Mizzima News - Internationally acclaimed Irish band U2 is poised to commence their latest tour tomorrow, with attendees encouraged to don Aung San Suu Kyi masks during the playing of 'Walk On'.
"U2 believe the world must not be allowed to forget Aung San Suu Kyi and on the 360 Tour fans are being invited to wear the mask when the band play 'Walk On', which was written for her," explains the iconic pop/rock band on their website.
Dedicated to Burma's detained opposition leader, a portion of the lyrics for 'Walk On' read:
And if the darkness is to keep us apart
And if the daylight feels like it's a long way off
And if your glass heart should crack
And for a second you turn back
Oh no, be strong
The band, and front singer Bono in particular, is well recognized for their interest and social activism in politics and humanitarianism across the world.
"U2 wrote the song Walk On to honor this amazing woman," elucidated Bono in a 2004 article written for Time Magazine's 100 Heroes and Icons, "who put family second to country, who for her convictions made an unbearable choice — not to see her sons grow and not to be with her husband as he lost his life to a long and painful cancer. Suu Kyi, with an idea too big for any jail and a spirit too strong for any army, changes our view — as only real heroes can — of what we believe to be possible."
At the height of the crackdown against protesters in Burma in late September 2007, Bono remarked, "When you are a monk in Burma this very week, barred from entering a temple because of your gospel of peace ... well, then none of us are truly free."
Originally released as a single in 2001, 'Walk On', off the 2000 album All That You Can't Leave Behind, went on to win record of the year at the Grammys.
The mask is available for download on U2's website, www.u2.com. The reverse side contains a brief quote by Aung San Suu Kyi: "Fear is a habit. I am not afraid."
Opening tomorrow in Barcelona, Spain, the 360 Tour is scheduled to visit 14 European and 16 North American cities en route to its finale in Vancouver, British Colombia, at the end of October.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Burma's cyber war rages on
by Celeste Chenard
Mizzima News - While the Internet has became one of the main tools at the disposal of opposition elements against political and cultural repression in authoritarian states, governments have in turn used the same technology to limit the effectiveness of political opposition by either commercial or propagandist means.
A debate about the Internet as a tool of democratization has emerged since the first uses of the Internet under authoritarian systems of government. On the one hand, there are those who subscribe to the “determinist” theory, for whom the Internet can contribute to the collapse of dictatorships. On the other hand are the so-called “instrumentalists”, who take the position that an authoritarian regime can control the Web and exploit the Internet to serve its own interests. But the most important question is how authoritarian rulers choose an information technology strategy.
According to Nina Hachigian, in her paper 'The internet and power in one-party East Asian States': “The Internet presents a dilemma to leaders of authoritarian states and illiberal democracies. It promises enticing commercial advantages, such as transaction cost reductions, e-commerce possibilities, and foreign trade facilitation. Yet, by giving citizens access to outside information and platforms for discussion and organization, the Internet can also help politically empower populations and potentially threaten regimes."
According to a report recently released by the OpenNet Initiative (ONI) on information filtering in Asia, Asian governments are taking increasingly sophisticated steps to control access to Web content. The report reveals accelerating restrictions on Internet content as Asian governments shift to next generation controls. These new techniques go beyond blocking access to websites and are more informal and fluid while often backed-up by increasingly restrictive and broadly interpreted laws.
The report further points to an emerging inclination for states to actively engage in cyberspace as a way to achieve enhanced control of information: “Since 2006, many Asian governments have quickly realized the potential benefits of exploiting opportunities for conducting propaganda or public relations strategies over the Internet, even while cracking down on independent and critical voices thriving in these online spaces – an example of the evolution towards next generation controls,” finds the report.
Yet, the Internet has simultaneously been shown to be an especially effective tool for journalists, civil society activists and opposition leaders in Asia during elections or other times of national political crisis.
Burma showed one of the most dramatic examples of citizens using online tools to circumvent government control over information during the Saffron Revolution. It is clear that the particular attention of the international community and foreign media toward the 2007 uprising in Burma was partly due to the various uses of new information technology – and particularly the Internet.
These “netizens” have demonstrated that new tools of communication, and especially the Internet, can impact on the global coverage of events and even on the sequence of events themselves. Vital information coming from inside Burma was posted by overseas Burmese news organizations and the international media, ultimately being fed back into the country of origin via satellite television and radio, thus achieving a bi-directional flow of information. Such newly available networks for the diffusion of information are surely challenging the rulers of closed countries like Burma.
Nonetheless, while “citizen journalists” provided the world with footage and news, the government eventually imposed a “blackout of the information”. By cutting all Internet connections, the junta tried to disarm "netizens" – in further testament to the perceived potential destabilizing effects triggered by such endeavors.
The push and pull battle over the Internet raises a serious question: Can emerging online technologies truly alter a country's isolationism and foster real political change?
In a closed country the Internet can effectively serve the propaganda efforts of the authoritarian regime while simultaneously providing a new capacity with which dissidents can communicate relatively freely without considering boarders. Further, more than simply a political weapon, the Internet can also help to mobilize and raise public awareness and coordinate demonstrations and campaigns.
But still, there is a dark side to the Internet that must be considered.
Since 1997 the junta has purchased sophisticated technology from a Singapore-based company to assist in the development of a Cyber Warfare Center in order to accentuate efficacy and surveillance over the Army. Additionally, in May 2004, the junta purchased filtering software from American company Fortinet. ONI, largely as a result of such information technology transfers, has chronicled an increasing level of effectiveness on the part of the Burmese regime in the control of information over recent years.
Burma, in the end, is caught in a vicious cycle. As the junta appears unwilling to improve the life conditions of the population, as one tactic to stay in power, the economy of the country is consequently not industrially and technologically adapted to take maximum advantage of the Internet. Moreover, launching economic development via information technology is not deemed worth the political risk in the battle over the dissemination of information. Severe restrictions on Internet access is thus perceived as one strategy in denying opposition elements a greater foothold in Burmese society.
To summarize, as economic stakes are low and political risks much higher, the junta is less willing to let the population make use of the Internet than other authoritarian countries who limit Internet access to a lesser extent in order to foment economic development. “The exception," highlights the ONI report, "to the general embrace of ICT development [in Asian countries] has consistently been Burma.” However, for the regime there is also a concurrent downside in such an approach, as the country becomes even less attractive to potential foreign investors.
The junta, though, is aware of the necessity to economically compete in the world economy. The construction of a cyber city by the generals is proof of this knowledge, while also further exemplifying the misappropriation of information technology development. The country’s largest information technology development, Yadanabon City – inaugurated in 2007, is projected to serve as the connection point for the regime with economic partners such as China, India and Thailand.
Apart from economic interests, the Internet can also serve the propagandist aims of governments. The junta tries to use the Internet as a tool to spread its propaganda and political message to the world and to contradict accusations of its detractors. An active presence on the Web allows the government to present the world its own version of the facts. That is why the junta launched www.myanmar.com, allowing foreigners to read an electronic version of the state-run English newspaper The New Light of Myanmar.
However, examples of the collapse of governments in Southeast Asia because of popular mass protest with the support of the media – as in the Philippines in 1986 and Indonesia in 1998 – still keeps hope alive of a coming shift in Burma.
But the Burmese example also reveals media pressure and "People Power" are not enough by themselves to ensure political transition. The media can assist in transition but not set the transition itself in motion. The media is dependant on a nexus connecting the economic, social and political spheres.
Nonetheless, if an authoritarian regime can be affected by the uses of the Internet abroad, it is clear the Internet can in fact impact events inside a closed society like Burma as well – by at least forcing the junta to act in a space open to everybody’s eyes.
Mizzima News - While the Internet has became one of the main tools at the disposal of opposition elements against political and cultural repression in authoritarian states, governments have in turn used the same technology to limit the effectiveness of political opposition by either commercial or propagandist means.
A debate about the Internet as a tool of democratization has emerged since the first uses of the Internet under authoritarian systems of government. On the one hand, there are those who subscribe to the “determinist” theory, for whom the Internet can contribute to the collapse of dictatorships. On the other hand are the so-called “instrumentalists”, who take the position that an authoritarian regime can control the Web and exploit the Internet to serve its own interests. But the most important question is how authoritarian rulers choose an information technology strategy.
According to Nina Hachigian, in her paper 'The internet and power in one-party East Asian States': “The Internet presents a dilemma to leaders of authoritarian states and illiberal democracies. It promises enticing commercial advantages, such as transaction cost reductions, e-commerce possibilities, and foreign trade facilitation. Yet, by giving citizens access to outside information and platforms for discussion and organization, the Internet can also help politically empower populations and potentially threaten regimes."
According to a report recently released by the OpenNet Initiative (ONI) on information filtering in Asia, Asian governments are taking increasingly sophisticated steps to control access to Web content. The report reveals accelerating restrictions on Internet content as Asian governments shift to next generation controls. These new techniques go beyond blocking access to websites and are more informal and fluid while often backed-up by increasingly restrictive and broadly interpreted laws.
The report further points to an emerging inclination for states to actively engage in cyberspace as a way to achieve enhanced control of information: “Since 2006, many Asian governments have quickly realized the potential benefits of exploiting opportunities for conducting propaganda or public relations strategies over the Internet, even while cracking down on independent and critical voices thriving in these online spaces – an example of the evolution towards next generation controls,” finds the report.
Yet, the Internet has simultaneously been shown to be an especially effective tool for journalists, civil society activists and opposition leaders in Asia during elections or other times of national political crisis.
Burma showed one of the most dramatic examples of citizens using online tools to circumvent government control over information during the Saffron Revolution. It is clear that the particular attention of the international community and foreign media toward the 2007 uprising in Burma was partly due to the various uses of new information technology – and particularly the Internet.
These “netizens” have demonstrated that new tools of communication, and especially the Internet, can impact on the global coverage of events and even on the sequence of events themselves. Vital information coming from inside Burma was posted by overseas Burmese news organizations and the international media, ultimately being fed back into the country of origin via satellite television and radio, thus achieving a bi-directional flow of information. Such newly available networks for the diffusion of information are surely challenging the rulers of closed countries like Burma.
Nonetheless, while “citizen journalists” provided the world with footage and news, the government eventually imposed a “blackout of the information”. By cutting all Internet connections, the junta tried to disarm "netizens" – in further testament to the perceived potential destabilizing effects triggered by such endeavors.
The push and pull battle over the Internet raises a serious question: Can emerging online technologies truly alter a country's isolationism and foster real political change?
In a closed country the Internet can effectively serve the propaganda efforts of the authoritarian regime while simultaneously providing a new capacity with which dissidents can communicate relatively freely without considering boarders. Further, more than simply a political weapon, the Internet can also help to mobilize and raise public awareness and coordinate demonstrations and campaigns.
But still, there is a dark side to the Internet that must be considered.
Since 1997 the junta has purchased sophisticated technology from a Singapore-based company to assist in the development of a Cyber Warfare Center in order to accentuate efficacy and surveillance over the Army. Additionally, in May 2004, the junta purchased filtering software from American company Fortinet. ONI, largely as a result of such information technology transfers, has chronicled an increasing level of effectiveness on the part of the Burmese regime in the control of information over recent years.
Burma, in the end, is caught in a vicious cycle. As the junta appears unwilling to improve the life conditions of the population, as one tactic to stay in power, the economy of the country is consequently not industrially and technologically adapted to take maximum advantage of the Internet. Moreover, launching economic development via information technology is not deemed worth the political risk in the battle over the dissemination of information. Severe restrictions on Internet access is thus perceived as one strategy in denying opposition elements a greater foothold in Burmese society.
To summarize, as economic stakes are low and political risks much higher, the junta is less willing to let the population make use of the Internet than other authoritarian countries who limit Internet access to a lesser extent in order to foment economic development. “The exception," highlights the ONI report, "to the general embrace of ICT development [in Asian countries] has consistently been Burma.” However, for the regime there is also a concurrent downside in such an approach, as the country becomes even less attractive to potential foreign investors.
The junta, though, is aware of the necessity to economically compete in the world economy. The construction of a cyber city by the generals is proof of this knowledge, while also further exemplifying the misappropriation of information technology development. The country’s largest information technology development, Yadanabon City – inaugurated in 2007, is projected to serve as the connection point for the regime with economic partners such as China, India and Thailand.
Apart from economic interests, the Internet can also serve the propagandist aims of governments. The junta tries to use the Internet as a tool to spread its propaganda and political message to the world and to contradict accusations of its detractors. An active presence on the Web allows the government to present the world its own version of the facts. That is why the junta launched www.myanmar.com, allowing foreigners to read an electronic version of the state-run English newspaper The New Light of Myanmar.
However, examples of the collapse of governments in Southeast Asia because of popular mass protest with the support of the media – as in the Philippines in 1986 and Indonesia in 1998 – still keeps hope alive of a coming shift in Burma.
But the Burmese example also reveals media pressure and "People Power" are not enough by themselves to ensure political transition. The media can assist in transition but not set the transition itself in motion. The media is dependant on a nexus connecting the economic, social and political spheres.
Nonetheless, if an authoritarian regime can be affected by the uses of the Internet abroad, it is clear the Internet can in fact impact events inside a closed society like Burma as well – by at least forcing the junta to act in a space open to everybody’s eyes.
High Court rejects appeal over Suu Kyi’s defense witnesses
by Salai Pi Pi
New Delhi (Mizzima) – Burma’s High Court on Monday rejected an appeal by legal counsels to reinstate two allegedly key defense witnesses in the ongoing trial of Burmese democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
Nyan Win, a lawyer of Nobel Peace Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi – who is being charged for allegedly violating the terms of her previous house arrest – said the High Court had rejected a final appeal for the reinstatement of the remaining two defense witnesses, Tin Oo and Win Tin, who were earlier disqualified by a lower court in Insein prison.
“The High Court announced the rejection at 10:00 a.m. today,” Nyan Win told Mizzima on Monday.
However, Nyan Win said he was as yet unaware of any justification given for the verdict.
The trial against Aung San Suu Kyi has sparked global and domestic outrage along with repeated calls for her release.
Originally, only one of four defense witnesses was accepted by the court sitting in Insein prison.
However, upon request of the defense team the Rangoon Divisional Court allowed a second defense witness – Khin Moh Moh – to testify, while still rejecting both Win Tin and Tin Oo.
On June 24, the High Court heard arguments by defense lawyers to allow the remaining two defense witnesses to testify.
The special court in Insein prison on Friday adjourned the hearing of the testimony of the second defense witness until July 3.
Nyan Win said because of the ruling by the High Court the defense team is forced to confront several weaknesses in its case defending Aung San Suu Kyi.
“By rejecting the defense witnesses, around whom we had prepared to defend Aung San Suu Kyi, we our not fully enjoying the rights to defense ourselves,” Nyan Win added.
New Delhi (Mizzima) – Burma’s High Court on Monday rejected an appeal by legal counsels to reinstate two allegedly key defense witnesses in the ongoing trial of Burmese democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
Nyan Win, a lawyer of Nobel Peace Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi – who is being charged for allegedly violating the terms of her previous house arrest – said the High Court had rejected a final appeal for the reinstatement of the remaining two defense witnesses, Tin Oo and Win Tin, who were earlier disqualified by a lower court in Insein prison.
“The High Court announced the rejection at 10:00 a.m. today,” Nyan Win told Mizzima on Monday.
However, Nyan Win said he was as yet unaware of any justification given for the verdict.
The trial against Aung San Suu Kyi has sparked global and domestic outrage along with repeated calls for her release.
Originally, only one of four defense witnesses was accepted by the court sitting in Insein prison.
However, upon request of the defense team the Rangoon Divisional Court allowed a second defense witness – Khin Moh Moh – to testify, while still rejecting both Win Tin and Tin Oo.
On June 24, the High Court heard arguments by defense lawyers to allow the remaining two defense witnesses to testify.
The special court in Insein prison on Friday adjourned the hearing of the testimony of the second defense witness until July 3.
Nyan Win said because of the ruling by the High Court the defense team is forced to confront several weaknesses in its case defending Aung San Suu Kyi.
“By rejecting the defense witnesses, around whom we had prepared to defend Aung San Suu Kyi, we our not fully enjoying the rights to defense ourselves,” Nyan Win added.
Senior DKBA commander killed in ambush
(DVB)–A senior figure in the pro-Burmese junta militia Democratic Karen Buddhist Army has been killed in an ambush rumoured to be by the opposition Karen National Union as clashes continue near the Thai-Burma border.
Five fellow Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) soldiers were killed alongside Colonel San Pyone, commander of Battalion 7 of the Brigade 999, on 26 June, while around 10 more were injured.
