News & Articles on Burma-Thursday, 28 June 2012-uzl

News & Articles on Burma Thursday, 28 June 2012 ----------------------------------------- Burma keeps lid on Kachin abuses and humanitarian crisis Myanmar and United Nations sign landmark plan of action to release children from armed forces Myanmar: International aid not coming despite 'open door' Myanmar pays price for 'lost generation' Myanmar central bank eyes independence Myanmar's Suu Kyi ends triumphant European tour in Paris Suu Kyi ends triumphant European tour in Paris Champion of democracy honored in Paris Suu Kyi made honourary citizen in Paris Burmas lure is a slippery slope Burma needs to stop using drugs as a political tool Burma suspends taxes on some agricultural items US Envoy Voices Concerns about MOGE ------------------------------------------- THE GUARDIAN Burma keeps lid on Kachin abuses and humanitarian crisis 'They are all ready to give their lives so you can tell our story' life in Burma's conflict-ridden Kachin state 'We hid valuables in dead people's mouths and ran' Link to this video Reaching a strip of muddy, deforested jungle inhabited by 1,600 ethnic Kachins who fled there from fighting just over the surrounding hilltops is difficult enough for journalists. For the UN and other aid agencies confronted with the needs of more than 70,000 displaced people trapped in similar camps across Kachin state, it has been nearly impossible. Another 10,000 refugees are reported to have fled across the border into China, to an area in south-west Yunnan province, creating a humanitarian crisis and a complex diplomatic dilemma for Beijing. Kachins are fighting for autonomy within a federal union of Burma, the right to self-determination and to keep full use of their language, Jinghpo. Peace talks, which were part of the government's recent moves towards reform, broke down in March. Further sticking points have been Chinese hydropower projects which the Burmese government approved, but which are opposed by many Kachins. Burma's reformist government agreed ceasefires with several ethnic rebel groups as part of reforms since coming to power last year. An end to the violence is a key demand of the international community. On a three-hour drive along a dirt track from Mai Ja Yang, a small town bordering China, we meet a local commander from the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) who assigns us a motorbike escort for the trip. "We have lined the route with our soldiers," he says. "They are all ready to give their lives so you can tell our story." The constant fear of running into Burmese patrols means most families at our destination N Hkawng Pa camp have been unable to return to their villages for more than a year. Many tell of those who were forcibly taken to work as porters by Burmese troops. Almost everyone in the camp fears the oncoming monsoon the disease the rains will bring, and the problems they will face getting food and clean water, and staying dry. When the conflict began in June last year, local volunteer groups, mostly run by Kachin women, tried to get supplies to the people and stem outbreaks of malaria and dysentery. "When we started, we had nothing," says Mary Tawm, head of Wunpawng Ninghtoi (WPN), a group of women volunteers working to provide food and shelter, and documenting cases of abuse among occupants of six camps around Mai Ja Yang. "It was terrible. All we had as support were personal donations. We couldn't reach most of the camps because roads had been cut off by the water. Everyone's tarpaulins were broken and flapping in the wind, and they were drinking water from muddy paddy fields." Now at least families have the basics they need to survive: a ration of rice, cooking oil and salt. To supplement their diet they forage for vegetables in the jungle. But as hundreds plunder the same area of forest, each trip means travelling further and each journey yields less food. Doctors who visit the camp say the incidence of malnutrition is high. "We have anaemia, babies with yellowing hair, because they don't have the right vitamins," says Aung Myint, a doctor who visits the camp once a week. "All people have to rely on are fermented beans; that's just not enough to survive." In the year since the conflict began the UN has visited Mai Ja Yang only once, bringing supplies by train from Rangoon. Attempts by the UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Unocha) to arrange aid were blocked by the Burmese government. Security concerns are the reason given, though Tawm says the KIA has never been known to attack civilian convoys. Mark Farmaner, director of the UK-based Burma Campaign Group, condemned the government's failure to engage with aid groups for Kachin citizens. "If what is happening in Kachin state had happened in Rangoon, there would be international outrage and talk of taking Thein Sein to the international criminal court," he said. "Abuses by the Burmese army in the past year are so serious they constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity." During her recent visit to London, Aung San Suu Kyi was asked at a press conference about her apparent failure to condemn violence in Kachin. She said she condemned all forms of violence, but that it was not clear what was happening in Kachin state because independent observers were not allowed to go there. "Resolving conflict is not about condemnation, but finding out how it can be resolved," she added. The UN special rapporteur on human rights in Burma, Tom᳠Ojea Quintana, has spoken of his failure to get the Burmese government to let him visit the area. "The situation in Kachin is serious. During my last trip, I asked to visit Kachin state, but that was not possible to accommodate," he told the Democratic Voice of Burma. "According to the information that I've been receiving during my mandate the human rights abuses are systematic