The President of India , Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam is currently on a State Visit of Mynmar. The first ever such visit by any Indian President.On the second day of his visit, three MOU's were signed between the two countires. ALL INDIA RADIO reports
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Taking bilateral cooperation to a higher plane, India and Myanmar today signed three agreements in petroleum, space and education sectors. These agreements were signed in presence of President A P J Abdul Kalam and Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council Senior General Than Shwe in Yangoon. The Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in Petroleum Sector pertains to transport of natural gas from Arakan port of Myanmar either through a pipeline Via North East or Bangladesh. India has been pressing to build a pipeline from Myanmar through Bangladesh to meet a yawning energy supply gap. The MoU was signed by Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas Prabhu Das and Director-General of Energy Planning Department of the Ministry of Energy of Myanmar. Another MoU on cooperation in Buddhist studies was inked by Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran and Brig General Thura Aung Ko, Deputy Minister for Religious Affairs, Myanmar. A Framework Agreement on mutual cooperation in the field of Remote Sensing was concluded for setting up of a ground station in Myanmar. The station will receive remote sensing data from IRS satellite for various uses including agriculture purposes like survey of soil and minerals. our correspondent reports that the relations between Myanmar and India began warming up rapidly since late 1990s as part of New Delhi's Look east policy. In a bid to increase trade relations New Delhi is also considering a proposal for setting up a rail link with Myanmar through the North-Eastern states.
Meanwhile, President Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam today had a one to one meeting with the Head of the State of Myanmar, Sr. General Than Shwe. The two leaders also witnessed the signing of three Memoranda of Understanding. One of these was on Mutual Cooperation in Remote Sensing signed by Foreign Secretary, Mr. Shyam Saran and Myanmar's Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr. U. Kyant Thu. Another was on Cooperation in both these studies signed by Mr. Shayam Saran and Brigadier General Thura Aung Co. And the third was on Cooperation in Petroleum and Natural Gas sector. On behalf of India, it was signed by Joint Secretary of the concerned Ministry Mr. Prabh Das and on behalf of Myanmar, Director General of Energy Planning, U. Soe Myint. Our correspondent covering the President's visit adds that Dr. Kalam could also find time to visit the country's biggest Pagoda.
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Out of these the one on Natural Gas and Petrolium Sector is the most important as it can pave the way for getting some of India's energy needs from Mynmar.
There is the immediate problem of transporting the gas thru Bangla Desh. Maybe the gas can be traded on international exchanges to circumvent the transport problem. If it can be arranged the rail and road links to Myanmar would be useful. Is there any integrated paln to link Myanmar with the North East? Maybe we can have Myanmar sign bilateral agreements with Bangla Desh to facilitate transportation links. The sticking thorn in the North East is the attitude of Bangla Desh govt and its dog in teh manger policy towards India.
If one looks back in history the British decision to hive of Burma in 1935 was a way to block Indian access to the South East Asia over land routes. It also did not help that we Indians had a myopic vision vis a vis the immediate eastern neighbors. The vison was more exotic than pragmatic.
To me India should work on long range plan to integrate Maynmar econmicaly to North Eastern & Eastern India. Our distorted view that Indian history begins with the Islamic age is what is preventing this.
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->India and Myanmar today signed three agreements in petroleum, space and education sectors. <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Petroleum is critical for India. I hope we can see some progress on ground.
Space, i don't know what Myanmar can offer or India can provide. India can build communication satellite for Myanmar and can provide launching facility only if China let them do.
Education sector will be ICCR type of student and professor exchange programme.
Pakistan was providing Nuclear know how to Myanmar around 9/11/2001. No news on those Paki nuclear scientists who applied for so-called "Political Asylum" after 9/11/2001.
Dictatorship is major concern. Myanmar should resolve internal issues.
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Another MoU on cooperation in Buddhist studies was inked by Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran and Brig General Thura Aung Ko, Deputy Minister for Religious Affairs, Myanmar.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--QuoteBegin-rajesh_g+Mar 9 2006, 09:42 PM-->QUOTE(rajesh_g @ Mar 9 2006, 09:42 PM)<!--QuoteEBegin--><!--QuoteBegin--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Another MoU on cooperation in Buddhist studies was inked by Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran and Brig General Thura Aung Ko, Deputy Minister for Religious Affairs, Myanmar.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
If it was Hinduism then there would be no MOU, no nothing. The question is what was there before Buddhism in Maynmar? Indian historians just ignore who and what was ruling Maynmar. If I recall it was the Chinese expansion under Mongol rulers that led to the diminishing of the Hindu influence in Maynmar in and around 1200-1300 AD.
