American Buddhist Net

Thursday August 7th, 2008

YANGON, Myanmar - A rare bird's-eye look at Myanmar's Irrawaddy delta shows the devastation still left from Cyclone Nargis - broken levies, flooded farm roads, the shattered remains of bamboo huts and trees strewn like matchsticks along the coast.

Conditions are far starker than reflected in the assessments from Myanmar's government and even in the recent optimism of some UN officials, The Associated Press has concluded from a review of data, a private flight over the delta and interviews with victims and aid workers.

LINK TO ORIGINAL

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

BANGKOK (AFP) - 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.

LINK TO ORIGINAL

Sat, Aug. 02, 2008

YANGON, Myanmar -- A famous Myanmar comedian and three other activists who helped deliver relief supplies to cyclone victims could be imprisoned for two years on charges of causing public unrest, his lawyer said Saturday.

Comedian Zarganar and the others appeared in court inside Insein prison on Wednesday, according to Aung Thein, their attorney. They included a sports writer identified as Zaw Thet Htwe and Thant Zin Aung.

Aung Thein said he has not met his clients and was unable to confirm the charges. But he believes they will be accused of breaking a law that makes it illegal for "anyone to circulate a statement or rumor with intent to cause alarm to the public."

LINK TO ORIGINAL

July 30, 2008
By Jennifer Loven

WASHINGTON - President Bush signed legislation yesterday to punish Burma's brutal ruling regime by freezing assets of political and military leaders there and banning the importation of rubies and jade from that country into the United States.

The military junta in Burma has been getting more attention at the White House, particularly since the government's slow response to a cyclone in May that killed more than 80,000, devastated infrastructure, and left many in perilous straits. The administration blames a corrupt regime for failing to help citizens during the disaster, in large part by not accepting help from other countries, and for violently suppressing democracy demonstrations by Buddhist monks in last September's so-called Saffron Revolution.

LINK TO ORIGINAL

By MARWAAN MACAN-MARKER / IPS WRITER Friday, July 25, 2008

BANGKOK — In their hour of despair, Burma’s beleaguered people continue to find comfort in humor. New jokes reflect new frustrations. The latest target is Ibrahim Gambari, United Nations special envoy for Burma.

One revolves around the nickname that has been coined by local comedians for the Nigerian diplomat. He is labeled as "Kyauk yu pyan" (pronounced chow-u-peean), which in Burmese refers to a man who receives precious stones from the government as a bribe. (Burma is renowned for its gems.)

Other nicknames are harsher, like "Gan pha lar" (pronounced gun-pa-la), a play on the envoy’s name, which is the word for the receptacle that Burmese use to wash themselves after going to the toilet.

LINK TO ORIGINAL

By HTET AUNG Friday, July 25, 2008

MAE SOT, Thailand — Sitting in a small truck crammed with passengers and packages, I waited for the short but exciting ride from Mae Sot Market to a small pier on the bank of the Moei River, known in Burma as the Thaungyin River, which serves as a natural border between Thailand and Burma.

The other passengers are neither foreigners nor Thai tourists, keen to explore the beauty of the Burma’s natural environment in the southeastern frontier.

They are all small and medium-size Burmese retailers returning to Myawaddy with goods bought from the Mae Sot Market.

LINK TO ORIGINAL

By SAW YAN NAING Friday, July 25, 2008

Ten students—mostly Muslims—who were active in the Buddhist monk-led peaceful demonstrations in September 2007 in Burma were each sentenced to two years in prison with hard labor by the Kyauktada Township court, a prisoners’ rights group said on Friday.

The Thailand-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma) released a statement saying the 10 students, including seven Muslims, were arrested about one month after the demonstrations.

After the sentence, the students were placed in iron shackles to be transferred to labor camps by order of the Minister for Home Affairs, the AAPP said.

LINK TO ORIGINAL

By MIN LWIN Thursday, July 24, 2008

A morning breeze cools a perspiring Zaw Moe as he walks through a residential neighborhood in the outskirts of Rangoon with a pile of books in his arms.

Wearing a faded Burmese army uniform, the 42-year-old ex-corporal supports himself on crutches as he makes his way from door to door with the low-priced books on Buddhism that he sells for a living. Seven years after losing a leg while serving as a soldier in Burma’s 400,000-strong army, the crutches have become a natural extension of his body.

Like thousands of other disabled veterans of the Burmese regime’s endless anti-insurgent campaigns, Zaw Moe struggles to support his family of four on his meager earnings.

LINK TO ORIGINAL

Saturday, 19th July 2008

The situation in Myanmar, where the cyclone Nargis hit in May killing at least 22,000 people, remains fragile with a lot of people still jobless and without a home, many orphans and shocking poverty.

A delegation from SOS Malta's Sri Lankan partner, Healing Hands, has just returned from an aid visit to Burma and will now work to further assist with the setting up of a sewing circle, including a sewing class for girls and pig, duck and hen breeding programmes.

The organisation wants to help set up rain water harvesting, provide the local monastery with a much-needed boat and build a Buddhist temple for the villagers.

