News & Articles on Burma-Sunday, 08 July 2012-uzl

- News & Articles on Burma Sunday, 08 July 2012 ---------------------------------------- Suu Kyis lessons on value of compromise 36 World War II British fighters found in Myanmar Burma's ethnic hatred Treasure hunting in the Mekong Delta Jackie Chan highlights Burma child trafficking In Burma, many fear completion of stalled dam Myanmar invites foreign firms to upgrade Yangon airport AIPMC urges Burma to release student leaders immediately ----------------------------------------- The Journal Gazette Published: July 8, 2012 3:00 a.m. Suu Kyis lessons on value of compromise Fred Hiatt Chief Justice John Roberts did something that, in polarized Washington, may turn out to be more important than saving Obamacare. He showed that compromise can be consistent with principle. More than that: He showed that compromise, for someone who respects and knows how to use the democratic process, can be the best way to advance principle. There is a lesson that has been lost on many politicians, and its not just that compromise is essential to the proper functioning of a democracy. Its that compromise can be a practical means to a principled goal. A similar lesson is unfolding in Myanmar, also known as Burma, where democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi recently sprung from house arrest into the whirl of day-to-day politics. In modern history its hard to find anyone who can match her combination of steely determination and good-humored lack of bitterness. She, too, is in the process of marrying conviction to practicality. Suu Kyi has been allowed to run for parliament (she won, easily) and travel abroad. At every step she has been criticized by some for sticking to principle too stubbornly and by others for being too willing to compromise with the generals who still call the shots. Her supposed intransigence always has infuriated those more eager to do business with Myanmar than promote its democracy. In response to her opposition to U.S. firms dealing with Myanmars corrupt state-owned energy company, outgoing Virginia Sen. James Webb peevishly asked whether an official from any foreign government should be telling us what sectors that we should invest in and not invest in. But at the same time she has alarmed some of her supporters by embracing this chance at reform, even though theres no guarantee it will bear fruit. She speaks warmly of President Thein Sein, takes her seat in a parliament the regime still controls and urges foreigners to invest, as long they do so in a democracy-friendly and human-rights friendly way. I strive to be as practical as my father was, she told the British Parliament, recalling that when a British general accused him of switching from the Japanese to the British side during World War II because the British were winning, he replied, It wouldnt be much good coming to you if you werent, would it? She deflects canonization and any romanticizing of what shes been through. Finally accepting her 1991 Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, Norway, last month, she began one sentence this way: Of the sweets of adversity and let me say that these are not numerous ... But she went on to note that the most precious of those sweets was the lesson I learnt on the value of kindness. Every kindness I received, small or big, convinced me that there could never be enough of it in our world.. Its too much to expect us normal folks to match Aung San Suu Kyis serene ability to find humanity in those who have treated her most vilely. But tea party Republicans and MoveOn Democrats might learn, if not from her then from the chief justice, that a studied embrace of compromise can be a means to advance principle, not betray it. Fred Hiatt is the Washington Posts editorial page editor. Copyright 2012 The Journal Gazette. All rights reserved. Neither this material nor its presentation may be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Share http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20120708/EDIT/307089959/1147/EDIT07 -------------------------------------------------- 36 World War II British fighters found in Myanmar IANS | Jul 8, 2012, 08.34PM IST Read more:World War II|United Kingdom|The Fighter|Myanmar|David Cameron 0 YANGON: (IANS) The remains of 36 British Spitfire aircraft, which were secretly buried during the World War II in what was then Burma to prevent them from being seized by the Japanese, have been discovered in the country. The remains of the fighter aircraft were found through radar. They will be dug by experts from Leeds University in cooperation with their counterparts from Myanmar, Xinhua reported citing the Flower News journal. After the planes are unearthed, they will be shipped to Britain to be kept in museums. Myanmar agreed to hand back the aircraft during an official visit to the country by British Prime Minister David Cameron in April. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/south-asia/36-World-War-II-British-fighters-found-in-Myanmar/articleshow/14748979.cms -------------------------------------------------- Casey Weekly Burma's ethnic hatred HANNA HINDSTROM 08 Jul, 2012 03:00 AM The recent brutal religious violence in Burma's western Arakan state has cast a shadow on the country's democratic progress. Dozens of people have been killed and hundreds of homes destroyed as Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims clash near the Bangladeshi border in the country's worst sectarian violence in decades. Even more shocking than the violence has been the public outpouring of vitriol aimed at the Rohingya, the stateless minority group at the centre of the conflict. Considered ''illegal Bengali immigrants'' by the government, they are denied citizenship and are widely despised within Burmese society. Anti-Rohingya views have swept both social and mainstream media, seemingly uniting politicians, human rights activists, journalists, and civil society across Burma's myriad ethnic groups. ''The so-called Rohingya are liars,'' one pro-democracy group said on Twitter. ''We must kill all the kalar,'' another social media user said. Kalar is a racial slur applied to dark-skinned people from the Indian subcontinent. Burmese refugees, who themselves have fled persecution, gathered at embassies around the world to protest against the ''terrorist'' Rohingya invading their homeland. Even the prominent student leader Ko Ko Gyi, who played a key role in the 1988 democratic uprising, lambasted them as impostors and frauds. No doubt Burma's nascent media freedom has played a key role in stirring up religious tensions. Vast swaths of inflammatory misinformation are circulating inside Burma, with mainstream media largely accusing al-Qaeda and ''illegal Bengali terrorists'' of staging the violence in a bid to spread Islam in Asia. Many allege that the Rohingya are burning their own houses to attract attention. One newspaper published a graphic photograph of the corpse of Thida Htwe, a Buddhist woman whose rape and murder - allegedly by three Muslim men - instigated the violence, prompting the President, Thein Sein, to suspend the publication using censorship laws. These are the same papers that in recent months have openly