Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Democratic Voice of Burma

Democratic Voice of Burma

Police question two suspects in connection with explosion in Mandalay

Posted: 24 Jul 2013 04:11 AM PDT

Two individuals are being questioned by authorities for their possible connection with a bomb that exploded near an event where the Islamophobic monk Wirathu was speaking in Mandalay on Sunday, according to local police.

Four people were left with non-life threatening injuries after the explosion went off near a Dhamma lecture led by the ultra-nationalist Buddhist monk at Maha Aungmyay's Yadana Bhumi ward.

The monk, who spearheads the anti-Muslim 969 movement, was quick to blame Islamic extremist for the attack.

"Ordinary Muslims wouldn't have done this," said Wirathu in a report published by the AP on Monday.

However, Burma's police force has made no indication that Islamic extremists were behind the attack.

In July, Wirathu was featured on the cover of Time magazine along with the headline: "The Face of Buddhist Terror". Burmese authorities later banned the issue, while Wirathu went on to blame Arabs for the publication's coverage of radical Buddhist elements in Asia.

"Before I had heard [rumours] of the Arab world dominating the global media," Wirathu told DVB during an interview in June.

"But this time, I've seen it for myself."

Wirathu did not sustain any injuries following Sunday's explosion.

Kachin armed group reopens liaison office in Myitkyina

Posted: 24 Jul 2013 02:17 AM PDT

The Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO) reopened their liaison office in Myitkyina on Tuesday in accordance with the seven-point agreement the armed group signed with government negotiators during peace talks in May.

The liaison office, officially titled the Technical Advisory Team Office, was ceremonially opened in Myitkyina's Sitapu ward, where the KIO's former office was located before shutting down in 2011 when the group's 17-year ceasefire with Naypyidaw collapsed.

Senior government officials, including President's Office minister Aung Min, Kachin state's chief minister and KIO leaders attended the opening ceremony.

"Reopening the liaison office will allow the public to take part in the peace process, which would provide a great deal of assistance to the trust-building between the KIO and the government," said Kachin State Peace Creation mediator Seng Awng, adding that Aung Min stressed the importance of putting an end to fighting between the two sides.

"We can say another door has been opened for the peace process."

The KIO's Technical Advisory Team is made up of 14 members including officials from the group's armed wing the Kachin Independence Army (KIA).

"We have yet to hold a discussion on future plans and adopt policies. Mainly our work will based on the agreements reached during the talks in [May]," said Dau Hka, a spokesperson from the liaison office.

In late May, the KIO and the government's peace making work committee reached a seven-point agreement aimed at facilitating a future political dialogue, establishing monitoring offices and creating rehabilitation programmes for people displaced across the restive state.

While the two sides also agreed to reduce fighting during their May meeting, the pledge has failed to prevent sporadic skirmishes from erupting in Burma's far north.

According to a report published by the Kachin News Group on Monday, government troops engaged in a brief skirmish with KIA soldiers over the weekend in northern Shan state near the controversial gas and oil pipeline stretching from Burma's Arakan coast to China's Yunnan province.

The KIO are the only major armed group that has yet to sign a new ceasefire deal with Burma's quasi-civilian government. The armed group has stated on several occasions that they would refuse to sign another truce with Naypyidaw until the country's ethnic minorities were guaranteed greater political autonomy.

Unemployed graduates not benefitting from reforms

Posted: 23 Jul 2013 08:26 PM PDT

Young people in Burma are having a hard time finding jobs.

Despite a wave of political and economic reforms over the last two years, young people are still not seeing the benefit.

Many have had to take up unskilled labour jobs in order to survive.

Some say the influx of foreign investment will help create the much needed jobs but others feel graduates need more vocational training to be able to compete in the job market.
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