Fiancee of Myanmar prisoner 'betrayed' by US
Sun Feb 21, 4:08 pm ET
WASHINGTON (AFP) – The fiancee of an American rights activist imprisoned by Myanmar said she felt betrayed by the US government and urged a more robust response to the military regime.
In a piece to appear in Monday's Wall Street Journal, Wa Wa Kyaw said she and her fiancee Nyi Nyi Aung had been grateful to become US citizens as their adopted country "cherished democracy, freedom and human rights."
"But over the past five months our government has betrayed us," wrote Wa Wa Kyaw, a nurse in the eastern state of Maryland.
Supporters say Nyi Nyi Aung, a democracy campaigner who also goes by Kyaw Zaw Lwin, returned to Myanmar in September to visit his ailing mother, herself a jailed activist.
He was arrested and on February 10 handed a three-year sentence on fraud and forgery charges.
State Department spokesman Philip Crowley has urged the junta in Myanmar, earlier known as Burma, to release him, calling the conviction "unjustified" and "politically motivated."
But Wa Wa Kyaw faulted Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for not doing more on his case before the verdict. President Barack Obama's administration has launched a dialogue with Myanmar aiming to end its isolation.
"President Obama and Secretary Clinton, my message is simple. Neither your words nor your actions show that you take my fiance's imprisonment seriously," she wrote.
"I beg you to stop ignoring his plight, and to help secure his release from this illegal and unjust imprisonment. Just as Nyi Nyi continues to live up to the oath we took to defend America, please, live up to the promise America made to defend us."
The administration opened talks with the junta last year, saying that the previous approach focused on punishing Myanmar has failed. It has maintained sanctions, saying they would be eased in return for progress on democracy.
The military has ruled Myanmar since 1962. It refused to let Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy take power after it swept the last elections in 1990.
The junta plans to hold new elections this year, which have met with wide skepticism as Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, remains under house arrest.
Sun Feb 21, 4:08 pm ET
WASHINGTON (AFP) – The fiancee of an American rights activist imprisoned by Myanmar said she felt betrayed by the US government and urged a more robust response to the military regime.
In a piece to appear in Monday's Wall Street Journal, Wa Wa Kyaw said she and her fiancee Nyi Nyi Aung had been grateful to become US citizens as their adopted country "cherished democracy, freedom and human rights."
"But over the past five months our government has betrayed us," wrote Wa Wa Kyaw, a nurse in the eastern state of Maryland.
Supporters say Nyi Nyi Aung, a democracy campaigner who also goes by Kyaw Zaw Lwin, returned to Myanmar in September to visit his ailing mother, herself a jailed activist.
He was arrested and on February 10 handed a three-year sentence on fraud and forgery charges.
State Department spokesman Philip Crowley has urged the junta in Myanmar, earlier known as Burma, to release him, calling the conviction "unjustified" and "politically motivated."
But Wa Wa Kyaw faulted Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for not doing more on his case before the verdict. President Barack Obama's administration has launched a dialogue with Myanmar aiming to end its isolation.
"President Obama and Secretary Clinton, my message is simple. Neither your words nor your actions show that you take my fiance's imprisonment seriously," she wrote.
"I beg you to stop ignoring his plight, and to help secure his release from this illegal and unjust imprisonment. Just as Nyi Nyi continues to live up to the oath we took to defend America, please, live up to the promise America made to defend us."
The administration opened talks with the junta last year, saying that the previous approach focused on punishing Myanmar has failed. It has maintained sanctions, saying they would be eased in return for progress on democracy.
The military has ruled Myanmar since 1962. It refused to let Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy take power after it swept the last elections in 1990.
The junta plans to hold new elections this year, which have met with wide skepticism as Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, remains under house arrest.
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Spero News - Myanmar: India: Burmese exile: regime pursuing harsh crackdown ahead of elections
Tint Swe, a member of the government in exile, denounces a campaign launched by the military dictatorship against monks, journalists and political opponents. The impotence of international organizations and the complicity of neighbouring countries like China and India, attracted by economic wealth.
Monday, February 22, 2010
By Asia News
New Delhi - In recent days we reported the sentencing to seven years in prison, imposed on a Buddhist Monk for "illegal association". Gaw Thita was arrested last August at the international airport in Yangon, as he was returning from a trip to Taiwan. The Buddhist Monk was sentenced February 17 by a special court in Insein Prison, the infamous prison where many Burmese opposition members and human rights activists are imprisoned.
The condemnation came during the visit of UN official for human rights, Tomas Ojea Quintana, in Myanmar. We have solicited the opinion of Tint Swe, a member of the Council of Ministers of the National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma (NCGUB), consisting of refugees from Myanmar after the 1990 elections won by the National League for Democracy and never acknowledged by the military junta. Fled to India in 1990, since 21 December 1991, he has lived in New Delhi. Since then he has been a member of the NCGUB where he holds the post of information officer for South Asia and East Timor
This is Burma’s Rule of no Law. The Buddhist monk was found guilty and accordingly sentenced to 7 years because he helped the victims of devastating cyclone which hit delta region in 2008. The relief efforts of Cyclone Nargis was different those of the earthquakes of Sichuan of China and Port-au-Prince of Haiti. So far no one from China and Haiti has been arrested for helping the victims. But a Buddhist monk, Venerable U Gawthita was arrested on 26 August because of his charity work and sentenced to 7 years on 17-2-10. His crime was of helping the victims of destructive cyclone. Impossibilities are possible in military ruled Burma.
There are documented reports of religious discrimination and persecutions in Burma under the military regime. The reports mostly point out non-Buddhist practices. But a couple of years ago the Buddhist monks have been seen on TV screens and You Tube protesting against unjust rule and then persecuted. The Burmese generals were born Buddhist. But when it comes to threat to their control any religion is enemy of them.
Before the well meaning monk, a female journalist Hla Hla Win was sentenced to 27 years on 3012-09 and male one Tun Kyaw was for 13 years on 27-1-10. Their offenses are that they sent out authentic news to Burmese language radio station based outside Burma. Including those two, all political prisoners are transferred to remote prisons so that families also have to suffer too.
Those punishments are to set examples before the upcoming election in this year. All those oppose to their plan will face the same. The election in Burma is topic of the day. Nobody except the sole dictator Than Shwe knows when and how this election will take place. Speculations prove habitually wrong. The pre-election landscape is not encouraging at all.
This week, on February 17, the shop of an NLD Divisional organizer was confiscated and auctioned. On the same day the appeal of 16 activists including a physician from Myingyan was rejected. They have been sentenced to 5 to 50 years. Moreover, on 15 February 2010 Naw Ohn Hla and 3 other women organizers from NLD were sentenced to two years in prison because they had regular weekly prayers at pagoda for the release of their leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
Moreover on 19 February 2010 Su Su New’s special appeal to reduce 12 and a half years sentence was also rejected. The wrongdoing committed by that patient hearted female member of NLD was that she pasted pro-democracy posters in 2007 after monk-led protests.
The message is that all those, monk or journalist or else who oppose to their plan will face the same. Before the election held in 1990, such punishments were absent. It was because that election was free and fair. So the coming election will surely be unfair and tightly controlled.
Tomas Ojea Quintana, the UN human rights investigator has completed his third visit to Burma. The Central Executive Committee of the NLD, the party of Aung San Suu Kyi raised the issue of rule of law. The NLD Vice Chair, U Tin Oo, who was just released from 6 years of house arrest on February 13 confirmed that the ‘Black Friday’ massacre taken place near Depayin on May 2003 was a deliberate political crime orchestrated by the authorities. The UN envoy acknowledged that all court hearings including ‘The Lady’s’ case are not public.
During his weeks trip to Burma the UN diplomat did not get any relevant information about dates for the election, party registration or the election commission. He also admitted that there won’t be any release of political prisoners before the election, the condition demanded by NLD and international community.
The International Labour Organisation (ILO) has produced a few results. A division court in central Burma reduced jail terms for 12 farmers who were sentenced to up to five years imprisonment with hard labour last October.
In the meantime two bodies under the UN are also working on Burma. Amnesty International (AI) has called on Burmese military junta to end repression of ethnic minority groups ahead of election this year. The ILO began circulating leaflets on forced labour and child solider recruitment across Burma, which one of the world’s highest counts of child soldiers. But these leaflets have to pass through the regime’s notorious censor board.
Meanwhile western neighbors are busy on Burma. The Indian cabinet approved fresh investment in Burmese oil and gas by allowing Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) to invest 832.5 million dollars and the gas transport corporation GAIL 502.06 million in additional funding in the project. Bangladesh unleashed a crackdown of unprecedented violence against Muslim refugees from Burma. Bangladesh coast guards arrested 8 Burmese on suspicion of spying.
For now China is overlooking Burma as it has to express anger at Obama for having met with the Dalai Lama. It is looking good for the junta as neighbours are unperturbed by the unjust or unfair things happening in Burma ahead of the election”.
Tint Swe, a member of the government in exile, denounces a campaign launched by the military dictatorship against monks, journalists and political opponents. The impotence of international organizations and the complicity of neighbouring countries like China and India, attracted by economic wealth.
Monday, February 22, 2010
By Asia News
New Delhi - In recent days we reported the sentencing to seven years in prison, imposed on a Buddhist Monk for "illegal association". Gaw Thita was arrested last August at the international airport in Yangon, as he was returning from a trip to Taiwan. The Buddhist Monk was sentenced February 17 by a special court in Insein Prison, the infamous prison where many Burmese opposition members and human rights activists are imprisoned.
The condemnation came during the visit of UN official for human rights, Tomas Ojea Quintana, in Myanmar. We have solicited the opinion of Tint Swe, a member of the Council of Ministers of the National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma (NCGUB), consisting of refugees from Myanmar after the 1990 elections won by the National League for Democracy and never acknowledged by the military junta. Fled to India in 1990, since 21 December 1991, he has lived in New Delhi. Since then he has been a member of the NCGUB where he holds the post of information officer for South Asia and East Timor
This is Burma’s Rule of no Law. The Buddhist monk was found guilty and accordingly sentenced to 7 years because he helped the victims of devastating cyclone which hit delta region in 2008. The relief efforts of Cyclone Nargis was different those of the earthquakes of Sichuan of China and Port-au-Prince of Haiti. So far no one from China and Haiti has been arrested for helping the victims. But a Buddhist monk, Venerable U Gawthita was arrested on 26 August because of his charity work and sentenced to 7 years on 17-2-10. His crime was of helping the victims of destructive cyclone. Impossibilities are possible in military ruled Burma.
There are documented reports of religious discrimination and persecutions in Burma under the military regime. The reports mostly point out non-Buddhist practices. But a couple of years ago the Buddhist monks have been seen on TV screens and You Tube protesting against unjust rule and then persecuted. The Burmese generals were born Buddhist. But when it comes to threat to their control any religion is enemy of them.
Before the well meaning monk, a female journalist Hla Hla Win was sentenced to 27 years on 3012-09 and male one Tun Kyaw was for 13 years on 27-1-10. Their offenses are that they sent out authentic news to Burmese language radio station based outside Burma. Including those two, all political prisoners are transferred to remote prisons so that families also have to suffer too.
Those punishments are to set examples before the upcoming election in this year. All those oppose to their plan will face the same. The election in Burma is topic of the day. Nobody except the sole dictator Than Shwe knows when and how this election will take place. Speculations prove habitually wrong. The pre-election landscape is not encouraging at all.
