Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Democratic Voice of Burma

Democratic Voice of Burma

Militia leader denies forcing NLD members to resign at gunpoint

Posted: 04 Jun 2013 04:52 AM PDT

A Pa-O militia dismissed reports that the armed group forced members from the National League for Democracy (NLD) to resign at gunpoint last month during a press conference on Monday.

According to the NLD, 57 party members in Shan state's Satthay village resigned after they were threatened by the militia. The opposition party also accused the armed group of surrounding its office in Mauksan village on 16 May.

However, the militias' leader claims the NLD members rescinded their party membership on their own.

"We didn't force them – they actually quit on their own accord – they were in the press conference today along with local village leaders and took questions from journalists," said Colonel Khun La during an interview with DVB yesterday.

The militia leader added that his troops had not surrounded the NLD office in Mauksan but were on a routine patrol in area and had detained local villagers who had said 'inappropriate' things.

"It was only a guard patrol for security reasons. If we are to surround a house or an office, we'd go in the building afterward, but our troops didn't even step foot inside the office's interior," said the militia leader.

"We only briefly detained the villagers and we immediately handed them back to their village administrators."

However, the NLD's district chair in Taunggyi, Tin Maung Toe, maintains that NLD members were tied up and forced to resign by the militia.

"They were tied up for two-three days and forced to sign resignation letters. We have filed a complaint concerning this [incident] to the Union Election Commission," said Tin Maung Toe.

According to a local who attended the press conference on Monday, the individuals presented at the press event by the armed group were village leaders, not the NLD members who were forced to resign.

Both the NLD and the militia have said they would file separate complaints to the UEC regarding the incident.

The militia – formerly the PaO National Army – and the NLD are reportedly at odds after the political party began working with local farmers who are trying to reclaim land that had been confiscated by the armed group.

Armed group meets with Shan organisations ahead of Naypyidaw trip

Posted: 04 Jun 2013 03:56 AM PDT

During a consultation session with political parties, civil society organisations and fellow armed groups in Thailand's Chiang Mai last weekend, the Shan State Army-South (SSA-S) agreed to push for a nationwide ceasefire to open the path for a political dialogue with the government during a sit-down meeting with President Thein Sein later this month.

At the two-day conference, the SSA-S spoke with more than 20 different organisations, including the Shan State Army-North, the Shan National League for Democracy and the Shan Nationalities Democratic Party, to discuss issues of mutual concern amongst the groups.

"We may be different parties concerning intra-state affairs," the SSA-S's Lieutenant-General Yawd Serk told the meeting, according to a report in the Shan Herald Agency for News. "But concerning our state rights we must all speak with the same voice."

After signing a ceasefire with the government in December 2011, the SSA-S has maintained a fragile peace with Naypyidaw. But following an assault against an SSA-S position near the Sino-Burmese border last month, approximately 2,000 refugees fled across the border to China. Many of the refugees are too afraid to return home.

In response to the ongoing attacks from government troops, SSA-S leader Yawd Serk sent a message to President Thein Sein requesting a sit-down, which was later accepted.

"Mainly, [the attendees] decided to stress issues including the implementation of agreements reached previously for a sustainable ceasefire, to drop names of ethnic armed groups from the unlawful association list and to bring about a nationwide ceasefire to implement a political dialogue," said SSA-S spokesperson Major Sai Lao Hseng.

According to the spokesperson, many of the groups urged the SSA-S to push Thein Sein to guarantee the safety of local livelihoods where massive infrastructure projects are being developed.

In addition, the Shan-affiliated organisations asked Yawd Serk to discuss the possibility of implementing a federal system of governance in Burma and to inquire about the resettlement of Shan refugees who fled to Thailand during the numerous military offensives in the restive state.

While President Thein Sein has been lauded for striking ceasefires with several of the country's armed ethnic groups since taking the reigns of power in 2011, many analysts have questioned the government's ability to bridle Burma's massive military as it continues to assault rebel armies who have signed truces with Naypyidaw.

