06 November 2012
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Locals to dictate agenda of upcoming Shan conference
By NANG MYA NADI, Published: 6 November 2012
Senior government officials are set to join talks with Shan political parties and civil society groups during an upcoming conference that will address pressing issues as defined by local residents.
Before the conference, fact-finding teams will survey residents in Shan and Kachin states and Sagaing and Mandalay divisions to find out what issues should be discussed at the conference. The conference is being organised by the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy (SNLD) and is expected to take place at the end of this month.
We wanted to hear the peoples voice, see how they view our parties and what they want to see, and their opinion on the armed groups and the peace process they engage in, said SNLD spokesperson Sai Lek.
We are also looking to conduct a public survey concerning the governments peace process as well well be sending at least four [survey] teams out.
SNLD spokesperson Sai Lek and members from the conferences organising committee said the event will host at least 12 groups including Shan ethnic-based political parties and civil society organisations.
The conferences creation after President Thein Sein asked the SNLDs chairman Khun Htun Oo to help support the countrys peace process.
Vice President Sai Mauk Kham, who is an ethnic Shan, and the Presidents Office ministers Aung Min and Soe Thein will also attend the conference.
According to Sai Lek, trust between the government and ethnic nationalities is needed before dialogues addressing the countrys political problems can begin.
http://www.dvb.no/news/locals-to-dictate-agenda-of-upcoming-shan-conference/24629
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Myanmar welcomes accountants
November 6, 2012 10:23 am by Gwen Robinson
Myanmar may finally have completed its shiny new foreign investment law, after much delay. But sceptics still question whether the much-vaunted rush of foreign investment will follow.
Despite pronouncements by companies such as Coca-Cola, Nestle and GE about entering Myanmar, most deals are limited to product supply and distribution. The big western names are yet to commit serious money, let alone build factories. But at least the professional services firms are setting up shop the latest being PwC, which this week announced the opening of a Myanmar office.
The news came hard on the heels of an announcement by rival firm KPMG, which last week announced the launch of its Myanmar operation.
Both firms were among the many financial services companies, auditors and consultants which pulled out of Myanmar after the US imposed sanctions in 2003.
Their return suggests that Myanmar is seeing the rush before the rush, the advance of professional services firms which could pave the way to a future expansion from the big industrial investors.
The Big Four accountancy firms pride themselves on knowing what their clients want and positioning themselves to meet their demands. Their re-entry is a good indicator that big western companies are poised to set up in Myanmar.
Already, demand is oustripping supply, Ong Chao Choon, managing director of PwC Myanmar for assurance and advisory services, told beyondbrics. The market is big and needs international professional services.
Initially, PwCs fledgling Myanmar operation run out of one of the few new buildings in Yangon, the towering CentrePoint Tower will focus on professional services related to three main areas: infrastructure, banking and financial services, and M&A.
For local companies in Myanmar to build up capital and knowhow, it makes sense to partner with a foreign partner. For foreign investors, they would be interested in joint ventures with local companies, a PwC spokesman said.
Choon has a ready answer for doubters who query whether such moves are premature before Myanmar has proper regulatory frameworks in place to back up its foreign investment laws.
Its actually when regulation is still in infancy that an international firm like us can make the most contribution to the country and our clients.
Just to back up its view, PwC has drawn up a handy Myanmar business guide which attempts to explain the countrys investment and regulatory environment ahead of new laws and regulations.
Big business groups have welcomed the move.
Its all still evolving in Myanmar, and the entry of firms like KPMG and PwC is an important step particularly for big western companies that need help in starting up in the country and navigating aspects such as new US disclosure and licensing regulations, said Praab Pianskool, who oversees Thailand, Myanmar and neighbouring countries at the US-Asean Business Council in Bangkok.
The next Big Four firm to enter could be Deloitte, which joined the councils first Myanmar business mission in July and has since been scouting for staff and locations in Yangon. http://blogs.ft.com/beyond-brics/2012/11/06/myanmar-welcomes-accountants/#axzz2BRbNNAQj
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88 Gen Activist Hopes Burma Can Mimic Thailand
By LAWI WENG / THE IRRAWADDY| November 6, 2012 |
Mya Aye, a leader of 88 Generation Students group, landed in Thailand on Saturday for his first trip to a foreign country since being released from prison earlier this year.
Mya Aye, who was incarcerated for a total of 12 years in two spells after the 1988 and 2007 democracy uprisings, plans to meet Burmese civil society organizations and ethnic armed groups to discuss how to cement a permanent peace in the country.
The 50-year-old told The Irrawaddy during an interview at his hotel in Chiang Mai how different he found northern Thailand and that he hoped Burma would one day emulate the prosperity of its eastern neighbor.
Mya Aye accompanied fellow members of the 88 Generation Students to meet Burmese students who were studying in Bangkok and remarked that he was impressed by the intelligence of the questions asked during their discussion.
The students asked good questions and they are smart, said the recently published novelist. We need educated students to run our country. I do not know how to run the country so we need educated students.
Mya Aye met members of the Womens League of Burma on Monday and was pleasantly surprised that they had sharp political views and were equally confident as their male counterparts at expressing themselves.
There are women of a similar age in Burma who do not have the confidence of women in Thailand, he said. There is better education and a more open society here than in Burma, so this may be one reason.
The delegation drove up from Bangkok to Chiang Mai during the night and Mya Aye found that the people did not use their high beam headlights and had more respect for one another on the road compared to his homeland.
If you only stay proud of what you know in Burma then you do not learn about other countries, and so you will remain behind the rest of the world, he said.
During our one-hour interview, Mya Aye smoked two cigarettes and confessed that he did not dare to smoke outside his room as people in Thailand only used designated smoking zones where they would not offend other people.
He added that smokers could light up anywhere in Burma as people did not understand that cigarettes caused health problems for others.
Mya Aye said that the Burmese military constantly lied to the people, including in textbooks and the curriculum of school lessons, and even his studies at university did not match what he was currently finding in Thailand.
He added that Thailand has good infrastructure and that he hoped Burma would soon develop in a similar vein.
In Burma, some people eat meat and just abandon the bones in the street where pedestrians walk. It is very careless and not clean. Thailand is clean and even has good services, he said.
Although Burma has undergone a series of political reforms under President Thein Seins quasi-civilian administration, Mya Aye said that he still does not completely trust that the current democratization process is genuine.
