Democratic Voice of Burma

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• BUSINESS WEEKLY 14 March 2014
• Mons count heads to justify National Race Representatives
• Tackle impunity, discrimination in Burma: Quintana
• Push to ban harmful Chinese snacks from schools

BUSINESS WEEKLY 14 March 2014 Posted: 15 Mar 2014 03:55 AM PDT Ups and downs The Burmese currency strengthens for a fourth week running, its buying rate lowering from 968 to 962 kyat to the US dollar, while the selling rate moves from 973 to 970 kyat to the dollar. Gold is down though, tumbling to 688,500 kyat per tical, down more than 7,000 kyat from last week. All fuel prices have remained the same since November: petrol is 820 kyat, diesel 950 kyat, and octane 920 kyat per litre. High-quality Pawhsanmwe rice is still selling for 1,200 to 1,300 kyat per basket at Rangoon markets, while low-quality Emata rice remains at 850-900 kyat.   Yoma plans high-rises over Rangoon heritage site Yoma Strategic Holdings Ltd and First Myanmar Investment Co are to construct two office towers, a commercial centre and other developments on a 10-acre site surrounding the 136-year-old British Burma Railway Company building in downtown Rangoon, according to a statement by the World Bank's International Finance Corp, which is backing the scheme. The colonial railway building, which is one of Rangoon's best known heritage sites, is due to be renovated into a Peninsula Hotel in a separate project.   Thai firm announces Dawei deal Thai energy firm Andaman Power & Utility has announced that it has been selected by the Burmese government to be "the sole electricity and utility provider" for the Dawei special economic zone and the surrounding area. It is thought that the company has been granted rights to build a 500-megawatt natural gas power plant in Dawei, although a first phase target would be for only 50 megawatts. The statement comes just a few months after the largest Thai construction firm, Ital-Thai pcl, was axed from the deep-sea port project.   Agriculture: Burma must ease export laws to encourage FDI In an effort to restore Burma as a top world rice exporter, critics of the government have advocated for improving and revising current rice policies and export regulations. The Myanmar Rice Federation (MRF) has claimed that unless the government encourages foreign investors to invest in the rice industry, the country's hopes of ensuring domestic production and surplus for exporting are unlikely to come to fruition. Read more: http://www.dvb.no/news/agriculture-burma-must-ease-export-laws-to-encourage-fdi-myanmar/38374   Burmese bank to offer industrial loans The Myanmar Small and Medium Industrial Development Bank (SMIDB) is planning to lend 20 billion kyat (US$20 million) to industries in the country over the 2014-15 fiscal year, according to a Xinhua report on Thursday citing official sources. SMIDB has already granted 10 billion kyat to 62 Burmese entrepreneurs, the sources said, and a total of 12 branch offices of the bank have been opened across the country. Meanwhile, a Small and Medium Scale Enterprise Bill has been brought to parliament and is expected to be enacted in near future.   Japanese firm KDDI to enter Burma's mobile market Japanese telecommunication operator KDDI Corporation is seeking infrastructure investments in Burma's communications sector. In a Rangoon meeting on 13 March, the general manager of KDDI's engineering division, Masakatsu Sawada, told the Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry that KDDI would focus on building antennas and mobile towers and selling wireless CCTV camera systems. KDDI was among the bidders for Burma's two telecommunication operator licenses, won eventually by Qatar-based Ooredoo and Norwegian firm Telenor.

Mons count heads to justify National Race Representatives Posted: 15 Mar 2014 03:29 AM PDT As official Burmese census enumerators begin their task in earnest, Mon ethnic officials are conducting a head-count of their own. The program is intended to determine whether Mon National Race Representatives could be warranted in divisions outside of Mon State that have large populations of the ethnic minority. The count is underway in Rangoon, Pegu and Tenasserim Divisions. The 2008 constitution provides for National Race Representatives to be appointed in administrative regions that boast a "suitable population" of a single ethnic group. That representative is then "entitled to participate in the legislature of Regions or States". Currently, the only Mon ethnic affairs minister who exists outside of Mon State represents those in Karen State. "The constitution provides that we can appoint a representative for the Mon population in a region if we have the numbers," said Min Soe Aung, director of Rangoon Division Mon Population Survey Programme. "Also recording a precise number of the populations in administrative regions will be helpful in introducing Mon curriculums and organising events such as the Mon National Day, and allow us to work together for social and economic affairs." The independent Mon population count began in Rangoon and Pegu Divisions in mid-2013. So far, 40,000 Mons have been registered across 40 townships in Rangoon Division. Min Soe Aung believes there to be more than 60,000 Mon in Rangoon Division.  However, he suggested that previous listings have identified Mons incorrectly and created a shortfall in numbers — ruling out a Mon representative in Rangoon. This year, the program began in Tenasserim Division where according to Mi Kun Chan Noon of the Tenasserim Division Census Steering Committee, around 50,000 Mons have been counted across 10 townships so far. The count will not effect Mon participation in the upcoming nationwide census. Related Stories Stop Salween dams, say 34,000 people in Burma Census enumerators pass tough early challenges Shans plan their own census

