Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Democratic Voice of Burma

Democratic Voice of Burma

RNDP Chairman, 10 others released on bail

Posted: 04 Dec 2013 05:24 AM PST

Eleven Arakanese nationalists, including a chairman of the Rakhine Nationalities Development Party (RNDP), who were detained in connection with the ethno-religious violence that broke out in October, have been released on bail.

Maung Pu, the Sandoway [Thandwe] township chairman of the RNDP, said he and the 10 other members of the nationalist group Organisation to Protect Race and Religion have been released on bail after being detained for two months in Sandoway and Kyaukphyu prisons.

"We were charged under Article 505(c) *, which allows for release on bail. Since the charges were brought by the police, it was assumed there was no need to worry about us going back to harass the [prosecutors]. We were residents actively working in the interest of the town; it's not likely we will skip bail, so it was granted," said Maung Pu.

The eleven men are still awaiting trial for two separate charges. Maung Pu maintained his innocence and said he will fight the charges but remain within the boundaries of the law.

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More than 90 people were arrested in connection with the riots that broke out in Sandoway in early October, which left at least five dead and about 120 families homeless.

Pe Than, a Central Executive Committee member of the RNDP, said Maung Pu and the nationalist group members were made scapegoats due to "pressure from above".

The riots broke out during President Thein Sein's first visit to restive Arakan state since the initial outbreak of riots between Muslims and Buddhists erupted in the region in June 2012.

The ensuing rash of violence has since spread to several parts of Burma and has overwhelmingly affected Muslims, particularly the stateless Rohingya community. More than 240 people have died as a result of the ongoing outbreaks of violence, including a 94-year old woman murdered in central Burma.

While foreign heads of state, human rights groups and the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Myanmar, Tomás Ojea Quintana, have all issued warnings to the Burmese government that their failure to contain ethno-religious conflict may threaten democratic development, the number of prosecutions related to the riots remains unknown.

* Burmese penal code Article 505:

Whoever makes, publishes or circulates any statement, rumour or report,—

(a) with intent to -cause, or which is likely to cause, any officer, soldier, sailor or airman, in the Army, Navy or Air Force to mutiny or otherwise disregard or fail in his duty as such; or

(b) with intent to cause, or which is likely to cause, fear or alarm to the public or to any section of the public whereby any person may be induced to commit an offence against the State or against the public tranquility; or

(c) with intent to incite, or which is likely to incite, any class or community of persons to commit any offence against any other class or community,

shall be punished with imprisonment which may extend to two years, or with fine, or with both.

Thein Sein arrives in Manila for trade talks with Aquino

Posted: 04 Dec 2013 03:33 AM PST

Burmese President Thein Sein arrived on Wednesday in the Philippines where he is set to hold a bilateral meeting with President Benigno Aquino III at Malacanang Palace.

The two leaders will meet on Thursday to discuss "trade and investment, agriculture, energy, cultural exchanges and information cooperation," according to a statement on the official website of the Philippine President.

The statement says that they are expected sign several Memoranda of Understanding, notably including visa exemptions for Burmese and Filipino ordinary passport holders traveling between the two ASEAN countries.

The meeting will also be attended by representatives of commerce and industry ministries from both countries, in efforts to improve trade and business opportunities.

Discussions are also expected to cover Burma's role in relief efforts following the devastating Typhoon Yolanda, which killed over 5,200 people and wiped entire cities off the map in the central Philippines last month.

Thein Sein is scheduled to visit some of the disaster-struck areas during his three-day visit.

While this is the first trip to the Philippines by a Burmese head of state since 2005, and Thein Sein's first since he entered office in 2011, Aquino and Thein Sein met earlier this year in Naypyidaw during the World Economic Forum on East Asia.

Lagarde, Suu Kyi head line-up at women’s forum in Rangoon

Posted: 04 Dec 2013 03:14 AM PST

The Women’s Forum for the Economy and Society, which describes itself as the "world’s leading platform featuring women’s views and voices on major social and economic issues," is hosting its inaugural conference in Rangoon on Friday and Saturday (6- 7 December). The meeting will be the third Forum event this year, with others previously held in France and Brazil.

