Day: June 1, 2009
Danoke pagoda collapse-“A rumour circulating among local Dala people says according to a dream ousted Gen. Khin Nyunt had, the pagoda must be renovated by a team led by a woman.
by Myo Thein
Monday, 01 June 2009 10:27
Rangoon (Mizzima) – The 180-foot high Danoke pagoda in Dala Township, which was being renovated, collapsed on Saturday afternoon leaving many injured including naval personnel from the Irrawaddy Naval base.
The pagoda located on Dala-Letkhokekone Road collapsed while renovation work on its bell and bell-shaped structure was underway.
The hospital staff in Rangoon General Hospital’s Emergency Ward said that at least 30 patients were admitted in the ward. Some patients were admitted to Dala and Twante hospitals, he said.
“The incident occurred at about 2 p.m. yesterday when we were climbing the scaffold. I heard a deafening noise and I looked up and saw the structure had collapsed from the bell-shaped structure and the portion above it. I clambered to the ground immediately and saved myself. One of our five-member group, was admitted to the emergency ward,” a painter who escaped death narrowly said.
According to survivors, the pagoda collapsed starting from the bell-shaped structure and then within a few minutes the whole structure came down completely.
“There were about 54 volunteer naval personnel at the renovation site. There were about 100 people at the work site including villagers and scaffolding workers. The pagoda started to collapse when the scaffolding workers were dismantling and removing their scaffold from the bell-shaped structure. There were countless injured persons at the construction site. We had to take the people and rush them to the hospital immediately in the available cars,” a painter said.
There were Saya Khin Nyein — two persons from the pagoda trustee and two army officers supervising the renovation when the pagoda collapsed.
“Seventeen sailors have arrived here so far. The injured are still coming in. We are not sure of the total number of injured persons. Some of them were admitted in Dala and Twante hospitals,” a Naval Sergeant, who is attending to the patients in Rangoon General Hospital Emergency Ward said at about 7 p.m. local time.
It is learnt that most of the patients are navy volunteer workers, mainly from the No. 36 naval force. After emergency treatment at RGH, they are being transferred to No. 2 Army Hospital.
The pagoda was damaged by Cyclone Nargis and was being renovated. The umbrella hoisting ceremony was held on May 8.
“A rumour circulating among local Dala people says according to a dream ousted Gen. Khin Nyunt had, the pagoda must be renovated by a team led by a woman. And then the rumour also said that this dream also predicted there would be an accident when the umbrella is hoisted. My husband went only today for volunteer work and now he is injured. Both his legs are broken,” the wife of an injured local villager told Mizzima.
Power in the hands of Than Shwe’s family
The police noted that Suu Kyi “committed a cover-up of the truth by her failure to report an illegal immigrant,” he told the Shangri-La Dialogue,
Burma’s military junta defended its prosecution of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, saying Sunday she is not above the law and warning other countries not to meddle in its internal affairs.
The comments marked the first time a top official from the reclusive regime has publicly defended its actions, which have drawn widespread international condemnation, including from its closest neighbors in Southeast Asia.“If offenders are not (prosecuted), anarchy will prevail, and there will be breach of peace and security,” Burmese Deputy Defense Minister Maj-Gen Aye Myint told a security conference.
The junta has charged Suu Kyi with violating the terms of her house arrest by sheltering American John W. Yettaw after he secretly swam to her lakeside residence in early May. Suu Kyi’s lawyers have said Yettaw sneaked onto her property and have blamed security guards who monitor her house arrest for the breach.
Suu Kyi has been in detention without trial for more than 13 of the past 19 years. If convicted by the court—which operates under the influence of the ruling military and almost always deals harshly with political dissidents—Suu Kyi faces up to five years in jail.
Aye Myint said that Suu Kyi was charged because she allowed a foreigner to stay in her house, communicated with him and provided him food and shelter instead of informing the police.
The police noted that Suu Kyi “committed a cover-up of the truth by her failure to report an illegal immigrant,” he told the Shangri-La Dialogue, an annual forum of defense ministers, academics, experts and analysts. Continue reading “The police noted that Suu Kyi “committed a cover-up of the truth by her failure to report an illegal immigrant,” he told the Shangri-La Dialogue,”
LAWYERS for Ms Aung San Suu Kyi said on Monday they were working on the final arguments in her trial
YANGON – LAWYERS for Ms Aung San Suu Kyi said on Monday they were working on the final arguments in her trial, a day after Myanmar’s junta accused her of covering up the presence of an American man in her home.
The pro-democracy icon’s legal team said they hoped to meet with her this week at the jail where she is being held, before the prosecution and defence present closing arguments to the court on Friday.The Nobel laureate faces up to five years in jail on charges of breaching the terms of her house arrest following an incident last month in which former US army veteran John Yettaw swam to her lakeside house.
‘We will prepare this week for the final arguments in the case. We are still working on whether we will meet Daw Suu again,’ Mr Nyan Win, one of her lawyers and also the spokesman for her opposition party, told AFP.
No hearings are expected in her trial at the notorious Insein Prison until Friday, but Yettaw is due back in court on Monday on separate charges including immigration violations, a Myanmar official said.
On Sunday Myanmar’s deputy defence minister, Major-General Aye Myint, rejected foreign criticism of the trial and said Ms Aung San Suu Kyi was facing normal legal procedures. Continue reading “LAWYERS for Ms Aung San Suu Kyi said on Monday they were working on the final arguments in her trial”
democracy for burma 
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