Wednesday, February 13
Local residents in Rangoon [now known as Yangon], Burma’s former capital, say security has apparently tightened. They report seeing members of Swan Arr Shin, a junta-backed civil organization, patrolling the city.
Soldiers, police and Swan Arr Shin members can be seen conducting security checks on vehicles entering Rangoon, according to local residents.
“We don’t know why, but the authorities have been checking licenses and recording the number plates of vehicles as they enter Rangoon. And in the city about three truckloads of soldiers, with red ribbons around their necks, are on patrol,” a local resident of Kyuaktad Township told Mizzima.
“And in Ahlone and Kyimyindine Townships authorities have taken young people and made them put on Swan Arr Shin uniforms and patrol the city at night. The kids are excited as they are given uniforms and taken in vehicles to go on patrol,” he added.
Tuesday, February 12
Christian Science Monitor Reports Censorship In Burma
Rangoon, Burma - Saw Wai is a Burmese poet known for his love songs. His eight-line Valentine's Day ode, about a brokenhearted man in love with a fashion model, was a particularly tender one. But there was one problem.
If read vertically, the first word of each line formed the phrase: "Power Crazy Senior General Than Shwe."
The senior general himself, head of Burma's (Myanmar's) military junta, could not have been amused. The head of the censorship board was urgently called to the capital; the weekly "Love Journal" has been shut down and copies of the offending edition were yanked from newsstands.
Saw Wai is now in jail, where apparently he will spend Feb. 14 in isolation, behind bars.
Extreme government censorship is as much a part of life in today's Burma as rice and pagodas.
Everything from TV programs to newspaper ads goes through a rigorous vetting board. But the junta is fighting a losing battle against a population hungry for information, armed with tools ranging from transistor radios to sneaky editors and myriad ways to bypass blocks on Internet sites.
Since last September's monk uprising, the censorship has increased. And criticism of the ruling junta is not all that is wiped out – so is most bad news, including reports on natural disasters and defeats of the national soccer team. Even good news can be cut if it's about countries out of favor with the government.
Reporters Without Borders' (RSF) Press Freedom Index placed Burma 164th out of 168 countries last year, just ahead of Cuba, Eritrea, Turkmenistan, and North Korea. This year, the country might do even worse.
"The police and army continue to hunt for journalists and activists who photographed and filmed the [September 2007] crackdown on the pro-democracy demonstrations," RSF says in its January report.
All TV and radio stations in Burma are government owned. The same is true for the country's three daily papers, which routinely run front-page stories along the lines of "Maj-Gen Khin Zaw of Ministry of Defense inspected bridges on the railroad yesterday," or Maj- Gen Tha Aye of the Ministry of Defense attended a ceremony to broadcast fertilizers for summer paddy."
Far more popular than the dailies are the 80-odd privately owned weekly and monthly magazines here – which are read, according to the British Broadcasting Corporation's (BBC) World Service Trust, by some 40 percent of the urban and 20 percent of the rural population.
Yet these have to submit everything from their editorials to cartoons to a government censorship board before publication. Falling afoul of the board results in immediate punishment ranging from having the paper closed, to years of imprisonment.
Very slow Internet access – which, in any case, is found only in the biggest cities – while cheap, is still a luxury for many. It, too, is under government control. Officially, all e-mails go through the authorized government-run Internet service providers, where detailed data on users is collected, and the mail itself is scoured, sometimes causing days of delays. Popular e-mail sites such as hotmail.com and gmail.com, along with foreign newspapers and a long list of other supposedly undesirable sites, are blocked.
Following last year's riots, all Internet access was cut off for three weeks. And, according to several Internet café owners, since then, they have been pressured to register the personal details of all customers and save screen images every five minutes on each computer – all of which could be demanded at any time by authorities.
So how does news actually get in, out, and about? The commercial papers are locked in a never-ending game of cat and mouse with the censors, explains an editor of one popular weekly here, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of security concerns. For example, newspapers typically re-send the same stories to the censor board a few weeks later, rewritten, with a new headline. "If we fail the first time, we restick the main point about three quarters of the way down in the story and surround it with very technical language to get the censors bored. We can still say a lot," he explains.
"Journalism is a vehicle for doing what we care about – which is actively advocating for social and economic change," admits the publisher of another weekly, who also asked his name not be used.
Meanwhile, foreign shortwave radio services are enormously popular here, with an estimated 40 percent of Burmese tuning in to the BBC, Voice of America Burmese broadcasts, Radio Free Asia, and the Democratic Voice of Burma. Small Chinese-made radios cost as little as $5.
Watching satellite television is harder because of frequent electric outages, and the expense. Nonetheless, it is popular with Burmese gathering in tea shops to watch sports and catch news.
"My constituency is a small town in upper Burma, but even there we have small satellite dishes and radios, and everyone is listening to the radio or watching the tennis," says U Han Tha Even, spokesman of the opposition NLD. "Even the military is listening to the BBC. Where else would they get information?"
In addition, in Rangoon and Mandalay, months-old copies of The Economist or Time magazine pass like gold from hand to hand. At night, under generator-run lights, locals crowd into makeshift outdoor secondhand book markets, browsing.
The Internet cafes in these main cities are packed with youngsters overriding the blocks with endless formulas to reach proxy servers – and freely surfing the web, in open defiance of the law. They chat with friends across the border in Thailand, check gmail accounts, read news, search for scholarship opportunities overseas, and follow American celebrity antics.
"I think there as many ways to enter gmail through side portals as there are ways to block it," says Zaw Zaw, a young Internet cafe owner, who admits he does not follow rules about tracking customers, and, so far, nothing has happened.
"Media from the outside is so very important," stresses Burmese monk in exile Abbot U Uttara, who heads the Sasana Ramsi Vihara in London. "Not only to stay informed, but because it conveys to those within Burma that the world has not forgotten them."
The flow of information goes both ways. While Burma is notoriously strict about letting foreign journalists into the country and restricts travel within Burma, many do enter, and a lot of what the junta is trying to cover up is reported anyway. Meanwhile, courageous local journalists reporting for outside media are very active. Burmese news sites based outside the country – such as Irrawaddy.org and Mizzima.com – put out daily reports using journalists within.
During September's demonstrations, despite a heavy crackdown on media, and the shooting to death of a Japanese journalist (which the government claims was accidental), images of the beatings and shootings of unarmed protesters crossed the world within minutes of the events – courtesy, mainly, of local activist journalists who rushed to nearby cafes or embassies with photos and reports. Mobile phones, while more expensive in Burma than almost anywhere else, are also becoming popular – allowing for immediate sending of both photos and text messages.
Valentine's Day poet Saw Wai remains in jail, says the weekly publisher, but there is no doubt others will continue fighting the boundaries here by cheekily sending out subversive messages, flooding the censors with reworded news stories, buying more radios, and bypassing blocked sites. "The times where you could isolate a whole country will never return. It's just not possible," he says. "Ours are small victories, but they are still victories."
If read vertically, the first word of each line formed the phrase: "Power Crazy Senior General Than Shwe."
The senior general himself, head of Burma's (Myanmar's) military junta, could not have been amused. The head of the censorship board was urgently called to the capital; the weekly "Love Journal" has been shut down and copies of the offending edition were yanked from newsstands.
Saw Wai is now in jail, where apparently he will spend Feb. 14 in isolation, behind bars.
Extreme government censorship is as much a part of life in today's Burma as rice and pagodas.
Everything from TV programs to newspaper ads goes through a rigorous vetting board. But the junta is fighting a losing battle against a population hungry for information, armed with tools ranging from transistor radios to sneaky editors and myriad ways to bypass blocks on Internet sites.
Since last September's monk uprising, the censorship has increased. And criticism of the ruling junta is not all that is wiped out – so is most bad news, including reports on natural disasters and defeats of the national soccer team. Even good news can be cut if it's about countries out of favor with the government.
Reporters Without Borders' (RSF) Press Freedom Index placed Burma 164th out of 168 countries last year, just ahead of Cuba, Eritrea, Turkmenistan, and North Korea. This year, the country might do even worse.
"The police and army continue to hunt for journalists and activists who photographed and filmed the [September 2007] crackdown on the pro-democracy demonstrations," RSF says in its January report.
All TV and radio stations in Burma are government owned. The same is true for the country's three daily papers, which routinely run front-page stories along the lines of "Maj-Gen Khin Zaw of Ministry of Defense inspected bridges on the railroad yesterday," or Maj- Gen Tha Aye of the Ministry of Defense attended a ceremony to broadcast fertilizers for summer paddy."
Far more popular than the dailies are the 80-odd privately owned weekly and monthly magazines here – which are read, according to the British Broadcasting Corporation's (BBC) World Service Trust, by some 40 percent of the urban and 20 percent of the rural population.
Yet these have to submit everything from their editorials to cartoons to a government censorship board before publication. Falling afoul of the board results in immediate punishment ranging from having the paper closed, to years of imprisonment.
Very slow Internet access – which, in any case, is found only in the biggest cities – while cheap, is still a luxury for many. It, too, is under government control. Officially, all e-mails go through the authorized government-run Internet service providers, where detailed data on users is collected, and the mail itself is scoured, sometimes causing days of delays. Popular e-mail sites such as hotmail.com and gmail.com, along with foreign newspapers and a long list of other supposedly undesirable sites, are blocked.
Following last year's riots, all Internet access was cut off for three weeks. And, according to several Internet café owners, since then, they have been pressured to register the personal details of all customers and save screen images every five minutes on each computer – all of which could be demanded at any time by authorities.
So how does news actually get in, out, and about? The commercial papers are locked in a never-ending game of cat and mouse with the censors, explains an editor of one popular weekly here, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of security concerns. For example, newspapers typically re-send the same stories to the censor board a few weeks later, rewritten, with a new headline. "If we fail the first time, we restick the main point about three quarters of the way down in the story and surround it with very technical language to get the censors bored. We can still say a lot," he explains.
"Journalism is a vehicle for doing what we care about – which is actively advocating for social and economic change," admits the publisher of another weekly, who also asked his name not be used.
Meanwhile, foreign shortwave radio services are enormously popular here, with an estimated 40 percent of Burmese tuning in to the BBC, Voice of America Burmese broadcasts, Radio Free Asia, and the Democratic Voice of Burma. Small Chinese-made radios cost as little as $5.
Watching satellite television is harder because of frequent electric outages, and the expense. Nonetheless, it is popular with Burmese gathering in tea shops to watch sports and catch news.
"My constituency is a small town in upper Burma, but even there we have small satellite dishes and radios, and everyone is listening to the radio or watching the tennis," says U Han Tha Even, spokesman of the opposition NLD. "Even the military is listening to the BBC. Where else would they get information?"
In addition, in Rangoon and Mandalay, months-old copies of The Economist or Time magazine pass like gold from hand to hand. At night, under generator-run lights, locals crowd into makeshift outdoor secondhand book markets, browsing.
The Internet cafes in these main cities are packed with youngsters overriding the blocks with endless formulas to reach proxy servers – and freely surfing the web, in open defiance of the law. They chat with friends across the border in Thailand, check gmail accounts, read news, search for scholarship opportunities overseas, and follow American celebrity antics.
"I think there as many ways to enter gmail through side portals as there are ways to block it," says Zaw Zaw, a young Internet cafe owner, who admits he does not follow rules about tracking customers, and, so far, nothing has happened.
"Media from the outside is so very important," stresses Burmese monk in exile Abbot U Uttara, who heads the Sasana Ramsi Vihara in London. "Not only to stay informed, but because it conveys to those within Burma that the world has not forgotten them."
The flow of information goes both ways. While Burma is notoriously strict about letting foreign journalists into the country and restricts travel within Burma, many do enter, and a lot of what the junta is trying to cover up is reported anyway. Meanwhile, courageous local journalists reporting for outside media are very active. Burmese news sites based outside the country – such as Irrawaddy.org and Mizzima.com – put out daily reports using journalists within.
During September's demonstrations, despite a heavy crackdown on media, and the shooting to death of a Japanese journalist (which the government claims was accidental), images of the beatings and shootings of unarmed protesters crossed the world within minutes of the events – courtesy, mainly, of local activist journalists who rushed to nearby cafes or embassies with photos and reports. Mobile phones, while more expensive in Burma than almost anywhere else, are also becoming popular – allowing for immediate sending of both photos and text messages.
Valentine's Day poet Saw Wai remains in jail, says the weekly publisher, but there is no doubt others will continue fighting the boundaries here by cheekily sending out subversive messages, flooding the censors with reworded news stories, buying more radios, and bypassing blocked sites. "The times where you could isolate a whole country will never return. It's just not possible," he says. "Ours are small victories, but they are still victories."
Government In Exile Calls For Boycott
The leader of Burma’s US-based government in exile has called for a boycott of the junta-announced referendum on a draft constitution and of elections planned for 2010.Sein Win, prime minister of the National Coalition Government of Union of Burma (NCGUB), told The Irrawaddy neither a referendum nor an election would solve Burma’s problems and would only legitimize authoritarian military rule.
Sein Win said the announcement of a referendum, to be followed by an election in 2010, could not be accepted while opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi remained under house arrest. The regime hadn’t even started talks with opposition leaders and ethnic groups, he said.
By unilaterally announcing the planned referendum and election, Sein Win said, the junta had sent a message that it was moving ahead with its seven point road map. “This means that they do not want to take the opposition into confidence, and they are totally ignoring the 1990 elections. As such we are not confident of the next election,” he said.
The Washington-based NCGUB was constituted and endorsed by representatives elected in the 1990 elections in Burma. Sein Win, a cousin of Suu Kyi, has led it since 1990.
Sein Win said the NCGUB also opposed the regime’s plan for a referendum and election “because of the present situation when there is no freedom of media, and no rule of law. Under these circumstances, people should not take part in any of those processes.”
The regime should hold talks with Suu Kyi and her party, the National League for Democracy, and with ethnic leaders, Sein Win said. Then, he added, “we will have our solution.”
Sein Win said it was also time for the UN Security Council to give a stronger mandate to the UN Secretary-General’s Office and the UN Envoy to Burma, Ibrahim Gambari, allowing them to play an effective mediatory role in bringing about an equitable solution to the political deadlock in Burma.
Some observers have speculated that Saturday’s announcement may have been the result of pressure from China, concerned about a small but vocal movement to boycott the Beijing Olympics in August.
In a broadcast interview at the weekend, US first lady Laura Bush said China had not brought enough pressure to bear on the Burmese junta.
“They [China] have not pressed them enough to—for the regime to show any sort of movement,” Bush told PBS.
“And, of course, they have continued to support Burma financially by buying natural resources,” said Bush, who has taken a personal interest in the pro-democracy movement in Burma, especially since the September demonstrations.
USDA Member Found Beheaded
The body of a Union Solidarity and Development Association was found beheaded in Htantabin township, Rangoon division, on 4 February, local residents said.The USDA member, whose name was not given, was from Thone Thate ward in Hlaing Tharyar township, Rangoon division.
A resident of Hlaing Tharyar said that the USDA member had been decapitated and his skin partially removed.
“All the nerves on his body were exposed and his head was stuck up on a bamboo pole,” the resident said.
