News & Articles on Burma-Monay, 03 January, 2011

News & Articles on Burma
Monay, 03 January, 2011
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Wa to cooperate with ceasefire, non-ceasefire groups
More power plant projects in Myanmar
Interethnic Agreement in Burma Long Overdue
Myanmar's drug 'exports' to China test ties
Chinese cars make inroads in Myanmar's market (Feature)
Burma: Bad government, great people
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Wa to cooperate with ceasefire, non-ceasefire groups
Monday, 03 January 2011 16:43 Hseng Khio Fah

The United Wa State Party (UWSP), the political wing of the United Wa State Army (UWSA) has decided in its 10 day-long party conference, 20-29 December 2010, that it will cooperate with every ethnic organizations both from inside and outside the country and to work together until Burma achieves a genuine democracy.

A Wa officer said the UWSP will be working together with all ethnic groups inclusive of ceasefire groups and non-ceasefire groups due to one of its policies “Have few enemies but many friends.”

“We will form alliance with all the armed groups whether they are recognized as rebels and such to others, but we [the Wa] don’t see them that way because they all are the people of Burma,” the officer said.

“We cannot consider these people who hold guns are either being rebellious or pig headed, but only that they are holding guns to struggle for what they believe.”

According to him, the UWSP has decided to solve the current political, social and economic problems together with its allies and other ethnic organizations until Burma gains a genuine democracy.

In addition, the party has also agreed to invite more foreign investors to help develop its controlled areas.

Regarding the UWSP’s recent reached agreement, Khuensai Jaiyen, editor in chief of Shan Herald Agency for News (SHAN) commented, “It is interesting that the group has decided to work with all armed groups and to invite foreign investors because it has never done before.”

Nevertheless, the group also confirmed that it would never surrender to any government and never transform itself into a border guard force (BGF), but it would try to negotiate with the new government about its problems according to its six point policies.

The said 6 points to be presented to the new government are the following:

* The Wa stands for the Wa State’s peace and development
* The Wa State shall have its own armed force. Wa weapons will remain in Wa hands. The Wa armed force will also remain in Wa State.
* The Wa will not secede from the Union
* The Wa will never demand or declare independence under any (Union) government
* The Wa will steadfastly demand for a state with the Right of Self Determination from every (Union) government until it is achieved
* The Wa are ready to discuss Wa affairs with the upcoming government, upholding a policy of non-alignment and neutrality.

http://www.shanland.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3390:wa-to-cooperate-with-ceasefire-non-ceasefire-groups&catid=85:politics&Itemid=266
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More power plant projects in Myanmar
Xinhua

A total of 61 power plants with an installed capacity of 41,206 megawatts (MW) are under implementation in Myanmar which will generate 2,45,203 kilowatt-hours (kWh) per year on completion. This will be in addition to the capacity of existing power plants, an official daily reported on January 2.

There are already 32 power plants with an installed capacity of 3,045 MW and yielding 2,45,203 kWh per year, the official daily New Light of Myanmar has said. With one more 25 MW power plant planned in the future, there will be a total of 94 power plants with an installed capacity of 44,276 MW and generating 2,65,389 kWh per year upon completion of all the plants. The 61 ongoing power plant projects are scattered in Kachin, Kayah, Kayin, Shan and Rakhine states, and in the Sagaing, Tanintharyi, Bago, Mandalay and Magway regions.

On December 15, 2010, Myanmar launched its largest hydropower plant at Yeywa in the northern Mandalay region.

Located on the Myitnge river, 50 km southeast of Mandalay city, the 790 MW Yeywa hydropower plant was installed with four 197.5 MW generators that will generate 3.55 billion kWh of electricity annually.

The RCC embankment and the Yeywa hydropower plant project were implemented by the Ministry of Electric Power-1 and the project involved a contract by the CGGC International of the Gezhouba Group and China's Sinohydro Corporation. The completion of the project adds nearly 50 per cent more to the power generating capacity in the country. A key aspect in the successful construction of the Yeywa RCC dam was comprehensive training of the local staff during preparative for and initial stages of the construction.

The project is expected to ease the country's electricity shortage and help develop central Myanmar. http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/article1025345.ece
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Interethnic Agreement in Burma Long Overdue
Nehginpao Kipgen | January 02, 2011

On Tuesday, Burma will celebrate its 63rd independence day. It was on this day in 1948, the Union of Burma was granted independence by the British. Over six decades have passed since independence, but the crux of the conflicts within the country still remains unresolved.

