Fund-Raising For Burma: US$68307.76 Raised in 2007

I just received the Yearly update from the fund-raising group that I have been involving in. The purpose of the group is to raise funds for people in Burma and for their Democracy movements. The program is called "Burmese Helping Burmese", organized by MoeMaKa News Group from San Fracisco.

We always calculate our funds monthly and send out the monthly notice to all the organizers, fund-raisers and donars around the world.

This fund-raising movement has started in August of 2007, around the time when our brave heros in Burma walked out of the streets to protest.

As of January 26, 2008, we have our Yearly statement out for last year, 2007. The total amount of fund that we raised in 2007 (from August to Dec 2007) is US$ 68,307.76.

I would like to sincerely thank all the organizers, fund-raisers, volunteers and donars and hope that you would also continue supporting us in 2008.

A Poet Arrested in Burma for Composing a Poem

– AP
YANGON:

A Myanmar poet has been arrested in Yangon after penning a Valentine’s Day poem (right)that carried a hidden message criticising the leader of the country’s military junta, colleagues said yesterday.

The poet, Mr Saw Wai, was arrested on Tuesday, a day after his poem “February 14” as published in the weekly Love Journal, according to friends and colleagues. The journal, which is seen as close to the information ministry, published the poem in its latest issue, under a picture of heart-shaped balloons reading “I Love You”.

The eight-line poem in Burmese is about a man brokenhearted after falling for a fashion model, whom he thanks for having taught him the meaning of love. But if read vertically, the first word of each line forms the phrase: “Power crazy Senior General Than Shwe.”

US Campaign For Burma: National Planning and Training Meeting

Announcement
United State Campaign for Burma (USCB)

The Saffron Revolution in late 2007 pressed the situation in Burma into the hearts and minds of people all over the world; however, we need to ensure that the people of Burma and their call for freedom are not forgotten now that thousands of monks and activists inside Burma have been arrested and the media is focusing its attention elsewhere.

Together in 2008 we will:

- Push for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and all political prisoners
- Garner global attention to end the mass atrocities and ethnic cleansing in eastern Burma
- Create a strong campaign around the Beijing Olympics, and 8.8.08, the 20th anniversary of the massacre of democracy activists in Burma.
The world should not forget the cries for freedom from the people of Burma, the world needs to act and we are going to ensure they do.

Register Online Here: www.uscampaignforburma.org

When: March 7-8th
Where: Washington DC - American University Campus
Who: Community and Student leaders and anyone who wants to participate and help lead this movement
Why: Provide us all the opportunity to meet with our fellow leaders, activists, and others who are interested in Burma face to face and provide participants with solid trainings and tools to prepare for this upcoming year's campaigns and actions.

Hope to see you there, please contact the following email address if you have more questions - thelma@uscampaignforburma.org

We have limited space so Register Today!

New Rambo Movie Highlights Deadly Crisis in Burma

By VOA News
25 January 2008

Movie fans in the United States are expected to flock to their neighborhood theaters Friday, to see the fourth installment of the Rambo series, which portrays Burmese government forces as the main villain.

The series, starring veteran actor Sylvester Stallone, revolves around a U.S. veteran of the Vietnam War who engages in extreme acts of violence against an equally brutal enemy.

This latest installment finds Rambo living in exile in Thailand when he is recruited to take a group of American missionaries seeking to help a group of ethnic Burmese villages caught in the middle of a civil war. He later joins a team of mercenaries to return to the village after the people there are attacked and slaughtered by Burmese government forces.

Reports of Arrest and Torture Continue in Burma

Scoop-Sunday, 27 January 2008,
Press Release: Terry Evans

Reports of arrest and torture continue in Burma long after the initial crackdown on protesting Buddhist monks last September. A recent report by Amnesty International has highlighted the arrests of ninety-six activists since the last visit of the UN special envoy Ibrahim Gambari in November. The ongoing arrests are taking place in spite of the junta's pledge to the UN that the crackdown would stop.

The ruling generals have been particularly aggressive in targeting those who have provided the outside world with evidence of their brutal treatment of Buddhists monks and pro-democracy activists.

