Democratic Voice of Burma

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• 18 luxury chalets burnt down by fireworks at Inle Lake festival
• Horse play
• Shans seek to protest forced recruitments at KIA office
• A Korean soap opera in Burmese football
• US targets Burmese firms for North Korea arms deals
• Constitution review meeting set for 7 January
• Opium production up 26 percent in Burma, says UN

18 luxury chalets burnt down by fireworks at Inle Lake festival Posted: 18 Dec 2013 02:53 AM PST Eighteen floating bungalows at the Inle Khaung Daing Village Resort on the west bank of Inle Lake were burnt down in a blaze caused by fireworks fired from a hot air balloon on 16 December. No casualties were reported. The incident happened during a local pagoda festival at the popular Shan state holiday destination. A staff member from the Hupin Hotel, which oversees the Inle Khaung Daing Village Resort, told DVB that 18 wooden and bamboo bungalows were devastated by a fire at around 9:30 in the evening when the fireworks from the balloon fell on chalet rooftops. Fire engines from nearby Nyaungshwe, Shwenyaung, Aye Tharyar and Taungyi towns were called into to put out the fire. There have been no reports of legal action for damages to the hotel. Related Stories Conservation of Inle Lake is a 'national duty', says Burmese VP Foreign tourists cancel trips to Burma after bombings Burma's beach paradise still safe despite riots, say officials

Horse play Posted: 18 Dec 2013 02:45 AM PST The equestrian competitions of the SEA Games include individual and team events in dressage, endurance and show jumping. The finals in team dressage took place on Friday 13 December. The Burmese team won the silver medal, while the gold went to Indonesia. Aung San Suu Kyi visited Friday's event to watch her own horse Burmese Beauty compete with a Cambodian rider on his back. The granddaughter of the king of Thailand finished 10th in the individual dressage. Related Stories A Korean soap opera in Burmese football Coach’s embarrassing blunder costs Burma the semi-finals Burma's football dream goes up in smoke None of the foreign riders were allowed to bring their own horses to the SEA Games due to quarantine restrictions, which provoked howls of protest from the other ASEAN teams. However, ahead of the event, several competitors said they were happy with the quality of the horses they had been assigned. The show jumping is the last of the equestrian events, with the finals to be held on Wednesday. So far, Burma ranks third in the equestrian medal tally after winning silver medals in the team competitions of all three events.

Shans seek to protest forced recruitments at KIA office Posted: 18 Dec 2013 02:29 AM PST An ethnic Shan group in Kachin state is seeking permission to stage a protest in Myitkyina against the abduction and forced recruitment of Shan people by the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) in the northern Burmese region. Thar Zone, patron of the Shan Ethnic Affairs Organisation (SEAO), said they had applied to hold a demonstration around 20 December in the state capital in front of the KIA’s liaison office. "We submitted an application to the local authorities on 15 December seeking permission to hold a protest," he said. "They promised to respond in 48 hours. If the permission is granted, we will stage the protest on 20 or 21 December.” He said hundreds of Shan residents from Putao, Myitkyina, Waingmaw, Momauk and Mansi townships are expected to join the rally. Related Stories KIA denies abducting Red Shan villagers Peace marchers sentenced to 7 months Ethnic autonomy is the only road to peace, says KIA Saw Win Htun, the general secretary of the Taileng (Red Shan) Nationalities Development Party, said the protesters will be making two demands to the KIA. “We have two main demands: to release some 100 people abducted by the KIA in Mansi township; and to stop collecting extortion money from the villagers," he said. "And we would like both sides in the conflict to ensure incidents like this never again take place." He said that several days ago, the KIA ordered residents from 14 Taileng villages in Mansi township to each send five people to the armed group otherwise the village headmen themselves would be forcibly recruited. The SEAO on 9 December sent a letter to the KIA and government authorities urging them to ensure that the villagers are released and to put an end to forced recruitments. Naw Bo, coordinator of the KIA’s information wing, said the Kachin rebel group had no policy of forcing villagers to recruit and that the KIA was only summoning them to a meeting to discuss local affairs.

