News & Articles on Burma-Tuesday, 10 May, 2011

News & Articles on Burma
Tuesday, 10 May, 2011
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China to break ground on huge Burma mine
US Official Seeks Feedback on Burma's New Government
Canada Urges Accreditation of Burma Ambassador
UN special envoy to visit Myanmar
Coal transport plan scrapped
Rangoon's Former Mayor in Corruption Scandal
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China to break ground on huge Burma mine
By FRANCIS WADE
Published: 10 May 2011

A trial operation will begin in July on the giant Tagaung Taung nickel mine in northern Burma run by the world’s largest steel manufacturer, but environmentalists have warned of “toxic” consequences.

The deal, signed in July last year, becomes the largest cooperation project for mining between China and Burma. Overseeing the operation will be Chinese metals giant Taiyuan Iron and Steel Group and the China Nonferrous Metal Mining Company (CNMC).

The two are set to sink around US$800 million into the project, located just 200kms from the China border, which will generate some 85,000 tonnes of nickel-iron each year to feed China’s soaring demands for steel.

The dwindling global reserves of nickel has pushed nations like China, the world’s leading steel producer, to rush for control of resources, according to environmentalist Steve Green. Nickel is a key component in steel manufacturing.

He said however that one of the main problems with such projects in Burma is the absence of any post-mining remediation, particularly the lack of tailings management where the waste from the manufacturing process is safely disposed of.

“This means there will be toxic downstream contamination for generations to come,” he said, as the chemicals used in the process seep into waterways. He added that such a large-scale project could also result in the confiscation of local land by the Burmese military.

Taiyuan, the largest steel manufacturer in the world, and CNMC will operate the mine for two decades. Smelting and “service” facilities are already under construction there.

Chinese weapons giant Norinco last year signed a lucrative deal to operate the Monywa copper mine, also in Sagaing division.

Matthew Smith, senior consultant at EarthRights International, told DVB that in both cases, the likelihood of an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) being made public prior to commencement of the projects was slim.

Although the Export Import Bank (EXIM) of China provided funding for Tagaung Taung, meaning an assessment may well have been done in keeping with its own environmental regulations, ERI claims that “the chances are no one’s seen it”.

Of Norinco, which reportedly won the contract following the sale of heavy artillery to Burma several weeks prior, Smith said: “Unfortunately Burmese law doesn’t require an EIA of international standards and there’s no evidence the company is guided by any sort of enlightened self-interest.” He added that the “same concerns would apply” for the Tagaung Taung mine.

China has been accused of outsourcing its pollutive industries to countries like Burma where environmental regulations are not enforced by the state. China is battling rising energy demands with rapidly depleting domestic resources.
http://www.dvb.no/news/china-to-break-ground-on-huge-burma-mine/15600
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US Official Seeks Feedback on Burma's New Government
By SAW YAN NAING Tuesday, May 10, 2011

A high-ranking US diplomat based in Rangoon is currently traveling in central Burma and speaking with a variety of people—including representatives from the government, civil society and political parties—to get their perspective on Burma's new government, said sources in Rangoon.

Western diplomatic sources based in Rangoon told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday that Larry Dinger, who has been the Chargé d’Affaires at the US embassy in Rangoon since 2008, is making the trip as part of an ongoing effort to engage with key stakeholders throughout Burma.

Myint Thein, the deputy-chairman of the National League for Democracy's (NLD) Chauk Township branch office in Magwe Division, said that Dinger met NLD members in Chauk Township on Monday.

“He [Dinger] asked us if we have any optimism regarding Thein Sein’s speech claiming that the government is building up a democratic country. Is it any change or not? Are there any restrictions still placed on the NLD's political movement?” Myint Thein said.

Myint Thein told Dinger that it is too early to have a positive perspective on the president’s speech. Instead, it is very important to have dialogue, national reconciliation—including with ethnic leaders—and the release of political prisoners while attempting political reform.

“We haven’t seen any progress, so we have to wait and see,” Myint Thein told the US official.

