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BURMA RELATED NEWS - MARCH 29, 2008
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HEADLINES
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IANS - Myanmar opposition spokesman dies in Singa****e
The Star - Myanmar jailed for stealing cables
OhmyNews International - Monks as Agents of Change
South Idaho Press - Myanmar trekkers pass through Mini-Cassia on their
way to UN
Xinhua - Bids for Myanmar offshore gas project construction to be
invited
Asian Tribune - Burma: UK Government backs universal arms embargo
Bkk Post - Samak wants Rohingya put on an island
The Irrawaddy - USDA Holds Referendum =E2=80=9CInformation=E2=80=9D
Sessions=
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IANS
Myanmar opposition spokesman dies in Singa****e
Sat, Mar 29 10:37 AM
Yangon, March 29 (DPA) Myint Thein, the spokesman for Myanmar's
National League for Democracy (NLD) opposition party who was jailed
repeatedly, died at age 62 in Singa****e, relatives said Saturday.
Myint Thein was most recently detained for a month last year following
the September anti-military protests in Yangon that left at least 31
people dead and led to thousands of arrests.
He died Friday evening after battling stomach cancer in Singa****e
General Hospital since Jan 31, his daughter said.
Myint Thein had been active in the Burmese democracy movement since
1988, when mass anti-military demonstrations first rocked the
isolated, formerly socialist state, ending in an army-led bloodbath
that claimed up to 3,000 lives.
Since winning a parliamentary seat in the 1990 elections, he had been
detained several times without trial, including a three-year jail
stint from 1998 to 2001.
As a close aid of NLD leader, the Nobel peace prize laureate Aung San
Suu Kyi, he was named the party's spokesperson in 2004.
He was last detained in Yangon's notorious Insein Prison on Sep 27,
2007, after the peaceful protests led by Buddhist monks ended in a
brutal crackdown.
Myint Thein's health deteriorated while he was in detention and he had
to be hospitalised upon his release on Oct 30 last year.
'He was formerly healthy and strong. Frequent detentions and lack of
medical treatment and inadequate food in prison made him sick and
infected some diseases,' said Aung Din, executive director for the US
Campaign for Burma.
Myanmar was formerly known as Burma.
After being diagnosed with stomach cancer, authorities permitted him
to fly to Singa****e for treatment in January.
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The Star Online - Saturday March 29, 2008
Myanmar jailed for stealing cables
KUALA LUMPUR: A Myanmar national was jailed 27 months for stealing
electric cables.
Yayah Ismail, 35, who is a wireman, admitted to stealing the 20m
cables belonging to Brem Mall worth RM600 at the company=E2=80=99s site in
Jinjang at 9am on Oct 20.
He was also jailed six months and ordered to be whipped once for
entering Malaysia without a valid pass that day.
Pleading for leniency before magistrate Nor Yusliana Yusoff, Yayah
said he stole due to his difficult life.
=E2=80=9CPlease consider that the cables are now under the care of the
polic=
e
and I did not gain anything from the theft,=E2=80=9D he said.
Yayah said he had to take care of his wife and sick parents in his
country.
Prosecuting officer Chief Insp Nom Phot Prack Dit asked the court to
impose an appropriate sentence on him.
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OhmyNews International
Monks as Agents of Change
Their responsibility to fight against injustices as an implementation
of Buddha's teachings
Ahmad Qisai (qisai)
Published 2008-03-29 03:45 (KST)
As far as the tradition in Buddhism is concerned, worldly affairs are
beyond the concern of monks. Instead, achieving purity of life and
spiritual happiness become a lifetime dedication for these holy men.
Once a Buddhist decides to choose a life as a monk, he or she must
relinquish his or her worldly desires and surrender his or her life
for the sake of spiritual happiness.
Recent phenomena, however, seem to have shown a departure from this
tradition. Recent incidents of worldly affairs involving these holy
men describe the better half of a monk's life. In Myanmar, they
marched down the streets of major cities to demand the restoration of
democracy and justice. The endless suffering of the people at the
hands of the military junta has trans****ted the monks beyond their
spiritual lives.
Similarly, the latest incident in Tibet seemed to echo the previous
monk-inspired social agitation in Myanmar. The Tibetan monks marched
in Lasha, the capital of Tibet, in a peaceful demonstration to demand
freedom and abolition of injustices. China's iron rule in Tibet has
made the Tibetans suffer.
