BurmaNet News, September 20, 2007

[Editor]

September 20, 2007 Issue # 3296

INSIDE BURMA
DVB: Rangoon monks call for UN action
New York Times: Myanmar junta feels pressure from monks
Reuters: Myanmar junta scared of monks' cold shoulder
DVB: Monks sponsored by junta leader’s wife join protests
DVB: Monywa monks defy official warnings over protests
DVB: Ailing PM’s twin brother dies
AFP: Buddhist group vows Myanmar protests will continue
Irrawaddy: Mass uprising to follow unless regime enters dialogue: veteran
politicians
Irrawaddy: Four detained activists in good health, But others “in hospital”
Irrawaddy: Rangoon youth join hands to protect demonstrating monks
Mizzima News: Junta postpone quarterly meeting; Monk protests continue
Mizzima News: Authorities disconnect train coach of Bago monks
KNG: Christians keep in silence, Buddhist monks keep in under control in
Northern Burma

BUSINESS / TRADE
IMNA: Value of Burmese currency drops
Reuters: India's ONGC in deal for new Myanmar blocks-sources

DRUGS
AFP: Myanmar arrests 262 suspected drug dealers in August

INTERNATIONAL
Mizzima News: Hollywood comedian calls for UNSC action on Burma
Mizzima News: Gambari to brief Security Council

OPINION / OTHER
Irrawaddy: Can't the UN pass a Burma resolution now? - Htet Aung
Irrawaddy: “Experts” who should now eat their words - Yeni
Asia Times: US turns to China to influence Myanmar - Drew Thompson

PRESS RELEASE
AHRC appeals for global Buddhist boycott of Burma regime

ANNOUNCEMENT
Myanmar Future Generations: M.F.G Release Generations Remix 2007

____________________________________
INSIDE BURMA

September 20, Democratic Voice of Burma
Rangoon monks call for UN action

Several monks taking part in the 1000-strong protest in Rangoon today
waved placards calling for UN action on Burma as Security Council members
in New York prepared for a briefing on the situation.

The UN secretary general's special adviser on Burma, Ibrahim Gambari, was
set to brief the council on the recent wave of political unrest in the
country today as monks, backed by thousands of civilians and high-school
students, continued their protests against the military government.

After starting today’s demonstration at the historic Shwe Dagon pagoda,
more than 1000 monks marched past foreign embassies in downtown Rangoon,
calling for an end to state-sanctioned violence and calling for UN action.

One Rangoon-resident who joined the protest told DVB, “Some monks were
also carrying placards calling for a Security Council resolution on
Burma.”

“It was raining hard all day but the monks marched without umbrella’s . .
. Some of them collapsed because they were so tired from walking,” the
protestor said.

Eyewitnesses said the monks were joined today by thousands of civilians
and high-school students who walked ahead of and around the monks to
ensure they were not harmed.

“Students and other young people formed the outer ring of the protest by
joining hands and clearing the way for the monks. They were also protected
by more than 10,000 civilians,” one eyewitness said.

____________________________________

September 20, New York Times
Myanmar junta feels pressure from monks - Seth Mydans

Hundreds of Buddhist monks marched through rain-washed streets for the
third day in Myanmar’s main city today, taking the lead in month-long
protests that the military junta has so far been powerless to contain.

They prayed at the gold-spired Shwedagon Pagoda, the nation’s holiest
shrine, then wound through the streets of the city, Yangon, before
disbanding in late afternoon and announcing that they would march again,
wire services reported.

The involvement of large numbers of monks has increased the challenge to
the government in a nation where the Buddhist clergy is highly revered and
comprises the most organized group apart from the military.

The current protests began after the government raised fuel prices on Aug.
15 without warning or explanation by as much as 500 percent.

At first, former student leaders and pro-democracy activists took the
lead. But most have been arrested or are in hiding and the protests
appeared to be waning before the monks and monasteries became involved.

“The involvement of the monks is a significant escalation,” said David
Steinberg, an expert on Myanmar at Rutgers University. “It shows that the
frustration has increased, a political frustration as well as an economic
frustration.”

Protests by monks have been reported in a number of other cities over the
past three days. If the monks’ demonstrations continue, analysts said, the
military junta will face a difficult decision over whether to crush them
by force and risk a still greater public backlash.

According to reports from the scene, nearly 1,000 monks in their rust-red
robes were joined today by thousands of people who walked alongside them
in the greatest sign of public participation since the protests began on
Aug. 19.

Some onlookers offered snacks and drinks to the marchers and some bowed
their heads and raised their clasped palms in a gesture of prayer, the
Associated Press reported.

At least some monks were reportedly refusing to accept alms from members
of the military, a refusal, known as “turning over the rice bowl,” that
amounts to an ad-hoc gesture of excommunication. The Associated Press
reported that one monk at the head of the procession today held a begging
bowl upside down as he marched.

The Asian Human Rights Commission, an independent group based in Hong
Kong, released what it said was a transcript of a public statement by
monks in Yangon today.

After condemning abuses of monks by the junta, the statement declares:
“The clergy boycotts the violent, mean, cruel, ruthless, pitiless kings,
the great thieves who live by stealing from the national treasury. The
clergy hereby also refuses donations and preaching.”

Mr. Steinberg said the demonstrations appeared to involve younger monks
rather than the hierarchy of the country’s religious establishment.

Monks have been at the forefront of protests in Myanmar since colonial
times, before the country then known as Burma won independence from
Britain in 1948. They were prominent, along with students, in the
nationwide uprising of 1988 that was crushed by the military with the loss
of thousands of lives.

In 1990, in a smaller failed uprising, thousands of monks joined
demonstrations and refused to perform religious rites for soldiers or
their families. Many hundreds were reportedly detained.

This time the junta has appeared reluctant to use force. The protests come
at a time when Myanmar is attempting to present itself to the world as a
democratizing nation, with the adoption early this month of new
constitutional guidelines.

The technology of rapid communication is spreading film and photographs of
the demonstrations both within and outside the country, and the junta can
no longer operate in the shadows as it has in the past. Two weeks ago,
however, soldiers reportedly manhandled a group of protesting monks in
Pakokku, near central Mandalay, and fired several shots into the air.

In response, some monks briefly kidnapped a group of officials at a
monastery and vandalized buildings belonging to members of the government.
The confrontation in Pakokku has apparently helped fuel the larger
demonstrations that have taken place this week. They began after the
government failed to offer an apology demanded by the Buddhist clergy.

Officials have mostly stood back as columns of barefoot monks paraded
quickly through the streets this week. Plain clothes police and members of
a government-backed vigilante force known as the Union Solidarity and
Development Association, have monitored the monks, filming and
photographing them.

