Land Without Evil

Karenni IDP's Hiding

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Duff) — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 22:35:00 +0000

July 9, Irrawaddy
Thousands of Karenni IDPs hide in jungle – Saw Yan Naing

An estimated 4,000 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) are currently
hiding in the jungle near Hpasawng Township, about 94 kilometers south of
the Karenni State capital Loikaw, according to a Karenni relief group.

Daniel, a coordinator for the Karenni Social Welfare and Development
Center (KSWDC), which provides aid to Karenni IDPs, told The Irrawaddy on
Wednesday that the villagers had fled their homes fearing attacks by the
Burmese army.

“More than 4,000 Karenni IDPs are now hiding in Hpasawng Township,” said
Daniel, who uses only one name. “It will be very difficult for them if
they have to stay in the jungle for a long time.”

The Burmese army’s Light Infantry Battalions (LIB) 427, 428 and 337 patrol
the area around Hpasawng and have clashed with Karenni rebels in the area
six times so far this year, according to local sources.

Some of the Karenni IDPs want to move to the Thai-Burmese border, but they
fear possible attacks by Burmese troops along the way, said Daniel.

Poe Byar Shay Reh, chairman of the Karenni Refugee Committee, said that
more than 160 IDPs have arrived at Karenni refugee camps in Thailand’s Mae
Hong Son Province since the beginning of 2008.

He said, however, that so far, none of the IDPs currently hiding in the
jungle have reached the refugee camps.

“None of them have arrived at the refugee camps, but we don’t know if
they’ll start coming later,” said Poe Byar Shay Reh.

He added that some of the Karenni IDPs now sheltering in the refugee camps
had fled their villages after being accused by the Burmese army and the
ceasefire Karenni Nationalities People’s Liberation Front of supporting
the anti-government Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP).

The KNPP signed a ceasefire agreement with Burma’s ruling junta in 1995,
but the truce broke down after just three months when Burmese troops
deployed on KNPP territory.

There have been several failed attempts since then to restart talks, most
recently in late 2004. However, the junta suspended all contact with the
group following the ouster of Prime Minister Gen Khin Nyunt, who had
masterminded a number of ceasefire agreements with ethnic rebel groups.

Burmese military operations forced around 6,000 Karenni villagers to
become IDPs in 2007, according to a survey conducted by KSWDC.

More than 20,000 Karenni refugees are staying in two camps in Mae Hong Son
Province, according to the Thailand-Burma Border Consortium and the
Karenni Refugee Committee

Fighting In Karen State

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Duff) — Wed, 02 Jul 2008 18:38:00 +0000

July 2, Democratic Voice of Burma
Regime troops withdraw from KNLA stronghold – Naw Say Phaw

Troops from the Burmese military and Democratic Karen Buddhist Army
withdrew from a Karen National Liberation Army stronghold yesterday, a day
after attacking the area.

The KNLA battalion 201's stronghold is located 25 miles south of the Thai
town of Mae Sot on the border with Burma and across the river from a
village called Padi.

KNU information department coordinator major Saw Hla Ngwe said the
fighting lasted until yesterday and some heavy artillery shells fired by
the Burmese army landed on Thai soil, causing havoc among Thai villagers,
who fled their homes in fear.

"The SPDC troops fired artillery rounds upon the Wal Lay Khee stronghold
on Monday morning until 11am and about three shells landed on the Thai
village," Saw Hla Ngwe said.

"About 200 Thai villagers had to flee their homes and took shelter in a
monastery and a school building."

He said the clash ended yesterday evening when the regime's army and DKBA
troops withdrew.

The number of casualties on the two sides is still unknown.

Saw Hla Ngwe said the government's offensive was probably in retaliation
for the loss of regime troops killed in nine clashes with the KNLA in
June.

"Also, they can collect tax money from local farmers if they take control
of the area as well as getting themselves an open route to go in and out
of Thailand," he said.

Situation is Still Dire for Neglected Cyclone Victims in Burma

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Duff) — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 21:27:00 +0000

Situation is Still Dire for Neglected Cyclone Victims in Burma
Written by CFI News
Monday, 30 June 2008 14:04

SAULT STE. MARIE, MI -- (CFI News) -- Thousands of storm victims in Burma are still in desperate need of relief aid, nearly two months after Cyclone Nargis ripped through the southeast Asian country.
Nargis touched down in Burma’s Irawaddy region in the early morning hours of May 3, 2008, bringing 120-mile an hour winds that left thousands of people dead or homeless, and an unprecedented trail of destruction in the already impoverished nation. To date, the government’s official death toll from the storm has reached over 84,000, with 53,000 more still considered missing.

Burma’s military government, which is known for an extensive history of human rights abuses and a vicious ethnic cleansing campaign against its Karen and Karenni population, was the subject of sharp criticism after the cyclone for its initial refusal to allow international relief aid into the country. But despite recent claims from ASEAN officials that most of the survivors’ needs are now being met and that the crisis appears to be stabilizing, many local victims have reported to indigenous CFI workers that they have yet to receive aid from either the Burmese government or any foreign relief agencies. And even as dozens of communities continue to struggle for survival without the most basic of necessities, the junta has reportedly threatened to begin confiscating land from residents who don’t resume rice production soon.

