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ON THE BORDER
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ON THE BORDER
Couple Flee from Nasaka Extortion
Chittagong, August 03 Kaladan
News: A couple have crossed the Burma-Bangladesh border after failing to get
a marriage permit from the Nasaka (Burmese-Border
Security Forces) due to the excessive bribe demanded, according to our
correspondent from Teknaf.
The bridegroom, Kamal Ahmed, 25, son of Julu Meah and the bride Sobora, 19, daughter of the late Abdul Khalek,
both hail from Khoirmora Para of
They have been deeply in love with each other for two years, so their parents
agreed to their engagement, after which they submitted an application to the Nasaka for marriage permission on July 7, according to
bridegroom.
On July 9, the parents and the bride and bridegroom were called to the Nasaka camp to answer inquiries. They were asked many
questions, some of which were not concerned with their marriage plans. Some
questions were deliberately asked to humiliate them, the bridegroom commented.
The bride said, “Nasaka demanded Kyat 70,000/- from
us for the marriage permit but our parents cannot afford that amount of money
because the father of the bridegroom is a poor farmer and my mother is also a
poor widow.”
“Besides, we have extra expenses for our marriage such as food for the wedding
ceremony, clothes for the new couple, ornaments for
myself and others. These demands gave our
parents further difficulties with our marriage as they have no jobs or source
of income.” she added.
As a result, on 16th July the
bride and bridegroom crossed the Burma-Bangladesh border without telling their
parents or relatives and reached Teknaf, a border
town of
On 18th July, they were married
at the refugee camp with the cooperation of some refugees in the camp,
according to Islamic law. After living there only five days, the newly-wed
couple left the refugee camp, hoping for a better life out of the camp.
Many other newly-wed couples from
*** *** ***
Article: HIV: You Cannot Hide for Long: Fight It from the Very
Beginning
By Fayas Ahmed,
Aids stands for Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS),
which causes havoc on the human immunity system, utterly destroying it and
leading its victims to certain death. The first case was detected in the
AIDS totally destroys the human body’s protective mechanism. Still now there is
no effective treatment for AIDS, though there are some drugs that are somewhat
effective at a very early stage. The AIDS virus can stay in the blood for two
to ten years without any symptoms, so the victim may be unaware of its
presence.
Half of the victims are women and children. After hitting western countries, it
spread through
A study proved that 80% of the total AIDS cases have been infected through
sexual contact. In
AIDS is increasing in neighboring countries day by day as well as in
This disease must be stopped at any cost. In this regard, the media and religious
preachers can play a vital role by increasing awareness among the people. So
far, in rural areas most people don’t know what AIDS is.
It is unlikely that anyone will admit to being HIV positive. In fact, it is
unlikely that anyone will even admit to testing for the virus.
Men usually transmit the virus through unprotected sex and having multiple sex
partners, and through a mixture of AIDS-infected blood in various ways.
Children may contact it from their infected mother. They contact the virus
during pregnancy delivery or breast-feeding periods.
Why do people refuse to worry about AIDS? There are two fundamental reasons for
such denial and they are the same on every continent. The first reason is emotional, involving family and society, and the other
reason is practical and concerns livelihood and material security.
If you are a female and test positive for HIV, you will be labeled “ a bad woman”, a woman of loose morals who sleeps around,
no matter how you picked up the virus. If you are male and test positive for
HIV, you probably have picked up the virus from an extramarital affair or from
a prostitute. These are the social stigma of carrying the virus.
If you are a married man who is HIV positive and you don’t wear any protective
device like a condom, your wife will become infected. If your wife is pregnant,
nursing a child, she will pass the virus to the fetus or the child. To inform
your wife that you are HIV positive is to admit to infidelity, not an easy
thing for anyone to do. These are the familial consequences of carrying the
virus.
In practice, the greatest fear of testing HIV positive is the loss of one’s
job. If your wife leaves you for infidelity, you can still feed and clothe and
provide shelter for your children. But if the virus also costs you your job,
you are no good to anyone. Not only that, you are alone.
You should test for the HIV virus if your health has begun to fail. HIV
sufferers need our support, not our abhorrence and negligence. If you have
tested HIV positive, please seek consultation. If it is at an early stage the
virus can be controlled through anti-viral medication.
