By NATSUKO FUKUE and HIROKO NAKATA
Staff writers
Yielding to strong opposition from the ruling Democratic Party of Japan, the government of Prime Minister Naoto Kan, the DPJ president, approved a social security and tax reform plan Thursday that will enforce a 10 percent consumption tax "by the mid-2010s," instead of its initial target of fiscal 2015.
Naoto Kan
The deal agreed on by Kan's government and his DPJ also stipulates that the sales tax will only be hiked, presumably in stages, if the economy improves.
Despite the compromise, Kan hailed the agreement.
"I think today's decision is a historic one," he said. "(We) should move forward to reform the social security systems and tax so future generations will receive better social security services."
The mid-2010s refers to a time frame "between 2014 and 2016," said Kaoru Yosano, state minister in charge of fiscal policy and Kan's point man on social welfare and tax reforms.
With social security expenses continuing to balloon, the government "has to make an important decision after 2015," said Yosano, indicating the government envisions a further tax hike beyond that year.
The government's initial plan to finalize the reforms by June 20 was postponed after the timing of the tax hike sparked fierce criticism from many DPJ lawmakers on the party's tax reform panel.
The plan states that a tax hike is necessary to tackle mounting debt and social security costs as society rapidly ages. It also touches on the necessity of reducing social security outlays, including a hike in medical fees for patients aged between 70 and 74 to 20 percent from the present 10 percent, and also stipulates the need to lift the age people will start receiving pensions to between 68 and 70, up from the current 65 years old.
Meanwhile, the plan focuses on expanding the safety net for the young, such as by extending the pension system for regular employees to part-time workers.
The government's Social Security Council estimates an additional ¥2.7 trillion will be required in fiscal 2015 if the reforms are implemented.
While some ruling bloc lawmakers criticized the tax hike plan, analysts welcomed the reforms, saying the country's huge budget deficit and fears of a further downgrade of Japan's sovereign debt rating make raising the consumption tax inevitable.
"It is important to show people how big a tax burden they will inevitably have to shoulder due to growing social welfare costs," said Hideo Kumano, senior economist at Dai-ichi Life Research Institute.
Social security expenses are projected to increase to ¥47.4 trillion in 2015 from ¥32.7 trillion in 2010, according to the Social Security Council.
Katsuhiko Fujimori, manager and chief research associate of social policy at Mizuho Information and Research Institute, said, "The government has no choice but to raise the sales tax when the country is burdened with such huge debt," adding the plan should have specified the timing of the tax hike. "It's also important to make the social welfare system more substantial in the aging society," he said.
The political vacuum created when Kan announced he will resign without specifying the timing of his exit is lowering confidence in Japan's sovereign debt rating.
Moody's Investors Service said last month it may downgrade the country's sovereign debt rating due to heightened concerns about faltering growth prospects and a weak political response to the mounting public debt.
In calender 2010, Japan's public debt reached 198.4 percent of the nation's gross domestic product, according to the Finance Ministry, twice as high as the level in the U.S. and France.
Saturday, July 2, 2011
Doubled sales tax by '16 gets nod Time frame kept vague; hike depends on economy
News & Articles on Burma-Friday 1 July, 2011
News & Articles on Burma
Friday 1 July, 2011
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Myanmar carrying out 'ethnic cleansing': missionary agency
Japan to support Myanmar rights, Suu Kyi assured
German weapons firm in Burma capital
No one obeys gov’t order to hand over weapons in Mon State
Suu Kyi on China, war and peace
Suu Kyi to Visit Pagan Next Week
NLD confirms Suu Kyi to visit Bagan on personal pilgrimage
Govt Employees' Pensions Set to Increase
Is China backing Burma’s war against Kachin rebels?
Ceasefire Talks Produce Old Rhetoric, No New Agreement
BGF Commander Killed in All-Karen Clash
Kachin State Refugees Face Uncertain Future
Central Govt Retakes Control
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Jul 1, 2011
Myanmar carrying out 'ethnic cleansing': missionary agency
VATICAN CITY - TROOPS in Myanmar are carrying out 'ethnic cleansing' against the mainly Christian Kachin ethnic minority near the Chinese border, the missionary news agency Fides reported on Friday.
Citing a local Catholic priest, Fides said fighting had forced 20,000 people to leave their homes so far and the number was increasing by the day.
Priests and nuns in the area 'are doing everything to help the ethnic Kachin refugees, almost all Christians, victims of a brutal repression carried out by the Burmese military', the priest was quoted as telling the Rome-based agency.
Clashes began when the government struck an agreement with China on the construction of a dam in the northern region, which would force the evacuation and flooding of villages where the Kachin people live, Fides said.