For decades the military regime had maintained a tight control on media in Burma; however, technically savvy young Burmese bloggers have outwitted the ageing military rulers, and now the junta is exacting a heavy price.

The continuing arrests “clearly show that the government’s chief priority is to silence its citizens who would hold them to account”, Amnesty said.

China continues to supply Burma with military equipment

The Observers-28/01/2008 > CHINA/ BURMA

A blog by Burmese exiles in Thailand (Vimutti) has published photos of new military vehicles delivered to Burma from China on 15 January. The vans are the same model that was used to transport soldiers and prisoners during September's crackdown. However, Chinese diplomats insist they are working hard to get the Junta to negotiate with the opposition and to make efforts in terms of human rights.

China's been supplying the Junta with military equipment since 1988. They even gave them a million-dollar loan to be able to buy the stuff, which is mainly heavy artillery and military vehicles.

The Chinese authorities have reason to want a calm Junta. They don't want any trouble because the Olympic Games are on their way, and also because they want to avoid an influx of refugees.

That's why they openly criticised the crackdown in September. That was a first. But at the same time, they want to maintain their trade links, particularly to sustain sales of military material.

However, competition has recently increased, especially with India, who actually succeeded in selling fighter-planes to Burma last year. The trucks that come through the Sino-Burmese border - the FAW models - have been used by the army for the past 20 years.

According to the blog that published these photos, they were giving a ‘present' to the junta, probably in exchange for jade, teak or farming produce."

European Union's Burma Envoy to Visit Thailand

ABC Radio Australia
01-24-2008

The European Union's special envoy to Burma makes a three-day visit to Thailand next week to discuss efforts to press Burma's ruling junta on promised reforms.

Special envoy Piero Fassino is expected to meet with the Thai foreign minister, Nitya Pibulsonggram, and United Nations agencies and non-governmental organisations.

Mr Fassino last week called for the UN's mediator, Ibrahim Gambari, to return to Burma and seek the release of democracy leader, Aung San Suu Kyi.

Dr Gambari has reportedly asked to return to Burma this month, but has been told that April would be more convenient.

He has visited the country twice since last September's bloody military crackdown on protests led by Buddhist monks.

Burma Has Second-Worst Child Mortality Rate in Asia

ASSOCIATED PRESS
January 23, 2008

YANGON, Myanmar – Hundreds of children under age 5 die from preventable diseases each day in military-ruled Myanmar, the second-worst mortality rate for children in Asia after Afghanistan, U.N. officials said Wednesday.

Dr. Osamu Kunii, the nutrition expert in Myanmar for the U.N. Children's Fund, said there were 100,000 to 150,000 child deaths per year in the country – or between 274 and 411 daily.

He was speaking at a briefing by UNICEF for its annual report on "The State of the World's Children," released Tuesday. The under-5 mortality rate is a critical indicator of the well-being of children.

About 21 percent of child deaths in Myanmar are caused by acute respiratory infection, followed by pneumonia, diarrhea and septicemia.

The report rated Myanmar as having the 40th highest child mortality rate in the world, surpassed in Asia only by Afghanistan , which has the third-worst record after Sierra Leone and Angola.

It said, however, the death rate for young children in Myanmar had been reduced by 1.6 percent between 1990 and 2006.

In 2000, the World Health Organization ranked Myanmar 's overall health care system as the world's second worst after war-ravaged Sierra Leone. Tens of thousands of people in Myanmar die each year from malaria, tuberculosis, AIDS, dysentery, diarrhea and other illnesses.

Most of Myanmar's health care is funded by international sources, with the government spending only about 3 percent on health annually, compared with 40 percent on the military, according to a report published this year by researchers from the University of California , Berkeley and Johns Hopkins University.

San Francisco Shouldn't Welcome Tainted Olympic Torch

By Bridget Johnson, Columnist
www.insidesocal.com/friendlyfire
Article Last Updated: 11/19/2007 China is an egregious violator of human rights.

It seems by this point in history this should be common knowledge, and proponents of free speech, media and religion shouldn't have to keep justifying opposition to the regime by offering the examples that repeat from day to day.