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Indian president leaves Myanmar with deal on natural gas</b>
Yahoo! News
YANGON (AFP) - Indian President Abdul Kalam left Myanmar after a four day trip in which <b>he sealed a deal allowing his country to search for new ways to tap Myanmar's natural gas reserves.</b>
The deal marked India's latest move in its competition with China for influence in military-ruled Myanmar, despite international condemnation of the junta's human rights abuses and calls for the release of detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
Indian foreign ministry official Shyam Saran told reporters in Yangon that Kalam and Myanmar's junta chief, Senior General Than Shwe, did not discuss the house arrest of Aung San Suu Kyi.
India has been trying to negotiate a three-billion-dollar deal to run a pipeline from Myanmar across Bangladesh to the eastern Indian city of Kolkata, but failed to make headway in the talks.
<b>The agreement signed Thursday would allow studies into running a much longer pipeline through northeast India, which borders Myanmar, or converting the gas to liquefied natural gas for shipping.</b>
China and Myanmar have already signed a deal to allow China to study building a pipeline from the Arakan Coast to its Yunnan province.
Most of Kalam's visit, the first by an Indian head of state, focused on business, although he also <b>reached agreements on satellite imagery, telecoms, and education</b>.
The satellite deal would allow Myanmar to use Indian satellite imagery, which could be applied to agricultural projects or to survey for minerals.
The third deal was to improve cooperation in Buddhist studies.
Official media in Myanmar reported Saturday that the two countries also reached an agreement for Telecommunications Consultants India Limited to run fiber-optic cables from the border town of Moreh to Myanmar's second city, Mandalay.
The state-run New Light of Myanmar newspaper said the deal would also improve high-speed Internet access in Myanmar.
Kalam was headed to Mauritius for two days before returning home.
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<b>With regard to the observations made by Ramana I would like to make the following submission.
The proposal of having the Mynmar-India gas line through Bangladesh was floated by the Indians, just to see the reaction of the Bangladesh Government. Unfortunately, the successive Governments in New Delhi have tried to show benevolence to its Eastern neighbor but it has never been acknowledged by the other side. We Indians are in the habit of repeating our mistakes time and again while dealing with Bangladesh. There is absolutely no problem in transportation of natural gas or petroleum from Myanmar into India either by a pipeline or by sea. Both countries have along land border and ships can sail between ports of Myanmar and the East coast of India without any likely interference from the tiny Navy of Bangladesh.
With regard to the religious background of Myanmar, I would like to mention that Buddhism is the official religion of the country. However, they have a Department in the Ministry of the Interior which is responsible in running the administrative affairs of almost 300 Hindu temples dotted all over the country. The Government notifications that are issued by the Military Government always mention the date in the Saka era. Whenever the Army is engaged in search operations, its troops always enter the Hindu temples in bare foot even in the dead of the night. The Govt of Myanmar is much more Hindu in character than perhaps many State Governments in India. Diwali is a National Holiday in Myanmar.</b>
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Building bridges with Myanmar </b>
Pioneer.com
G Parthasarathy
India's determination to follow an independent policy on issues of its national security was clearly manifested when President APJ Abdul Kalam undertook a State visit to Myanmar within a week of the visit of President George Bush to India. While the US and India now have an unprecedented measure of understanding on developing a stable balance of power in Asia, their approaches to relations with Myanmar have been radically different. While the US has sought to isolate and condemn the military rulers of Myanmar and has used sanctions on Myanmar exports as a part of its coercive diplomacy, India has joined hands with its ASEAN partners in South East Asia to seek to quietly persuade Myanmar's rulers to progressively move towards more representative Government. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told the Myanmar President General Than Shwe in 2004, that while the "transition to democracy was complex" it nevertheless "offered the best possibilities of addressing problems both of political stability as well as economic development". President Kalam's approach, while in Myanmar, was similarly nuanced.
