200-tons of Burmese rice arrive in Teknaf land port

Teknaf, Bangladesh: About 200 metric tons of rice from Burma arrived at Bangladesh’s Teknaf land port on January 10, on board cargo ships after the two neighboring countries agreed to export rice from Burma to Bangladesh, sources said.

On January 10, the rice arrived at Teknaf land port on a vessel, and many more tons of rice is coming from Burma to our country by many vessels, according to official sources.

On January 9, another vessel with 250 metric tons was unloaded at Teknaf land port, which was imported by Bismilla trading company.

Another vessel with 1,500 metric tons will be arriving soon from Singapore to Bangladesh through Mahi and Brothers Company, according to official sources.

In November 2007, 398 metric tons, in December 1997.730 tons, in January, 2008, 450 tons were exported to Bangladesh through Teknaf land port.

An official source from Bangladesh said that the Burmese authorities have stockpiled up to 2,500 tons of rice at the Sittwe port for export to Bangladesh, with the rice expected to reach Bangladesh next week.

Businessmen from Bangladesh asked the Bangladesh government to import rice from Burma after many rounds of discussions with concerned authorities of Burma as the price of the rice is less than other countries.

Md Hashim, the owner of Mahi and Brothers from Teknaf said, "If we continue the import rice from Burma, the price of rice will fall in Bangladesh.”

One businessman, from Shwe Tin Ton Company in Maungdaw won a tender from the authorities of Burma to export 5,000 tons of rice to Bangladesh.

As the rice prices have increased dramatically in Bangladesh, the prices in Maungdaw Township have also increased. A 50 kilogram bag of normal quality rice increased from 24,000 kyat to 27,000 kyat. Many ordinary people are now suffering from the high rice prices in Maungdaw Township, said a local family.

At present, Bangladesh is facing a shortage of rice due to the damage to farms across the country by storms and flooding. The country is now importing large amounts of rice from neighboring countries, including Burma, India, Thailand, Pakistan, and Vietnam, to meet the shortage of rice and to check the price rise.

The World Food Program also agreed to provide support in preventing a crisis by bringing in 500,000 metric tons of rice to Bangladesh.

Source: Kaladan Press

READ MORE---> 200-tons of Burmese rice arrive in Teknaf land port...

Myanmar's ruling junta warns public to be vigilant after bomb blast kills woman

YANGON, Myanmar: Myanmar's ruling junta warned the public to be vigilant and report suspicious activities following a bombing that killed one woman in the capital, state-run media said Saturday.

A bomb exploded at a railway station in Naypyitaw early Friday, killing a 40-year-old ethnic Karen woman, the Myanmar Ahlin daily reported.

There were no immediate claims of responsibility. The government has not blamed any group, but the news report said terrorists were smuggling explosives into the country to carry out bombings.

Authorities warned the public to be vigilant against terrorists and to cooperate with officials by informing them of suspicious activities and turning in the suspects, the report said.

Terrorism is rare but not unknown in Myanmar, which has been under military rule almost continuously since 1962.

The country underwent extreme political turmoil in September, when the government crushed nonviolent, pro-democracy demonstrations, detained thousands and killed at least 31 people, according to a U.N. investigator, whose tally was twice the toll acknowledged by the junta.

Naypyitaw is in a remote area 400 kilometers (250 miles) north of Yangon, the country's old capital and biggest city. It became the country's new administrative capital and main military stronghold in November 2005 and is heavily guarded.

The most deadly terrorist incident in recent years in Myanmar took place in May 2005, when three bombs went off almost simultaneously at two upscale supermarkets and a convention center in Yangon. About two dozen people were killed and another 162 injured.

Several small bombings occurred in the country last year, causing minor damage and injuries.

The government often blames political opponents and ethnic rebels for the bombings, though no firm evidence has been produced. Government opponents deny carrying out attacks on civilians.

Myanmar's military government recently warned that such groups were planning more bombings in major cities.

Source: International Herald Tribune

READ MORE---> Myanmar's ruling junta warns public to be vigilant after bomb blast kills woman...

Bomb blast kills woman in Myanmar's military capital

Yangon - A bomb blast in a public toilet killed a woman in Myanmar's military capital of Naypyitaw, state media reports confirmed Saturday.

Naw Gay Lar, 40, died en route to hospital from injuries she suffered from the explosion at 4:30 am Friday in a public toilet near the Naypyitaw railway station, said The New Light of Myanmar.

Government sources claimed the bomb was the handiwork of 'insurgents who have sent terrorists and explosives to the country, across the border, to carry out sabotage,' said the paper, a government mouthpiece.

Myanmar's ruling junta shifted the capital in late 2004 from Yangon to Naypyitaw, primarily for security reasons.

The new capital, about 350 kilometres north of Yangon, has proven unpopular among the many civil servants forced to relocate to the remote area.

According to some sources, Myanmar's Foreign Affairs and Interior ministries may shift back to Yangon in the near future. (JEG's: ooooh they boys are coming back to town...)

Source: Monsters and Critics (M&C)

READ MORE---> Bomb blast kills woman in Myanmar's military capital...

Burma dissident attacks UN-backed talks

By Graeme Jenkins in Rangoon

Burma's most senior dissident leader to escape arrest in the crackdown following the pro-democracy protests in September has condemned United Nations-backed talks between the opposition and the military regime as a sham.

In an interview with The Daily Telegraph, held at a secret location in Rangoon, the former capital, the man known only by his codename "Phoenix" provided a rare insight into the obscure world of the country's underground pro-democracy movement, which while weakened and on the run still believes that people power can overthrow the junta.

Speaking before Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel laureate and leader of the National League for Democracy, was taken yesterday from house arrest to meet a government negotiator, Phoenix said that he feared the talks were a "trap" designed to fend off international pressure. The talks were brokered by Ibrahim Gambari, the UN special envoy, after the junta crushed the protests, killing at least 31 people.

Yesterday's meeting was their fourth, but the first in almost two months.

Phoenix said: "It seems like a trap set by the government to buy some time from the international community. Mr Gambari is trying to come again but I don't expect much of what he can do." (JEG's: actually Phoenix is right, everytime Gambari is coming the junta decides to show their "willing side")

He welcomed international pressure on the regime, but added: "International support is not where the answer lies. The answer lies within us, within the country. The problem is not that the government are strong but the opposition, we are not strong enough." (JEG's: UNITY is the answer here... united will be able to work their way through into power)

Phoenix is the acting leader of the "88 Generation" - activists who led demonstrations in 1988, when an estimated 3,000 demonstrators where killed by the army.

He was instrumental in orchestrating the protests in September, when thousands of monks took to the streets to demand political change.

After earlier protests had been disrupted by government thugs, he explained: "We thought of getting more power and that power we can get from the monks. We started talking to the monks to show their support for our movement and to back us up."

Rangoon is a city gripped by fear. Following the crackdown, during which hundreds of people were arrested in night-times raids, locals try to avoid a foreigner's eye. No one wants to talk.

There are informers everywhere. Each neighbourhood has a government office with photographs of every resident, where guests must be registered.

"Even inside their families people cannot talk loud," said Phoenix. The question for Phoenix and his allies is whether his movement can survive.

