BURMA RELATED NEWS - AUGUST 18, 2011

Myanmar's president says country facing hardship
AP – 7 hrs ago

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) — Myanmar's president says the strengthening local currency is hurting the economy and garment factories face closure if the U.S. dollar continues to weaken.

The dollar has fallen from 800 kyat to 750 kyat, dealing a blow to Myanmar's exporters, President Thein Sein said in a speech given Wednesday to economists, businessmen and local aid organizations in the capital Naypyitaw.

Farmers and garment factories have been the hardest hit with some factories in the industry that employs thousands facing closure, he said in the speech, which was published in state-run newspapers Thursday.

It was the first time the president publicly acknowledged that the country, which is run by a military-dominated government, faces economic hardship. Average income per person is one of the lowest in the world after years of state control of the economy and international sanctions.

Thein Sein said that to ease the problems, the government has removed export taxes on some items including rice, beans, corn, sesame, rubber, fish and other animal products.

Additional "ways and means are being sought to ease the crises," he said.

A new government took power from a military junta last March after elections that were widely condemned abroad as rigged to ensure Myanmar's generals retained their hold over the country. It has embarked on economic reform and slightly eased its hardline stance against opponents.

Thein Sein said the government invites people and organizations with different views to "work with us for common goals in the national interests." He said the government will also consider Myanmar citizens living abroad who want to return.

The government has invited pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who was released from house arrest last November, to an economic development forum scheduled for Aug. 19-21 in Naypyitaw.

Suu Kyi's spokesman Nyan Win told The Associated Press they have not decided if Suu Kyi will attend.

In another conciliatory gesture, three state-run newspapers stopped running slogans blasting the foreign media on their back pages this week.
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Myanmar invites armed ethnic groups to peace talks
AP – 1 hr 1 min ago

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) — Myanmar's state-run media say the government has officially invited armed ethnic groups to join peace talks for the first time.

They say the government announced Thursday that it will form a body to deal with ethnic groups that want to hold peace negotiations. It said ethnic groups should contact their regional governments to arrange talks.

Clashes have broken out in Kachin, Karen, Shan and Mon states since March, when a military-dominated government elected in November took power.

The worst fighting erupted in Kachin state in June when the army launched an offensive against rebels who opposed dams that would flood large areas.
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ABC Radio Australia - Burma's diaspora cautious about regime's invitation to return
Updated August 18, 2011 21:51:32

Members of the Burmese diaspora have responded cautiously to President Thein Sein's invitation to return home.

Addressing local business leaders in the capital, Napyidaw, President Thein Sein said his government would consider granting what he called "leniency" to returnees .. provided they were not guilty of crimes like murder.

The Thailand-based Irrawaddy Times said the offer was meant to reinforce the civilian government's message that it is in the process of political and economic reform.

One of those living in exile is Toe Zaw Latt, Thailand bureau chief of the Democratic Voice of Burma.

The DVB smuggled uncensored footage of protesting monks in Burma in 2007, and was the subject of the documentary film, Burma VJ.

Presenter: Sen Lam
Speaker: Toe Zaw Latt, Thailand bureau chief, Democratic Voice of Burma

Listen:
Windows Media(http://www.abc.net.au/ra/asiapac/stories/m2020937.asx)

LATT: There're no details spelt out, but it's an interesting offer for those who love Burma. What the President said was those who want to come back to Burma for the reconstruction or development, they're welcome.

So at this stage, there is no detail spelt out. This is a very general offer. Of course, usually, the President, they only do a kind of policy statement, but there is a lot of consequences and a lot of discussion and debate among exiled Burmese community. It is a significant offer for this new administration.

LAM: On a personal level, would you go back, Toe Zaw Latt?

LATT: Not at this stage, but it is a good sign.

It's just a speech, you know, without action, it means nothing. Since this new administration, there're lots of promises, that we've been carefully following, and most of their words are not met with action yet. This same President, he mentioned good governance, or clean governance, or poverty reduction, but we don't see any significant improvement yet. So we have to wait and see, when they actually take action. So this is very early for me to comment that I will go back personally.

LAM: And even if the civilian government were to be sincere in this offer, do you think President Thein Sein's invitation has military approval - do you think the military's on board on this issue?

LATT: I doubt it, because this is the President's office. Burma's run by a kind of Committee - called the National Defence and Security Committee. It comprises eleven persons, including the President, Vice President, and also there is an army commander-in-chief.

So most of the policy initiative is done not by the President alone. Most of the sensitive issues, especially national security issues, the decision-making is done by this National Defence and Security Council. So I think although may be President Thein Sein is a "softliner" or sincere, may be we have to wait and see.

LAM: If the government is sincere, then this is a very meaningful form of national reconciliation, isn't it?

LATT: Of course. This is at least, for the sake of reconciliation, this is a good beginning, if it is sincere.

LAM: And are there signs that the civilian government is ready to free the thousands of political prisoners, because this scheme won't work, if there're still political prisoners languishing in Burmese jails?

LATT: Oh, this is another point, you know. Alot of people have critiicised, instead of calling back Burmese in exile, first there should be a freeing of those political prisoners - around two thousand political prisoners inside Burma. That would be a more sincere effort, may be a force for political reconciliation, instead of just calling the exiles first. The process should be freeing those political prisoners first, then offer those in exile, and then we can work on the reconciliation process.

This President's new government seems to be very busy.

Tomorrow (Friday) there's another economic reform forum to be held in Napyidaw. They've also invited (pro-Democracy leader) Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and a few exiled technocrats, Burmese in exile, who know about economics. So we have to wait and see tomorrow, the meeting in Napyidaw too.

LAM: Are there any plans, for people like yourself and the Burmese diaspora - any plans for talks or discussions with the civilian government, to get more details on this scheme, and indeed, to test the waters, to see how sincere the government is?

LATT: Of course, we will try to clarify what does this really mean. Of course, members of the diaspora want to go back for the reconstruction of the country, if they can make it. This is not only me, but also quite a lot of diaspora community desire, to go back and take part in the reconstruction of their country, the economic and social reforms.

I think many exiles will find the way to scrutinise and clarify, what is the motive and are they really sincere, about political and social reconciliation. So we will continue to clarify and scrutinise this offer.
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ABC Radio Australia - Burmese refugees winners in Australia's people swap deal
Updated August 18, 2011 21:52:02

The Australian government is under increasing pressure over its asylum seeker policies.

A High Court challenge is preventing it from going ahead with plans to send boat arrivals to Malaysia, .and the Australia's doctors' association have become the latest group to voice criticism of the policy of mandatory detention.

But at the Malaysian end of that deal, there are already winners; the mostly Burmese refugees who have been stranded in that country, many for years.

Correspondent:Mary Gearin
Speakers: Biak Zel Kheng Lawt and his wife Ngun Tha, refugees from Burma; Peter Dekker, of Christian-based group Urban Neighbours of Hope; Mus Mi, former refugee

Listen:
Windows Media(http://www.abc.net.au/ra/asiapac/stories/m2020933.asx)

MARY GEARIN, REPORTER: This is the life Biak Zel Kheng Lawt and his wife Ngun Tha were praying for as they tried to make a life as refugees in Malaysia.

