Democratic Voice of Burma

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• Laiza ceasefire talks enter final stages
• Religious discrimination, violence rife in govt practices, US says
• Bullet Points: 29 July 2014
• Refugees worried amid lack of govt transparency
• Latpadaung farmers clash with police over grazing rights

Laiza ceasefire talks enter final stages Posted: 29 Jul 2014 05:12 AM PDT Ceasefire discussions among ethnic armed groups entered their final stages on Monday in Laiza, the rebel stronghold of Kachin State in northern Burma. Representatives from each of the 16 armed groups that make up the National Ceasefire Coordination Team (NCCT) shifted focus to the potential of a post-truce political dialogue with the Union government. The commitment to hold political negotiations is written into the second draft of a nationwide ceasefire agreement, drawn up by a joint team of government and NCCT representatives in Rangoon in May. After three days discussing the draft in detail, the Kachin Independence Army's deputy chief of staff, Gen. Gun Maw, says the ethnic parties now have a clear idea of how the agreement will be formed. "We will send our questions back to the government over definitions and points we are not clear about, he said.  "Afterwards, we will look to adopt procedures for the future." "Only when all three of these objectives are accomplished will we be able to tell whether we can sign the ceasefire agreement." Non-ceasefire armed groups, such as the All Burma Students Democratic Front, observed the deliberations. As a gesture of goodwill by the NCCT, the UN's special envoy, Vijay Nambiar, was also invited to attend the discussions as an observer. Related Stories Bullet Points: 29 July 2014 Bullet Points: 28 July 2014 Karenni leader urges caution on final day of ceasefire talks Also present was Tang Ying, the assistant to China's newly appointed Asian affairs representative. "We are here mainly because we wanted to find out the NCCT members' view and stance on the nationwide ceasefire deal," said Tang Ying. "We are ready to provide assistance if necessary." Salai Lian Sakhong, of the Chin National Front, believes the China's involvement adds weight to the event. "We see this as a sign of improvement, that China is getting involved. Having in-depth knowledge about these talks is beneficial for both their country and ours," he said. The conference in Laiza was the third summit held by NCCT members as the nation works towards achieving an inclusive, state-level peace accord aimed at ending the country's decades of civil war. 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.