The USDA member was reportedly known for treating people in the township badly when he was alive.
Other USDA members in the area were said to be shaken by news of the circumstances of the killing.
“It seems other that USDA members who have heard about this murder are so scared they might face the same fate that they have been much quieter recently and have not been harassing local people,” the resident said.
Residents have not heard of any arrests made so far in connection with the case.
Htantabin township police station was unavailable for comment.
Mon 11 Feb 2008 Filed under: News, Press Release
Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) has called the ‘roadmap to democracy’ announced by the Burmese military regime on Saturday a sham, which will serve only to ‘rubber-stamp the authority of this brutal regime’.
The announcement was made on the evening news for state radio and television on Saturday 9 February 2008, and outlined plans to hold a referendum on the proposed constitution in May 2008 and a general election in 2010. This is the first timetable that has been outlined for a constitution and elections.
The draft constitution is being written by the National Convention, where the overwhelming majority of delegates are handpicked by the regime. None of the nine pro-democracy parties which took part in the 1990 elections and won 90 per cent of the parliamentary seats are included in the constitution drafting process. In addition no major representatives from the ethnic nationalities which make up 40 per cent of the population of Burma are included.
Questioning or criticising the National Convention and communicating with the international media about the process are crimes under the regime’s Order 5/96 and carry a 20-year jail sentence.
CSW is currently in the region on a fact-finding visit and has obtained fresh evidence of systematic and widespread human rights violations including forced labour, rape and torture.
First-hand testimonies were obtained from Burmese monks who fled as a result of the September crackdown, Shan and Karen internally displaced people and refugees.
CSW’s Chief Executive, Mervyn Thomas, said: “Far from being a positive development, this timetable will simply rubber-stamp the authority of this brutal regime. For there to be real change in Burma the regime must immediately release Aung San Suu Kyi and all the political prisoners, open all parts of the country to unhindered access for international humanitarian and human rights organisations and enter into meaningful tripartite dialogue with the National League for Democracy and ethnic nationalities. We call on the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki- Moon, to go in person to Burma to facilitate these steps as a matter of urgency. The world must not be conned by this sham.”
Saturday, February 9
MYAWADDY, BURMA – Christian Freedom International (CFI), a U.S.-based humanitarian organization, is urging the global community to call on Burma’s government to end the ethnic cleansing violence that has caused the deaths of thousands of its own citizens, with thousands more swarming into refugee camps.
The challenge comes as one of Hollywood’s latest films, Rambo IV, is being released in theaters around the world -- a movie where its writer, producer, and leading actor, Sylvester Stallone, began work on the script shortly after the devastation of the September 11, 2001 U.S. terrorist attacks. In the early stages of the script’s development, Stallone consulted with Soldiers of Fortune magazine and asked one crucial question: where is the one place on earth where the worst atrocities are taking place and getting the least amount of attention?
The answer was Burma.
In the latest installment of the 20-year-old Rambo movie franchise, Stallone attempts to revive his protagonist character, John Rambo, where the Vietnam veteran is living a solitary, peaceful life in Bangkok, Thailand -- until the day he’s summoned to escort a group of Christian missionaries up the Salween River to deliver relief aid to war-weary refugees in Burma. When the missionaries fail to return from their trip nearly two weeks later, the veteran is once again approached by the missionaries’ pastor, who pleads for his help in locating the aid workers that have been kidnapped by the vicious Burmese army.
CFI anticipates that the movie’s recent release will draw more attention to the grim reality of the world’s oldest civil war, in a country where Karen and Karenni Christians have been especially suffering for decades. Since 1996, Christian Freedom International has built schools, orphanages and field hospitals, as well as provided food, medicine and Bibles for thousands of suffering Christians in Burma.
The organization has also remained as an active voice in the political arena on behalf of Burma’s refugees, and in recent months worked closely with the U.S. State Department to assist with the resettlement effort that is allowing many of the country’s exiles to begin new lives in the United States.
Although thousands of refugees are now living safely on American soil, thousands more remain in grave danger as they continue to flee from the Burmese army. CFI president Jim Jacobson is currently on location in Burma, delivering Bibles and urgently needed medical supplies to Karen and Karenni refugees.
Jim Jacobson, a former White House policy analyst during the Reagan administration, has frequently visited Burma to personally deliver aid -- and encouragement -- to displaced Christians in the region.
Note: most of the Christians in Burma are Karen or Chin, but the suffering there is among all the people, Christian and non-Christian alike.
Elections in 2010?
written by Aung Hla Tun
YANGON (Reuters) - Myanmar's military government said on Saturday it would hold a referendum on a new constitution in May followed by multi-party elections in 2010, a move dismissed as worthless by the opposition without the release of Aung San Suu Kyi.
"We have achieved success in economic, social and other sectors and in restoring peace and stability," the junta announced on state television after sending in the army to quell Buddhist monk-led pro-democracy demonstrations in September.
"So multi-party, democratic elections will be held in 2010," said the statement issued in the name of Secretary Number One Lieutenant-General Tin Aung Myint Oo, a top member of the junta.
The elections would be the first since 1990, when Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) won multi-party elections in the former Burma.
The military, which has ruled the country since 1962, ignored the result, crushing pro-democracy demonstrations at the cost of several thousand lives.
Nobel Peace Prize laureate Suu Kyi has spent much of the time since then in detention.
A spokesman for the Burmese government in exile, which includes MPs elected in 1990 but who fled after the junta refused to let the election result stand, said the announcement would mean nothing unless Suu Kyi was released and took part.
"Without the participation of Suu Kyi, the NLD and ethnic parties the people will not accept this constitution," said Zin Linn.
Saturday's announcement from the junta did not make clear whether the NLD would be allowed to take part, but the constitution is believed likely to disbar Suu Kyi from office by ruling out anyone married to a foreigner, as she was, and to ensure the top leadership comes from the military.
Suu Kyi's husband, British academic Michael Aris, died in March 1999.
"In accord with the fourth step of the seven-step roadmap to democracy, a nationwide referendum will be held in May 2008 to ratify the newly drafted constitution," the junta statement said.
The new constitution, now being drafted after the completion of a national convention first convened in the 1990s, will be finished soon, the statement added.
The NLD has refused to take part in the convention.
The government announced the seven-step roadmap in 2003 but had refused to set a firm timetable until now. Some Western powers dismissed the roadmap as little more than a sham to allow the junta to retain power.
written by Aung Hla Tun
YANGON (Reuters) - Myanmar's military government said on Saturday it would hold a referendum on a new constitution in May followed by multi-party elections in 2010, a move dismissed as worthless by the opposition without the release of Aung San Suu Kyi.
"We have achieved success in economic, social and other sectors and in restoring peace and stability," the junta announced on state television after sending in the army to quell Buddhist monk-led pro-democracy demonstrations in September.
"So multi-party, democratic elections will be held in 2010," said the statement issued in the name of Secretary Number One Lieutenant-General Tin Aung Myint Oo, a top member of the junta.
The elections would be the first since 1990, when Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) won multi-party elections in the former Burma.
The military, which has ruled the country since 1962, ignored the result, crushing pro-democracy demonstrations at the cost of several thousand lives.
Nobel Peace Prize laureate Suu Kyi has spent much of the time since then in detention.
A spokesman for the Burmese government in exile, which includes MPs elected in 1990 but who fled after the junta refused to let the election result stand, said the announcement would mean nothing unless Suu Kyi was released and took part.
"Without the participation of Suu Kyi, the NLD and ethnic parties the people will not accept this constitution," said Zin Linn.
Saturday's announcement from the junta did not make clear whether the NLD would be allowed to take part, but the constitution is believed likely to disbar Suu Kyi from office by ruling out anyone married to a foreigner, as she was, and to ensure the top leadership comes from the military.
Suu Kyi's husband, British academic Michael Aris, died in March 1999.
"In accord with the fourth step of the seven-step roadmap to democracy, a nationwide referendum will be held in May 2008 to ratify the newly drafted constitution," the junta statement said.
The new constitution, now being drafted after the completion of a national convention first convened in the 1990s, will be finished soon, the statement added.
The NLD has refused to take part in the convention.
The government announced the seven-step roadmap in 2003 but had refused to set a firm timetable until now. Some Western powers dismissed the roadmap as little more than a sham to allow the junta to retain power.
Wednesday, February 6
Mirror Mirror On The Wall
Burma’s censorship authorities have found new tools to monitor submitted written manuscripts before approval—mirrors and magnifying glasses.
Rangoon-based writers told The Irrawaddy that censors working in the Press Scrutiny and Registration Board office are now equipped with mirrors and magnifying glasses to help them seek out hidden messages in poems, novels, stories and advertisements.
The new tools were introduced following the discovery in a published poem of a clandestine message mocking junta leader Snr-Gen Than Shwe.
The first words of each line of the short poem, written by Saw Wai under the title “February 14” and published in the weekly “Love Journal,” made up the message: “Senior General Than Shwe is foolish with power.” Saw Wai was subsequently arrested.
The head of the censorship board, Maj Tint Swe—himself a writer, with the penname Ye Yint Tint Swe—was summoned to a meeting with high-ranking officials, where he had to explain the lapse. Sources say he may soon be fired.
Saw Wai’s ruse was the second of its kind to mock Than Shwe in this way. In July 2007, an advertisement in the English-language semi-official The Myanmar Times newspaper contained a hidden message calling Than Shwe “a killer.”
The advertisement was placed in the paper by a Danish satirical art group posing as "The Board of Islandic Travel Agencies Ewhsnahtrellik and the Danish Industry BesoegDanmark." When read backwards, the Danish-looking word "Ewhsnahtrellik" spelt out "Killer Than Shwe."
A Burmese editor living in Rangoon confirmed to The Irrawaddy on Monday that censors were now using mirrors and magnifying glasses to search for hidden messages in the texts they are required to check before publication.
Editors and publishers say the additional work is slowing up the censorship process. “The censors are even checking cover pages of magazines time and again.”
One Rangoon writer said he now had to submit his manuscripts one month ahead of publication, compared to one week in the past.
U.S. Imposes More Sanctions to Press Myanmar’s Rulers
WASHINGTON (Reuters) — The Bush administration on Tuesday imposed more financial sanctions against a business tycoon linked to Myanmar’s military rulers, this time aiming at companies used to purchase helicopters and other military equipment.
The action designates three companies controlled by the tycoon, Tay Za, and his Htoo Trading conglomerate, including a subsidiary based in Singapore, as supporters of a repressive government responsible for human rights violations, the Treasury Department said.
The action is the third set of American sanctions intended to put pressure on the leaders of Myanmar, formerly Burma, since a violent government crackdown on protesters last year.
“The president has made clear that we will continue to take action against the military junta and those who prop it up so long as human rights violations continue and democracy is suppressed,” said Adam Szubin, director of the Treasury’s sanctions arm, the Office of Foreign Assets Control.
The action prohibits Americans from doing business with the companies and with seven newly designated individuals, and seeks to freeze any assets they may have under United States jurisdiction.
Mr. Tay Za and five of his other companies, including the tourist airline Air Bagan, were blacklisted by the Treasury in October.
The designated companies included Myanmar Avia Export Company, which the Treasury said was used to purchase helicopters and aircraft on behalf of Myanmar’s military. The Treasury also designated Ayer Shwe Wah Company, a company for which the son of a Burmese general serves as a director, and Pavo Aircraft Leasing, a Singapore-based company that directs Htoo business ventures there.
The Singapore state broadcaster Channel New Asia quoted Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in November as speaking out against sanctions on Myanmar, saying no one in Southeast Asia supported them. Myanmar’s impoverished neighbors, Laos and Cambodia, have also condemned the sanctions.
From NY Times
RB
WASHINGTON (Reuters) — The Bush administration on Tuesday imposed more financial sanctions against a business tycoon linked to Myanmar’s military rulers, this time aiming at companies used to purchase helicopters and other military equipment.
The action designates three companies controlled by the tycoon, Tay Za, and his Htoo Trading conglomerate, including a subsidiary based in Singapore, as supporters of a repressive government responsible for human rights violations, the Treasury Department said.
The action is the third set of American sanctions intended to put pressure on the leaders of Myanmar, formerly Burma, since a violent government crackdown on protesters last year.
“The president has made clear that we will continue to take action against the military junta and those who prop it up so long as human rights violations continue and democracy is suppressed,” said Adam Szubin, director of the Treasury’s sanctions arm, the Office of Foreign Assets Control.
The action prohibits Americans from doing business with the companies and with seven newly designated individuals, and seeks to freeze any assets they may have under United States jurisdiction.
Mr. Tay Za and five of his other companies, including the tourist airline Air Bagan, were blacklisted by the Treasury in October.
The designated companies included Myanmar Avia Export Company, which the Treasury said was used to purchase helicopters and aircraft on behalf of Myanmar’s military. The Treasury also designated Ayer Shwe Wah Company, a company for which the son of a Burmese general serves as a director, and Pavo Aircraft Leasing, a Singapore-based company that directs Htoo business ventures there.
The Singapore state broadcaster Channel New Asia quoted Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong in November as speaking out against sanctions on Myanmar, saying no one in Southeast Asia supported them. Myanmar’s impoverished neighbors, Laos and Cambodia, have also condemned the sanctions.
From NY Times
RB
Tuesday, February 5
Myanmar Arrests Blogger
(From NY Times of 1/31/08)
BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) -- Myanmar's junta has stepped up surveillance of the Internet, arresting one blogger who wrote about the stifling of free expression in the military-ruled nation, a media advocacy group said.
The blogger, Nay Myo Latt, was taken into custody in Yangon on Wednesday after writing about the suppression of freedoms following last fall's crushing of pro-democracy demonstrations, Reporters Without Borders said.
Despite international condemnation and pressure following the demonstrations, there is little evidence that the junta is easing its repressive rule or moving closer to reconciliation with pro-democracy forces led by Suu Kyi.
The arrested blogger, a member of Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy, owns three Internet cafes, Paris-based Reporters Without Borders said in a release seen Thursday.
Myanmar authorities have stepped up their surveillance of the Internet since the beginning of the month, pressuring Internet cafe owners to register personal details of all users and to program screen captures every five minutes on each computer, the release said.
This data apparently is sent to the Ministry of Communications, it said.
The only blog platform that had been accessible within Myanmar, the Google-owned Blogger, has been blocked by the regime since Jan. 23, preventing bloggers from posting entries unless they use proxies or other ways to get around censorship, the group said.
''This blockage is one of the ways used by the government to reduce Burmese citizens to silence. Burma is in danger of being cut off from the rest of the world again,'' the statement said.
Suu Kyi, who remains under house arrest, Wednesday warned the public to ''hope for the best and prepare for the worst'' in her country.
The democracy icon was allowed to meet with executives of her National League for Democracy party, who afterward voiced her unhappiness that there is no deadline for talks to bring about democratic reform.
(From NY Times of 1/31/08)
BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) -- Myanmar's junta has stepped up surveillance of the Internet, arresting one blogger who wrote about the stifling of free expression in the military-ruled nation, a media advocacy group said.
