A delegation of Burma civil society actors organized by the Task Force on ASEAN and Burma (TFAB) are attending the ASEAN People’s Forum/ASEAN Civil Society Conference in Cha-am, Thailand, on October 18-20, days before the ASEAN Summit. The APF/ACSC has been reformatted to create greater opportunities for interaction between civil society and ASEAN senior officials. Burma’s civil society groups are calling on ASEAN to address the SPDC’s violations of the regional body’s Charter.

On 19 October, Ashin Sopaka of the International Burmese Monks Organization will be speaking on a panel addressing political and security issues in ASEAN. Other members of the delegation will be raising issues of sexual violence, environmental exploitation, child soldiers, political and ethnic oppression at the hands of the military junta, and rights for migrant workers.

At least 30 monks were arrested in Burma in September and October, the two-year anniversary of the Saffron Revolution, sources said.Sources familiar with the Sangha, the institution of monks nationwide, said 13 monks from Meiktila and 10 monks from Kyaukpadaung townships in Mandalay Division were arrested in late September, in an effort by the military junta to discourage or break up potential demonstrations by monks.

The White house Administration and the Burmese Military junta has initiated the US-Burma dialogue process with their first meeting started amidst calls from the Burmese monks asking time line for such an important dialogue process.

Welcoming Obama Administration’s decision to use a combination of sanctions and diplomacy against Burma, the International Burmese Monks Organisation (IBMO) on Wednesday demanded a time line for any dialogue process with the military junta.

“US direct diplomacy with the regime should not be an open-ended process, but should take place within a reasonable timeframe and with clear benchmarks,” the IBMO said in its written testimony submitted to the Subcommittee on East Asian and Pacific Affairs, Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.

The Obama Administration and the Burmese Military junta has initiated the US-Burma dialogue process with their first meeting, amidst call from the Burmese monks that there should be time line for such a dialogue process.

Welcoming Obama Administration's decision to use a combination of sanctions and diplomacy against Burma, the International Burmese Monks Organisation (IBMO) today demanded a time line for any dialogue process with the military junta.

In a sign of protest against U.S. Senator Jim Webb, dozens of Buddhist monks will attend a hearing on U.S. Burma policy that will be chaired by Webb in the Senate on Wednesday, September 30th at 2:30 pm in room #419 at the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington, DC.

Webb was recently defeated in his drive to unilaterally lift U.S. sanctions on Burma’s military regime, after the State Department and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton stated that the United States would maintain sanctions on Burma unless the country’s military regime made concrete steps toward democracy.

Dhaka: The International Burmese Monks Organization (Bangladesh Branch) observed the second anniversary of the Saffron Revolution in Dhaka, Bangladesh on September 26 by staging a demonstration against the Burmese military junta.

U Thila Wantha, Secretary of the group, said, “Today is the second anniversary of the Saffron Revolution. So we came here to voice our concern about the current political imbroglio in Burma. We demand that the military junta release all political prisoners including Aung Sann Suu Kyi, monk Gambira and U Ithariya.”

Burmese monks have demanded the military junta to apologize for the killing and insulting of monks and the religion not later than October 2, 2009 or face the consequences of excommunication starting on October 3, 2009. How is the situation inside Burma now?

Ashin Issariya: The situation is extremely tense because the Burmese government is obviously afraid of the monks. They fear, that we monks might start walking again, might build a movement again and initiate a revolution. That is why today the Burmese monks are followed, restricted and controlled so much. In this situation a lot of monks are on the run, hiding somewhere, having changed their robes to laymen clothes. Some monks left Burma and came to Mae Sot, Thailand. Yes, some monks had run away from Myanmar because of the harsh persecution.

Dozens of Buddhist monks are coming to Pittsburgh for a week of peaceful protests during the Group of 20 summit.

When "Uprising" anarchists and other activists take to the streets for an unpermitted march toward the David L. Lawrence Convention Center on Thursday, monks and laypeople from Burma and Tibet will be strolling Downtown, in the North Side and in Oakland, to draw attention to the suffering of people living under dictators.