BURMA RELATED NEWS - JULY 29-30, 2012

Moderate Quake Shakes Central Myanmar
YANGON, Myanmar July 29, 2012 (AP)
A moderate earthquake has shaken central Myanmar near the Indian border.
The U.S. Geological Survey says the quake had a magnitude of 5.7 and struck at a depth of 68.4 kilometers (42.5 miles). Myanmar's meteorological and seismic agency put the magnitude at 5.8.
An official from the Myanmar agency says no casualties or damage have been reported. The quake occurred Sunday at 8:51 a.m. local time.
The official says the quake's epicenter was about 215 kilometers (135 miles) northwest of Mandalay, Myanmar's second largest city. He says it was felt in Hakha, the capital of northwestern Chin state. He spoke anonymously because he wasn't authorized to release information.
The area affected is not densely populated. It falls within an earthquake belt where tremors are fairly common but usually not destructive.
****************************************************

UN human rights envoy arrives in Myanmar on post-unrest evaluation visit
By The Associated Press | Associated Press – Sun, Jul 29, 2012
YANGON, Myanmar - A United Nations human rights expert has arrived in Myanmar on his first mission since serious ethnic strife shook a western area in June.

Tomas Ojea Quintana arrived Sunday night for a one-week evaluation visit during which he will meet government officials, opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, civil society representatives and others concerned with human rights.

He is expected to visit Yangon's notorious Insein prison and travel to northwestern Rakhine state where at least 78 people were killed in communal violence involving a Muslim minority.

Quintana's evaluation is likely to be regarded as a yardstick for measuring reforms undertaken by elected President Thein Sein after decades of repressive military rule.
****************************************************
UN human rights envoy probes ethnic clashes in Myanmar during visit
By The Associated Press | Associated Press – 8 hrs ago

YANGON, Myanmar - A United Nations human rights expert has kicked off a weeklong visit to Myanmar by focusing on deadly strife between Buddhists and Muslim Rohingyas that shook a western area in June.

Tomas Ojea Quintana's first official meeting Monday was with Myanmar's minister of border affairs for a briefing on the situation in northwestern Rakhine state. At least 78 people were killed in communal violence there last month.

Quintana mentioned the violence in Rakhine, which rights group say mostly targeted the Rohingyas, in a pre-arrival statement as one of the "challenges" facing Myanmar despite its recent political reforms. He hopes to travel to the region later.

His evaluation is likely to beregarded as a yardstick for measuring reforms undertaken by elected President Thein Sein after decades of repressive military rule.
****************************************************
Myanmar may allow foreign credit cards by 2013
Associated Press – Sun, Jul 29, 2012

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) — Banks in Myanmar are hoping to begin handling international credit card transactions by next year.

Than Lwin, deputy chairman of the prominent Kanbawza Bank, said Sunday that negotiations are under way with Visa on the use of its cards.

Foreign visitors have been unable to use credit cards because of U.S. and EU restrictions on money transactions since 2003. Western countries imposed sanctions on Myanmar because of its repressive policies, but began easing them this year after elected President Thein Sein initiated political and economic reforms.

Another Myanmar banker who declined to be identified because he is not authorized to release information said talks are also ongoing with MasterCard, China Union Pay and Japan Credit Bureau and he hopes credit card transactions will be possible by 2013.
****************************************************
UN envoy in Myanmar amid Muslim crackdown concern
AFP – 20 hrs ago

The United Nations expert on human rights in Myanmar arrived in the country late Sunday, days after the UN voiced fears that efforts to end unrest in Rakhine state had turned into a crackdown on Muslims.

UN Special Rapporteur Tomas Ojea Quintana flew into the main city of Yangon for a visit set to include a trip to the restive western state as well as meetings with Myanmar's president and civil society.

It comes after a warning by UN human rights chief Navi Pillay that Muslim communities in Rakhine, particularly the Rohingya minority, were being targeted by security forces.

"We have been receiving a stream of reports from independent sources alleging discriminatory and arbitrary responses by security forces, and even their instigation of and involvement in clashes," she said in a statement Friday.

Quintana says that Myanmar has made "significant" progress on reforms under President Thein Sein, who came to power last year, but said the country faced "ongoing human rights challenges".

Violence between Buddhist ethnic Rakhine and Muslim Rohingya communities erupted in early June and have left at least 78 people dead and 70,000 homeless, according to official figures.

Unofficial estimates of the death toll were higher, the UN said.

Myanmar's government considers the estimated 800,000 Rohingya in the country to be foreigners while many citizens see them as illegal immigrants from neighbouring Bangladesh and view them with hostility.

Earlier this month, Thein Sein told the UN that refugee camps or deportation was the "solution" for the Rohingya, according to his official website.

Quintana is set to meet the Myanmar leader in the capital Naypyidaw on Friday following a trip to Rakhine state.

"We do not know what they will discuss. But of course the Rakhine state situation will be the main issue," a Myanmar government official told AFP, asking to remain anonymous.

Ten aid organisation staff, including some from the UN, were detained in Rakhine in the wake of the unrest, according to a situation bulletin by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) earlier this month. They are thought to have appeared in court in mid-July.

Quintana's visit is due to last until August 4.
****************************************************
Myanmar rejects Muslim crackdown concerns
AFP – 23 mins ago

Myanmar on Monday told a UN rights envoy it rejected accusations of abuse by security forces in the wake of communal unrest, after the United Nations raised fears of a crackdown on Muslims.

In a press conference attended by UN Special Rapporteur Tomas Ojea Quintana, Myanmar's foreign minister said the government had exercised "maximum restraint" in bringing an end to the violence in western Rakhine State.

"As such, Myanmar strongly rejects the accusations made by some quarters that abuses and excessive use of force were made by the authorities in dealing with the situation," Wunna Maung Lwin told reporters.

He said the country "totally rejects the attempts by some quarters to politicise and internationalise this situation as a religious issue".

Quintana told reporters that on Tuesday he planned to visit Rakhine, where tens of thousands remain displaced by fighting that erupted between Buddhist and Muslim communities in early June.

His trip comes just days after the United Nations warned that Muslim communities in Rakhine, particularly the Rohingya people, were being targeted by security forces.

Earlier this month Amnesty International warned of "credible reports" of abuses -- including rape and unlawful killings -- by both Rakhine Buddhists and the security forces.

According to official figures, at least 77 people were killed in the unrest, including eight killed by security forces.

Of the more than 60,000 displaced, Myanmar officials said the vast majority -- around 53,000 -- were Muslims.

Ten aid organisation staff -- six from the UN and four employees of Doctors Without Borders (MSF) -- are among more than 800 people being held in relation to the unrest.

Both sides have accused each other over the attacks, which flared up following the rape and murder of a local Buddhist woman and subsequent revenge killing of 10 Muslims on June 3 by a mob of ethnic Rakhines.

Fears about the situation have spread across the Islamic world, with threats of violent reprisals against Myanmar from extremists from Pakistan to Indonesia.

Myanmar's government considers the estimated 800,000 Rohingya in the country to be foreigners while many citizens see them as illegal immigrants from neighbouring Bangladesh and view them with hostility.

Earlier this month, President Thein Sein told the United Nations that refugee camps or deportation was the "solution" for the Rohingya, according to his official website. Quintana is set to meet the Myanmar leader in the capital Naypyidaw on Friday.
****************************************************
The Nation - Myanmar's Suu Kyi plans cherry blossom visit to Japan
July 30, 2012 3:46 pm

Yangon - Myanmar democracy champion Aung San Suu Kyi plans to visit Japan in the spring, a senior Japanese diplomat said Monday.

"Aung San Suu Kyi said she wants to visit Japan for the cherry blossom blooming, which means in March or April," said Yohei Sasakawa, Japan’s goodwill ambassador to Myanmar for the welfare of ethnic minorities.

Sasakawa met with Suu Kyi on Sunday in Naypyitaw, where she took up her seat in parliament earlier this month.

"She said she wanted to visit Japan separately, not as part of her trip to the USA, which she said would be impolite," Sasakawa told a press conference in Yangon.

Suu Kyi, 67, is to visit the United States in September, following a visit to Europe in June and a trip to neighbouring Thailand on May 29-June 2, which marked her first foray abroad in 23 years.
****************************************************
Myanmar and North Korea: Birds of a feather on different paths?
Kyaw San Wai and Ong Suan Ee
The Nation
Publication Date : 30-07-2012

Myanmar and North Korea have been East Asia's pariah states for much of the past decade.

Both underwent recent leadership changes and appear to be pursuing different paths on the international stage. The military junta which ruled Myanmar for the past twenty years transferred to a nominally civilian government led by President Thein Sein, its former Prime Minister.

In North Korea, Kim Jong-Un was propelled into leadership by the death of his father, Kim Jong-Il. Whereas the Thein Sein administration has undertaken political and economic reforms, Kim Jong-Un has only hinted at potential change. Is it wise to tie these hints of North Korean change to hopes that it may follow Myanmar's reformist lead?

Similarities and differences

Myanmar and North Korea share certain similarities besides pariah status. The military remains the dominant political institution in both states. Both countries have been ruled by eccentric, isolationist authoritarian regimes for much of their post-independence histories. Disastrous economic policies have prevented these two resource-rich countries from achieving their economic potential. Myanmar and North Korea now have the lowest incomes in the region and are ranked 21st and 22nd respectively on the Fund for Peace and Foreign Policy's 2012 Failed States Index. Both countries have poor human security records. There are also concerns of both states' nuclear weapons programmes and ambitions.

Certain differences exist too: Myanmar has more interactions with the global community in the form of (limited) tourism, trade, (controlled) foreign media and literature exposure, and overseas Burmese communities.

North Korea jealously guards its isolation and the state has been mostly successful in controlling information flows to the public, though this is changing due to the growing porousness of the Sino-North Korean border. Myanmar's Asean membership has helped prevent complete diplomatic isolation, but North Korea has no similar multilateral ties.

Can North Korea follow?

Myanmar is undertaking a precarious course of both political and economic reforms in the face of a flare-up of civil war and communal unrest. For North Korea, the reforms will likely be economic, not political. Myanmar is also open to outside help and technical input, while North Korea appears unreceptive, still singing the hymn of self-sufficiency.

Some observers claim the Thein Sein administration is plagued by a reformist-hardliner split. Hardliners, either profiting from crony capitalism or against the erosion of military dominance, have reportedly stymied Thein Sein's reforms. In North Korea, Kim Jong-Un will face similar setbacks should he embark on reforms which threaten the privileges of his father's loyal apparatchiks.

Another obstacle is North Korea's behemoth military, beneficiary and upholder of the Songun (military first) tradition. Similar to the Burmese Tatmadaw, the Korean People's Army receives the lion's share of the national budget and has influenced (if not outright dictated) government policy in other arenas. The military has much to lose in the event of reform, and will likely try its utmost to preserve its socio-political dominance. Myanmar, meanwhile is slowly trimming its military budget and the new commander-in-chief has both supported reforms and defended the military's political role.

North Korea, like all communist countries, is heavily centralised. It also lacks civil society, opposition parties and popular intellectual exchanges with the outside world, and main decision-making is entrusted to (and entrenched within) the upper echelons of leadership. Hence, the impetus and approval for change must come from the youthful leader himself.

Will North Korea follow?

Even from the perspective of regime security or anchoring Kim Jong-Un's legacy, there remain many reasons for North Korea to pursue reforms. Improving North Korea's economic and agricultural productivity will arguably help stabilise the regime and consolidate public loyalty to the new leader. From a defence perspective, North Korea will need to improve its economic posture in order to retain its footing against South Korea.

China, neighbour to both reclusive states, will likely push for North Korean economic reform, with the view that it will decrease the likelihood of regime implosion and prevent a potential refugee crisis. As with Myanmar, China stands to benefit from an economically sound and politically stable North Korea, especially from investments and natural resource extraction.

Myanmar has begun courting Western investment and recently, President Barack Obama paved the way for US companies to (conditionally) invest in Myanmar. China is Myanmar's biggest investor, but Japan, South Korea, Thailand, Singapore and India also contribute. Unless North Korea's nuclear programme issue is resolved, its only sources of major investment, should reforms make conditions more favourable, will remain China and to a certain extent, Russia.

Looking ahead

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak recently urged North Korea to follow in Myanmar's footsteps. Despite their similarities, the differences between Myanmar and North Korea remain stark, the key divergence being North Korea's persistent maintenance of its status quo. Myanmar has demonstrated flexibility in realising that its long-term interests will be better served by adopting a more open policy.

However, North Korea does not appear to have reached that tipping point just yet - or perhaps its leader has, but the rest of the Politburo is slow to follow.

