Monk Demonstration participated People in Burma-19.Aug.2007

When U Chit Htwe heard that the court had sentenced U Kyaw Khaing to two years in prison, he staged a protest before the judge.

Nonagenarian protester sentenced to week in prison

8/18/2009
Taungup: A nonagenarian protester was sentenced to seven days in prison by the Taungup Township court on August 14 because he staged a solo protest against the court verdict pronounced on U Kyaw Kahing, said a townsperson.

“He was sentenced to a week in prison. The authorities charged him under a section of Act 47, which is related to drinking with disarray,” he said.

The protester, U Chit Htwe, is a former tuition teacher, and a close associate of U Kyaw Khaing the NLD Township chairman.

U Chit Htwe went to Taungup Township court on July 13 to hear the verdict of the court on U Kyaw Khaing, a defamation case against whom was filed by U Than Pee, former NLD Taungup Township member.

When U Chit Htwe heard that the court had sentenced U Kyaw Khaing to two years in prison, he staged a protest before the judge.

An eyewitness said U Chit Htwe criticized the judge’s verdict loudly and said the verdict was unfair and unjust.

Following the criticism of the judge he was charged under a section of Act 47. On 14 August, the court sentenced him to seven days in prison.

19 August (2007), Saffron Revolution 2007 after the regime hiked fuel prices on 15 August, students and Buddhist monks took the lead, starting in Pakokku, Magwe

17 August (1948), Kayah Army Day
19 August (2004), death of U Kyi Maung (1919-2004), former military colonel, vice-chairman led the
National League for Democracy to a sweeping victory in 1990 elections, Member of Parliament
(MP) for Bahan Township, Constituency 2, Rangoon

19 August (2007), Saffron Revolution 2007 after the regime hiked fuel prices on 15 August, students and
Buddhist monks took the lead, starting in Pakokku, Magwe

Burmese government authorities in Mon State have been increasing security measures and investigating Buddhist monks who are traveling – searching through their saffron robes and requiring them to open their bags.

Monks searched as they travel through Mon state
Tue 18 Aug 2009, IMNA, Panorkkyar
Beginning this month, Burmese government authorities in Mon State have been increasing security measures and investigating Buddhist monks who are traveling – searching through their saffron robes and requiring them to open their bags.

According to one monk who was searched on his way from Moulmein to Mudon at the checkpoint in Ro Go, “At 5:00 PM I reached Ro Go checkpoint by bus. A soldier in uniform asked me to opened up my bag. As he found nothing he made me lifted up my robe and again found nothing. Then he allowed me to proceed on my way.”

The security increase has come as tension has mounted after the recent re-incarceration of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, who was found guilty of violating her house arrest and was sentenced to serve an additional 18 months. After her return to her home, every town gate and roadblock between Moulmein to Ye has been checked thoroughly, though some say these checks have been the standard military security practice even before the verdict.

The practice of so strictly checking Monks has only more recently developed, as, according to a monk from Moulmein, roomers have spread that monks in Rangoon are going to hold uprising soon.

All in all, international society should not simply neglect the humanitarian crisis in Myanmar, but should intervene.

[Letters] Humanitarian intervention in Myanmar
August 19, 2009
Myanmar’s military dictatorship continues to detain Aung San Suu Kyi because she is fighting for democracy. This is a gross violation of human rights and freedom.

As the Myanmar government lacks the ability and will to protect its citizens, humanitarian intervention is needed.

First of all, human rights are a universal value and must be protected at all costs. Human rights should be granted to any human regardless of race, religion, gender or nationality.

A state is a group of people and it exists for individuals. In this regard, individual human rights should be a priority.

The international community should step in to solve the human rights issues even though they may be domestic ones.

Moreover, international organizations, particularly the United Nations, should intervene in Myanmar for humanitarian purposes. According to Article 1.3 of the Charter of the UN, one of the UN’s goals and purposes is the protection of human rights. Thus, it has a strong responsibility to protect human rights in all countries around the globe.

Lastly, humanitarian intervention in Myanmar will enable the spread of liberal democracy and ensure world peace. The spread of democracy can bring about “democratic peace,” which is a peace that is maintained among democratic countries. Since rational citizens are the decision-makers in a democratic society, they will not risk their lives by starting a war.

