Dear All,

Internet connections have been pretty much nonexistent since last Wednesday late in the day.

Things are very, very, VERY tense inside the country. In Yangon, many people are staying at home, keeping family close. Most people are at the very least getting in huge stocks of food, water and fuel. The hoarding is pretty amazing. People are locking their houses and gates earlier or all the time. The traffic (where there aren't road blocks) is very light. But still you can see people riding buses, selling fruit, building houses, etc., and trying to carry on with their daily routine. It isn't easy to do. Last week in Yangon, some people arrived at work in the downtown area on Wednesday morning and found themselves unable to return home for at least the following three nights, because the area of the city they were in was locked down while they were at work - no one was able to go in or out. The 9PM-5AM curfew in effect throughout Yangon and other major cities is already having an impact on lots of businesses.

Right now, the army appears to have the upper hand: they have demonstrated a willingness to shoot to kill, they've effectively shut down internet and most of the cell phone communications, and they have periodically disrupted landline phone service, as well. There continue to be some mild taunting and random acts of violence that demonstrate the levels of rage and fear that exist between groups, but mostly everyone is waiting to see if the monks made a Plan B to follow when Plan A was disrupted. It was clear the monks who began the "walking" had a plan, but how deep that plan went, what types of contingencies they were prepared for, etc., is very hard to say.

The monks raised the specter of the regime's long violence and oppression very effectively. Along with that, they revealed a deep void where strong Buddhist sentiments were always claimed to exist. The question is, now that has happened, what will keep the level of awareness high and the oppression and injustice acknowledged, AND what comes next???

Even in Myitkyina, a mostly non-Buddhist city way north in Kachin State, monks came out of the monasteries and walked, and paid a heavy price, including some monks being beaten to death. In Yangon, there were the biggest protests.

As you have heard, people have been shot or beaten to death, both monks and lay people, because of their involvement in or witnessing of the protests. But there have also been midnight raids on monasteries, where monks have been beaten and dragged off to be put in (rumor has it) a stadium on the outskirts of Yangon proper, where they have been left without adequate water, sanitation or food.

Monks who have escaped the roundups and have sought refuge in people's houses have been caught in the army's house-to-house searches. These same general themes hold true in any place where protests are taking place, not just Yangon. (In at least one case outside Yangon, young monks from a "government" monastery who disobeyed their abbott and joined the marches were turned over to the army by the abbott as punishment!!! However, that doesn't appear to be the norm.)

The people who give shelter, food or water to monks are also rounded up and carted away. Even many monasteries that haven't been participating in the marches are locked down and guarded by soldiers. No one goes in or out without permission, so there's no adequate food and water there, either.

It is important to note that the first monks in Yangon who were killed by the army died at the most revered pagoda in all of Burma, on a sacred, full moon day. The regime is clearly willing to do whatever it takes to keep their hold on power, AND they are very afraid of the political power of the monks.

What may not be so expected, at least from the outside, is the random acts of violence that are sparking up all over as the rage spills over. Thus the stories of army trucks being driven into a crowd of people at a market, or children getting out of school just when soldiers are chasing a group of people who have been taunting the soldiers, and suddenly school children are shot. This type of random violence is a pattern in Burma whenever things heat up. A few differences this time around are that the monks are so clearly the leaders of the protests (not so much the students); the regime has revealed its willingness to kill monks and violate pagodas, something we have never seen before; and we've also never seen them actually target foreigners with their violence, which they have done this time, although that isn't widespread.


Right now, life goes on - it's weird and very tense, but it goes on nonetheless.

A group in facebook.com has been creating great discussions and posting recent information on happenings in Burma. I was able to get a message from the British Ambassador, Mark Canning Sat, 29th about 11am, in which he said that Rangoon was calm, lots of troops around and more arrests at the monasteries overnight. He also sounded hopeful that "there are some encouraging signs too that possibly, possibly, some progress might be possible." I am sure he cannot say more than that at this point, but it gives hope. We were also able to get through to Rangoon last night via ...   more »

September 19, 2007
From Kachin News Group

Students in Bhamo University have emulated those in Myitkyina University by launching an identical poster movement aimed at the Burmese military junta yesterday. The demands are the same as those of Myitkyina University students in Kachin State.

Over a hundred A-4 size posters were pasted on the key buildings in Bhamo town including four state high schools, Bhamo University, Computer College, Nursing College, government offices and the junta's administrative offices called Ma-Ya-Ka and Ya-Ya-Ka, a student leader told KNG today.