'They are women, children and old people who are at the mercy of the soldiers. These, when they meet the Kachin villages, carry out, for revenge, all sorts of violence, abuse and ransacking,' the priest said. 'They kill old people and children, rape women, burn homes, confiscate properties. They use ruthless methods to ethnic cleansing.'
The priest also said there was a risk of a 'humanitarian emergency' in the area for refugees out in the open as the rainy season approaches. -- AFP http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/SEAsia/Story/STIStory_686089.html
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Friday, July 1, 2011
Japan to support Myanmar rights, Suu Kyi assured
Kyodo
YANGON — Parliamentary Vice Foreign Minister Makiko Kikuta on Wednesday met with Myanmar democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi and conveyed Tokyo's support for further democratization, diplomatic sources said.
News photo
Positive relations: Makiko Kikuta, parliamentary vice foreign minister, appears with Myanmar democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi after their meeting in Yangon on Wednesday. KYODO PHOTO
Kikuta met with Suu Kyi at her political party's head office in Yangon for an hour and discussed human rights issues in Myanmar, the sources said.
The meeting took place on the day the country's state-run media reported that Myanmar's government has effectively banned Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy from engaging in political activities.
The talks were the first official encounter between a senior Japanese government official and Suu Kyi since August 2002, when then Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi met with the Nobel Peace Prize laureate.
After their meeting, Suu Kyi and Kikuta declined comment on what they had discussed.
But later in the day, Suu Kyi said their meeting covered the positive relations between Myanmar and Japan, and expressed sympathy to the victims of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.
Kikuta arrived in Myanmar on Monday, and met with Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin and other senior officials in the country's administrative capital, Naypyitaw, on Tuesday.
During her talks with the foreign minister, Kikuta said Tokyo intends to continue offering aid, especially to meet the basic needs of Myanmar people, but will decide on a case-by-case basis by taking into consideration human rights and democratization in the country, the sources said.
Suu Kyi told Kikuta that she hopes Japan will consider not only Myanmar's democratization but also the maintenance of regional peace and stability when deciding to disburse aid. The democracy leader also urged Tokyo to ensure accountability and transparency as a donor, according to the sources.
A civilian government led by former senior members of the junta that ruled Myanmar for the past 22 years assumed power at the end of March.
Suu Kyi was released from 7½ years in detention last November, shortly after the general election.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20110701a9.html
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German weapons firm in Burma capital
By JOSEPH ALLCHIN
Published: 1 July 2011
A Burmese soldier carrying a variation of the G3 rifle photographed seconds after Kenji Nagai is shot dead (Reuters)
The managing director of German weapons’ manufacturer Fritz Werner this week met with senior Burmese government figures, including those on EU sanctions lists, in Naypyidaw for what state media billed as “mutual” cooperation on ports and airports.
Joerg Gabelmann reportedly held talks with a range of officials, including Finance Minister Major General Hla Tun and Transport Minister Colonel Nyan Tun Aung, both of whom are blacklisted by the EU. The New Light of Myanmar said that it was during talks with Nyan Tun Aung that the two discussed shipping and flight infrastructure.
When asked about the meetings, Maria Groybermann from Fritz Werner’s office in Essen, Germany, told DVB that “we don’t usually comment on negotiations with our clients”.
The Fritz Werner website bills the company as a “leader in the field of ammunition manufacturing technology”. It was the first foreign company to create a joint venture with the Burmese state in the 1984 formation of Myanma Fritz Werner Co. Ltd. At the time they denied that the company had an arms orientation, while according to AP, the move was “welcomed by local observers and Western diplomats as a good start toward revitalising Burma’s sagging economy.”
Four years later and the powerful HK G3 (Heckler and Koch) assault rifle, purchased by the Burmese army through Fritz Werner, was seen being used by soldiers on thousands of students taking part in the 1988 uprising in Rangoon. A variation of the same gun, developed in a Fritz Werner-run plant, is also thought to have killed Japanese photographer Kenji Nagai in the September 2007 uprising.
In a recent interview with the Thailand-based Irrawaddy magazine, Germany’s ambassador to Burma, Julius Georg Luy, stated: “To my best knowledge, the company Fritz Werner has no arms-related business in Myanmar [Burma]”.
The company’s website however makes no reference to ports or airports, despite the purported focus of Gabelmann’s discussions this week.
The company has a long and ignominious history in Burma and beyond. Its first operations in Burma began in 1957, shortly after it was nationalized; the war years had been good for Fritz Werner, with Hitler creating a massive demand for their services, but post-1945 the company was left with little domestic business.
