Democratic Voice of Burma

---

• Jailed anti-mine activist Naw Ohn Hla transferred
• DVB Debate: Is social media taking over?
• Shans fear repatriation to Burma
• Foreign investment has created 20,000 jobs in Burma since April
• Burmese govt signs international MoU to expand rice sector
• Suu Kyi braves the rain in Warsaw

Jailed anti-mine activist Naw Ohn Hla transferred Posted: 12 Sep 2013 04:57 AM PDT Burmese activist Naw Ohn Hla, who was imprisoned last month for protesting against an unpopular copper mine project, has been transferred to a new jail with better health care facilities, fuelling speculation that she has been refusing food. An official at Monywa prison, where she had been held, confirmed to DVB that Naw Ohn Hla was transferred to Mandalay on 11 September. "Since our prison doesn't have a hospital, we asked senior authorities to transfer her to [Obo] prison which has medical facilities complete with doctors and equipment, so that she can get more extensive health care," said U Htwe. But he refused to verify rumours that the 52-year-old veteran activist has been staging a hunger strike since being sentenced to two years' imprisonment for sedition in late August, saying only that she was "in good health". Naw Ohn Hla initially refused to attend her trial, which she slammed as "unfair", but was forcibly dragged into her final court hearing by two female police officers. One of her close aides, activist Kyaw Aye from the Former Political Prisoner Organisation, said he had been visiting her in prison, but that the transfer would make it harder for him to do so and expressed concerns for her health. "I suspect they probably forced her to [accept] the transfer by making threats," said Kyaw Aye. Naw Ohn Hla was sentenced to two years in prison with labour by Monywa township court on 29 August for leading an "unauthorised" protest against the controversial Latpadaung copper mine with a group of other women. The court ruled that she had violated article 505(b) of Burma's draconian penal code which bans activities that upset "public tranquility". She is the latest in a string of activists to be arrested and jailed under Burma's arbitrary laws since reformist President Thein Sein took office. Related Stories New prisoners, same cages The face of defiance Latpadaung protestor sentenced to two years for sedition The 52-year-old, along with the other women, still faces charges of demonstrating without permission, which could add an extra year to her sentence. According to her lawyer, the women had applied for permission to protest five times, but were repeatedly turned down by the local authorities. The Latpadaung project has provoked outrage from locals who say it will cause irreversible environmental damage and has forced hundreds from their homes. The joint military and China-backed venture rose to notoriety last year when the government led a bloody crackdown on a group of peaceful protestors, resulting in dozens of monks being severely burned. A controversial investigation led by Aung San Suu Kyi later ruled that the project should go ahead, despite local objections. Naw Ohn Hla is a former member of the opposition party, the National League for Democracy, and spent several stints in prison under the former military regime.

DVB Debate: Is social media taking over? Posted: 12 Sep 2013 03:31 AM PDT As the internet quickly becomes more widely available in Burma, the phenomenon of social media is taking off. With netizens flocking daily to sites such as Facebook, DVB Debate discusses where social media belongs in Burmese society. With thanks, especially to Facebook, people in Burma are accessing more news and information than ever before. Many exile media groups– including DVB – use social media to send news into the country. While there are advantages of a country becoming more connected, some groups are using the web to spread hate speech, rousing religious tensions online. On the DVB Debate panel is 88 Generation Student leader, Jimmy; poet, Mon Mon Myat; and blogger, Nay Phone Latt. "Currently, there are a lot of disadvantages in social media," said Nay Phone Latt, "It can be made more advantageous by users on Facebook. I am going to be part of that process." Related Stories DVB Debate: Is Burma ready for total press freedom? DVB Debate: Can we forgive 1988 for the sake of national reconciliation? Internet users unload anger on social media sites Mon Mon Myat disagreed and said social media sites were a reflection of society and human behavior. "It is designed by people for people and will show how and what we think and do – such as gossiping or spreading rumours. Because of this, [social media] will be very difficult to change," said Mon Mon Myat. Studio guest and blogger Tin Myat Htet thought people shouldn't use Facebook for trivial reasons. "People who use Facebook to post where they are, what they're doing, or photos of their food is pointless," he said. Many of the studio guests thought social media wouldn't benefit society because the network could be abused. "There will always be rabble-rousers who use social media but we need to be aware of them," said 88 Generation Student leader, Jimmy, "After we get more experienced at using social media we will be able to differentiate who is trouble, which are the fake accounts, and who is doing good." Next week on DVB Debate: Should women have more top jobs? You can join the debate and watch the full programme in Burmese at www.dvbdebate.com Or share your views with us by commenting on our website at www.dvb.no

