last 19 years.
Her National League for Democracy, NLD, party has branded the UN visit a " waste of time".
Aung San Suu Kyi led the NLD to a landslide election victory in 1990, but was never allowed to govern.
The regime instead unveiled its own "road map" to democracy and drafted a new constitution, which was approved in a much-criticized referendum in May.
The junta says the charter will set the stage for elections in 2010, but the pro-democracy movement say the process simply enshrines the army's position in the nation it has ruled since 1962.
Samak said that as the current chair of regional bloc the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or Asean, Thailand would try to persuade the junta to allow observers at the promised election.

Suu Kyi's party says UN Myanmar visit was a 'waste of time'

the United Nations' most senior negotiator with Myanmar, left the country Saturday after failing to secure a meeting with Aung San Suu Kyi, who is kept under house arrest by the ruling generals.
The junta said that the Nobel peace prize winner had refused to see Gambari, and on Sunday printed pictures in its New Light of Myanmar newspaper of his entourage waiting in vain outside her lakeside home in Yangon.
Nyan Win, a spokesman for the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) party, said he did not know why their leader was unable to meet Gambari, but said no key demands of the democracy movement had been resolved.
"I have read reports in the newspaper that the authorities did not reply to the two aims of Mr. Gambari's mission," Nyan Win told AFP.
"One is to release political prisoners including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and the other is the dialogue between the government and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi," he said, using an honorific to describe the pro-democracy leader.
"In conclusion, Mr. Gambari's visit resulted in no improvement and was a waste of time."
Aung San Suu Kyi led the NLD to a landslide election victory in 1990, but was never allowed to govern.
The military regime instead unveiled its own "road map" to democracy and after more than a decade of delays drafted a new constitution, which was approved in a referendum in May.
The junta says the charter will set the stage for elections in 2010, but the pro-democracy movement says the process simply enthrones the army's position in the nation it has ruled since 1962.
"We firmly believe that the way to bring about democracy peacefully is the seven-step road map," Information Minister Kyaw Hsan said in comments to Gambari published in the New Light of Myanmar on Sunday.
He also told Gambari: "We have made all necessary arrangements for Your Excellency to meet with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. Your Excellency also wished to meet with her and tried your best."
Gambari flew to Yangon last Monday hoping to revive talks between Aung San Suu Kyi and the regime, but he was shunned by her and the junta's senior leadership, meeting only the prime minister, who holds little power.
In a statement released late Saturday, the United Nations said only that Gambari held "open and extensive meetings" with Prime Minister Thein Sein.

FRUITLESS EFFORT EXTENDS IN BURMA

Two Gambari aides were seen by neighbors outside the gate of Suu Kyi's residence Friday morning, shouting Gambari's name. They left when nobody came out to meet them.
Gambari and Suu Kyi were to have met Wednesday at a guest house but the Nobel Peace Prize laureate did not come. Neither the U.N. nor the government have said anything about the aborted meeting.
"We don't really know the reason why she did not meet Mr. Gambari. But we knew that she was unhappy with the situation," said Nyan Win, spokesman for Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy.
"She sets a time limit for everything and she may be unhappy with something," he said, without elaborating.
While allowing Gambari and other U.N. officials into the country, the junta says it will follow its own so-called "road map to democracy" which includes elections in 2010 under a recently promulgated Constitution which guarantees the military will maintain its grip on power

BURMA FACES ECONOMIC DRY UP AND GAMBARI LOSES TO MEET AUNG SAN SUU KYI

A source who is involved in smuggling migrant workers from Burma to Thailand estimated that about 300 Burmese migrants are illegally transported to Bangkok each day from border areas such as Mae Sot, Three Pagodas Pass, Mae Sai and Ranong.The most popular crossing point is Mae Sot, which is separated from the neighboring Burmese town of Myawaddy by the Moei River. Burmese routinely cross the river, either over the Thai-Burma Friendship Bridge, which links the two towns, or on inflated inner tubes.
According to the source, who is based in Mae Sot, about 150 people are smuggled from Mae Sot to Bangkok every day.
Three Pagodas Pass, near the Thai town of Sangkhlaburi, is another major point of entry, with around 60 Burmese migrants leaving the area for Bangkok daily, according to local businessman Nai Lawi Mon.
Some local observers suggested that the steady influx was due to the impact of Cyclone Nargis, which slammed into Burma’s largely agricultural Irrawaddy delta on May 2-3, destroying cropland and leaving many farmers without any means of making a living.
“Normally, very few people come to Thailand during the rainy season,” said Nai Lawi Mon. “But this year we are seeing more and more people coming.”
Cyclone Nargis hit Burma at a time when inflation and unemployment were already at their highest levels in years, forcing a growing number of Burmese to flee to neighboring countries in search of work.
It is estimated that there are more than a million Burmese migrants living and working in Thailand, of whom around 500,000 are registered with the Thai Ministry of Labor.
The perils of their journey were highlighted in April, when 54 Burmese migrants suffocated to death while being transported in a container truck from Ranong, near the Burmese border town of Kawthaung, to the Thai resort island of Phuket.
Although the tragedy prompted officials to step up efforts to stem the tide of illegal migrants into Thailand, Burmese continue to make the trip in a desperate bid to find jobs to support themselves and their families.
Many end up in Mahachai, home to the highest concentration of Burmese migrant workers in Thailand. Located a short distance from Bangkok, Mahachai attracts thousands of Burmese with low-paying jobs in the fish processing industry that are shunned by most Thais.
Mi Wot arrived in Mahachai a week ago and is still looking for work. She said she paid 460,000 kyat (US $383) for the trip. She made the journey, her first into Thailand, with ten other people, hiding in the back of a truck under a tarpaulin for three nights. The trip took so long, she explained, because of the numerous checkpoints along the way.
While Thai efforts seem to be doing little to prevent illegal migration into the country, the Burmese authorities have been carrying out a crackdown on their side of the border that appears to be having some effect, at least for now.
According to Maung Tu, a local businessman in Kawthaung, the human traffic into the neighboring Thai province of Ranong has slowed perceptibly in recent weeks.
Normally, several hundred people cross into Thailand each day; at the moment, the flow has been reduced to a trickle of around 30-50 people a day, according to sources in the area. Similar numbers have been reported in Mae Sai, near the Burmese town of Tachilek.
Meanwhile, the cost of smuggling migrants from Mae Sot to Bangkok has increased by about 2,000 Baht ($58) recently. It now costs 14,000 Baht ($412) make the trip to the Thai capital, sources said.

