Democratic Voice of Burma

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• Goenka’s ashes scattered on Rangoon River
• Burma’s beach paradise still safe despite riots, say officials
• Thai govt urges Burma to speed up Tasang dam project
• Burma’s half-hearted attempt to stop anti-Muslim pogroms

Goenka’s ashes scattered on Rangoon River Posted: 09 Oct 2013 02:42 AM PDT Satya Narayan Goenka (30 January 1924—29 September 2013) The ashes of Satya Narayan Goenka were scattered in the Rangoon River on Tuesday. Indian-Burmese meditation guru Goenka, 90, passed away at his home in Mumbai on the evening of 29 September.  His body was cremated on 1 October in India but his ashes were brought back to the country of his birth. Goenka was born in 1924 in Mandalay. Goenka built pagodas, temples and meditation centres in India, Burma and Thailand and devoted his life to the spread of Vipassana meditation. Accompanied by about 800 followers, he travelled the world every year, including visits to prisons, to teach Vipassana to thousands.

Burma’s beach paradise still safe despite riots, say officials Posted: 08 Oct 2013 10:39 PM PDT The Arakan state government has assured foreign tourists it is safe to travel to Ngapali beach in Sandoway [Thandwe] township despite an outbreak of communal violence in nearby villages that left five people dead last week. A state government official who did not wish to be named told DVB that "not a single drop of tourist blood" would be spilled in Ngapali as there is a tight security presence in the area. Concerns have been raised after four days of mob violence between local Muslims and Buddhists left five dead, five injured and about 70 homes destroyed. However, calm has since been restored in the area and no further reports of violence have surfaced. On Wednesday morning, a staff member at a hotel resort in Ngapali confirmed that a curfew imposed after the riots had been lifted on Tuesday night in the hotel zone and beach area, though a 6pm to 6am restriction on movement was still in place in the main Sandoway district. Embassies in Rangoon have not issued any warnings to foreigners about travelling to Ngapali as the popular beach resort prepares for its high season starting in October running through to February. Kyaw Swa Maung Maung, manager of the Amazing Ngapali Hotel, said tourists can rest assured. "The Ngapali beach hotel zone is located some five miles from Sandoway town and the villages where mob violence occurred, and there are two army battalions based nearby to provide additional security," he said. Related Stories 45 detained in connection with Sandoway riots President Thein Sein blames 'outsiders' for Sandoway riots Political party leader detained in connection with Sandoway riots

Thai govt urges Burma to speed up Tasang dam project Posted: 08 Oct 2013 10:27 PM PDT Thailand's Energy Minister Pongsak Raktapongpaisal has urged his Burmese counterpart to speed up the US$12-billion Tasang hydroelectric dam project as part of Thailand’s target to buy 10,000 megawatts of electricity from the neighbouring country. Located on the upper part of the Salween River, the project is expected to have a capacity of 7,000 MW and will take 12 years to construct, he said. “We’re waiting for the Burmese government to make a clear decision on this project. So far, no definite decision has been made about whether to proceed with the Mai Tong or the Tasang dam,” said Mr Pongsak. Related Stories India-backed dam 'to displace 45,000' Govt could reconsider Myitsone dam Children become latest victims of conflict in Kachin State If the Burmese government gives the go-ahead, Mr Pongsak will instruct the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat) to speed up talks with potential Chinese and Burmese partners to prepare the power purchase agreement for parliament consideration. Thailand expects to hold 30 percent in the Tasang dam in the joint venture with Sinohydro Corporation and the China Three Gorges Corporation, both from China. Taking into account an environmental impact assessment and community protection plan, this massive project will take 12 years to develop. Mr Pongsak said a project for a coal-fired power plant in Dawei is awaiting the Burmese government’s joint investment law to develop Dawei as a special economic zone. The law will require endorsement by Burma’s parliament. “Thailand is planning to buy 10,000 MW of electricity from Burma comprising 7,000 from the Mai Tong project and 3,000 from the power plant in Dawei,” Mr Pongsak said. “The cooperation is to the mutual benefit of both countries. Burma is going through major reforms and needs electricity for development.” Thailand’s power consumption is growing considerably. Hydropower and coal-fired power plants generate electricity at low cost and are part of the ASEAN Smart Grid Initiative for transporting power in the region to wherever there is demand, Mr Pongsak said. Egat’s subsidiaries will be joint-venture partners in the two projects. Electricity Generating Plc will take part in the Dawei project, while Ratchaburi Electricity Generating Holding Plc will invest in the Mai Tong dam. This article was first published in the Bangkok Post on 9 October 2013.

