The heavy Marylebone Road traffic beeped in support of the "BEEP 4 BURMA BOYCOTT TOTAL" banners and many taxi drivers visiting the station requested leaflets about the protest. One passer-by made a point of vowing to the protesters never to get petrol from Total ever again.

In January 2008 Total's fossil foolishness was recognised by the French courts as they convicted Total of France's worst oil disaster over the sinking of the tanker Erika off the coast of Brittany in December 1999. The disaster leaked 20,000 tonnes of oil into the sea, contaminating 400km of coastline. Having tried to deny responsibility Total was fined 375,000 euros (£280,000) and ordered to pay a share of nearly 200m euros in damages. The fine was the maximum penalty allowed. See BBC news article:

 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7192085.stm

In the UK over 34 actions took place in 18 cities on Fossil Fools Day. For a round-up of protests see:
 http://risingtide.org.uk/node/273 and  http://www.fossilfoolsdayofaction.org

Cavendish Square Protest
========================
On April 2nd, totaloutofburma.org also protested outside Total's offices at 33 Cavendish Square. We were pleased to speak to one passer-by who had read our leaflet from a previous protest and said she had switched her home gas supply from Total due to Total's support of the military regime in Burma.





Total and Burma

A detailed report on Total Oil's involvement in Burma, written by Burma Campaign UK, can be downloaded at  http://www.burmacampaign.org.uk/total.html

Total is in a joint venture with the dictatorship in the Yadana gas project in southern Burma. [1]

The gas project funds the junta with hundreds of millions of dollars a year and represents a major source of foreign currency for the regime to buy weapons and finance the army.

Burma has the world's worst health care [2], the most corruption [3] and the most child soldiers [4].


Protests in London
==================

Sunday 6th April

Olympic Torch Protest against China's support for the Burmese regime

On Sunday the Burma Campaign UK and the Burmese community will be
highlighting China's continued support for Burma's brutal regime by holding
a peaceful protest as the Olympic Torch comes to London.

Why China?
China arms the regime, supplying weapons, bullets and military vehicles to
the brutal army.
China finances the regime , by signing deals in the oil, gas, hydro-electric
and mining sectors china provides the regime with an economic lifeline.
China protects the regime by blocking UN Security Council action on Burma

By providing economic, political and logistical support China is helping to
keep the brutal generals in power in Burma.

Time: 12:30-1:30
Location: Opposite Downing Street, at junction of Whitehall and Richmond
Terrace.
Map:  http://preview.tinyurl.com/yv54pt
Nearest Tube: Westminster
See the location here:

Wednesday 9th April

Meet at Burma Embassy for normal daily Burmese protest
12:00-1pm
Myanmar/Burma Embassy 19A, Charles St, London W1J 5DX.
Tube: Green Park | Map:  http://preview.tinyurl.com/2vnnbh

The Wallace Collection, Hertford House, Manchester Square London W1U 3BN
Sadly despite appeals this art gallery seems to be accepting Total's blood money sponsorship and whitewashing Total's dirty image.
Event Time: 1:30pm - up to 5pm (gallery opens to public 10:00am - 5pm)
Tube: The nearest tubes are Bond Street (Central & Jubilee Lines) and Baker Street (Circle, District, Hammersmith & City, Jubilee and Metropolitan Lines). Oxford Circus (Bakerloo, Central, Victoria Lines) is a 10-15 minute walk.
Map:  http://www.wallacecollection.org/visiting/howtoreachus/map
Google Map:  http://preview.tinyurl.com/29ny5f



Protests are held weekly but locations may change. For information and reports on protests in London and around the country please see
 http://totaloutofburma.org


Petitions
Make sure you've signed:

- "Free Burma's Political Prisoners Now!" petition (global campaign launched 13 March 2008)
 http://www.fbppn.net/?page_id=5
- The Burma Campaign UK e-action to TOTAL:
 http://www.burmacampaign.org.uk/total.html
- The Avaaz.org global pledge:  http://www.avaaz.org/en/burma_corporate
- Don't Forget Burma - send a photo message to the regime:
 http://www.dontforgetburma.org


Burma Videos

Burma Campaign UK's video channel on YouTube:

- New to Burma? Watch these videos for a brief introduction
- This is Burma Music - U2, REM, Damien Rice, KT Tunstall...
- This is Burma: News and Documentaries - including Burma's Secret War
and Inside The Crackdown

 http://www.youtube.com/burmacampaignuk


Get TOTAL OIL out of Burma group on Facebook:
 http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=6833508763



Recent Burma news: (see  http://myamarnews.blogspot.com - read links for the full versions of stories)



 http://www.mizzima.com/MizzimaNews/News/2008/April/09-April-2008.html

Solo protester sentenced to life imprisonment

Mizzima News April 3, 2008
Western District Court in Rangoon sentenced solo protester Ohn Than to life imprisonment yesterday.