The 2011 independence day celebration will differ from the previous years for two important reasons. First, pro-military legislators prepare to dominate a parliamentary government. Second, Aung San Suu Kyi will celebrate the occasion with her National League for Democracy party members, free from house arrest.

The continued conflicts are primarily due to the denial of autonomy or federalism to the non-Burmese ethnicities by the successive Burmese-led central governments. Autonomy has been the core demand of the non-Burmese ethnic groups since independence.

The 1947 Panglong agreement was a turning point in the history of Burma’s modern politics. It established the conditions for independence and shaped the foundation for the Union of Burma.

The ethnic Burmese were aware that a unified Burma would not be possible without the cooperation of the non-Burmese Frontier Areas. And there was a lingering fear, suspicion and doubts in the minds of the Frontier peoples about possible domination by ethnic Burmese in the post-independence era.

To clarify the lingering concerns, Gen. Aung San, Suu Kyi’s father, made a historically significant statement: “If Burma receives one kyat, you will also get one kyat.” This was an assurance that every ethnic group within the Union of Burma would receive equal treatment.

Such assuring remarks from a prominent Burmese leader persuaded representatives from the Chin Hills, Kachin Hills and Shan states to cooperate with the interim Burmese government. Subsequently, 22 representatives from the Frontier Areas (three from Chin Hills, six from Kachin Hills and 13 from Shan states) and Burma proper represented by Aung San signed the Panglong agreement on Feb. 12, 1947.

However, with the assassination of Aung San on July 19, 1947, the Burmese nationalists and ultranationalists interpreted the ethnic minorities’ demand for autonomy as an attempt to disintegrate the Union of Burma.

Because of its failure to implement the Panglong agreement, a decade of Prime Minister U Nu’s government was threatened by insurgency problems. The hope for political autonomy or federalism was then shattered when military leader Gen. Ne Win staged a coup d’etat on March 2, 1962.

Historical facts have demonstrated that the present-day conflicts in Burma are primarily rooted in the failure to implement the Panglong agreement, especially on the question of autonomy for ethnic minorities.

The question now is whether the present leadership of ethnic Burmese groups is ready for another Panglong-type conference to address the concerns of ethnic minorities. Will the new pro-military civilian government or other moderate leaders led by Suu Kyi be willing to revisit the Panglong agreement? In this regard, Suu Kyi has publicly voiced her support for holding a second Panglong conference. A few days after her release from house arrest in November, Suu Kyi said: “A second Panglong conference addressing the concerns of the 21st century is needed for national reconciliation.”

Because of her being the daughter of Aung San, who himself signed the Panglong agreement on behalf of the Burmese government, ethnic minorities trust and support Suu Kyi more than any other Burmese leader in the country.

Suu Kyi’s comment was later cautiously, or more realistically, restated by the NLD leadership during its meeting with Joseph Yun, the US deputy assistant secretary of state for East Asia and Pacific affairs, on Dec. 10 in Rangoon.

According to Ohn Kyaing, spokesman for the NLD: “The second Panglong conference is intended to give people a strong sense of unity. It does not intend to oppose any person or any organization. Practically, it will be fruitful only if the military participates in it. So, we want the military to participate in it. It’s an affair we need to do in unison.”

But the idea of a second Panglong conference apparently does not interest Burma’s military leaders. In the Burmese-language Myanmar Ahlin newspaper on Dec. 8, the military downplayed the revival of the Panglong spirit. The article said: “If they [the opposition] choose to follow this idealistic way while ignoring the best way [parliament], they should be aware that it will bring more harm than good to the country.”

The military’s lukewarm approach to a second Panglong conference is not surprising. It shows that the mentality of the present military leadership does not differ much from Gen. Ne Win’s era when the military construed federalism as an attempt to disintegrate the country.

Forty-eight years of military rule is a long time, but no military dictatorship in world history has survived. It is only a matter of time as to how and when the Burmese junta will become a footnote in the nation’s history.

As Burma prepares to celebrate its 63rd birthday, ethnic minorities have yet to fully enjoy the spirit of independence day. What matters most is finding amicable solutions to over 60-year-old conflicts. Holding a second Panglong conference will be a promising start for both Burmese and non-Burmese ethnicities alike.


