Myanmar election could spark rise in refugees
By Damir Sagolj – Thu Jan 7, 2:12 am ET
MAE SOT, Thailand (Reuters) – The rubbish dump outside the Thai town of Mae Sot steams with rancid rotting fish and other debris, a squalid haven for hundreds of refugees from Myanmar that aid groups say could swell in size this year.
Aid groups are bracing for a rise in refugees from military-ruled Myanmar into neighboring Thailand and China ahead of its first parliamentary elections in two decades this year, potentially straining ties with its neighbors and worsening crowded refugee camps in Thailand.
Some who fled to Thailand are living in dire conditions. In one settlement, about 300 migrants who crossed illegally into Thailand have taken refuge next to mounds of garbage outside Mae Sot, about 5 km (3 miles) from the border.
Life amongst the rubbish beats what they had back home, they said. Some ethnic minorities have faced a military campaign marked by murder, forced labor, rape and the razing of villages.
"I want to stay here and save some money because I can keep what I earn and no one harasses me, even if the job is hard and dirty," said Sen Sen, a 38-year-old ethnic Karen.
People run out of makeshift shacks and line up neatly whenever garbage trucks arrive, waiting to dig through the rubbish as it is unloaded in search of goods for recycling.
Barefoot boys and girls sort through piles of trash, occasionally distracted by the broken toys and mud-caked dolls they uncover.
Sen Sen earns about 100 baht ($3) a day selling plastic, which she said was enough to live on. In Myanmar she had to give almost all the money she managed to earn to military officers as "protection money" and taxes.
The Myanmar junta has long been accused of persecution of the country's ethnic minorities, sparking a continuing exodus. Some 140,000 refugees live in official camps along the Thai-Myanmar border, according to the U.N. refugee agency.
An estimated 37,000 fled into China in August after government forces routed fighters loyal to a Chinese-speaking Kokang ethnic group, earning Myanmar's generals a rare rebuke from China, a crucial ally and investor.
Thousands fled into Thailand in June when the army clashed with the Karen National Union (KNU), a rebel group that has been seeking independence in the eastern hills bordering Thailand for the past 60 years.
REBEL FIGHTING
Aid workers say the number of refugees from the former Burma has slowed in recent months but the situation is delicate, with continued low-intensity fighting between KNU rebels and the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA), aligned with the military.
The fighting, they say, suggests little progress in resolving one of the world's longest-running insurgencies, raising the prospect of more instability and more refugees. It also underscores the fragility of the government's ceasefire agreements with more than a dozen armed ethnic groups.
"Up here there is fighting every week," said David Eubank, a relief worker in Myanmar's northern Karen State and director of the Free Burma Rangers, a Christian group that helps refugees inside Myanmar. He said there were no large-scale offensives yet but that Myanmar's military was re-supplying its camps.
Aung Din, executive director of the U.S. Campaign for Burma, an exile group in close contact with Myanmar's ethnic leaders, said forces loyal to the government were also building up supplies after deadly clashes last month.
"The regime's troops in Karen State are gathering food and other supplies," he said.
According to his sources, KNU troops ambushed a regime battalion on December 16, killing a tactical commander and 14 solders and wounding 17. This could not be independently verified.
Three days later, two government soldiers were killed and four wounded in clashes in a rebel-held area controlled by the KNU's sixth brigade.
ELECTION CRITICISED
Myanmar is to hold its first parliamentary election in two decades this year but critics already dismiss it as a ploy to legitimize and extend almost 50 years of military rule.
The regime wants ethnic groups to take part, and their support would help the junta claim the country was fully behind its elections. Critics also say the regime is trying to forcibly recruit rebel fighters for an army-run border patrol force.
They say Myanmar's army is seeking to neutralize the Karen and other ethnic minorities, in part to seize rich natural resources for logging and mining, a crucial revenue source for the impoverished country, Southeast Asia's second largest.
Many of the ethnic groups, including predominantly Christian Karens, do not trust the military and its ethnic Burman leaders who they have long resented and feel they have nothing to gain by taking part in the electoral process.
If they disarm and surrender hard-won autonomy, they could lose control over lucrative trade in natural resources and, in some cases, in opium and methamphetamines.
"The situation at the borders is expected to get worse as pressure will be on the ceasefire groups to transform before elections," said Sally Thompson, deputy director of Thailand Burma Border Consortium, an aid agency that works at Thai government-run refugee camps.
"With the deadline looming for establishing border guard forces, we expect to see an increase in new arrivals of refugees."
Tens of thousands of refugees from Myanmar have been resettled in third countries in recent years.
About two to three million migrants from Myanmar live scattered across Thailand, many working illegally in low-paid jobs. Many may qualify for refugee status, aid groups said.
Some are simply trying to escape grinding poverty.
"Things are bad there. They would rather live in Thailand on a rubbish dump than return," said Ashin Sopaka, a monk who raises money to help migrants at the border.
"Sound sleep here, but not in Burma."
By Damir Sagolj – Thu Jan 7, 2:12 am ET
MAE SOT, Thailand (Reuters) – The rubbish dump outside the Thai town of Mae Sot steams with rancid rotting fish and other debris, a squalid haven for hundreds of refugees from Myanmar that aid groups say could swell in size this year.
Aid groups are bracing for a rise in refugees from military-ruled Myanmar into neighboring Thailand and China ahead of its first parliamentary elections in two decades this year, potentially straining ties with its neighbors and worsening crowded refugee camps in Thailand.
Some who fled to Thailand are living in dire conditions. In one settlement, about 300 migrants who crossed illegally into Thailand have taken refuge next to mounds of garbage outside Mae Sot, about 5 km (3 miles) from the border.
Life amongst the rubbish beats what they had back home, they said. Some ethnic minorities have faced a military campaign marked by murder, forced labor, rape and the razing of villages.
"I want to stay here and save some money because I can keep what I earn and no one harasses me, even if the job is hard and dirty," said Sen Sen, a 38-year-old ethnic Karen.
People run out of makeshift shacks and line up neatly whenever garbage trucks arrive, waiting to dig through the rubbish as it is unloaded in search of goods for recycling.
Barefoot boys and girls sort through piles of trash, occasionally distracted by the broken toys and mud-caked dolls they uncover.
Sen Sen earns about 100 baht ($3) a day selling plastic, which she said was enough to live on. In Myanmar she had to give almost all the money she managed to earn to military officers as "protection money" and taxes.
The Myanmar junta has long been accused of persecution of the country's ethnic minorities, sparking a continuing exodus. Some 140,000 refugees live in official camps along the Thai-Myanmar border, according to the U.N. refugee agency.
An estimated 37,000 fled into China in August after government forces routed fighters loyal to a Chinese-speaking Kokang ethnic group, earning Myanmar's generals a rare rebuke from China, a crucial ally and investor.
Thousands fled into Thailand in June when the army clashed with the Karen National Union (KNU), a rebel group that has been seeking independence in the eastern hills bordering Thailand for the past 60 years.
REBEL FIGHTING
Aid workers say the number of refugees from the former Burma has slowed in recent months but the situation is delicate, with continued low-intensity fighting between KNU rebels and the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA), aligned with the military.
The fighting, they say, suggests little progress in resolving one of the world's longest-running insurgencies, raising the prospect of more instability and more refugees. It also underscores the fragility of the government's ceasefire agreements with more than a dozen armed ethnic groups.
"Up here there is fighting every week," said David Eubank, a relief worker in Myanmar's northern Karen State and director of the Free Burma Rangers, a Christian group that helps refugees inside Myanmar. He said there were no large-scale offensives yet but that Myanmar's military was re-supplying its camps.
Aung Din, executive director of the U.S. Campaign for Burma, an exile group in close contact with Myanmar's ethnic leaders, said forces loyal to the government were also building up supplies after deadly clashes last month.
"The regime's troops in Karen State are gathering food and other supplies," he said.
According to his sources, KNU troops ambushed a regime battalion on December 16, killing a tactical commander and 14 solders and wounding 17. This could not be independently verified.
Three days later, two government soldiers were killed and four wounded in clashes in a rebel-held area controlled by the KNU's sixth brigade.
ELECTION CRITICISED
Myanmar is to hold its first parliamentary election in two decades this year but critics already dismiss it as a ploy to legitimize and extend almost 50 years of military rule.
The regime wants ethnic groups to take part, and their support would help the junta claim the country was fully behind its elections. Critics also say the regime is trying to forcibly recruit rebel fighters for an army-run border patrol force.
They say Myanmar's army is seeking to neutralize the Karen and other ethnic minorities, in part to seize rich natural resources for logging and mining, a crucial revenue source for the impoverished country, Southeast Asia's second largest.
Many of the ethnic groups, including predominantly Christian Karens, do not trust the military and its ethnic Burman leaders who they have long resented and feel they have nothing to gain by taking part in the electoral process.
If they disarm and surrender hard-won autonomy, they could lose control over lucrative trade in natural resources and, in some cases, in opium and methamphetamines.
"The situation at the borders is expected to get worse as pressure will be on the ceasefire groups to transform before elections," said Sally Thompson, deputy director of Thailand Burma Border Consortium, an aid agency that works at Thai government-run refugee camps.
"With the deadline looming for establishing border guard forces, we expect to see an increase in new arrivals of refugees."
Tens of thousands of refugees from Myanmar have been resettled in third countries in recent years.
About two to three million migrants from Myanmar live scattered across Thailand, many working illegally in low-paid jobs. Many may qualify for refugee status, aid groups said.
Some are simply trying to escape grinding poverty.
