Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar said before the start of a meeting between Chinese leaders and Asean on Monday that although the 10-nation association understood Beijing’s reluctance to interfere in the affairs of other countries it would welcome Chinese support in pressuring Burma.
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Thailand’s military-installed Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont reassured Chinese and Southeast Asian leaders on Monday that his nation would return to democratic rule within a year.
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October 29: Activists of the Shwe Gas Movement worldwide have earmarked November 15, 2006, as the third international day of action against Daewoo International and the Shwe gas project in Arakan State, Burma, in a statement.
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Bangkok: When a senior U.N. official returns to Burma in mid-November for a second visit this year, he will encounter a ruling junta feeling the heat from a sudden burst of non-violent activity that aims to register public discontent against decades of tyranny.
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Tuesday, October 31, 2006, at 9 P.M. ET on PBS
www.pbs.org/frontlineworld

Frontline/World returns with new “stories from a small planet”:
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Another 82,000 people were forced to flee their homes in eastern Myanmar this year amid fresh fighting between rebel forces and the military regime, according to a survey released Friday.
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Myanmar’s military government Friday accused pro-democracy activists of faking many of the 530,000 signatures on a petition calling for the release of political prisoners.
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Well-informed sources in Rangoon told The Irrawaddy that the military government has not allowed the family doctor of Aung San Suu Kyi to see the detained opposition leader for the past two months. Rangoon-based sources say Dr Tin Myo Win has submitted a request to visit.
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Pro-democracy activists in Myanmar have called on religious groups in the country to hold a one-week prayer vigil for peace and the freedom of political prisoners, a spokesman said Friday.
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Chittagong, Bangladesh: An immediate end to war crimes in Burma has been demanded by two Burmese Women’s groups, according to their press release.
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October 30: Like a swarm of insatiable locusts, Asian-art collectors have been feasting on contemporary Chinese works for several years now, pushing prices ever higher at recent auctions. In Southeast Asia, aficionados have focused on Indonesian and Vietnamese artists, often praised for their technique. Now, with those prices rising out of reach, too, attention is turning to another little-known nation in the region: Burma.
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Burma’s State Peace and Development Council has reportedly purchased military equipment from South Korea and India to bolster its forces, according to two reports in the past month. At the same time, it is gearing up for three different dry season offensives against ethnic opposition groups.
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Top UN official Ibrahim Gambari is expected back in military-ruled Myanmar early next month, diplomats said Friday, nearly six months after his last visit when he was allowed to meet detained democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi.
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As the leader of a government set up by a military junta, Thailand’s Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont has a rare honour. He is being looked upon as a pivotal player in the drive to restore democracy and human rights in another military-ruled country — neighbouring Burma.
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On Sept 15, the UN Security Council (UNSC) made a remarkable contribution to the suffering population of Burma when it included the military-ruled country in its formal agenda. The council voted 10-4 to list Burma, which has drawn international condemnation for detaining hundreds of political opponents including Burmese democracy icon and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi who has been under house arrest for most of the past 17 years.
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Professor Steinberg’s October 25 commentary “Burma and Lessons from the Hungarian Revolution” [The Irrawaddy online] is shameful, presenting the Burmese as a bunch of naïve simpletons who struggle for “an impossible goal” under the misimpression that the US will invade Burma and save them. Although he invokes the Hippocratic oath, “do no harm,” he is not a disinterested clinician, and his words do a disservice to the Burmese people.
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Today marks one month since Ko Min Ko Naing, Ko Ko Gyi , Ko Min Zeya, Ko Htay Kywe and Ko Pyo Cho, leaders of the 88 Generation Student Group, were arbitrarily detained by the military regime in Burma. Despite the SPDC’s claims that the student leaders were invited for discussions with high ranking officials, they remain in detention, with no public knowledge of their location or health situation. The Foreign Affairs Committee of the All Burma Federation of Student Unions expresses deep concern for the student leaders and condemnation for the lawless actions of the SPDC.
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Burma’s military government has accused organizers of the 88 Generation Students group of tricking people into signing petitions during a recent campaign to free five of their detained leaders.
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The officials of Burma military junta-sponsored Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA) at Chauk Township in Magwe Division have been misappropriating money and abusing power, according to local residents.
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Tachilek’s district post and telegraph chief is facing a tough grilling following reports that he has been depositing more than 60 million kyat ($46,000) in his bank account, according to an informed source in Maesai, Tachilek’s twin city on the Thai side.
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