Watchdog: Myanmar media restrictions among worst
Media watchdog: Myanmar reporters among world's most restricted despite reform promises
Todd Pitman, Associated Press, On Tuesday September 20, 2011, 9:00 am EDT
BANGKOK (AP) -- Journalists in Myanmar remain among the most restricted and censored in the world despite promises by the country's new rulers to implement democratic reform, an international media watchdog group said Tuesday.
The Committee to Protect Journalists said in a report that media workers in the Southeast Asian nation are still under perpetual surveillance by authorities who monitor their movements, tap their phones and subject all privately run news publications to pre-censorship requirements so time-consuming they can only publish on a weekly -- not daily -- basis.
After half a century of army rule, Myanmar's former military government organized elections late last year and handed power in March to a civilian administration. President Thein Sein said in an inaugural speech that the role of the media as a "fourth estate" should be respected.
However, "the government has made virtually no progress on press freedom" since then, CPJ said. "Under Thein Sein's elected regime, authorities continue to systematically harass, sanction, and imprison journalists, particularly those who report undercover for exile-run media groups."
Foreign observers said November's elections were neither free nor fair, and the main opposition party of democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi boycotted the ballot. Since then, authorities have suspended more than a dozen news publications and sentenced at least two media workers to long jail terms, CPJ said.
The Norway-based Democratic Voice of Burma says around 25 journalists are currently detained in Myanmar, 17 of them its own. Myanmar is also known as Burma, a term favored by exiles and dissidents including Suu Kyi.
"The government's promise of reform is welcome, yet censorship in Burma remains arbitrary, intensive, and highly restrictive," said CPJ's Bangkok-based Southeast Asia representative Shawn W. Crispin. "Legal reform to ensure press freedom would lend much-needed credibility to the government's claims of democratic change in Burma. Draconian laws restricting reporting must be abolished, and imprisoned journalists must be immediately released."
The government issued no statement on the report and its representatives could not be reached for comment. Myanmar's regime has no permanent government spokesman available to answer media queries.
Among the seemingly innocuous stories banned from publication by Myanmar's Press Scrutiny and Registration Department: volatile fuel prices, Chinese land purchases and water shortages. One editor who published a story about cheaper cell phone SIM cards without approval had his publication suspended for two weeks.
CPJ said two of its staff members and a freelance reporter working for the organization were all denied visas to conduct research for its report -- a common obstacle for foreign journalists trying to cover the country. Instead, the group interviewed seven Burma-based journalists and six working for media in exile; almost all of them requested anonymity for fear of reprisals.
Last week, the government unblocked foreign and local news websites that had been banned for years, including the British Broadcasting Corp., the Voice of America and exiled media outlets like the Democratic Voice of Burma.
The move was welcomed by local journalists. But Crispin said the government can still detain anyone accessing the sites.
The CPJ report said that in November -- the same month elections were held -- authorities forced an estimated 500 Internet cafes in the main city Yangon "to install closed-circuit cameras, screen-capture programs and keystroke-logging software to monitor and store users' online activities."
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Myanmar arrests anti-dam activist in rare protest
Published on Sep 20, 2011
YANGON (AFP) - Police in military-dominated Myanmar on Tuesday arrested a man who staged a rare protest against a controversial Chinese hydroelectric power project, an official said.
'A 46-year-old man was arrested this afternoon near the Chinese Cultural Office as he tried to stage a solo protest,' said a government official who did not want to be named. The office is part of the Chinese embassy in Yangon.
He was understood to be holding a banner demanding a halt to the Myitsone hydropower dam project in northern Kachin state, electricity from which is destined for neighbouring China.
Protests are rare in authoritarian Myanmar, where pro-democracy rallies in 1988 and 2007 were brutally crushed by the junta. Demonstrators must have permission from the authorities.
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Myanmar's jungle capital stirs to life
By Daniel Rook | AFP News – 9 hours ago
Construction cranes tower over two new football stadiums rising up from the tropical scrubland of Naypyidaw -- part of a building boom that is transforming Myanmar's remote capital.
The military regime surprised the world in 2005 by suddenly shifting the seat of government from Yangon to the new site, when its vast roads were largely deserted and there were still no schools, clinics or grocery stores.
Once off-limits to the general public, the new nominally civilian government is now preparing to showcase the fast-developing "Abode of Kings" to an influx of visitors for the 2013 Southeast Asian Games.
"Before, this area was jungle and forest," said project director Khin Maung Kywe, looking out at the site of a 30,000-capacity football stadium that will double as a track and field venue.
"With the rain and wind we have so many difficulties for construction," he added, as barefoot labourers perched on bamboo scaffolding in a tropical downpour -- part of an army of 2,000 workers for the project.
In stark contrast to the pot-holed streets of Myanmar's main city Yangon, Naypyidaw boasts broad motorways and even a 20-lane boulevard leading to the new parliament, a maze of marble-floored corridors and air-conditioned chambers where hundreds of lawmakers now gather.
The capital rarely suffers from the kind of electricity blackouts that plague the rest of the impoverished country, despite its abundant natural gas supplies.
Workers tend manicured lawns by the side of roads and outside ministry headquarters, while the hotel zone is a hive of construction activity.
Well-stocked supermarkets offer everything from watermelons to flat-screen televisions for the city's residents, mostly government workers and their families, though many relatives apparently opted to stay in Yangon.
There are several golf courses, a golden pagoda modelled on Yangon's iconic Shwedagon, a cinema, a convention centre, a gems emporium and accommodation for the civil servants.
The city even has a safari park and a zoo with an air-conditioned penguin house. State media recently reported that 58 rare animals of 10 different species had been flown in from South Africa on a chartered Boeing plane.
Naypyidaw Airport is also undergoing a major expansion to enable it to handle millions of passengers each year.
"Every time we go up we see something new," said one Yangon-based Western diplomat.
In 2005 government workers were reportedly given less than 48 hours notice to move to the city -- which was largely built in secret and still not completed at the time -- under threat of imprisonment if they refused.
While the motive was unclear, diplomats speculated it could be based on the advice of astrologers, fear of a foreign invasion or a desire by then dictator Than Shwe to replicate pre-colonial kings who repeatedly moved the capital.
A US diplomat who visited the city in 2006 spoke of "a vast green empty space sparsely populated with buildings," according to a leaked cable, adding: "The layout makes no sense, but then the move made no sense either."
The note said many labourers had abandoned work sites due to "poor working conditions, low wages, and the threat of malaria," while there were reports of forced relocations of villagers to make way for infrastructure projects.
But unlike in some areas of the country, there have been no allegations of forced labour at the building sites in the new capital, said Steve Marshall, the International Labour Organisation's liaison officer in Yangon.
"There have been some suggestions of use of child labour... but there is obviously in this country a tendency to start working pretty young," he said.
Today parts of the capital, including the parliament building, military facilities and residential areas for top officials, remain closed to the public, behind security checkpoints.
The country now has a nominally civilian government but its ranks are filled with former generals, including President Thein Sein.
While visitors are unlikely to see most of the official population of about one million on the streets, the roads are no longer completely empty, with cars and motorbikes joining a steady flow of construction vehicles.
Steel for the new Chinese-designed facilities for the Southeast Asian Games is shipped from China to Yangon and then transported by road more than 200 miles (320 kilometres) to the capital.
"Our target is maybe next year we are going to complete our football stadiums," said Zaw Zaw, a wealthy tycoon whose Max Myanmar Group -- which is subject to US sanctions -- is building many of the new sports facilities.
There are also plans for a swimming pool, tennis courts and an indoor stadium for basketball, volleyball, table tennis and badminton, with seats for more than 12,000 spectators.
But while the city is slowing coming to life, so far none of the foreign embassies have accepted the government's offer to relocate there.
"I don't think we'll be moving there any time soon," said the diplomat. "The problem is who's going first. You could have quite a lonely life."
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Kompas - Indonesia: ASEAN to Listen to Suu Kyi as Myanmar Seeks Chair
Jimmy Hitipeuw | Selasa, 20 September 2011 | 08:17 WIB
NEW YORK, KOMPAS.com — Indonesia's foreign minister says the opinion of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and civil society will influence whether Myanmar is invited to chair the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in 2014.
Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa told The Associated Press that he would travel to Myanmar in October as ASEAN assesses if the military-dominated country is on track, as it makes tentative steps toward reform.
He said Myanmar was extremely keen to take on the rotating chairmanship of the 10-member regional grouping, currently held by Indonesia. He described that as "an important opportunity to hasten change."
Natalegawa said: "I shall be keen to listen and to hear the voice of civil society, not least the voice of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi."
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Reporters Without Borders - Many news websites unblocked, but 17 journalists and three netizens still held
Published on Tuesday 20 September 2011.
Reporters Without Borders has confirmed that access to a number of previously banned foreign news websites including Youtube, BBC, Reuters, The Bangkok Post, Straits Times, Radio Free Asia, Irrawaddy, Democratic Voice of Burma, and the Burmese version of Voice of America has been unblocked. Internet connections nonetheless continue to be very slow.
“The unblocking of websites just a few months after Internet café regulations were tightened is curious,” Reporters Without Borders said. “If censorship is being partially lifted, the authorities should say so publicly and should undertake to open up the Burmese Internet even more. And they should acknowledge that allowing the public to have access to previously blocked websites does not pose a threat and does not result in any public order disturbance, as they long maintained in order to justify the censorship.”
