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Thanks to the BBC World Service and the Irrawaddy online magazine for alerting us to this latest piece of state-sponsored cant from the 5 Watt lightbulbs at The New Light of Myanmar: -
Burma’s State Media Accuses Suu Kyi of Tax Evasion
By The Associated Press/Rangoon
January 18, 2007
State media in Burma accused pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Thursday of evading taxes by spending her money from the 1991 Nobel Peace prize and other awards overseas.
Suu Kyi, the country's opposition leader, has been in prison or under house arrest for 11 of the last 17 years.
Burma’s military junta regularly calls her a threat to national unity and says she and her party are trying to undermine the government by collaborating with foreign powers.
The New Light of Myanmar newspaper, however, carried another accusation in its Thursday edition.
"She avoided paying taxes to the State by asking her family members abroad to spend all her cash awards provided by international organizations and honorariums presented for her works she had created abroad, instead of spending the money in the country," the newspaper wrote.
Suu Kyi was married to a British academic, Michael Aris, who died of cancer in Britain in 1999. Her two grown sons live abroad.
The junta took power in 1988 after crushing the democracy movement led by Suu Kyi. In 1990, it refused to hand over power when Suu Kyi's party won a landslide election victory.
She has received nearly 100 awards and honorary titles for her nonviolent efforts to achieve democracy in Burma. Among them was the 1991 Nobel Peace prize, for which she was awarded 6 million Swedish kronor (at today's rate, the equivalent of US$ 856,000).
The newspaper also said that the junta has treated Suu Kyi leniently by putting her under house arrest and not sending her to prison.
"It was very considerate of the government to put only restrictions on her, instead of punishing her in accordance with (the) law," the paper said.
http://www.irrawaddy.org/aviewer.asp?a=6587&z=163
Jromerz
24-01-07, 08:02 PM
Hmm..
So what's next? Are they also going to penalize her for all the missed business opportunities that have resulted from sanctions?
Burma's top dictator nearing the end
Burma's state-run propaganda machine has been working overtime since junta leader General Than Shwe returned from a two-week hospital stay in Singapore earlier this month - to counter mounting evidence that the ageing military chief is no longer fit for office.
In the past two weeks, photos of Than Shwe chairing meetings and mingling with foreign dignitaries have made the front page of the New Light of Myanmar newspaper almost every day, while footage of him chairing the quarterly State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) meeting has been aired on state television.
In both the footage and photos Than Shwe looks fairly robust. But the carefully managed media appearances have done little to quell reports from among Burma's political elite that the senior general is far from fit.
One source close to the top military leader told The Nation that Than Shwe had been flown to Singapore for extensive tests on December 31 last year after his personal physicians became concerned that he was suffering from intestinal cancer. Despite being cleared of the disease, Than Shwe remained in hospital until January 12 - the leader's longest stretch outside Burma for several years.
"It came out that the illness was not as serious [as cancer] but still he was away for some time. This is quite significant," said the source close to Than Shwe, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Burma's top general is a diabetic and suffers from hypertension and minor heart problems, which have long caused him complications.
Than Shwe's sudden hospitalisation resulted in him missing the January 4 Independence Day celebrations in Burma for the first time in his 15-year stint as head of the SPDC. Analysts and pundits pounced and speculation quickly spread that he was dying.
Still more evidence of Than Shwe's declining health came to light when reports emerged that he made only brief appearances at the quarterly commanders' and SPDC meetings held last week in Naypyidaw. While deceptive photos of him chairing the event have been splashed all over the official press, seasoned Burma-watchers have not been fooled. Senior Thailand-based Burma analyst Win Min said Than Shwe had also been absent from his daily duties for some time.
"We know that for about four or five months already he has been staying home and only attending meetings once a week or once a month. His health has really deteriorated," Win Min said.
This news has caused intense debate among analysts over who he entrusted control of his office to in his absence. According to sources close to the military among Rangoon's high-society circles, Than Shwe's long-time protege and potential successor General Thura Shwe Mann has almost certainly taken his place at the helm. Shwe Mann the only member of the SPDC's top cabinet without a clearly defined portfolio, and he is also Than Shwe's most important ally in the fight to stop second-in-command Deputy Senior General Maung Aye from seizing power.
"Shwe Mann is now doing most of Than Shwe's job but he is still required to defer to Maung Aye and [prime minister] Soe Win on important issues and some decisions," Win Min said.
Earlier predictions of Than Shwe and Maung Aye stepping down - but not entirely out - in favour of Shwe Mann appear, at least on initial inspection, to be correct. And the stage seems set for the two top generals to hand over the military's reins in favour of civilian roles at the head of a heavily renovated SPDC.
Plans to rename the ruling body the State Democracy and Development Council are still being floated and the ongoing National Convention to draft a new Burmese constitution - first set up in 1993 - is expected to finally come to an end in the next 12 months.
Sources close to the military elite say Maung Aye has also been spending little time tending to his official duties. "This is at the orders of Than Shwe. He wants Maung Aye to stay away from power too," Win Min said.
It would seem that everything is going according to plan. Except, of course, for Than Shwe's continued inability to control his two subordinates and put the threat of a coup from Maung Aye to rest, The Nation's source close to the general said.
"He cannot manage these two guys. Actually, he has no control over this situation," the source said adding that Than Shwe did not trust either Maung Aye or Shwe Mann to adhere to his wishes after he steps down.
While Than Shwe has worked hard to secure a safe passage from power for himself and his family in a country where military coups are almost common, the general is reported to be unsure his plans will work. "Maung Aye is supposed to step down but there is no way [Than Shwe] can be sure that this will happen," the source close to the general said.
Political pundits in Burma agree that Than Shwe's recent hospitalisation has put him at greater risk of a power challenge from Maung Aye and that his decision to spend little time at work had left him out of the military loop and highly vulnerable.
Than Shwe has reportedly put plans to hand over command of the military on hold until the fallout from his time in hospital is contained. "He is not going to give up power now," the source said, adding that there was no sign Than Shwe's family planned to give up any part of their luxurious lifestyles.
Than Shwe's equally despotic wife, Daw Kyaing Kyaing, is said to oppose the idea of her husband bowing out gracefully. Daw Kyaing Kyaing, who orders subordinates to address her as the "queen of Burma", is known to be more intent on Than Shwe staying "president for life" than the senior general himself. "She won't like it at all [if Than Shwe relinquishes his position]. She is very uneducated and only sees the need to stay in power," the source close to the general said.
For now, Than Shwe's carefully managed media appearances are likely to continue as the infamous dictator struggles to maintain his health and grip on power. Burma watchers can expect to see regular footage on state TV of the general inspecting dams, holding high-level meetings and generally maintaining the air of menace that has kept him in power for so long.
But his position hinges on his physical strength, which finally appears to be failing him. "If Than Shwe were to become seriously sick very quickly, Maung Aye will almost certainly try to take over," Win Min said.
Jessicah Curtis is a freelance journalist based in Chiang Mai.
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/02/01/opinion/opinion_30025664.php
http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=8007
France Aims for Release of Suu Kyi
By Htet Aung
July 26, 2007
France has set its sights o*n negotiating the release of Burmese pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, according to French Deputy Minister of Human Rights Rama Yade.
The push to free Suu Kyi follows the successful negotiation with Libya by French First Lady Cecilia Sarkozy for the release of five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor, held captive by Libya for the last eight years.
Yade told LCI television that the French government was now setting its sights o*n liberating the Nobel Peace laureate and democracy advocate detained for years by the Burmese government, according to The Associated Press.
“We welcome the French government’s interest in mediating for the release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi,” Myint Thein, a spokesperson for the National League for Democracy told The Irrawaddy o*n Thursday.
“A warm relationship developed between the pro-democracy forces and the French embassy in Rangoon following Nicholas Sarkozy’s presidential election victory last month. The French ambassador also recently attended the 60th anniversary of Burma’s Martyr’s Day,” he added.
The French ambassador earlier invited members of the NLD, the 88 Generation Students and other pro-democracy activists to the embassy’s Bastille Day celebration o*n July 14, according to an activist who attended the event.
Suu Kyi, who has been under house arrest for her fifth consecutive year since 2003, was not allowed to attend Martyr’s Day celebrations, which fell o*n July 19. The day commemorates the assassination of Gen Aung San, Suu Kyi’s father, and eight other national leaders in 1947.
Aung San Suu Kyi was made an honorary citizen of Paris by the French capital’s city council in December 2004 for her selfless and non-violent actions o*n behalf of the people of Burma.
In his victory speech, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said: “France will be o¬n the side of the oppressed of the world. This is France’s message, it is France’s identity, it is France’s history.”
http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=8007
http://ratchasima.files.wordpress.com/2007/07/u-than-lwin.jpg
[Photo: The Rule of Lords - Also see second article below, which MAY be describing the same attack as the first article.]
Activists jailed for being beaten up
Rangoon — A Burma provincial court has sentenced two human rights activists and five villagers to jail terms ranging from four to eight years for disrupting the peace when they were beaten up three months ago, human rights groups revealed yesterday.
Hinthada court Judge Aung Min Htin on Wednesday sentenced two members of Human Rights Defenders and Promoters Network, Myint Hlaing and Myint Naing, to eight years in jail and villagers Kyaw Lwin, Mya Sein, Hla Shein, U Myint and U Win to four years in prison, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners-Burma.
On April 18 Myint Hlaing and Myint Naing were allegedly severely beaten by a gang of pro-government thugs in Hinthada, 100km northwest of Rangoon, where they were trying to conduct a human rights training course for the local population. The attack, which left both men in hospital, elicited a strong rebuke from the New York-based Human Rights Watch group.
‘‘This brutal attack against grassroots human rights defenders is the latest in a series of assaults on peaceful political activities in Burma,’’ said Brad Adams, director of the Asia section at Human Rights Watch. (dpa)
Link may expire:
http://www.bangkokpost.com/breaking_news/breakingnews.php?id=120483
The commentary below seems to be about the same attack:
Commentary: If you can't beat them, beat them up
HONG KONG, Jul. 26
AWZAR THI
Column: Rule of Lords (http://ratchasima.net/)
On June 15 a man in upper Burma emerged from a crowd to smash another in the face with knuckledusters. Then he ran off and hid in the office of an organization under the patronage of the country's senior army commander.
The identity of the assailant remains unknown. Police officers called to the scene were denied entry to the office, even though they have the right to search any premises in pursuit of an alleged criminal.
The victim was 70-year-old U Than Lwin, a parliamentarian from the 1990 annulled general election. He had just led a small group of local residents in prayer, as part of a peaceable nationwide campaign for the release of political prisoners.
Than Lwin and his colleagues had informed the trustees of pagodas in Mettaya that they would come that morning, and they had not been refused access. So they were apparently taken by surprise at the crowds of thugs hanging around the entrances to each compound. Hoping to avoid a disturbance, they instead went to a nearby monastery. Only after praying did they see that the gangs had come to wait there too, where Than Lwin had his nose and cheek busted.
The assault on Than Lwin speaks to how the military government is itself systematically undermining the law and order that it claims ad nauseam to uphold, and upon which it has based its mandate since assuming power almost two decades ago.
That the mobs were not there by coincidence is obvious. The regime has used them in the past: notably for the murderous attack on a convoy carrying the Nobel laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and her supporters at Depayin in 2003. However, it is becoming increasingly apparent that these groups are being incorporated into the routine surveillance and day-to-day intimidating of people throughout the country.
In a statement issued this week, the Asian Human Rights Commission said that it has documentary evidence of how the gangs, referred to as "swan-ar-shin" are being mobilized through township councils and government-backed groups. Members are being recruited in local markets, where store holders are obliged to stay on good terms with the councils that issue them trading permits. Their collective name speaks explicitly to their purpose: "swan-ar" is physical strength or force; "-shin" indicates someone who has mastered a quality or thing.
