News & Articles on Burma-Friday, 29 July, 2011-UZL

News & Articles on Burma
Friday, 29 July, 2011
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Armed groups urge Suu Kyi mediation
Tay Za’s Bank Launches e-Banking
Italian-Thai Co Workers Flee Burma Conflict
EC chairman urges all political parties to oppose Western sanctions
Highest US diplomat in Burma to retire
Activists Condemn India's Arm Deal with Burma
Burma: President Thein Sein ought to accept Suu Kyi’s call for peace talk
EC Chief Says NLD Threatened Junta with 'Nuremburg-style' Trial
Gunmen Kill Three in Kyaukme Attack
At a critical juncture, Burma’s government needs a Plan B
Crowd trouble ends Burma-Oman game
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Armed groups urge Suu Kyi mediation
By DVB
Published: 29 July 2011

A number of the targets of a letter sent yesterday by Aung San Suu Kyi that urged a nationwide ceasefire after months of heavy fighting in Burma say the calls are timely and welcome.

The opposition leader also offered to play a negotiating role between the Burmese government and multiple ethnic armies currently engaged in conflict in the country’s border regions.

La Nan, joint-secretary of Kachin Independence Organisation, whose armed wing the Kachin Independence Army, has been battling Burmese forces in the country’s north since early June, said that Suu Kyi’s message carried “great potential”.

“We have redistributed the letter to our leaders and are to hold a discussion prior to responding after everyone has read it,” he said.

Also included in the letter was the Karen National Union (KNU), the New Mon State Party (NMSP) and the Shan State Army (SSA), as well as Burmese President Thein Sein. As of today, no mention has been made of it in state media, the normal means by which the government communicates with the public.

The KNU’s deputy chairman, David Thackrabaw, was also enthusiastic about the letter. “We are mutual here and we accept [Suu Kyi’s call for] peaceful resolution to the conflicts – our door is always open.”

He added that the Nobel laureate should also urge support from the UN and ASEAN, given that various meetings and negotiations with the government towards an end to the fighting had so far failed. “So [this time] we might have to meet in a third party country.”

Suu Kyi’s offer of mediation is the first time she has mooted her possible role in bringing an end to the fighting, which has resulted in tens of thousands of people being displaced.

Nai Hongsa, general secretary of New Mon State Party, said a mediating role for the opposition icon could prove very beneficial. While the group “wants to have peace in the country” he said, “there are difficulties for us to meet and negotiate with each other so we actually need a middle person”.

Khin Maung Swe, leader of the National Democratic Force party, questioned whether Suu Kyi had discussed the matter during talks last week with the government’s labour minister, Aung Kyi, of which details have been vague.

Refusals from a multitude of armed ethnic groups to become government-controlled Border Guard Forces have led to parts of Burma’s northern and eastern border regions being engulfed in violence.
http://www.dvb.no/news/armed-groups-urge-suu-kyi-mediation/16783
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Tay Za’s Bank Launches e-Banking
By WAI MOE Friday, July 29, 2011

Tycoon Tay Za’s Asia Green Development Bank (AGD) has launched on Wednesday an online telephone bill payment service on behalf of the Ministry of Telecommunications, Post & Telegraphs, according to sources at the bank in Rangoon.

In doing so, AGD becomes the first firm in Burma to offer online banking, also known as “e-banking.”

An official who spoke to The Irrawaddy on condition of anonymity, said the service charge for an online transaction to pay a telephone bill is 500 kyat [US $0.60], and added that the bank is working to extend its e-banking service to ATM machines and debit cards in the near future.

“We are still working on providing various other services in e-banking, but the telephone bill payment service is a start, and it allows a for an online service that is faster than before,” he said.

The official launch of the online service was marked by a sponsored event held at the Myanmar Information and Communication Technology Park in Rangoon on Wednesday.

AGD's e-banking service narrowly pips state-run bank Myanma Economic Bank, which also launched its own online telephone payment service in this week.

Since Burma has less Internet users than almost every other country in the region, the e-banking system has no guarantee of success.

