Friday, December 20, 2013

Democratic Voice of Burma

Democratic Voice of Burma

Shans denounce KIA at ‘seminar’ in Myitkyina

Posted: 20 Dec 2013 04:43 AM PST

Thousands of ethnic Shans had planned to gather in Kachin state capital Myitkyina in front of the Kachin Independence Army's (KIA's) liaison office to protest alleged human rights violations by the rebel group against the ethnic Shan population.

However, learning that local authorities had denied them permission to hold a rally, the demonstrators re-invented themselves, meeting in a local Buddhist monastery compound and telling officials they were holding a "public seminar".

Nonetheless, the crowd at Wintho monastery included villagers from across Shan state holding placards calling for the government to protect innocent civilians, and accusing the KIA of forcibly recruiting Shan villagers.

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They also called for the release for a number of youths and villagers they say are still being held by the Kachin rebels.

"The event started around 8am and included speeches by community leaders," said monk U Thunanda. "The participants chanted slogans and met with a British consular official."

Saw Win Htun, general secretary of the Taileng (Red Shan) Nationalities Development Party, was co-organiser of the scheduled protest on Friday. He said the group was informed by the state police on Thursday evening that permission for the rally would not be granted because the country was presently hosting the 27th SEA Games. He said they were told they could apply to stage a protest after the games were over.

"The state police told us the rally could not be approved until around 25 December, so we are planning to hold a protest on 26 December," said Saw Htun Win. "However, as a number of participants had already gathered in the town, we decided to hold a public seminar at Wintho Monastery."

Business Weekly

Posted: 20 Dec 2013 03:59 AM PST

 

Ups and downs

The US dollar buys 981 kyat and sells for 987 kyat, that's two points higher than last week. Gold is currently valued at 643,800 kyat per tical, which is 10,500 kyat down from last week. Fuel remains the same price: petrol is 820 kyat per litre, diesel 940 kyat and octane 920 kyat per litre. Good quality rice remains at 1,200- 1,300 kyat per basket, with low-quality emata rice sill selling for 850- 900 kyat per basket.

 

Rangoon plans economic zones with Japanese backing

Rangoon city mayor and Minister of Yangon Region Development Affairs Hla Myint told the regional parliament on 10 December that the government is working with the Japan International Cooperation Agency to develop 10 areas in Rangoon into economic centres or industrial zones. The mayor said the plan is to develop areas in Hlaing Tharyar, Mayangon, Dagon Myothit, Hmawbi, Hlegu, Thanlyin, Dala, Tontay and Htantabin townships, as well as the Japanese-backed Thilawa port zone and the Pegu riverfront into economic centres, which will also include housing projects of around one million apartments to accommodate the growing population of the city.

 

Overland rice exports to China in decline

Rice exports to China via the Muse border trade zone have been in decline recently as Burmese retailers export less due to what they consider uneconomical pricing. China, in order to cater for its domestic demand, has instead secured a government-to-government agreement with Thailand to import three million tons of rice. Around 800,000 tons of rice were exported to China via Muse in northern Shan state in the last fiscal year, but this year, only 200,000 tons have been exported as of December. The current price in Muse for 25 percent broken emata rice is between US$410 and $420 per ton.

 

Philippine airlines on course for Burmese holidays

Philippines Airlines and Cebu Pacific Air are to introduce new scheduled flight services to Burma to accommodate greater demand, according to local newspaper Pyi Myanmar. Executive Director Carmelo Arcilla of the Civil Aeronautics Board of the Philippines is cited saying that they are in negotiation with Burma's civil aviation authorities to facilitate the proposed flights. Vice-President Jorenz Tanada of Cebu Pacific said the airline's flights would contribute to the development of tourism in Burma. The announcement comes a week after a visa exemption deal was signed between Burma and the Philippines.

 

South Korean soft drinks firm pops a Burma deal with Pepsico

South Korea-based firm Lotte Chilsung is to distribute and retail soft drink products in partnership with US-based Pepsico, says Burma's Directorate of Investment and Companies Administration (DICA). According to an Eleven Media report on 17 December, the company has applied for permission to open a branch office in Burma. Lotte Chilsung Beverages is one of Asia’s largest drinks company, holding a 35 percent stake in South Korea's domestic market. It manufactures various products such as fizzy drinks, juices, coffee, tea, soybean drinks and mineral water which it exports to 30 countries such as Japan, the USA, China, Vietnam and Russia.

 

Yoma, Sumitomo ink deal to distribute Hino trucks

Yoma Strategic Holdings Ltd says it has entered into a joint venture agreement with Sumitomo Corp and First Myanmar Investment Co Ltd (FMI) for the purposes of establishing a joint venture company to operate authorized service stations for, and to distribute, Hino trucks and buses in Burma, according to a Reuters report on 18 December. Sumitomo will hold 60 percent of the stake, with FMI and Yoma taking 20 percent each, the report said.

