Weekly Diary, No. 271 (13 – 19 October 2007)

Weekly Diary, No. 271 (13 – 19 October 2007)

• JUNTA LAUNCHES PHASE-3 OF ROADMAP!
• WAS LAST MONTH’S KILLINGS PHASE-2?
• WOMEN'S UNDERWEAR FOR PEACE IN BURMA CAMPAIGN LAUNCHED ACROSS THE GLOBE!

 
Think Piece
Terrorism is the war of the poor,
War is terrorism of the rich.

_{Peter Ustinov, quoted by Sulak Sivaraksa, Khon Sattawat Prachathipatai Thai (2550)}
 
We need unity but not uniformity.

_{Harn Yawnghwe, Director of National Reconciliation Program (NRP) and Euro-Burma Office (EBO), reported by Chinland Guardian, 16 October 2007}
 
How to become helpless
 

How to become empowered

The World
15 October 2007
Opening the Communist Party of China’s 5 yearly Congress, Hu Jintao calls for a peace agreement with Taiwan on the basis of One-China principle. It is quickly rebuffed by Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council. (AFP)
 
17 October 2007
A new survey by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) sees 7 Asian countries out of 169 countries in the World Press Freedom Index in the bottom: Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Laos, Vietnam, China, Burma and North Korea. (AFP)
 
18 October 2007
Two suicide bombs kill 136 people and injure at least 400 people in Pakistan. Benizir Bhutto, ex-PM who returned a few hours earlier, has a close call. (Agencies)
 
19 October 2007
World oil prices hit historic $ 90 per barrel. Tensions in Turkey are named the main driver. (AFP)

International Relations
12 October 2007
Junta-run TV and radio issue statement dismissing UN statement calling for dialogue with the opposition, insisting it will follow its own roadmap. (AP)
 
14 October 2007
_{George Yeo}
Singaporean FM George Yeo says the military’s old ways must be mended but at the same time “without the army playing a major role in any future solution, (Burma) cannot hold together.” Anarchy must be prevented. If Burma, a buffer between China and India dissolves civil war, both these countries will be dragged in. For this reason, keeping Burma in the Asean family is in everyone’s best interests, including the West’s. (Bangkok Post)
 
14 October 2007
New Light of Myanmar says citizens who are shouting for UN intervention are traitors trying to hand over their motherland to alien countries. (AP)
 
14 October 2007
_{Kenji Nagai}
New Light of Myanmar places blame on Japanese journalist Kenji Nagai for his own death during the 26-27 September crackdown:

• He was among the protesters
• He did not enter Burma as a journalist

(AP)
 
15 October 2007
_{Surayud Chulanont}
PM Surayud Chulanont, meeting with UN special envoy Ibrahim Gambari, proposes a four-party meeting to seek solutions to the problems in Burma: UN, Asean, China and Burma. (Bangkok Post)
 
15 October 2007
EU weighs carrot and stick approach to Burma’s junta. The group’s foreign ministers consider proposals from London that the EU should offer economic aid to Burma if the junta cooperates. (AP)

15 October 2007
_{Ong Keng Yong}
Asean chief Ong Keng Yong says regime change in Burma will be “unrealistic” as the role of the military cannot just disappear. (Bloomberg) It could “create another Iraq”, he says. (AFP)
 
15 October 2007
The First Lady traces her interest of Burma to Elsie Walker, a cousin of her husband. Walker told her about Aung San Suu Kyi and later she read Freedom From Fear which led to her interest in the broader Burmese situation. (Washington Post)
 
15 October 2007
_{Ibrahim Gambari}
UN envoy Ibrahim Gambari calls on junta to stop arrests of activists “at once”. (AFP)
 
16 October 2007
Japan slashes $ 4.7 million grant to Burma. But it still continues “what it calls” humanitarian aid. (AFP)
 
16 October 2007
EU announces targeted sanctions against the regime in Burma: ban on investment in, and imports of, timber, metals and gems. Oil and gas are excluded from the scope of the sanctions. (Burma Campaign UK, International Trade Union Confederation)

16 October 2007
_{Syed Hamid Albar}
Malaysia FM Syed Hamid Albar fully supports UN envoy’s mission. He however rules out imposing sanctions. (AP)

16 October 2007
Bangladesh fully backs the initiatives of the UN special envoy for Burma, says Foreign Adviser Dr Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury. (Mizzima)

