BurmaNet News, November 27 - December 1, 2008

[Editor]

November 27 – December 1, 2008, Issue #3608


INSIDE BURMA
AP: Journalists caught in crackdown by Myanmar junta
Irrawaddy: Gambira, five others sent to remote prisons
DVB: Rights activists given life sentences
DVB: Riot control training held in Rangoon
Mizzima News: Total prison term for Zarganar climbs to 59 years
AFP: Myanmar leader says 2010 election plans on course

BUSINESS / TRADE
Xinhua: Myanmar to privatize 36 more state-owned economic enterprises

HEALTH / AIDS
AFP: Youths in Myanmar at risk

REGIONAL
Mizzima News: Burmese in Thailand cautioned on security concerns

INTERNATIONAL
Variety (USA): 'Burma VJ' wins Amsterdam prize

OPINION / OTHER
Asian Tribune: Unpreventable death under military boots – Zin Linn
Irrawaddy: Silencing Burma’s monks – Min Lwin
Christian Science Monitor: The unquenchable fire in Burmese hearts – Karen
Zusman
BBC News: Laughter defying Burma's junta – Andrew Harding

PRESS RELEASE
WLB: WLB issues urgent call for UN Representatives to visit Nilar Thein
and other Women Human Rights Defenders in Burma



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INSIDE BURMA

December 1, Associated Press
Journalists caught in crackdown by Myanmar junta

A court in military-controlled Myanmar has imprisoned two journalists for
seven years each for undermining the country's ruling generals after being
caught with a U.N. human rights report.

The court in a northeastern suburb of Yangon on Friday sentenced Thet Zin,
editor of the local Myanmar-language journal Myanmar Nation, and Sein Win
Maung, the paper's manager, after convicting them of undermining the
government under the country's draconian Printing and Publishing Law.

The convictions were part of a renewed crackdown by the regime in the past
month that has led to more than 100 people — including activists, writers,
musicians and Buddhist monks — receiving jail sentences as long as 68
years. Many were transferred to prisons in remote regions.

The journalists' sentencing came the same day a court inside Yangon's
Insein prison sentenced 13 members of the 88 Generation Students, a group
at the forefront of a 1988 pro-democracy uprising, to six years for
undermining stability, family members said.
The 13 activists were among 37 from the group handed long prison sentences
for their roles in nonviolent protests, including pro-democracy
demonstrations in September 2007 led by Buddhist monks that were violently
suppressed.

Myanmar's military, which has held power since 1962, tolerates no dissent.
It frequently arrests artists and entertainers regarded as opposing the
regime.

The lengthy prison sentences have been condemned worldwide by Western
governments and human rights organizations, who charge that the
heavy-handed tactics makes a mockery of the ruling junta's professed plan
to restore democracy through elections in 2010.
(This version CORRECTS name of journal in graf 2 to Myanmar Nation, and
total number of members of the 88 Generation Students sentenced to 37 sted
46 in graf 5)

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December 1, Irrawaddy
Gambira, five others sent to remote prisons – Saw Yan Naing

At least six political activists including the prominent Buddhist monk
Ashin Gambira, one of the leaders in the September demonstrations last
year, were sent to prisons in remote areas around Burma on Monday, said
reliable sources in Rangoon.

Ashin Gambira, who received the longest prison term of 68 years, was
transferred from Insein Prison to Hkamti Prison in Sagaing Division while
his older brother, Aung Kyaw Kyaw, was sent from Insein Prison to Taunggyi
Prison in Shan State in eastern Burma, according to a source who requested
anonymity.

Also on Monday, Wanna Aung was sent to Pegu Prison in central Burma and
Thiha Thet Zin was transferred to Myitkyina Prison in Kachin State in
northern Burma, while Thein Zaw was moved to Kengtung Prison in Shan
State, said the source. Another detainee, Htun Oo, was sent to Taungoo
Prison in Pegu Division.

Sources also said that Tin Htoo Aung, a young ethnic activist, was
transferred to Hkamti Prison in Sagaing Divison on Saturday.

Also this weekend, about five members of the opposition party, the
National League for Democracy, were sent to remote prisons, according to
the Thailand-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma).

The five were arrested by Burmese authorities after they staged a protest
in Rangoon calling for the release of detained pro-democracy leader Aung
San Suu Kyi during her birthday celebration.

An estimated 215 political detainees including Buddhist monks, NLD
members, lawyers and journalists were given prison terms in November, and
at least 136 have been transferred to remote prisons around Burma,
according to the AAPP.

Bo Kyi, the joint-secretary of the AAPP, condemned the transfers “This is
just another form of psychological torture by the regime.  It will take a
lot of time, money and effort for their families to visit and provide
essential food and medicine.”

There are an estimated 65 NLD members among the jailed dissidents, said
the AAPP.
The Burmese government has been condemned by the international community
for its harsh judicial crackdown on Burmese pro-democracy activists.

However, the junta has ignored the calls and stuck to its so-called
“seven-step road map” to democracy.

On Saturday, the junta leader, Snr-Gen Than Shwe, said at the 15th annual
meeting of the junta-backed Union Solidarity and Development Association
that the seven-step roadmap is needed and is the only way to a smooth
transition to democracy.