For more background: http://www.dvb.no/news/japans-pm-to-unveil-60bn-yen-plan-for-burma-at-summit-kyodo-burma-myanmar/35218

 

Savills opens real estate office in Rangoon

Leading British realtor Savills opened its first office in Rangoon on 16 December. Citing the city's strong recent growth and increasing opportunities in the country, Savills announced on its website: "In the past year, Yangon office rents have increased by 80 percent, five star hotel room rates have increased by 70 percent, serviced apartment rents have gone up 50 percent and quality retail rents have climbed 10 percent." Chris Marriott, CEO of Savills South East Asia, said, "Opening in Myanmar is another step in our vision to build strength in the ASEAN region as a precursor to the establishment of the new economic community in 2015,"

 

Mitsubishi buys share in Yetagun oil project

Mitsubishi Corporation announced this week its entry into a share purchase agreement with JX Nippon Oil & Gas Exploration Corporation (JX NOEX) for the acquisition of a 10 percent share of Nippon Oil Exploration (Myanmar) Limited (NOEM). JX NOEX is a 50 percent shareholder of NOEM, which in turn holds a 19.3 percent participating interest in an upstream oil and gas project and gas pipelines in Block M-12/13/14 in the Andaman Sea, including the Yetagun gas field. Mitsubishi confirmed that this was to be the firm's first participation in an upstream oil and gas project in Burma.

Asia Metal rejects US accusations of N Korean arms dealing

Posted: 20 Dec 2013 03:44 AM PST

Asia Metal Co Ltd has rejected accusations by the US government that it has been involved in arms deals with North Korea.

The US Treasury Department earlier this week added three Burmese firms – Asia Metal Co Ltd, Soe Min Htike Co Ltd and Excellence Mineral Manufacturing Co Ltd – and a military official, Lt-Col Kyaw Nyunt Oo, to its sanctions list, saying that those in question had assisted the Burmese government in importing materials from North Korea for weapons manufacturing.

The US accuses Asia Metal of constructing buildings and supplying construction materials at a Directorate of Defence Industries (DDI) compound where approximately 30 North Koreans were working. The DDI is alleged to have purchased military equipment and materials from North Korea.

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But Asia Metal's general manager Htein Linn told DVB that the company has never purchased any kind of material for the DDI.

"We did not buy materials for the DDI," he said, "but being a construction company, we constructed some buildings for them around 2008-10 – though we were not told what the buildings were to be used for.

"We were surprised to hear about this blacklisting," said Htein Linn.

Govt minister says Taungoo bomber did not confess under torture

Posted: 20 Dec 2013 02:39 AM PST

Senior officials from the Karen National Union (KNU) went to Taungoo on 17 December to visit Saw Htun Htun, the suspect charged with planting a bomb in the Chan Myae guesthouse in October, killing two people.

Karen rebel leaders decided to visit the suspect after he changed his statement to the police about his involvement in the attack.

The KNU were the first to question Saw Htun Htun when he was arrested and they said he initially denied any connection to the bombing.

According to police, he has now given a full confession admitting that he stayed at the Chan Myae guesthouse on 9 October and that he left a bag behind the curtains before checking out the next day.

Fearing Saw Htun Htun confessed under duress or torture, KNU leaders went to see him in Taungoo.

"He denied having any connection with the bombing when we questioned him, but now that we have learnt he had confessed we decided we should come and see him," said KNU Central Executive Committee member, Saw Roger Khin.

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To prove he had not been tortured, Saw Htun Htun was asked to remove his clothes.

Security and Border Affairs Minister Col. Thet Htun, insisted torture is not used during interrogations these days, and said Saw Htun Htun had confessed voluntarily.

"Nowadays, we no longer interrogate our suspects discreetly in secret facilities – that was a long, long time ago. Now, we just question them normally and we record the interrogation sessions. If someone finds a scratch on Saw Htun Htun, we will accept responsibility," said Col. Thet Htun.

Both the KNU and police believe Saw Htun Htun is not the mastermind behind the bombing.

"When we showed him photos of the aftermath of the bombing he was very sad to learn it was something he caused and so he confessed. But he did not really plot the bombing – he was told by someone else to leave the bag," said Col. Thet Htun.

In October, Burma was struck by a series of bomb attacks, which claimed two lives and injured an American woman.

Although suspect Saw Myint Lwin, was arrested in connection with a bomb in the Traders Hotel in Rangoon, no other suspects, apart from Saw Htun Htun, have been arrested or charged and no group have taken responsibility for the attacks.

According to the AFP, Saw Myint Lwin claimed he was a member of the KNU but the armed ethnic rebel group has denied this.

