In order to fund our continuing efforts to Educate and Promote Conservation of our Beautiful Planet, Two WordPress Blogs Have been created and will be auctioned off to the Highest Bidder! This is your chance to own a Beautiful "Green" Blog and to support us as we continue our work! We need Sponsors and Benefactors!
The Blogs are: The Coral Reefs
You can buy it Here:
EBay Item number: 260177522689
The Second New WordPress Blog for sale:
Natural World Site
You can buy it here:
EBay Item number: 260177170410
starting bids are 25.00 (costs of domain name and ebay ad)
Please dig deep and support our work!
Floyd Craig and William Thomas
You can also help by making a small donation here:
Thursday, November 1, 2007
"Green" WordPress Blogs Up For Grabs-Support Conservation
Friday, October 26, 2007
News From Avaaz
Dear Avaaz member,
What Avaaz members have done so far:
hand-delivered to UK Prime Minister and UN Security Council member Gordon Brown.
$315,000 raised for the Burmese democracy movement.
33,403 emails to EU leaders urging targeted sanctions.
1,952 messages sent to Singapore's Foreign Minister George Yeo.
100+ protests in cities worldwide against the Burmese regime.
1 global ad campaign, including a full-page ad in the Financial Times pushing China to act.
If they haven't yet, ask friends to sign the petition!
Burma's streets are quiet--no mass demonstrations, no riot police. But the calm is an illusion. Change is coming to Burma, and we are all a part of it.
Here's where we stand: The regime has massacred, tortured, and intimidated its critics at home, and continues its night arrests and brutal interrogations.
But while it has momentarily silenced the domestic opposition, its attacks on the revered Buddhist monks ignited an anger amongst the Burmese people that cannot be extinguished.
Contacts inside Burma tell us that the demonstrators are steadily regrouping, even in the face of the deadly crackdown.
And around the world, the roar has grown deafening--so powerful that governments are scrambling for ways to bring new pressure to bear on the junta. Government leaders and the media have publicly credited the outcry of global civil society.
Look at the statistics in the box on the right to see how, working alongside allies around the world, Avaaz members have begun to make a difference.
Many Burmese members of Avaaz have written in. Here's a note from one of them--Trisa, now living abroad:
I am one of the 8888 uprising generation. Since the September uprising in Burma, I can't get good night sleep. I can't contact my remaining families and friends if they are ok... The voice of the world is very powerful. I have heartfelt thank you for all the supporters. Your voice can change our lives!
And here's a note from an Avaaz member, Lynn in London, who joined a group of Burmese monks to hand-deliver the Avaaz petition--contained in a big red box--to UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown, a permanent member of the UN Security Council, on the steps of 10 Downing Street last week:
When I put my hand on the red box, which held the 753,000 signatures from around the world collected by Avaaz, I imagined the outrage of the many people from every country in the world, every culture, every race, and every religion, contained within this box which was about to be presented to the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. I thought about what it might mean for these Burmese monks whose religious brothers far away had been hurt and mistreated by the crackdown, to know that in every country in the world, people were supporting them.
And here's what May Ng, a Burmese writer, editorialized on the news site Mizzima after seeing our petition:
As their voices have been heard and their faces have been seen, Aung San Suu Kyi and the people of Burma will no longer be alone.
Avaaz.org, whose mission is to ensure that the views and values of the world's people shape global decisions, will make sure that Burmese people will have a voice over their own fate from now on.Avaaz will share the struggle of the Burmese people until the struggle is won.
Our goals are constant: transition, dialogue, reconciliation, and democracy.
We will also continue to take action together on many urgent issues, from climate change to peace in the Middle East to human rights--but we will not turn from the cause of the Burmese people.
We believe that every human life has equal value, whether in Berlin, Beijing or Rangoon.
As Aung San Suu Kyi once urged, we will use our freedom to promote theirs.
With hope, Ben, Ricken, Paul, Galit, Graziela, Iain, Sarah, Pascal, and Milena--the Avaaz team PS: 52 years ago today, the UN charter enshrined "the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples."
Twelve years ago today, Aung San Suu Kyi was imprisoned.
And today, in key cities around the world, protesters held a new wave of protests; the first shipment of supplies, paid for by Avaaz members, left for Burma--and the junta agreed to re-admit Ibrahim Gambari, the U.N. envoy who is working to build a dialogue between the regime and the opposition, earlier than previously announced.