BIAK ZEL KHENG LAWT, BURMESE REFUGEE (voiceover translation): It's very nice and the people who come here are well taken care of.

MARY GEARIN: Their journeys began separately back in the turmoil that faces the Chin ethnic minority in Burma. Biak Kheng Lawt is one of nine children, but his family has been torn apart.

BIAK ZEL KHENG LAWT (voiceover translation): My father fled away from home to avoid arrest by the regime, the Army, and we were ordered - the remaining family were ordered by the Army to bring forward my father, otherwise we'd get arrested. So I fled with my younger sister to Malaysia.

MARY GEARIN: Ngun Tha was brought up by her grandmother. Her mother died when she was young and she doesn't know where her father is. She says three years ago she was coerced into working for the Burmese Army.

NGUN THA LEN KHENG LAWT, BURMESE REFUGEE (voiceover translation): I was forced to be a porter, to carry their stuff, and I was told by them that I'll have to follow them permanently to transport their goods and their ammunition. While they were drinking, I fled. While they were drinking and drunk, I fled secretly.

MARY GEARIN: Separately, they made their way to Malaysia, where they met, and soon after came Robert, but it was never going to be a straightforward love story amid the chaos of life as illegal immigrants before gaining refugee status.

BIAK ZEL KHENG LAWT (voiceover translation): The main reason is housing. It's very hard to find a house and it's very expensive, especially with a labourer's income, where you have to work. And for people like us who came into Malaysia illegally without a passport, it's much harder. And from time to time, we get arrested on the street, where the police officers took away all our money.

MARY GEARIN: As the Government's been battling politically and legally to begin the expulsion of boat arrivals under the Malaysia agreement, the deals beneficiaries have been arriving and settling into Australian suburbs.

Over the last few years, Burma's supplied the largest percentage of refugees to Australia. Most of them are settled in Victoria in places like this, Springvale, in Melbourne's south-eastern suburbs. As the intake increases offer the next few years and the new arrivals are attracted to already-established Burmese areas, there'll be more challenges for resettlement support groups. They're already struggling to find affordable housing for the refugees who are here.

PETER DEKKER, URBAN NEIGHBOURS OF HOPE: There's a housing shortage across Melbourne, and, you know, here in Springvale, definitely that's the issue. So housing will be an issue and also getting enough volunteers to help with settlement work. Help them navigate even how to cross a road, how to deal with a ATM machine, how to visit Centrelink - all those sorts of things. The basic navigating life in Australia. I'm worried that there won't be enough people like that around to help out, yeah.

MARY GEARIN: Peter Dekker is part of the Christian-based group Urban Neighbours of Hope that's been helping Burmese refugees in Melbourne for 15 years. Right now, they're hoping to establish a refugee-owned and operated cafe with Mus Mi as its manager. He arrived in Australia four years ago after a decade in a camp on the Thai-Burma border and a childhood spent fleeing from violence.

MUS MI: Sometimes the Government and our people fight, they fought, and they burn, the village is gone. And come back, the building again, the house, and go to school again, and three or four months, run again. Just life, my life, all the like this.

PETER DEKKER: You hear some of the stories that my neighbours are dealing with and how every three months they're having to flee from the military, having family members stolen to become porters and forced to carry goods for the Army, forced to be human shields. So they definitely deserve to be in a country that's safe, in a country that can offer them a future.

MARY GEARIN: Mus Mi welcomes any deal to bring more Burmese into Australia. When it comes to the other side of the deal though, sending boat arrivals to Malaysia for processing, his feelings are mixed about the Government approach.

MUS MI: This is my suggest, they shouldn't come by boat because that's very dangerous, very dangerous. But I don't know their situation there, I don't know what their life there.

PETER DEKKER: I don't like the way that the Government is treating asylum seekers. They're not illegal. And to then snuffle them off to another country is unacceptable. And, I think if anything's illegal, it's that actual action. On the other hand, taking another 4,000 refugees from Malaysia where the situation is pretty grim there, you know, is a fantastic thing. I'd like to think that we could do both.

MARY GEARIN: Like many others, the Kheng Lawt's have been welcomed into the homes of other recently arrived refugees. While they were in what some have labelled the refugee queue, it's never as simple as that. Biak Kheng Lawt did pay people smugglers to get him through Thailand, but then only had to wait 15 months before being swept up in the Malaysia deal. While they don't understand the politics behind their arrival, Ngun Tha Kheng Lawt says she'd like to see all Chin refugees make it to Australia. Biak Kheng Lawt is still anxious about those he's left behind.

BIAK ZEL KHENG LAWT (voiceover translation): All I worry about is my father and my sister who live in Malaysia, and my father is old; he's 63 years old. On the other hand, I worry about my mum and my younger brothers and sister in Burma and hope they could join us here as soon as possible. Then we'd be very happy.
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Asian Correspondent - Facebook’s ‘mini-revolution’ gains momentum in Burma
By Jon Russell Aug 18, 2011 12:00PM UTC

Dedicated Burmese news and media site Mizzima has a fascinating article on Facebook’s “mini-revolution” in the country.

The last two years have seen Facebook grow to dominate the social media scene in numerous Southeast Asian countries (as this infographic from Burson Marsteller Asia demonstrates) with the social network fighting off local competition in markets like Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and more.

Comparatively little is known, or reported, of the social network in military-controlled Burma, with Facebook itself not listing the country (as Burma or Myanmar) in its measurement database, though the article estimates that approximately 80 per cent of Burma’s 500,000 internet users have an account. Of the remaining 20 per cent, the article believes there is interest but a combination of lack of access and understanding prevent more sign-ups.

Before we start heralding the revolution, Egypt or Syria style, it is worth recalling that just 1 per cent of the population in Burma are thought to have access to the internet.

Despite this limitation, Facebook has made its way into the political environment. Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) has a page on the social network (here) with more than 3,000 fans, while a separate page of Suu Kyi (here – though not run by her) has more than 380,000 fans – though presumably the local content of the NLD page attracts mainly Burmese users unlike its well known leader’s page.

But for everyday folk, what benefits does Facebook bring?

For those who are connected, Facebook serves a number of functions—dissemination of news, organizing activities, meeting friends, free advertisements for private businesses, and for the exchange of technology.

The connection to the world outside of Burma, and less restricted media, is a key factor:

Viewing and swapping news from home and abroad is one of the reasons for Facebook’s popularity. Exile media Web sites are blocked by the government and the law prohibits Internet cafes from logging into these sites—unless users get around this using a proxy site, the normal practice. But Facebook is open and so news gets passed around.

Like countless other countries, Facebook’s growing popularity is fuelled by games and keeping in touch with family overseas and sharing photos.

On the future of Facebook in Burma, the rise of mobile is cited as a key factor such is the scarcity of internet access, and an important provider of freer, less restricted usage in the country:

Facebook…is beginning to pop up on mobile phones. GSM phone subscribers could use the Internet on their mobiles starting from June 21. About 100,000 people applied for these GSM phones.

