BurmaNet News, September 11, 2007

[Editor]

September 11, 2007 Issue # 3289

INSIDE BURMA
Mizzima News: Junta disconnect phones lines of political activists
AP: Myanmar government appeals to public to end protests
BBC Burmese Service: Monks under close watch by authority
DVB: Pakokku residents arrested for foreign media contact
Irrawaddy: Women activists in hiding
DVB: Monks offered compensation by government officials
Mizzima News: Prominent economist urges expense-side reforms
IMNA: TPDC's tighten security, initiate 24-hour patrol
Narinjara News: Army fleecing villagers for rations
Irrawaddy: Mogok's blog writer warned

ON THE BORDER
Mizzima News: Burmese medical professionals urge junta to stop torturing
detainees

REGIONAL
Irrawaddy: Burma-N Korea ties offer little to Burmese people, says former
diplomat

INTERNATIONAL
DPA: UN to send envoy to Burma
Mizzima News: Rights of expression and association must be protected: UN
Mizzima News: Campaign to pressure China on anniversary of '88 crackdown

OPINION / OTHER
Irrawaddy: Burmese monks in revolt - Aung Zaw

____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

September 11, Mizzima News
Junta disconnect phones lines of political activists

In a fresh attempt at blocking information flow, the Burmese military
junta has cut mobile and landline telephone services of prominent
activists and some members of Burma's largest opposition party, National
League for Democracy, as of yesterday.

Authorities on Monday disconnected the mobile and landline phone services
of U Soe Myint Htein, an activist who had led a protest for lowering the
prices of essential commodities earlier this year, HIV activist Phyu Phyu
Thin, labour rights activist Su Su Nway, self-styled nationalist
Amyotharye U Win Naing, NLD spokespersons U Nyan Win and U Myint Thein and
some other NLD members and those who actively participated in the recent
wave of protests.

"We are speaking the truth. We are not saying anything wrong but now that
they have disconnected our phone lines what can we do. We have to wait
until they connect us again," NLD spokesperson U Myint Thein said.

U Soe Myint Htein, an activist who protested in front of the Theingyi
market in Rangoon earlier this year, said though he had gone to the
telephone exchange office today to enquire about the disconnection,
officials refused to respond to his queries as to when his mobile phone
would be connected again.

While the authorities gave no reasons for the sudden disconnections,
activists widely believe that it was because of the frequent interviews to
and information sharing with foreign and Burmese media groups in exile.

____________________________________

September 11, Associated Press
Myanmar government appeals to public to end protests

Myanmar's junta pleaded with its citizens to end weeks of anti-government
protests and to instead express their views through a promised referendum
on a new constitution, state-run media reported Tuesday.

Demonstrations started Aug. 19 over high prices for fuel and consumer
goods, but have resulted in the most sustained public protests in a decade
against the military government.

"Myanmar's democratic transition is in its infancy, so the nation should
take great care to avert possible undesirable consequences," said a
commentary in the state-run New Light of Myanmar newspaper.

The protests intensified last week when Buddhist monks angry at being
beaten up for protesting economic conditions temporarily took officials
hostage, and smashed a shop and a house belonging to junta supporters in
northern Myanmar.

Government efforts to stamp out the protest by arresting scores of
demonstrators and roughing up others have failed to extinguish their
defiance. In recent days, the regime has stepped up its propaganda
campaign against the pro-democracy movement, accusing it of being funded
by foreigners and having links to terrorism.

The New Light of Myanmar said protests "are no longer fashionable," so
people should make their stances known when they have a chance to approve
a new, yet-to-be-drafted constitution in a national referendum to be held
"soon."

The government has promised to eventually hold elections.

"There is a Western saying that says 'look before you leap,'" said the
English-language newspaper commentary. "So I would like to remind the
people about the demonstrations lest the nation will be stepping towards
the abyss."

Earlier this month, the government wrapped up a 14-year National
Convention to draw up guidelines for a new constitution, the first stage
of its seven-step "road map to democracy."

Critics have called the entire process a sham, saying the guidelines
ensure the military a prominent role in politics and bar pro-democracy
leader Aung San Suu Kyi from holding elected office.