It's been a long struggle, but the most important ones always are.
PPS: If your friends haven't yet signed the petition, urge them to sign at: http://avaaz.org/en/burma_hope_lives/6.php
PPPS: Some further reading:
Voices from within Burma:http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7058610.stm
and
http://www.globalvoicesonline.org/-/world/east-asia/myanmar-burma/
and
http://www.mizzima.com/MizzimaNews/Interview/01-Oct-2007.html
Avaaz's Paul Hilder "People Power can win": http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/paul_hilder/2007/10/people_power_can_win.html
ABOUT AVAAZ
Avaaz.org is an independent, not-for-profit global campaigning organization that works to ensure that the views and values of the world's people inform global decision-making.
(Avaaz means "voice" in many languages.)
Avaaz receives no money from governments or corporations, and is staffed by a global team based in London, New York, Paris, Washington DC, Geneva, and Rio de Janeiro.
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Myanmar Casts Long Shadow Over Upcoming Asean Summit
glitter-graphics.com
Thank You Pinakang for Blogging for Burma!
By Jackson Sawatan on Oct 25, 2007 in Asean, Myanmar
IN LESS THAN a month from now Singapore will host the 13th Asean Summit, the highest-level meeting in the annual calendar of the 10-member grouping.
The meeting will be significant as the grouping is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year and for the first time in its history, the leaders are set to sign a landmark charter that will give it a legal identity.
Last month, Singapore spelled out the main agenda for the summit, themed “One Asean At The Heart Of Dynamic Asia”, which will be held on November 20. Foreign Minister George Yeo said the issues included energy, environment, climate change and sustainable development.
The leaders are also expected to endorse a blueprint with clear roadmaps for establishing the Asean Economic Community by 2015, a vision to turn the region into a single market and production base.
Events least expected have, however, unfolded in one of Asean’s members, Myanmar, the maverick junta-ruled country that has time and again proven to be a headache for the regional grouping.
The recent violent crackdown by the junta troops on pro-democracy protesters, which resulted in 10 deaths according to official figures, sparked international outrage and put Asean in an awkward position.
Read More at Pinakang
Saturday, October 13, 2007
Stand With The Burmese Protesters
glitter-graphics.com
Floyd Recieved This Email:
"Please add Your Voice and Sign This Petition" -Floyd Craig
Thank you for adding your voice to our petition supporting the Burmese struggle for democracy. The petition will be advertised in a massive ad campaign all this week, delivered by a Nobel Prize winner to UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, and broadcast into Burma over the radio.The more people sign, the more powerful the message will be. So please send the following link to your friends and family if you haven't already: http://www.avaaz.org/en/stand_with_burma/tf.php?cl_tf_sign=1
Thanks again for your help,
Ricken, Paul, Pascal, Iain, Graziela, Galit and the Avaaz team
You are getting this message because you signed "Stand with the Burmese Protesters"
Please Stand With Burma (sign the Petition)
Floyd Recieved this email:
Dear friends,
Our emergency petition to stop the crackdown on peaceful protesters in Burma is exploding, with nearly 500,000 signers from every nation of the world. But the situation in Burma remains desperate, with reports of hundreds of monks being massacred and tortured. Burma's rulers have also killed and expelled international journalists, cutting off global media coverage of their cruelty. China is still the key - the country with the most power to halt the Burmese generals' reign of terror. We're delivering our message this week with a massive ad campaign in major newspapers, beginning Thursday with a full page ad in the Financial Times worldwide, and in the South China Morning Post. The strength of the ad comes from the number of petition signers listed – can we reach our goal of 1 million signatures this week?
The link to sign the petition and view the ad is below, forward this email to all your friends and family! http://www.avaaz.org/en/stand_with_burma/u.php?cl=22092969
China continues to provide key economic and military support to Burma's dictatorship, but it has been openly critical of the crackdown. Now we need the government to match words with actions. Our ad paints a powerful moment of choice for China in its relationship with the world – will it be a responsible and respected member of the global community, or will it be associated with tyranny and oppression? People power, on the streets of Burma, and around the world, can triumph over tyranny. Our strength is in our numbers, spread the word! With hope and determination, Ricken, Paul, Ben, Graziela, Pascal, Galit and the whole Avaaz team.