The article is an excellent read but I do disagree with the conclusion that “Zuckerberg of Facebook might not be impressed by the numbers in this country of 60 million”.

Far from just the numbers, I would imagine that given how complicated (and notoriously restricted) market that Burma is, Facebook’s progress and potential to develop increased communication both inside and outside of the country would excite Zuckerberg and Facebook just as much as hitting major milestones in the world’s key markets.

The internet is about improving communication and, though moving at a gradual speed, the internet and Facebook are making positive inroads in this tricky market.
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Asian Correspondent - False hope as Burma’s president says exiled citizens can return home
By Zin Linn Aug 18, 2011 12:07AM UTC

Burmese nationals who escaped the country subsequent to the well-known 1988 people’s uprising are allowed to return to their motherland, President Thein Sein said in a speech today.

Tens of thousands of Burmese who took part in the mass demonstrations and the following armed uprising have lived in exile since 1988, the majority in Thailand and the US.

Although there has been no specific ban on their return, no one believes the president’s welcoming words since he failed to release political prisoners in Burma and stop the ongoing war on the ethnic groups.

Thein Sein was quoted by The Voice journal as telling businessmen in Naypyidaw this afternoon that those “who committed a crime” would still be punished. The comments appeared on the journal’s Facebook page, according to Francis Wade of DVB.

There are roughly 2,000 political prisoners who have been under arrest and sentenced for having peacefully articulated their views orally, through partaking in peaceful demonstrations or in activities of political parties. Some of them are punished for having written about human rights or political issues in the country or for reading or possessing written materials judged illegal.

Business tycoon Khin Shwe, who runs the Zaygabar company and was in attendance at the meeting, told DVB that Thein Sein said all “minor offenses would be pardoned”.

In the president’s speech, the key point is for those persons out of the country to return to the motherland and work for the development of the nation.

Although Thein Sein is a president, he did not make a decree or declaration legally for a general amnesty through the state media. In this case, it is not adequate saying informally to return from exile in such a meeting. The concerning people may think his welcoming words as unofficial. Actually, there is no official statement issued by the president office.

In reality, most of the dissident persons and groups in exile are based on the different political opinions. But, according to president’s words, it seems just calling for businessmen and scholars.

He did not mention the political dissidents. So, president’s proposal for homecoming towards the Burmese abroad may be a premeditated scheme. He just calls on businessmen and scholars who agree to work under the 2008 constitution.

Those who return home will inevitably be subjected to a screening process. After arrival in Burma, they have to speak to local administrations in respective townships about their life in exile. That means the government will not guarantee the returnees’ individual freedom. They can put anyone into jail for any reason.

The bresident’s words only welcome persons who will support business development of the country. He did not welcome persons who will support Aung San Suu Kyi or any other opposition parties. His invitation to the Burmese citizens outside the country is just a cosmetic phrase without generosity.

In a word, if the president has sincere purpose, firstly, he should release political prisoners and secondly, declare a nationwide ceasefire to show evidence for meaningful political dialogue with all dissident groups. Thirdly, the president should announce a general amnesty in search of peace, stability and development for a prosperous Burma.
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World Wildlife Fund - Urgent action needed to avoid extinction of Mekong dolphins
WWF Posted on 17 August 2011

The critically endangered Irrawaddy dolphin population in the Mekong River numbers just 85, WWF research has revealed. Calf survival was found to be very low, leading researchers to conclude that the small population is declining and at high risk of extinction.

Irrawaddy dolphins (Orcaella brevirostris) inhabit a 190km stretch of the mainstream Mekong River between Kratie, Cambodia and Khone Falls on the border with Lao PDR.

According to Dr Li Lifeng, Director of WWF’s Freshwater Programme, the research is based on photographic identification of dolphins through individually unique features of their dorsal fins. “Most of the dolphins can be identified, and we use that information to estimate the population size.”

Although this population estimate is slightly higher than the previous estimate, the researchers were quick to note that the population had not increased over the last few years.

“With a larger dataset and recent analytical advances, previously unidentifiable dolphins which had few marks on their dorsal fins have been included,” Dr Li said.

However, surveys conducted from 2007 to 2010 show the population slowly declining.

“Evidence is strong that very few young animals survive to adulthood, as older dolphins die off and are not replaced,” Dr Li explained.

The population is ranked as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List​, the highest international threat ranking for endangered species, and Irrawaddy dolphins are fully protected under the highest level of Fishery Law in Cambodia and Lao PDR. Dolphins in the Mekong continue to be threatened by gill net entanglement and the causes of calf mortality remain unclear.

“This tiny population is at high risk by its small size alone. With the added pressures of gill net entanglement and high calf mortality we are really worried for the future of dolphins,” Dr Li said.

The research also indicates that the small population resident in the transboundary pool on the Cambodia – Lao PDR border may number as few as 7-8 individuals. This is the only area in Lao PDR where dolphins remain. WWF is working to coordinate transboundary management with government agencies and local communities in Cambodia and Lao PDR at this most critical dolphin site.

“Our best chance of saving this iconic species from extinction in the Mekong River is through joint conservation action,” Dr Li said. “WWF is committed to working with the Fisheries Administration, the Dolphin Commission, and communities all along the river to reverse the decline and ensure the survival of this beautiful species in the Mekong.”

WWF is asking the government of Cambodia to establish a clear legislative framework to protect dolphins in Cambodia. This should include the designation of dolphin conservation zones and should allow a ban or limit on the use of gillnets where needed. Doing so will require formalizing special legislation to protect dolphins or amendments to existing Fishery Law.

Mekong Dolphin Conservation in Cambodia

WWF is implementing the Cambodian Mekong Dolphin Conservation Project in collaboration with the Fisheries Administration and the Cambodian Rural Development Team. The project conducts research on the dolphin population and causes of mortality, environmental education, and alternative livelihood development for local communities in dolphin habitat areas.

Each year, the Cambodian Mekong Dolphin Conservation Project conducts at least two population surveys of Irrawaddy dolphins in the Mekong River. The current population estimate is based on 11 surveys from 2007-2010, usually conducted in March to May when dolphins congregate around deep pool areas in the low water.

The Irrawaddy dolphin is regarded as a sacred animal by both Khmer and Lao people, and is an important source of income and jobs for communities involved in dolphin-watching ecotourism initiatives.

Irrawaddy dolphins are found in coastal areas in South and Southeast Asia, and in 3 rivers, the Ayeyarwady (Myanmar), the Mahakam (Indonesian Borneo) and the Mekong. All riverine populations are red-listed by the IUCN as critically endangered, and the species in general is listed as vulnerable.
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Asia Sentinel - Asian Women and Politics: The Family Connection
Written by Barry Wain Thursday, 18 August 2011

The region is still sexist enough to stifle the rise of women on their own

In terms of advancing the participation of women in politics, the election of Yingluck Shinawatra as prime minister of Thailand is a highly qualified achievement.

Yingluck, of course, is Thailand’s first woman premier. It’s a particular distinction in what has been a male-dominated domain, given an extra hard edge by the regular intervention of a politicized military.

