ESTOS MIERDAS USA CON REGLAS FIBA NO GANAN A ESPAÑA NI DE COÑA

España hace el mejor BALONCESTO del mundo. USA son sólo monos con sobredósis de músculos.

Como Entrenador de Baloncesto me avergüenza asistir a un espectáculo como este. Las reglas son para todos.

BEIJING 2008 = Organizados por asesinos y con victoria de asesinos.

FREE BURMA!

FREE FIBA BASKET!

Students in Burma's universities have been painting red crosses on walls and traffic lights to signal disgust with the country's ruling junta. But the regime is quick to crush even the slightest hint of resistance.

The culprits came shortly before midnight. It was raining, and the traffic was light on Uyza Road in downtown Rangoon at this late hour. They sprinted across the street, pulled out their spray cans, painted a red cross onto a yellow traffic sign and disappeared into the darkness again.

The red crosses and bursts of color that are now appearing with more and more frequency in the country's major cities are meant to signal renunciation, disgust and resistance. They are the signs of a new opposition movement known as the "Red Campaign." Its members, young university students, operate in small groups of no more than five people. They risk everything for their underground struggle against the omnipotent state.

Secrecy is their highest priority, because the junta of stone-faced generals that has ruled Burma with an iron fist for decades has its spies everywhere and treats its enemies ruthlessly. When a wall at a university was found covered with inflammatory flyers a few days ago, it was the military, not a cleaning crew, that was promptly brought in.

The flyers read "Remember 88," a reference to the August 8, 1988 uprising against the military regime of former dictator Ne Win. At the time, one million Burmese took to the streets in typically Buddhist nonviolent protest, demonstrating for a democratic society. Thousands died in a hail of bullets when the military fired on the people. Although Ne Win eventually relinquished power and proposed a multiparty system, the next junta soon came to power in a military coup, and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi was placed under house arrest for years.

Suu Kyi is still not permitted to leave her home. Last Friday additional security, in the form of roadblocks, a fire truck and special police, was sent to guard her house, which is already surrounded with barbed wire. On the anniversary of the uprising demonstrations were staged to express solidarity with the graceful 63-year-old winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, but only abroad, in front of the embassies of Burma and its protector, China. There were protests in Bangkok, Manila and Tokyo to demand freedom for Burma and for Suu Kyi.

But things remained quiet in Burma, where the junta retains tight control over the country. Only one silent protest march was reported, in the city of Taunggok, where up to 50 people were arrested.

As the protests by Buddhist monks a year ago showed, open resistance requires great courage. As a result, most forms of resistance today are of the hit-and-run variety, such as the red color brigades' spray-painting campaign. Nevertheless, the historic date of 8/8/88 has remained significant to the Burmese, who are very superstitious and preoccupied with symbols of all kinds, as a constant reminder of the fact that the generals are prepared, at all times, to secure their hold on power with extreme violence.

Another movement, called "88 New Generation," uses poster campaigns. One of their leaders goes by Nay Myo Khaing, which, of course, is not his real name. The 40-year-old man, a teacher, looks around nervously and his hands shake. He destroys his notes during our conversation, anxious not to leave any traces behind. Almost all of his fellow dissidents are now in prison. Khaing says the government has seldom hunted down its opponents as mercilessly as now. For the past few days Khaing has been wearing a black T-shirt and a pair of black jeans -- as a sign of mourning and in silent protest.

Red was the color of the hour in September 2007, when tens of thousands of monks, wearing their traditional robes, spent days marching through the streets of Rangoon. The images circled the globe, and the government of General Than Shwe, 75, faltered briefly but then quickly recovered. A wave of arrests and a few killings were the result.

Since then even more fear has prevailed in Burma, and the depth of poverty and suffering among the Burmese has increased since Cyclone Nargis devastated the country. The military, with its roughly 400,000 soldiers, did virtually nothing for weeks, inaction for which the sorely afflicted and tolerant Burmese are unlikely to forgive them.

"The government has never been hated as much as it is now," says Nay Myo Khaing. But can his movement take advantage of popular resentment and turn it into political energy? Khaing seems at a loss, as the monsoon rain drums down onto the corrugated metal roof. Protests are planned for the fall, he says, but everything remains vague. Dissidents like Khaing are hesitant to pin down any plans, not knowing which activists will even be at large then -- or whether, once again, their plans will be foiled.

The people feel humiliated, spied upon and locked up. E-mail services are being blocked and newspapers censored, and the only content approved by the government consists of dull propaganda. But the Burmese are running out of the strength they need to rebel against these conditions. "Even the monks have withdrawn, after so many of them disappeared into the prisons," says Khaing. "Now our only hopes rest with the students, and more and more of them are joining us."

Khaing is especially disappointed by the international community. Of course, he says, the United States has been providing the opposition with massive amounts of financial assistance for the past year, but most of the money ends up in the hands of Burmese exile groups in Thailand. Besides, Khaing adds, nothing will change unless China is put under pressure. "The Chinese defend the regime because they want to retain control over Southeast Asia. They see us a market and they are lusting after our natural gas."

Then Khaing stands up without a sound and disappears into the throngs of Rangoon, a city of six million. He doesn't like to stay in one place for more than 15 minutes.

China's communist government continues to put on a false face for this alleged "peace" and "harmony" in the name of the Summer Olympics. The Olympics is not about this alleged peace and harmony, but about how much the communist government can get out of this Olympic revenue or how much they pay their athletes to win these games.

It's a disgrace to the Olympics and the world wide community which believes in the relationship of human rights and the World Olympic way.

Padma-Dolma Statement Upon Arrest in Beijing
Along with four other activists, Padma-Dolma Fielitz, 21, a Tibetan woman from Germany, staged a protest on Aug. 10th at 3:10pm Beijing time just outside the southern entrance of Tiananmen Square. She unfurled a Tibetan flag and was immediately accosted by plain-clothed Chinese police who dragged her off the street into a public building, knocked her down and dragged her across the floor while trying to wrest the flag from her hands. After the flag was torn from her hands, she boldly confronted the crowd of security officials around her.
For more info: http://freetibet2008.org/globalactions/tibetanprotest/

Genocide Olympics skull art. Solidarity for Darfur and a Free Tibet. Stop the torture and killing of Monks, Nuns and Tibetan people. Police impersonators dressed as Monks and Tibetans & inciting violence is not acceptable. We are watching you.