On Wednesday, the monks in Yangon were barred from entering the Shwedagon
Pagoda and marched instead to the Sule Pagoda in the heart of the city,
which they occupied briefly. On Tuesday, when 1,000 monks demonstrated in
several cities, security officials reportedly used tear gas and fired
warning shots to disperse monks in Sittwe, west of Yangon. According to
reports received by exile groups in Thailand, some monks were beaten and
arrested.

This article was reported from Jakarta, Indonesia.

____________________________________

September 20, Reuters
Myanmar junta scared of monks' cold shoulder - Aung Hla Tun

In a growing campaign against decades of military rule in Myanmar,
thousands of Buddhist monks are doing nothing -- literally -- and the
generals are getting worried.

In more and more monasteries across the former Burma, maroon-robed monks
are invoking a 2,500-year-old Buddhist rite and refusing to accept alms
from members of the military and their families or perform any religious
duties for them.
Photo

The boycott is taken very seriously in the deeply devout Buddhist country,
as the spurned alms-giver is denied one of the main routes to the merit
that will eventually help him or her to achieve nirvana, or release from
the cycle of rebirth.

Known as "patam nikkuijana kamma" in Pali, the ancient language of the
Theravada Buddhist priesthood, it means "turning over of the alms bowl".

Politically, it is also extremely significant as the monks were major
players in a nationwide uprising against decades of military rule in 1988.
Then, the army was sent in to crush the unrest with the loss of an
estimated 3,000 lives.

Two years later, during a similar boycott sparked by the junta's refusal
to honour the results of elections it lost by a landslide, some soldiers
had to welcome the birth of children or bury loved ones without the
blessing of priests.

The boycott is similar to the Christian notion of excommunication,
although can be reversed at any point if the perceived wrong-doers mend
their ways.

"Only under the most compelling moral circumstances will a monk refuse the
alms that have been offered, as to do so is to refuse to acknowledge the
alms-giver as a part of the religious community," the Asian Human Rights
Commission said.

"However, the view of monks in Burma today is that such an extraordinary
moment has arrived."

The boycott has gathered momentum since its launch on Tuesday in response
to the junta's refusal to apologise publicly for soldiers firing warning
shots over the heads of monks -- and beating some of them up -- in the
town of Pakokku two weeks ago.

The ban is thought to have originated in Mandalay, home to 300,000 monks
and the epicentre of the monastic tradition, despite heavy pressure on
abbots in the central city.
Photo

Word has quickly spread from town to town.

"According to our code of practices and ethics, every monk is supposed to
take part in this kind of boycott once they learn that some other monks
have imposed it," one young monk in Yangon, the commercial capital, told
Reuters this week. "We can expect similar marches in the remaining
monasteries and cities."

The junta has countered the boycott, which has been broadcast on
Myanmar-language foreign radio stations, with front-page coverage in
official media of men in uniform giving alms to -- and having them
accepted by -- senior monks.

One middle-aged cleric said the priesthood was simply catching up with
something he had been doing for 17 years.

"I have imposed it on them since 1990, and I'll keep it on," he said.

____________________________________

September 20, Democratic Voice of Burma
Monks sponsored by junta leader’s wife join protests

A group of about 200 monks from the South Dagon Nikal Ngar Yat monastery,
which is sponsored by the wife of junta leader senior general Than Shwe,
staged a protest against the government early this morning.

The monks reportedly marched to the nearby Aung Bawdi pagoda with their
alms bowls upside down, to indicate that they would not be accepting any
donations. Their monastery is believed to be heavily endorsed by Than
Shwe’s wife Daw Kyaing Kyaing.

“The protest started at about 6am this morning and ended at about 9am. The
monks chanted metta on their way to the pagoda. There was heavy government
security at the pagoda when they arrived,” one eyewitness told DVB.

The protest reportedly ended peacefully when the monks returned to their
monastery. The Burmese word for protest ‘Thabaik Hmauk’ literally means
‘upside down alms bowl’—a term that originated among monks who refused
donations for political reasons.

____________________________________

September 20, Democratic Voice of Burma
Monywa monks defy official warnings over protests

Monks from the high-profile Zawtikayon and Yankin monasteries in Monywa
defied warnings from local authorities and staged a protest march against
government harassment today.

About 400 monks marched through the town this afternoon demanding an end
to military-backed crackdowns on peaceful protests, according to residents
and eyewitnesses.

“Just this morning, township and divisional government officials visited
the two monasteries and warned the monks not to stage any protests. But
the monks took to the streets at about 1pm and started demonstrating
anyway,” one resident said.

The monk’s protest reportedly lasted about an hour as they marched to the
local Sutaungpyit pagoda before returning to their monasteries.

“There were about 300 monks from the Zawtikayon pagoda and another 100
from the Yankin monastery staged the protest. There was no harassment on
the part of government officials,” one eyewitness said.

“Actually all the government officials and even the traffic police
disappeared during the protest,” the eyewitness said.

____________________________________

September 20, Democratic Voice of Burma
Ailing PM’s twin brother dies

The twin brother of ailing Burmese prime minister general Soe Win has died
from an unknown illness, according to a death notice placed by his family
in the state-run press.

Soe Win’s brother and fellow military member general Tin Htun reportedly
died at the age of 59 on Wednesday morning at about 3:23am, according to a
notice in the government’s New Light of Myanmar newspaper.

The notice said that Tin Htun would be cremated at the Mingalardon War
Cemetery tomorrow. It is unclear whether any Buddhist monks will attend or
lead the cremation ceremony—a traditional Burmese custom—in light of the
current nation-wide boycott by monks against the ruling military and their
families.

The reports of Tin Htun’s death yesterday sparked further rumours in
Rangoon of the coming demise of Soe Win, who is known to be suffering from
leukemia and has been reported to have needed several bone-marrow
transplants from family members in the past six months.

____________________________________

September 20, Agence France Presse
Buddhist group vows Myanmar protests will continue

A Buddhist group claiming links to escalating protests by monks in
military-ruled Myanmar vowed Thursday to continue demonstrations to end
what it called the people's suffering.

"We will continue to protest until we get freedom and our human rights,"
said the man, who said he was speaking for "The Alliance of All Burmese
Buddhist Monks".

"Everything is bad here. Our economic system and political system are bad.
We don't need them anymore," the purported spokesman told AFP from
somewhere in Myanmar. "We can't suffer anymore."

Monks have risen to the forefront of peaceful demonstrations which began
in Yangon on August 19 following a massive hike in fuel prices in this
poverty-stricken nation, which has been ruled by the military since 1962.

