Thailand: Bodies found at river, Who kill them?

SAME MAN?: A restaurant owner claims the man on the right in a red shirt is security guard Chaiyaporn Kantang, 29, pictured left in an official ID photo. Police investigating the murder of Chaiyaporn and another security guard during the Songkran riots say neither man had an interest in politics.

Questions still remain over bodies found in Chao Phraya River

By: PIYAPORN WONGRUANG and AEKARACH SATTABURUTH

(Bangkok Post) No one denies the deaths were brutal. Their heads and faces bore the marks of savage beatings. Their mouths were gagged with white cloth and their hands were bound tightly behind their backs with blue nylon rope.

Nattapong Pongdee, 23, from Udon Thani, and Chaiyaporn Kantang, 29, from Phrae, both worked as security guards for Krung Thai General Business Services in Lat Phrao. Eleven days ago their bodies were dragged from the Chao Phraya River. Since then their mysterious deaths have become part of the political debate over what really happened during the ``red revolt'' over Songkran and what transpired on Bangkok's streets under a state of emergency decree.

Were they red shirts killed by the military or other forces, as claimed by the opposition, or were they simply victims of a vicious criminal act that happened to take place at the same time as the security crackdown?

During the parliamentary debate last week on the Songkran unrest, opposition Puea Thai party MP for Phrae, Worawat Ua-apinyakul, tried to consolidate previous claims that the two were red shirt supporters who faced a grisly end as a result of the military crackdown. He produced pictures to support his claim, one of which he said showed Chaiyaporn in a red shirt.

Police Lt Col Virat Petcharat, who is heading the investigations into the murders, conceded that the case is difficult to handle as politics has affected police work.

He said police planned to interview the politicians who had made claims that the killings were linked to the riots, but they had to reschedule their plan due to the ongoing political unrest. So far, the police have not found any evidence to link the case to a political motive. The colonel said police had interrogated the dead men's wives and colleagues.

``They said if the two were involved in politics, they would have mentioned this to them somehow,'' he said.

On April 15, Pol Lt Col Virat was informed by radio that there was a body floating in the Chao Phraya River close to Phra Pin Klao Bridge. His team rushed to the scene and found Chaiyaporn's body, clad in a grey-coloured T-shirt T-shirt and trousers, floating near the Phra Arthit pier. His hands were bound with a blue nylon rope and his mouth gagged.

At around 11am, they found another body in the river. It was Nattapong's, in a black T-shirt which had an image of a rescuer carrying a girl's body.

Nattapong's hands were bound with the same type of rope as Chaiyaporn's and his mouth was also gagged.

The doctors who joined the police team concluded from initial examinations of the bodies at the scene that the two had suffered head and facial injuries and had drowned, meaning that they were both still alive when they were thrown in the river.

The bodies were then sent to Siriraj Hospital for autopsies. The autopsy reports have not yet been submitted to police, Lt Col Virat said, adding that it may take a month for the reports to be completed.

The bodies of both men were cremated last week in their home provinces.

The police investigating team was earlier able to interview the men's colleagues and wives. In their report, Nattapong's wife _ Suwanna _ is quoted as saying that on April 13 she was with her her husband who was drinking alcohol with Chaiyaporn at his house near the men's workplace. At around 11pm Nattapong left to drive his wife home. Nattapong then went back and continued drinking until 2am the next morning, one of his workmates who was also at Chaiyaporn's house told police.

The last friends saw of the two men is when they rode off on an orange Honda Wave motorcycle.

``Now, we know where they were and what they did before they died, but we don't know what happened afterwards until we found their bodies,'' said the police colonel. ``From the circumstances, they were tortured and murdered. That is the main clue that we have so far to help lead us to establish a charge.''

Puea Thai party spokesman Prompong Nopparit believes that the deaths are related to the pair's participation in red-shirt gatherings. He cited Chaiyaporn's brother's account that the two went to join the red shirts on April 12 to serve as security guards for the protesters.

According to some residents in the Lat Phrao 106 community, near the company where the two men worked, the pair did have an interest in politics.

The owner of a restaurant where they often had lunch said Chaiyaporn was keen on politics, particularly the ideas of the red-shirts. During the last few months, after exchanging ideas with some red-shirt people at the restaurant, he eventually undertook security guard work for red shirts from the community.

The restaurant owner provided pictures to the Bangkok Post Sunday which he said showed Chaiyaporn wearing a red shirt at one of their recent gatherings. Some pictures were taken as recently as April 8, he said.

``We don't know why they died. But don't rush to ignore the fact that they were involved in politics. What is needed is the truth,'' said the restaurant owner.

READ MORE---> Thailand: Bodies found at river, Who kill them?...

NEW PLAN TO OVERTURN GOVERNMENT

Red shirts to protest every week

MONGKOL BANGPRAPA
Bangkok Post

The red shirt protesters of the United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship will hold weekly demonstrations and set up an assembly in a fresh effort to topple the Democrat-led government.

The strategy was unveiled by UDD leaders in front of 5,000 protesters gathering at Sanam Luang yesterday.

It was the first rally by the supporters of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra since the Songkran melee and the lifting of the state of emergency.

"We have to think about a new strategy to fight for our causes because we were unable to achieve political change simply by holding mass demonstrations," said UDD leader Jaran Dithapichai.

The UDD will rally every Saturday in one of 15 provinces, including Lop Buri, Ayutthaya, Chiang Mai, Udon Thani, Nakhon Si Thammarat and Phatthalung, said another leader Somyos Prueksakasemsuk.

Another major demonstration will be held on May 17 in Bangkok to commemorate the 17th anniversary of the Black May incident in 1992, he added.

The assembly will comprise red shirt representatives from every province.

Yesterday's rally, which ended about 11pm, was broadcast live via websites run by overseas red shirt supporters. The three UDD leaders - Veera Musikaphong, Natthawut Saikua and Weng Tojirakarn - who were released on bail of 500,000 baht each on Friday, did not show up. There was no phone-in from Thaksin.

The organisers showed a video clip of soldiers cracking down on the red shirts in Din Daeng on April 13. Demonstrators at Sanam Luang showed anger at the army.

Mr Jaran demanded the government immediately release all red shirt leaders and demonstrators and set up an independent panel to investigate the clampdown on red shirt demonstrators during the Songkran riots.

He also called on the government to unblock the signal of UDD's television broadcaster, DStation, and allow all pro-UDD community radio stations to resume broadcasting.

Pongthep Thepkanchana, who appeared on stage but did not make any statement to the protesters, told reporters that the government, opposition bloc, People's Alliance for Democracy, UDD and media should be allowed to submit a list of their representatives to sit on the probe committee to ensure fairness and neutrality. About half of the demonstrators opted not to wear red shirts to the rally yesterday, for safety reasons.

Prathum Wangklan, a 51-year-old Bangkok vendor, said he joined the rally because he did not believe media reports about the political situation.

"I have to come here to listen to the truth," said Mr Prathum. "The harder the government tries to suppress the red shirt movement, the more people will join the demonstration," he added.

Jittima Fuksa-ard, 45, from Prachin Buri, said she attended the rally because she was still upset with the violent crackdown on red shirts at Din Daeng.

"I was there [at the pre-dawn raid] and my friend was badly hurt by authorities," she said.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has instructed security officers to monitor the UDD movement and ask the demonstrators to make sure their rallies stay within the law.

Metropolitan police chief Pol Lt Gen Vorapong Chiewpreecha has set up 40 checkpoints, manned by police and soldiers, in inner Bangkok. A special checkpoint was also set up in each area to search for weapons and explosives among those wanting to join the UDD rally at Sanam Luang.

Another rally was in Udon Thani where 300 members showed up at Thung Si Muang. The rally was held to allow red shirts taking part during April 8-11 rallies in Bangkok to talk about what happened.

READ MORE---> NEW PLAN TO OVERTURN GOVERNMENT...

Rohingya men still in custody of army authority in Northern Maungdaw

Maungdaw, Arakan (Kaladan Press): More than 200 Rohingya people were arrested and are being kept in custody by army personnel in Balukhali, under the Burmese border security force (Nasaka) section number 3, suspecting them of being involved in the clash between Rohingya villagers and army personnel on April 22, an aide of the Nasaka said.

“These Rohingya villagers were not involved in the clash, they are innocent. The Rohingya, who were involved have fled from the village and are hiding somewhere they think is safe,” said the aide.

On April 21, five soldiers in civilian clothes, who were stationed for the fencing project, went to Balu Khali village of Maungdaw Township and took away vegetables and chilies from the farms and also took betel leaves from villagers’ betel farms. At that time, the villagers asked them not to take such a lot of vegetables and betel leaves, but no untoward incident occurred as the villagers were tolerant, a businessman from the locality said.