Unfortunately for the progression of women in Asian political life, she continues what has become almost a tradition in the region. The women who have risen to the top have all done so with family connections.

As nearly everybody who has ever heard the name Yingluck knows, she is the sister of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who lives in exile after being ousted in an army coup in 2006.

For a political neophyte who was almost unknown in Thailand a few months ago, Yingluck, 44, performed impressively on the campaign trail and during the process of her nomination by parliament, which was approved by the king last week.

As she settles into the job with her new cabinet, however, she faces an enormous challenge to her credibility. She is widely seen as a front for Thaksin, who is suspected of calling the shots from his home in Dubai.

Even if Yingluck manages to ride out the novelty of being an attractive female leader and persuades skeptics that she is both capable and her own person, she can never escape one reality. She would not have been there but for her family affiliation.

Sadly, that is the established route in Asia, pioneered in the Subcontinent when Sirimavo Bandaranaike in 1960 became the world’s first female prime minister. She served three terms as Sri Lanka’s premier after a monk killed her husband, Solomon, who had previously held the post. Later, their daughter was elected head of state.

Indira Gandhi, who served longer than any other female prime minister in the world, learned her politics at the side of her father, Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime minister of India. She won four terms, occupying the premier’s office for a total of 15 years before being assassinated.

When Benazir Bhutto became prime minister of Pakistan in 1988 at 35, she was the first woman elected to lead a Muslim state. She had been politicized by a thuggish military, which overthrew and hanged her father, Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, a decade earlier.

In neighbouring Bangladesh, two politically pedigreed women have fought each other and the military for the past couple of decades for the honour of leading the nation.

Khaleda Zia, widow of assassinated president and former army chief Ziaur Rahman, became the first female prime minister of Bangladesh in 1991. She later served a second, five-year term.

Her chief opponent, current Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, is the eldest of five children of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the founding father and first president of Bangladesh. It is also her second term.

Sheikh Hasina’s political destiny was set one fateful night in 1975, when disgruntled military officers staged a coup and killed her father, mother and three brothers. Abroad at the time, she lived in exile before returning home to resume her father’s career.

In Southeast Asia, women without exception have needed a famous man to lead them into political leadership.

Cory Aquino, who described herself as an “ordinary housewife”, was catapulted to the presidency of the Philippines after her politician husband, Ninoy, was murdered by Marcos regime henchmen.

In Myanmar, Aung San Suu Kyi carries not only the banner of democracy and opposition to military domination, but also the name of her father, assassinated independence hero General Aung San.

Indonesia’s Megawati Sukarnoputri and Gloria Arroyo of the Philippines followed their fathers – to be fair, after a considerable interval -- into the presidency.

Ms. Megawati faced opposition from male Islamic politicians to becoming president in 1999, after her party won the most seats in an election. One Islamic party chief declared it was inappropriate for a woman to lead Indonesia, despite breakthroughs in both Pakistan and Bangladesh.

She settled for the vice presidency, and was able to move up when the top post opened again in 2001, a reflection of slowing improving attitudes towards women assuming a larger political role.

In Yingluck’s case, she has been installed democratically as prime minister against the wishes of the military brass by an older bother with a two-year jail sentence for corruption hanging over his head.

Any attempt by Prime Minister Yingluck to allow Thaksin to return home early without serving time would expose her government to the same fate that befell his five years ago.
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InterAksyon - Report shows rise in world restrictions on religion
18-Aug-11, 6:14 PM | Jackie Frank, Reuters

Nearly a third of the world's population lives in countries where it is becoming more difficult to freely practice religion, a private U.S. research group reported recently.

The Pew Research Center's Forum on Religion and Public Life said government restrictions and public hostility involving religion grew in some of the most populous countries from mid-2006 to mid-2009.

"During the three-year period covered by the study, the extent of violence and abuse related to religion increased in more places than it decreased," according to the report "Rising Restrictions on Religion."

Only about one percent of the world lives in countries that saw more religious tolerance during those years, it said.

The Pew Center review of 198 countries found those deemed restrictive or hostile in the previous report were growing even more so, while the opposite was found for those with more religious tolerance.

A substantial rise in public hostility toward religious groups was seen in China, Nigeria, Thailand, Vietnam and Britain, while government restrictions rose substantially in Egypt and France.

The Pew Center looked at laws or other government policies aimed to ban particular faiths, limit preaching, give preference to particular religions or prohibit conversions. To measure hostility, it looked at sectarian violence, harassment over religious attire and other types of intimidation.

The countries most restrictive or hostile toward certain religions included India, Pakistan, Indonesia, Egypt, Iran, China, Myanmar, Russia, Turkey, Vietnam, Nigeria and Bangladesh -- although most of these did not show much change in the three years.

People were killed, physically abused, detained, imprisoned, displaced from their homes, or had their property destroyed for religious reasons by governments in 101 countries in the year ending mid-2009, compared to 91 a year earlier, the report said. Such violence rose in more countries than it declined over the three years.

Mob violence involving religion occurred in 52 countries as of mid-2009, compared to 38 a year earlier. Religious hatred or bias led to violence by private citizens groups in 142 countries, nearly three-quarters of the 198 included in the study, and about the same as of mid-2008.

"Religion-related terrorist groups were active in 74 countries," and violence was seen in half of these, in the year through mid-2009, the Pew Center said.

Christians and Muslims, the world's two largest religious groups, were harassed in the most countries. Other religions also saw harassment, but Jews, who make up less than one percent of the world's population, saw restrictions or harassment in 75 countries.

In five European countries -- Britain, Denmark, Russia, Sweden and Bulgaria -- religious tension focused on the rapidly growing Muslim population, but there was some rising anti-Semitism and antagonism toward minorities such as Jehovah's Witnesses.
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All Headline News
AHN - UN envoy to begin trip to Myanmar Sunday
Myanmar allows U.N. envoy to visit after more than a year
Source:(AHN) Reporter: AHN Staff
Location:Yangon, Myanmar Published:August 18, 2011 09:04 am EDT

More than a year after visiting the country, the U.N. special rapporteur on human rights, Tomas Ojea Quintana, has been allowed to return to Myanmar next week.

During his Aug. 21-25 trip, he is expected to meet ministers of defense and foreign affairs, and parliament members during a parliament visit.

This is the first time since February 2010 for him to visit the former military-ruled country. Last time, he could not meet opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi because of her house arrest. The government had subsequently rejected his requests to meet the pro-democracy leader. However, this time, the Argentine lawyer is planning to hold talks with the Nobel laureate.

Quintana has been an outspoken critic of Myanmar’s rulers. He had repeatedly claimed that the continued human rights violations in the country could warrant a U.N. inquiry.
However, the new civilian government has shown tentative signs of working in a more favorable light after March’s handover of power.
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Press TV - Offensives in Myanmar continue to displace tens of thousands of civilians
Thu Aug 18, 2011 9:8AM GMT
Preethi Nallu, Press TV, Chiang Mai

Several rounds of ceasefire negotiations have taken place between military representatives and rebel groups in Kachin State and Shan State over the past two months.

