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Burma Student Uprising
Posted on January 22, 2013 by Akashma Online News
Source Burma VD Documentary
8.8.88 marked a moment of nationwide unity in the Burmese democracy movement. The demonstrations were held in a “spirit of unity, sacrifice and setting aside differences
Twenty-two years ago on 8 August, Burma’s army brutally massacred as many as 3,000 peaceful pro-democracy demonstrators marching against increasing poverty and oppression, and calling for an end to the military dictatorship. The serious human rights violations and economic mismanagement that led to the national uprising in 1988 have continued to worsen under the current regime.
“This is my country and this is the way it has been for more than 40 years.
I only remember a few weeks when things were any different.
In 1988 I was only a little boy. But that’s when every one in Burma was in the streets went out, they were tired of Military rulers. they wanted a change. It was the students who led the demonstrations.
They become more and more outspoken and demanded that the generals give up power. We have even Aung San Suu Kyi when came back from Europe to lead up the people, but the generals wanted it differently.
At the end of the day, 3000 lay dead in the streets and it was all over. I feel as I wanted to fight for democracy ..but I think it better make a long plan We can not go out into the streets again.
Another student massacre still fresh in the minds of Rangoon Residents was like a spear punching their fears, On 7th July 1962, Burmese university students were massacred and Rangoon University Students’ Union building was dynamited down where students were still inside.
General Ne Win notoriously justified his action by saying “Dar Dar Chin and Hlan Hlan Chin shin mae” which is laterally meaning aggressive challenging words in Burmese saying “I will fight Sword with Sword and Spear with Spear (to wipe out the opposition)” but in reality he killed un-armed non-violent students protesters with guns and dynamites. Burma Democratic Concern
The first uprising since the Military Junta took power in Burma was in 1988, the students took to the streets and 3000 of them were massacre and the soldiers killed them with their dreams and their hopes to ask for something different. The Military Junta killed the revolution’s seed.
“From the 8.8.88 uprising, we were able to bring down a 26 year old military dictatorship because we were united as a country. It was so pure, that spirit of unity. We were able to transcend our differences for our common unified vision of justice and democracy for all. My greatest wish is for us to retain that same spirit of unity that captured the nation’s imagination over twenty-two years ago, as that cohesiveness is our only chance for genuine national reconciliation and democracy in our country.” Burma Parnership
The fear was stronger than the dreams of liberty and with the students bodies, was buried the unborn revolution.
For years the secret service was every were, they had eyes in every corner, no cameras were allowed to film the misery that the people was living. Well so they thought, but an underground network of young reporters were risking their life and filming every aspect of the misery. They were filming every act of repression. The broken buildings of the society tired of living. For 19 years was silence, no dissent was heard off. But one day the spirit of the revolution, that seeds that was buried with the students in 1988 start its first sprouts aiming to the sun. And one day, the seed cracked open and the people felt the hope again. The hope to fight again for a dream stolen more than 60 years ago, and in 2007 the hope came dressed as a women his name is Aung San Suu Kyi was daughter of Aung San, who founded the modern Burmese army and negotiated Burma’s independence from the British Empire in 1947; he was assassinated by his rivals in the same year. Aung San Suu Kyi was raised in England and came to her country to pick up the pieces scattered all along the delta river.
Aung San Suu Kyi was no new to the Military Junta, she was loved and cherished by the people, when in 1990 she run as an opponent of the Military Junta, almost the whole country vote for her and she was placed in house arrest. Her crime was been loved by the people. That could have been the only reason why she has not been disappeared. For years the Junta was hoping for the people to forget about her, but her memory is fresh in the heart of the people. They know Aung San Yi is their only hope.
