World Focus on Burma (11 June 2008)

(Mizzima) Quote of the day

“This is a critical moment for Myanmar. We have a functioning relief program in place but so far we have been able to reach only about 25 percent of Myanmar’s people in need”

Ban Ki-moon
UN Secretary General

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Foreign aid agencies concerned over Myanmar The Associated Press - YANGON, Myanmar (AP) — International aid agencies expressed concern Wednesday over new and complicated guidelines established by Myanmar’s government for …

Myanmar says detention of democracy leader legal The Associated Press - She has been detained for more than 12 of the last 18 years at her home in Myanmar, also known as Burma. Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party …

Canada donation helps speed up Burma aid CBC.ca, Canada - By Wednesday, the total number of choppers in Burma, also known as Myanmar, rose to 10. Canada paid the cost of shipping the helicopters to the impoverished …

Albright pointing fingers in the wrong direction – again American Thinker, WA - She fails to recognize that Burma for many years-including during the Clinton years-had sealed itself off from the rest of the world. …

Six Weeks After Cyclone, Burma Devastation Remains Uncertain Voice of America - “Pregnancy and childbirth in Myanmar were already dangerous, before the storm. The destruction of health centers and the loss of midwives have greatly …

Air Bagan to suspend international flights for three months Mizzima.com, India - … owned ‘Myanmar Airways International’ (MAI). The flight has been suspended due to the significant decline in the number of travelers visiting Burma, …

Many child survivors traumatised Mizzima.com, India - “UNICEF has been advocating with the Government of Myanmar [Burma] to promote family-based care solutions,” Krueger added. Burmese people have large and …

Myanmar junta defends cyclone reaction
Vancouver Sun, Canada -
YANGON, Myanmar – Myanmar insisted Wednesday that visas were being granted to aid workers and no food shortages were imminent in an apparent bid to deflect …

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Cyclone-hit Myanmar rejects rice shortage fears
Reuters -
In remarks reported by official media, National Planning Minister Soe Tha rejected warnings that the former Burma’s food security could be “jeopardised” if …

Burma says no tax taken from aid The Press Association - The state-owned New Light Of Myanmar newspaper said foreign radio broadcasts had wrongly accused the government of deducting the tax from donations …

Is humanitarian intervention dead? Foreign Policy (subscription) - I’m not so sure Burma represents the best test case here. Can we really imagine a Haiti-style intervention in one of the world’s most xenophobic countries? …

Save the Children: Children give up their beds at home as part of … Politics.co.uk, UK - The recent cyclone in Myanmar (Burma) and the earthquake in China continue to affect the lives of millions of children. Each night many children in Myanmar …

WFP Forbidden to Buy Rice from Local Dealers The Irrawaddy News Magazine, Thailand - “Some organizations were spreading groundless information such as there was or would be a shortage of rice in Myanmar [Burma],” he was quoted in the …

Burma’s Suu Kyi deserves to be flogged: junta ABC Online, Australia - By Southeast Asia correspondent Karen Percy and wires Burma’s military junta has lashed out at detained pro-democracy leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, …

Burmese junta compares repression to UK anti-terror laws Telegraph.co.uk, United Kingdom - The regime changed the name of the country from Burma to Myanmar in 1989. The remarks came on the same day the House of Commons votes on a controversial …

Burma still struggling 40 days after cyclone Radio Australia, Australia - Craig Strathern from the International Committee for the Red Cross in Myanmar says the doors are starting to open. STRATHERN: In the past week we have been …

Ten WFP Helicopters Fail to Bring Enough Aid The Irrawaddy News Magazine, Thailand - “We explained to them that the ICRC assistance is relatively limited to some specific areas in support of the Myanmar [Burma] Red Cross. …

Rice Price Keeps Increasing
The Irrawaddy News Magazine, Thailand -
A representative from Champion rice warehouses told The Irrawaddy on Wednesday that Pawsan Mwe, Burma’s highest quality long-grain rice, had shot up in …

Burma denies cyclone aid taxed
Toronto Star, Canada -
The state-owned New Light of Myanmar (Burma) newspaper said foreign radio broadcasts had wrongly accused the government of deducting the tax from donations …

NLD Rejects Referendum Result as ‘Illegal’ The Irrawaddy News Magazine, Thailand - By WAI MOE Burma’s main opposition party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), has dismissed the official result of last month’s constitutional …

Burma junta claims visas granted to 911 disaster relief workers Nation Multimedia, Thailand - “Altogether 911 persons have been permitted to enter the country from 5 May to 5 June,” said The New Light of Myanmar, a government mouthpiece. …

2008 EU-US Summit Declaration Journal Chrétien, France - Separately, we remain deeply concerned at continued repression in Burma/Myanmar as well as the lack of progress toward national reconciliation and a …