The first protest by monks took place in the north-western town of Sittwe at the end of August. Near there, in a candle-lit, windowless room, The Daily Telegraph recently met the leader of the Sittwe monks.

Many of his followers have been dispersed in the clampdown and he shifts location almost daily to avoid arrest.

"I am planning to try again to organise a demo," he said. "Whether it is possible or impossible to beat this government I don't know, but we must try."

Source: Telegraph

READ MORE---> Burma dissident attacks UN-backed talks...

Burma: Boycott Gems Funding Military Repression

New York

Consumers and merchants should not buy jade, rubies, and other gems from Burma until the military government ends its repression, which is partly funded by gem sales, Human Rights Watch said today. Human Rights Watch called for a boycott in advance of a gem auction scheduled from January 15 to 19 in Rangoon.

The upcoming gem auction is organized by the Union of Myanmar Economic Holdings Company Ltd., a military conglomerate. Shares in the holding company are held by the Ministry of Defense and members of the armed forces. Its board of directors is comprised of senior military officers.

"Sales of rubies and jade help bankroll Burma's repressive military," said Arvind Ganesan, director of the Business and Human Rights Program at Human Rights Watch. "Consumers should insist that their jewelry is not made with Burmese gems."

The Burmese military government, notorious for decades of abuse, made international headlines in August and September when it used deadly force in response to peaceful protests by monks, pro-democracy activists, and ordinary civilians. Hundreds of people remain arbitrarily detained.

"Burma's generals are counting on gem sales to help pay for their abusive rule," said Ganesan. "They deserve to be disappointed."

Human Rights Watch advised consumers to ask retailers about the origin of the jewelry they sell, and to decline to purchase from retailers who are not able to offer informed answers or who are unwilling to identify the country of origin of the jewels in writing, such as on the sales receipt.

Retailers should require their suppliers to identify the country of origin on any invoices and to guarantee that gemstones were not mined in Burma, Human Rights Watch said. Retailers should also seek to verify the accuracy of their suppliers' claims.

Sourced: Human Rights Watch
Original Sourced: Reuters

READ MORE---> Burma: Boycott Gems Funding Military Repression...

Burma's long-neck women struggle to break out of Thailand's 'human zoo'

ZEMBER was a poster child for long-neck tourism. At 12, her neck coiled with brass rings, she sat on display at a Bangkok tourism fair, helping to create the buzz which would draw gawkers from around the globe.

Now 23, her neck is bare, the rings stripped off in anger after provincial authorities in Mae Hong Son, in northern Thailand, refused to let her emigrate to New Zealand, concerned about the negative impact on tourism of an exodus of long-neck women.

"When I was young, I wanted to wear the rings and keep my own tradition. In one way, I feel sad (that I've taken them off) but now I go to the city, no one cares, no one stares," she said. "The people who control us say if the people see us in the town, they won't pay to see us (in the village)." Riding motorbikes, a common, inexpensive form of transport, is also frowned upon because the Thais who control the long-neck villages say: "It's not part of your culture".

Zember, also called Mu Lon, has not rejected her culture, but she now sees her rings as a weapon of exploitation by powerful local Thai authorities. Long-neck tourism is big business in Mae Hong Son, but little of the money returns to the Kayans — the operations have always been run by Thais.

"It is the No. 1 attraction in this area. It's why tourists come here," said Wanchai Thiansiri, a Chiang Mai-based tour guide. "They may go to see caves as well, but the long-necks are the attraction."

About 100 Kayans (also known by the Burmese name Padaung), fled across the Burma border to Thailand from Kayah state in the late 1980s when civil war between Karenni separatists and the Burmese army became too intense.

"When we first came, we didn't know anything. In Burma, we had to work really hard and when we moved here (we worked hard) too. We don't know they are getting money from the tourists, we (couldn't) speak English or Thai," said Zember, who was five when her family fled.

She sits on the balcony of their flimsy wooden hut in Nai Soi village, one of three villages where tourists pay 250 baht ($A9.50) to take photos, talk to the women or just stare. Women who wear the rings are paid 1500 baht a month to run souvenir stalls and men receive a rice allowance of 260 baht a month. They make a little more from the traditional scarves they weave and sell. In one village, Hway Su Thao, the women have had their wages docked for riding motorbikes, talking to foreigners outside the village or attending educational courses that keep them away from the village during the day.

The older generation were grateful to have a means of surviving, said Zember in basic English, and they did not understand tourist comments that they were a "human zoo". "Ours is the first generation who can read and write."

In nearly 20 years, the community has grown to 520, still living in poverty, with few rights in Thailand or hope of return to Burma. Unlike other refugees, because of their commercial value, the Kayans have not lived in the largely sealed-off refugee camps, a fact the Thai authorities are now using to suggest they are economic rather than political refugees.

Provincial officials have also told The Age that the Kayans are in fact registered as a Thai hill tribe and so do not have the right to seek asylum.

For many years, the Kayans had no recourse, but the status quo changed in Mae Hong Son in 2005, when the UN High Commissioner for Refugees opened registration for third-country resettlement to the 50,000-odd refugees in the area.

Almost every Kayan family applied: three families that included women who wear rings were successful.

In Nai Soi, two families, including Zember's, were approved for New Zealand and one family for Finland. She takes the precious, crumpled confirmation letter from UNHCR and their International Organisation of Migration medical cards out of their plastic sleeve.

"When we heard, we were really happy, we think we can go there, we are really excited, Our friends from the (refugee) camp who have already gone to New Zealand told us they have seen the house we will live in. Kayan people without rings in the camp have gone."

Before she, her sister, her brother-in-law and their four children could leave, they needed then governor Direk Kornkleep's approval for an exit permit from Thailand. He would not sign, reportedly drawing the analogy of "an endangered species on the verge of extinction which needed protection" in discussions with non-government organisations.

At the governor's office in Mae Hong Song, Deputy District Officer Waricha this week insisted that the long-neck Karenni have never been approved to leave Thailand on refugee status because, according to Interior Ministry data, "they have been registered as Thai hill tribes".

Wanchai Suthivorachai, the vice-governor for security, clarified they were registered with the Interior Ministry as people of "asylum" but there was a problem, because this status only applies to someone living in the refugee camp and who was a war refugee.

"It is surprising at this stage to hear that any Thai authority is questioning their status as refugees," said Kitty McKinsey, spokeswoman for the UNHCR in Bangkok.

A large group of Padaung were submitted to New Zealand for resettlement but there had been no progress on these cases as no Padaung had been allowed to leave in more than two years, Ms McKinsey said.

New Zealand was told there were registration issues with the individuals concerned, said a spokeswoman for the New Zealand Labour Department, which oversees refugee resettlement.

While the then governor blocked their departure, he also announced a plan to consolidate all three long-neck villages, to preserve their culture and make one tourist centre.

As an incentive, the new village project at Hway Pu Keng offers the Kayans their own houses, free from a Thai controller, with the possibility of Thai citizenship in the future.

No other refugees have been offered this preferential deal. Eighty-nine Kayans have moved to the new village but many, including Zember's family, stayed in Nai Soi.

