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BURMA RELATED NEWS - FEBRUARY 06, 2008
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HEADLINES
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Bloomberg - Myanmar Plans Secret Trials for Democracy Activists, U.S.
Says
Reuters - Myanmar fishermen rescued after 3 months in sea
AFP - Bangladesh to invite foreign firms to explore for offshore gas
AFP - Thai giant PTT says deal signed with Qatargas
AFP - Four Myanmar migrant workers found dead in Thailand: police
Asia Times - UN as India, Myanmar matchmaker
Asia Pulse - Bangladesh Govt Gets Re****t On Boundary Talks With
Myanmar
ReliefWeb - The Special Rap****teur on the situation of human rights in
Myanmar
Mizzima News - Bangladesh and Burma discuss maritime boundary
Asian Tribune - Karen state civilians appeals to international
community to save them from Burmese army before being decimated
Irrawaddy - New Rumors of Ill Health in Burma's Top Family
Irrawaddy - USDA Enjoys Favors from Junta
DVB News - U Gambira's hearing postponed
*************************************************************
Myanmar Plans Secret Trials for Democracy Activists, U.S. Says
By Nadine Elsibai
Feb. 5 (Bloomberg) -- Myanmar's regime is planning secret trials of U
Gambira, a Buddhist monk who helped lead opposition protests last
year, and 10 other pro-democracy activists, the Bush administration
said today.
The trials are an example of actions by the regime that are
``unacceptable to all those who value freedom,'' White House
spokeswoman Dana Perino said in a statement. She offered no details on
where or when the trials would take place.
What Perino described as Myanmar General Than Shwe's ``defiance'' of
international demands for democracy prompted President George W. Bush
to expand financial sanctions today against Myanmar businesses and
individuals accused of aiding military rule.
Bush ``has made clear that we will continue to take action against the
military junta and those who prop it up so long as human rights
violations continue and democracy is suppressed,'' Adam Szubin, head
of the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control, said in
a statement.
The steps announced today target Htoo Group of Companies, ``which
carries out key projects'' for Myanmar's junta, such as the buying of
military equipment and aircraft, Treasury said in a statement.
Treasury lists Tay Za, identified as an arms dealer, as Htoo's
leader.
Assets, Transactions
The sanctions freeze any U.S. assets held by the designated
individuals and companies and bar all financial and commercial
transactions with them in the U.S.
The action widens penalties the U.S. has imposed to protest rights
violations in the Asian nation.
The military of Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, crushed the biggest
opposition protests in almost 20 years in September. The United
Nations says at least 31 people died in the clashes.
Za allegedly used his connections with Aung Thet Mann, director of
Htoo Group and son of a senior official in Myanmar's government, to
win favorable contracts from the country's junta, Treasury said. Mann
is also named as a target of today's sanctions.
Neither Za nor a representative for him could be located immediately
to respond to the U.S. penalties. Treasury said it has had no contact
with anyone who represents Za.
Designated companies include Myanmar Avia Ex****t Company Ltd.; Ayer
Shwe Wah Company Ltd. and Pavo Aircraft Leasing Pte. Ltd. in
Singa****e, Treasury said. Four spouses of senior Myanmar government
officials also were named.
Other actions that prompted the U.S. decision include Myanmar's
continued defiance of a UN Security Council resolution calling on the
regime to release pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi from house
arrest and its refusal to allow UN Special Adviser Ibrahim Gambari to
return, the White House said today.
Min Ko Niang and Ko Ko Kyi are among the activists for whom the regime
is planning secret trials, according to the White House.
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Myanmar fishermen rescued after 3 months in sea
Reuters - Wednesday, February 06
BHUBANESWAR, India (Reuters) - Three Myanmar fishermen who say they
spent nearly three months adrift at sea in a raft after their boat was
destroyed in a cyclone were rescued off the east Indian coast on
Wednesday, police said.
Local fishermen spotted the trio drifting aimlessly near the resort
town of Gopalpur in a bamboo raft, Siba Sankar Mohapatra, a senior
police officer said.
"They lived on turtles and fishes for food after they were separated
from three other groups in the sea," Mohapatra said after questioning
the trio.
Cyclone Sidr smashed into the coast of southern Bangladesh on Nov. 15
with 250 kph winds that whipped up a five-meter tidal surge.
At least 3,000 people died in Bangladesh under its impact.
The three fishermen, who said they set sail from their country on Nov.