Dinger also met with 15 NLD members in Yenangyaung Township, Magwe Division. Khin Saw Htay, a local organizing committee member of the NLD who attended the meeting, said Dinger asked about her opinion of Thein Sein's speech as well.

“We told him that even though the government announced that it is working on building a democratic nation, they didn’t release political prisoners. We don't accept its announcement. We also don’t support the Constitution and the election,” said Khin Saw Htay.

Khin Saw Htay said she pointed out to Dinger that opposition poltical parties that contested the election can’t do anything for the people of Burma and the new government is dominated by ex-Burmese military leaders.

“I think he also wanted to know how alert the Burmese people are about politics. And he may want to know if the NLD maintains a political movement,” said Khin Saw Htay.

Dinger also met in central Burma with members of political parties who contested the general election in Nov. 2010, including the National Democratic Force (NDF), National Unity Party (NUP) and Democratic Party (Myanmar). His meeting with members of the NDF—a breakaway faction of the NLD—took place in Yenangyaung Township.

Party sources said that Dinger focused on Thein Sein's speech and the survival of the pro-democracy movement and opposition political parties.

Dinger previously held several meetings in Rangoon with opposition leaders and politicians, including NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi and leaders of the NLD, NDF and Democratic Party (Myanmar), where he talked about US initiated economic sanctions on Burma. In these meetings, Dinger reportedly said the US sanctions were only aimed at putting pressure on Burma to speed up the process towards a democratic government.

The Obama administration said in April that it will continue to engage the Burmese leadership despite the fact that Burma has ignored, and often directly contradicted, the advice of the international community.

At a panel discussion on Burma in Washington D.C. in April, US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia and the Pacific, Joseph Y. Yun, told the audience that the Obama administration is trying its best to engage with the Burmese junta, but without any success.

The NLD, which won a landslide victory in the 1990 general election only to have the ruling military junta refuse to transfer power, was dissolved by the Burmese government in 2010 for refusing to register for the November election. http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=21267
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Canada Urges Accreditation of Burma Ambassador
By LALIT K JHA Tuesday, May 10, 2011

WASHINGTON — A reciprocal accreditation of ambassadors between Canada and Burma would provide Canada with more opportunities to effectively convey to the Burmese government its concerns about human rights and democracy, a Canadian Foreign Ministry official has said.

Canada has been made to wait several months for its ambassador-designate, Ron Hoffman, to present his credentials to Naypyidaw. Canada has said it hopes to finalize the matter soon given that the new Burmese envoy, Kyaw Tin, presented his credentials to Canadian Governor General David Johnston at a simple ceremony in Ottawa last month.

“The reciprocal accreditation of ambassadors will provide us with more opportunities to communicate our key concerns on security, human rights, and democratic development,” said Priya Sinha, a spokesperson for Canada’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade.

Canada's most recent ambassador to Burma, Denis Comeau, completed his assignment in July 2007.

“The scheduling of ceremonies for ambassadors to present their credentials is determined by the host country. It is not uncommon for these ceremonies to take a number of months or longer to be organized,” Sinha said when asked why it is taking so long for Canada’s ambassador-designate to present his credentials.

“This new Canadian ambassador has been in Thailand for at least two years trying to get his credential accepted by the junta,” said Tin Maunghtoo, of Canadian Friends of Burma, adding that Hoffman went to Burma earlier this year to present his credentials. “But because of some situations such as the arrival of the new year, [an official visit from] senior officials from China, and the official inauguration of the new government and president, his credential process was not completed,” he said.

Although the ambassadorial posts have been vacant for the past few years, diplomatic relations between Canada and Burma were not broken off during this period.

“We commend individuals and organizations who have sought to increase awareness and understanding of democratic rights and processes among the Burmese people while operating in a repressive environment. We look forward to engaging with these stakeholders as they continue working to try and build a truly democratic Burma,” Sinha told The Irrawaddy. http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=21263
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UN special envoy to visit Myanmar

May 10, 2011, 1:45 GMT

Yangon - United Nations special envoy to Myanmar Vijay Nambiar is to visit the country this week, a government official said Tuesday.