"Things are bad there. They would rather live in Thailand on a rubbish dump than return," said Ashin Sopaka, a monk who raises money to help migrants at the border.
"Sound sleep here, but not in Burma."
***********************************************************
Thursday, 7 January 2010
Burmese whistle-blowers sentenced to death - BBC source
Two Burmese officials have been sentenced to death for leaking details of secret government visits to North Korea and Russia, the BBC has learned.
The officials were also found guilty of leaking information about military tunnels allegedly built in Burma by North Korea, a source in Burma said.
A third person was jailed for 15 years, the source added.
The military rulers in Burma (Myanmar) have so far made no public comments on the case.
The source told BBC Burmese that Win Naing Kyaw, a former army major, and Thura Kyaw, a clerk at the European desk of Burma's foreign ministry, had been sentenced to death by a court in Rangoon on Thursday.
They were found guilty of leaking information about government visits to North Korea and Russia, which reportedly took place in 2008 and 2006.
The two men were also convicted of leaking details of a network of tunnels reportedly being built in Burma.
It is thought the tunnels were built to house communications systems, possible weapons factories and troops in the event of an invasion.
The third man, Pyan Sein, was given 15 years in prison on Thursday.
Burma still has capital punishment, but it has not carried out executions in recent years.
Burmese whistle-blowers sentenced to death - BBC source
Two Burmese officials have been sentenced to death for leaking details of secret government visits to North Korea and Russia, the BBC has learned.
The officials were also found guilty of leaking information about military tunnels allegedly built in Burma by North Korea, a source in Burma said.
A third person was jailed for 15 years, the source added.
The military rulers in Burma (Myanmar) have so far made no public comments on the case.
The source told BBC Burmese that Win Naing Kyaw, a former army major, and Thura Kyaw, a clerk at the European desk of Burma's foreign ministry, had been sentenced to death by a court in Rangoon on Thursday.
They were found guilty of leaking information about government visits to North Korea and Russia, which reportedly took place in 2008 and 2006.
The two men were also convicted of leaking details of a network of tunnels reportedly being built in Burma.
It is thought the tunnels were built to house communications systems, possible weapons factories and troops in the event of an invasion.
The third man, Pyan Sein, was given 15 years in prison on Thursday.
Burma still has capital punishment, but it has not carried out executions in recent years.
***********************************************************
Scoop - Burmese Generals Neutralise Opponents
Thursday, 7 January 2010, 3:38 pm
Press Release: Terry Evans
A Burmese freelance video reporter has been handed a 20-year prison sentence, bringing to 13 the number of imprisoned journalists and bloggers in Burma today.
Hla Hla Win was first arrested on 11 September 2009. In October she received a seven-year sentence for possessing an illegally imported motorcycle. When the junta learned she was associated with an exiled news organisation, she was charged and found guilty of violating the Electronics Act, which prohibits the transmission of information critical of the military regime via the Internet. On 31 December 2009, Hla Hla Win had 20 years added to her original seven-year sentence.
It is now apparent that the junta is intensifying its harassment and imprisonment of the opposition in the run-up to planned elections this year. Burma's ruling generals have a poor track record when it comes to free and fair elections. In 1990 Aung San Suu Kyi and her NLD party won a landslide victory, which the junta chose to ignore. Ironically the architects of the 1990 election are the very same untrustworthy generals who have engineered the sham election scheduled for 2010.
To ensure a favourable result this time round, the generals are neutralising opponents. Currently 2,177 political dissidents are serving lengthy sentences in Burma's notorious labour camps. Aung San Suu Kyi is also under lock and key, thus ensuring this year's general elections are carried out without any significant opposition.
Thursday, 7 January 2010, 3:38 pm
Press Release: Terry Evans
A Burmese freelance video reporter has been handed a 20-year prison sentence, bringing to 13 the number of imprisoned journalists and bloggers in Burma today.
Hla Hla Win was first arrested on 11 September 2009. In October she received a seven-year sentence for possessing an illegally imported motorcycle. When the junta learned she was associated with an exiled news organisation, she was charged and found guilty of violating the Electronics Act, which prohibits the transmission of information critical of the military regime via the Internet. On 31 December 2009, Hla Hla Win had 20 years added to her original seven-year sentence.
It is now apparent that the junta is intensifying its harassment and imprisonment of the opposition in the run-up to planned elections this year. Burma's ruling generals have a poor track record when it comes to free and fair elections. In 1990 Aung San Suu Kyi and her NLD party won a landslide victory, which the junta chose to ignore. Ironically the architects of the 1990 election are the very same untrustworthy generals who have engineered the sham election scheduled for 2010.
To ensure a favourable result this time round, the generals are neutralising opponents. Currently 2,177 political dissidents are serving lengthy sentences in Burma's notorious labour camps. Aung San Suu Kyi is also under lock and key, thus ensuring this year's general elections are carried out without any significant opposition.
***********************************************************
The Nation - Burmese junta already manipulating upcoming poll
Published on January 7, 2010
With no clear timeline for the planned election, the regime is working to preserve the status quo
Burma's strongman, General Than Shwe, was more than happy to confirm that there will be an election in his country this year. The problem is, and will remain for the foreseeable future, the lack of a clear timeline for when the election will be held. Furthermore, none of the necessary laws and measures to make the upcoming poll transparent, free and fair have not been enacted.
The US State Department has made these points clearly, saying: "We have not seen any meaningful steps by the regime to indicate it is putting in place measures that would lead to credible elections. Much of the opposition's leadership remains in prison, there is no space for political dissent or debate, and no freedom of the press. We continue to urge the Burmese government to address these issues and to engage [the main opposition leader] Aung San Suu Kyi and the democratic opposition, ethnic leaders and other stakeholders in a comprehensive dialogue on democratic reform. This would be a first step towards inclusive elections."
Despite such a strong international appeal, the military regime is still stubborn. Obviously, the junta wants to ensure victory in the election because it would be disastrous if it loses again. In May 1990, the junta cheated in the polls and won by a supposed landslide against the opposition National League for Democracy, led by Suu Kyi. So, the regime will not make the same mistakes again.
The reason for keeping a tight rein over the election date is purely tactical. The announcement will be made when the junta's handpicked cronies are ready to enter the race.
The suspicion is that the election could be held late in the second half of the year, toward the third quarter. The contracts that international humanitarian and relief organisations have with the regime will end in June this year. Renewal of these contracts is not expected. It would take a few weeks for all of their representatives to leave the country. And this is what the junta wants. To hold an election under the watchful eyes of foreign representatives would be a catastrophe.
The regime wants to transform the international relief efforts into votes for it or its surrogates, especially in the area of the Irrawaddy Delta, which was hard-hit by Cyclone Nargis in May 2008. This will not be easy, as these Burmese villagers are now more independent in helping themselves, with some direct assistance from abroad. The role of the burgeoning village-based civil groups, although they are still nascent, could be influential in determining the future of the Burmese junta. The regime is monitoring the activities of local community leaders to prevent any upheaval in the future.
The regime also wants to use the timing to disarm the opposition, including minority groups that have adopted plans to contest the poll. The National League for Democracy, for example, has complained that its representatives are not allowed to hold meetings. Suu Kyi informed top US diplomats of her political plight when they visited her in early November last year.
The regime must come clean on the election. The US and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, of which Burma is a member, have called for an inclusive election that will allow all stakeholders to partake in the political process. So far, the regime has been evasive in its response. It's the same old story of tactical delays.
Of course, after the election there could be dire consequences. After all, everybody can read the tea-leaves. The generals will likely behave as despicably as they always have, closing all loopholes that might jeopardise them in any way. The outcome could affect the Burmese people as never before. If there is obvious rigging of results, the people might not accept the outcome, and that could lead to the same kind of chaos as in 1988 and 1990. The people have been pushed too far already.
Published on January 7, 2010
With no clear timeline for the planned election, the regime is working to preserve the status quo
Burma's strongman, General Than Shwe, was more than happy to confirm that there will be an election in his country this year. The problem is, and will remain for the foreseeable future, the lack of a clear timeline for when the election will be held. Furthermore, none of the necessary laws and measures to make the upcoming poll transparent, free and fair have not been enacted.
The US State Department has made these points clearly, saying: "We have not seen any meaningful steps by the regime to indicate it is putting in place measures that would lead to credible elections. Much of the opposition's leadership remains in prison, there is no space for political dissent or debate, and no freedom of the press. We continue to urge the Burmese government to address these issues and to engage [the main opposition leader] Aung San Suu Kyi and the democratic opposition, ethnic leaders and other stakeholders in a comprehensive dialogue on democratic reform. This would be a first step towards inclusive elections."
Despite such a strong international appeal, the military regime is still stubborn. Obviously, the junta wants to ensure victory in the election because it would be disastrous if it loses again. In May 1990, the junta cheated in the polls and won by a supposed landslide against the opposition National League for Democracy, led by Suu Kyi. So, the regime will not make the same mistakes again.
The reason for keeping a tight rein over the election date is purely tactical. The announcement will be made when the junta's handpicked cronies are ready to enter the race.
The suspicion is that the election could be held late in the second half of the year, toward the third quarter. The contracts that international humanitarian and relief organisations have with the regime will end in June this year. Renewal of these contracts is not expected. It would take a few weeks for all of their representatives to leave the country. And this is what the junta wants. To hold an election under the watchful eyes of foreign representatives would be a catastrophe.
The regime wants to transform the international relief efforts into votes for it or its surrogates, especially in the area of the Irrawaddy Delta, which was hard-hit by Cyclone Nargis in May 2008. This will not be easy, as these Burmese villagers are now more independent in helping themselves, with some direct assistance from abroad. The role of the burgeoning village-based civil groups, although they are still nascent, could be influential in determining the future of the Burmese junta. The regime is monitoring the activities of local community leaders to prevent any upheaval in the future.