Some students have asked me which politicians are standing behind me. They are apprehensive that such politicians might manipulate me and then take over the students. I am happy that the students have been so open and honest with me. Young people are frank and free from deviousness. I answered them truthfully. There are no politicians behind me. What I am trying to do is to help achieve the democratic system of government which the people want. For the achievement of this system, there are some veteran politicians who wish to help me in various ways. I have told such politicians that if their object is to obtain positions of political power for themselves, I would not support them in any way. Should these politicians try to obtain positions of political power I promise in front of this assembly of people that I myself will not hesitate to denounce them. Speech Given in 1988 by Aung San Suu Kyi
The network of young reporters from DVB (Democratic Voice of Burma), it is a network of dissidents in exile, with headquarters in Oslo, they smuggle the footage with trusted carriers, and using satellite when it is possible, this way they have been able to export the repression out of Burma for the world to see. They have one of the most risky jobs, not for money but for the dream of freedom, to see Burma free of the Military boot rule” Burma Journalist.
I sadly announce that the Burmese military junta has cut off the internet connection… I therefore will not be able to feed in pictures of the brutality by the Burmese military junta. I will try my best to feed in their demonic appetite of fear and paranoia by posting any pictures that I receive though other means (Journos!! please don’t ask me what other means would be). Please lobby the Chinese government or UN to get junta to switch on the Internet. Please! Sept 27, 2007 Burma Voice Democratic
Burma documentary assembled entirely with video clips recorded with hidden cameras.
The camcorders bring you the students uprising, their massacre. They bring you the fear in an oppressed and hungry population. They bring you the Monks uprising, their massacre. They bring you the people uprising, their massacre. And they bring you the lies and the repression of the Military Junta.
Thousands of Buddhist monks have been on the streets of the big cities of Burma (Myanmar) for the past few days, and the numbers are only growing. They are now calling explicitly for the overthrow of the military regime which has ruled the country for almost two decades, and they say they will not stop marching until the government is gone. Burma’s democratic leader and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize Aung San Suu Kyi has been in prison or under house arrest for many years.
20 years later another protest shocked the Nation, this time were not the students but the beloved Buddhist Monks of Burma that came to the streets with their bowls upside down refusing to receive alms from the Military Junta and their families. The scene took by surprise the Military Junta and gave hope to the people that came to the streets to add their protests in hope that the rude-less government will respect the Monks. The Monks protest was allowed for several days, and even when the Monks marched to greet Aung San Yi the Military Junta removed the barricades leading to Aung San Yi home. This unexpected event gave strength to the people to dream for a change, but as 20 years before the protests were beat and killed. The Monks Monastery was raided twice and the 247 Monks were taken away and the bodies started to show up in the river. Once again the people’s hopes was killed and buried with the Monks.
Burmese monks have taken part in protests in the past, against British colonial rule and against a half-century of rule by military dictatorship. The most notable recent occasion was in 1990.
Their militant resistance to the British produced the most prominent political martyr of Burmese Buddhism, U Wisara, who died in prison in 1929 after a 166-day hunger strike.
The silence of the United Nations, EU, US and the elite keep a complete silence for more than 50 years.
The question is why?.
Now, US parade Aung San Suu Yi. Why?.
The world ignores the sacrifice of the Buddhist Monks. Now, is no different than 50 years ago. What’s had changed?. Why the Elite insists on dividing Burma in slices of religious blocks. They always had fought together as an oppressed nation, during the 1962, 1988, 2005, 2007 uprising was never a sectarian divide.
Ask yourself Burma, ask yourself peace activists, ask yourself political activist in Burma, in whose interest is served when the Media feeds a war between Muslims and Buddhists. Why Aung San Suu Yi sided with the dividers? These questions need to be ask before we make any judgements.
In 1988 Aung San Suu Yi asked for unity of the Nation against the Military Boot, because of her standing against the Junta she become an instant hero, remember her words:
“Reverend monks and people! This public rally is aimed at informing the whole world of the will of the people. Therefore at this mass rally the people should be disciplined and united to demonstrate the very fact that they are a people who can be disciplined and united. Our purpose is to show that the entire people entertain the keenest desire for a multi-party democratic system of government.”
Indonesia to get $400 millions arms credit from Russia
Posted on December 21, 2012 by Akashma Online News
Russia’s Vnesheconom bank (VEB) will provide Indonesia a total of $399.5 million in credit to finance purchases of aircraft and related equipment from Russia’s state-run arms export company Rosoboron export.
