Democratic Voice of Burma

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• Three dead after attempted jailbreak in Shan State
• Over 120 homes in Kachin IDP camp relocated due to landslide
• Bullet Points: 28 July 2014
• Burma’s media bodies call for press protection
• Karenni leader urges caution on final day of ceasefire talks
• SMEs to receive loans after eligibility survey

Three dead after attempted jailbreak in Shan State Posted: 28 Jul 2014 04:57 AM PDT Three suspects were shot dead and three policemen seriously injured on Saturday, when several detainees attempted to break out of a police station's detention cell in eastern Burma. Seven people detained for drug-related offenses in Kyaukme, Shan State, confronted police guards at around 7pm, according to state media. The original report, published in Burmese-language Myanmar Alinn, said that the suspects barrelled out of the holding cell when an officer unlocked the door to deliver blankets. The group then began to beat the officers as they charged toward the exit, having armed themselves with wooden bars ripped from cell doors. Police opened fire as the group tried to fight their way to the exit, the report said. Three of the suspects — Lao Lu, Zaw Min Win and Kyaw Hlaing — were fatally shot, while four others – Aung Pye Phyo, Win Naing Oo, Aik Mong and Chan Tun — were captured alive with injuries. Related Stories Bullet Points: 28 July 2014 Karen armed groups united to combat illicit drugs Bullet Points Five policemen were also injured in the incident. Three of them – the station's superintendent, Capt Kyaw Oo, Corp Naung Naung and Han Myo Oo – were hospitalised at Kyaukme Hospital with serious injuries. Police captain Kyaw Oo was transferred to Mandalay General Hospital on Sunday morning because his condition had not improved overnight. Kyaukme police held a public information session at the station on 27 July, inviting community members to inquire about the incident. Sai Myint Oo, a community leader present at the session, said the holding cells were overcrowded. "The cells are crammed with people. There are up to 40 detainees in each of the four cells, and there's no space for them to even stretch their legs out," he said, adding that the cells were originally built to accommodate about 20 people. "Most of the detainees were in there for drug-related offences," he said. Sai Kham Kyaw, a lower house parliamentarian representing the Shan Nationalities Democratic Party, said that despite the increased efforts by the government and agencies such as the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), drug problems in eastern Burma are alarmingly high and seem to be on the rise. "Villagers in every single meeting with us stress the urgency of addressing drug problems at the local level," he said. "There's a lot of buying and selling taking place, with teenagers as young as 14-15 years old among the users." The UNODC reported in late June that Burma currently produces about 18 percent of the word's opiates, and that the past decade has seen a dramatic rise in demand for synthetic drugs, like yaba – a pill-form methamphetamine. A representative of UNODC said that while production and use of drugs in Burma remain high, enforcement was weak and should be geared more toward "precursor controls" that would target drug production. Kyaukme police and local hospital staff were unavailable for comment.

Over 120 homes in Kachin IDP camp relocated due to landslide Posted: 28 Jul 2014 04:56 AM PDT More than 120 homes in Je Yang camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Burma's Kachin State were relocated this weekend after a landslide killed five residents last Tuesday. Doi Pyi Sa, head of the Refugee Relief Committee for the Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO), said that 123 houses were previously at the foot of a hill, but were relocated after a heavy downpour caused the deadly landslide. "After five residents were killed by the landslide on 22 July, we relocated houses that were close to the bottom of the hill – there are 123 houses in total," Doi Pyi Sa said. Opened in June 2011, the camp is now home to more than 8,000 displaced people from 81 villages – including Namlon, Namsanyang, Lwemauk and Dawhpumyang villages – after fighting broke out between the KIA and the Burmese Army. After three years of fighting, an estimated 120,000 people from Kachin State have been forced out of their homes and into IDP camps. Related Stories UN rights official arrives in war-torn northern Burma Bullet Points Bullet Points

Bullet Points: 28 July 2014 Posted: 28 Jul 2014 04:44 AM PDT On today’s edition of Bullet Points: Ethnic leaders resumed for another day of ceasefire talks in Kachin State's Laiza on Monday. Violence at the site of the Latpadaung copper mine in Sagaing injured four on Saturday. Leading media bodies in Burma have reached an agreement on ways to protect journalists in the country. Three people were shot dead in Kyaukme, Shan State on Saturday, when attempting to flee police custody.   You can watch today’s Bullet Points on DVB TV after the 7 o’clock news.   Related Stories Three dead after attempted jailbreak in Shan State Karenni leader urges caution on final day of ceasefire talks 'Are we revolutionaries?' debate ethnic leaders

