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THE UN envoy charged with bringing peace to Burma has paid a second visit to pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi today.
Ibrahim Gambari had already met Myanmar’s military leader Senior Gen Than Shwe in the junta’s remote new capital, Naypyitaw, in his quest to end their crackdown on democracy protesters.
The meeting with Than Shwe was expected but the one with Suu Kyi came as a surprise, raising hopes that Gambari’s shuttle diplomacy was making some progress.
The monk, assumed to be aged around 30, was sent to Rangoon general hospital’s intensive care unit with a gunshot wound to his arm. Two members of the National League for Democracy in Thingangyun township, Ko Mya Than Htike and U Htun Shwe, and another unknown civilian were also sent to the hospital.
Ko Mya Than Htike’s wife told DVB that all four patients were shot and wounded during the government guards’ violent crackdown on protesters near Sule Pagoda on September 27 and were later taken to the hospital by civilian bystanders. She said the monk was seen being taken away from the hospital ward by police officers on Saturday morning.
“Now the monk is gone. We don’t where he was taken to. He had a plaster-cast on his arm where he has the gun-shot wound. It was police officials who took him away,” said Ko Mya Than Htike’s wife.
Four refugees accuse the company of having used forced workers offered by the military regime to build a gas pipeline, according to lawyer Alexis Deswaef.
Authorities are also to reopen an investigation into possible crimes against humanity targetting the regime, he said.
Wednesday, 3 October 2007
Live footage beatings Burma
CNN possesses video material of beatings in Burma. The video contains violent beatings, while bystanding soldiers are laughing.
Please be aware, the video shows violent images which are not suitable for everybody.
Watch the video here
Wednesday, 3 October 2007
Live footage beatings Burma
CNN possesses video material of beatings in Burma. The video contains violent beatings, while bystanding soldiers are laughing.
Please be aware, the video shows violent images which are not suitable for everybody.
Watch the video here
Kyaw Thu had been running from authorities after a public show of support for the protesting monks. Along with the Burmese comedian Zarganar, he had gathered together celebrities to supply the monks at the Shwedagon pagoda with food and water. "We are Buddhist. All Buddhists have to support this movement," the movie heart-throb said.
Video footage smuggled out of the country, however, appears to show a soldier shooting Nagai from about a meter away.
Assistant press secretary for Japan's foreign ministry, Kazuyuki Yamazaki, says Tokyo hopes the video footage will shed light on what happened.
"We are also referring that scene to the Myanmar government and we would like to receive their official account of why the Japanese journalist had to be killed," he said.
During the meetings, Yabunaka requested authorities return a small video camera Nagai was clutching as he died. The camera was missing from items returned by Burmese authorities.
Yamazaki said the Japanese envoy also called for Burma's military government to stop its violent crackdown and release the arrested demonstrators.
Japanese officials have said Japan may take strong steps against Burma. But Yamazaki says Tokyo has not yet come to a decision about imposing sanctions.
Japan is a top aid donor to Burma, providing about $26 million annually in recent years.
(Burmese Standard Time)
10:00 p.m
Burmese Prime Minister pass away
Burma's ailing Prime Minister Lt-Gen Soe Win has died at the military hospital in Mingalardon, Rangoon on Tuesday, sources said.
Soe Win, who returned to Burma on Monday from a secret medical treatment in Singapore, died at about 5:00 p.m (local time), sources added.
The Burmese Prime Minister is known to have been suffering from Leukemia and had secretly received medical treatment in Singapore.
Soe Win, who is a Senior General Than Shwe loyalist, is also known as "the Butcher of Depayin" for orchestrating the Depayin massacre in 2003 by ordering mobs to attack on pro-democracy leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's motorcade.
Sources said Soe Win will be replaced by Lt-Gen Thein Sein and Tin Aung Myint Oo will be promoted to Thein Sein's position as Secretary-I.