Ohn Than was sentenced to life imprisonment and received a 1,000 kyat fine (1 dollar = 1,100 kyat) under section 124(a) of the Criminal Code, disaffection towards the State by staging a protest on the 23rd of August 2007 in front of the U.S. Embassy.

In his protest he shouted slogans in support of democracy, for economic reform and development, the establishment of a government representing the people, for self determination, the abolition of the dictatorship and for U.N. supervision in Burma.

"He said in his final argument that the government is not the lawful government under the constitution, since it assumed power by staging a coup. So the punishment given to him is unlawful too," a man who attended the court hearing repeated.

He also raised the question to the court as to why the authorities let protesters led by Aye Lwin of the 88 New Generation Students (Union of Myanmar) stage a protest in front of the U.S. Embassy against sanctions imposed by Western countries. They are not punished like him and even protected by the authorities, he argued.



 http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=11272

N Korea Sells Rocket Launchers to Burma using a Singapore trading company

North Korea has been selling multiple rocket launchers to military-ruled Burma since the two countries restored ties last year in violation of UN sanctions, Japan's NHK public broadcaster reported.

Quoting unspecified diplomatic sources, NHK said in a report late on Wednesday that the launchers were the same type as those deployed near the demilitarized zone separating the Korean peninsula.

The report could not be independently confirmed.

A Security Council resolution passed after North Korea's 2006 nuclear test blocks trade with the secretive communist country in dangerous weapons, heavy conventional weapons and luxury goods.

NHK report also said 'full-scale' exports of the weapons had been handled by an unnamed Singapore trading company. The report gave no further details.

In response to media queries on the report, Singapore's foreign affairs ministry said: "We take such allegations very seriously and will certainly investigate. We are committed to fulfilling our international obligations to prevent the proliferation and illicit trafficking of arms and weapons of mass destruction."


 http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=11287
More Opposition Activists Attacked by Thugs

Pro-democracy activists continue to be attacked by thugs in Rangoon as Burmese authorities tighten control on opposition groups ahead of the constitutional referendum in May, according to National League for Democracy (NLD) sources.

Tin Yu, a member of the NLD in Hlaing Tharyar Township, was attacked on Thursday evening by thugs carrying batons as he walked home from a bus stop. He was admitted to hospital where he received 50 stitches in the face.

“The current situation seems to be one in which pro-democracy activists are being systematically attacked by thugs,” said a NLD youth leader in the township. “The attacks are believed to be the work of the pro-junta Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA) and its militia, the Swan Ah-shin.”

The USDA and Swan Ah-shin were behind the brutal attacks on Buddhist monks in August and September 2007, as well as the ambush of Aung San Suu Kyi’s convoy in Depayin in Sagaing Division in northern Burma in May 2003, in which a score of people were killed.

On Monday, Myint Hlaing, the NLD chairman in Hlaing Tharyar Township in Rangoon, was assaulted near his home. A leading human rights activist, Myint Aye, was attacked by thugs last week in Sanchaung Township in Rangoon. Both men were hospitalized with head injuries following the attacks.

“The junta’s use of thugs to attack pro-democracy and human rights activists means it is driving the country down a dangerous road in the future,” said Aye Thar Aung, the secretary of the Committee Representing the People’s Parliament. “We condemn these backward acts.”



 http://www.asiantribune.com/?q=node/10322
Burmese Military Junta Deceiving International Community: Amnesty International

Washington, DC. 01 April (Asiantribune.com): “Just as the government of Myanmar has attempted to divert international attention away from last September’s crackdown towards its constitutional referendum, so too has it redirected its suppression of legitimate protest from the public streets into closed courtrooms,” said Amnesty International in a new research released Monday, March 31.

“Just as the referendum is the government’s effort to legitimize military rule in Myanmar, the handing down of prison terms is its attempt to justify its violent crackdown on peaceful dissent.”

Amnesty International made the above observations known on the situation in Burma.

Six months after the authorities violently suppressed demonstrations in Burma, at least 40 protesters, including seven monks, have been given prison sentences, according to this new research by Amnesty International.

