Democratic Voice of Burma |
- Burma Business Weekly: 25 July 2014
- Bullet Points: 25 July 2014
- Mutu Say Poe to lead Laiza ceasefire talks
- Shan NGO presents human rights report to new UN rapporteur
- Master Sports employees say they were coerced to give up severance
- 20 Kanbalu plough protestors transferred to distant prisons
- UNHCR raises concerns over Burmese refugee repatriation
| Burma Business Weekly: 25 July 2014 Posted: 25 Jul 2014 04:50 AM PDT
Ups and Downs The Burmese currency remains stable, with the buying rate finishing on Friday at 970, up from 968 kyat, while the selling rate sits at 974, up one kyat from last week. The price of gold dropped slightly from 682,000 kyat per tical to 672,500. Fuel prices mostly remain the same, with petrol selling at 820 kyat per litre, diesel at 950 kyat per litre, and octane up from 920 kyat to 950 kyat per litre. The price of rice did not fluctuate, with high-quality Pawhsanmwe rice selling for 1,300 to 1,700 kyat per basket at most Rangoon markets and low-quality Manawthukha rice going for 900 kyat per basket.
Rangoon cyber-city given go-ahead Burma's President Thein Sein has given the green light to the Rangoon divisional government to build a cyber-city similar to that of Pyin Oo Lwin in Mandalay Region. No site has yet been announced for the proposed IT centre, which is expected to cover 500-600 acres and include facilities for software production, electronics factories and IT colleges.
Malaysia's CIMB Bank eyes Burma licence Malaysia’s second largest bank, CIMB Group, is planning to obtain banking licences in Burma and Vietnam, Channel News Asia reported on Wednesday. The news agency cited chief executive Nazir Razak, who told reporters that CIMB aims to open branches in all Southeast Asian countries by 2015 when a planned partial integration of the ASEAN economies will be completed.
Finance Ministry to release citizens' budget Burma's Ministry of Finance has pledged to introduce a "citizen's budget" which it says will offer transparency so the public can see where government expenditures are allocated. The project is supported by the World Bank. Currently, spending on the military is four times that for health and double that for education.
Chinese transport plan derailed? Plans for a railway connecting western Burma's Arakan coast with Yunnan, China, have been cancelled due to strong public opposition, DPA reported on Wednesday. The agency cited an unnamed official stating that no progress has been made since signing an MoU for the project in 2011. However, at a press conference on Thursday, China's ambassador to Burma, Yang Houlan, denied that the project had been scrapped.
Burma's businesses still lack transparency: MCRB Probing Burma's largest businesses on their commitment to transparency, the Myanmar Centre for Responsible Business, or MCRB, said it found that the majority of domestic firms are unwilling or unable to disclose information on their own human rights standards. That list includes Union of Myanmar Economic Holdings, a military-owned firm that holds joint ownership of the controversial Latpadaung copper mine. "What we haven't been able to do through the survey is check that even if they talk the talk, do they walk the walk," said Bowman, a former British ambassador to Burma. Read more: http://www.dvb.no/news/burmas-businesses-still-lack-transparency-mcrb-burma-myanmar/42689
Ne Win's grandson to buy into AGD Bank The grandson of late Burmese dictator Ne Win revealed on Tuesday that he plans to purchase the majority of shares of Asian Green Development Bank (AGD Bank), which is owned by Tay Za, a well-known tycoon with links to Burma's former military junta. Kyaw Ne Win, the oldest grandson of the former president, told DVB that he has bought up 60 percent of the AGD Bank's shares, and plans to purchase more – up to 85 percent. His purchase of AGD Bank shares comes as the bank is looking to list on the Rangoon Stock Exchange, which is expected to be launched in 2015. Read more: http://www.dvb.no/news/ne-wins-grandson-to-buy-into-agd-bank-burma-myanmar/42679
Wolfowitz received $75,000 for Burma work from anti-Beijing tycoon: leaks Media and garment mogul Jimmy Lai Chee-Ying, well-known for his anti-Beijing sympathies and support for the Hong Kong democracy movement, paid former World Bank president and US Deputy Defence Secretary Paul Wolfowitz US$75,000 last year for "services in regards to Myanmar," leaked documents show. The nature of the services provided by Wolfowitz to Lai in Burma are unclear. Wolfowitz currently works for the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think-tank, and is the chairman of the US-Taiwan Business Council. Read more: http://www.dvb.no/news/wolfowitz-recieved-75000-burma-work-tycoon-myanmar/42667
China demands hygiene standards on Burmese rice to legalise trade The Chinese government is demanding a formal sanitary and phytosanitary agreement on rice standards with Burma, according to local sources. The agreement is required by China to legalise its rice trade with Burma, the joint-secretary of the Myanmar Rice Federation was quoted as saying. Though China accounts for about 60 percent of total unprocessed rice exports from Burma for the last two years, Chinese authorities view the trade as illegal due to the absence of a formal sanitary and phytosanitary agreement on rice standards between the two countries. Such an agreement would require Burma's milled rice exports to follow China's plant quarantine rules, including a third-party guarantee that they are free of disease or pests.
