Monday, 5 May 2008
36 Insein inmates killed in prison crackdown
Thirty-six inmates of Insein prison were killed on Saturday when soldiers opened fire on prisoners congregating in a prison hall, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners.
Strong winds caused by tropical cyclone Nargis, which hit Burma on Friday, tore off many of the zinc roofs of the prison, forcing around 1000 prisoners into the main prison hall no. 1, AAPP said in a statement.
“No one was allowed to seek safety, and they were locked inside the hall,” the statement said.
“The prisoners were wet and cold and some of them started a fire to try and keep warm. Unfortunately, the fire began to give off thick smoke, and prisoners panicked,” it said.
“As they were locked inside the hall, they couldn’t flee to safety. The situation escalated and chaos ensued.”
Soldiers and riot police brought in to control the situation opened fire on the prisoners, killing 36 and injuring 70.
AAPP secretary Ko Tate Naing said they had learned of the incident from family members of Insein prison inmates who had visited them recently.
"Insein prison authorities have the responsibility to give humanitarian assistance to the prisoners who are being detained there,” he said.
“But instead of doing that, they beat up and opened fire on the inmates who needed their help after the devastation caused by a natural disaster, and that is a serious violation of human rights."
The group said that no political prisoners were known to have been among those killed.
Strong winds caused by tropical cyclone Nargis, which hit Burma on Friday, tore off many of the zinc roofs of the prison, forcing around 1000 prisoners into the main prison hall no. 1, AAPP said in a statement.
“No one was allowed to seek safety, and they were locked inside the hall,” the statement said.
“The prisoners were wet and cold and some of them started a fire to try and keep warm. Unfortunately, the fire began to give off thick smoke, and prisoners panicked,” it said.
“As they were locked inside the hall, they couldn’t flee to safety. The situation escalated and chaos ensued.”
Soldiers and riot police brought in to control the situation opened fire on the prisoners, killing 36 and injuring 70.
AAPP secretary Ko Tate Naing said they had learned of the incident from family members of Insein prison inmates who had visited them recently.
"Insein prison authorities have the responsibility to give humanitarian assistance to the prisoners who are being detained there,” he said.
“But instead of doing that, they beat up and opened fire on the inmates who needed their help after the devastation caused by a natural disaster, and that is a serious violation of human rights."
The group said that no political prisoners were known to have been among those killed.
Myanmar: Death toll more than 10,000
The death toll from the Myanmar cyclone is more than 10,000 people, Myanmar's Foreign Ministry said Monday. People in Yangon queue for drinking water. 1 of 3more photos » Survivors were facing their third night without electricity in the aftermath of the historic cyclone that also clogged roads with thousands of downed trees. Diplomats were summoned to a government briefing Monday as the reclusive southeast Asian country's ruling military junta issued a rare appeal for international assistance in the face of an escalating humanitarian crisis. A state of emergency was declared across much of the country following the 10-hour storm that left swathes of destruction in its wake. The staggering death toll would make the cyclone the deadliest natural disaster to hit Myanmar in recent history, according to figures compiled by a United Nations-funded disaster database. The government of neighboring Thailand said Myanmar's leaders had already requested food, medical supplies and construction equipment, AP reported. The first plane-load of supplies was due to arrive Tuesday, a Thai spokesman said. United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a statement he was "deeply saddened by the loss of life and the destruction suffered by the people of Myanmar" and pledged to mobilize international aid and assistance as needed. A United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination team is on stand-by to assist the government in responding to humanitarian needs if required, the statement said. Scenes of the destruction showed extensive flooding, boats on their sides in Yangon harbor, roofs ripped off buildings, uprooted trees and downed power lines after cyclone Nargis battered the Irrawaddy delta with 150 mile (241 km) an hour winds throughout Friday night and Saturday morning, dumping 20 inches of rain. Watch how the cyclone crippled Yangon » Residents of Yangon trudged through knee-deep swirling brown waters Monday as the delta city remained mostly without electricity and phone connections. The U.S. Embassy in Myanmar has issued a "disaster declaration" in the country and authorized the release of $250,000 for cyclone relief efforts, Deputy State Department spokesman Tom Casey said Monday. A disaster relief team is standing by, Casey said, but the Myanmar government had not given permission for the team to enter the country. U.S. first lady Laura Bush blasted the military government, saying the lack of warning before the deadly cyclone hit was the latest example of "the junta's failure to meet its people's basic needs." Hakan Tongkul, with the United Nation's World Food Programme, said residents in Yangon needed urgent assistance. "This has pushed people to the edge. All that they have has been blown away." Watch the cyclone hammer Yangon » Michael Annear, regional disaster manger for the Red Cross, said the group was helping provide safe drinking water. Relief agencies met at the United Nations' Bangkok headquarters Monday to coordinate their response to the disaster. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said it had released 200,000 Swiss Francs (about $190,000) to help with the aftermath. A state of emergency was declared Sunday across five regions: the city of Yangon, Irrawaddy, Pegu and the states of Karen and Mon. All flights to Yangon, the former capital, were canceled. "Most Burmese with whom we've been in touch report they lost their roofs, although so far everyone we have been able to contact reports that they and their families are safe," said a Yangon-based diplomat who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media. See photos of the destruction » Most telephone and cell phone service was down in Yangon, a city of about 6.5 million people, according to Dan Rivers, a CNN correspondent in the country. In some places, the price of fuel had quadrupled to $10 a gallon. Even with that price lines for gas stretched around the block and some sought to buy gas on the black market. The main water supply has been cut in many areas and power lines are down, Rivers reported. Earlier Monday, an editor for an independent Myanmar newspaper based in Thailand told CNN that people in the Southeast Asian nation were angry over the response to the disaster by the ruling military junta. "People are very angry with the slow response coming from the military government," said Aung Zaw of Irrawaddy news magazine. Listen to Irrawaddy journalist discuss the situation in Myanmar » Khin Maung Win, a spokesman for the Democratic Voice of Burma -- a broadcast media group run by opposition expatriates -- said the whole of the delta region had been affected and entire villages had disappeared. Pictures from inside the country showed a cyclone-ravaged region with tin huts crushed under trees. Bicyclists navigated around large branches that littered the deserted roads. A man with his pant legs rolled up waded through knee-deep water and strained to clear massive limbs that were blocking the entrance to a house.
Sunday, 4 May 2008
Cyclone wreaks havoc in Myanmar
Several regions in Myanmar have been declared disaster zones after a tropical cyclone, with winds of up to 190kmph, destroyed hundreds of houses and knocked out electricity.
At least 240 people have been officially confirmed dead since Cyclone Nargis hit Yangon, the commercial capital, at about 5am local time (22:00 GMT) on Saturday.
Yangon, Irrawaddy Delta, Bago as well as Karen and Mon states were all heavily damaged.
The military-run Myawady television station said on Sunday that an emergency had been declared in the five states.
State television showed pictures of Ten Sin, the prime minister, convening an emergency meeting of the military government.
Widespread damage
There were reports of extensive damage around the country.
Witnesses in Yangon said that hundreds of houses had their roofs blown off and the storm cut electricity as well as phone services in much of the city.
Residents ventured out on Sunday to buy construction materials to repair their homes.
The Irrawaddy Delta has been the province
worst hit by Cyclone Nargis [Al Jazeera]
The worst hit area was the Irrawaddy Delta.
Villagers said half the buildings in many towns were damaged or destroyed.
Tens of thousands of people were made homeless in the Irrawaddy Delta last August after unusually heavy rains triggered floods in the low-lying region.
Some people interviewed said that the government had done little so far to help with the clean-up.
a UN official in Yangon, who requested anonymity, told the Associated Press news agency: "It's a bad situation. Almost all the houses are smashed. People are in a terrible situation.
"All the roads are blocked. There is no water. There is no electricity."
'Very uncertain'
Speaking on the situation in Myanmar from Bangkok, the Thai capital, Tony Craig, of the World Food Programme, told Al Jazeera: "The situation now is very uncertain [regarding] the exact extent of the calamity, but obviously this is a severe event.
"If you are in a state where the food situation or malnutrition is a problem and you [receive] a shock to your security, obviously that will be a problem.
In Video
Cyclone batters Myanmar's main city, Yangon
"We are prepared to act in these situations - we have put our global response capability on standby."
The storm was initially forecast to move northeast towards Thailand, which warned that flash floods could hit the north, centre and east of the country.
An official at Yangon International Airport said on Saturday that all incoming flights had been diverted to the second city of Mandalay, and all departures from Yangon had been cancelled.
An official at Thai Airways in Bangkok said the airline planned to resume flights on Sunday.
New constitution
The cyclone comes at a delicate time for Myanmar, which is scheduled to hold a referendum on May 10 on the country's military-backed draft constitution.
A military-managed national convention was held intermittently for 14 years to lay down guidelines for the country's new constitution.
The ruling generals' handpicked delegates included those representing workers.
The new constitution is supposed to be followed in 2010 by a general election.
Both votes are elements of a "roadmap to democracy" drawn up by the generals, who have been in power for two decades.
'350 dead' as Myanmar cyclone wreaks havoc
Around 350 people were feared dead Sunday after a tropical cyclone slammed into Myanmar, devastating swathes of the southeast Asian country. Images of the destruction showed flooding, ripped off roofs, uprooted trees and downed power lines as the ruling military junta declared a state of emergency.
