The latest report by a veteran research team from Europe that came out Saturday, 23 August, has concluded that the Asean target to make the Southeast Asian region drug-free by 2015 is “obviously unattainable.” In Thailand, for example, substantial time and resources were invested to create alternative livelihoods for poppy farmers before the authorities introduced law enforcement measures. But in Burma and Laos, deadlines are being set first and people are being ordered to stop without preparation. They have led to overly repressive approaches toward poppy farmers.

U Ne Win, 60, who is secretary for the National League for Democracy (NLD), suffers from hypertension and heart problems. However he did not receive any proper medical treatment, and has had to rely on medicine provided by his family. As a result of this condition, he cannot be independent. He was arrested on 27th September 2007, and the following day he was sentenced to two years imprisonment with hard labor. He was not given access to a lawyer, or any legal rights. He is currently in Myitkyina prison.

Current UN operations in Burma, despite varied outcomes, are worth solid support from the people of Burma whose needs are such any assistance, big or small, is a blessing, according to Brussels-based Burma activist Harn Yawnghwe. “The UN is the one of the few friends we have,” he said yesterday. Speaking to the meeting of border-based Tai Coordination Committee (TCC) that was formed last January as part of the joint struggle to set up a Shan State representative body, he spoke highly of Ibrahim Gambari, Special Advisor to the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, and Tomas Ojea Quintana, the new UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Burma, who had recently concluded their separate visits to the military-ruled country.

5,000 Karen people remain in hiding as a result of the Burma Army's long-running and brutal campaign to forcibly expel villagers from their homeland in Mergui-Tavoy District. Relief efforts continue in the face of Burma Army oppression as 46 Burma Army infantry battalions and 12 artillery battalions continue to try to subjugate the people of this area. 50,000 Karen now live under Burma Army control in forced relocation sites and thousands more have fled to refugee camps across the border in Thailand.

The three pictures of Burma Army camps show the militarization that has taken place as the Burma Army attempts to dominate all areas of life. There are five Burma Army battalions in Mong Ton Town alone. This significant development in military infrastructure is in sharp contrast to the lives of ordinary villagers here, who continue to live in deprivation, with little access to health care or education. Poverty is compounded by the Burma Army's use of forced relocation, often along ethnic lines, as a means of smothering potential opposition to its rule.

In the July 2008 issue you will find: * PONJA report * SPDC profits from aid * Arrests and sentencing * Karen refugees * ASEAN & SPDC * US sanctions * Other Burma news * List of Reports * Much more...