On April 22, at about 10:00 am, 10 soldiers without arms, but in uniform went to Balukhali Village of Maungdaw Township. After arriving there, without asking the villagers, they started throwing water through open slice gates of fishing projects, and catching the fishes for their own. Seeing this, the villagers rushed to the spot and asked them not to catch the fishes from the fishing projects. However, they did not comply with the request of the villagers, a village elder from the locality said.

As a result, there were clashes between the soldiers and villagers, which is near the fencing project site, where the fencing project labors joined the fight. These labors had been forced to work at the site without wages day by day. They had been starved and were weak and were angry with the soldiers for beating Rohingya villagers, so the villagers and labors severely beat up the army personnel. After the incident, the wounded soldiers went to their station at Kurkhali village, where their army officer is stationed. The wounded soldiers told him the incident in detail, but the army officer immediately did not go to the village for revenge, said a close aide of the Nasaka.

The soldiers were taken to the Nasaka section number 4, where they were given medical treatment, the aide added.

Hearing the news, some Nasaka came to the spot and asked the soldiers not to indulge in such action as villagers had lost a lot of money, to establish the shrimp projects, the aide added.

However, on April 23, at about 1:00 pm, many groups of soldiers with guns went to the village to take revenge. Hearing the news, the nearby villagers also marched to the spot to help the villagers, who were being victimized by the army. Seeing more villagers marching to the village, the army fired two rounds into the air to stop them.

After that more than 200 villagers were arrested by the army and brought to their camp. No one knows what the fate of the arrestees will be. A tense situation has been prevailing in the area since Sunday morning, said a schoolteacher from the locality.

According to information from a person, who was involved in the clash, after the clash, all the adults ran into the jungle to escape persecution. The army arrested 18 young women from the village, who were detained for some hours and kept in the water, but released later. The women were innocent but it is the habit of the brutal Burmese forces, to harass the innocent when they do not find any of the actual culprits.

READ MORE---> Rohingya men still in custody of army authority in Northern Maungdaw...

Minister calls attention to plight of exploited women

By JOSEPH FITZGERALD
The Call

BURRILLVILLE — When Lauran Bethell was working as a missionary in Bangkok in the 1980s, she’d walk every morning to language school where she spent hours each day learning the Thai language.


To get to her class, she had to pass through Patpong Road, one of the world’s most notorious red light districts and, in those days, a center for Thailand’s prostitution industry.

What she saw on her daily walks — gogo bars, massage parlors, sex shows and prostitutes as young as 12 years old — shocked and saddened her. Later, as she began befriending the Bangkok prostitutes of Patpong Road and teaching them English, Bethell began to realize there was a common thread in how these girls ended up in the heart of Bangkok’s sex industry.

“What I found out shocked me,” says Bethell, an American Baptist missionary and global consultant with International Ministries of the American Baptist Churches, based in Prague, Czech Republic, and former director of the New Life Center in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

“What I discovered is that these girls were working to support their families,” she said. “In that culture the female is economically responsible for the family. These girls knew they were sacrificing themselves for their families.”

Rev. Bethell, one of the world’s leading authorities on the problems of international sex traffic, spoke to a group of about 40 people Thursday at the Berean Baptist Church in Harrisville. The talk was arranged by Donna L. Landry, a member of Berean Baptist Church, American Baptist Women of Rhode Island, and the Coalition Against Human Trafficking in Rhode Island.

Bethell says it soon became apparent to her that she had to do her small part to help fight the trafficking of women and children for commercial sexual exploitation. “I thought to myself who is offering alternatives to these young women?”

Bethell would end up answering her own question when she became the first director of the New Life Center, established in 1987 in Chiang Mai, north of Thailand. In that role, Bethell pioneered projects in Southeast Asia that specifically addressed the issue of child prostitution and trafficking of women and children, offering care for them “in Christ’s name.” The Center was started with 18 residents in an effort to offer young tribal women an opportunity to receive an education and vocational training which provided alternatives to prostitution and other forms of exploitation.

“I often tell the story of a 12-year-old girl from Burma whose mother had died, leaving the father to raise her and her siblings,” Bethell said. “The father would eventually give the children away to a family in Thailand because had they stayed in Burma they would have starved.”

“At the time, the girl was thinking, ‘what can I do as the oldest daughter to help my family,’” she continued. “A man came to the village and told her he could get a job for her in the city. She trusted him and ended up in a brothel where she served five to 10 men every day and night.”

That girl would end up at the New Life Center, which Bethell directed for 14 years. At various times, there have been as many as 200 girls and young women in the center’s houses in Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai. The center also sponsors at-risk girls who are attending schools in their villages or living in hostels and operates an adult school in Chiang Rai.

Though the New Life Center primarily focuses on preventing girls with high-risk factors from being exploited, the ministry also offers rehabilitation and life alternatives to those who have come out of prostitution and other exploitative situations.

“These girls do heal,” Bethell says.

The New Life Center has received international recognition and awards for its work, and has been the subject of many television documentaries as well as newspaper and magazine articles. In 1995, Bethell received an award on behalf of the New Life Center from the Prime Minister of Thailand.

While the sex industry and human trafficking in Thailand has improved dramatically over the years due to media exposure and pressure by human rights advocates, “it is still a huge situation that plagues Thailand and other Asian countries,” Bethell says.

“In Cambodia, child prostitution is huge,” she said.

Just this week, for example, U.S. senators urged Malaysia to probe claims by refugees from Myanmar that Malaysian immigration officials handed them over to human traffickers on Malaysia’s border with Thailand. The U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations released a report Thursday that claimed illegal Myanmar migrants deported from Malaysia were often turned over to human traffickers and forced to work in brothels, fishing boats and restaurants in Thailand if they had no money to purchase their freedom. The report was based on a yearlong review by committee staff who spoke to migrants from military-ruled Myanmar, also known as Burma, and human rights activists.

What Bethell says she has come to realize over the years is that trafficked people are usually the most vulnerable and powerless minorities in a region. They often come from the poorer areas where opportunities are limited, they often are ethnic minorities, and they often are displaced persons such as runaways or refugees.

“Trafficking is exploitation of vulnerabilities,” said Bethell, who travels extensively throughout Europe, Asia, Africa and the Americas, teaching, preaching and consulting.

Trafficking in human beings and sexual exploitation in developing countries, she says, typically grows out of economic need where teenage girls are required to help their families earn income to help provide for food and basic necessities. In developed countries, a majority of women in prostitution are victims of childhood sexual abuse.

Women are particularly at risk from sex trafficking, she said. Criminals exploit the lack of opportunities, promising good jobs or opportunities for study, and then force the victims to become prostitutes. Through agents and brokers who arrange the travel and job placements, women are escorted to their destinations and delivered to the employers.

Upon reaching their destinations, some women learn that they have been deceived about the nature of the work they will do. Most have been lied to about the financial arrangements and conditions of their employment and find themselves in coercive or abusive situations from which escape is both difficult and dangerous.

Trafficking of children often involves exploitation of the parents’ extreme poverty. The latter may sell children to traffickers in order to pay off debts or gain income or they may be deceived concerning the prospects of training and a better life for their children. In West Africa, trafficked children have often lost one or both parents to the African AIDS crisis. Thousands of male (and sometimes female) children have also been forced to be child soldiers.

The United States, Bethell said, is principally a transit and destination country for trafficking in persons. It is estimated that 17,500 to 18,500 people, primarily women and children are trafficked to the U.S. annually. The Trafficking Victim’s Protection Act of 2000 enhances pre-existing criminal penalties, affords new protection to trafficking victims and makes available certain benefits and services to victims of severe forms of trafficking. On December 10, 2008 the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victim’s Protection Reauthorization Act was signed and really strengthened many of these provisions from the 2000 TVPA.

While trafficking has often been thought of as a problem occurring in other countries, it is rampant in the United States, as well, and American women and children are increasingly used in trafficking, she said.

Sex trafficking linked to Rhode Island’s ‘prostitution loophole’

According to Donna Landry and the Coalition Against Human Trafficking in Rhode Island, circumstances or evidence found in a number of localities indicate that sex trafficking exists in Rhode Island. Some officials claim that trafficking is linked to the decriminalization of prostitution indoors, which has been referred to as Rhode Island’s “prostitution loophole.” The “loophole” originated 28 years ago when female prostitutes sued, claiming they were discriminated against by the police based on their sex.

