Burma

Burma Emergency Grants

In October 2007, the NED awarded seven emergency grants following prodemocracy demonstrations and the subsequent crackdown in Burma. The funds were used to purchase information communication equipment to allow for enhanced communication among activists inside Burma and between these activists and the outside world, and to meet emergency needs such as medicine, food, and safehouses of monks and student activists inside the country. The total amount of the seven grants was $389,468.

Referendum-related Grants

In February 2008, the Burmese military government announced its intention to hold a nationwide referendum on a draft constitution. Most analysts agreed that the proposed constitution, if adopted, would enshrine the military’s paramount role in politics in the country. In response, a consensus emerged among the Burmese prodemocracy movement that it must participate in the referendum process, as opposed to boycotting it, but that its participation would focus on a campaign organized to inform the Burmese population about the referendum and its consequences for the people.

In response, at its March 2008 meeting, the NED Board of Directors approved a package of funding for a variety of referendum-related activities. The activities included producing and distributing pamphlets and booklets containing information on the referendum and the constitution; distributing t-shirts and stickers urging people to vote no; organizing trips of activists throughout the country to conduct small group discussions on the referendum and its ramifications for the people of Burma; producing referendum-focused newspapers supplements; establishing teams of election monitors to observe how the referendum was conducted on the day of the polls; and producing a variety of radio programs, including a series of public debates with leading Burmese figures who discussed the referendum and the constitution, a one-hour TV satire featuring a popular Burmese comedy troupe; reports on elections and referendums in other countries, and interviews with ordinary Burmese on their feelings about the referendum and the constitution. Through a combination of grants and supplemental funding, the NED assisted 17 organizations with their referendum-related activities for a total of $441,944.

A. Internal Organizing and Coalition-Building

American Center for International Labor Solidarity

$340,000*
To promote worker rights and democracy in Burma. From its Washington, D.C. office, the organization will educate workers and other citizens both inside Burma and in exile about labor rights and democracy, document violations of internationally recognized labor rights, and support the development of civil society organizations in ethnic areas.

Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE)

$153,324
To educate Burmese entrepreneurs and civil society leaders about democracy and market reforms. CIPE and its local partner will provide leaders in the private sector with information about modern market systems and democratic societies in an effort to stimulate debate about potential reform initiatives in the country.

International Republican Institute (IRI)

$340,000*
To strengthen the capacity of the democratic opposition and civil society groups to engage in non-violent political action inside Burma. IRI will continue to support a coalition of democracy groups that coordinates non-violent political action inside Burma. IRI and its partner will work to strengthen the capacity of pro-democracy forces inside Burma, improve coordination and information sharing among activists, and provide political and programmatic analysis and advice for the prodemocracy movement.

International Republican Institute (IRI)

$300,000
To support and strengthen the activities of pro-democracy political leaders inside Burma and in exile. IRI will conduct a political assessment inside Burma, hold political leadership trainings, provide opportunities for Burmese activists to meet with leaders from other countries who have relevant experience to discuss strategy and tactics, and provide support for a prodemocracy political organization.

$80,000*
To support the organizing efforts of prodemocracy groups in Burma. The organization will distribute human rights and democracy materials inside Burma, train party activists in techniques of nonviolent political action, and provide humanitarian support to democracy activists inside Burma.

$75,000*
To strengthen civil society in Burma. The organization will work with partners inside Burma to establish two institutions that provide educational opportunities, modern communication facilities, and an emergency medical support fund for activists and former political prisoners.

$45,000*
To strengthen the ability of Burmese citizens to participate in peaceful efforts to promote democracy and political reconciliation in Burma. The organization will conduct community-organizing training courses for participants from Burma in an effort to begin the process of building an independent civil society inside the country. The organization will also conduct human rights, political defiance, and constitutional education workshops.

$41,034*
To promote political capacity-building in northern Burma. The organization will produce a Burmese- and Kachin-language political journal; conduct a political training workshop; hold legal seminars about the rule of law and constitutionalism; build alliances between and among Kachin youth, activists, and journalists; and strengthen the institutional capacity of its partners to strengthen civil society in Kachin State.

$35,000*
To support efforts to bring about national reconciliation and political reform in Burma. The coalition will work to increase contact, trust, and cooperation between ethnic and prodemocracy forces; expand its organizing activities inside Burma; and draw international attention to the political situation inside the country.

$25,000*
To support the development of small-scale civil society initiatives in Burma and strengthen the reporting and video production skills of independent journalists inside Burma. The organization will support nascent civil society initiatives run by democracy activists and organize a journalism training workshop.

