News & Articles on Burma-Thursday, 20 January, 2011

News & Articles on Burma
Thursday, 20 January, 2011
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NLD Denounces Conscription Law
Activist in Hiding to Escape Arrest
Junta issues arrest warrant for Bawk Ja of NDF
BCIM forum to focus on regional connectivity
Unknown armed band runs amok in Shan East
Weak dollar hits Burma aid work
Insight: ASEAN’s new approach to Myanmar is nothing new
US pledges to work for Burma democracy with Suu Kyi
Clinton Calls Aung San Suu Kyi
Hillary Clinton calls Suu Kyi, pledges support
It's a wrap for Michelle Yeoh and 'The Lady'
Environmentalists welcome NLD’s concern over Myitsone dam project
Myanmar looks at stock market to attract capital
Shan Coal Mine Affecting Local Health, Report Says
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NLD Denounces Conscription Law
By BA KAUNG Thursday, January 20, 2011

The military regime should not have enacted a military conscription law without public consensus, according to Burma's main opposition party, the National League for Democracy (NLD).

“This law is directly related to the public,” said an NLD statement issued on Wednesday. “Therefore, it should be roundly debated by the the country's parliamentarians and should only be enacted if there is public consensus.”

The military conscription law will force every man between the age of 18 and 45 and every woman between 18 and 35 to serve in the military for two years or face prison sentences.

The law, dated Nov. 4, 2010, and signed by Burmese junta chief Snr-Gen Than Shwe, is yet to be made public, and will come into force when proclaimed by the ruling military council, according to an official gazette which was recently circulated.

“The Parliament for the new government is going to emerge soon and it can exercise its legislative powers,” said NLD spokesman Nyan Win. “But since the law will only come into effect when proclaimed by the military regime, this shows the Parliament will not enjoy full legislative powers.”

Those who fail to report for military service could get three years in prison and those who intentionally avoid conscription through illnesses or inflicting injury on themselves could be imprisoned for up to five years, fined or both, according to the law.

Students, government servants, persons serving prison sentences or those who have to take care of elderly parents can postpone their military service, but can be called up at a later date.

Members of religious orders, married women or divorcées with children, and disabled persons will be exempted from the draft.

In an apparent attempt to offer a loophole to the military elite and their cronies, the law also exempts anyone whom the military has designated as free from military service.

In a separate statement issued on the same day, the NLD also criticized the new parliamentary laws and bylaws were made available to the public only this month although they had been issued by the junta in October.

The NLD, which is led by Aung San Suu Kyi, boycotted the general election last year and has since been disbanded. It will have no presence in the upcoming Parliament which is scheduled to be convened on Jan. 31 in the remote capital Naypyidaw.

On Monday, Burma's Supreme Court will consider whether to hear Suu Kyi's latest appeal against the dissolution of her political party. Nyan Win earlier said that he and other lawyers representing Suu Kyi would have to present their arguments for a special appeal to Naypyidaw.
http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=20573
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Activist in Hiding to Escape Arrest
By SAI ZOM HSENG Thursday, January 20, 2011

Bauk Ja, a 44-year-old activist who has played a leading role in efforts to sue a company close to Burma's ruling junta for its confiscation of land in Kachin State's Hukawng Valley, is in hiding following reports that the authorities in the area are seeking her arrest.

According to Naw Din, the editor of the Kachin News Group (KNG), a Kachin news agency based in exile, the warrant for Bauk Ja's arrest was issued by the commander of the Burmese army's Northern Regional Command, Brig-Gen Zeyar Aung, and is directly related to the land confiscation case.

“Brig-Gen Zeyar Aung ordered her arrest on Monday, and the next day, the police force in Kachin State formed three groups to search for her in Myitkyina, Hpakant and Tanai Townships,” said Naw Din, speaking to The Irrawaddy on Thursday.

“Her relatives said that the order for her arrest was issued because she is standing up for the rights of local people who lost their land,” he added.

Speaking to the BBC's Burmese-language service on Wednesday, Bauk Ja said she didn't know why the authorities were looking for her. She said that she had just learned of the arrest order after she was told that local police have been searching for her for the past few days.

She added that she will try to find out what the authorities want and may turn herself in.

Bauk Ja, who was the National Democratic Force's candidate for the Hpakant constituency in last year's Nov. 7 election, is a leading activist in Kachin State.