11 got hair cuts, food and new clothes from authorities who are
planning to send them back home soon.
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Bangladesh to invite foreign firms to explore for offshore gas
=46rom AFP on 2008-02-06 03:33:46 (posted on 2008-02-06 03:33:46)
DHAKA (AFP) - Bangladesh will invite foreign firms to explore for
offshore oil and gas to meet soaring energy demand to sustain the
nation's fast-growing economy, an official said on Wednesday.
The army-backed government's cabinet cleared plans late on Tuesday to
invite tenders for production-sharing contracts with companies, M.
Tamim, special aide to government head Fakhruddin Ahmed, said.
"We will invite international tenders by the middle of this month. The
oil and gas blocks will be awarded to companies by August," Tamim told
AFP.
It will be the third bidding round in the history of Bangladesh, which
has extensive gas reserves, but is facing a shortfall due to soaring
consumption.
"A lot of big foreign oil companies have expressed their desire to
explore for oil and gas in the resource-rich Bay of Bengal.
Neighbouring Myanmar has already discovered huge gas reserve there,"
Tamin said.
Bangladesh needs to urgently locate new sources of energy as the
government forecasts the nation's current gas reserves will run out by
2014-15 at present consumption rates.
The government has said the country needs at least 7.7 billion dollars
worth of investment in gas exploration and development to sustain
projected annual economic growth of seven percent until 2025.
Bangladesh's economy has been growing at more than six percent
annually in the last four years, the highest rate of growth since its
independence in 1971.
Officials said preparations for the offshore bidding were ready and
the country's territory in the Bay of Bengal has been divided into 28
blocks for the bidding.
"We've been waiting for the approval of the proposed production
sharing contract. With the approval, we will now make sure the
companies can start exploration by next winter," a senior energy
ministry official said, asking to remain unnamed.
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Thai giant PTT says deal signed with Qatargas
=46rom AFP on 2008-02-06 01:03:27 (posted on 2008-02-06 01:03:27)
BANGKOK (AFP) - Thailand's top energy firm PTT said Wednesday it had
signed a deal with Qatargas Operating Company to im****t one million
tons of liquefied natural gas (LNG) each year.
Under the deal, PTT will get LNG from the gas-rich Gulf emirate of
Qatar after Thailand finishes building a receiving ****t terminal in
2011, the Thai energy giant said. The company declined to give the
value of the agreement.
Thailand depends on natural gas for more than 65 percent of its
electricity output, and im****ts about 20 percent of its gas from
military-ruled neighbor Myanmar.
Qatar has the world's third largest natural gas reserves after Russia
and Iran.
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Four Myanmar migrant workers found dead in Thailand: police
=46rom AFP on 2008-02-05 06:07:18 (posted on 2008-02-05 06:07:18)
BANGKOK (AFP) - Four Myanmar migrant workers have been killed
execution-style on a rubber plantation in southern Thailand, police
said Tuesday.
Two men and two women were bound with their hands behind their backs
and shot at point blank range in Surat Thani, about 650 kilometres
(400 miles) south of the capital Bangkok.
Their bodies were found inside their living quarters on the
plantation, police said, declining to speculate on a motive or suspect
in the killings.
About 540,000 migrant workers are registered to work in Thailand, most
of them from Myanmar, according to the labour ministry.
But as many as one million undo***ented workers are believed to be in
the kingdom, where they often face exploitation by their employers,
according to rights groups.
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Asia Times - Feb 7, 2008
UN as India, Myanmar matchmaker
By Jyoti Malhotra
NEW DELHI - India has quietly undertaken a charm offensive with
Myanmar's ruling junta, just months after New Delhi had publicly
joined hands with Western governments to chastise the military regime
for cracking down brutally against protesting monks and pro-democracy
agitators in the old capital of Yangon.
Despite widespread criticism of its diplomatic and commercial gambit,
India's conciliatory approach now has the backing of the United
Nations, which is leading so far unsuccessful mediation efforts
between the junta and the pro-democracy opposition led by Aung San Suu
Kyi.
As the world watched in horror, saffron-robed monks, dressed in the
color of sacrifice, marched through the streets with their begging
bowls turned downwards. That gesture of self-denial and abnegation, on
par with the fasts Mahatma Gandhi often undertook to purify himself,
as well as the enemy, sent a collective shudder across major world
capitals.