The regime also wants to use the timing to disarm the opposition, including minority groups that have adopted plans to contest the poll. The National League for Democracy, for example, has complained that its representatives are not allowed to hold meetings. Suu Kyi informed top US diplomats of her political plight when they visited her in early November last year.
The regime must come clean on the election. The US and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, of which Burma is a member, have called for an inclusive election that will allow all stakeholders to partake in the political process. So far, the regime has been evasive in its response. It's the same old story of tactical delays.
Of course, after the election there could be dire consequences. After all, everybody can read the tea-leaves. The generals will likely behave as despicably as they always have, closing all loopholes that might jeopardise them in any way. The outcome could affect the Burmese people as never before. If there is obvious rigging of results, the people might not accept the outcome, and that could lead to the same kind of chaos as in 1988 and 1990. The people have been pushed too far already.
***********************************************************
CityNews - UN Resumes Aid Shipments To Myanmar
2008/05/10 | The Associated Press
Myanmar's military regime distributed international aid Saturday but plastered the boxes with the names of top generals in an apparent effort to turn the relief effort for last week's devastating cyclone into a propaganda exercise.
The United Nations sent in three more planes and several trucks loaded with aid, though the junta took over its first two shipments. The government agreed to let a U.S. cargo plane bring in supplies Monday, but foreign disaster experts were still being barred entry.
State-run television continuously ran images of top generals - including the junta leader, Senior Gen. Than Shwe - handing out boxes of aid to survivors at elaborate ceremonies.
One box bore the name of Lt. Gen. Myint Swe, a rising star in the government hierarchy, in bold letters that overshadowed a smaller label reading: "Aid from the Kingdom of Thailand."
"We have already seen regional commanders putting their names on the side of aid shipments from Asia, saying this was a gift from them and then distributing it in their region," said Mark Farmaner, director of Burma Campaign UK, which campaigns for human rights and democracy in the country.
"It is not going to areas where it is most in need," he said in London.
State media say 23,335 people died and 37,019 are missing from Cyclone Nargis, which submerged entire villages in the Irrawaddy delta. International aid organizations say the death toll could climb to more than 100,000 as conditions worsen.
The U.N. estimates that 1.5 million to 2 million people have been severely affected and has voiced concern about the disposal of bodies.
With phone lines down, roads blocked and electricity networks destroyed, it is nearly impossible to reach isolated areas in the delta, complicated by the lack of experienced international aid workers and equipment.
But the junta has refused to grant access to foreign experts, saying it will only accept donations from foreign charities and governments, and then will deliver the aid on its own.
Farmaner said the world needs to move to deliver aid directly to victims in Myanmar, also known as Burma.
"People we are speaking to in Burma say aid must be delivered anyway even if the regime doesn't give permission," he said. "We have had a week to convince the regime to behave reasonably, and they are still blocking aid. So the international community needs to wake up and take bolder steps."
However, aid providers are unlikely to pursue unilateral deliveries like airdrops because of the diplomatic firestorm that it could set off.
So far, relief workers have reached 220,000 cyclone victims, only a small fraction of the number of people affected, the Red Cross said Friday. Three Red Cross aid flights loaded with shelter kits and other emergency supplies landed Friday without incident.
But the government seized two planeloads of high-energy biscuits - enough to feed 95,000 people - sent by the U.N. World Food Program. Despite the seizure, the WFP was sending three more planes Saturday from Dubai, Cambodia and Italy, even though those could be confiscated, too.
"We are working around the clock with the authorities to ensure the kind of access that we need to ensure it goes to people that need it most," WFP spokesman Marcus Prior said in Bangkok, Thailand.
Richard Horsey, a spokesman for U.N. humanitarian operations, said an international presence is needed in Myanmar to look at the logistics of getting boats, helicopters and trucks into the delta area.
"That's a critical bottleneck that must be overcome at this point," he said in Bangkok.
He warned there was a great risk of diarrhea and cholera spreading because of the lack of clean drinking water and sanitation.
"We are running out of time here. This could be a huge problem and this could lead to a second phase which could be as deadly as the cyclone," he said.
Heavy rain forecast in the next week was certain to exacerbate the misery. Diplomats and aid groups warned the number of dead could eventually exceed 100,000 because of illnesses and said thousands of children may have been orphaned.
Survivors from one of the worst-affected areas, near the town of Bogalay, were among those fighting hunger, illness and wrenching loneliness.
"All my 28 family members have died," said Thein Myint, a 68-year-old fisherman who wept while describing how the cyclone swept away the rest of his family. "I am the only survivor."
Officials have said only one out of 10 people who are homeless, injured or threatened by disease and hunger have received some kind of aid since the cyclone hit May 3.
The government's abilities are limited. It has only a few dozen helicopters, most of which are small and old. It also has about 15 transport planes, primarily small jets unable to carry hundreds of tons of supplies.
"Not only don't they have the capacity to deliver assistance, they don't have experience," said Farmaner, the British aid worker. "It's already too late for many people. Every day of delays is costing thousands of lives."
2008/05/10 | The Associated Press
Myanmar's military regime distributed international aid Saturday but plastered the boxes with the names of top generals in an apparent effort to turn the relief effort for last week's devastating cyclone into a propaganda exercise.
The United Nations sent in three more planes and several trucks loaded with aid, though the junta took over its first two shipments. The government agreed to let a U.S. cargo plane bring in supplies Monday, but foreign disaster experts were still being barred entry.
State-run television continuously ran images of top generals - including the junta leader, Senior Gen. Than Shwe - handing out boxes of aid to survivors at elaborate ceremonies.
One box bore the name of Lt. Gen. Myint Swe, a rising star in the government hierarchy, in bold letters that overshadowed a smaller label reading: "Aid from the Kingdom of Thailand."
"We have already seen regional commanders putting their names on the side of aid shipments from Asia, saying this was a gift from them and then distributing it in their region," said Mark Farmaner, director of Burma Campaign UK, which campaigns for human rights and democracy in the country.
"It is not going to areas where it is most in need," he said in London.
State media say 23,335 people died and 37,019 are missing from Cyclone Nargis, which submerged entire villages in the Irrawaddy delta. International aid organizations say the death toll could climb to more than 100,000 as conditions worsen.
The U.N. estimates that 1.5 million to 2 million people have been severely affected and has voiced concern about the disposal of bodies.
With phone lines down, roads blocked and electricity networks destroyed, it is nearly impossible to reach isolated areas in the delta, complicated by the lack of experienced international aid workers and equipment.
But the junta has refused to grant access to foreign experts, saying it will only accept donations from foreign charities and governments, and then will deliver the aid on its own.
Farmaner said the world needs to move to deliver aid directly to victims in Myanmar, also known as Burma.
"People we are speaking to in Burma say aid must be delivered anyway even if the regime doesn't give permission," he said. "We have had a week to convince the regime to behave reasonably, and they are still blocking aid. So the international community needs to wake up and take bolder steps."
However, aid providers are unlikely to pursue unilateral deliveries like airdrops because of the diplomatic firestorm that it could set off.
So far, relief workers have reached 220,000 cyclone victims, only a small fraction of the number of people affected, the Red Cross said Friday. Three Red Cross aid flights loaded with shelter kits and other emergency supplies landed Friday without incident.
But the government seized two planeloads of high-energy biscuits - enough to feed 95,000 people - sent by the U.N. World Food Program. Despite the seizure, the WFP was sending three more planes Saturday from Dubai, Cambodia and Italy, even though those could be confiscated, too.
"We are working around the clock with the authorities to ensure the kind of access that we need to ensure it goes to people that need it most," WFP spokesman Marcus Prior said in Bangkok, Thailand.
Richard Horsey, a spokesman for U.N. humanitarian operations, said an international presence is needed in Myanmar to look at the logistics of getting boats, helicopters and trucks into the delta area.
"That's a critical bottleneck that must be overcome at this point," he said in Bangkok.
He warned there was a great risk of diarrhea and cholera spreading because of the lack of clean drinking water and sanitation.
"We are running out of time here. This could be a huge problem and this could lead to a second phase which could be as deadly as the cyclone," he said.
Heavy rain forecast in the next week was certain to exacerbate the misery. Diplomats and aid groups warned the number of dead could eventually exceed 100,000 because of illnesses and said thousands of children may have been orphaned.
Survivors from one of the worst-affected areas, near the town of Bogalay, were among those fighting hunger, illness and wrenching loneliness.
"All my 28 family members have died," said Thein Myint, a 68-year-old fisherman who wept while describing how the cyclone swept away the rest of his family. "I am the only survivor."
Officials have said only one out of 10 people who are homeless, injured or threatened by disease and hunger have received some kind of aid since the cyclone hit May 3.
The government's abilities are limited. It has only a few dozen helicopters, most of which are small and old. It also has about 15 transport planes, primarily small jets unable to carry hundreds of tons of supplies.
"Not only don't they have the capacity to deliver assistance, they don't have experience," said Farmaner, the British aid worker. "It's already too late for many people. Every day of delays is costing thousands of lives."
***********************************************************
Money talks to translators in China-ASEAN trade area
www.chinaview.cn 2010-01-07 17:19:24
KUNMING, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) -- Chinese translators of Southeast Asian languages are earning top dollar as demand for their skills has boomed with the launch of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area (CAFTA).
"We need many more ASEAN languages translators," said Ruan Jingping, general manager of Kunming Renyida Translation and Exhibition Cooperation in Yunnan Province, which boarders Vietnam, Laos and Myanmar.