in Kachin state, including the forced displacement of people from the area, extrajudicial killings and other human rights abuses." http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/poverty-matters/2012/jun/27/burma-kachin-abuses-crisis-conflict ----------------------------------------- Myanmar and United Nations sign landmark plan of action to release children from armed forces Report; UN Children's Fund YANGON, 27 June 2012 The Government of Myanmar and the United Nations today signed an action plan to prevent the recruitment and use of children by the Myanmar armed forces the Tatmadaw and allow for the release of under-age recruits. The plan was signed in the capital Nay Pyi Taw by Major General Ngwe Thein (Director of the Directorate of Military Strength, Ministry of Defence) and Major General Tin Maung Win (Vice Adjutant General, Myanmar armed forces) on behalf of the Government of Myanmar, and the UN Resident Coordinator Mr. Ashok Nigam and UNICEF Representative Mr. Ramesh Shrestha. The signing was witnessed by Lt-General Hla Min, Union Minister of Defence, and Ms. Radhika Coomaraswamy, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict. The plan is the result of years of negotiation between the Government and United Nations led by UNICEF and the Office of the Resident Coordinator on behalf of a Country Task Force on Monitoring and Reporting of grave violations of child rights in armed conflict (CTFMR) comprising UNDP, UNHCR, UNOCHA, ILO, WFP, UNFPA, World Vision and Save the Children. UNICEF welcomes the signing of the action plan and is ready to support the Government to take forward these key commitments, said the co-chair of the CTFMR Mr. Shrestha of UNICEF. The most important work begins now to ensure that children are released from the Tatmadaw as soon as possible and are returned to their families and communities and receive support to promote their well-being, learning and livelihoods. The signing of the Action Plan brings a great opportunity for the United Nations and the Country Task Force to work together with the Government and send a strong message that children should not, and will no longer, be recruited and used for military purposes, said the co-chair of the CTFMR UN Resident Coordinator Mr. Nigam. The action plan was negotiated under the mandate of UN Security Council Resolution 1612, which established the UN-led Monitoring and Reporting Mechanism to report on six grave violations of childrens rights in situations of armed conflict. The UN Secretary-General in an annual report to the Security Council lists parties that commit grave violations against children. In Myanmar, there are eight parties listed for recruitment and use of children: the Tatmadaw, the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army, the Kachin Independence Army, Karen National Liberation Army, Karen National Liberation Army-Peace Council, Karenni Army, Shan State Army-South and the United Wa State Army. They are considered persistent perpetrators because they have been listed for more than five years. Ensuring that children released from the Tatmadaw receive meaningful support requires both long-term commitment and resources. Effective release and reintegration programmes for children are a critical factor for durable peace and security in Myanmar. For more information, please contact: Hagar Russ, Child Protection Specialist, UNICEF Myanmar +95-1-375527-32 (Ext: 1531), hruss@unicef.org Sandar Linn Communication Officer, UNICEF Myanmar, +95-1-375527-32 (Ext: 1439), slinn@unicef.org Aye Win, National Information Officer, +95-9 421060343, aye.win@undp.org http://reliefweb.int/node/506555 ----------------------------------------- Myanmar: International aid not coming despite 'open door' June 28, 2012 3:04 pm Yangon - International donors should take the opportunity of Myanmar's new open door policy to send more aid, President Thein Sein said Thursday. Wide-ranging US and EU sanctions against Myanmar were lifted this year in response to reforms Thein Sein has implemented since taking office in March 2011, but this has yet to translate into a significant increase in donor aid. "Our government has opened the door to international community, so you all should welcome our move with constructive view and cooperate with us," Thein Sein told a conference in Naypyitaw. "Due to various reasons, we have been neglected by international organisations denying our rights," Thein Sein told the conference on social protection for Myanmar, which was attended by United Nations agencies and non-governmental organisations (NGOs). Aid donors should recognize that the new "open-door policy" had been implemented " for the sake of all of our people," he said.//DPA http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/Myanmar-International-aid-not-coming-despite-open--30185084.html ---------------------------------------- Associated Press: Jun 28, 4:06 AM EDT Myanmar pays price for 'lost generation' By DENIS D. GRAY YANGON, Myanmar (AP) -- The dormitories are empty, the once charming bungalows of professors overgrown with vines and weeds. Only grass grows where the Student Union building stood before soldiers obliterated it with dynamite. This is Yangon University, once one of Asia's finest and a poignant symbol of an education system crippled by Myanmar's half a century of military rule. Only graduate students are still allowed to study here. Fearful of student-led uprisings, the regime has periodically shut down this and other campuses and dispersed students to remote areas with few facilities. Now, as the nation also known as Burma opens its doors to the outside world, it is paying a heavy price. The crackdown on universities has spawned a lost generation. The pace of development will be slowed and Burmese exploited, educators say, as the poorly schooled populace deals with an expected influx of foreign