In addition to spearheading the legal battle in the land confiscation case, in which she is one of the plaintiffs, she has also campaigned against a project to build a massive hydro-electric dam in Myitsone, at the confluence of two rivers that form the Irrawaddy River.

Since last July, Bauk Ja and 213 other landowners have been fighting in court in the Kachin State capital of Myitkyina for a total of 9.8 billion kyat (US $12 million) in compensation from Yuzana Company, whose chairman, Htay Myint, is a close associate of several leading generals.

The case relates to Yuzana's confiscation of around 1,300 acres of land in the Hpakant area of the Hukawng Valley since 2007. Around 600 landowners were affected by the company's seizure of the land, which it said was for the establishment of large single-crop plantations as part of a national plan.

Some owners said that although the company gave them other land to farm, it was useless for growing crops. Others said they did not receive any compensation at all.

Speaking to The Irrawaddy on Thursday, Aung Thein, a lawyer associated with the National League for Democracy, criticized Zeyar Aung and the Northern Regional Command for ordering Bauk Ja's arrest, saying that only the courts can issue arrest warrants.

Bauk Ja's bid for a seat in Burma's Parliament was defeated by the former Northern Regional Commander, Ohn Myint, who ran as a candidate for the junta-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party.
http://irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=20574
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Junta issues arrest warrant for Bawk Ja of NDF
Wednesday, 19 January 2011 21:47 KNG

An arrest warrant has been issued by the Burmese military junta for Daw Bawk Ja, representative of the National Democratic Force (NDF) party for the country’s northern Kachin State, said sources close to her.

Her arrest warrant was issued on January 17 in Myitkyina, capital of Kachin State by Brig-Gen Zeyar Aung, the junta’s Northern Regional Commander (Ma-Pa-Kha), the sources added.

A day after issuing her arrest warrant, police in Myitkyina formed three search squads to nab Daw Bawk Ja--- G-1 for Hpakant jade mining township, G-2 for Danai (Tanai) township and G-3 for Myitkyina township, said sources close to the police to the Thailand-based Kachin News Group.

It is not clear why commander Brig-Gen Zeyar Aung issued the arrest warrant for Daw Bawk, local sources close to her said.

An ethnic Kachin woman, Daw Bawk Ja contested the 2010 November 7 election as people’s representative of the Hpakant jade mining township nominated by the NDF, which was formed after the National League for Democracy Party (NLD) led by pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, split before the polls.

Bawk Ja recently told KNG she won the election in Hpakant defeating her rival the former Northern Regional Commander U Ohn Myint of the junta-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) but the Union Election Commission officially declared U Ohn Myint the winner.

Regarding the fraud over the results relating to U Ohn Myint, Daw Bawk Ja sent an official letter of complaint to the Union Election Commission (UEC) in Naypyitaw capital of Burma on January 7, laying her claim as the victor. She demanded a fresh announcement that she was the winner from the Hpakant constituency from the EC.

Daw Bawk Ja has stood firmly behind Kachin farmers, who sued the Yuzana Company over illegal land seizure in Hukawng Valley in the court in October last year.

Till Wednesday evening, Daw Bawk Ja had not been arrested, a source close to her told KNG. http://www.kachinnews.com/news/1840-junta-issues-arrest-warrant-for-bawk-ja-of-ndf.html
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The Hindu-20 - 01- 2011
BCIM forum to focus on regional connectivity
Sushanta Talukdar -January 20, 2011

Kunming (China): The Forum of Bangladesh, China, India and Myanmar (BCIM) on Wednesday agreed on the need to improve the cooperation mechanism, which would feature a multi-track initiative with track I coordination, to promote regional prosperity and harmony.

The two-day, ninth meeting of the Forum, which concluded in the Kunming city of the Yunan province, agreed to rename the “Forum of Bangladesh China, India and Myanmar on Regional Economic Cooperation” as “Bangladesh China India and Myanmar Regional Cooperation Forum.”

Launched in 1999, the Kunming initiative, which later evolved into the BCIM Forum, has so far been a track II initiative.

In a joint statement signed by the heads of delegations, the Forum agreed to focus on improved regional connectivity and establishing the Kunming-Mandalay-Dhaka-Kolkata economic corridor. However, the Myanmar delegate emphasised the need to submit the matter to the new government in Yangon.

Business council

Business communities of the four countries agreed in principle to set up a BCIM council for holding regular meetings and exchange of information among enterprises. The BCIM Forum will fully support the proposed business council.

