Monday, August 31, 2009
Prepaid Cards Have Hidden Fees
Hidden expenses in prepaid cards
By EILEEN AMBROSE
BALTIMORE SUN
Published: Sunday, August 30, 2009 at 4:03 a.m.
source
As students head back to college, marketers are promoting prepaid cards as a way for young adults to learn financial responsibility and for Mom and Dad to monitor a child's spending.
But a prepaid card can be an expensive teaching tool, and not necessarily the best one.
Basically, parents buy a card, load it with money and give it to a child to use like a credit card. It's up to students to track their spending. Once the money runs out, parents can reload the card.
A recent report by Consumers Union says prepaid cards can carry a wide range of fees, some of them hefty and not always easy to find. Fees vary from card to card, of course. But here is some of what Consumers Union found:
Some cards don't charge an activation fee; others do and charge as much as $29.95.
Many cards charge monthly fees that can be as high as $10. Some assess annual fees of $29.95 to $99.95.
Most cards charge a $2 fee to withdraw cash from an ATM, not counting a fee from the bank to use its ATM.
Cards often offer free ways, such as e-mail or text message, to check a card balance. Check it at an ATM and you may pay 50 cents to $1.
Overdrafts are possible if purchases aren't posted immediately and you spend more than the card holds. You can get hit with a $14.95 to $29 "shortage fee."
If you don't use the card for a couple of months or more, you might owe $1.50 to $5.95 a month for inactivity.
Consumers Union says some card issuers offer consumer protections in case a card is lost or stolen, but protections aren't guaranteed, as they are with debit cards.
"Until the protections are the same with the debit card, we advise consumers to stay away from this if at all possible," says Michelle June, a Consumers Union staff attorney. "We recommend that parents obtain a good old-fashioned bank account" for their college student.
The Network Branded Prepaid Card Association counters that Consumers Union doesn't give the full picture and should have compared prepaid cards to alternatives, such as check cashing and money orders, that are more costly to use. And the trade group says if not for prepaid cards, millions of consumers wouldn't have access to the convenience of plastic.
But college students don't belong in that group. They should have a checking account with a debit card tied to it. And when they learn to handle that responsibly over time, they can graduate to a credit card.
(Begin optional trim) Janet Bodnar, author of "Raising Money Smart Kids," says credit, debit and prepaid cards all have their drawbacks, but a debit card is the best way to teach financial responsibility to young adults. Sure, college students might get hit with a $30 overdraft fee if they overspend using a debit card, but that's a lesson they need to learn, and the earlier the better, she says.
Prepaid cards not only have a lot of fees, Bodnar says, but they send a message to students that if they overspend, parents will bail them out by loading more dollars onto the cards.
"You are not really teaching them to manage their own money," she says.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Helicopter aid service grounded
YANGON, 20 August 2009 (IRIN) - For aid workers, accessing Myanmar's cyclone-stricken Ayeyarwady Delta had meant a hop into the World Food Programme (WFP) helicopter and being airborne for about an hour. Not any more. The service stopped on 15 August after Myanmar’s government failed to extend it.
“It is back to six-hour-long road trips or boat rides,” grumbled an aid worker.
Chris Kaye, WFP country director, confirmed that the service had been discontinued. The agency had started off with a fleet of 10 helicopters after Cyclone Nargis struck Myanmar on 2 and 3 May 2008. The service delivered 1,119MT of life-saving supplies, including food and shelter materials, and transported thousands of aid workers and people needing urgent assistance.
The operation was reduced to a single helicopter in recent months but continued to provide critical access to the delta not only for WFP but the entire humanitarian community as roads are often inaccessible after rains.
"The service was a great convenience also for government officials and donors conducting assessments of the various post-Nargis programmes," said Thierry Delbreuve, head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Myanmar.
However, Andrew Kirkwood, Save the Children's country director in Myanmar, pointed out that the continuation of the service had to be weighed up against the fact that the relief operations in the delta were no longer in an emergency phase and “maybe the funds allocated for the air service could be better used elsewhere now”.
Aid operations, after Nargis killed nearly 140,000 people and affected 2.4 million, are now in a recovery phase, with thousands of beneficiaries.
irinnews
“It is back to six-hour-long road trips or boat rides,” grumbled an aid worker.
Chris Kaye, WFP country director, confirmed that the service had been discontinued. The agency had started off with a fleet of 10 helicopters after Cyclone Nargis struck Myanmar on 2 and 3 May 2008. The service delivered 1,119MT of life-saving supplies, including food and shelter materials, and transported thousands of aid workers and people needing urgent assistance.
The operation was reduced to a single helicopter in recent months but continued to provide critical access to the delta not only for WFP but the entire humanitarian community as roads are often inaccessible after rains.
"The service was a great convenience also for government officials and donors conducting assessments of the various post-Nargis programmes," said Thierry Delbreuve, head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Myanmar.
However, Andrew Kirkwood, Save the Children's country director in Myanmar, pointed out that the continuation of the service had to be weighed up against the fact that the relief operations in the delta were no longer in an emergency phase and “maybe the funds allocated for the air service could be better used elsewhere now”.
Aid operations, after Nargis killed nearly 140,000 people and affected 2.4 million, are now in a recovery phase, with thousands of beneficiaries.
irinnews
Rebels say junta shell kills Chinese soldiers
The United Wa State Army (UWSA) that has joined battle with its Kokang ally against the Burma Army yesterday said a shell aimed for its mountain base near the border had overshot the mark and killed one People’s Liberation Army (PLA) soldier while wounding two others.
“When the Burma Army launched attack against the mountain base near Qingsuihe (Chinshwehaw) in the afternoon, we had no choice, but to join the fight,” said a UWSA officer who asked not to be named.
Kokang’s Qingsuihe, also known as Nampha in Shan is opposite the Wa’s Namteuk (written Nanding in Pinyin) in the south. The two towns are separated by the Namting, a tributary of the Salween, and connected by a bridge. The fall of the strategic mountain base would have threatened Namteuk, according to the UWSA.
“We captured more than a hundred POWs, whom we turned over to the PLA,” he claimed.
No independent confirmation of the rebels’ statement could be obtained as yet. (Latest information says the casualties were civilians, not PLA soldiers)
Resumption of hostilities between the Kokang-Wa-Mongla forces and the Burma Army (after 20 years of an uneasy but working truce) started yesterday morning when a police patrol that had strayed too near the Kokangs’ temporary headquarters was attacked. Three policeman were reportedly killed and the rest fled across the border where they were disarmed by the PLA. (Kachin News Group reported they were soldiers in police uniforms.)
Meanwhile, the Burma Army that had ousted Kokang leader Peng Jiasheng has appointed his former deputy-turned-defector Bai Souqian as the new leader. “The Kokang Army (also known as Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army) has about 1,000 troops,” said a businessman who had just gone out of business in Kokang. “Not more than 200 had joined Bai. The rest are still with Peng.”
The Burma Army’s next target after Kokang that covers the Wa’s northern border could be Mongla that protects the Wa’s southern border, said a the anti-Rangoon Shan State Army (SSA) ‘South’ source. The closure of two borders could have strangled the UWSA to death without fighting, according to a Thai security source.
However, according to reports coming from the Thai-Burma border, the Burma Army’s next target could also be the UWSA’s 171st Military Region, opposite Thailand’s Maehongson, Chiangmai and Chiangrai provinces.
The Operations Commander in Mongton, opposite Chinagmai, reportedly demanded on 26 August that the Wa withdraw from all their bases west of the Mongton-BP1 (Thai border) road. “He didn’t give any deadline as in the past,” said an informed source in Mongton. “He just said ‘at once’. Naturally, the Wa, instead of complying with his order, merely reinforced their positions.”
On the other hand, no reports of the new Burma Army units into the area have been received, said the SSA South. “But all our units have been placed on the alert,” said Col Yawdserk, the SSA’s supreme commander.
Meanwhile, Hkun Okker of the National Council of the Union of Burma (NCUB) said Burma’s military rulers could find itself fighting on two fronts as in 1988. “September is the second anniversary of the Saffron Revolution,” he told SHAN. “I certainly hope the two parties (those protesting in the towns and cities and those fighting on the borders) can find ways to cooperate and coordinate their activities.”
The military regime that was facing 8888 uprising on the one hand and facing the Chinese-backed Communist Party of Burma (CPB) on the other was saved by the mutinies that erupted within the CPB’s ranks in 1989. The ensuing ceasefire pacts between the mutineers and Burma’s military government had been celebrated by Kokang, Wa and Mongla in March, April and June respectively.
shanland
“When the Burma Army launched attack against the mountain base near Qingsuihe (Chinshwehaw) in the afternoon, we had no choice, but to join the fight,” said a UWSA officer who asked not to be named.
Kokang’s Qingsuihe, also known as Nampha in Shan is opposite the Wa’s Namteuk (written Nanding in Pinyin) in the south. The two towns are separated by the Namting, a tributary of the Salween, and connected by a bridge. The fall of the strategic mountain base would have threatened Namteuk, according to the UWSA.
“We captured more than a hundred POWs, whom we turned over to the PLA,” he claimed.
No independent confirmation of the rebels’ statement could be obtained as yet. (Latest information says the casualties were civilians, not PLA soldiers)
Resumption of hostilities between the Kokang-Wa-Mongla forces and the Burma Army (after 20 years of an uneasy but working truce) started yesterday morning when a police patrol that had strayed too near the Kokangs’ temporary headquarters was attacked. Three policeman were reportedly killed and the rest fled across the border where they were disarmed by the PLA. (Kachin News Group reported they were soldiers in police uniforms.)
Meanwhile, the Burma Army that had ousted Kokang leader Peng Jiasheng has appointed his former deputy-turned-defector Bai Souqian as the new leader. “The Kokang Army (also known as Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army) has about 1,000 troops,” said a businessman who had just gone out of business in Kokang. “Not more than 200 had joined Bai. The rest are still with Peng.”
The Burma Army’s next target after Kokang that covers the Wa’s northern border could be Mongla that protects the Wa’s southern border, said a the anti-Rangoon Shan State Army (SSA) ‘South’ source. The closure of two borders could have strangled the UWSA to death without fighting, according to a Thai security source.
However, according to reports coming from the Thai-Burma border, the Burma Army’s next target could also be the UWSA’s 171st Military Region, opposite Thailand’s Maehongson, Chiangmai and Chiangrai provinces.
The Operations Commander in Mongton, opposite Chinagmai, reportedly demanded on 26 August that the Wa withdraw from all their bases west of the Mongton-BP1 (Thai border) road. “He didn’t give any deadline as in the past,” said an informed source in Mongton. “He just said ‘at once’. Naturally, the Wa, instead of complying with his order, merely reinforced their positions.”
On the other hand, no reports of the new Burma Army units into the area have been received, said the SSA South. “But all our units have been placed on the alert,” said Col Yawdserk, the SSA’s supreme commander.
Meanwhile, Hkun Okker of the National Council of the Union of Burma (NCUB) said Burma’s military rulers could find itself fighting on two fronts as in 1988. “September is the second anniversary of the Saffron Revolution,” he told SHAN. “I certainly hope the two parties (those protesting in the towns and cities and those fighting on the borders) can find ways to cooperate and coordinate their activities.”
The military regime that was facing 8888 uprising on the one hand and facing the Chinese-backed Communist Party of Burma (CPB) on the other was saved by the mutinies that erupted within the CPB’s ranks in 1989. The ensuing ceasefire pacts between the mutineers and Burma’s military government had been celebrated by Kokang, Wa and Mongla in March, April and June respectively.
shanland
Scorched earth victims ordered to rebuild houses
(DVB)–Villagers in Burma’s central Shan state whose houses were razed in the junta’s latest scorched earth campaign this month have been ordered by the army to rebuild their property.
Some 500 hundred houses were burnt down by the Burmese army near Laihka town in Shan state between 27 July and 1 August, uprooting around 10,000 civilians.
Sein Kyi, deputy editor of the Shan Herald Agency for News, said that army officials in the area recently ordered those who fled to return to their villages and rebuild their homes.
“They also shot video and picture footage of the villages being rebuilt to make it look like the army was actually helping the villagers.”
He said the villages were burnt down by army soldiers together with troops from a splinter group of the opposition Shan State Army, known as the Brigade 758.
“Now the army officials are telling villagers it was the Brigade 758 who burnt down their houses, despite warning [the brigade] not to,” he said.
“But actually, it was the [government] troops who burnt down the villages and the Brigade 758 was only accompanying them.”
The order to rebuild the villages follows a press conference held two weeks ago in Bangkok by Shan right groups, who reported that around 40 villages have been targeted in the campaign.
According to the groups, it is the single largest forced relocation in Shan state since a campaign from 1996 to 1998 saw the uprooting of 300,000 villagers, many of whom fled to Thailand.
Some aid materials, brought to the displaced by sympathisers in nearby towns and villages, were reportedly intercepted by the army on August 7.
Sein Kyi said that the materials were recently distributed to the villagers under the army battalion’s name.
Much of the scorched earth campaign has focused on Laikha township, where over 100 villagers, including women, have been arrested and tortured, and three have died. Many of these were displaced by the previous campaign.
Reporting by Aye Nai
Some 500 hundred houses were burnt down by the Burmese army near Laihka town in Shan state between 27 July and 1 August, uprooting around 10,000 civilians.
Sein Kyi, deputy editor of the Shan Herald Agency for News, said that army officials in the area recently ordered those who fled to return to their villages and rebuild their homes.
“They also shot video and picture footage of the villages being rebuilt to make it look like the army was actually helping the villagers.”
He said the villages were burnt down by army soldiers together with troops from a splinter group of the opposition Shan State Army, known as the Brigade 758.
“Now the army officials are telling villagers it was the Brigade 758 who burnt down their houses, despite warning [the brigade] not to,” he said.
“But actually, it was the [government] troops who burnt down the villages and the Brigade 758 was only accompanying them.”
