News & Articles on Burma
Thursday, 17 March, 2011
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SSA ‘North’ given ultimatum to surrender
As Head of New Military Council, Than Shwe to Reign Supreme
Thein Sein Likely to be Sworn in before Chinese Visit
Civilians Killed in Shan State Clashes
SSA ‘North’ given ultimatum to surrender
Counterpoint on Myanmar's transition
Health experts denied policy role
UWSA Hold Meeting Amid BGF Tensions
Burma’s new parliament will activate arguable Conscription Law
Ten Days at a Karen Guerrilla Base
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SSA ‘North’ given ultimatum to surrender
Thursday, 17 March 2011 17:05 Hseng Khio Fah
The Shan State Army (SSA) ‘North’, the group that has been fighting with the Burma Army since Sunday, 13 March, was given ultimatum to surrender by the end of the month and to pull out from all their bases spread out in areas outside its main base, within this week, according to sources close to the SSA.
“They [the junta] told the group to pull out from all their bases in other townships like Monghsu, Tangyan and Hsipaw by March 20. And they have to assemble at its headquarters in Wanhai,” said a source close to SSA leadership.
The SSA bases that the Burma Army orders has ordered to evacuate were those located in Shan State South’s Monghsu and Kehsi and Northern Shan State’s Tangyan, Mongyai, Hsipaw and Lashio. The SSA is mainly active in Shan State South’s Kehsi and Monghsu townships and Shan State North’s Mongyai and Tangyan townships.
An officer from the SSA said the Burma Army is likely to move in for the final assault soon, as its troops are now moving closer to their base. The distance is only 2 miles between them. The total strength of Burma Army troops around the SSA is at least about 2,000 plus 120 military trucks.
In addition, he said, “In our four days long fighting, the Burma Army has only used firepower more than manpower. Due to that reason, we have lost four of our core bases to the Burma Army. On the other hand, we have yet to receive any support from our allies.”
SHAN editorial has quoted Sao Saimong Mangrai, the late Shan scholar, who commented in his classic “The Shan States and The British annexation”:
“If a disaster occurs somewhere in the world, some Shans are apt to say that it is not in Burma and therefore it matters not. Should the disaster take place in Burma, the same people say it is not in the Shan States. If it happens in the Shan States, they say it is outside their state. If it does in their state, they will say it is not in their town or village. If it comes to their town or village, they say. 'That is not our house'. If the disaster befalls their own house……..”
According to the latest information, the SSA has lost their Namma base, southwest of Lashio, Loikhio base in north of Monghsu and all gateways to its ally Untied Wa State Army (UWSA) controlled areas during yesterday’s fighting.
Dozens of civilians in the conflict zones were reportedly killed and injured by the Burma Army’s heavy shells. The latest report says some 1,000 people including the injured are seeking shelter in Monghsu township. http://www.shanland.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3511:ssa-north-given-ultimatum-to-surrender&catid=86:war&Itemid=284
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As Head of New Military Council, Than Shwe to Reign Supreme
By THE IRRAWADDY Thursday, March 17, 2011
Snr-Gen Than Shwe will remain the most powerful man in Burma even after he hands over his position of commander-in-chief of the armed forces to his successor, thanks to the creation of a new military council that is in effect the latest incarnation of the junta that has ruled the country for the past two decades.
According to military sources in the regime's capital of Naypyidaw, as head of the new State Supreme Council (SSC), Than Shwe will retain his power over the Tatmadaw, or armed forces, and Burma's national politics.
The sources said that although Gen Min Aung Hlaing will become the new Tatmadaw commander-in-chief, he will only be allowed to supervise and manage military affairs in accord with the will of the SSC, with all important decisions being made by Than Shwe.
“Important matters such as promotions in the army, arms purchases, nuclear plans and many other defense-related issues will be directly taken care of by Snr-Gen Than Shwe. Gen Min Aung Hlaing, as the commander-in-chief, will only have symbolic jobs, such as giving speeches at the graduation ceremonies of the Defense Services Academy and military parades. He has to follow direct instructions from Than Shwe at all times,” said a senior officer in Naypyidaw, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The source added that although the junta chief will step down as commander-in-chief, he will not resign from the army and will keep his current rank so that he can lead the SSC. Vice Snr-Gen Maung Aye, the regime's second-in-command, will also be part of the SSC with his current rank, he said.
In the meantime, Min Aung Hlaing has reportedly already assumed some duties as commander-in-chief, and has also become a member of the SSC.
The senior officer also said that Burma's president-elect, former general Thein Sein, who will also serve as the chairman of the National Defense and Security Council, will have to submit monthly reports on administrative, security and economic affairs to Than Shwe after his government is inaugurated.
“Than Shwe has shared his authority with many different people, but he controls them all from the top. Neither the president nor the commander-in-chief can do anything without his approval. Everything will be under his control,” said the senior officer.
The SSC is not an authorized body under the Constitution, which was adopted after a rigged referendum in May 2008.
Military sources also said that Than Shwe plans to reform the country's intelligence units by appointing someone to lead it and putting it under th control of the SSC.
The sources also said that henceforth, no one in the armed forces will ever be given a rank higher than general, with just Than Swe and Maung Aye occupying the position of senior general. http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=20958
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Thein Sein Likely to be Sworn in before Chinese Visit
By WAI MOE Thursday, March 17, 2011
The Burmese military junta is planning to hold an inauguration ceremony for President-in-waiting Thein Sein and his Cabinet ahead of a visit to Burma by a high-ranking Chinese leader, according to intelligence sources in Naypyidaw.
The possible dates for the swearing-in ceremony are reportedly during the week following Armed Forces Day on March 27 to Friday, April 1. Jia Qinglin, the fourth highest ranking leader in the Chinese politburo hierarchy, arrives on Saturday, April 2.
A senior official in Naypyidaw confirmed the Jia Qinglin visit, describing the trip as a “congratulatory visit” by Beijing.
“The Chinese always keep our government close to them,” he said. “The Chinese leader will come to congratulate U Thein Sein.”
He added that following the visit, a Burmese delegation consisting of several members of the new government will travel to China to meet their counterparts.
Officials from both countries have been preparing for the Burma visit of Jia Qinglin who is the chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and a member of the powerful Politburo Standing Committee of the Communist Party of China.
Nearly three months after Burma’s Nov. 7 general election, the opening session of the Parliament—which is dominated by military officers and members of the junta-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party—was held on Jan.
31. The parliament chose Prime Minister ex-Gen Thein Sein as President, while Secretary-1 ex-Gen Tin Aung Myint Oo and a Shan USDP MP, Sai Mauk Kham, were selected as vice-presidents on Feb. 4.
Two day later, the state-run New Light of Myanmar reported Chinese President Hu Jintao and his successor Vice-president Xi Jinping sent congratulation to Thein Sein and his two vice-presidents, the first recognition of Burma’s new presidency by a foreign nation.
Burma's junta are anxious to swear in its new cabinet ahead of the start of the new fiscal year on April 1. This date will not, however, mark the end of the era of the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) which has ruled the country since 1988. Observers have pointed out that the SPDC's official budget is included in Burma’s 2011/12 fiscal year budget.
Observers also noted that Beijing’s decision to sent its fourth-ranking official to Naypyidaw marks a diplomatic recognition of Thein Sein as No. 4 in the Burmese junta's hierarchy after Snr-Gen Than Shwe, Vice Snr-Gen Maung Aye and ex- Gen Shwe Mann who is now house speaker.
Jia Qinglin’s visit comes shortly after a senior official of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) made a four-day visit to Burma. Lt-Gen Jia Tingan, the PLA’s deputy director of General Political Department, visited the country on March 12-16.
The Chinese army officer's trip came at a time of heightened tensions between Burmese government troops and ethnic armed groups in Shan State, one of overland gateways to China.
Burma's state media reported on Thursday that Jia Tingan met his Burmese counterpart, Maj-Gen Tin Ngwe who is the chief of the Bureau of Special Operations-5, in Rangoon on Wednesday following a visit to Naypyidaw, Mandalay and the military town of Pyin Oo Lwin.
China is the Burmese junta’s closest ally, as well as a leading investor and business partner in the country. On the other hand, Burma is China’s strategic route to access the Indian Ocean. China has invested at least US $2.5 billion in Sino-Burmese oil and gas pipeline projects from Burma’s western port town of Kyaukpyu to Kunming, the capital of China’s southwest province of Yunnan.
http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=20957
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Civilians Killed in Shan State Clashes
By KO HTWE Thursday, March 17, 2011
Ongoing clashes between Burmese regime troops and the Shan State Army-North (SSA-North) have killed at least three civilians in the past week and forced nearly 500 others to flee from their villages, according to residents of Mongshu Township.
Speaking to The Irrawaddy on Thursday, local people who are helping the victims said that six villagers had been injured in the fighting in addition to the three killed, who included one 10-year-old child.
They said the injured civilians, from the village of Honam in Mongshu Township, were hurt during a clash on Monday.
“We are trying to take care of them because they are afraid to go to the hospital,” said one Mongshu resident, speaking on condition of anonymity.
There has been continuous fighting between junta troops and the SSA-North in Mongshu and Tangyan townships since last month. According to the Thailand-based Shan Herald Agency for News, the conflict is severely affecting civilians in several townships.
“Many villagers are taking shelter in the homes of their relatives. There has been a notable increase in the number of people coming into town from the surrounding area,” said a resident of Mongshu.
Those caught in the crossfire are not the only ones on the move. Sources said a Burmese military commander has ordered people from around 11 villages in Kunhing, Namsan and Kyethi townships to leave their homes as part the Burmese army's “four-cuts” strategy, aimed at depriving insurgents of local support.