Nehginpao Kipgen is a researcher on politics in modern Burma and general secretary of the US-based Kuki International Forum ( www.kukiforum.com). He can be reached at nkipgen@niu.edu . http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/opinion/interethnic-agreement-in-burma-long-overdue/414612
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ASIA TIMES: 04 Jan 2011
Myanmar's drug 'exports' to China test ties
By Marwaan Macan-Markar

BANGKOK - As military-ruled Myanmar prepares to unveil its new political cast, an enduring link between the junta and the country's notorious drug lords is poised to come under the spotlight.

Among the candidates who won in the Southeast Asian nation's first election in 20 years on November 7 are six suspected drug barons. They represented the Union Solidarity and Development Party, the junta's political front, which triumphed comfortably in the poll.

The bespectacled Kyaw Myint is among this group of six who emerged victorious in a poll - clouded with questions of fraud - for



the estimated 1,163 seats in the national parliament and regional assemblies that were up for grabs.

The elected national and regional legislators are to begin their new role in Myanmar by the first week in February. The opening of the new parliament 90 days after the November poll is the sixth step in the junta's seven-step political roadmap to create a "discipline-flourishing democracy" in Myanmar.

Prior to slipping into his role as a legislator, the 51-year-old Kyaw Myint was better known as a junta-backed militia chief "notorious among local people as a drug dealer in the Shan State North’s Namkham township", reveals the Shan Herald Agency for News (SHAN), a media organization run by journalists from Myanmar’s Shan ethnic minority.

"Many ferry crossings on the Ruli River that serve as a boundary between China and Myanmar are guarded by Kyaw Htwe [also known as Li Yonping], younger brother of Kyaw Myint," adds SHAN.

Yet this political identity for Kyaw Myint, with the junta's blessings, will test the growing economic bonds between Myanmar and its giant northeastern neighbor China. According to official figures released by Myanmese officials, China has pumped in over US$8 billion in foreign direct investment this year to tap Myanmar's resource-rich environment.

The investments by Chinese state-run companies in the oil and gas, hydropower and mining sectors mark a dramatic increase from what Chinese investments were five years ago - some $194 million.

"Myanmar and China have grown closer over the past four years and Beijing is on the verge of displacing Thailand as the country that tops investment in Myanmar," says a Southeast Asian diplomat who spoke on condition of anonymity.

But one Burmese "export" to China has Beijing concerned, the diplomat added. "Beijing is worried at the increase in drugs flowing from Myanmar to its southwestern Yunnan province."

United Nations officials confirm this. "Yes they [Beijing] are concerned not only with ATS [amphetamine-type stimulants] but also with heroin," says Gary Lewis, East Asia and Pacific regional representative for the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

The spike in the number of methamphetamine pills seized in China in 2009 underscores such worries. "In 2009, China reported total seizures of more than 40 million pills. This represented as almost six-fold increase from 6.25 million pills seized in 2008," UNODC says in a December 2010 report on the ATS trade in Myanmar, whose northeastern part comes within the narcotics-producing Golden Triangle region.

"The Chinese government has been reporting a sharp increase of drug trafficking into China from the Golden Triangle region by means of constantly changing drug trafficking routes and methods," states the 45-page report, “Myanmar - Situation Assessment on Amphetamine-Type Stimulants”. "Reports have pointed to transnational drug syndicates attempting to sell stored drugs, with a resulting sharp increase of drug smuggled into China."

"The seizure of 3.2 tons of heroine and approximately the same quantity of methamphetamine in Yunnan province accounted for half of the total quantity of illicit drugs seized in China in 2009," the report adds. "Three of the self-administered regions in Myanmar are located on the border with Yunnan province. Methamphetamine pills seized in Yunnan province are - at the very least - trafficked through these special regions."

Myanmar's rise as a major production center of methamphetamine pills, with the drug factories located in the northeastern Shan State, adds to its previous notoriety as a supplier of opium and heroin.

Myanmar's emergence as an ATS producer followed a decision by the junta to launch a 15-year drug elimination program in 1999. The Drug Elimination Plan (DEP) targeted the poppy fields in the northern and eastern regions of the country, which accounted for 163,000 hectares under opium cultivation in the mid-1990s.

