Monday, 3 May 2010
Attn;
Our commarades & friends
Excellence sir;
we would like to send the shortest strategy on mass-movement under the following;-----------------------------------!
" THE SHORTEST MASS-MOVEMENT STRATEGY"
Back warding of mine if for warding of enemy
For warding of mine if back warding of enemy
Confusing of mine if resting of enemy
Fighting of mine if tiring of enemy...................!
Defending of firing if firing of forest
War is connecting of politic
And war is the bloody politic
Just war is better than unjust peace
Just waring of our peoples if unjust waring of Junta regimes
Just defending war of our peoples if unjust offending war of enemy
And should offend back with our peoples' biggest forces if worst offending of enemy.........................!
Some things from nothing if truling of our policy
Biggest forceing from smallest forceing
Becoming of alliences if becoming of biggest forces
Shall have to decrease our thoughts on strategy of enemy
But shall have to increase our thoughts on tactics of enemy
Sure to get half victory if knowing well of enemy & us
Should select the winning fighting as the beginning first fighting
First winning fighting may let to become our hole quarrors...................................................................!
&n bsp; (NARRAINDA)
Our commarades & friends
Excellence sir;
we would like to send the shortest strategy on mass-movement under the following;-----------------------------------!
" THE SHORTEST MASS-MOVEMENT STRATEGY"
Back warding of mine if for warding of enemy
For warding of mine if back warding of enemy
Confusing of mine if resting of enemy
Fighting of mine if tiring of enemy...................!
Defending of firing if firing of forest
War is connecting of politic
And war is the bloody politic
Just war is better than unjust peace
Just waring of our peoples if unjust waring of Junta regimes
Just defending war of our peoples if unjust offending war of enemy
And should offend back with our peoples' biggest forces if worst offending of enemy.........................!
Some things from nothing if truling of our policy
Biggest forceing from smallest forceing
Becoming of alliences if becoming of biggest forces
Shall have to decrease our thoughts on strategy of enemy
But shall have to increase our thoughts on tactics of enemy
Sure to get half victory if knowing well of enemy & us
Should select the winning fighting as the beginning first fighting
First winning fighting may let to become our hole quarrors...................................................................!
&n bsp; (NARRAINDA)
Sunday, 2 May 2010
Donors View Civil Society in New Light after Nargis
By Marwaan Macan-Markar
BANGKOK, May 2, 2010 (IPS) - Local civil society organisations and community groups who rushed to help victims after the powerful Cyclone Nargis tore through military-ruled Burma two years ago are reaping rewards for their risky and tireless labour.
Their work in the relief and reconstruction effort in the wake of Nargis, which killed over 140,000 people and affected 2.4 million people on May 3, 2008, has prompted a policy shift in the way Western donor assistance flows to humanitarian programmes.
"International donors had to review and redesign humanitarian funding after Nargis to direct money for smaller programmes run by local community groups," admitted a European diplomat. "It was a result of a learning curve after the cyclone."
"If you wanted to increase outreach to different affected areas, you had to work with smaller civil society organisations," the diplomat who handles Burmese affairs told IPS. "We encourage large NGOs (non-government organisations) to sub-contract work to smaller community groups."
Some Western aid givers have even expanded their funding flow to include community groups that "operate under the radar and are not officially registered as a CSO (civil society organisation)," added a Rangoon-based diplomat. "We acknowledge their view that they are far more effective and can get humanitarian work done by not being openly identified by the government."
The European Union (EU), which gave 51.8 million U.S. dollars for relief efforts, is among those reflecting this shift in donor assistance. Money for smaller humanitarian programmes that cost 10,000 euros (about 13,300 U.S. dollars) was given in addition to the usual flow of funds for larger initiatives by bigger, more established NGOs, which amounted to 500,000 euros (664,980 dollars) from the EU.
The bulk of the funding till this policy change was directed towards the 13 United Nations agencies and the estimated 54 international humanitarian agencies and international NGOs (INGOs) operating in Burma. The INGO budget in 2009 was 128 million dollars, up from 48.7 million dollars in 2008 before the cyclone struck.
World Vision, a Christian charity working in Burma, also known as Myanmar, is among the INGOs that turned to community groups to help victims in the affected Irrawaddy Delta and the former capital Rangoon. "They became very significant to us during the reconstruction phase," said Win Zin Oo, the organisation’s humanitarian and emergency affairs director.
"The 10 cyclone shelters that we built were possible because of the assistance from local CSOs," he acknowledged during a telephone interview from Rangoon. "The bigger international NGOs and the U.N. may have the technical knowledge, but the community groups have the local knowledge which helps in proper implementation."
This increasing embrace of CSOs since Nargis is echoed in a just released report by Human Rights Watch (HRW), the New York-based rights lobby, to mark the second anniversary of Burma’s worst natural disaster. "Individual Burmese citizens and existing and newly created local civil society groups played critical roles in bringing aid to those most in need," revealed the 111- page report released here on Apr. 29.
"In the aftermath of the cyclone, thousands of people from throughout Burma spontaneously became humanitarian workers," added the report, ‘I Want to Help My Own People: State Control and Civil Society in Burma after Cyclone Nargis’. "One positive post-cyclone development was the Burmese civil society response."
The achievement was all the more remarkable given the restrictive conditions the junta imposes on CSOs and the roadblocks created to relief efforts soon after the cyclone struck, said HRW. "Just as international donors, U.N. agencies and INGOs were organising a massive response to send aid and relief workers into the country, the (regime’s) strict restrictions blocked many of these efforts."
And the lead taken by Burmese CSOs to step into that void and to help the victims brought into sharp focus a community that had, till then, not been recognised as pivotal players in the country’s humanitarian initiatives. "It was Cyclone Nargis that created the space for CSOs to enter the humanitarian space, not the Burmese government," said David Scott Mathieson, Burma researcher for HRW.
"The post-Nargis phase has helped strengthen Burmese CSOs," he added. "They deserve most of the credit for the social response." The broad network of CSOs being hailed since the cyclone has roots in Burma’s social fabric, from villages to cities. They range from Buddhist monks, community leaders, local activists, artists, doctors, and business people to homemakers.
Not all of them belong to the estimated 64 NGOs and 455 countrywide community-based associations that operate openly, according to HRW, which added that those outside government control pay a heavy price – including jail for humanitarian work.
Among Burma’s 2,200 political prisoners languishing in jails across the country are 21 humanitarian workers who were arrested and jailed for leading the civil society response to Nargis. The most well known is Zarganar, one of Burma’s famous comedians, who was part of an ad-hoc group of 420 relief workers that helped 42 flattened villages in the Irrawaddy Delta, which was the hardest hit by the disaster, in the first month after Nargis.
He was sentenced to 35 years in jail. Among his "crimes" was being in possession of video footage of the cyclone’s devastating impact on the delta.
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=51283
By Marwaan Macan-Markar
BANGKOK, May 2, 2010 (IPS) - Local civil society organisations and community groups who rushed to help victims after the powerful Cyclone Nargis tore through military-ruled Burma two years ago are reaping rewards for their risky and tireless labour.
