Thursday, January 2, 2014

Democratic Voice of Burma

Democratic Voice of Burma

Will all Burma’s political prisoners taste freedom?

Posted: 02 Jan 2014 02:16 AM PST

Burma released a handful of political prisoners on Tuesday (December 31) after the government announced a year-end amnesty for those held for political reasons.

Families and friends waited outside Insein prison in Rangoon hoping to see their loved ones.

Yan Naing Tun and Aung Min Naing were released that morning.

“Even though they [the government] said this is amnesty, it is not amnesty for us. They are trying to hide the weakness of the legislature by doing this. But I respect the President because he kept his promise; he has never kept a promise before,” said Naing Tun, one of the released political prisoners.

Yan Naing Tun and Aung Min Naing, who were arrested for leading a march to the headquarters of the ethnic Kachin Independence Organization in northern Burma in January to March last year, were serving seven-month sentences for breaking the Peaceful Assembly Law.

State-run MRTV announced the presidential amnesty in a bulletin late on Monday but did not reveal the number due for release; however an organisation that tracks political detainees said it expected 230 to be freed with the remainder released in mid-January.

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The move follows a pledge by reformist President Thein Sein during a visit to Britain in July that he would release all the country’s political prisoners by the year’s end.

The EU, United States and other Western countries have increased aid and investment, and suspended most sanctions, partly in response to Burma freeing hundreds of political prisoners and other liberal reforms unimaginable under the junta that ruled for 49 unbroken years.

This amnesty is one of at least a dozen the quasi-civilian government has granted since taking office in March 2011.

During the military’s final years in power, as many as 2,500 people, including activists, journalists, politicians and even comedians and artists, were behind bars. Many were subjected to torture and other inhumane treatment.

Bo Kyi, a senior representative of the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners- Burma and member of a panel appointed by the president to assess cases of political detention, said 38 activists currently in jail and 192 facing trial or under investigation would be granted freedom.

He said the cases of other detainees were still being looked into because various stakeholders had yet to determine whether their offences were classed as political or criminal.

An official from the Prison Department told Reuters it was still collecting information and the exact number of prisoners to be released was not known.

Thein Sein indicates support for constitutional amendment

Posted: 02 Jan 2014 12:34 AM PST

In a speech to the nation on 2 January, President Thein Sein praised the new political culture in Burma where "the freedom [exists] to openly discuss and debate politics."

But he reserved much of his speech to opine about proposals for constitutional reform, saying, "I believe that a healthy Constitution must be amended from time to time to address the national, economic, and social needs of our society," according to a transcript in the state-run New Light of Myanmar.

Thein Sein identified three main areas which he said needed to be taken into consideration when amending the current constitution, which was drafted in 2008 under the austere authority of the then ruling junta.

In the first and second points, Thein Sein made reference to national reconciliation and the peace process, noting that all parties need to be involved for greater democratic attitudes and values to take root.

Thirdly, regarding the political leadership of the country, he said, "I would not want restrictions being imposed on the right of any citizen to become the leader of the country.

"At same time, we will need to have all necessary measures in place in order to defend our national interests and sovereignty."

It was a clear reference to Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader of the opposition National League for Democracy, who is denied the opportunity to run for the presidency under a clause – Article 59 (f) – that restricts anyone who has a spouse or children with foreign citizenship.

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"We will undertake the amending of the Constitution to facilitate national reconciliation, the foundation of the national peace process, through consensus based on mutual understanding, and listening to each other's demands," said the Burmese president.

Thein Sein made reference to the NLD, noting that it had conducted surveys across the country relating to constitutional reform, and he noted that the military has also submitted its proposals and comments to the parliamentary Committee to Study and Amend the Constitution.

Reports have also circulated in international media in recent days that the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP) will support Suu Kyi's bid to have the restriction lifted on her ability to seek the presidency in 2015.

However, DVB cannot verify that the USDP has included such a suggestion in its list of recommendations to the Committee with various party representatives giving different accounts to the media.

Karen rivals unite for New Year

Posted: 01 Jan 2014 11:06 PM PST

Video by Phoesi

At the break of dawn, battalions of unarmed Karen soldiers marched in a parade past hundreds of jubilant visitors at Shwe Kokko Myine in Myawaddy Township as part of the celebrations which marked Karen New Year.

But what was most unusual about this year's celebration was that the soldiers represented opposing armed factions which have faced each other on the battlefield – the Border Guard Force (BGF), the Karen National Union (KNU) and the KNU/ KNLA Peace Council (KPC).

