News & Articles on Burma-Wednesday, 20 July, 2011-UZL

News & Articles on Burma
Wednesday, 20 July, 2011
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Burmese Embassy Defections Linked to McCain Trip?
KIA Await Imminent Attack
Burma opposition calls for dialogue on 64th Martyrs’ Day
Martyrs’ Day invite promising, says Suu Kyi
Thai and Burmese Troops Search For Helicopter Survivors
Burma 'hit squad' in Australia
Burma given boost over ASEAN chair
Chin Media Seminar held in Indo-Myanmar border
Burma, China Ignoring Environmental Warnings for Dam
Arakan Suffering for China's Pipeline
Civil War Looms Behind Burma's Local Conflicts
Burma uses development as a weapon to smash ethnic rebels
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Burmese Embassy Defections Linked to McCain Trip?
By WAI MOE Wednesday, July 20, 2011

The defection of two senior officials from the Burmese embassy in Washington, DC earlier this month may have been linked to a high-profile visit to Burma by US Senator John McCain in June.

Official sources in Naypyidaw said that the two defectors—Kyaw Win, the deputy chief of staff at the embassy, and Soe Aung, the first secretary and information officer—were both involved in arranging McCain's trip and active in the embassy's efforts to “re-engage” with Washington under the Obama administration.

Before defecting in early July, Kyaw Win, the embassy's No. 2, handled most political affairs, including meetings with US officials, because of the limited English ability of the top-ranking diplomat, Chargé d'Affaires ex-Lt-Gen Soe Paing, the sources said.

In this capacity, Kyaw Win provided a briefing on the visiting US delegation to Naypyidaw in preparation for McCain's visit—something that Burma's military rulers agreed to with some reluctance.

“The Americans are quite blunt, and Naypyidaw wasn't thrilled about welcoming them,” a Burmese official said regarding a series of visits by American officials in recent months, including McCain's.

“During his visit, McCain met with Vice President ex-Gen Tin Aung Myint Oo, who lived up to his reputation as an 'angry ogre,'” the official said.

“If you disregard the blunt tones and even sarcasm, it was a good trip—better than no trip at all, anyway” he added.

The link between the recent defections and McCain’s trip is also being widely discussed among leading Burmese dissidents in the US.

“In recent years, the Burmese regime has attempted to improve relations with the international community, including the US,” said Thaung Tun, the permanent representative to the United Nations of the Washington-based Burmese government in exile, the National Coalition Government of Union of Burma.

“U Kyaw Win was a key player in this effort. In Washington, he was sort of in charge of dealing with Burmese exiles, as well as American officials,” Thaung Tun said.

During his visit in early June, McCain met with senior government officials such as Tin Aung Myint Oo, Lower House Speaker ex-Gen Shwe Mann, Upper House Speaker ex-Maj-Gen Khin Aung Myint and Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin in Naypyidaw, as well as pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and other key stakeholders in Rangoon.

Burma's state-run media gave the visit two days of coverage and hailed it as a significant development in the two countries' bilateral relations.

According to The New Light of Myanmar, Tin Aung Myint Oo told McCain that Burma would give serious consideration to boosting bilateral cooperation with the US.

But the newspaper did not report that on June 3, at the end of his three-day visit, McCain said in a statement that Burma could face an Arab-style revolution if the regime continued to repress dissent, and that US sanctions should remain in place until the Burmese government makes “concrete” reforms.

“The winds of change are now blowing, and they will not be confined to the Arab world. Governments that shun evolutionary reforms now will eventually face revolutionary change later,” McCain said.

Meanwhile, Linn Myaing, a former Burmese ambassador to the US whose family members are still in the US, is also reportedly involved in Burma’s efforts to re-engage with Washington alongside a US firm. http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=21729
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KIA Await Imminent Attack
By SAW YAN NAING Wednesday, July 20, 2011

The Kachin Independence Army (KIA) is on high alert with rumors abound that Burmese government forces are planning a major assault against its headquarters in Laiza within the next three days.

Col. Zau Raw, the commander of KIA Battalion 4, which operates in northern Shan State, told The Irrawaddy that he had been told by his military sources that the Burmese army has been reinforcing its units in the area since July 16 and has positioned three military ships on the Irrawaddy River at Bhamo in southern Kachin State.

Zau Raw said he was told that government troops planned to attack the KIA headquarters within the next three days.

He said the KIA was busy making preparations to protect Laiza, which is located on the Sino-Burmese border and has a settled population of approximately 6,000 people, mostly ethnic Kachins. The town has seen an influx of more than 10,000 refugees since June 9 due to an outbreak of hostilities between the KIA and government troops.

An additional 6,000 Kachin refugees are currently taking shelter at makeshift camps along the China-Burma border.

Maj. Kareng Naw Awng, the administrative chief of Laiza, told The Irrawaddy on Wednesday that he too had heard that the government forces would attack Laiza, but could not provide any further information.

He said that some 300 villagers fled to the border three days ago to escape arrest by government troops who routinely detain anyone they find living on farms and force them to work as porters for the army—a job that very often involves walking ahead of army battalions as “minesweepers.”