A source close to the DKBA said that seven boats carrying more than 20 DKBA members from the overrun Karen National Union’s (KNU) Brigade 7 headquarters was ambushed at about 8am on 26 June.
"There must be about 20 casualties, but about six people died on the spot," he said, adding that the corpses of San Pyone and others were taken to the DKBA base in the Shwekokko area of Karen state.
The DKBA has said that the attack was carried out from Thai territory, but this was refuted by the KNU.
“The shooting did happen but not on the Thai side. It happened on the other side [in Burma],” said KNU spokesperson David Thakabaw.
“[KNU] troops retreated from the bases but there are small groups still operating around the bases."
The DKBA have been fighting alongside the Burmese army during an offensive against the KNU that began on 2 June.
Last week the KNU’s strategically important Brigade 7 base was overrun by Burmese troops.
Many Karen civilians have fled the conflict this month, with around 4000 arriving in Thailand.
Many have reported instances of forced recruitment into the army either as porters or to act as minesweepers.
The UN has sent staff to the refugee areas to assess the fallout of a conflict that has attracted international attention.
Reporting by Naw Noreen
Five fellow Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) soldiers were killed alongside Colonel San Pyone, commander of Battalion 7 of the Brigade 999, on 26 June, while around 10 more were injured.
A source close to the DKBA said that seven boats carrying more than 20 DKBA members from the overrun Karen National Union’s (KNU) Brigade 7 headquarters was ambushed at about 8am on 26 June.
"There must be about 20 casualties, but about six people died on the spot," he said, adding that the corpses of San Pyone and others were taken to the DKBA base in the Shwekokko area of Karen state.
The DKBA has said that the attack was carried out from Thai territory, but this was refuted by the KNU.
“The shooting did happen but not on the Thai side. It happened on the other side [in Burma],” said KNU spokesperson David Thakabaw.
“[KNU] troops retreated from the bases but there are small groups still operating around the bases."
The DKBA have been fighting alongside the Burmese army during an offensive against the KNU that began on 2 June.
Last week the KNU’s strategically important Brigade 7 base was overrun by Burmese troops.
Many Karen civilians have fled the conflict this month, with around 4000 arriving in Thailand.
Many have reported instances of forced recruitment into the army either as porters or to act as minesweepers.
The UN has sent staff to the refugee areas to assess the fallout of a conflict that has attracted international attention.
Reporting by Naw Noreen
Junta Criticized for Censoring Media
International media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) released a joint statement with the Burma Media Association on Friday condemning the Burmese military junta for intimidating the press, censoring news and imposing harsh sentences on journalists.
“Reporters Without Borders and the Burma Media Association today condemned the military junta for intimidating the press trying to cover recent national and international events, as a journalist was jailed for two years after being arrested near the home of Aung San Suu Kyi,” the RSF Web site said.
“Since the UN envoy Ibrahim Gambari arrived in Burma one might expect greater tolerance on the part of the authorities, but on the contrary, the trial of Suu Kyi is being held in a climate of repression and censorship,” it said.
“We call on the UN envoy to show firmness in his talks with the authorities, including the release of all political prisoners and an end to prior censorship. Without this, there can be no approval of any reconciliation process or elections.”
According to the statement, military intelligence agents on June 23 visited several media offices to demand lists of journalists who had taken part in journalism training sessions at the US Embassy in Rangoon.
The two press watchdogs also strongly condemned the two-year sentence imposed on freelance journalist Zaw Tun on 18 June. A journalist with the magazine The News Watch, he was arrested near Suu Kyi’s home in Rangoon by a police officer who claimed he had shown “hostility” toward him.
Another local journalist, the veteran U Win Tin, who was cited as a defense witness in the trial of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Suu Kyi, has been under constant surveillance by the police, the statement said, adding that the prosecutor had refused to accept the former political prisoner as a witness because he had criticized the government, particularly in foreign media.
The Burmese military authorities have for many years imposed strict censorship on all media through its draconian Press Scrutiny and Registration Division. It recently banned the publication of news such as the arrival of a North Korean cargo ship, the Kang Nam 1, in Rangoon, the collapse of the Danok pagoda in Rangoon Division, and Aung San Suu Kyi’s trial.
The censorship bureau also banned several recent articles regarding demonstrations in Iran.
Speaking to The Irrawaddy on Monday, Ludu Sein Win, an experienced Burmese journalist in Rangoon, said, “There is no freedom of the press in Burma, because there is no real democracy. To achieve press freedom, we must first acquire political freedom.
“The nature of dictatorship is very sensitive and takes a defensive view,” he said. “Every dictatorship imposes strict censorship because it is very sensitive about the media. They look at every case with a perspective of defending themselves.”
Ludu Sein Win added: “Actually, the role of the media is very important for the country, just as the Executive, Legislative and Judiciary are. So, it can be said to be the ‘fourth pillar of the state.’
The freedom of media is also very important for free and fair elections. If there is no press freedom, it is rather difficult to envisage a free and fair election.”
Also speaking to The Irrawaddy on Monday, Ohn Kyaing, a Burmese journalist and member of the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD), said, “The censorship bureau is clear evidence that there is no freedom of the press in Burma. The Press Scrutiny and Registration Division consistently bans the publication of news items and imposes strict censorship.
“Actually, news is like a river,” he said. “It needs to flow—be it with new ideas, views, articles or public information. True news and information can develop a country and broaden its citizens’ outlooks.”
RSF revealed at the end of 2008 that the censorship bureau had sent all media offices in Rangoon a document detailing 10 rules that were to be observed by editors, who would also be punished if changes were made to articles after the board had checked and verified them.
irrawaddy
“Reporters Without Borders and the Burma Media Association today condemned the military junta for intimidating the press trying to cover recent national and international events, as a journalist was jailed for two years after being arrested near the home of Aung San Suu Kyi,” the RSF Web site said.
“Since the UN envoy Ibrahim Gambari arrived in Burma one might expect greater tolerance on the part of the authorities, but on the contrary, the trial of Suu Kyi is being held in a climate of repression and censorship,” it said.
“We call on the UN envoy to show firmness in his talks with the authorities, including the release of all political prisoners and an end to prior censorship. Without this, there can be no approval of any reconciliation process or elections.”
According to the statement, military intelligence agents on June 23 visited several media offices to demand lists of journalists who had taken part in journalism training sessions at the US Embassy in Rangoon.
The two press watchdogs also strongly condemned the two-year sentence imposed on freelance journalist Zaw Tun on 18 June. A journalist with the magazine The News Watch, he was arrested near Suu Kyi’s home in Rangoon by a police officer who claimed he had shown “hostility” toward him.
Another local journalist, the veteran U Win Tin, who was cited as a defense witness in the trial of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Suu Kyi, has been under constant surveillance by the police, the statement said, adding that the prosecutor had refused to accept the former political prisoner as a witness because he had criticized the government, particularly in foreign media.
The Burmese military authorities have for many years imposed strict censorship on all media through its draconian Press Scrutiny and Registration Division. It recently banned the publication of news such as the arrival of a North Korean cargo ship, the Kang Nam 1, in Rangoon, the collapse of the Danok pagoda in Rangoon Division, and Aung San Suu Kyi’s trial.
The censorship bureau also banned several recent articles regarding demonstrations in Iran.
Speaking to The Irrawaddy on Monday, Ludu Sein Win, an experienced Burmese journalist in Rangoon, said, “There is no freedom of the press in Burma, because there is no real democracy. To achieve press freedom, we must first acquire political freedom.
“The nature of dictatorship is very sensitive and takes a defensive view,” he said. “Every dictatorship imposes strict censorship because it is very sensitive about the media. They look at every case with a perspective of defending themselves.”
Ludu Sein Win added: “Actually, the role of the media is very important for the country, just as the Executive, Legislative and Judiciary are. So, it can be said to be the ‘fourth pillar of the state.’
The freedom of media is also very important for free and fair elections. If there is no press freedom, it is rather difficult to envisage a free and fair election.”
Also speaking to The Irrawaddy on Monday, Ohn Kyaing, a Burmese journalist and member of the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD), said, “The censorship bureau is clear evidence that there is no freedom of the press in Burma. The Press Scrutiny and Registration Division consistently bans the publication of news items and imposes strict censorship.
“Actually, news is like a river,” he said. “It needs to flow—be it with new ideas, views, articles or public information. True news and information can develop a country and broaden its citizens’ outlooks.”
RSF revealed at the end of 2008 that the censorship bureau had sent all media offices in Rangoon a document detailing 10 rules that were to be observed by editors, who would also be punished if changes were made to articles after the board had checked and verified them.
irrawaddy
Junta Officials Snub Mon Party Ceasefire Anniversary
Burmese junta officials from the southeast command snubbed the New Mon State Party’s 14th anniversary celebration of its ceasefire agreement with the government at the party’s office in Moulmein on Monday, according to officials.
A NMSP member, who didn’t want to be named, said that the party invited southeast command officials, but none attended.
“They might hate us because we don’t listen [agree] to what they say,” he said. “That’s why they didn’t come to the celebration.”
According to a source close to the party, the junta is worried that NMSP leaders will rescind the ceasefire agreement and also not agree to become a border guard force under the junta’s command.
NMPS leaders have been told to give their answer on transforming into a border guard force by the end of July.
According to a source close to the NMSP, its leaders do not want their military troops to become a border guard force.
However, some party leaders would like to participate in the 2010 election said the source.
The party normally celebrates its ceasefire agreement, which was signed in 1995, at a hotel in Moulmein, but this year it was celebrated at its party office in Moulmein because of budget restrictions.
The junta withdrew its budget to the party following the party’s refusal to join the national convention in 2008. Its contribution in 2008 was about 4 million kyat [US $3,636] a month.
Naing Han Thar, a general secretary of the party, said, “The government doesn’t provide anything for our party any more. It is hard to run the party without enough money. We run [on] money contributed from our people.”
The junta has imposed restrictions on the party from conducting business deals and from taxing the people, which has prevented it from increasing the size of its military force.
In spite of the ceasefire agreement, observers say there has been little political advancement in over a decade in Mon State, and Burmese troops have continued a campaign of human rights abuses.
The Mon Party attended the national constitutional convention held by the regime in 2003, but left after a proposal to form a federal government was rejected. Later the party simply sent observers to the convention.
The Mon Party released a statement opposing the junta’s constitutional referendum in 2008, citing fears that the process would strengthen the government by giving it a veneer of democracy without resulting in any actual improvements.
irrawaddy
A NMSP member, who didn’t want to be named, said that the party invited southeast command officials, but none attended.
“They might hate us because we don’t listen [agree] to what they say,” he said. “That’s why they didn’t come to the celebration.”
According to a source close to the party, the junta is worried that NMSP leaders will rescind the ceasefire agreement and also not agree to become a border guard force under the junta’s command.
NMPS leaders have been told to give their answer on transforming into a border guard force by the end of July.
According to a source close to the NMSP, its leaders do not want their military troops to become a border guard force.
However, some party leaders would like to participate in the 2010 election said the source.
The party normally celebrates its ceasefire agreement, which was signed in 1995, at a hotel in Moulmein, but this year it was celebrated at its party office in Moulmein because of budget restrictions.
The junta withdrew its budget to the party following the party’s refusal to join the national convention in 2008. Its contribution in 2008 was about 4 million kyat [US $3,636] a month.
Naing Han Thar, a general secretary of the party, said, “The government doesn’t provide anything for our party any more. It is hard to run the party without enough money. We run [on] money contributed from our people.”
The junta has imposed restrictions on the party from conducting business deals and from taxing the people, which has prevented it from increasing the size of its military force.
In spite of the ceasefire agreement, observers say there has been little political advancement in over a decade in Mon State, and Burmese troops have continued a campaign of human rights abuses.
The Mon Party attended the national constitutional convention held by the regime in 2003, but left after a proposal to form a federal government was rejected. Later the party simply sent observers to the convention.
The Mon Party released a statement opposing the junta’s constitutional referendum in 2008, citing fears that the process would strengthen the government by giving it a veneer of democracy without resulting in any actual improvements.
irrawaddy
Appeal to Reinstate Witnesses for Suu Kyi Rejected
RANGOON — Burma's highest court rejected an appeal Monday by Aung San Suu Kyi's lawyers to reinstate two key witnesses in a trial that could send the pro-democracy leader to prison for five years.
High Court judge Tin Aung Aye rejected the appeal because it was "intended to disturb and delay the trial," court officials said on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
The court's ruling means Suu Kyi will have only two defense witnesses in her trial, which resumes Friday.
The 64-year-old Nobel Peace Prize laureate is charged with violating the terms of her house arrest when an uninvited American man swam secretly to her lakeside home and stayed for two days.
"This is very unfair. The court had allowed 14 prosecution witnesses but only allowed two from the defense," said Nyan Win, one of Suu Kyi's lawyers.
"We tried our best to have the trial conducted according to the law but it has failed," Nyan Win said.
The trial has drawn outrage from world leaders and human rights groups who say Burma's junta is using the incident as an excuse to keep the country's opposition leader behind bars.
Suu Kyi has been in detention for more than 13 of the last 19 years.
Nyan Win said reinstating the two witnesses would not "delay or defeat the ends of justice."
Suu Kyi's main lawyer, Kyi Wynn, described Monday's ruling as a "rejection of justice."
One defense witness, Khin Moe Moe, is scheduled to testify before the District Court inside Insein prison Friday.
The trial began May 18. The court at first had allowed only one of four defense witnesses to take the stand. On appeal, the Rangoon Divisional Court ruled that Khin Moe Moe also could be heard. Khin Moe Moe is a lawyer and member of Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy.
Suu Kyi's lawyers pursued a second and final appeal to reinstate barred witnesses Win Tin and Tin Oo, both senior members of her party.
Prosecutors argued that Win Tin, a prominent former journalist and ex-political prisoner, should not be allowed to testify because he is critical of the government and often gave interviews to foreign media, said Nyan Win.
The defense team argued there was no law in the tightly ruled country that bars court testimony from government critics, Nyan Win said.
Prosecutors argued that Tin Oo, the party's deputy leader, should not be allowed to testify because he is under house arrest, Nyan Win said.
Defense lawyers told the court that Suu Kyi herself was under house arrest but that didn't stop authorities from putting her on trial, Nyan Win said. Suu Kyi was allowed to testify May 26, and her term under house arrest officially ended the next day.
She is currently detained at Insein prison along with John William Yettaw, 53, of Falcon, Missouri, who is charged with trespassing.
He has pleaded not guilty, and explained in court that he had a dream that Suu Kyi would be assassinated and he had gone to warn her. Family and friends have said he was working on a book and wished to interview her.
irrawaddy
High Court judge Tin Aung Aye rejected the appeal because it was "intended to disturb and delay the trial," court officials said on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media.
The court's ruling means Suu Kyi will have only two defense witnesses in her trial, which resumes Friday.
The 64-year-old Nobel Peace Prize laureate is charged with violating the terms of her house arrest when an uninvited American man swam secretly to her lakeside home and stayed for two days.
"This is very unfair. The court had allowed 14 prosecution witnesses but only allowed two from the defense," said Nyan Win, one of Suu Kyi's lawyers.
"We tried our best to have the trial conducted according to the law but it has failed," Nyan Win said.
The trial has drawn outrage from world leaders and human rights groups who say Burma's junta is using the incident as an excuse to keep the country's opposition leader behind bars.
Suu Kyi has been in detention for more than 13 of the last 19 years.
Nyan Win said reinstating the two witnesses would not "delay or defeat the ends of justice."
Suu Kyi's main lawyer, Kyi Wynn, described Monday's ruling as a "rejection of justice."
One defense witness, Khin Moe Moe, is scheduled to testify before the District Court inside Insein prison Friday.
The trial began May 18. The court at first had allowed only one of four defense witnesses to take the stand. On appeal, the Rangoon Divisional Court ruled that Khin Moe Moe also could be heard. Khin Moe Moe is a lawyer and member of Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy.
Suu Kyi's lawyers pursued a second and final appeal to reinstate barred witnesses Win Tin and Tin Oo, both senior members of her party.
Prosecutors argued that Win Tin, a prominent former journalist and ex-political prisoner, should not be allowed to testify because he is critical of the government and often gave interviews to foreign media, said Nyan Win.
The defense team argued there was no law in the tightly ruled country that bars court testimony from government critics, Nyan Win said.
Prosecutors argued that Tin Oo, the party's deputy leader, should not be allowed to testify because he is under house arrest, Nyan Win said.
