Monday, November 11, 2013

Democratic Voice of Burma

Democratic Voice of Burma

Tavoy farmers demand return of lands seized in 1990

Posted: 11 Nov 2013 05:09 AM PST

Local farmers in the Tenasserim division coastal town of Tavoy staged a protest on Monday morning demanding a return of farmlands confiscated by the military and associate companies in 1990, allegedly without the landowners' knowledge in many cases.

More than 100 farmers, supported by hundreds of other residents of Tavoy, officially known as Dawei, marched around the town chanting for the return of their lands, and demanding that they be allowed to register as landholders and that construction projects currently in progress on said lands are suspended.

"We are protesting because we want our land back," said Tavoy farmer Tun Tun Win. "I had about 14 acres of land confiscated, and altogether in Tavoy, there are around 300 acres of farmland confiscated from some 60 farmers."

Yi Yi Htay, another farmer, said she was joining the rally after an application to register her farmland had been rejected.

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"For decades we had been working on our land every day and had paid tax up to year 2011," she told DVB. "But when I applied to register the land under the nationwide land registration scheme in 2012, my application was rejected under the claim that the land in question was confiscated back in 1990.

"We never even knew about this land seizure back in 1990," she said.

Than Win, a spokesperson for the farmers, urged the authorities to negotiate.

"The concerned authorities should suspend construction projects on the land in dispute," he said. "They must also provide compensation to the landowners if buildings have already been completed, and allow them to register as the genuine holders of the land that has been left unused."

Than Win added that the farmers will continue protesting until their demands are met.

However, according to Kyaw Swe, the Tavoy district government administrative director, the government authorities have already provided compensation for the confiscated plots of land.

"The authorities already paid compensation," he said. "A 40 x 60ft plot was valued at 10 million kyat [US$10,000] when the land was confiscated, and this money was paid to about 30 farmers. Now there are just 24 remaining to be accept the offer. We can compensate them in accordance with the new Land Law adopted in August 2012."

He added that when the land was seized in 1990, none of the framers made any complaint.

Monday's protest originated from a confrontation at the end of October when officials ordered fences built around several farms in Tavoy's Sanche ward and started dumping soil on the farmers' rice fields which at the time were waiting to be harvested.

There are around 40,000 acres of farmland and more than 3,000 farmers in Tavoy township.

Land prices in the area have greatly escalated as plans continue for the construction of a special economic zone (SEZ) featuring factories, power stations and a sea-port in Tavoy, backed by the Thai and Burmese governments. The SEZ will include a highway linking Tavoy to Bangkok.

Electric Power Minister promises to review price hike

Posted: 11 Nov 2013 04:24 AM PST

Speaking at a meeting with political parties at the Myanmar Peace Centre in Rangoon on Sunday, Burma's Minister of Electric Power Khin Maung Soe apologised to the public for the recent increase in electricity prices and promised that the decision would be reviewed in parliament.

"I would like to extend my apologies for my shortcomings," he said. "We will listen to the people's voice and undertake procedures in accordance with suggestions by the union parliament. We urge political parties to point out our ministry's shortcomings and oversights, and recommend what needs be done."

His comments came after demonstrations and candlelit vigils against the increased electricity costs were held in Rangoon and Mandalay.

State media reported on Saturday that the Ministry of Electric Power would raise the issue of electricity rates in parliament. According to The New Light of Myanmar, Aye Mauk, the secretary of the Planning and Financial Development Committee, submitted an urgent proposal calling on the Union Government to review the Ministry of Electric Power's announcement that November's household electricity rates will increase by about double for every unit used over 100 kilowatts.

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The current rate for supplying electricity to households across Burma stands at 25 kyat per unit. According to the ministry's proposed hike, it is set to increase to 35 kyat per unit, and house owners who use more than 100 units will be charged 50 kyat per unit.

For commercial usage, the current rate is 75 kyat per unit, but is set to increase to 100 kyat, and 150 kyat per unit for businesses using more than 5,000 units per month.

Speaking at a Fisheries Association meeting on 5 November, Toe Nandar Tin, a cold storage factory operator, said that fishery companies would have to suspend cold storage operations if the electricity rates are increased. She said that her commercial electricity bill, previously fluctuating around 4 million kyat (US$4,000) per month, will jump to around $8 million if the price hike goes ahead. She warned that factories may be forced to close down and many jobs would be lost.

Asia Myanmar iron smelter Aung Myo also warned that Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) would be seriously affected.

"Doubling fees from 75 kyat to 150 kyat will be implausible for SME operators as we simply cannot afford to double the price of our products," he said.

Meanwhile, it was announced last week that the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has offered Burma a cheap long-term loan of $60 million to reduce the power losses it suffers through operating antiquated and dilapidated transmission equipment.