With no law against prostitution indoors, Landry says, the number of traffickers has only increased, mostly since it is difficult to prosecute, and there have been no successful trafficking cases to date.

Bethell is originally from California. After graduating with a Bacherlor of Arts degree in psychology, religion and education from the University of Redlands, she taught elementary school in Central California for six years and then at the Hong Kong International School for four years. She returned to the U.S. to complete a Masters of Divinity from the American Baptist Seminary of the West in Berkeley, California, from which she was later awarded a Doctor of Divinity for her pioneering work with women and children in Southeast Asia.

In 2004, she founded and directed the first International Christian Conference on Prostitution bringing together the leaders of faith-based organizations involved in this work. Second and third similar conferences were held in 2006 and 2008 with representatives from more than 40 countries. From the ICCP, the International Christian Alliance on Prostitution has developed, networking and providing resources for Christians involved in ministry with people in prostitution.

Bethell was honored in 2005 with the Human Rights Award of the Baptist World Alliance, which was presented to her by President Jimmy Carter. She was given the Courage Award by the Whitsitt Society in 2007. She serves on the Anti-Trafficking Committee of the European Baptist Federation (EBF), providing resources to EBF churches in an effort to both prevent trafficking and offer after-care to victims.

Bethell has collaborated with governmental agencies, non-government organizations, and a broad spectrum of Christian ministries. Because of her personal contact with hundreds of women involved in prostitution and victims of trafficking and her experience of pioneering new projects, she was invited to testify before U.S. House of Representatives and Senate committees as they drafted and revised the U.S. trafficking legislation in 2000 and 2007.

In her presentation Thursday, Bethell called on all Christians to address the international crisis of women and girls who are trafficked into prostitution.

“Because this is such a huge and complex issue doesn’t mean you can’t get involved,” she said. There has to be a grass-roots effort to fight this because laws and legislation can only go so far.”

READ MORE---> Minister calls attention to plight of exploited women...

'Don't Forget Burma' urges Zoya Phan

Karen State (Myanmar), (New Kerala): The humanitarian situation in Myanmar remains desperate a year after cyclone Nargis slammed the country, the author of a new memoir
of Burmese life has warned.

Prominent campaigner Zoya Phan, 28, told Sky News that locals were struggling to rebuild their lives following the devastating storm, which hit Myanmar on May 2 2008, leaving nearly 140,000 people dead or missing.

"It has been a year since Nargis hit Burma, but when we spoke to the local people who were affected, they told us there hadn't been any international humanitarian aid in many parts of the area," she told Sky News.

"They said when some aid organisations were delivering aid into Burma, the regime just made a show - building up temporary shelters and asking people to come, then taking pictures before they left," she added.

Aid and food from international agencies found its way onto Burmese markets after being seized by the regime, while survivors were forced into unpaid construction work, she said.

Cyclone Nargis saw Burma make headlines, but while media attention on the country has since waned, Zoya warns that everyday suffering continues for many Burmese.

She hopes the release of her new book, Little Daughter, will help counter that by raise awareness of the country's ongoing crisis.

Little Daughter is a memoir of Zoya's early years growing up in Burma and subsequently fleeing - first to refugee camps and later to Britain.

Mixed in with warm anecdotes - of her smuggling mangoes and creating mud slides - are the grim reminders of the horror that begins to invade her young life.

She recalls vividly the episode in which she and her siblings discover the body of a man beaten by the Burmese army floating lifelessly in the river where she played.

The book tells of Zoya's unique position as the daughter of guerrilla soldier (her mother) and a freedom activist (her father), both of the Karen tribe - who have opposed the Burmese military junta for decades.

Following in their campaigning footsteps, Zoya knows the danger of speaking out so publicly against the military regime.

--- ANI

READ MORE---> 'Don't Forget Burma' urges Zoya Phan...

The Thai Divine Comedy

By Thanong Khanthong
The Nation Blogs

Have you ever experienced Paradise, Hell and Purgatory in the City of Angels? Let me show you around Bangkok because I do at times venture beyond my home in the Sukhumvit area to visit Old Bangkok.

Paradise

You start at Phanfah Leelas Bridge, a distinct point that leads you to the gateway of Paradise. King Rama III statue offers you a golden key for you to enter into the realm of the Paradise, where at the night time the angels descend to dance and pick up flowers. You can smell Paradise, the fragrance that is not of this world, as you watch the Stupas and the Loha Prasath behind.

There Paradise interacts with you in several dimensions, with the lure of aesthetics. If you could make your way up to Paradise, the background scenary behind the Rama III statue would have been the physical structure where the Angels take their residence.

Rama III built most of the permanent structures of Bangkok so that angels and the Thais mingle together in harmony. Here is the gateway and corridor to the inner parts of Paradise that is Bangkok.

The grandeur of Loha Prasat (the Iron Castle).

That's the outer layer of Paradise. But Paradise is also hidden in your consciousness. As you experience the beauty of the Stupas and the Loha Prasat and the temples which moves your yearning for Paradise, that Paradise gradually permeats your own consciousness in a struggle for self-realisation. You finally come to terms with your self, your elusive self.

That which is Paradise is your process of understanding or the denial of all happiness, which charaterises the self, so that you confront the self in the most critical moment.

Between the self and no-self, which path do you choose?

Then you walk on along the Rachadamnoen Road. It is about midnight. You pass the Democracy Monument. How many people have died in futile for this worthless landmark that signifies greeds and crude power in this land? How many military strongmen come and go as the Democracy Monument is forever cursed with their arsenals buried around? How many politicians have promised us with the loots before ending up with rampant corruption? How many times do the poor have to shed their tears just to get a fair share of their life on this earth?

Hell

Along the pavements, you see Hell and all the sufferings that go with it. Homeless people lie on the benches or on the tiny space close to the shop glass. They do not have any other places to sleep.

Prostitutes, in their forties or fifties, gesture to you with their sign language. This is their turf. When dark night descends on Rachadamnoen, they come out to reclaim their territory. They perform the oldest trade of this world just to survive, with a heart that is beyond the sufferings of any human descriptions until it becomes normal.

You see people getting lost with their way because they cannot afford even Bt200-bt300 for a night say in one of the cockroach motels in the dark backstreets, where rats are scurrying around looking for their stench food.

A homeless man resting in front of Silapakorn University.

The sufferings you encounter manifest Hell in its physical form. But Hell is also your obsession with the self. The homeless and the prostitutes suffer from all kinds of physical abuse. They struggle to keep their self moving. They only have the will to live, to protect the self. The Hell in your consciousness is your denial of the sufferings from the outside and the struggle of for the maintaining of your happiness from the inside.

But as an observer of Hell, you at once set yourself apart from the sufferings before your eyes. You start to doubt whether your comfortable life in a four-cornered office room is better than theirs? Your continuation to have obsession with the self does not make you having any status any better than them. For we all are born and have to go through the cycle of birth and death, in an eternal struggle for existence.

Those people in rags and ruins have no more strength left to have obsession with the self as they only need a few breath of strength to keep their sheer existence. The Hell that is in your consciousness returns to haunt you as the self perpetuates the state of ignorance and comparison between good and bad, peace and suffering.

You have almost forgot the Paradise, the real Paradise that you have walked past almost a kilometre behind, the real Paradise that points to redemption.

Purgatory

The Triology would not come full cycle without your final confrontation with Purgatory. Purgatory signifies your aimless travelling through time. You are now in the human world, lying perhaps on the edge of this world.

In Buddhist terminology, Purgatory is a region where you place three circles together. You see vendors of fake Buddhas and second hand or third hand garments and electronics products. You can also buy a mobile phone there, with the service excellence of a mouth-to-teeth technician. You can have your future read by the palm of the astrologers of the land. You can eat a plate of phad thai or khai dao with garlic pork at Bt15 or Bt20. You can buy a buay drink to water down your thirst after a long walk. This is the medieval market of Siam, cut off from the Finance Ministry's tax arm. Prices are in the low range. You can buy an antique clock or watch for a couple of hundred baht.

Street vendors are normal sight in your peripatetic travel through Purgatory in Old Bangkok.

You aren't sure how these people can make a living with their medieval trade because in the afternoon of that day, you just have a nice meal at Siam Paragon. As you pass the court buildings opposite Sanam Luang, you feel tired with the weighing down of the sights on your mind.

After Paradise and Hell, you could have thought that you find the answer to your true self. But no, you're still wandering without any direction. If you're not sure with Paradise and reject Hell altogether, you'll be left in a state of flux, of not knowing where else to go to or what else to do.

