Korean Job Discussion Forums

igotthisguitar · Posted: Tue Oct 16, 2007 9:06 pm Post subject:

Myanmar junta: 3,000 detained in protest Idea

YANGON, Myanmar - Myanmar's military junta claimed Wednesday that it detained nearly 3,000 people during a crackdown on recent pro-democracy protests, with hundreds still remaining in custody.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071017/ap_on_re_as/myanmar
;_ylt=AtInJTFkKKsJYUYp3SVOAEUDW7oF

hogwonguy1979 · Joined: 22 Dec 2003 Location: the racoon den

BBC just reported the arrests are continuing despite outcrys from the eu, un etc

not good as this gradually fades into the background

Vicissitude · Joined: 27 Feb 2007 Location: Chef School

This looks like the best news yet:

Pluto · Joined: 19 Dec 2006

Aung San Suu Kyi will never leave Burma. Her late husband was British and her two sons are living and working in the West. She refused to leave Burma even when her ailing husband was dieing of cancer in a London hospital. She says that she feels too devoted to her people and she fears that if she leaves the junta will not allow her to re-enter the country.

cbclark4 · Joined: 20 Aug 2006 Location: Masan

Leading Burmese dissidents freed

Three prominent Burmese dissidents detained following last month's protests have been released, the BBC has learned.
The three include a prominent comedian, Zagana, who played a high-profile role in the pro-democracy demonstrations.

The actor, Kyaw Thu, and his wife were also released late on Wednesday, according to family members.

Earlier, Burma's military leaders said they would continue searching for protesters involved in the uprising.

Meanwhile, the UN envoy to Burma, Ibrahim Gambari, said he had been invited back to the country in mid-November.

Mr Gambari visited the ruling generals, and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, in the immediate aftermath of the crackdown.

He is currently touring Burma's neighbouring countries to press them to use their influence with the Burmese authorities.

'Being interrogated'

Prior to news of the dissidents' release, a statement from the ruling junta, carried on the front page of The New Light of Myanmar newspaper, made clear the crackdown was continuing.

"Those who led, got involved in and supported the unrest which broke out in September were called in and are being interrogated," it said.

"Some are still being called in for questioning and those who should be released will be."

A total of 2,927 people had been detained and nearly 500 were still being held, it said.

The number of arrests is an increase of almost 800 since the government's last official figures on 8 October.

Those released had been required to sign "pledges". The statement did not explain what these were, but some reports suggest they were a promise not to participate in further protests.

On Tuesday the Red Cross said it was appealing to Burma for access to the detainees, but said it had yet to establish a meaningful dialogue with the country's leaders.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7050018.stm

chris_J2 · Joined: 17 Apr 2006 Location: From Brisbane, Au.

From SMH (Sydney Morning Herald) tonight.

"Women in several countries, including Australia, have begun sending their underpants to Burma embassies in a culturally insulting gesture of protest against the recent brutal crackdown.

"It's an extremely strong message in Burmese and in all Southeast Asian culture," said Liz Hilton, who supports an activist group that launched the "Panties for Peace" drive earlier this week.

The group, Lanna Action for Burma, says the country's superstitious generals, especially junta leader General Than Shwe, also believe that contact with women's underwear saps them of power."

Vicissitude · Joined: 27 Feb 2007 Location: Chef School

chris_J2 · Joined: 17 Apr 2006 Location: From Brisbane, Au.

I got a laugh from this too, cut & pasted from Lonely Planet Australia:

"Gunders for Juntas. Huggies for Thuggies. Jocks for Crocks. Rios for Rangoon. Buy War Bonds. Berlei for Burma. "Next to My Anmar, I like BVD best!"

igotthisguitar · Posted: Fri Oct 19, 2007 6:20 pm Post subject:

The PANTY story is currently TOP of YAHOO NEWS' most popular section Idea

Hmmmmmm ...

igotthisguitar · Posted: Mon Oct 22, 2007 7:16 pm Post subject:

Tibetan Monks "Clash" With Police Over Dalai Lama
Sun Oct 21, 2:04 AM ET

HONG KONG (Reuters) - Hundreds of Buddhist monks, celebrating a U.S. award for the Dalai Lama, clashed with police for four days in the capital of Tibet, the far-west Himalayan region of China, a Hong Kong newspaper said on Sunday.

