Monday, September 9, 2013

Democratic Voice of Burma

Democratic Voice of Burma

UN aid reaches Laiza for first time in almost two years

Posted: 09 Sep 2013 05:39 AM PDT

The United Nations has been allowed to deliver humanitarian aid to the Kachin rebel headquarters in northern Burma for the first time since December 2011, but a spokesperson warned on Monday that it will not be enough.

A convoy of 11 trucks carrying food, medicines and other essential supplies for 4,300 people arrived in Laiza on Saturday evening, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

But speaking to DVB on Monday, UN spokesperson Aye Win said the aid would only last one month, and that they were still waiting for approval from the Burmese authorities to deliver regular and more substantive supplies.

"We hope to be able to deliver more as soon as possible," he said. "Obviously [this delivery of aid] is not much given that there are around 53,000 IDPs in non-government controlled areas, and 18,000 around Laiza alone."

The government has only authorised intermittent convoys of international aid to reach rebel-held camps in northern Burma, where nearly 100,000 people have been displaced since a 17-year ceasefire between the Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO) and the government broke down over two years ago. Local aid workers say malnutrition, water and sanitation-related diseases including dengue, cholera and malaria are rife.

"We are pleased that this much needed humanitarian assistance to the IDPs has been permitted. I hope that unhindered access to all the IDPs will be permitted by all sides under humanitarian principles," said UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator Ashok Nigam.

In June, a convoy reached Mai Ja Yang, another rebel-held border town southeast of Laiza, but nothing has been let through since. IDPs are forced to rely on the limited assistance provided by local organisations, the KIO and church groups.

"UN aid only came once and then they disappeared," Hkaw Lwi from the Mai Ja Yang-based aid group, Wunpawng Ning Htoi, told DVB on Monday. "It would be very good if they could support [us] as they promised – they said that they would come again next month so the local NGOs didn't prepare for that month – and then they didn't come."

Hkaw Lwi is sceptical that the government will let regular UN convoys into KIO territories, including Laiza, where local aid groups are swiftly haemorrhaging funding. "[Only] the local organisations are supporting the IDPs and it is not secure in terms of food," she said. "The organisations only have funding for three months, six months at most."

Even though the KIO signed a preliminary ceasefire with the government in May, ongoing clashes have been reported throughout the restive state, as well as in neighbouring northern Shan state. Many locals are deeply suspicious about the government's motives and fear that a durable ceasefire is nowhere in sight.

The KIO fought the former military dictatorship for greater autonomy and ethnic rights for several decades before signing a ceasefire in 1994, which collapsed in June 2011 when the rebels refused to transform into a state-controlled border guard force.

President Thein Sein has secured ceasefire deals with ten out of 11 major ethnic armed groups since taking office, but the KIO is adamant that only a political solution will resolve the crisis.

The conflict reached its peak between December 2012 and February 2013, when the Burmese army besieged Laiza using a series of coordinated land and air strikes.

The UN has repeatedly called for a "durable solution" to the Kachin conflict. "Ideally, IDPs should be able to return home to their livelihoods and humanitarian aid would be unnecessary," said Aye Win.

Burmese belle wins beauty prize in Belarus

Posted: 09 Sep 2013 05:15 AM PDT

Beauty pageant contestant Khin Wint Wah has become an overnight sensation after winning the Miss Internet prize at the Miss Supranational beauty pageant in the Belarusian capital of Minsk on Saturday evening.

The Burmese beauty was mobbed by hundreds of fans and supporters as she landed at Rangoon airport on Sunday.

"I am absolutely delighted, I can't even describe it in words", she said, beaming.

Khin Wint Wah was one of 20 finalists for the main prize, Miss Supranational.

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Her costume designer Ma Point said she kept the outfits traditional and tried to include aspects of traditional dress from all of Burma's ethnic nationalities.

"For the main event I designed traditional Burmese silk longyis to identify Burma," she said.

"To represent all the ethnicities of Burma, I also prepared Kachin, Chin, Karenni and Karen longyis to signify the tastes of our ethnic people."

In Minsk on Saturday, the Filipino representative was crowned Miss Supranational, with Mexico as first runner up, and Turkey coming in second runner-up.

