Democratic Voice of Burma |
- Quintana accuses Meikthila police of failing to protect his convoy
- Burma’s lower house to discuss amending electronics law
- Teacher forced to retire after attending 8-8-88 ceremony
- Thousands hit by flooding in Arakan state
- Graffiti artist invited to leave his mark in Naypyidaw
- The ability of the disabled
- Indonesian anti-terror unit arrests Burmese embassy plot suspects
- Irrawaddy Dolphins under threat from ‘electrofishing’
| Quintana accuses Meikthila police of failing to protect his convoy Posted: 21 Aug 2013 08:43 AM PDT The UN’s rights envoy on Burma Wednesday slammed the nation’s government for failing to protect him when his convoy came under attack in a town reeling from religious unrest. “The state has to protect me as a responsibility… This did not happen. The state failed to protect me,” Tomas Ojea Quintan, the United Nations special rapporteur on human rights, told reporters at the end of his 10 day visit to the country. No one is thought to have been injured in the incident, which occurred on August 19 in the town of Meiktila, central Burma, where anti-Muslim violence in March left at least 44 dead. In a statement the UN envoy said his vehicle “was descended upon by a crowd of around 200 people who proceeded to punch and kick the windows and doors of the car while shouting abuse”. He said the incident forced him to abandon plans to visit a local camp, where some 1,600 displaced Muslims are sheltering. “The fear that I felt during this incident, being left totally unprotected by the nearby police, gave me an insight into the fear residents would have felt when being chased down by violent mobs during the violence last March,” he said. He reiterated reports of security forces failing to stop the March unrest, saying “police allegedly stood by as angry mobs beat, stabbed and burned” their victims to death. Related StoriesAttacks against Muslims — who make up an estimated four percent of Burma’s population — have exposed deep fractures in the Buddhist-majority nation and cast a shadow over its emergence from army rule. The watchdog Physicians for Human Rights on Tuesday warned that Burma risked “catastrophic” levels of conflict, including “potential crimes against humanity and/or genocide” if authorities failed to stem anti-Muslim hate speech and a culture of impunity around the clashes. Riots in Meiktila, sparked by an argument in a gold shop and the brutal murder of a Buddhist monk, saw Buddhist mobs torch whole Muslim areas in violence that spread to other parts of the country. The victims included more than 20 students and teachers of a Muslim school on the outskirts of Meiktila, who were set upon by armed men and beaten and burned to death, according to witnesses interviewed by AFP. Graphic video footage given to AFP by activists shows an embankment next to the school turned into a killing ground, watched over by uniformed police. After the March violence, Quintana said the reluctance of security forces to crack down on the unrest suggested a possible state link to the fighting — a claim rejected by the government. The unrest followed two outbreaks of conflict in western Rakhine state in June and October last year that left around 200 people dead, mainly Rohingya Muslims who are seen by many in Burma as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. A sense of deep distrust between Muslims, Buddhists and the security forces pervades the state, which Quintana visited at the start of his trip. At least one person was killed and around 10 injured earlier this month in a violent clash in a camp for dispossessed Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine that broke out just days before Quintana toured the area. In June, five Muslims including three Rohingya women were killed by security forces who opened fire during disputes in two separate incidents in camps in Rakhine. |
| Burma’s lower house to discuss amending electronics law Posted: 21 Aug 2013 05:55 AM PDT Burma's lower house of parliament has agreed to debate a proposal by MP Thein Nyunt to amend the controversial Electronic Transactions Law. The current law dates from 2004 but critics claim it reflects Burma's decades of military dictatorship and extreme censorship as it has been used in the past to silence critics of the government including activists and bloggers. The Electronics Act currently allows for sentences of up to 15 years for "acts using electronic transactions technology" deemed "detrimental to the security of the state or prevalence of law and order or community peace and tranquility or national solidarity or national economy or national culture." Speaking to DVB after Wednesday's parliamentary session in Burma's remote capital, Naypyidaw, Thein Nyunt said punishments for violations of the law are too severe and are often politically motivated. "The law is too wide, and as a result severe punishments are handed down to opposition politicians, student leaders, and many other victims," he said. Related StoriesIn January, New National Democracy Party MP Thein Nyunt proposed the abolition of the Electronic Transactions Law during the sixth session of parliament, but the motion was denied. 88 Generation Students leader Jimmy, who was originally sentenced to 60 years under the Electronics Act, said on Wednesday that the law must be abolished. "Article 33(a) carries a maximum sentence of 15 years," he said. "I was given 60 years simply for sending four emails while campaigning for democracy." |
