Democratic Voice of Burma

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Thein Sein, rebel leader hold historic talks in Naypyidaw Posted: 10 Jun 2013 04:54 AM PDT President Thein Sein called on the leader of the Shan State Army-South (SSA-S) Yawd Serk to remain committed to the union through “thick and thin” during a historic meeting in Naypyidaw on Monday. As the government peace negotiators and the rebel delegation greeted each other, members of the SSA-S presented Thein Sein with a Buddha statue and traditional Shan apparel, which the president donned. During the talks, Thein Sein stressed that the rebel group must not attempt to break away from the union, according to the SSA-S's spokesperson. "The president focused discussion on non-separation – for the [Shan] to not separate from the Union of Burma and to co-exist through thick and thin," said Sai Lao Hseng. "We replied that the SSA-S is willing to cooperate with the union government to bring about peace in the country and to live harmoniously." SSA-S leader Yawd Serk urged the president to see that the previous agreements signed in accordance with their ceasefire were honoured, which includes enforcing demarcation lines, appointing monitoring groups and building mutual trust. "[Yawd Serk] said the [SSA-S] is joining the [peace] process in a welcoming gesture to the government that is opening the door for political dialogues," said the spokesperson. The 22-member rebel delegation also raised issues put forward by Shan civil society groups during a recent consultation session. From the points hammered out with the civil society organisations, the SSA-S delegation pushed the government to provide Shan ethnic migrants and refugees living in neighbouring countries with ID cards and to include them in the 2014 census. "Addressing our issues is one thing we aim to do, but that requires mutual trust among the two sides, so we are here for that first," said the editor of the Shan Herald Agency for News and SSA-S advisor Khunsai Jaiyen. "Then, once we've [established rapport] and mutual trust, then we can solve problems together." According to government peace negotiator Hla Maung Shwe, the president promised to hold further discussions with the state-backed Peace Making Work Committee regarding the propositions made by the SSA-S. While the SSA-S and Naypyidaw signed a tentative truce in December 2011, the two sides have continued to clash. Following a massive assault against an SSA-S position in May near the Sino-Burmese border, about 2,000 refugees fled, some of who remain across the border in China. Over the weekend, more than 200 government troops clashed with the Shan State Army-North – a separate rebel group that has also signed a ceasefire with Naypyidaw – near Lashio, according to a report in the Shan Herald. According to analysts, the ongoing clashes between ceasefire groups and the Burmese army raises questions over whether the quasi-civilian government is in full control of the military. "The president delegation is doing something and the army is independent," said David Tharckabaw, spokesperson for the United Nationalities Federal Council, which represents 11 of the country's armed groups including the SSA-N. "The president has no control over the army, so it does whatever it likes."

Tourism minister calls for hotel price regulation ahead of SEA games Posted: 10 Jun 2013 03:11 AM PDT Burma’s tourism minister has called for hotel prices to be regulated ahead of the 2013 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in December or risk derailing the country’s nascent tourism industry. Hotel and Tourism Minister Htay Aung recently warned that the current trend of rising hotel prices in Burma’s commercial capital could put people off from attending the games as well as deter future tourists. "Raising [accommodation] prices during the SEA Games could prevent tourists from visiting in the future," said the minister. "There are many new hotels that will open in Rangoon by the end of this year and the charges need to be regulated." According to one tourism operator, if the issue went unaddressed potential visitors might reconsider attending the games. "Hotel operators think there will be a lot of tourists visiting, but don't realise they actually won't if the prices are this high," said Aye Kyaw, owner of Rubyland Tourism Services. "This will destroy the tourism sector and the hotel operators are going to be the ones responsible for that." According to a report published in the English edition of The New Light of Myanmar on 7 June, the government is in the process of cooperating with hotels and tour operators to address the problem. "Regarding the recent high room prices, the ministry is making coordination [sic] between the tourism companies and the hotels and educating the hoteliers to balance prices and services and to offer full services to the foreign guests," read the report. During the World Economic Forum in Naypyidaw last week, the Burmese and Norwegian governments along with the Asian Development Bank announced the implementation of a half billion-dollar tourism master plan. The new money aims to address the country's woefully undeveloped infrastructure that languished after decades of international isolation and tourism boycotts supported by human rights groups. More than 30 development projects will be completed in accordance with the master plan, including the building of new roads and expanding arrival terminals at the country's airports. As the Burma's continues to open up during its nascent reform period, the number of tourists visiting the former pariah has soared; however, due to the lack hotels in the country prices have gone through the roof. Although officials have boasted that more than a million tourists visited Burma in 2012, only 559,610 travellers arrived in Rangoon, while more than 400,000 people entered the country for day trips at Thai border crossings. In May, the Minister Aung Htay said the government was hoping to have three million tourists visit the country by 2015. However, experts have questioned whether the massive push to increase the number of visitors was sustainable in the impoverished country. "I think it's very difficult to have responsible tourism when the aim is to have three million tourists by 2015," said Andrea Valentin, founder of Tourism Transparency. "We have to develop that number sustainably. I don't know if that number can be reached in a sustainable way." According to statistics compiled by the Burmese government in 2012, there are more than 28,000 rooms available at the 787 hotels operating across the country.

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