About 3,000 ethnic Karen villagers have reportedly fled from Burma into Thailand in recent days because of a new Burmese military offensive.
Aid groups say the refugees are from Ler Per Her camp in eastern Karen state, near where the Burmese army is reported to be attacking Karen rebels.
It is thought to be one of the largest movements of refugees across the Thai-Burma border in a decade.
Meanwhile Burma still faces pressure to halt Aung San Suu Kyi's trial.
The pro-democracy leader is charged with breaching the terms of her house arrest, a charge that could leave her in jail for up to five years.
Former Singapore Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong visited Burma on a "goodwill trip" on Monday, as international anger against the regime continued to mount.
'Largest exodus for a decade'
The Free Burma Rangers aid group said refugees began streaming out of the Ler Per Her camp on Friday and continued to arrive in Thailand throughout the weekend.
The Karen Human Rights Group, a Thai-based humanitarian group, put the number of refugees at about 3,000 - and so too did a Thai army official speaking to local media.
The Burmese government has refused to comment on these reports.
The Karen Human Rights Group said the influx was "the largest exodus from Karen state on a single occasion" since the government launched a major offensive against the Karen rebels in 1997.
The refugees are now taking shelter about 100 km (62 miles) north of Mae Sot, a Thai border town.
The rights group Christian Solidarity Worldwide and other organisations have called on the United Nations to intervene to prevent a humanitarian crisis along the border.
Rebels from the Karen National Union (KNU) have been fighting for greater autonomy from Burma's central government for more than half a century.
But the KNU is weakening under the impact of continued army offensives, as well as divisions within its ranks and with other Karen groups.
Another group, the Democratic Karen Buddhist Amy (DKBA), made a pact with the Burmese government and is reportedly now involved in the current fighting on the government side.
Showing posts with label Myanmar News. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Myanmar News. Show all posts
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Burma junta leader snubs UN chief
Ban: I'm deeply disappointed
Burma's junta has refused to allow visiting UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to meet jailed opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
Mr Ban was told of the refusal when he held a second round of talks with military leader Gen Than Shwe.
"I'm deeply disappointed," he told reporters. "I'm very sorry to report to you that this is not possible."
Ms Suu Kyi's trial on charges of breaking the terms of her house arrest was postponed again on Friday.
Mr Ban said Than Shwe had told him during their 30-minute meeting, in the remote administrative capital Nay Pyi Taw, that Ms Suu Kyi was on trial and he did not want to interfere with the judicial process.
The UN leader later left for Burma's main city, Rangoon.
Mr Ban's had a two-hour meeting with Gen Than Shwe on Friday.
A LIFE IN DETENTION
1988: Junta comes to power after crushing pro-democracy uprising
1989: Martial law declared; opposition NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi put under house arrest
1990: NLD wins elections; result rejected by the ruling junta
1995: Suu Kyi freed from house arrest; movements restricted
Sept 2000: Under house arrest for trying to defy travel curbs
May 2002: Released unconditionally
May 2003: Detained after clash between NLD and junta forces
Sep 2003: Home after surgery, under effective house arrest
UN chief's big gamble
Why is junta afraid of Suu Kyi?
Mr Ban said he had been assured that elections planned for 2010 would be "held in a fair, free and transparent manner".
The UN chief is due to make a speech outlining his vision for Burma later on Saturday.
Ms Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace laureate, has spent much of the past two decades in prison or under house arrest.
She was transferred from house arrest to prison in May after an American man swam to her lakeside house. She faces up to five years in jail if convicted.
Next year's elections are part of the military government's "roadmap to democracy," but critics say they will be a sham designed to strengthen the generals' four-decade grip on power.
Opposition activists say Ms Suu Kyi's trial is designed to keep her out of the way until after the elections.
Burma's junta has refused to allow visiting UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to meet jailed opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
Mr Ban was told of the refusal when he held a second round of talks with military leader Gen Than Shwe.
"I'm deeply disappointed," he told reporters. "I'm very sorry to report to you that this is not possible."
Ms Suu Kyi's trial on charges of breaking the terms of her house arrest was postponed again on Friday.
