Democratic Voice of Burma

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• Charges reduced in Bi Mon Te Nay trial
• Bagan’s rare birds need protection
• Bullet Points: 4 August 2014
• Chin State attempts education revamp with 1,600 new hires
• Severe flooding drowns 1,000 homes in Hlegu

Charges reduced in Bi Mon Te Nay trial Posted: 04 Aug 2014 05:34 AM PDT Charges against five employees of the Bi Mon Te Nay news journal (literally Bi Midday Sun news journal) and one activist were reduced by a Pabedan district court in Rangoon on Monday, limiting their potential jail terms to two years as the controversial trial continues. The charges, which originally carried sentences of up to seven years for undermining state security, were levied against the journal's staff and the activist after Bi Mon Te Nay published an article citing a false report by the Myanmar Democratic Current Force (MDCF) claiming that opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi had teamed up with a group of ethnic leaders in forming an interim government to depose the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party government. The seven now face charges for violating article 505(b) of Burma's penal code, which penalises defamation of the state. Legal counsel for the accused, Robert San Aung, confirmed on Monday that the charges had been reduced against his clients. "The police's Special Intelligence Department, the prosecutor in this case, changed the charges against the group as advised by the judicial office," he said. Seven employees of Bi Mon Te Nay news journal– editors Ye Min Aung and Win Tin, editor-in-chief Aung Thant, owner Kyaw Min Khine, his wife Ei Ei San, office manager Yin Min Tun and reporter Kyaw Zaw Hein — originally faced charges. Naung Naung, a member of the MDCF, was also arraigned for MDCF's claims, on which Bi-Mon Te Nay's report was based. Ye Min Aung and Ei Ei San have since been discharged due to a lack of incriminating evidence. Naung Naing, it was announced on Monday, will face a separate trial in Kyauktada Township court. Several of the publication's editors were detained by Rangoon police the day after publication, while the owner, his wife and the office manager were arrested on 16 July in the Thai border town of Mae Sot with the assistance of Thai officials. The case is the latest in a growing list of prosecutions against media workers. In perhaps the most egregious, five employees of the Unity Weekly journal sentenced on 10 July to ten years in prison with hard labour on charges of trespassing and violating the colonial-era Official Secrets Act. Criticism immediately erupted from local and international rights groups and media advocacy organisations, prompting demonstrations over which about 50 other journalists may now face unlawful assembly charges. Burma's Interim Press Council, a semi-independent press oversight body established in 2012, met with President Thein Sein on 1 August to discuss what they see as a withdrawal of freedoms. The president committed to ensuring that the Press Council will have powers to mediate future disputes involving the media. The Bi Mon Te Nay news journal has suspended operations since the staff were indicted and equipment was seized by the police.

Bagan’s rare birds need protection Posted: 04 Aug 2014 05:07 AM PDT Four rare bird species native to central Burma's Bagan region are at risk of their habitat being destroyed, according to ornithologists. During a speech at an eco-tourism workshop in Rangoon, bird expert Thein Aung, from the Myanmar Bird and Nature Society, called for greater protection for the birds of Bagan. He said four rare bird species that live in Bagan's archaeological zone — the White-throated Blabber, Lerdon's Minivet, the Burmese Bushlark and the Hooded Treepie — are being threatened by an increase of tourists flocking to see the ancient temples. "Visitors who come to Bagan on cultural tours are switching to bird watching as all four endemic bird species live in the archaeological zone," he said. There has been an increase in calls from archaeologists to preserve the crumbling temples, but Thein Aung believes the same protection should be afforded to the birds that live among the heritage sites. "We found owls nesting in gaps between the bricks of the temples. Are we going to just protect the sites of archaeological value but not the owls? What if they are an endangered species?" he asked. Burma is enjoying a boom in tourism since the country opened its gates to the outside world three years ago, and iconic sites such as Bagan attract hundreds of thousands of visitors each year. Related Stories Bullet Points: 4 August 2014 Bullet Points: 1 August 2014 Burma Business Weekly: 1 August 2014 But Thein Aung said tourists are directly threatening the birds' habitat. Birds are losing their roosting spots due to parties thrown for tourists. "I was waiting for the birds to roost but there was a party right next to the roosting spot," he said. "I realised that if bird experts can point out where their sleeping and nesting sites are, it will allow the hotel and tourism operators to avoid these spots." Birdwatching tours in Bagan are becoming increasingly popular with bird-loving tourists. Thein Aung said it is important that tourism companies promote the conservation of not only the heritage sites, but of Bagan's birds and wildlife.

