Crackdown on Burmese Dissidents in Chiang Mai

By THE IRRAWADDY

Thai police officers on Sunday raided the offices of several exiled Burmese opposition groups including the Human Rights Education Institute of Burma, the Burmese Women’s Union and the National Health and Education Committee.

A Burmese source confirmed that 10 Burmese women from the Burmese Women’s Union who were attending a capacity-building workshop in Chiang Mai were apprehended and are now in custody.

The police came with information and photos of the locations of Burmese offices. The arrests took place on Sunday when many offices were closed for the weekend.

The offices of several Chiang Mai-based Burmese opposition groups and media organizations have remained temporarily closed on Monday. The motive for the arrests and the reason why Burmese human rights workers and dissidents have been targeted is not yet known.

Several exiled Burmese and foreign groups have opened NGOs and advocacy offices in Chiang Mai in recent years.

Burmese groups faced the most repressive times under Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s administration in the early 2000s. Many offices were shut down for several weeks due to fears of intimidation and crackdowns.

International human rights groups and Western governments expressed concern for the safety of exiled Burmese dissidents living in Thailand at the time.

Under the current Thai government, Burmese groups in Thailand have enjoyed relative freedom without any major harassment.

According to diplomatic sources, Western embassies in Bangkok are closely watching the situation.

Burma Newscasts - Crackdown on Burmese Dissidents in Chiang Mai
Monday, September 14, 2009

READ MORE---> Crackdown on Burmese Dissidents in Chiang Mai...

Traditional Musician Missing After Arrest

Sittwe (Narinjara): A traditional drummer in Sittwe, the capital of Arakan State, has gone missing after being arrested by police on 11 August, 2009, said a relative.

"A police team raided U Kyaw Zan Maung's house on the night of 11 August and arrested U Tun Shwe. Since then, U Tun Shwe has been missing," he said.

A police team raided U Kyaw Zan Maung's house on the pretense that his drumming team went to Bangladesh illegally to teach drumming among the Arakanese community there.

After the raid, the police brought U Tun Shwe, who is a pupil of U Kyaw Zan Maung, to an unknown place for interrogation.

The high authority has since placed four police officers in front of U Kyaw Zan Maung's home to watch him and his drumming team's activities closely.

U Kyaw Zan Maung is a prominent drummer in Arakan State and his team is known as Saidra Tee Wai. They typically perform at Arakanese traditional festivals.

According to a local source, their are nearly 300 members on the Saidra Tee Wai drum team who are active in Sittwe against the military government.

A politician, who asked to remain anonymous, said that the authority claimed the unauthorized travel to Bangladesh was the reason for the raid on U Kyaw Zan Maung's house, but the truth is that the government is afraid the drum team might lead a demonstration in Sittwe.

Because of that fear, the police raided the drum leader’s home and arrested his student U Tun Shwe in order to crack down on them.

U Kyaw Zan Maung also served five years in prison before 2000 because his drum team had played and performed funeral music during a welcome ceremony for former Prime Minister General Khin Nyunt at Sittwe airport in 1994. At the time of the incident, Khin Nyunt was Secretary One of the SPDC.

Soon after the ceremony, U Kyaw Zan Maung was caught by the military authority and sentenced to five years in prison for the performance.

READ MORE---> Traditional Musician Missing After Arrest...

Police escorts for monks accepting offerings

By KNG

It has become mandatory, from early last week, for Buddhist monks going out to accept food offerings from local devotees in Myitkyina, the capital of Burma's northern Kachin State, to be escorted by two policemen, said local sources.

Eyewitnesses said, two armed policemen escorted a column of monks, when they left to accept offerings of food from local devotees each morning. (Su Taung Pyi monastery in Myitkyina, Kachin State, northern Burma.)

A resident of Myitkyina told KNG today, he saw each column of monks being escorted by two policemen. Monks in Su Taung Pyi and Ann Daw Shin monasteries in the town were also escorted by policemen when they went out to accept food offerings from devotees in the morning.

Local police sources said, the monks are being escorted to prevent any anti-junta demonstrations in the town similar to the countrywide monk-led anti-regime demonstrations known as the ‘Saffron Revolution’ in September, 2007. The order to escort monks comes from the junta's Maj-Gen Soe Win, commander of Myitkyina-based Northern Regional command (or Ma-Pa-Kha).

During the ‘Saffron Revolution’ in Myitkyina, Burmese security forces cracked down brutally on the monasteries in the town. Several monks were beaten to death by Burmese soldiers on the orders of Maj-Gen Ohn Myint, former commander of Northern Regional command.

The military authorities of Myitkyina have been listing monks, Christian pastors and preachers and all government personnel along with their brief bio data since last July, said residents of Myitkyina.

Residents believe that the data collection could be to take action quickly in the event of any anti-junta demonstration.

