Hasina wants release of Suu Kyi

Hasina wants release of Suu Kyi

Awami League Chief and leader of the grand combine Sheikh Hasina said Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been under house arrest since May, 2003, should be released.

She told a questioner at her first press conference after her alliance's grand victory at Bangladesh-China Friendship International Conference Center that her party always in favour of democracy.

When a foreign journalist asked her to explain her stand on detained Myanmar leader Suu Kyi, Sheikh Hasina said, "We want immediate release of Suu Kyi".
" Burma is a close neighbuoring country of Bangladesh and as such we want good neighbourly relations with Yangon ", Sheikh Hasina said.

"Friendship with all and malice to none" is our cardinal foreign policy she said adding that she wants a peaceful and democratic South Asian region.

Show To Support Burma's Democracy Movements

Date: Feburary 1st 2009 (Sunday)
Time: 11am to 1pm -> Food
1pm to 5pm -> Performance
Place: Chabot College, Performing Arts Center
25555, Hespeian Blvd, Hayward, California 94545
Tickets: $50, $30, $20
Contact: Ph (415) 577-6505
Email: t4tsanfrancisco@gmail.com

Saffron Revolution A Year Later: It's NOT Over!

Article Written by ALTSEAN.

8888 - "Burma Day"

61st Anniversary of Burma's Martyr Day (19th, July 2008)

July 19th 2008.
Burma's Martyr Day.
The Day that All the Burmese People Should Never Forget.

Canadian Senior gives $110K donation to Burma Victims

The Canadian Press
Fri Jun. 27 2008


TORONTO — A Toronto senior has offered up what's thought to be the largest private Canadian donation to date to help survivors of Burma's cyclone.

Joseph Lariviere donated $110,000 to the Burmese Buddhist Association of Ontario earlier this week for its relief program for Burma.

The abbot of the Toronto temple where Lariviere offered his donation says at first he didn't believe it.

He says the association is touched by the generosity of seniors but is checking to make sure they'll have enough money left to live on.

The association has raised about $300,000 to date to help survivors of the May 2 storm in Burma.

Canadians have donated about $8 million to cyclone relief for Burma.

WaSo-Robe Offering, July 6th Sunday, Fremont CA

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's Birthday Invitation, June 22nd Los Angeles

June 15 Event Invitation

Penang Sayadaw Damma Talk

Join the Meditative March and Protest Regarding Burma's Cyclone

When:
May 23, 2008 11:30am - 1:30pm

Where/What:
11:30-11:50 Meet at Justin Herman Plaza and set up for meditation march
11:50-12:10 March to Singapore Consulate, 595 Market Street, San
Francisco, CA, 94105
12:10-1:30 Meditation in front of Singapore Consulate

Contact:
510 593 4388

Why:
Singapore is the chair of ASEAN and a great enabler of Burma's brutal regime. Most ASEAN members, such as Thailand and Singapore,enjoy Burma's resources at cut-rate prices while millions suffer greatly under the junta.

After the deadly Nargis hit Burma's delta region, there was great outcry from much of the world as we witnessed the regime's cruel and dispassionate neglect of the massive destruction and deaths. As usual, member nations of ASEAN kept quiet until they saw western navy ships perched to act in the best interest of the cyclone victims.

These are the same forces from the US, UK and France who effectively aided tsunami victims in the same region when members of ASEAN did not have sufficient resources or expertise to help their own.

In an emergency meeting held on May 19, 10 members of ASEAN said they will make sure aid from all over the world will flow into Burma without any explanation or details as to how this aid will actually make it to the areas of greatest need. They also said they will hold a donor conference -- which France denounced as it ignores the real and immediate need of aid delivery to the Irrawaddy delta area.

It is obvious that ASEAN's move is politically motivated. They should have acted much earlier rather than stalling to protect the Burmese regime's ineptitude. Had the welfare of the cyclone victims been their true priority, they would have had this meeting within days of the cyclone instead of waiting until there seems to be imminent humanitarian intervention by western countries.