Their work in the relief and reconstruction effort in the wake of Nargis, which killed over 140,000 people and affected 2.4 million people on May 3, 2008, has prompted a policy shift in the way Western donor assistance flows to humanitarian programmes.
"International donors had to review and redesign humanitarian funding after Nargis to direct money for smaller programmes run by local community groups," admitted a European diplomat. "It was a result of a learning curve after the cyclone."
"If you wanted to increase outreach to different affected areas, you had to work with smaller civil society organisations," the diplomat who handles Burmese affairs told IPS. "We encourage large NGOs (non-government organisations) to sub-contract work to smaller community groups."
Some Western aid givers have even expanded their funding flow to include community groups that "operate under the radar and are not officially registered as a CSO (civil society organisation)," added a Rangoon-based diplomat. "We acknowledge their view that they are far more effective and can get humanitarian work done by not being openly identified by the government."
The European Union (EU), which gave 51.8 million U.S. dollars for relief efforts, is among those reflecting this shift in donor assistance. Money for smaller humanitarian programmes that cost 10,000 euros (about 13,300 U.S. dollars) was given in addition to the usual flow of funds for larger initiatives by bigger, more established NGOs, which amounted to 500,000 euros (664,980 dollars) from the EU.
The bulk of the funding till this policy change was directed towards the 13 United Nations agencies and the estimated 54 international humanitarian agencies and international NGOs (INGOs) operating in Burma. The INGO budget in 2009 was 128 million dollars, up from 48.7 million dollars in 2008 before the cyclone struck.
World Vision, a Christian charity working in Burma, also known as Myanmar, is among the INGOs that turned to community groups to help victims in the affected Irrawaddy Delta and the former capital Rangoon. "They became very significant to us during the reconstruction phase," said Win Zin Oo, the organisation’s humanitarian and emergency affairs director.
"The 10 cyclone shelters that we built were possible because of the assistance from local CSOs," he acknowledged during a telephone interview from Rangoon. "The bigger international NGOs and the U.N. may have the technical knowledge, but the community groups have the local knowledge which helps in proper implementation."
This increasing embrace of CSOs since Nargis is echoed in a just released report by Human Rights Watch (HRW), the New York-based rights lobby, to mark the second anniversary of Burma’s worst natural disaster. "Individual Burmese citizens and existing and newly created local civil society groups played critical roles in bringing aid to those most in need," revealed the 111- page report released here on Apr. 29.
"In the aftermath of the cyclone, thousands of people from throughout Burma spontaneously became humanitarian workers," added the report, ‘I Want to Help My Own People: State Control and Civil Society in Burma after Cyclone Nargis’. "One positive post-cyclone development was the Burmese civil society response."
The achievement was all the more remarkable given the restrictive conditions the junta imposes on CSOs and the roadblocks created to relief efforts soon after the cyclone struck, said HRW. "Just as international donors, U.N. agencies and INGOs were organising a massive response to send aid and relief workers into the country, the (regime’s) strict restrictions blocked many of these efforts."
And the lead taken by Burmese CSOs to step into that void and to help the victims brought into sharp focus a community that had, till then, not been recognised as pivotal players in the country’s humanitarian initiatives. "It was Cyclone Nargis that created the space for CSOs to enter the humanitarian space, not the Burmese government," said David Scott Mathieson, Burma researcher for HRW.
"The post-Nargis phase has helped strengthen Burmese CSOs," he added. "They deserve most of the credit for the social response." The broad network of CSOs being hailed since the cyclone has roots in Burma’s social fabric, from villages to cities. They range from Buddhist monks, community leaders, local activists, artists, doctors, and business people to homemakers.
Not all of them belong to the estimated 64 NGOs and 455 countrywide community-based associations that operate openly, according to HRW, which added that those outside government control pay a heavy price – including jail for humanitarian work.
Among Burma’s 2,200 political prisoners languishing in jails across the country are 21 humanitarian workers who were arrested and jailed for leading the civil society response to Nargis. The most well known is Zarganar, one of Burma’s famous comedians, who was part of an ad-hoc group of 420 relief workers that helped 42 flattened villages in the Irrawaddy Delta, which was the hardest hit by the disaster, in the first month after Nargis.
He was sentenced to 35 years in jail. Among his "crimes" was being in possession of video footage of the cyclone’s devastating impact on the delta.
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=51283
Saturday, 1 May 2010
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Friday, 30 April 2010
3 government workers injured in Kyaikmayaw Township bomb blast
A bomb exploded in a government telecommunication center in Kyaikmayaw town, the largest city in Mon state’s Kyiakmayaw Township, at 11pm on April 27th. According to a village chairman from the township, who asked to remain anonymous, 3 government workers at the center were wounded.
Kyaikmayaw town is roughly 100 miles southeast of Rangoon.
“The bomb exploded in Kalainkanaing quarter of the town on the 27th at 11 PM. The bombers arrived by motorbike,” he said.
This headman reported that the blast has elicited fear among Kyaikmayaw town residents, who fear that the large population of and central location of the city might lead to a repeat bombing.
“The people are also concerned, because the explosion occurred in the town [not in a rural area],” he explained.
Since April 15th of this year, four bomb blasts have occurred across the country of Burma. One in Rangoon during the city’s Songkran festivities, one at a mining site in northern Burma’s Kachin State, one in the capital of Karenni State in eastern Burma, and this last explosion in Mon state, located in the south of the country.
The government has accused the opposition groups of committing the first 3 explosions, but have yet to level accusations at any party regarding the Kyaikmayaw blast.
The New Mon State Party (NMSP) has denied responsibility for the bombing.
“We have not heard about this yet, and our party is not related to the explosion, as we haven’t ordered to our members to commit such acts. We want to solve problems in peace,” NMSP Vice- Chairman Nai Rot Sa told IMNA.
http://mon-imna.blogspot.com/2010/04/3-government-workers-injured-in.html
Kyaikmayaw town is roughly 100 miles southeast of Rangoon.
“The bomb exploded in Kalainkanaing quarter of the town on the 27th at 11 PM. The bombers arrived by motorbike,” he said.
This headman reported that the blast has elicited fear among Kyaikmayaw town residents, who fear that the large population of and central location of the city might lead to a repeat bombing.
“The people are also concerned, because the explosion occurred in the town [not in a rural area],” he explained.
Since April 15th of this year, four bomb blasts have occurred across the country of Burma. One in Rangoon during the city’s Songkran festivities, one at a mining site in northern Burma’s Kachin State, one in the capital of Karenni State in eastern Burma, and this last explosion in Mon state, located in the south of the country.
The government has accused the opposition groups of committing the first 3 explosions, but have yet to level accusations at any party regarding the Kyaikmayaw blast.
The New Mon State Party (NMSP) has denied responsibility for the bombing.
“We have not heard about this yet, and our party is not related to the explosion, as we haven’t ordered to our members to commit such acts. We want to solve problems in peace,” NMSP Vice- Chairman Nai Rot Sa told IMNA.
http://mon-imna.blogspot.com/2010/04/3-government-workers-injured-in.html
3 government workers injured in Kyaikmayaw Township bomb blast
By Loa Htaw:
A bomb exploded in a government telecommunication center in Kyaikmayaw town, the largest city in Mon state’s Kyiakmayaw Township, at 11pm on April 27th. According to a village chairman from the township, who asked to remain anonymous, 3 government workers at the center were wounded.
