Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Democratic Voice of Burma

Democratic Voice of Burma

Burma’s uphill struggle against escalating drug use

Posted: 03 Dec 2013 02:14 AM PST

Northern Burma's poppy fields are the world's second main source of heroin next to Afghanistan.

Although little reliable data exists, residents and aid workers claim an increasing number of young Burmese are becoming drug addicts.

The drug of choice is known as "formula" – a cocktail of cough medicine and opium that is taken as a drink. Straight heroin is also widely smoked and injected.

In Kachin state, 23-year-old Sang Naw uses heroin; he shoots up twice a day.

"Some of my friends were using it so I wanted to give it a try," he said. "The first time, my friend gave me too much and it nearly killed me."

He said his mother sent him to Rangoon for three months to get clean. However once back in Kachin state, he started using again.

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"If I go to the rehabilitation centre, I can quit for a month or two, but when I come back and see my friends I start using again because it's easy to buy."

Brang Nu is the pastor of a Baptist church in a village close to the Myitsone dam. The Chinese-backed project was suspended by President Thein Sein after a public outcry.

Pastor Brang Nu blames the workers at the dam for bringing drugs to the area.

"When the project started, many gold diggers came here. That's when the drug business started. Now everyone – young and old – is using drugs," he said.

There are no official figures on how many drug addicts there are in the country but social workers say the numbers are increasing.

With recent democratic reforms, Burma is now feeling increasing pressure to tackle its drug problem.

Seventy-year-old Kyaw Min founded the Voluntary Social Workers' Association – an organisation that helps drug addicts quit. He set up the group after his brother died in 1999 from an overdose.

"I could not help my brother who was addicted and died," he said. "I don't want this to happen to other people."

He went on to say that it is difficult for drug addicts like Sang Naw to break the cycle.

"Even after years in a rehabilitation camp with vocational training, [the addicts] start using again as soon as they go back into society," he said.

"We have to understand that they are patients who need long-term help."

Kyaw Min said the best thing to do is to try and stop people from starting.

"Prevention is a better cure," he said. "We spread awareness in communities and schools. We know our work is limited but it could have an impact on many people's future."

 

Ooredoo calls on Digicel for telecoms development

Posted: 03 Dec 2013 01:31 AM PST

Yoma Strategic Holdings (YSH) announced that its joint venture, Digicel Asia Holdings (DAH), has agreed to partner with Qatar-based Ooredoo in the development of telecoms towers in Burma.

"We are delighted to play our part in such development and look forward to working closely with the Government, authorities, telecommunications operators and other local companies,” YSH chairman Serge Pun stated in a press release on Monday.

Serge Pun has teamed with Irish telecoms billionaire Denis O'Brien to form DAH. O'Brien's Jamaica-based Digicel, which operates in 31 countries, lost out to Ooredoo and Telenor in Burma's initial round of telecom licencing bids in June 2013, but has found new opportunity in the roll-out process of Burma's communications development.

The two licences awarded in June granted 15-year operating permits and drew over 90 letters of interest internationally. Results of the bidding were highly anticipated and not without controversy.

Burma's Ministry of Communication and Information Technology fielded requests from the lower house of parliament to postpone licensing until a stalled telecoms bill was approved, which eventually happened in late August, two months after bidding had closed.

Just after the government's announcement that the licences would be awarded to Telenor and Ooredoo, members of the radical Buddhist movement 969 decried the decision to award such a coveted license to a Muslim-owned company. The 969 movement's leading advocate, radical Monk Ashin Wirathu, issued public statements calling for a boycott of the company.

The Ministry recently announced a 2 December deadline for bids on 3 Myanma Post and Telecommunications Tower Partnership licences, one now likely to be awarded to the newly formed DAH.

"Rapid site/ tower roll-out and reduced cost per site will be key for these operators," read the Ministry's official call for tenders.

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Last July, following the initial licences and preceding passage of the new telecoms bill, President Thein Sein announced to parliament that he aims to increase mobile phone usage in Burma by 80 percent by 2015.

The most recent government statistics from 2012 estimated that only around 8 percent of Burma's approximately 60 million people had access to mobile phone services, and internet penetration in Burma hovered around one percent, making it one of the least connected countries on earth.

One major inhibitor has always been the price of SIM cards, which until 2010 were ludicrously priced up to US$2,000 under government conditions. A recent cheap SIM lottery offered limited SIM cards to lucky winners at an affordable price of around US$2, many of which end up on the black market with a re-inflated price tag.

While the attempt to fast-track the telecom sector will likely bring SIM prices down in a hurry, much of Burma's poorer and less-connected population has shown concern over the pace of development, as infrastructure necessary for implementation is not yet in place.

Burma Environmental Working Group, a Thailand-based alliance of ethnic organisations from Burma, appealed to Telenor in late September with a public letter reading: "We would like to learn more about how you intend to work in what is currently a highly fraught context." The letter requested a written response from Telenor with answers to ten pointed questions about their development plans.

