Burma Update: March 22, 2008

Highlight

International Lobour Organization: ILO Governing Body Concludes 301st Session - Considers Labour Situation in Myanmar, Colombia and Other Countries, Welcomes Growing Links with World Bank

"...In the case of Myanmar, the Committee examined the arrest of six labour activists sentenced to from 20 to 28 years of imprisonment after they had tried to organize celebrations and a seminar on labour issues for International Labour Day on 1 May 2007.

The Committee concluded that that the six persons referred to in the complaint were punished for exercising their fundamental right to freedom of association and freedom of expression. While noting that appeals were pending before the Supreme Court, the Committee urged the Government to take the necessary measures for the release of Thurein Aung, Wai Lin, Nyi Nyi Zaw, Kyaw Kyaw, Kyaw Win and Myo Min.

In examining this case, the Committee was obliged to recall earlier cases before it and the overall conclusion of a total absence of a legislative framework and climate sufficient to enable trade unions to exist in Myanmar. It once again requested the Government to refrain from any acts preventing the free operation of any form of organization of collective representation of workers, including organizations which operate in exile since they cannot be recognized in the prevailing legislative context of Myanmar."


News from Burmese Media

Shan Herald Agency for News: Tick ’em up or Else, Say Referendum Organizers
Kaladan Press Network: BDR Seizes Wine and Beer Worth Taka 200,000
Kaladan Press Network: Authorities Dismiss Maungdaw TPDC Chairman


News from Regional/International Media

Bangkok Post: Noppadon Advises the US on Burma
Bangkok Post: PM's Remarks on Burmese Junta Panned


Opinion/Other

Kaladan Press Network: Forgotten Frontiers - Bertil Lintner
Irrawaddy News Magazine: It’s Time for Gambari to Resign [Commentary] - Yeni
Burma Digest: Life Beyond Referendum - Thuria Tayza


Report/Briefer

Shan Herald Agency for News: Weekly Diary, No. 293 (15–21 March 2008)

- After 8888, Tiananmen; After Saffron, Lhasa!
- Thai PM: No Killings, No Suppression in Burma would be Abnormal!
- People Preapare to Vote for the Invisible!
- New War on Drugs in Thailand Starts!

Irrawaddy News Magazine: Weekly Business Roundup (March 22, 2008) - William Boot

- Thailand’s New PM Reinstates ‘Thaksin Loan’ to Junta
- New Delhi Gives Burma ‘Counterweight to Overbearing China’
- Military Puts Brake on Trade Links with Bangladesh


Special Feature

Irrawaddy News Magazine: Jungle Law and Order [Beyond 1988 - Reflectionsd XI] - Aung Naing Oo

Correction Appended

"April-May 1989: our months after I was elected to the Camp Committee, I was named camp secretary.

The situation in the student camp was chaotic. Residents came and went without any restrictions on their movements. There was no security. Strangers, criminals and government spies could slip in at any time.

Finding enough food was always a struggle. By April, all the vegetables that we had grown had been consumed. Not much could grow under the intense heat. Wild asparagus were plentiful in May after a good rain, but foraging in the jungle for food could not provide adequate supplies..."