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1 - Nearly 10000 People Dead; 30000 People Missing Officials said on Monday nearly 10000 people died in the wake of cyclone Nargis which swept through Burma on Saturday. An estimated 30000 people are missing. Several hundred thousand of people may be homeless throughout the Irrawaddy delta. Residents of Burma's biggest city, Rangoon, face the third day of severe shortages of water, power and other essentials as they battle to clean up after the disastrous cyclone. Despite the havoc wreaked by tropical cyclone Nargis across wide swathes of the Southeast Asian country on Saturday, the government indicated that a referendum on the country's draft constitution would proceed as planned on May 10. Pro-democracy groups in the country and many international critics have branded the constitution as merely a tool for the military's continued grip on power. Should the junta be seen as failing disaster victims, voters who already blame the regime for ruining the economy and squashing democracy could take out their frustrations at the ballot box. Hotels and richer families were using private generators but only sparingly, given the soaring price of fuel. Public transport was almost at a standstill although airlines announced that Rangoon's international airport had reopened for foreign and domestic flights on Monday. Most telephone landlines, mobile phones and Internet connections were down. The Forum for Democracy in Burma and other dissident groups outside Burma urged the military junta on Sunday to allow aid groups to operate freely in the wake of the cyclone. Update from the Guardian, UK May 7
KHIN MAUNG WIN/AFP/Getty Image Aid agencies face battle to reach victims of the cyclone By Andrew Buncombe, Asia Correspondent Up to 60,000 people killed and one million left homeless by Burmese cyclone - but ruling junta obstructs global aid efforts As the death toll from the Burmese cyclone rose yesterday, with up to 62,000 people now feared dead, witnesses spoke of the homelessness, hunger and disease now threatening the worst-affected areas. The UN said more than one million people could be homeless and vast areas of the nation's rice-growing areas may have been destroyed. Unless emergency supplies can be delivered quickly, it is feared that more people will die. 2 - Junta May Seek International Aid Many towns and small villages in Irrawaddy Division of Burma are flattened. Bodies lie in masses. In some small villages, it’s hard to tell there was ever a village. Reports on Monday indicate the reclusive military junta might seek outside aid from international organizations and neighboring countries. Thailand officials said they are preparing to send relief supplies and construction equipment, according to CNN. Meanwhile, London-based Burma Campaign UK released a statement on Saturday criticizing Burma’s military regime for failing to give adequate warning to the population and to provide aid to the victims. “This is yet another example of how the regime ignores the welfare of the people of Burma,” Mark Farmaner, the director of Burma Campaign UK, said in a statement. “Initial indications are that this cyclone has caused severe damage and that many thousands of people will need assistance. The regime won’t look after people and instead is likely to block delivery of aid. The international community must stand up to the regime and insist that aid is allowed to be delivered to those in need." According to UN officials in Rangoon, the water supply is unfit to drink in the aftermath of the destruction, raising fears of water-borne diseases. "It's clear that this is a major disaster," Richard Horsey of the United Nations disaster response office in Bangkok, told Reuters. "How many people are affected? We know that it's in the six figures. Authorities and foreign aid workers in army-ruled Burma struggled on Monday to assess the damage from a severe cyclone. "The government is having as much trouble as anyone else in getting a full overview. Roads are not accessible and many small villages were hit and will take time to reach," Terje Skavdal, regional head of UN office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), told Reuters in Bangkok. Teams of foreign aid workers were trying to assess the damage and aid needs, but their access and movements are restricted by the military, which has ruled Burma for 46 years. "That is the existing situation for international staff. The way most agencies work is they use national staff who have more freedom to move," Skavdal said. "We will have a dialogue with the government to try to get access to the people affected," he said. But UN officials met with Burma's Minister of Social Welfare on Sunday "and the indication was assistance may be welcomed, but we need to understand the terms," Skavdal said. "I think it's a positive sign. As long as we are in dialogue it is good," he said. 3 -UN Offers to Organize International Aid for Burma The UN has announced it is prepared to mobilize international aid for Burma in the wake of cyclone Nargis. A UN Disaster Assessment and Coordination unit had been established to organize aid to the stricken country, where hundreds died and thousands were made homeless by the devastating winds and rain. Meanwhile, the Ottawa-based Canadian Friends of Burma (CFOB) urged the Burmese regime to allow international relief organizations to provide emergency aid as quickly as possible. "We are unable to communicate with people in Burma, as all communication lines including phone and Internet are not working right now," said CFOB Executive Director Tin Maung Htoo. 4 - Cyclone Could Unleash Political Upheaval Tropical cyclone Nargis was not only a natural disaster, but it could also signal a political upheaval for