| Teacher forced to retire after attending 8-8-88 ceremony Posted: 21 Aug 2013 05:14 AM PDT A Naypyidaw schoolteacher has alleged that the Ministry of Education forced her to retire after she attended the 25th anniversary ceremony for the 8-8-88 student uprising. Speaking to DVB, Soe Soe Khaing said she was forced into retirement for three reasons: having contact with a political organisation; taking leave without permission; and travelling a long distance without informing the headmaster. "I don't want any other employee to have to go through this," said Soe Soe Khaing, a high school teacher from Zabuthiri township with 18 years' experience. Soe Soe Khaing joined with thousands of other people from across Burma on 8 August by observing a commemoration ceremony in Rangoon for the victims of a bloody military crackdown in 1988 when hundreds, some say thousands, of protestors were killed. However, Wai Lin Oo, a representative of the Ministry of Education, denied the decision to give the teacher retirement was related to the 8-8-88 "Silver Jubilee" in Rangoon. "We were concerned because she took leave without permission," he said. "How can she just disappear when she is supposed to be on duty?" But Mya Aye, an 88 Generation Students group leader, sided with the teacher and said that the ministry's decision was "ugly". "Forcing a schoolteacher into retirement due to the fact that she attended the Silver Jubilee ceremony was a very ugly thing to do and certainly inappropriate," he said. "The 8-8-88 ceremony was not held by any one political party but was a momentous occasion in Burmese history that drew together people from all over the country." |
| Thousands hit by flooding in Arakan state Posted: 21 Aug 2013 04:22 AM PDT Some 4,000 people have been directly affected by floods in Sandoway, a coastal township in western Burma. Residents and township administrators told DVB that the River Sandoway had overflowed, flooding the downtown area on Monday, but said that no casualties had been reported. Township administrator Kyaw Soe Lin said that the local authorities had set up six emergency relief camps. "Only four camps are now open," he said on Wednesday. "The other two were closed after the residents were able to return to their homes. "The mountain streams brought the water down, but the tide has now ebbed," he said. Related StoriesNational League for Democracy district secretary Win Naing told DVB that rations were being distributed to flood victims by boat. One Sandoway shopkeeper said that in his street the flood was about three feet high. Sandoway has experienced flooding regularly at this time of the year as the monsoon works its way eastward across Asia. The years 2004, 2007 and 2011 were particularly severe, residents said. Some locals blamed the recurring floods on a poor drainage system and a systematic destruction of the environment. |
| Graffiti artist invited to leave his mark in Naypyidaw Posted: 21 Aug 2013 03:33 AM PDT The Burmese Minister of Sports has invited graffiti artist Arkar Kyaw – who became an overnight hit in November last year when he painted a mural of US President Barack Obama ahead of his landmark trip to Burma – to ply his trade in Naypyidaw as part of a promotion for the upcoming Southeast Asian (SEA) Games. Burma will host the 27th SEA Games at stadiums and venues in Rangoon, Mandalay, Naypyidaw and Ngwe Saung from 11 to 22 December. Speaking to DVB on Tuesday, the director of the Sports and Physical Education Department, Htay Aung, said Arkar Kyaw has been invited to paint a mural at a site near Center Market in the capital. "The sports minister would like Arkar Kyaw to paint something related to the SEA Games in the central part of the city," he said. "We will set up a huge billboard for him. We just need to get permission from Naypyidaw council." Arkar Kyaw will be offered to spray-paint a billboard 18 feet high and 60 feet long. Htay Aung said the ministry would not rule out the possibility of further contracts for the urban artist if his work is met with approval. The Rangoon-based graffiti artist confirmed that he has already met with a sports department official. He told DVB that he does not know the exact details of the proposal but said he would be happy to oblige. In recent years, as Burma emerges from decades of military rule, more and more graffiti artists' works have appeared on walls and at sites around Rangoon. One artist who spoke previously to DVB estimated that no less than 100 graffiti artists regularly took to the streets to offer their own brand of colour to the former colonial capital. However, Yangon City Development Committee last year declared a prohibition of any form of drawing or painting on public places including schools and parks. Arkar Kyaw was fined for US$100 for painting a portrait of President Thein Sein on his birthday. He also painted a mural of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi on her 68th birthday.