At the same time, the junta is also collecting the names and listing properties of all members of the Kachin Independent Organization (KIO) and its armed-wing the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), who are known to own houses and business ventures in Myitkyina.

From early this month, security has been beefed up in Myitkyina. Policemen in prison cell trucks are driving around the town at night, said local residents.

READ MORE---> Police escorts for monks accepting offerings...

Myanmar migrants stuck in Malaysia detention camps

By JULIA ZAPPEI

SEPANG, Malaysia (SF Gate-AP) --A growing number of immigrants from Myanmar are ending up stuck, often for months, in crowded detention centers in Malaysia designed to hold people for only a few weeks.

Almost 2,800 Myanmarese were detained at camps in July, more than double the 1,200 in January, partly because of a crackdown on human trafficking, a step-up in raids and a slow economy that leaves the migrants without jobs. People from Myanmar, a desperately poor country with a military junta, are now the biggest group among the 7,000 foreigners at detention centers in Malaysia.

At a center near the Kuala Lumpur International Airport, some 120 men sat in neat rows on the floor. Many had their legs drawn to their chests, and all were barefoot. There was not enough space and not enough bedding.

"There is no soap for taking a shower, nothing. They don't give us anything," said Kyaw Zin Lin, 23, who said he fled to avoid being drafted into the Myanmar army. "Every day we eat the food just to survive. ... They treat us like animals."

"It's very difficult to stay here," said Aung Kuh The, a pale 26-year-old. "We have got a lot of problems. Some people, you know, we want to see the doctor but we don't have the chance."

One reason for the rise in detainees is a crackdown on trafficking. A report published in April by the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations cited firsthand accounts of Myanmarese who said immigration officers turned them over to traffickers.

That practice has all but stopped, Myanmar community leaders in Malaysia say.

Now, though, the Myanmarese are trapped in detention. The Myanmar embassy often takes six months to register its citizens for deportation and charges them 620 ringgit ($180), much more than neighboring Indonesia. By contrast, detainees from other countries are typically deported within a week.

Calls to the Myanmar embassy were repeatedly put on hold and then unanswered.

About half the Myanmarese — those fleeing persecution — may qualify for U.N. refugee status, but that process takes up to four months. The others are economic migrants. Some 140,000 Myanmarese work in Malaysia, but foreign workers who are laid off lose the right to stay.

Some Myanmarese have spent more than six months in crowded, dirty detention centers. One man, whose brother was in detention for four months, said he would rather be sold to traffickers from whom he could buy his freedom.

"I prefer to be trafficked," said the man, who would only be identified by his nickname, Ryan, to protect his relatives in Myanmar. "I don't mind paying 2,000 ringgit ($570)."

Five of Malaysia's 13 detention centers are overcrowded; four of the five have large Myanmarese populations, according to the immigration department. Journalists from The Associated Press accompanied the human rights group Amnesty International on a rare visit recently to three detention centers just south of Kuala Lumpur, the country's biggest city.

At the Lenggeng Detention Depot, 1,400 people are crammed into dormitories meant for 1,200. Of them about 300 are from Myanmar.

Hundreds of men jostle each other for room in the bare dormitories. One sleeps on a stone ledge in a bathroom. Each dormitory is fenced by wire mesh and barbed wire, giving detainees just a few meters (feet) of space for walking.

"The detention centers we saw fell short of international standards in many respects, as the immigration authorities themselves acknowledge," said Michael Bochenek of Amnesty International. "It's a facility of such size that infectious diseases are communicated readily."

Saw Pho Tun, a refugee community leader, said some immigration officers have singled out Myanmarese detainees for rough treatment, beating them and not allowing them medical assistance. Immigration officials deny beating detainees and say everyone has access to medical care.

On July 1, detainees at another center flung their food trays and damaged some of the mesh fence. Immigration officials blamed the riot on frustration about having to stay so long, but detainees say they rioted because they were afraid of abuse.

Most of the blocks have now been shut for repairs, so more than 1,000 detainees — including 700 from Myanmar — were transferred ot other already crowded centers.

Abdul Rahman Othman, the director general of the Immigration Department, said he was taking steps to prevent his officers from being "entangled" in trafficking syndicates. He said officers would be rotated to different posts every three years and have a buddy system to supervise each other.

"Ninety-nine percent of us in immigration are good people," he said, denying the problem is widespread.

Police arrested five officers on trafficking allegations last month. They say their investigations revealed immigration officials took Myanmar immigrants to the Thai border and sold them for up to 600 ringgit ($170) to traffickers. The traffickers then told the migrants to pay 2,000 ringgit ($570) for their freedom, or they would be forced to work in the fishing industry, police said.

Myanmar community leaders said women who failed to pay were sold into prostitution.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/08/15/international/i101830D28.DTL#ixzz0OIp3pVF1

READ MORE---> Myanmar migrants stuck in Malaysia detention camps...