Kyaikmayaw town is roughly 100 miles southeast of Rangoon.
“The bomb exploded in Kalainkanaing quarter of the town on the 27th at 11 PM. The bombers arrived by motorbike,” he said.
This headman reported that the blast has elicited fear among Kyaikmayaw town residents, who fear that the large population of and central location of the city might lead to a repeat bombing.
“The people are also concerned, because the explosion occurred in the town [not in a rural area],” he explained.
Since April 15th of this year, four bomb blasts have occurred across the country of Burma. One in Rangoon during the city’s Songkran festivities, one at a mining site in northern Burma’s Kachin State, one in the capital of Karenni State in eastern Burma, and this last explosion in Mon state, located in the south of the country.
The government has accused the opposition groups of committing the first 3 explosions, but have yet to level accusations at any party regarding the Kyaikmayaw blast.
The New Mon State Party (NMSP) has denied responsibility for the bombing.
“We have not heard about this yet, and our party is not related to the explosion, as we haven’t ordered to our members to commit such acts. We want to solve problems in peace,” NMSP Vice- Chairman Nai Rot Sa told IMNA.
http://mon-imna.blogspot.com/2010/04/3-government-workers-injured-in.html
By Loa Htaw:
A bomb exploded in a government telecommunication center in Kyaikmayaw town, the largest city in Mon state’s Kyiakmayaw Township, at 11pm on April 27th. According to a village chairman from the township, who asked to remain anonymous, 3 government workers at the center were wounded.
Kyaikmayaw town is roughly 100 miles southeast of Rangoon.
“The bomb exploded in Kalainkanaing quarter of the town on the 27th at 11 PM. The bombers arrived by motorbike,” he said.
This headman reported that the blast has elicited fear among Kyaikmayaw town residents, who fear that the large population of and central location of the city might lead to a repeat bombing.
“The people are also concerned, because the explosion occurred in the town [not in a rural area],” he explained.
Since April 15th of this year, four bomb blasts have occurred across the country of Burma. One in Rangoon during the city’s Songkran festivities, one at a mining site in northern Burma’s Kachin State, one in the capital of Karenni State in eastern Burma, and this last explosion in Mon state, located in the south of the country.
The government has accused the opposition groups of committing the first 3 explosions, but have yet to level accusations at any party regarding the Kyaikmayaw blast.
The New Mon State Party (NMSP) has denied responsibility for the bombing.
“We have not heard about this yet, and our party is not related to the explosion, as we haven’t ordered to our members to commit such acts. We want to solve problems in peace,” NMSP Vice- Chairman Nai Rot Sa told IMNA.
http://mon-imna.blogspot.com/2010/04/3-government-workers-injured-in.html
Thursday, 29 April 2010
BURMA’S THINGYAN TERROR
DICTATOR WATCH
(www.dictatorwatch.org)
Contact: Roland Watson, roland@dictatorwatch.org
BURMA’S THINGYAN TERROR
April 27, 2010
There has been a lot of speculation about who was behind the terror attack
on April 15th in Rangoon, that occurred at the X2O Thingyan (New Year)
pavilion sponsored by Than Shwe's grandson. One plausible explanation,
though, has not yet been mentioned.
An obvious initial suspect was Maung Aye. There is significant discord
between Maung Aye and Than Shwe, over the upcoming election and the
associated retirement of senior officers. However, one does wonder if
Maung Aye would express his discontent in such a bold manner.
There were two major events during Thingyan, and which have not been
connected: The bombings, and the arrival of a cargo ship from North Korea,
which is believed to have brought equipment for a nuclear weapons program
as well as missile components. One explanation links both of these events.
We suspect Than Shwe ordered the bombings, to create a diversion for the
cargo shipment. They further were targeted at his grandson's pavilion, to
enable him to deny that he was responsible. The following question is
quite revealing: If the bombs were a form of attack against Than Shwe, why
didn't the culprits wait until his grandson was present?
He can also use the bombings to justify a crackdown against the NLD.
An even more pressing question is why the United States did not stop the
North Korean shipment. We are confident that the U.S. was aware of it,
just as it knew about the Kang Nam 1 last summer.
(www.dictatorwatch.org)
Contact: Roland Watson, roland@dictatorwatch.org
BURMA’S THINGYAN TERROR
April 27, 2010
There has been a lot of speculation about who was behind the terror attack
on April 15th in Rangoon, that occurred at the X2O Thingyan (New Year)
pavilion sponsored by Than Shwe's grandson. One plausible explanation,
though, has not yet been mentioned.
An obvious initial suspect was Maung Aye. There is significant discord
between Maung Aye and Than Shwe, over the upcoming election and the
associated retirement of senior officers. However, one does wonder if
Maung Aye would express his discontent in such a bold manner.
There were two major events during Thingyan, and which have not been
connected: The bombings, and the arrival of a cargo ship from North Korea,
which is believed to have brought equipment for a nuclear weapons program
as well as missile components. One explanation links both of these events.
We suspect Than Shwe ordered the bombings, to create a diversion for the
cargo shipment. They further were targeted at his grandson's pavilion, to
enable him to deny that he was responsible. The following question is
quite revealing: If the bombs were a form of attack against Than Shwe, why
didn't the culprits wait until his grandson was present?
He can also use the bombings to justify a crackdown against the NLD.
An even more pressing question is why the United States did not stop the
North Korean shipment. We are confident that the U.S. was aware of it,
just as it knew about the Kang Nam 1 last summer.
Singapore mentors Burma in sham elections
As preparations for the sham elections in Burma get into full swing, it is not difficult to notice similarities in electoral practices between the Burmese generals in uniform and Singapore’s leaders in civilian clothes.
The Burmese regime is bending over backwards to stage the fraudulent elections while refusing to respect the results of the country’s polls in 1990 that led to the landslide victory for the National League for Democracy (NLD).
Why reinvent the wheel, when what happened two decades ago remains unfulfilled? The same military that massacred thousands of innocent civilians, including Buddhist monks, is now pretending that everything is hunky-dory.
It is an undeniable fact that the military regime holds close economic ties to Singapore – the top brass of the Burmese army are known to have parked their ill-gotten millions in Singapore’s banks, while they and their family members own properties in upmarket areas and their children go to top schools and drive flashy cars, flaunting their wealth to the envy of ordinary Singaporeans.
Burmese drug lords who are banned from entering the US freely come and go in Singapore and some even have offices in the posh commercial district along Shenton Way. It is no wonder that Singapore is the third largest investor in Burma, helping to prop up the pariah regime.
Singapore has even named a hybrid Orchid, its national flower, after the Burmese prime minister, General Thein Sein. Orchids in the same Singapore Botanical Gardens were previously named after Princess Diana and Nelson Mandela.
