Good morning,

UN Envoy to Burma Ibrahim Gambari has met imprisoned democratically-elected prime minister Aung San Suu Kyi but has yet to meet the repressive generals who run Burma;’s illegitimate military junta (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7021402.stm). The junta has tried to shut down all media and internet connections with the outside world. It is not clear what has been happening over the weekend.

More than 20,000 Burmese refugees have fled to Bangladesh to avoid persecution, although their lives are not much better there (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7019882.stm). The Bangladesh government does not recognise the refugees and they are forced to survive by scavenging, prostitution and other menial forms of work.

This is what the head of the Thai junta has had to say about the violent repression in Burma (according to the Asia Times): “Regarding the dispersal of demonstrations, the Burmese [Myanmar] government did not use military force. Police were deployed ... I think there is no violence in the current situation. Everything is under control ... On the reports that Buddhist monks were assaulted, that cannot be concluded just from looking at the photos. As it happened in Thailand, sometimes people use violence against officials. So officials may have to defend themselves. There has been no political suppression ... Burmese authorities understand that they cannot use violence against Buddhist monks. They must use a soft approach. I was informed that Burma uses dialogue to solve the problem, and senior Buddhist monks have helped negotiate to end the problem ... We [Thailand] are a neighbor. If we get involved, that will undermine our relationship."
- General Sonthi Boonyaratklin, Thailand's own junta leader and military coupster, standing up for his colleagues across the border on Thai television on Wednesday night. General Sonthi has today become the deputy prime minister with responsibility for national security (http://www.bangkokpost.com/topstories/topstories.php?id=122197). Feel safer?

A bomb explosion in Narathiwat has injured one monk, two soldiers and three civilians (http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/read.php?newsid=30050833). Another bomb, close to an army camp in Bangkok, injured two other people (http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2007/10/01/national/national_30050826.php) including a bomb disposal officer who lost a thumb. A border patrol officer was killed in an ambush in Yala (http://etna.mcot.net/query.php?nid=31928) and a woman has been shot in Narathiwat, while she was collecting rubbish (http://etna.mcot.net/query.php?nid=31927).

Three new articles at Suite 101: “Than Shwe” (http://burma.suite101.com/article.cfm/than_shwe), “The Shwe Dagon Pagoda” (http://asianhistory.suite101.com/article.cfm/the_shwe_dagon_pagoda) and “Different Not Quite Equal” (http://east-asian-history.suite101.com/article.cfm/different_not_quite_equal), which is about the status of women in Thai society. Yesterday I completed a paper (with Aj Chutathip Maneepong) entitled ‘Street Vending, Gender and Changing Patterns of Work in Thailand,” which has been submitted to the Korean-based journal Asian Women.

Back tomorrow. Seven? Sort it out, Sir Steve.