The four parties have to get each government to adopt measures to facilitate the cross-border flow of people and goods, eliminate overland trade barriers in accordance with each country's domestic laws and regulations and provide market access to each other, increase trade and mutual investments as well as other forms of trade, including trade in services consistent with the regional free trade agreement, the statement said.

Jin Cheng, Director, Foreign Affairs Office, the People's Government of Yunan Province, who is also the Deputy Director-General of the International Regional Cooperation Office of the province, told journalists that the BCIM agreed to conduct a joint road survey for a car rally from Kunming to Kolkata proposed to be held in 2012.

Track I system

On Tuesday, Governor Qin Guangrong, in his welcome speech, suggested that a multi-level and multi-form cooperation be evolved with track I as the guiding factor. “Under the present framework, track I high-level official meeting system and joint government workforce system should be set up, while track II academic forum system and entrepreneurs forum system are running,” he said.

“Since the first forum in Kunming in 1999, the four parties of BCIM economic cooperation have been actively participating in the cooperation, which enables its fruitful achievements despite ups and downs.”

Mr. Qin pointed out that presently trade with India, Myanmar and Bangladesh constituted one-fifth of the provincial export and import volume, while Yunnan's investment and project contractions in these three countries were also growing rapidly.

In his opening remarks, Eric Gonsalves, who led the Indian delegation, said that within the BCIM region all the four participants demonstrated their desire to undertake development programmes more effectively. “We should now seek to maximise the joint utilisation of resources and expertise from within the region to optimise the final outcome,” he said.

“For instance, the development of the Chittagong port with Chinese assistance can be dovetailed with the surface transport agreements recently reached between Bangladesh and India to give that port a much larger hinterland while allowing an outlet for goods from northeast India, Nepal and Bhutan. Similarly joint development of the port of Sittwe and the Kaladan River, development of the port of Khulna and the revival of the inland water transport system along the Brahmaputra are projects which could contribute greatly to economies and welfare of the region.”

The delegation included Consul-General of India to Guangzhou Indra Mani Pandey.
http://hindu.com/2011/01/20/stories/2011012054741500.htm
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Unknown armed band runs amok in Shan East
Wednesday, 19 January 2011 16:46 Hseng Khio Fah

An unknown armed group is said to have turned up in Shan State East’s Mongyawng township, and has been on the rampage in the areas these days, resulting on some local people fleeing from home villages, according to local sources who have arrived on the Thai-Burma border.

All the members of the group were said to have been attired in grey camouflage uniforms, and their faces were wrapped in grey masks. The group has kidnapped local people and asked for thousands of Kyat in ransom, said a villager who recently arrived in Tachilek, opposite Thailand’s Maesai.

“First they [the group] would ask about 50,000 Kyat (US$62 ) for each person. Eventually the price of the ransom has risen up to a million ($1234),” he said.

About 10 people had been taken by the group within two weeks. Most people that got caught were those who went working in the jungle farms and village headmen, according to him.

There are about 30 families who fled to Tachilek since the incidents took place.

While it is as yet not possible to identify who and what the group is, a group that also wears camouflage uniforms, green ones, is anti-Naypyitaw Shan State Army (SSA) ‘South’. A battalion commander who asked not to be named of the SSA’s Military Region No. 1 that is active in the Shan State East denied having anything to do with the kidnappings.

“Our uniforms are green camouflage made in Thailand. We don’t wear grey uniforms,” the commander said.

In the mean time, 6 Burma Army soldiers wearing grey camouflage uniforms were reportedly asking for taxes from trucks, at Wantap village, 5 miles northeast of Mongyawng on 26 December, said a car driver whose truck runs between Mongyawng and Tachilek.

In September, Naypyitaw had ordered all its border units to make uniforms of United Wa State Army (UWSA), National Democratic Alliance Army (NDAA) and Shan State Army for Burma Army use. Each unit was reportedly assigned to make 100 suits (Wa, SSA and NDAA).

It [Naypyitaw] also ordered its units in townships of Shan State East: Monghsat, Mongton, Mongyawng, Mongpiang and Tachilek and Mongpan in the south, to mount a “hunter and prey” campaign against rebels.

