Free Republic

Compassionate, concerned people are watching the disturbing and thrilling events in Myanmar, formerly known as Burma. As pro-democracy protesters, sparked by the economic hardships endured by the people under the military dictatorship, face repression they have caught the attention of the world community. Missing from the reportage of major Western media outlets such as the New York Times and BBC News, has been the philosophical identification of the military dictatorship, namely the Burmese way to socialism, which is the state's official ideology.

Rangoon (dpa) - In their ongoing crackdown on dissent in Rangoon, where tens-of-thousands took to the streets in protests last week, military authorities have arrested people who merely clapped for the demonstrators or took pictures of the events, sources said Thursday. On Wednesday night security personnel raided homes situated along Kyartawya Street, east of the Shwedagon Pagoda, and arrested scores of people who had allegedly given moral support to the monk-led peaceful demonstrations that rocked Rangoon between September 18 to 26, informed sources said. "Their crime was for clapping and encouraging the monks," said one observer. The Shwedagon, Rangoon's most...

The new charter stipulated that the CNS, along with the interim government, would leave office when a new elected government was sworn in. Gen Sonthi said yesterday he stepped down as CNS chief because the position no longer had meaning for him after he retired as army chief at the end of last month. ''It is such a relief to be freed of responsibilities as leader of the CNS,'' he said. It was better to hand the CNS top job over to a member who was still in control of the armed forces, he said. Air force chief ACM Chalit...

The country's top brass seem to have learned nothing from the contempt they drew from the international community for their conduct 19 years ago when Burmese generals put down the popular uprising in 1988. Then Gen Chavalit Yongchaiyudh, as the country's army commander-in-chief, blithely headed a high-ranking delegation to Rangoon shortly after the junta's resort to violence left some 3,000 people dead, and sent hundreds of thousands seeking refuge in Thailand. The visit was tantamount to condoning a military dictatorship elsewhere decried for the excesses against demonstrators. The trade-off? Some kind of arrangement involving Burmese timber and fishery. Not long...

The monks have vowed to continue their action Lorries with loudspeakers have been driving through Burma's main city of Rangoon warning residents to stop anti-government protests.The broadcasts threatened that "action will be taken against those who violate this order". But hundreds of monks and civilians defied the threats and began fresh protests at the Shwedagon pagoda. On Monday, there were protests in at least 25 towns, with tens of thousands of people marching in Rangoon. Several military trucks are now parked near Shwedagon pagoda, which has been the focus of the protests. Eyewitnesses said several hundred monks gathered at...

They lived in the Philippines, but they were members of the U.S. armed forces. More than 200,000 of them fought during World War II. Tens of thousands died before the final hard-won triumph over Japan. But in the decades following the war, the title of U.S. veteran -- and resulting compensation -- has eluded them.  Now, Filipino-American World War II veterans, aided by their adult children, have stepped up a decades-long fight to get Congress to recognize them as bona fide U.S. veterans – a move that would qualify them for VA benefits."Our community has been lobbying for this...

MANILA, Philippines -- As a trial-court judge, Florentino V. Floro Jr. acknowledged that he regularly sought the counsel of three elves only he could see. The Supreme Court deemed him unfit to serve and fired him last year. Case closed? Not in the Philippines, where vampires are said to prey on unwary travelers and wealthy politicians consult fortune tellers and card readers. Mr. Floro, 54 years old, has become a media celebrity. He is now wielding his new clout to campaign for the return of his job -- and exact vengeance on the Supreme Court. Helping him, he says, are...

REFILE-China offers to sell military choppers to Manila 05 Sep 2007 09:11:46 GMT Source: Reuters MANILA, Sept 5 (Reuters) - China has offered to sell 8 utility helicopters to the Philippine military as it seeks to replace its Vietnam War-era aircraft, a Philippine air force official said on Wednesday. Defence ties between China and the Philippines -- a longtime U.S. ally -- have grown steadily since 2004 when the two sides launched an annual security dialogue. Beijing has since donated $2.5 million worth of engineering equipment to the military to help it carry out development projects in areas where communist...

About 50 million people are affected in Bangladesh About 140 million people, mainly in developing countries, are being poisoned by arsenic in their drinking water, researchers believe. Speaking at the Royal Geographical Society (RGS) annual meeting in London, scientists said this will lead to higher rates of cancer in the future. South and East Asia account for more than half of the known cases globally. Eating large amounts of rice grown in affected areas could also be a health risk, scientists said. "It's a global problem, present in 70 countries, probably more," said Peter Ravenscroft, a research associate in...

Jose Maria Sison, the former Communist leader in the Philippines, has been arrested in the Netherlands, charged with the murders of two former political associates. 66-year-old Sison has been living in the Netherlands since 1987, and was the founder of the Philippine Communist Party. The party's military wing, the NPA or New People's Army, is waging an armed rebellion across the Philippines that has cost 40,000 lives. The National Public Prosecutor for the Netherlands, John Lucas, explained the reasons for Sison's arrest. "He's suspected of involvement in the murder of two people in the Philippines. We think that he was...

