Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Democratic Voice of Burma

Democratic Voice of Burma

Will Burma achieve peace in 2013?

Posted: 30 Oct 2013 05:54 AM PDT

DVB's latest debate comes in the wake of a series of deadly bomb attacks in Burma, which have been blamed on rogue elements within the Karen National Union.

But despite the timing, the panelists dismissed any connection with the continuing peace talks, and the chairman of Shan Nationalities League for Democracy, Khun Htun Oo, said he was confident the bombs were unrelated to the peace process.

The Myanmar Peace Centre was optimistic that they will reach a ceasefire agreement by next month.

"The essence of the nationwide ceasefire is not just about reaching the ceasefire but more than that, to open door for political dialogue," said the general director of the government-backed Myanmar Peace Centre, Min Zaw Oo.

Cartoon by DVB Debate

Cartoon by DVB Debate

Khun Htun Oo disagreed and claimed that the government was urging ethnic armies to sign a ceasefire first and talk later.

"What the ethnic people wish for is a political dialogue and only after, sign the agreement," he said. "But at the moment, we are being told to sign the agreement first and negotiate afterwards."

A heated argument followed as Khun Htun Oo questioned how the ethnic groups were meant to trust the government when clashes were still erupting, even after peace deals were signed.

"What if everyone signs the agreement and then gunfire breaks out again?" said Khun Htun Oo. "A shot fired means the end of the agreement."

But Min Zaw Oo said the fighting would continue.

"Don't expect the gunfire will absolutely end just because the ceasefire agreement is signed," he said.

Much of the debate centred on Khun Htun Oo's argument that there would be no point in signing a blanket nationwide ceasefire without seeking political solutions.

Another point in the debate was the financial situation of rebel soldiers.

Khun Htun Oo said the Myanmar Peace Centre has no budget to spend on ethnic soldiers after the ceasefire. He insisted that if the soldiers do not get any financial support, they will turn to the opium trade.

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In the past ceasefires have been signed based on an agreement that ethnic groups can profit from natural resource deals, but Khun Htun Oo said this time it would not be so simple and the government must support them.

Next on DVB Debate, how will Burma solve its traffic problem?

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

Multi-ethnic conference begins in Kachin rebel HQ

Posted: 30 Oct 2013 05:45 AM PDT

A multi-ethnic conference kicked off on Wednesday in the Kachin rebel headquarters Laiza, where representatives from Burma's ethnic rebel groups are gathering to discuss a government proposed nationwide ceasefire.

The three-day Ethnic Armed Organisations Conference aims to hash out a mutual agreement between rebel groups on how to approach government plans for a nationwide ceasefire in November.

Attendees, who include members of the leading ethnic umbrella group, the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC), as well as the Shan State Army – South (SSA-S) and other smaller groups, will all get the opportunity to voice their views.

The UNFC is also due to give a presentation on an agreement reached among their membership, while the Karen National Union and the SSA-S's political wing the Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS) will debrief the conference on their discussions with the government.

"The objective of holding this conference is to lay out the initial procedures to facilitate political dialogues and we are hopeful that we can work out mutual agreements by gathering and discussing the opinions of all ethnic nationalities, Lanyaw Zawng Hra, chairman of the Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO), told DVB on Wednesday.

"As each of the resistant groups already have so much experience and have constantly been hearing opinions from relevant ethnic populations, we believe that the right decisions will be made."

Mutu Say Poe, chairman of the KNU, said that his group is standing by the principle that the country's political problems should be resolved through political means and that it can be achieved by building unity among ethnic groups.

"In order to implement unity, all ethnic groups should be given an equal role and I believe that we will be able to reach our goals through comprehensive discussions," he said.

The KIO's general and the current chairman of the UNFC, N'Ban La, said: "In the past, we've experienced a false 'union' and it would be impossible for us to go through that again – we need a genuine federal union based on the principles of equality and fairness."

"We would like to urge to all, including the members of the Tatmadaw [Burma's armed forces] to work together to build a unified federal union."

President Thein Sein, who has been credited with inking peace deals with 10 out of 11 major armed groups in Burma, also delivered a message to the conference.

"I believe that the decisions, agreements and frameworks resolved in the conference will facilitate the nationwide ceasefire agreement, laying framework for the political dialogue and peace building through the political dialogue to restore peace in the Republic of the Union of Myanmar," he said.

The KIO, who is hosting the meeting, is the only group that has yet to reach a formal peace deal with the government and clashes continue to rattle southern Kachin state. At a meeting in Myitkyina earlier this month, government and rebel negotiators reached a fresh peace deal that aimed to reduce fighting but stopped short of a full ceasefire.

The Kachins, who have repeatedly pushed for political dialogue as the cornerstone of any agreement, said they must first consult other ethnic groups before deciding weather to join the proposed nationwide ceasefire planned for November.

Burma's largest armed ethnic group, The United Wa State Army, as well as the Kokang Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army and the Mong La-based National Democratic Alliance Army-Eastern Shan State, are not attending the conference. Some reports suggest the Wa backed out following pressure from China.

