Myanmar junta worse than Cyclone Nargis: IPU official
Thu Jan 21, 1:57 pm ET
GENEVA (AFP) – Rights violations by Myanmar's junta has caused more damage than Cyclone Nargis, a Philippines senator and top member of the world's leading body of parliamentarians said on Thursday.
"In the year 2008 Myanmar was hit by a terrible catastrophe, by typhoon Nargis, and because there was so much devastation people thought that was the worst thing that could happen to Myanmar," said Aquilino Pimentel, president of the Inter Parliamentary Union's (IPU) human rights committee.
"But actually... not. It was rather the deprivation of the rights of the people by a ruling junta," he added.
More than 138,000 people died when cyclone Nargis devastated Myanmar's Irrawaddy Delta in May 2008. The cost of repairing the damage was estimated at over four billion dollars.
Pimentel and the committee called for pro-democracy icon Aug San Suu Kyi and 13 opposition parliamentarians elected in 1990 to be freed, underlining they had been detained without trial while some were subjected to "severe torture."
"Nothing much seems to be happening in terms of advancing the cause of democracy in Myanmar," he told journalists.
The committee's resolution called on Myanmar's powerful neighbours India and China, and the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), to back moves to urgently free the 13.
Thu Jan 21, 1:57 pm ET
GENEVA (AFP) – Rights violations by Myanmar's junta has caused more damage than Cyclone Nargis, a Philippines senator and top member of the world's leading body of parliamentarians said on Thursday.
"In the year 2008 Myanmar was hit by a terrible catastrophe, by typhoon Nargis, and because there was so much devastation people thought that was the worst thing that could happen to Myanmar," said Aquilino Pimentel, president of the Inter Parliamentary Union's (IPU) human rights committee.
"But actually... not. It was rather the deprivation of the rights of the people by a ruling junta," he added.
More than 138,000 people died when cyclone Nargis devastated Myanmar's Irrawaddy Delta in May 2008. The cost of repairing the damage was estimated at over four billion dollars.
Pimentel and the committee called for pro-democracy icon Aug San Suu Kyi and 13 opposition parliamentarians elected in 1990 to be freed, underlining they had been detained without trial while some were subjected to "severe torture."
"Nothing much seems to be happening in terms of advancing the cause of democracy in Myanmar," he told journalists.
The committee's resolution called on Myanmar's powerful neighbours India and China, and the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), to back moves to urgently free the 13.
***********************************************************
Myanmar verdict on American man expected next week
Fri Jan 22, 10:29 am ET
YANGON, Myanmar (AP) – A Myanmar court will hand down its verdict next week on an American charged with forgery and currency infractions after being accused of trying to foment rebellion against the country's military rulers.
Nyan Win, the lawyer for Myanmar-born Kyaw Zaw Lwin, said final arguments in his case were made Friday at the court inside Yangon's notorious Insein prison, and a verdict is expected Wednesday.
Kyaw Zaw Win was arrested on Sept. 3 and initially accused of trying to stir up unrest — which he has denied. Prosecutors later asked the court to charge him with forgery and violating the foreign currency exchange act.
He was put on trial in October and faces up to 12 years in prison.
Kyaw Zaw Lwin's mother is serving a five-year prison term for political activities and his sister was sentenced to 65 years in prison for her role in 2007 pro-democracy protests, which government forces brutally suppressed, activist groups and family members say.
Kyaw Zaw Lwin staged a 12-day hunger strike in December to protest conditions of political prisoners in Myanmar, according to human rights groups.
Myanmar has one of the most repressive governments in the world and has been controlled by the military since 1962.
Rights groups and dissidents say the junta has jailed thousands of political prisoners, including pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, the 64-year-old Nobel Peace Prize laureate. Suu Kyi — whose political party won 1990 elections that the military refused to recognize — has been detained for 14 of the past 20 years, mostly under house arrest.
Fri Jan 22, 10:29 am ET
YANGON, Myanmar (AP) – A Myanmar court will hand down its verdict next week on an American charged with forgery and currency infractions after being accused of trying to foment rebellion against the country's military rulers.
Nyan Win, the lawyer for Myanmar-born Kyaw Zaw Lwin, said final arguments in his case were made Friday at the court inside Yangon's notorious Insein prison, and a verdict is expected Wednesday.
Kyaw Zaw Win was arrested on Sept. 3 and initially accused of trying to stir up unrest — which he has denied. Prosecutors later asked the court to charge him with forgery and violating the foreign currency exchange act.
He was put on trial in October and faces up to 12 years in prison.
Kyaw Zaw Lwin's mother is serving a five-year prison term for political activities and his sister was sentenced to 65 years in prison for her role in 2007 pro-democracy protests, which government forces brutally suppressed, activist groups and family members say.
Kyaw Zaw Lwin staged a 12-day hunger strike in December to protest conditions of political prisoners in Myanmar, according to human rights groups.
Myanmar has one of the most repressive governments in the world and has been controlled by the military since 1962.
Rights groups and dissidents say the junta has jailed thousands of political prisoners, including pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, the 64-year-old Nobel Peace Prize laureate. Suu Kyi — whose political party won 1990 elections that the military refused to recognize — has been detained for 14 of the past 20 years, mostly under house arrest.
***********************************************************
Myanmar Air Force jet crashes near Yangon airport
AP - Saturday, January 23
YANGON, Myanmar (AP) – A Myanmar Air Force fighter plane crashed Friday morning while attempting to land at Yangon airport, killing its pilot, an airport official said.
An official at Yangon International Airport said the Chinese-made F-7 jet crashed while on a training flight. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press.
The cause of the crash was not immediately known. The Air Force base is adjacent to the civilian airport and uses the same runways.
Commercial flights at the airport, which is not normally busy, operated on schedule despite the crash because the accident occurred at the far end of one runway, said the airport official.
According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, a Swedish think tank, Myanmar purchased at least 36 F-7 jets from China in the 1990s.
AP - Saturday, January 23
YANGON, Myanmar (AP) – A Myanmar Air Force fighter plane crashed Friday morning while attempting to land at Yangon airport, killing its pilot, an airport official said.
An official at Yangon International Airport said the Chinese-made F-7 jet crashed while on a training flight. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press.
The cause of the crash was not immediately known. The Air Force base is adjacent to the civilian airport and uses the same runways.
Commercial flights at the airport, which is not normally busy, operated on schedule despite the crash because the accident occurred at the far end of one runway, said the airport official.
According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, a Swedish think tank, Myanmar purchased at least 36 F-7 jets from China in the 1990s.
***********************************************************
Integrated Regional Information Networks
MYANMAR: Chin children vulnerable to disease
MINDAT, 22 January 2010 (IRIN) - In the mountains between Mindat and Madupi towns in Myanmar’s remote Chin State, 45-year-old Mo Reen is searching for orchids to sell during the cold season.