Since the websites of Democratic Voice of Burma and Irrawaddy, two leading Burmese exile news media, are now accessible, Reporters Without Borders calls for the release of all their imprisoned reporters including Sithu Zeya, sentenced to 18 years in prison, Ngwe Soe Lin, sentenced to 13 years, U Zeya, sentenced to 13 years, Win Maw, sentenced to 18 years, and Hla Hla Win, sentenced to 27 years.
Reporters Without Borders also welcomes the government’s announcement on 6 September that it is creating a National Human Rights Commission to which Burmese citizens can submit complaints if they believe they have been the victims of abuses. The press freedom organization hopes that everyone, including imprisoned journalists and bloggers, will be guaranteed access to this commission.
The unblocking of websites, which coincided with International Day of Democracy on 15 September and followed a recent visit by the UN special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Burma, seems to be part of series of conciliatory gestures.
The local media now carry frequent stories about opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. The government has addressed several appeals for peace to Burma’s armed separatist movements. And several state-owned media have stopped their regular attacks on the western media. In his inauguration address last March, President Thein Sein said the role of the media should be respected.
Many local news media nonetheless continue to be censored or controlled by the government. And TV stations, books and cartoons continue to be closely supervised. But, noting the recent trend in the government’s decisions and statements, Reporters Without Borders urges the authorities to allow the media to express themselves with complete independence and to stop persecuting bloggers and journalists.
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ABC Radio Australia - Burma's media-in-exile await signs of press freedom at home
Updated September 20, 2011 21:42:36
Burma's ten-month old civilian government has been urged to match promised political reform, with a healthy and free media.
The Committee to Protect Journalists says in its latest Southeast Asia report, that laws needed to be changed, to ensure press freedom.
The CPJ's senior Southeast Asia representative Shawn Crispin, says laws restricting reporting must be abolished and imprisoned journalists immediately released.
Others say Burma's media is still highly restricted, despite a civilian government.
Presenter: Sen Lam
Speaker: Aung Zaw, Burmese journalist and editor of the Thai-based Irrawaddy magazine
Listen: Windows Media(http://www.abc.net.au/ra/asiapac/stories/m2031442.asx)
AUNG ZAW: There hasn't been any change,in terms of media landscape in Burma, even though there has been alot of talk about reform and positive change in Burma. And we still have over 25 journalists and bloggers being locked up in prison and media freedom is still, I think, very much far from reality. People have to go through the heavy-handed notorious censorship board. Even before then, there has been a culture of self-censorship. Journalists cannot freely practise freedom of expression and cannot report freely about what is happening inside the country.
LAM: So do you think that, for the moment, the only way that the Burmese people can get free and accurate information, would be through the foreign media, or "media in exile"?
AUNG ZAW: That's right, I think the BBC, VOA Burmese service, Free Asia, including DVB television station, Irrawaddy, I think we play a very important role, to educate, to inform what has happened inside and outside of Burma. Whenever major events taking place inside the country, people tend to look at and listen to foreign radio stations, and websites.
LAM: When the civilian government came into office last November, it promised reform on many fronts. Do you see this translating into the area of media, or do you think that's being too optimistic?
AUNG ZAW: I think it's very premature to be optimistic at the moment. I think we're testing the water. Of course, the exile media has to go back, and I myself am prepared to go back, if there is press freedom inside the country. But we're not going back to the prison, we're going to spend so many years, because what we have been doing is illegal, if we're inside the country. We could face up to 20, 30 years, just for publishing a leaflet or newsletters or a newspaper. So I think it's very premature to say that press freedom reform is coming.
LAM: In fact, just very recently, the Burmese Information minister seemed a little unsure about granting greater freedom. Do you think within the civilian government itself, there are different factions? Perhaps more democratic factions in favour of granting greater media freedoms and more conservative ones (who are not)?
AUNG ZAW: I believe so. But generally, there may be a faction, but generally, they are very conservative on the viewpoint of media freedom. I don't think they really understand it. if you look at the Information Minister's emotional remark, I think he was going back to the fairy-tale, and talking about the red ants and elephants, people were making jokes about it, because even in the 19th century, we had a King who promised indigenous press freedom law, which promoted journalists and reporters to write freely and criticise the government, in his own Kingdom.
LAM: Are you saying that Burma has a long tradition of a free and unfettered media, before the military took over?
AUNG ZAW: Definitely. In the 1950s and early 1960s, we enjoyed relative press freedom. Burma was seen as one of the freest press in Southeast Asia. But since the military came into power in 1962, there has been no press freedom. It has been more than forty years - that has been a big gap.
But there's enthusiasm and good energy among the journalists inside the country and outside the country, who've been pushing the envelope, trying to practise good journalist, but they're not able to do so, because authorities have not been allowing them to do so.
LAM: President Thein Sein earlier this year invited exiles to return home. Under what conditions, might you and indeed the Irrawaddy be prepared to return to Burma?
AUNG ZAW: If there are no journalists in prison, if they're free, if there is no censorship board and if we're allowed to go back to Burma, and practise what we have published and what we could do, freely, I think we're ready to go home. We've been invited by the media friends inside the country, who wanted to collaborate with us, who want us to run the inside-based, Rangoon-based English language newspaper and magazine.
We're happy to accept the invitation, but at the same time, I'm very reluctant to go back, and my team are reluctant to go back to Burma, because we don't want to spend years in prison.
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Manila Bulletin - Analysis: Signs of change in Myanmar
By DANIEL ROOK
September 20, 2011, 10:27pm
YANGON, Myanmar (AFP) — After decades of military rule, democracy champion Aung San Suu Kyi says there are finally signs of political change in Myanmar, but its long-suffering people are still far from real freedom.
In an exclusive interview, the Nobel Peace Prize winner told AFP that the new government appears genuine in its desire for democratic reform, and said an Arab-style uprising is not the answer to the country's problems.
''There have been changes, but I don't think we're all free or completely free yet. There's still quite a way to go, but I think there have been positive developments,'' the opposition leader said at her party offices in Yangon.
''I've always said I'm a cautious optimist and I remain a cautious optimist. I do believe that the president would like to bring about positive changes but how far he'll be able to achieve what he wants to achieve is a question that we still need to examine.''
After almost half a century of iron-fisted military rule, the junta in March handed power to a new government led by President Thein Sein, one of a clutch of former generals who shed their uniforms to contest last year's election.
The November vote, won by the military's political proxies, was marred by widespread complaints of cheating and the exclusion of Suu Kyi, who was released from seven straight years of house arrest shortly afterwards.
In recent weeks, however, the new administration has shown signs of reaching out to critics including Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy (NLD) party, which won a 1990 election but was never allowed to take office.
In a scene few could have imagined until recently, Suu Kyi last month met Thein Sein at his official residence in the capital Naypyidaw, posing for photos under a picture of her late father, the independence hero Aung San.
Although details of the discussion were not revealed, Suu Kyi said the pair managed to find areas of agreement, adding: ''We do have many, many things in common in regards to what we would like to see for the country.''
The dissident -- who has won international acclaim for her peaceful resistance in the face of oppression, and has been compared to India's independence hero Mahatma Gandhi for her adherence to non-violence -- said she did not want a popular revolt in Myanmar of the kind seen in Libya.
''What has to be done is a revolution of the spirit. Until attitudes change, until their (the authorities') perceptions of the problems which they have to handle change, there will not be real change,'' she said.
''Everybody knows that Libya's troubles are going to drag on for a long time. Even if they manage to clear out everybody from the old regime and establish a new government there are going to be so many problems -- the bitterness that will remain, the wounds that will remain unhealed for so long,'' she said.
The soft-spoken and charismatic dissident, now 66, showed no signs that age and long periods of detention at the hands of the junta have dimmed her sharp intellect and indomitable spirit. ''A real revolution takes a long time to be completed. The kind of changes that we want take time to come about. And I would rather that we managed to achieve change through peaceful means, through negotiation.''
Pro-democracy uprisings in Myanmar -- also known as Burma -- in 1988 and 2007 were brutally crushed by the junta which showed no sign of softening its hardline stance in response. Protests otherwise remain rare in the authoritarian state, which has more than 2,000 political prisoners.
Suu Kyi's party boycotted last year's election, the first in two decades, partly because of rules that would have forced it to expel members who are in prison. As a result it was delisted as a political party by the regime, which in June warned the NLD to halt what it described as illegal activities.
Today, however, despite fears it might be forced to shut down, the party continues to meet and issue statements under the close watch of plainclothes police, who photograph visitors to its ramshackle offices in Yangon.
And in a further sign that the authorities are seeking to engage with the opposition, a top adviser to the president told AFP that the controversial law that prevents prisoners from being political party members could be revised. ''This act was promulgated by the previous government, the military government. This parliament is considering to review that act,'' Ko Ko Hlaing said.
Suu Kyi said it was too soon to say whether her party would seek to re-register and contest the next election, due in 2015. But the democracy icon, who has always been modest about her own political ambitions, gave a clear hint that she was ready to lead the country if it is the people's desire.
''I don't think of my political role in terms of becoming president as such, but I believe that things like this have to be decided by the people and not by individual politicians or even by their parties,'' she said. Asked whether this meant she was ready to become president if the people wanted it, she replied: ''Well if you're not prepared to do this, if necessary, then you shouldn't engage in politics to begin with.''
For the first time since her release, Suu Kyi was allowed by the authorities to travel outside of Yangon last month on a political excursion, during which she drew large crowds of supporters -- a reminder of her enduring popularity.