The order to rebuild the villages follows a press conference held two weeks ago in Bangkok by Shan right groups, who reported that around 40 villages have been targeted in the campaign.
According to the groups, it is the single largest forced relocation in Shan state since a campaign from 1996 to 1998 saw the uprooting of 300,000 villagers, many of whom fled to Thailand.
Some aid materials, brought to the displaced by sympathisers in nearby towns and villages, were reportedly intercepted by the army on August 7.
Sein Kyi said that the materials were recently distributed to the villagers under the army battalion’s name.
Much of the scorched earth campaign has focused on Laikha township, where over 100 villagers, including women, have been arrested and tortured, and three have died. Many of these were displaced by the previous campaign.
Reporting by Aye Nai
Lawyers to appeal Suu Kyi sentence
(DVB)–Lawyers for Burma opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi are set to appeal her sentencing next week, following complaints that new conditions of her house arrest are stricter than before.
Suu Kyi met with her lawyers yesterday at her Rangoon compound where she has been sentenced to 18 months under house arrest.
“We mainly discussed an appeal to reconsider her sentence passed by the Insein district court,” said lawyer Nyan Win.
“We brought along the draft version of the appeal we wrote [which] is to be amended in the next few days.”
A finalised version of the appeal will be submitted next week. Nyan Win said lawyers also talked with Suu Kyi regarding the new house arrest conditions set by the government.
“In her previous house detention, she was allowed to meet with family members and also granted a regular medical check-up, but she doesn’t get these under the new conditions,” said Nyan Win, adding that a lot of the wording in the new conditions is unclear.
Suu Kyi was sentenced on 11 August to an 18-month commuted sentence under house arrest, following the visit in May of US citizen John Yettaw to her compound.
Yettaw, who was sentenced to seven years with hard labour, was released last week followig a visit to Burma by US senator Jim Webb.
Webb, who also met with Suu Kyi, stirred controversy following the visit with claims that Suu Kyi had hinted at a change in her pro-sanctions stance. This provided the basis for a commentary published in the New York Times yesterday.
“Daw Aung San Suu Kyi said she did not see his remarks as reflecting the Obama administration’s policy,” said Nyan Win.
Nyan Win said the National League Democracy (NLD) party was informed by the US embassy in Rangoon that three humanitarian experts from the US senate will be meeting with the party today.
It is unclear however what will be discussed in the meeting.
Reporting by Htet Aung Kyaw
Suu Kyi met with her lawyers yesterday at her Rangoon compound where she has been sentenced to 18 months under house arrest.
“We mainly discussed an appeal to reconsider her sentence passed by the Insein district court,” said lawyer Nyan Win.
“We brought along the draft version of the appeal we wrote [which] is to be amended in the next few days.”
A finalised version of the appeal will be submitted next week. Nyan Win said lawyers also talked with Suu Kyi regarding the new house arrest conditions set by the government.
“In her previous house detention, she was allowed to meet with family members and also granted a regular medical check-up, but she doesn’t get these under the new conditions,” said Nyan Win, adding that a lot of the wording in the new conditions is unclear.
Suu Kyi was sentenced on 11 August to an 18-month commuted sentence under house arrest, following the visit in May of US citizen John Yettaw to her compound.
Yettaw, who was sentenced to seven years with hard labour, was released last week followig a visit to Burma by US senator Jim Webb.
Webb, who also met with Suu Kyi, stirred controversy following the visit with claims that Suu Kyi had hinted at a change in her pro-sanctions stance. This provided the basis for a commentary published in the New York Times yesterday.
“Daw Aung San Suu Kyi said she did not see his remarks as reflecting the Obama administration’s policy,” said Nyan Win.
Nyan Win said the National League Democracy (NLD) party was informed by the US embassy in Rangoon that three humanitarian experts from the US senate will be meeting with the party today.
It is unclear however what will be discussed in the meeting.
Reporting by Htet Aung Kyaw
30,000 flee as China rebukes Burma
(DVB)–Around 30,000 refugees have crossed into China according to UN estimates as fighting between Burmese troops and ceasefire groups sparked a rare admonishment from China’s foreign ministry.
A spokesperson for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said today that between 10,000 and 30,000 civilians have fled Burma’s northern Shan state into China in recent days.
Fighting broke out between Burmese army troops and the Kokang ceasefire group yesterday after weeks of heightening tension.
Kokang troops yesterday attacked a police outpost near to Laogai town close to the China-Burma border, killing one Burmese police officer and injuring two.
The Kokang group has been joined by the United Wa State Army, Burma’s largest ceasefire group who had held a 20-year truce with the government.
Today China’s foreign ministry issued a statement urging Burma to "properly deal with its domestic issue to safeguard the regional stability in the China-Myanmar [Burma] border area".
"We also urge Myanmar to protect the safety and legal rights of Chinese citizens in Myanmar," said spokesperson Jiang Yu in the statement.
China is a key ally of Burma’s ruling junta, and seldom criticizes the internal affairs of its southern neighbour.
The mass of refugees pouring into China however, in addition to reports that a Burmese army shell fired across the border today killed a Chinese troop, has created a rare fissure between the two countries.
China has reportedly increased its troop patrols along the border area, and is said to be assisting the refugees.
“We have been informed that local authorities in Yunnan Province have already provided emergency shelter, food and medical care to the refugees,” said the UNHRC spokesperson Andrej Mahecic.
Local sources report that a number of civilians have also escaped into inner Shan state.
Reporting by Francis Wade
A spokesperson for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said today that between 10,000 and 30,000 civilians have fled Burma’s northern Shan state into China in recent days.
Fighting broke out between Burmese army troops and the Kokang ceasefire group yesterday after weeks of heightening tension.
Kokang troops yesterday attacked a police outpost near to Laogai town close to the China-Burma border, killing one Burmese police officer and injuring two.
The Kokang group has been joined by the United Wa State Army, Burma’s largest ceasefire group who had held a 20-year truce with the government.
Today China’s foreign ministry issued a statement urging Burma to "properly deal with its domestic issue to safeguard the regional stability in the China-Myanmar [Burma] border area".
"We also urge Myanmar to protect the safety and legal rights of Chinese citizens in Myanmar," said spokesperson Jiang Yu in the statement.
China is a key ally of Burma’s ruling junta, and seldom criticizes the internal affairs of its southern neighbour.
The mass of refugees pouring into China however, in addition to reports that a Burmese army shell fired across the border today killed a Chinese troop, has created a rare fissure between the two countries.
China has reportedly increased its troop patrols along the border area, and is said to be assisting the refugees.
“We have been informed that local authorities in Yunnan Province have already provided emergency shelter, food and medical care to the refugees,” said the UNHRC spokesperson Andrej Mahecic.
Local sources report that a number of civilians have also escaped into inner Shan state.
Reporting by Francis Wade
10,000 More Kokang Refugees Flee into China
Another wave of 10,000 Kokang civilians fled into China on Thursday and Friday due to continued clashes between the Burmese army and ethnic militias in the Kokang region of northeastern Burma, said sources on the Sino-Burmese border.
Some 4,000 of the displaced villagers have not yet received food or shelter due to logistics, a relief worker in the area who requested anonymity told The Irrawaddy on Friday.
He said the newly arrived Kokang refugees are being divided into two shelters—one in Zheng Kang County and one in Gengma County where Chinese authorities are already providing humanitarian assistance to the more than 10,000 Kokangs who arrived within the last week.
He pointed out that many of the refugees are not sheltering in the camps because they can stay with their relatives on the Chinese side of the border.
Meanwhile, electricity and lines of communication have been cut in and around the Kokang capital, Laogai, said the relief worker.
Saeng Juen, one of the editors of the Thailand-based Shan Herald Agency for News, said at least 30,000 fled into China on Thursday. The Irrawaddy could not independently confirm this report, however.
A humanitarian NGO working in the region reported on Friday that refugees are still crossing the border into Yunnan Province and clashes between the Burmese army and the Kokang militia and its allies are ongoing.
Aung Kyaw Zaw, a Burmese analyst on the Sino-Burmese border, said that major clashes have been reported in Chinshwehaw, a Kokang town south of Laogai, at about 11 a.m. On Friday.
He said that Chinese authorities would only allow Kokang-based Chinese nationals to cross into China and that some refugees were stopped at the border crossing.
The Burmese army seized Laogai on Monday night without a single bullet being fired.
However, on Thursday morning a Burmese police patrol was ambushed by the Kokang army, and several clashes were later reported in and around Laogai between the Burmese army and an alliance of ethnic ceasefire groups: the Kokang militia, known as the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), and its allies the United Wa State Army (UWSA) and the National Democratic Alliance Army—Eastern Shan State (NDAA).
The three insurgent groups are among 17 ethnic armies that have reportedly signed ceasefire agreements with the Burmese junta over the past 20 years.
irrawaddy
Some 4,000 of the displaced villagers have not yet received food or shelter due to logistics, a relief worker in the area who requested anonymity told The Irrawaddy on Friday.
He said the newly arrived Kokang refugees are being divided into two shelters—one in Zheng Kang County and one in Gengma County where Chinese authorities are already providing humanitarian assistance to the more than 10,000 Kokangs who arrived within the last week.
He pointed out that many of the refugees are not sheltering in the camps because they can stay with their relatives on the Chinese side of the border.
Meanwhile, electricity and lines of communication have been cut in and around the Kokang capital, Laogai, said the relief worker.
Saeng Juen, one of the editors of the Thailand-based Shan Herald Agency for News, said at least 30,000 fled into China on Thursday. The Irrawaddy could not independently confirm this report, however.
A humanitarian NGO working in the region reported on Friday that refugees are still crossing the border into Yunnan Province and clashes between the Burmese army and the Kokang militia and its allies are ongoing.
Aung Kyaw Zaw, a Burmese analyst on the Sino-Burmese border, said that major clashes have been reported in Chinshwehaw, a Kokang town south of Laogai, at about 11 a.m. On Friday.
He said that Chinese authorities would only allow Kokang-based Chinese nationals to cross into China and that some refugees were stopped at the border crossing.
The Burmese army seized Laogai on Monday night without a single bullet being fired.
However, on Thursday morning a Burmese police patrol was ambushed by the Kokang army, and several clashes were later reported in and around Laogai between the Burmese army and an alliance of ethnic ceasefire groups: the Kokang militia, known as the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), and its allies the United Wa State Army (UWSA) and the National Democratic Alliance Army—Eastern Shan State (NDAA).
The three insurgent groups are among 17 ethnic armies that have reportedly signed ceasefire agreements with the Burmese junta over the past 20 years.
irrawaddy
Junta Renews ‘Divide-and-Rule’ Tactic in Shan State
Two decades of ceasefire agreements between the Burmese junta and northern ethnic armies have collapsed as armed clashes broke out on Thursday when the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) and its ethnic allies opened fire on Burmese troops around the Kokang capital of Laogai.
Government troops took over Laogai on Monday without firing a single shot.
According to informed border sources, skirmishes continued from Thursday morning into Friday. Government troops fired artillery rounds into MNDAA positions, reportedly killing one Chinese civilian. One government policeman also has died, sources said.
Border guards and the regime’s constitution
Tension between the regime and ethnic ceasefire groups in northern Shan state increased steadily over the past few months as the junta began pressuring cease-fire groups to disarm and transform into a border guard force in April, in accordance with the new 2008 constitution which calls for all ethnic armies to be under the control of the regime.
Cease-fire groups such as the Wa, Kachin, Shan State Army [North] and Kokang have all rejected the guard force proposal.
Wa and Kokang delegates who attended the military-sponsored National Convention in Rangoon spoke out against the clause in the draft constitution, saying it limited the autonomy of ethnic minorities.
Aung Moe Zaw, a secretary with the exiled umbrella opposition National Council of Union of Burma, said the recent conflict clearly grows out of the flawed approval process of the constitution in 2008.
The ethnic minorities also are uphappy about the junta’s so-called “7-steps to democracy” process leading up to the 2010 national election.
Why the Kokang?
Why did the junta’s generals choose to confront the Kokang leaders first?
The Kokang army, with about 800 troops, is weaker than other ethnic armies, and its leaders clearly opposed placing their troops under government control. The Kokang are widely known to be heavily involved in the illicit drug trade.
Compared to the 20,000 Wa soldiers in the UWSA and the 4,000 Kachin soldiers with the KIA, the Kokang army presents an easy target.
The regime first launched a public relations offensive, linking Peng Jiasheng to the illicit drug trade. Bertil Linter, a Swedish journalist, noted the irony of the charge, considering that until recently Peng Jiasheng was always wheeled out to meet foreigner visitors including UN special envoy Ibrahim Gambari and presented as “a leader of the local nationals.”
The regime was also well aware of internal conflict among the Kokang leaders, and when Peng Jiasheng abandoned his headquarters in Laogai, it quickly put together a pro-regime Kokang faction to challenge the leadership of the MNDAA. It is a proven regime divide-and-rule tactic that was used successfully on Karen rebels in 1995.
“They [the junta] will replay the old game—create a proxy group then say two things: it’s a dispute over drugs and other criminal acts and it has nothing to do with the Tatamadaw [the armed forces],” said Min Zin, a US-based contributor to The Irrawaddy.
China’s role
China has repeatedly called for political stability on the northern border and for national reconciliation, and it is worried about a migration of refugees into Chinese territory.
It is difficult to gauge how China will deal with the armed clashes, but it has offered political support in the past to ethnic Wa, Kachin and Kokang along the border, while also supporting the junta.
On Thursday, the Secretary 1 of the junta, Gen Tin Aung Myint Oo, met with the visiting Chinese Deputy Commerce Minister Chen Jian in Naypyidaw.
Brig-Gen Kyaw Hsan, the information minister and an important member of the junta, met with the Chinese Cultural Counselor Charge d’ Affairs, Gao Hua, in the capital on Wednesday. Chinese officials were expected to raise the issue about the conflict along the northern border opposite Yunnan Province.