A Korean soap opera in Burmese football Posted: 18 Dec 2013 01:34 AM PST Burma has parted company with football coach Park Sung-Hwa following the debacle of losing to Indonesia on Monday night and an admission by the Korean that he had not comprehended that Burma needed to avoid defeat in order to qualify for the semi-finals. The Myanmar Football Federation (MFF) has now announced the dismissal of Park who was reportedly being paid US$50,000- $60,000 per month to manage the men's national team. His firing comes just two weeks ahead of the end of his two-year contract with the Federation. "He [Park] will no longer be Myanmar's football coach although his contract finishes at the end of this month, and he will not enjoy any remuneration for the rest of the contract time. He also accepts the responsibility and has resigned voluntarily [sic]. We will not have anything to do with him anymore," said Soe Moe Kyaw, Burma's Under-23s manager. According to the SEA Games website on Wednesday, the MMF also confirmed rumours that Kyaw Ko Ko, who had been left out of the starting line-up against Indonesia for criticizing Park's techniques, had to plead with the coach to be allowed to play. "The head of the federation urged Kyaw Ko Ko to apologize to him [Park] and then he was allowed to play in the second half," Soe Moe Kyaw is quoted as saying. In an interview with The Irrawaddy, the president of the MFF, Zaw Zaw, said that Park's claim that he was not told about the head-to-head qualification rule was untrue. "The Asian Football Federation, all the coordinators and the translator in team acknowledged the ruling – even the 30,000 audience was aware of it, so it is impossible for the coach to be unaware of it," he told The Irrawaddy. Zaw Zaw went on to say that the South Korean liked to run things his own away and was completely hostile to suggestions and interference from others. "Prior to the match with Indonesia, I personally told him [Park] to treat the match as a final and to prepare as well as possible because football can be unpredictable," the MFF president said. "He responded to me through the translator to ‘rest assured’ that ‘nothing can go wrong'." Related Stories Horse play Coach’s embarrassing blunder costs Burma the semi-finals Burma's football dream goes up in smoke Zaw Zaw has also come out in support of the infuriated Burmese fans who were arrested after going on a rampage following Monday night's disaster. "I am personally making a request to release the fans who were detained in the [rioting] incident which was unintentional. They did it for the love of football. It happened because of national spirit, and I will not be able to sleep as long as they are locked up," he is cited as saying by The Voice Weekly. Zaw Zaw, a charismatic Burmese tycoon, reportedly gave 50,000 kyat (US$50) to eight of the rioters who were detained in the post-match riot; a ninth detainee he gave 100,000 kyat to reimburse his travel costs to Mandalay. Burma's football aficionados will now turn their attention to the women's team which plays in the semi-final of the SEA Games tournament against Thailand on Wednesday night in Mandalay. For the latest on the SEA Games go to: www.27seagames2013.com

US targets Burmese firms for North Korea arms deals Posted: 17 Dec 2013 10:36 PM PST The United States Department of Treasury added three Burmese corporations and a military staff officer to the Specially Designated Nationals List on Monday for their involvement in the arms trade with North Korea. Lt-Col Kyaw Nyunt Oo, Asia Metal Company Ltd, Soe Min Htike Co Ltd and Excellence Mineral Manufacturing Co Ltd have been added to the roster of thousands of individuals and companies that US citizens are forbidden to do business with. The aforementioned companies and officer were found by the treasury to have facilitated the movement of weapons from North Korea to Burma, in violation of the UN Security Council ban. Related Stories Burma and N Korea continue to boost secret military ties: report Burma agrees to let in UN nuclear weapons inspectors US to boost military ties with Burma, but warns of N Korea connection "North Korean weapons officials in Burma have operated several cover or front addresses to receive goods from overseas," read the Treasury's statement, "as recently as June 2013, Soe Min Htike Co. Ltd. and Excellence Mineral were companies working with North Korean officials to import materiel for military weapons programs. As of December 2012, Asia Metal constructed buildings and supplied construction materials on a DDI factory compound where approximately 30 North Koreans were still working." The new sanctions are part of a larger move by the US government to crack down on Burma's Directorate of Defence Industries (DDI), which is known to have purchased military equipment and materials from North Korea. David S. Cohen, Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, said in the Treasury's press statement: "The revenues from these continuing military sales directly support North Korea's illicit activities. We will continue to target this activity in Burma, and the region, as we work with our international partners to shut down North Korea's dangerous and destabilizing weapons proliferation." In September, a report by NK News accused the Burmese government of colluding with the North Korean military in establishing several front operations and using fake flags on ships to illicitly transport arms from Pyongyang to Rangoon, despite President Thein Sein's promises to both the US government and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak that Burma will stop buying weapons from the notorious North Korean regime. The US Treasury has been rigorously targeting the DDI, having placed several individuals and companies to the SDN list since Burma's regime change in 2011. Lt. General Thein Htay, who was accused of defying the government's stated support for the UN ban on North Korean weapon exports, was added to the list in July 2013, though the government promptly and publicly denied the allegations.

