Monday, March 24, 2014

Democratic Voice of Burma

Democratic Voice of Burma

‘Stepping on the Knife’ festival entrances Rangoon

Posted: 24 Mar 2014 05:10 AM PDT

Photos by Yamin Oo

The Hindu festival “Stepping on the Knife” was held in Rangoon on 23 March.

Devotees paraded through the streets of Mingalar Taung Nyunt Township carrying huge colourful constructions that pierced their bodies with metal spikes.

In a trance-like state, devotees impaled themselves with metal spikes to show that the gods have given them supernatural powers.

During the festival, people pray to the Hindu gods for health and wealth.

The highlight of the festival is when the temple leader climbs to the top of a ladder made of knives and makes an offering by tying branches to the highest point of the ladder.

It takes him three months to prepare for the climb and during this time he meditates and eats only vegetables.

Hindu people believe that if the temple head gives them a lime, they will become wealthy.

Hundreds join march to Myitsone

Posted: 24 Mar 2014 04:51 AM PDT

Hundreds of activists set off from Rangoon by foot on Sunday on a march to Myitsone, the source of the Irrawaddy River, to call for the complete shutdown of a China-backed hydroelectric mega-dam project at the site.

Participants in the 1,225-km (765-mile) march, which is expected to take two months, set off from the east gate of Shwedagon Pagoda on Sunday morning.

The project, backed by China Power Investment (CPI), was suspended by President Thein Sein's government in 2011, a decision, he said, that could not be overturned during his tenure as president which ends in 2015.

However, according to local NGO groups in Kachin State, CPI has made moves to court residents and officials in a bid to restart the project, and has been carrying out its own PR campaign to promote the economic value of the 3,600MW dam, something the NGOs say does not reflect either local or national public opinion.

Speaking to DVB on Monday, marcher Myo Thiha Tun of Former Political Prisoners Society (FPPS) said they stopped the first night in Tike Gyi, Rangoon Division.

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Burma to summon Bangladeshi ambassador over Rohingya article

Posted: 24 Mar 2014 04:24 AM PDT

Ye Htut, spokesman for the President's Office, told DVB on Monday that the Burmese Ministry of Foreign Affairs plans to summon the Bangladeshi ambassador to object to an article in the Dhaka Tribune which opined that Burma's Rohingyas be offered a referendum on whether to secede from the Union.

"We will never allow such damage to the sovereignty and territory of our country," Ye Htut said. "Therefore we will object to this kind of writing. We will also monitor our own country to ensure the same situation is not replicated."

Written as an op-ed by journalist Zasheen Khan, the Dhaka Tribune article draws upon the recent precedence of Crimea to suggest that the Rohingyas "should have the option of forming an independent country between Bangladesh and Myanmar [Burma], unfeasible as that might be, its incorporation into Bangladesh should not be taken off the table if such an opportunity ever presents itself."

The author does not quote any Bangladeshi government source, nor a Rohingya, to corroborate any support for his proposition, relying instead on allegations of persecution of the Rohingya community in Burma, selected historical tidbits, and some miscellaneous international precedents to outline his case.

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Despite the inefficacy of the argument presented, the article immediately caused a stir on social media sites among Burmese and Bangladeshis. Even Rohingya commentators weighed in, expressing displeasure and contempt for any notion of autonomy or secession from Burma for the Rohingya Muslim community in Arakan State.

Outspoken Nay San Lwin of the website Rohingya Blogger called the article "horrible" and said Rohingyas would never separate from Burma.

"If there was a referendum Rohingyas will say, 'We are Burmese. We are Myanmar's Rohingya. We are part of Myanmar and we will always be part of Myanmar'," the blogger concluded.

Meanwhile, Myanmar's Journalists Association has also condemned the author, saying the article was written based on "fabricated and distorted historical backgrounds and facts with intent to incite religious and racial hatred and conflicts in Myanmar, violating journalistic ethics, interfering in Myanmar's domestic affairs and infringing on Myanmar's sovereignty."

Amend the constitution ‘for the stability of the country’, says Suu Kyi

Posted: 24 Mar 2014 02:51 AM PDT

Aung San Suu Kyi gave her latest speech about amending the 2008 constitution in Madalay Division's Mogok on Sunday.

Her focus was on article 436, which states that for a bill to pass it has to have the approval of 75 percent of parliament.

However, as the army holds 25 percent of seats in parliament, they have the power to veto any motion that is not in their interests.

Suu Kyi said the army should be proud to be as one with the public, instead of isolated.