The Amnesty International press release further said:

(Begin Text) In contrast to the reasons for their prosecution publicly stated by the government in late 2007, Amnesty International is of the opinion that the sentences have either been clearly politically motivated or on account of protesters’ peaceful exercise of their human rights.

Myanmar state media announced on 7 November 2007 that legal action would be taken against people involved in “violence and terrorist acts in one way or another.” On 3 December, Myanmar Police Chief Khin Yi announced at a press conference that “only those individuals involved in arson or the possession of illegal weapons will be brought to trial.”

“Not a single sentence has been on account of the otherwise legitimate reasons stated by the authorities, but rather for peacefully exercising their right to freedom of expression and assembly; three people were sentenced merely for giving water to monks on the street,” said Amnesty International.

Amnesty International confirms the following sentences since late September:

On 1 October, Ko Kyauk Khe (also known as Ko Aung San Oo), NLD member in Magwe Division, was sentenced to two years imprisonment under Section 505(b) of the penal code for making “statements conducing to public mischief” in late September. This was the maximum sentence for this particular offence. He reportedly shouted a pro-Buddhist slogan in a local video house after watching footage of the crackdown on foreign media, and made further political statements during his trial.

On 11 October, Ko Soe Win, a Human Rights Defenders and Promoters Group member in Rakhine State, was sentenced to four years imprisonment under Sections 295A and 505(b) of the penal code for insulting religion and creating a public disturbance. In the wake of the authorities’ violent attack on monks in Pakokku on 5 September, he held a placard outside the town market calling for the release of political detainees and the expulsion of Sr. Gen. Than Shwe from the Buddhist faith.

On 7 November, Thet Oo, 39, Zaw Htun, 34, and U Myint Aye, all members of the Human Rights Defenders and Promoters Group in Bago Division, as well as monk U Pannihtha, were sentenced to two years imprisonment under either Section 5(j) of the 1950 Emergency Provisions Act or Section 505(b) of the penal code for acting with intent “to affect the morality or conduct of the public or a group of people in a way that would undermine the security of the Union or the restoration of law and order.” They took part in the September protests, distributed materials, and spoke to the media.

In late November, U Zantila, abbot of Zantila Rama monastery, was sentenced to two years in prison for defamation of the government after writing a letter of complaint about the seizure of money from the monastery during a raid by the authorities. He was also reportedly disrobed by the authorities.

On 21 December, Shwe Thway was sentenced to two and a half years’ imprisonment, while Ko Zaw Gyi and Ko Yazay were sentenced to two years, for giving water to protesting monks in September. They are residents of Sagaing Division, and reportedly were not otherwise politically active or affiliated.

At least 700 people arrested during and since the September protests remain behind bars, while 1,150 political prisoners held prior to the protests have not been released.

“The recent sentencing of protestors involved in last September’s crackdown should also be viewed in light of the arbitrary detention of the remaining 660 or more people who have now spent six months behind bars with no end in sight,” said Amnesty International.

In light of the UN Human Rights Council’s recent Resolution of 20 March 2008, Amnesty International urges the international community to pressure Myanmar to allow the UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Myanmar to conduct a fact-finding mission in Myanmar immediately.

In view of the recent visit to Myanmar of the UN Secretary-General’s Special Advisor, which yielded no progress in the human rights situation there, Amnesty International also urges the UN Security Council to pass a resolution on Myanmar that reflects the concerns of its Presidential Statement of 11 October 2007.

“Rather than comply with the Security Council’s appeals, the Myanmar authorities have instead moved to the next phase of their crackdown and suppression of the human rights of the Myanmar people with these sentences. The Council cannot allow this to continue,” said Amnesty International.




 http://www.mizzima.com/MizzimaNews/News/2008/April/07-April-2008.html

Junta arrests more opposition members

In yet another example of the junta's continuing brutal crackdown on dissidents, sources say Burmese authorities on Tuesday arrested two more Burmese opposition members.

Tin Myint and Tun Aung, both members of Burma's main opposition party National League for Democracy, remain in custody since being taken for interrogation on Tuesday night by Special Branch Police, a NLD youth member told Mizzima.

The NLD youth said Special Branch Police detained Tin Myint, chairman of the Thingankyun Township NLD, and Tun Aung, a youth member of the Thingankyun NLD, at about 11:00 p.m. (local time).

"Both of them have not returned home. We don't know who the police were; they just said they were on duty. We still don't know where the two of them are being kept," the NLD youth added.

