Weekly Diary, No. 322 (4 – 10 October 2008)

• BURMESE SOLDIERS SLAVES TO THEIR OFFICERS!
• MORE POLITICAL PRISONERS SINCE LAST YEAR!
• ENLISTMENT QUOTA MORE IMPORTANT THAN CHILD RIGHTS!
• KAREN UNDER ATTACK!

Cartoon
Now, let’s have a change and worry about the world instead.
 

Think Piece
The Bangladesh authorities say we are from Burma. The Burmese regime says we are Bengali. Where should we go?
^{A Rohingya refugee, reported by Cutting Edge, 6 October 2008}

The World
8 September 2008

If granted independence South Ossetia would rank as the world’s 11th smallest state by population (72,000) and the 30th by land mass (3,900 square kilometers).
Standard definition of a state

• Defined borders
• Functioning government with effective control over a permanent population (1933 Montevideo Convention)
• Real issue: How many countries can you get to go along on your side?

(Stephen Krasner) Newsweek, 8 September 2008

International Relations
30 September 2008
^{Felice Gaer}
US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) chair Felice Gaer urges Washington to create “interagency task force” in the National Security Council and appoint a US special envoy to Burma. (Baptist Press)
 
6 October 2008
Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) and the United States Campaign for Burma (USCB), releasing a new report The future in the dark today:

• In 2007 there were 1,192 political prisoners
• Now, there are at least 2,123 prisoners, a 78% increase

On 23 September, 9,002 prisoners were released including 10 political prisoners, but one was re-arrested on the next day. (Statement)
 
7 October 2008
^{Ban Ki-moon}
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon says he will drop plans to visit Burma unless he is confident it would achieve tangible results, but will remain “constantly and personally engaged” in the country. (Reuters)
 
7 October 2008
Despite initial negative response from the UN the credentials challenge campaign by Members of Parliament Union (MPU) will continue. It has already hired the services of 2 eminent US law firms, says San San, deputy chairperson. (Irrawaddy)
 
7-9 October 2008
^{Maung Aye}
Vice Senior General Maung Aye visits Bangladesh. (Xinhua/VOA)
 
8 October 2008
^{Tomas Ojea Quintana}
Tomas Ojea Quintana, UN Human Rights rapporteur, outlines human rights elements should be put in place before the 2010 elections:

• Amend laws that limit freedom of expression and peaceful assembly
• Release of political prisoners
• Repeal discriminatory laws
• Stop recruitment of child soldiers
• Changes in the judiciary

(Irrawaddy)
 
10 October 2008
The number of Chin refugees in Malaysia has increased to about 50,000 since the famine, says Nai Row Mon of the Mon Refugee Organization (MRO) in Malaysia. Journey costs each person K1.5 million ($1,400). More than 100,000 people are facing starvation. (Independent Mon News Agency)

Thai-Burma Relations
7 October 2008
^{PM Somchai Wongsawat}
Violent clashes end in 2 killed and over 400 injured in Bangkok. PM Somchai shrugs off calls to resign. (Agencies)

Politics/ Inside Burma
3 October 2008
Authorities inform families of the detained 88 Generation Students Group that they would not be allowed to attend court hearings in Insein prison as in the past. (Irrawaddy)
 
7 October 2008
KNPP military chief Bee Htoo, responding to a leaked telex between military intelligence which suggests some KNPP officials are willing to ‘exchange arms for peace,’ says the KNPP is open to negotiations but will not give up its weapons. (BBC)
 
8 October 2008
Hla Myo Myint, assistant to Aung San Suu Kyi’s lawyer Kyi Win, hands formal appeal against the latest extension of her house arrest to Naypyidaw Article 103 of State Protection Law 1975 stipulates a person can only be detained up to five years. (Irrawaddy)
 
9 October 2008
Generation Wave, formed following the Saffron Revolution, marks its anniversary by distributing leaflets around Rangoon. (DVB)
 
10 October 2008
Cyclone victims in Rangoon say they are being forced by local authorities to do unpaid reconstruction work, preventing them from earning money. They include Shwe Paukkan, Khayan-Thone Gwa and Syrium townships. (DVB)

Shans/ Shan State
7 October 2008
^{Sai Myoe Win Tun}
Shan activist Myoe Win Tun who is serving 79 year sentence in Myingyan has been hospitalized since August. He has been suffering from a weak heart and piles. (SHAN)

Economy/ Business
2 October 2008
Petro Vietnams’ affiliates PVEP and VSP sign contract with Eden Group and Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprises (MOGE) at Nay Pyi Taw to exploit oil and gas in Block M-2 offshore. (Vietnam News Agency)

Human Rights
4 October 2008
^{Jo Becker}
Jo Becker, Human Rights Watch’s children rights advocacy director, says the UN panel has notably failed to make progress in Burma where children are conscripted by the ruling junta and ethnic rebel armies, including Shan State Army (SSA) South. The UN team in Burma is severely restricted in what it can do, where it can go and what kind of information it can collect. Recruiters in the Burma Army are under heavy pressure to bring in new soldiers. The recruitment of child soldiers is now driven largely by desertions, he says. (RFA)
 
6 October 2008
On 10 September, 19 people taken from a train to join the army by LIB 420 based in Thazi. They would be charged of being culprits behind Rangoon bombings if they refuse to join, says a recruiting officer. (DVB)
 
8 October 2008
Locals in Langkher township are being forced by Infantry Battalion 99 to grow physic nut and sesame for the military since 22 August. Those who own tillers are told to use their equipment and those who don’t their hands. (DVB)
 
8 October 2008
Ban imposed in July on 5 educational journals: Educator, Prime, Digital Way, Nyein and Goal. Several parents and teachers express concern as they were valued as supplements to the inadequate teaching material provided by state schools. (Irrawaddy)
 
9 October 2008
Mizzima News, a member of Burma News International (BNI), under DDoS attack. (Statement)

Environment
9 October 2008
Transport minister Tint Swe has ordered Arakan townships to plant betel nut and coconut plants to reduce damage from cyclones. (Kaladan)

Drugs
6 October 2008
Pol Maj Gen Adul Narongsakdi, Commander of Chiangrai regional police force says there are 53 factories producing methamphetamine pills to be smuggled across the border into Thailand. (The Manager Online)

War
4 October 2008
Heavily-armed DKBA fighters from 907th Battalion Mae Klong Khee village in Umphang district. Burns down maize and farm produce of the Thai villagers on the Burmese side before retiring. It is suspected that the raid has something to do with a September bomb blast where 2 DKBA members were killed. (Bangkok Post)
 
5 October 2008
Joint DKBA-Burma Army troops attack KNU strongholds in Ban Borae opposite Umphang. No casualties reported. (Bangkok Post)
 
7 October 2008
The Burma Army is launching an offensive against Karen refugees, says Italy-based Help Without Frontiers. Villagers are chased, rice barns and food sequestered or destroyed, and cornfields burned as well as houses. Thai authorities also accused of during back refugees fleeing across the border. (DPA)
 
9 October 2008
Htay Aung, military researcher, says desertions, small mutinies and assassinations are plaguing Burma Army. Reasons:

• Gap between high ranking officers and other ranks
• Ordinary soldiers, particularly family men, face difficulty surviving
• Soldiers are treated like slaves

(Irrawaddy)