According to a report by Freedom House, Burma’s Internet penetration is just one percent of the 53.4 million population while Burmese authorities still block many blogs, political websites and exile media websites.

In May, certain tycoons with close connections to the ruling elite were given permission to set up private banks. Tay Za formed the Asia Green Development Bank, and Zaw Zaw of the Max Myanmar group founded the Ayeyarwady Bank.

The IGE Group of Companies, run by Nay Aung and Pyi Aung, the sons of former minister Aung Thaung, who is now a leading light in the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party, founded the Amara United Bank; Chit Khaing of Eden Group formed the Myanma Leading Bank.

According to businessmen in Rangoon, the Myanma Leading Bank is currently popular among customers for good service. It has hired former staffers of the Asia Wealth Bank which was closed down by the authorities after a money laundering scandal in 2003.

Burma's financial authorities have recently introduced an online banking network system in six banks: Yoma Bank, Myanmar Citizen Bank, Tun Foundation Bank, Myawaddy Bank, Myanmar Industrial Development Bank and Myanmar Foreign Trade Bank.

The banking network is under the operational supervision of two national IT companies: the Myanmar Information Technology Co, owned by Aung Soe Tha, the son of former minister Soe Tha; and Global Net, run by Toe Naing Mann, a son of Lower House Speaker ex-Gen Shwe Mann.

Four years after a 1988 military coup, Burma's rulers vowed to introduce a “free market economy” in the country, including permission to establish private banks.

From 1992 to 1997, at least 20 banks were founded, according to data from the Central Bank of Myanmar. Among them, the Asia Wealth Bank, Myanmar May Flowers Bank and Kanbawza Bank are arguably the best known.

However, Burma’s private banks were hit by a crisis in 2003 when Finance and Revenue Minister Khin Maung Thein was forced to retire, and rumors spread that certain notes were to be demonetized.

The bank crisis led to the US Department of Treasury to announce a blacklist of the Myanmar May Flower Bank and the Asia Wealth Bank on Nov. 19, 2003, citing “primary money laundering concerns.”

Irrawaddy reporter Yan Pai contributed reporting to this story. http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=21800
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Italian-Thai Co Workers Flee Burma Conflict
By SAW YAN NAING Friday, July 29, 2011

Some 50 workers of the Italian-Thai Development Company (ITD) have fled from Burma to the Thai side of the border to escape fighting between Burmese government troops and Karen rebels that broke out near their work site on Thursday, according to various sources.

ITD, Thailand’s largest construction firm, is contracted to build the Kanchanaburi-Tavoy Highway, linking the western Thai town of Kanchanaburi with the Burmese coastal town of Tavoy [Dawei] as part of the multi-billion-dollar Dawei Development Project.

Local residents in Kanchanaburi said that the workers, most of whom are Thai and Karen, are now sheltering in a makeshift camp on the Thai side of the border in Kanchanaburi Province. They left all their equipment and many personal effects behind as they abandoned the site in haste.

No company workers have been reported killed or wounded in the crossfire, but sources said the construction camp was hit by artillery shells.

At least six Burmese government soldiers were killed during the fighting, said Karen villagers who had also fled to the Thai-Burmese border for safety.

Hostilities broke out close to the worker's accommodations and the construction site known as Base 1, as Burmese government forces came under surprise attack from the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) Brigade 4, according to a report by the Thailand-based Karen News.

The construction camp is located near a government military base at Ah Leh Satone on the Thai-Burmese border.

An official from KNLA Brigade 4 told The Irrawaddy on Friday that a unit of KNLA soldiers from Battalion 10 ambushed government troops on patrol. The Karen guerrillas also burned down a temporary Burmese outpost along the Kanchanaburi-Tavoy highway.

ITD's construction project at the Dawei Development Project was approved in March last year by the Burmese military government. The US $60 billion project includes a deep-sea port, a giant industrial zone, roads, railways, transmission lines, and oil and gas pipelines.

