Myanmar rejects US criticism over ethnic conflict
By AYE AYE WIN
| Associated Press – Sat, Jan 26, 2013
YANGON, Myanmar (AP) — Myanmar has rejected the latest U.S.
criticism of its conflict with ethnic Kachin rebels, and deplores that
Washington still calls the country by its old name, Burma, according to a
statement published Saturday.
A Myanmar Foreign Ministry statement published in the
state-run Myanma Ahlin newspaper "rejected" a news release issued
Thursday by the U.S. Embassy that had expressed "deep concern" over
the ongoing violence in Kachin state in northern Myanmar.
The U.S. statement also noted that according to media and
NGO reports, Myanmar's army "continues a military offensive in the
vicinity of the Kachin Independence Army headquarters in Laiza" despite
the government's own unilateral cease-fire announcement on Jan. 19.
The exchange is a reminder that the rapprochement between
the countries is still far from complete as Myanmar transitions from ostracized
military state to a fledging democracy, even though Washington has eased most
sanctions it imposed on the previous army regime because of its repressive
policies.
The Foreign Ministry said it strongly rejected the U.S.
assertions because they "could cause misunderstanding in the international
community" and because they failed to mention anything about
"terrorist actions and atrocities committed by the KIA" and mentioned
only army actions.
The military has been actively engaging the Kachin in
combat for 1 1/2 years, but fighting escalated recently when the government
began using fighter planes and helicopter gunships in its attacks starting on
Christmas Day. It says it was acting in self-defense because Kachin attacks
kept it from supplying its forward bases, but the Kachin says they were seeking
to stop the army from attacking their headquarters in the town of Laiza, near
the border with China.
The Kachin, like Myanmar's other ethnic minorities, have
long sought greater autonomy from the central government. They are the only
major ethnic rebel group that has not reached a truce with Thein Sein's
administration.
The government also upbraided the embassy for the use of
the terms "Burma" and "Burmese Government" in its statement
and pointed out that even President Obama during his visit here in November and
in an address to a Southeast Asian-U.S summit meeting had referred to the
country as "Myanmar."
The statement said Myanmar "strongly objects"
to the use of "Burma" by the US embassy, saying that it is
"unethical" and that government hopes the embassy avoids actions that
may affect mutual understanding and cooperation that has recently been restored
between the countries.
The then-ruling junta changed the country's name to
Myanmar from Burma in 1988, a year after a failed pro-democracy uprising led to
the installation of a strict military government. Pro-democracy activists
mostly preferred to use the old name Burma to indicate their rejection of the
legitimacy of military rule, a stance also taken by the U.S. and British
governments.
Washington was the leading state critic of military rule,
which ended in 2011 after a pro-military party won a general election and the
junta's prime minister, retired Gen. Thein Sein took office as president. he
has instituted political and economic reforms, but his critics feel that the
civilian government is just a front for continued military domination from
behind the scene.
The previous military junta frequently accuses Western
powers of interfering in the country's affairs, and Myanmar's pro-democracy
movement of collaborating with them.
***************************************************************
Myanmar's Kachin Rebels Lose Ground Near HQ
YANGON, Myanmar January 27, 2013
(AP)
A key outpost protecting the headquarters of ethnic
Kachin rebels in northern Myanmar has fallen to government troops, a spokesman
for the guerrilla group said Sunday.
The Kachin Independence Army spokesman said the hillside
outpost at Hka Ya Bhum, near the guerrilla group's headquarters in the town of
Laiza, was overrun Saturday afternoon.
"The army stormed the post using about 3,000
soldiers and air and artillery assaults," said the spokesman, who asked to
be identified only as Joseph.
He said in a telephone interview that heavy attacks on
the post began last week, despite a cease-fire unilaterally declared by the
government. Over the past few weeks, the government has pushed toward Laiza,
although it insists that it has no intention of taking the town.
"The government did not live up to their own
promises and they continue their attacks even today. I think their target is to
totally occupy our Laiza headquarters," he said. No casualty figures were
available, he said.
The Kachin, like Myanmar's other ethnic minorities, have
long sought greater autonomy from the central government. They are the only
major ethnic rebel group that has not reached a truce with President Thein
Sein's administration.
The military has been actively engaging the Kachin in
combat for 1 1/2 years, but fighting escalated when the government began using
fighter planes and helicopter gunships in its attacks starting on Christmas
Day. It said it was acting in self-defense because Kachin attacks kept it from
supplying its forward bases, but the Kachin say they were seeking to stop the
army from attacking their Laiza headquarters, near the border with China.
The fighting has drawn concern from the United States,
China and the United Nations.
On Saturday, Myanmar's Foreign Ministry criticized a
recent statement by the United States about the violence.
In comments published in the state-run Myanma Ahlin
newspaper, the ministry said it rejected the statement issued Thursday by the
U.S. Embassy that expressed "deep concern" over the ongoing violence
because it failed to mention anything about "terrorist actions and
atrocities committed by the KIA" and talked only about army actions.
Relations between the two countries remain uneasy despite
Myanmar's shift from an ostracized military state to a fledging democracy,
although Washington has relaxed most sanctions it imposed on the previous army
regime because of its repressive policies.
***************************************************************
Deal signed to clear Myanmar debt, allow new loans
World Bank announces plan to
clear Myanmar debt, clearing way for new loans
Associated Press – 9 hrs ago
YANGON, Myanmar (AP) -- The World Bank on Sunday announced a
long-awaited deal to allow Myanmar to clear part of its huge decades-old
foreign debt, opening the door for new much-needed lending to jump-start its
lagging economy.
The bank's Washington headquarters announced in a
statement that the Japan Bank for International Cooperation, the country's
overseas development bank, will provide a bridge loan to Myanmar to allow it to
cover outstanding debt to the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank, which
totals about $900 million.
