Weekly Diary, No. 302 (18 – 23 May 2008)

• DID BAN REALLY MAKE A BREAKTHROUGH?
• JUNTA UPSET BY CHINA’S TAKING THE LEAD IN MOURNING!
• WILL THERE BE FAMINE IN BURMA?
• NOTHING MATTERS TO THE GENERALS EXCEPT THE REFERENDUM!

Think Piece
A guilty conscience needs no accuser.

Saying and Words of Wisdom in English, Chulalongkorn University Press (2005)

The World
19 May 2008
China pauses for 3 minutes of tribute at 2:28pm local time – exactly one week after the magnitude 7.9 quake hit Central China. (AP) Burma follows suit by issuing directive to pause for 3 minutes on the following day at 09:00, almost 18 days after Cyclone Nargis hit lower Burma – Editor
 
19 May 2008
Thousands of Zimbabweans and other Africans seek refuge in South Africa’s Johannesburg after locals killed and beat up immigrants, who are accused of depriving locals of jobs and committing crime. (AFP) Such incident has yet to take place in Thailand – Editor
 
21 May 2008
Four countries with poor rights record win seats in the 47 member UN Human Rights Council: Pakistan, Bahrain, Gabon and Zambia. (AP)

International Relations
20 May 2008
The World Bank says it cannot lend money to Burma because the country has been in arrears with the bank since 1998. (The Telegraph UK)
 
22 May 2008
_{Ban Ki-moon}
UN chief Ban sets off on a helicopter tour of the Irrawaddy delta. (The Times UK)
 
21 May 2008
Cyclone survivors don’t want UN chief to visit them. Reasons:

• The regime wants to portray a positive image despite the damage
• People will be ordered not to go out begging for food
• More soldiers will be deployed and roads will be cleared
• Private donors will be unable to visit them

(Irrawaddy)
 
21 May 2008
_{Laura Bush}
First Lady Laura Bush, denying charges by generals that there were “strings attached” to the US navy aid, implores again to “let the people of the United States help.” (AFP)
 
23 May 2008
_{Ban Ki-moon with Gen Than Shwe}
Ban meets Than Shwe for 2 hours. Than Shwe agrees to allow aid workers into the country. Ban considers it a breakthrough. But aid workers are still stuck in Rangoon. (Al Jazzera)
 
23 May 2008
_{Aung San Suu Kyi}
Actors and artists including Will Ferrell, Sarah Silverman, Ellen Page and Sylvester Stallone call for Suu Kyi’s release. (LA Times)

Thai-Burma Relations
22 May 2008
Thai medical team treating survivors in Myaungmya and Labutta townships say most patients suffer from colds, diarrhea and non-life threatening wounds. (Irrawaddy)

Politics/ Inside Burma
20 May 2008
Private journals ordered by the censorship board not to run any “destruction” story but to cover the reconstruction exercise being undertaken .The order came out following front page story from Biweekly Eleven news. The Press Security and Registration Board (PSRB) cannot control Eleven as there are some generals behind the scenes. (Mizzima)
 
21 May 2008
In Thingangyun township, Rangoon, each family that agrees to vote Yes is given 4 pyi of rice and 0.5 viss of cooking oil. (DVB)
 
22 May 2008
_{NLD spokesman, Nyan Win}
At least 13 people, including 11 NLD members, arrested. No explanation provided, says spokesman Nyan Win. (Irrawaddy) 10 of the 13 released on the same day. (Mizzima)

Cyclone Nargis
18 May 2008
Save the Children UK says 30,000 children under 5 in the Irrawaddy Deltha can all die of starvation within 2-3 weeks. The price of rice has quadrupled since the cyclone struck the country. (AP)
 
18 May 2008
_{Gen Than Shwe}
Gen Than Shwe visits Hlaing Thaya and Dagon suburbs of Rangoon. He has still not visited the devastated delta. (AP)
 
19 May 2008
Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) says the destruction of 650,000 acres of farmland has left farmers in need of urgent assistance. (DVB)
 
20 May 2008
In an echo of China’s observation of silence on 19 May for those who perished in the quake one week earlier, Burma lowers flags today to begin a 3-day mourning period almost 18 days after Nargis strike. (New York Times)

Assistance of Nargis victims
17 May 2008
Survivors in Bogalay forced to cut trees and reconstruct roads as well as pay for relief supplies:

• Petrol               K1,000 per gallon
• Canvas sheets marked UNICEF
• International aid switched with products from Industry #1 before distribution
• Some of relief supplies would be distributed if they vote Yes in the 24 May referendum