The blogger, Nay Myo Latt, was taken into custody in Yangon on Wednesday after writing about the suppression of freedoms following last fall's crushing of pro-democracy demonstrations, Reporters Without Borders said.
Despite international condemnation and pressure following the demonstrations, there is little evidence that the junta is easing its repressive rule or moving closer to reconciliation with pro-democracy forces led by Suu Kyi.
The arrested blogger, a member of Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy, owns three Internet cafes, Paris-based Reporters Without Borders said in a release seen Thursday.
Myanmar authorities have stepped up their surveillance of the Internet since the beginning of the month, pressuring Internet cafe owners to register personal details of all users and to program screen captures every five minutes on each computer, the release said.
This data apparently is sent to the Ministry of Communications, it said.
The only blog platform that had been accessible within Myanmar, the Google-owned Blogger, has been blocked by the regime since Jan. 23, preventing bloggers from posting entries unless they use proxies or other ways to get around censorship, the group said.
''This blockage is one of the ways used by the government to reduce Burmese citizens to silence. Burma is in danger of being cut off from the rest of the world again,'' the statement said.
Suu Kyi, who remains under house arrest, Wednesday warned the public to ''hope for the best and prepare for the worst'' in her country.
The democracy icon was allowed to meet with executives of her National League for Democracy party, who afterward voiced her unhappiness that there is no deadline for talks to bring about democratic reform.
Monday, January 28
Friday, January 11
Daw Suu Kyi Meets With Junta?
(BBC News) Detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has had another meeting with an official from Burma's ruling junta.
Witnesses said Ms Suu Kyi, who has been under house arrest for 12 of the past 18 years, spent about one hour in talks at a military building in Rangoon.
It is thought she met Aung Kyi, the labour minister appointed as a liaison last year amid global outrage at the military regime's repression.
If confirmed, it would be the fourth time the pair have held talks.
Ms Suu Kyi's party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), said last month that meetings with the junta had so far yielded little.
The country's generals came under sustained international pressure late last year after brutally suppressing peaceful demonstrations.
The EU and US both introduced a raft of new sanctions and UN diplomats engaged in frantic diplomacy in a bid to rein in the generals.
But most Asian leaders have been reluctant to criticise the regime, and there have been few signs of genuine reform in Burma.
RB
Saturday, January 5
Burma marks Independence Day
(BBC News). Military ruler Gen Than Shwe used the occasion to reiterate the government's determination to continue with its seven-stage roadmap to democracy.
But critics say the plan is just a way to perpetuate the military's control. They used the anniversary to call for the release of political prisoners.
The British ruled Burma for 63 years, until shortly after World War II.
The BBC's Jonathan Head, reporting from neighbouring Thailand, said there was little sign of any celebration in Burma, 60 years on from independence.
The national flag was raised in Rangoon and in the new capital, Naypyidaw, at the exact moment that the British flag was lowered in 1948.
Than Shwe did not attend either event, but a statement was read out in which he called for national unity and discipline.
He said the people of Burma were working towards "the emergence of a peaceful, modern and developed discipline-flourishing democratic state".
He stressed his commitment to the democracy roadmap - a process which critics say is entirely controlled by the military and excludes the high-profile opposition figure Aung San Suu Kyi and her party, the National League for Democracy (NLD).
'Pretence'
The statement suggests the military leadership does not appear to have softened its stance since September's violent crackdown on pro-democracy campaigners, which resulted in the deaths of at least 31 people.
No mention was made of the protests, nor to Aung San, Ms Suu Kyi's father and the leader of Burma's independence struggle.
Sean Turnell, an expert on Burma at Australia's Macquarie University, said this was because "if he glorified the role of Aung San, in a sense, he was also glorifying Aung San Suu Kyi".
"It's like America celebrating the Fourth of July without mentioning Washington," he told the French news agency AFP, referring to the first US president.
Following September's protests, the military junta appointed an official, Aung Kyi, to liaise with Ms Suu Kyi and her NLD party, prompting hope that there could be a genuine dialogue between the two sides.
But NLD spokesman Nyman Win said the talks were a "pretence" and had made little progress since Aung Kyi and Ms Suu Kyi met in November, their only meeting so far.
"We don't know when they are going to meet again," he told AFP.
Thursday, January 3
The High Price of News
The military junta ordered a 160-fold increase in the annual satellite television tax in what appeared to be an attempt to keep people from watching international news broadcasts. The new cost, about $780, is three times the average yearly income. Without satellite, the only other television news is on rigidly state-controlled MRTV. The few private television stations avoid all current affairs in favor of soap operas and pop music. (Reuters)
RB
Tuesday, October 9
An Eyewitness Account From Sule Paya
David Jimenez is a Spanish reporter who was on the ground at Sule Paya (Pagoda) on the day the military began shooting unarmed (and praying, according to Jimenez) civilians and monks. Click on the title above to see the article in The Star.
RB
David Jimenez is a Spanish reporter who was on the ground at Sule Paya (Pagoda) on the day the military began shooting unarmed (and praying, according to Jimenez) civilians and monks. Click on the title above to see the article in The Star.
RB
Saturday, October 6
Suu Kyi Rejects Deal
The "Burma File" is reporting that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has 'rebuffed' Than Shwe and the ruling junta's offer of talks. A National League of Democracy (NLD) spokesman explained,
"NLD spokesman Nyan Win said the conditions set by Than Shwe for a meeting with Suu Kyi were tantamount to 'asking her to confess to offences that she has not committed.'"
The United States, together with Great Britain and France, has called for the immediate release of detained protestors and other political prisoners (which would include the lady).
The article by three permanent security council members will be presented to the entire security council on Monday. Burma File reports, "The 'statement', which has no inherent power of enforcement, will be presented on Monday to the UN Security Council, where China will be asked this time to withhold its veto and so signal that it also wants democratic change in Burma."
The Karen National Liberation Army has been operating in the Karen (Kayin) state almost since World War 2. Burma File reports regarding the Karen army, "Its political wing, the Karen National Union, offered assistance to the protesters in Rangoon at the height of the demonstrations, but the government’s security forces locked the city down before any practical alliance could be discussed."
The junta has from the beginning followed a policy of "divide and conquer" with the nation's numerous ethnic and tribal peoples. It seems unlikely that any kind of democracy or freedom will be achieved until the various people groups of the country can speak with a united voice.
RB
The "Burma File" is reporting that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has 'rebuffed' Than Shwe and the ruling junta's offer of talks. A National League of Democracy (NLD) spokesman explained,
"NLD spokesman Nyan Win said the conditions set by Than Shwe for a meeting with Suu Kyi were tantamount to 'asking her to confess to offences that she has not committed.'"
The United States, together with Great Britain and France, has called for the immediate release of detained protestors and other political prisoners (which would include the lady).
The article by three permanent security council members will be presented to the entire security council on Monday. Burma File reports, "The 'statement', which has no inherent power of enforcement, will be presented on Monday to the UN Security Council, where China will be asked this time to withhold its veto and so signal that it also wants democratic change in Burma."
The Karen National Liberation Army has been operating in the Karen (Kayin) state almost since World War 2. Burma File reports regarding the Karen army, "Its political wing, the Karen National Union, offered assistance to the protesters in Rangoon at the height of the demonstrations, but the government’s security forces locked the city down before any practical alliance could be discussed."
The junta has from the beginning followed a policy of "divide and conquer" with the nation's numerous ethnic and tribal peoples. It seems unlikely that any kind of democracy or freedom will be achieved until the various people groups of the country can speak with a united voice.
RB
Wednesday, October 3
UN Employee Detained By Junta
The follow-up to shooting protesters is now the "knock on the door" in the middle of the night. This regime has lost all moral authority to claim it is the proper government of Myanmar:
1. It was not only never elected, regular elections were overthrown ['nullified' is the fancy word they use for what in reality was a bloody coup d'etat] in 1990 when the NLD won an overwhelming majority at the polling booth.
2. The illegitimate "government" of the Union of Myanmar (Burma) is not held responsible by anyone. This arrangement makes the old discarded theory of the "divine right of kings" seem reasonable by comparison.
3. It has shot its own citizens and leading "clergy" (i.e. the Buddhist monks) for the simple crime of disagreeing with government policy and having the audacity to organize and assemble publicly.
4. It has now carried that to the ridiculous extreme of actually rounding up people in the middle of the night and intimidating others by means of loud-speaker trucks driving on the streets through the night.
5. In the midst of all this it is noticeable to many people that the American administration has been soundly condemned by world opinion for bringing democracy and freedom of choice (remember the purple fingers?) to the Iraqi people 'for oil,' while there is barely a whimper from anyone against the Chinese government which -- for oil -- is supporting a brutal and tyrranical bastard government that shoots its own people.
RB
The follow-up to shooting protesters is now the "knock on the door" in the middle of the night. This regime has lost all moral authority to claim it is the proper government of Myanmar:
1. It was not only never elected, regular elections were overthrown ['nullified' is the fancy word they use for what in reality was a bloody coup d'etat] in 1990 when the NLD won an overwhelming majority at the polling booth.
2. The illegitimate "government" of the Union of Myanmar (Burma) is not held responsible by anyone. This arrangement makes the old discarded theory of the "divine right of kings" seem reasonable by comparison.
3. It has shot its own citizens and leading "clergy" (i.e. the Buddhist monks) for the simple crime of disagreeing with government policy and having the audacity to organize and assemble publicly.
4. It has now carried that to the ridiculous extreme of actually rounding up people in the middle of the night and intimidating others by means of loud-speaker trucks driving on the streets through the night.
5. In the midst of all this it is noticeable to many people that the American administration has been soundly condemned by world opinion for bringing democracy and freedom of choice (remember the purple fingers?) to the Iraqi people 'for oil,' while there is barely a whimper from anyone against the Chinese government which -- for oil -- is supporting a brutal and tyrranical bastard government that shoots its own people.
RB
Saturday, September 29
BBC Reports Saturday PM
"Information is patchy as mobile phones and internet access have been interrupted. But the BBC has learnt that there have also been at least three protests elsewhere in Burma, in Mandalay, Sittwe and Pakoku. "
US Looking For More Persuasive Approaches
"The administration seems to regard the violent crackdown on Burmese monks as a long-hoped-for opportunity to get other Southeast Asian nations to rethink their insistence that they should not interfere with the internal politics of their neighbors. The hope is that American pressure might force the Burmese leaders into a political process that would drive them from power, if not from the country.
"Voice of America and Radio Free Asia doubled their broadcasting into the country in Burmese to five hours a day."
Meanwhile, as Christians we believe we have immediate recourse to Providence. We should not simply "let events follow their own course," but understand that God directs all things to his glory. So, for our part, Christians should be asking God to spare the innocent and overthrow the oppressor, (Psalm 72:4) "He shall judge the poor of the people, he shall save the children of the needy, and shall break in pieces the oppressor" and "Thus saith the LORD; Execute ye judgment and righteousness, and deliver the spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor: and do no wrong, do no violence to the stranger, the fatherless, nor the widow, neither shed innocent blood in this place" (Jeremiah 22:3).
I have been to Myanmar ten times since 2000. It is a land of beauty, peace, and wealth if it were not for the oppressors who have lost all moral authority as the right government of that land. The people of Myanmar voted overwhelmingly to oust Ne Win and his cronies in 1990. The dictator has changed, but the SPDC continues its oppressive ways.
The government of the US should be demanding the immediate release of Suu Kyi together with all the monks and others who have been arrested for nothing more than expressing their opinions.
What can we do in addition to prayers? We can work with the NGOs that will pledge to work with the Myanmar people without enriching the generals or their families. We can put pressure on China, which is the major trading partner of the illegitimate junta that is presently ruling without moral authority.
When the USSR invaded Afghanistan in 1979, then president Carter cancelled US participation in the Moscow summer olympics. President Bush should consider such an action against Beijing if they continue unwilling to pressure the generals.
RB
"Information is patchy as mobile phones and internet access have been interrupted. But the BBC has learnt that there have also been at least three protests elsewhere in Burma, in Mandalay, Sittwe and Pakoku. "
US Looking For More Persuasive Approaches
"The administration seems to regard the violent crackdown on Burmese monks as a long-hoped-for opportunity to get other Southeast Asian nations to rethink their insistence that they should not interfere with the internal politics of their neighbors. The hope is that American pressure might force the Burmese leaders into a political process that would drive them from power, if not from the country.
"Voice of America and Radio Free Asia doubled their broadcasting into the country in Burmese to five hours a day."
Meanwhile, as Christians we believe we have immediate recourse to Providence. We should not simply "let events follow their own course," but understand that God directs all things to his glory. So, for our part, Christians should be asking God to spare the innocent and overthrow the oppressor, (Psalm 72:4) "He shall judge the poor of the people, he shall save the children of the needy, and shall break in pieces the oppressor" and "Thus saith the LORD; Execute ye judgment and righteousness, and deliver the spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor: and do no wrong, do no violence to the stranger, the fatherless, nor the widow, neither shed innocent blood in this place" (Jeremiah 22:3).
I have been to Myanmar ten times since 2000. It is a land of beauty, peace, and wealth if it were not for the oppressors who have lost all moral authority as the right government of that land. The people of Myanmar voted overwhelmingly to oust Ne Win and his cronies in 1990. The dictator has changed, but the SPDC continues its oppressive ways.
The government of the US should be demanding the immediate release of Suu Kyi together with all the monks and others who have been arrested for nothing more than expressing their opinions.
What can we do in addition to prayers? We can work with the NGOs that will pledge to work with the Myanmar people without enriching the generals or their families. We can put pressure on China, which is the major trading partner of the illegitimate junta that is presently ruling without moral authority.
When the USSR invaded Afghanistan in 1979, then president Carter cancelled US participation in the Moscow summer olympics. President Bush should consider such an action against Beijing if they continue unwilling to pressure the generals.
RB
Wednesday, September 26
Robert Novak's Take on the Situation in Burma
"U.S. sanctions against Myanmar (the former Burma) reflect deep concern at the State Department about an upheaval in the China-aligned dictatorship along the lines of the 1956 Budapest uprising. The prospect is that the U.S. will do no more for freedom in this little Asian country than it did for Hungary a half century ago."
"U.S. sanctions against Myanmar (the former Burma) reflect deep concern at the State Department about an upheaval in the China-aligned dictatorship along the lines of the 1956 Budapest uprising. The prospect is that the U.S. will do no more for freedom in this little Asian country than it did for Hungary a half century ago."
A First-Hand Report Received Second-Hand
Monday, September 24, 2007
The situation in Yangon becomes worse. Yesterday the local council told me to stop our church. Fortunately, they didn't come because of some reasons.
But they checked many churches and Bible Schools. T____ went to the other area and led the worship service. My family and some members did worship at the candle house. We sang hymns lowly. Every day and night the security goes around the wards and towns.
The Buddhist monks continued doing demonstration every day. In spite of the political situation it was heavily raining every day and so we didn't get out from home for five days. The Buddhist Association of Myanmar announced that today at noon the monks will lead demonstrations in every town and the community will follow them. When they did a demonstration many women hold their hands one another and guarded the monks from disturbance by the military force. All the Buddhist monks from Hlaingthayar already went to downtown to perform
demonstration today.