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Bangkok Post - EDITORIAL: Still hoping for a new Burma
Published: 20/09/2011 at 12:00 AM
Newspaper section: News
It is encouraging that Asia's democracy icon, Aung San Suu Kyi, is optimistic about the future of Burma. But as she pointed out in her interview with a Western reporter, there is a long way to go before her countrymen gain real freedom.
Mrs Suu Kyi is supposedly free after her long years under house arrest. She continues to hedge her statements and emphasises that she is taking the optimistic route.
Burma has been a military dictatorship for almost 50 years. One must not mistake a cheerful public relations smile for the introduction of real reforms that will make the military responsible to Burmese citizens, instead of the other way around.
The army took full control of Burma in 1962. At the time, the country was ahead of almost everyone in Southeast Asia. Independent, free and booming economically, Burma was clearly bound to lead the region into the late 20th century. That script did not develop. Instead, an incompetent and corrupt band of generals installed a regime that ruled by terror.
The military grabbed control of the economy, installing officers and cronies at virtually every level.
But Burmese men in green claimed for a while they were installing a form of socialism. It became clear that the only social benefits were for the military and those friends who toadied to their control. Virtually every freedom was removed _ the press, public gathering, communication, dissent, petition and more. To this day, few Burmese are allowed access to telephones, broadcast news, newspapers or the internet. Those who manage to get internet accounts are closely monitored and the regime closes down telecommunications at any sign of unrest.
Mrs Suu Kyi emerged in the mid-1980s as a voice against military corruption. The military that tortured and brutalised citizens as a matter of routine was stymied by a brave woman who stood up to the army and suffered their trumped up court cases. Since entering politics, Mrs Suu Kyi has spent the majority of her life under arrest, often even without any charges.
Last month, she was taken to the new capital Naypyidaw to meet the new president, Thein Sein. Optimists like her believe there is a chance that last year's election, a new constitution and a new generation of military officers might see Burma emerge from a repression so severe it almost made Britain's colonial occupation look benign.
Mrs Suu Kyi said she thought that she and Mr Thein Sein shared some goal for the future. She didn't say what that might be. She has, however, spoken out against a violent revolution for Burma, such as the Arab Spring.
It is entirely unclear how Burma can emerge from its darkest period to a bright future. Mrs Suu Kyi's respect for the new form of government is encouraging. Still, there is no sign that Burmese democrats are ready or willing to step forward and challenge the status quo by standing up to the uniformed men who still control the country.
The secret police remain stationed outside the headquarters of the political party Mrs Suu Kyi inspired, still photographing everyone who goes in or out.
It is clear that Burma cannot advance as a police state. What is still unclear is how the country can rid itself of an oppressive regime.
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Independent - Taste of democracy sends Burma's fragile economy into freefall
By Joseph Allchin
Tuesday, 20 September 2011
Burma has long been in the grip of a military inspired economic malaise. But any sense that the first year of its nominal new democracy would bring it relief has been dramatically disproven by a spiral of over-investment that has brought the country a new economic crisis unfolding in parallel to that gripping the West.
A presentation given to heads of industry and ministers by the President's chief economic adviser U Myint, which has been seen by The Independent, paints a grim picture of the Burmese economy's difficulties. The report, which speaks of "rampant corruption", details how foreign direct investment went from $300m in 2009-10 to a staggering $20bn in 2010-11 – more than a quarter of the country's GDP.
That may sound like a good thing, but it has disastrous consequences. The government briefing says this influx of capital, caused by a Chinese-led race for Burma's natural resources, has caused the local currency, the kyat, to soar by between 20 to 25 per cent. That makes it the best-performing currency in Asia and, where exporters would have previously received 1,000 kyat to the dollar, they now get closer to 750. The government, meanwhile, maintains an official exchange rate of about six kyat to the dollar.
The result of the dramatic rise in the value of the currency has been that exports have in a matter of months become unprofitable. Instead, agricultural goods have been dumped on the domestic market, forcing prices down and putting farmers in debt. With 70 per cent of the workforce in agriculture, that is a serious problem.
The country's nascent manufacturing sector, which should be profiting from steadily rising wages in China, has been axing much needed jobs in sectors such as garment-making, which still faces an export tax of 10 per cent.
U Myint's presentation notes that the export tax, unique to the Burmese economy, is there because "with no proper accounting system for business firms and rampant corruption both on the part of the business tax payer and the government tax collector, the normal way to collect commercial and income tax was impractical".
The government itself has also been blamed for the currency appreciation. As public assets have been rapidly privatised, the military and its cronies have been the big winners in sectors like the extraction of natural resources and construction. That sudden transformation meant that investors holding their money offshore swept back in, sending property prices rocketing.
Even PresidentThein Sein appears to have heeded the warnings of U Myint. Speaking to an audience of economists last month, the President acknowledged Burma's economic problems. "Local demand for goods is falling," he said. "It has affected producers, especially farmers, who depend on exporting produce. Ways and means are being sought to ease the crises."
The government in Naypyidaw has spoken of reforming the meaningless official exchange rate, but economist Sean Turnell says that would be "problematic" because the disparity between the two helps the government make ends meet by applying whichever rate suits better.
The International Monetary Fund has been asked for its advice. But any help it could give is hampered by Burma's failure to pay back debts it owes to foreign financial institutions, barring it from receiving financial aid.
The effect any such aid would have on the general public is debatable. Most of Burma's revenues are said to go to the personal offshore accounts of senior officials or to purchase Mig 29 jet fighters. The country spends just 1.3 per cent of its revenues on public health.
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19 September 2011 Last updated at 11:03 ET
BBC News - Burma begins swap scheme for cars over 40 years old
Owners of some of Burma's most antiquated cars have been queuing in Rangoon to exchange their old vehicles for permits to import newer models.
The government programme started with cars more than 40 years old - a common sight on Burma's streets, where people complain they frequently break down.
Until now, only the military and their associates were given import licences.
The price of old cars has risen sharply, as speculators try to buy them up to profit from import opportunities.
There are 10,000 vehicles at least 40 years old registered with the transport department, and more than 8,000 aged between 30 and 40 years, state media reported.
The government plan aims to clear the roads of vehicles that "use too much fuel, cause accidents and traffic jams, and pollute the air," the Myanmar Times said.
The newer, imported cars must have been manufactured after 1995 and cost no more than $3,500 (£2,200).
They will be imported from Thailand, Japan, China, South Korea and Malaysia, officials said.
The deal also includes Burma's ageing transport system, which still relies on buses built between 20 and 40 years ago.
Car owners started queuing on Sunday in order to take part in the government swap scheme, eyewitnesses said.
One participant told the BBC Burmese service that there were about 200 people at the road transport office when he arrived to hand over his old car.
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Refugees | 20.09.2011
Deutsche Welle - Attempts to boost development in Burma fuel conflict
Cliffs jut out at dramatic angles along the riverbanks of the Salween River in Karen State in eastern Burma, known officially by its government as Myanmar. The lush landscape is a backdrop for one of the last free-flowing rivers in the region.
On the riverbank, villagers stand over the remnants of a market they say was burned to the ground in recent clashes. Khu Hser came to the river to catch a boat to the closest town, where he plans to trade the fruits and nuts he has picked.
Khu Hser is the only school teacher in his tiny village deep in the jungle. When fighting erupted near his home in July, he closed down the school and fled with his family, pushing deeper into the jungle for safety.
"We left before the soldiers arrived in our village," said Khu Hser, who ran into the jungle with his children, carrying all of their belongings.
"We had to build a temporary shelter and find food to eat because there was no more food," he added.
500,000 displaced people
The fighting has kept Khu Hser away from his home for more than a month. He and his family are now among the estimated 500,000 internally displaced people in Burma.
Khu Hser is an ethnic Karen, one of the many minority groups living in the fractured country. The Karen have been locked in a decades-long battle for autonomy in which successive military regimes have failed to establish lasting peace among the country's armed ethnic militias.
There is now a new reason for conflict in this area. The government plans to build a dam near Khu Hser's home. But this is territory claimed by the Karen National Union (KNU), the political organization representing the Karen people.
The resulting clashes between Burmese soldiers and the Karen's military arm have sent many villagers running. New en Paw fled with her family in April and still hasn't returned home. She is worried about her children's future because they can't go to school.
"If they don't have school, how will they survive when they grow up?" she wondered.
Development projects across the country
The Burmese government has almost 50 hydropower projects in the works including seven along the Salween River. The situation is mirrored throughout the country in extensive mining projects, natural gas pipelines, a controversial deep sea port and forestry and agricultural concessions.
Many of these projects are found in Burma's resource-rich ethnic states, like Karen State, where the battle between Karen rebels and the Burmese government has carried on for six decades, making it the longest-running civil war in the world.
This is the beginning of a massive move to develop natural resources in Burma, one of the poorest countries in the region. Investors from China, India and neighboring Thailand have agreed to invest in these potentially lucrative sectors. The biggest hydropower projects could bring in an estimated 2.9 billion euros ($4 billion) in revenue each year.
Along the Salween River, territory changes hands frequently. The Karen army controls the area immediately surrounding its checkpoints. At other points just a few kilometers away, the checkpoints belong to the Burmese military.
At one checkpoint, Ba Bluh, a captain with the KNU's military wing, peers through a pair of binoculars, inspecting boats approaching from the Thai border. The KNU is opposed to the dams. Ba Bluh said the conflict is likely to escalate if Burma insists on developing in conflict areas.