The September protests and the government's crackdown have now faded
from international headlines. And in the coming days, the Indian
government is set to send a high-level team to meet the top military
establishment in Naypidaw, Myanmar's new secluded capital city.
Meanwhile, General Maung Aye, the number two ranking officer in the
State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), seems all set to visit
India in April. So what accounts for Delhi's newfound diplomatic
derring-do?
Indian officials confirm that the junta's decision in early January to
allow India to develop the strategically-located ****t of Sittwe in
Myanmar's western Arakan province, at a cool cost of US$120 million,
has much to do with the turnaround.
To India, the Sittwe award comes at a time when New Delhi has been
particularly rattled by China's so-called "string of pearls" strategy,
that envisages a series of ****ts and bases built in friendly countries
- such as Pakistan and Myanmar - to safeguard the country's energy
****pments from the Middle East.
Towards that end, the Chinese in recent months completed the Gwadar
warm water ****t off the Balochistan coast in Pakistan. In Myanmar, the
Chinese have leveraged their friendly status with the ruling generals
to variously build radar, refit and refueling facilities in the Coco
Islands, Hianggyi and Khaukphyu.
As such, Myanmar's decision to allow New Delhi to develop Sittwe comes
as a huge relief to India's strategic planners. In a recently revealed
twist, New Delhi compromised with the junta by agreeing to change the
terms of the project from "build, operate and transfer" to "build,
operate and use".
What a world of difference one word can make. Once India agreed that
control of the facility would remain solely with Myanmar and that it
would only be able to "use" the ****t it developed - which includes
making the Kaladan river in Myanmar navigable all the way up to
adjoining the northeastern state of Mizoram, as well upgrading
highways within the remote territory to connect with the rest of
India's national network.
The deal was even sweeter for India because it took immediate pressure
off New Delhi to succeed in negotiations with Bangladesh for trans****t
rights of passage to India's insurgency-hit northeastern states. New
Delhi's own diplomatic problems with Dhaka have meant that Bangladesh
has consistently refused to provide India the trade and transit rights
it has sought.
More significantly, perhaps, India's re-engagement with Myanmar seems
to have been sanctioned by none other than UN special envoy to Myanmar
Ibrahim Gambari, and thereby, presumably, also by UN secretary general
Ban Ki-moon's chief benefactor, the US.
Last week in New Delhi, Gambari said he hoped that "India would do
more than what it had been doing so far. [India] should work on
Myanmar to make the diplomatic process more inclusive and dialogue
with the opposition parties more dialogue-oriented." Adding that he
was impressed with India's "growing influence" on Myanmar, Gambari
said India should use its leverage to become a trustworthy and
effective conduit to both source information as well as send messages
to the Myanmar government.
Clearly, Gambari was telling New Delhi that although the Western world
- namely, the US and the European Union - was in favor of taking a
tougher line on Myanmar, including the imposition of new financial
sanctions, it was also amenable to India taking a softer approach. It
is apparently believed that India's influence could help to check and
balance Myanmar's key ally China, which last year used its veto power
to bar the UN Security Council from putting Myanmar's abysmal rights
record on its agenda.
For the time being, India seems to have taken the bait. It rankled
deeply in New Delhi in August last year when the Myanmar junta
withdrew India's state-owned Gas Authority's "preferential buyer"
status on certain offshore gas field blocks and declared it would
instead sell them to rival PetroChina.
With China waiting to grab control of more of Myanmar's untapped
natural gas resources and extend its sphere of strategic influence
into the Bay of Bengal, India realizes it can hardly afford to play
with a straight bat. And so a new great game, this time with Myanmar
as the lucrative prize, is unfolding on South Asia's strategic
chessboard.
For India, of course, the key question is how to strike the fine
balance between close ties with Myanmar's military regime, the ever-
circling Chinese, and its own domestic opinion, which favors a much
greater political role for Myanmar's harassed democratic leader Aung
San Suu Kyi, who is still being held under house arrest.
Few in New Delhi can forget that Suu Kyi studied at a local college
here in the 1950s, when her mother was Myanmar's, then known as Burma,
ambassador to India. When General Maung Aye arrives to India in April,
a formal signature on Sittwe is expected and a new chapter in
bilateral relations will have opened. Whether India is able or willing
to leverage those ties into pu****ng for democratic change in Myanmar
is a wildcard.
By then the UN's Gambari will have hopefully made a third visit to
Myanmar, to press the regime to implement democratic reforms and move
the country towards national reconciliation.