As fears circulate that a major assault is imminent, the number of refugees seeking temporary shelter at the border is increasing. Local NGOs have called for urgent international aid.

Denied refuge in China, terrified villagers are sheltering in camps set up in
areas by the KIA’s political wing, the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO). Those cut off or otherwise unable to travel to the border camps have fled to towns deeper inside Kachin State.

Cases of sexual violence have also been reported, according to the aid groups.

Shirley Seng, a spokesperson for the Kachin Women's Association Thailand (KWAT), said, “Our people are trapped. They have no way out. Kachin networks and local churches have been helping, but it is not enough. International aid is urgently required.”

She said that KWAT is concerned not only for the immediate food and medical needs of the refugees, but also for their long-term survival, as many have been forced to abandon their rice fields.

“A humanitarian crisis is looming in Kachin State,” she said.

“We need concerted international pressure, particularly from China, to force the regime to implement a nationwide ceasefire before it is too late,” she added.

KIO representatives met EU officials in Bangkok earlier this month to discuss the crisis. At the meeting, the KIO said their representatives urged the EU to help alleviate the suffering of the Kachin refugees and called for the European bloc to mediate in the conflict.

KIA officials claimed 28 government troops were killed during skirmishes over the weekend in south of Myitkyina, the capital of Kachin State, while one KIA soldier was killed and four others were wounded.

The KIA also captured 11 government troops including two officers—a captain and a lieutenant— in the skirmishes, along with some weapons and ammunition. http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=21727
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Burma opposition calls for dialogue on 64th Martyrs’ Day
By Zin Linn Jul 20, 2011 3:47PM UTC

Around a hundred members and supporters of the National League for Democracy led by Vice Chairman U Tin Oo and General Secretary Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, marched to Martyrs’ Mausoleum to honor General Aung San (father of Aung San Suu Kyi) and other fallen national heroes.

The NLD-led procession hit the road from the NLD headquarters at 12.30pm by cars and responsible authorities accompanied them up to the plinth of the mausoleum. On the podium of the mausoleum they saluted the courageous martyrs of Burma. Vice Chairman U Tin Oo took the lead in order to salute the martyrs.

According to a reporter for VOA’s Burmese service, more than 2,000 people joined the procession to the Martyr’s Mausoleum, including about a hundred members of the Nobel laureate’s National League for Democracy. Police did not interfere with the march, which was Burma’s largest public demonstration in years.

Earlier Tuesday, Aung San Suu Kyi took part in a government-authorized formal procedure at the Martyrs’ Mausoleum, in honor of her father, Aung San, and other Burmese independence leaders who were assassinated on July 19, 1947. Aung San is regarded as the father of Burma’s independence – he showed the way to freedom from British colonialism. Aung San and eight freedom fighters were assassinated by political rival U Saw on July 19, 1947.

Government officials offered an invitation to Suu Kyi last week, and the Nobel Peace Prize laureate agreed to be present at the ceremony at Rangoon Martyrs’ Mausoleum on Tuesday morning.

The event was her first appearance at the once-a-year ceremony since she was put under house arrest from May 2003 to November 2010.

Burma’s Nobel Peace Prize laureate revisited the Martyrs’ Mausoleum again on Tuesday afternoon together with Central Executive Committee members of her party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), as well as leading members of the Committee Representing the People’s Parliament and the NLD’s youth network.

An NLD statement said, “The thugs and the terrorists coveting the state power assassinated Bogyoke Aung San and ohter national leaders while they were ardently striving for the independence of the country. The martyrs and leaders headed by Bogyoke Aung San while struggling for the liberation of the country from the yoke of colonialist and establishment of new a sovereign democratic state had to sacrifice their lives at the hand of the despicable stooges of the imperialist. However, as the maxim “martyrs never die” the whole nation pines for Bogyoke Aung San and the martyrs constantly ever since.”

In the statement, the NLD also called for a meaningful political dialogue towards national reconciliation and releasing unconditionally all the political prisoners.

It says, “We have repeatedly said that the NLD is ready to negotiate flexibly for the beneficial results of the people of Burma. But the dialogue should not aim for the benefit of the NLD nor the benefit of the authorities but for the benefit of the Burmese people. Therefore the authorities should create the fair political conditions by holding meaningful political meaningful political dialogue towards national reconciliation and releasing unconditionally all the political prisoners.” http://asiancorrespondent.com/60483/burma%E2%80%99s-key-opposition-party-calls-for-dialogue-on-the-64th-martyrs%E2%80%99-day/
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Martyrs’ Day invite promising, says Suu Kyi
By AHUNT PHONE MYAT
Published: 20 July 2011

Permission given by the Burmese government to opposition figureheads to attend the annual Martyrs’ Day ceremony in Rangoon will prove to be beneficial for both sides of the political spectrum in Burma, Aung San Suu Kyi has said.