This week, on February 17, the shop of an NLD Divisional organizer was confiscated and auctioned. On the same day the appeal of 16 activists including a physician from Myingyan was rejected. They have been sentenced to 5 to 50 years. Moreover, on 15 February 2010 Naw Ohn Hla and 3 other women organizers from NLD were sentenced to two years in prison because they had regular weekly prayers at pagoda for the release of their leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
Moreover on 19 February 2010 Su Su New’s special appeal to reduce 12 and a half years sentence was also rejected. The wrongdoing committed by that patient hearted female member of NLD was that she pasted pro-democracy posters in 2007 after monk-led protests.
The message is that all those, monk or journalist or else who oppose to their plan will face the same. Before the election held in 1990, such punishments were absent. It was because that election was free and fair. So the coming election will surely be unfair and tightly controlled.
Tomas Ojea Quintana, the UN human rights investigator has completed his third visit to Burma. The Central Executive Committee of the NLD, the party of Aung San Suu Kyi raised the issue of rule of law. The NLD Vice Chair, U Tin Oo, who was just released from 6 years of house arrest on February 13 confirmed that the ‘Black Friday’ massacre taken place near Depayin on May 2003 was a deliberate political crime orchestrated by the authorities. The UN envoy acknowledged that all court hearings including ‘The Lady’s’ case are not public.
During his weeks trip to Burma the UN diplomat did not get any relevant information about dates for the election, party registration or the election commission. He also admitted that there won’t be any release of political prisoners before the election, the condition demanded by NLD and international community.
The International Labour Organisation (ILO) has produced a few results. A division court in central Burma reduced jail terms for 12 farmers who were sentenced to up to five years imprisonment with hard labour last October.
In the meantime two bodies under the UN are also working on Burma. Amnesty International (AI) has called on Burmese military junta to end repression of ethnic minority groups ahead of election this year. The ILO began circulating leaflets on forced labour and child solider recruitment across Burma, which one of the world’s highest counts of child soldiers. But these leaflets have to pass through the regime’s notorious censor board.
Meanwhile western neighbors are busy on Burma. The Indian cabinet approved fresh investment in Burmese oil and gas by allowing Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) to invest 832.5 million dollars and the gas transport corporation GAIL 502.06 million in additional funding in the project. Bangladesh unleashed a crackdown of unprecedented violence against Muslim refugees from Burma. Bangladesh coast guards arrested 8 Burmese on suspicion of spying.
For now China is overlooking Burma as it has to express anger at Obama for having met with the Dalai Lama. It is looking good for the junta as neighbours are unperturbed by the unjust or unfair things happening in Burma ahead of the election”.
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I.H.T. Op-Ed Contributor
New York Times - A First Step Toward Democracy?
By STANLEY A. WEISS
Published: February 22, 2010
YANGON — When British forces first floated up the Irrawaddy River in 1885 to depose King Thibaw of Burma, locals were startled to see a Burmese prince, in full regalia, sitting on the deck of one of the steamers. His presence reassured locals that the British planned to seat a new king, not overthrow the kingdom. As Thant Myint-U recalls in his book, “The River of Lost Footsteps,” it was only when a young student talked his way onto the ship and came face-to-face with the royal prince that the truth was discovered: The “prince” was an imposter, a former classmate of the student’s. By then, it was too late — the telegraph line to the palace in Mandalay had been cut.
The question, 125 years later, is whether the Burmese military junta — which has ruled this country, now known as Myanmar, since 1962 — is about to pull its own version of bait-and-switch.
For the first time since 1990 — when officials arrested 2,000 people, including the opposition leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, after the last general election — the ruling generals have announced that parliamentary elections will take place this year. Reportedly, the generals are preparing to switch their uniforms for longyis and run for office — the equivalent of Fidel Castro swapping his army greens for guayaberas and hitting the campaign trail.
Many in the West are disposed to see the election as a fraud, since the junta’s Constitution reserves 25 percent of the seats for the military and bars Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi — imprisoned for 14 of the past 20 years — from running.
Still, the question remains: Even if the election is stage-managed by the military; even if Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy chooses not to participate; and even if Senior General Than Shwe selects the next president; if the election occurs without violence or repression, will it represent a step forward?
The answer seems to be: Yes.
“I don’t know if the elections will have legitimacy in the eyes of the West,” said the Myanmar scholar Robert Taylor. “But they will have legitimacy in Asia, and that is all the regime is worried about.”
I asked an official of the junta how the West should regard this election. “This is a first step toward democracy,” he tells me. “After ruling the country for 48 years, the military needs some mechanism to safeguard the interests and safety of persons. This is also an exit strategy for older leaders, because in five years, the new generation will take over, not only the military but civilian politics. They will work to change the military role in politics.”
The Burmese writer Ma Thanegi, who spent three years in prison after working as Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi’s assistant, was blunt. “Yes, elections would represent a step forward — what other choice is there?” she asked. “If the West really wants to help the people, they should accept the new government as no longer the military rule, and give it a chance.”
“What America should do,” a prominent businessman told me, “is shift the conversation from sanctions to engagement, from scolding to giving, and find soft steps to help bring about outcomes that will be beneficial to both Myanmar and the U.S.”
The Obama administration so far has sought to engage the junta, urging a dialogue between the regime, the National League for Democracy and other opposition parties, while calling for Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi’s release. In November, Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell led a U.S. team to Yangon for the highest level talks in 14 years.
Where should the U.S. focus its efforts? Here are three ways:
It should provide opportunities for students to attend U.S. universities, to build ties to the next generation. It should start a program of cultural, educational, and sporting exchanges, including a new program to send teachers to Myanmar. It should review its current sanctions policy.
No nation in Asia — from South Korea to Taiwan to Indonesia — has made an easy transition from dictatorship to democracy. But change needs to start somewhere. As the United Nations secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, recently said, “2010 will be a very critical year for Myanmar.” There may yet be light at the end of the Irrawaddy.
Stanley A. Weiss is the founding chairman of Business Executives for National Security.
New York Times - A First Step Toward Democracy?
By STANLEY A. WEISS
Published: February 22, 2010
YANGON — When British forces first floated up the Irrawaddy River in 1885 to depose King Thibaw of Burma, locals were startled to see a Burmese prince, in full regalia, sitting on the deck of one of the steamers. His presence reassured locals that the British planned to seat a new king, not overthrow the kingdom. As Thant Myint-U recalls in his book, “The River of Lost Footsteps,” it was only when a young student talked his way onto the ship and came face-to-face with the royal prince that the truth was discovered: The “prince” was an imposter, a former classmate of the student’s. By then, it was too late — the telegraph line to the palace in Mandalay had been cut.
The question, 125 years later, is whether the Burmese military junta — which has ruled this country, now known as Myanmar, since 1962 — is about to pull its own version of bait-and-switch.
For the first time since 1990 — when officials arrested 2,000 people, including the opposition leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, after the last general election — the ruling generals have announced that parliamentary elections will take place this year. Reportedly, the generals are preparing to switch their uniforms for longyis and run for office — the equivalent of Fidel Castro swapping his army greens for guayaberas and hitting the campaign trail.
Many in the West are disposed to see the election as a fraud, since the junta’s Constitution reserves 25 percent of the seats for the military and bars Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi — imprisoned for 14 of the past 20 years — from running.
Still, the question remains: Even if the election is stage-managed by the military; even if Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy chooses not to participate; and even if Senior General Than Shwe selects the next president; if the election occurs without violence or repression, will it represent a step forward?
The answer seems to be: Yes.
“I don’t know if the elections will have legitimacy in the eyes of the West,” said the Myanmar scholar Robert Taylor. “But they will have legitimacy in Asia, and that is all the regime is worried about.”
I asked an official of the junta how the West should regard this election. “This is a first step toward democracy,” he tells me. “After ruling the country for 48 years, the military needs some mechanism to safeguard the interests and safety of persons. This is also an exit strategy for older leaders, because in five years, the new generation will take over, not only the military but civilian politics. They will work to change the military role in politics.”
The Burmese writer Ma Thanegi, who spent three years in prison after working as Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi’s assistant, was blunt. “Yes, elections would represent a step forward — what other choice is there?” she asked. “If the West really wants to help the people, they should accept the new government as no longer the military rule, and give it a chance.”
“What America should do,” a prominent businessman told me, “is shift the conversation from sanctions to engagement, from scolding to giving, and find soft steps to help bring about outcomes that will be beneficial to both Myanmar and the U.S.”
The Obama administration so far has sought to engage the junta, urging a dialogue between the regime, the National League for Democracy and other opposition parties, while calling for Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi’s release. In November, Assistant Secretary of State Kurt Campbell led a U.S. team to Yangon for the highest level talks in 14 years.
Where should the U.S. focus its efforts? Here are three ways:
It should provide opportunities for students to attend U.S. universities, to build ties to the next generation. It should start a program of cultural, educational, and sporting exchanges, including a new program to send teachers to Myanmar. It should review its current sanctions policy.
No nation in Asia — from South Korea to Taiwan to Indonesia — has made an easy transition from dictatorship to democracy. But change needs to start somewhere. As the United Nations secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, recently said, “2010 will be a very critical year for Myanmar.” There may yet be light at the end of the Irrawaddy.
Stanley A. Weiss is the founding chairman of Business Executives for National Security.
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Feb 23, 2010
Asia Times Online - Bilateral repression for Myanmar's Rohingya
By Brian McCartan
BANGKOK - The exact motives behind a recent crackdown on ethnic Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh are still unclear, but some answers may be found across the border in Myanmar, where the ruling generals are maneuvering for votes in the lead-up to general elections slated for later this year.
The Rohingya, a Muslim minority living mostly in Myanmar's western Rakhine State, are ethnically, linguistically and religiously distinct from the majority Buddhist Rakhine of the state. Tensions and distrust between the two groups have periodically exploded into violence, and a Myanmar military operation in 1978 forced hundreds of thousands of them to flee to Bangladesh. Following that exodus, the Rohingya were officially declared stateless in a 1982 citizenship law.
Communal violence, which many believe was instigated by Myanmar's junta, resulted in 250,000 Rohingya fleeing to Bangladesh in 1991-1992. A United Nations-brokered forced repatriation in the late 1990s led to about 230,000 returning to Myanmar. Continued human-rights abuses against the estimated 725,000 Rohingya in Myanmar and the denial of citizenship rights, including the inability to own land and the necessity of obtaining government permission to travel or even marry, has resulted in many fleeing to Bangladesh in recent years.
While human-rights and humanitarian groups put the present number of registered and unregistered Rohingya in Bangladesh at around 220,000, Dhaka now claims there are some 400,000. Of those, only 28,000 are officially registered refugees living in three officially designated camps and receiving humanitarian aid. The rest live either scattered among the local population or in makeshift camps near the official ones, but without basic sanitation, water, electricity or aid supplies such as food and medicine.
Many in the makeshift camps are facing starvation due to being denied the ability to work or receive aid, according to a report released on February 18 by the medical organization, Medecins sans Frontieres (MSF). Researchers from the Arakan Project, a human-rights group documenting the plight of the Rohingya, say children from the surrounding makeshift camp are begging for food from the refugees in the official Kutupalong camp.
The already dire situation in the makeshift camps has become worse in recent months as the population has grown. Rohingya are seeking refuge there from a wave of violence that has forced them out of towns and villages. An Arakan Project report released on February 16 details incidents of theft, rape and physical assaults against unregistered Rohingya. The allegations are supported by the MSF report released two days later.
The violence began last year in Bandarban district of eastern Bangladesh and spread to Cox's Bazaar district last month. So far only the unregistered refugees living outside the official camps have been targeted. This appears to be a result of simmering ill feelings that the foreigners are competing for scarce jobs and are a burden on local resources. Those feelings have been ratcheted up in recent months by an unsympathetic, and sometimes xenophobic, Bangladeshi media.