Burma’s half-hearted attempt to stop anti-Muslim pogroms Posted: 08 Oct 2013 08:12 PM PDT The vicious stabbing to death of a 94-year-old Muslim woman in Arakan state marks a new low in Burma's shameful communal tensions. It should place President Thein Sein in a tight predicament as he put his international reputation on the line by promising a "zero-tolerance approach" to ethnic violence during a high-profile tour of Europe in July at a time when he was openly courting European investment and the lifting of the remaining sanctions on his country. His words were echoed on 30 September by Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin speaking at the UN in the wake of riots in villages around Sandoway where five people were killed and at least 70 homes were burnt down by mobs which the president claimed were instigated by "outsiders". Alas it is a scene all too familiar in Burma in recent months: an innocuous personal argument between two locals—one Muslim and one Buddhist—leading to a huge mob forming to attack the Muslim residents and burn down their homes. The attacks follow a consistent pattern and are clearly well organised. Anti-Muslim mobs now seem to be sitting in the wings in various parts of the country, waiting for the call. These thugs are allowed to travel in and out of villages with impunity armed with clubs and machetes. Local Muslims report being forcibly disarmed by the authorities and promised protection before a crowd of Buddhists torched their homes while the police looked on with indifference. The unwillingness of the police to form roadblocks or otherwise prevent these hooligans from entering towns to attack Muslims is a failure of duty so large it either represents support for the mob violence, suggests collusion on behalf of the security forces' superiors or incompetence within the police hierarchy on a grand scale. Although we as media often write that "calm has been restored" following a night of anti-Muslim pogroms, a closer look at these incidents suggests strongly that the rioters in each case simply decided to return home unimpeded; the police did not move in to prevent the savagery. Last week Thein Sein emphasised: "The most important thing is we shouldn't allow these things to happen again." However, it is becoming increasingly evident that an anti-Muslim infrastructure has been organised in many areas around the country. Some say the 969 group are behind it. Many would conclude that the Rakhine Nationalities Development Party and their allies are playing the nationalist card in Arakan state to unsettle a fragile society, while others continue to point the finger at disgruntled factions of the military. Perhaps the reality is a mixture of all these elements and more. In any case, it seems clear the racist organisers will continue campaigning, recruiting violent thugs, and enflaming religious hatred as long as they can. Related Stories Political party leader detained in connection with Sandoway riots Terrified Muslims hiding in forests: AP Four anti-Muslim rioters sentenced in Kantbalu If the Burmese government was truly united in its goal of ending this communal conflict, then it would have cracked down on culpable officers within its security forces many months ago, and against organisations and political parties whose agenda is transparently to abuse, terrorise, segregate or exile Muslim minorities from their communities. But no attempt has been made to identify who pulls the strings in this tragic episode which has tainted Burma's march toward reform and democracy. In fact, while paying lip service to the international community about equality and "zero tolerance", the president and his senior ministers continue to talk out the other side of their mouths when addressing Burman and Arakanese Buddhist audiences. In June, Thein Sein memorably described anti-Muslim icon Wirathu as a "son of Buddha" and a "noble person" committed to peace. And only last week parliamentary speaker Shwe Mann was quoted by the Myanmar Times praising the ethnic Rakhine people – i.e. Arakanese Buddhists – for "safeguarding Burma's western border". Speaking some days after Arakanese Buddhist leaders had called for the formation of a people's militia to protect the country from illegal immigrants, Shwe Mann's comments can be interpreted as nothing less than an endorsement of the vigilante mobs who have wreaked terror on Rohingya and Kaman Muslim villages over the last 16 months. In short, no evidence exists that the Thein Sein government is willing to make an attempt to curb the anti-Muslim sentiment in the country. This weekend another attack flared in Kyaung Gone near Rangoon after the alleged rape of a Buddhist girl by a Muslim man. In other words, every village or town where a sizeable Muslim minority lives remains a ticking time bomb. It is only a matter of time before a personal argument spirals into yet another bloodbath while the police sit on their hands and central government officials continue talking out both sides of their mouths.

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