Christian Freedom International, an organization that has worked actively in Burma on behalf of persecuted Christians and provided firsthand testimony about the effects of the junta’s brutality since 1998, began distributing relief aid in the country through a network of local pastors, underground churches, and a team of backpack medics in the days immediately following the storm. Even as other humanitarian agencies waited for permission to enter the region, CFI had already begun wiring funds for emergency supplies to key contacts in the country, who then delivered essential items such as food, clothing, medical supplies and clean drinking water in storm-affected areas.

With most other foreign aid still seemingly under the junta’s strict control, CFI remains as one of the few organizations making a difference for storm victims who have been left to fend for themselves in Burma. CFI president Jim Jacobson, who recently traveled to the region to oversee the relief effort, is urging Americans to donate funds for more emergency supplies, including fishing and mosquito nets, water purifiers, clothing, food, medicine, and building materials to reconstruct homes. Funds are also urgently needed to purchase tractors to help with rice production, as well as to support the scores of children who have been left orphaned by the cyclone -- children who may otherwise face recruitment by the junta and forcibly sent to government “indoctrination” schools.
Last Updated ( Monday, 30 June 2008 14:40 )

Link to View Photos
http://www.christianfreedom.org/multimedia/gallery.html?gid=26&subcat=26&limit=20

More than 30,000 Myanmar refugees rdesettle

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Duff) — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 01:50:00 +0000

June 25, Associated Press
More than 30,000 Myanmar refugees rdesettle

More than 30,000 Myanmar refugees living in camps in Thailand have been
sent to third countries in what the United Nations said Wednesday had
become the world's largest refugee resettlement operation.

Most of the refugees are Karen ethnic minority people who had been
sheltered in nine refugee camps along the Thai-Myanmar border.

The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees said 30,144 refugees have left
Thailand to start new lives abroad since the resettlement operation began
in January 2005. A UNHCR statement described it as the world's largest
refugee resettlement operation.
But the camps remain home to 123,500 refugees and asylum-seekers.

"Some of the refugees have been here for nearly two decades. Some were
born in refugee camps, grew up there and are now raising their own
families in refugee camps," UNHCR regional representative Raymond Hall
said Wednesday. "For them resettlement offers a way out of the camps and
the opportunity for a fresh start in life."

The United Nations and human rights groups say that over the years the
Myanmar military has burned villages, killed civilians and committed other
atrocities against the Karen, who have long fought for autonomy from the
central government.

Some activists have charged that Myanmar's ruling junta is waging a
genocidal campaign against the Karen and other rebellious ethnic groups.

Hall said prospects for the refugees to return to Myanmar or settle
permanently in Thailand were dim.

Nearly 21,500 of the resettled refugees have gone to the United States,
while Australia has received 3,400 and Canada 2,600.

Other resettlement countries are Britain, Finland, Ireland, the
Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway and Sweden.

Myanmar refugees are now leaving Thailand for resettlement at an average
rate of more than 300 a week, the UNHCR said.

Refugees

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Duff) — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 20:44:00 +0000

June 10, Democratic Voice of Burma
Cyclone refugees flee to Thailand – Htet Yarzar

Around 100 refugees from Bogalay, Labutta and surrounding villages have
fled to the Thai border town of Mae Sot after losing their homes and
livelihoods in the cyclone.

One of the refugees said he had lost his home and family when the cyclone
hit Burma last month.

"We were left with nothing to eat. All our cattle and buffalo were killed,
and all our rice grain was destroyed. That's why we decided to come out
here," he said.

"My house was blown away by the wind during the cyclone. My wife and I had
to swim underwater to save ourselves and our four-year-old son, who I was
carrying in my arms,” he went on.

“But soon my wife was carried away by the tide and I couldn't save her. My
son couldn't make it either – he died in my arms."

Manh Manh, the director of the Backpack Health Worker Team, said a group
had been formed to provide assistance to the new arrivals.

The Emergency Aid Team (Burma) is made up of a number of organisations
including the National Health and Education Committee, the Karen Youth
Organisation, the Burmese Women’s Union and Dr Cynthia Maung’s Mae Tao
clinic.

"The group has so far provided 1000 baht and a month’s ration of rice to
each of the refugees and is currently holding discussions on how to keep
providing them assistance in the longer term," Manh Manh said.

Amnest Intl. Speaks Up For the Karen

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Duff) — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 16:25:00 +0000

June 4, Associated Press
Human rights group accuses Myanmar military of killing, torturing ethnic
Karen civilians

While Myanmar's ruling military fails its people suffering after a
devastating cyclone, it is committing crimes against humanity in a brutal
campaign against ethnic Karen civilians, an international human rights
group said Wednesday.

The London-based Amnesty International said the Karen in eastern Myanmar
are being killed, tortured and forced to work for the military while their
villages are burned and their crops destroyed.