The Napyidaw government recently issued passports to leaders of the 88 Generation Students group, but there are many other former political prisoners who have not yet received travel documents despite submitting applications.
All citizens have the right to own passports and travel to other countries, said Mya Aye. We should not say that there is political change just because we received a passport.
He also emphasized the need to amend undemocratic articles in the 2008 Constitution if Burma was to finally achieve peace and prosperity, as otherwise ethnic people will continue to fight for greater autonomy.
The Burmese government knows what to change in order to have peace, but they do not want to do it, said Mya Aye. The government just does a little to look good to the international community.
The visiting delegation of 88 Generation Students will hear the concerns of Burmese civil society and ethnic organizations along the border and then later present these to a wider meeting of group members back in Rangoon.
It is good to cooperate in order to work for peace, said Mya Aye. To have peace, we need to hear different voices and ideas from each other. http://www.irrawaddy.org/archives/18144
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Burma activists denounce Gillard talks
From: AAP
November 06, 2012 2:30PM
ACTIVISTS have denounced Prime Minister Julia Gillard for suggesting Australia may resume defence ties with Burma.
Ms Gillard on Monday met with Thein Sein, the president of Burma - also known as Myanmar - on the sidelines of the Asia Europe Meeting (ASEM) in Laos.
It was the first such meeting between Australian and Burmese leaders since 1984.
Shortly before the meeting, Ms Gillard revealed her government was considering resuming defence ties - cut off in 1988 - as Burma continues its democratic reforms after decades of iron-fisted military rule.
"We have still got some decisions to make on defence co-operation," she said.
Burma Campaign Australia co-ordinator Zetty Brake said the comments were inappropriate given the military's ongoing violations of human rights.
"It is appalling that Australia would consider having any defence ties with a country whose military continues to commit human rights abuses against its own people," Ms Brake said.
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Australian Greens senator Scott Ludlam said resuming military ties could weaken Burma's reform movement.
"If this is about assisting the regime with security-sector reform and improving operating procedures that have shocked the world in past decades, then there may be some value in closer ties," he said.
"However, political reforms in Burma remain fragile and reversible."
Australia this year lifted travel and financial sanctions against Burma, but an arms embargo remains in place.
It also moved to normalise trade and investment relations with the South-East Asian nation.
The changes come after Burma's military junta began relaxing its grip on power, holding elections that led to opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi take a seat in parliament. http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/breaking-news/burma-activists-denounce-gillard-talks/story-fn3dxiwe-1226511512515
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EDITORIAL The two ills of Myanmar
Published: 6/11/2012 at 12:00 AM
Newspaper section: News
Myanmar is showing the face of reform to the world. But our western neighbour is also displaying what a long, tough road still lies ahead. President Thein Sein and the elected parliament are rightly celebrating a new foreign investment law. At the same time, the country is at the centre of controversies over its failure to deal with drug trafficking, and is being rightly condemned around the world for its treatment of Rohingya people.
Myanmar will soon celebrate the second anniversary of the release of democracy heroine Aung San Suu Kyi. There will be little celebrating in the north or the west of the country, however. In those areas, life is tougher than ever, despite the efforts of the president and parliament. In Rakhine state in the west, and in the northern areas where Shan and Kachin people live, "reform" is just another word, and life remains cheap.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) reported last week that confident drug gangs have once again increased the size of the country's opium fields. Myanmar is already the world's second-largest producer of poppies and heroin. The gangs and cartels that make 60-plus tonnes of heroin stepped up opium production this year from 43,600 hectares to 51,000 hectares _ 319,000 rai. By comparison, Thai villages produced opium this year on 1,300 rai, with virtually no heroin production.
This does not count the ever-growing output of the methamphetamine ya ba and crystal meth ya ice factories. The drug production is a legacy of the long and close, profitable cooperation between drug gangs and the military dictators of Myanmar. Like Thai farmers of 40 years ago, Myanmar farmers are isolated from markets, and must produce opium for the gangs or perish. President Thein Sein must get more help to the opium fields, to help the farmers and his people.
The treatment of the Muslim minority in Rakhine state is an international disgrace. Thein Sein and his parliament actually seem not to be especially upset about serial, communal riots which have killed hundreds and uprooted tens of thousands. In their view, the Rohingya are interlopers, non-citizens and the root cause of the problem.
Such heartless and wrong-headed thinking is difficult to comprehend. The idea that the Rohingya, born in Myanmar, are somehow inferior human beings is _ as the UN and others state _ not just heartless but legally wrong. The prevailing view in official Myanmar circles appears to be that the Muslim minority is somehow getting what it deserves by being burnt and slaughtered out of its villages.
This attitude appears to pervade the parliament as well as Myanmar society. As Asean secretary-general Surin Pitsuwan pointed out, the Rohingya could become radicalised. The Rohingya compare in some ways to the Muslims of the Thai deep South. But the differences are stark. The people of the deep South are full Thai citizens, with all the rights of citizenship.
Drugs and human rights are perhaps the two biggest problems that Myanmar faces. The world community and Myanmar citizens understand that some reform questions like foreign investment must be taken a step at a time. But encouraging drug traffickers and murderous human rights abuses must be dealt with quickly. http://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion/319703/the-two-ills-of-myanmar
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Bangkok Post
Four get death penalty for Chinese sailor deaths
Published: 6/11/2012 at 03:48 PM
Online news: Asia
Four members of a gang accused of masterminding the murder of 13 Chinese sailors on the Mekong River last year were sentenced to death by a court in southwest China on Tuesday.
A Chinese vessel sails down the brown waters of the Mekong River (or Lancang River in China) that separate China (L) from Myanmar. Four members of a gang accused of masterminding the murder of 13 Chinese sailors on the Mekong River last year were sentenced to death at a court in southwest China on Tuesday.
The sailors were killed in October 2011 in a raid on two Chinese cargo boats on the Mekong, an attack thought to have been carried out by a notorious gang in the "Golden Triangle", an area known for drug production and smuggling.
The reading of the verdicts was shown live on state television.
The trial finished in September after the gang of six men pleaded guilty to intentional homicide, drug trafficking, kidnapping and hijacking, state news agency Xinhua said in September.
Another defendant received a suspended death sentence, while a sixth man was handed eight years in prison at the sentencing at Kunming Intermediate People's Court.
