Democratic Voice of Burma

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• Bullet Points: 31 July 2014
• Ethnic bloc readies for ceasefire talks with govt
• The disappearing tigers of Hukawng Valley
• Maday islanders complain of broken promises on electricity
• Burmese migrant wins Thai calligraphy award
• Decision awaited on Taunggup lynching appeal

Bullet Points: 31 July 2014 Posted: 31 Jul 2014 05:20 AM PDT The National Education Bill has been passed by Burma's Union Parliament. Ethnic armed groups have wound-up talks in Laiza.  Contraband task force finds 420 shipping containers abandoned in ports across Rangoon. Large-scale agricultural projects in the world's largest tiger reserve a serious threat to tiger numbers in Burma.   Watch Bullet Points every weeknight on DVB TV after the 7 o'clock news.

Ethnic bloc readies for ceasefire talks with govt Posted: 31 Jul 2014 05:00 AM PDT The Nationwide Ceasefire Coordination Team (NCCT), an alliance of 16 ethnic armed groups, said it has established a 10-point set of guidelines for pursuing peace talks with the Burmese government, and that it has appointed five committees for attending to a future accord. The 10-point plan includes clauses aimed at establishing Burma as a genuine federal union, the group said. The ethnic bloc concluded a summit of talks on Thursday in the Sino-Burmese border town of Laiza, headquarters of the Kachin Independence Organisation, where some 100 representatives agreed terms for a draft ceasefire ahead of a 3 August meeting with a Burmese government delegation in Kachin State capital Myitkyina. Sunday's talks in Myitkyina will be focused primarily on technical details ahead of a further round of ceasefire talks which, if successful, may finally conclude decades of civil war in Burma. The Laiza round of talks gathered leading members of most of the main ethnic armed groups in Burma, and included delegations representing the Karen, Karenni, Kachin, Chin, Arakanese, Shan and Mon nationalities. On the fourth day of the negotiations, the UN's special envoy to Burma, Vijay Nambiar, sat as an observer, as did Tang Ying, the assistant to China's newly appointed Asian affairs representative. Related Stories Bullet Points: 31 July 2014 Laiza ceasefire talks enter final stages Bullet Points: 29 July 2014 Speaking to DVB after the summit, a Chinese embassy spokesman said, "We hope both sides will soon agree on the terms of nationwide ceasefire and wish the two sides will sign an agreement at the earliest possible time. We believe that nothing can be achieved without political stability. We wish that Myanmar citizens enjoy the fruit of political stability and economic development as Chinese citizens are enjoying now." Having concluded its four-day summit in Laiza on 28 July, the NCCT turned its attention the following day to briefing non-NCCT actors, such as the All Burma Students Democratic Front (ABSDF) and the Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS), the political arm of the Shan State Army-South. The ethnic representatives then sat on 29- 31 July to appoint a "political leading committee" and four other committees to represent their interests in the crucial negotiations ahead. NCCT member Mahn Nyein Maung, representing the Karen National Union (KNU), said, "The Political Leading Committee will be given a mandate to provide political supervision on matters where the NCCT is unable to come to a decision among its delegates." Alongside the 10-point plan, the NCCT announced that it had appointed the following five committees: (1) Political dialogue leading committee; (2) Preparing committee for ceasefire monitoring process; (3) Working committee for drafting a framework for political dialogue; (4) Preparing committee for conducting a military code of conduct; (5) Working committee overseeing the humanitarian and resettlement program. The ABSDF announced that it had agreed the 10-point set of guidelines, however the RCSS delegation said it would need to report the details back to its headquarters. Representatives from United Wa State Party, National Democratic Alliance Army and National Socialist Council of Nagaland did not attend the summit although they were invited. The Laiza talks marked the third summit held by the NCCT; the first was also held in Laiza, in October- November 2013, while the second summit was hosted by the KNU at its headquarters in Law Khee Ler, Karen State, in January this year. The NCCT is also due to sit for talks later next month with the Myanmar Peace Centre's technical team and the Union Peace-making Work Committee, headed by the government's chief negotiator, Aung Min.