There is a big difference between the use of persons in uniform and those in plain clothes to assault and detain citizens. In the former case, there is at least acknowledgement of the state's role, and some necessity to justify it; in the latter there is only its denial. In the former, the state is asserting its prerogative, rightly or wrongly, as the sole proprietor of legitimate violence; in the latter it is inviting unidentified others to share in it. In the former there is a minimum degree of certainty about accepted and proscribed actions and their consequences; in the latter there is only inconstancy.
The organizing of thugs to do the work of police and soldiers thus poses a grave threat to a society, and not least of all one that is already tightly restricted, where targets of attacks have little if any means of defense or subsequent recourse. It opens the door to the worst types of atrocities, and presages further wearing away of the rudiments of criminal procedure.
The generals have enough soldiers, police, firemen, municipal officers, militias and other assorted security forces together with a miscellany of laws and regulations to manifest their continued control; they need the gangs to confuse and exhaust people, to provoke anxiety and doubt, and to co-opt more ordinary citizens into their own debasement.
But no matter what the army does, it will always encounter resistance. Even in the darkest hours under the most oppressive dictatorships some persons fight to preserve their own dignity, and with it, give cause for hope to others. After almost twenty years Than Lwin and his friends have not given up their struggle. Behind them, this regime must know, are thousands more who could be motivated to defy its will if the chances of success appear to outweigh the risks.
The unidentified assailant in Mettaya was not just a tough with a steel fist; he was the specter of arbitrary violence conjured up behind some 50 million people, to keep them in their places. Whereas the regime's central concern could at one time have been properly described as adherence to order, with or without law, this no longer holds true. Through knuckledusters it is indicating its preparedness to depart from even this limited notion of legality where it serves its topmost objective: the retaining of power in one form or another, no matter the consequences.
--
(Awzar Thi is the pen name of a member of the Asian Human Rights Commission with over 15 years of experience as an advocate of human rights and the rule of law in Thailand and Burma.)
http://www.upiasiaonline.com/human_rights/2007/07/26/commentary_if_you_cant_beat_them_beat_them_up/
The New Light of Myanmar reports almost daily on NLD members leaving the party disillusioned. While there is undoubtedly discontent with the NLD's lack of progress and its espousal of boycotts that may not help the livelihoods of ordinary Myanmese, one imagines that many of these have been coerced into their action by local government-sponsored thugs:
http://www.myanmar.com/newspaper/nlm/images/banner.jpg
14 NLD members of Sagaing, Myaung, Twantay Townships quit
Yangon, 23 July-Six members including U Chit Hsaing of Sagaing Township National League for Democracy, five members including Daw San San Win of Myaung Township NLD, Sagaing Division and three members including U Than Sein of Twantay Township NLD, Yangon Division, resigned from the party of their own accord and sent their letters of resignation to NLD (Headquarters) and authorities concerned on 12 July.
The letter sent to Sagaing, Myaung and Twantay Township Multi-party Democracy General Election Subcommission, said that they quit the NLD of their own volition as they no longer wanted to support the party's political activities and stand, and they also did wish to stand as NLD members.
http://www.myanmar.com/newspaper/nlm/index.html
From Beggars to Paramilitary Thugs
In our ward, the Ward Peace and Development Council is recruiting beggars who are sleeping beside the roads and rubbish piles. The beggars run furiously when they see the WPDC authorities because they know that they will be seized to do the work of Swan Arr Shin [a government-backed paramilitary group involved in the recent arrest of pro-democracy activists in Rangoon]. Our ward is Gyar Taw Ya in Bahan Township. In other blocks also, they seize homeless people and send them to authorities o*n the orders of Swann Arr Shin. The people from our ward are sent to do these nasty works. They don’t want to, but they have no choice but to seize the loafers and send them to the authorities.
Aung
Rangoon
http://www.irrawaddy.org/letter.php?cat_id=6
I don't know if this is the same case I introduced this thread with? Different transliterations complicate the issue. If not, it may concern an anti-junta demonstration in a temple that BBC World Service were discussing about a week back.
If neither of the two above, it is nevertheless a fine example of the continual reactionary pro-junta garbage published by the New Light of Myanmar:
New Light of Myanmar
One dissolved MDC member, four NLD members inciting mass protest to cause unrest on religious pretext released after being educated
Nay Pyi Taw, 27 July - One member of the dissolved Myanmar Development Committee (MDC) and four NLD members who were seized and handed over by the people wishing to live in peace to authorities concerned for their incitement to cause public unrest on the religious pretext were released today after they had been educated.
They were abolished MDC leader Htin Kyaw (a) Kyaw Htin of Ward-E in North Oakkalapa Township, Secretary Aye Naing of Dagon Myothit (South) Township NLD, Secretary Thant Zin Myo of Hlinethaya Township NLD and youth team in charge Saw Kyaw Kyaw Min and member Aye Lwin of Insein Township NLD.
On 22 April this year at 9.20 am, Htin Kyaw (a) Kyaw Htin together with six dissolved MDC members including Thein Aung Myint holding placards demanding the protection of women and elimination of illegal tax collection in front of Sanpya Market in Ngamoeyeik Ward, Thingangyun Township incited people to cause unrest. However, the ward dwellers arrested and handed over the instigators to the authorities concerned.
On 15 May at 10.30 am, Aye Naing, Saw Kyaw Kyaw Min and Aye Lwin instigated civil unrest with an excuse for attending the prayer service at Kyauktawgyi Pagoda. Consequently, they were captured and handed over by some public members to the authorities concerned near a bus terminal on Station Road in Nantthagon Ward, Insein Township.
Likewise, as Hlinethaya Township NLD Secretary Thant Zin Myo along with 10 other members wearing T-shirts featuring the portrait of Daw Suu Kyi incited unrest by holding a prayer service at Shwedagon Pagoda for the release of Daw Suu Kyi, they were arrested near Tadabyu bus-stop in Hlinethaya Township and handed over to the local authorities concerned by some dwellers of Ward-6 of the township on 15 May at 8.20 am.
When it comes to serving the interests of their own communities, Myanmar national people are always ready and willing to contribute to the well-being of their own regions as they have had a fine tradition of cherishing their own regions and country. Moreover, without being asked or urged, they would actively participate in social welfare tasks of their own communities. And traditionally, they are peace-loving people.
However, if they think that their ward or region is harmed or stability and security of their ward or region come under threat, they protect and defend their ward or region with a sense of duty.
According to the fine traditions of Myanmar people, they handed them over to the responsible persons in order to prevent them from entering their wards for disrupting the stability and peace.
Htin Kyaw (a) Kyaw Htin can face punishments under Section (147) of Criminal Law for joining an unlawful association and getting involved in gathering a crowd, Section 124 (A) of Criminal Law for creating public outrage by holding placards to make the people hate and disregard the government, and to destroy people's admiration for the government, Section 17/20 of 1962 Printers and Publishers Registration Law for distributing anti-government flyers to the people in staging a demonstration, and Section 31/46 of 1945 Police Act for illegally staging a protest that is not in conformity with the procedures. And action can be taken against Aye Naing, Saw Kyaw Kyaw Min, Aye Lwin and Thant Zin Myo under Section 5 (Nya) of 1950 Emergency Management Act for organizing some people interested in politics by holding prayer services in collusion with NLD members of many township NLDs in the name of religion, Section 147 of Criminal Act for gathering a crowd, and Section 31/46 of 1945 Police Act for illegally staging a protest that is not in conformity with the procedures. Nevertheless, the government expressed its magnanimity towards the five and educated and let them go home.
Some people learning that the government showing benevolence to and educated and let the five go home instead of taking action against them are expressing their personal views that the five who had tried to gather a crowd are the ones who did not have enough reasoning power with negative views, who are destabilizing the State in the hope of obtaining various forms of assistance from local and external destructive elements, who are persuading with selfishness the people leading a peaceful life to join them; that they should realize the kindness of the government and should mend their ways; and that if they go on so without considering possible evil consequences they will surely face punitive punishment given by the people desirous of peace and stability.
This report clearly relates to the previous post, but it doesn't exactly make the New Light of Myanmar report any clearer. Indeed, I'm wondering whether this DPA report is a misinterpretation of NLOM reports:
5 Burmese opposition members freed
Yangon (dpa) - Five people who staged a rare street protest demanding social justice in Burma in April have been freed from gaol, media reports said Saturday.
Among the five was Kyaw Htin, a leading member of a local lobby group that styles itself the Myanmar Development Committee. The other four were all members of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party.
Local officials were quoted as saying the group were freed after being "educated."
The military regime that has run Burma since the 1962 overthrow of a civilian government has made some mildly conciliatory moves recently as it moves to conclude the drawing up of a new constitution.
Overseas-based observers think the regime might intend to form some kind of civilian government within the next few years.
Although the military's vigorous persecution of anyone showing dissent continues there are sometimes rare protests by individuals or small groups who usually avoid overtly political topics.
Newspaper reports said that Kyaw Htin and his fellow protesters were "arrested by the people" on April 22, after holding up placards demanding the protection of women and an end to illegal tax collection outside a neighbourhood market in the capital Yangon.
Officials said the Myanmar Development Committee that purported to be campaigning for social justice and better living conditions had been smashed.
The military has virtually zero tolerance for any organized group outside its control.
Exiled opposition members say the military has succeeded in suppressing Suu Kyi's once hugely popular NLD party that won a 1990 election.
The charismatic leader herself remains incommunicado under house arrest, as she has been for most of the last 18 years.
Link may expire:
http://www.bangkokpost.com/breaking_news/breakingnews.php?id=120511
Burmese Protests to Take on a New Sound
By Yeni
August 30, 2007
Burmese households are being urged in an anti-regime pamphlet campaign to protest noisily on three evenings in September by banging pots and pans.
http://irrawaddy.org/articlefiles/8430-Anno.gif
Other pamphlets in circulation in Rangoon are urging a revival of the historic student union and calling for a “people’s power movement,” similar to the one in 1988 that led to the downfall of the previous regime.
Leaflets obtained by The Irrawaddy call on households to create a din on the evenings of September 11, 12 and 13 by banging pots, pans and other metal items. The action will have a mystical as well as a political purpose—“The time has now come to drive away evil from your homes by creating a din by beating any products made with tin, metal and steel,” the pamphlet says.
The noisy demonstrations should be timed for 7:02 p.m., 8:01 p.m. and 9 p.m., the pamphlet directs. The digits of the three separate times add up to nine, a number given mystic importance by Burma’s ruling elite.
Among the bad influences to be dispersed by the noise campaign, says the pamphlet, are: “natural disasters [flooding throughout the country], economic decline, arbitrary detentions, the greedy ruling government oppressing their people, the people in helpless situation, disunity among the people due to the evil spirits, thugs beating good citizens, scarcity of food and needy materials among Buddhist monks, other religious people being oppressed and the evils living at Naypyidaw."
The campaign is thought likely to attract a lot of support because of its anonymous, after-dark nature, but also on account of its astrological context. Sources told The Irrawaddy that the “pots and pans appeal” was being distributed by mobile phone, email and internet Web sites.
Astrology and superstition are part of everyday life in Burma, where the prophesies of fortune-tellers are followed by virtually every family—particularly by military leader Snr-Gen Than Shwe and his wife Kyaing Kyaing. One of their favorite "advisers" is E Thi— also known as ET—a woman with a speech impediment that only her sister can interpret.
The activity of banging pots and pans occurred when former president Sein Liwn—who became known as the ''Butcher of Rangoon'' for his order to open fire on democracy demonstrators—was resigned in August 1988.
http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=8430
http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=8524
Monks Take Officials Hostage for hours in Upper Burma Standoff
By Shah Paung
September 6, 2007
More than 10 high ranking officials and military officers were held hostage for about 6 hours on Thursday by monks at a monastery in Pakokku township in Upper Burma. The captors demanded the release of about 10 fellow monks arrested in a peaceful demonstration that was violently broken up by the authorities on Wednesday.
http://irrawaddy.org/articlefiles/8524-monks_protest.gif
An artist’s impression of the violent breakup of the Pakokku protests
The monks captured their hostages during a standoff in which four official cars were set on fire. The hostages included the chairman of the District Peace and Development Council in Pakokku, a regional center about 370 miles north of Rangoon with a sizable community of monks. The hostages were freed at around 4:00 p.m. but it was unclear how the two sides solved the standoff.
http://www.irrawaddy.org/protests/Map_Pakokku.gif
The hostages were held at the town’s Maha Visutarama Monastery, known as Ah Le Tiak, an eyewitness told The Irrawaddy by phone. It is one of dozens of monasteries in Pakokku, all of which also have teaching institutes for young monks.