The Nobel laureate was among a number of high-profile figures, including activists and musicians, who yesterday paid their respects at the Martyrs’ Mausoleum, erected to mark the 1947 assassination of her father, General Aung San, Burma’s independence hero.

It was the first time that Suu Kyi, who had been kept under house arrest for much of the past decade before her release in November 2010, attended the event in nine years. She led some 3,000 supporters to the Rangoon site, marking the largest public gathering of Burma’s opposition since the 2007 uprising.

Nyan Win, spokesperson of the National League for Democracy (NLD), led by Suu Kyi, said that they had been negotiating with the government prior to yesterday, and were pleased with the invitation.

“Daw Aung San Suu Kyi told us she was very satisfied with the Martyrs’ Day event,” he told DVB yesterday. “This is beneficial for the both sides and provides an example of how negotiations can lead to positive outcomes. [Suu Kyi] said that she was thankful to [authorities] for doing this.”

Earlier this year the NLD, which was formed in 1988 and which won a landslide election victory in 1990 which the regime ignored, was officially disbanded by the government following its refusal to compete in the polls last year.

Since then it has repeatedly lobbied the government to open negotiations to pave the way for its reinstatement, but that has fallen on deaf ears. Nyan Win said that the group was “looking to continue with our effort for negotiations – we see that they are a very good tactic”.
http://www.dvb.no/news/martyrs%E2%80%99-day-invite-promising-says-suu-kyi/16635
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Thai and Burmese Troops Search For Helicopter Survivors
By SAW YAN NAING Wednesday, July 20, 2011

The Thai Army is cooperating with Burmese government forces in searching for possible survivors from the second military helicopter crash near the Thai-Burmese border on Tuesday.

According to Thai News Agency (TNA), some 100 soldiers started a jungle march to locate nine Thai troopers who were on board the Black Hawk that lost contact and crashed while flying to retrieve the bodies of Saturday's five helicopter crash victims in Kaeng Krachan National Park, Phetchaburi.

Thai Army spokesman Col Sansern Kaewkamnerd told TNA that it could not be confirmed that the chopper had crashed on Burmese soil, but the incident was likely to have occurred near the Thai-Burmese border.

Thai military sources blame bad weather as the cause behind the accident. Heavy rain and strong winds apparently caused the aircraft to lose stability and crash into the mountain.

Thai journalists reported that some pieces of the Black Hawk helicopter went down on Burmese soil, while others say that it was found on the Thai side. The first helicopter flew over the forest as illegal logging was reported near the border. The Burmese side of the border near the accident site falls within Tenessarim Division.

Meanwhile, the Bangkok Post reported on Wednesday that Burmese soldiers immediately identified the spot where the second Black Hawk went down and reported the location to the Thai military.

The crash site was said to be near a Burmese village named Pha Mai Daeng, around one kilometer from the Thai border. However, the Burmese soldiers did not mention the fate of the passengers on board the crashed Black Hawk, the report said.

On Wednesday, reports emerged that the bodies of the five soldiers who were killed in the first helicopter crash had already been airlifted out of the area.

On Aug. 28, 1997, there was an incident of a Thai Army Jet Ranger helicopter which was apparently shot down by Burmese government troops, according to Burmese dissidents and news agencies.

The helicopter was flying during bad weather over a small piece of Burma which juts into Thailand, south of Mae Sot, which was a former headquarters of the Karen National Union. Four Thai soldiers including two pilots died in the crash. Thai military sources only confirmed that the plane went down in bad weather.

However, Burmese rebels claimed that the plane was shot down by troops from the Burmese government under Light Infantry Division 32, led by captains Thein Lwin and Kyaw San at that time. Automatic rifles and machine guns were apparently used.

However, Thai officers denied the helicopter was shot down because it was flying beyond the range of ground fire.

The Burmese government did not cooperate with the Thai Army in trying to recover the helicopter and victims' bodies. Thai military personnel were only allowed to conduct a land search for the helicopter after Sept. 15, 1997, and some sources suspect that Burmese troops had already destroyed the helicopter and disposed of the dead soldiers by this time.

It was reported that rebel units at the border had intercepted this information via Burmese Army radio transmissions.

However, Thai authorities, particularly the Defence and Foreign Affairs ministries and security agencies, have not confirmed nor denied the dissidents' statements at that time. http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=21726
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Burma 'hit squad' in Australia
Dan Oakes and Mike Hedge
July 20, 2011

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Htoo Htoo Han, a Burmese refugee and an Australian resident of 15 years, poses for photos in Brisbane, Monday, July 18, 2011. Mr Han has admitted in taking part in war-crimes when he was working for the Junta in Burma, saying he personally executed at least 24 "enemies" of the regime.

Htoo Htoo Han. Photo: AAP

NINE members of a death squad run by the Burmese military regime in the late 1980s are living in Australia, according to a refugee who claims to have commanded the squad.

The man, Htoo Htoo Han, has claimed to have personally killed at least 24 opponents of the murderous regime in the wake of the 1988 pro-democracy uprising while posing as a student activist and to have been involved in the deaths of up to 150 more people.

