From a Burmese news-site:
Top two in junta divided
"Maung Aye and his loyalists are opposed to shooting into the crowd," a source close to the military hierarchy told Mizzima referring to the major differences that the head of junta Senior General Than Shwe and his second-in-command, Vice-Senior General Maung Aye have over the brutal crack down on protesters in Burma.
Burmese Air Force planes airborne
Military aircrafts from the Matehtilar airbase are airborne. It is not known why the aircrafts have scrambled. On the other hand there is commotion in the Light Infantry Division 33 and 99 of the Burma Army. The exact nature of the commotion cannot be determined as yet.
Troops marching to Rangoon
There is an urgent report that Burmese troops from middle Burma has started to march towards Rangoon. The reported troops are from Central Command based in Taung Oo and South East Command. At this reporting, it is not clear if the troops are marching to reinforce or to challenge the troops in Rangoon for shooting the Buddhist monks.
Burma street protests ...
Hell,
As has been discussed on this thread, who's going to do anything about it?
The Chinese, Russians and ASEAN countries simply don't give a damn as long as they can make some money.
I can't understand the Chinese and Russian involvement, other than mineral resources and the geographical position from a military point of view.
People have been trying to grab Burma for ages. It's the gateway from SE Asia to India - simple as that.
That should be sufficient for some "scuffles" and "flexing of muscles". Who's going to help the Burmese? Only themselves.
As has been discussed on this thread, who's going to do anything about it?
The Chinese, Russians and ASEAN countries simply don't give a damn as long as they can make some money.
I can't understand the Chinese and Russian involvement, other than mineral resources and the geographical position from a military point of view.
People have been trying to grab Burma for ages. It's the gateway from SE Asia to India - simple as that.
That should be sufficient for some "scuffles" and "flexing of muscles". Who's going to help the Burmese? Only themselves.
Soldiers hunt dissidents in Myanmar Wed Oct 3, 6:40 AM ET
YANGON, Myanmar - Soldiers announced that they were hunting pro-democracy protesters in Myanmar's largest city Wednesday and the top U.S. diplomat in the country said military police were pulling people out of their homes during the night.
Military vehicles patrolled the streets before dawn with loudspeakers blaring that: "We have photographs. We are going to make arrests!"
Shari Villarosa, the acting U.S. ambassador in Myanmar, said in a telephone interview that people in Yangon were terrified.
"From what we understand, military police ... are traveling around the city in the middle of the night, going into homes and picking up people," she said.
Residents living near the Shwedagon Pagoda, Myanmar's most revered shrine and a flashpoint of unrest, reported that police swept through several dozen homes in the middle of the night, dragging away several men for questioning. The homes were located above shops at a marketplace that caters to the nearby pagoda, selling monks robes and begging bowls.
Meanwhile, the junta pursued other means of intimidation. An employee from the Ministry of Transport, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that he was told to sign a statement saying he and his family would not take part in any political activity and would not listen to foreign radio reports. Many in Myanmar use short-wave radios to pick up foreign English-language stations — a main source for news about their tightly controlled country.
The U.N.'s special envoy, Ibrahim Gambari, declined to comment on his four-day mission to Myanmar, where the military junta last month crushed mass pro-democracy demonstrations led by the nation's revered Buddhist monks.
Villarosa said embassy staff had gone to some monasteries in recent days and found them completely empty. Others were barricaded by the military and declared off-limits to outsiders.
"There is a significantly reduced number of monks on the streets. Where are the monks? What has happened to them?" she said. The Democratic Voice of Burma, a dissident radio station based in Norway, said authorities have released 90 of 400 monks detained in Myitkyina, the capital of Kachin state, during a midnight raid on monasteries on Sept. 25.
A semblance of normality returned to Yangon after daybreak, with some shops opening and light traffic on roads.
However, "people are terrified, and the underlying forces of discontent have not been addressed," Villarosa said. "People have been unhappy for a long time ... Since the events of last week, there's now the unhappiness combined with anger, and fear."
Some people remained hopeful that democracy would come.
"I don't believe the protests have been totally crushed," said Kin, a 29-year-old language teacher in Yangon, whose father and brother had joined a 1988 pro-democracy movement that ended in a crackdown in which at least 3,000 people were killed.
"There is hope, but we fear to hope," she said. "We still dream of rearing our children in a country where everybody would have equal chances at opportunities."