Recent weeks have shown signs of growing North Korean openness under the young Kim's leadership. Socio-culturally, he has worked on cultivating a "fatherly" image by reaching out to youth and showing a symbolic readiness to embrace elements of foreign culture by allowing certain Western influences, as demonstrated by a highly publicised Disney-inspired show.

Politically, his official titling of "Marshal" and his unexpected dismissal of a top military leader has prompted speculation of a potential purge of his father's cabinet allies and replacing them with his own. On the foreign policy front, North Korea has publicly cited its willingness to return to denuclearisation talks.

There also is an exciting economic impetus for reform: North Korea sits on as much as 20 million tonnes of rare earth minerals. If North Korea were to harness its mineral potential, the US, Japan and South Korea would certainly express interest. Is it prudent to peg these developments as clear and definite indicators of top-down reforms? Ultimately, as we know very little about its inner workings and decision-making processes, it is perhaps best to tread with informed caution and keep an open mind about North Korea's prospects for opening up the way Myanmar has.

Kyaw San Wai, formerly a research analyst at the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies, is now a MSc, (International Relations) candidate at the same institution. Ong Suan Ee, formerly senior research analyst at the Centre for Multilateralism Studies, RSIS, is currently a Masters of Public Health candidate at the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore.
****************************************************
The Hindu - Rohingyas are not citizens: Myanmar minister
DPA - Yangon, July 30, 2012

(AP)The Myanmar government on Monday insisted that the Rohingya minority group, the target of communal violence last month, have no claim to Myanmar citizenship.

“They are not included among our more than 130 ethnic races,” said Myanmar Immigration Minister Thein Htay .

Since 1982, the government has classified an estimated 750,000 Rohingyas living in its western Rakhine State as stateless Bengali Muslims from neighbouring Bangladesh, leaving them vulnerable to persecution, discrimination and abuse.

Last month, a mob of ethnic Rakhine Buddhists killed 10 of the Rohigyas in revenge for the alleged rape and murder of a Rakhine woman by three Rohigyas.

The incident sparked a wave of communal clashes that left up to 80 dead and hundreds of houses burned.

Myanmar authorities arrested three UNHCR staff during the unrest.

“The government has sound evidence that the three UN employees were involved in the Rakhine riots,” said Mr Thein Htay who is also the Border Affair Minister, in the first official explanation of the arrests.

“We haven’t had any access to them,” UNHCR spokeswoman Vivian Tan said in Bangkok. “We are still unaware of what they’ve been charged with.” she added.
UN human rights expert Tomas Ojea Quintana arrived in Myanmar over the weekend to investigate the Rakhine violence.

Although Myanmar, which was ruled by a junta between 1988 and 2010, is now under nominal civilian rule there is no indication that the new regime has changed its attitude towards the Rohingyas, many of whom have lived in Myanmar for generations.

“It is totally impossible to accept illegal Rohingyas,” President Thein Sein told visiting UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Antonio Guterres earlier this month. He suggested the UNHRC seek resettlement for the Rohinyas abroad, or set up refugee camps for them.

There are an estimated 30,000 Rohingyas already living in UNHCR camps in neighbouring Bangladesh, fleeing persecution in Myanmar.
****************************************************
ABC Radio Australia - Can Burma's economy cope with sudden influx of foreign investment?
Updated 30 July 2012, 15:26 AEST

With the relaxation of western sanctions Burma, foreign business interests are pouring in, eager to take advantage of what the resource-rich, strategically located country can offer.
Can Burma's economy cope with sudden influx of foreign investment? (Credit: ABC)

But there are those, including opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who have warned of "reckless optimism" about the development prospects and the country's ability to cope with the sudden influx of foreign investment.

Presenter: Richard Ewart
Speaker: Brian Klein, former American diplomat and trade official

KLEIN: There's a lot of opportunity in Myanmar so money is chasing that opportunity. But in Myanmar, government is very new and the economy is still quite fragile and part of the concern is as money flows in very quickly to an economy that promises fast growth, especially since there's not much growth around the world these days, especially not in the US, Europe or Japan and even China and India are starting to slow, but when there's money starts flooding into an economy that's not really that prepared to handle it, there are some serious problems that can occur and as fast as money goes in, money can leave. The Myanmar government is starting to make changes to handle this inflow, but the question is whether or not they're going to make enough of an effort to build a strong, functioning government before the money gets there or after.

EWART: But presumably this is a two-way street, because surely investors are not going to want to go into the country if they feel that there's a risk their investment will fall down?

KLEIN: Right, I think mostly frontier market investors accept that there's a lot of risk in countries like Myanmar, in Laos, in Cambodia, at least within South East Asia. Vietnam is becoming slightly more mature. China's very mature by now, countries like Thailand are very mature. Even the Philippines and Indonesia have a reasonable amount of security that if you put your money in, you can bring it out pretty easily. But part of the problem going into Myanmar is that the government and a lot of economic activity over the last decade or so has been completely controlled by military interests and when, at least on the US side when you needed due diligence and you had significant reporting requirements to the US government, especially for human rights issues and Myanmar has in the past dealt with North Korea, there are serious concerns. So investors have reporting requirements, so even you do due diligence, it can be very challenging to figure out who owns what and what have they done in the past. Other investors don't take that as seriously and they just want to be the first in, so for example, the mining sector, people generally jump in very quickly, because they want to be the first to start pulling out those resources and I think that's why Aung San Suu Kyi very wisely cautioned investors about that reckless optimism and she was referring to some deals that were starting to happen where there was absolutely no transparency at all and a part of her concern I think is that the money is going to flow to the top people. The average Myanmar citizen is not going to enjoy any of the benefits and a lot of is state resources especially mining and timber. I mean she has some serious concerns and they're well warranted.

EWART: You mentioned mining there. I mean are there lessons to be learnt, say, for example, what's happened in Mongolia, where suddenly, of course, they find themselves sitting on enormous mineral wealth?

KLEIN: From the government perspective, especially in Mongolia, there's so much money that's poured into that economy and some people have gotten very wealthy and that's fine, but now there are concerns of whether that wealth will spread out to the general population. Even the Mongolian government now has decided they want a bigger piece of some of those deals, that they negotiated deals, they are state-held resources and now they realise, well we didn't get such a good deal first time around, so we're just going to seize some of it, where going to make it so we get a better percentage of the profits out of these deals. So from the investor perspective, yes , they've been a bit surprised, because there is so much wealth there, over a trillion dollars potential, that they thought they were going to get everything they could and they brought in all the equipment and they brought in the resources and they helped build the roads and now the Mongolian government decides no, it's not going to happen exactly as everyone thought. So there's a risk there in Myanmar as well that the early deals may not turn out as good for the investors as they initially thought.

EWART: There's been a recent change of government in Mongolia which as I understand it has led to them imposing restrictions on particularly Chinese investment and I would presume we're unlikely to see similar restrictions in Burma?

KLEIN: Well, the interesting thing on Burma and China relations is that China's been one of the biggest investors and they had a very large dam project and most of that electricity was going to flow back into China and Burma would get a lot of the money from the project, but none of the electricity and they're somewhat electricity starved and there was a popular movement against that investment and the project had already started and it was cancelled. Now China's leaning very heavily on Burma to restart that project, but there has been a shift, not only in the public's view but also among government officials that may be it wasn't the best idea to sell off all these resources. A lot of its timber also goes into China, there is an endless appetite there in China. So now that part of this shift to opening to Japan, the US, the UK and the rest of Europe, even Australia, that they see that leaning too much on Chinese investment might not be in their best interests. And of course, part of that is they get more people bidding on projects which means potentially more investment and more profit, but also they have a certain wariness of being overly dependent on China. So similar Mongolia has the same concerns and that has the same concerns. They have very limited options unfortunately, but Burma's definitely has much more investor interest at the moment.

EWART: Does that not therefore tend to suggest that the country is better placed to deal with foreign investment coming in than perhaps some are suggesting, that they do have a bit of a handle on this situation?

KLEIN: Well, I think strategically they see that they need more countries involved and that's part of the reason why they had elections and granted they weren't by international standards of democracy....they were free and fair but they were very limited. The number of people in parliament are heavily weighed towards the military or military-backed parties. So Aung San Suu Kyi's party while she won the vast majority of the seats that were available, it was a minority number of seats. So at that level they understand they need more countries involved, but when it comes to actually strengthening the rule of law, for example, so that contracts will be honoured or that there's some recourse of contracts if they are not honoured. Securing the borders, there's a lot of minority groups that have been oppressed for a very long time, there are military campaigns against them throughout the north and the east, that situation is not totally resolved and a lot of the resources are there and I think many of these ethnic tribes worry that they're just going to get run over and they're going to lose all of the benefits that will come from these concessions.

But I would have to say they're certainly trying. Now Burma they are starting to negotiate an investment treaty with Japan and Japan has agreed to dialogue agreed to go in and help develop a bond market. So they're definitely forward leaning and many of the leaders are in their 50s and 60s and they are real breaks from the past, 70 and 80 year-old generation of military rulers. So there is reason to hope that they're going to turn this around and prepare themselves for the money that starts rolling in.
****************************************************
NPR - Cars For Clunkers: Myanmar Swaps Old Rides For New
by Anthony Kuhn
July 29, 2012

Nowhere are the many recent reforms in Myanmar, also known as Burma, so evident as on city streets. Until this year, they were often choked with ancient jalopies because for most of the past half century ordinary Burmese citizens weren't allowed to purchase imported cars.

But the country's car import policies are now undergoing a lurching sort of liberalization, whose speed, quirks and unintended consequences offer a window on Myanmar's reforms.

One aspect of the reforms is visible at U Ohn Myint's car repair shop on the outskirts of Yangon, the country's main city. The 67-year-old mechanic takes the body of a 20-year-old government-made jeep and welds pieces of scrap metal onto the gaping rust holes. He and his young apprentices cobble in an engine from an old Mitsubishi SUV, the axles of a Toyota and some tires from South Korea.

U Ohn Myint offers this "Ride of Frankenstein" as evidence of his mechanical prowess. He boasts of having fixed all manner of rolling rust buckets, including some left over from the British colonial era.

"A 40-year-old car is nothing special here. I once refurbished a British Austin A40 that was more than 60 years old," he says proudly. "I had that thing up and running on the streets of Yangon."

Policy Rolls In Fairly New Imports

New policies rolled out last September allow owners of cars between 20 and 40 years old to sell them for scrap. In exchange, they get licenses to import newer but still secondhand cars.

U Ohn Myint has serviced many decades-old jalopies and kept them roadworthy when ordinary Burmese could not import private cars.

Ohn Myint says this "junkers for clunkers" policy has had a serious impact on his business.

"As new imports flood into the country, car prices are going down," he explains. "Nobody wants to drive these old clunkers in the city anymore, so now we mostly sell them to customers in rural areas."

Most of the cars on the streets of Yangon are aged Japanese imports. A few wealthy Burmese import European cars, but the country lacks the parts and trained mechanics to maintain them.

This year the policy was revised once again, allowing consumers to import any new car they like. But they need to pay for it with foreign currency, and the customs duties, surcharges and registration fees amount to a 165 percent markup.

Tin Maung Maung Than, a senior research fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore, says that these prices change the nature of the automobile in the minds of Burmese consumers.

"Everyone, because of policymaking in the past, regards cars not as utility, but as investment," he says. "So when you buy a car, you are thinking of selling it later, at a profit."

When the government liberalized the import policy, prices for the most imported cars in Myanmar dropped by around half.

Tint Thwin, deputy director of trade in Myanmar's Commerce Ministry, says this caught some small-scale investors off guard.

"Now at the moment, there are some people and they have their car to sell in the market," he says. "So they invest a lot, and now they suddenly change the policy, and [the investors] have some losses."

A Toyota For Half A Million Dollars

Until the recent reforms, only officials were allowed to import automobiles. The government and military both have their own car-import companies. Many of the imported cars are then resold to family members and cronies of those in power.

Car trader Htay Aung has found success buying cars from the military and then reselling them to consumers. Of course he says this drives up the price.

"Seventy percent of the officials who get individual import permits will not use the cars themselves," he says, "but will instead resell them and pocket the profits. We will then buy those cars and resell them again, for a profit of around $6,000 to $11,000 each."

Mechanics at Ohn Myint's car repair shop on the outskirts of Yangon refurbish rusty, decades-old government jeeps.

Htay Aung says all the selling and reselling can jack the price of an ordinary Toyota Land Cruiser up to around $500,000. To the average citizen in one of Asia's poorest countries, that is what you call a crony-mobile.

Scholar Tin Maung Maung Than says that under a well-coordinated policy reform, all the duties and fees collected from car buyers might be used to build public transportation and infrastructure. But, he notes, even if the policies are haphazard or irrational, the government can still claim them as an improvement and good for the common people.