An estimated 147,800 Karen peopleremain refugees in their own land because
the junta forcibly relocated them from their villages to camps, in efforts
to stamp out a decades-old rebellion by a segment of the Karen community
seeking autonomy from the central government.

"These violations constitute crimes against humanity ... involving a
widespread and systematic violation of international human rights and
humanitarian law," an Amnesty report said.

The government has repeatedly denied similar allegations in the past,
saying it was only engaged in security operations in Karen State aimed at
wiping out "terrorists."

Amnesty said the continuing campaign is the fourth turbulent episode in
the country's recent history.

The others include a brutal crackdown on pro-democracy protests last
September, a recent referendum on a constitution designed to perpetuate
military rule and "a humanitarian and human rights disaster in the wake of
Cyclone Nargis," it said.

The international community has sharply criticized the junta for barring
foreign aid workers from areas worst hit by the cyclone and itself
providing little help to survivors.

Amnesty said that unlike in earlier campaigns against the Karen National
Union, the key rebel group, the current one that began 2 1/2 years ago has
"civilians as the primary targets."

The group said it documented cases of more than 25 Karen civilians killed
by the military in Karen State in the two years since July 2005.

One farmer working in his field in Dweh Loh township was beaten and shot
by soldiers after he told them the location of a rebel camp. Another
farmer told of a civilian detainee being stabbed in the chest and then
dropped down a mountain slope "just like an animal."

"If they found us they would kill us, because for the Burmese army the
Karen and the Karen National Union are one," a 35-year-old villager in
Thandaung township told Amnesty. Myanmar is also known as Burma.

Arbitrary arrests, sudden disappearances, forced labor and portering for
the military continue to be widespread, Amnesty said. A woman from
Tantabin township said she and other porters were forced to act as human
minesweepers, and that some stepped on mines.

To purportedly separate civilians from the armed rebels, villagers have
been forcibly relocated from their homes into camps where men, women and
children are also forced to work for the military.

Often the villages they left behind were torched.

Ethnic organisations appeal for border aid

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Duff) — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 01:36:00 +0000

June 3, Mizzima News
Ethnic organisations appeal for border aid – Nan Kham Kaew

Shan, Karen and Karenni groups have appealed to the international
community to urgently grant much-needed funding for food provision to over
140,000 refugees living along the Burma-Thailand border.

The organisations said that the refugees, who have been living on the
border for up to 20 years, would face difficulties due to cuts in
assistance from the Thailand Burma Border Consortium, due to take effect
in August.

The annual budget for food provision in camps along the border has been
cut to US$ 6.8 million because of the decrease in the value of the US
dollar, and the hike in world food prices will exacerbate the shortfall.

The groups said the TBBC funding crisis has sparked new fears and
uncertainty among the refugees.

“Refugees are not allowed to go in and out of the camps freely to work
outside so they are reliant on food assistance to survive, such as the
rice, cooking oil, salt and chili given by TBBC,” said Aung Nge, a
spokesperson from a Karenni refugee camp.

“It will be very concerning for our refugees if the existing donors stop
or reduce their funding to TBBC.”

The TBBC has previously received financial assistance from the
Netherlands, Ireland, Poland, the USA, the UK, Canada and Spain.

According to the consortium, so far this year it has received funding from
the Netherlands, Ireland and Poland.

Aung Nge told DVB that refugees would continue to need outside support as
it is impossible for them to return home while the civil war continues and
the military regime remains in power.

“It would be best if we could go back to our homes and carry on with our
lives as we are not officially recognised as refugees by the Thai
government – we are only considered to be temporarily displaced persons,”
he said.

“Unfortunately, we can’t go home because our lives are not secure under
military rule.”

KNU Loses Another Leader

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Duff) — Fri, 23 May 2008 21:50:00 +0000

CFI Mourns the Death of Karen Leader Saw Ba Thin Sein

Friday, 23 May 2008 18:25

SAULT STE. MARIE, MI – (CFI News) – Christian Freedom International (CFI), a humanitarian organization that assists persecuted Christians worldwide, expresses deep condolences over the death of Saw Ba Thin Sein, chairman of the Karen National Union (KNU) in Burma.

The KNU, an ethnic rebel group that has been fighting for the Karen’s autonomy in Burma since 1948, lost its leader in the early morning hours of Thursday, May 22, 2008, in the Pa-an District of southern Karen State. Saw Ba Thin Sein, who joined the KNU in 1949 and became chairman in 2000, suffered from diabetes, asthma, and heart disease. He was 82 years old.

Throughout the chairman’s service, he stressed the need for unity among the Karen people, particularly after the division that led to the formation of the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army, a KNU-breakaway group that ultimately aligned itself with the ruling military junta. Although he did not live to see the Karen’s liberation, he will be remembered for his brave leadership and unwavering dedication to the Karen’s 50-year-old struggle for independence. “[He] was a friend to me for the past ten years…he will be missed,” says CFI president Jim Jacobson, who has personally delivered relief aid to persecuted Karen Christians in Burma since 1998.

