Monday, August 12, 2013

Democratic Voice of Burma

Democratic Voice of Burma

UN envoy arrives in Sittwe following clashes between Rohingya, police

Posted: 12 Aug 2013 05:29 AM PDT

UN special rapporteur on human rights Tomas Quintana arrived in Arakan state on Monday days after clashes between local police and Rohingya Muslims left at least seven people injured.

With tensions rising between authorities and the state's Muslim communities, Quintana was met by Arakanese Buddhist protesters Monday who made it clear they were wary of foreign interference in the restive state, where relations between Buddhists and Rohingya remain inflamed after two bouts of religious violence last year left hundreds dead and more than 140,000 people displaced.

"The rally took place at the airport as [Quintana] was arriving. There was no shouting of [slogans] – the participants were peacefully protesting and carrying signs, and there wasn't that many [participants]," said Arakan state's government spokesperson Win Myaing.

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During the demonstration, protestors held banners calling Mr. Quintana “one-sided” and accused the envoy of backing Arakan state's Muslim population.

“Whatever he decides to put in his report, I want him to do it correctly and justly,” said Nya Ae from the Rakhine Women's Network during an interview with Reuters.

Despite the demonstration against the envoy's visit, Quintana said he was glad to see people exercising their right to protest.

“It’s great that people have the right to demonstrate here in Myanmar (Burma). That shows they have the possibility to express themselves. That’s important. We need to hear all voices,” said Quintana.

The commencement of Quintana's 10-day trip comes after reports surfaced over the weekend that at least seven people were injured when a group of Rohingya Muslims clashed with the police last Friday.

The unrest reportedly erupted after the body of a Muslim fisherman washed ashore. While authorities claimed the victim drowned after a boat capsized, members from the Rohingya community said the victim was beaten to death.

According to Win Myaing, a mob surrounded a local police outpost in Sittwe and demanded that authorities hand over the body to the crowd. When the police refused to give into the mob's demand, Win Myaing claims the crowd set fire to a police guard post and about three or four buildings nearby that were previously housed by customs officials.

"I assume the incident was orchestrated because Mr. Quintana is coming for a visit," said the Arakan state spokesperson.

"It's not very nice of the [Rohingya] to come up like this when we are trying to work things out for both societies."

In March, the UN envoy released a statement claiming he had received reports of "state involvement" in the violence between Buddhists and Muslims.

In his statement, Quintana pointed to "instances where the military, police and other civilian law enforcement forces have been standing by while atrocities have been committed before their very eyes, including by well organised ultra-nationalist Buddhist mobs.

"This may indicate direct involvement by some sections of the State or implicit collusion and support for such actions."

Quintana is set to visit Arakan, Kachin, Shan and Chin states. The UN representative is scheduled to visit IDP camps in northern Arakan state's Butheedaung on Monday afternoon.

-Ko Htwe and Shwe Aung provided additional reporting

Ministry to meet with civil society groups to discuss controversial association bill

Posted: 12 Aug 2013 03:22 AM PDT

Representatives from civil society groups are scheduled to meet with officials from the Ministry of Home Affairs later this week to discuss the controversial associations draft bill that was presented to the parliament by the government body late last month.

According to the draft, parties hoping to form associations must seek permission to register with a Home Affairs body led by the minister, who has the mandate to decide whether or not to approve the group's request.

On 27 July, dozens of civil society groups slammed the draft claiming the bill violates provisions in the 2008 constitution that provide citizens with the right to freely join associations and organisations.

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"The freedom of association is already specified by the constitution so we don't really like this idea about having to seek permission to start an organisation," said LGBT advocate Aung Myo Min from Equality Myanmar during an interview with DVB.

"This is basically an attempt to restrict a constitutional right by enacting another law."

Founders of organisations who fail to register their groups can also be sentenced to up to three years in prison, according to the bill.

"Generally, NGOs and civil society organisations are to provide mostly social assistance and it is unreasonable to jail people for three years just because they don't register their organisations," said Ko Ni, a Rangoon-based attorney.

"The jail punishment for not registering an organisation violates the freedom of association provided by the article 354(c) of the constitution."

Earlier this month, a delegation from various civil society organisations met with parliamentary representatives in Naypyidaw where officials pledged to schedule a future meeting with the Ministry of Home Affairs so the groups could air their grievances concerning the current draft directly.