If the geostrategic map suddenly seems blurred and hardline Western
positions not necessarily what they are advocating behind closed
doors, then there could be more surprises ahead as India becomes more
engaged in Myanmar's future.
Jyoti Malhotra is a political analyst based in New Delhi, India.
*************************************************************
Wednesday February 6, 02:30 PM
Bangladesh Govt Gets Re****t On Boundary Talks With Myanmar
DHAKA, Feb 6 Asia Pulse - Foreign Adviser Dr Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury
on Tuesday received a re****t from the delegation that visited Myanmar
recently and discussed with relevant authorities "to lay the
foundation of technical negotiations on maritime boundary."
Additional Foreign Secretary M.A.K. Mahmood led the delegation. The
other members of the delegation were Director Hydrography of the
Bangladesh Navy Captain Mir Imdadul Haque and Director of UNCLOS at
the Foreign Office M Nazrul Islam.
Dr Iftekhar Chowdhury broached the subject of maritime boundary
demarcation with Myanmar for the first time within 21 years when he
visited the country in April 2007.
Thereafter, in order to organise the dialogue and lay the groundwork
for technical negotiations, the delegation was sent to Yangon and Nay
Pyi Taw.
"The delegation has been told that once the Myanmar cabinet approves
the dates, technical negotiations would commence," the Foreign Adviser
said.
Dr. Iftekhar added: "We now have excellent neighborly relations with
Myanmar and several rounds of talks have been held on different issues
at different levels.
After my visit, there was Foreign Secretary-level talks last year in
Dhaka. Foreign Secretary M Touhid Hossain is scheduled to travel to
Myanmar soon for another set of bilateral talks."
Apart from the maritime delimitation, other items on the on-going
bilateral agenda are road connectivity, rice im****t, contract-farming,
energy cooperation, trade expansion and formation of a joint
commission.
*************************************************************
ReliefWeb
Source: United Nations Human Rights Council
The Special Rap****teur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar
Date: 05 Feb 2008
The United Nations Special Rap****teur on the situation of human rights
in Myanmar expresses dismay over the continued arrests, detentions and
charges against political and human rights activists
The Special Rap****teur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar,
Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, issued the following statement today:
The United Nations Special Rap****teur on the situation of human rights
in Myanmar, Paulo S=E9rgio Pinheiro, expressed his dismay that four
months on from the violent crackdown on peaceful demonstrators,
political and human rights activists continue to be arrested, detained
and sentenced to prison terms under the security laws of Myanmar. He
further raised concern for their physical and psychological integrity
while in detention. Re****ts have been received expressing serious
concerns regarding the health conditions of some of the prisoners who
require immediate care and specific medication.
The Special Rap****teur would like to appeal to the Government of
Myanmar to take all necessary steps to secure the right to freedom of
opinion and expression as well as peaceful association of the above
mentioned persons, in accordance with the fundamental principles of
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. He further calls on the
authorities to secure urgent medical treatment for the prisoners.
The Special Rap****teur recalled that the ongoing prosecutions are a
flagrant abuse of people's right to a free and fair trial in
accordance with international recognized standards and the
requirements of the due process of law. As the recent resolutions of
the United Nations General Assembly and Human Rights Council have
reminded, the Government of Myanmar has a prime responsibility and
duty to protect, promote and implement all human rights and
fundamental freedoms.
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Mizzima News (www.mizzima.com)
Bangladesh and Burma discuss maritime boundary
Siddique Islam
February 6, 2008
Dhaka - A foreign advisor of Bangladesh, Dr. Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury,
has received a re****t from a delegation that recently visited Burma to
hold talks "to lay the foundation of technical negotiations on
maritime boundary."
The foreign advisor first broached the subject of maritime demarcation
with Burma when he visited the Southeast Asian country in April of
last year. It was the first time the subject was discussed in 21
years.
The Foreign Secretary of Bangladesh, M.A.K. Mahmood, led the most
recent delegation. The delegation included the Directors of the
Hydrography Department and Foreign Office.
"The delegation informed me that it was received warmly by the Myanmar
government. Besides having talks with their counterparts, the
delegation members also had a meeting with the Myanmar Foreign
Minister," Dr. Chowdhury said in Dhaka on Tuesday.
He also said they were informed that talks at the technical level will
begin as soon as the Burmese cabinet fixes a date.