China, which reviles the Dalai Lama as a separatist, has angrily denounced the award of the Congressional Gold Medal as a "farce" that would hurt relations between Beijing and Washington.

After the clash, about 1,100 monks and dozens of visitors were not allowed to leave the Zhaibung monastery in Lhasa which was surrounded by 3,000 armed police, the Ming Pao newspaper said.

It did not say if there had been any arrests or injuries, but there had also been clashes at a nearby monastery and police had set up checkpoints on the main roads in the area.

It gave no further details.

Tibet has been ruled by China since communist troops invaded in 1950, and the government deals harshly with Tibetans who press for greater political and religious freedom.

U.S. President George W. Bush awarded the Dalai Lama the medal on Wednesday and called on China to open talks with him.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/china_tibet_dc;_ylt=Arvkws65hREnhhewBabrGiFsaMYA

bucheon bum · Joined: 16 Jan 2003

hmmm.. no news on burma so you post another article related to monks?

chris_J2 · Joined: 17 Apr 2006 Location: From Brisbane, Au.

http://www.mizzima.com/MizzimaNews/EdOp/2007/Oct/14-Oct-07.html

cbclark4 · Joined: 20 Aug 2006 Location: Masan

The "Seven-Step Road Map" is a fraud.

chris_J2 · Joined: 17 Apr 2006 Location: From Brisbane, Au.

http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/10/24/asia/myanmar.1-158508.php

Australia imposes sanctions on junta in Myanmar

"CANBERRA: Australia slapped financial sanctions on Myanmar's generals and their families Wednesday as supporters of Aung San Suu Kyi organized protests in 12 cities around the world over her 12 years in captivity.

Australia's foreign minister, Alexander Downer, said the measures, in response to last month's crackdown on the biggest democracy protests in two decades, would hit 418 people, including the Burmese junta's leader, Senior General Than Shwe. "These new measures are designed to put further pressure on the regime and its supporters while avoiding harm to the people of Burma," Downer said in a statement.

Given that two-way trade with Myanmar amounted to just 54 million Australian dollars, or $48 million, in 2006, the measures appear to be aimed mainly at junta family members going to Australian schools and universities.

Mirroring tough restrictions imposed by the United States, the sanctions are a rare example of a government in the Eastern Hemisphere taking concrete action against the junta, which has so far only come under verbal pressure from its regional neighbors.

However, the 12 cumulative years in custody for Aung San Suu Kyi, a the Nobel Peace Prize winner, gave an added twist to street protests against the generals as a UN special envoy, Ibrahim Gambari, started the Chinese leg of a regional tour.

Twelve white-robed protesters in Aung San Suu Kyi masks stood outside the Chinese Embassy in Bangkok, urging Beijing in the months leading up to the 2008 Olympic Games to nudge its southern neighbor towards reform.

A dozen protests were organized at noon local time in Bangkok, Berlin, Bras�lia, Cape Town, Dublin, London, New York, Paris, Sydney, Toronto, Vienna and Washington.

Aung San Suu Kyi, 62, was awarded the Nobel while under house arrest in 1991, a year after her party, the National League for Democracy, won an election landslide only to be denied power by the Burmese Army, which has ruled unchecked since a coup in 1962.

Six women who are also Nobel peace laureates called on the world not to ease up on the junta after its crackdown on huge pro-democracy protests led by Buddhist monks. State media said 10 people died, although Western governments say the toll is probably far higher.

A major arms supplier and trading partner, China is one of the few countries thought to have sway over the isolated Burmese government, which has lived with U.S. and European sanctions for 10 years with little apparent discomfort.

How it will use this influence is unclear. He Yafei, an assistant foreign minister, offered few clues when he met Gambari in Beijing.

India promised Gambari that it would help push the generals towards democracy but balked at committing to a tough line against a country it sees as a key potential supplier of minerals and energy.

Singapore, where Myanmar's generals go for medical treatment and their wives go for shopping, opposes action."