Her husband, meanwhile, works the land for their slash-and-burn farm in Mindat Township, about an hour away. Their children, aged six, eight and 11, are left alone at home.
"When we were young, we were left by our parents, the way we leave our children now," Mo Reen said. "The eldest of the siblings takes care of the younger ones, while the parents are away working. It's traditional here."
But without proper care, her barefoot children run around unwashed and unkempt.
Agencies say a lack of awareness about children’s health issues in Chin State, Myanmar’s poorest, is leaving them vulnerable to infectious diseases, some of them deadly.
"Most Chin parents, especially in the remote areas, lack knowledge, not only about personal hygiene, but also about the health of their children," said Syed Shah Miran, the project health coordinator for Chin State with Merlin, a medical NGO.
Poverty and low levels of literacy contribute to the lack of information, while there is a need for more health awareness-raising campaigns in the state’s isolated, hilly areas, he said.
“Because of this lack of knowledge among parents, their children are very vulnerable to … infectious diseases such as malaria,” said Syed Shah Miran.
Common ailments
According to the Canada-based Chin Human Rights Organization (CHRO) tuberculosis, typhoid, malaria, HIV, vitamin and mineral deficiencies, diarrhoea and stomach problems are common ailments in Chin State, home to some 500,000 people and nestled along the border with India.
A health worker from the Department of Health said most illiterate parents did not know how to protect their children against common diseases.
“It’s very clear that they don't know how to keep themselves clean and healthy, [nor] do they know how to care for their children and keep them from being infected with diseases that could kill them,” the health worker said on condition of anonymity.
There is no data available on the mortality rate and causes of death in under-fives in Chin State, according to the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
However, it is assumed that causes of child mortality are similar to other states, UNICEF says, including infectious diseases, especially pneumonia, diarrhoea and malaria.
The most recent joint UNICEF and government Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey in 2003 showed a higher rate of malnutrition among under-five children in Chin State than the national average.
Chronic malnutrition-stunting among under-fives in Chin State is 36.5 percent, compared with the national average of 32.2 percent.
At the same time, acute malnutrition among under-fives in Chin State is 8.7 percent, against the national average of 8.6 percent.
Chin advocacy groups say malnutrition and chronic food insecurity have worsened since 2007 due to the destruction of crops by a rat infestation.
Challenges to raising awareness
To educate Chin people on the importance of healthcare, international agencies and the Ministry of Health are conducting awareness campaigns. However, there are challenges in Chin State such as accessibility, health experts say.
“One of the challenges is difficult access to its mountainous terrains, especially during the rainy season," Osamu Kunii, UNICEF Myanmar’s chief of health and nutrition, told IRIN.
Villagers have difficulty accessing health providers and facilities, while getting health providers to communities is a problem, he said.
There are only 12 hospitals and 56 doctors for the population, and just four viable roads in the state, according to a January 2009 Human Rights Watch (HRW) report.
In addition, there are restrictions in terms of data collection and sharing.
Officials also say they face difficulties in convincing parents of the importance of health education. “Persuading parents to come and join awareness-raising campaigns is quite challenging for us as they’re busy farming,” said the government health worker.
Most people in Chin State are subsistence farmers and live hand-to-mouth.
"I'm sorry that I cannot spend time with my children," said Lin Htan, 31, while she worked with her husband to prepare their farm in southern Mindat Township. "It’s because day in and day out, I'm busy finding food for them."
Her eldest child, aged seven, has been left at home to take care of his younger brother and sister. Lin Htan said she worried about her children being infected with malaria or other fatal diseases, but she had no time or opportunity to act on it.
MINDAT, 22 January 2010 (IRIN) - In the mountains between Mindat and Madupi towns in Myanmar’s remote Chin State, 45-year-old Mo Reen is searching for orchids to sell during the cold season.
Her husband, meanwhile, works the land for their slash-and-burn farm in Mindat Township, about an hour away. Their children, aged six, eight and 11, are left alone at home.
"When we were young, we were left by our parents, the way we leave our children now," Mo Reen said. "The eldest of the siblings takes care of the younger ones, while the parents are away working. It's traditional here."
But without proper care, her barefoot children run around unwashed and unkempt.
Agencies say a lack of awareness about children’s health issues in Chin State, Myanmar’s poorest, is leaving them vulnerable to infectious diseases, some of them deadly.
"Most Chin parents, especially in the remote areas, lack knowledge, not only about personal hygiene, but also about the health of their children," said Syed Shah Miran, the project health coordinator for Chin State with Merlin, a medical NGO.
Poverty and low levels of literacy contribute to the lack of information, while there is a need for more health awareness-raising campaigns in the state’s isolated, hilly areas, he said.
“Because of this lack of knowledge among parents, their children are very vulnerable to … infectious diseases such as malaria,” said Syed Shah Miran.
Common ailments
According to the Canada-based Chin Human Rights Organization (CHRO) tuberculosis, typhoid, malaria, HIV, vitamin and mineral deficiencies, diarrhoea and stomach problems are common ailments in Chin State, home to some 500,000 people and nestled along the border with India.
A health worker from the Department of Health said most illiterate parents did not know how to protect their children against common diseases.
“It’s very clear that they don't know how to keep themselves clean and healthy, [nor] do they know how to care for their children and keep them from being infected with diseases that could kill them,” the health worker said on condition of anonymity.
There is no data available on the mortality rate and causes of death in under-fives in Chin State, according to the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
However, it is assumed that causes of child mortality are similar to other states, UNICEF says, including infectious diseases, especially pneumonia, diarrhoea and malaria.
The most recent joint UNICEF and government Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey in 2003 showed a higher rate of malnutrition among under-five children in Chin State than the national average.
Chronic malnutrition-stunting among under-fives in Chin State is 36.5 percent, compared with the national average of 32.2 percent.
At the same time, acute malnutrition among under-fives in Chin State is 8.7 percent, against the national average of 8.6 percent.
Chin advocacy groups say malnutrition and chronic food insecurity have worsened since 2007 due to the destruction of crops by a rat infestation.
Challenges to raising awareness
To educate Chin people on the importance of healthcare, international agencies and the Ministry of Health are conducting awareness campaigns. However, there are challenges in Chin State such as accessibility, health experts say.
“One of the challenges is difficult access to its mountainous terrains, especially during the rainy season," Osamu Kunii, UNICEF Myanmar’s chief of health and nutrition, told IRIN.
Villagers have difficulty accessing health providers and facilities, while getting health providers to communities is a problem, he said.
There are only 12 hospitals and 56 doctors for the population, and just four viable roads in the state, according to a January 2009 Human Rights Watch (HRW) report.
In addition, there are restrictions in terms of data collection and sharing.
Officials also say they face difficulties in convincing parents of the importance of health education. “Persuading parents to come and join awareness-raising campaigns is quite challenging for us as they’re busy farming,” said the government health worker.
Most people in Chin State are subsistence farmers and live hand-to-mouth.
