Nuclear activities in Burma

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Nuclear activities in Burma

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Nuclear activities in Burma

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Nuclear activities in Burma

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Talk to Burma

Source:
http://www.canadamyanmar.com/

once upon a time in Burma play- http://www.bdcburma.org

US senator cancels Burma stop on N Korea nuclear fears
http://ping.fm/gvtGz

Burmese Crisis, Through the Alien Eyes

by Kanbawza Win

People having an interest in Burma may have come across of quite a comprehensive report on the coming unfair elections and equally dubious constitutions. The one sided prognosis, as published in Los Angeles Times and the release ICC report are just some of the classic examples. Of course, the people of Burma should thank these aliens for having an interest in Burma, which most of the world has forgotten, if not forsaken.

Well intentioned or not, they have unwittingly played advocacy for the Junta and who knows how the Junta reward them, as in the past it often does in hiring an advocacy firms to brush up its tarnish image. But the one aspect which they undoubtedly did, was that they did not consider any moral aspect of the conflict, for after all morality did not play an integral part in their thinking and what else Burma is a far away alien Buddhist country somewhere in remote parts of the world.

Judging from the irrational conclusions on the NLD such as “Boycott Misguided” these SIPs (not the well known Sub Inspector of Police but rather Self Appointed Persons) have little or no idea of what the Burmese psyche or rationale is, not to mention the cultural and the values of the people of Burma. The Nation Daily in its Editorial has hit the nail squarely on the head, when it pointed says that the phrase of “something is better than nothing” seems to encourage the Machiavellian theory of the end justifies the means and embraces the ideology of defeatism. This seems to coincide with the some of the ethnic nationalities leaders and traitors who like to go along with the Junta in participating in the unfair elections just to get a piece of cake.

The Generals and the international community knows very well that the legitimacy which the tyrannical Junta craves so much, depends on whether the mass of the people participated in this unfair elections or not. Obviously the Junta is relying on its (USDA) Union Solidarity and Development Association, cronies, traitors, apologists, and opportunists and is threatening the ignorant people to vote or else in order to achieve its goal.

It was at this crucial period that these aliens come up with their theory that “something is better than nothing” and heap the blame on the true patriots of the nation. What an ironical and paradoxical stroke to deliver the coup de grace to the democratic loving people of Burma.

These aliens did not seems to understand that the people of Burma are now more united than before in repelling the vehemently hated Junta and have categorically and unanimously show their support to the NLD led by the noble, Nobel Daw Aung San Suu Kyi when it rejected the Junta’s approach. They knew that they will suffer immensely in denying the Junta the legitimacy which they are mad about it.

The so called alien think tank did not consider if the voters are free to cast their ballots with free will. How can voters cast their ballots freely if they are being controlled and watched by plain-clothes police officers and thousands of spies in the neighbourhood? Everybody is scared as every name and household has been scrutinised and put in the records. The people know that what they do at the polling stations will come back to haunt them. But they also know that NLD is no longer a political party but the voice of the entire people of Burma, it is the national character of the entire people of Burma not only for democracy and human rights but for justice and dignity, which the men in uniforms did not have. The very grain of the people of Burma is he a Myanmar or a non Myanmar. This is the first victory for the people of Burma.

The second victory is given by the ethnic nationalities of Burma who all are now united and is ready to stand shoulder to shoulder with the pro democracy forces in repelling the Junta. It was the Junta’s Generals that blink first, in a show down with the ceasefire groups concerning the border guards. So many datelines have been passed and now they came up with the lame excuse of postponing to the post election period.

The explicitly proves the theory that the Junta only understands brute force and armed might. They are anathema to reason and Dialogue which the NLD has been using all these years. Hence, the international community should seriously consider this aspect. No doubt the Burma, even though in Asia has an African mentality when it comes to politics. But this African mentality of politics is confined to the Burmese Generals only and not to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and the NLD which represent the people of Burma.

The people of Burma are considered by many as the most hospitable people in the world and peace loving. Lamentably, the self appointed think tank people could not comprehend this trend.

The third aspect of the victory is that the EU and USA had made known that the constitution and the elections are fraud and will not recognize the elections results which is a knockout blow to the Junta. In face of all these authenticated proves why did these Chee Brain (csD;OD;aESmuf) comes up with such hypothesis one cannot conjecture.