investors and aid donors, along with profiteers looking for a quick dollar. "To catch up with the rest of the world we will need at least ten years. We have to change our entire education culture, and that will be very difficult," says Dr. Phone Win, a physician who heads Mingalar Myanmar, a group promoting education. Initial steps are being taken. President Thein Sein, a former general who has loosened the military's vise on power through unprecedented reforms, pledged in his inauguration speech last year to improve education and seek foreign expertise to lift standards to international levels. The education budget, though still dwarfed by military spending and widely criticized as inadequate, was increased in April from $340 million to $740 million. For years, about 25 percent of the budget went to the armed forces, compared to 1.3 percent for education. Myanmar is saddled with two generations of chemistry professors who have never conducted a proper laboratory experiment and mechanical engineers yet to handle hands-on equipment, says Moe Kyaw, a prominent businessman involved with education issues. From MBAs to lawyers and accountants, shortages abound. Of particular concern, Moe Kyaw says, is the lack of skilled technicians and workers, who will be sorely needed if an investment boom does come. Government officials at a recent conference on the future of Yangon, the largest city, said the country has only about 50 urban planners but needs 500. "You could say Myanmar might be exploited, but they will also lose out on lucrative job opportunities because if locals aren't qualified to fill positions the foreigners will bring in their own," says Sardar Umar Alam, a UNESCO education expert. Although the government boasts 160 institutions of higher learning, many graduates scoff at their own degrees, often saying they are "not worth the paper they're printed on." Many also lament the loss of English skills in this former British colony since xenophobic former leader Gen. Ne Win banned its teaching at lower school levels in the mid-1960s. "I have a very capable woman staffer in Mandalay with a bachelor's degree in psychology, but she can't even spell the word in English," says Moe Kya, the British-educated head of Myanmar Marketing Research Development Company. The opening salvo in what many here call "a war on education" came when troops blew up Yangon University's Student Union, regarded as a hotbed of dissent, after the military seized power in 1962. But probably the darkest days followed a failed 1988 pro-democracy uprising, led by opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi with students as the driving force. The regime began shutting down universities and sending students to the countryside to prevent more anti-government protests. "University life has been shattered because of a perceived need to keep students in order," Suu Kyi said in a recent speech before the British Parliament. The education system is "desperately weak," she added in another speech at Oxford University. "Reform is needed, not just of schools and curriculum, and the training of teachers, but also of our attitude to education, which at present is too narrow and rigid." Even attendance at the rural campuses was discouraged in favor of distance education, still the road to a degree for some 70 percent of students. Typically, they are given audio cassettes and a few simple take-home assignments and only need to attend classes for 10 days or less each year. "We had to learn a lot in the streets, not in the classrooms," recalls Phone Win, who took 10 years to finish his medical degree because the faculty was closed for three of them. His generation, people now mostly in their 40s, should be moving into senior positions in government and business. Those who have are shortchanged by their schooling, while others, disillusioned, slumped into jobs well below their potential or joined an exodus to foreign countries. Throughout the years of authoritarian rule, the education system spiraled downwards. Cheating on exams became widespread. Poverty induced a staggering dropout rate: some 70 percent at one time did not finish their primary schooling. University standards plummeted. "In Myanmar, professors don't need to research, write papers or attend conferences. On Friday you apply to the government and on Monday you can be a professor," says Phone Win. With the recent easing of military rule, the public is venting its anger. On one popular blog, Ministry of Education officials are accused of being ignorant military officers using their positions to get rich. But the government appears to be trying to improve the lot of the country's 9 million students. Salaries of teachers, while still at the poverty level, have been raised to $30 a month, with those in rural areas receiving double that. Long-severed links with foreign universities are being re-established. America's John Hopkins University plans to set up a Center of Excellence at Yangon University focusing on graduate students and teacher training. "The president is really pushing for educational reform. But it's top-down and often stops at the director-general level," says Thaw Kaung, former chief librarian at Yangon University and one of the country's most respected scholars. "The government is also listening to the MPs and they are asking some hard questions that the ministers have to answer." Many educated Burmese are eagerly waiting for the leadership to respond to a passionate open letter this month from U Myint, a presidential adviser who urged that Yangon University be reopened to undergraduates and the Student Union rebuilt through public donations. He described the university as "an important landmark in national reconciliation and a memorable way to start a new chapter in our history." The outcome could prove a key test of the seriousness of the regime's intent - and whether it has shed its fear of student power. 