Military sources said that the Burmese army is planning to mount a full-scale assault on SSA-North Brigade 1, based in Kyethi Township, before the end of this month. As part of the offensive, it has sent 10 battalions to blockade the Brigade 1 headquarters.
The SSA-North controls territory in Kyethi and Monghsu townships in southern Shan State and Mongyai and Tangyan townships in the northern part of the state.
Brigade 1, led by Col Pang Fa, is the strongest of the SSA-North's three brigades, with an estimated 3,000 troops. The former cease-fire group's other two brigades, 3 and 7, have joined a Border Guard Force (BGF) under Burmese military command, but Brigade 1 refused to accede to the scheme.
The Burmese regime has pressured 17 cease-fire armies to accept the BGF plan, but only a few have joined. The others, including the largest groups—the United Wa State Army (UWSA), with 30,000 troops, and the 10,000-strong Kachin Independence Army—have refused.
The UWSA and the Shan State Army-South, a non-cease-fire armed group, have offered support to SSA-North Brigade 1 since it resumed hostilities with the Burmese army. http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=20956
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SSA ‘North’ given ultimatum to surrender
Thursday, 17 March 2011 17:05 Hseng Khio Fah
The Shan State Army (SSA) ‘North’, the group that has been fighting with the Burma Army since Sunday, 13 March, was given ultimatum to surrender by the end of the month and to pull out from all their bases spread out in areas outside its main base, within this week, according to sources close to the SSA.
“They [the junta] told the group to pull out from all their bases in other townships like Monghsu, Tangyan and Hsipaw by March 20. And they have to assemble at its headquarters in Wanhai,” said a source close to SSA leadership.
The SSA bases that the Burma Army orders has ordered to evacuate were those located in Shan State South’s Monghsu and Kehsi and Northern Shan State’s Tangyan, Mongyai, Hsipaw and Lashio. The SSA is mainly active in Shan State South’s Kehsi and Monghsu townships and Shan State North’s Mongyai and Tangyan townships.
An officer from the SSA said the Burma Army is likely to move in for the final assault soon, as its troops are now moving closer to their base. The distance is only 2 miles between them. The total strength of Burma Army troops around the SSA is at least about 2,000 plus 120 military trucks.
In addition, he said, “In our four days long fighting, the Burma Army has only used firepower more than manpower. Due to that reason, we have lost four of our core bases to the Burma Army. On the other hand, we have yet to receive any support from our allies.”
SHAN editorial has quoted Sao Saimong Mangrai, the late Shan scholar, who commented in his classic “The Shan States and The British annexation”:
“If a disaster occurs somewhere in the world, some Shans are apt to say that it is not in Burma and therefore it matters not. Should the disaster take place in Burma, the same people say it is not in the Shan States. If it happens in the Shan States, they say it is outside their state. If it does in their state, they will say it is not in their town or village. If it comes to their town or village, they say. 'That is not our house'. If the disaster befalls their own house……..”
According to the latest information, the SSA has lost their Namma base, southwest of Lashio, Loikhio base in north of Monghsu and all gateways to its ally Untied Wa State Army (UWSA) controlled areas during yesterday’s fighting.
Dozens of civilians in the conflict zones were reportedly killed and injured by the Burma Army’s heavy shells. The latest report says some 1,000 people including the injured are seeking shelter in Monghsu township. http://www.shanland.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3511:ssa-north-given-ultimatum-to-surrender&catid=86:war&Itemid=284
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ASIA TIMES: Mar 18, 2011
Counterpoint on Myanmar's transition
By Stanley A Weiss
YANGON - As demonstrators from Tunis to Cairo to Tripoli wonder if their revolutions will succeed, Myanmar remains an unfortunate poster child for what happens when revolutions go wrong. With a population equal in size to the United Kingdom, and a per capita income of less than US$2 per day, Myanmar has suffered under military rule since 1962.
Peaceful demonstrations for democracy like those seen in Tunisia, Egypt, and Libya (seen, that is, everywhere but here, since coverage is censored) led to soldiers opening fire on defenseless monks and students - first in 1988 when an estimated 6,000 were killed; and again in 2007 when hundreds died and thousands were jailed in unrest that became known around the world as the "Saffron" revolution.
So, it came as no surprise last November when the international community dismissed Myanmar's first general election in two decades, which saw regime-backed candidates win handily, as "neither free nor fair", in US President Barack Obama's words. As the new elected government prepares to take over this month, there are still unanswered questions about what the people in Myanmar think and what people in the West understand about Myanmar's transition. This writer reached out to contacts made in the years I've traveled to Myanmar and three strong themes emerged from their insights.
First, the elections mattered more than the West realizes. "What has been missed in the West is that these elections took place within a much broader political transition," said Myanmarese historian Thant Myint-U, the grandson of former United Nations (UN) secretary general U Thant. "Nearly the entire junta has resigned their military commissions. Many ran in the elections and some will wind up in the new government. A whole new generation of army officers has been promoted to the leadership. Under the new constitution, the National Assembly and various regional assemblies will be one of three political actors, along with the presidency and the army."
A long-time political activist, who was once jailed by the junta, he added, "When the junta started the Union Solidarity and Development Party [USDP] that won the elections, the high level members they chose for ranking positions were from small towns - doctors, high school principals, business people - who were already well-known and popular in their society. When you look at the candidates who won, they won. What has escaped notice by the West is that the new President, Thein Sein, is clean and his children are clean, with no corruption scandals. It's a start."
Long-time Myanmar scholar Robert Taylor said, "While outwardly it appears that the generals have traded suits for uniforms, underlying it there is change of a more substantial nature. The army realizes that it cannot govern alone forever and wants to open up political space and opportunities for those who share its goal of economic development, political stability and political nationalism."
"And don't forget," added Thant Myint-U, "In the election dozens of parties competed, most entirely independent of the junta. Millions have voted for the first time in 20 years. Is this a step toward democracy? Only time will tell. But who can say, even in hindsight, what the important steps were that eventually led to democracy in, say, South Korea or Indonesia."
Second, many Myanmarese feel embittered toward the West. "There is solid mistrust and resentment toward the West, not only among the generals but the country as a whole," says the activist. "We're tired of being represented in your newspapers as cowering in fear and barefoot, scrabbling in the mud. It's just insulting. America now talks about China's growing influence here. We just happen to be right next to it. So, finally the American administration is looking at a map?"
A local expatriate who requested anonymity said, "It is too late for the United States here now. You were arrogant for too long to think Western input was needed. It's not. Now, a major economic corridor is forming in Myanmar, and massive investment is flowing in. Sad to say, but you've lost this generation."
Third, Western sanctions are not just useless but they actually strengthen the regime while weakening the opposition. "What the West doesn't understand," says a transplanted British citizen, "is that the sanctions of the international community [imposed by the US] have not only failed but the community itself has failed to achieve the respect of the generals that would enable meaningful dialogue".
Thant Myint-U agrees: "US policy for a long time has been based on an objective that was extremely unlikely to be met - a dialogue between opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi [who was recently released after 17 years in jail and under house arrest] and the junta leading to democratic change. Western sanctions that were put in place to force the dialogue have not bankrupted the government, nor pressured leaders toward political reform. What they have done is severely weaken the position of independent businessmen and the middle classes on whom an open society depends."
Adds the expatriate: "The regime has no reason or incentive to want sanctions lifted. They want no NGOs [non-governmental organizations], no UN, and no ILO [International Labor Organization] to have to compromise with."
"Like it or not," Thant Myint-U adds, pointing to Tunisia, Egypt and Libya, "We have to accept that we no longer live in a time when the West can determine political change half way around the world." Unfortunately for the West, that may be the revolution that lasts.
Stanley A Weiss is Founding Chairman of Business Executives for National Security, a nonpartisan organization based in Washington.
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/MC18Ae01.html
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Health experts denied policy role
By AHUNT PHONE MYAT
Published: 17 March 2011
A proposal for Burma to develop a board of experienced medical professionals to improve the country’s woeful healthcare system has been rejected by parliament.
Advocates of the new board were told by Burma’s health minister, Kyaw Myint, that the current National Health Committee was sufficiently placed to tackle crises that have developed from long-term economic and administrative mismanagement.
The proposal was out-voted by 172 to 20, according to Hpone Myint Aung, representative for the opposition National Democratic Force (NDF) in the National Parliament.
But its chief proponent, U Steven Thabeik, said that Burma’s health system is only just adequate in urban areas such as Rangoon and Mandalay, while the isolated border regions have long suffered and “people die unnecessarily”.
He drew on his experiences of his native Chin state in Burma’s northwest, where famine has been persistent and where, according to a Physicians for Human Rights study last year, 43 percent of households suffer from moderate to severe hunger.
The men and women that make up the National Health Committee are largely government ministers with little hands-on experience in the health profession. Hence, according to U Steven Thabeik, the need for experts to guide health policy.
A World Health Organisation (WHO) report in 2000 ranked Burma’s healthcare system second worst in the world, one place above the then war-ravaged Sierra Leone.
Critics of the junta have found little to praise since the new parliament sat in January, the vast majority of which is dominated by junta-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) members, including health minister Kyaw Myint.
The new budget unveiled last month allocated just 9.5 billion kyat ($US110 million), or 1.3 percent of the total, to the health sector. This equates to around $US2 per person per year. Neighbouring Thailand meanwhile spends more than 10 percent of its annual budget on healthcare.
