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HEADLINES
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AP - Some Myanmar survivors now cringe at wind, rain
AP - Myanmar: 1500 visas issued after cyclone
IRIN - Cyclone-affected housemakers struggle to get by
WDBJ 7 Roanoke - Relief worker brings local aid to Myanmar
The Times of India - Myanmar asks ONGC, GAIL to reduce stake
ReliefWeb - Thailand to establish cyclone warning network system for Myanmar
ABS CBN News - Full ratification of ASEAN charter expected in August: chief
GMA news - No rice shortage in East Asia; high prices due to panic – ASEAN chief
Asia Times - Asia's angry monk syndrome
Irrawaddy - Junta Profits from Growing Gap in Value of Cash and FECs
Irrawaddy - Labor Activist Gets Solitary as Prison Conditions Worsen
Mizzima News - Flood causes evacuees to shelter in public buildings
DVB News - Families still waiting for news of detained relatives

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Some Myanmar survivors now cringe at wind, rain
Tue Jul 8, 5:16 AM ET

KUNGYANGON, Myanmar (AP) - 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Unlike most survivors of Cyclone Nargis whose lives have begun to return to normal, Hnin Mya has withdrawn into silence since the storm swept away her husband and two young children two months ago.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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Myanmar: 1500 visas issued after cyclone
Tue Jul 8, 12:27 AM ET

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) - 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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MYANMAR: Cyclone-affected housemakers struggle to get by
08 Jul 2008 13:21:44 GMT

PYAPON, 8 July 2008 (IRIN) - Khin Sein's children stood speechless as their mother, her head held low, entered the makeshift hut along the banks of the River Pyapon in Myanmar's cyclone-affected Ayeyarwady delta.

"I couldn't get the money, children," she said point blank.

The forty-five-year- old had spent much of the day trying to convince money lenders to loan her what she needed so that her children could attend school - and she could put rice on the table. But that didn't happen.

Despite exorbitant interest rates hovering at around 30 percent per month, Khin Sein was viewed as too much of a bad risk.

She and her husband together had once earned close to US$85 a month; he as a fisherman, she working at the local grocery. That all changed two months ago when Cyclone Nargis struck, leaving over 138,000 people dead or missing and affecting 2.4 million of the delta's 4.2 million inhabitants. Within seconds, close to one million people in the delta, as well as neighbouring Yangon Division lost their livelihoods.

A widespread problem

There are scores of homemakers like Khin Sein in the village of Outkwin in Pyapon, one of the worst hit areas, as well as throughout the delta, now struggling to get by.

Most village residents had worked in the once thriving fishing industry, only to see their household incomes vanish in the blink of an eye.

Over two thirds of all the fishing vessels in the village had been damaged or sunk in the tidal surge that swept the area. It would take months, if not longer, for most families to recover.

Some cyclone survivors were managing to get by on what meagre earnings they had; some have become dependent on goodwill and handouts, whilst others were getting into debt.

Residents of Outkwin said they received rice and oil twice a month from the local authorities, but complained about the small quantity.

"Going to a money lender is the one and only way for us to get cash," explained 28-year-old Soe Soe, another local housemaker. But convincing them that they will be able to repay that debt later is another matter altogether. "Even if we show our willingness to borrow at the agreed interest rate, it is now harder to convince them [money lenders]," she said.

She has now borrowed more than she can afford in an effort to buy rice, as well as pay the medical costs for her young son born on 3 May and named Nargis by her neighbours.

"The amount of money… I borrowed now exceeds my husband's income," admitted Soe Soe, whose husband earns just $30 per month from fishing.

Another woman and mother-of-four, whose husband was also a fisherman, said she could no longer endure the economic hardship and was considering migrating elsewhere for work: "Life is desperate here.

Who can say that there might not be another storm that will sweep us away next time," 27-year-old Zin Mar asked. "Now we have no extra income. It's been a long time since I went to Pyapon market."