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AS_MYANMAR_LOST_GENERATION?SECTION=HOME&SITE=AP&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT ----------------------------------------- Myanmar central bank eyes independence Thursday, 28 June 2012 11:33 Myanmar-central-bank 400YANGON: Myanmar's central bank is poised to win independence to set monetary policy, its deputy governor said, in what would be a major economic reform by a government seeking to attract foreign investors. "If we have monetary stability, investors can be encouraged to enter the country with greater confidence," Maung Maung Win told AFP in an interview. An independent central bank is seen as a hallmark of a modern free-market economy. The move is not expected to come overnight, however, and the Central Bank of Myanmar (CBM) needs to recruit more staff to expand its capacity, Maung Maung Win said. A new draft of the central bank law is now with the Attorney General's Office waiting to be reviewed, and must pass parliament before the institution can break free from government control over monetary policy. "The CBM law would be amended to become more relevant for a system of an independent central bank," said Maung Maung Win, one of two CBM deputies. The CBM is seeking overseas help to train its staff. Earlier this month it signed a memorandum of understanding with Thailand's central bank on technical cooperation. "The status of independence could not be given immediately as the bank needs to meet the requirements, including infrastructure, to become independent," said Maung Maung Win. In a report published in May, the International Monetary Fund noted that the CBM is a department within the finance ministry and "does not have a monetary policy framework". It added: "The CBM should be given full operational autonomy and proper accountability, with the clearly defined primary objective of domestic price stability." According to the CBM's website, the main objective of its monetary policy is "to maintain macroeconomic stability in the economy while promoting domestic savings", using interest rates as its main instrument. The Central Bank Rate currently stands at 10 percent. Myanmar's reformist President Thein Sein this month vowed to put the economy at the centre of his next wave of reforms, following a series of dramatic political changes. In the new government's most radical economic reform yet, the country in April began a managed flotation of its currency, overhauling a complex foreign exchange system in a bid to facilitate trade and investment. Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2012 http://www.brecorder.com/business-a-finance/banking-a-finance/64568-myanmar-central-bank-eyes-independence.html ---------------------------------------- Myanmar's Suu Kyi ends triumphant European tour in Paris Published on Jun 28, 2012 PARIS (AFP) - Myanmar's democracy champion Aung San Suu Kyi was to end her triumphant tour of Europe in France on Thursday, after being lauded during her visits as a model of peaceful resistance to dictatorship. The Nobel Peace laureate - who spent almost two decades under house arrest for her freedom struggle - has been cheered by crowds and leaders on her five-nation tour, her first visit to Europe in a quarter-century. In France, she was treated with honours normally reserved for a head of state, dining at the Elysee Palace on Tuesday with President Francois Hollande, who pledged support for her country's transition towards democracy. Myanmar was for decades ruled by an iron-fisted junta, but a reformist government under ex-general President Thein Sein has freed political prisoners and allowed Ms Suu Kyi's party back into mainstream politics. http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/World/Story/STIStory_816025.html ------------------------------------------ Suu Kyi ends triumphant European tour in Paris AFP, Paris, June 28, 2012 First Published: 11:41 IST(28/6/2012) Last Updated: 11:44 IST(28/6/2012) Myanmar's democracy champion Aung San Suu Kyi was to end her triumphant tour of Europe in France on Thursday, after being lauded during her visits as a model of peaceful resistance to dictatorship. The Nobel Peace laureate -- who spent almost two decades under house arrest for her freedom struggle -- has been cheered by crowds and leaders on her five-nation tour, her first visit to Europe in a quarter-century. In France, she was treated with honours normally reserved for a head of state, dining at the Elysee Palace on Tuesday with President Francois Hollande, who pledged support for her country's transition towards democracy. Myanmar was for decades ruled by an iron-fisted junta, but a reformist government under ex-general President Thein Sein has freed political prisoners and allowed Suu Kyi's party back into mainstream politics. Suu Kyi, 67, has in the past two weeks visited Switzerland, Norway, Ireland, Britain and now France, receiving rock star welcomes along the way. The trip allowed her to finally give her 1991 Nobel Peace Prize speech in Oslo, and to thank groups and institutions from the Rafto Foundation and Amnesty International to Oxford University for awards they have given her. On Thursday she was to visit both houses of France's parliament -- the National Assembly and the Senate -- and talk to students at the Sorbonne university in Paris. On Wednesday, Suu Kyi received her 2004 honorary citizen of Paris certificate and was hailed by Mayor Bertrand Delanoe for her "tenacity" and "unshakeable faith" in her campaign for democracy in the country formerly called Burma. Suu Kyi has enjoyed strong support among rights groups in France and was the subject of a 2011 French-English film biography, The Lady, directed by French filmmaker Luc Besson and starring Michelle Yeoh. Suu Kyi also met with foreign minister