Meanwhile, Buddhist monks said they may refuse alms from the military and
ignore junta officials and their supporters at official functions if the
government fails to apologize by next week for the attack, according to
The Irrawaddy, an independent Thailand-based news magazine that reports on
Myanmar, and the pro-democracy group U.S. Campaign For Burma.

The monks reportedly under the banner of a new political organization
called the National Front of Monks are also demanding that authorities cut
fuel prices, release all political prisoners and begin negotiations with
Suu Kyi and other democratic leaders, the U.S. Campaign For Burma says.

It was impossible to independently verify the front's existence or demands.

Historically, monks in Myanmar, also known as Burma, have been at the
forefront of protests first against British colonialism and later military
dictatorship. They also played a prominent part in the failed 1988
pro-democracy rebellion that sought an end to military rule, imposed since
1962. The uprising was brutally crushed by the military.

The junta held general elections in 1990, but refused to honor the results
when Nobel laureate Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party won. Suu
Kyi has been detained under house for more than 11 of the past 18 years.

____________________________________

September 11, BBC Burmese Service
Monks under close watch by authority

Burma's military government put monasteries under close watch to clamp
down on the most sustained anti-government protests in a decade.

There were demonstrations against the government raising fuel prices
and the high cost of consumer goods, Buddhist monks became the highest
profile protesters and revived the movement last week after staging a
peaceful
march against economic hardship in the northern town of
Pakokku.

After violent crush down to monks demostration there, it was reported that
monks group called the Alliance of Monks Group has demanded that
authorities apologize for the violence, reduce fuel prices, release all
political prisoners and begin negotiations with opposition leader Aung San
Suu Kyi and other democratic leaders.

It was impossible to get independent verification of the existence of the
group or its demands.

____________________________________

September 11, Democratic Voice of Burma
Pakokku residents arrested for foreign media contact

Pakokku authorities have arrested four town residents for allegedly
providing foreign media with information on the protest staged last week
by monks over poor economic conditions, according to local residents.

Four Pakokku residents; U Thant Shin, U Nay La, U Sein Linn and U Thar
Aung, were arrested by authorities on Friday evening and held at the
police station but were later sent to the police station jail.

"They were arrested under suspicion of speaking by telephone to reporters
from foreign news agencies. They were kept in the police station at first
and family members were allowed to visit and give food to them," said an
unnamed monk.

"But they were then moved to the police station jail on Sunday and their
current situation is unknown."

____________________________________

September 11, Irrawaddy
Women activists in hiding - Shah Paung

Among the Burmese pro-democracy activists in hiding are many courageous
and committed women who have played leading roles in the recent
demonstrations against sharp price increases in fuel, which began on Aug
19.

Authorities have been hunting down at least two dozen activists.

Pictures of leading activists, "wanted persons," have been distributed to
checkpoints in Rangoon and other cities.

A number of these exceptional women activists who are on the front lines
in the fight for democracy in Burma are profiled by Shah Paung.

Her painful breasts are swollen with mother's milk.

But the brave mother-in-hiding and her hungry, 4-months- old baby are
separated—perhaps for months or longer.

“How can I express my terrible feeling of missing my baby?” Nilar Thein
said, from her hiding place.

Nilar Thein has the sympathy of her fellow activists and from those who
know her and her baby, Nay Kyi Min Yu, who is being cared for by her
grandparents.

“When you have the feeling of your breasts engorged with milk it reminds
you that your baby is hungry for your milk,” said a close friend of Nilar
Thein.

The 35-year-old Nilar Thein, a member of the 88 Generation Students group,
led a demonstration against the rise of fuel prices in Rangoon.

Nilar Thein does not stay in one location for long, and she sometimes
walks the streets alone. She always worries about where she can find a
safe place to sleep. She constantly thinks and dreams of her daughter, now
living with her mother-in-law.

Her husband, Kyaw Min Yu, also known as Jimmy, is also a leading member of
the 88 Generation Students group. He was arrested and detained by Burmese
authorities during the recent demonstrtions. Rumors swirled around his
condition on Sunday, when there was speculation that he had died after
being tortured by the regime.