The Burmese military government says that is has implemented the first
four steps of the roadmap and will hold a general
election—step-five—sometime in 2010.

"Despite various disturbances and pressure of those who do not want to
realize the objective conditions of the nation, the goal of the state is
drawing near," he said.

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December 1, Democratic Voice of Burma
Rights activists given life sentences – Nan Kham Kaew

Northern Rangoon Provincial court handed down life sentences to Human
Rights Defendants and Protectors network member Myint Aye and two of his
colleagues on Friday.

Judge Thaung Nyunt sentenced Myint Aye to life imprisonment, equivalent to
20 years, plus eight years under the Explosives Act, Immigration Act and
Unlawful Association Act.

Zaw Zaw Aung, one of Myint Aye’s two co-defendants, also received a life
term plus eight years, while Yan Shwe was given a life term and 13 years.

Pho Phyu, the lawyer for the three men, said the decision was not fair.

Burmese authorities also extended the jail terms for several 88 generation
student members and a university student activist on Friday, according to
their lawyers and families.

The activists were sentenced to six more years each for three counts of
inciting offences against the public tranquility.

88 generation student members Thein Than Htun, Zaw Htet Ko Ko. Chit Ko
Linn, Lay Lay Mon, Noble Aye, Nwe Hnin Yee, Tharaphi Theint Theint Htun
and Aye Thida, who had already been given five-year jail terms, are now to
serve 11 years in total.

Thaw Zin Htun, Kyi Than, Saw Myo Min Hlaing, Aung Thike Soe and San San
Tin had their terms extended from three to nine years.

De Nyein Linn, a student from western Rangoon university who had been
sentenced to six and a half years in prison was given four more years by
Htantabin township court.

His family said he was still awaiting sentencing on other charges.

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December 1, Democratic Voice of Burma
Riot control training held in Rangoon – Htet Yazar

Members of the Union Solidarity and Development Association, Swan Arr Shin
and the reserve fire brigade in Rangoon’s Thanlyin and Thaketa townships
have been given riot control training by police.

Local residents said the group members were to be incorporated into the
reserve police force.

A Thanlyin resident said police delivered the training at Thiha Dipa
stadium in the township for around 300 township USDA and Swan Arr Shin
members.

"The training sessions were held on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and
Sunday,” the resident said.

“They were told how to identify people when there is a riot and how to
control them by beating them up with sticks."

The Thanlyin resident claimed many of those who attended the training were
involved in illegal gambling syndicates and alcohol shops, but said the
authorities had taken no action against them.

"Not only the authorities are not doing anything, they are even covering
for them,” he said.

“All they have to do in return is to come and do what they are told if
there is any unrest."

The officer on duty at Thanlyin police station refused to comment on the
allegations.

A resident of Thaketa said the police were also giving training to
loiterers, petty thieves and police informers.

The Thaketa resident added that local USDA members were also allowed to
ride motorcycles around Rangoon, despite the general public ban on riding
motorbikes in the city.

Since the mass demonstrations in September last year, the police force has
given riot control training to USDA and Swan Arr Shin members on several
occasions.

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November 28, Mizzima News
Total prison term for Zarganar climbs to 59 years – Than Htike Oo

The Insein prison court has tacked on an additional 14 years to the prison
term of famous comedian and film director Zarganar, bringing his total
sentence to 59 years behind bars.

Zarganar was sentenced to 14 more years yesterday by the Rangoon West
District Court Judge Kyaw Swe on five counts, including inducing against
state security and charges under the Video Law.

"They gave him 14 years today and six months for video distribution. I
think he (the judge) was kind hearted and gave only six months. But he was
given an additional 14 year prison term today," his sister-in-law Ma Nyein
told Mizzima.

The Insein prison court previously gave Zarganar 45 years in prison on
three counts under the Electronic Law on November 21 – with the additional
prison term handed out only six days later.

Zarganar's defence lawyer, Zaw Lin, said that he would file an appeal for
his client.

"We must copy the judgment for appeal and ready the criminal power signed
by my client. And then we plan to file an appeal against the verdict," he
said.

"I'd like to pass on the words Ko Zarganar said at the court today. It's
just a joke. He said that currently in the whole world, including Japan
and China, the economy is declining. These countries have also admitted
this fact. But in Burma, it is rising instead of declining – in prison
terms. He cracked this joke at the court."

Zarganar was arrested at his residence in June this year at a time when he
was heavily involved in cyclone relief operations for victims of May's
deadly storm.

The pro-democracy activist has criticized authorities many times before by
cracking jokes – being called from his home, interrogated and detained on
many occasions for such brazen behavior.

The Insein prison court also sentenced sports columnist Zaw Thet Htwe
today to an additional four years, as well as giving activist Thant Zin
Aung another three years. The two had already been given 15-year prison
terms each on November 21.

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November 30, Agence France Presse
Myanmar leader says 2010 election plans on course

The head of Myanmar's military regime has told supporters plans for
elections in 2010 under a controversial "road map" to democracy are well
under way, state media reported on Saturday.

Senior General Than Shwe's comments to a pro-junta group followed a number
of heavy jail sentences handed down by the country's courts, including the
lengthening of a prison term given to Myanmar's most famous comedian.