For the best local reporting on the situation in Burma, try these links:
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Burma activist dies under interrogation, says rights group
Wednesday October 10, 2007
Guardian Unlimited
An active member of Aung San Suu Kyi's opposition party in Burma has died under interrogation, as the crackdown against last month's protests continues.
Win Shwe, a 42-year-old member of the National League for Democracy was arrested with five colleagues on September 26, the day the junta began to put down the demonstrations.
According to a Thailand-based human rights group, the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, the security forces told Win Shwe's family that he had died during interrogation.
"They didn't say when he died or the reason why he died, but they did say he had been cremated," the AAPP spokesman, Ko Bo Kyi, told Guardian Unlimited.
He described Win Shwe as an "ordinary but active member of the National League for Democracy".
The AAPP is also concerned about the fate of the pro-democracy leader, Hla Myo Naung, who was arrested today while on his way to seek treatment for an eye problem.
Hla Myo Naung is the main spokesman for the 88 Generation Students, a group that takes it name from the 1988 uprising in which 3,000 protesters were killed.
Hla Myo Naung was quoted yesterday by the Irrawaddy, the Thai-based Burmese news website, at the launch of a campaign for the release of political prisoners in Burma.
"It is a peaceful expression and I don't think the authorities will respond to our campaign by punishing participants," Hla Myo Naung said.
The AAPP spokesman said he was concerned that Hla Myo Naung would be tortured.
"His eye problem is serious," he said. "I want the military regime to provide him proper medical treatment and not to torture him. One activist has died under interrogation," he said.
The AAPP claimed that Hla Myo Naung is one of seven people to have been arrested in the last two days.
Meanwhile, a Burmese diplomat resigned in protest against the regime's "horrible" treatment of protesters. Ye Min Tun, a foreign ministry official, announced his resignation in a letter to the Burmese embassy in London. He told the BBC that as a "good Buddhist" he found the beating of monks "horrible".
"This revolution, this incident, seemed to be the decisive factor that could persuade the government to go to the negotiating table. But actually the government ignored the reality."
Burma's military leader, General Than Shwe, has agreed to talk to Aung San Suu Kyi, but only if she agrees to drop her "confrontational stance" towards the regime and stops calling for sanctions against Burma.
Yesterday Aung San Suu Kyi's party rejected his terms for negotiations, but said it was prepared to make "adjustments" for the sake of dialogue.
An active member of Aung San Suu Kyi's opposition party in Burma has died under interrogation, as the crackdown against last month's protests continues.
Win Shwe, a 42-year-old member of the National League for Democracy was arrested with five colleagues on September 26, the day the junta began to put down the demonstrations.
According to a Thailand-based human rights group, the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, the security forces told Win Shwe's family that he had died during interrogation.
"They didn't say when he died or the reason why he died, but they did say he had been cremated," the AAPP spokesman, Ko Bo Kyi, told Guardian Unlimited.
He described Win Shwe as an "ordinary but active member of the National League for Democracy".
The AAPP is also concerned about the fate of the pro-democracy leader, Hla Myo Naung, who was arrested today while on his way to seek treatment for an eye problem.
Hla Myo Naung is the main spokesman for the 88 Generation Students, a group that takes it name from the 1988 uprising in which 3,000 protesters were killed.
Hla Myo Naung was quoted yesterday by the Irrawaddy, the Thai-based Burmese news website, at the launch of a campaign for the release of political prisoners in Burma.
"It is a peaceful expression and I don't think the authorities will respond to our campaign by punishing participants," Hla Myo Naung said.
The AAPP spokesman said he was concerned that Hla Myo Naung would be tortured.
"His eye problem is serious," he said. "I want the military regime to provide him proper medical treatment and not to torture him. One activist has died under interrogation," he said.
The AAPP claimed that Hla Myo Naung is one of seven people to have been arrested in the last two days.
Meanwhile, a Burmese diplomat resigned in protest against the regime's "horrible" treatment of protesters. Ye Min Tun, a foreign ministry official, announced his resignation in a letter to the Burmese embassy in London. He told the BBC that as a "good Buddhist" he found the beating of monks "horrible".
"This revolution, this incident, seemed to be the decisive factor that could persuade the government to go to the negotiating table. But actually the government ignored the reality."