But why did these monks rebel and go against the Buddhist tradition of
noninterference in worldly affairs?
The answer might be that monks are also human. They are an integral
part of society, the most respected one in Buddhist society. Even
though the life of a monk is dedicated solely to non-worldly affairs
and the attainment of spiritual happiness, their being in the highest
order in the society means the monks are responsible for maintaining
the balance of life in society. Thus, the presence of any form of
injustice that obstructs the balance of life in a society cannot be
tolerated and should be banished.
The decision by the monks to choose the path of agitation through
peaceful demonstrations should not be construed as a departure from
their tradition of noninterference in worldly affairs. Instead, it is
their responsibility to fight against injustices as an implementation
of Buddha's teachings.
In Myanmar, the monks could no longer tolerate the injustices suffered
by the people. Their rights have been stolen and curtailed by the
military junta. Thus, it was time for the monks to fight against this
injustice and peacefully demonstrate to assert moral pressure on the
authorities.
The latest incident involving the Buddhist monks in Tibet was similar
to the one in Myanmar. The Tibetan monks could no longer tolerate the
control of the Chinese government. The Tibetan people have been robbed
of their basic rights. The minority Chinese Han community in Tibet
benefits the most from the double-digit annual economic growth while
the majority of Tibetans are living in poverty. Forty percent of
Tibetans are illiterate and only 15 percent are educated. The Tibetan
people must thus fight for their freedom and the monks led the way.
In Myanmar, the junta responded to the demonstration with force. They
arrested the monks and threatened these holy men not to repeat the act
or face severe consequences. The demand for change fell on deaf ears
and injustice prevails.
Similarly, the demand for greater autonomy in Tibet, long advocated by
the Dalai Lama, has not yielded any positive result. Tibet is still
under the iron control of the Chinese government and the Tibetans are
still suffering from injustice, both socially and economically.
It is im****tant to note here, however, that in both Myanmar and Tibet
the Buddhist monks have played an im****tant role in advocating change
and fighting against injustices in their society. Even though their
valiant efforts have not yet yielded any visible change, they have
played a role as agents of change. And better change is arriving,
sooner rather than later.
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Myanmar trekkers pass through Mini-Cassia on their way to UN
This do***ent was published online on Saturday, March 29, 2008
By Rich Greene / South Idaho Press
With their destination set for the United Nations offices and their
goals set even higher, a pair of protesters departed from ****tland
more than three weeks ago on a voyage they hope will raise awareness
about the plight of their home country, Myanmar.
Athein and Zaw are taking turns walking the 2,896 miles it will take
to reach New York City. The duo departed March 1, and on Thursday they
reached Burley =EF=BF=BD almost 600 miles from where they started.
Athein said such a protest done in his native country would have
landed him in jail for 20 years. He said that is just one of the many
reasons behind the protest march.
=E2=80=9CInnocent people, our people, want freedom and democracy,=E2=80=9D
h=
e said.
Athein described his homeland as a terrorist country, controlled by
the military. =E2=80=9CIt=E2=80=99s a threat to the nation of people and a
t=
hreat to
freedom and liberty.=E2=80=9D
The pair has alternated walking the journey. When one walks, the other
drives ahead and waits for the other by the side of the road. Athein
said they needed to bring a vehicle, so they could take turns staying
warm.
When walking, Athein and Zaw carry both an American flag and the
fighting peacock flag of the Free Burma Coalition.
The two protesters said they get noticed a lot with frequent horn
honks and waves. And while there have been an occasional close
encounter with a vehicle, most people have been extremely sup****tive.
Sometimes someone will pull over thinking their vehicle broke down.
Rupert Councilman James Bowers was one of those good Samaritans when,
earlier this week on a return trip from Parma, he noticed the duo.
Bowers said instead of helping change a tire he learned about the
pair=E2=80=99s cause.
Athein and Zaw=E2=80=99s Ford Explorer is filled not just with the usual
roa=
d
trip supplies of food and maps, but with posters and information about
their fellow countrymen back home.
The country of Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, has been under
military rule since 1962. In August 2007 protests, joined by the
country=E2=80=99s Buddhist monks, began to flare again after a government
decision to raise fuel prices.