Soldiers are divided into two groups: one group is assigned to stay in the jungle as “sniper team” and the other as “search and destroy force”.

http://www.shanland.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3417:unknown-armed-band-runs-amok-in-shan-east&catid=86:war&Itemid=284

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Weak dollar hits Burma aid work
By SHWE AUNG
Published: 20 January 2011

Falling US dollar prices have meant that domestic NGOs in Burma are unable to carry out infrastructural activities vital to peoples’ wellbeing, the head of a Rangoon-based aid group has warned.

Earlier this month the exchange rate hit a low of 780 kyat to the dollar, and businessmen in Burma are expecting that to decrease further over the coming months. The US is struggling to recover its housing and labour markets, and economic growth remains sluggish, although currency restructuring is underway to help boost exports.

Many NGOs in Burma rely on funding that comes in US dollars, which for decades has been used as the de facto second currency – as it has been globally – given its stability compared to the kyat. As the dollar weakens against the kyat, operational costs are effectively forced up. Prior to the global financial crash, the exchange rate hovered around 1000 kyat to the dollar.

“Usually it would cost us around 1.6 million kyat, which had normally been about $US1600, to dig a well, but now this will work out at around $US2000,” said Dr Hpone Win, head of Mingalar Myanmar, an independent, non-profit sustatinable development organisation in Burma.

“So we have to reduce the amount of wells and lakes we are digging. For example, we may only be able to dig wells in about eight or nine villages from an initial plan of 10 villages.”

He added that NGOs were also struggling to pay transportation fees in Burma, which have stayed at the same price while their funding has decreased.

Numbers of business owners in Burma are fearful that the exchange rate will drop to 700 kyat to the dollar as the quantity of US currency in the country increases following massive sales in the recent Naypyidaw gem fair.

There are around 20 Burmese-run NGOs operating inside the country, as well as a number of international aid groups who are permitted to work, albeit with limited mobility, by the ruling junta.

Such fluctuations in currency have prompted many to speculate or suggest that the world economy moves away from sole use of the dollar as a universal currency. Commodities such as oil are priced in US dollars, but as Chinese President Hu Jintao visits Washington, the sense of a seismic shift in currency usage is palpable, with World Bank chief Robert Zoellick even suggesting a modified gold standard to maintain stability through turbulent currency times.

Additional reporting by Joseph Allchin http://www.dvb.no/news/weak-dollar-hits-burma-aid-work/13792
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Insight: ASEAN’s new approach to Myanmar is nothing new
Rizal Sukma, Jakarta | Thu, 01/20/2011 9:22 AM | Insight

ASEAN’s foreign ministers just completed their two-day retreat in Lombok on Jan. 17, wherein Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa outlined the nation’s agenda and priorities for ASEAN as it assumes the association’s rotating chair.

He touched almost every issue of paramount importance to ASEAN, including the need to accelerate its community-building process, the imperative of finding a peaceful solution to the South China Sea dispute, the importance of East Asia Summit (EAS), and the question of ASEAN’s place in the world in the post-2015 period.

The most contentious and sensitive issue of all, Myanmar, was also touched upon and discussed.

Indonesia is of the opinion that it is time for the world — especially the West — to renew engagement with Myanmar by lifting sanctions against the nation. This position, unsurprisingly, was welcomed and embraced by other ASEAN countries.

Does ASEAN’s position signify a new approach to the Myanmar problem? It is fair to say that there is nothing new in this position. ASEAN has long argued that economic sanctions against Myanmar would never force the country to change. ASEAN believes that change, especially democratic change, cannot be imposed from outside. It has to take place within the country itself. In that context, external sanctions will not do much to bring change to Myanmar.

The recent call made by ASEAN for the West — especially the EU, Canada and the US — to consider lifting sanctions can also be seen as an ASEAN’s attempt to formulate a new approach toward the Myanmar problem. Three reasons can be put forward in this regard.

First, the call was made within a new context in Myanmar’s domestic politics. As Marty argued during the retreat, the international community should take note of two events in Myanmar: the general elections and the release of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Despite the fact that the general elections have been described as neither fair nor free, it seems that ASEAN intends to explore whatever opportunities — no matter how slim — that may arise in the post-election period. With the release of Suu Kyi, ASEAN also hopes that she will be able, and allowed, to participate in the process of finding a solution to the political impasse that has beset Myanmar for decades.

Second, ASEAN has long admitted that both ASEAN’s strategy of engagement and its policy of sanctions have failed. The position adopted during the retreat reflects an agreement to combine both approaches.