(DVB)
 
19 May 2008
_{Gordon Brown}
People power via Internet can help shame Burma into accepting foreign assistance, says British PM Gordon Brown. (AFP)
 
19 May 2008
At an emergency conference in Singapore, Burmese officials “insist” that Asean partners take the lead in channeling relief assistance. (Wall Street Journal)
 
19 May 2008
Five monks led by U Uttara and joined by singer-actress Jane Birkin march through Cannes Film Festival crowd to demand that Burma’s junta allow aid workers into the country. (AP)

19 May 2008
_{Bernard Kouchner}
French FM Bernard Kouchner accuses countries on UN Security Council that do not agree to pressure Burma into opening its doors to foreign aid as being guilty of “cowardice.” (Reuters)
 
20 May 2008
For survivors to buy zinc sheets and nails, they have to fill in an application form after buying it at K500 ($0.44). One sheet of zinc costs K4,900 ($4.33). (Irrawaddy)
 
20 May 2008
The regime has started distributing leaflets asking charity people not to help saying giving food may make victims “lazy and more dependent on others.” (The Telegraph UK)
 
20 May 2008
UN chief Ban says Naypyidaw has given permission to operate 9 WFP helicopters to distribute aid. (Reuters)
 
21 May 2008
_{Frank Smithuis}
Medicines Sans Frontiers (MSF) allowed 4 of its members to go to Irrawaddy delta, says Frank Smithuis, MSF director in Burma. (Mizzima)
 
21 May 2008
Cyclone refugees in Maubin say they found bags of rice labeled Swiss government contain only broken rice grains. (DID)
 
21 May 2008
Soaring inflation and food shortages reported:

• A state pension a month amounts to a cup of tea
• Rice K1,500 per kg, three times higher than before Nargis
• Also tripled is edible oil K8,000 per liter

(Reuters)

21 May 2008
_{Surin Pitsuwan}
Burma has asked for more than $11 billion in aid for cyclone victims. International donors say they need access to verify their needs. Asian chief Surin Pitsuwan also says French oil giant Total is ready to transfer aid and equipment from US and French warships waiting in waters near Burma. (Reuters)

22 May 2008
Burmese monks who are in Jakarta to rally opposition against Burma’s generals say the country’s rulers have committed crimes against humanity by delaying international aid. (Reuters)
 
23 May 2008
The British Department for International Development (DFID) and Save the Children are working with Serge Pun, a Burmese tycoon with links to the regime, to run supplies down to the remotest and hardest hit areas. (The Times UK)

Referendum
22 May 2008
Around 90 people taking refuge in a community hall in South Dagon township, Rangon, forced to move out so the hall could be used as a polling station. Only a few of the survivors are provided tents. Others are living on the road side and monasteries. (DVB)
 
22 May 2008
Officials starts distributing ballot papers which has already been ticked Yes to voters in Rangoon and Irrawaddy divisions. The voters will have to bring their IDs along and vote either on 23-24 May. Traveling outside townships has been restricted before polling. (Mizzima)

Shans/ Shan State
9-19 May 2008
Shans hold Golden Jubilee of Tripitaka exams in Shan at the historic town of Panglong. (SHAN)
 
21 May 2008
Shan State Army (SSA) South marks Golden Jubilee of the Resistance. (SHAN)

Economy/ Business
20 May 2008
This is the time farmers go to fields to work. Normally the busiest time of the year. But G. Padmanabham, Emergency Analyst from UNDP Disaster Management section says because of high salt being condensed in the land, it cannot become fertile again until the salt is removed by rain water. (Mizzima)

Human Rights
19 May 2008
8 journalists covering the cyclone disaster in Labutta township arrested, interrogated, all photographs taken deleted and released on the following day. (Irrawaddy)
 
21 May 2008
Burma named the most persistent user of child soldiers with some as young as 11, reports Human Rights Watch. (BBC)

Environment
The UN’s World Meteorological Organization (WNO) says even rich countries would have struggled to cope with the type of storm that hit Burma. But the country should consider measures to prevent massive loss of life from future cyclones. (AP)

Drugs

War
22 May 2008
The generals’ dream of destroying the West’s Sea Power 21 shattered along with their defensive installations by Cyclone Nargis on 2-3 May. (NDD)

Obituary
22 May 2008
_{Saw Ba Thin Sein}
Saw Ba Thin Sein, 82, President of Karen National Union, passes away on the Thai-Burma border. Vice President Gen Tamala Baw will be acting president until the end of the year when the 14th Congress will be held, says Joint Secretary General David Tarkabaw. (SHAN)