Democratic Voice of Burma

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• Rioters run rampage in Sandoway: 70 homes burnt down
• Australia PM downplays boatpeople concerns on trip to Indonesia
• Kale suffers worst flooding in 20 years
• KIO, govt confirm October peace talks
• Thai, Burmese govts fail to persuade Japan to invest in Dawei SEZ
• Nationwide ceasefire imminent, Burma’s FM tells UN

Rioters run rampage in Sandoway: 70 homes burnt down Posted: 01 Oct 2013 06:12 AM PDT Between 60 and 70 households in three villages in Sandoway district were burnt down by a mob on Tuesday morning and afternoon. "Fourteen houses were burnt down in Thabyuchaung," said district administrator Htun Wai. "At 11am, the police started shooting to disperse the crowd." According to a local witness, three rioters were injured when security forces shot them with rubber bullets and they were taken to a local police station. "However, later in the day, the mob descended on the police station and demanded their release. Soon after, the riots started again," he said. He said that homes in Thabyuchaung, Pauktaw and Aungmingalargon, located about two miles from Sandoway, were set alight by the mob. Meanwhile, Associated Press has reported that between 70 and 80 homes belonging to Muslims were burnt down by the mob, which was Buddhist in nature. It also said that a 94-year-old Muslim woman was stabbed to death in the melee. Related Stories Tension high in Sandoway after two Muslim homes razed Thousands hit by flooding in Arakan state

Australia PM downplays boatpeople concerns on trip to Indonesia Posted: 01 Oct 2013 05:35 AM PDT Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott has sought to downplay Indonesian concerns about his controversial new asylum policy, which could see boatpeople from countries such as Burma forcibly turned away by the navy, during a diplomatic visit to Jakarta this week. Speaking to the press on Tuesday, Abbott said that Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was equally committed to ending the "evil scourge" of people trafficking. It followed bilateral discussions between the two countries on Monday, which were overshadowed by Indonesian anger over Australia's immigration plans. "What was clear yesterday is that Indonesia is hardly less anxious to stop the people smuggling trade than we are and wants to cooperate fully under the Bali process to make that a reality," said Abbott on Tuesday, referring to a 2002 agreement to tackle human trafficking in the Asia-Pacific. The prime minster, who recently swept to office on a populist anti-immigration ticket, has stirred controversy by pledging to intercept and turn away asylum-seekers – many who come from Burma – arriving by boat to Australia. The scheme, known as Operation Sovereign Borders, includes buying old shipping vessels from Indonesia to deter people traffickers from using them, and to pay Indonesian civilians to offer intelligence about smuggling networks. But Abbott insisted that his policy had been misrepresented in the media as a plan to physically tow boats back to Indonesia, which is the main port of transfer for asylum-seekers heading to Australia. "There's a world of difference between turning boats around in Australian waters and the Australian navy towing them back to Indonesia," said Abbott, blaming the media for distorting the truth in order to "generate a headline". The "tow-back" plan had provoked anger from Indonesian authorities who said it would encroach on their sovereignty and unfairly burden them with an influx of asylum-seekers. Abbott's trip comes less than a week after 31 asylum-seekers from the Middle East drowned off the coast of Indonesia on their way to Australia. A spokesperson for the UN's refugee agency, UNHCR, told DVB that Australia and Indonesia need to work together to address the crisis. "The challenge of irregular maritime movements is complex and cannot be resolved by any single country," said Vivian Tan, regional spokesperson for UNHCR. "All affected countries, including countries of origin, transit and destination, need to work together in a way that addresses the security concerns of governments as well as the humanitarian and protection needs of people moving irregularly through the region, including asylum-seekers and refugees." Abbott's visit this week – which was accompanied by a large delegation of business representatives – has been viewed as an attempt to repair the two country's economic and diplomatic ties. But human rights groups say that it is insufficient for Abbott to renege on his contentious "tow-back" policy, given his continued commitment to turn away asylum-seekers. Related Stories Australia to deport over 100 Rohingya asylum-seekers Burma blacklists two US-based reporters for covering Rohingya crisis Burma and the politics of ASEAN slogans "Australia's policy to effectively deny consideration of refugee claims for persons arriving by boat is discriminatory and undermines refugee protections throughout the Asia-Pacific region," Phil Robertson, deputy-Asia director of Human Rights Watch (HRW) told DVB. "It [Australia] has an international obligation to fairly and transparently consider refugee claims made by boat arrivals and not just push this responsibility off to other states." It follows news that Abbott has vowed to press ahead with a plan to re-direct all future asylum-seekers to Papua New Guinea and Nauru, where they would be resettled if successful. The policy, which is already set to see at least 100 Rohingya refugees from Burma deported to Australia's poorer Oceanic neighbours, has been criticised as "inhuman and degrading". Tens of thousands of Rohingya Muslims, who are denied citizenship in Burma, have fled the country since two bouts of communal clashes with Buddhists last year, which left nearly 140,000 displaced and 200 dead. Many of them head to Australia, where they hope to be resettled as refugees.