Saturday, 3 May 2008
Cyclone hits Rangoon
A tropical cyclone has hit the Irrawaddy Delta region of Burma. Reports from Rangoon say there's extensive damage there; trees and powerlines are down, and the roofs torn off a number of buildings.
But details so far have been limited because telephone and internet connections to Burma have been badly disrupted. And there's no news at all yet of damage elsewhere.
Three people are reported to have been killed in the early stages of the storm but there are no details of further casualties.
State TV and radio stations have been off air in Rangoon, but viewers elsewhere in Burma say the government has declared a state of emergency in five places.
Friday, 2 May 2008
President Bush Celebrates Asian Pacific American Heritage Month
In Burma, the brutal military regime continues to reject the clear will of the Burmese people to live under leaders of their own choosing. So over the past eight months, my administration has tightened sanctions on the regime. We've imposed visa bans on the junta's generals and their families and their cronies, trying to send a clear message -- and we hope the rest of the world follows as well. Today I've issued a new executive order that instructs the Treasury Department to freeze the assets of Burmese state-owned companies that are major sources of funds that prop up the junta. These companies, in industries such as gems and timber, exploit the labor of the downtrodden Burmese people, but enrich only the generals.
And today I'm sending yet another clear message, that we expect there to be change and we expect these generals to honor the will of the people.
We're are also working to address the humanitarian crisis in Burma. The U.S. has resettled tens of thousands of Burmese refugees in the last few years, and this year we expect to admit as many as 18,000 more. Last December, I signed legislation to ease restrictions that have prevented ethnic minorities involved in the struggle against the Burmese regime from entering the United States. And I applaud the Asian Americans who have helped these refugees get settled once they come to the United States of America. It's got to be hard to come here not knowing the language. It's got to be hard to come here as a stranger. And I thank those of you and those around the country who have opened up their arms and said, welcome to America; how can we help you settle in? I urge others, especially those who share the customs of these newest Asian Americans, to help them feel at home here in their adopted country.
And today I'm sending yet another clear message, that we expect there to be change and we expect these generals to honor the will of the people.
We're are also working to address the humanitarian crisis in Burma. The U.S. has resettled tens of thousands of Burmese refugees in the last few years, and this year we expect to admit as many as 18,000 more. Last December, I signed legislation to ease restrictions that have prevented ethnic minorities involved in the struggle against the Burmese regime from entering the United States. And I applaud the Asian Americans who have helped these refugees get settled once they come to the United States of America. It's got to be hard to come here not knowing the language. It's got to be hard to come here as a stranger. And I thank those of you and those around the country who have opened up their arms and said, welcome to America; how can we help you settle in? I urge others, especially those who share the customs of these newest Asian Americans, to help them feel at home here in their adopted country.
Monk U Kawvida dies at 81
Monk U Kawvida dies at 81
Sayadaw Bhaddanta Kawvidabhivamsa, 81, chairperson of the International Burmese Monks Association, died of a heart attack on Tuesday at the Coney Island Hospital in New York.
U Kawvida, who was widely known as Masoeyein Sayadaw, became a monk when he was 19.
He was the abbot of Masoeyein monastery in Mandalay when he was jailed for three years by the SLORC government for his leading role in Burmese monks' ex-communication boycott of government members in 1990 after the elections.
U Kawvida was chairperson of the Sasana Moli, also known as the International Burmese Monks’ Assocation, which was established after the September 2007 monk-led protests to raise international awareness about Burma’s sitution and lobby foreign governments for assistance.
Monk U Sandawbatha, who was U Kawvida's aide, said he passed away on Tuesday at 1.07pm.
"Sayadaw collapsed and lost consciousness while he was resting in his monastery after his early morning meal on Tuesday,” he said.
“He was immediately sent to Coney Island Hospital in Brooklyn but they said his brain had already stopped working."
U Kawvida's funeral will be held on Monday.
Sayadaw Bhaddanta Kawvidabhivamsa, 81, chairperson of the International Burmese Monks Association, died of a heart attack on Tuesday at the Coney Island Hospital in New York.
U Kawvida, who was widely known as Masoeyein Sayadaw, became a monk when he was 19.
He was the abbot of Masoeyein monastery in Mandalay when he was jailed for three years by the SLORC government for his leading role in Burmese monks' ex-communication boycott of government members in 1990 after the elections.
U Kawvida was chairperson of the Sasana Moli, also known as the International Burmese Monks’ Assocation, which was established after the September 2007 monk-led protests to raise international awareness about Burma’s sitution and lobby foreign governments for assistance.
Monk U Sandawbatha, who was U Kawvida's aide, said he passed away on Tuesday at 1.07pm.
"Sayadaw collapsed and lost consciousness while he was resting in his monastery after his early morning meal on Tuesday,” he said.
“He was immediately sent to Coney Island Hospital in Brooklyn but they said his brain had already stopped working."
U Kawvida's funeral will be held on Monday.
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