Religious discrimination, violence rife in govt practices, US says Posted: 29 Jul 2014 04:54 AM PDT Despite religious freedom being a tenet of Burma's Constitution, the US State Department reports that government practices and actions by security forces show that there exists apparent state-sanctioned religious discrimination and violence throughout the country, particularly towards Muslims. According to the annual US State Department International Religious Freedom report – released on Monday morning in Washington DC as Muslims around the world celebrated the end of Ramadan – unwritten policies within the Burmese government restrict the freedom of Muslims and Christians in Burma, while a preference for Theravada Buddhism is apparent through state support for the funding of monasteries and Buddhist missionary activities. Rohingya and non-Rohingya Muslims bear the brunt of both discrimination from their community and government security forces, said the report. In the contentious Arakan State, security forces isolated Muslim communities into camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs) as part of a national strategy. "These restrictions impeded the ability of Muslims, including Rohingyas, to pursue livelihoods, access markets, and engage other communities," the report said, adding that government officials also denied Muslims access to government hospitals. It also singled out the ultra-nationalist, anti-Muslim 969 movement as an instigator of violence against Muslims, such as the attacks in Meiktila last March which left between 44 and 87 people dead and destroyed more than 1,500 homes. This violence displaced about 11,000 people, mainly Muslims. "The emergence of the 969 Movement coincided with a series of violent attacks against Muslims, starting with attacks in Meiktila on March 20," the report said. "Some proponents of the 969 Movement made widespread use of social media to propagate hate speech and incitement to violence and passed out pamphlets and DVDs in communities across the country calling for boycotts of Muslims businesses and justifying anti-Muslim discrimination." Christians in Burma – who make up a large part of Kachin, Karen, Karenni, Chin and Naga ethnic minority groups – have not fared well either in the past year, with reports of the Burmese army injuring Christian religious leaders, damaging buildings and blocking access to churches during clashes in Kachin State. "In September, government soldiers in northern Kachin State's Putao district reportedly detained and physically abused Baptist clergy and stole alms from a Baptist church in Nhka Ga village," the report said. "In late October, soldiers reportedly shelled a Baptist church harboring an estimated 700 villagers in Mung Ding Pa village." Ko Ni, a prominent Muslim lawyer in Rangoon, agreed with the US State Department's assessment of a discrepancy between how the Constitution promises religious freedom and how the government acts in reality. "While the government claims that they have a policy of religious freedom, non-Buddhists are still discriminated under unwritten policies and laws," Ko Ni said, adding that Muslims are currently not allowed to join military officer training courses or hold senior positions in the government. "There are skilled Muslim professionals such as doctors, etc., but they are evidently pushed aside from the government and management sectors and this proves that the government is going by an unwritten policy that is directly contradictory to the official policy provided in the Constitution," he said. Related Stories Bullet Points: 29 July 2014 Conditions 'deplorable' in Arakan IDP camps, says new UN envoy Arakan govt invites MSF and others to resume aid Lashi La Aung, a Christian community leader based in Kachin State's capital Myitkyina, said that the Burmese Army has systematically targeted churches around Kachin State in the past. "The Burmese Army set fire to churches in conflict areas and completely destroyed some. They deploy troops inside churches knowing that these are places of worship," Lashi La Aung said. "They only selectively target churches but will not touch Buddhist monasteries." Hanna Hindstrom, Asia information officer for international human rights organisation Minority Rights Group, said the report was "comprehensive", and that it is up to the Burmese government to ensure that religious freedom and rights are respected. "We've seen repeatedly that the law of the courts have kept targeting certain communities or minorities unfairly, notably in the wake of the Rakhine [Arakan] violence, but also after other violence affecting non-Rohingya Muslims in Burma," Hindstrom told DVB by phone. "969 pretty much operates without [the government] doing anything about it," she added. "There are laws they can use to rein them in but they choose not to. There is a discrepancy that shows the government is not willing or able to tackle this problem." This year's report, which is intended to inform congressional foreign policy decisions, renewed Burma's designation as a "Country of Particular Concern", on account of "engaging in or tolerating particularly severe violations of religious freedom." Burma has been recognised by the US State Department as a country of concern since 1999.

Bullet Points: 29 July 2014 Posted: 29 Jul 2014 04:42 AM PDT On today’s edition of Bullet Points: Ethnic armed groups are due to come to a decision on whether to accept the second draft of a nationwide ceasefire. The Palaung National Liberation Army  (TNLA) has reported heavy skirmishes with Burmese troops near Namhkam, Shan State. The United States has re-listed Burma as a "country of particular concern" in the US State Department’s annual report on religious freedom. Ten thousand acres of farmland in central Burma's Thegone have been inundated by floodwaters from the nearby Inma dam.   Watch Bullet Points every weeknight on DVB TV after the 7 o’clock news.   Related Stories Laiza ceasefire talks enter final stages Religious discrimination, violence rife in govt practices, US says Three dead after attempted jailbreak in Shan State

