Democratic Voice of Burma

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• Peace marchers sentenced to 7 months
• US considers limited engagement with Burmese military
• Rangoon University reopens its gates to undergrads
• Mandalay villagers fall ill from contaminated lake
• 14 Rohingyas sentenced for killing Buddhists in Indonesia

Peace marchers sentenced to 7 months Posted: 05 Dec 2013 03:56 AM PST Two activists who led an 800-mile march against northern Burma's civil war earlier this year have each been sentenced to seven months in prison under Burma's increasingly contentious Article-18 for involvement in unauthorised demonstrations. Yan Naing Htun and Aung Min Naing organised a march from Rangoon to Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO) headquarters in Burma's northern town of Laiza, a trek that took almost two months and ended when a group of about 50 protesters arrived in the rebel stronghold on 13 March, greeted by over 100 supporters.   The two activists faced seven separate charges racked up along the way, having been stopped by authorities at several points along the route, including in Pegu, where they were stopped for holding flags while marching. On 5 December, a district-level court in Rangoon's Hlaing township ordered them to either pay a fine of 70,000 kyat or serve one month in prison for each count of the charges, which were filed by police in seven different townships. The two refused to pay, asserting that they did not commit a crime, according to fellow activist Zin Ko Ko, also present at the march. "We see that there is no distinction between the judiciary and executive branch," he said. The march was held in response to the Burmese army offensive launched against the Kachin Independence Army late last year after a 17-year ceasefire between the two sides broke down in June 2011. While sporadic conflict is ongoing, the two armies are involved in ongoing peace negotiations aimed at an eventual nationwide ceasefire. Burma's contentious Article 18 – the Peaceful Assembly and Peaceful Processions Law – has been decried in recent weeks as a government tool for criminalizing dissent.  Related Stories Funeral rites for land grab protestors in Michaungkan Activists convicted under Article 18 in Rangoon, Pegu Tawwin factory workers convicted under Article 18

US considers limited engagement with Burmese military Posted: 05 Dec 2013 03:02 AM PST The Obama administration faced strong bipartisan opposition on Wednesday to plans for limited US engagement with Burma’s powerful military due to concerns over human rights and its lingering ties with North Korea. Senior US administration officials called for congressional support for non-lethal assistance to the military, such as training on human rights. But both Republicans and Democrats were skeptical about the military’s willingness to reform, saying abuses against ethnic and religious minorities persist in the country, officially known as Myanmar, and the military remains involved in weapons deals with North Korea against UN sanctions. “I personally don’t believe that the Burmese military needs to be trained to stop killing and raping and stealing lands from people within their own country,” Democratic Rep. Joe Crowley of New York told a hearing of a House panel that oversees US foreign policy toward East Asia. Republican panel chairman, Rep. Steve Chabot of Ohio, also said the administration was being too hasty to engage with the military, and that the US risks losing its remaining leverage to encourage further reforms. Related Stories Incorporate child soldiers issue into ceasefire agreement I'm a politician, not a saint, says Suu Kyi Allow Rohingyas citizenship, UN tells Burma The introduction of democracy after five decades of repressive military rule has ended Burma’s diplomatic isolation and seen a rapid easing of sanctions by the US and other Western nations. Some 1,100 political prisoners have been freed and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who spent years under house arrest, has been elected to parliament. But in the past 18 months, a bloody upsurge in sectarian violence that security forces have failed to stop against minority Muslims has displaced more than 200,000 people and cast a shadow over the country’s move towards democracy. While there is now a nominally civilian government, the military remains a critical force with an effective veto on constitutional reforms. Its troops continue to clash with ethnic armed groups despite nascent peace talks. Senior US defense official Vikram Singh said there have been initial contacts between the US and Burmese militaries, including discussions on military law, but current sanctions prevent a formal training program. He said engagement was an opportunity to shape the military’s outlook and dilute its reliance on old partners and arms suppliers, like China. “Burma is finding itself having, for the first time in many years, to actually figure out where it wants to place its bets, where it wants to put its cards, who it wants to deal with,” Singh said. “We want to shape the kind of choices that Burma makes.” Judith Cefkin, the State Department’s senior adviser on Burma, said that some officers have a vested interest in the military’s continued involvement in the nation’s economy and politics, but that “carefully calibrated military-to-military engagement to share lessons on how militaries operate in a democratic framework will strengthen the hand of reformers.” Chabot, however, said Burma’s military leaders have not demonstrated a sincere interest in reforms and the government of President Thein Sein has not fulfilled promises to allowing international humanitarian access to conflict areas and end illicit weapons deals with North Korea. Republican Rep. Trent Franks called the Burmese military “one of the worst oppressors of human rights in recent history”, and said it should meet clear benchmarks before any sanctions are lifted. Singh, who acknowledged Burma had yet to sever its military ties with North Korea, said a normalization of US- Burma military relations would require fundamental reforms and was likely years away. Cefkin said assistance being proposed now for the Burmese military would provide “nothing to enhance their tactical warfighting capability.” Crowley wasn’t reassured. He said to begin even a non-lethal US training program would offer the military a public relations victory. “I’m concerned our military-to-military [engagement] is moving too quickly because they feed off this prestige. I want us, visually and in reality, to slow this down,” he said.