Our emergency petition to stop the crackdown on peaceful protesters in Burma is exploding, with nearly 500,000 signers from every nation of the world. But the situation in Burma remains desperate, with reports of hundreds of monks being massacred and tortured. Burma's rulers have also killed and expelled international journalists, cutting off global media coverage of their cruelty.
China is still the key - the country with the most power to halt the Burmese generals' reign of terror. We're delivering our message this week with a massive ad campaign in major newspapers, beginning with a full page ad in the Financial Times worldwide tomorrow, and in the South China Morning Post on Thursday. The strength of the ad comes from the number of petition signers listed – can we reach our goal of 1 million signatures this week? The link to sign the petition and view the ad is below, forward this email to all your friends and family!
www.avaaz.org...
China continues to provide key economic and military support to Burma's dictatorship, but it has been openly critical of the crackdown. Now we need the government to match words with actions. Our ad paints a powerful moment of choice for China in its relationship with the world – will it be a responsible and respected member of the global community, or will it be associated with tyranny and oppression?
People power, on the streets of Burma, and around the world, can triumph over tyranny. Our strength is in our numbers, spread the word!
With hope and determination,
Ricken, Paul, Ben, Graziela, Pascal, Galit and the whole Avaaz team.
Our emergency petition to stop the crackdown on peaceful protesters in Burma is exploding, with nearly 500,000 signers from every nation of the world. But the situation in Burma remains desperate, with reports of hundreds of monks being massacred and tortured. Burma's rulers have also killed and expelled international journalists, cutting off global media coverage of their cruelty.
China is still the key - the country with the most power to halt the Burmese generals' reign of terror. We're delivering our message this week with a massive ad campaign in major newspapers, beginning with a full page ad in the Financial Times worldwide tomorrow, and in the South China Morning Post on Thursday. The strength of the ad comes from the number of petition signers listed – can we reach our goal of 1 million signatures this week? The link to sign the petition and view the ad is below, forward this email to all your friends and family!
www.avaaz.org...
China continues to provide key economic and military support to Burma's dictatorship, but it has been openly critical of the crackdown. Now we need the government to match words with actions. Our ad paints a powerful moment of choice for China in its relationship with the world – will it be a responsible and respected member of the global community, or will it be associated with tyranny and oppression?
People power, on the streets of Burma, and around the world, can triumph over tyranny. Our strength is in our numbers, spread the word!
With hope and determination,
Ricken, Paul, Ben, Graziela, Pascal, Galit and the whole Avaaz team.
YANGON (Reuters) - Myanmar's junta arrested more people under the cover of darkness on Wednesday despite a crescendo of international outrage during a keenly watched U.N. mission to bring an end to a bloody crackdown on protests.
At least eight truckloads of prisoners were hauled out of downtown Yangon, the former Burma's biggest city and centre of monk-led protests against decades of military rule and deepening economic hardship, witnesses said.
In one house near the Shwedagon Pagoda, the holiest shrine in devoutly Buddhist Myanmar and starting point for last week's rallies, only a 13-year-old girl remained. Her parents had been taken in the middle of the night, she said.
There was no word on where the prisoners were being taken or how many they would join. Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, the United Nations' human rights envoy for Myanmar, said in Geneva the number of those detained was now in the thousands.
While we do not seek to pressure the Committee into giving the prize to the monks, we do hope our letter has raised a unique opportunity for the Committee to recognize what is fast become the symbol of conscience of our times. We realize that taking such a step would be a dramatic departure from the strict nominating procedure. However, we feel that if the Burmese monks could risk their lives to break the junta’s draconian laws and prove the power of peace, then the Norwegian Nobel Committee could certainly make an exception to the Nobel statutes for such an extraordinary group of peacemakers. Indeed, the Burmese sangha would comfortably fit in with the most celebrated prior prize recipients, including Elie Wiesel, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the Dali Lama, Martin Luther King, and, of course, Aung San Suu Kyi.