The disappearing tigers of Hukawng Valley Posted: 31 Jul 2014 04:27 AM PDT Large-scale agricultural projects in northwestern Kachin State's Hukawng Valley are seriously threatening tiger numbers in Burma, while mass deforestation and armed conflict are making conservation efforts nearly impossible. The valley covers 21,890 square kilometers and is officially a protected nature reserve. The Burmese government claims the area is the largest tiger reserve in the world. But it is widely contested that the tigers have all but vanished due to agriculture projects that have been allowed to operate in the protected area. "In the past, people were afraid of tigers. But nowadays, it's the other way around. The tigers are living in fear of us, trying to avoid running into us," said Saw Mon Theint, chairperson of the Biodiversity and Nature Conservation Association. In 2007, the Yuzana company began a huge biofuel project in the Hukawg Valley. According to Kachin activists, 200,000 acres of land was seized from farmers to make way for the massive plantations. Large swathes of forest were cleared and much of the tigers' habitat was destroyed. "When we say habitats, it is not just jungle but also grassland," said Saw Htoo Thar Poe, national coordinator for the Wildlife Conservation Society in Burma. "The landscape has now been modified to suit large-scale commercial agriculture projects." Armed conflict in the region between the Kachin Independence Organisation and the Burmese government means that conservation efforts in the valley have been suspended. Related Stories Bullet Points: 31 July 2014 Laiza ceasefire talks enter final stages UN rights official arrives in war-torn northern Burma Hla Naing, from the Wildlife Conservation Society said his team is not equipped to deal with working in those conditions. "We don't even have the necessary equipment for conservation work – all we carry is a backpack, rations and a machete," he said. "With two sides fighting each other in this area we could easily get caught in the crossfire." It is estimated that there are as few as 70 tigers left in the entire country; reports indicate that no one has seen a tiger in the Hukawng Valley for several years. If large investment projects continue to have free rein in this remote region, the results will undoubtedly be devastating for the tiger population of Burma.

Maday islanders complain of broken promises on electricity Posted: 31 Jul 2014 12:53 AM PDT Residents of Maday – an island off the coast of Kyaukphyu in Arakan State, and gateway to China for the Shwe gas and oil pipelines – are complaining that they still have not been provided the 24-hour electricity service promised to them last year. According to civil society group Rakhine Social Network (RSN), Kyaukphyu's local authorities promised the islanders a 24-hour supply of power when the pipelines became operational in July last year. It said the residents were also told that there would be no installation fee. However, households on Maday have each been asked to pay fees of between 100,000 and 200,000 kyat (US$100- $200) for the installation of meter boxes to connect electricity to their homes, said RSN's Tun Kyi. Moreover, he said, power is only available four hours a day. He said only about 20 percent of the Maday islanders can afford the meter boxes and that electricity is limited to evenings between 6:30 and 10:30 pm. Related Stories Decision awaited on Taunggup lynching appeal MSF 'cautiously optimistic' about Arakan return Hakha lights up The RSN said it has reached out to the Kyaukphyu district government administrator to call a tripartite meeting with the China National Petroleum Cooperation, or CNPC, the leading international firm involved in the trans-Burma pipeline project. The NGO said that the district administrator promised to facilitate the meeting but that they have heard no word about it for more than six weeks. Locals on Maday previously staged protests against land confiscations, environmental damage and job shortages due to a loss of fishing plots and farmland as result of the Shwe Gas pipeline construction. They have constantly demanded job opportunities, compensation for land grabs, and a guarantee they would be connected to a continuous supply of electrical power. Wong Aung, the coordinator of Thailand-based Shwe Gas Project, which has previously opposed the pipeline construction, confirmed that the locals on Maday are mostly without power. "The residents of Maday have tried to hold forums several times with the authorities and the company, but they always have excuses. Most recently, it was said that the delay [in supplying electricity] is due to technical difficulties in laying power lines." He said however, that despite a few teething problems with power supply, tens of thousands of residents in Kyaukphyu have been provided the 24-hour electricity as promised. Neither CNPC nor the state Ministry of Energy could be reached for comment.