Laurent Fabius and planted a tree in the ministry's gardens. "For us, you are the lady of human rights," Fabius told her during the ceremony. "We are just at the beginning of the road. We need to be extremely careful within the next three years," Suu Kyi said at the ceremony, referring to parliamentary elections due in 2015. On Tuesday Hollande said France gave its full backing to the transition efforts in Myanmar, and said Paris was ready to welcome Thein Sein, who also received an invitation from former colonial ruler Britain last week. Major Western powers have rolled back or suspended long-standing sanctions against Myanmar, a resource-rich but deeply impoverished country. Suu Kyi has on her tour called for human rights-friendly investment. http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/Europe/Suu-Kyi-ends-triumphant-European-tour-in-Paris/Article1-880027.aspx ---------------------------------------- Champion of democracy honored in Paris Thursday, 28 June 2012 Myanmar champion of democracy, Aung San Suu Kyi, rounds up her five-country tour of Europe in France, by becoming an honorary citizen of Paris. On Wednesday, Suu Kyi was finally able to receive her 2004 honary citizen of Paris plaque, in a meeting with Paris mayor Bertand Delanoe. "You are a woman of peace and love, and this is why Paris also loves you," Delanoe said, acknowledging her "tenacity" and "unshakeable faith" while striving for democracy in the country once known as Burma. In a statement delivered in French, Suu Kyi hailed "the deep attachment of Paris to justice and freedom." "I was surprised and happy that Paris supported my cause with such vigour," she added. In 2007 Paris' town hall paid tribute to Suu Kyi and her cause by hanging a huge portrait of her outside the building. Suu Kyi told political prisoners not to give up fighting, "you must not let go of your principles. If you respect yourself you do not give up your fight." Yevgenia Tymoshenko, daughter of jailed former Ukrainian premier Yulia Tymoshenko was in attendance to see her receive the accolade, as was Pavel Khodorkovsky, son of imprisoned former businessman and rival of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Mikhail Khodorkovsky. Wrapping up her five-nation euro-tour in Paris, Suu Kyi was treated with honors normally bestowed upon heads of state, and royalty, dining at the Elysee Palace on Tuesday with President Francois Hollande, who vowed his country would support Myanmar's transition towards democracy. A celebrity figure, she has been cheered by crowds and leaders over the past two weeks, her first visit to Europe in a quarter of a century. The 67-year-old, has visited Switzerland, Norway, Ireland, Britain and now France. Her European trip also allowed her to make her 1991 Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech in Oslo. jlw/av (AFP, Reuters, AP) http://www.dw.de/dw/article/0,,16056313,00.html -------------------------------------------- Suu Kyi made honourary citizen in Paris Updated: 08:10, Thursday June 28, 2012 Burmese activist Aung San Suu Kyi has become an honourary citizen of Paris at a ceremony in the French capital. The 67-year-old met French President Francois Hollande as part of her 17-day tour of Europe. Addressing the crowd in French -- the pro-democracy campaigner said although France had a history of struggle for democracy, its citizens had perhaps become complacent. But it wasn't all business for Suu Kyi who also spoke of her admiration of France as the country of writer Victor Hugo and onion soup. Suu Kyi talked to the press after a meeting with President Francois Hollande on the first day of a four-day visit to France that closes out a European tour that has taken her to Switzerland, Norway, Ireland and Britain. She and the French president were having dinner on Tuesday night. The Nobel Peace Prize winner has been a world symbol of courage and hope for facing down Burma's military regime, which ruled for 49 years until last year. She is now helping the country usher in what many hope is a transition to democracy. And pragmatism seems to be her watchword. 'I certainly do not bear any grudges against the military regime,' she said. 'I never think of them as those people who placed me under house arrest for so many years. This is not the way we bring about national reconciliation. 'I think of them as people with whom I would like to work in order to bring reform to our country.' Hollande, at her side, said France intends to support all those involved in the democratic transition so that Burma achieves a 'full and complete democracy'. Suu Kyi, who turned 67 this month during her trip, is emphasising youth during her visit to France and, during her news conference, the word 'future' constantly found its way into her remarks. In Paris, she will pick up an award on Wednesday granted in 2004 that made her an honorary citizen of the city of Paris. On her European travels, Suu Kyi has been accorded the attention of a diva. Asked at the news conference if she sees herself as the icon she embodies for many in the world, she scoffed, calling it unsettling, even if she understands the human need to put a face on everything. 'I represent the human face of the movement for democracy in Burma, and I think that is where it should remain,' she said. 