The protests over the fuel price hikes -- which have left many workers
unable to even afford bus fare to get to work -- have grown into the most
sustained challenge to the junta in nearly two decades.

The purported spokesman for the monks refused to give his name but said
the group has a nationwide network in Myanmar, formerly known as Burma.

Few details are known about the group, but analysts said it is mainly made
up of young monks.

Earlier this month, soldiers beat protesting monks with bamboo sticks in
Pakokku, near central Mandalay, prompting young monks to briefly kidnap
officials at a monastery.

The Alliance demanded a government apology over the Pakokku incident, and
has urged monks not to accept alms from soldiers.

It has also called for monks to stage peaceful protests in major cities
and has vowed to escalate marches unless the junta apologises for violence
against monks.

More than 1,300 Buddhist monks on Thursday marched in Yangon, in what was
by far their largest show of force in the country's main city since they
launched their movement earlier this week.

Monks are important cultural standard-bearers in the devoutly Buddhist
country, and were credited with helping rally popular support for a 1988
pro-democracy uprising which was crushed by the junta, resulting in
hundreds if not thousands of deaths.

____________________________________

September 20, Irrawaddy
Mass uprising to follow unless regime enters dialogue: veteran politicians
- Saw Yan Naing

A nationwide uprising could soon follow the ongoing protests if Burma’s
military government does not engage in dialogue, veteran politicians and
observers say.

Monks marching while their supporters follow in Rangoon

Thakin Chan Tun, a veteran Burmese politician told The Irrawaddy on
Thursday that as the current situation is a concern throughout the
country, more people will join the protests in the near future and it will
probably lead to a nationwide uprising.

“So, unless the government wants to see a mass uprising, I want to urge
them [the Burmese government] to enter into dialogue in order to solve the
crisis in the country,” said the former Burmese ambassador to China.

He criticized the junta for the violent manner in which it cracked down on
the demonstrators who were protesting peacefully in Sittwe, Arakan State,
by hiring volunteers to beat them up and for using tear gas. “It was a
very unscrupulous incident. It isn’t good if the country is always ruled
by a government like this,” said Thakin Chan Tun.

Aye Thar Aung, secretary of the Arakan League for Democracy said, “We
can’t say it [the protest] is small scale. If the government doesn’t
accede to what the monks have requested and they break up the protests
violently, a mass uprising will probably occur.”

However, he added that he didn’t see any sign that the military government
would apologize to the monks and that the regime would probably intervene
violently if the current situation continued.

Police and military-backed thugs struck monks with rifle butts and fired
weapons into the air to disperse a demonstration in Pakokku Township in
central Burma on September 5.

The general public should participate in the current protests by demanding
their rights and their freedom, said Aye Thar Aung.

The chairman of Zomi National Congress, Cin Shing Htan, who is also a
member of the Committee Representing the People's Parliament, said “The
situation in the country is nearly at boiling point. So, why hasn’t the
United Nations Security Council taken action?”

He said that the regime shouldn’t ignore what protesters are currently
asking for and should negotiate peacefully.

Cin Shing Htan also urged the Burmese regime to immediately release all
political prisoners, including pro-democracy leader, Aung San Suu Kyi and
the 88-Generation Student leaders who were arrested for organizing the
protests against increased fuel prices last month.

____________________________________

September 20, Irrawaddy
Four detained activists in good health, But others “in hospital” - Shah Paung

Four members of the 88 Generation Student group arrested one month ago
have written to their families, saying they are in good health. Four
others, however, are reported to be in Insein prison hospital after being
tortured.

Ko Ko Gyi, Arnt Bwe Kyaw, Panneik Tun and Pyone Cho all wrote to their
families, saying they were being interrogated but were in good health.
Their whereabouts, however, have not been disclosed by the authorities.

Panneik Tun’s sister said local authorities had delivered a letter from
him on Thursday afternoon. They said they were not allowed to say where
Panneik Tun was being held.

“We feel a bit better after hearing from him, but we are still worried
about how he is being interrogated,” his sister said.

Pyone Cho’s father, Win Maung, said local authorities accompanied by two
police officers had delivered a letter from his son on Wednesday. Pyone
Cho told his family not to worry and said he was fine.

A source close to Arnt Bwe Kyaw’s family said the authorities had
delivered a letter to his mother on Wednesday.

Win Maung said he thought the detained activists were being allowed to
write to their families after appeals had been made to the International
Committee of the Red Cross.

A prisoner released from Insein prison said four prominent activists
arrested with nine others on August 21 were in the prison hospital. He
named them as Min Ko Naing, Mya Aye, Kyaw Min Yu (also known as Jimmy) and
Kyaw Kyaw Htwe (aka Marki).

The released prisoner said the four had been tortured under interrogation.
Screens had been placed around their hospital beds, he said.

The state-run newspaper The New Light of Myanmar charged in a report on
September 9 that the arrested activists had been in contact with
insurgents planning terrorist acts.

____________________________________

September 20, Irrawaddy
Rangoon youth join hands to protect demonstrating monks - Violet Cho

About 1,000 Buddhist monks peacefully marched through Rangoon on Thursday
as hundreds of students and young people protected the monks by joining
hands as a human chain, witnesses said.

It was the third day of protest demonstrations by monks across the country.

Some monks near the head of the marching column carried religious flags
and one monk carried an alms bowl turned upside down as a symbol of not
accepting alms from the military government or its supporters.

The monks and laypeople marched in the rain.

The protesting monks gathered at the Shwedagon Pagoda and then marched to
Sule Pagoda, passing by the former US Embassy and the British Embassy in
downtown Rangoon.

According to witnesses, several Western foreigners also followed along
with the monks, along with a car believed to be from one of the embassies.

Other nearby cars, believed to belong to Burmese security authorities,
carried passengers who took video and still photographs from inside the
cars, according to one source.

Sources said about two hundred laypeople walked along with the monks as
well as a number of individuals who were suspected of being members of the
security services.

The march ended peacefully about 4 p.m.

____________________________________

September 20, Mizzima News
Junta postpone quarterly meeting; Monk protests continue - Mungpi

With Buddhist monks continuing their protests, the Burmese junta has
postponed its quarterly meeting, originally scheduled to be held on
September 24, said a source close to the military.

While the reason for the postponement remains unclear, observers believe
the junta may have been forced to postpone the meeting due to the ongoing
protests, which have spread to many parts of the country. However other
sources say the postponement could be related to the sudden death of Major
General Tin Tun, the twin brother of the junta's Prime Minister Lieutenant
General Soe Win.