It is believed that senior Chinese and Burmese officials continue to hold meetings in Kunming, the capital of Yunnan, according to sources on the border.
During the meetings, Chinese officials reportedly have warned their Burmese counterparts, charging that Burmese soldiers crossed into Chinese territory this week.
According to the state-run China Daily, Song Qingrun, a senior researcher with the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations, said that the situation on the border will have no impact on China-Burma relations.
Song, however, added it will hurt local businesses and border trade as more than 10,000 Chinese businessmen and workers live in Kokang-controlled territory where up to 90 percent of the businesses are owned by Chinese.
irrawaddy
Government troops took over Laogai on Monday without firing a single shot.
According to informed border sources, skirmishes continued from Thursday morning into Friday. Government troops fired artillery rounds into MNDAA positions, reportedly killing one Chinese civilian. One government policeman also has died, sources said.
Border guards and the regime’s constitution
Tension between the regime and ethnic ceasefire groups in northern Shan state increased steadily over the past few months as the junta began pressuring cease-fire groups to disarm and transform into a border guard force in April, in accordance with the new 2008 constitution which calls for all ethnic armies to be under the control of the regime.
Cease-fire groups such as the Wa, Kachin, Shan State Army [North] and Kokang have all rejected the guard force proposal.
Wa and Kokang delegates who attended the military-sponsored National Convention in Rangoon spoke out against the clause in the draft constitution, saying it limited the autonomy of ethnic minorities.
Aung Moe Zaw, a secretary with the exiled umbrella opposition National Council of Union of Burma, said the recent conflict clearly grows out of the flawed approval process of the constitution in 2008.
The ethnic minorities also are uphappy about the junta’s so-called “7-steps to democracy” process leading up to the 2010 national election.
Why the Kokang?
Why did the junta’s generals choose to confront the Kokang leaders first?
The Kokang army, with about 800 troops, is weaker than other ethnic armies, and its leaders clearly opposed placing their troops under government control. The Kokang are widely known to be heavily involved in the illicit drug trade.
Compared to the 20,000 Wa soldiers in the UWSA and the 4,000 Kachin soldiers with the KIA, the Kokang army presents an easy target.
The regime first launched a public relations offensive, linking Peng Jiasheng to the illicit drug trade. Bertil Linter, a Swedish journalist, noted the irony of the charge, considering that until recently Peng Jiasheng was always wheeled out to meet foreigner visitors including UN special envoy Ibrahim Gambari and presented as “a leader of the local nationals.”
The regime was also well aware of internal conflict among the Kokang leaders, and when Peng Jiasheng abandoned his headquarters in Laogai, it quickly put together a pro-regime Kokang faction to challenge the leadership of the MNDAA. It is a proven regime divide-and-rule tactic that was used successfully on Karen rebels in 1995.
“They [the junta] will replay the old game—create a proxy group then say two things: it’s a dispute over drugs and other criminal acts and it has nothing to do with the Tatamadaw [the armed forces],” said Min Zin, a US-based contributor to The Irrawaddy.
China’s role
China has repeatedly called for political stability on the northern border and for national reconciliation, and it is worried about a migration of refugees into Chinese territory.
It is difficult to gauge how China will deal with the armed clashes, but it has offered political support in the past to ethnic Wa, Kachin and Kokang along the border, while also supporting the junta.
On Thursday, the Secretary 1 of the junta, Gen Tin Aung Myint Oo, met with the visiting Chinese Deputy Commerce Minister Chen Jian in Naypyidaw.
Brig-Gen Kyaw Hsan, the information minister and an important member of the junta, met with the Chinese Cultural Counselor Charge d’ Affairs, Gao Hua, in the capital on Wednesday. Chinese officials were expected to raise the issue about the conflict along the northern border opposite Yunnan Province.
It is believed that senior Chinese and Burmese officials continue to hold meetings in Kunming, the capital of Yunnan, according to sources on the border.
During the meetings, Chinese officials reportedly have warned their Burmese counterparts, charging that Burmese soldiers crossed into Chinese territory this week.
According to the state-run China Daily, Song Qingrun, a senior researcher with the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations, said that the situation on the border will have no impact on China-Burma relations.
Song, however, added it will hurt local businesses and border trade as more than 10,000 Chinese businessmen and workers live in Kokang-controlled territory where up to 90 percent of the businesses are owned by Chinese.
irrawaddy
Fighting Stops as Kokang Surrender Arms to Chinese
Fighting near the Sino-Burmese border came to an abrupt halt today after about 700 Kokang troops handed over their weapons to Chinese officials following days of clashes that sent thousands fleeing across the border.
Aung Kyaw Zaw, a Burmese military analyst who is close to the Kokang, told The Irrawaddy on Saturday that at least 700 soldiers from the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), an ethnic-Kokang militia, crossed the border into China today and surrendered their arms to local officials.
He added that troops from the United Wa State Army (UWSA), a much larger force allied to the Kokang, have been repositioned to Wa-controlled territory.
The Irrawaddy was unable to verify this information with other independent sources.
The sudden end to the fighting came a day after Kokang and UWSA troops ambushed a convoy of Burmese army vehicles in Kokang territory. According to unconfirmed reports, more than a dozen Burmese soldiers were killed in the attack.
On Thursday, a 20-year ceasefire between the Burmese army and the armed ethnic groups broke down after government forces moved to occupy Kokang territory. Since then, the Burmese army has sent reinforcements into the area from Light Infantry Divisions 33 and 99.
The crisis began on Monday, when tens of thousands of refugees, including Chinese businessmen, started flooding across the border into China from Laogai, a town in Kokang territory. Cross-border trade in Laogai has since come to a standstill and trading at other border checkpoints has decreased, say sources in the area.
The rapidly deteriorating situation caused consternation in Beijing, which has long had close relations with both sides in the conflict. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Jiang Yu said China hoped the Burmese junta would deal with the situation properly and ensure stability along the border and protect Chinese citizens in Burma.
“China is following the situation closely and has expressed concern to Myanmar [Burma],” said Jiang.
Some observers said that junta head Snr-Gen Than Shwe’s decision to send troops into Kokang territory despite China’s concerns showed his determination to demonstrate that he will not be constrained by Beijing.
“The Burmese junta doesn’t care what anybody thinks, so I don’t think the generals are thinking about China’s response,” said Chan Tun, a former Burmese ambassador to China.
But while Naypyidaw showed little concern about the consequences of renewed fighting in the area, Beijing couldn’t ignore the worsening situation, as Chinese living near the border expressed outrage at the Burmese military’s actions.
“I feel upset with the Burmese government. The Kokang people have Chinese blood. And in China, many people are so angry that they are urging the Chinese government to send troops to help the Kokang,” said a Chinese journalist who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Although Beijing appears to have defused the potentially explosive situation for the time being, it remains to be seen if fighting will resume between the Burmese and the Wa, who command a much larger military force than the Kokang.
The current conflict stems from the refusal of ethnic ceasefire groups, including Kokang, Wa, Kachin and Shan militias, to transform themselves into border security forces under Burmese military command.
The 20,000-strong UWSA presents the greatest obstacle to Burmese ambitions to pacify the country’s borders after six decades of civil conflict. Although they were among the first ethnic groups to sign a ceasefire agreement with the current regime in 1989, they have also been the most resistant to any effort to weaken their hold over their territory.
In Rangoon, news of the clashes in the country’s north has revived memories of the insurgencies that wracked the region for decades.
“People here are talking about it at teashops. They are saying that this is the return of civil war,” said an editor of a private weekly journal in Rangoon.
Meanwhile, Burma’s main opposition party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), called for a peaceful resolution of the ongoing conflict in northern Burma.
“We want the junta to resolve the issue in a peaceful way with ethnic groups,” NLD spokesman Han Thar Myint told The Irrawaddy on Saturday. “The cause of the conflict is the Burmese regime’s failure to resolve problems in the country politically.”
irrawaddy
Aung Kyaw Zaw, a Burmese military analyst who is close to the Kokang, told The Irrawaddy on Saturday that at least 700 soldiers from the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), an ethnic-Kokang militia, crossed the border into China today and surrendered their arms to local officials.
He added that troops from the United Wa State Army (UWSA), a much larger force allied to the Kokang, have been repositioned to Wa-controlled territory.
The Irrawaddy was unable to verify this information with other independent sources.
The sudden end to the fighting came a day after Kokang and UWSA troops ambushed a convoy of Burmese army vehicles in Kokang territory. According to unconfirmed reports, more than a dozen Burmese soldiers were killed in the attack.
On Thursday, a 20-year ceasefire between the Burmese army and the armed ethnic groups broke down after government forces moved to occupy Kokang territory. Since then, the Burmese army has sent reinforcements into the area from Light Infantry Divisions 33 and 99.
The crisis began on Monday, when tens of thousands of refugees, including Chinese businessmen, started flooding across the border into China from Laogai, a town in Kokang territory. Cross-border trade in Laogai has since come to a standstill and trading at other border checkpoints has decreased, say sources in the area.
The rapidly deteriorating situation caused consternation in Beijing, which has long had close relations with both sides in the conflict. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Jiang Yu said China hoped the Burmese junta would deal with the situation properly and ensure stability along the border and protect Chinese citizens in Burma.
“China is following the situation closely and has expressed concern to Myanmar [Burma],” said Jiang.
Some observers said that junta head Snr-Gen Than Shwe’s decision to send troops into Kokang territory despite China’s concerns showed his determination to demonstrate that he will not be constrained by Beijing.
“The Burmese junta doesn’t care what anybody thinks, so I don’t think the generals are thinking about China’s response,” said Chan Tun, a former Burmese ambassador to China.
But while Naypyidaw showed little concern about the consequences of renewed fighting in the area, Beijing couldn’t ignore the worsening situation, as Chinese living near the border expressed outrage at the Burmese military’s actions.
“I feel upset with the Burmese government. The Kokang people have Chinese blood. And in China, many people are so angry that they are urging the Chinese government to send troops to help the Kokang,” said a Chinese journalist who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Although Beijing appears to have defused the potentially explosive situation for the time being, it remains to be seen if fighting will resume between the Burmese and the Wa, who command a much larger military force than the Kokang.
The current conflict stems from the refusal of ethnic ceasefire groups, including Kokang, Wa, Kachin and Shan militias, to transform themselves into border security forces under Burmese military command.
The 20,000-strong UWSA presents the greatest obstacle to Burmese ambitions to pacify the country’s borders after six decades of civil conflict. Although they were among the first ethnic groups to sign a ceasefire agreement with the current regime in 1989, they have also been the most resistant to any effort to weaken their hold over their territory.
In Rangoon, news of the clashes in the country’s north has revived memories of the insurgencies that wracked the region for decades.
“People here are talking about it at teashops. They are saying that this is the return of civil war,” said an editor of a private weekly journal in Rangoon.
Meanwhile, Burma’s main opposition party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), called for a peaceful resolution of the ongoing conflict in northern Burma.
“We want the junta to resolve the issue in a peaceful way with ethnic groups,” NLD spokesman Han Thar Myint told The Irrawaddy on Saturday. “The cause of the conflict is the Burmese regime’s failure to resolve problems in the country politically.”
irrawaddy
Suu Kyi visitor tells of 'sorrow'
The man who swam to the lakeside home of Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has spoken of his sorrow that his action led to her arrest and trial.
John Yettaw told the BBC that he had a dream that Ms Suu Kyi was going to be murdered, and swam to her home wearing home-made flippers to warn her.
Mr Yettaw was sentenced to seven years in prison but is now back home after US Senator Jim Webb intervened.
Ms Suu Kyi was sentenced to 18 months' further house arrest.
Mr Yettaw, a devout Mormon from Falcon, Missouri, told the BBC's Newshour programme that he had had many strong visions or dreams which he called "impressions" or "camcorder moments".
In one he says he foresaw an official plot to murder Ms Suu Kyi and this prompted him to swim twice to her home to warn her of the danger.
On the first occasion he says he left some Mormon scriptures for her but did not enter her home.
As he left he was challenged by an armed guard. He says he shook hands with the guard who then walked away and he took a taxi away from the scene.
Another dream
But he again swam to her house in May after another dream.
"I had been researching Myanmar (Burma) and researching about the internally displaced families and about the numbers of people who had been murdered and then about the numbers of people through the Cyclone (Nargis) and then about Aung San Suu Kyi's release date and I went to sleep that night and I had a dream that when she was released she was going to be murdered and I saw a plot," he said.
He said that he believed the inevitable publicity surrounding his trips would make it impossible for the Burmese military authorities to carry out their alleged plan to assassinate her.
"When I was in the water the first time... I had seen myself returning to the house and being in her house two days. When I had the dream of the assassination I thought: OK, I'll go back and I will share with her this message.
"I shared with many people that I had this overwhelming feeling that I was going to be imprisoned and become a political prisoner. The theme was that the eyes of the world would be on Aung San Suu Kyi and that this would spare her life, that the junta (Burma's military government) would not dare try to assassinate her."
Mr Yettaw, 53, said that when he arrived at Ms Suu Kyi's home for the second time she was "shocked" to see him.
"When I got in to talk to Aung San Suu Kyi I said there's a plot to assassinate you," he said. "She said: 'If I die I die.' I said no way, Burma needs you."
Both Mr Yettaw and Ms Suu Kyi were arrested and the pro-democracy leader was charged with breaking the terms of her house arrest by sheltering Mr Yettaw.
Mr Yettaw, who suffered ill health during his detention, spoke of his sorrow that his actions had led to Ms Su Kyi's arrest.
"I was sorrowful that she was arrested," he said. "I had impressions that I would be on trial and that Aung San Suu Kyi would either testify for or against me but not that she would be placed on trial because I think that if I had seen that I wouldn't have done it."
BCC
John Yettaw told the BBC that he had a dream that Ms Suu Kyi was going to be murdered, and swam to her home wearing home-made flippers to warn her.