The military has ruled Myanmar since 1962, and the current junta came to power after snuffing out the 1988 pro-democracy movement. The generals called elections in 1990 but refused to give up power when Suu Kyi's party won.
The military crushed the protests on Sept. 26 and 27 with live ammunition, tear gas and beatings. Hundreds of monks and civilians were carted off to detention camps. The government says 10 people were killed in the violence. But dissident groups put the death toll at up to 200 and say 6,000 people were detained.
Among those killed was Japanese television cameraman Kenji Nagai of the APF news agency. His body was flown from Myanmar to Tokyo on Wednesday.
Gambari went to Myanmar on Saturday to convey the international community's outrage at the junta's actions. He also hoped to persuade the junta to take the people's aspirations seriously.
He met junta leader Senior Gen. Than Shwe and his deputies and talked to detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi twice.
Gambari avoided the media in Singapore, where he arrived Tuesday night en route to New York. He was not expected to issue any statement before briefing U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Friday.
The junta has not commented on Gambari's visit and the United Nations has only released photos of Gambari and a somber, haggard-looking Suu Kyi — who has spent nearly 12 of the last 18 years under house arrest — shaking hands during their meeting in a state guest house in Yangon.
In Singapore, Gambari met with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, the chairman of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations bloc of which Myanmar is a member.
A Singapore government statement said Lee told Gambari that ASEAN "is fully behind his mission" to bring about "a political solution for national reconciliation and a peaceful transition to democracy."
YANGON, Myanmar - Soldiers announced that they were hunting pro-democracy protesters in Myanmar's largest city Wednesday and the top U.S. diplomat in the country said military police were pulling people out of their homes during the night.
Military vehicles patrolled the streets before dawn with loudspeakers blaring that: "We have photographs. We are going to make arrests!"
Shari Villarosa, the acting U.S. ambassador in Myanmar, said in a telephone interview that people in Yangon were terrified.
"From what we understand, military police ... are traveling around the city in the middle of the night, going into homes and picking up people," she said.
Residents living near the Shwedagon Pagoda, Myanmar's most revered shrine and a flashpoint of unrest, reported that police swept through several dozen homes in the middle of the night, dragging away several men for questioning. The homes were located above shops at a marketplace that caters to the nearby pagoda, selling monks robes and begging bowls.
Meanwhile, the junta pursued other means of intimidation. An employee from the Ministry of Transport, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that he was told to sign a statement saying he and his family would not take part in any political activity and would not listen to foreign radio reports. Many in Myanmar use short-wave radios to pick up foreign English-language stations — a main source for news about their tightly controlled country.
The U.N.'s special envoy, Ibrahim Gambari, declined to comment on his four-day mission to Myanmar, where the military junta last month crushed mass pro-democracy demonstrations led by the nation's revered Buddhist monks.
Villarosa said embassy staff had gone to some monasteries in recent days and found them completely empty. Others were barricaded by the military and declared off-limits to outsiders.
"There is a significantly reduced number of monks on the streets. Where are the monks? What has happened to them?" she said. The Democratic Voice of Burma, a dissident radio station based in Norway, said authorities have released 90 of 400 monks detained in Myitkyina, the capital of Kachin state, during a midnight raid on monasteries on Sept. 25.
A semblance of normality returned to Yangon after daybreak, with some shops opening and light traffic on roads.
However, "people are terrified, and the underlying forces of discontent have not been addressed," Villarosa said. "People have been unhappy for a long time ... Since the events of last week, there's now the unhappiness combined with anger, and fear."
Some people remained hopeful that democracy would come.
"I don't believe the protests have been totally crushed," said Kin, a 29-year-old language teacher in Yangon, whose father and brother had joined a 1988 pro-democracy movement that ended in a crackdown in which at least 3,000 people were killed.
"There is hope, but we fear to hope," she said. "We still dream of rearing our children in a country where everybody would have equal chances at opportunities."
The military has ruled Myanmar since 1962, and the current junta came to power after snuffing out the 1988 pro-democracy movement. The generals called elections in 1990 but refused to give up power when Suu Kyi's party won.
The military crushed the protests on Sept. 26 and 27 with live ammunition, tear gas and beatings. Hundreds of monks and civilians were carted off to detention camps. The government says 10 people were killed in the violence. But dissident groups put the death toll at up to 200 and say 6,000 people were detained.