Are Monks Preparing to Return to the Streets?

By MIN LWIN
The Irrawaddy News

Buddhist monks, angered by the Burmese junta’s decision to place democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi under a further 18 months of house arrest, may be preparing to take to the streets again in protest, according to sources in Rangoon.

Burma’s monasteries, some with as many as a thousand monks, have been largely silent since a crackdown on monk-led protests nearly two years ago. But some monks say that simmering resentment could come to a head again over the August 11 court ruling, which found Suu Kyi guilty of violating the terms of her house arrest.

“We can’t accept the court’s shameful verdict,” said a monk from a monastery near Rangoon’s famous Shwedagon Pagoda. “The military government has angered us again.”

Local residents said they have seen a handful of monks gathering near Shwedagon and Sule pagodas, two of the focal points of massive pro-democracy demonstrations in September 2007. Both locations have been under close surveillance in recent weeks as the Rangoon Northern District Court prepared to pass sentence on Suu Kyi.

Security has also been tight in other parts of the former capital.

“Local authorities are closely watching young monks and their monasteries,” said a resident of North Okkalapa Township, on the outskirts of Rangoon. “There are plainclothes security forces keeping an eye on them. I’m not sure if the monks will take to the streets again or not.”

There are more than 400,000 monks in Burma—roughly equal to the number of personnel in the armed forces of the military-ruled country. They have always played an important role in Burma’s social and political affairs, often in opposition to oppressive regimes.

Since the 2007 uprising, dubbed the Saffron Revolution, the Burmese authorities have applied pressure on senior monks to control younger monks.

“Local authorities and the township Sangha Mahanayaka Committee [the state- sponsored Buddhist monks’ organization] have asked monasteries to submit the personal details and three photos of every monk,” said a monk from Zabu Aye Monastery in North Okkalapa Township.

“The authorities have also warned senior monks that if any monk from their monastery becomes involved in anti-government demonstrations, the senior monks will be either disrobed or sentenced to three years in prison,” said the monk.

The monk also said that the authorities have strictly restricted travel by monks, who are no longer allowed to go anywhere without a letter of recommendation from their monastery.

READ MORE---> Are Monks Preparing to Return to the Streets?...

Father fined for son sleeping in shop

Buthidaung, Arakan State (KPN): A father was fined by Burma’s border security force, Nasaka because his son slept in his shop instead of at home. He was penalized when the authorities were checking the family list on July 20, according to a friend of father.

The victim was identified as Abul Boshor (60), of Ward. No. 6 of Krinthama village of Buthidaung Township.

His son Shabbir Rahman (35) has a shop in Ward No. 4, though he is living in Ward No. 6. On that night, his son was sleeping in the shop when the Nasaka came to his house to check the family list. The Nasaka did not find Shabbbir Rahaman in his house. His father had already told them that his son was not present.

However, the Nasaka wanted to extort money from Abul Boshor and fined him kyat 100,000 and another 100,000 kyat for his son, said a local elder.

Nasaka and other concerned authorities barged into the Rohingya villages for extortion from the community by making false and fabricated allegations, said a schoolteacher on condition of anonymity.

“Though there is no activity of any rebellion group in Arakan, the concerned authorities create harassment for the Rohingya community and extort money by making allegations, which are not relevant,” said a local youth on condition of anonymity.

August 1st, 2009

READ MORE---> Father fined for son sleeping in shop...

Six NLD members freed

by Phanida

Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – Six members of the opposition National League for Democracy, arrested on Thursday evening, were freed by authorities on Friday. (JEG's: Out of 30?)

Thet Thet Aung of Rangoon’s Dagon Myothit Township,
Htein Win and
Khin Win Kyi of South Dagon Township,
Nyunt Hlaing of San Chuang Township, who is an elected member of Parliament in the 1990 elections,
Naw Ohn Hla and
Khin Myat Thu
were released after being detained for several hours since Thursday evening, according to NLD spokesperson, Ohn Kyaing.

On Thursday the authorities rounded up at least 30 people, mostly young supporters and members of the NLD, across the country, in a move to pre-empt anti-government protests on Friday, the day the court had earlier fixed to pronounce the verdict on the trial of Aung San Suu Kyi.

The court, however, postponed delivering the verdict on Aung San Suu Kyi to August 11, saying it is facing legal problems and needs time to decide.

Htein Win, youth in-charge of the NLD from South Dagon Township told Mizzima, “I arrived home at noon after being released. I was interrogated and asked what we will be doing on July 31. They asked whether we had plans to hold demonstrations and also wanted to know our plans for the 8.8.88 anniversary. They also asked what we will do if Aung San Suu Kyi is sentenced to a prison term.”

He said, the chairman of the ward, police from the special branch and several other officials came to his house at about midnight and asked him to come to the police station saying they needed to ask a few questions.