With HIV infection rates rising and the incurable disease taking 10 years to
kill without treatment, an estimated 18.4 million children will have lost at
least one parent by 2010, according to the UNICEF report released at the 15th International AIDS conference, on
The
Six nations - China, Thailand, Brazil, Russia, Nigeria, and Ukraine that
face serious HIV/AIDS epidemics have forged a pact promoting low-cost drugs,
officials at the World AIDS Forum said on 14th
July 2004.
The US Congress approved US$ 15 billion in January for the president’s
Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, which is to provide assistance for treatment
and prevention for 15 countries, including
“We are ashamed that in 2004, some 38 million people are living with HIV/AIDS
and fighting the same battles after two decades,” said the
“Despite all that we have learned about what works in prevention and
treatments, the epidemic is on the rise in every region. We recognized that we
have not done enough to protect people from new infections. We have not done
enough to provide access to afford able treatment and care to all those who
need it.”
For years, action plans have been initiated to curb and prevent this deadly
virus. The West propagates the practice of safe sex, avoidance of risk groups
and condom use in its guest to fight AIDS, but they are losing the battle.
On the other hand, Islam provides a simple and effective method of prevention,
which can be found in the Qur’an and Sunnah[1].
The 21st century sees the openly
practiced evils of homosexuality, prostitution, fornication and adultery, which
have no doubt exacerbated the spread of the disease.
A Hadith[2]
of the Prophet (pbuh) states, “ If fornication and
all kinds of sinful sexual intercourse become rampant and openly practiced
without inhibition in any group or nation, God will punish them with new
epidemics and new diseases which were not known to their forefathers and
earlier generations.”
Following the legitimization of same-sex marriage in the
A western Buddhist NGO in Chiang Mai, the capital of
AIDS is not only harmful to a single AIDS patient, but it also endangers the
whole community. AIDS is a matter of concern in our country. It will reach
unmanageable proportions if we do not make an effort to educate illiterate
people. This is no trifling matter and necessary steps should be taken to solve
the problem.
Therefore, in order to prevent the spread of AIDS, we should avoid
homosexuality, prostitution, fornication and adultery, which have no doubt
increased the spread of the disease. If the disease is caught at an early
stage, the virus can be controlled through anti-viral medication. Since you
cannot hide it for long, you might as well fight it from the very beginning
while you have a chance. A fight against the virus can increase your life span.
It must be emphasized that responsible people believe that the prevention of
AIDS/HIV is possible by maintaining religious norms.
*** *** ***
Religious Teacher Sentenced to 7 Years in Jail
The victim was Moulvi Nurul
Islam, 42, son of Moulvi Abdul Zaber
who hails from Ywet Nyo Taung Para of
Five months ago, he went to Maungdaw town to find a
job, as work was scarce in
After one month, he left his service and joined in border trade with the
co-operation of a local person. He bought goods from
On
The next day, on
On being informed, the victim’s father paid Kyat 20,000/- to the Nasaka authorities to stop the punishment.
However, on
So, on the same day, he was sentenced to 7 years imprisonment by the court of Buthidaung town without any proper trial, accusing Moulvi Nurul Islam of crossing
the Burma-Bangladesh border, his wife said to our correspondent.
A college student said, “If any defendant claims to the judge in the court that
he is innocent, he will be given at least two years more in jail because of
insulting the judge”.
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Rohingyas Observe 16th Anniversary of 8888
Chittaogong,
August 8 KALADAN NEWS: Rohingya
organizations observed the 16th
anniversary of the 8888 anniversary of the people’s democracy movement in
Today,
More than 40 Rohingya participated at the meeting
organized by a Celebration Committee of 8888 Memorial Day. The meeting was
begun at
The participants reiterated their commitment to continue the struggle for
democracy in
The participants demanded the unconditional release of all political prisoners,
including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, U Tin Oo and Min Ko Naing. They also
demanded an end to human rights abuses in ethnic nationalities areas,
especially the Rohingya area in northern Arakan.
In a press statement from the Arakan Rohingya National Organization (ARNO) dated
** *** ***
Arakanese exiles hold
demonstration in Dhaka
Dhaka, August 9 Narinjara News: At least 80
exiles from Arakan State held a demonstration in
front of the Bangladeshi high court in Dhaka yesterday in honor of the 16th
anniversary day of 8-8-88.
