Photo News from Reuters (July 19th 2011)
Category: Current
Current Issues & News on Burma & Burmese people with the sub sections – News, Feature, Interview, Photo-News, Op-Ed and so on
Maung Yit – Internet Activism in Burma and Challenges
Introduction
These notes were prepared when invited to attend the Al Jazeer Forum on May 17th 2011. I was invited and introduced on the forum page at (http://forum.aljazeera.net/us/node/425) as follows; ” Maung Yit is Founder and Editor of MoeMaKa News Group for Burmese Community founded in 2003. He works as an IT consultant at day and works as news blogger and editor at night for MoeMaKa News Group and with anonymous citizen journalists and writers/ artists from Burma. His mission is to promote and raise awareness of the struggle for democracy and freedom under the current repressive Burmese regime. He has published interviews with Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, U Win Tin and other Burmese activists from Burma on his website, blog and online publication.”
Even though attending the forum was a great experience for me and my participation in the “Stream” had some time limitation to express all my notes at the show, I have to take the liberty at our own website to post my notes for further reference to readers and interested audience.
Rangoon View 1st Week of March 2011- MoeMaKa Street Journalist
Delaying the parliament’s schedule, the present military government is speeding up its moves, to sell country’s natural resources and to give its cronies lucrative contracts to manage state-owned properties, at the same time.
It has been seen that not only the passenger buses, but also the luxurious cars like ‘Mark Two’, join the business of queuing up for petrol at the private stations for hours and reselling it on black market, to earn extra money of 10000 kyat.
The junta does not try to formulate the effective economic policies – letting private enterprises do business freely – to control the consumer goods prices, nor to enforce essential laws so as to be competitive in the market. Thus it is likely to cause inflation and social crises after junta’s plan to raise salaries.
Free Summer English Classes Offered by NLD in Insein Township
Friends of NLD (Insein) March 16, 2011 At 3:00 pm in the afternoon of the 15th March, NLD launched its free English course for the children in order to improve their English ability during summer holiday of their schools. The…
Burma Human Rights Day Marked by Burmese Community Overseas
MoeMaKa Photo News March 14, 2011 It is learnt that Burmese pro-democracy forces at home and abroad commemorated ‘Burma Human Rights Day’, which falls on the 13th of March. Burmese residents and political activists also held ceremonies to mark its…
Price Hikes as Gas and Transport Charges Go Up in Burma
MoeMaKa Reporter (Yangon)
February 28, 2011
In Burma, merchants and travelers complainingly said that prices of goods and transport charges were rising up, as the domestic price of petrol and diesel went up by over 30%, because of the rise in the price of the fuel in the world. Commodity prices in Yangon and other towns are now shooting up for the high costs of transport, affected by the restriction called ‘ASEAN STANDARD’, which is not allowed trucks to exceed permitted payload and imposed recently by the authority concerned.
During this week, the price of diesel reached 4000 kyat (over US $4) from 3800 kyat, and then it rose up to 4200 kyat (over US $5), in next few days. The petrol price, similarly, went up more 500 kyat (around US $0.50) than its last week’s price and reached 3900 to 4000 kyat (around US $5) in black market.
Although gasoline is being sold at the price of 2500 kyat per gallon, a price fixed by the regime in private stations, the owners of automobiles and motorcycles have to wait for several hours to get a permit to buy it with that price. Thus the work queuing up for petrol and reselling it in black market becomes business in Burma. In the illegal trade, the price of petrol went up to 3900 kyat (over US $4).
View form Rangoon – by MoeMaKa Street Reporter
Last Week of February, 2011
Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) Plans to Seize the Low Level Administrative Power
After attempting forcibly to win over 80 percent in last year’s election, occupying 25% of parliamentary seats by the military officers and forming a Cabinet overwhelmed by their own members, USDP is planning to replace the positions of the quarter level administration with its members.
News, during these days, has spread that USDP started replacing its members in the ranks of quarter peace and development council, in some Rangoon’s townships.
Friends of MoeMaKa will Pledge to Continue the Support of NLD Works Towards Political Prisoners
MoeMaKa
February 25, 2011
At the beginning of year 2011, MoeMaKa media team announced that 600 political prisoners being currently helped by NLD’s social assistance body would be honored with ‘Friends of MoeMaKa Award.’ We would like to present to our world-wide readers that, according to our commitment, we were able to make the donations of over US $1000 to those political prisoners after raising an initial aid of over US $6 from our reserve funds, courtesy of donations of MoeMaKa team members and added collected public contributions.