Paul Critchely, MSF's head of mission in Bangladesh, who spoke to reporters at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Thailand on February 18, said "Over the last few months, we have treated victims of violence, people who claim to have been beaten by the police, claim to have been beaten by members of the host population, by people they've been living next to for many years."
Official beatings
The spike in tensions seems to have the hallmarks of a government-sanctioned campaign, analysts say. Reports indicate direct involvement by Bangladeshi police and the Bangladesh Rifles, a paramilitary force tasked with border guard duties. "Refugees have reported to us that they have received beatings in the host community by the police," Critchely said. "Our patients have told us in some cases that they have been handed over to the border forces of Bangladesh, beaten and forced to swim the river back toward Myanmar."
Chris Lewa, a long-time observer of the Bangladesh-Myanmar border and coordinator of the Arakan Project, told Asia Times Online that while Bangladeshi authorities have previously been involved in pushing back newly arrived refugees, this violence is new. The government's documented hand in the violence may be directed at deterring any future influxes of Rohingya refugees, especially if Myanmar government policies leading up to the elections expected later this year generate increased instability.
"The government is creating panic among the Rohingya to send a message inside Burma [Myanmar] to not come and settle in Bangladesh," according to Lewa. "I believe it is orchestrated by [Dhaka]". This seems to be corroborated by a recent statement by the local police chief of Kutupalong, Rafiqul Islam, who told Agence France-Presse on February 16, "If we don't stop them, the floodgates will open."
Although the numbers have grown, Dhaka continues to refuse permission to extend the camp infrastructure at Kutupalong and Nayapara to the swelling makeshift areas, a long-standing policy aimed at deterring new arrivals. A European Union delegation fact finding in Bangladesh earlier this month issued a resolution in the European Parliament on February 11 calling on Dhaka to recognize the unregistered Rohingya as refugees and to extend humanitarian support.
Bangladeshi and Myanmar authorities agreed to repatriate 9,000 registered refugees on December 29. Myanmar says the process will begin as soon as possible. A similar agreement in 2005 between the two countries to repatriate several thousand Rohingya resulted in the repatriation of only 90 refugees before tensions along their mutual border halted the process.
Arakan Project coordinator Lewa says that similar kinds of statements were previously issued after high-level bilateral discussions. This time, however, she believes that the statement is a political one aimed at domestic consumption. Bangladesh claims that it is unable to deal with the continued influx due to its own poverty problems. Bangladeshi Foreign Minister Dipu Moni said in August that the major social and economic problems brought on by the unregistered refugees had put a "heavy burden" on Dhaka.
If the aim of the crackdown is to keep more Rohingya from coming to Bangladesh, it appears to be working. Last year some 8,000 Rohingya fled Myanmar for Bangladesh, an increase from the previous year before. This year, there have been almost none, according to the Arakan Project's research. On the other hand, few unregistered Rohingya have chosen to return voluntarily to Myanmar.
According to human-rights groups, there is little to return to. Rohingya who have left for an extended period of time are taken off village registration lists in Myanmar, making them completely unrecognized. While the 9,000 refugees accepted by Myanmar in December will be resettled, the remaining registered and unregistered refugees are still unrecognized by the junta. Rohingya who have returned after being taken off the lists have often been sentenced to five years in prison for violating immigration laws.
Of concern to human-rights activists is whether the violence will lead to an increase in the number of Rohingya willing to risk the sea journey across the Indian Ocean in rickety boats to seek work and refuge in Thailand and Malaysia.
Lewa says it is too early to tell whether the violence will push people to the boats since the "season" has just begun. She does say, however, "The situation will probably encourage people to go by boat." At least two boats are known to have left Bangladesh already and others have left from Sittwe on the Rakhine coast, southwest Myanmar.
Election exodus
Some analysts believe that the possibility of heightened instability in Myanmar in the lead up to and during the elections may cause thousands more Rohingya to seek refuge in Bangladesh. This is a situation Dhaka wants to avoid and the ongoing crackdown may be a not-so-subtle message that the door is closed.
One possible flashpoint is recent attempts by the regime to win over Rohingya voters at the expense of the majority Rakhine. Reports from exile media organizations and human-rights groups indicate that Myanmar authorities have become especially keen to enlist members of the Muslim community, including the Rohingya, to vote. Memberships are being offered by both the regime-affiliated National Unity Party (NUP) and its mass organization, the Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA).
The recruitment of Muslims is confusing to many Myanmar watchers since it is unclear how a people not recognized as citizens could be given the vote in such an important election. Very few Rohingya have received the red identity cards granting them full citizenship, and those who have received the cards are usually wealthy businessmen and their families.
In the lead up to the 2008 constitutional referendum, many Rohingya were granted temporary identity cards. The cards, while legal, are really designed for citizens who have lost their permanent cards and do not confer full citizenship rights on the Rohingya. However, the authorities made it clear that card holders would be expected to vote.
More cards are being issued now, according to reports. The Kaladan Press, a Rohingya exile news agency, reported in December that NUP members were waiving the usual fee for the identity cards for voting age Rohingya. The effect is to encourage Rohingya who previously found the cost of the cards to be prohibitive to get one.
The Narinjara News Agency, an exile Rakhine news organization, cited a USDA official earlier this month as claiming that the group has begun recruiting Muslims into the organization. This marks the first time that Muslims have been accepted into the USDA since its formation in 1993. The effort has been apparently ongoing since at least January.
For the Rohingya, there may be some hope that by participating in the election and supporting the NUP and USDA, there may be granted citizenship in exchange. The junta has previously promised that the cards will be exchanged for permanent citizenship cards following the elections. There is also the possibility that these groups may allow Muslims to be candidates in their parties. However, it is unlikely a Muslim party will be allowed to register.
"I believe the Rohingya may get more rights after the elections, but not full citizenship rights. It only makes them dream," said Lewa.
The policy seems aimed at pushing up the numbers of votes for junta-affiliated candidates as well as blocking the aspirations of the Rakhine majority in Rakhine State. As pointed out in a recent Amnesty International report on repression of ethnic activists in Myanmar, the protests that became the 2007 Saffron Revolution began in Rakhine State. With this in mind, the regime appears to be keen to prevent this from happening again.
There are already indications that the regime's moves to enlist Rohingya support are making the ethnic Rakhine nervous. Relations between the two communities have been difficult and on occasion have exploded into violence. The Rakhine would certainly be opposed to regime efforts to put the Rohingya put in a privileged minority position after the elections.
The regime has attempted to play on these ethnic tensions on several occasions, including the 1991-1992 attacks on Rohingya that led to a mass exodus to Bangladesh and widespread anti-Muslim riots in 2001. Should violence break out between the two communities over the election, as Myanmar's policies seem to be aggravating, a new mass flight of refugees into Bangladesh could be on the way.
Brian McCartan is a Bangkok-based freelance journalist. He may be reached at brianpm@comcast.net.
Asia Times Online - Bilateral repression for Myanmar's Rohingya
By Brian McCartan
BANGKOK - The exact motives behind a recent crackdown on ethnic Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh are still unclear, but some answers may be found across the border in Myanmar, where the ruling generals are maneuvering for votes in the lead-up to general elections slated for later this year.
The Rohingya, a Muslim minority living mostly in Myanmar's western Rakhine State, are ethnically, linguistically and religiously distinct from the majority Buddhist Rakhine of the state. Tensions and distrust between the two groups have periodically exploded into violence, and a Myanmar military operation in 1978 forced hundreds of thousands of them to flee to Bangladesh. Following that exodus, the Rohingya were officially declared stateless in a 1982 citizenship law.
Communal violence, which many believe was instigated by Myanmar's junta, resulted in 250,000 Rohingya fleeing to Bangladesh in 1991-1992. A United Nations-brokered forced repatriation in the late 1990s led to about 230,000 returning to Myanmar. Continued human-rights abuses against the estimated 725,000 Rohingya in Myanmar and the denial of citizenship rights, including the inability to own land and the necessity of obtaining government permission to travel or even marry, has resulted in many fleeing to Bangladesh in recent years.
While human-rights and humanitarian groups put the present number of registered and unregistered Rohingya in Bangladesh at around 220,000, Dhaka now claims there are some 400,000. Of those, only 28,000 are officially registered refugees living in three officially designated camps and receiving humanitarian aid. The rest live either scattered among the local population or in makeshift camps near the official ones, but without basic sanitation, water, electricity or aid supplies such as food and medicine.
Many in the makeshift camps are facing starvation due to being denied the ability to work or receive aid, according to a report released on February 18 by the medical organization, Medecins sans Frontieres (MSF). Researchers from the Arakan Project, a human-rights group documenting the plight of the Rohingya, say children from the surrounding makeshift camp are begging for food from the refugees in the official Kutupalong camp.
The already dire situation in the makeshift camps has become worse in recent months as the population has grown. Rohingya are seeking refuge there from a wave of violence that has forced them out of towns and villages. An Arakan Project report released on February 16 details incidents of theft, rape and physical assaults against unregistered Rohingya. The allegations are supported by the MSF report released two days later.
The violence began last year in Bandarban district of eastern Bangladesh and spread to Cox's Bazaar district last month. So far only the unregistered refugees living outside the official camps have been targeted. This appears to be a result of simmering ill feelings that the foreigners are competing for scarce jobs and are a burden on local resources. Those feelings have been ratcheted up in recent months by an unsympathetic, and sometimes xenophobic, Bangladeshi media.
Paul Critchely, MSF's head of mission in Bangladesh, who spoke to reporters at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Thailand on February 18, said "Over the last few months, we have treated victims of violence, people who claim to have been beaten by the police, claim to have been beaten by members of the host population, by people they've been living next to for many years."
Official beatings
The spike in tensions seems to have the hallmarks of a government-sanctioned campaign, analysts say. Reports indicate direct involvement by Bangladeshi police and the Bangladesh Rifles, a paramilitary force tasked with border guard duties. "Refugees have reported to us that they have received beatings in the host community by the police," Critchely said. "Our patients have told us in some cases that they have been handed over to the border forces of Bangladesh, beaten and forced to swim the river back toward Myanmar."
Chris Lewa, a long-time observer of the Bangladesh-Myanmar border and coordinator of the Arakan Project, told Asia Times Online that while Bangladeshi authorities have previously been involved in pushing back newly arrived refugees, this violence is new. The government's documented hand in the violence may be directed at deterring any future influxes of Rohingya refugees, especially if Myanmar government policies leading up to the elections expected later this year generate increased instability.
"The government is creating panic among the Rohingya to send a message inside Burma [Myanmar] to not come and settle in Bangladesh," according to Lewa. "I believe it is orchestrated by [Dhaka]". This seems to be corroborated by a recent statement by the local police chief of Kutupalong, Rafiqul Islam, who told Agence France-Presse on February 16, "If we don't stop them, the floodgates will open."
Although the numbers have grown, Dhaka continues to refuse permission to extend the camp infrastructure at Kutupalong and Nayapara to the swelling makeshift areas, a long-standing policy aimed at deterring new arrivals. A European Union delegation fact finding in Bangladesh earlier this month issued a resolution in the European Parliament on February 11 calling on Dhaka to recognize the unregistered Rohingya as refugees and to extend humanitarian support.
Bangladeshi and Myanmar authorities agreed to repatriate 9,000 registered refugees on December 29. Myanmar says the process will begin as soon as possible. A similar agreement in 2005 between the two countries to repatriate several thousand Rohingya resulted in the repatriation of only 90 refugees before tensions along their mutual border halted the process.