In a scholarly analysis in his book on "India and South East Asia" one of our foremost experts on South East Asia, diplomat and former Secretary in the External Affairs Ministry Sudhir Devare has devoted an entire chapter entitled, "Myanmar: <b>A challenging Frontier" to the crucial role of Myanmar in India's quest for "strategic convergence" with its South East Asian partners. Myanmar shares a 1,600-km border with four of our insurgency prone Northeastern States - Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram. Mr Devare describes how, as a result of astute Indian diplomacy, the Myanmar army has cooperated with India to fight Indian insurgent groups like ULFA, NSCN(K) and PLA in 1995, 2000, 2001 and 2004. This has been of crucial importance to India, because Bangladesh becomes hyperactive in aiding separatist and Islamic extremist groups to operate in India, whenever a Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) led Government assumes office in Dhaka. Members of these groups are infiltrated from Bangladesh into India through Myanmar.</b>
<b>Attempting to isolate Myanmar had disastrous consequences for internal security in our Northeastern States between 1988 and 1993. Narcotics smuggling and cross border insurgencies increased rapidly. Moreover, China moved into the vacuum created by external ostracism and established strong economic and military ties with Myanmar. Things changed for the better after New Delhi undertook a process of extensive economic, diplomatic and regional engagement with Myanmar</b>. India has provided assistance to Myanmar in areas like telecommunications, Information Technology, higher education and in setting up a Remote Sensing and Data Processing Centre. India has emerged as Myanmar's largest export market, because Myanmar has the potential to meet India's ever growing requirements for pulses and beans. But the border trade that Myanmar has with India lags far behind its border trade with China. Like China, we need to adopt liberal and simple border trade practices and procedures. Such trade practices can lead to the requirements of our Northeastern states for agricultural products like rice being met by relatively cheap imports from Myanmar.
With Myanmar having become a member of ASEAN, New Delhi's earlier fears of the country becoming a satellite of China have eased. Myanmar is, in fact, set to become the "land bridge" linking India with the economically dynamic economies of its ASEAN partners. After having constructed a road linking the township of Tamu on the Manipur border to the railhead in Kalemyo, India is now discussing the prospects of linking this road network through the ancient Myanmar Kingdom of Pagan to Mae Sot in Thailand. India has extended credits modernising the Myanmar Railways and supplied rails and rolling stock apart from assisting Myanmar in upgrading the Yangon-Mandalay sector of its railways. What is being envisaged is a trans-Asian rail network that would link Hanoi with New Delhi. With Bangladesh denying transit facilities for our Northeastern States, the construction of an inter-nodal road-water highway through Myanmar to the Bay of Bengal is under consideration. This project will provide Mizoram and the Northeastern States access to the sea, bypassing Bangladesh. New Delhi's efforts to make Myanmar a key hub for its "Look East" policies have included the formation of the BIMSTEC Grouping comprising Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Thailand, which brings together littoral and hinterland countries of the Bay of Bengal, to promote regional cooperation in trade, transportation, communications, counter-terrorism and energy.
<b>Over the past two years, our Petroleum Ministry had been working on an impractical proposal of building a pipeline through Bangladesh to transport gas to India from an offshore project off the Rakhine Coast of Myanmar, in which both ONGC and GAIL have equity stakes. This proposal was ill conceived as Myanmar has deep misgivings of Bangladesh soil being used to promote Muslim separatism in its Rakhine Province</b>. Further, Bangladesh was placing impossible demands on India on extraneous issues like trade concessions as a precondition for participating in the project. With India dithering on how it would transport the much needed natural gas, Myanmar concluded an agreement that would enable it to supply this gas to China. President Kalam's visit has resulted in a Myanmar expressing its readiness to consider alternative Indian proposals for transportation and utilisation of the offshore gas to India. The new Petroleum Minister Murli Deora would be well-advised to finalise proposals for transporting this gas to Tripura through a Myanmar-India corridor that bypasses Bangladesh. New Delhi should also expeditiously implement the proposal for the Tamanthi hydro-electric project on the Chindwin river in Myanmar that can provide 1200 mw of power for States like Nagaland and Manipur.
No military Government whether in Pakistan, Indonesia or Myanmar relinquishes power suddenly. The SPDC Government in Myanmar has constituted a "National Convention" to draft a new constitution. Rather than joining a Western chorus of condemnation, India would be well-advised, as Mr Sudhir Devare suggests, cooperating with Asian powers like China, Japan, South Korea and the members of ASEAN, to encourage moves towards more representative Government in Myanmar. After the Pakistan army has ruled the country for over half a century, Gen Musharraf has set up a National Security Council that will give his army an institutional say in national governance, for the foreseeable future. Myanmar can, at best, be expected to evolve constitutionally, towards greater democracy, in a similar manner.