China 's track record is grim: Labor and re-education camps full of political prisoners. More executions than anywhere else in the world. More journalists and cyber-dissidents caught and punished by a massive crew of censorship police. China's propping up the brutal regime of Myanmar that kills democracy protesters in cold blood - and blocking U.N. Security Council action by maintaining it's just business as usual in a sovereign state.

So why in the world would a progressive city like San Francisco welcome the torch of the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics?

"The torch should not be permitted to be used as a propaganda vehicle for the communist dictatorship in China," said Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif., who in August co-sponsored resolutions calling for the United States to boycott the Olympics over China's role in Darfur and its human-rights violations at home.

Yet the City by the Bay is the sole U.S. stop on the global torch relay, with the flame set to pass through on April 9. One grass-roots group of human-rights- minded residents isn't so willing to let that happen, but so far the San Francisco Team Tibet Coalition can't even get an audience with Mayor Gavin Newsom to ask him to cancel the torch relay through the city.

"Your welcoming of the Olympic torch would suggest ... that you are ready to turn your back on a unique opportunity to promote legitimate international concerns and... take a stand for justice in Tibet and China," stated the Aug. 8 letter to Newsom. According to Giovanni Vassallo, president of coalition member the Committee of 100 for Tibet, the mayor's office has not responded.

Repeated attempts to obtain comment from Newsom's office were unsuccessful.

The "Journey of Harmony" torch relay hasn't just stirred the waters in the Bay Area: Beijing included Taipei on the relay route, only to have Taiwan - which is not allowed to use its flag, seal or anthem at the Games - declare the torch unwelcome, calling it "a brazen attempt to downgrade Taiwan to a part of China." China has also instituted strict background checks on foreign climbers on the Tibetan side of Mt. Everest in an effort to thwart protesters on the torch route.

Shannon Service, a Students for a Free Tibet member who was detained by Chinese authorities in April for protesting at Mount Everest, is part of the coalition setting its sights on San Francisco.

"The mayor doesn't seem to quite get that when the torch passes through our fair city it will not be hailed as a symbol of international unity and sports," she said. "It's going to raise international protest as a symbol of occupation, torture and genocide."

" San Francisco is known worldwide as a center of progressive consciousness," said Laurel Sutherlin, also arrested on Mount Everest. "We cannot allow the Chinese government to exploit the reputation of our city to advance their nefarious policies on the global stage."

At this point, we unfortunately can't go back and fix what the International Olympic Committee should have never done in the first place: awarding the 2008 Summer Games to Beijing. It takes a truly blind individual to not see the hollowness of the regime's empty promises to reform in return for the games. Conversely, we've seen increased press-freedom crackdowns and, according to Amnesty International, "re-education through labor" and "enforced drug rehabilitation" in order to "clean up" Beijing before the games.

What we can do, though, is take a stand and decide that this tainted Beijing torch does not represent the values of a nation that has pledged to defend the basic dignity and human rights of every individual.

China 's torch should not be welcomed on American soil. The city of San Francisco should take the bold step of canceling the torch relay through its streets, putting humanity before revenue and justice before publicity.

This torch should also light a fire under Americans to reconsider other partnerships with China until its people and the Tibetan people are free.

"After the monks have been mowed down and slaughtered in the streets of Rangoon, ( Myanmar), it has to be more difficult for people to accept that we have the Olympics in Beijing," Rohrabacher said.

Bridget Johnson writes for the Daily News and blogs at www.insidesocal. com/friendlyfire. Write to her by e-mail at bridget.johnson@dailynews.com

Call for Papers - International Burma Studies Conference - October 3-5, 2008

8th International Burma Studies Conference
Northern Illinois University
DeKalb, Illinois, USA
3-5 October 2008

Call for Papers

The Board of Trustees of the Burma Studies Foundation, the Burma Studies Group and the Center for Burma Studies cordially invite you to participate in the 8th International Burma Studies Conference, at Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, Illinois from October 3-5, 2008.