the Burmese junta if the generals fail to handle it well. A government statement on Monday, however, signed by Col Than Shin on behalf of the military regime, was not related to the disaster but contained a response to the UN Security Council’s latest presidential statement, which called for a free and fair referendum. The junta said that it was surprised by the Security Council statement, but declared its determination to carry on with the referendum on May 10. Rangoon residents told The Irrawaddy on Monday that most of the cyclone victims received no aid from government agencies or international ones. “My house was destroyed by the storm, but no authority came to ask about damage or assistance,” said one. A physician who runs a private clinic in Thaketa Township, Rangoon, said he had heard of no emergency plans for treating the injured. “Last night many people injured in the disaster came to my clinic for treatment. But they came by themselves, not with state aid.” The monks who led the September mass demonstration are helping clear the storm debris and providing victims with food, according to one Rangoon resident. The junta delayed opening the door for humanitarian aid from the international community. The Burmese regime has a policy of cooperating as little as possible with international aid agencies, which are regarded by many military officials as neocolonialist “tools.” “The ruling generals don’t want to see many international agencies, aid workers or rescue teams near the referendum or during the referendum.” 5 -Dozens Reported Dead in Insein Prison Clash Thirty six inmates of Rangoon’s Insein prison reportedly died in a clash with troops and riot police after setting the jail ablaze as Saturday’s cyclone hit the city. Prison sources said prisoners had demanded to be moved to security after the cyclone blew off the roof of the jail’s Building No. 1. When prison authorities refused, the prisoners set fire to a hall, the sources said. Guards failed to suppress the rioters and called in troops and riot police, who opened fire. About 800 prisoners are confined in Insein’s No. 1 building. 6- This is essential reading. It helps visualize the realities of Chinese repression in Tibet today. This email was sent to a professor from a former student living in Lhasa. Lhasa, 27.04.2008 Yesterday it was quite hot outside and the military that were guarding one of the petrol stations was protected by a big umbrella from the intense sunrays. Today it's the opposite; cold, cloudy and even quick snowfalls as storm fronts hover on the mountains and sometimes close in on the valley. Like the weather here in Lhasa the rules are changing too. One day you can go nearly everywhere, the next, military checkpoints won't let you pass. At the beginning of last week it seemed life was getting back to normal. Guards at the checkpoints relaxed and they seemed not as serious anymore, and overall, there was less military on the streets. But then suddenly heavy military presence was back. A few days ago, in the evening, I walked up Beijing Road. As I did, many military trucks passed me and there were patrols everywhere, only a few cars were to be seen driving around and the streets were near empty of civilian people. The atmosphere was tense and made the young, normally childish looking military, suddenly look scary. It is difficult to describe Lhasa these days, because you can only see a fraction of what is really going on. If you quickly glance at the city it may seem normal except for the old Tibetan centre, east of the Potala Palace. In the centre, military has occupied every intersection and stand on every side street, diligently checking your identity card. Even the tiniest of alleyways have at least four military personnel, of whom at least one has a bayonet and all of them a shield, a bat and a helmet. The bigger intersections have more military and people often have to line up in order to get checked. Ethnic Chinese can pass these checkpoints much easier than local Tibetans. Tibetans living at Dromsikhang and the Barkhor need a special, police issued paper in order to be allowed to go in and out the immediate area surrounding their homes. The square in front of the holiest Tibetan Temple, the Jokhang, normally a sea of people, prostrating, circumambulating and socialising, is now completely empty. In front of the square two military in blue uniforms strictly ensure nobody walks on the square. As back up, in case they miss a person, military in green suddenly appear out of no where to apprehend and push back person's entering these normally public areas. The round pedestrian street circling the Jokhang is empty too. Only people living in this area are allowed to pass, forbidden to do religious Koras around the Jokhang, and instead on the normally bustling retail and religious lanes you can only find small children playing football and other games, trying to get on with life, behind the military guards on these silent streets. On Beijing Road and Sera Road the government has initiated road works. Sections of road are being dug up and replaced where cars were burnt during the March 14 protests leaving black tarmac. Sidewalks on Beijing Road are being repaved as well after protesters used the pavement stones to throw and break shop windows. As you walk through Lhasa, you can still see many burnt or damaged shops. On Beijing Road alone, there are around 16 shops or shopping complexes burnt out, one of them being the Bank of China and one a jewellery store. Not only are roads and shops getting rebuilt, but also some old, traditional Tibetan houses. If you look complacently around town you may think there is not a heavy military presence anymore. However, if you look in every hotel and building courtyard and in windows, you see