The similarities between Burma and Singapore do not stop there. The election process in Singapore is as opaque as it is in Naypyidaw, the new capital of the Burmese regime. Although Singapore claims to hold periodical elections to legitimise the rule of the People’s Action Party (PAP), the exercise itself is highly questionable.
To start with, there is no independent elections commission. Only a department that comes under the Prime Minister’s Office that decides on last-minute boundary delineation, exorbitant deposits for candidates (presently $US9,900 but expected to be raised to $US11,000 in the next election), and other regular gerrymandering practices, including what is known as the Group Representation Constituencies (GRC).
This so-called electoral system has led to almost half of the seats in parliament being uncontested on Nomination Day. Presently, Singapore’s ‘parliament’ has 84 MPs, of which 82 are from Lee Kuan Yew’s PAP. And that is “democratic elections” in Singapore for you!
The paradox of Singapore’s elections is that the electorate, some of whom are nearing their 50s, have never voted in their entire lives. This so-called anomaly is glaring in Singapore, where voting is compulsory under the Parliamentary Elections Act.
With all these well-entrenched undemocratic practices, it is not surprising to even a distant observer to understand how the ruling PAP has been in power since 1959.
What is worse is the irrefutable reality in Singapore that one man, by the name of Lee Kuan Yew, has been in power for the last 51 years. The octogenarian Lee, who is now 87 years old, calls himself Minister Mentor in the cabinet headed by his prime minster son, Lee Hsien Loong.
Compare this to the reality in Burma where the army generals have held sway since the 1962 coup, ousting the democratically elected government of U Nu. Even against this, Lee Kuan Yew’s grip on power extends longer by three years, but he continues to claim that elections in his republic are based on the Westminster model of democracy.
Anyone who believes in democratic values could easily see that it is next to impossible to continue to have a one-party dominated parliament in the name of freedom and democracy. Obviously the uniformed generals are under tutelage by the authoritarian regime in Singapore, clad in civilian clothes.
While the Burmese generals continue to not recognise the results of the 1990 elections, preparations are in full swing to hold yet another elections based on its 2008 constitution, aimed at hoodwinking the people. Singapore too is notorious for amending its constitution just before every general election to give a legal facade to what is clearly an illegitimate exercise.
The Burmese generals also appear to have been keen and obedient students to their teacher, Singapore. Burmese intelligence agents are known to visit on a routine basis to study the latest electronic eavesdropping gadgets for their surveillance of Burmese political dissidents, including the NLD leaders.
The recent announcement by NLD to boycott the army-orchestrated sham elections is the right move. How can the elections be legitimate when NLD’s leader, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, remains under house arrest and barred from taking part? Singapore too, has a history of barring genuine opposition leaders who were daring enough to challenge, through constitutional means, the regime of Lee Kuan Yew.
Victims of Lee’s political vendetta include prominent figures such as the late J B Jeyaretnam, Singapore’s former solicitor-general Mr Francis Seow (now in exile in the US), Singapore’s leading corporate lawyer Mr Tang Liang Hong (now in exile in Australia), and Dr Chee Soon Juan, who remains bankrupted and unable to stand for elections.
These are well-known democrats who stood up against Lee Kuan Yew, who had openly declared in 2003 that: “If we had considered them serious political figures, we would not have kept them politically alive for so long. We could have bankrupted them earlier.” Is this not what the generals in Burma are doing while loudly proclaiming to the world that there will be “free and fair” elections in the country before the end of the year?
While Singapore leaders are shedding crocodile tears and sermonizing the Burmese generals on the need for free and fair elections, is it not appropriate for them to look at their own backyard?
When Singapore’s Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong met the Burmese generals, including Than Shwe, last year, he urged them not to allow the ongoing trial of Suu Kyi to affect the national reconciliation process and to make sure that the proposed elections are free and fair.
It is better for Goh to take a hard look at himself in the mirror: he will then be able to see the ugly features that include a well-documented law providing for indefinite detention without trial, under which detainees are subject to regular physical and mental torture. It is also common in Singapore to prosecute opposition politicians for speaking in public and distributing flyers; laws that are no different from the Burmese junta.
Goh Chok Tong’s “advice” is double-speak at best. What right has he got to advise the generals when the same despicable acts are committed at every election in Singapore? Are elections in Singapore free and fair in the first place? Is the media in Singapore free and pluralistic for the voters to be informed before they go to the polls to choose their representatives to parliament?
Burma’s media laws are the strictest in the world, and so are Singapore’s, the most notorious being the Newspapers and Printing Presses Act that gives sweeping powers, including the appointment of editors to the 14 daily newspapers that are all under the control of the PAP government. Burma is ranked 171 out of 175 countries in the recent Reporters Without Borders’ Press Freedom Index. Singapore is also in the miserable position of 133, several ranks below that of even Angola and Congo.
The Singapore Press Holdings, whose chairman was a former deputy prime minister, runs all the newspapers of which its flagship daily is the Straits Times. It’s a known fact that intelligence operatives masquerade as reporters and journalists in Singapore’s media scene. The Straits Times has its equivalent in Burma, the New Light of Myanmar, which is nothing but a mouthpiece of the military regime.
Similarities between the autocratic rule in Singapore and the equally notorious regime in Burma are endless. Learning from Singapore on how to perpetuate one-party rule through sham elections is a natural progression for Burma under the bloodthirsty generals.
Seelan Palay is an artist and activist from Singapore. He works with Free Burma Campaign Singapore and blogs here.
http://www.dvb.no/analysis/singapore-mentors-burma-in-sham-elections/8767
The Burmese regime is bending over backwards to stage the fraudulent elections while refusing to respect the results of the country’s polls in 1990 that led to the landslide victory for the National League for Democracy (NLD).
Why reinvent the wheel, when what happened two decades ago remains unfulfilled? The same military that massacred thousands of innocent civilians, including Buddhist monks, is now pretending that everything is hunky-dory.
It is an undeniable fact that the military regime holds close economic ties to Singapore – the top brass of the Burmese army are known to have parked their ill-gotten millions in Singapore’s banks, while they and their family members own properties in upmarket areas and their children go to top schools and drive flashy cars, flaunting their wealth to the envy of ordinary Singaporeans.
Burmese drug lords who are banned from entering the US freely come and go in Singapore and some even have offices in the posh commercial district along Shenton Way. It is no wonder that Singapore is the third largest investor in Burma, helping to prop up the pariah regime.
Singapore has even named a hybrid Orchid, its national flower, after the Burmese prime minister, General Thein Sein. Orchids in the same Singapore Botanical Gardens were previously named after Princess Diana and Nelson Mandela.
The similarities between Burma and Singapore do not stop there. The election process in Singapore is as opaque as it is in Naypyidaw, the new capital of the Burmese regime. Although Singapore claims to hold periodical elections to legitimise the rule of the People’s Action Party (PAP), the exercise itself is highly questionable.
To start with, there is no independent elections commission. Only a department that comes under the Prime Minister’s Office that decides on last-minute boundary delineation, exorbitant deposits for candidates (presently $US9,900 but expected to be raised to $US11,000 in the next election), and other regular gerrymandering practices, including what is known as the Group Representation Constituencies (GRC).