Gloria Macapagal Arroyo is keen for the deal to be ratified The Philippine government is urging the country's senate to ratify a $4bn (£2bn) trade deal with Japan, which it says may create more than 300,000 jobs.The agreement, struck last year, would bolster local exports such as shrimp to Japan, the government said, a market being eyed by trading rival Thailand. Japan has also pledged to employ at least 1,000 Philippine nurses. But the opposition-dominated senate has objected with claims the deal would see toxic waste sent to the Philippines. However, this has been denied by the government, which...

The researchers disovered at least 74 new temples The great medieval temple of Angkor Wat in Cambodia was once at the centre of a sprawling urban settlement, according to a new, detailed map of the area.Using Nasa satellites, an international team have discovered at least 74 new temples and complex irrigation systems. The map, published in the journal PNAS, extends the known settlement by 1000 sq km, about the size of Los Angeles. Analysis also lends weight to the theory that Angkor's residents were architects of the city's demise. "The large-scale city engineered its own downfall by disrupting its...

Asean members hope to adopt the charter formally later this year Ministers from South-East Asian countries have reached agreement on a landmark draft charter. The document gives the Association of South-East Asian Nations (Asean) a set of binding rules for the first time in the bloc's 40-year existence. The agreement comes after nearly two years of deliberations among members. It includes a contentious provision to set up a commission monitoring human rights in the region - despite strong misgivings from some Asean countries. Credibility boost With governments in the region running the gamut from fully-fledged democracies to a military...

MANILA: Southeast Asian diplomats have completed the first draft of a landmark charter for the region, but left out a provision creating a human rights body after a row, a senior official said yesterday. The issue will now be decided at a meeting of foreign ministers of the Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean) today in Manila. “We’ve done our part,” said the official, who declined to be named because he was not authorised to speak for the task force that is drafting the charter. “We’re leaving it to our ministers to decide on how to deal with the...

Islamic militants in the southern Philippines have killed 14 marines, beheading 10 of them, a military spokesman has said. Nine other marines were wounded and at least four rebels were killed during the incident on Basilan island. The clash took place as the marines were searching for an Italian priest. The priest was seized in June by kidnappers believed to be from either Abu Sayyaf or the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. Both groups are seeking an independent Islamic state in the southern Philippines. Ceasefire violation? The priest, named as Giancarlo Bossi, was seized by armed men near the coastal village...

JAKARTA (AFP) - Muslim hardliners stormed a church in Indonesia during services, smashing images of Jesus Christ and demanding that it be closed down, the pastor said on Monday. Dozens of churches have had to be closed in the Muslim-majority country in recent years, and Sunday's attack was the second on the small Protestant church in the West Java town of Soreang since 2005. Reverend Robby Elisa, who heads the church, said around 100 hardliners attacked while Sunday school was in session. He said his wife was beaten and that at least four stained glass depictions of Jesus were smashed....

Three people have been killed after a bomb exploded at a bus station in the southern Philippines.A young boy was among the dead and at least 15 other people were hurt in the blast, in the city of Cotabato. Local police told reporters it was unlikely the explosion was related to the country's mid-term elections, held earlier this week. Cotabato is on Mindanao island, where Islamic militants have been fighting the largely Catholic government. Police chief Jomar Yap told the Associated Press that an improvised explosive device was left in a cluster of stalls at the station. "Witnesses heard...

Six road workers kidnapped by Abu Sayyaf extremists were found beheaded Thursday in Jolo. The severed heads of the six mostly-Christian workers were found in the jungles of Jolo by soldiers, four days after the workers were seized while heading to a government road project, said Major General Ruben Rafael. The workers were seized by Al Bader Parad, a commander of the Abu Sayyaf, responsible for the worst terror attacks in Philippine history. One of the soldiers who found the remains said, on condition of anonymity, that the heads had been scattered in various places in Jolo. The soldier said...

The Philippine government and a Muslim rebel group have been urged to end a three-day battle that has left at least 12 people dead and displaced thousands.The Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) called on both sides to abide by a 1996 peace agreement. Government troops and helicopter gunships pounded a base of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) on southern Jolo island at the weekend. It followed a mortar attack on two marine camps on Friday. That attack, which killed two marines and a child, has been blamed on an MNLF commander, Habier Malik. Government forces retaliated by...

Journalists caught a rare glimpse of Burma's military leader Than Shwe Burma's military rulers have been showing off their new capital for the first time to the outside world. The new city, called Naypyidaw, or Abode of Kings, is being built about 460km (300 miles) north of the old capital, Rangoon. Until now few outsiders were allowed to go there, but the foreign media has been invited to the capital to watch the huge Armed Forces Day parade. However, it is still not clear why the generals have moved here. The rutted and overcrowded roads of Burma suddenly give...