In this context, it is importance to note that Marty also emphasized that “lifting the bans and reconciliation should go hand in hand”. This should be seen as a warning to the junta in Nyapidaw that ASEAN’s willingness to help Myanmar is not a blank check. In other words, ASEAN will not blindly support Myanmar if the junta tries to block or delay an inclusive reconciliation process.

Third, the call also came about after a review by the US of its Myanmar policy under President Barack Obama. In September 2009, the US government announced that it would start engaging Myanmar’s government while retaining sanctions: a policy of “pragmatic engagement”. In effect, however, this new policy also constitutes an attempt to combine both engagement and sanctions, bringing the US’ position closer to that of ASEAN.

Indeed, if one wants to try a new approach towards Myanmar, it is time to go beyond the engagement-sanction debate. Regardless whether ASEAN’s dialogue partners will follow ASEAN’s call to lift the bans, ASEAN itself needs to formulate a more coherent and detailed Myanmar strategy, including how to engage without giving incentives to the junta to strengthen its grip on power by excluding and suppressing other forces in the country.

This is obviously a difficult proposition. However, ASEAN can begin its new approach by devising a three-pronged strategy. First, ASEAN should start devising a framework to make it possible for all major stakeholders to start reconciliation talks and discussions on democratization.

Second, ASEAN should have a common platform on how to encourage the junta to start a meaningful and inclusive economic development program. At the same time, ASEAN also needs to start helping the people of Myanmar directly through grassroots-based programs such as community development, humanitarian assistance and capacity building.

Third, ASEAN should also devise a platform on how to engage the wider Burmese community, to include both the new political elite (such as the “Parliament”) and civil society organizations.

Indonesia, as the chair of ASEAN, is in a position to devise such a new ASEAN Myanmar strategy.

Otherwise, the international community will see the Lombok agreement on Myanmar as another move by ASEAN to engage in rhetoric without substance. This is a challenge for Indonesia’s chairmanship and leadership in ASEAN. Hopefully Indonesia is more than ready to answer that challenge.

The writer is the executive director of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Jakarta.
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2011/01/20/insight-asean%E2%80%99s-new-approach-myanmar-nothing-new.html
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US pledges to work for Burma democracy with Suu Kyi

* Published: 20/01/2011 at 03:30 AM
* Online news: Asia

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton pledged to work for democracy in Burma with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi when she telephoned her on Wednesday, Clinton's spokesman said.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton pledged to work for democracy in Myanmar with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, pictured on January 4, when she telephoned her on Wednesday, Clinton's spokesman said.

"Secretary Clinton called Aung San Suu Kyi today and pledged to work with her to strengthen civil society and promote democracy in Burma," State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said, referring to Burma's former name.

Crowley broke the news on the microblogging site Twitter.

The military junta in November freed Suu Kyi, the Nobel laureate and leader of the democratic opposition who had spent most of the past two decades under house arrest, after her party won elections but was not allowed to take power.

But her release came only after the junta held new elections, which were widely denounced by Western nations and by opposition groups as a sham.

Human rights groups say that Burma is still holding more than 2,100 political prisoners who are less prominent than Suu Kyi.

President Barack Obama's administration in 2009 launched a dialogue with the regime aimed at ending Burma's isolation. US officials have voiced disappointment at the results but said engagement is the best way forward. http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/asia/217287/us-pledges-to-work-for-burma-democracy-with-suu-kyi
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Clinton Calls Aung San Suu Kyi
By LALIT K JHA Thursday, January 20, 2011

WASHINGTON — US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke to Aung San Suu Kyi over the phone on Wednesday, in the first contact between the two leaders since the Burmese pro-democracy icon was released from years of house arrest last November.

“Secretary Clinton called Aung San Suu Kyi today and pledged to work with her to strengthen civil society and promote democracy in Burma,” said PJ Crowley, the State Department spokesman, in a message on Twitter on Wednesday.

During the call, which lasted 10 minutes, the two leaders briefly talked about what Suu Kyi has been doing since her release.

Crowley told The Irrawaddy that Clinton’s call followed up on a meeting late last year with the State Department's Deputy Assistant Secretary Joseph Yun.

“There will be further meetings in the coming weeks with the embassy staff in Rangoon and others to get into a more specific discussion,” he said.

Clinton wrote a letter to Suu Kyi soon after her release on Nov. 13 of last year. This was followed by Yun's four-day visit to Burma in December, during which he met with Suu Kyi.