"I'm sorry that I cannot spend time with my children," said Lin Htan, 31, while she worked with her husband to prepare their farm in southern Mindat Township. "It’s because day in and day out, I'm busy finding food for them."
Her eldest child, aged seven, has been left at home to take care of his younger brother and sister. Lin Htan said she worried about her children being infected with malaria or other fatal diseases, but she had no time or opportunity to act on it.
***********************************************************
Christian Science Monitor - OpinionFreedom vs. security: How far can Obama push Iran?
By John Hughes – Thu Jan 21, 11:11 am ET
Provo, Utah – One of America’s noblest attributes is the conviction that its foundational freedoms are not exclusive but the birthright of all mankind.
This was the message of President Kennedy as he proclaimed unity with Berliners. This was the message of President Reagan as he demanded that the Berlin wall be torn down. President George W. Bush declared: “Eventually, the call of freedom comes to every mind and soul.”
President Obama, in his Cairo speech discussing the rule of law, justice, transparent government, and “freedom to live as you choose,” promised: “Those are not just American ideas; they are human rights and we will support them everywhere.”
But what happens when these global pledges collide with narrow, but critical, national interests? How must a president balance the promotion of democracy in a country with an oppressive regime from which he seeks momentous concessions?
That depends. It depends on the country. It depends on the importance of the concessions. Take some of the unenviable situations confronting the Obama administration:
If the country concerned is, say, Burma (Myanmar), the US government can be quite strident in its criticism of the repression of human rights there. In the grand scheme, Burma – despite rumors of collaboration with North Korea for nuclear weapons know-how – is not very important to the US.
China, by contrast, is very important to the US. It is America’s banker and a formidable nuclear-armed power. It is gobbling up oil around the world for its booming economy. It is building an impressive navy. It is flexing its political, economic, and military muscle. So when Mr. Obama went to China recently, he had to tip-toe around the issue of human rights carefully.
Iran presents a particularly difficult challenge. In a blatant denial of basic human rights, tens of thousands of citizens protesting a stolen presidential election and calling for democratic reforms are getting beaten up by government-directed thugs and suffering arrest and imprisonment.
While some have been killed, protesters remain courageous and unfazed. Their defiance has shaken the regime. Iranian nationalism is in play. Nobody can be sure whether this is the beginning of regime change.
Initially, Obama was carefully detached in his comments about the situation. As the violent crackdown on the demonstrators has become more deadly, he has become more vigorous in his support for free speech and free assembly in Iran.
It is a hugely difficult challenge for him. While his heart may go out to the students and other demonstrators, he is seeking engagement with a repressive government that appears intent on developing a nuclear bomb, or at least coming to the brink of being able to make one.
Such a capability would be threatening to Israel, since Iran’s bemusing President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has reaffirmed the Ayatollah Khomeini’s pronouncement that the “regime occupying Jerusalem must vanish from the page of time.” As a terrorist-backing regime that has inveighed against, and collaborated in, the killing of American soldiers in Iraq, a nuclear-armed Iran could be immensely threatening to the US. Al Qaeda has for years sought to acquire a nuclear bomb. One provided by Iran could wreak havoc if detonated in a large US city.
The first duty of an American president is to protect the American people. That means trying to ensure that Iran’s existing rulers do not use their nuclear technology for destructive purposes. In on-again, off-again negotiations, the Iranians have sent confusing, but suspect, signals.
While both Israeli and US leaders have warned that a military strike against Iran’s nuclear installations remains an ultimate option, it would produce havoc with regional and global order. It might also trigger negative, nationalistic reaction from the very Iranian protesters presently challenging the regime.
For Obama, forceful diplomacy with like-minded allies must be the immediate course against the Iranian regime. But democracy lies in the hands of the Iranian people.
John Hughes, a former editor of the Monitor, writes a biweekly column.
By John Hughes – Thu Jan 21, 11:11 am ET
Provo, Utah – One of America’s noblest attributes is the conviction that its foundational freedoms are not exclusive but the birthright of all mankind.
This was the message of President Kennedy as he proclaimed unity with Berliners. This was the message of President Reagan as he demanded that the Berlin wall be torn down. President George W. Bush declared: “Eventually, the call of freedom comes to every mind and soul.”
President Obama, in his Cairo speech discussing the rule of law, justice, transparent government, and “freedom to live as you choose,” promised: “Those are not just American ideas; they are human rights and we will support them everywhere.”
But what happens when these global pledges collide with narrow, but critical, national interests? How must a president balance the promotion of democracy in a country with an oppressive regime from which he seeks momentous concessions?
That depends. It depends on the country. It depends on the importance of the concessions. Take some of the unenviable situations confronting the Obama administration:
If the country concerned is, say, Burma (Myanmar), the US government can be quite strident in its criticism of the repression of human rights there. In the grand scheme, Burma – despite rumors of collaboration with North Korea for nuclear weapons know-how – is not very important to the US.
China, by contrast, is very important to the US. It is America’s banker and a formidable nuclear-armed power. It is gobbling up oil around the world for its booming economy. It is building an impressive navy. It is flexing its political, economic, and military muscle. So when Mr. Obama went to China recently, he had to tip-toe around the issue of human rights carefully.
Iran presents a particularly difficult challenge. In a blatant denial of basic human rights, tens of thousands of citizens protesting a stolen presidential election and calling for democratic reforms are getting beaten up by government-directed thugs and suffering arrest and imprisonment.
While some have been killed, protesters remain courageous and unfazed. Their defiance has shaken the regime. Iranian nationalism is in play. Nobody can be sure whether this is the beginning of regime change.
Initially, Obama was carefully detached in his comments about the situation. As the violent crackdown on the demonstrators has become more deadly, he has become more vigorous in his support for free speech and free assembly in Iran.
It is a hugely difficult challenge for him. While his heart may go out to the students and other demonstrators, he is seeking engagement with a repressive government that appears intent on developing a nuclear bomb, or at least coming to the brink of being able to make one.
Such a capability would be threatening to Israel, since Iran’s bemusing President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has reaffirmed the Ayatollah Khomeini’s pronouncement that the “regime occupying Jerusalem must vanish from the page of time.” As a terrorist-backing regime that has inveighed against, and collaborated in, the killing of American soldiers in Iraq, a nuclear-armed Iran could be immensely threatening to the US. Al Qaeda has for years sought to acquire a nuclear bomb. One provided by Iran could wreak havoc if detonated in a large US city.
The first duty of an American president is to protect the American people. That means trying to ensure that Iran’s existing rulers do not use their nuclear technology for destructive purposes. In on-again, off-again negotiations, the Iranians have sent confusing, but suspect, signals.
While both Israeli and US leaders have warned that a military strike against Iran’s nuclear installations remains an ultimate option, it would produce havoc with regional and global order. It might also trigger negative, nationalistic reaction from the very Iranian protesters presently challenging the regime.