The Olympic Games was allowed in China for the expressed purpose of more freedom for people and Tibetan's, yet non of this has occurred, and this is evident through deportations of foreign citizens.

One World One Dream?

Free Tibet Activists Raise the Tibetan Flag Prior to Olympic Opening Ceremony; Tackled by Chinese Police : Free Tibet 2008
At just past 7pm, approximately one hour before the Opening Ceremonies of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, two Americans, Jonathan Stribling-Uss, 27, and Kalaya’an Mendoza, 29, and an Argentine-American, Cesar Maxit, 32, staged a symbolic protest near the Bird’s Nest stadium in Beijing. At Beituching and Beiching Roads, the last major intersection on Beichen Road leading to the Olympic Park, the three men opened Tibetan national flags. The three men, wearing shirts that read “Team Tibet 08″ were tackled by Chinese security forces within seconds and immediately and forcibly detained.

One World One Dream Free Tibet t-shirts. Show solidarity for Tibet's struggle for freedom. This should be something easy to do, so why is it taking so long in a 21st century? Freedom now!

Here's the deal.  If you are in the Seattle area and were a protest-y type on this issue, I've got a prime opportunity for you to get personally involved - a chance to put up or shut up as it were.  Here's the deal.  There are many refugees from Burma/Myanmar arriving in the Seattle area right now.  In many cases, they're arriving with literally nothing but the clothes they're wearing.

A local pastor in the collective of churches I work with is reaching out to these people and trying to help.  He needs help.  They need everything from a bus or vans to microwave ovens and rice cookers.  So what say you?  You can get a basic rice cooker for 20 bucks.  A good microwave can be had for $50-$100.  If you're interested in helping out, shoot me an e-mail at: spiritfarmer [at] gmail [dot] com.

By the way - this call for help goes beyond just those who were hipster protest-y types.  These folks could use all the help they can get right now.

FREE TIBET PROTEST OUTSIDE BIRD’S NEST STADIUM IN BEIJING
Four Tibet activists from Britain and the United States were detained in Beijing today after unfurling Tibetan flags and two 140-square-foot banners outside the Olympic stadium. The first read, “One World, One Dream: Free Tibet” in English, and the second read, “Tibet Will Be Free” in English and “Free Tibet” in Chinese. The dramatic action took place hours before the Olympic Torch arrives in Tiananmen Square, and two days before the Olympics opening ceremony takes place at the stadium. The activists were detained by Chinese authorities after displaying their message for nearly an hour; their current whereabouts are unknown.

Genocide Olympics Flame of Shame. Solidarity for Tibet, Darfur and Burma people. Shame on the Olympic committee for giving the worldwide Olympics honor to Beijing, while it has issues of genocide.

As China celebrates the start of the Olympics on Friday with much fanfare, activists in neighbouring Myanmar will silently mourn the bloody end of an uprising that crushed their dreams of democracy 20 years ago.

In August 1988, cities and villages across the country then known as Burma were bursting with optimism.

The military dictator Ne Win had just stepped down after decades of iron-fisted rule, and Burma was inspired by a prophecy that it would become a free nation on August 8 -- known as 8-8-88.

Students who had already protested for almost a year against Ne Win's socialist government called for a national uprising on the auspicious date, drawing activists, Buddhist monks, and even young military cadets into the streets clamouring for freedom.

"On August 8, it was not just one city or one area, it was all over Burma -- everywhere, even the remote villages. It was not just students or monks or workers. Everybody was there," said Win Min, then a medical student who helped organise the protests, and now a university professor in Thailand.

"We had high hopes that the situation could change, high hopes that democracy could come to Burma, high hopes that our economic problems would be solved," he said.

But the euphoria was short-lived.

After dark on August 8, soldiers began shooting protesters in the streets of the then-capital Rangoon, beginning six weeks of bloodshed that left an estimated 3,000 dead.

The protests rumbled on amid the violence, powered by anger at the regime and the once-promising economy it had hammered into the ground.

In the swirl of near-anarchy, a new national leadership emerged in a country under dictatorship since 1962.

The previously obscure and expatriate daughter of a liberation hero, Aung San Suu Kyi, stood before crowds outside the golden Shwedagon Pagoda on August 26, making an eloquent call for democracy and instantly becoming the public face of the movement.

She was joined by veteran politicians and ethnic leaders, including some top generals who had grown disillusioned with the regime.

Without Ne Win, the government struggled to contain the unrest. A series of leaders within the regime rose and fell, until finally a group of generals seized power in a coup on September 18.

The new regime, calling itself the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC), officially allowed the creation of opposition parties and moved to create a market economy.

But in reality, the junta clamped down on the democracy movement, placing Aung San Suu Kyi under house arrest in July 1989. Twenty years later, she is still confined to her home, having only enjoyed a few brief years of freedom.

Even with their leader locked away, her followers in the new National League for Democracy (NLD) won elections in 1990, but were never allowed to govern.

Many student leaders were imprisoned and only released in 2005, when they quickly returned to activism.

They launched new protests against the ruling junta last August, only to be arrested again. Buddhist monks took over the protest movement, but were shot and beaten by security forces in September.

Tun Myint Aung is among the activists, now known as the '88 Generation, who escaped arrest and continues to try to campaign against the regime while living in hiding.

"The only change has been to a worse condition," he told AFP, when asked to asses his country's progress in the past 20 years.

"Now the military junta and their relatives and cronies, this small group exploits our country's riches. There are great gaps between a handful of military troops and the masses of people."

The situation in Myanmar now appears worse than ever.

The democracy movement is in shambles after last year's protests were crushed. The economy is moribund, and huge swathes of the country are still reeling from a devastating cyclone that hit three months ago.

Despite the grim outlook, Win Min says he still believes his country can change -- eventually.

"Look at China's progress," Win Min said. "Myanmar is where China was 30 years ago."