The insufficient and superficial aid operations of ASEAN, still tightly controlled by
Burma's military, will inevitably result in hundreds of thousands of more deaths in the coming weeks and the potential of 2.5 million people dying of starvation, dehydration, disease and/or exposure.

We will, therefore, inform the Singapore consulate, the current chair of ASEAN, that it will be responsible for any future deaths if massive aid operations as called for by the US, UK and France are not implemented. Singapore has a responsibility to ensure that the 2.5 million lives receive the best care possible in this dire situation.

It must continue to pressure the junta to accept as much aid as is needed in Burma, whether it be in supplies or personnel, and no matter which country is providing such aid.

The question to all ASEAN member nations should answer is: Is this the plan you would want for your country in the next tsunami?

Ref: BADA

Fund-Raising Event for Burma's Cyclone Victims

Please Donate to Cyclone Victims in Burma

Burma's Junta Adopts Dubious Means to Win Support for Constitution

Mungpi
Mizzima News
April 26, 2008
New Delhi -

Notwithstanding the Burmese military junta's claim that it will hold the May 10 referendum in a free and fair environment, its activities on the ground and information leaked by insiders suggest that the junta is desperately resorting to various means, not all of it ethical, to win support.

The junta desperate to garner supporting votes is creating a fear psychosis by intimidating and coercing the people as it vigorously carries on with its campaign.

Intimidation and an environment of fear

In a campaign meeting held in Rangoon, a junta official who is the chairman of a township, told participants that for the convenience of voters, every vote is being registered with code numbers.

This coding system would help authorities trace the voters and the votes cast, thereby creating an environment of fear.

"In every ward, for everyone, votes are registered with code numbers against the name. It is for your convenience," the official said.

The official while explaining this method provided an example saying, "For instance, you are staying in a ward and you work for the whole day and you can come to the station only after your work. It would be tiring and difficult to find a card for you where your name is registered with a code. For this, we suggest you cast your vote in advance so as to avoid inconvenience."

Besides, the official said that policemen are to cast their votes in advance as they would be taking charge of security during the actual polling and that they will have no time to come to their respective booths to vote.

This clearly reveals that the junta has already planned polling in advance for its civil servants, which is against the universal norm of voting.

Win Min, a Burmese military analyst based in Thailand, shoring up this information said, "a reliable source of mine very close to the military said they [the junta] is planning to force civil servants, including university lecturers and school teachers, and possibly other USDA members to go for advance voting in front of senior military authorities' eyes."

"This is clear intimidation to vote 'Yes'. It's unacceptable since it violates the basic right to secret voting. It also shows that the authorities are worried that these civil servants are likely to vote 'No' if they're free to do so," added Win Min.

Vote rigging

An official in Burma's second largest city of Mandalay, who has been appointed secretary of one of the polling booths told Mizzima that while the counting of votes will be conducted after the voting, the results will not be announced but sent to higher authorities.

"It now seems that the results will be declared only from Naypyitaw, though counting will be held in the polling booths," said the official, who requested anonymity for fear of reprisal.

Sources in the military establishment said, Maj. Gen. Myint Swe, member of the ruling military council, communicated this information to a meeting of 600 people that included senior government officials and senior NGO representatives in Naypyitaw on April 9.

Misleading campaign

Sources said the junta in a bid to lure people to vote 'Yes' is also twisting its campaign slogans to mislead people.

Van Lian, chairman of Burma's largest opposition party – the National League for Democracy in Chin state's capital Hakha town, said authorities are explaining to villagers that 'Democracy could only prevail if they vote in favour of the draft constitution.'

"They [authorities] told villagers that 'if you don't like the military you should vote 'Yes' because approving the draft constitution will end military rule," Van Lian told Mizzima.

Van Lian said, In Chin state, northwestern Burma, most people do not like the military and therefore authorities are adopting this tactic to win supporting votes.

In one of the secret campaign meetings in Rangoon, the township chairman told participants that if the draft constitution cannot be approved in the referendum, the military will prolong its rule merely by saying that a fresh constitution needs to be drafted.

"We know the public does not like being governed by the military. If you don't like being governed by the military, you should vote 'Yes' in the referendum."

