Thursday, October 10, 2013

Democratic Voice of Burma

Democratic Voice of Burma

Kachin rebels and govt reach preliminary peace deal

Posted: 10 Oct 2013 05:26 AM PDT

The Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO) and government peace makers pledged to work together towards a nation-wide ceasefire on Thursday, marking the end of a three-day round of meetings in the state capital Myitkyina.

A spokesperson for the Myitkyina-based Peace-talk Creation Group insisted that the KIO had not ruled out signing a highly anticipated nationwide ceasefire later this year, even though it has yet to reach a formal peace deal with the government.

"According to the discussion in the meeting yesterday [Wednesday], the KIO did not rule out joining the nationwide ceasefire but they have to work out their exact policy," said peace broker Lamai Gum Ja, who was observing the talks.

"Only when they do, can they give their decision on whether to sign the agreement or not. So yesterday, they called to meet with leaders of other ethnic armed groups."

But the two sides have agreed to lay the foundations for political dialogue, re-open roads across the conflict-torn state, establish a joint-monitoring committee and develop a plan for the voluntary return of internally displaced persons.

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The KIO has been fighting the government for greater autonomy and ethnic rights since a 17-year ceasefire broke down in June 2011, and has repeatedly called for political dialogue as a precondition to sustainable peace.

The rebels say the government has continued to attack their positions in northern Burma, especially in areas near crony-owned natural resource projects, despite inking a tentative truce with the quasi-civilian regime in May.

This week's talks marks the two sides' first formal peace negotiations since then and many analysts hoped it would pave the way for a historic nation-wide ceasefire deal, which President Thein Sein has repeatedly promised. It was attended by international observers, including the UN's special envoy to Burma Vijay Nambiar.

"We're working not just towards a just and sustainable peace but towards a new political culture, one built on compromise, mutual respect and understanding," said Aung Min in a statement released on Thursday. "The challenges are complex and are rooted in more than half a century of violence, but I'm confident that we are turning the corner."

A spokesperson for the Shan Affairs Organisation, who also attended the talks, told DVB that Shan civilians had often borne the brunt of the civil war.

"The Shan nationalities in [Kachin state] have been suffering for many years as collateral damage in this conflict," said Sai Htain Linn. "We make up more than half of the population in Kachin state and have been tormented by both sides of the conflict."

"We would like to thank the KIO for accepting the public's will to negotiate with the government."

Over 100,000 civilians have been displaced in the two-year conflict in northern Burma, during which both government and rebel troops have been accused of committing war crimes. The conflict reached its peak over the cold season last year, when the Burmese army besieged the rebel headquarters in Laiza using coordinated air and land strikes.

The KIO was unable to comment for this story. But as the chair of the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC), it is likely to consult colleagues within the ethnic umbrella group in the coming weeks. The UNFC has already indicated that it might boycott a nation-wide ceasefire deal unless certain conditions are met.

The umbrella group has already fallen out with several representatives within its own membership, as well as non-member ethnic groups who disagree on how to approach peace negotiations with the government.

President Thein Sein has received international acclaim for his efforts to resolve decades of civil conflicts in the former military dictatorship, securing an end to years of crippling economic sanctions against Burma and earning a nomination for this year's Nobel Peace Prize.

But rights activists say international praise is premature and have called on the government to halt its military advances, rights abuses and economic exploitation in ethnic minority regions.

Farmers blame Shwe Gas pipeline for destroying their crops

Posted: 10 Oct 2013 04:52 AM PDT

Farmers in Magwe division in north-western Burma say they have still not been compensated for the mass destruction of crops caused by the construction of the controversial China-backed Shwe Gas pipeline.

Twenty-six farmers in Saku township's Latpandaw village say their crops were destroyed when soil was dumped onto their lands during the construction of the project, which will pump oil and gas from Arakan state to western China.

They say huge portions of farmlands were destroyed while local fruit gardens were burnt down to make way for the project, and they have yet to receive any form of compensation.

"They not only dumped soil but also set up a construction camp on my farm – rendering me unable to work on the plot for two solid years," said Aye Ko, one of the farmers.