Telenor has acknowledged receipt of the letter but has not yet issued a response.

As the Ministry prepares to "rapidly deploy a best-in-class network" with its two newly selected foreign operators, Digicel Chairman Denis O'Brien declared, "We are delighted to work with Ooredoo and to help develop a high-quality telecommunications network across the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, contribute to the growth of the Myanmar economy, and benefit Myanmar citizens across all of the country’s states, regions and union territories.”

Burma looks to capture hearts and medals with chinlone

Posted: 03 Dec 2013 01:19 AM PST

The first gold medals of the 27th SEA Games will be awarded on Wednesday evening and Burma expects to capture them, giving the country the kick-start it needs to top the league of Southeast Asian nations before the full programme of events even begins.

Despite the opposition of several other teams, notably the Philippines and Indonesia, the traditional Burmese sport of chinlone was selected by the country's sports authorities to be included in this year's events; in fact, as Burma's national sport and past-time it will lead the SEA Games as the first competitive fixture beginning at 9am on 4 December in the 5,000-capacity Wunna Theikdi stadium in Naypyidaw.

Burmese men's and women's teams will compete against Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia and Laos, and Burma's coach Khin Maung Win is confident.

"Since 16 February, 2013, Myanmar chinlone players have been undergoing intensive training at the Gold Camp in Naypyidaw," he was quoted saying by state-run The New Light of Myanmar on Tuesday. "They are ready to compete in the games. I am sure that they will clinch victory."

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Unlike the better known and competitive sepak takraw – which is also played with a small rattan ball, but is akin to a game of volleyball without the use of hands – chinlone is a performance art where one team of six players juggle the ball together, unimpeded by rivals.

Each member of the team takes turns at moving into the middle of a circle and producing a short solo performance of "keepy-uppy" where he or she shows off their skills before passing the ball to a teammate. A referee stands close by, checking that the six designated parts of the body are used to juggle the ball – the shoulder, the knee and four parts of the foot (toes, heel, instep and outside). Players lose points if they use other parts of the body to keep the ball alive or allow the ball to touch the ground.

But while most club players have little difficulty in performing these moves, it is the aesthetic part of their display that invariably wins a tournament. At the end of the performance, which is often played to the background of traditional music, the team is awarded points by judges based on individualistic skills, artistic performance and the level of difficulty, much like ice-skating or gymnastics in the Olympics.

It is this display of unique skill and cheeky maneuvers that the crowd loves to see, and which should win the hearts of the judges and the fans.

To further whet the appetite for Burma’s national sport, two 11-year-old twins from Hpa-an in Karen state will perform in front of 30,000 spectators in a massive chinlone display which is to be one of the highlights of the opening ceremony on 11 December.

Thought to be 1,500 years old and once reserved as a performance art for the exclusive enjoyment of royalty, chinlone was exported from Burma centuries ago to its neighbours who have taken it up and added their own styles to the sport. The Thais call the game takraw, while the Malays, Singaporeans and Indonesians play sepak raga. It is called sipa in the Philippines, kator in Laos, and da cauin in Vietnam.

After all the hype and protest over its inclusion, the aesthetic sport of chinlone finally has a chance to bathe in the limelight of an international arena. Millions of eyes will be watching on Wednesday, and Burmese fingers will be crossed that not only will its teams win gold but that the sport is viewed enthusiastically by all.

Schedule for chinlone at SEA Games (4 December): http://www.27seagames2013.com/sports/type/chinlone

See the beautiful game of chinlone in action: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4E77M_DEVAU

Magwe residents fuming over petrol risks

Posted: 02 Dec 2013 11:59 PM PST

Footage by ZAW PE

Local residents in Magwe division's Taungdwingyi staged a protest on Monday to demand the removal of a petrol station in the town centre which they claim endangers public safety.

Kyaw Tun Oo, one of the protest leaders, said, "Almost the entire town of Taungdwingyi was destroyed by a fire in 1981 which was sparked by the explosion of two barrels of diesel at that petrol station. Back then, the town didn't have so many people but it was still devastating. Now we have a dense population. Some restaurants and the town market are located close by, and only 1,000 yards west is a public hospital, which is only protected by a wooden fence. There is also a high school standing next to the petrol station.

"This area has a rather dry climate," he said. "We are calling for the gas station to be relocated outside the town simply due to our concerns that it is a fire hazard."

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He said the New Day gas station has over 10,000 gallons of petrol in its stockpile, which are kept in brick tanks. He said he believed that no adequate safety measures have been taken and octane fumes have been leaking from the storage tanks.

More than 150 residents and 40 school representatives in Taungdwingyi have signed a petition calling to move the station out of the town.

In March, the station came under inspection by a district-level government inquiry team which pledged to release the findings afterwards, but this has yet to happen.

One resident in the town, Pyi Moe, was charged by local police for staging a solo demonstration on 7 November calling for the gas station to be moved.

No one at the New Day petrol station in Taungdwingyi was available for comment when contacted by DVB.
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