An April 1992 article in Jane’s Intelligence Review claimed the company had been responsible for helping the now-embattled Libyan leader, Colonel Gaddafi, with his 1,000-kilometre-ranged Al Fatah missile project. Although they quote only “their sources”, the article notes that the German government impounded one of Fritz Werner’s ships.
What may also pertinent to Burma, given recent concerns, is an apparent expertise in the delivery of chemical weapons. The Christian Science Monitor in 1988 suggested the US government was concerned that Fritz Werner was assisting in the sale of ammunition for carrying chemical weapons to Iraq. The 1988 edition of the magazine also said that “intelligence reaching Washington suggests it has played an important role in building Burma’s chemical-weapons capability.”
Analysts note that the US defence attaché has inspected Fritz Werner facilities in Burma and “found nothing” but cautioned that the supply of dual-use machine tools or casing often hid a trail, as plausible deniability may exist for the items’ use. This allegedly included the import of “lip stick” casing that never held lipstick.
Fritz Werner developed a strong relationship with former Burmese dictator Ne Win who would regularly visit Germany, with the company footing the bill. So regular were his visits that one analyst even suggested that a small Burmese pagoda had been built beside one of the company’s German facilities.
http://www.dvb.no/news/german-weapons-firm-in-burma-capital/16402
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No one obeys gov’t order to hand over weapons in Mon State
Friday, 01 July 2011 19:37 Kun Chan
Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – Although Burmese authorities in some townships in Mon State have ordered members of cease-fire groups to turn in their weapons to police stations or Military Affairs Security (MAS) offices no later than Friday, no one has complied with the order, according to a source close to a MAS office.
Under orders from the Southeast Command, authorities in Thanbyuzayat Township on Tuesday announced the order via loudspeakers and posted notices in public locations. Authorities in Mudon and Kyaikmayaw Township also posted notices about the order.
“In Thanbyuzayat, no one handed over weapons. The same in Mudon and Kyaikmayaw according to our inquires,” the source in Thanbyuzayat told Mizzima.
When Mizzima contacted the MAS office in Thanbyuzayat, an official said it was true that the order was issued. But, he refused to provide any more details.
This week the area has experienced bombings and hijackings. On Wednesday, at about 12:30 p.m. a bomb exploded in the compound of the Township Administrative office in Thanbyuzayat. There were no casualties.
At about 9 a.m., gunmen set two passenger buses on fire on the Ye-Thanbyuzayat Road near Thayaaye Village, located about 15 miles south of Ye. They took six drivers and conductors hostage.
New Mon State Party foreign affairs official Naing Han Tha Paing Khine denied that his group had anything to do with the violence. He said some unidentified group unhappy about the order to hand over their weapons might have committed the acts.
The Mon Peace and Defense Front (MPDF), the Karen Peace Force, some members of the New Mon State Party and the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army all have activities in villages in the townships where the authorities have ordered weapons to be turned in. http://www.mizzima.com/news/inside-burma/5530-no-one-obeys-govt-order-to-hand-over-weapons-in-mon-state.html
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Suu Kyi on China, war and peace
By DVB
Published: 1 July 2011
Fighting has engulfed parts of Kachin state in northern Burma for nearly four weeks, forcing tens of thousands to flee their homes. Burmese democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi tells DVB of her sadness that fellow countrymen continue to turn against one another, and urges China to engage in mediation in order to bring about an end to the conflict.
On peace in Kachin state
“As far as I understand, although the government is saying everything is peaceful now, the Kachin group is saying there is still fighting at intervals. This is a matter that shouldn’t occur when looking to shape a united and safe union. Under these circumstances, we should strive harder for national reconciliation – some see this as a hindrance for the reconciliation effort but I believe that we should strive more. These circumstances in a way are reminding us that the country will continue to face various problems if we cannot achieve national reconciliation.
“Understanding is a necessary component to make peace between any parties; there should be a mutual understanding. And to have understanding, one should be open-minded and cannot think only about what one wishes but also try to learn what others want. The majority of the people in our country want peace – none of us want these fights going on. Regardless of wherever a fight takes place – in Kachin state, Shan state, Mon state or Karen state – there will be concern among all ethnic nationalities in the country, Arakan, Chin or Burman. They will feel unhappy about it because we are all the same people living in the same country, living on the same land drinking the same water. So in order to make peace, the first step is to have the will to do so.”
On China
“I think the Chinese government should do what they can to help while having respect for Burmese people’s wishes peace because we are neighbours just across a fence – if there is no peace and amiability on one side, it is inevitable the neighbours will also feel the impact. I heard that some refugees fled into China when the fighting broke out. So I assume wise people such as the Chinese leaders will understand that instability in their neighbouring country will also impact on their country. So I think they should work together to make an effort to bring peace to Burma based on an understanding.”