Bullet Points: 4 August 2014 Posted: 04 Aug 2014 05:00 AM PDT On today’s edition of Bullet Points: Four men are facing court accused of falsifying a rape accusation that led to the outbreak of religious violence in Mandalay last month. Six Burmese sailors, who were among 21 men on board a hijacked oil tanker off the coast of Ghana, were freed on Sunday. Two former Insein guards who are at the centre of Burma's first court case over the mistreatment of political prisoners have apologised for their actions. Ornithologists in Bagan are calling for the protection of four rare bird species found in the region.   You can watch Bullet Points every weeknight after the 7 o’clock news.   Related Stories Bagan’s rare birds need protection Bullet Points: 1 August 2014 Bullet Points: 30 July 2014

Chin State attempts education revamp with 1,600 new hires Posted: 04 Aug 2014 03:18 AM PDT In Burma's remote and impoverished Chin State — the poorest region of the country — a minimal 8,000 teachers educate more than 110,000 registered students in only 1,300 schools. In an effort to improve the state's dismal education system, regional officials have announced that they will hire an additional 1,640 teachers. The new recruits will teach primary school, and will receive daily wages of 5,000 kyat (US$5), a representative of the state's education department told DVB. High schools, he said, are still in dire need of qualified staff. "We still need more teachers," he said. "According to our statistics, we still need around 200 teachers for high schools." The official announced that 13 new primary schools have recently opened in the state, but the new hires have not been assigned to them. He added that a hiring surge last year ended with some disappointment; about 110 of the 890 new hires simply never showed up for duty. With an estimated population of about half a million people, the northeastern state is the poorest part of the country and still lacks much of the infrastructure needed for development. Roads are few and far between, many often made impassable by extreme mountainous terrain and weather. The state has no secular universities, but there are a few private theological colleges. Official data from Burma's Central Statistical Organisation counted only 25 high schools statewide in 2003. Only about eight percent of high school students in Chin State passed matriculation exams for the last academic year, the lowest percentage in the country.   Related Stories Burmese migrant wins Thai calligraphy award Chin activists found guilty of illegal protest against rape Crossing language barriers

Severe flooding drowns 1,000 homes in Hlegu Posted: 04 Aug 2014 02:01 AM PDT About 1,000 homes have been inundated in Hlegu, Rangoon Division, after heavy rains flooded the Ngamoeyeik creek and the Pegu River. "The water is about waist-deep in some areas," said Phyo Min Thu, a lower house parliamentarian representing Hlegu Township. He said that about 3,000 people were affected in five villages: Ngwenanthar, Malit, Sinhpon, Sitpinmyauk and Yaekyaw. While seasonal floods are common in the low-lying region just north of Rangoon, Phyo Min Thu said that abnormally heavy rainfall in recent weeks has caused extreme, protracted flood levels, with excess water sometimes remaining stagnant for up to ten days. Emergency response measures for the thousands affected remain unclear. Related Stories Bullet Points: 31 July 2014 Bullet Points: 30 July 2014 150 homeless as whirlwind sweeps through Rangoon More flooding is expected to hit Arakan State, Irrawaddy, Pegu and Rangoon Divisions as the monsoon season nears its peak, according to Tun Lwin, head of Burma's Department of Hydrology and Meteorology. Tun Lwin told DVB on Sunday that Bassein, Henzada, Maubin, Mingalardon, Pegu and Tharawaddy townships are likely to flood, as well as Kyaukphyu, on the Arakan coast; a prediction that he described as "alarming". Last year, about 50,000 people were displaced by flash floods in Pegu Division, according to the United Nations. In addition, some 60,000 acres of farmland were flooded, with about 15,000 severely damaged. Undeveloped infrastructure, risk prevention and low capacity for efficient relief efforts remain a concern in many parts of the country. In a 2013 situation bulletin on Burma, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs stressed the need to "strengthen disaster risk reduction and preparedness activities to mitigate the impact of natural disasters on vulnerable populations in the coming years". Burma is one the most disaster-prone countries in the Asia Pacific, vulnerable to a range of hazards including floods, cyclones, earthquakes, landslides and tsunamis.

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