Reduced purchasing power

Since Nargis, the buying power of local residents has reduced, while the price of food and other basic commodities has gone up. Although prices have stabilised recently, many commodity prices remain significantly higher than before the cyclone, or the same as in Yangon, the country's largest city and former capital.

Rice prices in Pyapon are the same as in Yangon, though the price should normally be cheaper as the delta is one of the country's major rice bowls.

According to the UN in June, of the 1.3 million hectares of paddy in the cyclone-hit areas, 60 percent had been affected by the storm. About 200,000 hectares were too damaged for planting, the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said.

But with rice now being brought in from the north or areas unaffected by the storm, Pyapon's rice traders say the price of rice has doubled. Before Nargis, one kilo of rice was 25 US cents. Today it is 50 cents.

Other commodities have also been badly hit. The pre-cyclone price of a kilo of salt was 23 US cents. Today it is close to $1.

Despite the price rises and challenges ahead, many housemakers in the delta hope the worse is now behind them. "If we could survive the deadly storm and tidal surge, this current hardship is nothing for us," said Soe Soe, as she smiled at her son Nargis nearby.

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Relief worker brings local aid to Myanmar
WDBJ 7 Roanoke - July 7, 2008

It's been more than two months since a deadly cyclone in Myanmar wiped out food and shelter for millions.  One man is working with a local group to provide relief.
 
"Often times, these people are going back to villages where there is nothing," says Duane Zook.  "One village had over 300 people and close to 250 had died."
 
Zook is the president of an organization called Global Aid Network.  He's teaming up with Appomattox County's Gleaning for the World to get water and supplies from central Virginia to the people hit hardest by the cyclone.
 
"If you look at just the amount of food we've sent over, it basically feeds five times the population of the city of Lynchburg," says Ron Davidson, president of Gleaning for the World.
 
"They were just so grateful for what we were doing," says Zook.
So grateful, one woman even offered to give Zook one of her children as a thank you.
 
"She had them, that's all she had.  She lost everything else and our team assessed that," says Zook.  "They provided her with some infant formula and some food and she was just coming back saying 'Thank you, thank you, thank you!"
Zook also spent time rebuilding schools.  He says it's just the beginning of what needs to be done.
 
"There's still, even six weeks later, a lot of devastation," says Zook.
And he'll keep sending supplies as long as the need is there.

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The Times of India - Myanmar asks ONGC, GAIL to reduce stake
8 Jul 2008, 0136 hrs IST, Sanjay Dutta,TNN

MADRID: Despite India's sustained courtship of Myanmar with financial aid, soft loans and arms, the ruling military junta refuses to show any reciprocity and prefers to tango with China when it comes to matters concerning oil or gas.

Not satisfied with denying New Delhi gas from fields where two Indian companies have stake, Myanmar's national oil company has enforced a contractual provision to reduce equity held by flagship explorer Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and state-owned gas utility GAIL in the A-1 and A-3 acreages.

ONGC's overseas investment arm, ONGC Videsh, held 20% and and GAIL 10% in both the offshore concession which is estimated to have a reserve of 4.53 tcf (trillion cubic feet) of gas. The Myanmar national oil company MOGE has exercised the "step-in" clause in its production sharing contract with ONGC and GAIL to reduce their stakes. ONGC Videsh is now left with 17% and GAIL 8.5%, an executive of a Korean company, which is part of the consortium developing the field said on the sidelines of the 19th World Petroleum Congress.

Executives of Indian partners in the fields, however, played it cool saying this was part of the contract and they were expecting it since work in the acreges has reached the production phase. South Korea's Daewoo International, which heads the consortium with 60% stake and is the operator, had last fortnight formally entered into a deal with state-run PetroChina for selling gas from the field expected to flow by 2013. Another Korean firm, KOGAS, has 10%.