On refugees
“There are two things I would like to say regarding refugees of the war. One is for China to treat the refugees, who fled there due to fighting between Kachin forces and the Burmese Army, with sympathy and understand that they didn’t want to leave their homes and native villages or towns but had no other choice. The only thing refugees can carry when they run is suffering, so they needed to be treated with sympathy and helped as one is capable of.
“I also have a message for the refugees: do not give up your hope – we will continue to work to bring those home who were forced to leave this country against their own will. There is no one who doesn’t understand the situation of the refugees and the suffering they bear. People in this country and the whole world know and there are a lot of people willing to help. So please don’t give up hope but develop your courage. Be thankful to people and countries who accepted you and please don’t forget that we are trying to build a country where all ethnic groups in live in safety and freedom.”
On soldiers
“In my opinion, no person would want to fight other people. Naturally aggressive people are rare. I don’t see how both the Burmese and the Kachin soldiers are happy to go to war – you could die or become disabled in a war and that would also cause your family to suffer. So who would want to do such kind of job?
“Also, we are not fighting against any foreign invaders – both the Kachin and the Burmese soldiers are children of our Union, a family in a way. I don’t think it will be comfortable for anyone to fight and kill your own family members. I want soldiers from both sides to keep in mind that we are all people of this country and although we are fighting with each other under various circumstances and contributing factors, please don’t forget that at the end of the day we will have to join hands again like brothers. Restrain yourself from holding grudges against each other and just try as hard as you can to prevent such things from happening in the future.”
http://www.dvb.no/interview/suu-kyi-on-china-war-and-peace/16397
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Suu Kyi to Visit Pagan Next Week
By WAI MOE Thursday, June 30, 2011
Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi is scheduled to visit the ancient city of Pagan in Mandalay Region next week on her first trip outside of Rangoon since her release from house arrest in November, according to her party, the National League for Democracy (NLD).
Win Htain, an NLD leader and Suu Kyi’s close aide, told The Irrawaddy on Thursday that Suu Kyi will be traveling to Pagan for sightseeing rather than on party business, saying that her son, Htain Linn, also known as Kim Aris, will join her on the trip.
Although Win Htain did not provide any further details about the trip, an NLD source who spoke on condition of anonymity said it is scheduled to begin on July 4. The source added that Suu Kyi may be planning to fly to Pagan, as she attempted to buy an air ticket on Thursday.
He added that Suu Kyi got a green light for the trip from the authorities after she informed them of her plan earlier this month.
However, Burma's state-run media warned yesterday that Suu Kyi's travels could cause unrest in the country. “We are deeply concerned that if Daw Aung San Suu Kyi makes trips to countryside regions, there may be chaos and riots, as evidenced by previous incidents,” the New Light of Myanmar newspaper said on Wednesday.
Suu Kyi’s last trip outside of Rangoon was in May 2003, when she visited Mandalay and Sagaing regions. Her trip ended when she and her supporters were ambushed by government-backed thugs in Depayin, Sagaing Region. She narrowly escaped the attack, but was later placed in detention, where she remained until her release last November.
News of Suu Kyi’s trip to Pagan comes amid concerns about security in the country, after a series of bomb blasts hit Burma's second largest city of Mandalay, the capital Naypyidaw, and Pyin Oo Lwin, a town near Mandalay region closely associated with the armed forces, last Friday, injuring three people.
It also follows moves by the military-backed government of President Thein Sein to restrict the NLD's political activities, which it described as illegal because of the party's dissolution last year for refusing to take part in an election staged by the former military junta.
On Tuesday, Minister of Home Affairs Lt-Gen Ko Ko sent a letter to Suu Kyi and NLD Chairman Aung Shwe saying that the party should form a social organization if it wants to engage in social affairs.
In a letter of reply sent on Wednesday, Suu Kyi said that the NLD is not doing anything to harm rule of law, stability and unity among monks and government servants. She added that the party also wants rule of law and is always making efforts for national reconciliation.
However, on Thursday, prominent NLD leader Win Tin said that the party doesn’t have any plans at present to register as an nongovernmental organization or political party. He added that he is concerned the government could be gearing up for another crackdown on the party.
“There's a possibility that party leaders could be arrested again, and party offices seized,” he said. http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=21604
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NLD confirms Suu Kyi to visit Bagan on personal pilgrimage
Friday, 01 July 2011 18:38 Phanida
Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – The National League for Democracy (NLD) General-Secretary Aung San Suu Kyi will make a four-day pilgrimage to Bagan on Monday, NLD central executive committee member Han Tha Myint has confirmed.