The five-point charter of demands in the students' posters are identical to those put up in Myitkyina-- to roll back oil and essential commodity prices, to immediately stop the Myitsone Hydroelectric Power project, to release all political prisoners and to solve the country's problems by initiating a "Tripartite Dialogue" which should including the ruling junta, political opposition political parties and ethnic leaders.

In Bhamo, the authorities have tightened security and the posters were torn up by security personnel, local students and eyewitnesses said.

This is the first students' movement in Bhamo, the second largest city of Kachin State after the 1988 people's pro-democracy movement in Burma. They will continue with protest against the regime, student leaders said.
Meanwhile, Buddhist monks in Myitkyina continue to be under virtual house arrest and have been kept under tight control inside the rooms of their monasteries to prevent them from protesting against the junta on the orders of Kachin State's Commander Maj-Gen Ohn Myint since Saturday night.

The two main monasteries of Wuntu and Suu Taung Pyi in Myitkyina are being closely watched all the time by the authorities, said local residents.

According to Myitkyina residents, the commander Maj-Gen Ohn Myint is trying to prevent any demonstration in the township.

Although much of the news recently has been focused on the protests triggered by the fuel price hikes in Burma, there are other events that deserve to not be overlooked. In Kachin State, a protests have unfolded in the form of a poster movement in response to both the price hikes and the closing of the Junta's National Convention.

On September 3rd, the junta finally brought to a close after 14 years the convention to draft an outline for the constitution. During the final round of proposals, the Kachin Independence Organization submitted a 19-point proposal calling for autonomy and a federal governing system, as well as for the ethnic armed groups to be integrated into the national forces. The government's predictable response blocking discussion of the proposal, as well as threats and a continued increase in military posturing in Kachin State, makes it difficult to think the KIO's proposal was anything but calculated.   more »

It is fairly obvious that I've been remiss in covering the recent events in Burma. Rest assured I have been following the news closely, though, and will do my best to cover the news of the last month or so.

The initial protests were in response to the junta's surprise 500% increase in fuel prices on August 15th. The subsequent increase in transportation fares meant many people in the cities were left stranded, unable to pay their fares to get to work or school.

ALTSEAN Burma has a detailed report on the protests, as well as an interactive map showing details and locations of the demonstrations.

The first peaceful protests were organized and led by members of the 88 generation student leaders in Rangoon, but as demonstrations spread to the rest of the country, they took on new dimensions. Demonstrations soon became focused not only on the fuel hikes, but also on the heavy-handed tactics of the junta. In Taungup, Arakan, an estimated 1000 people spontaneously joined in a march initiated by 15 NLD members demanding the release of two men arrested during a previous demonstration.

One key aspect of the current situation is the involvement of monks in protesting the government - with the moral authority monks carry in Burma, ongoing opposition and boycotts by the sangha could create an uncontrollable situation for the military regime. on August 28th, 200 monks marched in the streets of Akyab calling for a reduction in fuel prices on behalf of the people. In Pakkoku on September 5th, 500 monks had their demonstration broken up by soldiers firing shots over their heads and attacking several of the men. When authorities later went to apologize for the use of force, they found themselves taken hostage in the monastery and their vehicles being burned.

After the Pakkoku incident, monasteries issued letters demanding officials apologize, and threatening a boycott of the government if they did not also roll back fuel prices - with September 18th given as a deadline.

BNI Online is probably the best place to keep up with the breaking news, as they post articles coming in from several smaller news agencies in the region.

The last few days it's been difficult to keep up with the events unfolding in the lead up to the threatened monks' boycott and protests.

On September 14th, military officials were thrown out of a temple in Phayarkyi quarter by the monks there. Government officials have been approaching abbots and monks around the country to 'encourage' them not to participate in any forthcoming demonstrations. In Akyab, Abbots were forced to join a committee to cooperate with government officials in preventing demonstrations. Other monasteries were asked to keep their monks from traveling to central Burma. In Pegu, 1,800 monks at two monasteries were barred from their morning alms rounds to collect food offerings. The abbots at the two monasteries had previously rejected the junta's request to "take responsibility" if their monks joined in the protests.

Perhaps one of the more disturbing events, in Myityina, Kachin State, several hundred young student monks seemingly disappeared from several monasteries. It now seems that the monks were put under house arrest. According to locals, the young monks, known as koyins, are being forced to stay in their rooms and are being fed by military authorities. Government security forces are stationed both within and near the monasteries, each of which have an estimated 200 koyins in residence. The idea that the government is providing food is perhaps not insignificant, as monks rely on food alms for their sustenance, and the threatened boycott would entail the monks rejecting alms from those associated with the government.