"The state's seven-step road map is, indeed, the only way to smooth (the)
transition to democracy as well as (its) own transitional work
programmes," Than Shwe was quoted as saying by the New Light of Myanmar
newspaper.

"The government and the people have to materialize in harmony," he told
the Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA), a pro-military
social organisation, the paper said.

Authorities say the group has 24.6 million members, about half of the
country's 57 million population. Analysts have said the junta could turn
the USDA into a political party ahead of the elections which are due in
two years.

"Now, plans are well under way to see to the remaining steps including the
2010 transition work programme. So, it is fair to say that the future of
the state structure is certain to materialize," Than Shwe said.

Than Shwe described a widely criticised national referendum held in May on
a new constitution as a crucial step for the so-called road map.

The referendum was held a week after Cyclone Nargis hit, leaving 138,000
people dead or missing. Authorities said the poll, carried out without
independent monitoring, was backed by 92.48 percent of voters.

The United States, European Union and United Nations have dismissed the
lengthy "road map" in Myanmar, formerly Burma, as a sham due to the
absence of detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi's National
League for Democracy (NLD) party.

"Despite various disturbances and pressure of those who do not want to
realise the objective conditions of the nation, the goal of the state is
drawing near," Than Shwe said.

Than Shwe's speech came in a month when more than 160 activists have been
given long jail terms by the military regime, according to opposition
sources, after protests led by the nation's revered Buddhist monks last
year.

At least 31 people were killed in a brutal crackdown that followed the
demonstrations, according to the United Nations.

Myanmar's most famous comedian Zarganar was sentenced to 45 years in
prison earlier this month, while sports writer Zaw Thet Htwe was handed a
15-year jail term.

Both were arrested in June after organising deliveries of aid to victims
of Cyclone Nargis.

The NLD won a landslide victory in 1990 elections but the junta did not
allow them to take office.

Myanmar has been ruled by the military since 1962.

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ON THE BORDER
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BUSINESS / TRADE

December 1, Xinhua
Myanmar to privatize 36 more state-owned economic enterprises

Myanmar will privatize 36 more state-owned economic enterprises (SEEs)
from four government ministries under a sealed tender system for
continuous running as part of its privatization program, the official
local-language newspaper Myanmar Alin reported Monday.

The 36 SEEs, which are from the Ministry of Industry-1, Ministry of
Commerce, Ministry of Livestock Breeding and Fisheries, and Ministry of
Cooperatives, are mostly located in Yangon and Mandalay, a tender
invitation of the government's Privatization Commission was quoted as
saying.

The categories of the 34 SEEs of the two prior ministries to be privatized
include ice factory, soft-drink factory, gas plant, match factory, blanket
factory, packing paper factory, leather factory, rubber glove factory,
paint factory, rice mill and bran oil factory, while the latter two
ministries are to sell out two of its office buildings in Yangon and
Mawlamyine respectively, the report said.

The tender will be closed on Jan. 15, 2009, the report added.

Myanmar has been privatizing more and more state-owned enterprises for
effective operation since 13 years ago.

According to a compiled statistics, a total of 254 state-owned enterprises
out of 288 proposed from 10 ministries have been privatized in Myanmar as
of the year-end since the country began implementation of a plan of
privatization in 1995.

The privatization plan covering those enterprises nationalized in the
1960s was introduced in a bid to systematically turn them into more
effective enterprises, according to the commission.

The plan is carried out by auctioning and leasing or establishing joint
ventures with local and foreign investors. These enterprises covered by
the plan also include textile factories, saw mills, cinemas and hotels.

In June 2007, the government formed another committee for auctioning some
state-owned buildings remained in the former capital of Yangon after the
administration was moved to the new capital of Nay Pyi Taw in 2005.

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HEALTH / AIDS

December 1, Agence France Presse
Youths in Myanmar at risk

YOUTHS in Myanmar are particularly at risk from HIV, with almost two
thirds of the near quarter million people living with the virus in that
country aged under 24, the UN Children's Fund said Monday.

About 100,000 women are also living with HIV in Myanmar and many newborns
are at risk of being infected, Ramesh Shrestha, the UNICEF representative
in Myanmar, said in a statement for World Aids Day.

'Young people have a higher propensity for risk-taking behaviour which
exposes them to avoidable risks including exposure to HIV,' Mr Shrestha
said.

'It is estimated that there are approximately 240,000 people living with
HIV in Myanmar, of which almost two thirds are young people under 24 years
of age,' the statement said.

International humanitarian organization Medecins Sans Frontieres has said
that about 76,000 of those living with HIV in Myanmar are in urgent need
of anti-retroviral treatment (ART).

A senior Myanmar health ministry official said more funding was needed to
prevent HIV spreading inside the country.

'More funds are needed not only ART for Aids patients but also for
prevention projects,' Kyaw Nyunt Sein told AFP.

About 11,000 Aids patients around the country are getting ART from the
government and international NGOs, he said.

Only 170 administrative regions out of 325 around the country can
implement 100 percent condom promotion to prevent the HIV virus spreading
because of funding shortages.

'We cannot give complete prevention. The disease mostly occurs through
sexual contact, that's why we want to do 100 percent condom promotion for
youths,' he said.