The health crisis is particularly severe in the war-torn ethnic regions such as Karen state, where victims of the 60-year civil war are often forced to flee to Thailand for medical treatment.
http://www.dvb.no/news/health-experts-denied-policy-role/14815
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UWSA Hold Meeting Amid BGF Tensions
By WAI MOE Wednesday, March 16, 2011
As tensions threaten to spill over between Naypyidaw and several ethnic armed groups in northeastern Burma, more than 200 key members of the largest ethnic army, the United Wa State Army (UWSA), have gathered for an annual meeting at UWSA headquarters, Panghsang. Talks are expected to focus on the potential for armed conflict and forming alliances with other groups.
Among those in Panghsang this week are UWSA battalion commanders, administrative officers and leaders of the United Wa State Party, the political wing of the Wa army, which has an estimated 30,000 troops.
“Traditionally, the meeting is held at the end of every year,” said a UWSA source on the Sino-Burmese border. “But it had to be postponed until now.”
UWSA sources said the meeting began on Tuesday and will go on for three days. The discussions come just days after skirmishes broke out between government troops and the Shan State Army (SSA)-North, an ally of the UWSA, near the town of Monghshu in Shan State. Meanwhile, more government troops have been reinforced in Tangyang, which is strategically located as the main “gateway” to the Wa headquarters.
According to sources in Panghsang, the SSA-North leaders reportedly met with their UWSA counterparts on the sidelines of the annual meeting and agreed better cooperation between the two groups in defending themselves from Burmese army attacks.
Despite no official confirmation, reports said that UWSA troops were also involved alongside SSA troops in the skirmishes over the weekend. Sources close to ethnic armed groups claimed eight government troops, including an officer, were killed during the clash.
On the Burmese government army side, the Light Infantry Division (LID) 33 headquarters in Sagaing and the LID 99 bases in Meikhtila have reportedly mobilized their front lines.
Both the UWSA and the SSA-North are among at least 17 ethnic armed groups which have signed cease-fire agreements with the military junta since 1989. However, the truce appears to be over as tensions boiled over after Naypyidaw ordered all the cease-fire groups to transform their units into a Border Guard Force (BGF) under government army command in April 2009. The order was rejected by a majority of the groups
Due to the BGF tensions, regime troops launched a snap offensive against the Kokang armed group, a small alliance of the UWSA, in August 2009, which affected as many as 37,000 ethnic Kokang civilians who fled to China. Naypyidaw’s close ally, Beijing, complained about border stability to their Burmese counterparts.
As former communist insurgents, the UWSA leadership has historical ties with the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) while millions of ethnic Wa people live in both Burma and China. Military observers said until now the UWSA has been provided with logistics and IT technology by the PLA.
A Wa district leader recently told The Irrawaddy that unless Beijing gives the Burmese junta the green light, the Burmese regime will be extremely cautious about launching an offensive against the Wa army.
Due to Chinese influence, the UWSA recently avoided attending an ethnic armed groups’ alliance initiative, proposed by the Kachin Independence Organization, one of the larger ethnic armed groups which also rejected the BGF plan.
Meanwhile, the UWSA will mark its 22nd anniversary in April. It formed after splitting from the Communist Party of Burma in 1989 and signing a cease-fire agreement with the junta.
Wa issues are frequently said to go far beyond Panghsang, but are spread to the geopolitical playgrounds of Beijing and Naypyidaw due to the group's longstanding affinity with trade in illegal drugs.
Wa sources said that since February, the Wa police and Chinese anti-drug units have joined the fresh “war on drugs” in Wa areas.
“The operation began in early February,” a Panghsang resident told The Irrawaddy. “The special task forces of Wa and Chinese police are patrolling every night. If somebody goes outside after 10 pm, he/she might get seized by task forces. If they are suspected of drug trafficking, they will be arrested immediately.”
http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=20951
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Burma’s new parliament will activate arguable Conscription Law
Thu, 2011-03-17 01:33 — editor
* News Comments
By - Zin Linn
The first regular session of People’s Parliament or Lower House went on for the eighth days at People’s Parliament Hall of Parliament Building on 11 March. Present were Speaker of the People’s Parliament Thura Shwe Mann and Parliament representatives.
On the Tuesday session’s attendance was 431 out of 433 representatives-elect, and the Speaker of Lower House Thura Shwe Mann declared that the seventh-day session turnout was 99.54 per cent and valid. Of the questions submitted by representatives-elect, acceptable topics were raised. The incumbent junta’s respective ministers replied to the queries.
Soe Win of Sangyoung Constituency raised a question on the recently-enacted civil military service law, whether it has come into force or not; and how young citizens will be called for military service if it comes into force.
Attorney-General Aye Maung quoted the speech by General Aung San at the constituent assembly on 16 June 1947, that in the colonial days, to defend Myanmar (Burma) was the duty of the British, but it was the duty of Myanmar people when the nation regained independence. If the number of servicemen was not enough, a military service law had to be enacted for all healthy adult citizens to serve military service, at least two or three years. They had to engage in battles if there was a war. It was one of the major tasks to be carried out when the nation regained independence.
He went on to say that Civil Military Act (1959) was promulgated on 11 March 1959. The act came into force on 1 July 1962. The Article 171 of the 1974 constitution says, “Every citizen shall, in accordance with law (a) undergo military training, and (b) undertake military service for the defense of the State.”
The Article 385 of the 2008 constitution says, “Every citizen has the duty to safeguard independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar.”
Additionally, Article 386 says, “Every citizen has the duty to undergo military training in accord with the provisions of the law and to serve in the Armed Forces to defend the Union.”
Thus, the recently-enacted civil military service law will come into force on the date featured on the notification issued by the President; and that the processes to summon people for military service are stated in the law.
The controversial Conscription Law, which is to be ratified in Burma, has been criticized by the National League for Democracy (NLD) on 19 January. As said by the draft law, it will come into force on the day that the military regime endorses the law by an article in an official decree.
According to NLD, a draft law is related to the whole population in the country and it should be approved through lower and upper houses of the parliaments. Releasing the draft law ahead of the parliament assemblies looks like a deceitful ploy. And it also shows the military is above the parliament, considered a sham lawmaking body.
The military authorities will be misused the rights of the grassroots level people under this law in the name of ‘the State’, NLD pointed out in its statement.
Although the 1959 Public Military Service Act said the state had the authority to order any person who is qualified to serve in the armed forces, the current junta’s draft law prescribes that all male and female adults between selected ages should be subjects to serve in the military, the NLD statement pointed out.
Burma Army has been exercising forced conscription and it has the highest number of child soldiers in the world. As stated by rights groups, there are about 70,000 child soldiers in the Burma Army, some as young as 11, being taken from bus stops and street corners, or on their way home from school, and forced to join the army.
Hence, Attorney-General’s explanation is certainly in agreement with the incumbent junta’s arguable Conscription Law dated November 4, 2010. According to the observers, Attorney-General’s explanation goes against the opinion of the voters and their representatives.
- Asian Tribune - http://www.asiantribune.com/news/2011/03/16/burma%E2%80%99s-new-parliament-will-activate-arguable-conscription-law
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Ten Days at a Karen Guerrilla Base
By SAW YAN NAING Wednesday, March 16, 2011
PAPUN DISTRICT, Eastern Burma—I was excited about my first trip inside northern Karen State to the headquarters of the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) Brigade 5, the rebel base at the heart of one of the world’s longest running ethnic insurgencies.
On day one, my colleague and I arrived at the small Thai border town of Mae Sam Laep on the bank of the Salween River which demarcates much of the borderline between Burma and Thailand. Sitting at a small shop eating lunch, we could see Burmese government soldiers mulling around their base on the other side of the river.
We took a longtail boat upstream. All along the Salween, the natural beauty of the jungle, its tropical fresh air and songbirds seemed to welcome us. Brought up at a refugee camp, it was many years since I had been able to take in the magnificence of my homeland—the towering mountains, the rocky riverbank, the teak trees and bamboo plants, and the swirling flow of the Salween. We waved to the villagers along the riverbanks, washing, scrubbing pots, fishing, swimming, tending to vegetable gardens.
March is dry season; it's very hot and many of the trees in Karen state are bare. But, as the sun went down, it became cool—then cold. As the sun set behind the mountains, I shot some video footage.
The Karen boat driver had advised us that we were to pass Thai checkpoints, Burmese army camps and a Karen refugee camp called Ei Htu Hta—housing about 4,500 refugees of war.
It took about two and half hours to reach the nearest KNLA base. We showed the soldiers our letter of permission from the Karen National Union (KNU) and then went ashore.
The following morning, a KNLA commander ordered one of his men to guide us to the Brigade 5 headquarters. We took another boat trip and reached a Karen village called Mae Nu Hta on the Burmese side of the Salween within four hours.
I thought we were at the HQ, but the guide pointed toward the huge mountains. We had a brief rest and then started climbing. With his wispy beard, the KNLA soldier just smiled at us. He could see the doubt in my eyes. “Don't worry,” he said. “We can sleep in a hut in the jungle if you get too tired.”
After one hour of walking, we stopped to catch our breath. My shirt was soaked through with sweat. It was getting dark, but we had to go on. The night sky was crystal clear and peppered with bright stars. We had to use our flashlights to keep going. At about 10 pm, we reached a hamlet where we slept.
We were trekking again the next morning by 7 am. Finally, we got to Dae Bu Noh where KNLA Brigade 5 is based.
I busied myself talking with villagers, students, teachers, medics, mothers, KNLA officers and soldiers.