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<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Who cares for Myanmar?</b>
Claude Arpi (Pioneer)
Last month, Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran spoke at a well-attended lecture organised in Washington by the Heritage Foundation. The Foreign Secretary was in the US capital to meet Bush Administration officials before the crucial vote in the US Congress on the Indo-US nuclear deal. The main thrust of Mr Saran's speech was that India and the US were two democracies and should, therefore, work together.
It is in stark contrast with the position taken by New Delhi on Myanmar. A couple of weeks before his US trip, the same Mr Shyam Saran, a former Ambassador to Myanmar, visited the country with the Indian President. Both were amazingly shy about democracy. When President APJ Abdul Kalam left for a four-day trip to Yangon in March, Delhi did not hide that the main purpose of the presidential visit was to sign a deal allowing India to search for new ways to tap Myanmar's natural gas reserves. The idea was to 'balance' China's influence. For Delhi, 'engagement', the new motto coined by South Block, was more important than defending the values professed by India.
The President probably never intended to speak about India's cherished concept during his visit to Myanmar, or to even call for the release of detained Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. This fact was confirmed by Mr Shyam Saran, who told reporters in Yangon that Mr Kalam and Myanmar's junta chief, Senior General Than Shwe, did not speak about the fate of Ms Aung San Suu Kyi.
Despite Delhi's 'engagement' policy, it gained little. As a newspaper remarked:<b> "India has been trying to negotiate a three-billion-dollar deal to run a pipeline from Myanmar across Bangladesh to the eastern Indian city of Kolkata, but failed to make headway in the talks."</b> Beijing, always more efficient (without pretending to be motivated by democratic values), had already signed a deal for building a pipeline from the Arakan Coast to its Yunnan province.
India also signed an accord that would "allow studies" on how to run a pipeline through northeast India, bordering Burma. Mr Kalam inked other insignificant agreements on satellite imagery, telecoms, and education. Another deal was to improve cooperation in Buddhist studies. Paradoxically, Ms Aung San Suu Kyi, who always lived by the precepts of non-violence and forgiveness, is herself a great Buddhist scholar (she studied at the prestigious Institute of Advanced Studies in Simla with her late British husband). The irony was probably not known to the Indian President who swears by humanism.
In the meantime the great lady of Myanmar is incommunicado. An Indian reporter visiting Yangon recalls his experience in search for the residence of the frail democracy icon: "A barricade where the complex begins and a barricade at its end manned by clusters of watchful guards observing each car driving past is the only visible security. Somewhere behind the gnarled, huge trees is the house where she has been kept."
Let us not forget that in May 1990, despite her continued detention since 1988, Ms Aung San Suu Kyi's party won a landslide victory in the general election; the National League for Democracy (NLD) secured 82 per cent of the seats. Till today the generals have not permitted the elected MPs to take office and Suu Kyi continues to spend her time in confinement ('protective custody' as the junta nicely calls it). One of the cruelest events in her life is the death of Michael Harris, her husband, in March 1999. She was not allowed to meet him when he was dying of a cancer. But who cares?
Prof Kanbawza Win, a Senior Research Fellow at the European Institute of Asian Studies in Belgium, recently wrote: "The ASEAN countries had looked on or rather defended the Khmer Rouge when Pol Pot virtually killed more than million of its own people. Now Than Shwe is slowly but surely strangling the Burmese people with its economic policy, narcotic drugs, ethnic cleansing and environmental degradation, yet the ASEAN countries are indirectly eulogizing the Junta with its illogical Constructive Engagement Policy."
The problem is that the junta also does not care. One of the reasons is that India and China, the two heavy weights in the region, are closing their eyes. UN Secretary General Kofi Annan in his report "Situation of Human Rights in Myanmar" for the UN Commission on Human Rights particularly called upon "China, India and ASEAN member states to encourage Myanmar authorities to accelerate the pace of their political, economic and socio-humanitarian reform". But why should Beijing suddenly care for democracy?