The gang, based in Myanmar's northern Shan state, was led by Myanmar national Naw Kham, who was one of the men sentenced to death.
At least one of the remaining five gang members is Thai, but the nationalities of the other four is unclear.
The "Golden Triangle" is where the Mekong River runs through China, Myanmar, Thailand and Laos.
Last year's incident sparked an angry reaction from China, which summoned diplomatic envoys from Thailand, Laos and Myanmar and asked authorities to speed up investigations into the incident. http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/asia/319827/four-handed-death-penalty-for-chinese-sailor-deaths
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Egypt calls Myanmar envoy
By: AFP | November 06, 2012
CAIRO - Egypt summoned Myanmars ambassador in Cairo to express its concern with violence against the southeast Asian countrys Muslim minority and call for a stop to it, the foreign ministry said in a statement on Monday.
The foreign ministry yesterday summoned the ambassador of Myanmar and conveyed an urgent message expressing Egypts dismay after renewed violence against Rohingya Muslims, it said.
It called on Myanmar to take steps to immediately end the violence and bring its perpetrators to justice. Egypt summoned the ambassador in August to protest against ethnic clashes between the majority Buddhists and Muslims that began in June.
The Rohingya Muslims are considered by many Burmese as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. The United Nations considers them one of the worlds most persecuted minorities. The clashes in June, followed by fresh fighting in October, have killed 180 people and displaced an estimated 110,000.
http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/international/06-Nov-2012/egypt-calls-myanmar-envoy
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Charity Says Threats Foil Medical Aid in Myanmar
By THOMAS FULLER, Published: November 5, 2012
BANGKOK Radical Buddhist groups are preventing doctors from delivering assistance to areas of western Myanmar affected by intense sectarian violence, an international medical charity said Monday.
The group, Doctors Without Borders, reported that many of its local staff members were afraid to work at refugee camps and medical centers in Rakhine State, where people wounded in clashes need treatment for wounds from guns, knives, arrows and other weapons.
Ive never experienced this degree of intolerance, Joe Belliveau, the operations manager for Doctors Without Borders, said by telephone. What we really need is for people to understand that giving medical aid is not a political act.
The violence dates to June, when long-simmering resentment toward Muslims, some of whom come from Bangladesh, erupted after Muslims were accused of the rape and murder of a Buddhist girl. More than 70,000 Muslims fled their homes; most remain in the refugee camps. Another spasm of violence late last month left 89 people dead and displaced an additional 35,000, according to the United Nations.
The initial fury was focused on the Rohingya, a Muslim minority widely reviled in Myanmar and a large segment of the population in Rakhine, an impoverished state bordering Bangladesh. But now members of at least one other group, Kaman Muslims, have been forced from their homes, raising concerns that the violence could spread to other parts of Myanmar, where Muslims make up about 4 percent of the population.
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has reported the widespread deployment of Myanmar security forces in Rakhine State, but also widespread fear there. Our staff spoke to displaced people who shared their fears of being attacked again if the troops leave, a spokesman for the office, Adrian Edwards, said in a press briefing on Friday.
Aid workers have reported severe malnutrition among children and widespread malaria. Theres a huge group of people who have not been displaced but are cut off from health care, Mr. Belliveau said.
But he said that posters and pamphlets threatening aid workers who treat Muslims were being distributed in Sittwe, the largest city in Rakhine, and that staffing in the area had been reduced to a few dozen people, from around 300 before the June violence. Our own staff are simply scared and unwilling to work after receiving direct threats, Mr. Belliveau said.
The difficulties facing international agencies in Rakhine underline the instability of the area and the potential for further violence despite the security forces. Many of Myanmars ethnic groups are restive, presenting challenges for President Thein Sein as he leads the country out of decades of military dictatorship that justified its repressive grip in part by citing ethnic insurgencies. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/06/world/asia/aid-for-refugees-in-myanmar-threatened-by-violence.html?_r=0
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Australia, Britain prod Myanmar on sectarian unrest
Posted: 06 November 2012 1706 hrs
VIENTIANE: Australia and Britain pressed Myanmar on the plight of ethnic minorities and called for an end to deadly sectarian unrest in western Rakhine state, officials said on Tuesday.
Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard and British Foreign Secretary William Hague raised the issue separately in meetings with Myanmar President Thein Sein on the sidelines of a major Asia-Europe summit in Laos.
"At a time of so much progress on human rights we would also look for progress on the treatment of ethnic minorities," Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard told reporters in Vientiane afterwards.
It was the first meeting between leaders of Australia and Myanmar in nearly three decades.
Myanmar has signed a series of ceasefire deals with armed ethnic minority rebels but the efforts have been overshadowed by deadly clashes between ethnic Rakhines and Rohingyas in the western Rakhine state.
British Foreign Secretary William Hague said he voiced "concern" at the violence in Rakhine in his talks with Thein Sein.
"The UK is urging all political parties in Burma to do what they can to end the violence and address the issue of Rohingya citizenship," Hague said in a statement afterwards.
At the same time he congratulated Thein Sein on his "vital political and economic reforms", and said he hoped the former general would be able to visit Britain early next year.
Myanmar's 800,000 Rohingya are seen by the government and many in the country as illegal immigrants from neighbouring Bangladesh. They are described by the UN as among the world's most persecuted minorities.
- AFP/jc http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific/view/1235577/1/.html
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Bangkok Post
PM readies ministers for Thein Sein visit
Published: 5/11/2012 at 12:00 AM
Newspaper section: News
Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra will tomorrow meet ministers and officials working on the Dawei deep-sea port project in preparation for a Thai-Myanmar meeting on the joint development this week.
Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra leads European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso on an inspection of the Guards of Honour at Government House yesterday. APICHIT JINAKUL
Myanmar President Thein Sein is scheduled to visit Thailand on Wednesday, when the Thai government will kick off a two-day bilateral meeting on the joint development, worth US$50 billion (1.54 trillion baht).
Deputy government spokesman Chalitrat Chandrubeksa said Ms Yingluck will tomorrow prepare ministers and officials from transport, industry, energy and foreign ministries for the meeting, which is expected to cover three major issues.
Those issues are the development of the deep-sea port in southern Myanmar, the construction of a 132km road linking the sea port to the Thai-Myanmar border, and the development of a 33-megawatt power plant and transmission cables in the Dawei special economic area.
