News & Articles on Burma

Thursday, 10 May 2012
Asian Correspondent Asia News
Suu Kyis party plans for a nationwide party conference in Burma
By Zin Linn May 10, 2012 10:59PM UTC
The National League for Democracy (NLD) is going to convene a national conference in coming December in order to create a well-built party structure, according to sources close to senior leaders.

The NLD Central Executive Committee had tried to implement its democratic process of leadership pattern since 1989. Before Aung San Suu Kyi, the then General-Secretary of the party, was under house arrest for the first time on 19 July 1989, the NLD decided to launch a party conference starting from Rangoon Division.

At that time, the NLD Rangoon Division Organizing Committee took responsibility for party conference beginning from ward-ship and village-track level in Rangoon locality. The first village that held its party conference under the supervision of the NLD Rangoon Division Organizing Committee was Sar-boo-taung village in Hle-goo Township.


AP Photo: Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi smiles after submitting a by-election budget document to an official of the Yangon Divisional Union Election Commission office Wednesday, May 9, 2012, in Yangon, Myanmar (Burma).

After finishing respective ward-ships and village-tracks conferences, it had continued conferences for the township levels. Within four-month period ahead of 19 July 1989, the NLD Rangoon Division Organizing Committee had managed on accomplishment of around ten township-level conferences including Ta-mwe Township, Pa-un-daung township, Ah-lon Township etc.

But, the conference process was terminated due to the then military juntas crackdown on 19 July 1989. At the same time, the NLDs General-Secretary was also put under house-arrest. It seemed the military regime did not want strengthening of the NLD led by Aung San Suu Kyi. Even though, the National League for Democracy party won landslide in May election of 1990 which the junta ignore to honour it.

Now, after suffering the militarys suppression for over two decades, Aung San Suu Kyi and her party revitalize once more with full strength. It was also remarkable that the party had been dissolved on 14 September 2010, in favor of declining to join in November 2010 election, although it defiantly carried on its activities through its headquarters office.

Then, in August last year, Suu Kyi had a special meeting with President Thein Sein. Afterward, the government amended the political party registration law and allowed the NLD to re-register as a political party on November 24, 2011. The NLD has sold out approximately one million party applications forms prior to the April 1 by-election, but only about 50,000 applications have been returned to Rangoon headquarters in February, Mizzima News said.

In January, the NLD has restructured its party leadership and Suu Kyi became head of the party. According to our party structure Daw Aung San Suu Kyi became the chairman of the NLD, spokesman Nyan Win told AFP on 11 January.

One of the partys spokesmen Ohn Kyaing told Mizzima News that the party would be democratically reformed at every level throughout the country. The national conference will be held following lower-level conferences have been done, Ohn Kyaing said.

According to Ohn Kyaing, the issue of former members who quitted the NLD to found new parties competing in the 2010 general elections, and now want to rejoin the NLD will be taken up at the planned NLD conference.

In our long-running struggle, some party members violated some parts of our party regulations, he told Mizzima.

For instance, they did not follow the decision made by the majority. The party conference is the only place that has the power to decide our partys affairs, so we will put forward the case of those people [who violated partys regulations] at the conference, Ohn Kyaing said.

On 9 May, the NLD released a statement announcing on creation of the 9-member central organizing commission for convening party conference, namely Tin Oo (chairman), Nyan Win (secretary), Han Thar Myint (member), Thein Oo (member), Soe Win (member),Myo Nyunt (member), Lae Lae (member), Myint Myint Sein (member) and Khin Saw Mu (member).

In the latest steps forward, the NLD have won 43 out of 45 contested seats in the April by-election.

After two decades of house arrest by the military junta, the Nobel laureate and NLD Chairperson Aung San Suu Kyi once again officially takes public office as she won a seat in the lower house of the current parliament.

Now, the NLD led by Suu Kyi has been going to strengthen itself through a national conference planned to hold in December. Analysts believe that if the NLD could accomplish its national conference in this December, it would become the major challenger of the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) in 2015 general elections. http://asiancorrespondent.com/82310/suu-kyis-party-plans-for-a-nationwide-party-conference-in-burma/
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Burmese Army Threatens to Wipe Out the KIA
By LAWI WENG / THE IRRAWADDY| May 10, 2012 | Hits: 41

The commander of the Burmese Armys Northern Regional Military Command, Brig-Gen Zeyar Aung, told people in Pangwa, Kachin State, not to worry about the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) causing problems because his troops will wipe them out.

He made the statement at a meeting in Pangwa with the public, local militia troops and troops formerly of the New Democratic Army-Kachin (NDA-K) who were absorbed into the Burmese Armys Border Guard Force in 2010.

La Nan, a spokesperson for the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), the political wing of the KIA, said: We heard what he said at the meeting about the government troops wiping out our troops.

They could not wipe out the KIA even if they tried.

The KIA troops seized a former NDA-K base in Pangwa on April 16, with the loss of 31 men, according to state-run media.

They later withdrew claiming that fighting over the base in the town could cause civilian injuries.
Some observers suggested that the KIA seized the base to draw the Burmese troops away from attacking the KIO headquarters in Laiza.