"If the Tatmadaw [Burmese armed forces] is not of the same blood as the people and stands separately, it is not good for the Tatmadaw or for our country," she said. "That is why I say that we all should try to amend the constitution that isolates the standing of army."

Suu Kyi went on to say that amending the Constitution would bring stability to the country, but any reform would have to happen gradually.

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"For the stability of the country and for everybody's well-being, we have an intention to change and amend [the Constitution] step by step. It is important to start changing it from article 436. If we can change article 436, the people's representatives can change the rest of the Constitution in accordance with the peoples' desire," she said.

Suu Kyi and the National League for Democracy (NLD) have been on a campaign across the country to rally support for constitutional change.

In February, the NLD and the 88 Generation Peace and Open Society (88 GPOS) signed a joint statement asserting their commitment to work together for charter reform.

Many people in Burma feel that amending article 436 is key to further constitutional reform and a more democratic country.

 

Desperately seeking bidders: Dawei SEZ

Posted: 24 Mar 2014 01:34 AM PDT

The massive Dawei project has taken a new twist, as no interested bidders have applied for concessions opened in February for three jobs: a dual-lane highway linking Thailand with the site in eastern Burma, a small port, and a 30,000-rai industrial estate.

"The terms of reference for the three projects should be revised to make them more appealing to foreign investors," said a source from Thailand's Government House who asked not to be named.

Under the original schedule, Dawei SEZ Development Co (DSEZ), a special-purpose vehicle, had planned to open bidding for the three construction jobs in February and announce the results in April.

Thailand and Burma officially agreed to push the ambitious scheme forward last November, with three memoranda of understanding (MoU) signed by the two countries.

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The first MoU covered the framework agreement of the Dawei concession and its transfer to DSEZ from Italian-Thai Development Plc (ITD), which had received the original concession from the Burmese government in November 2010.

Thailand and Burma agreed last June to set up DSEZ with an equal shareholding and an initial investment of 12 million baht, far below the 100 million baht proposed earlier. The company is registered in Thailand.

The two countries also agreed to set up special-purpose companies (SPCs) to manage projects such as the port, road and rail links, power plants, waterworks, industrial estates, a telecom network and the township. The SPCs will be registered in Burma.

The second MoU concerns the revocation of the existing concession between ITD and Burma, and the third involves the warranty that new investors in the port and roads are legally obligated to pay for what ITD has already invested, worth about 6 billion baht (US$200 million).

Chanvit Amatamatucharti, deputy secretary-general of the National Economic and Social Development Board, said the Neighbouring Countries Economic Development Cooperation Agency has already approved 18 million baht to finance a study to revise the terms of reference for the three projects and make them more flexible and attractive to foreign investors.

"DSEZ itself has admitted that the terms of reference may not be attractive enough for investors," he said.

According to Mr Chanvit, consultants would be hired to revise the three projects in terms of investment cost and rate of investment.

 

This article was first published in the Bangkok Post on 24 March 2014.

 

Arakanese threaten to boycott census over Rohingya issue

Posted: 24 Mar 2014 01:08 AM PDT

Arakanese Buddhists from all of the state's 17 townships have vowed to boycott Burma's upcoming census after the government ignored an ultimatum to omit the term "Rohingya" from data collection.

Thousands of Arakanese, joined by Buddhist monk Wirathu, gathered on 16 March to demand that the term be expressly excluded by enumerators writing in ethnic affiliations, urging them to instead use the term "Bengali". Demonstrators issued a joint letter to the Central Census Committee requesting a formal reply before 21 March.

"We will not allow census data collection in Arakan State," said Than Htun, one of the campaign organisers, adding that all of Arakan's 17 townships will participate in the boycott.

Myint Kyaing, director general of the Department of Population, insisted that the census will be conducted in accordance with international standards and is designed to serve the interests of the people.

"The issue of using the terms Bengali or Rohingya is still being negotiated by the state government and respective authorities. There is no exact answer yet about the usage," he said.

The census, supported by the United Nations Population Fund, will begin on 30 March and continue through 10 April. It will be the first census conducted in the country in over 30 years, though results of all previous surveys are by and large dismissed as inaccurate.

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The forthcoming census has caused controversy in many of Burma's ethnic states and regions, especially the restive western state of Arakan, where an estimated 800,000 Rohingya Muslims are denied citizenship and referred to as illegal Bengali immigrants, though many claim to have lived in Burma for several generations and in some areas constitute a majority of the population.