Arakan Project coordinator Lewa says that similar kinds of statements were previously issued after high-level bilateral discussions. This time, however, she believes that the statement is a political one aimed at domestic consumption. Bangladesh claims that it is unable to deal with the continued influx due to its own poverty problems. Bangladeshi Foreign Minister Dipu Moni said in August that the major social and economic problems brought on by the unregistered refugees had put a "heavy burden" on Dhaka.
If the aim of the crackdown is to keep more Rohingya from coming to Bangladesh, it appears to be working. Last year some 8,000 Rohingya fled Myanmar for Bangladesh, an increase from the previous year before. This year, there have been almost none, according to the Arakan Project's research. On the other hand, few unregistered Rohingya have chosen to return voluntarily to Myanmar.
According to human-rights groups, there is little to return to. Rohingya who have left for an extended period of time are taken off village registration lists in Myanmar, making them completely unrecognized. While the 9,000 refugees accepted by Myanmar in December will be resettled, the remaining registered and unregistered refugees are still unrecognized by the junta. Rohingya who have returned after being taken off the lists have often been sentenced to five years in prison for violating immigration laws.
Of concern to human-rights activists is whether the violence will lead to an increase in the number of Rohingya willing to risk the sea journey across the Indian Ocean in rickety boats to seek work and refuge in Thailand and Malaysia.
Lewa says it is too early to tell whether the violence will push people to the boats since the "season" has just begun. She does say, however, "The situation will probably encourage people to go by boat." At least two boats are known to have left Bangladesh already and others have left from Sittwe on the Rakhine coast, southwest Myanmar.
Election exodus
Some analysts believe that the possibility of heightened instability in Myanmar in the lead up to and during the elections may cause thousands more Rohingya to seek refuge in Bangladesh. This is a situation Dhaka wants to avoid and the ongoing crackdown may be a not-so-subtle message that the door is closed.
One possible flashpoint is recent attempts by the regime to win over Rohingya voters at the expense of the majority Rakhine. Reports from exile media organizations and human-rights groups indicate that Myanmar authorities have become especially keen to enlist members of the Muslim community, including the Rohingya, to vote. Memberships are being offered by both the regime-affiliated National Unity Party (NUP) and its mass organization, the Union Solidarity and Development Association (USDA).
The recruitment of Muslims is confusing to many Myanmar watchers since it is unclear how a people not recognized as citizens could be given the vote in such an important election. Very few Rohingya have received the red identity cards granting them full citizenship, and those who have received the cards are usually wealthy businessmen and their families.
In the lead up to the 2008 constitutional referendum, many Rohingya were granted temporary identity cards. The cards, while legal, are really designed for citizens who have lost their permanent cards and do not confer full citizenship rights on the Rohingya. However, the authorities made it clear that card holders would be expected to vote.
More cards are being issued now, according to reports. The Kaladan Press, a Rohingya exile news agency, reported in December that NUP members were waiving the usual fee for the identity cards for voting age Rohingya. The effect is to encourage Rohingya who previously found the cost of the cards to be prohibitive to get one.
The Narinjara News Agency, an exile Rakhine news organization, cited a USDA official earlier this month as claiming that the group has begun recruiting Muslims into the organization. This marks the first time that Muslims have been accepted into the USDA since its formation in 1993. The effort has been apparently ongoing since at least January.
For the Rohingya, there may be some hope that by participating in the election and supporting the NUP and USDA, there may be granted citizenship in exchange. The junta has previously promised that the cards will be exchanged for permanent citizenship cards following the elections. There is also the possibility that these groups may allow Muslims to be candidates in their parties. However, it is unlikely a Muslim party will be allowed to register.
"I believe the Rohingya may get more rights after the elections, but not full citizenship rights. It only makes them dream," said Lewa.
The policy seems aimed at pushing up the numbers of votes for junta-affiliated candidates as well as blocking the aspirations of the Rakhine majority in Rakhine State. As pointed out in a recent Amnesty International report on repression of ethnic activists in Myanmar, the protests that became the 2007 Saffron Revolution began in Rakhine State. With this in mind, the regime appears to be keen to prevent this from happening again.
There are already indications that the regime's moves to enlist Rohingya support are making the ethnic Rakhine nervous. Relations between the two communities have been difficult and on occasion have exploded into violence. The Rakhine would certainly be opposed to regime efforts to put the Rohingya put in a privileged minority position after the elections.
The regime has attempted to play on these ethnic tensions on several occasions, including the 1991-1992 attacks on Rohingya that led to a mass exodus to Bangladesh and widespread anti-Muslim riots in 2001. Should violence break out between the two communities over the election, as Myanmar's policies seem to be aggravating, a new mass flight of refugees into Bangladesh could be on the way.
Brian McCartan is a Bangkok-based freelance journalist. He may be reached at brianpm@comcast.net.
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iStockAnalyst - Roundup: Myanmar, Indonesia to seek further bilateral economic cooperation
Monday, February 22, 2010 6:26 AM
YANGON, Feb. 22, 2010 (Xinhua News Agency) -- Entrepreneurs from Myanmar and Indonesia are seeking further bilateral economic and trade cooperation with a visiting Indonesian economic delegation scheduled to meet with its Myanmar counterpart in Yangon on Thursday to discuss further prospects for such cooperation.
The Indonesian entrepreneurs are made up of those from various sectors such as foodstuff, textile, construction materials, furniture, handicraft, mines, medicine and medical equipment, cosmetic, airline and lubricant, according to the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry.
As part of their efforts to boost bilateral economic and trade cooperation, Myanmar and Indonesia have been seeking direct trade link, direct banking transaction and direct Yangon-Jakarta air link.
So far, the two countries are trading through Malaysia, carrying out banking transaction through Singapore and connecting without direct air link.
Indonesia has established the first direct sea trade route with Myanmar operating between Jakarta and Yangon in a bid to broaden its network in the Southeast Asian region.
The route enables Myanmar export goods to be shipped directly to Indonesia without requiring to transit through intervening ports.
Direct trade link between Bandung and Yangon is also being sought.
Agriculture is among various sectors which Myanmar and Indonesia are cooperating. The two countries reached a memorandum of understanding on technical cooperation in the sector during a visit to Myanmar by Indonesian Minister of Agriculture Dr. Anton Apriyantono in April last year.
Agricultural produces are among Indonesia's imported goods from Myanmar. Indonesia imported from Myanmar beans and pulses, onions and marine products, while it exported to Myanmar crude oil, metals, electrical goods, medicines and textile.
Indonesia's beans and pulses import amounted to 20,000 tons annually, according to figures.
As part of its efforts to boost the agricultural cooperation, Myanmar Rice Traders Association (MRTA) joined the 14th World Rice Commerce conference in Bali of Indonesia in October last year, presenting 20 rice-related papers.
According to official statistics, Myanmar-Indonesia bilateral trade hit 238.69 million U.S. dollars in 2008-09, of which, Myanmar's export amounted to 28.35 million dollars, while its import took 210.34 million dollars.
Indonesia is Myanmar's fourth largest trading partner among members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) after Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia.
Indonesia stood the 9th among the Myanmar's foreign investors, taking over 241 million dollars or 1.5 percent of the country's foreign investment.
Monday, February 22, 2010 6:26 AM
YANGON, Feb. 22, 2010 (Xinhua News Agency) -- Entrepreneurs from Myanmar and Indonesia are seeking further bilateral economic and trade cooperation with a visiting Indonesian economic delegation scheduled to meet with its Myanmar counterpart in Yangon on Thursday to discuss further prospects for such cooperation.
The Indonesian entrepreneurs are made up of those from various sectors such as foodstuff, textile, construction materials, furniture, handicraft, mines, medicine and medical equipment, cosmetic, airline and lubricant, according to the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry.
As part of their efforts to boost bilateral economic and trade cooperation, Myanmar and Indonesia have been seeking direct trade link, direct banking transaction and direct Yangon-Jakarta air link.
So far, the two countries are trading through Malaysia, carrying out banking transaction through Singapore and connecting without direct air link.
Indonesia has established the first direct sea trade route with Myanmar operating between Jakarta and Yangon in a bid to broaden its network in the Southeast Asian region.
The route enables Myanmar export goods to be shipped directly to Indonesia without requiring to transit through intervening ports.
Direct trade link between Bandung and Yangon is also being sought.
Agriculture is among various sectors which Myanmar and Indonesia are cooperating. The two countries reached a memorandum of understanding on technical cooperation in the sector during a visit to Myanmar by Indonesian Minister of Agriculture Dr. Anton Apriyantono in April last year.
Agricultural produces are among Indonesia's imported goods from Myanmar. Indonesia imported from Myanmar beans and pulses, onions and marine products, while it exported to Myanmar crude oil, metals, electrical goods, medicines and textile.
Indonesia's beans and pulses import amounted to 20,000 tons annually, according to figures.
As part of its efforts to boost the agricultural cooperation, Myanmar Rice Traders Association (MRTA) joined the 14th World Rice Commerce conference in Bali of Indonesia in October last year, presenting 20 rice-related papers.
According to official statistics, Myanmar-Indonesia bilateral trade hit 238.69 million U.S. dollars in 2008-09, of which, Myanmar's export amounted to 28.35 million dollars, while its import took 210.34 million dollars.
Indonesia is Myanmar's fourth largest trading partner among members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) after Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia.
Indonesia stood the 9th among the Myanmar's foreign investors, taking over 241 million dollars or 1.5 percent of the country's foreign investment.
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People's Daily Online - Sectional union railroad put into service in northern Myanmar
14:11, February 22, 2010
A sectional union railroad between Katha (Sagaing division) and Moetagyi (Kachin state) in Myanmar's northwestern and northern part has been put into service, a state- run daily reported Monday.
The 25.6-kilometer Katha-Moetagyi railroad, which started building in May 2007, constitutes part of the overall 156.8- kilometer Katha-Moetagyi-Bhamo railroad construction project.
The overall railroad, on completion, would emerge as a direct railroad link between Mandalay, Myanmar's second largest city, and Bhamo, a border town in the northernmost part in Kachin state, said the New Light of Myanmar.
According to the report, with the newly inaugurated railroad section on last Saturday, the total length of railroad in Myanmar has reached 5,371.8 kilometers with the number of railway stations touching 858.
The number of bridges, big and small, has also increased up to 10,760, the report added.
Meanwhile, Myanmar has planned to start nine other new railway network projects to link south with north and east with west of the country, said the Ministry of Rail Transportation.
The over 2,000-kilometer-long project will cost about 132 billion kyats (over 130 million U.S. dollars) as disclosed.
Besides, the ministry has also been striving for the completion of some ongoing over-400-kilometer-long railroad projects in the country during this present 2009-10 fiscal year ending March.
These projects, comprising eight railroads, will be handed over to the new government after this year's general election.
Moreover, Myanmar is also implementing another special project connecting Magway division and Rakhine state, earlier report said.
The 413-kilometer long Sittwe-Ann-Padang-Minbu railroad project, which includes building of 51 railway stations, 1,285 bridges and tunnels is also targeted to complete within this fiscal year. (Source: Xinhua)
14:11, February 22, 2010
A sectional union railroad between Katha (Sagaing division) and Moetagyi (Kachin state) in Myanmar's northwestern and northern part has been put into service, a state- run daily reported Monday.
The 25.6-kilometer Katha-Moetagyi railroad, which started building in May 2007, constitutes part of the overall 156.8- kilometer Katha-Moetagyi-Bhamo railroad construction project.
The overall railroad, on completion, would emerge as a direct railroad link between Mandalay, Myanmar's second largest city, and Bhamo, a border town in the northernmost part in Kachin state, said the New Light of Myanmar.