Mr Yettaw was sentenced to seven years in prison but is now back home after US Senator Jim Webb intervened.
Ms Suu Kyi was sentenced to 18 months' further house arrest.
Mr Yettaw, a devout Mormon from Falcon, Missouri, told the BBC's Newshour programme that he had had many strong visions or dreams which he called "impressions" or "camcorder moments".
In one he says he foresaw an official plot to murder Ms Suu Kyi and this prompted him to swim twice to her home to warn her of the danger.
On the first occasion he says he left some Mormon scriptures for her but did not enter her home.
As he left he was challenged by an armed guard. He says he shook hands with the guard who then walked away and he took a taxi away from the scene.
Another dream
But he again swam to her house in May after another dream.
"I had been researching Myanmar (Burma) and researching about the internally displaced families and about the numbers of people who had been murdered and then about the numbers of people through the Cyclone (Nargis) and then about Aung San Suu Kyi's release date and I went to sleep that night and I had a dream that when she was released she was going to be murdered and I saw a plot," he said.
He said that he believed the inevitable publicity surrounding his trips would make it impossible for the Burmese military authorities to carry out their alleged plan to assassinate her.
"When I was in the water the first time... I had seen myself returning to the house and being in her house two days. When I had the dream of the assassination I thought: OK, I'll go back and I will share with her this message.
"I shared with many people that I had this overwhelming feeling that I was going to be imprisoned and become a political prisoner. The theme was that the eyes of the world would be on Aung San Suu Kyi and that this would spare her life, that the junta (Burma's military government) would not dare try to assassinate her."
Mr Yettaw, 53, said that when he arrived at Ms Suu Kyi's home for the second time she was "shocked" to see him.
"When I got in to talk to Aung San Suu Kyi I said there's a plot to assassinate you," he said. "She said: 'If I die I die.' I said no way, Burma needs you."
Both Mr Yettaw and Ms Suu Kyi were arrested and the pro-democracy leader was charged with breaking the terms of her house arrest by sheltering Mr Yettaw.
Mr Yettaw, who suffered ill health during his detention, spoke of his sorrow that his actions had led to Ms Su Kyi's arrest.
"I was sorrowful that she was arrested," he said. "I had impressions that I would be on trial and that Aung San Suu Kyi would either testify for or against me but not that she would be placed on trial because I think that if I had seen that I wouldn't have done it."
BCC
China Urges Burma to Bridle Ethnic Militia Uprising at Border
BANGKOK -- A Burmese government crackdown on powerful ethnic militias that have challenged its rule for more than 60 years has driven 10,000 refugees into neighboring China, prompting a rare rebuke from Chinese authorities, the Burmese regime's key allies.
The refugees fled over the border into China's Yunnan province in the past few days after fighting erupted between Burmese government troops and ethnic militia fighters from the Kokang region of the nation also known as Myanmar.
China called on the Burmese authorities to "properly handle domestic problems and maintain stability in the China-Myanmar border region," according to a statement from Foreign Ministry spokesman Jiang Yu. "We also urge Myanmar to protect the security and legal rights of Chinese citizens in Myanmar."
China has been balancing support for the Burmese government with backing for the armed ethnic groups that occupy much of the Burmese side of the border. The border regions are heavily influenced by China, with many Chinese businesses taking advantage of the trade in gems, timber and jade.
Analysts say the fighting is just the most obvious sign of tensions arising from the Burmese government's desire to control the armed ethnic groups with which it has co-existed uneasily since a round of cease-fires that began 20 years ago ended decades of open conflict.
The recent fighting in the Kokang region has pitted government troops against the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army as well as drawing in other ethnic groups involved in the cease-fire including the United Wa State Army, which with about 20,000 fighters is the largest ethnic army in the country.
A cease-fire agreement between the government and the National Democratic Alliance Army had been in place since 1989.
washingtonpost
The refugees fled over the border into China's Yunnan province in the past few days after fighting erupted between Burmese government troops and ethnic militia fighters from the Kokang region of the nation also known as Myanmar.
China called on the Burmese authorities to "properly handle domestic problems and maintain stability in the China-Myanmar border region," according to a statement from Foreign Ministry spokesman Jiang Yu. "We also urge Myanmar to protect the security and legal rights of Chinese citizens in Myanmar."
China has been balancing support for the Burmese government with backing for the armed ethnic groups that occupy much of the Burmese side of the border. The border regions are heavily influenced by China, with many Chinese businesses taking advantage of the trade in gems, timber and jade.
Analysts say the fighting is just the most obvious sign of tensions arising from the Burmese government's desire to control the armed ethnic groups with which it has co-existed uneasily since a round of cease-fires that began 20 years ago ended decades of open conflict.
The recent fighting in the Kokang region has pitted government troops against the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army as well as drawing in other ethnic groups involved in the cease-fire including the United Wa State Army, which with about 20,000 fighters is the largest ethnic army in the country.
A cease-fire agreement between the government and the National Democratic Alliance Army had been in place since 1989.
washingtonpost
Nursing mother shot in the neck and mouth by the Burma Army, she and her two month old baby at risk of death
On August 26th 2009, Burma Army troops and soldiers of the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) shot and severely wounded Ma Kin Kyi, 34, a woman from Htee Pa Doh village in Thaton District, west central Karen State. According to our local FBR relief team, the troops, from Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) 214 and DKBA 333 Brigade surrounded the house in which Ma Kin Kyi was staying and fired into it, severely injuring her in the neck, jaw and mouth. According to the team, Ma Kin Kyi, who has a 2 month old baby, is not likely to survive this injury because she is unable to drink or eat. The team reported that the troops entered the village and suspected that the house in which Ma Kin Kyi was staying contained soldiers from the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA). The FBR team is now in the area, giving Ma Kin Kyi emergency medical treatment and trying to help her survive as best as they can and will continue to report on the situation.
BNN/FBR
Sunflower Caffe
I just realized I've been misspelling my favorite Sonoma restaurant, The Sonoma Caffe! Caffe has two f's, not one.
Nevertheless no matter how you spell it, this is a GREAT place to eat and hang with friends. I love the spinach salad with chicken and totally enjoy sitting in the back patio.
Today, I snapped a few pics to share with you which include owner, James Hahn.
THANKS JAMES!!
Nevertheless no matter how you spell it, this is a GREAT place to eat and hang with friends. I love the spinach salad with chicken and totally enjoy sitting in the back patio.
Today, I snapped a few pics to share with you which include owner, James Hahn.
THANKS JAMES!!
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Lipari a secret gem north of Sicily
Off the Beaten Path: Europe's Unknown Island Destinations
You've heard of Sicily and Capri, Santorini and Ibiza. The only problem is, so has everybody else. If you're looking for that perfect getaway far from throngs of other tourists, there are thousands of European islands hiding in plain view, just waiting to be explored. From the pristine white beaches of the Mediterranean to the glaciers of the Arctic, here are 10 island gems that are off the beaten path.
An hour or so northwest of Sicily are the stunningly beautiful Aeolian Islands. Lipari, the largest of the chain, is generally the most crowded -- primarily with summer tourists who flock to its gorgeous beaches -- but is also the most interesting, historically.
Perched high on a cliff-top above the harbor is an ancient citadel, built in the 1500s, which still dominates the main town. If you're looking for a respite from the sand and sun, check out Diana District Archaeological Park, with its Greek and Roman ruins. Lipari can also serve as a perfect jumping-off point to explore the smaller, less crowded islands in the archipelago where you will find, among other things, active volcanoes, castles, thermal resorts and volcanic-black beaches.
To learn more about Sicily visit Sicily Tourist Guide
To get updates about the Best of Sicily follow us at www.twitter.com/SicilyToday
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“To have seen Italy without Sicily - is not to have seen Italy at all,
as Sicily is the key to everything” - Goethe
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THOUGHTS ON SOLJAS STORY
Watching this video, it takes me back to the 1960s in Montreal when we were going to change the world and build Utopia. We were totally in chardi kala and really believed we could make a difference.
("Are you willing to die for the Revolution?" "Die? Heck, anybody can die. I'm willing to live for the Revolution!" Mind you, none of us was quite sure what "the Revolution" was, but we were willing to live and die for it.)
Looking back, we were naive and maybe a bit silly, but we were dedicated and strong and we believed - we knew - that we had to make a difference. For a while, it looked like we were wrong. We made no difference at all. Some got discouraged. Some quit trying. Some remained in chard kala.
Then - 1984! It all fell to pieces. We were caught up in the violence in India. We fought. We died. Some lived to tell the story. It seemed that everything we had believed in, had dedicated our lives to, lay in ashes at our feet. Akaal Takht was in ruins, the evidence of our great history burnt by a bunch of thugs calling themselves the Army of India. Thousands dead, first in Amritsar, then in Delhi and elsewhere. Operation Woodrose. Operation Shanti? We realised that we, who had long fought for the rights of the oppressed and had gained independence for India, were despised, feared, looked upon as food for stray dogs in the street. We were stunned, stopped dead in our tracks. Ashes at our feet.
Then we remembered that we are Sikhs. We can be killed, but we cannot be destroyed. Our recovery has been slow and painful. These past twenty-five years have been difficult beyond words. But words are all we have to express ourselves with. So we try. Difficult these years have been, but not impossible. We are still here. We are still alive. We are still vital. We are regaining that chardi kala that is one of the marks of the Sikh, as recognisable and as Sikh as our panj kakkars.
I often hear my generation bemoaning the cutting of hair, the losing of identity, the lack of devotion among our young. These are problems, big problems and they must be faced and overcome. Then I think with great joy of my many young cyberfriends around the world, young Khalsa that who would make any generation of Sikhs burst with pride. They may not be many, but Guru ji will bless them and their ranks will grow.
[Note: I wanted to make a collage of some of these, but they would rather remain anonymous.]
Our problems will be faced and overcome as we have done in times of crisis in the past. As the parents and grandparents (when did I get old enough to be a grandmother?), we need to love and encourage these young people, teach them what we have learned. I have found that they are hungry to hear from the mouths and pens of the survivors what really happened in 1984. We are reluctant to speak, partly from our own pain and partly from a misguided desire to spare our children the pain of those years. This is their history and they have a right to it. We must share our experiences with them. This history is their birthright, as much as are the stories of Mughals.
[Note: this picture is from [The Rise of the Khalsa]
(Follow the link for a preview!)
So, back in 1967, we were out to build Utopia. We haven't yet succeeded in that. It's not likely we will. There have been positive changes, however. The Canadian government has openly recognised the injustices done to us in the past. To the south, I watched with amazement the Presidential debate between a Black Senator and a White Senator in a university that had been integrated within my memory with bloodshed amid shouts of "Segregation today, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever!"
With even more amazement, I watched the inauguration of that same Black Senator as the President of still the most powerful nation in the world.
We recently celebrated the 91st birthday of Nelson Mandela, former President of the Republic of South Africa.
It is no longer unusual to see women in the governments of various nations. A woman is Chancellor of Germany.
Have we done enough? Of course not! I do think that we need to stop a minute and acknowledge that we have accomplished something. And move on forward, refreshed and in chardi kala.
This is what this song brought up in my heart and mind.
Earlier, I said we have only words. I was wrong. We have words and images and music. Let us be joyful as we walk from the past
through the present and
into the future,
into the future with our turbaned heads held high, a smile on our collective face and love in our collective heart.
BTW, I am not endorsing this group, only presenting my thoughts on the video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTd3e3wO2ok
Sonoma's Sky Today
Do you really think these are normal clouds??
The only good thing about all these man-made artificial poisonous 'clouds' is the beautiful sunset they make (link)!
8/28/09
7:30 am
10 am
Afternoon
Looking Beyond Sonoma Chemtrails
The only good thing about all these man-made artificial poisonous 'clouds' is the beautiful sunset they make (link)!
8/28/09
7:30 am
10 am
Afternoon
Looking Beyond Sonoma Chemtrails
Friday, August 28, 2009
Who said giving the EP more powers was a good thing?
A new report from the cross-party House of Lord's EU Scrutiny Committee will make yet more uncomfortable reading for all those Yes campaigners who are still, against all the evidence, operating under the illusion (or lie more like) that the Lisbon Treaty will be good for national parliamentary democracy.The report looks at the meaning and implications of the so-called 'co-decision' procedure, whereby EU ministers meeting in the European Council have a more or less equal say over decisions as the European Parliament. Those decisions which are not subject to co-decision are usually taken by the Council acting alone.
The Lisbon Treaty proposes to extend the use of the co-decision procedure to 40 more policy areas, so that just about all decisions made by the EU are decided jointly with the European Parliament (as oppposed to about 75% currently).
But the House of Lords report finds significant problems with exercising national parliamentary scrutiny of EU legislation under the co-decision procedure, which could be set to worsen if it is extended under Lisbon.
The report reads, "Should the Lisbon Treaty come into force, these difficulties will be magnified by the expansion of codecision into new areas: notably agriculture, fisheries and justice and home affairs."
The report finds that, under co-decision, more and more legislative proposals are reaching a first-reading agreement in the European Parliament and Council, or an early second-reading agreement (as opposed to going to proper second and third readings). This reduces the amount of time that the legislative process takes, but also consequently reduces the (already meagre) amount of time that national parliaments have to scrutinise proposals and give their feedback to government ministers, in order to inform national positions on amendments and negotiations.
Even pro-Lisbon ex-MEP Richard Corbett (who gave evidence to the Committee) admitted that first reading agreements "limit" the "advantage" national Parliaments have, saying second and third reading agreements make Parliamentary scrutiny potentially easier.
'Informal trilogue'
The report finds that, when first-reading agreements are reached, they are often the result of "informal trilogue" meetings which take place before the official readings, in order to negotiate an acceptable text. These trilogue meetings contain representatives from the Commission, the Council and the European Parliament. The French Deputy Permanent Representative to the EU who gave evidence to the committee said, "the real negotiation takes place in the trilogue" and the Lords committee says the use of these has increased to the point that they are now the primary form of negotiation between the European Parliament and the Council.
