After spate of violence, govt calls on Malaysia to help protect citizens -DVB

After spate of violence, govt calls on Malaysia to help protect citizens Posted: 03 Jun 2013 05:22 AM PDT Published: 3 June 2013 Burma's President Thein Sein (R) and Malaysia's Prime Minister Najib Razak (rear L) attend the 20th ASEAN summit meeting in Phnom Penh on 4 April 2012. (Reuters) Burma's Embassy in Malaysia is pushing local officials to provide its citizens with better protection after a series of violent assaults in Kuala Lumpur left at least three Burmese nationals dead. According to interviews with the Burmese ambassador and reports from Malaysian media outlets, at least three people were murdered and several injured on separate occasions over the weekend, after mobs appeared to be targeting Burmese nationals. "Myanmar Embassy in Malaysia being responsible to protect Myanmar citizens has asked the Foreign Ministry and police headquarters of the host country through diplomatic channels to protect Myanmar citizens," read a report in Monday's English edition of the state mouthpiece, The New Light of Myanmar. According to Burma's ambassador to Malaysia Tin Latt Ko, Malaysian authorities are still investigating the incidents and have beefed security in affected areas. "An investigation is currently in place to find the assailants. We have sent the [Malaysian authorities] all the information we obtained, including CCTV footage," said the ambassador during an interview with DVB. "We are trying the best we can to push the police by feeding them any information we obtain via the Malaysian Foreign Ministry." Several of the attacks occurred in Selayang township, north of Kuala Lumpur where a large community of both legal and illegal Burmese migrants live and work. "Frankly speaking, the area is ridden with major crimes such as drug dealing and murder and is frequented by criminal gangs who the police are unable to keep under control," Tin Latt Ko told MRTV yesterday. According to the ambassador, the rash of violence kicked off on 30 May followed by two separate attacks in Selayang that resulted in one death on Friday. On Monday morning, another Burmese migrant was stabbed to death at a carwash according to a report in The Malaysian Insider published today. Over the weekend, dozens of Burmese residents in Kuala Lumpur sought shelter in a monastery in the capital. "They were scared after their friends got hacked – so they fled," said Abbot Eaindeka of Kampung Burmese Buddhist Monastery. Although officials and Burmese living in Kuala Lumpur have speculated that the assaults may be related to ongoing religious violence within Burma, there has been no official confirmation to support these assertions. Elsewhere in Malaysia, no other major violent incidents were reported in Burmese communities. According to the ambassador, monasteries in Kampong and Penang had received threats; however the official dismissed the statements and said threats were 'common'.  In 2004 and 2006, Burma's embassy in Malaysia had been targeted with arson attacks. "We learnt that the Burmese Monastery in Penang was threatened with arson attacks, but it's just a common thing," the ambassador told DVB. "Our embassy over time has received threats, including arson, hijacking and bombing." Thousands of Burmese nationals reside in Malaysia, including a large number of Muslim Rohingya who land in the country by boat after fleeing religious persecution in Burma.

“Poverty alleviation should be prioritised” – Thein Sein Posted: 03 Jun 2013 05:21 AM PDT President Thein Sein vows to tackle poverty in Burma by introducing micro-finance loans to households and workers and establishing cooperatives.

Govt to examine two-child policy targeting Rohingya Posted: 03 Jun 2013 01:49 AM PDT Burma will examine a controversial ban that was imposed on Rohingya Muslims having more than two children, a top official said, after criticism from the United Nations and rights groups. Authorities in the strife-torn Arakan state said last month that they had reaffirmed the longstanding rule – which was first introduced during the junta era – in two townships. “The central government did not announce that policy. We will look into it,” presidential spokesman Ye Htut told AFP. “The population in that area is much higher than in other regions so there are some social and economic problems within each family.” He said the government planned to implement a population policy in the future that would take international standards into consideration. The UN has called for an end to the ban, which it said was discriminatory and an infringement on human rights. Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been accused by activists of failing to speak up for the marginalised Rohingya minority group, last month criticised the policy as counter to human rights. But highlighting the pressure she faces from within her movement, eight NLD offices in Arkan have written to the party headquarters expressing support for the two-child policy, citing national security. Up to 140,000 people – mainly Rohingya – were displaced in two waves of sectarian unrest between Buddhists and Muslims in Arakan state last year that left about 200 people dead. Burma views its population of roughly 800,000 Rohingya as illegal 'Bengali' immigrants. They are considered by the UN to be one of the world’s most persecuted minorities.

Thein Sein vows to curb poverty Posted: 02 Jun 2013 10:07 PM PDT Burmese President Thein Sein pledged on Sunday to tackle chronic poverty in the long-isolated nation, whose economy was left in tatters by decades of harsh junta rule. “We have a good foundation for economic development in our country,” the former general said in a speech in Rangoon, citing ample water resources, an efficient labour force, an advantageous climate and abundant natural resources. “But our country is still one of the poorest LDCs (least developed countries)… We must all strive to get out of this situation,” he said. “Poverty alleviation should be prioritised rather than the wealth of the country at this moment.” Burma was once seen as one of Southeast Asia’s brightest economic prospects, but decades of corruption and economic mismanagement under the former junta caused it to fall behind its regional neighbours. About one quarter of Burma’s population lives below the national poverty line, according to the Asian Development Bank. Thein Sein’s government on Sunday launched a plan to offer micro-finance loans together worth several million dollars to households and workers as part of poverty alleviation efforts. As he was speaking, about 200 people gathered nearby protesting against land grabs, witnesses said. “Welcome to the Democracy President — from the people in Mi Chaung Kan whose lands were unlawfully seized,” read one banner. Demonstrations over alleged land grabs have taken place across the country since 2011, when the repressive junta was replaced by a quasi-civilian government. Analysts say protesters have been emboldened by reforms since the end of military rule, during which dissent was routinely crushed.