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Daily Vidette-Dictatorial rule continues in Burma
VOA-Burma's 1990 Election Winners Want Military Regime's UN Seat
Spalding-Burma comrades to meet 63 years after war ends
Asian Tribune-Burma Human Rights Yearbook 2007 documents Burmese ruling junta’s atrocities
Guardian-Burma: Cyclone, starvation - now plague of rats devastates Burmese villages
Radio Australia-US 'deeply concerned' over Burma's Suu Kyi
 Bangkok Post-Police 'know nothing' of Suu Kyi hunger strike 
BADA-Join Burma Supporters at Solano Stroll Parade to spread awareness

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Dictatorial rule continues in Burma
Alex Kantecki, Daily Vidette Staff Writer
Issue date: 9/11/08 Section: News
 
Tun Myint, assistant professor of political science at Carleton College in Northfield, Minn., spoke about the prolonged history of struggles between the Burmese government and its citizens in the Bone Student Center Wednesday afternoon.
 
Media Credit: Jim Moldenhauer / Daily Vidette Photo Editor
Professor Tun Myint of the Department of Political Science at Carleton College presented "Explaining Doggedness of Dictatorial Rules in Burma/Myanmar? " at International Seminar Series Wednesday afternoon.

The presentation, "Explaining Doggedness of Dictatorial Rules in Burma/Myanmar, " focused on the history of military rule in Burma and how the legitimacy of the government has come under constant question.

"Burma will continue to struggle for legitimacy until its government is replaced by a more democratic one," Myint said.

"Legitimacy will come when there is a strong sense of religious and cultural foundation effectively built into the government's soul."

Burma, the largest country by geographical area in southeast Asia, has been controlled by its military since 1962. There have been many protests against the government, but few have had any success.

According to Dr. Te-Yu Wang, professor of politics and government, Myint spent two years in Burma as a student activist.

"It's rare to find an expert who was actually there opposing the government," Wang said. "We were just lucky to get him for this presentation. "

In order to legitimize the Burmese government, the social foundation of Burma needs to be better defined, according to Myint.

"Without social foundations, no roots of democracy can exist," Myint said. "So far, government has failed to establish a law system based on social foundations. "

There are four main social foundations to consider, according to Myint.

"The most important one is defining religious views," Myint said. "Eighty-nine percent of the Burmese population is Buddhist, so teaching of Buddha is essential."

Another important social foundation essential to Burmese life is teaching karma.

"No single creator exists in Buddhism," Myint said. "You are your own creator."

"For example, if you look at a piece of wood, it is just wood, but if you put pieces of wood together, you call it a table. You created it."

The final two social foundations are creating a specific language and naming system.

In addition to successfully building social foundations into the government, Burma faces other challenges in its quest for legitimacy.

"The government needs to think outside the box," Myint said. "They need to institute a framework that will meet the needs of the self-governing nature of the citizens. A lot of citizens do not even have the basic needs necessary for survival."

Myint's presentation was part of the International Seminar Series, available to the public every Wednesday at noon on the third floor of the Bone Student Center.

http://media. www.dailyvidette .com/media/ storage/paper420 /news/2008/ 09/11/News/ Dictatorial. Rule.Continues. In.Burma- 3424596.shtml

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Burma 's 1990 Election Winners Want Military Regime's UN Seat
By VOA News
10 September 2008

The pro-democracy winners of Burma's 1990 parliamentary elections have asked the United Nations to recognize their representatives at the General Assembly in place of the representatives of the current military regime.

Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi (file photo)

In a letter Tuesday, the winning candidates challenged the legitimacy of the military government, which never recognized election results that saw a landslide victory for the National League for Democracy led by Aung San Suu Kyi.

The pro-democracy leaders called on all U.N. member states to support their cause.
The military has ruled Burma since 1962 and has been widely criticized for suppressing basic freedoms.

Pro-democracy leader and Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi was detained in July 1989 and has spent 13 of the past 19 years under house arrest.

Some information for this report was provided by AP.

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Burma comrades to meet 63 years after war ends
Published Date:
Spalding today-09 September 2008
By Kate Chapman

A Burma war veteran is looking forward to swapping stories with a comrade he has not seen for more than 60 years.

An e-mail from the secretary at the Norfolk branch of the Burma Star Association put Lincolnshire member Alan Barkes (87) in touch with Norman Hunt. Both had served with the 2810 Parachute Regiment.