As for India, during the last ASEAN meeting in December 2005, the Indian Prime Minister shyly declared: "We are in favour of national reconciliation and Suu Kyi should be set free. But it is not my purpose to advise them (Myanmar)." With no one ready to give them 'advice', the generals have a free hand to commit all sorts of crimes against humanity. All that Mr Manmohan Singh could add was: "All shades of political views should be able to flourish but a solution to domestic problems should be found by the people of Myanmar themselves."
<b>Poor people of Myanmar:</b> Despite the historic vote of the 1990 election, they have to survive themselves, while the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) as the junta calls itself, is more and more xenophobic. In a Pol Pot kind of move, last November, it was decided to relocate Myanmar's capital 400 km from Yangon. Most observers were caught unaware when civil servants were given a day's notice to move. Thousands were abruptly sent with their belongings to the newly built, mosquito-infested capital city.
<b>In the meantime, atrocities continue, particularly against the Karen minority. Myanmar troops have beheaded civilians and torched villages in an offensive which has forced 1,000 refugees to flee into Thailand. Thousands of others are hiding in the jungles. The Free Burma Rangers, a group of volunteers who provide aid to displaced people affirmed: "The army is burning homes, rice barns and laying land mines to stop villagers from returning to their homes and fields." The example of Nepal, though completely different, should prompt Delhi to move fast before it is too late. South Block has no choice but to take a stronger stand against the totalitarian regime in Yangon and this can not be seen as aping the Western powers which in any case do not live next door</b>. <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--emo&:cool--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/specool.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='specool.gif' /><!--endemo--> Suu Kyi to be honoured by LSR college, Delhi
[ 17 Aug, 2006 1327hrs ISTIANS ]
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NEW DELHI: Myanmar's pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, currently under house arrest in that country, will be honoured by her alma mater Lady Sri Ram College for Women (LSR) on Monday as part of its ongoing golden jubilee celebrations.
"She (Suu Kyi) has worked for the empowerment of those who are oppressed and she has also spoken out fearlessly," said Shernaz Cama, in-charge of the celebrations.
"We feel very proud, very happy, as many young people and alumna have done many things in this world in many fields of endeavour," Cama was quoted as saying by Mizzima News .
The recognition comes in the wake of Suu Kyi's tireless efforts to restore democracy and justice to a country ruled by military dictators since 1962 for which she won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991.
Better known as Suu by her classmates, she was a student of the 1964 batch of LSR and studied political science. After her stint in New Delhi, Suu Kyi went to Oxford University where she studied philosophy, politics and economics.
She returned to her country in 1988 to attend her ailing mother but was caught in the political turmoil prevailing at the time.
In 1990, her party, the National League for Democracy (NLD)- won the election by a landslide margin but the results were not recognised by the military rulers who came to power in a coup in 1988 after brutally cracking down on demonstrators.
She was arrested May 30, 2003, in central Myanmar while on a nationwide tour to gather support for the NLD. She was subsequently put under house arrest by the military regime. Her house arrest was extended by another year in May.
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><span style='color:red'>Around midnight, Myanmar Army has lauched a major offensive against ULFA camps in its territory, similar to what Bhutan did some time back.</span>
As per the limited and unconfirmed information arriving, heavily-armed troops of Myanmar army have surrounded the forest areas adjascent to Indian states of Manipur and Changlang area of Arunachal Pradesh.
Indian army has also started the offensive from Indian side of the border, following the withdrawal of ULF from peace talks with GOI.Â
Operation has started on Myanmar side, after the tactics discussions of High officials of both the armies.
<!--emo&--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif' /><!--endemo--> Bodhi,
I don't know if it's any different in Atlanta, Delis open early in the morning and go to sleep in the early evening.
Whereas Jagran guys are like alert watchmen.
<!--emo&:thumbsup--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/thumbup.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='thumbup.gif' /><!--endemo--> Indo-Burman Cooperation
10-03-2006, 06:54 AM (This post was last modified: 10-03-2006, 06:54 AM by Bodhi.)
<!--QuoteBegin-Capt Manmohan Kumar+Oct 2 2006, 07:39 PM-->QUOTE(Capt Manmohan Kumar @ Oct 2 2006, 07:39 PM)<!--QuoteEBegin--><!--emo&--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif' /><!--endemo--> Bodhi,
I don't know if it's any different in Atlanta, Delis open early in the morning and go to sleep in the early evening.
Whereas Jagran guys are like alert watchmen.
