First Lady Laura Bush makes an address September 2007. The US First Lady
called on Burma ruling junta to step aside, saying in an article published
that the regime had lost all legitimacy [Photo: AFP]
UN Sec-Gen Tells US First Lady Special Envoy Will Return
'As Soon As Possible'
By Lalit K. Jha / United Nations October 10, 2007
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon telephoned the US first lady, Laura Bush, to update her on recent UN actions in regard to Burma and to tell her he will send the UN Special Envoy to Burma, Ibrahim Gambari, back to the region “as soon as possible.”
First Lady Laura Bush makes an address September 2007. The US First Lady called on Burma ruling junta to step aside, saying in an article published that the regime had lost all legitimacy
The call was in response to personal calls from the first lady in the past month in which she expressed her concern over the situation in Burma and urged the United Nations Security Council to take swift action to try to prevent further bloodshed in Burma.
A spokesperson said Ban Ki-moon updated the first lady on the efforts of special envoy Ibrahim Gambari and the recent appointment of a special Burmese minister of relations to serve as a liaison contact between Aung San Suu Kyi and the military government.
Ban Ki-moon underscored that the crisis in Burma demands continued international attention, his spokesperson said, and he used the occasion to thank Laura Bush for her “unwavering support” for the people of Burma.
“Mrs Bush believes that the regime’s appointment of Deputy Labor Minister Aung Kyi [the liaison contact] will be seen as a genuine effort toward national reconciliation when they release Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners,” said a statement issued by her press secretary Sally McDonough.
Referring to the conversation between Ban and the first lady, the US ambassador to the United Nations, Zalmay Khalilzad, told reporters: “We believe it is very important that progress be made, that the prisoners are released, that the conditions for Aung San Suu Kyi be improved, that there be negotiations for a transition.”
Khalilzad said the US would like the UN special envoy to revisit Burma as soon as possible so he can facilitate a dialogue between the government, the military and the pro-democracy opposition. As of now, Gambari is scheduled to return in November.
In his statement, Khalilzad said: “The military as a national institution has its role to play in the transition and post-transition.”
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon telephoned the US first lady, Laura Bush, to update her on recent UN actions in regard to Burma and to tell her he will send the UN Special Envoy to Burma, Ibrahim Gambari, back to the region “as soon as possible.”
First Lady Laura Bush makes an address September 2007. The US First Lady called on Burma ruling junta to step aside, saying in an article published that the regime had lost all legitimacy
The call was in response to personal calls from the first lady in the past month in which she expressed her concern over the situation in Burma and urged the United Nations Security Council to take swift action to try to prevent further bloodshed in Burma.
A spokesperson said Ban Ki-moon updated the first lady on the efforts of special envoy Ibrahim Gambari and the recent appointment of a special Burmese minister of relations to serve as a liaison contact between Aung San Suu Kyi and the military government.
Ban Ki-moon underscored that the crisis in Burma demands continued international attention, his spokesperson said, and he used the occasion to thank Laura Bush for her “unwavering support” for the people of Burma.
“Mrs Bush believes that the regime’s appointment of Deputy Labor Minister Aung Kyi [the liaison contact] will be seen as a genuine effort toward national reconciliation when they release Aung San Suu Kyi and other political prisoners,” said a statement issued by her press secretary Sally McDonough.
Referring to the conversation between Ban and the first lady, the US ambassador to the United Nations, Zalmay Khalilzad, told reporters: “We believe it is very important that progress be made, that the prisoners are released, that the conditions for Aung San Suu Kyi be improved, that there be negotiations for a transition.”
Khalilzad said the US would like the UN special envoy to revisit Burma as soon as possible so he can facilitate a dialogue between the government, the military and the pro-democracy opposition. As of now, Gambari is scheduled to return in November.
In his statement, Khalilzad said: “The military as a national institution has its role to play in the transition and post-transition.”
Detainees Dying Under Interrogation
Say Burmese SourcesBy Shah Paung October 10, 2007
A member of Burma’s opposition National League for Democracy has died in a police interrogation center, a Burmese rights group reported on Wednesday.
The report follows news from another rights group on Tuesday that two university students arrested on September 27 had also died while being interrogated.
The NLD member, 42-year-old Win Shwe, who belonged to the party’s Kyaukpadaung Township branch in Mandalay Division was arrested on September 26, together with four other activists who took part with him in supporting demonstrations by protesting monks. The fate of the other four is not known.
The Thailand-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma) said Win Shwe’s family had been informed that he had died three days ago but had been given no further information. His body was not returned to the family, and the AAPP said it had been buried secretly.
The AAPP said Win Shwe had been detained at a police center in Palake, near Mandalay. Other detainees had died under interrogation and their bodies had been secretly disposed of, the AAPP said.
“This is a terrible crime,” said AAPP Secretary Tate Naing. “This government has been contravening human rights beyond the limit.”
The AAPP is compiling lists of missing people and certified deaths. Bodies of monks had been found in Rangoon’s Pazundaung River in recent days, it said.
The deaths of the two Rangoon University (Eastern Campus) students were reported to The Irrawaddy on Tuesday by a reliable source from his hiding place. The bodies had been secretly cremated. Shortly after speaking to The Irrawaddy, the source was arrested while talking to an exile radio station.