Nilar Thein herself has been detained by Burmese authorities two times
before. Her first arrest was in 1991, when she was jailed for two months.
Her second arrest was in December 6, 1996, during a student demonstration.

During the demonstration she slapped the face of a high ranking police
officer was tried to block her way in the march.

Nilar Thein joined the Burma democracy movement as a high school student
in 1988 as a member of the All Burma Federation of Student Unions.

She was sentenced to seven years imprisonment under Act of 5 (j), an
emergency security act, and another three years imprisonment under Act 332
for slapping a policeman. She was released on July 6, 2005.

She was detained in Insein and Tharrawaddy prisons.

Su Su Nway, a John Humphery Freedom Award winner in 2006, has a serious
heart disease. Normally, she receives medical treatment twice a week on
Tuesdays and Fridays.

But now, in hiding, she can't see her doctor.  Su Su Nway doesn't venture
out from her hiding place, and she is afraid to have her medical doctor
visit her.

Su Su Nway became a NLD youth member in 1990. Many Burmese people know of
her fearless fight for the rights of people conscripted into forced labor
and for farmers whose land has been confiscated by local authorities.

On August 28, she led a demonstration at Hledan Market in Rangoon’s
Kamaryut Township where she was violently dragged away by thugs trying to
arrest her. Fortunately, she escaped with the help of a Burmese
journalist.

Her fight for democracy doesn't include hate. From her hiding place, she
told The Irrawaddy by telephone:

“We held the demonstrations not only for us but for all people, including
those who beat us and tried to arrest us, including the police. Those
violating us are also facing difficult daily lives. They have been used by
the military regime because their lives are under military rule.”

Su Su Nway was jailed in October 2005 for "threatening and swearing at
local authorities" and released in early June 2006, following appeals from
the international community and the International Labor Organization.

In May 15, 2007, she was arrested while marching to a pagoda in Insein
Township to pray for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi. She was released in
June.

In 2000, she launched a successful lawsuit against local officials,
including the headman of Htan Manaing village in Rangoon Division, for
organizing forced labor.

“Because we are in hiding does not mean that we are in retreat, but we
worry that there will be no people to stand up for people and to speak out
if we all go to jail,” said Su Su Nway.

“We know we are water in their [the regime's] hands, and we can not escape
for long, but before we get arrested we want to say what we should say
during the time we are in hiding.”

Mother of two children, Mie Mie was a leader of recent protest
demonstrations, along with Nilar Thein and other women activists.

“Though our leaders have been arrested, we will continue with our
movement,” she told the Associated Press news agency during the
demonstrations of August 23, “We will not fear any arrest or threat.”

Mie Mie was a pro-democracy activist while still a 16-year-old high school
student at the time of the nationwide uprising in 1988, belonging to the
All Burma Federation of Student Unions and the Democratic Party for a New
Society. one year later, she was detained for four months because of her
political activity.

During the 1996 student demonstrations, Mie Mie, a university student, was
arrested and sentenced to seven years imprisonment. She spent about one
year in Rangoon’s notorious Insein prison and was then transferred to
Tharawaddy prison in Pegu Division.

Eai Shwe Sin Nyut, who knew Mie Mie from her prison days and who now lives
in exile, paid tribute to her fellow activist: “Mie Mie is an honest
woman—brave and always standing up for truth. Even in prison, she always
resisted the authorities and tried to get medicine for her sick friends.”

Phyu Phyu Thin, a member of the opposition National League for Democracy,
is well known for her work with HIV/AIDS patients, many of whom are now in
jeopardy because she is unable to care for them while in hiding.

One of her patients gave sanctuary to Phyu Phyu Thin during the
demonstrations, she disclosed to The Irrawaddy from her hiding place. A
monk who is HIV positive helped her evade arrest.

Phyu Phyu Thin was first arrested in 2001 during a visit to Mandalay by
opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. She was detained for four months and
four days.

She was arrested for a second time in May this year and was held for 10
days. Eleven of her HIV/AIDS patients demonstrated for her release.
____________________________________

September 11, Democratic Voice of Burma
Monks offered compensation by government officials

Senior monks in Pakokku, Magwe division, were called to a meeting with
high-level government officials on Sunday and offered money as
compensation for monks who were beaten and disrobed in last week's protest
over poor economic conditions.

