Petrol Hike In Burma Causes Crisis

[Mid]

Petrol hike in Burma causes crisis

Yangon (dpa) - Burma's opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) Party on Monday warned that demonstrations were "imminent" unless the military reverses last week's decision to double fuel prices.

"Cost of transport all over the nation has increased exorbitantly, causing hardships to members of clergy and laity, students and service personnel," said the NLD in a statement issued by their Yangon headquarters to the government.

snip

bangkokpost.com

[cdnvic]

Petrol hike in Burma causes crisis

Yangon (dpa) - Burma's opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) Party on Monday warned that demonstrations were "imminent" unless the military reverses last week's decision to double fuel prices.

"Cost of transport all over the nation has increased exorbitantly, causing hardships to members of clergy and laity, students and service personnel," said the NLD in a statement issued by their Yangon headquarters to the government.

snip

bangkokpost.com

Another example of the fine management skills of these self-proclaimed "generals". Is this what Thailand has to look forward to in the future?

[Losangels]

Another example of the fine management skills of these self-proclaimed "generals". Is this what Thailand has to look forward to in the future?

I certainly hope not, however things appear to be heading toward that direction . We'll see whether general Sonthi will decide on the day of his retirement to enter politics.

[farangsay]

'Military build-up' in Yangon

Myanmar's military government is building up troops in Yangon, following days of protests over a massive hike in fuel prices, pro-democracy groups have said.

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/EBE...AE4E14FACDB.htm

[Mid]

see the junta's thugs had to release their detainees where they could not find a cop shop to take them ...............................

[LongThaimer]

Petrol hike in Burma causes crisis

Yangon (dpa) - Burma's opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) Party on Monday warned that demonstrations were "imminent" unless the military reverses last week's decision to double fuel prices.

"Cost of transport all over the nation has increased exorbitantly, causing hardships to members of clergy and laity, students and service personnel," said the NLD in a statement issued by their Yangon headquarters to the government.

snip

bangkokpost.com

Another example of the fine management skills of these self-proclaimed "generals". Is this what Thailand has to look forward to in the future?

No, not really.

If you had Olympics of Incompetence, Thailand will always be bridesmaid of Burma. Believe it or not, these morons have really excelled it to art form !!!

[samran]

Petrol hike in Burma causes crisis

Yangon (dpa) - Burma's opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) Party on Monday warned that demonstrations were "imminent" unless the military reverses last week's decision to double fuel prices.

"Cost of transport all over the nation has increased exorbitantly, causing hardships to members of clergy and laity, students and service personnel," said the NLD in a statement issued by their Yangon headquarters to the government.

snip

bangkokpost.com

Another example of the fine management skills of these self-proclaimed "generals". Is this what Thailand has to look forward to in the future?

not really. The last bloke (Thaksin) was the one who set up the fuel buffer fund to 'stabalise' prices so he could keep the hillbillies happy. The fund went into massive debt. It was heading down the burmese road to ruin.

The current bloke (Phiyasawadi) helped dismantle that folly.

You may not agree with the coup, but Thaksin in a rush to put his stamp on things saw that some well trained burecrats and thinkers were pushed out as they actually saw that some of his polcies weren't in the interests of the country. The 'generals' have done a good job to rehire some good technocrats. They may be 'elites', but every country needs people who know their jobs too.

[Mid]

Burma moves against opposition

Today's Top Stories

The Burmese military government is employing menacing gangs of civilians to snuff out a rare wave of protests by pro-democracy activists against fuel price hikes, reports from Rangoon say.

The thugs have been unleashed even though the grind of everyday life, fear of being beaten up and a lack of belief in people's power as a weapon against a ruthless military junta suggest a string of protests by Burmese activists cannot snowball into a mass uprising.

snip

The Post Publishing Public Co

link will dissappear

[Mid]

Thai entrepreneurs not yet affected by Myanmar fuel price unrest

Posted: 2007/08/30

From: Mathaba

Thai entrepreneurs in Myanmar have not yet been affected by disturbances arisen from the military regime's decision to double local oil prices, according to Thailand's Foreign Trade Department (FTD).

Ittipol Changlum, FTD deputy director-general, said he had queried Thai entrepreneurs about the disturbances in Myanmar caused by some people, who are angered by the government's abrupt move to raise fuel prices sharply.

snip

mathaba.net

[Mid]

Myanmar junta fails to quell protests

By Seth Mydans Published: August 30, 2007

BANGKOK: Linking arms for mutual support, grim in the face of plain-clothes paramilitary gangs, small groups of protesters in Myanmar have staged street demonstrations for nearly two weeks in the most sustained defiance of the junta in a decade.