Major General Tin Tun, director of the directorate of military
engineering, who was also rumored to have donated bone marrow to his twin
brother, reportedly died yesterday. However the cause of his death is
still unknown.

The junta's military commanders from around the country, including
regional commanders, light infantry division commanders, military
operation command commanders and tactical operation command commanders,
left for the quarterly meeting in Naypyitaw on Wednesday. However they
must now head back to their posts following the announcement to postpone
the meeting, said independent Burmese analyst Win Min.

"This is the first time since 1988 that this meeting is postponed due to
protests," Win Min said, adding the postponement shows that the junta is
worried about the continuing monk demonstrations getting out of control if
regional and division commanders will not be at their posts.

Monks in Burma, since Tuesday, have been staging protests and rallies in
many parts of Burma, including: Rangoon, Sittwe in Arakan State, and
Kyaukpadaung, Chauk, and Pakhokku in central Burma's Magwe Division.

Enraged monks in Sittwe yesterday reportedly seized a government office
for at least 4 hours, after the authorities used teargas to disperse
protesting monks the previous day.

Meanwhile, there are wild speculations making their rounds among observers
that astronomically the health of Prime Minister Soe Win is in danger
following the death of his twin brother Tin Tun, who had earlier gone to
Singapore for treatment but died in Burma on Wednesday.

Soe Win has also been receiving medical treatment in Singapore.

____________________________________

September 20, Mizzima News
Authorities disconnect train coach of Bago monks

Desperate to stop monks congregating in Rangoon, the Burmese military
junta authorities today disconnected a train coach carrying a group of
monks travelling from Bago to join the protests by monks' n the former
capital.

About 130 monks from Bago were making their way to Rangoon to join the
protests today at the invitation of monks in the former capital but where
left behind in a coach in Toe Kyaung Lay station, when the authorities
disconnected their coach.

The monks, who are mainly from Sasanah Manaing monastery in Bago, also
attempted to go to Rangoon yesterday by car but were stopped in Hleku town
before reaching Rangoon, said an abbot in Bago.

"Yesterday, the monks traveled by car but were stopped and not allowed to
enter Rangoon . The monks said they are going back to their homes in
Rangoon, so today the authorities arranged a train for them," the abbot
told Mizzima.

The monks have been trying to reach Rangoon at the invitation of monks in
Rangoon to join them in their protests, a Bago resident told Mizzima.

Monks in Rangoon today divided into two groups and marched the streets in
protest, where thousands of civilians applauded and joined the march.

Meanwhile, security has been tightened in Rangoon and barbed wires and
barricades were placed in front of downtown Rangoon city hall, which
protesters have been using as a strategic location.

Officers of the 77 brigade have been stationed near the Shwedagon pagoda
and have taken charge of the security in the city.

____________________________________

September 20, Kachin News Group
Christians keep in silence, Buddhist monks keep in under control in
Northern Burma

Currently in a wave of protests against Burma's ruling junta across the
county led by Buddhist monks, Christians in Northern Burma keep in silence
but the monks are tightly controlled by the authorities, said local
sources.

All Buddhist monasteries in Myitkyina Township, capital of Kachin State
have been closely watched all the time since last weekend by the junta's
security agents including police, special branch police and soldiers,
residents told KNG today.

The authorities violate the Buddhism that both the monastic monks and
student monks called Koyins have been completely stopped the regular food
collecting activities from the outside devotees' houses since last
weekend.  The monks are restricted to come down to the ground from their
rooms in the monasteries, said local devotees.

The two main monasteries of Wuntu and Suu Taung Pyi and their leaders in
Myitkyina downtown are mainly watched and all types of communications are
also cut off by the authorities, the local sources close to the
monasteries.

However, all Kachin Christian denominations and majority of Myitkyina
remain silence on current demonstrations in lower Burma against ruling
junta and stay away from the movements, according to local Churches'
sources.

Early days in last week, the ruling junta's Minister of Post and
Telecommunication, Brig-Gen Thein Zaw accompanied by Maj-Gen Ohn Myint of
Kachin State's Commander visited to several main Christian churches in
Myitkyina, said local Christians' sources.

The minister and commander had visited several Churches headquarters
offices around Myitkyina-- Kachin Baptist Convention (KBC), KBC
(Fundamental), Assembly of God (AG) and Church of Christ (COC).  They
offered the Churches leaders with a special chance to get GSM mobile
phones and free donated rice and money, local Churches' sources said.

It is very unusual offers of junta's junior leader to Kachin denominations
in Kachin State while the ordinary businessmen and civilians are
impossible to get such offers, said local businessmen.

Local political analysts told KNG today, they thought that the junta has
started to organize on Kachins (almost Kachins are Christains) by Kachin
State-born Minister Brig-Gen Thein Zaw and Commander Maj-Gen Ohn Myint
before the election in the country according to the junta's roadman.

In Kachin State, students' poster movements against the regime have been
seen in Myitkyina and Bhamo towns and the junta's security agents are full
in there, said residents.

____________________________________
BUSINESS / TRADE

September 20, Independent Mon News Agency
Value of Burmese currency drops - Joi Htaw

The value of the Kyat has decreased in relation to the Thai Baht and has
been unstable over the last two days. Now, 40 Kyat is equal to one Baht.

One Baht is worth around 40.60 Kyat in Three Pagoda Pass, Thailand-Burma
border, where the border gate is closed and there are not many traders and
business people left.

Kyat 4080 fetches 100 Baht in the Myawadi-Mae Sot border area.

Most of the Thai goods imported to Karen and Mon State from Burma is done
through the Mae-Sot Thailand border town to Myawadi, Burma border town due
to better communication, where the Asia High way from Thailand cross
through Burma.

Three Pagoda Pass and Myawadi are not the only towns where the value of
the Kyat has decreased. The same is true for Kawthoung, sourthern part of
Burma.

The Burmese currency has been stable under kyat 40 (one Baht) for a long
time this year.  But it declined yesterday.

Businessmen and private money changers on the border towns said people who
have Burmese Kyat try to buy the Thai Baht and gold and other assets
because of rumours of the currency being scrapped and the unstable
political situation in Burma .

The price of gold has increased by 10,000 Kyat (in Burmese measurement)
from 500,000 to 510,000 Kyat.

 A gold shop owner in Moulmein , the capital of Mon said, the sale of gold
is normal and the amount sold and bought has not changed.

A Thanphyuzayart from Mon state resident said, the price of some consumer
goods have decreased a little and it seems the authorities have been
manipulating the price. However, other commodity prices are increasing.