According to the report, with the newly inaugurated railroad section on last Saturday, the total length of railroad in Myanmar has reached 5,371.8 kilometers with the number of railway stations touching 858.
The number of bridges, big and small, has also increased up to 10,760, the report added.
Meanwhile, Myanmar has planned to start nine other new railway network projects to link south with north and east with west of the country, said the Ministry of Rail Transportation.
The over 2,000-kilometer-long project will cost about 132 billion kyats (over 130 million U.S. dollars) as disclosed.
Besides, the ministry has also been striving for the completion of some ongoing over-400-kilometer-long railroad projects in the country during this present 2009-10 fiscal year ending March.
These projects, comprising eight railroads, will be handed over to the new government after this year's general election.
Moreover, Myanmar is also implementing another special project connecting Magway division and Rakhine state, earlier report said.
The 413-kilometer long Sittwe-Ann-Padang-Minbu railroad project, which includes building of 51 railway stations, 1,285 bridges and tunnels is also targeted to complete within this fiscal year. (Source: Xinhua)
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Viet Nam News - Local firms eye investment in Myanmar
by Le Hung Vong
Updated February, 22 2010 09:36:39
Hoang Anh–Gia Lai Joint Stock Co (HAGL) will be among several Vietnamese companies to invest in Myanmar, chairman of the company's management board Doan Nguyen Duc has told local media.
In an interview with the Dau Tu (Investment) newspaper after a trip to Myanmar earlier in February, Duc said: "We've mulled over this investment destination more than four years ago. At present all of our investment projects in Cambodia and Laos have gone smoothly.
"A big company like HAGL could never attain a growth rate of 70 per cent a year if it only invests in the local market."
Duc said no more investment was needed for some sectors in the local market, such as the property sector in HCM City.
HAGL business activities are focussed on four main sectors: real estate, minerals, industrial crops and hydropower plants.
Duc claimed that the use of his personal aircraft had provided easier access to overseas markets. In 2008, Duc bought a Beechcraft King Air 350 plane for US$7 million to operate which he reportedly spends VND300 million ($18,300) a month.
The cost of operating his own aircraft was only as high as what he would spend on air tickets if he flew with other airlines, Duc said.
However, the gain from flying one's own plane is much bigger. "When I disembark from an aircraft of my own as an investor at airports in Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar, I would receive a bigger welcome than investors who fly with other airlines."
Other Vietnamese businesspeople have also shown greater investment interest in Myanmar. A delegation of ministries and businesses visited Myanmar from January 14 to 16 to survey investment opportunities.
During a working session at the administrative capital of Nay Pyi Taw, officials of the Myanmar Ministry of Economic Development and State Planning said they would create favourable conditions for Vietnamese businesses to invest in areas that benefit both sides. Two seminars were held in Nay Pyi Taw and Yangon to help boost bilateral trade as well as Viet Nam's investment in Myanmar.
Investment activities between the two countries began in late 1988. According to Myanmar government statistics, by the end of September 2009, Viet Nam had invested $23.4 million in Myanmar.
Viet Nam is Myanmar's 16th largest export market. The country imports agro-forest, seafood products and electronic components from Myanmar while exporting steel, electronic items, pharmaceuticals, industrial goods, chemicals, computers and computer spare parts.
To further boost investment and business between the two ASEAN member countries, Viet Nam Airlines will launch a direct service from Ha Noi to Yangon starting on March 2. The carrier will operate the Fokker 70 aircraft on the new route which will have services on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays.
by Le Hung Vong
Updated February, 22 2010 09:36:39
Hoang Anh–Gia Lai Joint Stock Co (HAGL) will be among several Vietnamese companies to invest in Myanmar, chairman of the company's management board Doan Nguyen Duc has told local media.
In an interview with the Dau Tu (Investment) newspaper after a trip to Myanmar earlier in February, Duc said: "We've mulled over this investment destination more than four years ago. At present all of our investment projects in Cambodia and Laos have gone smoothly.
"A big company like HAGL could never attain a growth rate of 70 per cent a year if it only invests in the local market."
Duc said no more investment was needed for some sectors in the local market, such as the property sector in HCM City.
HAGL business activities are focussed on four main sectors: real estate, minerals, industrial crops and hydropower plants.
Duc claimed that the use of his personal aircraft had provided easier access to overseas markets. In 2008, Duc bought a Beechcraft King Air 350 plane for US$7 million to operate which he reportedly spends VND300 million ($18,300) a month.
The cost of operating his own aircraft was only as high as what he would spend on air tickets if he flew with other airlines, Duc said.
However, the gain from flying one's own plane is much bigger. "When I disembark from an aircraft of my own as an investor at airports in Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar, I would receive a bigger welcome than investors who fly with other airlines."
Other Vietnamese businesspeople have also shown greater investment interest in Myanmar. A delegation of ministries and businesses visited Myanmar from January 14 to 16 to survey investment opportunities.
During a working session at the administrative capital of Nay Pyi Taw, officials of the Myanmar Ministry of Economic Development and State Planning said they would create favourable conditions for Vietnamese businesses to invest in areas that benefit both sides. Two seminars were held in Nay Pyi Taw and Yangon to help boost bilateral trade as well as Viet Nam's investment in Myanmar.
Investment activities between the two countries began in late 1988. According to Myanmar government statistics, by the end of September 2009, Viet Nam had invested $23.4 million in Myanmar.
Viet Nam is Myanmar's 16th largest export market. The country imports agro-forest, seafood products and electronic components from Myanmar while exporting steel, electronic items, pharmaceuticals, industrial goods, chemicals, computers and computer spare parts.
To further boost investment and business between the two ASEAN member countries, Viet Nam Airlines will launch a direct service from Ha Noi to Yangon starting on March 2. The carrier will operate the Fokker 70 aircraft on the new route which will have services on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays.
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BANGLADESH: Rohingya waiter Solim Ullah, "I live in fear every day"
COX’S BAZAR, 22 February 2010 (IRIN) - Born and raised in Bangladesh, 17-year-old Solim Ullah* is a documented Rohingya refugee. He has a job as a waiter at a restaurant in Cox’s Bazar, southern Bangladesh’s most popular beach resort, but following a recent crackdown fears arrest.
According to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), there are an estimated 200,000 Rohingya - an ethnic and linguistic minority who fled neighbouring Myanmar en masse decades ago - in Bangladesh. Of these only 28,000 are documented, including 11,000 at the official Kutupalong refugee camp outside Cox’s Bazaar, and another 17,000 further south at Nayapara camp.
Solim told IRIN about his life - his hopes and fears:
“My family has lived in the Kutupalong refugee camp since 1991. For me it is nothing more than a prison.
“Although we receive assistance, there is no life for me there. We are barred from leaving the camp, barred from working, barred from doing anything that would make any person happy.
“It’s been four months since I left the camp and the authorities still don’t even know I am gone.
“There are a few other guys from the camp here working as well, but I don’t associate with them. I don’t dare, in case they get caught as well.
“I know what I’m doing is illegal. In fact it’s dangerous, but what choice do I have? No one here knows that I am Rohingya. If they did, I would be fired and be arrested. Worse still, I would probably be beaten.
“But that is the reality of being a Rohingya in Bangladesh, and I live in fear every day of being discovered.
“My family is from northern Rakhine State in Myanmar, where my father worked as a farmer. Life was OK, but we faced lots of problems there.
“Over time, things began to worsen and eventually our land was confiscated. At one point, the authorities demanded every Muslim household hand over one boy for work. And no, the idea of refusing wasn’t an option.
“Ultimately, we fled to Bangladesh where I was born and have lived ever since.
“But we are hardly welcome here either. In fact, many Bangladeshis look down upon us. They discriminate against us. They say we don’t belong here and should return to our country - a country I’ve never even been to. Some see us as less than human and take advantage of us. And if we do work, we are always paid less.
“I would like to do something with my life, but there are limited educational opportunities in the camp, and I want more.
“Isn’t that normal? To want to make the most of your life? To do what you want freely? Every day on the beach I see people doing just that. Doing what they want, being free. Surely I should have the same right. I am human after all.”
(* not his real name)
COX’S BAZAR, 22 February 2010 (IRIN) - Born and raised in Bangladesh, 17-year-old Solim Ullah* is a documented Rohingya refugee. He has a job as a waiter at a restaurant in Cox’s Bazar, southern Bangladesh’s most popular beach resort, but following a recent crackdown fears arrest.
According to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), there are an estimated 200,000 Rohingya - an ethnic and linguistic minority who fled neighbouring Myanmar en masse decades ago - in Bangladesh. Of these only 28,000 are documented, including 11,000 at the official Kutupalong refugee camp outside Cox’s Bazaar, and another 17,000 further south at Nayapara camp.
Solim told IRIN about his life - his hopes and fears:
“My family has lived in the Kutupalong refugee camp since 1991. For me it is nothing more than a prison.
“Although we receive assistance, there is no life for me there. We are barred from leaving the camp, barred from working, barred from doing anything that would make any person happy.
“It’s been four months since I left the camp and the authorities still don’t even know I am gone.
“There are a few other guys from the camp here working as well, but I don’t associate with them. I don’t dare, in case they get caught as well.
“I know what I’m doing is illegal. In fact it’s dangerous, but what choice do I have? No one here knows that I am Rohingya. If they did, I would be fired and be arrested. Worse still, I would probably be beaten.
“But that is the reality of being a Rohingya in Bangladesh, and I live in fear every day of being discovered.
“My family is from northern Rakhine State in Myanmar, where my father worked as a farmer. Life was OK, but we faced lots of problems there.
“Over time, things began to worsen and eventually our land was confiscated. At one point, the authorities demanded every Muslim household hand over one boy for work. And no, the idea of refusing wasn’t an option.
“Ultimately, we fled to Bangladesh where I was born and have lived ever since.
“But we are hardly welcome here either. In fact, many Bangladeshis look down upon us. They discriminate against us. They say we don’t belong here and should return to our country - a country I’ve never even been to. Some see us as less than human and take advantage of us. And if we do work, we are always paid less.
“I would like to do something with my life, but there are limited educational opportunities in the camp, and I want more.
“Isn’t that normal? To want to make the most of your life? To do what you want freely? Every day on the beach I see people doing just that. Doing what they want, being free. Surely I should have the same right. I am human after all.”
(* not his real name)
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New Straits Times - Employers and new maids to attend half-day course
2010/02/22
By Minderjeet Kaur
KUALA LUMPUR: From the end of next month, all new foreign maids and their employers must attend a mandatory half-day course to improve working relations between them.
The course, to be organised by the Human Resources Ministry, is also targeted at reducing the number of runaway maids and physical abuse by employers.
Its minister, Datuk Dr S. Subramaniam, said the maids would attend the course within six months of employment.
“It will expose both parties to their responsibilities and to avoid untoward incidents.”
He said the ministry found most Malaysian employers to be supportive but “there is this one per cent who tarnish the country’s image”.
At present, there are some 216,000 foreign maids in Malaysia with some 2,000 new maids entering the country every month.
Subramaniam, who was speaking after launching a 30-page booklet on foreign maids here yesterday, said the ministry was also hoping to engage maid employment agencies to do more than just bring the maids to their employer.
“We want them to act as a middle person and look into the management of the employers and the maids. They should also be able to counsel both parties.”
At present, the agency is obliged to replace a maid if the employerfinds the helper unsuitable or to replace a runaway maid.
The course, which will be held during the weekends, will also look into terms and conditions for salaries, working conditions and general tips.
Those attending the course will also receive the booklet with hotline numbers, government department addresses and their phone numbers.
