[Shadow_Group] Fw: Burma Mtg. Oct. 5, News Update

[shadowgroup-l at lists.resist.ca]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: Burma Action Group<mailto:burma at u.washington.edu> 
To: Burma Action Group<mailto:burma at u.washington.edu> 
Subject: Burma Mtg. Oct. 5, News Update



Friends,

The next meeting of the Seattle Burma Roundtable is Tuesday, October 5th 
from 6:30-8 pm at the University District Branch of the Seattle Public 
Library, 5009 Roosevelt Ave NE.  Call 206-784-5742 for details.

We will be making plans for an event in November at Suzallo Library on the 
UW Seattle campus that will include a great photo exhibit from the 
Thai-Burma border, the pictures having been taken by Seattle Times 
photographer Tom Reese (see 
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/burma/tunnel2.html<http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/burma/tunnel2.html> to view some of the 
photos and read the accomanying story by Paula Bock).  We hope to be 
joined in November by several local and regional groups providing relief 
and development assistance to Burmese people.  Stay tuned.

We have three action items:

1)Please bring used books, CDs, records, tapes and DVDs to our meeting. On 
October 16th at the Issaquah Farmer's Market across from Costco (1710 10th 
Ave N) there will be a used book/dvd/cd sale to support orphaned, 
exploited and refugee children. All proceeds will support children living 
at a rescue center for exploited children in Cambodia and a clinic for 
Burmese refugees on the Thai /Burma border. The sale will take place 
during the Issaquah Farmer's Market from 9:00am to 2:00pm.  The movies and 
books will be very reasonably priced (.50 cents to $2.00).  Donations are 
tax deductable.

2) Join Thailand's foremost pianist and composer Nat Yontararak in concert 
Sunday, October 10, 4 p.m. at Chapel Hill Church Sanctuary.  Also 
performances by Sugar Yontararak and Yuriam Manowanna, traditional Thai 
dancers.  "A Taste of Thailand" dinner immediately following including 
authentic Thai dishes to enjoy. Seating is limited.  Tickets available by 
going to www.chapelhillpc.org<http://www.chapelhillpc.org/>, by calling 253-851-7779 or at Chapel Hill 
Church on Sunday mornings. Pre-purchased ticket prices:  For concert and 
dinner 2/ $25, $15/each or $35/family of 4, $5 concert only.  Students 
6-18: For concert and dinner $8/each, $3 concert only.  Kids 5 and under:
Free concert and dinner.  All proceeds will benefit Christians Concerned 
for Burma (CCB).

3)Thanks to widespread support, the world's ONLY imprisoned Nobel Peace 
Prize recipient Aung San Suu Kyi has been selected as one of 20 nominees 
for Time Magazine Asia's "living Asian hero" award.  NOW, WE NEED YOU TO 
VOTE BY GOING TO: http://www.time.com/time/asia/2004/heroes/<http://www.time.com/time/asia/2004/heroes/>
The finalist will be announced in TIME's 2004 Asian Heroes special website 
on October 4, 2004. AFTER YOU VOTE, SEND A QUICK EMAIL TO: 
info at uscampaignforburma.org<mailto:info at uscampaignforburma.org> and let us know, so we can keep track of how 
many people voted!

As a final announcement, please watch for a new CD coming out October 26. 
Artists including Eric Clapton, U2, REM, Sting, Paul McCartney, Pearl Jam, 
Ani DiFranco and many others will release the CD titled "For the Lady". 
Proceeds benefit the US Campaign for Burma.  See 
http://uscampaignforburma.org/music/<http://uscampaignforburma.org/music/> and see the article below.

At bottom are three articles: One on the latest UN Human Rights Report on 
Burma, one on efforts at the UN to break the stalemate in Burma (the US 
Senate just passed a resolution calling for UN Security Council action on 
Burma), and the last with more detail on the "For the Lady" CD.

Best,

Larry Dohrs
206-784-5742


============================================
U.N. envoy says rights violations continue in Myanmar

Source: Reuters

BANGKOK, Sept 29 (Reuters) - A top U.N. rights envoy condemned on 
Wednesday the arrest and jailing of opposition activists in military-ruled 
Myanmar and said he had received credible reports of rights violations in 
border areas.

Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, denied entry to the former Burma earlier this year, 
said the dismal human rights situation in Myanmar had not improved despite 
the junta's pledge to work towards national reconciliation last year.

"Since the beginning of this year, the Special Rapporteur has received 
several reports about continuing arrests and harsh sentences for peaceful 
political activities," Pinheiro said in his latest report.

"All political prisoners must be released immediately and unconditionally, 
and no further arrests or punishment for peaceful activities should take 
place."

The Brazilian academic said he had received "credible and detailed 
reports" of rights violations in border areas where government forces are 
battling ethnic rebel groups.

He gave no further details.

He said there was no sign of when democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi would be 
freed from house arrest, or curbs lifted on her opposition National League 
for Democracy (NLD).

Last week, four NLD officials were jailed for seven years after a closed 
trial inside Yangon's Insein prison. The two men and two women were 
charged with sending NLD statements to dissident groups on the Thai 
border.

NLD lawyers said there was no hard evidence against their clients, adding 
that they confessed under interrogation by military intelligence 
officials.

In his report, Pinheiro highlighted the case of two NLD members -- Than 
Than Tay and Tin Myint -- arrested in June and accused of communicating 
with groups on the border.

"Their whereabouts appear to be unknown and they potentially face 
long-term imprisonment," he said.

The junta is holding more than 1,300 political prisoners and Pinheiro 
called for the immediate release of 50 detainees he said were in poor 
health.

A democratic transition under the junta's "roadmap to democracy" would be 
impossible unless Myanmar's generals improved human rights and eased curbs 
on the opposition, he said.

"If the government wishes to promote a genuine process of political 
transition, fundamental human rights requirements have to be fulfilled," 
Pinheiro said.

A constitution-drafting National Convention, which opened in May with most 
of its 1,088 delegates handpicked by the junta, is expected to reconvene 
in November.

Critics say the process has no credibility without Suu Kyi and the NLD, 
which refused to take part while she remained under house arrest.

==============================================
UN's Annan convenes meeting to press Myanmar

UNITED NATIONS : UN Secretary General Kofi Annan met with representatives 
of a dozen nations to seek ways of pressing Myanmar's military rulers, in 
power for more than four decades, to move toward democracy.

Officials from the World Bank and UN Development Programme also attended 
the meeting, called on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly where 
Myanmar earlier vigorously defended its record on human rights.

"We will use the individual influence of each of the countries to see how 
they can help move the process forward," Annan told reporters after the 
session. He said the goal was to "encourage" the government.

"The member states who came in here are all concerned about the issue," 
Annan said.

In recent months, the UN chief has stepped up the pressure on Myanmar with 
statements critical of its national forum on democracy, which he said 
could not be credible without opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Her National League for Democracy (NLD) has boycotted the national meeting 
and Suu Kyi has been under house arrest for more than a year, the third 
time the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize winner has been detained.

The forum is part of the regime's "road map" for democracy, and a top 
Myanmar official on Wednesday warned that the nation's fate could not be 
determined by one person alone - a reference to Suu Kyi.

"We cannot allow the national convention to be derailed under any 
circumstances," Tin Winn, an official in Prime Minister General Khin 
Nyunt's office, said in a speech to the 191-nation General Assembly.

"The future of the nation cannot be determined by one individual or one 
party acting alone," he said.

Suu Kyi's NLD won the elections in Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, in 
1990 but the military rulers, who took power in a 1962 coup, refused to 
recognise the result.

Four NLD members were given seven-year jail terms last week, and a UN 
rights specialist outlined allegations of human rights abuses in a new 
report issued on Tuesday.

"Allegations of human rights violations in Myanmar are aimed at 
discrediting the government for political purposes," Tin Winn told the 
assembly. "Myanmar has consistently cooperated with the United Nations on 
human rights."

But the military rulers have not allowed either the specialist or Razali 
Ismail, Annan's special envoy to Myanmar, to return to the country in 
recent months.

Razali attended Wednesday's meeting along with representatives from 
Australia, Britain, France, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, current EU 
president The Netherlands, Norway, Singapore, Thailand, the United States 
and Vietnam.

