Democratic Voice of Burma

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• Magwe activists march for press freedom
• Fresh drinking water for drought-ridden Dala
• Arakan armies to join peace process
• Battles, mortars, roadside bombings reported in Kachin, N. Shan states

Magwe activists march for press freedom Posted: 07 May 2014 04:04 AM PDT MAGWE — Exactly one month after a court in Magwe handed DVB video journalist Zaw Pe a year-long prison sentence, more than 200 protestors took to the streets of the central Burmese city to stage an unauthorised demonstration in support of press freedom. Authorities denied the protestors a permit on the grounds that the Magwe Division Police do not acknowledge the wrongful imprisonment of any journalists within their jurisdiction, adding that Zaw Pe and other journalists currently in detention are being held on criminal charges. Organisers of the demonstration said that at least five journalists are currently being wrongfully detained in Magwe: Zaw Pe, incarcerated in Thayet Prison; and five staffers of the Unity Weekly journal, who are still detained in Pakokku Prison while being tried on charges of disclosing state secrets. Zaw Pe was jailed on 7 May after being convicted for trespassing and disturbing a civil servant. Charges were filed after an August 2012 attempt to interview a Magwe education department official about a Japanese-funded scholarship programme. Tuesday's march was one of several similar public appeals for his immediate release. Related Stories Burma's media laws rife with 'loopholes' On World Press Freedom Day, how free is the Burmese media? Suu Kyi, 88 Gen leaders join for Constitution rally Supported by local 88 Generation Peace and Open Society (88GPOS) members and representatives of the National League for Democracy, a crowd of supporters marched for two hours and ended at the district education office, symbolic of Zaw Pe's arrest. Participants say they were stopped by police three times along the route, and that authorities attempted to block them with barbed-wire barricades. No arrests were made on Tuesday, though participants worry that arrests could be made later, as has happened in the past. On 26 March, a journalist in Prome [Pyay] was arrested for a similar unauthorised protest, also demanding greater press freedoms. The detention of Burmese journalists sparked outcry in several parts of the country, as well as inciting the ire of international media rights organisations. While media suppression affects the whole country, some say that it is particularly bad in Magwe. In 2010, Aung Thu Nyein, a journalist working for Eleven Media, was held in a police cell in Magwe for two days for taking a photo of a tree that had fallen down during a storm. "I believe that this situation results from the hardline attitudes of Magwe authorities in particular … The government in Magwe hasn't changed in the same way the Union government has," he said. "Magwe has a government with no experience or interest in democratic practice. I think that makes this city a very hard place to be a journalist." Aung Thu Nyein, a close friend and working partner of Zaw Pe, believes that the staunch conservatism of Magwe's regional government combined with President Thein Sein's refusal to acknowledge the situation will result in Zaw Pe serving out the entire one-year sentence, but he said he believes that protests such as these are critical for building public confidence. "Local people have always been afraid to ask questions, to take photos. Now they see us chanting for media freedom and they think maybe we can all move out of the dark ages," he said.

Fresh drinking water for drought-ridden Dala Posted: 06 May 2014 11:42 PM PDT Residents of Dala Township, southwest of Rangoon, received clean drinking water for the first time on Tuesday, as thousands of people across Burma face water shortages due to drought and delayed monsoons. Woman and children in the village lined up with plastic buckets to get clean drinking water, arranged by Burmese donors who have paid for the water to be piped from downtown Rangoon. Near the township, which lies just across the Rangoon River from the heart of the city, several lakes have completely dried up and the little water that is available is not drinkable. “The problem with the water in Dala Township is that the water is salty. There are too many minerals in it and it cannot be used. Some people have to mix the water with lime, just for daily use for showers and to wash clothes. That’s all,” regional head Zaw Myo said. Sixty-year-old Dala resident, Daw Mya Yin, was happy that her village now has access to drinking water. “I am so happy,” she said, “It’s been a while since we had drinking water. We are now facing a water shortage.” Water shortages have been spreading nation-wide since April due rising summer temperatures and dried-up reservoirs. Weather reports have recorded temperatures as high as 40°C (104°F) in some areas. Related Stories Govt cracks down on contraband Burma’s workers rally for rights on May Day Staff suspected in macabre school poisoning

Arakan armies to join peace process Posted: 06 May 2014 11:18 PM PDT Two Arakan-based armed groups, Democratic Party of Arakan (DPA) and National United Party of Arakan (NUPA), have been accepted by the Burmese government to join the nationwide peace process. The DPA and NUPA – two of four armed groups in Arakan State – have not participated in peace talks until now, nor have they reached preliminary ceasefire agreements with the government. However, both militias sent delegations to last week's Arakan National Conference in Kyaukphyu, followed by a visit to Rangoon to informally meet with the government's Union Peace-making Work Committee (UPWC) on 5 May. DPA Vice-chairman Nyi Nyi Lwin said the Arakanese delegations and the UPWC reached a three-point agreement in Rangoon, including the proviso that DPA and NUPA will join the peace process. "[Government chief negotiator] Minister Aung Min has recognised both the groups' participation in the peace process," he said. "Our leaders will be granted permission to travel in government-controlled territory and to join in drafting a framework for the political dialogue scheduled to begin within 60 days of a nationwide ceasefire agreement being signed. We will sit in on the dialogue until a national accord is reached." Previously, two other Arakanese armed groups, the Arakan Liberation Party and the Arakan Army, agreed to an alliance, but rejected merging with the DPA and NUPA. Related Stories Aid workers negotiate terms in Arakan Burmese govt agrees to peace talks with Kachin rebels Ethnic leaders discuss ceasefire in Chiang Mai

Battles, mortars, roadside bombings reported in Kachin, N. Shan states Posted: 06 May 2014 08:38 PM PDT Kachin Independence Army (KIA) and Burmese army troops have fought fierce battles in Kachin and northern Shan State in the past weeks despite another meeting scheduled for the two sides to meet next week in Myitkyina, the capital of Kachin State. KIA's 27th Battalion troops on Monday engaged in a battle against an unknown Burmese army unit at old Pung Ling village in southern Kachin State at 6:45 am. The battle lasted for about an hour. The two sides subsequently encountered in the afternoon near old Pung Ling village. No official casualty figure has been reported on either side. A local source says two Burmese military trucks reportedly carrying soldiers from 88th Light Infantry Division, supplies of ammunition and food were hit by a roadside bomb between Ta Long and Maw Taung on Kutkai-Nam Kham road in northern Shan State on 4 May at 2 pm. One sergeant and another driver were killed in this roadside bomb explosion, said the source. No group has claimed responsibility for the bomb attack. At least three insurgent groups: KIA, Ta-ang National Liberation Army, Shan State Army and a number of pro-government militia groups are active in northern Shan State. Related Stories 14 Kachin refugees arrested by Burmese Army Organic farming offers Kachin IDPs vital health options In pictures: Kachin IDPs seek shelter in China On the same day, Burmese army troops stationed at Mai Hpang post in Mungpaw, headquarters of pro-government militia Mungpaw Pyi Tu Tsits, fired 32 mortar rounds into nearby mountain range where they assume KIA troops take up positions, reported a KLN source. Mungpaw is located near Munggu (Monkoe) in northern Shan State. The mortar attack began with intermittent shelling at 3 pm and lasted for two hours. Local sources say thousands of Burmese army troops surrounded Mungpaw for days and in last week two fighter jets were seen flying over the area. Hundreds of local villages have fled their villages to safer locations in Mungpaw and Muse Township.   This article was originally published in Kachinland News on 5 May 2014.

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