I learned that the people in the village call Dae Bu Noh a “black zone,” meaning an area where armed conflict between the Karen guerrillas and Burmese troops can break out at any time.
A medic explained: “If they [Karen rebels and Burmese army units] meet, they fight. If the government troops come through the village, the villagers run away. If they don’t run, they may get shot. In the 'black zone,' the only option is to escape every time.”
I was under the misconception that the “black zone” was an area where civilians got caught in the crossfire. However, that is not the case: the Karen villages in this region are deliberately targeted by government troops, routinely accused of being KNU supporters or sympathizers. Villagers are tortured, killed or forced to serve as porters. Women can get raped and even children get mistreated.
According to KNLA Brigade 5 records, there are some 10,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) currently in the Papun District of northern Karen State alone.
Located in one of the most remote and cut-off areas in Southeast Asia, villages in Papun District seldom see anything in the way of aid from Rangoon-based NGOs.
Most Karen people here depend on rice and vegetable farming, breeding livestock, and selling a few simple handicrafts.
To obtain “imported” items such as pots and pans, clothes and other basic commodities, the menfolk often walk for two days to buy supplies at the Thai border.
When asked about the effects of the reduction in cross-border humanitarian aid, most shrug and have no idea what I am talking about.
They may have a GDP of almost zero, but these simple villagers are almost completely self-sufficient.
They tell me they could survive well by themselves without any outside help— if only they were not terrorized by the Tatmadaw, the Burmese army.
Like a game of cat and mouse, the Karen villagers learn how to detect when the Tatmadaw is closing in, and usually flee just in time. They stock hideaways in the jungle and stay there when the Burmese soldiers patrol their village, returning only when they are sure the troops have left.
Pway Doh Moe, a housewife who has lived in Dae Bu Noh for 40 years, said she dreads the summertime because that is when the Burmese army launch military offensives and patrol the villages.
“When it comes to the dry season, we are overcome with fear,” she said. “We cannot sleep for worry. Every day, we are afraid that the Tatmadaw will suddenly appear.”
She said that in 2007 the government troops came to the village and burned down a makeshift clinic. They made themselves at home in the village until the KNLA launched an assault on them. Then they ran away.
“At that time, everyone in the village fled. We had to hide in the jungle for three weeks,” she said.
“We just want to live without fear,” she added.
Most of the current residents in Dae Pu Noh are IDPs who have been on the run since 1990 due to repeated military offensives in northern Karen State. Established in 1972, the village now houses more than 1,200 people.
They all seem to trust in the ultimate victory of Karen resistance. Many say nobody will respect the Karen people unless they possess their own state.
It's a big ask—the KNU has been fighting for autonomy for 63 years, ever since Burma gained independence from Britain in 1948. Unlike other ethnic armed groups such as Wa, Kachin and Mon, the KNU has never signed a cease-fire agreement with the Burmese junta.
A military training officer told me about the time he went to Thailand. His eyes grew wide with wonder as he recalled all the modern towns with restaurants, cars and electricity.
“It was like a dream,” he said.
“My home is in Karen State. I want to stay here. But without freedom, we will be oppressed and live in poverty forever. We have to fight until we win,” he said.
We left Dae Pu Noh village on Mar. 7, heading out of the village and immediately up a steep mountain at 6:30 am. We knew from our KNU guide that the mountain is estimated to be about a 3,500-foot climb.
From the top of the mountain, we could see for miles and miles in every direction. But there was nothing to see except hills and trees.
The KNU soldier-cum-guide told us that we were passing the area where a well-known British officer from the famed Force 136, Maj. Hugh Seagram, once hid out under the protection of the Karen fighters.
Seagram was famous in hand-to-hand combat against Japanese forces. He fought alongside the Karen guerrillas to repel the Japanese throughout World War II. Seagram, whose name is still widely known among KNU fighters, eventually surrendered to the Japanese army in 1944 after learning that Karen villagers were being tortured to reveal his hideout. He was executed by the Japanese army.
We passed several villages and witnessed the lifestyles and livelihoods of the local people. Some make a living by collecting and selling leaves, which are used as roofing tiles in the villages.
Before crossing back into Thailand, we spent two days in the jungle with the KNLA soldiers and visited Ei Htu Hta refugee camp on the bank of the Salween River.
We visited a school and I spoke with a 17-year-old Karen schoolgirl, Naw Katherine, who had just finished her exams. She told me she wanted to become a schoolteacher to help her fellow Karens who have been suppressed for decades. She said she could not bear to see another generation growing up without an education.
“I want to serve my country and my people,” she said. “I want my people to be educated. I am very sad to see my people being displacing and fleeing into other countries even though we have our own state,” she said.
Tow days later and I'm back in the comfort of The Irrawaddy office in Chiang Mai with its air-conditioning, WiFi and fresh coffee. I can't help remembering the misery and hardship I saw in Karen State—the desperate faces of the villagers, the refugees and KNLA troops.
The voice of Pway Doh Moe echoes in my ears. I recall her words as I finished interviewing her. She looked me straight in the eye while shaking her head forlornly. “We are getting older every day out of worry and fear,” she said.
http://www.irrawaddy.org/highlight.php?art_id=20946
Friday, March 18, 2011
News & Articles on Burma-Thursday, 17 March, 2011
Thursday, March 17, 2011
News & Articles on Burma-Wednesday, 16 March, 2011
News & Articles on Burma
Wednesday, 16 March, 2011
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Home News Burmese troops forced out by Kachin army in north
FIFA President holds press conference in Yangon
UN in Myanmar identifies strategic priorities for the future
Can aid bring the west's influence to bear on Burma?
Clamp tightened on MPs questions
Karens Flee Fighting in Burma, But Live in Limbo in Thailand
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Home News Burmese troops forced out by Kachin army in north
Burmese troops forced out by Kachin army in north
Tuesday, 15 March 2011 00:00 KNG
Burmese troops were forced out of the territory of the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) in Waingmaw Township in Kachin State on Saturday, March 12, said sources from both sides.
Eighteen Burmese soldiers, who entered the area of the KIA’s Ngwa Lay post, in Lahpai Village, on the Stilwell Road, also Ledo Road between Sadung-Kambaiti, finally withdrew from the area after they were repeatedly warned that the KIA troops would open fire, said a local resident.
kachin-army
More KIA troops are deploying in Sadung, Waingmaw township in eastern Kachin State, where the Burmese troops are increasingly operating.
KIA sources said the KIA refused the Burmese military’s request for permission to go to Kambaiti through Ngwa Lay post, after being asked many times.
The Burmese troops were from the battalion under command of the Burmese Army’s Regional Operation Command (ROC) based in Danai (Tanai) in Hukawng Valley, western Kachin State, according to residents of Lahpai.
The KIA official said it has informed the Burmese junta that it will stop Burmese troops when they enter KIA territories in Kachin State and Northern Shan State.
James Lum Dau, of KIO foreign affairs in Bangkok, Thailand, told the Kachin News Group, “We are still keeping the policy that we will not start war with the Burmese junta. We are seeking ways to establish a genuine political dialogue with the Burmese military leaders.”
Since December last year, several separate Burmese troops, with around 100 soldiers or over 10 soldiers, have operated near other controlled areas of the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), the political-wing of KIA, in Sadung area, in Waingmaw Township, according to the KIA officials.
Some parts of Sadung, where over 20,000 acres of opium are currently grown, are jointly controlled by the Burmese junta and it’s Border Guard Force, formerly known as the New Democratic Army-Kachin (NDA-K), according to the KIA Drug Eradication Committee.
Villagers and the KIA Drug Eradication Committee said the Burmese Opium Eradication Campaign in the area not only demands money from opium field owners but also interferes with the current KIA drug eradication campaign.
Two-days of fighting took place between Burmese troops and the Shan State Army-North (SSA-N) at Mong Awd village tract, in Monghsu, Shan State on March 13 and 14.
Both the KIO and SSA-N are members of the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC), an alliance of 11 ethnic organizations, which formed last month.
The UNFC aims to restore a genuine federal union in Burma by pressuring the ruling Burmese military junta politically and militarily. However, the alliance is now in “wait and see” mode, while observing the new military-backed civilian government being formed by the Burmese junta.
James Lum Dau said the junta’s recent attempts to intimidate the KIO and other ethnic armed groups are typical and are nothing to worry about. http://www.kachinnews.com/news/1870-burmese-troops-forced-out-by-kachin-army-in-north.html
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FIFA President holds press conference in Yangon
08:48, March 16, 2011
The International Federation of Association Football(FIFA) president Joseph Sepp Blatter held a press conference in Myanmar's Yangon Tuesday.
Blatter, who headed a 7-member delegation, arrived in Yangon Tuesday at the invitation of the President of Myanmar Football Federation (MFF) U Zaw Zaw who is a famous business tycoon of Myanmar during the World Cup in South Africa last June.
"This is my first visit to Myanmar. I will meet with Myanmar's Prime Minister U Thein Sein in the new capital of Nay Pyi Taw tomorrow. I am very glad to meet with him," Blatter said. "I have a very good impression on Myanmar and people in the country are very nice".
He visited Yangon and Mandalay, observing facilities constructed under the arrangement of FIFA Goal Project during his 2-day visit in Myanmar.
The facilities include Goal Hotel where MFF office is located in Yangon, Youth Football Academy in Mandalay and International Standard audience-stand at Thuwunna Sport Ground in Yangon.
He attended the opening ceremony of Youth Football Academy in Mandalay Tuesday afternoon.
He will visit Nay Pyi Taw on Wednesday and observe new sports grounds and stadium which is an construction for coming South East Asian Games to be hosted in Myanmar in 2013 .