Thai navy to sue journalists over Rohingya trafficking allegations

Posted: 20 Dec 2013 01:52 AM PST

Thailand’s navy has filed criminal defamation charges against a news website that published stories alleging Thai military involvement in the trafficking of Burma’s ethnic Rohingya boatpeople, an editor said.

The English-language Phuketwan site posted a story carrying excerpts from a report by the Reuters news agency alleging that members of the Thai military were involved in trafficking captured Rohingya illegal immigrants.

Alan Morison, Phuketwan’s editor, told The Associated Press on Thursday that he had been summoned along with a Thai reporter on Wednesday to a police station in Phuket to formally acknowledge the charges.

The lawsuit filed by a captain on behalf of the Thai navy charges that the website violated Thailand’s 2007 Computer Crime Act, which bars the circulation of material deemed detrimental to national security or that causes panic.

Human Rights Watch issued a statement calling on the Thai government to withdraw the case, saying it could have “a choking effect on all investigative reporting in Thailand.”

“The Thai navy’s lawsuit is a reckless attempt to curtail journalists’ reporting on alleged human trafficking by its officers,” Brad Adams, the group’s Asia director said in a statement issued Friday. “The Thai navy should understand that in a democratic society, media scrutiny of the security forces must be possible.”

Phuketwan has for several years taken a leading role in reporting on the plight of minority Muslim Rohingya from Burma fleeing persecution and poverty to Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia. The journey is a perilous one, and they are often forced back out to sea or detained if they make landfall.

The police charge sheet, a copy of which Phuketwan provided to AP, alleges that Morison, the Thai reporter and the company owning the website published “false” information defaming the navy.

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“We were disappointed that the Royal Thai Navy decided to use a bad law against journalists who are just doing their jobs,” Morison said. “It would have been so easy to telephone us or to hold a media conference to set the record straight.”

“This just makes us keener to know who is mistreating the Rohingya in the secret camps along Thailand’s southern border, and how they reach there by sea,” he added.

If found guilty, Morison and the other accused could face up to five years in jail and a fine of 100,000 baht ($3,100).

Reuters, whose stories have included denials of abuse by the Thai navy and government, said it had not been served with a lawsuit. The agency published another story earlier this month alleging further abuses.

“Our story was fair and balanced and Reuters has not been accused of criminal libel,” said Barb Burg, global head of communications for the news agency.

Burma snatches sepak takraw gold

Posted: 20 Dec 2013 01:32 AM PST

Burma's sepak takraw men’s doubles team won the gold medal after defeating Indonesia in the final on Friday in front of a partisan crowd in the 5,000-seat Wunna Theikdi Indoor Stadium.

Despite losing the first set 10-21, Aung Pyah Tun and Wai Phyo fought back in the second, winning 21-15.

Roared on by the home supporters, the Burmese pair prevailed in the final set to claim the SEA Games title 2-1.

Burma now has 68 gold medals, 52 silver and 61 bronze, second in the table to Thailand which has 86 golds.

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26 abducted Red Shans released by KIA

Posted: 20 Dec 2013 01:13 AM PST

Twenty-six ethnic Shan villagers who had been abducted by the Kachin Independence Army (KIA) in Kachin state's Mansi township were released by the rebel group on Tuesday, according to a Burmese government source.

Bhamo district administrator Tayzar Aung told DVB on Thursday that 26 of 51 Taileng (Red Shan) ethnic villagers forcibly abducted in a recruitment drive by the KIA were released on Tuesday afternoon.

"Previously, we heard the villagers were recruited by the KIA [as soldiers] but the group that was released on Tuesday told us they were kept in a lodge and had not been given military training," said the district administrator, adding that the release may be the result of a meeting on Monday between the KIA and a delegation headed by the Kachin Peace Creation group, which has also been involved in mediating peace talks between the KIA and the government.

The 26 released on Tuesday are residents of Mansi town and nearby Theinpin, Hanhtet and Manwein villages – 22 of them being Red Shan and four Kachins – mostly middle-aged men, but also including a few women, said Tayzar Aung.

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The Shan Ethnic Affairs Organisation (SEAO) said it had only identified 21 villagers released, two of whom were children.

The KIA has been under fire by Shan ethnic organisations in the northernmost Burma state who accuse the rebel army of forced recruitment and extorting Shan villagers.

Bhamo district administrator Tayzar Aung said the KIA's policy of forced recruitment was making the local population feel unsafe.

"In the past, the KIA has recruited new members on regular basis – demanding two recruits per village. They should halt this practise now that negotiations with the government are in place," he said.

The KIA was unavailable for the comment. The group's liaison officer Lt-Col. Naw Bo previously told DVB it was not their policy to forcibly recruit villagers.

 

 

 
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