The protests have dwindled in size since they began on Aug. 19, but to the surprise of outside analysts, they have continued to erupt in several parts of the country.

They do not appear to be centrally organized and have continued despite the arrests of a number of activist leaders.

The authorities are hunting down opposition figures and have reportedly told hotels and guest houses to notify them of their presence.

"A week and a half ago people were saying the protests didn't have that much future," said Dave Mathieson, an expert on Myanmar with Human Rights Watch in Thailand. "But they are starting to spread, and they are continuing in Rangoon."

snip

iht.com

[tijnebijn]

Scary operations going on in Myanmar now .

What does the Junta think ? The people will not stay plain stupid like they tell them to , forever you know.

[Mid]

Burma escalates crackdown

Compiled from Agency reports by BangkokPost.com

A group of pro-democracy demonstrators detained after protests last week have launched a hunger strike in their Rangoon prison cells, activists said. US President Bush will raise the issue at next week's Apec summit.

They are reportedly demanding medical treatment for a colleague who broke his leg when police and pro-government militia broke up a protest in Rangoon and arrested up to 20 people on Tuesday.

"Some of the people arrested with him started a hunger strike this evening because their colleague Ye Thein Naing hasn't received any medical treatment for his broken leg," one activist told AFP news agency.

snip

The Post Publishing Public Co

[Hampstead]

Petrol hike in Burma causes crisis

Yangon (dpa) - Burma's opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) Party on Monday warned that demonstrations were "imminent" unless the military reverses last week's decision to double fuel prices.

"Cost of transport all over the nation has increased exorbitantly, causing hardships to members of clergy and laity, students and service personnel," said the NLD in a statement issued by their Yangon headquarters to the government.

snip

bangkokpost.com

Another example of the fine management skills of these self-proclaimed "generals". Is this what Thailand has to look forward to in the future?

not really. The last bloke (Thaksin) was the one who set up the fuel buffer fund to 'stabalise' prices so he could keep the hillbillies happy. The fund went into massive debt. It was heading down the burmese road to ruin.

The current bloke (Phiyasawadi) helped dismantle that folly.

You may not agree with the coup, but Thaksin in a rush to put his stamp on things saw that some well trained burecrats and thinkers were pushed out as they actually saw that some of his polcies weren't in the interests of the country. The 'generals' have done a good job to rehire some good technocrats. They may be 'elites', but every country needs people who know their jobs too.

it was 'GENERAL SONTHI' not taksin who recently stated that thailand should 'ASPIRE' to Burma and 'other african countries' in having a far greater millitary presence in the power of governments

PTT were the ones who had the greatest influence in the subsidy to be scrapped as most of the costs of the subsidy were paid by PTT

Edited August 31, 2007 by Hampstead

[jumnien]

From today's Post:

Trip to Burma ill-considered

Outgoing Army Commander-in-Chief Gen Sonthi Boonyaratkalin's recent trip to Burma to meet with top-level military figures in the ruling junta there was misguided at best, and wholly inappropriate at worst.

Although Gen Sonthi retires from the military at the end of next month, there was no real need for him to go and "assure" the Burmese junta that Thailand's policies towards Burma would continue unchanged in his absence.

Such high-level policy decisions are for the government to make, not an outgoing commander-in-chief of the Army.

Gen Sonthi met with the chairman of Burma's State Peace and Development Council, Senior General Than Shwe and Burmese army chief General Maung Aye in the new administrative capital of Naypyidaw during his two-day visit that began last Monday. It was one of a number of trips to neighbouring countries over recent weeks - including Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore - that seem to have gone under the radar of the local press.

But Gen Sonthi was not in Burma only as commander-in-chief of the Royal Thai Army; he was also representing Thailand as the chairman of the Council for National Security and architect of the current political set-up in Thailand. As such, Gen Sonthi's visit and cosy reception by the Burmese junta could send wrong signals to Asean and the rest of the international community.

What outsiders will see are two military dictators of sorts shaking hands and smiling, while the people in their respective nations are struggling for freedom and democracy. That is not the image that we as a nation should be sending.

Despite recent political events at home and the Sept 19, 2006 coup, Thailand is not on a par with Burma in terms of repression and lack of democracy. But Gen Sonthi's pandering to the Burmese junta, particularly if he manages to get himself into politics next year, sends out an entirely wrong message not only to the world, but to the people of Burma as well.