Burma's military leader, General Than Shwe, has agreed to talk to Aung San Suu Kyi, but only if she agrees to drop her "confrontational stance" towards the regime and stops calling for sanctions against Burma.
Yesterday Aung San Suu Kyi's party rejected his terms for negotiations, but said it was prepared to make "adjustments" for the sake of dialogue.
Special reportMore on Burma
Q&As27.09.2007: Life in Burma
27.09.2007: Protests in Burma
MultimediaInteractive: Burma protests
Guardian AbroadCampaign for Burma
News guideBurma: best news websites
Useful linksFree Burma Rangers
Future of the Karen Refugees Depends On Reaction of the World
We Pray for the People of Burma and the Karen Refugees
Laura Bush to Myanmar's Junta: Make Way for Democracy
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
First lady Laura Bush is challenging Myanmar's military government, telling the country's dictators to help the nation move toward democracy or else "get out of the way" while pro-democratic activists put an end to the 19-year military junta.
Bush, writing an op-ed in Wednesday's Wall Street Journal, says the eyes of the world are now focused on the atrocities committed by the repressive rulers in the former nation of Burma, whose stranglehold on the country led to the arrests of hundreds of Buddhist monks and other peaceful protesters over the past few weeks.
Click here to read Laura Bush's op-ed in The Wall Street Journal.
"The generals' reign of fear has subdued the protests — for now. But while the streets of Burma may be eerily quiet, the hearts of the Burmese people are not: 2007 is not 1988, when the regime's last major anti-democracy crackdown killed 3,000 and left the junta intact," Bush wrote.
"Today, people everywhere know about the regime's atrocities. They are disgusted by the junta's abuses of human rights. This swelling outrage presents the generals with an urgent choice: Be part of Burma's peaceful transition to democracy, or get out of the way for a government of the Burmese people's choosing," the first lady continued.
Laura Bush, who rarely speaks about policy outside her pet causes of literacy and children's education, said the U.S. government has frozen the assets of 14 members of the military government and banned entry to more than 200 people related to top junta officials.
President Bush is preparing further U.S. sanctions against the dictatorship, Laura Bush said, while the British, Japanese and other nations try to squeeze Myanmar with financial and moral imperatives.
The first lady said that pressure is being felt by the nation's leaders, who have agreed to send a representative to meet with jailed opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize winner.
In her call for change, Bush appeared to assuage those who may be concerned about an overthrow of the military regime, saying that a bloodless coup would not result in the same kind of chaos that occurred in Iraq following Saddam Hussein's fall from power.
Myanmar's top leader, Gen. Than Shwe, and his deputies "are a friendless regime. They should step aside to make way for a unified Burma governed by legitimate leaders. The rest of the armed forces should not fear this transition — there is room for a professional military in a democratic Burma," she said.
"The regime's position grows weaker by the day. The generals' choice is clear: The time for a free Burma is now," she wrote.
First lady Laura Bush is challenging Myanmar's military government, telling the country's dictators to help the nation move toward democracy or else "get out of the way" while pro-democratic activists put an end to the 19-year military junta.
Bush, writing an op-ed in Wednesday's Wall Street Journal, says the eyes of the world are now focused on the atrocities committed by the repressive rulers in the former nation of Burma, whose stranglehold on the country led to the arrests of hundreds of Buddhist monks and other peaceful protesters over the past few weeks.
Click here to read Laura Bush's op-ed in The Wall Street Journal.
"The generals' reign of fear has subdued the protests — for now. But while the streets of Burma may be eerily quiet, the hearts of the Burmese people are not: 2007 is not 1988, when the regime's last major anti-democracy crackdown killed 3,000 and left the junta intact," Bush wrote.
"Today, people everywhere know about the regime's atrocities. They are disgusted by the junta's abuses of human rights. This swelling outrage presents the generals with an urgent choice: Be part of Burma's peaceful transition to democracy, or get out of the way for a government of the Burmese people's choosing," the first lady continued.
Laura Bush, who rarely speaks about policy outside her pet causes of literacy and children's education, said the U.S. government has frozen the assets of 14 members of the military government and banned entry to more than 200 people related to top junta officials.
President Bush is preparing further U.S. sanctions against the dictatorship, Laura Bush said, while the British, Japanese and other nations try to squeeze Myanmar with financial and moral imperatives.
The first lady said that pressure is being felt by the nation's leaders, who have agreed to send a representative to meet with jailed opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize winner.