Aung San Suu Kyi greets her youngest son Htein Lin at Rangoon's MIngalardon airport on Sunday June 19, 2011. Photo: Mizzima
Aung San Suu Kyi greets her youngest son Htein Lin at Rangoon's MIngalardon airport on Sunday June 19, 2011. Photo: Mizzima
He said the trip is a personal visit and that she has applied for leave from NLD affairs. Bagan is the site of large historical temple complex that is revered in Burma.
The trip will be her first outside of Rangoon since she was released from house arrest. At least 10 people will accompany her to provide security, according to the NLD.
The NLD said that she would not meet with NLD members in Bagan, but declined to provide any more details. She will take a flight from Rangoon to Nyaung Oo and will go to Bagan by car.
“Her pilgrimage to Bagan will take four days, I think. She will be on leave till next Friday,” Han Tha Myint said.
Recently, Burma’s Home Affairs Ministry sent the NLD a letter warning it not to conduct political activities.
Bagan is an ancient city located on the Irrawaddy River in the Mandalay Region. It was the capital of several ancient Burmese kingdoms. Most of the temples and buildings were built from the 11th to 13th centuries.
On other issues, Mizzima asked Win Htein whether Suu Kyi had promised the authorities not to meet with foreign senior leaders or not. In response to Mizzima’s question, Win Htein said that Suu Kyi did not make any such agreement with the junta. The issue recently made some news in the Indian media.
“She meets with foreign diplomats nearly every week. The news (issued by a section of the Indian media) was not true,” Win Htein said. http://www.mizzima.com/news/inside-burma/5529-nld-confirms-suu-kyi-to-visit-bagan-on-personal-pilgrimage.html
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Govt Employees' Pensions Set to Increase
By KO HTWE Friday, July 1, 2011
Burma's Ministry of Finance and Revenue has announced that civil servants' and parliamentarians' pensions will be increased starting in July, according to state-run newspaper The New Light of Myanmar on Friday.
The announcement marks the first step to fulfill a promise made by President Thein Sein during his inaugural address to parliament on March 31 when he said that government employees' salaries and pensions will be increased in proportion to government revenue, the inflation rate, consumer price indexes and the GDP.
The New Light of Myanmar reported on Friday that “pension rates of pensioners who live in the Republic of the Union of Myanmar and started drawing pensions before 1 January 2010 are hereby increased to the same rates as that service personnel in service are allowed to draw pensions when they retire, as of July 2011.”
However, the report noted, if a person's pension already exceeds 110,000 kyat [US $130], it shall remain the same as present.
Chan Tun, a retired ambassador based in Rangoon, said that he currently receives 540 kyat [$0.63] per month as his civil service pension, and 1,000 kyat [$1.18] per month for his diplomatic pension.
“This increase in pension is delightful,” he said. “However, I think the increase in pensions is directly related to the recent retirement of Snr-Gen Than Shwe and Vice-Snr Maung Aye.” http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=21614
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Is China backing Burma’s war against Kachin rebels?
By Zin Linn Jul 01, 2011 12:08AM UTC
As the war in Burma’s Kachin State continues, more and more people are seeking refuge along the Sino-Burma border. According to Kachin News Group (KNG), more than 20,000 Kachin war refugees fled to China since the conflict began, fearing torture, abuse, rape or being used as porter by Burmese troops.
Meanwhile, Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and Burmese army officials met Thursday morning in Lagayan town for proper talks, said the Irrawaddy News. This is the first time the two sides have sat down together since hostilities in Kachin State resumed on June 9. The renewed warfare near the Chinese border effectively broke a 17-year-old armistice between the two sides.
Burmese military delegation, led by Colonel Than Aung, minister for border affairs in Kachin State met with Kachin officials led by General Gun Maw, second-in-command of the KIA. During the meeting, representatives of the KIA called on the Burmese government to release a reliable letter by authoritative body, such as a memo from Union Government, to back up the official promise toward a proper ceasefire, according to a KIA Source. As said by Gun Maw, Thursday’s meeting may be a beginning but he did not know the next meeting date.
Despite the meeting, there is no sign of the Burmese military standing down. More than a hundred Chinese-made military trucks were reported to have arrived in Muse, a busy border trade town on the Sino-Burma border since Sunday, raising the question whether they will be used in the war against Kachin Independence Army (KIA), quoting local sources Shan Herald Agency for News (S.H.A.N.) said.
The six-wheel Chinese trucks are produced by Japanese Howo Company in China and exported to Burma by way of Jiegao-Muse. Hundreds of Burma Army soldiers are also reported to have been sent to the town to take delivery of the trucks. The arrival of both military trucks and troops has fueled fear among the populace whether the war with the KIA may spread to the area, according to Herald Agency for News.