Ruan said the CAFTA would increase demand for translation services and translators. Her company was offering more services to facilitate project contracts, international exchanges and conferences, and would probably expand to tourist and service industries.
The CAFTA, comprising the 11 member states of China, Indonesia, Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia and Myanmar, was launched on Jan. 1. The CAFTA area has a third of the world's people, a ninth of its GDP and the third largest trade volume after the European Union and the North American Free Trade Agreement.
Yunnan Province needed at least 600 ASEAN language translators each of the last two years, according to statistics from the government of Kunming, capital of Yunnan. Kunming government also required its officials aged below 50 to learn basic Vietnamese, Myanmar and Lao.
"Qualified translators of Southeast Asian languages are behind the demand," said Ruan.
To cope with the shortfall, Ruan hired students to translate, but many were not skillful enough. The company paid translators of Southeast Asian languages an average 44 U.S. dollars for every thousand words translated from Chinese, compared with 39 U.S. dollars paid to English translators.
China and ASEAN countries are making efforts to overcome language and cultural barriers. Since 2008, China has signed agreements with Cambodia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam to recognize each other's academic degrees and to increase educational exchanges.
Hao Ping, China's vice education minister, said on Aug. 6 last year that more than 10 Chinese universities, including Yunnan University of Nationalities, had expanded their language courses to include languages of all ASEAN countries.
Hao said there were 34,735 students from ASEAN countries studying in China and 68,510 Chinese studying in ASEAN countries, and expected both numbers to rise above 100,000 by 2020.
Despite the global economic downturn, Yunnan-ASEAN trade volume rose 9 percent to reach 2.73 billion U.S. dollars in the first 11 months of 2009. The growth encouraged language study in China and ASEAN countries.
Tao Wenjuan, a Lao translator who graduated from Yunnan University of Nationalities, said graduates majoring in ASEAN languages were in great demand in Yunnan Province.
"All the 24 students majoring in Lao found good jobs before graduating last year," said Tao. "They are now working in government bodies, big companies and translation companies."
A 20-year-old Lao student who is named Wang Zhan in Chinese and is learning the language in a vocational high school in Yunnan was encouraged by growing China-ASEAN relations.
"I want to go to college in China because it is easy to find a job in Laos if you can speak Chinese. I also wish to be a Lao translator in Yunnan," he said.
www.chinaview.cn 2010-01-07 17:19:24
KUNMING, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) -- Chinese translators of Southeast Asian languages are earning top dollar as demand for their skills has boomed with the launch of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area (CAFTA).
"We need many more ASEAN languages translators," said Ruan Jingping, general manager of Kunming Renyida Translation and Exhibition Cooperation in Yunnan Province, which boarders Vietnam, Laos and Myanmar.
Ruan said the CAFTA would increase demand for translation services and translators. Her company was offering more services to facilitate project contracts, international exchanges and conferences, and would probably expand to tourist and service industries.
The CAFTA, comprising the 11 member states of China, Indonesia, Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia and Myanmar, was launched on Jan. 1. The CAFTA area has a third of the world's people, a ninth of its GDP and the third largest trade volume after the European Union and the North American Free Trade Agreement.
Yunnan Province needed at least 600 ASEAN language translators each of the last two years, according to statistics from the government of Kunming, capital of Yunnan. Kunming government also required its officials aged below 50 to learn basic Vietnamese, Myanmar and Lao.
"Qualified translators of Southeast Asian languages are behind the demand," said Ruan.
To cope with the shortfall, Ruan hired students to translate, but many were not skillful enough. The company paid translators of Southeast Asian languages an average 44 U.S. dollars for every thousand words translated from Chinese, compared with 39 U.S. dollars paid to English translators.
China and ASEAN countries are making efforts to overcome language and cultural barriers. Since 2008, China has signed agreements with Cambodia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam to recognize each other's academic degrees and to increase educational exchanges.
Hao Ping, China's vice education minister, said on Aug. 6 last year that more than 10 Chinese universities, including Yunnan University of Nationalities, had expanded their language courses to include languages of all ASEAN countries.
Hao said there were 34,735 students from ASEAN countries studying in China and 68,510 Chinese studying in ASEAN countries, and expected both numbers to rise above 100,000 by 2020.
Despite the global economic downturn, Yunnan-ASEAN trade volume rose 9 percent to reach 2.73 billion U.S. dollars in the first 11 months of 2009. The growth encouraged language study in China and ASEAN countries.
Tao Wenjuan, a Lao translator who graduated from Yunnan University of Nationalities, said graduates majoring in ASEAN languages were in great demand in Yunnan Province.
"All the 24 students majoring in Lao found good jobs before graduating last year," said Tao. "They are now working in government bodies, big companies and translation companies."
A 20-year-old Lao student who is named Wang Zhan in Chinese and is learning the language in a vocational high school in Yunnan was encouraged by growing China-ASEAN relations.
"I want to go to college in China because it is easy to find a job in Laos if you can speak Chinese. I also wish to be a Lao translator in Yunnan," he said.
***********************************************************
Myanmar to construct artificial beach in northern state
www.chinaview.cn 2010-01-07 13:22:26
YANGON, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) -- A private company -- Myanmar Nwe Winis making feasibility study on building an artificial beach in the country's northernmost Kachin state this year in cooperation with international enterprises, sources with the Myanmar company said on Thursday.
The project, which is first of its kind in the country, will involve investment by the New Zealand Trades Enterprise Limited (NZTE) and other business enterprises from Japan, Australia and China, the sources said.
The planned artificial beach project, which lies near the bank of Ayeyawaddy river, stands a short distance to the Lido highway road connecting India, Myanmar and China, it said,
There has been some famous natural beaches in the country, namely Chuang Tha and Ngwe Saung beaches in southwestern Ayeyawaddy division and Ngapali beach in western Rakhine State, attracting a large number of local and foreign visitors.
Meanwhile, all hotels in Ngwe Saung was reopened in October last year after being closed for non-tourism season when few visitors came.
To facilitate transport, an airport is being planned in Ngwe Saung which is 46 kilometers from Pathein, capital city of the division.
On completion of the airport project, a three-hour drive from Yangon to reach Ngwe Saung will be replaced by minutes' flight and the Ngwe Saung beach resort will become the second which is accessible by air after Ngapali.
www.chinaview.cn 2010-01-07 13:22:26
YANGON, Jan. 7 (Xinhua) -- A private company -- Myanmar Nwe Winis making feasibility study on building an artificial beach in the country's northernmost Kachin state this year in cooperation with international enterprises, sources with the Myanmar company said on Thursday.
The project, which is first of its kind in the country, will involve investment by the New Zealand Trades Enterprise Limited (NZTE) and other business enterprises from Japan, Australia and China, the sources said.
The planned artificial beach project, which lies near the bank of Ayeyawaddy river, stands a short distance to the Lido highway road connecting India, Myanmar and China, it said,
There has been some famous natural beaches in the country, namely Chuang Tha and Ngwe Saung beaches in southwestern Ayeyawaddy division and Ngapali beach in western Rakhine State, attracting a large number of local and foreign visitors.
Meanwhile, all hotels in Ngwe Saung was reopened in October last year after being closed for non-tourism season when few visitors came.
To facilitate transport, an airport is being planned in Ngwe Saung which is 46 kilometers from Pathein, capital city of the division.
On completion of the airport project, a three-hour drive from Yangon to reach Ngwe Saung will be replaced by minutes' flight and the Ngwe Saung beach resort will become the second which is accessible by air after Ngapali.
***********************************************************
Pacific Citizen - Planting Seeds of Change For Myanmar
Activists worldwide are using new technology and social networking sites to spread the word about the need for political change in Myanmar.
By Nalea J. Ko, Reporter
Published January 6, 2010
Activists in Sydney, Australia hope a project to plant sunflowers worldwide will help nurture an open dialogue about the injustices in Myanmar.
The founders of the nonprofit project “Sunflower For Suu” started planting sunflower seeds in late 2009 in community gardens, parks, near highways and in train yards. Bright sunflower beds scattered across Sydney soon captured the attention of the local media.
Creators of the project are now using social networking sites to raise awareness worldwide about the repression endured by the people of Myanmar, also known as Burma. In the project’s infancy the Web site had about four hits a day, but with the help of sites like MySpace and Facebook it now draws more than 1,000 daily hits, said the project founders.
“We want by next year’s summer, to have as many houses and parks display sunflowers on mass, so people take notice,” explained co-founder Dave Hibbard, who said he has received reports of Canadians and New Zealanders also participating in the program. “Somebody will ask someone else, ‘What is with all these sunflowers this year?’ And we hope the response will be: ‘They are supporting Aung San Suu Kyi and Burma.’”
Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi is the leader of the pro-democracy movement, the National League for Democracy (NLD). Suu Kyi has been under house arrest for about 14 years.
The military junta the State Peace and Development Council has controlled Myanmar for about 20 years. Under its rule social policies in Myanmar have suffered, among other things.
Health care in Myanmar is rated the “second worst” in the world, according to the U.S. Campaign For Burma, a Washington, D.C.-based non-profit dedicated to bringing an end to the military dictatorship in Myanmar. About 30 to 50 percent of the government’s budget is spent on the military while about 2.2 percent is dedicated to health care.
Activists in the United States are utilizing Web sites like Facebook and Twitter to spread the word about the military-controlled country.
“We have used social networking sites to educate American citizens about the situation in Burma and organize their support,” wrote Aung Din, executive director of the U.S. Campaign For Burma, in an e-mail to the Pacific Citizen.