Established at Northern Illinois University in 1986 by the Burma Studies Group, within the Association for Asian Studies, the Center will also be hosting a series of cultural events in conjunction with the Conference.

We invite papers on all aspects of Burma Studies, including, anthropology, art history, environment, health, history, literature, linguistics, music, political science, popular culture, religions, and area studies. Panels and papers would be devoted primarily to new research, including recent events in Burma.

Interested participants are asked to organize and submit panel proposals with 250-word abstracts by April 15, 2008. Please provide your name and affiliation, your address, a title for your paper, list of equipment that you need for your presentation, time required for presentation of your paper (15-20 minutes) and an email address. Send this information to:

Center for Burma Studies
520 College View Court
Northern Illinois University
DeKalb, IL 60115

Or via email: bsc2008@niu. edu

For further information regarding the conference visit our website:
www.grad.niu.edu/burma

Tel: (815) 753-0512
Fax: (815) 753-1776

Sponsored by the Center for Burma Studies, the Graduate School and the College of Visual and Performing Arts of Northern Illinois University.

Burma's Generals Trying to Halt Information Flow Comming In

Burma's Generals have been trying every possible way to stop the information flow coming in and going out of Burma.

September 2007, Monks-Led "Saffron Revolution" was world-known mainly due to the Burmese citizen-journalists who used the internet to send out the news or pictures that they took themselves. Sine then, Burma's Military Government has been paranoid about the power of internet and has tried to cut Burma from the outside world with internet black-outs.

Among a few websites that the Government banned, the famous blogging site www.blogger.com is also one of them. It is because Burmese Democracy Activitists inside and outside of Burma was using "blogger.com" to post news about Burma to let the world know how brutal the Government is.

Unless you have a very strong hacking knowledge to hack into the server settings, you may not be able to read my website anymore from Burma. That is a sad thing for all the people inside Burma who have a thirst for knowledge.

Gordon Brown: India has important role to play on Burma

New Delhi (PTI)
Jan 20th, 2008 (Sunday)

As he prepares to exhort India to do more on Myanmar, visiting British Prime Minister Gordon Brown on Sunday said New Delhi has an important role to play with regard to the neighbouring country's transition to democracy and end to problems there.

Brown, who will discuss the issue with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh tomorrow, said international action is necessary to persuade the Myanmarese government that "they got to take seriously all the problems that exist in their country."

He favoured an early visit by UN Special Envoy Ibrahim Gambhari to be followed by a trip by Secretary General Ban Ki Moon to Myanmar.

"I will ... be raising this issue with Mr Singh as I believe that India as well as China have an important role to play in making sure that the end to violence happens in Burma (Myanmar)," the British Prime Minister told reporters soon after his arrival here on a two-day visit.

"I am pleased to say the Chinese government is working resolutely towards how to persuade (Myanmarese Junta) and we will be looking at how we can persuade the Burmese regime," said Brown, who came here after concluding a trip to Beijing.

He said he wanted to see the Myanmarese government reconciling with the people and having regular discussions with pro-democracy leader Aung Sang Suu Kyi for movement towards democracy.

"I want to see an end to the violence and release of political prisoners in Burma," he said.

Britain says that the process of democratisation in Myanmar did "not seem to be moving forward significantly" and underlines the need for "carrot and stick policy".

BADA Annual General Meeting (January 26, 2008)

Burmese American Democratic Alliance (BADA)
*Advocating freedom for the people of Burma*
Annual General Meeting (AGM) - 2008

Dear members, supporters and friends of Burma:
You are cordially invited to attend the Annual General Meeting (AGM) - 2008 of the Burmese American Democratic Alliance (BADA) that will be held according to the following program.

Program
------------
1:30 PM to 4:30 PM,
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Union City Library, 34007 Alvarado-Niles Road,
Union City, California 94587, Telephone (510) 745-1464

You would hear Reports; Bylaw additions and changes; Appointment of vacant Board positions from membership (two positions open; Be there if you like to join), Financial statement, Q&A and discussion. Below is the draft agenda, check our website for updaptes:

Draft Agenda
-------------------
* Opening
* Report by The Executive Committee and The Board of Directors
* Bylaw Amendments/Addition s
* Vacant Board Member Appointment (2 positions)
* Interim Executive Committee Appointment
* Financial Statement
* Q&A/Discussion on Actions/Campaigns
* Closing

Note: Attend the AGM to become a Board and EC members. Contact us should you have more information.