'I'm always very disturbed when people speak of me as an icon. Icons just seem to sit there doing nothing at all - and I work very, very hard, I assure you.' http://www.skynews.com.au/topstories/article.aspx?id=765677&vId= ------------------------------------------ Burmas lure is a slippery slope By Editorial Board, Thursday, June 28, 6:50 AM SO FAR, the Obama administration has carefully modulated its Burma policy, easing sanctions to welcome fragile democratic progress while recognizing the long distance still to cover. Now the modulation is at risk. Administration officials are debating whether to allow U.S. oil companies to do business with Burmas state-owned energy company. U.S. companies reportedly have been lobbying hard. But opening this area of investment would contradict the spirit of the policy that Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton announced a couple of months ago. It would contradict the explicit advice, articulated at no small risk to her internal position, of democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Why would President Obama want to undercut her at this delicate moment? Burma, also known as Myanmar, is a resource-rich Southeast Asian nation of 50 million or so people that has been ground into poverty during decades of military misrule. Now, at the initiative of President Thein Sein, a former general, it is allowing more freedom and seeking economic and political connection with the world. Thein Sein and Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel Peace laureate who spent most of the past 23 years under house arrest, are trying to find common ground to push reform forward. The hopeful analogy is of South Africas F.W. de Klerk and Nelson Mandela. Speaking to the British parliament a few days ago, Aung San Suu Kyi welcomed democracy-friendly investment . . . that prioritizes transparency, accountability, workers rights and environmental sustainability. The state-owned oil company represents the antithesis of these values; it has been a funder and enabler of the worst abuses of military rule. The company lacks both transparency and accountability at present, Aung San Suu Kyi said recently. The government needs to apply internationally recognized standards . . . on fiscal transparency. Other countries could help by not allowing their own companies to partner with the Burmese firm unless it was signed up to such codes. Finding the right pace to ease sanctions can be tricky. Thein Sein and his faction need to demonstrate, both to hard-line opponents and to the public, that democratic progress will bring benefits. On the other hand, reformers are helped if they also can argue that further reforms are needed to win further concessions. Burmas judges and media still are controlled, hundreds of political prisoners have yet to be released, violence continues against ethnic minorities and fewer than one in 10 parliamentarians were chosen through free elections. But this isnt one of the tricky calls. In April, Ms. Clinton promised a targeted easing . . . to help accelerate economic modernization and political reform. Sanctions and prohibitions will stay in place, the secretary vowed, on individuals and institutions that remain on the wrong side of these historic reform efforts. The state-owned oil company has been on the wrong side. Until it takes steps to shift over, the United States should show that it meant what Ms. Clinton said. Rather than give in to oil-industry arguments against leaving the field to other nations, the United States should lead those nations in insisting on transparency as a condition of investment. http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/burmas-lure-for-us-oil-companies-is-a-slippery-slope/2012/06/27/gJQAge3i7V_story.html ------------------------------------------ Asian Correspondent Burma needs to stop using drugs as a political tool By Zin Linn Jun 28, 2012 4:24PM UTC The Shan Drug Watch 2012 newsletter New Shan Drug Watch report: political solution needed to end drug scourge in Burma released on International Day Against Drug Abuse and Trafficking (26 June), makes a strong question reminding dialogue stakeholders in Burma. According to the statement, unless political settlement of long-standing ethnic grievances is reached, the armed conflict and turmoil that help the drug curse will unavoidably go on endlessly. Surveys by Shan Drug Watch show that opium production has surged during the 2011-2012 season, while the Burmese governments 2014 drug-free deadline approaches. Although most townships had been targeted to be drug-free by 2009, poppy growing was reported in 49 out of 55 townships in Shan State. Most analysts on drug issue pointed out poverty as a major reason for Shan States continuing drug problem. Opium crops only need a short time to grow and promptly generate income for impoverished farmers. To stop growing poppy, an alternative through cash crop substitution programs must be provided. According to some political analysts, poppy growing and opium production in Shan State have increased over the past two years due to political volatility in Burma and growing economic despondency caused by cronyism, corruption and unprofessional conduct of the junta. Lt-Gen Yawdserk, interviewed on the eve of the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Trafficking, 26 June, said as long as Naypyitaw is handle, the drug problem as a political game, the problem will not be resolved. Its time drugs equal rebels accusations are stopped, he told SHAN (Shan Herald Agency for News). He was speaking to SHAN two days after the Thai government presented him and the Shan State Army (SSA) with a Gold Eagle Award for cooperation in the campaign against drugs. The award given by Gen Pichitr Kullavanich, Privy Councilor in Bangkok, was received by the SSA representative Sai Aye on 23 June. The making of illicit drugs in Burma has considerable international, regional and national end results. At the international level, the opium and heroin produced in the country are consumed in Asia distributed through China and Thailand as well as the rest of Asia, reaching destinations as far away as Australia, North America and Europe. At the regional level, drugs are at the root of many problems facing the countries of the Golden Triangle today, including the spread of HIV/AIDS fuelled by injecting drug use, corruption of border officials and the large influence of criminal elements seeking on