Democratic Voice of Burma

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• Poets, cartoonists join campaign to overturn Article 436
• Karens conclude ‘unity’ meeting at Lay Wah
• Tensions flare at Burma-Bangladesh border
• Trishaw drivers protest ‘unnecessary demands’ by Prome council
• Burmese athletes lose gold after failing dope tests

Poets, cartoonists join campaign to overturn Article 436 Posted: 31 May 2014 02:05 AM PDT A group of Burmese poets and cartoonists joined together in Rangoon on Friday to sign a petition to amend Article 436 of the Constitution, which stipulates that no provision of the 2008 charter can be altered without the prior approval of more than 75 percent of MPs in the Union Parliament. Many critics of Burma's Constitution – notable among them Aung San Suu Kyi of the main opposition party, National League for Democracy (NLD) – have prioritised the overturning of Article 436 as they say it gives the military full veto power over any other proposed changes, owing to the fact that they control 25 percent of the seats in both houses. On Friday, some of the country's best known poets signed the petition at The Last Leaf Gallery on Pansodan Street while cartoonists put pen to paper at the Capacity Development Center on 35th Street. Related Stories Peace without constitutional reform is like 'hopping on one leg', says Min Ko Naing Suu Kyi rebuked for 'challenge' to military Constitutional reform rally held in Irrawaddy division Renowned cartoonist Shwe Min Thar said, "Everything depends on the military. If they don’t change, we can’t do anything. But it is possible for them to change. The Constitution is written by human beings, so it is easily within our power to change it. All of us here want to amend it. If the government follows the will of the people, then they will change it. I think it all depends on them.” Another well-known cartoonist, Aw Pi Kyal, said, "I know that this petition will not compel the government to amend the Constitution, but we are offering our opinion to the president." Similarly, in Mandalay, about 100 members of a former political prisoners' network signed a petition to amend the Constitution on Friday. Poets and cartoonists in Mandalay had earlier in the week signed the petition at Mandalay's main NLD office. The petition was launched by the NLD and the 88 Generation Peace and Open Society civil society group this month as a 50-day campaign to collect signatures from people across the country, calling for the government to amend Article 436.

Karens conclude ‘unity’ meeting at Lay Wah Posted: 31 May 2014 01:13 AM PDT The 10th Karen Unity Seminar wraps up on Saturday after three days of talks in Hpa-an focused on bringing together the various competing ethnic Karen factions. Hosted by the Karen National Union (KNU) at its headquarters in Lawkheela, also known as Lay Wah, near the Thai-Burmese border, the meeting brought together some 500 to 600 Karens from Burma, Thailand and beyond. In his opening speech on Thursday, KNU Chairman Mutu Say Poe urged the representatives to value diversity. "We Karens have different languages, political beliefs, armed groups and geographical homelands," he said. "It is important to express one's own opinions but also consider others. By working on solutions together, we can bring unity to our people." Related Stories Peace without constitutional reform is like 'hopping on one leg', says Min Ko Naing KNU constructs housing in preparation for peace Suu Kyi asks KNU to focus on constitutional reform KNU District Chairman Saw Eh Wah told the audience that the Karen people had long lacked unity as a result of instability in the country, the decades-long civil war, and the policy of divide and rule by the Burmese government. "Here and now is the time for the Karen to establish unity," he continued. Ethnic Karen in Burma make up about 5 million of the country's estimated 60 million population. In addition to Karen State, many live in Rangoon, the Irrawaddy delta, and Pegu and Tenasserim divisions. Led by the KNU, the Karen led many of Burma's other ethnic groups into a civil war in 1949, fighting against the central government for autonomy; a war that has lasted until now. However, in modern times the KNU was fractured by dissenting parties; a Buddhist faction, the Democratic Buddhist Karen Army split from the KNU in 1994, contributing to military defeat and the downfall of the KNU's jungle headquarters in Manerplaw. Various other factions and sub-factions formed in recent years as commanders in each area looked to their own self-interests when business opportunities opened up.

