Democratic Voice of Burma

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• Kyaukphyu lights up
• DVB Debate: Should women lead?
• Karen parties aim to merge by 2015
• Time to End Sexual Violence In Burma
• Suu Kyi meets privately with Dalai Lama

Kyaukphyu lights up Posted: 17 Sep 2013 05:44 AM PDT Residents of Kyaukphyu and 21 surrounding villages began enjoying the benefits of 24-hour electricity as from Sunday when small-scale gas turbines began turning at the Shwe Gas pipeline terminal. According to a retired electricity official in the city, Pho San, some 20 million cubic feet of compressed natural gas (CNG) per a day is now providing power to the town and its satellite villages. He said the price of electricity is 35 kyat per unit for home use and 75 kyat per unit for industrial purposes– the standard price across Burma. Officials said the small turbines will be upgraded to larger ones in about two years' time. However, in nearby Ann township, locals have reported that the pipeline—which in July began carrying natural gas from the Bay of Bengal to China—developed a leak last week. Residents told DVB that the pipeline started leaking gas near the village of Kyaukmyaung village on the evening of 13September. Kyaukmyaung resident Hla Soe Maung said the pipeline began leaking gas and spewed fire for about 15 minutes last Friday, prompting officials from the China National Petroleum Corporation, the main backers of the pipeline project, to travel to the site to inspect the damage the next morning. Related Stories Govt requests bids for Kyaukphyu economic zone Arakanese call for a share of natural resources profits Activists slam Chinese pipeline as project goes operational Htun Htun Naing of civil society group Myanmar China Pipeline Watch also visited the area and offered his insight into the incident. "There are cable wires buried along the pipeline which can trigger an alarm," he said. "The operators can simply block the gas flow to a certain point of the pipeline and the fire should stop when the gas run out." He said there were similar incidents during testing.

DVB Debate: Should women lead? Posted: 17 Sep 2013 05:08 AM PDT In a country where one of the most well-known and respected political figures, Aung San Suu Kyi, wields great influence, many still regard a woman's place to be in the home. "Women are prepared to lead, but the Myanmar parliament is still not ready for female leadership at this time," said MP Phyu Phyu Thin during the most recent discussion on DVB Debate. This week panelists discussed whether there should be a greater representation of women in positions of power – in Burma's parliament only 4 percent of MPs are female. Cartoon by DVB Debate  On the panel were: National League for Democracy MP for Mingalar Taung township, Phyu Phyu Thin; activist and head of ethnic student affairs for the All Burma Federation of Students Unions, Nander Sint Aung; and Buddhist nun and monastery school founder, Kate Thar Ya. "In our culture, there is a belief that women are only suppose to do chores at home and, as a woman, I think there is still some discrimination," said Phyu Phyu Thin. Activist Nandar Sint Aung however believed women have different biological make-ups and therefore should be treated differently. "Men and women have different biology so women should not say 'Oh we should get the same amount of pay as men', because that is just copying the men," he said. The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), calls for more participation of women in the decision making process. They believe women should hold 30 percent of all important positions. This sparked disagreement in the studio, with some women's activists claiming the percentage should be higher, while others said recruitment should be based on who is the most qualified, not gender. "If a housewife is going to be trapped inside her house with chores, no matter how interested she is in politics, she is not going to get any information about what is going on in the country," said Zin Mar Aung, founder of the Yangon School of Political Science. Related Stories DVB Debate: Is social media taking over? DVB Debate: Is Burma ready for total press freedom? DVB Debate: Can we forgive 1988 for the sake of national reconciliation? "Compared to a man, she has limited access to information." Next week DVB Debate discusses education reforms. 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

Karen parties aim to merge by 2015 Posted: 17 Sep 2013 03:51 AM PDT Four ethnic Karen-based political parties have concluded a two-day meeting aimed at merging the four parties into one. Although no definitive agreement was reached, talks will continue with the aim of merging ahead of the next general election in 2015, according to the deputy-chairman of the Kayin People's Party. Representatives of the Phalon-Sawaw Democratic Party, the Kayin People's Party, the Kayin State Democracy and Development Party, and the Kayin Democratic Party—all of which contested the 2010 general election—met in Hpa-an on 14-15 September. Speaking to DVB after the meeting, Saw Say Wah, deputy-chairman of the Kayin People's Party, said that the party delegates spoke about facilitating future elections throughout Karen state and establishing rights and conditions for all Karen people over 18 to vote. Related Stories Karen rebels ordered to leave area near Thai-backed dam KNU Vice-Chair recovering after car crash Karen rebel group returns seized weapons to Border Guard Force "Our priority is to merge the parties but it won't be possible in the immediate term," he said. "We used the meeting as an opportunity to discuss other topics of interest to the Karen people." At the 2010 elections, polls were cancelled—primarily due to security fears—at more than 150 villages in Karen state: at Myawaddy, Kawkareik, Kya Inn Seik Gyi, Hpa-an, Hlaingbwe, Hpapun and Thandaung townships.