Refugees worried amid lack of govt transparency Posted: 29 Jul 2014 01:57 AM PDT Refugees from Burma residing in Thai border camps are concerned about the lack of transparency and proper procedures by Thai authorities regarding repatriation, in light of a recent census poll being conducted in the camps. According to Saw Honest, chairperson of the Mae La – the largest refugee camp along the Thai-Burmese border – Thai officials began conducting a population census on 18 July, and have been issuing three different types of identification cards to the refugees. Related Stories Bullet Points: 25 July 2014 UNHCR raises concerns over Burmese refugee repatriation Bullet Points: 22 July 2014 "We asked the officials to give us a precise answer about the poll's outcome but they won't tell us anything except that they are re-verifying the refugee population," Saw Honest said. "They are issuing green-coloured cards for refugees with UNHCR [UN Refugee Agency] serial numbers that start with 020, 021 and 026; and light-green coloured cards for numbers 70 and 71." "Those without UNHCR registration are issued red-coloured cards," he said, adding that the officials also took photographs of householder lists of refugee families and all their UNHCR documentation but did not explain these actions. Refugees in Umpiem camp, another border camp, have also reported receiving light-green coloured cards, which were then changed to white-coloured cards. This inconsistent procedure and the lack of clarity behind the Thai officials' actions are fuelling worries among the refugees that they will be deported back to Burma against their will. "We are worried we might get deported in about a year's time as the officials are not providing any explanation about the census," Naw Baw Nya, a refugee residing in Umpiem camp, said. Another refugee, Naw Khoo Htwe, said that he does not wish to return to Burma anytime soon as there is no guarantee for his security. There are more than 130,000 refugees from Burma living in nine camps along the Thai-Burmese border. Displaced from their home states due to conflict between ethnic armed groups and the Burmese Army, some of the refugees have lived in the camps for almost 30 years.

Latpadaung farmers clash with police over grazing rights Posted: 29 Jul 2014 01:00 AM PDT A number of security personnel and protesting villagers were injured in a skirmish between farmers and police near the Latpadaung copper mine on Sunday, when villagers attempted to herd cattle in the area against official orders. The incident, which Burmese state media said resulted in the hospitalisation of five security personnel, began after dozens of villagers entered a fenced-off part of the controversial project site in central Burma's Sagaing Division. The New Light of Myanmar reported on Monday that the villagers attacked the guards with slingshots and rocks when they were told not to graze their cattle within the area. The report said that the Salingyi Myoma police are pursuing legal action against the villagers who have denied allegations of both trespassing and assault, claiming that the grazing land in question still belonged to them. "The police are not here to protect us, but to protect the interests of the UMEH [Union of Myanmar Economic Holdings] and Wanbao," said Aung Ko Oo, a resident of Mogyo Pyi Ale village. He said that locals had not yet agreed to a compensation scheme for the contested property, and that it had been unlawfully confiscated. Aung Ko Oo added that the villagers requested permission to graze the land from a project liaison office on 23 July, but the township administrator issued a rejection notice. Related Stories 20 Kanbalu plough protestors transferred to distant prisons More farmers jailed for Sagaing land protests Three farmers sentenced to three years for plough protest in Sagaing After three days of failed negotiations, he said, the villagers went to the land and attempted to remove fences around the property, at which point they came under slingshot-fire by police assigned to guard the property. He said that two villagers were also injured during the confrontation. A township administrator, Zaw Myo Nyunt, denied that villagers were injured during the incident, and insisted that they were trespassing. He said that while police plan to pursue legal action, no one has yet been apprehended. "It'll be hard to identify the attackers as they were hiding behind bushes, taking aim with slingshots at the police," he said. "At best, we will only be able to identify the leaders." The Latpadaung copper mine has been the site of some of the fiercest opposition to corporate land-grabbing in Burma since the start of the reform process in 2011. The project began with a 1998 agreement between Wanbao — a subsidiary of Chinese weapons manufacturer Norinco — and Burma's state-owned UMEH. Protests against the project, premised on local claims of land loss and environmental destruction, gained nationwide momentum in early 2012 as the mines became a symbol for both activists and Buddhists wishing to preserve the site's religious heritage. Encampments set up near the site, which housed protestors for several months, were brutally dispersed in November 2012 by police in an early-morning crackdown. More than 100 people were seriously injured in the raid, some with burns caused by incendiary devices believed to contain white phosphorous. Despite the harsh police response, opposition to the project has remained strong as claims of unlawful land acquisition continue to rise. Activists claim that the project accounts for the loss of more than 7,800 acres of land from 26 villages across the nearby mountain range.

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