"Then upon finalising the construction, they found out the pipeline had been laid in the wrong place and so had to expand the project area. I was unable to grow anything throughout the monsoon last year."

Another farmer, Hla Win, said: "They bulldozed seven mango and 25 teak trees – I'm just requesting compensation for my loss."

The local farmers say they reached out to the Land Records Department in Minbu district [encompassing Saku township] during last year's crop season to demand compensation. The officials reportedly came to inspect the farms and promised that they were working on it, but there has been no progress since.

"They promised us compensation and told us to rest assured – but we haven't received anything yet."

Last month the Shwe Gas Movement (SGM), a local advocacy group which campaigns against the pipeline, released a report which slammed the project for setting a "bad example" for future investments in Burma.

It documented serious abuses, including forced labour, land grabs, pollution and an exacerbation of ethnic conflicts in areas near the 800-kilometre pipeline. Dozens of villagers told SGM that toxic waste had been dumped on their properties, despite issuing repeated complaints to their township administrators.

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Faults in the pipeline, which began pumping gas in late July, have also been reported. In mid-September a gas leak burst into flames and terrified residents in Arakan's Ann township. It follows a report by the Northern Shan Farmers Committee in April, which included photographs of visible holes scarring the pipeline.

"They fixed the holes in the pipeline with rubber patches, like fixing a tyre puncture," said the report.

Burma, which is slowly emerging from decades of military rule, is rich in gems, industrial minerals, oil, and offshore natural gas reserves estimated at 10 trillion cubic feet.

The Shwe Gas pipeline is a joint venture between the state-owned China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) and the military-owned Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE), and is expected to earn Burma US$1.8 billion annually – totaling US$54 billion over 30 years of operation.

US group warns against demolition of Rangoon heritage sites

Posted: 10 Oct 2013 02:50 AM PDT

The US-based World Monument Fund (WMF) this week recognised Rangoon as a heritage zone for its dazzling religious and colonial architecture, but warned that an influx of foreign investment risks devastating its historical landmarks.

Placing Burma's commercial capital on its 2014 watch list, the WMF described Rangoon as a "cultural melting pot" blending dozens of temples, mosques, and the country's only Jewish synagogue with unrivalled colonial heritage sites.

But it cautioned that buildings were being torn down at "an alarming rate" and replaced with "poorly designed structures" that neglected their historical value.

"Following the country's emergence from isolation under military dictatorship and new foreign investment opportunities, a rush of development now imperils Yangon's [Rangoon's] unique urban landscape," said the WMF in a statement on Tuesday.

"Modernising the city while protecting and promoting its tangible and intangible heritage represents a key challenge."

The group identified around 90 historical buildings in seven inner city townships to be included on the watch list. Shwe Yinn Mar Oo, senior communication officer at the Yangon Heritage Trust said being recognised by the WMF will make Rangoon better known to the world.

"This will bring awareness to the world – that there is cultural heritage in this city that needs preservation and can be used to boost business opportunities," Shwe Yinn Mar Oo told DVB on Wednesday.

According to the Trust, there are currently 189 historical buildings in Rangoon and 89 of them are in seven inner city townships: Botahtaung, Pazundaung, Latha, Panbedan, Lanmadaw, Kyauktada and Seikkan.

Well-known heritage buildings in Rangoon include the [former] Interior Ministers' Office, the HighCourtBuilding and RangoonCity Hall. Last year, lawyers led protests against government plans to tear down dozens of historical buildings to make way for mass constructions of high-rise hotels, apartments and offices.

Famed writer and advocate of historical preservation, Chit Oo Nyo, told DVB that the media needs to educate the public about Rangoon's cultural heritage.

"These buildings we walk past every day – such as the Interior Ministers' building – have very significant historical backgrounds. The Interior Ministers' building, which is the site where general Aung San and his cabinet was assassinated, has huge cultural value and the media and archaeological experts should help the public understand this better," said Chit Oo Nyo, adding that the government should not privatise them in order to reap profits.

According to WMF, Rangoon has the largest collection of late-nineteenth-century and early twentieth-century colonial architecture in Southeast Asia. But the city's cultural heritage fell into disrepair over nearly fifty years of military rule and economic mismanagement, which saw tourism and foreign investment plummet.