<!--emo&:thumbsup--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/thumbup.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='thumbup.gif' /><!--endemo--> Indo-Burman Cooperation
[right][snapback]58407[/snapback][/right]
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09-24-2007, 11:29 PM (This post was last modified: 09-24-2007, 11:32 PM by Bodhi.)
For last few weeks, the monks from Buddhist monastries have taken charge of leading opposition to the communist military regime.
Of course, while China is silently active in the energy-and-buddhism' diplomacy there, our folks are busy cementing "Aman Setu" with Pakistan, filing 'Ram who?' affidavits in court, or exporting thorium-sand of Kerala to foreign masters.
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->YANGON, Myanmar - As many as 100,000 protesters led by a phalanx of barefoot monks marched Monday in the most powerful show of strength yet from a movement that has grown in a week from faltering demonstrations to one rivaling the failed 1988 pro-democracy uprising.
Hours after the protest ended peacefully, Myanmar's military government broadcast an ominous warning, telling senior Buddhist clerics that unless they restrained their juniors, the government would take action on its own against those it said were instigated by the regime's domestic and foreign enemies.
Marching for more than five hours and over at least 12 miles, a last hard-core group of more than 1,000 maroon-robed Buddhist monks and 400 sympathizers finished by walking up to an intersection where police blocked access to the street where democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi is under house arrest.
Making no effort to push past, the marchers chanted a Buddhist prayer with the words "May there be peace," and then dispersed. About 500 onlookers cheered the act of defiance, as 100 riot police with helmets and shield stared stonily ahead.
Some participants said there were several hundred thousand marchers in their ranks, but an international aid agency official with employees monitoring the crowd estimated said the size was well over 50,000 and approaching 100,000.
It was the latest in a series of protests that began Aug. 19 as a movement against economic hardship in the Southeast Asian country after the government sharply raised fuel prices. But arrests and intimidation kept demonstrations small and scattered until the monks joined and managed to bring people into the streets in numbers not seen since 1988.
The usually iron-fisted junta has so far kept minimal security at the latest wave of protests, and diplomats and analysts said Myanmar's military rulers were showing the unexpected restraint because of <b>pressure from the country's key trading partner and diplomatic ally, China.</b> The government is also aware that any abuse of the monks could rouse widespread anger in this devout, predominantly Buddhist nation.
A Southeast Asian diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity as a matter of protocol, said the <b>regime is under pressure from China to avoid a crackdown just as its larger neighbor has pressured it to speed up other democratic changes.
"Everyone knows that China is the major supporter of the junta so if government takes any action it will affect the image of China," the diplomat told The Associated Press.
China, which is counting on Myanmar's vast oil and gas reserves to help fuel its booming economy</b>, earlier this year blocked a U.N. Security Council criticizing Myanmar's rights record, saying it was not the right forum.
But at the same time, it has employed quiet diplomacy and subtle public pressure on the regime, urging it to move toward inclusive democracy.
"China is very eager to have a peaceful Burma in order to complete roads and railroads, to develop mines and finish assimilating the country under its economic control," said Josef Silverstein, a political scientist and author of several books on Myanmar.
The movement seemed to gain momentum Saturday, when more than 500 monks and sympathizers went past barricades to walk to the house where Suu Kyi is under house arrest. She greeted them from her gate in her first public appearance in more than four years. Access to her home was barred Sunday and Monday.
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Just a few weeks back, China passed an order making it illegal for 'Buddha to be reincarnated anywhere outside of China (which includes Tibet) or without the permission of the Chinese Govt'. This came in wake of Dalai Lama indicating that the next Lama would probably be reborn as an Indian or an Indo-Tibetean in Himachal, Uttaranchal, Sikkim etc.
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In the last session of parliament, there was an interesting piece of information was sought by an MP to Culture Ministry . The MP asked that there was some rumor that a snow-frozen mummy of an ancient Baudhha monk, in a samadhi posture, had been discovered in a village of Laddakh. Is that true and if so, is ASI being engaged? Ms Ambika Soni replied that the news was true, the mummy was discovered a few years back. ASI has no role in it, and is not studying it. The body of Lama/monk is left as it is with the villagers.
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<b>MODS:</b> Can we please correct the spelling in the subject - my<b>a</b>nmar... will make it easier to search.
09-27-2007, 09:36 AM (This post was last modified: 10-01-2007, 07:21 AM by dhu.)