Federal Attorney-General Robert McClelland yesterday wrote to the Australian Federal Police asking them to investigate the claims.
Advertisement: Story continues below

Yesterday Mr Han told The Age that eight of the men who were under his command while he ran the military intelligence assassination squad are living in various states of Australia, but they refused to join him in publicly confessing their crimes.

''I was officer, I have nine people from my team here [in Australia] but I cannot name them. There are two in Sydney, four in Melbourne, one in Perth, one in Queensland. Everybody making money, have family, happy life - but for me not happy life,'' Mr Han said.

''They can come out like I did, and be free of the nightmare, but people don't want to come out because they have families, children.''

Mr Han, who came to Australia in 1996 from Thailand and is now a citizen, said the men had contacted him after he arrived in Australia to tell him they had also gained asylum. However, they stopped speaking to him after he suggested they should publicly confess to the killings.

The 44-year-old said he had not spoken to any of the nine men since he publicly confessed this week to the murders, which he said have haunted him for 23 years.

It is impossible to conclusively verify Mr Han's claims - and Burmese dissidents in Australia have questioned them - but he said earlier this week that he had posed as a student activist during and after the 1988 uprising in order to identify the ''masterminds'' of the opposition movement.

The activists were then kidnapped by men under Mr Han's command and brought to him. He shot them in the head, their bodies were burnt and their ashes thrown in a river.

Mr Han, a father of three living in Brisbane, said he had confessed to the killings because his conscience had tortured him for 23 years and because he did not want his crimes to become public when his children are older.

His claims are more shocking because he has been a high-profile member of the Burmese exile community in Australia and has campaigned publicly for regime change in the impoverished south-east Asian nation.

The Burma Campaign Australia, which represents pro-democracy supporters in Australia, said in a statement that it welcomed the police investigation, while cautioning that the claims could not be taken as verbatim without further evidence.

''What is clear is that war crimes and crimes against humanity are widespread in Burma and there is an urgent need for a UN commission of inquiry,'' it said.

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/national/burma-hit-squad-in-australia-20110719-1hn8k.html#ixzz1SeFiHfDG
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Burma given boost over ASEAN chair
By FRANCIS WADE
Published: 20 July 2011

Burmese President Thein Sein stands with his Indonesian counterpart Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono during a May visit to Jakarta (Reuters)

Indonesia said on Tuesday that it was giving “positive consideration” to Burma’s bid for the ASEAN chair for 2014, despite months of warnings from rights groups that having one of Southeast Asia’s most maligned governments in the top position would tarnish the bloc’s reputation and do little to bring political stability to the region.

The comments came from Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa at the end of the 44th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting yesterday. Indonesia holds the revolving chair of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and has oscillated somewhat over its opinion on whether Burma is fit to take over in 2014.

Human Rights Watch said shortly after the bid was made public in May that, if eventually successful, it would be an “embarrassment to the region”. It had been due to take the chair in 2005 but was blocked by Malaysia, which deemed it to be unfit.

Since the elections in November last year that ushered in a nominally civilian government, the Thein Sein administration has embarked on a public relations drive aimed at shedding a reputation synonymous with human rights abuse.

Ironically for the sizeable number of observers that claim little has changed in the country since the polls, Natalegawa said in a statement after yesterday’s summit that “ASEAN’s role in the global community of nations requires a strong ASEAN Secretariat”.

Secretary General Surin Pitsuwan continued that a stronger leadership was needed to garner international support for units like the ASEAN Inter-governmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR), something it may struggle to do if Burma takes the chair.

As an emerging economic region with a long history of political instability, ASEAN governments have increasingly spoken of their desire for a leadership that can tackle the manifold social, political and economic problems they collectively face – a call that gains pertinence as borders become more porous, trade grows and an ASEAN ‘community’ blossoms.

Behind the scenes, however, some ministers have expressed scepticism about Burma’s presence in the bloc, with Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya saying in May that it was “unfit” for the chair.

His comments marked a break from the recent past when Thailand, as chair of ASEAN, was reluctant to criticise the regime. Surin Pitsuwan, a veteran Thai politician, however is believed to be supportive of Burma’s bid.

Despite assertions from Naypyidaw that Burma is progressing in the right direction, it remains Southeast Asia’s least developed countries, and ranks 132 out of 169 countries on the UN’s Human Development Index. Various assessments brand it a top source country for refugees, drugs and human trafficking, all of which have become a sensitive blot on the region’s reputation.
http://www.dvb.no/news/burma-given-boost-over-asean-chair/16652
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Chin Media Seminar held in Indo-Myanmar border
Tuesday, 19 July 2011 16:11 Khonumthung News News - Khonumthung News

A media seminar (exchange program) for Chin people in inside and outside Burma was held at Orchid Hall in Aizawl city, Indo-Myanmar border state of India in the second week of this month for three days.

Khonumthung News Group organized the media seminar was sponsored by International Media Support (IMS) in Denmark, and the representatives from other Chin media groups and NGOs were attended.