Their conclusions, clearly paints the picture that the so called think tanks are not really serious about the suffering of the Burmese people. The Burmese people have been living under the military junta, tightly monitored and suppressed for more than half a century. And yet, the international community is slow in taking collective action because of such kind of wrong conclusions. On the other hand investments from the West have strengthened the regime.

It is understandable that if China and India who have vested interest and ulterior motive took that position, even ASEAN who has augmented the Junta with its Constructive Engagement Policy now has a champion from Philippines Aquino. The Burmese generals know full well that international focus is short-lived, as there are a myriad global issues to pay attention, so their logic why should they accommodate the people’s calls for fairness and Justice

Let me repeat the Nation’s editorial, “The ICG’s claim that the voting in Burma could be “relatively fair” is preposterous. That is exactly what the Junta wants to see, and that explains why dictatorial governments around the world no longer succumb to any international pressure.

It seems that at a time when the people of Burma are preparing to reject the Junta en masse these think tanks wants to soften up the people of Burma and give a wrong message to the Junta in encouraging the junta leaders to be more thoroughly prepare to make sure they win the polls.

- Asian Tribune -

Source: http://www.asiantribune.com/news/2010/06/03/burmese-crisis-through-alien-eyes

Take Action

Take Action

Here are a couple of ways you can participate in the campaign:

Sign a Postcard

Send a postcard calling on your government to publicly denounce the military’s elections in Burma and refuse to recognize the results unless the junta changes course and meets minimum benchmarks laid out by the movement for democracy and ethnic rights.

Sign now!


Find a Global Day of Action Event Near You

See details of Global Day of Action Events around the world.

Source: http://burmapartnership.org/2010elections/takeaction/

Burma Democratic Concern (BDC) Photo stream

Constitution by Yash Ghai Burmese Version

Constitution by Yash Ghai Burmese Version

UEC Passed Registration for Formation as Political Party

Yeyint Nge Diary

Burmese Soldier

About Burmese Child Soldier

About Burmese Child Soldier

RFA 21 may 2010

Press Release of the NLD

Nld Election

KNPP's X-chairman-General Marn Aung Than Lay's death

Dear Leaders,commanrades & friends with General Marn Aung Than Lay's family;-----
We have to hear the news of KNPP's X-chairman-General Marn Aung Than Lay's death on May,31st,2010 and so,very sad for it because he with us had to draw the drafted principles on Democratic Federal Constitution of Union of Burma since 2005 to 2007 and he could organize & lead all national people's leaders to build up the potrait of Democratic Federal Union of Burma and was the talent leader for the future potrait of our Burma and the strongest former revolutionay leader too and so, all loved,respected & faithed for him.
One day,March,2005,I with other national leaders went to the grand beautiful meeting Hall,the hightest floor,Librative hotel,Chiangmai,Thailand to draw the drug principles on Democratic Federal Constitution for Union of Burma and then had to meet KNPP's chairman-General Marn Aung Than Lay with his daughter,Khummar Ko Pharm,writter-Mi Su Pwint,Major-Khum Oak Kar,General Zaw Sai's sister,Fero David Tarkapual,Major Too Too Lay,Mon's national leaders,Shan national leaders,Arakan national leader-Khaine Soe Naing Aung,Chin's national leader-Dr.Lian Mone Sirkhong & others.
At that ceremony,General Marn Aung Than Lay,Khummar Kopharm & Mi Su Pwint leaded to discuss for the drug principles of Democratic Federal Constitution for Union of Burma as the chiefs of ceremony and then other national people's leaders inter-discussed free democratically for their national states' democratic national freedoms and so,All could unity the national solidarity on Democratic Federal Union of Burma and so,all national leaders had drawn free democratically their free states' constitutions with international acadamics & professors and then explained all their national peoples and took of several times all their national people's desires for their states' constitutions and filled on the drafted principles and then presented to Assembly for Federal Constitution Drafting Comittee(FCDC) and FCDC collected & draftly drew the drafted principles of Democratic Federal Constitution for Union of Burma and so, All national peoples could like & agreed with it to approve as the drafted principles for Democratic Federal Costitution of Burma and all national peoples promised to live lovely in Democratic Federal Union of Burma with four nobble truths on Liberty,Equality,Justic & Fraternity.
But Myanmar Junta Regimes forced to draw their 2008-military's salaved constitution on the death-bodies of Nargis without all national peoples' desires because a member of their national convenction retold us how to draw 2008-constitution which had been drawn by them through military intelligents' permission under General Than Shwe's guiding democracy.For example! they had to read & present definatelly their discussion to National convenction according to orders of military intelligents and had to prepair even spelling and so, they could talk their constitution as military's salaved constitution without all national peoples' desires.
Now,our greatest national lesder-General Marn Aung Than Lay can get no rights to draw the future potrait of Democratic Federal Union of Burma with his loved national peoples but we need to carry on his future potrait on Democratic Federal Union of Burma because he told us " No others except Democratic Federal Union of Burma for all national peoples' freedom."

thank you in anticipation;

best regard;

yours' sincerely!