The loss is also a hard-hitting one for thousands of Karen people in Burma, whose ongoing struggle for survival continues in the recent aftermath of Cyclone Nargis, and the junta’s denial of desperately needed relief aid into Karen-populated areas. According to a statement issued from KNU headquarters on Thursday, Tamla Baw, vice-chairman of the KNU and former chief commander of the Karen National Liberation Army, will succeed Saw Ba Thin Sein.

The chairman is survived by his wife and four children.

Yet Another Reason to Love the Junta

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Duff) — Mon, 19 May 2008 13:48:00 +0000

Democratic Voice of Burma: Cyclone survivors forced to work and pay for aid
Sat 17 May 2008
Filed under: News, Inside Burma
Cyclone victims in Bogalay township, Irrawaddy division, have had to pay for relief supplies provided to them by the international community, according to a private donor who just visited the area.

The donor also told DVB that local authorities had switched international aid with products from Industry-1 before distribution.

“On 10 May, local authorities in Ngabyayma village in southern Bogalay forced cyclone survivors to buy petrol for 1000 kyat a gallon,” he said.

“Villagers also had to buy canvas sheets marked ‘UNICEF’,” he went on.

“According to an eye witness, authorities there switched international aid with products from Industry-1 and then distributed it to the people. I heard they even switched food.”

He added that people in a temporary camp in Bogalay had been asked or forced to cut trees and reconstruct roads destroyed by the cyclone.

“I have learnt from those who just came back from Bogalay and Bassein that people in Bogalay camp have been forced by the authorities to collect trash and cut trees,” the donor said.

“They are paid 2000 kyat a day and asked to survive themselves,” he said.

“Food distribution in the camp is insufficient. People in the camp are ordered to provide unpaid labour as well.”

The donor also said authorities in Bogalay township were reportedly stockpiling some of the relief supplies from the international community in warehouses, and would distribute the rest of the supplies only if people voted ‘Yes’ in the 24 May referendum.

Another Reason to Love the Junta

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Duff) — Fri, 16 May 2008 20:57:00 +0000

May 15, Democratic Voice of Burma
Storm victims arrested and driven out from shelters – Aye Nai

The police attacked and arrested a storm victim and a member of South
Dagon Township National League for Democracy (NLD) member today for
attempting to meet with UN officials in Rangoon.

At 4’oclock this evening, Daw Khin Win Kyi was arrested for attempting to
tell the sufferings of refugees to senior government officials, diplomats
and UN officials who were inspecting the living condition of storm victims
with 15 other women, a local resident told DVB.

“She wanted the senior officials to know the sufferings of the people and
wanted to tell them face to face and went to wait at the route of the
official entourage. She told officials at Ward – 17 to let her see the
senior officials, and the police told her that they could not let her in,
and a shouting match followed. Then, the police sergeant punched her,
dragged her away and handcuffed her.”

South Dagon suffered severe damage caused by Cyclone Nargis that hit
Rangoon on 2 May and homeless victims have been taking refuge in
monasteries and schools, but they were helped only by private donors and
there has been no proper help from the government. The authorities placed
refugees inside forty tents donated by the international community and
tried to deceive foreign officials this way.

There are thousands of refugees in Wards 55 and 26 of South Dagon
sheltering inside monasteries and schools. The authorities have been
trying to evict the refugees from these places in order to make way for
the referendum for pro-army constitution which is to be held on 24 May,
the resident said.

“Those who refuse to obey the order will be prosecuted by the Internal
Affairs Ministry, I was told.”

At nearby Daw Pon, refugees who were sheltering in a storehouse were also
driven out into the rain, a refugee said.

“We told them that we have nowhere to live. They said, you can go anywhere
you like. If you don’t, we will ask the army to remove you tonight, the
ward authority chairman Nay Lin Aung said to us.”

Burmese Government Denies Cyclone Relief Aid to Karen Christians

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Duff) — Fri, 16 May 2008 20:44:00 +0000

SAULT STE. MARIE, MI (CFI News) -- As thousands of cyclone survivors cling to life in Burma,disturbing new reports about the military’s distribution of relief aid are surfacing from the devastated region.

Residents in the Irawaddy Delta, which bore the brunt of the cyclone that tore through the country on May 3, 2008, are now claiming that the Burmese military is diverting aid from areas heavily populated by ethnic Karen villagers -- a claim consistent with the government’s longstanding history of discriminatory practices against the Karen, the largest and mostly Christian minority ethnic group in the country.

In certain rural areas, reports also reveal that the military’s setup of strategically placed checkpoints is not only intended to block the passage of journalists and foreign aid workers, but to prevent relief aid from reaching Karen villagers in desperate need of help. It is also believed that the forced relocation of storm-affected victims into consolidated population centers -- a practice typically enforced in Karen State -- is part of the junta’s effort to increase civilian control, rather than for the benefit of the country’s affected population.

Cyclone Nargis, one of the worst storms to hit Southeast Asia since 1991, has taken the lives of over 38,000 victims in Burma, with the death toll still climbing. Thousands of survivors continue to remain homeless, with little or no access to food, clean drinking water or medical supplies, nearly one week after the storm blew through the region at 120 miles per hour.

