Democratic Voice of Burma

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• Burma’s wushu team delighted with medal wins
• KNU shelve Hpa-an talks till next year
• Constitutional reform begins at Chapter One
• Michaungkan protestors face forceful removal

Burma’s wushu team delighted with medal wins Posted: 09 Dec 2013 07:26 AM PST Two days before the official opening ceremony of the SEA Games, Burma has already won 10 gold medals. The Wushu competitions are going on in Naypyidaw until 10 December, and so far the team has won 5 gold medals in the martial art sport. "This is a very memorable year for me as I had a serious back injury in 2009, which has been my biggest challenge for this year", said Burmese wushu gold medallist Aung Si Thu. "It makes me very depressed whenever the injury starts acting up again and I am very delighted to have won the gold medal – it makes me forget about the pain. My biggest opponent was not the international contestants but my injury." Related Stories Burma enjoys dream start to SEA Games Ready for battle – Burma women's football team Burma strikes first gold "We gained so much experience – I don't even know how to explain! Our rivals were good too – they did their best", said another happy gold medallist, Sein Thiha. "Burma are fielding two players in the game and the player ahead of me – because he pulled a flawless performance – was given a higher score to ensure the win", said Soe Kyaw, bronze medallist. "I did my best to match his score, however I missed out on the gold medal". On Saturday the torch-relay made it to Rangoon. The chairman of the SEA Games organising committee had the honour of lighting the SEA Games flame. The torch will later be taken to Naypyidaw for the opening ceremony on Wednesday.

KNU shelve Hpa-an talks till next year Posted: 09 Dec 2013 04:18 AM PST The next meeting of Burma's ethnic armed groups will likely take place at Lay Wah, the headquarters of the Karen National Union (KNU), around the third week of December. KNU General-Secretary Pado Saw Kwe Htoo Win said the talks would probably be held between 17- 25 December ahead of a conference between the ethnic representatives and a Burmese government delegation which is due to be hosted by the KNU in Karen state capital Hpa-an. The two summits follow up on earlier negotiations held among the ethnic armies in Laiza on 30 October to 2 November, followed by a similar summit with government representatives in Myitkyina on 4- 5 November. "We are roughly looking between the 17th and 25th December for the [ethnic] conference but will have to discuss this with other ethnic armed groups," said Pado Saw Kew Htoo Win. He said that the Hpa-an round of talks with the government, which was originally planned for early December, must now be postponed probably until January. "Weighing up the circumstances, it is unlikely the Hpa-an conference will take place this year, but we assume it will go ahead in January," said the KNU general-secretary. Related Stories Ethnic rebels conclude talks with NLD, political parties NLD, other parties arrive in Chiang Mai to meet ethnic armed groups Gun Maw calls on public to help peace process The announcement would appear to deaden the possibility of a nationwide ceasefire being signed before the end of 2012, something President Thein Sein had predicted would happen. Hla Maung Shwe of the Myanmar Peace Centre, which sits as a mediator at talks, confirmed that no date had been fixed for the Hpa-an talks, but neither had he heard of any postponement. "We haven't heard of the talks being postponed – we are just waiting for word," he told DVB. "I guess it would be hard for us to say when the Hpa-an talks will happen when the ethnic groups themselves don't even know yet when their own meeting is going to take place." The KNU has released a statement pledging to work with other ethnic armed groups and democracy activists to help facilitate a nationwide ceasefire and meaningful political dialogue, and to bring peace to the country.

Constitutional reform begins at Chapter One Posted: 09 Dec 2013 01:30 AM PST The highest number of recommendations sent to the parliament's Joint-Committee for Reviewing the Constitution (JCRC) suggested amending Chapter One of the constitution, according to a press statement by the joint-committee. The JCRC in October called on the executive, judicial and legislative sectors, as well as political parties, civil society groups and individuals, to send in suggestions on amending the 2008 constitution. According to a press release issued by the JCRC on 6 December, the committee said that as of 5 December it had received 440 letters with a total of 2,512 recommendations, 590 of which suggested amendments to Chapter One: Basic Principles of the Union. However, the statement gave no indication of which articles within Chapter One the suggestions had targeted. Basic Principles of the Union is a far-reaching document, which lays out principles for everything from the name of the country to sovereignty and governance to the role of the military. Related Stories NLD delegation departs for China 'We are bound to the constitution and only the constitution': Ye Htut Govt rejection of quadripartite meeting 'unacceptable': NLD Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and her party, the National League for Democracy (NLD), have been campaigning to make amendments to a particular clause, Article 59(f), which bars Suu Kyi from becoming president. Article 59(f) is under Chapter Three: Head of State. Chapter Three had 261 suggestions for changes, the JCRC said. Zaw Myint Maung, a lower house MP and JCRC member, said the committee has yet to formally review the recommendations. The JCRC is expected to release a comprehensive report on the recommendations early next year. "For now, the committee is detailing only the chapters of the recommendations it has received," he said. Lawyer Aung Thein of the NLD, a member of the opposition party's Constitution Amendment Committee, said the constitution's Chapter One: Basic Principles of the Union is a fundamental part of the constitution and thus must be amended. "Chapter One is an underlying part of the constitution and its amendment should be the starting point for the amendment of the whole constitution." To date, the ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party, the NLD and the Burmese military have not yet sent in their recommendations to the JCRC. The deadline for submitting recommendations is 31 December.

Michaungkan protestors face forceful removal Posted: 08 Dec 2013 09:11 PM PST Rangoon township authorities have issued an ultimatum to more than 200 Michaungkan villagers to disband their protest site at the town's Myasaryan pagoda by 6pm on Monday or else face forceful removal. The ultimatum came after a violent incident on Saturday when the protestors were attacked by a group of men dressed in black waistcoats with military ID cards pinned to their shirts who claimed to be "cleaning workers from the army". At least eight people were injured, including elderly women. Sources at the site describe "thugs" armed with batons attacking the residents who have been staging a sit-in protest in the Thingangyun village in east Rangoon since 26 November. Thaung Khin, 63, said her arm was broken in the scuffle with the black-shirted thugs as she stood in a line and pushed back against them. (PHOTO: DVB) Last week, DVB reported that some 400 residents had received funeral rites from Buddhist monks, saying they were ready to die protesting for the return of cultivated land which was confiscated from them by the military in 1990. Two protest leaders were sentenced to three months in prison with labour in late November under Article 18 – the Peaceful Assembly and Peaceful Processions Law – which activists and observers say is being used randomly by authorities across Burma to crack down on demonstrators and activists campaigning against land confiscation issues. Speaking to DVB on Sunday, several female protestors reiterated that they were willing to lay down their lives defying the authorities unless their lands are returned to them. Thaung Khin, 63, said her arm was broken in the scuffle with the black-shirted thugs as she stood in a line and pushed back against them. Related Stories Funeral rites for land grab protestors in Michaungkan Activists convicted under Article 18 in Rangoon, Pegu 23 farmers sued for 'trespassing' on their own land "I pushed against them with all my might, but I was knocked to the ground," she said. "I lost consciousness for a moment." She said that three other injured protestors were still being treated in hospital. Thein Nyunt, an MP representing Thingangyun constituency, on Sunday held talks with the remaining villagers at the protest site and asked them to withdraw saying that a festival had been planned in the area to celebrate the SEA Games. The MP said he could not guarantee a return of the disputed land to the villagers, however he said he would negotiate compensation for those who lost lands. However, a protest leader said this was insufficient, and reiterated the villagers' demands: the return of all seized lands; compensation for losses over the years; and a repeal of the charges leveled at them.

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