2005

After the fratricidal onslaught

 

Burma opens wider door for gamblers

 

Damage by storm not reported

 

Harvest Time

 

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Rangoon shares border tax with ceasefire groups

 

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Jailbreak in Shan State

 

More Wa arrive on the border

 

[···]

 

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National Day celebrations in Rangoon

 

New crackdown on unlicensed vehicles

 

National Day in Loi Kawwan

 

News in Pictures: Interring Li Ziru

 

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[···]

 

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Rich Sedona feeling poorly

 

Shans deny holding up seized cars

 

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Thais shoot out with intruders

 

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Chinese police invades Burma

The Chinese police staged surprise raids on casinos in eastern Shan State on 6 July and rounded up more than 60 Chinese clients at the establishments, according to sources who turned up recently at the border ...

News in Pictures

Last month, Andrew Marshall of the acclaimed book on Burma,"The Trouser People", visited Loi Taileng, the embattled Shan State Army enclave ...

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Installation of phones cost $ 1,000 each

The new phones soon to be installed in Tachilek, across Maesai, will cost 800,000 - 1,000,000 kyat ($800 - 1,000) each, but many have already submitted the application forms, according to sources from the border:

Rangoon to sue defaulting hotels

Some 20 foreign hotels in Burma are facing legal action from the military government for their failure to submit their annual payments, according to sources from the border ...

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Briefs

 

Rangoon brightens up

Believe it or not, Rangoon, for the first time in decades, has been getting 24-hour elecriticity since 28 June and has so far yet to let the residents down, according to sources coming to the border ...

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When Independence was first declared

The following is a report by Bangkok Post or the declaration of Independence by Khun Sa, then Chairman of the Shan State Restoration Council, on 12 December 1993. A little over two years later, he surrendered under the "Tripartite" pressures applied by the Burma Army, United Wa State Army and Thailand ...

Thai Senator meets Shan Refugees

Mr Kraisak Choonhaven, Chairman of Senate Affairs Committee, who was on a visit in Maehongson was welcomed by Shan refugees in Nampiangdin, Pang Mapha district on 4 July ...

Bangkok withholds loan handover to Rangoon

Sathaporn Chinajitr, its managing director, said the bank wishes to hear clarifications from the Thaksin government whether or not the deal should go on ...

Long Live His Royal Highness

Happy 53rd birthday Long Live His Royal Highness

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New Shweli river-crossing bridge opens

“The Chinese authorities are giving notice that starting from 12 September, bridge tolls will be collected. Therefore, the taxi fare will probably be rising up from three Yuan to four for each passenger (Jegao-Ruili),” said the resident.

Veteran newsman aid worker dies

Janta Phraiwanawan, 56, one of the most beloved Shans along the Thai-Burma border, passed away at 23:30 at his home in Fang district, Chiangmai province, yesterday 4 August ...

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Consumer goods go skyhigh

Cooking oil 1,800 kyat ($1.8) per viss (1 viss = 1.6kg) until very recently, is now over 2,000 kyat ($2). Pork and chicken are 3,000 kyat ($3) per viss.

Her Majesty Queen, Sirikit on her 73rd birthday

 

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Death in prison brawl

The unhappy victims were identified as Chai, 25 (killed), Hsu, 24 (injured) and Maw, 24 (injured), who were among those waiting in police custody for deportation ...

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Bangkok lending money to Burma at a loss

The Exim Bank's managing director Sathaporn Chinajitr told the House 2006 budget scrutiny board on 12 July that the bank would have to bear the burden of 700 million baht ($ 17.5 million) in interest, as it had borrowed in turn from other financial institutions at a 4.3% rate

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News in Pictures: Spoils of War

The following photos were taken a week after the engagement. The captured battalion colors here shows the Burmese numeral of the unit number, 329.

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Farmers forced to cultivate new type of paddy

“We will have to cultivate the new strain in the coming summer after the harvest of the monsoon paddy this year. It needs at least two baskets for one acre, and one basket costs four thousand kyat ($4),” ...

Thais arrested by Burma Army

 

Migrant woman drowned to death

A Shan woman named Nang Awng, 19, was drowned in a torrent in Sankamphaeng district, a suburb of Chiang Mai on 15 September...

Phoney money turns up in Rangoon

“I was there at the Kambawza Bank together with several other customers when a phoney 1,000 kyat note was discovered,” said a businessman ...

The Barber

A light-hearted story of how a 5-year old kid got his first serious hair cut by keeping his hair on... "Wow! That strange man is going to cut my hair,"... "Mum, I really want to pee, please."...

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Crackdown on unregistered workers begins

“Five or six of my colleagues were arrested at a junction and there are police at crossroads,” said Ko Lin, a road-worker form Mae Tao village, Mae Sod ...

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Thai dies in Burmese custody

The woman, identified by the Burmese police only as Nang Ji, had been suffering from acute diabetes. She was taken to Tachilek hospital at 23:30 on Saturday from the police lockup where she was found breathing with difficulty, but she died at the hospital an hour later ...