Join Us!
-------------
We advocate democracy and freedom for the people of Burma. Join us in helping the people of Burma in their quest for Democracy and Freedom. BADA is a community based 501 (c3) charitable organization and most of us are volunteers. Bring your skill and commitment to help Burma.

If you are not a member yet, become a member by applying online here: http://www.badasf. org/membershipfo rm.htm ; it is quick and easy. More information about BADA can be found at www.badasf.org. Or contact us at 510 485 3751; info@badasf. org.

Note:
----------------
There will be also another events at the same day in the morning - Invitation to all Burmese families at the SF bay to host Poet U Tin Moe 1 year passing with gathering of all Sayadaws from the bay area - Swan & Dhamma Dana.

Mettananda Vihara
4619 Central Avenue, Fremont, CA 94536, U.S.A.
Phone: (510) 795 0405

Joint Statement on Burma by the UK, US and French Foreign Ministers at the World Economic Forum in Davos

17 January 2008
Foreign and Commonwealth Office (National)

The Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum at Davos is a unique event. No other occasion brings together so many of the world's leaders from all fields. For over three decades now, these meetings have provided a global platform for collaboration and action to address international priorities of concern to us all.

One such priority is the urgent need for progress towards a transition to democracy and improved human rights in Burma. The fact that we have chosen to write about this issue, with so many competing priorities, should underline the strength of our governments' determination to support the people of Burma in their pursuit of a peaceful, prosperous and democratic future. We have repeatedly made clear that the situation in Burma cannot continue, and that we remain committed to helping the people of Burma.

It is now more than four months since the world was horrified by the violent repression of peaceful demonstrations in Burma. The dramatic pictures seen around the world of the brutality directed against peaceful protestors, including monks and nuns, were truly shocking. We cannot afford to forget. We must convince the Burmese regime to meet the demands of the international community and respect the basic rights of Burma's people.

The UN Security Council in October spelled out its expectations and reiterated those expectations on January 17. First, the early release of all political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi, and the creation of conditions for a genuine dialogue between the Government and the opposition.

Second, full co-operation and constructive engagement with the UN. Third, the need for the regime to address the economic, humanitarian and human rights concerns of the Burmese people. Several months on, however, we find the regime has met none of these demands.

The regime claims to be moving ahead with its roadmap to civilian rule. However the process, already 14 years old, is open-ended, and many key political actors, not least Aung San Suu Kyi, are excluded. There can be little doubt that only genuine and inclusive dialogue can deliver national reconciliation and stability for Burma and its neighbours.

We call on all those attending the World Economic Forum to demonstrate that, while the regime may be indifferent to the suffering of the Burmese people, the world is not.

We ask you to support the return to Burma by UN Special Adviser Gambari as soon as possible, and to urge the regime to cooperate fully with him and the UN. We call on the regime to act on the recommendations of UN Human Rights Envoy Pinheiro; to release all political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi; and to launch a substantive, time-bound dialogue with democratic leaders and ethnic minority representatives, as called for in Aung San Suu Kyi's statement of November 8.

A unified call for genuine and peaceful political reconciliation and reform will be heard in Burma. We would not live up to our values if we ignored Burma's plight.

Fourth Bombing in Burma

BBC News
Jan 17, 2008

A bus conductor has been killed in a bomb blast in Burma - the fourth bombing incident in the military-ruled nation this year. The blast happened on a bus travelling from Kyaukkyi town to the commercial capital, Rangoon, state media said. It was parked at a roadside eatery when the bomb went off and only the conductor was on board.

State media blamed the attack on "insurgent destructionists" - ethnic groups fighting the junta for autonomy. "Fortunately, all the passengers had got off the bus and gone to have breakfast when the bomb went off," a travel agent told Reuters news agency. "Otherwise, casualties would have been very high."