Zember took off her coils in anger, but even bare-necked, she attracts attention. Tour guides now point her out as one who rejects tradition.

"I take off my ring so they will let me go (to New Zealand). When I stay here in the village, they make money from tourists and I don't like that way," she said.

"I want to get my own education, work by myself and own by myself."

Source: The Age

READ MORE---> Burma's long-neck women struggle to break out of Thailand's 'human zoo'...

Dr Lee Boon Yang to attend ASEAN meeting in Myanmar

SINGAPORE : Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts Dr Lee Boon Yang will attend the Third Meeting of the ASEAN and ASEAN + 3 Ministers Responsible for Culture and Arts at Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar from Saturday till Monday.

A MICA statement said the ministers will discuss initiatives to enhance cultural cooperation among ASEAN countries.

During the visit, Dr Lee will also attend the opening ceremony of the Third ASEAN Festival of Arts.

Singapore will be represented by The Finger Players whose unique brand of puppet theatre has won awards in Singapore and recognition around the world.

Source: Yahoo News - Channel Asia

READ MORE---> Dr Lee Boon Yang to attend ASEAN meeting in Myanmar...

Myanmar leaders meet Chinese NPC Standing Committee Vice-Chairperson

First Secretary of the Myanmar State Peace and Development Council Lieutenant-General Thiha Thura Tin Aung Myint Oo met with visiting Vice-Chairperson of the Standing Committee of the Chinese National People's Congress He Luli in the new capital of Nay Pyi Taw Friday.

The two sides exchanged views on bilateral ties and issues of common concerns.

He Luli, who is also Chairperson of the Chinese People's Association for Peace and Disarmament, arrived here Thursday on a five-day goodwill visit to Myanmar at the invitation of U Htay Oo, Secretary-General of the Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA).

Shortly after she touched down in Yangon on the same day, He Luli met with U Htay Oo.

Myanmar is He Luli's first leg of her tours to two Southeast Asian nations and she will proceed to the Philippines after Myanmar visit.

Source: China Economic

READ MORE---> Myanmar leaders meet Chinese NPC Standing Committee Vice-Chairperson...

Mission Impossible

By Min Zin
u
To the Burmese generals, accepting international mediation has become just another means of conducting the conflict as opposed to an option for settling it. In other words, it is a tactical maneuver.

In the wake of the protests in September last year, the regime accepted the mediation efforts of the United Nations simply because rejecting them would cause greater harm in the international arena. More importantly, the junta might not have wanted to upset relations with its staunch regional supporters.

It is hardly surprising that the Burmese government is defying the UN's attempts at mediation—it feels confident that it is successfully bringing the country back under control. Despite UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon repeatedly warning that a return to the status quo that existed before the September crisis is not sustainable, the present situation is heading all the way back to square one.

Ban is trying to revive his Good Offices’ mediation efforts and to dispatch Ibrahim Gambari to China and India before the end of January "to continue further consultations with Burma's neighbors," according to UN officials. At the moment however, the Burmese authorities have not even approved Gambari’s itinerary for Burma.

"As for Myanmar (Burma) itself, we don't have an exact date for Mr Gambari to go back there, although he does have an open invitation to visit the country," said Farhan Haq, a UN spokesman. "The question is about developing the right arrangements. We are keeping in touch with the authorities in Myanmar (Burma) to discuss when Mr Gambari may be able to return."

Burmese opposition party National League for Democracy sent a letter to the UN Secretary-General recently, expressing a readiness to accept Gambari's mediation efforts toward political dialogue and national reconciliation. "Though we cannot ascertain if Mr Gambari will be able to visit Burma during his trip to Asia, we urge the [Burmese] government to accept his visit and the resumption of the stalled political dialogue," said Nyan Win, a spokesman for the party.

However, some diplomatic sources within the UN spoke recently to The Irrawaddy and expressed doubts about the possibility of Gambari visiting Burma on this particular trip.

"He is more likely to come back to New York after visiting China and India," said a foreign diplomat at the UN who spoke on condition of anonymity. "Mr Gambari may not be able to give another Burma briefing at the UN Security Council after this trip, even though some council members will be expecting such a briefing in order to keep the Burma issue on board."

In fact, the UN envoy and other key international players realize that the momentum of the international mediation efforts toward Burma is now fading. They must try to reactivate the momentum and to prioritize a return visit by Gambari to Burma as soon as possible.

"The success of Mr Gambari's efforts largely depend on the readiness of China and India to use their leverage over the Burmese junta," said Dr Thaung Tun, UN representative of the National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma—effectively the Burmese government in exile. "China retreated when they really needed to apply pressure on Burma, even though they said they supported Gambari's mission."

After the September uprising and the subsequent military crackdowns, Gambari managed to garner regional consensus on Burma. Those who had kept saying that the Burmese issue was an internal matter—China, India and Asean—came to the consensus that the country really did have a problem, and that the ruling junta should cooperate with UN for the benefit of national reconciliation and democratization.
"Mr Gambari has been dealing with a number of neighboring countries to see what contribution they can make in the process toward normalcy and democratization in Myanmar (Burma)," Haq told The Irrawaddy. "In his upcoming Asia trip, he will simply try to continue that process".

Of course, Gambari must hold China and India to their promise that they would ensure the Burmese regime’s full cooperation with the UN Envoy, especially given the situation that his access to the country is so uncertain. Otherwise, Gambari may face a similar fate to his predecessor, Razali Ismail, who ended his mission denied entry to Burma indefinitely.

The international community needs to be "more insistent with the junta that a special representative of the UN Secretary-General cannot be treated the way that the junta has treated Mr. Gambari,'' United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said late last month. "It's simply unacceptable," Rice added, referring to the way the Burmese authorities had undermined his entry to and movements around Burma last time round.

The outgoing US administration must surely realize its diplomatic constraints in pushing Burma at the Security Council in the face of harsh resistance from China. Contrary to a common misconception, Gambari's current mission is a non-binding mediation effort and he does not have any enforcement capacity. From the very beginning, the leverage he has wielded has largely lain at the mercy of military junta and, to a lesser extent, its key ally, China.

There is no other country in the region or within the Security Council that can initiate a credible alternative Burma policy to the current mechanism of the Good Offices’ role. Sadly, Chinese checkers is the only game in town.

The US Secretary of State recently said that Gambari's mission "needs more profile; it needs to have more vigor." However, she did not articulate how this could be done effectively. Unless the international community compels the Burmese junta to feel that the cost of rejecting the mission, the UN envoy will remain toothless.

Source: Irrawaddy News

READ MORE---> Mission Impossible...

Beyond 1988—Reflections -The Catapult Threat

September 26, 1988, Thabyay Kan village

One week has passed since the military coup—and what a week it has been! Hiding, evading the newly deployed soldiers and police, arrival in my hometown, then the day-long walk to the estuary of the Sitting River, where the Gulf of Mataban begins.

For the moment, our group—14 from my hometown and two from a nearby village—felt safe in the village. It was a backward area, without paved roads or telephones. There were no soldiers here—yet—and although the area had a large police station, we were not too concerned. Villagers and police alike relied for transport on the labyrinth of rivers connecting the gulf. Cars and buses could only be driven on dry riverbeds in the summer, from January to May.