Mr Ban said Than Shwe had told him during their 30-minute meeting, in the remote administrative capital Nay Pyi Taw, that Ms Suu Kyi was on trial and he did not want to interfere with the judicial process.
The UN leader later left for Burma's main city, Rangoon.
Mr Ban's had a two-hour meeting with Gen Than Shwe on Friday.
A LIFE IN DETENTION
1988: Junta comes to power after crushing pro-democracy uprising
1989: Martial law declared; opposition NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi put under house arrest
1990: NLD wins elections; result rejected by the ruling junta
1995: Suu Kyi freed from house arrest; movements restricted
Sept 2000: Under house arrest for trying to defy travel curbs
May 2002: Released unconditionally
May 2003: Detained after clash between NLD and junta forces
Sep 2003: Home after surgery, under effective house arrest
UN chief's big gamble
Why is junta afraid of Suu Kyi?
Mr Ban said he had been assured that elections planned for 2010 would be "held in a fair, free and transparent manner".
The UN chief is due to make a speech outlining his vision for Burma later on Saturday.
Ms Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace laureate, has spent much of the past two decades in prison or under house arrest.
She was transferred from house arrest to prison in May after an American man swam to her lakeside house. She faces up to five years in jail if convicted.
Next year's elections are part of the military government's "roadmap to democracy," but critics say they will be a sham designed to strengthen the generals' four-decade grip on power.
Opposition activists say Ms Suu Kyi's trial is designed to keep her out of the way until after the elections.
Hopes and fears over Suu Kyi trial
The trial of Burma's pro-democracy leader on charges of breaking the terms of her house arrest has been proceeding in fits and starts at a court inside Rangoon's Insein prison, but a verdict is expected soon.
A BBC correspondent in Burma spoke to people about their hopes and fears for Aung San Suu Kyi.
Foreign journalists are barred from Burma, so our correspondent must remain anonymous for his own safety.
In Burma's second city, Mandalay, the streets are full of bicycles at rush hour as men and women head to their places of work and study.
But behind the picture-postcard setting of palaces and stupas [temples], is a country where people can be arrested for telling a joke or having a photograph of jailed pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
Behind closed doors, in the security of their homes and among those they can trust, people hand out pictures of Ms Suu Kyi.
To be caught by police with her photograph is cause enough to be imprisoned. To be caught talking to a foreign journalist means risking a sentence to a term in one of Burma's many jails.
But people are angry and want the world to know of their plight and their reverence for the woman referred to as The Lady.
She is the symbol of what was and what may be.
'Only hope'
To many Aung San Suu Kyi remains the symbol of the hopes of those opposed to the generals who rule this country.
I had to travel to the 200-year-old U Bein's Bridge on the outskirts of the city to meet an opposition supporter.
On the world's longest teak bridge, we met with a handshake and checked that nobody could listen to us.
Carefully, he took a picture from shirt pocket and handed it to me.
It is a colour picture of the Nobel Peace Prize winner. He had been given it that morning at his friend's house.
I asked him: why do people see her as so important?
"People love Aung San Suu Kyi. People believe Aung San Suu Kyi. She's our only hope."
Just saying these words could lead to imprisonment.
Looking over his shoulder at a couple of passing monks, he waited until they had walked by. In Burma, even the holy men are looked at with suspicion. Informers are everywhere.
"We love her. She is the hope of the people. If she was jailed the people will be angry. And this could be the small spark that can burn down the palace," he told me.
With elections due next year, many believe that her arrest is a convenient way for the generals to keep the one person they fear out of the way.
But the people are poor in Mandalay. Inflation is high and many have to keep more than one job to provide for their families.
A LIFE IN DETENTION
1988: Military junta comes to power after crushing pro-democracy uprising
1989: Martial law declared; opposition NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi put under house arrest
1990: NLD wins elections; result rejected by the ruling junta
1995: Suu Kyi released from house arrest, but movements restricted
Sept 2000: Put under house arrest again when she tried to defy travel restrictions
May 2002: Released unconditionally
May 2003: Detained after clash between NLD and government forces
Sept 2003: Allowed home after operation, but under effective house arrest. In the years since, the orders for her detention periodically renewed
May 2009: Charged with breaking conditions of house arrest after a US national breaks into her compound
And nobody trusts the police. Everyone I asked about the problems in Mandalay pointed at the police, who are constantly requesting money.
