Font size: 
Now the vote "NO" campaign against the military regime's draft Constitution is also visible in the streets of Mandalay, the second largest city in central Burma. On the morning of April 4 the letters NO had been spray-painted on walls at several locations in eastern and southern Mandalay.
Authorities have arrested seven activists since the March 27 protest. On March 30, five of those who allegedly participated in the demonstration were arrested. Khin Oo, Ye Zaw Tike, Zarni Aung, Aung Kyaw and Tin Oo Maung were taken from their homes by the authorities to undisclosed locations. During the night of April 1 Tin Myint, the chairperson of the National League for Democracy of Thigankyun township, and youth member Tun Aung were arrested by Special Branch Police and remain in custody.
The Burmese military regime marked Armed Forces Day -- formerly known as Resistance Day to commemorate an uprising against the Japanese Imperial Army which occupied Burma during World War II -- with a grand military parade and a speech by Senior General Than Shwe, in which he promised to bring democracy and said a civilian government would be in place after the 2010 elections. However, he gave a strong warning against those working for "separatism" and the "disintegration" of the country.
Will this top military man keep his word, unlike his predecessors? The people of Burma are skeptical. They were promised by Senior General Saw Maung in 1989 and early 1990 that the military would go back to their barracks after the elections of May, 1990. It has been 18 years and the Burmese people are still fighting for democracy and human rights.
Democracy leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, despite being under house arrest, has been sending messages to the people of Burma by putting signboards or banners in front of her house for quite some time. She came to the front gate of her house to greet protesting monks in September. The next day, she put up a signboard reading, "May all be saved from danger." She knew what was to come. In the next few days, Buddhist monks were brutalized and murdered by the regime's troops and its thugs.
The end of March also saw the very first self-immolation in Burma since the military took over power in 1962. A 26-year-old man set himself ablaze at the famous landmark Shwedagon Pagoda, where thousands of pilgrims were gathering for the annual Tabaung Buddhist Festival. He shouted, "Down with the military regime!" as he was dragged away by security forces.
The authorities called a meeting with international non-governmental organizations operating in Burma early this month and ordered every group to cease all grassroots activities involving health education and counseling for HIV/AIDS patients, especially in rural areas. Among the organizations warned were Save the Children Fund, Population Services International, Marie Stopes International, Care International in Myanmarand World Vision. Minister of Health Kyaw Myint reportedly told U.N. envoy Ibrahim Gambari while he was in the country that the government was aware that some international NGOs were providing financial support to Burma's main opposition party, the NLD.
Meanwhile, during a visit to Jakarta late last month Thailand's Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej made a joint statement with Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono at a press conference that both countries support the Burma roadmap to democracy, and both agreed that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations is in the best position to understand and pursue dialogue with the Burmese regime. The Thai prime minister reportedly said the two had discussed how ASEAN could play a positive role in working with Myanmar to help it face the challenges it is facing.
--
(Khin Ohmar is coordinator of the Asia Pacific Peoples' Partnership on Burma, based in Thailand. She can be contacted at appartnership@gmail.com. Her blog may be found at http://apppb.blogspot.com.)