(U ThiHa Tint Swe)
Patron for Burma Democratic Concern(B.D.C),WA-99336,U.S.A.
Ph;(509)5823261.

Once upon a time in Burma

Global action against 2010 Election

Global action against 2010 Election

20th anniversary of 1990 Election protest

20th Anniversary of 1990 Election

Will More Job Opportunities Help Burmese Refugees in Malaysia?

Will More Job Opportunities Help Burmese Refugees in Malaysia?

By Alinsek

Friday, 27 May 2010


UNHCR held a meeting on Friday in Kuala Lumpur with the Burmese refugee community and related organizations about job opportunities for refugees registered with the UNHCR in Malaysia.
UNHCR’s Community Development Unit (CDU) said that they are in discussion with the Malaysian government to allow refugees the opportunity to work. CDU said that the Malaysian government can issue identification cards to refugees registered with the UNHCR.

Although CDU is trying to ensure job opportunities for refugees, many contentious issues remain between UNHCR (Malaysia) and Burmese refugees, including the procedures and guidelines for granting of refugee status and equal treatment among refugees.

Maug Hla, chairperson of Burma Refugee Organization (BRO) said that,

“It [the job opportunity proposal] is a good plan of UNHCR. But, there are still many challenges and problems for Burmese refugees from discrimination of some UNHCR officers, especially registration officers.”

He said that, “Most Burmese ethnic refugees do not have a chance for registration with UNHCR. So, how can they seize and benefit from these opportunities? Moreover, the gaps between registered refugees and unregistered ones will widen.”
UNHCR (Malaysia) is rather notorious for its unfair and inefficient procedures. Most Burmese people, especially ethnic-Burmese and Buddhists, have no right to register for asylum.



Nearly three hundred Burmese refugees demonstrated in front of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) office in Malaysia's capital of Kuala Lumpur on 21 January 2009 demanding recognition of refugee status and equal treatment among refugees.

CDU officers said that they want to get the refugees lists of respective refugee organizations. Refugee organizations have to submit their members’ names, contact numbers, addresses, employment information, and so on.



Maung Hla added, “I appreciate the good works and plans of UNHCR. However, sometimes I worry that some UNHCR registration officers may be trying to get ethnic-Burmese and political activists into trouble and arrested by Malaysian police. They have refused to register ethnic-Burmese and democracy and human rights activists for over 3 years. It is grossly unfair and unkind.”
He continued, “Some UNHCR registration officers said that the ruling Myanmar military junta does not repress ethnic-Burmese people and Buddhists in Myanmar because the military junta is also Burmese and Buddhist. However, I have much evidence that this is a misconception towards refugees from Burma.”
As of January 2010, there were some 79,300 refugees and asylum-seekers registered with UNHCR in Malaysia, who came from Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Somalia, Iraq and Afghanistan, according to UNHCR website statistics.

Of those, 62,000 are refugees from Burma, comprising 28,100 Chin, 16,100 Rohingya, 3,700 Burmese Muslims, 2,900 Kachin, and other ethnic minorities.

The UNHCR said a large number of Burmese refugees remain unregistered. The refugee community estimates that unregistered refugees and asylum-seekers could number 30,000 people.
The Malaysian government has cooperated with the UNHCR on humanitarian grounds since 1975 even though Malaysia has not signed the UN Convention Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees.

Malaysia Foreign Minister Anifah Aman and Paul Alan Vernon, representative of UNHCR to Malaysia, met and discussed a range of issues pertaining to refugees and asylum seekers at the international level in February 2010 in Putrajaya, the administrative center of Malaysia.

Maung Hla said that, “Although the Malaysian government may understand the refugees on humanitarian grounds and may allow refugees to work, most Burmese-ethnic refugees and other unregistered asylum-seekers cannot seize the opportunities, and effectively lose all their rights. This has happened because of the unfair misconduct of some UNHCR officers.”