Myanmar has been ruled by the military since 1962 and the impoverished
nation's healthcare system is in poor condition.

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REGIONAL

November 29, Mizzima News
Burmese in Thailand cautioned on security concerns – Zarni

In the backdrop of the political turbulence engulfing Thailand observers
have come up with a list of 'Dos' and 'Don'ts' for Burmese citizens in
residence in the country.

Though the current political situation in Thailand is not directly linked
to the Burmese in the country, security is being beefed up in the midst of
rising tension between the two factions of protesters – pro-government and
anti-government.

"The current chaos will lead to total anarchy. Even in normal times when
the government has a firm grip on the entire country, Burmese citizens
were frequently harassed. So we should be in groups together," Thai based
Shan Herald Agency for News (SHAN) editor Khuensai Jaiyen told Mizzima.

At least two million Burmese work in Thailand of which only one fourth
have valid work permits.

More arrests of illegal migrant workers are likely, Khuensai Jaiyen said.

"Now they do not have enough time to ascertain the cases regardless of our
good conduct and behaviour. And then local tyrants can bully and harass
us. So we should not go outside alone but in small groups of two. We
should maintain good relations with our neighbours too," Khuensai Jaiyen
said.

Moreover most of the Burmese living in Thailand should avoid wearing both
yellow and red dresses in the current situation.

The anti-government protesters 'People's Alliance for Democracy' (PAD) are
wearing yellow dresses and pro-government protesters PPP are wearing red
dresses. So wearing these dresses will make Burmese citizens the victims
of this conflict of misunderstanding.

"Many Burmese, Shan and Karen wear yellow dresses in Thailand. They will
be misunderstood as anti-government PAD protesters. Similarly many Burmese
citizens wear red dresses in support of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. They can be
misunderstood too as pro-government protesters," Khuensai Jaiyen added.

Moreover Khuensai Jaiyen warned Burmese citizens not to poke their noses
into this conflict. "Some joined the yellow faction and some joined the
red faction, in apprehension of their jobs being affected. We should not
do it. We are living here as we can't live in our homeland for reasons of
instability there. We should not join in creating unrest and instability
on their soil. So in this regard, we should do what we can for the sake of
both sides," he said.

Under the current security perception, the Thai government including the
Prime Minister has moved to Chiang Mai and beefed up security here. So the
Burmese living here will face more restrictions in their movement though
this situation has nothing to do with them directly.

"There will be more checkpoints in Chiang Mai and more checking,
questioning here. It will be difficult for all illegal Burmese migrants
though they would not target Burmese citizens directly," Ko Aung Naing, a
Burmese reporter living in Chiang Mai, said.

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INTERNATIONAL

December 1, Variety (USA)
'Burma VJ' wins Amsterdam prize – Ian Mundell

Anders Ostergaard's "Burma VJ — Reporting from a Closed Country" took top
prize at the Intl. Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam, the world’s top
event for docu features.

The pic, which describes the work of a group of citizen reporters who
secretly filmed the uprising against the military dictatorship in Burma in
September 2007, also picked up the fest's Movies that Matter human rights
prize at a ceremony Saturday night.

A special jury award went to German team Rick Minnich and Matthew
Sweetwood for "Forgetting Dad," about the sudden memory loss suffered by
Minnich's father.

Kudos for medium-length docu went to Dutch helmer Aliona van der Horst,
whose "Boris Ryzhy" explores the life of a little-known Russian poet.

A special jury award in this category went to Ibtisam Mara'ana for "Lady
Kul el Arab," about a beauty pageant for Arab women in Israel.

Canada’s "RiP — A Remix Manifesto" by Brett Gaylor won the audience award
with its argument against penalizing people who cross copyright boundaries
to make music.

Fest organizers report a 9% rise in visitor numbers compared with last
year, with at least 157,500 tickets sold. However, international guests
attending fell from 2,700 to 2,469.


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OPINION / OTHER

December 1, Asian Tribune
Unpreventable death under military boots – Zin Linn

December 1st (today) is the 21st World AIDS Day and people around the
world will be celebrating and commemorating the occasion. According to
UNAIDS estimates, there are now 33.2 million people living with HIV
throughout the world, including 2.5 million children. During 2007 some 2.5
million people became newly infected with the virus. Around half of all
people who become infected with HIV do so before they are 25 and are
killed by AIDS before they are 35. Around 95% of people with HIV/AIDS live
in developing nations. But HIV today is a threat to men, women and
children on all continents around the world.

World AIDS Day is important in reminding people that HIV has not gone
away, and that there are many things still to be done. However, in Burma,
HIV/AIDS activists and volunteers are being threatened and suppressed
daily by the military authorities.

Maggin monastery in Rangoon’s Thingangyun Township, where HIV patients
were cared for was raided in September 2007. According to witnesses,
soldiers and riot police broke into the monastery and violently arrested
four monks, including the abbot and four people caring for HIV patients.
Then Burma’s military authorities sealed the Maggin monastery, forced to
leave number of monks suspected of being supporters of the National League
for Democracy led by the Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, as well as a
dozen of HIV/AIDS patients who were being dwelt there.