"There is this driving force under the new government of liberalization," he says. "Everybody jumps on the liberalization wagon. So everything that relaxes policies and liberalizing seems to be taken as good, regardless of the consequences."

Still Few Cars On The Road

Back at his repair shop, Ohn Myint shows visitors a freshly painted and refurbished jeep, which he says will sell for the equivalent of about $4,000 or $5,000. He says he supports the new car policy, though it has put a dent in his business.

"These rebuilt old cars are not so safe," he says, "and they're still expensive for ordinary Burmese. With the new policy, people will get better prices for their car purchases. And the new cars will still need us to maintain them."

Even with all the new imports flooding in, only seven out of 1,000 Burmese own cars, compared to 270 per 1,000 people in neighboring Thailand. Car prices are likely to remain prohibitively high for ordinary citizens until foreign car makers set up shop in Myanmar.
****************************************************
UNHCR official to visit Rakhine state
A United Nation's expert on human rights in Myanmar will visit Rakhine state this week amid concern over alleged abuses by security authorities against Muslims.
Published: July 30, 2012 at 6:30 AM

YANGON, Myanmar, July 30 (UPI) -- A U.N. expert on human rights in Myanmar will visit Rakhine state this week amid concern of alleged abuses by security authorities against Muslims.

Tomas Quintana, special rapporteur with the U.N. High Commission for Refugees, arrives Tuesday for a four-day visit that will include one day in Rakhine, a report by Mizzima news, based in New Delhi and run by ex-patriot Myanmars, said.

Quintana was invited by the government, which last month faced rioting between Muslims and Buddhists in Rakhine state -- also called Arakan -- that killed up to 78 people.

His visit comes after the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay called for a "prompt, independent" investigation into alleged human rights violations in Rakhine.

"We have been receiving a stream of reports from independent sources alleging discriminatory and arbitrary responses by security forces and even their instigation of, and involvement in, clashes," Pillay said.

"Reports indicate that the initial swift response of the authorities to the communal violence may have turned into a crackdown targeting Muslims, in particular members of the Rohingya community."

Rakhine occupies most of Myanmar's west coast on the Bay of Bengal and is mostly Muslim has a relatively large Muslim population. Within Myanmar, Buddhists make up 89 percent of the population while Muslims and Christians make up around 4 percent each, U.N. estimates state.

Many of the Rohingya have connections to neighboring Bangladesh.

Violence started in early June when 10 Muslims were killed by a mob who pulled them from a bus in late in the afternoon.

The second incident happened in the Rakhine capital Sittwe the same day when police opened fire to warn protesters who had surrounded a local police station, the independent Irrawaddy news Web site Irrawaddy, published in Thailand, said at the time.

The mob was demanding the release of three men suspected of the rape and murder of a woman May 28.

Immediately after the riots Brig. Gen. Kyaw Zan Myint, deputy minister of Home Affairs, was appointed to head a committee to look into the "lawless and anarchic acts that can harm peace, stability and rule of law in Rakhine," a report by the state-run New Light of Myanmar newspaper said.

Pillay welcomed the government's decision to allow the U.N. Special Rapporteur Quintana access to Rakhine.

She also said it is important that those affected from all communities in Rakhine are able to speak freely to Quintana.

Mizzima also reported that a coalition group led by Refugees International, the Arakan Project and the Equal Rights Trust issued a series of recommendations that were delivered to the governments of Myanmar and Bangladesh.

"In Myanmar, what began as inter-communal violence has evolved into large-scale state-sponsored violence against the Rohingya," the statement said.

"The urgent humanitarian needs of Internally Displaced Persons -- including those not in IDP camps -- aren't being adequately met. There is concern that those displaced won't be allowed to return to their homes as soon as it is safe to do so, creating a situation of protracted displacement."

A statement issued by the UNHCR said it estimates around 80,000 people are displaced in and around the Rakhine towns of Sittwe and Maungdaw where much of the violence took place.

"Most of them are living in camps for internally displaced people, with smaller numbers staying with host families in surrounding villages," the statement said.

"Many of the Rakhine IDPs whose houses were not destroyed have returned home. Others have said they would return if they could get help building new homes. Some displaced Muslims tell UNHCR staff they would also like to go home to resume work, but fear for their safety."
****************************************************
Asia News Network -Myanmar villagers protest Chinese firm's plan to restart dam
News Desk
Eleven Media Group
Publication Date : 30-07-2012

Despite the project’s suspension, a Chinese state-owned company is discreetly planning to restart buillding a dam in the Ayeyawady (Irrawady) River, triggering protests in Myanmar’s restive state Kachin.

A Kachin villager, who for security reasons cannot be identified, said representatives of the Myitsone dam builder China Power Investment Corporation (CPI) visited one of the villages early July to gather support for its comeback.

“Representatives from CPI are luring villagers. They are organising (support) not only from the model village but also from refugee camps,” he said. “Kachin locals strongly oppose the project. Despite the suspension of the project, we are worried (because) activities are still ongoing in the area.”

The villager said the community in Aung Myin Thar San village in the northeastern town of Myitkyina fears that the 6,000 MW project, one of the largest of seven dams planned along the Ayeyawady delta, will push through.

People from three villages have already been relocated to the model village, Aung Myin Thar San. In total, 2,146 people from all five villages will be directly affected—with their houses to go under water in an instant once operations start.

The multibillion project was suspended in September 2011 following President Thein Sein’s order to halt the construction, assuring the public that the dam will not be built during his tenure.

The president reportedly gave in following widespread protests. Kachin is considered as one of the world’s eight hotspots of biodiversity, according to International Rivers. Once built, the dam will also be submerging historical and cultural sites in Mali and N'mai Hka rivers, an area known to be the birthplace of Ayeyawady.

Villagers worse off

“Chinese newspapers reported that the locals near Myitsone area are happy to (to accommodate the terms of) CPI. The newspaper mentioned relations with the local people are fine,” the villager added.

But villagers from the start had strongly opposed the dam. Those that had been relocated said they had wanted to go back since last year’s suspension, but they could not as the “government is watching them”.

Interviews with Eleven Media Group revealed that the relocated villagers are far off worse than they used to, as they now struggle to survive in deplorable living conditions and with no means for income, and no farms to till. “Our entire lives have been changed,” they said.

Violence has also erupted due to the dam. The ethnic Kachin has long been in conflict with the military, and tensions between the two have worsened since the construction.

China forges ahead

The Chinese company has continued with the project even after its Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) had been found to be questionable.

CPI reportedly started constructing the dam even without the EIA finalised. Experts hired to do the EIA had also recommended two smaller dams to replace Myitsone, following the unknown scale of damage it may cause to the river’s ecology and to forests.

CPI is investing US$3.6 billion for the project, according to reports. Once electricity is transported to China (90 per cent of the dam’s output), the Myanmar government will be receiving 20 per cent of the revenue or at least $500 million a year.

Other hydropower projects in Irrawady River are being undertaken by the Ministry of Electric Power in cooperation with CPI include Chephwe, Chephwenge, Wusauk, Khaunglanphu, Yinan, Phizaw and Laizar. They are expected to generate 18,499 MW of electricity.
****************************************************
VOA News - Opening for Investment, Burma Faces Human Rights Challenges
July 30, 2012

STATE DEPARTMENT — More foreign firms are moving into Burma with the easing of U.S. and European sanctions, following recent political reforms.

But the Obama administration says it expects U.S. investors to lead by example in improving labor conditions, amid concerns that a more open Burma could worsen human trafficking.

U.S. and European sanctions hurt Burma's banking sector, making it harder for foreign firms to invest.

But with those sanctions eased, Google, Coca-Cola and General Motors are leading the charge into Burma. Meeting with corporate leaders before the largest-ever U.S. trade mission to the country, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said she expects them to be agents of positive change by doing business responsibly.

Clinton has told Burmese President Thein Sein that Washington will respond to reforms on an action-for-action basis, as his government legalizes trade unions, eases media censorship, and frees political prisoners.

But with a 30 percent poverty rate, UNICEF's Burma representative Ramesh Shrestha says one of the biggest risks in Burma is child exploitation. "If government opens up as it said, democratically, then obviously it opens up for everything. That would mean the existing bad control of the situation might be loosened up. That would mean people would do what they want to do. This could be legal or illegal, all these things could happen," he said.

Jesse Eaves, the senior policy advisor for child protection at the aid group World Vision, says the important thing is that positive steps are being made. "We have seen countries like Burma starting to really take a look at what is happening in its own borders, what is happening to their citizens and trying to take the proper response to it," he said.

Eaves says World Vision is raising awareness about human trafficking and child exploitation in Burma by working with survivors to speak out. "It is amazing the change that you can see just by addressing the issue, by bringing it out in the open and shining a light on it," he said. "I think the biggest problem we see is that most people do not know what it is that they are looking at. They may just think, 'This is normal. This is what we have always done.'"

Lex Rieffel, an economic expert at the Brookings Institution, says the speed of Burma's economic reform could challenge welfare and development programs. "We have seen a pattern where countries that invest heavily in natural resources tend to under invest in human resources. Experience tells us that it is the investment in human resources that pays off in the long term," he said.

But Britain's investment chief Nick Baird says foreign firms can make a big impact in Burma. "It is not just economic, but working together in an open and transparent and responsible business way, will actually help the stability of this country," he said.

The message is echoed by the new U.S. ambassador to Burma, Derek Mitchell, who says outside investment can move the country toward greater transparency and accountability.
****************************************************
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
The Japan Times - Suu Kyi looking to visit next spring
AP

YANGON — Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi plans to visit Japan next year on her first visit since being released from house arrest in November 2010.

Suu Kyi announced her plans to Japan's goodwill ambassador to Myanmar for the welfare of ethnic minorities, Yohei Sasakawa, who met her over the weekend in the capital, Naypyitaw.

A member of Sasakawa's delegation said Sunday that the Nobel Peace Prize laureate declared her intention to visit during the cherry blossom season, around the end of March. He asked for anonymity because he is not authorized to release information.

Foreign Minister Koichiro Genba invited Suu Kyi to visit Japan during his trip to Myanmar last December.
****************************************************
The Irrawaddy - New Burmese Ambassador Meets Obama
By LALIT K JHA July 30, 2012

The new Burmese Ambassador to the United States Than Swe will present his credentials to President Barack Obama on Monday to formally revive the top diplomatic post between the two countries.

The credentials ceremony, which is closed to the press, is to be held at the White House, an official announcement said on Sunday. “The presentation of credentials is a traditional ceremony that marks the formal beginning of an ambassador’s service in Washington,” said in the statement.

Last week, Than Swe presented his credentials to Deputy Secretary of State Bill Burns at the Foggy Bottom headquarters of the State Department. Until recently he was Burma’s permanent representative to the United Nations in New York.

Than Swe is the first person to assume the prestigious post since 2004 when Lynn Myaing served as the 17th Burmese Ambassador to the US. Afterwards the Burmese government instead appointed a Charge d’Affairs.

Burma initially established diplomatic relationship with the US in 1947 when Soe Nyunt was appointed as the first Burmese ambassador.

Early this month, new US Ambassador to Burma Derek Mitchell similarly presented his credentials to Burmese President Thein Sein in Naypyidaw, thus reestablishing full diplomatic relations. Dealings between the two nations are finally normalizing with the easing of economic sanctions after Thein Sein’s reformist administration took office last year.

The 2005 defection of Aung Lin Htut, deputy chief of mission at the Burmese Embassy in Washington DC at the time, was considered major diplomatic disaster for the military government.

In his letter to then-Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, the most senior Burmese diplomat in the US described Burma as a “tyranny” and he said “he and his family face arrest and possible death if they return.”
****************************************************
The Irrawaddy - ‘Sack Aung Thein Lin’ Petition Launched
By ZARNI MANN July 30, 2012

A petition to sack Aung Thein Lin, the Rangoon chairman of the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), was launched on Saturday in his home constituency of South Okkalapa Township.

Aung Thein Linn has been widely criticized in Burma after he was quoted by the Chinese Southern Weekend journal lambasting President Thein Sein, Aung San Suu Kyi, the US and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

Petition organizers in South Okkalapa, where he won a parliamentary seat in the 2010 general elections, told The Irrawaddy that they will submit their complaint to the Election Commission (EC) as soon as more than a thousand signatures have been collected.

“Aung Thein Lin said the Myitsone Dam project, in Kachin State, must resume and the idea to halt the project is only that of the president,” said an organizer. “He also said the people of Burma are crazy. We cannot accept that. That’s why the voters will sign the complaint and will submit it to the EC.”

According to the 2008 Constitution, at least one percent of voters from any constituency must submit a complaint in order to expel their current MP.