Constitution review meeting set for 7 January Posted: 17 Dec 2013 10:09 PM PST The Burmese parliamentary Joint-Committee for Reviewing the Constitution (JCRC) said it will meet on 7 January to "process and discuss" the suggestions and proposals it has received regarding amending the 2008 constitution. The JCRC recently announced that it had received over 400 letters from political parties, organisations and individuals with 2,512 suggestions, nearly 600 of which voiced recommendations for amendments to articles in the constitution’s Chapter One: Basic Principles of the Union. The deadline to send in suggestions is 31 December. The ruling USDP, opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) and the military are yet to send in suggestions. The ninth session of the Burma parliament is scheduled to start in the second week of January when it will also table debate on constitutional reform. Related Stories Suu Kyi says constitutional reform will unify military and people Constitutional reform begins at Chapter One NLD delegation departs for China On Sunday, NLD chairperson Aung San Suu Kyi gave the clearest indication to date that she is prepared to call for a boycott of the 2015 election if amendments are not made to the constitution. Speaking to thousands of supporters at a rally in Thayarwaddy Township, Pegu Division, Suu Kyi said, "I believe that there are people who have dignity in the army and [other] political parties or organizations. Those who have dignity should not join the 2015 elections unless there is an amendment to the constitution. There will be no fair elections with the current constitution." Suu Kyi has been specifically campaigning for the removal of a clause lifted which prevents her running for the presidency due to the fact that she was married to a foreigner and has two children who hold foreign citizenship. Meanwhile, the 88 Generation Peace and Open Society (88POS) said they will list some suggestions to the JCRC including amendments related to the principles of federalism. Spokesman Jimmy told DVB on Tuesday that the 88GPOS was preparing to send a letter to the JCRC in the third week of December. “Our suggestions are mainly based around three key points: that the constitution should be susceptible to amendments; that power is decentralised with a focus on federalism; and that such a structure should be dominated by elected parliamentary representatives,” he said. “We never accepted the 2008 constitution," he said. "We boycotted its referendum and likewise we will support efforts by anyone to amend it and to promote democracy, human rights, national reconciliation, peace and equal ethnic rights.”

Opium production up 26 percent in Burma, says UN Posted: 17 Dec 2013 09:13 PM PST Opium production in Burma increased 26 percent in 2013 to an estimated 870 tonnes, the highest since assessments by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) began cooperating with the Burmese government in 2002. According to a UNODC report released on Wednesday, the 26 percent increase is linked to an expansion of areas in northern Burma under cultivation – from an estimated 51,000 hectares (510 sq.km) in 2012 to 57,800 hectares this year. The report said that 92 percent of opium poppy cultivation in Burma takes place in Shan state, with the rest located mainly in Kachin state. Shan state is home to several armed groups who have been linked to the drugs trade for many years. UNODC said that the Golden Triangle area encompassing the mountainous borders of Laos, Burma and Thailand accounts for 18 percent of global opium production, second only to Afghanistan. "These figures make clear that we need to step up efforts to address the root causes of cultivation and promote alternatives to poppy growing," said Jeremy Douglas, UNODC Regional Representative of Southeast Asia and the Pacific. "We need to act quickly. The Golden Triangle is the geographic centre of the Greater Mekong Sub-region, and plans are well underway to expand transport and infrastructure and lower trade barriers and border controls across the region. The organized criminal networks that benefit from Southeast Asia's illicit drug trade are well positioned to take advantage of regional integration." Related Stories Wind and rain ravage Shan state Bangkok protests delay pardon for Burmese inmates, says ambassador Burma’s uphill struggle against escalating drug use The UN report said that the resurgence in cultivation and production may be fueled by a rise in demand for opiates in local and regional markets. DVB reported on 3 December that an increasing number of young Burmese are becoming drug addicts, and that the drug of choice is known as "formula" – a cocktail of cough medicine and opium that is taken as a drink. "Our survey shows a strong link between poverty and poppy cultivation," said  Jason Eligh, UNODC Myanmar Country Manager. "Opium farmers are not bad people, they are poor people. Money made from poppy cultivation is an essential part of family income. In poppy growing villages, significantly more households are in debt and food insecure than in non-poppy growing villages. "Villagers threatened with food insecurity and poverty need sustainable economic alternatives or they will continue, out of desperation, to grow opium as a cash crop," he added. In October, Burmese police announced they had arrested a man with 133 kilos (293 pounds) of heroin worth US$2 million at local prices – the country's biggest seizure of the drug this year.

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