Hosted at the BGF headquarters near the Thai border, BGF Maj. Saw Maung Win explained the symbolism of the soldiers marching without arms. "The aim of this event is to reunite the Karen people and the rival armed forces – it is time to reunite and cooperate."

Saw Maung Win was referring to the recent history of splits, divisions and defections that has marred and weakened the Karen resistance, perhaps most notably the Buddhist/Christian Karen split in 1994, which resulted in the formation of the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (now renamed the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army) or the DKBA.

A handful of strikingly benign DKBA soldiers laden in military hardware did not march, but mulled around the event grounds and enjoyed watching boxing bouts next to their BGF, KNU and KPC counterparts.

Soldiers from rival Karen armed groups stand together in unity to celebrate Karen New Year on 1 January 2014. (PHOTO: Portia Larlee)

Soldiers from rival Karen armed groups stand together in unity to celebrate Karen New Year on 1 January 2014. (PHOTO: Portia Larlee)

Representatives of the three Karen armies have been meeting since September 2013 to organize this landmark event, which ran from 30 December– 1 January. Based on the full moon and held on the first day of the month of Pyatho in the Buddhist Lunar Calendar, Karen New Year coincidentally fell on 1 January this time round.

During the three-day event, Shwe Kokko received thousands of visitors including ethnic Karens from all five townships of Karen State –Kawkreik, Myawaddy, Kyain Seikgyi, Hlaingbwe and Hpa An. Many Karen migrants and refugees also returned to Burma across the Moei River for the festivities.

Thai Karen as well as curious Thais and international visitors also enjoyed the packed program of traditional "don" dancing, boxing and musical performances. Huge helium balloons, glowing 20-foot candelabras adorning palm trees and countless Karen flags added to the festive atmosphere.

But there were undoubtedly some political points to be made, and speeches were delivered by some notable persons of influence: Aung Min, the chief negotiator for the Burmese government and minister of the President's Office; Deputy Minister of Border Affairs Gen. Maung Maung Ohn; and KNU Chief of Staff Gen. Saw Johnny.

Dr. Saw Htun Myint spoke for the Karen BGF, which was formed in 2010 as an ally of the Burmese army. "We have our dignity as Karen people," he said. "We chose our way – by way of the constitution."

Outlining the focus of the BFG in Myawaddy Division, he said, "We aim to protect our nation, our region and our Karen people. Our country is Burma."

Speaking on the sidelines to DVB, Saw Hlo Tun, a chief KNU administrator and vice-chairman of the event organizing committee, echoed Saw Htun Myint. "The ethnic revolution did not succeed. The best solution is peace in Burma, and Karen New Year is a time for unity."

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KNU Chief of Staff Gen. Saw Johnny shared more skeptical reflections, noting that: "Peace is still not a reality for all ethnicities, there is only peace for some." However he pointed out that peace would be good for the economy and would lead to increased tourism in Karen State.

When asked about the history of the Karen flag (of which there were hundreds if not thousands flying proudly at the event), the BGF's Saw Htun Myint was quick to strip it of its sovereignty or revolutionary symbolism, calling it an ethnic flag. "The Myanmar flag is our national flag, it symbolizes our union with other ethnic groups."

Among the Karen visitors to the New Year's celebration, brothers Lay and Thein said they came to witness unarmed Karen soldiers standing and marching together and to enjoy some boxing.

Lay said he barely remembers being displaced with his parents from his village, Nwong Ya Wa, 20 years ago when the family fled to Mae La refugee camp in Thailand. His younger brother Thein can only remember growing up in Mae La. When Thein was 12, his parents, two sisters and him were granted UNHCR status and resettled in Omaha, Nebraska.

Thein has since gone back to Mae La but fears he will not be able to return to the United States because of visa trouble. Thein said he is very wary of the Burmese army and Thai officials because of his precarious status.

For many Karen, the prospect of achieving unity still appears distant; at best it is expected to be a long process. Even without weapons, the lines between the rival Karen groups are stark.

For Lay and Thein, the Karen New Year's celebrations at Shwe Kokko are a distraction from the daily trials of life in a refugee camp, but the festival also reminds them of their culture. Thein explains: "Being Karen is a state of mind."

Burma embassy plot – Six killed in Jakarta shoot-out

Posted: 01 Jan 2014 07:39 PM PST

An elite anti-terrorism police squad killed six suspected militants and arrested another during an extended standoff at a house near the Indonesian capital, a police spokesman said Wednesday.

Intelligence gathered from earlier arrests allowed police to storm hideouts in Ciputat on Jakarta’s outskirts as part of an investigation into an alleged plot to bomb the Burmese embassy and a Buddhist temple, said National Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Boy Rafli Amar.