Myanmar finally gets 10 helicopters for cyclone relief, says WFP Earthtimes (press release), UK - Bangkok – The last of 10 United Nations helicopters needed to deliver food and other emergency supplies to remote areas in Myanmar’s cyclone-devastated …

US ships back from Myanmar Times Now.tv, India - The USS Essex group took almost a week to sail away from the former Burma to Laemchabang port in Chonburi province, about 90 km east of Bangkok and will …

Pregnant Women Facing Difficulties In Myanmar Bernama, Malaysia - By D. Arul Rajoo BANGKOK, June 11 (Bernama) — Five weeks after the deadly Cyclone Nargis struck Myanmar, over one million victims have yet to receive any …

Correction:Dalai Lama donates for Burma’s cyclone victims Mizzima.com, India - This is to apologize to our readers about a mistake in a News story ‘Dalai Lama donates for Burma’s cyclone victims’ that we published on June 9, 2008. …

Myanmar tops list in deforestation in world Merinews, India - … Karen, Karenni and other ethnic areas, Aung Ngyeh, secretary of Burma Rivers Network, was quoted as saying recently by the Myanmar media in exile. …

Underwear a powerful protest Leader Post, Canada - Military leaders in Burma, more recently known as Myanmar, closely follow advisers who practise an ancient form of magic that holds that any contact with …

NLD members released from detention
Democratic Voice of Burma, Norway -
Jun 11, 2008 (DVB)–Fifteen National League for Democracy members who were arrested two weeks ago in Rangoon for staging a protest have been released, …

Condemnation pours on Burmese Junta as Suu Kyi’s detention continues The Cheers, Estonia - The international media has gloomed on the alienated country soon after the cyclone Nargis had devastating vast areas of Burma , also known as Myanmar …

MaximsNewsWORLD: 11 JUNE 2008 MaximsNews Network, NY - … and Russia in the United Nations Security Council, who have blocked intervention of various sorts in places like Zimbabwe, Darfur and Myanmar (Burma). …

Government seeks at all cost to control news coming out of … Reporters without borders (press release), France - “Zarganar is very well known in Burma. In his sketches and in the blog he has keep since August 2007 (http://zarganar-windoor.blogspot.com/), …

NLD to appeal against Daw Suu’s detention Democratic Voice of Burma, Norway - Jun 11, 2008 (DVB)–The National League for Democracy will submit an appeal against the extension of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s house arrest, the pro-democracy …

Asia’s security threats, real and perceived ISN, Switzerland - While concern about Burma/Myanmar and Pakistan was on the rise, those surveyed offered a contrasting dose of “sober optimism” about the threat of the North …

UNDP doctor treats one Myanmar village at a time ReliefWeb (press release), Switzerland - Bogale, Myanmar — Every morning since Cyclone Nargis made landfall, has been getting up at five o’clock. After morning prayers, he starts seeing patients …

Suu Kyi detention ‘legal’, claim The Press Association - A state-controlled newspaper has said Burma’s military rulers are breaking no laws by holding pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi under house arrest for a …

Myanmar Denies Tax-cut On Forex Donations For Cyclone Victims Bernama, Malaysia - YANGON, June 11 (Bernama) — Myanmar has denied making deduction from foreign exchange currency donation for cyclone victims, saying that such donations …

Myanmar says democracy leader’s detention is legal
The Associated Press -
She has been detained for more than 12 of the last 18 years at her home in Myanmar, also known as Burma. Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy party …

Experts to gauge cyclone survivors’ needs Boston Globe, United States - The UN estimates more than 1 million cyclone survivors, like these children in Burma’s Irrawaddy Delta, still need help. (KHIN MAUNG WIN/AFP/Getty Images) …

Myanmar junta says Suu Kyi deserves to be flogged Reuters - YANGON (Reuters) – Myanmar’s military junta said on Wednesday that detained opposition leader and Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi deserved to be …

Multilateral Team Heads for Cyclone Zone; 18 Survivors Arrested The Irrawaddy News Magazine, Thailand - By AP / RANGOON A major multilateral operation has been launched to assess the needs of Burma’s cyclone survivors in a sign the military regime is finally …

Euro To Join Dollar As Trade Currency For Asian Clearing Union … AHN - Bangladesh and Burma, officially known as Myanmar, joined the forum as the sixth and the seventh members in 1976 and 1977 respectively. …

Myanmar’s Junta Frees 15 Detainees New York Times, United States - The junta is also facing international criticism for refusing to accept many offers of international assistance after Myanmar, formerly Burma, was struck by …

Yuma-based Marines find new uses for Harriers Yuma Sun, AZ - “Considering the Burmese government’s requirement for everyone to have a passport and our location off the coast of Burma, the Harriers were the only …