Finally, you stop at the City Pillar at the corner opposite Wat Phrakaew. You pay homage to the City Pillar, that provides strength and power to the longliveity of this Kingdom. You glance at Wat Phrakaew, which stands as a testimony of the ultimate Paradise. You pay your utmost respect to the ultimate sacred site of Bangkok, while the nihilism that goes around Wat Phrakaew is intensifying on the bedrock of ignorance.

The Emerald Buddha Temple: Paradise lost, and Paradise regained.

There, you at once come to term with your self for the third critical moment of your brief travel in search for the lost meanings. Between Paradise, or the redemption of your soul, Hell, your preoccupation with the ignorant self, or Purgatory, your travelling through time without any meanings or purposes, what path would you choose?

As you return home, you feel tired with the dark vision, your confused mind and also your realisation of your potential to break away from your consciousness. The interplay between Hell, Purgatory and Paradise allows you to at once realise the sufferings, the peripatetic travelling through time before you arrive at the crucial juncture of whether you will enter the gate of absolute serenity, where the self is no longer what it is.

The final destination is to laying down, like the Reclining Buddha at Wat Pho, in a state of absolute serenity.

***************************

If you find my guided tour of the City of Angels of some thought, then you may see the light of how we all can break away from this sufferings by helping the poor first. Helping the poor does not mean that you have to demolish Paradise. You have to get it right at the Purgatory level first. This has to do with the police, politicians, military, prosecutors. When the poor is better, we all have shared meanings in the Purgatory as we look for the final exit to Paradise.

With this, I lay my case. I have taken you all to the epic journey in the spirit of Dante's Divine Comedy and Milton's Paradise Lost. I have to pay tribute to my deceased teacher Montri Umavijani and the Illustrious One, my beloved uncle, who both gave me the wisdom to see through the Three Worlds.

############################################

How the concept of Three World provides a way out for Thailand.

In Hell, we have 40 million Thais living in tough conditions and engaging in agriculture. If we can improve their standard of living, we'll get rid of yellow, red and blue or any shades of colour. We'll achieve unity or political symmetry.

But so far the businessmen, politicians, traders, financiers, bureaucrats or local authorities take advantage of them so that they remain poor. It is very difficult for legislation aimed at improving the welfare of the poor get passed by Parliament. The poor are being taken advantaged by the modern sector, which is far smarter.

The Monarchy can only involved in development projects and provide moral guideance. But it does not have the resources nor is it a direct job of the Monarchy to engage in economic development. So the poor Thais are cursed to live in Hell.

Thaksin does not see it through, he only tries to take advantage of the poor for his own political gain. Much worse, there has been a smear campaign to suggest that the Monarchy has been taken advantage over the poor.

The rest of us are moving about in Purgatory, including all the systems of government and the institutions and the modern sector. We fight for the resources, for the concessions, for a larger pie of the GDP. We go about to get rich and to take advantage over others. We do not care how the country will suffer in the end. We blame each other because we don't know the roots of the problem. Power play occurs at this level in the pursuit of self-interest and greeds. All the problems happen here in Purgatory.

Thailand does not now where it is going, except to serve the short-term greeds.

Paradise is in our heart. His Majesty the King is already there by virtue of Detachment.

To enter Paradise, you must have detachment. Everybody can enter Paradise. Detachment is self-less or not craving for materialism or wanting something that does not belong to us, or not wanting to take advantage over other people, other animals, or refraining from harming the natural resources and environment.

Once you have detachment, you have concentration to see through the Three Worlds. Concentration is the process of learning, of discerning, of separating reality from illusion, of understanding the essence of nature, of seeing Dharmma.

Non-detachment stands in the way of everything, the worst of all is ignorance.

Once you have the detachment (not me, not mine) and concetration (process of learning and discerning) to see through the Three Worlds, you'll achieve wisdom (complete understanding). You may call this wisdom as enlightenment or nirvana, depending on the gradation of your own barami or intelligence or perseverance or your pure heart.

This is the Thai Utopia, a universe of ideas complete in itself.

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READ MORE---> The Thai Divine Comedy...

Thailand: Emergency decree lifted

By Piyanart Srivalo
The Nation

PM vows peace, normalcy without special measures Abhisit insists he can keep order with existing laws and regulations

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva yesterday pledged he would ensure peace and normalcy by relying on relevant laws following the lifting of emergency rule yesterday.

"It is the duty of my government to keep the peace, and I pledge to allay public concerns about security by invoking relevant laws without taking any extra measures," he said.

Abhisit said the cancellation of the state of emergency was a clear signal to the world that normality had been restored.

The next step after emergency rule is for the legislative branch to take the lead in trying to dissipate fractious politics, he said, referring to the outcome of the two-day general debate on the Songkran mayhem.

The speakers and the House and Senate whips have been entrusted with two tasks, he said.

First is to form a special committee to convene a hearing that will compile a report on the mayhem and anti-riot operations. The second task is to draft a report on issues attributed to the turmoil.

The prime minister said the emergency measures and related mechanisms would end immediately, including detention of suspects under the emergency mandate.

The legal proceedings imposed under emergency rule will revert to normal procedures under the Criminal Procedure Code, Abhisit said.

He said his government did not intend hot pursuit of red-shirt leaders remaining at large, but any rally organisers involved in instigating disturbances and inciting violence would be prosecuted.

Abhisit is optimistic that the authorities can keep the peace if the red shirts revive their street protests. Deployment of soldiers will continue in certain sensitive areas, such as Government House, in order to assist police with peacekeeping.

He dismissed speculation that the drafting of new legislation to regulate street protests was meant to curtail basic rights that were enshrined in the Constitution.

The draft is meant to distinguish between peaceful demonstrations and those relying on non-peaceful tactics, in order to ensure protesters do not stray from their basic rights, he said.

Responding to a question on whether without emergency rule his government would last until year-end, Abhisit said he was determined to do his job and not focus on how long he would last in office.

Government Spokesman Panitan Wattanayagorn said the government-appointed panel to assess the outcome of anti-riot operations would replace the emergency operation command that ceased after the lifting of emergency rule yesterday.

Panitan said foreign countries had been very cooperative in trying to extradite fugitive Thaksin Shinawatra.

Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban said that since emergency measures had been completed it was unnecessary to continue the state of emergency.

At Government House and selected areas, soldiers will continue to assist police as a precaution, but none will have the special powers granted under emergency rule, he said.

Suthep said the people were entitled to their basic right to peaceful assembly but they should not cross the line and turn unruly or incite violence. He was responding to reports that the red shirts might resume their rally.

READ MORE---> Thailand: Emergency decree lifted...

Red shirts move rally to Bangkok

Emergency rule ends, UDD defies city order

(Bangkok Post) -The anti-government United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship has moved its planned mass rally to Bangkok after the government on Friday lifted the state of emergency.

Today's rally was originally scheduled for other provinces which were not affected by the state of emergency with Samut Sakhon tipped as being the most likely venue.

The protest was relocated to Sanam Luang after Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva declared the lifting of emergency rule at the end of the joint parliamentary meeting in the early hours of yesterday morning.

Parliament wrapped its two-day special joint sitting to debate the crackdown on UDD red shirt demonstrators.

A government source said Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban called a meeting with security authorities to discuss the lifting of the state of emergency as parliament was about to adjourn on Thursday night.

The source said Mr Abhisit was concerned that emergency rule, if it was prolonged, would backfire on the government.

The source said national police chief Pol Gen Patcharawat Wongsuwon pledged to speed up criminal cases against leaders of the UDD and of the People's Alliance for Democracy in efforts to return peace to society.

Hundreds of cases are being processed in connection with street protests by both camps.

UDD leader Somyos Prueksakasemsuk said the planned rally would not be prolonged. It would begin about 5pm and disperse about 11pm.

It would tackle alleged government intimidation of UDD leaders, pressure the government to unblock the signal of its television broadcaster, D Station, and ask it to guarantee freedom of expression of red shirt protesters.

Like ASTV which supports the PAD, the UDD's satellite TV station is a communication channel and has been the mouthpiece of the red shirt supporters.

"The government should stop violating our rights of free speech. Blocking D Station's signal will only make red shirts more upset and force us to hold street protests," said Mr Somyos, who is one of the UDD's "second-generation" leaders.

All pro-UDD community radio stations must also be allowed to resume broadcasts, he added.

Mr Somyos said today's rally had nothing to do with other UDD leaders. "The decision to rally was made by the second-generation leaders, who felt upset with the Abhisit government's attempt to suppress the red shirt movement," he said. "It's now purely a people's movement."

Mr Somyos shrugged off City Hall's order to ban the UDD from using Sanam Luang for today's gathering. He said the protesters had no choice but to resist it .