The nine-hour shootout started late Tuesday when most Indonesians were preparing to celebrate New Year’s and ended Wednesday. Amar said those killed had refused to surrender and had fired guns and lobbed homemade bombs at security forces, injuring one police officer in his leg.

He added that the fatal attack was inevitable since calls for the suspects to surrender were met with gunfire and explosions.

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Human rights groups have criticized the US-funded squad, known as “Densus 88″ in the past, saying it was not trying to take suspects alive, a trend seeming to fuel the very extremism the predominantly Muslim country is trying to counter. The critics alleged that the suspected militants were victims of extrajudicial killings that drive militancy and reduce public sympathy for police.

Amar said the men were suspected of being part of a larger group involved in robberies used to fund terrorist activities, mainly aimed at police.

They also were linked to terrorist group led by Abu Wardah Santoso – on the police’s most wanted list – in Poso, a flashpoint of terrorism in Central Sulawesi where a Muslim-Christian conflict killed at least 1,000 people from 1998 to 2002.

“There is a strong indication that they were involved in a series of police killings,” Amar told reporters, adding police found at least six homemade bombs at the house.

Police also confiscated five pistols and a revolver, 200 million rupiah (US$16,500) in cash, and materials used for making bombs.

Police were trying to determine whether the men killed in the raid were connected to an alleged plot in May against the Burmese Embassy to retaliate against Burma for attacks on Muslims in that country.

“There are also printouts of addresses of about 20 to 30 vihara (Buddhist temples) we believed to be their targets,” Amar said.

In August, a small bomb exploded outside a Buddhist temple packed with praying devotees in Jakarta. One person was injured, but two other devices failed to explode. Officials have said the attack appears to have been meant to avenge the deaths of Muslims in Burma. Religious violence in Buddhist-majority Burma has killed scores of people, and tens of thousands of Muslims have been driven from their homes.

Amar said at least nine suspects were arrested in past two weeks, including one in Central Java whose interrogation led to the latest raid.

Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim nation, has been battling terrorists since bombings on the resort island of Bali in 2002 killed 202 people, mostly foreign tourists.

Burma, Thailand push ahead with Dawei SEZ

Posted: 01 Jan 2014 07:11 PM PST

After years of uncertainty, the prospects of the massive Dawei project took a recent twist when Thailand and Burma officially tied the knot to push the ambitious scheme forward.

With three memoranda of understanding signed by the two countries in November, the Dawei concession was transferred from Italian-Thai Development Plc (ITD) to Dawei SEZ Development Co (DSEZ), a special-purpose vehicle for the project.

DSEZ, a 50-50 venture of Thailand and Burma, now has a 75-year concession from Burma’s government to develop the special economic zone and a deep-sea port – replacing ITD, which had received the concession from the Burmese government in November 2010.

Thailand and Burma agreed in June to set up DSEZ with an equal shareholding and an initial investment of 12 million baht (US$400,000), far below the 100 million baht proposed earlier. The company will be registered in Thailand.

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The second memorandum revoked concessions between ITD and Burma, while the third obliges new investors to reimburse ITD for its expenditure on building a small port and roads estimated at 6 billion baht.

DSEZ is expected to award concessions for three projects – a dual-lane highway linking Thailand with Dawei [Tavoy], a small port and an industrial estate – by the second quarter of 2014.

ITD, meanwhile, can also bid on the three projects under the new plan. Initially, the contractor will team up with Rojana Industrial Park and other partners to bid on industrial estate development at Dawei, covering 30,000 rai at an investment of 100 billion baht ($3.3 billion).

ITD had estimated it would need US$9 billion to develop 128,171 rai (20,507 hectares). Scarce progress was shown by ITD in developing the site given the massive investment required, raising doubts among observers over whether Dawei would happen.

ITD president Premchai Kanasutra accepted that switching the concession from his company to DSEZ would make the project viable, and that government cooperation would build confidence with foreign investors.

Thailand’s caretaker government, meanwhile, has asked Japan to take part in Dawei, which involves big projects such as power plants, integrated steel mills and refineries.

The Dawei development is four times the size of the Thilawa SEZ that Japan has already committed to, but caretaker Commerce Minister Niwatthamrong Bunsongphaisan has said that Dawei’s site in eastern Burma will make it competitive as the deep-sea port sustains export-oriented industry.

Located some 350 km from Bangkok by road, the project is envisaged as a key component of the East-West Corridor and supports Thailand’s vision of becoming the logistics hub of ASEAN.

This article was first published in the Bangkok Post on 31 December 2013.

 
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