Democratic Voice of Burma

Kachin rebels, govt ink deal aimed at reducing fighting Posted: 30 May 2013 05:01 AM PDT The Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO) and government representatives signed a historic seven-point peace agreement on Thursday afternoon, raising hopes that Burma's bloody northern conflict could finally come to an end. Rebels and the government agreed to establish monitoring offices, demarcate territory and to launch rehabilitation projects for displaced people across the restive state, according to local observers. It is the most significant step towards peace that has been achieved since a 17-year ceasefire broke down in June 2011. The talks were overseen by the UN special envoy to Burma Vijay Nambiar, as well as representatives from the ethnic umbrella group the United Nationalities Federal Council. "The agreement includes [provisions] to continue the political discussion between the government and the KIO, to prevent further clashes while efforts are underway to reduce fighting," explained Hla Maung Shwe from the government's Myanmar Peace Centre during a telephone interview with DVB. He added that monitoring groups and liaison offices will be established to improve communication between the two warring sides, while more third party observers would be considered for inclusion in future peace talks. The KIO's armed wing – the Kachin Independence Army – and government troops have been locked in two years of bitter fighting after a 17-year ceasefire fell apart in 2011. Nearly 100,000 people have been uprooted by the violence, and human rights groups have accused both sides of violating the laws of war. Despite numerous rounds of talks, the KIO has refused to sign a new ceasefire deal with Naypyidaw until the country's ethnic minorities are granted greater political autonomy. The rebels have also consistently called for international observers to oversee the peace talks. The talks were held in the state capital of Myitkyina – the first time a meeting between the KIO and state officials has been held in government-controlled territory, which several analysts said was a clear sign that trust was improving between the two sides.

Rohingyas hit with multiple charges for not registering as ‘Bengalis’ Posted: 30 May 2013 03:45 AM PDT Prosecutors in Sittwe have hit seven Rohingyas in Arakan state with myriad charges, including rioting, after they were arrested for refusing to register as 'Bengalis'. During a hearing on 23 May, senior immigration official Yan Aung Myint charged the seven suspects from Thetkalpyin displacement camp with robbery, intimidation and disturbing officials on duty. Twenty-four individuals, who authorities claimed might be on the run, were also charged in absentia. The hearing comes after a scuffle erupted between government officials and the Rohingya on 26 April, after authorities tried to register the internally displaced persons (IDPs) as 'Bengalis' in accordance with a programme headed by the Ministry of Immigration and Population. Prosecutors said that around 100 residents, armed with sticks and swords, quickly gathered at the scene and began attacking authorities, which included policemen and soldiers who were accompanying the officials. According to the defendants' attorney Hla Myo Myint, the skirmish began after one of his clients, Suleman, was slapped in the face by an official, which prompted children in the camp to begin throwing rocks at authorities. Army sergeant Win Aung reportedly sustained a head injury after being struck by a rock at the scene, while local Arakanese team member Tun Hla Aung and immigration official Sai Myint Thu sustained lacerations on their backs. Security forces reportedly fired shots in an attempt to disperse the crowd as they hurled rocks and screamed "Rohingya! Rohingya!" Seven individuals from Thetkalpyin and two from Bawdupha displacement camps were arrested in the skirmish's wake. According to Hla Myo Myint, the officials who went to the camps to register the IDPs had no legal right to force his clients to identify as Bengalis – a term commonly used by government officials that implicitly infers that the group are illegal immigrants "The officials had no authority to determine their ethnicity – according to the 1982 Burma Citizenship Law, the decision has to come at the last stage and made by a government body," said Hla Myo Myint. "Reportedly the [officials] were listing them [as Bengali] by force." Hla Myo Myint, who has represented high-profile opposition activists including the National League for Democracy's chair Aung San Suu Kyi in the past, said his clients' families and the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) asked that he provide legal counsel to the group. Two of the individuals Kyaw Myint and his son Hla Myint who are being charged are both USDP members. "I'm doing this for the rule of law – one of the main objectives of the NLD – to allow human rights for them regardless of their religion and ethnicity," said Hla Myo Myint. The next court appointment has been set for 6 June, but will likely to be postponed until officials can decide if the 24 individuals charged in absentia have actually fled. Arakan state is home to more than 140,000 IDPs, after two bouts of religious violence pitting Arakanese Buddhists against Muslim Rohingya last year led to massive displacement.

Famous actor charged with blasphemy Posted: 30 May 2013 02:24 AM PDT One of Burma’s most famous actors, Ye Deight, is charged with defaming religion after displaying bizarre behaviour outside a church in Rangoon. He staged a solo demonstration after being kicked out of the St Mary's church in Botahtaung township for causing a disturbance.