Myanmar stopped payments on its old loans about 1987,
making it ineligible for new development lending.
The deal is a major breakthrough for Myanmar, with loans
likely to go to upgrading its dilapidated infrastructure, including electricity
and ports. The knock-on effect would be to bring in more foreign direct
investment, already attracted by the country's relatively low-cost economy.
The deal is also likely to draw criticism, because it
comes as Myanmar's army is pushing hard against ethnic Kachin rebels in the
country's north, in an echo of the notorious counterinsurgency campaigns of
previous military regimes.
A former general, Thein Sein, became the country's
elected president in 2011 and began reversing almost five decades of military
repression by instituting political and economic reforms.
He won the substantial easing of economic and political
sanctions imposed against the junta by the United States and other nations. But
some pro-democracy activists say his administration has been rewarded too much,
too fast, allowing some abuses to continue, such as repression of ethnic minorities.
The World Bank had already made some exceptions to
providing new aid.
In November, it approved an $80 million project to
provide $25,000 grants to villages in 15 townships across the country, where
community councils will identify the kind of help they want, such as roads,
bridges, irrigation systems, schools, health clinics or rural markets. The bank
reopened its office in Myanmar in August last year.
The bank was able to act because President Barack Obama
earlier lifted a long-standing U.S. restriction on international financial
institutions, such as the World Bank, lending to Myanmar after Congress passed
legislation enabling that step. It was one in a series of steps by Washington
to reward the Southeast Asian country for its democratic reforms.
The World Bank statement did not detail the mechanics of
the new deal to clear the debt arrears.
It did say the bank's board on Jan. 22 approved a $440
million "Reengagement and Reform Support Credit to Myanmar."
It said the credit would support "critical reforms
being implemented by the Government to strengthen macroeconomic stability,
improve public financial management and improve the investment climate."
It added that its proceeds would "also help the
Government meet its foreign exchange needs, including repaying (the) bridge
loan" and that there are currently discussions with the government to
identify priority needs.
Separately, the Manila-based Asian Development Bank
announced it would extend a $512 million loan to Myanmar under the same sort of
arrangement with the Japan Bank for International Cooperation ,
"Myanmar has come a long way in its economic
transformation, undertaking unprecedented reforms to improve people's lives,
especially the poor and vulnerable," the statement quoted the World Bank's
Myanmar Country Director Annette Dixon as saying.
"Much work remains to be done. We are committed to
helping the government accelerate poverty reduction and build shared
prosperity. The Bank's engagement, together with the ADB, the Government of
Japan and other partners, will help attract investment, spur growth and create
jobs."
Myanmar had run up $8.4 billion in debt during the
socialist regime of the late Gen. Ne Win between 1962 and 1988, and $2.61
billion of debt after a new military junta took over in 1988, making for a
total of just more than $11 billion.
The largest creditor before 1988 was Japan, with loans of
$6.39 billion, and the biggest post-1988 creditor was China, with $2.13
billion.
***************************************************************
AFP - Myanmar hosts rare international marathon
by Shwe Yinn Mar
Oo | Agence-France Presse – 15 hours ago
Hundreds of runners streamed through Yangon on Sunday for
Myanmar's first international marathon in decades, in another sign of the
dramatic changes sweeping the former army-ruled country.
Gathering before dawn in the shadow of the iconic
Shwedagon Pagoda, runners flashed victory signs as they pounded the streets of
the former colonial capital, the scene of several bloody military crackdowns in
the past.
Under a clear blue sky, they snaked past landmarks such
as Yangon University -- a symbol of the junta-era democratic struggle -- and
Inya Lake, overlooked by the mansion where Aung San Suu Kyi was locked up by
the generals for years.
"I'm very excited," 25-year-old Saw Kyaw Soe Oo
from eastern Karen State told AFP before the runners set off beneath a clear
blue sky through the streets of Yangon, cheered on by supporters along the
route.
"It was impossible to hold such an event in the past
era. It wouldn't have been so easy to let many foreigners into the
country," he said.
More than 1,000 participants were registered to take part
in the event, which also included short-distance fun runs.
Kenyan runner Gitau Kariuki, 25, was first past the
finishing line in the marathon category after two hours, 19 minutes and 10
seconds.
"It has been fantastic and especially (it's) my
first time here in Myanmar. I promise to come here next year to defend my
title," said Kariuki, who scooped the prize money of $2,500.
The marathon aimed to showcase Myanmar's budding sporting
credentials as it prepares to host its first Southeast Asian Games in 44 years
in December.
"I want to take part in many races like this,"
said 20-year-old Thaung Aye, who was the first Myanmar runner to cross the
finish line, coming third after two hours, 27 minutes and 10 seconds -- a
personal best.
"The more races I compete in, the more experience I
gain," he added. "I expect to win the first prize in the Southeast
Asian Games marathon in under two hours and 20 minutes."
Organisers said athletes from China and India as well as
those from Britain, the United States, Ethiopia and Kenya were competing.
"This is the very significant event," Serge
Pun, the executive chairman of co-organiser Yoma International Holding Ltd,
said ahead of the race.
"For us to be able to showcase Yangon at this
juncture of time when our country is undergoing monumental changes politically,
economically and socially is a great honour."
Since taking power in early 2011, President Thein Sein's
reformist government has overseen dramatic changes including the release of
hundreds of political prisoners and Suu Kyi's election to parliament.
In response the West has begun rolling back sanctions
against the former pariah state and foreign tourists have begun flocking to the
long-isolated country.
Runners take off at the start of Myanmar's first
international marathon in decades in Yangon, on January 27, 2013. Hundreds of
runners streamed through Yangon on Sunday for Myanmar's first international
marathon in decades, in another sign of the dramatic changes sweeping the
former army-ruled country.