Since embarking on a series of democratic reforms in 2011, the quasi-civilian regime led by Thein Sein has prioritised swift and often shoddy property development to meet the growing demand of foreign investors. WMF insists that conservation must be integrated into the city's development strategy.

"Heritage conservation can serve as a vital component in economic, environmental, and social policy," said their statement. "Inclusion on the Watch seeks to promote a thoughtful and well balanced integration of cultural resources and new development as part of Yangon's public policy."

The ASEAN chair – an important opportunity

Posted: 10 Oct 2013 02:09 AM PDT

The chairman of the Southeast Asian Press Association, Kavi Chongkittavorn, spoke to DVB's Toe Zaw Latt about the challenges and opportunities that Burma will face as chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Burma will host the ASEAN chair in 2014, what are the challenges and what are the biggest opportunities?

Burma will become the ASEAN chair after 17 years of waiting, so it is a very meaningful moment for Burma. There are many challenges though. The first is that Burma has to learn how ASEAN members behave when they work together. Most of the time, Burma visited other countries without being the host, now in the coming years Burma will be the host of at least 300 meetings and half of them will be on economic affairs.

So you have to be able to manage your budget, your traffic, your schedule, your paperwork so that you can facilitate various meetings leading up to the summit next year [in November].

Logistically is Burma ready to host the 300 meetings, and who is responsible for hosting them?

Essentially it is the government and President Thein Sein who has to take care of every aspect and all kinds of logistics. But it is not only the foreign ministry per se or the ministry of information or the ministry of economic planning; it is the job of everybody inside Burma. The government has their job to do but also the people on the street in Rangoon, Mandalay, and Naypyidaw also have an important role to play because they will come in close contact with ASEAN diplomats. You have to understand if you get stuck in traffic next year you may think it because there is an ASEAN meeting [going on] instead of getting mad at the government.

How can the Burmese government and the people contribute to this ASEAN chairmanship?

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The media has the most important role because they can inform the people what Burma's role is in ASEAN. Secondly, they can write about issues important to ASEAN, such as economic integration and the peace and conflict prevention efforts in Burma. For ordinary people they have to know more of what ASEAN has done for Burma, for example, increasing [the country's] regional and international standing and ending the international isolation of Burma.

There are issues regarding Burma's connectivity to ASEAN. In 2006 Burma declined the chairmanship to avoid a damaging western boycott of the group's meetings. What are the key differences between then and now and is Burma ready to connect with the rest of the region?

I think there are three aspects of connectivity. At the moment the most difficult is the so-called "institutional connectivity", because institutionally, Burma has just come out of its shell so that aspect will take some time. Other connectivity is much easier such as infrastructure – because the roads can be built, the bridges can be connected – but institutionally the mindset takes some time. The last one is people to people. By opening up the country you already have people to people connections. The fact that now most of the major airlines have added Rangoon and Naypyidaw to their flight itinerary is an indication that more and more people will come to Burma.

Now, how the government improves the opportunities for people to come [to Burma] depends on the policy of so called one-stop visas. [In 2012 Thailand and Cambodia launched the single visa scheme that meant one tourist visa would be valid in both countries.] Burma is thinking of joining Thailand and Cambodia so that any tourists who have visas from one of these countries can travel to the others without [buying] more visas.

Another key event is the East Asia Summit in November, where Burma will host representatives from some of the world's most powerful countries, including the US, Russia, China and India. What can Burma and the people expect from this gathering?

“The message is very clear…Don't miss this opportunity.”

This will be a very big event because all the major countries of the world will come and world leaders [such as] Obama, Xi Jinping, Putin, Mahmoud Singh, Tony Abbott, and John Key [will descend on the country]. All of these are known as the ASEAN Plus 8 [ASEAN Plus 8 are the 10 ASEAN member states plus China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia, and New Zealand, United States and Russia.] It is important for Burma because they can change the ASEAN agenda and [improve] its external relations with major powers.

You have to know that the history of ASEAN is a history of relations with dialogue partners and ASEAN has done very well because the dialogue partners have been engaged with ASEAN for the past two-three decades. [ASEAN's dialogue partners are China, Japan, Republic of Korea, India, and the United States.]