'Nambiar will visit here on Thursday,' an official who requested anonymity told the German Press Agency dpa. 'He will stay in Myanmar for three or four days and is scheduled to meet both government and opposition figures.'

Nambiar is expected to meet Myanmar's new president, Thein Sein, and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, according to the official.

It would be Nambiar's first meeting with Suu Kyi, who was only released from six years of house detention on November 13. She has spent about 15 of the past 21 years under house arrest.

The UN special envoy last visited Myanmar five months ago, following the November 7 general election which brought the pro-military Union Solidarity and Development Party to power.

The polls were generally slammed by Western democracies as a sham, since they excluded democracy heroine Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy (NLD) party.

Myanmar has been under military rule since 1962. An election in 1990 was won by the NLD but they were blocked from assuming power by the ruling junta.

The NLD boycotted the November polls after the military passed regulations that would have forced them to drop Suu Kyi from their party in order to contest the elections.
http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/asiapacific/news/article_1638079.php/UN-special-envoy-to-visit-Myanmar
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Bangkok Post
Coal transport plan scrapped

Published: 10/05/2011 at 12:00 AM
Newspaper section: News

CHIANG RAI : A lignite mining company has scrapped a plan to transport 5,200 tonnes of coal daily from Burma through Mae Fa Luang and Mae Chan districts after fierce local protests.

Saraburi Coal Co representative Pakon Ruamthong told authorities of the decision in a meeting yesterday.

The company tried in vain for two years to convince residents to allow the transportation of the imported coal.

The company planned to use up to 200 six and 10-wheel trucks a day to take lignite from the Mong Kok mine in the eastern Shan State via Ban Mong Kao Lang in Mae Fa Luang and use tambon Pa Sang in Mae Chan as a transit point.

The lignite was to be supplied to cement producing plants in Saraburi.

Protesters, including former beauty queen Preeyanuch Parnpradub, who has a house in Pa Sang, were worried the lignite would pollute the air and water enroute.

The company, an affiliate of Italthai Public Co, had proposed covering the coal in the trucks with canvas and limiting the trucks' speed to 25 kilometres per hour as they pass through communities.

Mr Pakon said the firm will now ask Burmese authorities to allow the lignite to be transported via the town of Tachilek, opposite Mae Sai district in Chiang Rai, instead.
http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/236193/coal-transport-plan-scrapped
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Rangoon's Former Mayor in Corruption Scandal
By THE IRRAWADDY Tuesday, May 10, 2011
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The former mayor of Rangoon, Aung Thein Linn, has been summoned to answer questions concerning allegations that he stole at least two billion kyat [more than US $2 million] of Rangoon Municipal Committee funds during his tenure in office from 2003 to 2011, said sources in the former capital.

Aung Thein Linn's successor Hla Myint summoned him last month to explain where the missing funds are, according to a source at Rangoon Municipal Committee. However, Aung Thein Linn is yet to appear.

Incumbent Rangoon Mayor Hla Myint is a retired army colonel and former diplomat.

"[Aung Thein Linn] sequestered hundreds of plots of land and a number of apartments,” said a civil servant. “He also awarded himself a massive slice of the budget for proposed road constructions. Very little was ever spent on roads during his time in office.”

Rumors that Aung Thein Linn had been arrested have circulated around Burma and abroad in recent days. However, his son-in law, Kyaw Thu Soe, told The Irrawaddy that he had not been detained.

Aung Thein Linn is currently a member of the Central Committee at the Rangoon Division branch of the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP).

He won the parliamentary seat for South Okkalapa as a USDP candidate in November's election, but was widely alleged to have rigged the polls.

Aung Thein Linn reportedly seized for himself plots of land in Shwe Pyi Thar, South Dagon and North Dagon townships in Rangoon Division, while allegedly misusing hundreds of millions of kyat from a cement factory in Tharsi Township in Mandalay Division. http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=21265