He was later taken to the office of the Ministry of Home and interrogated for two hours.

Htein Win said Khin Win Kyi was also brought to the same office for interrogation.

He was also reportedly made to sign a pledge not to say anything about the interrogations to the media.

READ MORE---> Six NLD members freed...

Opposition lawyer hounded by authorities

TIME TO PACK THE BAGS AND MOVE ON...
Loss of intellectual power for the junta -- jeg

by Myint Maung

New Delhi (Mizzima) – Nyi Nyi Htwe, a lawyer belonging to the opposition camp, recently released from jail and forced out of his profession, alleged he is finding it difficult to continue with his present calling of selling government lottery tickets because he is being hounded by authorities.

The 33 year-old lawyer from Pegu town has been selling government lottery tickets to eke out a livelihood, after his bar license was revoked. He alleged that authorities had warned lottery dealers not to franchise him nor hire out a push-cart to him for selling lottery tickets.

“Since my bar license has been revoked, there is nothing that I can do to survive. I have no other business, but my wife sells lottery tickets. Since we lack capital, we have to procure tickets from bigger agents on credit. We also cannot afford to hire a permanent push-cart. The authorities have been creating obstacles,” he told Mizzima.

His business associates have been warned against dealing with him. He is currently finding it extremely difficult to franchise government lottery tickets and hiring a push-cart, given the harassment by the authorities.

Nyi Nyi Htwe was sentenced to a six-month prison term on October 30, 2008 by the northern District Court in Rangoon’s notorious Insein prison on charges of ‘contempt of court’. He was, at the time, defending three National League for Democracy members including Yan Naing Tun, who were arrested and were facing trial for praying at the Pagoda for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners.

During the trial, the judge told Nyi Nyin Htwe to tell his three clients to change their sitting postures, where they had turned their backs to the judge. But the young lawyer said “they have their rights to sit the way they want.”

The judge charged him with ‘contempt of court’ and under Article 288 and sentenced him to six-months in prison.

While he served the prison term, authorities revoked his bar license. He was released on April 28, after he completed his six-month term.

READ MORE---> Opposition lawyer hounded by authorities...

Tycoons close to junta to disburse agri loans

Burma's new banking system
"Cronies' Agricultural Investments
we lend you the money,
we own your land
a new development instructed by Junta" -- Jeg's quote

Rangoon (Mizzima) – The Burmese military junta has instructed 25 companies owned by top business tycoons, close to the regime, to disburse agricultural loans to farmers.

Businessmen, known to be cronies of the junta’s generals, dealing in rice have been asked to provide agricultural loans of Kyat 50,000 [approximately USD 50] to 100,000 per acre to farmers in Irrawaddy and Pegu Division at 2 per cent of interest rates per month.

According to the Myanmar Rice Producers’ Association, top businessmen like Zaw Zaw of Max Company, Chit Khaing of Aden Construction Works, Khin Shwe of Zay Kabar Company are leading the consortium of companies, businessmen and farmers in providing the loan.

A businessman, who is a partner of Gold Delta Company specializing in rice, led by Aden Chin Khaing said that they were assigned to provide production costs, technology and farm implements to rice producers on behalf of the junta.

“Of these 25 companies, some are owned and run by a single person. Some are in partnership with two or three companies,” he added.

“Gold Delta comprises 21 companies. Almost 30 local businessmen and farmers from Dahnuphyu are among them. We will start our business with a total paid up capital of Kyat 10 billion,” he said.

But some companies such as Htoo Trading and ‘Union of Myanmar Federation of Chamber of Commerce and Industry’ (UMFCCI) Chairman Win Myint are into the business as sole traders with their own capital, the businessman said.

Htoo Trading Co. Project Director Ye Min Oo said that their company has invested Kyat 3 billion in the business. Local businessmen from Bogale invested Kyat 2 billion in the business and will provide agricultural loan of Kyat 50,000 per acre.

Gold Delta Co. headed by ‘Aden’ Chit Khaing invested Kyat 10 billion and will provide loans of Kyat 100,000 per acre to the farmers in about 500 villages.

Following the foot-step, several other businessmen have began setting up companies with names such as Kyaiklat Rice Producing Co. owned by Dagon International Co. in Kyaiklat Township, Irrawaddy Agricultural Development Co. owned by ‘Yuzana’ Htay Myint in Pyapon Township, Max Myanmar Co. owned by Zaw Zaw in Yekyi and Ah Thote Townships, Shwe Nagar Min Co. owned by Win Myint in Myaungmya Township, a company owned by Wady in Maubin.

But a few businessmen in Burma views the new initiative as the junta’s effort to soothe the anger of farmers, who have accused the government of failing to provide assistance, and to allow a few businessmen, whom the junta has selected as candidates for the 2010 election, to be able to campaign for the election.