In early July, ITD workers on the Kanchanaburi-Tavoy Highway project were prevented from working by KNLA troops.

The KNLA has warned that construction should be stopped after local villagers complained that the mega-project would have a severe negative impact on the local population and the environment. Displaced villagers also said that they have not been compensated for the loss of their land. http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=21799
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EC chairman urges all political parties to oppose Western sanctions
Wednesday, 27 July 2011 21:21 Phanida

Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – Union Election Commission (UEC) chairman Tin Aye urged all 37 registered political parties to take part in working for the lifting of sanctions imposed on Burma by foreign countries at a meeting held in Naypyitaw on Wednesday.

He said that the sanctions did not have an impact on the government and its business associates but they harmed common people, said Democratic Party (Myanmar) (DPM) chairman Thu Wei.

According to Thu Wei, Tin Aye said these sanctions are hurdles and obstacles to the economic development of the country. Tin Aye said Western countries imposed these sanctions, noting that while some said that it affected government and businessmen only, this was not true.

Union Election Commission chairman Tin Aye

Union Election Commission chairman Tin Aye. Photo: Mizzima
The UEC chairman told the political parties to follow the electoral laws and rules enacted in early March 2010. He said political parties would be dissolved if they accept members of exile-based unlawful associations.

Each political party delegate was allowed two minutes to comment during the meeting. In the presentations, a Shan Nationalities Democratic Party (SNDP) delegate proposed that ethnic party representatives be involved in peace talks with armed ethnic groups that are fighting government troops, Rakhine Nationality Development Party (RNDP) Chairman Dr. Aye Maung said.

"The delegate proposed the inclusion of all ethnic parties in these peace talks but the UEC chairman said that the election commission could not do it and told them to present the issue to Parliament,” Aye Maung said. The proposal was endorsed by ethnic parties of the Chin, Inn, Phalon Sawaw and Rakhine.

Aye Maung said the commission chairman told the delegates about his military career, joining the army when he was 18, and he told them not to drive wedges and sow dissension in the armed forces.

“Tin Aye said in general that the armed conflicts were being handled in accordance with the Constitution, but they want peace too. They have the will to restore peace but only in negotiations, and the 2008 Constitution clearly stipulates there must be a sole army in the country,” Aye Maung said.

Former Lieutenant General Tin Aye served as chairman of Myanmar Economic Holdings Ltd. (MEHL), whose resources went toward funding the army during the rule of the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC). He is also a member of the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP). He became chairman of the UEC on February 17 after being nominated by President Thein Sein.

Aye Maung suggested that more meetings be held and delegates should have more time to present their views.

The 10-party Friends of Democracy presented a paper to the UEC which discussed weaknesses and rampant vote rigging in the past election. This group includes the NDF, Democracy and Peace Party, Union Democracy Party and ethnic political parties representing Karen, Shan, Mon, Chin and Rakhine.

“In our joint paper we said the electoral laws and rules in the last general election were violated. We urged them to avoid these malpractices and to remedy them. And we urged them not to take absentee votes and to conduct vote counting only in the presence of the vote observers. He said that he had already read the paper and promised to make changes,” Aye Maung said.

Domestic private media were not allowed to cover the meeting, but state-run media were present. Delegates said that private media should also be allowed to attend.

The UEC said nothing about the date of the upcoming by-election and constituencies, Thu Wei said.

Delegates from 36 parties attended the meeting. The Union Democracy Party led by Thein Tin Aung was not present. http://www.mizzima.com/news/inside-burma/5686-ec-chairman-urges-all-political-parties-to-oppose-western-sanctions.html
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Highest US diplomat in Burma to retire
Wednesday, 27 July 2011 20:04 Aye Lae

Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – The highest US diplomat in Burma, Charge d'Affaires Ad Interim Larry Dinger, will retire in August after completing a three-year tenure, the US embassy in Rangoon said.

Dinger, 65, is a strong supporter of US sanctions, and he is known for closely following the affairs of the Burmese pro-democracy opposition parties.