One killed in second day of rioting Posted: 30 May 2013 12:44 AM PDT Buddhist mobs armed with sticks and machetes burned Muslim homes for a second day in Shan state’s Lashio on Wednesday, contradicting claims in state media that soldiers and police had restored calm. One person has been killed and five others were wounded in the fighting.

Burma must take steps to quell ethnic violence Posted: 29 May 2013 10:39 PM PDT This week's outbreak of violence against Muslims in Lashio marks nearly a year of targeted attacks on Muslims in Burma. Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) recently interviewed witnesses and victims in Arakan state, Mandalay and Saigaing divisions about the ongoing attacks, and found that the government places a low priority on protecting the human rights of ethnic groups in the country. Earlier this month, a team of researchers from PHR spent ten days in central Burma investigating attacks on Muslim civilians. The team interviewed 33 people, including 14 eyewitnesses, and compiled a thorough account of the slaughter of at least 20 children and four teachers in Meikhtila, Mandalay division. Other reports estimate that many more were killed. PHR researchers obtained video footage showing Muslims beaten and burned to death, and confirmed the authenticity of these events with GPS, satellite mapping and eyewitness interviews. In Meikhtila, investigators found that police were complicit in the violence against Muslims   ̶  they marched unarmed Muslims toward an armed civilian mob, then refused to protect them from beating, stoning, and murder; they did not help injured Muslims; and they failed to apprehend perpetrators. The police force's actions in Meikhtila are in violation of the UN code of conduct for law enforcement officials, and the general lack of an effective response from the central government is a monumental failure to protect its citizens from organised and targeted violence. In the wake of unspeakable violence carried out in a methodical manner by civilians with the acquiescence of local police, there must be a strong and swift response within Burma. Despite overtures about tolerance, there has been no credible effort thus far to investigate the massacre and hold perpetrators accountable. The government's weak response to stop the violence and its reluctance to help Muslim victims is a symptom of a larger problem—ethnic groups are not benefitting from fledgling democratic reforms.  Despite some improvements at the political level, they are treated by the new government as they were by the previous regime. Although some analysts suggest the recent violence is a result of new freedoms and democratic reforms, it's actually just the opposite — it is a continuation of abuses against ethnic groups that are done with impunity and either tacit or outright government approval. The evidence PHR collected in Meikhtila shows a pattern of destruction indicative of targeted and coordinated strikes against Muslim-owned businesses, homes, and mosques, and coordinated efforts to drive Muslims out of the town. Although the government imposed curfews in some towns with threats of violence and arrested some perpetrators, the response has been insufficient. Police continue to respond too slowly to stop mobs, victims are targeted for arrest as often as perpetrators, Muslims are warned not to defend themselves against mobs, and there has been no effort to prosecute those behind the attacks. The government's acquiescence sends a strong message that these attacks can be done with impunity. The evidence does not suggest that the government orchestrated the attacks, but it does indicate that the government did not act effectively to curb the violence. As new reports of anti-Muslim violence emerge from other parts of the country, the central government as well as local police must do much more to stop the violence from spreading. Unfortunately, institutionalised impunity has taken root across the country, not only in areas plagued by recent religious violence. In ethnic areas, the abuses have been ongoing for 60 years—military attacks on civilians, forced displacement, environmental destruction, and failure to provide humanitarian aid have not stopped. There has been no effective effort to rein in abuses or prosecute offenders. Perhaps the most difficult task facing the people of Burma today is the process of social reconciliation. One of the starkest examples of ongoing violence is in Kachin state, where the Burmese army has ignored orders from President Thein Sein to stop fighting, and continues to violate the human rights of civilians. Human rights groups have documented attacks on civilians in the state throughout the current conflict, which has raged since June 2011. Violence and impunity also persist in Shan state, where fragile ceasefires recently crumbled and civilians are once again being displaced by conflict. Long-running government abuses against Rohingya are now coming to the world's attention, and violations of human rights against Arakanese, Chin, Karen and other groups have continued. The international community has rewarded the government of Burma for its democratic reforms by lifting sanctions, increasing development aid, and forgiving loans. Yet Burma's roadmap to democracy has yet to include ethnic groups, which make up at least 40 percent of the population. Though most of the sanctions and development concessions were made with the understanding that life for civilians is improving, progress has been far too slow for those in ethnic groups. The international community should not leave ethnic groups in Burma at the mercy of systematic attacks, and it must press for an end to ethnic violence and discrimination in diplomatic negotiations. There will be no easy or quick transition to a peaceful Burma where ethnic and religious groups enjoy the fullest protections of their rights. Instilling a culture of tolerance across ethnic and religious lines and replacing impunity with accountability will not happen without concerted efforts by government actors as well as civil society leaders. Perhaps the most difficult task facing the people of Burma today is the process of social reconciliation. After years of military dictatorship, rampant criminality, and a culture of violence, everyone must make the choice to end violence within their communities. Direction should come from recognized leaders within government and civil society, high-level religious leaders, and well-known democracy activists, who must condemn in unequivocal terms all ethnic and religious violence and hate speech. There must also be an independent and transparent investigation of incidents of religiously motivated violence and discrimination with the ultimate aim of holding any perpetrators accountable. Other countries may be able to assist in these essential efforts, especially with the development of an independent investigation, but the will and the design for a society built on respect and tolerance must originate with the people of Burma. Bill Davis is the former Burma project director and volunteer medical advisor for Physicians for Human Rights and Andrea Gittleman works as the group's senior legislative counsel. -The opinions and views expressed in this piece are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect DVB's editorial policy