Most of the businessmen involved in the consortium are blacklisted in the US and EU economic sanctions against Burma. US have announced the names of over 100 businessmen, whom they called are providing financial lifeline to the junta, under the list.

In the wake of the brutal crackdown against peaceful demonstrators in the 2007 September saffron revolution led by monks, where scores of protesters were killed and thousands of activists arrested, the US and EU imposed targeted sanctions against State owned enterprises, the top echelon of the junta, protégés of the junta and their business networks.

Following the devastating Cyclone Nargis, which destroyed paddy fields and inundated many more with sea water, farmers find low yields in their work. While some farmers have welcomed the loan programme, many worried that they might be asked to payback with their paddy products at a reduced price.

Farmers said, they have bitter experiences in the past, where they took loans from businessmen, local army units and even local authorities in exchange for their paddy products. But they were forced to give their products at a much lesser rate then in the market.

In some cases, famers who are unable to repay their loans and do not have a good yield of paddy, they are forced to surrender their land for the loan they have taken.

Farmers from Thakan village tract on Bogale-Pyapon highway said that some of the farmers in their areas dare not take loans even at cheap interest rates.

But a project director at ‘Htoo’ Trading Co. told Mizzima, “The businessmen are doing this because they have been directed by the State. We don’t expect any economic benefits from the farmers. Two per cent interest rate is nothing for us.” (JEG's: of course 2% is nothing to cronies as they are taking the land which is worth a lot more)

Sources at the Ministry of Economics and Commerce said the government have instructed the companies dealing in rice, that they could export rice only after deducting the amount allotted for sales in the region.

A former executive committee member of the UMFCCI told Mizzima, “We are doing this mainly because of pressure from seniors [junta’s high officials]. We have no intention of extracting profit from the farmers. Our main concern is free export of rice. In this country, authorities, if we follow their instructions usually give us other business opportunities.”

He said, besides, farmers would be thankful to the businessmen for providing loans and could gain their support, which could serve as a campaign for the upcoming 2010 election. (JEG's: elections campaign aha?...)

Sources at the Myanmar Rice Traders Association said Burma set the target of rice export at maximum 1.5 million tons for the this fiscal year - April 1, 2009 to March 31, 2010. Burma was able to export over 658,000 tons of rice in the 2008-09 fiscal year.

While Burma’s export quality rice contains about 25 per cent of broken rice, it cost about USD 320 per ton in the export market. Over 80 per cent of Burma’s exports in rice goes to African countries.

READ MORE---> Tycoons close to junta to disburse agri loans...

Township officer dismissed from post

Maungdaw, Arakan State (KPN): An administrative officer was dismissed from his post in the Maungdaw Township Peace and Development Council (TPDC) office on the allegation that he was informing the foreign media, according to a TPDC source.

U Aung Than Naing, general secretary (temporary) was alleged to have leaked information about collection of money from all village tracts for the Wasou robe offering ceremony to the monks in the name of Maungdaw TPDC, he added.

The dismissal order was issued on July 15 by the District Peace and Development Council (DPDC) chairman U Aung Thein Nyaunt, he added.

The TPDC and DPDC jointly ordered the Village Peace and Development Council (VPDC) chairman to collect Kyat 50,000 per village tract before July 1 for the Wasoe robe offering ceremony, said a village leader, who had collected money from the villagers in keeping with the order of the TPDC and DPDC.

The TPDC and DPDC collected a huge amount of money from the people of Maungdaw Township, which was processed by the general secretary (temporary) U Aung Than Naing and the news was published in the media in exile, sources said.

Some sources believe that he had no connection with the media in exile (Burmese media in exile) but, he was alleged to be an informer by the chairman of TPDC and DPDC.

On July 16 and 17, the authorities searched the house of his co-worker Daw Than Sein from block number one and his friend circle living in block number four of Maungdaw, said a local from Maungdaw.

The Chairman of TPDC and DPDC collected the money with his cooperation to show to the higher authorities that TPDC and DPDC had held a big Wasou robe offering ceremony with public money, not government funds, said an official source.

“TPDC and DPDC also collected money from all Muslim villages and traders from Maungdaw Township for the Buddhist religious ceremony, the official sources added.

READ MORE---> Township officer dismissed from post...

Cemetery seized by TPDC in Maungdaw

Maungdaw, Arakan State (KPN): The Township Peace and Development Council, (TPDC) chairman of Maungdaw Township has seized a Rohingya Muslim cemetery in the Township for use though there are many vacant places for the authorities to set up camps or other buildings, said a local elder on condition of anonymity.

On July 1, the Maungdaw TPDC Chairman along with other officers went to Basara (Thawin Chaung) village in Maungdaw Township and ordered the villagers not to bury their dead in the cemetery. If anyone did not comply with the order, he or she would be fined Kyat 50,000.

The authorities destroyed some Kobors (file of the soil of bodies in the cemetery) and the fence of the cemetery which was established a long time ago near the village. Recently, a Nasaka outpost was set up close to the cemetery on the north.