Defense lawyers told the court that Suu Kyi herself was under house arrest but that didn't stop authorities from putting her on trial, Nyan Win said. Suu Kyi was allowed to testify May 26, and her term under house arrest officially ended the next day.
She is currently detained at Insein prison along with John William Yettaw, 53, of Falcon, Missouri, who is charged with trespassing.
He has pleaded not guilty, and explained in court that he had a dream that Suu Kyi would be assassinated and he had gone to warn her. Family and friends have said he was working on a book and wished to interview her.
irrawaddy
Monday, June 29, 2009
Burma reports first case of H1N1 flu
Yangon - Myanmar has confirmed its first case of H1N1 influenza after a schoolgirl returning from Singapore tested positive for the virus, state radio reported on Saturday.
The 13-year-old was sent to a hospital in Yangon on Friday after showing flu symptoms while at school. Tests carried out on Saturday showed she had been infected with H1N1, Myanmar Radio said.
Laos and Cambodia reported their first cases on Wednesday and Thursday respectively.
Neighbouring Thailand, which has detected more than 1,200 cases since May 12, reported its first two deaths on Saturday.
burmadigest
The 13-year-old was sent to a hospital in Yangon on Friday after showing flu symptoms while at school. Tests carried out on Saturday showed she had been infected with H1N1, Myanmar Radio said.
Laos and Cambodia reported their first cases on Wednesday and Thursday respectively.
Neighbouring Thailand, which has detected more than 1,200 cases since May 12, reported its first two deaths on Saturday.
burmadigest
UN Burma envoy set to brief Ban
UN envoy Ibrahim Gambari has left Burma after a two-day visit aimed at paving the way for a possible visit by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.
State media reported that Mr Gambari met Foreign Minister Nyan Win on two occasions to discuss a visit by Mr Ban.
But he is not believed to have met jailed pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, currently on trial accused of breaking the terms of her detention.
Mr Gambari is now expected to brief Mr Ban before a possible visit in July.
Correspondents say Mr Ban is wary of his trip being used by the generals to endorse their treatment of Ms Suu Kyi.
The trial has been widely condemned as a ruse to keep Ms Suu Kyi in jail during a general election which the ruling junta has scheduled for next year.
Progress stalled?
After arriving in Rangoon on Friday Mr Gambari travelled to Burma's capital, Nay Pyi Taw, where he held talks with the foreign minister.
"Mr Gambari met Nyan Win on 26 and 27 June. They discussed Mr Ban Ki-Moon's visit to Myanmar [Burma]," AFP news agency quoted state television as saying.
Mr Gambari has now visited Burma eight times as special envoy.
He has spent many of those visits trying to promote political reconciliation between the military government and the pro-democracy movement led by Ms Suu Kyi.
But critics say he has managed to change little.
And the position of Ms Suu Kyi, under house arrest for most of the past 19 years, seems to have become yet more precarious.
She has been moved to Rangoon's Insein jail during her trial - sparked when a US man swam to her home and stayed the night, which the junta said amounted to her breaking the terms of her detention.
She faces five years in jail if found guilty.
But the trial was again postponed last Friday until 3 July - the latest in a series of delays over allowing more defence witnesses.
Burma's military rulers have refused to recognise the results of a general election in 1990, won by Ms Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party.
bbc
State media reported that Mr Gambari met Foreign Minister Nyan Win on two occasions to discuss a visit by Mr Ban.
But he is not believed to have met jailed pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, currently on trial accused of breaking the terms of her detention.
Mr Gambari is now expected to brief Mr Ban before a possible visit in July.
Correspondents say Mr Ban is wary of his trip being used by the generals to endorse their treatment of Ms Suu Kyi.
The trial has been widely condemned as a ruse to keep Ms Suu Kyi in jail during a general election which the ruling junta has scheduled for next year.
Progress stalled?
After arriving in Rangoon on Friday Mr Gambari travelled to Burma's capital, Nay Pyi Taw, where he held talks with the foreign minister.
"Mr Gambari met Nyan Win on 26 and 27 June. They discussed Mr Ban Ki-Moon's visit to Myanmar [Burma]," AFP news agency quoted state television as saying.
Mr Gambari has now visited Burma eight times as special envoy.
He has spent many of those visits trying to promote political reconciliation between the military government and the pro-democracy movement led by Ms Suu Kyi.
But critics say he has managed to change little.
And the position of Ms Suu Kyi, under house arrest for most of the past 19 years, seems to have become yet more precarious.
She has been moved to Rangoon's Insein jail during her trial - sparked when a US man swam to her home and stayed the night, which the junta said amounted to her breaking the terms of her detention.
She faces five years in jail if found guilty.
But the trial was again postponed last Friday until 3 July - the latest in a series of delays over allowing more defence witnesses.
Burma's military rulers have refused to recognise the results of a general election in 1990, won by Ms Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party.
bbc
Simple Minds legend Jim Kerr, a hotel owner in Sicily turns 50
Simple Minds legend Jim Kerr is about to turn 50 - and with £50million in the bank and a luxury hotel in Sicily, you would think that he was about to retire, but that's not the case, a new album Graffiti Soul is out now and concerts are planned - www.simpleminds.com
After 30 years fronting one of the best live rock bands in the world, Jim will spend his birthday on July 9 performing hits from a new album in front of thousands of fans in Paris on Simple Minds' gruelling six-month international tour.
Jim said: "I still get the same buzz I always did from being on the road. Every single night, every single concert you want to give your very best - play like it's your only night on Earth."
Jim believes one of the reasons he is still at the top of his game is that he is a teetotal vegetarian who has always shunned drugs.
While on tour with rock group Simple Minds in 1995, Jim Kerr the lead singer of the famous Scottish band arrived on Sicily and fell hopelessly in love not only with this amazing romantic destination, but also with the warmth of the Sicilian people and their passion for life. Jim Karr created an intimate hotel where others could also come to enjoy the magic Mount Etna and the wonder of Taormina's Teatro Greco.
Taormina is one of the most popular Mediterranean VIP hot spots and his beautiful hotel Villa Angela was a dream come through.
Jim Karr has several broken high profile marriages behind him and states; "I'm "technically single" at the moment", even he clearly no shortage of female admirers. But is he ever likely to tie the knot again?
He said "I'm not ideal marrying fodder. I'm a bit of a freak. Back home in Sicily I'm in bed at 10pm, I only need five hours of sleep a night and I'm up at 4.30am working.
To learn more about Sicily visit Sicily Tourist Guide
To get updates about the Best of Sicily follow us at www.twitter.com/SicilyToday
The taste of Sicily is only a click away - Get the best Sicilian gourmet food delivered directly to your doorstep from www.Sicilian-Marketplace.com - The TOP 100 most sold Sicilian food products online. Our Sicily marketplace is powered by the worlds biggest online shopping site - best customer satisfaction guaranteed!
Interested in the best Italian sparkling wine? - taste like Champagne, but for a fraction of the price! Pinot Prosecco
Why not try some world class fishing and see Sicily from the sea, book a spectacular Sicilian fishing trip with SicilyFishing.com
“To have seen Italy without Sicily - is not to have seen Italy at all,
as Sicily is the key to everything” - Goethe
Sicily, The World's Next Great Retirement Destination(TM) of LivingInSicily.com -a forum for those who love Sicily and those who seek information about living in Sicily or moving to Sicily.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Sicily deep sea fishing, Italy's most important fishing spot can be yours for the day!
When doing research for this article about a nice Deep sea fishing trip around Sicily and her 14 sister islands. This funny definition came up during a Google search "Sicilian Fishing Trips" - "A journey on a boat arranged by a group of mobsters who secretly plan to kill you and toss your body in to the water". These Sicilian's really managed to get a bad image, even today's Sicily is probably one of the safest retirement destinations in Europe and South America as no gangs from Latin America or Russia dare to fight over the territory of "Don Corleone", and Sicilian seafood is just amazing!
Sicily is most famous for its Deep-sea shrimp fishery, highly specialized fishery in the Strait of Sicily (Mediterranean Sea)for the "red shrimp"; Shrimp fishing in Sicily is carried out by fishing companies using trawlers and multifunctional vessels equipped with trawling nets, in a complex context where the big trawlers depart beyond 40 miles from the Sicilian coast. The three most important shrimp fishing ports in Sicily: Mazara del Vallo, Sciacca, and Porto Empedocle
But its the annual tune fishing festival that drags tourists to Sicily year after year; It all happens in Capo Passero, province of Siracusa, tuna fishing in this part of Sicily is perhaps the oldest in the world.
At least 5 types of tuna pass through the zone returning from the Adriatic. The Sicilian fishermen catch the tuna in a traditional festival every year in May and June known as the "Mattanza". They lead the fish into a chamber, called la camera della morte, which has a net floor that can be raised. The tunas, mostly blue fin, are then brought to the surface and killed. During this festival, while the tuna are being caught, Tonnarotti sing special songs called scialome which have been passed down for so long that much of the meaning has now been lost. The term 'mattanza' comes from the old Spanish word, matar, while other words, such as rais (the head fisherman of the mattanza), are of Arabic origin. There are only a few genuine mattanzas left now, and these are all to be found to the west of Sicily, among the Egadi Islands.
With a catch of almost 30 thousand tons a year, Mazara del Vallo is today the most important fishing port in Italy. Located on Sicily's western coast, it is the leading Italian region for fish production, regarding both values and volume. This sector provides work for more than 5,000 people, a fifth of which are North African immigrants. Situated on a coastal plain irrigated by two rivers, the port, right back to ancient times, has provided shelter for boats. With regard to fishing, the beginning of this activity dates back to 1920 with the introduction of motors which allowed the development of deep-sea fishing which is able to respond to market needs. In addition to traditional fishing for sardines and anchovies, the search then went on for other species. You can buy many of these delicious products from Sicilian Marketplace and have them shipped directly to your doorstep.
Fish production in Mazara adds up to an overall figure of 100 million euro a year; almost 3 thousand tons of shrimps of different types alone is catch around Sicily. Sicilian tuna, sardines, anchovies, red shrimps and squid are world famous for its delicious taste.
If you are looking to discover an amazing deep sea fishing trip off the coast of Sicily while on vacation in Sicily, you should visit SicilyFishing.com
To learn more about Sicily visit Sicily Tourist Guide
To get updates about the Best of Sicily follow us at www.twitter.com/SicilyToday
The taste of Sicily is only a click away - Get the best Sicilian gourmet food delivered directly to your doorstep from www.Sicilian-Marketplace.com - The TOP 100 most sold Sicilian food products online. Our Sicily marketplace is powered by the worlds biggest online shopping site - best customer satisfaction guaranteed!
Interested in the best Italian sparkling wine? - taste like Champagne, but for a fraction of the price! Pinot Prosecco
“To have seen Italy without Sicily - is not to have seen Italy at all,
as Sicily is the key to everything” - Goethe
Sicily, The World's Next Great Retirement Destination(TM) of LivingInSicily.com -a forum for those who love Sicily and those who seek information about living in Sicily or moving to Sicily.
Toxic War and our Vets
This past weekend, I visited high school friends (link) and am suprised to hear of classmates who are Viet Nam vets that are still physically suffering. Agent Orange?
Here is an article that brings to light more of the tragic health problems of our vets today. And while you are looking into this subject, please google 'depleted uranium' - a real shock!
In this May 18, 2009 photo, Steve Moore recalls his brother, David, through photographs at home in Dubois, Ind. Sgt. David Moore died last year of a lung disorder after serving in the National Guard in Iraq where his brother believes he was exposed to a deadly chemical. (AP Photo/Brian Bohannon)
Did toxic chemical in Iraq cause GIs' illnesses?
By SHARON COHEN, AP National Writer Sharon Cohen, Ap National Writer
June 27, 2009
source
Larry Roberta's every breath is a painful reminder of his time in Iraq. He can't walk a block without gasping for air. His chest hurts, his migraines sometimes persist for days and he needs pills to help him sleep.
James Gentry came home with rashes, ear troubles and a shortness of breath. Later, things got much worse: He developed lung cancer, which spread to his spine, ribs and one of his thighs; he must often use a cane, and no longer rides his beloved Harley.
David Moore's postwar life turned into a harrowing medical mystery: nosebleeds and labored breathing that made it impossible to work, much less speak. His desperate search for answers ended last year when he died of lung disease at age 42.
What these three men — one sick, one dying, one dead — had in common is they were National Guard soldiers on the same stretch of wind-swept desert in Iraq during the early months of the war in 2003.
These soldiers and hundreds of other Guard members from Indiana, Oregon and West Virginia were protecting workers hired by a subsidiary of the giant contractor, KBR Inc., to rebuild an Iraqi water treatment plant. The area, as it turned out, was contaminated with hexavalent chromium, a potent, sometimes deadly chemical linked to cancer and other devastating diseases.
No one disputes that. But that's where agreement ends.
Among the issues now rippling from the courthouse to Capitol Hill are whether the chemical made people sick, when KBR knew it was there and how the company responded. But the debate is more than about this one case; it has raised broader questions about private contractors and health risks in war zones.
Questions, says Sen. Evan Bayh, who plans to hold hearings on the issues, such as these:
"How should we treat exposure to potentially hazardous chemicals as a threat to our soldiers? How seriously should that threat be taken? What is the role of private contractors? What about the potential conflict between their profit motives and taking all steps necessary to protect our soldiers?
"This case," says the Indiana Democrat, "has brought to light the need for systemic reform."
For now, dozens of National Guard veterans have sued KBR and two subsidiaries, accusing them of minimizing and concealing the chemical's dangers, then downplaying nosebleeds and breathing problems as nothing more than sand allergies or a reaction to desert air.
KBR denies any wrongdoing. In a statement, the company said it actually found the chemical at the Qarmat Ali plant, restricted access, cleaned it up and "did not knowingly harm troops."
Ten civilians hired by a KBR subsidiary made similar claims in an arbitration resolved privately in June. (The workers' contract prevented them from filing suit.)
This isn't the first claim that toxins have harmed soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan; there have been allegations involving lead, depleted uranium and sarin gas.
This also isn't the first challenge to KBR, whose billions of dollars of war-related contracts have been the subject of congressional scrutiny and numerous legal claims.
Among them are lawsuits recently filed against KBR and Halliburton Co. — KBR's parent company until 2007 — that assert open-air pits used to burn refuse in Iraq and Afghanistan caused respiratory illnesses, tumors and death. (KBR says it is reviewing the charges. Halliburton maintains it was improperly named and expects to be dismissed from the case.)
Earlier this year, several members of Congress asked Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki to investigate potential burn pit hazards. He replied that his agency is conducting a health study of 30,000 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans and noted the VA "has learned important lessons from previous military conflicts" as it deals with environmental exposure questions.
Some veterans advocates say the military is more attuned to health risks than it was in Vietnam and the Gulf War, but still falls short.
"I'm a realist — things are going to get burned, things are going to be blown up," says Tom Tarantino, an Iraqi veteran and policy associate at the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. "But I think the DOD (Department of Defense) could do a better job at tracking what people are exposed to. If there's a big pit outside your base, you need to know what's going on and do tests ... so if people start getting sick, they won't spend years trying to figure out what's wrong with them."
This isn't a natural fit, he concedes, since the Defense Department "is a war-fighting agency, not an environmental protection agency. But I think there's a lack of information out there."
This case stems from the chaotic start of the war in 2003 when a KBR subsidiary was hired to restart the plant, which had been looted of equipment, wiring, even metal roofing and siding. The Iraqis had used hexavalent chromium to prevent pipe corrosion at the plant, which produced industrial water used in oil production.
It's the same chemical linked to poisonings in California in a case made famous in the movie "Erin Brockovich."
Hexavalent chromium — a toxic component of sodium dichromate — can cause severe liver and kidney damage and studies have linked it to leukemia as well as bone, stomach, brain and other cancers, according to an expert who provided a deposition for the civilian workers.
The chemical "is one of the most potent carcinogens know to man" and it can "enter every cell of the body and potentially produce widespread injury to every major organ in the body," said Max Costa, chairman of New York University's Department of Environmental Medicine.
KBR, however, says studies show only that industrial workers exposed to the chemical for more than two years have an increased risk of cancer — and in this case, soldiers were at the plant just days or months.
The company also notes air quality studies concluded the Indiana Guard soldiers were not exposed to high levels of hexavalent chromium. But Costa says those tests were done when the wind was not blowing.
Both soldiers and former workers say there were days when strong gusts kicked up ripped-open bags of the chemical, creating a yellow-orange haze that coated everything from their hair to their boots.