Despite widespread condemnation for its refusal to accept outside humanitarian assistance, Burma’s government continues to tighten access to the disaster zone, even as its citizens face the risk of severe famine and disease outbreaks of unprecedented proportions. The situation has caused U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon to call an emergency meeting with representatives from various countries, in an effort to address the escalating crisis and the rising urgency for worldwide intervention.

As pressure from the international community continues to rise against the junta,a Michigan-based humanitarian organization is already slipping aid past Burma’s restricted borders. Christian Freedom International (CFI), an organization that has established numerous humanitarian projects in Burma on behalf of the persecuted Karen, has begun wiring donated funds for relief aid into the country through its network of underground house churches.

CFI’s team of indigenous backpack medics, who typically assist sick and injured Karen refugees hiding in the mountains or jungles, have also been dispatched into remote areas to help treat ailing cyclone victims.

For more information about CFI’s relief effort in Burma, call 1-800-323-2273.

128K Dead

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Duff) — Wed, 14 May 2008 21:54:00 +0000

May 14, Associated Press
Red Cross: Burma cyclone death toll could go up to 128K

The Red Cross says the death toll in Burma's cyclone may be between 68,833
and 127,990.

The government revised its death toll Wednesday to 38,491 and the number
of missing to 27,838. But the International Federation of Red Cross and
Red Crescent Societies said the number of people killed is probably
between 68,833 and 127,990.

The Red Cross said it arrived at the figure by pooling and extrapolating
assessments by 22 other aid groups and organizations in 58 townships. The
total affected population is estimated to be between 1.6 million and 2.5
million, it said.

U.N. humanitarian chief John Holmes also reported the same number for the
affected population. He said the death toll could be "in the region of
100,000 or even more."

The report issued Wednesday noted that "official government casualty
figures remain significantly lower."

The government says 34,273 people were killed and 27,838 are missing in
the May 2-3 Cyclone Nargis.

The Red Cross figure is the highest reported so far. The U.N. has said the
number of dead could be between 60,000 and 100,000.

What a Bargin!

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Duff) — Tue, 13 May 2008 01:46:00 +0000

From the Irrawaddy

Death Toll Climbs

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Duff) — Thu, 08 May 2008 03:28:00 +0000

Death Toll Climbs into the Thousands for Cyclone Victims in Burma

Written by CFI President Jim Jacobson
Tuesday, 06 May 2008 20:41

Christian Freedom International is preparing to dispatch backpack medical teams and other supplies into storm-ravaged areas where help is needed most in Burma.

SAULT STE. MARIE, MI -- A devastating cyclone has claimed the lives of as many as 22,500 victims in Burma, leaving hundreds of thousands more without homes, food or clean drinking water. Over 41,000 other victims have been declared missing in the storm’s aftermath.
Cyclone Nargis hit the Southeast Asian country in the early morning hours of May 3, 2008, where the 120-mile per hour winds tore the roofs off homes, hospitals and schools, and cut electricity in Yangon, Burma’s largest city. Reports from the low-lying Irawaddy region are indicating that as many as 95 percent of the homes in neighboring villages have been destroyed. Many other villages are still under water, cut off from all communications and with no relief aid in sight.

According to experts, reconstruction of many of the devastated towns could take years, and at least 40 days to reinstall electrical lines in some areas.

In the wake of the destruction, Burma’s government is now facing criticism from the international community for failing to properly alert its citizens of the impending storm. First Lady Laura Bush, a long-time critic of Burma’s repressive military regime, has also condemned the country’s leaders for not accepting U.S. disaster relief aid, claiming that their response to the cyclone is “the most recent example of the junta’s failure to meet its people’s basic needs.” After a meeting with foreign diplomats and U.N. representatives, Burmese officials were said to welcome international assistance; however, the restrictive conditions on what type of relief aid will be permitted into the country from outside agencies is potentially costing the lives of thousands of desperate victims.

CFI is among the independent humanitarian organizations preparing to deliver emergency assistance to cyclone victims in Burma. Fortunately, none of CFI’s existing schools, orphanages or medical clinics were destroyed in the storm, but we are preparing to dispatch backpack medical teams and other supplies into storm-ravaged areas where help is needed most.

As hundreds of thousands of victims in Burma face one of the worst disasters in recent history, you can help with our effort to get desperately needed aid into the region. Time is of the essence and your donation makes all the difference. Will you step forward for those suffering in Burma today?

Mrs. Bush Talks Tough

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Duff) — Tue, 06 May 2008 03:59:00 +0000

Today, in wake of the cyclone that whirled death and destruction about Burma, First Lady Laura Bush had some strong words for the Junta and thier totally toughtlessness towards the people of Burma.

Please read the Reuters article for more detail.

Laura Bush urges Myanmar to accept U.S. disaster team
Mon May 5, 2008 11:09pm EDT
By Matt Spetalnick and Susan Cornwell

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - First lady Laura Bush urged Myanmar's military rulers on Monday to accept a U.S. disaster response team that so far has been kept out, saying it would clear the way for broader relief in the wake of a devastating cyclone.