criticised the government for the first time since a nominally civilian administration took over last year. Ironically, this freedom has also led to a virulent backlash against foreign and exiled media, who have reported on the plight of the Rohingya, described by the United Nations as one of the world's most persecuted groups. Following the latest violence, a number of online campaigns have been set up to co-ordinate attacks against news outlets that dare to report on the Rohingya's plight. Angry protesters rallied in Rangoon this week, brandishing signs reading ''Bengali Broadcast Corporation'' and ''Desperate Voice of Bengali''. The latter was a reference to this reporter's employer, the Democratic Voice of Burma, the Norwegian broadcaster that has made a name for itself among many Burmese as one of the most reliable sources of information about their country. Recently the broadcaster faced the biggest attack on its website in its history, and its Facebook page is still under constant assault from people issuing threats and posting racist material. As the International Crisis Group explains, the violence is both a consequence of, and a threat to, Burma's political transition. The ongoing crisis illustrates the need for Burma to embrace not only independent, but also responsible and inclusive, journalism. To facilitate this transition, the government must take concrete steps to address the underlying dispute about the Rohingya. The sheer level of racism against them in Burmese society, enforced by a government policy of discrimination and abuse, lies at the core of the matter. A politician from the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party has called for a ''king dragon operation'', the name for a 1978 military operation run by the dictator General Ne Win to stamp out the Rohingya population from Northern Arakan state. Meanwhile, reports of army complicity in attacks on Muslim homes are growing after a state of emergency was declared last month. The immigration minister, Khin Yi, has again reiterated that ''there are no Rohingya in Burma,'' while Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy continues to carefully sidestep the hot-button issue. State media has also fanned tensions by using the racial slur kalar in their official appeal for calm after 10 Muslim pilgrims were murdered to avenge Htwe's death. While the government has taken ostensible steps to calm the violence, including publishing a retraction for the racial slur, it is far from sufficient. Neither is invoking draconian censorship laws a viable solution. There must be a rational public debate on the future of the Rohingya minority in Burma. The issue is sensitive and complex, but it cannot be ignored. Political leaders, especially Thein Sein and Aung San Suu Kyi, along with the international community, have an obligation to drive this process. A failure to do so threatens to unravel Burma's democratic reform at a time when it cannot afford to regress. Foreign Policy http://www.caseyweeklyberwick.com.au/news/world/world/general/burmas-ethnic-hatred/2616760.aspx?storypage=0 ---------------------------------------- Korea JoongAng Ilbo Treasure hunting in the Mekong Delta [Commentary] July 09,2012 Myanmars conversion to democracy is breathing new life into a project with a terminally boring name: Greater Mekong Subregion. This name was bestowed on an investment bloc that the Asian Development Bank put together in 1992. It was made up of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam and Chinas Yunnan Province. Talk about odd bedfellows. It mixes constitutional monarchies, immature multiparty democracies, communist states and military regimes suddenly mulling elections with one thing in common: a waterway thats central to the livelihood of 330 million people. The potential of the resource-rich Mekong River region has long intrigued Asia-philes. If only this area got its act together, trade might flourish and markets in this next frontier of the Asian growth story could take off. Myanmars opening makes this possible for the first time. Myanmars reforms dont ensure success, though. That requires overcoming three big challenges: cordial relations with and among its neighbors, weathering the next global crisis and navigating the regions role as a proxy for U.S. and Chinese designs on Asia. In December, about the time Secretary of State Hillary Clinton became the highest-ranking U.S. official to visit Myanmar in a half century, Mekong leaders endorsed a 10-year plan: Tighter integration, more open trade and market-oriented financial policies, better use of natural resources, improved infrastructure, increased tourism, and poverty reduction. The idea is that in order to flourish together, we must work together, said Neav Chanthana, the deputy governor of the National Bank of Cambodia. Adds Chartsiri Sophonpanich, the president of Bangkok Bank: What makes this workable is that different countries in our region really do offer complementary competitive advantages. Thailand has banking expertise and sophisticated markets; Myanmar has substantial stores of petroleum, natural gas and copper; Laos has considerable hydropower know-how; Vietnam and Cambodia boast young and growing populations; Yunnan Province offers labor and a pathway to the worlds fastest-growing major economy. Yet Asias history with coordination is spotty. Japan and South Korea cant put aside anger over World War II long enough to share intelligence on North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) engages in meaningless summits and proved out of its depth when global markets crashed in 2008. One enduring feature is distrust. Aseans 10 members covet sovereignty more than the European Union and have vastly different takes on financial openness, press freedom and human rights. Cooperation is often in short supply as one nation undercuts another for short-term gain. Bilateral trade agreements have proven easier to negotiate than regional ones. If people are already looking at Asean integration with caution, they will take the Mekong subregion with even more skepticism, says Tai Hui, the Singapore-based head of Southeast Asian research at Standard Chartered. Europes debt crisis will test Asia as rarely before. The good news, says Xaypaseuth Phomsoupha, general director of Laoss Ministry of Energy and Mines, is that the Mekong region is more insulated from global turmoil. The bad news, he says, is that more trouble overseas will leave less money for development projects at home. How Asia copes with Europes coming meltdown will say much about its ability to increase growth, create jobs and raise living standards. That goes, too, for Chinas ability to play the role of growth engine. Yet China is a controversial player in the Mekong region. Even as governments woo Asias biggest economy, they seethe over the huge Chinese dam projects that are reducing flows downstream. These have led to water shortages, depletion of soil nutrients, reduced food production and trouble for fisheries and ecosystems. Another flashpoint is the South China Sea. The drilling plans of China National Offshore Oil Corp. have enraged the Vietnamese. China has repeatedly shown a willingness to provoke conflicts in disputed