Memories of the 2007 protests, when monks and opposition supporters marched through the streets of this city, are still fresh in the mind. People are afraid.
One man I met had been jailed for handing a monk a bottle of water during the protests in 2007.
"People will not show their anger, but in their hearts they are sad," he told me.
"When the protestors went down the streets, crowds lined the roadside and cheered them. But the people are poor. Nobody could give them food - so they handed out water. And anyone who offered anyone a drink was arrested, and many were taken away to prison for months."
People will be watching for news from Insein Prison in Rangoon.
But will the iconic status they give the woman in the dock lead the people of Mandalay into the streets once again, or will fear of the government force them to keep their support for all she stands for only in their hearts.
A BBC correspondent in Burma spoke to people about their hopes and fears for Aung San Suu Kyi.
Foreign journalists are barred from Burma, so our correspondent must remain anonymous for his own safety.
In Burma's second city, Mandalay, the streets are full of bicycles at rush hour as men and women head to their places of work and study.
But behind the picture-postcard setting of palaces and stupas [temples], is a country where people can be arrested for telling a joke or having a photograph of jailed pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
Behind closed doors, in the security of their homes and among those they can trust, people hand out pictures of Ms Suu Kyi.
To be caught by police with her photograph is cause enough to be imprisoned. To be caught talking to a foreign journalist means risking a sentence to a term in one of Burma's many jails.
But people are angry and want the world to know of their plight and their reverence for the woman referred to as The Lady.
She is the symbol of what was and what may be.
'Only hope'
To many Aung San Suu Kyi remains the symbol of the hopes of those opposed to the generals who rule this country.
I had to travel to the 200-year-old U Bein's Bridge on the outskirts of the city to meet an opposition supporter.
On the world's longest teak bridge, we met with a handshake and checked that nobody could listen to us.
Carefully, he took a picture from shirt pocket and handed it to me.
It is a colour picture of the Nobel Peace Prize winner. He had been given it that morning at his friend's house.
I asked him: why do people see her as so important?
"People love Aung San Suu Kyi. People believe Aung San Suu Kyi. She's our only hope."
Just saying these words could lead to imprisonment.
Looking over his shoulder at a couple of passing monks, he waited until they had walked by. In Burma, even the holy men are looked at with suspicion. Informers are everywhere.
"We love her. She is the hope of the people. If she was jailed the people will be angry. And this could be the small spark that can burn down the palace," he told me.
With elections due next year, many believe that her arrest is a convenient way for the generals to keep the one person they fear out of the way.
But the people are poor in Mandalay. Inflation is high and many have to keep more than one job to provide for their families.
A LIFE IN DETENTION
1988: Military junta comes to power after crushing pro-democracy uprising
1989: Martial law declared; opposition NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi put under house arrest
1990: NLD wins elections; result rejected by the ruling junta
1995: Suu Kyi released from house arrest, but movements restricted
Sept 2000: Put under house arrest again when she tried to defy travel restrictions
May 2002: Released unconditionally
May 2003: Detained after clash between NLD and government forces
Sept 2003: Allowed home after operation, but under effective house arrest. In the years since, the orders for her detention periodically renewed
May 2009: Charged with breaking conditions of house arrest after a US national breaks into her compound
And nobody trusts the police. Everyone I asked about the problems in Mandalay pointed at the police, who are constantly requesting money.
Memories of the 2007 protests, when monks and opposition supporters marched through the streets of this city, are still fresh in the mind. People are afraid.
One man I met had been jailed for handing a monk a bottle of water during the protests in 2007.
"People will not show their anger, but in their hearts they are sad," he told me.
"When the protestors went down the streets, crowds lined the roadside and cheered them. But the people are poor. Nobody could give them food - so they handed out water. And anyone who offered anyone a drink was arrested, and many were taken away to prison for months."