While in Myanmar he will seek ways for the Myanmar Football Federation(MFF) to strengthen the local professional leagues.
Blatter, a Swiss citizen, was elected as the 8th FIFA President in June, 1998.
The 75-year-old is one of the most talented and experienced persons of international sports diplomacy and is totally committed to serving football, FIFA and the youth of the world.
Source: Xinhua http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90779/90871/7321134.html
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UN in Myanmar identifies strategic priorities for the future
Source: United Nations Country Team in Myanmar
Date: 15 Mar 2011
Yangon, 15 March 2011 ---- Four strategic priorities and key elements of the new Strategic Framework for the United Nations in Myanmar were presented today at the monthly Humanitarian Partnership Group meeting, attended by over 80 experts, heads of missions and UN agencies, diplomats and aid workers.
The priorities, which are the result of extensive analysis of humanitarian and development challenges in the country, will guide UN engagement and programming and form the basis of a new Strategic Framework for the period 2012-2015. "The UN Strategic Framework aims to be a collective, coherent and integrated programming and monitoring framework for UN contributions in Myanmar, based on the UN's comparative advantages.
The UN Strategic Framework is based on the analyses of the country's situation, development challenges that it faces and opportunities ahead of it," said Bishow Parajuli, UN Resident/Humanitarian Coordinator, who chaired the meeting.
The UN Resident/Humanitarian Coordinator explained that consultations had been held with focal points from all relevant government ministries, the latest in February. Based on these consultations it had been agreed that UN engagement would focus on four Strategic Priorities, namely:
1. Encourage inclusive growth (both rural and urban), including agricultural development and enhancement of employment opportunities
2. Increase equitable access to quality social services
3. Reduce vulnerability to natural disasters and climate change
4. Promote good governance and strengthen democratic institutions and rights.
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/rwb.nsf/db900sid/KKAA-8EZ7LQ?OpenDocument&RSS20&RSS20=FS&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ReliefwebClimateChange+%28ReliefWeb+-+Climate+Change%29
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Can aid bring the west's influence to bear on Burma?
The UK is to become Burma's biggest foreign aid donor, but the country's oppressive regime and its opaque political arena mean bringing change won't be easy
MDG : Myanmar : A girl fetches water from a pond on the outskirts of Yangon A girl fetches water from a pond on the outskirts of Rangoon. Photograph: Nyein Chan Naing/EPA
"We do not have a normal aid relationship here," says Paul Whittingham, head of the Burma section of the Department for International Development (DfID). And it isn't, not only does Burma receive some of the lowest levels of development assistance in the world but aid giving is also extremely politicised.
So it was a brave move for Britain's coalition government to increase aid to the country in its aid reviews last week: the UK is to become Burma's largest foreign donor. The government has pledged to spend £185m over the next four years. This reflects a "strong commitment" by the development secretary, Andrew Mitchell.
The world came to know most about Burma's donor situation in the wake of perhaps its darkest hour, when it was hit by Cyclone Nargis, the country's worst cyclone on record.
The surprising aspect of this disaster was how the military were prepared to make a dark situation that much darker. In the days and weeks after the tragedy aid was blocked by the government, which ignored the massive loss of life and the suffering.
DfID's new funding will be more per year than the Burmese government spends on health. The government of Burma is "not committed to poverty reduction", says Whittingham. Such a record leads to the abnormal situation Whittingham refers to, asserting that: "It is not an easy country in which to do business."
Perhaps the most controversial area is the funding of civil society organisations (CSOs), the most opaque and political area of aid giving. Mark Farmaner, director of the Burma Campaign UK, notes that there are around 300 such groups in the country and only 10% are registered – registration for some equates to approval from the regime.
But these registered groups nonetheless receive foreign money. Farmaner believes there is a "preference" among donors to work with groups that have an understanding with the country's repressive regime. However, even those registered are keen not to reveal foreign funding links, and ask donors and the press not to reveal the connections.
Donor preference reflects a cultural difference between many in Rangoon and elected representatives in donor nations and exiled Burmese. The latter would seemingly prefer much of the funding to be channelled to exiled groups linked to the largest democratic entity, Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD). Both camps allege that the other is out of touch.
This cultural difference was evidenced by the US mission to Burma in a leaked cable from 2008, sent by the chargé d'affaires, Shari Villarosa. While lambasting the NLD, describing its leadership as "sclerotic", she suggested: "We should seek every opportunity to support and increase the capacity of Burma's nascent civil society", in order, "to reform their political and economic systems in a manner that best promotes US economic and strategic interests".
Civil society then, should be funded as a way of effecting political change. We cannot know which organisations are being funded because they face repression from the military. The military may well argue its case for blocking foreign money, saying it is likely to create imbalances in a poor country. The danger is that western representatives will be free to act with as little scrutiny as the government.
Dr Maung Zarni, a fellow at the London School of Economics, says: "The words 'civil society' include only organisations and individuals on the ground which are free-market-friendly and amenable to dominant western views."
Whittingham, however asserts: "I have absolute confidence that we can support a range of civil society groups inside the country, and I don't want to comment on individual examples."
What appeared in last year's election was the National Democratic Force (NDF), an NLD splinter. It participated in the fraudulent "poll", seeing co-operation with the military as pragmatic – and preferable to principled objection – and was the toast of diplomatic Rangoon.
CSO's made in the west's image are seemingly favoured by diplomats and made up of an elite who will subsequently favour Washington over Beijing. They hope to slowly seduce the military to create an investment friendly Burma without the "idealist" Suu Kyi and her NLD.
A prime example is Myanmar Egress, a CSO tolerated by the military and connected to the NDF. It is uniquely capable of lobbying, and boasts about that fact to journalists.
The NLD's vice-chair, Tin Oo, asked in a letter to the top European commission diplomat to Burma, Andreas List: "Is 'Myanmar Egress', the organisation founded by Mr Nay Win Maung, independent from the junta's influence or is it a broker between the government's cronies and the NDF, which it is touting as a substitute for NLD?"
Meanwhile, the NLD is under severe pressure, with its members jailed, exiled or swamped by military intelligence. It is not allowed to act as a political party.
For many, the west has "lost" Burma – its soft-power washed away by its principled sanctions and relegated by China's permanence in the region. This renewed commitment by DfID suggests a need to wrestle it back, using one of the most important soft-power tools: development aid.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/poverty-matters/2011/mar/16/burma-uk-international-aid-dfid
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Clamp tightened on MPs questions
By DVB
Published: 16 March 2011
MPs in Burma have been given what appears to be a veiled warning about the submission of questions to parliament, in a move that could further stifle political debate in the military-ruled country.
Parliament began accepting questions for the first time on 10 March, six weeks after it first opened following the November elections last year.
Shwe Mann, speaker of the People’s Parliament and former top-ranking junta chief, told representatives yesterday that only questions with direct relevance to current affairs could be asked in the chamber, although little clarification was given to define the boundaries of discussion.
According to National Democratic Force (NDF) representative Kyi Myint, the powerful speaker was making reference to queries submitted by MPs regarding the controversial allocation of national budgets, some of which Shwe Mann claimed had “no relevance with the country’s situation”.
The announcement of a new government budget has drawn sharp rebukes from opposition parties in Burma, with nearly a quarter allocated to the military and the creation of a Special Funds Law that gives the commander-in-chief, currently Than Shwe, supreme authority to allocate unlimited additional money to the army without any notice, and without parliamentary consent.
The healthcare sector is meanwhile set to receive only 9.5 billion kyat ($US110 million), or 1.3 percent of the total budget. This equates to around $US2 per person per year.
Neighbouring Thailand meanwhile spends more than 10 percent of its annual budget on healthcare; among Shwe Mann’s instructions, Kyi Myint said, was that MPs in Burma shouldn’t make comparisons with neighbouring countries.
Five queries were raised by MPs in the People’s Parliament session yesterday, including the one directed to the education minister regarding the maintenance of basic education schools in Arakan state.
Hpone Myint Aung, the NDF’s representative in the National Parliament, said meanwhile that many queries submitted by MPs were turned down by the government under the ‘no relevancy’ pretext.
He said that MPs were stonewalled on topics related to finance, particularly when mooting the prospect of infrastructural projects such as roads and bridges which would require significant amounts of money.
Burma’s three parliaments are dominated by the junta-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), of which Shwe Mann is a member and which swept 80 percent of the vote in the elections.
http://www.dvb.no/news/clamp-tightened-on-mps-questions/14784
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Karens Flee Fighting in Burma, But Live in Limbo in Thailand
Danielle Bernstein | Mae Sot March 16, 2011
The European Commission visited Burmese refugee camps along the Thai-Burma border this week to evaluate a shift in priorities from basic relief services to longer-term sustainable assistance. But as aid workers on the border scramble to cope with the newest wave of ethnic Karen refugees fleeing war at home, questions remain about whether sustainable assistance is possible in such an unstable region.
More than 10,000 refugees from eastern Burma have crossed into Thailand since fighting erupted between government troops and the opposition Democratic Karen Buddhist Army in November after the country’s first national elections in two decades.
Thailand considers them to be illegal migrants, so they are not allowed in the refugee camps, and have little access to humanitarian aid. Instead, they seek shelter in the jungle or in squatter camps.
Four months of continuous fighting in border areas of Burma’s Karen State shows no signs of letting up. Sally Thompson, of the Thai/Burma Border Consortium says the election has made Thai authorities more reluctant to offer aid to refugees.