In her call for change, Bush appeared to assuage those who may be concerned about an overthrow of the military regime, saying that a bloodless coup would not result in the same kind of chaos that occurred in Iraq following Saddam Hussein's fall from power.
Myanmar's top leader, Gen. Than Shwe, and his deputies "are a friendless regime. They should step aside to make way for a unified Burma governed by legitimate leaders. The rest of the armed forces should not fear this transition — there is room for a professional military in a democratic Burma," she said.
"The regime's position grows weaker by the day. The generals' choice is clear: The time for a free Burma is now," she wrote.
Western Powers Circulate Softened UN Statement 'Deploring' Burma's Military Crackdown
UN special envoy Ibrahim Gambari, left, poses with Myanmar junta leaders, 02 Oct 2007
The United States, France and Britain have circulated a watered-down statement to the U.N. Security Council that "strongly deplores" Burma's recent military crackdown of pro-democracy protesters.
Their revised draft statement does not "condemn" Burma's repression of the protesters, but it does demand a full account of those jailed, missing or killed.
The Security Council is expected to issue a statement in the next few days.
China says it is opposed to sanctions to force Burma's military leadership towards democratic reforms. Burma's fellow members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, say they, too, are opposed to sanctions.
Burmese officials say the crackdown on pro-democracy protesters left 10 people dead. Dissidents put the number of fatalities at 200.
In related news, Burma's main opposition party responded for the first time on Tuesday to invitations from Burmese military leaders to hold talks.
In a statement, the National League for Democracy demanded that the military government drop its preconditions for proposed talks with detained Nobel laureate and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
The United States, France and Britain have circulated a watered-down statement to the U.N. Security Council that "strongly deplores" Burma's recent military crackdown of pro-democracy protesters.
Their revised draft statement does not "condemn" Burma's repression of the protesters, but it does demand a full account of those jailed, missing or killed.
The Security Council is expected to issue a statement in the next few days.
China says it is opposed to sanctions to force Burma's military leadership towards democratic reforms. Burma's fellow members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, say they, too, are opposed to sanctions.
Burmese officials say the crackdown on pro-democracy protesters left 10 people dead. Dissidents put the number of fatalities at 200.
In related news, Burma's main opposition party responded for the first time on Tuesday to invitations from Burmese military leaders to hold talks.
In a statement, the National League for Democracy demanded that the military government drop its preconditions for proposed talks with detained Nobel laureate and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
UN chief briefs US first lady on Myanmar
UNITED NATIONS — UN chief Ban Ki-moon briefed US First Lady Laura Bush by phone Tuesday on the latest Myanmar developments, as the Security Council pursued efforts to agree on a united response to defuse the crisis.
The first lady's press secretary, Sally McDonough, said Ban thanked US President George W. Bush's wife for her "unwavering support" for the people of Myanmar.
Ban also told Bush about the military regime's appointment of deputy labor minister Aung Kyi to talk with pro-democracy opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been under house arrest for most of the past 18 years.
"Mrs. Bush believes that the regime's appointment of ... Aung Kyi will be seen as a genuine effort toward national reconciliation when they release Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners," McDonough said in a statement.
"Mrs. Bush expressed her hope that the international community will help to effect positive and peaceful change in Burma (Myanmar)," McDonough added.
Last week, Laura Bush urged Myanmar's ruling generals to "step aside" and called on the UN Security Council to issue a resolution calling for a peaceful transition to democracy.
The US ambassador to the UN, Zalmay Khalilzad, expressed hope that Security Council experts working on a revised presidential statement deploring the military crackdown in Myanmar would "finalize it today."
The non-binding text would urge Myanmar's rulers to "cease repressive measures" and release detainees as well as all political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi.
During the experts's meeting Monday, China proposed amendments to soften a statement put forward by the United States, Britain and France Friday after the council heard a report from UN envoy Ibrahim Gambari on his recent mission to Myanmar.
The amendments, backed by several other delegations, called for replacing the word "condemn" by "strongly deplore" in the draft and dropping a reference to consideration of "further steps," suggesting instead that the council continues to monitor the situation.
Unlike a resolution, a so-called presidential statement requires the consent of all 15 members to be adopted.
Khalilzad had his own message to Myanmar's rulers.