People will be watching for news from Insein Prison in Rangoon.
But will the iconic status they give the woman in the dock lead the people of Mandalay into the streets once again, or will fear of the government force them to keep their support for all she stands for only in their hearts.
U.N. boss to push Myanmar leadership on Suu Kyi
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will visit Myanmar at the end of the week for talks that will include the detention of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, the United Nations said.
Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been held in confinement for 13 of the past 19 years.
Ban is going at the invitation of the military junta that runs Myanmar, and is expected to also discuss the detention of other political prisoners.
"The secretary-general believes that the sooner these issues are addressed, the earlier Myanmar will be able to move towards peace, democracy and prosperity," said Michele Montas, Ban's spokeswoman. "He looks forward to meeting all key stakeholders to discuss what further assistance the United Nations can offer to that end."
Myanmar's government has said next year's scheduled elections will reintroduce democracy in the country.
Suu Kyi -- the face of Myanmar's pro-democracy movement -- is on trial on allegations of subversion. The Nobel Peace Prize laureate and two of her maids have been charged in a May 3 incident in which an American, John William Yettaw, 53, swam across a lake to her house and stayed for at least a night. Myanmar's military regime has held Suu Kyi under house arrest for 13 of the past 19 years and rarely allows her visitors.
If convicted, Suu Kyi, 63, could face three to five years in prison. Her trial is being held inside a prison compound in the city of Yangon. The proceedings have repeatedly adjourned while Suu Kyi's lawyers have challenged the court's rulings in the case.
Ban told CNN in May that he was in talks with Myanmar's leadership about traveling to Yangon to seek Suu Kyi's release, as well as push for democratization.
"This is an unacceptable situation when she has been under detention for such a long time," Ban said. "She's a Nobel peace laureate."
She has been barred for life from running for political office, but human rights groups suspect that Myanmar's junta worries that her release would invigorate the opposition.
Suu Kyi has been the focus of a global campaign to free her.
Her National League for Democracy party won more than 80 percent of the legislative seats in 1990, but she was disqualified from serving because of her house arrest, and the military regime ignored the results.
It was during her house arrest that she won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991.
Suu Kyi married a British man, who died in 1999, and they have two sons. Myanmar's government now says citizens who have borne children with foreigners cannot run for office.
Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been held in confinement for 13 of the past 19 years.
Ban is going at the invitation of the military junta that runs Myanmar, and is expected to also discuss the detention of other political prisoners.
"The secretary-general believes that the sooner these issues are addressed, the earlier Myanmar will be able to move towards peace, democracy and prosperity," said Michele Montas, Ban's spokeswoman. "He looks forward to meeting all key stakeholders to discuss what further assistance the United Nations can offer to that end."
Myanmar's government has said next year's scheduled elections will reintroduce democracy in the country.
Suu Kyi -- the face of Myanmar's pro-democracy movement -- is on trial on allegations of subversion. The Nobel Peace Prize laureate and two of her maids have been charged in a May 3 incident in which an American, John William Yettaw, 53, swam across a lake to her house and stayed for at least a night. Myanmar's military regime has held Suu Kyi under house arrest for 13 of the past 19 years and rarely allows her visitors.
If convicted, Suu Kyi, 63, could face three to five years in prison. Her trial is being held inside a prison compound in the city of Yangon. The proceedings have repeatedly adjourned while Suu Kyi's lawyers have challenged the court's rulings in the case.
Ban told CNN in May that he was in talks with Myanmar's leadership about traveling to Yangon to seek Suu Kyi's release, as well as push for democratization.
"This is an unacceptable situation when she has been under detention for such a long time," Ban said. "She's a Nobel peace laureate."
She has been barred for life from running for political office, but human rights groups suspect that Myanmar's junta worries that her release would invigorate the opposition.
Suu Kyi has been the focus of a global campaign to free her.
Her National League for Democracy party won more than 80 percent of the legislative seats in 1990, but she was disqualified from serving because of her house arrest, and the military regime ignored the results.
It was during her house arrest that she won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991.
