Democratic Voice of Burma

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• ‘Are we revolutionaries?’ debate ethnic leaders
• MPs debate pros and cons of proportional representation
• MSF ‘cautiously optimistic’ about Arakan return
• Rangoon residents left in filth as waste collection system fails

‘Are we revolutionaries?’ debate ethnic leaders Posted: 26 Jul 2014 04:39 AM PDT Meeting in Laiza for pivotal talks aimed towards signing a nationwide ceasefire agreement, ethnic leaders of the Nationwide Ceasefire Coordination Team (NCCT) debated on Friday whether to include the words "revolution" and "revolutionaries" in a draft document when referring to themselves. Representing 16 ethnic armed groups, some 100 delegates have descended on Laiza, a Sino-Burmese border town in Kachin State, headquarters of the Kachin Independence Organisation, for the latest round of negotiations in a peace process initiated by the Burmese government. Veteran Mon representative Nai Hongsar told DVB that the first day of talks focused mainly on the adoption of Section One–Basic Principles for any draft agreement. Related Stories Mutu Say Poe to lead Laiza ceasefire talks Bullet Points: 24 July 2014 Ethnic leaders arrive for Laiza ceasefire talks "There was one important point. Shall we use the word ‘revolution’ in the title of the agreement?" said Nai Hongsar. "Other matters of terminology were raised – shall we refer to ourselves as 'ethnic armed groups' or 'armed ethnic groups'? And are we aiming for a 'ceasefire' or a 'cease of offensive activities'?" He said the question of terminology had been referred to the leading committee of the NCCT which was appointed a day earlier with the Karen National Union's Mutu Say Poe as chairman. Dr. Salai Lian Sakhong, an advisor to the NCCT, said that on Friday the representatives had concluded Section One of the second draft of a nationwide ceasefire proposal. "Today's discussions finalised Section One – the Basic principles," he said. "We have also included three or four alternative versions." The second draft of the nationwide ceasefire proposal was composed in Rangoon in May by a joint body of nine ethnic leaders and nine representatives from Naypyidaw: three each from the government, parliament and military. A second day of negotiations in Laiza continues on Saturday, 26 July.

MPs debate pros and cons of proportional representation Posted: 26 Jul 2014 03:23 AM PDT Ten MPs took to the floor of the lower house of Burma's parliament on Friday as debate commenced on whether to employ a system of proportional representation (PR) in future general elections. A motion to replace the first-past-the-post system with PR was already debated and approved by the upper house by a vote of 177 to 85 (with three abstaining) last month. On the first day of the debate in the lower house, five MPs spoke in support of the motion to adopt PR, while five spoke against the change. According to National League for Democracy (NLD) MP Min Thu, some 50 parliamentarians will be afforded the opportunity to address the house over the coming week with parties in support of the motion and those against given equal time to address parliament. "Today, U Win Myint and Daw Khin Thandar from the NLD spoke against changing our electoral system to PR," said the Uttara Thiri constituency MP. "They were joined by U Khun Laing from the Chin National Party and one representative each from the Phalon-Sawaw Democratic Party and the Chin Progressive Party in speaking out against the motion." Related Stories Bullet Points: 24 July 2014 Parliament approves vote, sans ethnic MPs, to debate new electoral system NLD, 88GPOS conclude nationwide rally for constitutional amendment He said that, on the pro-PR side, two MPS from the Union Solidarity and Development Party, Thein Htun Oo and Thar Win, addressed the lower house, followed by Nyan Swe Win from the National Unity Party, Daw Dwebu from the Unity and Democratic Party of Kachin State, and one unnamed MP from Chibwe Township. Min Thu said that although Kachin MP Daw Dwebu spoke in favour of a PR system, she said it is not yet appropriate to employ this method in ethnic areas. "In Kachin State, some constituencies had no elections [in 2010] for security reasons," she is reported to have said. "So although a PR system is preferable, our situation is not yet ripe for this change." Aung Zin, an MP with the National Democratic Front, the party which originally proposed the PR motion, echoed her sentiments. He said that his party supported the adoption of PR, but that ethnic states should be excluded. Speaking to DVB on Friday, Ko Ko Gyi of the 88 Generation civil society group, opined that that Burma was still too young in its transition to democracy to consider an immediate switch to PR. "The public must understand the pros and cons of the electoral systems," he said. "There should be a wide range of discussions, and commissions formed at different levels. We need a period of time to discuss the PR issue. We are still at a stage where the status of representation in parliament is questionable. For an important change like this, we must debate long and hard. We should not rush into this."