“These sites are quite helpful and productive, and with these technologies, we can raise awareness on Burma more than before.”
Myanmar in 2010
In 1962, Gen. Ne Win staged a government coup and assumed control of Myanmar and its people. He was later forced to vacate his seat in 1988. That year, dissidents protested against the junta’s control, which spurred the military to open fire and imprison protestors. Thousands were killed and sent to prison, according to estimations. Those that have been imprisoned in Myanmar are still haunted by the experience.
“Prisons in Burma are the closest ones to the hell. I was tortured physically and psychologically in prisons.” Din added, “Most of my time in prison was in solitary confinement. Those days haunt me to this day, and I always wake up in the middle of night, having nightmares and hearing cries from the torture chambers.”
Din said over 2,200 dissidents, including Buddhist monks, remain imprisoned because of their political views. He was a part of the 1988 uprising, as the vice chairman of the All Burma Federation of Student Unions. Amnesty International called for his release in 1989.
A year later seemed to bring promise when Suu Kyi’s party won 82 percent of the seats in parliament. However the junta did not recognize the results. Suu Kyi remains under house arrest.
These incidents should be brought to the attention of everyone across the world, said advocates.
“I had traveled to Burma three times in the last few years and every time I come back to Australia I feel compelled to make people aware that there is a country … in deep suffering and repression,” Hibbard said. “A lot of people know or have heard of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, but surprisingly there is so many people who don't.”
To ensure that Suu Kyi becomes a husehold name, Hibbard, who is also a musician in the band the “Badloves,” has planted about 440 pounds of sunflower seed in the last six months. He has also dispersed about 1,000 envelopes in Australia with seeds and a note describing the project.
“Music was once upon a time my no.1 passion. But in the last few years it has taken second seat to Burma,” Hibbard said.
A Blossoming Democracy?
A meeting in November 2009 with Suu Kyi and Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell seemed to signal strengthening relations between the U.S. and Myanmar. But some activists said a dialogue between those within Myanmar is still needed before a more significant change is seen.
“The most important thing for a positive change in Burma is a meaningful dialogue between Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and Senior General Than Shwe, the regime's paramount leader,” Din said.
The year 2010, he said, is crucial for the people of Burma because the military will try to maintain its regime with a “sham constitution and showcase election.”
“However, the regime will not be able to hold the election, as it promised, as long as it can't settle the demands made by ethnic ceasefire groups and it can't persuade the NLD to participate in the election,” Din explained.
With each blooming sunflower comes a renewed sense of hope for change in Myanmar.
“It was really exciting. To see the first sunflower reminded me that from little things big things grow and that what we had been thinking about for so long was starting to become a reality,” Ben Roche said.
“Change is like that, we need to plant the seeds of an idea and stay focused on the kind of future we want to grow and then eventually it will start to materialize.”
Activists worldwide are using new technology and social networking sites to spread the word about the need for political change in Myanmar.
By Nalea J. Ko, Reporter
Published January 6, 2010
Activists in Sydney, Australia hope a project to plant sunflowers worldwide will help nurture an open dialogue about the injustices in Myanmar.
The founders of the nonprofit project “Sunflower For Suu” started planting sunflower seeds in late 2009 in community gardens, parks, near highways and in train yards. Bright sunflower beds scattered across Sydney soon captured the attention of the local media.
Creators of the project are now using social networking sites to raise awareness worldwide about the repression endured by the people of Myanmar, also known as Burma. In the project’s infancy the Web site had about four hits a day, but with the help of sites like MySpace and Facebook it now draws more than 1,000 daily hits, said the project founders.
“We want by next year’s summer, to have as many houses and parks display sunflowers on mass, so people take notice,” explained co-founder Dave Hibbard, who said he has received reports of Canadians and New Zealanders also participating in the program. “Somebody will ask someone else, ‘What is with all these sunflowers this year?’ And we hope the response will be: ‘They are supporting Aung San Suu Kyi and Burma.’”
Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi is the leader of the pro-democracy movement, the National League for Democracy (NLD). Suu Kyi has been under house arrest for about 14 years.
The military junta the State Peace and Development Council has controlled Myanmar for about 20 years. Under its rule social policies in Myanmar have suffered, among other things.
Health care in Myanmar is rated the “second worst” in the world, according to the U.S. Campaign For Burma, a Washington, D.C.-based non-profit dedicated to bringing an end to the military dictatorship in Myanmar. About 30 to 50 percent of the government’s budget is spent on the military while about 2.2 percent is dedicated to health care.
Activists in the United States are utilizing Web sites like Facebook and Twitter to spread the word about the military-controlled country.
“We have used social networking sites to educate American citizens about the situation in Burma and organize their support,” wrote Aung Din, executive director of the U.S. Campaign For Burma, in an e-mail to the Pacific Citizen.
“These sites are quite helpful and productive, and with these technologies, we can raise awareness on Burma more than before.”
Myanmar in 2010
In 1962, Gen. Ne Win staged a government coup and assumed control of Myanmar and its people. He was later forced to vacate his seat in 1988. That year, dissidents protested against the junta’s control, which spurred the military to open fire and imprison protestors. Thousands were killed and sent to prison, according to estimations. Those that have been imprisoned in Myanmar are still haunted by the experience.
“Prisons in Burma are the closest ones to the hell. I was tortured physically and psychologically in prisons.” Din added, “Most of my time in prison was in solitary confinement. Those days haunt me to this day, and I always wake up in the middle of night, having nightmares and hearing cries from the torture chambers.”
Din said over 2,200 dissidents, including Buddhist monks, remain imprisoned because of their political views. He was a part of the 1988 uprising, as the vice chairman of the All Burma Federation of Student Unions. Amnesty International called for his release in 1989.
A year later seemed to bring promise when Suu Kyi’s party won 82 percent of the seats in parliament. However the junta did not recognize the results. Suu Kyi remains under house arrest.
These incidents should be brought to the attention of everyone across the world, said advocates.
“I had traveled to Burma three times in the last few years and every time I come back to Australia I feel compelled to make people aware that there is a country … in deep suffering and repression,” Hibbard said. “A lot of people know or have heard of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, but surprisingly there is so many people who don't.”
To ensure that Suu Kyi becomes a husehold name, Hibbard, who is also a musician in the band the “Badloves,” has planted about 440 pounds of sunflower seed in the last six months. He has also dispersed about 1,000 envelopes in Australia with seeds and a note describing the project.
“Music was once upon a time my no.1 passion. But in the last few years it has taken second seat to Burma,” Hibbard said.
A Blossoming Democracy?
A meeting in November 2009 with Suu Kyi and Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell seemed to signal strengthening relations between the U.S. and Myanmar. But some activists said a dialogue between those within Myanmar is still needed before a more significant change is seen.
“The most important thing for a positive change in Burma is a meaningful dialogue between Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and Senior General Than Shwe, the regime's paramount leader,” Din said.
The year 2010, he said, is crucial for the people of Burma because the military will try to maintain its regime with a “sham constitution and showcase election.”
“However, the regime will not be able to hold the election, as it promised, as long as it can't settle the demands made by ethnic ceasefire groups and it can't persuade the NLD to participate in the election,” Din explained.
With each blooming sunflower comes a renewed sense of hope for change in Myanmar.
“It was really exciting. To see the first sunflower reminded me that from little things big things grow and that what we had been thinking about for so long was starting to become a reality,” Ben Roche said.
“Change is like that, we need to plant the seeds of an idea and stay focused on the kind of future we want to grow and then eventually it will start to materialize.”
***********************************************************
Narinjara News - Sittwe Monks Denied Religious Titles by Authorities
1/7/2010
Sittwe: Prominent monks from Sittwe, the capital of Arakan State, have not had any religious titles conferred upon them by the Burmese military authority in 2010, said one abbot from Sittwe.
"In Sittwe, there are many prominent and senior monks but none can be conferred religious titles this year by the military authority due to the involvement of monks in Sittwe in the movement against the military government in 2007," the abbot said.
The Burmese military government issued Notification No. 1/2010 to confer religious titles on prominent monks inside and outside of the country on the occasion of the 62nd anniversary of Burma's independence.
Many religious titles, including Ganthadhura Pariyatti Lecturer Sayadaws, Vipassana Dhura Patipatti Kammathana cariya Instructor Sayadaws, and Roving Dhamma Preachers were conferred to monks, but no one from Sittwe was included on the list.
"Five monks from Arakan State have been conferred religious titles this year, but no monks from Sittwe. Even though the military government conferred the religious titles to the monks in Arakan State, they are just lower level titles, not upper level," the monk said.
Among the monks conferred titles are two monks from Maungdaw and Minbya who received the title Maha Thatdama Zawdiga for their missionary work in the frontier areas, but these monks are close to the military authority.
A monk from Maungdaw said, "The title conferred by the military government to the monks is not related to the Buddhist religion, it is related to politics. Those who are working and supporting the military government can get titles easily from the government. The monk from Maungdaw received the title as he was working for the government."
The government authority has neglected to confer the highest religious title on any monks from Sittwe since 2007, when the Saffron Revolution protests took place in Burma.
In Sittwe, there are over 300 monasteries and at least one monk from each monastery participated in the protests in 2007. Moreover, monks from Sittwe continued to attempt to stage demonstrations against the military government after the Saffron Revolution protests were stopped.
1/7/2010
Sittwe: Prominent monks from Sittwe, the capital of Arakan State, have not had any religious titles conferred upon them by the Burmese military authority in 2010, said one abbot from Sittwe.