Annan's spokesman later said the meeting had "strengthened the sense of 
common purpose on how to assist Myanmar in making its process of 
democratic transition more inclusive and sustainable."

The spokesman said the UN chief was also urging Myanmar to "listen to 
advice given by friendly countries, in goodwill, and allow his special 
envoy to visit the country as soon as possible." - AFP
===================================

World's pop stars band together for Myanmar's Suu Kyi

WASHINGTON Sept 22 - Some of the world's top artistes and musicians have 
banded together to push for the freedom of Myanmar's democracy icon Aung 
San Suu Kyi, activists said Tuesday as US legislators considered seeking 
UN Security Council action against the military regime in Yangon.

Bands U2, Pearl Jam, Coldplay, Sting, R.E.M., Travis, Indigo Girls and 
Matchbox Twenty and several top artistes including Paul McCartney and Eric 
Clapton will launch an album on October 26 dedicated to Aung San Suu Kyi.

``Anytime anyone inside Burma listens to my music, I want them to know 
that they are listening to an artist that supports their freedom,'' said 
Clapton, the quintessential blues guitarist, using Myanmar's previous 
name.

The album, entitled ``For The Lady: Dedicated to freeing Aung San Suu Kyi 
and the courageous people of Burma'' will be released by Rhino Records.

Proceeds from the sale of the double CD featuring 27 tracks will benefit 
the non-profit group US Campaign For Burma, comprising activists around 
the world seeking an end to the military dictatorship in the impoverished 
nation.

``Music has helped bring about change in many parts of the world,'' said 
Jeremy Woodrum of the US Campaign for Burma.

Myanmar's military rulers have detained Aung San Suu Kyi for more than a 
year and clamped down on her National League for Democracy party for their 
relentless push for democratic reforms in Myanmar.

Myanmar has been run by the military since a 1962 coup. The NLD won 
overwhelmingly in 1990 elections, considered free and fair by the 
international community, but was not allowed to govern.

``Her dedication, resolve, courage and patience are the mark of a leader. 
We stand tall for her, as she will again stand tall for herself,'' said 
Michael Stipe, the lead singer of R.E.M.

The album will feature exclusive numbers by R.E.M., Pearl Jam, Tom 
Morello's The Nightwatchman, Damien Rice, Lili Hadyn and Better Than Ezra 
as well as previously released tunes by Lavigne, Coldplay, Bright Eyes and 
Travis.

It also features a song banned by Myanmar's military regime, ``Walk On,'' 
which U2 dedicated to Aung San Suu Kyi on their last album and a song in 
Myanmarese written by jailed student activist Min Ko Naing.

Singing a freedom-seeking song in Myanmar can result in a minimum 
seven-year prison sentence, according to the US Campaign for Burma group.

Meanwhile, American legislators are considering a resolution seeking 
Security Council action on Myanmar's military junta, known as the State 
Peace and Development Council.

Nearly identical resolutions have been introduced in the House of 
Representatives and the Senate calling for such action, congressional 
aides said.

The House resolution, a copy of which was made available to AFP Tuesday, 
asked the Security Council to ``immediately consider and take appropriate 
action to respond to the growing threat that the ruling State Peace and 
Development Council in Burma poses to the Southeast Asia region and to the 
people of Burma.''

Myanmar posed a threat to regional stability because of its arms buildup 
and a continuous cross border flow of illegal narcotics, trafficked 
persons, and the unchecked spread of HIV/AIDS, the resolution said.

It added that more than 200,000 refugees have fled to Thailand and 
Bangladesh in an attempt ``to escape systematic terrorising by the Burmese 
military.''

Last May, Aung San Suu Kyi's party sought Security Council intervention in 
Myanmar.

Myanmar launched a national forum earlier this year which it billed as the 
first step in its ``road map'' to democracy but the process has been 
rejected as a sham by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan. - AFP

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
      BURMA  ACTION GROUP
SAO Box 119, HUB
University of Washington http://students.washington.edu/burma/<http://students.washington.edu/burma/>
Seattle, WA 98195
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