Kale suffers worst flooding in 20 years Posted: 01 Oct 2013 04:58 AM PDT FOOTAGE BY SAW NANG More than 2,000 residents of Kale in Sagaing division have been evacuated in what is said to be the worst flooding for 20 years. The government administrator of Kale, Aye Naing, told DVB that 591 families from four wards and three villages in the town were evacuated to safety, after local rivers overflowed following heavy rains. "The water started coming down from the Chin Hills on 29 September overflowing local waterways. Five hundred and ninety-one families were affected by the flooding and they are now being sheltered at flood relief camps set up in local schools and monasteries," said Aye Naing. Related Stories Monsoon floods continue to wreak havoc in Burma Monsoon rains inundate Rangoon Karen state hit with flooding for second time in the last month He went on to say that some houses had been swept away by the fierce current but that the full extent of the destruction was still unknown. The areas affected are: Aungmyinthar, Aungmingalar, Mingalar-U and Thaungpinthar wards, and Pyinthar, Taungpu and Hpaungku villages. Five local bridges were destroyed by the flood water: Nanwin Creek bridge, Paungku bridge, Segyichaung bridge, Nantagar bridge and Nanmyaung. Farmlands in the area were also inundated and are likely to be destroyed if the situation persists. Aye Naing said the flood victims were being provided relief by local government bodies, as well as civic and charity groups.

KIO, govt confirm October peace talks Posted: 01 Oct 2013 04:04 AM PDT The Burmese government's Union Peace-making Work Committee is set to meet for a series of talks with the Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO) in state capital Myitkyina starting on 2-3 October. Lamai Gum Ja, a member of the Peace-talk Creation Group which has acted as a broker at earlier rounds of KIO-government negotiations, said this week's meeting will involve a preliminary round of negotiations ahead of peace talks scheduled from 8-10 October at the KIO's liaison office in Myitkyina. On 16-17 September, both sides sent liaison teams to a Myitkyina meeting to lay the groundwork for October's series of negotiations. Speaking to DVB after that meeting, Hla Maung Shwe of the Myanmar Peace Centre said the two delegations focused mainly on the issues of a nationwide ceasefire; the formation of a committee to monitor the ceasefire process; the rehabilitation of internally displaced persons; and fixing arrangements for the round of talks in October. The KIO signed a ceasefire agreement with the government in 1994 but took to armed resistance again in 2011 after refusing the government's proposal to transform into a Border Guard Force unit under the supervision of the Burmese army. Related Stories Nationwide ceasefire imminent, Burma's FM tells UN KIO, govt teams lay groundwork for further talks UN aid reaches Laiza for first time in almost two years