Burmese authorities commonly fail to inform family members of the whereabouts of those taken for interrogation, leaving relatives alone to contemplate the fate of loved ones.

Similarly, on March 30, several NLD members including Aung Than Tun, Aung Kyaw, Ye Zaw Htike, Tin Oo Maung and Khin Soe were reportedly arrested in Rangoon.

On Monday, Amnesty International condemned Burma's ruling junta for arresting and sentencing activists involved in last year's August and September protests.

Amnesty International reported that the government has conducted at least forty secret trials of protestors inside prisons.


 http://www.narinjara.com/details.asp?id=1695

Monastery, Home Raided in Sittwe

On 28 March, members of the Myanmar Women's Organization mobilized local people in the area to meet at a Dhama hall at Haintha monastery to support the referendum. Some local elders asked the pro-referendum organizers how they were supposed to support the referendum without knowledge of the draft constitution, and the told the women that if they wanted their support, they should first give them the draft constitution.

The women organizers complained of the incident to the high authority, and the police team subsequently raided U Kway Balu's house.



 http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=11273
Maung Aye Visits India, Activists Protest

Burmese, Indian and Tibetan activists joined in a demonstration in New Delhi on Thursday against the Indian government’s policy on Burma, which coincided with the visit of the No 2 general in the Burmese military junta, Maung Aye.

Ashine Pyinnyawara, a Burmese monk based in India, told The Irrawaddy on Thursday that more than 1,000 people, including 200 Burmese activists, had gathered in downtown New Delhi.

“However, the guest house where Vice Snr-Gen Maung Aye and his team are staying is quite far from the place that the Indian police designated for the demonstration,” he said, adding: “The prime minister of India recently said that legitimate power come from the votes of the people, not from a gun. However, Indian foreign policy is centered on just taking goods from Burma. Therefore, New Delhi’s policy is set on double standards.”

T.D. Singh, an Indian activist for Burmese democracy, said that Indian citizens had joined the demonstration because they wanted to protest against the Burmese junta as it refuses to honor the 1990 election results and also to stand up against the Indian government’s policy on Burma.

“We, Indian activists, believe that the Indian government’s policy of trading with the murderous regime in Burma is a bad idea,” he said.

A report by The New Light of Myanmar said that the Burmese army’s chief, Maung Aye, and his entourage, which included the junta’s No 5 general, Thiha Thura Tin Aung Myint Oo, left for India on the morning of April 2. The head of the ruling junta, Snr-Gen Than Shwe, saw off Maung Aye at the airport in Naypyidaw accompanied by No 3 general, Thura Shwe Mann and Prime Minister Gen Thein Sein.

After his arrival in New Delhi, Maung Aye met with India’s foreign minister, Pranab Mukherjee, and India’s chief of army staff.

India’s foreign ministry said in a statement that India has agreed to build a multimillion-dollar seaport and transportation system in Burma. The agreement was signed Wednesday by officials during a meeting between Maung Aye and Indian Vice President Mohammad Hamid Ansari.

Apart from New Delhi, Maung Aye is expected to visit places of economic, scientific, historical and religious interest. He is due to travel to Boddhagaya in northern India, the site of the Buddha’s enlightenment.

Maung Aye is reputed to be anti-Chinese and has wanted to be the architect of stronger military and economic ties with Burma’s western neighbor ever since the Indian administration set up its “Look East” foreign policy in the early 1990s, based on economic ties with Southeast Asian nations.

In late November, India had put on hold the sale and transfer of all arms to the Burmese government, a decision that followed the junta's brutal crackdown on peaceful demonstrations led by Buddhist monks in September.

Meanwhile, however, reports surfaced that North Korea was secretly exporting rockets to Burma. A Japanese broadcaster, NHK, citing unnamed diplomatic sources, reported Wednesday that Pyongyang had exported multiple-launch rockets to the Burmese junta since the two countries normalized relations last year. The multiple-launch rockets are reported to have a range of 65 kilometers (40 miles).



 http://www.abitsu.org/?p=1734
China-made police trucks arrive in Yangon

China has delivered 80 FAW transport trucks to police grounds on the outskirts of Yangon in what may be an effort to beef up preparations for more protests, witnesses said Thursday. They reported seeing about 40 of the 2.75-ton trucks at the Kyaik-Ka-San police grounds in Bahan Township, Yangon.

Informed sources said another 100 trucks for transporting police and troops were due to be delivered soon.