Minister Khin Maung Soe admitted that up to 18 percent of electricity is lost during transmission, The Myanmar Times reported.

The bank loan recommended by the ADB will be used to build new power transmission infrastructure in areas outside Rangoon and Mandalay, which should lead to a significant reduction in electricity losses, Khin Maung Soe said, adding that the loan would be repaid over 24 years at 1.5 percent interest.

Burma has an overall electricity generation capacity of only 4,000 megawatts, compared with 30,000 megawatts in neighbouring Thailand, which has a similar sized population.

Much of the electricity distribution network is confined to a corridor between Rangoon and Mandalay.

Just 7 percent of all rural villages in Burma – a little more than 4,700 of nearly 65,000 small towns and village tracts across the country – are able to enjoy a supply of electricity from the national power grid. Nearly 13,000 villages, around 20 percent of the total number, attain electrical power from generators while some 21,000 are powered up by mini-hydropower, solar and biogas generators.

Beer battle brewing in Burma

Posted: 11 Nov 2013 04:11 AM PST

A legal dispute between a Thai-owned conglomerate and its military-linked local partner over Myanmar Brewery Ltd is shaping up as a crucial test for foreign investment in Burma, also known as Myanmar.

The Myanmar Brewery partners of nearly two decades began feuding after the takeover of the Singapore conglomerate Fraser & Neave (F&N) this year by companies controlled by Thailand's richest man, Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi.

Although information about the confidential arbitration is scarce, analysts say the case is centred on an assertion by Union of Myanmar Economic Holdings (UMEHL), the military's investment arm, that it should have been given an option to buy F&N's 55 percent stake in Myanmar Brewery before the deal with Mr Charoen's Thai Beverage Plc went ahead.

F&N released a statement shortly after receiving the arbitration notice in August that it would "vigorously resist" claims that it broke the terms of the joint-venture agreement.

While Myanmar Brewery does not publish separate financial results, the Internal Revenue Department listed it as the country's largest commercial taxpayer for the 2012-13 financial year.

Foreign investors will be keeping a close eye on the dispute: if the arbitration is seen to be handled unfairly, many will likely reconsider investing in Southeast Asia's last frontier market, where joint ventures with a local partner are compulsory across many sectors.

"Partnering up with a military investment vehicle such as UMEHL is a double-edged sword. Of course, having UMEHL on your side means having easier access to permits, land and so forth — but it also leaves [a foreign company] vulnerable in case of disputes," said an analyst who spoke to on condition of anonymity.

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However, the analyst said that the heavy attention the case has attracted internationally could be a game changer in a country where lack of transparency and impunity have been the norm for decades.

"Suddenly there is more international attention on the case than I think UMEHL would have wanted," the analyst said.

"It is shaping up to become a litmus test of the regime's commitment to the rule of law, so perhaps UMEHL won't be able to trump [its opponent] through their will as they would have in the past."

Not every joint venture in Burma is fated to end acrimoniously; however a high degree of caution is necessary, particularly as Burmese waters are largely untested.

"I wouldn't say that you shouldn't do joint ventures in Myanmar, but this case highlights the need to do your homework properly and know who you are going to bed with," the analyst said.

In any case, Myanmar Brewery has other concerns at the moment, including increased competition.

Mr Charoen's former business partner, Carlsberg of Denmark, held an opening ceremony for its second largest expansion programme in Asia on Oct 21, when it opened a factory in Pegu [Bago].

Myanmar Carlsberg Co Ltd is a joint venture between the Carlsberg Group and the country's top selling beverage company, Myanmar Golden Star (MGS).

According to Myanmar Carlsberg managing director Daniel Sjogren, the factory will create more than 500 jobs on the 54-acre site that is less than 90 minutes away from Rangoon [Yangon]. Pegu will also become home to a major new international airport in 2016.

"The potential for growth in the beer market in Myanmar is promising. It has one of the lowest beer per capita consumption rates in Asia, with only four litres per person in a country with a population of more than 60 million," said Thant Zin Tun, a board director of Myanmar Carlsberg.

But the consumption of beer is still limited and people in Burma are more accustomed to drinking cheaper whiskey than beer, which ends up costing more.

"Most people prefer whiskey, because it's much cheaper than beer. However we would expect to see beer consumption increase as incomes rise in the next few years," Marita Schimpl, head of marketing research at Myanmar Survey Research told the Bangkok Post.

Burma has a host of low-end, low-cost rums and whiskeys available on the market. According to May Lwin Oo deputy general manager of Victory Myanmar Group, which owns Mandalay Rum, a product that boasts a 75 percent market share of rums and whiskey and sells more than 15 million litres a year, "Sales figures [of Mandalay Rum] have not been affected by any increase in beer consumption."

