Democratic Voice of Burma

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• Aid in Arakan at ‘bare minimum’
• DVB reporter jailing prompts doubts over Burma’s press freedom
• Min Aung Hlaing meets armed groups in Shan State
• China needed for Burma’s reforms: Shwe Mann
• Win Tin ‘speaking clearly’ and ‘working’ as condition improves in hospital: NLD
• Funeral NGO calls for hearse licenses after arrests

Aid in Arakan at ‘bare minimum’ Posted: 08 Apr 2014 05:19 AM PDT The international community has again issued urgent pleas to the Burmese government to restore humanitarian access and ensure the protection of residents — foreign and local — in Arakan State, where critical health and supply services were largely terminated in late March. "Hundreds of thousands of vulnerable people in Rakhine [Arakan], mainly from the Rohingya community, are not receiving vital medical and humanitarian aid," read a joint statement issued by the UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) and the Department for Internal Development. British Foreign Office Minister Hugo Swire on Monday summoned the Burmese Ambassador to the FCO to urge restoration of humanitarian access. The same day, UN Special Rapporteur Tomás Ojea Quintana called recent events in Arakan "the latest in a long history of discrimination and persecution against the Rohingya community which could amount to crimes against humanity", and warned that the withdrawal of aid "will have severe consequences" on the right to life for both displaced Muslims and other isolated villagers. Hundreds of aid workers were evacuated from Arakan State capital Sittwe after their homes and offices were ransacked by Buddhist mobs in what some witnesses have described as a premeditated offensive against aid workers, whom many locals believe favour the Muslim community. While some critical operations have resumed, such as some water deliveries and at least one programme for severely malnourished children, services are for the most part stalled and currently running at a "bare minimum", NGO sources said. Related Stories Authorities accused of undermining efforts to resume Arakan aid Arakan govt say they can meet food, medicine needs Govt pledges safety of UN, INGO workers in Sittwe Pierre Peron, spokesperson for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, told DVB on Tuesday that while short-term measures are being negotiated, some highly critical services will need more stable solutions as the monsoon season draws near. “In terms of health, the critical issue is still emergency medical referrals. The large majority of emergency medical cases are not being referred to the hospitals," said Peron. "Because before, there were NGOs that could provide ambulances and boats, but that's simply not happening anymore." About half of emergency referrals in the area are for critical labour complications, he said. The removal of humanitarian aid has severely hampered access to healthcare for nearly one million highly vulnerable people in Arakan State, including about 140,000 Rohingya Muslims living in camps for internally displaced persons, since a rash of communal violence broke out in June 2012. The main obstacles to full resumption of relief are physical space and travel authorisation, according to Peron. When workers fled from the area on the 27 March, homes and offices were looted and badly damaged, and some tenant contracts have since been terminated. Aid workers say they are having a difficult time finding physical spaces to work. “The irony in all of this is that a lot of tourists are still going to Sittwe, and it's peak season so a lot of the hotels are actually full. We [international aid groups] simply don't have enough space," said Peron. The Burmese government has not issued travel restrictions for tourists in Sittwe, a popular destination for those en route to nearby Mrauk-U. Relocated aid workers still await authorisation to re-enter the area. "These workers were in Rakhine State providing essential life-saving support, including health services, water and food to internally displaced persons, isolated villages, and other affected communities," Quintana said in a statement, which also reiterated the findings of his final mission to Burma that, "crimes against humanity may have been committed in Rakhine State." The Burmese government was similarly chastised in February for expelling frontline health responders Médecins Sans Frontières from the state. The group's renegotiated MoU with the government allowed them to resume operations elsewhere in the country, but they remain unable to operate in Arakan.