waters, as it has with the Philippines and Japan. If one of these spins out of control it would cost China dearly by driving Asian governments to seek more support from Washington. For Clinton and U.S. President Barack Obama, the Mekong region is a microcosm of China-U.S. relations. Obamas so-called pivot to Asia has unnerved officials in Beijing, who almost see the Mekong region as their birthright. Access to natural resources is almost secondary. The bigger issue is who holds sway over Asia a decade from now. The creative tension emanating from U.S. and Chinese engagement has its benefits. As both jockey for advantage, the Mekong nations can play one off against the other and seek investment, security assurances and free-trade agreements. Yet theres ample scope for things to go awry. For all the challenges, Myanmars rebirth is a fresh start for the Mekong region. The process wont be smooth and it wont necessarily go as planned. But when a promising economic area with an American-size population joins hands, potential can only grow. http://koreajoongangdaily.joinsmsn.com/news/article/Article.aspx?aid=2955816 --------------------------------------- Radio Australia Jackie Chan highlights Burma child trafficking Posted 8 July 2012, 20:12 AEST According to the US State Department, thousands of children in Burma are forced to serve in the national army and ethnic military groups. Last week, Burma signed an agreement with the United Nations to ban the recruitment of child soldiers and demobilise those already serving. During his trip, Chan spoke with a number of Burmese children who had been trafficked. He says they made clear the importance of protecting children around the region. "Every trip I go - Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar - the most important message is love, harmony, united. Care about children because children is our future. (It's) all about children, because children is every country's future," he said. Chan, who has established 27 schools in China, says trafficking is a global problem. "This kind of trafficking thing is not only in Myanmar but also around the world," he said. Chan has been a goodwill ambassador for UNICEF (the UN Children's Fund) since 2004. http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/international/2012-07-08/jackie-chan-highlights-burma-child-trafficking/975884 --------------------------------------- The Washington Post In Burma, many fear completion of stalled dam Sunday, July 8, 8:54 PM TANG HPRE, Burma Father Thomas Gum Rai Aung points to a spot in the emerald hills that flank his village to show how high the floodwaters will rise if a dam project nearby is completed. Everything weve built here will be gone in an instant, he said, with a sweep of his arm. For now, the project is on hold. But Rai Aung has already lost his flock. Greg Jaffe and Nikki Kahn 6:05 AM ET Since her husband died in Afghanistan in 2009, Lisa Halletts grief has left her stuck, but it also propels her in her running and her efforts to ensure John is remembered. It feels like it couldnt be any hotter than it is in D.C., but believe it or not, there are worse places to be. Two years ago, Burmese authorities began forcibly relocating thousands of ethnic Kachin to clear the way for the hydroelectric dam. The Chinese-financed initiative was approved on the grounds that electricity and revenues it generated would improve livelihoods in an isolated region with poor infrastructure and few economic prospects. Construction was halted last year after a public backlash over the dams social and environmental impact. But activists now worry that Chinese leverage with state officials will succeed in restarting the project, threatening a fragile ecosystem and fledging chances for a peace settlement with an ethnic rebel group that says the dam violates native rights on territory that historically belonged to them. The Myitsone dam, a joint venture with the state-owned China Power Investment Corp., is the first and largest of seven planned along the Irrawaddy River, Burmas most vital waterway. Slated for completion in 2019, the dam would send 90 percent of electricity generated from northern Kachin state across the border to Chinas southwestern Yunnan province in exchange for $17 billion over a 50-year period. Burmas state-run media initially reported that more than 2,100 people from five villages would be moved to model villages and given new houses equipped with running water and electricity. On a Web site launched as part of a public relations campaign, the Chinese company says it has so far invested $25 million in the resettlement while fully respecting the desires of the project-affected people. Critics dispute these claims. In an August letter to the government, Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi said 12,000 ethnic Kachin from more than 60 villages have been divorced from their homes and traditional way of life. She warned that the Myitsone project poses serious environmental risks, made worse by nearby fault lines that raise the specter of horrendous devastation in the event of an earthquake. President Thein Seins decision to suspend the project was seen as a blow to China, the former military regimes main patron, and a sign that democracy might finally be taking hold in a land where opposition groups have had little room to breathe, let alone effect change. Analysts speculated that it might also be another signal of Burmas shift from Chinas orbit toward the West. In the months since, fast-track political and economic reforms have warmed Burmese relations with the United States and the European Union. In Kachin state, however, Burmese generals have ignored the presidents calls to end hostilities that have intensified since the army attacked territory controlled by the rebel Kachin Independence Army near contested dam sites on the Taping River. According to a March report by Human Rights Watch, both sides acknowledge that the fighting is partly about such projects. http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/in-burma-many-fear-completion-of-stalled-dam/2012/07/07/gJQAtIJzVW_story.html?wprss=rss_world --------------------------------------- Myanmar invites foreign firms to upgrade Yangon airport July 8, 2012 3:53 pm Yangon - Myanmar has invited foreign firms to participate in upgrading Yangon International Airport to handle an extra million arrivals by next year, reports said Sunday. The Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) will soon invite both localand foreign investors to help upgrade Yangon Airports capacity from2.7 million passengers per year at present to 3.7 million by early 2013, the departments assistant director general Nwe Ni Win Kyaw told the Myanmar Times. Myanmar, whose recent political and economic reforms have been welcomed by the West and Asian neighbours, will host the South-East Asian Games in 2013 and its first summit of the Association of South-East Asian Nations in 2014.