Officials from maid agencies, police, Immigration and Labour departments will also attend the course to know more about their role in issuing permits and to look into enforcement issues.
On Indonesia’s demand that maids be paid a minimum of RM800 a month, Subramaniam said it had been rejected.
“We will allow the market to decide on the salary. If we allow one country to set terms, we will also have to entertain others.”
The majority of maids in Malaysia are from Indonesia, followed by those from the Philippines, Cambodia, India, Pakistan, Nepal and Myanmar.
2010/02/22
By Minderjeet Kaur
KUALA LUMPUR: From the end of next month, all new foreign maids and their employers must attend a mandatory half-day course to improve working relations between them.
The course, to be organised by the Human Resources Ministry, is also targeted at reducing the number of runaway maids and physical abuse by employers.
Its minister, Datuk Dr S. Subramaniam, said the maids would attend the course within six months of employment.
“It will expose both parties to their responsibilities and to avoid untoward incidents.”
He said the ministry found most Malaysian employers to be supportive but “there is this one per cent who tarnish the country’s image”.
At present, there are some 216,000 foreign maids in Malaysia with some 2,000 new maids entering the country every month.
Subramaniam, who was speaking after launching a 30-page booklet on foreign maids here yesterday, said the ministry was also hoping to engage maid employment agencies to do more than just bring the maids to their employer.
“We want them to act as a middle person and look into the management of the employers and the maids. They should also be able to counsel both parties.”
At present, the agency is obliged to replace a maid if the employerfinds the helper unsuitable or to replace a runaway maid.
The course, which will be held during the weekends, will also look into terms and conditions for salaries, working conditions and general tips.
Those attending the course will also receive the booklet with hotline numbers, government department addresses and their phone numbers.
Officials from maid agencies, police, Immigration and Labour departments will also attend the course to know more about their role in issuing permits and to look into enforcement issues.
On Indonesia’s demand that maids be paid a minimum of RM800 a month, Subramaniam said it had been rejected.
“We will allow the market to decide on the salary. If we allow one country to set terms, we will also have to entertain others.”
The majority of maids in Malaysia are from Indonesia, followed by those from the Philippines, Cambodia, India, Pakistan, Nepal and Myanmar.
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The New Kerala - Myanmar Navy Chief in New Delhi
New Delhi, Feb.22 : Commander-in-Chief of the Myanmar Navy, Vice Admiral Nyan Tun, who is in Delhi, on an official visit to India, met Defence Minister A.K. Antony along with Chief of Army Staff General Deepak Kapoor, the Indian Navy chief, Admiral Nirmal Verma, and the Vice Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal P.K. Barbora today.
Tun will remain in India till Thursday (Feb. 25).
India shares a 1,645-kilometre border in its east with Myanmar.
Myanmar recently took part in the 13-nation 'Milan 2010', a biennial meeting of navies from South Asia and the Asia-Pacific region, including Australia and New Zealand.
The five-day event, which was hosted by India, commenced on February 5 at Port Blair in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
Navies from Australia, Bangladesh, Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam took part in the event.
Defying concerns over China's naval expansion and its growing influence in the region, India's Navy chief Admiral Nirmal Verma, has repeatedly stated the Milan group is not a security bloc.
India is also seeking Myanmar's help in combating insurgent groups that have bases in Myanmar, and hopes that cross-border trade will boost the economy of its troubled and isolated northeast region.
New Delhi, Feb.22 : Commander-in-Chief of the Myanmar Navy, Vice Admiral Nyan Tun, who is in Delhi, on an official visit to India, met Defence Minister A.K. Antony along with Chief of Army Staff General Deepak Kapoor, the Indian Navy chief, Admiral Nirmal Verma, and the Vice Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal P.K. Barbora today.
Tun will remain in India till Thursday (Feb. 25).
India shares a 1,645-kilometre border in its east with Myanmar.
Myanmar recently took part in the 13-nation 'Milan 2010', a biennial meeting of navies from South Asia and the Asia-Pacific region, including Australia and New Zealand.
The five-day event, which was hosted by India, commenced on February 5 at Port Blair in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
Navies from Australia, Bangladesh, Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam took part in the event.
Defying concerns over China's naval expansion and its growing influence in the region, India's Navy chief Admiral Nirmal Verma, has repeatedly stated the Milan group is not a security bloc.
India is also seeking Myanmar's help in combating insurgent groups that have bases in Myanmar, and hopes that cross-border trade will boost the economy of its troubled and isolated northeast region.
*************************************************************
updated at 17:42 GMT, Monday, 22 February 2010
BBC News - Burma's Kachin army prepares for civil war
By Alastair Leithead
BBC News, Laiza, northern Burma
The sharp sound of loading and unloading weapons and the barked orders of the sergeant-major cut through the mountains of northern Burma as the young cadets are put through their morning drills.
Their discipline is good, their uniforms smart and there is little doubting their sense of purpose or patriotism towards the red and green flag with crossed machetes they proudly wear on their right shoulders.
They are the next generation of the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), and say they are not afraid to be the generation that fights in a civil war many fear may soon be upon them.
"The Union of Burma was formed on the basis of equality for ethnic people, but there has been inequality throughout history and we are still being suppressed," said cadet Dashi Zau Krang.
He is 26 and has a degree in business studies, but says inequality has stopped him getting a good job and driven him to join the military.
But he is not afraid.
"The Burmese army may be the strongest in South East Asia, while we are very few, but God will help us to liberate our people to get freedom and equality. This is our responsibility," he said.
It is a war the Kachin people do not want and one they cannot win.
But their generals believe a 17-year ceasefire could soon end as a Burmese army deadline approaches, demanding the forces merge or disarm.
They have already refused, and although their leaders are still pushing for a political solution, their commanders are preparing for the worst when time runs out at the end of February.
"I can't say if there will be war for sure, but the government wants us to become a border guard force for them by the end of the month," said the KIA's Chief of Staff, Maj Gen Gam Shawng.
"We will not do that, or disarm, until they have given us a place in a federal union and ethnic rights as was agreed in 1947."
The KIA and its civilian organisation have been allowed to control a large swathe of northern Burma as part of a ceasefire agreement with the country's ruling generals.
Trade with China
They provide power, roads and schools funded by taxes on the brisk trade from China as well as the jade and gold mines and teak.
But now soldiers are being recruited, veterans are being recalled and retrained, and an ethnic army is preparing to fight perhaps the biggest military force in South East Asia.
On the car radio are freedom songs, and at one of the training camps a course in traditional dance is being run - cultural nationalism and propaganda is strong.
A BBC team travelled to an area in northern Burma controlled by the Kachin army and its civilian arm, the Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO).
We were taken to training camps and outposts, but could not walk into Laiza town to talk to people on the street for fear of being seen by an extensive network of Burmese or Chinese government informers and spies.
It made forming a balanced view very difficult, but the determination and planning of the military was clear.
High on a vantage point above their headquarters, trenches are being dug and tree trunks are being hauled and hewn into gun turrets piled high with earth.
They can see the Burmese army positions from here and they know this will be just one of the front lines if fighting breaks out.
A well-oiled and highly polished large-calibre anti-aircraft gun is produced, standing on a tripod in a bunker overlooking the lush jungle valley.
Guerrilla war
The gleaming gun is a statement, a display for the visitors, but the small metal plane stencilled on the sights looks woefully optimistic.
They are organised and say they have heavy weapons, but we did not see them.
There are around two dozen ethnic groups in Burma, mostly scattered around its borders, and the biggest have been in various states of ceasefire or civil war over the past few decades.
The KIA is one of the biggest. Their commanders say it includes 10,000 regular troops and 10,000 reservists, but it is impossible to know for sure.
The Burmese army is huge. It has an air force of sorts and artillery, and the KIA knows the only way to survive will be to withdraw into the jungle and fight a guerrilla war of attrition.
But civil war would create tens of thousands of refugees and create regional instability.
"If we are attacked the other ethnic groups will support us, as they know the same could happen to them," Gen Gam Shawng explained.
The nearby Wa ethnic group has tens of thousands of troops and resources funded by drug smuggling, and we were told a deal with them had been agreed.
Whether civil war comes here is now up to the Burmese government.
If they use this election year to solve what they see as the "problem" of the ethnic groups they will have a fight on their hands, and the region will have to deal with the consequences.
BBC News - Burma's Kachin army prepares for civil war
By Alastair Leithead
BBC News, Laiza, northern Burma
The sharp sound of loading and unloading weapons and the barked orders of the sergeant-major cut through the mountains of northern Burma as the young cadets are put through their morning drills.
Their discipline is good, their uniforms smart and there is little doubting their sense of purpose or patriotism towards the red and green flag with crossed machetes they proudly wear on their right shoulders.
They are the next generation of the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), and say they are not afraid to be the generation that fights in a civil war many fear may soon be upon them.
"The Union of Burma was formed on the basis of equality for ethnic people, but there has been inequality throughout history and we are still being suppressed," said cadet Dashi Zau Krang.
He is 26 and has a degree in business studies, but says inequality has stopped him getting a good job and driven him to join the military.
But he is not afraid.
"The Burmese army may be the strongest in South East Asia, while we are very few, but God will help us to liberate our people to get freedom and equality. This is our responsibility," he said.
It is a war the Kachin people do not want and one they cannot win.
But their generals believe a 17-year ceasefire could soon end as a Burmese army deadline approaches, demanding the forces merge or disarm.
They have already refused, and although their leaders are still pushing for a political solution, their commanders are preparing for the worst when time runs out at the end of February.
"I can't say if there will be war for sure, but the government wants us to become a border guard force for them by the end of the month," said the KIA's Chief of Staff, Maj Gen Gam Shawng.
"We will not do that, or disarm, until they have given us a place in a federal union and ethnic rights as was agreed in 1947."
The KIA and its civilian organisation have been allowed to control a large swathe of northern Burma as part of a ceasefire agreement with the country's ruling generals.
Trade with China
They provide power, roads and schools funded by taxes on the brisk trade from China as well as the jade and gold mines and teak.
But now soldiers are being recruited, veterans are being recalled and retrained, and an ethnic army is preparing to fight perhaps the biggest military force in South East Asia.
On the car radio are freedom songs, and at one of the training camps a course in traditional dance is being run - cultural nationalism and propaganda is strong.
A BBC team travelled to an area in northern Burma controlled by the Kachin army and its civilian arm, the Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO).
We were taken to training camps and outposts, but could not walk into Laiza town to talk to people on the street for fear of being seen by an extensive network of Burmese or Chinese government informers and spies.
It made forming a balanced view very difficult, but the determination and planning of the military was clear.
High on a vantage point above their headquarters, trenches are being dug and tree trunks are being hauled and hewn into gun turrets piled high with earth.
They can see the Burmese army positions from here and they know this will be just one of the front lines if fighting breaks out.
A well-oiled and highly polished large-calibre anti-aircraft gun is produced, standing on a tripod in a bunker overlooking the lush jungle valley.
Guerrilla war
The gleaming gun is a statement, a display for the visitors, but the small metal plane stencilled on the sights looks woefully optimistic.
They are organised and say they have heavy weapons, but we did not see them.
There are around two dozen ethnic groups in Burma, mostly scattered around its borders, and the biggest have been in various states of ceasefire or civil war over the past few decades.
The KIA is one of the biggest. Their commanders say it includes 10,000 regular troops and 10,000 reservists, but it is impossible to know for sure.
The Burmese army is huge. It has an air force of sorts and artillery, and the KIA knows the only way to survive will be to withdraw into the jungle and fight a guerrilla war of attrition.
But civil war would create tens of thousands of refugees and create regional instability.
