Myanmar

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Activist Suu Kyi Should be Flogged: Burma Junta

Official media threatens democracy leader with violence

(Newser) - Official media controlled by Burma's junta said today that Aung San Suu Kyi, the democracy leader and Nobel laureate, deserves to be flogged "as in the case of naughty children." Editorials in several Burmese newspapers accused Suu Kyi of being in the pay of rebel guerrillas and foreign...

Burmese Comedian Bust Not Funny: UN
Burmese Comedian Bust Not Funny: UN
Jun 10, 2008 5:00 AM CDT

Burmese Comedian Bust Not Funny: UN

Popular funnyman had criticized junta and led team in relief effort

(Newser) - The UN's human rights official in Burma expressed concern over the arrest of a popular Burmese comedian who’d been helping cyclone survivors, the AP reports. The comedian, known as Zarganar, was nabbed Wednesday by authorities after traveling to the hard-hit Irrawaddy Delta to donate supplies, a relative said. He...

Burma Arrests Activist Linked to Cyclone Aid

Dissident comedian Zarganar taken away by secret police

(Newser) - The Burmese junta has arrested a leading activist who led a private aid program for victims of last month's Cyclone Nargis. Zarganar, a top comedian in Burma who was also arrested during September's protests, was taken away by secret police last night, Reuters reports. The junta continues to block aid...

Blocked US Ships Will Abandon Myanmar Aid

Junta refuses aid 15 times

(Newser) - US warships laden with aid for Burmese cyclone survivors will sail out of the region tomorrow still carrying their loads, Reuters reports. Burma's military junta has refused 15 requests to allow American forces to deliver aid supplies to the disaster zone, according to the admiral in charge of the operation.

Monks Provide Myanmar Relief
 Monks Provide Myanmar Relief 
May 31, 2008 10:50 AM CDT

Monks Provide Myanmar Relief

They offer comfort to 2.4 million struggling to survive

(Newser) - In the wake of Burma’s cyclone, Buddhist monks have become the only source of comfort—both “material” and “spiritual”—for many thousands of homeless and destitute who have been abandoned by the government, the New York Times reports. “Monks are like parents to us. The...

Gates: Junta Aid Delays Killed Thousands

Defense Secretary slams 'deaf and dumb' Burmese rulers

(Newser) - Tens of thousands of Burmese have died because of their government's refusal to allow in foreign aid after Cyclone Nargis, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said yesterday. Gates accused the military leaders of being "deaf and dumb" to the plight of their people, Reuters reports. American ships in the region...

Junta Closing Cyclone Shelters
 Junta Closing Cyclone Shelters 
May 30, 2008 12:16 PM CDT

Junta Closing Cyclone Shelters

UN official denounces coerced moves

(Newser) - The Burmese junta has reportedly begun closing shelters and telling cyclone victims to return to their decimated villages, a move that drew strong condemnation from a UN official, the BBC reports. Military leaders, apparently worried that the camps will become permanent aid centers, have given victims tents and bamboo poles...

Burma Rips 'Chocolate Bar' Aid; US Ships Threaten to Sail

Junta rails on stingy pace of int'l donations

(Newser) - Burma's military junta ripped international cyclone relief efforts today, slamming demands for access to the disaster zone and proclaiming "The people from Irrawaddy can survive without chocolate bars donated by foreign countries," Reuters reports. The slam comes a day after a US admiral threatened to yank warships from...

Canadians Bully Burmese Junta With... Panties?

Women mail skivvies to embassy to spook superstitious tyrants

(Newser) - When international pressure fails, try… underwear? Canadian women think they can change the Myanmar junta’s ways by mailing a steady stream of panties to the Myanmar embassy in Ottawa, Sify reports. The military dictators apparently harbor a superstitious fear that touching a woman’s undergarment will “rob them...

Burma Relief Effort Belies Need
 Burma Relief Effort Belies Need 
May 27, 2008 4:48 PM CDT

Burma Relief Effort Belies Need

Junta props up success stories but ignores thousands out of spotlight

(Newser) - Burma's junta would have one believe it's got the situation under control in the wake of Cyclone Nargis, and even has a test-case diorama as evidence for foreign envoys, the Times of London reports. Sinkan refugee camp hosts 180 well-fed, healthy inhabitants in clean blue tents—while 10 minutes down...

