08 July 2008 : Burma News Extra
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Sons of 1962 and future of Burma's political freedom
Myanmar: 1500 visas issued after cyclone
Some Myanmar survivors now cringe at wind, rain
NLD critical of junta's barbs on 1990 polls
UNICEF identifies Nargis orphans
Suu Kyi vote win 'no longer legal': Myanmar state media
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Sons of 1962 and future of Burma's political freedom
Mizzima
By Ma Ng
Tuesday, 08 July 2008 11:04
The Burmese Army grabbed political power in a coup on 2 March 1962; and Burma again lost its political freedom 14 years after independence, to the native military dictatorship instead of a foreign colonial power.
Within a few months, in a move to crush the students protest against the army takeover the Burmese military dynamited the Rangoon University Student Union building on 7 July 1962. And from the beginning the military dictators proved to be more ruthless and destructive than the foreign invaders.
During the 1962 crackdown, the army generals were no doubt confident that the last of students' rebellion has been extinguished, for good. But 26 years later, Ko Min Ko Naing and Ko Moe Thee Zun who were born in 1962, like many others in their generation, became student leaders of the 1988 uprising. The number of student protesters exploded from a few hundreds in 1962 to hundreds of thousands in 1988.
Ko Moe Thee Zun, the student leader in exile said that, in 1988 the military did not expect the student rebels to survive the harsh and difficult conditions in the opposition camps. But like the Karen, Shan and other ethnic organizations that came before them, after decades of trials and errors, the student organization led by Ko Moe Thee Zun has also matured into one more challenger to the junta's rule.
While the military's credibility as the saviour of the nation and protector of the people has diminished, the students' political commitment has earned respect and credibility. It became evident when the 2007 fuel price protest led by the '88 student leaders escalated into a full blown Saffron uprising last fall.
While the military generals are increasingly isolated in their citadel; according to Ko Moe Thee Zun, the difficulties experienced by the students in the jungles, since 1988 have helped Burman majority urban-elites gain greater understanding of the ethnic political movement. An invaluable common bond and respect has also been forged among the students and ethnic political oppositions to help shape durable peace in Burma, later.
The ethnic armed rebels, who were perceived to have been more concerned with the ethnic right of self determination instead of aiming for a larger political change, are finally evolving into more politically correct organizations after decades of violent conflicts with the military regime in Burma. The surviving armed rebels are no longer tainted with drug trafficking or political and ideological confusion. Their aim for a genuine democratic change, and, their support for Aung San Suu Kyi and the legacy of her father, has never been clearer.
China which claims to be rising peacefully has nevertheless unilaterally supported the military dictatorship in Burma. China's support for the Burmese regime has been devastating for the armed resistance in Burma.
However, since the end of the Vietnam War, long before the war in Iraq, armed conflicts alone no longer determine the political future of a country. After the cold war, many nations gained democracy through mass protests and peaceful political uprising, in places where civil wars have already ended.
The enormous military apparatus in Burma is a threat mostly to the military junta which has to feed and support such an enormous and costly apparatus that do not contribute to the wellbeing of the rulers or the citizens of Burma.
There is no need for such a large army even just to suppress the urban dissidents or the armed rebels. It is only for the psychological need of the generals. And it reflects the operational inefficiency of the Burmese military.
The end result of such great inadequacy is calculated to be in billions of dollars of losses for Burma. Within weeks after the Tsunami in December of 2004, the storm relief efforts received two and a half billion dollars worth of pledges from around the world. The United States alone provided 90 helicopters involving military assistance with 12,600 personnel and 21 ships, immediately after the storm.
Whether the people in Irrawaddy delta are barely surviving or not, Burma can certainly use such great outside humanitarian assistance.
Not only the regime's inability to overcome the distrust of outside powers, the military's inability to convince the world's of its sincerity toward helping its own people has also cost Burma dearly, by earning less than two hundred million dollars worth of pledges for a disaster as overwhelming as Tsunami of 2004.
The military's violent crackdown on peaceful monks and the regime's intentional neglect of Cyclone Nargis victims, have sparked a renewed call to bring the Myanmar government before the International Criminal Court, for committing crimes against humanity.
In addition, the UN Security Council has recently passed a resolution, condemning rape as "a war crime, a crime against humanity, or a constitutive act with respect to genocide," while the Burmese Army continues to use rape as a weapon of war against the ethnic minority.
