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UN issues urgent plea for Myanmar
U.N. council urges action on sexual violence in war
TBBC eletter 20 June 2008
Rangoon Observer: Major power struggle continued to cause more generals out
Recent Burma News (20-06-08)

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UN issues urgent plea for Myanmar
AP
Fri Jun 20, 10:06 AM ET

The United Nations warned Friday that it will be forced to ground helicopters that have been ferrying critical aid to Myanmar's cyclone survivors unless the international community urgently provides more funding.

The U.N.'s World Food Program said it was facing a critical shortage of funds for its logistical operation in the country, including 10 helicopters that have so far delivered lifesaving materials to 60 locations in the devastated Irrawaddy delta.

The use of helicopters, trucks and boats will "grind to a halt by the end of this month unless we get additional funding now," Chris Kaye, WFP's country director in Myanmar, said in a statement.

The U.N. estimates that 2.4 million people were affected by Cyclone Nargis and has warned that more than 1 million still need help.

The WFP issued an appeal for $50 million to fund its logistical operation, of which the helicopters are the most expensive to run, but has so far received pledges and funding to cover just 60 percent, the statement said.

Myanmar's junta faced worldwide criticism after the May 2-3 storm for failing to speed aid to cyclone survivors and initially barring foreign aid workers from the hardest-hit Irrawaddy delta.

Two weeks after the cyclone hit, the reclusive regime authorized the U.N. to use 10 helicopters inside the country.

The helicopters, which were chartered from South Africa, Uganda and elsewhere, provided a crucial boost to aid workers who had been unable to reach hundreds of remote villages in the Irrawaddy delta.

"Of those several hundred villages, we have now reached 60," said WFP spokesman Paul Risley. "We still have many more villages to reach."

The cyclone killed 78,000 people and left an additional 56,000 missing, according to Myanmar's government.

Separately, EU leaders appealed Friday for the regime to drop its restrictions on international aid agencies seeking to help the victims of the cyclone.

The declaration criticized Myanmar for holding a referendum on a new constitution just after the cyclone hit.

It also called on Myanmar's military leaders to release pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners.

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U.N. council urges action on sexual violence in war
Reuters
By Patrick Worsnip 32 minutes ago

The U.N. Security Council demanded on Thursday that warring governments and factions act to halt violence against women, saying rape was no longer just a by-product of war but a military tactic.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who chaired part of the session, told the council the world had now recognized that sexual violence during conflicts went beyond individual victims to affect nations' security and stability.

Echoed by a string of speakers, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told the 15-nation council the problem had "reached unspeakable and pandemic proportions in some societies attempting to recover from conflict."

Maj. Gen. Patrick Cammaert, a former U.N. peacekeeping commander, told the meeting: "It has probably become more dangerous to be a woman than a soldier in an armed conflict."

Speakers identified former Yugoslavia, Sudan's Darfur region, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda and Liberia as conflict regions where deliberate sexual violence had occurred on a mass scale.

U.N. officials have said the problem is currently worst in eastern Congo. But a recent survey of 2,000 women and girls in Liberia showed 75 percent had been raped during the West African country's civil war.

A U.S.-sponsored resolution adopted unanimously by the council called sexual violence "a tactic of war to humiliate, dominate, instill fear in, disperse and/or forcibly relocate civilian members of a community or ethnic group."

It said the violence "can significantly exacerbate situations of armed conflict and may impede the restoration of international peace and security."

It called on parties to conflict to take immediate measures to protect civilians from sexual violence, said such crimes should be excluded from amnesty after conflicts, and warned that the council would consider special measures against parties that commit them when imposing or renewing sanctions.

ABUSES BY PEACEKEEPERS

The resolution also called on Ban to submit a special report on the issue next year and tighten procedures for stopping abuses by U.N. peacekeepers, who have been accused of sexual offenses in several countries.

Ban said he was "profoundly committed to a zero-tolerance policy" and would strengthen disciplinary procedures by holding not just individuals but their supervisors accountable.

The United States, council president for June, chose sexual violence as the theme of the month's debate on a general issue. As well as Rice, several government ministers replaced ambassadors as their countries' representatives.