Burma’s media bodies call for press protection Posted: 28 Jul 2014 03:42 AM PDT Burma's leading media bodies have reached a 16-point agreement to protect media workers and ensure that their legal rights are respected. Held in the Yuzana Hotel in Rangoon on Saturday, the conference was attended by representatives from the Interim Press Council, Myanmar Journalists Union, Myanmar Journalists Network and PEN Myanmar. The four organisations joined forces to form an agreement seeking assurances that guarantee the legal protection of media workers; and informing working reporters about their rights. Other matters were raised and debated, such as: the appointment of legal advisors at media offices; the issuing of a journalists' handbook with legal advice; and a pledge to promote ethics within the industry. Related Stories Bullet Points: 23 July 2014 Bi-Midday Sun staffers on trial in Rangoon Unity journalists appeal to be heard by Magwe Divisional Court The media forum came after a number of journalists were charged, arrested and jailed across the country. Last month, five media workers from Unity Weekly news journal were sentenced to ten years with hard labour under the Official State Secrets Act after they published a report alleging the existence of a chemical weapons factory in Magwe Division. Veteran journalist Pho Thaukkyar, who testified as a defence witness at the Unity Weekly reporters' trial, said that journalists in Burma need more than just legal protection as the judicial branch is prone to government interference. "I studied the [Unity Weekly] case thoroughly and found a letter signed by the director of the President's Office with instructions to prosecute the defendants under a specific law," he said. "How could a local judge charge the reporters under a different law when the President's Office has directed him otherwise? I simply see that as a manipulation of the judicial sector."

Karenni leader urges caution on final day of ceasefire talks Posted: 28 Jul 2014 01:09 AM PDT Karenni leader Abel Tweed, who is chairing the last day of talks in Laiza among some 100 ethnic delegates of the Nationwide Ceasefire Coordination Team (NCCT), said on Monday that the ethnic alliance was "hoping for the best, but would also prepare for the worst". The Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP) chairman made the comments to delegates and observers as a final round of negotiations got under way in Laiza, the headquarters of the Kachin Independence Organisation, where ethnic leaders from 16 armed groups have gathered to thrash out the second draft of a nationwide ceasefire proposal which has been jointly written by ethnic and Burmese government representatives. Related Stories Bullet Points: 28 July 2014 'Are we revolutionaries?' debate ethnic leaders Mutu Say Poe to lead Laiza ceasefire talks "I would like to stress that while we are hoping for the best with regard to President Thein Sein's ceasefire deal, we also need to prepare for the worst and, more importantly, continue to promote unity among all the different ethnicities based on lessons learned in the past," said Abel Tweed at the opening of Monday's conference. "The ceasefire deal offered by [former] Gen. Khin Nyunt did not bear a single fruit – we failed to reach union-level ceasefire talks because we were working individually, not as a coalition." At the first two days of the meeting, the NCCT reviewed and discussed the draft ceasefire's first four chapters. The last day of the meeting is expected to focus on the remaining chapters. In March 2012, Abel Tweed and the KNPP signed a bilateral ceasefire agreement with Naypyidaw. A previous truce, signed in 1995, dissolved within three months. The conference in Laiza 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 Union-level stakeholders and the NCCT have caused delays. Sources close to the process have estimated that the two sides will reach an agreement in September.

SMEs to receive loans after eligibility survey Posted: 27 Jul 2014 11:38 PM PDT Japan-based Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) is currently conducting a survey to assess which small- and medium-sized business enterprises (SMEs) will be eligible for government loans to help their businesses. According to Zaw Min Win, chairman of the Small and Medium Enterprises Promotion Committee (SMEPC), these loans will be channelled through the government's Central Bank of Myanmar, and will be disbursed after SMCB have finished the survey. "The money will be channelled through the Central Bank of Myanmar, via about five private banks. Currently, SMBC is conducting a survey to find SMEs with good potential to qualify for these loans," Zaw Min Win said. He added that there are still some obstacles stopping SMEs from developing fully. Related Stories Burma's businesses still lack transparency: MCRB Bullet Points Curfew in Mandalay disrupts business as usual "There are still requirements. First, we need to adopt a SMEs Law to allow the SMEs to address their issues within their organisations, and second, working teams must be formed to seek investments and for technical development," he said. Last year, the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Bank distributed a total of 10 billion kyat in loans, roughly $10.2 million, to SMEs across the country and are currently looking to double this amount to about 20 billion kyat this year, said Ei Swee Zin Tun, deputy director of SMEPC's Policy and Foreign Affairs department. According to the current government regulations, SMEs seeking to receive the loan must put up some collateral, but most of the enterprises do not have items that are of enough value. However, state-run newspapers have reported that larger enterprises based in Europe are planning to provide loans to Burmese SMEs, especially for those in the agriculture and livestock breeding sector. * EDITOR’s NOTE: The photograph originally published with this article showed Co-operative Bank (CB Bank), mistakenly identified as the Central Bank of Myanmar. Also, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation was misspelled as ‘Cooperation’.  DVB apologises for these errors.

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