The monastery has about 700 monks, some several hundreds of whom participated in Wednesday’s demonstration. The monks called for a repeal of recent price increases and the release of protesters arrested in the demonstrations that are continuing throughout the country.
"Three monks were tied to an electric pole and were beaten with rifle butts and bludgeons…"
Wednesday’s demonstration by the Pakokku monks was brutally suppressed by police, troops and pro-government paramilitary thugs. Troops fired warning shots.
A Phaungdawoo pagoda trustee who witnessed the scene said: “Three monks were tied to an electric pole and were beaten with rifle butts and bludgeons…one monk, named U Sandima, sustained head injuries.” Rumor has it that one injured monk died.
Eyewitnesses said soldiers and police were joined by members of the pro-junta Union Solidarity and Development Association and the paramilitary group Swan Arr Shin in breaking up the demonstration.
They said abbot Tay Zaw Batha, chairman of the regime-appointed supervisory religious body Pakokku Sangha Maha Nayaka, took part in the suppression of the protest. He had now gone into hiding, the sources said.
One senior monk in Pakokku said that tension would continue to be very high in coming days.
Historically, monks have played a major role in political demonstrations, notably in the 1988 popular uprising and in the 1990 anti-government protests.
During the 1988 unrest, the military regime launched a heavy crackdown on the demonstrators. More than 3,000 demonstrators are believed to have been killed, including many monks and novices.
Monks across Burma refused to accept alms from military leaders following the crackdown on monasteries. Hundreds of monks and young novices who participated in the movement were later arrested and given lengthy prison terms.
The demonstrations against the fuel and commodity prices rise have been going on since August 19, led by the 88 Generation Students group and some members of the opposition National League for Democracy. At least 120 demonstrators are reported to have been arrested so far.
Burma Protests: the Situation on September 06
http://www.irrawaddy.org/protests/Map_Pakokku.gif
Pakokku, Magwe Division—About 10 local high-ranking officials and military officers are being detained by monks in Ah Le Taik monastery, local sources said. The monks said that if authorities release about 10 monks detained on Wednesday, they will release the officials. The monks also demanded authorities return the body of a monk who died this morning after being beaten on Wednesday by police and a pro-junta mob. Since this morning, tension has been high between the monks and the authorities. Reports say groups of lay citizens are supporting the monks.
Pakokku, Magwe Division—A local monk reportedly died on Thursday from a head wound he received when authorities broke up a peaceful demonstration on Wednesday. A crowd of about 800 monks, angered by the crackdown on Wednesday’s demonstration, greeted leaders of the local Division Peace and Development Council when they arrived at the town’s Ah Le Taik, or Central Monastery, on Thursday morning to warn monks not to demonstrate. Four of six vehicles carrying the officials were reportedly set on fire. A mood of anger grips the town and tension is running high.
http://irrawaddy.org/articlefiles/8524-monks_protest.gif
An artist’s impression of the violent breakup of the Pakokku protests
This link also contains descriptions of protests in other areas of Myanmar in recent days:
http://www.irrawaddy.org/headlines/BurmaProtests-Continue.php
See also previous two posts for map and artist's impression of events:
Burma troops fire warning shoots to break up protest by monks
YANGON -- Burma junta troops fired warning shots to break up hundreds of monks protesting Wednesday in a central Burma city Pokokku, witnesses said Thursday.
More than 200 monks in Pokokku, about 600 kilometers north of Yangon, staged a rally to protest the junta's recent fuel price hikes and adverse living conditions in the country, but they were dispersed by several warning shots fired by army troops, witnesses contacted by telephone said.
The monks, marching, reciting Buddhist prayers and some holding placards demanding lower consumer prices and better living conditions, attracted a large crowd in the city, the witnesses added.
As the crowd supporting the monks approached 1,000 people, plainclothes police and pro-junta militias started arresting the monks and the troops fired shots into the air to disperse the crowd, they said.
At least 10 monks were arrested and some of them were seen bleeding and tied up to a post.
The response was the first in which the junta used the troops and fired warning shots to break up a series of protests that began last month.
Until Wednesday, only pro-junta militia and plainclothes police had been used to control and arrest the activists.
Also Wednesday, three activists were arrested for leading a small rally in Bogalay, a town 100 km southwest of Yangon, that drew hundreds of onlookers and supporters, opposition sources said.
On Tuesday, four activists were arrested separately in Yangon and Labutta for joining a prayer session for detained democracy leader ung San Suu Kyi and for protesting the price hikes, her opposition National League for Democracy said.
An NLD member arriving at Burma's famous Shwedagon Pagoda to join the regular Tuesday prayer session was arrested by the police and taken away to a interrogation camp, while another three activists were arrested the same day when they started a 200 km journey from Labutta to Yangon to protest the price hikes, according to the NLD.
The protests were the latest in a series of demonstrations that began Aug. 19 when a group of about 300 activists led by well-known student leaders Min Ko Naing and Ko Ko Gyi marched quietly for about 8 km in Yangon.
Without any previous warning or announcement, on Aug. 15 the military government raised the price of natural gas by up to five times, doubled the price of diesel fuel and raised the price of gasoline 67 percent.
After the Aug. 19 protest, 13 activists, including Min Ko Naing and Ko Ko Gyi, were arrested. But protests continued, initially in Yangon, and later in at least 10 other cities across the country.
According to Amnesty International, more than 150 people have been detained in Burma since Aug. 19.
//(Deutsche Presse-Agentur/DPA)
See previous three posts on this issue for map and artist's impression of events:
Burmese army opens fire in monks' clash
Rangoon (dpa) - Burmese state-controlled media on Friday admitted for the first time that the military regime was at loggerheads with rebellious Buddhist monks in Pakokku, in the central region of the country.
The New Light of Myanmar, a government mouthpiece, acknowledged that security personnel had clashed with hundreds of protesting monks on Wednesday in Pakokku, 530 kilometres north of Rangoon, and were forced to disperse the demonstration by firing over the heads of the monks.
The monks were protesting against fuel price hikes implemented last month, and the arrests of more than 100 anti-inflation protestors in Rangoon in recent weeks.
The state media also confirmed reports that Magway Division military officials had visited the Bawdimandine monastery in Pakokku on Thursday and had their vehicle burned by 50 stone-throwing monks. The government officials spent several hours in the monastery before making their getaway.
Before Friday, the government-controlled press had kept quiet about the rebellious monks of Pakokku, a centre for Buddhism in Burma.
Meanwhile, according to eyewitnesses in Pakkoku, monks on Friday attacked the Nay La Store owned by a prominent government official and allowed a mob to sack the place.
Buddhist monks have a long history of political activism in Burma, a predominantly Buddhist country.
The monkhood played a prominent role in Burma's struggle for independence from Great Britain in 1948 and joined students in the anti-military demonstrations that rocked Burma in 1988, which ended in bloodshed.
Like the recent protests, the 1988 mass demonstrations were sparked by rising discontent with the military's mismanagement of the economy and refusal to introduce some semblance of democracy.
After the 1988 events, the military, although still very much in charge, dropped its socialist ideology and opened the country up to foreign investments and market forces.
But the generals' brutal 1988 crackdown on the pro-democracy movement, that left an estimated 3,000 dead, resulted in the severing of nearly all international aid to the regime.
The aid blockade and other sanctions have been kept in place for the past 19 years. Although the military allowed a general election in 1990 it ignored the outcome when 80 per cent of the votes went to the National League for Democracy (NLD) of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, sealing its pariah status in the West.
Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, has been under house arrest since May, 2003. Her ongoing incarceration was harshly criticized earlier this week by US President George W Bush, who is currently attending the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit in Sydney.
May expire soon:
http://www.bangkokpost.com/breaking_news/breakingnews.php?id=121431
Unrest spreads in central Burma
Rangoon (dpa) - Anti-military protests spread Friday in central Burma where the country's military rulers have been forced to crack down on rebellious Buddhist monks, sources said.
Earlier this week Buddhist monks took to the streets in Pakokku, 530 kilometres north of Rangoon, to protest against the government's decision to double fuel prices last month and the arrests of more than 100 protestors in Rangoon.
Of Friday the dissent had spread to nearby Aung-lan town, 515 kilometres north of Rangoon, where anti-government posters were put up around the town encouraging the masses to rise up.
......
May soon expire:
http://www.bangkokpost.com/breaking_news/breakingnews.php?id=121442
Pakokku, Magwe Division—Angry monks from Pakokku’s Maha Visutarama monastery on Thursday night tore down the home of one of the leaders of the crackdown on their earlier demonstration and also destroyed an electronic store owned by the local secretary of the regime-backed Union Solidarity and Development Association, Hla Win Naing.
Hla Win Naing has reportedly fled the town. He and Khin Maung Win—described by townspeople as a “well-known thug”—led the brutal suppression of a peaceful demonstration by monks of the monastery, also known as Ah Le Taik, on September 5.
In its report on the situation, the state-run newspaper New Light of Myanmar accused the monks of threatening Abbot Tay Zaw Batha (known as U Tejobhasa), chairman of the regime-appointed supervisory religious body Pakokku Sangha Maha Nayaka and also local bystanders.
The newspaper warned that “any attempts to incite a situation similar to the 1988 unrest would be absolutely unacceptable to the people.” No mention was made of the violence used by the authorities and regime-backed thugs to break up the monks’ peaceful demonstration.
http://www.irrawaddy.org/headlines/BurmaProtests-Continue.php
AHRC Burmese Protests special webpage:
http://campaigns.ahrchk.net/burmaprotests/
New Light of Myanmar
People will not accept any activities to destabilize the nation and harm their interests and are willing to prevent such destructive acts
Nay Pyi Taw, 6 Sept � Following a tip-off that some members of the Sangha (Buddhist monks) from some monasteries in Pakokku, Magway Division, were to stage a protest, authorities rushed to the scene and requested them to stop their protest at 2 pm yesterday. However, the monks refused the request and insisted on demonstration calling for the release of the detainees and the fall of commodity prices by holding placards featuring the words of Sangha Samaggi along Bogyoke Street. Although the authorities concerned and Township Sangha Nayaka Committee Chairman U Tejobhasa made a request again, the monk demonstrators pushed the chairman Sayadaw over and continued their protest. As danger might fall to the Sayadaw and the public passers-by, the authorities fired small weapons three times in the air to disperse the crowd of about 100 monks.
In order to stop another incident like one that happened yesterday, the secretary of Magway Division Peace and Development Council, the head of the Division Religious Affairs Department and officials, township level authorities and responsible persons from the religious field together with the members of the board of trustees of Ashetaik Monastery called on Presiding Sayadaw U Vepolla and 13 members of the Sangha at the monastery at 9 am today and supplicated on religious matters. From there they went to Bawdimandine monastery and supplicated on religious matters to the Presiding Sayadaw U Indiya and six members of the Sangha. They supplicated on religious affairs to four Sayadaws including Presiding Sayadaw U Sumangala at Alekyaungtaik monastery and Chairman of Township Sangha Nayaka Committee Sayadaw U Tejobhasa at the monastery at about 9.50 am. At the time, about 50 monks threw stones at four departmental cars that were parked outside the monastery and tried to overturn the vehicles. Windscreens and window glasses of the cars were broken. The monks stopped throwing stones at about 10.35 am thanks to the request of Presiding Sayadaw U Sumangala at Alekyaungtaik monastery. The protestors demanded officials to bring out Sayadaw U Tejobhasa and hand over their GSM phones to them.