"If the economic situation of the people is not improved, there will be demonstrations again."

China's supporters claim that the Olympics should not be political, yet with have foreign dignitaries going, and China continues to oppress dissidents and anyone who will tell the world what China is really doing. That is not political? Don't be so blind.

8.8.08 Burma Day
BPF and Clear View Project have spearheaded a campaign to invite American Buddhist sanghas to “practice with Burma." We received many enthusiastic responses from sanghas who now have a beautiful altar card and are caring for Burma in their prayers, practice, and actions. A poster reflecting this connection will be sent into the monasteries in Burma to show American Buddhists’ solidarity and presence with them.

Damn.. Asean country leaders are worth enough to talk.. nothing in action!!!! Crisis in Burma, not a year or two.. Its been for more than 13 years!! Till now why there is action from ASEAN leaders , to free Aung San Suu Kyi? Is it because Burma has nothing valuable which u people can make money out of it, there in the country? Damn, what about Aung San Suu Kyi? Isnt that she is a human? what are about the people there? Forget about Bush, he talks as if he is the owner of the world!! President Hugo Chavez was right about it! The entire eyes of the world is on Olympic 2008, but the crisis in Burma, is just left out.. 8.8.08 is not Olympic day, BUT ITS BURMA"S DAY!!!!!! couple of days back. i went to a restaurant, i was shocked to see a guy, wearing a tshirt of Aung San Suu Kyi picture printed at the back! i called him and asked him, why are you wearing this tshirt, and do you know who is the lady in printed in the t shirt.. he say " yes i know, its Aung San Suu Kyi, the president of Burma and im from Burma, she had been house arrested for more than 13 years, military Jun Ta rulling us out! Why no ASEAN Country helping us? Where are they? We are humans too, She is also a human... where is human rights" Damn! well, for everyone, it may jus look like a normal printed tshirt, but it has a strong message in it!!!!! i am ver proud taking a photo wif him!! atleast he does sumthing than nothing not like the ASEAN so called leaders.. worth enough to talk only, ASEAN country leaders should really feel shame for this!!! a normal restaurant waiter can think so far, why cant they? Put a stop for human rights violation against Burma!!! Olympics.. nah.. sucks!!! China dun deserve it!!! Genocide!! China must Stops blocking United Nations arms embargo on Burma and stops selling weapons to Burma’s regime!!! Asean leaders stop fooling around, empty words not enough to save the lives there!! Put it in action!!! I seriously lost hope in UN intervention! haha.. well tats true..

8.8.08 Marks the 20th anniversary of the massacre in Burma of 3,000 people committed by the Military Dictators who are currently illegitimately ruling Burma.  So let's join together, lets stand in solidarity, lets bring unity to the Movement!! Let's all go out on the streets in our cities on 8.8.08 and let the world know that it's Burma's Day!

What can we do:

- JOIN IN ON THE RALLIES AROUND THE WORLD

- NO RALLIES IN YOUR AREA? CREATE ONE, WE'LL HELP YOU PROMOTE IT!

- LEARN WHY 8.8.08 IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT DAYS IN BURMA'S HISTORY

- CONTACT US AND LET US KNOW YOUR IDEAS ON HOW TO MAKE GLOBAL BURMA'S DAY A SUCCESS!

Why?!

• China must Stops blocking a United Nations arms embargo on Burma and stops selling weapons to Burma's regime, and
• Imprisoned And Tortured Over 1,000 Political Prisoners Including Noble Peace Prize Recipient Aung San Suu Kyi
• Have Recruited 70,000 Child Soldiers (largest in the world)
• Genocide
• Horrendous Human Rights Abuses
• China must ends its support for Burma's regime. If China does not change its policies, you will:

In 1988, that was 20 years ago the world was not aware of the massacre of 3,000 innocent lives. It is time for us to change that and dedicate this day 8.8.08 Global Burma Day!..

..... For decades before, Burma had been ruled by an isolationists and repressive military dictatorship led by General Ne Win. In 1987 Ne Win revalued Burma’s currency and overnight wiped out people’s savings. Students in Burma began organizing protests about Burma’s mounting economic crisis. On 13 March 1988 students protesting outside the Rangoon Institute of Technology clashed with the military and Phone Maw, a fourth year engineering student, was shot dead.

Protests quickly escalated, with students being joined by ordinary citizens, monks, and civil servants. August 8, 1988 marks the day of the largest protests in Burma’s history with hundreds of thousands taking part in protests. Like the protesters of the Saffron Revolution, students sported their symbol of the fighting peacock, and monks carried their alms bowls upside down to show they would not accept handouts from the military, again as a protest.

On 26 August, Aung San Suu Kyi, the daughter of independence hero Aung San who had only recently returned to Burma to nurse her sick mother, made a speech at Shwedagon Pagoda and became the public face of the democracy movement.

Protests continued until September 18th when the military sprayed automatic rifle fire into crowds of protesters. Other demonstrators were carried away in trucks and never seen again.

Remember, "Revolution is not like an apple, it falls when its ripe, you have to make it fall!" - che guevara  .Let us all stand up and fight against this Human Rights Abuse! Free Aung San Suu Kyi!! Save Burma!

08.08.08, Global Day of Action!! Light up candles, anywhere, outside your house, garden, room, road site ,  infront of China Embassy or anywhere as a sign of remembering Aung San Suu Kyi and for our brothers and sisters who sacrificed their lives in the revolution of Free Burma !!! Lets us put our hands together and pray to God, God Please Save Burma!!!!

** events in Malaysia @ Kuala Lumpur and Penang will be onboard soon..

Millions Rallied to free Nelson Mandela and South Africa, Now Its Burma"s Turn!!!!!!!!

*** special post by Sophie Lwin ( LA ) and Umabaran ( MAS )

Myanmar, antigua Birmania, esta sometida bajo régimen militar y como parte de medio de comunicación que somos, no podemos dejar escapar la oportunidad de demostrar al mundo nuestra inconformidad.

En la página oficial, podés encontrar información al respecto. Pero seguro que ya viste a esos monjes budistas de colores mostaza muertos por sus calles por manifestarse pacíficamente. ¿Hay algo que podamos hacer?