Tackle impunity, discrimination in Burma: Quintana Posted: 15 Mar 2014 03:01 AM PDT Burma's nascent democracy faces immense challenges in coming years, some with the capacity to "jeopardise" progress made since the country's transition from military dictatorship to quasi-civilian leadership in 2011, a UN official concluded. Tomás Ojea Quintana, UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Burma, will present the findings of his final mission to Burma to the Human Rights Council on Monday in Geneva. "In assessing the reforms that have been initiated so far," reads his report, released in advance of submission to the council, "the Special Rapporteur stresses that this can only be viewed as the start of a long process of reform that will be required to address the deep seated human rights issues in Myanmar [Burma]." The Special Rapporteur made stern recommendations to the Burmese government in order to keep the transition on track, including support for an independent investigation into an alleged massacre in Duchira Dan [also written Du Char Yar Tan], on 13 and 14 January this year. "The Special Rapporteur believes that investigations conducted with the involvement and support of the international community, including in relation to technical assistance, represents an opportunity to turn the tide of impunity in Rakhine [Arakan] State," the report read. Quintana identified tackling the country’s history of impunity as "one of the most important challenges that Myanmar is facing". Rights groups have welcomed Quintana's appraisal. In a statement on Friday, Mark Farmaner, director of Burma Campaign UK, said that since ”The United Nations have confirmed what human rights organisations have been saying, that crimes against humanity have taken place against the Rohingya," the British government must now support an international investigation. Related Stories Stop Salween dams, say 34,000 people in Burma HRW slams UN invitation for Burmese peacekeepers Duchira Dan commission slams UN, media; denies massacre “This report highlights very serious ongoing human rights abuses which violate international law, and contrasts significantly with the rosy picture that the British government and others try to present about Burma,” he said. On Tuesday a government investigative commission presented their findings to the public, maintaining that no massacre occurred in Duchira Dan. Quintana's assessment, made public on Wednesday, stated that "domestic investigations have so far failed" to identify and hold perpetrators of atrocities accountable. Quintana has served as the Special Rapporteur to Burma for six years, a tenure that will end in May. From 14 to 19 February, he made his ninth and final visit to the country, making stops in Kachin State, Sagaing Division and Arakan State. His final report stresses that he saw "no improvements" in Arakan, where over the course of five visits he has reported severe, targeted, policy-enshrined discrimination against Rohingya and other Muslim groups. Systematic mistreatment of Muslims in Burma, the report said, may amount to crimes against humanity that could be punishable by the International Criminal Court and, "if left unaddressed, could jeopardise the entire reform process." In the three years since Burma's reforms began, the Special Rapporteur has noted several commendable improvements. The release of more than 1,100 political prisoners, a marked effort to rid the Burmese military of child soldiers and ongoing progress towards a nationwide ceasefire — which negotiators are trying to secure in April this year — are among the government's "significant improvements", though none of these efforts have yet been carried to completion. Political prisoners remain in jail, many of those pardoned were not released unconditionally, and Burma has retained prohibitive legislation that the Rapporteur believes has been selectively enforced to hinder activism. These laws should be reviewed and amended, the report said. Burma’s government has not ratified the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which Quintana has urged them to do. While ceasefires have been secured with 14 of Burma's ethnic armed groups, fighting continues in Kachin and northern Shan State, which has led to the displacement of an estimated 100,000 people since the reform process began. Other items of  serious concern include acute tenure insecurity and limits to press freedom. Both of these problems will need to be addressed through improved legislation, the report said. Among Quintana's 60 recommendations are changes to the Constitution, the 1982 Citizenship Law and judicial procedures. Burma would also "benefit greatly" from an in-country Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, it said. While Burma evidently has a long way to go and remains in a "fragile" phase, the report concludes that there is "limited space for backtracking."

Push to ban harmful Chinese snacks from schools Posted: 14 Mar 2014 11:54 PM PDT The Consumer Protection Association of Myanmar [Burma] (CPAM) will lobby against the sale of imported snacks from China at schools, after tests show high levels of harmful chemicals. According to CPAM coordinator Ba Oak Khine, inspections conducted at several government-run Basic Education Schools in December showed certain Chinese-brand snacks contained a high quantity of prohibited dyes and preservatives. "We found that the Chinese snacks – jellies, chips and sweets – we picked up at a school canteen contained high doses of additives and prohibited colouring agents. The food also lacked expiry dates on the packages," said Ba Oak Khine. He said the group would seek the cooperation of administrators at schools in Rangoon and Mandalay divisions to remove the snacks, popular among school children for their bright packaging and low cost. Dr Thet Thet San of the government Education Office in Rangoon said Chinese snacks had been prohibited in schools last year, however the ban was not enforced. She expressed a hope that renewed efforts would now bring a different outcome. "There are countless numbers of these snacks being introduced in the market every day without proper registration or approval by health authorities," said Dr Thet Thet San. The CPAM plans further inspections at the beginning of the new school year in June. "We already have approval from the Education Office for further inspections." Ba Oak Khine said. Related Stories Stop Salween dams, say 34,000 people in Burma Their hands, our future NLD eyes closer relations with China

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