For Obama, forceful diplomacy with like-minded allies must be the immediate course against the Iranian regime. But democracy lies in the hands of the Iranian people.
John Hughes, a former editor of the Monitor, writes a biweekly column.
***********************************************************
The Irrawaddy - Junta Puts More State-owned Properties up for Sale
By WAI MOE AND BA KAUNG - Friday, January 22, 2010
Burma’s government privatization commission has announced that it is selling more than 100 state-owned buildings and factories as part of the latest wave of privatizations in the military-ruled country.
An announcement in the state-run Myanmar Ahlin newspaper on Friday said that the properties for sale include some buildings owned by the Supreme Court and the Inspector General's Office in downtown Rangoon, as well as five cinemas in various parts of the city.
The announcement added that only 14 of the properties would be sold unconditionally. Other properties would be subject to various restrictions, including a requirement that new owners use factories for their original purpose.
“This condition will apply only for a certain period, such as 20 or 30 years,” said an official from the government privatization commission when contacted by The Irrawaddy.
“The new owners will not, however, be required to continue to employ workers of the state enterprise,” the official added. “They can if they wish, but if not, the workers will remain state employees.”
Since 1989, the current regime has periodically sold off state-owned properties as part of its so-called “open-door” economic policy, reversing decades of nationalization under the socialist government of former dictator Ne Win.
The junta’s 1989 economic reforms encouraged foreign investment and joint-venture enterprises in a wide range of industries, from agriculture to mining and health care.
However, most observers say that the junta's reforms over the past two decades have done little to liberalize the economy.
“Their [the junta’s] track record is not good. Many state enterprises in the past have simply become private monopolies,” said Sean Turnell, an economist at Australia’s Macquarie University whose research focuses on Burma.
Turnell also expressed skepticism about the latest wave of privatizations.
“The great danger when states sell their assets is that they may sell them at 'fire sale' prices to their cronies. This danger is very real in Burma,” he said.
According to the “2010 Index of Economic Freedom,” a report prepared by the Heritage Foundation and The Wall Street Journal, Burma ranks 174th out of 179 countries in the world in terms of economic freedom. Only North Korea, Zimbabwe, Cuba and Eritrea are considered less free. In Asia, the military-ruled country comes second to last.
The report identifies a number of factors contributing to Burma's low ranking, including government interference in economic activities; structural problems such as fiscal deficits; continuing losses by state-owned enterprises; and underdeveloped legal and regulatory frameworks and poor government service.
On property rights in Burma, the index said: “Private real property and intellectual property are not protected. Private and foreign companies are at a disadvantage in disputes with governmental and quasi-governmental organizations.”
Analysts say the lack of competition in Burma is another reason the country’s economic reforms have failed to take hold.
“If a government sells a government business that is a monopoly, and does not allow new competitors, then all that happens is that a private monopoly replaces a state one,” said Turnell. “In other words, the people of Burma would still be exploited—by a regime crony perhaps, rather than the state itself.”
In 2009, the Burmese junta increased its privatization of state properties. According to official statistics, 260 state-owned buildings, factories and land plots were privatized last year, including 137 properties that were put on auction in December alone.
One of the biggest purchasers of state-owned properties last year was Tay Za, a well-known crony of the Burmese junta who has been targeted by Western sanctions. Besides buying valuable properties in Rangoon and other urban centers, in December he won a contract to run hydro-power projects. Earlier this month, he bought a police compound in downtown Mandalay.
“The only way you can buy buildings and factories on auction is if you have the right connections. If you are not connected to the ruling generals, you don't stand a chance,” said a business reporter with a private journal in Rangoon.
The recent spate of privatizations may also have something to do with the junta's plans to hold an election, according to some observers.
“The generals may think this sort of tactic will sway voters in their favor,” said a Burmese economist based in Thailand.
“Perhaps they think it will make people believe they are creating some economic space, however limited, for small- and medium-sized businesses.”
Another reason for stepping up the pace of privatization may be a desire to secure control of important resources before the 2008 Constitution comes into effect following the election.
Under the Constitution, some state-owned properties, including mines and hydro-power plants, will come under the partial control of state and division governments. By transferring ownership of these properties to private individuals, including junta members and their cronies, the generals will avoid losing control of them to local authorities after the election.
“They are doing this as a precaution, to protect themselves after the election. No matter which group comes into power, it won't have the capacity to do anything because key resources will remain in the hands of the military officers and their cronies,” said a businessman in Rangoon who spoke on condition of anonymity.
By WAI MOE AND BA KAUNG - Friday, January 22, 2010
Burma’s government privatization commission has announced that it is selling more than 100 state-owned buildings and factories as part of the latest wave of privatizations in the military-ruled country.
An announcement in the state-run Myanmar Ahlin newspaper on Friday said that the properties for sale include some buildings owned by the Supreme Court and the Inspector General's Office in downtown Rangoon, as well as five cinemas in various parts of the city.
The announcement added that only 14 of the properties would be sold unconditionally. Other properties would be subject to various restrictions, including a requirement that new owners use factories for their original purpose.
“This condition will apply only for a certain period, such as 20 or 30 years,” said an official from the government privatization commission when contacted by The Irrawaddy.
“The new owners will not, however, be required to continue to employ workers of the state enterprise,” the official added. “They can if they wish, but if not, the workers will remain state employees.”
Since 1989, the current regime has periodically sold off state-owned properties as part of its so-called “open-door” economic policy, reversing decades of nationalization under the socialist government of former dictator Ne Win.
The junta’s 1989 economic reforms encouraged foreign investment and joint-venture enterprises in a wide range of industries, from agriculture to mining and health care.
However, most observers say that the junta's reforms over the past two decades have done little to liberalize the economy.
“Their [the junta’s] track record is not good. Many state enterprises in the past have simply become private monopolies,” said Sean Turnell, an economist at Australia’s Macquarie University whose research focuses on Burma.
Turnell also expressed skepticism about the latest wave of privatizations.
“The great danger when states sell their assets is that they may sell them at 'fire sale' prices to their cronies. This danger is very real in Burma,” he said.
According to the “2010 Index of Economic Freedom,” a report prepared by the Heritage Foundation and The Wall Street Journal, Burma ranks 174th out of 179 countries in the world in terms of economic freedom. Only North Korea, Zimbabwe, Cuba and Eritrea are considered less free. In Asia, the military-ruled country comes second to last.
The report identifies a number of factors contributing to Burma's low ranking, including government interference in economic activities; structural problems such as fiscal deficits; continuing losses by state-owned enterprises; and underdeveloped legal and regulatory frameworks and poor government service.
On property rights in Burma, the index said: “Private real property and intellectual property are not protected. Private and foreign companies are at a disadvantage in disputes with governmental and quasi-governmental organizations.”
Analysts say the lack of competition in Burma is another reason the country’s economic reforms have failed to take hold.