"The fact that the elections have been held is seen as the start of a new phase which is not more refugees,” Thompson said. “The hope from the Thai government and others is that the new phase is that the refugees will be able to gradually return back to Burma so there is not a willingness at this stage to put new mechanisms in place that are likely to attract more refugees to Thailand it would be seen from the Thai government’s perspective if they were to establish more official sites they consider that would be a pull factor."
Thompson’s organization estimates more than 140,000 people from Burma live in 10 refugee camps along the border. Thousands more reside in nine camps inside Burma that the consortium monitors.
The lack of health care at home or in Thailand remains a critical issue for the refugees.
"Basically there’s no effective health system in eastern Burma and so people are coming to places like Mae Tao clinic because it’s the only place they can get any health care,” Thompson added. “There’s no health system that’s been put in place from the government’s side what people have access to is what the ethnic groups themselves have established."
The Mae Tao clinic, founded by Dr. Cynthia Maung in Mae Sot, provides free health services to refugees. Lok Gwa, a trainee surgeon at the clinic, says since the border was closed in September, they have been seeing fewer patients. Hospital records confirm patient numbers have held at around 10,500 a month, about 2,000 less than usual.
The clinic’s staff says this indicates not that fewer people are sick, but that fewer can reach the clinic and either go without, or must have health care come to them.
Naw Paw Hser Mu Lar has spent the past 10 years as a member of the Backpack Health Worker Team, a network of more than 300 mobile health care providers who care for those living in conflict areas in Burma.
She says the fighting has led to a rise in malaria, diarrhea, maternal and child illnesses, and land mine injuries since November.
"Policy has not changed,” said Mu Lar. “I think more fighting than last year. More patients. More fighting means more patients, more serious cases."
Mahn Mahn, the president of the Backpack Health Worker Team, has similar fears.
"In terms of before the election in Burma we expected there would be more conflict but nobody in the international community believed us,” Mahn Mahn said. “But anyway, before the election in Burma we started to prepare for after the election, and fighting started in Myawady and then we started to form the seven emergency backpack teams."
Human rights activists and refugees say the conflict escalated after the election, as the Burmese army tries to gain control over more Karen territory.
Burma’s military government has signed peace agreements with several of the country’s ethnic militias, including the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army. But none of the ethnic groups agreed with a government demand that they become part of a national border guard, and as a result, fighting has flared in many parts of the country.
A European Union delegation plans to visit the border refugee camps this week. The team aims to evaluate new sustainable options for helping the Burmese, even as Thai officials look to repatriate them. Thompson sees the resolution to Burma’s refugee crisis as primarily a political one.
"Until the ethnic issue is resolved in Burma the conflict will be ongoing,” Thompson said. “It’s very unlikely in the short-term that the ethnic issue will be resolved so it’s very likely that we will see low intensity ongoing conflict in the ethnic areas which will continue to generate more arrivals into Thailand."
Karen refugees began fleeing into Thailand 26 years ago, and aid workers say what originally was seen as temporary situation has become permanent. The EU says its delegation hopes to come up with ways to help the refugees rebuild their lives, and bring them health care, education and livelihoods. http://www.voanews.com/english/news/asia/southeast/Karens-Flee-Fighting-in-Burma-But-Live-in-Limbo-in-Thailand-118072334.html
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Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Sunday, March 13, 2011
News & Articles on Burma-Monday, 14 March, 2011
News & Articles on Burma
Monday, 14 March, 2011
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Junta, Shan army exchange fire again
Burma expects PR boost from Blatter visit
Jealousies Divide 'United' Junta
EU Wants Burmese Refugees to Stand on Own Feet
Gem fair sees jade prices soar 10-fold
Parties lobby EU for end to sanctions
The EU continues humanitarian projects in Myanmar and Thailand
‘Buildings cracked; everything shook’
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-12724473
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Junta, Shan army exchange fire again
Monday, 14 March 2011 17:38 Hseng Khio Fah
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Clashes between Shan State Army (SSA) ‘North’ and Burma Army troops were reported yesterday twice in the area of Shan State South’s Monghsu township, according to local sources.
The first attack took place at around 18:30 (local time) yesterday and the second one around 08:00 this morning, lasting about half an hour each. Both attacks took place in Mong Awd village tract, Monghsu, where the SSA troops are active. But no details of the attacks have been known so far.
The SSA side had about 60 men and while the Burma Army had 200, who were dispatched from proper Burma to Monghsu. They came in over 20 military trucks which were also carrying military supplies.
According to local villagers, it was the SSA that opened fire first. “The SSA knew that the junta authorities were sending more troops to its areas,” said a source.
During these days, the military junta is reported to have been busy deploying more troops to areas along the Salween, where the Shan State Army (SSA) is active in the west and the United Wa State Army is in the east, according to local sources.
The total number of troops sent yesterday to the two groups’ controlled territories was about 10 battalions, estimated around 1,000 soldiers, according to an officer from the SSA’s First Brigade.
They were dispatched from different parts. Some were deployed from Shan State North’s Lashio to Tangyan and Mongyai townships, northern part of SSA’s First Brigade Headquarters Wanhai, while others were sent from Shan State South’s Mongnawng sub-township to Monghsu township, east of Wanhai.
“The deployment coming from Mongnawng to Monghsu was about 200 soldiers. They came in about 40 military trucks also carrying military supplies. They arrived at around 3 or 4 pm,” said an eye witness from Monghsu.
Likewise, a source from Nampawng village located between Lashio and Tangyan said, “They [the military trucks] did not come together, only 10 to 15 trucks per convoy. All were filled with soldiers.”
The SSA said the Burma Army is planning to make another ‘Four Cuts campaign: cutting food, funds, information and recruits and an additional: communication routes.
The relationship between SSA and the Burma Army turned sour since the SSA refused to accept Naypyitaw’s militia force program in 2009.
The SSA First Brigade, now officially known as Shan State Progress Party/ Shan State Army (SSPP/SSA), is also allied with the United Wa State Army, the National Democratic Alliance Army and the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO). The United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC) confirmed that the SSPP/SSA had decided to “wait and see instead of joining it.” The alliance, which was formed last month, has 11 member organizations. http://www.shanland.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3505:junta-shan-army-exchange-fire-again&catid=86:war&Itemid=284
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Burma expects PR boost from Blatter visit
* Published: 14/03/2011 at 12:00 AM
* Newspaper section: News
Football crazy Burma is hosting the head of world football this week _ a visit which the regime's top generals hope to milk for all its worth.
Sepp Blatter, the president of the international football's governing body Fifa, is making a two-day official visit to Burma beginning tomorrow in what may be a diplomatic coup for the military junta.
In the first-ever visit by a senior Fifa official to the country, Mr Blatter will open the new Myanmar Football Academy, built with funds from Fifa and inspect some of the "Football for Hope" projects also initiated by the organisation.
These are part of Fifa's programmes all over the world that combine football and social development.
Mr Blatter was invited by the president of the Myanmar Football Federation, the wealthy businessman Zaw Zaw during the World Cup in South Africa last June.
While in Burma he will seek ways for the Myanmar Football Federation to strengthen the local professional leagues, said sources in Rangoon.
However, Western diplomats in the region fear that Mr Blatter, a controversial and outspoken 74-year-old Swiss, will be exploited by the regime for its own ends.
Mr Blatter is also scheduled to visit the secretive, new capital Naypyidaw, where he will meet the president-elect Thein Sein as well as the football-mad military supremo, Than Shwe.
"Such a high-profile visitor will undoubtedly be used to try to give credibility to the newly formed civilian government," said a western diplomat based in Rangoon.
For a regime struggling against international condemnation and isolation over its human rights record, especially by the West, this would be a welcome recognition.
Sources close to the Fifa delegation say Mr Blatter was reluctant to go to Naypyidaw _ where he will stay overnight tomorrow _ but had no choice for football's sake.
"The trip is purely to promote sport," said a football official in Rangoon on condition of anonymity.
The charismatic opposition leader, Aung San Suu Kyi _ recently released after more than seven years under house arrest _ is also a football fanatic, according to sources in her party.
Some western government officials tried to encourage the football boss to include a meeting with her on this visit, but this was turned down as the trip was confined to sport, and was not meant to be political.
But the Fifa head's visit is something of a diplomatic coup for the top general Than Shwe _ who is a keen follower of the English Premier League and watches it regularly on satellite television. He is reported to be an avid Manchester United fan, as is his eldest grandson _ Nay Shwethway Aung, nicknamed Pho La Pyit. Two years ago, he encouraged his grandfather to establish a professional football league in Burma.
Football is Burma's most popular sport. Each weekend the country comes to a virtual stop to watch the English league on pirated television transmissions illegally siphoned from Thailand.
Millions of kyat, the local currency, are wagered on each game.
Now that Burma has its own league, interest has peaked further. There are some 100 players on monthly salaries ranging from 300,000 kyat (9,000 baht) to one million kyat, including foreign players, mostly from Africa.
In January 2009, Than Shwe ordered the regime's cronies and businessmen to set up professional football teams, offering incentives including gem and jade mines.
Eight wealthy businessmen _ probably the richest businessmen in Burma _ with close ties to the top generals, established teams which took part in the first competition last year. Each team was encouraged to have foreign coaches and were allowed to have a maximum of five foreign players.
The eight new soccer clubs represented eight different regions of the country. The top general's grandson himself happens to be a player for the Delta United team owned by businessman Zaw Zaw, the key promoter of the Burmese football league.
Than Shwe, according to sources in Naypyidaw, immediately saw the political value of setting up a football league in a bid to capture credibility and support ahead of last year's elections.