Highest US diplomat in Rangoon, Larry Dinger, left, with US Senator John McCain to retire in August. Photo: Mizzima

Highest US diplomat in Rangoon, Larry Dinger, left, with US Senator John McCain to retire in August. Photo: Mizzima

“Since he will be 65 years old in August, he will retire in accord with Foreign Service regulations.” a Rangoon embassy spokesman told Mizzima.

The United States downgraded its ambassador in Burma to a charge d'affaires in response to the human rights violations of the Burmese military, which governed the country until early this year when an elected Parliament took office.

Dinger is an expert on the Burmese democracy struggle and is well known by opposition groups.

Nyan Win, a spokesman for the National League for Democracy, said Dinger was “friendly and frank with us.”

National Democratic Force (NDF) leader Khin Maung Swe said, “I met him as soon as I was released from prison.” Dinger was tough on imposing US sanctions against Burma, he said.

“His opinion is that it will not be easy to lift these US sanctions because they cannot do anything as long as the political prisoners are behind bars,” he said.

US diplomatic cables published on the Wikileaks web site included an e-mail by Dinger called “Commencing talks with Burmese generals.” The e-mail said the military establishment is a xenophobic, top-down bureaucracy with a goal of maintaining national unity. Dinger said the top brass want to be respected in the international community and among their people.

During his tenure, Dinger hosted high-level US political leaders including senators Jim Webb and John McCain and US Deputy Undersecretary of State Joseph Yung. Dinger graduated from Macalester College, Harvard Law School and the National War College. http://www.mizzima.com/news/inside-burma/5685-highest-us-diplomat-in-burma-to-retire.html
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Activists Condemn India's Arm Deal with Burma
by Nava Thakuria
July 28, 2011

The Burmese exiles living in India and their sympathizers had recently came to the street of India's national capital to lodge a stronger protest against the government for supplying arms and ammunitions to the semi-military Burmese government at Naypyidaw.

Expressing resentment at New Delhi's continued military relationship with Naypyidaw, hundreds of pro-democracy activists and various Indian civil society groups demonstrated in New Delhi on July 22, 2011 arguing that 'supplying arms to the most brutal military dictatorship may have grave consequences to millions of innocent lives'. It may be mentioned that the Indian government had recently supplied 52 military trucks load of arms and ammunition to the Burmese government. India maintained its strategic and military relationship with the Burmese regime even after receiving brickbats from the international
community.

"It is hurting and awful that the Government of India has breached its democratic principles by supplying arms and ammunitions to the Burmese military rulers, which are identified as the world's most notorious military regime. The consequence will be the victimization of innocent Burmese citizens who have been yearning for justice, peace and democracy for many decades," said M Kim, a young Burmese exile living
in India.

"Systematic human rights abuses and criminal hostilities against the ethnic groups, political activists, journalists and civilians have been committed without a halt by Burma's Army even after the installation of a so-called civilian type government. It is a fact that over 2,200 political prisoners in Burma are still detained in
jails," he added.

The demonstrators also sent a memorandum to Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh urging him to renew New Delhi's support the Burmese people's movement for restoration of peace and democracy in Burma. Till the early nineties, Indian government supported the democratic movement led by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. But later it changed the course and started engaging the then military regime named State Peace and Development Council for various bi-lateral relationships.

"We believe that India is a nation founded on sound democratic principles and time and again India has proven to uphold the principles of constitutionally elected governments. Further as a nation committed to playing an important, if not pivotal role in maintaining peace in the region, it is unbecoming of a responsible nation to supply arms to countries known for abusing military power," states the memorandum, which was signed by nearly hundred Indian civil society groups and individuals with many Burmese organizations.