Graphic showing the route of the Yangon marathon,
Myanmar's first international marathon in decades. Hundreds of runners streamed
through Yangon on Sunday for Myanmar's first international marathon in decades,
in another sign of the dramatic changes sweeping the former army-ruled country.
Kenya's Gitau Kariuki, 25, celebrates as he crosses the
finish line to win Myanmar's first international marathon in decades, in
Yangon, on January 27, 2013. Hundreds of runners streamed through Yangon on
Sunday for Myanmar's first international marathon in decades, in another sign
of the dramatic changes sweeping the former army-ruled country.
***************************************************************
AFP - Suu Kyi hopeful on ending Myanmar presidency ban
By Shaun Tandon | AFP News – Sun, Jan 27, 2013
Myanmar opposition icon Aung San Suu Kyi has voiced
confidence that the country's powerful military will support changes to the
constitution that would allow her to become president.
The Nobel Peace Prize winner, who spent most of two
decades under house arrest until recent reforms, said she was hopeful that
parliament will approve constitutional revisions even though the army controls
a vital number of seats.
"I am not unduly worried by it. I think that the
members of our military, like the rest of our nation, would like to see Burma a
happier, stronger, more harmonious country," she said, referring to
Myanmar by its former name.
"Because of that, I do not rule out the possibility
of amendment through negotiated compromise," Suu Kyi said Friday at the
East-West Center on a visit to the US Pacific state of Hawaii.
President Thein Sein, a former general, surprised even
critics by launching a slew of reforms after taking office in 2011 -- including
freeing political prisoners, easing censorship and permitting Suu Kyi to enter
parliament.
Thein Sein has said he would accept Suu Kyi as president
if her National League for Democracy wins the next elections in 2015, but some
activists question whether hardliners would be willing to let the army leave
power.
Under the 2008 constitution, the presidency cannot be
held by anyone whose spouse or children hold foreign nationality. Suu Kyi was
married to the late British academic Michael Aris, with whom she has two
children.
"I do not think it is right for any constitution to
be written with anybody in mind -- whether it is written to keep anybody in
office for life, or whether it is written with the intention of keeping anybody
out of office for life," said Suu Kyi, who has previously voiced
willingness to be president.
"It's just not acceptable, it's not democratic, and
it's not what a constitution is all about," she said.
Suu Kyi enjoys respect among some officers, as her father
Aung San created the army and led the struggle against British colonial rule.
Suu Kyi also hoped to amend the constitution to recognize
the "aspirations" of minorities. Fighting has persisted between the
Burman-dominated army and ethnic rebels despite calls by Thein Sein for
reconciliation.
"Unless we can meet those aspirations, we can never
hope to build a true and lasting union based on peace and harmony," she
said.
Suu Kyi was visiting Hawaii as part of an initiative by
the US state to share its values. In a scene that would have been unthinkable
just a few years ago, Suu Kyi spoke fondly about dining with friends on Honolulu's
sun-kissed Waikiki beach.
Suu Kyi has toured Europe and North America since her
release from house arrest. US President Barack Obama paid a landmark visit to
Myanmar in November, hoping to encouraging reforms.
Myanmar's foreign ministry on Saturday criticized the
United States for raising concerns over unabated fighting in northern Kachin
state, where tens of thousands of people have been displaced since June 2011.
The statement also said Myanmar "strongly
objects" to the use of the name Burma by the United States, urging the two
nations to avoid actions that could go against "mutual respect."
But Suu Kyi vigorously defended calling her country Burma
in English, saying that the name Myanmar was imposed by the military
leadership.
"The assertion that we have to get rid of the name
because it was a colonial legacy I find narrow, and I think it reflects lack of
self-confidence rather than anything else," she said.
Suu Kyi noted that Japan, China, India, Indonesia and the
Philippines also used names that were legacies from foreigners.
"It's not the name that makes the country; it's the
country that makes the name," she said.
***************************************************************
AFP - Myanmar's Suu Kyi 'fond' of army that detained her
By AFP – 12 hours ago
Myanmar's opposition icon Aung San Suu Kyi remains
"fond" of her country's army despite claims that it has recruited
child soldiers and used rape as a weapon, she said in an interview broadcast
Sunday.
The Nobel Peace Prize winner, who was herself held under
house arrest by the military for most of the last two decades, told the BBC
radio show "Desert Island Discs" she hoped the army could redeem
itself for "terrible" things it has done.
She confirmed that she wants to become Myanmar's
president after elections in 2015 -- but she will not be eligible for the post
without constitutional reforms that need military backing.
"It's genuine, I'm fond of the army," the
67-year-old told the show, which was recorded last month at her home in
Myanmar's capital Naypyidaw.
"People don't like me for saying that. There are
many who have criticised me for being what they call a poster girl for the
army... But I think the truth is I am very fond of the army, because I always
thought of it as my father's army."
Suu Kyi's father Aung San, considered the father of
modern Myanmar, created the army and led the struggle against British colonial
rule.
"I was taught that my father was the father of the
army, and that all soldiers were his sons -- and therefore they were part of my
family," Suu Kyi told the BBC.
"It's terrible what they've done and I don't like
what they've done at all. But if you love somebody, I think you love her or him
in spite of and not because of, and you always look forward to a time when they
will be able to redeem themselves."
Rights groups have accused Myanmar's army of serious
rights violations including rape, torture and the recruitment of child
soldiers.
The military remains locked in an escalating conflict
with rebels in the northern Kachin state -- where tens of thousands of people
have been displaced since June 2011 -- despite the announcement of unilateral
ceasefire this month.
Suu Kyi said she was happy to admit that she wants to
become Myanmar's president, and dismissed politicians who pretend they are not
hungry for power.