“During a lengthy meeting with Aung San Suu Kyi and members of the National League for Democracy, Deputy Assistant Secretary Yun underscored our overarching goal of a peaceful, prosperous, and democratic Burma and discussed ideas on promoting reconciliation and dialogue,” an official US statement had then said.

Yun was the most senior US official to travel to Burma since Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Kurt Campbell visited in May 2010.

Campbell, the Obama administration's point man on Burma, has so far had two meetings with Suu Kyi, both of them while she was still under house arrest.
http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=20569
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Jan 20, 2011
Hillary Clinton calls Suu Kyi, pledges support

WASHINGTON - SECRETARY of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is pledging to work with Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi to promote democracy in Myanmar.

Department spokesman PJ Crowley said in a post on Twitter that Mrs Clinton called Ms Suu Kyi on Wednesday.

Ms Suu Kyi was released from house arrest after the country held its first elections in two decades in November. She had been detained for seven years.

Her National League for Democracy party said the elections were a sham and did not take part. It was disbanded by the government as a result. -- AP http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/SEAsia/Story/STIStory_626177.html
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It's a wrap for Michelle Yeoh and 'The Lady'

Noorsila Abd Majid
The Star
Publication Date : 20-01-2011


Michelle Yeoh as Aung Sun Suu Kyi in a scene in 'The Lady'. Photo By Vincent Perez @ EuroCorp-Left Bank Pictures-France 2 Cinema

After three months of hard work, playing Burmese freedom fighter Aung San Suu Kyi in 'The Lad'y, Malaysia's very own Michelle Yeoh could finally take a breather as filming of the biopic was wrapped up on January 18.

In an exclusive e-mail to The Daily Chilli (The Star's sister-publication), Michèle Abitbol-Lasry, the publicist for EuropaCorp-Left Bank Pictures-France 2 Cinema, the maker of The Lady confirms that the eagerly awaited film is already in its post-production.

"We have yet to set a release date for the movie in Malaysia and are still looking for a distributor," says Abitbol-Lasry.

But definitely,The Lady will be released worldwide later this year.

"Michelle and Luc Besson (the director) are very busy at the moment. The shooting is finished and they're doing the post-production," she adds. "We would like to have all press be done when the film opens in each country."

In an earlier interview with The Guardian, former Bond girl Michelle described her experience playing Suu Kyi as awe-inspiring.

"When I got the script," the Malaysian superstar actress has been quoted saying, "I thought: either my agent wants to kill me or he's telling me I need a challenge."

On her first private meeting with Suu Kyi at the Rangoon International Airport, Michelle said " "The first thing we did is hug and I thought you are really skinny, man. One of the first things she said was 'Why doesn't the BBC world service have more music?'

"You feel a real sense of calm when you're with her. She's a very striking figure. She is so proud of her culture and the best way to show it is with dignity and elegance. She has a glow and an aura about her."

Directed by acclaimed French actor/director Luc Besson, The Lady also stars British actor David Thewlis (of Harry Potter fame) as Suu Kyi's university academic husband, Michael Aris.

The script was written over a period of three years by Rebecca Frayn, who spoke to the key figures in Suu Kyi's entourage to enable her to have a personal account of the national heroine of Myanmar who was put under house arrest most of her life.

Filming of the movie, which began on October 18, was done in various parts of Thailand, Burma, UK and France.
http://www.asianewsnet.net/home/news.php?id=16880&sec=10
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Environmentalists welcome NLD’s concern over Myitsone dam project
Wednesday, 19 January 2011 19:34 KNG

The Thailand-based Burma Rivers Network (BRN) has welcomed and appreciated the concern shown by the National League for Democracy (NLD) over the likely impact on people and the environment because of the construction of the Irrawaddy Myitsone dam in Kachin State.

The NLD party led by Burma’s pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi was quoted by the BRN as saying that the construction of the 152 metre high Myitsone Dam, without taking into account environmental factors will affect thousands of local people and will have a negative impact on the country.
112009-irrawaddy-confluence

Ah Nan spokesperson of the BRN told Kachin News Group that Win Tin, a member of NLD Central Executive Committee told BRN that the foreign investor involved in the Myitsone dam construction should take into consideration the impact on the environment and the effect it will have on the local people.

“All political parties and the civil society should condemn the construction of the Myitsone dam project because it will impact the whole country,” said Ah Nan.