"We now have excellent neighborly relations with Myanmar and several
rounds of talks have been held on different issues at different
levels. After my visit, foreign secretary-level talks were held in
Dhaka last year. Foreign Secretary M. Touhid Hossain is scheduled to
travel to Myanmar soon for another set of bilateral talks," Dr.
Chowdhury noted.
Besides the demarcation of the maritime boundary, the agenda for
upcoming bilateral meetings will include road communications, rice
im****ts, contract-farming, energy cooperation and the expansion of
trade, official sources told the Mizzima.
Bangladesh is claiming 12 nautical miles of territorial sea, 200
nautical miles for an Exclusive Economic Zone and 350 nautical miles
of continental shelf in the Bay of Bengal.
Bangladesh has until 2011 to justify its claim, as it ratified the
United Nations Convention on the Laws of the Sea in 2001.
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Karen state civilians appeals to international community to save them
from Burmese army before being decimated
Wed, 2008-02-06 03:18
London, 06 February, (Asiantribune.com): Karen civilians facing
continuing attacks from the Burma Army are urgently appealing to the
world for assistance, telling the Free Burma Rangers (FBR) that "If
the Burma Army is not stopped, or we do not get help, when you come to
Karen State in the future, there will no longer be Karen people.
Please tell the rest of the world to help us."
According to a re****t from the FBR, a humanitarian aid organisation
working in the conflict zones of eastern Burma, "much of the
population of northern Karen State is now displaced". Over 24,000
civilians are in hiding close to their old villages, and at least
6,000 have fled to the Thai-Burmese border. "For those remaining,
continual attacks, patrols, and the close proximity of new Burma Army
camps has made returning to villages and fields impossible," the Free
Burma Rangers re****t claims.
On 29 January, the Burma Army attacked a valley near Saw Wa Der,
Toungoo District, with mortars and machine-gun fire, causing
internally displaced people (IDPs) in the area to flee again.
Burma Army patrols "shoot on sight", according to the Free Burma
Rangers. On 24 January, troops from Burma Army Infantry Battalion 231
arrested and killed Maung Ga Shwey, the headman of Na Shwe Mo village,
in Dooplaya District, central Karen State.
On 1 January, soldiers from Light Infantry Battalion 704 shot and
killed a 53 year-old man, Saw Bo La Gyi, and shot and wounded Saw Bo
Wa, aged 32, in Yaw Kee village in Nyaunglebin District. Yaw Kee has
been attacked multiple times in recent months, and was mortared and
destroyed in October.
"The displaced people here remain steadfast in their hope for a better
future and their struggle for freedom against Burma's dictators," the
Free Burma Rangers re****t states. "At the same time they ask us for
help and ask us to tell our friends around the world that they need
help ... The dictators of Burma have no interest in stopping the
oppression of the ethnic peoples or relinqui****ng their power, and
until the dictators are stopped, no amount of food or medical relief
is enough to solve the human crisis now existing in northern Karen
State, eastern Burma. The people here need protection from the Burma
Army."
Christian Solidarity Worldwide's Advocacy Director, Tina Lambert,
said: "The Karen people are struggling for their very survival. For
too long their cries have fallen on deaf ears around the world. It is
time for that to change. The world must act to bring an end to the
dictators' reign of terror in Burma - before it is too late."
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The Irrawaddy - Wednesday, February 6, 2008
New Rumors of Ill Health in Burma's Top Family
By MIN LWIN
Re****ts that relatives of Snr-Gen Than Shwe and his wife have been
taken to the regime's remote capital of Naypyidaw have fueled rumors
of serious health problems within the family of Burma's top general.
For weeks, there has been persistent speculation about the health of
Burma's military supremo and his spouse, both of whom are in their
seventies. Than Shwe is known to suffer from hypertension, diabetes
and other chronic ailments.
Sources in Singa****e have suggested that he may have cancer, although
there has been no independent confirmation of this.
A year ago, Than Shwe traveled to Singa****e to receive medical
treatment. When he failed to attend a state dinner to mark Burma's
Independence Day last January, rumors were rife that his health had
taken a serious turn for the worse.
More recently, however, observers have noted that he seems to be in
reasonably good health for his age. One Western diplomat who has seen
him in public described his condition as "disappointingly healthy."
According to a Burmese journalist in Rangoon, however, Than Shwe's
wife, Kyaing Kyaing, may not be doing so well. This year, it was her
turn to miss the Independence Day dinner, lending credence to re****ts
that she may have suffered a stroke recently.