Although officials entrusted their phones to the protesters, the latter demanded the former again to bring out Sayadaw U Tejobhasa and pounded and torched the cars they had already overturned. The protesters dispersed at about 1.30 pm.
The people who had heard or witnessed the destruction and burning of cars said that officials supplicated on religious matters to the Sayadaws to prevent the outbreak of similar incidents occurred yesterday, undermining of peace and stability and occurrence of unnecessary problems; and that the response should be through peaceful means; that the protesters should not perpetrate any destructive acts including setting automobiles on fire; that they perceived that so-called '88' generation students and NLD claimed by releasing announcements, expressing words, and informing foreign media that the protest staged on the pretext of fuel price hikes was a non-violent one, however, their activities in practice were inconsistent with their words as they came to commit destructive acts; that their activities were designed to create public outrage in order to intentionally incite a mass protest like �88� unrest; that they did not like high fuel prices and wished consumer prices to be brought down; that any attempts to incite '88� unrest-like situation were absolutely unacceptable to them; and that they wished a fall in commodity prices but would have to prevent any forms of activities designed to create a situation under the pretext of high commodity prices in which unrest and anarchism were to break out nationwide like �88� unrest.
The government has got information that external anti-government groups are giving directives and providing various sorts of assistance to internal anti-government groups to stir up mass demonstrations and instability. And it is learnt that the people will not accept any acts to destabilize the nation and harm their interests and are willing to prevent such destructive acts.
http://www.myanmar.com/newspaper/nlm/index.html
http://www.myanmar.com/newspaper/nlm/index.html
Official Version of Pakokku Events Dismissed as Untrue
By The Irrawaddy
September 7, 2007
An official version of the standoff between monks and civil authorities in the tension-racked Upper Burma town of Pakokku, claiming warning shots had been fired to disperse protesters in the interests of public safety, has reportedly only heightened people’s anger.
Protesters marching during a demonstration in Rangoon on August 22 [Photo: AFP]
A monk at Pakokku’s Bawdi Mandine monastery told The Irrawaddy that a report on the incident in the government newspaper The New Light of Myanmar on Friday did not reflect the truth.
The New Light of Myanmar said security forces fired three times into the air to disperse a crowd of about 100 monks because they thought the abbot, Tay Zaw Batha (known as U Tejobhasa), and “local bystanders” were in danger.
Bystanders had reportedly applauded the monks during their standoff with the authorities, and The New Light of Myanmar report was dismissed as inaccurate by local people. They also said far more monks had participated in the protests than the number given by the newspaper.
“There is feeling of frustration among the monks and the people,” said the Bawdi Mandine monk. There had been an “explosion of public anger,” he said.
The monks at Maha Visutarama, monastery (also known as Ah Le Taik) took several officials hostage during the confrontation but released them after about five hours. They made three demands: the dismissal of abbot Tay Zaw Batha, who is chairman of the regime-appointed supervisory religious body Pakokku Sangha Maha Nayaka, and undertakings not to take legal action against the monks or to expose them to further violence.
It was not known on Friday whether the authorities had acceded to the demands.
Tension remained high in the town on Friday. Troops under the Northwest command were deployed in several areas.
http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=8540
Rumors of Jimmy's Death Send Family Members to Question Authorities
By The Irrawaddy
September 8, 2007
Family members and a human rights group expressed concern on Saturday after hearing unconfirmed reports that Kyaw Min Yu, or Jimmy, a prominent leader of the 88 Generation Students group, has died in a junta detention center. Rumors said he had been tortured.
Kyaw Min Yu (aka) Jimmy
The report could not be confirmed.
Bo Kyi, the joint secretary of the Thailand-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma), issued a statement Saturday afternoon, acknowledging the report was based on rumors.
A family member told The Irrawaddy that members of Jimmy's family went to the Home Ministry on Saturday afternoon to try to confirm the rumor.
"The officials didn’t tell us anything, except to send a letter about the family’s concern to the ministry," said the family member.
“I am so worried about him,” said Jimmy’s wife, Nilar Thein, who is being hunted by authorities following the recent protests. A former political prisoner, she served about 10 years in prison following a demonstration in the mid-1990s.
Jimmy, 38 years old and in good health, was detained on August 21 after he and other leading activists led a peaceful march in Rangoon protesting the regime's fuel price hikes.
Jimmy played a leading role in the 1988 nationwide pro-democracy uprising. He spent about 15 years in prison.
Family members and activists said they believe Jimmy and fellow activists, including prominent leaders Min Ko Naing and Ko Ko Gyi, are being held in the annex jail of Insein Prison in Rangoon.
Security at Insein Prison has been tightened during recent weeks, according to sources close to the prison.
The AAPP statement said two other leaders of the 88 Generation Students group, Kyaw Kyaw Htwe and Min Zeya, were reportedly hospitalized.
The military government accused the leaders of the 88 Generation Students group of undermining efforts to carry out a peaceful transition of state power following the
the National Convention.
The group leaders could receive a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, if found guilty.
http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=8552
Such heavy jail sentences are more than just an empty threat:
Six Labor Activists in Burma Jailed for Up to 28 Years
By Aye Aye Win/AP Writer/Rangoon
September 8, 2007
Six labor activists were given jail sentences of up to 28 years by a court in Burma for organizing a seminar at a US Embassy center earlier this year, a defense lawyer said Saturday.
At a hearing Friday inside Insein prison in northern Rangoon, all six were found guilty of bringing "hatred or contempt" to the government, lawyer Aung Thein said. Some were also convicted of being members of illegal associations and violating immigration laws.
The six—all in their 20s—had planned to discuss labor rights at the US Embassy's American Center in the country's biggest city, Rangoon, but it was canceled after a few participants were arrested.
Thurein Aung, Wai Lin, Myo Min and Kyaw Win were sentenced to 28 years in prison. Nyi Nyi Zaw and Kyaw Kyaw were given 20 years in jail.
Aye Aye Cho, the mother of Nyi Nyi Zaw, said her son was "unfairly and unlawfully" sentenced.
"The court did not find any incriminating document or evidence against them," Aye Aye Cho said. "They had not done anything to cause disrespect toward the government. What has been done is a violation of their human rights."
The arrests were unrelated to ongoing demonstrations in Burma over increased fuel and consumer good prices.
Burma's military government has repeatedly criticized the US and British embassies for offering classes to members of detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party and other activists.
In April, a newspaper accused the American Center of harming "young Burma brains" and spreading American propaganda through a course called "English for Journalism," which teaches writing and journalistic ethics.
The center, operated by the US Embassy in Burma, offers educational courses, a library, films and other facilities that are open to all Burma citizens.
The US and Britain have imposed political and economic sanctions on the junta because of its poor human rights record and failure to hand over power to a democratically elected government.
In May, a US diplomat accused Burma of harassment after government-run media denounced the American and British embassies for providing free courses, including English lessons, to the country's pro-democracy opposition.
The New Light of Myanmar and other state-run newspapers said waiving lesson fees for members of the NLD was "illegal" and blatant interference in the country's internal affairs.
A spokesman for the US Embassy could not be reached for immediate comment.
http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=8550
Burma Protests: the Situation on September 08
Dawbon, Rangoon Division—Twelve members of the opposition National League for Democracy in Dawbon Township staged a demonstration on Saturday morning against the junta’s sharp fuel price hikes, according to an NLD spokesman, Myint Thein. He said the protest was led by Than Htay, the secretary of the Dawbon Township NLD. The protest was peaceful, and there were no arrests, he said.
http://www.irrawaddy.org/headlines/BurmaProtests-Continue.php
Neither the length of the headline or its color scheme are contrived in the following quote. Indeed, there are several other also quite lengthy headline tirades on the same page :
New Light of Myanmar
Foreign broadcasting stations exaggerating news reports on demonstrations involving only one or two persons
Interviewing with NLD members and so-called '88' generation students with intent to mislead the public
Exaggerating protests of Pakokku members of Sangha hand in glove with Pakokku NLD
People understand the government's carefully addressing the situation with magnanimity, showing its respect for members of the Sangha
Such violent acts somewhat harm public interests, so lay disciples concerned should hold discussions and make reviews with the monk on whom they regularly call,
in order that similar incidents will not take place again
The majority of members of the Sangha who uphold the religious code of conduct do not accept any forms of subversive acts and want to discharge religious duties in peace for flourishing of the Sasana
Nay Pyi Taw, 7 Sept � Internal and external destructive elements are inciting a period of civil unrest like the one in 1988, taking advantage of some protests that broke out in the country beginning 19 August on the pretext of the increase in fuel prices. It is also found that foreign broadcasting stations are launching political propaganda exaggerating even news reports on demonstrations involving only one or two persons and interviewing with NLD members and so-called �88' gaeneration students with intent to mislead the public.
Likewise, those foreign broadcasting stations hand in glove with Pakokku NLD are exaggerating the protests and setting fire to cars that happened in Pakokku, Magway Division, on 5 and 6 September.
At about 2 pm on 5 September, some members of the Sangha (Buddhist monks) organized a protest walk along Bogyoke Street holding placards featuring the words of Sangha Samaggi calling for the release of the detainees and the fall of commodity prices. Although authorities concerned and Township Sangha Nayaka Committee Chairman U Tejobhasa made a request, the monk demonstrators pushed the Chairman Sayadaw and continued their protest. Fearing that the life of the Sayadaw might be in danger, the authorities concerned had to open fire small weapons three times in the air to disperse the crowd.
As Pakokku NLD sent false news on the incident that happened on 5 September to foreign broadcasting stations, BBC, VOA and RFA aired the exaggerated reports that the authorities fired weapons over the monks' heads about ten times, that the monks were arrested and tortured, three others were tied to a lamp-post and tortured, and that one died of the injury and some were seriously injured. Besides, the internal destructive elements are exaggerating the incident on phone or in a secret way saying that there was bloodshed of the members of the Sangha in the country and that some were arrested, some seriously injured and some killed. In reality, there was no monk who was injured or died as any was not arrested and tortured, and only small weapons were fired in the air three times in order to disperse the crowd of protesters and save the life of the Sayadaw.
On 6 September also, a group comprising 20 authorities concerned went to Ahletaik Kyaungtaik in Pakokku and supplicated to Sayadaws in order that such incident may not occur again. At that time, about 50 monks pounded and set fire to four vehicles of the departmental officials parked outside the monastery. The monks let 20 departmental officials who were cornered in the monastery go at only 4 pm. The authorities concerned did not arrest those involved in the incident but they just monitored the situation in order not to go from bad to worse.
At 9.40 pm on 6 September some 40 monks destroyed the house of U Khin Maung Win in Ward 3, Pakokku. And then, they destroyed the Nay Nat Tha Store of U Hla Win Naing in Ward 1. Consequently, electronics, electrical appliances, Telephone Hand Sets, fluorescent lamps, VCDs and TV sets worth K 35 million in the store were destroyed. At 11.20 pm, about 60 monks were in front of the store and some 60 monks were on Shwechaung Bridge. Those monks dispersed at about 1 am on 7 September.
It is learnt that the Pakokku NLD and RFA in collusion aired fabricated news to the effect that U Khin Maung Win and U Hla Win Naing were included in those who dispersed the monks who staged a protest walk on 5 September. In retaliation, the monks destroyed the house of U Khin Maung Win and the store of U Hla Win Naing. In that incident, the Pakokku NLD incited the monks to get involved in the anti-government activities as its attempts to organize people to do so met with failure. Besides, it sent fabricated news to foreign broadcasting stations.
