Democratic Voice of Burma

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• Bullet Points: 12 August 2014
• Karen honour fallen leader on Martyrs’ Day
• Renewed search underway for the fabled Dhammazedi Bell
• Thousands need water after storms in Mon State
• Kanbalu villagers say they’ll get some land back from military
• Aung Min urges MPs to play role in post-ceasefire dialogue
• DVB Debate: Protecting Burma’s migrants
• First heritage plaque unveiled in Rangoon

Bullet Points: 12 August 2014 Posted: 12 Aug 2014 05:17 AM PDT On today's edition of Bullet Points: USDP Chairman Shwe Mann offers unexpected encouragement for the NLD's constitutional change campaign. Burma's minister for commerce meets a Chinese delegation in Rangoon on Tuesday to discuss rice exports to China. Martyrs' Day is celebrated by Karen across Burma. Renewed search underway for the fabled Dhammazedi Bell You can watch Bullet Points every weeknight on DVB TV after the 7 o'clock news.

Karen honour fallen leader on Martyrs’ Day Posted: 12 Aug 2014 04:25 AM PDT Karen communities across Burma gathered on Tuesday to celebrate the 64th Karen Martyrs’ Day. Saw Ba U Gyi, founder of the Karen resistance movement, was killed by the Burmese Army in an ambush on 12 August 1950. Each year, ethnic Karen people gather on the anniversary of his assassination to honour him and other leaders of the Karen independence movement. The revolutionary, who became the first president of the eastern state's governing body — known later as the Karen National Union — attained a degree from Rangoon University in 1925 before moving to London to study law. When he returned to Burma after passing the bar, Saw Ba U Gyi served in several ministerial positions prior to his death in 1950. An event held in Rangoon on Tuesday was attended by about 300 people, many donning traditional clothing and wares unique to Karen culture. Related Stories Bullet Points: 12 August 2014 First heritage plaque unveiled in Rangoon Japan pledges 10.5 million yen for Burma's communications network Similar events were held in Karen State, where several of the fractured state's ethnic armed groups — including the Karen National Liberation Army and the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army — hosted celebrations throughout their territories. One notable event was observed in Htokawko village, where Saw Ba U Gyi and other high-ranking rebels were slain. Mutu Say Poe, chairman of the Karen National Union, sent a message to observers urging Karen people to uphold the four principles laid out by the movement's founders: never surrender; retain arms; realise Karen autonomy; and ensure that Karen people determine their own political destiny. Karen State in southeastern Burma has been at odds with the central government since 1949, originally aiming for independence and later calling for a federal system in Burma. The two sides reached several informal ceasefires over the decades, but clashes continued sporadically and much of the land remains scarred by leftover ordnance. A fresh peace pact was signed in January 2012 as the country moves closer to achieving a nationwide ceasefire agreement, an historic pact that is expected to be reached later this year.

Renewed search underway for the fabled Dhammazedi Bell Posted: 12 Aug 2014 04:12 AM PDT Efforts are underway on the Rangoon River by a local team to find and recover the Great Bell of Dhammazedi - a giant bell that is said to have sunk 400 years ago. The bronze Dhammazedi Bell is believed to have been cast in the 15th Century and is reputed to be the world's largest, as some records say it weighs about 270 tonnes. At the confluence of the Pegu and Rangoon Rivers, boats and trawlers can be seen searching for the legendary bell. Work began three days ago, headed by San Lin and his team of excavators who finally received government permission to recover the bell after years of trying. Hundreds of spectators line the banks every day watching the boats in their search. The flurry of activity has created a moneymaking opportunity for the local ferrymen, who charge 1,000 kyat (US$1) per passenger to tour the area. "There's not much to see from here [the bank] so we are taking spectators out on tour to the spot," said one ferryman. "There were more people yesterday because of the full moon, the tide is high right now." The bell is named after King Dhammazedi, a Mon ruler of Hanthawaddy in Pegu who commissioned the bell to be cast in 1484. Records show it originally stood at Shwedagon Pagoda but was removed in 1608 by Filipe de Brito e Nicote, a Portuguese warlord and mercenary who ruled Syriam (now Thanlyin) across the Rangoon River. Related Stories Bullet Points: 12 August 2014 High waters in low-lying Pegu Two activists and an advocacy group receive international awards Filipe de Brito wanted the bell to be melted down and used to make cannons but as it was being transported across the river, the boat sank under the sheer weight of it. The Dhammazedi Bell has lain at the bottom of the river for the past 400 years. There have been many previous attempts since the 1980s to recover the bell but all have failed. Any recovery operation is extremely complex – aside from the many layers of silt build up to contend with,  the site is also littered with shipwrecks. The team have received several donations from local businesses to help their search, which will continue for the next two weeks.