The problem is that, as the Lords report found: "informal trilogues, whilst helpful to expeditious agreement of legislation, make effective scrutiny of codecided legislation by national parliaments very difficult."
If national Parliaments receive a Commission proposal, they may be scrutinising it while it is already being negotiated and amended by the Council and the EP. Unless national Parliaments receive up-to-date information about how the proposal is changing, scrutiny becomes even more of a redundant exercise, as it fails to reflect what the final outcome of the negotations will look like.
In that respect, the report is critical of both the Government's track record in keeping Parliament in the loop about the development of EU proposals, and the speed of co-decision negotiations, which make updates difficult.
The Lords EU sub-Committee on environment and agriculture said that "the emerging consensus between the European Parliament and Council can be almost impossible to determine. Updates from the Government are usually too infrequent, and negotiations proceed too rapidly and opaquely for accurate tracking of the inter-institutional negotiations."
The same sub-Committee also found that DEFRA was "sluggish" in providing updates on the progress of inter-institutional negotiations, sometimes giving them only when prompted. Notification on the Common Position (the Council's position on the European Parliament's amendments to a proposal) reached on the Plant Protection Products (Pesticides) Regulation was not received until three months after the vote in the Council. This particular proposal was modified in co-decision and subsequently became more controversial in its implications for the UK.
The report also cites the EU's Climate Change Package as a prominent example of how early agreements are being sought on important, and controversial proposals, in order to push legislation through.
The report concludes that the expansion of the scope of the co-decision procedure and the use of these informal trilogues makes national Parliamentary scrutiny increasingly difficult.
Since this is exactly what Lisbon proposes to do, things can only get worse.
blackened salmon sandwich from 2 months ago
can't believe i forgot to post this guy! it was SOOOOO GOOOD. wish i was eating it again right now...
Read the question - carefully
I know we alluded to this yesterday, but it's worth hammering home. It seems Michael O'Leary truly is confused and believes Ireland is about to have a referendum on its membership of the EU (the Generation 'Yes' campaign must be having some impact).
His €500,000 campaign is called 'Ryanair votes YES to Europe', and not one of his (4) reasons for voting 'yes' have anything at all to do with the Lisbon Treaty, and instead are exclusively about Ireland's EU membership.
And they are all negative reasons. Nothing positive in there about the Treaty whatsoever.
Take a look here: http://www.ryanair.com/site/EN/news.php?yr=09&month=aug&story=gen-en-250809
In fact, if anything, these arguments read like reasons to reject the Treaty. If, as O'Leary claims, Ireland and Ryanair have done so well out of the status quo, then why do we need the Lisbon Treaty? Seriously, what possible argument is there for it?
We thought the 'yes' side said they wanted to move the debate on, and to talk about the detail of the Treaty? Obviously not. Probably because they either haven't read it, don't understand it, or simply can't come up with anything positive which outweighs all the bad stuff.
Yes, we know the EU single market has been good for Ireland and probably for all EU members. But this isn't about the single market. This is about creating a much more political EU, which is about far, far more than just the single market.
For the last time (or probably not) - Ireland's membership of the EU, or the euro, is not in question.
What's up for debate is what kind of Europe we want to see - do we want to create new and unaccountable EU institutions, like an EU President, an EU Foreign Minister, an EU Public Prosecutor? Do we want to make majority voting the norm and give the EU powers to legislate over just about every area of policy - from health to transport to employment to immigration to defence? Do we want to make the European Court of Justice the highest court in the land, with new powers to decide on everything from the rights of criminal suspects to social security for migrants? Do we want to give the green light to an organisation which has ignored the will of tens of millions of people to reject further EU integration? Do we want to make it easier for EU leaders to amend the rules the game in future, without the kind of parliamentary and public scrutiny that is currently required? Do we want this to be the last proper public debate we have about EU integration, while we can still do something about it?
If you answer no to any of the above, then the Lisbon Treaty is not for you.
His €500,000 campaign is called 'Ryanair votes YES to Europe', and not one of his (4) reasons for voting 'yes' have anything at all to do with the Lisbon Treaty, and instead are exclusively about Ireland's EU membership.
And they are all negative reasons. Nothing positive in there about the Treaty whatsoever.
Take a look here: http://www.ryanair.com/site/EN/news.php?yr=09&month=aug&story=gen-en-250809
In fact, if anything, these arguments read like reasons to reject the Treaty. If, as O'Leary claims, Ireland and Ryanair have done so well out of the status quo, then why do we need the Lisbon Treaty? Seriously, what possible argument is there for it?
We thought the 'yes' side said they wanted to move the debate on, and to talk about the detail of the Treaty? Obviously not. Probably because they either haven't read it, don't understand it, or simply can't come up with anything positive which outweighs all the bad stuff.
Yes, we know the EU single market has been good for Ireland and probably for all EU members. But this isn't about the single market. This is about creating a much more political EU, which is about far, far more than just the single market.
For the last time (or probably not) - Ireland's membership of the EU, or the euro, is not in question.
What's up for debate is what kind of Europe we want to see - do we want to create new and unaccountable EU institutions, like an EU President, an EU Foreign Minister, an EU Public Prosecutor? Do we want to make majority voting the norm and give the EU powers to legislate over just about every area of policy - from health to transport to employment to immigration to defence? Do we want to make the European Court of Justice the highest court in the land, with new powers to decide on everything from the rights of criminal suspects to social security for migrants? Do we want to give the green light to an organisation which has ignored the will of tens of millions of people to reject further EU integration? Do we want to make it easier for EU leaders to amend the rules the game in future, without the kind of parliamentary and public scrutiny that is currently required? Do we want this to be the last proper public debate we have about EU integration, while we can still do something about it?
If you answer no to any of the above, then the Lisbon Treaty is not for you.
Three Children Die from Dengue Fever in Arakan
Sittwe: Three children died with dengue fever in Arakan State within the first week of August, according to a report of the journal Weekly Eleven.
Among the victims are two children from Sittwe, the capital of Arakan, and another child from Kyaukpru, the second largest city in the state.
The number of dengue fever infections in Arakan State was up to 329 within the first week of August, the government health department is quoted as saying.
The towns of Sittwe and Kyaukpru have been most affected by dengue, but other areas in Arakan State have also seen the number of people falling ill with dengue twice what it was last year.
According to a local source, the medical facilities for dengue fever patients are very poor in Arakan State. At the same time, many hospitals are facing a shortage of medicine to treat the illness.
The condition of affected children in rural areas of the state is most serious due to lack of treatment and medicine. In addition to a lack of medicine, patients have not been receiving treatment from hospitals systematically.
A medical doctor from Sittwe said the number of dengue fever patients in Arakan State may be higher than the reported figure of 329 because in some rural areas it is difficult to get an accurate count due to lack of communications.
Many poor families in Arakan State can not send their dengue affected children to the hospitals because the fees for medical treatment in Arakan is more than they can afford.
narinjara
Among the victims are two children from Sittwe, the capital of Arakan, and another child from Kyaukpru, the second largest city in the state.
The number of dengue fever infections in Arakan State was up to 329 within the first week of August, the government health department is quoted as saying.
The towns of Sittwe and Kyaukpru have been most affected by dengue, but other areas in Arakan State have also seen the number of people falling ill with dengue twice what it was last year.
According to a local source, the medical facilities for dengue fever patients are very poor in Arakan State. At the same time, many hospitals are facing a shortage of medicine to treat the illness.
The condition of affected children in rural areas of the state is most serious due to lack of treatment and medicine. In addition to a lack of medicine, patients have not been receiving treatment from hospitals systematically.
A medical doctor from Sittwe said the number of dengue fever patients in Arakan State may be higher than the reported figure of 329 because in some rural areas it is difficult to get an accurate count due to lack of communications.
Many poor families in Arakan State can not send their dengue affected children to the hospitals because the fees for medical treatment in Arakan is more than they can afford.
narinjara
Kokang capital falls: “Not shoot first” policy under fire
Laogai, the capital of Kokang, just 5 months after celebrating the 20th anniversary of peace with the country’s military rulers, is under Burma Army control since Monday night, 24 August, according to sources.
“I haven’t seen any Kokang fighters all day,” said one of the few remaining residents told SHAN yesterday. “Everywhere it’s the Burmese the soldiers.”
Another source
Peng Jiasheng
said he had gone past what was until yesterday the mansion of Peng Jiasheng, the Kokang supreme leader and saw only Burmese policemen both inside and outside the wall.
Peng and three others, which included his younger brother Jiafu and two sons, were said to have escaped to the north with his troops.
According to the latest information, Peng and troops loyal to him are still holding positions northeast of Laogai and at Qingsuihe (Chinshwehaw) aka Nampha on the southern border with Wa.
As the new base at Kunghsa is just 4km from Laogai, the Burma Army could have mounted an attack if it chose to. “But they have yet to do it, probably because it is too uncomfortably near the Chinese border,” said a source from the border. “The Burma Army has instead brought in other Kokang rivals of Peng to deal with him. Apart from Bai Souqian (his former deputy), there are now Kokang militias loyal to the Burma Army from Kunlong, Hopang and even his archenemy Yang Mouliang. If there is going to be any shooting, the Burma Army can now tell the Chinese it’s a fight among the Kokangs, the Burma Army has nothing to do with it.”
On the other side of the border, China has set up a temporary holding center for the refugees from Burma, according to the same source. “They are giving them a blanket and a mat each, besides food,” he said.
Meanwhile, the United Wa State Army (UWSA) is reportedly holding an emergency meeting with its Kokang ally this morning at Namteuk, south of Qingshihe.
The two towns
are separated by the Namting and connected by a bridge over it. “The fall of Qingsuihe,” admitted a Wa source, “could greatly threaten the safety of Namteuk and restrict our movements.”
Namteuk is the headquarters of the UWSA’s 318th Division, commanded by Bao Ai Roong, the Wa supreme leader’s nephew.
The fall of Laogai without a shot being fired has brought into question the practicality of the “Not Shooting First” policy of the Peace and Democracy Front (PDF), whose members include Kokang, Wa and Mongla. “We should also have spelled out what movements by the Burma Army would be deemed as hostile acts,” said a Shan ceasefire officer. “Now, because we have said that we won’t shoot first, the Burma Army is being allowed to beef up its forces around us.”
The Kokang debacle could be repeated elsewhere, he warned, if the alliance continued to hold on the policy.
Kokang, since 1989, had been under the control of Peng Jiasheng. The Burmese authorities, now that an arrest warrant for him has been issued, is reportedly encouraging Peng’s rival groups to set up a new leadership.
shanland
“I haven’t seen any Kokang fighters all day,” said one of the few remaining residents told SHAN yesterday. “Everywhere it’s the Burmese the soldiers.”
Another source
Peng Jiasheng
said he had gone past what was until yesterday the mansion of Peng Jiasheng, the Kokang supreme leader and saw only Burmese policemen both inside and outside the wall.
Peng and three others, which included his younger brother Jiafu and two sons, were said to have escaped to the north with his troops.
According to the latest information, Peng and troops loyal to him are still holding positions northeast of Laogai and at Qingsuihe (Chinshwehaw) aka Nampha on the southern border with Wa.
As the new base at Kunghsa is just 4km from Laogai, the Burma Army could have mounted an attack if it chose to. “But they have yet to do it, probably because it is too uncomfortably near the Chinese border,” said a source from the border. “The Burma Army has instead brought in other Kokang rivals of Peng to deal with him. Apart from Bai Souqian (his former deputy), there are now Kokang militias loyal to the Burma Army from Kunlong, Hopang and even his archenemy Yang Mouliang. If there is going to be any shooting, the Burma Army can now tell the Chinese it’s a fight among the Kokangs, the Burma Army has nothing to do with it.”
On the other side of the border, China has set up a temporary holding center for the refugees from Burma, according to the same source. “They are giving them a blanket and a mat each, besides food,” he said.
Meanwhile, the United Wa State Army (UWSA) is reportedly holding an emergency meeting with its Kokang ally this morning at Namteuk, south of Qingshihe.
The two towns
are separated by the Namting and connected by a bridge over it. “The fall of Qingsuihe,” admitted a Wa source, “could greatly threaten the safety of Namteuk and restrict our movements.”
Namteuk is the headquarters of the UWSA’s 318th Division, commanded by Bao Ai Roong, the Wa supreme leader’s nephew.
The fall of Laogai without a shot being fired has brought into question the practicality of the “Not Shooting First” policy of the Peace and Democracy Front (PDF), whose members include Kokang, Wa and Mongla. “We should also have spelled out what movements by the Burma Army would be deemed as hostile acts,” said a Shan ceasefire officer. “Now, because we have said that we won’t shoot first, the Burma Army is being allowed to beef up its forces around us.”
The Kokang debacle could be repeated elsewhere, he warned, if the alliance continued to hold on the policy.
Kokang, since 1989, had been under the control of Peng Jiasheng. The Burmese authorities, now that an arrest warrant for him has been issued, is reportedly encouraging Peng’s rival groups to set up a new leadership.
shanland
10,000 acres of farmland destroyed
(DVB)–Around 10,000 acres of rice paddy fields located alongside one of Burma’s major rivers have been destroyed after weeks of heavy rainfall caused extensive flooding in central Burma.
A local living near to the Sittaung river in Bago division told DVB that the river’s water level started swelling on 7 August, flooding farmlands in four townships.
“The paddy plants rotted after being underwater for about 10 days. About 10,000 acres of farmlands were affected by the flood,” he said.
“It’ll take farmers around one month to start growing the crops all over again.”
He said that farm owners, who took agricultural loans from the government to grow crops, now had no money to investment in new crops.
“The farmers receive only 8000 kyat ($US8) per an acre of farmland from the agricultural bank and they cannot get a loan for more than 10 acres,” he said.