The visit was also extremely inappropriate and damaging, considering recent developments in Burma where protests have erupted in various places around the country following shock price hikes for fuel. Burmese citizens last week, at great risk to their lives and liberty, tried to stand up to their repressive leadership by protesting against the price hikes that they say will make life even more impossible in the secretive state. Bus fares immediately doubled following the price hikes and from there, basic produce and other goods will also surely rise in tandem with the increased costs for state-controlled oil and gas.

Our neighbouring citizens risked their lives in a rare show of dissent against the military junta in Burma and many were "arrested" or attacked by state-sanctioned thugs in a country where law and order has all but disappeared. And did they get support or encouragement from their neighbours? No. All they saw was the de facto leader of one of their nearest neighbours getting along swimmingly with their repressive dictator.

Gen Sonthi's smiling pictures taken with the Senior Gen Than Shwe and other top figures in the Burmese junta will do nothing to end the repression that our Burmese neighbours have been struggling under for decades. Constructive dialogue and mutual engagement are clearly not working in Burma.

Thailand should stand with the other major forces in Asean and start placing stronger demands on Burma to move closer towards democracy - not give the junta tacit approval for gross human rights abuses and continued oppression of its people.However, under Thailand's present leadership, any such calls would only be seen as hypocritical. Therefore, the best thing for the current leadership to do is remain quiet and wait for a democratically-elected government to make any promises to Burma if it so wishes. Until then, Gen Sonthi should put his passport away and stay at home and concentrate on other matters, such as the insurgency in the deep South, and leave the international politicking to others.

[Mid]

Although Gen Sonthi retires from the military at the end of next month, there was no real need for him to go and "assure" the Burmese junta that Thailand's policies towards Burma would continue unchanged in his absence.

give that he's odds on to be the new Minister of Defence ...................................

[Mid]

Burma's crackdown on dissidents draws world attention

US officials call for a UN Security Council meeting following the arrest of activists protesting fuel price hikes.

By Tom A. Peter

from the September 1, 2007 edition

For more than two weeks Burma (Myanmar) has seen a series of small, but unprecedented protests.

Observers say the continuing unrest, despite government arrests and other pressures to end demonstrations, is a remarkable step for the strongly repressed country.

The public discord began when the government doubled the cost of gasoline and diesel.

The government's extreme reaction to the small protests has elicited sharp criticism from US officials and caused others to call for United Nations intervention.

snip

csmonitor.com

[Mid]

Myanmar halts "long march" protest and arrests leaders

Mon 3 Sep 2007, 5:46 GMT

By Aung Hla Tun

YANGON (Reuters) - Myanmar's military junta halted a 170-mile (270-km) protest march in its first few steps on Monday and arrested three of its organisers as one of the harshest crackdowns on dissent in 20 years showed no signs of abating.

The planned "long march" from Labutta, deep in the Irrawaddy Delta, to the former capital, Yangon, was the latest in a rare series of demonstrations against soaring costs of living and falling standards in the former Burma.

snip

reuters.com

[Jai Dee]

Burmese activists take part in a demonstration by the exiled National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma in front of the Burmese Embassy in Bangkok yesterday.

Source: The Nation - 03 September 2007

[zaza]

Is there any possible Operation Burma Liberation in sight just like the 2003 (O.I.L) war ,eh?

[Mid]

The burning reason behind the bloody crackdown

By May Ng

September 4, 2007

A life and death struggle is taking centre stage in Burma as state sponsored thugs continue to terrorize innocent people protesting against economic hardship in Myanmar. In this video clip

the young heroine Su Su Nway is seen shouting courageously to the onlookers to avoid violent confrontation with the junta thugs who were savagely assaulting the helpless demonstrators.

snip

mizzima.com

[Mid]

Defiant protesters stage new rally in Myanmar

34 minutes ago

YANGON (AFP) — Defiant pro-democracy supporters staged a new protest Wednesday against Myanmar's military government, despite a crackdown on dissent that has drawn sharp condemnation from US President George W. Bush.

The latest protest took place in the small town of Bogale, in the impoverished Irrawaddy delta region, about 125 kilometres (75 miles) southwest of Yangon, according to the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD).

"Hundreds of people were listening to the speeches in front of the main market" in Bogale, NLD spokesman Myint Thein said.

The rally lasted more than four hours until authorities broke up the crowd around 12:30 pm (0600 GMT), he added.

"The people participating in the protests are just expressing their demands peacefully. They have no intention of causing unrest," he said.

The leader of the rally, the NLD's local chairman Aung Khin Bo, was detained by local authorities, the spokesman added.

snip

afp.google.com