As the Kachin Independence Army signed a new seven-point agreement with the government last week, chief government peace negotiator Aung Min said that Thein Sein will hold a nationwide meeting with all of the country's rebel groups in either June or July to discuss opening a poltical dialogue that aims to bring an end to the myriad civil wars that have plagued the country since independence.

Burma to flaunt reforms to the world at economic forum

Posted: 03 Jun 2013 11:26 PM PDT

Hundreds of global leaders, industry chiefs and foreign media are descending on Burma’s once-reclusive capital as the former pariah showcases its political and economic reforms in a bid to entice investment.

Some 900 delegates from more than 50 countries will pour into Naypyidaw for the World Economic Forum on East Asia, amid huge interest in Burma as it opens to the world after decades of isolation under military rule.

Workers have been busily sprucing up the paintwork of the purpose-built city’s wide avenues, as armed security forces stand guard outside its imposing conference centre ahead of the three-day event, which starts on Wednesday.

“We are like cats on hot bricks,” Set Aung, deputy minister for national planning and economic development, told AFP when asked about the preparations.

Hundreds of hotel rooms – some in establishments owned by cronies of the former junta – are ready to welcome the influx of visitors to the sprawling capital, built in remote central Burma by the paranoid former generals.

“This is our show. This is our performance to the world,” said Tourism Minister Htay Aung.

It is a change of pace for hotel staff more accustomed to smaller business and diplomatic delegations as well as the occasional influx of Chinese visitors for the government’s jade emporiums.

“This is the most foreigners we have seen here. It will be good if these visitors come again in the future,” said hotel bellboy Kwaw Tun Oo.

President Thein Sein’s quasi-civilian government has astounded the international community since coming to power two years ago with wide-ranging changes that have thrust Burma back onto the global stage.

Hundreds of political prisoners have been freed, democracy champion Aung San Suu Kyi has been welcomed into a new parliament and tentative ceasefires have been reached in the country’s multiple ethnic civil wars.

Thein Sein and Suu Kyi are both scheduled to address the forum on Thursday.

Efforts have also been made to begin repairing the moribund economy – the currency was floated last year, there are moves to give the central bank more independence and a new foreign investment law has been passed.

The lifting of most western economic sanctions on the resource-rich country has attracted swarms of international businesses.

They include Coca-Cola, which is returning to Burma after an absence of more than six decades with a new factory opening on Tuesday.

Sushant Palakurthi Rao, Asia head of the WEF, said the forum in Burma was “by far the largest” meeting of the group.

“I think these numbers are a clear expression of the tremendous interest from all walks of life,” he said.

Burmese economic expert Sean Turnell, a professor at Australia’s Macquarie University, likened the conference to a “debutante’s ball”.

“Of course, expectations are too high. Indeed, I think elevated expectations are one of the dangers facing the country,” he added.

Burma faces major hurdles, including an opaque legal framework as well as a lack of basic infrastructure and government and private sector expertise.

Several outbreaks of deadly religious violence have also cast a shadow over the reform process.

A handout notice from the forum gives delegates some taste of the challenges facing the country, noting that there will be no cash machines for international customers, credit cards are not accepted and the 3G network “is not available” for users of BlackBerry and other mobile phones.

Burma, which will take the chairmanship of the Association for Southeast Asian Nations next year, currently contributes only 0.2 percent of Asia’s gross domestic product, according to a recent study by McKinsey Global Institute.

While the country has the potential to quadruple the size of its economy to US$200 billion by 2030 if it presses on with reforms, there is also a “major risk of disappointment”, it warned.

The regime surprised the world in 2005 by suddenly shifting the seat of government from Rangoon to the new site.

While the motive was unclear, diplomats speculated it could be based on the advice of astrologers, fear of an invasion or a desire by then-junta chief Than Shwe to emulate pre-colonial kings who repeatedly moved the capital.

