US$, Sin$, and Burmese Kyat’s History by Zaw Aung, translated by Hla Oo
Samposonia Way Interviews Aw Pi Kyeh
Aw Pi Kyeh: “About 300 of my Cartoons were Censored in my Life.”
Aw Pi Kyeh (APK) chose this pen name because it means ‘loudspeaker’ in Burmese. His cartoons dare to shout out loud about the military junta that rules Burma. In 2007 he was banned from publishing inside Burma after he supported monks in their peaceful protests during the Saffron Revolution. Following that, colleagues who even mentioned his name in an article were suppressed.
Interview with Burmese Rapper Zayar Thaw by Khet Mar
Burmese Rapper Zayar Thaw: The Left Hand of a Boxer
Burmese Hip-Hop singer Zayar Thaw. Photo: DVB
A Day in Phyu Phyu Thin’s Life
“A day in Phyu Phyu Thin’s life start with a phone call in the morning. She then tends to her patients and helps them out according to their needs. In spite of all her hard work, she does not look tired at all. In fact, she is graceful and smiling with whatever work she has to do.”
Oakland Digital hosts first meeting between Burmese Community & White House AAPI Chair
an article written by our host Oakland Digital.
http://us1.campaign-archive1.com/?u=09263c5f2e79b9a7cad2d6807&id=1bd43a4a7d&e=7939de2352
On Thursday, August 18th 2011, Oakland Digital Arts & Literacy Center (ODALC) hosted the first meeting between the Burmese Community and Daphne Kwok, Chair of President Barack Obama’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans & Pacific Islanders. This historic gathering in downtown Oakland was part of the White House Initiative for positive change in the AAPI community.
The Role of Students in the 8888 People’s Uprising in Burma
By Assistant Association for Political Prisoners (Burma)
August 8th 2011
Twenty three years ago today, on 8 August 1988, hundreds of thousands of people flooded the streets of Burma demanding an end to the suffocating military rule which had isolated and bankrupted the country since 1962. Their united cries for a transition to democracy shook the core of the country, bringing Burma to a crippling halt. Hope radiated throughout the country. Teashop owners replaced their store signs with signs of protest, dock workers left behind jobs to join the swelling crowds, and even some soldiers were reported to have been so moved by the demonstrations to lay down their arms and join the protestors. There was so much promise.
SF Bay Area Burmese Successfully Hosts 88 Commenmoration
“Is he out of touch from reality?”
Question for U Win Tin from MoeMaKa
July 25th, 2011
It has been a while we could not get interview with U Win Tin due to the poor phone line and also due to his health condition. As he was spending time in hospital, it was hard for us to get the phone connection with him too. Some has concerns for missing our weekly interview with U Win Tin but a few told us to give up doing interview pieces with U Win Tin because he became old, fragile and sick so that he had misses and out of touch with NLD and the current situation in Burma. However, we MoeMaKa as soon as we had chance to talk to him, we made interview with him again.
Suu goes to Martyrs’ Mausoleum to pay her respects
Maung Yit – Internet Activism in Burma and Challenges
Introduction
These notes were prepared when invited to attend the Al Jazeer Forum on May 17th 2011. I was invited and introduced on the forum page at (http://forum.aljazeera.net/us/node/425) as follows; ” Maung Yit is Founder and Editor of MoeMaKa News Group for Burmese Community founded in 2003. He works as an IT consultant at day and works as news blogger and editor at night for MoeMaKa News Group and with anonymous citizen journalists and writers/ artists from Burma. His mission is to promote and raise awareness of the struggle for democracy and freedom under the current repressive Burmese regime. He has published interviews with Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, U Win Tin and other Burmese activists from Burma on his website, blog and online publication.”
Even though attending the forum was a great experience for me and my participation in the “Stream” had some time limitation to express all my notes at the show, I have to take the liberty at our own website to post my notes for further reference to readers and interested audience.
Rangoon View 1st Week of March 2011- MoeMaKa Street Journalist
Delaying the parliament’s schedule, the present military government is speeding up its moves, to sell country’s natural resources and to give its cronies lucrative contracts to manage state-owned properties, at the same time.
It has been seen that not only the passenger buses, but also the luxurious cars like ‘Mark Two’, join the business of queuing up for petrol at the private stations for hours and reselling it on black market, to earn extra money of 10000 kyat.
The junta does not try to formulate the effective economic policies – letting private enterprises do business freely – to control the consumer goods prices, nor to enforce essential laws so as to be competitive in the market. Thus it is likely to cause inflation and social crises after junta’s plan to raise salaries.
Free Summer English Classes Offered by NLD in Insein Township
Friends of NLD (Insein) March 16, 2011 At 3:00 pm in the afternoon of the 15th March, NLD launched its free English course for the children in order to improve their English ability during summer holiday of their schools. The…
Burma Human Rights Day Marked by Burmese Community Overseas
MoeMaKa Photo News March 14, 2011 It is learnt that Burmese pro-democracy forces at home and abroad commemorated ‘Burma Human Rights Day’, which falls on the 13th of March. Burmese residents and political activists also held ceremonies to mark its…
Price Hikes as Gas and Transport Charges Go Up in Burma
MoeMaKa Reporter (Yangon)
February 28, 2011
In Burma, merchants and travelers complainingly said that prices of goods and transport charges were rising up, as the domestic price of petrol and diesel went up by over 30%, because of the rise in the price of the fuel in the world. Commodity prices in Yangon and other towns are now shooting up for the high costs of transport, affected by the restriction called ‘ASEAN STANDARD’, which is not allowed trucks to exceed permitted payload and imposed recently by the authority concerned.
During this week, the price of diesel reached 4000 kyat (over US $4) from 3800 kyat, and then it rose up to 4200 kyat (over US $5), in next few days. The petrol price, similarly, went up more 500 kyat (around US $0.50) than its last week’s price and reached 3900 to 4000 kyat (around US $5) in black market.
Although gasoline is being sold at the price of 2500 kyat per gallon, a price fixed by the regime in private stations, the owners of automobiles and motorcycles have to wait for several hours to get a permit to buy it with that price. Thus the work queuing up for petrol and reselling it in black market becomes business in Burma. In the illegal trade, the price of petrol went up to 3900 kyat (over US $4).
View form Rangoon – by MoeMaKa Street Reporter
Last Week of February, 2011
Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) Plans to Seize the Low Level Administrative Power
After attempting forcibly to win over 80 percent in last year’s election, occupying 25% of parliamentary seats by the military officers and forming a Cabinet overwhelmed by their own members, USDP is planning to replace the positions of the quarter level administration with its members.
News, during these days, has spread that USDP started replacing its members in the ranks of quarter peace and development council, in some Rangoon’s townships.