Opposition Leader Misses U.N. Meeting

Mr. Gambari turned up in the morning, but Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been under house arrest for the past five years, failed to arrive. Nyan Win, a spokesman for her National League for Democracy, said he did not know why she did not go, but added, "So far as I heard, she is not satisfied with the present condition during this visit of Mr. Gambari." The National League for Democracy won an election landslide in 1990 only to be denied power by the military. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is planning to visit Myanmar at the end of this year to hold talks on the country's political problems, the main opposition party said Wednesday (20 Aug).
National League for Democracy party spokesman Nyan Win said it was informed of the planned talks by visiting U.N. special envoy Ibrahim Gambari.
Gambari met Wednesday with five executive committee members of the party, which is led by detained Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. He arrived Monday (18 Aug) on a five-day mission to promote national reconciliation and political reform.
It is Gambari's fourth trip to the military-ruled country since a deadly crackdown on anti-government protesters last September sparked a global outcry.

CHALLENGING SHOW UP CREDENTIALS TO KICK OUT BURMA'S REGIME

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BURMA ISSUE MUST BE UNDER UN PRESSURE IN TIME

There's growing pressure to bring the Myanmar case back to the UN Security Council. So we are not sitting quietly, we are doing what we can do to help...ensure a more credible process," he told reporters.
"This is a difficult issue...and I don't expect much that there will be a big change in Myanmar." Indonesia is a non-permanent member of the Security Council and a founding member of Asean. China has good relations with Myanmar's junta and has blocked previous U.S.-led calls for UN sanctions.
The U.S., the European Union and Australia slapped tougher sanctions on Myanmar's military regime in the wake of the bloody suppression of pro-democracy protests in September last year.
Washington warned Myanmar's military rulers last month that they must cooperate with U.N. mediator Ibrahim Gambari or face increased pressure from the council.
Gambari was expected to meet Myanmar's detained democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi in Yangon on Wednesday, sources in her National League for Democracy party said.
Gambari is on a mission to relaunch talks between the detained Nobel peace prize winner and the military, which has ruled Myanmar since 1962 and refuses to recognise her landslide victory in 1990 elections.
The generals plan to hold elections in 2010 under a new constitution which bars Aung San Suu Kyi from running for office and gives the military broad powers to intervene in government.
"Myanmar claims to have a new constitution and these elections will be multi- party elections, but what is important for us at Asean is to ensure that a more credible process is taking place," Wirajuda said.
He said the elections and the "follow-up transfer of power" in 2010 had to be "acceptable to the international community." Aung San Suu Kyi has been under house arrest for most of the past 18 years.

SIX DIE AND THOUSANDS FLEE WHEN UN ENVOY TOURS

Six people—three men, two women and a child—were killed in Bawbada, located about 5 miles from Mogok, on August 16, after their home was swept away by a landslide, according to Mogok resident Hla Oo.
Hla Oo said it has been raining almost continuously for three months in Mogok—known as the ruby capital of the world—and there is still no sign of it abating.
In June, at least eleven people in Mogok were killed following flooding and landslides.
Meanwhile, torrential rain which started in early August has flooded at least 25 wards and villages in Pegu Division, forcing about three thousands residents to flee the area, according to residents of Pegu, located about 105 miles from Rangoon.
Heavy rain also damaged thousands of acres of paddy fields and some fields are still flooded, said local residents. Flooded regions included Pyuntansa, Shwegyin and Madauk, all in Pegu Division.
Pe Pe, a resident of Pegu, the capital of Pegu Division, said local authorities had opened temporary rescue shelters for flood victims at schools and monasteries. Authorities and volunteer donors, including monks, are now providing food to the refugees, she said.
She added that the rain has now stopped in the area, and some residents were returning to their homes.
A police officer in Pegu who refused to be named said they established about 19 temporary rescue camps and have provided packages of rice to refugees. He said that the situation is now returning to normal and people are starting to return. He also claimed the flooding had no impact on paddy fields.
In Pyuntansa, Shwegyin and Madauk, however, the rain has not stopped and floodwaters have not subsided. Local residents said they haven’t received any assistance from the authorities. Shwegyin and Madaunk are totally flooded and people have to use boats to get around, said residents.
Chit Thar, a resident of Pyuntansa, said authorities had ignored requests for help.
“I told the Ward Peace and Development Council that we [farmers] couldn’t find paddy seeds. I asked them to sell paddy seeds to us, but they said they couldn’t,” she said.
Meanwhile, rising water levels on the Irrawaddy River have alarmed residents of Nyaungdon Township in Irrawaddy Division, who say they are worried about the possible collapse of a dam located near the village of Kachaung.
If the dam collapses, the towns of Nyaungdon, Maubin, and Twante could be flooded, said residents. The authorities have not given any warning of this threat to people in the area.
Last Saturday, the state-run Myanma Ahlin newspaper reported that the floods hit areas of Rangoon and the Irrawaddy delta, where Cyclone Nargis left a swathe of devastation in early May, as well as other regions of the country. No casualties were reported.