____________________________________

September 19, Reuters
India's ONGC in deal for new Myanmar blocks-sources

Indian state-run explorer Oil and Natural Gas Corp is likely to sign an
agreement with Myanmar next week for the exploration of 3 offshore blocks,
company and government sources said on Wednesday.

A senior ONGC official, who could not be named, said the blocks off
Myanmar's Arakan state had been offered on a nomination basis through
negotiations to the Indian firm.

"It's a government to government deal. Money involved is marginal. We will
be investing for seismic and exploration activities," the company official
told Reuters.

ONGC through its overseas investment arm ONGC Videsh will own 100 percent
of the three blocks, he said.

ONGC Videsh Managing Director R.S. Butola will this Sunday accompany
India's oil minister, Murli Deora, on a trip to the southeast Asian
nation.

"The agreement signing ceremony will take place on Monday," said an oil
ministry official, who also could not be named.

ONGC already has a 20 percent stake in two offshore blocks in Myanmar,
while Indian gas transmission company GAIL Ltd. has a 10 percent stake in
both.

South Korea's Daewoo International Corp operates the two blocks with a 60
percent stake, while Korea Gas Corp owns the remaining 10 percent.

____________________________________
DRUGS

September 20, Agence France Presse
Myanmar arrests 262 suspected drug dealers in August

Myanmar, the world's second-largest opium producer after Afghanistan,
arrested 262 suspected drug dealers and seized 110 kilograms (242 pounds)
of opium in August, state media said Thursday.

Among those arrested in the military-ruled nation, nearly 20 percent were
women, the official New Light of Myanmar daily said, citing police
figures.

Police seized 3.5 kilogrammes (7.7 pounds) of marijuana and 114,000
stimulant tablets last month, the paper said.

Myanmar regularly burns drug hauls to convince the world that it is
cracking down on rampant drug production.

But the United States, a vocal critic of the junta, has said several
hundred million amphetamine tablets are produced in Myanmar every year and
shipped by gangs to neighbouring China and Thailand.

China, one of the few countries believed to hold any influence with
Myanmar's ruling generals, has publicly pressured the junta to do more to
reduce the drug problem.

China blames drugs from Myanmar for high rates of addiction and HIV in its
southwestern Yunnan province.

____________________________________
INTERNATIONAL

September 20, Mizzima News
Hollywood comedian calls for UNSC action on Burma - Mungpi

Even as the UN Security Council prepares to hear a briefing on Burma
today, Hollywood actor and comedian Jim Carrey on Wednesday called for
stronger coordination by the Council on the situation in Burma.

Carrey in a YouTube video release on September 19, urged the people
through out the world to write to the world body chief and press him "to
coordinate a strong response by the United Nations Security Council on the
situation in Burma."

Carrey's video message came a day ahead of the UN Security Council's
meeting for a briefing by Gambari, Ban Ki-moon's Special Advisor on Burma,
today.

Earlier, a host of Hollywood celebrities including Anjelica Huston,
Jennifer Aniston, Dustin Hoffman, Owen Wilson, Eric Szmanda, and Susan
Sarandon sent a public letter to the UN chief appealing to him to take
urgent action.

"Right there in front of your key board you have the power to help,"
Carrey appealed to the viewers of his message and urged the people to act
in order to pressure the UN Chief to urgently act on Burma.

Carrey, who released his first video message on Burma on September 6, said
the Secretary General and the Security Council have come under
international criticism for their slow reaction on the Burmese junta that
has destroyed over 3,000 villages and forced 1.5 million people to flee
their homes as refugees.

The Burmese junta has attracted international condemnation for the recent
heavy handed crackdown on peaceful protesters, now led by monks, in
Rangoon and other parts of Burma over the hike in fuel prices.

Meanwhile, the US campaign for Burma and the Human Rights Action Center,
which jointly coordinated Jim Carrey's video messages, in a press
statement said, the UN Security Council, by its slow response on the
situation in Burma, is making the same mistake it made on Rwanda and
Darfur.

"We strongly encourage people throughout the world to watch this video and
immediately contact the UN Secretary General to demand Security Council
action," said Jeremy Woodrum, co-founder of the US Campaign for Burma .

Meanwhile, a UN Security Council update report, said while the Council
will hear a briefing by Gambari, who has made two visits to Burma last
year, on the situation of Burma, the majority members of the council
appear to favour a low-key discussion on Burma in the Council at this
stage.

Besides Carrey, several other Hollywood stars including Eric Szmanda from
the television show "CSI" and Walter Koenig from "Star Trek", who have
made recent visits to Thailand-Burma border, have raised their voice on
the need for the UN to act immediately on the situation in Burma.

____________________________________

September 20, Mizzima News
Gambari to brief Security Council

Amid a growing chorus of appeals for the United Nations Security Council
to take action over Burma, the Security Council is preparing to hear a
report from the Special Advisor on Burma, Ibrahim Gambari, today.

Gambari, who gave a carefully worded press conference on September 5th in
defense of the United Nations current strategy regarding Burma, is
expected to follow-up on the results of Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's
consultative process with leaders from around the world.

Conducted by himself and through the good offices of the Secretary
General, Gambari's discussions with world leaders have taken him in recent
months across Asia, Europe and North America.

As monk-led protests in Burma reach their highest levels to date, Gambari
is also expected to speak on the impact of current events on the United
Nations initiative.

In his September 5th statements, Gambari had referred to events inside
Burma up to that point as a "setback" along the road to political reform
and the restoration of democratic governance.

Gambari is believed to be preparing to visit Burma around the middle of
October.

The latest call for the Secretary General to push the Security Council to
act on Burma has come from U.S. actor Jim Carrey. Carrey, who previously
recorded a video calling for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi, on Wednesday
posted a video on You Tube asking viewers to email the Secretary General
and request Security Council action.

____________________________________
OPINION / OTHER

September 20, Irrawaddy
Can't the UN pass a Burma resolution now? - Htet Aung

Without international intervention or significant UN diplomacy Burma could
easily witness another killing field, similar to the slaughter of at least
3,000 Burmese in the 1988 democracy uprising.

The United Nations Security Council heard a briefing on Burma on September
20 by the Secretary-General's Special Adviser on Burma, Ibrahim Gambari.

There appears to be no easy solution, but the Burmese people are
understandably frustrated and weary of the international community and the
UN's inability to pressure the military junta to take meaningful steps
toward national reconciliation and democracy. Indeed, the people see that
the regime is moving in the other direction.

After 20 years under military rule and the introduction of a so-called
market-oriented economy, Burma is floundering economically and
experiencing massive social instability. The living standard is even lower
now than under a socialist government in the 1980s.