More government troops have been deployed in the area of Laiza and fighting there has intensified in the last three days. It is believed that they are preparing for an assault on the KIO headquarters.

According to La Nan there are 2,000 to 3,000 government troops on the front line and other troops stationed in towns in Kachin State.

The fighting has forced 70,000 civilians to flee their homes to temporary refugee camps on the Sino-Burmese border.

The Burmese government blame KIO hardliners for failing to reach a peace deal.

Since fighting broke out in Kachin State last June there have been three rounds of peace talks between the KIO and the Burmese government delegation led by former Industry Minister Aung Thaung.

Talks have stalled because there has been no agreement on KIO demands for the withdrawal of government troops from near KIO-controlled areas and having international observers witness the signing of any peace agreement.

To try and break the deadlock the Burmese government has changed its peace negotiators and bought in Vice President Sai Mauk.

The KIA have said that just changing the personnel is not enough and that it must be accompanied by a change in policy. http://www.irrawaddy.org/archives/3951
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BURMA: AHRC condemns death sentence for torture victim
May 10, 2012
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(Hong Kong, May 10, 2012) The Asian Human Rights Commission has described the verdict of a court in Rangoon, sentencing a torture victim to death for his purported role in a bombing, as "farcical" and a "cut-and-paste" job, and has called for his release through the intervention of outside agencies.

District Judge Aung Thein presiding over a closed court in the central prison on Tuesday convicted the accused, Phyo Wai Aung, in four cases concerning the bombing of a festival in April 2010. The judge sentenced Phyo Wai Aung to death for abetting the murder of 10 people who died in the bombing, and to a total of 39 years in prison for a range of other offences.

The AHRC on Thursday morning released an urgent appeal with details of the verdicts: BURMA: Court sentences ailing Phyo Wai Aung to death after patently unjust trial

Speaking after the issuance of the appeal, the director of the Hong Kong-based regional human rights group, Wong Kai Shing, said that the verdicts showed that Burma's judiciary was clearly set in the authoritarian practices of old and had not been affected behaviourally by recent political changes.

"As the court could reach this farcical verdict only by ignoring legal grounds and instead working on the basis of some orders from elsewhere, we have no choice also but to call for a review of the case and intervention by those authorities with the power to overturn the death sentence, and secure the release of the accused," Wong said.

The court appeared to have just cut and paste its findings from one verdict to the next across the four cases, repeating the same points with little variation in contents, except as required for the specific elements of each charge, he commented.

"For the sake of his life, the people in positions to be able to get Phyo Wai Aung out of prison need to do something now," Wong added, pointing to a letter by the brother of the defendant expressing fears about his health due to liver disease, Hepatitis-B and tuberculosis.

Wong pointed out that the case highlighted the need for legal reform efforts in Burma to concentrate on the heavy reliance on confession in the handing down of guilty verdicts, which encouraged the police to torture clients to agree to give fabricated confessions.

"The use of confession as the means to obtain a conviction is from our study of the system in Burma very widespread and a cause for serious concern," Wong observed.

"In this case, the police tortured the accused for six consecutive days to have him agree to give a fabricated confession built around scraps of material and witness testimonies that they could pull together from here and there," he said.

"This forced confession constituted the basis for the guilty verdicts," Wong noted, adding that once a confession was submitted to court it was very difficult for the accused to do anything about it, even if they denied or retracted the confession, as did Phyo Wai Aung.

The AHRC's campaign webpage for Phyo Wai Aung contains detailed information on the case and relevant documents in both English and Burmese: http://www.humanrights.asia/countries/burma/phyo-wai-aung
http://www.humanrights.asia/news/press-releases/AHRC-PRL-014-2012
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RADIO FREE ASIA
Pledge to Legalize Student Union
2012-05-09

Aung San Suu Kyi will work within Burmas parliament to make the banned union a legal entity.

Burmese prodemocracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi pledged Wednesday to help revive a banned national student rights organization whose leaders fueled a 1988 revolt that was brutally suppressed by the then military junta, according to the groups spokesperson.

Aung San Suu Kyi, fresh from taking her seat in parliament, gave the assurance at a meeting with nine leaders of Burmas student unions at her home in Rangoon Wednesday, said Thiha Win Tin, one of the student leaders present at the talks.

The All Burma Federation of Student Unions (ABFSU), an umbrella organization for all student unions in Burma and a voice for academic freedom and student rights, was banned more than two decades ago but has continued to operate underground.

"She said she would help us to study about the structure of international student union, Thiha Win Tin told RFAs Burmese service.

She accepts that the student union is legal. In every democratic country, there must be a student union, and so she will help us so that we can exist more openly and legally, he said.

At the moment we all are banned from attending school [if you are a student union leader]. She said she will help us to regain our rights in this legal matter.

The ABFSU has been organizing local unions in Burma, but the group says it has faced threats and intimidation from the authorities.

According to reports, the group has most recently faced harassment in Myaungmya district, in Western Burmas Ayeyarwady region, where local police, military intelligence, and fire department police have been collecting information about student union members.