undermining the rule of law and further instability in the border areas. Many of these effects are also felt at the national level, particularly the spread of HIV/AIDS due to injecting drug use. The Shan State Army (SSA) had also submitted a drug eradication project to the Burmese government on 19 May. Its representatives also met the government-run Central Committee for Drug Abuse Control (CCDAC) earlier this month to work out the details. However, no concrete agreement has reached so far. We are pressed for time, he said. If we wait too long, itll be too late to do anything. At the same time, no single agency can deal with the problem on its own. We need cooperation from all to do it. Cooperation from all armed groups are also necessary. Its time we show the world we can survive without drugs, he told SHAN. As said by Khuensai Jaiyen of Shan Drug Watch, Burma Army controlled Peoples Militia Forces (PMF), set up by the governmen to assist in their operations against rebel forces, have become key players in the drug trade, both heroin and ATS. However, government authorities involvement in the tangled drug problem is being easily ignored by the international community since it embraces Burmas new Thein Sein administration which acts as a reformist. According to Khuensai Jaiyen, Naw Kham, Godfather of the Golden Triangle was arrested in April 2012. News of the arrest of drug lord Naw Kham glossed over the fact that he became powerful in the area by serving as a militia chief in Tachileik under Burma Armys command. The bursting continuation of drug traffic along the Mekong since Naw Khams arrest highlights the urgent need to address the structural causes of the drug problem, rather than just detain new scapegoats, he pointed out. Its time to end the vicious cycle of new drug-lords emerging and being scapegoated over and again. The political root causes of the drug problem must be tackled, said Khuensai Jaiyen, principal author of the Shan Drug Watch report. At least six well-known drug lords in Burma represented the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP). They are now taking parliament seats along with those elected members of parliament since the 7 November elections, according to Shan Herald Agency for News (S.H.A.N.). Unless the strategies of the governments peace deals are truthful, drug trade will go on by far, as the drug is a kind of weapon for the military to grab supreme power. Thus, a negotiated resolution of the basis cause of civil war in Burma is needed to address immediately. The drug problem has intertwined with the countrys long-lasting political challenges since Burma gained independence in 1948. Underestimation of the impact of drug-trafficking throughout the country may severely damage the designated reform task supported by the western democracies. http://asiancorrespondent.com/85052/burma-needs-to-stop-using-drugs-as-a-political-tool/ ------------------------------------------------- Burma suspends taxes on some agricultural items Thursday, 28 June 2012 15:59 Mizzima News Burmas commercial tax on import of some agriculture-related items and domestic sales has been suspended for a period of nine months, state-run media said on Thursday. A farmer and his ox plough a field in the Bagan temple ruins in central Burma. Photo: Mizzima A farmer and his ox plough a field in the Bagan temple ruins in central Burma. Photo: Mizzima Agricultural items exempted include fertilizer, pesticide, farm equipment and machinery, said the New Light of Myanmar. The exemptions begin July 1 and extend to March 31, 2013. The article said the move is in line with focusing on stimulating the agro-industry as a fundamental building block in the countrys development. Burma has also extended a commercial tax exemption period for six months on some export items including rice, beans and pulses, corn, sesame, rubber, freshwater and saltwater products and certain animal products from Feb. 15 to July 14 this year. It is not known if the exemption will be extended again. The extension was introduced when the U.S. dollar depreciated at the end of last year and through the start of this year, causing exporters losses. The problems of agricultural sector reforms are a central topic of Thein Seins new government and of comments by opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who made it an issue in her by-election campaign in February. She said that if a genuine democratic system can be put in place, then many organizations and foreign countries are ready to provide assistance to help modernize the agricultural sector and make it internationally competitive. At one time, Burma was the No. 1 exporter or rice. At a joint session of Parliament on February 10, Minister for Agriculture and Irrigation Myint Hlaing said that farmers would be allowed to grow the crops they want, and the government would help them to get more income by providing assistance in entering the international market for their farm products. He also admitted in Parliament that some village administrators have forced farmers to grow summer paddy that is incompatible with the local climate and some farmers have been hurt by such decisions. Lower House Speaker Shwe Mahn said, Nowadays farmers, livestock producers and producers of primary products are all facing incurring losses due to falling prices for their crops and products along with fishery producers. The minister and Shwe Mann are both members of the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party, the government-backed party that controls the Parliament. In May 2011, Mizzima reported that a leading Burmese economist and presidential adviser, Dr. Myint, in a paper on how to reduce poverty, told high government officials that agricultural reforms play a fundamental role in rural development and in initiating economic progress in many Asian economies, such as in Taiwan