"I was spitting blood and I was not the only one doing that," recalls Danny Langford, who worked for the KBR subsidiary. "The wind was blowing 30, 40 miles an hour. You could just hardly see where you were going. I pulled my shirt over my nose and there would be blood on it. I also saw the soldiers. They had blood splotches on their masks."
Larry Roberta, a 44-year-old former Oregon National Guard member, remembers a strange metallic taste and dust everywhere. He sat on a bag of the chemical, unaware it was dangerous.
"This orange crud blew up in your face, your eyes and on our food," he says. "I tried to wash my chicken patty off with my canteen. I started to get sick to my stomach right away."
Roberta had coughing spells and agonizing chest pains, he says, that "went all the way through my back. Whenever I breathed, the pain got more sharp. ... Every day I went there, I had something weird going on."
Russell Kimberling, a former Indiana National Guard captain, had severe sinus troubles that forced his evacuation to Germany. After returning, he became alarmed one August day in 2003 while escorting some officials to the plant in the southern Iraqi city of Basra.
"I jumped out of the truck and I turned around and they (KBR staff) had full chemical gear on," he says. "I looked at some of my soldiers and said, 'This can't be very good.'"
"They could have told us to put chemical suits on," Kimberling adds. "There are so many things that could have been done."
Ed Blacke, hired as plant health, safety and environmental coordinator, says he became worried after workers started having breathing problems and a former colleague sent him an internal KBR memo outlining the chemical's dangers. Blacke says when he complained at a meeting, he was labeled a troublemaker and resigned under pressure.
"Normally when you take over a job, you have a briefing — this is what's out there, here's what you need for protective equipment," says Blacke, who testified at a Senate Democratic Policy Committee hearing last year. "There was nothing, nothing at all."
Blacke and Langford were among those whose civil claims were resolved in arbitration.
Kimberling is among nearly 50 Guard veterans — most from Indiana, a smaller number from Oregon and West Virginia — who've sued.
Mike Doyle, the Houston lawyer representing the soldiers and civilians, maintains KBR knew as early as May 2003 the chemical was there, but didn't close the site until that September.
"Once they (KBR) found out about it, they didn't tell anybody and they did everything to conceal it," he contends. "You have (KBR) managers in Houston, in Kuwait City who knew about this. Their staff was getting reports and soldiers and civilians who were in the field were told, 'No big deal. There's nothing to worry about.'"
The lawsuit cites minutes of an August 2003 KBR meeting that mentions "serious health problems at the water treatment plant" and notes "almost 60 percent of the people now exhibit the symptoms."
In a recent wide-ranging interview with The Associated Press, KBR chairman William P. Utt suggested the company be given some latitude with its military contracts.
"We think there ought to be some consideration given in many of these claims to the same protections the government has from these suits that exist," he said.
He also said KBR has been unfairly targeted in war zones. "People think there's an opportunity here in Iraq, let's paint it on KBR, then we'll worry about making the facts precise or correct later," Utt said.
As for the water plant, KBR says once it learned of the chemical, it took precautions to protect workers, notified the Army Corps of Engineers and led the cleanup. It says the Corps had previously deemed the area safe.
KBR also points to Army tests of 137 Indiana Guard soldiers that showed no medical problems that could be linked to exposure, as well as a military board review that found it unlikely anyone would suffer long-term medical consequences.
But Bayh and Doyle say those tests were done too late to be valid and note that soil tests were taken after the contaminated area was covered with asphalt and gravel.
Doyle also disagrees with KBR's contention that workers weren't there long enough — weeks or months — to have elevated cancer risks.
It can take a long time for symptoms of illness to surface — five to 10 years or more for cancer. But some of those who say they were exposed are already ill.
Gentry, a retired lieutenant colonel who commanded the Indiana Guard unit, is in the late stages of lung cancer, which has spread to other parts of his body, according to his friend, Christopher Lee.
Gentry hasn't sued, but in a December 2008 deposition he recalled complaining to his superiors after his soldiers were told by KBR workers the orangish sand was a cancer-causing chemical. He said it was "very disappointing" that KBR managers didn't share that information.
"I'm dying because of it," he said.
While acknowledging he wasn't 100 percent certain that's why he has cancer, Gentry — who served a second tour in Iraq — said his doctor "believes the most probable cause was my exposure to this chemical."
KBR's actions, he said, had put "my men at risk that is unnecessary."
The Indiana, West Virginia and Oregon National Guards have sent hundreds of letters to soldiers notifying them of possible contamination and urging them to seek medical attention. The Oregon Guard also set up a Facebook page and reports about 15 soldiers have reported medical symptoms.
Bayh has introduced a bill calling for a special medical registry that would require the Department of Defense to notify all military members of exposure to potential toxins — and provide comprehensive medical care. (It would be limited to those serving after Sept. 11, 2001.)
A similar notification measure was approved Thursday in the U.S. House, an amendment to the defense authorization bill introduced by U.S. Rep. Kurt Schrader, an Oregon lawmaker.
All these measures come too late for 1st Sgt. David Moore, who served with Gentry.
He thought his persistent cough in Iraq would stop when he returned home. Instead, breathing became difficult; he eventually needed a chair in the shower because he could no longer stand, says his brother, Steve. Moore had nosebleeds, too, and boil-like rashes behind his ears and on his back, arms and legs. He went from doctor to doctor. "None of them could ever figure out what it was," his brother says.
By late 2007, the one-time construction worker — who had been "strong as an ox," and ran 3 1/2 miles every other day — couldn't even venture outside, Steve Moore says. But he didn't give up.
"He was always upbeat," his brother says. "He said, 'They'll figure it out, they'll figure it out.' He thought that until the last time I talked to him. You could see the fear in his eyes. They had him on 100 percent oxygen and he still couldn't breathe. He requested to be put on a ventilator so they could figure it out."
Moore died in February 2008. The cause was lung disease. His death was ruled service-related. His brother believes it was hexavalent chromium.
Larry Roberta, the former Oregon Guardsman who needed stomach surgery after his return, still has physical and emotional problems: Post traumatic stress. Mood swings. Nose polyps. Chest pains. Migraines that can keep him bedridden for days.
He takes two inhalers — he can't walk a block without them — and high blood pressure medicine every day and testosterone shots every two weeks.
"I have 100 percent disability," he says. "I've got a long laundry list of things that happened to me while I was there. If you add it all up, I'd be almost 200 percent disabled."
Roberta recently testified before Oregon lawmakers, urging them to set aside money for Guard members who develop cancer from exposure to the chemical.
His wife, Michelle, says her husband's illness has dramatically changed his outlook.
"He has no ambitions for life anymore," she says. "At his age, that makes me very sad. I worry about him every day."
Kimberling, the former Indiana Guardsman, struggles as well.
The father of two young children — he's a pharmaceutical salesman in Louisville, Ky. — says he hasn't been able to get life insurance because his possible exposure is mentioned on his medical records.
Sometimes, he says, it's hard to sort out his real aches from his fears.
"I feel like I'm a 38-year-old in a 60-year-old's body," he says. "There are a lot of things that seem to be going south a lot quicker than they should. Sinus problems ... pain in my joints that I've never felt before.
"I'm not sure if it's the anxiety of finding out about it or not. I kind of know and feel it's just a matter of time before it catches up with me."
___
Kimberly Hefling in Washington, D.C., contributed to this report.
Here is an article that brings to light more of the tragic health problems of our vets today. And while you are looking into this subject, please google 'depleted uranium' - a real shock!
In this May 18, 2009 photo, Steve Moore recalls his brother, David, through photographs at home in Dubois, Ind. Sgt. David Moore died last year of a lung disorder after serving in the National Guard in Iraq where his brother believes he was exposed to a deadly chemical. (AP Photo/Brian Bohannon)
Did toxic chemical in Iraq cause GIs' illnesses?
By SHARON COHEN, AP National Writer Sharon Cohen, Ap National Writer
June 27, 2009
source
Larry Roberta's every breath is a painful reminder of his time in Iraq. He can't walk a block without gasping for air. His chest hurts, his migraines sometimes persist for days and he needs pills to help him sleep.
James Gentry came home with rashes, ear troubles and a shortness of breath. Later, things got much worse: He developed lung cancer, which spread to his spine, ribs and one of his thighs; he must often use a cane, and no longer rides his beloved Harley.
David Moore's postwar life turned into a harrowing medical mystery: nosebleeds and labored breathing that made it impossible to work, much less speak. His desperate search for answers ended last year when he died of lung disease at age 42.
What these three men — one sick, one dying, one dead — had in common is they were National Guard soldiers on the same stretch of wind-swept desert in Iraq during the early months of the war in 2003.
These soldiers and hundreds of other Guard members from Indiana, Oregon and West Virginia were protecting workers hired by a subsidiary of the giant contractor, KBR Inc., to rebuild an Iraqi water treatment plant. The area, as it turned out, was contaminated with hexavalent chromium, a potent, sometimes deadly chemical linked to cancer and other devastating diseases.
No one disputes that. But that's where agreement ends.
Among the issues now rippling from the courthouse to Capitol Hill are whether the chemical made people sick, when KBR knew it was there and how the company responded. But the debate is more than about this one case; it has raised broader questions about private contractors and health risks in war zones.
Questions, says Sen. Evan Bayh, who plans to hold hearings on the issues, such as these:
"How should we treat exposure to potentially hazardous chemicals as a threat to our soldiers? How seriously should that threat be taken? What is the role of private contractors? What about the potential conflict between their profit motives and taking all steps necessary to protect our soldiers?
"This case," says the Indiana Democrat, "has brought to light the need for systemic reform."
For now, dozens of National Guard veterans have sued KBR and two subsidiaries, accusing them of minimizing and concealing the chemical's dangers, then downplaying nosebleeds and breathing problems as nothing more than sand allergies or a reaction to desert air.
KBR denies any wrongdoing. In a statement, the company said it actually found the chemical at the Qarmat Ali plant, restricted access, cleaned it up and "did not knowingly harm troops."
Ten civilians hired by a KBR subsidiary made similar claims in an arbitration resolved privately in June. (The workers' contract prevented them from filing suit.)
This isn't the first claim that toxins have harmed soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan; there have been allegations involving lead, depleted uranium and sarin gas.
This also isn't the first challenge to KBR, whose billions of dollars of war-related contracts have been the subject of congressional scrutiny and numerous legal claims.
Among them are lawsuits recently filed against KBR and Halliburton Co. — KBR's parent company until 2007 — that assert open-air pits used to burn refuse in Iraq and Afghanistan caused respiratory illnesses, tumors and death. (KBR says it is reviewing the charges. Halliburton maintains it was improperly named and expects to be dismissed from the case.)
Earlier this year, several members of Congress asked Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki to investigate potential burn pit hazards. He replied that his agency is conducting a health study of 30,000 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans and noted the VA "has learned important lessons from previous military conflicts" as it deals with environmental exposure questions.
Some veterans advocates say the military is more attuned to health risks than it was in Vietnam and the Gulf War, but still falls short.
"I'm a realist — things are going to get burned, things are going to be blown up," says Tom Tarantino, an Iraqi veteran and policy associate at the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. "But I think the DOD (Department of Defense) could do a better job at tracking what people are exposed to. If there's a big pit outside your base, you need to know what's going on and do tests ... so if people start getting sick, they won't spend years trying to figure out what's wrong with them."
This isn't a natural fit, he concedes, since the Defense Department "is a war-fighting agency, not an environmental protection agency. But I think there's a lack of information out there."
This case stems from the chaotic start of the war in 2003 when a KBR subsidiary was hired to restart the plant, which had been looted of equipment, wiring, even metal roofing and siding. The Iraqis had used hexavalent chromium to prevent pipe corrosion at the plant, which produced industrial water used in oil production.
It's the same chemical linked to poisonings in California in a case made famous in the movie "Erin Brockovich."
Hexavalent chromium — a toxic component of sodium dichromate — can cause severe liver and kidney damage and studies have linked it to leukemia as well as bone, stomach, brain and other cancers, according to an expert who provided a deposition for the civilian workers.
The chemical "is one of the most potent carcinogens know to man" and it can "enter every cell of the body and potentially produce widespread injury to every major organ in the body," said Max Costa, chairman of New York University's Department of Environmental Medicine.
KBR, however, says studies show only that industrial workers exposed to the chemical for more than two years have an increased risk of cancer — and in this case, soldiers were at the plant just days or months.
The company also notes air quality studies concluded the Indiana Guard soldiers were not exposed to high levels of hexavalent chromium. But Costa says those tests were done when the wind was not blowing.
Both soldiers and former workers say there were days when strong gusts kicked up ripped-open bags of the chemical, creating a yellow-orange haze that coated everything from their hair to their boots.
"I was spitting blood and I was not the only one doing that," recalls Danny Langford, who worked for the KBR subsidiary. "The wind was blowing 30, 40 miles an hour. You could just hardly see where you were going. I pulled my shirt over my nose and there would be blood on it. I also saw the soldiers. They had blood splotches on their masks."
Larry Roberta, a 44-year-old former Oregon National Guard member, remembers a strange metallic taste and dust everywhere. He sat on a bag of the chemical, unaware it was dangerous.
"This orange crud blew up in your face, your eyes and on our food," he says. "I tried to wash my chicken patty off with my canteen. I started to get sick to my stomach right away."
Roberta had coughing spells and agonizing chest pains, he says, that "went all the way through my back. Whenever I breathed, the pain got more sharp. ... Every day I went there, I had something weird going on."
Russell Kimberling, a former Indiana National Guard captain, had severe sinus troubles that forced his evacuation to Germany. After returning, he became alarmed one August day in 2003 while escorting some officials to the plant in the southern Iraqi city of Basra.
"I jumped out of the truck and I turned around and they (KBR staff) had full chemical gear on," he says. "I looked at some of my soldiers and said, 'This can't be very good.'"
"They could have told us to put chemical suits on," Kimberling adds. "There are so many things that could have been done."
Ed Blacke, hired as plant health, safety and environmental coordinator, says he became worried after workers started having breathing problems and a former colleague sent him an internal KBR memo outlining the chemical's dangers. Blacke says when he complained at a meeting, he was labeled a troublemaker and resigned under pressure.
"Normally when you take over a job, you have a briefing — this is what's out there, here's what you need for protective equipment," says Blacke, who testified at a Senate Democratic Policy Committee hearing last year. "There was nothing, nothing at all."
Blacke and Langford were among those whose civil claims were resolved in arbitration.
Kimberling is among nearly 50 Guard veterans — most from Indiana, a smaller number from Oregon and West Virginia — who've sued.
Mike Doyle, the Houston lawyer representing the soldiers and civilians, maintains KBR knew as early as May 2003 the chemical was there, but didn't close the site until that September.
"Once they (KBR) found out about it, they didn't tell anybody and they did everything to conceal it," he contends. "You have (KBR) managers in Houston, in Kuwait City who knew about this. Their staff was getting reports and soldiers and civilians who were in the field were told, 'No big deal. There's nothing to worry about.'"
The lawsuit cites minutes of an August 2003 KBR meeting that mentions "serious health problems at the water treatment plant" and notes "almost 60 percent of the people now exhibit the symptoms."
In a recent wide-ranging interview with The Associated Press, KBR chairman William P. Utt suggested the company be given some latitude with its military contracts.
"We think there ought to be some consideration given in many of these claims to the same protections the government has from these suits that exist," he said.
He also said KBR has been unfairly targeted in war zones. "People think there's an opportunity here in Iraq, let's paint it on KBR, then we'll worry about making the facts precise or correct later," Utt said.
As for the water plant, KBR says once it learned of the chemical, it took precautions to protect workers, notified the Army Corps of Engineers and led the cleanup. It says the Corps had previously deemed the area safe.
KBR also points to Army tests of 137 Indiana Guard soldiers that showed no medical problems that could be linked to exposure, as well as a military board review that found it unlikely anyone would suffer long-term medical consequences.
But Bayh and Doyle say those tests were done too late to be valid and note that soil tests were taken after the contaminated area was covered with asphalt and gravel.
Doyle also disagrees with KBR's contention that workers weren't there long enough — weeks or months — to have elevated cancer risks.
It can take a long time for symptoms of illness to surface — five to 10 years or more for cancer. But some of those who say they were exposed are already ill.
Gentry, a retired lieutenant colonel who commanded the Indiana Guard unit, is in the late stages of lung cancer, which has spread to other parts of his body, according to his friend, Christopher Lee.