"But if you say 'No', the military will say they will re-draft the constitution and stay in power as long as it likes. So you should vote 'Yes' to prevent it from staying in power longer," added the official.

Memorial Service for Buma's Fallen Stars

Why:
Fallen stars of Burma
Ludu (people) Daw Ah Mar
(November 29, 1915 - April 7, 2008)
A respected leading dissident writer and journalist in Burma

Kyae Mone U Thaung
(Oct 4, 1926 - April 3, 2008)
A legendary journalist and famous dissident writer

You are cordially invited to following Swan Offering event:
Ludu (people) Daw Ah Mar (92 years old) has passed away in April 7, 2008 in Mandalay , Burma. She kept saying “You have left your work to keep Burmese to be united to reclaim the freedom, and dignity, and rights that has been robbed away by Military Junta.”

Famous journalist Kyae Mone U Thaung (Aung Ba La) (82 year old) has passed away on April 3, 2008 in the United States . U Thaung is a founder of the Mirror Daily (Kyae Mone News paper) and authored 26 books and support of human rights and democracy in his motherland, Burma

What:
Swan Offering (Potluck)
Pay last respect to both fallen stars Daw Ah Mar and Kyae Mone U Thaung

When:
10 A.M., Saturday May 3, 2008

Where:
Matta Nada Monastery 4619 Central Ave , Fremont , CA 94536
Phone: (510) 795-0405

Who:
Burmese community & friends of Burma
(San Francisco Bay Area)

May Fallen Stars of Burma , Daw Ah Mar and U Thaung Souls Rest in Peace.

UC Berkeley Talk about Burma

The Center for Southeast Asia Studies, UC Berkeley
presents a talk in its SPECIAL BURMA SERIES

Topic: “Politics, Anti-Politics & the 2007 Monks' Protest in Burma”
Speaker: Ingrid Jordt
Position: Assistant Professor, Anthropology
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Date: Thursday, April 24, 2008
Time: 5:00 p.m. to­ 6:30 p.m.
Place: IEAS Conference Room, 6th floor
Address: 2223 Fulton St. (at Kittredge), Berkeley CA

"Turning over the alms bowl" is a form of non-violent Buddhist protest with deep historical roots in Burma. This talk will discuss the religious boycott as a soft power movement that negotiates the careful divide between religious moral sanction and outright political action.

Prof. Jordt is a special authority on Burmese Buddhism having spent several years in Burma as an ordained nun in the 1980s. She received her Ph.D. from Harvard University where she studied with Prof. Stanley Tambiah, and has emerged as a leading expert in recent months in providing context on the popular protests that erupted in Burma in 2007. Her most recent book is "Burma’s Mass Lay Meditation Movement: Buddhism and the Cultural Construction of Power" (Ohio, 2007).

Co-Sponsored by UC Berkeley’s Center for Buddhist Studies

Free and open to the public. This lecture is made possible through the generous support of an external grant made to UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism.

_______________________________
The Center for Southeast Asia Studies
International & Area Studies
University of California at Berkeley
2223 Fulton Street, #617
Berkeley, CA 94720-2318
Phone: (510) 642-3609
Fax: (510) 643-7062
http://ias.berkeley.edu/cseas/

Announcement from OBP (Singapore)

UN Rapporteur Warns Burma on Vote

BBC, 15 April 2008

Mr Pinheiro said there were no signs of political change in Burma.

Burma's referendum next month will be a "ritual without real content" unless international monitors are allowed in, a top United Nations official has said.
Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, the Special Rapporteur on Burma, also accused military rulers of a clampdown on people campaigning for a "no" vote.

The referendum, set for 10 May, is on whether to adopt a new constitution.
Leaders say it will pave the way for elections by 2010, but critics say it is aimed at entrenching military rule.

The charter was drafted by the generals without input from the pro-democracy opposition.

It allocates a quarter of seats in parliament to the military and bans anyone who has been married to a foreign national from holding office - ruling out detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Her National League for Democracy has called on people to vote against the referendum.

'No transition'

Speaking in Brussels, Mr Pinheiro said that the referendum would not have any credibility if opponents were prevented from speaking out.