Tensions flare at Burma-Bangladesh border Posted: 30 May 2014 11:07 PM PDT Troops clashed at the Burma-Bangladesh border on Friday as tensions boiled over while Burmese soldiers were returning the body of a Bangladeshi killed in a skirmish two days before, AFP has reported. Citing Devdash Bhattacharya, the Bangladeshi police chief in the district of Bandarban, the report said that gunfire broke out on Friday afternoon when the Burmese border police failed to return the dead soldier's body on time. "Bhattacharya alleged the Myanmar Border Police took away the Bangladeshi soldier's bullet-riddled body after they opened fire on his patrol team along the border on May 28," AFP reported. DVB learned earlier on Friday that the Burmese ambassador had already been summoned by the Foreign Affairs Department in Dhaka on Thursday to account for the clash; to demand a thorough investigation; and to demand that the man's body and equipment be returned. Related Stories Building barriers: Fencing off the Bangladesh border Burma to summon Bangladeshi ambassador over Rohingya article BIMSTEC leaders convene in Burma Burmese authorities this month have reported three separate clashes in the border zone – on 13, 17 and 28 May. They have asserted each time that the gunmen, alleged to have also killed up to four Burmese police in one incident, were members of the armed group Rohingya Solidarity Organisation (RSO). Speaking to DVB on Friday ahead of the latest incident, Pol-Col Min Aung, the deputy-director of the Burmese Defence and Security Department in Naypyidaw, confirmed that a letter of complaint had been submitted by the Bangladeshi border guard command to its Burmese counterpart. "We [Burmese and Bangladeshi border police] actually discussed the clashes at an earlier meeting," he said. "Our officers raised the issue of the killing of four of our policemen, but the Bangladeshi delegation denied that the attackers were BGB [Border Guard Bangladesh]. "In that case, since only the BGB and RSO are active in this area, then if was not the BGB then it must have been the RSO." With regard to the skirmish on Wednesday in which a Bangladeshi soldier was killed, Min Aung said, "I don't know much detail about the incident. However, usually the border guard units – when on patrol – can be identified by their flags or insignia. None of the men we encountered had insignia. They were in yellow camouflage uniforms without armbands. If they had been BGB they should have been wearing their insignia. They were shot at because they encroached on our territory without any identifiable insignia leading our troops to assume they were insurgents."

Trishaw drivers protest ‘unnecessary demands’ by Prome council Posted: 30 May 2014 09:33 PM PDT Trishaw drivers pedalled the streets of Prome [Pyay], central Burma, on Thursday to protest a recent municipal council regulation requiring them to install side-rails on the passenger seats of their vehicles. Thirty trishaw drivers were accompanied by some 50 supporters in the demonstration, which kicked into gear at 8:30 in the morning under the statute of Gen Aung San in the town centre. The ride continued on to the municipal office where trishaw licenses are issued as drivers chanted their objections to the new regulation. "We are protesting today to demand a more streamlined procedure for gaining trishaw licenses," driver Win Hlaing told a crowd of bystanders. Related Stories Mizzima reporter arrested for protesting media suppression Kaladan project scheduled for mid-2014 completion China pledges, Burma dredges "As car owners, you all know how simple it is to extend your vehicle license at the Directorate of Road Administration – all you just need is to bring your license and the car to the license department. However it is not like that at the municipal council where they keep making unnecessary demands, just as they did under the Than Shwe military regime. This has to stop." As the trishaw drivers made their point, the crowd's demands turned to the desire for an investigation into a 2012 case of forced displacement. In that instance, according to Ponn Ya of civil society organisation Karuna Latmyar (Hands of Compassion), the municipal council rounded up homeless families in Prome, including 30 children, and dumped them outside of town. "The town's authorities rounded up the homeless children and their parents including a blind old man," Ponn Ya said. They were then taken on a garbage truck to a woodland called Nyaungchedauk, across the river from Prome. There they were left." The trishaw protest ended at around 11am. No arrests were reported.

Burmese athletes lose gold after failing dope tests Posted: 30 May 2014 08:02 PM PDT Two Burmese athletes, who won gold medals at the 27th SEA Games hosted in Burma last year, will have to return the medals after it was revealed they used performance-enhancing drugs in the competition. An official from the Myanmar National Sports Federation (MNSF) told DVB under condition of anonymity that Saw Malar New, a gold medal winner in the women's 20km walk, and body-building champion Min Zaw Oo, tested positive for doping. The pair will be forced to return their medals and will each receive a two-year ban from their respective sports, he said. Similarly, an athlete from Brunei also tested positive for doping, while one athlete each from Thailand and Malaysia were under investigation under suspicion of using prohibited drugs. The MNSF is tipped to hold a press conference in the second week of June about the findings. Burma, hosting the 27th SEA Games in December last year, won 86 golds, second only to Thailand which topped the medal tally with 107 gold medals. Vietnam came third with 73 golds. Related Stories Indonesia takes early lead at ASEAN Para Games Prepping for the Para Games SEA Games triumph for Burma

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