“If a government sells a government business that is a monopoly, and does not allow new competitors, then all that happens is that a private monopoly replaces a state one,” said Turnell. “In other words, the people of Burma would still be exploited—by a regime crony perhaps, rather than the state itself.”
In 2009, the Burmese junta increased its privatization of state properties. According to official statistics, 260 state-owned buildings, factories and land plots were privatized last year, including 137 properties that were put on auction in December alone.
One of the biggest purchasers of state-owned properties last year was Tay Za, a well-known crony of the Burmese junta who has been targeted by Western sanctions. Besides buying valuable properties in Rangoon and other urban centers, in December he won a contract to run hydro-power projects. Earlier this month, he bought a police compound in downtown Mandalay.
“The only way you can buy buildings and factories on auction is if you have the right connections. If you are not connected to the ruling generals, you don't stand a chance,” said a business reporter with a private journal in Rangoon.
The recent spate of privatizations may also have something to do with the junta's plans to hold an election, according to some observers.
“The generals may think this sort of tactic will sway voters in their favor,” said a Burmese economist based in Thailand.
“Perhaps they think it will make people believe they are creating some economic space, however limited, for small- and medium-sized businesses.”
Another reason for stepping up the pace of privatization may be a desire to secure control of important resources before the 2008 Constitution comes into effect following the election.
Under the Constitution, some state-owned properties, including mines and hydro-power plants, will come under the partial control of state and division governments. By transferring ownership of these properties to private individuals, including junta members and their cronies, the generals will avoid losing control of them to local authorities after the election.
“They are doing this as a precaution, to protect themselves after the election. No matter which group comes into power, it won't have the capacity to do anything because key resources will remain in the hands of the military officers and their cronies,” said a businessman in Rangoon who spoke on condition of anonymity.
***********************************************************
The Irrawaddy - Opinion:A Tragedy Waiting to Happen?
By DONALD M. SEEKINS - Friday, January 22, 2010
Following the magnitude 7.0 earthquake that devastated the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince and surrounding areas on Jan. 12, US televangelist Pat Robertson claimed that the disaster “may be a blessing in disguise” ...the result of a curse inflicted upon the Haitian people for making a pact with Satan: selling their souls to the devil in order to drive the French colonialists off the island in the late eighteenth century.
Understandably, his statement aroused indignation both in Haiti and around the world; Christopher Hitchens wrote in the online magazine Slate that the Christian fundamentalist Robertson is an “evil moron” and that “a [geologic] fault is not a sin: it’s idiotic to blame anything other than geology for the Haitian earthquake.”
However, as the size of the disaster has become apparent (estimates of the dead have reached 200,000, with over one million homeless) and efforts to bring relief to the survivors have proven to be frustratingly slow, it has also become clear that the magnitude of the tragedy in Haiti is as much man-made as natural, that the deaths from the tremor in large measure were a consequence of decades of corruption, misrule, shoddy construction and overpopulation (Port-au-Prince, originally a city of less than 200,000 people, now has ten times as many, most of them jammed into crowded shantytowns such as the crime-ridden Cité Soliel).
At least the Haitian government has not followed the example of Burma’s State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) in the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis in 2008 by trying to restrict and control relief provided by foreign countries and international aid agencies.
Living in earthquake-prone Japan, I have learned not to take the solidity of the earth beneath my feet for granted (tremors – thankfully small so far – are a frequent occurrence here). On visits to Rangoon, I have sometimes wondered what would happen if Burma’s largest city, with a population of nearly six million, experienced a major earthquake.
Earthquakes are unpredictable, and defy scientific forecasting. Burma is located in a seismically active region: earthquakes shattered Pegu’s Shwemawdaw Pagoda, Burma’s tallest, in 1917 and 1930, the last event killing hundreds of people; pagodas and temples in Pagan were seriously damaged by an earthquake in 1975. Although the epicenter of the December 2004 magnitude 9.0 earthquake which caused tsunamis killing 240,000 people in countries along the Indian Ocean was located offshore, Burma itself suffered comparatively few fatalities. Over the centuries, Rangoon’s revered Shwedagon Pagoda has often been damaged by tremors, which sometimes caused the hti, the richly decorated finial, to fall from its summit.
Wherever one goes in Burma’s former capital, one encounters potential tragedies. Many people claim that the buildings erected by the British colonialists in the central business district during the 19th and early 20th centuries are studier than newer construction, but with a few exceptions they have been poorly maintained.
According to a Western diplomat I talked with a few years ago, at least two or three of them collapse during the rainy season each year. Downtown Rangoon, adjacent to the Rangoon River, is located in a low-lying alluvial area, and a 1986 report by the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements mentions that “foundation decomposition” caused by moisture is widespread.
Earthquakes in areas near riverbeds or other bodies of water often create a condition known as “liquifaction”: as the name implies, soil of a certain density containing water turns into something resembling a liquid state during a tremor, causing buildings to tip over or collapse.
With the exception of the 99-meter-high Shwedagon Pagoda, Rangoon historically has been a low-rise city. But after the ruling junta abolished Ne Win-era socialism and encouraged foreign private investment in 1988, many high-rise luxury hotels, condominiums and office buildings appeared on the skyline.
It is unlikely that even the most luxurious hotels such as Traders or Sedona have been built according to the strictest earthquake-resistant standards, but in the event of a big tremor, high-end tourists and elite expatriates probably have less to worry about than the residents of smaller, less generously funded apartments and condominiums that have been put up in the central business district, especially the old Chinatown area, and neighborhoods to the north of downtown.
Relatively small multi-story, multi-family dwellings have become ubiquitous since the junta took power, including those built under the government’s “huts to apartments” scheme, which (it claims) placed squatters in buildings constructed on land they formerly occupied. The post-1988 construction boom in Rangoon has led some developers to skimp on building materials in order to maximize their profits.
According to an article, “Yangon: the Vanishing Asian City,” posted on the Internet in 2002:
“There is little in the way of zoning, comprehensive city planning or corruption-free safety checks. Money earmarked for construction materials tends to evaporate; 50-cm diameter pilings supporting 10 or more storeys shrink to a mere 30 cm, concrete is thinned with sand; air circulation and fire evacuation contingencies are overlooked … The new Yangon abounds in accidents waiting to happen.”
However, the most vulnerable areas of Rangoon during a major earthquake may be settlements on the outskirts––in new towns such as Hlaing Tharyar and North and South Dagon townships––where large numbers of people were resettled (often forcibly) from the city center after the military junta seized power in 1988.
Most of them live in small, single-storey houses or shacks raised off the ground and constructed of bamboo and thatch or, in a few cases, wood. The houses are tightly clustered together and perennially in danger from fire, especially during the cool and hot seasons, a period of little rainfall that extends from November to early May. An earthquake could overturn cookers and stoves, causing fires to spread and become unstoppable, especially given the housing density and lack of modern firefighting facilities in the new townships.