Thousands need water after storms in Mon State Posted: 12 Aug 2014 03:10 AM PDT Thousands of people in eastern Burma are urgently in need of drinking water after the area's lakes and wells were polluted by floodwater last week. Nyan Htun, a community leader in Thaton, Mon State, said that around 1,000 local wells and lakes have been contaminated. Thousands of residents from about 15 villages, including Kyaikkaw, Theinzeik, Mayangon, Dewan, Aukkwin and Seikkyun, are now in dire need of clean water. "Although the flood subsided, lakes and wells were polluted by debris, and there are around 1,500 households that rely on them," said Nyan Htun. "The local government provided some relief during the floods. They started distributing water purification tablets but not nearly enough to cover the whole area." He said affected villagers are surviving on purchased bottled water, which is only a temporary fix as many are living in extreme poverty and supply is short. Nyan Htun stressed that the area needs a longer-term solution, such as more purification tablets to make local water sources usable again. Other urgent needs, he said, are textbooks and stationery for local students, many of whom lost those items while fleeing their homes as water levels rose abruptly last week. Many are also in need of clothing and other basic items because of the emergency evacuations. Those wishing to donate to the flood victims can contact the National League for Democracy in Thaton at 0973211518 or 09425349012. Related Stories Bullet Points: 12 August 2014 Bullet Points: 7 August 2014 Activist sentenced to one year for false claims of NLD coup

Kanbalu villagers say they’ll get some land back from military Posted: 12 Aug 2014 02:54 AM PDT Villagers in Sagaing Division's Kanbalu have reached an agreement with the Burmese army after negotiations over the return of their farmland, a local resident said on Monday. According to villager Tin Myo, about 3,000 acres of farmland in Kanbalu's Hyaukshai village was confiscated by the Burmese military in 1999 for a sugarcane plantation project. However, the regional military commander Gen. Min Naung has now agreed that a small amount of land will be returned to some of the villagers soon. Tin Myo said that Min Naung had promised to return 384 acres of farmland to the villagers as a "first step". "Although not all the 3,000 acres was returned to us, at least we will have 384, so we are satisfied," he said, adding that the locals don't believe that they will ever get all 3,000 acres back. Related Stories 20 Kanbalu plough protestors transferred to distant prisons Tavoy farmers jailed for 'disturbing' officials Three farmers sentenced to three years for plough protest in Sagaing Land-grabbing is a prevalent issue throughout Burma. In Sagaing Division, as many as 13,000 acres of land has been confiscated by the Burmese army since 1991. The majority of these plots are then in turn tilled by tenant farmers – often the very same ones who lost the land in the first place – hired by the army. Since the nominally civilian government of President Thein Sein came into power in 2011, farmers have clamoured to authorities for the return of their land. Many have also started ploughing these disputed farmland in protest as an attempt to symbolise that it once belonged to them. Most recently, about 400 farmers in Kanbalu were prosecuted for staging plough protests to demand for the return of their confiscated farmlands, and 57 of them have been jailed.