"While other big neighbours (of Burma) are silently urging for negotiation between the authorities and ethnic groups, New Delhi has continued its arm supply to the infamous regime," said Dr Tint Swe, the chairman of Burma Centre Delhi, a pro-democracy forum. Speaking to the author from New Delhi, Dr Swe asserted that "democracy and human rights activists in Burma have been imprisoned, intimidated, tortured and many of them are put to death and it is observed by none other
than the United Nations and the international community that the advocators for democracy, justice, peace and human rights in Burma have been regularly castigated". So we are apprehensive that those arms will only be used against the pro-democracy activities and ethnic minorities like Kachin, Shan and Karen in eastern Burma, added Dr Swe. In a separate memorandum to the Indian Premier, the Burmese pro-democracy groups urged New Delhi 'to immediately halt the supply
of military aids to Burma's dictatorship' and 'to review India's foreign policy on Burma by focusing on long-term interests, development and stability, prosperity and peace in the region'.

'Systematic human rights abuses and criminal hostilities against ethnic groups, political activists, journalists and civilians have been committed by Burmese Army even after the installation of a so-called civilian government at Naypyidaw,' the memorandum pointed out.

'India's national interest will be served only if a real democratic regime is established in its eastern neighbour,' argued the memorandum which was endorsed by the Women League of Burma, All Burma Students Democratic Front, Arakan Liberation Party, All Burma Democratic Lusei Women Organization, Chin Human Rights Organization, Chin Student Union, Kuki Women Human Rights Organization, Kachin National Organization, Matu Youth Organization, Zomi Women Union and others,
adding that 'supporting the democratic movement in Burma will thus be beneficial for the largest democracy in the globe as well.' http://www.weeklyblitz.net/1607/activists-condemn-india-arm-deal-with-burma
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Burma: President Thein Sein ought to accept Suu Kyi’s call for peace talk
Fri, 2011-07-29 02:05 — editor
Article
By - Zin Linn

Burma’s democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi made an appeal on Thursday for political talk and an urgent ceasefire between major ethnic rebel groups – Kachin Independence Organization, Karen National Union, New Mon State Party, Shan State Army – and government troops. She highlights the nation as ‘Republic of Union of Burma’ since the country was made up of various ethnicities on the same soil.

In her open letter dispatched to the country’s military-backed new President Thein Sein, Suu Kyi offered to act as a mediator between the government and the ethnic rebels, and said the constant fighting has been damaging the national reconciliation which is so important for the nation that composed mainly of ethnic population.

The open letter pointed out that the prevailing ethnic hostility can spread out into the neighboring counties. It said that currently there are armed conflicts between Burma Army and the ethnic armed groups especially in Kachin, Shan, Karen and Mon states.

“National reconciliation cannot be accomplished by using military might. If stakeholders used the gun to solve out the disagreement, it will make disadvantage for all sides. To establish an authentic national unity, that will make safe the future of the Union, can only be accomplished through political dialogue,” the open letter says.

Burma Army continues to attack the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) on irregular intervals since 9 June. The 9-June armed conflict at Sang Gang lasted for three days and nights. The attack prompted the KIO to declare war against the Burmese government since its troops invaded Kachin controlled areas.

The KIO has offered to end warfare if the government will initiate talks for a nationwide ceasefire. Unfortunately, Burmese government authorities did not positively respond to a recent e-mail regarding this subject, according to La Nang, a spokesman for the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO).

Burma’s 64-year-old Panglong Agreement has been ignored by the successive Burmese regimes. The said agreement has also been ignored by the current President Thein Sein government. The Panglong Agreement was signed on Feb. 12, 1947, between General Aung San and leaders of the Chin, Kachin and Shan ethnic groups guaranteeing a genuine federal union of Burma.

This is not the first time Aung San Suu Kyi calls for peace. Last month, the National League for Democracy (NLD) led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi released a statement dated June 20 calling both government and KIO to stop heavy fighting immediately in order to protect people’s lives and properties. It also called for peaceful talks between stakeholders to settle down the decade-long political crisis of the country.

The NLD led by Suu Kyi has long been in opposition with the existing authorities who have run the country since a 1962 coup. Her latest comments are likely to enrage the new nominally civilian government, despite signs of a thawing of ties.

Suu Kyi has called for a “Second Pinlong Agreement”, between the government and ethnic groups. The said agreement is still standing as a key question for over 60 years.