During the Great Kanto Earthquake which devastated Tokyo and Yokohama in September 1923, fires were the single largest cause of as many as 140,000 fatalities, since these densely populated cities were largely constructed of wood. One huge firestorm killed nearly 40,000 people who had sought refuge in a Japanese army depot in downtown Tokyo.
One positive aspect of the post-1988 modernization of Rangoon has been the widening of major boulevards and the construction of bridges to link the “peninsula” that historically defined Rangoon’s city limits with areas to the east and west. Both measures would improve access to the city during a major disaster although some residents have told me that the new bridges, especially the Chinese-built one linking Rangoon and Syriam, may be structurally unsound.
Even under the best conditions, with a government that is actively concerned with the welfare of its people, “earthquake-proofing” a major metropolitan area is prohibitively expensive. Rigorous and consistent enforcement of building standards is also a governance issue that poses problems for even the most developed countries.
A few years ago, a scandal emerged in Japan—a nation second to none in terms of earthquake awareness—when it was discovered that an architect had falsified compliance with building standards in order to receive kickbacks from profit-minded construction companies. Many of the condominiums whose construction he had approved were unsafe and had to be torn down, and their residents relocated at great personal cost.
In a poor country like Burma, the temptation is to ignore such standards not only to make a profit in the short term but also in the over-optimistic belief that a major earthquake will never occur––at least in the near future. As much as resources and expertise can allow, this temptation must be overcome. It should also be emphasized that Rangoon is far from alone in facing a seismic threat; Mandalay, Burma’s second largest city, has experienced much jerry-built construction since 1988 and observers suggest that even buildings in the new capital of Naypyidaw may be sub-standard.
In the days following the Haiti earthquake, Port-au-Prince residents have been left to their own devices: the president, René Préval, has made himself invisible and his government has done virtually nothing to assist them. Even the police are largely unseen despite the fact that damage to the central prison had enabled hundreds of hardened criminals to escape into the city streets and terrorize the local population.
During Burma’s most recent natural disaster, Cyclone Nargis, neither Tatmadaw personnel nor the regime’s “grass roots” Union Solidarity and Development Association played an especially positive role in disaster relief, despite being numerous, well-organized and “on the ground” throughout Rangoon and the Irrawaddy delta. In part, this reflects the SPDC’s obsession with state security over human security, but it also shows the urgent need for the authorities to provide training for their personnel in disaster relief.
Perhaps foreign countries could assist in such training so that the government could help local people, including civil society groups and Buddhist monks, to help themselves during an earthquake or other disaster.
But Snr-Gen Than Shwe seemed more concerned in 2008 with minimizing the influence of foreign relief workers in the Irrawaddy delta than with helping his own people.
In May 2008, a kadaw-bwe (thanks ceremony) was held in Naypyidaw praising the Senior-General for having the foresight to relocate the capital from a natural disaster-prone region near the sea to a more secure area in the country’s hinterland. Some of his supporters went as far as to say that the SPDC’s avoidance of the cyclone (Naypyidaw was left undamaged) was a sign of its divine, or cosmic, legitimacy, its right to rule. Their self-centered complacency suggests that Hitchens’ “evil morons” are even more a problem in army-run Burma than they are in right-wing, Christian America.
Donald M. Seekins is Professor of Southeast Asian Studies at Meio University in Nago, Okinawa, Japan. His e-mail is: kenchan@ii-okinawa.ne.jp
By DONALD M. SEEKINS - Friday, January 22, 2010
Following the magnitude 7.0 earthquake that devastated the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince and surrounding areas on Jan. 12, US televangelist Pat Robertson claimed that the disaster “may be a blessing in disguise” ...the result of a curse inflicted upon the Haitian people for making a pact with Satan: selling their souls to the devil in order to drive the French colonialists off the island in the late eighteenth century.
Understandably, his statement aroused indignation both in Haiti and around the world; Christopher Hitchens wrote in the online magazine Slate that the Christian fundamentalist Robertson is an “evil moron” and that “a [geologic] fault is not a sin: it’s idiotic to blame anything other than geology for the Haitian earthquake.”
However, as the size of the disaster has become apparent (estimates of the dead have reached 200,000, with over one million homeless) and efforts to bring relief to the survivors have proven to be frustratingly slow, it has also become clear that the magnitude of the tragedy in Haiti is as much man-made as natural, that the deaths from the tremor in large measure were a consequence of decades of corruption, misrule, shoddy construction and overpopulation (Port-au-Prince, originally a city of less than 200,000 people, now has ten times as many, most of them jammed into crowded shantytowns such as the crime-ridden Cité Soliel).
At least the Haitian government has not followed the example of Burma’s State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) in the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis in 2008 by trying to restrict and control relief provided by foreign countries and international aid agencies.
Living in earthquake-prone Japan, I have learned not to take the solidity of the earth beneath my feet for granted (tremors – thankfully small so far – are a frequent occurrence here). On visits to Rangoon, I have sometimes wondered what would happen if Burma’s largest city, with a population of nearly six million, experienced a major earthquake.
Earthquakes are unpredictable, and defy scientific forecasting. Burma is located in a seismically active region: earthquakes shattered Pegu’s Shwemawdaw Pagoda, Burma’s tallest, in 1917 and 1930, the last event killing hundreds of people; pagodas and temples in Pagan were seriously damaged by an earthquake in 1975. Although the epicenter of the December 2004 magnitude 9.0 earthquake which caused tsunamis killing 240,000 people in countries along the Indian Ocean was located offshore, Burma itself suffered comparatively few fatalities. Over the centuries, Rangoon’s revered Shwedagon Pagoda has often been damaged by tremors, which sometimes caused the hti, the richly decorated finial, to fall from its summit.
Wherever one goes in Burma’s former capital, one encounters potential tragedies. Many people claim that the buildings erected by the British colonialists in the central business district during the 19th and early 20th centuries are studier than newer construction, but with a few exceptions they have been poorly maintained.
According to a Western diplomat I talked with a few years ago, at least two or three of them collapse during the rainy season each year. Downtown Rangoon, adjacent to the Rangoon River, is located in a low-lying alluvial area, and a 1986 report by the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements mentions that “foundation decomposition” caused by moisture is widespread.
Earthquakes in areas near riverbeds or other bodies of water often create a condition known as “liquifaction”: as the name implies, soil of a certain density containing water turns into something resembling a liquid state during a tremor, causing buildings to tip over or collapse.
With the exception of the 99-meter-high Shwedagon Pagoda, Rangoon historically has been a low-rise city. But after the ruling junta abolished Ne Win-era socialism and encouraged foreign private investment in 1988, many high-rise luxury hotels, condominiums and office buildings appeared on the skyline.
It is unlikely that even the most luxurious hotels such as Traders or Sedona have been built according to the strictest earthquake-resistant standards, but in the event of a big tremor, high-end tourists and elite expatriates probably have less to worry about than the residents of smaller, less generously funded apartments and condominiums that have been put up in the central business district, especially the old Chinatown area, and neighborhoods to the north of downtown.
