Voting ?No? in Shan State ["On May 10, 2008, despite the devastation caused by Cyclone Nargis only a week earlier, Burma?s military regime went ahead with a nationwide referendum to endorse their new constitution, part of their road-map to military-led ?disciplined democracy.? Five days later, it was announced that the constitution had been overwhelmingly approved by 92.4% of voters. SWAN interviewed a young woman from a town in southern Shan State about her experience of the referendum..."]...Aid to Burma: only on the regime?s terms ["On May 2-3, 2008, the deadly cyclone Nargis hit five divisions of Burma, killing over 130,000 and affecting nearly two and a half million people. With billions of dollars of income from sales of natural gas to Thailand, the regime had more than enough financial capacity to assist the cyclone-affected people. But they didn?t. Instead, they even blocked aid and relief supplies given immediately by the international community. Only gradually, under pressure from the international community, did the regime allow aid to the affected areas, but only on their own terms..."]...Promoting gender equality through community-oriented activities ["SWAN believes it is vitally important to carry out activities at the community level to raise awareness about gender and empower women. Under our Women?s Empowerment Program, SWAN has been supporting bi-monthly Women?s Exchange meetings, running literacy classes for women and organizing community awareness-raising events on International Women?s Day, International Day of Peace and Stop Violence Against Women Day in Shan communities along the Thai- Shan border. Here are some comments from community members, both women and men, on our activities..."]...A Shan ?biofuel refugee? speaks out ["Nang B. a 30-year-old refugee woman from Murng Keng in Shan State, fled to Thailand in April 2008, after being forced to grow jatropha (physic nut) under a nationwide biofuel program authorized by Burma?s military regime, targeting eight million acres of land. According to the May 2008 report ?Biofuel by Decree? by the Ethnic Community Development Forum (ECDF), nearly 800 ?jatropha refugees? had fled from southern Shan State to Thailand..."]...News Briefs: Worldwide vigils for release of Shan leader Hkun Htun Oo; Cuts to refugee rations narrowly averted; Salween dams threaten biodiversity...Empowerment through networking ["As indicated by our name -- the Shan Women?s Action Network -- we at SWAN are firmly committed to the concept of networking – building alliances to promote solidarity and action to further the rights of our communities..."]