Democratic Voice of Burma

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• 97 Burmese workers in hiding after Borneo shipyard brawl
• Feel like it’s all going downhill?
• Burma to chair 280 ASEAN meetings in 2014
• ADB pledges HIV/AIDS support for remote villages in eastern Burma
• Kaladan project scheduled for mid-2014 completion
• Incumbent MPs reluctant to see Mon parties merge

97 Burmese workers in hiding after Borneo shipyard brawl Posted: 26 Dec 2013 04:27 AM PST Ninety-seven Burmese workers are hiding in a warehouse at the Shin Yang Shipyard in the port town on Miri in Malaysian Borneo, fearing for their safety after a personal fight between two Burmese and some Indonesian co-workers almost turned into a mass brawl. According to Burmese at the shipyard in Miri, the fracas began on 23 December when two Burmese migrant laborers brawled with fellow workers from Indonesia. After the fight, hundreds of Indonesian workers allegedly gathered and burnt down the dormitory where the Burmese migrants stayed. Speaking to DVB from inside the warehouse on Thursday, migrant worker Tin Oo said that factory officials and security guards had come to coax the Burmese out of the godown. "The shipyard foremen and security guards threatened us but we defied them and will stay here in the meantime," said Tin Oo, noting that the facility had sparse rations of food and that the 97 had to sleep on newspapers. Related Stories Most Burmese migrants want to go home, says IOM Thai authorities implicated in Rohingya smuggling operation Burmese embassy warns migrants to avoid Bangkok protests Soe Win, the labor attaché at the Burmese Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, said his office had called the agency that had sent the workers to Sabah-Sarawak and was planning to call for riot police to intervene. "We are in contact with authorities from Malaysia including those on Sabah- Sarawak," he said. Some 300, 000 Burmese are officially working in Malaysia at the present time, with another 40,000 thought to be living and working there illegally.

Feel like it’s all going downhill? Posted: 26 Dec 2013 04:06 AM PST One hundred and twelve bicycle enthusiasts took part in the "Mandalay Hill Bike Challenge 2" on 25 December. The competition included a number of different biking events. The starting point for the long distance cross-country race was in downtown Mandalay with the finishing line at the watchtower by Mandalay Mountain. Bicycle association Mandalay Free Rider (MFR) organized the event. "The cross-country race is divided into two classes: under 40s, and over-40s," said Aung Win Tun from MFR. This year's competition is the second time it has been held, and for the occasion the 27 cyclists competing in the downhill event had to cover double the distance. "The downhill competition has increased from 800 meters to 1,600," said Aung Win Tun. "The trustee of Mandalay Hill allowed us to use the whole mountain, so the route is now longer and in accordance with international standards." Related Stories Women footballers suffer heartbreak but restore Burmese pride The Burmese stunt king Renowned 'Moustache Brother' Par Par Lay passes away The winner of the downhill race was Aung Naing Tun who beat the former record of 4 minutes, with a time of 3 minutes, 12 seconds. For his death-defying effort, he was awarded a prize of 150 US dollars.

Burma to chair 280 ASEAN meetings in 2014 Posted: 26 Dec 2013 03:22 AM PST During the 365 days that it assumes the chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Burma is scheduled to host 280 bloc meetings, including two major summits, according to the press department of the Ministry of Information. Highlights on the calendar for 2014 are the 24th and 25th ASEAN summits which will be held in Burma in May and October respectively. But the country will baptize its chair by hosting a meeting of ASEAN's foreign ministers on 15- 18 January in the ancient city of Bagan, the first of two foreign ministers' meetings, the second one being in August. Speaking to DVB on Wednesday, Tin Htut Oo, advisor to President Thein Sein, said, "We have a huge responsibility in holding these ASEAN summits. We need all our experienced officials to cooperate responsibly." Related Stories Thein Sein arrives in Manila for trade talks with Aquino Thein Sein assumes the ASEAN helm China's Li cherishes 'fraternal friendship' with Burma Burma is scheduled to host 36 meetings in January, 11 meetings in February, 80 meetings in March, 20 in April, 13 in May, 12 in June, 26 in July, 27 in August, 11 in September, 17 in October and 25 in December, the press department said. Burma officially assumes the chair from Brunei on 1 January. Recently, BMW Asia announced a sponsorship deal whereby it will provide BMWs to chauffeur the various ASEAN leaders and delegates to the main summits in May and November.