Relatively small multi-story, multi-family dwellings have become ubiquitous since the junta took power, including those built under the government’s “huts to apartments” scheme, which (it claims) placed squatters in buildings constructed on land they formerly occupied. The post-1988 construction boom in Rangoon has led some developers to skimp on building materials in order to maximize their profits.
According to an article, “Yangon: the Vanishing Asian City,” posted on the Internet in 2002:
“There is little in the way of zoning, comprehensive city planning or corruption-free safety checks. Money earmarked for construction materials tends to evaporate; 50-cm diameter pilings supporting 10 or more storeys shrink to a mere 30 cm, concrete is thinned with sand; air circulation and fire evacuation contingencies are overlooked … The new Yangon abounds in accidents waiting to happen.”
However, the most vulnerable areas of Rangoon during a major earthquake may be settlements on the outskirts––in new towns such as Hlaing Tharyar and North and South Dagon townships––where large numbers of people were resettled (often forcibly) from the city center after the military junta seized power in 1988.
Most of them live in small, single-storey houses or shacks raised off the ground and constructed of bamboo and thatch or, in a few cases, wood. The houses are tightly clustered together and perennially in danger from fire, especially during the cool and hot seasons, a period of little rainfall that extends from November to early May. An earthquake could overturn cookers and stoves, causing fires to spread and become unstoppable, especially given the housing density and lack of modern firefighting facilities in the new townships.
During the Great Kanto Earthquake which devastated Tokyo and Yokohama in September 1923, fires were the single largest cause of as many as 140,000 fatalities, since these densely populated cities were largely constructed of wood. One huge firestorm killed nearly 40,000 people who had sought refuge in a Japanese army depot in downtown Tokyo.
One positive aspect of the post-1988 modernization of Rangoon has been the widening of major boulevards and the construction of bridges to link the “peninsula” that historically defined Rangoon’s city limits with areas to the east and west. Both measures would improve access to the city during a major disaster although some residents have told me that the new bridges, especially the Chinese-built one linking Rangoon and Syriam, may be structurally unsound.
Even under the best conditions, with a government that is actively concerned with the welfare of its people, “earthquake-proofing” a major metropolitan area is prohibitively expensive. Rigorous and consistent enforcement of building standards is also a governance issue that poses problems for even the most developed countries.
A few years ago, a scandal emerged in Japan—a nation second to none in terms of earthquake awareness—when it was discovered that an architect had falsified compliance with building standards in order to receive kickbacks from profit-minded construction companies. Many of the condominiums whose construction he had approved were unsafe and had to be torn down, and their residents relocated at great personal cost.
In a poor country like Burma, the temptation is to ignore such standards not only to make a profit in the short term but also in the over-optimistic belief that a major earthquake will never occur––at least in the near future. As much as resources and expertise can allow, this temptation must be overcome. It should also be emphasized that Rangoon is far from alone in facing a seismic threat; Mandalay, Burma’s second largest city, has experienced much jerry-built construction since 1988 and observers suggest that even buildings in the new capital of Naypyidaw may be sub-standard.
In the days following the Haiti earthquake, Port-au-Prince residents have been left to their own devices: the president, René Préval, has made himself invisible and his government has done virtually nothing to assist them. Even the police are largely unseen despite the fact that damage to the central prison had enabled hundreds of hardened criminals to escape into the city streets and terrorize the local population.
During Burma’s most recent natural disaster, Cyclone Nargis, neither Tatmadaw personnel nor the regime’s “grass roots” Union Solidarity and Development Association played an especially positive role in disaster relief, despite being numerous, well-organized and “on the ground” throughout Rangoon and the Irrawaddy delta. In part, this reflects the SPDC’s obsession with state security over human security, but it also shows the urgent need for the authorities to provide training for their personnel in disaster relief.
Perhaps foreign countries could assist in such training so that the government could help local people, including civil society groups and Buddhist monks, to help themselves during an earthquake or other disaster.
But Snr-Gen Than Shwe seemed more concerned in 2008 with minimizing the influence of foreign relief workers in the Irrawaddy delta than with helping his own people.
In May 2008, a kadaw-bwe (thanks ceremony) was held in Naypyidaw praising the Senior-General for having the foresight to relocate the capital from a natural disaster-prone region near the sea to a more secure area in the country’s hinterland. Some of his supporters went as far as to say that the SPDC’s avoidance of the cyclone (Naypyidaw was left undamaged) was a sign of its divine, or cosmic, legitimacy, its right to rule. Their self-centered complacency suggests that Hitchens’ “evil morons” are even more a problem in army-run Burma than they are in right-wing, Christian America.
Donald M. Seekins is Professor of Southeast Asian Studies at Meio University in Nago, Okinawa, Japan. His e-mail is: kenchan@ii-okinawa.ne.jp
***********************************************************
The Irrawaddy - Chinese Influence in Burma Increases: Webb
By LALIT K. JHA / WASHINGTON - Friday, January 22, 2010
Chinese influence in Burma has grown steadily at a time when the US has cut off virtually all economic and diplomatic relations, said Sen. Webb, the chair of the East Asian and Pacific Affairs Subcommittee of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
“Chinese arms sales and other military aid has exceeded $3 billion. Other public and private Chinese aid has been in the form of billions in interest-free loans, grants, concessional loans and debt relief. There have also been numerous low-interest loans,” he said during a Senate hearing on Thursday.
“As only one example of China’s enormous investment reach, within the next decade or sooner, Beijing is on track to exclusively transfer to its waiting refineries both in-coming oil and locally tapped natural gas via a 2,380-kilometer pipeline, a $30 billion deal. All the while, China has encouraged within Burma an intrinsic suspicion of US motives in the region.”
Webb, who last year became the first US lawmaker in a decade to meet Burmese Snr-Gen Than Shwe and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, is viewed in Washington as an advocate of the US policy of engagement with the military junta.
During Suu Kyi’s conversation with Webb one of topics was China’s influence within the Burmese regime.
However, Suu Kyi told Webb that she rejected such terminology with regard to China, and she wanted Burma to be on good terms with all its neighboring countries as well as the international community at large, according to Suu Kyi's lawyer Nyan Win.
“She said China is Burma’s neighbor and wants to be a good friend of Burma. She said she did not see China as a fearful influence,” Nyan Win told The Irrawaddy in August.
Webb said the Obama administration has been slow in engaging the military junta.
“While most recently Burma's military junta has confirmed its intent to hold an election this year and to allow opposition parties to form, we have been slow to engage the government,” he said.
“I am not trying in any way to defend the actions of the military junta. We are trying to figure out a way to open up dialogue,” the senator said.