In last December, Burmese junta’s two mouthpiece newspapers criticized dissident politicians who believe genuine national reconciliation and support Aung San Suu Kyi. Burma’s military rulers dismissed the actions of democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, who tries to revive the spirit of Panglong Agreement providing self-reliance to ethnic nationalities, as a “cheap political stunt”.

“If someone truly wants to engage in politics with the aim of supporting the state’s interest, one should proceed plainly, officially and candidly within the structure of the constitution,” the article said.

On the contrary, Suu Kyi and her party NLD, which has been officially shut down by the authorities, have pushed for a “second Panlong Agreement,” with the backing of some key ethnic groups that oppose the regime’s 2008 constitution.

The idea of Panglong Agreement is no longer suitable to the current country’s situation and is even a threat to peace and stability, the commentaries in the state-owned papers said. It even mocked people suggesting an online conference using the Internet.

Burma’s military-backed government has optimism with 7 Nov. election last year that it will bring all ethnicities together as a union. However it has produced the opposite consequence. Key ethnic armed organizations opposed the 2008 constitution and November’s ballot results as sham and farce.

Some political analysts believe releasing over 2,000 political prisoners and stopping the aggressive wars on ethnic people are the most important topics to be addressed by the new ‘Thein Sein government’.

Releasing political prisoners and calling peace to armed ethnic groups would provide evidence to the international community that government is genuine on bringing about political change and embracing real democratic values.

If President Thein Sein is sincere and clever enough, he should start a bold step to accept Aung San Suu Kyi’s call for nationwide peace talk that alone will not only lift the economic sanctions, but also catapult his government toward the ASEAN chair. Refusal of this excellent opportunity may lead the government and the nation into another political crisis similar to the Arab Spring-like protest.

- Asian Tribune - http://www.asiantribune.com/news/2011/07/28/burma-president-thein-sein-ought-accept-suu-kyi%E2%80%99s-call-peace-talk
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EC Chief Says NLD Threatened Junta with 'Nuremburg-style' Trial
By BA KAUNG Friday, July 29, 2011

Power was not transferred to Burma's main opposition party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), when it won a landslide victory in an election two decades ago because the party allegedly threatened the country's military leaders with a Nuremberg-style war tribunal, according to the head of the Union Election Commission (EC).

On Wednesday, EC chief ex-Gen Tin Aye told officials of political parties that took part in last year's election that the NLD, led by Aung San Suu Kyi, was not given power following the 1990 election because the party had threatened to bring the then military leaders before a war tribunal.

Tin Aye was apparently referring to a comment by late NLD leader Kyi Maung, who said in early July 1990, about a month after the 1990 election that “here in Burma, we do not need any Nuremberg-style tribunal” when he was asked by a foreign journalist if the NLD would require putting the military on trial for past crimes.

A Buddhist monk looks at a poster of Aung San Suu Kyi at the NLD's Rangoon headquarters on June 18, 2011, a day before her 66th birthday. (Photo: AP)
Although Kyi Maung did not say that the military leaders would be tried if NLD party was allowed to form a government, the mere mention of a war tribunal angered the ruling generals, who had Kyi Maung arrested and sentenced to 17 years in prison.

The official reason the military leaders did not hand over power in 1990 was that the regime said the election was only intended to chose representatives to a committee to draft a new national constitution.

Just before last year's parliamentary election, which the NLD boycotted, the former military regime officially nullified the 1990 election results.

In response to Tin Aye's remarks, NLD spokesman Nyan Win said on Friday that the late NLD leader Kyi Maung never said that there would be a war tribunal.

More recently, however, the NLD has expressed support for a United Nations Commission of Inquiry into crimes against humanity and war crimes in Burma proposed by the UN human rights special rapporteur on Burma, Thomas Quintana.