LINK TO ORIGINAL

Saturday July 19, 2008
Clancy Chassay in Rangoon

In Rangoon, Burma's former capital, an atmosphere of fear and intimidation smothers the city. Since September's failed uprising, when thousands of people were beaten and arrested, security has been tightened. The ruling junta's vast network of informants and plain-clothes police officers watch everything.

But the crackdown has not extinguished the flame of protest. Members of Burma's battered and disparate opposition are growing disillusioned with the old methods of the pro-democracy movement and are seeking ways to escalate their struggle.

LINK TO ORIGINAL

July 15, 2008

YANGON (Reuters) - One man was killed when a bomb exploded on a bus in army-ruled Myanmar, newspapers said on Tuesday, the latest incident ahead of anniversaries that sometimes serve as flashpoints for dissent.

Another male passenger was wounded when the device exploded early on Monday as the minibus travelled from the eastern town of Kyaukkyi to the former capital Yangon.

LINK TO ORIGINAL

By Rick Dandes
The Daily Item

MIFFLINBURG — He’s been on a cross-country, 3,000-mile trek for four months and 11 days, and Friday afternoon, he could be seen walking east on Route 45, dressed in military fatigues, with two flags perched on his shoulder — an American flag, and a flag representing peace and democracy in his home country, Burma.

“I started this march for freedom on March 1 in Portland, Oregon, said Athein, 35, who goes only by one name. “And I’ll finish on August 8 in New York City, when I present a petition to the U.N. Security Council.”

The petition, which he carries in a knapsack, calls for “members of the United Nations to make peaceful political change and reconciliation in Burma a priority, and to take all necessary steps to protect the people of Burma from the oppression and violence of the military junta.”

LINK TO ORIGINAL

July 6, 2008

BOGALAY, Myanmar — - Two months after a cyclone ravaged the fertile Irrawaddy Delta, in Myanmar's southwest, the bones of drowning victims still clutter the muddy banks of waterways.

One bamboo stick at a time, survivors in hundreds of flattened villages are struggling to rebuild their homes. For shelter, they squeeze several families into a single tent. For drinking water, they collect monsoon rainwater that trickles off tarpaulin roof coverings into buckets or salvaged ceramic vases. For food, they cook communal meals with rice, beans and oil from handouts. Sometimes it is spoiled.

LINK TO ORIGINAL

By DENIS D. GRAY

The cyclone that devastated Myanmar's heartland has also roiled a political landscape dominated by the military for more than four decades.

Buddhist monks are regrouping after the battering they took nine months ago, civil society groups are emerging and foreign aid workers _ often agents of political change in the wake of humanitarian crises _ are present in unprecedented numbers.

The junta's grip on power remains absolute. But anger against the regime has probably never run so high.

LINK TO ORIGINAL

Mon 30 Jun 2008

At a small concrete shrine on the outskirts of this storm-battered city, people have been flocking to pay their respects to Nyaung Bin, “the old man of the solitary banyan tree.” His statue wears a flowing pink robe, has a golden face, and bears a passing resemblance to the late actor Yul Brynner.

U Myaing, a regular worshipper who works at an animal farm across the street, says the reason for the increased attendance is obvious: Nyaung Bin is a “nat.” And nats — a group of centuries-old animist spirits — can provide precious protection in precarious times. No one nearby who prays at the shrine, Mr. Myaing contends, was hurt by the deadly cyclone that ripped through the area in early May and left 134,000 dead or missing in Myanmar.

LINK TO ORIGINAL

06/28/2008

...The monks have channeled aid materials into stricken regions and turned monasteries into soup kitchens and refugee camps since the May 2-3 storm.

Their outreach to survivors — many of whom received little or no government help — highlighted the monks' power and the possibility they could clash again with Myanmar's ruling forces. Some monks are even building secret stashes of makeshift weapons, clerics say.

LINK TO ORIGINAL

23 Jun 2008
By Aung Hla Tun

DEDAYE, Myanmar, June 23 (Reuters) - With a planting deadline looming, rice farmers in cyclone-hit parts of Myanmar's Irrawaddy delta have hit a problem -- donated oxen and water buffaloes are refusing to work because they are stressed.

"Thanks to donors and arrangements by the government, we are getting buffaloes and oxen, and in some cases small tractors and tillers, almost free of charge," said Ko Hla Soe, a farmer in Dedaye, 50 km (30 miles) southwest of Yangon.

"Now, to our surprise, the problem is that most of the buffaloes and oxen will not work hard. They cannot immediately be used effectively," he told Reuters.

LINK TO ORIGINAL

By Ben Blanchard Wed Jun 25, 2:14 AM ET

BEIJING (Reuters) - China praised Myanmar's efforts to fight drugs on Wednesday, lauding the actions of a military government often criticized in the United States and Europe for not doing enough to tackle the problem.

LINK TO ORIGINAL

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) — Myanmar said Tuesday that 84,500 people perished in last month's cyclone, up from the last official announcement that 77,700 had died in the devastating storm.