Accordingly, protecting human rights and promoting democracy in Myanmar will be a building block for world peace.

All in all, international society should not simply neglect the humanitarian crisis in Myanmar, but should intervene.

Sohn Seong-eun, Seoul

Clearly Senator Webb was referring to China’s pipeline and other vested interests in the region. It should also be noted that Webb has opposed sanctions and promoted commerce with the criminal regime claiming sanctions have failed.by buffalohair

Lady of the Lake Speaks
Through her attorney Nyan Win, Aung San Suu Kyi’s stance on sanctions has not changed since 2007. When poised with remarks in a British newspaper that she was considering lifting the tourism embargo in Burma, she simply said no one has spoken to her about it at all. This quite a contrast to the remarks made by US Senator Jim Webb when he clearly stated;
“I don’t want to misrepresent her views, but my clear impression is that she is not opposed to the lifting of some sanctions,”
Further, during Webb’s visit with Daw Aung Suu Kyi it was all too apparent he was more interested in China’s growing “Fearful Influence” in Burma. Aung San Suu Kyi found Webb’s “fearful influence offensive and offered a rebuttal to his terminology in reference to China. She wanted good relations with China and the rest of the bordering countries as well as the international community. *Nyan Win quoted;
“She said China is Burma’s neighbor and wants to be a good friend of Burma. She said she did not see China as a fearful influence.”
Clearly Senator Webb was referring to China’s pipeline and other vested interests in the region. It should also be noted that Webb has opposed sanctions and promoted commerce with the criminal regime claiming sanctions have failed. The reality is sanctions have not been honored by many nations including the US and UK. India’s Tata Motors, the parent company of UK’s Land Rover and Jaguar, is building a heavy truck plant in Burma to facilitate Than Shwe’s military needs. Tata is also heavily invested in Briton making the UK an unwitting partner in genocide, if you think about it. The list of countries and corporations who are lining the pockets of Than Shwe’s criminal regime is staggering. So the notion sanctions have not worked is ludicrous since true sanctions have not been honored from the very beginning, just lip service.
Now Webb is going to report to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton with his “facts”. The one fact still remains; Daw Aung San Suu Kyi maintains her and the National League for Democracy’s position on all points including sanctions and true reconciliation. She maintained that she has always kept the door open for dialogue with the regime.
Now, that the junta successfully placed Aung San Suu Kyi out of the running for the sham 2010 election. Reconciliation and the democratic process have been replaced with the bogus roadmap to nowhere by the regime. Than Shwe’s 7 Steps have obviously stepped backwards. The United Nations has proven to be as impotent as ever as they have more meetings and review tons of eye witness accounts of genocide and crimes against humanity. Burma continues to be placed at the back of the line while the world addresses recent acts of genocide and human rights violations in other parts of the globe.
It was ironic that while Jim Webb was making nice with the regime 10,000 residence in Sham State evacuated to China, thousands of Karen fled with their lives. Rape and murder continue to be the signature of Than Shwe’s Burmanization Program as genocide continues unabridged by the international community. It’s all about the money anyway, why fool ourselves. If it’s not profitable it’s not worth fighting for. Morality and ethnics has no place in current society, only the corporate bottom line. With the edict of Economics over Humanity it is clear help for Burma will not come from the outside world. The cries of the innocent will continue to fall on deaf ears and the world will continue to walk in the shadow of cowards and false hopes. The fate of Burma rests in the hands of the courageous and it is up the people to reawaken the Fighting Peacock for they are truly alone.
Senator Jim Webb’s visit to Burma has been hailed as a major coup for the criminal regime. The junta’s propaganda machine has hailed Webb’s meeting as a major milestone in renewing relations with Burma. But in all reality it was a major blow to the democratic movement and a big win for the junta. Webb gave the green light to the continued wholesale murder of the ethnic minorities within Burma as well as the continued arrests of all political opposition. And that’s the bottom line.