This so-called electoral system has led to almost half of the seats in parliament being uncontested on Nomination Day. Presently, Singapore’s ‘parliament’ has 84 MPs, of which 82 are from Lee Kuan Yew’s PAP. And that is “democratic elections” in Singapore for you!
The paradox of Singapore’s elections is that the electorate, some of whom are nearing their 50s, have never voted in their entire lives. This so-called anomaly is glaring in Singapore, where voting is compulsory under the Parliamentary Elections Act.
With all these well-entrenched undemocratic practices, it is not surprising to even a distant observer to understand how the ruling PAP has been in power since 1959.
What is worse is the irrefutable reality in Singapore that one man, by the name of Lee Kuan Yew, has been in power for the last 51 years. The octogenarian Lee, who is now 87 years old, calls himself Minister Mentor in the cabinet headed by his prime minster son, Lee Hsien Loong.
Compare this to the reality in Burma where the army generals have held sway since the 1962 coup, ousting the democratically elected government of U Nu. Even against this, Lee Kuan Yew’s grip on power extends longer by three years, but he continues to claim that elections in his republic are based on the Westminster model of democracy.
Anyone who believes in democratic values could easily see that it is next to impossible to continue to have a one-party dominated parliament in the name of freedom and democracy. Obviously the uniformed generals are under tutelage by the authoritarian regime in Singapore, clad in civilian clothes.
While the Burmese generals continue to not recognise the results of the 1990 elections, preparations are in full swing to hold yet another elections based on its 2008 constitution, aimed at hoodwinking the people. Singapore too is notorious for amending its constitution just before every general election to give a legal facade to what is clearly an illegitimate exercise.
The Burmese generals also appear to have been keen and obedient students to their teacher, Singapore. Burmese intelligence agents are known to visit on a routine basis to study the latest electronic eavesdropping gadgets for their surveillance of Burmese political dissidents, including the NLD leaders.
The recent announcement by NLD to boycott the army-orchestrated sham elections is the right move. How can the elections be legitimate when NLD’s leader, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, remains under house arrest and barred from taking part? Singapore too, has a history of barring genuine opposition leaders who were daring enough to challenge, through constitutional means, the regime of Lee Kuan Yew.
Victims of Lee’s political vendetta include prominent figures such as the late J B Jeyaretnam, Singapore’s former solicitor-general Mr Francis Seow (now in exile in the US), Singapore’s leading corporate lawyer Mr Tang Liang Hong (now in exile in Australia), and Dr Chee Soon Juan, who remains bankrupted and unable to stand for elections.
These are well-known democrats who stood up against Lee Kuan Yew, who had openly declared in 2003 that: “If we had considered them serious political figures, we would not have kept them politically alive for so long. We could have bankrupted them earlier.” Is this not what the generals in Burma are doing while loudly proclaiming to the world that there will be “free and fair” elections in the country before the end of the year?
While Singapore leaders are shedding crocodile tears and sermonizing the Burmese generals on the need for free and fair elections, is it not appropriate for them to look at their own backyard?
When Singapore’s Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong met the Burmese generals, including Than Shwe, last year, he urged them not to allow the ongoing trial of Suu Kyi to affect the national reconciliation process and to make sure that the proposed elections are free and fair.
It is better for Goh to take a hard look at himself in the mirror: he will then be able to see the ugly features that include a well-documented law providing for indefinite detention without trial, under which detainees are subject to regular physical and mental torture. It is also common in Singapore to prosecute opposition politicians for speaking in public and distributing flyers; laws that are no different from the Burmese junta.
Goh Chok Tong’s “advice” is double-speak at best. What right has he got to advise the generals when the same despicable acts are committed at every election in Singapore? Are elections in Singapore free and fair in the first place? Is the media in Singapore free and pluralistic for the voters to be informed before they go to the polls to choose their representatives to parliament?
Burma’s media laws are the strictest in the world, and so are Singapore’s, the most notorious being the Newspapers and Printing Presses Act that gives sweeping powers, including the appointment of editors to the 14 daily newspapers that are all under the control of the PAP government. Burma is ranked 171 out of 175 countries in the recent Reporters Without Borders’ Press Freedom Index. Singapore is also in the miserable position of 133, several ranks below that of even Angola and Congo.
The Singapore Press Holdings, whose chairman was a former deputy prime minister, runs all the newspapers of which its flagship daily is the Straits Times. It’s a known fact that intelligence operatives masquerade as reporters and journalists in Singapore’s media scene. The Straits Times has its equivalent in Burma, the New Light of Myanmar, which is nothing but a mouthpiece of the military regime.
Similarities between the autocratic rule in Singapore and the equally notorious regime in Burma are endless. Learning from Singapore on how to perpetuate one-party rule through sham elections is a natural progression for Burma under the bloodthirsty generals.
Seelan Palay is an artist and activist from Singapore. He works with Free Burma Campaign Singapore and blogs here.
http://www.dvb.no/analysis/singapore-mentors-burma-in-sham-elections/8767
Wednesday, 28 April 2010
JUNGLE BOOT-SLIPPER DEMOCRACY
Attn;
Mr.Barack Obama
President
U.S.A.
Date; April,26th,2010.
Subject; Sending of my short consulting on Burma's current situation.
Excellence sir;
For it,we would like to consult seriously you about our Burma's current situation that has to face recently the cretical point on Burma's junction towards the victories between Daw Aung Sann Su Kyi's democratic forces and General Than Shwe's military-salaved dynesty and we can talk those compeatations on generations between our national leader-General Aung Sann & military ditactor-general Ne Win.
Our national leader-General Aung Sann had the attension to build up our Burma with the national conference-" NETHURAIN" Conference as the global democratic country with multi-parties system after we got Burma's independence under British-imperialism and we could focus our national leader-Thakhin Aung Sann's idealogy,philosphy & politic on Peaceful democratic united modern development country with global democratic countries because he told our national peoples that Democratilization is the most suitable for our Burma with his faith on the noble truth power but At that moment, Military ditactor-General Ne Win tried to coup General Aung Sann with his faith on the wild gun power and so,General Aung Sann had to act him with marshial laws but Thakhin Than Htun & general Ze Ya requested to free his punishments for our national unity on Burma's independence and then,U Saw with his companions killed our national leaders-General Aung Sann with his commrades on July,19th,1947 and General Ne Win's group participated in it and so,their group burried that history by death sentense on U Saw with his companiopns.Since July,19th,1947,two military generations compeated seriously in Burma's Armies and then in March,28,1948, General Ze Ya with some leaders had to arm struggle because of the wicket oppressing of General Ne Win with U Kyaw Nyein's socialist party and General Ne Win's generation could get the top positions in Burma's armies and then in March,2nd,1962,General Ne Win's generations couped U Nu's Palimentry government and killed over one hundred students by damaging of the building of Univesity Students' Union,gathered & placed by the democratic students,pro-General Aung Sann & Thakhin Ba Hein as All Burma's democratic front on anti-imperialism & facisism and then dis-democratic parties in 1963 and then in March,3nd,1974,General Ne Win with his companions,General Aung Gyi & Tin Pe built up Artificial Myamar socialist state with Burma's socialist programme party on single military party ditactor ship system and forced to get the enriches of all national peoples as the socalled state peoples' ownership system.Before that moment,our Burma's developmental enrichs cuold place infront of Asia but our Burma had to became Less development country(L.D.C) in 1988 by their oppressing,killing & wasting on our national peoples' democratic forces,pro-General Aung Sann's generations for 26-yrs.In 1988,two groups appeared in Burma's armies as General Mg Thint's group, pro-single military party ditactorship system & Priminister-U Mg Mg Kha's group, pro-multi-parties system.
