Monday, August 5, 2013

Democratic Voice of Burma

Democratic Voice of Burma

Student army inks preliminary truce with govt

Posted: 05 Aug 2013 04:37 AM PDT

After more than two decades of fighting, the All-Burma Students' Democratic Front (ABSDF) signed a preliminary ceasefire deal with government peace negotiators in Rangoon on Monday.

During a meeting at the Myanmar Peace Centre (MPC) in Burma's commercial capital, the two sides signed a four-point deal that will allow the group's members to travel unarmed through government-controlled territories and establish a liaison office in Karen state's Myawaddy.

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Representatives from the armed group and Naypyidaw-backed negotiators also agreed to hold their first round of union-level talks on 10 August, according to the MPC's Nyo Ohn Myint.

The meeting, which was initially planned to take place in Karen state's capital Hpa-an but was relocated to Rangoon due to fresh flooding, was attended by the ABSDF's 24-member delegation led by chairman Than Khe alongside President's Office Minster Aung Min.

Formed in the wake of a series of military engineered crackdowns that killed more than 3,000 people during a general uprising against Ne Win's dictatorship in 1988, the ABSDF has been in conflict with the government for 25 years.

The group is known for its links with ethnic resistant movements and waging guerrilla campaigns against the Burmese military largely from the mountains of Karen and Kachin states. However, the group has only a fraction of the membership it once enjoyed in the early 1990s.

Current and former ABSDF members are gathering in Rangoon this week to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the 8888 uprising.

Labourers in Burma fight for a fair minimum wage

Posted: 05 Aug 2013 03:57 AM PDT

Since Thein Sein's reformist government took power two years ago, labourers across Burma have been striking for better pay.

According to a report published last June by Thura Swiss, the minimum wage for day labourers was set at 500 kyat (US$0.60) per day.

But following several strikes by garment factory workers last year, the minimum salary was temporarily increased to 56,000 kyat (US$65) per month and Burma's parliament approved the 2013-minimum wage bill, which will pave the way for a basic salary rate for workers.

Labourers from the Hi-Mo High Art Wig Factory in Rangoon went on strike for four days demanding an increase in their salary that would cover basic living costs and healthcare.

"The workers are demanding an official basic salary of US$80 " said Thein Myat Chal, secretary of the HI-Mo High Art Wig Factory's Labour Union.

"Perhaps it could be not more than US$60 when the government compromise with employers."

In March 2012, the minimum wage for civil servants was increased by 20,000kyat (US$23) per month.

Ministry tells agro firms to pay back loans or face charges

Posted: 05 Aug 2013 03:20 AM PDT

Burma's Livestock and Fisheries Ministry issued a warning last week to ten private agro firms and ordered them to repay billions of kyat in loans by 31 August or face prosecution.

In an announcement published by the ministry on 2 August, officials claimed the firms had yet to repay around 13 billion (US$ 13,374,524.84) kyat worth of loans.

According to Thin Thin Wah of the Livestock Foodstuff and Dairy Enterprise, the firms had signed contracts and were obliged to return the loans or face the legal consequences.

"We will proceed accordingly with the legal procedures. We signed loan contracts that were overseen by the office of the attorney general," said Thin Thin Wah.

But according to the companies who received the loans, inclement weather and mounting losses for the local farmers the firms had partnered with resulted in their failure to meet the contractual deadlines.

"We lost our investments with local farmers due to constant flooding and drought – we tried to explain to the ministry what the farmers told us but they have been ignoring it," said Myo Min Thein, an organic fertiliser producer and loan recipient.

"If the ministry goes ahead with the lawsuit, then we will have no choice but to sue our affiliate agents that redistributed the loans to the farmers and then they will be forced to sue the farmers. This may lead to undesirable consequences."

The producer went on to describe the one-month deadline as unfeasible and said providing the companies with more time to repay the loans was a more sensible solution

However, the ministry said the calls for the immediate repayment of the loans was initiated by the parliament and therefore any negotiations that could extend the deadlines for the loans must first be approved by the country's legislators.

In July, the ministry announced in the state press the names of 43 firms that were due to repay loans provided by the government, of which only two have reportedly followed up on.

Indonesia temple bomb ‘response to screams of Rohingya’

Posted: 04 Aug 2013 11:43 PM PDT

A bomb that exploded at a Buddhist temple in the Indonesian capital Jakarta bore the words “we are responding to the screams of the Rohingya”, the place of worship said Monday.

It appeared to be the latest outburst of anger in Muslim-majority Indonesia at the plight of Rohingya Muslims, who have been fleeing in the thousands from sectarian violence in Burma, where most of the population is Buddhist.

The low-intensity bomb, containing pieces of iron and ball bearings, went off late Sunday inside the Ekayana Buddhist temple as hundreds of worshippers prayed, lightly injuring one person who received cuts to an arm and leg.

A second bomb was also set but only emitted smoke and failed to go off, according to police. The attack caused only minimal damage.

Temple official Ponijan Liaw told AFP that CCTV footage showed a man wearing a white shirt entering the temple and placing two green packages with the bombs inside next to two doors before leaving.

The blast happened shortly afterwards, he said.

One package bore the words “we are responding to the screams of the Rohingya”, Liaw said, adding the footage had been handed over to police.

National police spokesman Ronny Sompie said authorities were still investigating the motive behind the attack and could not comment on who might be responsible.

Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma Ali said the bombing “was a provocation aimed at pitting Muslims against Buddhists.

“I’m sure Muslims and Buddhists will not be affected. Relations between Muslims and Buddhists are good and as far as I know, there’s never been a conflict between Muslims and Buddhists in Indonesia.”

Security Minister Djoko Suyanto condemned the perpetrators for ruining “the peace of Ramadan”, the Muslim holy month, which comes to an end later this week with the Eid al-Fitr holiday.

“The security forces have been ordered to immediately hunt down and arrest the perpetrators,” he added.

Police in May foiled a plot to bomb the Burmese embassy in Jakarta by Islamic hardliners as anger grew over the plight of the Rohingya.

Several outbreaks of sectarian unrest in Burma have tempered international optimism about the country’s dramatic political reforms as it emerges from decades of military rule.
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