//DPA http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/Myanmar-invites-foreign-firms-to-upgrade-Yangon-ai-30185719.html ----------------------------------------- Asian Correspondent AIPMC urges Burma to release student leaders immediately By Zin Linn Jul 07, 2012 10:08PM UTC Although the President of Burma has repeatedly said that the country is on the right track of reform path, more than 20 student-activists were recently detained in Burma. It happened ahead of an intended commemoration ceremony of the 50th anniversary of the 7th July brutal military onslaught on Rangoon University students. Concerning the recent arrests of students, The ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Myanmar Caucus (AIPMC) today called on the government of the Union of Myanmar (Burma) to immediately release student leaders detained in Mandalay, Yangon and other cities. AIPMC also urges the regime ensuring basic freedom of the citizens. The statement says students and civil society groups must have the freedom of assembly and freedom to exercise their democratic rights. According to the press release, AIPMC is in Burma on a fact-finding visit to assess the current reform process. The student leaders were apparently in custody ahead of plans to hold events to commemorate the bombing of the Student Union building of Rangoon University in 1962. The 7 July crackdown was led by the late General Ne Win after he seized the power on 2 March of 1962. He initiated decades of military rule and oppression in Burma. Vice President of AIPMC and Cambodian Member of Parliament, Son Chhay said, We are extremely disappointed that this event occurred, especially so as it is during our trip to assess the often lauded reform process. This act of oppression has given us the impression that the old ways of practice are still in effect despite all the positivity for change that we have been hearing. Son Chhay said that the latest arrests of the students were unacceptable. If the government of Burma wants to impress the international community, it should not be a repressive country, and the Burmese government must act differently, he said. If they are even going to arrest people before any crime has taken place, this shows that they continue to use fear and intimidation to repress. This is one of the many things that we have learned over the past few days we have spent in this country. We will have to report to the international community and consider ourselves to determine the best way to proceed to help the people of Burma, Son Chhay highlighted his view on current negative steps of Burma. AIPMC expressed in its statement dated 7 July 2012 that fifteen young student leaders from the All Burma Federation of Student Unions (ABFSU) mostly in Yangon, Mandalay, Myinggyan and Lashio, have been under arrest by security forces. It was uncertain on what charges they were detained, AIPMC revealed in the press statement. AIPMC supports the 88 Generations calls for the immediate release of D Nyein Lin, Sithu Maung, Phyo Phyo Aung, Ye Myat Hein, and the other 11 student leaders known to have been in custody. The Asean Inter-Parliamentary Myanmar Caucus, or AIPMC, which comprises representatives from Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines and Cambodia, urged their governments to take the situation in the military influenced country seriously. ASEAN could otherwise lose its credibility. The AIPMC was originally formed by Malaysian legislators in May 2004. The current President of the AIPMC is Ms. Eva Kusuma Sundari, Member of the Indonesian Parliament. Mr. Kraisak Choonhavan, Member of the Thai Parliament, has been serving as Vice-President of the AIPMC as well as chair of the Thai national AIPMC caucus. Besides, Ms. Agung Putri Astrid has taken responsibility as Executive Director of the AIPMC. She was formerly Executive Director of the Indonesian Institute for Policy Research and Advocacy, Elsam. The grouping of ASEAN Legislators has repeatedly called for the unconditional release of almost political prisoners in Burma. http://asiancorrespondent.com/85515/aipmc-urges-burma-to-release-student-leaders-immediately/

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News & Articles on Burma-Friday, 29 June 20120-uzl

News & Articles on Burma Friday, 29 June 2012 ----------------------------------------- SSA sends protest letter after 24th clash Burma signs pact with UN to ban child soldiers Burma begins media reform, warns journalists to obey the law In Burma, civil war grinds on far from capital it is not Burma, Suu Kyi told High Kyat Killing Business, Say Burmas Exporters Burma tells Aung San Suu Kyi 'call us Myanmar' Myanmar Warns Aung San Suu Kyi: Stop Calling the Country Burma ISIS To Organise Myanmar Roundtable 2012 UN says Myanmar has detained 12 aid workers on unclear charges Myanmar tells Suu Kyi to stop calling nation Burma Myanmar reprimands Suu Kyi for calling country 'Burma' Minister calls for Panglong type conference -------------------------------------------- SSA sends protest letter after 24th clash Friday, 29 June 2012 14:07 S.H.A.N. The Shan State Army (SSA) South sent a letter of protest to Gen Soe Win, Deputy Supreme Commander and Commander of the Burma Army, yesterday following a clash which took place in Laikha, Shan State South, on Wednesday, 27 June. An SSA patrol was attacked by Burma Army patrol from Infantry Battalion 64, based in Laikha, near Mark Khi Nu mountain, Wan Yerng tract, Laikha township, according to the letter. This latest clash marks the 24th military confrontations between the two sides since the ceasefire agreement was signed on 2 December 2011, and the 7th since Gen Soe Win first attended the negotiations on 19 May. Lt. Gen. Yawdserk, left, leader of Shan State Army (SSA), and Gen. Soe Win, chief of Myanmar government negotiation group, shake hands during their meeting in Kengtung, eastern Shan State, Myanmar, Saturday, May 19, 2012. It was second round of peace talks between the government and Shan rebels. Photo: Khin Maung Win / AP The letter, dated 28 June 2012, and signed by the SSAs chief liaison officer Brig-Gen Sai Lu, said. The clashes are taking a terrible toll on the trust-building process. So far, there is no response from Gen Soe Win. The 6 previous clashes, as reported by SHAN, were: 23 May 2012 Pongpakhem, Mongton township, where the Burma Army was in search of a deserter 2 June 2012 SSA unit assigned to jointly conduct survey with the Burma Army in Monghta shelled by the Burma Army 16 June 2012 Infantry Battalions (IBs) 225 and 65 attack SSA base in Pongpakhem, Mongton township 17 June 2012 Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) 515 attacks SSA base in Ook Look, Namhsan township 19 June 2012 IB 249 patrol ran into SSA patrol near Na Lawn village, Pang Poi tract, Mongkeung township, due to non-advance notification as agreed earlier 19 June 2012 LIB 575 column attacking SSA at Hsaikhao, Kunhing township On the other hand, the Restoration Council of Shan State / Shan State Army (RCSS/SSA), as the SSA South is officially known, has been allowed to hold public consultations on current political, military, social and economic situation by Naypyitaw. It was also been discussing with state level Central Committee for Drug Abuse Control (CCDAC), Burmas answer to the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and Thailands Office of Narcotics Control Board (ONCB). Both sides so far have agreed that cooperation from all state agencies, especially the military, is necessary, if a meaningful result is to be achieved on the drug front. http://www.english.panglong.