"I would like to be president," she said.
"If you're a politician and you're the leader of a
party then you should want to get government power in your hands, that you may
be able to work out all these ideas and visions that you've harboured so long
for your country."
Like all guests on "Desert Island Discs", the
longest-running show on British radio which celebrated its 70th birthday last
year, Suu Kyi was asked to choose eight songs she would like to bring to a
mythical island as a castaway.
She asked friends and family to choose many of the songs,
which included "Imagine" by John Lennon and "Green Green Grass
of Home" by Tom Jones.
She confessed that she does not have "a talent for
music" but that her younger son Kim has tried to educate her musically,
introducing her to reggae legend Bob Marley and the US rock band Grateful Dead.
***************************************************************
AFP Myanmar bridles at US unrest concern as army advances
AFP News – Sun, Jan 27, 2013
Myanmar's army captured a key strategic outpost in an
escalating conflict in northern Kachin state, rebels said Saturday, as the
government issued a rebuke to the US over its concerns about the fighting.
Bloody unrest has continued despite a government
announcement of a unilateral ceasefire earlier this month, with fighting edging
ever closer to the rebels' headquarters in the busy town of Laiza on the
Chinese border.
The Myanmar foreign ministry said a US embassy statement,
which was issued on Thursday and said the United States "strongly opposes
the ongoing fighting", had implied the army was the sole aggressor.
Myanmar said the US release "could cause
misunderstanding in the international community", in a response printed in
the state-run English language newspaper New Light of Myanmar.
Tens of thousands of people have been displaced in Kachin
state since June 2011, when a 17-year ceasefire between the government and the
Kachin Independence Army (KIA) broke down. The conflict has resulted in
civilian casualties, although the exact number killed is unknown.
The KIA said a major strategic post had fallen to the
Myanmar military on Saturday after it came under heavy artillery fire from
multiple directions.
"That was the reason it collapsed. Finally we have
to abandon that area, that mountain," James Lum Dau, the Thailand-based
spokesman for the KIA's political wing, told AFP.
He said it was not clear whether the fighting would now
move further towards Laiza -- where thousands of civilians are thought to be
taking shelter -- but vowed that if "Laiza falls, (it) does not mean KIA
falls, absolutely".
Some civilians had already started to move, he added, but
was unable to give further details.
Beijing this week urged an end to the fighting after vice
foreign minister Fu Ying visited Myanmar for talks with President Thein Sein. China's
foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei said the pair had agreed to maintain peace
and stability on their shared border.
Chinese state-run media has reported that China's Yunnan
province is planning camps for 10,000 people in case large numbers flee across
the frontier.
In its response to the US on Saturday, Myanmar blamed the
rebels for reigniting the unrest.
The statement also railed against Washington's continued
use of Burma, the country's former name.
"Myanmar strongly objects the usage of the words
'Burma', 'Burmese Government' and 'Burmese Military' in the US Embassy's press
release", it said, urging the avoidance of actions that could affect
"mutual respect" between the nations.
The Southeast Asian nation's official name was changed
two decades ago by the former junta, which said the old term Burma was a legacy
of British colonialism and implied that the ethnically torn land belonged only
to the Burman majority.
Many opposition figures, including veteran activist Aung
San Suu Kyi, continue to call the country Burma.
US President Barack Obama broke with tradition and used
both names during his landmark visit to Myanmar in November,as he sought to
encourage further reforms in the former pariah state.
Myanmar's quasi-civilian government has reached tentative
ceasefires with a number of ethnic rebel groups since taking power in early
2011 at the end of decades of military rule. But several rounds of talks with
the Kachin have failed to bear fruit.
The rebels, who are fighting for greater autonomy, say
any negotiations should also address their demands for more political rights.
***************************************************************
ADB, World Bank to step up work in Myanmar after arrears paid
Reuters – 11 hrs ago
(Reuters) - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) said
on Monday it was resuming operations in Myanmar with a $512 million loan for
social and economic projects that would help the country build on reforms since
a military government stepped down in 2011.
In a separate statement, the World Bank said its board
had approved a $440 million credit for Myanmar and that, as with the ADB, it
was now fully able to support the country's development because debt arrears
had been cleared with the help of Japan.
Myanmar President Thein Sein, who heads a quasi-civilian
government, has freed political prisoners, unmuzzled the media and begun to
reform the economy with a new foreign investment law and an exchange rate
determined more by market forces.
In response, Western countries have eased sanctions
imposed on the military regime. International financial institutions have
offered mostly technical help but have been constrained until now by debt
arrears accumulated under the military.
The Manila-based ADB said in a statement that bridge
financing provided to Myanmar by the Japan Bank for International Cooperation
(JBIC) this month allowed the government to pay off arrears to the ADB of about
$500 million.
The World Bank, in its statement from Washington dated
January 27, said its loan would be used in part to "help the government
meet its foreign exchange needs", which included repaying the JBIC's
bridge loan.
The World Bank arrears had been put at about $400
million. Japan, whose government and companies have been particularly active in
the former Burma since it opened up, had said it would help with the arrears,
which were preventing international bodies from offering fresh loans.
The ADB, which reopened an office in Yangon, Myanmar's
commercial capital, in April 2012, said the clearing of arrears allowed it to
provide its first loan to the country in more than 30 years.
Thein Sein's government has had to start practically from
scratch in developing a modern economy. Reflecting that, the ADB said it would
focus on "the building blocks for stability and sustainability".
Among other things, it would look at improving public
finances and developing the finance sector.
The loan would be used to "finalize arrears
clearance and sustain government efforts to revamp the national budget process
and modernize tax administration", the ADB said.
"In rural areas, where development has been hindered
by lack of infrastructure, restrictions on land usage, poorly developed support
services and limited access to financial services for farmers, ADB funding will
help develop a strategy to make banking services more widely available,"
it said.