I awoke from a good night’s sleep, hoping at last for a day to rest and reflect on the rapid chain of events that had set us on our unexpected journey. Ahead of us lay the gulf, with the “jungle”—or “liberated areas” of Karen and Mon resistance fighters—awaiting us on the other side. All we had to do was find a boat. Yet we felt a hint of apprehension at venturing into the unknown.

Soon after rising, we visited the local monastery. The abbot gave us his blessing, and together we prayed for the dead on the streets of Rangoon and for the swift arrival of democracy to our homeland.

That day, we had our most lavish meal since the tumultuous political revolt began three months earlier. Our host, a lady in her late fifties, was a relative of Zaw Gyi, my childhood friend. Although happy to see him, she did not ask us many questions. Like other villagers we had seen on our journey, she had probably heard rumors of students leaving for the “jungle.”

The BBC had broadcast news of events in Rangoon, and the exodus of students, with armed ethnic leaders also giving interviews about the sudden arrival of students in their areas. Just three days earlier, I heard Saw Moreh, a Karenni rebel leader, telling the BBC that the resistance had M16s, AK 47s, and other weapons ready to arm students willing to fight the Burmese military. There were already rumors about planes dropping weapons. Such statements greatly encouraged would-be student rebels.

While fleeing the military dragnet, we and many other political activists came to believe that the only way to bring democracy to Burma was to fight the military. In the words infamously uttered by Gen Ne Win before demolishing Rangoon University’s historic student union building in his war against unarmed students in 1962, we were ready to go “sword to sword, spear to spear.” It was romantic idealism, sure, but the mayhem in Rangoon and elsewhere left us with no choice—there was no return.

After lunch, we returned to the house where we had stayed the night. Drowsy from the heavy meal, I decided to take a nap, while Zaw Gyi and a few others who knew the village went to enquire about boats to cross the gulf.

My dream of a perfect day was shattered about 2 p.m., when I awoke to a sudden commotion and shouts. Dazed, I got up and looked around, and realized the house was empty. Outside, I saw my friends restraining a shouting man, and thought there was a fight.

But when someone in our group cried, “U Min Han is here,” I awoke completely. I knew why he was here; two of his sons—middle school students—were with us. I had asked them not to come with us, but they were adamant. So we had given in. But I never anticipated what would happen less than 24 hours after we arrived in the village.

Stepping outside, I saw U Min Han lunging forward to attack one of his sons. There was nothing I could do. U Min Han, like my father, worked in the government’s agricultural trading corporation. He was a very close family friend. But I feared him more than my father because he was always ready to berate me when I misbehaved or sometimes just over the shoddy way I wore my longyi.

Finally, my friends persuaded him to go inside and talk. I was asked to join the discussion. We sat in a circle, with U Min Han on one side and his two sons on the other, separated by us. As we began, U Min Han simply asked his sons to go home with him. They refused. Then he asked them again to go back with him.

He said: “Aung Naing (referring to me) has a degree and is old enough to take care of himself.” “Look at you”, he said to his elder son. “You have not even passed the middle school exam.” He was right; the boy had failed his middle school government exams repeatedly.

Yet his two sons were adamant. “I am going to fight for democracy,” the elder insisted. “I am going to the jungle.” U Min Han was visibly angry, though he tried hard to remain calm. Yet I knew his sons were trying his patience. Then, when the sons said “no” for the third time, he suddenly grabbed his lwel ate, or shoulder bag, and pulled out a catapult and a handful of dry mud pellets.

He immediately aimed the slingshot at his sons. All of us were totally taken aback. His sons jumped backward covering their faces. Catapults and mud pellets do not kill, but they can blind if the eyes are hit. Stunned and alarmed, we begged him to put down the weapon. He refused, threatening to use it against his disobedient sons.

I sympathized with him, though every time he pulled the leather strap back, as if to shoot his sons, I wanted to laugh. I did not, though, and in the end his threat worked and the two sons agreed to go home.

That afternoon we packed our bags, and left for what we thought was a more secure location—a monastery on a small island two miles away. The island was called “Aung Naing,” which I thought was a good omen, and I expected it would be a quiet refuge until we got our ride. Yet more eventful days lay ahead.

Source: Irrawaddy News

READ MORE---> Beyond 1988—Reflections -The Catapult Threat...

SA mag joins panty plan to oust Myanmar junta

By Melanie Peters

A popular South African women's magazine has joined the global call for people to join the "panty protest" against Myanmar's regime by sending women's underwear to the junta's embassy in Pretoria.

Marie Claire's current issue calls on its readers to send their knickers to the embassy as a form of protest against human rights abuses.

Thein Win, chairperson of the Free Burma Campaign South Africa, said: "It is an excellent idea. Send more panties to sap more power so that they know people do not support them."

The worldwide protest started late last year after Lanna Action for Burma, a pro-democracy group based in Thailand, urged supporters around the world to join its "Panty Power" campaign.

Its website urged supporters to "post, deliver or fling" underwear to, or at their nearest embassy to insult the country's leadership.

Activists seeking to pressure the regime are targeting the "superstitions" of its senior generals.

It is reported that the 73-year-old head of the military, Than Shwe, and members of the military junta believe that contact with women's panties - clean or dirty - will sap them of their strength. Embassies have received underwear from Thailand, Australia, Singapore and the UK.

Source: IOL

READ MORE---> SA mag joins panty plan to oust Myanmar junta...

Shetlanders force climbdown on Burmese woman's deportation

By Mark Hughes
The Independent

Squads of Vikings, wielding axes and flaming torches, will take to the streets of Shetland this month. They will march, singing and chanting, through the islands' towns, cheered on by crowds of thousands before setting fire to a huge Norse ship.

This is how the people of the Shetland Islands generally see out the cold winter nights – with a flurry of pagan festivity that makes the locals seem somewhat frightening to visitors.

Yet the Up Helly Aa fire festivals that celebrate Shetlanders' warrior past paint a misleading picture of Britain's northernmost people. For this week they once again showed that they are among the most welcoming of communities – willing to do battle on behalf of those who choose to settle there.

Their latest victory came when a Burmese woman, Hazel Minn, and her two sons were told that they would not, after all, be deported. Ms Minn fled Burma's military regime in 2002 but was told in 2004 that her application for political asylum had been turned down.

However the Government was forced into a U-turn after nearly four years of protest from islanders which saw more than 7,000 of the island's 21,000 population sign a petition demanding the family be allowed to stay. Ms Minn is not the only one to have benefited from the islands' unflinching community spirit in the face of the Home Office.

In 2004 Tanya Koolmatrie, an Australian national, was told she would have to leave the UK because she did not have a British passport; this was despite the fact she had a home and a child with a Shetland man. Again the Home Office backed down when the islanders rallied round.

And in 2006, in perhaps the islands' biggest show of people-power to date, Thai man Sakchai Makao was allowed to stay in Shetland after a deportation threat was thrown out by an immigration tribunal.

Mr Makao was told he would have to return to Thailand, a country he had not been to for 13 years, after a government directive stated that all foreign nationals who had served prison sentences in the UK would have to leave.