"If we are attacked the other ethnic groups will support us, as they know the same could happen to them," Gen Gam Shawng explained.
The nearby Wa ethnic group has tens of thousands of troops and resources funded by drug smuggling, and we were told a deal with them had been agreed.
Whether civil war comes here is now up to the Burmese government.
If they use this election year to solve what they see as the "problem" of the ethnic groups they will have a fight on their hands, and the region will have to deal with the consequences.
*************************************************************
The Nation - Thailand will ask MRC to talk to China to release more water from Mekong dams
Published on February 23, 2010
Thailand will ask the Mekong River Commission to negotiate with China to release more water from its Mekong dams to alleviate drought downstream.
Saksit Tridej said parts of the downstream Mekong running through Thailand and neighbouring countries had run dry apparently because China trapped water on the river for generating electricity.
But China is a not member of the MRC, which groups Burma, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam.
Saksit said the MRC will hold a meeting early next month during which he will propose that the MRC should seek cooperation from China to release more water from its dams.
Published on February 23, 2010
Thailand will ask the Mekong River Commission to negotiate with China to release more water from its Mekong dams to alleviate drought downstream.
Saksit Tridej said parts of the downstream Mekong running through Thailand and neighbouring countries had run dry apparently because China trapped water on the river for generating electricity.
But China is a not member of the MRC, which groups Burma, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam.
Saksit said the MRC will hold a meeting early next month during which he will propose that the MRC should seek cooperation from China to release more water from its dams.
*************************************************************
The Irrawaddy - Junta Bans Reporting Quintana's Comments
Monday, February 22, 2010
News journals in Burma have been barred from carrying news about the Feb.19 press conference of Tomas Ojea Quintana, the UN special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar (Burma), sources said.
Quintana held a press conference in Rangoon's international airport on his departure from the country at the end of his five-day visit that began on Feb. 15.
Sources said after the UN envoy talked openly and criticized the Burmese military government regarding the current situation, the military regime's Press Scrutiny and Registration Board (PSRB) banned reporting his speech.
The UN special rapporteur told domestic and international reporters that he was disappointed he could not meet with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who remains under house arrest, and that without full participation of the people including all 2,200 political prisons and an environment that allows them to participate in the range of electoral activities, “the elections to be held will not be credible.”
Nor did Quintana perceive the regime as having any will to release all political prisoners, adding that the “military government does not accept that there are any prisoners of conscience in Burma.”
He also expressed deep concern about the systematic discrimination against Muslims in the country.
A Rangoon-based journalist from inside Burma told The Irrawaddy that PSRB director Maj. Tint Swe attended the conference.”
“Maj. Tin Swe was there and he knows what Quintana said but he doesn't allow us to publish it,” said the journalist, who is a news editor in his 40s.
Journals are only permitted to carry news about UN rights envoy's trip to Burma and his visit to politicians, lawyers and prisons during his stay in the country.
Rangoon-based journalists said the military regime's ban on reporting the envoy's comments was abuse of freedom of expression.
“Even the rights of the UN special rapporteur on human rights were violated. It becomes more obvious how brutal this regime is, which has even beaten, tortured and imprisoned monks,” said an executive editor from a news journal.
However, most Burmese people heard and welcomed Quintana's comments after hearing them on exiled radio stations that covered his comments exclusively.
“The rights envoy's speech has awakened those who have been indecisive under the regime's deceptive stategy. What he said absolutely reflects what is happening in Burma now,” said a Rangoon-based lawyer.
Monday, February 22, 2010
News journals in Burma have been barred from carrying news about the Feb.19 press conference of Tomas Ojea Quintana, the UN special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar (Burma), sources said.
Quintana held a press conference in Rangoon's international airport on his departure from the country at the end of his five-day visit that began on Feb. 15.
Sources said after the UN envoy talked openly and criticized the Burmese military government regarding the current situation, the military regime's Press Scrutiny and Registration Board (PSRB) banned reporting his speech.
The UN special rapporteur told domestic and international reporters that he was disappointed he could not meet with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who remains under house arrest, and that without full participation of the people including all 2,200 political prisons and an environment that allows them to participate in the range of electoral activities, “the elections to be held will not be credible.”
Nor did Quintana perceive the regime as having any will to release all political prisoners, adding that the “military government does not accept that there are any prisoners of conscience in Burma.”
He also expressed deep concern about the systematic discrimination against Muslims in the country.
A Rangoon-based journalist from inside Burma told The Irrawaddy that PSRB director Maj. Tint Swe attended the conference.”
“Maj. Tin Swe was there and he knows what Quintana said but he doesn't allow us to publish it,” said the journalist, who is a news editor in his 40s.
Journals are only permitted to carry news about UN rights envoy's trip to Burma and his visit to politicians, lawyers and prisons during his stay in the country.
Rangoon-based journalists said the military regime's ban on reporting the envoy's comments was abuse of freedom of expression.
“Even the rights of the UN special rapporteur on human rights were violated. It becomes more obvious how brutal this regime is, which has even beaten, tortured and imprisoned monks,” said an executive editor from a news journal.
However, most Burmese people heard and welcomed Quintana's comments after hearing them on exiled radio stations that covered his comments exclusively.
“The rights envoy's speech has awakened those who have been indecisive under the regime's deceptive stategy. What he said absolutely reflects what is happening in Burma now,” said a Rangoon-based lawyer.
*************************************************************
The Irrawaddy - 24-hr News Channel to Air in Burma
By AUNG THET WINE - Monday, February 22, 2010
RANGOON — A new 24-hour international TV news channel will go on air in Burma next month, according to sources at the Ministry of Information.
Named Myanmar International, the English-language channel is a joint-venture between the Ministry of Information and Shwe Than Lwin Co. Ltd, a large enterprise closely linked to Burma's military generals.
The channel will reportedly operate as a modified version of the unsuccessful MRTV-3 which was intended for countering the international media coverage of Burma.
The new channel will begin broadcasting on Mar. 27––Burma's Armed Forces Day––and will feature both Burmese and foreign hosts and news anchors, the source said.
Myanmar International will cover not only the political situation in Burma, but also programs related to Burmese customs and the traditions of the various ethnic groups, as well as the country's natural scenery and environment, he said.
“The ministry has directed us to develop this channel along the lines of CCTV, BBC and Al Jazeera,” said a TV staffer in Naypyidaw.
According to an ministry source, TV series and other entertainment programs will also be aired, but these will be on a pay-per-view basis.
Shwe Than Lwin currently runs two Shwe FM radio channels, which cover Pegu Division, Mon State, Karen State and Tenasserim Division.
The junta has recently allotted permits to companies to establish FM radio stations to counter the BBC and exiled radio stations broadcasting in Burmese language, such as Radio Free Asia and the Democratic Voice of Burma.
The chairman of the Shwe Than Lwin Company is junta crony Kyaw Win. The company has concessions to import motor vehicles, construction materials and heavy machinery to Burma. It also engages in business with ethnic insurgent groups, especially the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army, which reached a cease-fire agreement with the regime in 1994-5.
Shwe Than Lwin is one of the few companies allowed to import coconut cooking oil and it is also involved in cement and agricultural projects in Irrawaddy Division, and is the sole distributor of tires from the Thaton Tire Industry, under the Ministry of Industry 2.
In July last year, the company was at the center of an inauspicious incident when it was in charge of renovating the landmark Danok Pagoda in Rangoon's Dalla Township.
The 2,300-year-old pagoda collapsed, killing at least 20 persons and injuring about 150.
By AUNG THET WINE - Monday, February 22, 2010
RANGOON — A new 24-hour international TV news channel will go on air in Burma next month, according to sources at the Ministry of Information.
Named Myanmar International, the English-language channel is a joint-venture between the Ministry of Information and Shwe Than Lwin Co. Ltd, a large enterprise closely linked to Burma's military generals.
The channel will reportedly operate as a modified version of the unsuccessful MRTV-3 which was intended for countering the international media coverage of Burma.
The new channel will begin broadcasting on Mar. 27––Burma's Armed Forces Day––and will feature both Burmese and foreign hosts and news anchors, the source said.
Myanmar International will cover not only the political situation in Burma, but also programs related to Burmese customs and the traditions of the various ethnic groups, as well as the country's natural scenery and environment, he said.
“The ministry has directed us to develop this channel along the lines of CCTV, BBC and Al Jazeera,” said a TV staffer in Naypyidaw.
According to an ministry source, TV series and other entertainment programs will also be aired, but these will be on a pay-per-view basis.
Shwe Than Lwin currently runs two Shwe FM radio channels, which cover Pegu Division, Mon State, Karen State and Tenasserim Division.
The junta has recently allotted permits to companies to establish FM radio stations to counter the BBC and exiled radio stations broadcasting in Burmese language, such as Radio Free Asia and the Democratic Voice of Burma.
The chairman of the Shwe Than Lwin Company is junta crony Kyaw Win. The company has concessions to import motor vehicles, construction materials and heavy machinery to Burma. It also engages in business with ethnic insurgent groups, especially the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army, which reached a cease-fire agreement with the regime in 1994-5.
Shwe Than Lwin is one of the few companies allowed to import coconut cooking oil and it is also involved in cement and agricultural projects in Irrawaddy Division, and is the sole distributor of tires from the Thaton Tire Industry, under the Ministry of Industry 2.
In July last year, the company was at the center of an inauspicious incident when it was in charge of renovating the landmark Danok Pagoda in Rangoon's Dalla Township.
The 2,300-year-old pagoda collapsed, killing at least 20 persons and injuring about 150.
*************************************************************
Over 260 households being forcibly relocated
Monday, 22 February 2010 18:17 Khai Suu
New Delhi (Mizzima) – In yet another instance of high handedness by the Burmese military junta, over 260 households in Mudita Street, Ward No. 2 in North Okkalapa, Rangoon have been ordered to move from their current location, local residents alleged.
Most of the residents on Mudita Street, Ward No. 2 are slum dwellers.
The North Okklapa Township Peace and Development Council (TPDC) Chairman and Ward No. 2 PDC Chairman issued the order on February 16. The order entails shifting from their places. The reason cited was the outbreak of cholera in the locality last year.
"We were told to shift in January as well. We were to move to Buthidaung under the supervision and arrangement of the authorities and would be given Kyat 300,000 per household or else sign on a paper. We signed on the paper refusing the offer," a local resident from Mudita Street told Mizzima.
"We have lived here for 35 years and pay municipal taxes. We were told to go back to the place from where we came. Now they want us to demolish our houses but we don't want to move to another place at a bad time like now." another local resident said.
Rumours doing the rounds suggest the local authorities will also forcibly shift 1,500 other households in Metta, Marga, Neikban, Thitsa, Aung Bawga and Aung Chan Tha Streets from Ward No. 2.
Monday, 22 February 2010 18:17 Khai Suu
New Delhi (Mizzima) – In yet another instance of high handedness by the Burmese military junta, over 260 households in Mudita Street, Ward No. 2 in North Okkalapa, Rangoon have been ordered to move from their current location, local residents alleged.
Most of the residents on Mudita Street, Ward No. 2 are slum dwellers.
The North Okklapa Township Peace and Development Council (TPDC) Chairman and Ward No. 2 PDC Chairman issued the order on February 16. The order entails shifting from their places. The reason cited was the outbreak of cholera in the locality last year.
"We were told to shift in January as well. We were to move to Buthidaung under the supervision and arrangement of the authorities and would be given Kyat 300,000 per household or else sign on a paper. We signed on the paper refusing the offer," a local resident from Mudita Street told Mizzima.
