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Misc.

Angelina Jolie: Thailand should aid Rohingya refugees

AP: “Jolie asks Thailand to help Burmese refugees

Angelina Jolie has called on Thailand’s government to give more freedom to tens of thousands of Burmese refugees it has kept locked inside camps for up to 20 years.

The Academy Award-winning actress and goodwill ambassador for the U.N. Refugee Agency visited Thailand’s Ban Mai Nai Soi refugee center Wednesday.

“I was saddened to meet a 21-year-old woman who was born in a refugee camp, who has never even been out of the camp and is now raising her own child in a camp,” Jolie was quoted as saying by UNHCR in a statement released Thursday.

She asked Thai authorities to give around 110,000 refugees in northern Thailand greater freedom to move around and seek higher education, because they are unlikely to be welcomed back anytime soon to Myanmar, also known as Burma.

Bloomberg: “Angelina Jolie, UN Envoy, Asks Thailand to Aid Myanmar Refugees

Angelina Jolie, a United Nations goodwill ambassador, asked Thailand to accept Muslim migrants fleeing Myanmar’s military authorities during a visit to refugee camps on the Thai-Myanmar border.

Thailand is facing an international outcry over its treatment of the minority Muslim Rohingya group, after CNN published a photo showing armed forces towing refugee boats away from the shore on Jan. 26. Five of six boats towed in late December sank, killing several hundred people, CNN reported.

Jolie issued the plea during a visit yesterday to camps in northern Thailand that house 111,000 mostly ethnic Karen and Karenni refugees from Myanmar, formerly known as Burma.

There’s also an accompanying article on the UN Web site.

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Misc.

Rohingya rescued off Indonesia

Here’s a new Rohingya story from the New York Times: “Burmese Refugees Rescued at Sea

JAKARTA, Indonesia — Dozens of refugees from Myanmar, rescued by the Indonesian Navy after drifting aboard a wooden boat at sea for almost three weeks, are receiving treatment at a hospital in Aceh, on the northern tip of Sumatra, Indonesian officials said Tuesday.

About 200 refugees, all of them men, were found by a local fisherman Monday afternoon. It was the second boatload of refugees from Myanmar to land in Aceh in the last month.

Interviews by Indonesian Navy personnel indicated the men are all part of the Rohingya Muslim minority in Myanmar who had fled to Thailand in December.

Survivors from the first boat, which was found in early January and was also carrying about 200 men, told Indonesian authorities that they had been rounded up by the Thai military after escaping Myanmar, and then were beaten, towed out to sea and abandoned.

The survivors rescued Monday told Navy personnel a similar story, adding that originally there was a flotilla of nine motorless boats that had been led out to sea by the Thais, containing about 1,200 people.

There’s more from the AP, the BBC, and AFP.

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Misc.

Burmese boat people abuse accusations: update

Today’s CSM has an informative update (and illustrative infographic) on the accusations that the Thai navy forced Muslim Burmese boat people back to sea in rickety boats with little food or water.

CSM: “Thailand accused of mistreating Muslim refugees

Other stories:

  • AP: “Thai PM pledges to work with UN refugee agency
  • Economist: “Thailand’s Burmese boat people: Cast adrift
  • VOA: “Thailand Denies UN Access to Burmese Boat People
Categories
Misc.

President Bush’s Bangkok Speech

President Bush’s foreign policy speech here in Bangkok this morning focused on China and Myanmar.

Wall Street Journal:

U.S. President George W. Bush expressed his concern about the fate of political dissidents in China and his determination to bring an end to the “tyranny” of the military regime in Myanmar a day before he is expected to attend the opening of the Olympic Games in China.

In the speech delivered Thursday in the Thai capital, Mr. Bush stressed that the stability and prosperity of Asia require the strong involvement of both China and the U.S. to ensure that the region sustains its role as an important growth engine for the global economy.

He also emphasized the U.S.’s economic engagement in the Asian-Pacific region, touting bilateral free-trade pacts with Singapore, Australia and South Korea while signaling Washington’s commitment to pursue similar trade talks with Malaysia and Thailand. Mr. Bush urged China to do more to help achieve a successful outcome to the stalled Doha round of talks at the World Trade Organization to improve access to member countries’ markets.

New York Times:

On the eve of the Olympic Games in Beijing, President Bush said Thursday that he had “deep concerns” about basic freedoms in China and criticized the detention of dissidents and believers, even as he praised the extraordinary gains China has made since he first visited more than three decades ago.