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4761:ssa-sends-protest-letter-after-24th-clash&catid=86:war&Itemid=284 --------------------------------------------- Burma signs pact with UN to ban child soldiers By AP News Jun 29, 2012 10:49AM UTC YANGON, Burma (AP) Burma has signed an agreement with the United Nations to ban the recruitment of child soldiers and demobilize those already serving. Burma child soldiers A young female recruit of the Kachin Independence Army in Burma. Pic: AP. The Southeast Asian nation is one of about two dozen countries worldwide found by the U.N. to violate international law on the rights of children in armed conflicts. The U.N. office in Yangon said in a press release Thursday that the agreement was the result of years of negotiations with a task force on child soldiers comprising U.N. agencies along with the private groups World Vision and Save the Children. Task force co-chairman Ramesh Shrestha of UNICEF said at Wednesdays signing that supporting the demobilized youth with education and jobs is a key task. The U.N. says seven ethnic guerrilla armies in Burma also use child soldiers. http://asiancorrespondent.com/85081/burma-signs-pact-with-un-to-ban-child-soldiers/ ------------------------------------------ Asian Correspondent Burma begins media reform, warns journalists to obey the law By Zin Linn Jun 29, 2012 2:09AM UTC A paper-reading session on form and content reform of State-owned newspapers was organized by News and Periodicals Enterprise of the Ministry of Information in Naypyitaw on Wednesday, the state-run New Light of Myanmar said Thursday. The Minister for Information and Culture Kyaw Hsan delivered a speech at the opening session. In his speech, Kyaw Hsan said the new government is committed to democracy based on the constitution. The Information Ministry has been working towards reform of the media sector in line with the constitution since 2008, when the constitution was ratified, the minister said. The reforms started in 2011 and now private media has the right to publish, he said. Previously, the state media under the control of the ministry of information mainly informed the policies and stances, implementation and limited information of the government to the public. It barely published public-based news and information, wishes, feedback and arguments of the people, Kyaw Hsan said. The paper-reading session is aimed at further reforming the State media, in other words, seeking ways and means to transform the form and content of State media to that of public service media. According to Kyaw Hsan, public media must be transformed to meet three objectives to inform of the policies, stances and implementation of the government; to publish the opinions, wishes, aspirations and feedback of the people in response to the actions of the government and departments; and to make constructive criticism with regard to actions of the government and departments. In building the future democratic nation, the press, the Fourth Estate of the State must monitor the legislative, executive and judicial pillars in order that the very essence of democracy can be practiced correctly. In addition, it must inform and educate the people, the fifth pillar of the State. To accomplish these duties, the Fourth Estate must be proficient and genuine, he emphasized. The minister also added that after having freedom of expression, journalists must stick to journalistic codes of ethics, and existing laws. Freedom must be practiced with observance of the codes of ethics, rationality and awareness, he advised the journalists. It is true that there have been some positive changes recently i.e. journals can publish Aung San Suu Kyi and her fathers pictures; some former restricted topics are now allowed; and some journals are allowed to publish prior to censorship. However, the Press Scrutiny and Registration Division (PSRD) and Burmas Censorship Office are still powerful and active. Corruption, civil war, sectarian riots, government mismanagement and several political topics cannot be reported on. Such reform does not represent a policy change. To initiate a real change in the media field, the government should totally get rid of the laws that suppress freedom of expression. However, the quasi-civilian government is reluctant to amend the laws such as the 1996 Television and Video Act, the 1996 Computer Science Development Act, the 2002 Wide Area Network Order and the 2004 Electronics Transactions Law. Journalists are under close scrutiny and often work undercover. The chief editor of Snap Shot News Journal has been charged under Section 505 (b) (c) of the Penal Code at Pazundaung Township Court, as reported by the Weekly Eleven News Journal. The Snap Shot News Journal carried a news report titled Who will take responsibility for the errant news reporting of State-owned newspapers or media? The most serious question is that the proposed draft media law, which will be discussed in July parliament sessions, merely focuses on the print media and therefore it is not enough. In the age of the Internet, it is necessary to amend the 1933 Burma Wireless Telegraphy Act, the 1996 Television and Video Act, the 1996 Computer Science Development Law, 2002 Wide Area Network Order and the 2004 Electronics Transactions Law that threaten the journalists as ever. Unless the government abandons those oppressive laws, current reforms in media sector will be regarded as window dressing. http://asiancorrespondent.com/85071/burma-begins-media-reform-warning-journalists-to-obey-existing-laws/ ---------------------------------------- In Burma, civil war grinds on far from capital By Jason Motlagh, Updated: Friday, June 29, 6:00 PM LAIZA, Burma When Burmese mortar rounds crashed into his village last July, Magawng La Hkam hobbled into the bush with nothing but his wooden crutches. Confined to a displaced persons camp near the Chinese border ever since, the 68-year-old ethnic Kachin farmer said he yearns to return home but cant shake the memory of what he saw on that day: the mangled remains of a boy he passed as he fled. Voters in Tampico have their lives on the line in Mexicos presidential election. The vote, many citizens say, is the worst kind of choice, between candidates and parties they dont especially like or trust. Throughout history, some handshakes have become a symbol of peace and hope. Deep in the resource-rich hills of northern Burmas Kachin State, a civil war grinds on between government forces and Kachin rebels, calling into question the more conciliatory signals emanating from the country. Over the past year an estimated 75,000 civilians have been driven from their homes. Shifting front lines have pushed thousands more refugees into China, where aid is scarcely able to reach them. International rights groups accuse the Burmese army of deliberate attacks against civilians, torture, rape, forced conscription and summary executions. Both sides employ child soldiers and continue to seed the ground with land mines that have claimed combatants and civilians alike. The conflict, which reignited when a 17-year cease-fire collapsed last