Democratic Voice of Burma

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• Police detain 78 for Sandoway riots as death toll hits seven
• Shan MP calls for truce around Kunhing and aid deliveries to IDPs
• Bomb blast at Rangoon market injures two youngsters
• What will a nationwide ceasefire really achieve?

Police detain 78 for Sandoway riots as death toll hits seven Posted: 14 Oct 2013 03:59 AM PDT The Burmese security forces have detained 78 people in connection with the recent spate of Muslim-Buddhist clashes in Arakan's Sandoway township, state media announced on Monday. It follows news that the death toll from the violence, which erupted after an argument between a Buddhist trishaw driver and a Muslim shop owner on 29 September, has risen to seven. The bodies of two Buddhist men were reportedly discovered at a local cemetery near Sandoway on Friday. According to a report by the BBC, the two men were among a group of five Buddhists and a Christian pastor travelling by taxi through Thabyuchaing village when they unwittingly ran into an angry mob wielding knives and sticks. Four escaped, while the two others went missing. The lives of four Muslim men and a 94-year-old woman had already been claimed in the unrest. Authorities have detained several suspects, many with links to local nationalist groups and political parties, for their alleged role in the unrest. The chairman of the local Rakhine Nationalities Development Party was taken into custody immediately after the violence, while at least a dozen members of the Organisation for the Protection of Race and Religion have since been held for questioning. The government confirmed on Monday that a total of 112 houses, three mosques and one petrol warehouse were burned to the ground in the riots, making nearly 500 people homeless. The report again sought to pin blame on instigators within "some organisations" intent on causing unrest. The report echoes closely the words of President Thein Sein who recently blamed "outsiders" for orchestrating the violence to coincide with his first visit to Arakan state, which has been wracked by communal violence since last year. The Burmese government has come under fire for a perceived failure to prevent the spread of religious violence, which has increasingly targeted the country's Muslim minority. But Monday's report, published in the state-run New Light of Myanmar, insisted that anyone found guilty of "manipulating, committing and abetting" the violence would be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Related Stories Burma's beach paradise still safe despite riots, say officials 45 detained in connection with Sandoway riots President Thein Sein blames 'outsiders' for Sandoway riots At least 140,000 people, mostly Muslims, have been uprooted and over 200 people have died since the first bout of ethno-religious clashes broke out last year. The violence, which originally pitted the stateless Rohingya minority against Buddhists in northern Arakan state, has since spread across the country. Many observers have blamed an extremist Buddhist movement known as "969", which calls on Buddhists to boycott Muslim businesses and avoid interfaith marriages. Until recently Thein Sein has been reluctant to criticise the group, even defending its chief proponent monk Wirathu as a "son of Buddha". Thein Sein has been credited for introducing sweeping democratic reforms in Burma since the nominal end of military rule in 2011. But rights groups say he must do more to protect religious and ethnic minorities, especially the Rohingya who are denied citizenship and heavily persecuted.

Shan MP calls for truce around Kunhing and aid deliveries to IDPs Posted: 14 Oct 2013 03:36 AM PDT Nang Wah Nu, a lower house MP representing the Shan Nationalities Democratic Party (SNDP), has called on the government's Union Peace-making Work Committee, the Myanmar Peace Centre and the Shan State Army- South (SSA-S) to work together to stop the fighting around Kunhing in south-central Shan state and to provide humanitarian relief to IDPs in the area. The Shan MP sent letters urging a truce following a series of clashes between the SSA-S and government forces over the weekend when residents of Peinnay, Weinphe and other nearby villages were forced to flee their homes. "A clash broke out west of Peinnay at around 10am on 12 October and was still continuing the following morning," she said. "Many locals were forced to flee their homes. Some of them went into hiding in the jungle while others took shelter in the nearby towns of Kunhing and Kali." Related Stories Shans fear repatriation to Burma Social media fuels police crackdown on Shan migrants in Thailand Shan rebels slam military claims over recent clashes Nang Wah Nu said a unit of about 100 soldiers from the Burmese army launched an attack on an SSA-S outpost in Lonwine on 30 September, then another attack on a drug rehabilitation centre on 10 October, followed by an attack north of Peinnay on 11 October. Many IDPs are currently being sheltered at Buddhist monasteries in Kunhing and Kali. Nang Wah Nu said their numbers were still being counted. Despite signing state and union-level ceasefire agreements with the government last year, the SSA-S say that they have clashed with the Burmese army at least 130 times since then.

Bomb blast at Rangoon market injures two youngsters Posted: 14 Oct 2013 12:58 AM PDT Two teenagers were slightly injured when a bomb exploded in front of a market in Rangoon's Tharkayta township on Sunday at 5:45pm. Army Col. Tin Win, the minister of Rangoon division border affairs, told reporters that the two youngsters were injured when a homemade bomb, apparently made with TNT compound, went off when they picked it up and threw it on the ground. "It was a homemade bomb consisting of a detonator, TNT, a battery and a clock. When the kids found it, they picked it up and threw it back onto the ground, causing the TNT and the clock components to fall off, but the battery somehow managed to charge the detonator which then exploded," he said. "The youngsters were shocked but sustained only superficial wounds," he added. The Tharkayta incident was the second bomb blast to jolt Rangoon on Sunday; at just after midnight a first bomb exploded at Sawbwagyigon bus terminal in Insein township. No one was injured, however police also reported finding an unexploded device at the scene. Tin Win said the police were investigating whether the two cases were linked. "We are working with experts to find out if the two cases are linked – we need to find out whether the types of explosives and clocks used in the devices were the same," he said, adding that it was difficult to say whether the incidents in Rangoon were also connected with a bombing that took place on Friday in Taungoo, central Burma, killing two; and an unexploded bomb found on a passenger bus in nearby Pyu a few days earlier. Related Stories Two dead, 1 injured in Taungoo explosion Police question two suspects in connection with explosion in Mandalay Monks protest Bodhgaya blasts "It's hard to say at the moment who is behind the attacks and whether or not the incidents are connected," he said. Tin Win said he will beef up security in Rangoon and urged the public to cooperate with the security forces. "We are going to increase security with checkpoints and inspections. We need the public to cooperate with us and to understand that we are working for their security," he said. "We have told our officers to politely ask questions to members of the public. And in return, we would request that people show tolerance and answer the questions accurately."