Fighting over territory
The Burmese army must resupply its frontlines with food and ammunition, but the KNU opposes this.
"If the dam is being built, they will send more troops to control the area. When they send more troops, there will be fighting," Ba Bluh said.
Across the country, similar battles over resources are playing out in areas that are home to ethnic minority groups. Earlier this year, a 13-year ceasefire between the Burmese Army and the Kachin Independence Army crumbled. The two forces clashed near the sites of hydropower dams, and the fighting sent 13,000 civilians fleeing for safety.
Disputes over natural resources are not the only reason for the conflicts in Burma, but they are exacerbating an already perilous humanitarian crisis.
Estimates from the Thailand Burma Border Consortium, an umbrella group which works with refugees, suggest that more than 3,600 settlements have been displaced in eastern Burma over the last 15 years. More than 73,000 people fled their homes between 2009 and 2010.
"It means they have to abandon their farmlands, their house and either go away from their original village or come to the border and cross into refugee camps in Thailand," said Paul Sein Twa, a coordinator with the Burma Environmental Working Group.
Malaria, diarrhea, war injuries
This protracted displacement is causing a troubling health crisis. Near the Burmese border in western Thailand, a team of mobile health workers called the Backpack Health Worker Team specializes in bringing much-needed health care to displaced people within Burma. The team treks, sometimes for days at a time, to remote villages where there health services are limited.
Malaria, diarrhea and war injuries are some of the most persistent dangers, said the group's director Mahn Mahn. The death-rate for pregnant women in war-ravaged eastern Burma is comparable to figures in Somalia and the Congo. Malnutrition rates in some of the worst-hit areas are critical. The recent clashes over natural resources have only made the health situation worse.
Mahn Mahn believes the hydropower mega-projects are creating human rights violations.
"Without stopping the human rights violations, we won't see health improvements in these communities," he said.
In recent weeks, opposition figure Aung San Suu Kyi has offered to act as a mediator between Burma's government and its ethnic militias. In areas like Karen State, however, dams and other development projects may continue to be a stumbling block on the path to lasting peace.
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The Diplomat - Blood Money in Burma
By Zaw Nay Aung
September 20, 2011
The US Senate has approved the renewal of a ban on Burmese imports that is part of the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act of 2003. The House approved the sanctions bill in July, and so the agreement is expected to get the signature of President Barack Obama soon. This is welcome, as were the words of US special envoy Derek J. Mitchell, who concluded a five-day visit to the country last week with comments arguing that the Burmese regime needs to take concrete steps over dialogue with the opposition, the release of political prisoners and investigating human rights abuses.
The problem is that words aren't always being followed up with action in Western nations.
Since the 2010 elections, the Burmese regime has grown increasingly tactical in its dealings with the opposition and international community. It’s unclear whether the supreme leader of the regime, Than Shwe, has completely left the political arena, but the post-election strategic moves of former Gen. Thein Sein have certainly become more calculated.
Thein Sein appears to be using a little sweet talk and some cunning diplomacy to demonstrate that he can change the way the international community sees the government. Now clad in civilian garb, the president of the ‘new’ government has made powerful speeches on economic and political reforms. Yet, in the past few months, no substantive or tangible changes have actually been seen. It’s certainly true that there’s no quick fix to the decades-long political and economic stagnation that plagues Burma. But there also hasn’t yet been any sign of much-needed progress in terms of basic rights and freedoms, such as the release of political prisoners.
The continued incarceration of more than 2,000 political prisoners, as well as the need for Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy to re-register as a political party, is testament to the unshakeable attitudes of the old dictatorship. Furthermore, the regime is still using various forms of diplomacy to try to gain global recognition as an ‘elected and democratic’ government. To secure its bid to chair ASEAN for the 2014 summit, and with an eye on avoiding the possible establishment of a UN commission of inquiry into alleged abuses, the Thein Sein administration has started to feign acceptance of political opposition.
But despite the largely superficial changes in Burmese politics, calls to end sanctions against the regime have been growing louder since the beginning of this year. No matter whether one views the elections and subsequent developments as progress, many still have doubts over the efficacy of Western sanctions against the regime. Furthermore, many observers argue that sanctions hurt the people rather than the ruling generals. Given the apparent improvements in Burma—the release of Suu Kyi and the emergence of a parliament (albeit one dominated by the military)—the sanctioning states have in recent months been pressed to withdraw their punitive measures.
Suu Kyi and the NLD called for an independent analysis of sanctions in November 2010. No such initiative has yet taken place. In the midst of contradictory views from both pro-sanction and anti-sanction groups, the countries imposing punitive actions should review their measures and renew them accordingly. In the current political climate in Burma, it’s vital that the sanctions controversy is clearly seen to be resolved.
Burma Independence Advocates, a human rights advocacy and think tank based in London, recently published an assessment of the political and humanitarian conditions under sanctions. It showed that the direct impact of sanctions on humanitarian conditions has been negligible. And, although sanctions have so far failed to have a significant impact on Burmese politics, it’s important to understand that it isn’t the sanctions themselves that are at fault, but the way they have been implemented and enforced.
While the majority of sanctions are targeted, those that could have dealt a significant blow to the regime were implemented far too late. Meanwhile, sanctioning countries have continued to invest in a nation still rife with persecution. The continued heavy investment in Burma by the EU and United States between 1995 and 2005 also raises questions over the consistency of their Burma policy.
It’s easy to point fingers at Burma’s neighbours—ASEAN countries and China—and chastise them for their economic ties with the regime. But one doesn’t have to look far to see the influence of Western companies. For example, the continued presence over the past two decades of Western oil companies such as Chevron and Total shows that sanctioning countries prefer Burmese oil to the Burmese people’s freedom. The blood money that the regime has accumulated was never intended for Burma’s citizens, but instead for buying weapons, building up military academies, and sending scholars to Russia to learn about nuclear technology.
Yet, there are still many who believe Burma should receive development assistance and who naively think the regime would spend this overseas aid wisely on making the country a better place in which to live. Just as the Burma Socialist Programme Party (BSPP) of General Ne Win turned the country into one of the poorest in the world despite having received substantial overseas assistance, there’s no sign the new generation of military leaders would put this aid to good use. Indeed, the post-1988 regime has extended its defence capabilities dramatically compared with its predecessor, the BSPP. Over the past two decades, for example, about 20 percent of government expenditure has been on defence, while the army has swelled to more than 400,000 since 1997—double its size in 1989.
Having seen the effects of Burmese sanctions, it’s becoming clearer who has been helping the regime realise its military ambitions over the past 23 years. Although Western democracies like to take the moral high ground on human rights and freedoms, their unethical foreign policies are in practice little better than those of Burma’s neighbours, who nakedly abuse its resources. If the so-called liberal democracies want to demonstrate a genuine desire to promote democracy in Burma, they must cut off their economic ties with the regime. Unless unified and well-coordinated multilateral measures that can genuinely isolate the regime are introduced, the Burmese people will continue to suffer under a thinly disguised dictatorship.
Even if other countries in the region can be neither forced nor convinced to stop exploiting Burmese resources, the West staying away from doing business in the country could still hurt the regime and give Burmese a fighting chance.
Of course, eventually, it will be up to the people of Burma to stand on their own feet. Still, it’s crucial for those who have the luxury of freedom in their own countries to behave ethically and take their business elsewhere—not to Burma, where a dictatorship flourishes in a plethora of colourful disguises.
Zaw Nay Aung is director of Burma Independence Advocates in London
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Tuesday September 20, 2011
The Star Online - Myanmar man in love triangle stabbed
GEORGE TOWN: A Myanmar national survived after being stabbed at least four times by a Bangladeshi following a quarrel over a woman at an apartment in Relau here.
The two men, in their 30s, apparently could not come to an agreement over who would court the Indonesian woman.
They refused to back out of the relationship as both of them claimed to love the woman.
In the midst of the argument, the Bangladeshi whipped out a knife and stabbed the Myanmar in the shoulder, back and armpit at the apartment on Sunday.
George Town OCPD Asst Comm Gan Kong Meng said the assailant, who fled after the attack, had been identified, adding that the victim was warded at the Penang Hospital in a stable condition.
In another incident, a 44-year-old beautician lost more than RM50,000 in cash, jewellery and Rolex watches after her luxury condominium on Jalan Tengku Kudin was broken into.
The victim, 44, found her home in a mess upon returning from lunch with her family members at about 4pm on Sept 10. It is learnt that the burglar gained entry via the toilet window.
ACP Gan said police managed to lift 10 sets of fingerprints from the scene adding that finger- prints were vital to their investigations as there were no eyewitnesses.
“We are still waiting for the results from Bukit Aman.
“The case is being investigated as burglary under Section 457 of the Penal Code,” he said.
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Time Magazine - Is This How Wars Start? India and China Now Feud Over the South China Sea
Posted by Ishaan Tharoor Monday, September 19, 2011 at 6:43 pm
Last week, one of the world's most intractable disputes got even stickier. News leaked that the international-arm of India's state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) was in talks with the government of Vietnam over hydrocarbon exploration rights in the South China Sea. In most parts of the world this would seem a routine bi-lateral development between two countries driven by their dynamic economies. But the South China Sea, whose waters are claimed to varying degree by half a dozen countries and almost in full by China, is unlike any body of water in the world, and where an oil company may see opportunity, most others only see a swirling geo-political maelstrom.