The MOGE move has also affected the Korean firms, with Daewoo's stake getting lowered to 51% and KOGAS equity down to 8.5%. The lower equity also means a proportionate reduction in revenue from gas sales.

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Thailand to establish cyclone warning network system for Myanmar
ReliefWeb (press release) -

YANGON, Jul 07, 2008 (Xinhua via COMTEX News Network) -- Thailand is seeking to establish in Myanmar an early warning network system against cyclone and a delegation, led by Minister of Information, Communication and Technology Mun Patanotai, is currently on a visit in Yangon.

According to the official newspaper New Light of Myanmar Tuesday, talks on the move were held between the Thai delegation and its Myanmar counterpart, led by Minister of Transport Major- General Thein Swe, during the visit.

The Thai delegation also met with Deputy Foreign Minister U Kyaw Thu, Chairman of the ASEAN-Myanmar- United Nations Tripartite Core Group representing Myanmar, Monday to seek cooperation on the move, the report said.

Meanwhile, the United Nations has set up an emergency telecommunication center (ETC) in Yangon to help for quick communication access in disaster relief and restoration works, the local Biweekly Eleven reported earlier.

Some Myanmar staff have been trained by the UN Emergency Communication Group operating the center, the report said, adding that the UN group has been rendering assistance for some social organizations based in Bangkok to bring in their relief aid supplies to cyclone-hit areas in Myanmar's Ayeyawaddy division and Yangon division.

Deadly cyclone Nargis, which occurred over the Bay of Bengal, hit five divisions and states -- Ayeyawaddy, Yangon, Bago, Mon and Kayin on last May 2 and 3, of which Ayeyawaddy and Yangon inflicted the heaviest casualties and massive infrastructure damage.

Myanmar estimated the damages and losses caused by the storm at 10.67 billion U.S. dollars with 5.5 million people affected.

The storm has killed 84,537 people and left 53,836 missing and 19,359 injured according to the latest official death toll.

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Full ratification of ASEAN charter expected in August: chief
ABS CBN News - 7/8/2008 6:39 PM July 8, 2008
Agence France-Presse

A landmark charter aimed at giving the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) a legal framework is likely to be fully ratified next month, the bloc's chief said Tuesday.

"I'm hoping that in Bangkok we will be able to celebrate full ratification, " ASEAN secretary general Surin Pitsuwan told reporters in Manila.

ASEAN's charter, signed in Singapore last year, aims to commit the region's disparate nations to promote human rights and democratic ideals, and sets out the principles and rules for members.

It also transforms ASEAN, formed in 1967, into a legal entity, a move that will give the group greater clout in international negotiations.

Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam have so far ratified the charter, while Indonesia, Myanmar, the Philippines, and Thailand are in the process of doing so, Surin said.

"In the case of Thailand, a piece of legislation is needed (to ratify the charter). I have no reservation in believing that Thailand will be delivering the ratification. It will come some time in August," Surin said.

Philippines President Arroyo said in November last year that her country would not ratify the charter if Myanmar refused to release opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and reject calls for democratic reforms.

But Surin said Philippine Foreign Secretary Alberto Romulo had assured him that the process was moving forward.

Asked whether ASEAN will allow human rights abuses in Myanmar to take a backseat so the junta will agree to a charter, Surin said: "There are times and opportunities for this issue to be addressed."

"There are ways of going around ... the thorny issues," he said, without elaborating.

The charter was the result of a long, controversial drafting process that saw some of the strong recommendations from ASEAN elder statesmen watered down or dropped, including provisions on member sanctions and expulsion.

ASEAN has been widely criticized for its policy of "constructive engagement" regarding Myanmar, which last month extended Aung San Suu Kyi's house arrest and ignored calls to allow in foreign aid workers after Cyclone Nargis in May.

Myanmar later agreed to allow small teams of aid workers, but only under a tripartite arrangement with ASEAN and the United Nations.

Surin said the aid mission was making progress, although he admitted that up to two million people were still in a "very precarious situation."