OTRO DOLOR NUESTRO DOLOR

Que no nos resulte ajeno el dolor de otros.

Que no nos queden lejanas las guerras que no vemos

por que allí ahora como quizás antes también

se está sufriendo, se están matando,

se están destruyendo.

Que no nos resulte ajeno el dolor de otros

Por que tal vez en un mañana ese dolor que hoy no tenemos

por aquí, en esta hora, en otro tiempo se propague

y nos estará doliendo, nos estarán matando,

nos estarán destruyendo.

Political Context of Burma

A Quick Look at Myanmar / Burma

Ahora si reenviá.

The caucus aims to raise awareness of Burma in Europe and pressure European
governments to do more to bring about democratic transition in Burma. The 7
key objectives are:

· To seek stronger action on Burma from European governments, the
European Union, the United Nations Security Council, and other governments
and international institutions.

· To foster contacts with our fellow MPs from Burma.

· To foster contacts with the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Caucus on
Myanmar, and other Asian MPs.

· To put forward motions, questions, and initiate debates on Burma in
our Parliaments.

· To provide monthly updates on the situation in Burma for European MPs.

· To cultivate links with civil society organisations knowledgeable
about Burma.

· To act as a strong public voice for democratisation in Burma.

John Bercow, Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary group for Democracy in
Burma in the British Parliament said: “We are creating this European
Parliamentary Caucus on Burma because it will enable parliamentarians from
across Europe to share information and to lobby together for more effective
measures to bring the regime to heel and to speed up the progress to
democracy for the long suffering people of Burma.”

Renate Weber, Member of the European Parliament, Romania, said: "I believe
we shouldn't need climatic catastrophes in order to have an increased
international attention to the human rights situation in Burma/Myanmar. The
international community should focus constantly and without sparing any
efforts on supporting the country to pave its way to a democratic society."

Petr Bratsky, Member of Parliament, Czech Republic: “The empowerment of
democracy and human rights all around the world support our democracy, too.
Our help to Burma is only a small payment for the support, which we have
received from established democracies in times of more than 40 years long
communist dictatorship in Czechoslovakia.”

Irish MP Simon Coveney said:
“Today is Aung San Suu Kyi’s birthday. It has been used in recent years to
focus the attention of the international community on the continuing plight
of the people of Burma. The last twelve months has seen thousands of monks
demonstrating for openness and democracy in Burma followed by a violent and
crushing putdown by the military junta. More recently, the misery of the
Burmese people was compounded by a cyclone which has killed over 100,000
people and displaced hundreds of thousands of families. Despite the human
suffering, we see the continuing intransigence, cruelty, obsession with
power and refusal by the military leaders to accept international standards
and norms. For all of these reasons, the setting up of the European
Parliamentary Caucus on Burma is more necessary now than ever to continue to
focus political attention at the highest level on the need to bring about
democratic reform and a respect for human rights in a country that yearns
for change. Having been to Burma and met many Burmese people in exile, it is
a honour to be a part of this new group which hopefully will have a
meaningful impact.”

Glenys Kinnock, MEP for Wales in the UK, said: “Parliamentary engagement is
essential as we strive to meet our many global challenges, not least when
voices need to be raised in support of freedom and fairness. In Burma,
though the media spotlight may have faded, the people continue to face
appalling suffering and the elected and legitimate parliament and government
are ruthlessly silenced. In forming this European Parliamentary Caucus, we
stand shoulder to shoulder with those who are fighting to restore democracy
and human rights in Burma. The Caucus will be a strong and determined
collective voice calling for action.”

The other MPs founding the EPCB are Spanish MP Carmen Garcia, Estonian MP
Silver Meikar, and Slovakian MP Laszlo Nagy.

Administrative support for the European Parliamentary caucus on Burma is
being provided by Burma Campaign UK and People In Need in the Czech
Republic. For more information contact Zoya Phan at Burma Campaign UK on
020 7324 4710 , or Marie Zahradníková on +420 739 220 248.

Aung San Suu Kyi is the world’s only imprisoned Nobel laureate. Leader of
the National League for Democracy, her party won 82 percent of seats in
parliament in elections in 1990, but was never allowed to take power. During
three periods of house arrest she has been held for a total of 12 years and
236 days.

Aung San Suu Kyi is allowed no visitors, her phone line is cut and her post
intercepted. The regime refuse to allow her doctor to make regular visits.
She is not allowed to see her two sons, grandchildren, family, friends or
colleagues as all visitors are banned. Her phone line is cut and her post is
intercepted. Her current period of detention began on 30th May 2003,
following the Depayin massacre in which up to a hundred of her supporters
were beaten to death by a regime militia.

Burma has been ruled by dictatorship since 1962. The current regime came to
power in 1988. There are more than 1,800 political prisoners in Burma, and
in Eastern Burma the regime is engaged in a war of ethnic cleansing, burning
and looting villages, using rape as a weapon of war, slave labour, torture,
mutilations as well as blocking aid to the area. In 1997 the regime brutally
suppressed a peaceful uprising led by monks, and in May 2008 the regime
provoked international outrage by denying aid to cyclone survivors.

Brief Biography of Aung San Suu Kyi (from US Campaign For Burma)

Daw Aung San Suu Kyi (pronounced Daw Aung Sawn Sue Chee) is one of the world's most renown freedom fighters and advocates of nonviolence, having served as the figurehead for Burma's struggle for democracy since 1988. Born on June 19th, 1945 to Burma's independence hero, Aung San, Aung San Suu Kyi was educated in Burma, India, and the United Kingdom. Her father was assassinated when she was only two years old.

In 1988, while living in London, she returned to Burma to nurse her dying mother, and was plunged into the country's nationwide uprising that had just begun. Joining the newly-forming National League for Democracy political party, Suu Kyi gave numerous speeches calling for freedom and democracy. The military regime responded to the uprising with brute force, shooting and otherwise killing up to 10,000 demonstrators — student, women, children, and others — in a mater of months. Unable to maintain its grip on power, the regime was forced to call for a general election in 1990.