Gentry hasn't sued, but in a December 2008 deposition he recalled complaining to his superiors after his soldiers were told by KBR workers the orangish sand was a cancer-causing chemical. He said it was "very disappointing" that KBR managers didn't share that information.
"I'm dying because of it," he said.
While acknowledging he wasn't 100 percent certain that's why he has cancer, Gentry — who served a second tour in Iraq — said his doctor "believes the most probable cause was my exposure to this chemical."
KBR's actions, he said, had put "my men at risk that is unnecessary."
The Indiana, West Virginia and Oregon National Guards have sent hundreds of letters to soldiers notifying them of possible contamination and urging them to seek medical attention. The Oregon Guard also set up a Facebook page and reports about 15 soldiers have reported medical symptoms.
Bayh has introduced a bill calling for a special medical registry that would require the Department of Defense to notify all military members of exposure to potential toxins — and provide comprehensive medical care. (It would be limited to those serving after Sept. 11, 2001.)
A similar notification measure was approved Thursday in the U.S. House, an amendment to the defense authorization bill introduced by U.S. Rep. Kurt Schrader, an Oregon lawmaker.
All these measures come too late for 1st Sgt. David Moore, who served with Gentry.
He thought his persistent cough in Iraq would stop when he returned home. Instead, breathing became difficult; he eventually needed a chair in the shower because he could no longer stand, says his brother, Steve. Moore had nosebleeds, too, and boil-like rashes behind his ears and on his back, arms and legs. He went from doctor to doctor. "None of them could ever figure out what it was," his brother says.
By late 2007, the one-time construction worker — who had been "strong as an ox," and ran 3 1/2 miles every other day — couldn't even venture outside, Steve Moore says. But he didn't give up.
"He was always upbeat," his brother says. "He said, 'They'll figure it out, they'll figure it out.' He thought that until the last time I talked to him. You could see the fear in his eyes. They had him on 100 percent oxygen and he still couldn't breathe. He requested to be put on a ventilator so they could figure it out."
Moore died in February 2008. The cause was lung disease. His death was ruled service-related. His brother believes it was hexavalent chromium.
Larry Roberta, the former Oregon Guardsman who needed stomach surgery after his return, still has physical and emotional problems: Post traumatic stress. Mood swings. Nose polyps. Chest pains. Migraines that can keep him bedridden for days.
He takes two inhalers — he can't walk a block without them — and high blood pressure medicine every day and testosterone shots every two weeks.
"I have 100 percent disability," he says. "I've got a long laundry list of things that happened to me while I was there. If you add it all up, I'd be almost 200 percent disabled."
Roberta recently testified before Oregon lawmakers, urging them to set aside money for Guard members who develop cancer from exposure to the chemical.
His wife, Michelle, says her husband's illness has dramatically changed his outlook.
"He has no ambitions for life anymore," she says. "At his age, that makes me very sad. I worry about him every day."
Kimberling, the former Indiana Guardsman, struggles as well.
The father of two young children — he's a pharmaceutical salesman in Louisville, Ky. — says he hasn't been able to get life insurance because his possible exposure is mentioned on his medical records.
Sometimes, he says, it's hard to sort out his real aches from his fears.
"I feel like I'm a 38-year-old in a 60-year-old's body," he says. "There are a lot of things that seem to be going south a lot quicker than they should. Sinus problems ... pain in my joints that I've never felt before.
"I'm not sure if it's the anxiety of finding out about it or not. I kind of know and feel it's just a matter of time before it catches up with me."
___
Kimberly Hefling in Washington, D.C., contributed to this report.
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Michael Jackson passes | public opinion: "We Are The World"
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Michael Jackson's passing is still a shock to me. The very idea that someone I feel like I grew up with left us at the age of 50 is just not right at all. I first saw Michael perform when I was 10 years old at the old Chicago International Amphitheatre in 1972; the Campbell family, who babysat me, took me and I remember it like it was yesterday. The Jackson Five was then the must see event and Michael was the star.
Michael was like my brother. In a way for many African Americans he was just that, a sibling. I knew him as the guy who grew up in Gary, Indiana. We knew people who knew them in Chicago, so I felt close to him long ago. I think it's for that reason so many African Americans were on Michael's side during the years when it seems he was kind of flying the coup: changing his skin color from brown to near white; narrowing his nose, and basically seeming to channel his best friend the legendary singer Diana Ross. Then, of course, there were the claims that he "liked boys" which we figured wasn't the case, and was more a byproduct of the money and attention seeking people who surrounded him. Michael was a person with an arrested development: he never had a childhood so to escape the trappings of a constant adult life, he created a childhood for himself.
I think being an adult just literally killed Michael.
For me, Michael Jackson was the person who wanted to bring us all together, as shown in his "We Are The World" effort. That amazing production and song, created with a group of the World's best known music talents, with Lionel Richie, Quincy Jones, Stevie Wonder, Steve Perry, Bob Dylan, the late Ray Charles, and a host of others and to raise money for famine relief in Ethiopia, was just amazing. Amazing. I loved that song then; I still do today and I cry every time I hear it. (the lyrics and video are at the end of this post).
Talking with people About Michael's passing
The death of Michael Jackson is one of those events that will cause you to remember where you were when you learned of it. In my case I'd just emerged from a private movie screening at the Saul Zaentz Film Center in West Berkeley, CA. My Mom just happened to call with the news as I was walking to my car; I was stunned. Just stunned. So I took my Flip Video Camera and set out to talk to people about what happened to Michael. I had plenty of places to do this: the BART train station, the San Francisco Magazine "Best of The Bay" party, and all points in between.
What's amazing is the sheer number of people who were immediately informed via text messages and the reactions: shock, sadness, but not joy. No. No one expressed anything close to that at all, even given the part of his life where it seemed he was overwhelmed with "kid" issues. Nothing.
Dominic Phillips, the master of event planning in San Francisco, and who produced last night's "San Francisco Magazine Best of The Bay" party said "It's horrible. First and formost, anybody dying is horrible. There are so many family members that are just gonna be torn apart. But also Michael Jackson; on the one hand he was a very maverick person. But on the other hand he was part of my generation's life. He was like part of my experience, my growing up and I feel a little robbed that he's not there anymore. Like whether you thought his experience was your experience,that doesn't really come into it for me. I just sort of bonded with him in my youth and now he's gone."
Another woman I talked to on Howard Street in San Francisco said "I was just walking and three people got text messages (that he died)...just terrible. My friend Beth Schnitzer, who's the Director of Sponsorship Marketing at Pier 39 said "I can't believe it. Every time I listen to his music, it brings back a great memory from growing up somehow, some way. You know, it really hasn't hit me. He was too young; way too young." Jerusha, "The Last Single Girl In The World" said, as only she can, "We all have to go sometime and boy did he have a fabulous life before he went. He did it up and he did it up right. You know what they say, you only live once and that's all you need if you do it right!"
I talked to a lot of people, and if you see my video there are more than what's presented here, but all just variations on what was expressed. People loved Michael, warts and all. The "Best of The Bay" event turned into a kind of tribute to Michael, with his music playing continuously through the evening, and people danced, especially to "Thriller" which is a modern classic.
Sad day it was to have this happen. Michael, the world will miss you.
We Are The World - Lyrics and video:
Written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie, produced by Quincy Jones.
There comes a time
When we head a certain call
When the world must come together as one
There are people dying
And it's time to lend a hand to life
The greatest gift of all
We can't go on
Pretending day by day
That someone, somewhere will soon make a change
We are all a part of
God's great big family
And the truth, you know love is all we need
[Chorus]
We are the world
We are the children
We are the ones who make a brighter day
So let's start giving
There's a choice we're making
We're saving our own lives
It's true we'll make a better day
Just you and me
Send them your heart
So they'll know that someone cares
And their lives will be stronger and free
As God has shown us by turning stone to bread
So we all must lend a helping hand
[Chorus]
We are the world
We are the children
We are the ones who make a brighter day
So let's start giving
There's a choice we're making
We're saving our own lives
It's true we'll make a better day
Just you and me
When you're down and out
There seems no hope at all
But if you just believe
There's no way we can fall
Well, well, well, well, let us realize
That a change will only come
When we stand together as one
[Chorus]
We are the world
We are the children
We are the ones who make a brighter day
So let's start giving
There's a choice we're making
We're saving our own lives
It's true we'll make a better day
Just you and me
Farmers Suffer Drought
Sittwe: Farmers in Arakan State are suffering from drought in the area and have been unable to start cultivation of their fields even one month into this year's cultivation season, said one farmer from Arakan.
"Every year we plough our farms in the beginning of June, but this year we can not start to plow even though the time has reached nearly one month. We all want rain to come to our state soon," he said.
Last year at this time, half of the cultivation of the farms was complete in Arakan State, but this year the cultivation has yet to begin due to the lack of rain.
A farmer from Kai Shay Village in Taungup Township said, "All nursery farms were damaged because there is no rain. In the first week of June this year, we were planting seeds in the nursery farms as there was rain in our state, but now the rain has disappeared."
In addition to the lack of rain throughout Arakan, the weather has been extremely hot, making it difficult for people to work outside during the day.
A farmer from Maungdaw said, "I have never seen such drought before. The weather is very bad because there is no rain. We can not go to our farms in the day time for working."
"In another 15 days, Buddhist lent will start. Last year at this time, our farm was almost plowed, but this year there has been nothing to do yet. All farmers suffer from drought and they are worried about their cultivation failing this year," the farmer added.
narinjara
"Every year we plough our farms in the beginning of June, but this year we can not start to plow even though the time has reached nearly one month. We all want rain to come to our state soon," he said.
Last year at this time, half of the cultivation of the farms was complete in Arakan State, but this year the cultivation has yet to begin due to the lack of rain.
A farmer from Kai Shay Village in Taungup Township said, "All nursery farms were damaged because there is no rain. In the first week of June this year, we were planting seeds in the nursery farms as there was rain in our state, but now the rain has disappeared."
In addition to the lack of rain throughout Arakan, the weather has been extremely hot, making it difficult for people to work outside during the day.
A farmer from Maungdaw said, "I have never seen such drought before. The weather is very bad because there is no rain. We can not go to our farms in the day time for working."
"In another 15 days, Buddhist lent will start. Last year at this time, our farm was almost plowed, but this year there has been nothing to do yet. All farmers suffer from drought and they are worried about their cultivation failing this year," the farmer added.
narinjara
Does Kang Nam carry arms to kill ceasefire forces?
Reports of North Korean cargo ship Kang Nam on its way to Burma has raised speculations among ceasefire groups who are resisting Naypyitaw’s demand to transform themselves into troops under the Burma Army’s command that it could be linked to current tensions between the two sides.
During the visit of Lt-Gen Ye Myint, the junta’s chief negotiator, to Mongla, opposite China’s Daluo on 9 June, Sai Leun, 63, leader of the National Democratic Alliance Army-Eastern Shan State (NDAA-ESS),
informed him of the rejection by the army and people under his leadership of the junta’s proposal to transform themselves into a border guard force. Upon hearing it, Ye Myint mentioned the amazing growth and development of the ceasefire areas during the past 20 years and said, “Don’t you feel sorry to lose them if you reject our proposal?”
“This is a strong hint that all that we have built will be destroyed by them,” a ceasefire officer told SHAN.
Another source from northern Shan State also reported that he was told by a senior police officer that new weapons with highly destructive power would be used against ceasefire groups unless they gave in to the junta’s demand.
Meanwhile, Col Yawd Serk, leader of the Shan State Army (SSA) South, remarked that Naypyitaw’s current military preparations are aimed at subduing the United Wa State Army’s forces along the Thai-Burma border. “Panghsang (on the Sino-Burma border) is not their immediate target,” he said. “They want to put pressure on the Wa’s southern forces to give up their resistance. They will deal with Panghsang afterwards.”
The main weapon employed by the junta will be “drugs”, he told SHAN. “The planned burning of drugs in Kengtung on 26 June is therefore significant,” he said.
Kengtung is the capital of eastern Shan State, where the UWSA is active.
shanland
During the visit of Lt-Gen Ye Myint, the junta’s chief negotiator, to Mongla, opposite China’s Daluo on 9 June, Sai Leun, 63, leader of the National Democratic Alliance Army-Eastern Shan State (NDAA-ESS),
informed him of the rejection by the army and people under his leadership of the junta’s proposal to transform themselves into a border guard force. Upon hearing it, Ye Myint mentioned the amazing growth and development of the ceasefire areas during the past 20 years and said, “Don’t you feel sorry to lose them if you reject our proposal?”
“This is a strong hint that all that we have built will be destroyed by them,” a ceasefire officer told SHAN.
Another source from northern Shan State also reported that he was told by a senior police officer that new weapons with highly destructive power would be used against ceasefire groups unless they gave in to the junta’s demand.
Meanwhile, Col Yawd Serk, leader of the Shan State Army (SSA) South, remarked that Naypyitaw’s current military preparations are aimed at subduing the United Wa State Army’s forces along the Thai-Burma border. “Panghsang (on the Sino-Burma border) is not their immediate target,” he said. “They want to put pressure on the Wa’s southern forces to give up their resistance. They will deal with Panghsang afterwards.”
The main weapon employed by the junta will be “drugs”, he told SHAN. “The planned burning of drugs in Kengtung on 26 June is therefore significant,” he said.
Kengtung is the capital of eastern Shan State, where the UWSA is active.
shanland
Mon State dam floods nearby paddy fields.
After heavy rains, rice paddies flooded by a dam runoff have yet to be replanted. Many paddy farmers are suffering as the season progresses and they are unable to replant their fields.
About 200 acres of rice paddy fields are flooded with water from the Winphanon dam project in Mudon township, Mon state. The flooding has come after particularly heavy rains in the area.
“About 200 acres of paddy field can’t be replanted with seedlings since the heavy rain. We are out of time now to transplant the paddies. We are trying to make the water drain away so we can weed out the grip grass in our paddy field, so we can grow more seedling plants,“ said a farmer from Doe mar village, Mudon Township.
Since the recent heavy rain, paddy fields near the Winpano dam in Mudon township, have been destroyed in Kalort-tort, Taungpa, Doe-mar, and Kwan-ka-bue villages. Fields were flooded by spill water from the dam, which is located up river from the villages and their fields.
Early on in the month heavy rain hit Mudon township destroying famers rice seedling plants which had already begun to grow.
“We only can grow our plants in 1 acre out of 8. Paddy fields from other townships have been transplanted for growing. Now we have to restart planting. We lose money and time. If we transplant our seedlings late in the season it will be difficult when we cultivate the rice."
After the government built Winphannon dam in 2001, the main river that flowed out to sea was blocked. The government authorities dug a trench to act as an alternative runoff for overflow water. But because the trench is unfinished the overflow water has not been able to runoff in the rainy season and instead flows into paddy fields and lower land village.
According to several Taungpa villagers, the Burmese authorities grow their own summer paddies in the villagers’ paddy fields around the Winphanon dam. The Burmese authorities use water from the dam in summer. But, according to local villagers, the workers for the authorities are inexperienced, and cultivate the crop in such a way that a lot of grass ends up growing in the paddy fields. So when the rainy season arrives, farmers find their fields destroyed and have to take time pulling out the grass.
“When it rains heavily the water floods our villages and we can’t go anywhere,” a villager who lives near the dam said. “Before the Winphannon Dam project was done, we didn’t face this kind of situation.”
imna
About 200 acres of rice paddy fields are flooded with water from the Winphanon dam project in Mudon township, Mon state. The flooding has come after particularly heavy rains in the area.
“About 200 acres of paddy field can’t be replanted with seedlings since the heavy rain. We are out of time now to transplant the paddies. We are trying to make the water drain away so we can weed out the grip grass in our paddy field, so we can grow more seedling plants,“ said a farmer from Doe mar village, Mudon Township.
Since the recent heavy rain, paddy fields near the Winpano dam in Mudon township, have been destroyed in Kalort-tort, Taungpa, Doe-mar, and Kwan-ka-bue villages. Fields were flooded by spill water from the dam, which is located up river from the villages and their fields.
Early on in the month heavy rain hit Mudon township destroying famers rice seedling plants which had already begun to grow.
“We only can grow our plants in 1 acre out of 8. Paddy fields from other townships have been transplanted for growing. Now we have to restart planting. We lose money and time. If we transplant our seedlings late in the season it will be difficult when we cultivate the rice."
After the government built Winphannon dam in 2001, the main river that flowed out to sea was blocked. The government authorities dug a trench to act as an alternative runoff for overflow water. But because the trench is unfinished the overflow water has not been able to runoff in the rainy season and instead flows into paddy fields and lower land village.
