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| Free Burma's Political
Prisoners Campaign. Assistance Association for Political
Prisoners in Burma has reported the release of some 9000 prisoners,
including U Win Tin, by the Burmese Government.
For more information... |
Burma food shortage looms: FAO issues urgent appeal
17 July 2008, Rome – With the clock ticking on Myanmar’s main
planting season, agricultural support is urgently needed to restore food
production in the country’s cyclone-hit rice bowl, FAO said today.
Currently, 75 percent of farmers in the country’s main food-producing
region lack sufficient seed, with little time left before the end of the
planting season in August. FAO is appealing for US$33.5 million to help
cyclone-affected households restore their livelihoods and resume food
production during this crucial period. [...]
Over 783 000 hectares of rice paddy fields – 63 percent of paddy land in
affected areas – were submerged and up to 85 percent of seed stocks
destroyed when Cyclone Nargis struck in May, according to recent
assessments led by FAO and the Government. Present yield rates, coupled
with the loss of draught animals and power tillers, indicate a reduction
of 550 000 tonnes in the paddy rice harvest, or 32 percent of production
in the most-affected areas, the UN agency said.
More than 100 000 fishers have also been affected, with significant
losses of boats and fishing gear and more than 21 000 hectares of
aquaculture ponds destroyed. Fish and rice constitute the key components
of the Myanmar diet. |
Geography and Cultures:
Burma is a Southeast Asian country of approximately 45 million
people in 8 major ethnic nationalities: ethnic Burmans account for
roughly 60% of the population, with the Shan, the Karen, the Kachin, and
the Karenni being the next most numerous. Burma's diverse, multicultural
society boasts 106 languages and dialects. The peoples' spiritual faiths
also reflect the underlying diversity of history and culture, including
Buddhism, Christianity, Islam and varieties of animism. Burma is rich in
natural resources, such as precious stones, tropical hardwoods, and
onshore and offshore energy reserves.
Modern History:
The modern boundaries of Burma are not historical but the legacy of
administrative convenience during the sixty years of British colonial
rule, which ended in 1948. General Aung San, architect of Burma's
independence and broadly revered as the leader of the independence
struggle, was able to win the trust of the ethnic nationalities at the
Panglong Conference in February 1947 and unified them with the Burmans.
Together, all the nationalities participating in the conference demanded
independence from the British. General Aung San's assassination in July
1947, just as the Union struggled to be born, is a national tragedy that
haunts Burma to this day. The leadership vacuum left by his death
gradually led to the breakdown of trust that existed among all the
nationalities of Burma. General Ne Win, claiming that the nation was
about to break up, staged a coup in 1962 and instituted a system of
governance that ensured the military remains supreme in every aspect of
life. That system has lasted 36 years today.
From 1962 to 1988, General Ne Win and his cronies sealed Burma away from
the international community. The peoples of Burma became pauperized by
the junta's economic experiments and Burma's status as one of the
wealthiest countries in Asia declined to one of the ten poorest in the
world.
The dominating role of the military was assured by subjecting the people
to brute force and introducing a pervasive system of surveillance, the
use of forced labor, extra-judicial killings, ethnic cleansing, and
forced relocation of populations.
In 1988 the peoples of Burma asserted their right to dignity and hope.
Monks, students and workers led non-violent demonstrations and general
strikes nationwide calling for democratic reform. In September of that
year, the military, calling itself the State Law and Order Restoration
Council (SLORC) staged a coup and in the process opened fire and killed
thousands of unarmed democracy protesters. To pacify the people, the
SLORC held multi-party elections in May 1990. The elections were won by
a landslide by the National League for Democracy (NLD) headed by Daw
Aung San Suu Kyi, General Aung San's daughter, who emerged during this
crisis to lead the NLD. With the party it backed winning only a handful
of seats, the military embarked on a campaign of terror against the NLD
members, elected representatives and political parties. Daw Aung San Suu
Kyi was kept under house arrest during and after the elections for six
years (from 1989 to 1995). The NLD managed to win 392 of 485 seats
despite the imprisonment of most of its leaders and the junta's
strong-arm tactics.
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi continues to be the symbol of non-violent struggle
for democracy and has successfully united diverse voices calling for the
restoration of democratic freedoms and human rights. The Nobel Committee
awarded the 1991 Peace Prize to Aung San Suu Kyi in recognition of her
personal courage and her commitment to democracy and non-violence.
The NLD, representing democratic choice and reconciliation, continues to
advocate peaceful solutions and dialogue. The generals have consistently
refused.
For more information:
http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/bm.html
http://www.aseansec.org/4745.htm
Burma's long struggle for democracy |
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Government of Burma:
www.myanmar.gov.mm
Burma Human Rights
Documentation
Chronology of Events
- BBC
Chronology of Events - Channel 4 News
CIA World Fact Book - Burma
Rightsmatter.com resources
Voices for Burma - FAQ
USA Dept. of State - Country Report
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NGOs, Civic and HR Organizations
Active in Burma/Myanmar
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Buddhist Peace Fellowship- www.bpf.org
Burma Watch International -
www.burmawatch.org
National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma -
www.ncgub.net
Democratic Party for a New Society - www.dpns.org
Assistance Association of Political Prisoners (Burma) -
www.aappb.net
Free Burma -
www.ibiblio.org/freeburma
Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG) - www.khrg.org
Free Burma's Political Prisonors Now -
www.fbppn.net
Buddhist Asia Myanmar Directory
Chin Human Rights Organisation
www.myanmar.com
www.rakhapura.com
www.karen.org
The Mon Forum
www.nagalim.us
www.art-exiled.com
Click2Myanmar - www.click2myanmar.com
www.merhrom.wordpress.com
Planet Burma - www.soros.org
Online Burma Library
Bibliography from Buddhist
Peace Fellowship
Recommended books and Videos on
Burma
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