and South Korea. In Myanmar farmers do not have land ownership rights, but only land users rights. Thus, in considering land reform in Myanmar under present circumstances, the aim is to come up with measures to protect the farmers from losing their land use rights, he said. Owning their land, he said, could allow farmers to use the land as collateral for loans. http://www.mizzima.com/business/7414-burma-suspends-taxes-on-some-agricultural-items.html ----------------------------------------------- US Envoy Voices Concerns about MOGE By LALIT K JHA / THE IRRAWADDY| June 28, 2012 | The newly appointed US ambassador to Burma, Derek Mitchell, speaks to Aung San Suu Kyi at her home in Rangoon in March while he served as US special envoy to Myanmar. (PHOTO: Reuters) The United States has concerns about Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE) with regard to the lack of transparency and the level of corruption associated with it, a top US diplomat told lawmakers on Wednesday. The issue of MOGE is one that we are looking very carefully at, Derek Mitchell told a key US Senate Committee during his ambassadorial confirmation hearing. We have concerns about this enterprise and its transparency and the corruption that is associated with it through reports that we have There are particular concerns here with connections to the military and such. Mitchell is currently the special US representative and policy coordinator for Burma. He has been nominated by President Obama as the US ambassador to the country. We obviously are going to be careful and we should be careful, he said in response to a question from a senator. However we engage, that we do so with the highest standards of transparency, that we are contributing to reform inside the country, that we are contributing to the highest values and that we model the type of behavior that we like to see, broadly by US companies and by others. This particular issue when it comes to the general licenses that are being debated and discussed. Obviously its on the agenda and being looked at. There are no decisions made on this particular question. Clearly we want to see others raising their level to the standards, not just the American companies, so that we are on a level playing field. As we looked at the general license, we understand the balance between competitiveness and the standards that we want to set. So this is an ongoing question, he said. Would you agree that the standards that are applied, should be the same standards that the United States applies in other countries? asked Senator Jim Webb who chaired the confirmation hearing. Yes, absolutely, Mitchell responded. There have been public statements saying they are interested in more transparency in the extractive industries, including oil and gas. Its very encouraging. I think it is our role to encourage that, to continue to educate, he said, adding that he sees that things are moving in the right direction. Aung San Suu Kyi can certainly play a role inside the country in doing that so that everyone has a level playing field. But I would never dismiss what she says from our thinking. I mean, she is obviously a unique figure representing people in the country. And she represents values that we are care about, he observed. Senator James Inhofe asked if the US government decided not to allow its oil and gas companies to operate there, would those resources go undeveloped or would the companies from other countries take up that slack. I think its been demonstrated from the past that other countries will likely take up the slack, but there may be some areas where the US is uniquely able to exploit. But clearly there are other countries that are ready to pick up the slack, Mitchell said. Earlier in his opening remarks, Webb praised the steps being taken by the Burmese government. Lets not forget that this country has had two peaceful national elections within the last year, released hundreds of political prisoners, negotiated ceasefire agreements with 12 ethnic minority groups, reduced censorship of the media, and supported the development of an effective political opposition, he said. This is a country whose political system remains a challenge, but where positive conduct calls for reciprocal gestures. We should never take our concerns about political freedoms or individual rights off the table. We should make these concerns central to our engagement with all countries including with Burma, Webb said. But we should also be promoting economic progress to sustain the political reforms that have taken place. Its time to make our policies internationally consistent with our principles. Mitchell told lawmakers that the Obama administration has been quite consistent and direct in public and private about its continuing concerns about the lack of transparency in Burmas military relationship with North Korea. And specifically that the government must adhere to its obligations under relevant UN Security Council resolutions and its other international nonproliferation obligations. If confirmed as ambassador, I will continue to make this issue of highest priority in my conversations with the government and be clear that our bilateral relationship can never be fully normalized until we are fully satisfied that any illicit ties to North Korea have ended once and for all, he said, addressing lawmakers. As the Burmese government has taken steps over the past year, so too has the United States in an action-for-action approach, he added. Each action we have taken in recent months has had as its purpose, to benefit the Burmese people and strengthen reform and reformers within the system. This engagement should continue and expand. If confirmed, I will do my part in the field, to support a principled approach that effectively marries our values with our broader national interests. http://www.irrawaddy.org/archives/7960