The pair will meet at the Carlton Hotel, Great Yarmouth.

Mr Barkes, of High Street, Holbeach, said: "We have chatted on the phone and I am really looking forward to us meeting up.

"It is more than 63 years ago that we served in Burma. I have been trying to track a lot of people down but there are not many left now."

The Burma campaign of World War II took place between December 11, 1941, and September 2, 1945, during which time the Japanese invaded Burma, driving British forces to the Indian border.

As the Japanese held superiority in the Pacific, it was not until early in 1944 that the Allies were in a position to strike back and regain a foothold in Burma with the aim of finally defeating the Japanese in the Pacific and Far East.

The Japanese surrendered on September 2, 1945, after the Allies dropped atom bombs on two Japanese cities.

Mr Barkes, who was a keen boxer during his time in the forces, was in the RAF Regiment from early 1942 to June 1946 and served in Burma with 2846 Squadron for around 14 months.

He volunteered to join a new parachute squadron regiment and completed a gruelling two-week course in Chakalala, India.

The group was waiting for orders to parachute onto the Malaysian jungle, a move Mr Barkes feared he would not survive, but it was called off when the Americans ended the war.

However, the group did parachute into Indonesia as some Japanses troops did not realise the war was over.

Mr Barkes has been a member of the The Burma Star Association for a couple of years.

The association meets at Gosberton Church Hall from 2.30pm on the second Wednesday of every month and all Burma veterans are welcome to attend.

Mr Barkes is keen to hear from anyone who was a member of 2810 Squadron. He can be contacted on 01406 425688.

http://www.spalding today.co. uk/news/Burma- comrades- to-meet-63. 4468905.jp

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Burma Human Rights Yearbook 2007 documents Burmese ruling junta’s atrocities
Wed, 2008-09-10 13:50

Bangkok, 10 September, (Asiantribune. com): As the first anniversary of Burma's September 2007 Saffron Revolution approaches, the Human Rights Documentation Unit (HRDU) has released a 964 pages Burma Human Rights Yearbook 2007. Burma Human Rights Yearbook 2007 is revealed to be the largest and most comprehensive report ever published by the HRDU, but is also quite likely the single largest report ever produced on the human rights situation in Burma.

Human Rights Year Book of Burma

Twenty years since the brutal suppression of the 1988 uprising, the Burmese military junta continues to exert tight control over the country's population, while executing a litany of human rights abuses against its citizens. Drawing on thousands of reports, news articles, UN statements, and other sources of information, the Burma Human Rights Yearbook 2007 documents the continuing and systematic perpetration of human rights violations in Burma as they occurred across the country throughout 2007.

The Burma Human Rights Yearbook 2007 reveals that the human rights situation confronting the people of Burma has not improved since the very first Burma Human Rights Yearbook was published fourteen years ago. On the contrary, widespread human rights violations continued to be perpetrated in Burma with near impunity throughout 2007.

Across the country, members of the civilian population have continued to be subjected to egregious abuses including, but not limited to forced labor, extortion, arbitrary arrest, summary execution, rape, forced relocation, the confiscation and/or destruction of land and property, religious persecution and ethnic discrimination.

Dr Sann Aung of the National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma on Tuesday said:
"Whether we look at it in terms of the time elapsed since the Saffron Revolution last year or over a longer timeframe since the uprisings in 1988, the result is the same. The root causes which gave rise to these protests have never been adequately addressed by the regime and the general grievances of the population remain. While it is difficult to say conclusively that the human rights situation in Burma is getting worse, we can say that it certainly isn't showing much improvement."

The Burma Human Rights Yearbook 2007 documents the suppression of human rights in 18 primary areas of concern, including the systematic oppression of the freedoms of expression and assembly, manifested in the brutal crackdown on the September 2007 Saffron Revolution protests. Reflecting deep discontent and impatience with military regime, the year 2007 saw a sharp increase in public dissent against the regime, which culminated in the monk-led September uprising – marking the largest public display of dissatisfaction against the regime seen in the country in almost 20 years.

The HRDU is the research and documentation department of the National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma (NCGUB). The HRDU was formed in 1993 to comprehensively document the human rights situations in Burma, in order to protect and promote the internationally recognized human rights of those persons in the country.