$15,000
To support the human rights aspirations of monks in Burma. The organization will produce and distribute material, including pamphlets, stickers, and calendars on human rights and democracy and support efforts to organize the Buddhist community inside Burma.

B. Independent Media

$450,000*
To support Burmese- and ethnic-language radio and satellite television broadcasts of independent news and opinion into Burma. The organization will invest in advanced training and education for its staff, increase the number of hours of TV programming, and expand its network of reports and videographers in Burma.

$112,950*
To support independent media in Burma. The organization will publish and distribute an independent, monthly Burmese-language newspaper and maintain a Burmese- and English-language website focusing on the struggle for human rights and democracy.

$160,000*
To support independent media in Burma and provide independent news and information about Burma and events in Southeast Asia. The organization will produce a monthly English-language news magazine; distribute a daily electronic news bulletin; and maintain a Burmese- and English-language website.

$80,000*
To provide independent and accurate news and information about Burma. The news group will produce a daily electronic information service that covers developments in Burma, India, and the India-Burma border; maintain a Burmese- and English-language website; publish a monthly Burmese-language newspaper; organize forums on India’s Burma policy; and run a journalism internship program.

$40,000
To facilitate cooperation among Burma-related media groups, the association will organize and convene the sixth annual Burma Media Conference. The three-day conference will bring together approximately 130 print, electronic, TV, and radio journalists who cover Burma.

$35,000
To provide accurate and reliable information to the Shan and wider Burmese communities as well as Thai and international audiences, about political, social, and economic developments in Shan State. The organization will publish a bi-lingual monthly newspaper, providing information about the efforts of prodemocracy, student, ethnic, and labor organizations to promote peace and democracy in Burma.

$29,167*
To promote access to independent media in Burma. The organization will produce and broadcast a Burmese-language satellite television program to complement its long-running daily shortwave radio program.

$22,777*
To support increased access to information inside Burma by promoting the use of information and communication technology. The organization will provide technology training to Burmese journalists, distribute news and information inside Burma through the Internet, transcribe information into Burmese Unicode, and provide a secure website for users in Burma to share information.

$20,000*
To inform people in Burma about news and events in eastern Burma and expose them to basic principles of human rights and democracy. Funds will support an independent, monthly, Burmese-language newspaper covering Karen State for the Karenni community in Burma, in refugee camps along the Thai-Burma border, and for ethnic and pro-democracy groups in exile.

$17,750*
To inform Karen people in Burma about events and news and expose them to basic principles of human rights and democracy. The organization will publish a newsletter in Burmese and Karen that provides news and information for Karen in Burma, in refugee camps along the Thai-Burma border, and for ethnic and pro-democracy groups in exile.

$15,000*
To provide accurate and reliable information about political, social, and economic developments in Arakan State. The organization will operate a daily news service in English and Burmese concentrating on current events and human rights in Arakan State.

C. Human Rights Education, Documentation, and Advocacy

National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI)

$155,000
To help strengthen international Burma advocacy efforts. NDI will conduct a program to support coordination and strategic planning within the Burma democracy movement. NDI will work with advocacy organizations to develop clear goals and specific strategic plans, facilitate follow-up activities to increase communication among the participating groups, and provide consultation and technical advice to individual groups on strategic planning and communication skills.

$125,000
To support human rights in Burma by raising awareness about and supporting political prisoners. The organization will research and document the situation of political prisoners inside Burma; provide assistance to political prisoners, former political prisoners, and their families; and raise international awareness about the human rights crisis inside Burma.

$85,000*
To document the human rights situation and promote human rights education in Mon State and among Mon refugees. The organization will run six core projects: human rights documentation; human rights and civic education; human rights defenders; civil society development; ethnic-language publications; and women’s and children’s rights.

$75,000*
To promote respect for human rights and the rule of law in Burma. The organization will promote legal reform and civil society development in Burma through legal assistance, publications, analysis of laws and legal cases, and an advanced internship program for ethnic youth focused on law and democracy.

$50,000*
To strengthen the capacity of Burmese human rights organizations to collect quality data on human rights, manage and analyze that data effectively, and use that data in advocacy efforts to raise awareness about the human rights situation inside Burma. The organization will conduct an assessment of the application of its human rights records software by Burmese human rights organizations; provide technical assistance to these organizations; and develop a Burmese-language version of its software program.

$50,000*
To promote respect for human rights and to build the capacity of local human rights organizations through training courses, written material, and consultations. The institute will organize a series of human rights education trainings and community organizing workshops; conduct an advocacy campaign to stop the use of child soldiers in Burma; and facilitate an organizational strategy planning meeting.