Before the DEP, Myanmar was known as the world's largest producer of illicit opium, "accounting for approximately 700 tons annually between 1981 and 1987," according to UNODC. "[That dropped] to 21,600 hectares in 2006, the lowest ever recorded."

However, this 83% decline in poppy cultivation under the DEP has not seen a change in the cross-border trade of ATS, which follows the routes once frequented by drug caravans that moved heroin from Myanmar into China.

"The border is very porous and there are no markers to say where the Burmese border ends and the Chinese border begins," says an official from Thailand's Central Narcotics Control Agency. "It is easy to move drugs from Burma's [Shan State into China's Yunnan province in remote areas where there are no checkpoints."

"The caravans move at night. They take the drugs in backpacks," the official tells Inter Press Service on condition of anonymity. "The Chinese government is faced with a problem because the domestic market is large."

(Inter Press Service) http://atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/MA04Ae01.html
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Chinese cars make inroads in Myanmar's market (Feature)

Jan 3, 2011, 2:21 GMT

Yangon - Min Min yawned as he gazed at the compound of his second-hand cars dealership in Yangon.

'I come here every day as usual but go back home without a single kyat in sales,' Min Min, 45, said.

Myanmar's market for second-hand cars shifted into low gear last year due to an influx of new Chinese vehicles imported in bits by Chinese-Myanmar joint ventures and assembled locally.

Chinese models are now cutting into what was once one of the world's most lucrative markets for Japan's used-car exports.

Myanmar's domestic vehicle market has been dominated by imported second-hand Japanese models for more than three decades.

With the country under military rule since 1962, automobile import licenses were only given to ministries, military-owned corporations such as Myanmar Economic Holdings and Myanmar Economic Corporation, and business tycoons close to the ruling generals.

These monopolies pushed second-hand car prices in Myanmar to among the world's highest.

Typically, a 20-year-old Japanese saloon sold for about 30 million kyats (30,000 dollars) in the golden years of the used car business.

Things turned in 2009, when the government allowed joint ventures between Myanmar and Chinese companies to be set up to import dismantled automobiles for assembly in Myanmar.

Last year these locally assembled Chinese models started to hit the market in a big way.

'We used to sell a 1988 Toyota Sprinter for 45 million kyats in 2008. Now, it's hard to sell it for even 17 million kyats,' one Yangon second-hand car dealer said. 'Chinese cars are now dominating the market because of their cheaper prices.'

'Before Chinese cars came into the market, we sold Japanese-made High Ace cars at 60 million kyats,' the dealer told the German Press Agency dpa. Equivalent Chinese models were now available for half that, he said, 'so we need to cut down our price to 55 million kyats.'

Even prices for Chinese cars are still steep in the country where where the minium wage is less than 50 dollars a month.

The newest Chinese sports utility vehicles, for instance, sell for 50,000 dollars. Even so, the new competition has been welcomed by those few who can afford cars.

'I just bought this new Chinese car with Japanese technology at a very reasonable price,' said Aung Thaw, a businessman in his thirties. 'If I wanted a similar car two years ago, I could only buy quite an old Japanese one for the same amount of money.'

Some privately owned companies such as Ramma and SSS have also started selling new Chinese models at Yangon trade fairs.

Before 2009, the ruling junta only allowed local companies to establish car assembly plants in the country's 18 industry zones.

These cars, assembled without Chinese help, were of poor quality, industry sources said. Some manufacturers cheated by importing whole cars from neighbouring Thailand and China and selling them as locally assembled, the sources added.

With the new regulations allowing some international joint ventures, there are at least five plants assembling Chinese brand cars.

Some local firms are also preparing establishing joint ventures with Japanese automobile firms, sources said.

'I saw some Japanese joint-venture cars in the market selling at a price of between 30 to 40 millions kyats,' Min Min said. 'It will change the trend of local car market again,' he added. 'Maybe I should change my job.'
http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/business/features/article_1609012.php/Chinese-cars-make-inroads-in-Myanmar-s-market-Feature
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Burma: Bad government, great people
By BOB WINSETT
SPECIAL TO THE DAILY

It's not quite 5 a.m. as I push through the doors of the hotel and into the pre-dawn darkness of Yangon, formerly known as Rangoon. I am reminded by the nativity scene on the lawn in front of the hotel that it is almost Christmas. Though Burma (the ruling military junta would prefer it be called Myanmar) is 90 percent Buddhist there are still signs of Christianity and, therefore, Christmas as part of the legacy left behind by the British occupation before Burma's independence in 1948.