According to Mr Somyos, there will be no phone-in by former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

Thaksin is in Liberia this week scouting for business opportunities in Africa, Reuters reported yesterday.

"I have come to visit Liberia to explore business opportunities in the areas of mining, agriculture and gas exploration," Thaksin said after meeting the West African country's vice-president earlier this week.

Small UDD rallies were also expected to take place today in Udon Thani, Chiang Mai and Phatthalung.

Mr Suthep said he instructed police to step up security for the main UDD rally but threatened to take legal action if the rally turned ugly or was deemed to be inciting fresh unrest.

Puea Thai MP and UDD leader Jatuporn Prompan, however, said he was unlikely to join the rally. He would talk to other UDD leaders first.

Mr Abhisit said the lifting of emergency rule was an indication of the government's determination to reconcile differences in society.

"By lifting the state of emergency we are sending a signal to the international community that normalcy has been restored," he said.

However, troops would remain deployed in certain locations where there was still public concern about security.

The UDD protest at Sanam Luang could proceed as long as it did not cause trouble, he said.

Mr Abhisit reiterated that he was ready to dissolve parliament and call for fresh elections but it should not happen before the charter is amended.

The political crisis would worsen if elections were organised when those rules that were seen as problematic had not been revised.

He said constitutional amendments would address the UDD's demands for democracy and reconciliation.

Meanwhile, the opposition Puea Thai party yesterday pressed on with its accusations that the military resorted to violence to disperse the UDD supporters during recent street protests.

Puea Thai spokesman Prompong Nopparit said the party would lodge complaints against Mr Abhisit with police and the National Anti-Corruption Commission.

During the two-day debate, Puea Thai MPs submitted to parliament "proof" of military violence.

Senator Somchai Sawaengkarn yesterday warned the government not to rush into charter amendments.

He said a panel should be first set up to review the charter.

He also welcomed the government's proposal for a parliamentary committee to investigate the military crackdown on the red shirt protesters.

READ MORE---> Red shirts move rally to Bangkok...

Thailand: If London saw red

By ANDREW
Chiang Mai

(Bangkok Post) - Here's a thought for those believing the reds have a legitimate right to try to "mob eject" an apparently illegal government. Britain's Gordon Brown was not elected by the people (nor was Tony, Maggie or John for that matter since it's not a republic), and what Labour did was effectively stage manage a leadership change so that their man would be the incumbent at the next election. Is this illegal?

Brown's not very popular in Britain and nearly called a snap poll which he would have surely lost; the opposition aren't happy, so should they start protesting? Can we imagine their supporters surrounding Whitehall, terrorising Leicester Square and blocking the traffic around Trafalgar Square? What were the odds of them causing a cancellation of the G20 summit in London? How would the common man react if a group had occupied Heathrow and ruined their 40-million-visitors-a-year tourist industry? Just think of the outrage in the papers and on the high street if a bunch of dreadlocked, unemployed thugs rioted in the streets, financed by some rich baron calling for a revolution from his hideaway in Monaco.

Now, consider that politics in Britain is still dominated by the elite, mostly public school-educated from wealthy backgrounds, and that the income gap between them and the poor is quite immense. Britain, like Thailand, remains a deeply class-structured country in which the system works better for some. There are some similarities between these two constitutional monarchies but the difference of course is that one of these two is civilised about its democratic values, and its citizens have a lot more respect for, and benefit from, law enforcement. Ultimately, it has resulted in a more stable and prosperous nation.

READ MORE---> Thailand: If London saw red...

China sees to it Wa keeps the lid on opium production

by Khun Aung Kham
Shan Herald Agency for News

According to a recent interview, the Wa are finding it increasingly difficult to return to poppy cultivation.

“Some Burma watchers may still think we are returning to poppy cultivation,” said a Wa officer who requested anonymity. “They certainly have no idea that our continued survival depends almost totally on the goodwill of China. Under this circumstance, we have very little opportunity to lift the ban (imposed in 2005).”

Indeed, alongside the motorroads inside the Wa domain, visitors no longer see poppy fields, in contrast to pre-2005 poppy seasons. The Wa supreme boss Bao Youxiang, in all likelihood, appears to be keeping his word given before the ban: “If any poppy plants are still seen after 2005, you can chop my head off,”

At least one story seems to question the sustainability. A monk from the Thai-Burma border, during this visit to Panghsang last year, asked if they still have were any poppy fields. A monk tried replied, “There are still a few and I can escort you there. Even the Wa police rarely go there. But the one closest is a two day walk from here.” The source said he declined the offer. “To this day, I’m not still sure whether he was serious or just making a joke.”

Nevertheless, the blaze that took place on 18 April, a day after the 20th anniversary of the founding of the United Wa State Army (UWSA) which was celebrated with much pomp and fanfare, had reportedly destroyed thousands of tons of teak logs, and also hundreds of barrels of precursor chemicals used in producing heroin such as Ether and Acetyl Anhydride (known as acid to the locals).

The site of the inferno reportedly belong to Wei Xuegang, a drug fugitive from Thailand and currently serving as the commander of the 171st Military region, opposite Thailand’s Mae Hong Son, Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai provinces.

It remains to be seen what future Wei has with the UWSA. But it was him who had reportedly come to the rescue of the UWSA, during its early days, with B 40 million ($40,000) in cash when it was still struggling to survive following its mutiny on 17 April 1989 which toppled until-then-Beijing backed Communist Party of Burma (CPB).

READ MORE---> China sees to it Wa keeps the lid on opium production...

Wa official: No answers to junta’s questions until ours are answered

Shan Herald Agency for News

A senior Wa official who declined to have his name divulged told the United Wa State Army (UWSA) has been under pressure by Naypyidaw for response to its demands to come under its wings but that the group has no reply for them until Naypyidaw have answers for its own demands.

“We asked them first and they never bothered to answer,” he said. “Now they want answers for their questions. That’s not fair.”

The official explained that the UWSA had attended the National Convention (1993-2008) and, together with its allies, had presented a joint set of proposals including one to place areas under their control along the Sino-Burma border under Naypyidaw’s direct supervision.

“We never received a reply for that and when the draft constitution came out, we found none of our demands were met,” he said. “Needless to say, we are against the constitution and we are against the upcoming elections. Only we are not putting out official statements like others.”

In January, the junta’s representative Lt-Gen Ye Myint came to Panghsang “to pick up from where he had left off last year,” he recounted. “He said we need not surrender but change our name to something like a frontier defense force and older leaders to set up parties to contest the elections. ‘We will even issue you new weapons which are of better quality. We will also assign educated officers from the Burma Army to assist your officers’. And when there was no response from us, he said, ‘There are reports a lot of mobilization is going on in here. Does it mean you are saying no to our offers?’ Again, our leaders refused to say anything. He went back empty-handed.”

Do the Wa have a course of action that they have chosen when the time comes? “We do,” he answered. “But until such time, we are saying nothing.”

He assured SHAN that the UWSA is “more united” and there is no discrimination among races.

What about Wei Xuegang, who joined them in 1989? “Wei is relatively a new comer,” he replied. “He thinks in terms of money. And we are aware that the Burma Army is trying to win him over. But I don’t think he will leave us. However, in case he does, the damage will be minimal.”

Wei Xuegang

(Just then, fire broke out on the western outskirts of Panghsang, and the interview came to an abrupt end, preventing SHAN from asking him to elaborate.)

Before that, the official had also talked about the pros and cons of the ceasefire. “On the whole, I think we have more gains than losses. It has been the first time in our modern day history that the people are enjoying the absence of war and conflict. They are also more educated and healthier,” he said. “Our only failure has been that we were so bent on economic matters we didn’t pay adequate attention to political matters.”

As for alliance with groups other than National Democratic Army-Kachin (NDA-K), Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) and National Democratic Alliance Army-Eastern Shan State (NDAA-ESS), all of which together with the UWSA are members of the Peace and Democracy Front (PDF), he admitted that “a lot needed to be done on that. It was partly because of us. Most of them were demanding federalism and we had not felt ready to clash head on with the junta.

Also, when in 1999 we held a meeting with them, each had only presented its own policies and stand, but no one had proposed aims and objections that all could agree and work together.”

Since then times have changed, he added, also without elaboration.

The UWSA was formed following the mutiny in Panghsang against the Communist Party of Burma (CPB) on 17 April 1989. The Wa are notorious when it comes to drugs, but appealing to most groups fighting against the military regime when it comes to what is known as leverage.

READ MORE---> Wa official: No answers to junta’s questions until ours are answered...