Burmese troops used force to end anti-government protests in September "How can you have a referendum without any of the basic freedoms?" he was quoted by the Associated Press news agency as saying.

"It would be important to have international observers to validate the referendum, because if not it would be just a ritual without real content."

In a separate interview with Reuters news agency, he accused the Burmese government of detaining "no" campaigners, and said that he saw no signs of political change there.

"If you say a real political transition process is taking place in Myanmar (Burma), this would be almost offensive to countries in Asia like the Philippines and Indonesia or Thailand that passed through a transition process to democracy," he said.

Mr Pinheiro last visited Burma in November 2007, weeks after a military crackdown on anti-government protests left at least 31 people dead.

The Burmese government has since then refused to allow him back in.

The full text of the constitution went on sale in government bookshops on 9 April.

Burmese in Singapore now can Vote for Referendum

Myanmar Warns Embassies ahead of Referendum

Thu Apr 10
YANGON (AFP)

- Myanmar's military government Thursday warned foreign embassies not to support Aung San Suu Kyi's pro-democracy party, as the nation gears up for a referendum on a constitution opposed by her supporters.

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The warning carried in the official New Light of Myanmar newspaper came the morning after the regime announced that the referendum would be held on May 10.

Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) party is urging voters to reject the constitution, saying it will not bring democracy to the country which has been ruled by the military since 1962.

"Certain foreign powers, with the intention of interfering in the internal affairs of Myanmar, are now ... aiding and abetting some local political parties to destabilise the country," the paper said.

"Some diplomats of certain foreign embassies in Yangon regularly visit NLD (headquarters), hold talks and give directives to harm the interests of the nation and the people," the paper said.

"The embassies should stop such activities," the government mouthpiece said.

The ruling junta says the new constitution will help create a "discipline-flourishing democracy," with multiparty elections set for 2010.

But critics say the constitution will give the generals a dominant role in government, even after the polls.

Aung San Suu Kyi, who led the NLD to a landslide victory in elections in 1990, would be barred from running in new polls.

The military never recognised NLD's election win, and has silenced the Nobel Peace Prize winner by keeping her under house arrest for 12 of the last 18 years.

One quarter of the seats in parliament would be reserved for soldiers, appointed by the commander-in-chief. The military would also have broad powers to declare a state of emergency and take direct control of the government.

Amending the constitution would be almost impossible without the military's consent. Three-quarters of parliament must approve any changes, which then must go to voters in a referendum.

Although the NLD and other pro-democracy groups are calling for a "No" vote, they have little ability to campaign effectively because the regime has outlawed speeches and leaflets about the referendum.

In a statement released Thursday, the NLD accused the junta of suppressing free speech and physically intimidating and arresting their supporters.

"An intimidating atmosphere for the people is created by physically assaulting some of the members of (the) NLD," it said in a statement.

"For these reasons, it is now obvious that the forthcoming referendum cannot be free and fair."

Copies of the constitution were only released to the public on Wednesday, when they were put on sale in government bookstores for nearly one dollar -- a price far beyond the means of most people in this impoverished country.

Thailand-based Myanmar analyst Win Min said that by placing the date for the referendum only one month away, the regime left voters with little time to understand the 194-page document.

"They are worried that if they make it longer, the movement for holding a 'No' vote will get some momentum, and people will be more likely to vote 'No,'" Win Min told AFP in Bangkok.

"They are giving little chance to the opposition to organise," he said.

The regime may also have sought to avoid scheduling the referendum too close to the symbolically important date of May 27, which will be the 18th anniversary of the 1990 elections won by the NLD, he said.

That is also the date when the military is due to renew Aung San Suu Kyi's house arrest.

In Washington, President George W. Bush said he was disappointed with the pace of democratic reforms in Myanmar.

The United States and the European Union have tightened sanctions on Myanmar since a deadly crackdown on pro-democracy protests led by Buddhist monks in September.

At least 31 people were killed while 74 went missing, according to the United Nations. More than 700 people are still behind bars over the protests, Amnesty International has said.