BURMA RELATED NEWS - JANUARY 24, 2013

Myanmar ex-telecoms minister faces graft probe

Myanmar's former telecommunications minister and colleagues being investigated for corruption

Associated Press – 16 hours ago

 

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) -- Myanmar's recently retired telecommunications minister and former and current employees from his ministry are under investigation for alleged corruption, an official familiar with the case said Thursday.

 

The probe into former Minister for Communications, Posts and Telegraphs Thein Tun is the first known case of a Cabinet minister in the civilian government of President Thein Sein being investigated since taking office almost two years ago.

 

The government announced last week that Thein Tun was being allowed to retired voluntarily. Such announcements that Cabinet minister are being permitted to step down are commonly taken to mean they were forced to quit.

 

Thein Tun, a former major-general and deputy telecoms minister under the previous military regime, took the same post in Thein Sein's elected government.

 

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to release information to the media, said more than a dozen ministry officials including engineers are being probed in connection with allegations of graft.

 

Deputy Information Minister and Presidential Spokesman Ye Htut confirmed that a probe has been initiated, but did not give details.

 

"It is true that investigations are being made regarding Myanmar's telecoms activities but I cannot divulge details because it is an ongoing process," Ye Htut said in response to an email query.

 

Thein Sein in early January formed a high-level anti-corruption team to pursue his stated goal of clean government.

 

The anti-corruption group Transparency International says Myanmar is seen as one of the world's most corrupt countries, ranking 172nd out of 176. Business tycoons have entrenched themselves by cutting deals with the country's former military leaders, and privatization of state resources in the transition to a free market economy has opened up opportunities for graft.

 

The telecommunications sector is a particularly lucrative sector. The government took a fresh step toward liberalizing its state-dominated telecoms sector by publishing a notice last week inviting investment proposals from local and foreign companies for nationwide telecommunications services.

 

Numerous foreign companies have established offices in Myanmar since Thein Sein began to overhaul the economy as sanctions applied by Western governments against the previous military regime have been eased.

 

Since taking office in March 2011, Thein Sein has introduced a wave of new freedoms and democratic reforms that have opened the country to the outside world after a half-century of military rule.

 

In a speech in late December, he voiced rare public criticism of the bureaucracy, saying rampant corruption, bribery and inefficiency were getting in the way of the reform process and that Myanmar still falls short of international norms in good governance.

 

In another sign of change in a country where tight censorship and controls on the Internet used to be the norm, copies of documents purporting to show evidence of possible financial wrongdoing by Thein Tun began being posted on several websites soon after he was removed from office. The documents carried dates from February and April last year, and indicated alleged large bank transfers to the minister.

 

The origin and authenticity of the documents could not be independently confirmed.

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Myanmar launches major graft probe at telecoms ministry

By Aung Hla Tun | Reuters – 15 hrs ago

 

YANGON (Reuters) - Myanmar's former telecommunications minister and dozens of officials are under investigation for graft, a senior government official said on Thursday, in a landmark probe in the fast reforming country long ranked among the world's most corrupt.

 

The investigation by the Home Ministry and auditor general covers about 50 individuals and civil servants connected to the telecommunications ministry and comes a month after reformist President Thein Sein vowed to clean up a bureaucracy mired in corruption and inefficiency.

 

A senior government official, who asked not to be identified, told Reuters that current and former ministry staff were being questioned "in connection with malpractice in the nationwide telecommunications network".

 

One of those under investigation was former telecommunications minister, Thein Tun, who stepped down this month for unexplained reasons.

 

Presidential spokesman Ye Htut confirmed that an investigation was underway, but would not comment further.

 

Investigations into corruption are almost unheard of in Myanmar, which ended 49 years of military rule in March 2011.

 

Since then, a reformist government has freed hundreds of political prisoners, eased censorship controls and held free elections. Its rewards include a suspension in Western sanctions but its reputation for graft has lingered.

 

Thein Sein, a former general, announced this month the creation of an anti-corruption committee.

 

The probe comes as Myanmar begins to liberalize one of the world's most underdeveloped telecoms sectors to attract foreign firms in the greenfield market of 60 million people.