Yet offensives in these ethnic minority regions of Myanmar continue to displace tens of thousands of civilians.

The fighting in Kachin state marked the end of a 17 year ceasefire between the Myanmar military and the the Kachin Independence Army (KIA).

Fighting in Shan State resumed earlier this year in March ending a 22 year ceasefire between the military and Shan State Army - North (SSA-N). The conflict intensified over July when military troops seized the rebel group's headquarters.

According to the Shan groups 30,000 civilians who have been displaced by the fighting are in dire need of humanitarian help and protection.

Fresh clashes were reported in both regions on August 15th. The government claims that they have made a ceasefire offer to the Kachin Army and are awaiting a response. They remain confident about a positive outcome.

But ethnic groups explain that ceasefire negotiations are futile without a comprehensive agreement that includes all groups.

Over a 100 different ethnic minority groups constitute present day Myanmar and they have sought genuine autonomy since the creation of a Burmese state in1948. Due to lack of political resolution between the government and these groups, brutal ethnic wars have continued in varying intensities to this day.

Both women's groups that were interviewed claim that the high number of documented rape cases since start of fighting attest to the army's use of rape as a weapon of war.

The Kachin women's group documented 32 incidents of rape just over the month of July, purportedly carried out by Myanmar military soldiers, out of which 15 women were killed by the perpetrators. In many cases families of victims claimed they were forced to watch.
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Aug 19, 2011
SPEAKING FREELY
Asia Times Online - North Korea seeks rice deal
By Bruno de Paiva

Myanmar may be about to supply North Korea with rice, with a barter deal the most likely arrangement given the impoverished northeast Asian country's shortage of funds.

North Korean trade officials visited Myanmar last week to discuss a possible rice deal to ease major food shortages at home, Reuters reported, citing an unnamed government official in Yangon, the former capital of Myanmar.

Any deal involving the importation of Myanmar's rice to North Korea is a win-win for the two nations, both of whom are under sanctions that have helped increase their isolation over the past decade.

Although Myanmar remains a major food exporter - it has exported approximately 450,000 tonnes of grain in the first seven months of this year - its economy has long lagged behind those of its neighbors such as Thailand and India.

For North Korea, a rice importing deal with Myanmar would also be highly beneficial. While helping it to address food shortages related to a combination of poor government, severe drought and global sanctions, addition of Myanmar as a supplier will reduce North Korea's dependence on its major partner, China.

In 2002, when Hu Jintao became president of China, Chinese-North Korean trade totaled US$739 million. In 2010, trade between both nations totaled $3.5 billion, a near five-fold increase. China's trade with North Korea last year accounted for 83% of North Korea's $4.2 billion total international commerce, according to Bloomberg.

North Korea's increased reliability on China in recent years comes largely as a result of sanctions and increased global isolation in the wake of its nuclear tests. This has played very well into China’s hands as it desires a greater strategic foothold in North Korea. It has, however, drawn the ire of the North Korean government, whose juche (self-sufficiency) ideology has been shown to not work via the increasing reliance on China.

While a deal with any country apart from China would likely face scrutiny from the Chinese government, dealing with Myanmar is unlikely to lead to undue concern. Relations between China and Myanmar have themselves strengthened considerably over the past few years. China has built a deep-water port in Myanmar at Kyaukpyu on the Bay of Bengal coast and has aided in the construction of a naval base in Sittwe, also on the Bay of Bengal.

Two-way trade between China and Myanmar has surged over the past two years to $4.4 billion in 2010 from $2.6 billion in 2008, according to Chinese government data.

A likely concern over any conclusive North Korea-Myanmar rice deal is what Myanmar might receive in return for rice, with North Korea sharing its nuclear expertise one strong possibility.

North Korea and Myanmar resumed relations in 2007 after a 24-year freeze that came after a failed North Korean-led assassination attempt on Chun Doo-hwan, the then president of South Korea, during a visit to Myanmar.

A North Korean delegation visited Cambodia late last month to discuss a deal to import its rice, the Reuters report said. A Cambodian minister said North Korea had offered to provide agricultural machinery to Cambodia, suggesting a barter agreement may have been discussed, the report said.

Last month, the European Union said it will provide about $14.5 million in emergency aid to feed more than some 650,000 North Koreans.
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Pipelines International - Welding on Myanmar: China oil and gas pipeline commences
Wed, 17 August 2011

China National Petroleum Corporation held a commencement ceremony in Mandalay, Burma, marking the start of welding on the Myanmar section of the Myanmar – China oil and gas pipeline.

The Myanmar – China pipeline project involves the construction of oil and gas pipelines running between the two countries. The pipelines originate at Kyaukryu port on the west coast of Myanmar and enter China at Yunnan's border city of Ruili.

The natural gas pipeline will cover a total distance of 2,500 km, including 793 km in Myanmar and 1,727 km in China. It will have a design capacity of 10–13 Bcm/a of gas.

The crude oil pipeline will be approximately 2,402 km long, traversing 771 km in Myanmar and 1,631 km in Chinese territory, and will have a design capacity of 22 MMt/a of oil.

According to China National Petroleum Corporation, the pipeline will play an important role in relieving energy shortage and improving energy structure in south western China, as well as helping to secure a clean energy supply, promoting economic development and protecting the environment in the local area.
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08-17-2011
VOA News - Editorials: Building Civil Society In Burma

Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi recently made her first political trip outside Rangoon since being released from house arrest.

The United States has long encouraged the government of Burma to engage in a meaningful political dialogue with the Southeast Asian nation's democratic opposition and ethnic minorities. An open and respectful discussion of the issues facing the country and its people provide a means toward national reconciliation and a shared way forward.

It is thus that the U.S. takes note that Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi recently made her first political trip outside Rangoon since being released last fall from a lengthy house arrest. She met with supporters in two towns and comforted victims of recent flooding in the region. Despite concerns voiced in the state-controlled media that the trip could incite unrest, she was met by hundreds of peaceful supporters and the events came off without incident. She also participated in the opening of two libraries during her trip to Bago, valuable investments in education and an important contribution to the growth of civil society. In three speeches, Aung San Suu Kyi called for national unity and urged that the people's voice be heard in national affairs.

Beyond her trip, Aung San Suu Kyi also has met with the Minister of Labor and Social Welfare Aung Kyi.

Outreach by Aung San Suu Kyi and the National League for Democracy are an important part of civil society building in Burma. The United States supports such efforts and welcomes initiatives from all parts of Burmese society towards those ends. We continue to call on the Burmese government to ensure that all of its citizens are free to travel, express their views and participate fully in the nation's political activities.
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The Irrawaddy - Kachin Refugees Face Food Shortages
By SAW YAN NAING Thursday, August 18, 2011

Kachin State’s war refugees who are camped out at the Sino-Burmese border will soon suffer from food shortages if there is no further aid, and the government keeps blocking international aid agencies from supporting them, says two prominent Kachin NGOs.

“The refugees in Maija Yang have only enough food for 20 days,” said Mai Li Awng, a spokesperson for a local Kachin relief group called Wun Tawng Ningtwey (Light for Kachin People), on Wednesday. “We cannot ask the local people for more donations, because they have been supplying food to the refugees for two months already. We face a food shortage if we don’t get further aid.”