Ms Yingluck and Thein Sein will finalise the meeting outcome at the Asean Summit in Cambodia on Nov 17-20, when the two are expected to officially announce a joint partnership to support the Dawei deep-sea port project.
Thein Sein on Saturday met European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso, who offered development aid to Myanmar.
Mr Barroso then visited Thailand and met Ms Yingluck yesterday.
They discussed various issues ranging from the decades-long diplomatic ties between Thailand and the European Union, to the new economic prospects in Southeast Asia when the Asean Economic Community is formed in 2015.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Ms Yingluck said she told Mr Barroso that Thailand is ready to be a gateway to the Asean single market so that investors from the EU can base their production here.
Ms Yingluck and Mr Barroso also agreed to seek closer cooperation on measures to tackle human trafficking, transnational crimes and money laundering.
The two are scheduled to meet again at the 9th Summit of the Asia-Europe Meeting held in Vientiane, Laos today and tomorrow. http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/319555/pm-readies-ministers-for-thein-sein-visit
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Bangok Post
Thaksin shortens Myanmar trip
Published: 5/11/2012 at 03:43 PM
Online news: Local News
Former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra has cancelled his coming trip to Tachilek on Friday and Saturday, but will still meet Myanmar President Thein Sein on Thursday when he visits Nay Pyi Taw, Thaksin's close associates said on Monday.
According to his close associates, including key members of the Pheu Thai Party and the red-shirt United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD), the fugitive former premier will not travel to the border town of Tachilek, opposite Mae Sai, due to safety concerns.
Jatuporn Prompan, a red-shirt core member, said he had not been informed about the cancellation of Thaksin's visit to Tachilek but said security there might not be 100%.
"Thaksin will likely meet President Thein Sein because it is an official visit and the Myanmar government will be able to ensure his safety," Mr Jatuporn said.
Previously, Deputy Prime Minister Chalerm Yubamrung and his son Panthongthae "Oak" Shinawatra said there was a plot to assassinate him.
Mr Chalerm said a Myanmar man who was arrested on Sunday in Tak province by Thai authorities for transporting heavy firearms from the Thai border confessed that there was a plot to kill Thaksin during merit-making in Tachilek on Saturday.
"The suspect has revealed the name of the mastermind behind the assassination attempt but I won't say whether the person is an army general as reports speculated.
"I'm pretty sure that the person gave the assassination order from Thailand and had already paid some money for it to happen," said the deputy premier in charge of national security.
He said the mastermind was not involved with "plans to topple the government" but the person had a plan to directly harm Thaksin.
Although the Karen suspect later recanted his testimony, Thai police had been working closely with Myanmar police on security issues, Mr Chalerm added.
Fugitive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra (L) and his son Panthongtae Shinawatra (Photo by Apichit Jinakul)
Mr Panthongthae posted on his Facebook page that he was worried about his father's safety.
Thaksin's only son said that during his father's time as prime minister he was responsible for the arrest of many drug dealers, which put him on bad terms with local crime lords and gangs.
Tachilek was categorised by the Office of Narcotics Control Board (ONCB ) as a red zone swarming with minority groups linked with drug dealers and wanted men who had fled Thailand.
"My father is a man who is not scared of death," he said. "I would like to say that even though you [father] are not scared, your three children are deeply concern about your safety."
Mr Panthongthae said that despite his personal feelings, Thaksin showed signs of hesitation when he mentioned the possibility of participants at the meetings being injured.
However, his father's decision to visit Myanmar was based on the consideration he has for people organising the event and the individuals who had already made plans to visit him.
Democrat Party list MP Ong-Art Klampaiboon said Mr Panthongtae needed to be more careful when posting such messages about a rumoured assassination plot against his father. It was quite normal for Thai authorities to search for, and seize, weapons along the border.
Previously, Democrat leader Abhisit Vejjajiva called on the national police chief, Pol Gen Adul Saengsingkaew, to seek the extradition of Thaksin if he was certain that the fugitive politician would visit Myanmar.
"This is a case to prove whether the police chief as well as the prime minister [Yingluck Shinawatra] are performing their duties and I hope there won't be any conflicts of interest," Mr Abhisit said.
Gen Boonlert Kaewprasit, leader of the anti-government Pitak Siam group, said Mr Panthongtae was likely trying to get people to feel for Thaksin by saying that the confiscated weapons and ammunition in Tak would have been used to kill his father.
"How can Thai people transport the weapons because security along the Myanmar border is very tight," said Gen Boonlert, alias Seh Ai. http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/319658/thaksin-shortens-myanmar-trip
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Child rights organization gives 20,000 children birth certificates
November 5 | Author: Nan Thoo Lei (KIC)
The Committee for the Protection and Promotion of Child Rights (Burma) said at a ceremony to acknowledge the organizations 10-years working on the Thai Burma border that they had organized 20,000 birth certificates for children from Burma.
Ma Aye Thandar Aung from the statistics department of CPPCR spoke to Karen News.
Weve provided birth certificates to 21,700 children in 10 years. Those children are now eligible to study in Thai schools or migrant schools in the Mae Sot area.
Children who were born at Mae Tao Clinic, Mae Sot Hospital, medical clinics in the Mae Sot district were entitled to receive birth certificates.
CPPCRs 10 year anniversary ceremony was held at the Quee Place Hotel in Mae Sot on November 2 and was attended by more than 100 people.
Dr Cynthia Maung speaking at the ceremony said.
CPPCR is promoting the education of child rights, recording data on child protection issues and ensuring childrens births are recorded.
Dr Cynthia Maung said all the birth records CPPCR has collected from children born of Burmese parents are used to inform the relevant Thai and Burma authorities, lawyers to ensure these children are eligible for Burmese citizenship at some point in the future.
U Myint Thein, the joint secretary of the Burma Lawyer Council said birth certificates are critically important for migrant children living in Thailand.
People from Burma had to leave the county because of civil war. Many children did not have a chance to have a proper education and many have been denied their basic human rights. These children are at risk of losing their identity if they do not have birth certificates.