Suu Kyi married a British man, who died in 1999, and they have two sons. Myanmar's government now says citizens who have borne children with foreigners cannot run for office.
Suu Kyi trial nears end in Myanmar
(CNN) -- The trial in Myanmar of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi drew closer to an end Friday with testimony from the last witness and the scheduling of closing arguments.
Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been held in confinement for 13 of the past 19 years.
After completing a seven-hour examination of Suu Kyi's final defense witness, the court announced that closing arguments will be heard July 24.
Nyan Win, Suu Kyi's lawyer, said the legal team has finished drafting arguments, which totaled 18 pages. Suu Kyi reviewed them and added four more pages, he said.
The verdict will come sometime after July 24, Nyan Win said, because by law the court cannot announce the verdict on the same day as closing arguments.
Suu Kyi -- the face of Myanmar's pro-democracy movement -- is on trial on allegations of subversion. The 1991 Nobel Peace Prize winner and two of her maids have been charged in a May 3 incident in which an American, John William Yettaw, 53, swam across a lake to her house and stayed for at least a night.
Suu Kyi, 64, is accused of violating her house arrest by offering temporary shelter to Yettaw. But she has said she doesn't know Yettaw, didn't know of his plans, and didn't do anything wrong.
Myanmar's military regime has heldSuu Kyi under house arrest for 13 of the past 19 years and rarely allows her visitors. It recently denied U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's request to see her.
If convicted, Suu Kyi could be sentenced to three to five years in prison.
The trial is taking place near Yangon at Insean Prison, where Suu Kyi has been held since May.
Her supporters say the arrest is meant to keep her confined so she cannot participate in the general elections that the junta has scheduled for next year.
Suu Kyi was put under house arrest in 1989. The following year, the National League for Democracy won more than 80 percent of the legislative seats in the first free elections in the country in nearly 30 years. But the military junta disqualified Suu Kyi from serving because of her house arrest, refused to step down and annulled the election results.
Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been held in confinement for 13 of the past 19 years.
After completing a seven-hour examination of Suu Kyi's final defense witness, the court announced that closing arguments will be heard July 24.
Nyan Win, Suu Kyi's lawyer, said the legal team has finished drafting arguments, which totaled 18 pages. Suu Kyi reviewed them and added four more pages, he said.
The verdict will come sometime after July 24, Nyan Win said, because by law the court cannot announce the verdict on the same day as closing arguments.
Suu Kyi -- the face of Myanmar's pro-democracy movement -- is on trial on allegations of subversion. The 1991 Nobel Peace Prize winner and two of her maids have been charged in a May 3 incident in which an American, John William Yettaw, 53, swam across a lake to her house and stayed for at least a night.
Suu Kyi, 64, is accused of violating her house arrest by offering temporary shelter to Yettaw. But she has said she doesn't know Yettaw, didn't know of his plans, and didn't do anything wrong.
Myanmar's military regime has heldSuu Kyi under house arrest for 13 of the past 19 years and rarely allows her visitors. It recently denied U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's request to see her.
If convicted, Suu Kyi could be sentenced to three to five years in prison.
The trial is taking place near Yangon at Insean Prison, where Suu Kyi has been held since May.
Her supporters say the arrest is meant to keep her confined so she cannot participate in the general elections that the junta has scheduled for next year.
Suu Kyi was put under house arrest in 1989. The following year, the National League for Democracy won more than 80 percent of the legislative seats in the first free elections in the country in nearly 30 years. But the military junta disqualified Suu Kyi from serving because of her house arrest, refused to step down and annulled the election results.
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Ban Ki Moon Myen Mung Sa ai Hpa Akyu N Rawng
Myen mung de lahkawng lang ngu na lahkawng ya hkrun lam sa du kau da sai, Ban Ki Moon gaw, Gambari hte hpa mi n shai ai sha, lata gaman hte bai wa mat sai hku re. Myen du ni a, tsip rai nga ai, Nay Pyi Thaw kaw, myen du ni a du Than Shwe hte hkying hkum lahkawng daram tsun bawng bang yu tim, Ban Ki Moon a matu, lak lai ai mahtai langai mung n pru wa ai gaw, myit yu hpa nan rai nga ai.