What will a nationwide ceasefire really achieve? Posted: 13 Oct 2013 11:02 PM PDT The term "Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement" attracted widespread public attention after government chief peace negotiator Aung Min announced in June President Thein Sein's intention for such an agreement to be signed in Naypyidaw by the Burmese government and all ethnic armed groups. It is no surprise then that it became the buzzword for the Burmese government's Union Peace-making Work Committee led by Aung Min when it met with the KIO delegation led by Sumlut Gam and Gen Gun Maw at their latest round of meetings in Kachin state capital Myitkyina beginning 8 October. A seven-point agreement was signed after three days of open- and closed-door meetings. Despite the fact that delegations from both sides said an inclusive political dialogue is necessary for the country and will be held soon, it is apparent that there still remains a different priority and level of importance between the KIO and the Burmese government for a nationwide ceasefire agreement and political dialogue. Related Stories Kachin rebels and govt reach preliminary peace deal Peace talks commence in Myitkyina Art knows no borders‬‬‬ The KIO has once again insisted on an inclusive political dialogue to settle decades-old political issues with genuine political will from both government and ethnic nationalities. Another consistent demand from the KIO side has been a specific timeframe for political dialogue to protect itself from the familiar strategy of stagnation in Burma politics. On the other hand, the EU-funded Myanmar Peace Center (MPC), backed by the Burmese government, issued a short opening statement that emphasises a nationwide ceasefire agreement immediately after the agreement signed between the KIO and Burmese government delegations. The preamble of the KIO-Burmese government agreement can be directly translated as: "In order to ensure the emergence of the political agreements that guarantee lasting and sustainable peace, the two sides agreed on the following points." Only one point in the agreement mentions the term "nationwide ceasefire agreement". The agreed text on that point says, "In order to begin political dialogue, the KIO is invited to participate in a nationwide ceasefire agreement." Vijay Nambiar, Special Adviser to the UN Secretary-General, said in a statement: "This latest round of dialogue achieved significant progress on important issues such as the establishment of a joint monitoring committee, assistance and resettlement of IDPs, the opening of additional roads and highways, and consultations with the local communities as key components of the peace process. Most importantly, the parties committed themselves to further de-escalation of violence and to moving the peace process forward speedily towards a Nationwide Ceasefire Accord." While many Kachin observers view the latest agreements as taking necessary steps towards beginning a national dialogue, they, like many other ethnic leaders and observers, ask why such a Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement signing ceremony is necessary when nothing has really changed on the ground. Some observers are wary of the government's offer of a nationwide ceasefire agreement and see it as a ceasefire just for the sake of a ceasefire, and as another of the government's containment strategies. They see the government's proposed step for signing a nationwide ceasefire accord as a self-imposed barrier to reach the next stage in the political dialogue and to take political advantage out of the signing ceremony. An outcome of the meetings is a mutually agreed upon ethnic armed groups' conference mainly focusing on the nationwide ceasefire accord to be held at the end of October in Laiza. Asked to comment on the KIO-Burmese government agreement, Bertil Lintner, a veteran writer and journalist who has written extensively about Kachin and other ethnic nationalities, said, "It is hard to see this as progress… just more of the same. And I do not believe that the government [Aung Min and the MPC] have any mandate to negotiate anything but a ceasefire deal – and to offer business concessions to the ethnic groups." Local residents are hopeful that current meetings and agreements between the government and KIO will bring about lasting peace. One Kachin IDP in a KIO-controlled area said he expects a lasting solution this time. "We are going through the biggest civil war in Kachin history. The number of displaced persons is the highest since our struggle began 1961. They are still living in poor conditions in crowded camps. This is the darkest time for us. After long dark nights, we want to see daylight come," said the IDP. Lahpai Seng Raw, who was recently awarded the 2013 Magsaysay Award for humanitarian work in Burma, said, "The situation is still very fluid – many important issues remain. This time these issues have to be faced up to and addressed." She added: "In 1947, being independent from the British was the overriding consideration for ethnic nationalities with the hope that they could settle the different matters among themselves after independence. Now, whether or not to participate in a nationwide ceasefire agreement is not that important. The crucial steps are to set specific commitments for an inclusive political dialogue and a specific timeframe. Legitimisation of any agreement coming out of the political dialogue is crucial. Because of our troubled past, it is difficult to have naïve optimism now. The process has just begun, and it is a long way to go, but this time political grievances have to be faced up to and addressed. It is important for all citizens to be involved in this process. The role and participation of civil societies are necessary." A more effective means to enforce the agreements is essentially to de-escalate tensions and cease hostilities. As the KIO demanded earlier, international involvement in monitoring mechanisms is vital to further de-escalate fighting and move towards an inclusive political dialogue without any preconditions. Strengthening enforcement is crucial to the success of the current agreements so that both sides uphold all the terms and conditions of the seven-point accord in order to move towards the next stage, whether it be signing a nationwide ceasefire or beginning a free and fair political dialogue.   Brang Hkangda is an editor of Kachinland News’s English Website.

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