The Forum, a subsidiary of French advertising and public relations conglomerate Publicis Group, has partnered with the French Embassy and 13 corporate sponsors – including Pepsico, Total, Accor and Sanofi – to conduct the event. Panel discussions will address the role of women in Burma's economic and political opening, touching on issues including responsible foreign investment, entrepreneurship and peacebuilding.

A litany of high-profile speakers are expected to be in attendance, including Aung San Suu Kyi and the International Monetary Fund's managing director, Christine Lagarde. More than 40 business, academic and civil society opinion leaders from Burma, the region, and further afield are scheduled to partake in 15 panel discussions over the two days.

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French companies account for a disproportionate number of the Forum's corporate sponsors. Christophe de Margerie, the CEO of Total S.A, one of the world's six "superpower" oil companies, is scheduled to participate in a panel discussion on responsible investment along with noted financial journalist Gwen Robinson and Michael Issenberg, Chief Operating Officer for the Asia-Pacific of Accor Hotels. Accor's first venture in Burma, a five-star Novotel hotel in partnership with Burmese tycoon Zaw Zaw's Max Myanmar group, is currently under construction in Rangoon's Kamaryut township. Zaw Zaw's sprawling corporate empire remains subject to US targeted sanctions, but he is free to do business with European firms after the last EU sanctions were lifted in April.

Total is the single largest Western investor in Burma. Its presence in the country dates to 1992 when it broke ground on the Yadana offshore gas project and pipeline in southern Burma with its American partner Unocal, which was subsequently bought by Chevron in 2005. After the imposition of EU and US sanctions in the late 1990s, its investment in Burma was one of very few "grandfathered" through, and its operations were allowed to continue.

In 1997, a group of ethnic Karen villagers took Unocal to court in the United States, alleging the venture was complicit in "forced relocation, forced labor, rape, torture and murder" during the pipeline's construction, resulting in an out-of-court settlement.

Aung San Suu Kyi gave Total her blessing in 2012, calling the firm a "responsible investor in Burma", but in May the company became embroiled in a bribery scandal involving Iranian officials, landing it nearly US$400 million in fines to the United States and France.

The for-profit forum is not the only event of its type to have been held in Rangoon this year, with an unrelated, civil-society-led Women's Forum occurring in Rangoon in September. Jointly led by the formerly exiled Women's League of Burma and the Women's Organizations Network, the three-day forum attracted some 400 participants, and called for the release of female political prisoners and greater legal protections for women.

 

Burma strikes first gold

Posted: 04 Dec 2013 02:18 AM PST

The first gold medal of the 27th SEA Games has been awarded to the Burmese women's chinlone team after it won a deserved victory over Thailand in the final in Naypyidaw on Wednesday afternoon.

The men's final is due to take place at 5pm local time with Burma again highly tipped to win at the country's national sport.

Read more: http://www.dvb.no/news/burma-looks-to-capture-hearts-and-medals-with-chinlone-myanmar-2/34892

Meanwhile, tickets for all the Group B matches of the SEA Games men's football tournament have been sold out.

Hosted in Rangoon, tickets for the 10 group stage matches – involving Burma, Indonesia, Thailand, Timor Leste and Cambodia – went on sale on Monday and were sold out by the following day, leaving many fans devastated.

The Group B matches start on Saturday, 7 December, with Burma playing Cambodia at the 50,000-capacity YCT Thuwanna stadium, and Thailand meeting Timor Leste at Aung San stadium, which holds a maximum of 40,000 spectators.

Tickets range from 2,000 kyat (US$2) to 5,000 kyat. Sale of tickets for the final, which will be held on 21 December in Naypyidaw, will begin on 11 December.

Naypyidaw will host Group A games involving Malaysia, Vietnam, Singapore, Laos and Brunei.

Funeral rites for land grab protestors in Michaungkan

Posted: 04 Dec 2013 02:07 AM PST

Around 400 residents in Rangoon's Thingangyun township have received funeral rites from Buddhist monks, saying they are ready to die protesting for the return of cultivated land which was confiscated from them by the military.