China and Vietnam have competing territorial claims to the sea and the archipelagoes — uninhabited spits of land and rock, for the most part — sitting at its heart. The long-running dispute flared alarmingly over the summer following confrontations between Chinese and Vietnamese vessels. Adding India to the mix — the only country in Asia that presents something of a challenge to Chinese primacy — can only exacerbate tensions. An editorial in the Chinese state-run Global Times, often a mouthpiece for more hawkish elements among the leadership in Beijing, sternly warned India against “pursuing this course of action.” The editorial went on:
India should bear in mind that its actions in the South China Sea will push China to the limit. China cherishes the Sino-Indian friendship, but this does not mean China values it above all else…
China has been peaceful for so long that some countries doubt whether it will stick to its stated bottom line. China should remind them of how clear this line really is.
Invoking dusty imperial records and charts, both Beijing and Hanoi insist upon the “indisputable” nature of their maritime sovereignty. Taiwan, Indonesia, the Philippines, Brunei, and Malaysia also have overlapping claims. But, given the presence of a potentially vast cache of hydrocarbons below its depths and its strategic value as the main thoroughfare for some of the world's most important shipping lanes, it's not surprising that the South China Sea piques the interests of other powers further afield.
Last year, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said resolving the disputes in the South China Sea and ensuring safe passage for international shipping was, for the Americans, a “leading diplomatic priority” — another way of saying that Washington reserves the right to intervene in those waters. India has stepped up its defense ties with Vietnam, winning access to naval ports while helping Hanoi ready a new fleet of submarines. Beijing has been somewhat spooked by such collaboration, not least because of Vietnam's proximity to Hainan, the island province where China's own rapidly modernizing nuclear submarine fleet is housed. According to reports that emerged only this past month, in late July, a Chinese ship attempted to intercept an Indian warship, the INS Airavat, off the Vietnamese coast. The Airavat was headed to the Vietnamese port of Haiphong on a routine mission. Earlier, a testy standoff between Chinese naval vessels and Vietnamese ships exploring for oil kicked off a summer of simmering tensions.
India and China share a long, heavily militarized (and also disputed) land border across the spine of the Himalayas. But while differences there have been more or less frozen for decades across a glacial expanse, the threat of confrontations at sea may prove far more unpredictable. Gwynne Dyer, a veteran Asia hand, writes:
You can attack a land border if you really want to, but it is a very big decision with incalculable consequences: a declaration of war, in effect. Even the most arrogant or paranoid governments will think long and hard before embarking on such an action, and generally they end up by deciding not to do it. Whereas at sea, you can easily drift into a serious military confrontation that neither side intended.
And the possible scenarios for (inadvertent) Sino-Indian naval conflict will only mushroom over time. After all, India's tentative wading into the South China Sea follows a steady drum beat of Chinese projects across the Indian Ocean rim around India — what some have dubbed the “string of pearls.” According to some Indian strategists, China has set up naval facilities and listening posts from Burma to Pakistan, with a strategic, deep-sea port at Hambantota, Sri Lanka, in between.
Therefore, writes Harsh Pant, an international affairs scholar at King's College, London, India should play the same game. He writes:
India is right to forcefully reject Chinese claims of sovereignty over the entire South China Sea. It should now build credible strategic partnerships with other regional states to prevent a Chinese regional dominance that will undermine Indian and regional security interests.
On one level, such thinking makes plenty of sense: as rising powers neither India nor China should compromise their own interests to placate the oft-illusory fears of the other. But, despite the strength of the two countries' economic ties and the paeans to their friendship that frequently emanate from both capitals, few doubt that the rise of India and China will lead to friction. Neighbors in a complicated region, they are bound to bump up against each other. And when the two nuclear-armed nations that comprise nearly a third of humanity do bump, the stakes will be high — and the fallout potentially incalculable.
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Myanmar adopts more conciliatory stance towards its opponents:
Daily News - ‘Arab-style uprising not the answer to Myanmar’s problems’
Tuesday, 20 September 2011
Myanmar: democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi said that an Arab-style uprising is not the answer to Myanmar’s problems, and welcomed tentative signs of political change under the new nominally civilian government. Suu Kyi who spent years as a prisoner in her own home with no telephone or Internet access,also said she is now free but too busy to use Facebook and Twitter.
“I just haven’t had the time,” the Nobel Peace Prize winner told AFP in an interview at her party offices in Yangon.
“If I were to tweet and so on it would take up so much of my time. I have to confess we are a bit snowed under because paying off a debt of work that has accumulated over seven years is not done in a hurry,” she said.
Soon after her release in November, Suu Kyi had expressed a desire to use social networking sites. But she said that for now, her party would make do with websites set up by its supporters overseas.
Internet connections are notoriously slow in Myanmar, whose rulers also have a history of blocking critical websites and jailing online dissidents.
Social networking sites were used by anti-government demonstrators to thwart censorship during pro-democracy revolts in Tunisia and Egypt.
And during a failed monk-led uprising in Myanmar in 2007, citizens used the web to leak extensive accounts and video to the outside world, prompting the regime to block Internet access.
Her party won a 1990 election but was never allowed to take office. It boycotted an election held last year, the first in two decades, and as a result it was delisted as a political party by the regime.
Recently, however, the regime has adopted a more conciliatory stance towards its opponents, including Suu Kyi, who met President Thein Sein last month. Internet users in army-dominated Myanmar during the week said they were able to see previously blocked media websites, including the Burmese-language version of the BBC, but doubts remained about whether the move would last.
The country’s Internet legislation has long been among the world’s most repressive, according to the Paris-based Reporters Without Borders.
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Scoop.co.nz - Burma turns hostile to Indian Separatist Groups
By Nava Thakuria
September 19, 2011
The militant outfits from Northeast India, who are operating from the jungles of northern Burma (Myanmar), have a hard time ahead. As India and Burma have strengthen its strategic relationship, it is understood that Indian separatist groups would face more attacks in Burmese soil. Moreover, it may go intensive in the next few weeks as the Burmese president Thein Sein is visiting India in October 2011.
One of the active armed groups of India, the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) has admitted that their camps in Burma are facing offensives from the Burmese soldiers.
The news cannot be confirmed from the Burmese government at Nay Pie Taw, as it has little visibility in these remote areas which are in reality being ruled by the arms and drugs mafia for decades now. Of course, the version of ULFA leaders indicates that some kind of confrontations between the Burmese forces and Northeastern militant groups may be going on there.
Even the unconfirmed media reports suggested that the Burmese authority maintained its offensive against the separatist militants for many weeks and the ULFA military chief Paresh Baruah received bullet injuries.
The Sagaing division of Burma is used for shelter by many militants including the ULFA, SS Khaplang (a Burmese) led National Socialist Council of Nagaland, Manipur People's Liberation Army, UNLF and Prepak. They have nearly 300 trained cadres in their hideouts inside the jungles of northern Burma.
A recent statement from the ULFA camp revealed that their hideouts inside Burma were attacked by the government forces, but it claimed that all of their cadres escaped unhurt. Later another statement from ULFA claimed that Paresh Baruah had not received any injuries in the offensive. To prove their claims, the statement added a photograph of the illusive ULFA leader. It is the second photograph of Paresh Baruah, which has been released by the militant outfit itself in the last few months. The Indian intelligence has reportedly no recent photographs of Paresh Baruah except some pix taken in Bhutan camps before December 2003. The email statement, issued by Paresh Baruah’s close associate Arunoday Dahotiya went on alleging that that the Indian central government in New Delhi had paid a huge amount of arms and money to the Burmese regime to go offensive against the ULFA militants.
Mentionable is that the Indian government had recently supplied 52 military trucks load of arms and ammunition to the Burmese government. India maintained its strategic and military relationship with the Burmese regime even after receiving brickbats from the international community. Expressing resentment at New Delhi's continued military relationship with Nay Pie Taw, hundreds of pro-democracy Burmese activists and various Indian civil society groups demonstrated in New Delhi on July 22, 2011 arguing that 'supplying arms to the most brutal military dictatorship may have grave consequences to millions of innocent lives'.
The demonstrators also sent a memorandum to Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh urging him to renew New Delhi's support the Burmese people's movement for restoration of peace and democracy in Burma. Till the early nineties, Indian government supported the democratic movement led by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. But later it changed the course and started engaging the then military regime named State Peace and Development Council for various bi-lateral relationships.
"We believe that India is a nation founded on sound democratic principles and time and again India has proven to uphold the principles of constitutionally elected governments. Further as a nation committed to playing an important, if not pivotal role in maintaining peace in the region, it is unbecoming of a responsible nation to supply arms to countries known for abusing military power," stated the memorandum, which was signed by nearly hundred Indian civil society groups and individuals with many Burmese organizations. The ULFA, which was born in 1979 to make Assam independent out of India three decades back, today is a divided house, as its chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa with his followers have joined in the peace process with New Delhi. However, ULFA’s commander-in-chief Paresh Baruah continues sticking to the primary demand for a Swadhin Asom. The notorious leader is understood to leave Bangladesh recently and now stay somewhere in Burma-China border areas, where from he and his followers are maintaining their so-called armed struggle.
