Burma And Thailand

[chevykanteve]

Burma also has a draft constitution

Rangoon (dpa) - A pro-government rally on Sunday urged the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) party headed by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi to accept the Burmese constitution drafting outcome which goes into its final session this month.

..More than 1,000 people gathered at Rangoon's Education College to express their support for the military-backed national convention process which goes into its final session on July 18 to draft a new constitution that must then be endorsed by a referendum before a general election is called.

The pro-constitution rally was attended by many members of the Union Solidarity Development Association (USDA) - the military's political apparatus which is likely to be transformed into the party to contest the pending polls.

Chairman of the meeting Tin Shwe, 85, who served as an elected member of Burma's first parliament of 1952 to 1956, used the rally to urge the opposition NLD to accept the new constitution.

In his speech, Tin Shwe noted that the NLD had participated in the national convention between 1993 to 1995 before the party decided to boycott the process as a sham, thinly disguised to keep the military in power.

The NLD won the 1990 general election by a landslide but was blocked from power by the military on the grounds that the country first needed a new constitution before civilians could rule.

The constitution drafting process is only now coming to an end, and it is uncertain how long it will take to hold a referendum and election once the draft charter is completed...

[Mid]

they have been at it for a lot longer and will still be at it long after .......................................

[cooL_guY_corY]

wow 85... time for a change.

[lazeeboy]

wow 85... time for a change.

if thailand is not carefull it too could end up the same way as burma /mynamar

[Mid]

Born in the crossfire

Sun, July 8, 2007 : Last updated 22:17 pm

Caught in the murderous conflict between the Burmese army and Karen rebels, the people of a makeshift jungle village witness a new arrival

While the Karen National Union, Burma's oldest and perhaps most important ethnic rebel group, continues its fight against the Burmese junta, Karen villagers are forced to flee their homes to avoid the fighting.

These Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) have very little to eat, drink or wear, and no access to healthcare or education. They hide quietly in the jungle, living in constant fear of being tortured, raped or murdered, or being taken as military porters and used to clear landmines for the Burmese troops. The mothers are forced to keep their children from laughing during the day and crying at night, fearing that they may be heard and discovered by the enemy.

snip

Dai Kurokawa

Special to The Nation

[toasted]

Whatever you think of the current rulers here, they can't be compared to the Burmese junta in terms of how they treat their own people and the minorities. Thailand will not go the same way due to its sizeable middle class. The Burmese leaders are evil personified.

[JR Texas]

Whatever you think of the current rulers here, they can't be compared to the Burmese junta in terms of how they treat their own people and the minorities. Thailand will not go the same way due to its sizeable middle class. The Burmese leaders are evil personified.

JR Texas: I disagree.....Burma and Thailand have much in common......military dictatorships, 1% of population controls over 90% of the disposable wealth (massive economic inequality), no freedom of press (widespread censorship), lack of respect for fundamental human rights. Burma is worse (agreed) but Thailand is rapidly moving in the wrong direction.........

[Mid]

know your neighbours .........

DKBA raid village 2km inside Thailand, abduct 'KNU spy'

SUPAMART KASEM

Tak _ Armed men from the pro-Burmese junta Democratic Karen Buddhist Army infiltrated the border on Saturday and abducted a villager in Phop Phra district.

The man managed to escape as the DKBA raiders retreated across a river.

The incident prompted other villagers to leave home for safer places and has put ties between Thailand and Burma at risk, according to military officers.

Jora-aee Pongpaopanadon, 43, was taken from his house in Huay Nam Nak village by 10 members of the DKBA led by "Lieutenant Pakoki", according to village head Paiboon Pisompote.

The village is two kilometres from the border in Tak province.

The Post Publishing Public Co

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Thailand Increases Border Security after DKBA Abducts Villager

By Shah Paung and Sai Silp

July 9, 2007

The Thai army stepped up border security and sent a protest letter to the Burmese government following the abduction and release of a Thai villager in Phop Phra District of Tak Province by a Karen ceasefire group this weekend, according to the Thai army.

An official with the 7th Regiment Infantry Task Force told The Irrawaddy o­n Monday that border security has been increased, especially at night, to prevent such events, an outgrowth of the o­ngoing conflict between ethnic armed groups and Burmese government forces.

irrawaddy.org

[LaoPo]

Comic side step, related to Burma:

Online Gambling Market Grows in Burma

11-07-07

Online gambling is truly becoming a global pastime as Burma joins the list of countries revelling in the unprecedented growth of Internet wagering.

Even with authorities’ strong opposition to the industry, and concerted attempts to make it illegal, online gambling has grown to become a multimillion kyat business among Burma’s elite.

The country’s bookmakers have lived with the threat of hefty legal penalties to cater to a growing number of Burmese bettors who want to enjoy football and gambling simultaneously. Online bookmakers have also smoothed over stumbling blocks such as the lack of a credit card system by carrying out cash-only operations.

Mandalay bookmaker Aung Ko told the country’s Irrawaddy newspaper that roughly 20 regular customers place bets with him worth 80 million kyat (US $62,400) on a weekly basis. The minimum accepted by the bookmaker is 100,000 kyat (about $90).

Aung Ko confimed that he is one of a minimum of four Mandalay bookmakers operating their businesses over the Internet.

“My business has made me very rich in a short period,” he said.

source: iGaming news.

Now, WHO would have the ability to bet US$ 62,400 on a weekly basis...

Hefty legal penalties; don't make me laugh. Yes, maybe they 'catch' a poor guy who placed a bet now and than but they will not catch the big fish since the big fish swim comfortably in the 'Generals' ponds'...

LaoPo