Members said authorities had been coming to their homes in Wakema township during the middle of the night, threatening their parents, and taking copies of their residency and ID cards, as well as taking note of their majors at school.

Democracy activists

The ABFSU has long been an advocate for democracy in Burma and a critic of rights abuses committed by the former military government known as the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) accused of blatant human rights abuses.

In 1988, during mass demonstrations in the streets of the then-capital Rangoon calling for democratic change, the ABFSU helped to coordinate democracy actions under the leadership of Min Ko Naing, which led to the 88 Uprising.

That movement was brutally crushed by Burmas military junta, leaving thousands dead by some estimates.

Min Ko Naing, whose nom-de-guerre means conqueror of kings, was released from prison as part of a pardon by Burmese President Thein Sein in January after spending the majority of time since the 88 Uprising incarcerated.

Since 1990, the ABFSU has thrown its support behind Aung San Suu Kyis National League for Democracy (NLD) opposition party, which achieved a landslide victory in national elections that year. Burmas then-ruling junta refused to give up power, however, and instead placed Aung San Suu Kyi under house arrest.

Aung San Suu Kyi was released following general elections in November 2010, which saw Thein Seins nominally civilian government take power, but which prompted the NLD to disband in protest as they saw the polls as being neither free nor fair.

As part of a new reformist agenda, the government allowed the NLD to reregister and take part in parliamentary elections in April. The party handily won 43 out of the 44 seats it contested and Aung San Suu Kyi was also elected as a member of parliament.

The Nobel laureates father, national independence hero Aung San, was a former leader of the ABFSU in the 1930s.

Reported by RFAs Burmese service. Translated by Khin May Zaw. Written in English by Joshua Lipes. http://www.rfa.org/english/news/burma/union-05092012173029.html
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NLD to hold first party conference
Thursday, 10 May 2012 15:13 Myo Thant

Chiang Mai (Mizzima) The National League for Democracy (NLD) will hold a national conference during the last week of December of this year.

It will be the first national conference since the NLD was formed in 1988.

Spokesman Ohn Kyaing told Mizzima the party would be democratically reformed at every level throughout the country. The nationwide central conference will be held after lower-level conferences have been convened, Ohn Kyaing said.

The NLD had planned to convene a central party conference in April 1989, but because of the former military regimes pressure, the plan was cancelled.

At that time, the NLD leaders and the party were oppressed, said Ohn Kyaing. The party chairman and the party general-secretary Aung San Suu Kyi were forbidden [to be involved in politics].

The NLD boycotted the 2010 general elections. Last year, the government amended the political party registration law, allowing the NLD to re-register as a party on November 24, 2011.

A short while later, the NLD reshuffled its leadership, naming Suu Kyi chairperson and Tin Oo an NLD patron.

Recently, it launched a membership campaign with 650,000 membership applications distributed throughout the country. The applications are now being processed.

Ohn Kyaing said the issue of members resigning from the NLD to form parties to contest in the 2010 general elections, and who now wish to rejoin the NLD will be taken up a the NLD conference.

In our long-running struggle, some party members violated some parts of our party regulations, he told Mizzima. For instance, they did not follow the decision made by the majority. The party conference is the only place that has the power to decide our partys affairs, so we will put forward the case of those people [who violated partys regulations] at the conference.

On Wednesday, the NLD formed a conference organizing commission with nine members, naming Tin Oo chairman and Nyan Win secretary.

On other issues, the NLD complaint about waxed ballots in the April 1 by-elections has been turned down by the Union Election Commission, the state-run newspaper The New Light of Myanmar said on Wednesday.

In the light of findings, the investigation teams and some parties suggest that there was no case of waxing the ballots and no legal complaint about it in those townships; it was groundless complaint," the article said.

The complaint made by the secretary of the NLD central campaign team is invalid. In accord with the law, the UEC has warned the secretary of the party concerned against stating such groundless information, leading to misunderstanding among the people, said the article.

Regarding the ECs finding, Ohn Kyaing said, Our central executive committee has not made a decision about this case. We will discuss the issue with our law affairs committee. http://www.mizzima.com/news/inside-burma/7093-nld-to-hold-first-party-conference.html
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SNLD ready for 2015 elections contest as party registration approved
May 10, 2012 | Filed under: News,Politics | Posted by: Between Online News

The Union Election Commission (UEC) has openly announced and approved the application for renewal of registration forwarded by the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy (SNLD), known as the second biggest winning party in Myanmar that won during the elections in 1990.

The documents for application were submitted last March 16 but got its approval after two months. Two of its prominent leaders Sai Nyunt Lwin, 59 and HkunTunOo, 69 are still in Shan State capital Taunggyi when the great news came out. According to the partys spokesperson Sai Lake, their next important move will be to register their party within the duration of 30 days from its approval adding that there will be no hassle on their part, SHAN news reported.