A Pakokku monk told DVB yesterday that the officials included the ruling
State Peace and Development Council's Military Affairs Security Chief
Lt-Gen Ye Myint and Minister of Religious Affairs Brig-Gen Thura Myint
Maung. Fifteen senior monks from four monasteries in Pakokku were summoned
to the meeting and offered 30,000 Kyat as compensation for each monk who
was beaten up and disrobed during the soldiers' crackdown on last week's
monk-led protest.

Some senior monks refused to attend the meeting as a mark of their
disappointment with the authorities' ill-treatment of monks. Those who
attended were disappointed to be offered money by the officials but no
apology.

"They can't expect forgiveness from monks just by offering them money as
compensation after brutally beating them," said the monk.

An abbot who was present at the meeting reportedly criticised the way the
government had lied about the protests in public broadcasts.

"They said in the newspapers that they didn't mistreat the monks, but now
they are admitting their guilt by offering them money," said the monk.

____________________________________

September 11, Mizzima News
Prominent economist urges expense-side reforms

Responding to the question of how the ailing Burmese economic patient can
be cured, a respected Burmese economist has prescribed a hefty dose of
reforms concerning where and to what extent the government chooses to
spend its limited resources.

Instead of looking to an increase in fuel and energy prices to generate
additional government revenue, U Myint, an Economics Professor in the
Department of Economics at the Institute of Education, argues that what is
needed is a reconfiguring and restraining of government expenditure.

"I believe there are considerable opportunities to redirect or switch
government spending to address problems that the majority of the people in
the country are facing in their daily lives," U Myint told Mizzima.

U Myint says that such a strategy would contain inflationary tendencies in
the Burmese economy, while avoiding a further economic burden on the
shoulders of the poor.

In 2006, inflation in Burma was estimated to be 21.4 percent. However, as
a result of the recent economic policies enacted by the regime, various
estimates now place the current rate of inflation as high as 80 percent.

The kyat, having traded as low as 800 to the dollar in 2004, has dropped
to a current exchange rate of 1,330 kyat to the dollar; having lost over
six percent of its value since the fuel and energy price hikes.

Correspondingly, the cost of rice has risen by over 10 percent in response
to the enforced increase in energy and fuel costs. Many other commodities
have witnessed even harsher inflationary tendencies, with the cost of eggs
now at least 50 percent higher than their price prior to August 15th, the
date the government's new revenue generating policy came into effect.

U Myint did not specify from where budget cuts should come, or to what
sectors and projects money should be redirected, but there are some
obvious candidates.

With an external debt now well over an estimated $7 billion, the continued
cost of constructing the junta's new capital city of Naypyidaw, by most
accounts easily costing the country hundreds of millions of dollars, is an
obvious strain on an already stressed economy.

Meanwhile, military expenditure is said to equate to 40 percent of
government expenditure, while the health and education sectors account for
approximately 0.4 and 0.5 percent of expenditures, respectively.

U Myint had previously written a letter [see Mizzima News, 'Price hikes
not the recommendation of UMFCCI advisory group', Sept. 6th] to clarify
that, contrary to what Burmese state media were reporting, he, along with
other noted academics and the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of
Commerce and Industry (UMFCCI), did not agree with the decision made by
the government to combat the economic crisis through measures such as
raising energy and fuel costs.

____________________________________

September 11, Independent Mon News Agency
TPDC's tighten security, initiate 24-hour patrol - Mi Kyae Goe

Alarmed over ongoing protests relating to the massive fuel price increase,
the Township Peace and Development Councils (TPDCs) are not taking chances
relating to security in government departments in Burma . They have
ordered 24-hour patrolling after the protests began spreading across the
country.

“We are having to initiate patrolling at the offices but the orders have
not been officially announced by the authorities yet,” a junta official in
Mon state said.

Strangers entering department offices and compounds are being closely
monitored, the officer said. Not only government departments but school
compounds are also being watched and guarded 24 hours a day.