The villagers of Michaungkan ward have been protesting non-stop since 26 November demanding the return of farmland that was seized from them in 1990. One of the protest leaders, Zaw Tun, said the protestors on Monday received traditional Buddhist funeral rites to signify their readiness to die fighting for this cause, after getting no response from the authorities.

"After seven days of protests, we have been given our funeral rites by 21 monks, 11 of whom were involved in the Saffron Revolution, to show our determination and that we are ready to die protesting until we get our land back," he said.

The protestors have laid out a list of seven demands which include the release of fellow villagers imprisoned for involvement in previous protests.

According to a report by Radio Free Asia, Htin Kyaw, Sein Than and Kyaw Lwin, who led the second Michaungkan protest in March 2012, were each sentenced on 16 November to three months in prison with labour under Article 18 – the Peaceful Assembly and Peaceful Processions Law – for staging a protest without official permission.

Three others are also reportedly awaiting trial on similar charges.

On Monday, Rangoon division's Border Affairs and Security Ministry Col. Tin Win spoke in person with the protestors and urged them to end the rally. He reportedly refused to discuss their demands.

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In late September, Presidential spokesman Ye Htut said that the government intended to return the disputed lands to the Michaungkan farmers and provide compensation to those whose land now sits under newly-constructed factories.

The Michaungkan residents have staged seven rounds of protests to date and opened two protest camps to call for the return of lands, as well as camping out in front of City Hall in downtown Rangoon in October.

Rangoon division Land Investigation Commission members Aung Thein Linn (a former mayor of Rangoon who is now an MP for the ruling USDP) and Khine Maung Yi promised to raise the issue in parliament if they closed down the rally camp, which the villagers did.

However, failing to see any progress on the promises, the residents resumed their protest on 26 November.

Aung Thein Linn told DVB on Tuesday that the parliament has done its part on this case and the rest is up to the government.

"We did raise questions in the lower house and also in our [committee] report regarding this case, and that's pretty much all we can do on our mandate," he said.

"The government is aware of this and we assume the Land Management Committee will attend to the issue."

Khin Lay Naing, a 76-year-old villager from Michaungkan, said she would die fighting for her land rather than risk being made homeless.

"We have received our funeral rites and are not afraid to die," she said. "I have no home, and have been staying with family members, but they cannot keep me the rest of their lives."

The Michaungkan residents said they have been living on the land in question since Gen. Ne Win's era.

On Tuesday, a coalition of female activists associated with Bangkok-based ALTSEAN-Burma launched an awareness campaign about land-grabbing among Burma's urban population, saying that farmers "need more support by townspeople". The activists appealed to the residents of 13 townships to speak out against what they say is "an urgent problem" that has consequences for all people in Burma, such as rising food prices.

 

Burmese embassy warns migrants to avoid Bangkok protests

Posted: 04 Dec 2013 01:22 AM PST

The Burmese embassy in Bangkok has issued a warning to Burmese nationals and migrant workers in Thailand not to get involved with the anti-government protests taking place in the country.

The Burmese labour attaché at the Burmese embassy in Bangkok, Kyaw Kyaw Lwin, said it is important to retain good relations with Thailand.

"In order to maintain good relations, we are reminding our citizens not to get involved with [Thailand's] internal affairs, for their own safety; to have caution when they travel around and regularly get news updates to avoid areas with mobs building up."

Burmese labour rights activists in Thailand also warned migrants to keep away from the protests, citing incidents in 2010 where several migrants were arrested during anti-government protests in the Thai capital.

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"There is usually a lot of excitement involved in these political rallies and so it's easy to get caught up with these emotions,” said Myint Wai of Thai Action Committee for Democracy in Burma.

"They [Thais] have legal protection under their country's law. But the Burmese – migrant workers from a foreign country – do not have the same privileges of exception from the law as they do, and it's rather difficult for us to resolve."

The anti-government protesters are demanding: that Thailand's Prime Minister, Yingluck Shinawatra, resign from office; that parliament is dissolved; and that a 'people's council' is installed in government.

Yingluck, however, has rejected the protesters’ demands – calling them unconstitutional.

Since the protests began a month ago, three people have been killed and over 50 injured.

Tensions in the capital have eased somewhat, ahead of the King's birthday on Thursday.