[Note -- Hlaingthaya is the township where I stay when in Yangon. RB]
However, we had our Bible study safely last Saturday. At that time the local council members were rounding the ward and went the road beside our house but they didn't come into the house. We pray every day for the freedom of Christian ministry. Some stores are closed and many people remained at home waiting for any change. Prices of food stuff increased and many people are in trouble. The inland transportation is not going normally. People are afraid of violence. Please pray for the Myanmar people.
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
The situation of Yangon is worse. Not only the Buddhist monks but many people involved in the demonstration. Demonstrations is performed at many places in Yangon every day. Military intelligence and spy are patrolling and investigating the movement of the people in city and in many towns every day and night. There are also many demonstrations done in other parts of Myanmar. Almost all Internet and telephone lines are closed.
Yesterday it was closed in the afternoon and I don't know if my Email can reach you or not. THE GOVERNMENT TRIES TO BLOCK FOREIGN COMMUNICATIONS AS POSSIBLE AS THEY COULD. Not only foreign but also inland communications are blocked in most parts. We can not make phone calls as before. Some are arrested every day. So public gathering is strictly prohibited. We don't dare to get out because the government will suspect us to be organizing people. But company workers and Government servants are doing their work every day, but some work only for half day. Since the demonstrations became increased we don't know what will be our near future. Many shops are closed. The prices of food stuff increased. Churches and Bible Schools and orphanage centers, and children home etc are still being on checked.
Today we will see if there is any strong demonstration or not. The government also is ready to do against the demonstrators. Thank you for all your concern, care and helps in the name of the Lord. The good God will open ways for us to serve Him freely.
In His Service,
Pastor [Name Withheld]
Monday, September 24, 2007
The situation in Yangon becomes worse. Yesterday the local council told me to stop our church. Fortunately, they didn't come because of some reasons.
But they checked many churches and Bible Schools. T____ went to the other area and led the worship service. My family and some members did worship at the candle house. We sang hymns lowly. Every day and night the security goes around the wards and towns.
The Buddhist monks continued doing demonstration every day. In spite of the political situation it was heavily raining every day and so we didn't get out from home for five days. The Buddhist Association of Myanmar announced that today at noon the monks will lead demonstrations in every town and the community will follow them. When they did a demonstration many women hold their hands one another and guarded the monks from disturbance by the military force. All the Buddhist monks from Hlaingthayar already went to downtown to perform
demonstration today.
[Note -- Hlaingthaya is the township where I stay when in Yangon. RB]
However, we had our Bible study safely last Saturday. At that time the local council members were rounding the ward and went the road beside our house but they didn't come into the house. We pray every day for the freedom of Christian ministry. Some stores are closed and many people remained at home waiting for any change. Prices of food stuff increased and many people are in trouble. The inland transportation is not going normally. People are afraid of violence. Please pray for the Myanmar people.
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
The situation of Yangon is worse. Not only the Buddhist monks but many people involved in the demonstration. Demonstrations is performed at many places in Yangon every day. Military intelligence and spy are patrolling and investigating the movement of the people in city and in many towns every day and night. There are also many demonstrations done in other parts of Myanmar. Almost all Internet and telephone lines are closed.
Yesterday it was closed in the afternoon and I don't know if my Email can reach you or not. THE GOVERNMENT TRIES TO BLOCK FOREIGN COMMUNICATIONS AS POSSIBLE AS THEY COULD. Not only foreign but also inland communications are blocked in most parts. We can not make phone calls as before. Some are arrested every day. So public gathering is strictly prohibited. We don't dare to get out because the government will suspect us to be organizing people. But company workers and Government servants are doing their work every day, but some work only for half day. Since the demonstrations became increased we don't know what will be our near future. Many shops are closed. The prices of food stuff increased. Churches and Bible Schools and orphanage centers, and children home etc are still being on checked.
Today we will see if there is any strong demonstration or not. The government also is ready to do against the demonstrators. Thank you for all your concern, care and helps in the name of the Lord. The good God will open ways for us to serve Him freely.
In His Service,
Pastor [Name Withheld]
Monday, September 24
Protests Reach 100,000 Mark
As many as 100,000 anti-government protesters led by a phalanx of Buddhist monks marched Monday through Yangon, the largest crowd to demonstrate in Myanmar's biggest city since a 1988 pro-democracy uprising that was brutally crushed by the military.
From the front of the march, witnesses could see a one-mile stretch of eight-lane road was filled with people.
Some participants said there were several hundred thousand marchers in their ranks, but an international aid agency official with employees monitoring the crowd estimated said the size was well over 50,000 and approaching 100,000.
It was the latest in a series of protests that began Aug. 19 as a movement against economic hardship in the Southeast Asian country after the government sharply raised fuel prices. But arrests and intimidation kept demonstrations small and scattered until the monks entered the fray.
The usually iron-fisted junta has so far kept minimal security at the protests, and diplomats and analysts said Myanmar's military rulers were showing the unexpected restraint because of pressure from the country's key trading partner and diplomatic ally, China.
The march kicked off, like the previous ones, at the Shwedagon pagoda, a historical center for political movements as well as the country's most sacred religious shrine. Some 20,000 monks took the lead, with onlookers joining in on what had been billed as a day of general protest.
In the central city of Mandalay, meanwhile, 500 to 600 monks set off shortly after noon on their own protest march.
The monks, who took over a faltering protest movement from political activists, already had managed to bring people into the streets in numbers not seen since the 1988 pro-democracy uprising snuffed out by the army at a cost of thousands of lives.
On Sunday, about 20,000 people including thousands of monks filled the streets in Yangon, stepping up their confrontation with authorities by chanting support for detained democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
The increasingly confrontational tone of the anti-government protesters has raised both expectations of possible political change and fear that the military might forcefully stamp out the demonstrations, as it did in 1988.
A Southeast Asian diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity as a matter of protocol, said the regime is under pressure from China to avoid a crackdown just as its larger neighbor has pressured it to speed up other democratic changes.
"The Myanmar government is tolerating the protesters and not taking any action against the monks because of pressure from China," the diplomat told The Associated Press. "Beijing is to host the next summer's Olympic Games. Everyone knows that China is the major supporter of the junta so if government takes any action it will affect the image of China."
China, which is counting on Myanmar's vast oil and gas reserves to help fuel its booming economy, earlier this year blocked a U.N. Security Council criticizing Myanmar's rights record saying it was not the right forum.
But at the same time, it has employed quiet diplomacy and subtle public pressure on the regime, urging it to move toward inclusive democracy and speed up the process of dialogue and reform.
Josef Silverstein, a political scientist and author of several books on Myanmar, said it would not be in China's interest to have civil unrest in Myanmar, also known as Burma.
"China is very eager to have a peaceful Burma in order to complete roads and railroads, to develop mines and finish assimilating the country under its economic control," Silverstein said.
The movement seemed to gain momentum Saturday, when more than 500 monks and sympathizers went past barricades to walk to the house where Suu Kyi is under house arrest. She greeted them from her gate in her first public appearance in more than four years. But access to her home was barred Sunday.
The meeting symbolically linked the current protests to Nobel laureate's Suu Kyi's struggle for democracy, which has seen her detained for about 12 of the last 18 years.
As many as 100,000 anti-government protesters led by a phalanx of Buddhist monks marched Monday through Yangon, the largest crowd to demonstrate in Myanmar's biggest city since a 1988 pro-democracy uprising that was brutally crushed by the military.
From the front of the march, witnesses could see a one-mile stretch of eight-lane road was filled with people.
Some participants said there were several hundred thousand marchers in their ranks, but an international aid agency official with employees monitoring the crowd estimated said the size was well over 50,000 and approaching 100,000.
It was the latest in a series of protests that began Aug. 19 as a movement against economic hardship in the Southeast Asian country after the government sharply raised fuel prices. But arrests and intimidation kept demonstrations small and scattered until the monks entered the fray.
The usually iron-fisted junta has so far kept minimal security at the protests, and diplomats and analysts said Myanmar's military rulers were showing the unexpected restraint because of pressure from the country's key trading partner and diplomatic ally, China.
The march kicked off, like the previous ones, at the Shwedagon pagoda, a historical center for political movements as well as the country's most sacred religious shrine. Some 20,000 monks took the lead, with onlookers joining in on what had been billed as a day of general protest.
In the central city of Mandalay, meanwhile, 500 to 600 monks set off shortly after noon on their own protest march.
The monks, who took over a faltering protest movement from political activists, already had managed to bring people into the streets in numbers not seen since the 1988 pro-democracy uprising snuffed out by the army at a cost of thousands of lives.
On Sunday, about 20,000 people including thousands of monks filled the streets in Yangon, stepping up their confrontation with authorities by chanting support for detained democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
The increasingly confrontational tone of the anti-government protesters has raised both expectations of possible political change and fear that the military might forcefully stamp out the demonstrations, as it did in 1988.
A Southeast Asian diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity as a matter of protocol, said the regime is under pressure from China to avoid a crackdown just as its larger neighbor has pressured it to speed up other democratic changes.
"The Myanmar government is tolerating the protesters and not taking any action against the monks because of pressure from China," the diplomat told The Associated Press. "Beijing is to host the next summer's Olympic Games. Everyone knows that China is the major supporter of the junta so if government takes any action it will affect the image of China."
China, which is counting on Myanmar's vast oil and gas reserves to help fuel its booming economy, earlier this year blocked a U.N. Security Council criticizing Myanmar's rights record saying it was not the right forum.
But at the same time, it has employed quiet diplomacy and subtle public pressure on the regime, urging it to move toward inclusive democracy and speed up the process of dialogue and reform.
Josef Silverstein, a political scientist and author of several books on Myanmar, said it would not be in China's interest to have civil unrest in Myanmar, also known as Burma.
"China is very eager to have a peaceful Burma in order to complete roads and railroads, to develop mines and finish assimilating the country under its economic control," Silverstein said.
The movement seemed to gain momentum Saturday, when more than 500 monks and sympathizers went past barricades to walk to the house where Suu Kyi is under house arrest. She greeted them from her gate in her first public appearance in more than four years. But access to her home was barred Sunday.
The meeting symbolically linked the current protests to Nobel laureate's Suu Kyi's struggle for democracy, which has seen her detained for about 12 of the last 18 years.
Tuesday, August 28
Newest Protests Quashed
YANGON, Myanmar - Demonstrators on Tuesday tried to mount a new protest against rising prices, but marched only 30 yards before being beaten and wrestled into waiting trucks by civilians who back Myanmar's military government, witnesses said.
The two dozen protesters shouted slogans against a big fuel price hike and implored onlookers to join them, stressing they were marching peacefully for their rights, said witnesses, who asked not to be quoted by name for fear of reprisals from the regime.
The marchers were quickly set upon by pro-government toughs, who pummeled demonstrators with fists while dragging them into trucks, the witnesses said. At least one protester was reportedly dragged by his feet.
A prominent labor activist and former political prisoner, Su Su Nway, took part in the protest, but said she managed to escape in a taxi with several colleagues.
"Peaceful protests are brutally cracked down upon and I want to tell the international community that there is no rule of law in Myanmar," she told The Associated Press.
More than a dozen of the country's leading democracy activists, members of the 88 Generation Students group, were detained Aug. 21 before a similar demonstration.
Myanmar activists in exile claimed 200-300 people, including many Buddhist monks, took part in another protest Tuesday in Sittwe, the capital of Rakhine State in western Myanmar.
A report on the Web site of the Democratic Voice of Burma, an opposition shortwave radio station based in Norway, said witnesses reported the protest lasted for at least an hour without interference.
Protests triggered by fuel price hikes began Aug. 19 and have continued on an almost daily basis despite a security clampdown by the military government supported by organized bands of civilian toughs serving as law enforcers.
Myanmar's ruling junta, which has received widespread international criticism for violating the human rights of its citizens, tolerates little public dissent.
Thursday, August 23
Protests Continue Despite Arrests
YANGON, Myanmar - Defiant pro-democracy activists took to the streets Thursday for the third time this week, forming a human chain to try to prevent officers from dragging them into waiting trucks and buses.
The demonstration came a day after 300 people marched to protest the military junta's imposition of fuel price increases despite the earlier arrest of at least 13 democracy activists.
The protests have been one of the most sustained anti-government demonstrations in years. Myanmar's ruling junta, which has received widespread international criticism for violating the rights of its citizens, tolerates little public dissent, sometimes sentencing activists to long jail terms for violating broadly defined security laws. It has held opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace laureate, under house arrest for 11 years.
On Thursday, about 40 people, mostly from Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy, walked quietly without placards for about two miles toward the party headquarters in eastern Yangon before being stopped by a security cordon.
Authorities ordered bystanders, and especially reporters, out of the area as the protesters were overwhelmed after a 30-minute standoff. Some reporters were roughed up by security personnel who shouted abusive language.
Protesters sat on the pavement and formed a human chain in an attempt to prevent officers from dragging them into the waiting trucks and buses. A dozen protesters, however, were dragged and shoved into the vehicles, where some were slapped around, said witnesses, who asked not to be identified for fear of being called in by the police.
A former political prisoner, Ohn Than, also staged an apparently solo protest outside the U.S. Embassy before being hauled away by plainclothes officers. He was holding a sign calling for U.N. intervention to make the government convene parliament, a witness said.
The NLD party called on the ruling junta to stop brutal suppression and inhumane treatment of protesters and demanded an immediate release of those arrested.
"Unable to bear the burden of spiraling consumer prices, the public express their sentiments through peaceful means. However authorities have arrested, tortured, beaten up and endangered the lives of those who are peacefully expressing their wishes," the NLD said in a statement.
Wednesday's march was broken up prematurely when a gang of government supporters assaulted some protesters with sticks and seized eight who were accused of being agitators, witnesses and participants said. The eight were later freed unharmed.
The demonstrations came after the arrests Tuesday of leaders of the group 88 Generation Students, the country's boldest, nonviolent dissident group. It has been defying the generals by staging petition campaigns, prayer vigils and other activities urging the release of Suu Kyi and other political prisoners and calling for an end to military rule that began in 1962.
"Though our leaders had been arrested, we will continue with our movement. We will not fear any arrest or threat," Mie Mie, a member of 88 Generation, said during the Wednesday march, which was monitored by plainclothes police.
State-controlled media reported earlier that 13 leaders of 88 Generation Students had been arrested and could face up to 20 years in prison.
The newspaper New Light of Myanmar said "agitators" in the group were detained Tuesday night for trying to undermine the "stability and security of the nation." On Sunday, they had led some 400 people in another march through Yangon to protest the doubling of fuel prices Aug. 15.
Leaders of 88 Generation Students were at the forefront of a 1988 democracy uprising and were subjected to lengthy prison terms and torture after the rebellion was brutally suppressed by the military.
The 1988 unrest was preceded by public protests over rising rice prices, a sudden government declaration that made most currency invalid, and other economic hardships.
Those arrested Tuesday included Min Ko Naing and Ko Ko Gyi, two of the most prominent activists, New Light of Myanmar said. Min Ko Naing spent 16 years in prison despite international calls for his release and numerous awards for his nonviolent activism for democracy.