Mr Makao had spent eight months in jail in 2002 when he set fire to a car and a mobile cabin in a "moment of madness" after the death of his Scottish stepfather.

His case became another cause célèbre for the islanders, forcing another Home Office climbdown.

Alistair Carmichael, the Liberal Democrat MP for the islands, was involved in the campaigns to stop the deportations of Ms Minn, Ms Koolmatrie and Mr Makao, and one of 100 MPs who signed a petition supporting the latter.

He said: "The remarkable thing is that immigration is, in many ways, a unifying phenomenon in Shetland whereas in the rest of the country it is divisive. I think that is because we are an island community and every person is valued as an individual.

"There is a deep sense of fairness in Shetland and if people are seen to be treated unfairly it angers us.

"And I think in each case it has been very important that the community was behind them. The fact they were all able to demonstrate so evidently that they were a real part of their communities helped their cases enormously."

Davie Gardner, 52, started the campaign to allow Mr Makao to stay. He set up a petition which was signed by 10,000 people, including 100 MPs and the singer Elvis Costello.

Mr Gardner said: "In Sakchai [Makao]'s case, yes he had committed a crime, but he had served his time and was integrating back into the community.

"He was a well-known figure, he worked at the local leisure centre and everyone knew who he was. Sakchai may have been from Thailand, but to us he was a Shetlander."

The organiser of the campaign to help Mrs Minn was Bert Armstrong, the 71-year-old grandfather of her two sons, Simon, 15, and Vincent, 14.

He said: "People on the outside might see us as insular islanders, but these campaigns prove that's not the case. No matter where you are from you are welcome on Shetland."

READ MORE---> Shetlanders force climbdown on Burmese woman's deportation...

Special inquiry committee for government departments in Arakan

Maungdaw, Arakan State: -The entry and exit of the border-trade route in Maungdaw and Buthidaung townships and other government departments in Arakan State are being examined since January first week by a special inquiry committee from Rangoon, according to an aide of the Nasaka (Burma's border security force).

On January 7, at about 10 pm, U Thein Soe, the Second-in-Charge of Immigration and Win Oo Aye, member of Immigration of the Maungdaw exit/ entry gate were arrested by the committee as they allowed banned goods accompanied by passengers to Bangladesh after taking huge bribes from smugglers. Now, they are being interrogated in Tactical Operation Command (TOC) office of Buthidaung town, he added.

Major Sein Win, the commander of Nasaka area No.(4) of Maungdaw Township was arrested on December 28, 2007, for taking bribe from parents of a student and possibly, the Commander will be interrogated by the special inquiry committee, said an aide of police from Maungdaw town.

The business venture of U Thein Soe has also been seized by the committee.

On January 9, the special inquiry committee examined the 4-mile gate in Maungdaw town. It will examine other gates across Arakan State. Initially, in January first week, the special committee checked government departments of Kyaukpru Township and then checked the government departments of Akyab (Sittwe) the capital of Arakan State. The committee checked all the government departments for corruption including education, army cantonments, Nasaka camps, custom and others, said sources close to Nasaka.

The special inquiry committee arrived in Arakan State on January 1, on the orders of the Central command of SPDC (State Peace and Development Council), and led by a Major. Its aim is to eliminate corruption in government departments.

Source: Kaladan Press

READ MORE---> Special inquiry committee for government departments in Arakan...

Ten Imprisoned, Three Held for Interrogation

Burmese military authorities sentenced ten people in Arakan State, including three monks, to long terms of imprisonment, while another three monks continue to be detained in interrogation cells after the Saffron Revolution in Burma, reports the NLD in Arakan State.

The NLD report listed the following monks as those recently sentenced by military authorities in Arakan:

U Ithiriya, aged 28, from Sithuka monastery in Sittwe who was arrested on 29 September, 2007, and sentenced to seven and a half years in prison. He is currently being held at Buthiduang prison.

U Kow Mala, aged 67, from Adidan monastery in Sittwe, who was arrested on 8 October 2007 and sentenced to two and a half years. He is currently detained at Sittwe prison.

U Wana Tha Ra, aged 23, from Radana Gon Bonmay monastery, who was arrested on 29 September, 2007, and sentenced to three years in prison. He is also being held at Sittwe prison.

Another three monks, U Panya Thiri, U Than Yama, and U Wayama, are still being held for interrogation at Sittwe prison, and have not yet been sentenced despite having been held by authorities for over three months.

The military government has also sentenced seven civilians for their alleged involvement in the recent monk-led protests, those are:

Ko Aung Naing Soe, aged 22 from Pauktaw Township, who was arrested in October and sentenced to three years and nine months in prison. He is currently at Thandwe prison in southern Arakan State.

Ko Aung Naing, 32 years old, from Sittwe, was arrested on 12 October, 2007, and was sentenced to two years and three months in prison. He is currently at Sittwe prison.

Ko Win Maung, who was a member of a village council in Manaung Township, was arrested on 27 November and sentenced to two and a half years. He has been sent to Kyaukpru prison from Manaung.

Ko Min Min Oo from Gwa Township has been detained at the notorious Insein prison, and has been charged by authorities on seven counts.

There are three NLD Arakan State members who were also sentenced to long prison terms: Ko Min Aung, 35 years old, is the secretary of the financial department of the NLD Arakan State who was arrested on 13 October 2007, and was sentenced to nine and a half years in prison. He is currently in Thandwe prison. His sentence was reduced by the authority to seven and a half years after an appeal to the high court.

U Khin Hla, aged 60, is the secretary of the organization department for the NLD Arakan State and was arrested on 28 November, 2007. He was sentenced to four years in prison and is currently at Thandwe prison.

Ko Ray Thein, alias Bu Maung, is a member of the NLD from Buthidaung who was arrested on 19 November, 2007. He is currently missing and the location of his detention is unknown.

The NLD Arakan stated in the report that they have only collected the names of the aforementioned individuals in Arakan State after the Saffron Revolution, but many more people have been reported arrested and are missing around the state after the junta cracked down on those they believed played a part in the protests.

Source: Narinjara News

READ MORE---> Ten Imprisoned, Three Held for Interrogation...

Explosion reported in Myanmar capital

YANGON, Myanmar - An explosion in the capital of military-ruled Myanmar killed one woman Friday morning, a government official said.

The official, who insisted on anonymity because he is not authorized to release information, said the explosion took place in a bathroom at the railway station in Naypyitaw at around 4:20 a.m.

He had no further details, and it was unclear whether the explosion was caused by a bomb. There were no immediate claims of responsibility and the government has not yet blamed any group.

Terrorism is rare but not unknown in Myanmar, which has been under military rule virtually continuously since 1962. The country experienced extreme political turmoil last September, when the government crushed non-violent, pro-democracy demonstration, detaining thousands and killing at least 31 people, according to a U.N. investigator, whose tally was twice the toll acknowledged by the junta.

Naypyitaw is in a remote area of the country, 250 miles to the north of Yangon, the country's former capital and biggest city. It became the country's new administrative capital — and main military stronghold — in November 2005, and is well-guarded.

The most deadly terrorist incident in recent years in Myanmar took place on May 7, 2005, when three bombs went off almost simultaneously at two upscale supermarkets and a convention center in Yangon. About two dozen people were killed and another 162 injured.