Thai Prime Minister Lifts State of Emergency

By AMBIKA AHUJA/ AP WRITER
The Irrawaddy News

BANGKOK — Thailand’s prime minister lifted a state of emergency on Friday that was imposed in the capital following anti-government riots by supporters of ousted former leader Thaksin Shinawatra, while authorities tried to locate the fugitive tycoon abroad.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva made the announcement at the end of a two-day special parliamentary session aimed at finding a solution to the country’s political crisis.

“Lifting the state of emergency is one of the measures to find a solution for the country,” Abhisit told the parliamentary session. Many opposition lawmakers had urged the prime minister to remove the emergency decree which they said inflamed the still-tense situation in Thailand.

“The government wants reconciliation and to move the country forward,” Abhisit told lawmakers early Friday. The debate ran for two marathon 15-hour sessions dominated by partisan bickering over who was to blame for the violence, but did little to resolve Thailand’s deepening political divide.

The protests were part of Thailand’s long-running political turmoil, which revolves around Thaksin’s ouster in a 2006 military coup for alleged corruption and abuse of power. Thaksin, a telecommunications tycoon, fled the country last year ahead of a corruption conviction.

Thaksin’s supporters, who are known as the “red shirts,” rioted in Bangkok last week, calling for Abhisit’s resignation and new elections. Two people were killed and 123 injured as protesters clashed with troops and residents.

Thaksin, who still enjoys wide support among Thailand's rural poor because of his populist policies while in office, addressed demonstrators from exile via video link during the run-up to the riots, and at one point called for a “revolution.”

He changed his message after the rioting and joined political rivals in calling for reconciliation.

The state of emergency was imposed April 12 amid rioting in Bangkok. The decree had banned gatherings of more than five people and news reports that threatened public order and allowed the government to call up military troops to quell unrest.

Thaksin’s whereabouts continue to dominate headlines in Thailand and taunt the government, who holds him responsible for the recent violence and is trying to extradite him.

Up until last week, Thaksin was in Dubai but now appears to be in Africa.

Thaksin traveled to Liberia earlier this week to inquire about investing in diamonds, officials said, continuing his global wanderings in pursuit of business ventures. Liberia, known as a tax haven, is keen to lure foreign investors as it tries to move beyond its dark history of a civil war that was funded and fueled by so-called “blood diamonds.”

Liberia’s Information Minister Cletus Sieh told The Associated Press that Thaksin had been in Liberia earlier this week and met with the country’s vice president and other officials.

“He's trying to invest in Africa and he came to Liberia to explore the possibility of investing in the gold and diamond sector,” Sieh said, adding that Thaksin had arrived in Liberia on Tuesday and left the next day.

Sieh said he believed that Thaksin went on to Ghana and Ivory Coast. His current location could not be immediately confirmed.

Thaksin’s most recent hub was Dubai. He earlier used London as a base until Britain revoked his visa because of the Thai conviction. While in Britain, Thaksin bought the English Premier League soccer team Manchester City, which he subsequently sold to Abu Dhabi investors.

Thaksin recently has claimed that he’s running out of money, but says that Thailand’s move to freeze his assets may have helped safeguard his vast wealth from the financial crisis.

Thaksin’s fortune was estimated at US $2.2 billion in 2006 by Forbes Asia magazine. By 2008, his net worth was pegged at $400 million after Thailand froze more than $1.8 billion of his family’s assets pending the outcome of corruption cases against him.

It is unclear which passport Thaksin is using to travel. The government has revoked Thaksin’s personal and diplomatic passports, but the former Thai prime minister now has a diplomatic Nicaraguan passport and is alleged to have others.

The red shirts, mostly from the rural poor who benefited from Thaksin’s social welfare programs, claim Abhisit, who was appointed by Parliament in December, came to power illegitimately after court rulings removed two Thaksin-allied governments.

Their protests came after three years of sporadic protests by Thaksin’s opponents, the “yellow shirts,” whose rallies paved the way to the 2006 coup and the later court dismissals of Thaksin’s allies. The yellow shirts come mainly from the urban, middle class and educated elite of Thai society, including royalists.

READ MORE---> Thai Prime Minister Lifts State of Emergency...

Regime Faces Crushing Defeat if Election is Free and Fair

By KYAW ZWA MOE
Irrawaddy News

If Burma’s upcoming election in 2010 is free and fair, it can be predicted with certainty that the National League for Democracy (NLD) of Aung San Suu Kyi will win with no less than the 82 percent of the votes it secured in the 1990 poll.

One basic reason for such optimism is that the NLD has committed none of the crimes laid at the door of the current military regime—killing innocent people, including revered monks, and sentencing dissidents to harsh and lengthy terms of imprisonment.

There are several other valid reasons: the NLD is an elected party, while the government is a ruthless regime; the stark contrast between their leaders, Than Shwe and Suu Kyi. There’s absolutely no comparison between the cold-blood monk killer and the sincere and candid NLD leader.

However, critics would say that the popularity of the NLD is declining because of its inability to bring about democratic reforms despite the mandate a large majority of the people bestowed on it two decades ago. That’s true if we don’t take into consideration just how oppressive the regime is.

The same majority won’t see any difference between the regime and the proxy parties which are now being formed ahead of the 2010 election.

It’s logical to assume that the regime, having failed to honor the result of the 1990 election, will not accept an NLD victory in the 2010 poll. The generals in Naypyidaw aren’t keen to see a resurrection of the “ghost” that has haunted them since 1990.

In order not to repeat their mistake, the generals will choose a means to make sure that their proxy parties will largely win in the election, even though they’ve secured 25 percent of the seats in both the upper and lower houses of parliament with handpicked military officials, according to the constitution which was drawn up by the junta’s delegates.

Logic, therefore, says that there is no reason for the generals to hold a free and fair election in 2010.

Regional events such as the anti-government riots in neighboring Thailand would have made the generals more determined to keep walking on their own “roadmap.”

Burmese Prime Minister Gen Thein Sein would have reported to his colleagues in Naypyidaw how he was evacuated by helicopter from the disrupted Association of Southeast Nations summit in Pattaya, and together they would surely have ridiculed Thailand’s democracy, noting its “anarchy”—a word they like to use.

Consequently, they would now be more determined than ever to keep walking toward what they have called “disciplined democracy.”

Nothing—including the criticism and demands of the international community—can seem to affect the determination of the Burmese generals.

Since taking office in January, US President Barack Obama and his administration have been reviewing the policies of the previous George W Bush government against authoritarian countries such as Iran, North Korea and Burma.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced in February that the US administration was reviewing its policy on Burma, saying the sanctions imposed on Burma since 1997 had got nowhere. Constructive engagement applied by neighboring countries of Burma has also failed to bring about change.

The prospect of a change in US approach towards Burma doesn’t appear, however, to have persuaded the regime to review its own policies.

The international community has demanded a review by the junta of its constitution to ensure the inclusion of all opposition and ethnic parties in the 2010 election. But the junta has said that anyone who is against the constitution is an “enemy of the state.”

In other words, the military regime will definitely proceed with its roadmap, including the 2010 election, according to its own norms without considering any suggestions and demands by domestic and international communities.

So it’s clear how the 2010 election will be organized and what the result will be. There’s surely no chance of the regime risking another election defeat along the lines of the 1990 debacle.

READ MORE---> Regime Faces Crushing Defeat if Election is Free and Fair...

Karen Refugee Testifies to Junta Crimes

Karen IDPs flee a Burmese army attack (Photo)

By LALIT K JHA
The Irrawaddy News

WASHINGTON—A Karen woman based in the United States on Thursday called on the US Congress and the Obama administration to push the UN Security Council to establish an international inquiry into crimes against humanity committed by Burma’s military junta against its own people.

Giving graphic details of the some of the human rights violations the junta has perpetrated, particularly against ethnic communities and in this case against her and her family, Karen refugee Myra Dahgaypaw told a Congressional committee that the Burmese regime must be held accountable for all the crimes it has committed.

A member of the Karen Women’s Organization and a board member of the Karen American Communities Foundation, Dahgaypaw testified before the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, which had convened a Congressional hearing on human rights abuses in Burma.

“I urge members of Congress and the new US administration to support and push for a UN Security Council Commission of Inquiry into the regime’s crimes against humanity and system of impunity,” she said.

Demanding that the military regime be held accountable for the crimes it commits against the people of Burma, Dahgaypaw urged the international community to continue to pressure the junta into ceasing all human rights abuses and violence against civilians.

She said the Burmese army often uproots an entire village in just a few minutes, and sends the villagers running with little more than the clothes on their backs.