CPPCR was founded in 2002 in Mae Sot to provide protection to children, giving access to their rights, healthcare and education. http://karennews.org/2012/11/child-rights-organization-gives-20000-children-birth-certificates.html/
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Locals to dictate agenda of upcoming Shan conference
By NANG MYA NADI, Published: 6 November 2012
Senior government officials are set to join talks with Shan political parties and civil society groups during an upcoming conference that will address pressing issues as defined by local residents.
Before the conference, fact-finding teams will survey residents in Shan and Kachin states and Sagaing and Mandalay divisions to find out what issues should be discussed at the conference. The conference is being organised by the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy (SNLD) and is expected to take place at the end of this month.
We wanted to hear the peoples voice, see how they view our parties and what they want to see, and their opinion on the armed groups and the peace process they engage in, said SNLD spokesperson Sai Lek.
We are also looking to conduct a public survey concerning the governments peace process as well well be sending at least four [survey] teams out.
SNLD spokesperson Sai Lek and members from the conferences organising committee said the event will host at least 12 groups including Shan ethnic-based political parties and civil society organisations.
The conferences creation after President Thein Sein asked the SNLDs chairman Khun Htun Oo to help support the countrys peace process.
Vice President Sai Mauk Kham, who is an ethnic Shan, and the Presidents Office ministers Aung Min and Soe Thein will also attend the conference.
According to Sai Lek, trust between the government and ethnic nationalities is needed before dialogues addressing the countrys political problems can begin.
http://www.dvb.no/news/locals-to-dictate-agenda-of-upcoming-shan-conference/24629
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Myanmar welcomes accountants
November 6, 2012 10:23 am by Gwen Robinson
Myanmar may finally have completed its shiny new foreign investment law, after much delay. But sceptics still question whether the much-vaunted rush of foreign investment will follow.
Despite pronouncements by companies such as Coca-Cola, Nestle and GE about entering Myanmar, most deals are limited to product supply and distribution. The big western names are yet to commit serious money, let alone build factories. But at least the professional services firms are setting up shop the latest being PwC, which this week announced the opening of a Myanmar office.
The news came hard on the heels of an announcement by rival firm KPMG, which last week announced the launch of its Myanmar operation.
Both firms were among the many financial services companies, auditors and consultants which pulled out of Myanmar after the US imposed sanctions in 2003.
Their return suggests that Myanmar is seeing the rush before the rush, the advance of professional services firms which could pave the way to a future expansion from the big industrial investors.
The Big Four accountancy firms pride themselves on knowing what their clients want and positioning themselves to meet their demands. Their re-entry is a good indicator that big western companies are poised to set up in Myanmar.
Already, demand is oustripping supply, Ong Chao Choon, managing director of PwC Myanmar for assurance and advisory services, told beyondbrics. The market is big and needs international professional services.
Initially, PwCs fledgling Myanmar operation run out of one of the few new buildings in Yangon, the towering CentrePoint Tower will focus on professional services related to three main areas: infrastructure, banking and financial services, and M&A.
For local companies in Myanmar to build up capital and knowhow, it makes sense to partner with a foreign partner. For foreign investors, they would be interested in joint ventures with local companies, a PwC spokesman said.
Choon has a ready answer for doubters who query whether such moves are premature before Myanmar has proper regulatory frameworks in place to back up its foreign investment laws.
Its actually when regulation is still in infancy that an international firm like us can make the most contribution to the country and our clients.
Just to back up its view, PwC has drawn up a handy Myanmar business guide which attempts to explain the countrys investment and regulatory environment ahead of new laws and regulations.
Big business groups have welcomed the move.
Its all still evolving in Myanmar, and the entry of firms like KPMG and PwC is an important step particularly for big western companies that need help in starting up in the country and navigating aspects such as new US disclosure and licensing regulations, said Praab Pianskool, who oversees Thailand, Myanmar and neighbouring countries at the US-Asean Business Council in Bangkok.
The next Big Four firm to enter could be Deloitte, which joined the councils first Myanmar business mission in July and has since been scouting for staff and locations in Yangon. http://blogs.ft.com/beyond-brics/2012/11/06/myanmar-welcomes-accountants/#axzz2BRbNNAQj
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88 Gen Activist Hopes Burma Can Mimic Thailand
By LAWI WENG / THE IRRAWADDY| November 6, 2012 |
Mya Aye, a leader of 88 Generation Students group, landed in Thailand on Saturday for his first trip to a foreign country since being released from prison earlier this year.
Mya Aye, who was incarcerated for a total of 12 years in two spells after the 1988 and 2007 democracy uprisings, plans to meet Burmese civil society organizations and ethnic armed groups to discuss how to cement a permanent peace in the country.
The 50-year-old told The Irrawaddy during an interview at his hotel in Chiang Mai how different he found northern Thailand and that he hoped Burma would one day emulate the prosperity of its eastern neighbor.
Mya Aye accompanied fellow members of the 88 Generation Students to meet Burmese students who were studying in Bangkok and remarked that he was impressed by the intelligence of the questions asked during their discussion.
The students asked good questions and they are smart, said the recently published novelist. We need educated students to run our country. I do not know how to run the country so we need educated students.
Mya Aye met members of the Womens League of Burma on Monday and was pleasantly surprised that they had sharp political views and were equally confident as their male counterparts at expressing themselves.
There are women of a similar age in Burma who do not have the confidence of women in Thailand, he said. There is better education and a more open society here than in Burma, so this may be one reason.
The delegation drove up from Bangkok to Chiang Mai during the night and Mya Aye found that the people did not use their high beam headlights and had more respect for one another on the road compared to his homeland.
If you only stay proud of what you know in Burma then you do not learn about other countries, and so you will remain behind the rest of the world, he said.
During our one-hour interview, Mya Aye smoked two cigarettes and confessed that he did not dare to smoke outside his room as people in Thailand only used designated smoking zones where they would not offend other people.
He added that smokers could light up anywhere in Burma as people did not understand that cigarettes caused health problems for others.
Mya Aye said that the Burmese military constantly lied to the people, including in textbooks and the curriculum of school lessons, and even his studies at university did not match what he was currently finding in Thailand.
He added that Thailand has good infrastructure and that he hoped Burma would soon develop in a similar vein.
In Burma, some people eat meat and just abandon the bones in the street where pedestrians walk. It is very careless and not clean. Thailand is clean and even has good services, he said.
Although Burma has undergone a series of political reforms under President Thein Seins quasi-civilian administration, Mya Aye said that he still does not completely trust that the current democratization process is genuine.
