Democratic Voice of Burma

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• Bullet Points: 26 August 2014
• Will bell-searchers claim ring true?
• UN advisor Nambiar concludes trip to Burma
• Activists Win Cho and Wai Lu sentenced to 3 months
• Military is committed to peace process, says Thein Sein
• Burma’s rice exports up 41 percent

Bullet Points: 26 August 2014 Posted: 26 Aug 2014 04:15 AM PDT On today's edition of Bullet Points: Search team reports discovery of the Dhammazedi Bell. Shwe Mann meets Wa and Shan and Mong La leaders. Britain pledges new aid to Burma. Activist Win Cho jailed under the Peaceful Assembly and Peaceful Procession Act. Burma's rice exports  jump 41 percent. You can watch Bullet Points every weeknight on DVB TV after the 7 o'clock news.

Will bell-searchers claim ring true? Posted: 26 Aug 2014 04:07 AM PDT The Dhammazedi Bell, for centuries believed to be lost beneath the silt at the confluence of the Pegu and Rangoon rivers, may at last have been found by a team of local divers. "We have found it!" search team leader San Lin told DVB by phone on Tuesday. Offering no further detail on the bell's location or how the team plans to retrieve it, he added that, "we will hold a press conference later." On a mission that began on 9 August, San Lin's men dropped daily to the river floor to search for the bell, guided by little other than an accompanying monk and a collective will to uncover one of the country's most mysterious and beloved treasures. Crowds of tourists — domestic and foreign alike — dished out 1,000 kyat (US$1) to observe the hopeful hunt. Related Stories Bullet Points: 26 August 2014 Activists Win Cho and Wai Lu sentenced to 3 months Filthy water plumbed into Rangoon homes The elusive bronze bell - thought to be the largest in the world and weighing nearly 300 tons - was cast in 1484 under the patronage of King Dhammazedi, a much-loved Mon monarch who ruled the Hanthawaddy Kingdom. Intended as a gift for the Shwedagon Pagoda in Rangoon, there it remained until European merchants began to frequent Lower Burma. In the very early 1600s, Portuguese mercenary Filipe de Brito e Nicote, after leading a force of Arakanese to sack the kingdom's capital, ordered that the bell be removed and melted down as material for cannons. As legend has it, De Brito's crew rolled the bell downhill and hauled it with the help of several elephants to the bank of the Pegu River. There it was loaded onto a raft and strapped to his flagship for what was meant to be a rather short trip. Alas, the raft buckled under the weight of the enormous object, which dragged the whole ship along as it sank to the floor, presumably at the confluence of the Pegu and Rangoon rivers. No one has had much of a clue as to the bell's exact whereabouts, and some remained sceptical that it still existed. But San Lin has assured DVB that the cynics will soon become believers. "We have located it and we are trying to bring up what we found," he said. If their find really is the beloved Dhammazedi Bell, San Lin and his modest crew will be the first of several handsomely funded discovery missions to actually achieve their goal. Other attempts, much like Burma's other famed snipe hunt — the spitfire mission – ended without resolve.

UN advisor Nambiar concludes trip to Burma Posted: 26 Aug 2014 02:22 AM PDT The UN Secretary-General’s Special Advisor on Burma Vijay Nambiar on Monday concluded his eighth official visit to the country in the past year, after a week in which he met a host of senior officials in Naypyidaw, discussed the resumption of international aid with community leaders in Arakan State and attended a round of ceasefire talks in Rangoon as an observer. According to a UN statement, Nambiar attended tripartite talks between the a government delegation, ethnic representatives and political party leaders on 18 August in Rangoon, where he "conveyed a key message to all stakeholders to take a leap of faith and to set aside all narrow agendas in the common interest of peace and a unified Myanmar [Burma]." On Friday in Naypyidaw, the UN special advisor was received by President Thein Sein and held discussions with senior officials, including: Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin; President’s Office ministers Soe Thein and Aung Min; Minister for Immigration and Population Affairs Khin Yi; and the new chief minister of Arakan State, Maung Maung Ohn. Related Stories Bullet Points: 25 August 2014 The R-word, and its ramifications Bullet Points: 14 August 2014 He also met with parliamentary House Speaker Shwe Mann and Deputy Commander-in-Chief Vice-Snr-Gen Soe Win, before holding consultations with members of political parties, ethnic armed groups, civil society, aid agencies, women and youth organisations, as well as with diplomatic representatives, the UN Information Centre in Rangoon said. Nambiar did not, on this occasion, meet with Burmese opposition leader Aung Sang Suu Kyi, whom he spoke with on an earlier visit in July. Visiting restive Arakan State, where communal mob violence has forced 140,000 people from their homes and into shelters over the past two years, Nambiar discussed with local authorities the need for the urgent resumption of humanitarian aid, saying such a move "would help address prevailing tensions and pave the way for sustainable solutions". But the UN envoy was met in part with resistance among members of the Arakanese community who took exception to his views on human rights and citizenship with regard to Rohingya Muslims. Khine Kaung Zan, a representative of the Wonlet Foundation, said, "We told the UN envoy that the Bengalis [Rohingyas] should follow and respect the Constitution and laws of our country. And, we told him, we know from experience that some external influences are supporting the Bengalis." He added that the Arakanese Buddhist representatives urged the UN special advisor to ensure that aid is provided equally to both communities in Arakan State by international agencies.