The seminar deal with (1) Current political situation in Burma (2) The present condition of Chin people inside and outside Burma (3) The relationship between Burma and the International Community (4) How to establish better access to information (4) Chin Human Rights affairs (5) The daily life of Chin people in Mizoram state.

“Making this kind of media seminar is very helpful for our Chin people. We have to extent all the discussions and presentations here to others,” said Mr. Solomon, Chin National Front.

Mr. Ralhnin, Chairman of Chin National Council (CNC) also highlighted about the current political situation and ethnic armed groups in Burma. Chin human rights issue has presented by Ms. Sawmi Sailo, Chin Human Rights Organization (CHRO).

Sawmi-Sailo-CHRO1At the same time Mr. Bernard L. Chhangte, high school teacher, presented about the analysis of the relationship between Burma, India and China. He mentioned that the tripod relationship is mainly based on business interest and border security concern, not for the restoration of Democracy in Burma.

Other resource persons are Mr. Terah, (Chinland Guardian), Mr. Manglai, Chairman of Federation of Trade Union Council (FTUC) and Siangcungbik, Chin National Party (CNP).

The seminar mainly focused on better understanding among Chin people and to have better cooperation between each organization, and Building desire to have self-determination from the dictatorship.

There are more than 30 participants at the seminar from various media groups, political parties and NGOs from inside Burma and border area. – Khonumthung News.
http://www.bnionline.net/news/khonumthung/11182-chin-media-seminar-held-in-indo-myanmar-border.html
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Burma, China Ignoring Environmental Warnings for Dam
Written by Joao Peixe
Wednesday, 20 July 2011 02:00

The hugely controversial Myitsone dam in northern Burma, currently under construction by the China Power Investment Corporation, was the subject of a 2009 internal report by the company, which called for the project to be scrapped.

The Environmental Impact Assessment report has nevertheless been ignored, and work is proceeding on the project, the Democratic Voice of Burma Online reported.

The EIA report stated that, "If the Burmese and Chinese sides were really concerned about environmental issues and aimed at sustainable development of the country, there is no need for such a big dam to be constructed at the confluence of the Irrawaddy River," urging instead for two smaller, but equally efficient, dams to be built above Myitsone.

Upon its completion in 2017, the $4 billion Myitsone dam will become the world's fifteenth biggest hydropower structure.

According to the Burma Rivers Network, which closely monitors the social and environmental impacts of the various energy initiatives on Burma's waterways, around 15,000 people will be displaced around the dam site, while the sizeable changes in the Irrawaddy river's flow will "impact millions of people downstream who depend on the Irrawaddy for agriculture, fishing, and transportation."

China has faced strong international criticism for its business links with Burma, whose ruling junta is subject to a number of international sanctions.

By. Joao Peixe, Deputy Editor OilPrice.com http://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Burma-China-Ignoring-Environmental-Warnings-for-Dam.html
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Arakan Suffering for China's Pipeline
By KHIN OO THAR Wednesday, July 20, 2011

“We can't go to school on rainy days as the road condition is not good,” said Aung Aung, a sixth grade student, while walking carefully to avoid the many muddy ponds along the street.

Holding sandals in hand as they are useless on the squelching surface, Aung Aung and his classmates trundle home wearing faded school uniforms and bags across their shoulders. The school-friends live in New Leikkamaw and have to walk for more than an hour down this sodden stretch to reach their school in Gonchain, near Kyaukpru Township, in Arakan State.

Even though the road has never been sealed with tar it was still even and so considered of good quality for the area. People from nearby villages could use it all year, and around 400 middle and high school students from New and Old Leikkamaw, Malakyun and Pyinshay villages would walk back and forth to lessons everyday.

The road condition, however, has deteriorated ever since a deep seaport project began on Maday Island in Kyaukpru. The smooth surface became churned up by trucks taking building materials to the construction site.

“Every day trucks weighing 20-30 tonnes use this road, and it has been destroyed as it can only handle around five tonnes. As a result, children can't go to school when heavy rain falls,” a villager from Gonchain explained.

He added that the local authorities and company officials have been informed about its dire condition, but no one has yet taken any action.

But it is not just the education of children that has suffered. A farmer from Kyaukpru's Ohndaw Village told The Irrawaddy that farmlands adjacent to the project site became like ponds as more earth gets piled onto them, blocking the flow of water into paddy fields.

Around 30 farmers and their families will find it difficult to support themselves next year as they cannot cultivate rice this season, he said.

Apart from the deep seaport, other construction works currently underway in Kyaukpru include oil and gas reservoirs, a gas refinery and pipelines.

These projects have been implemented by China National Petroleum Corporation, one of the biggest companies in China, other Chinese energy firms as well as South Korea's Daewoo and Hyundai, and domestic companies including Asia World, Myanmar Golden Crown and 7-Star and Petroleum Services Consultancy (PSC).

Meanwhile, Htoo Company owned by Tay Za, one of Burma's wealthiest businessmen, is reported to have been taking care of pipeline transportation. Companies from India, Malaysia, the Philippines and Korea are reportedly involved in the project to extend the pipelines.