British Chamber of Commerce launched in Rangoon The British Chamber of Commerce launched on Tuesday in Rangoon, paving the way for UK businesses to foster and promote investments in Burma. According to the Chambers' website, UK exports to Burma increased from US$17 million in 2012 to almost $60 million in 2013. The British government anticipates that exports to the country will increase to $1.35 trillion by 2020 – a benchmark that the newly launched Chamber of Commerce will assist by identifying market opportunities for potential investors. Read more: http://www.dvb.no/news/british-chamber-of-commerce-launched-in-rangoon-burma-myanmar/42367
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| Posted: 25 Jul 2014 04:04 AM PDT Today on Bullet Points: Charges were brought against Korean shoe manufacturers Master Sports in Lanthaya court in Rangoon on Friday. The UN refugee agency says that Burmese refugees living in Thailand will face various challenges if they are repatriated. US Senator Mitch McConnell has called on Burma to amend its constitution and allow Aung San Suu Kyi to run for president. A complete lack of garbage removal services in Rangoon's Thaketa township has resulted in a rapid deterioration in the health of its residents.
You can watch Bullet Points live on DVB TV after the 7 o’clock news.
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| Mutu Say Poe to lead Laiza ceasefire talks Posted: 25 Jul 2014 03:53 AM PDT Burma's ethnic leaders convened in Laiza, Kachin State, on Thursday for the next round of discussions on a nationwide ceasefire agreement, where they established a leading committee to oversee political aspects of the peace process. The 16-member Nationwide Ceasefire Coordination Team (NCCT) established the committee in a closed-door meeting, postponing the group's discussions on the text of the ceasefire, which resumed on Friday under its supervision. "The committee is tasked to lead political affairs," said Khun Okkar, a member of the NCCT representing the Pa-O National Liberation Organisation. "The conference will proceed as planned and the committee will oversee, supervise and provide political leadership — like the US Senate — while the NCCT's duty is to report its undertakings." The committee will be chaired by Mutu Say Poe, commander-in-chief of the Karen National Union. Lt-Gen Gam Shawng, chief-of-staff for the Kachin Independence Army, was appointed as deputy chairman of the leading committee. Vice-chairman of the Karenni National Progressive Party Khu Oo Reh will serve as secretary. Representatives of each NCCT member organisation have also been appointed to serve on the committee. The conference in Laiza, headquarters of the Kachin Independence Organisation, is the third summit held by NCCT members as the nation works towards achieving an inclusive, state-level peace accord. While the Burmese military initially created an August deadline for signing the pact, disagreements between the government's Union Peace-Making Work Committee (UPWC) and the NCCT have caused delays. Sources close to the process have estimated that the two sides will reach an agreement in September. Meetings began on Friday centred on the second draft of a single-text ceasefire agreement, which combines independent demands made and agreed upon by union-level stakeholders and the NCCT. Discussions were originally scheduled to begin on 24 July, but were postponed to accommodate Thursday's private meeting and appointment of the leading committee members. Representatives of most NCCT member organisations are present at the summit, though the United Wa State Army (UWSA) abstained, as they did during a similar session in October 2013. The group's spokesperson, Aung Myint, told DVB that its absence was due to short notice. The UWSA was not given enough time to thoroughly read the new ceasefire draft, he said, adding that while the group also desires an agreement that would establish a federalist system, the creation of a federal army will require time. |
| Shan NGO presents human rights report to new UN rapporteur Posted: 25 Jul 2014 03:19 AM PDT Members of the Shan Ethnic Affairs Organisation (SEAO) met with the new United Nations human rights rapporteur on Burma, Yanghee Lee, during her visit to Kachin State on 23 July when they presented her with details of alleged human rights violations in the northern Burmese region. Sai Htein Lin, liaison coordinator of the SEAO, said, "We mainly want to highlight the plight of the ethnic Shan population who are caught in the crossfire between Burmese government forces and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA). We urge the UN to address this issue." He said small-time business people, such as local noodle-makers, were extorted to the sum of 200,000 kyat (US$200) each by the KIA, which also kidnapped two youths in Mansi Township for the purposes of forced recruitment. The SEAO said Shan villages have been subject to harassment and human rights violations by the KIA for many years. It said it has documented more than 70 people who were forcibly recruited in 2014 alone and who are yet to be released despite the group's promise to the SEAO. Sai Htein Linn said that Lee promised to include this information in her human rights report. Lee's delegation will meet on Friday in Naypyidaw with government ministers, parliament speakers, the Union Election Commission, the Attorney General and constitutional court members. The new UN rapporteur is due to hold a press conference at Rangoon airport on Saturday, when she is expected to address issues of human rights violations across the country. |
| Master Sports employees say they were coerced to give up severance Posted: 25 Jul 2014 12:08 AM PDT Former employees of a South Korean footwear factory said on Thursday that they were coerced into signing predatory agreements relinquishing severance pay. During a press conference held at the now-defunct Master Sports factory in Rangoon's Hlaing Tharyar industrial zone, workers told reporters that the company's management had negotiated with the employees individually instead of using official channels, which caused confusion about their rights. "Instead of going through official negotiation channels, and by conducting individual agreements, the factory owners have created confusion among the workers," said Saw Nanda Aung, an advisor for the Labour Unions Network, which has been assisting the workers with their claims. "They were promised salaries for June," he said, "but when they tried to retrieve it there was a lot of disagreement among the workers." More than 750 workers were left jobless when the factory abruptly shut down in June. When the workers claimed that they were suddenly dismissed without pay, Burma's Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Welfare stepped in by writing a letter to the South Korean embassy, which mediated a solution whereby the company agreed to pay the employees their June salaries. Related StoriesOnly 56 of the workers agreed to accept the one-month salary payment; the rest demanded additional compensation. On 17 July, the workers marched to the South Korean Embassy in Rangoon to demand both their salaries and compensation for dismissal. Tun Naing, one of the organisers of the demonstration, said that company officials coerced the workers into signing agreements that forbade them from demanding further remittance if they accepted a one-time salary payment. Many of the workers accepted the agreement out of urgent financial need. Master Sports' management has to date been unreachable for comment and the South Korean Embassy remains unresponsive to media inquiries on the matter. The company is now facing a lawsuit levied by Burma's labour ministry on the grounds that their management violated employment contracts.