Some UNHCR officers’ misconduct and unfair procedures also work to discredit the UNHCR’s prestigious reputation in the opinion of social organizations such as Burma Refugee Organization (BRO) and some Myanmar organizations that in the past greatly respected the UN and co-operated actively with the UNHCR.
Maung Hla said that, “On March 17, 2010, a UNHCR registration officer told me that he gave BRO’s membership information to the Immigration Department. I was very shocked and disappointed by his totally unreasonable and illogical demand. It showed that he has no kindness or sympathy. Moreover, it breached our confidentiality.”

He added that, “We want to ask UNHCR if the intention of the CDU job opportunity plan is to make Burmese refugees feel happy or unhappy?”


"Equal Rights, Equal Opportunities:Progress for All"

UNHCR Slogan

20100527NLDB

US Senators Condemn Burma's Regime
http://ping.fm/oKg3m

Rights group slams Myanmar junta on poll anniversary

BANGKOK — A leading rights group marked the 20th anniversary of Myanmar's last elections on Thursday by calling on the junta's allies to demand a credible political process ahead of this year's polls.
The military-ruled country's last national vote, held on May 27, 1990, was won by a landslide by the National League for Democracy (NLD) led by opposition icon Aung San Suu Kyi, but the ruling generals never let her party take power.
"The 1990 elections sent a clear message to the Burmese military that the people wanted them out of power," said Elaine Pearson, deputy Asia director at New York-based Human Rights Watch. Burma is Myanmar's former name.
"The generals won?t make the same mistake twice. The past 20 years have been a stage-managed process to ensure the military controls the future parliament," she said in a statement.
The country's first elections since 1990 are due to be held by the end of November this year.
The NLD was forcibly dissolved after refusing to meet a May 6 deadline to re-register as a political party -- a move that would have forced it to expel its own leader and recognise the junta's controversial constitution.
Suu Kyi has spent much of the past 20 years in jail or house arrest.
Human Rights Watch said the upcoming elections "appear designed to enshrine military rule with a civilian face".
"Only the most cynical of governments could endorse Burma's deeply flawed process," Pearson said, urging Myanmar's diplomatic and trade partners, such as China, India, Russia, and Singapore, to exert pressure on the government.
"On the 20th anniversary of a crushed election, Burma's friends should insist on the immediate release of political prisoners and an inclusive and credible political process."
Human Rights Watch also called on the international community to impose more "calibrated and targeted" sanctions on Myanmar's military and its business associates.
On Wednesday the nations of Southeast Asia and the European Union urged Myanmar to ensure forthcoming elections are "credible and transparent", as the EU pressed the junta to allow a team to visit the country to discuss the polls.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jTf6cN2HuAI7ix1yyGxfrHrK_pAA

Political Black Lists by Burma ethnic politics watch network (BEPWN)

BEPWN-1

The Burmese option...

The government does not want to negotiate, so I think many more people will die," said "Red Shirt" leader Sean Boonpracong in Bangkok. "This will end as our Tiananmen Square." Or more precisely, it may end up as Thailand's "8888": the massacre by the Burmese army of thousands of civilians demanding democracy on August 8, 1988.

The army still rules Burma today, and commits further massacres whenever the citizens show resistance (most recently in 2007). The Burmese army's successful resort to violence in 1988, after so many Asian dictatorships had been overthrown by non-violent demonstrations, may have even emboldened the Chinese Communists to use extreme violence on Tiananmen Square in 1989. But I would never have put Thailand in the same category.

Even two months ago, I would have said that Thailand is a flawed but genuine democracy, and I would have pointed to the non-violent behaviour of the pro-democracy "Red Shirts" who took over central Bangkok in mid-March as evidence that the Thais would sort it out peacefully in the end. But a lot of people have been killed by the Thai army since then, and now I'm not so sure that there will be a happy ending in Thailand.

It's quite possible that there will be a massacre in Bangkok, and that the military will end up back in control permanently, riding a tiger from which they cannot dismount. Then the whole country would start down the road to Burmese-style tyranny, isolation and poverty.

Thailand wouldn't get there right away, of course. It took 40 years of repression to transform Burma from the richest country in South-East Asia to the poorest, and Thai generals are not ill-educated thugs like their Burmese counterparts. But they would find themselves in essentially the same position: Condemned to hold the whole country hostage at the point of a gun forever.

The roots of this crisis are in the military coup of 2006, when the Thai army overthrew the elected government of Thaksin Shinawatra. Thaksin, an ex-policeman who became a telecommunications billionaire, was not an ideal prime minister: His "war on drugs" involved thousands of illegal killings of dealers and addicts. But he endeared himself to Thailand's poor.