Su-30MK2 Flanker Multirole Fighter
The credit will be provided for a seven-year term, Rosoborone xport said. This is the second credit agreement between VEB and Indonesia’s finance ministry in the past two years.
Earlier, VEB’s deputy chief Alexander Ivanov said the group won the Indonesian finance ministry’s tender to finance the purchase of six Russian-made Su-30MK2 Flanker multirole fighter aircraft.
The Sukhoi Su-30MKK (NATO codename: Flanker) is the two-seat, twin-engine multirole fighter aircraft developed from the Su-27 fighter. The aircraft was developed by Russian Sukhoi Design Bureau and built by KnAAPO in Komsomolsk-na-Amur. The PLA Air Force (PLAAF) acquired two batches totalling 76 Su-30MKKs between 2000 and 2003. The third batch, which consisted of 24 examples of the upgraded Su-30MKK2 variant, was delivered to the PLA Naval Air Force (PLANAF) in August 2004. The Su-30MKK series is the most capable combat aircraft in service with the PLA.
The Su-30MKK is PLA’s first ‘true’ multirole fighter with both ‘beyond-visual-range’ air-to-air and precision strike capabilities. The aircraft can deliver a range of precision-guided munitions such as the Kh-29 and Kh-59 air-to-surface missiles, Kh-31P anti-radiation missile, and the TV-guided bombs. For air-to-air combat, the aircraft is equipped with Russia’s latest Vympel R-77 (NATO codename: AA-12 Adder) active radar-homing medium-range air-to-air missile (MRAAM). Additionally, the aircraft is also fitted with sophisticated electronic countermeasures (ECM) and C4ISR suites for target acquisitions and weapon guidance.
Back in 2007 Indonesia signed a $1 billion arms package to update its crumbling military. The agreement with Russia includes contracts for two submarines and contains an option to purchase up to eight more over the next 15 years. As Chad Bouchard reports from Jakarta, that plan is raising concerns among other Pacific nations.
Under the turbid waters of the Western Pacific, a quiet arms race is threatening to upset the fragile balance of power between nations.
Chine accused of fueling Pacific Arms Race – A dramatic increase in the number of submarines being built in southeast Asia has sparked claims that a new arms race is under way beneath the waves in the Western Pacific.
Dozens of hunter-killers, armed with missiles and intelligence-gathering equipment, are being built, fanning fears of potential conflict in a volatile corner of the world and threatening to alter the global balance of military power.
In Nov. 1946, a draft agreement on forming a Netherlands-Indonesian Union was reached, but differences in interpretation resulted in more fighting between Dutch and nationalist forces. Following a bitter war for independence, leaders on both sides agreed to terms of a union on Nov. 2, 1949. The transfer of sovereignty took place in Amsterdam on Dec. 27, 1949. In Feb. 1956, Indonesia abrogated the union and began seizing Dutch property in the islands.
In 1963, Netherlands New Guinea (the Dutch portion of the island of New Guinea) was transferred to Indonesia and renamed West Irian, which became Irian Jaya in 1973 and West Papua in 2000. Hatta and Sukarno, the cofathers of Indonesian independence, split over Sukarno’s concept of “guided democracy,” and under Sukarno’s rule the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) steadily increased its influence.
Military analysts say Indonesia’s deal with Russia last week, which included two of Russia’s famously stealthy Kilo-class submarines, is the latest development in an ongoing underwater arms race across the region.
Andrew Davies is the author of The Enemy Below, a report published by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute think-tank.
He predicts increasing underwater traffic could lead to a serious international incident.
“When you have submarine operations, especially if people go and operate in other people’s sovereign waters, you have one little accident, you know a submarine bumps into a ship or something like that – and these things do happen; even US submarines bump into ships occasionally, you’re setting yourself up for a very significant diplomatic issue, especially if the two countries happen to not like one another,” he noted.
Japan has asked Indonesia to explain why it needs so much firepower under the sea.
The Indonesian government has announced that it wants to build 12 submarines by 2024 to patrol the strategically vital waters around its 17,000 islands. Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, South Korea, Bangladesh and -Pakistan are all buying -submarines “off the shelf”.