"We believe it is very important that progress be made, that prisoners are released, that conditions for Aung San Suu Kyii be improved, that she can prepare for participation in negotiations, that there be negotiations for a transition," he said.
"The (Myanmar) military as a national institution has its role to play in a transition and post-transition," Khalilzad said.
But he added that it was "very important that a serious dialogue on transition begins" and that the international community and regional players play their role.
He called for an early return of Gambari to Myanmar "to facilitate a dialogue between the government, the military and the opposition."
China for its part restated its opposition to any strong world pressure against its close ally Myanmar, warning that it could exacerbate tensions there.
"Sanctions or pressure will not help to resolve the issues (in Myanmar)," foreign ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said.
At least 13 people died and more than 2,100 were locked up in the Myanmar crackdown as security forces moved to crush protests involving up to 100,000 people with live rounds, baton charges and tear gas.
The first lady's press secretary, Sally McDonough, said Ban thanked US President George W. Bush's wife for her "unwavering support" for the people of Myanmar.
Ban also told Bush about the military regime's appointment of deputy labor minister Aung Kyi to talk with pro-democracy opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been under house arrest for most of the past 18 years.
"Mrs. Bush believes that the regime's appointment of ... Aung Kyi will be seen as a genuine effort toward national reconciliation when they release Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners," McDonough said in a statement.
"Mrs. Bush expressed her hope that the international community will help to effect positive and peaceful change in Burma (Myanmar)," McDonough added.
Last week, Laura Bush urged Myanmar's ruling generals to "step aside" and called on the UN Security Council to issue a resolution calling for a peaceful transition to democracy.
The US ambassador to the UN, Zalmay Khalilzad, expressed hope that Security Council experts working on a revised presidential statement deploring the military crackdown in Myanmar would "finalize it today."
The non-binding text would urge Myanmar's rulers to "cease repressive measures" and release detainees as well as all political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi.
During the experts's meeting Monday, China proposed amendments to soften a statement put forward by the United States, Britain and France Friday after the council heard a report from UN envoy Ibrahim Gambari on his recent mission to Myanmar.
The amendments, backed by several other delegations, called for replacing the word "condemn" by "strongly deplore" in the draft and dropping a reference to consideration of "further steps," suggesting instead that the council continues to monitor the situation.
Unlike a resolution, a so-called presidential statement requires the consent of all 15 members to be adopted.
Khalilzad had his own message to Myanmar's rulers.
"We believe it is very important that progress be made, that prisoners are released, that conditions for Aung San Suu Kyii be improved, that she can prepare for participation in negotiations, that there be negotiations for a transition," he said.
"The (Myanmar) military as a national institution has its role to play in a transition and post-transition," Khalilzad said.
But he added that it was "very important that a serious dialogue on transition begins" and that the international community and regional players play their role.
He called for an early return of Gambari to Myanmar "to facilitate a dialogue between the government, the military and the opposition."
China for its part restated its opposition to any strong world pressure against its close ally Myanmar, warning that it could exacerbate tensions there.
"Sanctions or pressure will not help to resolve the issues (in Myanmar)," foreign ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said.
At least 13 people died and more than 2,100 were locked up in the Myanmar crackdown as security forces moved to crush protests involving up to 100,000 people with live rounds, baton charges and tear gas.
Crackdown Continues on Karen Minority in Burma
While the crackdown on pro-democracy protests in Burma has grabbed the world's attention in recent weeks, the country's military government is continuing its often forgotten war against ethnic minorities in the country. A missionary working with refugees from the Karen minority group says the Burmese army is killing and raping villagers and forcing them to flee their homes. Claudia Blume reports from Hong Kong.
Ethnic Karen women are shown at an undisclosed jungle camp in Northern Karen State of Myanmar (File Photo)While some ethnic-rebel groups in Burma have signed cease-fire agreements with the military, the Karen National Liberation Army continues an armed insurgency that started six decades ago.
Shane Abrahams is a missionary working with Karen refugees at the Thai-Burmese border. He says their fight has little chance of success.
"There is [are] less than 4,000 Karen soldiers against - the Burmese army is now 500,000. "All that military force is basically used against the ethnic minorities."
Speaking to journalists in Hong Kong, Abrahams said it is the civilian population that suffers most from the army's crackdown in eastern Burma, where the Karen minority lives.