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| 20 Kanbalu plough protestors transferred to distant prisons Posted: 24 Jul 2014 11:54 PM PDT Around 20 farmers from Kanbalu, central Burma, jailed for holding a "plough protest" in March, have this week been transferred to prisons far from their homes. Some 400 farmers from the remote Sagaing Division township of Kanbalu have been on trial locally under various charges for staging the plough protest – whereby farmers return to cultivate lands they claim were confiscated by the military many years ago. Around 50 of them have so far been handed sentences of up to three and half years in prison which they were previously serving in Shwebo Prison, less than 100km south of Kanbalu. A local villager told DVB this week that 20 of the jailed farmers serving these longer terms have now been transferred to prisons in Myingyan in Mandalay (300 km from Kanbalu), Magwe's Pakokku (325 km) and Pegu (750 km) . "Those serving longer prison terms were transferred," he said. "Farmers indicted on several charges and sentenced to two or three years in prison– around 20 inmates in total – those were the ones who were transferred to prisons in Myingyan, Pakokku and Pegu." Eighteen other farmers are expecting verdicts on 28 July. Activist group 88 Generation Peace and Open Society on Thursday released a statement strongly condemning the jailing and prosecution of farmers demanding the return of lands confiscated by the military, mostly in the 1990s. Related StoriesAccording to Myo Thant, the farmland affairs coordinator of the group: "These land dispute issues would have been resolved if the government had managed their return when they came into office. Most of the land would now be cultivated in the hands of original owners. "There were various options to systematically return seized lands but the government did not explore them because they clearly have no desire to see this through." He said some 1,200 farmers across the country are currently on trial for protesting land dispute cases, while around 100 have already been jailed. |
| UNHCR raises concerns over Burmese refugee repatriation Posted: 24 Jul 2014 11:35 PM PDT Burmese refugees living in Thailand will face challenges if they are repatriated, the UN refugee agency said on Wednesday. The comments follow an announcement made by Thailand's military government in June that said it would send home around 120,000 refugees who have been living in camps – some for more than two decades – on the Thai-Burmese border. But non-governmental organisations say they are concerned by a lack of infrastructure to help returnees rebuild their lives. Thailand’s military government started taking a census on 21 July in the country's largest camp, Mae La, north of Mae Sot. Authorities said the process is expected to finish at the end of July. The Border Consortium, which coordinates NGO activity in the camps, has said the camp is home to around 43,000 refugees. The army said the rare exercise was aimed at controlling illegal migrant workers but could benefit the repatriation process. Currently, the Thai army and NGOs record different numbers of refugees living in the camp. “The census will have a long-term benefit for the repatriation. In the future, we will have the same database to share with UNHCR and other organisations.” said Col. Terdsak Ngamsanong, the commander of the 4th Infantry Regiment, who oversees border security in Tak province where the camp is located. The UNHCR's Bangkok-based spokesperson, Vivian Tan highlighted some of the challenges refugees would encounter if repatriated in the near future. “Some of the challenges include the absence of a permanent ceasefire, the present of mine fields that never been marked. There is a critical shortage of infrastructure and services. There is limited livelihood opportunity, so all of these affects the sustainability and the safety of the refugee returns,” she said Burma is emerging from nearly five decades of isolation under repressive military rule. An estimated 120,000 Burmese refugees live in 10 camps along the Thailand-Burmese border, The Border Consortium has said. Many fled persecution and ethnic wars as well as poverty and have lived in the camps for decades with no legal means of making an income. Thailand’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement on 17 July noting that “a possible return of these displaced persons has always been raised”, and the most recent discussion “was in general terms with no specific timeframe”. Many refugees still do not trust the political situation in Burma. “I don’t think the Burmese government has changed. We hear that there was fighting in Kachin and Karen states recently. I don’t believe the Burmese government will offer us peace,” said A Shwe, 49 year-old Karen refugee.
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