“They were already in huge debt from the previous [failed] crop and it is impossible for them to find more money to invest.”
Rice is one of Burma’s major exports, but the sector was hit hard and production dropped following cyclone Nargis in May last week, which was reported to have destroyed up to one million acres of farmland.
The ruling junta came under criticism after it continued to export rice at the same quantity despite the massive drop in production.
The local said it was likely that there would be low rice production this year in the area affected by he flooding.
“An acre of paddy farm produces about 60 tins [2688 litres] of rice, so the amount damaged by the flooding would be around 60,000 cups [2,688,000],” he said.
The state-run newspaper Myanma Ahlin reported yesterday that the Sittaung water level has begun subsiding in some areas.
It also warned, however, that it could go up to an emergency level of 600 centimeters within 24 hours, starting from yesterday morning.
Reporting Naw Noreen
A local living near to the Sittaung river in Bago division told DVB that the river’s water level started swelling on 7 August, flooding farmlands in four townships.
“The paddy plants rotted after being underwater for about 10 days. About 10,000 acres of farmlands were affected by the flood,” he said.
“It’ll take farmers around one month to start growing the crops all over again.”
He said that farm owners, who took agricultural loans from the government to grow crops, now had no money to investment in new crops.
“The farmers receive only 8000 kyat ($US8) per an acre of farmland from the agricultural bank and they cannot get a loan for more than 10 acres,” he said.
“They were already in huge debt from the previous [failed] crop and it is impossible for them to find more money to invest.”
Rice is one of Burma’s major exports, but the sector was hit hard and production dropped following cyclone Nargis in May last week, which was reported to have destroyed up to one million acres of farmland.
The ruling junta came under criticism after it continued to export rice at the same quantity despite the massive drop in production.
The local said it was likely that there would be low rice production this year in the area affected by he flooding.
“An acre of paddy farm produces about 60 tins [2688 litres] of rice, so the amount damaged by the flooding would be around 60,000 cups [2,688,000],” he said.
The state-run newspaper Myanma Ahlin reported yesterday that the Sittaung water level has begun subsiding in some areas.
It also warned, however, that it could go up to an emergency level of 600 centimeters within 24 hours, starting from yesterday morning.
Reporting Naw Noreen
Kokangs victim of junta’s old tactics: observers
New Delhi (Mizzima) - Burma’s military rulers have yet again resorted to a divide and rule policy to break up the Kokang ceasefire armed group, which refused to toe the junta’s line of transforming its army to a border guard force, observers said.
On Wednesday, Peng Jiasheng, the Supreme Commander of the Kokang Army lost his capital Lao Kai and was forced along with his troops out of the town, as his deputy Bai Souqian and other Kokang militias took over the Myanmar Nationalities Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), also known as the Kokang Army, reports said.
According to the Thailand based Shan Herald Agency for News (SHAN), the former Kokang Army led by Peng were not to be seen in Lao Kai, which is swarming with Burmese soldiers and the police as well as Kokang militias backed by the Burmese Army.
But sources said, Peng and his troops are headed for the north of Loa Kai and tension between the troops is high and a shoot-out could be eminent.
Aung Kyaw Zaw, a Sino-Burma border based military analyst, said, “it is a case of letting the Kokangs fight each other. The junta had applied this tactic a long time back and is now using it again to break the Kokang.”
He said the Burmese Army has sided with Peng’s former deputy Bai Souqian, who is now leading the Kokang militias in Lao Kai. According to reports, he has also reportedly been joined by other Kokang militias including Peng’s arch-rival Yang Mouliang.
Aung Naing Oo, a Burmese analyst based in Thailand said, the junta’s tactics are becoming obsolete and predictable, but sadly, groups are still finding themselves falling into the pit.
“We have seen the junta’s tactics at work with other rebels. The Kokang’s case is similar. The junta knows that by eliminating the Kokang, they can weaken other groups including the United Wa State Army (UWSA),” Aung Naing Oo said.
The MNDAA, the UWSA, the Kachin Independence Organization and the Maila or National Democratic Alliance Army (NDAA), the four groups that have turned down the junta’s proposal to transform their armies, have recently entered into an alliance called the Myanmar Peace and Democracy Front.
The junta, in April, had proposed to all ceasefire armed groups to transform their army into the Border Guard Force, a force to be controlled and administered by the Burmese Army. But many groups including the four alliances have rejected the proposal.
Aung Naing Oo said it is crucial for the junta to persuade the ceasefire groups to transform their armies, as it is crucial for the junta to conduct elections in areas controlled by the ceasefire groups.
“If the ceasefire groups are rejecting their plan, the credibility of the elections in 2010 will have a severe impact, though it will not be able to stop the junta from conducting it,” he added.
In a bid to eliminate Peng Jiasheng, the Burmese Army has ordered raids at his residence under the pretext of drug eradication. The police in Lashio had also ordered Peng and three others to appear before the court.
But when Peng refused to appear, the authorities issued an arrest warrant for him and three others including his younger brother, Aung Kyaw Zaw said.
“I don’t think they can catch Peng just like that. It will require a fight. But if there is any clash the Burmese Army can say it is between the Kokangs,” he added.
Meanwhile, Aung Naing Oo cautioned that the junta’s tactics of infiltrating into the Kokan leadership should be a step to watch for other ceasefire groups including the UWSA and the KIO.
“We have seen the split of the Karen National Union and how the junta has played its role. Now, it is very likely that they will further move on with their plans for other groups,” he added.
On Wednesday, Peng Jiasheng, the Supreme Commander of the Kokang Army lost his capital Lao Kai and was forced along with his troops out of the town, as his deputy Bai Souqian and other Kokang militias took over the Myanmar Nationalities Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), also known as the Kokang Army, reports said.
According to the Thailand based Shan Herald Agency for News (SHAN), the former Kokang Army led by Peng were not to be seen in Lao Kai, which is swarming with Burmese soldiers and the police as well as Kokang militias backed by the Burmese Army.
But sources said, Peng and his troops are headed for the north of Loa Kai and tension between the troops is high and a shoot-out could be eminent.
Aung Kyaw Zaw, a Sino-Burma border based military analyst, said, “it is a case of letting the Kokangs fight each other. The junta had applied this tactic a long time back and is now using it again to break the Kokang.”
He said the Burmese Army has sided with Peng’s former deputy Bai Souqian, who is now leading the Kokang militias in Lao Kai. According to reports, he has also reportedly been joined by other Kokang militias including Peng’s arch-rival Yang Mouliang.
Aung Naing Oo, a Burmese analyst based in Thailand said, the junta’s tactics are becoming obsolete and predictable, but sadly, groups are still finding themselves falling into the pit.
“We have seen the junta’s tactics at work with other rebels. The Kokang’s case is similar. The junta knows that by eliminating the Kokang, they can weaken other groups including the United Wa State Army (UWSA),” Aung Naing Oo said.
The MNDAA, the UWSA, the Kachin Independence Organization and the Maila or National Democratic Alliance Army (NDAA), the four groups that have turned down the junta’s proposal to transform their armies, have recently entered into an alliance called the Myanmar Peace and Democracy Front.
The junta, in April, had proposed to all ceasefire armed groups to transform their army into the Border Guard Force, a force to be controlled and administered by the Burmese Army. But many groups including the four alliances have rejected the proposal.
Aung Naing Oo said it is crucial for the junta to persuade the ceasefire groups to transform their armies, as it is crucial for the junta to conduct elections in areas controlled by the ceasefire groups.
“If the ceasefire groups are rejecting their plan, the credibility of the elections in 2010 will have a severe impact, though it will not be able to stop the junta from conducting it,” he added.
In a bid to eliminate Peng Jiasheng, the Burmese Army has ordered raids at his residence under the pretext of drug eradication. The police in Lashio had also ordered Peng and three others to appear before the court.
But when Peng refused to appear, the authorities issued an arrest warrant for him and three others including his younger brother, Aung Kyaw Zaw said.
“I don’t think they can catch Peng just like that. It will require a fight. But if there is any clash the Burmese Army can say it is between the Kokangs,” he added.
Meanwhile, Aung Naing Oo cautioned that the junta’s tactics of infiltrating into the Kokan leadership should be a step to watch for other ceasefire groups including the UWSA and the KIO.
“We have seen the split of the Karen National Union and how the junta has played its role. Now, it is very likely that they will further move on with their plans for other groups,” he added.
Dam forces relocation of 60 villages
Aug 26, 2009 (DVB)–Over 60 villages in northern Burma have been ordered by the government to relocate to make way for a new dam on the country’s major river, the Irrawaddy.
Local sources allege that the township council in Kachin state’s capital, Myitkyina, on August 5 summoned authorities from over 60 villages north of the town and told them to move their villages.
The combined population of this area, at the confluence of the Irrawaddy and the N'mai Hka rivers, is estimated at 10,000.
“They didn’t say exactly when we are to move but assured that we would definitely have to move,” said a villager who attended the meeting with the township officials.
“They are now collecting statistics of the villages for the relocation plan.”
He added that there are about 2000 acres of farmland in the area about to be destroyed when the building of the Myitsone dam starts.
Authorities are said to be making a list of those to pay compensation to, although villagers have complained that no compensation has yet been received.
According to advocacy group International Rivers, the dam would create a reservoir the size of New York City, submerging historical sites such as churches and temples.
The dam project is being jointly run through an alliance dominated by Chinese firms, including China Power Investment Corporation, China Southern Power Grid Co. Ltd, and the Yunan Machinery Export Import Company.
Also involved in the project is Asia World Co. Ltd, which is owned by Lo Hsing Han, a Burmese business tycoon and former drug trafficker.
Most electrical power generated from the dam’s hydropower plant will go to China, despite campaigning groups complaining of regular electricity shortages in many of Burma’s major cities.
Reporting by Thiri Htet San
Local sources allege that the township council in Kachin state’s capital, Myitkyina, on August 5 summoned authorities from over 60 villages north of the town and told them to move their villages.
The combined population of this area, at the confluence of the Irrawaddy and the N'mai Hka rivers, is estimated at 10,000.
“They didn’t say exactly when we are to move but assured that we would definitely have to move,” said a villager who attended the meeting with the township officials.
“They are now collecting statistics of the villages for the relocation plan.”
He added that there are about 2000 acres of farmland in the area about to be destroyed when the building of the Myitsone dam starts.
Authorities are said to be making a list of those to pay compensation to, although villagers have complained that no compensation has yet been received.
According to advocacy group International Rivers, the dam would create a reservoir the size of New York City, submerging historical sites such as churches and temples.
The dam project is being jointly run through an alliance dominated by Chinese firms, including China Power Investment Corporation, China Southern Power Grid Co. Ltd, and the Yunan Machinery Export Import Company.
Also involved in the project is Asia World Co. Ltd, which is owned by Lo Hsing Han, a Burmese business tycoon and former drug trafficker.
Most electrical power generated from the dam’s hydropower plant will go to China, despite campaigning groups complaining of regular electricity shortages in many of Burma’s major cities.
Reporting by Thiri Htet San
Teenager accused of stealing sent to army
(DVB)–A 15-year-old boy accused of stealing from a house where he worked as a servant in southern Burma was handed over to the military by his employer, said an opposition party member.
Aung Kyaw Zin, who lived in Irrawaddy division, was hired by a neurologist in Mon state capital Moulmein for six months last year to work as a servant.
After failing to return home once the six months was up, his mother, Htay Yee, contacted the neurologist, who said he been handed to the army.
“The mother and I went to Moulmein and met with Khin Ko Ko [who] told her she handed him to the army for stealing some gold from her house,” said National League for Democracy (NLD) member Maung Maung Gyi.
“I told her she should’ve handed him to the police and that she didn’t have permission to send him to the army.”
The teenager was reportedly handed to a sergeant in the Light Infantry Battalion 545, when he visited the neurologists house.
Khin Ko Ko’s older sister has claimed that the neurologist only “gave the boy a chance” to join the army to help him escape legal punishment for stealing.
“He said he wanted to join the army instead and my sister, who didn’t want to see him sent to a prison, let him,” said Khin Ko Ko’s sister.
“Joining the army is a good thing, so we let him even though he is not 18-years-old yet.”
Maung Maung Gyi said the case was reported to the International Labour Organisation’s (ILO) liaison office in Rangoon but no progress has been heard since. The ILO in Rangoon was unavailable for comment.
Reporting by Naw Say Phaw
Aung Kyaw Zin, who lived in Irrawaddy division, was hired by a neurologist in Mon state capital Moulmein for six months last year to work as a servant.
After failing to return home once the six months was up, his mother, Htay Yee, contacted the neurologist, who said he been handed to the army.
“The mother and I went to Moulmein and met with Khin Ko Ko [who] told her she handed him to the army for stealing some gold from her house,” said National League for Democracy (NLD) member Maung Maung Gyi.
“I told her she should’ve handed him to the police and that she didn’t have permission to send him to the army.”
The teenager was reportedly handed to a sergeant in the Light Infantry Battalion 545, when he visited the neurologists house.
Khin Ko Ko’s older sister has claimed that the neurologist only “gave the boy a chance” to join the army to help him escape legal punishment for stealing.
“He said he wanted to join the army instead and my sister, who didn’t want to see him sent to a prison, let him,” said Khin Ko Ko’s sister.
“Joining the army is a good thing, so we let him even though he is not 18-years-old yet.”
Maung Maung Gyi said the case was reported to the International Labour Organisation’s (ILO) liaison office in Rangoon but no progress has been heard since. The ILO in Rangoon was unavailable for comment.
Reporting by Naw Say Phaw
‘Than Shwe Should Be the First to Blink’: Diplomat
As Burma’s state-run media continues to call on Washington to lift sanctions following the highly publicized visit of pro-engagement US Senator Jim Webb, a Western diplomat close to US officials says it is now up to the Burmese regime to make the next move.