On August,8th,1988,we with Daw Aung Sann Su Kyi & all Burma's democratic forces could move three presidents,General Sann Yu,General Sein Lwin & D,R Mg Mg of Myanmar socialist state under the leading of General Ne Win,chairman for Burma socialist programme party(B.S.P.P) and our attension was to build up the peaceful democratic united modern development country of Burma on Aung Sann's international democratic modern development foundation( Aung Sann's foundation).
But General Saw Mg & Khin Nyunt couped our national peoples' power on Sept,18th,1988 and then permited Artificial multiparties system on marketing economy of military's ownnership system and could persuade some national democratic forces with Artificial election(1990), peace & developments without ethnics' rights on Democratic federal union of Burma and so,they got temporrary intersts of Russia & china and then General Khin Nyunt & Than Shwe moved General Saw Mg for promising on power transfering to NLD and then General Than Shwe & Mg Aye moved General Khin Nyunt agin for promising on all Ethenics' peace & rights & marketing economy and they forced to get all national peoples's captials on Asia Dana Banks,compannies,Insurence compannies & others and then moved their new capital towards " KYATPYA -NEPYITAW" with war strategy & tactic on Neuclear weapons factory & air crafts factory to defend all Burma's democratic forces on global democratic countries and they will build up their military's salaved country with 2008-constitution on 7-steps road map after moving of Daw Aung Sann Su Kyi with all Burma's democratic forces.For it,we got this important news from Insein prison in 1992.
For it,General Than Shwe & Mg Aye told their compannions that they beleive only their armies but not all democratic forces with global democratic countries after moving of General Khin Nyunt's group and marked U.S.A with global democratic countries as enemies on neo-colonism and now, their political wicket process will continnue to act 2010-election with the provides of Russia & China without Daw Su with all Burma's democratic forces and will defend global democratic forces with ASIAN, was frighten by China & Russia and now,China is persuading shamelessly U.S.A,Australia & E.U to support the poor election of Burma Junta Regimes.If U.S.A with global democratic countries supported Junta regimes' poor election,will like to self-hang on neck and so,should avoid absolutely to support their wicket poor election and need to more support Daw Su & all Burma's democratic forces for your democratic globalization.
thanking you in anticipation;
best regard;
(Mr.Tint Shwe Thi Ha)
Patron for Burma Democratic Concern(B.D.C),WA,U.S.A.
Ph;(509)5823261.
JUNGLE BOOT-SLIPPER DEMOCRACY
OF
MYANMAR JUNTA REGIME
On 8/8/88, we moved the military's single party ditactorship system which oppressed,killed & ruled all Burma's national peoples for 26.yrs but myanmar junta regime bloody- couped again us on 9/18/88 and then General Saw Mg & Khin Nyunt continnued to rule us with state law & order resolation council (S.L.O.R.C) instead of Burma junta socialist regimes and gave socalled multi-parties system with military's owned marketing economy and then persuaded us with 90-election after oppressing,killing & arresting-sentencing of Daw Aung Sann Su Kyi & her faithfull politicians.
In 1991,General Than Shwe , Mg Aye & Khin Nyunt moved General Saw Mg for his promise on 90-elected power transfering to Daw Aung Sann Su Kyi's NLD and changed into state peace & developmental council(S.P.D.C) and persuaded all national democratic revolutionary forces with artificial peace on socalled regional developments and then tried to draw the military's salaved constitution with artificial national convention and increased their army form 300000 to 500000 with black money on heroin-kings(Lawsithan,Khumsar, Aiktun & extra) and they inter-group struggled & killed in their military(For examples! Assisnations of General Saw Mg,Tin Oo,Myint Aung,Htun Kyi,Win Myint & extra) and General Than Shwe group-organized his faithful salaves( Kyintphwint & Swam aer shin) and General Mg Aye organized only the military but General Khin Nyunt organized military intelligents & socalled peacefull forces.General Than Shwe faithed for narrow minded nationalism and General Mg Aye liked Russian but General Khin Nyunt more liked china and they always used to compeated on their tri-thoughts.In 2002,their military's owned marketing economy had fallen badly on their biggest income taxes and so, their group-struggles more & more increased between General Mg Aye & Khin Nyunt.General Mg Aye would like to use the hole Burma's developmental system but Khin Nyunt for special regional developmental system,liked china's special economic zones and then,finally! Khin Nyunt had fallen down form General sceretary-1 of S.P.D.C to Socalled priminister.Since at moment,General Than Shwe & Mg Aye forced to get privated enriches(Asia Dana Banks,Other Banks,compannies & factories) and so,foreign investment copannies & Business had to leave badly from Myanmar junta regimes' marketing economy and General Khin Nyunt's socalled peacefull forces had no granty on political economy.Finally!General Than Shwe & Mg Aye moved General Khin Nyunt with his military intelligents & peacefull forces in 2004.
In 2005,General Than Shwe & Mg Aye moved their new capital towards Kyatpyae Naypitaw infront of Pyinmanar,pago yoma,middle Myanmar with Russian neuclear dream & air craft assembly factors on tunnel war affairs strategy & tactics and forced to do 2008-military's salaved constitution on Nagist victims and then prepared 2010-new 25% military commanders election without Daw Su with democratic forces since 2009 and their attension was to win 25% military commanders + their 60% faithfull forces in 2010-new election and so,Daw Su's NLD with democratic forces were moved by the laws of Party's registration & Election and their priminister-General Thein Sein with his cabinet members were changed into civilian uniforms to get 25% military commanders + their 60% faithfull forces in 2010-election and so,they will be sure to get 25%military commanders + their 60% faithfull civilian forces= 85% myanmar junta regime.
Therefore! we shall have to talk myanmar junta regime that they are saling dog's meal hanging of goat's head in the internal & external democratic foces and Jungle boot-slipper democracy too is given by myanmar junta regime and so, really! their guidence democracy will be changes of jungle boot-slipper from only jungle boots on the backs of all Burma's national peoples.
So,we need to move their jungle boots on our national peoples' back by boycotting of their 2010-election on 2008-constitution with Daw Su's NLD & global democratic forces and we shall have to request respectfully global democratic governments to more & more support strongly our Burma's democratic activities and to push strongly myanmar junta regime towards democratic way.
best regard;
(GSC.KoThiHa)
Patron for Burma Democratic Concern (B.D.C),Wasington,U.S.A.
Ph;(509)5823261.
Mr.Barack Obama
President
U.S.A.
Date; April,26th,2010.
Subject; Sending of my short consulting on Burma's current situation.