"Their agitation to cause civil unrest was aimed at undermining peace and security of the state and disrupting the ongoing National Convention," the newspaper said, adding that such activity violated a 1996 law that mandates prison terms of up to 20 years.
Organized by the junta, the National Convention is drafting guidelines for a constitution as part of a so-called seven-step roadmap to democracy in Myanmar, which is also known as Burma. Critics call the process a sham.
The arrests drew condemnation abroad. The U.S.-based Human Rights Watch called for the release of all the detainees.
"The government's strategy of arbitrarily arresting its critics reinforces the severe hardship the people of Burma are going through," a statement from the group said. "Burma's military rulers run the country — and the economy — without any regard for human rights."
YANGON, Myanmar - Defiant pro-democracy activists took to the streets Thursday for the third time this week, forming a human chain to try to prevent officers from dragging them into waiting trucks and buses.
The demonstration came a day after 300 people marched to protest the military junta's imposition of fuel price increases despite the earlier arrest of at least 13 democracy activists.
The protests have been one of the most sustained anti-government demonstrations in years. Myanmar's ruling junta, which has received widespread international criticism for violating the rights of its citizens, tolerates little public dissent, sometimes sentencing activists to long jail terms for violating broadly defined security laws. It has held opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace laureate, under house arrest for 11 years.
On Thursday, about 40 people, mostly from Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy, walked quietly without placards for about two miles toward the party headquarters in eastern Yangon before being stopped by a security cordon.
Authorities ordered bystanders, and especially reporters, out of the area as the protesters were overwhelmed after a 30-minute standoff. Some reporters were roughed up by security personnel who shouted abusive language.
Protesters sat on the pavement and formed a human chain in an attempt to prevent officers from dragging them into the waiting trucks and buses. A dozen protesters, however, were dragged and shoved into the vehicles, where some were slapped around, said witnesses, who asked not to be identified for fear of being called in by the police.
A former political prisoner, Ohn Than, also staged an apparently solo protest outside the U.S. Embassy before being hauled away by plainclothes officers. He was holding a sign calling for U.N. intervention to make the government convene parliament, a witness said.
The NLD party called on the ruling junta to stop brutal suppression and inhumane treatment of protesters and demanded an immediate release of those arrested.
"Unable to bear the burden of spiraling consumer prices, the public express their sentiments through peaceful means. However authorities have arrested, tortured, beaten up and endangered the lives of those who are peacefully expressing their wishes," the NLD said in a statement.
Wednesday's march was broken up prematurely when a gang of government supporters assaulted some protesters with sticks and seized eight who were accused of being agitators, witnesses and participants said. The eight were later freed unharmed.
The demonstrations came after the arrests Tuesday of leaders of the group 88 Generation Students, the country's boldest, nonviolent dissident group. It has been defying the generals by staging petition campaigns, prayer vigils and other activities urging the release of Suu Kyi and other political prisoners and calling for an end to military rule that began in 1962.
"Though our leaders had been arrested, we will continue with our movement. We will not fear any arrest or threat," Mie Mie, a member of 88 Generation, said during the Wednesday march, which was monitored by plainclothes police.
State-controlled media reported earlier that 13 leaders of 88 Generation Students had been arrested and could face up to 20 years in prison.
The newspaper New Light of Myanmar said "agitators" in the group were detained Tuesday night for trying to undermine the "stability and security of the nation." On Sunday, they had led some 400 people in another march through Yangon to protest the doubling of fuel prices Aug. 15.
Leaders of 88 Generation Students were at the forefront of a 1988 democracy uprising and were subjected to lengthy prison terms and torture after the rebellion was brutally suppressed by the military.
The 1988 unrest was preceded by public protests over rising rice prices, a sudden government declaration that made most currency invalid, and other economic hardships.
Those arrested Tuesday included Min Ko Naing and Ko Ko Gyi, two of the most prominent activists, New Light of Myanmar said. Min Ko Naing spent 16 years in prison despite international calls for his release and numerous awards for his nonviolent activism for democracy.
"Their agitation to cause civil unrest was aimed at undermining peace and security of the state and disrupting the ongoing National Convention," the newspaper said, adding that such activity violated a 1996 law that mandates prison terms of up to 20 years.
Organized by the junta, the National Convention is drafting guidelines for a constitution as part of a so-called seven-step roadmap to democracy in Myanmar, which is also known as Burma. Critics call the process a sham.
The arrests drew condemnation abroad. The U.S.-based Human Rights Watch called for the release of all the detainees.
"The government's strategy of arbitrarily arresting its critics reinforces the severe hardship the people of Burma are going through," a statement from the group said. "Burma's military rulers run the country — and the economy — without any regard for human rights."
More Protests In Yangon
YANGON (Reuters) - A gang of supporters of Myanmar's military rulers broke up a small protest in Yangon on Thursday as the arrest of 13 leading dissidents did little to quash public anger at soaring fuel prices and falling living standards.
A tense stand-off ensued before the 30 marchers, who had been walking towards the offices of the opposition National League for Democracy, were manhandled into trucks belonging to the junta's feared Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA).
A Reuters reporter was told not to take photographs and chased from the scene.
Later, ex-political prisoner Ohn Than staged a one-man demonstration outside the U.S. embassy, shouting slogans in English and Burmese for 10 minutes before being carted off by police.
The 61-year-old called for the military junta that has ruled the former Burma for the last 45 years to honor the results of a 1990 election it lost by a landslide then annulled, witnesses said.
There was no word in the army-controlled media on the fate of the 13 dissidents arrested on Wednesday night, who included Min Ko Naing, the country's second-most prominent activist after detained Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.
Five women and a man picked up by the USDA after a small demonstration on Wednesday in north Yangon were released.
For a second day, armed police and truckloads of USDA men armed with spades and brooms took up positions in the centre of the former capital.
SMALL SOP
However, in an apparent sop to the widespread outrage at last week's shock fuel price rises, bus fares for the shortest journeys were halved.
The junta's doubling of diesel prices and a five-fold increase in the cost of compressed natural gas had brought Yangon's bus networks to a standstill and stoked discontent in the city of 5 million people.
Analysts said the hard core of the dissident movement, centered on the still-influential leaders of a 1988 mass student uprising ruthlessly suppressed by the army with large loss of life, would continue to express public discontent.
However, the junta's coordinated action, starting with Wednesday's midnight swoops on the student leaders, had probably ensured the series of small but persistent social protests were not going to snowball into something larger.
"These people have vowed to continue the struggle at all costs. They have vowed to go all the way, and so for sure they will continue to protest," said Aung Naing Oo, a 1988 protester who fled to Thailand to escape the bloody military crackdown.
"But I doubt a large majority of people will participate. Small gatherings of 100 here, 200 there, will go on -- but the emphasis is on the word small," he said.
The world's largest rice exporter when it won independence from Britain in 1948, Myanmar is now one of Asia's poorest countries after more than four decades of unbroken military rule.
Suu Kyi, daughter of independence hero Aung San, who won the 1990 landslide election victory at the helm of her National League for Democracy party has spent most of the 17 years since in prison or under house arrest.
YANGON (Reuters) - A gang of supporters of Myanmar's military rulers broke up a small protest in Yangon on Thursday as the arrest of 13 leading dissidents did little to quash public anger at soaring fuel prices and falling living standards.
A tense stand-off ensued before the 30 marchers, who had been walking towards the offices of the opposition National League for Democracy, were manhandled into trucks belonging to the junta's feared Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA).
A Reuters reporter was told not to take photographs and chased from the scene.
Later, ex-political prisoner Ohn Than staged a one-man demonstration outside the U.S. embassy, shouting slogans in English and Burmese for 10 minutes before being carted off by police.
The 61-year-old called for the military junta that has ruled the former Burma for the last 45 years to honor the results of a 1990 election it lost by a landslide then annulled, witnesses said.
There was no word in the army-controlled media on the fate of the 13 dissidents arrested on Wednesday night, who included Min Ko Naing, the country's second-most prominent activist after detained Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.
Five women and a man picked up by the USDA after a small demonstration on Wednesday in north Yangon were released.
For a second day, armed police and truckloads of USDA men armed with spades and brooms took up positions in the centre of the former capital.
SMALL SOP
However, in an apparent sop to the widespread outrage at last week's shock fuel price rises, bus fares for the shortest journeys were halved.
The junta's doubling of diesel prices and a five-fold increase in the cost of compressed natural gas had brought Yangon's bus networks to a standstill and stoked discontent in the city of 5 million people.
Analysts said the hard core of the dissident movement, centered on the still-influential leaders of a 1988 mass student uprising ruthlessly suppressed by the army with large loss of life, would continue to express public discontent.
However, the junta's coordinated action, starting with Wednesday's midnight swoops on the student leaders, had probably ensured the series of small but persistent social protests were not going to snowball into something larger.
"These people have vowed to continue the struggle at all costs. They have vowed to go all the way, and so for sure they will continue to protest," said Aung Naing Oo, a 1988 protester who fled to Thailand to escape the bloody military crackdown.
"But I doubt a large majority of people will participate. Small gatherings of 100 here, 200 there, will go on -- but the emphasis is on the word small," he said.
The world's largest rice exporter when it won independence from Britain in 1948, Myanmar is now one of Asia's poorest countries after more than four decades of unbroken military rule.
Suu Kyi, daughter of independence hero Aung San, who won the 1990 landslide election victory at the helm of her National League for Democracy party has spent most of the 17 years since in prison or under house arrest.
Wednesday, August 22
In the fifth of a series of articles from inside Burma, the BBC's Kate McGeown looks at the strength of opposition to the country's hardline military government.
In a small house in the Burmese city of Mandalay, three comedians spend their days putting on shows for tourists.
Calling themselves the Moustache Brothers, they perform traditional Burmese vaudeville - a mixture of song, dance and slapstick humour.
But in reality, the show is more about politics than entertainment - and interspersed among their routines are jokes poking fun at life under the country's brutal military regime.
The reason the show is so popular is because it is such a rarity in Burma. Hardly anyone else dares to openly criticise the government, which is not surprising given the likely consequences - long prison sentences, hard labour or worse.
But the Moustache Brothers say they have little to lose; two of them have already served long jail terms and they are reduced to performing at home because they have been banned from all public venues.
"We're on the government blacklist already," said Lu Maw, one of the trio. "There is nothing more the authorities can do to us."
Most Burmese people, though, seem to have decided that after 40 years of military government, it is best to just get on with life rather than protest against the system they are living under.
One man, who was given a two-year jail sentence in the 1960s for being a student demonstrator, told me he had lost the spirit to fight.
Now a successful businessman with a wife and three children, he said: "Since I came out of jail, I've managed to build a life for myself as best I can, and keep out of any trouble - but I'm still very, very worried about my country."
Local resistance
While there is little open defiance, many people are still prepared to do what little they can to register their opposition to the military regime.
"I purposely avoid going to anything the government could use as propaganda, like the opening of a new pagoda or a celebration for something," one man said.
Another man, the head of a rural community, said his entire village stopped every evening to listen to at least one foreign radio broadcast.
"We never miss a day," he said proudly, explaining that it was the only way they could really find out what was happening in Burma because local media was so heavily censored.
But he acknowledged that while the villagers would like to take part in a more active form of resistance, they were simply too scared.
"We're waiting and hoping for change, but what can we do? Look at what the government has done to the Lady [Aung San Suu Kyi]. If they can do that to her, think what they would do to us," he said.
As leader of the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) and daughter of independence hero General Aung San, Ms Suu Kyi is the focal point of Burmese opposition.
Many people consider her the country's rightful leader, because the NLD won national elections in 1990 but the military refused to hand over control.
She has been in some form of detention for 10 of the last 17 years, but however hard the military junta tries to make people forget about her, she remains at the forefront of many Burmese citizens' minds.
"The Lady is our best hope for the future. She is the one person who can unite everyone together," one man told me.
"I totally support the Lady in everything," said another man. "I will always support her and the NLD."
Waiting and hoping
In Ms Suu Kyi's absence, her party campaigns tirelessly for her release and for constructive dialogue with the regime.
"One day the nation will explode, and people will rise up against the government," said NLD spokesman Nyan Win. "Until that day comes, we will continue to push for dialogue and reconciliation."
But there are some people in Burma who say the NLD is too idealistic. "They won't compromise on anything, so nothing changes," said a Rangoon activist.
"It's got to the point where many people in Burma are just waiting for outside help to overthrow the regime, rather than doing what they can right now, to change things from within," he said.
Waiting is something the Burmese are getting very good at. After more than four decades of military rule, there is still no end in sight.
But whether they actively opposed the government or not, I found that the vast majority of people I spoke to still dared to hope that things could get better.
"One day I'm going to perform properly again," said Moustache Brother Lu Maw.
"Maybe this street will become like Broadway or the West End," he joked, looking out at the dusty alley he lives in.
The Moustache Brothers - and in fact everyone in Burma - know they have a long way to go for their dreams of democracy and freedom to be realised.
But despite everything, they have still not given up.
In a small house in the Burmese city of Mandalay, three comedians spend their days putting on shows for tourists.
Calling themselves the Moustache Brothers, they perform traditional Burmese vaudeville - a mixture of song, dance and slapstick humour.
But in reality, the show is more about politics than entertainment - and interspersed among their routines are jokes poking fun at life under the country's brutal military regime.
The reason the show is so popular is because it is such a rarity in Burma. Hardly anyone else dares to openly criticise the government, which is not surprising given the likely consequences - long prison sentences, hard labour or worse.
But the Moustache Brothers say they have little to lose; two of them have already served long jail terms and they are reduced to performing at home because they have been banned from all public venues.
"We're on the government blacklist already," said Lu Maw, one of the trio. "There is nothing more the authorities can do to us."
Most Burmese people, though, seem to have decided that after 40 years of military government, it is best to just get on with life rather than protest against the system they are living under.
One man, who was given a two-year jail sentence in the 1960s for being a student demonstrator, told me he had lost the spirit to fight.
Now a successful businessman with a wife and three children, he said: "Since I came out of jail, I've managed to build a life for myself as best I can, and keep out of any trouble - but I'm still very, very worried about my country."
Local resistance
While there is little open defiance, many people are still prepared to do what little they can to register their opposition to the military regime.
"I purposely avoid going to anything the government could use as propaganda, like the opening of a new pagoda or a celebration for something," one man said.
Another man, the head of a rural community, said his entire village stopped every evening to listen to at least one foreign radio broadcast.
"We never miss a day," he said proudly, explaining that it was the only way they could really find out what was happening in Burma because local media was so heavily censored.
But he acknowledged that while the villagers would like to take part in a more active form of resistance, they were simply too scared.
"We're waiting and hoping for change, but what can we do? Look at what the government has done to the Lady [Aung San Suu Kyi]. If they can do that to her, think what they would do to us," he said.
As leader of the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) and daughter of independence hero General Aung San, Ms Suu Kyi is the focal point of Burmese opposition.
Many people consider her the country's rightful leader, because the NLD won national elections in 1990 but the military refused to hand over control.
She has been in some form of detention for 10 of the last 17 years, but however hard the military junta tries to make people forget about her, she remains at the forefront of many Burmese citizens' minds.