Shan civilians accuse Kachin rebels of human rights abuses

Posted: 30 Oct 2013 03:57 AM PDT

A Shan civil society group is planning to conduct a region-wide survey to expose human rights violations they say Kachin rebels have committed against ethnic Shans during the civil conflict in northern Burma.

The Shan Ethnic Affairs Organisation (SEAO), which represents Shan communities in Kachin, told DVB the group plans to survey 800 villages to uncover abuses against the Red Shan ethnic group, a minority living in the region.

Locals say that both Kachin rebels and government forces, who have clashed in the northern state for over two years, have carried out mass atrocities against the Shan minority including extortion, forced recruitment, rape and torture.

"The KIA [Kachin Independence Army] has abducted Shan villagers they come across [for forced recruitment] – sometimes taking almost entire villages," said Sai Tin Myint, an executive member of SEAO.

"They punished and executed those who tried to defect, especially in the past when there was no government process to accept [rebel] deserters," he said referring to a new scheme offering protection to former rebel fighters.

In the past, most rebel defectors would have been forced to return to their home villages, where they could easily be identified and re-captured.

"In the last year, a 15-year-old teenager was abducted by the KIA and his parents are still unable to learn his whereabouts today," said Sai Tin Myint.

He added that Red Shans, the name for ethnic Shans living in Kachin state, have been subjected to serious violations for the past 50 years. But they have not been able to speak out until Burma embarked on its democratic reform programme under President Thein Sein's government.

"We aim to accurately expose human rights violations committed by any armed group in the region against our population," said Sai Tin Myint.

"The Shan people in the region have been subjected to arrest, extortion and rape by armed groups operating in the region but we have never been able to complain – when we reached out to the KIO [Kachin Independence Organisation], the Burmese army would punish us for making contact with the rebels."

It follows numerous media reports of Shan civilians being forced to work as porters or fighters for the KIA, although the rebels have repeatedly denied the allegations.

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Sai Tin Myint said the completed survey will be submitted to the International Human Rights Commission, adding that they have already compiled over 100 case studies from Myitkyina, Mohnyin, Mogaung, Hpakant, Bhamo and Mansi townships. But he said it has been difficult to verify evidence and many witnesses are too afraid to come forward for fear of retribution by armed groups, so it is not clear when the research will be completed.

In March 2012, a major report by Human Rights Watch implicated the Burmese army in mass abuses against civilians in Kachin state, while the KIA was accused of using child soldiers and anti-personnel land mines. But to date no comprehensive study has been carried out implicating rebels in mass atrocities on the scale described by SEAO.

The group met with the UN Special Rapporteur for human rights in Burma, Tomás Quintana, in August last year and US ambassador Derek Mitchell in October, to discuss their concerns.

Ethnic Shans are estimated to make up around a quarter of the population, or around 300,000 people, in Kachin state. The Kachin conflict has forcing some 100,000 civilians, including many ethnic Shans, from their homes.

Parliament to review govt spending on security for mining projects

Posted: 30 Oct 2013 12:24 AM PDT

Burma's parliament is planning to review government spending on the deployment of army battalions to provide security for state-owned mining projects across the country, which is estimated to cost millions of kyat each year.

The upper house's Mines and Natural Resources Committee has criticised the government for spending money allocated to the Ministry of Mines on military expenditures – a practice that dates back to the junta era.

The committee's secretary, Hla Swe, told DVB that millions of kyat have been spent annually on the deployment of 16 army battalions to protect natural resource projects owned by six government ministries, including the Ministry of Mining, since former junta leader Ne Win's rule.

"Ideally, the spending for security on extractive projects should be under the defence budget, but it has been designated to the ministries running the projects," said Hla Swe. "We are going to suggest that it should be allocated to the defence budget."

Hla Swe explained that the Ministry of Mining is currently paying for six army battalions deployed to Kachin state's Hpakant jade mining region and a ruby mine in southern Shan state's Mongshu, although he refused to disclose the amount spent.

Burma's armed forces are already allocated over 20 percent or one fifth of the annual budget, compared to 4.4 percent on education and 3.7 percent on healthcare.

Militarisation near natural resource projects has been linked to an increase in fighting with ethnic minority rebels across the country, including the resource-rich Kachin state where conflict has raged for over two years. Last year, government troops pushed the Kachin Independence Army out of the Hpakant region as part of their northward offensive against the rebels.

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On Monday, a report by Burma News International warned that natural resource investments in ethnic minority regions were likely to obstruct the peace process.

"Business concessions in ceasefire talks are also seen by some to be a ploy by the government to turn ethnic leaders into "mini-cronies" while also performing a public relations stunt to attract more foreign investors," said the report.

The quasi-civilian government led by President Thein Sein has pledged to improve transparency and good governance in the country's natural resource sector. But it is unclear whether he will be able to reform the notoriously secretive armed forces, which is known to have significant financial interests in Burma's lucrative natural resource industries.

Billions of dollars are estimated to have gone missing from state coffers over decades of military rule. The military also enjoys the benefits of a Special Funds Law, announced in March 2011, which allows the army chief to channel unlimited finance to the military without parliamentary consent.
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