"In Sittwe, there are many prominent and senior monks but none can be conferred religious titles this year by the military authority due to the involvement of monks in Sittwe in the movement against the military government in 2007," the abbot said.
The Burmese military government issued Notification No. 1/2010 to confer religious titles on prominent monks inside and outside of the country on the occasion of the 62nd anniversary of Burma's independence.
Many religious titles, including Ganthadhura Pariyatti Lecturer Sayadaws, Vipassana Dhura Patipatti Kammathana cariya Instructor Sayadaws, and Roving Dhamma Preachers were conferred to monks, but no one from Sittwe was included on the list.
"Five monks from Arakan State have been conferred religious titles this year, but no monks from Sittwe. Even though the military government conferred the religious titles to the monks in Arakan State, they are just lower level titles, not upper level," the monk said.
Among the monks conferred titles are two monks from Maungdaw and Minbya who received the title Maha Thatdama Zawdiga for their missionary work in the frontier areas, but these monks are close to the military authority.
A monk from Maungdaw said, "The title conferred by the military government to the monks is not related to the Buddhist religion, it is related to politics. Those who are working and supporting the military government can get titles easily from the government. The monk from Maungdaw received the title as he was working for the government."
The government authority has neglected to confer the highest religious title on any monks from Sittwe since 2007, when the Saffron Revolution protests took place in Burma.
In Sittwe, there are over 300 monasteries and at least one monk from each monastery participated in the protests in 2007. Moreover, monks from Sittwe continued to attempt to stage demonstrations against the military government after the Saffron Revolution protests were stopped.
***********************************************************
The Irrawaddy - Regime Privatizing to Retain Control of Resources
By WAI MOE - Thursday, January 7, 2010
As Burma gears up for elections to be held sometime later this year, the country's military junta is moving ahead with plans to transfer ownership of key industries to business firms closely associated with the ruling generals.
On Wednesday, state-run newspapers reported that the No. 2 Mining Enterprise, operating under the Ministry of Mines, signed a contract with the privately owned DELCO Co Ltd on apportionment of tin and tungsten quotas at the Kanpauk Mine in southern Burma.
Although little is known about the ownership of DELCO, the company is on the UK’s financial sanctions list, along with 1,225 other businesses run by senior military officials or their cronies. It is also one of four private firms that recently received a Build-Operate-Transfer agreement for hydro-power projects in Burma.
Some analysts have suggested that the junta has begun to privatize energy generation as a way to address the country's electricity shortages. Despite abundant energy resources, domestic power consumption lags far behind neighboring countries due to a lack of infrastructure and decades of economic mismanagement.
Increasing access to electricity is key to Burma's economic development. At present, however, households in Rangoon and Mandalay receive just six hours of electricity per day, while factories have power 12 hours a day. People and businesses in other areas generally rely on their own diesel-powered generators to meet their electricity needs.
On Dec. 31, the state-owned newspaper Myanma Ahlin reported that the regime had awarded a major contract for construction of two hydro-power plants to a company owned by Tay Za, Burma's richest businessman and a close associate of Snr-Gen Than Shwe, head of the ruling regime.
On the same day, the official English-language mouthpiece, The New Light of Myanmar, trumpeted the junta's far-sighted energy plans: “With the aims of increasing the supply of more electricity and contributing to building the industrialized nation, the Ministry of Electric Power No. 1 had adopted the 30-year long-term electricity development strategic plan and is implementing the hydro-power projects in line with the five-year short-term plans.”
However, some observers say they suspect that the recent effort to increase the country's energy capacity has more to do with the junta's short-term goal of ensuring victory in this year's election.
“People are fed up with the electricity shortage. They can't even get enough tap water because of the lack of electricity. If the military government can solve this problem, people would appreciate it,” said a Rangoon-based journalist who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Privatization of Burma's energy resources will also help to ensure that the current elite is able to retain control of a key sector of the economy after the election, when, under the new Constitution, elected local governments will be allowed to manage and distribute electricity from small- and medium-sized power plants.
By transferring ownership of these plants to companies run by leading military figures or others closely connected with them, “the generals will make sure that state firms are firmly in their grip before the election and transition,” according to a Rangoon-based businessman.
The 2008 Constitution contains similar provisions granting states and divisions the right to manage their mining and forestry resources. However, since 2006, a growing number of state-run enterprises in these two sectors have been handed over to private businesses.
According to official statistics, 380 small gold mines have been partly or totally privatized in recent years, while more than 500 ruby and jade mines in Shan State, Kachin State, Sagaing Division and Mandalay Division, including the well-known Mogok and Mongshu mines, have come under private ownership.
“Generally speaking, releasing the state’s grip on business is good for the market economy and a part of Burma's economic liberalization.
But the problem is that everything is going into the hands of military enterprises and cronies of the generals,” said a Burmese economic researcher in Rangoon who asked to remain anonymous.
By retaining control over major enterprises in the post-election period, the generals will also be able to exercise a huge influence over their political successors, he added.
“For example, if the companies of the generals and their associates can manipulate the electrical power sector, it will give them a stranglehold over future governments,” he said.
With the generals running everything from airlines and media companies to mines and hydro-power plants, many Burmese observers are skeptical about the regime's claims that it is liberalizing the economy. They also point to a lack of transparency as a further impediment to any improvement in the country's long-term economic prospects.
“There is no systematic law regulating privatization. In every case, the generals have simply issued orders granting ownership to a junta crony,” said Aung Thu Nyein, a Burmese economic researcher based in Thailand.
This has invited comparisons to the situation in Russia, where post-Soviet privatization 20 years ago concentrated the country's wealth in the hands of a few dozen well-connected oligarchs.
“Privatization in Burma? Who is getting these companies? We must learn from the lessons of Russia,” said a well-known economist in Rangoon.
By WAI MOE - Thursday, January 7, 2010
As Burma gears up for elections to be held sometime later this year, the country's military junta is moving ahead with plans to transfer ownership of key industries to business firms closely associated with the ruling generals.
On Wednesday, state-run newspapers reported that the No. 2 Mining Enterprise, operating under the Ministry of Mines, signed a contract with the privately owned DELCO Co Ltd on apportionment of tin and tungsten quotas at the Kanpauk Mine in southern Burma.
Although little is known about the ownership of DELCO, the company is on the UK’s financial sanctions list, along with 1,225 other businesses run by senior military officials or their cronies. It is also one of four private firms that recently received a Build-Operate-Transfer agreement for hydro-power projects in Burma.
Some analysts have suggested that the junta has begun to privatize energy generation as a way to address the country's electricity shortages. Despite abundant energy resources, domestic power consumption lags far behind neighboring countries due to a lack of infrastructure and decades of economic mismanagement.
Increasing access to electricity is key to Burma's economic development. At present, however, households in Rangoon and Mandalay receive just six hours of electricity per day, while factories have power 12 hours a day. People and businesses in other areas generally rely on their own diesel-powered generators to meet their electricity needs.
On Dec. 31, the state-owned newspaper Myanma Ahlin reported that the regime had awarded a major contract for construction of two hydro-power plants to a company owned by Tay Za, Burma's richest businessman and a close associate of Snr-Gen Than Shwe, head of the ruling regime.
On the same day, the official English-language mouthpiece, The New Light of Myanmar, trumpeted the junta's far-sighted energy plans: “With the aims of increasing the supply of more electricity and contributing to building the industrialized nation, the Ministry of Electric Power No. 1 had adopted the 30-year long-term electricity development strategic plan and is implementing the hydro-power projects in line with the five-year short-term plans.”
However, some observers say they suspect that the recent effort to increase the country's energy capacity has more to do with the junta's short-term goal of ensuring victory in this year's election.
“People are fed up with the electricity shortage. They can't even get enough tap water because of the lack of electricity. If the military government can solve this problem, people would appreciate it,” said a Rangoon-based journalist who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Privatization of Burma's energy resources will also help to ensure that the current elite is able to retain control of a key sector of the economy after the election, when, under the new Constitution, elected local governments will be allowed to manage and distribute electricity from small- and medium-sized power plants.
By transferring ownership of these plants to companies run by leading military figures or others closely connected with them, “the generals will make sure that state firms are firmly in their grip before the election and transition,” according to a Rangoon-based businessman.
The 2008 Constitution contains similar provisions granting states and divisions the right to manage their mining and forestry resources. However, since 2006, a growing number of state-run enterprises in these two sectors have been handed over to private businesses.
According to official statistics, 380 small gold mines have been partly or totally privatized in recent years, while more than 500 ruby and jade mines in Shan State, Kachin State, Sagaing Division and Mandalay Division, including the well-known Mogok and Mongshu mines, have come under private ownership.
“Generally speaking, releasing the state’s grip on business is good for the market economy and a part of Burma's economic liberalization.
But the problem is that everything is going into the hands of military enterprises and cronies of the generals,” said a Burmese economic researcher in Rangoon who asked to remain anonymous.
By retaining control over major enterprises in the post-election period, the generals will also be able to exercise a huge influence over their political successors, he added.
“For example, if the companies of the generals and their associates can manipulate the electrical power sector, it will give them a stranglehold over future governments,” he said.
With the generals running everything from airlines and media companies to mines and hydro-power plants, many Burmese observers are skeptical about the regime's claims that it is liberalizing the economy. They also point to a lack of transparency as a further impediment to any improvement in the country's long-term economic prospects.
“There is no systematic law regulating privatization. In every case, the generals have simply issued orders granting ownership to a junta crony,” said Aung Thu Nyein, a Burmese economic researcher based in Thailand.
This has invited comparisons to the situation in Russia, where post-Soviet privatization 20 years ago concentrated the country's wealth in the hands of a few dozen well-connected oligarchs.