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| Posted: 21 Aug 2013 03:08 AM PDT Nearly 10 percent of all disabled people in Burma are currently attending high school, but their chances of getting jobs when they leave are slim, according to a 2012 report by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency. For those living with a physical, visual or mental impairment, work is difficult to find, and the chance to lead independent lives is nearly impossible. Bo Htun has used a wheelchair since he was a child when nerve damage in his legs left him paralysed. Determined to remain self-reliant, he took to the streets of Rangoon in a modified wheelchair where he made a living repairing umbrellas. "I wanted to earn a living on my own," he said. "I don't make much money but I am satisfied with my daily earnings. Now my wife and I live freely and happily." But most Burmese children with disabilities are not so fortunate or self-sufficient. Many lack basic literacy skills, and only a small fraction complete formal education and go on to find employment. Hta Uke, the founder of the Eden Centre for Disabled Children, believes education is vital for handicapped children, and has called for the government to introduce a disability rights law. "It is very important that disabled children go to school and have equal rights," he said. "Their lives are just as valuable as anyone else's, and they strive to be of great help to their communities." Unless effective action is taken by the government to improve opportunities for people with disabilities, many more will struggle to retain their independence.
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| Indonesian anti-terror unit arrests Burmese embassy plot suspects Posted: 20 Aug 2013 10:21 PM PDT Indonesian anti-terrorism police arrested five men in Bekasi, West Java, in a raid on Tuesday night targeting an alleged militant group accused of plotting several attacks in the country including a bomb plot against the Burmese embassy in May. Three of the suspects were handed over to local police, according to a report in the Jakarta Globe on Wednesday. However the anti-terrorism squad, known locally as Densus 88, held onto a 32-year-old man suspected of involvement in the foiled plot to bomb Burma's embassy in Jakarta. Police said the suspect was found in possession of ammunition, airsoft guns and explosive materials during a raid on his home. In August, Indonesian security forces arrested the alleged mastermind of the plot. Police foiled the plot on 2 May when they detained two men with a backpack holding five pipe bombs, who had allegedly been planning to launch an attack the following day. Related StoriesAlso on Tuesday, Indonesia hosted a conference aimed at curbing human trafficking in the region. Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister Marty Natalegawa chaired the summit which was attended by representatives from 13 countries. Minister for Home Affairs Ko Ko represented Burma at the conference which also included the participation of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the International Organization for Migration. |
| Irrawaddy Dolphins under threat from ‘electrofishing’ Posted: 20 Aug 2013 09:42 PM PDT The fishermen along the Irrawaddy know each and every dolphin in the river by name. With a rhythmic tapping of wooden sticks on the sides of their boats they let the dolphins know they are about to begin a day’s work. The dolphins round up the fish and signal to the fishermen where the net should be cast. As a reward, they get a cut for themselves. But after years of working side by side with the fishermen, the dolphins are suddenly shying away. “In the past we could rely on the dolphins to make a living”, said San Lwin, who makes a living by fishing in the Irrawaddy river. “Without their assistance we won’t be able to survive.” The explanation is 'electrofishing', which provides high yields for individual fishers at the expense of the natural environment. An electric current is passed through the water, which attracts and then stuns the nearby fish. The method poses a grave threat to the Irrawaddy Dolphins, which often drown when they are exposed to the electric current. Since the dolphins fear the electric currents, they now avoid all human contact. “They think we are the same people who use electric shocks and they become afraid. I would like to continue making a living from the river, so we should put a stop to this electrofishing,” said San Lwin. The Myanmar Tourist Guides Association believes tourism may offer some hope. By partnering up with conservation groups and traditional fishermen, they hope to generate awareness of the fragile state of the Irrawaddy ecology. The head of the organisation, Win Zaw Oo, said the natural environment was under threat. “I have been living along the Irrawaddy for a long time, and what I notice most is the change to the forest. In the past these forests were big enough for rhinos to live there. Now I can’t even see the forest.” The practice of 'electrofishing' is known to have contributed to the extinction of the Yangtzee River Dolphin. No one can say for sure whether the Irrawaddy Dolphins will meet a similar fate as they try to survive in a habitat scarred by electrofishing, gold mining and dam building. |
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