UN envoy tours Myanmar

A Myanmar official said Gambari traveled to Kungyangone township, south of the main city Yangon, to witness the recovery from Cyclone Nargis, which left 138,000 dead or missing in early May.
He had planned to travel by helicopter into more remote regions of the Irrawaddy Delta, the key rice-growing region that bore the brunt of the storm, the official said.
But the flight was cancelled due to heavy rains this week, which have compounded the struggles of 2.4 million cyclone survivors, many of whom remain without permanent shelters.
Gambari was later expected to meet Information Minister Kyaw Hsan in Yangon.
It is Gambari's first visit since the cyclone hit, and comes exactly a year after anti-government protests broke out, sparked by an overnight hike in fuel prices that left many people unable to afford even a bus fare to work.
The former student leaders who led the protest were arrested days later and remain in prison. Buddhist monks began leading the rallies in September but were brutally suppressed by the military.
Gambari's visit aims to restart a political dialogue with the opposition in the military-ruled country that was put on hold when the cyclone hit, and to allow for greater humanitarian access to the disaster victims.
Myanmar has been ruled by the military since 1962. The opposition National League for Democracy led by Aung San Suu Kyi won a landslide victory in 1990 elections, but the junta never allowed them to take office.
UN officials described Gambari's last visit to Myanmar in March as "disappointing," after the junta publicly rebuffed his calls for political reform and rejected his offer to send election monitors for a referendum that approved a new constitution in May.
Gambari met Monday with Myanmar Foreign Minister Nyan Win, state media said, as well as foreign diplomats, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and a special panel overseeing the aid effort for victims of Cyclone Nargis

NONE-STOP KILLING IS STILL CONTINUING IN BURMA

The five students were returning to the University after singing in front of a girl's hostel when they were stopped by about 10 policemen, who asked them to come with them to the police station, the eyewitness said. "The police told the students that since they had been singing political songs, they must come to the police station. The police threatened them that they will be beaten up if they do not go to the police station," the eyewitness told Mizzima. "But the students refused to go and said 'we will not follow you, do what you want with us.' Then the policemen charged at the students," said the eyewitness, who requested not to be named for fear of reprisal. Reportedly, Aung Kyaw Soe Win (19), and his friend Tun Min were beaten up severely and were pushed into a police van, where Aung Kyaw Soe Win died even before he could be admitted to hospital. Though the other three students fled, they were later arrested by the police and are currently in custody with Tun Min at the police station, he added. But on the contrary, a Buddhist monk, who resides near the university campus and claimed to have heard of the incident said, the fight was not between the students and policemen but was between student rivals. The No (2) Monywa Police station, when contacted by Mizzima, said they have a case of brawl between students filed in the office but decline to further elaborate on the case. A classmate of Aung Kyaw Soe Win in Monywa University, when contacted by Mizzima, said while he was not aware of Aung Kyaw Soe Win's death, "he has not come for class and I called out absent on his behalf." He said police have filled up the university campus and have tightened security, though he is not aware of the police's apprehensions. Aung Kyaw Soe Win's friend, who claimed to have seen his death body, however, said, "He was badly injured on his head and his skull was smashed. Their families covered his face with a handkerchief." Aung Kyaw Soe Win and his friends on Thursday had sung political songs in front of a girl's hostel, his friend told in an email interview. Though he was not in the group with Aung Kyaw Soe Win, he said, he heard them sing the Burmese 'National Anthem' and other political songs that are dedicated to Burma's Independence Hero - General Aung San. In Burma, youngsters love to sing on the roadside at night, and University campuses are frequently filled with groups of young students roaming, with guitars and other light musical equipments, and singing at door-step of girl's hostels. In a country, with little space for legal entertainment for young people, the practice of singing in front of girl's hostels or on roadsides has not been considered illegal or criminal. Meanwhile, Aung Kyaw Soe Win's friend said, the police have reportedly told his elder brother that he was under the influence of alcohol and died in a fight between students and warned him not to spread about the case. Augn Kyaw Soe Win's friend said his body will be buried on Sunday. Aung Kyaw Soe Win, who had come from 'Minn Tine Pinn' village in west of Monywa city, and was staying in Nandawun ward of Chan Mya Tharsi Township in Monywa, was pursuing his degree course in Law, according to his friend.

THE ACTUAL STEP OF GLOBAL JUSTIC CENTER

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BURMA REGIME MILITARY RAPE BEFORE GAMBARI

According to the BCUK, Nhkum Hkawn Din's skull was smashed, her eyes were gouged out, her throat was slit, she had stab wounds on her right rib cage, and her face was mutilated. She had been stabbed in the abdomen after she was raped. She was further violated with knives.

"This is a horrific attack and should remind governments and the United Nations of the true nature of this regime," Nang Seng said in a statement released on Friday.

"There is no justice or rule of law in Burma," she added.

Nang Seng told Mizzima that despite complaints lodged by the parents of the teenage girl, the authorities until today have failed to take action against the perpetrators of the horrific crime.