According to several Taungpa villagers, the Burmese authorities grow their own summer paddies in the villagers’ paddy fields around the Winphanon dam. The Burmese authorities use water from the dam in summer. But, according to local villagers, the workers for the authorities are inexperienced, and cultivate the crop in such a way that a lot of grass ends up growing in the paddy fields. So when the rainy season arrives, farmers find their fields destroyed and have to take time pulling out the grass.
“When it rains heavily the water floods our villages and we can’t go anywhere,” a villager who lives near the dam said. “Before the Winphannon Dam project was done, we didn’t face this kind of situation.”
imna
Junta to resettle 200,000 Burmans in Hukawng Valley
The Burmese military junta plans to resettle 200,000 Burman people in ethnic Kachin's Hukawng Valley (also called Hugawng in Kachin) in the country's northern Kachin State before 2010, said regime insiders.
The new Burman settlers, who make up the majority of the country’s population, will be mainly settled in areas close to three Kachin villages known as Nawng Mi, Sahtu Zup and Wara Zup on the Ledo or Stilwell Road also called Burma Road during WW II, added insiders.
In the guise of Rangoon-based Yuzana Company's crop plantation in the Valley, only Burman people from different areas of lower Burma have been resettled in the Valley since late 2006, said native Kachins from the Valley.
U Htay Myint a Chinese-Burman from Kutkai town in northeast Shan State chairs the company, which bought over 200,000 acres of land in Hukawng Valley from the junta. The purchase was politically motivated, said company sources.
The company is now continuously transporting Burman workers into its crop plantation area in the Valley. However, many workers are leaving the job and fleeing because of very low salaries, said sources among workers.
All runaway workers not only do not return homes from the Valley but the company also does not have a programme of bringing them back, added company sources.
The company has already constructed over 1500 houses for the workers in identical styles in two separate places. Two Thai-styled big factories are also being constructed in two different places near the labour quarters, said eyewitnesses.
The company is now mainly growing Cassava Plants and Sugar Cane in the newly ploughed fields, said eyewitnesses. The glue and curry-sweet powder are being produced for export from next year, according to company sources.
Till now, the junta has already resettled over 40,000 Burman people from lower Burma in the Valley. They were systematically transported by both Yuzana Company and local Burmese Army battalions, said native Kachin community leaders.
There are an estimated 20,000 native Kachin in villages in the Hukawng Valley along the Ledo Road starting from Namti to Shingbwi Yang. The entire Valley has been separately ruled by 12 Kachin Duwas (rulers) in Kachin history until the Britishers gave Burma Independence on January 4, 1948.
At the same time, Htoo Company owned by the Burman tycoon U Te Za (also spelled Tay Za), son-in-law of the junta supremo Senior General Than Shwe is taking out at least 50 trucks of hardwood per day from the Valley to Mogaung train station for export under the banner of Yuzana Company, said company sources.
Besides, U Te Za's Htoo Company is also practically supporting the Yuzana Company with essential finance and construction machinery, according to company insiders.
Recently, the junta's Northern Command (Ma Pa Kha) commander Brig-Gen Soe Win landed in a helicopter at the helipad in No. 1 Yuzana Village of Yuzana Company in the Valley. He proudly spoke to the local people that the crop plantation can be done by every one because peace has been restored in the Valley, said local people.
The Hukawng Valley was named as the world largest Tiger Reserve by the US-based Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) in 2004. However, the Yunaza Company is destroying the reserve by heavy logging and converting forests into crop fields, said locals.
Locals and eyewitnesses told KNG, the Yuzana Company has already occupied and destroyed the No. 1 Tiger Conservation Camp near Nawng Mi village for crop plantation.
The Burman-dominated junta’s response to people or organizations who oppose the crop plantation of Yuzana Company by saying, "Man is more important than the Tiger", said company sources.
Kachin people in Burma feels that the junta is deeply is into ethnic cleansing and huge land confiscation in Hukawng Valley by using the Yuzana Company and local Burmese Army bases.
kachinnews
The new Burman settlers, who make up the majority of the country’s population, will be mainly settled in areas close to three Kachin villages known as Nawng Mi, Sahtu Zup and Wara Zup on the Ledo or Stilwell Road also called Burma Road during WW II, added insiders.
In the guise of Rangoon-based Yuzana Company's crop plantation in the Valley, only Burman people from different areas of lower Burma have been resettled in the Valley since late 2006, said native Kachins from the Valley.
U Htay Myint a Chinese-Burman from Kutkai town in northeast Shan State chairs the company, which bought over 200,000 acres of land in Hukawng Valley from the junta. The purchase was politically motivated, said company sources.
The company is now continuously transporting Burman workers into its crop plantation area in the Valley. However, many workers are leaving the job and fleeing because of very low salaries, said sources among workers.
All runaway workers not only do not return homes from the Valley but the company also does not have a programme of bringing them back, added company sources.
The company has already constructed over 1500 houses for the workers in identical styles in two separate places. Two Thai-styled big factories are also being constructed in two different places near the labour quarters, said eyewitnesses.
The company is now mainly growing Cassava Plants and Sugar Cane in the newly ploughed fields, said eyewitnesses. The glue and curry-sweet powder are being produced for export from next year, according to company sources.
Till now, the junta has already resettled over 40,000 Burman people from lower Burma in the Valley. They were systematically transported by both Yuzana Company and local Burmese Army battalions, said native Kachin community leaders.
There are an estimated 20,000 native Kachin in villages in the Hukawng Valley along the Ledo Road starting from Namti to Shingbwi Yang. The entire Valley has been separately ruled by 12 Kachin Duwas (rulers) in Kachin history until the Britishers gave Burma Independence on January 4, 1948.
At the same time, Htoo Company owned by the Burman tycoon U Te Za (also spelled Tay Za), son-in-law of the junta supremo Senior General Than Shwe is taking out at least 50 trucks of hardwood per day from the Valley to Mogaung train station for export under the banner of Yuzana Company, said company sources.
Besides, U Te Za's Htoo Company is also practically supporting the Yuzana Company with essential finance and construction machinery, according to company insiders.
Recently, the junta's Northern Command (Ma Pa Kha) commander Brig-Gen Soe Win landed in a helicopter at the helipad in No. 1 Yuzana Village of Yuzana Company in the Valley. He proudly spoke to the local people that the crop plantation can be done by every one because peace has been restored in the Valley, said local people.
The Hukawng Valley was named as the world largest Tiger Reserve by the US-based Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) in 2004. However, the Yunaza Company is destroying the reserve by heavy logging and converting forests into crop fields, said locals.
Locals and eyewitnesses told KNG, the Yuzana Company has already occupied and destroyed the No. 1 Tiger Conservation Camp near Nawng Mi village for crop plantation.
The Burman-dominated junta’s response to people or organizations who oppose the crop plantation of Yuzana Company by saying, "Man is more important than the Tiger", said company sources.
Kachin people in Burma feels that the junta is deeply is into ethnic cleansing and huge land confiscation in Hukawng Valley by using the Yuzana Company and local Burmese Army bases.
kachinnews
Junta deploys more troops along Shweli River
More troops have been deployed along the Shweli (Ruili in Chinese) River in northern Shan Sate in Burma since early this month by the ruling junta, said local sources.
Over a dozen ferry stations are located along the Shweli River (N'Mau Hka in Kachin) and Burmese troops are stationed at these stations, a local eyewitness told KNG today.
The river divides Shan and Kachin States. Strategically Kachin Independence Army (KIA) soldiers cross the river on their way between the general headquarters in Kachin State and its 4th brigade in northeast Shan State, said local residents.
At the moment No. (33) Light Infantry Division from Ywataung in Sagaing Division, No. (58) Infantry Battalion (IB) from Waingmaw town and No. 437 Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) from Momauk (N'mawk in Kachin) are operating in the area along the left and right flanks of the river, according to local travellers.
Except No. (33) Light Infantry Division, different Infantry and Light Infantry Battalions are operating there in rotation for short periods, said local sources.
No. 12 and No. 27 KIA battalions are based in the north of the river. The KIA’s 4th brigade and its three battalions are stationed in the south west of the river, said KIO sources.
KIA officers in the area feel deployment of Burmese troops could be aimed to check KIA soldiers from crossing the river from the different ferry stations along the river and isolate the KIA 4th brigade from the headquarters in Kachin State.
The KIO has been pressurized to convert its armed-wing the KIA into a battalion of a "Border Guard Force" since April. The KIO has been given a deadline of October to respond to the junta proposal, said KIO sources.
As a response to the junta, the KIO is now into two missions--- launching a civilian and organizational awareness campaign on transforming the KIA while KIA troops have been ordered to stand by for defensive action against the Burmese Army as in the pre-ceasefire period.
kachinnews
Over a dozen ferry stations are located along the Shweli River (N'Mau Hka in Kachin) and Burmese troops are stationed at these stations, a local eyewitness told KNG today.
The river divides Shan and Kachin States. Strategically Kachin Independence Army (KIA) soldiers cross the river on their way between the general headquarters in Kachin State and its 4th brigade in northeast Shan State, said local residents.
At the moment No. (33) Light Infantry Division from Ywataung in Sagaing Division, No. (58) Infantry Battalion (IB) from Waingmaw town and No. 437 Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) from Momauk (N'mawk in Kachin) are operating in the area along the left and right flanks of the river, according to local travellers.
Except No. (33) Light Infantry Division, different Infantry and Light Infantry Battalions are operating there in rotation for short periods, said local sources.
No. 12 and No. 27 KIA battalions are based in the north of the river. The KIA’s 4th brigade and its three battalions are stationed in the south west of the river, said KIO sources.
KIA officers in the area feel deployment of Burmese troops could be aimed to check KIA soldiers from crossing the river from the different ferry stations along the river and isolate the KIA 4th brigade from the headquarters in Kachin State.
The KIO has been pressurized to convert its armed-wing the KIA into a battalion of a "Border Guard Force" since April. The KIO has been given a deadline of October to respond to the junta proposal, said KIO sources.
As a response to the junta, the KIO is now into two missions--- launching a civilian and organizational awareness campaign on transforming the KIA while KIA troops have been ordered to stand by for defensive action against the Burmese Army as in the pre-ceasefire period.
kachinnews
Junta deploys fresh troops secretly in Kachin State
The Burmese military junta is secretly deploying more combat troops in Kachin State at a time when negotiations are on with the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) over the transformation of its armed-wing into a battalion of a "Border Guard Force", said local sources.
As of the second week of June, able soldiers have been selected from different battalions and secretly infused into local Burmese Army battalions and military bases in the frontlines in different regions of Kachin State by the instruction of Lt-Gen Ye Myint of Chief of Military Affairs Security of the junta. They include two unidentified Light Infantry Divisions, said a source close to Burmese troops.
The new batch of troops are now secretly being stationed in the areas around Bhamo District in the eastern region of Irrawaddy River (also called Mali Hka in Kachin) and the areas between Myitkyina-Mandalay railways in the western region of the Irrawaddy River, the sources added.
Eyewitnesses in Bhamo said they often see Burmese military columns on the road between Bhamo-Namkham (Namhkam in Kachin), the illegal border trade route with China. They also see military columns of the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), the armed-wing of KIO on the same trade route.
The KIO suggested to the junta that the KIA be made a "State Security Force" instead of the junta-proposed "Border Guard Force" during the meeting between KIO delegates and the regime over transforming KIA, in Mali Hka Center in the junta's Northern Command headquarters in the Kachin State's capital Myitkyina on June 21, said KIO sources.
The KIO delegation was led by Vice-president No. 1 Lt-Gen Gauri Zau Seng while the junta's delegates were led by Northern Command Commander Brig-Gen Soe Win.
Meanwhile, KIO leaders are campaigning among the Kachin community in its controlled areas in Kachin State and in Northeast Shan State. It is explaining about the proposed KIA’s transformation. They are also asking for written suggestions to be sent to the KIO central committee, said Kachins in the two states. It is a month-long campaign to be concluded in June, said KIO officers.
Meanwhile, KIA troops have been alerted and are on standby in all battalions in Kachin State and Northeast Shan State to defend itself against the Burmese Army, said KIA officials.
All Kachin political organizations in the country and abroad and the Kachin public have advised to the KIO/A to reject the proposal of transforming the KIA and fight the junta, according to the Kachin media.
kachinnews
As of the second week of June, able soldiers have been selected from different battalions and secretly infused into local Burmese Army battalions and military bases in the frontlines in different regions of Kachin State by the instruction of Lt-Gen Ye Myint of Chief of Military Affairs Security of the junta. They include two unidentified Light Infantry Divisions, said a source close to Burmese troops.
The new batch of troops are now secretly being stationed in the areas around Bhamo District in the eastern region of Irrawaddy River (also called Mali Hka in Kachin) and the areas between Myitkyina-Mandalay railways in the western region of the Irrawaddy River, the sources added.
Eyewitnesses in Bhamo said they often see Burmese military columns on the road between Bhamo-Namkham (Namhkam in Kachin), the illegal border trade route with China. They also see military columns of the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), the armed-wing of KIO on the same trade route.
The KIO suggested to the junta that the KIA be made a "State Security Force" instead of the junta-proposed "Border Guard Force" during the meeting between KIO delegates and the regime over transforming KIA, in Mali Hka Center in the junta's Northern Command headquarters in the Kachin State's capital Myitkyina on June 21, said KIO sources.
The KIO delegation was led by Vice-president No. 1 Lt-Gen Gauri Zau Seng while the junta's delegates were led by Northern Command Commander Brig-Gen Soe Win.
Meanwhile, KIO leaders are campaigning among the Kachin community in its controlled areas in Kachin State and in Northeast Shan State. It is explaining about the proposed KIA’s transformation. They are also asking for written suggestions to be sent to the KIO central committee, said Kachins in the two states. It is a month-long campaign to be concluded in June, said KIO officers.
Meanwhile, KIA troops have been alerted and are on standby in all battalions in Kachin State and Northeast Shan State to defend itself against the Burmese Army, said KIA officials.
All Kachin political organizations in the country and abroad and the Kachin public have advised to the KIO/A to reject the proposal of transforming the KIA and fight the junta, according to the Kachin media.
kachinnews
Junta rakes in 1,000 million Kyat from auction of seized cars
The Burmese military junta has earned a whopping net profit of over 1,000 million Kyat (an estimated over US $909,091) from its biggest auction ever of seized cars in Myitkyina, the capital of the country's northern Kachin State. The revenue was raked in, in a matter of days, local sources said.
Hundreds of car dealers, brokers, businessmen and the rich, mainly from Rangoon and Mandalay dropped in at the car auction venues in the Kachin State Football Stadium and the Burmese Army compound of the No. 37 Infantry Battalion in Myitkyina in the 2nd week of this June, said local residents.
Over 400 unlicensed cars were show cased in the exhibition. Most were luxury vehicles made in Japan while a few cars were of Chinese make, said local visitors.
All the cars in the auction were seized mainly in Myitkyina town as of 2000 from local civilians, businessmen and officers of two Kachin ceasefire groups--- the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) and the New Democratic Army-Kachin (NDA-K) by the town’s military authorities, according to residents of Myitkyina.
Now, the junta's town Municipal Office is collecting the annual 'Wheel Tax' from motorcycles owners in Myitkyina at the rate of 3,500 Kyat (US $3.2) per vehicle, said residents.
Sources close to the civic body said, the office earned over 20 million Kyat (an estimated over US $18,182) as revenue from imposing fines on motorcycle owners who drove it without paying the annual ‘Wheel Tax’.
Moreover, unlicensed Chinese motorcycles are always stopped and owners fined by traffic policemen in Myitkyina, local residents added.
Last week, the Municipal Office also forcibly demanded money from shop owners in the town at the rate of 8,000 Kyat (US $7.3) per shop for license cards issued by the civic body, said a shop owner in Tatkone quarter. Actually, it is meant to be free, according to shop owners.
Residents of Myitkyina are accusing the military authorities of trying to fleece civilians whenever they get the opportunity.
kachinnews
Hundreds of car dealers, brokers, businessmen and the rich, mainly from Rangoon and Mandalay dropped in at the car auction venues in the Kachin State Football Stadium and the Burmese Army compound of the No. 37 Infantry Battalion in Myitkyina in the 2nd week of this June, said local residents.
Over 400 unlicensed cars were show cased in the exhibition. Most were luxury vehicles made in Japan while a few cars were of Chinese make, said local visitors.