The villagers were asked to bury new bodies at the bottom of a mountain on the eastern side of the village, a mile away.

Villagers do not know why the authorities seized the ancient cemetery of the villagers, although vacant places are available, said a local trader requesting not to be named.

A village trader said, “There are many vacant lands to build government buildings. Why did they have to seize the cemetery of the Muslims? What are the reasons? Is there any country in the world which seizes cemeteries?”

In 2008, the authorities also had seized the cemeteries in Baggona and Gora Khali villages of Maungdaw Township.

Earlier, in Buthidaung Township, the authorities seized Buthidaung Town cemetery, Taung Bazaar cemetery, the Thiganet cemetery though there were many places to construct government buildings, said a local elder from Buthidaung Township.

READ MORE---> Cemetery seized by TPDC in Maungdaw...

Suu Kyi denied final meeting with lawyers

(DVB)–Lawyers of Burma opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi have been denied a request to meet with her one last time before Friday’s final court hearing and will not be able to discuss a final statement.

The lawyers were due to meet with Suu Kyi to finalise her court statement prior to the hearing on Friday but, according to lawyer Nyan Win, authorities phoned and said the court would not allow it.

“Now we are planning to just make a presentation based on our previous discussions with [Suu Kyi] and our legal point of view,” he said. “This decision was not drawn together with Daw Suu but we’ll just have to go with it.”

It is widely expected that Suu Kyi will be found guilty of breaching conditions of her house arrest, which carries a maximum sentence of five years.

Critics have said that the trial is a pretext to keep her in detention beyond the elections next year.

Another lawyer for Suu Kyi said that the rejection could weaken her defense at the hearing as well as drawing more criticism towards the Burmese judicial system.

Nyan Win urged international leaders attending the Association for Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit and ASEAN Regional Forum in Thailand today to keep a close eye on the situation.

“I think the international community’s urging for her release is a reasonable thing as she was not even supposed to be on trial at this moment,” he said.

A joint communiqué released on Monday following the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting called for the release of political prisoners in Burma, including Suu Kyi, as a prerequisite to “free, fair and inclusive” elections.

The statement also addressed the issue of ASEAN’s much-criticised policy of non-interference in the internal affairs of Burma, preferring instead to “constructively engage” with the junta.

Reporting by Htet Aung Kyaw

READ MORE---> Suu Kyi denied final meeting with lawyers...

Monks harassed by authorities

(DVB)–Monks living in a Rangoon monastery were harassed by authorities last week after accepting food donations from opposition party members given to mark Martyrs’ Day in Burma.

Around 20 officials from Thingangyun township authority in Rangoon arrived at the monastery in Laydauntkan ward where monks had received meals from National League for Democracy (NLD) members, a traditional way to celebrate Martyrs’ Day each year on 19 June.

According to NLD member Naw Ohn Hla, the officials “said intimidating words” to the monks and told them to report future donations to township authorities.

“They issued warnings and interrogated them,” she said. “They asked the monks how the offerings were made, how they were blessed with water, what kind of clothes were worn.”

Authorities threatened to seal off the monastery as had been famously done to Maggin monastery during the September 2007 monk-led uprising.

Monastery abbot, U Kumara, reportedly replied that his monastery had no “complicated matters” like Maggin, but was told by authorities that he had been “tainted with a black spot”.

Ohn Hla was among the 21 NLD members arrested and briefly detained whilst returning from Martyrs’ Mausoleum on Sunday.

“They told us not to wear clothes with [the pictures of] General Aung San,” she said. “When we headed towards the museum, they arrested us on the way.”

A number of those detained were “beaten up severely” and thrown into a van, she said.

Reporting by Naw Noreen

READ MORE---> Monks harassed by authorities...

Mass opposition arrest on Martyrs’ Day

(DVB)–Around 20 members of Burma’s opposition National League for Democracy party were briefly detained yesterday whilst returning from an annual celebration marking Martyrs’ Day.

Around 50 National League for Democracy (NLD) members had marched to the Martyr’s Mausoleum in Rangoon to pay their respects to General Aung San, Burma’s independence leader and father of Aung San Suu Kyi, and other national heroes.

The event was marred by tight security, and 20 people were arrested on their return, said NLD spokesperson Nyan Win.

“About 30 to 40 people who went to the Martyrs’ Hill this morning were nabbed in a truck but all were released after about 30 minutes,” he said.

“Apparently they were detained for wearing t-shirts with pictures of General Aung San and Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.”

According to one NLD member, security officials had also collected personal information from each person as they entered the mausoleum.

“They also check our bags for digital equipments such as mobile phones, cameras and voice recorders and didn’t allow us to take those into the mausoleum,” he said.

“I felt so disturbed about it; I wanted to salute our national leaders who brought us independence without any restriction.”