Excellence sir;
For it,we would like to consult seriously you about our Burma's current situation that has to face recently the cretical point on Burma's junction towards the victories between Daw Aung Sann Su Kyi's democratic forces and General Than Shwe's military-salaved dynesty and we can talk those compeatations on generations between our national leader-General Aung Sann & military ditactor-general Ne Win.
Our national leader-General Aung Sann had the attension to build up our Burma with the national conference-" NETHURAIN" Conference as the global democratic country with multi-parties system after we got Burma's independence under British-imperialism and we could focus our national leader-Thakhin Aung Sann's idealogy,philosphy & politic on Peaceful democratic united modern development country with global democratic countries because he told our national peoples that Democratilization is the most suitable for our Burma with his faith on the noble truth power but At that moment, Military ditactor-General Ne Win tried to coup General Aung Sann with his faith on the wild gun power and so,General Aung Sann had to act him with marshial laws but Thakhin Than Htun & general Ze Ya requested to free his punishments for our national unity on Burma's independence and then,U Saw with his companions killed our national leaders-General Aung Sann with his commrades on July,19th,1947 and General Ne Win's group participated in it and so,their group burried that history by death sentense on U Saw with his companiopns.Since July,19th,1947,two military generations compeated seriously in Burma's Armies and then in March,28,1948, General Ze Ya with some leaders had to arm struggle because of the wicket oppressing of General Ne Win with U Kyaw Nyein's socialist party and General Ne Win's generation could get the top positions in Burma's armies and then in March,2nd,1962,General Ne Win's generations couped U Nu's Palimentry government and killed over one hundred students by damaging of the building of Univesity Students' Union,gathered & placed by the democratic students,pro-General Aung Sann & Thakhin Ba Hein as All Burma's democratic front on anti-imperialism & facisism and then dis-democratic parties in 1963 and then in March,3nd,1974,General Ne Win with his companions,General Aung Gyi & Tin Pe built up Artificial Myamar socialist state with Burma's socialist programme party on single military party ditactor ship system and forced to get the enriches of all national peoples as the socalled state peoples' ownership system.Before that moment,our Burma's developmental enrichs cuold place infront of Asia but our Burma had to became Less development country(L.D.C) in 1988 by their oppressing,killing & wasting on our national peoples' democratic forces,pro-General Aung Sann's generations for 26-yrs.In 1988,two groups appeared in Burma's armies as General Mg Thint's group, pro-single military party ditactorship system & Priminister-U Mg Mg Kha's group, pro-multi-parties system.
On August,8th,1988,we with Daw Aung Sann Su Kyi & all Burma's democratic forces could move three presidents,General Sann Yu,General Sein Lwin & D,R Mg Mg of Myanmar socialist state under the leading of General Ne Win,chairman for Burma socialist programme party(B.S.P.P) and our attension was to build up the peaceful democratic united modern development country of Burma on Aung Sann's international democratic modern development foundation( Aung Sann's foundation).
But General Saw Mg & Khin Nyunt couped our national peoples' power on Sept,18th,1988 and then permited Artificial multiparties system on marketing economy of military's ownnership system and could persuade some national democratic forces with Artificial election(1990), peace & developments without ethnics' rights on Democratic federal union of Burma and so,they got temporrary intersts of Russia & china and then General Khin Nyunt & Than Shwe moved General Saw Mg for promising on power transfering to NLD and then General Than Shwe & Mg Aye moved General Khin Nyunt agin for promising on all Ethenics' peace & rights & marketing economy and they forced to get all national peoples's captials on Asia Dana Banks,compannies,Insurence compannies & others and then moved their new capital towards " KYATPYA -NEPYITAW" with war strategy & tactic on Neuclear weapons factory & air crafts factory to defend all Burma's democratic forces on global democratic countries and they will build up their military's salaved country with 2008-constitution on 7-steps road map after moving of Daw Aung Sann Su Kyi with all Burma's democratic forces.For it,we got this important news from Insein prison in 1992.
For it,General Than Shwe & Mg Aye told their compannions that they beleive only their armies but not all democratic forces with global democratic countries after moving of General Khin Nyunt's group and marked U.S.A with global democratic countries as enemies on neo-colonism and now, their political wicket process will continnue to act 2010-election with the provides of Russia & China without Daw Su with all Burma's democratic forces and will defend global democratic forces with ASIAN, was frighten by China & Russia and now,China is persuading shamelessly U.S.A,Australia & E.U to support the poor election of Burma Junta Regimes.If U.S.A with global democratic countries supported Junta regimes' poor election,will like to self-hang on neck and so,should avoid absolutely to support their wicket poor election and need to more support Daw Su & all Burma's democratic forces for your democratic globalization.
thanking you in anticipation;
best regard;
(Mr.Tint Shwe Thi Ha)
Patron for Burma Democratic Concern(B.D.C),WA,U.S.A.
Ph;(509)5823261.
JUNGLE BOOT-SLIPPER DEMOCRACY
OF
MYANMAR JUNTA REGIME
On 8/8/88, we moved the military's single party ditactorship system which oppressed,killed & ruled all Burma's national peoples for 26.yrs but myanmar junta regime bloody- couped again us on 9/18/88 and then General Saw Mg & Khin Nyunt continnued to rule us with state law & order resolation council (S.L.O.R.C) instead of Burma junta socialist regimes and gave socalled multi-parties system with military's owned marketing economy and then persuaded us with 90-election after oppressing,killing & arresting-sentencing of Daw Aung Sann Su Kyi & her faithfull politicians.
In 1991,General Than Shwe , Mg Aye & Khin Nyunt moved General Saw Mg for his promise on 90-elected power transfering to Daw Aung Sann Su Kyi's NLD and changed into state peace & developmental council(S.P.D.C) and persuaded all national democratic revolutionary forces with artificial peace on socalled regional developments and then tried to draw the military's salaved constitution with artificial national convention and increased their army form 300000 to 500000 with black money on heroin-kings(Lawsithan,Khumsar, Aiktun & extra) and they inter-group struggled & killed in their military(For examples! Assisnations of General Saw Mg,Tin Oo,Myint Aung,Htun Kyi,Win Myint & extra) and General Than Shwe group-organized his faithful salaves( Kyintphwint & Swam aer shin) and General Mg Aye organized only the military but General Khin Nyunt organized military intelligents & socalled peacefull forces.General Than Shwe faithed for narrow minded nationalism and General Mg Aye liked Russian but General Khin Nyunt more liked china and they always used to compeated on their tri-thoughts.In 2002,their military's owned marketing economy had fallen badly on their biggest income taxes and so, their group-struggles more & more increased between General Mg Aye & Khin Nyunt.General Mg Aye would like to use the hole Burma's developmental system but Khin Nyunt for special regional developmental system,liked china's special economic zones and then,finally! Khin Nyunt had fallen down form General sceretary-1 of S.P.D.C to Socalled priminister.Since at moment,General Than Shwe & Mg Aye forced to get privated enriches(Asia Dana Banks,Other Banks,compannies & factories) and so,foreign investment copannies & Business had to leave badly from Myanmar junta regimes' marketing economy and General Khin Nyunt's socalled peacefull forces had no granty on political economy.Finally!General Than Shwe & Mg Aye moved General Khin Nyunt with his military intelligents & peacefull forces in 2004.