As a result, the Kachin community in the United Kingdom plus others from the Burmese community and Tibetans protested during the visit of Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao to London on June 27 in front of British Prime Minister David Cameron’s house.
Prime Minister Wen Jiabao arrived in Britain on June 25 on a three-day visit to UK and has signed a billion dollar trade agreement between the two countries. Organized by ‘Students for a Free Tibet, UK’, activists and UK-based people from the Burmese community, Kachin people and those showing solidarity demonstrated, said a participant.
Since China is an ally of the Burmese government, demonstrators protested against the military offensive on Kachin State by the Burmese Army.
Kachin people around the world held demonstrations on June 24 demanding China stop supporting the military backed Burmese government. The protestors also demanded to let Kachin war refugees taking safe haven in China. At the same time, they pressured the Burmese government to stop offensive in Kachin State and urged the international community to help thousands of war refugees, who fled to the Sino-Burma border.
KIA officials said thousands of war refugees need immediate aid and there is no organization or international aid agency on the ground.
Actually, the spillover affects of refugees into neighboring countries is caused by the Burmese government and it should take responsibility for the problem. But, the Burmese government seems to have no sympathy for its own ethnic people; instead it has been incessantly launching war against its own citizens who call for equal rights. http://asiancorrespondent.com/58902/is-china-quietly-support-burma%E2%80%99s-war-against-kachin-people/
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Ceasefire Talks Produce Old Rhetoric, No New Agreement
By BA KAUNG Friday, July 1, 2011
LAJA YAN, Kachin State— At 9:30 a.m. On Thursday, the deputy military chief of the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), Brig-Gen Gun Maw, and a group of other high-ranking KIA officials gathered by the roadside in Laja Yan Village, Kachin State. The village is located in an area the ethnic armed group currently controls, but sits only a few kilometers from a deployment of Burmese army troops, with whom the KIA has been engaged in deadly fighting for the last three weeks since a 17-year long ceasefire broke down.
Dressed in light green camouflage fatigues, the soft-spoken Gun Maw and his comrades chatted in the Kachin language, occasionally breaking into laughter. Behind them was a makeshift pavilion, constructed to hold the first direct talks between representatives of the Burmese military and the KIA since clashes broke out between the two sides on June 9. Nearby were plastic bags containing Johnny Walker whiskey— gifts for the Burmese delegation.
At 11:00 a.m., Col Than Aung, the Kachin State minister for border affairs, arrived at the pavilion with his entourage. He indicated from the start of the meeting that he was directly representing the national government in Naypyidaw, not just the Kachin State government, by saying that, “Higher authorities and I talked over this conflict. You understand who I am referring to, don’t you?”
In what seemed to be an overture, he said that the KIA’s liaison offices should be reopened so the KIA and the Burmese government could work together—the KIA set up the offices in Kachin State’s urban areas after the 1994 ceasefire was signed, but the Burmese government forced them to close late last year after the ethnic armed group rejected Naypyidaw’s order to transform itself into a member of the government’s border guard force (BGF) under the command of the Burmese army.
Than Aung also asked Gun Maw for a signed acknowledgement that the KIA would renew the ceasefire, and asked the KIA officials to participate in the country’s political process “in dignity.”
These requests came despite the fact that Than Aung did not himself carry any official document saying that the government would renew the ceasefire, and the fact that the Burmese military regime—which in March was replaced by a nominally civilian government—forbid three Kachin political parties from participating in the parliamentary elections last November on grounds that their leaders were linked to the KIA.
When Gun Maw asked Than Aung for formal evidence that the Burmese army would end hostile attacks against the KIA, Than Aung did not answer directly, saying he will have to report to the “higher authorities.”
“We heard that the Burmese army was reinforcing its troops in Kachin State, some of which have arrived by ship,” Gun Maw said.
“No, that’s not true,” Than Aung replied. “All are at normal levels. This is the media age. We cannot hide anything.”
Although Gun Maw and the other KIA officials at the meeting expressed a desire for a ceasefire, they indicated that any agreement to halt fighting must come with tangible political reforms and compromise from the Naypyidaw government. In particular, he told the Burmese delegation that the government must change the “Nargis Law,” referring to the current Constitution, which was voted on in a referendum held in the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis in 2008.
“A ceasefire does not necessarily mean peace,” Gun Maw said. “Many describe the previous ceasefire as peace, which it really wasn’t.”
During the previous ceasefire, the KIA and its political wing, the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), asked the Burmese regime to engage in regional development and provide a political solution to the decades old conflict which granted autonomy to the Kachin people in Kachin State. At that time, the Burmese military generals said they did not have the mandate to solve the political questions, which could only be addressed after a civilian government came into power.