Meanwhile, a request to stage a protest on Tuesday against Aung Thein Lin by residents of Pakokku in Magwe Division has been rejected.

“We received the rejection letter from the township police force yesterday which stated the request to protest was rejected due to four reasons,” an organizer told The Irrawaddy on Monday.

Stated reasons included: “The interview of Aung Thein Lin has not yet been verified; to prevent problems between USDP members and locals; to prevent further problems with Pakokku-based Battalion 101 as Aung Thein Lin once worked there; and the Shwe Chaung Bridge area mentioned for the protest is restricted.”

But organizers complained that these are unfair and said they will submit an appeal to divisional authorities.

When asked about the support for Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy, Aung Thein Lin is quoted the liberal Guangzhou-based journal as saying: “The [people] are crazy. OK, [Suu Kyi] is popular, but only because she is the daughter of Gen Aung San. He is our national hero.”

The now-notorious interview also quoted Aung Thein Lin saying that he opposed Thein Sein’s decision to suspend the controversial Chinese-backed Myitsone Dam project and that construction must be resumed. “I don’t trust Ban Ki-moon, nor the UN. They are all the same. All they think of is to interfere with other countries’ internal affairs,” he is also quoted as saying.

However, Aung Thein Linn now denies that he made the remarks and said that he has been misconstrued and misinterpreted by the publication. The USDP also issued a statement on Saturday that an investigation is underway and any appropriate disciplinary action would be taken according to party regulations.

The statement also mentioned that any comments made by Aung Thein Linn were his own personal opinions and did not reflect official party policy.
****************************************************
The Irrawaddy - US Sanctions Forge Closer Burmese-Thai Trade
By MAY LAY July 30, 2012

The US government’s decision last week, albeit held up in a Senate wrangle, to extend a ban on Burmese imports for three years is likely to forge closer trade ties with Thailand, claim experts.

“Thailand and Burma have to work more closely and Burma can look for markets in Asia. In 2015, the AEC [ASEAN Economic Community] will open up and Burma has to work with regional countries,” said Pasu Loharjun, director-general of the Thai Industry Ministry.

Before 2009-2010 fiscal year, Thailand was the largest investor in Burma for six consecutive years until China overtook the Kingdom in 2010-2011 with large energy sector outlays, according to the data from the Myanmar Investment Committee.

During his three-day trip to Thailand last week, President Thein Sein signed three Memoranda of Understanding with Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra for assistance in promoting security, logistic and infrastructure.

In addition, both countries renewed their commitment to the controversial Dawei (Tavoy) deep-sea port and special economic zone in southern Burma.

“In our talk, I reaffirmed the commitment of the Thai government to push forward with this cooperation with Myanmar in regard to the development of the Dawei deep-sea port to have concrete progress,” said Yingluck.

Thein Sein met also with Thai business executives from PTT Plc, Siam Cement Group and Charoen Pokphand Foods among others. PTT, Thailand’s state-owned energy giant, pledged during the meeting to return excess gas to alleviate a chronic power shortfall in Burma.

PTT signed a deal with the Burmese Energy Ministry to explore two blocks—PSC-G at 13,333 square kilometers and EP-2 at 1,344 square kilometers—on June 6. These will be explored together with Burmese energy company Win Precious Resources Pte Ltd as a joint venture.

PTT already operates four natural gas blocks in Burma’s Yadana and Yetakun fields which can produce 1.1 billion cubic feet per day for the Thai domestic market.

Prajuab Supinee, commercial counselor at the Thai embassy in Rangoon, said Thailand is interested in expanding investments in four key sectors—food, garments, healthcare and construction.

“Thailand and Burma are neighbors and we can have good business relation in the future. Thai business people are very interested in Burma and some Thai companies already started their businesses before the Burmese government initiated economic reform, especially in energy and industrial sectors,” he said at a Thailand-Myanmar business-matching meeting at the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry.

Positive testimony received from International Labour Organization (ILO) in June with regards action taken to combat forced labor was seen as vital towards negotiating further trade concessions in the wake of the easing of international sanctions.

The key measure would be inclusion in the European Union and World Trade Organization generalized system of preferences (GSP), which reduces tariffs for developing nations. Burma was included in the GSP before 1997 and could export products with minimal taxes, but this was later withdrawn due to the former military junta’s appalling human rights record.

“I felt upset after the announcement of the US import ban on Burma for the next three years. We have to sell our products with a poor price to Thailand and Asian counties. If we can export to Western countries, we can get a good price and extend new markets,” said the owner of a furniture factory in Rangoon.

Bilateral trade between Burma and Thailand increased by around 25 percent in the last fiscal year. The value of trade between the two countries stood at US $3.6 billion in 2010-2011 and $4.5 billion in 2011-2012, according to data from the Ministry of Commerce.
****************************************************
Five int’l airlines prepare to start Burma routes
Monday, 30 July 2012 15:13 Mizzima News

More international airlines are set to extend flights to Burma in October, according to domestic media reports.

The airlines include Taiwan’s EVA Air, South Korea's KAL, Japan's All Nippon Airways (ANA), Hong Kong-based Dragonair and Qatar Airways, said the Yangon Times.

EVA will operate flights three times a week.

ANA will offer a Narita-Rangoon-Narita route three times a week and a charter flight between Tokyo and Rangoon. A Naypyitaw-Yangon- Hanoi-Tokyo route will also be launched using a Boeing 767.

Qatar Airways, which had suspended flight since 2008, will resume flights between Doha and Rangoon.

Meanwhile, airlines from Germany and Bangladesh have approached Burma's civil aviation authority about launching direct flights to Rangoon, officials said.

Flights between Rangoon and Manila are expected to be launched before the end of this year.

Currently, there are 13 foreign airlines flying to Rangoon: Air China, China Southern Airlines, China Eastern Airlines, Thai Airways International, Indian Airlines, Air Asia, Taiwan region's China Airlines, Singapore's Silk Air, Malaysian Airlines, Bangkok Airways, Jetstar Asia and Vietnam Airlines.
****************************************************
Vietnam eyes big hotels in Burma
Monday, 30 July 2012 12:44 Mizzima News

Vietnam and France are set to become major hotel investors in Rangoon, as investors eye the burgeoning Burmese tourist industry, domestic media reported last week. Indian companies are also looking at hotel investments, officials said.

The demand for hotel rooms has risen as the number of tourists and busines arrivals has increased rapidly.

Among them, HAG & Land from Vietnam is expected to invest US$300 million in the hotel sector, Weekly Eleven reported. Oberoi Hotels & Resorts from India has also expressed interest.

Htay Aung, the deputy minister of hotels and tourism, told the Sasin Bangkok Forum that Accor Group, the market leader in Europe, is also interested in making investments in the hotel industry. Accor is a French hotel group founded in 1967. It operates in 92 countries.

The Bangkok Post this week quoted Htay Aung as saying that the Shangri-La Group will build a 240-room hotel.

Ministry figures say that Burma had 731 licensed hotels with 25,002 rooms at the end of 2011.

Currently, Burma has about 20 foreign-invested hotels in Rangoon out of 35 in the country, which are mainly operated by companies in Singapore, Japan, Thailand, Malaysia and Hong Kong.

A delegation of International Enterprise Singapore Business Department, led by the director of the Southeast Asia Group, Tan Soon Kin, held discussions with officials at the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism early this month, said Eleven News.

Singapore is now the biggest foreign investor in Burma’s hotel and tourism industry, with the Sedona Hotel and Park Royal Hotel in Rangoon and the Sedona Hotel in Mandalay.

Other major foreign investors in the country's hotel and tourism industry come from Thailand, Japan, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Britain. The United States and other countries have recently expressed strong interest in the sector.

Currently, high-end rooms in Rangoon are normally filled. Burma has a total of nine government-owned hotels and 678 private hotels, and 11 hotel zones in regions where tourists visit frequently. Prices have risen sharply from around US$ 50 to up to $300 for luxury rooms. Recently, there were reports the government had ordered hotels to charge less for top room rates.

Last, year, the largest number of tourists came from Thailand, followed by China. French, German and British accounted for the highest number of Western tourists in Burma.

Mizzima reported in January that Europeans accounted for 65,367 travellers, led by France with 13,102 visitors, Germany with 10,932, and Britain 7,195.

“Arrival numbers are increasing 20 per cent to 30 per cent every year”, said Lynn Zaw Wai Mang, general manager of Unique Asia Travel in Rangoon. “It means we need to build more hotels, expand airlines and develop our infrastructure so we can offer a better level of service to visitors.”

While the numbers are good, tourism industry spokesmen are citing potential problems down the road and calling for the newly elected government to undertake rapid infrastructure changes.

An article in the Myanmar Times in January cited concerns about the country’s lack of hotels and transport capacity, poor infrastructure, high prices and inefficient booking systems.

“The Myanmar tourism industry is now at a point where we need to become more professional,” said Edwin Briels, general manager of Exploration Travel and Tour.

In June, Mizzima reported that four historical state-owned buildings in Rangoon were on the real estate market to be used as possible hotels to help boost Rangoon’s room shortage.

The former office of the Immigration and Manpower Department (next to Rangoon City Hall) has undergone major renovation. Private construction companies are renovating many old government office buildings in Rangoon, mostly built during the British colonial era.
****************************************************
Mizzima News - The politics of Burma’s economic reform: report
Monday, 30 July 2012 13:23 International Crisis Group

Burma’s political transition and economic reconstruction are deeply entwined, and the government, the country’s elites and the international community must embrace both for the dramatic reforms underway to succeed, according to a new report by the International Crisis Group (ICG).

The report, Myanmar: The Politics of Economic Reform, released last week examines the benefits and challenges of the ambitious program of economic change set in motion by President Thein Sein and his administration.

In an effort to create a rapidly growing economy and catch up to its neighbours, the government wants to do away with the restrictions and privileges of the old economic order, which benefited the military, party elite and crony businessmen, said a summary of the report’s findings.

“If the reforms are done well, many across the country stand to benefit, but those who profited most from the old regime’s restrictions and privileges will lose access to windfall profits and guaranteed monopolies,” said Jim Della-Giacoma, the group’s South East Asia project director. “The crony businessmen, military and party machine will still do well but will need to play by new rules, meet domestic and foreign competition and even pay taxes.”

Although economic reform will bring significant changes, especially for key pillars of the old regime, there have been few efforts to disrupt the project. Previously privileged businesses understand the advantage of joining a growing and competitive global economy. Instead of pushing back, elites – still hugely advantaged – are attempting to distance themselves from a history of official privilege and participate fully in the new economy. In addition, the recent resignation of Vice President Tin Aung Myint Oo, often regarded as an obstacle to economic restructuring, may aid the reform project, the report said.

President Thein Sein still faces many challenges, however. The government’s limited experience and technical capacity hinder the speed and effectiveness with which sweeping new policies can be implemented. This deficit may be particularly telling when policies require swift adjustment, according to the ICG.

It said conomic reform cannot be achieved without the promise of political stability. Similarly, governance transition cannot be successful without the guarantee of economic growth and equity, including quick-impact measures that produce a tangible effect on the lives of the bulk of the citizenry, such as improved access to electricity, land law reform, better public transport, cheaper telecommunications and lower informal fees of the kind that block access to health and education services.

With the success of political and economic reforms inextricably linked and the potential benefits in the country’s transformation great, Burma’s government, military, business elites and ordinary people alike should welcome and work to adopt them, it said.

But, it said international community support remains vital as well, including continuation of the process of removing sanctions imposed against the old regime. It would be highly counterproductive, for example, were the US to retain its ban on imports, as a Senate committee recommended this month, said ICG.

“In order for the economic reform process to be successful, the political transition must go smoothly as well,” said Paul Quinn-Judge, the group’s acting Asia program director. “But there also needs to be the assurance of economic stability to help the government successfully move on from its authoritarian past. Both are crucial for Myanmar’s advancement.”
****************************************************
DVB News - NGO warns of ‘second tragedy’ in western Burma
By RAY BYRNE
Published: 30 July 2012

An official from Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) expressed concern that parts of Arakan state may face a “second tragedy” if medical personal are kept from providing aid to those in need.

The organisation was forced to withdrawal senior personnel on 17 July due to a backlash from rumours about the group’s funding and intentions that have been circulating by social media outlets and leaflets.

Vickie Hawkins, deputy head of mission in Burma from MSF-Holland, denied rumours that weapons were found in an MSF building and that funding for the organisation comes from Islamic financial backers.

“We reject the rumours,” said Hawkins. “They are totally untrue. The main concern for us is access to the people who have been displaced. They are the worst affected.”