However, he said ASEAN was "reasonably confident" that widespread disease outbreaks could be averted.

"It is important for us to care and share and for Myanmar to trust ASEAN that we could bring the world into Myanmar," he said.

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No rice shortage in East Asia; high prices due to panic – ASEAN chief
GMA news -
07/08/2008 | 07:34 PM

MANILA, Philippines – East Asians, including Filipinos, need not worry about a rice shortage in the region, according to Surin Pitsuwan, secretary general of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The soaring prices of rice is caused by speculation and fear among traders – not a regional rice shortage.

"East Asia has a rice stock led by Japan, and there is enough rice stock to take care of the region and to also share with the world in times of need,” Surin said at a press conference on Tuesday.

Surin, a veteran politician from Thailand, is in the Philippines to attend the 5th Informal ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Science and Technology.

According to Surin, the soaring prices of rice is caused by speculation and fear among traders – not a regional rice shortage.

"The panic here is over," Surin said. "The price of rice has gone down. It may not be as low before and will never go back to the same price as before, but at least the panic is over."

According to Surin, ASEAN foreign, trade, and finance ministers had already deliberated on food security for the region and discussed ways on how to deal with increasing prices of commodities and oil.

"The issue of food security is being revisited, recalibrated, and analyzed," Surin said. "The ASEAN can come together and look at the issue and rationalize. "

According to Surin, this is the time for the ASEAN countries to come together and deal with the problem instead of forming rice cartels.

"I think in the case of Thailand and the Philippines, there was an agreement that rice will be made available," he said. "And in the case of Vietnam they have decided to lift the export ban because of the pressure heightened by fear and speculation. "

More funds for agricultural research

The Philippines, the world's biggest importer of rice, face possible shortages this year, according to its own government.

Earlier, the Philippines had called on international donors and financial institutions to increase funding support for the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in Laguna to avert a possible rice crisis.

Ambassador Hilario Davide Jr. also batted for increased funding for agricultural productivity research, which he included in his statement before a recent Special Meeting on the Food Crisis convened by the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations.

"The call of the hour includes the immediate positive, affirmative response from all concerned, such as the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the Internal Fund for Agricultural Development and development partners to the most basic need of the IRRI – funds for research," Davide said.

He lamented that the research of the IRRI, the world's main repository of rice seeds, as well as genetic and other information about rice, "has been, unfortunately, tremendously slowed down because of cuts in funds for agricultural research."

"If money is available for research, IRRI can accomplish the task in four to seven years and save millions of people from hunger, from deaths," he said.

He said damage to rice crops, which has caused reduced production output, would have been prevented if only IRRI's budget for research had not been cut or reduced.

According to Davide, no fewer than 14 new types of resistant varieties of rice have been discovered. But cuts have prevented the IRRI from moving any further to breed stronger traits into widely used rice varieties.

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Asia's angry monk syndrome
Asia Times - Jul 9, 2008
By Megawati Wijaya

SINGAPORE - From Sri Lanka to South Korea, from Tibet to Myanmar, Asia's Buddhist clergy are in unprecedented numbers exerting their moral authority onto politics, abandoning their detachment from worldly events and giving rise to what at least one academic has referred to as a region-wide "angry monk syndrome".

Agitated ascetics made global headlines last year during Myanmar's "Saffron Revolution", where in their thousands they took to the streets to protest against the military government's policies and perceived mistreatment of clergy members. At the height of the unrest, monks dropped the symbolic gauntlet by overturning their alms bowls and refused to accept donations from government officials and their family members.

This year, over 300 Tibetan monks marched in protest in Lhasa in commemoration of the 49th anniversary of an uprising against Chinese rule and to air more modern complaints and grievances, including calls for the release of monks detained last year after the Dalai Lama was awarded a congressional medal of honor by the United States, for the withdrawal of all troops and security personnel from their monasteries and the re-instatement of monks expelled from monasteries for their failure of "patriotic education" exams that required them to denounce the Dalai Lama.