One dead, five injured after second day of rioting in Shan state Posted: 29 May 2013 09:15 PM PDT Religious riots shook eastern Burma for a second day Wednesday with one man hacked to death and five injured, a top official said, after an orphanage and mosque were burnt down. Police fired warning shots to disperse rioters after Buddhists and Muslims clashed in the town of Lashio in Shan state, according to presidential spokesman Ye Htut. “The deceased is a man. He was hacked to death with a knife,” Ye Htut told AFP, adding that the security forces were taking action to halt the unrest. Several episodes of religious violence have exposed deep rifts in the Buddhist-majority country and cast a shadow over widely praised political reforms since military rule ended two years ago. Residents said mobs armed with sticks were roaming the streets of Lashio looking for Muslims on Wednesday, while an AFP reporter saw two houses ablaze. A local hospital confirmed it had received four injured men, all Buddhists. One of the wounded, 41-year-old Myint Naing, was seen lying in the hospital, wrapped in bandages. The local electricity board worker said he was attacked by a group of around 30 Muslims as he was leaving the town on his motorcycle on Wednesday. “My friend was able to run away and escape but I couldn’t… I was attacked. They cut my arm off,” he said, adding he was waiting to go into surgery to reattach the limb. Security forces had imposed an overnight curfew Tuesday after the initial unrest, which authorities said was triggered by an attack on a local Buddhist woman. A 48-year-old Muslim man was arrested over that incident, in which the 24-year-old woman suffered burns but was not in serious condition, according to state broadcaster MRTV. Rioters destroyed a Muslim orphanage, a mosque and several shops, according to a different government official who spoke on the condition of anonymity. Ye Htut, who earlier appealed for calm, posted pictures of police making arrests in the town on Wednesday as they tried to quell a second eruption of violence that he said saw “conflict from both sides”. “The security forces are taking action against people who are involved in the violence in order to stop the fighting in Lashio,” he said. Fear rippled through the streets on Wednesday, with terrified Muslim residents describing a 30-strong group of men with weapons on motorcycles cruising Lashio and shouting anti-Muslim slogans. The residents said there was not enough security in the town. “Almost all Muslim people are trying to stay in safe places…. we don’t know how we are going to get through the night,” one resident said by telephone, asking not to be named. He said the mob of bikers was threatening to “kill any Muslims they see on the road”. Religious unrest in the former army-ruled nation has caused global alarm. US President Barack Obama last week voiced “deep concern” about anti-Muslim attacks, during a landmark visit to Washington by President Thein Sein. Nyan Win, a spokesman for opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy, said the party believed outsiders were whipping up the violence in Lashio. “The people they know that this violence (does) not happen automatically. They know that there’s a third person there,” he said, without elaborating. In March, at least 44 people were killed in sectarian strife in central Burma with thousands of homes set ablaze. Some monks – who were among the most vocal pro-democracy supporters during Burma’s repressive junta era – have been involved in the violence, while others are spearheading a move to boycott shops owned by Muslims. Wirathu, a monk from Mandalay responsible for some of the most vitriolic anti-Muslim rhetoric, on Wednesday posted several graphic pictures apparently of the injured Buddhist woman on his Facebook page. Communal unrest last year in the western state of Arakan left about 200 people dead and displaced up to 140,000 people, mainly Rohingya Muslims.