Shans fear repatriation to Burma Posted: 12 Sep 2013 03:17 AM PDT The weather is often misty and cold in the mountainous jungle surrounding Koung Jor, the Shan refugee camp located a stone's throw from the Burmese border in Thailand's Wiang Haeng district. Koung Jor means "happy hill", and dozens of Shan families were smiling widely last Sunday morning when a donation of mosquito nets arrived from the International Office for Migration. "Their happiness at receiving new mosquito nets will soon disappear if you start asking them how they feel about repatriation. They will panic," said 33-year old Sai Kyaw, who has been volunteering for nearly 10 years on an education program for children at the camp. Koung Jor has been populated since 2002 when some 400 displaced villagers from areas within a 10-mile radius of the Thai border fled fighting between Burmese government troops and the Shan State Army-South (SSA-S). But these Shans, or "Tai-Yai" as the Thais refer to their ancestral brothers, are not recognised as refugees by either the Thai government or the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, which has only been granted limited freedoms to operate in the Kingdom. Since establishing the camp, Thai authorities have sheltered the displaced Shan villagers with an eye to repatriating them as soon as possible. In July, Burmese policemen (introducing themselves as tourists from Tachilek) visited Koung Jor and inquired openly whether the refugees wanted to return to Burma. The response was a resounding "no". Following their visit the camp leader was contacted by the Burmese military commander across the border at Mong Taw informing him that new housing would be built for returning families in that area. "The Burmese military commander said they had already discussed and confirmed the matter with our chairman," said camp representative Sai Leng, speaking to DVB last weekend. "I asked him who our chairman is. 'He said Yawd Serk [the head of the SSA-S].' Actually, he is not our chairman. I replied that we are not related to the SSA and that we are victims of war." Sai Leng said that neither the Burmese government nor any of the armed Shan groups have requested the consent or opinion of the Koung Jor refugees on the matter of repatriation. In August 2012, a Norwegian NGO was contracted under the Myanmar Peace Support Initiative to survey the Shan refugees at the camp about returning to Burma. The survey was soon cancelled after word got around the camp that the designated resettlement site at Mong Taw was still an active war zone, peppered with land mines. Many NGOs and rights groups have criticised the plan as an attempt to use the Shan refugees as guinea-pigs in testing the Norway-backed peace process. "The Burmese government wants to show the world that everything is OK, but they never consider the lives and livelihoods of the refugees," said Sai Leng. "Even if they sign ceasefires we wouldn't believe they would hold. If they told us they had cleared all the land mines, we wouldn't believe them." He pointed out that while waiting for an impending decision to forcibly repatriate everyone from the camp, the refugees' rations have been cut by donors. In August, Shan community groups urged Burmese, Thai and international parties to be fully transparent when deciding on the issue of repatriation, and to comply with international standards guaranteeing safety and dignity. But many observers are still of the opinion that any repatriation must be voluntary. Related Stories UN aid reaches Laiza for first time in almost two years Comedians enjoy new-found freedom Social media fuels police crackdown on Shan migrants in Thailand "If the repatriation process goes ahead, the education of our children will be most affected. They will have to start all over again," said teacher Sai Kyaw. "The older children who don't wish to start at the bottom will lose their education. Here in Thailand, the education system is better than our country. Also, the children can read and speak Thai and Shan. If we have to go back, they will have to learn Burmese." Nearly half of the camp population are children who currently go to Thai schools and learn the national curriculum. Shan children born in the Kingdom also qualify for Thai citizenship. But since it is not possible to hold dual nationality under Burmese law, it has created a quandary for refugee families. "Some parents would like to go back because they want their children to get Burmese citizenship. But they are wary that they may have to flee their homes again as they did many years ago. Even the children who are older than 11 have memories of the war," said Sai Kyaw, adding that children without citizenship can rarely go on to tertiary education in Thailand. Meanwhile, just over the border in eastern Shan state, violent skirmishes between government and rebel troops continue. More than 100 clashes have been reported since the two leading ethnic Shan militias, the SSA-S and SSA-North, signed preliminary ceasefires with Naypyidaw almost two years ago. Kept firmly out of the peace process, the refugees have no idea when they might be forced to return. But to prepare, children at Koung Jor are now learning Burmese for the first time at night classes in the camp school – a wooden hut with space for 12 students at a time. "We are teaching the children Burmese so they can get by if they have to go back to Burma and attend school," said Sai Kyaw. "But we must approach the matter of resettlement slowly and carefully, otherwise there will be chaos."