$45,000
To publicize the human rights situation in Chin State, Burma. The organization will publish and distribute a human rights newsletter, advocate on human rights issues internationally, and organize a conference.

$20,000*
To train political activists from Burma in human rights, democracy, international politics, and foreign affairs work so they can effectively promote the Burmese democracy movement and human rights within their communities and abroad. The ten-month course will also include English-language instruction, basic computer training, and an internship.

$20,000*
To document human rights violations in northern Burma. The organization will publish and distribute monthly Shan- and English-language human rights newsletters to audiences in Shan State, the exile community in Thailand, and the broader international community.

D. International Advocacy and Organizing

$228,000*
To support efforts to create a political environment in Burma and in the international community conducive to resolving Burma’s long-standing political crisis. The organization will support the coordination of international and domestic political action, coalition building, transition planning, and institutional development.

$75,000*
To support efforts in Southeast Asia to increase pressure for political reform in Burma. The association will organize a campaign by parliamentarians from ASEAN countries to secure the release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, improve the human rights situation in Burma, and encourage ASEAN to adopt a policy toward Burma that supports political reform.

$30,000*
To build and advance international support for the Burmese pro-democracy movement. The network links academics, activists, journalists, diplomats and politicians in Burma, Thailand, and throughout Southeast Asia in an effort to promote democracy and human rights in Burma through research and advocacy.

$25,000*
To strengthen Thai support for democracy in Burma. The organization will engage in policy advocacy, public information campaigns, legal support to Burmese who suffer human rights violations in Thailand, and efforts to strengthen Burmese pro-democracy organizations in Thailand.

E. Ethnic Nationalities

$38,000*
To build inter-ethnic cooperation and solidarity through education programs for refugees and ethnic populations inside Burma. The committee’s programs will strengthen local educational capacity through curriculum development, educational research, teacher training, educational material development, and management training workshops.

$25,000*
To support the institutional capacity of the organization to distribute humanitarian aid and to document the plight of the internally displaced Karen population. The committee will publish a bi-monthly newsletter, upgrade its computer equipment, and provide training courses for its field staff.

$25,000*
To promote civic awareness and participation in Mon State. The organization will produce a Mon-language bulletin on youth issues and manage a civic education and community organizing program designed to encourage increased cooperation and understanding among Mon youth.

$25,000*
To promote greater understanding of democracy and human rights and strengthen community networks and organizations among the Paluang. The organization will organize a series of three human rights and democracy trainings for Palaung youth from inside Burma.

$20,000*
To build the capacity of youth from Shan State and increase youth participation in the movement for social and political change leading toward a genuine democratic Burma. The school will educate, train, and empower its students through nine months of English-language, social studies, and computer courses.

$3,000*
To publish and distribute reliable information about federalism and the draft Chin State Constitution. The organization will support a series of training workshops on issues of federalism, constitutionalism, and the role of Chin State in a future federal structure of Burma.

F. Women’s Participation and Empowerment

$60,000
To promote increased understanding among Burmese women of human rights, women’s rights, democracy, federalism, peace-building, community development, and health issues. Projects will include a series of women's rights and empowerment training workshops for Burmese refugees; capacity-building workshops for Burmese women in India, Thailand, and Bangladesh; and an ongoing peace-advocacy program.

$45,000
To promote understanding among Burmese women of human rights, women's rights, democracy, and community development. The organization will maintain community libraries, publish a bi-monthly Burmese-language journal, launch public awareness campaigns about women’s rights and gender equality and social change, run an internship program, manage a center for migrant workers, organize a week-long leadership workshop, and run a six-month long intensive women’s leadership school.

$35,801*
To increase women’s participation in Burma’s democracy movement and provide Shan women with the skills necessary to assume decision-making positions in their communities and organizations. Projects will include women’s empowerment and capacity building workshops; documentation and reporting on the situation of women in Shan State; and basic social services for Shan women.

$20,000
To promote the rights of women and children in northern Burma and encourage understanding and cooperation among Burman and ethnic nationality women. From its central office, the organization will carry out a range of activities to support the empowerment of Kachin women, including the publication of a newsletter, booklets, and other materials on democracy and women’s rights.

$13,109*
To strengthen the capacity of ethnic women to participate in the movement for democracy, peace, gender equality, and human rights in Burma. The organization will carry out a range of activities to support women’s empowerment, including human rights documentation and research; two human rights trainings for ethnic women; and a training on preventing gender-based violence.