In that case as well as several other smaller bombings, the government blamed political opponents and ethnic rebels, though no firm evidence was ever produced. Government opponents deny carrying out attacks on civilians.

Source: AP - Yahoo News

READ MORE---> Explosion reported in Myanmar capital...

Bomb kills woman in Myanmar’s new capital

YANGON - A bomb exploded in the toilet of the railway station serving Myanmar’s new capital on Friday, killing a woman in the first such incident since the ruling junta moved there in November 2005, an official said.

‘A woman died in the explosion at about 4:30 a.m. inside the bathroom of Pyinmana Railway Station,’ a station official told Reuters. He gave no further information.

Small bomb blasts at public places such as Buddhist temples, markets and fairs are relatively common in the former Burma, which has been under military rule since 1962 and riven by multiple ethnic guerrilla conflicts.

The regime normally points the finger at dissident groups, ranging from pro-democracy activists in exile to ethnic militias who have been fighting for greater autonomy or even independence for more than five decades.

The ruling generals moved abruptly from the colonial era capital, Yangon, to Naypyidaw, an unfinished administrative centre in jungle-clad hills 240 miles (380 km) to the north, in November 2005.

The junta argued the move closer to the heart of the country would increase government efficiency.

Dissidents have posited alternative theories ranging from fear of a sea-borne US invasion to establishment of a new dynastic capital in the tradition of Burma’s ancient kings.

Source: Khaleej Times

READ MORE---> Bomb kills woman in Myanmar’s new capital...

Myanmar warns against using illegally-imported medicines

The Myanmar health authorities have warned local people not to use illegally-imported medicines, saying the quality of such medicines can not be guaranteed, the official newspaper New Light of Myanmar reported on Friday.

An announcement of the Ministry of Health carried on the newspaper said that some medicines, which were seized recently, were illegally imported across border and not registered in Myanmar.

The report cited such medicines as Magnesia tablet, Dezawin tablet and Lin Chee Tan Rheumatism pill manufactured by some four Thai companies and one unknown manufacturer.

The Myanmar health authorities are strengthening the supervision of security of food and drug on sale in the markets and examination is occasionally carried out to ensure that drugs imported are only genuine, potent and quality ones, and those produced locally shall meet the set standard for public safe consumption.

Myanmar enacted the National Food Law in March 1997, forming a special food and drug authority in a bid to enable the public to consume food of genuine quality, free from danger and hygienic problem, and to control and regulate the production, import, export, storage, packaging, distribution and sale of them systematically.

According to statistics of the Ministry of Commerce, Myanmar imported pharmaceutical products valued at 100 million U.S. dollars in 2006-07, an increase by 25 percent from 2005-06 when it was 80 million dollars.

These pharmaceuticals were mainly imported from some Asian nations such as India, Bangladesh, China, Thailand and Indonesia.

Of the imports, only 10 percent came from European countries.

Source: Peoplecom

READ MORE---> Myanmar warns against using illegally-imported medicines...

Myanmar's detained Suu Kyi taken to state guesthouse

Reporting by Aung Hla Tun
Editing by Darren Schuettler and Alex Richardson

YANGON (Reuters) - Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi was taken to a government guesthouse on Friday where she is believed to have met a senior junta official, witnesses said.

"I saw the car enter the guesthouse and leave an hour later," one witness told Reuters.

There was no immediate word from the military government or Suu Kyi's party, but she probably met Aung Kyi, a senior member of the ruling military junta.

If confirmed, it would be their fourth meeting since Aung Kyi was appointed go-between after last September's crackdown on pro-democracy protests triggered global outrage.

They last met on November 19 when diplomats speculated their talks might have focused on the junta's preconditions for negotiations between Suu Kyi and regime leader Senior General Than Shwe.

He has offered direct talks if Suu Kyi abandons confrontation and her support for sanctions against the military, which has ruled the former Burma for 45 years.

Source: Reuters - Yahoo News

READ MORE---> Myanmar's detained Suu Kyi taken to state guesthouse...

NLD chairperson in San Chaung arrested

By Htet Aung Kyaw

The chairman of the National League for Democracy in San Chaung township, Rangoon, was arrested by authorities while attending a court hearing on Wednesday.

An eyewitness said the San Chaung NLD chairman and former political prisoner U Thet Wei, 50, was arrested by police at Kyauktada township court at a hearing for solo demonstrator U Ohn Than.

"It was around 1pm in the afternoon when I saw him having an argument with a police officer at the court," said the eyewitness.

"The deputy police chief arrived and he and another police officer took U Thet Wei into an empty room where they questioned him for about 30 minutes. Then the security vehicle arrived and took him to Kyauktada police station."

U Thet Wei's family said their enquiries about him at the police station met with no response yesterday.

An NLD spokesperson, U Nyan Win, said that the party was frustrated by the continued arrests and harassment of NLD members.

"There are currently 102 people detained; some awaiting trial and some are serving prison sentences,” he said.

“It is unclear on what grounds they have been given these punishments; we are getting very frustrated with this."

As of 9 January, six NLD party members and five other people had been arrested so far this year.

The NLD members were Ko Kyaw Kyaw, Ko Kyaw Zin Win and two others from Daw Pon township, and Ma Htet Htet Aung from [New] South Dagon township.

Ko Ko Maung and Ko Min Han from Mingalardon township were among the other people detained, along with an unknown monk and two students.

Source: Democratic Voice of Burma

READ MORE---> NLD chairperson in San Chaung arrested...

Kachin State Day ignored, commander uses inappropriate words

The Burmese military junta has completely ignored the Kachin State Day. The regime's military commander addressed the inaugural ceremony with inappropriate words in front of audiences at a special ceremony of the 60th anniversary of Kachin State Day, yesterday, sources said.

Maj-Gen Ohn Myint, commander of Kachin State (northern command) greeted the inaugural ceremony with romantic words "Ngou (wou) Ai Nii" in Chinese and "Nang hpe ngai tsawra ai" in Kachin, meaning "I love you" in English when he started to deliver his speech of about 15 minutes, said a local participant.

The commander's speech was delivered to thousands of majority Kachin participants at the special ceremony marking the 60th anniversary of Kachin State Day in Kachin National Manau Park in Myitkyina, capital of Kachin State, Northern Burma, the attendees said.

This is not the first times the Commander Maj-Gen Ohn Myint has spoken inappropriate words. He has already said several unacceptable words related to ethnic identity to native Kachins and Red Shans, said local sources.

Source: Kachin News

READ MORE---> Kachin State Day ignored, commander uses inappropriate words...

NLD Member Released in Human Rights Case - Thet Wai

By Saw Yan Naing

The chairman of Sanchaung Township’s National League for Democracy was released on Friday following his recent arrest for possessing a memory card and documents regarding human rights abuses in Burma, according to Nyan Win, the party’s spokesperson.

Speaking to The Irrawaddy on Friday, a source close to Thet Wai confirmed that he had been released on 500,000 kyat bail from a court in Kyauktada Township in Rangoon that day. Thet Wai returned to his work at the NLD headquarters later on Friday.