 

The government source said the Home Ministry was questioning eight people, including the general manager and deputy chief engineer. Other cases were being handled by the auditor-general's office.

 

SLOW PROGRESS

 

It is unclear whether the investigation would accelerate telecoms sector reforms. Myanmar's mobile phone SIM cards are among the world's most expensive, costing around $250, compared to about $1.50 in neighboring countries.

 

A new telecoms law is working its way through parliament and the government has invited expressions of interest from companies for two new licenses.

 

The telecoms ministry, which runs the country's only operator, Myanmar Post and Telecommunications (MPT), has been criticized for delays in the drafting and implementation of new laws and regulations to expand and liberalize the sector.

 

It flummoxed potential investors in April 2011 when it announced plans to create 30 million GSM lines by 2016 even before a draft telecommunications law was completed.

 

International investors have also expressed unease over the ministry's opaque agreements with 23 companies to build communications towers and distribute SIM cards.

 

Sources reached by Reuters were able to confirm a report by U.S.-funded Radio Free Asia that the ex-telecoms minister, Thein Tun, was under house arrest.

 

Investors regard developments in Myanmar's telecoms sector as a litmus test for transparency and regulation.

 

Operators that have confirmed interest in Myanmar include Sweden's TeliaSonera AB, Malaysia's Axiata, Norway's Telenor and Digicel.

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AFP - Myanmar rebels free eight child soldiers: ILO

AFP News – 17 hours ago

 

Myanmar ethnic minority rebels have freed eight underage military recruits captured and held as prisoners of war, the International Labour Organization said on Thursday.

 

The ILO said it had acted as an intermediary between the government and the rebels in the recent release of the soldiers in the northern state of Kachin.

 

"This led to the release of eight underage recruits by the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) who were held by the KIA as prisoners of war," said the ILO's Yangon liaison officer, Steve Marshall.

 

He said the organisation was seeking their formal discharge from the military. It was unclear how long they had been held as prisoners of war.

 

There are believed to be thousands of under-18s in Myanmar's state army and ethnic armed groups following decades of military rule marked by a number of insurgencies in remote border areas.

 

Fighting has intensified between the military and the KIA since a 17-year ceasefire broke down in June 2011.

 

In June last year, Myanmar's new reformist government signed an agreement with the UN pledging to prevent the use of child soldiers and allow access to military units to check for underage recruits.

 

Forty-two child soldiers have since been discharged from the government forces, according to the ILO and state media.

 

But the London-based advocacy group Child Soldiers International said in a report Wednesday that minors were still being recruited, and that the army, border troops and rebel groups all still used children.

 

"Even if the process may be slowing down, and not so many are being recruited, there are still children slipping through the recruitment procedure," Marshall said.

 

He said the KIA was also suspected of recruiting child soldiers on occasion but had cooperated in returning minors to their families.

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Fox News - Myanmar opposition leader Suu Kyi visiting Hawaii for first time to accept Rotary peace prize

Published January 23, 2013

Associated Press

 

YANGON, Myanmar –  Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi is flying to Hawaii to accept a peace award.

 

The lawmaker and Nobel Peace laureate will deliver an address at the Rotary Global Peace Forum meeting in Honolulu and accept an award lauding her commitment to nonviolent activism and human rights. The trip will be her first to the American island state.

 

Rotary is a global humanitarian organization with more than 1.2 million members.

 

Suu Kyi flew out of Myanmar's main city of Yangon on Thursday. She is also due to visit South Korea to attend the opening ceremony of the 2013 Special Olympics.

 

Suu Kyi spent most of the last two decades under house arrest in Myanmar but traveled abroad last year amid a wave of reforms that have opened the country.

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Bangkok Post - A literary first for Myanmar

Published: 25 Jan 2013 at 00.00

Newspaper section: Life

 

Myanmar is gearing up for its first international literary festival. The "Irrawaddy Literary Festival", to be held in Yangon from Feb 1 to 3, brings together a stellar cast of high-profile international authors and their local counterparts. The venue is the beautiful lakeside grounds of the Inya Lake Hotel in the centre of historic Yangon.