An officer from Department of Migration and National Registration said the
situation in Burma calls for anxiety. The protests and demonstrations had
led to a situation where residents who do not have citizenship cards can
now get it easily from the migration office.

TPDC in Thanpyuzayart Township Mon State has called a meeting of officers
from all departments in the township for collection of rice after monks in
Pakokku Township detained local government and religious department
officials in the monastery.

After collecting rice from all departments, it was divided for donation
among monks in all monasteries in the township.

 "The TPDCs are afraid of incidents like Pakokku town happening here," the
officer said.

In 1988's bloody uprising, demonstrators destroyed houses and offices of
government officers who treated people cruelly. Such officers where caught
by demonstrators and beaten up.

____________________________________

September 11, Narinjara News
Army fleecing villagers for rations

Mrauk U:  The Burmese Army has been fleecing villagers for rations for its
soldiers. Army officials confiscated coconut trees and chickens from
several villages in Mrauk U Township for an army husbandry project without
paying any compensation, said a village chairman from Mrauk U Township .

"In our village, Corporal Thein Win from Light Infantry Battalion 378 has
been collecting coconut trees and chickens as well as piglets from all
households since the first week of this month for a battalion husbandry
project," a resident said.

The Light Infantry Battalion 378 is located east of Baungdwet Ward in
Mrauk U and is one of three battalions stationed in the township. The army
often collects rice, chili and other food items from the villagers but has
not previously collected these things.

"Villagers in our village were able to give coconut trees to the army, but
they were unable to provide chickens or piglets. The army authorities then
asked for money from villagers instead of chickens and piglets," a village
chairman said.

An army official from LIB 378 asked Baukkan Chaung villagers for 200,000
Kyats in lieu of chickens and pigs in order to fulfill the army's quota, a
source said.

U Maung Gri, chairman of Baukkan Chaung, gave 120,000 Kyat to Corporal
Thein Win from his own pocket on behalf of the village as he could not
collect the 200,000 Kyats demanded from the poorer villagers, said a
source.

Many villages located near LIB 378 have had to pay money to army
officials, as they could not meet the request for chickens and piglets.

There are nearly 60 army battalions currently stationed in Arakan State,
and it is learnt that they often collect rice, chili, salt, and ngapi from
Arakanese villagers as army rations, without any compensation. Now, army
battalions are collecting plants, chickens, and piglets for their own
husbandry projects.

____________________________________

September 11, Irrawaddy
Mogok's blog writer warned - Saw Yan Naing

Thar Phyu, a blog writer and a computer shop owner in Mogok Township in
central Burma, was issued a warning by local authorities on Monday,
according to local residents. He is a member of the National League for
Democracy's youth division. A second computer shop owner was also warned
for not having a license.

Hla Oo, the chairman of the NLD in Mogok Township, said that Thar Phyu was
warned by officials who were inspecting computer shops in the area.

“Authorities checked all the computer shops in Mogok on Monday. He [Thar
Phyu] was called in and warned briefly, because he doesn’t have a license
for his computer shop," said Hla Oo.

Thar Phyu also writes a blog for MOGOK MEDIA about the environment and
political issues in the area.

The blog has recently reported about the flooding in Mogok as well as
demonstrations against the hike in fuel prices.

Authorities briefly seized and checked Thar Phyu’s computer, said
residents, who added that this was the first instance of a blog writer
being called in and warned by local authorities.

With the spread of technology, growing numbers of young people in Burma
have a personal blog and share information online.

____________________________________
ON THE BORDER

September 11, Mizzima News
Burmese medical professionals urge junta to stop torturing detainees

A group of Burmese medical professionals today urged Burma's ruling
military junta to respect international norms and stop torturing prisoners
of conscience.

The Burma Medical Association in an open letter today urged the State
Peace and Development Council and its Ministry of Health to provide proper
medical care to the detainees and allow family members regular visits on
humanitarian grounds.

Dr. Cynthia Maung, the BMA chairperson and director of the Thai-Burma
border based Mae Toa clinic, which provides medical treatment to thousands
of Burmese refugees, said, "The human rights, health and economic crisis
in Burma is reaching its lowest ebb."