Myra Dahgaypaw, a member of the Karen Women’s Organization and a board member of the Karen American Communities Foundation, testifying before the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission at a Washington congressional hearing on human rights abuses in Burma.

Then the Burmese troops place landmines around the area to ensure villagers remain on the run and do not return to their homes, she said. Today, Eastern Burma is one of the world’s most heavily mined areas.

“After villagers are forced from their villages, they live minute by minute, like nomads. They eat what they find in the jungle, and often go to bed hungry. They are always on the move, children in tow. They live in constant fear of the military,” she said.

“According to my personal experience, my family and I had nothing. We didn’t have food to eat, places to sleep or enough clothes [to wear], a situation made more difficult when it was cold or raining. We were constantly running from regime troops and we hid in the caves, bushes and jungle. The places we called ‘homes’ were burnt down many times a year. I will never forget sleeping with half of my body in the rain and the other half under a plastic tarp,” an emotionally choked Dahgaypaw said.

As humanitarian organizations could not get past the military regime to reach such people, Dahgaypaw said there was not enough food or medicine.

“I suffered from malaria, flu and other diseases many times a year. Many of my cousins died from malaria and other diseases,” she said.

“There were many times we had no food to eat. Sometimes, we had only one can of rice to feed seven family members. The older people didn’t eat. Instead they gave the rice to my sister and I because we were the youngest. We survived by eating bamboo shoots from the jungle. Sometimes we had to go to bed without any food in our stomachs,” Dahgaypaw said.

She emphasized to the committee that her story was neither unique nor exclusive to her ethnic community alone.

“There are several other ethnic groups besides the Karen. Each one of them also faces oppression and displacement at the hands of the Burmese military regime that will force them to live as IDPs [internally displaced persons] or to flee to the borders and other countries,” she said.

READ MORE---> Karen Refugee Testifies to Junta Crimes...

Burma Expert Urges US to Tighten Sanctions

By LALIT K JHA / WASHINGTON
The Irrawaddy News

Accusing the Burmese regime of looting the country, a prominent world expert on Burma urged the US on Thursday to tighten its economic sanctions policy against the junta.

Further financial sanctions were necessary to protect Burma against the wholesale theft of its financial and natural resources, Dr Sean Turnell, an Associate Professor of Economics at MacQuarie University in Australia, told a US congressional hearing.

Turnell charged that foreign exchange revenue from Burma’s exports of natural gas were being disposed of offshore in ways that brought about the least advantage to the Burmese people.

Testifying before a hearing by the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission on “Human Rights Abuses in Burma,” Turnell said: “Now is decidedly not the time to lift the economic sanctions levied against a regime that, for nearly fifty years, has impoverished as it has abused in other ways, the people of Burma.” If sanctions were lifted, he said, it would only help the regime increase its stranglehold on the country.

Turnell, who also heads “Burma Economy Watch,” reminded the panel that Burma remained a centre of “prime money laundering concern,” according to the OECD and other international agencies.

The administration of President Barack Obama has announced it is reviewing US policy on Burma, and there have also been moves within the EC for a review of European sanctions against Burma.

Western opponents of sanctions argue they hit innocent Burmese people harder than the regime, but Turnell challenged this view.

“Sanctions are not the cause of Burma’s poverty, nor do they obstruct the country’s military regime from engaging in economic reform or from applying policies conducive to economic growth,” he argued.

“The most significant ‘sanctioner’ on Burma is none other than the country’s ruling regime itself, which has created an environment in which genuine transformative economic activity is scarcely possible, let alone similarly efficacious foreign investment or trade.”

Burma’s internal political-economy denied the country access to the international economy, and from the potential gains from the international division of labour so effectively exploited by its neighbours in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and by countries such as China, Turnell said.

Claiming that Burma’s state is almost wholly predatory, and is not so much parasitic of its host as all-consuming, he said: “If in other countries ruling regimes behave occasionally as racketeers in skimming a ‘cut’ from prosperous business, then Burma’s is more like a looter—destroying what it can neither create nor understand.”

Financial sanctions, Turnell said, are extraordinarily well-targeted. The average person in Burma has no access to a bank account, much less a need or desire to engage the international financial system.

This is not true for the members of the SPDC or the elite connected to them, said Turnell. As such, the denial of access to the US financial system to this group sends precisely the right signal, to precisely the right people, he added.

READ MORE---> Burma Expert Urges US to Tighten Sanctions...

Junta’s concern over foreign media grows

(DVB)–Strict media control enhances spiritual and intellectual nourishment, says an article in Burma’s leading state-run newspaper that speaks of the dangers of foreign media being broadcast into the country via satellite.

An article published today in the New Light of Myanmar newspaper called for the banning of satellite dishes to “protect the people against dangers and harms associated with news”.

“Satellite programmers are specially designed by major nations to wield influence over the international community in the sphere of the media,” wrote Ko Gyi Ngwe Zin Yaw.

The ruling State Peace and Development Council is notoriously fearful of foreign media being circulated inside Burma.

A number of journalists and internet bloggers have been given lengthy prison sentences for publishing material critical of the regime, or communicating with foreign media.

“The military government is always shutting the ears and eyes of people living in Burma,” said San Moe Way, secretary of the exiled Burma Media Association.

“That’s why they don’t want to see or hear foreign media, that’s why they fear the foreign media. "They are afraid of people watching the television or reading or hearing news from the radio.”

A wave of sentencing for journalists occurred following the September 2007 monk-led protests and last year’s cyclone Nargis.

Around 15 journalists are currently imprisoned, some, such as blogger Nay Phone Latt, with sentences of twelve years.

Burma has some of the world’s strictest laws regarding media censorship. The country was ranked 170 out of 173 in a press freedom index published by media watchdog Reporters without Borders in 2008.

Following cyclone Nargis, journalists were denied visas to access the country, although some managed to enter on tourist visas.

One month after the cyclone, the New Light of Myanmar led with a story on the “despicable” reporting of the cyclone by foreign media, under the title ‘The enemy who is more destructive than Nargis’.

San Moe Way believes the situation will get worse in the run-up to the scheduled elections next year.

“The 2010 elections will see more restrictions,” he said.

“They are tightening up on print media. The FM radio stations are being given licenses by government cronies to broadcast propaganda for the military and its own political parties during the elections.”

Reporting by Francis Wade

READ ALSO
Junta attack foreign media ‘fabrications’

READ MORE---> Junta’s concern over foreign media grows...

Diarrhea Deaths Confirmed in Rangoon

By WAI MOE
The Irrawaddy News

Sources in Rangoon have confirmed that at least five people have died in an outbreak of diarrhea that hit Burma’s largest city just before the start of the Burmese New Year’s festival in mid-April.

Bae U Ma, a 12-year-old girl from a poor family living in Ward 44 of North Dagon Myothit Township, died on April 20 after contracting the disease earlier in the month, according to a neighbor. Neighbors also confirmed the death of an elderly woman in Ward 7 of the same township. Doctors said three other people had died in Thaketa Township’s Ward 4, where the outbreak was said to be under control.

“I successfully treated more than a dozen diarrhea patients in the past three weeks,” said a physician at a private clinic in Thaketa Township. “But the cases were particularly severe, requiring at least three days of treatment.”

There were also reports that three other patients had died in North Okkalapa Township, although these could not be independently confirmed. Local residents of the township said that there were hundreds of cases of diarrhea in North Okkalapa alone.

Other townships, including South and North Dagon Myothit, Thaketa, Dawbon and Thanlyin, have also reported significant numbers of people suffering from the disease.

No official announcement of the outbreak has been issued, although the Ministry of Health has released repeated warnings in the Burmese-language press instructing people to take precautions against the disease.

Authorities have also ordered the closure of roadside food stalls in areas affected by the outbreak, according to local residents.

Meanwhile, an official from the United Nations International Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Rangoon told The Irrawaddy on Friday that there has also been a dramatic rise in the number of cases of diarrhea in the Irrawaddy delta over the past week.

“UNICEF and other medical agencies have learned of an estimated 100 diarrhea cases in 20 villages in Bogalay Township this week,” the UNICEF official said, adding that the number of cases has since decreased.

The official also said that UNICEF was aware of the outbreak in Rangoon and was working with government agencies to address the problem.

“We have been cooperating with government health officials in responding to the situation. We are providing drugs and equipment,” said the UNICEF official, who added that she was not authorized to make any further comment.

Despite growing concerns, the authorities have moved to prevent any news related to the outbreak from reaching the public.

“We cannot answer any questions because our senior officers have told us not to speak to the media about this issue,” a government health official from North Okkalapa Township said during a telephone conversation.