Athein and Zaw hope the attention they draw from their cross-country
trek will lead people to sign a petition they will deliver to the U.N.
The petition asks the U.N. to impose a universal arms embargo on the
Burmese military junta, impose sanctions on the financial transactions
of Burma=E2=80=99s ruling military elite, recognize the genocide being
committed against ethnic minorities within Myanmar and hold the ruling
military generals accountable for their crimes against humanity.
The petition can be signed electronically by visiting a Web site setup
to chronicle the pair=E2=80=99s journey: www.88****tland.wordpress.com.
Donations, which help the duo pay for their trip, can also be made on
the Web site.
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Bids for Myanmar offshore gas project construction to be invited
YANGON, March 29 (Xinhua) -- A Myanmar major gas project being
undertaken by an international consortium, led by a giant South Korean
oil company, is making arrangement to invite tendering for pipeline
construction with its gas development project in three gas fields in
western Myanmar's offshore Rakhine state, a local weekly re****ted
Saturday.
Quoting a recent release of the Daewoo International Cor****ation, the
Voice said the building of the pipelines will be undertaken at the
Shwe, Shwephyu and Mya gas fields covered by blocks A-1 and A-3.
According to the re****t, other South-Korea-based Hontai and Samsung
companies as well as China-based COOEC and CNOOC are interested in the
project.
Of them, the Chinese companies have agreed with Myanmar in buying gas
produced from the blocks and the ex****ting gas will be trans****ted
through pipelines, Daewoo's release was also quoted as saying.
Meanwhile, the consortium will also make study and preparations in the
second half of next month with regard to gas production in the two
blocks, it said.
The three gas fields in the two offshore blocks are expected to be
able to yield gas in commercial scale by 2010, the sources added..
Natural gas deposits were found at block A-1 (Shwe field and Shwephyu
field) and block A-3 (Mya field) in the Rakhine offshore area in
January 2004 and April 2005 respectively, explored by the consortium
of oil companies led by Daewoo with 60 percent-stake. Other companies
go to South Korea Gas Cor****ation (10 percent), ONGC Videsh Ltd of
India (20 percent) and GAIL (10 percent).
The Shwe field holds a gas reserve of 4 to 6 trillion cubic- feet
(TCF) or 113.2 to 170 billion cubic-meters (BCM), while the Shwephyu 5
TCF and the Mya 2 TCF with a combined proven reserve of 5.7 to 10 TCF
of gas being estimated by experts.
Myanmar has abundance of natural gas resources especially in the
offshore areas. With three main large offshore oil and gas fields and
19 onshore ones, Myanmar has proven recoverable reserve of 18.012 TCF
(510 BCM) out of 89.722 TCF (2.54 TCM) 's estimated reserve of
offshore and onshore gas, experts said, adding that the country is
also estimated to have 3.2 billion barrels of recoverable crude oil
reserve.
According to the Central Statistical Organization, in the fiscal year
2006-07, Myanmar produced 7.707 million barrels of crude oil and
13.039 BCM of gas. Gas ex****t during the year went to 13.028 BCM,
gaining 2.03 billion U.S. dollars.
The latest figures indicate that in the first half of 2007-08 ending
March, the country's crude oil production amounted to 3.857 million
barrels, while its gas output 6.74 BCM. Gas ex****t was registered at
9.17 BCM during the period, obtaining 1.531 billion dollars.
More statistics reveal that foreign investment in Myanmar's oil and
gas sector had reached 3.243 billion dollars in 85 projects as of the
end of 2007 since the country opened to such investment in late 1988,
standing the second in the country's foreign investment sectorally
after electric power.
Currently, 13 foreign oil companies, mainly from Australia, Britain,
Canada, China, Indonesia, India, South Korea, Malaysia, Thailand and
Russia, are involved in oil and gas projects in Myanmar, according to
official sources.
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Burma: UK Government backs universal arms embargo
Sat, 2008-03-29 03:11
London, 29 March, (Asiantribune.com): Christian Solidarity Worldwide
(CSW) welcomed the British Government=E2=80=99s decision to sup****t a UN
arm=
s
embargo on Burma.