Mai Li Awng said there are about 4,000 refugees in Maija Yang. However, the total number of refugees at the Sino-Burmese border, including the city of Laiza, is estimated at nearly 20,000 by the Kachin Women's Association Thailand (KWAT).

More than 3,000 have taken refuge in the Kachin capital Myitkyina and the nearby town of Waimaw, according to a recent KWAT report.

Mai Li Awng said that the refugees dare not to go home as fighting still breaks out from time to time in their villages.

Nongovernmental organizations and relief agencies such as World Food Program and the International Committee for the Red Cross are prohibited from supplying aid to the Kachin refugees, said the KWAT report.

The fighting between government troops and the rebel Kachin Independence Army (KIA) flared on June 9. Despite ongoing ceasefire negotiations between the two sides, no truce has been announced. Atrocities and human rights abuses by the government army troops are driving increased numbers of villagers to flee to towns or border areas.

Those refugees in temporary camps along the Sino-Burmese border are surviving on donations of rice and occasional other food supplies from local communities, but a lack of proper food is starting to cause malnutrition among the children, said KWAT in its report.

Shirley Seng, a spokesperson for KWAT, said, “We urge international donors to push for access to the war-affected in Kachin State. They must not stand by while the regime blocks aid to those who desperately need it.”

The government stated in its press conference on Aug. 12 that local authorities had opened relief centers in Kachin towns for the refugees.

However, these refugees in fact are mostly sheltering in churches, where local communities are struggling to provide support, and international and local NGOs have been expressly forbidden to assist them, according to KWAT.

The report also blamed the government for blocking Rangoon-based NGOs’ and relief agencies’ support to Kachin refugees at the border.

At a press conference in Naypyidaw last Friday, Burma's Information Minister Kyaw Hsan accused the KIA and its political wing, the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), of destroying the 1994 ceasefire agreement between the government and the KIO. He also blamed an umbrella organization of armed ethnic groups, the United Nationalities Federation Council, saying that it was formed by insurgent groups such as the KIO.

In response, the KIO released a statement on Wednesday condemning the government for its accusations, and describing the government’s press conference as “propaganda.”
The KIO says it wants a nationwide ceasefire and political dialogue with the new government to establish a real federal union in Burma.
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The Irrawaddy - The Scorpions Are Back
By WAI MOE Thursday, August 18, 2011

More than a dozen members of the infamous Scorpion Gang—a group of young gangsters from Burma’s elite families who roamed the streets and nightclubs of Rangoon in the 1990s and early 2000s—were released from prison on Monday, according to family members.

A relative of a Scorpion Gang member told The Irrawaddy that 15 gang members, including their leader Yan Naing, were set free on Monday and reunited with their families.

“Good news, my brothermen will be out and about . 11 year of sentence, never gets worse. I hope they all can do well outside …,” a friend of the Scorpion Gang, who now lives in the UK, posted on Facebook just prior to the release.

The Scorpion Gang was formed in the 1990s by a group of youngsters from elite Rangoon families who would meet at high society nightclubs and learning institutes. By 1995, they had become the talk of the town, and for the next few years they went on a virtual rampage throughout the city, acting with the knowledge that their well-connected status made them virtually untouchable by Rangoon police.

The highest level connection that Scorpion Gang members enjoyed came through their friendship with Kyaw Ne Win, the grandson of former dictator Ne Win. Some alleged that Kyaw Ne Win was a leading member of the gang, although friends of the Scorpion Gang deny this was the case.

During the latter half of the 1990s, people in Rangoon quipped that the Scorpion Gang was virtually the second most powerful group in Rangoon—after the junta’s Military Intelligence unit. It got to the point that when Scorpions on motorbikes drove up to traffic junctions, the police turned the lights from red to green as if they were an official convoy.

Although in the early days the gang was mostly involved in rowdy behavior and petty crimes, it later expanded into car smuggling, extortion and drugs—becoming the Burmese equivalent of the Japanese Yakuza.

The gang gained even greater notoriety in 1998, when a young man and friend of the gang named Thar Lainmar reportedly died of a drug overdose and some of the Scorpions simply dropped his body in front of his home.

In 2001, however, the Scorpion Gang pushed their sense of impunity too far. At the time, there were rumors that one of the gang members was intimately involved with Nandar Aye, the daughter of Vice Snr-Gen Maung Aye, who was then the deputy commander-in-chief of Defense Services.

One day, gang members raced their motorbikes up next to Maung Aye’s convoy and pointed their fingers at the general’s vehicle, triggering a crackdown on the Scorpion Gang.

Some gang members went into hiding and fled the country, but 22 members, including the leaders, were arrested and sentenced to long prison terms. The citizens of Rangoon were also affected by the gang’s hubris—following the incident involving Maung Aye’s convoy, a ban on non-official motorbikes was instituted in the city, and the prohibition remains in effect today.

In addition, a few months after the crackdown on the Scorpion Gang, its most important benefactors were imprisoned as well. Kyaw Ne Win and his two brothers, Aye Ne Win and Zwe Ne Win, along with Ne Win’s son-in-law, Aye Zaw Win, were arrested and given long prison sentences, while Ne Win and his daughter, Sandar Win, were placed under house arrest.

Being incarcerated didn’t keep the Scorpion Gang out of the headlines for long. In Sept. 2005, the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners-Burma reported that the Scorpion inmates attacked political prisoners in Rangoon’s Insein Prison.

Now, after spending a decade behind bars, 15 Scorpions are back in Rangoon and ready to celebrate with their friends and families (two of the imprisoned gang members died in jail, and five remain in prison due to drug convictions).

“I picked up my brother at Insein Prison on Monday afternoon,” said the brother of a released Scorpion. “We all are very happy—especially the elders.”

Meanwhile, the family members of Burma’s 2,000 plus political prisoners wait for their loved ones to be released by President Thein Sein’s government.
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The Irrawaddy - Human Rights Abuses at Gas Pipeline
By SAI ZOM HSENG Thursday, August 18, 2011

Land confiscations and other human rights violations have been reported in northern Shan State during the last few weeks since the start of the Shwe pipeline project to export gas and oil to China.

Problems have mainly occurred in Kyaukme and Hsipaw townships where the pipeline passes on its way to Kunming, China. Two other affected areas of northern Shan State are Kutkhai and Pang Hsai townships.

A local resident from Hsipaw Township, who gave his name as Sai Tun, said that although the local authorities did not confiscate his land, they forced him to rent it to them at much lower than the market value. However, he did not know the money actually came from a private company involved in the pipeline project.

“The authorities said that they want to use my land and would give me 500,000 kyats (US $665) for one acre per month as a fee. But they didn’t tell me why they wanted my land and what they are going to do with it,” said Sai Tun.

Sai Tun explained that hiring out land makes the landowner jobless. “Other landowners from my village also face the same situation as me but with different rental fees. But 500,000 kyats is the minimum price that they gave us,” he added.