Ethnic rebels
Three people have now been killed this year in a series of small blasts. Last week, a woman was killed in an explosion in a railway station toilet in the capital, Nay Pyi Taw. Another woman was injured in a blast in a Rangoon railway station.

Another man died, and four people were injured, when a bomb exploded in Pyu, north of Rangoon. The government blamed the incidents on the Karen National Union (KNU), a group fighting for greater autonomy for the ethnic Karen people. The state-run newspaper, the New Light of Myanmar, said in two of the cases it was the bomber who was killed handling the bomb.

There has been no claim of responsibility from the KNU or any other group. Kyaukkyi, where the bus involved in the latest explosion originated, is in Karen state.

Pro-Democracy Political Prisoners in Poor Health Condition

Irrawaddy
January 16, 2008 At least four detained political prisoners in Burmese prisons are in poor health and need medical attention, according to their family members. The four political prisoners are Hla Myo Naung and Kyaw Soe of the 88 Generation Students group, who are both in Insein Prison in Rangoon; Win Maw, a pro-democracy activist, also in Insein Prison; and Myint Oo, a committee member of the Magwe Division of the National League for Democracy, who is in Mandalay Prison.

Hla Myo Naung has eye problems and is nearly blind in both eyes, according to a family member. He has had eye problems since October 2007, and was arrested while he was enroute to a Rangoon clinic to have an operation on the left side of one eye. After he was arrested, authorities performed an operation on one of his eyes, but it was not successful and an eye nerve was damaged.

Family members of both Win Maw and Kyaw Soe said they received medical treatment in prison after they were tortured by the authorities in an interrogation center. However, Win Maw has now contracted pneumonia. Kyaw Soe suffers from fainting spells. Both men were victims of water torture, according to sources. A family member of Win Maw said they have not been allowed to visit him for nearly three weeks.

Myint Oo, who also suffers from pneumonia, began receiving medical treatment in a Mandalay prison hospital three days ago, according to family members. Tate Naing, the secretary of the exiled-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma), said that since August 2007, the military government has arrested more than 7,000 people, including pro-democracy activists. Prisoners are not allowed to receive outside medical treatment.

88 Generation Students leaders Min Ko Naing and Ko Ko Gyi also have health problems, say their family members. They were arrested by authorities in August 2007. According to the AAPP, there are more than 1,850 political prisoners in Burmese prisons.

Burma Hit by Third Bomb in Three Days

Third Bomb explosion hit Burma again in three days. A bomb explosion in the women's toilet at the main railway station in Burma's largest city Rangoon wounded one person.

Two previous bomb explosions were in the country's new capital, Naypyidaw and in Pyu, north of Yangon.

Burmese Government Officials refused to announce further details about the blast.

Burma Hit by Second Bomb in Two Days

Second Bomb explosion hit Burma in Pyu, a township located north of Yangon. The second Bomb resulted in death of 1 man and injured 4 people.

The blast comes two days after a similar attack killed at least one person near the country's administrative capital, Naypyidaw.

On Friday, a woman was killed by a bomb that also exploded in the toilet of the railway station serving Naypyidaw, about 380 kilometres north of Rangoon.

Bomb blasts at public places, such as Buddhist temples, markets and fairs are relatively common in Burma, or Myanmar, which has been under military rule since 1962.

Ref: www.radioaustralia.net.au

Yesterday Protest Was A Success

Yesterday Protest in front of the Chinese Counsulate in San Francisco was a great success.

We, BADA (Burmese American Democratic Alliance) would like to thank all of you for your attendance and support.

Reminder: Tomorrow Protest at San Francisco (In Celebration of 60th Independence Day of Burma)

This is a reminder for Tomorrow Protest in San Francisco in celebration of 60th Independence Day of Burma. This event was initially scheduled to be held on Burma's actual Independence Day (January 4th), but we had to cancel it due to the bad weather.

Here is the new date and time for the protest. See you all tomorrow.
Date: January 11th,2008 (Friday)
Time: 11:30 to 1:30 pm
Place: Chinese Counsulate, 1450 Laguna St. San Francisco, CA 94115