There was speculation that the trucks were part of preparations for more disturbances in the former capital, as the country gears up for a controversial referendum on a new constitution in May.

Opposition groups are urging citizens to vote against the new charter, which was drafted by a military-appointed forum and will legitimize the military’s role in Myanmar’s political future.

On Wednesday, the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) issued a statement requesting all people to “bravely vote no” against the constitution because it was drafted without participation by elected members of parliament.

Although the NLD, led by Aung San Suu Kyi, won the last general election of 1990 in a landslide, the party has been blocked from power by Myanmar’s ruling junta for the past 18 years on the claim that the country needed a new charter before civilians could rule.

Myanmar has been under military rule since 1962, when General Ne Win seized power in a coup that toppled the elected government of former premier U Nu, and turned the once-prosperous nation into a socialist state.

Anti-military riots first rocked Myanmar in 1988, before they were stopped by an army-led bloodbath that left estimated 3,000 protesters dead.


 http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=11252
Burmese Electorate Still Waits to See Constitution Text

Just weeks before the planned May referendum on the proposed new constitution, the Burmese electorate has still not been issued with the text of the document, although photocopies and electronic versions are secretly circulating among journalists, senior government officials and diplomats in Rangoon.

Information about the referendum is notably absent in ethnic areas, where people are being offered temporary citizen identity cards and urged to vote “Yes.”


 http://www.abitsu.org/?p=1730
New Myanmar constitution keeps military dominant

The Straits Times via AFP : LEAKED copies of Myanmar’s new constitution, in hefty green paperbacks secretly circulating in Yangon, show the military will receive sweeping powers that ensure its dominance even after elections.

Ms Aung San Suu Kyi, the detained pro-democracy leader who is the regime’s most formidable foe, is clearly barred from the presidency and she would be unlikely to qualify even for a parliamentary seat, the document shows.

The ruling junta plans to bring the constitution to a referendum in May, in anticipation of elections slated for 2010.

The public has so far had no chance to review the final draft, and a handful of leaked copies of the 194-page document are the only versions so far available.

A copy obtained shows that while the constitution would set up a civilian government and grant civil rights to the people, it is peppered with caveats that allow the military to easily reassert direct control in the interest of national security.

States of emergency could be declared not only to battle insurgencies, but to combat the threat of ‘disintegration of national solidarity’. The military would receive immunity from prosecution for actions taken under emergency rule.

Existing security laws used to jail political dissidents and suppress dissent would remain in effect, and parties would be required to practise ‘discipline-flourishing genuine multi-party democracy’.

‘It’s basically a blatant blueprint for continued military rule, and it’s fairly open and honest about that,’ said Mr Dave Mathieson, a researcher for Human Rights Watch.

‘There’s all these little brutal caveats all through the document, and they all say that the Burmese army will continue to rule the country, either behind the scenes or in full view,’ he said.

Some of the provisions give the military very open influence. One quarter of the seats in Parliament are reserved for the armed forces, and the president is required to be ‘well acquainted’ with military affairs.

Ms Aung San Suu Kyi would be barred from running for office because she married a Briton and her children are British nationals.

But most members of her National League for Democracy (NLD) and other political dissidents would struggle to meet the requirements to stand for Parliament.

Candidates are barred if they or their parties accept support from foreign governments or religious organisations.

The government routinely accuses the NLD of taking foreign funds, while Buddhist monks last year led mass anti-government protests that were violently crushed by security forces.

Candidates with criminal records are also barred from running, which would exclude most top democracy leaders, who have served prison sentences for their political activities.

‘The constitution makes it even harder for the opposition groups and civilian politicians to manoeuvre,’ said Myanmar analyst Aung Naing Oo, based in Thailand.

‘It may be very difficult for any of the parties to get even 25 per cent of the seats,’ he said.

The country, formerly known as Burma, has had no constitution since 1988, when the current junta seized power. Information Minister Kyaw Hsan last week defended the proposed charter as ‘better than nothing’, saying the constitution could be amended over time.

But the final draft shows amendments would be almost impossible without the military’s consent.

A majority of 75 per cent of parliamentarians are required to approve amendments, meaning civilian politicians would need at least some support from the military MPs to approve amendments.

That makes amendments unlikely to happen soon, said Mr Aung Naing Oo, adding that he believed the charter would do little to end Myanmar’s political deadlock.