Arunoday Dahotiya’s mail clearly claimed that New Delhi ‘paid a special economic package worth as high as Indian Rupees 20,000 crores to flush out the rebel camps’ from the Burmese soil. Additionally, the Burmese government is offered (by Indian government) Rs 100 crore to kill Paresh Baruah’ within this September, added the statement. It had more to add that New Delhi maintained the practice (to pay neighboring countries in need) since long back. The Indian government paid Rs 1000 crore package to Bhutan to destroy ULFA, following which Thimphu flushed out the ULFA camps inside south Bhutan in December 2003, Arunoday Dahotiya claimed.
The Indian government had recently offered money to the Bangladesh government led by Awami League chief Sheikh Hasina with a request to take actions against the ULFA leaders and cadres taking shelter in that country. Accordingly, Dhaka handed over many militant leaders (including ULFA chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa to Indian authority. Though India and Bangladesh doesnot have an extradition treaty, the Bangladesh authority arrested the militant leaders and secretly handed over to India. No official statement was issued by the Bangladesh government on the matter and even the Bangladeshi newspapers had to depend on India’s media to report about the important issue.
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CONTRIBUTOR
The Irrawaddy - Who and What is Zaw Min?
By AUNG LYNN HTUT Monday, September 19, 2011
Zaw Min, the minister for Burma’s Ministry of Electric Power-1 (MEP-1), recently stood in front of the press and—in a manner disdainful to critics—declared that the highly controversial Myitsone Dam project would go full speed ahead and nothing would stop its completion. So who is this man who so easily stood up and dismissed the fact that the Myitsone Dam is certain to have an adverse affect on the lives of hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of Burmese citizens?
In May 1998, the Burmese military killed 81 innocent civilians, including women and children, on a sandy beach on Christie Island off the far southern coast of Burma. Zaw Min, then an army colonel, was the tactical commander for the operation, which was ordered by then junta chief Snr-Gen Than Shwe.
After the slaughter, Than Shwe rewarded Zaw Min by appointing him the chairman of the State Peace and Development Council for Magwe Division. Then over the next few years, the man who was promoted to the rank of colonel much later than his classmates after graduating from Intake 15 of the Defense Services Academy, became the minister for the Ministry of Cooperatives and the joint-general secretary of the Union Solidarity and Development Association, which in 2010 was transformed into the now ruling political party, the Union Solidarity and Development Party. Zaw Min went on to become the minister for the MEP-1 under the Than Shwe regime, and he held onto that position when the new government was formed earlier this year.
So why was Zaw Min, a man of sub-par qualifications and capabilities, appointed to top-level positions and allowed to remain there to this day?
The Christie Island massacre was an undeniable incident, and Burma’s top military brass may still be haunted by its ghosts. Tomás Ojea Quintana, the United Nations special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Burma, has recommended a commission of inquiry to investigate alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Burma, and many powerful countries in the world have endorsed its formation. As a result, Than Shwe and the other top generals from the previous regime have to keep people like Zaw Min happy and in their hip-pockets.
The Christie Island operation involved many top officers in the Burmese military. The attack was a joint army-navy-air force operation designed by Than Shwe. Along with Zaw Min, the senior general assigned many officers to participate in the operation as well. Myself, Maj Aung Lin Htut from the Military Intelligence Unit (MI), were assigned.
On the day of the intended operation, however, when Col Zaw Min and the military columns arrived at Christie Island they did not find the enemy. Instead, they found 59 men, women and children, including a new-born baby, from the Kawthaung area who had gone there to collect firewood. Col Zaw Min reported the presence of the civilians to the operation command center, and the commander-in-chief of the navy, head of the operation, ordered Zaw Min not to do anything unless they were established to be the enemy. Operation chief then informed Snr-Gen Than Shwe about the people Zaw Min had found on the island.
Afterwards, commander-in-chief of the navy and other members of the team assigned to the Christie Island operation, including myself, went to the island a number of times to
inspect the situation. On one occasion, I noticed that commander-in-chief of the navy was giving snacks to children, and that Zaw Min seemed unhappy about what his commander was doing. Then at 9 p.m. On the day we arrived back from our last visit to the island, a telegraph from Snr-Gen Than Shwe arrived.
The telegraph contained an order to kill all civilians on Christie Island. That same night, the commander-in-chief of the navy summoned all commanding officers and told them about the order. Most of the officers were not happy about the instructions—some officials thought the order was a mistaken command given by a drunken Vice-Snr-Gen Maung Aye, then the second-in-command of the Burmese armed forces, and proposed that a clarification be requested the next morning. By majority vote from the navy and air force, it was decided to ask the War Office for clarification.
The next morning, the commander-in-chief of the navy talked to General Staff officer of the Office of Commander-in-Chief of Defense Services. After his conversation, the commander-in-chief of the navy was told that “the order came from Big Uncle [Snr-Gen Than Shwe]” and he was asked to follow it. He then directed Col Zaw Min to carry out the order.
According to the then commander of No. 19 Intelligence Unit in Magwe, Tenessarim Division who is currently serving a long-term imprisonment, Col Zaw Min told his junior officers in detail how to slaughter the innocent civilians. Then upon Zaw Min’s order, all civilians, including children, were made to stand on the beach and shot to death.
Photographs of the scene were secretly taken and kept in MI headquarters, and I showed the photos to former Gen Khin Nyunt, the then MI chief, in a morning briefing.
Now Zaw Min, the man who oversaw the Christie Island massacre and whose hands are stained with the blood of those civilians, is the man in charge of the MEP-1 overseeing the Myitsone Dam project, which will affect the lives of hundreds of thousands of civilians. He has demonstrated no kindness or prudence in the past, and he will not care how many people will be displaced, lose their livelihoods or die because of the massive dam.
As in the past, Zaw Min will just focus on his own interests. He can do this, and get away with rude responses to those that question the propriety of the Myitsone Dam, because “the Big Uncle” is still behind the scenes, masterminding the operation and protecting those that carry out his orders.
If President Thein Sein really had the authority to freely make decisions, he would not let Zaw Min respond the way he did to critics who have raised legitimate concerns about the dam. But men like Zaw Min remain in place to say and do what Snr-Gen Than Shwe wants them to say and do.
(Ex-Maj Aung Lynn Htut is a former military intelligence officer and deputy ambassador to the US. He sought political asylum in Washington DC in 2005.)
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The Irrawaddy - KIA Warned Not to Block Myitsone Trucks
By KO HTWE Tuesday, September 20, 2011
The Burmese government has asked the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) to clear its troops from a route along the Sino-Burmese border because they are currently preventing the transport of construction materials from China to the site of the highly controversial Myitsone Dam in Kachin State.
Government authorities made the request last week via a representative of the independent Kachin Myitkyina Council that the Kachin soldiers be withdrawn from Lahpai tollgate located halfway to the Kanpaiti border gate near the KIA's military headquarters in Laiza in northern Burma.
The presence of the ethnic militia is apparently deterring the transport of construction materials to the 6,000-megawatt dam project which is being built by the state-owned China Power Investment Company in a joint venture with Burma's Ministry of Electric Power and a private company, AsiaWorld.
The construction project at the confluence of Burma's Irrawaddy River has met with widespread opposition by the KIA, the Burmese public and environmental groups because of potential social and environmental impacts.
Speaking to The Irrawaddy on Tuesday, La Nan, a spokesman for the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), the political wing of the KIA, said that the government asked them to remove their troops saying that the KIA is engaged in robberies and extorting money from cross-border drivers.
“It sound like a warning,” he said. “If we don't withdraw our soldiers, the government say they will attack us.”
Kanpaiti and Laiza are the nearest border gates for contractors AsiaWorld to import construction materials and fuel through. Since renewed armed clashes between the KIA and government troops flared in June, KIA troops in the area have routinely prohibited the transportation of construction materials to the Myitsone dam site, even though work is currently suspended due to the rainy season.
Since the project was announced in 2006, the KIA has consistently opposed the project, though mostly through peaceful means such as addressing a local petition to former military chief Snr-Gen Than Shwe.
Many Burmese intellectuals and activists recently launched a “Save the Irrawaddy” campaign to protect the river which acts as the country's backbone and which provides livelihoods to millions of people.
Minister of Electric Power-1 ex- Col Zaw Min held a workshop to assess hydro power projects with scholars, researchers and NGO staffers in Naypyidaw on Saturday, but no decision was reached on whether to suspend the Myitsone hydropower project.
Zaw Min slammed anti-Myitsone protests as “a disease” and vowed continue working for the implementation of the project.
Earlier this year, the KIA sent a letter to Chinese president Hu Jintao appealing for the withdrawal of Chinese investment in the Myitsone Dam project, saying that the continuing construction of the dam would spark a civil war in Burma.
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The Irrawaddy - Dawei Project Hits a Roadblock, as KNU Bans Ital-Thai Vehicles
By LAWI WENG Tuesday, September 20, 2011
The Karen National Union (KNU) has banned all vehicles owned by the Italian-Thai Development (ITD) Company from using a road linking the Thai province of Kanchanaburi to Burma's southern seaport of Tavoy in order to halt work on a controversial project in the area, according to Karen sources.
The road, which is still under construction, is being built by ITD as part of the multi-billion-dollar Dawei Development Project, which aims to turn Tavoy into a major transport and manufacturing hub, including petrochemical plants that are seen as a threat to the region's pristine coastline.
Speaking to The Irrawaddy on Tuesday, Zipporah Sein, the general secretary of the KNU, said: “All development projects must abide by international laws. We do not want them to destroy the environment and cause the people to suffer because of it.”
A systematic environmental impact assessment must be carried out before the project is allowed to continue, she added.