Threatening and arresting of HIV/AIDS workers is not only disturbing for
volunteers, but is also disheartening and daunting for the patients. The
volunteers take on several duties, including trying to buy medicine for
the patients, arranging food and temporary shelter for them and helping to
have treatment in respective clinics sponsored by NGOs. They also have to
take responsibilities of children of the deceased patients being send to
respective orphanages.

At a press conference in Bangkok on 25 November, the international medical
aid group Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) said Burma's military regime must
act now if it wants to deal with one of Asia's most serious epidemics of
HIV/AIDS. Almost 25,000 people will die this year of HIV/AIDS in Burma,
unless lifesaving treatment is significantly increased, according to MSF’s
latest report.

MSF said that if Burma does not get the funds it needs for antiretroviral
drugs, some 24,000 people could die next year from the disease. MSF also
said that in 2007 alone, AIDS-related illnesses killed 25,000 people.

According to MSF’s report, which was released on 25 November in Bangkok,
the group said that an estimated 240,000 people are thought to have
HIV/AIDS in military-ruled country. Of these people, 76,000 are in urgent
need of antiretroviral treatment, yet less than 20 percent of them are
currently able to access it.

The report – “A Preventable Fate: The Failure of ART Scale-up in Myanmar”
- says Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) is providing treatment to about
11,000 patients while the military regime, the United Nations and several
non-governmental groups are taking care of only some 4,000 patients.

"It is unacceptable that a single NGO is treating the big chunk of HIV
patients in a crisis of this magnitude. It is unacceptable because it is
wholly inadequate. We cannot meet the needs, and we therefore call upon
those who can to take up this responsibility ", stated Joe Belliveau, MSF
Operations Manager.

The government and international communities have provided very little to
the crisis, Belliveau added.

In 2008, the junta allocated the equivalent of 0.7 cents per person on
healthcare, of which about 200,000 dollars was allocated to treatment of
HIV/AIDS patients. With the growing revenue from oil and gas exports, the
junta must provide more in its ailing health system and specifically
HIV/AIDS care and treatment, the MSF report says.

Burma (Myanmar), which faces economic sanctions in the West because of its
poor human rights record, earned 2.7 billion dollars from natural gas
exports to Thailand last year, according to a November 2008 issue of the
Myanmar Times weekly, citing government officials.

Drugs that are not offered by aid organizations; the regime’s cost for a
patient is around $29 per month. With most people in Myanmar living on an
average of $1.20 per day, the cost of drugs is too expensive for the
patients most of them are poor. The junta spends an estimated 0.3 per cent
of its gross domestic product on health, one of the lowest rates
worldwide.

The aid organization also appealed for taking part efficiently by the
international community to ward off the crisis. At present, Burma receives
around $3 per person in aid which may be one of the lowest rates when
compared with other countries on the region. One reason for this may be
that international donor groups are disinclined to offer aid to Burma, a
country run by a strict military junta widely criticized for its atrocious
human rights record.

An HIV/Aids project run by the opposition National League for Democracy
(NLD) on behalf of its detained leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, has been
harassed time to time by the military authorities. The authorities are
risking lives and increasing the dangers of the HIV epidemic in the
country by preventing volunteers and foreign aid workers from giving
essential aid to patients suffering from the catastrophic disease.

Looking back for a couple of year, Dr Chris Beyrer’s research team from
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health carried out field
investigations in Burma in 2005 and 2006, and also searched the medical
and policy literature on HIV, TB, malaria, and avian flu in Burma.

The researchers found that the military junta's investment in healthcare
is one of the lowest in the world and that the health sector has been
weakened by common corruption. The junta or State Peace and Development
Council (SPDC) has also weakened the country's laboratory infrastructure,
say Beyrer and his researchers, due to disinvestment and through creating
a dearth of skilled personnel.

Burma’s authoritarian military regime is widely condemned for its human
rights abuses, and in August 2005 these concerns led the Global Fund to
Fight HIV, TB and Malaria to withdraw its proposed $98.4 million grants to
the country. The regime accustomed to prevent aid workers, journalists and
diplomats from visiting temporary dwellings for HIV patients looking after
by kind-hearted volunteers.

It is difficult for foreign volunteers to have secure visas to enter Burma
if they are recognized in humanitarian related fields. There was an
example of expelling the head of the United Nations in Burma, Mr. Charles
Petrie, for drawing attention to the humanitarian catastrophe that hanging
around in the country.

As the Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) says in its latest report, thousands
of people are needlessly dying due to a severe lack of lifesaving HIV/AIDS
drugs needed for treatment in military ruled Burma. People of Burma have
to bank on how the UN and the ASEAN will take into account the fate of the
HIV patients in military run country as well as the report – “A
Preventable Fate: The Failure of ART Scale-up in Myanmar” – by Medecins
Sans Frontieres (MSF).

Zin Linn is a freelance Burmese journalist, lives in exile. He's working
at the NCGUB East Office as an information director and is vice-president
of Burma Media Association, which is affiliated with the Paris-based
Reporters Sans Frontiers.

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December 1, Irrawaddy
Silencing Burma’s monks – Min Lwin

The 68-year prison sentence handed down to Ashin Gambira for his role in
last year’s monk-led protests shows that Burma’s brutal junta now
exercises total control over the country’s Sangha, or community of
Buddhist monks, who many regarded as the last bastion of resistance
against military rule.