If nothing else, it would be a distraction, one senior government official said.
Than Shwe apparently had grandiose ideas, including wanting to see former Manchester United star David Beckham play. That certainly would have been a coup as Becks is one of the best known and admired international superstars. Although the level of foreign players did not match the expected icons of the sport, the league proved popular.
Zaw Zaw, for his efforts in establishing the league, has now become the senior patron of the league and the titular head of the country's football body. He is renowned to be close to Than Shwe and his grandson.
His Max Myanmar group is notorious, and now one of the biggest companies in the country. He and his companies are subject to US sanctions.
The regime's top generals are quite convinced that they have the money and power to buy their way into the international sport.
Than Shwe briefly considered a take-over bid for the top English club, Manchester United, according to a secret document leaked by whistle-blowing website WikiLeaks.
A cable sent from the US embassy in Rangoon to Washington, revealed that military commander-in-chief Than Shwe was advised by his grandson before January 2009 to look into the possibility of buying the Barclays Premier League giants.
A bid of $1 billion was considered, before being dropped in favour of creating a new Burmese football league.
The US diplomatic cable said: "One source reports that the grandson wanted Than Shwe to offer $1 billion for Manchester United. He thought that sort of expenditure could look bad, so he opted to create for Burma a league of its own."
What this reveals though is Than Shwe clearly wants to use sport to bolster the popularity of his political puppets, and sees football as a major means to do that.
So Mr Blatter's visit to Burma this week fits neatly into the senior general's game plan _ even if FIFA try to avoid being used for propaganda purposes. http://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion/226522/burma-expects-pr-boost-from-blatter-visit
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Jealousies Divide 'United' Junta
By WAI MOE Monday, March 14, 2011
One of the Burmese junta’s best known mottos is: “We will remain united whoever tries to break us up.” The military authorities ensure that plaques and signs are put up bearing this slogan in military schools, bases and public places across the country.
However, much as the slogan clearly prescribes an undivided approach to external threats, it does not appear to have generated the same team spirit when it comes to internal conflicts, in particular, splits and jealousies within the military hierarchy based on business interests.
Even some of Burma's top generals have fallen prey to the “dog eat dog” syndrome that plays out continually in Naypyidaw.
Most recently, over the weekend of March 5-6, several cabinet members and military cronies were left miffed when they were not included in a thinly veiled scheme by the Trade Policy Council to sell off cheaply into private hands a list of state-owned buildings and properties in Rangoon.
Many of the properties included colonial buildings that were former ministries, and other edifices located in the city's commercial hub. They were offered to many military officers and their friends and families, but certain potential investors missed out on the opportunity to take advantage on the discounted properties.
“The division in privileges has led to jealousies and rivalries between several military generals and cabinet ministers, as well as among the community of influential family members,” said a Rangoon businessman, speaking on condition of anonymity. “Now, some of them don't talk to each other. They compete fiercely to win contracts on any state property that is put up for sale.”
As an example, he said that ex-Brig-Gen Thein Zaw, the minister of Communications, Posts and Telegraphs, and Soe Tha, the minister of National Planning and Economic Development, are no longer on speaking terms following a dispute that arose when they both tried recently to buy out the same state firm in Rangoon.
Since the beginning of this year, the junta has announced the sell-off of five large state-owned corporations and buildings, including the former Offices of the Ministers, a British colonial edifice where Burma’s independence hero Aung San and eight of his colleagues were assassinated in 1947.
Observers have said that the property sellouts have no benefit to the people of Burma; instead, the public buildings—several of which feature unique Victorian architecture that is considered characteristic of Rangoon, and are popular with tourists—are being transferred into the hands of Burma's military and business elite.
Family members of many of the military's top generals, such as Snr-Gen Than Shwe, Vice Snr-Gen Maung Aye, Gen “Thura” Shwe Mann, Secretary-1 ex-Gen Tin Aung Myint Oo and ex-Lt-Gen Tin Aye, all own former state properties and/or have taken over formerly state-run business enterprises, such as hydropower and mining contracts.
Although junta chief Than Shwe’s favorite grandson Nay Shwe Thway Aung is only 21 years of age, his buying power in Rangoon is second to none.
Sources have said that Nay Shwe Thway Aung has recently purchased huge estates on Rangoon’s Parami Road and Kabar Aye Pagoda Road where he intends to construct shopping complexes and business centers.
“These are large plots of land he [Than Shwe's grandson] bought,” said a government official in Rangoon who wished to remain anonymous. “No other businessman has dared to even dream about acquiring these properties.
“But this is Nay Shwe Thway Aung’s era. He can do anything he wants,” he said.
Reports from Naypyidaw suggest that several military officers dislike Nay Shwe Thway Aung because he has assumed a high rank within military circles despite the fact he has never served in the army, and is reputed to be pretentious. Displeasure was also expressed by the military elite that Than Shwe's grandson was permitted to sit in the front row beside his grandfather at official photo shoots.
“Nay Shwe Thway Aung has been involved in several business disputes with the sons of other top generals, including Aung Thet Mann, Toe Naing Mann and Shwe Mann. But, in the end, they always have to concede to Nay Shwe Thway Aung,” he added.
The family of junta No.2 Maung Aye is thought to be the richest in the country. His daughter, Nandar Aye, and her husband, Pyi Aung, who is son of Industry-1 Minister Aung Thaung, own and run the largest multinational in Burma—the IGE Group. Their other partner is Nay Aung, the other son of Aung Thaung.
The company is involved in the oil and gas industries, the timber trade, mining, tourism, banking and construction, either directly or through its sister companies: UNOG Co. Ltd; the Amara Co. Ltd; MRT Co. Ltd; FCEC Co. Ltd; and various others.
Another contentious issue among the generals is Than Shwe’s “divide and rule” tactic of reshuffling his closest allies in the post-election political arena. Junta No.3 Shwe Mann became the Lower House speaker while his fellow generals former Prime Minister Thein Sein and Tin Aung Myint Oo were selected as president and vice-president respectively.
Even though no one dares complain to Than Shwehis orders are considered absoluteseveral high-ranking officers are reportedly very unhappy with the new lineup. Only one, Lt-Gen Myint Aung, dared to refuse Than Shwe’s appointment of him as defense minister. He was quickly dismissed and confined to virtual house arrest.
But the ill feeling does appear to have had some effect on Than Shwe. His four daughters who held symbolic positions at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reportedly resigned earlier this year in what Burma observers see as a face-saving maneuver.
“Although Than Shwe's son-in-law Zaw Phyo Win is still with the ministry, the daughters’ resignations are good news for all other staff members,” said a former Burmese diplomat in Rangoon. “They [the daughters] just claimed fake salaries. They never actually went to work or did anything.”
http://irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=20929
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EU Wants Burmese Refugees to Stand on Own Feet
By THE IRRAWADDY Monday, March 14, 2011
A visiting European Union (EU) delegation said it will provide career training to Burmese refugees on the Thai-Burmese border to empower them to support themselves, but that it must reduce annual aid and supplies to the displaced.
A representative for the EU delegation spoke during a visit to Mae La refugee camp, the biggest of its kind, which houses around 50,000 mostly ethnic Karen people who fled from their homes due to attacks by the Burmese Government Army. There are currently 150,000 Burmese refugees living on the Thai-Burmese border.
The project will aim to help Mae La refugees make enough income to support themselves, EU Commissioner for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response Kristalina Georgieva told camp committees on Sunday evening while leading the delegation. The EU project will include agriculture, livestock and handicraft training.
Karen students walk in Mae La camp, near the Thai-Burmese border in Mae Sot district, Tak province, 600 km (373 miles) north of Bangkok. (Photo: Reuters)
Saw Htun Htun, the chairman of Mae La refugee camp, told The Irrawaddy: “The EU officials said they will reduce its current aid year by year. However, they said they will help the refugees until they can stand on their own feet. They will also provide career training to the refugees.”
Saw K’nyaw Poe, a Karen refugee in Mae La camp, said, “Many people here are interested in having a paid job inside or outside the camp to making their living. They are bored staying in the camp for years and are unable to travel freely outside. Those who illegally travel outside the camp can be arrested and tortured at any time.”
Htun Htun said the refugee camp committees also welcomed the project by the EU and believe that it will improve the life of residents by allowing them to support themselves.
Refugees in the nine camps on the Thai-Burmese border are not officially allowed to travel and work outside the camp, but the EU delegation said it will also urge Thai authorities to stop these restrictions.
The EU has been supporting Burmese refugees on the Thai-Burmese border since 1995. Food and supplies for refugees have been reduced as humanitarian relief funding for the West has decreased, according to a camp committee member.
The Thailand Burma Border Consortium (TBBC), which has been caring for Burmese refugees for the past 25 years, said that livelihood programs will likely operate inside the camp as the Thai authorities do not allow Burmese refugees to travel outside and seek employment.
Sally Thompson, the deputy director of the TBBC, said, “We all like to see the refugees becoming self-reliant. But there are limits that can be achieved within the current refugee policy here in Thailand.”
While non-governmental organizations have started to support self-reliance programs towards refugees, Thompson said she believes it is too early to reduce aid supplies as most still remain heavily dependent on humanitarian assistance for even their basic needs.
http://irrawaddy.org/highlight.php?art_id=20928
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Gem fair sees jade prices soar 10-fold
By AHUNT PHONE MYAT
Published: 14 March 2011
Sale prices for Burma’s iconic jade stone have jumped as much as ten times in the past year, according to gem merchants whom last week attended the 48th Gems Emporium in Naypyidaw.