"In the Karen state you hear terrible stories of how they are targeting the population there," he said. "Their tactics of choice include rape, extortion, murder, forced relocation, forced labor."
Abrahams says many have no choice but to flee from government-controlled areas and live in jungle camps without access to sanitation, clean water or education for children. He says there are an estimated one million internally displaced people in eastern Burma.
Other Karen refugees live in camps in Thailand along the border with Burma. Abrahams says while the camps are relatively safe, limited employment opportunities and boredom drive some refugees to alcohol abuse and even suicide.
Abrahams is not sure if the situation for the Karen and other ethnic minorities in Burma would improve should the military government collapse.
"Right now in the world we have an excellent example of what happens when a totalitarian regime collapses overnight and there are ethnic tensions in the country - look what is happening in Iraq," he said. "That could just as easily happen here."
Abrahams says all ethnic minorities, including the Karen, and some opposition politicians hope for a future Burma that is a federalized country in which minorities have their own, autonomous homelands.
Laura Bush-White House ready to add to Burma sanctions
By David Jackson, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON — First lady Laura Bush said Tuesday that her husband's administration is prepared to slap additional sanctions on Burma's military government if it does not start moving toward democracy "within the next couple of days."
Bush said she also conferred with United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon on the Burmese junta's plans for talks with imprisoned democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
The first lady's outspoken activism on Burma, including calls for the removal of Gen. Than Shwe and his regime, is a departure from her low-key work on other human rights issues around the world.
Since President Bush took office in 2001, the former teacher and librarian has been more vocal on reading and literacy, not foreign policy.
"I expected my role to be totally domestic," Laura Bush said in an interview with USATODAY. "My influence is really in being able to shine a spotlight on human rights situations that I want the American people to look at, and I want the people in those countries to know that the American people are with them."
Bush lashed out at Burma's military government, which has cracked down on protesters led by Buddhist monks. The military leaders in Burma, also known as Myanmar, said 10 people were killed. Jeremy Woodrum, director of the pro-democracy U.S. Campaign for Burma, estimated the death toll is as high as 200.
"The crackdown has been brutal," Bush said during an interview in the White House Map Room.
She also scoffed at the Burmese government's assertion that the nation's streets are quiet after weeks of violence. "I'm sure that's because people are afraid. … The arrests are happening in the middle of the night, where the military break into people's houses and … take them off to jail."
Since 1962, Burma has been ruled by the military, which has been accused of human rights violations such as slave labor. President Bush announced economic sanctions on Burma last month. The Treasury Department has frozen the assets of 14 military leaders.
The Burmese government has offered to talk to Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize winner and leader of the National League for Democracy who has been under house arrest for 12 of the last 18 years. But the military said those talks won't happen unless she renounces the sanctions.
At the White House, the first lady said she isn't sure whether the offer of talks is progress or an attempt to placate the international community. "Is this just some sort of sham?" she said.
She said that nothing the military regime has done so far has convinced her that democracy will advance. Bush noted the military's role in crushing uprisings in 1988, when thousands of protesters were killed.
Bush has quietly promoted Suu Kyi's cause and democracy in Burma for at least five years. She learned about them from Elsie Walker, a Bush family cousin and human rights advocate for Burma and Tibet.
The first lady's activism became public last year at the United Nations, when she hosted an international roundtable on Burma. She submitted written testimony last week to the Senate, calling again for the removal of the military government.
While vacationing in Texas in August, Bush watched the Burmese demonstrations on TV and said she was concerned that "there didn't seem to be a very strong response from other countries." She said she called Ban to urge U.N. action.
Burma-Where is the outrage in the media-Morgan Lighter at Increase Your Website Traffic
MorganLighter said...
Floyd,
Again I support you in all you're doing for trying to stop the insidious atrocities that are taking place in Burma. Where's the outrage in the media, how come we haven't held China, Russia, India in contempt for not coming to their aid? Where's the UN (United Nutjobs) for God's sake. Sure, the UN is wagging their atrophied finger at China - jeez that would scare me to death. Why aren't our elected officials screaming bloody murder. Why doesn't the DNC have this as a plank in their platforms. If I were a candidate running for President, I'd be hammering Congress to end this debacle.Fifty years of despotic rule and not one thing has been done for the people of Myanmar by those that could have stopped it years ago. I am so ****** off.
visit Morgan Lighter at Increase Your Website Traffic
Note From Floyd: Morgan, Your Words Have comforted me in this horrible situation and your comments have been a big help. Thank You!