Burmese migrant wins Thai calligraphy award Posted: 30 Jul 2014 11:01 PM PDT The 12-year-old son of Burmese migrant labourers has topped all Thai students to win the Thai language handwriting competition for primary school level announced on Tuesday to mark National Thai Language Day. Yasa, a Grade 3 student at Arunmetha School in Tak's Educational Zone 2, who was born and raised in Thailand, won the contest, announced the Office of the Basic Education Commission (OBEC). OBEC secretary-general Kamol Rodkhai said Yasa had won one of several contests under the “Raksa Pasa Thai” (preserve Thai language) activity. He presented plaques to teachers and students who achieved Thai language proficiency. The contests were aimed at encouraging children and youths to preserve the language and raise awareness of the value of Thai language. The students were urged to read, write and use the language correctly. Related Stories Crossing language barriers Burma's Fledgling Contemporary Art Market Bullet Points Saeng-arun Sonsaen, Yasa’s teacher, expressed her delight that her student won the award, saying he concentrated on classroom learning and had beautiful handwriting. The boy had been selected to represent the school at the contest, she said. According to the teacher, about 30 percent of students at Arunmetha School, which is under the patronage of Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, come from poor families living in border areas. She said they pay more attention to Thai language learning than other Thai students. Yasa was born to Burmese migrants working as hired hands at a crop plantation in Tak province's Phop Phra district. “Yasa earlier studied at a Myanmar learning centre in the compound of a Thai temple in the district before enrolling at Arunmetha School,” said Ms Saeng-arun. “The boy was 10 when he studied at Grade 1 at the school. At the time, he could not write Thai. His Thai language skills improved significantly after studying at the school. He is determined and concentrates on his classroom learning, particularly on Thai language.” Thongsuk Yoosri, director of Tak's Educational Zone 1, said he felt proud after learning the Burmese student won the Thai writing contest. This shows that children of any nationality and religion are able to develop their potential, he said. Mr Kamol said the OBEC was looking into the possibility of using Thai language in social media, such as Facebook and Line, as part of the curriculum, to help boost its appeal and usage among teenagers.   This article was originally published in the Bangkok Post on 30 July 2014.

Decision awaited on Taunggup lynching appeal Posted: 30 Jul 2014 09:22 PM PDT The Arakanese High Court has yet to announce its decision on whether to uphold an appeal against murder charges levelled at seven men indicted for the 2012 lynching of 10 Muslim pilgrims at a bus station in Taunggup. The incident is widely seen as one of the main precursors to the communal violence between Buddhist and Muslim communities which erupted across the state two years ago. Defence lawyers for the seven – who were convicted in May this year under Penal Code articles 302 and 34 by the district court in Sandoway, officially known as Thandwe – launched an appeal on 10 July to the High Court against the formal murder charges. "I presented an argument at the High Court today [10 July] stating that the charges against my clients are not in conformity with legal procedures, and therefore should be dropped," lawyer Aye Nu Sein told DVB earlier this month. Related Stories Maday islanders complain of broken promises on electricity MSF 'cautiously optimistic' about Arakan return Lawyers appeal murder charges in case of Muslim pilgrims lynching At that time, defence lawyers said they expected a decision by the High Court within seven to ten days. However, as weeks have passed, no official announcement has been made on this most sensitive of cases. Aye Nu Sein, who represents six of the appellants, said she and lawyer Kyaw Nyunt Maung, representing the other defendant, believed Sittwe High Court was taking longer than usual to make a decision on the appeal. However, Supreme Court lawyer Ko Ni said the delay is nothing unusual, and in some cases, the court may take up to about two months before announcing its verdict. "It could be that the judge needs more time to thoroughly study the case," said Ko Ni. He said if the High Court rejects the appeal, the murder trial will proceed at the district court, but if it accepts the appeal the suspects will be unconditionally discharged. The seven suspects, all local Taunggup Buddhist men, were arrested one year after the lynching, which involved at least 100 people. President Thein Sein last year pledged that Burma's judiciary would take firm action against all individuals and organisations convicted of instigating and committing acts of violence.

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