A Rangoon-based journalist who has been following news of the outbreak said that if the government did not provide detailed information soon, the situation could get “worse and worse, and then get out of control.”

READ MORE---> Diarrhea Deaths Confirmed in Rangoon...

Senior monk urges Mon political groups to join 2010 election

Mon Son, IMNA

A senior monk has expressed a desire for Mon political parties to participate in the elections to be held in Burma in 2010 so that the Mon community will have some representation in any future parliament.

Abbot Ain Da Ka, from Kamarwet village, made the remarks during a speech on April 11th at the closing ceremony of a Mon summer school in Young Dong village, Mudon Township. The summer school programmed is run by the Mon National Literature and Cultural Committee (MNLCC) of which the abbot is chairman for Mon State.

He said, "if Mon political groups participate in the 2010 election, we will get a chance to lobby in parliament for the MMLCC and for Mon people."

The two largest Mon political parties are the New Mon State Party (NMSP) and the Mon National Democratic Front (MNDF). Both have decided not to participate in the forthcoming election until the ruling military regime addresses the constitution which was ratified last year in what most objective observers agree was an undemocratic referendum of the population.

Representatives of both parties attended the school closing ceremony: Nai Htaw Mon, NMSP chairman and Nai Hong Done, vice-spokesperson of the MNDF and vice-chairman of the MNLCC. In the audience to hear the abbot's remarks there were several monks, members of the MNLCC, summer school students and their parents.

Nai Hong Done responded to Abbot Ain Da Ka's comments during his own speech at the ceremony. He later summarized his response to IMNA.

"The constitution does not include rights for Mon Literature and Culture. Even if we participated we couldn't fight for them in any parliament. I explained this to the monks and the people attending the ceremony."

According to Nai Hong Done, although some Mon parties and individual are preparing to take part in the election, MNDF will not be involved and will not change their stand.

READ MORE---> Senior monk urges Mon political groups to join 2010 election...

Release of Political Prisoners Still Key Issue: UK Ambassador

The Irrawaddy News

BANGKOK — The release of political prisoners is still the key to progress in Burma, Britain’s ambassador to the country, Mark Canning, told an audience during a panel discussion hosted by the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Thailand in Bangkok on Wednesday.

Citing the ruling junta’s intensifying crackdown on dissent over the past two years, Canning described Burma as “one of the most repressive places in the world,” with more than 2,100 political prisoners, including Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi.

At the panel discussion to discuss developments in Burma since Cyclone Nargis hit the country almost exactly one year ago, Canning said that the international response to the deadly cyclone has done little to change the regime’s attitude, but there is still hope that it could have some positive effect in the long run.

However, the ambassador said that the signs are not encouraging as the junta prepares for national elections to be held sometime next year. Critics say that polling is unlikely to be free and fair because the junta is intent on eliminating any genuine opposition ahead of the vote, which will be based on a constitution approved last year in a referendum widely dismissed as a sham.

Although he stressed the need for a political solution to ease the country’s deepening social and economic woes, the ambassador also said that it was important for the international community to continue assisting people inside Burma.

Canning, who has served as the UK’s ambassador to Burma since 2006, was joined on the panel by Chris Kaye, the World Food Program’s country director for Burma, and Frank Smithius, the country director and medical coordinator for Médecins Sans Frontières (Holland).

The panel discussion was recorded for broadcast by the BBC program “Question Time” to mark the one-year anniversary of Cyclone Nargis. Organizers said that Burmese aid workers declined an invitation to take part in the discussion after learning that it would air on the BBC.

READ MORE---> Release of Political Prisoners Still Key Issue: UK Ambassador...

Child Soldiers Still Common in Burma: UN Report

A child soldier wearing a Burmese army uniform (Photo: Yuzo/The Irrawaddy)

By LALIT K JHA
The Irrawaddy News

WASHINGTON — The Burmese military regime’s army and nine other armed groups are still recruiting child soldiers, according to the latest Annual Report of the UN Secretary-General to the Security Council on Children and Armed Conflict, released on Wednesday.

The report accuses both the Burmese junta and an array of armed ethnic groups, including ceasefire groups and active anti-government forces, of continuing to engage in the practice of recruiting child soldiers.

Apart from the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), the Karenni Army (KA) and the Shan State Army-South (SSA-S), all of the armed ethnic groups singled out in the report have signed ceasefire agreements with the Burmese regime.

The ceasefire groups implicated in the report include the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA), the Karen National Union-Karen National Liberation Army Peace Council (KNU/KNLA PC), the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), the Karenni National People’s Liberation Front (KNPLF), the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) and the United Wa State Army (UWSA).

The non-ceasefire KNLA and KA are the only groups that have sought to conclude an action plan with the UN to end recruitment of child soldiers, according to the report. But the report, authored by Radhika Coomaraswamy, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Children and Armed Conflict, adds that the UN has been prevented from establishing a formal dialogue with these groups by the Burmese military junta.

The 51-page report, which documents recruitment of child soldiers around the globe, further alleges that the Burmese military junta has denied humanitarian access to children during the reporting period.

The report also refers to a meeting between UNICEF officials and Wa authorities in early 2008, during which the UN officials visited two military camps where the UWSA was managing and running four primary schools. “This is worrisome, given the allegations of their recruitment and use of child soldiers,” the report said.

The Wa denied that the students were given military training and explained that the children were dressed in military uniforms because they were orphans, street children or children from poor families who could not afford other clothing. No further assessment was carried out and there has been no further contact with the Wa authorities, the report said.

Reports from camps along the Thai-Burmese border found one case of a child recruited by the KNU and three cases of children associated with the Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP), the political wing of the KA, the UN report said. A monitoring and reporting mechanism has been established in all nine refugee camps along the border in order to improve the verification of cases and raise awareness of the issue of child soldiers among camp residents, it said.

Referring to official reports shared by the junta, the UN report said the Burmese government continues to screen and release underage children found in its armed forces during the training process. The junta reported that 68 children were detected in various military training schools and were released to their parents and guardians.

The 68 cases included 12 children who were released through the International Labor Organization (ILO) mechanism, one released and reported to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), and two released and reported to the ILO and ICRC.

The ILO, through its mechanism to eliminate the use of forced labor, has verified the release of 23 children, mostly from involuntary military enrolment, based on complaints filed by parents and relatives. An additional 14 cases either await government response or remain open while the process continues, it said.

While the Burmese regime claimed that it has discharged nine military recruitment officers from service for violating the national military recruitment law, the UN reported that it has not been able to verify that.

However, on underage recruitment cases received by ILO, no action against perpetrators has been taken under either the Penal Code or military regulations, the report said.

The report also said that even as the regime has informed the UN country task force that it has put procedures in place for the rehabilitation and reintegration of underage recruits, the UNICEF has not been given access to children who were released through the government’s mechanisms for follow-up purposes.

The UN report said the world body has also not been able to establish contact with any of the armed ceasefire groups identified in the 2007 annual report as perpetrators of child recruitment. These include the DKBA, the KNU/KNLA PC, the KIA, the KNPLF and the MNDAA. It also has no contact with the non-ceasefire SSA-S.

READ MORE---> Child Soldiers Still Common in Burma: UN Report...

Junta prohibits reporting on the arrest of murderer

by Nem Davies

New Delhi (Mizzima) - Local Weekly Journals in Rangoon said they have been prohibited from publishing follow-up news on a murder case that took place in Botahtaung Township of Rangoon in early April.

Despite Botahtaung police station and Rangoon division police confirming the arrest of an individual accused of killing a husband and wife, they have warned local journals not to publish additional information concerning the case, an editor of a Rangoon-based weekly told Mizzima.

“They have openly warned us not to report about follow-up news regarding the case. I have tried various means to persuade them otherwise, but they have even threatened to arrest me,” said the editor, referring to the strict censorship board, which maintains tight control over local publications.

In early April, Aye Aye Win, daughter of a retired military officer, and her husband, Khin Maung Lay, a sailor, were both found dead inside their residence in Botahtaung Township.

On Monday, a police officer in Botahtaung police station told Mizzima they had arrested a murder suspect on April 15 and were interrogating him. But the officer declined to provide further details, other than to state he is an important individual.

Editors and reporters of local weeklies in Rangoon believe the murderer could be related to military officials, which is why they have been restricted from reporting further on the case.

News of the murder was reported in early April by at least three journals – Weekly Eleven, 7 Day News and The Voice.

One local journal has, however, indicated they have submitted their paper to the censorship board inclusive of follow-up news on the arrest, though it remains to be seen whether or not authorities permit publication of the edition.

READ MORE---> Junta prohibits reporting on the arrest of murderer...