Among those killed was Japanese television cameraman Kenji Nagai of the APF news agency. His body was flown from Myanmar to Tokyo on Wednesday.
Gambari went to Myanmar on Saturday to convey the international community's outrage at the junta's actions. He also hoped to persuade the junta to take the people's aspirations seriously.
He met junta leader Senior Gen. Than Shwe and his deputies and talked to detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi twice.
Gambari avoided the media in Singapore, where he arrived Tuesday night en route to New York. He was not expected to issue any statement before briefing U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Friday.
The junta has not commented on Gambari's visit and the United Nations has only released photos of Gambari and a somber, haggard-looking Suu Kyi — who has spent nearly 12 of the last 18 years under house arrest — shaking hands during their meeting in a state guest house in Yangon.
In Singapore, Gambari met with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, the chairman of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations bloc of which Myanmar is a member.
A Singapore government statement said Lee told Gambari that ASEAN "is fully behind his mission" to bring about "a political solution for national reconciliation and a peaceful transition to democracy."
Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. Source
Mizzima News
October 4, 2007 - Burmese security forces in Rangoon continue rampant crackdown interrogating and arresting people on suspicion.
While the crackdown continues, several security personnel are taking advantage of the situation by resorting to extortion from local vendors or shops, and warn them not to speak about it to overseas media groups.
Sources said soldiers and security personnel continue to be deployed at major road junctions and key places in Rangoon such as Sule pagoda area and Shwedagon pagoda, but in a much relaxed atmosphere as if a war has been won.
However, it is risky for anybody seen with cameras, as soldiers continue random search and interrogations among pedestrians.
Arrest on suspicion
"Yesterday, security forces at Hlaing Tharyar flyover stopped all the vehicles passing and conducted random searches. They arrested several people who they were suspicious of. And even those who had all their documents had to give in to demands for money. They demanded money in various categories -- for vendors they would demand about 4000 to 5000 kyat and up to 10,000 kyat depending on the people's occupation and made them sign an agreement not to leak the information to overseas media groups. The people not only hate them but loathe the sight of them. They just want to stay out of trouble," a local resident told Mizzima.
"In downtown areas like Kyauktada and Sule areas in the townships, there are groups of at least five or six people searching vehicles including buses with photographs of those who participated in the protest. They announced that even those who sheltered the protesters will be taken action against," the resident added.
Fake monks in Ngwe Kyar Yan
"In Ngwe Kyar Yan monastery, the authorities had earlier placed about five fake monks and they remain as spies. But now it seems they have moved out because almost all the locality people knew about it. Currently, there are only about five monks remaining in the monastery. There are no more security personnel guarding the monastery now, but every half an hour fiv military trucks come to check the situation. That they do in almost the whole city," a local resident told Mizzima.
"The soldiers are making rounds in the city and are mainly from division 22, 66 and 77. The officers come in small vehicles in the middle of the convoy. They make rounds of the city and come to every locality every half an hour," added the local resident.
"There are no soldiers guarding the markets but these five trucks came in a hurry, it seems like they were informed that the people have started gathering," the local said.
Monks continues to disappear
"Monks have been ordered to go back to their native places. And from the Aung Mingalar Monastery in Ahlone Township, local residents arrange a vehicle for the monks returning to Meik town. There were about all together 60 monks but when they reach the outskirts of Rangoon, soldiers forcibly disperse the group into tens. Monks are repressed even worse than the civilians. Some of the monks have reportedly gone missing and have not reached home," a resident told Mizzima.
"One of our monks was also included among those arrested but he was among those released yesterday. He does not want to stay here any more and wants to go back home. The monk was badly hurt in the face. There are a lot of monks beaten up inside the interrogation camps," added the resident.
Schools reopen but students scared to attend
Schools in Rangoon have started to reopen, however, parents are scared of another unrest and crackdowns and have not sent their children to schools.
"But the school authorities have not complained about the student's absence because of the ongoing situation. In normal times the school authorities are strict about attendance," the local added.
No NC support gathering and aass rally in Rangoon
While the authorities in various parts of Burma are conducting mass rallies and gatherings in support of the recently concluded National Convention, authorities in Rangoon have failed to organize anti-protest demonstrations or gathering in support to the NC.