‘Human rights abuses are at the centre of the conflict in Burma, so the entrenchment of the military in the constitution means the human rights abuses will go on, the conflict will go on,’ he said.


 http://www.abitsu.org/?p=1732
Draft U.N. statement calls on Myanmar to allow detained pro-democracy leader to speak freely

Associated Press : UNITED NATIONS – A draft Security Council statement calls on Myanmar’s government to allow detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other political actors to speak freely and hold meetings ahead of the May referendum on a new constitution, according to a copy obtained Wednesday.

The statement prepared by the United States, Britain and France, was obtained by The Associated Press on the day that Suu Kyi’s party urged voters to reject the military-backed draft constitution. The National League for Democracy said it was undemocratic and prepared under the junta’s direct control.

The statement is expected to be circulated to all 15 Security Council members in the coming days. It needs the approval of all members for the council to adopt it.

The draft statement “calls on the government of Myanmar to allow full participation of all political actors, including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi” in the referendum process in order for it “to be inclusive and credible.”

Myanmar has been ruled by the military since 1962. The current junta seized power in 1988 and refused to honor the results of a 1990 general election won by Suu Kyi’s party. The Nobel Peace Prize winner, who is currently under house arrest, has been in detention without trial for more than 12 of the past 18 years.

Critics of the proposed constitution say it aims to perpetuate military rule.



 http://www.narinjara.com/details.asp?id=1693
10 Muslim Community Leaders Arrested in Arakan

Maungdaw: Ten Muslim community leaders were arrested on Sunday in a raid by a high-level team of army officials in the western border town of Maungdaw, but there are no further details as to why they were arrested, reports a witness in Maungdaw.

Among those arrested is president of the Maungdaw District Myanmar Muslim League, advocate U Than Tun, also known as Muhammad Solin, and the owner of three diamond and gold shops, U Niramad.

The witness said, "The arrests began at 10:30 am while the Muslim community leaders were holding a meeting in the office of U Than Tun in Maungdaw."

During the raid, the army authority seized many papers and documents from U Than Tun's office after long hours of searching the room.

Townspeople in Maungdaw believe the arrest is related to politics, after the authorities arrested them with what is apparently a lot of evidence, although no one knows what was contained on the seized papers.

"The authority brought them to Nasaka headquarters in army vehicles at 4 pm on the evening and the family members had no chance to speak with them," the witness said.

A source said the arrest was conducted under the supervision of a commander form the army operation planning bureau in Buthidaung, and that the commander personally took part in the raid.

It has also been learned that since the arrest, many other Muslim community leaders in Maungdaw, including Dr. Tun Aung, are hiding in unknown locations out of fear that further arrests may follow.


 http://whoiswhoinburma.blogspot.com/2008/03/beating-and-arresting-wont-stop_31.html
Beating And Arresting Won't Stop The Protesting - Happy New Year Burma!

One of the courageous members of the National League for Democracy Party, who gathered to protest on the 63rd Anniversary of the Anti-Fascist Revolution Day on 27th March had said, “They (the junta) may beat us or they may arrest us but we will keep on protesting.”

And the protests will go on.

The bad news for the junta is that instead of being intimidated, the NLD and other protesters are getting tougher and more resilient to the usual beatings and arrests. The timing also seems to be all wrong for the junta, who couldn’t have chosen the worst time for their much publicised referendum in May, too soon after “Thingyun”, the famous water festival.

Traditionally, Thingyun is the time when people expose and deliver their suppressed feelings, by performing topical antiphonal chants, in public. The Burmese, who are usually non-confrontational, get involved enthusiastically in the amusing satirical responses to the witty lead lines.

The mocking and ironically taunting chants are usually aimed at strict school headmasters, flamboyant movie stars, strangely behaved monks, greedy shop owners and mean mother-in laws. This year, every chant that has emerged is aimed at one target – the hated military junta.



Notes:

[1] Aung San Suu Kyi, Burma’s democracy leader, has said that “Total is the biggest supporter of the military regime in Burma.” For more information about Total Oil's investment in Burma see the Burma Campaign UK website:
 http://www.burmacampaign.org.uk/total.php.

[2] The World Health Organization's ranking
of the world's health systems:
 http://www.photius.com/rankings/healthranks.html

[3] Burma joins Somalia in 179th place as the most corrupt countries in the world according to Transparency International 2007 index rankings:
 http://www.transparency.org/news_room/in_focus/2007/cpi2007/cpi_2007_table

[4] Human Rights Watch report on Child Soldiers in Burma:
 http://hrw.org/reports/2002/burma/Burma0902-08.htm#P1672_511418