"Her parents have already complained at the police station but the local police told them that there is not enough evidence to prove the crime," Nang Seng said.

While there is no eyewitness to the rape and mutilation of the teenage girl by Burmese Army soldiers, BCUK accused the soldiers of being the perpetrators.

Meanwhile, another advocacy group, the Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) in a statement released on Friday condemned the brutal act and called on the international community to exert more pressure on the Burmese regime.

"This latest tragedy is another example of the grotesque barbarism of the military regime in Burma, and evidence that despite what the regime tells UN envoys, they continue to perpetrate crimes against humanity with impunity," Alexa Papadouris, Advocacy Director at CSW, said

In accordance with the UN Security Council Resolution 1820, which describes rape and sexual violence as a crime against humanity on June 19, 2008, both CSW and BCUK called on the International Criminal Court to charge the Burmese regime with crime against humanity.

"We believe that the Generals ruling Burma should be brought to the International Criminal Court on charges of crimes against humanity," said Papadouris.

UN LOST AND BURMA SITUATION

The mayor of Rangoon has confirmed that security will be heightened in the former capital in the coming weeks, as Burma approaches another sensitive anniversary, this time marking last year’s monk-led uprising against military rule.
Speaking to local journalists on August 13, Rangoon mayor Brig-Gen Aung Thein Linn said that the number of security forces in Burma’s largest city would be increased in response to reports of a terrorist threat.
The military presence in Rangoon has been noticeably greater since late July, according to local residents, who said that soldiers and riot police in full uniform had been deployed around the city center in advance of the 20th anniversary of the “Four Eights” uprising of August 8, 1988.
“The soldiers and police that have been deployed since the end of July are still in sight,” said one Rangoon resident. “It looks like the tightened security will continue because the anniversary of the monks’ uprising is coming.”
In addition to barricades and security forces wielding batons or assault rifles, residents have reported seeing plainclothes agents near university campuses, monasteries, pagodas and other public areas that have traditionally served as focal points for protests.
“The security around Shwedagon, Kabar Aye and Kyaik Ka San is very tight right now, with soldiers and riot police everywhere,” said another local resident, naming three pagodas that were at the center of last year’s demonstrations, the largest since 1988.
Meanwhile, four Buddhist monasteries in Pakokku, where harsh handling of protesting monks last August fueled much larger demonstrations the following month in Rangoon, are also being closely watched by local military authorities.
According to an abbot at one of these monasteries, monks have continued to refuse alms from military leaders and their families since the army crushed last year’s uprising. More than 3,000 protesters were arrested and at least 31 people killed in the crackdown, according to UN estimates.
In Rangoon, pictures of four alleged terrorists, along with an offer of a 2.5 million kyat reward for information leading to their arrest, have been posted to alert residents of the threat to their security.
However, most observers believed that the scare tactics were little more than a pretext for increasing the military presence in Rangoon ahead of the sensitive anniversary.
“Terrorists are coming, so everyone must be on high alert,” said a skeptical Rangoon-based lawyer, noting that Burma’s military rulers have used such tactics many times in the past since seizing power in 1962.

UN estimates $1.56m of cyclone aid lost in Myanmar

The United Nations Thursday acknowledged that over the past three months some 1.56 million dollars in aid for the victims of Cyclone Nargis has been lost to Myanmar's odd foreign exchange regulations.
"The loss in value due to foreign exchange for the Cyclone Nargis international humanitarian aid during the last three months has been about 1.56 million dollars," said Daniel Baker, UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Myanmar.
"We are not getting the full value of dollars donated for emergency relief, and donors are extremely worried and keen to see that this issue is resolved," said Baker, in the latest UN update on relief efforts for Cyclone Nargis.
UN Under Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs John Holmes had raised concerns about the loss during his first visit to the country last month.
Under Myanmar's foreign exchange controls, all foreign agencies must convert their dollars in to Foreign Exchange Certificates (FECs) at government banks before making local purchases.
A sharp devaluation of the FECs against the dollar between May to July meant the UN and various non-governmental organisations providing relief to victims of Cyclone Nargis, were losing up to 20 to 25 per cent on the FEC exchange rate.
Myanmar's military government has apparently refused to drop its foreign exchange requirements, which have been in place for decades, but recommended that UN agencies and NGOs make direct dollar transfers when making purchases in the country, as a means of skirting the FEC use.
The FEC system was put in place to assure that official transactions put dollars in the state banking system and got them out of the ubiquitous black market.
Attracting international aid for the relief effort for Cyclone Nargis, which smashed into central Myanmar on May 2-3 leaving about 140,000 people dead or missing, has already been complicated by the government's initial reluctance to allow supplies in to the hard-hit Irrawaddy delta and its refusal to grant visas to foreign aid workers.
The refusal to lift its foreign exchange requirements of monetary aid was deemed another barrier to donations for the Cyclone Nargis effort.

Myanmar dissidents stay out of sight

A student opposition movement in Myanmar is leaving its trademark red cross in public places but is otherwise keeping a low profile, its members say.
The crosses -- spray-painted on walls and traffic signals -- have been appearing more frequently, the German magazine Der Spiegel reports. Students who go out at night with cans of paint have adopted the name "Red Campaign" for their movement.
The campaign operates deep undercover, with members organized into groups of five. In one recent case, when posters that said "Remember 88" were pasted on a university wall, soldiers were sent to remove them.
"The government has seldom been so hated as it is now," a teacher who is a leader in another group, "88 New Generation," said.
The 88 refers to Aug. 8, 1988, when 1 million people participated in non-violent protests against the former dictator, Ne Win. Aung San Suu Kyi emerged as a leader in 1988 and has been under house arrest for most of the time since.
On the 20th anniversary last week, demonstrations were held around the world against the military junta, except in Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, where a silent march ended in about 50 arrests.

