Daniel Pedersen

‘Beyond Section 10′ is a portrait of one Karen refugee in the run up to elections in Burma. Although he lives in a Thai refugee camp he has also served as a soldier in the KNLA since he was thirteen. He has recently become a father and as an increased level of fighting looms in the coming months he is torn for the first time between his love for his people and a desire to see his baby grow up.

The film is designed to highlight the plight of the Karen people and offer an accessible, human face to one of the victims of a brutal regime in a nation under persecution.

Mike Garrod is an English filmmaker who has worked on documentaries and drama since 2000 for broadcasters such as BBC, HBO, Sky and Al Jazeera. He is currently based in Stockholm and London and has been coming to Karen State since 2009. The film is currently being edited in London and is expecting a release in the summer.

Mike is putting out an appeal for footage that anybody can donate to the film and is especially interested in the following: Burmese news stories about the Karen and ethnic groups in general. Burmese news stories about the 2010 elections. Burmese movies depicting the Karen or other ethnic groups. International media news stories about the ethnic groups/elections. Footage of the Karen discussing elections. Karen festivals or holidays (new year?). Karen singing/music. Conflict footage inside Karen state. Burmese military parades.

Please contact through this site or mail@mikegarrod.com.

Mike Garrod

North Korea, other foreign advisers consult junta on extensive network of tunnels

Democratic Voice of Burma

  Norway, Oslo

December 05, 2009

Tunnels being built in Burma: Photo DVB

Burma’s military junta is building an extenstive network of tunnels designed to support the military against attack and suppress any insurgency, the Democratic Voice of Burma has reported.

According to documents obtained by DVB, Burma is aggressively bolstering its defence in the event of an invasion and is developing projects ranging from tunnel digging to possible nuclear proliferation.

The documents reveal plans to construct covert ammunitions factories that will produce surface-to-air missiles controlled from underground command bases, and can accommodate heavy weaponry and battalions of troops during military operations.

North Korea and other foreign advisers in Burma are consulting with officials on what now appears to be a the development of a network of some 800 underground tunnels across much of the country.

How, and with what intention, is one of the world’s poorest countries running such a secretive project worth billions of dollars?

Sections of the project date back as far as 1996.

Burma’s military regime: Digging the tunnels

New images have emerged that show North Korean and other foreign advisers in Burma consulting with officials on what now appears to be an extensive network of some 800 underground tunnels across much of the country.

While rife government corruption and uneven development in Burma yesterday awarded Burma a spot at the bottom of Foreign Policy magazine’s Failed States Index, billions of US dollars are now known to have been channeled by the Burmese government into building the tunnels >>> Burma’s military regime: Digging the tunnels

Special: Digging the tunnels, part two

The tunnel project underway in Burma includes plans to build covert ammunitions factories that will produce surface-to-air missiles controlled from underground command bases, leaked intelligence documents reveal.

Last week DVB revealed that some 800 tunnels were under construction throughout Burma, with sections of the project dating as far back as 1996.

The majority of tunneling and construction equipment for the project has been bought from North Korea in a series of deals over the last three years which total at least $US9 billion, according to two purchase orders received by DVB >>> Special: Digging the tunnels, part two

Special: Digging the tunnels, part three

Burma is aggressively bolstering its defence in the event of an invasion, according to a series of leaked reports and testimonies that outline a myriad of projects ranging from tunnel digging to possible nuclear proliferation.

In recent weeks, DVB has revealed that with North Korean help, the Burmese junta is developing a complex network of tunnels that can accommodate heavy weaponry and battalions of troops during military operations >>> Special: Digging the tunnels, part three

ENDS