There are at least three key determinants in Indonesia’s future rise. The first is the vision of Indonesia’s future president after 2014, whoever that may be, which will determine the next phase of Indonesia’s foreign policy. Secondly, domestic sentiments on certain issues are also important in terms of their impact on Indonesia’s foreign policy. Islamic nuances in foreign policy are already evident as a consequence of domestic pressures, for example concerns about the plight of the Rohingya community in Myanmar; advocating an anti-blasphemy law in the UN; and Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa’s recent call for nations to review diplomatic ties with Israel and to boycott its products in solidarity with Palestine.
Indonesia, however, is confronted with a security dilemma given the current uncertainty in politics in the Asia-Pacific region; geopolitical turbulence in disputed waters; and the emergence of new sources of conflict involving resources.
Against this backdrop, Indonesia’s quest to improve its military capability, if realised, will influence the regional balance. In previous years, Indonesia was never able to meet its defence budget. In 2008 only 28 per cent of the overall budget was fulfilled by the government. Economic growth should help Indonesia to build up its military. Indonesia has recently passed a Defence Industry Law, demonstrating a political will to increase its military capability. But as the regional power balance shifts, it could potentially stimulate a reaction from Australia, Malaysia and Singapore, especially over border issues, such as the unresolved dispute over Ambalat with Malaysia. The Nation
Why hasn’t President Obama Visited Morocco during his Presidency?
Posted on November 29, 2012 by Akashma Online News
UPDATED by Marivel Guzman
Source Morocco News Board
Washington/Morocco News Board– Watching President Barack Obama’s visit to Myanmar two weeks ago, some Moroccans were left wondering if the White House fully appreciates their country’sclose alliance with the United States. Some in the Moroccan community in the United State have expressed dissatisfaction with their diplomatic mission in Washington’s tepid efforts to articulate, package and sell an “Obama visit to Morocco” campaign to the current Administration House.
The successes of Morocco’s efforts in supporting Washington foreign and military policies at different echelons and fields are undeniable. From covert action in support of American intelligence operations to diplomatic assistance to push the American Agenda in North African and the Middle East, Rabat has been constantly and publicly on the side of the United States.
For several observers, the U.S.-Morocco alliance warrants an Obama visit. Rabat should not pay for Washington’s “terms of accommodation” with other nations in the Maghreb, especially if the regimes in question harbor anti-American sentiments. If the State Department bureaucrats keep playing the old-fashioned game of balance-of-power between Rabat and Algiers, the Moroccans should appeal to their natural allies in Washington to push for a clear recognition of their nations’ longstanding pro-American stands.
Relations between Morocco and Algeria “has been a decline since the 1995 terrorist attack in Morocco” and “since that day, there is a kind of climbing, then the inclination to recovery,” said Algerian Foreign Minister Mourad Medelci, saying “the future is based on the will of the people.” North Africa United
Given, the public and not so public, critical role Morocco continues playing on behalf of America in the Middle East and North Africa, a question arises: Are the Moroccan officials in Washington actively and diligently pursuing efforts to get the Kingdom the
recognition it deserves in the United States?
Agadir Morocco US Naval Ship Pililaau Port
Unlike other countries in the region, Morocco is not shy about its military cooperation with the United States. The Moroccan Military has been training with all branches of the American Armed forces since the North African country’s independence. The domestic press and public view such cooperation as a plus for the Royal Armed Forces that are in a semi-war state with their neighbor. If some media organs in the region hide the presence of Americans on their soil, the Moroccan press hails the Pentagon assistance as a natural collaboration between two allies.
U.S. Government, Lockheed Martin Provide “Comprehensive Package”
The Royal Moroccan Air Force (RMAF) unveiled the first four of 24 Lockheed Martin F-16 aircraft in a ceremony Thursday at Ben Guerrir Air Base in Morocco. Senior representatives from the Moroccan and U.S. governments and air forces were present for the historic event. Aero New Network
The Moroccan authorities got in hot waters over their role in assisting American intelligences services after the 9/11 attacks. While weathering intense criticism from domestic and international human rights organizations over its alleged role in rendition operations, Rabat stood by Washington taking a public relations beating in the process.