Thai, Burmese govts fail to persuade Japan to invest in Dawei SEZ Posted: 01 Oct 2013 12:22 AM PDT Attempts by Thai and Burmese officials to persuade Japan to invest in the Dawei Special Economic Zone (SEZ) have ended fruitlessly, DVB has learned from a member of the Dawei SEZ management committee who asked to remain anonymous. Representatives of the three nations met three times last week, the last meeting being on Friday, 27 September. The Japanese delegation was led by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Deputy Director-General of Southeast and Southwest Asian Affairs Department Hidenao Yanagi. The meeting followed preliminary talks between Thai and Burmese delegations on 25 September, and Burmese and Japanese delegations on 26 September. At a previous meeting in Naypyidaw with Japanese upper house member Eriko Yamatani, Burmese president Thein Sein requested the Japanese government to assist and participate in the Dawei SEZ. On September 26, Thailand and Burma announced that they had agreed to speed up the development of the Dawei industrial zone, following talks between Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and Burma's parliamentary speaker Shwe Mann, according to a report in the Bangkok Post. Yingluck reportedly told Shwe Mann that officials from various state enterprises were currently conducting an economic study on infrastructure in Dawei, such as transportation and power and water supply. "Thailand and Myanmar [Burma] must work together to move this project forward and inform the public about the benefits of the Dawei deep-sea port," the Thai premier was reported as saying. Related Stories Thailand, Burma aim to speed up Dawei development Thein Sein courts wary investors on ambitious port project FDI and Burma's future development In the meantime, various local NGOs and civic groups have reiterated their opposition to the construction of the SEZ in Tavoy, or Dawei as the coastal town is officially known, situated in Tenasserim division on the Andaman Sea. On 26 September, the Tavoyan Women's Union (TWU) claimed that the Thai and Burmese developers are abusing local villagers' rights and called for an immediate suspension of the project. In a 15-minute video released to media, the TWU explained how the pristine beauty of the Tavoyan coast is being ravaged while the cultural heritage of the Tavoyan people is being threatened by the port and industrial zone, which was contracted to Thai construction giant Italian-Thai Development Public Co Ltd (ITD) in 2008. "Two thousand people from six villages are to be evicted after the rainy season to make way for the first stage of the project," the TWU report said. "In total, 30,000 people will have to move from 19 villages in the Nebule area." It was also reported that locals in the village of Yinboat in Tavoy have banded together to protest the building of an oil refinery project in their township. Three hundred residents gathered on 24 September with posters citing a speech by President Thein Sein and principles laid down by the Myanmar Investment Commission which call for environmentally friendly investment. “The employees working for us at the factory are people, not robots. If the poison gas comes out from the factory, the employees will be the ones who suffer first-hand. I had health results for a number of employees who suffered respiratory tract infections,” said a senior monk from Lay Tun Khan monastery in Yinboat. A week earlier, villagers gathered to protest against the construction of a highway which will connect the Dawei SEZ to Kanchanaburi in Thailand. According to a local civic group, Community Sustainable Livelihood and Development, 38 families have still not been compensated for the loss of their land due to the highway construction between the towns of Thitgadon and Myitta in 2010. ITD did not respond to DVB's request for comment on the various issues.

Nationwide ceasefire imminent, Burma’s FM tells UN Posted: 30 Sep 2013 08:53 PM PDT Burma says it expects to soon sign a nationwide ceasefire with ethnic armed groups that have been fighting for decades for greater autonomy. Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin also told the UN General Assembly on Monday that the government hopes to start a new round of political dialogue to strike a “comprehensive and lasting peace agreement.” Ethnic rebellions have dogged Burma’s modern history, but fighting has subsided—although not ended—under the reformist government that replaced a repressive junta in 2011. The minister says there is “no turning back” on path toward democracy. He is promising “zero tolerance” of ethnic hatred — a response to explosions of Buddhist-Muslim unrest in the past year. He said Burma would not allow anyone to exploit political openness to instigate communal violence. Related Stories KIO, govt confirm October peace talks UN calls on Burma to urgently address Rohingya grievances UN aid reaches Laiza for first time in almost two years

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