The people who witnessed and heard the incident are making comments that they understand the government's carefully addressing the situations with magnanimity, showing its respect for members of the Sangha; that such violent acts somewhat harm the public interests; that lay disciples concerned should hold discussions and make reviews with the monks on whom they regularly call, in order that similar incidents will not take place again; and they believe that senior monks in the respective monasteries will deal with the situation to prevent such violent activities. And it is learnt that the majority of members of the Sangha who uphold the religious code of conduct set for members of a religious order do not accept any forms of subversive acts and want to discharge religious duties in peace for flourishing of the Sasana.
http://www.myanmar.com/newspaper/nlm/index.html
Burma cracks down on Students group
Yangon (dpa) - Burma's military on Saturday accused leaders of the 88 Generation Students Group of terrorist acts, threatening legal action against the dissidents.
State-run television and radio stations accused a dozen well-known members of the 88 Students of involvement in two unsolved bombings in Yangon, formerly blamed of Karen insurgents.
The accusations come in the wake of a spate of rare protests in Yangon against a doubling of fuel prices on August 15, in which leaders of the 88 Generation Students were actively involved.
On Friday authorities put up "wanted" posters for ten of the 88 Generation Students including Nilar Thein, Aung Thu, Ko Ko Gyi, Sein Hlaing, Aung Naing, Htay Kywe, Hla Myo Naung, Aung Myo Tin, Tin Myint Aung and Tin Htoo Aung.
State media reports said that at least one of the dissidents, Htay Kywe, "has been at large under the protective wing of a super country embassy," presumably the USA's.
The attack on the 88 students, comprising many former student activists who participated in the 1988 pro-democracy movement, comes amid signs that anti-military protests are on the rise.
............
May expire soon:
http://www.bangkokpost.com/breaking_news/breakingnews.php?id=121462
jpatokal
09-09-07, 02:47 PM
Do you think we're looking at the seeds of a revolution here, or just more squabbles to be ruthlessly crushed by the junta? Things will really get interesting if protests start building up in Yangon, as moving the capital to whatever-its-called-today out in the sticks can't possible help the junta keep things under control in the country's biggest city by far...
http://www.irrawaddy.org/articlefiles/8348-onlinecart163.gif
[Cartoon: http://www.irrawaddy.org/cartoon.php?art_id=8348]
In response to the last post, my very uninformed guess is the latter. Such is to be expected in a country that lies within the Chinese sphere of influence. It's not even as if the dissidents have much support in other neighboring countries. The Junta and the NLM may be complaining about the complicity of the BBC & others, but in fact mainstream BBC World Service Radio has hardly mentioned these incidents in recent days. Presumably such news items do figure big in the BBC's Burmese service, however.
Things will have to get way worse I fear:
Burma tightens the noose on dissent
RANGOON-- Burma's ruling junta announced Sunday that it will brook no more anti-government dissent amid unconfirmed reports of countrywide arrests and torture of prisoners who participated in recent protests against the military.
The country's government-controlled newspapers carried full-page copies of the junta's announcement No. 1/2007 which blamed recent demonstrations against fuel price hikes on subversive groups and promised "to take effective action in accordance with the existing laws" to crack down on the dissidents.
The proclamation comes amid still unconfirmed reports of mass arrests of dissidents in the countryside and of torture of dissidents arrested in Yangon last month.
"The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) has received unconfirmed information that 88 Generation leader, Kyaw Min Yu (alias Jimmy), has been tortured to death while being interrogated under the orders of Burma's (Burma's) military regime, the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC)," said the AAPP in a statement.
Other recently arrested dissidents from the 88 Generation Students group, including Kyaw Kyaw Htwe and Min Zeya, have allegedly been hospitalized as a result of severe torture, it claimed.
At least 13 leaders of the 88 Generation Students, a dissident group committed to non-violenct tactics, were arrested last month for leading anti-inflation protests in Yangon.
The government has put up "wanted" posters for a dozen other 88 Generation Students, and on Friday accused the group of involvement in past bombings in Yangon, a charge that will carry lengthy prison sentences.
The AAPP allegations independently verified in Yangon, but such practices have been commonplace in the past. The International Red Cross has had no access to political prisoners in Burma for several months after a falling out with authorities over government restrictions on visits.
Burma, a country that has been under dictatorial military rule for the past 45 years, has witnessed a spate of anti-government protests since August 19 in response to the government's decision to more than double diesel and petrol prices.
Unauthorized protests are illegal in Burma, which has been under martial law since 1988 when the entire country was rocked by anti-military demonstrations which were in part sparked by the deteriorating economy.
"The internal and external pessimist and opposition groups are striving to create riots and disturbances similar to the 1988 upheaval to sabotage the National Convention in order to hold on to the results of 1990, and to gain power by a short cut," said the announcement of the State Peace and Development Council, as the junta styles itself.
The military has identified the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) party led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and the 88 Generation Students as the main organisers behind the protests.
It has also accused a host of overseas dissident groups such as the National Council of the Union of Burma government in exile and All Burma Students Democratic Front among others for assisting the protests.
Meanwhile, another 50 people were reportedly arrested over the weekend in various towns in central Burma, where Buddhist monks have led protests against the military and even in one case held officials hostage in their monastery.
In Pakokku, where the monks led a protest on Wednesday, three people have been arrested. In Bogalay, authorities allegedly arrested 15 NLD members who participated in another protest, and in Lapputta, where dissidents planned to lead a march on Yangon against fuel price hikes, 15 have been arrested, according to unconfirmed reports from opposition sources.
Other arrests of NLD members and other dissidents were reported in Pathein, Wakhema and Mandalay.
The NLD won 80 per cent of the contested seats in Burma's 1990 general election but it has been blocked from power ever since. NLD leader Suu Kyi has been under house arrest since May 2003.
//Deutsche Presse-Agentur
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/09/09/regional/regional_30048314.php
New Light of Myanmar
Insurgents who are in contact with the so-called ?88� generation students caused the death of many citizens when they carried out a bomb attack in Maha Pathana Cave
Pyi Thit Nyunt Wai of FTUB, members of VBSW and ABSDF held a secret meeting, decided to continue terrorist destructionist acts in many parts of Myanmar
Government of the Union of Myanmar to take preventive measures against terrorist destructive acts by internal and external terrorist groups
Nay Pyi Taw, 8 Sept� The Information Committee of the State Peace and Development Council today issued Announcement No. 1/2007. The following is the full text of the announcement.
State Peace and Development Council Information Committee
Announcement No. 1/2007
Nay Pyi Taw, September 8
It has already been made known to the people through the news released in the newspapers of 25 August that the authorities concerned had taken into custody for questioning (13) persons claiming to be the (88) generation students, namely Min Ko Naing, Ko Ko Gyi, Pyone Cho (a) Htay Win Aung, Min Zeya, Mya Aye (a) Thura, Kyaw Min Yu (a) Jimmy, Zeya (a) Kalama, Kyaw Kyaw Htwe (a) Marky, Arnt Bwe Kyaw, Paneit Htun, Zaw Zaw Min, Thet Zaw, and Nyan Lin, who were sabotaging the National Convention and trying to create the dialogue they wanted and to contact foreign-based terrorist organizations in order to carry out terrorist destructive acts.
On 25th of August Ma Sanda Min (a) Shwee, and on 27th of August Kyee Than (a) Than Tin who had led actions which tried to sabotage the National Convention and disturb the peace and stability of the country, were called into custody for questioning. Htay Kywe is still at large as he had been hidden at a secure place by an embassy of a powerful country.
While 15 persons including Min Ko Naing were being taken into custody the responsible officials searched their homes and seized as evidence some mobile phones, computers with over (500) CDs, and a large amount of documents.
If we look at the background of the so-called �88� generation students group, since the Armed Forces assumed the responsibilities of State to take the situation under control on 18 September 1988, the Ba Ka Tha formed and headed by Min Ko Naing, Ko Ko Gyi, and Moe Thee Zon laid down and carried out three plans of action, namely (1) to continue and carry out semi-subversive underground activities; (2) to form and act as a legal political party; (3) to fight through armed resistance, and in order to do so they formed the ABSDF terrorist organization which was then headed by Htun Aung Kyaw and Naing Aung. Likewise, the Democratic People for a New Society (DPNS) party was formed under the leadership of Moe Thee Zun to carry out overt political activities. In the same way Min Ko Naing, Ko Ko Gyi and Aung Din agitated through semi-subversive acts to create riots disturbances since that time. Therefore in 1989 Min Ko Naing, Ko Ko Gyi and Aung Din were arrested in accordance with the law. As Moe Thee Zun and his DPNS party were acting in conjunction with the BCP underground and contacting terrorist insurgents in accordance with their three plans of action, they were deregistered as a legal political party from 6-12-1991 onwards. At that time, some members of the DPNS went underground to continue resistance against the Government and formed the DPNS as an armed insurgent organization at the border areas on 25-5-1994.
Aung Din who was imprisoned together with Min Ko Naing and Ko Ko Gyi was released on 7-7-1993 and put up a petition to be allowed to continue his studies. As the responsible authorities concurred, he gained his B.E (Mechanical) in 1994. After that as he put up and additional petition to be allowed to go to work in Singapore, the responsible officials magnanimously gave permission to do so.
From Singapore he left for the USA. Now Aung Din is working as the director of US Campaign for Burma, which was formed by expatriates in the US and continued engaging in anti-government activities. In addition, he has been contacting Min Ko Naing and Ko Ko Gyi who were in the country and providing them with funds for the purpose of confronting and resisting the government. He also gathered false news and disseminating those news in order to create false impressions abroad. In the same way a colleague of Min Ko Naing and Ko Ko Gyi in the Ba Ka Tha, Bo Kyi, who had been in collusion with other expatriates, in the other country formed the AAPP which claims to be helping political prisoners, and is in constant contact with Min Ko Naing and Ko Ko Gyi and are together carrying out acts to destabilize the country.
The insurgents who are in contact with the so-called �88� generation students caused the death of many citizens when they carried out a bomb attack in the Maha Pathana Cave where the Buddha's tooth relic was being venerated on 25 December 1996. In the same way the ABSDF terrorist insurgents, the NCUB, Pyi Thit Nyunt Wai (a) Maung Maung from FTUB, Aung Moe Zaw from the DPNS, Tin Oo and Lwan Nee from the NLD (LA) and the terrorist groups NCGUB, (ALP) Arakan Liberation Party, and the DAB (Democratic Alliance of Burma) coordinated to cause terrorist destructionist acts inside Myanmar in 2005 and organized training courses in bomb-making and demolition. For that purpose a world-famous organization of a powerful State provided US$ 100,000 under the heading of helping refugees. After undergoing training, the ABSDF terrorists carried out another three time-bomb attacks on 7-5-2005 at about 2:50 p.m. at the Thai Goods Exhibition at the Trade Center in Yangon, Mingalar Taungnyunt, at 2:55 pm at the Junction 8 in Mayangone, at 3:00 p.m. at the Dagon Center in Sangyoung. These brutal and inhuman terrorist acts had caused (23) people killed and (162) injured.
For these acts of terrorism the ABSDF, the NCGUB, the FTUB and the NLD (LA) were declared terrorist organizations under Declaration No 1/2006 by the Ministry of Home Affairs on 2006 April 12.
The Government has shown resilience and overcome these attacks and striven for the emergence of a market economy and the democratic system as desired by the people. Through these serious efforts, unprecedented success is being achieved, and the Government is about to realize the democratic system and the market economy which the people desire and to hand over the responsibilities of the State peacefully and systematically.
At a time when the positive developments are taking place, the internal and external pessimist and opposition groups are striving to create riots and disturbances similar to the 1988 upheaval to sabotage the National Convention in order to hold on to the results of 1990, and to gain power by a short cut. In doing this the internal and external pessimistic destructionists are carrying out their three plans of action which are:� (1) attacking the National Convention with the intent of destroying it; (2) attempting to create an upheaval similar to 1988 through various means; (3) many types of internal and external anti-government activities, including bombings.