The peaceful demonstrations of Buddhist monks in numerous cities is a
reflection of the people's suffering and evidence of a failed state—if
more evidence was needed.

The recent demonstrations are really about the broken trust between the
people and the military government.

The UN and the international community need to understand that both
political and humanitarian interventions must be carried out in the
country. Humanitarian efforts have international support, but there's a
great need for more political support: put more international, political
pressure on the generals.

It must be understood that the incompetent, corrupt and egocentric
generals have run the country into the ground. Their 20-year governance
shows they have done nothing to improve the welfare of the people.

Instead, poverty, malnutrition, land confiscation and a decline in the
standard of public health and education have accelerated to the point that
the United Nations humanitarian coordinator to Burma, Charles Patrie,
issued a confidential report in April 2007 to warn the international
community of the country's dire condition.

Only by addressing the political stalemate between the regime and the
democratic opposition parties led by the National League for Democracy and
ethnic minority groups will there be any chance of creating a better
social environment.

The UN’s country coordinator should truly reveal the country’s plight to
the world. If the UN can’t get access to reliable socio-politico-economic
data or it can only get data provided by the regime, it is, in a way, a
conspiring partner with the generals.

For 20 years, the generals have ignored international efforts to bring
about national reconciliation and to build a civilian government that
represents all of the national ethnic groups.

We have moved beyond debating the theories of to-sanction or not-to-sanction.

Now is the time for the UN Security Council to adopt a binding resolution
to pressure the world’s most notorious junta to take meaning steps to
national reconciliation and democracy.

If not now, when?

____________________________________

September 20, Irrawaddy
“Experts” who should now eat their words - Yeni

When demonstrations against the Burmese junta’s latest assault on the
living standards of its people began on August 19, some so-called experts
played down the extent of the protests.

Although around 500 Rangoon residents led by prominent activists of the 88
Generation Students group marched through the city, provoking a violent
crackdown by the regime and its hired thugs, two well-known commentators
dismissed the turnout and subsequent demonstrations as “small-scale” and
doubted whether the country would witness major protests.

As hundreds of monks, supported by as many ordinary people, now stage
daily displays of dissatisfaction with the way the country is being run,
Messrs David Steinberg and Zarni must be wishing they had not been so
quick with their words. Both went on record in august
surroundings—Steinberg at Georgetown University in Washington and Zarni at
Oxford University’s Queen Elizabeth Hall.

Apart from being wrong in their assessment of the crisis, Steinberg and
Zarni are both missing the point.

This isn’t a numbers game. The size of the demonstrations is less
important than the weight of sentiment and public opinion that supports
them and the great courage shown by the participants, who knew beforehand
of the brutality that awaited them.

The bravery of these men and women and the monks with whom they now link
arms wins applause throughout the world, where democratic governments are
witnessing a people’s aspirations for freedom and justice.

In Washington, London and other free world capitals, the sacrifice of
these courageous Burmese who demonstrate for the rights of their fellow
citizens is fully recognized and their noble cause is backed to the full.

Commentators who can’t share this sympathy with a suffering people don’t
deserve to be called “experts on Burma.”

____________________________________

September 20, Asia Times
US turns to China to influence Myanmar - Drew Thompson

When US President George W Bush met with Chinese President Hu Jintao at
the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in Sydney on September 6,
trade and Taiwan appeared to dominate their agenda. Little notice,
however, was taken of one of Bush's talking points: Myanmar.

The US government has long sought to isolate Myanmar because of the
persistent human-rights abuses that have occurred since the military junta
refused to recognize the results of a 1990 election. Recent protests over
rising fuel prices in Myanmar's main city of Yangon resulted in the
detention of protesters and dissidents, ensuring that Bush would raise the
issue during his relatively brief face-to-face meeting with Hu.

US officials expect that they can encourage China to use its long-standing
political and economic influence with Myanmar's ruling generals to improve
its human-rights practices and release the winner of the 1990 elections,
Aung San Suu Kyi, from house arrest. Unfortunately, a significant gap
remains between Chinese and US interests in Myanmar and there is little
likelihood that China will abandon its realist approach to its neighbor
and become embroiled in Myanmar's domestic politics at the behest of the
United States.

Late last month, protesters in Yangon took to the streets to protest
recent fuel-price increases. The government responded swiftly, arresting
dissidents associated with opposition leader Suu Kyi, ensuring that what
has been a low-grade crisis for the past 20 years features more
prominently on the US political agenda.

Burma, as the US State Department continues to call Myanmar (the junta
officially renamed the country in 1989), has been in a constant state of
disarray stemming from economic sanctions, political isolation and
government mismanagement. In addition to ethnic unrest and widespread
poverty, the country faces a constant energy crisis at home, despite oil
and gas reserves both on and offshore. Trucks, taxis, buses and private
cars spend hours each week in long fuel lines, while black-market fueling
stations line highways beyond city limits. Electricity outages are a daily
occurrence, and generators dot the sidewalks in front of shops in Yangon
and Mandalay.

A member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) since 1997,
Myanmar's erratic leadership has long caused embarrassment to the other
members, in addition to challenging the grouping's desire to be a relevant
and effective regional force. Bound by treaty and shared principles not to
interfere in one another's internal politics, ASEAN members are determined
to employ a "constructive engagement" strategy with Myanmar.

Additionally, both Chinese and US interests have to be taken seriously by
ASEAN member nations. As China's economic and political presence increases
steadily, ASEAN nations have to be particularly cautious not to get caught
between an increasingly assertive China and the dominant power, the United
States.

Growing competition from India
China has significant historic, political, and economic ties to Myanmar,
while India struggles to catch up. Burma was the first non-communist
country to recognize the People's Republic of China in 1949. The
China-Burma border dispute was settled in 1960, in contrast to the
China-India border that remains contested today.

China has been a staunch supporter of the current military junta,
providing arms and diplomatic support in the United Nations, as well as
aid for infrastructure and projects to increase cross-border commerce.
Moreover, northern Myanmar has a large ethnic-Chinese population, creating
cultural ties that facilitate trade, both legitimate and illicit, between
the two countries. China considers Myanmar be securely within its sphere
of influence and sees India's attempts to increase its presence as a
direct challenge.

With proven natural-gas reserves of about 2.48 trillion cubic meters,
representing 1.4% of the world supply, and little capital or
infrastructure to exploit it, Myanmar is increasingly at the center of a
growing competition between India and China to develop and transport
offshore natural gas to their respective home markets.

Compared with China, India's growing need to import energy is often
overlooked. Indian economic growth is second only to China's, with
increases of about 9% in gross domestic product in each of the past two
years, and like China, India is dependent on oil and gas imports to fuel
its expanding economy.