It has been shown that the enormous private wealth can no longer protect the world's tyrants from prosecutions for the crimes they have committed. Jean-Pierre Bemba who is accused of committing atrocities in the Central African Republic in 2002, and the former Liberian president Charles Taylor who begins to stand trial in front of a special tribunal in The Hague for alleged war crimes in Sierra Leone, will join two former Khmer Rouge, ministers Ieng Sary, and his wife, Ieng Thirith who are being charged with war crimes and crime against humanity for their alleged role in Cambodia's 1970s genocide.
Aung San Suu Kyi has often said that politics is everyone's business and people should overcome fear to involve themselves in politics. Hillary Clinton said last January during her bid for presidency that, "some of us put ourselves out there against pretty difficult odds because we care about our country."
The Burmese struggle for democracy has come of age like the student leaders. For Burma to be able to move closer towards its democratic goal, the political, economic and military elite will all have to shed fear and come forward to bear their share of responsibility.
Burmese people can no longer sit back and play the role of virtuous sages. Blaming the military dictatorship founded by a postal clerk, and sustained by illiterate generals and their business cronies; is no longer sufficient. People should begin to take their own fate into their hands, instead of blaming others.
Kishmore Mahbubani, Dean of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore wrote that Western principles of democracy, the rule of law, and social justice are among the world's best bets. And he continued that the world does not need to invent any new principles to improve global governance; the concept of domestic good governance can and should be applied to the international community.
And even if the above concept of democracy were written in an Asian language other than English, its fundamental value will not be lost to the people of Burma. The belief in democracy and freedom is fully supported by the Burmese Buddhist tradition as well.
Ashin Gambira the famous monk leader said in March, 2008 that, if the people no longer want to live under the cruel military dictatorship they will have to speak up and protest. Unless they resist the military rule with courage, absolute military power will continue indefinitely.
As Aung San Suu Kyi warned after the military crackdown on the monks last September, the Burmese people can no longer sit around and simply hope for the best. They must all begin preparing for the worst to come until the end of military tyranny in Burma.
The recent Cyclone Nargis in the Irrawaddy delta has proven that the downtrodden people of Burma can still take care off themselves even with minimal outside help, and will manage to survive. There is no longer doubt if they have the power to change their future. The people of Burma can and must work together to end the military dictatorship. No one else can do it for them.
May Ng is from the Southern Shan State of Burma and NY regional director of Justice for Human Rights in Burma.
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Myanmar: 1500 visas issued after cyclone
AP
Tue Jul 8, 12:27 AM ET
Myanmar's military regime has approved visas for more than 1,500 international aid workers to help victims of Cyclone Nargis, with half of them involved in relief operations in storm-hit regions, the state-media said Tuesday.
Foreign aid staffers were initially barred from cyclone-affected areas and the ruling junta was criticized for its sluggish response to the May 2-3 disaster, which killed 84,500 people and left nearly 54,000 missing.
During a visit by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in late May, the government agreed to allow foreign aid workers into the Irrawaddy delta, though it placed restrictions on their movements. The ruling junta also formed a group made up of the government, United Nations and Southeast Asian countries to monitor and facilitate the flow of international assistance.
The New Light of Myanmar newspaper said the government has issued 1,670 visas to foreigners from the United Nations, nongovernment organizations and individuals between May 5 and June 30. It said about half of them were working in the areas hit by the storm.
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Some Myanmar survivors now cringe at wind, rain
AP
19 minutes ago
As the crowd gathered in the hall of a Buddhist monastery to receive their free lunch, Hnin Mya sat listlessly, oblivious to the smell of warm curry, the sounds of clinking utensils and the chatter of her compatriots.
Unlike most survivors of Cyclone Nargis whose lives have begun to return to normal, Hnin Mya has withdrawn into silence since the storm swept away her husband and two young children two months ago.
She tried to recount her loss, but words failed her. She started sobbing quietly, her body shaking.
"She sits and stares at the river the whole day. But she frantically searches for a place to hide whenever she hears strong wind or heavy rain," said U Kaitila, a monk at the monastery, which has provided shelter for Hnin Mya and 16 families made homeless by the storm.
The dead have been buried or cremated, the hungry fed and a massive effort to provide shelter has been launched since the May 2-3 cyclone. But the mental trauma affecting survivors like Hnin Mya may not be so easy to deal with, and it appears to be widespread.