The 3 Arakanese organizations that participated in
the demonstration included the Working Committee for Demonstration Restoration
in Burma (WCDRB), the Arakan League for Democracy
(Exile) and the All Arakan Students and Youth
Congress (AASYC).
The demonstration was disrupted by the Bangladeshi police force, who first told
the participants that they could not shout their slogans too loudly and then
ordered the crowd to move to a different location. The demonstration was, in
the end, cut short when the police demanded that it finish.
A leader of the WCDRB said, “There has never been any intervention by local
police in previous demonstrations by Burmese people in
The demonstrators included several demands in their protest; the immediate
release of Daw Suu as well as all other political prisoners, and the start of
an open dialogue between the democracy groups led by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the
genuine representatives of non-Burmese people and the SPDC military junta.
The demonstration started at
*** *** ***
Nine Arakanese arrested for
complaining to Prime Minister Khin Nyunt
Akyab, August 9 Narinjara
News: 9 Arakanese people were arrested by Burma
Military Intelligence in Pauk Taw Township for sending a letter to PM Khin
Nyunt expressing their dissatisfaction over the delivery of storm aid to
victims.
According to our correspondent, some of those arrested were U Aung Thaung, former chairman of Sai Tauk village under the
Another participant, U Thein Maung, a clerk from
The local government relief team of the
In addition, the receipts that they were forced to sign stated that they each
received 2 rice sacks, 4 cooking pots, and 4 blankets, but the relief team only
gave each family one rice sack, 2 cooking pots and 2 blankets.
Dissatisfaction over the misappropriation of the government relief fund led 10
people to draft a letter of complaint to Prime Minister General Khin Nyunt. One
week later, on 18 July, nine of them were arrested by military intelligence
under the Western Command Brigadier, General Maung Oo and are currently being
held without bail in the police station of Pauk Taw.
The government relief team in Arakan is under
Brigadier General Maung Oo’s supervision and the team
was formed by several organizations of the Burmese military government
including the Women's Welfare Association, the Myanmar Red Cross, the Union
Solidarity Development Association- or USDA - as well as
the local township administration.
On 19 May, a cyclone storm hit the Arakan coast,
leaving over 1000 dead and damaging the property of many local residents.
*** *** ***
Rohingya Youths Observe
International Youth Day
The meeting was organized by the Rohingya Youth
Development Forum (RYDF) to strengthen the commitment of young people to
increase opportunities for their participation in social activities, said Jamil, a participant at the meeting.
The meeting started at
International Youth Day has been celebrated since the year 2000 on 12th August each year, encouraging youths
across the world to “empower tomorrow’s global citizens today”.
This day serves to promote youth participation and to address issues concerning
them. Empowered young people in all countries are both a major human resource
for development and key agents for social change, economic development and
technological innovation.
The theme of the fifth International Youth Day is "Youth in an
Intergenerational Society". Today's society is the youngest ever;
almost fifty percent of the world's population is aged 25 years or under. Yet
societies are also ageing.
By choosing the theme "youth in an intergenerational society", the
United Nations wants to stress the importance of solidarity between generations
at all levels - in families, communities and nations. In the future, the
interdependence of younger and older people will increase. Youth development is
a prerequisite to meeting the growing care demands of older people and a
condition for the development of society as a whole.
According to a statement released by RYDF, the Rohingya
youths called upon the international community for effective implementation of
education, empowerment, hunger and poverty, health, environment, drug abuse,
juvenile delinquency, leisure time activities, girls and women and full
effective participation so as to be adjusted with the UN resolution. And to put pressure on Burmese military rulers and to support all
the Burmese opposition youth forums and individuals for a future democracy in
Participants also urged ASEAN and the neighboring countries of
The Rohingya youths demanded on the occasion of
International Youth Day the unconditional release of student leader Ko Min Ko
Naing and all other political prisoners including Daw
Aung San Suu Kyi and U Tin Oo. They also demanded an end to the killing of young
men and women and rape against women from ethnic nationalities and an end to
ethnic cleansing and genocidal actions against the Rohingyas
in Arakan and to treat them as human beings in their
homeland.