Today an estimated 1,000 monks are marching in Rangoon. The protest started out with 60, and continued to grow despite government efforts to stop it. It remains to be seen how this might continue to unfold in the rest of the country.

Christian Solidarity Worldwide is set to release their new report, "Carrying the Cross: The military regime’s campaign of restriction, discrimination and persecution against Christians in Burma", on January 23rd. The report cites a document reportedly leaked either by the government or a government-backed group of Buddhist monks entitled, "Programme to destroy the Christian religion in Burma", and which states, "There shall be no home where the Christian religion is practised.......The Christian religion is very gentle – identify and utilise its weakness."   more »

Dr. Lian Hmung Sakhong, a prominent Chin community leader and academic, was awarded the Martin Luther King Prize for 2007. The Martin Luther King Prize was established by a coalition of Swedish peace groups in honor of the late civil rights activist in 2003. Dr. Lian Hmung Sakhong is the third recipient of the prize since its inception, and was presented the award in a ceremony on January 15 at the Swedish Parliament. In addition to the honor of winning, the prize brings with it US $25,000.   more »

World’s largest tiger reserve being ravaged by Burmese junta’s greed for gold

Valley of Darkness, a new report by undercover local researchers, exposes how Burma’s military junta is promoting extensive gold-mining in the Hugawng Valley Tiger Reserve in northern Kachin State, devastating not only the environment but also local communities.

The junta has expanded control of the valley, confiscating farmlands and homes to accommodate its military infrastructure, and selling off vast tracts as gold-mining concessions. The valley’s forests and waterways are now being ravaged by over 100 hydraulic and pit mines using mechanized pumps and dredges and dumping mercury-contaminated tailings. Thousands of desperate migrants from all over Burma are working in squalid mining communities throughout the once pristine valley, where drug addiction and HIV/AIDS have become rampant.

“Under the regime’s increased control, the rich resources of Hugawng valley have turned out to be a curse.” said Tsa Ji, one of the authors of the report. “Only the junta and a handful of businessmen are benefiting from the gold while the local people suffer the consequences.”   more »

The 88 Generation Students group kicked off their new campaign, 'Open Heart', on January 4th, the 59th anniversary of Burma's independence from Britian. The campaign will run for one month, and will involve sending out letters and envelopes to the people of Burma - a letter from the 88 Generation Students to Than Shwe, and a message to the people, encouraging them to write their own letters expressing their feelings and troubles and returning them to the activist group in the envelopes to be sent on to the junta.   more »

I missed blogging about the video of Thandar Shwe's wedding video when it first hit the internet a few weeks ago. If you happened to have missed all the fuss, there are now multiple video clips from what would appear to be nearly an hour-long video up at YouTube. Odds are slim I'd be able to find the reference, but I seem to recall one commentator referring to the wedding of Senior General Than Shwe's daughter as having the style of the gaudy (or was it tacky?) nouveau-riche. That sums it up fairly accurately.

One of the YouTube users who's posted multiple clips of the wedding is maungde, from whom I received an email last week about his (or her) most recent video posting. Thanks to Google Earth, we are treated to rather clear footage via sattelite of the new capital of Naypyidaw, as well as the General's own home. The video clips go by pretty quick, so it's worth pausing at the end to get a decent look at his palace. It comes complete with an inground pool and what's likely a pool house, and more rooves than you could shake a stick at.   more »

Sometimes I get to a point where I think that there's nothing more I could read about Burma that would shock me. And then, I come across an article that makes me go, "What the $#$%?!!". Upon closer examination, I decide that in fact, I probably shouldn't be surprised, because this bit of news isn't really any worse than any other bit of news, but still, I remain both shocked and galled.

The Shan Herald Agency for News has recently reported that 17 people were summarily executed by the United Wa State Army in the Wa controlled area of Shan State, opposite Thailand's Maehongson Province, on May 31st.   more »

After a three day visit to Burma last week, UN Under Secretary-General Ibrahim Gambari seems positive that the junta was ready to 'begin a new chapter in its relationship with the international community.'

During the visit, Gambari met with the nation's top brass, including General Than Shwe, to whom he passed a letter from Kofi Annan urging him to release Aung San Suu Kyi. Perhaps most surprising to everyone, was that he was also allowed to meet with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi herself, the first official visit she's been allowed in years.