Thailand has been a democracy since 1992, but Thaksin was the first politician to appeal directly to the interests of the rural poor. He promised them debt relief, cheap loans, better health care, and he delivered - but that was not how the urban elite wanted their tax money spent.

A "Yellow Shirt" movement seized control of the streets of Bangkok, seeking Thaksin's removal and demanding strict curbs on the voting rights of peasants. After months of confrontation on the streets, the army took control in 2006, ejecting Thaksin from office - but it was not unequivocally on the side of the "Yellow Shirts" either.

The soldiers allowed a new election in late 2007 - and Thaksin's supporters won again, of course. His opponents used the courts to dismiss two prime ministers drawn from the pro-Thaksin party for "conflict of interest" (in one case because the prime minister appeared on a television cooking show), and ultimately simply had the whole party banned and its members ejected from parliament.

Thai army officers are not usually from the privileged Bangkok elite that sponsored the "Yellow Shirts". Many are from humble backgrounds, and most of their troops are country people, just like the "Red Shirts" behind the barricades.

There is still some hope, but the situation is very grave. People are being killed every day, and there are predictions of civil war if the protesters in Bangkok are massacred. Nobody knows for sure which way the army will jump, but if it "restores order" in the way that the elite wants, then a long, dark night will fall on Thailand.
http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/NewsDetails.aspx?storyid=278809

Burma Scracity areas

Burma : water scarcity areas

Bakapa

US says troubled by Myanmar developments

*US says troubled by Myanmar developments


The top US diplomat for Asia said on Wednesday Washington is troubled that
Myanmar has not moved on any of the issues standing in the way of better
American ties with the military-ruled state.

Kurt Campbell, assistant secretary of state for East Asia and the Pacific,
said his visit to Myanmar this month for talks with the military left him
disappointed on a full range of bilateral disputes.

"The United States remains quite dissatisfied with what we've seen to date
in terms of movement on the part of the government with the specific issues
that we've laid out," he said.

Campbell had called on Myanmar to hold dialogue with opposition parties and
ethnic groups ahead of elections this year and for the immediate release of
the country's estimated 2,100 political prisoners.

He had also expressed concern that Myanmar was seeking to acquire nuclear
technology from North Korea in violation of UN Security Council sanctions.

"On each of these issues we are troubled by developments," Campbell told a
news briefing.

Campbell's visit followed up a trip in November last year — the first to the
former Burma in 14 years by a senior US official — under Washington's new
policy of deeper engagement with a regime it has disparaged for years.

He met with government officials, leaders of opposition parties and ethnic
groups and long-detained Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, the
country's charismatic pro-democracy icon.

Source: http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/world-news/us-says-troubled-by-myanmar-developments_459099.html reposted by Burma Democratic Concern (BDC)

=========================

May 18, 2010

Andrew Selth

*Burma-North Korea Ties Worry the World*

For the past 10 years, Burma has been accused of trying to acquire a nuclear
weapon. A number of developments during this period — notably Burma’s
growing relationship with North Korea — have raised international concerns.
Yet, to date, no hard evidence of such a plan has been produced.

Claims of a secret nuclear weapons program date back to 2000, when Burma’s
military government announced that it was going to purchase a small research
reactor from Russia. These accusations were repeated in 2003, when it was
suggested by a respected news magazine that North Korea had taken over from
Russia as the source of Burma’s nuclear technology. In the years that
followed, the issue resurfaced periodically on activist Web sites, but in
August 2009 it attracted global attention when a story appeared in the
Sydney Morning Herald citing Australia National University professor Des
Ball and the Thai-based journalist Phil Thornton.

The SMH claimed that there were in fact two nuclear projects running in
Burma. The first was the Russian research center, which was to be operated
under international safeguards. (Contrary to the SMH story, construction of
this reactor has not yet begun). The second was said to be a secret project
to build a reactor and associated nuclear fuel processing plants with North
Korean help. According to the SMH, if all went according to plan Burma would
have a nuclear weapon by 2014 and “a handful” of such devices by 2020. The
main sources for these claims were two Burmese “defectors” and commercial
satellite imagery of suspect facilities in Burma.

Needless to say, such claims have been the subject of close scrutiny by the
United States and other governments. There have also been comprehensive
studies of the issue by think tanks like the International Institute for
Strategic Studies in London and the Institute for Science and International
Security in Washington.