"The Lady is our best hope for the future. She is the one person who can unite everyone together," one man told me.
"I totally support the Lady in everything," said another man. "I will always support her and the NLD."
Waiting and hoping
In Ms Suu Kyi's absence, her party campaigns tirelessly for her release and for constructive dialogue with the regime.
"One day the nation will explode, and people will rise up against the government," said NLD spokesman Nyan Win. "Until that day comes, we will continue to push for dialogue and reconciliation."
But there are some people in Burma who say the NLD is too idealistic. "They won't compromise on anything, so nothing changes," said a Rangoon activist.
"It's got to the point where many people in Burma are just waiting for outside help to overthrow the regime, rather than doing what they can right now, to change things from within," he said.
Waiting is something the Burmese are getting very good at. After more than four decades of military rule, there is still no end in sight.
But whether they actively opposed the government or not, I found that the vast majority of people I spoke to still dared to hope that things could get better.
"One day I'm going to perform properly again," said Moustache Brother Lu Maw.
"Maybe this street will become like Broadway or the West End," he joked, looking out at the dusty alley he lives in.
The Moustache Brothers - and in fact everyone in Burma - know they have a long way to go for their dreams of democracy and freedom to be realised.
But despite everything, they have still not given up.
In the fourth of a series from inside Burma, the BBC's Kate McGeown looks at how the government's abrupt decision to move its capital is affecting local people.
When Burma's military rulers began moving their seat of power to a semi-rural area near the town of Pyinmana last year, many people were mystified.
"I don't understand why they decided to leave Rangoon," said one man in the former capital.
"I don't know why they wanted to come here," added a villager not far from the site of the new city.
Many people said they had hoped the move would not actually happen, once the cost and complication became clear.
But now it seems there is no going back. The opening ceremony took place in March, and several locals who have seen the site - which the ruling junta has christened Naypyidaw (Seat of Kings) - said that half the buildings had been completed and were open for business.
But the new capital is not open to everyone. Almost all foreigners, especially journalists, are strictly forbidden from going anywhere near it.
Most ordinary Burmese are also denied access, and two Rangoon-based reporters were given three-year jail terms for attempting to film the area.
Precious cargo
To local people living near the site, many of whom are farmers and agricultural workers, the whole situation must be bewildering.
Until last year they were living in a rural hinterland. Now they are ploughing fields and raising cattle not far from their country's capital.
"I keep seeing new buildings, but I don't know what they're for," said one young woman on the outskirts of the city.
Those living along the main road to Pyinmana have got used to seeing large trucks laden with construction materials passing by, as well as cars carrying important members of the military.
"If you're driving down the road at the time they come past, you have to pull over and let them pass," said one woman.
Other people have been affected more directly by the move. One man said some of his neighbours had been thrown out of their homes, and had their land repossessed, with no compensation.
"I'm really scared that will happen to me, too," he said quietly.
Then there is the issue of who exactly is constructing the new capital. Definite evidence is hard to come by, but there are strong suspicions that the government is using forced labour.
"I've spoken to people who have fled Pyinmana, and have now come over the border into Thailand," said Maung Maung, the general secretary of the Federation of Trade Unions in Burma. "They say they were forcibly made to work on the roads, and clear areas of bush."
'Transfer of power'
Back in Rangoon, there are few obvious signs that the city is no longer the country's capital.
The one direct impact on local people is that the electricity supply - which was already erratic before the move - has now become even more unreliable.
"They've spent millions on the new capital. As a result, the services in Rangoon like electricity are getting worse and worse, but Pyinmana is all lit up," said one Western diplomat. "Locals joke that a 'transfer of power' has taken place."
Behind the scenes, there are other problems too. NGO workers and diplomats say the move is slowing down the process of government.
"Everything is taking twice as long, because you have to go to Pyinmana to get your documents stamped," the diplomat said. "There are containers stacked up in the ports because the necessary paperwork hasn't been signed."
Anyone who visits a government office in Rangoon will quickly notice something has changed. One businessman said that when he went to the Ministry of Culture for a meeting, he found it was virtually empty except for a few stray dogs and children playing games.
The ministers and officials might have gone to Pyinmana, but few seem to have gone willingly. Many were given little or no notice, and had to leave their families behind.
There are reports of several people retiring early, and rumours that an entire government department tried - and failed - to resign en masse.
In fact, many analysts say the enforced move was probably one of the main reasons government salaries were suddenly increased in April - in an attempt to persuade people to stay in their jobs.
Since the announcement of the capital move last November, there has been intense speculation about the reasoning behind it.
Some believe the military wants to move further inland for fear of a foreign attack. Others say that Burma's most senior military general, Than Shwe, wants to emulate the kings of old by building a new capital in his honour.
Others even say it could be due to the advice of fortune-tellers, who play a central role in Burmese life.
So I asked a local soothsayer if the capital move would bring good luck.
After studying his charts and making some calculations, he remained unconvinced.
But whatever the future holds for Burma, it looks likely that a former agricultural backwater near Pyinmana is set to play a pivotal role.
When Burma's military rulers began moving their seat of power to a semi-rural area near the town of Pyinmana last year, many people were mystified.
"I don't understand why they decided to leave Rangoon," said one man in the former capital.
"I don't know why they wanted to come here," added a villager not far from the site of the new city.
Many people said they had hoped the move would not actually happen, once the cost and complication became clear.
But now it seems there is no going back. The opening ceremony took place in March, and several locals who have seen the site - which the ruling junta has christened Naypyidaw (Seat of Kings) - said that half the buildings had been completed and were open for business.
But the new capital is not open to everyone. Almost all foreigners, especially journalists, are strictly forbidden from going anywhere near it.
Most ordinary Burmese are also denied access, and two Rangoon-based reporters were given three-year jail terms for attempting to film the area.
Precious cargo
To local people living near the site, many of whom are farmers and agricultural workers, the whole situation must be bewildering.
Until last year they were living in a rural hinterland. Now they are ploughing fields and raising cattle not far from their country's capital.
"I keep seeing new buildings, but I don't know what they're for," said one young woman on the outskirts of the city.
Those living along the main road to Pyinmana have got used to seeing large trucks laden with construction materials passing by, as well as cars carrying important members of the military.
"If you're driving down the road at the time they come past, you have to pull over and let them pass," said one woman.
Other people have been affected more directly by the move. One man said some of his neighbours had been thrown out of their homes, and had their land repossessed, with no compensation.
"I'm really scared that will happen to me, too," he said quietly.
Then there is the issue of who exactly is constructing the new capital. Definite evidence is hard to come by, but there are strong suspicions that the government is using forced labour.
"I've spoken to people who have fled Pyinmana, and have now come over the border into Thailand," said Maung Maung, the general secretary of the Federation of Trade Unions in Burma. "They say they were forcibly made to work on the roads, and clear areas of bush."
'Transfer of power'
Back in Rangoon, there are few obvious signs that the city is no longer the country's capital.
The one direct impact on local people is that the electricity supply - which was already erratic before the move - has now become even more unreliable.
"They've spent millions on the new capital. As a result, the services in Rangoon like electricity are getting worse and worse, but Pyinmana is all lit up," said one Western diplomat. "Locals joke that a 'transfer of power' has taken place."
Behind the scenes, there are other problems too. NGO workers and diplomats say the move is slowing down the process of government.
"Everything is taking twice as long, because you have to go to Pyinmana to get your documents stamped," the diplomat said. "There are containers stacked up in the ports because the necessary paperwork hasn't been signed."
Anyone who visits a government office in Rangoon will quickly notice something has changed. One businessman said that when he went to the Ministry of Culture for a meeting, he found it was virtually empty except for a few stray dogs and children playing games.
The ministers and officials might have gone to Pyinmana, but few seem to have gone willingly. Many were given little or no notice, and had to leave their families behind.
There are reports of several people retiring early, and rumours that an entire government department tried - and failed - to resign en masse.
In fact, many analysts say the enforced move was probably one of the main reasons government salaries were suddenly increased in April - in an attempt to persuade people to stay in their jobs.
Since the announcement of the capital move last November, there has been intense speculation about the reasoning behind it.
Some believe the military wants to move further inland for fear of a foreign attack. Others say that Burma's most senior military general, Than Shwe, wants to emulate the kings of old by building a new capital in his honour.
Others even say it could be due to the advice of fortune-tellers, who play a central role in Burmese life.
So I asked a local soothsayer if the capital move would bring good luck.
After studying his charts and making some calculations, he remained unconvinced.
But whatever the future holds for Burma, it looks likely that a former agricultural backwater near Pyinmana is set to play a pivotal role.
In the third article of a special series from inside Burma, the BBC's Kate McGeown looks at the military government's record of caring for the health and education of its citizens.
Burma's hospitals and schools are secretive places.
Much of what goes on inside these tightly controlled buildings remains a mystery to the outside world.
But indications from the few people prepared to risk speaking out paint a disturbing picture.
One doctor described long queues of patients, many with the classic diseases of poverty such as TB, malaria and water-borne illnesses.
She said she was often unable to give people the treatment they needed, because the drugs were either too expensive or impossible to obtain.
"I get upset sometimes, but then I'm also used to it - every day's the same," she said.
Burma's military junta has been ruling the country for four decades, during which time many other South East Asian nations have seen dramatic improvements in their economies, government services and standards of living.
But many analysts believe that since it came to power, the Burmese government has done little to improve basic services, preferring to spend money on the military and expensive projects like building a new capital.
The World Health Organization estimates that Burma spends $10 per person per year on healthcare, compared with its neighbours Thailand and Malaysia, which spend $160 and $218 respectively.
One NGO estimated that the actual Burmese figure was even lower - more like $0.50.
The results of such policies are obvious. An estimated 150,000 Burmese children under the age of five die every year of malaria, acute respiratory infections and diarrhoea.
"There is no question that the government is not caring adequately for its people," one aid worker said.
Fight against HIV
Not all the news is bad, though. In the past few years, the authorities have increased their co-operation with local and foreign NGOs to tackle the spread of HIV/Aids - and according to UNAids, there have been some concrete results.
Condom use has tripled since 1999, needle exchange programmes are far more prevalent than a few years ago, and more people are both seeking and obtaining treatment.
But Burma still has one of the most serious HIV/Aids epidemics in South East Asia. UNAids estimates that 360,000 Burmese people are currently living with the disease - and other organisations put the figure as high as 600,000.
Despite these successes, there is evidently a long way to go in raising awareness, judging from one man who was brave enough to talk to me about his experiences.
Not only did he risk the wrath of the authorities - like everyone else I spoke to - he also risked exposing himself to the discrimination that comes from having a disease which is still seen as a taboo subject.
"There is a lot of discrimination," he admitted. "I used to share a flat with a friend, but when he found out I had HIV, he made me leave.
"Another man I know used to own a business, but when people found out, no one would buy anything from him anymore."
The man I spoke to is somewhat unusual, in that he is being given free anti-retroviral drugs - a rare luxury in Burma.
"I am one of the lucky ones," he admitted, adding that many Burmese died of Aids without ever knowing there was an alternative.
Education and propaganda
If little is known about healthcare, even less is known about Burma's schooling system.
Because of past student uprisings, the government sees schools and universities as potential hotbeds of dissent, and is therefore especially vigilant at keeping them free from prying eyes.
In fact, according to most of the teachers who were prepared to speak, the government seems to put more energy into stopping outsiders getting into schools than it does on educating the children inside them.
"I have about 80 children in my class," said one woman. "I have to shout so everyone can hear.
Much of a teacher's time is taken up with fulfilling government requests.
"I spent a lot of time being involved in government propaganda," said a woman who left the teaching profession last year in frustration.
"I kept being told to take the children outside to wait for hours at a time, so they could wave flags when important people came past."
The result is that many children leave school without an adequate education.
There are glimmers of hope, though, for even the poorest students.
A few charitable schools operate around the country. One in Mandalay provides free education to nearly 6,000 children.
Passing tourists are welcome to visit, and foreign volunteers are actively sought to help teach English.
It is a refreshing change from the majority of Burmese schools, where the doors remain firmly shut - not only to outsiders, but also to the hopes of Burmese children who want to improve their lives.
Burma's hospitals and schools are secretive places.
Much of what goes on inside these tightly controlled buildings remains a mystery to the outside world.
But indications from the few people prepared to risk speaking out paint a disturbing picture.
One doctor described long queues of patients, many with the classic diseases of poverty such as TB, malaria and water-borne illnesses.
She said she was often unable to give people the treatment they needed, because the drugs were either too expensive or impossible to obtain.
"I get upset sometimes, but then I'm also used to it - every day's the same," she said.
Burma's military junta has been ruling the country for four decades, during which time many other South East Asian nations have seen dramatic improvements in their economies, government services and standards of living.
But many analysts believe that since it came to power, the Burmese government has done little to improve basic services, preferring to spend money on the military and expensive projects like building a new capital.
The World Health Organization estimates that Burma spends $10 per person per year on healthcare, compared with its neighbours Thailand and Malaysia, which spend $160 and $218 respectively.
One NGO estimated that the actual Burmese figure was even lower - more like $0.50.
The results of such policies are obvious. An estimated 150,000 Burmese children under the age of five die every year of malaria, acute respiratory infections and diarrhoea.
"There is no question that the government is not caring adequately for its people," one aid worker said.
Fight against HIV
Not all the news is bad, though. In the past few years, the authorities have increased their co-operation with local and foreign NGOs to tackle the spread of HIV/Aids - and according to UNAids, there have been some concrete results.
Condom use has tripled since 1999, needle exchange programmes are far more prevalent than a few years ago, and more people are both seeking and obtaining treatment.
But Burma still has one of the most serious HIV/Aids epidemics in South East Asia. UNAids estimates that 360,000 Burmese people are currently living with the disease - and other organisations put the figure as high as 600,000.
Despite these successes, there is evidently a long way to go in raising awareness, judging from one man who was brave enough to talk to me about his experiences.
Not only did he risk the wrath of the authorities - like everyone else I spoke to - he also risked exposing himself to the discrimination that comes from having a disease which is still seen as a taboo subject.
"There is a lot of discrimination," he admitted. "I used to share a flat with a friend, but when he found out I had HIV, he made me leave.
"Another man I know used to own a business, but when people found out, no one would buy anything from him anymore."
The man I spoke to is somewhat unusual, in that he is being given free anti-retroviral drugs - a rare luxury in Burma.
"I am one of the lucky ones," he admitted, adding that many Burmese died of Aids without ever knowing there was an alternative.
Education and propaganda
If little is known about healthcare, even less is known about Burma's schooling system.
Because of past student uprisings, the government sees schools and universities as potential hotbeds of dissent, and is therefore especially vigilant at keeping them free from prying eyes.
In fact, according to most of the teachers who were prepared to speak, the government seems to put more energy into stopping outsiders getting into schools than it does on educating the children inside them.
"I have about 80 children in my class," said one woman. "I have to shout so everyone can hear.
Much of a teacher's time is taken up with fulfilling government requests.
"I spent a lot of time being involved in government propaganda," said a woman who left the teaching profession last year in frustration.