On 25 March the Foreign Office Minister Meg Munn MP, in response to a
question in the House of Commons, said: =E2=80=9CWe are concerned about
the
lack of progress [in Burma] and, indeed, in some respects, matters
have gone backwards. We would certainly consider pu****ng for the issue
to be discussed further at the UN, and we would sup****t a UN call for
an arms embargo.=E2=80=9D
In a re****t following a visit to the Thai-Burmese border last month,
CSW called for a universal arms embargo to be introduced at the UN
Security Council. The European Union currently has a ban on arms sales
to Burma, but there is no universal embargo in place.
CSW=E2=80=99s Advocacy Director Alexa Papadouris said: =E2=80=9CWe warmly
we=
lcome the
Minister=E2=80=99s sup****t for a universal arms embargo on the regime in
Burma. It is appalling that any country should sell arms to the
military regime in Burma, which is one of the most brutal in the world
and which uses those arms solely to suppress its own people. A
universal arms embargo is long overdue, and we hope the British
Government will now actively work to build sup****t for it within the
UN Security Council.=E2=80=9D
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Bangkok Post - Saturday March 29, 2008
MUSLIMS FROM BURMA
Samak wants Rohingya put on an island
WASSANA NANUAM
Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej said yesterday the navy is exploring a
deserted island to place Rohingya, a Muslim ethnic minority group from
Burma who illegally slipped into the country from the southern
provinces, especially Ranong. Mr Samak said the relocation of the
illegal migrants will be in the care of the Interior Ministry and the
National Security Council, adding the resettlement of the Rohingya is
a matter of urgency.
The prime minister made the statement after emerging from a two-hour
meeting of the National Security Council yesterday.
''To stop the influx, we have to keep them in a tough place. Those who
are about to follow will have to know life here will be difficult in
order that they won't sneak in,'' he said.
Mr Samak said the United Nations (UN), especially the Office of the UN
High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), should step in and provide
financial sup****t to the Thai government which had shouldered the
Rohingya burden for quite some time.
Although the Rohingya Muslims have nothing to do with the southern
unrest, the influx must stop, Mr Samak added.
Meanwhile, Maj-Gen Peerapong Ma****ij, deputy spokesman for defence,
said Mr Samak placed a greater emphasis on a non-violent approach to
deal with the southern unrest.
Violence is not the way to deal with the unrest in the restive region.
Instead, fair judicial processes and changing the mindsets of local
people could reverse the trend toward deeper rifts within the
multiracial region.
Maj-Gen Peerapong also said that the prime minister had agreed to the
army's request for a five-billion-baht increase in the annual fiscal
budget allocation to improve the welfare of soldiers, especially
conscripts.
The increased financial benefits for new recruits would allow them to
earn up to the minimum wage.
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The Irrawaddy - Friday, March 28, 2008
USDA Holds Referendum =E2=80=9CInformation=E2=80=9D Sessions
By MIN LWIN
Special commissions, including members of the government-backed Union
Solidarity and Development Association (USDA), are touring Burma
informing local residents about the upcoming constitutional
referendum, according to sources close to local authorities in upper
Burma.
The mechanics of the referendum are being explained, often to
villagers who show no interest in the procedure, a resident of Myinmu
Town****p, Sagaing division, told The Irrawaddy on Friday. Many country
people have no idea why the referendum is taking place, other
residents said.
Local people are being told one polling station will be set up for
every 1,000 voters. Voting will be by secret ballot. Special rubber
stamps will be used, one bearing a tick mark to indicate approval of
the draft constitution and one with a cross to be used to register a
=E2=80=9CNo=E2=80=9D vote.
A source close to the USDA said referendum sub-commissions would be in
charge of taking ballot boxes to their offices and counting the
ballots.
A Sagaing resident said local authority officials and USDA members had
organized an information session for local residents last week at a
religious hall where pilgrims normally gather for Buddhist rites.
Apart from members of the USDA and other government-backed
organizations, few people had turned up, however, the resident said.
The USDA is, meanwhile, undertaking a recruitment drive, offering
financial incentives to join the organization. A resident of Chaung
Oo, Sagaing division, said: =E2=80=9CThe organizers said the divisional
leve=
l
of USDA will advance newly registered members a loan of 50,000 kyat
(US $38).=E2=80=9D
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