Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Democratic Voice of Burma

Democratic Voice of Burma

Man behind Lashio riots handed 26 year sentence

Posted: 12 Jun 2013 03:07 AM PDT

A court in Lashio on Tuesday handed a 26-year prison sentence to the Muslim man accused of setting a Buddhist woman on fire in Lashio last month, which led to two days of anti-Muslim rioting in the Shan state town.

Ne Win, a 48-year-old resident from Shan state's Kengtung, was found guilty on several charges, including assault and drug possession.

"He was sentenced to 26 years in prison for setting the woman on fire, drug use –traces of drugs were found in his system – and drug possession," said an official at Lashio's police station, adding that the rumours that Ne Win suffered from mental illnesses were false.

"He has no mental problems – he was upset at [Aye Aye Win] for staring at him and questioning why he was walking up and down the street in front of the shop. To me, it seemed more like a personal attack."

The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the attack was not racially or religiously motivated; however, after the assault the situation escalated quickly as mobs took to the streets and began torching mosques and property owned by the town’s Muslim population.

More than 60 rioters are now under investigation by the police for their role in the melee. According to DVB's reporter Khun Zaw Oo in Lashio, there are 14 people currently on trial at the township court for their alleged involvement in the riots.

Lashio police said the situation in the town has returned to normal. Most of the 1000 people who sought shelter at Manhsu monastery during the rioting had returned home.

A curfew issued under article-144 of the Code of Criminal Procedures was still in effect, but officials reduced the restricted time of travel to five hours a day – from 10pm till 3am.

The violence in Lashio was the latest outbreak in a series of devastating anti-Muslim riots that have kicked off across the country since fighting between Arakan Buddhists and Muslim Rohingya erupted in May 2011, which left more than 200 dead and displaced more than 140,000 people.

According to government statistics, one person was killed and five injured from 28 to 29 May in Lashio, while five homes, three mosques, one cinema, four warehouses, 32 shops, two cars and 11 motorbikes were destroyed.

Govt delegation arrives in KL, as relatives fret over recent violence

Posted: 12 Jun 2013 01:37 AM PDT

As a Burmese delegation arrived in Malaysia this week to inquire into the recent spate of violence targeting Burmese nationals, families with relatives in Kuala Lumpur continue to worry while rumours spread online about ongoing violence in the country.

In Burma, media outlets have reported that between four and six Burmese migrants were killed and 10 injured in the suburbs of Kuala Lumpur during a series of violent assaults that began in late May; however, Malaysian officials said only two people had died.

In the aftermath of the violence, police in Kuala Lumpur rounded up more than 1,000 Burmese nationals as word spread that the assaults were tied to recent sectarian clashes between Buddhists and Muslims in Burma.

According to one Burmese migrant living in Kuala Lumpur, the instances of violence have been blown out of proportion.

"It is true an incident took place at the Selayang Market the other day, but it's over. It's only people stirring things up for no reason, crying murder everywhere," said Peter, a Burmese migrant in Kuala Lumpur.

"But nothing is really happening. Families back home are worried after hearing the [rumours] but those are not true. We are just minding our own business."

On Tuesday night, a high-level government delegation, led by Burma's deputy Foreign Affairs minister, left for Malaysia to meet with the country's officials to discuss the recent attacks targeting Burmese nationals.

"As for the Labour Ministry, we will try to provide as much assistance as we can to the migrants in detention as well as to those killed," said Phyo Thu, a Labour Ministry director who was travelling with the delegation.

Back in Burma prominent cronies have pledged to fly migrants back home and help find them work, as airlines have offered tickets at reduced rates for those wishing to return.

According to a report in the English edition of the state mouthpiece The New Light of Myanmar on Wednesday, Myanmar Airway International is offering a 50 percent discount for Burmese migrants flying for Kuala Lumpur to Rangoon from 12 June to 12 July.

On Facebook, several Burmese at home and abroad blacked out their avatar photos in a sign of solidarity with victims of the violence in Malaysia.

Balagyi, a resident in Rangoon, said he would try to convince his younger sister working in Malaysia to return to Burma.

"I still can't get in touch with her but when I do, I am going to ask if she rather die back home or die abroad," said Balagyi.

"I will tell her to come back – she can earn about the same here anyway. I will get her back."

Another Rangoon resident Nwe Nwe Htun said she is worried for her younger brother who is living in Kuala Lumpur.

"I am worried for him. I chatted to him online and he said he's staying indoors," said Nwe Nwe Htun.

"Apparently there are plenty of police stations around his place, but I am still very worried and our mother is, too. We heard some Karen and Arakanese migrants were killed. He told us not to worry and that he won't go outside," said Nwe Nwe Htun.

There are more than 300,000 Burmese nationals living in Malaysia including a large number of Muslim Rohingya who arrived in the country by boat after fleeing religious persecution in Burma.

-Shwe Aung provided additional reporting.

Farmers in hiding near Inle Lake as officials crack down on ‘plough protests’

Posted: 11 Jun 2013 09:23 PM PDT

Locals near southern Shan state's Inle Lake have gone into hiding after officials issued warrants for their arrests following a demonstration where the farmers ploughed land that had been confiscated by a controversial hotel zone project.

Authorities in Nyaung Shwe issued the arrest warrants last week after the seven locals tilled the confiscated land east of the lake.

According to a resident from Ingyingon village, he and three other protestors went into hiding after police showed up in their villages to round them up in the early hours of Sunday morning.

"Now I am hiding in the woods – [authorities] have been making serious threats to arrest me – I don't know what kind of charges they want to arrest me for," said the villager on the condition of anonymity.

"We've lost our land, our livelihood and we're pressed with charges and now on top of that, I've become a fugitive."

The four villagers, along with three other individuals, had already been hit with lawsuits last month for disobeying orders promulgated by public servants and using criminal force to prevent public servants from discharging their duty.

Earlier this year, the companies investing in the hotel project offered locals about 500m kyat in compensation for the crops grown on the more than 600 acres that had been confiscated.

However, several villagers refused to accept the offer because it allegedly only covered the value of the crops, not the property itself. The locals then proceeded to plough the land on 2 June in response to the offer.

The locals were then hit with charges after they refused to accept compensation, which they saw as insufficient.

According to local official Win Myint, the police were looking to arrest under 505(b) of the penal code for inciting unrest.

"I learnt that the police went to arrest the seven villagers with warrants under article 505(b) of the Penal Code," said the local official.

"Since making arrests is part of their duty, I wouldn't want to comment on that, but it was inappropriate to be making the arrests before dawn breaks unless there were other issues such as the villagers resisting arrest."

Following two years of reforms in Burma, land rights have become one of the most tempestuous issues in the country as farmers begin to challenge authorities in the absence of military rule.

During a similar incident further south, six farmers in Irrawaddy division's Ingapu township have also been in hiding after authorities issued warrants for their arrest after the locals ploughed land that had been allegedly confiscated by the army.
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