Ashin Gambira, 29, was one of the organizers of the uprising, which
captured international attention last September with dramatic images of
thousands of peacefully marching monks confronting heavily armed soldiers.
On November 18, he received an initial 12-year sentence, which was
extended by another 56 years last week.

According to the Thailand-based Assistance Association for Political
Prisoners (AAPP), 143 young monks were arrested and detained for their
involvement in the demonstrations.

Fifty-six of these monks have already received lengthy prison sentences,
while another 87 remain in detention awaiting a final judgment by courts
that invariably do the regime’s bidding.

Last year’s massive show of defiance was sparked by the heavy-handed
response of security forces to a march by monks in Pakokku Township on
September 5. The monks, who were responding to a sudden increase in fuel
prices that had a devastating effect on Burma’s already struggling
population, were tied to electrical poles and beaten in the streets.

The violence in Pakokku prompted Ashin Gambira and some other young monks
to found the All Burma Monks Alliance (ABMA) to demand an apology from the
regime. They also called for a reduction in prices, the release of all
political prisoners, and a dialogue between the military and the political
opposition.

The protests that ensued, in Rangoon and other cities around the country,
were the largest the country had seen in nearly two decades. As in 1988,
when the military last faced a serious challenge to its stranglehold on
power, the peaceful demonstrations ended in a bloodbath, with dozens dead
and hundreds of monks and nuns rounded up in late-night raids. Many more
went into hiding or exile to escape arbitrary arrest and torture.

Ashin Gambira managed to evade capture for two months, but the authorities
finally caught up with him last November. Even then, he remained defiant,
according to his lawyer, Aung Thein, who said that Ashin Gambira demanded
that the court recognize the detained monks’ right to remain in robes in
accordance with Buddhist ecclesiastical law.

“We appealed to the court to respect Buddhist rules, which say that
[government] authorities have no right to disrobe him or charge him with
criminal offenses,” said Aung Thein in an interview with The Irrawaddy.

Ashin Gambira argued that just as the army has laws relating to military
personnel, the actions of monks should be judged according to Buddhist
regulations. The judge rejected his argument.

Lawyers for the detained monks said that senior monks should be permitted
to hear their cases, since there is no law in Burma that forbids the
chanting of the Metta Sutta, the Buddha’s teaching on loving-kindness.

Rather than recognizing the religious authority of the Sangha, the regime
has continued to assert its control over the country’s monks. The minister
for religious affairs, Brig-Gen Thura Myint Aung, said that in a meeting
held on November 22, 47 senior monks agreed that the ruling military
council governed more than 500,000 monks in accordance with Buddhist
regulations and state law.

Ashin Kumara, chairman of the state-controlled Sangha Maha Nayaka
committee, reiterated the regime’s position that monks are prohibited from
participating in “secular affairs” or joining “illegal” organizations.

However, many senior monks insist that there is nothing wrong with monks
taking action out of compassion for laypeople who are suffering as a
result of misguided government policies.

“They called for a reduction of commodity prices, not to remove the
government from power,” said a senior monk from Rangoon Theravada Buddhist
University in Mayangone Township.

“They demonstrated for the benefit of Buddhism,” he added. “Buddhism can
only flourish when the basic needs of the people are met.”

“Our Lord Buddha instructed his fellow monks to wander and help in human
affairs,” said Paragu, a well-known writer and former monk, in an
interview with The Irrawaddy. “Historically, the sons of Buddha had
responsibility not just to uphold the Buddha’s teachings, but also to work
for the good of the laypeople.”

____________________________________

December 1, Christian Science Monitor
The unquenchable fire in Burmese hearts – Karen Zusman

Eleven hundred years and counting. That's the cumulative time in prison
sentences given last month to a handful of people expressing political
dissent in Burma(Myanmar).

The news gives me particular pain.

In August 2007, the Burmese regime eliminated fuel subsidies, causing the
price to rise by 500 percent. Food costs spiked enormously overnight. A
few weeks later, Buddhist monks took to the streets in nonviolent protest
and many of them were shot or beaten by the junta. Understanding the
significance of these events, I felt compelled to visit so I could bear
witness.

What struck me as much as the horror of their stories was the fact that
the Burmese people were willing to tell them. This was in stark contrast
to my previous trip in 2004, when no one dared to speak about anything
remotely political. Now, emboldened by the world's gaze, there was the
hope that by sharing their stories they might keep that window of
attention cracked open a little longer.

Much of what I learned, I heard from taxi drivers, flower vendors,
waiters, students, housekeepers. Our conversations posed a difficult
riddle: Each time I let anyone confide in me, I potentially endangered
them. As one of the few white faces to arrive in Rangoon, just
postprotests, there was strong reason to believe I was being watched.

Yet despite my caution, it seems I was sought out everywhere I went –
people felt the need to express themselves at last. Behind closed doors
with the shades pulled down and the music turned up, I sat with a group of
students cross-legged on the floor. I pressed them before we began, "Are
you sure you want to speak?"

Aung Soe (not his real name), a slender man in his mid-20s, jumped at the
question. He shook his fist in the air.