Burma/Myanmar: Charity helps as Burma suffers again Aid to the Church in Need (press release), Australia - By John Newton and Eva-Maria Kolmann A LEADING Catholic charity has offered more urgent help after survivors of the Burma cyclone were hit by a second …

COMMUNITY CALENDAR Mid County Chronicle, TX - SOUTHERN GOSPEL BURMA-MYANMAR BENEFIT CONCERT, featuring Brian Free and Assurance, 7 pm June 14 at the Jefferson Theater, 345 Fannin St. Advance tickets $12 …

Cyclone Nargis update: 9 Jun 2008 ReliefWeb (press release), Switzerland - Rome, 9 June 2008 – WFP continues to make progress in reaching victims of Cyclone Nargis which struck Myanmar on 2 and 3 May 2008. …

Cyclone fish are ‘eating corpses’ Metro, UK - Devastated families in Burma have refused to tuck in to fish after claims that some were found to have human fingers and pieces of jewellery in their …

Myanmar junta releases political activists arrested at Suu Kyi …
JURIST -
[JURIST] Fifteen members of Myanmar’s National League for Democracy (NLD) were released from custody Monday, two weeks after their arrests at a …

Ban Ki-Moon´s leadership effort boosts UN public diplomacy American Chronicle, CA - In visiting Myanmar, it is rumored within international aid circles, Ban´s barefoot walk to the Shwe Dagon Buddhist temple altar impressed the Burmese Junta …

In Burma, A Crime for Civil Society to Provide Relief? AlterNet, CA - BANGKOK, Jun 9 (IPS) – The detention of a prominent comedian in Burma points to an ominous turn of events in the military-ruled country. …

UN Rights Council Discusses Human Rights In Burma Scoop.co.nz (press release), New Zealand - The Human Rights Council discussed follow-up to the Special Session on the situation of human rights in Myanmar. Tomas Ojea Quintana, the Special Rapporteur …

1st large-scale aid missions fan out across Burma’s cyclone zone AOL Canada, Canada - Cyclone Nargis killed more than 78000 people in impoverished Burma, also known as Myanmar. More than 58000 are still missing and unaccounted for. …

Burma – UN Report on Human Rights US Department of State, DC - The United States appreciates the recent report of the United Nations Special Rapporteur for Burma, which compiles important evidence of continuing …

1st large-scale aid missions fan out across Burma’s cyclone zone CBC.ca, Canada - Cyclone Nargis killed more than 78000 people in impoverished Burma, also known as Myanmar. More than 58000 are still missing and unaccounted for. …

Cyclone must not overshadow push for change in Myanmar: EU AFP - “I believe that the ASEAN countries can actually assert a very important influence on the Burmese (Myanmar) junta and this is why the European Union is …

Refugee: ‘I feel I’m supposed to be here’ Greenville Daily Reflector, NC - Aung Lin was born in Burma, or Myanmar, as the current government calls it, one of the poorest countries in Southeast Asia. There, ethnic minorities live in …

Asia and the west differ on indifference and compassion
Nation Multimedia, Thailand -
The two recent natural disasters in Burma and China have put this idea to a severe test. China has not fared too badly, largely because its government was …

School pupils give cyclone aid
Auckland stuff.co.nz, New Zealand -
Children at St Heliers School have collected money to help those in Myanmar suffering the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis. At a May assembly the school …

Today’s Overview of Leading News & Views – 10 June 2008 Israel Hasbara Committee (subscription), NY - … recent weather catastrophes that have wiped out rice fields in Myanmar (Burma), or the virulent wheat disease now infecting crops in Iran as well as in …

Sight of Myanmar’s cyclone damage unspeakable — RP team Inquirer.net, Philippines - … Myanmar. Amid stringent restrictions to foreign aid workers in the cyclone-ravaged country, the 30-member Philippine humanitarian mission sent to Burma …

Grade five students help disaster victims in Asia Northern News Services (subscription), Canada - “I was listening to the radio, ‘cause my mom turns it on every morning, and I heard that there was a cyclone in Burma,” said Ibey. “I thought about it, …

Dalai Lama donates for Myanmar cyclone victims Merinews, India - Despite the Myanmar military junta’s dismissive attitude towards aid pouring in from across the world for victims of the killer Cyclone Nargis, …

Detained Suu Kyi supporters see light of day Independent Online, South Africa - Yangon – Myanmar/Burma has released 15 supporters of detained democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi who were arrested last month as they marched to her house …

USDA sees Myanmar rice crop even smaller in ’08/09
Reuters -
The cyclone hit hard in Myanmar, also known as Burma, and its Irrawaddy delta region, which produces a third of the country’s rice crop. …

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