*** *** ***
New
By: Loa Htaw (IMNA)
The New Mon State Party (NMSP) General Secretary has denied accusations
by the Burmese government that eight of their soldiers acted like criminals,
scaring people with their guns to collect tax money.
The NMSP Leader said that the eight soldiers who have been accused as criminals
and were arrested by the SPDC authorities in Ye township, Mon State are Nai Ron Nai, Nai
Tala Lawi, Nai Aung Yin and five others on June 29, the day of the 9th
anniversary of the NMSP cease-fire with the regime.
“These people who have been accused can be sentenced for eight years term
imprisonment as the Burmese Army accused them of being criminals” he added.
Nai Hong Sar, the NMSP
General Secretary said “We are not forcing our people to pay money as yearly
tax. Our people know their responsibilities to help us as much as they can, for
our nation or our movement”.
Nai Mon Chan (not his real name) said “In my
experience, I have never seen NMSP soldiers scaring
people with a gun to get money. Of course, sometimes some Mon soldiers abuse
the villagers verbally when collecting money but not with guns”.
“If we have money, the NMSP doesn’t need to force us. We give them money
without hesitating and support them, but some people who don’t have money can’t
give, so it seems they are not supporting the NMSP.”
Nai Hong Sar said that it
is our job to ask for help from our people to work for our nation. It is just
between us and our people. If the Burmese military stop us, it means that they
are destroying our revolution. “For our members, collecting money and asking
for help from the people is normal. It is not a crime”.
Nai Hong Sar added, “We
have already informed military government before our members go to collect
money from the villagers. We have been asking for support money since we signed
a cease-fire with the government in 1995. But, this year, although we informed
them, our officials were still arrested. May be they just wanted to arrest them
because they don’t like our stand with other cease-fire groups on the National
Convention”.
“In this case, if they want to allocate blame, they should just blame the
leaders. They should not blame and create problems for our soldiers”, said Nai Hong Sar.
He also said that they have asked the regime’s Prime Minister, Lt. Gen. Kyin Nyunt, for the unconditional release of their
soldiers. But currently the Prime Minister is not in the country, so they have
to wait. At the moment some of the soldiers are also sick.
An NMSP member said “If our leaders can’t negotiate the release of our eight
soldiers, the other soldiers will decrease party activities in the future.
Nai Hong Sar said “We think
we can negotiate with the government to release our soldiers. But we can’t say
when they will be released”.
*** *** ***
About 30 smugglers kill each other before SPDC Seizes 830
kilograms of Heroin
Independent Mon News Agency
August 6, 2004
About 30 heroin smugglers killed each other in the Martaban
Sea, in the southwestern part of Burma, before SPDC authorities and Military
Intelligence (MI) seized about 830 kilograms (1, 660 pounds) of heroin from a
Mon smuggler in Hnit-kayin, a coastal village, Ye
township, southern Mon State, according to the villagers.
A village leader said, “The authorities and MI seized heroin from Mr. Nai Thin Shein, a Hnit-kayin villager, after 30 heroin smugglers killed each
other in a shoot-out while exchanging heroin for gold bars on a ship that
reached Kulagok Island (Kalar-gote)
on June 25.”
“All the smugglers shot each other on the ship, but he survived. He
took the ship away to
After he reached the island he took his heroin to his home
“He left all the gold bars and guns on the ship and took the heroin to his
village. Because of the huge amount of heroin, the news spread fast among the
villagers and reached the Burmese authorities,” the leader said.
“A week later, the authorities came and seized the heroin and arrested him,”
the villagers said.
All of the gold and guns on the ship were seized by the Burmese Army, according
to the Hnit-kayin village leader. The army also took
the ship to their navy base.
According to AFP on July 17, it was one of the biggest amounts of heroin that
the Burmese military government has seized in the year and weighed more than
500 kilograms.
The village leader told the Independent Mon News Agency that Nai Thin Shein had smuggled drugs
for many years. He added that he believed high-ranking government officers are
involved in the drugs business.
*** *** ***
Three
Independent Mon News Agency
The Three Pagodas Pass Township 6th
annual football tournament ceased at the semi-final stage after an argument
occurred between the Ramonnya Football Team and Chaung-zone Football Team.