The theme for this week’s forum is “sharing prosperity”, but you do not have to travel far to find people who have yet to taste the fruits of reform.

“I don’t know about it,” 32-year-old farmer Hlaing Htay said of the meeting, as he grazed his buffalo just a few minutes’ drive from the conference centre.

“Our livelihoods haven’t changed much,” he added.

Reinventing Japan-Burma relations

Posted: 03 Jun 2013 11:08 PM PDT

Japan Inc. is making a move on Burma.  Just a month after hosting opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, last week Prime Minister Abe paid a visit to Burma – the first such trip by a Japanese prime minister in 36 years.  Accompanied by 40 Japanese corporate executives, Japan's motive was clear: to help secure a new market for Japanese companies through boosting trade and investment ties with Burma.

In January, Japan wrote off a considerable portion of Burma's debts to Japan and significantly expanded its aid programme to the country.  On this trip Abe promised a further US$400 million in new loans, wrote off even more of Burma's debt, and proposed bilateral cooperation on defence and security.  He even went to inspect the future site of the Thilawa Special Economic Zone near Rangoon, the development of which is being promoted as a showcase for Japanese investment, aid and goodwill.

Most media reports attribute the recent surge in aid and investment by Japan to the liberalisation that has been occurring in Burma.  But in fact Japan is reacting less to the "reforms" overseen by Thein Sein's government than to the shift in US policy on Burma. The desire to invest and exploit was always there on the part of Japan, which generally does not care what kind of government runs a country as long as it is stable and creates an environment conducive to investment.

While Burma was under military rule, the Japanese government was under pressure from the US to withhold aid.  It must have been frustrating for Japanese companies to see Chinese and other businesses going into Burma and taking what they believed would have been their share of the market, but at the same time they were reluctant to invest much in an unpredictable environment without support from the Japanese government.  Now that there is nothing holding back either the Japanese government or the private sector, they are rushing in to make up for lost time to create a foothold for investment in Burma.

While investment and rapid development may benefit those directly involved in the projects and contribute to Burma's GDP, they may also well cause serious harm to the environment and local communities. This is particularly true when projects involve large-scale infrastructure development or are located in conflict areas.

Furthermore, in Burma, ordinary people do not yet have the legal tools needed to address their concerns about potentially destructive development projects.  To be sure, people can now voice their opposition to such development projects publicly and not necessarily be arrested.  But in a society where there is a substantial power disparity between the government and the governed, and an absence of the rule of law, public demonstrations of opposition or displeasure are not enough to prevent real harm.

Even at Thilawa, nearly a thousand households received a written order from local authorities earlier this year telling them to vacate their houses and farms or face 30 days in detention.  There has been no genuine discussion about resettlement plans or compensation.  In some parts of the project site, local authorities have blocked the flow of irrigation water to nearby farms, effectively preventing farmers from cultivation during the dry season.

Despite repeated requests, local residents have not had satisfactory opportunities to voice their concerns.  The situation is much worse in remote areas where there is even less information available about projects or room for monitoring by local and international NGOs.

Japanese government agencies and corporations have much experience dealing with efforts to prevent or mitigate negative impacts caused by development projects.  As they enter Burma with their stated principles of transparency and accountability, they should be aware that many local communities are at a disadvantage, and therefore make genuine efforts to disclose information and to listen to the concerns and opinions of such communities.

This effort may seem time-consuming and even distressing given how many entities already are operating in Burma without heed to social and environmental impacts, but in the long run, a genuine effort to support the people of Burma will be a solid foundation for improving Japan-Burma relations in the future.

Yuki Akimoto is a director of BurmaInfo (Japan), which provides crucial information about human rights and environmental issues in Burma in Japanese.  She is the author of several publications including “Opportunities and Pitfalls: Preparing for Burma’s Economic Transition”

-The opinions and views expressed in this piece are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect DVB's editorial policy.
Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)