DVB reporter jailing prompts doubts over Burma’s press freedom Posted: 08 Apr 2014 04:43 AM PDT Several leading actors in the international community have voiced concern and accused the Thein Sein government of backsliding on its commitment to media reform, following the sentencing to one year in prison of DVB reporter Zaw Pe on Monday. The charges against Zaw Pe stem from an incident in August 2012 when he visited the Magwe Division Education Department to conduct an interview about a Japanese-funded scholarship programme. An educational officer subsequently pressed charges against the Burmese journalist and Win Myint Hlaing, the father of a student who was inquiring about the scholarships. On Monday, a court in Magwe upheld the charges of "trespassing" and "disturbing a civil servant while on duty" and sentenced both the accused to one year concurrent on each charge. "The jailing of Zaw Pe is the latest step in what appears to be a ‎concerted effort to intimidate and restrict the media," said Mark Farmaner, director of Burma Campaign UK. "There is serious backsliding on media freedom and there needs to be a very robust response from the international community." Related Stories DVB reporter sentenced to 1 year for 'disturbing a civil servant' Public Service Media Bill rejected by Interim Press Council Unity journalists' trial begins in Pakokku On Monday, Shawn Crispin, the senior Southeast Asia representative for the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), said, "Today’s conviction of journalist Zaw Pe is the latest indication that Burma’s once-promising democratic reform program is rapidly being reversed. With at least five journalists now in jail, President Thein Sein’s vows to uphold press freedom ring increasingly hollow. We call for the immediate release of all reporters being held in Burma.” In a statement, CPJ called for the verdict against Zaw Pe and Win Myint Hlaing to be overturned on appeal. Andrew Leahy, public diplomacy officer at the US Embassy in Rangoon, told DVB on Monday that "the sentence given to Zaw Pe sends the wrong message to the international community and local journalists on the Union Government's commitment to sustaining freedom of expression and to political reform." A British Embassy spokesperson said, "We are concerned by the jailing this week of DVB reporter Zaw Pe in Magway [Magwe]. Media freedoms are an essential element of democracy, and it is important that they are protected." David Mathieson, senior researcher on Burma for Human Rights Watch, said, "Zaw Pe's sentencing is another reprehensible example of the government's recidivism on press freedoms, pulling out military era provisions to intimidate the media. Unfortunately the national level parliament is failing to repeal these petty provisions utilized by capricious local officials and is instead drafting laws that will intimidate the press and curtail their ability to investigate corruption and malfeasance." DVB Multimedia Group on Monday released a statement denouncing the sentencing. "DVB is confident that reporter Zaw Pe (a.k.a. Thura Thet Tin) was fulfilling his responsibility as a news reporter to inquire about a scholarship programme at the Magwe Township Education Department, which was in the public interest," the statement read, "and therefore completely denounce his sentencing. "Despite all the government officials' pledges of press reform, we believe the jailing of Zaw Pe is an obstacle to media freedom in the country, and we call for the unconditional release of the reporter and his co-defendant," the DVB statement read. Last month, the trial began – also in Magwe – of four journalists and the CEO of Unity Weekly journal, charged with violating the State Secrets Act. The Unity staffers were charged after reporting in January about a factory allegedly concealing chemical weapons in Magwe's Pauk Township. The hearings are ongoing at Pakokku district court.

Min Aung Hlaing meets armed groups in Shan State Posted: 08 Apr 2014 03:56 AM PDT Burma's military commander-in-chief, Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing, travelled on Sunday to Shan State where he conducted meetings with representatives of the Shan State Army North (SSA-N), the United Wa State Army and more than two dozen representatives of local militia groups. Lt-Col Sai La, spokesperson for the SSA-N, met with the government defence chief at the Burmese army's Northern Regional Military Command headquarters in the northern Shan town of Lashio on the morning of Sunday 6 April. The meeting was the first time the SSA-N had come face to face with the government's most senior military official. According to Sai La, Min Aung Hlaing used the meeting to stress the inviolability of his six-point policy for the peace process, which insists that ethnic armed groups: have a "genuine wish" for peace; adhere to promises made during the negotiations; follow the rule of law; and do not "burden or terrorise" the public. Widespread allegations have surfaced from ShanState as to the forced recruitment of villagers to ethnic militias. The most recent groups implicated are the Ta'ang (Palaung) National Liberation Army, who remain embroiled in sporadic fighting with government troops, and the Kachin Independence Army, whom the Taileng (Red Shan), accuse of violently co-opting their villagers into the Kachin armed resistance. Further to his first five points, Min Aung Hlaing stressed at the meeting that peace negotiations should reinforce elements of the 2008 Constitution. The senior-general is a vocal supporter of the Constitution, and the special place it provides for the army within the make-up of the state. Min Aung Hlaing has taken several opportunities, including last week's Armed Forces Day parade, to counter parliamentary speaker Shwe Mann's openness to possible constitutional change. Covering Sunday's meeting, the state-run New Light of Myanmar cited the commander-in-chief as expressing his desire to cooperate with the ethnic armed groups for the "sake of the country" and to reinforce mutual trust. Yet that trust has faltered after sporadic clashes between government troops and fighters from the SSA-N in recent weeks. In mid-March, Burmese troops allegedly shelled and routed 11 villages in northern Shan State, torturing civilians thought to be aware of SSA-N movements. On that occasion, according to the Shan Human Rights Foundation, the Burmese army used the cleared villages to launch a devastating assault on the SSA-N. Related Stories Burmese army threatens force to complete census in KIO area Rangoon ceasefire talks a 'historic situation', says Gun Maw UN's Nambiar urges greater KIO commitment to peace as battles rage in Kachin That assault was not raised by the SSA-N at their meeting with the Burmese commander-in-chief. Sai La explained the omission by saying that the incident was not a political one, shaped only by the actions of "troops on the ground". Despite not raising the March clashes, Sai La told DVB that genuine peace and ethnic equality is still "some way off" and that in the meantime the armed groups have no choice but to continue their armed resistance.