“I don’t think the US will be the first to blink. [Junta leader Snr-Gen] Than Shwe should be the one to blink now,” said the Bangkok-based diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity.
He said that Than Shwe needs to demonstrate that he is genuinely interested in political dialogue by releasing Burma’s 2,100 political prisoners and allowing international monitors to ensure that next year’s election is credible.
So far, however, the regime in Burma hasn’t done anything to suggest that it wants to make political progress in the country, he said.
“Tangible and meaningful actions are needed, not just words,” he told The Irrawaddy.
During his visit to Burma last weekend, Webb—who is also the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on East Asia and Pacific Affairs—met with both Than Shwe and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
He also secured the release of American John William Yettaw, who had just been sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment for swimming to Suu Kyi’s lakeside home.
Suu Kyi, who had been put on trial for allowing Yettaw to stay overnight to recover from muscle cramps, received a three-year prison sentence that was immediately reduced to 18 months under house arrest.
“If they are serious about the new relationship with the US, they should commute Suu Kyi’s sentence completely and free her immediately,” said the Western diplomat.
After Webb’s visit, dissidents both inside and outside of Burma began to speculate about whether the US was going to shift its policy. However, given the ongoing political stalemate, Washington is not likely to make any major changes in its Burma policy, the diplomat said.
Indeed, the Obama administration has been careful to reiterate its position that encouraging national reconciliation in Burma, and not engagement with the regime, remains it top priority.
“We continue to look for signs that the Burmese government is prepared to embark on a meaningful dialogue with Aung Sun Suu Kyi, along with the rest of the democratic opposition,” the Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs, P J Crowley, told reporters at a daily State Department press briefing shortly after Webb’s visit.
In a statement thanking the regime for Yettaw’s release, the White House called on the junta to go further and free all political prisoners. “We urge the Burmese leadership in this spirit to release all the political prisoners it is holding in detention or in house arrest, including Aung San Suu Kyi,” the statement said.
It seems unlikely, then, that Washington will relax its sanctions on the Burmese junta as long as it continues to persecute its political opponents.
“How can the US lift its sanctions without action in Burma?” asked the Western diplomat, adding that Than Shwe has “done nothing to loosen his grip.”
During his meeting with Webb, Than Shwe reportedly told the senator that he could not allow UN chief Ban Ki-moon to meet Suu Kyi during his visit to Burma in June because she was on trial at the time. However, it is widely believed that his determination to isolate the pro-democracy leader stems from his strong personal animosity toward her.
Webb was the first senior US official to meet with Suu Kyi in more than a decade. In 1994, Congressman Bill Richardson spoke with the Nobel Peace Prize laureate for five hours at her house, accompanied by a reporter from The New York Times.
By contrast, Webb’s meeting with Suu Kyi took place at a government guest house and lasted less than one hour.
A Burmese source in Rangoon confirmed that the regime imposed a strict time limit on the meeting, effectively preventing Webb and Suu Kyi from discussing the issues of sanctions and engagement in any depth.
This may account for the confusion over what Suu Kyi said to Webb about her stance on engagement.
Although Webb said at a press conference following his trip to Burma that Suu Kyi seemed open to the idea of more “interaction” between the regime and the West, she actually said that there was a greater need for domestic dialogue, according to her lawyer.
Webb, who is known for his strong criticism of US sanctions on Burma, will brief US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on his visit when he returns to Washington.
During a recent visit to Southeast Asia, Clinton hinted that the Obama administration might be prepared to “open up doors for investment and for other exchanges that would help the people of Burma,” but made this conditional on Suu Kyi’s release.
Since then, the regime has given no indication that it is interested in meeting this precondition for engagement, meaning that for the time being, at least, efforts to improve relations between Washington and Naypyidaw are at a standstill.
irrawaddy
“I don’t think the US will be the first to blink. [Junta leader Snr-Gen] Than Shwe should be the one to blink now,” said the Bangkok-based diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity.
He said that Than Shwe needs to demonstrate that he is genuinely interested in political dialogue by releasing Burma’s 2,100 political prisoners and allowing international monitors to ensure that next year’s election is credible.
So far, however, the regime in Burma hasn’t done anything to suggest that it wants to make political progress in the country, he said.
“Tangible and meaningful actions are needed, not just words,” he told The Irrawaddy.
During his visit to Burma last weekend, Webb—who is also the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on East Asia and Pacific Affairs—met with both Than Shwe and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
He also secured the release of American John William Yettaw, who had just been sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment for swimming to Suu Kyi’s lakeside home.
Suu Kyi, who had been put on trial for allowing Yettaw to stay overnight to recover from muscle cramps, received a three-year prison sentence that was immediately reduced to 18 months under house arrest.
“If they are serious about the new relationship with the US, they should commute Suu Kyi’s sentence completely and free her immediately,” said the Western diplomat.
After Webb’s visit, dissidents both inside and outside of Burma began to speculate about whether the US was going to shift its policy. However, given the ongoing political stalemate, Washington is not likely to make any major changes in its Burma policy, the diplomat said.
Indeed, the Obama administration has been careful to reiterate its position that encouraging national reconciliation in Burma, and not engagement with the regime, remains it top priority.
“We continue to look for signs that the Burmese government is prepared to embark on a meaningful dialogue with Aung Sun Suu Kyi, along with the rest of the democratic opposition,” the Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs, P J Crowley, told reporters at a daily State Department press briefing shortly after Webb’s visit.
In a statement thanking the regime for Yettaw’s release, the White House called on the junta to go further and free all political prisoners. “We urge the Burmese leadership in this spirit to release all the political prisoners it is holding in detention or in house arrest, including Aung San Suu Kyi,” the statement said.
It seems unlikely, then, that Washington will relax its sanctions on the Burmese junta as long as it continues to persecute its political opponents.
“How can the US lift its sanctions without action in Burma?” asked the Western diplomat, adding that Than Shwe has “done nothing to loosen his grip.”
During his meeting with Webb, Than Shwe reportedly told the senator that he could not allow UN chief Ban Ki-moon to meet Suu Kyi during his visit to Burma in June because she was on trial at the time. However, it is widely believed that his determination to isolate the pro-democracy leader stems from his strong personal animosity toward her.
Webb was the first senior US official to meet with Suu Kyi in more than a decade. In 1994, Congressman Bill Richardson spoke with the Nobel Peace Prize laureate for five hours at her house, accompanied by a reporter from The New York Times.
By contrast, Webb’s meeting with Suu Kyi took place at a government guest house and lasted less than one hour.
A Burmese source in Rangoon confirmed that the regime imposed a strict time limit on the meeting, effectively preventing Webb and Suu Kyi from discussing the issues of sanctions and engagement in any depth.
This may account for the confusion over what Suu Kyi said to Webb about her stance on engagement.
Although Webb said at a press conference following his trip to Burma that Suu Kyi seemed open to the idea of more “interaction” between the regime and the West, she actually said that there was a greater need for domestic dialogue, according to her lawyer.
Webb, who is known for his strong criticism of US sanctions on Burma, will brief US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on his visit when he returns to Washington.
During a recent visit to Southeast Asia, Clinton hinted that the Obama administration might be prepared to “open up doors for investment and for other exchanges that would help the people of Burma,” but made this conditional on Suu Kyi’s release.
Since then, the regime has given no indication that it is interested in meeting this precondition for engagement, meaning that for the time being, at least, efforts to improve relations between Washington and Naypyidaw are at a standstill.
irrawaddy
Yettaw Says Guards Let Him Enter Suu Kyi Compound
John Yettaw, the American man who made international headlines after he swam to the lakeside home of detained Burmese democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi in May, said in an interview published on Friday that guards did nothing to prevent him from entering her compound.
“I don’t know why they [security guards] didn’t stop me,” Yettaw said in a telephone interview with Newsweek magazine. “The man with the AK-47 shook my hand and let me in.”
In his first public statement on the circumstances of his visit to Suu Kyi’s home since leaving Burma, Yettaw appeared to lend credence to suspicions that the incident was part of an effort by the Burmese junta to extend Suu Kyi’s detention, which was due to end just weeks after Yettaw’s sudden appearance on the scene.
Although Yettaw declined to explain why he decided to return to Suu Kyi’s home after an earlier intrusion last November, during which her live-in aides told him to leave, the Newsweek report cites a Western diplomatic source who said that he may have been lured back by agents posing as members of her political party.
The source, citing intelligence reports, said that around a week before Yettaw’s second swim, two men claiming to be members of Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy allegedly approached him in the Thai border town of Mae Sot and told him that Suu Kyi was ready to meet him.
According to the source, the intelligence reports also showed that senior Burmese officials had been instructed to find a pretext to keep Suu Kyi incarcerated as her May 27 release date approached.
On August 11, she was found guilty of violating the terms of her house arrest for allowing Yettaw to stay at her home overnight. She was sentenced to a further 18 months under house arrest—long enough to prevent her participating in elections slated for next year.
Despite evidence to suggest that the junta may have had a hand in orchestrating the incident, Yettaw dismissed suggestions that he was working on behalf of the regime or anybody else. “I’ve been accused of being CIA, of being on the books of the junta. The idea is just ridiculous,” he told Newsweek.
“I want to free Myanmar [Burma]. I want to stop the suffering there. I am anti-junta. I will never be at peace, emotionally or psychologically, until that woman is free, until that nation is free,” he said.
Yettaw was released by Burmese authorities and left Burma on August 16 after US Senator Jim Webb negotiated with the junta for his release during a high-profile visit.
irrawaddy
“I don’t know why they [security guards] didn’t stop me,” Yettaw said in a telephone interview with Newsweek magazine. “The man with the AK-47 shook my hand and let me in.”
In his first public statement on the circumstances of his visit to Suu Kyi’s home since leaving Burma, Yettaw appeared to lend credence to suspicions that the incident was part of an effort by the Burmese junta to extend Suu Kyi’s detention, which was due to end just weeks after Yettaw’s sudden appearance on the scene.
Although Yettaw declined to explain why he decided to return to Suu Kyi’s home after an earlier intrusion last November, during which her live-in aides told him to leave, the Newsweek report cites a Western diplomatic source who said that he may have been lured back by agents posing as members of her political party.
The source, citing intelligence reports, said that around a week before Yettaw’s second swim, two men claiming to be members of Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy allegedly approached him in the Thai border town of Mae Sot and told him that Suu Kyi was ready to meet him.
According to the source, the intelligence reports also showed that senior Burmese officials had been instructed to find a pretext to keep Suu Kyi incarcerated as her May 27 release date approached.
On August 11, she was found guilty of violating the terms of her house arrest for allowing Yettaw to stay at her home overnight. She was sentenced to a further 18 months under house arrest—long enough to prevent her participating in elections slated for next year.
Despite evidence to suggest that the junta may have had a hand in orchestrating the incident, Yettaw dismissed suggestions that he was working on behalf of the regime or anybody else. “I’ve been accused of being CIA, of being on the books of the junta. The idea is just ridiculous,” he told Newsweek.
“I want to free Myanmar [Burma]. I want to stop the suffering there. I am anti-junta. I will never be at peace, emotionally or psychologically, until that woman is free, until that nation is free,” he said.
Yettaw was released by Burmese authorities and left Burma on August 16 after US Senator Jim Webb negotiated with the junta for his release during a high-profile visit.
irrawaddy
Suu Kyi Asks for Return of Family Doctor
Burma’s pro-democracy leader is seeking to have her regular physician, Tin Myo Win, reinstated as her primary doctor, following her return to her home after being sentenced to 18-months of house arrest.
Nyan Win, one of Suu Kyi’s lawyer, told The Irrawaddy on Monday that since she returned home on August 11, the authorities sent another doctor to check on her health.
“She told officials that she wanted her family physician, Dr Tin Myo Win, to take care of her health,” Nyan Win said. “So far, I don’t think Dr Tin Myo Win has been able to visit her.”
Tin Myo Win was a leading pro-democracy activist during the 1988 uprising that toppled the 26-year rule of the late dictator Ne Win.
After the military coup in September 1988, Tin Myo Win became a member of Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD). In the following year, he was jailed.
He was the only regular visitor to see Suu Kyi during 2003-09, when he performed monthly check ups.
His is regular visits were suspended when he was arrested and questioned after the American intruder John Yettaw entered Suu Kyi’s lakeside house in Rangoon in early May.
Nyan Win said Suu Kyi’s lawyers have asked the authorities to allow a meeting with their client to talk about an appeal of her conviction.
Last week, Suu Kyi asked clarification from authorities about one of eight conditions of her house arrest concerning visitors.
Suu Kyi was sentenced to 3-year imprisonment for violating the terms of her house arrest. Yettaw received a 7-year sentence. Her sentence was reduced to18-months under house arrest.
Yettaw was granted amnesty after US Sen Jim Webb met with Snr-Gen Than Shwe.
irrawaddy
Nyan Win, one of Suu Kyi’s lawyer, told The Irrawaddy on Monday that since she returned home on August 11, the authorities sent another doctor to check on her health.
“She told officials that she wanted her family physician, Dr Tin Myo Win, to take care of her health,” Nyan Win said. “So far, I don’t think Dr Tin Myo Win has been able to visit her.”
Tin Myo Win was a leading pro-democracy activist during the 1988 uprising that toppled the 26-year rule of the late dictator Ne Win.
After the military coup in September 1988, Tin Myo Win became a member of Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD). In the following year, he was jailed.
He was the only regular visitor to see Suu Kyi during 2003-09, when he performed monthly check ups.
His is regular visits were suspended when he was arrested and questioned after the American intruder John Yettaw entered Suu Kyi’s lakeside house in Rangoon in early May.
Nyan Win said Suu Kyi’s lawyers have asked the authorities to allow a meeting with their client to talk about an appeal of her conviction.
Last week, Suu Kyi asked clarification from authorities about one of eight conditions of her house arrest concerning visitors.
Suu Kyi was sentenced to 3-year imprisonment for violating the terms of her house arrest. Yettaw received a 7-year sentence. Her sentence was reduced to18-months under house arrest.