Burma Junta: No Freedom for Opposition Leader

Aung San Suu Kyi detention extended

(Newser) - The Nobel Prize-winning leader of the Burmese opposition will spend another year under house arrest, the country's military government announced today. Hopes that international pressure, along with the national crisis in the wake of Cyclone Nargis, might lead the junta to release Aung San Suu Kyi were dashed by a...

Burma's Monks Forge Secret Relief Network

Monks lead aid effort pushed by government reluctance

(Newser) - Although Burma’s junta relented today and allowed in foreign aid workers, weeks of delays and restrictions have led to the formation of an underground network of volunteers led by monks, Internet activists, and pro-democracy students. The Wall Street Journal looks at their efforts, which risk the wrath of the...

Burma Agrees to Accept All Aid
 Burma Agrees to Accept All Aid 
May 23, 2008 5:34 AM CDT

Burma Agrees to Accept All Aid

Junta drops opposition to aid workers entering country

(Newser) - Burma has agreed to let international disaster relief workers into the country to help with the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis, Bloomberg reports. The junta's about-face came after  UN chief Ban Ki-moon, who flew in yesterday, met the nation's  reclusive military leader, Senior Gen. Than Shwe. The UN hopes to ramp...

Visiting UN Chief Pushes Burma to Accept Aid

Junta refuses US supplies waiting nearby

(Newser) - UN chief Ban Ki-Moon witnessed cyclone damage in Burma today, on a trip to bring the devastated country a “message of hope” and push the junta to allow international aid for the millions left destitute, Reuters reports. “I'm quite confident we will be able to overcome this tragedy,...

World Toes Junta's Line as Burmese Die
 World Toes Junta's Line
 as Burmese Die 
Opinion
May 21, 2008 2:47 PM CDT

World Toes Junta's Line as Burmese Die

Dictators don't want you to think about the victims, and media is helping

(Newser) - The leaders of the Burmese junta don’t want you to think about the victims of Cyclone Nargis, writes Tom Jenkins for the Guardian, and the world and the media are only too happy to oblige. The Chinese government’s heroics in Asia's other natural disaster focuses attention on victims...

World Bank Nixes Loan to Burmese Junta

Military government 'in arrears' on earlier debts; aid still scarce

(Newser) - As Burma looks for loans to cover an estimated for $10 billion worth of damage from Cyclone Nargis, the World Bank won't be among the lenders, the Telegraph reports. The junta has been in debt to the bank for more than a decade, and the bank is legally barred from...

Burmese Buy Up Black-Market Cyclone Videos

People want 'to see what's happening,' says vendor

(Newser) - Black-market videos of floating bodies, famished survivors, and cyclone-ravaged villages have become best-sellers in Burma, AP reports. The tapes are illegal because the nation's military junta wants to hide the extent of the devastation. "People buy them because they are interested in seeing what happened out there," said...

Burma Relents on Foreign Docs, Aid Workers

But only from ASEAN member nations

(Newser) - Two and a half weeks after cyclone Nargis hit, Burma finally agreed today to allow foreign medics and disaster experts into the battered country, reports the BBC—but only from ASEAN member nations. UN chief Ban Ki-Moon also plans to jet to Burma on Wednesday to bring additional pressure to...

Junta Leader Visits Nargis Victims as UN Envoy Arrives

General meets survivors for first time since cyclone hit

(Newser) - The head of Burma's junta emerged today for the first time since cyclone Nargis struck two weeks ago to meet with survivors, CNN reports. Gen. Than Shwe visited a refugee camp 200 miles south of Yangon, touching the faces of infant survivors. The visit came as the UN's humanitarian secretary...

133K Dead, Missing: Junta
 133K Dead, Missing: Junta 
May 16, 2008 5:05 PM CDT

133K Dead, Missing: Junta

Military admits full impact of storm

(Newser) - Nearly 78,000 are confirmed dead and another 56,000 missing in the wake of Cyclone Nargis, Reuters reports. Torrential rains continued to pound Burma today, complicating rescue efforts. The EU’s chief aid official met with military leaders to press for increasing foreign rescue workers' involvement, but he met...

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