In 2005,General Than Shwe & Mg Aye moved their new capital towards Kyatpyae Naypitaw infront of Pyinmanar,pago yoma,middle Myanmar with Russian neuclear dream & air craft assembly factors on tunnel war affairs strategy & tactics and forced to do 2008-military's salaved constitution on Nagist victims and then prepared 2010-new 25% military commanders election without Daw Su with democratic forces since 2009 and their attension was to win 25% military commanders + their 60% faithfull forces in 2010-new election and so,Daw Su's NLD with democratic forces were moved by the laws of Party's registration & Election and their priminister-General Thein Sein with his cabinet members were changed into civilian uniforms to get 25% military commanders + their 60% faithfull forces in 2010-election and so,they will be sure to get 25%military commanders + their 60% faithfull civilian forces= 85% myanmar junta regime.
Therefore! we shall have to talk myanmar junta regime that they are saling dog's meal hanging of goat's head in the internal & external democratic foces and Jungle boot-slipper democracy too is given by myanmar junta regime and so, really! their guidence democracy will be changes of jungle boot-slipper from only jungle boots on the backs of all Burma's national peoples.
So,we need to move their jungle boots on our national peoples' back by boycotting of their 2010-election on 2008-constitution with Daw Su's NLD & global democratic forces and we shall have to request respectfully global democratic governments to more & more support strongly our Burma's democratic activities and to push strongly myanmar junta regime towards democratic way.
best regard;
(GSC.KoThiHa)
Patron for Burma Democratic Concern (B.D.C),Wasington,U.S.A.
Ph;(509)5823261.
n spite of the pressure of the 20-year isolation and sanctions by the US as well as domestic opposition like the 'Saffron Revolution' in 2008, the military regime in Myanmar/Burma seems to be still strong without any sign of crumbling. Why?
http://ping.fm/Dh1JV
http://ping.fm/Dh1JV
“You can kill me but you cannot shut my mouth”
The Voice of Nyi Nyi Aung
Nyi Nyi Aung is 41 years old and originally from Rangoon. He currently works as a computer engineer and political activist in America.
I speak to Nyi Nyi Aung on the phone, on Monday 19 April 2010.
Nyi Nyi Aung (born Kyaw Zaw Lwin) came to the United States as a refugee in 1993. According to his fiancee, he remained restless and all he really wanted to do, was to be active in the struggle for democracy in Burma. He traveled between the US and Mae Sot and other places in Thailand to develop and support activities directed at creating freedom and democracy in Burma. On one of his trips to Burma, in September 2009, he was arrested at the airport. He was on his way to visit relatives – some of whom are imprisoned themselves – and to check the situation inside the country. In March 2010, he was released and flown back to America.
“At the moment I am recovering from my time in prison in Burma. I take medicines for my back problems. I suffer from severe back pains and my spine was dislocated because of torture and my time in solitary confinement. I was in solitary confinement for one month.”
“I was released after six months. Without explanation. But that is normal in Burma. I was not given any explanation or reason for my arrest, interrogation and detention.”
“I feel I was released because of pressure from the outside. Not only from the US or other governments, but also from the international community and Burmese exile community calling for my release.”
“I do think even Tan Shwe is sensitive to international pressure. What you see is that the EU and the US are always ‘demanding for blablablah’. This does not work. They should state clear demands and set time frames. Tan Shwe knows very well how to play and maneuver with the international community. That is why I am so focused on telling the international community and the US Congress about Burma. I am busy going to many places and informing people about what is happening inside Burma. I want the international community to understand that we CAN do it. At the moment I am busy with the treatment for my back, but I am also meeting many people. There is a sense of urgency.”
“Since 2005, I have gone inside the country more often. I want to get a good sense of what keeps the people occupied and the actual political work on the ground. I want to see for myself what the situation in my country is and be sure for the international community to understand. I share this information with organizations that work on Burma.”
“In September 2009, I went to Burma again. I was arrested at the airport and taken straight to the interrogation center. I kept asking them questions and kept asking to see a lawyer and to see my embassy, but they were not interested.”
“You can kill me but you cannot shut my mouth.
I do not want to get hurt, but I prepare for it. Anytime, you can get caught. But my fear for Burma’s people and future is bigger than my own fear.”
“They tortured me. This is normal in Burma. They beat and punched me and tortured me mentally. I was deprived of food and sleep and had to sit on a chair for long periods of time. They asked me: ‘What is your plan? Who are your contacts? Were are you hiding your stuff? Who supports you? Is there a terrorist connection?’
According to the UN Convention on Torture I should not be tortured at all, but it happened.”
“They kept me in isolation, too. In this place you can talk with other prisoners but you cannot see each other. Other prisoners can talk and see each other. I stayed alone. I could hear people shouting in the distance. We communicated like that. They also put me in the dog cells, for one month. And later again, for one day.”
What is Nyi Nyi Aung’s plan for the future?
“My plan is to tear down the regime and promote human rights and democracy anywhere it is needed. I do this by lobbying and raising awareness. Both inside and outside Burma. We need international help to do this. I also want to tell people about the non-violent way and how to do it. I want to motivate the people to believe and to trust themselves. They have to stand up for their rights. The Burmese people have suffered under military regimes since 1958. They have had no time to practice democracy. The people do not know what democracy and human rights mean.”
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has said, that because she grew up in free countries, she feels she is less fearful. Can Nyi Nyi Aung relate to this, because he has lived in the US for more than 20 years?
“When I got caught last September, they asked me ‘are you afraid?’ I said: ‘No, I have the right to do this. I am aware of my rights.’
I feel very sorry for the Burmese people inside the country. Many of them do not know this. They do not know what their rights are. We need to teach them to stand up for their rights.”
What can people in the free world do to support the struggle for freedom in Burma?
“Ask your governments to put more pressure on Tan Shwe. This is the only way to get peace. Pressure by sanctions on the regime and its cronies. The current policy does not work: it is just words. We need real actions. Do not just say sanctions, but boycott!
I do not agree with the engagement policy of the United States: the regime does not understand the language of freedom. It is stick and carrot policy.”
Does Nyi Nyi Aung have a message for people in the West or in Burma?
“Think deeply about what you really want for the future. You own your own life. If you love peace, justice, equality, go and do it by yourself! Trust yourself. Do it!
Do not wait for Daw Aung San Suu Kyi to fix it.
Do it.
Everyone has to work if they want peace and freedom!
There is a lack of motivation.”
“There is a culture of corruption which is deeply rooted in Burma: it threatens peace and the international community. People are selling their dignity and morality with their food. They keep their mouths shut and let the regime do what they want. If this continues for another ten years, it would be disastrous for the international community. If this regimes stays on much longer, Burma will become like countries like Pakistan. We have no education for the people. Mental development is very important.”
By Elke Kuijper
Tuesday, 27 April 2010
EU must declare that it won’t recognise junta’s planned 2010 election and its results.
http://ping.fm/a1Dds
http://ping.fm/a1Dds
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