- Asian Tribune -
http://www.asiantri bune.com/ ?q=node/13166

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Burma: Cyclone, starvation - now plague of rats devastates Burmese villages
Generals ignore a once in 50-year freak of nature that wrecks communities
Pete Pattisson in Chin state, Burma
The Guardian,
Wednesday September 10 2008
Article history

It is an impressive arsenal - more than 100 weapons, each with a sensitive trigger - but it is a feeble defence against the enemy threatening Mgun Ling and his village in Chin state, deep in the jungles of western Burma.

Theirs is an unconventional war: their weapons are traps, their enemy rats.

"We can catch hundreds of rats a night, but it makes no difference," said Mgun Ling. "They just keep coming. They've destroyed all our crops, and now we have nothing left to eat."

Four months after Cyclone Nargis devastated Burma, another natural disaster has struck the country. This time the ruling military regime has had 50 years to prepare for it, yet it has still proved unable and unwilling to respond.

The disaster, known in Burma as maudam, is caused by a cruel twist of nature. Once every 50 years or so the region's bamboo flowers, producing a fruit. The fruit attracts hordes of rats, which feed on its seeds. Some believe the rich nutrients in the seeds cause the rodents to multiply quickly, creating an infestation. After devouring the seeds, the rats turn on the villagers' crops, destroying rice and corn. In a country once known as the rice bowl of Asia, thousands of villagers are on the brink of starvation.

The last three cycles of flowering occurred in 1862, 1911 and 1958, and each time they were followed by a devastating famine. The current maudam is proving just as disastrous. A report last month by the Chin Human Rights Organisation estimates that up to 200 villages are affected by severe food shortages and at least 100,000 people, or 20% of the population of Chin, are in need of immediate food aid.

Chin, home to the ethnic minority Chin people, is one of the most undeveloped and isolated regions of Burma. These remote mountainous communities, which survive on subsistence farming, have reached breaking point.

"We have no food left," said the head of one village. "Last year during the harvest the rats came and ate almost all our rice. Our corn has also been totally destroyed. I have just one bag of rice left for my family. After that there's nothing. People in my village are going into the jungle to find wild vegetables, like leaves and roots to mix with a little rice. Our situation is desperate."

Leisa, 74, who witnessed the last maudam, claimed that this famine was worse. "In the past the bamboo flowered all at one time. The rats came, destroyed our crops, and then left. This time the bamboo is flowering in patches and each time it flowers, a new wave of rats come. Previously, we suffered for just one or two years, but now we are worried it may last seven or eight years."

The crisis is turning villages into ghost communities, as the Chin leave their homes in search of food, or a new life, in India. One village headman said: "Last year, we had 60 households in our village but half have already moved to India due to the food crisis. Even with only 30 households there is still not enough food for everyone."

Every day, scores of villagers follow a tortuous mountain track to an unmanned border post into India, battling monsoon downpours, knee-deep mud and malaria. Some move to India for good, others like Chitu trek for days to buy food and haul it home. "Every single week we have to walk to India to buy rice there. The round trip takes four days. My children have had to stop going to school because they have to spend all their time carrying rice."

Despite the predictability of the disaster, there has been no sign of help from the Burmese junta. One village chief said: "We made a formal request to the chairman of the township council and the local army commander for food, but we got no response from them."

In fact, rather than tackling the crisis, the military is compounding it. Since the junta took power in Burma in 1962, the Chin have suffered violent oppression at the hands of the army. The use of unpaid forced labour, forced substitution of staple crops for cash crops and arbitrary taxation is rife. A report last year by the Women's League of Chinland accused the army of systematic sexual violence against Chin women.

"Every month we receive a letter ordering us to attend a meeting at the local army camp," said one village head. "At the meetings they demand work from us and force us to send villagers to construct their barracks. Worst of all they order us to send them food, like chickens, cooking oil and chillies, but since we don't have any we have to collect money from villagers to send in its place.

"Last month, I failed to attend the meeting, because I was too busy collecting rice from India. When I got back to my village I found an envelope with a bullet in it. I was terrified. I thought they were going to come and kill me."

Cheery Zahau of the Women's League of Chinland said: "The maudam has affected India and Burma equally, but the Indian government has been preparing for it since 2002. For example, they pay their citizens for every rat they catch. The Burmese junta has done nothing. It's not just that they don't care. In my opinion, they are deliberately ignoring the disaster because they want the region to be cleansed of Chin people. Chin groups in the border region have been trying to mobilise aid, but our resources are very limited. We desperately need international assistance."