‘We are bound to the constitution and only the constitution’: Ye Htut

Posted: 03 Dec 2013 09:39 PM PST

DVB reporter Shwe Aung spoke by phone on Tuesday with presidential spokesman Ye Htut, in response to a statement released by the National League for Democracy (NLD) on Monday. The statement criticised the government's refusal to meet the NLD's request for a quadripartite meeting on constitutional reform, claiming that the government's delay indicates "unwillingness" to enact meaningful reform.

Q: The NLD issued a statement on Monday asserting that the president's response to calls for a quadripartite meeting was intended to delay efforts to amend the constitution and signifies the government's reluctance towards reform. Would you like to respond to the NLD statement?

A: We are not trying to delay the dialogue. The president has always been willing to meet and exchange views with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, every time she requests a meeting. However, the matter in hand right now is concerned with the constitution, and the demands include meeting with specific figures and following specific procedures. This is a task for the Union Parliament, and it requires listening to the opinions of political parties and organisations within and outside of the parliament. We are just pointing out that the meeting should be considered only after the parliament's Joint-Committee for Reviewing the Constitution presents its report.

Moreover, the [timeframe] for amending the constitution does not concern the executive branch of the government. Since all matters relating to constitutional reform are being handled by the Union Parliament, timing the process is their responsibility.

Regarding the suggestion of unwillingness towards reforms, we don't need to say much about it. Our government has already proven our genuine will for reforms through action in the past two years.

Q: Could delays in these discussions harm the President's relationship with the NLD?

A: We don't think so. We were genuinely discussing what we think is an appropriate answer to the NLD proposal. But we don't know what their view on that is.

Q: The NLD has maintained that the president does not have full-authority over the matter and is using the parliament as an excuse to delay discussions. Do you have a response to this allegation?

A: It's irrelevant. The president consistently answers in conformity with the constitution – we cannot give answers based on our opinions. The constitution says that undertakings related to amending the constitution are assigned to the parliament.

I think it was back in May when Daw Aung San Suu Kyi commented on remarks made by the president during his visit abroad, about the role of the Tatmadaw [Burmese military] in the country's politics. She said that President Thein Sein's remarks about reducing the military's role in politics were out of line, as the president has no right to amend the constitution because it is a matter assigned to the parliament. Only the parliament should have a say in this.

We are bound to the constitution and only the constitution.

Q: Will the president's office issue an official response to the NLD 's statement?

A: For now, I don't know. It's up to the president's office and I am only giving my opinion here as a spokesperson.

Interviewed by Shwe Aung

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Despite reforms, Burma’s lawyers still live in trying times

Posted: 03 Dec 2013 08:04 PM PST

After decades of mismanagement, Burma's legal system remains subject to political pressures and a pervasive culture of corruption. This has a profound effect on the ability of lawyers to practice their profession independently, according to a report released Monday by the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) in Rangoon.

The Geneva-based ICJ conducts research on legal issues pertaining to human rights worldwide, and works with legal professionals and national governments to "strengthen national and international justice systems." The ICJ played an instrumental role in formulating the 1990 UN Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers, a comprehensive set of international norms and standards on rights to govern the legal profession worldwide, and much of its work is dedicated to promoting its standards.

By all measures, Burma has a long way to go. "Over the past four decades, in particular, in Myanmar [Burma], virtually every single one of the basic principles on the independence of lawyers were violated," said Sam Zarifi, the ICJ's Regional Director for Asia and Oceania. "The track record for the independence of lawyers… was quite poor. But it's also clear that since 2011, in particular, there have been significant improvements."

The legal profession in Burma declined in prestige over the course of four decades of military dictatorship, as the fundamental absence of the rule of law and a lack of government support for legal education have left courts incapable of fairly adjudicating disputes and meting out justice. The decline in standards became particularly pronounced after the failed 1988 uprising against military rule, when lawyers and law students used their professional skills to fight the regime.

Lawyers today are still subject to political pressures that interfere with their work, despite political reforms over the past two years. "The area of least improvement… has been in the activity of lawyers who work on politically sensitive cases," Zarifi said. "Cases that, essentially, challenge the authority of the government, in particular the security forces, and, increasingly, [challenge] the economic interests of the government and powerful figures."