“Privatization in Burma? Who is getting these companies? We must learn from the lessons of Russia,” said a well-known economist in Rangoon.
***********************************************************
The Irrawaddy - Looking for an Election in Burma's Political Fog
By BA KAUNG - Thursday, January 7, 2010
Burmese military supremo Than Shwe's reaffirmation in an Independence Day speech on Monday of his plan to hold a general election this year failed to clear away any of the political fog that has shrouded Burma for months past.
Beneath the surface gloom, however, the dynamics among different political camps inside the country is in motion, even if it is only barely palpable.
While elections seem inevitable this year, many opposition groups still view them as a regime maneuver to further entrench military rule.
“If no change takes place before the election, the miseries of the country will continue for the next 20 or 30 years,” said Win Tin, the outspoken leader of the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD).
This week, other NLD officials reiterated their commitment to the 2009 Shwegondaing declaration as a prerequisite for the election. The declaration calls for a review of the controversial 2008 Constitution, political dialogue and the unconditional release of all political prisoners, including the party leader, Aung San Suu Kyi.
On Monday's Independence Day, thousands of families waited in vain for a possible prisoner release. Not one was freed.
Echoing the NLD's political stand, ethnic leaders are also stressing the importance of political dialogue aimed at national reconciliation prior to the election.
“If the election is unilaterally held without national unity, then the future of the country will remain bleak,” said Aye Thar Aung, an Arakanese leader who is secretary of the opposition umbrella group, the Committee Representing People’s Parliament.
In the absence of electoral laws and an election time frame, Than Shwe's declaration that “the entire population has to make the correct choice” rings hollow, even for some political groups who have announced their willingness to participate in the election.
“Anyone expecting to contest the election is not allowed to do anything yet,” said Thu Wai, a veteran politician and leader of the Democratic Party, who last year announced his intention to participate.
Formed a few months ago without any registration, his party has the support of three daughters of past political leaders of Burma: Mya Than Than Nu, the daughter of Burma's first prime minister, U Nu; Nay Yee Ba Swe, whose father was the late Prime Minister Ba Swe; and Cho Cho Kyaw Nyein, the daughter of late Deputy Prime Minister Kyaw Nyein.
After the 1988 uprising, Thu Wai served as the chairman of the Democracy Party, which was later abolished, and in the mid-1990s he was jailed for his political activities.
Thu Wai's Democratic Party is one of the few political groups in Burma that believe that calling for political dialogue with the regime is a pure waste of time.
“If discussions are possible, it is good. But if they are not possible, why should we be wasting time?” Thu Wai said. “Only in a legal parliament can we secure the right to criticize what we don't like and to engage in politics.”
Despite tight restrictions on political movements, a few other individuals have been treated with tolerance by the military regime.
An opponent of economic sanctions, Aye Lwin, a 46-year-old former political prisoner, started his own political group in 2005, together with his two younger brothers, who also served jail terms for their views.
Diminutive and uncharismatic, Aye Lwin opened his office in the compound of Cho Cho Kyaw Nyein in Rangoon in 2005. He now claims to be carrying out nationwide campaigns with a membership of 4,000 organizers, calling for an end to economic sanctions and a smooth transition toward civilian rule. Political dissidents inside Burma regard Aye Lwin as a close political partner of Cho Cho Kyaw Nyein.
Asked why he is treated with favor by the regime, Aye Lwin said he enjoyed his special position because he avoids criticism of the country's negative aspects.
Aye Lwin said he wants the election to take place as planned this year, but shrugs off as unrealistic the demands by other opposition groups for political dialogue and the release of the more than 2,000 political prisoners.
Aye Lwin is known to be widely disliked among detained 88 Generation students and young activists alike, some of whom accuse him of having a cozy relationship with high-level military officials and enjoying their substantial financial support—allegations that Aye Lwin denied in a telephone interview with The Irrawaddy.
He does, however, admit having close contact with regime officials. After a meeting with Maj-Gen Aung Thein Lin, mayor of Rangoon, three months ago, Aye Lwin said he was warned to conduct his political campaigns in a controlled way because his group is not a registered organization.
Aung Thein Lin pointed out that other, registered organizations were not allowed to campaign politically.
The exile media last month reported that his group had been attacked in Rangoon with stones and bamboo sticks by 200 members of the military-backed Union Solidarity Development Organization (USDA). Some activists inside Burma suggest that Aye Lwin had staged the attack, with the connivance of local authorities, in a ploy to win a better public image.
One of Aye Lwin's brothers claimed, however, that the clashes had occurred after “local authorities misunderstood us.”
Another former political prisoner, Phyo Min Thein, whose views differ from those of the mainstream political opposition, recently met with a military officer sent by Lt-Gen Ye Myint, Chief of Military Affairs Security, and he received permission to hold a pre-election political forum with a number of different political parties.
“The government seems interested in topics related to elections,” said Phyo Min Thein. “We don't take the line of confrontation, but that of negotiation.”
Both Phyo Min Thein and Aye Lwin took part as students in the 1988 anti-government demonstrations. Many of their 88 Generation political colleagues, including Min Ko Naing and Ko Ko Gyi, are now serving long sentences in remote prisons throughout Burma.
An editor of a magazine in Rangoon said “old grievances” between the 1988 students had led to differing political approaches. Phyo Min Thein admits having had a disagreement with Ko Ko Gyi in the early 1990s over reforming a student union.
Pyo Min Thein said he invited many ethnic and NLD leaders, including Win Tin and Khin Maung Swe, to his political forum. More than 50 political activists have promised to join the forum, he said.
Others within the NLD are not expected to join, however.
“I said I don't condemn his idea of a political forum,” said NLD spokesman Khin Maung Swe. “But I told him we are still committed to our demands of political dialogue.”
As the first week of 2010 comes to an end, the political and economic uncertainties in Burma remain unchanged. “The blind are groping in darkness,” is how Khin Maung Swe described the political scene in Rangoon.
By BA KAUNG - Thursday, January 7, 2010
Burmese military supremo Than Shwe's reaffirmation in an Independence Day speech on Monday of his plan to hold a general election this year failed to clear away any of the political fog that has shrouded Burma for months past.
Beneath the surface gloom, however, the dynamics among different political camps inside the country is in motion, even if it is only barely palpable.
While elections seem inevitable this year, many opposition groups still view them as a regime maneuver to further entrench military rule.
“If no change takes place before the election, the miseries of the country will continue for the next 20 or 30 years,” said Win Tin, the outspoken leader of the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD).
This week, other NLD officials reiterated their commitment to the 2009 Shwegondaing declaration as a prerequisite for the election. The declaration calls for a review of the controversial 2008 Constitution, political dialogue and the unconditional release of all political prisoners, including the party leader, Aung San Suu Kyi.
On Monday's Independence Day, thousands of families waited in vain for a possible prisoner release. Not one was freed.
Echoing the NLD's political stand, ethnic leaders are also stressing the importance of political dialogue aimed at national reconciliation prior to the election.
“If the election is unilaterally held without national unity, then the future of the country will remain bleak,” said Aye Thar Aung, an Arakanese leader who is secretary of the opposition umbrella group, the Committee Representing People’s Parliament.
In the absence of electoral laws and an election time frame, Than Shwe's declaration that “the entire population has to make the correct choice” rings hollow, even for some political groups who have announced their willingness to participate in the election.
“Anyone expecting to contest the election is not allowed to do anything yet,” said Thu Wai, a veteran politician and leader of the Democratic Party, who last year announced his intention to participate.
Formed a few months ago without any registration, his party has the support of three daughters of past political leaders of Burma: Mya Than Than Nu, the daughter of Burma's first prime minister, U Nu; Nay Yee Ba Swe, whose father was the late Prime Minister Ba Swe; and Cho Cho Kyaw Nyein, the daughter of late Deputy Prime Minister Kyaw Nyein.
After the 1988 uprising, Thu Wai served as the chairman of the Democracy Party, which was later abolished, and in the mid-1990s he was jailed for his political activities.
Thu Wai's Democratic Party is one of the few political groups in Burma that believe that calling for political dialogue with the regime is a pure waste of time.
“If discussions are possible, it is good. But if they are not possible, why should we be wasting time?” Thu Wai said. “Only in a legal parliament can we secure the right to criticize what we don't like and to engage in politics.”
Despite tight restrictions on political movements, a few other individuals have been treated with tolerance by the military regime.
An opponent of economic sanctions, Aye Lwin, a 46-year-old former political prisoner, started his own political group in 2005, together with his two younger brothers, who also served jail terms for their views.
Diminutive and uncharismatic, Aye Lwin opened his office in the compound of Cho Cho Kyaw Nyein in Rangoon in 2005. He now claims to be carrying out nationwide campaigns with a membership of 4,000 organizers, calling for an end to economic sanctions and a smooth transition toward civilian rule. Political dissidents inside Burma regard Aye Lwin as a close political partner of Cho Cho Kyaw Nyein.
Asked why he is treated with favor by the regime, Aye Lwin said he enjoyed his special position because he avoids criticism of the country's negative aspects.
Aye Lwin said he wants the election to take place as planned this year, but shrugs off as unrealistic the demands by other opposition groups for political dialogue and the release of the more than 2,000 political prisoners.
Aye Lwin is known to be widely disliked among detained 88 Generation students and young activists alike, some of whom accuse him of having a cozy relationship with high-level military officials and enjoying their substantial financial support—allegations that Aye Lwin denied in a telephone interview with The Irrawaddy.