Mr. Bush’s remarks in Bangkok, part of a speech on Asia, distilled and recast previous statements critical of China’s record on human rights. But delivered only hours before his departure for Beijing on Thursday evening, they represented a rebuke to China’s leaders, though a measured one.

Washington Post:

President Bush on Thursday used some of his bluntest language to date on human rights in China, saying in a speech here before he flew to Beijing for the Olympic Games’ opening ceremony that “America stands in firm opposition” to China’s detention of political dissidents and religious activists.

Reuters video on YouTube: “Bush faces China balancing act”

Categories
Misc.

Myanmar Cyclone: Over 22,000 Dead and 41,000 Missing

Myanmar Cyclone [NY Times Graphic]

CNN: “Myanmar cyclone survivors desperate for aid”

More than 22,000 killed and 41,000 missing, Myanmar radio reports
Survivor tells how wall of water left bodies in trees, bushes and streams
U.N. has started getting food aid but so far it is only the first step of huge job
U.S. President George Bush says Navy is ready to help if asked

NY Times: “The Cyclone’s Wake, Seen in Taxi Headlights”

Some firsthand impressions, including messages from Westerners who were in Myanmar when the devastating storm struck over the weekend.

AP: “Myanmar cyclone death toll soars past 22,000: state radio”

The cyclone death toll soared above 22,000 on Tuesday and more than 41,000 others were missing as foreign countries mobilized to rush in aid after the country’s deadliest storm on record, state radio reported.

Up to 1 million people may be homeless after Cyclone Nargis hit the Southeast Asian nation, also known as Burma, early Saturday. Some villages have been almost totally eradicated and vast rice-growing areas are wiped out, the World Food Program said.

AFP: “Aid workers race to reach Myanmar cyclone victims”

Aid workers battled Wednesday to get food and water to desperate cyclone survivors in Myanmar, whose government is under fire after more than 22,000 people died in one of Asia’s worst natural disasters.

More than 41,000 people are also missing, but the United Nations said foreign staff were still awaiting visas from the secretive military regime — which said outside aid workers needed to “negotiate” to enter the country.

Bangkok Pundit has more information.

Myanmar: Protected by its Resources

Myanmar and Thailand

Tom Fuller has a good story in the New York Times about how Myanmar’s resources affect regional politics (“Myanmar’s Resources Provide Leverage”):

For two decades, Myanmar’s neighbors have grappled with the question of how to respond to the unrelenting repression by the country’s ruling generals of its people. In Thailand, the answer comes each time Thais pay their electricity bill.

Natural gas from Myanmar, which generates 20 percent of all electricity in Thailand, keeps the lights on in Bangkok. The gas, which this year will cost about $2.8 billion, is the largest single export for Myanmar’s otherwise impoverished and cash-strapped economy.

Thailand’s gas imports highlight the dilemma facing China, India, Singapore and Malaysia, among other countries, as they vie for Myanmar’s hardwoods, minerals, gems — and access to its market of 47 million people.

At a time of spiraling world energy prices, the prospect of extracting resources appears to override the embarrassment and shame of dealing with a junta that has attracted world notoriety. For this reason, the countries that have the most leverage over Myanmar seem to be the most reluctant to use it, analysts say.

And regarding the protests — which appear to be dying down now — here’s a a NY Times blog post worth checking out (“Hints of a Vast, Grim Toll in Myanmar”).

Stallone: I Received Death Threats on Thai-Myanmar Border

Rambo IV. Baby

Sylvester Stallone — who, you’ll recall, has weighed in on Myanmar before — says he received death threats while filming his upcoming flick, “John Rambo,” here in Thailand. Times of India:

Actor-director Sylvester Stallone has revealed that he received a series of death threats while filming upcoming sequel John Rambo along the troubled Thailand-Myanmar border.

The 61-year-old star said that his crew was filming on the Salween River when they were warned that they would be shot if they did not leave the place immediately.

“We were on the Salween River and we were told to get out because we were going to be shot,” Contactmusic quoted him as telling American TV show Entertainment Tonight .

Stallone also claimed watching refuges fleeing from Myanmar to Thailand during his stay at the location.

“It’s the most brutal regime in the world and the most secretive. It has an oppressive regime that (keeps all riches) for themselves. Everyone is forced into drugs or prostitution or slavery,” he said.