And over the weekend, thousands of Buddhist monks joined South Korean citizens in candlelight rallies in front of Seoul's city hall to protest the government's controversial decision in April to resume imports of beef from the United States, which protestors believe could be tainted with mad cow disease. The usually apolitical monks' involvement in the rallies exerted additional pressure on the government to review the unpopular decision.

While each monk protest is unique in its demands and character, Buddhist clergymen are making their political voices heard in unprecedented ways and increasing numbers across the region. In the process they are often bringing the Sangha out of detached isolation and directly into the cut-and-thrust of everyday politics. The growing images of Buddhist monks leading political protests cuts a sharp contrast to the cliched calm and serene robe-wearing ascetic meditating in the pursuit of otherworldly enlightenment.

John Whalen-Bridge, co-editor of a series of books on Buddhism, refers to the growing phenomenon as "angry monk syndrome", a flip way of referring to the clergy's departure from the pursuit of equanimity and raised-fist involvement in the call for political change and economic justice. Politically active monks are not an entirely new phenomenon. Western observers will likely recall the images of Vietnamese monk Thich Quang Duc, who, in protest against the corruption and repression of the South Vietnamese government, self-immolated himself in June 1963.

Lesser known is the violent role aggrieved ascetics played during the Sino-Japanese war (1937-1945), when Chinese monks abandoned their commitment to non-violence for reasons of patriotism. Certain monks at the time even cited Buddhist scriptures to justify killing their Japanese enemies. On the other side of the battlefield, Zen priests were similarly conspicuous as aggressive and visible defenders of imperial Japan and its nationalistic policies.

Monks were also in the forefront of protests in colonial Burma before the country now known as Myanmar won independence from Britain in 1948. After independence, monks were actively involved in the nationwide uprisings against the military junta-led government in 1988, which were eventually crushed by soldiers. There are accounts of monks sharpening bicycle tire spokes and launching them at soldiers during that violent melee.

The recent surge in monk-led political ferment, usually towards the aim of giving voice to the often silent majority, seems to signal a political reawakening of Asia's Buddhist clergy. Well-organized and in most instances peacefully executed, the protests have provided a resounding reaffirmation to the Sangha's social relevance in modern times. It is also a potentially profound political trend, in that monks tend to speak out on behalf of the politically oppressed and economically downtrodden.

That's the majority of the population in many authoritarian- run countries with substantial Buddhist populations. In Myanmar and Vietnam, for instance, monks have led the moral charge against their respective abusive and repressive governments. In more economically advanced Thailand and South Korea, politicized monks are highlighting the gross inequalities and rampant corruption that has accompanied rapid economic growth.

Middle-way protests

What do these scattered protests say about the Sangha's contemporary mindset? Pattana Kitiarsa, an associate professor in the department of Southeast Asian Studies at the National University of Singapore, believes the Sangha's role has frequently been misunderstood in historical and modern context.

"Buddhism and Buddhist monks are often stereotyped as peace-loving, world-rejecting, calm, serene and poised," he said. "However, when monks become or choose to become worldly-engaged actors, they have put themselves in a familiar position of expressing, communicating, acting, or dealing with the mundane world."

To be sure, individual monks have stood out for their political and social postures. Vietnamese monk Thich Nhat Hanh has long promoted so-called "socially engaged Buddhism", which advocates the application of Buddhist principles towards resolving social, environmental and political problems. His grassroots relief organization helped to rebuild bombed villages, re-establish schools and medical centers, resettle homeless villagers, and organize agricultural co-operatives during the Vietnam War, but he was later exiled due to his non-violent anti-war activities.