The US government has expressed its concern about the defense ties that
appear to have developed between Burma and North Korea over the past decade.
These links reportedly include the sale of conventional arms to Burma, North
Korean help with the development of Burma’s defense infrastructure
(including the construction of various underground facilities), assistance
to Burma’s arms industries and training in fields like air defense. In 2004,
the US blocked the sale of North Korean short-range ballistic missiles to
Burma.

The Obama administration has also stated its wish to discuss a number of
proliferation issues with Burma, including the possible transfer of nuclear
technology from North Korea. Significantly, however, at no time has the US
government stated that Burma is attempting to develop a nuclear weapon, with
or without North Korean help. Indeed, despite considerable pressure from
members of Congress, activists and journalists, Washington has refused to be
drawn on the subject. Its position seems to reflect either a belief that
Burma does not have a secret nuclear weapons program, or a lack of hard
evidence to support such a claim.

This approach has been shared by other countries, including Britain and
Australia, both of which have referred only to “unconfirmed” reports of a
secret nuclear program. For their part, the IISS and ISIS have both stated
that there is insufficient evidence to support the claims. The IISS, for
example, said in late 2009 that Burma “has no known capabilities that would
lend themselves to a nuclear weapons program.”

Even so, both governments and think tanks remain suspicious of Burma’s
intentions, and point to a number of factors which they believe warrant
continuing close attention.

Of all Southeast Asian countries, Burma has the strongest strategic
rationale for a nuclear weapons program. Since the abortive pro-democracy
uprising in 1988, the military government has feared armed intervention by
the United States and its allies. The regime has also suffered from economic
sanctions and other punitive measures. Burma’s generals envy North Korea’s
ability to resist such pressures and still win concessions from the
international community. They reportedly believe that this influence derives
from Pyongyang’s possession of nuclear weapons.

In addition, Burma has for some years been working closely with two North
Korean trading entities that have a record of proliferating sensitive
nuclear and missile technologies. Also, Burma has imported a number of
sophisticated machines and items of dual-use equipment from Europe and Japan
that could conceivably be used in a nuclear program. The number of Burmese
sent to Russia for nuclear-related training seems to be more than that
required for a peaceful research program. Furthermore, some of the claims
made by the “defectors” are plausible.

None of these factors in themselves prove that Burma has embarked on a
nuclear weapons program. After the mistakes of the Iraq war, no government
wants to rush to judgment based on incomplete or unverified intelligence.
Having been caught napping a few years ago, however, when it was discovered
that Syria was building a reactor with North Korean help, the international
community is now looking carefully for hard evidence of a secret Burmese
nuclear program.

East Asia Forum

Andrew Selth is a research fellow at the Griffith Asia Institute in
Queensland.

Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/opinion/burma-north-korea-ties-worry-the-world/375675 reposted by Burma Democratic Concern (BDC)

===========================

*Myanmar: Hip-hop's revolution*

Posted May 19, 2010, 11:08 am

Alex Ellgee Special to GlobalPost

MAE SOT, Thailand — Behind the rusty prison bars, two men lie on the floor
in light blue fatigues. A stream of light pours in through a small window
near the top of their cell. All is still.

Suddenly, loud music begins to blare. The men leap up and clang their iron
shackles as smoke drifts into their cell. They start singing against a heavy
beat: “Never turn back, never give up.”

Despite appearances, these men are not criminals and they are not in prison
– at least not in a literal sense.

9KT and MK are famous Myanmar hip-hop artists on the set of their latest
music video, "Never Give Up." Donning black masks and using pseudonyms,
these musicians aim to keep their political tunes under the radar of a
dictatorship as oppressive as Myanmar, formerly called Burma.

“We wanted to film in a prison cell in order to represent for all our
members and friends who are now behind bars,” said 9KT, arranging his mask
on the set of the music video. “We are trying to tell the government, even
if they imprison us they cannot stop us fighting for freedom; we will always
carry on.”

“We are telling the people that they shouldn’t give up,” he said. “Burmese
youth can’t be afraid of the Burmese junta, they need to fight for freedom
in our country.”

Already a prominent hip-hop artist in Myanmar, 9KT grew inspired to make
more subversive songs when he heard the political hip-hop of refugees from
his country in Australia. He wanted to similarly address the extreme
suffering he saw around him.

He traveled to Mae Sot, Thailand, near the Myanmar border, more than a year
ago. The area has for more tahn two decades played host to an array of
organizations opposing the Myanmar junta.