India is the sixth-largest energy importer, and its import growth rate is
climbing faster than China's. Last month, India's oil minister publicly
expressed his concerns that it is losing out to China in the race to
ensure its energy security. Though subsequently disputed by other parties,
the minister illustrated his point by announcing that Myanmar had awarded
China the right to build a pipeline from two offshore gas fields in which
Indian state-owned companies hold a 30% minority stake.

Regardless of the accuracy of the minister's remarks (or the poor
transparency of the award process), Indian concerns about the success of
Chinese investments in Myanmar's infrastructure and energy sectors are
genuine. Chinese media have recently announced agreements to develop three
offshore gas fields and to build a pipeline connecting the port of Sittwe
with southwestern China.

This competition for regional influence and resources is shaping
geostrategic perceptions in both China and India. India, which straddles
the vital sea lanes linking the Persian Gulf to Asia, is concerned about a
growing Chinese presence in the Indian Ocean and the Middle East.

Chinese-funded ports and bases reportedly under construction in Myanmar,
Bangladesh and Pakistan increase India's concerns that China might someday
challenge them in the Indian Ocean, validating their desire to build
another aircraft carrier. China's opaque military buildup is an additional
cause for India's concern as China's academics debate the geopolitical
impact of having its own aircraft carrier and People's Liberation Army
officers consider the technical complexities of building and operating
one.

Myanmar is not Sudan
China, as opposed to India, faces considerably more pressure from the
international community to use its influence in countries such as Myanmar
and Sudan. China's permanent seat on the UN Security Council, an expanding
global economic footprint, and its comparable success over India in the
energy-security "race" exposes it to greater censure. While Indian
officials are questioned about their ties to Myanmar, which include
military aid to the junta, India's democratic government and comparably
better human-rights record shield it to some extent (though India's own
human-rights record is far from spotless).

Although India imports 3 million tonnes of "equity crude" per year from
Sudan and holds a 25% stake in the production consortium, India has
received much less criticism from US activists. China National Petroleum
Corp holds a 40% controlling stake in the venture and imports more than
twice India's volume of crude oil. While China had previously resisted
pressuring the Sudanese government to address the Darfur issue, it has
become more proactive in supporting a peacekeeping plan, winning public
support from the UN and even some US officials.

Just as China has demonstrated some flexibility interpreting its
long-standing "non-interference" ideology with Sudan, there are some
indications that China will also seek to play a positive role in Myanmar.
China is particularly sensitive to criticism in the run-up to the 2008
Summer Olympic Games, which has provided a platform for activists
advocating for various interests.

US First Lady Laura Bush has been vocal about the political repression in
Myanmar and sees China as a logical instrument with leverage to drive
political change. She has met with activists and called UN Secretary
General Ban Ki-moon to discuss the issue of Myanmar.

In a recent interview reported by the Wall Street Journal, the first lady
stated her strategy: "China does have a huge amount of influence over
Burma," she said. "They share a border, for one thing. But also, they ...
use the natural resources out of Burma," and in the end "they prop up a
government that - a failed state, really, is what they're propping up,
just like in the Sudan."

Mrs Bush added, "Right now, after cooperating with China in the six-party
talks with North Korea, and with the Chinese Olympics coming up, I think
this is a really good time for activists and advocates for Burma and the
Sudan and other countries to put pressure on China."

As in Sudan, China has recently taken an interest in ensuring that US
interests in Myanmar are considered. This June in Beijing, a senior US
State Department official met with Myanmar's minister of foreign affairs
in an unusually direct meeting brokered by the Chinese. The last time a
similar senior-level US-Myanmar meeting took place was in 2003.

However, there are undoubtedly limits to China's willingness and ability
to be a "responsible stakeholder" in the case of Myanmar. While China
enjoys good relations with the ruling Myanmar junta, guanxi (networking)
alone is unlikely to cause political reforms to take place. Myanmar is not
wholly dependent on China for trade and international political protection
and can afford to say "no".

In addition, Myanmar's generals view China's growing political and
economic influence in the region with increasing discomfort, and India's
interest in Myanmar's energy sector offers a convenient hedge, and an
opportunity to obtain better economic terms for licensing access to its
energy.

Mindful that its leverage is not as strong as critics might suggest, China
has been careful to point out that, while not antagonistic, it does not
necessarily share ownership with US interests. One Chinese official, when
informally queried about human rights in Myanmar, stated the Chinese
position succinctly, saying, "This is your issue." That said, the United
States and China do have some mutual interests in Myanmar, such as
anti-narcotics efforts and other humanitarian and non-traditional security
issues, which can form a basis for partnership.

The United States, ASEAN, India and China are all aware that the people of
Myanmar suffer from extensive poverty induced by horrendous governance,
though there is no consensus about how best to address that challenge.
Fostering change will require continued US attention and dialogue with
regional friends, including ASEAN members, India and China to influence
Myanmar's ruling generals to implement meaningful political reforms.
Collaborative efforts that improve the human-security situation in Myanmar
remain one potential avenue for cooperation that will ease suffering and
contribute to long-term efforts to improve the political situation.

Washington must recognize, however, that China and India have a growing
need for energy, and Myanmar is a strategic consideration in both
countries' calculations. A US strategy to promote democracy and human
rights in Myanmar should recognize that ASEAN, Chinese and Indian
interests do not necessarily coincide with its human-rights agenda.

For instance, India, the world's largest democracy, has shown little
interest in "exporting" its political system. Likewise, the US must
recognize that China's influence in Myanmar has its limits, particularly
as India wages its own effort to woo the generals. Finding common ground
on political as well as energy issues will increase the likelihood of
success in bringing political reform and stability to Myanmar while at the
same time providing for China and India's energy security.

Drew Thompson is the director of China studies and Starr senior fellow at
the Nixon Center in Washington, DC. He was formerly the national director
of the China-MSD (Merck Sharp & Dohme) HIV/AIDS partnership in Beijing and
the assistant director of the Freeman chair in China studies at the Center
for Strategic and International Studies.

____________________________________
PRESS RELEASE

September 20, The Asian Human Rights Commission
AHRC appeals for global Buddhist boycott of Burma regime

(AHRC) on Thursday urged the Buddhist community worldwide to join with
monks in Burma and boycott anybody from or associated with its military
regime.

"We urge the honourable members of the Sangha (Buddhist community)
everywhere to follow the example set by their counterparts in Burma and
formally declare that they will not accept alms from representatives of
the military government, including staff of Burmese embassies and
consulates, or persons directly associated with it," Basil Fernando,
executive director of the Hong Kong-based regional rights group, said.