Opening the debate, Rice noted there had long been dispute about whether the theme was a security issue and hence something the Security Council was authorized to address.

"I am proud that today we respond to that lingering question with a resounding 'yes'," she said. "This world body now acknowledges that sexual violence in conflict zones is indeed a security concern.

"We affirm that sexual violence profoundly affects not only the health and safety of women but the economic and social stability of their nations."

Rice focused on Myanmar, where she said soldiers regularly raped women and girls as young as 8 years old. Myanmar's envoy, Than Swe, later called the allegations unfounded. "We categorically reject them," he told the council.

Backers of the resolution had said that if the Security Council defined sexual violence as a security matter the text would give peacekeepers the high-level support they needed.

The resolution had been negotiated for weeks between council members and with human rights and women's groups. Diplomats said China and Russia, which both voted in favor, had watered down some language, including on sanctions.

Chinese Deputy Ambassador Liu Zhenmin told the council it should focus on preventing conflicts in the first place and that sexual violence "should not be treated as a stand-alone issue, nor should attention be given to its symptoms only."

(Editing by Cynthia Osterman)

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TBBC eletter 20 June 2008

Dear all,

We are pleased to attach the second issue of TBBC's monthly eLetter. These
eLetters provide updates on the situation of displaced people along the
Thai-Burma border. They also include highlights from our programme and
activities.

We hope that you find this information useful, and warmly welcome your
feedback and suggestions.

You can also download this and the previous eLetter at
http://www.tbbc.org/announcements/e-letter.htm.

Yours sincerely,

Vaughan on behalf of Mina Jhowry who is on leave.

Communications Officer
Thailand Burma Border Consortium - TBBC
12/5 Convent Road, Silom
Bangrak, Bangkok 10500
Thailand
Tel.:+66 (0)2 238 5027 8
Fax: +66 (0)2 266 5376

eLetter (TBBC) eletter@tbbc.org

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Rangoon Observer: Major power struggle continued to cause more generals out
Saturday, June 21, 2008

Sources close to the regime said that there would be more unusual results from the regime tomorrow or on Sunday.

Unconfirmed news broke out five generals who headed Bureau of Special Operations (1,2,3,4) and official training school head position have been replaced. Rangoon military commander general Hla Htay Win was also transferred to inactive post.

It seems to be a power struggle that may not lead to the new concept of army, but this is very unusual, one of military observers said. Senior general may prepare for 2010 election after he secured the referendum result, he continued.

Since 2001, there have no major reshuffle at the top generals’ positions. However, senior level generals normally leave their post after they have enough fortune and well established the businesses; this is common practice of the head of the military and SPDC.

But this time might have be a different circumstance, a strong pressure from vice senior general Maung Aye’s group and finally Than Shwe has to do with about Nargis handling and other interest.

Pro-regime sources said senior general was innocent in terms of his men informed him with fake numbers and military was able to control the situation few days after Nargis destroyed and he was embarrassed when UN chief alarmed him more than hundred thousands were killed by storm and millions became homeless. However, one of the former regime close associates stressed that senior general normally watches news from CNN and CCTV and he is able to know the reality, this is unlikely to do know nothing. This is just an excuse.
Posted by BURMA DEMOCRACY & DEVELOPMENT at 6/21/2008 12:08:00 AM +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Recent Burma News (20-06-08)

Rice Discusses Burma with Ban
Yesterday, June 20, 2008, 7:08:08 PM
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday to discuss the current humanitarian crisis in Burma and the UN-led international efforts for restora...

Petition Filed Against Detention of Suu Kyi
Yesterday, June 20, 2008, 7:08:06 PM
Claiming that the continued detention of Aung San Suu Kyi is illegal and in violation of international law, Freedom Now, a Washington-based rights organization, has filed a petition against the Burmes...

Junta Detains 14 Calling for Release of Suu Kyi
Yesterday, June 20, 2008, 7:08:03 PM
Burma's ruling military junta detained 13 opposition party members who called for the release of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi as she marked her 63rd birthday, witnesses said. The 13 peopl...