MSF ‘cautiously optimistic’ about Arakan return Posted: 26 Jul 2014 01:33 AM PDT Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) Holland, which was forced to suspend most of its relief activities in Arakan in late February, said on Friday that it welcomed a call from the Arakan State government for it to resume its operations but remained "cautious". On Thursday, the Rakhine State Government invited MSF, along with the 24 non-governmental organisations (NGOs) currently operating in the state, "to participate in development, humanitarian, education, and healthcare programs in accordance with the wishes of the Rakhine [Arakanese] people." Before it was forced to halt operations, MSF provided frontline healthcare for tens of thousands in areas of the state hardest-hit by communal conflict, principally Rohingya Muslims. The organisation has defended itself against criticism of its aid delivery amid allegations of bias towards the Rohingya at the expense of the state's Arakanese Buddhist majority. MSF maintains that its policies are guided by principles of humanitarian neutrality, "MSF is cautiously optimistic about this development," Marcel Langenbach, MSF-Holland's Director of operations, said in a statement.  "Given that for many people in Rakhine, access to medical services remains a major challenge, we hope that MSF can restart treating patients as soon as possible." Related Stories Arakan govt invites MSF and others to resume aid UN rapporteur meets peace-keepers in Mandalay Curfew in Mandalay townships eased after three weeks No timeline has been announced for the resumption of MSF's activities in Arakan. Figures provided by the organisation claim that in 2013, its doctors performed more than 400,000 consultations across the state. "We remain eager to resume activities throughout Rakhine State and have a team of national and international staff ready to provide medical care immediately," said Langenbach. In late March, more than 170 staff members from international NGOs and UN agencies were evacuated from the state capital, Sittwe, following attacks by Arakanese nationalists targeting their offices and residences. Demands that aid delivery be "balanced" between the Rohingya and the Arakanese majority have raised concerns that future negotiations will be subject to political pressures, which may affect the ability of agencies to provide for the neediest. The invitation to resume operations in Arakan came shortly after a significant political shake-up in the restive region when Maung Maung Ohn, the former deputy minister of border affairs, replaced Hla Maung Tin, an ethnic Arakanese politician, as the state's chief minister in late June. Maung Maung Ohn served as the head of the union-level Emergency Coordination Centre for Arakan State, which is responsible for coordinating humanitarian activities between the government, NGOs and UN agencies. The move met stiff opposition from Arakanese nationalists, who viewed Maung Maung Ohn's appointment as an unwelcome push by Naypyidaw to assert its agenda while ignoring Arakanese grievances.

Rangoon residents left in filth as waste collection system fails Posted: 26 Jul 2014 01:12 AM PDT Residents of Thaketa Township in eastern Rangoon have been left without a garbage removal service and they say their health is rapidly deteriorating as a result. Not only is their own rubbish not being collected, but people have been coming from across Rangoon to dump in the area for the past two years. Now, as rainy season sets in, the festering trash is blocking drains and creating stagnant pools of filthy water. Mosquitoes are breeding fast, leading to outbreaks of dengue fever in the community. Water-borne diseases such as amoebic dysentery are also rife. Local resident San San Maw says it is the children who are suffering the most. "Last week, my daughter was hospitalised for two days when she caught dengue," she said. "Other children, like her, are falling seriously ill too. "We're demanding that the garbage is removed immediately." However the Yangon City Development Committee (YCDC), which is responsible for the city's waste management, admits that it is only capable of collecting 50 to 60 percent of the city's refuse. While blaming changing consumer habits—such as the move towards single-use items such as plastic food containers—and a lack of citizen awareness as to sanitation and the environment, the committee concedes to having no comprehensive plan for waste management. YCDC puts that to a shortage of funds for undertakings such as the purchasing of new landfill sites, equipment, staffing and the installation of communal bins. That failure essentially became the main driving force in the committee's push to privatise Rangoon's garbage collection. In late May, seven joint-venture companies submitted tenders for garbage collection contracts in the city. The contract winner will be announced in December, and will begin operations in 2015. However, the residents of Thaketa say they can wait no longer. Related Stories Bullet Points: 25 July 2014 Master Sports employees say they were coerced to give up severance Bi-Midday Sun staffers on trial in Rangoon Resident Toe Toe says she is desperately concerned for the health and future of the community. "We are the ones to suffer," she says.  "There are a lot of people here who already have heart conditions and diabetes, and their health is getting worse. "Children can't even go to school because of the flooding. The school has closed. The whole neighbourhood is under water." Many youngsters suffer constantly from diarrhoea, she said, and three were recently hospitalised. The residents of Thaketa are living in these conditions despite Rangoon property prices soaring, as investors flock to a city gaining increasing significance on the regional stage. Rangoon is known for its enchanting architecture and leafy streets; however many of its residents see it from a very different perspective.

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