 

The festival's patron is Myanmar politician Aung San Suu Kyi, author of Letters From Burma and Freedom From Fear. "I am delighted to lend my support and personal participation to this first Irrawaddy Literary Festival. Literature has always been a big part of my life, and I hope this festival will encourage more people to explore the world of literature and further their understanding of the English language," said Aung San Suu Kyi, who is participating in the festival.

 

Among the international authors attending are Jung Chang, Vikram Seth, William Dalrymple, Fergal Keane, Rory Stewart, Sudha Shah, Frank Dikotter and Timothy Garton Ash. They will be joined by more than 80 authors from Myanmar, including Thant Myint-U (The River Of Lost Footsteps), Pascal Khoo Thwe (From The Land Of Green Ghosts) and well-known figures such as Zarganar, Ju and Dr Ma Thida.

 

Panels and talks will be held in a mix of English and Burmese, with selected talks simultaneously translated.

 

The festival director is Jane Heyn, wife of the current British ambassador, Andrew Heyn, who has lived in Myanmar since 2009.

 

"The festival's aim is to provide a catalyst for the exchange of ideas across cultures, and the event will reflect the extraordinary vibrancy of a country in the midst of immense change," she said.

 

Tickets are now on sale at local outlets, priced 1,500 kyat (52 baht) for a full day of events. All are welcome to attend and tickets will also be available at the door.

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Straits Times - Myanmar vows to end use of child soldiers

Published on Jan 25, 2013

 

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) - A government spokesman says Myanmar is committed to resolving the problem of recruiting and using child soldiers. The statement came in response to a new report charging that the practice continues despite a pact with the United Nations to end it.

 

Deputy Information Minister and presidential spokesman Ye Htut said on Thursday that Myanmar's signing of the agreement last June demonstrated the country's commitment and political will to eliminate the problem.

 

The human rights group Child Soldiers International reported on Wednesday that levels of child recruitment have declined, and 42 children had been released from Myanmar's army since the pact, but the practice continues due to a lack of political will to implement safeguards, with a failure to monitor army recruitment.

 

The London-based group said recruitment patterns appear unchanged from the past decade.

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Asia News Network - Myanmar, Bangladesh urged to solve Rohingya crisis

By News Desk in Bangkok/The Nation | Asia News Network – 20 hours ago

 

Bangkok (The Nation/ANN) - Human rights groups have urged the government to call on Myanmar and Bangladesh to seek a durable resolution to the problems of the displaced Rohingya people.

 

"These two countries should play a crucial role in helping Thailand to resolve this problem," Surapong Kongjanteuk - who heads the Lawyers Council's human-rights subcommittee on the stateless, migrant workers and displaced people - said yesterday.

 

He was speaking at a seminar titled "Rohingya, out of the frying pan and into the fire: future and durable resolutions for Thailand", organised by the Anti-Human Trafficking Network of Thailand at the Student Christian Centre.

 

Surapong also asked the government to allow the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to help it screen the Rohingya to determine whether they were genuine political refugees, economic migrants or trafficking victims - as they would be receiving assistance from the international organisation.

 

At present, there is no clear policy from the government to resolve the Rohingya refugee problem. Lawmakers approved a Cabinet resolution just last year and designated the National Security Council to take care of the group under humanitarian principles.

 

"It would be good for Thailand to allow the UNHCR to work with the Rohingya people. That would mean Thailand would no longer have to shoulder [such a large] burden," he said.

 

Meanwhile, Philip Robinson, deputy director of Human Rights Watch's Asia Division, supported Surapong's idea, saying it was vital for the Thai government to recognise that the UNHCR needed to play a critical role in solving this crisis.

 

"The government and the UNHCR should provide access to the Rohingya to evaluate their refugee status and provide assistance for them," he said.

 

"Thailand should take the lead in the region to work with countries like Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei to tell Myanmar that enough is enough.

 

"We no longer agree on the treatment of the Rohingya [and denial of the rights] of this large group of people," he added.

 

The Burmese Rohingya Association in Thailand (BRAT)'s president Maung Kyaw Nu said he wanted the international community to force the Myanmar government to stop the "genocide" of the Rohingya people in Rakhine State, after which he said the Rohingya would no longer need to flee from Myanmar to Thailand.

 

"We are asking for Asean and international help to send the United Nations' peacekeeping forces to rescue Rohingya people in Rakhine. We need international protection," he said.