A lawyer in Rangoon, Aung Thein, confirmed that Thet Wai had been arrested for accepting material from a pro-democracy activist, Ohn Than, who was himself arrested by police and plainclothes security officials after staging a demonstration outside the United States embassy in Rangoon in August.

The material in question apparently contained information relating to human rights abuses in Burmese prisons and forced labor issues, and was written by Ohn Than during his incarceration in the notorious Insein prison. Sources said that he intended to hand the information over to the International Labor Organization.

Aung Thein said that Thet Wai was prosecuted under article 505 (B)—instigation or destruction of stability or government— a charge that is expected to result in three years’ imprisonment.

Meanwhile, another pro-democratic human rights activist, Htin Kyaw, was charged under Article 124 (A)—disrespecting the government of the country—and would probably be sentenced to life imprisonment, said the lawyer.

Htin Kyaw is one of the prominent activists who were arrested by Burmese authorities in August following protests against the increase in fuel prices.

He went on hunger strike in protest against the human rights abuses in the prison for several weeks while he was detained in Rangoon’s Insein prison.

Source: Irrawaddy News

READ MORE---> NLD Member Released in Human Rights Case - Thet Wai...

Gambari to Visit India, China in January

By Lalit K Jha - United Nations

The UN Special Envoy on Burma, Ibrahim Gambari, is scheduled to visit India and China in January to continue his consultations with two of Burma’s key neighbors, a top UN official said on Thursday.

Calling India and China two major players in Burma, the UN spokesperson said the dates of his visit to the two countries have not yet been finalized.

“He is planning during this month to go to India and China,” said the spokesperson. It is understood that Gambari is trying to schedule appointments with top leaders of India and China before announcing the dates.

“As you know, a number of things have happened in terms of consultation with different actors and different international leaders involved with the crisis,” his spokesperson said. “As far as I know, he is just going to go further into discussions with two major actors in the situation in Myanmar [Burma].”

Gambari has an invitation from the Burmese government to return to the country to carry forward his mission of restoration of democracy and protection of human rights in the country.

“He has a standing invitation to go back to Burma,” said the spokesperson. The visit will be scheduled sometime after his Gambari’s visits to India and China.

Source: Irrawaddy News

READ MORE---> Gambari to Visit India, China in January...

Suu Kyi Meets Junta’s Liaison Officer Again

By Wai Moe

Burma’s detained opposition leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, met with the Burmese junta’s liaison officer, ex Maj-Gen Aung Kyi, on Friday, according to sources in Rangoon.

A convoy of vehicles, which was said to transport Suu Kyi, left her lakeside residence about 1 p.m. and returned about 2 p.m.

The meeting between Suu Kyi and Aung Kyi, who is also Minister of Labor, was the forth since the crackdown on pro-democracy protests in September. The meeting has not been officially confirmed by authorities or Suu Kyi supporters.

“In the past we couldn’t talk with the junta. If we can talk, it is a good sign for the political process,” said Nyan Win, a spokesperson for the National League for Democracy (NLD). “To reconcile with each other, we must start talks.”

The third meeting between Suu Kyi and Aung Kyi was on November 19, during the Association of Southeast Asian Nations meeting in Singapore.

The NLD openly criticized the process in December, after two months without any meetings, saying the government needed to move faster and that no NLD officials had been allowed to meet with Suu Kyi, which was a specific request made by Suu Kyi during her meeting with the United Nation’s special envoy to Burma, Ibrahim Gambari, in early November.

Aung Kyi, who was appointed as liaison officer on October 9 last year, said during s press conference in December in Naypyidaw that his three meetings with the Nobel peace prize winner had yielded "positive developments."

“I met with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi for three times. We have made progress at the meetings. The first meeting was aimed at gaining understanding between us. The second meeting was to discuss frameworks for the future. The third meeting was to discuss the facts that should be included in the framework,” said Aung Kyi during the press conference.

“We will release information related to the meetings when necessary,” he said. “Regarding the time frame, we will continue to hold meetings with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. We need to consider what to discuss and why. We are choosing ‘What’ and ‘Why.’ So, we will take ‘Where,’ ‘How’ and ‘When’ into consideration in the future.”

Some members of the international community and dissident groups say the junta is not really interested in dialogue, noting that Snr-Gen Than Shwe, the head of the junta, has shown no sign of honoring a commitment to meet with Suu Kyi himself, which he made in talks with Gambari.

The junta leaders offered to meet with Suu Kyi, who is under house arrest, but only on condition she renounce calls for international sanctions against the military regime, which has been widely condemned for its crackdown on the anti-junta protests in September.

The NLD sent a letter to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon recently expressing its readiness to accept the U.N. special envoy’s mediation efforts for political dialogue and national reconciliation.

Source: Irrawaddy News

READ MORE---> Suu Kyi Meets Junta’s Liaison Officer Again...

Press Statement by Hon Larry Bagnell, MP

Release/Communiqué
Press Statement by Hon Larry Bagnell, MP

Chairman Canadian Parliamentary Friends of Burma
Embargoed for 1 pm (Pacific Time), January 11th, 2008

Vancouver - I have just returned from a week-long trip to the Thai-Burmese border. The aim of my trip was to help support the people of Burma in their struggle for democracy, and to find out what else Canada could do to support this struggle.

On this trip I met with Burmese opposition groups and alliances, ethnic nationalities, activists, environmental groups, women’s groups, students, labour groups, Dr. Cynthia Maung, monks, ex-political prisoners, deserters from the regime’s army, and NGO aid groups supporting refugees and internally displaced. I also spent a day at a refugee camp on the border.

There were a number of common themes that I heard from these groups:

Despite the brutal crackdown on the September uprising, I was impressed by the strong spirit of resistance of the people of Burma, and the increasing strength of the opposition organizations and their will to cooperate.

I learned that, though it may appear to the international community that the worst of the violence is over in Burma, atrocities in the ethnic states including rape, forced displacement, forced labour and extrajudicial killings are going on daily.

I heard the desire for the UN to continue and intensify their efforts to ensure that the Burmese military regime immediately enters into dialogue with the opposition National League for Democracy and ethnic nationalities, as well as increase pressure to cease the regime’s human rights abuses and atrocities.

I was encouraged to be presented the draft of a future constitution for a federal union of Burma. I was even more impressed about the inclusive process of constitutional development for a future democratic Burma, which includes all the major opposition and ethnic groups.

Another recurring theme was that Burma’s opposition are looking for much more concrete support from ASEAN and nations of the region.

I heard that planned trans-national pipelines and huge dams on the Salween and other rivers, funded by foreign investment, would deprive Burma’s people of their resources and provide a huge increase in revenues to the dictatorship. This will allow them to buy more weapons to further oppress the people, and lead to massive displacements, forced labour, and other human rights abuses.

The people I met expressed support for Canada’s humanitarian aid to Burma and increased economic sanctions against the regime. However, after hearing about the continuing atrocities and suffering in Burma during my trip, I am even more committed to working towards further sanctions and humanitarian aid by Canada and the rest of the international community in order to reduce this suffering and restore democracy to Burma.

I will be convening a meeting of the Parliamentary Friends of Burma when Parliament returns, to discuss the various suggestions by the Burmese people and their organisations as to how we can do more to help this tragic situation.