The call followed three days of marches by thousands Buddhist monks around
Burma, after a demand from the union in Mandalay that the government
authorities apologise for a September 5 assault on monks that were
demonstrating against sudden price rises of fuels in August.

One is alleged to have died from the assault.

Monks in numerous parts of the country, including Rangoon, Pegu, Mandalay,
Sittwe and Mogoke, have also since Monday held ceremonies to declare a
boycott against all members of the military regime and their associates.

The declaration of a boycott, which is decided in accordance with an
ancient code of discipline, means that the monks will neither accept
donations nor preach or preside over ceremonies where members of the
junta, army personnel and others are participating.

"It is important for persons abroad to understand the tremendous
significance of this act, socially, culturally, religiously and
psychologically," Fernando said.

"It is not done lightly or casually--it is an established and final
recourse of action for the Sangha when its members feel that a
transgression against it is so grievous that it can no longer be
tolerated," he explained.

The boycott, which is known in Pali as "patta-nikkujjana", or "overturning
the alms bowl", can be initiated under specific circumstances, such as
where lives of monks are deliberately put in danger, as occurred at
Pakkoku.

Under the monks' code of discipline, the Vinaya Pitaka, it must be
formally agreed upon and announced in assemblies.

The AHRC has obtained a recording of one of the gatherings to declare the
boycott, at midday on Tuesday, in Rangoon.

The recording can be heard at:
http://burma.ahrchk.net/wav/20070918_Boycott.wav.

A transcript of the Pali recitation heard on the recording follows.

A translation of the Burmese version of the recitation can be read at:
http://www.ahrchk.net/statements/mainfile.php/2007statements/1203
</statements/mainfile.php/2007statements/1203>

Fernando said that he hoped that members of the worldwide Sangha would be
moved to understand and support their peers in Burma, and that others too
would grasp the significance of the step and lend support.

"In particular we want to urge the Sangha in other predominantly
Buddhist countries, especially Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Sri Lanka, to
pay special heed to what has been happening in Burma," he said.

"People in the birthplace of Buddhism too, India, a neighbouring country
that has failed in recent years to do anything to support human rights in
Burma, should take a long hard look at what is happening there and get
involved," the AHRC director urged.

Those in other countries and of other faiths too should find the recent
events of special interest, Fernando added.

"It is important to understand that the boycott is done with compassion,
in order that the person or persons who have transgressed learn the error
of their ways and mend them," Fernando noted.

"It can be reversed at any time if they do so--it is not permanent," he
added.

The monks joining marches in recent days had also been chanting prayers of
loving-kindness, he noted, which extend across the whole world and not
only the boundaries of Burma and its Buddhist community.

"In recent times, prayer campaigners in Burma have prayed not only for
their own people but for those of other creeds and faiths, such as a group
of Koreans abducted in Afghanistan," Fernando said.

"Now there is a wonderful opportunity for people of all different
religious faiths to return their blessings and pray for the monks and
their followers in Burma, each according to their own practices and
beliefs," he observed.

The last time that the monkhood in Burma declared a boycott on the
military government, in 1990, they were met with a ferocious crackdown.
Dozens were killed, hundreds were disrobed and jailed, and new
disciplinary committees set up to monitor the monasteries.

"The monks are clearly demonstrating against what has been happening in
their country but trying to avoid bloodshed at all costs," Fernando said,
pointing out that they had been preventing large crowds from gathering
around them or walking with them, which may be used as a pretext for
violence by the regime.

The AHRC has set up a webpage with resources on the ongoing protests in
Burma: http://campaigns.ahrchk.net/burmaprotests/

TEXT OF PALI RECITAL AT A PATTA-NIKKUJJANA CEREMONY IN RANGOON ON 18
SEPTEMBER 2007*

Sun tu me bante Samgho; cand  ruddh  rabas  vihesak  aday luk  mah
corayodhar j no Pakokku-nagare ekam beikkhum marenti
Samgha&ntilde; ca bhandhanti vihetthenti akkosanti parib santi, yadi
Samghassa battakallam Samgho cand nam ruddh nam rabas nam vihesak nam
aday luk nam mah corayodhar jknam pattam nikkujjeyya, asambogam
Sanghena kareyya, es  ktti.

Sun tu me bante Samgho; cand  ruddh  rabas  vihesak  aday luk
mah corayodhar j no Pakokku-nagare ekam beikkhum marenti
Samgha&ntilde; ca bhandhanti vihetthenti akkosanti parib santi,
Samgho cand nam ruddh nam rabas nam vihesak nam aday luk nam
mah corayodhar jknam pattam nikkujjati, asambogam Sanghena karoti,
yass yasamato khamati cand nam ruddh nam rabas nam vihesak nam
aday luk nam mah corayodhar jknam pattam nikkujjan , asambogam
Sanghena karanam, so tunhassa, yassa nagkhamati, so baseyya.

Nikkujjito Sanghena cand nam ruddh nam rabas nam vihesak nam
aday luk nam mah corayodhar jknam patto, asambogo Sanghena, khamati
Sanghassa, tasm  tunh+ evametam dharay mi.

* We apologise that some diacritical marks ordinarily used to distinguish
between different consonants are missing from this transcription due to
their absence from the standard Roman fonts. If there are further font
problems, you can also read this statement online at
http://www.ahrchk.net/pr/mainfile.php/2007mr/479/

About AHRC: The Asian Human Rights Commission is a regional
non-governmental organisation monitoring and lobbying human rights issues
in Asia. The Hong Kong-based group was founded in 1984.

____________________________________
ANNOUNCEMENT

September 20, Myanmar Future Generations
M.F.G Release Generations Remix 2007

M.F.G released a new song, named Generations Remix in urgency of time. We
are also working on a music documentary presentation to follow up with.
With all due respects, this protest song is our dedicated tribute to ’88
Generation Students’ brothers and sisters.

Please feel free to spread this music around to support for people in the
country.

Please download a new M.F.G song @ http://www.mm-fg.net/
or alternatively @ http://lunge.multiply.com

Faithfully Yours,
M.F.G

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This time, we promise! This time, we'll be different!
We REP our generations and we RAP for the nation!!
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Contact Information

Email: mfg at mm-fg.net
Email: myanmarfuturegenerations at yahoo.com
Email: myanmarfuturegenerations at gmail.com

Official site: http://www.mm-fg.net/
Mirror site: http://lunge.multiply.com/

Connect: http://www.friendster.com/profiles/mmfg
Connect: http://360.yahoo.com/myanmarfuturegenerations
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