Rumors of serious health problems within the ruling clan were given
fresh impetus last December, when Dr Mi Mi Cho, a famous neurological
specialist from Rangoon, was taken to Naypyidaw to treat an
unspecified relative of one of the top generals.
Since Than Shwe ordered a bloody crackdown on protesting monks in
September, many Burmese have been looking for signs of ill health in
the ruling family. Some Burmese Buddhists regard such health problems
to be a natural karmic consequence of attacks on the revered clergy.
A similar fate supposedly befell Snr-Gen Saw Maung, former chairman of
the ruling junta, who suffered a mental breakdown in 1990, shortly
after his regime arrested several leading monks and raided 130
monasteries in Mandalay. He stepped down due to illness in 1992, and
died of a heart attack five years later.
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The Irrawaddy - Wednesday, February 6, 2008
USDA Enjoys Favors from Junta
By VIOLET CHO
Members of the Union Solidarity and Development Association's (USDA)
may apply for cellular phone licenses as government officials,
according to sources.
The Myanmar Posts and Telecommunication (MPT) plans to issue 70,000
GMS telephone licenses in Burma.
About 200 to 300 GSM sim cards are being licensed every day in Burma,
according to the Pyi Myanmar Journal.
An MPT official said the agency has issued about 10,000 GSM sim cards
since the beginning of the year.
According to a USDA member in Rangoon, the Burmese military
authorities will allow USDA members who are working at the town****p
level in Rangoon to apply for cell phone licenses. In Mandalay, the
authorities will allow city section organizers to apply for military-
authorized phone licenses.
The process to apply for a cell phone license is becoming easier in
Burma, and even ordinary citizens can afford to pay about 100,000
kyat can receive a recommendation letter from local authorities to
apply for a license.
Most people who apply with a recommendation letter will receive a cell
phone license, he said.
GSM telephones prices in Burma have fallen recently after the
government decision to authorize more licenses. The official license
fee for a GMS cell phone from MPT is 1.55 million kyat (US $1,226).
Most government service workers can not afford the cost. The average
daily income in Burma is less than $1 per day.
Before the more liberal policy, a cell phone license cost about 2.8
million kyat ($2,289). Prices are now about 1.7 million kyat ($1,390),
according to Rangoon businessmen.
"Many USDA members apply for a phone license and sell it for extra
income," said a USDA member.
The government is expanding the telecommunication service in the
country. Two Chinese telecommunications companies, Alcatel Sanghai
Bell Co and ZTE (Zhong Xing Telecommunications Equipment Company
Limited), are working on GMS projects, constructing cell phone towers
in Rangoon and Mandalay.
There were an estimated 200,000 mobile phones in Burma in 2006; in
2005, the country had about 500,000 land line telephones.
The USDA, a paramilitary organization, was used to intimidate
protesters during the 2007 demonstrations.
*************************************************************
U Gambira's hearing postponed
Feb 6, 2008 (DVB)-All-Burmese Monks Alliance leader U Gambira, who has
been detained since 4 November for his role in instigating monk-led
protests in September last year, has had his court hearing postponed.
U Gambira was due to appear in court on Monday to face charges under
section 17/1 of the Unlawful Associations Act.
U Gambira's older sister Ma Khin Thu Htay said she found out that his
hearing had been cancelled when she went to visit him in Insein prison
on Monday.
"It wasn't clear whether they are going to extend his remand period,
so I asked the Insein prison special ward administration office, but
they told to ask the main prison authorities," Khin Thu Htay
explained.
"So I asked there, but they referred me to the central prison
administration department, and when I went there they told me that the
case is being handled by the special police, so I should go and ask
them."
U Gambira's brother, Ko Aung Kyaw Kyaw, was also due to appear in
court on Monday on the same charges, and his hearing was also
cancelled.
Ma Khin Thu Htay said that U Gambira looked thinner, but seemed
otherwise healthy, and was still practising his daily activities as a
monk, despite being made to wear prison regulation clothing rather
than his robes.
"Both of them were fine - U Gambira looked a little thinner, but he
said it's because he hasn't been sleeping well at night; he said he
has been reading and meditating a lot."
The lawyers U Nyi Nyi Lwin and U Pho Phyu will be defending U Gambira
and his brother when their case comes to court.
Under section 17/1 of the Unlawful Associations Act, they could each
face a three-year prison sentence.
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