“I don’t think the price is enough for our land because I have seen that they are digging everywhere. When they return my land back, what am I supposed to do with that destroyed land?” asked Sai Tun.

He explained that the pipeline passes five or six miles away from Hsipaw, and that there are at least a dozen landowners who have been forced by the authorities to rent their land.

The Asia World Co. Ltd.—owned by Steven Law (aka Tun Myint Naing)—is the main constructor of the pipeline projects in northern Shan State. Htoo Trading Co. Ltd.—owned by Burmese business tycoon Tay Za who has close links to former junta members—is also approaching Burmese leaders to obtain pipeline building projects.

The Memorandum of Understanding of the Shwe Gas Project was signed by the former military regime’s second leader, Vice Sen-Gen Maung Aye, during a trip to China in 2009 where he met Chinese Vice-President Xi Jingping. China is the only nation currently buying natural gas from Burma, netting the Burmese government at least US $1 billion per year.

The former Burmese regime has not only agreed to sell China natural gas, but also to build a transit oil pipeline to move fuel from the Middle East to China through the Southeast Asian nation.

Thailand-based Shwe Gas Movement (SGM)—a pressure group opposed to the Burmese government’s Shwe Gas project—said that Burma will get at least $30 million every year from over 4,000 kms of transit oil pipeline.

Wong Aung, a global coordinator of SGM, told The Irrawaddy on Wednesday: “This project will negatively affect local people living near to the pipeline site. They will face human rights violations including losing their jobs and land.

“This project is very important for China in political, military and economic fields, and so it always protects the Burmese government in the international community. That’s why the Burmese government cannot refuse what China desires.”

He added that the pipeline could even cause a civil war because it would go through ethnic areas, and could cause even more human rights violations such as land confiscation, forced labor and illegal detentions.

The Shan State Army (SSA) is currently operating in Kyaukme and Hsipaw townships. SSA spokesman Maj Sai Hla said that they have no plans to start attacking the pipeline project, but would do if they think it has been harming local people and the Shan community.
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Press awards to be presented in Burma by private media
Thursday, 18 August 2011 11:45 Zwe Khant

New Delhi (Mizzima) – Private media-based national journalism awards will be presented in Burma for the first time in almost 50 years.

The national-level awards, called the “National Press Award,” will be presented by a selection committee representing members of the Myanmar Writers and Journalists Association (MWJA), prominent journalists and private media journalists.

“In Burma, journalism awards have not been presented for many years,” said Ko Ko, the secretary of MWJA, told Mizzima.

“The new government says it will respect the role of the media, traditionally the fourth foundation [of a democracy]. So, we think that there will be no objection by the government to our effort to support development of the news media,” Ko Ko said.

“We will try as much as we can to give the awards to the people who really deserve it,”
he said.

Prominent writers and journalists including Maung Wun Tha, Phoe Thout Kya, Ludu Sein Win, Moe Thu, Ko Ko Gyi (The Mirror) and Myint Thein Pe, a photographer, will form the award selection committee. Other journalists would be invited later, Ko Ko said.

Recently, Burmese President Thein Sein said that the new government would recognize the role of the media. Following his announcement, some censorship laws were modified to allow more freedom for publications and journals that do not cover news and civic affairs. However, all media can still be penalized if they publish articles deemed inappropriate. News publications are still censored prior to publication.

A local journalist told Mizzima that the idea of the awards is good. “One question is what kind of journalists they will select to decide the awards,” he said.

Maung Wun Tha said, “The stories that deserve a national award must be important stories for the nation. They could be business news, political news or news stories regarding internal relations. If they [journalists] can conduct investigation, they will be able to write important news stories for our nation and people.”

“We will encourage the committee to be independent it presenting the award,” Maung Wun Tha said.

Under the new government, 178 publications in Burma are focused on sports, health, arts, children’s literature, and technology. Those publications don’t need to pass articles through censors prior to publication, but must submit copies after publication.

A total of 180 publications focus on news, crime, education, economics, and religion, and they must pass articles through censors prior to publication.

To form the award selection committee, a meeting will be held at the MWJA office on Thursday. Local and foreign journalists, members of the Committee for Professional Conduct and officials from media houses will attend the meeting.

Since former dictator Ne Win’s socialist government dissolved parliament in 1962, private media representatives have not presented journalism award in Burma.
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KIO criticizes Burmese government’s rejection of national cease-fire
Thursday, 18 August 2011 22:08 Phanida

Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – The Burmese government’s refusal to conduct national-level negotiations for a countrywide cease-fire with ethnic armed groups shows it’s not interested in solving ethnic problems, said the joint secretary of the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO).

KIO spokesman La Nang made his comments in response to President Thein Sein’s speech at a meeting with representatives of social and business organizations in Naypyitaw on Wednesday.

At that meeting, Thein Sein said that if ethnic armed groups wanted to conduct peace negotiations, they should talk to state or regional governments.

La Nang said the government is afraid of nationwide cease-fire talks because it might lead to local or foreign pro-democracy groups entering the discussions, creating “tri-party” talks.

“The authorities do not want to lose absolute power. So to prevent that, it does not want to agree to a cease-fire with ethnic armed groups,” La Nang told Mizzima. “All ethnic people living in the hill lands are losing their rights. The government does not want ethnic groups to form a political alliance to conduct a dialogue. The government’s afraid it would suffer and have to give up something in such a dialogue.

“The government wants only regional-level negotiations. Although we have demanded a nationwide cease-fire and a political dialogue, the government doesn’t want to negotiate on that.”

Because of the government’s unwillingness to hold a political dialogue, the civil war might spread more widely, he said.

The KIO has said that it cannot accept the central government’s offer to conduct negotiations with the Kachin State government. The Kachin have been fighting for more political autonomy and human rights, he said, and the state government does not have the power to solve those issues.

The KIO, a member of the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC) that comprises ethnic armed groups including Kachin, Karen, Chin, Shan and Mon groups, has signed a temporary "nation-wide" cease-fire agreement with the government. On July 8, it put forward suggestions urging the government to continue political discussions.

President Thein Sein was quoted as saying in a meeting with officials from economic and social organizations: “As the saying goes ‘newly democratic, truly destructive.’ Soon after the new government has taken office, it gets involved in a clash with the KIO/KIA in Kachin State. Indeed, the KIO/KIA does not represent the people of Kachin State. The conflict was sparked by their bombing the state’s hydropower projects in Kachin State.”

He added, “Not only the KIO and KIA but also any anti-government armed groups in Shan State and Kayin State can hold talks with their respective [local] governments if they really favour peace. We have opened the door to peace.”

Burma affairs analyst Htay Aung said that the president’s speech was the government’s declaration that it has rejected nationwide cease-fire talks as called for by the KIO and if ethnic armed groups do not surrender, the government would attack them.

He said the government would hold to the Union government concept enshrined in the new Constitution.

On August 12, Information Minister Kyaw Hsan listed eight principles for peace that every ethnic group should accept. The eight principles do not accord with the current KIO peace proposal.