In Burma, there is still ongoing fighting mainly in Kachin and Shan states. ASEAN is committed to regional security and stability so how can ASEAN help Burma fix these regional security and stability issues?

This is a very interesting aspect of ASEAN co-operation. ASEAN recently established an ASEAN Peace Institute and Reconciliation (AIPR) and I think Burma can make use of this. By urging the institute to conduct studies relating to the issue of communal conflict and minority issues, [AIPR] can then give good recommendations to Burma and to ASEAN members.

Do you have a message for the people of Burma and the government about the ASEAN chairmanship?

The message is very clear: you wait 17 years to be chair and the next chair will come in another 10 years, so you better make use of it so you can promote your national interests and profile. Don't miss this opportunity.

 

 

Critics question Burma’s readiness to assume ASEAN chair

Posted: 10 Oct 2013 12:18 AM PDT

Just a few years ago Burma was an isolated dictatorship that embarrassed the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) with its dismal human rights record. Now it’s poised to take over leadership of the 10-nation bloc for the first time — a move critics say may be premature given conflicts at home that have left hundreds dead and hundreds of thousands more displaced.

The appointment of Burma to ASEAN’s chairmanship is meant to reward the former pariah’s transformation since its military junta turned over power to an elected government two years ago, and some are hopeful that putting the spotlight on Burma will serve as further incentive for reform.

But Burma still has a long way to go. Last week, smoke and flames rose once again from the twisted wreckage of charred Muslim homes and mosques ransacked by machete-wielding Buddhist mobs, this time in Sandoway [Thandwe] in western Arakan state, where five people were killed — one of them a 94-year-old Muslim woman who was too frail to flee.

“From a human rights perspective, the chairmanship is an honour the government hasn’t earned,” said Matthew Smith, a Burma expert who directs the advocacy group Fortify Rights.

“More than 250,000 people have been forcibly displaced from their homes in the last two years, wartime abuses continue, and there is an ongoing campaign of ‘ethnic cleansing’ of Muslim communities, creating a regional refugee crisis,” he said. “None of that spells regional leadership.”

Burma will be officially appointed head of ASEAN, which aims to promote regional economic development and cooperation, in a handover ceremony in Brunei on Thursday, but it will not take up its duties until 1 January.

From time to time, ASEAN had criticised Burma, seeing its former heavy-handed military regime as a roadblock to regional progress. But in 1997, when the country formerly known as Burma won admission to ASEAN despite strong opposition from western nations, the regional bloc cited its intention to encourage positive change.

Burma changed little, however, until 2011, when the long-ruling military junta ceded power to a quasi-civilian government led by retired army officers. Few expected a transformation, but President Thein Sein’s government surprised the world with a wave of reforms that have liberalised the economy and politics.

Aung San Suu Kyi — the longtime opposition leader who spent most of the last two decades as a prisoner in her own home — is now an elected lawmaker. Hundreds of political prisoners have been freed. A draconian system of media censorship has been abolished. And the government has signed ceasefire deals with most rebel groups.

But much remains to be done. Anti-Muslim violence that began in June 2012 has spread nationwide, displacing nearly 150,000 people with no end in sight. And in the north, fighting between the army and ethnic Kachin rebels grinds on, with more than 100,000 driven from their homes.

ASEAN’s sentiment, meanwhile, remains largely the same — it says it is trying to encourage more reform.

“We acknowledge that issues remain … and we believe that they are working on them to the best of their ability,” Philippine presidential spokesman Ricky Carandang said Wednesday in Brunei. “But we also need to recognise the dramatic changes that have taken place in that country and the reforms that have been undertaken by the president of Myanmar [Burma].”

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“The best thing that the international community can do at this point is to encourage them to continue to move in this direction, so we support Myanmar [Burma] in taking over as chair,” he said.

ASEAN has generally maintained a policy of non-interference in members’ internal matters, but Carandang said leaders are expected to quietly push Burma on the sidelines to take more concrete steps to resolve the violence.