“People are escaping all the time (from Myanmar), coming over with gaping, maggot-infested wounds, their ears being cut off. You saw a lot of suffering, a lot of malnutrition,” he added.

Myanmar’s ‘Citizen Journalists’

Myanmar Map

Geoffrey A. Fowler, in the Wall St. Journal: “As Myanmar’s regime cracks down on a growing protest movement, ‘citizen journalists’ are breaking the news to the world.”

At 1:30 yesterday afternoon, a cellphone buzzed with news for Soe Myint, the editor in chief of Mizzima News, a publication about Myanmar run by exiles in New Delhi.

The message: “There is a tourist shot down” in Yangon, the center of recent protests by Buddhist monks and others against the military junta in Myanmar, formerly Burma. Troops there were clearing the streets, telling protesters they had just minutes to go home — or be shot.

The text message wasn’t from one of Soe Myint’s reporters. In fact, he doesn’t know who sent the message. He believes it came from one of the more than 100 students, activists and ordinary citizens who have been feeding him reports, images and video of the violent events unfolding in recent days.

In the age of YouTube, cellphone cameras and text messaging, technology is playing a critical role in helping news organizations and international groups follow Myanmar’s biggest protests in nearly two decades. Citizen witnesses are using cellphones and the Internet to beam out images of bloodied monks and street fires, subverting the Myanmar government’s effort to control media coverage and present a sanitized version of the uprising. The Associated Press reported yesterday that soldiers in Yangon fired automatic weapons into a crowd of demonstrators as tens of thousands of pro-democracy protesters converged in the capital. Wire services have reported the number of dead at nine, citing the state media.

(Emphasis mine.)

Myanmar: Military Fires on Protesters

Monks Protest in Myanmar [NOT MY IMAGE]

CNN.com:

Myanmar’s security forces fired automatic weapons into a crowd of anti-government protesters, after attempts to clear them from the streets on Yangon, reports said Thursday.

A Japanese national was shot and killed by the military junta, the Japanese Foreign Ministry told CNN.

There are claims by dissidents that four protesters were shot on Thursday.

At least 100 monks were beaten and arrested by soldiers, reports say.

And here’s some background on the situation from The Economist (“How Myanmar’s people rose up against its regime—and the regime rose up against its people“):

THERE are reckoned to be 400,000 monks in Myanmar (formerly known as Burma), about the same as the number of soldiers under the ruling junta’s command. The soldiers have the guns. The monks have the public’s support and, judging from the past fortnight’s protests, the courage and determination to defy the regime. But Myanmar’s tragic recent history suggests that when an immovable junta meets unstoppable protests, much blood is spilled.

In the last pro-democracy protests on this scale, in 1988, it took several rounds of massacres before the demonstrations finally subsided, leaving the regime as strong as ever. By Thursday September 27th, with a crackdown under way, and the first deaths from clashes with security forces, it seemed hard to imagine that things would be very different this time.

Categories
HOWTO

News from Myanmar (Burma): How to Follow the Events Online

Monks Protest in Burma [AP IMAGE]

Bangkok, 3 p.m. — Things are heating up next door in Myanmar, the country formerly known as Burma. AP/CNN says that police have now begun cracking down on protesters.

Here are a few online news resources for those of you who’d like to follow the events:

— A Google news search for Burma or Myanmar is a good way to find up-to-date news. You can choose to filter results by date in order to find the most recent stories. (For all of the following, you can search for either “Myanmar” or “Burma.” For the sake of speed, I’ll simply use Myanmar here.)

The Irrawaddy magazine is posting continuous updates on their Web site.

Mizzima News (“Specialising in Burma-Related News and Multimedia”) and BurmaNet News are providing news round-ups.

A YouTube search for Myanmar — with results sorted by date — yields some footage from inside the country.

— You can search Flickr for images labeled Myanmar — again, sorted by date — although there doesn’t seem to be much there at this point.

— A Wikipedia page called “2007 Burmese anti-government protests” is tracking the situation.

— You can search Google for blogs mentioning Myanmar.

— A search on NPR.org for Myanmar returns print news, blog posts, and radio stories.

— You can search Technorati — a blog search engine — for posts tagged “Myanmar.”

— I can’t vouch for its accuracy, but this Myanmar blog directory lists a large number of Web sites.