He does, however, admit having close contact with regime officials. After a meeting with Maj-Gen Aung Thein Lin, mayor of Rangoon, three months ago, Aye Lwin said he was warned to conduct his political campaigns in a controlled way because his group is not a registered organization.
Aung Thein Lin pointed out that other, registered organizations were not allowed to campaign politically.
The exile media last month reported that his group had been attacked in Rangoon with stones and bamboo sticks by 200 members of the military-backed Union Solidarity Development Organization (USDA). Some activists inside Burma suggest that Aye Lwin had staged the attack, with the connivance of local authorities, in a ploy to win a better public image.
One of Aye Lwin's brothers claimed, however, that the clashes had occurred after “local authorities misunderstood us.”
Another former political prisoner, Phyo Min Thein, whose views differ from those of the mainstream political opposition, recently met with a military officer sent by Lt-Gen Ye Myint, Chief of Military Affairs Security, and he received permission to hold a pre-election political forum with a number of different political parties.
“The government seems interested in topics related to elections,” said Phyo Min Thein. “We don't take the line of confrontation, but that of negotiation.”
Both Phyo Min Thein and Aye Lwin took part as students in the 1988 anti-government demonstrations. Many of their 88 Generation political colleagues, including Min Ko Naing and Ko Ko Gyi, are now serving long sentences in remote prisons throughout Burma.
An editor of a magazine in Rangoon said “old grievances” between the 1988 students had led to differing political approaches. Phyo Min Thein admits having had a disagreement with Ko Ko Gyi in the early 1990s over reforming a student union.
Pyo Min Thein said he invited many ethnic and NLD leaders, including Win Tin and Khin Maung Swe, to his political forum. More than 50 political activists have promised to join the forum, he said.
Others within the NLD are not expected to join, however.
“I said I don't condemn his idea of a political forum,” said NLD spokesman Khin Maung Swe. “But I told him we are still committed to our demands of political dialogue.”
As the first week of 2010 comes to an end, the political and economic uncertainties in Burma remain unchanged. “The blind are groping in darkness,” is how Khin Maung Swe described the political scene in Rangoon.
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ILO to be ‘more proactive, not reactive’ in Burma
Jan 7, 2010 (DVB)–The International Labour Organisation is looking to change its approach to dealing with issues of child soldiers and forced labour in Burma, with a top-level ILO official to visit the country next week.
The Burmese army has been accused by rights groups of being one of the world’s leading recruiters of child soldiers, deemed illegal under both international law and Burmese domestic law.
According to Steve Marshall, ILO liaison officer in Rangoon, the UN body continues to receive complaints of child soldier recruitment, despite holding a ‘Supplementary Understanding’ with the Burmese junta to stop use of underage soldiers.
Last year the ILO received 83 complaints of child soldier recruitment, Marshall said, while 46 children had been officially discharged by the army. The total number of complaints received by the organization since it began its complaints mechanism in February 2007 stands at more than 120.
The ILO deputy director general is due to visit Burma next week “with a view to signing a 12-month extension of the supplementary understanding,” Marshall said, adding that he will meet with the government’s Committee for the Prevention of Underage Recruitment.
He also said that the ILO is looking to work with the Burmese government “to get a joint action plan which would allow a more positive, proactive approach to the problem [of child soldiers and forced labour], rather than the current reactive approach”.
A grassroots legal advocacy group, Guiding Star, said last month that use of child soldiers in Burma was increasing after incentives were offered to troops to boost battalion numbers. The military-ruled country already has one of the highest troop-civilian ratios in the world.
Another domestic group tackling child soldier recruitment in Burma, the Human Rights Defenders and Promoters network (HRDP), told DVB yesterday that two 16-year-old males were abducted by an army sergeant last month in Irrawaddy division’s Bogalay township and sent to a military centre in Rangoon.
The incident was reported to the ILO yesterday, Maung Maung Lay of the HRDP said, adding that the group assisted in a total of 46 child soldier cases in 2009, and managed to return home around 20 children.
“There is a greater chance of bringing a kid back home quickly while he’s still in a recruitment centre but once the kid is posted in active duty in the army then it becomes more difficult,” he said.
Reporting by Naw Say Phaw
Jan 7, 2010 (DVB)–The International Labour Organisation is looking to change its approach to dealing with issues of child soldiers and forced labour in Burma, with a top-level ILO official to visit the country next week.
The Burmese army has been accused by rights groups of being one of the world’s leading recruiters of child soldiers, deemed illegal under both international law and Burmese domestic law.
According to Steve Marshall, ILO liaison officer in Rangoon, the UN body continues to receive complaints of child soldier recruitment, despite holding a ‘Supplementary Understanding’ with the Burmese junta to stop use of underage soldiers.
Last year the ILO received 83 complaints of child soldier recruitment, Marshall said, while 46 children had been officially discharged by the army. The total number of complaints received by the organization since it began its complaints mechanism in February 2007 stands at more than 120.
The ILO deputy director general is due to visit Burma next week “with a view to signing a 12-month extension of the supplementary understanding,” Marshall said, adding that he will meet with the government’s Committee for the Prevention of Underage Recruitment.
He also said that the ILO is looking to work with the Burmese government “to get a joint action plan which would allow a more positive, proactive approach to the problem [of child soldiers and forced labour], rather than the current reactive approach”.
A grassroots legal advocacy group, Guiding Star, said last month that use of child soldiers in Burma was increasing after incentives were offered to troops to boost battalion numbers. The military-ruled country already has one of the highest troop-civilian ratios in the world.
Another domestic group tackling child soldier recruitment in Burma, the Human Rights Defenders and Promoters network (HRDP), told DVB yesterday that two 16-year-old males were abducted by an army sergeant last month in Irrawaddy division’s Bogalay township and sent to a military centre in Rangoon.
The incident was reported to the ILO yesterday, Maung Maung Lay of the HRDP said, adding that the group assisted in a total of 46 child soldier cases in 2009, and managed to return home around 20 children.
“There is a greater chance of bringing a kid back home quickly while he’s still in a recruitment centre but once the kid is posted in active duty in the army then it becomes more difficult,” he said.
Reporting by Naw Say Phaw
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Women selling hair ‘to restore livelihoods’
Jan 7, 2010 (DVB)–Trade in women’s hair in Burma has boomed in the last five years as people look for a new way to make ends meet, particularly in the wake of the devastation wrought by cyclone Nargis.
One healthy head of women’s hair could sell for up to $US35, a bonanza in a country where the average wage is less than $US20 per month, a Burmese hair trader told Reuters.
The boom has been fuelled by growing demand for wigs in China and South Korea, and the hair market has blossomed into a lucrative business for some Burmese traders, buoyed by rising prices.
One woman, Yu Yu, said that she was able to pay for her father’s medical treatment and could now send her brother to school after selling her hair.
"At first, I just felt so sad about losing my hair. But later, I was really happy that I was able to save my father's life and solve my family's extreme financial problems," she said.
Other traders say that the market grew in the wake of cyclone Nargis in May 2008, which struck the Irrawaddy delta, killing 140,000 and leaving 2.4 million homeless.
Economic recovery has been slow, with thousands of hectares of farmland still polluted by the salt water and adequate housing still denied to nearly 800,000 cyclone victims.
Wild financial mismanagement since the military took power in 1962 has transformed Burma from one of Southeast Asia’s more prosperous countries into one of the world’s poorest states, with an inflation rate of around 30 percent.
Although the junta spends lucratively on infrastructural development, particularly hydropower and gas projects, the vast majority of the product is sold abroad, leaving nearly one-third of Burma’s population below the poverty line.
The country however has a substantial informal sector that provides a crutch for the majority of the population, and which has been comparatively unharmed by the impact that decades of western sanctions have had on the official economy.
Between two and three million Burmese migrants are thought to be working in Thailand, while many more have fled low employment prospects in the country to find work in Malaysia, Singapore and southern China.
Reporting by Francis Wade
Jan 7, 2010 (DVB)–Trade in women’s hair in Burma has boomed in the last five years as people look for a new way to make ends meet, particularly in the wake of the devastation wrought by cyclone Nargis.
One healthy head of women’s hair could sell for up to $US35, a bonanza in a country where the average wage is less than $US20 per month, a Burmese hair trader told Reuters.
The boom has been fuelled by growing demand for wigs in China and South Korea, and the hair market has blossomed into a lucrative business for some Burmese traders, buoyed by rising prices.
One woman, Yu Yu, said that she was able to pay for her father’s medical treatment and could now send her brother to school after selling her hair.
"At first, I just felt so sad about losing my hair. But later, I was really happy that I was able to save my father's life and solve my family's extreme financial problems," she said.
Other traders say that the market grew in the wake of cyclone Nargis in May 2008, which struck the Irrawaddy delta, killing 140,000 and leaving 2.4 million homeless.
Economic recovery has been slow, with thousands of hectares of farmland still polluted by the salt water and adequate housing still denied to nearly 800,000 cyclone victims.
Wild financial mismanagement since the military took power in 1962 has transformed Burma from one of Southeast Asia’s more prosperous countries into one of the world’s poorest states, with an inflation rate of around 30 percent.
Although the junta spends lucratively on infrastructural development, particularly hydropower and gas projects, the vast majority of the product is sold abroad, leaving nearly one-third of Burma’s population below the poverty line.
The country however has a substantial informal sector that provides a crutch for the majority of the population, and which has been comparatively unharmed by the impact that decades of western sanctions have had on the official economy.
Between two and three million Burmese migrants are thought to be working in Thailand, while many more have fled low employment prospects in the country to find work in Malaysia, Singapore and southern China.
Reporting by Francis Wade
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