Hpun ja si hta, baw grau ja ai, Than Shwe hte Ban Ki Moon hpawk hte nga yang
Hkyuk htawng sharen da hkrum nga ai, Ma Kaw hte hkrum lu na matu, Than Shwe hpe hpyi shawn lai wa sai rai tim, "Ma Kaw gaw tara je yang hkrum taw ai masha re" nga ai hta lai n na, Ban Ki Moon hpa nan n lu wa ai lam chye lu ai. "Ma Kaw hte ngai hkrum ra ai, dai gaw ahkyak ai" ngu pyi kahtap tsun hkra rai tim, Ban Ki Moon a matu mahtai gaw n lak lai wa ai hpe yu yang, myen du ni hpe shangwi shapyaw abawk n na, mung masa lam n mai jahta ai ngu ai hpe dan dan leng leng nan mu lu nga ai.
Ban Ki Moon zawn re masha langai sa hkra rai n na nan, sa hpyi nem ai pyi gaw, hpa ahkyak n la ya ai myen du ni hpe, British mungdan a Prime Minister Gordon Brown gaw grai pawt ai hte, myen du ni hpe, hpaga yum ga ja gumhpraw lam hte seng n na grau grau pat hkum mat wa na re lam chye lu ai. (Sanctions)
Ban Ki Moon gaw, shawng na kalang zawn sha, ndai kalang mung, lai wa sai shaning, may shata hta, laru kaba madung hkrum sha lai wa sai, Irrawaddy mungdaw de sa du gawan kau da sai rai nga lu ai. Ma Kaw hte n lu hkrum na, Than Shwe hpe pawt ai a marang e, Ban Ki Moon a gying tsun jaw ai hpe hkrum sha ai wa gaw, myen Foreign Minister U Nyan Win re lam chye lu ai.
Ga hkyi magawn sha nga ai, Nyan Win
Irrawaddy mungdaw de sa gawan ai lam n tsa, n bungli kaw mu lu ai Ban Ki Moon
Hpun ja si hta, baw grau ja ai, Than Shwe hte Ban Ki Moon hpawk hte nga yang
Hkyuk htawng sharen da hkrum nga ai, Ma Kaw hte hkrum lu na matu, Than Shwe hpe hpyi shawn lai wa sai rai tim, "Ma Kaw gaw tara je yang hkrum taw ai masha re" nga ai hta lai n na, Ban Ki Moon hpa nan n lu wa ai lam chye lu ai. "Ma Kaw hte ngai hkrum ra ai, dai gaw ahkyak ai" ngu pyi kahtap tsun hkra rai tim, Ban Ki Moon a matu mahtai gaw n lak lai wa ai hpe yu yang, myen du ni hpe shangwi shapyaw abawk n na, mung masa lam n mai jahta ai ngu ai hpe dan dan leng leng nan mu lu nga ai.
Ban Ki Moon zawn re masha langai sa hkra rai n na nan, sa hpyi nem ai pyi gaw, hpa ahkyak n la ya ai myen du ni hpe, British mungdan a Prime Minister Gordon Brown gaw grai pawt ai hte, myen du ni hpe, hpaga yum ga ja gumhpraw lam hte seng n na grau grau pat hkum mat wa na re lam chye lu ai. (Sanctions)
Ban Ki Moon gaw, shawng na kalang zawn sha, ndai kalang mung, lai wa sai shaning, may shata hta, laru kaba madung hkrum sha lai wa sai, Irrawaddy mungdaw de sa du gawan kau da sai rai nga lu ai. Ma Kaw hte n lu hkrum na, Than Shwe hpe pawt ai a marang e, Ban Ki Moon a gying tsun jaw ai hpe hkrum sha ai wa gaw, myen Foreign Minister U Nyan Win re lam chye lu ai.
Ga hkyi magawn sha nga ai, Nyan Win
Irrawaddy mungdaw de sa gawan ai lam n tsa, n bungli kaw mu lu ai Ban Ki Moon
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