The World Bank said its credit would support reforms to
strengthen macroeconomic stability and to improve public financial management
and the investment climate.
It said that, over the past year, it had opened an office
in Yangon and brought in technical experts to help the government develop a
broad development program. The government put a detailed program to a big aid
donors' conference in the capital, Naypyitaw, on January 19-20.
The World Bank said it had already provided an $80
million grant for improvements to rural infrastructure, including schools, health
clinics, roads and irrigation schemes in about 640 villages across Myanmar over
six years.
The International Monetary Fund said on January 17 the
government had asked for its help to pursue reforms and craft economic policies
so that Myanmar could become part of the global economy.
***************************************************************
Myanmar gets total debt relief of $6 billion; aid flows set
to rise
Reuters – 19 mins ago
(Reuters) - Myanmar has cleared its arrears to the
World Bank and Asian Development Bank and secured a huge debt write-off by
creditor countries grouped in the Paris Club, clearing the way for aid donors
to step up work to support the government's reforms.
Since taking office at the head of a quasi-civilian
government in 2011, Myanmar President Thein Sein has freed political prisoners,
unmuzzled the media and begun to reform the economy with a new foreign
investment law and an exchange rate determined more by market forces.
In response, Western countries have eased sanctions
imposed on the previous military regime.
International financial institutions have offered
technical help but have been prevented from doing more by debt arrears
accumulated under the military, which, under their rules, stopped them offering
new loans.
However, on Monday, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said
the arrears owed to it had been cleared with the help of Japan, so it could
resume operations in Myanmar. It offered a $512 million (324.8 million pounds)
loan for social and economic projects.
The World Bank said Myanmar had also paid the money owed
to it, again with the help of Japan, and it had responded with a $440 million
credit.
The government said in a statement it had met creditors
grouped in the Paris Club on January 25 and they had agreed to cancel half of
the arrears Myanmar owed them in two stages, rescheduling the rest over 15
years, with seven years' grace.
On top of that, Norway had cancelled all the $534 million
owed to it, while Japan was cancelling more than $3 billion, it said.
"These agreements result in total debt relief of
around $6 billion, that is, more than 60 percent of total debt," the
government said.
Finance Minister Win Shein said in the statement this
marked "an era of new relationships in which Myanmar is committed to fully
cooperate with all members of the Paris Club". He promised that resources
freed up by the debt relief would be used for development projects and poverty
reduction.
JAPANESE BACKING
The Manila-based ADB said bridge financing provided to
Myanmar by the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) this month
allowed the government to pay off arrears to the ADB of about $500 million.
The World Bank, in its statement from Washington dated
January 27, said its new loan would be used in part to "help the
government meet its foreign exchange needs", which included repaying a
JBIC bridge loan used to clear arrears.
The World Bank arrears had been put at about $400
million.
Japan, whose government and companies have been
particularly active in the former Burma since it opened up, had said it would
help with the arrears.
The ADB, which reopened an office in Yangon, Myanmar's
commercial capital, in April 2012, said the clearing of arrears allowed it to
provide its first loan to the country in more than 30 years.
Thein Sein's government has had to start practically from
scratch in developing a modern economy. Reflecting that, the ADB said it would
focus on "the building blocks for stability and sustainability".
Among other things, it would look at improving public
finances and developing the finance sector.
The loan would be used to "finalise arrears
clearance and sustain government efforts to revamp the national budget process
and modernise tax administration", the ADB said.
"In rural areas, where development has been hindered
by lack of infrastructure, restrictions on land usage, poorly developed support
services and limited access to financial services for farmers, ADB funding will
help develop a strategy to make banking services more widely available,"
it said.
The World Bank said its credit would support reforms to
strengthen macroeconomic stability and to improve public financial management
and the investment climate.
It said that, over the past year, it had opened an office
in Yangon and brought in technical experts to help the government develop a
broad development programme.
The government outlined a detailed programme at a big aid
donors' conference in the capital, Naypyitaw, on January 19-20.
The World Bank said it had already provided an $80
million grant for improvements to rural infrastructure, including schools,
health clinics, roads and irrigation schemes in about 640 villages across
Myanmar over six years.
The International Monetary Fund said on January 17 the
government had asked for its help to pursue reforms and craft economic policies
so that Myanmar could become part of the global economy.
***************************************************************
Myanmar rebukes U.S. for calling it "Burma"
Reuters – Sat, Jan 26, 2013
YANGON (Reuters) - Myanmar took a swipe at the United
States on Saturday for calling the country Burma, urging it to use its official
title and avoid harming improving ties between the two former foes.
In a response to a press statement issued by the U.S.
embassy in Yangon on the conflict in northern Kachin state, the Foreign
Ministry said Washington should be following most countries and the United
Nations and call it Myanmar.
The issue has struck a chord with the civilian-led
government, which has won the recognition of the international community
following political, social and economic reforms introduced after it replaced
an oppressive military junta in March 2011.
"Myanmar strongly objects to the usage of the words
'Burma', 'Burmese government' and 'Burmese military' in the U.S. embassy's
press release and not using the name recognized by the United Nations and the
whole international community," the ministry said in a statement carried
in state-controlled newspapers.
It said U.S. President Barack Obama had called the
country Myanmar during his landmark visit late last year, so the embassy should
follow his example.
After decades of bitterness, ties between Myanmar and the
United States have started to thaw since the new government embarked on reforms
and freed hundreds of political prisoners.
The United States has suspended most sanctions and even
engaged with Myanmar's military, which has been accused of corruption and human
rights abuses that include rape, torture, forced labor and recruitment of child
soldiers.
The country's name has long had two forms in the Burmese
language: Myanmar is the formal name while Burma has traditionally been used in
informal conversation.