The jet-setting Dalai Lama, head of Tibet's government-in- exile and winner of the Nobel Peace prize for his non-violent approach to political struggle, is an individual monk of that same socially-engaged mold. As is Taiwan's Buddhist nun, teacher and philanthropist, Cheng Yen, whose Tzu-Chi Foundation is one of the island-state' s largest charity organizations with offices in over 30 countries around the world, undertaking activities as wide-ranging as disaster relief, environmental protection and bone marrow donations

While globally recognized Buddhist leaders have helped to spawn a worldwide movement of engaged Buddhism, recent developments show that the movement is transcending mere individuals and taking on mass proportions. Internationalized and well-informed monks are joining forces in ever larger numbers to launch mass protests against their respective governments and perceived unjust economic actors.

But does this growing, often political, mass movement contradict the Buddha's teaching to eschew worldly matters and abide in equanimity?

Geshe Jangchup Choeden, a Tibetan Buddhist monk-teacher from the Gaden Shartse monastery in India, says that according to ancient scriptures the "ideal" monk is disciplined and refrains from all actions which might bring him into conflict with the clergy's devotees. But, he asks, "Is it possible to have an ideal monk in the modern world? How essential is the ideal monk in times or at places when and where they are needed to take actions against injustice or for the well-being of the people?"

Whether Myanmar's protesting monks, who mobilized en masse last year against a military regime notorious for its human rights abuses and entrenched corruption, lived up to this ideal is definitely debatable. The government accused many of the robed demonstration leaders as "fake" monks and assaulted and jailed many of them and their followers. Other monks were confined by security forces to their monasteries.

In Sri Lanka, Buddhist monks are clearly taking sides amid the country's deeply polarized and increasingly violent ethnic- and religion-based politics. There they have their own political parties, sit in parliament, and are the strongest supporter of the Sinhalese Buddhist government's campaign to militarily obliterate the mostly Hindu Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) separatist group.

Academic Kitiarsa points to the diverse upbringings, educational backgrounds and monastic practices for varied monk responses. "In reality, there has never been one singular monk. Only Buddha himself is considered a model monk," he said. "Monks in the 21st century could be militants, activists, magicians, forest-dwelling world renouncers. All these monks wish to have their voices heard in their own ways."

That was clearly the case when Tibetan monks wept and cried out "Tibet is not free! Tibet is not free!" when Western media members visited Jokhang Temple, one of Tibet's holiest shrines, during a government-managed press tour in March. These extraordinary scenes helped to keep the government's recent security crackdown and continued occupation of Tibet in international headlines ahead of Beijing's hosting of the Summer Olympic Games in August.

There are concurrent worldly risks that the socially engaged movement is in certain instances being manipulated for narrow political purposes. In South Korea, for instance, where monks have been on the vanguard of the street protests against US beef imports, the demonstrations are now increasingly being driven by liberal opponents of President Lee Myung-bak's new conservative government.

But in countries like Myanmar or places like Tibet, where the moral argument against the prevailing political order is more obvious, monks are in increasing numbers straying from the past middle path of loving kindness towards what some see as a more socially-engaged path towards enlightenment. "There is nothing wrong or undesirable with the Sangha protesting out of their compassion for humanity," said Choeden. "But once their aims are achieved, they should get back as soon as possible to their purpose and avoid drifting into the ways of the world."

Megawati Wijaya is a Singapore-based freelance journalist. She may be contacted at megawati.wijaya@ gmail.com.

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Junta Profits from Growing Gap in Value of Cash and FECs
The Irrawaddy - Tuesday, July 8, 2008
By MIN LWIN

The growing gap between the value of the US dollar and Burmese foreign exchange certificates (FECs)—introduced in 1994 to ensure that most hard currency that enters the country ends up in government hands—is turning Cyclone Nargis relief efforts into a major cash cow for Burma’s ruling junta.

All international aid agencies working in Burma are required to deposit money for operating expenses in accounts at the Myanmar Foreign Trade Bank (MFTB). These deposits—usually made in US dollars—can only be withdrawn in FECs, which are technically equal in value.