Expressing concern over the current situation in Burma, the group,
condemned the junta's recent crackdown on peaceful protesters and called
on the authorities to refrain from harsh and violent treatment of
agitators, who are just demanding better living conditions.

Following the junta's decision to hike fuel prices on August 15, sporadic
protests broke out in Rangoon and parts on Burma, with protesters
demanding lowering of oil prices, as it had severely affected their daily
life with transport fares and basic commodity prices going up sharply.

The junta, which grabbed power in a coup from the previous military
dictator General Ne Win in September 1988, reacted to the protests
brutally and made arrests with the help of its civilian organizations –
the Union Solidarity and Development Association and Swan Arrshin, a
para-military group.

The authorities arrested at least 150 protestors including prominent
student leaders Min Ko Naing and Ko Ko Gyi and 13 other members of the 88
generation students group.

"We are saddened by the news of heavy-handed suppression of peaceful
public protesters by the authorities
 We denounce any form of violence and
demand SPDC to refrain from harsh and violent methods," the group said in
the letter.

It also appealed to all medical professionals in Burma to pay special
attention and to treat with dignity political prisoners, who have suffered
severe torture by the authorities.

"We also strongly urge our fellow physicians, nurses and health care
professionals in Myanmar to treat those tortured with the respect and
dignity they deserve," added the group.

Activists and student leaders, arrested and detained in Burma's notorious
Insein prison are enduring sever torture during interrogation.

On Saturday, rumours spread in Rangoon and parts of Burma that prominent
88 generation student leader Ko Jimmy (a.k.a) Kyaw Min Yu, who was
arrested along with 12 other fellow students, had died of torture in
Insein prison during interrogation.

While the information could not be independently confirmed, activists said
the health condition of those detained remain critical.

"We urge the Minister of Health in Burma who is a physician himself to
look into this serious situation and provide protection to the victims. We
as healers have a duty to provide care to our fellow citizens in need,"
the group added.

____________________________________
REGIONAL

September 11, Irrawaddy
Burma-N Korea ties offer little to Burmese people, says former diplomat -
Htet Aung

Burma’s and North Korea's renewed diplomatic ties are a natural alliance
between anti-American countries in Asia, according to a former Burmese
diplomat to China.

Burmese Deputy Foreign Minister Kyaw Thu was scheduled to arrive in
Pyongyang on Tuesday to hold four days of bilateral talks with the
reclusive communist state.

Thakin Chan Htun, a veteran politician who commented as Kyaw Thu started
his official visit, said, “It is clear that they [the junta] will find
friends who oppose America.”

The two countries’ severed their relationship in 1983 when North Korean
agents unsuccessfully attempted to assassinate the then South Korea
President Chan Doo-hwan in Rangoon.

The junta's leader, Snr-Gen Than Shwe, sent “a message of felicitations"
to dictator Kim Jong Il on September 9, the anniversary of the birth of
the communist country.

“We [the people] can get no benefit from the relation with North Korea
economically, but the government can get nuclear technology and military
equipment,” said Thakin Chan Htun.

In recent months, North Korean officials visited Rangoon to look for an
embassy location.

Unconfirmed reports have surfaced that North Korea has transferred missile
technology to Burma and the regime has consulted with North Korean nuclear
technicians.

The Burmese government early this year announced a plan to build a nuclear
research reactor with the help of Russia’s Nuclear Atomic Agency.

Observers say the location of the regime's nuclear reactor site centers on
an area near Maymyo, also known as Pyin U Lwin, about 42 miles (68 km)
north of Mandalay, and Magwe Division in Central Burma.

In 2005, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice called Burma and North
Korea “outposts of tyranny.”

At the Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit in Sydney last week, U.S.
President George W. Bush called the military government's recent crackdown
on peaceful demonstrators in Rangoon and other cities "tyrannical
behavior."

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

September 11, Deutsche Presse-Agentur
UN to send envoy to Burma

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said Monday his special envoy will visit
Burmain mid-October to pursue UN efforts to bring democracy and human
rights to that nation.