Foreign investment has created 20,000 jobs in Burma since April Posted: 12 Sep 2013 02:38 AM PDT Around 20,000 jobs have been created in Burma during the current fiscal year thanks to the increase in foreign direct investment (FDI), according to government data. In the first five months of the 2013-14 fiscal year (April to August inclusive), FDI topped US$1.8 billion, mostly focused in the garment manufacturing sector. Aung Naing Oo, the director-general of the Directorate of Investment and Company Administration (DICA), said the majority of investments came from East Asian countries such as South Korea, Japan and China. He said that Japanese automaker Nissan Motor Company was the most notable major investor in recent months. Related Stories Business Weekly New Mae Sot flight brings business to Moulmein Thai firm cements deal in Moulmein "Every single garment factory that opens creates an additional 1,000 jobs," he said. "This fiscal year, we have so far approved 20 garment factories, so can estimate that around 20,000 new jobs have been created." Aung Naing Oo added that a quicker process now exists for setting up a garment factory – one can now become operational within six months after acquiring the relevant permits. He said the DICA is expecting around US$3 billion in FDI for the total year. According to DICA data, the total amount of FDI in Burma since 1988 is over US$40 billion. Some 44 percent of that figure was invested in the energy sector; 32 percent in the oil and gas sector; and seven percent in the manufacturing sector.

Burmese govt signs international MoU to expand rice sector Posted: 12 Sep 2013 12:08 AM PDT The Myanmar [Burmese] government and the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) have signed a new memorandum of understanding this week to help implement the ‘Myanmar Rice Sector Development Strategy and Program’ which aims to boost rice production and improve other aspects of the rice sector in Myanmar. Myanmar was the top rice exporter in the 1960s and is trying to become a prominent rice exporter once again to strengthen its economy. According to Myanmar officials, Myanmar's Irrawaddy Delta is larger than Vietnam's Mekong Delta and has the potential to boost Myanmar's rice production and exports significantly. In a conference held by Myanmar's Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation (MoAI) and IRRI this week, the MoAI minister said Myanmar requires rice varieties that can tolerate salinity, floods, drought and low temperatures. There is also a need to increase the use of quality seeds, expand the use of modern agricultural techniques, reduce post-harvest losses, establish access to local and international markets, and increase the capabilities of its rice scientists, the minister added. Related Stories Rice exports down but annual forecast positive Severe weather affecting rice fields across Burma Burma begins exporting rice to Japan Collaboration between IRRI and Myanmar dates back to 1976. Since then, joint efforts have resulted in the development of 77 high-yielding rice varieties, including many that are currently grown by farmers for the domestic market and some that are grown for export, according to IRRI.

Suu Kyi braves the rain in Warsaw Posted: 11 Sep 2013 09:36 PM PDT Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi was forced to walk through the rain in Warsaw on Wednesday, when a trade unionists' rally blocked her car en route to address lawmakers in the Polish parliament. According to international media, Suu Kyi brushed off the incident, saying she did not mind getting wet because it gave her a chance to see "democracy in action". “The whole thing, thanks to the colourful jackets [worn by protestors], is beautiful,” she is reported as saying. According to The Associated Press, Suu Kyi held talks on Wednesday with Poland's lower house speaker, Ewa Kopacz, and senate speaker Bogdan Borusewicz. On Thursday, she is due to meet President Bronislaw Komorowski, Prime Minister Donald Tusk and address Warsaw University students. Related Stories Thein Sein hosts Suu Kyi for talks Suu Kyi, Dalai Lama to speak at Czech human rights forum Press council meets with NLD to discuss disputed draft media bill Other media reports said Suu Kyi has also been scheduled to meet fellow Nobel Peace laureate Lech Walesa, who was instrumental in leading the shipyard protests that ultimately toppled Poland’s communist rulers in the late 1980s. The Burmese pro-democracy icon will then travel to Hungary and the Czech Republic on this visit to Europe. Last year she made a high-profile tour of Norway, Switzerland, Ireland, England and France.

You are subscribed to email updates from DVB Multimedia Group | DVB Multimedia Group To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610