Between the time the 1994 ceasefire was entered into and 2009, when the KIA first rejected the BGF plan, Chinese companies and Burmese business groups with links to the government invested in a number of large projects in Kachin State, such as hydropower projects, that benefitted the outside investors but not local people and came with significant negative social and environmental impacts.
In addition, during that time the KIA focused its efforts on regional development and stopped actively recruiting and training new forces for its armed militia, which weakened its position in relation to the Burmese government. So when the KIA complained to the Burmese government about the unfairness and negative effects of projects such as the Chinese-built Myitsone Dam, it lacked the negotiating leverage either to halt the project or change the terms.
It is therefore not surprising that in interviews with The Irrawaddy at the KIA headquarters in Laiza and at nearby military outposts, several KIA officers and lower ranking soldiers said they did not want to see their leaders striking another “empty” ceasefire deal with the Burmese government, preferring to fight the Burmese army for the autonomy they desired.
“We want autonomy for Kachin State. Otherwise, I don’t want another ceasefire with the Burmese army,” said 60-year-old Maj. Hkaraw La Ja, the commander of the KIA’s 1,000-strong guerilla force tasked with defending the KIA Headquarters in Laiza, which is located near the Chinese border.
Hkaraw La Ja previously fought the Burmese army from 1967 until 1997, and then went into retirement. Now, he is one of several combat-hardened military officers who re-joined the KIA in late 2009 after tension built up with the Burmese military leaders over the BGF plan.
“I’m ready to fight for my people,” he said, and his foot soldiers appear ready to follow.
“I joined the army to fight for national independence,” said Brang Seng, 21, a KIA soldier guarding a security post at Laja Yan, who noted that the Kachin people have been colonized by the Burmese majority since the British left Burma 63 years ago.
Within the KIA, there is not much optimism that a new ceasefire deal will be reached, and many members expressed a complete distrust of the Burmese government. The headmaster of the KIA’s military academy at Laiza, who does not wish to be named, explained that the Kachin people have faced injustice even with an armed KIA.
“These injustices will become all the more severe when we lay down our arms,” he said. “Instead of another sham ceasefire, we will fight to our death.”
Some officials assume that the current lull in armed clashes with the Burmese troops is either because of an internal clash in the Naypyidaw leadership, or because the Burmese government is just waiting for a proper time to launch a major military offensive against them.
Despite the skepticism, however, Burmese and KIA officials intend to meet again in the near future for another round of ceasefire talksalthough when is unclear.
“I don’t know when this will happen again. They said they will inform us,” said Gun Maw after the meeting.
http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=21610&page=2
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BGF Commander Killed in All-Karen Clash
By THE IRRAWADDY Friday, July 1, 2011
A Karen commander of the Border Guard Force (BGF), Battalion 1011, was killed in action during a clash with former BGF Karen rebels, according to Karen sources.
Sources said that defecting former BGF battalions led by Lt-Col Po Bi, which refused to fight alongside the Burmese army, attacked a BGF zone led by Lt-Col Soe Naing on June 30. Soe Naing died in action during the two-hour engagement.
In May, another renegade Karen faction of the BGF, Battalion 1012, again led by Po Bi, took over full control of the BGF headquarters in Myaing Gyi Nyu, southern Karen State, kicked out his BGF government advisors, and ordered the 500 soldiers under his command to remove the BGF badges from their uniforms and replace them with their old the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA) insignia.
Later, two other BGF battalions, 1013 and 1014, joined the Po Bi-led faction, leaving only Battalion 1011 remaining BGF.
“The fighting started at 4 pm on Thursday and ended at 6 pm. The situation there is very serious now,” said Lt-Col Paw Do, the commander of Battalion 101 of the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), the armed wing of the Karen National Union (KNU), the major Karen rebel group resisting Burmese government forces in Karen State.
The DKBA joined the Burmese government's BGF initiative in August 2010. The government had previously ordered all ethnic ceasefire groups in April 2009 to transform their units into BGF battalions under Burmese army command.
Sources said that the government is currently sending additional columns of troops to the Myaing Gyi Nyu area, which is under full control of the DKBA and the KNLA.
Due primarily to their religious differences, the DKBA split from the Christian-dominated Karen National Union, the political wing of the KNLA, in 1994 and signed a ceasefire agreement with the government in 1995. Afterward, with the backing of government troops, the DKBA launched attacks against the KNLA until the fall of Manerplaw, the KNU headquarters.