As Suu Kyi began to campaign for the NLD, she and many others were detained by the regime. Despite being held under house arrest, the NLD went on to win a staggering 82% of the seats in parliament. The regime never recognized the results.

Suu Kyi has been in and out of arrest ever since. She was held from 1989-1995, and again from 2000-2002. She was again arrested and placed behind bars in May 2003 after the Depayin massacre, during which up to 100 of her supporters were beaten to death by the regime's cronies. She has moved from prison back into house arrest in late 2003 and has been held there ever since.

She has won numerous international awards, including the Nobel Peace Prize, Sakharov Prize from the European Parliament, United States Presidential Medal of Freedom, and Jawaharlal Nehru Award from India. She has called on people around the world to join the struggle for freedom in Burma, saying "Please use your liberty to promote ours."

The move came as officials said that international aid workers had finally begun entering Myanmar's cyclone-devastated delta area after being blocked for more than three weeks by the junta.

A government official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the press, said that Suu Kyi's detention was officially extended by one year on Tuesday afternoon.

Suu Kyi, who has been under house arrest continuously since May 2003, has long been the symbol of the regime's brutality and the focus of a worldwide campaign that has lobbied for her release.

The extension was issued despite a Myanmar law that stipulates no one can be held longer than five years without being released or put on trial.

Earlier Tuesday, police hauled away about 20 opposition party members who were protesting Suu Kyi's detention. Witnesses saw riot police shove members of the National League for Democracy into a truck as they were marching from the party's headquarters to Suu Kyi's home.

The decision comes at a delicate time for the junta.

It already is facing international condemnation for the way it failed the Cyclone Nargis relief effort, with more than half of the 2.4 million survivors of the storm still desperately needing food, clean water and shelter more than three weeks after the disaster.

Official government estimates put the death toll at about 78,000 with an additional 56,000 people missing.

But few expected Suu Kyi to be released, despite urging by both the United Nations and some members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

"The Burmese junta's extension of Aung San Suu Kyi's house arrest in clear violation of its own law comes as no surprise," said Jared Genser, a U.S. lawyer hired by Suu Kyi's family to push for her release. "Adherence to the rule of law is not their forte and the junta remains deeply concerned about her appeal to the Burmese people."

In Washington, President Bush said Tuesday he was "deeply troubled" by the extension of Suu Kyi's house arrest but stressed that the U.S. would continue to provide aid to help cyclone victims.

"The United States calls upon the regime to release all political prisoners in Burma and begin a genuine dialogue with Aung San Suu Kyi, the National League for Democracy, and other democratic and ethnic minority groups on a transition to democracy," Bush said in a statement. "I look forward to the day when the people of Burma know true liberty and democracy."

British Foreign Secretary David Milliband also said he was "was saddened, if not surprised," by the decision.

"While our immediate focus is on relieving the suffering caused by the recent cyclone, restoration of democracy in Burma is still vital for that country's long-term future," he said in a prepared statement.

Myanmar has been ruled by the military since 1962. The current junta seized power in 1988 and refused to honor the results of 1990 general elections that were won by Suu Kyi's party.

Myanmar's leaders are leery of foreign aid workers and international agencies because they fear an influx of outsiders could undermine their control.

The junta is also hesitant to have its people see aid coming directly from countries such as the United States, which it has long treated as a hostile power seeking to invade or colonize.

Officials said Tuesday that international aid workers had finally begun entering the hard-hit Irrawaddy Delta. The apparent breakthrough in the flow of aid came after promises made by Myanmar's ruling generals to the U.N. Secretary-General, who returned to New York on Sunday after a four-day visit.

"International aid workers are starting to move to the delta," said Richard Horsey, a spokesman in Bangkok for the U.N. humanitarian effort in Myanmar. Helicopters also began shuttling high-energy biscuits and ready-to-eat meals into the hardest hit area Tuesday, he said.

The French aid agency Doctors Without Borders said its teams had entered remote villages around the delta town of Bogalay where people had not eaten for three days.

The U.N. World Food Program said it has sent three international staffers into the delta since the weekend and hopes to deploy larger numbers in coming days.

The agency's Paul Risley said Monday was a "record, red-letter day with seven visas applied for and seven issued." Myanmar's government had earlier denied many visa applications by U.N. and private aid agencies.

Relief groups are hoping to capitalize on the junta's new openness to reach the 1.4 million people that are living in outlying areas who have so far received no international aid, said Elisabeth Byrs, a spokeswoman for the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

"In the Irrawaddy River delta we have a logistical nightmare because of the hundreds of rivers and small islands," Byrs told reporters in Geneva. "Some places are only reachable by inflatable boats. It's a problem, a major problem."

The duration of the extension was not immediately known, the official said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media. In the past, the junta has renewed Suu Kyi's detention for six-month or 1-year periods.

Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, was personally informed of her continued imprisonment by officials from the Home Ministry who entered her villa prior to the announcement, the official said.

Under house arrest continuously since May 2003, Suu Kyi has long been the symbol of the regime's brutality and the focus of a worldwide campaign that has lobbied for her release.

The extension was issued despite a Myanmar law that stipulates no one can be held longer than five years without being released or put on trial.

The junta faced a deadline to extend Suu Kyi's house arrest for another year or release her. Members of her National League for Democracy were marching from the party's headquarters to her home when riot police shoved the group into a truck.

It was not immediately clear where the truck was headed or exactly how many people were detained.

Some of the detainees wore Suu Kyi T-shirts and others the party uniform, a peach colored jacket, sarong and cone-shaped hat. Thrown into the truck, two members seated by windows unfurled a 2-foot poster of Suu Kyi before being ordered to roll it back up.

As the detentions occurred, Suu Kyi's party called for her immediate release and lashed out at the regime for having rammed through a new constitution via a "sham referendum."

The decision by the junta to extend Suu Kyi's latest period of house arrest will almost certainly ignite more criticism from the international community.

Suu Kyi has been confined for 12 of the past 18 years to her home in Myanmar's largest city, Yangon. She has long been the symbol of the regime's brutality and the focus of a worldwide campaign that has lobbied for her release.