"If we don't talk to you maybe we are cowards. I was downtown where the
monks were shot just outside our Sule Pagoda. I was marching, too. In some
ways it was the best day of my life. They can't take that away from me.

>From now on I speak the fire in my heart!"


By the time I returned home in November 2007, Burma had faded fast from
the news.

Then, tragically, cyclone Nargis hit this past May and again the troubled
nation held the world's attention. Yet despite repeat visits by UN special
envoy Ibrahim Gambiri, negotiations with the junta's generals have been a
dismal failure.

Today, the sentencing in Burma reads like ticker tape: 65 years, 45 years,
20 years, 2.5 years, 12 years, 14 years, extending its reach beyond the
"Generation 88" student activists (leaders of the 1988 protests against
the junta that resulted in thousands of deaths) to include comedians,
poets, bloggers, even a rap star.

It is my belief that the Burmese with "fire" in their hearts will continue
to speak out and plan further protests despite the terrible price it is
exacting. Yet the success of their sacrifices seems tragically compromised
as long as there are countries that support the junta's oppressive regime
by selling it weapons. That's why these three actions must be taken:

•First, the US Senate must immediately confirm Michael Green to fill the
newly created position of Special Envoy to Burma. Having a regional
specialist installed in a dedicated post will bring focus to what has been
a largely uncoordinated effort by advocacy, human rights, and UN groups.

•Second, the US delegation to the UN Security Council must pressure China,
India, and Russia to uphold the arms embargo against Burma that is already
observed by the European Union and the US.

•Third, we will all need to press President-elect Obama and his future
administration to honor the platform that he ran on, which included strong
support for human rights.

Just a month ago at the UN, 147 states voted to move forward on the
creation of an Arms Trade Treaty (ATT). Only the US and Zimbabwe voted
against it. The US must not only reverse its vote but also work to ensure
that the ATT includes language curbing arms sales to countries that commit
egregious human rights violations against their own people. This would be
a giant step forward in honoring Mr. Obama's commitment and would reassert
America's role as a leader in the promotion of human rights.

By taking these steps, we could begin to usher in change for the people
that, in the words of Mr. Green, "languish in the shadows as the rest of
the world concentrates its energies elsewhere."

And we could satisfy the plea of my own Burmese friends, one of whom
implored: "Please, Sister, do not let the world forget us." As Aung San
Suu Kyi, Burma's detained pro-democracy leader and Nobel Peace Laureate,
once said: "Please use your freedom to promote ours."

• Karen Zusman is a New York-based writer who travels to Burma as a
student of Theravadan Buddhism.

____________________________________

November 29, BBC News
Laughter defying Burma's junta – Andrew Harding

Andrew Harding reflects on his friendship with Burmese comedian Zarganar
who, despite repeated imprisonment, continues to make jokes about the
country's military rule.

It has been an unusually busy few weeks in the Burmese gulag. A sudden
flurry of show-trials. A brisk and generous apportioning of life
sentences.  And now the prison vans have begun scattering the guilty into
the quietest corners of an isolated country.

The convicts' names are probably unfamiliar to you. The authorities would
be happy to keep it that way. Min Ko Naing, Ko Ko Gyi, Nilar Thein,
Zarganar, the list goes on. Like their more famous colleague, Aung San Suu
Kyi, these are Burma's bravest and brightest, devoured by their own
government.

Over the past four years living Asia, I have been lucky enough to meet and
befriend a handful of these criminals.

Mocking authority

I first ran into Zarganar in 2006. I had come to Rangoon under cover and
found a city full of whispers and fear.  Zarganar was the booming, smiling
exception.

We arranged a discreet meeting at a diplomat's house. He shrugged off my
concerns about his security.

"Of course you can film me," he said. "I'm not afraid."

Here was a man who had made his choice and was content to follow his own
rules wherever they led him. Zarganar is a big, bald man. He trained as a
dentist but soon discovered his true calling as a comedian, relentlessly
mocking the absurdities of life under Burma's incompetent generals.

He quickly became the country's best-known, best-loved joker. And that
role has already cost him. He has been in and out of jail for years, his
sketches censored, his performances banned.

Political crackdown

In September 2006, he sent his wife, son and daughter abroad for their own
safety. They are now in America.

Zarganar and I stayed in touch by e-mail, and even through an online book
club.

Whenever I managed to sneak into the country, we would meet up at a mutual
friend's apartment to discuss politics and his other passion, the
collected works of Benny Hill.
In September last year, Burma's monks took to the streets, spearheading a
bold protest movement against the regime.

Zarganar - prominent in supporting the monks - was briefly arrested during
the brutal crackdown that followed. Then in May of this year, Cyclone
Nargis tore through Burma, killing tens of thousands of people. Again
Zarganar was on the front lines raising donations and leading private
relief missions to the flooded delta.

In Britain, he would probably have got an OBE for his efforts. In Burma,
he got locked up again. And this time, the generals, clearing the decks,
decided to write their own punchline. Zarganar was sentenced - for public
order offences - to 45 years in jail.

Family pride

His son, Myat Kaung, called me from New York last weekend just after the
news came through. He is a chip off the old block.