Time to End Sexual Violence In Burma Posted: 16 Sep 2013 11:32 PM PDT For too many people in Burma, the sound of gunfire and mortar bombs is a familiar one. For decades the Burmese army has relentlessly attacked civilians in Burma's ethnic states. The United Nations has documented multiple possible war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by the Burmese army, which has deliberately targeted civilians. Unknown millions have fled such attacks in the six decades since Burma gained independence. I know very well the fear when, without warning, the Burmese army attacks a village. The sudden crackle of gunfire and the boom of mortar bombs as they shake the ground. Twice I fled such attacks when the Burmese army attacked my village. But as a woman I also know another fear. The fear of being caught by Burmese army soldiers: the fear of being raped. As a young girl growing up in Karen State, we heard many stories of the horrific things done by the Burmese army. Torture, mutilations and executions of civilians were common. But so too was rape. The use of rape by Burmese army soldiers has been so widespread and systematic it is clearly military policy. Soldiers commit rape with impunity; it isn't just that ordinary soldiers are out of control. The Shan Women's Action Network documented numerous cases of more senior soldiers raping women in front of the soldiers they commanded. One of the untold stories of Burma's "reform" process of the past two years has been the increase in reports of rape by the Burmese army. Soon after the 2010 elections which ushered in the new military-backed government, the Burmese army broke long-standing ceasefires in Shan state and Kachin state, and my organisation, Burma Campaign UK, started receiving a big increase in reports of rape by Burmese army soldiers. Related Stories Indonesian prison riot sparked by rapes of Rohingya inmates Karen woman 'sexually assaulted' by troops Army abuses ongoing in Burma: HRW In one of the most shocking cases, on 1 May 2012, Burmese army soldiers found Ngwa Mi, a grandmother with 12 children, sheltering alone in a church in Kachin State. About 10 troops beat her with rifle butts, stabbed her with knives, stripped her naked and gang-raped her over a period of three days in the church. This increase in sexual violence in Burma has coincided with British Foreign Secretary William Hague launching a major new international initiative, the Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative (PSVI). Yet despite the increase in reports of rape and Hague calling in the past for an end to impunity in Burma, when PSVI was launched, Burma was not included. Last week, alongside Valerie Vaz MP, Burma Campaign UK delivered 2,000 letters and postcards to the Foreign Office, calling on them to fully include Burma in PSVI. "The use of rape and sexual violence against women in any circumstances is simply unacceptable," says Valerie Vaz, who recently visited Burma. "The ongoing practice of sexual violence by the Burmese armed forces is alarming and should not be ignored by the British government. William Hague should ensure that Burma is fully included in the Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative." Facing increasing pressure to include Burma, the Foreign Office announced that a scoping mission would take place over the summer to review Burma's possible inclusion, and President Thein Sein has been asked to cooperate. But no public announcement has been made as to whether Burma will be fully included in PSVI. For the women of Burma, this is an urgent problem. Unconfirmed reports have emerged from Kachin State that in early September Burmese army soldiers abducted, sexually abused and gang-raped a group of young women. They were left naked in the jungle. If Burma were fully included in the PSVI and President Thein Sein were forced to fully cooperate, then it might have been possible to take immediate action to help these women. Investigators could have been sent, and assistance provided to the women. But as things stand, and as far as is known, no action has been taken to investigate this case, and no expert assistance given to the women. Williams Hague's initiative on preventing sexual violence is ground-breaking and to be applauded. However if it is perceived to be selectively applied to countries depending on trade or other interests its credibility will be undermined. This must not be allowed to happen. For decades rape has been used by the Burmese army in conflict zones, and despite "reforms" it continues to this day. William Hague has said it is time to act, and that should include acting for the women of Burma as well.   Zoya Phan is Campaigns Manager at Burma Campaign UK. Her autobiography is published as 'Undaunted' in the USA, and 'Little Daughter' in the rest of the world.

Suu Kyi meets privately with Dalai Lama Posted: 16 Sep 2013 10:42 PM PDT Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has risked prompting Chinese anger after it was confirmed she had a private meeting with the Dalai Lama on the sidelines of a Prague rights conference, its spokesman said Monday. Beijing has for decades opposed foreign dignitaries meeting Tibet’s exiled spiritual leader, who fled his homeland for India in 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule. “They met on Sunday at the Dalai Lama’s lecture,” Filip Sebek, spokesman for the Forum 2000 foundation that organises the conference, told AFP, specifying that the two Nobel Peace laureates met in private. Beijing, a powerful Myanmar ally and major investor in the resource-rich nation, has branded the Dalai Lama an anti-China “separatist” who encourages violence. But the 78-year-old Buddhist leader insists he is peacefully seeking rights and autonomy for Tibetans. He signalled Friday in Vilnius that he thought China was being “more realistic” about Tibet after decades of hardline policy. Suu Kyi and the Dalai Lama, who met previously in London last year, both spoke at this year’s three-day forum, which began Sunday. Related Stories Suu Kyi wishes Burmese to be 'rich in hope' Suu Kyi: I cannot personally stop anti-Muslim violence in Burma Suu Kyi braves the rain in Warsaw Each paid homage to the late Vaclav Havel, a hero of the 1989 Velvet Revolution that toppled totalitarian Communist rule in the former Czechoslovakia. Himself an ardent advocate for human rights during the communist era, Havel spearheaded the conference in 1997. Suu Kyi, who never met Havel in person, recalled the former dissident playwright-turned-president—who had spent five years in Communist prisons—as a man who gave her hope while she was held. “When I was under house arrest for many years in Burma, I knew that somewhere in the world there was a man who was speaking out for me and because of whom my freedom remained intact in spite of physical detention,” she said Sunday. The 68-year-old herself spent 15 years under house arrest under military rule in Myanmar, before she was freed after controversial elections in 2010. The Dalai Lama, one of the last people to speak to Havel before his death in 2011, said Monday that during his current visit to Prague, he “had an opportunity to visit his small office, quite untidy.” “I put my head on his chair and [it] reflected his spirit. Perhaps from his chair I may carry some of his blessing out here,” he said, adding that it was “our responsibility to carry his wish, his dream, his vision, and his spirit.”

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