Ibrahim Gambari last visited Myanmar in 2006 as the chief UN political
advisor, but will return there as Ban's envoy following a round of
discussion he had held recently with several Asian governments on ways to
improve conditions for people living under an authoritarian military
regime.

"I am fully committed to working toward the full democratisation" of
Burma, Ban said.

"Let's hope that the government in Myanmar will fully democratise their
country, and respect and uphold the aspiration of international community,
particularly the release of Madame Aung San Suu Kyi," Ban said.

Myanmar is the name given to Burma by the military regime.

Suu Kyi, leader of the National League of Democracy, has been kept under
house arrest by the military regime for more than a decade since she won a
presidential election.

The UN has criticised the Burmese regime for excluding opposition
political parties in national dialogue and in the drafting of a
constitution.

The military authorities have rejected repeated UN appeals for the release
of Suu Kyi, who won a Nobel Peace Prize for her pro-democracy fight in
Burma.

____________________________________

September 11, Mizzima News
Rights of expression and association must be protected: UN

Appreciation of the fundamental rights of freedom of expression and
association are vital to any successful democratic transition and national
reconciliation inside Burma, according to a ranking United Nations
official.

"There will be no progress in Myanmar's political transition unless people
have space to express their views openly and peacefully," United Nations
High Commissioner for Human Rights, Louise Arbour, said in a statement
issued on Friday.

Recognition of the freedoms of expression and association are the
"touchstones of human rights", continued Arbour.

The High Commissioner also repeated her call for the Burmese government to
release all political prisoners, over 150 of who have been detained since
protests began on August 19th in response to rising energy, transport and
commodity costs.

Arbour spoke critically of the propensity of the regime to mete out
violence against the protestors, singling out the poor treatment shown
toward monks.

Meanwhile Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, at a press conference yesterday
and in reply as to whether or not he intended to follow through on Laura
Bush's request for the Secretary General to involve himself more directly
in seeking action on Burma, told reporters of his intent to "soon"
dispatch his Special Advisor on Burma, Ibrahim Gambari, to the country.

Giving no indication that his approach to addressing Burma is about to
change, Ban went on to say, "Let us hope that the Myanmar Government will
fully democratize their country, respecting and upholding the aspirations
and wishes of the whole international community, particularly the release
of Madame Aung San Suu Kyi."

Gambari had recently commented that he expected to return to Burma as
early as next month.

The United Nations Human Rights Council commenced its sixth session
yesterday. Burma is not party to the Council.

____________________________________

September 11, Mizzima News
Campaign to pressure China on anniversary of '88 crackdown

On September 18th, protests are scheduled to take place at Chinese
Embassies and Consulates around the world in a bid to pressure China into
altering its stance and support for the military regime in Burma.

The day-long campaign, launched by the U.S. Campaign for Burma, is set to
coincide with the nineteenth anniversary of the bloody military coup in
Burma in 1988, which resulted in an unknown loss of life numbering at
least several thousand.

The U.S. Campaign for Burma says that it has initiated this protest, the
first ever of its kind, "Since China has paralyzed the United Nations
Security Council from doing its job on Burma."

Last month House Resolution 610, one of at least three resolutions in the
United States House of Representatives calling on the United States to
boycott next year's Summer Olympics to be held in China, was introduced by
Republican Congressman Dana Rohrabacher.

The resolution lists an extensive range of human rights related issues as
to why the United States should boycott the Beijing Games, including
Chinese foreign policy regarding Burma, Sudan and North Korea, and
accusing Beijing of being complicit in the human rights violations of
those governments.

"The Chinese regime has long-standing political, economic, and military
ties with Burma and continues to strengthen these ties in spite of serious
human rights abuses and house arrest of Noble Peace Price winner Daw Aung
San Suu Kyi," reads the Resolution.

The Resolution additionally states that "China is one of the largest
importers of Burma's natural resources, extraction of which has led to
destruction of villages, increased human rights abuses against civilians,
particularly ethnic minorities, and the rampant use of forced labor."
In January of this year, China along with permanent member Russia vetoed a
United States sponsored Security Council Resolution on Burma.