In 1989, the then ruling junta deemed that the country
should be officially known in English as Myanmar, a move it said was to appease
minority non-Burman ethnic groups.
Opponents of the military, including Nobel laureate and
lawmaker Aung San Suu Kyi, ignored the change and continued to refer to the
country as Burma. She still calls it Burma today, an issue that has riled the
government.
The embassy issued a statement on Thursday objecting to
the fierce fighting between the Myanmar military and Kachin Independence Army
and urged the government to protect civilians and allow humanitarian access to
the area.
The Foreign Ministry criticized the embassy for not
mentioning "terrorist" acts by the Kachin Independence Army.
It said it hoped the embassy would "avoid in future
actions that may affect mutual respect, mutual understanding and
cooperation".
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New York Times - In Myanmar, Sports Choices Raise Concerns
By THOMAS FULLER
Published: January 27, 2013
BANGKOK — It has been promoted as a showcase for the new
Myanmar, a regional sporting event in December that will celebrate the
country’s embrace of democracy and the end of a hermetic and oppressive era.
But the Southeast Asian Games, which will be held in
Myanmar’s capital, Naypyidaw, and other sites throughout the country, is
causing acrimony long before a single athlete has competed.
Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand, which
all intend to participate in what are known as the SEA Games, have sent
separate letters to Myanmar protesting the way the event is being organized,
according to Gen. Yuthasak Sasiprapha, the president of the National Olympic
Committee of Thailand.
“These games are supposed to bring unity, but they are
causing divisions instead,” General Yuthasak told the Thai news media last
week.
The main complaint is that Myanmar, formerly Burma, has
stacked the competition with obscure sports that Myanmar’s athletes have a good
chance of winning.
Charoen Wattanasin, the vice president of the Thai
National Olympic Committee, said in an interview that the SEA Game regulations
allowed for 8 traditional sports but that Myanmar had put 14 on the roster.
“Nine out of the 14 are martial arts,” he said, struggling
to describe them. “They are — well, I can’t even remember their names.”
One is called chinlone, a traditional Burmese game that
mixes dancelike acrobatic movements with what might be described as soccer
juggling skills. There is no opposing team, and competitors are scored in a
manner similar to those in gymnastics.
Myanmar has dropped tennis and table tennis from the
games, even though both have been played in all SEA Games since the competition
began in 1959. Gymnastics is out, as is badminton, Thai and Philippine
officials said.
The Singaporeans are lamenting the loss of water polo, in
which they do well, and the Philippine Olympic Committee has threatened to send
a threadbare delegation if the roster is not changed. Malaysia and Indonesia, which
have strong badminton traditions, are urging that the sport be reinstated.
The Nation, a Thai daily newspaper, reported Sunday that
Myanmar had also dropped beach volleyball because “the sport’s outfits were not
suitable for Myanmar culture.”
Myanmar circulated the roster of events to
representatives of participating countries last week and for now is defending
its selection.
“Every host country has the authority to decide which
competitions should be included and excluded,” U Htay Aung, a director in
Myanmar’s ministry of sports, said in an interview on Sunday.
Mr. Htay Aung said he recalled previous games in which
Myanmar’s requests “were ignored.”
“There are always complaints at these games,” he said.
“Myanmar will make the final decision.”
Myanmar will hear from the 11 countries competing in the
games at meetings in Naypyidaw on Monday and Tuesday to discuss preparations.
“If they continue to push through this proposal, it’s
worthless to hold the games,” Mr. Charoen, the Thai official, said.
Myanmar’s ability to organize the games smoothly will be
closely watched by officials in the region, because in some ways it will be a
test run for a much more ambitious project. Next year, Myanmar will hold the
chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, a responsibility
that involves playing host to countless regional meetings and dealing with
thousands of visiting diplomats and journalists.
It is a challenging task for a government that is only
now breaking from its inward-looking, military past and its history of
antagonistic relations with the outside world.
Myanmar appears eager to reassure its neighbors that it
is ready to host the games. U Naw Tawng, a Burmese official quoted on Myanmar’s
official SEA Games Web site, predicted that the games would be better than
those held in 2011 in Indonesia.
Myanmar has played host to the games twice — in 1961 and
1969 — but this is the first time the games are to be held there since the
brutal suppression of the democracy movement, including a bloody crackdown in
1988.
The country is in the middle of a wrenching transition
from military rule to democracy led by President Thein Sein, who heads the
country’s first civilian government in five decades.
Poypiti Amatatham contributed reporting from Bangkok, and
Wai Moe from Yangon, Myanmar.
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Bloomberg - Myanmar Clears ADB, World Bank Overdue Debt With
Japan Help
By Daniel Ten Kate
- Jan 27, 2013 9:24 AM PT
Myanmar cleared about $1 billion in overdue debt with the
Asian Development Bank and World Bank using a bridge loan from Japan, opening
the door for increased lending as the country seeks to overhaul its
infrastructure.
The ADB announced a $512 million loan, its first to
Myanmar in more than 30 years, while the World Bank separately said it would
lend $440 million to the Southeast Asian nation. The funds will be used to pay
back the Japan Bank for International Cooperation, which this month provided
financing to Myanmar to clear arrears with the government-backed lenders.
“This is a historic tipping point for Myanmar,” Stephen
Groff, an ADB vice president, said in a statement. “To be sure the country is
best positioned to benefit from the resumption of donor aid, we are focusing
first on the building blocks for stability and sustainability.”