Rangoon ridden by “bird-flu”

The price of chicken, generally around 2,500 3,000 kyat ($ 2.5 3.0) per viss (1.6 kg) has dropped to as much as 1,500 kyat ($ 1.5) in some shops. “People still refuse to buy,” said a shop keeper ...

A Thai to remember (4)

M.R. Kukrit Pramoj (1911-1995) is mostly remembered for his witty articles, essays and novels. One of his bestsellers Phama Sia Muang (How the Burmans lost their country) ends with a short bio-data of himself. Date of Birth: Thursday, 20 April Buddhist Era 2454 Date of Passing: Haven't decided yet...

News in Pictures: Three quit Wei:

Three Wa soldiers of Palaung descent surrendered to the Shan State Army on 1 November, according to its bulletin Freedom News...

A spot for devotion

Another thought also arose as I left the museum: Will the Tai-Hkuns and Tai-Maos, who have their own scripts, gladly give up their writing systems in favor of the Shan script (known as the Tai Long script) that has ...

A Thai to remember

Police Col Nirandorn Chaiyanam also spelled Jayanama), Governor of Chiangmai, was one of the Thais who would not be easily forgotten by the Shans...

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A Plastic Nation: A thought-provoker on nationalism

Burma and Thailand share significant similarities: According to jingoist Burmese historians, Burma became a "nation" in the 11th century with the rise of the Pagan under King Anawrahta. Thailand, according to its celebrated historians, Prince Damrong Rajanuparb (1862-1943) and Luang Vichitr Wathakarn (1898-1962), also became one with the ascent of Sukhothai under King Ramkamhaeng (1279-1316)...

Feature: Portrait of a generation of Shan youth

In a dimly lit corner of a bar in Chiang Mai’s red light district, Hseng Hawm greets the approaching customers, “Sawasdee kha”. She guides them to a table and sits with them as another girl takes the guests’ orders. Her sweet and demure smile grabs the attention of the guests...

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Unregistered cars reclaimed

Owners of a number of unlicensed motor vehicles, popularly known as "without" cars, have been obtaining licenses by leaving their cars at industrial zones where they are being given new frames to replace the original ones, reports Chai Sayam from the border...

Planned border opening fails to pull off

Saturday, 19 November went by without the expected opening of the border pass between Maehongson's Muang district and Kayah state as announced earlier, say sources from the border...

Mandalay and Chiang Mai: Comparing the two historic capitals

Wandering around Chiang Mai with a motorbike, I once encountered a big flashy sign, "Mandalay" on Moon Muang Road and wondered what kind of shop that was. My friend explained to me that it was a big bar or night club and 'Mandalay' was chosen for its name because 'Mandalay' is quite familiar and popular to tourists; maybe because of the famous poem, "The Road To Mandalay" by Rudyard Kipling. I have no idea whether Thais know that Mandalay is the second city of Burma just as Chiang Mai is of Thailand, but I could not help comparing the similarities and differences between those two historic cities, of which each country is proud...

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A Thai to remember (3)

Rueng Nimanhemin came into contact with the Shans through his elder brother Kraisri, who had long been in touch with prominent Shans even before the Resistance started in 1958...

A Thai to remember (2)

Dr Jinda Singhanetr, known for the hospital that bears his name in Chiangmai, had had a long personal and business relationship with the Shan resistance movement, whose members had sought treatment for their various disabilities at his hospital overlooking the Ping River...

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Chiangmai to observe Shan New Year

A three-day festival is due to be held to commemorate the Shan Year that falls on 1 December, according to the lunar calendar, say its organizers...

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Junta wants Shans to celebrate New Year

All over Shan State, people are wondering why their military rulers have gone out of their way to urge them to hold their annual New Year celebrations, according to sources inside Burma...

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Top historian passes away

Dr Than Tun, regarded as the foremost Burmese historian and much revered by non-Burmans, died today in Mandalay at 02:30, according to sources from Tachilek...

Shan farmers: Contract farming no win-win solution

Shan farmers in Tachilek, opposite Chiangrai, are doubtful whether the soon to be signed 7 million hectare contract farming MoU will prove a win-win solution for all as claimed by Agriculture minister Khun Ying Sudarat Keyuraphan, reports Crusader from Maesai...

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Shans in Thailand honor king

Shans observing their lunar New Year have taken the opportunity to honor the 60th anniversary of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej's ascension to the throne...

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Play to commemorate Human Rights Day and honour Aung San Suu Kyi

A two-day function - "Weaving the Dream for Peace and Human Rights," will be held in Chiang Mai. According to Salween News Network (SNN) editor and organizer Wandee Suntivutimetee, the function is being organized by SNN and allied organizations to mark Human Rights Day, on December 10 and is aimed at garnering a better understanding of current issues in Burma...

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Editorial: Time for ASEAN and UN to act in tandem

Positive development seldom comes about, particularly in the case of Burma, the ASEAN's problem child. But this might be changing for the inward-looking Burmese military junta is having a second thought and even agreeing to open its door to ASEAN-led initiative to assess its so-called democratisation process. Hopefully, the junta would...

Burma's hotels in deep water