these areas covered in military; trucks, tents and more often the military themselves exercising. Wherever there is space, you find military. They are hidden in any empty building, behind buildings and even in the hospital courtyard of Lhasa City Peoples Hospital. Walking the streets of Lhasa, seeing big tea houses unusually empty and many shops still closed, it makes you aware of how scared people are these days. Very few people stop on the street when they meet friends, because every gathering of people is suspicious. A lot of people still stay at home because they are scared they will get arrested for no reason if they go out. When you finally find someone not too scared to talk to you, you hear consistent, dramatic, disturbing and daunting stories that give you nightmares. But since they don't have proof of what happened, it is difficult to inform the media. From the 14th of March 2008, there has been a heavy military presence in addition to the original security cameras which all monitor the city so people were too scared to take photographs of the tanks in front of the Jokhang Temple and elsewhere in town. And since all the dead bodies got immediately carried away by the military or taken from peoples home during nightly military raids, nobody can prove their brother, relative or friend died, all they can confirm is that this person disappeared. Only rumours about the death toll and the arrested people are anxiously passed from person to person. Yesterday I talked to a Tibetan man who was speaking for himself and his friends who want the world to know what is going on here. He asked me if I can pass all the information he has on to foreign media, so people here get help and don't have to be so scared anymore. By talking to me he risks being arrested and being tortured in prison, but he seems desperate enough to not care about that. In order to protect him, his family and friends and also myself, I don't want to tell more details about the place we met, his age or job. But that is what he told me: "On March 14th in the afternoon we heard that there were demonstrations going on in front of Ramoche Temple. Later we saw four people dragging a person who was shot dead in front of the Jokhang and that was when we became really scared. Normally the government should use gas or water against protesters, but here they shoot them. So we went home as fast as possible. In the evening my wife went to pick up our child from school around 6p.m. At that time the military was already on Jiangsu Road were the school was. The military was shooting at the locals who went to pick up their children. One woman got shot in her leg and one man was hit in the head or neck and he died. Later his brother wanted to get his corpse from the hospital, but the hospital didn't want to give it out. Finally the brother got so desperate that he threatened to burn himself and the hospital if they didn't give his dead brother to his family. The hospital gave him his brother's body, but just a few hours after they came home the military came and took the dead body away. “After March 14th whenever somebody died, you had to get three different papers in order to be allowed to bring the dead body to the sky burial place. If you didn't have these papers you got pushed back inside your house with the dead body by the army; a very bad omen in Tibetan culture. These three papers one needed were from the local police, the hospital and a lawyer. The reason for this was that with this rule the government made sure that everybody who didn't die under normal circumstances was found and taken away from the family, so nobody can make pictures and show them to friends or journalists outside Tibet. The problem for the people was that all the offices were closed during these days and therefore nobody could bring their dead family members to the sky burial place on the days they should have according to Tibetan astrology. “On March 14, 15 and 16 military came around midnight to check the homes in our area for pictures of the Dalai Lama, and took everybody with them who didn't have an identity card. They also had with them pictures of people who were in the demonstrations and they compared them with our faces. About 50 military men with guns came to our home and searched everything. We stayed at home for three days, only going out to go to the toilet and we only had Tsampa to eat, and people whose home ran out of gas even couldn't boil water. The gate to our house complex was closed and there were army posted in front of it. If you went out, you got beaten up quite badly by them. After three days everybody who worked for the government got a phone call and had to go back to work. Without this working permit we were still not allowed to go out. I know at least seven people who got arrested and one who got shot. “When the foreign journalists were in Lhasa, I think it was from 27th to 29th of March, the military suddenly disappeared from the streets. Instead of wearing their military uniform they changed into traffic police, gatekeeper uniforms or civil dress and they were hiding inside buildings and behind corners where the journalists couldn't see them. We were suddenly allowed to go everywhere; there were no checkpoints during these days. When the journalists were allowed to walk around by themselves, officials in normal clothes or traditional dress followed them, answered their questions and made pictures of individuals who talked to the press. We wanted to tell the press what is going on here in reality, behind this show that was made up for them, but we didn't have any chance to get close to them without being punished for that later. When we finally heard that the Jokhang monks told them the truth we were very happy. “The pilgrims inside the Jokhang