Taungdwingyi to become a part of Nay Pyi Daw military division

Government in Nay Pyi Daw has eyed Taungdwingyi as a major military development because of its strategic location, a military observer in Taungdwingyi told the BBC Burmese Service.

As an indication of integartion with the forces in the military division of the capital, security forces in the Taundwingyi have already been using the emblems of Nay Pyi Daw Division, eye witnesses said.

A number of military establishments are already in place in Taundwingyi and the vicinity including military hardware factories, a satellite communication base and several warehouses, according to the local people.

Taundwingyi exists about fifty miles in the North-West of the new capital of Burma, Nay Pyi Daw.

US expands sanctions on Burma's regime family, tycoon

The United States said Tuesday it was tightening financial sanctions against a network tied to Burma's military junta, citing continuing human rights violations
and political repression.

The Treasury Department said its action targets the financial network of Tay Za, identifying him as a "Burmese business tycoon and regime henchman" who is an arms dealer with "close ties" to Burma's military junta.

Among the individuals named Tuesday is Aung Thet Mann, son of General Thura Shwe Mann and the director of Tay Za's Htoo Group of Companies.

Four spouses of senior government officials have also been named: Khin Lay Thet, the wife of General Thura Shwe Mann; Myint Myint Ko, the wife of Construction Minister Saw Tun; Tin Lin Myint, the wife of Lieutenant-General Ye Myint; and Myint Myint Soe, the wife of Foreign Affairs Minister Nyan Win.

Bush administration expected to request boost in funding for Burma

President George W. Bush on Monday is expected to propose a boost in funding for Burma in his annual budget request.

Bush will likely request nearly $16 million be targeted toward the military-led Southeast Asian country, a large jump from the nearly $5 million requested
last year, according to a congressional aide familiar with the proposal.

The proposal indicates the administration wants to step up funding meant to spark change in the country, also known as Burma, after its military crushed pro-democracy protests led by students and Buddhist priests last year.

Big Rise in Number of Burma’s Political Prisoners

Big Rise in Number of Burma’s Political Prisoners
By Shah Paung
January 31, 2008

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The number of political prisoners behind bars in Burma increased last year to at least 1,864, according to the Thailand-based Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (Burma).

A statement issued on Thursday said the figure—an increase of 706 over the 2006 total—did not include all those arrested during and after the September demonstrations.

Insein jail on the outskirts of Rangoon [File: EPA]

The AAPP drew particular attention to the regime’s practice of arresting relative of wanted political activists as a way of forcing them to give themselves up.

Five such cases, involving eight relatives of wanted activists, were documented by the AAPP.

The arrested relatives were identified as: the mother and mother-in-law of Thet Thet Aung; the wife of Nyein Thit, a poet and former political prisoner; Thein Aye, a friend of Di Nyein Lin, leader of the All Burma Federation of Student’s Union; Peter and Nu Nu Swe, parents of Si Thu Maung; and the father and brother of U Gambira, a leader of the All Burma Monks Alliance.

Nyein Thit’s wife Khin Marlar and U Gambira’s father, Min Lwin, had subsequently been released.

The AAPP charged that the political prisoners were not getting enough food or fresh drinking water. They were not being provided with bedding and blankets and were being kept in overcrowded and poorly ventilated facilities.

“Detainees were tortured by being forced to lie face down on the ground while answering questions,” the AAPP said. “In one case, two detainees were made to slap each other’s face repeatedly both as a means of humiliation and torture.”

Medical care was also being denied, claimed the AAPP—saying it had documented the deaths of at least 30 prisoners in Taungoo prison alone. “Many died as a result of tuberculosis or HIV/AIDS acquired in the prison.”

AAPP said four political prisoners were currently in solitary confinement in Insein Prison. Their families reported that they had been condemned to solitary confinement after a request for proper medical care had been sent to junta leader Snr-Gen Than Shwe, the BBC Burmese Service reported.

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Chinese soldiers help tackle severe winter

The Chinese authorities have deployed nearly half a million soldiers and paramilitary police to help deal with the worst winter weather for several decades.

The bad weather has coincided with the country's peak holiday season.

BBC's U Myo Thit explains the situation.