If Moroccans lack critical energy resources, they remain trusted partners who deliver. Rabat never played the terrorism card as a way to gain favors from the West. While some countries in North Africa criticize Washington openly and tout their importance to the Europeans in private, the Kingdom has been forward in dealing with the Americans. Furthermore, it never utilized the “war in terror” as a bait to ask for a special treatment from Washington.
Morocco has one of the biggest Uranium Phosphates Mines in the world- Morocco holds 75 % of Uranium Phosphates reserves of 85 Billions Tons-On September 25, 2012 AREVA and EDF announce the signature of two contracts which make a significant contribution to securing the long-term supply of natural uranium to EDF nuclear facilities.Areva These contracts thus further consolidate AREVA’s position as a key partner to acquired ServiTrade, a Mozambique-based construction equipment to mine Uranium. On November 12, 2012 Ameco adquired ServiTrade.
Cameco to buy Areva’s stake in Saskatchewan project:Cameco Corp., Canada’s largest uranium miner, said it agreed to buy Areva Resources Canada’s entire 27.94-per-cent stake in the northern Saskatchewan-based Millennium project for $150 million.
While some regimes have manipulated terror groups in North Africa and the Sahel to overstate their importance to the West, Moroccan special units have been offering unconditional and professional intelligence assistance to their American counterparts in the fight against terror and crime in the Sahel.
On foreign policy, Rabat has been a steadfast American ally in Mali, Libya, Syria and Iran. Morocco hosted several international conferences given the American agenda an Arab cover. Today, Morocco is actively supporting the Syrian revolution, helping implement the U.S. Iran containment strategy and pursing military aid to the new Libyan Armed Forces.
King Mohammed VI after conducting talks with his counterpart Jordanian King Abdullah II visited the Zaatari camp where the Royal Moroccan army (FAR)have been deployed for monthswith a field hospital, to treat the wounded from the ongoing civil war in Syria.
King inspected military installations and Moroccan medical personnel, visited the sick and injured, in the Moroccan hospital, which has treated tens of thousands of Syrian refugees since its establishment. North Africa United
An Obama visit will not only boost the Moroccan regime, it will encourage the social reformist movement in the country as well. It will be a public relations gesture that recognizes Morocco’ recent reforms and advocate for further freedoms.
An Obama trip will not “endanger” American business interests in other countries in the Maghreb where such visit is impossible, as some reluctant American executives may argue; it will in fact push for further liberalization and transparency of the business world in North Africa.
For numerous Moroccan Americans, the payback has been hard to come by in the form of a Presidential visit. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton has been a good friend and a steady ally on the question of the Western Sahara but an Obama trip to Rabat will highlights Morocco’s importance to the United States. A “Barack in Rabat” headline will be a true recognition of Morocco’s vital assistance on intelligence and military matters to U.S. operations in Europe, the Sahel and the Middle East.
Bury my heart at Gaza City
Posted on November 21, 2012 by Akashma Online News
By Hisham Elkoustaf
Morocco World News
Orange County, California, Nov 21, 2012
This morning, as part of my quotidian perusal of international sources for honest journalism, I was intrigued by the following news headline, “America is with you.” I became very angry as I thought I was reading a statement from US Congress expressing solidarity with its Israeli masters. The language was actually a direct quote from President Obama during his speech at the University of Yangon in Myanmar (formerly Burma), where he encouraged Myanmar to continue the transition to democracy. Wait a second. Is this the same Myanmar that just a few weeks ago slaughtered thousands in Rohingya?
At a time when Palestinian civilians are being massacred by the Israeli military, President Obama and his Secretary of State were busy visiting Myanmar, Thailand and Cambodia as part of America’s effort to exert greater influence in the Asia-Pacific region. As American-made weapons continued to destroy Gaza, President Obama added insult to injury when he boasted about the merits of American-style democracy, stating “It’s worked for us for over 200 years now, and I think it’s going to work for Thailand and it’s going to work for this entire region. And the alternative, I think, is a false hope that, over time, I think erodes and collapses under the weight of people whose aspirations are not being met.”