____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

September 11, Irrawaddy
Burmese monks in revolt - Aung Zaw

Dissatisfied Burmese monks have now released leaflets asking for an
apology from the regime and authorities who violently suppressed their
peaceful gathering in Pakokku, central Burma.

The underground monks’ union warned that if the authorities refuse to come
up with a formal apology, they will hold “patam nikkujjana kamma’—meaning
a boycott of alms from members of the military regime or simply
overturning their bowls instead of collecting food.

This is not the first time monks and Burma’s generals have entered into a
“love lost” relationship.

Over the last two decades, Burma’s young and active Sangha community,
estimated to number between 250,000 and 300,000, has had an uneasy
relationship with the ruling generals, who have imprisoned several
prominent, politically active monks. It is not surprising to hear that
many young monks from different parts of Burma have expressed simmering
discontent and disappointment with the regime for years.

Ironically, the military leaders who often visit temples and offer alms,
or hsoon, and donate valuable gifts to senior abbots in order to win the
hearts and minds of the Sangha community have failed to win the monks’
blessing.

In fact, these numerous visits to temples and projects to build splendid
pagodas and erect Shwe Hti Daw ornamental finials do little to boost the
image of the generals or forge any feeling of good will between young
monks and the junta.

Monks who receive donations from laymen and who visit households every
morning to receive hsoon in Burmese learn and witness at first-hand the
suffering and poverty of ordinary Burmese people. They continue to witness
the deteriorating situation in the predominately Buddhist country, ruled
by a military government.

Young monks might thus feel they have a noble obligation and every reason
to speak out on behalf of the large number of Burmese who provide alms and
maintain the country’s innumerable temples.

While regularly reciting the Lord Buddha’s teachings, the monks also
understand the nature of politics. Although he shunned worldly affairs,
Buddha stressed the need for good governance and good rulers.

The Buddha once said: “When the ruler of a country is just and good, the
ministers become just and good; when the ministers are just and good, the
higher officials become just and good; when the higher officials are just
and good, the rank and file become just and good; when the rank and file
become just and good, the people become just and good.”

Monks, considered “sons of Buddha,” are the strongest institution in Burma
after the armed forces. But there is continuing debate on whether they
should involve themselves in politics. History has shown that monks have
long played a pivotal role in Burmese politics.

Monks were involved in early outbreaks of resistance against the British
colonization. Two well-known monks U Wisara and U Ottama spent many years
in prison for their non-violent resistance, and U Wisara died in jail
after 166 days of a hunger strike.

In olden times, Burmese kings appointed Thathana-baing (Sangha ruler or
chief of religious affairs or Supreme Patriarch) to govern the Sangha
community. In 1787, King Bodaw Phaya appointed a distinguished monk, U
Nyana, to serve as Thathana-baing, and made him responsible for doctrinal
instruction and discipline of all monks.

The role of Thathana-baing is complicated, as he acted as a link between
the monarchy and the Sangha community. The Thathana-baing was highly
influential and could even intervene in political and diplomatic affairs.

After the British invaded Burma, the position of Thathana-baing was
abolished, although local authorities and foreign experts called for its
maintenance in Mandalay in order to head off conflicts with the colonial
power in its government of predominately Buddhist Burma. The opposition
led by U Wisara and U Ottama was a rude shock for the British.

Even after independence, however, Buddhism and the influential Sangha
community were in decline. Under the current military rulers, the
traditionally powerful Sangha community is in discord and decay. The
generals have been trying to control the Sangha community, regarding it as
a real threat to the stability of the regime.

While rebellious monks are prepared to go to prison, condemned as
“agitators in yellow robes,” many senior monks and abbots are becoming
government tools by accepting gifts and large donations from the generals.
These elderly abbots who cuddle up to the ruling generals can no longer
speak for the Sangha community at large, let alone comment on the
suffering of the Burmese people.

Elderly senior monks are grouped within the State Sangha Maha Nayaka
Committee, a legal organization founded in 1980 that wields little
influence, either with the Sangha community or with the generals.

Any intervention by the State Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee in the
aftermath of the recent Pakokku confrontation could even provoke more
dissent from young monks.

Good governance and a good ruler are now important for the sons of Buddha
who dare to challenge the ruling elite.