Once such leaflet states that MSF is, “A Holland and French NGO that is importing arms for [Kalars] to occupy Rakhine state.” Kulars is a pejorative term used to describe people of South Asian descent in Burma.

The rumours arose last month following the outbreak of violence in Arakan state aimed at the area’s Muslim Rohingya population. MSF employee Kyaw Hla Aung was arrested on 13 June “under existing law.”

On 6 July, MSF confirmed that six local staff had been detained, with one later being released.

Hawkins refused to comment on the individual cases.

MSF premises in Arakan state have been searched multiple times by government officials according to Hawkins, however; none of the searches have turned up any weapons or evidence of them.

“The government has assured us that they are happy with us,” said Hawkins in reference to the searches.

The accusations of MSF’s funding being drawn from Islamic backers has also been deemed baseless and an attempt to undermine healthcare efforts.

According to MSF’s 2010 financial statements, the latest available, the organisation received donations from 5 million individuals and private institutions totaling 943 million euros that year. These donations accounted for 91 percent of total donations. Only seven percent was attributed to public institutional income and two percent was marked as “other income.”

The disruptions come at an unfortunate time. Burma’s rainy months mark the beginning of malaria season, where cases of the deadly virus peak.

Malaria is one of Burma’s leading killers and Arakan state is an area where infection rates are particularly high. In 2010, MSF tested more than 400,900 patients in Arakan and treated more than 122,380 individuals.

“We could see increased rates of malaria again. If it were to get to that stage it would put us back a lot,” said Hawkins.

The accusations leveled at MSF signal larger distrust of aid groups working in Arakan state. The same leaflet promises to describe, “how disgusting and terrifying the UN and NGOs are.”

“Not only Rakhine [Arakan] but also all the people know that [Kalars] have grown up thanks to UN and NGOs that have watered poisonous plants,” the leaflet states. “We recognize those, who work for the further development of [Kalars] by earning dollars, as traitors.”

On 5 July, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported that some of its staff were being held for “questioning.” Reports from the Narinjara news website stated that three of the UN officials appeared in Maungdaw District Court on 10 July. One was identified as Cholaymar Khatoon.

The leaflet takes direct aim at a number of NGOs but has its harshest criticisms for the United Nations High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR) and the World Food Programme (WFP), threatening both with attack.

Representatives of human rights organisation Amnesty International have also emphasised the importance of providing displaced peoples with assistance at this time.

“The human rights and humanitarian needs of those affected by the violence depend on the presence of monitors and aid workers,” said Benjamin Zawacki, Amnesty International’s Burma Researcher in a statement issued by the organisation on 20 July.

On Wednesday, Aung San Suu Kyi used her first speech in parliament to call for greater recognition of minority rights, but failed to mention the Rohingya’s plight by name leading some to say that she is not going far enough in her calls for equality.

MSF has been working in Burma since 1992 in close collaboration with the Ministry of Health, including in the areas of malaria and HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment.

The organisation is the largest single provider of antiretroviral treatment (ART) for HIV/AIDS in Burma and provided 623 patients in Rakhine state with ART in 2011.

MSF operates 24 clinics and 10 malaria field sites throughout the country.

-Ray Byrne is a pseudonym for a journalist working inside Burma.
****************************************************
DVB News - Suspects detained after NLD member murdered
By AYE NAI
Published: 30 July 2012

Police in Magwe division’s Pwintbyu township have arrested two men, including a member of the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party, in connection with the bloody murder of a rival opposition party member.

Ye Win, National League for Democracy party’s campaign committee member in Pwintbyu’s Thamanyin village, died on 25 July after he and a friend, Kyi Maung, were attacked by a group of men armed with swords.

Kyi Maung managed to escape after sustaining minor injuries and called out for help while fleeing. Villagers, who arrived at the scene, found Ye Win dumped in a nearby pond with several lacerations across his head.

Aung Win, NLD chairman in Pwintbyu, said Ye Win succumbed to his injures and died on the way to hospital but was able to identify the men who attacked him before passing.

“Before Ko Ye Win died, he was able to tell the [villagers] there were eight attackers including ‘that guy Win Maw’”, said Aung Win.

The suspects were identified as residents from Thamanyin and nearby Thayetgon and Thamongon villages. Police arrested four people and are currently holding USDP member Win Maw and a local resident named Tun Tun.

Win Maw was being investigated by officials after being accused of exhorting locals in an electricity scheme. Ye Win helped bring attention to Win Maw’s illicit activities.

The NLD member was known in the area for standing up to authorities and shining a light on the mistreatment of local residents.

According to the villagers, Ye Win and Win Maw had also harbored a feud during the campaign season that preceded the country’s by-elections in April. Win Maw is also known to be a close confidante of Magwe division’s Agriculture and Irrigation Minister Aung Naing.

Pwintbyu’s Police were unavailable for comment.

(ဆက္ဖတ္ရန္.......)

ေနရာတက်ျပန္ထားရင္ ပိုေကာင္းတာေပါ့...

2012-07-30

ျမန္မာႏုိင္ငံက တုိင္းရင္းသား (၁၃၅) မ်ိဳးထဲမွာ ရုိဟင္ဂ်ာဟာ ဘယ္တုန္းကမွ မပါ၀င္ခဲ့ဘူးသလုိ ျမန္မာႏိုင္ငံမွာ ရုိဟင္ဂ်ာလူမ်ိဳး ဆုိတာလည္း မရွိဘူးလုိ႔ လူ၀င္မႈ ၾကီးၾကပ္ေရးနဲ႔ ျပည္သူအင္အား ၀န္ၾကီးဌာန ျပည္ေထာင္စု ၀န္ၾကီး ဦးခင္ရီက ဒီကေန႔ ေျပာၾကားလုိက္ပါတယ္။၂၀၁၂ ခုႏွစ္ ဇူလိုင္လ ၃၀ ရက္က ရန္ကုန္ျမိဳ႕ ႏုိင္ငံျခားေရး ၀န္ၾကီးဌာန အေဆာက္အဦးေဟာင္းတြင္ က်င္းပသည့္ ရခုိင္ေဒသ အေရးႏွင့္ ပတ္သက္သည့္ သတင္းစာ ရွင္းလင္းပြဲ ျပဳလုပ္ေနစဥ္။

ကုိလုိနီ အဂၤလိပ္အစုိးရ လက္ထက္ကစလုိ႔ ၁၉၇၃ ခုႏွစ္နဲ႔ ၁၉၈၃ ခုႏွစ္ေတြမွာ ေကာက္ယူခဲ့တဲ့ သန္းေခါင္း စာရင္းေတြအရ ရုိဟင္ဂ်ာလူမ်ိဳးဆုိတာ ဘယ္တုန္းကမွ မရွိခဲ့ဘူးလုိ႔ ရန္ကုန္ျမိဳ႕ ႏုိင္ငံျခားေရး ၀န္ၾကီးဌာန အေဆာက္အဦးေဟာင္းမွာ ဒီကေန႔ က်င္းပတဲ့ ရခုိင္ေဒသ အေရးနဲ႔ ပတ္သက္တဲ့ သတင္းစာ ရွင္းလင္းပြဲမွာ ၀န္ၾကီး ဦးခင္ရီက အခုလုိ ေျပာၾကားခဲ့တာပါ။

ရုိဟင္ဂ်ာဟာ ျမန္မာတုိင္းရင္းသား လူမ်ိဳးမဟုတ္ဘူးဆုိတာ သမၼတ ဦးသိန္းစိန္လည္း အခုိင္အမာ ေျပာဆုိထားျပီး ျဖစ္တယ္လုိ႔ ဦးခင္ရီက ေျပာပါတယ္။ ပထမ အဂၤလိပ္-ျမန္မာစစ္ပြဲ ျဖစ္ပြားခဲ့တဲ့ ၁၈၂၄ ခုႏွစ္ ေနာက္ပုိင္း ရခုိင္ေဒသဟာ အဂၤလိပ္ ကုိလုိနီဘ၀ လက္ေအာက္ကုိ ေရာက္ရွိသြားျပီး လယ္ယာလုပ္သား လုိအပ္ခ်က္ကုိ ျဖည့္တင္းႏုိင္ဖုိ႔ တဖက္ႏုိင္ငံကေန ဘဂၤါလီ လူမ်ိဳးေတြကုိ ေခၚယူခဲ့ရျခင္းသာ ျဖစ္တယ္လုိ႔လည္း ဦးခင္ရီက ေျပာပါတယ္။

ရခိုင္ျပည္နယ္မွာ ျဖစ္ပြားခဲ့တဲ့ ပဋိပကၡေတြနဲ႔ ပတ္သက္ျပီး ျမန္မာႏိုင္ငံ ဆိုင္ရာ ကုလသမဂၢ လူ႔အခြင့္အေရး ကိုယ္စားလွယ္ မစၥတာ ကင္တားနားနဲ႔ ျပည္ေထာင္စု ၀န္ႀကီး ငါးဦးတို႔ ဒီကေန႔ ေန႔လည္ပိုင္းက ရန္ကုန္ၿမဳိ႕မွာ ေတြ႔ဆံုျပီး သတင္းစာ ရွင္းလင္းပြဲတစ္ရပ္ က်င္းပခဲ့ပါတယ္။

သတင္းစာရွင္းလင္းပြဲမွာ နယ္စပ္ေရးရာ ၀န္ၾကီးဌာန ျပည္ေထာင္စု ၀န္ၾကီး ဒုတိယ ဗိုလ္ခ်ဳပ္ၾကီး သိန္းေဌးက- ရခုိင္ျပည္နယ္က ပဋိပကၡနဲ႔ ပတ္သက္ျပီး ေသဆံုးသူ ၇၇ ဦး ရွိေၾကာင္း၊ ရခုိင္လူမ်ိဳး ၃၁ ဦး၊ ဘဂၤါလီလူမ်ိဳး ၄၆ ဦးျဖစ္ေၾကာင္း၊ လက္ရွိ ဒုကၡသည္ဦးေရ စုစုေပါင္း ၆ ေသာင္းေက်ာ္ ရွိျပီး ရခုိင္ တုိင္းရင္းသား လူမ်ိဳး ၈ ေထာင္ေက်ာ္၊နဲ႔ ဘဂၤါလီလူမ်ိဳး ၅ ေသာင္းေက်ာ္ရွိေၾကာင္း ထုတ္ျပန္ ေျပာၾကားခဲ့ပါတယ္။

အဆိုပါ အေရးအခင္းေတြမွာ ပါ၀င္ပတ္သက္မႈအတြက္ အစုိးရမဟုတ္ေသာ ႏုိင္ငံတကာ အဖြဲ႕အစည္း (INGO) မ်ားမွ ၀န္ထမ္း ၁၀ ဦးကုိ ဖမ္းဆီးအေရးယူခဲ့ၿပီး တစ္ဦးကုိ စစ္ေဆးၿပီးေနာက္ ျပန္လည္ လႊတ္ေပးလုိက္ေၾကာင္း၊ ပဋိပကၡတြင္ ပါ၀င္ ပတ္သက္၍ ဖမ္းဆီးခံရေသာ INGO မ်ားမွာ UNHCR မွ ငါးဦး၊ AZG မွတစ္ဦးႏွင့္ WFP မွတစ္ဦးတုိ႔ ျဖစ္ေၾကာင္း AZG မွ၀န္ထမ္းကို ဖမ္းဆီး စစ္ေဆးၿပီးေနာက္ ျပန္လႊတ္ေပးလုိက္ၿပီ ျဖစ္ေၾကာင္းလည္း ေျပာပါတယ္။

ရခုိင္ျပည္နယ္တြင္ ပဋိပကၡမ်ားတြင္ INGO မ်ားမွ တခ်ဳိ႕ပါ၀င္ပတ္သက္မႈမ်ား ရွိျခင္းေၾကာင့္ ဖမ္းဆီးမႈမ်ား ရွိသည္ဟု သတင္းမ်ား ထြက္ေပၚခဲ့ေသာ္လည္း အစိုးရက ယခုသတင္းစာ ရွင္းလင္းပြဲတြင္မွ တရား၀င္ ထုတ္ေဖာ္ ေျပာၾကားခဲ့ျခင္း ျဖစ္ပါတယ္။

ပါကစၥတန္ အေျခစုိက္ တာလီဘန္အဖြဲ႕က ျမန္မာႏုိင္ငံကုိ ၿခိမ္းေျခာက္ခဲ့မႈမ်ား ျပည္ပ မီဒီယာမ်ားတြင္ ေဖာ္ျပခဲ့ၿပီး ျပည္သူမ်ားက စုိးရိမ္ ပူပန္မႈမ်ား ရွိေနတာေၾကာင့္ နယ္စပ္ႏွင့္ ျပည္တြင္း လုံၿခံဳေရးႏွင့္ ပတ္သက္၍ နယ္စပ္ေရးရာႏွင့္ ျမန္မာ့စက္မႈ ဖြံ႕ၿဖိဳးေရး ၀န္ႀကီးဌာန ၀န္ႀကီး ဒုတိယ ဗုိလ္ခ်ဳပ္ႀကီး သိန္းေဌးကုိ ေမးျမန္းရာ “လုံၿခံဳေရး အျပည့္အ၀ ရွိပါတယ္”ဟု ေျဖၾကားေၾကာင္းလည္း သိရပါတယ္။

ဒီေန႔ျပဳလုပ္တဲ့ သတင္းစာ ရွင္းလင္းပြဲကို ျပည္ေထာင္စု ဝန္ႀကီး ဦးခင္ရီနဲ႔ အတူ နယ္စပ္ေရးရာ ဝန္ႀကီး ဒုတိယ ဗိုလ္ခ်ဳပ္ႀကီး သိန္းေဌး၊ လူမႈဝန္ထမ္း ကယ္ဆယ္ေရးနဲ႔ ျပန္လည္ ေနရာခ်ထားေရး ဝန္ႀကီး ဦးေအာင္ၾကည္၊ ႏိုင္ငံျခားေရး ဝန္ႀကီး ဦးဝဏၰေမာင္လြင္တို႔ တက္ေရာက္ခဲ့ၿပီး ျမန္မာႏိုင္ငံ အေျခစိုက္ ကုလသမဂၢ အဖြဲ႕အစည္းမ်ား၊ ႏိုင္ငံတကာ သံရံုးမ်ားမွ တာဝန္ရွိသူမ်ားလည္း တက္ေရာက္ခဲ့ၾကပါတယ္။

Copyright © 1998-2011 Radio Free Asia. All rights reserved.