June, persists despite a political thaw in lowland southern Burma that has taken hardened observers by surprise. Since coming to power last year, the nominally civilian government has freed hundreds of prisoners, eased media censorship and reached agreements with other ethnic minority rebel groups in a wide-ranging push to open up the country. In remote Kachin, however, the fate of ancestral lands has been a sticking point for the mostly Christian Kachin rebels, who have a reputation for fearsome hit-and-run guerrilla tactics that date from World War II. The Kachins are one of more than 100 ethnic minorities in Burma, a strategic crossroads among China, India and Thailand. Western governments that for decades kept their distance from Burma have responded favorably to the general thaw. Following by-elections in April in which democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi was elected to parliament, the European Union suspended most of its sanctions. The United States, for its part, has removed barriers to investment and appointed its first ambassador in 22 years. Having traveled to Burma on an official visit in November, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton in May urged American businesses to invest in Burma, and do it responsibly, with the caveat that broader sanctions would remain in place for the time being to prevent backsliding. Foreign analysts say that enduring U.S. concerns over human rights abuses and ethnic conflicts are not lost on Burmese President Thein Sein, a former general, but that his calls for a military cease-fire in Kachin State are being ignored by current military leaders. Indeed, Burmese government forces have ramped up their offensive against the Kachin Independence Army, underscoring the limits of civilian authority and the vast wealth at stake in the hinterlands. Valuable turf Known as the Land of Blue and Gold, Kachins mountain jungles and river valleys abound with minerals, jade and timber. Kachin State also has massive hydropower projects that stand to benefit energy-starved China, which has invested billions in the region, at the expense of ethnic Kachin natives. http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/in-burma-civil-war-grinds-on-far-from-capital/2012/06/28/gJQAxBV7AW_story.html?wprss=rss_world ------------------------------------------ SA Time: Friday, June 29, 2012 3:53:05 PM it is not Burma, Suu Kyi told June 29 2012 at 11:50am AP Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi is seen as she takes part in a debate with French students at the Sorbonne University, in Paris. Myanmar's authorities have ordered opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi to stop calling the country Burma, state media reported on Friday, its colonial-era name widely used to defy the former junta. The old regime changed the country's official name two decades ago to Myanmar, saying the term Burma was a legacy of British colonialism and implied the ethnically diverse land belonged only to the Burman majority. Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy (NLD) party vigorously opposed the change, decrying it as a symbolic step by the generals towards creating a new country. Berating her for using the name Burma during landmark recent visits to Thailand and Europe, the Election Commission accused Suu Kyi and party members of flouting a constitution they have vowed to uphold. As it is prescribed in the constitution that 'The state shall be known as The Republic of the Union of Myanmar', no one has the right to call (the country) Burma, it said in a statement, published in state mouthpiece The New Light of Myanmar. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi called Myanmar 'Burma' in her speech to the World Economic Forum in Thailand on 1 June, 2012, it noted. Again, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi called Myanmar 'Burma' in her speeches during her Europe tour. Daw is a term of respect in Myanmar. Global leaders also face a dilemma of what to call the country, which is emerging from decades of army rule under the guidance of reform-minded Prime Minister Thein Sein. Britain's David Cameron calls it Burma while recent speeches by US President Barack Obama also referred to its colonial name. But his Secretary of State Hillary Clinton chose a more diplomatic path on a trip to the nation in December, employing the term Burma but saying it sparingly, generally preferring to dodge controversy by saying this country. - AFP http://www.iol.co.za/news/world/it-is-not-burma-suu-kyi-told-1.1330825#.T-2zQZG1kVA ------------------------------------------- High Kyat Killing Business, Say Burmas Exporters By MAY LAY / THE IRRAWADDY| June 29, 2012 | Burmese businesspeople exporting agricultural products and garments say that they cannot sell their goods at the current rate of exchange, even though it has increased recently from the float-rate of 818 kyat, which was introduced by the Burmese government on April 1 in an attempt to abolish the multiple exchange rate system that had existed in Burma for decades. According to Soe Tun, a central executive member of the Myanmar Rice Industry Association, in first week of June a group of leading businesspeople and exporters held a meeting in Rangoon, following which they released an open letter to President Thein Sein requesting government assistance in raising the exchange rate to 1,100 kyat to the dollar. We have sent a statement to our president, said Soe Tun. We requested that the exchange rate be fixed at 1,100 kyat to the dollar. If that is not possible, we would like to see it at around 1,000 kyat. That would be better than nothing. We cannot survive at this rate any longer. He said that Burma could not compete with other rice-exporting nations unless the rate was adjusted. Burma is the third largest rice exporter in Asia after Thailand and Vietnam. Speaking to The Irrawaddy on Friday, a garment factory owner who employs nearly 2,000 workers in Hlaing Tharyar in Rangoon Division, said, Following the mass strikes and protests earlier this year, we have had to raise laborers wages. If the exchange rate remains the same, we will not be in business in three months time. There are 293 factories in the garment industry alone in Burma, employing no less than 100,000 workers, mostly women. Several Rangoon businessmen have blamed the inflated exchange rate on the Central Banks decision to issue 10,000-kyat bank notes, saying their introduction had caused immediate inflation. Consequently, the impact of inflation caused panic-buying of the US dollar on the black market. The exchange rate peaked at 890 kyat on June 27, its highest value this year. It began the month of June at 835 to the dollar. http://www.irrawaddy.org/archives/8041 ------------------------------------------- 29 June 2012 Last updated at 12:13 GMT Burma tells Aung San Suu Kyi 'call us Myanmar' Burmese officials have told opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi to call the country by its official name, Myanmar. The country was renamed Myanmar in 1989 by its then military rulers and the change has been widely adopted since. But opposition groups have continued to use the old name as a sign of defiance, along with some Western