Source: Canadian Friends of Burma (CFOB)

READ MORE---> Press Statement by Hon Larry Bagnell, MP...

Larry Bagnell, the Chairman of Canadian Parliamentary Friends of Burma

Mr. Larry Bagnell, the Chairman of Canadian Parliamentary Friends of Burma seen in a press briefing at Chiang Mai, Thailand on Thursday after his short trip to refugee camps along Thai-Burma border. The parliamentarian call for more sanctions against Burma miltary junta including to prohibit all Burmese ships and planes to travel Canada.
Also Read: Press Release

READ MORE---> Larry Bagnell, the Chairman of Canadian Parliamentary Friends of Burma...

Young Martyr Maung Thet Piane Soe

Original Source: Nicknayman
Translated: Nay Chi U - Who is Who in Burma

During the September Golden Colour Revolution, a young person called Maung Thet Piane Soe aka Kalama Gyi decided to join other protesters on the road, demonstrating for lower commodity prices, the release of political prisoners including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, National Reconciliation and the apology from the military government to the monks in Pakkoku.

On 27 September, the tenth day of the public protests, Maung Thet Piane Soe could be seen actively marching in the front line, wearing a T shirt which read ,' Free Aung San Suu Kyi', heading towards Tar Mwe', from Sule' Pagoda.

As the protesters approaching Tar Mwe High School No. 3, they were attacked by armed troops, wearing Division 66 badges, which brutally and violently crashed down the peaceful protesters. Maung Thet Piane Soe, who was marching at the front line was shot in the head which killed him instantly.

The soldiers kicked his body into the drain after taken his possessions including a school bag and some cash.

Maung Thet Piane Soe, who lived in 20, Min Nanda Road, Bo Tun Zan, Daw Pone was also a National League for Democracy Youth Member. The youngest of U Myint Win and Daw Aye Pyone's the three sons, he went to school at High School No 1 in Daw Pone. However, at Year 9, he had to take a gap year from his study,due to the high tuition fees that the family no longer could afford.

He was also actively involved in Daw Pone Youths Working Group's Re-organization in May, 2007 and known for his reliability as well as his helpful and supportive manners.

Maung Thet Piane Soe was 15 year and 4 months when he was shot and killed by junta's soldiers.

READ MORE---> Young Martyr Maung Thet Piane Soe...

Youth arrested for singing political song - Sai Maung Tun

By Kwarn Lake
Shan Herald Agency for News

A Shan youth has been arrested by the Burmese authorities for singing a Shan song at the Shan New Year celebration in Mong Yai, northern Shan State, Burma, according to local sources.

Sai Maung Tun, 25, a member of Shan Literature and Cultural Committee (SLCC) – Mong Yai, was arrested after singing a Shan political song titled, 'The day Shans gain freedom', according to the sources.

The song written by the late song writer Sai Mu, is popular not only among Shan communities but also among the resistance groups.

He was arrested on January 7 by the local police from his home, said the source.

"He works in the farm to support his family and he has never had any connections with any political organizations and never talks about politics", said a resident of Mong Yai.

The SLCC had invited a local music band of four youth singers to entertain the Mong Yai residents during the New Year celebration.

Colonel Kyi Myint, a local authority, had also ordered his subordinates to arrest the band. However, he withdrew the order after receiving apology from the president of the SLCC, said the source.

Shan New Year in Mong Yai was celebrated from January 1 to 4, while the actual date of Shan New Year 2102 fell on December 10, 2007.

The Mong Yai Shan Literature and Cultural Committee had initially decided not to organize the celebrations due to lack of funds. However, the event took place because Col. Kyi Myint had ordered the SLCC to collect cash from local communities and organize it.

Meanwhile, the celebration of 60th anniversary of Independence Day was also ordered by the authorities to be held on the same days at Mong Yai high school.

READ MORE---> Youth arrested for singing political song - Sai Maung Tun...

Rohingya unity meet successfully concluded

Kaladan Press

Chittagong, Bangladesh: A Rohingya unity meeting was successfully concluded on January 7, 2008, on the Bangladesh- Burma border.

At the meeting, a total of 14 Rohingya leaders participated from major political parties and other organizations and discussed the deteriorating situation of Rohingya people in Arakan and the current political situation in Burma, said a participant.

The meeting was chaired by a professor, a Rohingya researcher.

The meeting unanimously adopted the following resolutions. These are:

1) to form a single organization to represent and serve the cause and case of the Rohingya people,

2) a five-member" Working Committee" has been formed to work on necessary unification process for emergence of one single political organization by March 31, 2008, according to a political party leader.

Besides, a five-member "Advisory Body" has also been formed to give necessary advice from time to time to the "Working Committee"

"We are very optimistic to form a single organization to represent the whole Rohingya community to serve the Rohingya people," one of the participants said

The meeting was concluded at around 5 pm while it started at noon.

READ MORE---> Rohingya unity meet successfully concluded...

Natala villagers loot rice from Nasaka

Kaladan Press

Maungdaw, Arakan State: Natala (model) villagers looted rice from Burma’s Border Security Force (Nasaka) on January 7, according to sources.

On January 7, at around 10 am, about 100 Natala villagers from Taungbro Sub-township in Maungdaw Township went to Nasaka area No. 3 headquarters and demanded that rice be provided as the price of rice has been skyrocketing in Maungdaw Township.

Major "Thu Rin Zaw", the Commander of the Nasaka area No. 3 told them that Nasaka will provide sufficient rice to the Natala villagers after January 15.

But, the Natala villagers were dissatisfied with this commitment. About 40 Natala villagers of the 100 went to the storehouse of Nasaka Area No. 3 and looted rice from the godown. The Nasaka drove them out of the place. After that all the Natala villagers who were participated in the looting were provided 5 kgs of rice and forced to go back to their village, a villager close to Natala villagers said.

The Natala villagers were recently settled in Taungbro Sub-town under Maungdaw Township after being inviting over from Burma proper.

A kg of rice is being sold at kyat 550 in Maungdaw townships. So, poor families are unable to meet their daily expenditure.

The authorities have been purchasing paddy from farmers across Arakan State at low prices from the open market to export to the neighboring country as well as storing ration for the armed forces for 2008. This is the main cause of soaring rice prices in Arakan, said on of the farmers on condition of anonymity.

READ MORE---> Natala villagers loot rice from Nasaka...

NLD Youth Member's Trial - Ko Mya Than Htike

Original Source: Aye Aye Mon - Democratic Voice of Burma
Translated: Nay Chi U - Who is Who in Burma

Thingun Gyun's National League for Democracy Party youth member Ko Mya Than Htike, who was arrested in connection with September protests, appeared before court yesterday, it was reported.

The youngster, who has been detained in Insein prison was originally charged under section 5 (J). However, yesterday, his charges were changed to section 505 B : offences against the state or public's tranquility and section 147:for gathering more than 5 people.

Ko Mya Than Htike was shot while protesting near Sule' Pagoda on 27 September, last year and was treated for a week in Rangoons' General Hospital but sent to Insein prison, before his wound was healed.

READ MORE---> NLD Youth Member's Trial - Ko Mya Than Htike...