Though it is winter in Burma, the daytime temps in Yangon will still push into the high 80's or 90's. At this hour, however, it is still relatively cool and I am surprised by the number of people out jogging, stretching, doing Tai Chi or, like me, headed to nearby Shwedagon Pagoda, one of the most spectacular sites in the Buddhist world.

Over 12 acres in size, Shwedagon itself is a complex of temples and pavilions arranged around one central temple that is 322 feet in height and covered with gold. It is said that this central temple is covered with more gold than is in all of the vaults of the Bank of England. Images and statues of Buddhas and other religious figures number into the thousands. Nearly half of all visitors to Burma visit Shwedagon at least once during their stay in the country. To the Burmese, it is a place of great religious significance which most Burmese will hope to visit at least once in their lifetime.

As I wait for the sun to rise, Shwedagon is a calm, serene place. Monks, nuns and lay people alike recite prayers, light candles or just sit in reverence in front of whichever Buddha or religious figure holds the most significance to them. Shwegadon is one of the first places where recently released pro-democracy advocate and Nobel Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi was seen in public for the first time in seven years.

As I walk around Yangon it seems to me that Burma may be to Asia what Cuba is to Latin America and for many of the same reasons. One of the most corrupt and oppressive governments on earth and the economic sanctions against it by the U.S. and most countries in the West has retarded Burma's economic growth.

Dilapidated buildings and vehicles are just some of the signs of British colonialism throughout Yangon and many other parts of Burma that create a feeling of melancholy in this otherwise lively city. Despite the brutality of its leaders, the Burmese people still exude a spirit that is largely rooted in their heritage as Buddhists.

Burma was first exposed to Buddhism in the 3rd century and its history is told even today by the incredible number of ancient and modern temples and monasteries found throughout this country comprised of over 60 cultural groups and sub-groups.

Nowhere in Burma is this history more evident than Bagan, which is home to more than 4,000 temples dating as far back as 1,000 years…all within an area just 25-square miles in size.

If you were to combine Tibet (monks and temples) with Hawaii (palm trees and papayas) and Moab (sandstone and red dirt) you would have a pretty good idea what Bagan is like.

Some temples and statues have been renovated. It is not, however, uncommon to come across statues and a few old wall frescoes that date back to the 11th, 12th or 13th centuries.

Some of the temples are massive and tower as much as 200 feet above the plains through which the Irrawadday River makes its way to the Andaman Sea. Many are much more modest. A variety of layouts and designs reflect different design influences that took place over approximately 300-400 years.

Around Bagan, horse carts and bicycle taxis transport locals and tourists alike. Most of the population resides in rudimentary structures made of thatched bamboo. Agriculture is the main livelihood.

Life is hard, yet the people exhibit a civility and modesty that is found in few other places.

Monks and nuns walk the streets and pathways in the early morning hours collecting alms. A newly opened meditation research center is testament to the spirituality and ethics that permeates daily life. Women and even some men wear a skin treatment made form the thanaka tree that is both decorative and a skin conditioner. Many men still wear longyi, a skirt-like garment.

Unfortunately, when speaking of Burma you cannot omit the element of fear and oppression that is also part of daily life. It may not be readily visible, yet it is there.

One business owner told me of a tour guide who was “taken away” for having been overheard speaking negatively about the ruling junta. His whereabouts is still unknown two years later.

Many say that encouragement by the government for people to openly participate in the democratic process is simply a way for the generals to more easily identify its foes.

The one institution that most Burmese put the most faith in is the monastic body of monks and nuns, of which there are over 500,000 residing in over 50,000 monasteries throughout the country.

It was monks that initiated the peaceful demonstrations in 2007 over a sudden doubling of gas prices by the government. The government responded with brutality by killing 31 and imprisoning nearly 3,000.

Paradoxically, Burma is also home to some of the most renown meditation schools in the world. At one time, the government even issued a special visa for meditation students.

As one author wrote about Tibet, the supreme irony for a culture in which compassion and kindness are valued above everything else is that it should be so easily dominated by brute force.

I hope that Burma finds a way to realize its true potential economically and spiritually. It is an incredible place to visit and one I hope to return to again.http://www.summitdaily.com/article/20110102/NEWS/110109993/1078&ParentProfile=1055