governments and media organisations. Ms Suu Kyi was freed from arrest in 2010 and elected to parliament this year amid continuing political reforms. She is set to return from a high-profile trip to Europe, during which she referred to her country as Burma. She also used the term Burma during a speech to the World Economic Forum in Thailand on 1 June, apparently annoying her country's military-backed civilian government. Correspondents say the authorities may be trying assert themselves after Ms Suu Kyi, who leads the National League for Democracy (NLD), was feted throughout her European tour. In a statement published in The New Light of Myanmar newspaper, the electoral commission said: "As it is prescribed in the constitution that 'the state shall be known as The Republic of the Union of Myanmar', no one has the right to call [the country] Burma. "It is announced that the commission... has again informed the NLD to write/address the name of the state as prescribed in the constitution... and respect the constitution." NLD party spokesman Nyan Win responded by saying that referring to the country as Burma "does not amount to disrespecting the constitution". The then ruling military chose to rename Burma two decades ago, arguing that the old name was a hangover from colonialism and only represented the dominant Burman ethnic group. Etymologists and others suggest that this argument is false, as both Myanmar and Burma come from the same root - referring to the Burman ethnic group - and have been used interchangeably for centuries. The US and UK governments still use Burma to refer to the country, as do some media organisations, including the BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-18643715 ------------------------------------------ Myanmar Warns Aung San Suu Kyi: Stop Calling the Country Burma Myanmar delivers strong warning to opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi to refrain from name seen as legacy of British colonial rule By Anissa Haddadi: June 29, 2012 11:52 AM GMT Nobel Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi continues to be as controversial as ever despite recently embracing reforms announced by the government of Myanmar. After years of being unable to leave the country, the pro-democracy leader has just ended a European tour, which has led the Myanmar election commission to warn her to stop referring to the country as Burma, according to the state-run newspaper New Light of Myanmar. The commission, which supervises the electoral process and laws dealing with political parties, is insisting that Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy Party must "respect the constitution" and use the country's proper name, instead of a term that is a legacy of British colonialism. The country's former military rulers changed the Southeast Asian nation's official name Burma to Mynamar in 1989, but activists and exile groups persist in referring to it as Burma as a sign of defiance. The Burmese language uses both terms in different contexts. Myanmar is reserved for formal occasions, while Bamar is used colloquially. English and other languages, such as French, German and Japanese, continue to refer to the country as Burma, which connotes Burman, the dominant ethnic group in the country, to the exclusion of its numerous ethnic minorities. Suu Kyi, 67, became a member of Burma's parliament after her party won dozens of seats in a sweeping victory in the country's by-elections in April. She spent 15 of the last 24 years under house arrest and is the country's most prominent and popular opposition figure. The country's president, Thein Sein, recently pledged to introduce a second phase of reforms, following decades of rule by an authoritarian military junta. Hopes for change were bolstered in May when Suu Kyi and her opposition colleagues were sworn into office. Suu Kyi's party spokesman Nyan Win dismissed the election commission's complaint. "Referring to the country as Burma does not amount to disrespecting the constitution," he told AP. To report problems or to leave feedback about this article, e-mail: a.haddadi@ibtimes.co.uk To contact the editor, e-mail: editor@ibtimes.co.uk Read more: http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/articles/357849/20120629/myanmar-warns-aung-san-suu-kyi-stop.htm#ixzz1zBovbmeq ----------------------------------------- June 29, 2012 19:26 PM ISIS To Organise Myanmar Roundtable 2012 KUALA LUMPUR, June 29 (Bernama) -- The Institute of Strategic and International Studies (ISIS) Malaysia will organise the Myanmar Roundtable 2012 on July 9 here. The event, under the theme, "Understanding the Changes, Realising the Opportunities", aims to highlight recent political, economic and business developments in the "Golden Land", said ISIS. It will discuss the current trends and future directions as well as challenges in Myanmar, the Institute said in a statement today. A total of 150 participants, comprising corporate executives, government officials and Myanmar watchers, are expected to join the roundtable. "We believe the roundtable can offer excellent networking opportunities and engagement due to its high-level speakers and participants," said ISIS. -- BERNAMA http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v6/newsbusiness.php?id=676948 ---------------------------------------- UN says Myanmar has detained 12 aid workers on unclear charges Published Friday, Jun. 29, 2012 8:33AM EDT GENEVA -- Myanmar has detained a dozen aid workers working for international organizations in the past month, with just one of them being released, a spokesman for the U.N. refugee agency said Friday. Adrian Edwards said four Myanmar nationals working for the agency were arrested in June in areas of the country where there has been civil unrest, and three are still being held. Two workers from the World Food Program and six from a non-U.N. group, Doctors Without Borders, had also been detained in several locations around Myanmar, and were still to be released, he added. Edwards said that some of the detentions occurred in Rakhine state, an area of western Myanmar where a state of emergency was declared in June after ethnic clashes took place between Rohingyas and Rakhine Buddhists. The workers had been providing food, medical assistance and other help to displaced people. He said the exact grounds on which they are being held remains unclear, and U.N. officials are seeking access to them. Edwards told reporters in Geneva on Friday that discussions to free the staff are in "a delicate situation." World Food Program spokeswoman Elisabeth Byrs said the U.N. resident co-ordinator Ashok Nigam, the top U.N. official in Myanmar, has reported to the Myanmar government that some U.N. staff members were detained for questioning by authorities in Rakhine state, and the U.N. is still trying to get access to these staff members. She said the U.N. has decided not to release more information about the situation "out of concern for the privacy of its staff." The refugee agency, meanwhile, says it has sent additional staff to Rakhine, where Myanmar authorities say more than 52,000 people have been displaced during riots. In a statement Friday, the agency says it has been assessing the needs of people in 30 different places, and handed out blankets, temporary shelter, cooking sets and mosquito nets to 5,000 people. Read more: http://www.ctvnews.ca/world/un-says-myanmar-has-detained-12-aid-workers-on-unclear-charges-1.859055#ixzz1zBmueNm8 ---------------------------------------------- Myanmar tells Suu Kyi to stop calling nation Burma June 29, 2012 12:10 PM Agence France Presse YANGON: Myanmar's authorities have ordered opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi to stop calling the country "Burma", state media reported Friday, its colonial-era name widely used to defy the former junta. The old regime changed the country's official name two decades ago to Myanmar, saying the term Burma was a legacy of British colonialism and implied the ethnically diverse land belonged only to the Burman majority. Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy (NLD) party vigorously opposed the change, decrying it as a symbolic step by the generals towards creating a new country. Berating her for using the name "Burma" during landmark recent visits to Thailand and Europe, the Election Commission accused Suu Kyi and party members of flouting a constitution they have vowed to uphold. "As it is prescribed in the constitution that 'The state shall be known as The Republic of the Union of Myanmar', no one has the right to call (the country) Burma," it said in a statement, published in state mouthpiece The New Light of Myanmar. "Daw Aung San Suu Kyi called Myanmar 'Burma' in her speech to the World Economic Forum in Thailand on 1 June, 2012," it noted. "Again, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi called Myanmar 'Burma' in her speeches during her Europe tour." "Daw" is a term of respect in Myanmar. Global leaders also face a dilemma of what to call the country, which is emerging from decades of army rule under the guidance of reform-minded Prime Minister Thein Sein. Britain's David Cameron calls it "Burma" while recent speeches by US President Barack Obama also referred to its colonial name. But his Secretary of State Hillary Clinton chose a more diplomatic path on a trip to the nation in December, employing the term Burma but saying it sparingly, generally preferring to dodge controversy by saying "this country." Read more: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/International/2012/Jun-29/178715-myanmar-tells-suu-kyi-to-stop-calling-nation-burma.ashx#ixzz1zBm5G3cC (The Daily Star :: Lebanon News :: http://www.dailystar.com.lb) ------------------------------------------- Myanmar reprimands Suu Kyi for calling country 'Burma' By ANI | ANI 2 hours 41 minutes ago Naypyidaw, June 29 (ANI): Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been warned to stop calling her country 'Burma'. According to the Daily Express, authorities in Myanmar told Suu Kyi to refer to the Southeast Asian nation by its official name 'Republic of the Union of Myanmar'. The country's former military rulers changed the name in English from Burma to Myanmar in 1989, as they said it better reflected the country's ethnic diversity. However, opponents and exile groups have continued calling the country as Burma as a sign of protest and defiance. Myanmar's election commission, which supervises laws dealing with political parties, issued the complaint in the state-run newspaper. The statement cited Suu Kyi's repeated reference to the country as Burma during her landmark trips in recent weeks to Thailand and Europe, and said she and her National League for Democracy Party must 'respect the constitution' and use the proper name.Suu Kyi's party spokesman Nyan Win said that the election commission's complaint was a non-issue. "Referring to the country as Burma does not amount to disrespecting the constitution," he said. In the official state language, the country and its people are both pronounced as Myanmar. (ANI) http://in.news.yahoo.com/myanmar-reprimands-suu-kyi-calling-country-burma-104557042.html -------------------------------------------- Minister calls for Panglong type conference Friday, 29 June 2012 18:12 Hinthani Sangkhlaburi (Mizzima) Aung Min, the vicechairman of the Union Peacemaking Working Committee, said the Burmese government would convene a conference similar to the Panglong Conference sometime before 2014. The minister mentioned the plan in a meeting with Burmese exiled groups in Mae Sot earlier this week. Burmese peacemaking team leader Minister Aung Min Photo: Mizzima Burmese peacemaking team leader Minister Aung Min Photo: Mizzima He said the government would try to start it before December 2012. The latest deadline would be 2014, said Dr. Naing Aung of the Forum for Democracy in Burma (FDB). In the conference, [the parties concerned] would discuss the issues where no agreement has not been reached in the second-level peace talks. He said Aung Min said the government would decide on issues where it exercised authority, and on other issues, the Parliament would decide. The Panglong Conference, held in February 1947, was an historic meeting that took place at Panglong in the Shan States in Burma between the Shan, Kachin and Chin ethnic minority leaders and Aung San, head of the interim Burmese government. The leaders unanimously decided to join the Union of Burma. The legacy of the conference represents issues of ethnic autonomy in self-government, respect for their cultures and other issues. On Tuesday, Burmese pro-democracy groups including the FDB met with the government peace delegation. The Minister said that the organizations representing Burmas 135 indigenous ethnic people, political parties, NGOs and representatives of all stratum of the society might be invited to attend the conference. He provide no details, and the concept of who would be represented was sketchy, according to people who attended the meeting. In the first stage, Aung Min said the conference would focus on cease-fire and peace issues, and after that take up other issues. They have not clearly answered our questions regarding the process. It needs to be all-inclusive in the political sense. To rebuild the country, all [parties] need to actively participate. In that way, a genuine country can be built, Naing Aung told Mizzima. A peace mediator, Nyo Ohn Myint, told Mizzima that that if both sides had mutual trust, the objective of such a conference could be achieved. Now, its still in a state in which both sides are discussing their basic viewpoints and attitudes establishing mutual trust is very important. The procedures can be set by negotiating before the talks. But, if they dont have mutual trust, negotiations will not be fruitful, he said. Both sides acknowledged that preliminary discussions could present formidable obstacles even before calling such a conference. During their four-day visit to Thailand, the Burmese governments seven-member peace delegation met with 18 groups including pro-democracy groups, social organizations and womens organizations. On Thursday, the delegation returned to Burma. http://www.mizzima.com/news/regional/7424-minister-calls-for-panglong-type-conference.html

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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

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