20TH ANNIVERSARY FOR 8888 UPRISING IN NEWYORK

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RAPE WREADING IN BURMA AND RANGOON GEM IGNORES US BAN

The duo, accompanied by actress-activist Mia Farrow and other rights campaigners, visited clinics and refugee camps to hear first-hand the plight of women affected by the violence in the two areas.
"Unfortunately, in the ethnic cleansing being carried out by the Burmese military junta in eastern Burma, rape is being used as a tool of war, as it is in Darfur," Williams said, using Myanmar's former name Burma.
"The obvious purpose, in my view, is to destroy the fabric of the community. If the women are raped, they are obviously shamed in the eyes of their community. Often times the husbands divorce the women, who are left alone," she said.
Maathai said women were the first to be "victimised" in conflicts -- "victimised by the fighters and then be victimised by the men that you love.
"It is very, very painful and for the women, it is pain you live with all your life.
"As for the girls, you can imagine the trauma and sometimes, I would look at the eyes of the women in the camp and just wonder whether she is one of those who was raped and what is going on in her heart and mind," Maathai said.
Within a camp in Chad sheltering refugees who fled the Darfur conflict in neighboring Sudan, Williams said she met with a group of about 30 to 40 women and "within the space of the hour that I had with them, I've heard of seven tell the stories of their gang rape.
"One woman was 35 years old and she had been raped by several of the Janjaweed (Arab militia in Sudan) and by the time she saw her husband, he already knew she was raped and he divorced her on the spot, leaving her with eight children," she said.
"Obviously, if you do this to enough communities, you destroy the family, you destroy the fabric of a community and if you do it throughout enough villages, you can shred the fabric of an ethnic group, which is what they are doing in Darfur and which is what they have done in the eastern part of Burma," she said.
According to the United Nations, up to 300,000 people have died and more than 2.2 million have fled their homes since the conflict erupted in Sudan's western Darfur region in February 2003.
It began when African ethnic minority rebels took up arms against the Arab-led Khartoum regime and state-backed Arab militias, fighting for resources and power in one of the most remote and deprived places on earth.
In Myanmar, rights groups charge the soldiers from the country's ruling military junta raped women in ethnic minority areas in an apparent bid to punish populations suspected of supporting insurgency groups.
Williams said a sister of a rape victim from Myanmar she spoke to in Thailand along the border with the military-run country was eager to complete her education so that she could return to help her people.
"This young woman was going to stand up and struggle for her sister, for her community, showing again the resilience in the face of such brutality which amazes me," she said.

Rangoon gem sellers ignore U.S. ban

Business is good here at the sales center of the Myanmar Gems Museum, despite legislation signed by President Bush last month to ban the import of rubies and jade into America. Rangoon gem sellers dismissed the sanction against their government as a symbolic gesture unlikely to have much effect on their lucrative trade."Our buyers are almost all from China, Russia, the Gulf, Thailand, India and the European Union, and we can barely keep up with their demand," said Theta Mar of Mandalar Jewelry, a store in the museum gem shop, where prices range from a few hundred dollars to about $18,000 for the best rubies.Burma produces up to 90 percent of the world's rubies and is a top international supplier of other gems and jade. The government-controlled sector, often criticized for harsh working conditions and poor environmental controls, is a major source of export revenue for the military.No recent or reliable official statistics on the gemstone trade are publicly available, but analysts and human rights groups say it likely brings the military regime between $300 million and $400 million a year.The embargo on gems is the latest U.S. move to apply financial pressure on the junta. Many Western nations have instituted economic and political sanctions against the military government, which seized power in 1988, violently suppressed pro-democracy demonstrations by monks last year and hindered foreign aid after a devastating cyclone in May.The U.S. bill bans all import of gems from Burma. U.S. officials say Burma had been evading earlier gem-targeting sanctions by laundering the stones in third countries before they were shipped to the U.S. The United States also has been trying to persuade the U.N. Security Council to consider introducing international sanctions, and has demanded that the junta release opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest.Exiled Burmese pro-democracy activists hailed the new U.S. measure.The junta has not issued an official response. And local officials have privately told foreign diplomats the embargo will have no effect on the sector's foreign sales unless the wider international community joins in. Burma's rubies, and particularly the rare "Pigeon Blood" stones, are highly prized on international markets because of their unique deep color. The country's precious jadeite deposits produce the dark green "Imperial Jade" that is sought-after in China and other countries in the region.The junta holds regular gem auctions for foreign merchants during which it sells thousands of lots of valuable stones, which are said to generate upward of $100 million in foreign currency per sale. "We are not concerned" by the U.S. embargo, said Myint Myint Cho of the Min Thiha Jewelry Shop in downtown Rangoon.