The Napyidaw government recently issued passports to leaders of the 88 Generation Students group, but there are many other former political prisoners who have not yet received travel documents despite submitting applications.
All citizens have the right to own passports and travel to other countries, said Mya Aye. We should not say that there is political change just because we received a passport.
He also emphasized the need to amend undemocratic articles in the 2008 Constitution if Burma was to finally achieve peace and prosperity, as otherwise ethnic people will continue to fight for greater autonomy.
The Burmese government knows what to change in order to have peace, but they do not want to do it, said Mya Aye. The government just does a little to look good to the international community.
The visiting delegation of 88 Generation Students will hear the concerns of Burmese civil society and ethnic organizations along the border and then later present these to a wider meeting of group members back in Rangoon.
It is good to cooperate in order to work for peace, said Mya Aye. To have peace, we need to hear different voices and ideas from each other. http://www.irrawaddy.org/archives/18144
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Burma activists denounce Gillard talks
From: AAP
November 06, 2012 2:30PM
ACTIVISTS have denounced Prime Minister Julia Gillard for suggesting Australia may resume defence ties with Burma.
Ms Gillard on Monday met with Thein Sein, the president of Burma - also known as Myanmar - on the sidelines of the Asia Europe Meeting (ASEM) in Laos.
It was the first such meeting between Australian and Burmese leaders since 1984.
Shortly before the meeting, Ms Gillard revealed her government was considering resuming defence ties - cut off in 1988 - as Burma continues its democratic reforms after decades of iron-fisted military rule.
"We have still got some decisions to make on defence co-operation," she said.
Burma Campaign Australia co-ordinator Zetty Brake said the comments were inappropriate given the military's ongoing violations of human rights.
"It is appalling that Australia would consider having any defence ties with a country whose military continues to commit human rights abuses against its own people," Ms Brake said.
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Australian Greens senator Scott Ludlam said resuming military ties could weaken Burma's reform movement.
"If this is about assisting the regime with security-sector reform and improving operating procedures that have shocked the world in past decades, then there may be some value in closer ties," he said.
"However, political reforms in Burma remain fragile and reversible."
Australia this year lifted travel and financial sanctions against Burma, but an arms embargo remains in place.
It also moved to normalise trade and investment relations with the South-East Asian nation.
The changes come after Burma's military junta began relaxing its grip on power, holding elections that led to opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi take a seat in parliament. http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/breaking-news/burma-activists-denounce-gillard-talks/story-fn3dxiwe-1226511512515
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EDITORIAL The two ills of Myanmar
Published: 6/11/2012 at 12:00 AM
Newspaper section: News
Myanmar is showing the face of reform to the world. But our western neighbour is also displaying what a long, tough road still lies ahead. President Thein Sein and the elected parliament are rightly celebrating a new foreign investment law. At the same time, the country is at the centre of controversies over its failure to deal with drug trafficking, and is being rightly condemned around the world for its treatment of Rohingya people.
Myanmar will soon celebrate the second anniversary of the release of democracy heroine Aung San Suu Kyi. There will be little celebrating in the north or the west of the country, however. In those areas, life is tougher than ever, despite the efforts of the president and parliament. In Rakhine state in the west, and in the northern areas where Shan and Kachin people live, "reform" is just another word, and life remains cheap.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) reported last week that confident drug gangs have once again increased the size of the country's opium fields. Myanmar is already the world's second-largest producer of poppies and heroin. The gangs and cartels that make 60-plus tonnes of heroin stepped up opium production this year from 43,600 hectares to 51,000 hectares _ 319,000 rai. By comparison, Thai villages produced opium this year on 1,300 rai, with virtually no heroin production.
This does not count the ever-growing output of the methamphetamine ya ba and crystal meth ya ice factories. The drug production is a legacy of the long and close, profitable cooperation between drug gangs and the military dictators of Myanmar. Like Thai farmers of 40 years ago, Myanmar farmers are isolated from markets, and must produce opium for the gangs or perish. President Thein Sein must get more help to the opium fields, to help the farmers and his people.
The treatment of the Muslim minority in Rakhine state is an international disgrace. Thein Sein and his parliament actually seem not to be especially upset about serial, communal riots which have killed hundreds and uprooted tens of thousands. In their view, the Rohingya are interlopers, non-citizens and the root cause of the problem.
Such heartless and wrong-headed thinking is difficult to comprehend. The idea that the Rohingya, born in Myanmar, are somehow inferior human beings is _ as the UN and others state _ not just heartless but legally wrong. The prevailing view in official Myanmar circles appears to be that the Muslim minority is somehow getting what it deserves by being burnt and slaughtered out of its villages.
This attitude appears to pervade the parliament as well as Myanmar society. As Asean secretary-general Surin Pitsuwan pointed out, the Rohingya could become radicalised. The Rohingya compare in some ways to the Muslims of the Thai deep South. But the differences are stark. The people of the deep South are full Thai citizens, with all the rights of citizenship.
Drugs and human rights are perhaps the two biggest problems that Myanmar faces. The world community and Myanmar citizens understand that some reform questions like foreign investment must be taken a step at a time. But encouraging drug traffickers and murderous human rights abuses must be dealt with quickly. http://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion/319703/the-two-ills-of-myanmar
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Bangkok Post
Four get death penalty for Chinese sailor deaths
Published: 6/11/2012 at 03:48 PM
Online news: Asia
Four members of a gang accused of masterminding the murder of 13 Chinese sailors on the Mekong River last year were sentenced to death by a court in southwest China on Tuesday.
A Chinese vessel sails down the brown waters of the Mekong River (or Lancang River in China) that separate China (L) from Myanmar. Four members of a gang accused of masterminding the murder of 13 Chinese sailors on the Mekong River last year were sentenced to death at a court in southwest China on Tuesday.
The sailors were killed in October 2011 in a raid on two Chinese cargo boats on the Mekong, an attack thought to have been carried out by a notorious gang in the "Golden Triangle", an area known for drug production and smuggling.
The reading of the verdicts was shown live on state television.
The trial finished in September after the gang of six men pleaded guilty to intentional homicide, drug trafficking, kidnapping and hijacking, state news agency Xinhua said in September.
Another defendant received a suspended death sentence, while a sixth man was handed eight years in prison at the sentencing at Kunming Intermediate People's Court.