"I kept being told to take the children outside to wait for hours at a time, so they could wave flags when important people came past."
The result is that many children leave school without an adequate education.
There are glimmers of hope, though, for even the poorest students.
A few charitable schools operate around the country. One in Mandalay provides free education to nearly 6,000 children.
Passing tourists are welcome to visit, and foreign volunteers are actively sought to help teach English.
It is a refreshing change from the majority of Burmese schools, where the doors remain firmly shut - not only to outsiders, but also to the hopes of Burmese children who want to improve their lives.
In the second article of a special series from inside Burma, the BBC's Kate McGeown looks at the day-to-day problems facing ordinary people under the country's repressive military regime.
"I hate my life here. I'm just surviving one day at a time," a Burmese taxi driver said sadly, as he stopped to pay a bribe at yet another roadside checkpoint.
"Everything's so difficult. Prices keep going up, and there's too little fuel and electricity.
"There are so many restrictions on everything I want to do... and so much corruption," he said, handing some money to a surly teenager.
For most people in Burma, life under the military government is far from easy.
A farm worker told me he was lucky if he earned 1,000 kyats ($0.80) a day. Some days he earns half that. "I have enough to buy some poor-quality rice for my family, but not much else," he said.
What angers many people is that Burma has plentiful natural resources and was once one of the richest countries in South East Asia, before decades of military rule stifled the economy.
The situation has got far worse in recent months, because of a government decision to increase the salaries of state employees, in some cases by more than 10 times.
"Everyone knew the government couldn't afford it," said a Burmese journalist.
The result was predictable - locals estimate that prices have gone up by more than 30% since April, making it harder for ordinary people to make ends meet.
Andrew Kirkwood, the director of Save the Children in Burma, said malnutrition was a "serious problem", with half the children under five in some areas of Burma thought to be chronically malnourished.
"In some parts of the country, the situation is as bad as we've seen in sub-Saharan Africa," he said.
A man from the western state of Rakhaing said he had even heard reports of farmers selling their babies to child traffickers in exchange for food.
Two-tier system
But the problems that the Burmese face go much deeper than just a lack of money. There is a huge disparity between those allied to the ruling elite and the rest of the population - a distinction which permeates every aspect of day-to-day life.
For many goods, there is a two-tier pricing system. If you know someone influential, you can buy at the government price.
If not, you have to resort to the black market, which is at least twice as expensive.
One of the hottest properties at the moment is a telephone. The black market price is about $3,000 - way beyond most people's means.
Petrol is another commodity where the black market reigns supreme. An ordinary citizen is only allowed two gallons (nine litres) per day at the government price - and even then, queuing can sometimes take hours.
But there always seems to be plenty of petrol at the many black market stands throughout the country. "We're being robbed," one man said.
This climate of semi-official corruption has become so entrenched that whole swathes of the population earn their living from it.
To send a letter, you need to find a friendly "agent" who will make sure it is not pocketed by a postal worker. If you want to avoid paying constant traffic fines, or your child to do well at school, it is vital to know the right people and pay the right price.
Strange decrees
Burma's military rulers make their presence felt in other ways, too. Permission needs to be sought for almost every aspect of life.
"Everything I do is restricted," one man said. "Where I go, what I do, who I see... The authorities even have to give permission if I want anyone to stay the night."
The media, too, is heavily censored. "You only see two colours on TV - orange (for the Buddhist religion) and green (for the military)," said a former television employee.
The government is also unpredictable, and many people fall foul of policies that seem to change at whim.
"One minute farmers are told to grow potatoes to export to India," said a local NGO worker. "The next minute the authorities won't allow it, and all that investment has been wasted."
The latest government campaign is an initiative to grow nut trees, not only as a source of bio fuel but also because government fortune-tellers believe they will shore up the military's power.
Other government decisions, though, are far more sinister. Groups such as the International Labour Organization claim that the Burmese junta continues to use forced labour for its often ambitious construction projects.
Sometimes villagers are even thought to be co-opted as "porters" by the military, many being maimed or killed by landmines as they are made to trek through conflict areas ahead of the soldiers.
Despite living under one of the most draconian regimes in the world, some Burmese people still manage to find time for life's pleasures.
I spoke to a man in his early 20s who, over the last few months, has been using the rare moments of electricity to charge batteries so he can watch the World Cup.
I can imagine him now, glued to a television screen, escaping for a few precious hours from the chaos around him.
"I hate my life here. I'm just surviving one day at a time," a Burmese taxi driver said sadly, as he stopped to pay a bribe at yet another roadside checkpoint.
"Everything's so difficult. Prices keep going up, and there's too little fuel and electricity.
"There are so many restrictions on everything I want to do... and so much corruption," he said, handing some money to a surly teenager.
For most people in Burma, life under the military government is far from easy.
A farm worker told me he was lucky if he earned 1,000 kyats ($0.80) a day. Some days he earns half that. "I have enough to buy some poor-quality rice for my family, but not much else," he said.
What angers many people is that Burma has plentiful natural resources and was once one of the richest countries in South East Asia, before decades of military rule stifled the economy.
The situation has got far worse in recent months, because of a government decision to increase the salaries of state employees, in some cases by more than 10 times.
"Everyone knew the government couldn't afford it," said a Burmese journalist.
The result was predictable - locals estimate that prices have gone up by more than 30% since April, making it harder for ordinary people to make ends meet.
Andrew Kirkwood, the director of Save the Children in Burma, said malnutrition was a "serious problem", with half the children under five in some areas of Burma thought to be chronically malnourished.
"In some parts of the country, the situation is as bad as we've seen in sub-Saharan Africa," he said.
A man from the western state of Rakhaing said he had even heard reports of farmers selling their babies to child traffickers in exchange for food.
Two-tier system
But the problems that the Burmese face go much deeper than just a lack of money. There is a huge disparity between those allied to the ruling elite and the rest of the population - a distinction which permeates every aspect of day-to-day life.
For many goods, there is a two-tier pricing system. If you know someone influential, you can buy at the government price.
If not, you have to resort to the black market, which is at least twice as expensive.
One of the hottest properties at the moment is a telephone. The black market price is about $3,000 - way beyond most people's means.
Petrol is another commodity where the black market reigns supreme. An ordinary citizen is only allowed two gallons (nine litres) per day at the government price - and even then, queuing can sometimes take hours.
But there always seems to be plenty of petrol at the many black market stands throughout the country. "We're being robbed," one man said.
This climate of semi-official corruption has become so entrenched that whole swathes of the population earn their living from it.
To send a letter, you need to find a friendly "agent" who will make sure it is not pocketed by a postal worker. If you want to avoid paying constant traffic fines, or your child to do well at school, it is vital to know the right people and pay the right price.
Strange decrees
Burma's military rulers make their presence felt in other ways, too. Permission needs to be sought for almost every aspect of life.
"Everything I do is restricted," one man said. "Where I go, what I do, who I see... The authorities even have to give permission if I want anyone to stay the night."
The media, too, is heavily censored. "You only see two colours on TV - orange (for the Buddhist religion) and green (for the military)," said a former television employee.
The government is also unpredictable, and many people fall foul of policies that seem to change at whim.
"One minute farmers are told to grow potatoes to export to India," said a local NGO worker. "The next minute the authorities won't allow it, and all that investment has been wasted."
The latest government campaign is an initiative to grow nut trees, not only as a source of bio fuel but also because government fortune-tellers believe they will shore up the military's power.
Other government decisions, though, are far more sinister. Groups such as the International Labour Organization claim that the Burmese junta continues to use forced labour for its often ambitious construction projects.
Sometimes villagers are even thought to be co-opted as "porters" by the military, many being maimed or killed by landmines as they are made to trek through conflict areas ahead of the soldiers.
Despite living under one of the most draconian regimes in the world, some Burmese people still manage to find time for life's pleasures.
I spoke to a man in his early 20s who, over the last few months, has been using the rare moments of electricity to charge batteries so he can watch the World Cup.
I can imagine him now, glued to a television screen, escaping for a few precious hours from the chaos around him.
The BBC's Kate McGeown has just returned from Burma, where she talked to people about life under its repressive military regime. In the first of a series of articles, she gives her impressions of a nation the international community seems at a loss to know what to do with.
As I stepped down from the plane onto Burmese soil, my head full of warnings about spies watching my every move, I was pleasantly surprised to find friendly faces rushing to greet me.
"Thank you so much for coming," said an elderly man, smiling through betel-stained teeth.
Where was the Orwellian nightmare I had been warned about? Where were the police ready to cart me off to jail because they had found out I was a journalist?
The sun was shining, the people were open and friendly... it seemed like any other Asian country. I found it hard not to wonder what all the fuss was about.
But it did not take long to find evidence of Burma's darker side.
Barely 20 minutes along the main highway from the airport, I saw a road leading off to the right that was completely shut off by heavily-armed police.
The tight security was not surprising, given that the road led to the home of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, whose term of house arrest had been extended just days before my arrival.
Local people never mention Ms Suu Kyi by name - they just call her The Lady, a term of deference towards a woman whom many Burmese, probably the vast majority, believe is the rightful leader of their nation.
Despite spending more than 10 of the last 17 years as a prisoner, she remains the main symbol of resistance against the military regime that has ruled Burma for four decades, and which often uses fear and intimidation to keep people in line.
Gossip
Against this backdrop, Burma's 50 million citizens carry on with their daily lives as best they can.
Down the road from Aung San Suu Kyi's house, the people of Rangoon queue for the city's crowded buses, huddle in shops with working generators during the frequent power cuts or play their own version of the Thai national lottery.
Then they do what all Burmese do, and stop in one of the many teashops to gossip about the weather and the football.
But that does not mean that their anger at the military regime has disappeared. If you talk to someone about their life, any veneer of contentment will usually evaporate.
One day, as we drove past a peaceful rural scene of villagers ploughing paddy fields with their oxen, I asked my taxi driver for his views on the political situation.
He had been singing a song to himself, but his face suddenly turned red and angry, and he said: "I hate the people who rule this country. My hatred of the government knows no bounds."
In fact he got so upset that we had to stop the car so he could calm down.
Another man became equally animated when I asked him about the secret military informants who lurk around ever corner.
"They're like a virus - a disease ripping this country apart," he said. "They are everywhere, and they see everything we do.
"So many of my friends have been caught and jailed over the years - some for doing hardly anything. So many lives have been ruined."
Speaking out
It is hardly surprising that emotions run so high.
I was only in Burma for a short time, but I quickly found out how uncomfortable it is to be under surveillance - albeit by a somewhat amateur spy.
On my first day, a man walked into the lobby of my hotel and pretended to read a newspaper near where I was sitting.
He did not turn the page for 20 minutes, but the real giveaway was that the paper - a week-old copy of The Straits Times - was upside-down.
Despite the obvious personal risks of talking to a foreigner, many Burmese people were still willing to put aside their fears and share their lives with me.
They told me about their healthcare system, their schools, their views on the government and the extraordinary decision to move the country's capital to what was, until a few years ago, a rural backwater.
One day a tour guide showing me round one of the Burma's many pagodas turned to me and whispered: "Please let other people know what it's like for us here. We need the outside world to understand."
In this series of articles, I will do my best to answer his request.
As I stepped down from the plane onto Burmese soil, my head full of warnings about spies watching my every move, I was pleasantly surprised to find friendly faces rushing to greet me.
"Thank you so much for coming," said an elderly man, smiling through betel-stained teeth.
Where was the Orwellian nightmare I had been warned about? Where were the police ready to cart me off to jail because they had found out I was a journalist?
The sun was shining, the people were open and friendly... it seemed like any other Asian country. I found it hard not to wonder what all the fuss was about.
But it did not take long to find evidence of Burma's darker side.
Barely 20 minutes along the main highway from the airport, I saw a road leading off to the right that was completely shut off by heavily-armed police.
The tight security was not surprising, given that the road led to the home of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, whose term of house arrest had been extended just days before my arrival.
Local people never mention Ms Suu Kyi by name - they just call her The Lady, a term of deference towards a woman whom many Burmese, probably the vast majority, believe is the rightful leader of their nation.
Despite spending more than 10 of the last 17 years as a prisoner, she remains the main symbol of resistance against the military regime that has ruled Burma for four decades, and which often uses fear and intimidation to keep people in line.
Gossip
Against this backdrop, Burma's 50 million citizens carry on with their daily lives as best they can.
Down the road from Aung San Suu Kyi's house, the people of Rangoon queue for the city's crowded buses, huddle in shops with working generators during the frequent power cuts or play their own version of the Thai national lottery.
Then they do what all Burmese do, and stop in one of the many teashops to gossip about the weather and the football.
But that does not mean that their anger at the military regime has disappeared. If you talk to someone about their life, any veneer of contentment will usually evaporate.
One day, as we drove past a peaceful rural scene of villagers ploughing paddy fields with their oxen, I asked my taxi driver for his views on the political situation.
He had been singing a song to himself, but his face suddenly turned red and angry, and he said: "I hate the people who rule this country. My hatred of the government knows no bounds."
In fact he got so upset that we had to stop the car so he could calm down.
Another man became equally animated when I asked him about the secret military informants who lurk around ever corner.
"They're like a virus - a disease ripping this country apart," he said. "They are everywhere, and they see everything we do.
"So many of my friends have been caught and jailed over the years - some for doing hardly anything. So many lives have been ruined."
Speaking out
It is hardly surprising that emotions run so high.
I was only in Burma for a short time, but I quickly found out how uncomfortable it is to be under surveillance - albeit by a somewhat amateur spy.
On my first day, a man walked into the lobby of my hotel and pretended to read a newspaper near where I was sitting.
He did not turn the page for 20 minutes, but the real giveaway was that the paper - a week-old copy of The Straits Times - was upside-down.
Despite the obvious personal risks of talking to a foreigner, many Burmese people were still willing to put aside their fears and share their lives with me.
They told me about their healthcare system, their schools, their views on the government and the extraordinary decision to move the country's capital to what was, until a few years ago, a rural backwater.
One day a tour guide showing me round one of the Burma's many pagodas turned to me and whispered: "Please let other people know what it's like for us here. We need the outside world to understand."
In this series of articles, I will do my best to answer his request.
Here are the "Main Players" in the military junta in Burma:
Than Shwe
Senior General Than Shwe, 73, is the head of the ruling junta and controls the army. He is the most hard-line leader, strongly opposed to allowing any political role for opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
After working in the Burmese postal service, Than Shwe joined the army at the age of 20 and his career included a stint in the department of psychological warfare.
He has acted as Burma's head of state since 1992, and was initially seen as more relaxed than his predecessor, General Saw Maung. Some political prisoners have been released, and human rights groups were allowed to visit Burma.
But he continues to suppress all dissent, and oversaw the re-arrest of Aung San Suu Kyi in 2003.
He is said to be superstitious and to regularly seek the advice of astrologers.
Maung Aye
Maung Aye is also a career soldier and the second most powerful man in the country.
He is believed to have established strong ties with Burma's many drug lords in the Golden Triangle while operating as a colonel in the late 1970s and 80s, before he joined the military leadership in 1993.