However, it seems that a new Shan party was formed, the Shan Nationalities Democratic Party (SNDP) whose leaders were former members of the SNLD and actively participated in the 2010 general elections. Furthermore, being the third largest winning party occupying the 57 seats with the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) and National Unity Party (NUP) respectively, they are holding two ministries in the Shan State Government. The Ministry of Mines is under Sai Ai Pao, chairman of SNDP.

An authorized representative of the SNDP said that hes hoping that both leaders of these two separate parties must come face to face and discuss possible terms and conditions so as to come up with the same purpose and objective for they know that in the end their people would bear the difficulty deciding on what party to select in the 2015 general elections.

The reason why the SNLD party did not join in the election was the fact that their topmost and principal leaders Hkun Tun Oo and Sai Nyunt Lwin together with other members of the party are still languishing in prison since 2005, the report said.

The mere fact that both the SNLD and SNDP fight for federal democracy but the SNDP does not want to make use of the term federalism as it is not accepted by the USDP, a party led by the military. http://www.betweenonline.com/2012/05/10/snld-ready-for-2015-elections-contest-as-party-registration-approved/
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Peace team set sights on Kachin conflict
By AFP Published: 10 May 2012

A bold move by Burmas president to take charge of peace talks with ethnic rebels has revived hope of an end to a war in the far north perpetuated by mutual distrust and vested interests, experts say.

Conflict between Burmas army and ethnic rebels in Kachin state has raged for a year, displacing around 50,000 civilians and casting a shadow over hard-won government ceasefires in other parts of the country.

The reformist regime has now overhauled its negotiating team, putting the president at the helm of the process and removing some elements of the previous delegation seen by Kachin rebels as linked to army hardliners.

The involvement of President Thein Sein, who has won plaudits for a series of reform launched since he took power last year, is a strong indication that a deal with the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) can be reached, said Nicholas Farrelly, research fellow at the Australian National University.

This is overdue but suggests a realisation that hesitant steps will not bring peace to war-torn northern Burma. It will take bold leadership and reservoirs of goodwill, he added, using the countrys former name.

Burma has signed tentative ceasefire deals with a number of rebel groups in recent months as it seeks to draw a line under civil conflicts that have racked parts of the country since independence in 1948.

But fighting has continued in Kachin state since a 17-year ceasefire broke down last June, as previous government negotiator Aung Thaung failed to win the KIAs trust.

An MP with the ruling army-backed party, he was seen by the rebels as actively trying to hamper talks to buy time as the army pushed for territory, and has now been removed from negotiations.

Win Min, an expert with the Thailand-based Vahu Development Institute, said the new line-up was likely to be welcomed because it boosts the political and military clout of the negotiators adding the chief of the army for the first time as well as ethnic Shan vice president Sai Mauk Kham.

He said another welcome inclusion was Railway Minister Aung Min, seen as a pivotal figure in other ceasefire deals, including with rebels from eastern Karen state, the scene of the countrys longest-running insurgency.

The Kachin for their part have held out for a political deal to avoid falling into the same vicious circle of making ceasefire, then making business-oriented regional development and finally falling into fighting again, Win Min said.

A KIA official, who asked not to be named, told AFP that Thein Seins involvement was welcome.

But he said the success of the talks will depend on their policy, their willingness to talk to us. It doesnt depend on people.

Negotiators will be faced with the immediate task of securing a temporary halt to fighting, which appears to have gained momentum in recent weeks, despite international calls for a ceasefire.

The KIA has raised fears of an impending assault on their northern stronghold of Laiza near the Chinese border.

State media have also increased the heat with claims of rebel attacks, some wounding civilians allegations the KIA denies.

Experts said that both sides are likely to vie for strategic positions before they return to the negotiating table.

Burmas military, which traditionally used the ethnic conflicts as a justification for its near half century dictatorship, may also be reluctant to see an end to the fighting.

Without an internal enemy their budgets and combat strength are hard to justify, said Farrelly.

Independent Burmese analyst Richard Horsey said the Kachin conflict has been particularly hard to calm because on-going fighting made the military reluctant to back down while suffering casualties.

But he said the KIA were uncomfortable being the only major group not to strike a deal, and were likely to be open to negotiations that gave them the same standing as other ethnic minority rebels.

There was the wrong negotiating team. It wasnt ready to offer the same terms to the Kachin as had offered to the Karen for example, said Horsey, citing international monitors and codes of conduct for troops as examples.

But peace may imperil the standing of rebel commanders who enjoy much greater power in a conflict situation, he added, while others benefit personally from controlling land linked to lucrative logging and mining deals with Chinese firms.

The KIA may also be reluctant to lay down its arms at a time when it is enjoying a surge of popular support.

Kachin society is really animated, really angry and people feel emboldened and for the first time in years the KIA have support. They are suddenly feeling like they are the heroes, Horsey said.
http://www.dvb.no/news/peace-team-sets-sights-on-kachin-conflict/21972
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Burma Army Intensifies Attacks In Kachin State Despite Reforms
Thu, 2012-05-10 07:04 editor, News
London,10 May, (Asiantribune.com):

Even as Burma is opening up, the Burma Army is intensifying its attacks in Kachin State, where thousands have been displaced amid a humanitarian crisis.

Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) has received reports detailing 126 clashes between Burma Army and Kachin Independence Army (KIA) troops since President Thein Sein ordered the Burma Army to stop its offensive in Kachin State on 10 December 2011. The Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO) estimates that it lost 140 soldiers and 160 were injured in these attacks.

An estimated 45,000 refugees and internally displaced people (IDPs) are in refugee camps, while approximately 50 houses have been torched by Burma Army Light Infantry Battalions (LIB) 390 in Nam San Yang area.

On 5 May two children from Ta Li village were shot dead by Burma Army soldiers after being startled by a bomb blast while they played near Ta Li River. At a meeting with Burma Army soldiers, villagers were reportedly ordered to say that the children were killed by a KIA bomb, in order to conceal the true cause of the childrens deaths. On 2 May seven houses were torched in Zi Kahtawng village in Nam San Yang.

Although the government, led by President Thein Sein, has managed to sign ceasefire agreements with various ethnic armies, the Burma Army continues to carry out serious human rights abuses in ethnic areas, including rape, torture and killings.

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki Moon has pledged technical, logistical and even financial assistance the Burmese government to help secure a peace agreement in Kachin State: The situation in Kachin State is inconsistent with the successful conclusion of ceasefire agreements with all the other major groups. The Kachin people should no longer be denied the opportunity that a ceasefire and a political agreement can bring for peace and development. Let me acknowledge the humanitarian access that we now have in Kachin State. That access must continue."

As prerequisites for peace talks to resume, the KIO have requested an end to Burma Army military operations in Kachin State and the withdrawal of troops, an end to human rights violations and for the safety of IDPs returning to their villages to be guaranteed.

CSW's East Asia Team Leader Benedict Rogers said, "Amidst significant signs of change and hope in Burma, the situation in Kachin State is continuing to deteriorate markedly. We urge the Government of Burma to call a halt to these attacks, end the grave violations of human rights perpetrated by the Burma Army, and engage in a meaningful, inclusive political dialogue with the Kachin and other ethnic nationalities to secure a genuine, long-lasting peace through a political solution. Until the military stops committing war crimes and crimes against humanity, President Thein Sein's promises of change cannot be fully believed. President Thein Sein has introduced some reforms which are very welcome, and there is a change in atmosphere in the rest of the country, but now he needs to act to stop the military's offensives and secure real peace in Kachin State."

- Asian Tribune - http://www.asiantribune.com/news/2012/05/10/burma-army-intensifies-attacks-kachin-state-despite-reforms
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CHANNEL NEWS ASIA Asia Pacific News
New hopes for Myanmar peace talks: experts
Posted: 10 May 2012 1330 hrs

BANGKOK: A bold move by Myanmar's president to take charge of peace talks with ethnic rebels has revived hope of an end to a war in the far north perpetuated by mutual distrust and vested interests, experts say.

Conflict between Myanmar's army and ethnic rebels in Kachin state has raged for a year, displacing around 50,000 civilians and casting a shadow over hard-won government ceasefires in other parts of the country.

The reformist regime has now overhauled its negotiating team, putting the president at the helm of the process and removing some elements of the previous delegation seen by Kachin rebels as linked to army hardliners.

The involvement of President Thein Sein, who has won plaudits for a series of reform launched since he took power last year, is a "strong indication that a deal with the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) can be reached", said Nicholas Farrelly, research fellow at the Australian National University.

"This is overdue but suggests a realisation that hesitant steps will not bring peace to war-torn northern Burma. It will take bold leadership and reservoirs of goodwill," he added, using the country's former name.

Myanmar has signed tentative ceasefire deals with a number of rebel groups in recent months as it seeks to draw a line under civil conflicts that have racked parts of the country since independence in 1948.

But fighting has continued in Kachin state since a 17-year ceasefire broke down last June, as previous government negotiator Aung Thaung failed to win the KIA's trust.

An MP with the ruling army-backed party, he was seen by the rebels as actively trying to hamper talks to buy time as the army pushed for territory, and has now been removed from negotiations.

Win Min, an expert with the Thailand-based Vahu Development Institute, said the new line-up was likely to be welcomed because it boosts the political and military clout of the negotiators -- adding the chief of the army for the first time as well as ethnic Shan vice president Sai Mauk Kham.

He said another welcome inclusion was Railway Minister Aung Min, seen as a pivotal figure in other ceasefire deals, including with rebels from eastern Karen state, the scene of the country's longest-running insurgency.

The Kachin for their part have held out for a political deal to avoid falling "into the same vicious circle of making ceasefire, then making business-oriented regional development and finally falling into fighting again", Win Min said.

A KIA official, who asked not to be named, told AFP that Thein Sein's involvement was welcome.

But he said the success of the talks "will depend on their policy, their willingness to talk to us. It doesn't depend on people".

Negotiators will be faced with the immediate task of securing a temporary halt to fighting, which appears to have gained momentum in recent weeks, despite international calls for a ceasefire.

The KIA has raised fears of an impending assault on their northern stronghold of Laiza near the Chinese border.