Aung Min urges MPs to play role in post-ceasefire dialogue Posted: 12 Aug 2014 01:28 AM PDT Naypyidaw's chief negotiator in ceasefire talks, Aung Min, has urged political party leaders to take part in any future rounds of dialogue with ethnic armed groups. Speaking at the Myanmar Peace Centre in Rangoon on Monday, at a meeting between the government's Union Peace-making Work Committee (UPWC) and some 150 representatives of 66 political parties, Aung Min made the call following an agreement to facilitate political dialogue with armed minorities within 90 days of the signing of a nationwide ceasefire. "As for our government," said Aung Min, "we would like to begin political dialogue at the beginning of next year. As there are elections coming up in 2015, there is not much time left and so, in order to use time effectively, we are looking to start pre-emptive discussions on the political framework for talks in parallel with efforts to bring about a national ceasefire." Related Stories Bullet Points: 11 August 2014 Military cannot hold power for eternity: Min Ko Naing Bullet Points: 6 August 2014 He told the politicians the UPWC had already agreed to such steps with the ethnic alliance Nationwide Ceasefire Coordination Team (NCCT), which is concurrently "making preparations for dialogue". At the latest round of ceasefire talks in May, the NCCT agreed on the second draft of a single-text nationwide ceasefire with the government, although both sides conceded that some 30 points were still outstanding for discussion. But the two sides – bitter enemies over many decades of civil strife – are yet to debate a framework for political dialogue. The ethnic militias have reportedly requested the participation of government, ethnic and political party representatives, while the government has suggested the inclusion of civil society groups and academics in the process.

DVB Debate: Protecting Burma’s migrants Posted: 12 Aug 2014 12:59 AM PDT Over the past few decades, social, economic, and political conditions in Burma have led to mass migration internally and abroad. Seeking better opportunities and higher wages away from home, Migrants often end up in low-skilled jobs where they sometimes face exploitation and harassment. The executive director of the Foundation for Education and Development, Htoo Chit, said the government is unequipped to deal with the sheer volume of migrants who need assistance abroad. "Our government does not appear to really understand the plight of Burmese migrant workers," he said. "As a non-governmental organisation, we have over 80 members of staff and that is not even enough to cover operations in two different regions. So you can imagine how unlikely it is that one government official would be able to deal with the issues of two million migrants." Myo Aung, director general of the Department of Labour at the Ministry of Labour, acknowledges there are shortcomings in the system. "Labour attaches posted in foreign countries have to rely on the relevant embassies they are attached to for assistance and while they are charged to see to migrant labour issues, we do face some difficulty in assisting those who have been sent to prison because of diplomatic procedures," he said. Burmese citizens abroad have the right to protection from the union under the 2008 Constitution but there is no specific legislation protecting migrant workers abroad. Experts question what parliament can actually do to protect those in other countries. Cartoon: DVB Debate "The workers form the unions within the boundaries of the law. But they are still abused by their employers outside of the law," said Wunna Htun, from the Export and Import Manufacturers Union. Political scientist Min Nyo, said it was important that the government ratify the International Labour Organization's (ILO) International Labour Standards, particularly the Migration for Employment and Migrant Workers conventions. "ILO Conventions 97 and 143 are concerned with migrant labour but the Burmese government has not signed these yet. I would like to urge both the parliament and labour unions to help to make this happen," he said. Lower House MP Thein Nyunt recently proposed to draft a law in parliament that would include provisions to protect migrant workers. But the proposal only received five votes in favour and was rejected. "Even though I only won five votes I am not unhappy about it," he said. "Because this reveals the true face of those who always talk about human rights but in practice they won't fight for them." Burma is surrounded by newly industrialised neighbouring countries with fast growing economies, and because of a greater opportunity to find work, a significant number of migrants seek employment away from home, mostly in Thailand. There are currently 202 official overseas agencies sending workers abroad. But many agencies that send workers into exploitative or unbearable conditions are never made accountable. "Employment agencies that are being allowed to officially run modern human trafficking operations should be severely punished immediately," said Htoo Chit. Myo Aung said the department of labour are working to stop these agencies. "Frankly, we are doing things very differently from before, and with regards to labour organisations we have enacted new laws. An employer must be punished for wrongdoing against their workers but it is necessary to provide us with a detailed report," he said. Related Stories Bullet Points: 7 August 2014 Debating the right to gather Burmese migrant wins Thai calligraphy award Some illegal agencies send workers to situations were they are unregistered and unmonitored, leaving them especially vulnerable to exploitation and abuse. Thant Zaw Win was a former migrant worker who was sent to China to work in a factory. He believes more education is needed to raise awareness about the risks and dangers that migrant workers face. "There was no way for us to know if the agency we used was an officially appointed employment agent. So we ended up [in China]. We would like the government to provide educational workshops for migrant workers to save them from the kind of suffering we experienced," he said. Thein Nyunt said because of the very nature of trafficking it is difficult to get all the information to be able to assist when things go wrong. "The migrants are sent out of the country via legal channels but made illegal when they get to another country and are forced to work in the jaws of death, like on fishing boats. This kind of information never reaches those tasked to deal with these situations. All the migrants can do is to cry for help away from home, and that won't solve the problem," he said. Many migrants live and work in poor conditions, settling in marginalised communities that lack health care services, water supplies and basic community sanitation. Migrants and people who work with them feel those in power need to take the migrants' plight seriously and enact legislation to protect them.   Join the debate or watch the full debate programme in Burmese on our Youtube channel. Or comment on our website dvb.no.