LONELY LADY AND JUSTIC FOR BURMA

Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been allowed to meet her lawyer for the first time after five years under house arrest, opposition sources have said.
Suu Kyi met with her lawyer Kyi Win Friday at her residence in Yangon, where she has been detained since May 2003, said National League for Democracy (NLD) spokesman Nyan Win Sunday.
'Authorities allowed her lawyer U Kyi Win to visit her house on Aug 8 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.,' Nyan Win, NLD's spokesman said in a telephone interview.
Suu Kyi, who heads the NLD party that won the 1990 general election, has been kept in near complete isolation since May 30, 2003, when she was charged with disturbing the peace by campaigning in the provinces.
The detention followed an attack by pro-military thugs on Suu Kyi's convoy in Tepeyin, Sagaing division in northern Myanmar. Several of her followers were killed in the melee.
Under Myanmar emergency law political prisoners can only be kept under detention for a maximum of five years on charges of disturbing the peace but Suu Kyi's detention was last May extended for another six months, raising legal questions.
Myanmar's ruling junta has been sending mixed signals about the duration of Suu Kyi's incarceration.
There have been hints that she may be released within six months, but many observers believe it is unlikely that she will be released before the next general election slated for 2010.
Suu Kyi's NLD party won the 1990 polls by a landslide, but the party has been denied power by the military for 18 years and she has been kept under house arrest for around 13 of the past 18 years.
Myanmar has been under military rule since 1962. Ironically, it was Suu Kyi's father, Aung San, who fathered the military establishment as part of the country's independence movement from its former colonial master Britain.
Suu Kyi, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991, is deemed Myanmar's democracy icon, and one of the few opposition leaders with enough popular and international support to undermine the military's monopoly of political power in the south-east Asian nation.

Justice for Myanmar

The leading groups are on record as calling for the United Nations Security Council to refer Myanmar to the International Criminal Court and end the impunity given Senior Gen. Than Shwe and his criminal cabal.
These groups include the International Burmese Monks Organization, 88 Generation Students, the Women’s League of Burma, the National Coalition for the Union of Burma and the legal arm of the exile movement, the Burma Lawyers’ Council, in partnership with the Global Justice Center.
A March 25, 1990, editorial in The Times said, “Behind closed doors, Myanmar’s military rulers are committing monstrous deeds.”
Eighteen years later, these monstrous deeds — rape, torture, detention, murder and terror — have become official state policy.
Those of us in 88 Generation Students, many of whom were tortured and imprisoned, urge the United States to first and foremost support the rule of law and criminal accountability.
The people of Burma have the same rights to justice as victims in Cambodia, Sudan, Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia.

Htun Aung Gyaw
New York, Aug. 7, 2008
The writer is a spokesman for 88 Generation Students in exile. The group is made up of former student leaders who led an uprising against military rule in Myanmar in 1988.

8888 20th Anniversary Protest Against Brutal Regime

New Delhi - Burmese activists and international supporters across the globe on Friday held commemorations of the 20th anniversary of the popular '8.8.88' uprising, which its military rulers brutally crushed, killing at least 3000 protestors.While in many parts of the world Burmese activists and their supporters held protests, some held commemorative functions, as well as photo exhibitions on last years September protests and impacts of Cyclone Nargis that hit Burma in early May.Activists urged international community to escalate pressure on the Burmese junta, which ruled the country since 1962 and demanded the release of political prisoners including pro-democracy leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.The twentieth anniversary of the August 8, 1988 democracy protests, were observed with demonstrations by activists in several countries including Malaysia, India, Korea, Japan, Thailand and United States.New Delhi, IndiaNearly 200 Burmese nationals in New Delhi held a brief protest in commemoration of the August 8, 1988 mass uprising."We are upholding the spirit of '8888' and we demand democracy in our country," said, Yan Paing Soe, a youth member of the National League for Democracy – Liberated Area, the group that organized the protest.In another event, Burmese democracy activists along with Indian supporters held conference in remembrance of the Burmese democracy struggle that largely came to be known since August 8, 1988.Besides, a New York based Global Justice Center, in collaboration with Burmese 88 generation students, International Burmese Monks Organization (IBMO), US Campaign for Burma and supporters also held a commemorative talk in New Delhi.Tokyo, JapanIn Tokyo, more than 1,000 Burmese nationals from several exiled political parties marched around the city for over an hour walking and held a brief demonstration in front of the Burmese embassy.Myat Thu, an activist involved in organizing the program said, "We held a brief demonstration in front of the Burmese embassy and demanded for the release of all political prisoners including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, and to begin dialogue and to immediately convene the peoples parliament."Demonstrators also shouted slogans that call on Burma's military rulers 'to stop killing and abusing the Burmese people' and urged the international community to intervene and pressure for changes in the country.Kuala Lumpur, MalaysiaIn Malaysia's capital city of Kuala Lumpur, over 100 Burmese activists demonstrated in front of the Burmese Embassy in commemoration of the '8888' uprising."We marched to the Burmese Embassy and held a brief 30 minutes protest," said Ye Min Htun, an activist who involved in organizing the protest.He said, the activists were only allowed to hold protest for half an hour as the security situation in Kuala Lumpur is unfavorable.But the Burmese activist said, they were able to show the people of the struggle for democracy in Burma through a photo exhibition on the August 8, 1988 mass uprising.Seoul, KoreaIn Seoul, members of exiled National League for Democracy – Liberated Area led a protest in front of the Burmese Embassy and were able to give a press conference to the local media."We are able explain about what happens in 1988 August 8 protest and tell the people of the situation now in Burma after twenty years of the protests and we call on the people to help Burmese people to achieve democracy and justice in Burma," said Zaw Moe Aung ,spokesman of the NLD-LA in Korea.Mae Sod, ThailandIn the Thai-Burmese border town of Mae Sod, a place where United States' first lady Laura Bush had visited on the previous day to meet with Burmese refugees, pro-democracy activists held a commemorative function of the 20th anniversary of August 8, 1988 mass demonstration in Burma."We need to move forward by upholding the spirit of 1988 in our struggle for freedom from the brutal military dictators," said Min Naing, foreign affairs representative of the All Burmese Students Federation Union (ABSFU).Activists also held arts and photos exhibition on the '8888' protest and September 2007 protests at the Programme attended by over 300 activists and migrant workers.In a separate event, in Mea Tao Clinic, prayer services were held for those people killed by the military junta since the 1988 uprising and through out the twenty years of struggle."We want to create more awareness among the clinic staffs and the patients on the situation of our country both of the past and the present," said Aye Lwin, an office in-charge of the clinic.SingaporeIn Singapore, with restrictions imposed by the government, Burmese people were unable to hold a demonstration but held prayer services for the people those are killed during the protests in 1988 and in 2007 September."The event was held at the City hall and there are many people joining us," said an activist, who did not want to be named.