All the cars in the auction were seized mainly in Myitkyina town as of 2000 from local civilians, businessmen and officers of two Kachin ceasefire groups--- the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) and the New Democratic Army-Kachin (NDA-K) by the town’s military authorities, according to residents of Myitkyina.
Now, the junta's town Municipal Office is collecting the annual 'Wheel Tax' from motorcycles owners in Myitkyina at the rate of 3,500 Kyat (US $3.2) per vehicle, said residents.
Sources close to the civic body said, the office earned over 20 million Kyat (an estimated over US $18,182) as revenue from imposing fines on motorcycle owners who drove it without paying the annual ‘Wheel Tax’.
Moreover, unlicensed Chinese motorcycles are always stopped and owners fined by traffic policemen in Myitkyina, local residents added.
Last week, the Municipal Office also forcibly demanded money from shop owners in the town at the rate of 8,000 Kyat (US $7.3) per shop for license cards issued by the civic body, said a shop owner in Tatkone quarter. Actually, it is meant to be free, according to shop owners.
Residents of Myitkyina are accusing the military authorities of trying to fleece civilians whenever they get the opportunity.
kachinnews
Kachin state, waiting for an ecological disaster
Kachin State in northern Burma is sitting on a powder keg of an ecological disaster. From impending dam related devastation to the rape of the environment in terms of incalculable damage to the flora and fauna has rendered the state extremely vulnerable. Rampant felling of trees and the wanton killing of myriad wildlife for filthy lucre for export to China has led to a serious situation which is far from being addressed.
For instance a series of earth quakes in China's southwest Yunnan province, bordering Burma has thrown up the spectre of future Chinese-made dam disasters in northern Burma. There was an earthquake of 4.9 magnitude on the Richter scale in Ruili (Shweli) on the China-Burma border last week. China's Yunnan province and Kachin state in northern Burma sit on the same earth quake fault line.
China and Burma are into construction of three dams for hydropower projects in Taping River (also called Dapain River in China) in Kachin state. The Kachin Development Networking Group (KDNG) based on the Sino-Burma border nurses fears that if the three dams on Taping River should burst due to earth quakes originating from Yunnan province, the floods will threaten the lives and livelihoods of tens of thousands of people in Myothit, Momauk (N'Mawk) and Bhamo (Manmaw).
The Burma-Asia World Company and China's China Power Investment Corporation (CPI) are jointly gearing up to construct dams in Myitsone, the Mali-N'Mai River confluence, 10 miles north of Myitkyina, the capital of Kachin state and Chibwe in N'Mai River. There will be a total of seven dam projects in Mali and N'Mai Rivers in Kachin state leading to not only displacement of people but raising the chances of disasters and severe damage to the environment.
Natural disasters man made or otherwise apart, the ecology of Kachin state is being systematically destroyed due to rampant logging where trees by the thousands are being felled.
Rampant logging is one of biggest enemies of Kachin state and big money comes into play in the timber business which is denuding the forest cover of the state and ruining the ecology. In order to allow felling of trees bribes are paid on a monthly basis. Everyone from the Burmese Army to the police and government officials have their palms greased by Chinese timber businessmen in Kachin state.
Chinese loggers and log trucks in hordes from China's northwest Yunnan province arrived in the forests in Bhamo District in Kachin state in early November. At the last count there were 300 Chinese trucks and about 1,000 Chinese loggers. Hardwood and softwood is being felled non-stop and transported to the Sino-Burma border day and night. The lucrative trade that the Chinese are into is spelling the death knell of Kachin state's forest cover.
The heavy logging underway is a direct fall out of a deal struck between the Northern Command commander Brig-Gen Soe Win and local Chinese-Burmese timber businessman Lee Maw Yung. Bhamo District Military Strategic Command commander Lt-Col. Khin Maung Maung and Northern Command commander Brig-Gen Soe Win are said to receive the largest slice of bribes from Chinese timber businessmen. Even loss of life means nothing when it comes to timber trade for on December 15, a villager of Kone Ting in Mansi Township also called Manje in Kachin was shot dead in a dispute over logging between the Kone Ting villagers and timber-logger-thieves close to Chinese loggers.
Commander Brig-Gen Soe Win granted permission to export timber to China through the border checkpoints controlled by the two Kachin ceasefire groups--- Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), New Democratic Army-Kachin (NDA-K) and Lasang Awng Wa Ceasefire Group (LAWCG) in September after he was appointed as the new commander of Northern Command in June.
While China officially stopped importing timber from northern Burma in late 2005 Chinese timber businessmen had never really stopped timber felling. Now China has resumed importing timber from Kachin state as of early December.
As if denudation of forest cover was not enough, in northern Burma there is a raging trade in elephant body parts. The pachyderms are being killed for its ivory and skin for over a decade by local people. The shocking trade continues unhindered with prices in Kachin state for a set of tusks weighing between one to two Viss at 500,000 Kyat (US $ 397) to 600,000 Kyat (US $ 476). It is over 1.5 million Kyat for a set of tusks weighing over 10 Viss (1Viss = 1.6 Kilograms in Burmese measurement in terms of weight). Again one Viss of dry elephant skin is valued at over 40,000 Kyat (US $32). An elephant has at least over 100 Viss of skin so hunters earn over 4 million Kyat just from the skin. Ivory is mainly exported to Thailand and some to China but elephant skin mainly goes to China for traditional treatment. Here again bribes are offered in abundance to regime functionaries. There are only about 1,000 wild elephants where as the figure in 1994 was over 3,000 in Kachin state.
It would seem that conservation of wild life is an alien concept in Burma. Less than a month ago 2,000 snakes being transported in a truck were seized by special branch policemen in Myitkyina, the capital of Kachin state.
The reptiles were being exported to China where demand for all varieties of wild animals as food items is high. The snakes were in hundreds of wooden boxes. While some of the reptiles had died the rest were killed by the police and fire brigade personnel. They beat and set the reptiles, which included vipers, cobras and Boa Constrictors on fire without batting an eyelid.
China imports all kinds of wild animals from Kachin state. Leopards and tigers face the danger of extinction. The Chinese import the animals for its flesh, skin, horns, bones and other body parts.
The damage caused to the ecology and the environment is also immense because of rampant trapping and export of wild animals to China for food. Environmentalists are concerned. But the military junta pays no heed to such wanton destruction for money is to be made from all this.
The one thing that the Burmese generals do not do, is think of future generations, even their own, in terms of environment and ecology.
kachinnews
For instance a series of earth quakes in China's southwest Yunnan province, bordering Burma has thrown up the spectre of future Chinese-made dam disasters in northern Burma. There was an earthquake of 4.9 magnitude on the Richter scale in Ruili (Shweli) on the China-Burma border last week. China's Yunnan province and Kachin state in northern Burma sit on the same earth quake fault line.
China and Burma are into construction of three dams for hydropower projects in Taping River (also called Dapain River in China) in Kachin state. The Kachin Development Networking Group (KDNG) based on the Sino-Burma border nurses fears that if the three dams on Taping River should burst due to earth quakes originating from Yunnan province, the floods will threaten the lives and livelihoods of tens of thousands of people in Myothit, Momauk (N'Mawk) and Bhamo (Manmaw).
The Burma-Asia World Company and China's China Power Investment Corporation (CPI) are jointly gearing up to construct dams in Myitsone, the Mali-N'Mai River confluence, 10 miles north of Myitkyina, the capital of Kachin state and Chibwe in N'Mai River. There will be a total of seven dam projects in Mali and N'Mai Rivers in Kachin state leading to not only displacement of people but raising the chances of disasters and severe damage to the environment.
Natural disasters man made or otherwise apart, the ecology of Kachin state is being systematically destroyed due to rampant logging where trees by the thousands are being felled.
Rampant logging is one of biggest enemies of Kachin state and big money comes into play in the timber business which is denuding the forest cover of the state and ruining the ecology. In order to allow felling of trees bribes are paid on a monthly basis. Everyone from the Burmese Army to the police and government officials have their palms greased by Chinese timber businessmen in Kachin state.
Chinese loggers and log trucks in hordes from China's northwest Yunnan province arrived in the forests in Bhamo District in Kachin state in early November. At the last count there were 300 Chinese trucks and about 1,000 Chinese loggers. Hardwood and softwood is being felled non-stop and transported to the Sino-Burma border day and night. The lucrative trade that the Chinese are into is spelling the death knell of Kachin state's forest cover.
The heavy logging underway is a direct fall out of a deal struck between the Northern Command commander Brig-Gen Soe Win and local Chinese-Burmese timber businessman Lee Maw Yung. Bhamo District Military Strategic Command commander Lt-Col. Khin Maung Maung and Northern Command commander Brig-Gen Soe Win are said to receive the largest slice of bribes from Chinese timber businessmen. Even loss of life means nothing when it comes to timber trade for on December 15, a villager of Kone Ting in Mansi Township also called Manje in Kachin was shot dead in a dispute over logging between the Kone Ting villagers and timber-logger-thieves close to Chinese loggers.
Commander Brig-Gen Soe Win granted permission to export timber to China through the border checkpoints controlled by the two Kachin ceasefire groups--- Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), New Democratic Army-Kachin (NDA-K) and Lasang Awng Wa Ceasefire Group (LAWCG) in September after he was appointed as the new commander of Northern Command in June.
While China officially stopped importing timber from northern Burma in late 2005 Chinese timber businessmen had never really stopped timber felling. Now China has resumed importing timber from Kachin state as of early December.
As if denudation of forest cover was not enough, in northern Burma there is a raging trade in elephant body parts. The pachyderms are being killed for its ivory and skin for over a decade by local people. The shocking trade continues unhindered with prices in Kachin state for a set of tusks weighing between one to two Viss at 500,000 Kyat (US $ 397) to 600,000 Kyat (US $ 476). It is over 1.5 million Kyat for a set of tusks weighing over 10 Viss (1Viss = 1.6 Kilograms in Burmese measurement in terms of weight). Again one Viss of dry elephant skin is valued at over 40,000 Kyat (US $32). An elephant has at least over 100 Viss of skin so hunters earn over 4 million Kyat just from the skin. Ivory is mainly exported to Thailand and some to China but elephant skin mainly goes to China for traditional treatment. Here again bribes are offered in abundance to regime functionaries. There are only about 1,000 wild elephants where as the figure in 1994 was over 3,000 in Kachin state.
It would seem that conservation of wild life is an alien concept in Burma. Less than a month ago 2,000 snakes being transported in a truck were seized by special branch policemen in Myitkyina, the capital of Kachin state.
The reptiles were being exported to China where demand for all varieties of wild animals as food items is high. The snakes were in hundreds of wooden boxes. While some of the reptiles had died the rest were killed by the police and fire brigade personnel. They beat and set the reptiles, which included vipers, cobras and Boa Constrictors on fire without batting an eyelid.
China imports all kinds of wild animals from Kachin state. Leopards and tigers face the danger of extinction. The Chinese import the animals for its flesh, skin, horns, bones and other body parts.
The damage caused to the ecology and the environment is also immense because of rampant trapping and export of wild animals to China for food. Environmentalists are concerned. But the military junta pays no heed to such wanton destruction for money is to be made from all this.
The one thing that the Burmese generals do not do, is think of future generations, even their own, in terms of environment and ecology.
kachinnews
Myanmar links US Suu Kyi swimmer to exile groups
YANGON (AFP) – Myanmar’s junta said Thursday that a US man on trial for swimming to the house of Aung San Suu Kyi had links with exile groups in Thailand, apparently toughening its stance ahead of a visit by a UN envoy.
This Myanmar News Agency photo released in May 2009 shows John William Yettaw (3rdR at the table) talking to the consul of the US embassy Colin P. Furst (3rdL) at the Aung Thaeyey police detention centre in Yangon. Myanmar’s junta said that Yettaw, on trial for swimming to the house of Aung San Suu Kyi had links with exile groups in Thailand, apparently toughening its stance. (AFP/MNA/File)
American John Yettaw, a devout Mormon and US military veteran, has told the trial that he was on a mission from God to warn the Nobel laureate after having a vision that she would be assassinated.
But the military-ruled nation’s police chief, for the first time, Thursday named top dissidents with whom Yettaw had allegedly met before making the first of two visits to the democracy icon’s lakeside residence.
Aung San Suu Kyi is also on trial for allegedly breaching the terms of her house arrest, over what she says were uninvited visits by Yettaw. Both face up to five years in jail.
The junta rolled out the allegations a day before UN troubleshooter Ibrahim Gambari was due to visit Myanmar to lay the groundwork for a planned visit by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.
“According to concrete information, during Mr Yettaw’s stay in Thailand he met with some people from illegal organisations,” police chief Khin Yee told a hastily-arranged press conference at the interior ministry in Yangon.
He said that Yettaw had met Bo Kyi, co-founder of leading activist group the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners of Burma, while he was staying in the Thai border town of Mae Sot in September-October 2008.
Bo Kyi spent seven years in jail following a failed student uprising in 1988 and is an outspoken critic of Myanmar’s military regime.
The police chief named eight other top dissidents whom Yettaw had allegedly met while in Thailand. Reports in exile magazines have previously said that Yettaw was in the neighbouring country at around the same time.
“It’s a thing to consider — what kind of person or organizations supported Mr John William Yettaw to stay… in Thailand and Myanmar for many months using much money although he has no regular job and income,” Khin Yee said.
“There might be some people, such as a planner or instructor or supporter behind the scenes. We are still investigating who or which organization,” he added.
The regime last month said Yettaw’s visits to Aung San Suu Kyi’s house were organised by “anti-government elements” and that he was a “secret agent or her boyfriend”, but has not yet given details of the alleged links.
The trial at Yangon’s notorious Insein prison has heard that Yettaw walked through a drain to briefly visit her house in November 2008 but only left a copy of the “Book of Mormon” and did not see her.
He then swam across a lake to the house in May before staying there for two nights.
UN chief Ban and Gambari have been trying to persuade Myanmar’s military regime to free all political detainees, including Aung San Suu Kyi.
The Nobel laureate has spent 13 of the past 19 years in detention since the ruling generals refused to recognise the landslide victory of her National League for Democracy (NLD) in 1990 elections.
burmadigest
This Myanmar News Agency photo released in May 2009 shows John William Yettaw (3rdR at the table) talking to the consul of the US embassy Colin P. Furst (3rdL) at the Aung Thaeyey police detention centre in Yangon. Myanmar’s junta said that Yettaw, on trial for swimming to the house of Aung San Suu Kyi had links with exile groups in Thailand, apparently toughening its stance. (AFP/MNA/File)
American John Yettaw, a devout Mormon and US military veteran, has told the trial that he was on a mission from God to warn the Nobel laureate after having a vision that she would be assassinated.
But the military-ruled nation’s police chief, for the first time, Thursday named top dissidents with whom Yettaw had allegedly met before making the first of two visits to the democracy icon’s lakeside residence.
Aung San Suu Kyi is also on trial for allegedly breaching the terms of her house arrest, over what she says were uninvited visits by Yettaw. Both face up to five years in jail.
The junta rolled out the allegations a day before UN troubleshooter Ibrahim Gambari was due to visit Myanmar to lay the groundwork for a planned visit by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.
“According to concrete information, during Mr Yettaw’s stay in Thailand he met with some people from illegal organisations,” police chief Khin Yee told a hastily-arranged press conference at the interior ministry in Yangon.
He said that Yettaw had met Bo Kyi, co-founder of leading activist group the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners of Burma, while he was staying in the Thai border town of Mae Sot in September-October 2008.
Bo Kyi spent seven years in jail following a failed student uprising in 1988 and is an outspoken critic of Myanmar’s military regime.
The police chief named eight other top dissidents whom Yettaw had allegedly met while in Thailand. Reports in exile magazines have previously said that Yettaw was in the neighbouring country at around the same time.
“It’s a thing to consider — what kind of person or organizations supported Mr John William Yettaw to stay… in Thailand and Myanmar for many months using much money although he has no regular job and income,” Khin Yee said.
“There might be some people, such as a planner or instructor or supporter behind the scenes. We are still investigating who or which organization,” he added.
The regime last month said Yettaw’s visits to Aung San Suu Kyi’s house were organised by “anti-government elements” and that he was a “secret agent or her boyfriend”, but has not yet given details of the alleged links.
The trial at Yangon’s notorious Insein prison has heard that Yettaw walked through a drain to briefly visit her house in November 2008 but only left a copy of the “Book of Mormon” and did not see her.
He then swam across a lake to the house in May before staying there for two nights.
UN chief Ban and Gambari have been trying to persuade Myanmar’s military regime to free all political detainees, including Aung San Suu Kyi.