(ဆက္ဖတ္ရန္.......)

ေနရာတက်ျပန္ထားရင္ ပိုေကာင္းတာေပါ့...

CRC News

CRC Letter

(ဆက္ဖတ္ရန္.......)

ေနရာတက်ျပန္ထားရင္ ပိုေကာင္းတာေပါ့...

ACR News

Weekly ACR News July 29

(ဆက္ဖတ္ရန္.......)

ေနရာတက်ျပန္ထားရင္ ပိုေကာင္းတာေပါ့...

BURMA RELATED NEWS - JULY 28, 2012

U.N.: Crackdown on Muslims in Myanmar
Published: July 28, 2012 at 10:21 AM

UNITED NATIONS, July 28 (UPI) -- Security forces in Myanmar appear to have responded to clashes between Buddhists and Muslims by cracking down on Muslims, a U.N. official says.

Navi Pillay, the U.N. commissioner for human rights, called for an investigation of the violence in Rakhine state in the western part of Myanmar, the U.N. News Center said.

"We have been receiving a stream of reports from independent sources alleging discriminatory and arbitrary responses by security forces, and even their instigation of and involvement in clashes," Pillay said in a news release.

She said at least 78 people have been killed and thousands of homes have been destroyed in the state.

Andrej Mahecic, a spokesman for the U.N. High Commissioner on Refugees, said many Muslims have said they are afraid to go back home.

In Iran, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei and other top officials Friday condemned anti-Muslim violence in Myanmar, Radio Free Europe reported. Two recent demonstrations, both sponsored by the government, have also been held in Iran to call on the international community to become involved.

RFE said the Iranian government has generally been silent about attacks on Muslims in countries it considers allies, including Russia and China.

Read more: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2012/07/28/UN-Crackdown-on-Muslims-in-Myanmar/UPI-54271343485300/#ixzz21w4uX1OQ
****************************************************
The Nation - Myanmar court to rule on Thai drug, arms suspects Monday
Nantida Puangthong, Boonleun Promprathankul
The Nation July 28, 2012 1:00 am

A Myanmar court is expected to rule on the cases of 10 Thais charged with carrying war weapons and engaging in drug trafficking in Myanmar on MondayJuly 30, an informed source said yesterday.

"Myanmar military officials are now preparing the investigation report and gathering more evidence," the source said.

According to the source, if the Thais are convicted of possessing war weapons, they will face up to 20 years in jail. If they are found guilty of resisting officials, they may face life imprisonment.

These 10 Thai defendants are among 92 Thais who were already convicted of illegal entry and encroaching on forestland in Myanmar on July 23. That guilty verdict came with a jail term of three years and six months for each of them.

"The Myanmar court has not yet issued a ruling on the drugtrafficking and war weaponspossession cases," Foreign Minister Surapong Towichukchaikul said yesterday, "We are closely monitoring the cases."

The Thai Embassy in Myanmar has requested permission to visit the 92 detained Thais but has not yet received approval, he said.

"We will assist the Thai inmates with the appeal," Surapong said.

Weeratham Yimwan, a resident in Surat Thani's Khirirat Nikhom, said he hoped the government would be able to retrieve tractors, pickups, motorcycles, saws, and all gardening equipment of the detained Thais too. All these tools had been seized since the 92 Thais were arrested, Weeratham pointed out.

The commander of the 25th Infantry Regiment Task Force, Colonel Pornsak Pulsawat, speaking as head of the Township Border Committee in Ranong, said officials would first focus on trying to secure the release and return of the 92, before dealing with the return of the seized equipment.

Pornsak was now pinning his hopes on Myanmar President General Thein Sein's promise to look into these cases and provide assistance to the Thais. The Myanmar leader was quoted as giving the assurances to Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra.

It is believed that Thein Sein might consider granting pardons to the convicted Thais after the court issued the rulings.

"But there are many cases involved. The process may take time," Pornsak said.
****************************************************
The Nation - TSL tests Myanmar auto service waters
Published: 28/07/2012 at 02:53 AM
Newspaper section: Business

TSL, the premium car import specialist, yesterday announced its expansion into Myanmar, its first international investment, starting with integrated automotive maintenance and body repair service.

Investing directly in Myanmar will prepare it for the Asean Economic Community in 2015, said Sureeporn Udompolvanich, the chief executive of TSL Auto Corporation, the independent importer of luxury car brands worldwide.

"Opening up of the regional free trade area is very positive for TSL in terms of labour, logistics, vehicles and parts," she said.

TSL will become the first automotive business from Thailand to enter the market in Myanmar.

Myanmar charges foreign-owned companies no corporate income tax for five years, extendable every three years to attract foreign investment.

Myanmar also has more abundant resources than Thailand, which could be used in the production of auto parts, she added.

"We expect development and investment will flock to Myanmar in the near future. As a neighbour, we hope to have an edge over other countries in understanding Myanmar consumers due to our close cultures," said Ms Sureeporn.

TSL will introduce a car maintenance and body repair service as its starting business in Myanmar by year-end.

SMRT, a well-known maintenance service in Thailand among premium car importers, will be brand-registered in Myanmar to handle car maintenance and body repair service.

The investment cost for SMRT is about US$1 million, with TSL investing 40% and local partners 60%.

Other services will include car window film, tyres, spare parts, lubricating oil and car decoration items.

The SMRT workshop will be built on 1.5 rai of land in central Yangon, with six hoists to serve 30 vehicles per day. Four trained mechanics and technicians from Thailand will be stationed there.

SMRT will service all brands of used European cars, but Toyota will be the only Japanese brand.

The company will make deals with car importers in Myanmar to provide maintenance to their customers.

Today no professional workshops operate in Myanmar, with small roadside garages the norm.

Ms Sureeporn said SMRT hopes to break even in Myanmar in two years on the back of monthly revenue of 3 million baht.

"The automotive import market in Myanmar is rather vast, and premium car users are also numerous, as the mechanics tend to have poor skills, so this is a business opportunity for TSL," she added.
****************************************************
26 including Thais and Myanmar detained in anti-drug operation
2012-07-28 13:08

KUALA LUMPUR, July 28 (Bernama) -- Twenty-six individuals including Thai and Myanmar nationals, as well as a woman, were detained following an operation code-named 'Op Tapis Khas' at the Selayang Wholesale Market, early this morning.

Sentul District Police Narcotics CID chief, DSP Mohamed Fadzil Rahman said, those arrested in the operation, which started at 6am, were believed to be drug pushers and addicts, aged 28 to 40.

"This a schedular operation and the wholesale market is a hotspot for drug abuse. An inspection on 49 people found that most of them were using syabu and heroin," he told reporters after the operation, here, today.

He said some of them obtained their drug supply from outside the Klang Valley, some from the northern states, before distributing them on a small scale at the wholesale market, which was the focus of the public.

The operation this time ended at 11am and was carried out by 30 policemen and four officers, including personnel from the Jinjang Police Station.

Meanwhile, Mohamed Fadzil said drug related seizures until July saw an increase when 731 people were detained from around the wholesale market compared with 569 last year.

This indicated an increase of 22.1 per cent in the number of arrests, he said.
****************************************************
VOA News - US Ambassador to Burma Sees Growing Ties Between Countries
July 27, 2012

The U.S. ambassador to Burma says there is "excellent momentum" in the relationship between the United States and Burma, but acknowledged there are enormous challenges ahead.

Derek Mitchell told VOA that his new appointment demonstrates Washington's commitment to building the relationship. Mitchell arrived in Burma earlier this month as the first U.S. ambassador to that country in 22 years.

"My appointment, whether it is me or anyone else - the fact that there is an ambassador for the first time in 22 years - I think speaks to the commitment now of this administration, of the United States generally, even our Congress, to take the relationship to another level,” said Mitchell.

The United States has been re-engaging Burma after a new, nominally civilian government took over in March of last year and began implementing reforms. Mitchell said his office would be responding to positive changes in Burma.

"Clearly, we have said from the start - really a year ago, we can even start in 2009 - that we are going to be responding to changes that occur on the ground,” he said. “That we will be responding for action with action. And we have seen continuing action, continuing momentum towards reform. And I think we are trying to keep up with that."

Mitchell acknowledged that Burma faces many challenges to becoming a democratic country.

"It is premature to say that all is well or that this process is inevitably going to lead towards a positive or stable solution. As you lay out, there are enormous challenges that lay ahead,” said Mitchell. “Nobody has any illusions about the challenges to come, or the challenges of keeping unity or democracy in line. The key is to keep moving in the right direction. And move step by step."

Mitchell said he has many goals in his new role, including traveling the country to begin to build a better relationship.

"I want to get around the country, meet all different types of people from every different section of Burma. I think that is very important to build that understanding because we have been separated for so long," he said.

Mitchell said he also will work to encourage an open and free media in Burma, and help to facilitate more military contacts between the United States and Burma.

Earlier this month, the Obama administration announced it is easing restrictions on U.S. companies interested in doing business in Burma. A White House statement said easing such sanctions will provide immediate incentives for reformers and benefit the Burmese people.
****************************************************
The Nation - TSL tests Myanmar auto service waters
Published: 28/07/2012 at 02:53 AM
Newspaper section: Business

TSL, the premium car import specialist, yesterday announced its expansion into Myanmar, its first international investment, starting with integrated automotive maintenance and body repair service.

Investing directly in Myanmar will prepare it for the Asean Economic Community in 2015, said Sureeporn Udompolvanich, the chief executive of TSL Auto Corporation, the independent importer of luxury car brands worldwide.

"Opening up of the regional free trade area is very positive for TSL in terms of labour, logistics, vehicles and parts," she said.

TSL will become the first automotive business from Thailand to enter the market in Myanmar.

Myanmar charges foreign-owned companies no corporate income tax for five years, extendable every three years to attract foreign investment.

Myanmar also has more abundant resources than Thailand, which could be used in the production of auto parts, she added.

"We expect development and investment will flock to Myanmar in the near future. As a neighbour, we hope to have an edge over other countries in understanding Myanmar consumers due to our close cultures," said Ms Sureeporn.

TSL will introduce a car maintenance and body repair service as its starting business in Myanmar by year-end.

SMRT, a well-known maintenance service in Thailand among premium car importers, will be brand-registered in Myanmar to handle car maintenance and body repair service.

The investment cost for SMRT is about US$1 million, with TSL investing 40% and local partners 60%.

Other services will include car window film, tyres, spare parts, lubricating oil and car decoration items.

The SMRT workshop will be built on 1.5 rai of land in central Yangon, with six hoists to serve 30 vehicles per day. Four trained mechanics and technicians from Thailand will be stationed there.

SMRT will service all brands of used European cars, but Toyota will be the only Japanese brand.

The company will make deals with car importers in Myanmar to provide maintenance to their customers.

Today no professional workshops operate in Myanmar, with small roadside garages the norm.

Ms Sureeporn said SMRT hopes to break even in Myanmar in two years on the back of monthly revenue of 3 million baht.