She said this was the first time a political party in Burma has officially spoken about the Myitsone dam construction. It should be done more often because it is not only the issue of the Kachin people but the whole country.

The Myitsone dam located over 20 miles from Myitkyina the capital of Kachin State will displace about 15,000 people living around the construction site and will be a threat to millions of people living downstream of the river by triggering floods. There will also be a shortage of water.

The dam construction started last year spearheaded by the China Power Investment Corporation (CPI).

The electricity generated will be sold to China, BRN said in a statement released on January 17. The water will be released depending on the power demand in China and it will “cause unpredictable water shortages and surges,” it added.

Limitation of water will affect farmers and fishermen, who depend on the river for their livelihood, said the BRN statement.

Myitsone dam is one of seven dam projects on the Mali Hka and N’mai Hka rivers. It will produce an estimated 17,160 MW of electricity, which will be exported to China, said the BRN.

“The Irrawaddy River, also Mali Hka in Kachin, is a critical artery for Burma and cutting it off at its source will affect the entire country,” said BRN official Sai Sai in the statement.

“We strongly encourage all political parties and civil society inside Burma to stand up and protect the river. Burma’s water resources should not be controlled by foreign engineers, but should be managed for the benefit of people in Burma,” said Sai Sai.

Ah Nan said, at least six villages have been relocated to a new site, where there is no hope of livelihood for the villagers. Recently the authorities (Ya-Ya-Ka) of Tang Hpre village told villagers next to the Myitsone dam to relocate and forced them to sign on the compensation agreement without paying any compensation.

The chances of ekeing out a livelihood by villagers, who are being forced to relocate by the regime, are bleak in the new place which has no agricultural land.
http://www.kachinnews.com/news/1839-environmentalists-welcome-nlds-concern-over-myitsone-dam-project.html
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Myanmar looks at stock market to attract capital
Thu Jan 20, 2011 5:34am EST

* Korea Exchange in talks with Myanmar govt

* No decision made on bourse, officials say

BANGKOK Jan 20 (Reuters) - Myanmar is in talks with South Korea's bourse operator about opening a stock market, the latest in a series of steps by its military rulers aimed at drawing much-needed foreign capital to the country.

Korea Exchange is already involved in running the newly opened Laos Securities Exchange [ID:nSGE70A08R] and is setting up a long-delayed stock market in Cambodia, which is due to open in July [ID:nSGE70D05D]. Both are joint ventures with the respective governments.

"We had a discussion (with Myanmar) before," Lee In-pyo, project director for the Cambodian exchange, told Reuters on Thursday. "Anything is possible, anything can happen," he said, when asked if the company was keen to work in Myanmar.

A spokesman for Korea Exchange in Seoul said representatives had visited Myanmar twice. "But nothing has been decided," the official said.

Myanmar is rich in natural resources but its development has been held back by five decades of economic mismanagement under military dictators and by Western sanctions.

But reforms are under way. The authorities have privatised hundreds of state assets in the past year and are seeking to expand the banking, telecommunications, shipping and agricultural sectors.

The country is on a drive to attract investment from its neighbours, promoting tourism, timber, gemstones and its vast oil and gas reserves, which are already being tapped by China and Thailand, its biggest investors.

Analysts warn that doing business in Myanmar is fraught with problems because of graft, cronyism and an unclear regulatory framework.

The privatisation process to date has been highly opaque, with most assets transferred to businessmen with close ties to the junta.

Myanmar held its first elections in two decades in November, and many countries in Asia now consider it a democracy. Western countries are not convinced much will change and expect the junta to pull the strings from behind the scenes.

Parliament, which will be dominated by serving or retired soldiers, will convene for the first time on Jan. 31 and a president tasked with appointing a civilian government will be chosen in the weeks after. (Reporting by Jungyoun Park in Seoul and Prak Chan Thul in Phnom Penh; Writing by Martin Petty; Editing by Alan Raybould)
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSSGE70J06O20110120?rpc=401&feedType=RSS&feedName=rbssFinancialServicesAndRealEstateNews&rpc=40
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Shan Coal Mine Affecting Local Health, Report Says
By KO HTWE Thursday, January 20, 2011

The agriculture and health of nearly 12,000 people living within a five-mile radius of Burma’s largest coal mine and coal-fired power plant are threatened with air and water pollution, according to a report titled “Poison Clouds” that was complied by the Pa-Oh Youth Organization (PYO) and the Kyoju Action Network (KAN).