By LALIT K. JHA / WASHINGTON - Friday, January 22, 2010
Chinese influence in Burma has grown steadily at a time when the US has cut off virtually all economic and diplomatic relations, said Sen. Webb, the chair of the East Asian and Pacific Affairs Subcommittee of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
“Chinese arms sales and other military aid has exceeded $3 billion. Other public and private Chinese aid has been in the form of billions in interest-free loans, grants, concessional loans and debt relief. There have also been numerous low-interest loans,” he said during a Senate hearing on Thursday.
“As only one example of China’s enormous investment reach, within the next decade or sooner, Beijing is on track to exclusively transfer to its waiting refineries both in-coming oil and locally tapped natural gas via a 2,380-kilometer pipeline, a $30 billion deal. All the while, China has encouraged within Burma an intrinsic suspicion of US motives in the region.”
Webb, who last year became the first US lawmaker in a decade to meet Burmese Snr-Gen Than Shwe and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, is viewed in Washington as an advocate of the US policy of engagement with the military junta.
During Suu Kyi’s conversation with Webb one of topics was China’s influence within the Burmese regime.
However, Suu Kyi told Webb that she rejected such terminology with regard to China, and she wanted Burma to be on good terms with all its neighboring countries as well as the international community at large, according to Suu Kyi's lawyer Nyan Win.
“She said China is Burma’s neighbor and wants to be a good friend of Burma. She said she did not see China as a fearful influence,” Nyan Win told The Irrawaddy in August.
Webb said the Obama administration has been slow in engaging the military junta.
“While most recently Burma's military junta has confirmed its intent to hold an election this year and to allow opposition parties to form, we have been slow to engage the government,” he said.
“I am not trying in any way to defend the actions of the military junta. We are trying to figure out a way to open up dialogue,” the senator said.
***********************************************************
Businesses accuse Htoo Trading of unfair monopolization
Friday, 22 January 2010 18:13 Myo Thein
Rangoon (Mizzima) – Mobile phone dealers are accusing Htoo Trading of monopolizing the market for CDMA 800 MHz phones following a subsidiary of the parent company being recognized as the sole sales agent of essential SIM card recharge coupons.
Information Technology Central Services (ITCS), a subsidiary of Burmese tycoon Tay Za’s Htoo Trading, began selling the mandatory accessory yesterday, a day after Myanmar Telecom announced the availability of 800 MHz CDMA SIM cards, called 2000 IX, for use in Rangoon.
Though the SIM cards and recharge coupons are imprinted with the Myanmar Telecom logo, the cards and coupons are only available through ITCS. On the SIM cards is printed the warning: “Prepaid top-up card is only available from the authorized agent of Myanmar Telecom Corporation.”
“Customers need recharge coupons to make their SIM cards operational. But only this company [ITCS] is allowed to sell the pre-paid recharge coupons along with the required handsets. So no customers bother to buy the handsets from anywhere else. They are monopolizing not only the SIM and recharge coupon markets, but also the handset market,” related a mobile phone shop owner from Rangoon’s Kyauktada Township.
On Thursday morning, ITCS offices on Rangoon’s Pansodan Street reportedly witnessed long queues of customers.
“All mobile handset shops import these 800 MHz handsets. Now the Communications Department has issued SIM cards for these phones. This company [ITCS] is reselling the SIM cards along with the handsets. We don’t know yet when we will get the chance to sell these SIM cards. If they allow us to sell these SIM cards only after selling the handsets, our imported products will be useless,” lamented a mobile phone shop employee in Rangoon.
“As soon as we heard 150,000 new SIM cards would be issued in Rangoon and Mandalay, we imported the required handsets and base units,” explained a representative of another company that imports handsets. “We placed our ads in journals and at busy crossroads. But, under this current system, it will be very difficult for us to sell our product. We must wait until they give us ‘resale’ rights for the prepaid top-up card. There’s no other way.”
Several mobile shops in Rangoon are reportedly negotiating with Myanmar Telecom and ITCS for resale rights, but as of yet no response has been forthcoming.
Similarly, Central Marketing, another subsidiary of Htoo Trading, previously won the right as the sole agent for the sales of one-time-use SIM cards for GSM phones.
“Cars and phones are becoming political issues here. The government distributes these lucrative contracts among the cronies of their choice. They never think of the people. If they really intended for the benefit of the people, these cases would not appear. In our country, if we talk about these issues, they will be political issues,” commented an editor of a Rangoon-based journal.
Friday, 22 January 2010 18:13 Myo Thein
Rangoon (Mizzima) – Mobile phone dealers are accusing Htoo Trading of monopolizing the market for CDMA 800 MHz phones following a subsidiary of the parent company being recognized as the sole sales agent of essential SIM card recharge coupons.
Information Technology Central Services (ITCS), a subsidiary of Burmese tycoon Tay Za’s Htoo Trading, began selling the mandatory accessory yesterday, a day after Myanmar Telecom announced the availability of 800 MHz CDMA SIM cards, called 2000 IX, for use in Rangoon.
Though the SIM cards and recharge coupons are imprinted with the Myanmar Telecom logo, the cards and coupons are only available through ITCS. On the SIM cards is printed the warning: “Prepaid top-up card is only available from the authorized agent of Myanmar Telecom Corporation.”
“Customers need recharge coupons to make their SIM cards operational. But only this company [ITCS] is allowed to sell the pre-paid recharge coupons along with the required handsets. So no customers bother to buy the handsets from anywhere else. They are monopolizing not only the SIM and recharge coupon markets, but also the handset market,” related a mobile phone shop owner from Rangoon’s Kyauktada Township.
On Thursday morning, ITCS offices on Rangoon’s Pansodan Street reportedly witnessed long queues of customers.
“All mobile handset shops import these 800 MHz handsets. Now the Communications Department has issued SIM cards for these phones. This company [ITCS] is reselling the SIM cards along with the handsets. We don’t know yet when we will get the chance to sell these SIM cards. If they allow us to sell these SIM cards only after selling the handsets, our imported products will be useless,” lamented a mobile phone shop employee in Rangoon.
“As soon as we heard 150,000 new SIM cards would be issued in Rangoon and Mandalay, we imported the required handsets and base units,” explained a representative of another company that imports handsets. “We placed our ads in journals and at busy crossroads. But, under this current system, it will be very difficult for us to sell our product. We must wait until they give us ‘resale’ rights for the prepaid top-up card. There’s no other way.”
Several mobile shops in Rangoon are reportedly negotiating with Myanmar Telecom and ITCS for resale rights, but as of yet no response has been forthcoming.
Similarly, Central Marketing, another subsidiary of Htoo Trading, previously won the right as the sole agent for the sales of one-time-use SIM cards for GSM phones.
“Cars and phones are becoming political issues here. The government distributes these lucrative contracts among the cronies of their choice. They never think of the people. If they really intended for the benefit of the people, these cases would not appear. In our country, if we talk about these issues, they will be political issues,” commented an editor of a Rangoon-based journal.
No comments:
Post a Comment