Making an unusual foray into foreign policy, Mrs. Bush, an outspoken critic of Myanmar's generals, also accused the junta of failing to warn its citizens in time about the approaching cyclone that has been blamed for at least 10,000 deaths.

The U.S. Embassy in Myanmar, an impoverished Southeast Asian country under heavy U.S. sanctions, authorized the release of $250,000 in immediate emergency aid, and Laura Bush promised, "More aid will be forthcoming."

But she made clear that Myanmar must first let in a State Department disaster assistance response team to assess the situation.

The scale of the devastation from Saturday's cyclone has drawn a rare acceptance of outside help from Myanmar's diplomatically isolated generals, who spurned such approaches in the aftermath of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.

But it may be harder for Myanmar to open up to the United States, which maintains heavy sanctions against the junta.

U.S. State Department spokesman Tom Casey said a disaster response team was "standing by and ready to go into Burma," now known as Myanmar, which has been ruled by the military for 46 years.

"I understand it the Burmese government has not given them permission to go into the country. ... My understanding was they had asked for permission but the initial response from the government was that they weren't inclined to let them in," Casey told reporters.

The State Department authorized the departure of nonessential embassy staff and family members from Yangon and urged U.S. citizens in areas hit by the cyclone to strongly consider leaving Myanmar. It also warned Americans against traveling to the country.

RARE APPEARANCE AT WHITE HOUSE PODIUM

In a rare appearance at the podium in the White House press briefing room, Laura Bush said, "If we can get some sort of team in there to assess what the other needs are, then I feel very assured that the United States government will follow with a bigger (aid response)."

But in a sign of the mistrust between the two countries, she added, "I'm worried that they won't even accept U.S. aid."

Laura Bush also took the opportunity to condemn Myanmar's junta for its human rights record, as she has repeatedly since a violent crackdown on protests led by Buddhist monks last September.

And she urged Myanmar's leaders to cancel a referendum on an army-drafted constitution they plan to go ahead with on Saturday. Critics say it would entrench the military's power.

President George W. Bush said last week a vote on a new constitution in Myanmar would not be "free, fair or credible" and imposed new sanctions on state-owned companies to put pressure for political change on the junta.

Also on Monday, Laura Bush said, "Although they were aware of the threat, Burma's state-run media failed to issue a timely warning to citizens in the storm's path."

"It's troubling that many of the Burmese people learned of this impending disaster only when foreign outlets, such as Radio Free Asia and Voice of America, sounded the alarm," she said.

Asked by a reporter whether she was accusing the junta of having "blood on their hands," she said it was clear they are "very inept."

She also disclosed that her husband on Tuesday will sign legislation awarding detained Myanmar democracy advocate Aung San Suu Kyi the Congressional Gold Medal, America's top civilian honor. Congress approved the award last month.

Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy won elections in 1990 but the junta refused to hand over power and has detained her for most of the time since then.

(Editing by David Alexander)

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Cyclone

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Duff) — Tue, 06 May 2008 03:56:00 +0000

Free Burma

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Duff) — Fri, 02 May 2008 19:32:00 +0000

Somebody sent me this pic, not sure where it's from, but it's really good.

A Boom At The Border

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Duff) — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 20:05:00 +0000

April 18, Asia Times Online
A boom at the border – William Sparrow

The struggles Myanmar has weathered in recent decades have led to a sharp
rise in the number of women opting to work in the sex industry to escape
poverty. Once confined to a small domestic market, the sex trade is now
opening to an emerging tourist market. This trend is particularly
noticeable in towns straddling the sometimes rough-and-tumble border
region with Thailand. What follows is an account of an encounter with
prostitution in one such town.

While famously common in many parts of Asia, in Myanmar dens of
prostitution were comparatively rare just a decade ago. But extreme
poverty and lack of work has led more young women to the sex trade - in
karaoke bars, massage parlors, nightclubs and restaurants.

The military junta has mismanaged the country for decades. Coupled with
botched governance, crippling sanctions imposed on Myanmar by the
international community have hit hard. The regime's constant promises of
democratic reform never materialize and the salient lack of progress has
drawn anger and further sanctions from the United Nations and other world
bodies.

In 1996, the military ditched socialism for a market economy. With
socialism banished, entrepreneurship, opportunism and individualism
naturally took hold. In one of the world's poorest nations, prostitution
boomed.

In Myanmar civil servants, police officers and average workers make some
20,000 kyats (about US$17) per month. Many struggle to survive; and
against this backdrop it's understandable that impoverished women would
turn to the sex trade. As in many Asian countries, a young woman can make
the equivalent of a month's wage working as a prostitute on a single lucky
night - especially if the clients are foreigners.

"The basic [monthly] salary is similar to what I earned at a factory, but
here we get tips from customers," a working girl told Agence France Presse
(AFP) in a recent report. "Sometimes we earn 30,000 kyats in one night
..."

While prostitution is technically illegal in Myanmar, enforcement is often
lax. There is, of course, the bribe factor in play with police. This
reporter could find no one willing to expound on the dynamics of this
arrangement. Education and opportunities limit the lure of the sex
industry in other regional countries, but grinding poverty and poor
schooling assure that it remains an attractive option in Myanmar.