temple were all elderly officials who were forced to go there for pilgrimage on this day. Normally these people are not allowed to engage in any religious activities, but on this day they had to go. And lot of the other officials were given leave from their office and were told to go to the Barkhor and the Potala, if possible with their families, so it looks like there is lot of freedom in Lhasa. After the journalists left the military came back into public immediately and we heard that the Jokhang monks got arrested for their statements in front of the media and officials two days later. Between 17th and 20th of April most of the monks were taken away from Sera to an unknown place. “From the monasteries around Lhasa a lot of monks and nuns got taken away too and the ones who are still at their monastery are under house arrest. We think the government is scared that when the Olympic flame is in Lhasa there will be new protests by the monks and nuns, that's why they detain them. They took all of them, no matter if they protested on March 10th and the following days or not, only chapel keepers, drivers and a few other monastery workers are allowed to stay in the monasteries. Lately there are only a few monks to be seen on the streets. It is dangerous for them, because on the Tibetan TV channel they said that for every suspicious person you report to the police you will get RMB20000. In reality you only get about RMB2000 but still people call when they see monk or nuns. “Since last week all Tibetans who are not from Lhasa have to go back to their homeland, except students and teachers studying at government schools. The police come to your home and send you out of Lhasa if you are not from here. When the Olympic Torch is in Lhasa only local people and Chinese are allowed to be here. They did that few years ago too during the 50 year peaceful liberation celebration. “There is a big problem in jail now. There is not enough food, not enough water and not enough blankets. The prisoners have to sleep on the ground and sometimes they only get one cup of water a day and nothing else. This way they get health problems, their bodies get really weak and they die, either in prison or after they get released. The prisoners get beaten up very badly. They especially beat the kidney, liver and gall region so prisoners get internal injuries and slowly die. We know this from three friends who just got released from prison. We are so worried about our friends and family members who are in prison. We need to help them, but we don't know what to do. That's why we have to tell the foreigners so the world will get to know and help us. “It is still very tight here in Lhasa. Without ID cards you cannot go out and if you live at Dromsikhang or Barkhor you need a special paper. Wherever there is a gathering or argument people get arrested. At the schools and in the offices people have to write stories about the 14th of March and they have to speak ill of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. When they write about the Dalai Lama they are only allowed to write Dalai, otherwise they have to write it again. My child already had to write such stories three times. “We are scared and worried about the prisoners. After the demonstrations, I saw some military vehicles like they use in the Iraq war, the same vehicles I saw in the news about Iraq [Tanks] but they were in our city. I thought these vehicles are only allowed in war between two countries. On the Tibetan TV News one presenter said that the military did a very good job since this was their first experience with something like war and a good opportunity for them to practise how to shoot and how to kill people. Now they already started the preparations for the Olympic Flame to come here. They are putting up decorations on the Potala and Jokhang Square [big Olympic Rings were set up in front of Jokhang and removed again yesterday evening]". What this man told me, I have also heard from other people without connections to him. I have no doubt the Chinese government will forbid foreign tourists from visiting here for the next few months. Tibetans want a chance to tell their side of the story; they try to tell you what happened to them. They know they need help from outside and therefore I believe, by preventing tourism, the government has a way of controlling, censoring and suppressing the situation here. What has happened and continues to happen in Lhasa is extremely sad and scary. Never before have I heard monks talking about methods of torture used in local prisons and different gun types that were used by military during this year's demonstrations in Lhasa. And never before have I seen Tibetan people so desperate and angry that they do things they know they will die for or be put in prison for a long time. With the up and coming Labour Day Celebration and Torch Relay in May anxiety has increased in Lhasa and fear of citywide house arrest has resulted in the stockpiling of food. Every day you see people arguing with army at checkpoints. A father and daughter wanted to pass a checkpoint however the military personnel told the man he was permitted but his daughter, who is not old enough to have an identity card, was refused access due to not having one. But even in this difficult time you still see brave and good actions. Yesterday I saw a little boy, around one or two years old; that I believed displayed a good example of Tibetan spirit. The baby looked as if he had just learnt how to walk and was out with his grandmother and her little dog. They were standing in front of the Jokhang Square where military in blue ensures nobody crosses the square. The baby walked up the three steps to the square and started to make prostrations towards the Jokhang while his grandmother also prayed but her frail body prevented her from prostrating as well. When the boy finished he looked at the guards, then at his grandmother, and then started to walk closer to the temple. The guards looked at the baby, not knowing what to do. After about ten meters the baby boy stopped and prostrated again, then turned around, walked back to one of the guards and took his hand to say goodbye. Seeing this reminded me that all Tibetan people want is religious freedom and the right to preserve their culture. They are tired of writing papers against the Dalai Lama, of patriotic re-education and all the rules and regulations that make their life so difficult. 