LINK TO ORIGINAL

June 19, 2008

Yangon: Myanmar authorities Thursday arrested at least 30 supporters of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi who had gathered to protest her five years of imprisonment on her birthday, eyewitnesses said.

A group of National League for Democracy (NLD) members gathered outside their party headquarters in Yangon to mark Suu Kyi's 63rd birthday Thursday by releasing 63 sparrows and shouting "Free Aung San Suu Kyi".

LINK TO ORIGINAL

Myanmar’s government is closing down relief camps in the Irrawaddy Delta area, claiming it no longer needs foreign doctors. A Thai medical team is not let in before it arrives. Authorities pile obstacles on top of obstacles as private donors start to give up.

June 16, 2008

Yangon (AsiaNews/Agencies) – Foreign doctors are leaving Myanmar after the ruling junta decided to shut down relief camps for cyclone Nargis victims. At the same time the 2.4 million people displaced by the natural disaster can no longer count on the support of private donors, who have become discouraged by the obstacles put up by local authorities to prevent them from distributing aid and accessing affected areas.

LINK TO ORIGINAL

It is as if our present rulers have taken the dasarajadhamma and systematically inverted its 10 precepts:

1) Restrict freedom in any way possible and do whatever you want, whenever you want...afterall, you're the king, aren't you? 2) There is no such thing as morality, you have no character to maintain 3) Be prepared to sacrifice the well-being of the subjects for your own pleasure and that of your friends 4) Lie often and unscrupulously 5) Start wars for profit; shoot defenseless birds for fun; implement new and exciting methods to torture your "enemies", your friends, or whoever 6) Amass enormous wealth for yourself but adopt a phony, folksy accent and make sure to be photographed wearing blue jeans at least once or twice a year 7) Cultivate hatred 8) Exercise aggressive violence and kill many, many people...eventually the ones who are left will get used to it 9) This is YOUR war so do it now, before another king takes over 10) Maintain utter contempt for the people over whom you rule to promote feelings of universal confusion and powerlessness. Robyn
______________

June 13, 2008
Ashin Metacarra

Allow me to discuss with the reader the subject of the Buddha and His views on politics. Being a Buddhist monk, I will try to illuminate you on the right way of life and the best kind of political involvement, according to the Buddha's teaching. These teachings are not only for Buddhists, but also for all non-Buddhists: for everyone.

...In the life of Buddha, we find that the Buddha often discussed politics with the rulers of realms in his time, such as King Mala, King Kosala , King Licchavi and King Ajatasattu . The Buddha always preached the kings that they must rule their kingdoms with dasarajadhamma. The dasarajadamma in Pali is based on ten precepts, in order for the king to best rule the country. They are: (1) be liberal and avoid selfishness, (2) maintain a high moral character, (3) be prepared to sacrifice one's own pleasure for the well-being of the subjects, (4) be honest and maintain absolute integrity, (5) be kind and gentle, (6) lead a simple life for the subjects to emulate, (7) be free from hatred of any kind, (8) exercise non-violence, (9) practice patience, and (10) respect public opinion to promote peace and harmony. Any government who wishes to peacefully rule any nation can effectively apply these 10 precepts even today; they haven’t yet and never will “go out of date.”

LINK TO ORIGINAL

Fri 13 Jun 2008

Aided by boatmen who risked arrest, the journalist saw what the government didn’t want seen in the wake of Cyclone Nargis.

From the far side of a murky brown river, the only moving thing visible on the ravaged landscape was a tattered maroon cloth, fluttering listlessly atop a tree stripped of its branches.

Two Buddhist monks had torn it from the only material they had, one of their own coarse robes. Its message was just as plain: “Alive! Please help.”

LINK TO ORIGINAL

RANGOON, Burma (AP) — A Burma government-affiliated group denied rumors that fish from cyclone-ravaged areas were unfit to eat after supposedly feeding on human and animals corpses, local media reported Monday.

Since Cyclone Nargis slammed into Burma's Irrawaddy delta last month, some people in Rangoon — the country's biggest city — have been reluctant to eat fish because of rumors they were feeding on the bodies of storm victims. Burma also is known as Myanmar.

One rumor circulating was that some fish were found to have human fingers and pieces of jewelry in their stomachs.

LINK TO ORIGINAL

Mon, Jun. 9, 2008
By DAMON C. WILLIAMS

MORE THAN FIVE weeks after a catastrophic cyclone hit the southeast Asian country of Myanmar - also known as Burma - the sorrow is heavy among Burmese natives living a world away in Philadelphia.

"Because of the storm, people don't have a house, and it's the raining season," said a distraught Chiu Sin Mae, 49, seated in a booth at the Rangoon Burmese Restaurant, on 9th Street near Arch, in Chinatown.

"The government moved people from the delta, but the military told them they were not welcome in city. But they have nowhere to go back to, because their houses are still under water. Where is home? On the street with an umbrella?

"The government is taking its time, killing its own people. It's a genocide."

LINK TO ORIGINAL