Aung San Suu Kyi will not be allowed to appear in court in person during the appeal against her 18-month house 
arrest extension. Aung San Suu Kyi’s detention was extended after she was convicted of breaching security laws by allowing an uninvited US man into her home.
Ms Suu Kyi has spent 14 of the last 20 years in detention. The latest sentence has drawn international condemnation, and means she cannot take part in elections next year.
Meanwhile, a Human Rights Watch (HRW) report states that the number of political prisoners in Burma’s notorious jails has doubled in the two years, since the 2007 ‘Saffron Uprisings’ dramtically captured in the footage of Burma VJ.
According to HRW there are more than 2,200 people jailed for their beliefs in 43 jails, often held in solitary confinement in small, dark cells.
To find out more about the conditions faced by political prisoners in Burma, read our guest-blog post “Burmese hell holes”.
Read the full BBC news article here.
A new report published by Earthrights International (ERI) claims that the Burmese mili
tary junta has pocketed almost $5bn from a controversial gas pipeline operated in Eastern Burma by the French oil giant Total in Eastern Burma, while continuing to deprive the country of much-needed social spending.
The Yadana pipeline deal, which has earned Total an estimated $483m since 2000, is so lucrative to the regime that ERI claim it is able to insulate the country’s rulers from the impact of international sanctions put in place in response to the country’s systematic human rights abuses. As a result, Total can be argued to play a major role in reinforcing the junta’s power, despite pressure for reform from the United States and Europe.
According to the report, the revenue from the Yadana pipeline project has not been invested in the country’s infrastructure, but deposited by the Burmese regime in two offshore banks in Singapore. Meanwhile, the people of Burma suffer some of the worst standards of living in Asia, with negligible state investment in healthcare or education.
The report’s main author, Matthew Smith, has said: “The military elite are hiding billions of dollars of the people’s revenue in Singapore while the country needlessly suffers under the lowest social spending in Asia…The revenue from this pipeline is the regime’s lifeline and a critical leverage point that the international community could use to support the people of Burma.”
Read the Earthrights International reports here
Read the full Independent article here.
For just over a year now, Nancy Monaghan has been running a weekly community drama group with young people from the local area of New Hey, near Rochdale, North West England. After seeing Burma VJ, Nancy has decided to pledge all the takings from her group to help fund the work of the Democratic Voice of Burma. Nancy describes her motivation:
“Burma VJ is not only a shocking exposé of the brutal repression prevalent in Burma, it’s a testimony of how, with courage and ingenuity, individuals can take a stand and make themselves heard. That’s exactly the kind of example I want the kids in our community to take note of, and that’s why I’m proud to support the DVB.
We may be a small group, but that doesn’t matter- every bit of support counts. I’d like to see more community groups across the UK and internationally to take note and come out and support the work of the DVB.”
Until the release of the award-winning Burma VJ in July this year, it’s fair to say that few people in the UK had heard of the non-profit media organisation Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB). Then came the film, telling the story of the DVB’s role in recording footage of the 2007 uprisings in Burma, risking torture, imprisonment and death to ensure that brutal scenes of repression were brought to the attention of a global audience.
All media within Burma is subject to strict censorship. Operating outside of the country, the DVB, which broadcasts daily, is a rare and highly-regarded outlet for uncensored news and information about Burma. The organisation is not-for-profit and charitable donations play a crucial role in keeping its operations running from day to day.
Please support uncensored news on Burma: click here to donate to the DVB.
The DVD of Burma VJ will be available in December - sign up to the Burma VJ mailing list to receive details.