7 - Than Shwe Urges Workers to Vote ‘Yes’ Burma's junta chief urged workers on Thursday to approve a draft constitution in the upcoming referendum while the main opposition party implored them to reject the document, which critics call a sham intended to cement military rule. In his May Day message appearing in The New Light of Myanmar newspaper, Snr-Gen Than Shwe said workers should approve the proposed charter in the May 10 referendum because labor groups participated in drafting it. The new constitution is supposed to be followed in 2010 by a general election. Both votes are elements of a "roadmap to democracy" drawn up by the junta. Meanwhile, the country's main opposition party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), led by detained Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, urged workers and farmers to vote against the draft. "The proposed constitution mentions very little about the rights of workers and farmers," the NLD statement said. Dissidents inside the country as well as exiled groups have urged voters to reject the constitution, saying it is merely a ploy to perpetuate more than four decades of military rule. An NLD statement on Thursday said that farmers who failed to vote in favor of the proposed constitution would have their land nationalized and students who voted “No” would be barred from continuing their studies. Several government officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the regime was planning to make school teachers, university lecturers and civil servants vote in advance in the presence of senior military officers. The NLD statement repeated an earlier call on the electorate to reject the draft constitution in the May referendum, calling it unfair. The referendum laws excluded independent observers from monitoring the counting of the votes, and one sole individual, Aung Toe, leads the committee of the national convention and the committee of the constitution drafting, the NLD complained. The homes of several members of the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) in Rangoon and Mandalay were raided by authorities and attacked by vandals this week, according to local NLD members. “The attackers used catapults to throw rocks against the houses,” Attacks against opposition arty members and other activists have increased since the NLD launched its “Vote No” campaign in early April against the junta’s constitutional referendum. The referendum is May 10. 8 - Junta says no democracy without support for draft charter Since March, the junta has been extensively campaigning for the people of Shan State to support the junta drafted constitution in the upcoming referendum in May, according to sources from Southern Shan State. Kyaw Swe , Chairman of Township Peace and Development Council of Mongpiang, Eastern Shan State, summoned the village tract headmen and provided referendum training to teach people to tick " Yes" in support of the junta drafted constitution. He threatened, "Officials and people who are in the training must under to train the people to support the constitution according to the methods that we have taught you. People who oppose the constitution will go to prison for 3 years with Kyat 100,000 (US $ 90) fine." Junta authorities in Mongpiang township, Eastern Shan State have been forcing villagers to call their family members from foreign countries back to support for the junta drafted charter in the upcoming May referendum, according to a reliable source. The authorities made a deadline date for the villagers to recall the family members. If they do not arrive at the end of this month, April, the parents will be put in prison. "Some villagers are so afraid that some are arriving on the Thai-Burma border to call their relatives, sons and daughters who are working in Thailand," said a source from Tachilek. "Today, 7 of them went back home with their sons and daughters. Because they have to be back inside 3 or 4 days." Junta authorities have provided temporary ID card to Chinese citizens presumably to get more support for the junta drafted constitution in the coming May referendum, according to sources from northern and eastern Shan State.Thousands of Chinese citizens across Namkham, Muse and Panghsai townships in northern Shan State have received their white cards. "It is as if the military is not sure about the support of its own people for its draft charter," said an opposition source. "By the look of things, it's likely the visitors (meaning Chinese) are going to become residents and vice versa," said an informed native who wishes to be anonymous. "Later they are going to control all the lands and economy like they do in Mandalay." In order to get more support from the people in the May referendum, junta authorities had been issuing ID cards almost for free to people in Shan State. News collected from the Human Rights Watch news services and Burmese newspapers on the exile. ****** Fair Use Notice: There is no attempt here to usurp any copyright but only to distribute useful and educational information to a non profit audience. © Copyright 2000-2008 by Fountain of Light |