On Wednesday, the KIO sent an e-mail to the head of the government’s peacemaking and negotiation group, Kachin State Border Security Affairs Minister Colonel Than Aung, urging the government to release an official statement that noted the differences between the KIO demands and the government’s eight principles.

The KIO has been fighting for autonomy and human rights since February 5, 1961. In 1994, it signed a cease-fire agreement with the former junta. The agreement was broken when the recent fighting broke out.
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Suu Kyi invited to national-level workshop on economic development
Thursday, 18 August 2011 15:27 Mizzima News

Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – A last-minute official invitation to attend a national-level workshop on economic development was delivered by hand to the home of Burma’s opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Friday. President Thein Sein will also attend the workshop to be held in Naypyitaw, the capital.

Members of the workshop organizing committee on Wednesday went to Suu Kyi’s home on University Avenue Road in Rangoon to deliver an official invitation. Suu Kyi is the general-secretary of the National League for Democracy.

This will be the first official function attended by both President Thein Sein and Suu Kyi, who was released from house arrest late last year.

Government officials, political party representatives and businessmen will attend the workshop.

“She received the invitation letter yesterday. She has been invited to attend the workshop on Friday and Saturday,” NLD spokesman Nyan Win said.

In response to a Mizzima question, he said that he did not know whether Suu Kyi would attend or not, but another party source said that Suu Kyi had agreed to attend as an observer.

The workshop will be held in the Myanmar International Convention Centre in Naypyitaw.

Three representatives from each of the 37 political parties that contested in the 2010 election have been invited to the workshop. Two ministers and up to three businessmen from each of the 14 states or regions have also been invited to attend.
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DVB News - Parties to give input on economic reform
By AHUNT PHONE MYAT
Published: 18 August 2011

In an unprecedented move the Burmese government has invited all parties, opposition and government-aligned, that competed in the November polls last year to give their input on reforming the country’s struggling economy.

A three-day workshop will begin tomorrow in Naypyidaw, run by the Ministry of National Planning and Economic Development. Burmese academics and economists living abroad are also permitted to attend.

It marks one of the first all-party, extra-parliamentary sessions in Burma’s recent history, and accompanies several recent developments that signal the government may be opening up to the political opposition.

“This is a good sign – it implies that the government is now accepting the fact that political parties should be included in economic reformation [talks],” said Khin Maung Swe, leader of the National Democratic Force (NDF).

Rumours had circulated that opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi would be invited to the workshop, but her National League for Democracy party has not confirmed this.

Today the state-run New Light of Myanmar newspaper carried a speech by President Thein Sein in which he made the most high-level public acknowledgement of the new government that Burma’s economy was struggling.

Ministers have long placed the blame for Burma’s low ranking on human development indices on Western sanctions, which have been in place in various forms since the mid 1990s.

Proponents of sanctions claim however that they do not hurt Burmese civilians, and point to the fact that less than three percent of annual spending goes towards healthcare and education, while a quarter is channelled to the army.

Khin Maung Swe said that the NDF had already drafted economic policy and hoped to offer its suggestions during the workshop. A number of opposition parties have complained of repeated stonewalling in parliament, but their invitation to Naypyidaw suggests the government may be more open to discussing state policy.

One of the key figures due at the talks is U Myint, whose appointment to the government’s economic advisory board in April raised eyebrows: a former senior economist with the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and Pacific (UNESCAP), U Myint is a known political moderate and friend of Suu Kyi. In a December 2009 report he stated that Burma’s economic stagnation was “disturbing”.
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DVB News - Thais given military evacuation drill
By MAHN SAIMON
Published: 18 August 2011

More than 2000 Thai nationals living close to the border with Burma have taken part in an evacuation drill as fighting continues in eastern Burma and with it, the risk of stray artillery landing on Thai soil.

Around 20 villages in Chiang Mai province and Tak province were included in the exercises yesterday, conducted by the Thai army’s Third Army unit, and public disaster prevention experts.

A local in Fang district, north of Chiang Mai city, said that stray artillery shells often land in Thai villages alongside the border, disrupting local livelihoods.

“There isn’t much fighting at the moment because now is monsoon season, but once the monsoon is over, there will be more fighting,” he said. “We haven’t been given this training for quite a while so [yesterday was] quite a big one.”

A drill was conducted inside a football stadium in the border town of Mae Sot yesterday, organised by the Thai National Security Council. Similar training was given to civilians along Thailand’s border with Cambodia when fighting erupted earlier this year.

Thai authorities are also reportedly taking note of Burmese nationals who unofficially cross the border into Thailand and shelter in Thai villages. Groups of community watchmen have also been formed to alert police to suspicious foreigners.

The Burmese government continues to launch attacks against ethnic armies in the country’s eastern and northern border regions. Refugees have spilled into China in recent months following the end of a 17-year ceasefire with the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), which a similar rupture in relations with the northern faction of the Shan State Army has seen fighting break out in central Shan state.

But its battle with the Karen National Liberation Army, and more recently the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army, has caused refugees to flee back and forth across the Thai border, while on several occasions Thai civilians have been injured by stray fire.

Chalaungchai Chayakan, a senior official in the Thai Army’s Third Army Area, told media recently that the new Burmese government was looking to wipe out ethnic armed groups.
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DVB News - US told of ‘tangible’ Burma progress
By AHUNT PHONE MYAT
Published: 18 August 2011

A delegation of US foreign policy advisors has been told by Burma’s main political opposition party that tangible signs of change are underway in the country.

The team, from the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, spoke with members of five different parties, including the National Democratic Force (NDF), which split from Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) last year to compete in the 2010 elections.

“They asked us whether if we see any improvements in the country and we answered that we do see some tangible improvements in the economic sectors and that there is the potential to enact standardised economic laws in near future,” said Khin Maung Swe, who heads the party.

The government has also lifted a number trading restrictions that have begun to drag on the country’s export sector, particularly given the shock strengthening of the kyat that has triggered alarm across Burma’s economy.

“[This] shows that the economic reforms urged by Western countries are starting and so the US should reconsider its economic sanctions on Burma,” Khin Maung Swe said.

Over time the NDF has increasingly distanced itself from Suu Kyi’s party, whose policies and hardline stance it quietly feels are archaic and ineffective. Supporters of the NLD on the other hand believe the NDF is playing into the hands of the government, which many see as a civilian extension of the former junta.

Both Suu Kyi and the Obama administration in Washington say that sanctions will remain on Burma until state-sanctioned human rights abuses end and political prisoners are freed.

Burma’s economy is currently undergoing something of a revamp, with the government preparing to do away with foreign exchange certificates (FEC) and potentially opening the door to IMF assistance.

It has also sought to soften its reputation as society where independent media is criminalised, whilst upping dialogue with Suu Kyi, who recently met for the second time with Labour Minister Aung Kyi.

The US has repeatedly said however that action must match the rhetoric of the new government, which since coming to power in March has enacted a series of reforms intended to superficially distance itself from the former junta.

Also at the meeting yesterday were representatives of the Democratic Party Myanmar and the National Unity Party, which has historically been seen as government-aligned.
The Senate Foreign Affairs Committee is headed by former US presidential candidate John Kerry.
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