Rangoon University reopens its gates to undergrads Posted: 05 Dec 2013 01:13 AM PST Rangoon University reopened for a new term on Thursday, but this time with undergraduates attending classes in antiquated classrooms for the first time since 1996. The university has been at the centre of civil discontent throughout its history. When US President Barack Obama delivered a speech here over a year ago, he stood in the same place where the nationalist movement to end British rule once began. It was also here that independence hero Aung Sang and UN Secretary-General U Thant received their degrees. In 1988 it was students, many of whom studied at Rangoon University, who took to the streets to demand democracy. They were quickly joined by tens of thousands of other Rangoonites, but the subsequent crackdown on protestors left hundreds dead; many were more captured and jailed in the witch-hunt that followed. Related Stories Karen language proposal gets green light in Tenasserim DVB Debate: Is now the time for education reform? Burma to survey discrimination against children with HIV The university was closed down and the gates were padlocked. For years it lay fallow, overgrown with weeds, and littered with dust and cobwebs. It was reopened sporadically over the years but would never again hold 60,000 students as in decades gone by. It took in graduate students but has never offered undergraduate courses until now. In fact only 1,000 students have been accepted for this term – 50 for each of the 20 disciplines. One new student, Myo Myint Tun, told DVB when he was accepted in August that studying at the prestigious institution had been his dream for years. While Burma was under military rule, just 1.3 percent of the country's budget was spent on education, compared to 25 percent for defense. However, since President Thein Sein took office, spending on education has increased from US$340 million in 2011 to $1 billion this year.

Mandalay villagers fall ill from contaminated lake Posted: 05 Dec 2013 12:58 AM PST The use of pesticides for fishing in Mandalay division's Thabyaw lake is contaminating the freshwater supply for local villagers in Sintgu township. The residents of Kyauknganwar village rely on the lake for drinking water and domestic use, but many are becoming ill with hepatitis and diarrhoea. Village resident, Nyunt Thu, said hepatitis is now common among the villagers. "I have it and many other people do too," he said. "Doctors warned us that drinking contaminated water could be the main cause." In 2004, the township's governing body built a driven-well in the village but it did not produce enough water for the 800 people who rely on it – due to an underground layer of rock. Local resident, Ohn Lwin, said neither the lake water or well-water supply were adequate to accommodate the village. Related Stories Three injured after motorbike explodes near military academy Clean water delivery for Burma Asian alarm at deadly hepatitis spread "The groundwater is not as good as the lake-water as it tends to get condensation when boiled," he said. "It's not good to drink and it makes the rice turn yellow when cooked. And when we boil the lake-water, it produces fumes and a bad smell." Recently, the charity We Love Monywa brought a team of medics to the village to provide free healthcare to the village. The group's doctor urged the township authorities and health officials to inspect the lake and help the residents get access to clean drinking water. The presiding doctor on the team, Dr Thiha, said the villagers urgently needed a clean water supply. "The villagers are suffering from long-term health problems such as diarrhoea, enlarged liver and hepatitis, according to specialist doctors. So it is vital to provide the villagers access to clean water." The residents believe the well can be improved with modern drilling machines that are able to penetrate the rock layer. They have called on sympathisers to help raise funds for the drill but until they make enough money, they still run the risk of becoming ill from drinking unsafe water.

14 Rohingyas sentenced for killing Buddhists in Indonesia Posted: 04 Dec 2013 08:40 PM PST An Indonesian court on Wednesday jailed 14 Muslim Rohingya men from Burma for nine months each for bludgeoning eight Buddhists from their country to death in an Indonesian detention centre. The Rohingya asylum-seekers in April killed the Buddhist men, who had been detained for illegally fishing in Indonesian waters, as sectarian tensions in their home country flared. The Rohingyas, aged 18 to 37, accused the fishermen of sexually harassing two Rohingya women and said the Buddhists started the violence in the detention centre, in the port town of Belawan near Medan city on Sumatra island. "The defendants have been proven legally and convincingly guilty of working together to blatantly carry out violence, which resulted in the loss of human lives," chief judge Aksir told the Medan district court. "We sentenced them to nine months in prison," he said. Related Stories RNDP Chairman, 10 others released on bail How can Burma halt the spread of religious violence? Allow Rohingyas citizenship, UN tells Burma The sentence was lighter than the two-year term sought by prosecutors and the maximum penalty for violence resulting in death, which is 12 years. The men, along with 100 Indonesian Muslim supporters, chanted "Allahu Akbar" in the court room after the light sentences were handed down. According to court documents, a fisherman had tried to stab one of the Rohingya men, who retaliated by hitting him with a broomstick. Also on trial in Indonesia, Sigit Indrajid, 23, testified that he led a group of Islamic extremists that networked over Facebook in a plan to attack the Burmese embassy in Jakarta in May. According to local press, he confessed to being the mastermind on Thursday, saying he was “still at war” with anyone oppressing Muslims. The group said it wanted to avenge the harsh treatment of Rohingya in Burma – an issue that has resonated widely in Indonesia, the world’s biggest Muslim-majority nation.

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