16 October 2007
Asean Inter-Parliamentary Myanmar Caucus (AIPMC) announces support for calls for a global arms embargo on Burma. (AIPMC statement)

16 October 2007
_{Pierre Kraehenbuehl}
The ICRC’s director of operations Pierre Kraehenbuehl says it is seeking access to detainees though authorities have yet to agree to talks. (Reuters)

17 October 2007
Gambari says he has received an invitation from military-run Burma to visit there by the third week of November. He says he will focus on how best to accelerate the democratic process and respect for human rights. (AFP)
 
17 October 2007
Gambari’s tour schedule:
16-17 October             -           Kuala Lumpur
17-21 October             -           Jakarta
21-23 October             -           New Delhi
24-25 October             -           Beijing
25-27 October             -           Tokyo
27 October                  -           Back to New York
(UN)
 
17 October 2007
Three dissidents on the run: Tun Myint Aung, Nila Thein and Soe Tun call monks UN Security Council to impose a blanket arms and investment ban on the junta to force it towards democratic reform. This may be the last letter before our own arrest and torture, they say. (Agencies)

Thai-Burma Relations
12 October 2007
4 people including a child wounded in a bomb blast in Myawaddy opposite Maesod. The border crossing is not disrupted. (Bangkok Post)
 
13 October 2007
_{HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej}
HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej admitted to hospital for brain treatment. (Bangkok Post)
 
13 October 2007
Thailand must work as part of the UN and a member of Asean together with influential countries to bring military Burma into line, says PM Surayud Chulanont. Other Asean leaders have adopted a much tougher stance. (Bangkok Post)
 
14 October 2007
Over 2,000 migrant workers in Surat Thani donate K2 million to the All Burma Monks Alliance (ABMA). (Kachin News Group)

Politics/ Inside Burma
18 October 2007
_{Soe Win}
When Soe Win died on 12 October, the military announced he would be accorded a state funeral, an honor not extended to either generals Saw Maung, Than Shwe’s predecessor, or Tin Oo, his chief of staff when they died in 1994 and 2001 respectively. (Irrawaddy)
 
18 October 2007
Burma’s ruling junta appoints a committee to write a draft constitution. According to its own 1990 statement, only those elected can write the charter, says Aung Htoo, secretary of the Burma Lawyers Council. (Irrawaddy)
 
Protests aftermath
2 October 2007
The abbot of Thitsa Mandaing In Rangoon’s Mingladon township detained and is to be held until his brother, a monk wanted for involvement in last month’s protests, surrenders. (DVB)
 
12 October 2007
Three pro-democracy dissidents Htay Kywe, Mie Mie and Aung Thu and a 4th person Ko Ko arrested. (Irrawaddy) The three are believed to be the remaining activists at large from the 88 Generation Students Group. (AP)
 
12 October 2007
At least 900 detainees are being held in “Mohbyee” police compound in Rangoon, according to Nilar Thein. They are being kept in cramped conditions in small room with some standing shoulder to shoulder, unable to lie down. A lack of toilets, clean water and adequate food supplies are also reported. (CNN)
 
14 October 2007
Military authorities orchestrates a mass rally in Rangoon in support of the regime. Many of the attendees offered cash incentives, say local officials. (AP)
 
14 October 2007
Junta restarts 24 hour internet. Curfew has also been reduced to 2300-0300. On 25 September it was 2100-0500, later to 2200-0400. (Mizzima)
 
14 October 2007
Thousands are incarcerated in 4 detention centers around Mandalay controlled by Light Infantry Division 33. The political power of the 200 monasteries here where 60% of the country’s 400,000 monks are thought to reside has been shattered. (Sunday Times)
 
15 October 2007
Six patients, one of whom is Mya Than Htike, being treated for gunshot wounds at the General Hospital, transferred to an unknown location on 10 October. (DVB)
 
16 October 2007
State television says near 500 people are still in detention, about 190 of them in Rangoon. Nearly 3,000 were detained in total. (The Australian)
 
16 October 2007
Monks are a rare sight in the streets of Rangoon, Mandalay and other cities.

• Many returned to their homes
• Others fled to the Thai-Burma border

(Irrawaddy)
 
16 October 2007
Junta-run paper New Light of Myanmar also carries photographs and information on the general’s food offering to at least 66 temples. The junta is trying to drive a wedge in the unity of monks, says an abbot in New Delhi U Pinyawara. “In Buddhism, there are 5 major sins, and the junta is committing the biggest sin.” (Mizzima)
 
