Democratic Voice of Burma

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• Thein Sein chases German investment
• Bullet Points: 4 September 2014
• Dealers decry lost profit on car imports
• Ethnic bloc hopeful of KNU return
• Karen soldiers in stand-off with police over weapon seizure

Thein Sein chases German investment Posted: 04 Sep 2014 05:03 AM PDT Burma's President Thein Sein arrived in Germany on Tuesday with the intention of drumming up investment. In Berlin on Wednesday, Thein Sein was welcomed to the economic heart of the European Union with a guard of honour. A press conference followed a lunchtime meeting between the two leaders. Thein Sein assured German Chancellor Angela Merkel that democratisation in Burma would follow economic growth. The army general-turned-politician admitted to Merkel that difficulties have arisen as Burma has opened up. Referring to the last three years as an "enormous democratic process", Thein Sein told Merkel that the transition was being achieved "without spilling blood." Merkel was more circumspect, telling Thein Sein that economic growth requires equality and tolerance towards minorities.  Since coming to power in 2011, a ferocious war has gripped northern Burma, leaving hundreds dead and over 120,000 civilians displaced. Religious tension in Burma has also erupted into violence across the country, with recent deadly flashpoints in Mandalay and the Arakan capital of Sittwe.  Germany is Burma's largest source of European Union investment. In 2013, bilateral trade reached around 250 million US dollars.  While the trade figure has risen since 2011, it is dwarfed by Burma's partnerships with countries such as China, Thailand and Japan. Thein Sein was eager to thrash out further deals after meeting with German business representatives in Frankfurt. Merkel kept her focus on democratisation, criticising Burma's recent clampdown on the media. Related Stories Russia looks East Bullet Points: 2 September 2014 President Thein Sein embarks for Europe German support for Burma's emerging fourth estate saw the opening of Burma's first private journalism school in July of this year. After leaving Germany, Thein Sein will move on to Switzerland and the Netherlands.

Bullet Points: 4 September 2014 Posted: 04 Sep 2014 04:57 AM PDT On today's edition of Bullet Points: Thein Sein meets Angela Merkel in Berlin. OIC delegation visits Arakan State. China supports Rangoon eye treatments. You can watch Bullet Points every weeknight on DVB TV after the 7 o'clock news.

Dealers decry lost profit on car imports Posted: 04 Sep 2014 04:18 AM PDT The price of imported vehicles has rapidly declined as a result of the Burmese government's "car slip" scheme, causing concern among dealers who are incurring major losses on import duties. Price tags on imported cars are directly proportionate to the value of car slips, which are essentially duty vouchers that are required to register new cars. A sudden drop in car slip prices – which have fallen by about 400,000 kyat (US$400) in the past three days alone – has caused alarm among dealers, who pay duties to import the cars and typically sell the slips along with the vehicle. Many of the slips were distributed as part of a government buy-back scheme, whereby people could trade in their 20-year-old vehicles, deregister them, and receive the voucher for a new import. While the sudden fluctuation has made purchasing new, imported cars easier for consumers, car brokers say they are experiencing severe losses as a result of the price cut. "The showrooms sell the cars with slips, but people are coming with their own slips that cost much less and are more valuable," said one dealer from a Hlaing Township showroom. The cost of the car slip is directly proportional to the value of the vehicle, which means that the price cut makes buying a car easier for consumers but far less lucrative for dealers. Dr Soe Tun, director of Farmer Auto Showroom, explained the mechanism: "The showroom sells cars. Customers usually come with their own slips, so the final price depends upon the price of the car slip. If the slip price drops by 3,000,000, the car price also drops".   Related Stories Thailand expects trade surplus with Burma by 2016, says bank exec Bullet Points: 27 August 2014 Japanese reveal taste for Burmese tea