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BURMA SITUATION INSIDE AND OUTSIDE

Bush's Thailand trip turns heat on Myanmar
In a broad speech on U.S. involvement in Asia to be delivered on Thursday, Bush will repeat his mantra for Burma's military rulers "to release Aung San Suu Kyi," the opposition leader and Nobel laureate detained for the last five years.In all, Suu Kyi, 63, has been in prison or under house arrest for nearly 13 of the last 19 years.After a meeting with Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej, Bush praised Bangkok for its role in helping funnel emergency relief to the victims of Cyclone Nargis, which killed 134,000 when it slammed into Irrawaddy delta on May 2."We want to see prosperity and freedom restored to Burma," he told reporters.On Thursday, he will cover the whole gamut of U.S. policy in Asia, from North Korea's nuclear program to regional security and trans-Pacific trade to his strongest criticism yet of China's attitude to human rights."The United States believes the people of China deserve the fundamental liberty that is the natural right of all human beings," Bush will say, according to excerpts of Thursday's speech released in advance."So America stands in firm opposition to China's detention of political dissidents, human rights advocates and religious activists," he will say.However, the timing of his visit and the schedule in place for him and his wife in Thailand leaves little doubt about his other main message."8-8-88 DEMOCRACY"As well as the start of the Olympics in Beijing, Friday is the 20th anniversary of Burma's "8-8-88" democracy uprising, when an estimated 3,000 people were killed when troops were sent in to crush nationwide protests.On the eve of this numerically auspicious day, Bush will have lunch with activists who took part in the uprising before fleeing for their lives to Thailand, where they have campaigned for an end to military rule that stretches back to 1962.Laura Bush, who has adopted Burmese human rights as a personal cause, will travel to the Thai border to visit a refugee camp and health clinic for those fleeing the ethnic guerrilla wars that have roiled Burma's hinterlands for decades."Together, we seek an end to tyranny in Burma," Bush will say, echoing his Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, who has referred to Burma as an "outpost of tyranny."Under Bush, Washington has been at the forefront of the West tightening up sanctions against Burma, a policy criticized for merely increasing the international isolation in which junta supremo Than Shwe appears to revel.The depth of distrust of the outside world was highlighted in May when the junta refused U.S. and French offers of military helicopters and ships to assist the victims of Cyclone Nargis."Nargis has shown that if the U.S. wants to help the Burmese people, they need to have some kind of relationship with the Burmese military government," Aung Naing Oo, one of the exiled dissidents set to meet Bush on Thursday, told Reuters."Than Shwe wants to isolate Burma. If the U.S. tries to isolate Burma, they are simply doing Than Shwe's work for him," he said.

Burma beefs up border troops

The troop build-up is said to have begun four days ago in the border areas opposite the northern provinces of Tak, Chiang Rai, Chiang Mai and Mae Hong Son, the source said.It is estimated that more than 10 battalions have been despatched to the areas.In the Burmese border town of Tachilek, opposite Chiang Rai's Mae Sai district, troops have also been deployed at key public establishments.It is also reported that Burmese troops and artillery have been sent to a disputed border area covering 32 square metres on Doi Lang mountain, opposite Chiang Mai's Mae Ai district.The security boost has been prompted by a report that violence might erupt on the Thai-Burmese border to mark the 8/8/88 pro-democracy uprising, said the source.The prospect of violence has reportedly been heightened by US President George W. Bush's visit to Thailand.''The US president plans to address the problems in Burma, so this might irritate the Burmese authorities,'' said the source.It is reported that Burmese activists will rally in front of the Burmese embassy tomorrow to demand the Burmese government release political prisoners arrested over the past 20 years.Meanwhile, Chaowalit Sirikij, commander of the Pha Muang Task Force, yesterday said Thai authorities are unaware of the rumour about a possible outbreak of violence at the Thai-Burmese border.He added the military build-up along the border is Burma's internal affair.Maj-Gen Chaowalit said the Thai-Burmese Regional Border Committee (RBC) is scheduled to meet in Chiang Rai province today and tomorrow.A security source said Burma is expected to make a protest over the disputed border area during the RBC meeting.Two months ago, Burmese soldiers arrested two Thai villagers for trespassing over the border.The villagers were later released after negotiations, said the source.