Activists Win Cho and Wai Lu sentenced to 3 months Posted: 26 Aug 2014 01:01 AM PDT Two well-known activists have been sentenced to three months in prison for violating Burma's controversial Right to Peaceful Assembly and Peaceful Procession Act, after staging a rally without prior permission from local authorities. Win Cho and Wai Lu, who have both faced multiple charges and prison terms under the controversial statute, were convicted of organising an unlawful demonstration on 26 March 2014 against a sudden electricity price hike in Rangoon. The ruling was handed down by Rangoon's Kyauktada Township court on Monday, according to their lawyer, Robert San Aung. Win Cho, a prolific community organiser and member of the Myanmar Social Development Network,  has been charged dozens of times for his role in protests over land rights, economic hardship and other causes common across Burma. Shortly after the energy price demonstration in March, Win Cho was jailed for his involvement in an unrelated protest two months earlier, when he was joined by hundreds of farmers demanding constitutional reform and the establishment of a farmers' union. He and fellow activist Nay Myo Zin were swiftly jailed, serving a total of 84 days in Insein Prison. The two were released on 25 June after serving out their full three-month sentences. Wai Lu, the other activist sentenced on Monday, was hit with an additional one-month sentence for his role in another demonstration over the eviction of central Burma's Moehti Moemi gold miners. The small-scale mine operators lost their jobs and homes when the government granted a mining concession to a major conglomerate in June 2012. Related Stories Bullet Points: 26 August 2014 Will bell-searchers claim ring true? Filthy water plumbed into Rangoon homes After the work freeze, more than 100 displaced miners sought refuge in a nearby monastery where they faced a series of eviction threats and were subject to a early-morning raid in March at which about 50 people were arrested. Monday's sentencing was the latest in a long string of jail terms for peaceful protestors since the reform process began. The country's assembly laws have been oft-criticised for granting sweeping powers to authorities to arbitrarily detain activists. Among the most contentious edicts is part of Section 18 (often mislabelled as “Article 18″) of the Right to Peaceful Assembly and Peaceful Procession Act, as it requires the permission of local authorities for all public gatherings. Claims abound that permission is discriminately denied under the broad terms outlined in the law. Amendments made to Section 18 earlier this year have been called a "disappointment" by rights monitors, who argue that while the changes reduce sentences, the legislation still endangers the principle of freedom to assemble, which is enshrined in Article 534(b) of Burma’s Constitution.

Military is committed to peace process, says Thein Sein Posted: 26 Aug 2014 12:45 AM PDT Burma's military chiefs are committed to peace as per the policies of the Union Government, said President Thein Sein, adding that all parties must now cooperate with each other with a sense of trust. Speaking on Monday at a meeting in Naypyidaw with Wa representative Kyauk Kaw Ern, Shan State Army-North Vice-chairman Sao Khae Tai and Mong La leader San Pae, the president said political problems should only be resolved by dialogue, and pledged that development in the form of education, health and rehabilitation would begin after the signing of a nationwide ceasefire, according to the Ministry of Information. Issues involving the details of the nationwide ceasefire agreement, future political dialogue and regional development were also discussed, the ministry said. Related Stories Bullet Points: 26 August 2014 Another wrong turn in Mong La Charges dropped for 50 media activists Two of the three ethnic armed groups represented at Monday's meeting – the United Wa State Army and the National Democratic Alliance Army, also known as the Mong La Group – have already signed bilateral ceasefire agreements with the Burmese government, but have not been involved in ongoing talks between Naypyidaw and the Nationwide Ceasefire Coordination Team (NCCT), an ethnic alliance of 16 armed groups. The Shan State Army-North are members of the NCCT, which concluded a fifth round of negotiations on 17 August in Rangoon where both delegations emerged with positive accounts of progress. During the latest round of talks, the government delegation also acceded to the ethnic bloc's call for the country to become a federal union. According to state media, Kyauk Kaw Ern, Sao Khae Tai and San Pae assured Thein Sein on Monday that they stood behind the military's "three national causes" campaign, namely "non-disintegration of the Union", "non-disintegration of national solidarity", and "perpetuation of sovereignty". After meeting with the president, the three ethnic leaders met with military Commander-in-Chief Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing to discuss policies on maintaining peace, regional development and drug prevention. Min Aung Hlaing reportedly reiterated his "six policies for peace" plan to the ethnic representatives: to have a genuine will to achieve peace; to adhere to all agreements; not to take advantage of peace agreements; not to put a burden on the local population; to follow the “three causes”; and to abide by the 2008 Constitution. Kyauk Kaw Ern, Sao Khae Tai and San Pae were scheduled to hold talks on Tuesday with parliamentarians in the Burmese capital.

Burma’s rice exports up 41 percent Posted: 25 Aug 2014 08:32 PM PDT Burma has exported around US$196 million worth of rice from 1 April to 15 August 2014, up 41 percent from around $139 million exported during the same period in the last fiscal year, according to local sources. Burma, officially known as Myanmar, exported around 530,000 tons of rice between 1 April and 15 august, a Commerce Ministry official was quoted as saying. Sources at the ministry told local sources that the rise in exports is mainly due to increased demand from Russia. However, Burma's rice exports to China have suffered since the beginning of the fiscal year due to a freeze in official exports through the Muse border by Chinese officials. Authorities from both countries are reportedly discussing a new trade agreement that will allow hassle-free exports from Burma to China. Related Stories Bullet Points: 26 August 2014 Another wrong turn in Mong La BUSINESS WEEKLY – 24 August 2014 DVB reported last week that Chinese officials will enter discussions geared towards allowing the legal import of Burmese rice, according to Yu Ding Cheng, chairman of the Chamber of Commerce in Yunnan. Seizures of illegal rice have led to a steep decline in value. Yu Ding Cheng said that he met with Burma's Federation of Chambers of Commerce in efforts to boost cross-border trade on 14 August. The Myanmar Rice Federation said that they do not expect to meet this year's target of exporting two million tons of rice, as value and demand have both dropped. These exports figures were originally published on www.oryza.com. Oryza is a leading source in the rice industry and a media partner of DVB.

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