Ethnic bloc hopeful of KNU return Posted: 04 Sep 2014 02:57 AM PDT A leader of Burma's main ethnic bloc, the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC), said its members are hopeful that the Karen National Union (KNU) will rejoin the group after their sudden withdrawal earlier this week. "The main reason they revoked their membership was that they had an issue with the structure of the UNFC," the group's Vice-Chairman One Nai Hongsa told DVB on Wednesday. "I hope that they will come back and not leave the UNFC." KNU Chairman Mutu Say Poe walked out of a UNFC conference in Chiang Mai, Thailand, on Sunday, before the group officially withdrew from the bloc. The KNU was reportedly dissatisfied with the UNFC leadership and power structure, which they claim is too hierarchical and favours certain ethnic groups such as the Kachin Independence Organisation and the New Mon State Party.  The KNU, a member of the UNFC since it was founded in 2011, submitted a proposal to alter the group's power structure, which KNU Gen-Sec Padoh Saw Khwe Htoo Win referred to as "a top-down structure where we are expected to hand over our fate to the leadership". The core suggestion was a decentralisation of the UNFC's decision-making body; the KNU recommended creating a political leading body with three to five secretaries and programme committees, as opposed to having a few very powerful chairmen. Related Stories Karen soldiers in stand-off with police over weapon seizure UNFC opens 2 top positions for KNU Bullet Points: 1 September 2014 "Most of the members would like to keep the structure as before," said Nai Hongsa, explaining that most of the UNFC's member groups think that the KNU proposal could weaken the bloc and cause unnecessary delays in decision-making. The UNFC said that by the close of their seven-day congress, they had elected 42 council members and 12 central executive committee members, each to carry out two-year terms. Two leadership positions — one vice-chairman seat and a central committee member seat — have been held for KNU representatives, should they choose to rejoin. The KNU said that they will convene within the coming weeks to decide whether or not they will remain in the UNFC, adding that their temporary suspension of membership will not damage the country's peace process and that they have no intention of signing onto an early, independent peace accord without the other ethnic groups. General secretary of the UNFC, Khu Oo Reh, assured DVB that "the KNU is always welcome to come back as a UNFC member." The UNFC was created in 2011 as the most recent incarnation of an ethnic coalition aiming to establish federalism in Burma.

Karen soldiers in stand-off with police over weapon seizure Posted: 03 Sep 2014 10:55 PM PDT Armed members of the Karen Peace Council (KPC) confronted police in Karen State capital Hpa-an on Wednesday following the arrest of a high-ranking officer. Hpa-an police apprehended KPC Column Commander Ayu after questioning him about the abduction and robbery of a woman carrying gold wares. During the course of the investigation, police found and confiscated a gun and ammunition. Ayu was detained and charged with illegal possession of a weapon. KPC Colonel Saw Joseph led a group of about 40 armed soldiers to the Hpa-an police station at around 11am on Wednesday to demand that he be released and the weapon returned. "We are not surrounding the station," Saw Joseph explained to DVB. "We came to talk about the case. They charged one of our members with possession of a weapon, so we came to discuss how to proceed." Related Stories Ethnic bloc hopeful of KNU return UNFC opens 2 top positions for KNU Bullet Points: 1 September 2014 Saw Joseph said that there was no altercation and no shots were fired during the confrontation. Local journalist Zaw Ye Htet told DVB that locals were fearful nonetheless, and the incident brought business to a standstill. "About 20 soldiers from Burmese Army Light Infantry Battalion 201 joined forces with the police, and then the Karen troops backed out. There was no shootout, but the gold shops in Myoma market all closed down," he said. The KPC is an ethnic armed group that split from the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) in 2007. The 200-strong army was founded by Brig-Gen Htay Maung after he was dismissed from the KNLA over holding unauthorised peace negotiations with the Burmese government. The group signed a state-level ceasefire agreement with the central government in February 2012. The Karen National Union, political wing of the KNLA, also forged a state-level pact in 2012, and is currently involved in negotiations for a nationwide ceasefire agreement. The talks are tenuous and have led to leadership disagreements; the KNU recently withdrew from the country's main ethnic bloc, the United Nationalities Federal Council, amid power struggles among the group's dominant members.

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