In Burma, we see the same pattern of subterfuge as was seen in Vietnam (backed by the Catholic Kennedy and the Vatican), Nepal, Sri Lanka.....
Even Laura Bush was trotted out a few weeks back to make a statement on Burma and democracy. Same set of clowns brought "democracy and Freedom" to the "Iraqi People".
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->After I shared a message regarding Burma's 'Saffron Revolution"Â I received a message stating that <b>rather than an authentic Buddhist Dharmic resurgence it was actually Christian Evangelists behind the uprising.</b>
<i>
"I am sorry Vrndavan. This is no saffron revolution. Christian missionaries are just waiting on the wings for Myanmar to open and you will find full scale evangelisation and de-saffronisation. It is just a repeat of the nauseating cycle we have witnessed millenia after millenia, country after country. Of course it will all take time. But the missionaries are well funded and very committed to sit it out even for 100 years (say as in Kerala or the north East) till they wrest control."</i>
Reports regarding China and India's battle over mineral, gas and oil rights in Burma added another dimension to the crisis. Perhaps it is more than a coincidence that just as Indian Oil concerns make major headway in Burma, the situation begins to change so dramatically. Regarding Oil, It is interesting to note that as Mexico's President Calderon was in India negotiating oil rights, an unknown shadowy group began attacking Mexican Oil installations. So there are definite struggles going on in regards to India's energy concerns.
However, in regards to Burma the direct involvement of the Christian Solidarity organization and of British Members of Parliament rises some serious concerns. Their combined public and published statements are blatantly hostile towards India. This points towards a power play targeted against India's economic agenda and overall strategic security.
Below is a quote from John Bercow, a Member of the British Parliament published in The Independent, entitled:
<i>This vile regime in Burma has to be confronted</i>
This quote may indeed signify the involvement of aggressive Christian groups in the region, <i>"I returned last week from a visit to the India-Burma border, with the human rights charity Christian Solidarity Worldwide..."</i>
<i>
At long last Burma, one of the world's most under-reported human rights tragedies, dominates our media â and has begun to claim the attention of our politicians. I returned last week from a visit to the India-Burma border, with the human rights charity Christian Solidarity Worldwide and my Parliamentary colleague Caroline Cox (Baroness Caroline Cox is a British MP and CEO of HART).....India has until now pursued a policy that is both immoral and irresponsible. Refusing to criticise the regime, India has instead provided arms and military training. How can that be, in the nation of Gandhi and Nehru?</i>
A headline appeared in the Indian press entitled:<i> British MP condemns India's ties with Myanmar. </i> It is also quite revealing. India is slammed for providing anti-insurgency training to Burma and India's economic investments are highlighted as a form of Human rights violations.
<i>"In particular, India should re-examine its conscience and stop providing arms and military training to the regime. India should also reconsider its economic investments in Burma, until a meaningful transition to democracy is underway," she added.</i>
Baroness Cox was part of the delegation from Britain-based rights groups Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) and Humanitarian Aid Relief Trust (HART) that visited India from Sep 14 to 21.<i>"The provision of arms and military training (by India) to a brutal and illegal regime which will undoubtedly use those arms to crush its own people is immoral and unwise," Benedict Rogers, advocacy officer for South Asia at CSW, told IANS.</i>
So while China and America have obvious roles in the scenario the direct involvement of British political leaders and Christian Human Rights groups is beyond doubt.
A comment posted by one Vivek found on Bharat-Rakshak states:
<i>"India is the real target in Unkil's Burma takeover. If Unkil gets its proxy govt. in Burma through "democracy," hordes of missionaries and CIA-types will descend on Burmese side of NE border and establish proper training camps for Naga and Tripura terrorists. Then you can say bye-bye to NE. Unkil's dream of a Christian country in South Asia will come true." </i>
Perhaps this vision is not so far from the truth.
As in the case of Burma/Myanmar's current crisis, the media has a large part to play. This same medium can be developed towards an authentic awakening around the world. One can only hope that the authentic "Saffron Revolution" representing the upliftment of Dharma and Vedic ideals will soon sweep not only India but the entire globe.
The Chin Baptist Fellowship of America (CBFA) the biggest Chin Christian organization outside of the country make an announcement today from Washington DC urging worldwide Chin Christians community to hold prayer service in support of Burmese Buddhist monks who have been protesting in various town of Burma against the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) since August.