The NLD was officially dissolved last year for refusing to take part in the election. Suu Kyi reportedly discussed the legal status of the party during her meeting with a senior Burmese minister on Monday. http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=21796
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Gunmen Kill Three in Kyaukme Attack
By SAI ZOM HSENG Friday, July 29, 2011

Three people were killed and three others injured during an attack by unknown gunmen at a customs checkpoint in Kyaukme, northern Shan State, early Friday morning.

According to local residents, the incident occurred at 4:45 am, when around 10 armed men opened fire at the checkpoint. Two men and one woman were killed immediately, sources said.

One of the two male victims was a retired soldier working as a motorbike taxi driver. A local source said that the gunmen appeared to to be deliberately targeting the civilians.

The three who were wounded in the attack were said to be in serious condition at Kyaukme hospital.

The Shan State Army, an ethnic armed group operating in the area, denied responsibility for the attack, saying it has a policy of not harming civilians.

Police in Kyaukme declined to provide any information when contacted by The Irrawaddy.

Meanwhile, a small clash broke out between the Burmese Army and SSA in Nong Amm, a village in Kyaukme Township. Five Burmese Army soldiers were injured in the clash and taken to the military hospital in Pyin Oo Lwin.

Kyaukme was the scene of another incident on July 12, when four local people were injured by a bomb blast.

The Burmese Army's Military Operations Command No 1 is based in Kyaukme, which is located near Seinkyaw, the previous headquarters of the SSA. http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=21797
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At a critical juncture, Burma’s government needs a Plan B
By ANDREW MCKENNA
Published: 29 July 2011

US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton stated last week in Denpasar, Indonesia, that “[Burma] has reached a critical juncture.” While Clinton was referring to releasing political prisoners and opening up dialogue with pro-democracy activists and ethnic minorities, her statement was also unintentionally applicable to another, equally pressing matter: the Burmese military’s relations with China.

Despite all official communiques to the contrary, the People’s Republic of China and the military government of Burma are chafing under their mutual tight embrace. American cables from WikiLeaks revealed Chinese exasperation with Burmese foot-dragging in opening up to the rest of the world. Former US Chargé d’Affaires Shari Villarosa, after dining with Chinese ambassador Guan Mu, revealed in a January 2008 cable entitled “China Fed Up”, that Beijing had been pushing the regime for talks with the pro-democracy movement but had received push-back from its senior generals.

Villarosa also reported, as a consequence of the Burmese military’s unwillingness to improve living standards for the masses, that the Chinese were concerned about a potential mass uprising that could imperil its business interests in Burma. “The Chinese [stated they] can no longer rely on the generals to protect their interests here,” wrote Villarosa, “and recognise the need to broker some solution that keeps the peace.”

An article last month in The Economist entitled “Myanmar: Chinese takeaway kitchen” also stated that China harshly criticised the Burmese junta for not properly protecting the Kokang, an ethnically Han Chinese minority in Burma, after 37,000 people fled to China during an ethnic insurgency.

The weariness is not limited to Beijing: Naypyidaw and the rest of Burma has been equally irritated with the results of close Chinese-Burmese relations. According to The Economist, while massive Chinese immigration into the northern provinces and China’s ostentatious display of wealth in an impoverished country has been met with the chagrin of Burmese people, Burmese military leaders are equally annoyed with China’s cavalier policies of coercing military officials into granting it access to Burma’s infrastructure.

Along with the WikiLeaks revelations of the Chinese pressuring Burmese officials to include the pro-democracy movement in democratisation talks, Burmese military officials would have, as The Economist stated, “a deep-seated suspicion of its powerful northern neighbour” over these outstanding “neuralgic” issues.

In the light of this simmering animus, why hasn’t there been a more definitive split? Chinese Ambassador Guan Mu, in his meeting with Shari Villarosa, cited two hindrances to restarting dialogue with the pro-democracy movement: the ruling clique’s anxiety over “losing power and [losing its] economic interests.”

Guan further speculated that if “the senior generals could be offered assurances that they would not ‘lose their lives’ and could keep their economic interests, they might be more amenable to ceding power gradually.”