Suu Kyi, who is on trial at Rangoon’s Insein prison on charges of breaching conditions of her house arrest, marked the day by sending food to patients inside the prison hospital.

Government officials also visited the mausoleum and laid wreaths in remembrance.

General Aung San was instrumental in setting in motion Burmese independence from British rule, although he was assassinated in July 1947, six months before it was successfully achieved.

As a revered symbol of civilian rule, the military government is now reportedly removing references to General Aung San from school textbooks.

Reporting by Thurein Soe and Ahunt Phone Myat

READ MORE---> Mass opposition arrest on Martyrs’ Day...

12 Elders Face Charges for Repairing Bridge

Rambree (Narinjara): 12 village elders in Rambree Township in Arakan State are facing criminal charges brought by the township authority for rebuilding a small bridge in the village without permission of the local authorities, reports a villager.

He said, "12 villagers are now facing trial in the court after township chairman Aung Kyaw Zaw filed charges in court against them for reconstruction of the bridge in their village."

The village elders from Paradan Village in Sikon Village Tract in Rambree rebuilt a small bridge with reinforced concrete after the bridge was damaged. The bridge had collapsed on 5 June, 2009, after a group of cattle crossed over it.

"The bridge was rebuilt by the village elders with donations from local people, but there was no permission from the township authority for the bridge construction. The people are innocent and they did not know they needed to inform the local township authority of the bridge construction. So the people just reconstructed the bridge," the villager said.

When Rambree Township chairman Aung Kyaw Zaw heard the news, he became angry with the village elders because they failed to inform him of their plans.

Afterward, the chairman summoned the village elders to his office in Rambree to admonish them and forced them to sign a paper stating they had abused the law. "After signing, the township chairman charged took action against the village elders and charged them in court," the villager said.

Now the elders have been facing trial in court every week and have been unable to attend to their own agricultural work this rainy season.

Many of the public paths and bridges in rural areas of Arakan State have been renovated and constructed by local people with their own funds because the government fails to maintain the infrastructure as needed. It is rare for such legal action to be taken against villagers doing such work in Arakan State.

READ MORE---> 12 Elders Face Charges for Repairing Bridge...

Police patrol Rangoon, security tightened near Insein prison

by Myint Maung

New Delhi (Mizzima) – There is heightened security in Rangoon with at least 30 army trucks with uniformed riot police personnel, patrolling the city on Wednesday.

The army trucks are each carrying at least 20 policemen and are patrolling various townships of Rangoon, eyewitnesses said.

“We can see about 30 to 40 army trucks carrying uniformed policemen patrolling the city. It looks like they are on high alert. They also have machine guns mounted on the trucks. They came to our township at about 3 p.m. (local time),” an eyewitness from Insein Township told Mizzima.

“Earlier, when they patrolled like they are doing now, the police would carry shields but today they had a policeman standing on the truck with a machine gun mounted on the hood,” he added.

Another local resident said he had seen about three army trucks, full of riot police, patrolling downtown Rangoon near the City Hall, which is one of the busiest places in town.

“They had the trucks covered with shields and had batons and guns in their hands,” he said.

A source near the Insein prison told Mizzima that the riot police No. (8) have been relocated and repositioned near the Insein prison.

Some of the townships, where eyewitnesses saw army trucks patrolling include San Chuang and Dagon South.

The reason for the sudden tightening of security, however, remains unknown but some believe it could be because of the United Nations special envoy Ibrahim Gambari, who reportedly is planning to visit the country later this week.

READ MORE---> Police patrol Rangoon, security tightened near Insein prison...

MWJA office in-charge commits suicide

Myint Lwin, office in-charge of the Myanmar Writers and Journalists Association (MWJA),committed suicide on Tuesday morning by jumping out of the window of the three-storey office building in downtown Rangoon.

by Phanida

Chiang Mai (mizzima) - The office in-charge of the Myanmar Writers and Journalists Association (MWJA), Myint Lwin, committed suicide on Tuesday by jumping off the three-storey office building, colleagues said.

Myint Lwin, (65) a resident of North Okklapa Township jumped out of the window of the MWJA office in downtown Rangoon’s Merchant Street in Kyauktada Township on Tuesday morning. He died instantly.

“He arrived in the office at about 10 a.m. (local time) and was arranging seats and tables for a regular meeting. After finishing what he was doing he got up and jumped out of the window,” a colleague, who attended the meeting, told Mizzima.

Another colleague, who also requested anonymity said, “He [Myint Lwin] left a note on the table, which read -- ‘I am responsible for failing to maintain and for the loss of public property’.” (JEG's: hmmm what is left to know? what was he supposed to "maintain" and he did not? and because of his failure the junta incurred into a loss? what did the junta loose? - people do not jump out of building out of the blue, not in his position...)