The Nobel laureate has spent 13 of the past 19 years in detention since the ruling generals refused to recognise the landslide victory of her National League for Democracy (NLD) in 1990 elections.
burmadigest
BURMA: Disabled battle stigma, lack of funds
(IRIN) - Nay Lin Soe, aged 28, campaigns for the rights of the disabled in Myanmar, a marginalized group with few rights and little support.
He contracted polio at the age of three, gets around on crutches, and has devoted his adult life to raising awareness of, and dispelling negative attitudes towards, disability.
"People in Myanmar think about disability in a traditional way," Nay Lin Soe told IRIN. "A family will usually regard a disabled person as a burden. And often a disabled person can feel like a burden because he or she doesn’t have a chance to lead a productive life."
Government-funded facilities for the disabled are limited. For a nation of 56 million people, there is just one school for disabled children, one vocational training centre for adults, and one rehabilitation centre - all in the commercial capital Yangon.
The disabled make up around 2.3 percent of the population, or some 1.3 million people, according to government figures.
Stigma and lack of mobility hamper them in their efforts to get a good education and a job. "They are isolated and excluded from society. As children they cannot go to school; as adults they have little or no income because it is almost impossible for them to get employment," said Nay Lin Soe.
The Education Ministry’s policy is to provide opportunities for disabled children in ordinary schools, but problems remain.
This month, the Disabled People's Development Organization (DPDO), a local NGO established in 2003, will open its first office in Yangon. It aims to change attitudes towards disability, campaign for equal rights and provide a place where its 120 members can come and share their experiences.
Nay Lin Soe, who is on the executive committee, told IRIN: "Lack of capacity is our biggest problem in promoting disability awareness and helping people living with disabilities."
Rehab programme
Nay Lin Soe is also the project manager of a community-based rehabilitation programme run by AAR Japan, one of the few foreign NGOs funding projects for disabled people in Myanmar.
AAR runs a vocational training centre in a suburb of north Yangon, where disabled people from across the country learn tailoring and hairdressing.
Chit Hinn Wai, who had both legs amputated above the knee after falling from a train at the age of 13, is learning hairdressing on a three month residential course. Since her accident five years ago she has lived in a government-run orphanage and this is the first time she has been able to share her experiences with other disabled people.
"I've made new friends and I've learned so much. I hope to use my skills and one day lead an independent life," she said.
AAR also runs community-based rehabilitation programmes in three areas affected by last year's Cyclone Nargis. They offer physiotherapy, free crutches and braces, and aim to make schools more accessible for disabled children.
But the one-year programme is a tiny contribution. "There just isn't enough support, from both inside and outside the country," said Nay Lin Soe. "My hope is that all disabled people in Myanmar can live with dignity."
He contracted polio at the age of three, gets around on crutches, and has devoted his adult life to raising awareness of, and dispelling negative attitudes towards, disability.
"People in Myanmar think about disability in a traditional way," Nay Lin Soe told IRIN. "A family will usually regard a disabled person as a burden. And often a disabled person can feel like a burden because he or she doesn’t have a chance to lead a productive life."
Government-funded facilities for the disabled are limited. For a nation of 56 million people, there is just one school for disabled children, one vocational training centre for adults, and one rehabilitation centre - all in the commercial capital Yangon.
The disabled make up around 2.3 percent of the population, or some 1.3 million people, according to government figures.
Stigma and lack of mobility hamper them in their efforts to get a good education and a job. "They are isolated and excluded from society. As children they cannot go to school; as adults they have little or no income because it is almost impossible for them to get employment," said Nay Lin Soe.
The Education Ministry’s policy is to provide opportunities for disabled children in ordinary schools, but problems remain.
This month, the Disabled People's Development Organization (DPDO), a local NGO established in 2003, will open its first office in Yangon. It aims to change attitudes towards disability, campaign for equal rights and provide a place where its 120 members can come and share their experiences.
Nay Lin Soe, who is on the executive committee, told IRIN: "Lack of capacity is our biggest problem in promoting disability awareness and helping people living with disabilities."
Rehab programme
Nay Lin Soe is also the project manager of a community-based rehabilitation programme run by AAR Japan, one of the few foreign NGOs funding projects for disabled people in Myanmar.
AAR runs a vocational training centre in a suburb of north Yangon, where disabled people from across the country learn tailoring and hairdressing.
Chit Hinn Wai, who had both legs amputated above the knee after falling from a train at the age of 13, is learning hairdressing on a three month residential course. Since her accident five years ago she has lived in a government-run orphanage and this is the first time she has been able to share her experiences with other disabled people.
"I've made new friends and I've learned so much. I hope to use my skills and one day lead an independent life," she said.
AAR also runs community-based rehabilitation programmes in three areas affected by last year's Cyclone Nargis. They offer physiotherapy, free crutches and braces, and aim to make schools more accessible for disabled children.
But the one-year programme is a tiny contribution. "There just isn't enough support, from both inside and outside the country," said Nay Lin Soe. "My hope is that all disabled people in Myanmar can live with dignity."
MYANMAR: Food security improving but challenges persist in south
YANGON,(IRIN) - More than a year after Cyclone Nargis struck Myanmar, food security shows signs of improvement, but huge challenges remain, particularly in the southern areas of the Ayeyarwady Delta.
Some 140,000 people were killed and 2.4 million affected when the category four storm swept across the low-lying nation on 2 and 3 May 2008.
"The victims in the northern part of the delta are on their way towards recovery," Chris Kaye, WFP country representative, told IRIN in Yangon, noting, however, that critical needs persisted elsewhere.
"Limited agricultural productivity and low levels of employment or other income-generating activities mean that the coming lean season will be particularly difficult for families to feed themselves," he said, referring to the south, which typically has only one rice harvest a year as opposed to two in the north.
"There is clear evidence that much more needs to be done to ensure we have fully put victims back on their feet and that families and communities can sustain themselves," Kaye said - an assessment echoed by others in the humanitarian community.
"While the life-threatening crisis is over, communities are still dependent on assistance since their livelihoods are not yet back to normal," Marc Sekpon, Nargis response coordinator for Action Against Hunger, said.
More than half the labour force works in agriculture, growing rice, corn, sugarcane and other crops.
"Food will not be truly secure until livelihoods have been restored," Tesfai Ghermazien, a senior emergency and rehabilitation coordinator with the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in Myanmar, added.
"Agricultural support, including seeds and tools, is critical for the upcoming planting season," said Belete Temesgen, relief and food department manager for World Vision/Myanmar, which is targeting 140 villages in the townships of Pyapon, Bogale and Hinggyi.
"If they fail to plant due to lack of cash or seeds, they will [slip] away from recovery and this will further erode their coping mechanisms," he warned.
Greatest risk areas
According to the latest WFP Rapid Food Security Assessment (RFSA) conducted earlier this year, food insecurity remains a serious concern in the southern and western areas of the delta.
The survey showed that 51 percent of sampled households in the Labutta and Bogale townships relied on food aid for rice supplies, while only 25 percent reported a recovery in their livelihoods.
A majority - 83 percent - of those surveyed were reportedly in debt, with food purchases the dominant cause.
Unemployment is high, and support is needed to help reconstitute income-generating activities of those affected, whether in agriculture, fishing or petty trading, Kaye said.
"Recovery will require several more years of support and input," he said.
According to the FAO, just 5-10 percent of all lost fishing gear has been replaced, and there is still a shortage of draft animals for tilling by small and medium-sized farmers.
Numbers of pigs, chickens and ducks also need boosting given their importance as a source of income for scores of vulnerable landless households, the agency said.
Rebuilding livelihoods
To rehabilitate individual and community assets, WFP and its partners are increasingly shifting towards more sustainable, medium-term recovery programmes, such as land development and activities that can enhance food production and access to markets.
"While WFP food assistance will be phased out over the course of the next seven months or so, our exit is conditional on the ability of families and communities to extract themselves from the high levels of debt they have incurred as they have tried to rebuild their lives, and to move toward more sustainable livelihoods," Kaye stressed.
In the past year, WFP has delivered food assistance to more than one million beneficiaries, comprising 70,000 MT. The agency is wrapping up operations in Pyapon and Mawgyun, but extending operations in Bogale and Labutta townships until the end of 2009, involving 300,000 people.
Although significantly fewer than the one million people who once received food assistance at the height of the agency's operation in October, the number is significant in an area once referred to as the "bread basket" of Myanmar - which previously did not require food assistance, say specialists.
Some 140,000 people were killed and 2.4 million affected when the category four storm swept across the low-lying nation on 2 and 3 May 2008.
"The victims in the northern part of the delta are on their way towards recovery," Chris Kaye, WFP country representative, told IRIN in Yangon, noting, however, that critical needs persisted elsewhere.
"Limited agricultural productivity and low levels of employment or other income-generating activities mean that the coming lean season will be particularly difficult for families to feed themselves," he said, referring to the south, which typically has only one rice harvest a year as opposed to two in the north.
"There is clear evidence that much more needs to be done to ensure we have fully put victims back on their feet and that families and communities can sustain themselves," Kaye said - an assessment echoed by others in the humanitarian community.
"While the life-threatening crisis is over, communities are still dependent on assistance since their livelihoods are not yet back to normal," Marc Sekpon, Nargis response coordinator for Action Against Hunger, said.
More than half the labour force works in agriculture, growing rice, corn, sugarcane and other crops.
"Food will not be truly secure until livelihoods have been restored," Tesfai Ghermazien, a senior emergency and rehabilitation coordinator with the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in Myanmar, added.
"Agricultural support, including seeds and tools, is critical for the upcoming planting season," said Belete Temesgen, relief and food department manager for World Vision/Myanmar, which is targeting 140 villages in the townships of Pyapon, Bogale and Hinggyi.
"If they fail to plant due to lack of cash or seeds, they will [slip] away from recovery and this will further erode their coping mechanisms," he warned.
Greatest risk areas
According to the latest WFP Rapid Food Security Assessment (RFSA) conducted earlier this year, food insecurity remains a serious concern in the southern and western areas of the delta.
The survey showed that 51 percent of sampled households in the Labutta and Bogale townships relied on food aid for rice supplies, while only 25 percent reported a recovery in their livelihoods.
A majority - 83 percent - of those surveyed were reportedly in debt, with food purchases the dominant cause.
Unemployment is high, and support is needed to help reconstitute income-generating activities of those affected, whether in agriculture, fishing or petty trading, Kaye said.
"Recovery will require several more years of support and input," he said.
According to the FAO, just 5-10 percent of all lost fishing gear has been replaced, and there is still a shortage of draft animals for tilling by small and medium-sized farmers.
Numbers of pigs, chickens and ducks also need boosting given their importance as a source of income for scores of vulnerable landless households, the agency said.
Rebuilding livelihoods
To rehabilitate individual and community assets, WFP and its partners are increasingly shifting towards more sustainable, medium-term recovery programmes, such as land development and activities that can enhance food production and access to markets.
"While WFP food assistance will be phased out over the course of the next seven months or so, our exit is conditional on the ability of families and communities to extract themselves from the high levels of debt they have incurred as they have tried to rebuild their lives, and to move toward more sustainable livelihoods," Kaye stressed.
In the past year, WFP has delivered food assistance to more than one million beneficiaries, comprising 70,000 MT. The agency is wrapping up operations in Pyapon and Mawgyun, but extending operations in Bogale and Labutta townships until the end of 2009, involving 300,000 people.
Although significantly fewer than the one million people who once received food assistance at the height of the agency's operation in October, the number is significant in an area once referred to as the "bread basket" of Myanmar - which previously did not require food assistance, say specialists.
NDAK ready to turn into ‘Border Guard’ force
Chiang Mai/Ruili – The ethnic armed group, the New Democratic Army – Kachin (NDAK), which has a ceasefire agreement with the ruling Burmese junta, has consented to the regime’s proposal of transforming its army into a ‘Border Guard’ force.
NDAK Chairman Zahkung Ting Ying in an interview to Mizzima on Thursday said it had accepted the junta’s proposal to change its army into a border guard force during a meeting with the junta’s Northern Military Commander Brig-Gen Soe Win on June 24 at the NDAK headquarters in Pang Wa.
“We had the meeting in our headquarters. We discussed transforming our army into the border guard and we agreed to do it. We believe we will be able to transform our army,” Zahkung Ting Ying said.
“We are ceasefire groups. We are not armed rebels fighting against the country. We want to transform our army to be able to continue guarding our region,” he added.
The meeting, held in the Sino-Burma border town, was arranged by the Burmese junta. The junta’s delegates was led by Northern Commander Brig-Gen Soe Win along with several other officials, the NDAK was represented by Chairman Zahkung Ting Ying and several other officials.
Zahkung Ting Ying said, the group will form a political party and contest the 2010 general elections. They have demanded that the junta give the right of self-governance to Kachin ethnics.
“At this stage, we are only at the level of demanding special privileges as an ethnic group of the country. But after transformation, the armed groups will be different and those without arms will need to restart our lives again,” he added.
The NDAK is one of the first armed ceasefire groups that the junta wanted to transform into a border guard force. Other groups such as the Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO) and United Wa State Army (UWSA) have rejected the proposal.
Sources close to KIO said leaders of the KIO during a meeting with Brig-Gen Soe Win in Myitkyina, capital of Kachin state on June 20, rejected the proposal.
Similarly, the UWSA, during its meeting with the junta’s Military Affairs Security (MAS) Chief Lt-Gen Ye Myint on June 7 in Panghsang, rejected the junta’s proposal. Following the rejection, fresh tension was triggered between the groups and the junta. This has resulted in the junta reinforcing its troops based in northern and eastern Burma, an official of the UWSA told Mizzima.
Both the UWSA and KIO, though they have rejected the proposal, said they are willing to hold talks with the new government that will be formed after the election in 2010.
The Zahkung Ting Ying led NDAK is a splinter group of the Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO), which was formed in 1961 to fight for self-determination of the Kachin people. The NDAK was earlier the 3rd Brigade of the Kachin Independence Army, the armed wing of KIO, which was set up in Pang Wa region in 1968.
Later the NDAK joined the Burma Communist Party’s (BCP) as the 101 military region but broke off with the BCP and on December 15, 1989 the group signed a ceasefire peace pact with the ruling junta.
NDAK Chairman Zahkung Ting Ying in an interview to Mizzima on Thursday said it had accepted the junta’s proposal to change its army into a border guard force during a meeting with the junta’s Northern Military Commander Brig-Gen Soe Win on June 24 at the NDAK headquarters in Pang Wa.
“We had the meeting in our headquarters. We discussed transforming our army into the border guard and we agreed to do it. We believe we will be able to transform our army,” Zahkung Ting Ying said.
“We are ceasefire groups. We are not armed rebels fighting against the country. We want to transform our army to be able to continue guarding our region,” he added.
The meeting, held in the Sino-Burma border town, was arranged by the Burmese junta. The junta’s delegates was led by Northern Commander Brig-Gen Soe Win along with several other officials, the NDAK was represented by Chairman Zahkung Ting Ying and several other officials.
Zahkung Ting Ying said, the group will form a political party and contest the 2010 general elections. They have demanded that the junta give the right of self-governance to Kachin ethnics.
“At this stage, we are only at the level of demanding special privileges as an ethnic group of the country. But after transformation, the armed groups will be different and those without arms will need to restart our lives again,” he added.
The NDAK is one of the first armed ceasefire groups that the junta wanted to transform into a border guard force. Other groups such as the Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO) and United Wa State Army (UWSA) have rejected the proposal.
Sources close to KIO said leaders of the KIO during a meeting with Brig-Gen Soe Win in Myitkyina, capital of Kachin state on June 20, rejected the proposal.
Similarly, the UWSA, during its meeting with the junta’s Military Affairs Security (MAS) Chief Lt-Gen Ye Myint on June 7 in Panghsang, rejected the junta’s proposal. Following the rejection, fresh tension was triggered between the groups and the junta. This has resulted in the junta reinforcing its troops based in northern and eastern Burma, an official of the UWSA told Mizzima.
Both the UWSA and KIO, though they have rejected the proposal, said they are willing to hold talks with the new government that will be formed after the election in 2010.
The Zahkung Ting Ying led NDAK is a splinter group of the Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO), which was formed in 1961 to fight for self-determination of the Kachin people. The NDAK was earlier the 3rd Brigade of the Kachin Independence Army, the armed wing of KIO, which was set up in Pang Wa region in 1968.
Later the NDAK joined the Burma Communist Party’s (BCP) as the 101 military region but broke off with the BCP and on December 15, 1989 the group signed a ceasefire peace pact with the ruling junta.
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