First heritage plaque unveiled in Rangoon Posted: 12 Aug 2014 12:32 AM PDT A ceremonial unveiling of Rangoon's first commemorative heritage plaque took place on Saturday at Rangoon City Hall where Mayor Hla Myint and the Yangon Heritage Trust (YHT) hosted regional MPs, foreign diplomats and historians. According to YHT director Thant Myint U, Yangon Heritage Trust will install blue heritage plaques at landmark buildings and homes of well-known persons to highlight their cultural and historical significance and their contribution to "the narrative of the city". "Yangon [Rangoon] is a city important not only for the history of Myanmar [Burma], but also the history of the world. It’s witnessed two Anglo-Burmese wars, the Second World War, British and Japanese occupation, a civil war, coups and uprisings," he said. "It’s been home to Myanmar’s top leaders, thinkers, writers and artists, as well as internationally renowned figures from the last Mogul Emperor to Nobel Laureate Pablo Neruda. It's played host to icons from Mahatma Gandhi to Nikita Khrushchev. And it’s been home to millions of ordinary people from many different faiths and backgrounds. It's a special city, a unique city, and all this is reflected in Yangon's beautiful built heritage. This is what these plaques will recognise and celebrate. We hope it will help residents and visitors alike appreciate what is around them." Dutch electronics firm Royal Phillips has donated US$75,000 to the project. Related Stories Bullet Points: 12 August 2014 Karen honour fallen leader on Martyrs’ Day Elderly Michaungkan protestor dies after 138-day vigil Saturday's plaque ceremony was attended by British Ambassador Andrew Patrick, who lauded the scheme. "We support YHTs campaign to preserve Yangon's buildings, from whatever era," he told DVB on Tuesday. "A city can be both economically vibrant and preserve its history – and a city that does that will be a better city. These plaques will help highlight that these buildings played a part in the life of the city – famous people lived there, or important events in history happened there. This is the most interesting city in the region, and I hope the people of the city are able to preserve that, while of course enjoying the benefits of economic growth." Central Rangoon is well known for its iconic colonial architecture, much of it built between 100 and 150 years ago under British rule. But recent economic developments in the country and demand for modern office and residential space have resulted in the demolition of many old buildings to make way for high rises. A war of words broke out last year between those who want to retain the city's heritage sites and those who want to make way for modern development who point to the fact that much of the colonial-era architecture is in a state of irreparable decay and woefully unsafe.

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