* http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=16589
Your Devil’s Advocate

Sen.Webb,Yettaw,and Burmese Junta cartoon

Thanks to HarnLay

In Burma, UN’s Ban Bowed to “Than Shwe” Buddha, Nuclear Post for S. Korean

UNITED NATIONS, August 17, updated — In the wake of U.S. Senator Jim Webb’s visit with Aung San Suu Kyi and Myanmar’s Senior General Than Shwe’s release of John Yettaw, the swimmer who visited her, in New York on Monday Marie Okabe the Deputy Spokesperson for UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon was asked why Ban thinks that a U.S. Senator was granted access to Ms. Suu Kyi but he was not.

Ms. Okabe said the UN has no comment on the Senator’s visit. Inner City Press asked if Ban had never expressed any view on the arrest and then seven year sentence for the swimmer. “No he has not,” Ms. Okabe replied. Video here, from Minute 9:38. [But see later response and update, below.]

Some surmise that in other circumstances, Ban would have issued a statement on Than Shwe allowing an outside visit to Aung San Suu Kyi, but that since this time it makes one question why he and the UN were blocked only last month, no comment was made.

It’s not that Ban didn’t try to please Than Shwe. Below is a picture, not taken by the official UN photographer who accompanied Ban but by a Myanmar counterpart, of Ban bowing to a statue of the Buddha to which his Myanmar hosts took him. Inner City Press’ sources say that, especially in person, the face of this “Buddha” is disturbingly like Than Shwe. Perhaps this is why no UN photo was taken. When Ban assumed his post, he was asked about his religion, but refused to answer the question. Note also in the below Ban’s envoy Ibrahim Gambari, a Muslim, not bowing to the “Buddha” statue.

Also at Monday’s noon briefing, Inner City Press asked Ms. Okabe about a strange report in the Korea Times, that

“A South Korean diplomat has joined a seven-member panel dealing with the U.N. North Korea sanctions, according to an official of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Sunday. The panelists including director-general Song Young-wan were named by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon last Friday. The U.N. chief visited South Korea last week to participate in the fifth Jeju Peace Forum. continue http://www.innercitypress.com/banvac7myanmar081709.html

UN-Asean Summit in Thailand cancelled By The Nation

UN-Asean Summit in Thailand is cancelled after UN chief Ban Ki-moon could not attend the proposed Asean-UN summit scheduled in October due to his busy schedule, Thai Foreign Ministry said Tuesday.The UN Chief could not leave the UN headquarter to meet Asean leaders in a meeting on the sideline of the Asean summit to be held between October 23 and 25.

He has to attend the United Nations Day on October 24, said the ministry’s Director of Asean Affairs Vitavas Srivihok.

The Asean-UN summit was postponed from April in Pattaya after red-shirted protesters disrupted the Asean Summit.

Secretary Ban proposed the summit with Asean to be held in September in New York when Asean leaders attended UN General Assembly but all leaders would not gather in the same time during that time, Vitavas said.
Nation

Aung San Suu Kyi has explicitly denied having commented to the visiting US Senator that she will not oppose the lifting of some of the economic sanctions.

Sanctions – a stumbling block for Burma?
by Mungpi
Tuesday, 18 August 2009 18:30

New Delhi (Mizzima) – On the now contentious issue of sanctions, Burma’s detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi said she had not indicated to the visiting US Senator Jim Webb that she will not oppose lifting of some of the sanctions imposed by western countries on Burma.

Ohn Kyaing, a spokesperson for the National League for Democracy on Tuesday said, Aung San Suu Kyi has explicitly denied having commented to the visiting US Senator that she will not oppose the lifting of some of the economic sanctions.

The clarification came on Tuesday after the visiting Senator Webb on Monday told reporters at a press conference in Bangkok that during his talks with Aung San Suu Kyi, she had indicated that she will not oppose lifting of some of the economic sanctions.

“Senator Webb might have misinterpreted Aung San Suu Kyi, because she explicitly denies making any comments that could indicate that she will not oppose lifting sanctions,” Ohn Kyaing said.

Aung San Suu Kyi on Monday evening told her party spokesperson Nyan Win, who visited her as her lawyer, to discuss her case, that she had been misinterpreted by Webb.

The detained Burmese Nobel Peace Laureate has never changed her position on the economic sanctions imposed on Burma but reiterated her call to the junta supremo Snr Gen Than Shwe to work together for the development of Burma including easing off of economic sanctions, Ohn Kyaing said.