Speaking to a young woman from Burma at an ASEAN young leaders’ meeting, US Secretary of State John Kerry said: “What is happening in Burma is exciting, but incomplete. We have to see the political transformation continue and our hope is that democracy will continue to evolve.”

Tin Oo, a senior leader of Suu Kyi’s opposition National League for Democracy party agreed, saying Burma has gradually changed. “It is time they become chairman of ASEAN, even though they have difficulties,” he said of the government.

In Cambodia, which laburs under its own delicate balance of democracy and authoritarianism, at least one analyst thinks the ASEAN leadership role will drive further reforms in Burma. Ou Virak, president of the CambodianCenter for Human Rights, said that while Burma's bureaucracy remains old and inefficient, “the spotlight is probably going to force Burma to reform a bit more.”

But Yan Myo, a Yangon-based political analyst, said that since Burma's ”leaders cannot yet solve their own domestic problems … it is questionable how (they) can take the regional leadership role.”

Burma has responded to international concerns so far in at least making the right gestures over human rights, such as freeing political prisoners before Thein Sein makes high-profile visits abroad, said Panitan Wattanayagorn, an international relations specialist at Bangkok’s ChulalongkornUniversity.

“But now that the ASEAN leadership has fallen into their laps,” he said, “they may think they don’t have to do more.”

Ninety percent of Karen locals want constitution changed: survey

Posted: 09 Oct 2013 11:56 PM PDT

Over 90 percent of locals in the Karen state capital Hpa-an want Burma's military-backed 2008 constitution to be amended, according to a new survey conducted by the National League for Democracy (NLD).

Nan Khine Htwe Myint, Karen state chairperson of NLD, told DVB that of 400 people interviewed across three townships in Hpa-an district on 6 October, the vast majority wanted to see the military's role in politics significantly reduced.

She said respondents specifically wanted to change clauses that guarantee the armed forces 25 percent of seats in parliament and that preclude opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi from the presidency on the basis of her foreign familial connections.

But Nan Khine Htwe Myint added that most people believed it would be more realistic to amend rather than completely rewrite the document.

"About 95 percent of them, including members from other political parties, see that the constitution should be amended," said Nan Khin Htwe Myint.

The survey was conducted in Hpa-an, Hlaingbwe and Thandaung towns as part of the opposition party's plans to gauge public opinion on constitutional change.

The military-drafted document precludes Suu Kyi from assuming the presidency because she has two sons with foreign citizenship and was married to a British man, the late scholar Michael Aris.

Suu Kyi has repeatedly slammed the legislation as "undemocratic" and insisted that it must be amended ahead of the 2015 general elections. However, she has yet to clarify whether the NLD will back a complete overhaul of the document or focus on specific sections.

Meanwhile, the United Nationalities Federal Council, an umbrella group made up of major ethnic armed groups, has already outlined plans to completely re-write the constitution in the coming months. Ethnic rebels, who have fought the government for decades, insist the legislation must guarantee greater ethnic autonomy and rights under a genuine federal framework.

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The controversial 2008 document was put to a public referendum shortly after Cyclone Nargis devastated Burma in 2008, causing up to 140,000 deaths. The referendum was heavily criticised by observers, although the government claimed that 92 percent of the population had voted in its favour.

The NLD survey is being carried out in tandem with a state-backed effort to review the constitution. Earlier this month, the government formed a committee to review proposals for constitutional amendments, setting a 15 November deadline to receive feedback and recommendations.

Analysts say President Thein Sein's government, which has been credited for introducing radical reforms in the former military dictatorship, is jostling for influence in the run-up to the 2015 elections.

According to the NLD, survey respondents included influential local figures, teachers, pensioners, and members and parliament representatives from other political parties. Nan Khin Htwe Myint added that the party is looking to conduct similar surveys in other Karen state districts before 15 November.

Meanwhile, Shan state's NLD chairperson Khin Moe Moe said the party is also looking to conduct surveys in 13 districts in northern, southern and eastern Shan state, starting with Muse district on 10 October.

Time to go home?

Posted: 09 Oct 2013 03:43 AM PDT

During decades of military rule and ethnic conflict, hundreds of thousands of people fled Burma. Many have since been resettled abroad, but 140,000 people are still living in camps on the Thai-Burmese border.

