Democratic Voice of Burma |
- Freedom from hate
- Monk threatens politicians over proposed interfaith marriage ban
- Defence minister vows to return land confiscated by military
- The monk who heals bones
- Thai official charged after Rohingya refugee trafficked and raped
- Burma launches search for “lost city” of Suwarnabhumi
| Posted: 28 Jun 2013 05:02 AM PDT Burma's Deputy Information Minister Ye Htut attended the 'Preventing Hate Speech in Myanmar: Divergent Voices in a New Democracy' forum in Rangoon on Friday. After the forum, Ye Htut said the religious problems in Burma stemmed from the grassroots level and were not promoted by religious leaders or government officials. |
| Monk threatens politicians over proposed interfaith marriage ban Posted: 28 Jun 2013 04:31 AM PDT A prominent monk and outspoken advocate of Burma's growing anti-Muslim movement has warned politicians to back a proposed ban on interfaith marriages or risk losing votes in the 2015 general election. The threat was issued at a convention of over 1,500 senior monks in Rangoon on Thursday, where a new draft of the controversial legislation, which would require Buddhist women to obtain official permission before marrying a Muslim, was formally approved. "I would want to know which representatives turn down the national race protection law when it is proposed [in parliament] – I will make it so that they get no votes in 2015," Wimala Buddhi from Moulmein's Mya Sadi monastery told the gathering. "A party that doesn't win votes will end up in the drain." His words are largely viewed as an attack against opposition leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, who recently spoke out against the ban, describing it as a "violation of women's rights and human rights". Wimala Buddhi is a fervent supporter of Burma's ultra-nationalist "969" movement, which calls on Buddhists to shun Muslim shops and businesses, and is a close ally of its chief architect Wirathu. The threat has been circulated widely on social media, including on Wirathu's Facebook page, where it has received hundreds of likes, shares and encouraging comments. "That cow is no expert on religion and yet she wants to become president," derided one user. But Suu Kyi's spokesperson from the National League for Democracy (NLD) scoffed at the threat during a telephone interview on Friday. "I am not afraid because these monks have no right to vote in our country," said Nyan Win, referring to a religious edict that precludes members of the Sangha from participating in politics. He also dismissed suggestions that the "969" movement had enough support to oust the NLD, which is expected to dominate the 2015 elections, adding that he did not think the draft would even make it to parliament. "We don't get any clear views from the government, [but] I think they will act according to the law, and this law is against human rights," he said. The law demands that any Muslim man, who wants to marry a Buddhist woman, must first convert to her religion. Meanwhile, Buddhist women are obliged to obtain permission from her parents and local authorities before marrying a non-Buddhist man. An earlier draft of the law only targeted Muslims, but was recently amended to include members of all other faiths. The proposal has prompted outrage from women's groups in Burma, who say they will lobby against its implementation. The secretary of Burma's national human rights commission has also slammed it as "unconstitutional". However, a growing number of monks and religious leaders have spoken out in support of the draft law and called on Suu Kyi to revise her position. Thursday's convention reportedly agreed to set up an association to pursue the interfaith marriage proposal, as well as other legal means to protect Buddhism. The government has also come under fire for its failure to condemn the growing "969" movement, which has been linked to a rise in anti-Muslim violence in Burma. In an interview with reporters on Friday, the president's spokesperson Ye Htut insisted that advocates of the marriage ban are "entitled" to free speech. "It is normal in a democratic society for all people to participate [in discussions] on things necessary or said as necessary to change," he said. He also defended Wimala Buddhi, who is a member of the government-backed monastic body Sangha Maha Nayaka. "The abbot was expressing his individual point of view," he said. But critics have been quick to accuse the government of hypocrisy. During the pro-democracy uprising in 2007, where monks played a key role in protesting the military government, the Sangha Maha Nayaka issued a statement strictly prohibiting monks from participating in secular affairs. Earlier this week, the government banned a controversial issue of Time Magazine, which branded Wirathu the "Face of Buddhist Terror", prompting speculation that it was actively courting political support from the "969" movement. Burma has seen a rise in religious tensions since last year, when Buddhists clashed with Rohingya Muslims in Arakan state, displacing some 140,000 people and killing over 200. Since March, renewed bouts of anti-Muslim violence, which have been directly linked to Wirathu's "969″ campaign, have claimed another 44 lives. |
| Defence minister vows to return land confiscated by military Posted: 28 Jun 2013 02:03 AM PDT Burma's Defence Minister Brigadier General Wai Lwin has informed the parliament-backed Land Grab Investigation Commission that the military was planning to return land appropriated by their forces, with the exception of property that is set to house construction projects. Upper house representative from Magwe division and member of the Land Grab Investigation Commission Hla Swe said the group's chairperson Tin Htut recently informed members that the defence minister pledged to return the seized land; however, a timetable was not provided. According to the upper house representative, more than 100,000 acres of land has been confiscated by the military to build 'ordinance factories' in Magwe division alone. Moreover, Hla Swe called on farmers across the country to start collecting evidence that would prove their ownership instead of waging "ploughing protests". The demonstrations, where farmers till land that had been confiscated, is a popular form of protest in Burma in response to the rash of land disputes across the country. Following more than two years of reforms, land rights have become one of the most tempestuous issues in Burma as farmers begin to challenge authorities over property that was appropriated by the military and crony-connected companies during nearly five decades of junta rule. |