Because the Three Pagoda Pass Township Peace and Development Council (TPDC) was
afraid that an armed conflict would occur between the New Mon State Party
(NMSP) and the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA), which are behind the two
football teams, they stopped the tournament without deciding on a date to
re-start again, according to the Tournament Implementing Committee.
The argument occurred on August 4, when the Rammonya
Team complained that the Chaung-zone Team was putting
out some new players who were not registered, breaking rule 18 of the
Implementing Committee. The Ramonnya Team planned to boycot the game, but eventually they agreed to play.
During the game, a Chaung-zone player hit a Ramonnya player but the referee U Chit Khin did not give
any punishment. It happened many times and the Ramonnya supporters who were watching the match shouted and
complained to U Chit Khin,” according to people at the match and Remonnya footballers.
The match stopped after about 55 minutes, when the Chaung-zone
team was losing 2-0. The Chaung-zone players were
disappointed with the outcome and shouted on the way back to their village.
After the match, the referee U Chit Khin told the people and the Implementing
Committee that he would not act as referee again for the coming match. “If I
continue do act as referee in the coming match, I can be killed,” U Chit Khin
told the people.
TPDC authorities and the Implementing Committee are negotiating with the
football teams and asking the team managers for suggestions in order to prevent
such a problem in the future.
The Ramonnya team gave two suggestions to the
Implementing Committee, every team has to respect the rules and there must be a
fair referee.
There is still no news about a replay of the semi-final.
In the Three Pagodas Pass annual football tournament, there are 13 teams, and
some teams like Ramonnya, Karen Literature and
Culture team, and Chaung-zone are organized by local
armed groups.
Currently Ramonnya from Group-B has the highest score
with 17 goals and the Government Public Servants Team is in second position,
Karen Literature and Culture Team and Motor Transport Team follow after.
*** **** ***
INSIDE BURMA
Local authorities seize business properties after NLD MP refuses to resign
Akyab, August 15 Narinjara
News: The Mray Bon Township Authority and the
Military Intelligent Unit seized the properties of and prohibited a travel
permit for an NLD MP who refused to resign from the NLD, against the SPDC’s demand.
U Aung Hla Pru, who was
elected as a representative of parliament from the
After U Aung Hla Pru did
not follow the demands of the local authority, they seized the ‘Ma Pru Restaurant’, in Mray Bon,
which is owned by his daughter, on the grounds that they suspected the sale of
illegal goods from the property.
In 1996, goods worth about 5.5 million Kyat were seized by U Thaung Tin, who is in charge of MI (10) Unit, of Mray Bon. In 2003, more goods, worth over 4 million Kyat,
were seized by U Myint Than,
the chairman of Mray Bon Township Administration.
With the recent interference of the local authorities, family members of U Aung
Hla Pru currently find it
difficult to carry out their business as usual in the
U Aung Hla Pru has not travelled anywhere since a secret meeting with Daw Suu, in Akyab, during her trip to
Another NLD MP, U Maung Krun Aung, from Rathi Daung, 20 miles north of Akyab, is also facing a similar situation with the local
authorities. He has not recently been allowed to travel out of town by the
local MI.
The authorities have also disrupted his personal business, where he sells
machine oil. According to an eyewitness, the MI has seized oil from his shop in
the past, and then forced him to pay a large bribe.
Also, in the last two months, the
The townspeople have refused the chairman's demand and they continue to support
Maung Krunt Aung in his political activities. He is
the only NLD MP in
According to sources, there are 3 steps to the policy adopted by SPDC in their
attempts to attack the NLD. They hope to take away any business opportunities
of NLD members by disrupting their businesses, while also prohibiting any
travel outside their current residence and if the first two steps are not
effective, they attempt to take down the NLD member in any way possible.
*** *** ***
Mon comedian Dies after Beating and Torture
By: Sike
A Mon comedian, Mr. Nai Lam Pyart, from “Mon Kyae Lai” Mon traditional drama performance group, died as
a result of serious beating and torture by the
“Nai Lam Pyart died in
“Nai Lam Pyart was about 40
years old and was seriously beaten by the police and some MI after he attempted
to rape a performance girl from his native village,
Before the event occurred, Nai Lam Pyart and the drama performance girl went to
“The event happened on the way back to their village. When they came back from
A similar serious beating and killing by the police also happened to a villager
from
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