A number of local people employed to perform menial work in these projects say that they have been exploited by Chinese supervisors and other Burmese coming from the cities.

“We had to sign for 8,000 kyat [US $10] wages per day but were actually given only 2,500 kyat [$3]. Around 100 employees have been dismissed from their jobs because they complained about it,” said a worker from Kyarkpru's Pikeseik Ward, who collects meagre daily wages helping to build a gas refinery near Gangawdaw Pagoda in town.

Those who were fired from one project are reportedly blacklisted from future employment and have their names on noticeboards at other work sites.

“I have applied for another job five times after being fired by the PSC but none of the companies have accepted me as I am on the blacklist,” said Maung Than.

He said that he was promised a salary of 120,000 kyat [$154] but received only 75,000 kyat [$96] at the end of the month. He therefore reported the matter to the local authorities, but was dismissed and threatened with jail by his boss, a man called Zaw Moe, if he complained again.

According to some employees, they had to spend 20,000 kyat [$26] just to fill out application forms and gain workers' identification cards. Some people say they are seeking legal help to submit their complaints to the International Labour Organization regarding the abuses.

And Kyaukpru residents told The Irrawaddy that many people in Maday and Malar Islands are facing disaster as their villages and farmlands, which they have worked on for generations, have been confiscated and destroyed with minimal compensation.

A villager from Kyauktan Village on Maday Island said that he had five acres of farmland and a garden but everything has been confiscated.

“I no longer have any farmland to cultivate rice. My garden was also confiscated for the project so I am now working as a brick carrier for survival. I am paid 2,000 kyat [$2.5] a day,” he explained.

Kyaukpru is located in the far north of Ramree Island at the base of the Bay of Bengal.
Surrounded by deep sea and possessing a long, pleasant and beautiful coastline with thriving coral reefs, it is a major port in Arakan State.

However, due to the deep seaport and other projects, Kyaukpru's natural beauty has been destroyed and its residents also suffer.

In May, Chinese companies dynamited coral reefs near Maday Island to clear way for a gas pipeline. Local people tried to protest against the action since it would damage the environment and kill marine life, but were not successful.

They again submitted the issue to their state government but no action was taken. Even resident politicians criticized their government for being silent.

Ba Shin, a member of Pyithu Hluttaw [Lower House] and resident of Kyaukpru, told The Irrawaddy that during parliamentary meetings in Naypyidaw, he and other legislators from Arakan State discussed environmental conservation plans relating to projects in Kyaukpru.

He plans to form a community group with local young people in order to protect the area, believing the many factories planned for the future coupled with existing projects means environmental damage will be inevitable.

“Those who have power and are in the administration don't pay attention to environment conservations, that's why I am preparing to start a formal organization by myself to deal with the matter,” said Ba Shin.

U Ohn, one of Burma's most prominent environmentalists and vice-chairman of the Forest Resource Environment Development and Conservation Association, also pointed out that laws regarding the deep sea port and related projects should be written and enforced systematically.

He said that while stated government policy regarding environmental conservation is undeniably positive, there has been little or no implementation in practice.

“Apart from damage to coral reefs and mangrove forests, the amount of water pollution can be huge because of waste from project sites,” said U Ohn.

The Kyaukpru deep seaport is being constructed mainly for Chinese benefit, and will carry imported crude oil from Africa and the Middle East across the Sino-Burmese border. Currently, Beijing transports crude oil through the treacherous Straits of Malacca, which requires a lot of time and money. The seaport will reduce China's dependence on shipping and its exposure to potential risks.

Furthermore, Beijing signed an agreement with the Burmese government in 2008 to buy natural gas from Arakan offshore rigs for 30 years. Thousands of acres of farmland and many villages along the planned gas pipeline have been confiscated and destroyed.

The Kyaukpru deep seaport project was signed between Chinese Vice-President Xi Jinping and junta leader Sr-Gen Than Shwe in 2009, while the former was visiting Burma. When Wen Jiabao, China's premier, visited the country in 2010, he opened the gas pipeline project as a symbol of friendship between the two countries.

According to Shwe Gas Movement, a Burmese fossil fuel watchdog based in Thailand, the Burmese government will earn $1.2 billion annually from the project.

From Maday Island, the gas pipeline will go through Ann Township in Arakan State, Magwe and Mandalay divisions and Shan State, stopping at Nanning in China. It will stretch for a total of 2,806 kms and is expected to transport 12 billion cubic-meters of gas and 400,000 barrels of crude oil to China every year.

Burmese state-run media reports that the construction of all projects, most of which started in October 2010, will finish by 2013.

http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=21725
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Civil War Looms Behind Burma's Local Conflicts
By YENI Wednesday, July 20, 2011

The fresh and fierce fighting in Burma’s Kachin and Shan states is a signal that Burma is on the verge of a civil war that may ultimately involve a large percentage of the country’s ethnic armed groups.