Burma's lawyers lack an independent bar association to set rules and standards and look out for their interests, as the existing society is controlled directly by the attorney general's office. The Myanmar Lawyers' Network, an umbrella organisation that seeks to protect lawyers' rights and push for legal reform, was founded in November 2011 by prominent jurists, but it does not hold official status.

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Thein Than Oo, the organisation's joint secretary, does not believe reform runs deep in Naypidaw. He hopes to see a truly independent bar association established, but refuses to take part in the current structure, which he deems a "puppet regime."

"Thein Sein is a former general. Now he is President Thein Sein. The same position. He is always wearing a smiling face. But his heart is genuine military junta. It's only a disguise," he said.

But Burma's bar association wasn't always so demure. In 1988, elements within the bar association were at the forefront of anti-government agitation – and Thein Than Oo served ten years in prison for his political activities starting in 1990. He was no stranger to incarceration, having already served a four-year stint behind bars in the 1970s for demonstrating against Ne Win, and he subsequently spent 21 days in detention during the "Saffron Revolution" of 2007.

"[Since] the 1988 uprising, the bar council has bravely fought them [the military]," he said. "So they don't like lawyers. They hate lawyers. They want to revoke our licences. We don't trust them."

Under the UN Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers, advocates are supposed to be immune from politically-motivated sanctions against them. But harassment still occurs, and it's difficult for individuals embroiled in politically sensitive cases to secure representation. "One area where the numbers have not decreased – and have possibly increased – is in the cases of lawyers' ability to represent clients – particularly Muslim clients, and particularly Rohingya clients," Zarifi said. "This issue has actually grown sharper. The lawyers we spoke with uniformly said that they stay away from such clients."

Although it is rarer than it was in the past, the bar association occasionally strips 'activist' lawyers of their accreditation, and the process to re-secure it is far from clear. Thein Than Oo's licence to practice law was reinstated in 2012 after a year of petitioning, but other activists' rights to practice remain in limbo. Nyi Nyi Htwe, 36, serves as a case in point. Along with a partner, he runs a small legal clinic in northern Rangoon's Hlaing Township, but cannot directly represent his clients as he was stripped of his licence in 2007, and spent six months in prison for his role in the uprising. Despite repeated petitions to the President's office, the National Human Rights Commission and the Supreme Court after his release, his licence has not been reinstated. This, he feels, is a result of his ongoing work with displaced farmers seeking recourse against powerful economic interests – a brand of activism the government has little patience for.

The issue of land ownership in Burma has long served as an important flashpoint. Endemic under the old military regime, land grabbing has been exacerbated by the spoils promised by Burma's new economic openness, and the displaced have little recourse through the courts. Indignation surrounding the development of the Latpadaung copper mine project – a joint venture between the military's economic arm and a Chinese state-owned weapons manufacturer – is the most prominent example of the kind of negative feedback the government wants to avoid.

"Challenging the military, of course, remains hugely problematic in Myanmar because of the special impunity written into the constitution, and essentially the inability to challenge the military in civilian courts," said Zarifi.

But even though politicised cases are highly problematic, most of Burma's lawyers have more down-to-earth concerns to deal with. "Most of the challenges to the independence of lawyers actually have to do with systemic problems – not authorities directly going in and trying to block the work of lawyers, but rather 40 years of government repression… every lawyer we spoke with, regardless of where they worked… spoke about corruption," Zarifi said. In a system where corruption is the norm, going against the grain can have negative consequences, and with no mechanisms – like an independent bar association – in place to enforce professional standards, the cost of being clean is high. According to Zarifi, "lawyers who [refuse to] participate in corrupt practices become identified as troublemakers."

Transparency International's latest Corruptions Perceptions Index, released on Tuesday, ranked Burma 157th out of 177 countries surveyed – a full fifteen places ahead of its rank last year. That's a tremendous leap forward, but there is still work to be done.

"The overall picture is one of immense transition. There is significant hope for reform, and in this regard the ICJ is always pushing for improvements," Zarifi said.

"Not perfection… it's important for the government to put in short-term reforms."
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