| Posted: 28 Jun 2013 01:12 AM PDT BY ALI FOWLE Traditional medicine is thriving in Burma despite recent reforms in the country's health care system. This year the health ministry increased spending on public health, bringing more affordable options for modern medicine, which was previously prohibitively expensive for the majority of people. But the reality is many areas do not have access to government hospitals, and where they do many still opt for traditional methods out of fear of high costs and medical incompetence. |
| Thai official charged after Rohingya refugee trafficked and raped Posted: 28 Jun 2013 12:34 AM PDT A policeman has been charged with trafficking after a Rohingya woman was allegedly lured from a shelter in southern Thailand and subsequently raped by a man from the refugee Muslim minority, police told AFP Friday. It is believed to be the first time a Thai official has been charged with trafficking of Rohingya boat people, despite probes into alleged people smuggling by authorities including the army. The officer is accused of driving the 25-year-old victim along with her daughters, aged 12 and nine, and two other women, from the shelter in Phang Nga province in late May. The woman was told she would be taken to Malaysia to be reunited with her husband, who is also from the minority group, but was instead held at several places in the region in an ordeal lasting several weeks, police said. The woman was allegedly raped repeatedly by a Rohingya man, who is believed to have worked as a translator at the shelter and has been charged with assault. The victim and her children were found on a roadside and returned to the shelter last week when she contacted the police. “The officer has been charged with taking part in human trafficking and abuse of his position,” Police Colonel Weerasin Kwansaeng, commander of Kuraburi Police Station told AFP. “The victim said he drove the car from the shelter,” he said, adding it was the first time charges had been brought against police over the trafficking of Rohingya. Dozens of Rohingya women and children, who fled communal violence in Burma, are housed at the shelter while hundreds of men from the ethnic group are being held at an immigration detention centre in the same province. Rights groups have repeatedly voiced concerns over the treatment of destitute Rohingya refugees by Thai authorities, saying they are held in poor conditions and are vulnerable to exploitation. The rape “demonstrates the vulnerability of Rohingya women to human traffickers — even when they are living in government-run shelters where they should be protected,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. In January, Thai authorities opened an investigation into allegations that army officials were involved in trafficking Rohingya. Around 2,000 Rohingya refugees remain in detention in Thailand, while authorities wait for a third country to offer to accept them. Described by the UN as among the most persecuted minority groups in the world, Rohingya have for years trickled abroad to neighbouring Bangladesh and, increasingly, to Muslim-majority Malaysia. Burma views its population of roughly 800,000 Rohingya as illegal 'Bengali' immigrants and denies them citizenship. An explosion of tensions between Buddhist and Muslim communities in Burma’s Arakan state since June 2012 has triggered a huge exodus of Rohingya from the country. |
| Burma launches search for “lost city” of Suwarnabhumi Posted: 27 Jun 2013 11:14 PM PDT A team of archaeologists in Burma have launched a campaign to search for the lost city of Suwarnabhumi, an ancient Buddhist kingdom, which is believed to be located somewhere in South or Southeast Asia. Although the city's exact location is shrouded in mystery, excavation work is set to begin this year in eastern Burma's Mon state, where Burmese historians believe the city to be found. Mon state is one of several suggested locations for the lost city, which has become the centre of both scholarly and nationalist debate. Other Asian countries, including Thailand, India and Bangladesh, have also staked claims to the kingdom, based on references in various ancient scriptures. But Mon state's chief minister, Dr Min Nwe Soe, told DVB that an agreement was reached at a meeting with archaeologists and historians on Wednesday to carry out excavation work near the ancient Thaton town and at the foot of Kaylatha hill in Bilin township in Mon state in a bid to unearth the city. "There is an argument surrounding [the location] of Suwarnabhumi – whether it's over here or over there – and we wanted to prove that it is here," said Min Nwe Soe. He said they will approach the central government for approval of the programme, which will be led by the Ministry of Culture and aims to recover ancient artefacts as well as promote tourism in the region. "We aim to uncover our ancient architecture and to attract foreign tourists," said Min Nwe Soe. A workshop was held from Tuesday to Thursday in Mon state's capital Moulmein this week to etch out excavation plans in search of the lost city. The minister added that they will develop a plan to inform locals and the general public about the project. "We also need to study whether the dig sites are in residential areas – we just can't tell people to relocate for the programme so we have to find a win-win solution," said the minister. "Also we have limitations with our budget so we might not have enough skilled professionals, and we don't know whether the excavation will turn out as we expect." The lost city is mentioned in a number of ancient scriptures, including the Sri Lankan Mahavamsa and Dipavamsa texts, which tell tales of Buddhist missionaries being sent to the kingdom, located in what is now modern day Mon state, around 300 BC. Mon tradition maintains that the lost city of Suwarnabhumi was part of the Thaton Kingdom, which was overrun by the Burmans in 1057 AD. An unsuccessful search for the city was once carried out in 1975. |
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