16 October 2007
Junta paper New Light of Myanmar vows to ‘march on..’. ‘We will remove all the hindrances and obstacles that may lie ahead.’ (Mizzima)
 
17 October 2007
Junta media blames monks for its violent response to their protests last month. New Light of Myanmar says they should have remained in their temples and not to stage protest march. 2,927 have been detained (2,284 from Rangoon and 643 from the rest of the country) and 468 remain behind bars, it adds. (AFP) Everyone released was required to sign “pledges”. (AP)
 
17 October 2007
Rev Indriya, 26, sentenced to 7 ฝ years for taking part in mass protests at a closed court in Sittwe, according to a monastic source. (Reuters) 4 NLD members also sentenced to more than 7 years. One is 85 years old Kyaw Khine. (AFP)
 
17 October 2007
Comedian Zaganar and actor and actress Kyaw Thu and Shwe Zigwet released. (Mizzima)

Solidarity
14 October 2007
Nearly 2,000 Burma nationals in Singapore call on Asean and the international community to help end violence their homeland. (DPA)
 
16 October 2007
_{Aung San Suu Kyi}
The Canadian government says it will confer honorary citizenship on Aung San Suu Kyi. So far it has conferred on only two people: Nelson Mandela and Dalai Lama. (Mizzima)
 
16 October 2007
Women throughout the world launch campaign sending packages to Burmese embassies containing panties. Burma’s superstitious generals believe that contact with any item of women’s wear deprives them of their power. Panties for Peace campaigns have sprung up in Australia, Europe and Singapore. In Thailand, Lanna Action for Burma (LAB) committee has been formed in Chiangmai to support the feminine protest. One of the co-founders is Ying Zarm of Shan Women’s Action Network. (Irrawaddy)

Shans/ Shan State
15 October 2007
Peace and Democracy Front that includes Kokang, Wa and Mongla meets. (SHAN)

Economy/ Business
15 October 2007
Silk Air, the regional unit of Singapore Airlines, says it has reduced its 14 fights a week services to Burma to 12. (AFP)
 
16 October 2007
Junta has more than doubled the daily wage rate for municipal trash collectors in Rangoon: from 700 kyat per day to 1,500 kyat per day. But commodity prices have more than doubled too, says a municipal employee. (DVB)
 
17 October 2007
Two of Rangoon’s biggest hotels: Kandawgyi and Nikko have closed for lack of customers. (Irrawaddy)

Human Rights
15 October 2007
Junta has banned the use of pennames for several writers who were involved in the food offering to the monks on 24 September. (Mizzima)
 
16 October 2007
_{Kristen Silverberg}
The US on Tuesday urges the UN chief to conduct an investigation into rape cases in Burma. Evidence of girls as young as eight being subject to rape by Burmese soldiers have been documented, says Kristen Silverberg, assistant secretary for International Organization Affairs. (Irrawaddy)
 
17 October 2007
Amnesty International releases ‘Witch Hunt’, new video and audio testimony of ongoing crackdown in Burma. (AP)
 
17 October 2007
Sale of foreign publications that carry coverage of last month’s violent crackdown have been banned. (Irrawaddy)
 
18 October 2007
An order from the censor board ahs instructed magazines and journals not to publish the work of 22 writers and cartoonists who supported last month’s protests. They include 88-year old Dagon Taya, Ludu Sein Win and Aw Pi Kye. (DVB)
 
18 October 2007
The UN World Food Programme (WFP) makes appeal for funding its operations in Burma. Tony Banbury, regional director for Asia, says 10% of Burma’s 52 million people do not have enough food, adding that a lack of money and the junta’s restrictive policies limiting movements of food and people are mating things worse. (Reuters)

Environment

Drugs
19 October 2007

Sustainability of drug ban in Wa region questioned by East-West Center’s paper: The United Wa State Party: Narco-Army or Ethnic Nationalist Party?. (SHAN)

War
13 October 2007
To some of the world’s top weapons supplier, militarized Burma is just another customer. They include China, India, North Korea, Russia, Ukraine, Israel, Singapore and Serbia. Of which China has been the largest importer since 1988.

• China                           $ 1.69 billion
• Russia                          $ 396 million
• Serbia                          n.a.
• Ukraine                       n.a.

Information is given by the Arms Transfers Project of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). (AP)