However, since Cyclone Nargis struck on May 2-3, the actual value of the FEC has fallen considerably, from slightly lower than the US unit to just over 80 percent of the dollar’s black market exchange rate.

According to members of Rangoon’s business community, FECs now fetch just 965 kyat per unit, while the dollar is worth around 1170.
 
Businessmen say the price of FECs started to fall in the wake of Cyclone Nargis, as Burmese living overseas began to transfer large amounts of cash into MFTB accounts to support the relief effort.

After the junta finally decided to allow major international aid agencies to enter the country in late May, the FECs dropped further.

“The demand for FECs [from international relief groups] increased, so the government just printed more,” said a Rangoon-based economic observer. “This drove down their value, because now the currency market is flooded with FECs.”

Besides international organizations and foreign-owned businesses, Burmese employed abroad are also required to hold MFTB accounts to send remittances to their families in Burma.

“I have to transfer my dollar salary to my MFTB account, but when my family withdraws the money in FECs, it’s worth a lot less,” complained a Burmese engineer working in South Africa. “Nowadays we lose at least 200 kyat on the dollar.”

A Burmese relief worker said that the more aid that flows into country, the less the FEC will be worth.

“International agencies and overseas Burmese deposit US dollars for local purchases, but they can only withdraw FECs. The more dollars that come into Burma, the more FEC there will be in the market,” said the relief worker.

Economic observers pointed out that the government, which has been driving down the value of the FEC by printing them in large numbers, is now effectively earning a 20 percent “tax” on all aid coming into the country.

According to figures released by the United Nations, US $134 million has so far been spent on the international relief mission in Burma, some of it used to purchase supplies and pay for services locally.

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Labour Activist Gets Solitary as Prison Conditions Worsen
The Irrawaddy - Tuesday, July 8, 2008
By WAI MOE

An imprisoned Burmese labor activist has been put into solitary confinement after requesting medical treatment, according to a human rights advocacy group that is reporting worsening conditions at Rangoon’s notorious Insein Prison.

Bo Kyi, joint secretary of the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners-Burma (AAPP), told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday that Su Su Nway, a prominent labor activist, was put into solitary confinement recently after she asked prison authorities for better medical care.

“She suffers from heart problems and requested regular checkups. But prison officials denied her request and put her into solitary confinement instead,” said Bo Kyi.

According to AAPP, security at Insein Prison, where Su Su Nway and many other political prisoners are being held, has been tightened since an incident two months ago, when Cyclone Nargis blew the roof off of one of the prison buildings. In the ensuing panic, 36 inmates were shot to death by prison guards and riot police.

Since the May 2-3 cyclone, prison authorities have imposed new restrictions, such as refusing to allow relatives of some political prisoners to visit regularly or bring provisions. Walking exercise time has also been reduced from one hour to just 20 minutes a day, according to AAPP.

When asked why the new restrictions were needed, prison authorities said that were being implemented for “security reasons,” said Bo Kyi.

Prison authorities have come down hard on prisoners they deem to be uncooperative.
Two student activists, Nyan Lin Aung, who was arrested in June after taking part in Cyclone Nargis relief efforts, and Maung Maung Latt were recently placed in solitary confinement for arguing with prison wardens, according to AAPP.

Recently, human rights group Amnesty International expressed concern over the health of 79-year-old Win Tin, Burma’s longest-serving prisoner of conscience, who has been in prison since 1989.

Win Tin needs urgent medical attention and has been suffering from severe asthma attacks and lung problems, along with heart disease and spondylitis (inflammation of the joints of the spine), the group said in a July 4 press release.

Human rights groups estimate as many as 1,800 political prisoners are still behind bars in Burma.

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Flood causes evacuees to shelter in public buildings
Mizzima News - Tuesday, 08 July 2008 14:57

Temporary camps for flood evacuees were set up in Mawlight and Khanti in Sagaing division in western Burma today after the water level rose dangerously in the Chindwin River.