Many, including Gambari, have hailed this meeting with Aung San Suu Kyi as a sign that the oppressive junta is 'opening up', and may even be willing to release the democratic leader on Saturday, when her term of house arrest is up once again.   more »

About two weeks ago I'd mentioned here that the Kachin Independence Organization had held an emergency meeting amid rumors that the Burmese army was preparing to seize parts of the Kachin liberated areas from the KIO. There has been no confirmation that the emergency meeting was in fact related to the rumors, or to the build-up of Burmese troops near Laiza which had sparked the rumors, but there have been a few developments in the situation since then.

The KIO meeting resulted in the formation of a "political working committee to find solutions to existing problems between the junta and ceasefire or peace groups." (from the DVB). There was also speculation that this committee was formed as a means of involving the younger generation of Kachins who've become disillusioned with KIO leadership - but again, there's no confirmation of the veracity of this claim. KIO leadership say simply that it is meant to be a "committee which could always advise the KIO Central with the best available means when it comes to dealing with current political situation in Burma."   more »

The sequence of events happening over the last few months has made it apparent that the Burmese junta is up to something. From stepping up their counterinsurgencies to denouncing the NLD and Daw Suu Kyi as irrelevant, it seems they are taking steps to consolidate and/or extend their power over the beleugered nation. It also seems that they are still suffering from the delusion that people can't see through their thinly veiled propaganda and lies, but knowing they are full of shite is cold comfort when witnessing bits of their evil plan for dominion slowly roll forth.   more »

According to recent news reports, the SPDC's renewed campaign of violence in Karen State has displaced as many as 3000 people in a matter of months. (Counterinsurgency Creates Fresh Wave of Refugees, New Attacks by Burma Displace Over 3,000 Karen)

I mentioned in the previous post that thousands of Karen in Thailand expecting to be resettled in the US have had their cases rejected or put on hold due to the 'material support clause' of the Patriot Act. The KNU, or sub-groups of the KNU have been identified as groups which may be engaging in 'terrorist activity'. Consequently, anyone deemed to have provided support are rendered inadmissable for migration or resettlement in the US. The KNU is the oldest resistance group in Burma, and have a cease-fire agreement with the junta. They have adhered to the tenants of the cease-fire even to their own detriment, as the SPDC doesn't give a flying flip about any agreements they've made with anyone. The following is a statement from the KNU regarding the recent SPDC attacks against the Karen people. There's no clause against providing moral support, is there?    more »

The Shan Herald Agency for News has reported on a spate of land confiscations recently in Muse Township, near the Chinese border. So far, 175 households have lost about 620 acres of land. By logical deduction, most believe that this land has been taken as part of the 37,000 acres within Muse that have been earmarked for a rubber plantation - as part of the contract farming agreement that was reached last month between Burma and Thailand.

In the December 2 MoU, Burma agreed to reserve 17.5 million acres for Thailand, to be farmed under a contract system managed by Thailand. Burma supplies land and labor, Thailand takes care of infrastructure and ensures workers are underpaid. 17.5 million acres happens to be an area as large as Ireland. Thailand's Agriculture Minister Khun Ying Sudarat Keyuraphan says that it will be a 'win-win' situation. Burma gets jobs and money, Thailand gets cheap labor, sugarcane, oil palm, maize, cassava and rubber, and in theory, a stop-gap to keep so many Shan migrant workers from illegally fleeing to Thailand. And what do the people of Shan State get? Well, they now get the same crappy agricultural jobs they work in Thailand, with the added bonus of still being at the mercy of the Burmese military within their own borders!   more »

The 11th Asean Summit has just recently wrapped up here in Kuala Lumpur. The focus of this year's summit was on creating a unified vision for the Asean countries. The summit was accompanied by mild change in attitude towards Burma, as the other Asean leaders have admitted that Burma's failure to 'get its act together' is an embarrassment to Asean. Malaysia has pressed for a delegation to be allowed to visit Aung San Suu Kyi in detention. We certianly shouldn't overlook the positive aspect of the change in attitude, even if it is superficial, as being at least some indication that public pressure on the issue is trickling down to Burma's neighbors. But one also has to wonder if Asean is actually embarrassed by the appalling human rights abuses occurring, or if it is embarrassed by the Junta's particularly uncouth way of pretending the 'elephant' in the room doesn't exist. I can't help but wonder if they might be less embarrassed if the junta had a slightly more sophisticated or intelligent diplomacy. It seems 'Myanmar' is becoming the drunken uncle no one wants to sit next to at the wedding.   more »