“The people must have the right to decide. They need to know about the impact of the project,” she said.
Eh Na, the editor of Kwekalu, a Karen news agency, said that KNU informed the company of the ban on Sept 15.
“However, for humanitarian reasons, they will allow some vehicles to use the road to transport food to workers on the Burmese side,” added Eh Na, who has also done extensive research on the Dawei project.
The US $60 billion project, which was approved by the Burmese military government in March last year, includes a deep-sea port, a giant industrial zone, roads, railways, transmission lines, and oil and gas pipelines.
The KNU have been blocking vehicles carrying ITD employees since July, said Karen sources. The KNU said its actions are based on calls from local villagers who say that the mega-project will have a severe negative impact on people living in the area and the environment.
Meanwhile, there are reports that Thai military commanders in Kanchanaburi are unhappy about the new road, which they say will have strategic value for the Burmese army.
“If the Burmese launch a military operation in the future, this road will give them easy access to the border,” said a source close to the Thai army who requested anonymity.
“They [the Thai army] worry that as soon as the Burmese army reaches the border, the more they will have to suffer,” he added.
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No MPs sign up to discuss Burma’s budget deficit in Lower House
Tuesday, 20 September 2011 21:50 Myo Thant
Chiang Mai (Mizzima) – A report on a US$ 2.7 billion budget shortfall for the 2011-12 fiscal year submitted by the Lower House Public Accounts Committee on Monday went without discussion by MPs in Tuesday’s Parliament session.
On Monday, the Public Accounts Committee informed the Upper House that the total budget deficit for 2011-12 fiscal year was 2,371.945 billion kyat.
Upper House Deputy Speaker Mya Nyein said that MPs could register to discuss the budget on Tuesday, but no MP registered to speak on the issue. The Upper House just recorded the budget report by the Public Accounts Committee chairman San Pye and proceeded to other business.
MPs told Mizzima that they did not want to discuss the report because there were no members of the government on the Public Accounts Committee.
Phone Myint Aung of the New National Democracy Party said: “If there were officials from the ministries on the committee, we would eagerly discuss it. But the committee is made up of MPs, so if we want to put questions, we must ask them. We all are MPs, so we don’t want to intervene with other MPs. We don’t want to invade on the interests of others.”
According to the Public Accounts Committee report, the budget deficit for the central government for the 2011-12 fiscal year is 2,201.45 billion kyat and the budget deficit for state and regional governments is 170.495 billion kyat.
The report did not reveal how budget expenditures were divided among ministries or government sectors or the amount of budget deficits that were accrued for each sector, according to MPs.
An MP said: “The committee’s members don’t want to disclose the information to people outside the committee. The committee just gave a summary [of the budget deficit] to the Upper House.”
The 15-member Public Accounts Committee was formed on March 3. It comprises MPs from the Upper House and the Lower House. Members of the committee have faced financial problems such as travel costs incurred while auditing government ministries, according to MPs.
Underscoring the problems in Burma’s finances, in spite of the current deficit many ministries are still woefully underfunded.
In August, Mizzima reported that Health Minister Dr. Pe Thet Khin told MPs that his department received a very small health budget––about 43 percent of its essential needs.
The shortfall will cause a lack of medicine and services in government hospitals, he said. The minister said his agency needed 8 billion kyat per year but received 3.5 billion kyat.
Tin Yu, a Union Solidarity of Development Party MP from Rangoon Region constituency No. 11, questioned the minister on health care services in government hospitals in states and regions. Pe Thet Khin said that medicines were insufficient in government clinics and hospitals, and they would be unable to provide adequate health services.
In March, at the first regular parliamentary session, MP Dr. Sai Kyaw Ohn of the Shan Nationalities Democratic Party [SNDP] made a motion to set up a state health programme to grant free public health care services to low-income people. Former Health Minister Dr. Kyaw Myint replied that Burma used a cost-sharing system and rejected the suggestion.
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Ward, village-tract administrative chiefs to be appointed by superiors
Tuesday, 20 September 2011 20:16 Te Te
New Delhi (Mizzima) - The Burmese Lower House has approved a bill that stipulates the public will not elect ward and village-tract administrative office chiefs. Instead, they will be nominated by the Township administrative office and elected by street heads.
On August 29, the Home Affairs Ministry submitted the “Ward or Village-tract Administration Bill” to the Lower House Bill Committee. On Friday, the Lower House approved the bill by a big majority, led by MPs from the Union Solidarity and Development Party.
Opposition MPs submitted proposals to modify the bill to allow residents to elect ward and village-tract office chiefs by a secret ballot. However, after Home Affairs Minister Lieutenant General Ko Ko objected to the motion, the bill was passed.
A total of 344 out of 385 MPs in the Lower House voted against the motion to modify the bill.
MP Thein Nyunt of the New National Democracy Party (NNDP) said that the system in which ward and village-tract administrative office chiefs are nominated by superior authorities without a public vote reflected current Burmese politics.
“To decide whether our country is a strong or weak democracy, it will depend on whether people are elected or appointed by superior authorities,” he said.
Earlier, some members of the government said village-tract administrative office chiefs should be elected or selected after public input.
Nyan Tun Oo, the minister for Electric Power and Industry of Rangoon Region, told reporters in May that ward and village-tract administrative office chiefs must not be a member of a political party and before appointing a ward or village-tract chief, the authorities should consult with the leaders of the relevant wards or village-tracts.
“The people can make a list of eligible voters in the coming elections. So, they can have an influence on the elections,” said Kyi Myint, an MP from the NNDP.
The bill approved by the Lower House set the terms for village-tract and ward chiefs the same as the term of Parliament. A person can be appointed for a maximum of three terms.
The bill will now go to the Upper House and if it approves the bill, it will be sent to President Thein Sein. The president must sign the bill within 14 days and then it will go into effect.
If the Upper House opposes the bill, it could be discussed in a joint parliamentary session.
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A Kachin leader’s views on Myitsone Dam
Tuesday, 20 September 2011 16:54 Mizzima News
(Commentary) – Howa Duma Zau Gam of Myitkyina is a son of the Kachin leader who initiated and signed the Panglong Agreement in 1947, the milestone agreement on ethnic unity in Burma prior to its independence. Last year, he met with U Myint, the head of President U Thein Sein's economic advisor team. The following is a commentary by Howa Duma Zau Gam on the controversial Myitsone Dam project.
In 1987, I heard a series of loud blasts at night and wondered what’s happening? I was about to run out and look, and then I saw a large Banyan tree and other trees were drifting away in a large volume of water. Later, the whole valley of Nalonlae was covered with sand and looked like a desert. We couldn't continue work on the farms for a long time.
In Kachin, there’s a traditional saying, a word called "Mawro," which means a giant mudslide or a mountain collapses and breaks into pieces.
In the 2004 flood, the Kyeinkaran hydropower dam was cracked in six places and it finally broke. The torrents were so large that it was like a huge waterfall, and it uprooted giant trees. It was all in a split second, and we couldn’t do anything. Within a short time, the houses beside Tanparae village were swept away by the water. The event has traumatized my life and the fear left a scar in my mind.
It was like bulldozing things at nine o'clock at night. I heard booming sounds as the water raged by. It felt like an earthquake, and the world was at the end. The scene of that disaster is still with me. The floodwater at first was just about at the calf level, but I couldn't stand in it. The torrent was so strong.
If it had been a normal flood, we could have run. But when the dam broke, we had no time to run. I am frightened even when I think about it now.
Who can give us a guarantee that the Myitsone Dam will never break? The Chinese leaders or the Burmese leaders?
There are always pros and cons in every type of project – the negative and positive effects. For the positive effect of this dam, who will enjoy the benefits, the electricity? China will take it all. Who will suffer from the negative consequences?
You can rebuild damaged property, but it is not easy to rehabilitate people who suffer from post-traumatic distress and mental stress. Our country has experienced such disasters before.
In the Myitsone Dam scenario, it is questionable that profits from this project could cover the loss to the environment and the people who will be affected by it. Who can give a guarantee that such a disaster will never be repeated? The benefits to the Burmese people are small, but we have to pay a high price. The project needs to be opposed by Bamar, Shan, Kachin, Karen and every other citizen.
If we block the river here with the dam, the soil will wash down from the mountains and jungles and it will be trapped and become silt in the reservoir. The population living down stream will not be able to farm and grow crops in the same way. Farmers will suffer all the way down to the end of the Irrawaddy River. The impact will hit the whole country. This dam issue involves everyone.
There is a Chinese proverb, "We’re not afraid to die, but to starve." This is the spririt of humans who seek well-being while they are alive. If we don't consider our future, if we don't keep a fraternal spirit, the opportunities for a productive future can be ruined.
I think the dam is being built for two reasons: first, for generating electricity and second for China to control Burma. The dam is being built to control security within Burma; it’s like planting a ticking bomb. Burma’s leaders will have to listen to what the Chinese are saying. The construction of the dam is a serious long-term issue, and it could ultimately affect millions of citizens. That’s why I worry so much. The benefit for us is little, while the advantages for the Chinese are great.
That is why I signed and suggested a petition against the dam. I signed first. If they ask me to express my views, I have a lot to say.
This is an issue on which everybody should be consulted before a final decision is made. There is a phrase in the Bible, "Work without any consultation can lead to ruin.” If we consult more, we will have a better chance of achieving success. I want everyone to have all the information and to have an opinion on this matter.