"You can have the supplies, you can deal with a lot of practical problems ... but in the end people also need support to reconstruct their lives and make it worth living," said Kaz de Jong, a mental health specialist from the humanitarian group Medecins Sans Frontieres who traveled to some of the hardest hit areas in the country's Irrawaddy delta.
He recalled a woman telling him: "You know you are all worried about rice, and enough rice, that's important, but do you also worry that people must also have motivation to eat it? At this moment my life is not worth living. ... I've lost all my family members."
Some 80,000 people were killed in the storm, with another 50,000 unaccounted for, and hundreds of thousands of families had homes battered or destroyed.
Preliminary findings of a survey undertaken by the government, U.N. agencies and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations found that 22 percent of storm-affected households reported psychological stress. Common symptoms among survivors include the inability to sleep, recurrent nightmares and flashbacks, apathy, absentmindedness and concentration problems.
Some victims also experience headaches, body pains and palpitations.
"Some people start avoiding places, people and conversations which remind them of the event," said de Jong. Others "become hyperactive, working nonstop to avoid their mind wandering off to what happened and what is lost."
"People report that they have (the) impression that everything takes a lot of effort and they've lost energy, in many cases also their motivation, to rebuild," he said.
Short-term psycho-social trauma is common after terrifying and life-threatening events, but some victims will suffer mental problems for months or years, said Surachet Satitniramai, director of Thailand's National Medical Emergency Services Institute, who headed a team of about 30 Thai health specialists who worked in the devastated area.
Even after concerns about displacement, separation from loved ones, poverty and livelihood are addressed, "some may never fully recover," he said.
Myanmar government medical teams sent to the delta include mental health experts, but since the country has never before experienced a tragedy on this scale, they may not be as well-qualified as outsiders who have dealt with similar disasters, such as the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.
However, "it makes more sense for local doctors to deal with mental health issues since they understand the culture and how people react," said Surachet.
"Outside experts can help but there is a language barrier which makes diagnosis and treatment difficult," he said. "Myanmar people are very reserved and resilient and they may smile when they see a stranger, so it may be more difficult to detect cases of mental trauma."
Many of the same Buddhist monks who provided food and shelter in the storm's wake are able to offer spiritual comfort as well.
"It is our duty to give them courage to move on and rebuild their lives," said U Pinyatale, a 45-year-old abbot who provided shelter for some 100 villagers living along the Pyapon river. "Myanmar people are very spiritual and religious and that is where they find their strength to continue living."
Healing is difficult, though.
Nyo Nyo Than, 35, said she still hears the screams of her four-year-old son — swept away by the waters — every time she tries to close her eyes. Two months after the cyclone, she still has difficulty eating or sleeping.
"He kept screaming that he didn't want to take a bath when we were floating in the river," she said, her face covered with tears. "He was really scared so he pretended we were just taking a bath before I lost my grip on him. I still cry every time I look at the river."
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NLD critical of junta's barbs on 1990 polls
Mizzima
Mungpi
Monday, 07 July 2008 21:12
New Delhi - Burma's state run newspaper on Sunday dismissed the 1990 general election results, swept by opposition party – the National League for Democracy – saying it is now invalid.
The article carried in the Burmese military junta's official mouthpiece, New Light of Myanmar said the overwhelming approval of the draft constitution in May shows that the people of Burma no longer consider the 1990 election results important.
"The result of the 1990 election is no longer legal as it has been ditched by the entire people who are desirous of the emergence of a new modern developed democratic nation," the article said.
But the NLD, on Monday said the article does not carry any weight and cannot be taken seriously.
"We find the article baseless; it is no point making such statements through an article which does not even carry the writers original name," Aung Thein, a senior NLD member told Mizzima.
Aung Thein said, the junta by publishing such articles is using a different strategy to brainwash the people into believing that the 1990 election mandate is no longer applicable.
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi led NLD won more than 80 per cent of parliamentary seats in the 1990 general elections but the military junta, which has ruled the country for nearly half a century refused to hand over power.
"The 1990 election was in keeping with the law and they cannot play around with the law. They must abide by the law that they have made," Aung Thein, who is a lawyer by profession, said.
But the article said the NLD instead of holding on to the 1990 election results should join hands and contest the ensuing elections in 2010.
"This being so, the NLD'd better join hands with the people and then stand for the 2010 election in line with the laws instead of longing for the result of the 1990 election," the article urged.