Despite the price hike, as many as 17,000 sets of jade were bought, one gem business owner at the emporium told DVB.
“Jade prices are going very high – about 10 times more than last year’s price,” he said. “A piece of jade that was worth 200,000 kyat ($US230) to 300,000 kyat ($US340) about three years ago is now worth about 1.5 million kyat ($US1,705) to two million kyat ($US2,272).”
He added that the dramatic increase was largely down to growing demand from Chinese buyers, who are also hungrily snapping up Burmese pearl which was second bestselling gem at the emporium. Another gem businessman said that Chinese traders made up three-quarters of the buyers in Naypyidaw last week.
With bans on imports of Burmese jade to the US, China has quickly become the world’s top market for the coveted stone, which is mined heavily in Burma’s northern Kachin and Sagaing states, often in operations backed by Chinese businessmen.
“China has high buyer demand for jade as the country’s economy is growing,” said another man. “And the Burmese government, which is sanctioned by western countries, was looking to sell the gems, so it’s a win-win situation.”
He added that the Burmese government “doesn’t care about the international sanctions and they wanted to show off how much money they can still make from selling the gems”.
Burmese government figures claim that profits made from selling jade has climbed from $US198 million in 2005 to $US1,700 million in 2010, despite seeing falls in profit from other precious stones.
The last gems emporium in Naypyidaw in November last year made record sales of $US1.4 billion, suggesting that the sanctioned industry is buoyant.
Burma is thought to produce around 90 percent of the world’s jade and gems, much of which goes to China and other regional nations, such as Singapore.
Most of the produce comes from Burma’s ethnic regions, particularly the Hpakant mines in Kachin state where the conditions for workers are notoriously poor. Around 30 government-licensed companies mine precious stones in Kachin state, where they have had to vie for territory with the opposition Kachin Independence Army.
http://www.dvb.no/news/gem-fair-sees-jade-prices-soar-10-fold/14716
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Parties lobby EU for end to sanctions
By DVB
Published: 14 March 2011
Ten opposition parties have joined together to call on the EU to terminate sanctions on Burma, claiming that the post-election “evolution” underway in the country warranted a rethink of European policy.
An open letter sent to Brussels last week and signed by the ‘Myanmar Fraternal Democratic Parties’ – a loose alliance that includes the National Democratic Force (NDF) and Democratic Party Myanmar (DPM), as well as a number of ethnic parties – criticised the current embargo as responsible for “[denying Burmese] the benefits of increased foreign investment that brings technology, better working conditions and modern global ideas”.
“Though sanctions are not the prime cause for poverty in our country, they have hit labor-intensive sectors like garments, seafood and wood processing, and prevent new jobs from being created”, it continued, adding that the EU should also lift its opposition to tourists travelling to Burma.
Khin Maung Swe, leader of the NDF, said that the group had also called on EU ministers to aid dialogue between the opposition and the Burmese junta.
The debate over whether sanctions should remain on the pariah has split the opposition: some say that measures such as the visa ban are making life uncomfortable for the ruling generals, while others see the approach as ineffective in the face of continued regional, particularly Chinese, investment in Burma. Some even claim the protracted debate is itself an obstacle to progress in the military-ruled country.
The letter’s signatories are all part of the body of democratic parties that competed and won seats in the November 2010 elections. The National League for Democracy (NLD), which despite its boycott of the polls is still considered to be the leading opposition force in Burma, continues to be the strongest proponent of sanctions but has acknowledged the need for a review.
In a statement released last month, the party led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi said it would look to engage with Western nations in a bid to modify sanctions following a study in which it found that Burmese citizens were not affected by the embargo.
Suu Kyi herself has said however that greater foreign investment, provided it is done carefully, could improve conditions for Burmese who have been “left behind”.
Some analysts claim that the poor targeting of sanctions effectively amounts to a humanitarian boycott, with the quantity of overseas development assistance (ODA) going into Burma now lower than Cambodia, despite having a population three times the size.
The remaining signatories to the EU letter are the Chin National Party, Democracy and Peace Party, Nationla Political Alliance, Phalon-Sawaw Democratic Party, Rakhine Nationalities Democratic Party, Shan Nationalities Democratic Party, Union Democratic Partyand Wunthanu National League for Democracy.
http://www.dvb.no/news/parties-lobby-eu-for-end-to-sanctions/14721
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The European Union continues its steady support for humanitarian projects in Myanmar and Thailand in 2011
Reference: IP/11/300 Date: 14/03/2011
IP/11/300
Brussels, 14 March 2011
The European Union continues its steady support for humanitarian projects in Myanmar and Thailand in 2011
The European Union's humanitarian assistance for Myanmar and Thailand will reach €22.25 million this year. The size of the contribution was announced in Bangkok by Kristalina Georgieva, the European Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid, International Cooperation and Crisis Response. From the European humanitarian aid budget, €8 million will be allocated to refugees from Myanmar living in border camps in Thailand, and €14.25 million will provide help to vulnerable communities in Myanmar, including those affected by cyclone Giri.
"The European Union has long been a leading supporter to the people in need of humanitarian aid in Thailand and Myanmar; in 2011, our assistance will remain generous as we continue to work for sustainable solutions for the refugees and disaster-stricken communities in the region," Commissioner Georgieva said. She gave details of the Commission's 2011 humanitarian support in Myanmar and Thailand after visiting the Mae Sot - Mae La refugee camp in Western Thailand and after meeting Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya.
The €8 million funding for the refugees in six of the nine camps along the border will mainly provide food assistance, health care, clean water and sanitation. Over 100,000 refugees will benefit from European aid.
The €14.25 million allocation for Myanmar includes €5m for the remaining humanitarian needs in the aftermath of cyclone Giri which hit Rakhine State in October 2010. Immediately after the disaster, the European Commission provided €3 million in aid, but four months on, the affected communities are still facing considerable challenges and need humanitarian support.
Background
Today, over 140,000 refugees from Myanmar live in nine camps in Thailand. The European Commission is among the largest donors to the camps and since 1995 has provided, including 2011 funding, €149 million: €103m for humanitarian aid and €46m through other longer-term assistance budgets.
Including Member States' donors (DFID, the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, the United Kingdom), the European Union has been providing € 25 million per year since 2007 in humanitarian aid to the refugee camps in Thailand. This is more than half of the overall humanitarian support to the refugees and displaced along the border.
The European humanitarian assistance covers food support, basic healthcare, water and sanitation. Essential food aid is provided to over 65,000 refugees, and 100,000 benefit from basic medical services. The projects that receive financing from the European Union are implemented primarily through international non-governmental organisations and UNHCR.
To ensure that refugees get not only immediate support, but also a chance for a better future and greater self-reliance, the European Commission plans to gradually refocus its aid to camp residents – from humanitarian relief toward more sustainable support.
The European Commission provided €110,000 to the Thai Red Cross to provide urgent humanitarian assistance to people affected by the floods which inundated the north-eastern and central provinces of Thailand in August and September 2010.
For more info
For information on the European Commission’s humanitarian support for refugees in Thailand:
http://ec.europa.eu/echo/aid/asia/thailand_en.htm
Commissioner Kristalina Georgieva’s website:
http://ec.europa.eu/commission_2010-2014/georgieva/index_en.htm
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‘Buildings cracked; everything shook’
By KHIN MIN ZAW
Published: 14 March 2011
First-hand accounts from Burmese nationals of the recent earthquake in Japan have described how communication is down across many parts of the country and thousands remain trapped in relief camps with little food.
Estimates of the number of those killed by Japan’s strongest earthquake on record vary, but the US Geological Survey says it is likely more than 10,000. Local reports say that two thousand bodies were found this morning in the worst-hit Miyagi Prefecture in the country’s northeastern region, which was submerged by the resulting tsunami, while 10,000 were reported missing in Minamisanriku alone.
Than Than Aye, 55, told DVB that she had been at her home in Tokyo, 230 miles from the epicentre, on Friday last week when the 9.0-magnitude quake struck.
“I was at home watching parliamentary news [on television] and an announcement about the earthquake appeared [on the screen],” she said. “Then the earthquake came; everything was shaking, and I hastily put on a helmet and ran out to the street.
“Electric wires were making banging sounds. A building nearby cracked and the water came along very strong. I didn’t know where to run. Someone shouted ‘duck! duck!’ so we ducked and then ran into [a nearby] school.
“My body was shaking so much when I made my way to the school I couldn’t even walk properly. There were kids in the school. No one dared to stay inside the school building – everyone was out in the compound. It was very cold too.”
Fears of further disaster are growing after an explosion occurred at a second nuclear reactor building at the Fukushima Daiichi atomic power plant this morning, although a government spokesperson told The Guardian that there was a “low possibility” of a dangerous radiation leak
Than Than Aye, who has now been moved to a relief camp, said telephone lines were down and there was no gas in Tokyo, which is home to nearly 13 million people, although electricity remained on in some parts of the city.
She said that people, including children, in the relief camp she was in had been given blankets but were struggling to find food.
According to Japan’s foreign ministry, nearly 6000 Burmese are registered in the country, although the figure for unregistered migrants is likely to be a lot higher. It is not clear whether Burmese are among the quake victims.
Taiwanese media said today that of the 5,450 Taiwanese in Japan, more than 1,700 had not been accounted for.
The UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) quoted the Japanese government as saying that 2.6 million households are without electricity and nearly 3.2 million people are running out of gas supplies, while 1.4 million people have no access to water. Nearly 600,000 have been evacuated from the country.
http://www.dvb.no/news/%E2%80%98buildings-cracked-everything-shook%E2%80%99/14710
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