"The automotive import market in Myanmar is rather vast, and premium car users are also numerous, as the mechanics tend to have poor skills, so this is a business opportunity for TSL," she added.
****************************************************
Washington Post - Opinions:Turning Burma’s small steps into bigger ones
By Karel Schwarzenberg, Published: July 27

Karel Schwarzenberg is deputy prime minister and foreign minister of the Czech Republic. He was president of the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights from 1984 to 1991 and was chief of staff to Václav Havel from 1990 to 1992.

Václav Havel’s understanding of the trials of a democratic transition provided a lesson for the Czech Republic — and highlights a fundamental truth for Burma’s path forward.

Writing on this page seven years ago, the former Czech president expressed his ardent desire for reform in Burma that would make it possible for him to meet Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate who was under house arrest. “I wish for her that those changes will happen as soon as possible, and that my silly idea — to hand her a rose — becomes a simple and easy thing to do,” he wrote. His health did not allow him to travel to Burma after she was released, but they did speak by phone in December 2010. Aung San Suu Kyi warmly thanked Havel for his long-standing activism on behalf of democracy and human rights in Burma. After Havel died last December, his friends collected roses from his coffin and gave them to artists who had volunteered to produce a work preserving the flowers, making it possible to fulfill Havel’s wish posthumously.

Personal Post

In recent months, substantial changes have been made in Burma. During my trip to Naypyidaw this month, President Thein Sein and other leaders explained the government’s plans. I was surprised by how open and frank they were and how interested they were in the Czech transition process. The Burmese government has concluded cease-fire agreements with most of the country’s ethnic nationalities and has taken steps to end the 60-year war with the Karen people. The fighting with the Kachin, however, continues, and violence has erupted in Rakhine state. There are many violations of the cease-fires, and there are still hundreds of prisoners of conscience in Burmese prisons.

It’s important to realize that while the president and his cabinet are willing to start a peace process, it is difficult to change a decades-old military mind-set.

I remember when I returned to my homeland after 40 years of exile and traveled throughout the Czech country. I was appalled by the dilapidated buildings and devastated towns. Even the forests had been destroyed by acid rain. Havel, then our president, asked for a report from my trip. Upon listening to my findings, he told me: “You have been away for a long time. The buildings will be restored when their owners get them back. The forests will rejuvenate again when we get the cleaning filters for the power plants installed. The towns will rebound soon. But it will take a very long time to repair the damage to the souls of our people.”

Similarly, it will take time before the idea of freedom, the rule of law and democracy trickle down to the last commander in the most remote district of Burma. In this process, we can offer material help, but it is perhaps more important that we share the experience from our own peaceful transition to democracy, the rule of law and the market economy.

While in Burma, I met with the leaders of ethnic minorities and civil society representatives. I also met with the National League for Democracy party and its leader, Aung San Suu Kyi. I was able to fulfill Havel’s wish by presenting the glass-encased rose. I wanted to honor the relationship between the two great champions of democracy, but doing so was also a symbol of the Czech Republic’s commitment to accompanying Burma on its path to democracy and peace.

During our meeting, Aung San Suu Kyi encouraged our delegation to continue the programs our country has arranged in Burma — translations of selected books by Havel and a handbook on the politics of transition, as well as training programs for media and community leaders.

“It is fascinating for us to read about the experiences of others who have struggled against authoritarian regimes,” she wrote in her essay “Czechs and us” in 1998. “I think perhaps some of them will be dissidents for life, their intellectual combativeness ever ready to question the ways of authority, whosoever that may be.”

Our experience makes us keenly aware of the treacherous path that Burmese democrats have to negotiate. The task requires weighing risks and opportunities, patience and compromise. There will be courageous decisions that they — and only they — can responsibly make. The outside world should be careful in mentoring Burma’s leadership. The international community must resist pressing for radical steps, which could set the whole process back years, or decades, nor be willing to accept cosmetic changes.

Burma needs genuine national reconciliation. It also urgently needs investment oriented not toward plundering the country’s natural riches but that creates possibilities for its young generation and respects the rights of farmers and ethnic minorities. No democracy can survive without offering opportunities and jobs that enable an acceptable standard of living. Together with the Burmese people, we can express our unequivocal belief that, in Aung San Suu Kyi’s words, “To talk about change is not enough. Change must happen.”
****************************************************
Xinhua News - Chinese official visits Myanmar over Mekong murder case
13:20, July 28, 2012

BEIJING, July 27 (Xinhua) -- Liu Yuejin, director of the Narcotics Control Bureau of the Chinese Ministry of Public Security, on Friday met and exchanged ideas with Myanmar officials over the murder of 13 Chinese sailors on the Mekong River last year.

Liu, also head of the special investigation team for the case, met with Myanmar's Deputy Minister of Home Affairs and a senior official with Myanmar's Defense Services in Nay Pyi Taw, the country's capital, according to a statement released Friday by China's Ministry of Public Security.

"The two sides exchanged information and opinions regarding the case and reached positive results concerning further measures," said the statement.

Naw Kham, head of an armed drug gang and believed to be associated with the bandits who killed the Chinese sailors, was arrested on April 25 at an undisclosed location in Laos.

The drug lord was extradited to China for an investigation and court trial on May 10.

Chinese police said a joint police investigation in China, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand found evidence that Naw Kham, core members of the gang and a small number of Thai soldiers planned and conducted the murders of 13 Chinese sailors on two cargo ships on Oct. 5 last year.

Liu's visit followed Chinese State Councilor and Minister of Public Security Meng Jianzhu's trip to Myanmar, during which Meng urged the two countries to carry out strengthened law enforcement cooperation as well as a joint crackdown on Naw Kham's gang.

During the meeting, the two sides shared the evidence held by each and discussed army-police cooperation in their next move, said the statement.

The gang, consisting of more more than 100 members and armed with assault rifles, bazookas and machine guns, is believed to have engaged in drug trafficking, kidnapping, murder, looting and other crimes along the Mekong for many years.
****************************************************
The Irrawaddy - Why Burma’s Opposition Is Playing with Fire
By MIN ZIN| July 28, 2012 |

Burmese government ministers and their proxies are building up their frequent flyer miles. They’ve been making trips to their Southeast Asian neighbors as well as Western countries ranging from Norway to the U.S., the newest enthusiasts of Burma’s reform. The cynics might characterize these trips as part of a charm offensive, but in fact they’re much more substantive than a PR ploy. These are not the usual attempts to solicit aid from the West; they are, in fact, part of a campaign “to bring the exiles back home.”

Major Zaw Htay, the director of the Presidential Office, recently made a visit to the U.S., where he met with a cozy reception from the State Department and some Burmese groups. Hla Maung Shwe, a leading businessman-cum-advisor to the regime, is due in August. In fact, Burma’s general-turned-civilian president, Thein Sein, has apparently assigned his trusted aides to lead these delegations to court the West and the community of political exiles.

Traditionally the regime has used various combinations of three strategies against dissenters: coercion, containment, and co-optation. Now, for the first time, the Burmese state is relying primarily on co-optation to stabilize and legitimize its regime-led transition. One of the most repressive states in the world is now working hard to embrace and absorb the opposition, both at home and abroad. (In the image above, opposition leaders take the parliamentary oath.)

Thein Sein explicitly announced this agenda in his inauguration speech of March 31, 2011. He urged all parties to “work together in the national interest” rather than engaging in oppositional politics against the government. Parliamentary leaders discourage the non-ruling members of parliament from using the word “opposition” in parliamentary debates.

Aung San Suu Kyi, who entered parliament after a sweeping victory in the by-elections earlier this year, has so far responded to the regime’s overtures. She emphasized that she joined the parliament — which is dominated by the military-backed party — in order to cooperate with all the forces represented there, not to oppose the government. Suu Kyi has proved her credentials as a member of the “loyal opposition” by accepting an assignment from the parliament to help in lifting Western sanctions against Burma. (For instance, she called U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell and asked him to remove the remaining trade sanctions.)

I have no quarrel with any of this. I have long argued that the opposition should allow themselves to be co-opted into the existing political game as an inevitable part of a dual-track strategy that places equal emphasis on participation and contestation. In this fragile phase of the transition — one in which the balance of power is skewed toward the ruling elites — the opposition must work with the incumbents to undertake much-needed institution-building.

However, the recent violent ethnic riots in Arakan state between ethnic Arakan Buddhists and stateless Rohingya Muslims has opened an unexpected and larger opportunity for the regime to put its co-optation strategy into practice by exploiting nationalist passions. Both sides in this communal conflict are underdogs: The Arakan people, who are repressed and exploited by the Burmese-dominated military regime, and the Rohingyas, who reside at the very bottom of the country’s discriminatory pecking order. By killing each other, the two groups themselves become the ultimate losers. But the regime — which has allegedly committed human rights violations against the Rohingyas after having declared a state of emergency in the region — has successfully managed to stir up a siege mentality within the Burmese people at home and abroad.

In early July, President Thein Sein told UN High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres that the country will not allow the illegal immigrant Rohingyas to live in the country, and that the only solution to the problem is to hand the Rohingyas over to the UNHCR, which must put them in refugee camps, providing food and shelter. Otherwise, they will be sent to a third accepting county.

Burmese racists are rallying behind Thein Sein’s massive resettlement policy. State flags are flying in Arakan state hailing the president’s position. There are also plenty of unashamedly racist comments circulating in social media outlets. But it is above all the local media and some leading activists and monks — the same ones who spent years in the military’s gulags for championing democracy and human rights — who are cheerleading the regime’s approach. Even Aung San Suu Kyi, a symbol of morality in the world at large, is silent on the racist nature of this discrimination and violence, instead treating it as an issue of the rule of law.

The once much-despised army is now being regarded as the indispensable defender and savior of “national security.” Ironically, many exiled “freedom fighters” — who sought refugee status in democracies like Japan or England after crying out against the military’s violations of human rights — are now staging demonstrations in support of Thein Sein’s plan to expel 800,000 Rohingyas from the country. They use the phrase “national interest” without explaining what they mean by it. They style themselves as defenders of “national sovereignty,” without understanding that in the modern world, the matter of external sovereignty (such as territorial integrity) is protected by international law. (And, in so doing, they tend to overlook that the critical issue in Burma right now is actually the democratization of internal sovereignty — reforming, in other words, the relationship between the state and the people by giving greater power to the latter.)

The Arakan violence shows that the mainstream opposition, along with a considerable segment of the population, have failed to appreciate the universality of human rights and dignity. Contrary to Buddha’s teaching, they fail to practice compassion for all victims of violence. (And it’s worth noting that, in any case of communal violence, it is always hard to claim that one side is purely innocent and the other the absolute villain.)

All this makes them highly susceptible to the regime’s demagoguery. Such situations can lead to different outcomes. In certain cases, where pro-democracy activists have managed to maintain their focus on liberal values, being co-opted by the ruling regime has ultimately led to an open society. (I’m thinking here particularly of Chile in the 1980s.) But there are other cases where opposition forces have succumbed to state nationalism, which then becomes a recipe for fascism and bloodshed. (Just take the Balkans in the 1990s.) Burma’s presumed pro-democracy activists would be well-advised to keep these two possible paths in mind.

Min Zin is a PhD candidate at the University of California, Berkeley. This commentary originally appeared on the Foreign Policy blog “Transitions.” The views expressed here are those of the author.
****************************************************
The Irrawaddy - INTERVIEW: Reflections on Kachin History
By CARLOS SARDIÑA GALACHE| July 28, 2012 |

LAIZA—Baptist Rev. Ja Gun is one of the most prominent historians and linguists in Kachin State. Educated at the University of Rangoon during the 1960-70s, a period of great student activism in which he took part, he now tutors Kachin Independent Organization (KIO) soldiers about local political history and endeavors to change “their worldview, which in the past has been limited by the Burmese curriculum.” Speaking to The Irrawaddy in late June, Ja Gun discussed the historical roots of the present conflict between the KIO and Burmese government as well as the main stumbling blocks towards attaining peace and reconciliation from a Kachin perspective.

Question: Can start with the pre-colonial era. What was the relationship like back then between the Kachin people and Burmese Kingdom in Mandalay?

Answer: The Kachin people were living between the Burmese Kingdom and the Chinese Kingdom—we were sandwiched between these two powers. Whenever the Burmese kings wanted to cross to China, they had to consult with the Kachin chiefs first. We are living in this buffer zone and, since time immemorial, the Kachin people controlled this borderland.

We had an off-and-on relationship with the Burmese kings. Sometimes the strong rulers came to our land and then conquered Mougong and Bhamo, just the lowlands. In former times, the Kachin people were mercenaries. Kachin people had the advantage that they could adapt to this weather, this situation and this mountain region. The Burmese soldiers had good weapons, but it was very difficult for them to overcome the natural hindrances. Whenever there was a war those who made an alliance with the Kachin won.

