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Burma Arrests Activist Linked to Cyclone Aid

Dissident comedian Zarganar taken away by secret police

By Jason Farago,  Newser Staff

Posted Jun 5, 2008 6:58 AM CDT

(Newser) – The Burmese junta has arrested a leading activist who led a private aid program for victims of last month's Cyclone Nargis. Zarganar, a top comedian in Burma who was also arrested during September's protests, was taken away by secret police last night, Reuters reports. The junta continues to block aid to millions of survivors, and today four American warships abandoned efforts to provide aid.

Police also seized Zarganar's computer and several banned films, including the latest Rambo movie, which features US Vietnam vets taking on Burma's military rulers on behalf of Christian ethnic Karen rebels, Reuters notes.

Pigs scavenge for food on Chaungtha beach in the Irrawaddy Delta region 157 km (98 miles) west of Yangon, Myanmar, Tuesday, June 3, 2008. The village at Chaungtha beach was spared damage with only debris washing up after cyclone Nargis left 78,000 people dead and another 56,000 missing,...
Pigs scavenge for food on Chaungtha beach in the Irrawaddy Delta region 157 km (98 miles) west of Yangon, Myanmar, Tuesday, June 3, 2008. The village at Chaungtha beach was spared damage with only debris...   (AP Photo)
Zarganar, Burma's most popular comic, known for his jibes against the military regime and recently for helping cyclone victims, has been taken from his home by police.
Zarganar, Burma's most popular comic, known for his jibes against the military regime and recently for helping cyclone victims, has been taken from his home by police.   (AP Photo)
Men unload fish from a small boat outside Pathein in the Irrawaddy Delta region, Myanmar, Wednesday, June 4, 2008.
Men unload fish from a small boat outside Pathein in the Irrawaddy Delta region, Myanmar, Wednesday, June 4, 2008.   (AP Photo)
Trishaws sit unused on an empty Chaungtha beach in the Irrawaddy Delta region, Tuesday, June 3, 2008.
Trishaws sit unused on an empty Chaungtha beach in the Irrawaddy Delta region, Tuesday, June 3, 2008.   (AP Photo)
The village on Chaungtha beach in the Irrawaddy Delta region of Myanmar, Tuesday, June 3, 2008, shows the debris washed up after Cyclone Nargis. Chaungtha beach is known as a popular tourist spot for both Myanmar residents and foreign visitors, but since cyclone Nargis, on May 2-3 that left 78,...
The village on Chaungtha beach in the Irrawaddy Delta region of Myanmar, Tuesday, June 3, 2008, shows the debris washed up after Cyclone Nargis. Chaungtha beach is known as a popular tourist spot for...   (AP Photo)
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