Democratic Voice of Burma

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• Crony culture stands in our way, say Burmese youths
• Five dead in Sandoway riots as uneasy calm restored
• Peace process will lead to national reconciliation, says Thein Sein
• Burma remains ‘strongly committed’ to Dawei, says Thai minister

Crony culture stands in our way, say Burmese youths Posted: 02 Oct 2013 04:44 AM PDT DVB Debate this week discussed the obstacles that stand in the way of the next generation's path to success. Speaking on the panel at Pansodan studio in Rangoon were: youth writer Linn Thaik Nyunt; youth platform leader for the Myanmar Women Entrepreneurs' Association, Thinn Thinn Sett; and founder of Mingalar Myanmar, Dr. Phone Win. Dr Phone Win suggested that to be successful, it is not enough to have skills, you also need to have close ties with the government. "If you find someone who is rich and not a crony, point them out to me," he said. "If you don't have the government in your pocket, there will be no water from the faucet." “You need to let the youth have a role, let them speak” Cartoon: DVB Debate Writer Linn Thaik Nyunt said the conditions in Burma meant it would take a long time for Burma's future entrepreneurs to make it. He mentioned that Microsoft billionaire Bill Gates and former CEO of Apple, Steve Jobs, both dropped out of school but still became highly successful. "In Burma, if you drop out in second year, you will become a beggar," said Linn Thaik Nyunt. But Thin Thin Sett claimed young people needed to take an active role in pursuing opportunities. "Sometimes opportunities come to you and sometimes you have to go grab them yourself. I do not agree with young people if they are just going to wait for the opportunities to come to them," said Thin Thin Sett. One of the main arguments in the debate was the issue of cronyism. Panelists said corruption was a big problem in Burma and was the reason why so many of the country's brightest did not become successful. "Cronies exist because of corruption. If young people continue to do things the way cronies do, corruption will never cease," said studio guest and National Democratic Force party member, Aung Ko Ko. Salai Samuel from the Chin Youth Forum agreed and claimed only one in ten people are successful without having ties to cronies. "I agree with the fact that we can only be successful if have ties with persons in power," he said. Related Stories DVB Debate: Is now the time for education reform? DVB Debate: Should women lead? DVB Debate: Is social media taking over? The studio generally concurred that the younger generation would have a better chance of being successful when corruption was tackled. They also agreed that young people needed to work harder but said there needed to be societal systems in place that allowed young people to pursue opportunities. Next week on DVB Debate: To what extent is Burma ready for refugees to return home? 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 www.dvb.no