He has a reputation for ruthlessness and xenophobia, and is also staunchly opposed to allowing Aung San Suu Kyi any future role.
He is also rumoured to be a hard drinker.
Soe Win
Lieutenant General Soe Win, 58, is seen a hard-line operator with close links to Than Shwe. He succeeded Khin Nyunt as prime minister in 2004.
Some diplomats and dissidents believe that, as a key figure in the Union Solidarity and Development Association - the civilian wing of the junta - he was behind a bloody attack on Aung San Suu Kyi's convoy in the north of the country last year, which led to the opposition leader being taken back into house arrest.
Earlier in his career, he commanded an infantry division which helped crush the democracy party in 1988 following Aung San Suu Kyi's overwhelming victory in national elections.
He joined the Defence Service Academy in 1965, and quickly worked his way up through the military ranks. He joined the junta in 1997, and was appointed as Secretary-2 of the council in February 2003, and Secretary-1 in August of the same year, replacing Khin Nyunt, who became prime minister.
Than Shwe
Senior General Than Shwe, 73, is the head of the ruling junta and controls the army. He is the most hard-line leader, strongly opposed to allowing any political role for opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
After working in the Burmese postal service, Than Shwe joined the army at the age of 20 and his career included a stint in the department of psychological warfare.
He has acted as Burma's head of state since 1992, and was initially seen as more relaxed than his predecessor, General Saw Maung. Some political prisoners have been released, and human rights groups were allowed to visit Burma.
But he continues to suppress all dissent, and oversaw the re-arrest of Aung San Suu Kyi in 2003.
He is said to be superstitious and to regularly seek the advice of astrologers.
Maung Aye
Maung Aye is also a career soldier and the second most powerful man in the country.
He is believed to have established strong ties with Burma's many drug lords in the Golden Triangle while operating as a colonel in the late 1970s and 80s, before he joined the military leadership in 1993.
He has a reputation for ruthlessness and xenophobia, and is also staunchly opposed to allowing Aung San Suu Kyi any future role.
He is also rumoured to be a hard drinker.
Soe Win
Lieutenant General Soe Win, 58, is seen a hard-line operator with close links to Than Shwe. He succeeded Khin Nyunt as prime minister in 2004.
Some diplomats and dissidents believe that, as a key figure in the Union Solidarity and Development Association - the civilian wing of the junta - he was behind a bloody attack on Aung San Suu Kyi's convoy in the north of the country last year, which led to the opposition leader being taken back into house arrest.
Earlier in his career, he commanded an infantry division which helped crush the democracy party in 1988 following Aung San Suu Kyi's overwhelming victory in national elections.
He joined the Defence Service Academy in 1965, and quickly worked his way up through the military ranks. He joined the junta in 1997, and was appointed as Secretary-2 of the council in February 2003, and Secretary-1 in August of the same year, replacing Khin Nyunt, who became prime minister.
Junta breaks up rare Burma rally
Supporters of Burma's military junta have broken up protests against the doubling of fuel prices.
About 200 people marched in Rangoon in the rare demonstration, but dispersed after a number were bundled into cars and driven away.
A similar protest was held on Sunday, the largest such rally in a decade.
The junta arrested at least 13 activists before Wednesday's protest, including some of the nation's most prominent dissidents.
Veteran leaders
The latest protest took place on the northern outskirts of Rangoon.
The demonstrators, most of them women, were cheered by onlookers as they marched in defiance of the junta's strict controls on protests.
88 GENERATION STUDENTS
Group of former student activists in Burma
Named after the 1988 uprising, which was brutally crushed by the military
Key members have suffered long prison terms
"We are marching to highlight the economic hardship that Myanmar (Burma) people are facing now, which has been exacerbated by the fuel price hike," one protester told the Associated Press news agency.
Their path was blocked by supporters of the junta and plain-clothed officers, witnesses said, and the rally dispersed as up to 10 demonstrators were bundled into cars and driven off.
Last week's fuel price rises left many people struggling to find the money to travel to work.
Sunday's protest against the move had involved veteran leaders of the so-called 88 Generation Students group.
Many taxis and buses did not run after the price rises
The group was at the forefront of the 1988 pro-democracy uprising that was violently put down by the military.
Seven top leaders of the group were among the activists arrested this week.
They include Min Ko Naing and Ko Ko Gyi - some of Burma's most prominent dissidents after Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.
Burma's state media said the activists had been arrested for "undermining stability and the security of the nation".
The BBC's South-East Asia correspondent, Jonathan Head, says there have been several small demonstrations since February focusing on growing hardships as the economy declines under the impact of international sanctions and government mismanagement.
The latest rallies are by far the largest and our correspondent says the prospect of economic protests linking up with the 1988 veterans would be especially alarming to the military government.
It was this combination of factors that led to the near overthrow of the military regime during that first uprising 19 years ago.
On Monday the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) warned there could be further protests and security was stepped up in Rangoon.
The NLD's leader, 62-year-old Ms Suu Kyi, has spent most of the past 17 years under house arrest.
The NLD won landmark elections in 1990 but the junta never recognised the result.
Supporters of Burma's military junta have broken up protests against the doubling of fuel prices.
About 200 people marched in Rangoon in the rare demonstration, but dispersed after a number were bundled into cars and driven away.
A similar protest was held on Sunday, the largest such rally in a decade.
The junta arrested at least 13 activists before Wednesday's protest, including some of the nation's most prominent dissidents.
Veteran leaders
The latest protest took place on the northern outskirts of Rangoon.
The demonstrators, most of them women, were cheered by onlookers as they marched in defiance of the junta's strict controls on protests.
88 GENERATION STUDENTS
Group of former student activists in Burma
Named after the 1988 uprising, which was brutally crushed by the military
Key members have suffered long prison terms
"We are marching to highlight the economic hardship that Myanmar (Burma) people are facing now, which has been exacerbated by the fuel price hike," one protester told the Associated Press news agency.
Their path was blocked by supporters of the junta and plain-clothed officers, witnesses said, and the rally dispersed as up to 10 demonstrators were bundled into cars and driven off.
Last week's fuel price rises left many people struggling to find the money to travel to work.
Sunday's protest against the move had involved veteran leaders of the so-called 88 Generation Students group.
Many taxis and buses did not run after the price rises
The group was at the forefront of the 1988 pro-democracy uprising that was violently put down by the military.
Seven top leaders of the group were among the activists arrested this week.
They include Min Ko Naing and Ko Ko Gyi - some of Burma's most prominent dissidents after Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi.
Burma's state media said the activists had been arrested for "undermining stability and the security of the nation".
The BBC's South-East Asia correspondent, Jonathan Head, says there have been several small demonstrations since February focusing on growing hardships as the economy declines under the impact of international sanctions and government mismanagement.
The latest rallies are by far the largest and our correspondent says the prospect of economic protests linking up with the 1988 veterans would be especially alarming to the military government.
It was this combination of factors that led to the near overthrow of the military regime during that first uprising 19 years ago.
On Monday the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) warned there could be further protests and security was stepped up in Rangoon.
The NLD's leader, 62-year-old Ms Suu Kyi, has spent most of the past 17 years under house arrest.
The NLD won landmark elections in 1990 but the junta never recognised the result.
Myanmar arrests dissidents, halts fuel protests
YANGON (Reuters) - Myanmar's military junta arrested 13 top dissidents and deployed gangs of spade-wielding supporters on the streets of Yangon on Wednesday to halt protests against soaring fuel prices and falling living standards.
Armed police also took up positions across the country's biggest city alongside truckloads of men from the army's feared Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA). Many were carrying brooms and shovels, pretending to be road sweepers.
Despite the clampdown and the overnight arrest of the prominent activists, 100 people staged an hour-long march before being dispersed. Five women and a man were arrested, although there was no violence, witnesses told Reuters.
"Onlookers applauded but failed to join the march," one said.
In a rare announcement in all state-run newspapers, the junta said the 13 had been arrested for "agitation to cause civil unrest" and "undermining peace and security of the state," charges that could put them in jail for up to 20 years.
Min Ko Naing, Ko Ko Gyi, Min Zeya, Ko Jimmy, Ko Pyone Cho, Arnt Bwe Kyaw and Ko Mya Aye -- all leaders of a 1988 student-led uprising crushed by the military with heavy loss of life -- were among those named. Friends and relatives confirmed the arrests.
Min Ko Naing, Myanmar's second-most prominent political figure after detained Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, was released in November 2004 after 15 years in jail. He was re-arrested in September for four more months.
"Military intelligence and government intelligence seized their houses and searched their houses," another dissident, Htay Kywe, said in a recording e-mailed to Reuters by Myanmar exile groups in neighboring Thailand.
Government agents had taken papers and mobile phones, added Htay Kywe, who had managed to evade capture during a raid on his home and had gone into hiding, one of the exile groups said.
TORTURE FEARS
The swoop came ahead of a planned protest on Wednesday against last week's shock hikes in fuel prices, the latest in a rare series of demonstrations against deteriorating living conditions and galloping inflation in the former Burma.
The Washington-based U.S. Campaign for Burma said it feared for the safety of the detainees, especially Min Ko Naing, winner of U.S., Canadian and European human rights awards.
"Min Ko Naing and the other leaders arrested have all been severely tortured during previous incarcerations and we are gravely concerned for their immediate well-being," policy director Aung Din said in a statement.
Min Ko Naing's 88 Generation Students Group led a march on Sunday tapping into public anger at the 500 percent rise in the price of compressed natural gas -- a hike that came without warning and brought Yangon's bus networks to a standstill.
Myanmar has some of Asia's largest natural gas reserves and has just decided to export production of two major fields worth billions of dollars to China.
Min Ko Naing -- a Burmese nom de guerre meaning "conqueror of kings" -- was not linked to Wednesday's protest planned by Ko Htin Kyaw, an activist already arrested four times this year.
The world's biggest rice exporter when it won independence from Britain in 1948, Myanmar is now one of Asia's poorest countries after 45 years of unbroken military rule.
Aung San Suu Kyi, 62, has been in prison or under house arrest for much of the past 17 years. Human rights groups and the United Nations say as many as 1,100 others are behind bars for their political beliefs.
Despite the clampdown and the overnight arrest of the prominent activists, 100 people staged an hour-long march before being dispersed. Five women and a man were arrested, although there was no violence, witnesses told Reuters.
"Onlookers applauded but failed to join the march," one said.
In a rare announcement in all state-run newspapers, the junta said the 13 had been arrested for "agitation to cause civil unrest" and "undermining peace and security of the state," charges that could put them in jail for up to 20 years.
Min Ko Naing, Ko Ko Gyi, Min Zeya, Ko Jimmy, Ko Pyone Cho, Arnt Bwe Kyaw and Ko Mya Aye -- all leaders of a 1988 student-led uprising crushed by the military with heavy loss of life -- were among those named. Friends and relatives confirmed the arrests.
Min Ko Naing, Myanmar's second-most prominent political figure after detained Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, was released in November 2004 after 15 years in jail. He was re-arrested in September for four more months.
"Military intelligence and government intelligence seized their houses and searched their houses," another dissident, Htay Kywe, said in a recording e-mailed to Reuters by Myanmar exile groups in neighboring Thailand.
Government agents had taken papers and mobile phones, added Htay Kywe, who had managed to evade capture during a raid on his home and had gone into hiding, one of the exile groups said.
TORTURE FEARS
The swoop came ahead of a planned protest on Wednesday against last week's shock hikes in fuel prices, the latest in a rare series of demonstrations against deteriorating living conditions and galloping inflation in the former Burma.
The Washington-based U.S. Campaign for Burma said it feared for the safety of the detainees, especially Min Ko Naing, winner of U.S., Canadian and European human rights awards.
"Min Ko Naing and the other leaders arrested have all been severely tortured during previous incarcerations and we are gravely concerned for their immediate well-being," policy director Aung Din said in a statement.
Min Ko Naing's 88 Generation Students Group led a march on Sunday tapping into public anger at the 500 percent rise in the price of compressed natural gas -- a hike that came without warning and brought Yangon's bus networks to a standstill.
Myanmar has some of Asia's largest natural gas reserves and has just decided to export production of two major fields worth billions of dollars to China.
Min Ko Naing -- a Burmese nom de guerre meaning "conqueror of kings" -- was not linked to Wednesday's protest planned by Ko Htin Kyaw, an activist already arrested four times this year.
The world's biggest rice exporter when it won independence from Britain in 1948, Myanmar is now one of Asia's poorest countries after 45 years of unbroken military rule.
Aung San Suu Kyi, 62, has been in prison or under house arrest for much of the past 17 years. Human rights groups and the United Nations say as many as 1,100 others are behind bars for their political beliefs.
Saturday, July 14
Thursday, May 17
Nuclear Burma?
Excerpted from The Economist.
"To anyone who has strolled the streets of Yangon, Myanmar’s capital, and spotted the grim-looking government building devoted to atomic energy, this seems a most unlikely turn of events. But on Tuesday May 15th Russia announced that it would help the south-east Asian country’s ruling junta to set up a nuclear research reactor. Myanmar—once called Burma—had reportedly tried to strike a similar deal with Russia before, but the plan stalled over payment. Now Myanmar, flush with an annual trade surplus (the country is well endowed with natural resources, like oil), says it will pay cash, and Russia has accepted.
"...The plan is to build a 10 megawatt nuclear reactor that uses low enriched uranium. The centre would, reportedly, be under the control of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN’s nuclear watchdog. This is a long step from getting the means or the knowledge for building a bomb, but it is enough to spread jitters.
"...What America or others will do about Myanmar’s putative research programme is unclear. Putting nuclear materials in the hands of unstable regimes, or unpredictable dictators, seems far from a good idea. An American decision to provide the technology, in the 1950s, for a nuclear reactor in Kinshasa, in Congo, (in gratitude for uranium supplied by Congo to America for use in the bombing of Hiroshima in 1945), proved to be less than sensible. Nuclear-fuel rods were stolen in the 1970s and then traded by Italian smugglers, raising fears that terrorists could get their hands on such material.
"As in Congo, where a dictator was unable to ensure the secure storage of the nuclear material, or as in North Korea, where a dictator seems keen to develop nuclear weapons, the lesson for Russia over Myanmar should be clear: spreading nuclear technology to troubled countries is a bad idea."
RB
Siang Hope To America!
I heard from Pasiang yesterday and Lord willing, he will be in America for a short tour this summer. He will be studying how to teach ESL (English as a Second Language) at ITLI in Tulsa, OK. He also hopes to visit his uncle in Atlanta GA while he is in the US.
I'm hoping we can get him down here on July 4th for our local festivities.
I heard from Pasiang yesterday and Lord willing, he will be in America for a short tour this summer. He will be studying how to teach ESL (English as a Second Language) at ITLI in Tulsa, OK. He also hopes to visit his uncle in Atlanta GA while he is in the US.
I'm hoping we can get him down here on July 4th for our local festivities.
Tuesday, May 15
Update Letter From Myanmar
Posted at Full Bible Update.
Note that Mikali has been found
Support Mission to Myanmar
RB
Posted at Full Bible Update.
Note that Mikali has been found
Support Mission to Myanmar
RB
Thursday, May 10
Friday, May 4
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