Democratic Voice of Burma

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• Burma concerns raised in House of Commons
• Business Weekly
• At least 13 Burmese migrants drown off Thai coast
• Two dead, 1 injured in Taungoo explosion

Burma concerns raised in House of Commons Posted: 13 Oct 2013 08:20 AM PDT British MP Valerie Vaz addressed the House of Commons last week to discuss the findings of an eight-day cross-party delegation to Burma in August. She met afterwards with DVB's Jack Goodman to discuss the delegation, British foreign policy towards Burma, and Aung San Suu Kyi. INTERVIEW British opposition MP Valerie Vaz (2nd right) receives a petition from Burma Campaign UK. (PHOTO: BCUK) Question: Am I right in saying that your relationship with Burma began before you were elected as an MP? Answer: As a lawyer I was interested in human rights before I became an MP. I thought Aung San Suu Kyi's story was very similar to Nelson Mandela's. It was one of the campaigns I thought was important to be involved in. On a political level I felt I had to raise my voice as well, which is why when I was elected to parliament in September 2010 and had my first opportunity to ask the Prime Minister [David Cameron] a question, I asked what he was going to do about Burma.   Q: How did you spend your time in the country? A: At the parliament in Naypyidaw we met both speakers of the upper and lower houses, the president, ministers from the presidential office and committee chairs. The British embassy, including the Burmese people who worked there, arranged lots of meetings with many different people from different ethnic groups. These were people who perhaps government ministers would not normally have agreed to meet.   Q: It was only an eight-day trip, but did you feel that you were able to fully understand resentments held by different ethnic groups towards the government? A: Yes, but we didn't have enough time to explore fully. We got a sense of the anger, from say, the people of Mon state – including the anger because Daw Suu didn't speak out against the ethnic conflicts.   Q: Are people right to be critical? A: We can dress it up anyway we like and there are many hopes pinned to her. People don't understand that when you are in an elected role, but in the opposition, you need to find a balance. That's a fact of life. Remember, she is sitting with the very people who imprisoned her.   Q: Did you meet with any Rohingya? A: We had one meeting with Rohingyas and you could feel the hostility. The meetings began with 'yes, we want to work together', but by the end it was more 'No, no we don't'.   Q: Moving to British policy, how does Britain ensure that the trade and development agendas work in harmony without being counter-productive? A: That's what I touched on in my speech. The [UK] Foreign Office has a trade agenda – so at the All Party Parliamentary Group they were discussing the need to open the country up, like other countries we are now trading with. At the same time, this is not a legitimate government because they haven't really won an election, but we're still trading with them. So while the international community is trading with the government, the army are displacing people from their villages and taking their land.   Q: Will an overbearing trade agenda result in social issues and real democratic change getting swept under the carpet? A: Yes. I don't know whether it's a force that they [the Burmese government] can control. To commemorate the 1988 uprising recently was a good thing and that was there for the world to see, but arbitrary arrests are still going on. The NGOs don't lie to us: there is no rule of law and government 'favourites' still hold influence.   Q: Britain and Burma have a working relationship; would further evidence that the police and the authorities were involved in anti-Muslim violence, as has been widely reported, alter British policy? A: I can't say because I'm not in government. But that is what we would be pushing for.   Q: What role will Aung San Suu Kyi play in the future of Burma or is she just a Western icon? A: Because of Aung San Suu Kyi's connections, the government needs her for her moral and political standing. So we need to keep in touch with her.   Q: So she is crucial for a number of stakeholders? A: Yes absolutely.   Q: There are many steps that Britain is already taking in Burma. As you mentioned in your speech they have built a research library for MPs providing training on select committees, and have financed a census. But what would enhance British policy? A: Britain needs to introduce one person to track everything to help the Foreign Office and DFID [UK's Department for International Development] work together. At the moment it isn't co-ordinated. We are dealing with the president on the trade side but through international organisations for development. You can read MP Vaz's address to Britain's Parliament here.