The gang, based in Myanmar's northern Shan state, was led by Myanmar national Naw Kham, who was one of the men sentenced to death.
At least one of the remaining five gang members is Thai, but the nationalities of the other four is unclear.
The "Golden Triangle" is where the Mekong River runs through China, Myanmar, Thailand and Laos.
Last year's incident sparked an angry reaction from China, which summoned diplomatic envoys from Thailand, Laos and Myanmar and asked authorities to speed up investigations into the incident. http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/asia/319827/four-handed-death-penalty-for-chinese-sailor-deaths
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Egypt calls Myanmar envoy
By: AFP | November 06, 2012
CAIRO - Egypt summoned Myanmars ambassador in Cairo to express its concern with violence against the southeast Asian countrys Muslim minority and call for a stop to it, the foreign ministry said in a statement on Monday.
The foreign ministry yesterday summoned the ambassador of Myanmar and conveyed an urgent message expressing Egypts dismay after renewed violence against Rohingya Muslims, it said.
It called on Myanmar to take steps to immediately end the violence and bring its perpetrators to justice. Egypt summoned the ambassador in August to protest against ethnic clashes between the majority Buddhists and Muslims that began in June.
The Rohingya Muslims are considered by many Burmese as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. The United Nations considers them one of the worlds most persecuted minorities. The clashes in June, followed by fresh fighting in October, have killed 180 people and displaced an estimated 110,000.
http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/international/06-Nov-2012/egypt-calls-myanmar-envoy
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Charity Says Threats Foil Medical Aid in Myanmar
By THOMAS FULLER, Published: November 5, 2012
BANGKOK Radical Buddhist groups are preventing doctors from delivering assistance to areas of western Myanmar affected by intense sectarian violence, an international medical charity said Monday.
The group, Doctors Without Borders, reported that many of its local staff members were afraid to work at refugee camps and medical centers in Rakhine State, where people wounded in clashes need treatment for wounds from guns, knives, arrows and other weapons.
Ive never experienced this degree of intolerance, Joe Belliveau, the operations manager for Doctors Without Borders, said by telephone. What we really need is for people to understand that giving medical aid is not a political act.
The violence dates to June, when long-simmering resentment toward Muslims, some of whom come from Bangladesh, erupted after Muslims were accused of the rape and murder of a Buddhist girl. More than 70,000 Muslims fled their homes; most remain in the refugee camps. Another spasm of violence late last month left 89 people dead and displaced an additional 35,000, according to the United Nations.
The initial fury was focused on the Rohingya, a Muslim minority widely reviled in Myanmar and a large segment of the population in Rakhine, an impoverished state bordering Bangladesh. But now members of at least one other group, Kaman Muslims, have been forced from their homes, raising concerns that the violence could spread to other parts of Myanmar, where Muslims make up about 4 percent of the population.
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has reported the widespread deployment of Myanmar security forces in Rakhine State, but also widespread fear there. Our staff spoke to displaced people who shared their fears of being attacked again if the troops leave, a spokesman for the office, Adrian Edwards, said in a press briefing on Friday.
Aid workers have reported severe malnutrition among children and widespread malaria. Theres a huge group of people who have not been displaced but are cut off from health care, Mr. Belliveau said.
But he said that posters and pamphlets threatening aid workers who treat Muslims were being distributed in Sittwe, the largest city in Rakhine, and that staffing in the area had been reduced to a few dozen people, from around 300 before the June violence. Our own staff are simply scared and unwilling to work after receiving direct threats, Mr. Belliveau said.
The difficulties facing international agencies in Rakhine underline the instability of the area and the potential for further violence despite the security forces. Many of Myanmars ethnic groups are restive, presenting challenges for President Thein Sein as he leads the country out of decades of military dictatorship that justified its repressive grip in part by citing ethnic insurgencies. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/06/world/asia/aid-for-refugees-in-myanmar-threatened-by-violence.html?_r=0
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Australia, Britain prod Myanmar on sectarian unrest
Posted: 06 November 2012 1706 hrs
VIENTIANE: Australia and Britain pressed Myanmar on the plight of ethnic minorities and called for an end to deadly sectarian unrest in western Rakhine state, officials said on Tuesday.
Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard and British Foreign Secretary William Hague raised the issue separately in meetings with Myanmar President Thein Sein on the sidelines of a major Asia-Europe summit in Laos.
"At a time of so much progress on human rights we would also look for progress on the treatment of ethnic minorities," Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard told reporters in Vientiane afterwards.
It was the first meeting between leaders of Australia and Myanmar in nearly three decades.
Myanmar has signed a series of ceasefire deals with armed ethnic minority rebels but the efforts have been overshadowed by deadly clashes between ethnic Rakhines and Rohingyas in the western Rakhine state.
British Foreign Secretary William Hague said he voiced "concern" at the violence in Rakhine in his talks with Thein Sein.
"The UK is urging all political parties in Burma to do what they can to end the violence and address the issue of Rohingya citizenship," Hague said in a statement afterwards.
At the same time he congratulated Thein Sein on his "vital political and economic reforms", and said he hoped the former general would be able to visit Britain early next year.
Myanmar's 800,000 Rohingya are seen by the government and many in the country as illegal immigrants from neighbouring Bangladesh. They are described by the UN as among the world's most persecuted minorities.
- AFP/jc http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific/view/1235577/1/.html
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Bangkok Post
PM readies ministers for Thein Sein visit
Published: 5/11/2012 at 12:00 AM
Newspaper section: News
Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra will tomorrow meet ministers and officials working on the Dawei deep-sea port project in preparation for a Thai-Myanmar meeting on the joint development this week.
Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra leads European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso on an inspection of the Guards of Honour at Government House yesterday. APICHIT JINAKUL
Myanmar President Thein Sein is scheduled to visit Thailand on Wednesday, when the Thai government will kick off a two-day bilateral meeting on the joint development, worth US$50 billion (1.54 trillion baht).
Deputy government spokesman Chalitrat Chandrubeksa said Ms Yingluck will tomorrow prepare ministers and officials from transport, industry, energy and foreign ministries for the meeting, which is expected to cover three major issues.
Those issues are the development of the deep-sea port in southern Myanmar, the construction of a 132km road linking the sea port to the Thai-Myanmar border, and the development of a 33-megawatt power plant and transmission cables in the Dawei special economic area.