Q: There seems to be a sense superiority among the Burmese majority towards the ethnic minorities, like the Kachin or the Karen, who they call hill tribes. What do you think are the origins of this?

A: The Burmese were very much proud of the fact that they had kings and the Kachins were very aggressive and the fact was that we never have been subjected to any people, neither Chinese nor Burmese. The British were the first who conquered the Kachin people. The Kachin were always fighting, sometimes fighting within and sometimes fighting their enemies.

The Shans civilized first and the Kachin people tried to adopt the Shan civilization and our terminology is loaned from the Shan, and we learned the farming of the wet lands from the Shan people. The Burmese kings had no intention to control the Kachin because they regarded the Kachins as wild people. So they totally ignored us.

Q: Let’s move to the colonial times. How did the British change Burma and the Kachin?

A: British Burma and the Burmese Kingdom were quite different things. The kingdom of the Burmese kings was very limited—they could not rule the whole of Kachin State, Wa State, Karenni State and the others—they just ruled central Burma. So the British conquered all these places because they wanted to make a fence for the Indian sub-continent.

During the resistance to British advances in 1886 we didn’t find any Burmese commanders resisting, but all the Kachin rulers resisted the occupation at that time. The Burmese throne, in the hands of King Thibaw, had been withdrawn in 1885, so the British thought that they had automatically won Kachin State. But as soon as they arrived the Kachin chiefs resisted the British and finally the British learnt that we, the Kachins, were not the property of the Burmese king.

So our feeling today is that joining the Union is a voluntary association. Shan, Kachin and other ethnic minorities had their own history, their own home, their land, their own native language before colonial rule. And then, at the time of the British government, the British organized all those ethnic minorities in our land and made British Burma.

Q: During World War II, the Kachins fought alongside the British while the Burmese spent most of the conflict alongside the Japanese under the leadership of Gen Aung San. How did this affect relations between the Kachin and Burmese?

A: The Kachin and the Chin peoples were sympathizers of the Allied Forces, so Aung San and his Burmese Independence Army (BIA) came up during Japanese rule and killed many Kachin people because they accused them of being the stooges of foreign imperialism. I have many records of this. They used Japanese guns everywhere. Until 1944, the BIA came to villages and made trouble for the Kachin people.

It’s a funny thing to say that the BIA liberated Burma from Japanese occupation. The Allied Forces and the Kachin, the northern Kachin rangers, expelled all the Japanese in conjunction with some hill peoples. The Burmese and Shan sided with the Japanese. The Kachin rangers celebrated Panam Manaw festivities after the victory in Bhamo on March 24-26, 1945, and Aung San started the anti-Japanese movement in Rangoon the day after on March 27. So they were only involved for two or three months.

Because of the victory against Japanese occupation, the Kachin people were the main race to talk about political matters because we had the upper hand in our land—that is, in the transitional period. There were no Burmese troops there at that time, only Kachin troops. At the Victory Manaw, the Kachin leaders invited Aung San and his anti-fascist people. They came up and met with us and then we agreed to join for independence.

Q: In 1947, the Kachins signed the Panglong Agreement with other groups. Did the civilian government of U Nu respect the agreement?

A: After the death of Aung San, U Nu maintained the Panglong spirit, but the greatest loss of all for us was the U Nu-Attlee Agreement. With the Panglong Agreement we attained equality, but the ethnic minorities had no wisdom at that time. The U Nu-Attlee Agreement was very important because it transferred all the power to U Nu’s AFPFL [Anti-Fascist People's Freedom League] including defense and financial matters.

With the 1948 Constitution, the big parties like the AFPFL controlled the whole Parliament and with the U Nu-Attlee Agreement the Rangoon government received all properties and power from the British government.

Q: The KIO was created in 1961. What happened at that moment and why was it created then?

A: At that time, representation of ethnic minorities in the constituent assembly was very limited. With the 1948 Constitution, the Burmese government manipulated the ethnic minorities by controlling representatives in Parliament. The first disadvantages came when we transferred some Kachin villages to China.

Kachin people, especially Kachin students, opposed that transfer but due to the Constitution we had no voice because our representation was very limited. And the second problem was the state religion. In our Constitution we wanted separation between church and state but U Nu used Buddhism for his political manipulations. We did not hate the Buddhists, we hated his manipulation of Buddhism in political affairs.

Our promise in the Panglong Agreement was fairness and fundamental rights— protection of minorities, equality, freedom of speech, freedom of religion and fundamental democracy. That’s what we included in the Panglong Agreement. But with the 1948 Constitution U Nu tried to manipulate the law and then, due to these two facts—the state religion and the transfer of power—there would be no hope in Parliament for the Kachin people.

So we started our armed struggle on Feb. 5, 1961. Until now, we want to talk about political matters first. No ceasefire agreement, no development programs—we don’t need these programs. We have to start talking about political matters as our problems have been rooted in political issues since the Panglong Agreement.

Q: At the beginning of the KIO’s existence, the Kachin wanted independence but then, in the 1970s, they changed and started to demand autonomy. Why did they change their stance from independence to autonomy?

A: We realized we would not attain our fundamental goal, so we would talk conditionally about internal self-determination. Our independence, deep in our hearts, is non-negotiable but because of our conditions—we are landlocked—and also due to our neighboring countries, our military strength and our leadership, we need to adapt to survive.

At that time, socialist governments tended to get together. The same happened in the Soviet Union, in Yugoslavia, and also in the Western bloc. People everywhere were getting together so we tried to switch and make alliances with other groups—the Karen, the Chin, the Rakhine. So we wanted to ally with them and promote their political position as well. And our ultimate goal will probably be full independence.

Q: Do you think that a compromise between the Burmese and Kachin is more likely with Thein Sein in power than with former junta chief Snr-Gen Than Shwe? With this so-called transition to democracy?

A: We expect in the near future that there will be internal strife within Thein Sein’s government. Maybe Thein Sein one day will understand the problem of the ethnic minorities. Suu Kyi understands our situation and Thein Sein maybe understands it but it is a very difficult situation because of the very different political cultures.

We are democratic but they want to establish a Burman hegemony—Burman dominant rule, that’s their political culture. People who live outside Myanmar understand this, that unless they change their political culture it is very difficult to reconcile with each other.

If the Burmans change their political culture, we will reconcile. Suu Kyi’s position is good to reconcile one day. We do not want to dominate the Burmans, we want to defend our land that is associated with our history, our identity and even our religion in the older times.

Q: What do you think is the main obstacle to attaining reconciliation with the Burmans?

A: The main stumbling block is the military, the military regime. The military regime is the replacement of the Burmese kings. Their attitude is to replace the Burmese kings, and the Burmese kings regarded us as wild men—they didn’t consider us as a people.
****************************************************
The Irrawaddy - FEATURE: Review—The Lady and the Peacock
By HNIN WATHAN| July 27, 2012 |

Burma has been in the limelight for the past few months. A number of reforms have been carried out by the quasi-civilian government led by reformist President Thein Sein, including the release of political prisoners and Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy being entering Parliament.

The response from the international community has also been rather optimistic with the easing of economic sanctions by the United States and European Union. Many foreign companies including General Electric and Coca Cola have made moves to invest in Burma.

And, of course, when people talk about Burma, it is impossible to leave out Suu Kyi, who spent much of the last two decades under house arrest.

In Burma, people throng to listen to her speeches and to catch a glimpse of her visits. The Nobel Laureate’s picture is now regular features in Burma’s media—as if it guarantees increased sales—and also widely posted in social networks such as Facebook.

Wherever Suu Kyi travels, she is embraced with warmth, love and admiration—not only by Burmese people but also the international community. More than ever, she has become a global icon after being able to travel outside Burma for the first time to attend forums and officially accept her Nobel Peace Prize in Norway.

A number of books have been written about the 67-year-old and her role in Burma’s political struggle. The Lady and the Peacock by Peter Popham—the latest biography on Suu Kyi—takes on a more personal outlook of her life.

Popham includes journal entries of Ma Theingi who was Suu Kyi’s personal assistant and companion during her arduous election campaign tour of 1989 and with whom she later fell out. Those journal entries were recorded at the request of Michael Aris, Suu Kyi’s husband, and were made available to the author through an anonymous friend.

By dividing the book into five parts—Suu Kyi’s father Gen Aung San; her years growing up in India; her life in England; her involvement in Burmese politics from 1988 to 2002; and after 2002—Popham attempts to analyze Suu Kyi’s life and how her family background and the historical events in Burma have shaped who she is today.

He does a fine job of depicting the different stages of Suu Kyi’s life: from her formative years, to a student, then a housewife and finally an inspirational political leader for the Burmese people.

Many of Suu Kyi’s attributes are also excellently portrayed in the book: her sense of duty for being “her father’s daughter;” her strong morality regarding Burmese traditions and culture despite growing up in foreign countries; and her sense of discipline with her children.

Popham also describes her resolute determination and courage when sticking to her goals despite being subjected to physical and mental hardships—the house arrest for most of her years in Burma; the denial of a visa to her dying husband; the brutal attack on her life in Depayin in 2003 when many of her supporters were killed trying to protect her.

Through interviews and comments made by Suu Kyi’s close friends in Oxford, rare snippets about her are included. Like many others in life, she studied a course in which she was not interested at the insistence of her strict mother and ended up with an underwhelming third class degree albeit at prestigious Oxford University. Popham is such an accomplished storyteller that most people will be caught up in his description and narration about events in Suu Kyi’s life.

A list of references on articles and books, written about Burma and Suu Kyi, at the end of the biography indicates the level of extensive research Popham carried out. Yet, whenever he tries to provide an analysis of events in Burma, as a Burmese person myself, I do not feel that he possesses enough in-depth understanding about the myriad underlying issues in the country—the history of ethnic conflicts, national reconciliation and the reform process, to name but a few.

In contrast, Bertil Lintner, a veteran journalist who has written seven books on Burma and has reported on Burmese issues for over two decades, is able to give a concise and yet thought-provoking analysis in his offering Aung San Suu Kyi and Burma’s struggle for democracy.

Two critical points cast a black cloud over the credibility of Popham’s book.

First is a statement, included without any source, that now-retired Snr-Gen Than Shwe “admitted [to] ordering the massacre, with the aim of ‘eradicating’ Aung San Suu Kyi.” Never has such admission been recorded and it is unimaginable for Than Shwe to so brazenly make such a claim.

Second is Popham’s accusation that Ma Theingi was responsible for his repatriation from Burma during a visit. It seems that his close association with Michael Aris, who regarded Ma Theingi as being disloyal, clouded his view of her.

Without any credible proof, he agrees with accusations of Ma Theingi having “gone over” to the junta’s side after she became vocally critical about Suu Kyi and her party’s policies.

I also wonder about Popham’s intention to include an assumption by Suu Kyi’s friends about how she fell in love with a Pakistani student, who later worked in the Pakistani Foreign Service and who declined to be interviewed for the book, during her second year at Oxford. Was this just an attempt to sensationalize Suu Kyi’s love-life during her younger days?

He also seems as star-struck when he likens Suu Kyi, giving her first political speech to an audience while in her mid-40s, to a 17-year-old girl. Without a doubt, all of us will agree how youthful Suu Kyi appears even now. However, just from seeing Suu Kyi’s picture from that time, it is clear that comparing her to teenager is a gross exaggeration.

At times, the book tends towards being unnecessarily longwinded with exhaustive details about political events in Burma. Popham could have just included the concise versions of those events which are significant for Burma’s history and Suu Kyi, but then he would not have been able to fill up all those 398 pages.

For those who have read other books written about Burma or Aung San Suu Kyi, the only new or interesting material is the entries from Ma Theingi’s journal. Although the quotes provide readers with a rare glimpse of the intimate details into Suu Kyi’s life, it would have been better not to include quote-after-quote, containing a repetitive and sometimes trivial details like what Suu Kyi wore and what she ate, continuously page-after-page.

Popham states that his story on Suu Kyi is not “just the story of a courageous woman who challenged a military junta and lost”—an assertion that Suu Kyi herself never made—but of someone who has a more “complex and interesting” side.

No doubt that Ma Theingi’s journal entries and the chapter on Suu Kyi’s childhood years are interesting, enhanced by the good storytelling skills of Popham, and contain details other prior biographers have left out. Other than that, Popham might have been too presumptuous about his aims for his book and his understanding on his subjects—Suu Kyi and Burma.

(ဆက္ဖတ္ရန္.......)

ေနရာတက်ျပန္ထားရင္ ပိုေကာင္းတာေပါ့...