"We have lived here for 35 years and pay municipal taxes. We were told to go back to the place from where we came. Now they want us to demolish our houses but we don't want to move to another place at a bad time like now." another local resident said.
Rumours doing the rounds suggest the local authorities will also forcibly shift 1,500 other households in Metta, Marga, Neikban, Thitsa, Aung Bawga and Aung Chan Tha Streets from Ward No. 2.
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H1N1 traps Chin youths in Naypyidaw
Monday, 22 February 2010 19:26 Phanida
New Delhi (Mizzima) - A group of Chin youth who earlier this month made the long trip to Burma’s new capital Naypyidaw to participate in the 63rd anniversary celebration of Union day are now stranded because several members of the group showed symptoms of the H1N1 influenza virus.
On the 4th February approximately 50 Chin Youth headed to Naypyidaw to represent their state in a Union Day cultural dance program . Mizzima has been informed that when some members of the group got sick and showed signs of the H1N1 influenza virus officials in Naypydiaw decided to prevent the entire group from returning home in an attempt to contain the spread of the virus.
A Chin mother whose daughter is stranded in Naypidaw told Mizzima that her daughter told her. "We all are not allowed to go back home because the H1N1 virus was found among some of us. And we are fed protection tablets and checked up in morning, afternoon and evening.” The mother hoped they might be allowed to leave on 25th February.
A journalist in Rangoon told Mizzima that some of the youths were admitted to hospital and that most of them are from Chin and Shan states. But still the government has not yet confirmed whether the youth in fact have H1N1 influenza or not.
"When we asked the Neypyitaw Health Ministry, they said that MR TV reports on the latest news about the H1N1 virus every day," the journalist said. When pressed further the Health Ministry officials refused to disclose more details about the Chin students, the journalist added.
On February 8 the Burmese regime’s official newspaper the New Light of Myanmar reported that many youth from different states and divisions had arrived in the new capital to participate in union day festivities and were staying at Naypyidaw’s No.7 Guest House.
Monday, 22 February 2010 19:26 Phanida
New Delhi (Mizzima) - A group of Chin youth who earlier this month made the long trip to Burma’s new capital Naypyidaw to participate in the 63rd anniversary celebration of Union day are now stranded because several members of the group showed symptoms of the H1N1 influenza virus.
On the 4th February approximately 50 Chin Youth headed to Naypyidaw to represent their state in a Union Day cultural dance program . Mizzima has been informed that when some members of the group got sick and showed signs of the H1N1 influenza virus officials in Naypydiaw decided to prevent the entire group from returning home in an attempt to contain the spread of the virus.
A Chin mother whose daughter is stranded in Naypidaw told Mizzima that her daughter told her. "We all are not allowed to go back home because the H1N1 virus was found among some of us. And we are fed protection tablets and checked up in morning, afternoon and evening.” The mother hoped they might be allowed to leave on 25th February.
A journalist in Rangoon told Mizzima that some of the youths were admitted to hospital and that most of them are from Chin and Shan states. But still the government has not yet confirmed whether the youth in fact have H1N1 influenza or not.
"When we asked the Neypyitaw Health Ministry, they said that MR TV reports on the latest news about the H1N1 virus every day," the journalist said. When pressed further the Health Ministry officials refused to disclose more details about the Chin students, the journalist added.
On February 8 the Burmese regime’s official newspaper the New Light of Myanmar reported that many youth from different states and divisions had arrived in the new capital to participate in union day festivities and were staying at Naypyidaw’s No.7 Guest House.
*************************************************************
Burma opposition downcast over UN visit
Feb 22, 2010 (DVB)–Opposition activists and politicians yesterday lamented last week’s “fruitless” visit to Burma by the UN rapporteur on human rights, Tomas Ojea Quintana.
Quintana was denied a meeting with imprisoned opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi during the five-day visit, despite being allowed to hold talks with the recently released opposition vice-chairman, Tin Oo.
Observers have echoed Quintana’s reflections on the apparent intransigence of the Burmese junta, and said that the visit failed to reap any concrete results. It coincided with the high-profile sentencing on Wednesday of a monk who had helped victims of cyclone Nargis in 2008.
Bo Kyi, joint secretary of Assistant Association for Political Prisoners-Burma (AAPP), said that the trip was “fruitless” and that the junta’s failure to acknowledge the presence of political prisoners in the country meant that it was unlikely any would be release prior to elections this year.
Quintana told ABC Radio in Australia today that “there is no sign, no indication that the government is willing to respect human rights and in that sense the election won't be acceptable”.
The spokesperson for Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) party, Nyan Win, said however that the trip “could not bring a change to the human rights situation in Burma overnight”.
“We can consider that there are benefits if the UN special rapporteur has learnt more about the human rights situation in the country and thus can pass his knowledge on to the world,” he said.
His views were echoed by lawyer Min Lwin, from the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), who said that Quintana’s findings could be used to inform the next UN Human Rights Council meeting in March.
Tight restrictions on the outflow of information from Burma has often left the international community in the dark about the scale of human rights violations in the country.
During the trip Quintana also met with members of the government-backed National Unity Party, leaders of ethnic ceasefire groups, and the ruling junta’s labour and liaison minister Aung Kyi.
Visits were also made to three prisons, two in Burma’s remote western Arakan state, and the other Rangoon’s notorious Insein prison, where the majority of the country’s 2,100 political prisoners are kept.
Reporting by Peter Aung
Feb 22, 2010 (DVB)–Opposition activists and politicians yesterday lamented last week’s “fruitless” visit to Burma by the UN rapporteur on human rights, Tomas Ojea Quintana.
Quintana was denied a meeting with imprisoned opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi during the five-day visit, despite being allowed to hold talks with the recently released opposition vice-chairman, Tin Oo.
Observers have echoed Quintana’s reflections on the apparent intransigence of the Burmese junta, and said that the visit failed to reap any concrete results. It coincided with the high-profile sentencing on Wednesday of a monk who had helped victims of cyclone Nargis in 2008.
Bo Kyi, joint secretary of Assistant Association for Political Prisoners-Burma (AAPP), said that the trip was “fruitless” and that the junta’s failure to acknowledge the presence of political prisoners in the country meant that it was unlikely any would be release prior to elections this year.
Quintana told ABC Radio in Australia today that “there is no sign, no indication that the government is willing to respect human rights and in that sense the election won't be acceptable”.
The spokesperson for Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) party, Nyan Win, said however that the trip “could not bring a change to the human rights situation in Burma overnight”.
“We can consider that there are benefits if the UN special rapporteur has learnt more about the human rights situation in the country and thus can pass his knowledge on to the world,” he said.
His views were echoed by lawyer Min Lwin, from the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC), who said that Quintana’s findings could be used to inform the next UN Human Rights Council meeting in March.
Tight restrictions on the outflow of information from Burma has often left the international community in the dark about the scale of human rights violations in the country.
During the trip Quintana also met with members of the government-backed National Unity Party, leaders of ethnic ceasefire groups, and the ruling junta’s labour and liaison minister Aung Kyi.
Visits were also made to three prisons, two in Burma’s remote western Arakan state, and the other Rangoon’s notorious Insein prison, where the majority of the country’s 2,100 political prisoners are kept.
Reporting by Peter Aung
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Mass Burmese hunger strike in Malaysian camp
Feb 22, 2010 (DVB)–Up to one thousand detained migrants, mainly Burmese, in a Malaysian camp are on hunger strike and demanding access to the UN refugee agency amidst severe overcrowding.
The predominantly Burmese inmates in the Lenggeng camp have for a long time been living in “terrible conditions”, according to Mie Ye Tun from the Arakan Refugee Relief Committee (ARRC).
“It is very difficult to continue their life; they are ready to [hunger] strike until whenever,” Mie Ye Tun told DVB after contacting detainees too afraid to speak to the press.
The camp is said to have a capacity of 1,250; but as of August 2009 it had a population of 1,430. Exact figures of the current population are difficult to attain.
Aegile Fernandez, head of Tenaganita, a migrant NGO based in Kuala Lumpur, said: “They have transferred detainees from other camps so it’s really full to the brim. I think this is one of the reasons they are on this hunger strike, because there is lack of water and it is so uncomfortable being crushed into one place like that.”
She added that “we are asking Suharkam [the Malaysian human rights commission] to go in immediately and get feedback”.
Fernandez also suggested that the protest had come amidst a crackdown by Malaysian authorities on undocumented foreigners in the country.
“They have started the operations for nabbing the undocumented workers after the Chinese New Year [last week] so the camps now will get even more full up; they will just dump them in with or without water.”
Malaysia’s home minister last week was quoted in the press as saying that the government intended to create an environment where foreigners without legal status would feel “afraid and threatened”.
If there was any doubt therefore about the chain of command in Malaysian policing, Mie Ye Tun relayed that: “One of the captains [elected detainees] from the camp was beaten badly because he made a report to the outside”. Another captain was “told to eat the food or [the police] will become violent. They threatened them”.
The crackdown comes after Malaysia was reclassified as a Tier 3 country for human trafficking by the US state department; the worst possible classification on its scale.
The situation has been called into question by Tenaganita as the Malaysian government looks set to register around 10,000 new migrant workers, despite the large numbers of undocumented migrants already in the country.
“Our call is that they stop the intake of new migrant workers; we have asked the government to register the ones who are already here,” she said.
“The ones who are here have not all come here illegally, [but] have become undocumented as a result of the employers or agents”.
Reporting by Joseph Allchin
Feb 22, 2010 (DVB)–Up to one thousand detained migrants, mainly Burmese, in a Malaysian camp are on hunger strike and demanding access to the UN refugee agency amidst severe overcrowding.
The predominantly Burmese inmates in the Lenggeng camp have for a long time been living in “terrible conditions”, according to Mie Ye Tun from the Arakan Refugee Relief Committee (ARRC).
“It is very difficult to continue their life; they are ready to [hunger] strike until whenever,” Mie Ye Tun told DVB after contacting detainees too afraid to speak to the press.
The camp is said to have a capacity of 1,250; but as of August 2009 it had a population of 1,430. Exact figures of the current population are difficult to attain.
Aegile Fernandez, head of Tenaganita, a migrant NGO based in Kuala Lumpur, said: “They have transferred detainees from other camps so it’s really full to the brim. I think this is one of the reasons they are on this hunger strike, because there is lack of water and it is so uncomfortable being crushed into one place like that.”
She added that “we are asking Suharkam [the Malaysian human rights commission] to go in immediately and get feedback”.
Fernandez also suggested that the protest had come amidst a crackdown by Malaysian authorities on undocumented foreigners in the country.
“They have started the operations for nabbing the undocumented workers after the Chinese New Year [last week] so the camps now will get even more full up; they will just dump them in with or without water.”
Malaysia’s home minister last week was quoted in the press as saying that the government intended to create an environment where foreigners without legal status would feel “afraid and threatened”.
If there was any doubt therefore about the chain of command in Malaysian policing, Mie Ye Tun relayed that: “One of the captains [elected detainees] from the camp was beaten badly because he made a report to the outside”. Another captain was “told to eat the food or [the police] will become violent. They threatened them”.
The crackdown comes after Malaysia was reclassified as a Tier 3 country for human trafficking by the US state department; the worst possible classification on its scale.
The situation has been called into question by Tenaganita as the Malaysian government looks set to register around 10,000 new migrant workers, despite the large numbers of undocumented migrants already in the country.
“Our call is that they stop the intake of new migrant workers; we have asked the government to register the ones who are already here,” she said.
“The ones who are here have not all come here illegally, [but] have become undocumented as a result of the employers or agents”.
Reporting by Joseph Allchin
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