Cindy McCain Blasts Burma
Yesterday, June 20, 2008, 7:07:59 PM
Cindy McCain blasted Burma's military junta and vowed to make improving human rights there a priority if she becomes America's next first lady. She traveled to Asia this week, far from the US ...

Junta continues tightening security outside NLD office
Yesterday, June 20, 2008, 7:07:31 PM
The Burmese military junta authorities have beefed up security in front of the office of the opposition party – the National League for Democracy - in the former capital Rangoon. Eyewitnesses said t...

Myanmar reshuffles ministerial posts
Yesterday, June 20, 2008, 6:15:25 PM
Yangon - The Myanmar minister most responsible for handling the government's disaster relief efforts for victims of Cyclone Nargis has dropped his second job as immigration and population minister, st...

NLD Members Arrested at Suu Kyi Birthday Celebration
Yesterday, June 20, 2008, 3:36:02 PM
At least four members of the National League for Democracy (NLD) were arrested in Rangoon by Burmese authorities at about 11 am on Thursday while they were releasing sparrows and doves to mark of the ...

Asian Currency Speculators Await Moves by Central Banks
Yesterday, June 20, 2008, 3:35:31 PM
Most Asian currencies rose slightly on Friday but remained in tight ranges as investors cautiously held back from placing bets as they awaited cues from central banks. The rise came even as the US dol...

Ruling Coalition in Malaysia Pledges Support for Prime Minister
Yesterday, June 20, 2008, 3:35:24 PM
Malaysia's embattled prime minister has won the backing of key allies who pledged to defeat a planned no-confidence vote against him by lawmakers of a small, rebellious party within the ruling coa...

Two months later, a struggle to get aid into Myanmar
Yesterday, June 20, 2008, 3:05:39 PM
-- Nearly two months after Cyclone Nargis slammed into Myanmar's Irrawaddy Delta, humanitarian relief groups are still struggling to get government permission to deliver life-saving aid to 2 million ...

Aung San Suu Kyi Supporters Detained
Yesterday, June 20, 2008, 8:35:13 AM
Burmese opposition members say a pro-government militia has taken away at least 10 supporters of democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi as they gathered to mark her 63rd birthday and call for her release...

Burma - "Continued repression in Burma is a stain on the world
Yesterday, June 20, 2008, 8:33:36 AM
(ARTICLE 19/IFEX) - The following is an ARTICLE 19 statement: Yet another solitary birthday for Aung San Suu Kyi;Yet another stain on world conscience Aung San Suu Kyi is today celebrating her 6...

Volunteers who bury the dead – Min Lwin
Yesterday, June 20, 2008, 8:27:32 AM
Seven Burmese civilian volunteer aid workers, members of a team known as “The Group that Buries the Dead,” were arrested on June 14, following their efforts to bury victims of Cyclone Narg...

Myanmar cyclone threatens water birds in delta region
Yesterday, June 20, 2008, 8:27:31 AM
Water birds in Myanmar’s Irrawaddy delta are under threat because much of their habitat was destroyed by Cyclone Nargis, a report said Thursday.

Suu Kyi birthday marked in Burma
Yesterday, June 20, 2008, 8:27:31 AM
Security personnel watched as dozens of people handed out food at the National League for Democracy headquarters. Last month the military junta renewed Ms Suu Kyi’s house arrest for another yea...

Salt shortage adds to post-Nargis woes – Lawi Weng
Yesterday, June 20, 2008, 8:27:30 AM
Amid worries that Burma's food security could be at risk if farmers in the cyclone-ravaged Irrawaddy delta don't start planting rice soon, there are growing concerns that the country is also facing a ...

In hard times, pawnshops thrive – Aung Thet Wine
Yesterday, June 20, 2008, 8:27:29 AM
Pale and very thin, the girl slowly removed a packet from her ragged school bag and handed it to the woman pawnbroker, who unfolded a tattered, faded, longyi. She inspected it carefully, before speaki...

Burma boots medics, citing no need – Simon Montlake
Yesterday, June 20, 2008, 8:27:27 AM
Having led Thailand’s first medical mission last month to cyclone-ravaged Burma (Myanmar), Pichit Siriwan, a doctor, was on standby for another two-week tour. But last week he got word that Burm...