In Shan State, the Burmese Army—using around 1,500 troops, including artillery battalions—has launched a major offensive against the Shan State Army (SSA), which has about 1,000 troops defending its headquarters in Wan Hai, Mong Hsu Township. Injured Burmese troops were reportedly evacuated from the area to major cities using helicopters from Nam Hsan Air Force Base.

In Kachin State, the fighting is equally tough, with landmines exploding, bridges being blown up and soldiers being shot dead in ambushes. In addition, the Kachin Women’s Association Thailand (KWAT) claims that at least 18 female Kachins—aged between 15 and 50 years old—were gang-raped by Burmese soldiers during the recent armed conflict. As a result of the fighting and atrocities, the resulting humanitarian crisis is fast getting worse, with some 2,000 more people recently forced to flee their homes.

The escalating ethnic strife facing Burma’s new government is threatening both internal and border security, and stands as a stark contrast to President Thein Sein’s call in April for peace and stability in the ethnic areas.

Thein Sein, it should be noted, is also the Chairman of the Central Committee for Progress of Border Areas and National Races. But despite his pledge and position of responsibility, the Alternative Asean Network on Burma (ALTSEAN-Burma), a regional human rights group, said in a statement that Burma’s “new” government has failed to take any meaningful steps towards political, legal and economic reforms.

In a five-page brief, ALTSEAN-Burma said that Burmese troops continued “to attack, kill and rape ethnic civilians,” while over 2,000 political prisoners are still being detained under atrocious conditions.

“If this is Thein Sein in his first 100 days, one dreads to think what the rest of the year is going to be like for the people of Burma,” said ALTSEAN-Burma’s coordinator, Debbie Stothard. “His actions and policies seem to be exactly the opposite of the promises he made.”

Armed conflicts have been a permanent challenge for Burma since the country won its independence from Britain in 1948. But a series of ceasefire agreements, signed following the collapse of the Communist Party of Burma (CPB) in 1989, brought open conflict with ethnic militias to a halt.

Since then, the ceasefire groups, such as United Wa State Army (UWSA) and the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), have existed in uncomfortable peace with the Burmese army, maintaining self-administered fiefdoms in the areas under their control.

Over the past years, however, the situation has worsened following the introduction of the Burmese military leaders’ scheme to extend its control over the ceasefire ethnic groups. The so-called Border Guard Force (BGF) plan—tied to the timing of last year’s election—threatened to shake a fragile status quo in the ethnic areas, and the fighting many had predicted has now become a reality.

Some observers said that the huge investments by Burmese and Chinese businesses in both infrastructure and hydropower dams in the ethnic areas is a contributing factor—if not the root cause—of the renewed conflict.

They said that because there is no guarantee that the mega-projects will bring an improved standard of living for the average citizens of the border states—while the military and elite who rule the country will clearly benefit from the resulting foreign direct investment dollars and export earnings—the resentment of the local ethnic groups has boiled over into armed conflict to protect their turf.

In addition, the Burmese government is using the threats to their projects as an excuse to attack the ethnic armed groups and attain by military force what they could not achieve by coercion with respect to the BGF.

“By using the protection of the dams to justify military action, Naypyidaw tries to cover up its intention to eliminate the KIA and enlist Chinese support to squeeze the armed group out of its traditional territory,” noted Yun Sun, a foreign policy analyst in Washington D.C. who was a Beijing-based China analyst for the International Crisis Group from 2008-2011.

In an article published by CSIS Pacific Forum, she also said, “The KIA sees China’s desire for border stability and dam safety, and is using the conflict to force China into mediating a settlement.”

However, the military approach is risky for both sides, she argued.

By jeopardizing China’s border stability and vested interests, Naypyidaw may invite pressure from and intervention by China in its ethnic affairs, which may not work in Naypyidaw’s interest.
And Yun Sun pointed out that KIA has even more at stake, because China has accused Kachin groups of harassing and blackmailing Chinese hydropower companies. Unlike the UWSA, which has refrained from colliding with the Burmese military, the KIA is openly challenging China’s bottom-line interests, and as a result is being seen as deliberately breaking the status quo and rejecting Naypyidaw’s offer of a ceasefire.

This may already have backfired on the KIA, because while the KIA had reached an agreement in April 2010 with other Sino-Burmese border-based groups such as the UWSA, Shan State Army (SSA) and the National Democratic Alliance Army (NDAA) to support each other if attacked by the Burmese Army, heavy pressure from China prevented the UWSA from helping in the Kachin and Shan state fighting.

Thus, KIA and SSA have formed an alliance with the ethnic Chin, Karen, Karenni and Mon armed groups that are based on the Thai-Burmese border, forming an umbrella alliance called the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC).

“Amidst our differences and diversities over the past five or six decades, we have managed to establish an alliance through creating a common platform on which we all can come together and share as a family. We all agree to work together towards bringing democracy and federalism into Burma,” said Colonel Solomon of the Chin National Front (CNF), a member of the UNFC, according to the Chinland Guardian, an ethnic Chin news agency.