In Khanti, 22 families are sheltered in Paw Mine monastery, 10 families have been put in the Basic Primary School No.3 while  61 families have been provided shelter in Basic Primary School No. 1. Five families are in a Middle Primary School.

In Mawlight, 68 families have been moved to three different accommodations such as the city hall, Basic Primary School No.1 and a stadium.

There are no reports of causalities yet but the weather department officials nearest to this area warned that water levels in Chindwin could rise further in the next 24 hours.

The water level is at 1380 centimeters while the danger level for Mawlight is 1230 centimetres.

In Homelin, the river water level rose to 3021 centimetres, which is 121 centimetres above the danger level. In Kanti it is 1480 centimetres, 120 centimetres above the danger level. In the Kalaywa water is flowing 124 centimetres above the danger level which is 1550 centmetres.

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Families still waiting for news of detained relatives

Jul 8, 2008 (DVB)–The families of Zarganar, Zaw Thet Htway and others involved in voluntary aid work for cyclone victims who were arrested by Burmese authorities say they are still waiting for information on their relatives.

Writer Daw Kyi Oo, the mother of comedian and activist Zarganar, said she is worried that her son has not been able to take his medication.

"He was already on three different medications before he was arrested and now he has been without the medicine for over a month,” Daw Kyi Oo said.

“We have not been informed about his situation and no one has picked up his medicine either," she said.

"His father has been not well either, and he kept asking for his son."

Daw Kyi Oo said the family had expected Zarganar to be released soon after his arrest as had happened on previous occasion.

She said aid work carried out by Zarganar's group has been on hold for the past two weeks as donations have not been coming in since the comedian's arrest.

Zaw Thet Htway's wife Ma Khin Cho said 25 days have now passed since her husband was arrested.

Ma Khin Cho said she plans to send an official letter to the authorities asking them to disclose information about his whereabouts if he is not released within 30 days.

The families of volunteers who were collecting the bodies of cyclone victims the body snatchers said they too, have no idea where their loved ones were.

Reporting by Naw Say Phaw

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ABFSU urges flexibility for late university admissions

Jul 8, 2008 (DVB)–The All Burma Federation of Student Unions called on the military regime on Monday to allow university students from cyclone-devastated Irrawaddy division to enrol for the coming academic year.

Aung Zay, a member of the ABFSU, an established student union in Burma since the British colonial era, said late registrations should be allowed for students from the affected areas.

“We the ABFSU call on the authorities to grant students from cyclone-devastated areas permission to register for the 2008-2009 academic year,” said Aung Zay.

The call was timed to coincide with commemorations of the 46th anniversary of the 7 July 1962 student uprising in Burma, in which students took to the streets to protest against the regime led by the late dictator Gen. Nay Win but were crushed violently.

The historic student union building inside Rangoon’s main university campus was also blown up, causing the deaths of many students.

According to Aung Zay, hundreds of students from Maaupin, Bassein, and Hinthata universities have been rejected for university courses this year due to their late enrolments.

“Although university authorities allowed a one-month extension for late enrolment, they [students] could not register in time because they didn’t have the money to pay the school admission fees,” said Aung Zay.

“They informed the authorities that they were still looking for admission fees and asked them to consider allowing them sign up but they were rejected.”

Aung Zay told DVB that third year students at Bassein university were given financial support of 100,000 kyat each, which could create tensions among students.

“Are first- and second-year students not students? Don’t they deserve financial support? Were only third year students affected by the cyclone?” Aung Zay asked.

“We oppose this type of support as it is discriminatory and can create problems among students.”

Besides calling for university admission, the ABFSU commemorated the 46th 7 July anniversary by distributing statements and pamphlets in Rangoon, Irrawaddy and Bago divisions calling for non-violent struggle to liberate Burma from the military dictatorship.

Reporting by Naw Say Paw

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