State media have also increased the heat with claims of rebel attacks, some wounding civilians -- allegations the KIA denies.

Experts said that both sides are likely to vie for strategic positions before they return to the negotiating table.

Myanmar's military, which traditionally used the ethnic conflicts as a justification for its near half century dictatorship, may also be reluctant to see an end to the fighting.

"Without an internal enemy their budgets and combat strength are hard to justify," said Farrelly.

Independent Myanmar analyst Richard Horsey said the Kachin conflict has been particularly hard to calm because on-going fighting made the military reluctant to back down while suffering casualties.

But he said the KIA were uncomfortable being the only major group not to strike a deal, and were likely to be open to negotiations that gave them the same standing as other ethnic minority rebels.

"There was the wrong negotiating team. It wasn't ready to offer the same terms to the Kachin as had offered to the Karen for example," said Horsey, citing international monitors and codes of conduct for troops as examples.

But peace may imperil the standing of rebel commanders who enjoy much greater power in a conflict situation, he added, while others benefit personally from controlling land linked to lucrative logging and mining deals with Chinese firms.

The KIA may also be reluctant to lay down its arms at a time when it is enjoying a surge of popular support.

"Kachin society is really animated, really angry and people feel emboldened and for the first time in years the KIA have support. They are suddenly feeling like they are the heroes," Horsey said.

- AFP/cc http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific/view/1200387/1/.html
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Myanmar's "hardliner" first vice president resigns
May 10, 2012 1:38 pm

Yangon - Myanmar's First Vice President Tin Aung Myint Oo has submitted his resignation, removing one of the main opponents to the government's reform agenda, a senior official confirmed Thursday.

"He recently sent in his resignation letter to President Thein Sein, citing health problems," said the official who is close to the first vice president.

Tin Aung Myint Oo, who is reportedly suffering from throat cancer,has become a temporary monk in a Buddhist temple to Hmawbi district,50 kilometres north of Yangon, said the official, who requested anonymity.

It was not immediately clear whether Thein Sein had officially accepted the resignation.

Tin Aung Myint Oo was appointed to the post of first vice president by the military, which remains the dominant political power despite the November 2010 general election, which brought the current government to office.//DPA http://www.nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/Myanmars-hardliner-first-vice-president-resigns-30181658.html
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CHANNEL NEWS ASIA
New hopes for Myanmar peace talks: experts
Posted: 10 May 2012 1330 hrs

BANGKOK: A bold move by Myanmar's president to take charge of peace talks with ethnic rebels has revived hope of an end to a war in the far north perpetuated by mutual distrust and vested interests, experts say.

Conflict between Myanmar's army and ethnic rebels in Kachin state has raged for a year, displacing around 50,000 civilians and casting a shadow over hard-won government ceasefires in other parts of the country.

The reformist regime has now overhauled its negotiating team, putting the president at the helm of the process and removing some elements of the previous delegation seen by Kachin rebels as linked to army hardliners.

The involvement of President Thein Sein, who has won plaudits for a series of reform launched since he took power last year, is a "strong indication that a deal with the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) can be reached", said Nicholas Farrelly, research fellow at the Australian National University.

"This is overdue but suggests a realisation that hesitant steps will not bring peace to war-torn northern Burma. It will take bold leadership and reservoirs of goodwill," he added, using the country's former name.

Myanmar has signed tentative ceasefire deals with a number of rebel groups in recent months as it seeks to draw a line under civil conflicts that have racked parts of the country since independence in 1948.

But fighting has continued in Kachin state since a 17-year ceasefire broke down last June, as previous government negotiator Aung Thaung failed to win the KIA's trust.

An MP with the ruling army-backed party, he was seen by the rebels as actively trying to hamper talks to buy time as the army pushed for territory, and has now been removed from negotiations.

Win Min, an expert with the Thailand-based Vahu Development Institute, said the new line-up was likely to be welcomed because it boosts the political and military clout of the negotiators -- adding the chief of the army for the first time as well as ethnic Shan vice president Sai Mauk Kham.

He said another welcome inclusion was Railway Minister Aung Min, seen as a pivotal figure in other ceasefire deals, including with rebels from eastern Karen state, the scene of the country's longest-running insurgency.

The Kachin for their part have held out for a political deal to avoid falling "into the same vicious circle of making ceasefire, then making business-oriented regional development and finally falling into fighting again", Win Min said.

A KIA official, who asked not to be named, told AFP that Thein Sein's involvement was welcome.

But he said the success of the talks "will depend on their policy, their willingness to talk to us. It doesn't depend on people".

Negotiators will be faced with the immediate task of securing a temporary halt to fighting, which appears to have gained momentum in recent weeks, despite international calls for a ceasefire.

The KIA has raised fears of an impending assault on their northern stronghold of Laiza near the Chinese border.

State media have also increased the heat with claims of rebel attacks, some wounding civilians -- allegations the KIA denies.

Experts said that both sides are likely to vie for strategic positions before they return to the negotiating table.