In accordance with these actions the NCUB which is composed of the insurgent remnants and the expatriate terrorists combined with the remnants of the BCP Underground and formed the Central People's War Committee to realize the people's war plan which was drawn up by the BCP. Under that Committee, they organized the legal People's Resistance Committee through the internal underground groups. In this legal People's Resistance Committee are included the so-called �88� generation students, some members of the CRPP and some members of the NLD and they, infiltrating and grooming their hard-core members into the ranks of the clergy, students, and workers, are striving to create riots and disturbances and terrorist destructive acts. To carry out these acts Bo Kyi from the AAPP collected funds to the value of 25 million Kyat and sent this money to the so-called �88� generation students headed by Min Ko Naing in the second week of April 2006, through a western embassy in Yangon. On 14 August 2006, an American NGO gave Htay Kywe US$ 30,000 through a western embassy in Yangon. Former members of Ba Ka Tha and Khin Ohnmar of NDD in the US also sent Kyat 2.5 million. Moreover, with the aim of causing internal unrest in Myanmar, the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) gave financial assistance of US$ 2.9 million to be used in operations, out of which over US$ 800,000 was sent to the pessimistic organizations in the country.
Moreover, Nyi Nyi Aung from ABSDF terrorist group based in the US sneaked into Myanmar in March 2006 and met with former ABSDF members Min Zay Ya, Htay Kywe and Aung Myo Tint at the house of former ABSDF member Maung Maung Thein in Thingangyun. He met Htay Kywe, Aung Myo Tint and Lay Lwin at 7 Up restaurant at Saya San Road in Bahan in June 2006 and discussed about financing. He then illegally remitted the amount of Kyat 2.6 million and Kyat 2 million in October 2006. Again in January 2007, Nyi Nyi Aung met Htay Kywe, Ant Bwe Kyaw, Than Tin and Aung Myo Tint at Min Zay Ya's house in South Dagon and discussed about causing public uprising where he handed them about 50 stickers bearing the sign �Where there are students there must be a student union�. Once again at the same place of Min Zay Ya's house in April 2007 he met Htay Kywe, Ant Bwe Kyaw, Hla Myo Naung and Than Tin (a) Kyee Than and gave them the guidance of causing unrest. It was also found out that he met with Min Zay Ya, Htay Kywe and Ant Bwe Kyaw at their secret office in 39th street in July 2007 and handed over Kyat 300,000 and set up contacts for terrorist destructionist acts.
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http://www.myanmar.com/newspaper/nlm/index.html
Too long for one post. Continued in next post.
Continued from previous post. Tirade too long for one post alone:
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The so-called �88� generation students group also sent Zaw Zaw Aung (North Dagon) and Swe Ko (Tamway) to Thai-Myanmar border in late 2005 with the purpose to get contacts with external groups in carrying out terrorist destructionist acts and causing unrests. However, their attempts were failed and Min Ko Naing and Ko Ko Gyi later sent out Nay Tin Myint (a) Nay Win on 26 May 2007. He arrived in Maesot on 29 May and got contact with foreign terrorist groups and carried out terrorist activities and resistance movements in collaboration with them. In parallel with those incidents, ABSDF terrorist group also dispatched its two members, Ma Kyi Pya Lin and Ma Soe Lin Khaing via Maesot on 3 July 2007 to commit terrorist activities by planting bombs at Nyaunghnapin National Convention Camp and in downtown Yangon.
It can be seen that synchronized with these activities, the so-called �88� generation students instigated the people to various campaigns such as the signature campaign, the white campaign, prayer meetings, the white Sunday campaign with a view towards sabotaging the National Convention and disturbing the peace and stability of the country and inciting popular uprisings.
At the same time the ABSDF terrorist group dispatched two of their members, Ma Kyi Pya Lin and Ma Soe Lin Khaing, on 3rd July 2007 through Maesot into the country to carry out bomb attacks in Yangon and also at the Nyaunghnapin Camp where the National Convention was taking place. They arrived at Hpa-an on 4th July 2007 and proceeded to Yangon and premeditated to commit terrorist acts on the anniversary of 7 July, Martyrs' Day celebrations and during the sessions of National Convention. Similarly, the so-called 88 generation students group had also assigned its member Aung Ko Naing on 14 July 2007 and he arrived at Mae Sarieng in Thai-Myanmar border on 15 July 2007 and sneaked into the country via Loikaw. Aung Ko Naing teamed up with Ma Kyi Pya Lin and Ma Soe Lin Khaing who were already inside the country and tried to bomb the venue of the National Convention while it was in session and the hostels where the National Convention delegates were residing. Having learnt the news well in advance, some big embassies issued advisories to their embassy staff not to travel outside and to take precautions during those days. However, the authorities concerned received the intelligence information on the plot to commit terrorist acts and were able to take precautionary measures in cooperation with the people. Hence, the terrorist groups failed to implement their planned terrorist destructionist acts.
Having failed to implement their plan to commit terrorist acts, Pyi Thit Nyunt Wai of the FTUB and other members of BVSW and ABSDF held a secret meeting at a house in Kan Phae in Thailand at 10.00 p.m. on 21 August 2007 and decided to continue their efforts to carry out terrorist destructionist acts in many parts of Myanmar and to dispatch four terrorist teams comprising 6 to 8 members into Myanmar. Furthermore, ABSDF, DAB, FTUB and KNU again held a meeting at the DAB Office in Maesot, Thailand from 3 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. on 21 August 2007. And Thein Win from NDD had sent Khin Thet Mar and Kyu Kyu Aung to Myanmar after providing them with two time bombs, Thai Baht 75,000 and one Satellite cell phone. They were assigned to join with other members of the UG in addition to Ma Kyi Pya Lin and Ma Soe Lin Khaing, who were already inside Myanmar, to continue their efforts for committing terrorist acts. Besides, detailed intelligence has been received that the ABSDF teamed up with NLD (LA) and sent UG Saw Thiha and one member with the assistance of the KNU and SSA (S) to take Mudon as a base and to link-up with their cadre members in Bago to make plans and efforts to destroy some important places and buildings by explosives.
In addition, intelligence was received that on 5-9-2007 the group headed by NCUB General Secretary Maung Maung and including the Chairman of the ABSDF Than Ge and the Chairman of the DPNS Aung Moe Zaw were planning to meet the NCGUB group from Tokyo, Japan, at the Daungkhwin camp in Thailand. Intelligence was also received that Ye Thi Ha (a) Sann Naing (a) San Lwin from the VBSW which is based in New Delhi, India, San Ni from ABSDF, Dr Kyaw Nyunt from the DAB, arrived at the Daungkhwin camp on 6-9-2007 and discussed about bombings. Intelligence was also received that the UG Saw Jacob, together with the Deputy Chairman of the ABSDF Myo Win arranged to come down to Maesot from Daungkhwin Camp on 7-9-2007.
Having the responsibility to protect the safety and security of the lives and property of the people, the Government of the Union of Myanmar will continue to take preventive measures against those malicious collaborated efforts to commit terrorist destructive acts by the internal and external terrorist groups and to expose and take effective action in accordance with the existing laws against those who committed terrorist bombing acts that may cause loss of lives and injuries to the people.
Information Committee
http://www.myanmar.com/newspaper/nlm/index.html
Probably of absolutely no real use at all to the reader, but I have to admit I like the occasional map indulgence just to get some impression of the places in which these incidents occur. Cropped scan of 1940s-surveyed American military 1:250,000 map of the vicinity of Pakkoku:
http://i3.tinypic.com/67p3nsk.jpg
http://irrawaddy.org/articlefiles/8458-onlinecart164.gif
[Cartoon: http://www.irrawaddy.org/cartoon.php?art_id=8458]
Burmese Monks Demand Government Apology
By Yeni
September 10, 2007
Burmese monks are being urged in an anti-government pamphlet to refuse alms from members of the military regime unless an apology is given for the violent way in which protesting monks were dispersed by the authorities and pro-junta thugs in Pakokku, Upper Burma, last week.
Burmese Buddhist monks worship at the famous Shwedagon Pagoda in Rangoon [Photo: AFP]
Describing themselves as “the alliance of all Burma Buddhist monks,” the authors of the leaflet gave the government until September 17 to come up with an apology. Otherwise, they warned they would “hold patam nikkujjana kamma”—meaning a boycott of alms from members of the military regime. A copy of the leaflet was obtained by The Irrawaddy.
Last week's demonstration by the Pakokku monks was brutally suppressed by police, troops and pro-government paramilitary thugs. Troops fired warning shots.
A government statement issued to foreign journalists on Sunday accused the opposition National League for Democracy of organizing the demonstrations by the monks, leading "agitated mobs to destroy the homes and shops of those whom they had falsely accused."
The statement, issued by the government information committee in Naypyidaw, charged the NLD with making “seditious declarations which are against the government and cause the people to lose respect for the government." The NLD had “instigated public unrest [and] also urged the international community to sanction Myanmar [Burma], in synchronicity with the so-called 88 generation students and expatriate groups."
The military government has, meanwhile, stepped up its monitoring of monasteries nationwide, according to the sources in Burma.
“The authorities have increased their security everywhere, monitoring monasteries, schools, universities and markets," a senior monk in Taunggyi, capital of Shan State, told The Irrawaddy by phone on Monday.
Historically, monks have played a major role in political demonstrations, notably in the 1988 popular uprising and in the 1990 anti-government protests.
In 1990, monks held a patam nikkujjana kamma—as the boycott is known in Buddhist religious scripture—in response to a violent crackdown on monks in the central city of Mandalay. The military regime then forcibly seized monasteries around the country and arrested hundreds of monks. Monks who participated in the boycott were disrobed. Many were imprisoned and some were tortured.
The Taunggyi source said monks there were waiting to see what happened in the monasteries of Rangoon and Mandalay. A monk at Ma Soe Yin monastery in Mandalay said he and others there wanted to ascertain who was behind the leaflet campaign before making any move. only “influential abbots” could call a boycott, he said.
http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=8564
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Meanwhile, the town of Pegu about 80 km (50 miles) north of Rangoon was reported on Monday to have been sealed off. A resident said anyone suspected of having opposition sympathies was being ordered to stay in the town. People from out of town were being told to stay away, the resident said.
http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=8561
New Light of Myanmar
Provisions donated to 102 monasteries of seven townships in Mandalay Div
NAY PYI TAW, 11 Sept � The fourth donation of provisions to Maha Wisitayon Monastery in Aungmyethazan Township was held at Sasana Hitakayi Monastery in Mandalay Division this morning.
Present were Chairman of Mandalay Division Peace and Development Council Commander of Central Command Maj-Gen Khin Zaw, Minister for Industry-1 U Aung Thaung, Chairman of Mandalay City Development Committee Mayor Brig-Gen Phone Zaw Han, officials, wellwishers and religious organizations.
The commander and the mayor and wellwishers took the Eight Precepts from State Ovadacariya Shwegyin Sasanabaing Maha Withokdayon Taikthit Sayadaw Abhidhaja Maha Rattha Guru Abhidhaja Agga Maha Saddhammajotika Bhaddanta Agghiya.
The commander and the mayor and wellwishers presented robes and offertories to the members of the Sangha.
Altogether 5,950 viss of edible oil were donated to 102 monasteries of seven townships.
Chairman of Mandalay Division Sangha Nayaka Committee Myataungtaik Shwewawin Monastery Sayadaw Abhidhaja Maha Rattha Guru Agga Maha Saddhammajotikadhaja Bhaddanta Sasanabhivamsa delivered a sermon, followed by sharing of merits.
Minister for Industry-1 U Aung Thaung, wife Daw Khin Khin Yi and service personnel of the ministry donated alms to 420 members of Sangha of State Pariyatti Sasana University (Mandalay) led by Rector Sayadaw Agga Maha Pandita Dr Bhaddanta Pandita Warabhivamsa in Aungmyethazan Township.
The Minister presented K 523, 704 for a day meal to officials.
http://www.myanmar.com/newspaper/nlm/index.html
Short quote from article:
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/II13Ae03.html
Myanmar protests verge on mass movement
By Larry Jagan
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Nonetheless, the monks have expressed their particular concerns about the government's reported use of armed civilian vigilante groups to counter and contain protesters. Since the protests erupted last month, the authorities have arrested hundreds of people. The junta has often used pro-government thugs to disperse the crowds violently and deter journalists from recording events.