"So far there is no announcement of such public gathering in Rangoon. I think they would not force the people to attend compulsorily like they did in other parts of Burma. They might just call members of Swan Arrshin and USDA and government servants if they are to organize. But so far there are no notices or announcement. And that is because may be they fear that if they organize such mass meetings, the people would turn the gathering in to public demonstrations," a local resident of Rangoon told Mizzima.
"If the authorities call such mass meetings, the people would not object but may not go. Because currently people want to avoid any confrontation with them, and would just comply with whatever they say though they are not happy," added the resident.
October 4, 2007 - Burmese security forces in Rangoon continue rampant crackdown interrogating and arresting people on suspicion.
While the crackdown continues, several security personnel are taking advantage of the situation by resorting to extortion from local vendors or shops, and warn them not to speak about it to overseas media groups.
Sources said soldiers and security personnel continue to be deployed at major road junctions and key places in Rangoon such as Sule pagoda area and Shwedagon pagoda, but in a much relaxed atmosphere as if a war has been won.
However, it is risky for anybody seen with cameras, as soldiers continue random search and interrogations among pedestrians.
Arrest on suspicion
"Yesterday, security forces at Hlaing Tharyar flyover stopped all the vehicles passing and conducted random searches. They arrested several people who they were suspicious of. And even those who had all their documents had to give in to demands for money. They demanded money in various categories -- for vendors they would demand about 4000 to 5000 kyat and up to 10,000 kyat depending on the people's occupation and made them sign an agreement not to leak the information to overseas media groups. The people not only hate them but loathe the sight of them. They just want to stay out of trouble," a local resident told Mizzima.
"In downtown areas like Kyauktada and Sule areas in the townships, there are groups of at least five or six people searching vehicles including buses with photographs of those who participated in the protest. They announced that even those who sheltered the protesters will be taken action against," the resident added.
Fake monks in Ngwe Kyar Yan
"In Ngwe Kyar Yan monastery, the authorities had earlier placed about five fake monks and they remain as spies. But now it seems they have moved out because almost all the locality people knew about it. Currently, there are only about five monks remaining in the monastery. There are no more security personnel guarding the monastery now, but every half an hour fiv military trucks come to check the situation. That they do in almost the whole city," a local resident told Mizzima.
"The soldiers are making rounds in the city and are mainly from division 22, 66 and 77. The officers come in small vehicles in the middle of the convoy. They make rounds of the city and come to every locality every half an hour," added the local resident.
"There are no soldiers guarding the markets but these five trucks came in a hurry, it seems like they were informed that the people have started gathering," the local said.
Monks continues to disappear
"Monks have been ordered to go back to their native places. And from the Aung Mingalar Monastery in Ahlone Township, local residents arrange a vehicle for the monks returning to Meik town. There were about all together 60 monks but when they reach the outskirts of Rangoon, soldiers forcibly disperse the group into tens. Monks are repressed even worse than the civilians. Some of the monks have reportedly gone missing and have not reached home," a resident told Mizzima.
"One of our monks was also included among those arrested but he was among those released yesterday. He does not want to stay here any more and wants to go back home. The monk was badly hurt in the face. There are a lot of monks beaten up inside the interrogation camps," added the resident.
Schools reopen but students scared to attend
Schools in Rangoon have started to reopen, however, parents are scared of another unrest and crackdowns and have not sent their children to schools.
"But the school authorities have not complained about the student's absence because of the ongoing situation. In normal times the school authorities are strict about attendance," the local added.
No NC support gathering and aass rally in Rangoon
While the authorities in various parts of Burma are conducting mass rallies and gatherings in support of the recently concluded National Convention, authorities in Rangoon have failed to organize anti-protest demonstrations or gathering in support to the NC.
"So far there is no announcement of such public gathering in Rangoon. I think they would not force the people to attend compulsorily like they did in other parts of Burma. They might just call members of Swan Arrshin and USDA and government servants if they are to organize. But so far there are no notices or announcement. And that is because may be they fear that if they organize such mass meetings, the people would turn the gathering in to public demonstrations," a local resident of Rangoon told Mizzima.
"If the authorities call such mass meetings, the people would not object but may not go. Because currently people want to avoid any confrontation with them, and would just comply with whatever they say though they are not happy," added the resident.