Burma's military rulers said it is implementing a seven-step roadmap to democracy. After the junta claimed that a draft constitution prepared by it was overwhelmingly approved by 92. 48 per cent of voters in May, it is now gearing up for general elections scheduled in 2010.
However, critics and observers said the referendum in May was not 'free and fair' and that the junta had rigged votes in order to win.
While detained Nobel Peace Laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's party, NLD, declined to officially comment on whether they will contest the 2010 elections, Aung Thein said it is meaningless to hold another election before upholding the first result.
"It is like taking another loan before repaying the previous one. As for me, I would never allow anyone to take a loan before they can clear their first loan," said Aung Thein, citing that without honouring the first election result it would be meaningless to hold another election.
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UNICEF identifies Nargis orphans
Independent Online (SA)
July 07 2008 at 03:16PM
Yangon - Two months after Cyclone Nargis smashed into Myanmar's/Burma's central coast leaving at least 138 000 dead or missing, the number of children still searching for their parents exceeds 400, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) announced on Monday.
"The most serious issue in child protection in the aftermath of the cyclone is the problem of separated and unaccompanied children," said UNICEF, one of a host of UN agencies and non-governmental organisations that have participated in the Cyclone Nargis relief operation.
"There were 428 children separated from their parents by the cyclone, of whom 15 have been reunited with their families," said UNICEF's spokesperson Zafrin Chowdhury.
According to government figures Cyclone Nargis, which hit Myanmar/Burma on May 2-3, killed more than 84 000 people and left 54 000 missing, most of them washed away by a tidal wave that accompanied the storm.
UNICEF identified children left orphaned or separated from their parents as the most vulnerable victims of the natural disaster.
The UN agency, in collaboration with the social Welfare Ministry, has set up 51 child-friendly spaces in temporary settlements to help children find their parents and aims to establish 100 in the Yangon and Irrawaddy provinces, that were hardest hit by the storm.
Remarkably, to date there has been no major outbreak of dengue, cholera or typhoid in the cyclone-hit region, despite the tardiness of the international relief efforts that were initially delayed by the government's reluctance to allow aid and foreign experts in to the areas.
UNICEF claimed to have distributed medical supplies including oral re-hydration salts, antibiotics, infusion, vaccines and Vitamin A enough to treat 600 000 people, including children, against diarrhoea, malaria and dengue over the past two months.
"We anticipated outbreaks in the affected areas and tried out best to prevent them," said Chowdhury.
"I was also impressed by local communities' response to the disaster, especially by the monks who helped to organise the villagers," she added. - Sapa-dpa
http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=126&art_id=nw20080707130220579C122228
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Suu Kyi vote win 'no longer legal': Myanmar state media
AFP
Sun Jul 6, 8:47 AM ET
The victory by democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi's party in 1990 elections is "no longer legal," Myanmar state media said Sunday, urging her supporters to prepare for new polls.
The official New Light of Myanmar newspaper, a government mouthpiece, ran a commentary headlined: "Goodbye, 1990 election results!"
The paper said that the approval of a new military-backed constitution in a referendum in May had invalidated the previous national election, won in a landslide by Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD).
"The result of the 1990 election is no longer legal as it has been ditched by the entire people," the paper said.
"The NLD'd better join hands with the people and then stand for the 2010 election in line with the laws, instead of longing for the result of the 1990 election."
Such commentaries in state media are not official government statements, but reflect the thinking of the secretive junta that rules Myanmar with an iron fist.
The constitutional referendum was held in the wake of Cyclone Nargis, which left more than 138,000 dead or missing when it pounded ashore on May 2.
The junta claimed a 92.48 percent victory in the poll, a result derided by the NLD, which accused the regime of intimidation and vote rigging.
The charter and the referendum have been condemned by western countries, which have imposed sanctions on Myanmar over the regime's refusal to release Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest.
The military has ruled Myanmar since 1962, but a national pro-democracy uprising in 1988 gave birth to the NLD and saw Aung San Suu Kyi rise to prominence. The uprising was crushed by soldiers, with at least 3,000 believed killed.
Fearful of her ability to draw crowds with her soaring speeches, the military locked Aung San Suu Kyi under house arrest 19 years ago. Despite her detention, the NLD won the 1990 elections in a landslide, but was never allowed to govern.
The regime has kept Aung San Suu Kyi under house arrest for most of the years since.
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