Five dead in Sandoway riots as uneasy calm restored Posted: 02 Oct 2013 04:32 AM PDT At least five people have been killed and dozens of homes burned to the ground in Arakan state's Sandoway township where authorities on Wednesday claimed to have contained the latest bout of Muslim-Buddhist violence to hit Burma. Sandoway township governor Kyaw Soe Linn told DVB that five people were killed as several mobs comprising hundreds of people descended on local villages on Tuesday, setting fire to homes and shops. A local village headman told DVB that 43 Kaman Muslim houses across three villages in Thabyuchaing [Thabyuchaung] were torched, along with 12 Arakanese homes, a Muslim school and a local imam's house. The Sandoway district police commander added that at least 28 houses in the Muslim village Pauktaw had been destroyed, while two mosques in Kyaukgyi and Kyigan Ye were also torched. But Kyaw Soe Linn insisted that calm had now been restored and authorities were working to assist victims. "[Authorities] have begun work this morning to provide shelter and relief for those affected by the violence,” he said on Wednesday. A relief camp has been set up in Pauktaw village. Sittwe-based Arakan state spokesperson Win Myiang said he only knew of one death, a 94-year old Muslim woman who was reportedly stabbed to death in Thabyuchaing on Tuesday. He added that at least 59 houses – from both Muslim and Buddhist families – had been destroyed. Sandoway police commander could only confirm the Muslim woman's death, adding that many others, including Buddhists, had been hurt. "In Linthi village, Muslims with swords and stones attacked people on motorbikes, injuring four. And in Thabyuchaing, a [94-year-old] woman named Daw Aye Kyi was confirmed dead." The deaths follow two days of unrest in the township, which was reportedly sparked by a Buddhist trishaw driver telling police that he had been verbally abused by a Muslim shop owner in Thabyuchaing village tract. The shop owner was later hunted down by an angry mob. "We don't know what happened – the mob came around his house in the evening and set it on fire," said Win Myiang. According to a local witness, three rioters were injured when security forces shot them with rubber bullets. They were then taken to a local police station and detained. "However, later in the day, the mob descended on the police station and demanded their release. Soon after, the riots started again," said the witness. Burma has been gripped by waves of religious violence since June last year when Buddhists first clashed in northern Arakan state with Rohingya Muslims, who are denied citizenship and heavily persecuted. Unrest later spread to different parts of the country, including Mandalay and the commercial capital Rangoon, casting a heavy shadow over the country's reform process. Related Stories Rioters run rampage in Sandoway: 70 homes burnt down Tension high in Sandoway after two Muslim homes razed Living in Limbo The violence, which has increasingly targeted Burma's minority Muslim community, has been linked to the rise of an extremist ultra-nationalist Buddhist movement known as "969" which calls on its followers to boycott Muslim businesses. Advocates of 969 say that Muslims are trying to "Islamise" the Buddhist-majority country and have sought to introduce a ban on Buddhist women marrying Muslim men. According to a report in Reuters, 969 supporters had been active in Sandoway, officially known as Thandwe, over the past month, including gathering outside the town hall to play nationalist songs. This week's riots coincide with a pre-scheduled visit by President Thein Sein, who arrived in Sandoway on Wednesday afternoon. On Tuesday, he travelled by helicopter from Sittwe to Mrauk-U, Kyauktaw and the Rohingya-majority Maungdaw township near the Bangladeshi border, accompanied by senior officials and military representatives. Thein Sein has come under fire for a perceived failure to tackle the root sources behind the religious clashes in Burma, which have displaced over 140,000 people and claimed over 200 lives. In June, he defended 969 as a peaceful movement and described its main advocate and notorious Islamophobic monk Wirathu as a "son of Buddha". Four major Muslim groups published an open letter to Thein Sein on Tuesday, calling on him to take swift action to protect religious minorities. Both UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and the US embassy in Rangoon have issued statements condemning the unrest and urged ethnic reconciliation. In a report published on Tuesday, the International Crisis Group (ICG) warned that religious violence could derail Burma's fragile transition from military dictatorship to nominal democracy. “At a moment of historic reform and opening, Myanmar [Burma] cannot afford to become hostage to intolerance and bigotry,” said Jim Della-Giacoma, ICG's Asia programme director. -Additional reporting by Ye Thu.