Dr Kyaw Thu, a well known civil liberties advocate, urged government officials to allow civil society groups to play a more participatory role in drafting the bill.

"Every human being has a right to form an association or be a part of one, and the associations have freedom to voice their opinion, form independent networks with each other and seek funding and the government should legally protect these rights," said Dr Kyaw Thu.

"We stressed with the parliament that the bill should see to protect the rights of civil societies to allow them to legally and effectively operate."

Kyaw Thu emphasised the instrumental role civil society organisations played in democracies and said such groups were pivotal in addressing and publicising local grievances with the Latpadaung Copper Mine in central Burma's Sagain division and the Tavoy Deep-sea Port in southern Burma's Tenasserim.

-Shwe Aung provided additional reporting

Schools set to offer courses in ethnic languages

Posted: 12 Aug 2013 02:21 AM PDT

For the first time in more than 40 years, students in Burma will soon be able to learn their ethnic languages in government-run schools.

The country's quasi-civilian government has launched a new education plan to bring teaching more in line with international standards and starting in June next year, the teaching of ethnic languages will be allowed in state schools.

“We don’t understand Burmese”, said Ji Pan, an eight-year-old student whose mother tongue is Kachin.

“Then the teacher beats us, so many people stopped going to school.”

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As many as 60 percent of children in Burma fail to graduate because of language barriers, according to the exile-based rights group Canadian Friends of Burma

Nai Maung Toe from the Mon Language Literature and Cultural Organisation tells a similar story.

“They’re forced to learn the language. Sometimes they get depressed or afraid of the language. And one of the reasons that many children drop out of primary school is language,” he said.

Under the country's former military dictatorships that ruled Burma for more than four decades, only the teaching of Burmese was allowed in state schools.

Chan Kakao, a student from the Mon ethnic group, said he had only been allowed to study his own language during the holidays.

“If we only learn our ethnic language during the summer, it will only be for a month. At school, we learn for nine months a year. It is more effective”, he said.

Even with the new changes, most classes will still be taught in the Burmese language, but after 3pm select classes will be offered in ethnic languages.

However, Nai Maung Toe said he believed ethnic languages be integrated into school’s standard curriculum.

“Children are studying from nine in the morning until three in the afternoon,” said Nai Maung Toe. “If we teach the local languages after 3pm, it is too much for them. It is like torturing them.”

He added there would be significant benefits to integrating ethnic languages into the mainstream teaching.

“Learning your own language can maintain your culture and literature,” he said. “Otherwise our ethnic group will disappear from the world.”

Indonesian officials arrest alleged fundraiser behind Burmese embassy plot

Posted: 12 Aug 2013 12:50 AM PDT

Indonesian police have arrested the alleged fundraiser of a failed plot to bomb the Burmese embassy in the capital Jakarta in May, an official said Monday.

Authorities were also investigating whether Muhammad Syaiful Sabani, detained in the central Javanese city of Yogyakarta on Friday, is linked to a recent bomb attack on a Buddhist temple in the capital, police said.

Both the embassy plot and temple bombing highlighted growing anger in Muslim-majority Indonesia at the plight of the persecuted Rohingya Muslim minority in Burma, where a majority of the population is Buddhist.

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The police’s elite anti-terror squad arrested Sabani in a car park near a hotel in Yogyakarta, national police spokesman Ronny Sompie, told AFP.

“He has been named a suspect for helping to raise funds to finance the bombing of the Myanmar (Burmese) embassy,” he said.

Sompie said a second man was arrested along with Sabani and police were investigating whether he was linked to the embassy plot.

Police foiled the plot on May 2 when they detained two men with a backpack holding five pipe bombs, who had allegedly been planning to launch an attack the following day.

Later the same month, they detained the alleged mastermind of the plot and a second man suspected of being the bombmaker.

Sompie said Sabani was linked to the alleged mastermind and bombmaker, and “was assigned to source funds”.

“We believe he could be behind several robberies at gold shops,” he said.

On 4 August, a low-intensity bomb exploded at one of Jakarta’s biggest Buddhist temples as hundreds of worshippers prayed, lightly injuring one person.

At the time police said the bomb package bore the words “we are responding to the screams of the Rohingya”.
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