The vigilantes are known to be part of a pro-government community group, the Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA), which the regime often deploys to drum up popular support for the junta and is expected to morph into a full-fledged political party with the SPDC's promised transition to democracy. USDA vigilantes launched an assassination attack on Suu Kyi in May 2003, and many of her National League for Democracy supporters were killed in the violent exchange.
Now the USDA's special security force, known as the Swan Arrshin, is at the forefront of countering the current protests. "The members of this group have been especially trained in crowd control and the violent suppression of protests," a Western diplomat in Yangon told Asia Times Online. "We have had reports of its foundation to act as a security and intelligence wing since the beginning of the year."
Many former criminals recently released from prison have reportedly been recruited as vigilantes, according to diplomatic sources in Yangon. At least 600 convicted criminals were released from Yangon's notorious Insein Prison in recent months and recruited by the USDA into the Swan Arrshin, the sources say. The pro-democracy opposition in Yangon puts the figure at closer to 2,000 members.
"It is the use of these thugs which has particularly upset the Buddhist clergy. Pitting Buddhist civilians against other Buddhist civilians disturbs social harmony," said a senior Buddhist monk in the central city of Mandalay, who spoke by mobile telephone. "The government should not condone this practice, let alone promote it."
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Larry Jagan previously covered Myanmar politics for the British Broadcasting Corp. He is currently a freelance journalist based in Bangkok.
Burma Protests: the Situation on September 17
Sagaing, Sagaing Division—Two army trucks carrying around 300 armed soldiers had set up a roadblock at Thayet Bin Seik, a junction for all the monasteries in Sagaing, according to an anonymous activist who spoke to The Irrawaddy on Monday. Owners of passenger buses are apparently worried that either the military or the monks might commandeer their buses as tensions rise.
Kyaukpadaung, Mandalay Division—More than 300 monks in Kyaukpadaung Township of Mandalay Division took part in a peaceful demonstration at 6 a.m. this morning. According to a senior monk at Kay Mar Thi Wun Monastery in Kyaukpadaung, the monks marched to the city's main pagoda, Zaydi Gyi, and recited metta sutta (the Buddha’s words on loving kindness) in dedication to those people who were suffering and who faced mounting difficulties each day in making a living. Other details regarding the outcome of the demonstration—or about any crackdown—are as yet unknown, as the phone line was cut during the subsequent interview between The Irrawaddy and the monk.
Chauk, Magwe Division—About 300 Buddhist monks in Chauk Township in Magwe Division marched in a peaceful demonstration from 5:30 a.m. to about 7 a.m. During the march, the monks recited the Paritta Sutta (to protect one from evil or harm), a senior monk at Ledi monastery in Chauk told The Irrawady on Monday. The monks marched around the city market to Sasana Beikman, the city's religious hall. A senior monk added that on Sunday morning about 30 monks also marched in a peaceful demonstration after making their daily alms round. Monks in Chauk said they have not enacted a “patam nikkuijana kamma” or refusal to accept alms from the military regime and its supporters because they have not received an official letter from the “The Alliance of Burmese Buddhist Monks,” a group that called for an alms boycott on Saturday. The group also called on all monks to stage peaceful demonstrations on Tuesday, following the junta's refusal to apologize for violence used against monks in earlier demonstrations.
http://www.irrawaddy.org/headlines/BurmaProtests-Continue.php#sag
Monks Ready to Demonstrate Tuesday; Regime Ready to Crackdown
By Shah Paung
September 16, 2007
Burmese monks released a second statement on Saturday saying monks should not accept alms from members of the military government and their supporters, starting on Monday, and called for a demonstration of monks nationwide on Tuesday.
The announcement came in a second leaflet released by a group calling itself "The Alliance of All Burmese Monks." The first leaflet, released last week, demanded an apology from the junta by Monday for using violence against monks in peaceful demonstrations.
Buddhist monks make their daily round in Rangoon [Photo: AFP]
The first announcement warned authorities that monks would enact a “patam nikkuijana kamma," or refusal to accept alms, if an apology was not made.
The second statement calls for a peaceful march on Tuesday at 1 p.m. in Mandalay, Rangoon and other towns.
Monks in Mandalay were urged to march from their monasteries to Maha Myat Muni Pagoda. Monks in Rangoon were told to march from their monasteries to Shwedagone Pagoda.
Monks in other townships and villages were advised to march from their monasteries to well-known nearby pagodas.
The statement also called for an alms boycott of all members of the Union of Solidarity and Development Association, Swan Arr Shin, a paramilitary group, and all government workers.
A monk at Masoeyein Monastery in Mandalay said on Sunday: “We are preparing for this [protest]. If all monks agree, we will carry on. The main thing is we have to be united.”
A monk at Bawdi Mandine Monastery in Pakokku told The Irrawaddy on Sunday monks in the monastery will likely join the demonstration.
The threat of demonstrations escalates the stand-off between the highly respected Sangha, or organization of monks, and the military junta, following rising tension between the two sides.
Meanwhile, the Burmese military government has increased security in many restive towns across the country.
Observers say the stage is set for a violent confrontation between the public, gangs of thugs who support the junta and military troops.
An activist in Mandalay who asked to be anonymous told The Irrawaddy on Sunday that authorities have provided about 20 machetes to each Damayone (a gathering place for Buddhist religious purposes) that is believed to be loyal to authorities.
He said he had heard that officials told paramilitary groups that support the junta to crackdown on anyone involved in a demonstration, whether monks or ordinary citizens, by using the machetes.
He said that it appears to be a standing order, and the junta-friendly groups, made up of thugs, can exercise their discretion on how to put down protestors.
Residents in Pegu about 80 km north of Rangoon also say authorities there, including the USDA and the SAS, have been positioned at locations across the town, particularly near monasteries.
Scattered groups of thugs are said to number about 50 members each, carrying bamboo sticks and slingshots. Sources at Pegu said some members have shaved their heads and may have Buddhist robes to wear, an apparent move to infiltrate groups of monks.
Residents in Rangoon said on Saturday morning about 100,000 members of the USDA and SAS had gathered at Thuwunna Stadium in Rangoon to be briefed by authorities.
Meanwhile, local sources say Burmese security officers continue to keep a close watch on key members of the National League for Democracy in several towns of Irrawaddy Division. Some NLD members are not allowed to leave their homes.
http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=8622
Leading Activist in Hiding Warns of Dangerous Days Ahead
By Kyaw Zwa Moe
September 17, 2007
A leading Burmese activist who has been in hiding for weeks says that potential protest demonstrations in coming days will probably be organized better than those in the 1988 nationwide pro-democracy uprising but the prospect of bloodshed is high.
Tun Myint Aung, a member of the 88 Generation Students group, spoke to The Irrawaddy on Monday about Burma's politically volatile state, following weeks of protest marches by pro-democracy groups and monks.
Tun Myint Aung is one of the 88 group's leading members still at-large, following the arrests of 13 leading members, including prominent Min Ko Naing, on August 21 following street protests against the regime’s sharp hike in fuel prices.
“People today are more aware of politics, and the current political situation thanks to the media abroad,” the activist said by telephone from his hiding place.
Tun Myint Aung said the Burmese people are facing an economic crisis as great as that in the 1980s. And people, including businessmen, can visibly see the ruling generals and their families and cronies enjoy unearned economic privileges, he said.
“The general discontent in the public is high,” said Tun Myint Aung . But he added that fear of the junta’s iron-fisted rule keeps many people from joining the protests, although they support goals. Another reason is simply that most people can't risk leaving their daily job upon which they are barely surviving.
He said protesters in recent demonstrations are more courageous than those in 1988.
“In ’88, we wore masks while protesting so we could not be identified,” he said. “The protesters today wore nothing though they knew they would be arrested later.”
Tun Myint Aung said pro-democracy groups must show leadership. “Our groups, including the main opposition National League for Democracy, should have strong and decisive leadership” that mirrors the needs and the feelings of the people.
In terms of the current leadership strategy, he said, “We have been in hiding in order to carry on the movement” but organizing has become more difficult, because members of his group have lost close communication following the cut off in recent days of mobile cell phone and land-line service to prominent activists and groups.
“Our movement has gone underground again,” he said.
However, he was optimistic about the current protests. “Pro-democracy groups will be able to grab opportunities this time,” he said. “Unlike ’88, we have the NLD and other political groups. And Daw Suu [Aung San Suu Kyi] is here though she is under house arrest.”
During the ’88 uprising, the then late dictator Ne Win’s authoritarian government, then called the Burma Socialist Program Party, lost control of many government ministries, but the military troops put down the protestors. However, at the time there were no organized opposition groups, he noted.
“This time we want to get this movement done beautifully without bloodshed,” he said, recalling the bloodshed in 1988 when an estimated 3,000 protesters were killed by the government’s soldiers.
Can bloodshed be avoided this time? Tun Myint Aung said he isn't sure.
“Because that’s their [the junta’s] choice,” he said. Looking back at the junta's violent crackdown on protestors in August and early September, he said there are no signs the junta has changed its attitude and a violent, bloody crackdown could easily happen in the coming days.
As Tun Myint Aung spoke to The Irrawaddy, events were moving forward inexorably.
Monday was the deadline set by “The Alliance of All Burmese Buddhist Monks” for the junta to apologize for the violence used against monks in Pakokku, located about 370 km north of Rangoon, in early September. Apparently, no apology was offered.
On Monday morning, hundreds of monks staged peaceful demonstrations in Chauk in Magwe Division and in Kyaukpadaung in Mandalay Division.
The alliance of monks has called on fellow monks in cities across Burma to peacefully march from their monasteries to local pagodas on Tuesday in protest against the junta. Local analysts say the stage is set for what could be a violent clash between monks and the junta's supporters.
“Whether or not the current protests will rise up to the level of the one in ’88 depends on the ruling generals and the way they treat the protests,” said Tun Myint Aung.
http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=8629
Hundreds of monks protest against junta in Burma
YANGON -- Nearly 400 monks staged a peaceful demonstration in the central Burma town of Kyauk Padaung on Monday, showing their discontent on the ruling junta.
The monks in Kyauk Padaung, about 600 kilometers north of Yangon, marched peacefully on early Monday morning to protest against daily-life hardships of the people and the junta's violent crackdown on the other protesting monks earlier this month, a resident of the town said.
The protest was the latest in a series of peaceful demonstrations in Burma, sparked by the junta's decision on Aug. 15 to raise fuel prices up to five times.
Hundreds of onlookers followed the monks when they marched for about two hours in Kyauk Padaung, chanting prayers meant for the well-being of the people, the resident said.
The military junta cracked down on a similar protest by the monks in Pakokku, another central Burma town, earlier this month, sparking anger and discontent among the country's approximately 300,000 monks population.
Over 200 monks in Pakokku were protesting against the general hardship of the people and on fuel price hikes on Sept. 5, when the local authorities violently cracked down on their peaceful march, firing several warning shots and beating some of the participating monks.
Unlike in Pakokku, the authorities did not harass the monks marching Monday.
Some secretly formed monk associations in the country last week had demanded the junta's apology for their mistreatment towards the Pakokku monks, and urged all the other monks to start boycotting the junta by Tuesday if it failed to meet the demand by Monday.
The monk associations, through foreign radio broadcasts, called for a nationwide boycott by the monks, asking them to refuse any donations from the junta members and its supporters starting Tuesday.
It is not clear how many of the country's monk population would join the boycott.
Without any previous warning or announcement, the military government on Aug. 15 raised the price of natural gas by up to five times, doubled the price of diesel fuel and raised the price of gasoline by 67 percent.
Activists and opposition party members across the country have been protesting against the price hikes and adverse living conditions since Aug. 19, despite brutal crackdowns and arrests.
According to Amnesty International, more than 150 people have been detained in Myanmar since Aug. 19.