The UN's refugee agency has resettled 2,000 people back to Burma, but this week's debate asks: are conditions right in the country for the rest to follow?

The DVB Debate panelists this week are: associate director at Myanmar Peace Center, Aung Naing Oo; co-ordinator at Kachin Peace Network, Khon Ja; and programme director for The Border Consortium, Nilar Myaing.

The panel disagreed about when refugee repatriation would be possible, although they concurred that conditions were not conducive for refugees to return immediately.

DVBD_cartoon_refugees

The return of refugees (DVB Debate)

Khon Ja said the UNHCR's plan to return 50,000 refugees to Burma by the end of December was "impossible".

She said even though ceasefires were being discussed between rebel groups and the Burmese army, military presence in ethnic areas was increasing.

A large number of refugees were born in camps on the Thai side of the border and, according to Nilar Myaing, many of them don't trust the Burmese government.

"For the children who were raised in refugee camps, it will be hard to come back since there is a big difference between Thailand and Burma," Nilar Myaing said.

Aung Naing Oo said while the Myanmar Peace Centre is helping with the peace process, it doesn't have any authority and cannot make decisions.

"The military has its own policy," he said.

He went on to say that there are parts of Karen state that are now safe to return to.

Khon Ja disagreed and said more people were being displaced through large development projects in ethnic areas.

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"The military will have to be involved throughout the peace process," she said. "They will have to keep their promises and their agreements."

Audience member Jaw Gon, from the Kachin Peace Network, sided with Khon Ja and said the government wasn't being transparent.

"On the one hand, the government is working on the peace process and on the other, they are creating problems for the people."

Aung Naing Oo stressed the importance of a nationwide ceasefire, but said it would only be the beginning and that it would take time for political solutions to be implemented

Next week on DVB Debate: How political can art be?

You can join the debate and watch the full programme in Burmese at www.dvbdebate.com

Or share your views with us by commenting on our website at http://www.dvb.no/category/dvb-debate

New bell rings the changes in Myaungmya

Posted: 09 Oct 2013 03:40 AM PDT

The price of land in the Irrawaddy delta town of Myaungmya has increased by up to 1,000 percent recently, and much of the boom has been attributed to the building of a 333-tonne bronze bell which many locals believe will quickly become a major tourist attraction.

Local residents in Myaungmya told DVB that the price of land close to Myatseintaung Hill, the site where the giant bell will be housed after its construction, have gone up by about tenfold. "The present landowners are asking for about 15 million kyat (US$15,000) for a 40×60 plot of land that was previously priced at around 150,000 kyat," said Myaungmya resident Thar Nge.

"Many investors think they are buying valuable land," he warned, "but some of the plots fall within an archaeological zone where building houses is not allowed."

Kaung Khant, a real estate agent in Rangoon, said house and land prices across the country were constantly being manipulated by land speculators buying up land in areas with potential development and growth with the intention of reselling them at higher prices soon after.

However, a lawyer in Myaungmya said the hike in local land prices was because "cronies" from Rangoon were aggressively buying land ever since the town announced earlier this year it was to build the bell.

Burma has a long history of giant bells due to the traditional of erecting bronze bells at the entrance to Buddhist temples. The Great Bell of Dhammazedi, built in 1484 by King Dmammadezi of Pegu, is believed to be the largest bell ever made. It was originally placed in Shwedagon pagoda in Rangoon but was stolen by a Portuguese warlord called Filipe de Brito e Nicote in 1608. The weight proved too much for De Brito's boat and it sank to the bottom of the Rangoon River where it is still believed to lie.

Perhaps the most famous giant bell in existence is the Mingun Bell which rests at a monastery in Sagaing division on the west bank of the Irrawaddy River. It is 12 feet high and weighs a precise 199,999 pounds.

Funded by local donations, the proposed Myaungmya bell is estimated to cost some 7 billion kyat ($7 million), and when completed will weigh more than three times the Mingun Bell.

Members of the local bell-casting committee have reportedly said they plan to hang it in Myaungmya's Myatigon pagoda when it is complete.
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