Myanmar's Internet 'attacked'

YANGON - A massive cyber attack has crippled Internet services in Myanmar ahead of Sunday's election, IT experts and web service providers say, raising fears of a communications blackout for the vote.

Internet users in the military-ruled country have reported slow connections and sporadic outages for more than a week, and some suspect the junta may be intentionally disrupting services to block news flowing out.

Web service providers have blamed the troubles on outside attacks.

'Our technicians have been trying to prevent cyber attacks from other countries,' a technician from Yatanarpon Teleport Co told AFP on condition of anonymity. 'We still do not know whether access will be good on the election day,' he added.

Experts say Myanmar's Internet system has been overwhelmed by a flood of incoming messages known as a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack. US-based IT security firm Arbor Networks says the main state-owned Internet provider Myanmar Post and Telecommunications 'suffered a large, sustained DDoS attack disrupting most network traffic in and out of the country.' The onslaught was 'several hundred times' more than enough to overwhelm the country's terrestrial and satellite links, it estimated.--Full story at The Straits Times

Myanmar unveils new flag

YANGON - Military-ruled Myanmar unveiled a new national flag on Thursday, just two weeks before an election that the government calls a major step in a transition to democracy but critics say is a sham.

Government offices replaced the old standard with the new one at exactly 3pm (4.30pm Singapore time) At a fire station in central Yangon, blue-uniformed officers lined up at attention during the replacement ceremony.

The new flag has horizontal stripes of yellow, green and red with a big white star in the middle.

The announcement of the new flag was made on state television just prior to the ceremonies, which were supposed to take place simultaneously all over the country.--Full story at The Straits Times

'Health emergency' in Myanmar

MORE than half of all deaths in violence-ravaged eastern Myanmar are from treatable illnesses, with the junta blocking access to healthcare, according to a study published on Tuesday.

A 'chronic health emergency' in the ethnic areas strung along the border with Thailand mean that 59 per cent of deaths are preventable, said the report, titled Diagnosis: Critical.

The military lets civilians bear the consequences of its fight with minority rebels in the country through insufficient investment in healthcare, conflict and humanitarian abuses, it said.

Child mortality rates are nearly double the official national figure, while maternal mortality is three times as high, according to the study by groups including the Back Pack Health Worker Team and Burma Medical Association.--Full story at The Straits Times

Junta blames Kachins for blast

YANGON - Myanmar's military government on Friday blamed 'insurgents' from the ethnic Kachin Independence Army for a deadly landmine explosion, the latest indication of a toughening stance against ethnic minorities ahead of elections.

The state-run Myanma Ahlin reported that a landmine blast on Wednesday in northern Kachin state had killed two people and injured one. It said the 'landmine was planted by KIA insurgents'. This is the first time that the junta has used the word 'insurgent' to describe the ethnic Kachin's 8,000-strong army since the group signed a cease-fire agreement with the junta in 1994 that ended a decades-long struggle against the government for autonomy.

The junta has tenuous control of many parts of the country where minority groups are strongest. It has reached cease-fire agreements with 17 ethnic minority rebel groups since 1989 and most have been allowed to keep their weapons and maintain some autonomy over their regions.

But ahead of the Nov 7 election, Myanmar's first in 20 years, the junta has asked the groups to turn their armed forces into a border guard force under virtual Myanmar military leadership. Most have refused. There is concern that the military could try to force the issue.

Critics call the upcoming polls a sham designed to cement military rule. Myanmar has been under military control since 1962.

Leaders of the Kachin Independence Organisation, a political wing of the KIO, who sought to run in the parliamentary elections, were neither allowed to register their political party nor run as independent candidates.--The Straits Times

Indifferent mood greets Burma polls

There are six weeks to go before Burma's first election in 20 years, but many feel that the result is already clear.

Although over 30 political parties will contest the 1,163 seats in the national and regional parliaments, most people believe that the same faces that rule Burma now will be in power after the polls.

The government has founded its own political party - the Union Solidarity and Development Party - headed by the incumbent prime minister.

Most ministers and senior military officers who in recent weeks have resigned from their army positions will run for the USDP.

While other parties struggle to find enough candidates, the USDP is the only party that will contest all constituencies.

The election law provides that when there is only one candidate in a constituency then that candidate will be declared the winner. This means that the government party has already bagged a number of seats even before elections are held.

These seats will be supplemented by the 25% of seats guaranteed under the new constitution for the military, which means unelected military officers will sit in parliament.--Full story at BBC News

Burma bars elections in 'troubled' areas

Several areas of Burma will be barred from taking part in November's general election, state media have reported.

State television said the electoral commission had decided that the vote in a number of townships in five states would not be free and fair.

The states are home to armed ethnic groups which have been resisting the Burmese junta's attempts to integrate them into a border guard force.

Critics have already described the elections in Burma (Myanmar) as a sham.
On Thursday, Burmese state TV quoted the electoral commission as saying that "the election will not be held in several constituencies where free and fair elections could not be held".

The commission said the polls would be cancelled in several townships in the states of Kachin, Kayah, Kayin, Mon and Shan.

It was not immediately clear exactly how many constituencies had been erased from the vote.

Ethnic groups in the five states - mostly along Burma's eastern and northern border - have been seeking more autonomy from the central government since the country's independence in 1948.--Full story at BBC News

Ban worried by Myanmar

UNITED NATIONS - UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon on Wednesday expressed concern at the dissolution of the political party of Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

'The secretary general once again urges the Myanmar authorities to ensure conditions for a fully inclusive and participatory electoral process,' said a spokesman for Ban.

Mr Ban also 'expressed his frustration concerning access to the Myanmar authorities,' the spokesman said.

Myanmar's election commission has announced that Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy had been abolished under poll rules for failing to re-register ahead of the November 7 vote. Nine other parties were also banned.--Full story at The Straits Times

Suu Kyi's party dissolved

YANGON - Myanmar's election body has confirmed the abolition of detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi's party along with nine others ahead of November elections, state media reported on Tuesday.

Ms Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy is one of five parties forcibly dissolved after failing to apply to continue their activities, state media announced, quoting the Union Election Commission.

It was the first time state media has announced the NLD's dissolution, although it has been previously confirmed by officials after the party decided to boycott the upcoming election, saying the rules were unfair.--Full story at The Straits Times

Govt urges Myanmarese to vote

YANGON - Official media in military-ruled Myanmar told citizens on Friday they would be irresponsible if they did not vote in a November election, a poll seen as a sham by many, especially with the main opposition party not running.

This was the first time that state newspapers, seen as a mouthpiece of the army regime, have broached the subject of a boycott.

Detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi has called on members of her party, which swept Myanmar's last election in 1990 but was never allowed to take power, not to vote, but she has not called for a boycott.--Full story at The Straits Times

Chinese warships end first Burma visit

Two Chinese warships have completed a first ever trip to Burma.

The five-day visit, by two ships in China's anti-piracy taskforce, highlighted China's growing naval reach and its close ties with Rangoon.

China also says it will receive a visit next week from the head of Burma's military government, Than Shwe.

He is to meet the Chinese Prime Minister, Wen Jiabao, during a four-day trip which will take him to Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen.--Full story at BBC News