As if the secretive Dr. Evil style operation to build nuclear weapons in Shan State, the death threats sent to ILO representatives, and the accusations that Bush is planning on conquering Asia weren't enough evidence that the Generals have gone completely insane, they are now in the midst of relocating the nation's capital to their personal jungle resort.   more »

Time Asia has released its 2005 Asian Heroes. Actually, they released it a few weeks ago - but I've only just noticed. Its rare I get the opportunity to name-drop, so I have to take full advantage when I do.

One of the heroes is Charm Tong. I had the good fortune to be able to work with/for Charm Tong at the Shan School last year. She is as great as the article makes her out to be, and even though it is Time, (who put a chinese pop star on the edition's cover), the award is well deserved. I like to think of her as my friend, even though I don't get the chance to talk to her very often. And even though she's younger than I am, she's one of my heroes.

She's quite used to publicity, and often jets around the world attending big meetings and giving speeches, but she's certainly not the sort to seek out the limelight. I know she does what she does to bring much needed attention to the plight of Shan State and the people of Burma. So for her sake, go read and learn something today:
Shan Women's Action Network

The leaders of Asia are coming down with a collective case of ego-mania. Well, that's not true, they've probably always been ego-maniacs, but they suddenly seem to think its ok to impose their egos on the rest of us. After all the problems now with Thaksin sueing people, it seems Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen may ask for Thaksin's help in oppressing Cambodian journalists.

I tell you what, if I have to hear one more Prime Minister refer to activists as "troublemakers", I might scream. Someone needs to give these guys a clue. Communications technology is a lot more advanced than it was in the heyday of Asian dictators 30 years ago. They can't presume to tell other countries that these are 'internal affairs' or that these are isolated incidents or individuals causing trouble. We are well aware that people are collectively protesting the lawsuits and restrictions on free speech. It is not the US or the UN telling them to respect people's rights, it is their own people.

They also seem to be suffering under the delusion that outsiders defending the rights of the people as enshrined in their constitutions is 'meddling in internal affairs', but their neighbor's cooperation in the oppression of citizens outside their borders is not.

Wise up, guys. The media isn't going anywhere, and every effort you make to suppress or frighten it, only serves to make you look petty and whingey. Suck it up, you're leaders of democratic nations, if you want respect, then act respectable.

It seems Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and Co., are single-handedly making Thailand as sue-happy as America. He currently has multiple (civil and criminal) lawsuits pending against various media figures.

The first lawsuit, filed last year, was lodged by Thaksin's own Shin Corp. against media reform activist Supinya Klangnarong. Shin Corp. is demanding 400 million baht in the civil case, alleging that Ms. Supinya had defamed the corporation by publishing comments that the companies profits had soared since Thaksin had taken office, and that certain government policies represented a conflict of interest, as they had directly benefited the PM's private businesses.   more »

The Kachin Independence Organizations, one of the cease-fire groups within Burma, has censored an environmental report due to be released by the Pan Kachin Development Organization here in Chiang Mai. The report assesses the impacts of development, particularly logging, on the environment of Kachin State.

The KIO, which won forestry and mining concessions in its cease-fire agreement with the junta, fears the report may harm its image and relationship with the junta.

The KIO is also one of the cease-fire groups which are refusing to lay down their weapons at the behest of Rangoon, expressing distrust in the junta's promises of protection and development.

The KIO can stand up to the junta with its guns, and call the generals dishonest, but they're worried an environmental report may damage the relationship?

Apparently, the UNHCR has begun advising activists not to be activists for their own good. Mizzima reports that Narinjara's editor-in-chief was advised last week that his organization could face 'strong action' from Bangladesh authorities if they continued their media work.

Since Burma's General Thura Shwe Mann visited Dhaka for high level discussions last month, Narinjara has been well aware that strenghthened relations between the junta and Bangladesh could have negative repercussions for the safety of refugees and exiled activists there. But, thanks to the UNHCR for offering their support, hey?   more »

It probably comes as no surprise that as far as internet censorship goes, the Burmese junta is one of the most restrictive in the world. Current figures put internet usage within the country at .6%, which is primarily dial-up. The vast majority of people must access the internet through cafes, which are also obliged to report on their clients' usage - as they also do in China.