Enumerators are trained to inquire about participants' ethnic and religious identities, the former to either fall into one of Burma's 135 officially recognised ethnic nationalities or be written in under an "other" category. Much of Burma's predominantly Buddhist population denies the legitimacy of a Rohingya race, claiming that the term was fabricated by immigrants whose populations are widely assumed to be growing, though hard evidence to that effect does not yet exist.

Burma's Rohingya population has for decades been subject to restrictions on movement and several aspects of family life, under state policies premised on population control. Rights groups have condemned the policies as tantamount to "persecution", a punishable offence of international law.

 

Japanese FM aims to strengthen ties on visit to Burma

Posted: 23 Mar 2014 11:44 PM PDT

Japan's foreign minister, Fumio Kishida, will meet his Burmese counterpart, Wunna Maung Lwin, as well as President Thein Sein and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi during two days of political and economic talks beginning on Monday.

Kishida arrived in Rangoon on Sunday night and is expected to restate Japan's support for democratic reforms, as financial aid and investment continues to be bolstered.

According to a Kyodo-based news agency, the Japanese delegation will announce a fresh 8 billion yen (US$78.5 million) package for hospital equipment and health-worker training.

Japan is the largest foreign aid donor to Burma — having pledged US$1.5 billion in the time since Prime Minister Shinzo Abe took office in December 2012. That aid has been coupled with direct business investment as Japanese firms look to enter the bourgeoning Burmese manufacturing sector, increasingly focusing on Special Economic Zones (SEZs) on Burma's coastline south of Rangoon.

Japan has played a strong role in the development of SEZs across Burma, with the Japan International Cooperation Association (JICA) advising the Burmese government as they legislated for the deregulated zones.

Last month Japanese car manufacturers Mitsubishi, Suzuki and Toyota all lodged bids to operate in Thilawa SEZ, outside of Rangoon, encouraged by the relaxed investment regulations which will characterise the business hub.

The move was criticised, however, by local NGOs, including the Karen Environment & Social Network, which said that local communities have been frozen out of the economic fact-finding process and now risk exploitation as foreign businesses are encouraged to take advantage of the low wages on offer at the SEZs.

SEZs under construction in Dawei in Tenasserim Division and Kyaukphyu in Arakan State have also stirred controversy with local and international rights groups repeatedly reiterating concerns as to the potential for workplace exploitation.

Japanese investment in Burma stood at over US$300 million at the end of 2013, making it the tenth largest investor in Burma. China remains the largest, having invested over US$14 billion since 1988.

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Mon seek equal footing on census

Posted: 23 Mar 2014 10:36 PM PDT

With the start of the national census less than a week away, Mon leaders are pushing for their true ethnic identities to be written on ID cards.

The director of the Yangon Mon Population Collection Committee, Min Soe Aung, said the list of ethnic groups on the census has been manipulated and doesn't offer a true account of the population.

"We found that seven out of ten ethnic people are misrepresented on the list," he said.

Even if a person was listed as Mon on their ID card and household list, official records often list them as Burman, he added.

Min Soe Aung said because of this, minority groups are losing political opportunities and rights.

The data recorded is intended to determine whether Mon representatives could be warranted in divisions outside of Mon State that have large populations of the ethnic minority.

"Under the Constitution, each ethnic group that reaches 0.1 percent of the total population of that particular state or division can elect their own MP. Now we want to know the exact number of Mon people in Yangon [Rangoon] Division so we can elect our own Mon MP," he said.

Last month the people of Mon State celebrated Mon National Day while in Rangoon thousands of Mon people recorded their data on documents as part of their own population count.

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Investment banker Thander Khaing registered her identity as Mon although she had previously been counted as a Burman on her ID card.

"When we went to immigration to renew my ID card, I accidentally said I was a Burman. I didn't think about it too carefully but it was a mistake. I'm a Mon, so I should be listed as a Mon," she said.

Min Soe Aung said that by registering their true ethnic identity on the census, ethnic people across Burma will be brought one step closer to equality.

"Equality is as important as democracy and human rights in the quest to achieve peace in this country," he said. "These concepts are all related. When these components are fulfilled, we will achieve peace."

Under decades of Burmese military rule, people from ethnic minorities were discriminated against. Many say they were given fewer job opportunities and government films often portrayed them as separatists and terrorists.

To obtain better education, better job opportunities and a better life in general, many ethnic people chose to refer to themselves as Burman.

Correction: The video states that, "each ethnic group of the population that reaches 0.01 percent of the total population of that particular state or division can elect their own MP." The correct percentage is 0.1.
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