Suu Kyi received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991 for her nonviolent efforts to overturn the regime led by Senior Gen. Than Shwe.

Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda called Tuesday for her release, saying it would be a way of thanking the international community for its generosity after the cyclone.

"I hope for the best but to be frank I'm not optimistic," he said.

Security was stepped up around Suu Kyi's home, with about 20 plain clothes police officers standing guard while six truckloads of riot police were on guard near her National League for Democracy headquarters. These were reinforced by pro-junta thugs in civilian clothes.

About 200 NLD members attended a ceremony inside the headquarters to mark the 18th anniversary of the party's landslide victory in 1990 elections, which the junta has never honored.

Myanmar has been ruled by the military since 1962. The current junta seized power in 1988 after brutally crushing a Suu Kyi-led uprising.

An extension of Suu Kyi's arrest is almost certain to add to the international community's outrage and frustration with the junta, which is accused of blocking international aid to some 2.4 million survivors of Cyclone Nargis. Official government estimates put the death toll from the May 2-3 storm at about 78,000, with an additional 56,000 people missing.

The junta has given some ground, promising to allow foreign aid workers into the most devastated areas. U.N. officials have expressed hope they will soon be able to help survivors - if the generals keep their word.

In its latest assessment report, the U.N. said the rate of 10-15 aid airlifts into Myanmar needed to be stepped up along with quick delivery to the hardest-hit areas.

"The critical danger remains of a potential second wave of deaths among those not so far reached or only reached with small amounts of assistance," the report said.

The French aid agency Doctors Without Borders said its teams had entered remote villages around the Irrawaddy delta town of Bogalay where people had not eaten for three days.

The U.N. has estimated that less than half the 2.4 million people victimized by the storm have received emergency assistance.

Donor nations offered more than $100 million Sunday to help the country recover, but they warned they would not fully open their wallets until given access to the worst-damaged areas.

Myanmar's leaders are leery of foreign aid workers and international agencies because they fear an influx of outsiders could undermine control.

The junta is also hesitant to have its people see aid coming directly from countries like the U.S., which it has long treated as a hostile power seeking to invade or colonize.

หมายเหตุ อาเซียนประกอบด้วยกลุ่มประเทศในเอเชียตะวันออกเฉียงใต้ได้แก่ อินโดนีเซีย มาเลเซีย ฟิลิปปินส์ สิงคโปร์ ไทย บรูไน ดารุสลาม เวียตนาม ลาว พม่า และกัมพูชา

อาเซียนถกช่วยเหยื่อไซโคลนพม่าถูกจวกยับขยับตัวช่วยช้าไป

สิงคโปร์-อาเซียนเพิ่งจะเปิดประชุมช่วยพม่า ท่ามกลางเสียงสวดยับว่าช่วยเหลือประเทศสมาชิกช้าไป

รัฐมนตรีต่างประเทศจากสมาคมประชาชาติเอเชียตะวันออกเฉียงใต้ (อาเซียน) จัดการประชุมขึ้นที่ประเทศสิงคโปร์ เมื่อวันจันทร์ (19 พ.ค.) เพื่อหาทางช่วยพม่าจากเหตุพายุไซโคลนนาร์กีสพัดถล่มจนเป็นเหตุให้มีผู้เสียชีวิตกว่า 7 หมื่นคน ท่ามกลางเสียงวิพากษณ์วิจารณ์ว่าอาเซียนดำเนินการในเรื่องนี้ช้าไป การประชุมครั้งนี้มีขึ้นหลังจากที่เหตุภัยพิบัติในพม่าผ่านไปแล้วกว่า 2 สัปดาห์

แหล่งข่าวทางการทูตเปิดเผยว่า มีแนวโน้มที่อาเซียนจะให้คำมั่นแก่ทางการพม่าว่าจะเร่งส่งความช่วยเหลือไปให้ และเร่งฟื้นฟูอาคารบ้านเรือนที่ได้รับความเสียหาย แต่แผนการดังกล่าวจะต้องได้รับการอนุมัติจากทางพม่าซึ่งจะส่งรัฐมนตรีต่างประเทศมาเข้าร่วมประชุมด้วยเสียก่อน ขณะที่นายนพดล ปัทมะ รัฐมนตรีว่าการกระทรวงการต่างประเทศของไทย กล่าวก่อนหน้านี้ว่า จะคุยกันเรื่องจัดตั้งกลไกภายในอาเซียนขึ้นมาช่วยเหลือสมาชิกที่ประสบหายนภัยที่คล้ายคลึงกับพม่าในอนาคต นอกจากนี้ไทยยังจะยื่นข้อเสนอให้อาเซียนประสานงานกับสหประชาชาติเพื่อช่วยพม่าด้วย

อย่างไรก็ตาม บรรดานักวิเคราะห์ทางการเมืองยังคงกังขาว่าการเจรจาครั้งนี้จะสร้างความแตกต่างได้อย่างไรหากทางการพม่ายังไม่เต็มใจที่จะรับความช่วยเหลือจากต่างชาติอยู่

เด็บบี้ สตอทฮาร์ด นักเคลื่อนไหวจากกลุ่มต่อต้านรัฐบาลทหารพม่าที่ชื่อว่า "อัลเทอร์เนทีฟ อาเซียน เน็ตเวิร์ก ออน เบอร์มา" กล่าวถึงการตอบรับต่อภัยพิบัติในพม่าของอาเซียนว่า "น่าผิดหวังเป็นอย่างยิ่ง" แม้จะยังไม่สายเกินไปที่จะเข้ามากอบกู้สถานการณ์ แต่อาเซียนจำเป็นจะต้องแสดงความเป็นผู้นำทางการเมือง และรับประกันว่ารัฐบาลพม่าจะประพฤติตัวในแบบที่เหมาะสมกว่านี้

