Date:
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(1) Burmese Ethnic Groups Celebrate Cultural Program In
(2) Around 100 Causalities In
Month - Long Karenni Offensive (In Burmese)
(3) Trial Of
(4) Border trade fair to be held on Mae Hong Son
border
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Note: For Burmese language stories read in Web. www.bnionline.net
Burmese Ethnic Groups Celebrate Cultural Program In
celebrated a cultural program under
the title f "Unity in Cultural
Diversity," said Tin Soe, who
participated in the program.
The program was organized by the Human Rights Education
Institute of
Burma (HREIB) with the collaboration of the Burmese
Community Recourse
Center (BCRC) to bring better understanding among ethnic
groups in
Puri,
HREIB director U Aung Myo Min said the main objective of the
program is
to unite ethnic groups in
understanding and respecting each other's
cultures and systems in
understanding among ethnic groups
of the country to reform the
democratic and federal state, as it
is a country of multinational
ethnics who are multi-cultural,
multi-religious and multi racial."
Regarding the program, there was controversy among
participants about
the reason for organizing this
HREIB program. So U Myo came to explain
that "similar programs can
build peace among new societies as per
article No. 27 of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). So
we hold this program for better
unity and understanding among each
others' culture, systems and
behaviors in a diverse society."
The program was celebrated by a chain dance together by all
ethnic
Groups wearing their traditional cultural dress in a chain,
while some
ethnic people such as Matupi, Zou,
and Rawan
showed their traditional dances separately with a POP song
called
their spirits to respect the way
other cultures and systems dress,
speak, etc.
According to the official SPDC website
www.myanmartourex.com,
is popularly known as the
religious and cultural festivals
that take place all year round.
About 1,000 people attended the event. Most were Burmese
while some were
ethnic people from Nagaland and the North East of India. It was started
by HREIB trainees at about
+++++++++
Trial of
Mizzima (www.mizzima.com)
The trial of Sonny Swe, former Burmese partner of the local
leading
weekly, the Myanmar Times, was postponed
until Monday, according to a
source close to the Rangoon-based
newspaper. Sonny Swe, 36, son of
detained Brigadier-General Thein Swe and a close ally of ousted
primeminister
GeneralKhin Nyunt, was arrested in November and
accused of
economic crimes. His last
trial was initially set for Feb. 3 before
being postponed.
Unlike other publications, "the Myanmar Times was
censored by the former
Military Intelligence beforehand, and did not need to pass
the channels
of the Press Scrutiny Board, so the
accusation (alleged) the illegal
operation of the Myanmar Times
during previous years," said a close friend.
"He could be possibly be given a 7-14 year
sentence," he added.
The reason for postponing the trial of the journal's
co-owner is not
known.
Sonny Swe's trial is one of more
than 300 ongoing trials of associates
of the former prime minister, who
has been held in the high-security
Insein Prison, north of
the defendants are accused of
corruption and economic crimes. The trials
are expected to last six weeks.
Sonny's wife, Yamin Htin Aung, has taken her husband's place as deputy
chief executive officer of the
Myanmar Times, which has been unable to
update its website since the
sacking of Military Intelligence in
October 2004.
The Myanmar Times was jointly owned by Australian publisher
Ross
Dunkley, with 49 percent, and Sonny Swe,
with 51 percent. The journal is
registered in the name of the
Office of Strategic Studies and is the
only publication in
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Burma News International is a network of nine exiled media
groups
such as Mizzima
News, Shan Herald Agency for News, Kao Wao News Group,
Khonumthung News Group, Narinjara News, Kaladan Press
Network,
Independent Mon News Agency, Karenni Information
Network Group and Network Media Group.
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