My StumbleUpon PageBan told an audience of diplomats, UN agencies and non-governmental organisations that the military regime must free the pro-democracy icon and introduce other reforms for the good of the country's people.
"I am here today to say: Myanmar, you are not alone. We want to work with you for a united, peaceful, prosperous, democratic and modern Myanmar," Ban said at the Drug Elimination Museum in the commercial hub Rangoon. He used the ruling military regime's name for Burma throughout his visit.
"We want to help you rise from poverty ... work with you so that your country can take its place as a respected and responsible member of the international community," the secretary general said.
"But let me emphasise: neither peace nor development can thrive without democracy and respect for human rights. Myanmar is no exception."
Junta chief Than Shwe earlier Saturday refused to let Ban visit Aung San Suu Kyi.
Back on April the 10 of last year I constructed a blog on the the deaths of 54 migrant workers from Burma. The only possible escape for a lucky few from a brutal merciless dictatorship. I use these words carefully as I have witnessed it frequently with my own eyes. Of course they are just words and in a world where we are overwhelmed with atrocity upon atrocity before our eyes daily its easy to become numb to what the reality of todays news means for the impoverished destitute Burmese people tomorrow. The song below refers to immigrants from Mexico which is now termed a failed state. Burma has long since failed its people indeed as hurricane Nargis demonstrated the junta or regime has no regard whatsoever for its own people.
54 Burmese found dead in a cold storage truck
Fifty-four Burmese were found dead from suffocation, in a cold storage truck which was abandoned in Ranong province on late Wednesday.
Police also found 47 survivors. Of them, 21 were hospitalised in a nearby hospital. Police believed the Burmese were illegal immigrants who were smuggled into Ranong and were on their way to Phuket.That was it, the total mention on one of the National newspapers here in Phuket, just a few lines. They were poor, they were illegal immigrants who were smuggled into Ranong and were on their way to Phuket to try to find work. The migrants were supposed to pay 5000 baht ($170) each to transport them from the Burma-Thai border in Ranong to the nearby paradise resort isle of Phuket.Probably most of the women were young mothers, forced to take their chances to feed their young children, this is the norm. Of the dead, 37 were women and 17 were men.
Of course if all of these young people were western students for example, the media coverage would be so much different.
Cheap lives in in our modern fascist world, where nobody seems to care. Where has our humanity gone ? Where has our natural human nature or empathy gone ??? The survivors were arrested.
I awoke to this news this morning here in Phuket, followed by the news that Israel refuses to allow the UN Human rights observer into Israel or the occupied territories. Once again another state snubbing international law and the UN with impunity.
Thai officials inspect the dead bodies of Burmese migrants who died in a seafood container in Ranong province. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images
Link to Film Background;
KICK A DOG
Burma keeps hitting the headlines for the wrong reasons. Having lived myself, through years of a neo-colonialist war in the Northern part of Ireland and visiting Burma, I realized that this story of oppression, needs to be told in a sensitive way, so that people from a normal society can understand, what it is like to live, in such an oppressive environment, why people resort to violence in such circumstances, the above website and the account therein, is the best that I have found, to explain honestly, what Burma is like as I have seen it.Why soldiers treat their own people like this, can be best explained from my own experience simply in the following crude way.
If you kick your friendly pet dog everyday for years you will create have a vicious animal. This is the sad reality of Burma from my observations, furthermore oppression has been so long and so chronic, the more sensitive are losing their minds.
Every day for many years now, Burmese people have been slaves to the Junta, they are literally like dogs who are kicked every day by a brutal society engineered by this bullying regime, this is what I have witnessed myself.
Change in the name of humanity, is imperative, after the recent ruthless crackdown of the Monk's demonstrations there.
They say the pen is mightier than the sword. I am not sure about that, can we try ?. We cannot allow the reality of Burma to slip into background again, until it is next popular to demonstrate, we must keep it in the international consciousness and limelight. I would ask you to please forward this story and website to a friend and ask them to pass it on.