Petrol Price Hikes in Burma as Middle East Crisis Arises
February 25, 2011
It is seen, during these days, that world-wide price of oil went up because of political instability in Middle East countries and Burmese domestic fuel prices followed it.
Price in Yangon (US $4)
According to the automobile owners from Yangon and the countryside, it is learnt that prices for a gallon of diesel suddenly rose up to 3800 kyat from 3000 kyat, and high octane petrol suddenly rose up to and to 3500 from 3300 kyat (around US $4 of black market rate).
Literature Award from Mogok Goes to Khin Khin Htoo
Photo News February 24, 2011 Monday’s issue of Alin Tan (Ray of Light) journal carried the above news that an association of literature lovers went to Mandalay and presented its award to this year winner. Similarly, in 2009, that group…
Union Day of Burma in Different Perspectives
Khin Hnin Lwin (Yangon)
February 13, 2011
The Armed Union Day
It was on the afternoon of February 11. Being riding in a city bus, I saw a scene from its window: armed men in military uniforms were standing here and there while some uniformed police were searching for something by digging the grass using iron sticks at the both sides of Pyi road, in front of the people’s square and former parliament building. The faces of those in search of something seemed to show that they were doing this work only dutifully, and they had to carry out this task because of the order from superiors even though they did not expect to find anything.
Political Prisoners in Tharyawaddy Jail Receives More Sentences Over 60 Years
Moe Yan Ma Ka, February 13, 2011
At 2:00 pm on 11.2.2011, seven political prisoners from Thayawaddy prison were charged with code 4(A) and code (3) under explosives Act and sentenced to many years of imprisonment by the court of Tarmwe township in Yangon east district.
Those who received their additional sentences are Ko Htaw Lwin, Ko Kyaw Swar Lin (aka) Kusaryel, Ko Kyaw Zin Oo, Ko Htet Ko Lwin and Daw Khin Yee as well as the former central committee member of ABSDF Ko Aye Min Naing, also a member of Patriotic Democratic Party and Democratic Party for New Society (DPNS), which was aborted by the junta in the 1990 election and his wife Ma San San Maw.
On the 25th of March,2008, being accused of possessing explosives and related items in Kusaryel, all of them were originally put on trial for several acts such as code 17(1), 13(1),19(A),6(1), and were sentenced to 18 years in prison under the decision (dated 5.9.2008) by Pegu division court.
In the same month, another trial for code 4(A), they were again faced in the courts of Kyauktada and Panbadan townships of Yangon, adding 20 years imprisonment, making a total of 38 years for each of them.
For the third time, from the same courts, they [above mentioned activists] received two further separate sentences of 10 years each for code 3(6) of assisting those who try to explode. At that time, all of them had been already sentenced to 58 years in prison.
Maung Sue San Accuses Second Pinlon of Meaningless Move by The Opposition
MoeMaka Reporter
February 5, 2011
In today’s issue of ‘Myanmar Alin’ newspaper, the translator and article writer Maung Sue San accusingly wrote, in his article, that the Second Pinlon Conference is pointless, hailing the forthcoming Union Day.
He described that the second Pinlon currently mentioned by the NLD is not a reasonable move and only reflects illogical thoughts of those proclaim it, although he “can understand the first Pinlon as a process of seeking institutions” for country’s independence struggles being the period of institutions were needed.
While USDP Parliament in Progress, Burmese Internet Speed at a Snail’s pace
MoeMaKa reporter (Yangon) February 5, 2011 It is learnt that the internet speed for the public use is so slow during this week including Yangon area in Burma, and Myanmar Post and Telecommunications department (MPT) answered that the main server…
Junta Transferring Government’s Buildings to Private Business Secretly
MoeMaKa Reporter (Yangon)
February 3, 2011
Headquarter of Myanmar Petroleum and Natural Gas being surrounded by scaffoldings in need of repairs
After the last year election, three government buildings in Yangon downtown area are the last in the process of secretly transferring state-owned properties to private companies, by the present regime, before the new government comes into power.