However, after a bloody clash in Myawaddy on Nov. 8, which forced some 20,000 civilians to seek temporary refuge in the Thai border town of Mae Sot, and the execution-style killing of six Karen soldiers belonging to the KNU/KNLA Peace Council, the DKBA’s loyalty to the government declined dramatically.http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=21613
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Kachin State Refugees Face Uncertain Future
By BA KAUNG Friday, July 1, 2011
Laiza, Kachin State—Beneath a makeshift roof in the drizzling rain, a funeral ceremony took place on Friday for an eight-year-old Kachin boy who died the night before from diarrhea—the first casualty among the estimated 15,400 refugees living in five camps in and around Laiza, Kachin State, the headquarters of the Kachin Independence Army (KIA).
A week ago, the boy fled with his mother and relatives—who were now sitting around his small coffin—from a village in the Kachin State town of Nam Seng Yan near the Chinese border. They left home after hearing that columns of Burmese troops were passing through the village to fight the KIA, which has been engaged in ongoing battles with the Burmese army since a 17-year-old ceasefire collapsed in the midst of deadly clashes three weeks ago.
“ “His father is left behind to take care of the rice paddies,” said Nam Taung, the boy’s mother, who struggled to speak in Burmese and then sat silently, gazing into the distance.
Many of the war refugees are women and children who came from villages near Laiza; most of them are ethnic Kachin. Several women said that their husbands, who asked them to leave with the children when fighting broke out, stayed behind to take care of the crops.
“I fled because I previously heard stories about the torture and rape of women by the Burmese army,” said Lu Nam, 30, from the village of Madi Yan near the Chinese border. She fled with two of her children and is now living at a market being used as a temporary refugee camp in Laiza. Her husband is at a frontier post fighting for the KIA.
Although the KIA is providing food and medicine daily, many children in the refugee camps are clearly suffering from malnutrition.
“Many of the refugees have nothing to live on and we don’t know how long they can sustain their lives,” said La Rip, who works for the Kachin Development Group, which is assisting the refugees. “I don’t know what will happen to them if the KIA reaches the point of being unable to provide further help.”
The refugees are receiving virtually no outside help other than from Health Unlimited, a UK-backed NGO based in China, because the conflict zone is located in a high mountainous area that is difficult to reach, and there are a limited number of international NGOs active at the China-Burma border in this area.
Some refugees at first crossed over to the Chinese side of the border, but were later forced to return to Burma. Some of the refugees who were forced back to Laiza were told by the Chinese authorities that they could only return to China when war broke out.
“I think China’s position could be in conflict with international refugee laws,” said La Rip.
The Burmese army and KIA officials held ceasefire talks near Laiza on Thursday, but the discussion did not produce any concrete results and the threat of a major war breaking out has made the refugees afraid to go back home.
“I don’t know when we can go back to our village,” said a middle-aged man who was formerly a KIA soldier and is now a refugee. “I think it only depends on the Burmese government.” http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=21612
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Central Govt Retakes Control
By SAI ZOM HSENG Thursday, June 30, 2011
Many of the state and regional government ministries will from Thursday fall under the control of their Naypyidaw offices as part of a centralization plan, according to Burma's state-run The New Light of Myanmar.
Several MPs told The Irrawaddy that emergency meetings were called for Wednesday and Thursday in several states and regions across the country.
Nyo Nyo Thin, a Democratic Party (Burma) MP for Rangoon Region, said that various local government offices, such as the Ministry of Security and Border Affairs, the Ministry of Finance and Revenue, and the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Breeding, will now be administered directly by the Union government [central government], and that almost every ministry would herewith be headed by representatives of the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP).
Speaking to The Irrawaddy on Thursday, Nyo Nyo Thin said, “There are two issues at hand. First, the central government took back some ministries because the state and regional governments could not fulfill their goals. The other point is that the central government wants to be unique within the country.”
She added: “The local governments of Rangoon Region have already vowed to focus only on the economy. Other sectors, such as education, are well over budget. They cost too much for states to maintain. The central government will take responsibility for those ministries again.”
Aung Mya Kyaw, an MP from the Rakhine Nationalities Development Party, confirmed that in Arakan State some ministries were closing down or being made subject to central government control.
The New Light of Myanmar published on Thursday a list of reshuffled ministries in Kachin State and Sagaing Region.
Aye Tha Aung, the secretary of the Committee Representing the People’s Parliament, said that if the country practiced true federalism, then the central government could not interfere in the administration of states and divisions.
“The new president can appoint whoever he wants in the ministries across the country,” he said. “We can see that the new president comes from the USDP. The people he chooses are also from the USDP. I didn’t expect a major change after the election, and it does not surprise me that Naypyidaw is going to retake control of those regional offices.” http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=21606
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