While the Chin await aid, the exodus to India continues. "We love our native land," said one villager. "But we don't know how we can survive here any longer."

http://www.guardian .co.uk/world/ 2008/sep/ 10/burma. famine

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US 'deeply concerned' over Burma's Suu Kyi
Radio Australia-Updated September 10, 2008 16:40:01

Aung San Suu Kyi has spent most of the past 19 years under house arrest. [AFP]

Related Stories:
No Suu Kyi hunger strike: Burma police chief
Burmese junta accuses opposition party for July bombing
Burma's Suu Kyi refuses to see government liaison
Thailand tells the UN to broaden focus in Burma

The United States says it remains "deeply concerned" about the welfare of Burma's detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi but can't confirm reports she is on a hunger strike.

A State Department spokesman says they're aware of reports that Ms Suu Kyi has refused food deliveries.

Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy said last week the Nobel Peace laureate had refused to accept food from the junta for three weeks, although the military government denied she was on a hunger strike.

Ms Suu Kyi has spent most of the past 19 years under house arrest.

http://www.radioaus tralia.net. au/news/stories/ 200809/s2360800. htm?tab=latest

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Police 'know nothing' of Suu Kyi hunger strike 
Bangkok Post-09-09-08

Naypyitaw (dpa) - The Burmese chief of police on Sunday claimed to know nothing about a hunger strike being staged by Nobel laureate and political dissident Aung San Suu Kyi to protest her five-plus years under house arrest.

Addressing a press conference in Naypyitaw, the military's new capital situated 350 kilometres north of Rangoon, Police Chief Khin Yee said Suu Kyi had recently been visited by her lawyer and doctor and neither had told the government about her hunger strike.

On Friday, the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) party issued a statement claiming that Suu Kyi, who has been under house arrest in Rangoon since May 2003, had refused food deliveries to her home-cum-jail for the past three weeks to protest her ongoing detention.

The NLD said Suu Kyi had refused to receive food packages from friends to protest her unlawful detention which has "exceeded the legal limit."

Suu Kyi is under house detention in her family home on charges of disturbing the peace. The detention followed an attack by pro- military thugs on Suu Kyi's convoy in Tepeyin, Sagaing division in northern Burma on May 30, 2003. Several of her followers were killed in the melee.

The Nobel Peace Prize laureate has been kept in near complete isolation, allowed monthly visits by her doctor and occasional visits by UN special envoys.

Last month she refused to meet with UN special envoy to Burma Ibrahim Gambari on the grounds that he had done nothing to secure her freedom.

Over the past two months Suu Kyi has been allowed three meetings with her lawyer Kyi Win, which is unusual, and last saw her doctor Tin Myo on August 1.

Police Chief Khin Yee said neither man had mentioned Suu Kyi's hunger strike to authorities. He added that the dissident's release would be in "accordance with the law."

Under Burmese emergency law political prisoners can only be kept under detention for a maximum of five years on charges of disturbing the peace, but Suu Kyi's detention was last May extended for another six months, raising legal questions.

The ruling junta has been sending mixed signals about the duration of Suu Kyi's incarceration.

There have been hints that she may be released within six months, but many observers believe it is unlikely that she will be released before the next general election slated for 2010.

Suu Kyi's NLD party won the 1990 polls by a landslide, but the party has been denied power by the military for 18 years and she has been kept under house arrest for around 13 of the past 18 years.

Burma has been under military rule since 1962. Ironically, it was Suu Kyi's father, Aung San, who fathered the military establishment as part of the country's independence movement from its former colonial master Britain.

Suu Kyi, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991, is deemed Burma's democracy icon and one of the few opposition leaders with enough popular and international support to undermine the military's monopoly of political power in the south-east Asian nation.

http://www.bangkokp ost.com/breaking _news/breakingne ws.php?id= 130477

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BADA home

Join Burma Supporters at Solano Stroll Parade to spread awareness

San Francisco Bay Area Burma supporters to join the Solano Stroll Parade this year again and speared awareness about situation in Burma. A one mile long street celebration is attended by more than 100,000 annually. See a YouTube Video here: http://www.youtube. com/watch? v=DSziBGGW- fA

Also check out our last year Burma supporter's participation information: http://www.badasf. org/2007/ SolanoStrollSumm arySept9. htm.