The Open Net Initiative has released a detailed report on internet censorship in the country. You can read the full report here: http://www.opennetinitiative.net/studies/burma

There are primarily two ISP's within the country, the Ministry of Post and Telecommunications and Bagan Cybertech, which is a semi-private company. The report indicates that the country has begun switching over to a 'Fortiguard', a filter and firewall product from Fortinet - a US company. Fortinet's spokesperson says that the company only sells to resalers, and therefore was unaware that they're product had been purchased by the Junta. However, the ONI researchers had this to say on the matter:
   more »

Exploration is well under way by Daewoo of the natural gas feilds off the coast of Arakan State in western Burma. Arakan State borders Bangladesh and the Bay of Bengal, and is home to the Arakanese (Rakhine) and the Rohingya, Burma's muslim minority. Read about it here: History of Arakan State.

For the last several months, I've been editing stories via email every day for Narinjara News, covering Arakan State. The stories are brief, and come plainly stating news that should all rights be shocking. Its been through bits and peices in these articles that I've learned about this place and the people there. Its only been with today's article on the Shwe Gas project, and my subsequent decision to finally google something, that the sequence of news events as they've been coming to me have seemed to coalesced into a disturbing pattern.

Daewoo stands to earn an annual profit of $100 million from the project. Here's what the people of Arakan state have gotten lately:   more »

The news from Burma's been pretty busy lately, but some of us have been to busy cleaning up to blog. You can get your news updates here.

Chiang Mai was inundated with floods, again, last week. The first flood hit early in August, and was reportedly the worst in 40 years, with the Ping river reaching about 4.75 meters. About three weeks ago we had another, smaller, flood. Then this past week there was another one, even worse, with the river hitting 5 meters. Luckily, sort of, we had more warning and did not actually lose anything. Except the nice new paint job we did after the first flood. The government even gave us a goody bag of supplies, with some prawn mama noodles, toilet paper, sardines, and soy milk. Mmm..thanks Mr. Thaksin, but can I just have the 100 baht in cash next time?   more »

The SPDC recently announced (again) that the National Coalition Government of Burma (NCGB - in exile), the All Burma Students' Democratic Front and the Shan State Army are illegal. Any and all members of said organizations and their leaders are subject to arrest and imprisonment.

In other news, the sky is blue and pigs can't fly.

Rumours began circulating last week that there was a coup in Burma. Not a coup to be particularly excited about, mind you, as it was suspected the Junta's number two man, Maung Aye, had ousted General Than Shwe - who himself had seized power in an overthrow of General Khin Nyunt. But, as far as news goes, a coup is nothing to shake a stick at. For a few days at least, news agencies and the Thai intelligence were all abuzz trying get confirmation. Except for the paper which ran the original story, (which I haven't found, by the way) few Burma watchers ever believed it was true. Although unusual fluctuations in the exchange rate and price of gold in Burma did give some pause - it seems merely that the rumor was wreaking a bit of havoc in Yangon as well.   more »

The worst flood in 40 years hit Chiang Mai and the north of Thailand this weekend, and even yours truly and her cat are now staying with friends. The area from the Night Bazaar to the Airport was one of the hardest hit in Chiang Mai, being inundated with up to two meters of murky scummy river water in the deepest places. The flood lasted about two and half days, with the clean-up effort already begun yesterday. As a prime tourist destination, the government will be quick to clean up and restore order. With damages estimated at about 1 billion baht, the hardest hit will be small businesses, and workers in the night bazaar. Many of the workers in the night bazaar are fearing wage cuts, and loss of income from commissions. Its doubtful they'll be able to access official releif efforts without legal papers and id cards. Although I wouldn't be surprised if the the government issues emergency loans and funding to their employers to get their businesses up an running again. We'll just have to wait and see what will happen to the workers. I've also been told that an exiled Burmese human rights organization has also been hit hard by the flooding, their office being near the river and the Night Bazaar. Again, they won't be able to access official channels for releif, and must rely on the generosity of friends.   more »

The Salween dam, a proposed joint venture between Thailand and Burma, is back on the agenda after the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT), has decided it's a good idea. There are innumerable reasons as to why this is the stupidest thing the Thai government has done of late, and I expect to be expounding on them in the future. In fact, it is an assigment I'm giving myself for the blog. So stay tuned. In the meantime, read more:

From Scorched Earth To Flooded Earth: The Generals' Dam On Burma's Salween River

Signature campaign to oppose the Salween Dam