ทางด้านฮันนาห์ รูท เจี่ย นักวิเคราะห์จากศูนย์วิจัยการเมือง ความรุนแรง และการก่อการร้ายนานาชาติในสิงคโปร์ กล่าวว่า ในการประชุมครั้งนี้ต้องมีการพูดถึงความเร่งด่วนในการส่งความช่วยเหลือให้ถึงมือผู้ประสบภัย แต่การที่อาเซียนล้มเหลวในการสร้างความเปลี่ยนแปลงที่สำคัญให้เกิดขึ้นในพม่าในช่วง 11 ปีที่ผ่านมานับตั้งแต่พม่าเข้ามาเป็นสมาชิก การประชุมครั้งนี้ก็ไม่น่าที่จะประสบผลสำเร็จ

ฮันนาห์กล่าวต่อว่า ถึงแม้อาเซียนจะมีนโยบายไม่แทรกแซงกิจการภายในของกันและกัน แต่อาเซียนก็ต้องแสดงให้เห็นว่าเต็มใจที่จะยกเว้นนโยบายดังกล่าว หากรัฐบาลชาตินั้นๆ ไม่ยอมช่วยเหลือประชาชนของตัวเอง และว่าการที่มหาอำนาจตะวันตกกำลังพิจารณาที่จะเข้ามาแทรกแซงเพื่อส่งความช่วยเหลือ ทำให้อาเซียนตกอยู่ในความเสี่ยงที่จะถูกมองว่าไร้ประสิทธิภาพหากยังไม่ยอมมีจุดยืนของตัวเอง

ที่มา: คม ชัด ลึก

"They were mostly housewives," recalls Chin Chin, who goes by the nickname. "They told me, 'Rice is a must, so it's worth standing in the rain for three or four hours to get some.' They didn't even have a change of clothes." Fighting back her tears, Chin Chin gave out rice and listened to stories of families torn apart and villages destroyed. "It was piteous," she says. "I really sympathized with them. We didn't see any aid from government or foreign groups."

Chin Chin belongs to a burgeoning homegrown relief effort which is capturing Burmese from all walks of life. Students and shopkeepers, medics and models — thousands of people have now donated money, food or services to Nargis victims. Hundreds like Chin Chin are delivering aid themselves, while privately run local charities are reorienting their operations around cyclone relief.

While they continue to make it difficult for foreigners to offer aid, Burma's generals welcome the help of their own people — at least officially. "Myanmar people's generosity is amazing," marvels a recent article in The New Light of Myanmar, a state-run newspaper.* Privately, however, they must be getting nervous. Ordinary Burmese are horrified by the suffering of their compatriots and angry at the junta's inadequate attempts to alleviate it. Their humanitarian efforts could well spark a political one, especially as it also involves Buddhist monks, who last September led the biggest anti-government protests Burma had seen for nearly 20 years.

Private donors have faced some government restrictions. Those who arrive in the towns have been asked to hand over their relief supplies to local authorities for distribution. Instead, many are reportedly storing the goods with sympathetic locals and secretly distributing them by themselves. The junta doesn't want foreigners distributing aid in the delta, but neither does it feel comfortable with Burmese distributing it. "The government is scared that relief workers will get involved in politics," says a co-founder of one Burmese relief group.

Some are involved already. Celebrated actor Kyaw Thu, who was jailed for a month for joining last September's demonstrations, runs the Free Funeral Services Society, a private charity offering free cremations for the poor. It is now operating its own relief effort, with volunteers at its Rangoon headquarters loading up delta-bound trucks with donated goods.

Another anti-junta stalwart is comedian Zaganar (the name means "Tweezers"), also briefly jailed for his role in last year's protests. Zaganar and his celebrity friends have bought food and medical supplies for Nargis victims and are using their names to raise more funds. Both the disaster and the grassroots response to it are unprecedented in Burma. "I think there will be political consequences," he says. "People are very angry with the government."

The monks are also on the move again. Buddhist temples and monasteries have always played a central role in helping the needy in Burma (as, in this religiously and ethnically diverse country, have churches, mosques and Hindu temples). After the cyclone, monks led small-scale relief efforts into the delta, the distinctive multicolored flags of their faith fluttering from cars and small trucks. Monks from well-known monasteries in Mandalay and elsewhere in Burma are either in the delta or heading there, while in Pakkoku — the Irrawaddy town near Mandalay where last year's protests originated — their brethren are reportedly soliciting donations for cyclone victims. Shwe Pyi Hein Monastery, which already runs a free clinic in Rangoon, has dispatched five volunteer doctors to the disaster area, who are treating more than 100 people every day.

Despite the participation of thousands of Burmese, the impact of this homegrown relief effort will always limited, admits Zaganar. "We deliver our supplies by road because we cannot afford a boat," he says. "But most victims live close to the water. We cannot get through to them." He says Burma desperately needs more boats and helicopters from abroad. Not even the nation's richest private donors — who include junta cronies like tycoon Tay Za, who was put on a U.S. sanctions list last year — have the means or expertise to meet even a fraction of the needs in far-flung delta areas.

So what is the world doing about it? Not much. The military junta that runs Burma initially signaled it would accept outside relief but has imposed so many conditions on those who would actually deliver it that barely a trickle has gotten through. Hundreds of foreign aid workers have been denied visas and blocked from visiting the stricken areas. Shipments of food and medicine have been seized. After more than 10 days, the U.N. World Food Program said it had been able to deliver only a fraction of the food required for the emergency. "I've never seen anything like this," said Julio Sosa Calo, an official for the German relief group Malteser International. "We need a huge humanitarian response. What we're doing now is too little compared to the need."

It isn't close. Even the sight of U.S. military cargo planes landing in Rangoon failed to quell the frustration. The U.S.'s top commander in the Pacific offered to "put Burmese officials on our planes and ships" if they allowed U.S. forces to bring relief supplies into the country. But there's little chance a regime this insular and paranoid will let that happen. The trouble is, the Burmese lack the kinds of assets needed to deal with a calamity of this scale--and the longer Burma resists offers of help, the more likely it is that the disaster will degenerate beyond anyone's control. "A lot is at stake here," says Jan Egeland, the former U.N. emergency-relief coordinator. "If we let them get away with murder, we may set a very dangerous precedent."