"The girls working in our shop include schoolgirls, nurses who are
available to work at night and university graduates," an unnamed source
said to AFP. "Many friends of mine work in [karaoke bars] or music pubs
while also taking university correspondence courses," she said.

Many women exist on the hope of a wealthy foreigner arriving to "rescue"
them. This is obviously rare, and one could conclude that these ladies are
looking for a future in all the wrong places. Still, the goal is to
escape; to leave Myanmar behind and go somewhere where a young woman can
make something of herself. Once there, they can help the family left
behind.

Within that dream lies the sadness of the situation.

A run for the border
Live in Thailand a while and you're bound to meet many foreigners -
Westerners of all stripes - who keep their immigration status legal by
doing "visa runs". In the most basic terms, this requires an "exit" stamp
and the purchase of a new visa at any international border checkpoint.
Leave, turn around and re-enter, essentially.

A common "run", especially for Bangkok expatriates, is to travel to the
border crossing from Ranong, Thailand, into Kawthoung, Myanmar. It's not
so far - about 568 kilometers south of Bangkok - and the total cost can be
less than 3,000 baht ($90).

But, for some, the trip can have value added. After listening to
innumerable expats who had made the journey, I learned that many like to
combine the visa run with a day of debauchery, dabbling in the bordellos
of Kawthoung.

In Kawthoung, the venues for sex-for-hire include karaoke bars - referred
to as KTVs - or tumbledown brothels doubling as restaurants and bars.
Although they do have the private rooms used for karaoke bars, in
Kawthoung few are actually equipping with the audiovisual equipment needed
to make music.

"The setup of a Burmese karaoke in Kawthoung is that they don't call them
karaoke bars, but just restaurants. Once you come in, a girl will bring
you to one of the small rooms inside. You have to pay for 'one table',
which includes a round of drinks, the table itself and the girl's company.
Then you have to pay for the girl separately for any 'services' beyond
just her company. Altogether, it still comes cheaper than most other
Southeast Asia sex spots," said a crusty "sexpat".

In Kawthoung, the sex industry is still extremely Third World. During a
recent stopover in Kawthoung, I had the opportunity for a brief Myanmar
experience. I had no plan to explore the sex industry here, but, as it so
often does in my travels, an unlikely opportunity presented itself.

I wandered around Kawthoung, taking in the sights and fighting off touts
offering pornography VCDs, Viagra, prostitutes, gay prostitutes and
illicit drugs. They finally grew bored and left me on my own. Soon, I
happened on one of the "karaoke-restaurant" bars I had heard about. A half
dozen ladies sat outside, smiling and calling out greetings.

I went to a "mom and pop" store for cigarettes. A very young woman was
handling the transaction; thin, long hair, long legs, pretty face with no
makeup. I wondered if she was 18.

As she turned and descended into the dark shop, an elderly women,
presumably a relative, emerged from the shadows. She lunged from her seat,
sensing opportunity. "You want she?" the woman asked, meaning "her" - the
young woman.

I was shocked and caught off-guard and couldn't respond. In the silence,
the elder woman continued "You want daughter? You take," she said,
pointing. "Have hotel. Fifteen dollar."

I stood stunned. The shop girl had returned and now stood next to her
mother. Her body language said it all: shoulders slumped, downcast eyes.
She knew exactly what sort of negotiations were taking place. And by all
appearances she didn't enjoy the prospect of being sold to a man for sex.

"No," I said firmly. With that, the old woman scowled and slunk back to
her seat.

The shop girl never met my eyes as she handed over the cigarettes. Still,
I perceived a small smile.

A sex slave working as a shop girl; a young woman being sold by her own
mother. It was a sad situation that I won't soon forget. Sadly, scenes
like this will likely continue until the Myanmar government can improve
the lives of its 55 million people. I was overcome by this realization as
I settled the bill in that tiny shop on the Myanmar-Thai border.

As I turned to leave, I heard the shop girl whisper "thank you".

William Sparrow has been an occasional contributor to Asia Times Online
and now joins Asia Times Online with a weekly column. Sparrow is editor in
chief of Asian Sex Gazette and has reported on sex in Asia for over five
years. To contact him send question or comments to Letters@atimes.com.

BackPack Medic Video

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Duff) — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 16:39:00 +0000

Orphan boy lives in Garabage dum

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Duff) — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 03:16:00 +0000

April 11, CNN
Orphan boy lives in garbage dump – Dan Rivers

He doesn't know how old he is, but he thinks he's 7. His name is Khin Zaw
Lin. He's lived in a garbage dump virtually his entire life.

I find Lin walking in a festering landscape of rotting food, plastic bags
and junk at the Mae Sot garbage dump in Thailand near the Thai-Myanmar
border. His parents are long gone. His home is a makeshift shelter made
from salvaged bags, cloth and wood.

Lin is one of about 300 refugees in the dump who survive on other people's
trash. Many are children. Some are women with babies.

Their daily routine follows the same pattern: They mill about the dump,
waiting for the next truck to arrive, hoping for enough discarded food to
get them through the day.