In a statement issued on February 17, the UNFC said that its basic principles and aims include working for better recognition of the ethnic armed groups, for ethnic equality, rights and self-determination, and for a genuine democratic federal Union of Burma.

Recently, ethnic leaders meeting with EU officials in Bangkok called for the EU to broker political dialogue between Burma's government and its ethnic groups.

“All the government troops will have to retreat to their former bases if there is a ceasefire,” said Nai Hang Thar, the secretary of the New Mon State Party. “Also, the government must declare ceasefires with all the ethnic armed groups in the country, not only in Kachin State.”

Zipporah Sein, the general secretary of the Karen National Union, said, “We always welcome dialogue. But the dialogue must involve all ethnic groups, not on a case by case basis. Our aim is to establish a federal state.”
http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=21728
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Burma uses development as a weapon to smash ethnic rebels
By Zin Linn Jul 20, 2011 10:04PM UTC

A giant construction project managed by an Italian-Thai company has come across a number of major barricades in Karen State, according to Karen News on Tuesday. Villagers say they have not been compensated for the loss of their land and the Karen National Union has stopped it building a highway to Thailand.

The Thai industrial giant behind a controversial deep-sea port project in Burma (Myanmar) said that 10,000 people would have to leave their homes to make way for the development, according to the Straits Times web-news based in Singapore 8 June.

Ital-Thai Group is in charge of building and attracting investors to the Dawei Development Project, which is set to change a sleepy strip of southern coastline with a deep-sea port and 250 sq km industrial estate.

The Kachanaburi-Tavoy highway is part of the mega Tavoy (Dawei) Development Project that is estimated to be worth more than US$60 billion that was awarded by the Burmese government to the Italian-Thai Company. The project includes a deep-sea port, a giant industrial zone, roads, railways, transmission lines and oil and gas pipelines.

The company confirmed the project would displace local inhabitants, but insisted the villagers would be well provided with new settlements.

“There is a population of only a little more than 10,000 people that have to be relocated,” said Premchai Kanasuta, president of Italian-Thai Development, the subsidiary in charge of the project.

Concerns about human rights and the environment have been raised about the scale and nature of the port plans because of a lack of regulation in Burma, which remains military-dominated despite a new namesake civilian parliament.

The huge project has attracted both critics and supporters. Some business groups claim it could revitalize Burma’s economy and develop regional trade, while international humanitarian groups say Burma’s human rights record means more forced labor, forced relocation and abuses against villagers.

According to Karen News, an officer of the Italian-Thai Development Company based in Tavoy informed that the first batch of villages to make way for the construction are Nga Pi Teh, The Byay Mu Du, Htait Gyi, Le Shawn, Pra Det and Nyaw Bin Hseit will affect more than 2,000 households. However, villagers say they have not received any compensation. They were just told that they will be put somewhere else.

Construction work was stopped east of Tavoy, between Myitta village to Klo Hta village, by the Karen National Liberation Army. The Italian-Thai Development Company has begun negotiations with the Karen National Union to try to restart work on the Kanchanaburi-Tavoy Highway project after Karen soldiers stopped its construction in early July.

The KNU confirmed that they had met with representatives of the Italian-Thai company on July 16 but said it is too early to disclose details of the talks.

The KNU, general secretary, Naw Zipporah Sein told Karen News.

“The KNU’s position on foreign development projects in Karen state is to assess the impact the development will have on civilians’ livelihood, their indigenous way of life, the environment and our security. Now there is no peace in Burma, the government refuses to hold political dialogue – it makes it difficult to carry out mega development projects.”

Naw Zipporah Sein explained that Burma’s civilian government is just a proxy for the military.

“The new Burma military government uses development as a weapon to destroy and wipe out the resistance groups and to persuade ethnic groups to forget about their struggle.”

Naw Zipporah Sein said she would not reveal the KNU’s current position on the Tavoy Development Project to the media.

Karen villagers claim the Burma government has sold their lands to companies with links to senior military officers. The Italian-Thai Company has admitted to Thai media that the local people will be moved to make way for the project.

On June 8, the president of the Italian-Thai Development Company, Premchai Kanasuta, told reporters in Bangkok that, “There is a population of only a little more than 10,000 people that have to be relocated.”

In April around 50 people from 13 villages in the Ka Moe Thway area met with Italian-Thai Company representatives and demanded compensation. The company agreed to pay, but villagers say there has not been any action taken.

Millions of ethnic people have been expelled from their homes to make way for development projects such as hydropower dams, reservoirs and sea-ports. However construction and engineering companies close to the government benefit from those projects.

They receive millions of dollars for designing and building development projects. The high-ranking officials of the military-dominated Burmese government take advantage of the development plans in many ways – illegal taxes, kickbacks and inducement – during construction of a project.

On the contrary, the local inhabitants, especially ethnic people, have lost their homes and livelihoods. Consequently, their children cannot go to school, cannot enjoy healthcare and they have to live under poverty-line for life. http://asiancorrespondent.com/60516/burma-uses-development-as-a-weapon-to-smash-ethnic-rebels/

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