 

Surapong also asked the government to provide temporary shelters for the refugees and not detain them in prison.

 

He also called for the government to punish strongly those people who are involved in the trafficking of Rohingya refugees into the Kingdom.

 

Surapong interviewed 78 Rohingya who were arrested for alleged people smuggling and found there was a network who traffic Rohingya refugees from Bangladesh to the southern part of Thailand by boat.

 

At least three people are accused of involvement in smuggling Rohingya into the Kingdom.

 

Meanwhile, Pol Major Jatuporn Arunroektawin, head of the Department of Special Investiga-tion's Human Trafficking Suppres-sion Division, said he was informed that some Rohingya people who were deported by immigration police had illegally returned to the southern part of the Kingdom.

 

"Some were saved in the middle of the sea on the way back to their original place, and then they were sent back to enter Thailand again," he said.

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Channel NewsAsia - Myanmar sparing no effort in SEA Games preparations

By Sujadi Siswo | Posted: 24 January 2013 1800 hrs

 

NAYPYIDAW: Myanmar is on course to stage the region's biggest sporting event in December.

 

Construction of new arenas for the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games are on schedule - some even ahead of time. But the Myanmar government is not telling how much it costs.

 

Construction of the main stadium in the capital Naypyidaw started three years ago - even before Myanmar was officially announced as host of the 2013 Games.

 

They are now ahead of schedule, with thousands of workers putting in 18 hours of work a day.

 

U Khin Maung Kywe, director of construction at Max Myanmar said: "A lot of workers are from Myanmar. Some workers came from foreign countries, for example, the Chinese workers - they are (working on) the roofing structure."

 

As with other mega-projects in Myanmar - the engineering and design are from China.

 

The stadium has a seating capacity of 30,000. It will be the main arena for Myanmar to showcase its progress to the world during the coming SEA Games.

 

The stadium sits amidst an 80-hectare sports hub that accommodates two other arenas.

 

There is an aquatic centre that will host all the swimming and diving events. Construction is expected to be completed by the end of April.

 

Across the road is the Indoor Stadium. It has three separate halls and is able to stage three different events at a time. It has a capacity for 11,000 spectators.

 

Myanmar seems to be not leaving anything to chance.

 

U Hla Min from Max Myanmar said: "We have the main power supplied by the 8000 kvh transformer and then 50 per cent by back-up generators here for continuous power supply here if anything breaks down."

 

Two other similar stadiums are being built - one about 20 km away and the other in Mandalay.

 

Yangon is another city that will host the 27th SEA Games.

 

The Myanmar government has remained silent about the cost of hosting the Games and constructing the arenas.

 

The closest estimate would be the last Games hosted by Indonesia that cost over US$300 million.

 

Observers believe it is too sensitive to reveal the real figure, given the level of poverty in the country.

 

Myanmar last hosted the Games in 1969.

 

It is now sparing no effort to put up the best sporting extravaganza in Southeast Asia.

 

The opening of the SEA Games is on 11 December 2013.

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The Korea Herald - Myanmar's pro-democracy leader to make 5-day visit to S. Korea

Published : 2013-01-24 21:29

Updated : 2013-01-24 21:30

 

Myanmar's opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi will make a five-day visit to South Korea next week that will include a meeting with President-elect Park Geun-hye, Seoul's foreign ministry said Thursday.

 

Suu Kyi will arrive in Seoul on Monday and attend the opening ceremony of the 2013 Special Olympics World Winter Games to be hosted by the South Korean alpine town of PyeongChang, the ministry said in a statement.

 

In South Korea, Suu Kyi will also receive the Gwangju Prize for Human Rights that commemorates a bloody pro-democracy uprising in the southern South Korean city of Gwangju in 1980 that marked a milestone in South Koreans' struggle for democratization.

 

She was designated as a 2004 winner of the award but could not travel outside her country to receive it. She had to spend two decades under house arrest under military dictatorship.

 

Suu Kyi was freed in 2010 and elected to the Myanmar parliament last year, a historic moment in her country, which has been emerging from international isolation with sweeping democratic reforms.