There, he joined up with an underground political group called Generation
Wave (GW). He later met MK through GW, and they immediately found common
ground in their love for music and the desire to “wake up the youth.” In Mae
Sot, they can produce their music with relative safety, away from the police
presence in Yangon, Myanmar's capital.

GW itself was formed after the "Saffron Revolution" in September 2007 when
rising fuel prices provoked thousands of monks to take to the streets in
protest. Civilians joined the movement, but the military junta cracked down,
leaving hundreds dead and thousands imprisoned.

Following the crackdown, a group of protesters, who had been friends since
high school, started GW as a way to inspire new activists inside Myanmar.
Having analyzed revolutions worldwide and the opposition movement in their
country they decided to focus on non-violent resistance.

In two and half years, the group has carried out what they call “action
campaigns” almost every week. Their main activities include anti-government
graffiti in busy places, handing out pamphlets and writing and distributing
political music.

“The youth of Burma have seen so many activists thrown behind bars, they
have seen monks killed in the streets, so many are turning their back to the
struggle for human rights,” said Min Yan Naing, founder of GW. “Our job and
aim is to bring them back and make them feel the responsibility to change
our country and better the lives for all Burmese people.”

Just association with GW risks a hefty prison sentence. Thirty GW members
have been arrested. Nyie Chan was handed the longest sentence, 32 years, and
is said to be suffering from severe stomach problems in Myanmar’s notorious
Insein prison near Yangon.

Zayar Thaw, another famous hip-hop artist, was arrested and sentenced to six
years. Minutes before Zayar Thaw was sentenced, he wrote a statement, which
was leaked to GW members. “Tell the people to have the courage to reject the
things they don’t like, and even if they don’t dare to openly support the
right thing, tell them not to support the wrong thing,” he said in his
statement.

The young musician pioneered the hip-hop industry in Myanmar, releasing the
first-ever rap album in the country in 2003. The rock ‘n’ roll music fans of
Myanmar’s crumbling cities found a new passion overnight.

Zayar Thaw's thirst for hip-hop was married to his desire to further
democracy in Myanmar. The most prolific of GW campaigns, which saw the
phrase “Change New Government” being applied to Change Nitric Gas stickers,
was his brainchild. This motto is also spray-painted across the gate of GW’s
safe house in Mae Sot.

All the walls of the GW safe house are covered in graffiti. One wall has
“Freedom” splattered across it. Another has "Generation Wave" stenciled in
red, with a large clenched fist giving a thumbs up — GW’s logo.

9KT’s latest album, “Never Give Up,” is a direct message to youth. Eleven
tracks, to be released in October in time with Myanmar's elections, mix rock
and hip-hop. One song called “If We All Unite,” talks about coming together
to topple the government; while another, “Negative Thinking,” is a comic
song that mocks the generals for their bad intentions.

“Music can change everything. Popular music can change a lot,” he said.
“When I was young and heard celebrities singing happy songs, it made me
happy, if they sang angrily, it made me angry — so I hope if the people hear
political songs from familiar voices they will become interested in
politics.”

The cameraman at the music video shoot takes an aerial position. 9KT shakes
a can of spray paint and skillfully tags "2010," to represent the upcoming
elections, on the concrete floor. Without delay he whips out his second can
and aggressively paints a white cross over the digits.

Angrily, he stamps on it and walks off. With a bit of luck a dog walks over
the graffiti. Since dogs are considered lowly creatures, cheers arise from
the group which believes the upcoming election will be a sham — a belief
furthered by new election laws that for the first time allow the junta to
legally arrest opposition politicians who did not register.

As the camera and lights get packed up GW members sit around a table with
guitars discussing their upcoming furtive campaigns.

“We have to do as many as possible during the elections,” Min Yan Naing told
the group. “A revolution is evolving, it might not happen over night but at
least the people will soon realize they have the right to be free.”

http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/arts/report/051910_myanmar_hiphop

===========================

POLITICS
*Rising Border Tension Threatens China-Burma Relations*
By Mitch Moxley

BEIJING, May 20, 2010 (IPS) - When the military regime in Burma launched a
campaign last August to disarm the ethnic rebels in the Kokang region, made
up mostly of ethnic Chinese and where a two-decade-long ceasefire had been
in place, the push triggered an exodus of more than 37,000 refugees into
China’s Yunnan province.

The move, which frustrated the Chinese government in Beijing, sheds light on
brewing troubles in China-Burma relations. China has a significant interest
in a stable Burma and a greater influence over the xenophobic regime than
perhaps any other power. But as an election approaches in Burma (officially
known as Myanmar) that the ruling generals dubiously claim will be free and
fair, China-Burma relations are growing increasingly strained.