Yettaw was granted amnesty after US Sen Jim Webb met with Snr-Gen Than Shwe.
irrawaddy
Burmese IT Contest to Aid Junta?
Burmese IT technicians and bloggers suspect a Burmese search engine contest was designed by the Burmese military junta in order to increase its internet restriction technology and ability to control websites and blogs.
The Myanmar Computer Professional Association (MCPA) invited individuals and groups to compete for the title of MCPA Challenge Winner 2009 in the Myanmar Engine Contest, sources within the MCPA said last week.
The research-based contest is being held with the aim of “encouraging the development of the country’s information and communication technology (ICT), expanding the use of the Myanmar (Burmese) language in the ICT sector and enhancing the youth’s interest in the creation and ICT research,” according to an MCPA statement.
“Building such a search engine is like creating a small version of Google,” said a Rangoon-based IT expert speaking to The Irrawaddy. “It would take at least six months to create an engine that would be useful to governmental departments searching through data. Such an engine could help Burmese authorities find relevant information very quickly.”
Contestants must register by Aug 30 and will be given six months to develop the engine after they have submitted an initial application. The winner will be announced in June 2010 and will be awarded US $3,000.
Speaking to The Irrawaddy on Monday, Rangoon-based activist Blogger Kamikaze said: “I am rather doubtful about this search engine contest. We need to carefully consider whether to compete in this contest because the military junta can use it to exploit IT technicians and control IT technology. They already block blogs and Web sites like Yahoo and Youtube, but most IT technicians and bloggers can overcome these obstacles.”
The regime has been constructing a “Silicon Valley” called Yadanabon Cyber City near Maymyo in Mandalay Division, since June 2006. According to state-run newspapers, the facility is intended to serve as the sole nationwide internet service provider (ISP) in Burma.
Currently, Burma has three ISPs: the state-run Myanmar Posts and Telecommunications (MPT), which operates Myanmar Info Tech; the semi-government-owned Myanmar Teleport Company Ltd (formerly Bagan Net); and Hanthawaddy National Gateway.
In 2005 the Burmese military junta became more sophisticated in censoring online material after the introduction of a new firewall supplied by the US-based company Fortinet.
According to the Norway-based Pandia Search Engine News, the new search engine contest could have two purposes.
One could be to identify young Burmese with computer skills and prevent them from developing technology that threatens the regime.
“We know of activists that have managed to get around the walls of the censors,” Pandia said, “The opposition often use proxy servers and special software to get access to information.
“Another [purpose] could be to get the winners of the competition to serve the regime by developing a search engine that can be used to block any kind of unwanted information.
“It seems like the competition is open for non-Burmese as well, which means that they could hope to enlist politically naive computer experts in their fight against democracy. There is only one possible conclusion in our mind: a total boycott of this competition,” Pandia said.
irrawaddy
The Myanmar Computer Professional Association (MCPA) invited individuals and groups to compete for the title of MCPA Challenge Winner 2009 in the Myanmar Engine Contest, sources within the MCPA said last week.
The research-based contest is being held with the aim of “encouraging the development of the country’s information and communication technology (ICT), expanding the use of the Myanmar (Burmese) language in the ICT sector and enhancing the youth’s interest in the creation and ICT research,” according to an MCPA statement.
“Building such a search engine is like creating a small version of Google,” said a Rangoon-based IT expert speaking to The Irrawaddy. “It would take at least six months to create an engine that would be useful to governmental departments searching through data. Such an engine could help Burmese authorities find relevant information very quickly.”
Contestants must register by Aug 30 and will be given six months to develop the engine after they have submitted an initial application. The winner will be announced in June 2010 and will be awarded US $3,000.
Speaking to The Irrawaddy on Monday, Rangoon-based activist Blogger Kamikaze said: “I am rather doubtful about this search engine contest. We need to carefully consider whether to compete in this contest because the military junta can use it to exploit IT technicians and control IT technology. They already block blogs and Web sites like Yahoo and Youtube, but most IT technicians and bloggers can overcome these obstacles.”
The regime has been constructing a “Silicon Valley” called Yadanabon Cyber City near Maymyo in Mandalay Division, since June 2006. According to state-run newspapers, the facility is intended to serve as the sole nationwide internet service provider (ISP) in Burma.
Currently, Burma has three ISPs: the state-run Myanmar Posts and Telecommunications (MPT), which operates Myanmar Info Tech; the semi-government-owned Myanmar Teleport Company Ltd (formerly Bagan Net); and Hanthawaddy National Gateway.
In 2005 the Burmese military junta became more sophisticated in censoring online material after the introduction of a new firewall supplied by the US-based company Fortinet.
According to the Norway-based Pandia Search Engine News, the new search engine contest could have two purposes.
One could be to identify young Burmese with computer skills and prevent them from developing technology that threatens the regime.
“We know of activists that have managed to get around the walls of the censors,” Pandia said, “The opposition often use proxy servers and special software to get access to information.
“Another [purpose] could be to get the winners of the competition to serve the regime by developing a search engine that can be used to block any kind of unwanted information.
“It seems like the competition is open for non-Burmese as well, which means that they could hope to enlist politically naive computer experts in their fight against democracy. There is only one possible conclusion in our mind: a total boycott of this competition,” Pandia said.
irrawaddy
Monk Leaders Call for Third Sangha Boycott
Several exiled Buddhist monk leaders have told The Irrawaddy that Burmese monks across Burma are preparing to launch another boycott of military personnel and their families due to ongoing abuses against Buddhist doctrine and clergy by the ruling military junta.
Known as a “pattanikkujjana” in Pali, a Buddhist monks’ boycott involves refusing morning alms from those said to have violated religious principles.
Burmese monks have declared a pattanikkujjana against the military regime and their cronies twice in recent history: the first time in 1990 following the suppression of Aung San Suu Kyi and her opposition party, the National League for Democracy, after they had won a national election by a landslide; and again in 2007, the so-called “Saffron Revolution,” when monks led demonstrations against price hikes in Rangoon that turned into a national uprising against the government.
Burma’s monasteries, some housing as many as 1,000 practicing monks, have been largely silent since the junta ordered a crackdown on the monk-led protests in August and September 2007. But several sources say that the simmering resentment could come to a head again in the lead-up to the regime’s election planned for 2010.
A monk in Rangoon who asked to remain anonymous told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday: “The local authorities are closely watching the monks and their monasteries. Moreover, there are plainclothes security forces keeping an eye on them.”
The military authorities closed and sealed Maggin monastery in Rangoon's Thingankyun Township in November 2007 after its abbot, Sayadaw U Indaka, was arrested for his involvement in the demonstrations. The monks and novices were evicted along with several HIV/ AIDS patients who were receiving treatment in the monastery at the time.
Speaking to The Irrawaddy, Ashin Issariya, one of the leaders of the exiled All Burma Monks’ Alliance (ABMA), said, “I want to call on all people and organizations to take part in a third monks’ boycott for the sake of peace and the welfare of all Burmese people.
“The Lord Buddha said that the sangha (Buddhist monkhood) had to carry out their religious duties by sacrificing their lives.
“Therefore, all members of the sangha must act to protect the Buddhist religion and the welfare of our people,” he said.
Currently, Burma’s Ministry of Religious Affairs is effectively controlling and curtailing the nations’ Buddhist monks under an order by the Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee (the state- sponsored Buddhist monks’ organization), which has restricted monks’ travel and gatherings.
Ashin Issariya said that the junta’s troops and loyalists had committed many religious crimes, such as killing and arresting monks and nuns, raiding and destroying monasteries, and defiling Buddha images.
He added that there is no freedom of religion under the military junta and that all religions are affected.
“Therefore, if the military authorities do not apologize for their abuses and crimes, it is the responsibility of all monks, nuns and laypersons to boycott the junta,” he said.
Some activists in Burma told The Irrawaddy that currently many monks’ organizations and monasteries are trying to organize themselves and set up cooperation and communication with monks’ groups in other parts of the country.
Ashin Thavara, a secretary of the India-based All Burma Monks’ Representative Committee (ABMRC), told The Irrawaddy: “Nowadays, the ABMRC is cooperating with the ABMA to not only carry out our religious duties, but to help the people and achieve peace in Burma and throughout the world.
“It is high time that all the people of Burma and around the world take action and boycott Burma’s military dictators,” he said.
Ashin Thavara claimed that during the September uprising, the junta’s soldiers and loyalist thugs raided and destroyed more than 60 monasteries, and beat, arrested and killed several hundred monks and nuns. He said that there are currently more than 250 monks and more than 20 nuns in prison in Burma for their political activities.
“Some of them were sentenced to hard labor,” he added.
“Others were sent with military battalions to work as porters at the front lines of the battlefields.”
During the 2007 Saffron Revolution, monks enacted a boycott of military families and their cronies by overturning their alms bowls to refuse alms, an act of defiance that marked the uprising.
According to official data, there are more than 400,000 monks in Burma, and its community, the sangha, is considered one of the strongest and most revered institutions in the country. It has always played an important role in Burma’s social and political affairs, often in opposition to oppressive regimes.
Ashin Candobhasacara, one of the leaders of the US-based International Burmese Monks’ Organization, told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday: “Our organization issued an announcement on Monday to mark the second anniversary of the Saffron Movement, and we plan to demonstrate against the Burmese junta by reciting the “Metta Sutta” (the Buddha’s words of loving-kindness) in front of the G20 Summit in Pittsburgh and in Union Square in New York on September 24 to 26.
“Now, all people and all organizations need to cooperate and condemn Burma’s military dictators,” he said. “We will encourage and support all the brave monks and demonstrators because they are sacrificing their lives and property for religion and peace in Burma and throughout the world.”
irrawaddy
Known as a “pattanikkujjana” in Pali, a Buddhist monks’ boycott involves refusing morning alms from those said to have violated religious principles.
Burmese monks have declared a pattanikkujjana against the military regime and their cronies twice in recent history: the first time in 1990 following the suppression of Aung San Suu Kyi and her opposition party, the National League for Democracy, after they had won a national election by a landslide; and again in 2007, the so-called “Saffron Revolution,” when monks led demonstrations against price hikes in Rangoon that turned into a national uprising against the government.
Burma’s monasteries, some housing as many as 1,000 practicing monks, have been largely silent since the junta ordered a crackdown on the monk-led protests in August and September 2007. But several sources say that the simmering resentment could come to a head again in the lead-up to the regime’s election planned for 2010.
A monk in Rangoon who asked to remain anonymous told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday: “The local authorities are closely watching the monks and their monasteries. Moreover, there are plainclothes security forces keeping an eye on them.”
The military authorities closed and sealed Maggin monastery in Rangoon's Thingankyun Township in November 2007 after its abbot, Sayadaw U Indaka, was arrested for his involvement in the demonstrations. The monks and novices were evicted along with several HIV/ AIDS patients who were receiving treatment in the monastery at the time.
Speaking to The Irrawaddy, Ashin Issariya, one of the leaders of the exiled All Burma Monks’ Alliance (ABMA), said, “I want to call on all people and organizations to take part in a third monks’ boycott for the sake of peace and the welfare of all Burmese people.
“The Lord Buddha said that the sangha (Buddhist monkhood) had to carry out their religious duties by sacrificing their lives.
“Therefore, all members of the sangha must act to protect the Buddhist religion and the welfare of our people,” he said.
Currently, Burma’s Ministry of Religious Affairs is effectively controlling and curtailing the nations’ Buddhist monks under an order by the Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee (the state- sponsored Buddhist monks’ organization), which has restricted monks’ travel and gatherings.
Ashin Issariya said that the junta’s troops and loyalists had committed many religious crimes, such as killing and arresting monks and nuns, raiding and destroying monasteries, and defiling Buddha images.
He added that there is no freedom of religion under the military junta and that all religions are affected.
“Therefore, if the military authorities do not apologize for their abuses and crimes, it is the responsibility of all monks, nuns and laypersons to boycott the junta,” he said.
Some activists in Burma told The Irrawaddy that currently many monks’ organizations and monasteries are trying to organize themselves and set up cooperation and communication with monks’ groups in other parts of the country.
Ashin Thavara, a secretary of the India-based All Burma Monks’ Representative Committee (ABMRC), told The Irrawaddy: “Nowadays, the ABMRC is cooperating with the ABMA to not only carry out our religious duties, but to help the people and achieve peace in Burma and throughout the world.
“It is high time that all the people of Burma and around the world take action and boycott Burma’s military dictators,” he said.
Ashin Thavara claimed that during the September uprising, the junta’s soldiers and loyalist thugs raided and destroyed more than 60 monasteries, and beat, arrested and killed several hundred monks and nuns. He said that there are currently more than 250 monks and more than 20 nuns in prison in Burma for their political activities.
“Some of them were sentenced to hard labor,” he added.
“Others were sent with military battalions to work as porters at the front lines of the battlefields.”
During the 2007 Saffron Revolution, monks enacted a boycott of military families and their cronies by overturning their alms bowls to refuse alms, an act of defiance that marked the uprising.
According to official data, there are more than 400,000 monks in Burma, and its community, the sangha, is considered one of the strongest and most revered institutions in the country. It has always played an important role in Burma’s social and political affairs, often in opposition to oppressive regimes.
Ashin Candobhasacara, one of the leaders of the US-based International Burmese Monks’ Organization, told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday: “Our organization issued an announcement on Monday to mark the second anniversary of the Saffron Movement, and we plan to demonstrate against the Burmese junta by reciting the “Metta Sutta” (the Buddha’s words of loving-kindness) in front of the G20 Summit in Pittsburgh and in Union Square in New York on September 24 to 26.
“Now, all people and all organizations need to cooperate and condemn Burma’s military dictators,” he said. “We will encourage and support all the brave monks and demonstrators because they are sacrificing their lives and property for religion and peace in Burma and throughout the world.”
irrawaddy
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