Myanmar has now resolved about 70 percent of $11 billion
in bad debt from decades of military rule that left the country among Asia’s
poorest. President Thein Sein’s moves to modernize the country’s financial and
physical infrastructure after years of neglect have lured private equity funds
and companies such as General Electric Co. and Norway’s Telenor ASA. (TEL)
Japan, Myanmar’s largest creditor, agreed last year to
settle $6.6 billion in arrears. The 19-member Paris Club group of creditor
nations -- including the U.S., Australia, Canada, Japan, Russia and 14 European
nations -- has invited Myanmar to hold talks on resolving the remaining $3.5
billion in overdue debts, according to the International Monetary Fund.
Debt Sustainability
“The authorities recognize that a successful arrears
resolution is essential for Myanmar to re-engage with the international
community and ensure debt sustainability,” the IMF said in a report this month.
The IMF called on Myanmar to limit non-concessional external borrowing to
financing energy and infrastructure projects, and cap it at $2 billion for
2013.
Thein Sein’s moves to dismantle a fixed exchange rate and
modernize the banking system are starting to boost the economy, the IMF said.
Gross domestic product may grow 6.3 percent in the fiscal year ending March 31,
up from 5.5 percent a year earlier, and reach about 7 percent over the next
five years if reforms continue, the IMF report said.
The ADB and World Bank opened offices in Myanmar last
year and had planned to increase lending once arrears were cleared. The ADB
returned to the country for the first time since 1988, when military leaders
suppressed demonstrators pushing for democracy. The World Bank opened an office
for the first time.
‘Work Remains’
The World Bank approved $80 million in aid for Myanmar
last year and pledged to lend $165 million when overdue debts are cleared. The
$80 million grant will go to local communities for roads, bridges, irrigation
systems, schools, health clinics or rural markets, according to the bank.
“Myanmar has come a long way in its economic
transformation, undertaking unprecedented reforms to improve people’s lives,
especially the poor and vulnerable,” Annette Dixon, the World Bank’s Myanmar
country director, said in a statement. “Much work remains to be done.”
ADB assessments of seven Myanmar sectors released last
year found that a quarter of the population lives in poverty, agriculture
accounts for 70 percent of employment and about three in four people don’t have
access to electricity. Myanmar has about 18 vehicles for every 1,000 people,
compared with 250 in Indonesia and 370 in Thailand, it said.
Myanmar last week attracted at least four expressions of
interest for telecommunications licenses, including from Telenor and Singapore
Telecommunications Ltd. (ST), Southeast Asia’s biggest phone company. The
government aims to boost telecom coverage to as much as 80 percent of the
country by 2016 to improve upon a 9 percent penetration rate, one of the lowest
in Asia.
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Times of India - Myanmar envoy job for Suu Kyi sympathizer?
TNN | Jan 28, 2013, 01.22 AM IST
NEW DELHI: The government might be "sounding
out" former governor of West Bengal and Indian envoy to South Africa,
Gopal Gandhi as the next Indian envoy to one of India's most important
neighbours—Myanmar. Quite apart from the fact that it might take away an
ambassadorial post from the IFS, there is some disquiet within government over
the possibility.
India's investment in Myanmar is now at an all-time high,
and sources said the Indian envoy would have his hands full pushing India's
economic, political and strategic linkages in Myanmar. India has identified
Myanmar as its gateway into southeast Asia, and to many strategists India's
growing presence in Myanmar is seen as a counter-balancing force to growing
Chinese influence there. India also has huge security interests inside Myanmar,
and over the years, the Myanmar government has worked silently with Indian
security forces to target anti-India insurgent groups.
The Indian ambassador's job is therefore, very crucial to
not only push Indian interests in that country, but also to walk a very
delicate political line. This attribute has become important for the government
after the Indian high commissioner in Maldives was accused of taking sides in
domestic politics. While the official line is he was only pushing Indian
interests, post-facto assessment in the government is more sobering.
Successive Indian governments have built a deep
relationship with the military government in NayPyiDaw. Beyond the national
interest it is also based on the fact that India believes the military will be
there for a while, and that confidence lies behind the military's comfort-level
with the Indian government.
Gandhi is known to have sympathies with Aung San Suu Kyi.
Despite India's almost personal connections with Suu Kyi, India has officially
been careful to keep protocol in view, in 2012, when Prime Minister manmohan
Singh visited Yangon, he was careful to ask Suu Kyi to visit him at his hotel.
All other visiting dignitaries have travelled to her lake-side home to see her.
India's ambassador to Afghanistan, Gautam mukhopadhyay,
generally regarded as one of India's finest diplomats had reportedly been
considered for the job, one that has acquired higher profile in recent years.
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Myanmar troops near Kachin headquarters
Published: Jan. 26, 2013 at 1:33
PM
YANGON, Myanmar, Jan. 26 (UPI) -- Myanmar government troops
captured a hilltop close to the border with China Saturday that is outside the
headquarters of ethnic Kachin rebels, observers said.
The action marks significant progress in the governments'
long campaign against the rebels as Myanmar moves toward democracy, The New
York Times reported.
A spokesman for the government could not confirm the
hilltop, Hkayabum, had been taken by government forces, but said "heavy
fighting is ongoing."
Tens of thousands of people have been displaced in the
government's running battles with the Kachin Liberation Army.
Myanmar declared a cease-fire with the rebels a week ago,
but Ryan Roco, an American photographer covering the fighting from the front
lines, said the cease-fire never went into effect.
"It's been a nonstop barrage, " he said.
On Thursday, the U.S. embassy in Yangon said in a
statement it "strongly opposes" the continued fighting, saying the
conflict had "undermined efforts to advance national reconciliation."
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Bangkok Post - Myanmar drops SEA Games sports
Published: 28 Jan 2013 at 10.05
Online news: Sports
Myanmar has dropped popular Olympic sports from the SEA
Games in December, and hopes to pack the competition with less well-known
sports where its athletes are likely to win medals.
The Games, to be held in Nay Pyi Daw and other locations,
will not have table tennis, tennis, gymnastics or badminton.