Security Tight on Anniversary of Burma Uprising
Twenty years after millions took to the streets in a failed bid to bring down Burma's dictatorship, the prospects for change remain dim.
The mood inside the country is weary, even as activists plan to hold demonstrations worldwide on Friday to mark the 20th anniversary of the 1988 uprising. That protest has become known as the 8-8-88 uprising, because it peaked around August 8.
"I've totally lost hope that change will come through mass protests," said Min Aung, a dissident in Rangoon who marched in 1988 and again in demonstrations last year. "It's difficult to organize protests now because most of the leaders are in jail or in hiding."
Photo dated August 1988 shows demonstrators gathering in central Rangoon to protest against the government. As China celebrates the start of the Olympics on Friday with much fanfare, activists in neighboring Burma will silently mourn the bloody end of an uprising that crushed their dreams of democracy 20 years ago. (Photo: AFP)In Rangoon, the country's largest city, the only sign of the impending anniversary was beefed-up security. Hundreds of riot police were posted at busy intersections, and others—armed with batons and tear gas canisters—patrolled in trucks.
The military regime that has ruled the country for 46 years shows no signs of collapse, despite international condemnation and economic sanctions.
US President George Bush, on a visit to neighboring Thailand Thursday, called for an end to the "tyranny" in Burma. His wife, Laura Bush, traveled to a refugee camp elsewhere in Thailand to meet with some of those who have fled Burma.
"Twenty years have gone by and everything is still the same or maybe worse in Burma," she said.
The 1988 demonstration did bring down longtime dictator Ne Win, but a new group of generals replaced him and brutally crushed the protests in September, killing an estimated 3,000 people.
The protests propelled Aung San Suu Kyi, daughter of Burma's independence hero Aung San, into the political limelight, and helped found her National League for Democracy party to challenge army rule.
Elections were held in 1990, but the military refused to recognize the landslide victory of Suu Kyi's party. Suu Kyi, who won the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize, has spent 12 of the past 19 years under house arrest.
Outside of the country, activists are planning demonstrations around the globe Friday at embassies of both Burma and China, a key ally of Burma that activists say could pressure the leadership to bring about change. The protests will also coincide with the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Beijing.
"We urge the international community to stand united with us and deny the regime the means to continue oppressing and killing civilians," a coalition of more than 50 pro-democracy groups said in a statement.
With many leading dissidents either locked up or living abroad in exile, both activists and western diplomats in Burma say the democracy movement is short on dynamic leaders to challenge the military.
Tens of thousands took to the streets in several cities last year in the largest demonstrations since 1988, but the military crushed the protests, killing at least 13 people.
The government has promised change through a new constitution, which activists say only ensures the generals' tight grip on power.
Nyunt Hlaing, a 57-year old grocery shop owner in Rangoon, recalled with fondness how he marched for a month in 1988 and even threw stones at soldiers and put up barricades to stop their armored vehicles.
"I cannot participate the way I did in 1988. I am older now and have a family to take care of," Nyunt Hlaing said. "Those were the days, and I don't expect demonstrations of that scale to ever take place again in the country."
Burmese dissidents in Thailand, acknowledge they are at a loss as to how to bring down the regime, at least in the short term.
"A lot of people are saying, 'What has gone wrong? Where are we now?' "said Aung Naing Oo, who took part in the 1988 uprising and was among nine dissidents who met with President Bush Thursday. "Why are we still in this situation?"

88GSE STATEMENT FOR 20 TH ANNIVERSARY OF 8888 NATIONWIDE UPRISING

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UN ENVOY MEET MONKS UNDER REGIME WATCH AND 20 KILLED IN JADE MINE

Buddhist monks led mass anti-government protests in September that were violently put down by security forces who opened fire on crowds and beat people in the streets.
The official did not say whether Quintana met monks who were personally involved in the protests.
Quintana's predecessor, Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, said in a report to the UN Human Rights Council in November that at least 31 people were killed and 74 remained missing after the crackdown.
He also said that about 1,850 political prisoners were behind bars, and that the government had "accelerated" unlawful arrests.
Later Monday, Quintana was set to meet with the panel coordinating the relief effort for 2.4 million victims of Cyclone Nargis, which pounded Myanmar three months ago.
The so-called Tripartite Core Group includes representatives of Myanmar's government, the United Nations, and other Southeast Asian countries. The panel was created to address concerns that the junta was stonewalling the relief effort.
Quintana plans Tuesday to visit the hardest-hit regions of the Irrawaddy Delta, which suffered most of the damage from the storm that left more than 138,000 dead or missing, the Myanmar official said.
Before his trip ends on Thursday, he also aims to meet state officials, ethnic groups and political parties, and try to open talks with the generals on improving their human rights record.
Human rights groups, foreign governments and the United Nations accuse the junta of a string of abuses, including suppressing the democracy movement, persecuting ethnic minorities and imprisoning dissidents.

At least 20 killed in Myanmar jade mine landslide

"A number of people panning for gold in the earth were buried alive," a person involved in the jade industry in Yangon told Reuters, saying they had heard about the July 30 incident through traders in the northern state of Kachin, where it happened.
Official media in the former Burma have made no mention of the tragedy, which the source said occurred at the Hmawzizar Jade Mine in Phakant, a major jade mining area about 1,500 km (930 miles) north of Yangon.
"At least 20 bodies had been found as of August 3," said the source, who did not want to be named.
Although one of Asia's poorest countries, Myanmar is a major gemstone producer and such incidents are not uncommon. At least 16 people were killed in a landslide caused by torrential rains in Mogok, the centre of Myanmar's ruby mining, in June.
Locals frequently blame the mining companies, especially those owned by cronies of the ruling military junta, saying they operate mines in Dickensian conditions with scant regard for the safety or welfare of the workers.
Myanmar, an international pariah after 46 years of unbroken military rule, produced more than 20 million kilograms of jade last year, contributing to nearly $650 million of foreign exchange from sales of precious and semi-precious stones.