Please join us at the Parade to help highlight the situation in Burma and speared the awareness about her to thousands. Burma needs you again!
Let's Parade for Burma at Solano Stroll! Please join!

Solano Stroll is the East Bay’s largest street festival! The Solano Avenue Merchants Association invites you to come and see what makes Solano Avenue such a wonderful place. Participants and the event guests visit from everywhere throughout California; as well as neighboring states from Nevada to Maine. Every cuisine imaginable** Filling the streets with hundreds of thousands.

34th Annual, 2008 Solano Stroll - Street Celebration
Sunday, September 14, 10am - 6pm
Solano Avenue in Berkeley & Albany, CA

Parade at 10AM with about 100 participating groups (Burmese will be one of them); it usually last about 1 1/2 hour.
Also visit 75 Entertainers / 50 Food Booths / 120 Arts and Crafters and 150 Local Non-Profits. 26 Blocks of free fun!
*** In 2002, the Stroll was honored by the Library of Congress as a National Local Legacy. ***

PRE-PARADE GATHERING SPOT TO JOIN BURMA SUPPORTERS!! !
At 9:00 a.m. SHARP at the corner of FRESNO AVENUE and SOLANO AVENUE, Berkeley CA 94707; Look for people with Burmese dresses and drums.

All are invited to participate in the parade with us. Feel free to show up that morning to join BADA and other Burma supporters at the corner of Fresno Avenue and Solano Avenue, Berkeley, CA. We'll be carrying the banners, sings, flags and photos of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and other leaders.

More information, please contact Anil Verma at 510 485 3751, parade@badasf. org. Also visit www.badasf.org.

DRESSES, SIGNS AND BANNERS

1.  Please wear your national dress to celebrate our culture
2.  We will have flags, banners and signs for you to carry and help spread the awareness about situation in Burma
3.  You are encouraged to bring large photos of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and others
4. We will need some of you to volunteer and carry some banners and signs

Some Parade Rules

The Parade Participants shall begin checking in at 8:15AM and absolutely no later than 9:00AM!

Please do not stop for any reason except for a health and/or safety issue. 
There will be no throwing candy during the parade. 

The most important thing you must do in the parade is be safe. The second most important is to have fun

More info on the Stroll (What you can do after The Parade)

The fun begins at 8 a.m. with the traditional pancake breakfast at Veterans' Memorial Park in Albany, followed by the opening of Solano Avenue businesses and Stroll booths at 10AM. But the real kickoff is the theme parade with about 100 groups at 10AM. After the parade, you can visit one of 75 entertainers, 50 food booths, 120 juried arts and crafters, games, wacky art cars, and 150 community organizations, not to mention the unique and popular shops already here on the Avenue.

You will hear the best in local music, dance and other performances and absolutely stunning costumes from all over the globe!

Stop by Environmental Alley at the top of Solano where you can learn all about getting green, and what we can do as a planet to help sustain our environment!

Then, at the very bottom of Solano, 26 blocks down is Kidtown for the youngsters, with giant slides, Dr. Solar and his Traveling Medicine Show, carnival games, stilt walkers, face painters, jugglers, and much, much more.

This alcohol-free event promotes the unique traits of Solano Avenue, helping local businesses, local artists, and community organizations to thrive. The Stroll solidifies community spirit, neighbors find old friends, and families enjoy an afternoon in the sun.
Transportation information for Fair goers

Fairgoers can Stroll one way and ride the free shuttles the other way on parallel Marin Ave. The shuttles run 10AM-7PM from the North Berkeley BART station to The Alameda and Marin Avenue, one block South of Solano Avenue. There is a second free shuttle along Marin Avenue so you can Stroll one way and ride the other. Just flag it down at any corner between The Alameda, in Berkeley - to Kains Avenue, in Albany.

Shuttles are wheelchair accessible. Ride your bike and enjoy free valet bicycle parking at Wells Fargo Bank, 1800 Solano Avenue – Berkeley.

You can also use AC Transit – bus numbers #18, #72, or #79.
Special handicapped parking is available on the east and west sides of The Alameda, north of Solano.
Here's a link to a Google map of Solano Ave At The Alameda, Berkeley, CA 94707

Come be a part of this wonderful community event!
Organized by The Solano Avenue Association and Stroll 510.527.5358 / SolanoStroll. org

http://www.badasf. org/2008/ SolanoStroll/ stroll.htm

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