ADB pledges HIV/AIDS support for remote villages in eastern Burma Posted: 26 Dec 2013 02:08 AM PST The Asian Development Bank (ADB) aims to provide a significant link between governmental and non-governmental organisations and the grassroots communities they seek to help in providing HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment services, according to state media. Using a US$10 million grant from the Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction, the project seeks to target remote, vulnerable and hard-to-reach populations. "As Myanmar continues implementing social and political reforms, it must protect its people from inadvertent exposure to communicable diseases like HIV, tuberculosis, malaria," said Gerard Servais, a health specialist with ADB's Southeast Asia department, noting that "it's time to expand and strengthen" services to reach more people. Burma has an estimated 240,000 people living with HIV/ AIDS, but a 2012 survey by the National AIDS Program showed that just 40,000 were receiving anti-retroviral drugs, presenting a "significant treatment gap". Related Stories Suu Kyi told to put her feet up Living in serenity is best medicine, says Suu Kyi IMF chief pledges support for Burma's banking sector According to a report in The New Light of Myanmar on Wednesday, the ADB-sponsored project aims to deliver better services in 739 villages in five townships in Mon, Karen and Shan states in eastern Burma by 2017. "It is projected that by 2017, [those] communities will see strengthened health systems that can plan for and manage responses to HIV/AIDs and STIs, with the number of trained health service providers increasing by 30 percent, the number of patient consultations increasing by 80 percent, and behavior change campaigns [introduced] to help reduce exposure to HIV, STIs, tuberculosis and malaria," the report said. Speaking to DVB on Wednesday, Aye Mya Thida, the secretary of a HIV hotline initiative group, said she welcomes the support but warned that small grassroots communities could miss out. "The organizations which have MoUs with the Minister of Health can receive funds. But in some parts of Mon state, for example, several civil society organisations which are strong in the area do not have official MoUs," she said.

Kaladan project scheduled for mid-2014 completion Posted: 26 Dec 2013 12:38 AM PST The Kaladan Multi-Modal Transit Transport Project, jointly implemented byBurma and India, is expected to be completed by mid-2014, various media reports said on Thursday. The project is an Indian government initiative to connect Kolkata with Sittwe port in Burma by sea, then to Sittwe and Mizoram via river and road. The aim is to provide India with trade and transport links to its northeastern states, which are otherwise inaccessible overland via India's rugged mountainous region. According to the contractor Essar Company, the first of the three-phase project has been 70 percent completed, reported Xinhua. The first phase includes construction of Sittwe Deep Seaport and Paletwa Jetty in Chin state, dredging the Kaladan waterway and the construction of six vessels. The second phase covers construction of a 109 km-long road to link Paletwa with the Burma-India border region, and the third phase involves construction of a highway between India’s Mizoram state and Chin state. The completion of a waterway and highway crossing Burma’s Arakan and Chin states would help support better transport and trade between the regional countries, the report said. Burma and India signed the US$214 million contract in 2008. Related Stories Foreign businessmen go homeless in Rangoon Business Weekly Business weekly

Incumbent MPs reluctant to see Mon parties merge Posted: 25 Dec 2013 11:20 PM PST Several incumbent Mon MPs appear reluctant to see the unification of the region's two main political parties, claims the secretary of the Mon Democracy Party (MDP) which has tentatively reached an agreement to merge with the All Mon Region Democracy Party (AMRDP), as reported last month by DVB. Following a meeting between representatives of the two Mon parties in state capital Moulmein on Sunday, an agreement was made that the name of the new coalition party would be the Mon National Party (MNP) and that further discussions would take place in January to discuss the framework of the alliance and its registration as an official party. But according to MDP secretary Min Soe Lin, the merger has been met with resistance, mostly from incumbent MPs, several of whom represent the AMRDP. "Some politicians support the merger, some are indifferent, and some oppose the alliance," he told DVB. "Most of the Buddhist monks support the merger, but incumbent MPs, including the state minister, are resisting the change." Related Stories 'Third Force' political parties form alliance Shan parties consider merger proposal Ethnic Mon parties plan merger Another meeting has been scheduled for 15 January when policies will be discussed and, ideally, 15 representatives will be chosen as leaders of the new alliance, said Min Soe Lin, adding that the MDP will gladly fold in favour of the alliance. However, some members of the AMRDP say they are not ready for such a merger, and it remains in doubt whether that party will do likewise, he said. AMRDP's co-general-secretary Nai San Tin said the party will make a decision after a Centre Executive Committee meeting next week. "If we agree to such an alliance we will announce it at a press conference," he said. The parties first began merger talks in early 2012. The MDP first formed in 1988 under the name Mon National Democracy Party (MNDP), which was officially abolished by the military junta after it won seats in the May 1990 general election. Following the ban, many MNDP party officials, including Min Seo Lin, a medical doctor, were imprisoned. The party was later allowed to re-register using the current name in preparation for the April 2012 round of by-elections. But although the MNDP participated, it failed to win any seats. The AMRDP was established during the run-up to the November 2010 general elections, at which it won 16 seats in the Mon state parliament.

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