Myanmar's military, which traditionally used the ethnic conflicts as a justification for its near half century dictatorship, may also be reluctant to see an end to the fighting.

"Without an internal enemy their budgets and combat strength are hard to justify," said Farrelly.

Independent Myanmar analyst Richard Horsey said the Kachin conflict has been particularly hard to calm because on-going fighting made the military reluctant to back down while suffering casualties.

But he said the KIA were uncomfortable being the only major group not to strike a deal, and were likely to be open to negotiations that gave them the same standing as other ethnic minority rebels.

"There was the wrong negotiating team. It wasn't ready to offer the same terms to the Kachin as had offered to the Karen for example," said Horsey, citing international monitors and codes of conduct for troops as examples.

But peace may imperil the standing of rebel commanders who enjoy much greater power in a conflict situation, he added, while others benefit personally from controlling land linked to lucrative logging and mining deals with Chinese firms.

The KIA may also be reluctant to lay down its arms at a time when it is enjoying a surge of popular support.

"Kachin society is really animated, really angry and people feel emboldened and for the first time in years the KIA have support. They are suddenly feeling like they are the heroes," Horsey said.

- AFP/cc http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific/view/1200387/1/.html
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Myanmar: a goldmine with frontier risks
May 10, 2012
By Kyoko Hasegawa

TOKYO: As Myanmar prepares for an economic resurgence following the end of decades of military rule, wide-eyed firms from all over Asia are competing for a piece of the potentially lucrative pie.

With largely untapped natural resources, including minerals, metals and fossil fuels, and a tourism sector left in ruins by sanctions, Myanmar sparkles with opportunity.

But businessmen with experience inside the formerly military-ruled state say making money in a country where education levels are low, the rule of law is weakly enforced and electricity supplies are haphazard, can be a challenge.

Since one-time general Thein Sein came to power in early 2011 at the head of a nominally civilian government, Myanmars march in from the diplomatic cold has been rapid.

International sanctions aimed at punishing the repressive regime are being relaxed as political dissidents are given their freedom.

Democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, who has spent much of the last two decades under house arrest, this month took her seat in parliament in an historic moment that cemented the astonishing reforms.

As the sanctions loosen, a rush of firms are looking to tap a potential 62 million consumers and a young workforce in an economy that the IMF says is set to grow 5.5 percent this year.

The reality is that no one can afford to ignore Myanmars potential, said Jeremy Kloiser-Jones, head of Hong Kong-based investment and advisory firm Bagan Capital.

Japanese corporations are showing particularly strong interest, he said.

Tokyo announced last month it would forgive about $3.7 billion of Myanmars debt and resume suspended aid.

Now the government has waived debts and yen-denominated loans will resume, huge business chances are ahead for us, said a spokeswoman for trading house Marubeni.

Marubeni, which has just opened an office in the capital Naypyidaw to add to the one it operates in the nations main city of Yangon, is looking at infrastructure projects involving electricity and transport, she said.

The firms rival, Itochu, is on the lookout for information on mining rare metals such as molybdenum and tungsten, a spokesman said, describing the country as the regions last frontier.

Trade relationship

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak visited Myanmar in March, looking to boost a trade relationship that jumped by a third in 2011 to be worth an annual $792.7 million.

Khoo Kay Peng, a director of Malaysian marketing company GFW Urban Youth, said he and his partners are aiming to raise $2.0 million to open a business hotel in Yangon which he estimates has only around 3,000 usable rooms.

He warned many issues still need to be ironed out, such as property leases, which are currently available only for one year, and curbs on private ownership by foreigners, but that he remained optimistic.

We are not going to rush into it, he told AFP. But its good to go in and build some capacity. Its a country that can do very well.

International Enterprise Singapore, the city-states trade promotion body, is running a business mission to Myanmar this week to build on $1.3 billion in annual trade.

Neighbouring Thailand and China are ahead of the pack, doing a combined $9.4 billion of business with Myanmar in 2010, according to EU figures.

Beijing, long immune to the international opprobrium of dealing with distasteful regimes, has bought up vast amounts of oil, gas and timber.

South Korean companies have also been active in Myanmar for many years, notably in the energy field, with Daewoo International and the Korea Gas Corporation inking deals while Suu Kyi was still a prisoner in her own home.

There had been news about democratisation for quite a long time but this time there is a rather visible change, said Lee Hae-In, a manager at the state-run Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency.

However, getting a return on investment is not always easy.

The IMF said this month that Myanmars complex exchange rate system remains a problem, increasing transaction costs, discouraging foreign direct investment and trade and putting appreciation pressure on the local currency.

Reforms to the currency market, which last month saw the nation begin moving towards a managed floating regime, may help ease some of those concerns, the world body said.

Yoshihiro Araki, research director at Japan External Trade Organization, said day-to-day issues were also a concern.

I would say only companies that are capable of generating electricity in-house and who are ready to educate their workers should go ahead, said Araki, who worked in Yangon for three years.

Shigeto Inami, the head of Myanmar Securities Exchange Centre in Yangon which is readying for the 2015 opening of Myanmars first official bourse, said business life in Myanmar can be challenging.