Complicating matters is growing anxiety that another push against armed
ethnics groups in eastern Burma will cause a second refugee crisis in
southern China’s Yunnan province, which borders the military-ruled South-
east Asian state along with Laos and Vietnam. Observers say the junta is
preparing for a military campaign against the 30,000-strong United Wa State
Army, which is ethnically Chinese and has been accused by the United States
of being a drug cartel.

"What’s happening on the border brings into sharp relief the fault lines in
[China-Burma relations] that have been apparent for some time but are now
more clearly defined," said Dr Ian Storey, a fellow at the Institute of
South East Asian Studies in Singapore.

"This is not a relationship that is based on trust and mutual friendship.
It’s very much a marriage of convenience."

In Burma, distrust of China runs deep, and the junta has for several years
tried to reduce its dependence on the latter by courting other nations,
namely, India and Russia. China, meanwhile, has grown frustrated with
Burma’s lack of progress on political reform and addressing economic
disparities, Dr Storey said.

Burma was one of the first countries to recognise the People’s Republic of
China in 1949, but relations turned for the worse in the 1960s, culminating
in anti-Chinese riots in the then-capital, Rangoon (now known as Yangon).
But when Western countries imposed broad sanctions on Burma following a
crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in 1988, China upped aid and arms
shipments and fostered trade relations.

Since then, China has provided broad diplomatic and economic support for the
junta, considered one of the most corrupt in the world. According to state
media, China is Burma’s fourth largest foreign investor and has invested
more than 1 billion U.S. dollars in the country, mostly in the mining
sector. In 2008, bilateral trade grew more than one-quarter to about 2.63
billion dollars.

In October 2009, state-owned China National Petroleum Corporation started
building a crude oil port in Burma, part of a pipeline that will carry 12
million metric tons of crude oil a year from the Middle East and Africa
through Burma into China, roughly 6 percent of China’s total imports last
year. Another pipeline, slated to come online in 2012, will have a capacity
to bring in 12 million cubic metres of gas from Burma into China.

Burma gives China access to the Indian Ocean through its ports, not just for
oil and gas import and export to China’s landlocked southwest, but also for
potential military bases.

The generals, meanwhile, depend on China for money and armaments. In 2006,
during a visit to Yunnan, Burma’s Commerce Minister Tin Naing Thein thanked
Beijing for being a "good neighbour" and offering "vigorous support"
following the 1988 crackdown on pro-democracry prostestors. China also
offers Burma some protection within the United Nations Security Council.

"Burma is isolated from the international community, and the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has put a lot of pressure on Burma to
improve its human rights conditions," said Yu Changsen, an associate
professor in the International Affairs Department of Sun Yat-Sen University,
located in Guandong Province. "Burma depends on China in many aspects… [The
relationship] is somewhat like that of China and North Korea."

Despite appearances, relations in recent years have been increasingly
troubled. For many years, China backed Burmese communists in their armed
struggle with the government, and many of Burma’s current leaders once
fought against the communists. Today, many Burmese view China as a pillager
of resources.

Huang Yunjing, an associate professor at Sun Yat-Sen University’s Asia-
Pacific Research Institute, said that the schisms in China-Burma relations
are overblown, noting that China’s investments in its military-ruled
neighbour continue to grow. "China and Burma share many common interests in
political, economic and security aspects," he said. "We have a good
bilateral partnership, and in many ways we support each other in a mutually
beneficial way."

But China is growing increasingly concerned about more unrest in the
troubled border region. This concern was made apparent with the recent
deployment of 5,000 People’s Liberation Army (PLA) troops along China’s
southwestern border with Burma, according to reports by ‘The Irrawaddy’, a
Thailand-based news magazine run by exiled Burmese.

The threat of border skirmishes grows greater as the elections, thought to
be held sometime this summer, draw near. The generals have long sought to
consolidate power in the restive and porous regions that border Yunnan,
where ethnic minorities on both sides share blood ties.

Further violence could disrupt border trade, create a refugee crisis and
lead to increased narcotics production and trafficking. It would also put at
risk a large number of Chinese nationals in the region, according to Dr
Storey.

"If that happens," Sun Yat-Sen’s Yu said, "it will definitely give the
Chinese government a headache."



Source: http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=51508 reposted by Burma Democratic Concern (BDC)

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