Humanrights Tools Community- Helene-join now
Helene said...
Hey! Check out undialogue.blogspot.com (or press Helene) to read the note to all human rights bloggers. We're planning on blogging for Burma in some way within this humanrights tools community. If you have any inout on this feel free to email me. Also, if you would like to be a part of the community, that would be great. Then I'd just add your blog to the blogroll. What you're doing is really good and encouraging to see. Keep it up! -Heléne
Stop by and see Helene! Leave her a comment and trade blogrolls! (I did!)
Burma-Sign The Petition-Willem van Goisan
glitter-graphics.com
Willem van Goisan said...
Hi Floyd!
Got this email today concerning Burma:
Burma is ruled by one of the worst military dictatorships in the world. This week Buddhist monks and nuns began marching and chanting prayers to call for democracy. The protests spread and hundreds of thousands of Burmese people joined in -- they've been brutally attacked by the military regime, but still the protests are spreading.I just signed a petition calling on Burma's powerful ally China and the UN security council to step in and pressure Burma's rulers to stop the killing. The petition has exploded to over 200,000 signatures in a few days and is being advertised in newspapers around the world, delivered to the UN secretary general, and broadcast to the Burmese people by radio. We're trying to get to 1 million signatures this week, please sign below and tell everyone!
http://www.avaaz.org/en/stand_with_burma/tf.php?cl_tf_sign=1
Thank you for your help!
visit Willem at Papst Benedikt Mariazell
Note from Floyd-I signed the petition. Thank You Willem for your help!
I Stand with the Burmese Protesters!
Blogging for Burma....Suzie Cheel, Abundance Highway
glitter-graphics.com
By Suzie Cheel on Oct 4, 2007 in Blogging, Making a Difference
Following on from a comment I left yesterday on Floyd Craig’s Blogging for Burma that I said I would support:
His call to all Bloggers Everywhere to use Your Voice and Blog For Burma. Please place a post on your Blogs, Sites,Forums. Stop Killing Buddist Monks and Free Burma. Together we CAN make a difference. Blog For Burma and speak out about this horrific injustice. No Matter what Religion you are or What Country You Live in, Blog For Burma.
I have always admired the tenacity and spirit of Aung San Suu Kyi and the people of Burma. When Des mentioned this morning while we walking on the beach , that today was the feast of St Francis of Assisi, a man of peace, I thought this would be an appropriate time to for this prayer to be said for the monks, the nuns, Aung San Suu Kyi, the people of Burma and even the Junta, that somehow they show a glimmer of understanding and compasssion.
Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace;
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
and where there is sadness, joy.
O Divine Master,
grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
to be understood, as to understand;
to be loved, as to love;
for it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.
Amen.
note from Floyd-Please visit Suzie at the Abundance Highway and drop her a line. I love her site! You will, too.
Spreading Democracy Where from The Rattler
glitter-graphics.com
"If 100,000 people were marching the streets of Baghdad or Riyadh, or if thousands of Catholic priests were lying dead in Vatican City, you can bet there would have been a little bit more action by now." The Rattler
Related Links For Burma from Hard to Swallow
Many Thanks to The Author of Hard to Swallow for the outstanding outcry! This blog also contains TONS more useful info for all interested in Burma! Be sure to leave a comment when you visit!
Please follow these related links:
Student Gets 5 Years Hard Labor
Brutal Violence Caught on Tape
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Than_Shwe
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maung_Aye
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shwe_Mann
A little something that you can do...Susan, Asheville, NC
glitter-graphics.com
A little something that you can do...
from Susan of Easy Bake Coven
The true scale of the horrific crackdown on peaceful protestors in Burma is not yet known. Thousands have been arrested, and hundreds killed. We have received reports of crematoriums working through the night on the outskirts of Rangoon.The first priority for the Burma Campaign UK was to make sure that the world knew what was happening in Burma. The question now is, how will the world respond?The pressure is working but we are not there yet! The United Nations Security Council has still notagreed on a statement condemning the brutal crackdown, and the European Union has yet to agree on targeted economic sanctions. Now is a critical time, please spare a couple of minutes to take these urgent actions........
Read More and Take Action
Please visit Susan and read her articles on Burma:
Easy Bake Coven
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