Viewers wanting to vote for the Miss Internet award had to cast their votes online, at US$5 a piece. Khin Wint Wah received 3,000 more votes than her nearest competitor.

This is not the first time that Burmese fans have flocked to the internet to vote for their national favourite. Last year at the Miss International 2012 in Okinawa, Nang Khin Zayer won the Miss Internet and the People's Choice award – receiving 94% of the total votes cast online.

Govt requests bids for Kyaukphyu economic zone

Posted: 09 Sep 2013 03:45 AM PDT

The Burmese government announced on Sunday through state-run media that it will invite tender bids for a special economic zone (SEZ) development in Kyaukphyu, western Arakan state.

According to an official announcement in The New Light of Myanmar, the chairman of the Bid Evaluation and Awarding Committee (BEAC) has invited both domestic and international firms to submit a "comprehensive strategy" to develop the SEZ. It said that Kyaukphyu—which is the starting point for the Shwe Gas pipeline to China—is "endowed with a deep-sea port, [and] is included as a key project to be developed in Myanmar [Burma], with a vision to become a logistic hub in the region."

Tender bids are to be submitted to the BEAC no later than 25 September.

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According to Chinese state news agency Xinhua, officials have said that they expect the project to begin by April next year.

AFP quoted official sources as saying that the cost of the initial phase of the SEZ was anticipated to be US$227 million.

The SEZ is to be situated on Yanbyae Island off the coast of Kyaukphyu, which serves as the endpoint for a projected Yunnan-Arakan railway line.

Kyaukphyu was the scene of communal violence between Muslims and Buddhists earlier this year. Although calm has been restored, local sources say tensions remain.

Comedians enjoy new-found freedom

Posted: 09 Sep 2013 12:37 AM PDT

As Burma emerges from political isolation there has been an explosion of artistic expression across the country.

Before, there were strict controls on what you could do on stage, but now artists are seeing a relaxation of the rules. Meanwhile, their changing country is providing them with plenty of inspiration.

Burma’s most famous comedian, Zarganar, recently reunited with his troupe, Thee Lay Thee (The Four Fruits), and is enjoying exploring this new-found freedom.

Although he has been jailed four times for criticising the government, Zarganar continues to push the boundaries.

"In our country the military automatically occupy 25 percent of the seats in parliament. So I would like to ask the president to give our comedians 25 percent of the seats too!" he jests.

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Zarganar's work has always had a political edge and his new project is a dance routine that was choreographed in response to the ongoing civil wars and ethnic conflicts raging across the country. The comedian chose dancers from all different backgrounds.

"They must be Christian, Muslim, Buddhist and Hindu so we can say there is unity in diversity," Zarganar says, adding that this concept is important for the country’s nascent democracy.

Comedian Kye Thee is also a member of Thee Lay Thee. He recently returned to Rangoon after several years in exile in Thailand.

"As a comedian I have a duty to say what I think,” he says. “I don't care if I am arrested for it. Maybe one day they will come and arrest me, but I can't predict what is going to happen in the future.”

With a grin, he adds: "Comedians are better than politicians because people listen to us."

Zarganar recognizes that the country’s democratic transition is still in its infancy and that the reform process will take time.

"Now we have just a little bit of freedom in our country, not full freedom,” he says. “Our country is now only two years old, so it is just taking baby steps.”

Chicken soup, but not for the soul

Posted: 08 Sep 2013 11:27 PM PDT

Nearly 20 Buddhist devotees who ate chicken and glass-noodle soup before fasting at a local monastery in Irrawaddy division were hospitalised with food poisoning on 4 September.

Nu Nu Tin, treated as an out-patient at the hospital in the town of Duya, said she and around 150 others experienced diarrhoea shortly after eating the chicken soup. Then some began vomiting and several fainted, she said.

"We ate before noon, but began feeling ill about an hour later," she said. "It went on throughout the night."

By Friday, 6 September, 19 patients had been admitted to the local hospital. One of them, a 90-year-old woman, was transferred to the Henzada District Hospital which is better equipped.

A doctor at Duya Hospital told DVB at the weekend that most of the victims have been treated and have recovered, and that health officials are investigating the cause of the incident.

"We assume it could be passed on from an animal but are conducting an thorough investigation. We will have an answer soon," said Dr Wai Linn Shein.
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