The source told The Irrawaddy that the two zoology students had died from drowning during their questioning in Rangoon’s Kyaikkasan interrogation center.
The report follows news from another rights group on Tuesday that two university students arrested on September 27 had also died while being interrogated.
The NLD member, 42-year-old Win Shwe, who belonged to the party’s Kyaukpadaung Township branch in Mandalay Division was arrested on September 26, together with four other activists who took part with him in supporting demonstrations by protesting monks. The fate of the other four is not known.
The Thailand-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma) said Win Shwe’s family had been informed that he had died three days ago but had been given no further information. His body was not returned to the family, and the AAPP said it had been buried secretly.
The AAPP said Win Shwe had been detained at a police center in Palake, near Mandalay. Other detainees had died under interrogation and their bodies had been secretly disposed of, the AAPP said.
“This is a terrible crime,” said AAPP Secretary Tate Naing. “This government has been contravening human rights beyond the limit.”
The AAPP is compiling lists of missing people and certified deaths. Bodies of monks had been found in Rangoon’s Pazundaung River in recent days, it said.
The deaths of the two Rangoon University (Eastern Campus) students were reported to The Irrawaddy on Tuesday by a reliable source from his hiding place. The bodies had been secretly cremated. Shortly after speaking to The Irrawaddy, the source was arrested while talking to an exile radio station.
The source told The Irrawaddy that the two zoology students had died from drowning during their questioning in Rangoon’s Kyaikkasan interrogation center.
No Joke: Fate of Popular, Arrested Comedians Unknown
By Aye Lae October 10, 2007 
For decades, Burmese comedians have charmed their audiences and irritated the ruling generals with their topical satire and political wit.
ZarganarDuring the current unrest, Burmese authorities struck back by arresting two of the country's most well-known comedians. Currently, no one knows where they are being held.
The comedians' family members are in anguish over the fate of their loved ones.
“I am worried about him. He is not in good healthy," said Kyi Oo, the mother of Zarganar, who has been called Burma's Charlie Chaplin.
"I warned him not to get too involved in the protests, but he refused me," she told The Irrawaddy by phone from Rangoon. "He loves his country and his people.”
Zarganar, 45, a dentist-turned-comedian, came to prominence in the 1980s by poking fun at the then socialist regime.
He was arrested after he prominently appeared in public, offering food and drink to monks during the early days of the Rangoon protests.
Zarganar was jailed twice for his social and political activism, first as a political dissident in 1988, then again in 1990 while helping his mother in her campaign for the general elections that year. He was freed in 1994.
The popular comedian—whose name means tweezers—received the Lillian Hellman and Dashiel Hammett Award in 1991 after being nominated by the Fund for Free Expression, a committee of Human Rights Watch.
Another well-known comedian and a former movie star, 60-year-old Par Par Lay, the leader of the "Moustache Brothers" comedy troupe, was arrested in Mandalay by police on September 25 after he had gone to a monastery to give alms to monks.
Par Par LayHis wife, Win Mar, told The Irrawaddy: “I’m very worried. I haven't known where he is since he was arrested. I want to give some medicine and clothes to him.”
Par Par Lay, along with his comedian colleague Lu Zaw, was sentenced to seven years imprisonment for a satirical performance they gave at an Independence Day party at the residence of detained democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi in 1994.
When the authorities released them in July 2001, they were blacklisted and forbidden to perform in public venues. However, they continued to perform for small groups of foreign tourists at their home in Mandalay.
ZarganarDuring the current unrest, Burmese authorities struck back by arresting two of the country's most well-known comedians. Currently, no one knows where they are being held.
The comedians' family members are in anguish over the fate of their loved ones.
“I am worried about him. He is not in good healthy," said Kyi Oo, the mother of Zarganar, who has been called Burma's Charlie Chaplin.
"I warned him not to get too involved in the protests, but he refused me," she told The Irrawaddy by phone from Rangoon. "He loves his country and his people.”
Zarganar, 45, a dentist-turned-comedian, came to prominence in the 1980s by poking fun at the then socialist regime.
He was arrested after he prominently appeared in public, offering food and drink to monks during the early days of the Rangoon protests.
Zarganar was jailed twice for his social and political activism, first as a political dissident in 1988, then again in 1990 while helping his mother in her campaign for the general elections that year. He was freed in 1994.
The popular comedian—whose name means tweezers—received the Lillian Hellman and Dashiel Hammett Award in 1991 after being nominated by the Fund for Free Expression, a committee of Human Rights Watch.
Another well-known comedian and a former movie star, 60-year-old Par Par Lay, the leader of the "Moustache Brothers" comedy troupe, was arrested in Mandalay by police on September 25 after he had gone to a monastery to give alms to monks.
Par Par LayHis wife, Win Mar, told The Irrawaddy: “I’m very worried. I haven't known where he is since he was arrested. I want to give some medicine and clothes to him.”
Par Par Lay, along with his comedian colleague Lu Zaw, was sentenced to seven years imprisonment for a satirical performance they gave at an Independence Day party at the residence of detained democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi in 1994.
When the authorities released them in July 2001, they were blacklisted and forbidden to perform in public venues. However, they continued to perform for small groups of foreign tourists at their home in Mandalay.
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