Business Weekly Posted: 13 Oct 2013 01:08 AM PDT   Ups and downs, comings and goings Burma's currency strengthened slightly by 1 to 2 kyat against the dollar which was buying 967 kyat on Friday 11 October and selling for 975 kyat. Fuel prices all remain the same: petrol is 814 kyat per litre; diesel is 920 kyat per litre; and octane sells at 920 kyat a litre. Sino-Burmese border trade is reported to have increased exponentially this season. In Muse, exports alone topped $US308 million in September, up from just $104 million at the same time last year. Exported goods include corn, rice (also glutinous rice), fisheries, jade and polished gems. Popular imports from China are currently cement, fertiliser, mopeds and construction materials. Good quality rice is selling in Rangoon at 1,100-1,200 kyat per pyi (basket), while low quality rice is 850-900 kyat per pyi. However, Burma's rice exports fell in the first half of the 2013-14 fiscal year by about half, according to a report in Eleven Daily, with the country shipping 316,711 tonnes worth $129 million during that period.   Ministry of Energy announces 10 winning bidders for onshore oil exploration Ten foreign firms have won the tender bidding for 16 onshore energy blocks in Burma, an energy ministry official said on Friday. The firms which won concessions were from the following countries: Britain, Brunei, Canada, India, Italy, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Pakistan, Russia and Thailand, and included Italy’s Eni, India’s ONGC Videsh and Malaysia’s Petronas. Thirteen of the 16 contracts were production-sharing deals and the rest were petroleum recovery contracts, said the official. Eni, Petronas, ONGC, Pakistan’s Petroleum Exploration (PVT) and Canada’s Pacific Hunt Energy Corp each won contracts to operate two blocks, according to a list of the winners seen by Reuters. For the first time in Burma, the winners will be required to perform Environment Impact Assessments before final approval from the country’s investment commission, the official added.   Multinational firms to build Rangoon power plant A 500 MW coal-fired power plant is to be built in Kyauktan in Rangoon division, implemented under a multinational joint venture of companies from Burma, India and Singapore, state-run media reported on Wednesday. Under an MoU signed in Naypyidaw, the power project will be implemented by Burma's Ministry of Electric Power, Orange Powergen Pvt Ltd of India, Global Adviser Pte Ltd of Singapore and local-based Diamond Palace Services Co Ltd through a build-operate-transfer (BOT) system. Upon completion, the plant will increase electricity supply to the Rangoon region, the report said.   Thai govt urges Burma to speed up Tasang dam project Thailand's Energy Minister Pongsak Raktapongpaisal has urged his Burmese counterpart to speed up the US$12-billion Tasang hydroelectric dam project as part of Thailand's target to buy 10,000 megawatts of electricity from is neighbour. Located on the upper part of the Salween River, the project is expected to have a capacity of 7,000 MW and will take 12 years to construct, he said, according to a report in the Bangkok Post. "If the Burmese government gives the go-ahead, Mr Pongsak will instruct the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (Egat) to speed up talks with potential Chinese and Burmese partners to prepare the power purchase agreement for parliament consideration," the report said, adding that Thailand expects to hold 30 percent in the Tasang dam in a joint venture with Sinohydro Corporation and the China Three Gorges Corporation, both from China. "Taking into account an environmental impact assessment and community protection plan, this massive project will take 12 years to develop," the report said. Read more:http://www.dvb.no/news/thai-govt-urges-burma-to-speed-up-tasang-dam-project-myanmar/33254   Foreign firms line up for Kyaukphyu project More than 30 international companies have submitted expressions of interest to be consultants on the Kyaukphyu Special Economic Zone (SEZ) project in Arakan state. Eleven Daily reported that firms from China, Singapore, United States, the Netherlands, Germany, Japan, India, Britain, Australia and South Korea were interested in the industrial project which is situated on the coast of the Bay of Bengal and best known as the starting point for China's trans-Burma pipeline project which recently began transferring natural gas to Yunnan province.   Companies bidding to develop Rangoon commercial zone Fourteen companies (13 domestic and 1 South Korean) have applied for tender bidding to develop the Min Dhamma Project, a proposed commercial hub in Rangoon's Mingalar Taungnyunt township, according to a local government official. The economic zone will include hotels, a convention centre, a theatre, cinemas, an electronic plaza and office buildings. Deadline for tender applicants is set for 2 December.   Latpadaung copper mine resumes The controversial Latpadaung copper mine in Sagaing division has resumed operations despite local protests over displacement of villagers and its environmental impact. The project is a joint venture between China's Wanbao and the Burmese military-backed Union of Myanmar Economic Holdings. Read more: http://www.dvb.no/news/locals-protest-latpadaung-mine-resumption-burma-myanmar/33404   Thai airline encouraged to spread its wings in Burma Burma last week urged Nok Air to expand its footprint in the country to cover the major cities of Naypyidaw, Mandalay and Bagan. Burma's Ambassador to Thailand, Tin Win, said the Burmese government would like to encourage the Thai budget carrier to expand beyond Rangoon, where it will land from 1 November. Read more: http://www.dvb.no/news/thai-airline-encouraged-to-spread-its-wings-in-burma/33398

At least 13 Burmese migrants drown off Thai coast Posted: 12 Oct 2013 11:43 PM PDT The Thai marine police have managed to recover 13 bodies of Burmese migrants whose boat was reportedly sunk by a strong storm in the Andaman Sea off the Ranong coast on Wednesday night. Pol Capt Ekarath Aroon, deputy superintendent of the 8th Marine Police Headquarters, said three more bodies were recovered on Saturday. Ten bodies had been found earlier during the first three days of a search in the sea with by marine police, Pak Nam Ranong police and rescuers of the Ranong Songkroh Foundation. Related Stories Australia PM downplays boatpeople concerns on trip to Indonesia ILO warns of 'serious abuses' in Thai fishing industry Rohingya detainees allege Thai abuse On Saturday, with help from local fishermen, the search team recovered two bodies floating in the sea near Koh Phayam and another on an island called Koh Luk Pai. All of the dead were men. It was believed more bodies would be found on Sunday, Pol Capt Ekarath said. According to a border security source, a long-tailed boat with about 30 Burmese migrants left Kawthaung in Burma on the night of 9 October, heading for Ranong. The boat was sunk by a heavy storm with 2m high waves. This article was first published in the Bangkok Post on 13 October 2013.

Two dead, 1 injured in Taungoo explosion Posted: 12 Oct 2013 10:34 PM PDT Two people were killed and one was injured when a bomb exploded on Friday in Taungoo Township in central Burma. Residents said the blast occurred just before 9pm in a room in the Chang Myae Guest House. One male and one female were found dead at the scene while a second woman was taken to Taungoo Hospital for treatment. Speaking to DVB, Thiha Soe, the information officer for the National League for Democracy, said the two who died were identified as Nay Myo Kyaw and Yu Yu Khaing. Taungoo police confirmed the explosion and said they were investigating the incident under the explosions act. Related Stories Police question two suspects in connection with explosion in Mandalay Explosion at radical monk's event injures 5: police Monks protest Bodhgaya blasts

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