According to the report, the power plant, which is located near Tigyit in Pinglaung Township in southern Shan State, releases 100 to150 tons of toxic ash containing mercury, lead and arsenic into the atmosphere every day.

A farmer tends his crops in Tigyit while the coal-fired power plant looks in the background (PHOTO: PYO)
In recent years, ash has been known to cover roads and some 50 percent of the local population suffers from skin infections, the report says.

“Our skies and waters are turning black,” said Khun Chankhe of the PYO. “What future is there for our children who are growing up in a toxic wasteland?”

The residue from the coal mine is piling up so high that the dumps have become like hills and are blocking the flow of water, as well as creating pollution and stagnant lakes. Toxic fly ash that is dumped on coal mine waste piles or spread on local roads is also running off into local water sources, some of which eventually flows into Inle Lake, the report states.

The Burmese military regime’s Vice-Snr-Gen Maung Aye chose the site for the power plant in 2001, and instructed local military officials to confiscate more than 100 acres of local farm lands, said the 54-page report.

However, some 500 acres of land were seized. Three hundred and twenty-one families from Lai Khar and Taung Pola villages each received a maximum of 170,000 kyats (US $170) compensation for forced relocation.

However, the Myanmar Mines Law of 1994, Chapter 5, Section 4, states that “the holder of a permit for mineral production within an area under the Ministry's administrative control or which does not lie within the Mineral Reserve Area or Gemstone Tract, shall carry out such production only after coordinating and receiving agreement from the individual or organization having the right of cultivation, right of possession, right of use and occupancy, beneficial enjoyment, right of succession or transfer of the said land.”

The plant uses 640,000 tons of coal per year to produce 600 Gigawatts of power with a capacity of 120 Megawatts.

The China National Heavy Machinery Corporation, along with Eden Group of Myanmar and Shan Yoma Nagar, implemented the project in 2002 under the supervision of the Energy Ministry with an investment of $42.93 million.

Chit Khaine, the founder of Eden Group, is on the EU sanctions list under the category, “Persons Who Benefit from Government Economic Policies and Other Persons Associated with the Regime.”

“The project is for the sake of China, not for the local communities. The local people don’t receive sufficient electricity from the plant,” said Khun Chankhe.

Electricity produced from the power plant is sent to the nearby Nagar cement plant. A proposal is being considered to supply electricity to another mining project, the Pangpet iron factory near Hopone and the Taunggyi highway, which is run by Russian and Italian companies, the report said.

The Tigyit coal mine also produces nearly 2,000 tons of lignite and sub-bituminous coal every day. Lignite, a soft brown coal, produces the most carbon dioxide emissions per unit of energy than any other type of coal.

The plants and the mine are located within the watershed that is 13 miles from Burma’s famous Inle Lake in Shan State. River waters polluted by the mine and waste from the power plant are flowing into the lake via the Balu Creek, the report says.

Khun Chanke said that this is one of the main reasons why Inle Lake is drying up.

Residue piles from the mine are now towering above the homes of 3,000 people, blocking streams and contaminating fields. The coal is extracted through an underground tunnel system which runs beneath tea farms—another major concern for villagers who live in constant fear of landslides and land collapses, said the report.

“We issue the report today with concern for Inle Lake,” said Khun Chanke on Thursday. “We also wish to call on the elected candidates from Inle and Pinglaung region to discuss this issue in Parliament.”

The Inn National Development Party has previously said that the party will focus on the environmental issues of Inle Lake.

There are over 16 large-scale coal deposits in Burma. The Italian-Thai Development Plc, a large Thai construction firm, signed a multi-billion dollar deal with Burma in November for the development of a deep sea port in Dawei (Tavoy). The project includes plans for Southeast Asia’s largest coal-fired power plant that will build in Dawei where 18 villages have been ordered to move to make way for the project, said the PYO/ KAN report.

PYO was set up in 1998 and says it is “striving for peace and justice in Burma through empowering youth.” It published a report, “Robbing the Future,” in June 2009 after two years of research at the site of Burma’s largest iron mine and the Pangpet No. 5 Steel Mill in Shan State.

KAN was set up in 2010 and says its aim is “strengthening communities’ capacity to protect their natural resources.”
Copyright © 2008 Irrawaddy Publishing Group | www.irrawaddy.org

http://irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=20575

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