So what other options exist? Here's one: if Burma's rulers continue to refuse help, the world should impose it on them--even if that requires military force. The Bush Administration has so far resisted the idea of a coercive humanitarian intervention--"I cannot imagine us going in without the permission of the Myanmar government," Defense Secretary Robert Gates said--which is somewhat surprising, since this is the same gang that unilaterally invaded Iraq. (Though considering how that turned out, maybe it shouldn't be.) But others have taken up the cause. French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner has called for the U.N. Security Council to authorize outsiders to bring in and deliver aid no matter what the junta says; David Cameron, leader of Britain's Conservatives, advocates direct airdrops to the Burmese people. The European Union's foreign policy chief said, "We have to use all means" to get aid to those still at risk.

A coercive humanitarian intervention in Burma wouldn't be without precedent: the U.S. funded and helped coordinate the delivery of aid without the host governments' consent during the wars in Bosnia and southern Sudan. Nor would it be illegal: according to U.N. Security Council Resolution 1674, member states have a "responsibility to protect" populations from genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity, if their own governments fail to do so (or are responsible for committing the crimes themselves). Burma's crisis--hundreds of thousands of innocents at risk of death because of their rulers' willful neglect--easily meets that standard.

But is an uninvited foreign intervention likely to happen? Any relief operation would be fraught with risk. Air-dropping food into the Irrawaddy Delta could cause even more chaos, in the absence of military or relief personnel on the ground who can distribute supplies. And given the junta's xenophobia and insecurity, it's a safe bet any outside troops--or worse, foreign relief workers--would be viewed as hostile forces even if the U.S. and its allies made clear that their actions were strictly for humanitarian purposes. To save the Burmese people without their rulers' consent, in other words, we may not have much choice but to shoot our way in.

All of which is to say that the junta can probably rest easy. The realities are that states rarely undertake military action unless their national interests are at stake, the world lacks consensus about when coercive measures in the name of averting humanitarian disasters are permissible and the war in Iraq has given interventions of any kind a bad name. But try telling that to Burmese like San San Khing, who has lost her money, home, food and two children and now suffers in a refugee camp in Kaw Hmu township. "We urge the U.N. and foreign governments to provide assistance ... without waiting for permission of the military junta," pleads a Burmese alliance of political activists and Buddhist monks. "Just come now." What, exactly, are we waiting for?

Cyclone Nargis For more images of the disaster in Burma, go to time.com/burma

It's worth reading Klein's analysis. I think she's right about one thing (perhaps among others):

The cyclone, meanwhile, has presented [Burma's rulers] with one last, vast business opportunity: by blocking aid from reaching the highly fertile Irrawaddy delta, hundreds of thousands of mostly ethnic Karen rice farmers are being sentenced to death. According to Mark Farmaner, "that land can be handed over to the generals' business cronies" (shades of the beachfront land grabs in Sri Lanka and Thailand after the Asian tsunami). This isn't incompetence, or even madness. It's laissez-faire ethnic cleansing.

Mark Farmaner, is the director of Burma Campaign UK. But I fear that well-meaning organisations like Marks are really providing some soft cover for possible western military action against Burma in the name of "human rights". The Burma Campaign group is organising protests calling on the French, British and American governments to act "unilaterally" to force the Burmese regime to "accept" aid.

“The regime in Burma is still blocking the aid needed to save lives,” said Mark Farmaner, Director of the Burma Campaign UK. “The USA, France and UK have navy ships in the region that could be saving lives now. The regime will never give permission for them to go in. The choice is stark. Go in now without permission and deliver aid unilaterally, or let thousands more die.”

I think this is a politically mistaken strategy. It's reminiscent of the excuses used to invade Afghanistan and Iraq. The argument that the local people cannot save themselves and need a benevolent invasion to help them is fraught with danger. This is not real-politik.

The only reason that the US, UK or France might want to force the hand of the Burmese regime is to get access to the wealth of the nation. This is what imperialism does in times of such crisis. it is precisely what the shock doctrine is about. However, in Burma's case, it seems that the argument is being made that the regime is most able to benefit and move in relation to the shock - that is its position will be strengthened. While this is true, we also have to recognise that global capitalism does not have a human face. No amount of special pleading by well-intentioned activists can change that. All it does is muddy the waters and create confusion for the left.

The Burmese regime is vile, no question about that, but this should not lead to automatic support for an invasion of Burma.

The other aspect of this is of course the role of China. It is unlikely that the Chinese regime, reeling as it is under the impact of earthquakes, would allow western troops on the ground in Burma. Though, it might be the case that China's own problems make it less likely for it to provide military support to the Burmese regime to repel a so-called "humanitarian" invasion.

How can any humanitarian aid be shipped into Burma against the wishes of the regime without causing some kind of military conflict? Proponents of the shock doctrine might argue that the regime is internally too weak to put up much resistance - thus the need to act quickly.

George Bush is being "urged" by Congressional leaders to act quickly and even people like Desmond Tutu are jumping on the humanitarian intervention bandwagon.

Nobel peace laureate Desmond Tutu has also written to Bush and French President Nicolas Sarkozy and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, saying the UN Security Council should authorise immediate shipments of aid to Burma "over the objections of the military regime''.

"The refusal of the Burmese military regime to accept full, adequate humanitarian aid from the international community is nothing short of criminal and unprecedented in recent history,'' said the former South African archbishop.

Tutu has said that the Burmese government has committed crimes against humanity by refusing to accept foreign aid. Strong language and the sort of talk that leads to crazy a$$hole$ like Bush to jump on his white horse and batter down the borders.

It's not too far fetched to believe that an invasion scenario has been war-gamed by the Pentagon. It's certainly a topic in the blogosphere. Here's a grab from a post by former New York Times staffer Blake Fleetwood's blog on Huffington Post from September last year:

CIA commandos have already mapped out invasion scenarios with the support of oppressed ethinic tribes. A quick strike in this misbegotten country would not be difficult.

Finally a war we can win.

If you want to find a really bad guy, forget Ahmadinejad; General Than Shwe is the real deal in the genocide department.

The loopy-right blogosphere is also in on the act; it's a good job we don't have to take it seriously.

My previous post on this topic is here.