One thing that cannot be denied about President Obama is that he is a fantastic orator. But how could he utter such beautiful words in defense of democracy when he continues to bless Israel’s denial of the aspirations of Palestinians? How could he pay lip service to democracy when he insists on rejecting the will of the people in Gaza?
As President Obama continues to be missing in action, at a time when we need his strong and balanced leadership, America’s corporate media, which masquerades as a legitimate news outlet, is regrettably saturated with right-wing pro Israeli extremists who regurgitate the same false narrative: Israel is simply defending herself against Palestinian aggression. Are we to believe that Palestinian children, dug up from the rubble of homes destroyed by on-going Israeli air strikes, are aggressors? Are we to accept that eight members of the Dalou family, including four children aged between one and seven, killed when an Israeli missile struck their home, are “terrorists”? Are we to accept that this is a “war” and that the Israeli military is acting according to internationally accepted norms of “warfare”?
So in the absence of honest American journalism, and as a challenge to the arguments of the right-wing pro Israel sycophants, let us examine just two examples of the heinous record of the criminal, bloodthirsty and savage Israeli army as it continues to murder defenseless Palestinian civilians. According to indisputable evidence found by an Amnesty International fact-finding team, during the 2009 slaughter of Palestinians in Gaza, the Israeli army used, inter alia, white phosphorus, a weapon with a highly incendiary effect, in densely populated civilian residential areas of Gaza City. When white phosphorus lands on skin it burns deeply through muscle and into the bone, continuing to burn until deprived of oxygen. And the Israeli military does not discriminate when it comes to civilian targets. The 2009 naked aggression against Palestinian civilians included dropping a white phosphorus shell in the al-Quds hospital in Gaza City, causing a fire that forced hospital staff to evacuate the patients.
According to Global Research, a center for research on globalization, during Israel’s vicious assault on Lebanon in July 2006, the UN estimated that Israel used massive amounts of cluster bombs and rained down around four million bomblets – most US-supplied – onto south Lebanon when a ceasefire had already been agreed. De-miners clearing Israeli-dropped cluster bombs in south Lebanon turned up an average of 10 new sites per month. A single cluster bomb can disperse hundreds of bomblets.
More shocking was Israel’s refusal to provide data that would assist clearing the estimated one million unexploded bomblets, which continue to kill and maim civilians and decimate rural livelihoods. Dalya Farran, a spokeswoman for the UN Mine Action Coordination Centre for South Lebanon stated that all the weapons systems are computerized and grid references are entered before the bombs drop. Yet the shameless and arrogant Israeli military continues to deny the UN any information on the cluster bomb strike data arguing that the cluster munitions were fired at open and uninhabited areas in which no civilians were present. Sadly, around one million of the bomblets failed to explode on impact, leaving roads, schools, homes and fields littered with lethal explosives that detonate when touched, making them a danger similar to anti-personnel mines.
So as Israeli war planes continue their cowardly destruction of Gaza, the jury is still out on what sort of American tax-payer funded weaponry is being used on civilians. And as Palestinians continue to dig up bodies of women, men and children, President Obama maintains America’s modus operandi when it comes to policy on Israel: “do what you have to do and we got your back”. With powerful enablers such as America, the cowardly Israeli military has and will always enjoy complete impunity for its inhumane crimes.
This Thursday, millions of Americans unknowingly commemorate the Native American peoples’ genocide through massacres, forced relocations and years of warfare waged by the United States federal government. As part of a White House tradition, President Obama is scheduled to pardon one of two 19-week-old, Virginia-raised, 40-pound male turkeys, otherwise known as toms, or gobblers. If only the President was as committed to saving the lives of Palestinians as he is in saving fowl.
Hisham Elkoustaf is an attorney with over a decade of experience at the intersection of law, policy and international development. Hisham earned his B.A. in Political Science, Cum Laude, from Columbia University. He received an M.A. in International Relations from the Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy, Tufts University. He earned his J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School. He is a member of Morocco World News’ editorial team.
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