Instead, Myanmar sports authorities have put 14
"traditional sports" on the schedule for December, eight of which are
played almost exclusively in Myanmar.
One is chinlone, which a newspaper described as a mix of
"dance-like acrobatics mixed with soccer juggling skills".
Tennis and table tennis have been sports at every SEA
Games since the first competition in 1959. Dropping gymnastics and badminton is
just as controversial.
"These games are supposed to bring unity, but they
are causing divisions instead," said Gen Yuthasak Sasiprapha, president of
the National Olympic Committee of Thailand, in a report by Singapore's AsiaOne
on Monday.
The report quoted Singapore Olympic officials as saying
the final list of SEA Games sports is not yet final, and could be changed in
upcoming talks.
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Intensified Philippines-Myanmar Bilateral Cooperation
Manila Bulletin – 17 hours
ago
The Philippines and Myanmar are stepping up bilateral
relationship, particularly in business and the economy, following a meeting
between Vice President Jejomar C. Binay, representing President Benigno S.
Aquino III, and Myanmar President Thein Sein, at the sidelines of the
Associations of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-India Commemorative Summit held
on December 20-21, 2012 in New Delhi, India. The Philippines agreed to assist
in the development of Myanmar's agriculture sector, through the introduction of
rice and banana technologies.
In the 2nd ASEAN-India Business Fair and Conclave, held
simultaneously with the Summit, the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry
discussed trade and investment partnership with the Union of Myanmar Federation
of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (UMFCCI). The two parties are working out
details of the agreement.
The Philippines and Burma are both members of the ASEAN.
They established diplomatic relations on September 29, 1956, followed by the
opening of the Philippine Embassy in Yangon on August 25, 1958. The present
government of Myanmar is opening up its economy and intensifying its economic
cooperation with its ASEAN neighbors. The two countries agreed to work together
in various fields - political cooperation, trade and investments, education,
agriculture and forestry, tourism, culture and information. Areas of
cooperation were discussed during the second meeting of the Manila-Yangon Joint
Commission for Bilateral Cooperation (JCBC), held in Manila on June 14-15, 2012.
The two countries backed the creation of a
Philippines-Myanmar Parliamentary Friendship Association for exchange of
visits, information, and ideas between the two countries. They agreed to boost
trade through organizing and participating in each other's trade fairs,
exchanging information on economic and investment laws, discussing the creation
of a joint trade commission, and establishing formal contacts between the two
countries' chambers of commerce. They committed to implement the 1998 Cultural Cooperation
Agreement through an Executive Program on Cultural Exchanges.
We congratulate Republic of the Philippines H.E.
President Benigno S. Aquino III and Vice President Jejomar C. Binay, in their
pursuit of programs to strengthen the Philippines' diplomatic and bilateral
relationships with its neighbors in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
CONGRATULATIONS AND MABUHAY!
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Monday January 28, 2013
The Star Online - Myanmar men charged with people smuggling
ALOR SETAR: Eight Myanmar nationals have been charged in
the Sessions Court here with smuggling 474 of their countrymen into Malaysia.
Teh Oun, 52, Aung Win, 45, Ton Lil, 30, Tan Win Mow, 29,
Tun Tun Ni, 25, Til Wen, 25, Ah Hin, 20, and Lia Min Tong, 20, are alleged to
have committed the offence at Pantai Kok in Langkawi at about 10.20am on Dec
30.
They were jointly charged with transporting the group of
people who were without any valid travelling document.
The charge under Section 26J of the Anti-Trafficking in
Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Immigrants Act carries a jail sentence of up to
five years upon convition.
Offenders can also be fined up to RM250,000.
No plea was recorded owing to the unavailability of an
interpreter yesterday.
Judge Mohd Rosli Osman fixed March 4 for mention. The
accused were all unrepresented.
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The Independent - I didn’t come into politics to be popular,’
Suu Kyi tells Desert Island Discs
Charlotte Philby, Sunday 27 January 2013
Listeners tuned into today’s special edition of Desert
Island Discs, recorded at the home of Burma’s pro-Democracy leader Aung San Suu
Kyi, could hear the excitement of the programme’s famously unflappable
presenter Kirsty Young as she introduced the Nobel Peace Prize-winning human
rights campaigner “known in Burma simply as ‘The Lady’”.
What followed was a frank and at times playful interview,
recorded last month when Young travelled to Naypyitaw. For only the second
Desert Island Discs to have been recorded outside the UK, Ms Suu Kyi wore
yellow roses in her hair and a red dress and spoke candidly of her desire to
rule Burma, turning heads at Oxford, and why she considers her country’s
military “family”.
“It is terrible what [the army has] done and I don’t like
what they’ve done at all but if you love someone I think you love her or him
despite of, not because of,” she told Radio 4. “Don’t forget my father was a
politician and his assassination was arranged by another politician, I didn’t
come into politics to become popular.”
Ms Suu Kyi, who chose a mythical rose bush whose flowers
change colour on a daily basis as her luxury item, spoke of her days at Oxford
where she studied philosophy, politics and economics, and met her future
husband Michael Vaillancourt Aris who died in 1999 while she was under house
arrest.
“I suppose I turned a few heads… it’s difficult not to be
aware of that,” she conceded, confirming she had “tried alcohol once” in the
bathroom at the Bodleian library, “to see what it was like” – she wasn’t
impressed.
Young, who sounded awed to be in such a presence, gasped
at the directness with which her interviewee answered a question about her
political ambitions: “I would like to be president,” Ms Suu Kyi said. “Now,
people always like to be very, very modest and say, ‘well I don’t particularly want to be the president but if
the people’... I think that’s a load of nonsense… If you are a politician and
you are the leader of a party then you should want to get government power in
your hands”.
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