Ms Yingluck and Thein Sein will finalise the meeting outcome at the Asean Summit in Cambodia on Nov 17-20, when the two are expected to officially announce a joint partnership to support the Dawei deep-sea port project.
Thein Sein on Saturday met European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso, who offered development aid to Myanmar.
Mr Barroso then visited Thailand and met Ms Yingluck yesterday.
They discussed various issues ranging from the decades-long diplomatic ties between Thailand and the European Union, to the new economic prospects in Southeast Asia when the Asean Economic Community is formed in 2015.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Ms Yingluck said she told Mr Barroso that Thailand is ready to be a gateway to the Asean single market so that investors from the EU can base their production here.
Ms Yingluck and Mr Barroso also agreed to seek closer cooperation on measures to tackle human trafficking, transnational crimes and money laundering.
The two are scheduled to meet again at the 9th Summit of the Asia-Europe Meeting held in Vientiane, Laos today and tomorrow. http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/319555/pm-readies-ministers-for-thein-sein-visit
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Bangok Post
Thaksin shortens Myanmar trip
Published: 5/11/2012 at 03:43 PM
Online news: Local News
Former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra has cancelled his coming trip to Tachilek on Friday and Saturday, but will still meet Myanmar President Thein Sein on Thursday when he visits Nay Pyi Taw, Thaksin's close associates said on Monday.
According to his close associates, including key members of the Pheu Thai Party and the red-shirt United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD), the fugitive former premier will not travel to the border town of Tachilek, opposite Mae Sai, due to safety concerns.
Jatuporn Prompan, a red-shirt core member, said he had not been informed about the cancellation of Thaksin's visit to Tachilek but said security there might not be 100%.
"Thaksin will likely meet President Thein Sein because it is an official visit and the Myanmar government will be able to ensure his safety," Mr Jatuporn said.
Previously, Deputy Prime Minister Chalerm Yubamrung and his son Panthongthae "Oak" Shinawatra said there was a plot to assassinate him.
Mr Chalerm said a Myanmar man who was arrested on Sunday in Tak province by Thai authorities for transporting heavy firearms from the Thai border confessed that there was a plot to kill Thaksin during merit-making in Tachilek on Saturday.
"The suspect has revealed the name of the mastermind behind the assassination attempt but I won't say whether the person is an army general as reports speculated.
"I'm pretty sure that the person gave the assassination order from Thailand and had already paid some money for it to happen," said the deputy premier in charge of national security.
He said the mastermind was not involved with "plans to topple the government" but the person had a plan to directly harm Thaksin.
Although the Karen suspect later recanted his testimony, Thai police had been working closely with Myanmar police on security issues, Mr Chalerm added.
Fugitive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra (L) and his son Panthongtae Shinawatra (Photo by Apichit Jinakul)
Mr Panthongthae posted on his Facebook page that he was worried about his father's safety.
Thaksin's only son said that during his father's time as prime minister he was responsible for the arrest of many drug dealers, which put him on bad terms with local crime lords and gangs.
Tachilek was categorised by the Office of Narcotics Control Board (ONCB ) as a red zone swarming with minority groups linked with drug dealers and wanted men who had fled Thailand.
"My father is a man who is not scared of death," he said. "I would like to say that even though you [father] are not scared, your three children are deeply concern about your safety."
Mr Panthongthae said that despite his personal feelings, Thaksin showed signs of hesitation when he mentioned the possibility of participants at the meetings being injured.
However, his father's decision to visit Myanmar was based on the consideration he has for people organising the event and the individuals who had already made plans to visit him.
Democrat Party list MP Ong-Art Klampaiboon said Mr Panthongtae needed to be more careful when posting such messages about a rumoured assassination plot against his father. It was quite normal for Thai authorities to search for, and seize, weapons along the border.
Previously, Democrat leader Abhisit Vejjajiva called on the national police chief, Pol Gen Adul Saengsingkaew, to seek the extradition of Thaksin if he was certain that the fugitive politician would visit Myanmar.
"This is a case to prove whether the police chief as well as the prime minister [Yingluck Shinawatra] are performing their duties and I hope there won't be any conflicts of interest," Mr Abhisit said.
Gen Boonlert Kaewprasit, leader of the anti-government Pitak Siam group, said Mr Panthongtae was likely trying to get people to feel for Thaksin by saying that the confiscated weapons and ammunition in Tak would have been used to kill his father.
"How can Thai people transport the weapons because security along the Myanmar border is very tight," said Gen Boonlert, alias Seh Ai. http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/319658/thaksin-shortens-myanmar-trip
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Child rights organization gives 20,000 children birth certificates
November 5 | Author: Nan Thoo Lei (KIC)
The Committee for the Protection and Promotion of Child Rights (Burma) said at a ceremony to acknowledge the organizations 10-years working on the Thai Burma border that they had organized 20,000 birth certificates for children from Burma.
Ma Aye Thandar Aung from the statistics department of CPPCR spoke to Karen News.
Weve provided birth certificates to 21,700 children in 10 years. Those children are now eligible to study in Thai schools or migrant schools in the Mae Sot area.
Children who were born at Mae Tao Clinic, Mae Sot Hospital, medical clinics in the Mae Sot district were entitled to receive birth certificates.
CPPCRs 10 year anniversary ceremony was held at the Quee Place Hotel in Mae Sot on November 2 and was attended by more than 100 people.
Dr Cynthia Maung speaking at the ceremony said.
CPPCR is promoting the education of child rights, recording data on child protection issues and ensuring childrens births are recorded.
Dr Cynthia Maung said all the birth records CPPCR has collected from children born of Burmese parents are used to inform the relevant Thai and Burma authorities, lawyers to ensure these children are eligible for Burmese citizenship at some point in the future.
U Myint Thein, the joint secretary of the Burma Lawyer Council said birth certificates are critically important for migrant children living in Thailand.
People from Burma had to leave the county because of civil war. Many children did not have a chance to have a proper education and many have been denied their basic human rights. These children are at risk of losing their identity if they do not have birth certificates.
CPPCR was founded in 2002 in Mae Sot to provide protection to children, giving access to their rights, healthcare and education. http://karennews.org/2012/11/child-rights-organization-gives-20000-children-birth-certificates.html/