The Executive Minister of the CBFA Rev. Dr. C. Duh Kam in the statement urged all Chin Christians around the world to observe September 23, 2007 for the day of prayer for positive change in Burma.
âPoverty and humanitarian crisis in our homeland is due to political chaos and human rights abuse by the military government. There are various groups working by various means for positive change in Burma . Now is the time for us to raise our voice in solidarity with our fellow countrymen who have suffered untold poverty due to the SPDCâs mismanagementâ said the statement.
âThis is a very encouraging voice because most Chin listen when the Pastors speak up, the CBFA is doing the right thing in this crucial timeâ said Victor Sang of Chin Human Rights Organization reflecting the influence of Chin Christians pastors and religious leaders among predominantly Christian Chin society.
âOnly God knows what we are doing is right or wrong. But the voices of the monks are the voices of the people. If you look at the history of Burma , Buddhist monks play important role since king Anawratha who built the first Burmese kingdomâ said Rev. Dr. C. Duh Kam.
Chin Baptist Fellowship of America (www.cbfamerica. org) is composed of several Chin churches in USA and Canada. CBFA has good connections with Chin Churches from Europe , Australia and Asia , and is the biggest Chin Christian organization outside of the country. Thousand of Chins come to North America as refugees due to human rights violations in their homeland. And religious persecution is one of the major concerns among predominantly Christian Chins. <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>The Democratic Voice of Burma, an opposition radio station based in Norway, </b>put the death toll at 138, based on a list compiled by the 88 Student Generation, a pro-democracy group operating in Myanmar.
10-02-2007, 06:43 PM (This post was last modified: 10-02-2007, 07:13 PM by dhu.)
Phase 1 completed: The monasteries have been depopulated. The coordinator of this ill-conceived event would have known this would be the reaction. The chances for success had always been zero.
These aggressors are patient and think in terms of long term cultural deracination. They are waiting for a cultural wasteland to be created. Filipino wasteland was created using Japanese threat.
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Thousands of monks rounded up in Burma will be transferred to prisons in the far north of the country, after the military government's crackdown on pro-democracy protests, according to a report.
<b>Several âChained-Kachin State Mapâ posters have been unusually pasted around Kachin Stateâs capital, Myitkyina in northern Burma since Sunday, said local residents.
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The posters were pasted at crowded roadside shops, markets and Kachin Christian Churches in Tatkone, Du Mare, Manhkring and Shatapru Quarters, eyewitnesses told KNG today.
According to Shatapru residents, some posters put up at the local Baptist Church have been taken away on Sunday by policemen from N0 (1) police station in Myitkyina Township.
The posters depict the picture of a hand and the Kachin State map tied by metal chains to a pole. There is a bomb near the map and short sentences written in Kachin language at the bottom of the map, the eye witnesses added.
âThe poster is targetted especially at Kachins and aimed to simulate the Kachinâs current pariah political situation under Burma âs ruling junta,â a resident of Takone told KNG.
So far no organization has taken the responsibility for distributing the posters but underground Kachin political activists may have done it, residents told KNG.
This is the first time that Kachins have started a political movement in Kachin State after the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) signed a ceasefire agreement with the Burmaâs ruling junta in 1994.
Last month, the juntaâs Kachin Stateâs Commander Maj-Gen Ohn Myint publicly rejected the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO)âs demand for autonomy of Kachin State at the ongoing final session of the National Convention.
At the same time, both the Burma Army and KIO are stepping up fresh recruitment in the military in Kachin State, added locals.
Meanwhile, Commander Maj-Gen Ohn Myint unofficially is trying to convert the name âKachin Stateâ into âNorthern Divisionâ by telling military government personnel in Myitkyina âDonât say âKachin Stateâ and donât use the word âKachin Stateâ in your offices, any moreâ.
Now, residents of Kachin State are worried about inevitable civil war once again between the Burmaâs ruling junta and the KIO, said locals. <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
news interest item on South Korean Christian involvement in Burma:
A Burmese woman Ms. Pari (name changed for security reasons) from Chin state, Burma is likely to be deported to India by South Korea after being detained for a year.
In 2005, A Korean Christian pastor took Ms. Pari (26) and her friend from India to Korea where Pari worked as a domestic help. Later, she left her work because she could not bear the repression by the landlord.
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--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif' /><!--endemo--> Bodhi,
--><img src='style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' /><!--endemo-->