His conclusion is revealing as it delineates the top two concerns of the Burmese ruling clique. But the question is, if the Burmese military continues to cede power to the Chinese, will the army’s clout and its ability to keep hold of the lifestyle to which it is accustomed disappear? The Burmese government is divided primarily on how it answers this question.

Ultimately, in the Burmese government, there are those who view power as the primary vehicle to a continuation of their lifestyle, and those who feel money will do a better job at this. The deciding factors of where government officials and other people of influence would fall is not apparent. A government official with extensive business connections in China may be willing to sacrifice his side business in the name of protecting his influence in Burma, while those without any connection to China may see Chinese opportunities as the only way to financially advance expeditiously.

There are three scenarios, the first being that factions would struggle in a figurative bloodbath until one triumphs. A second, that would see slow series’ of movements away from China (two steps forward, one step back), is far more likely of the two scenarios that differ from the status quo. The last scenario, which is the received wisdom of Burma observers, is the continuation of the special relationship between Naypyidaw and Beijing, despite mutual irritation.

The dance between those in the military who covet money above all and those who covet power above all, not the struggle between the military and the moribund pro-democracy movement or the terminally weak ethnic separatists, will be what dictates Burma’s path in the near future. While Burma is not looking to remove itself from its special relationship with Beijing quite yet, the option to leave its Chinese alliance has been explored in the case if China should ever become too demanding, too meddlesome or too cavalier. There are no good options. A suitable partner needs to be willing to listen to the military government, willing to trade on a massive scale with a Burmese establishment rife with conflict of interest, and not a pariah state.

The main problem with a Burmese exit from its alliance with China is the lack of a way forward without China keeping the military-backed government afloat. A clear path that doesn’t rely on the extensive Chinese support that the Burmese military now enjoys must replace all that would be lost.

Burma may then need to explore alternatives to China, and the one country, whose potential will be explored in the next article, that it has shown willingness to do this with lies well outside of Burma’s immediate neighbourhood.
http://www.dvb.no/analysis/at-a-critical-juncture-burmas-government-needs-a-plan-b/16787
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BANGKOK POST
Crowd trouble ends Burma-Oman game

Published: 29/07/2011 at 12:32 PM
Online news: Asia

A 2014 World Cup qualifier between Burma and Oman was abandoned after home fans in the Rangoon stadium pelted the pitch with rocks, shoes and water bottles, according to a government official.

This file photo shows Myanmar football fans watching a match at a National Stadium in Yangon. A 2014 World Cup qualifier between Myanmar and Oman was abandoned on Thursday after home fans in the Yangon stadium pelted the pitch with rocks, shoes and water bottles, according to a government official.

A member of the Oman coaching team suffered a head injury as the Burma fans went on the rampage after Oman took a 2-0 lead in the game on Thursday, the Burma official told AFP.

"The match was stopped after the first 39 minutes because security forces lost control of the Burma football fans," he said, adding that about 30,000 supporters were at the ground in total.

The identity of the injured man could not immediately be confirmed.

A statement on the website of world footballing body FIFA confirmed the match was "brought to a sudden close" after "local supporters hurled objects repeatedly onto the field".

"The final status of the match will be confirmed by the relevant body in due course," FIFA said.

Oman won the previous round 2-0.

The Burma official said some of the fans sang the national anthem as they threw objects onto the pitch. "The Oman goal keeper dared not to stay on the ground."

A witness to the violence said some players may also have been hit.

Trouble started at the Tuwana stadium after Oman went 2-0 up with a penalty.

Burma Football Federation (MFF) chief Zaw Zaw and members of the Oman team tried to negotiate a way for the match to continue, a second Burma government official said.

"FIFA didn't accept the situation and decided to stop the game completely," he told AFP.

The MFF could not be reached for comment.

Football is the most popular sport by far in Burma.

The country, which has a new nominally civilian government after nearly 50 years of army rule, has made efforts to become more internationally active.

It is set to host the SEA Games, a Southeast Asian sporting tournament, in 2013. http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/asia/249371/crowd-trouble-ends-burma-oman-game

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