China needed for Burma’s reforms: Shwe Mann Posted: 08 Apr 2014 01:13 AM PDT The Speaker of Burma's Union Parliament and the House of Representatives, Shwe Mann, said Burma is willing to learn from China’s development experience and push forward reform. Speaking in an interview just before his seventh visit to China, Shwe Mann compared Burma's transition process to China's path to economic development. "Nowadays China has been promoting reforms continuously, which offered experience and lessons to Burma. In fact, it is necessary to push forward reform. China’s achievement today relies on continuous reform and development," he said. Shwe Mann said though Burma is making progress with political reforms, he acknowledged that the people have yet to benefit. “Burma has experienced great changes during the past three years, but mostly in the field of political reform. People have hardly benefited from economic reform," he said. Related Stories Burma's education policy under fire from academics Landslide kills 6, injures 4 in Kachin jade mine Chinese NGO aims to tackle poverty in Burma through microloans China is the largest investor in Burma and Shwe Mann said Burma would not be able to develop its economy without help and support from China. Shwe Mann's visit to China from 8-12 April is to promote bilateral ties and exchanges between Burma's parliament and China’s National People’s Congress. As chairman of the ruling party in Burma, the Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), Shwe Mann said reform would be top of the agenda if the USDP won the 2015 election. “If we win the general elections in 2015, we will promote scheduled reforms aiming at multiparty democracy and market economy,” he said.

Win Tin ‘speaking clearly’ and ‘working’ as condition improves in hospital: NLD Posted: 08 Apr 2014 12:48 AM PDT National League of Democracy (NLD) statesman Win Tin, 84, is in an improved condition, despite being forced to remain in Rangoon General Hospital. Speaking to DVB on Monday, the niece of the high profile former journalist and political prisoner said that he was now speaking and breathing on his own. "They have removed the respirator, which he is very pleased about as it required a tube down his throat," said Yin Tun, who has been caring for her famous uncle as he recovers from 29 April surgery on his large intestine. Han Thar Myint, of the NLD Executive Committee, says the irrepressible democracy campaigner is even trying to work from his hospital bed. "Win Tin is used to writing his own articles, that's the only work he can do at the moment, so he is doing it." Han Thar Myint said on Tuesday. "He has improved very much, and can speak very clearly. However the doctors wont allow him to work, so he must hide his pens and papers when the doctors come to check up on him." Related Stories Suu Kyi to visit Germany, France Suu Kyi listens to land grab victims Win Tin given '50-50 chance’ despite regaining consciousness Despite Win Tin's improved condition, the NLD remains unsure of when their second in charge will be free to return home. "Nobody can assess when he might be able to leave hospital," Han Thar Myint said. "There are a lot of media people waiting inside the hospital, near his room. That is why Daw Suu has not yet visited," the NLD spokesman added. "She is nervous that her arrival would cause a stir, with media people following her into Win Tin's room."

Funeral NGO calls for hearse licenses after arrests Posted: 07 Apr 2014 11:05 PM PDT Rangoon-based charity group Free Funeral Service Society (FFSS) has urged government authorities to allow their hearses to be registered following the arrest of seven of their members in Pegu [Bago] late last month. Seven charity group members in Tawi village in Pegu's Nyaunglebin Township were arrested by local police on grounds that the hearses they were using were unlicensed vehicles. Kyaw Thu, a well-known former film actor and director-turned-philanthropist who runs the FFSS, said the authorities should issue registration for the hearses to avoid similar issues in the future. Related Stories Local charities filling Kachin aid void Aiding the final journey Kyaw Thu: 'Apolitical in Burma is egoism' "As everyone should be equal under the law, the authorities should arrest everyone in the country who owns an unlicensed vehicle – including all the charities," he said. "Then I would like to see if the government would be able to take responsibility for the services the charities were providing." Kyaw Thu continued: "There are cases of unlicensed vehicles donated to revered Buddhist monks and the authorities have issued registrations for them. They can do the same for charity groups. They can register the hearses and ambulances we use to allow them to provide a valuable assistance to the public." He said the majority of hearses used by free funeral charities across the country – except those in Rangoon – are unregistered because the organisations spend all their money on arranging funerals. FFSS was set up by Kyaw Thu in the early 2000s to provide free funerals for families who cannot afford the expenses. A regular target of attacks from the Burmese junta, the organisation celebrated its 100,000th free funeral in March 2011.

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