A natural disaster could stem from something like an earthquake, or from some other natural cause, but with a project as large as the Myitsone Dam a disaster could not be controlled or stopped if it occurred.
For these reason, I think we should go slow. We should not risk people’s lives or livelihood just for economic gain. It is good for the present government to seek a variety of ways to help develop the country. But the Myitsone Dam project worries me so much that I can't eat or sleep well.
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DVB News - Redefining the skewed vocabulary
By BENEDICT ROGERS
Published: 20 September 2011
Two phrases have come to dominate conversations about Burma in recent weeks – “charm offensive” and “wait and see”. It is time to redefine the conversation.
As far as the regime’s “charm offensive” is concerned, no one disputes that some things have changed in Burma. Six months ago, the military intelligence told me that there was “no change, no change,” as they threw me out of the country. However, now that assessment is no longer valid. The question we should ask is not whether there is change, but how much, how significant, how deep and how permanent it is?
That Thein Sein invited Aung San Suu Kyi to Naypyidaw, allowed the meeting to be publicised, and that she has remarked on how positive their talks were is clearly a shift on the regime’s part. Whether it is merely a shift in style and tone, or a real shift in attitude, is unclear, but it is a change from the days when the regime refused to talk to her. It is also different from the previous talks that have been held. In the past, when Suu Kyi has been released from periods of house arrest, talks took place secretly, with no joint statements, no
public comments, no media coverage beyond speculation. This time, it seems, was different.
For the time being, despite being ‘illegal’ in the regime’s view, Suu Kyi’s party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), has had more space in which to operate. Suu Kyi’s diary is full of meetings with her supporters, other actors within the country and foreign diplomats and activists. The NLD office, as one Burmese told me, is the busiest place in Rangoon. That is a change.
This weekend the regime announced that previously banned websites would be permitted in Burma, enabling Burmese internet users to access DVB, Radio Free Asia and YouTube, among others. That is a change.
These changes must be welcomed. To do otherwise would be churlish, and counter-productive. However, to think that because one meeting has taken place, the NLD has some space and some websites have been unblocked, a process of democratisation and transition is underway would be a mistake. If the regime wants to show it is serious, it needs to do much more.
Based on the evidence so far, these changes, while welcome, represent little more than a charm offensive. Furthermore, it is a quite unique charm offensive, for it combines a small amount of charm and still plenty of offensives.
Since the sham elections in November last year and the formation of a new parliament and government, the regime has broken two ceasefires with armed ethnic groups, one with the Shan which had lasted 22 years, the other with the Kachin, which had held for 17 years. Among its first acts as a supposedly new civilian-led government was to launch new offensives against civilians in northern Shan state, Kachin state and continue attacks on Karen and others. Forced labour, rape as a weapon of war, the destruction of villages, the use of human minesweepers, the forcible recruitment of child soldiers, religious persecution, torture and killings continue. The Rohingya continue to be denied citizenship, subjected to severe restrictions on movement, marriage, access to education and freedom of religion. At least 2,000 political prisoners remain behind bars.
Until there is clear action to end these violations, we cannot speak of meaningful change; until all political prisoners are free, we cannot say Burma has reformed; until the regime declares a nationwide ceasefire, ends the violations and addresses impunity, we cannot talk of national reconciliation. At the very least, as a starting point, the charm offensive must involve substantiating the charm with action, and ending the offensives against ethnic people.
The second phrase in the international vocabulary about Burma is “wait and see”. This expression has been in circulation for a long time. Sadly, international policy-makers have spent too much time waiting and seeing, and that is one reason why Burma does not have the freedom it deserves. Every time there is a development in Burma, diplomats say we must “wait and see”. When there is a setback, a crackdown, a new offensive, a blatantly sham constitution and fake elections, we are told it is too soon to act – we must wait and see how it develops. When there are apparent good steps, such as the release of Suu Kyi or some signs of potential change, we are told we must wait and see how they develop. This passivity has got us nowhere.
So we should make a small but significant change of wording. Let’s replace “wait and see” with “work and see”. If we simply continue to wait, we will never see the change we all desire. However, if we work for it, with a combination of tools and strategies, we can help the people of Burma win their struggle for freedom.
What does that work entail? A combination of targeted pressure, high-level diplomatic engagement, increased practical and financial support for Burmese civil society and pro-democracy groups working for change, inside the country and along its borders, and increased humanitarian aid, within the country, cross-border and along the borders to address the dire humanitarian situation.
Pressure must be maintained. Now is not the time to let up on the regime. Pressure must be targeted, and it must be made clear that pressure can be eased if there are genuine changes and tightened if there are setbacks. That pressure should include the continuation of targeted sanctions, and a strengthening of the UN General Assembly resolution next month, to address the impunity question.
This should be combined with a high-level engagement approach, involving the UN Secretary General. Now is the time for him to appoint a new Special Envoy, to lead a concerted effort to support a dialogue process. The meeting between Suu Kyi and Thein Sein was welcome, but by itself it does not amount to dialogue. One meeting is not dialogue, just as one date is not a marriage. Steps need to be taken by the UN, and by Burma’s neighbours, particularly China, India, Thailand and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, as well as the United States, the European Union, Canada and Australia, to encourage an inclusive dialogue process that involves Suu Kyi, the democracy movement, the ethnic nationalities and the regime.
Practical and financial support for groups inside the country, and those working in exile, who are working for democratisation should be strengthened. These include Burmese pro-democracy media, women’s organisations, trade unions and civil society groups working, often underground, on social issues such as the environment and HIV/AIDS as well as politics and human rights.
Serious attention should be paid to the developing humanitarian crisis, both within the country and along the borders. Many international actors are talking of working more inside the country, and that is to be welcomed. However, it should not be at the expense of the vulnerable refugees and internally displaced peoples along the borders.
It should not be an ‘either/or’ choice, but a ‘both/and’ approach, ensuring that refugees are not forcibly repatriated until there is real change and it is safe for them to return home, and that in the meantime they continue to receive the protection, shelter, food, medical care and education they need, not only to survive but to prepare for the day when they can eventually return home and help rebuild their country.
So let’s agree that while there may be some signs of potential opportunities for change, the regime’s past record shows that there have been similar apparent openings before, which have been followed by severe crackdowns. Let’s find ways to seize the moment, and help push wide the door which may have opened a crack. If the charm is sincere, the offensives should end, and if we are to see real change, we must work, not wait.
Benedict Rogers is East Asia Team Leader at Christian Solidarity Worldwide, and author of ‘Than Shwe: Unmasking Burma’s Tyrant’ (Silkworm Books, 2010).
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DVB News - Govt could reconsider Myitsone dam
By NAY THWIN
Published: 19 September 2011
Electric Power-1 Minister, Zaw Min has seemingly thrown open the Myitsone dam debate by telling a seminar that the Ministry of Environmental Conservation should decide about the fate of the project.
Zaw Min drew criticisms last week after making a strongly worded statement about the dam stating that they would not back down, and that, “undesirable intentions to disrupt the projects would only harm our national interest.”
The minister made the move at a seminar in Naypyidaw, yesterday. In attendance was Ko Ko, editor of the Yangon Times, who told DVB that, “He [Zaw Min] said he will transfer this case to Environmental Conservation Department for the ministry to decide. He implied that country is now democratic and would accept a decision by the people.”
The idea of a rethink was also allegedly backed by Industrial 2 Minister and chairman of the Industrial Development Committee, Soe Thein.
“The minister [Zaw Min] said there was no minister specified for these issues when they initiated the [dam project] but now there is the Ministry of Environmental Conservation [and Forestry] and also an environmental law is being written,” said Ko Ko.
Ko Ko added that the Minister of Environmental Conservation and Forestry Win Tun pledged objectivity in making studies on the dam in the future.
He also said that Dr Htin Hla, director of Biodiversity and Nature Conservation Association (BANCA) who conducted a joint-research with Chinese experts on the Myitsone Dam project, read out a thesis at the event and suggested that the government publicise the report the group had previously conducted.
“He explained about how the report was compiled and admitted it wasn’t a complete study on the project as there wasn’t enough time. He said the report should be publicised and showed to the clients [Chinese],” Ko Ko said.
He said the Industrial-2 Minister Soe Thein also suggested inclusion of third-party groups such as the Meekong River Commission when conducting further studies and should give a transparency for the people and experts on what they find.
“I think the whole process may take time and in the end the project might be cancelled but at least it’s not going to continue for now,” said Ko Ko.
The decision on the dam will likely form a test case for ministerial level over sight, with previous parliamentary votes resulting in conservative outcomes.
The Myitsone dam is being built at a major confluence of the Irrawaddy river, the country’s largest and most important river system.
Meanwhile, U Ohn, environmentalist and chairman of the Myanmar Forest Resource Environment Development and Conservation Association (FREDA) said the ground underneath the confluence of Irrawaddy River is not stable as it is connected to Sagaing fault.
“As the ground where the dam would be built upon is not stable, there might be water leakage, formation of silt and earthquakes and the impact would reach as far as to the Irrawaddy Delta.”
The Sagaing fault is known to have caused a 7.3 Richter scale earthquake in 1930.
Ninety percent of the electricity output from the Myitsone Dam, when it is completed, will be sold to China. Whilst the Burmese government would it is estimated earn US$500 million per year from the project.
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Tuesday, 20 September 2011
BURMA RELATED NEWS - SEPTEMBER 20, 2011
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