//Kyodo news
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/09/18/regional/regional_30049346.php
http://www.irrawaddy.org/headlines/BurmaProtests-Continue.php#kya
South Okkalapa, Rangoon; 3:00 a.m.—More than 30 young monks from various monasteries near Kyaikkasan Pagoda in Rangoon’s South Okkalapa Township participated in a peaceful demonstration between 3 a.m. and 4:30 a.m., according to monks in Rangoon. The demonstrating monks marched around South Okkalapa Township and recited the Paritta Sutta (protection from evil or harm). No crackdown by the Burmese authorities has been reported. Since last month, the Military Operations Command # 4 has been organizing security in Rangoon, including some personnel in plainclothes.
Kyaukpadaung, Mandalay Division; 8 a.m.—About 100 monks in Seikta Parlagu Monastery in Kyaunkpadaung in Mandalay Division marched in a peaceful demonstration from 8 a.m. to about 9 a.m. on Tuesday, a monk from Kay Mar Thi Wun Monastery told The Irrawaddy. In the demonstration, the monks carried their alms bowls upside down as they marched around the city. Authorities followed the demonstration, taking photographs of the monks, but it was allowed to continue peacefully. Two other monasteries, including Kay Mar Thi Wun Monastery, have also begun “patam nikkujjana kamma,” a refusal to accept alms from the military regime and its supporters, the source said. The two monasteries have a total of more than 500 monks.
Monks March as Boycott Begins—Authorities Use Tear Gas
By Kyaw Zwa Moe
September 18, 2007
Monks in Rangoon and other cities across Burma began their threatened boycott of members of the ruling military regime and their families on Tuesday, and also participated in peaceful marches. A demonstration by monks and civilians in Sittwe, Arakan State, was broken up by the authorities, using tear gas.
Monks protesting in Rangoon on Tuesday [Photo: Myat Moe Maung]
Hundreds of monks in rows of two and three peacefully marched through downtown Rangoon and Pegu. They also marched in Pakokku and other towns in Magwe Division. The monks walked in procession to local temples, chanting metta sutta and paritta sutta (Buddhist calls for kindness and protection against evil and harm).
Security forces fired tear gas to break up a demonstration by several hundred monks and civilian protesters in Sittwe, according to a local eyewitness. He told The Irrawaddy hundreds of local people had joined in the demonstration by local monks, including some Muslim residents of the town.
The news agency Reuters also said three or four monks were arrested in Sittwe as the authorities used tear gas to break up the demonstration. Protesters were hit, an eyewitness told Reuters.
Tuesday’s demonstrations were the first of this size by Burma’s monks since the 1988 nationwide pro-democracy uprising, in which thousands of monks participated.
Their alms boycott, called “patam nikkujjana kamma,” is the first time in 18 years that monks have withheld their recognition of members of the ruling military regime and their families. Most of Burma’s community of an estimated 400,000 monks are expected to follow, and there were reports late Tuesday that the boycott was growing.
Their move is seen as a significant confrontation between the Sangha (sons of Buddha) and the state and a big challenge for the military authorities. The vast majority of Burmese citizens are Buddhist, including most of the country’s military leaders.
The boycott went into effect on Tuesday as early as 3:00 a.m., in the towns of Gyobinguak in Pegu Division, Aunglan and Pakokku in Magawe Division, and in towns of Rangoon and Mandalay divisions.
Thousands of people applauded the protesting monks as they marched.
“I have never seen such a huge crowd in my life,” an eyewitness in Pegu Division told The Irrawaddy. He thought there were as many as 100,000 people present. About 1,000 monks participated in the march in Pegu.
“I have mixed feelings of happiness and sadness to see the monks turn out for the welfare of the people,” the eyewitness said. “At the same time, I am so worried that those monks might be violently suppressed.”
Monks who refused alms from the military authorities in October 1990 faced a heavy crackdown from the authorities. In Mandalay, where many monasteries are located, more than 130 monasteries were raided and monks were disrobed and given lengthy terms of imprisonment. As many as 300 monks were forced to disrobe and arrested across the country.
Apart from Sittwe, there were no reports of official action against the protesters. In Zigon, Pegu Division, a local resident said he saw a board reading: “Than Shwe, Maung Aye and Shwe Mann, who are against Buddhism, go to hell.” Than Shwe, Maung Aye and Shwe Mann are the junta’s top leaders.
Witnesses said the marching monks were disciplined and didn’t allow supporters and bystanders to join them. Rumors are circulating that bogus monks are being infiltrated to stir up trouble and bring about a legitimate crackdown by the authorities.
In demonstrations in August and early September, the military regime organized mobs to violently disperse the protesters.
Observers expect that as the boycott grows in coming days the military authorities will try to persuade senior monks to control their monks. High-ranking military officers and ministers have been making merit recently in unusual displays of Buddhist fealty.
One senior monk in Koesaung monastery in Myingyan, Magwe Division, commented on the demonstrations: “That’s what we monks should be doing.”
A member of the Alliance of All Burmese Buddhist Monks said in an interview: “This is a fight between dhamma and ah-dhamma (between justice and injustice).”
Shah Paung also contributed to this story.
http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=8647
Well, perhaps not the most brutal response - but certainly teargas, arrests, roughings-up and intimidations yet again:
Monks tear-gassed in Burma protest
(Agencies) - Authorities in military-ruled Burma fired tear gas on Tuesday to break up a protest of around 1,000 Buddhist monks and civilian demonstrators in the northwestern city of Sittwe, a witness said.
The march defied the military regime and chanted Buddhist prayers in the biggest anti-junta rally in a decade.
Three or four monks were arrested as the crowd scattered and were hit and slapped, the witness told the Reuters news agency.
More than 300 monks tried to march to Rangoon's famous Shwedagon Pagoda, but authorities sealed off Burma's most important landmark and the city's two other main pagodas, forcing them to march through the city.
The march, one of several in response to a call for a nationwide religious boycott of Burma's ruling military, started with 500 Buddhist monks but grew quickly as ordinary men and women - some of them Muslims - joined in.
Hundreds of people joined the march, smiling and clapping as they followed the monks, witnesses said. While the protest was not impeded by police, authorities seized cameras from two journalists working for the Japanese media.
But security officials used tear gas and fired warning shots in the air to disperse 1,000 monks protesting against the junta in Sittwe, west of Rangoon.
At least three monks were arrested in the port city, 560 kilometres (350 miles) west of Rangoon.
In Pegu, 80 kilometres (50 miles) north of Rangoon, at least 1,000 monks marched peacefully to a local pagoda, according to witnesses.
"They marched around the city to the Shwemawdaw pagoda while thousands of people were watching," one eyewitness told AFP.
Some 300 monks protested in two towns near the city of Mandalay and 90 monks also took to the streets peacefully for two hours in Aunglan, north of Rangoon, a Rangoon-based Western diplomat said, citing witnesses in the towns.
A resident in Pakokku, south of Mandalay, also told AFP that monks marched through the town. Mandalay, Burma's second-largest city, is home to 300,000 Buddhist monks.
Tuesday's marches by monks marked the biggest show of public defiance against the Burmese junta since peaceful street demonstrations broke out in Rangoon on August 19 in anger at an enormous hike in fuel prices.
The junta runs the country with an iron fist and does not tolerate even the slightest show of public dissent. Authorities have arrested more than 150 people over a series of protests since late August.
More than 200 riot police remained in trucks on nearby streets in Rangoon Tuesday while dozens of plainclothed officers on motorcycles followed the marching monks. Authorities have yet to arrest anyone from the Rangoon rally.
Monks are important cultural standard-bearers in this devoutly Buddhist nation.
The junta is cautious about quelling dissent among monks since a violent crackdown against them earlier in the month triggered outrage, prompting young monks to briefly kidnap government officials at a monastery.
Monks have demanded an apology from the government after soldiers beat them with bamboo sticks.
"This time, authorities are very careful. They did not want to harm monks because they knew such acts could backfire against them," said Win Min, a Thailand-based analyst.
"Monks are likely to continue their protests until the government apologises."
Aung Naing Oo, a Thai-based analyst, said the marches by monks underlined their growing frustrations with the junta.
"The marches were significant because they defied tight security. Monks are very frustrated with the junta's handling of the economy," he said.
The Burmese economy has been reeling under decades of mismanagement by the junta, while tighter European Union and US sanctions since the detention of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi in May 2003 are also biting hard.
Burma's state media has labelled the protest leaders as "devils" and accused them of trying to corrupt young monks.
Buddhist monks were credited with helping to rally popular support for a 1988 pro-democracy uprising that was crushed by the military when soldiers opened fire on protesters, killing hundreds if not thousands of people.
May expire soon:
http://www.bangkokpost.com/breaking_news/breakingnews.php?id=121806
This page is being updated:
http://www.irrawaddy.org/protests/BurmaProtests.php#sit
Photographic slide show of a monk demo in Yangon yesterday:
http://www.irrawaddy.org/multimedia.php?art_id=8646
Burmese Junta Orders State Emergency, Authorizes Use of Weapons, Says Source
By Shah Paung
September 19, 2007
The Burmese military government has ordered a state of emergency authorizing regional and local authorities to control demonstrations, including an order to open fire on protesters if necessary, according to sources.
The government secretly conveyed the emergency order to the military, local police and special branch authorities, a source close to local authorities and ethnic ceasefire groups told The Irrawaddy on Wednesday.
Police officials in Naypyidaw, the regime's new capital, issued a state of emergency order to local police on September 6, said the source.
The military and police have been told to prepare for any eventuality and to stockpile weapons, loudspeakers, cameras, barbed wire, bullet proof jackets, red and blue colored scarves, medical supplies and other equipment. Hospitals have been told to prepare for large numbers of injured persons, according to sources.
Demonstrations by monks have spread through Rangoon and outlying cities, following a violent crackdown by authorities on monks who held a peaceful demonstration in Pakokku in Magwe Division on September 5.Tension between monks and authorities have increased in recent days.
Since demonstrations started on August 19, led by the 88 Generation Students group and members of the main opposition party, the National League for Democracy, the Burmese military government been preparing for possible public unrest, following a draconian increase in fuel prices.
http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=8660
I will be posting the occasional item on this crisis, but I recommend you update on a more regular basis at:
http://www.irrawaddy.org/
New Light of Myanmar
Destructive elements inciting instigation to grab power through short cut
Foreign radio stations airing exaggerated news, trying to instigate public, launching propaganda campaigns
Due to exaggerations, tricks and instigation by bogus monks, violent demonstrations break out in Pakokku, some monks stage protest walk in Sittway
Some Buddhist monks also march in procession in Yangon
People oppose any attempt to destroy peace and stability, wish Sayadaws to guide monks to follow Vinaya rules in interest of people
Nay Pyi Taw, 18 Sept � Destructive elements from inside and outside the nation have been inciting instigation since 19 August with the intention of stirring up unrest as in 1988 to grab power through short cut and to make manipulations at will.
Internal and external saboteurs and foreign radio stations have been airing exaggerated news reports on the protests, trying to instigate the public and launching propaganda campaigns and making attempts to mislead the people by holding interviews with some NLD members and the so-called 88 generation students.
Due to exaggerations, tricks and instigation and the perpetration to organize the members of the Sangha by planting bogus monks, there broke out violent demonstrations in Pakokku on 5 and 6 September in which cars were burnt down. News about the violent demonstration had already been reported in the dailies.
With the intention of causing new protests and fueling them, internal and external saboteurs organized members of the Sangha to stage Pattanikkujjana campaign beginning 17 September (Monday) and monks in Yangon, Mandalay and states and divisions to stage protest walks towards famous pagodas on 18 September (Tuesday) through the so-called All Myanmar Sangha Sammaggi and Young Monks Samagga, issued announcements concerning their opinions about the detained so-called 88 generation students and the so-called announcement of the personnel of four departments, tried to trick the people by saying that the so-called Myanmar Saveguarding Association was urging the publi