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Global Unions - Myanmar to issue telecom licences

01/24/2013 - Myanmar

 

The government of Myanmar has announced plans to issue two telecom licences by June 2013, with further plans of another two licences at a currently undisclosed date. Foreign companies have until 25 January to bid on the licences, which will be renewable after an initial term of 10 to 20 years. This is the first big tender to international companies since the reformation process began in Myanmar in 2011.

 

A host of international operators have already showed interest in the licences, including Vimpelcom from Russia, Telenor from Norway, Singapore Telecommunications, Malaysia’s Axiata, the Japanese-Vietnamese joint-venture VNPT-Fujitsu, and Digicel, the largest mobile operator in the Caribbean.

 

The operators that win the licences will have to meet population and coverage targets, so as to also include the rural population of the country. Currently only about 5.5 million out of the country’s estimated 60 million people have mobile phones, and only 1% have land lines. The government seeks to boost the percentage of the population that owns a telephone to between 75 and 80% by 2015-2016, but thousands of kilometres of cable and more than 15,000 towers are needed to meet the target, according to a report by Deloitte.

 

Telecommunications are currently very expensive in the country, with SIM cards costing anywhere from USD 150 to USD 350 and call rates around USD 0.60 per minute. However, before the government recently decided to allow private vendors to sell SIM cards, these could cost as much as USD 2,500.

 

The government is also planning a draft telecommunications law that would liberalise the sector and replace legislation dating back to 1934.

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The Yomiuri Shimbun - Seven Bank to offer remittances to Myanmar

Jiji Press (Jan. 25, 2013)

 

Seven Bank has announced it will start remittance services to Myanmar on Feb. 1.

 

The bank, affiliated with Japanese retail giant Seven & i Holdings Co., already offers such services in about 200 countries and regions.

 

Under the service for Myanmar, up to 500,000 yen can be sent for each transfer through the bank's 17,000 automated teller machines installed in Japan, Seven Bank said Wednesday.

 

The money can be received in the Myanmar currency, kyat, at about 155 local bases of Seven Bank's U.S. partner Western Union.

 

Noting that about 8,000 Myanmar nationals live in Japan, Seven Bank officials said it hopes to better serve them.

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Pakistan Observer - Suu Kyi accepts peace award

 

Friday, January 25, 2013 - Yangon—Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi is flying to Hawaii to accept a peace award. The lawmaker and Nobel Peace laureate will deliver an address at the Rotary Global Peace Forum meeting in Honolulu and accept an award lauding her commitment to nonviolent activism and human rights. The trip will be her first to the American island state. Rotary is a global humanitarian organization with more than 1.2 million members. Suu Kyi flew out of Myanmar’s main city of Yangon on Thursday. She is also due to visit South Korea to attend the opening ceremony of the 2013 Special Olympics.

 

Suu Kyi spent most of the last two decades under house arrest in Myanmar but traveled abroad last year amid a wave of reforms that have opened the country.

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Posted on January 24, 2013 04:31:20 PM | BREAKING NEWS

BusinessWorld Online - Maker of Hapee toothpaste eyes Myanmar plant

By Jeffrey O. Valisno, Sub-Editor

 

LAMOIYAN CORP., maker of Hapee toothpaste, is looking at opening a manufacturing plant in Myanmar this year to possibly jumpstart its export operations in Southeast Asia.

 

During the company's 25th anniversary celebration in Muntinlupa on Thursday, Lamoiyan president and chief executive Cecilio K. Pedro said Myanmar's growing population offers expansion opportunities for its toothpaste business.

 

"Myanmar has a population of 50 million people, about half of the Philippine population," Mr. Pedro told reporters.

 

"Multinational toothpaste manufacturers are still not in Myanmar so we are looking at taking that opportunity," he added.

 

Mr. Pedro said the sales volume of Hapee toothpaste reached 4,000 tons last year, about 11% higher than the volumes recorded in 2011. He did not elaborate.

 

He said the company currently exports its products through consolidators catering to overseas FIlipino workers in the. Middle East, and North America.

 

Mr. Pedro said Hapee currently is the market leader in the kiddie toothpaste and the gum care toothpaste categories, beating more established multinational manufacturers in the country.

 

"Hapee currently has less than 20% of the P90 million toothpaste market nationwide," he said.

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