Lin pokes through the rubbish with a machete. He says he collects bottles
and plastic for three cents a sack. He shows me his feet, which were
filthy and ribbed with cuts.

He tells me through an interpreter that he can't afford shoes. He walks
barefoot through the treacherous landscape.

My assistant told me about Lin's home while he was researching another
story on the border area in Myanmar, the country once known as Burma. I
found it hard to believe at first, but I was curious. I persuaded my
camera crew to make the six-hour drive from Bangkok.

When we arrive at the dump, people are afraid of us. We'd been told there
are orphans living at the dump, but people are wary. They think we are
there to take away the orphans or ask for bribes.

I tell them I want to help, and I am eventually directed to Lin. He greets
me with a soft, hoarse voice. But he's all energy and purpose when he
resumes plucking bottles from the mountain of trash.

A recycling firm offers the closest thing to steady employment for Lin and
his family. It buys what bottles and plastics Lin and others salvage.

Lin gives the money to his adopted mother, Tabblo. She tells me that Lin's
biological mother gave him to her in Myanmar when he was a baby because
she couldn't cope with the responsibility.

Life under the military junta in Myanmar can be brutal. The country's
economy is collapsing, and torture and rape under the country's military
regime is commonplace. Lin's new mother decided to flee to Thailand in
search of a better life. She found a garbage dump instead.

Still, Tabblo says scavenging for food in the dump is actually an
improvement on her previous life.

As I listen to Lin's story, a question keeps going through my mind: How
can a 7-year-old spend his entire childhood in this squalor?

Perhaps it's because Lin is invisible -- he doesn't have a passport or
papers. He is part of special group of refugees from Myanmar that don't
officially exist.

The United Nations established refugee camps in Thailand for those who
flee Myanmar, but the camps are reserved only for victims of political
persecution. Refugees like Tabblo fear if they enter a refugee camp,
they'll be classified as migrant workers and deported.

As a result, these refugees are trapped in the garbage dump -- not enough
money to go elsewhere and no prospects back home.

I thought I had become accustomed to the grinding poverty I had
encountered in parts of Asia. I've met my fair share of children who are
denied the luxury of hope. But Lin's story angers me. I feel close to
losing all objectivity.

Near the end of my meeting with Lin, I ask his adopted mother if she, and
Lin, would ever escape the rubbish dump.

Her answer is as hard as the world she and Lin inhabit.

Tradegey In Thailand

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Duff) — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 14:42:00 +0000

Link to an awful story about Burma refugee's in search of a better life in Thailand.

Story

8-8-08 Don't Watch

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Duff) — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 21:47:00 +0000

Stand for Freedom, don't watch the Olympics!

88 Students' letter campaign highlights abuses

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Duff) — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 18:11:00 +0000

April 8, Democratic Voice of Burma
88 Students’ letter campaign highlights abuses – Aye Nai

Letters written to the 88 Generation Students’ Open Heart campaign last year reflect the wide-ranging abuses by Burmese authorities and illustrate the need for urgent action, the group said in a report.

The campaign was run by the group last year and encouraged people from all over the country to document abuses of power and human rights violations in order to hold the government to account and expose the situation in Burma to the wider world.

The group originally intended to send all the letters to the ruling State Peace and Development Council, but decided instead to compile a summary report on its findings to protect contributors from retaliation by the authorities.

The report includes 254 sample case studies covering a range of issues including forced labour, land seizures, unlawful detention and religiousand racial discrimination.

88 Generation Student leader Ko Soe Htun said the report was based on 2,649 letters in total, 54 percent of which related to health, education,economic and social issues while around another 20 percent were about politics.

"In the letters, we learn about people's desperate wish for a true dialogue which they believe can bring an answer to the social and political woes our country is suffering and also their true will for the release of political prisoners and national reconciliation," he said.

"Thirteen percent of the letters complained about human right abuses andeight percent were about corruption charges. There were about 95 letters in total complaining about forced labour abuses and 67 other letters onforced seizure of lands."

Soe Htun said the campaign aimed to document abuses by the government in order to educate and inform the authorities and the outside world.

"The main intention of this Open Heart letter campaign is to prevent brutal treatment and human right abuses by the authorities in the futureby documenting these individual cases and finding a way to stop this," SoeHtun said.

"It also aims to educate the authorities, who do not recognise their legal or moral responsibility for the abuses done to people, so that we can setthem on the right path," he said.

"Also this is to raise awareness in the world of the human rights abuses and political, social and economic woes Burma is facing."

Soe Htun also praised the bravery of those who had contributed to the campaign.

"We are also releasing this report to show our respect for the people of Burma who had the courage to speak out about these abuses of power and human rights violations by the authorities and also about their political, social and economic struggles."

copyright. http://www.dvb.no/

New Olympic Logo

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Duff) — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 14:46:00 +0000

This is from the great folks over at the US Campaign for Burma. This is right on the money. China is a cruel evil regime, no more no less.

Cartoon from The Irrawaddy

noreply@blogger.com (Ben Duff) — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 13:56:00 +0000