“He left a wrist watch, a ball point-pen, two currency notes of Kyat 500 and took off his sandals,” added the colleague.

An official at the MWJA office, when contacted by Mizzima, refused to make an official statement saying, “Please do not ask me. We are now in a meeting. I have no right to answer your questions. Please do not ask me about it, I request you not to ask.”

The Myanmar Writers and Journalists Association is a group formed under the aegis of the Burmese military junta’s Ministry of information.

Myint Lwin’s body was taken to Rangoon General Hospital for autopsy.

He leaves behind a son, a daughter and his wife.

READ MORE---> MWJA office in-charge commits suicide...

Surprise check on monks’ office in Bangladesh

by Nyein Chan

Dhaka (Mizzima) – Police in Cox’s Bazaar, Bangladesh raided the International Monks’ Organization office here today.

DSP Inspector Arlanky along with two policemen arrived in the office at about 4 p.m. and interrogated the monks in the office for about an hour.

Sayadaw (abbot) U Kay Meinda told Mizzima that they answered the questions the police officer asked. They said that they formed the monks’ organization in 2007. The monks who took part in the Saffron Revolution joined the Ne Pyi Ththis organization based in the US which has branches in other countries. It is working for the restoration of democracy in Burma through non-violent means.

“Our organization stages protest demonstrations frequently on the Burma issue. We staged a demonstration yesterday on Daw Aung Suu Kyi’s 64th birthday. I think the police were investigating because of this,” Sayadaw added.

The police asked if the computer being used in the office is registered with the Bangladesh government. They also wanted to know how and where the office procures establishment costs, Pyi Thein, the person in-charge of the office, told Mizzima.

After the brutal and violent crackdown against the monk-led peaceful demonstration in 2007, the monks who took part in it fled to neigbouring countries after which they formed the International Monks’ Organization.

READ MORE---> Surprise check on monks’ office in Bangladesh...

Four Democracy Activists Complete Prison Terms

Taungup (Narinjara): Four democracy activists were released from Buthidaung prison recently after serving their prison terms, said a colleague of them.

"They were released from Buthidaung prison recently after their sentences were completed. Now they have returned back to their home town from Buthidaung," he said.

The released activists are Ko Than Htay, Ko Moe Kyaw, Ko Zaw Naing, and Ko Aung Naing Min. All are from Taungup in southern Arakan State.

The four were arrested by Burmese military authorities on 27 March, 2008, while they were publicly distributing a statement from the National League for Democracy and a pamphlet with the text of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

They were charged by police in the Taungup court under a section of Act 451, which relates to a person trespassing on property without permission from the owner.

The judge in Taungup Township sentenced them to one year in prison without allowing a defense, and sent them to the notorious prison in Buthidaung in northern Arakan.

Even though they were released after their jail term was complete, they have not dared to have contact with the media because the authority has threatened them about disclosing information about the prison to the media.

"They had a bitter experience in the Buthidaung prison but they have to keep it to themselves because the military authorities threatened them if they disclose anything regarding the prison to the media," the colleague said.

In Buthidaung prison, the prison authorities regularly abuse prisoners' rights and sometimes torture the political prisoners when they refuse to follow any prison regulations.

An army major came to the prison just before their release and instructed them not to participate in political activities in the future and advised them to live with their families peacefully.

The major also told them not to disclose anything about the prison or what happened to them during their time there to the outside media, the source added.

READ MORE---> Four Democracy Activists Complete Prison Terms...

Lengthy sentences for opposition prayer arrestees

(DVB)–Two members of the opposition National League for Democracy party arrested after praying for the release of political prisoners in Burma have each been sentenced to one-and-a-half years in prison.

The two, Chit Pe and Aung Soe Wei, were arrested on 21 April after holding a prayer ceremony at a pagoda near to Rangoon division’s Twante township, and charged under Section 295a which addresses "desecration of religious buildings and property".

Aung Soe Wei’s wife Ma Lwin said the two were immediately taken to Rangoon’s Insein prison following the verdict and were barred from speaking to family members waiting outside the court. Lawyer Kyi Toe said that his requests to authorities to let him meet his clients to were denied.

“I made a request to the police station chief Myint Kyaw and also to the court, but was denied both times,” said Kyin Toe. “I was not given the right to freely talk to and discuss with my client from the start until the end of the case.”

Meanwhile, three National League for Democracy (NLD) youth members in Rangoon were arrested by authorities last Friday.

NLD spokesperson Nyan Win said it was a further sign of the ruling State Peace and Development’s Council’s repression of opposition groups in Burma.

“The NLD has been under pressure [from the SPDC] for many years and it is not easing, even when they are promising a new election and the end of all arguments,” said Nyan Win.

“But we are not in depression; we will continue doing our work and will never change our non-violence policy.”

Reporting by Khin Hnin Htet

READ MORE---> Lengthy sentences for opposition prayer arrestees...