In addition to the lifting of most sanctions imposed by the US and EU, Burma's beer market has also seemingly overcome another major stumbling block for investors: illegal imports.

According to Thailand's Tak Chamber of Commerce, monthly imports from Thailand to Burma through Mae Sot were estimated at 3 billion baht (US$100 million). Others said this figure was conservative.

A transport network used to bring beer from Thai border points to a warehouse in Rangoon. The warehouse, which employs four workers on a commission basis, then sold the beer to outdoor pubs and shops, often at a lower price than for local beers such as Myanmar Beer.

"When I reached Myawaddy I'd make a call to Myanmar nationals living in Mae Sot, and 30 minutes later the beer would arrive," says driver Phoe Nge.

Phoe Nge usually transported 700 cases of beer during the four-day round trips.

"I never paid tax on beer during the military government's regime — I just paid a bit of money under the table. It wasn't problem," he shrugged. But this new government says, 'You can bring in beer, but you have to pay tax on it.' The government is bringing in containers of beer and it's cheaper than I can get it for now."

In September 2012, Phoe Nge made his last trip ferrying beer as his warehouse boss switched to the electronics trade.

One gate is manned by the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA), who Phoe Nge said do not ask for tax. However the Shan rebels demand a payment of half the government's rate of tax.

"But it's very dangerous to go along these side roads — I could get shot," he said.

Jessica Mudditt is a freelance reporter based in Rangoon.

Read more from her at: www.jessicamudditt.com

This article was first published in the Bangkok Post on 11 November 2013.

Release of political prisoners discussed in Rangoon

Posted: 11 Nov 2013 04:01 AM PST

The Burmese government held a meeting with leaders from different political parties on Sunday to discuss plans to release all remaining political prisoners in Burma, state media reports.

President's office ministers Aung Min and Soe Thane raised the matter at a meeting with dozens of parliamentarians in Rangoon, according to the New Light of Myanmar.

"The government is making strenuous efforts for [the] release of the remaining political prisoners in cooperation with political parties and civil society organisations," said the paper.

A follow-up meeting is reportedly scheduled for December.

It follows a pledge made by President Thein Sein in July that all political prisoners would be freed by the end of the year.

Thein Sein, who took the reins of a nominally-civilian government in 2011, has already released hundreds of political prisoners – many of whom were arbitrarily arrested for their pro-democracy activities during junta rule.

In February, the government formed a multi-stakeholder committee tasked with identifying and releasing all remaining political prisoners in Burma, but its members have complained that the process lacks transparency and fairness.

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All prisoners are currently being released on "conditions" – meaning that if they are deemed to have violated any part of their parole they could be sent back to jail.

Thein Sein has also insisted that only "genuine" prisoners may be considered for release, creating difficulties for many ethnic minority rebels allegedly prosecuted for their role in violent or "terrorist" activities.

"The prisoners must be real political prisoners. Then, we will present the list of them to the president," reportedly said Soe Thane at Sunday's meeting.

It follows media reports that the government is looking to release a fresh set of inmates in the coming weeks.

"The president has said several times that there wouldn't be any political prisoners in the country by the end of this year, so we can expect their release any time," said Nyan Win, opposition party member, according to The Irrawaddy last week.

Over 70 inmates were released in July, followed by another 53 in October – mostly members from ethnic armed groups, with which the government is seeking to secure a nationwide ceasefire deal.

But some 150 political prisoners are estimated to remain behind bars in Burma, according to activists. Human rights groups also warn that dozens of new prisoners of conscience – including land rights activists – continue to be incarcerated despite the government's talk of reform.

Over 99 percent of Rangoonites support amending the constitution, says NLD

Posted: 10 Nov 2013 11:32 PM PST

More than 99 percent of 20,000 Rangoon voters who participated in the National League for Democracy's (NLD's) recent opinion poll on constitutional reform said they are in favour of amending the constitution, the Burmese opposition party announced on Sunday.

According to the NLD, only 120 of people who took part in the survey across the region of Rangoon division said they favoured rewriting the constitution from scratch.

The NLD, led by Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, said it began conducting opinion polls in various regions across the country in October and that the road tour included speeches and seminars aimed at educating the public about the pros and cons of the 2008 constitution. Leading NLD officials Tin Oo and lawyers Ko Ni and Kyaw Ho headed the delegation.

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Tin Oo reportedly addressed crowds in many cities where he said that the 2008 constitution was "flawed" and that the NLD had objected to it since it has been drafted.

The NLD said it aims to present its findings to the parliamentary Joint Committee for Reviewing the Constitution of the Republic of the Union of Burma in mid-December.

The joint-committee previously set a deadline of 15 November to submit recommendations but recently announced it had extended the date until 31 December.
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