The two biggest risks in Myanmar are its fiscal deficit and the issue of restive ethnic minorities who live in resource-rich northern areas, he said.

(Also) its frustrating to do business here blackouts are common and making international calls can be difficult.

-AFP http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/top-news/2012/05/10/myanmar-a-goldmine-with-frontier-risks/
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The Nation and Myanmar's Eleven Media sign a joint publishing venture pact
The Nation
Yangon May 10, 2012 1:00 am

Thailand's Nation Multimedia Group Plc has signed a comprehensive agreement of cooperation with Myanmar's Eleven Media Group Co Ltd that will lead to the formation of a joint venture in a wide range of English-language publications in the near future.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed in Yangon last Friday by Nation Multimedia Group chairman Suthichai Yoon and Eleven Media Group chairman and CEO Dr Than Htut Aung.

Both pledged to combine their editorial and business efforts to benefit the peoples of both countries and the Asean region with high professional standards and ethics.

"The Eleven Media Group is Myanmar's No 1 private publishing group with a highly impressive record of independent and hard-hitting coverage against corruption and undemocratic activities in Myanmar. I have great respect for Dr Than Htut Aung's crusade against

dictatorship and corruption," Suthichai said after the

signing ceremony.

"This is a landmark agreement with both media organisations sharing similar histories in independent and impartial news reporting, as well as supporting democracy," said Aung.

Both sides also announced an immediate set-up of editorial offices in Yangon and Bangkok with immediate effect. The initiative will intensify news coverage of Myanmar and Asean affairs out of Thailand and Thai and Asean affairs out of Myanmar at a time of significant international interest in Myanmar.

Eleven Media publishes the largest-circulation newspaper, operates websites in local and English languages, and is the pioneer and leader in SMS English-language news. Nation Multimedia publishes Thailand's leading newspaper The Nation, which is also co-founder of Asia News Network, an alliance of 21 leading newspapers in 18 Asian countries.

Aung founded Eleven Media 11 years ago as a sports weekly. The group has since expanded to general news publishing with an aim of promoting democracy for the people and adhering to a public interest agenda in Myanmar. Eleven Media is also preparing for Myanmar's further integration into Asean and the international arena as the country opens up.

"We share the same mission in freedom of the press, public interest agenda and democracy as well as regional outlook. Nation Multimedia Group and Eleven Media will utilise and optimise existing assets with minimal new investment in our various aspects of close cooperation," said Suthichai.

Both sides will proceed to form a joint venture for an English-language website as soon as possible and to set up a daily English-language newspaper at an appropriate time. Eleven Media will have a majority in the partnership. The joint venture hopes to be listed as a public company when Myanmar sets up a stock exchange scheduled in 2016.

Eleven Media has also entered into a broad professional cooperation with NMG in the areas of editorial staff exchange, training, new media, English-language training and editing. The Nation and Eleven Media local and English-language websites will exchange news on a daily basis.

Eleven Media will represent distribution of NMG publications in Myanmar and NMG can represent distribution of EMG publication in Thailand. Both will also work together on organising conferences and events. In advertising and commercial areas, NMG will act as media representative for EMG in Thailand and EMG will act as NMG's media representative in Myanmar.
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/business/The-Nation-and-Myanmars-Eleven-Media-sign-a-joint--30181649.html
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AIDs/HIV drugs woefully short in Burma
Thursday, 10 May 2012 12:50 Mizzima News

(Mizzima) Of the estimated 240,000 people with AIDs and HIV in Burma, half are in urgent need of life-saving antiretroviral treatment (ART), say doctors. According to estimates in 2010, less than 30,000 of those infected were receiving the drugs.

We see patients crawling in, some lethargic and near death, some trying to drag themselves in, Dr. Maria Guevara, medical co-ordinator at M餥cins Sans Fronti貥s (MSF), which is the largest provider of ART in Burma, told The Guardian newspaper.

We are having to say no to people we know will just get sicker and die, she said.

The hope that more drugs would soon be available was dashed last November when the Global Fund announced the cancellation of the next grant-making round due to lack of funds, the article said. The board is due to meet on Thursday to discuss the institution's future.

Doctors are rationing drugs, giving prescriptions only to the weakest patients, said The Guardian. Death rates among people who arrived in clinics too late were up to 25 per cent last year, said MSF.

Burma is the least developed country in Southeast Asia and receives only a fraction of the aid from which some of its neighbours benefit.

The Burmese Ministry of Health is woefully underfunded. Nearly 33 per cent of Burmese live below the poverty line and thousands are unlikely ever to be able to afford ART, which cost $30 a month, said MSF.

In August 2011, Mizzima reported that Health Minister Dr. Pe Thet Khin told Parliament that his department received about 43 per cent of its essential budget needs in the latest fiscal year.

The shortfall will cause a lack of medicine and services in government hospitals and clinics, he said. The minister said his agency needed 8 billion kyat per year, but received 3.5 billion kyat.
http://www.mizzima.com/news/inside-burma/7087-aidshiv-drugs-woefully-short-in-burma.html