Maung Weik still under detention
Yesterday, June 20, 2008, 8:27:26 AM
The young business tycoon Maung Weik is still believed to be under detention in allegedly connection with a drug trafficking case. Maung Weik (35) the Managing Director of ‘Maung Weik & Fam...

US marks Aung San Suu Kyi’s birthday, deplores her arrest
Yesterday, June 20, 2008, 8:27:25 AM
The United States marked Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s June 19 birthday, noting that her continued imprisonment was a “deplorabl e situation” that must end.

U.N. condemns ongoing human rights violation in Myanmar – Siddique Islam
Yesterday, June 20, 2008, 8:27:24 AM
The U.N. body also called on the government to stop making politically motivated arrests and to release all political prisoners immediately. In a resolution adopted without a vote, the council also c...

Cindy McCain has harsh words for Myanmar
Yesterday, June 20, 2008, 8:07:56 AM
John McCain said Myanmar leaders don't value human life."It's just a terrible group of people that rule the country, and the frightening part is that their own people are dying of disease and starvati...

13 detained in Myanmar after pro-democracy support
Yesterday, June 20, 2008, 5:18:19 AM
(AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)A Myanmar activist shouts slogans while displaying a portrait of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi during a rally outside the Myanmar Embassy in Bangkok on Thursday, June 1...

Open Letter to Aung San Suu Kyi
Yesterday, June 20, 2008, 5:00:57 AM
Dear Aung San Suu Kyi, We wish to use this opportunity, on the occasion of your birthday, to reaffirm our commitment to your lifelong struggle to achieve democracy and humanity in Burma. You have sac...

Who will save Burma’s women and children – Nilar Thein
Yesterday, June 20, 2008, 5:00:56 AM
I have been separated from my daughter for nearly ten months. A midnight knock at our door in August last year changed our lives dramatically. The military junta’s security forces took my husban...

Did Nargis baptize Asean – Aung Zaw
Yesterday, June 20, 2008, 5:00:53 AM
The Asean chief said during the 5th Asean Leadership Forum in Singapore that a new Asean had emerged from its achievements in responding to the challenges of the cyclone. “We are being baptised...

International community should do more about Burma - Prime Minister Gordon Brown
Yesterday, June 20, 2008, 5:00:52 AM
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown today told a delegation of six women from Burma that the international community should do more to address the problems in Burma. The meeting took place on Aung San...

63rd Birthday of Aung San Suu Kyi – Celebrating yet another Birthday Alone
Yesterday, June 20, 2008, 5:00:52 AM
The ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Myanmar Caucus (AIPMC) extends its birthday wishes to Myanmar's pro-democracy leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi as she celebrates her 63

FAO Presses for Urgent Assistance for Burmese Farmers
Yesterday, June 20, 2008, 1:42:47 AM
The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization is calling for urgent aid for thousands of farm families that suffered losses during last month's cyclone in Burma. As Ron Corben reports from Bangkok, while...

Nargis lingers, as Suu Kyi turns 63
Yesterday, June 20, 2008, 1:34:22 AM
As the release of doves and offerings of flowers marked Aung San Suu Kyi's 63rd birthday today in Rangoon, international organizations and activists remain persistent in linking Burma's political stag...

Who was there to help
Yesterday, June 20, 2008, 1:34:16 AM
In a squalid, bare room dozens of survivors from Cyclone Nargis sat and laid upon the concrete and thin mats of a monastery in Burma's afflicted Rangoon Division – the complex's hti standing ominous...

Survivors try to come to terms with their loss
Yesterday, June 20, 2008, 12:48:08 AM
TAUNG CAUNG, 19 June 2008 (IRIN) - Monasteries in Myanmar have long been revered as a place of refuge and healing and last month's devastating cyclone - which left more than 130,000 people dead or mis...

Thugs disperse protesters on Aung San Suu Kyi
Yesterday, June 20, 2008, 12:46:44 AM
Pro-junta thugs broke up a rally by supporters of the democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Thursday, detaining several people who were shouting slogans demanding her release on her 63rd birthday, witn...

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