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 »

I've decided to change the name of the blog. I'm still hoping that I can get others to join me here, but that could take some time. At the moment it's just me. So 'Ethnic Voices' seemed a bit of a misnomer. Besides which, it seemed very sort of serious and academic-ey. Although I'll admit to being a genius, I try not to take myself too seriously. I really want this blog to be a place for expressing opinions and feelings, albeit on serious issues, but I'd like to avoid the typical gravity and bleakness/blandness which plagues much writing on human rights issues. It seems par for the course that very passionate people go to great lengths to remove any passion from their writing on these sorts of issues, and it often ends up lacking the bite, wit, sarcasm or whatever that makes popular political commentary popular. This is reasonably expected when trying to counter popular ignorance and prejudice with facts, and I wouldn't blame anyone for it. I've been known to engage in bland writing myself, and it has its place. But what's the point of a blog if you can't say what you feel? Honestly, when I read about what's happening in Burma, or about some hair-brained policy the Thai government has come up with to pick on refugees, it makes me want to curse like a sailor. (And I'm not even the cursing type, ask my mum!). So take note, 'Burma Underground' will indulge in sarcasm, irony and possibly cursing, where appropriate.

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

I was forwarded the attached article "The War on Kachin Forests" recently, and although it was published a few years ago, it offers some good background info on the environmental/logging issue. The forest in Kachin state is a "Biodiversity Hotspot", making one of the most valuable and endangered ecosystems in the world. A more recently published article in The Kachin Post discusses the same issue. Its good to see how much has been done in the three-plus years between articles. The Chinese government of course denies that it is engaged in illegal timber trading. Which begs the interesting question of where all of the trees in Kachin state have been disappearing too. And what are all of those new Burma - China highways and bridges are being used for if not the export of resources? They're certianly not for tourist busses.

Right now 'Ethnic Voices' [ed. now Burma Underground] consists of one person, me. Its questionable whether or not I'm even ethnic. My hope is that this blog will become a collaborative effort of many people, so if after reading this post, you're interest has been piqued, please let me know if you want to become involved! My goal is that 'Ethnic Voices' will serve as a valuable resource providing news and commentary on issues relating to Burma, particularly the ethnic resistance movement. There is an amazing network of grass-roots organizations in and around Burma which have been established by activists from the ethnic states in Burma. They form an integral part of the resistance movement, and yet, they are often overlooked in mainstream media overseas.    more »