Twenty-two years old. Working days as a messenger in Manhattan - spending
his evenings composing hip-hop protest songs in Burmese. Myat sounded
impossibly calm on the phone. I could almost hear him smile.

"My dad's happy," he said. "He's always happy. "He's doing what he wants
to do. And I agree with him. "I think he will spend a long time in jail.
But I'm proud of him - all the time."

Like so many thousands of Burmese exiles, Myat is waiting for something to
change back home.  "I'm glad my dad stayed there," he said. "You can't do
anything from outside. You can only make change from inside."

Life imprisonment

I have tried very hard these past few years to understand the logic and
the insecurities of Burma's generals. Their long-standing fears of
internal disorder.

Their misguided economic policies. The political influence of neighbours
like China and Singapore. But how do you balance all that against the
decision to lock up a man like Zarganar for the rest of his life?

What sort of rancid system, what sort of person, can persuade himself that
is OK? It is easy, of course, to be outraged. Anger is cheap. Besides, I
have left Asia now.

I have been blacklisted by the Burmese government and deported by its
security services. All this is, if you like, just a parting shot. But
right now, a friend of mine is sitting in solitary confinement in a tiny
cell, with no windows, no natural light.

Zarganar's been suffering from high blood pressure, and stomach ulcers and
a couple of days ago his son told me he had had another 14 years added to
his sentence. That makes it 59 so far.

He is allowed occasional visits and he has managed, after a fashion, to
send me brief messages.

I can picture him now, sitting on the floor and - as he has done in jail
in the past - using a stick to write new jokes and songs in the dust.

His shoulders rock back, his bald head shakes gently, and his voice - that
deep warm voice - a voice too honest for Burma's rulers - lets out a
defiant chuckle.

____________________________________
PRESS RELEASES

November 29, Women’s League of Burma
WLB issues urgent call for UN Representatives to visit Nilar Thein and
other Women Human Rights Defenders in Burma

Today on the International Women’s Human Rights Defenders (WHRDs) Day,
Women’s League of Burma (WLB) is calling for the UN Representatives to
visit Nilar Thein and other women activists in Burma who were recently
unlawfully sentenced to lengthy prison sentences.

On the 11th of November 2008, Nilar Thein and other prominent women human
rights defenders including Su Su Nway and Mie Mie were sentenced to 65
years’ imprisonment by the SPDC courts. On top of this, they were
transferred to various distant prisons as an act to further break down
their spirits: Nilar Thein was transferred to Thayet Prison, Magwe
Division, about 225 miles away from Rangoon, Su Su Nway to Mandalay Prison
and Mie Mie to Bassein Prison in the Delta, Irrawaddy Division.

WLB condemns the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) for these
unlawful verdicts, and for deliberately inflicting further mental torture
on these courageous women by transferring them to remote prisons.

We reiterate our concerns for the safety and well-being of Nilar Thein, Su
Su Nway and Mie Mie, given the regime’s notoriously vindictive treatment
of activists.

We call upon the international community to urge the UN Special Rapporteur
on Violence Against Women, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of
Human Rights in Myanmar, and the UN Special Representative on Human Rights
Defenders to visit Nilar Thein, Su Su Nway, Mie Mie and other women human
rights defenders to ensure their well-being and demand their immediate and
unconditional release.

We call on all our sisters and human rights networks around the world to
condemn the regime’s unlawful verdicts and urge your governments,
including China, India and the ASEAN, to support our call and exert
influence on the SPDC to immediately release all women human rights
defenders and political prisoners in Burma.

Annex:

Nilar Thein was one of the leading woman activists involved in the early
protest marches in August 2007; she went into hiding leaving her
4-month-old baby behind to escape the regime’s crackdown.  Whilst in
hiding, Nilar Thein continued to issue public appeals calling for the
international community to take action in resolving the grave human rights
abuses that women suffer under the military regime in Burma. But she was
arrested on September 10, 2008.

Su Su Nway, a prominent labour activist who had been on the run for 3
months right after the regime’s crackdown on Saffron Revolution, was
arrested on 13 November 2007. She has been denied medical treatment for
her heart disease, and has reportedly been kept in isolated confinement.

Mie Mi, a key activist involved in the 2007 August peaceful protests, was
arrested in October 2007. She has been suffering from a heart condition
and has been denied medical attention  during detention.

Prisons to which WHRDs have been transferred

(21 November 2008)
Su Su Nway - Mandalay Prison
Win Maw – From Taungoo Prison to Insein Prison (retransfered)
Mie Mie - Bassein Prison, Irrawaddy Division
Mar Mar Oo - Thayarwaddy Prison, Pegu Division
Sandar Min (a) Shwee - Myaungmya Prison, Irrawaddy Division
Thet Thet Aung - Myingyan Prison, Mandalay Division
Thin July Kyaw - Prome Prison, Pegu Division
Nilar Thein - Thayet Prison, Magwe Division

(24 November, 2008)
Kyi Kyi War -  Paungte Prison, Pegu Division
Ma Ei - Paungte Prison, Pegu Division
Ma Ngal - Tharawaddy Prison, Pegu Division
Honey Oo – Lashio Prison, Shan State

Contact persons:
Nang Yain:                  +66 89 858 4668
Tin Tin Nyo:                +66 81 032 2882