Peace process will lead to national reconciliation, says Thein Sein Posted: 02 Oct 2013 01:19 AM PDT In his monthly radio address to the nation on 1 October, Burma's President Thein Sein emphasised the current round of peace talks with ethnic groups, saying that the peace process was related to a long-term plan aimed at realizing national reconciliation. Thein Sein's monthly speech was aired on national radio on Tuesday morning around the same time as the president was flying to Sittwe en route to inspect destruction in Sandoway where some 70 houses had been torched the day before in the latest bout of communal violence to rack the country. As security was beefed up around Sandoway district, the president's visit was cancelled and he returned to the capital. In his speech on Tuesday, which was also published in state media, President Thein Sein focused mainly on the ongoing peace process. He said that the process is delicate and that all successive governments have tried but not succeeded in achieving national reconciliation. "Although there are some setbacks, the current state of the peace process unambiguously shows that the achievements outweigh the setbacks," he said. "We should also congratulate our dialogue partners including leaders of all ethnic groups, the Tatmadaw [Burmese army] and ethnic armed groups for the achievements we have attained thus far. "However the present government has analysed the political reality of today, and realised that they have to solve the root problem to achieve a lasting peace between the different ethnic groups," he said. A preliminary round of talks between the government and KIO will recommence this week, as reported on Tuesday by DVB. Related Stories If not now, then when? The need for a nationwide ceasefire President Thein Sein meets 88 Generation leaders Thein Sein hosts Suu Kyi for talks The president also touched upon the issue of media freedom in Burma. "The media in our country enjoys more freedom than its counterparts in other Southeast Asian countries," he stated, before calling for responsibility on the part of the media industry itself. "I would like to urge the media profession to enforce media ethics, avoid covering unfounded rumors and stop making personal attacks at a time the country is sowing the seeds of media freedom," he said. "At a time when the entire country is engaging in historic state-building process, we all must work together to prevent such unethical personal attacks that rise to the level of abuse of recently acquired media freedoms." But Zaw Thet Htwe, editor and Press Council member, dis agreed. "Burma's media freedom is still ranking lower than Southeast Asian countries such as Thailand, Cambodia or Philippines and we can see neither the government nor the parliament is willingly cooperating for the media freedom," he told DVB. "So I disagree with the president saying Burma enjoys more media freedom than other Southeast Asian countries." Thein Sein concluded by expressing hope that his speech will clear all doubts people might have about the peace process, and said that he sincerely believes that if people come together in their will for peace, it will be achieved.

Burma remains ‘strongly committed’ to Dawei, says Thai minister Posted: 01 Oct 2013 11:25 PM PDT The stagnant Dawei deep-sea port and industrial project took a small step forward after Burma agreed to secure loans from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to invest in significant infrastructure development. Deputy Prime Minister and Commerce Minister Niwatthamrong Bunsongphaisan said on 1 October at the recent tripartite meeting with Thailand and Japan that Burma remains strongly committed to Dawei, saying that the project will play a significant role in the nation’s future economic development. Thailand, Burma and Japan held a meeting in Yangon last Friday to discuss ways to get the Dawei deep sea port and industrial project off the ground. It was the first tripartite meeting with Japan attending as a potential third partner in the Dawei development project. In previous meetings of the joint high-ranking committee involving Thailand and Burma, Japan participated only in the capacity of an observer. The neighbouring Southeast Asian nations have high hopes that Japan will eventually agree to hold a stake in Dawei SEZ Development Co (DSEZ), a special-purpose vehicle set up to manage Dawei’s port and special economic zone. “As a representative of the Thai government, I also assured at the meeting that Thailand is ready to support the project’s development as well as the plans to attract both Thai and foreign investors to the project,” said Mr Niwatthamrong. The minister added that Burma had also accepted Japan’s proposal to take a lead in investing in important infrastructure projects such as the port and roads. Related Stories Thai, Burmese govts fail to persuade Japan to invest in Dawei SEZ Thailand, Burma aim to speed up Dawei development Thein Sein courts wary investors on ambitious port project While it has expressed an interest in investing in the Dawei project, Japan asked for time before making any decision to jointly invest in DSEZ. In June, Thailand and Burma agreed to set up DSEZ with an equal shareholding and an initial investment of 12 million baht (US$400,000), far below the 100 million baht ($3.33m) projected earlier. The company will be registered in Thailand. Thailand and Burma also agreed to set up special-purpose companies (SPCs) to manage projects including the port, road and rail links, power plants, water facilities, industrial estates, a telecommunications network and the township. SPCs will be registered in Burma. According to Mr Niwatthamrong, other countries such as South Korea and China have also shown an interest in investing in the project. He noted, however, that the final decision to choose the third stakeholder in DSEZ will rest with Burma’s government, as Dawei is located in Burma. Thailand is scheduled to organise the second tripartite meeting in November, with an agreement between the Burmese government and DSEZ due to be signed.

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