Democratic Voice of Burma

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• Burma pushes finance bills in bid to get off blacklist
• Mandalay ruby miners may get land-grant
• Gunmen rob jewellers in Mogok, leaving one dead
• Mobile classrooms roll up to Rangoon’s teashops

Burma pushes finance bills in bid to get off blacklist Posted: 23 Jan 2014 03:39 AM PST Burma's Parliament has prioritised passage of two bills — the Anti-Money Laundering Bill and the Anti-Terrorism Bill – in the lead-up to a meeting of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), according to Parliament speaker Thura Shwe Mann. If passed, the Anti-Money Laundering Bill will activate a government task force assigned to reduce illicit finance schemes. The Anti-Terrorism Bill is meant to combat the funding of terrorists. Ye Htun, lower house representative, told DVB the speaker pledged on Wednesday to promptly discuss the legislation and try to enact it in time for the FATF Plenary and Working Group meetings set for mid-February in Paris. "The Parliament's speaker pledged to try to get the bills passed within the first week of February, and if not, as soon as possible," said Ye Htun. "[Speaker Shwe Mann] told the representatives that lacking these laws has been an embarrassment for Burma among the international community." Thein Tun Oo, another lower house member, said that an anti-money laundering task force has already been formed and is standing by for the bill's passage. "We have already formed a task force and it will begin working with international organisations once the law comes into effect. We are working to pass the bill soon," he said, "as the international community has also been looking forward to this." Related Stories Embassy bomb-plot mastermind sentenced to seven and a half years Union Parliament Law amended, changing MP vote protocol US spending bill adds 'new restrictions' on Burma Burma's President Thein Sein early this week urged Parliament to enact both bills before the FATF meeting. Upon submission of the Anti-terrorism Bill, Deputy Home Affairs Minister Brig-Gen Kyaw Kyaw Htun stressed that if Burma does not demonstrate adequate legal changes before the meeting, the country may be liable to additional sanctions. The FATF is an intergovernmental organisation which develops policies for anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT). The group maintains a blacklist identifying countries with "deficiencies that pose a risk to the international financial system." As of October 2013, Burma was listed by FATF as one of 12 "Jurisdictions with strategic AML/CFT deficiencies that have not made sufficient progress".

Mandalay ruby miners may get land-grant Posted: 23 Jan 2014 03:22 AM PST Local miners in Mandalay Division's 'Ruby Land' town of Mogok may soon get access to more gems. The Myanmar Gems and Jewellery Entrepreneurs Association plans to allocate small-scale mining plots to locals to promote gem trade in the area. "We are looking to allocate more small-scale plots for local miners", said Tun Hla Aung, Deputy-Secretary of Myanmar Gems and Jewellery Entrepreneurs Association. "Members of the public who cannot afford to invest large sums of money, to allow them to work freely at the mines, looking to redevelop the gem market in the region." Rubies from the mines, many now being extracted by large mining companies in joint ventures with the government, are mainly sold overseas. After the government allocated some small plots for local miners in 2012, the local gem market improved slightly but not as much as expected. Related Stories Gunmen rob jewellers in Mogok, leaving one dead Permit denied for journalists seeking justice for Ma Khine Five gold mine protestors to be charged with sedition “Small-scale mining plots, operated mostly manually without heavy machinery, are becoming rare – which led to a decline in ruby production”, said Hla Aung, Patron of Myanmar Gems and Jewellery Entrepreneurs Association. “When the supply is low, the buyers are inconvenienced, which leaves the market dry.” In 2012, the government allocated over 400 small-time plots, mainly for local miners, with three-year contracts. This new plan will hopefully help kick-start the gem trade in the region.

Gunmen rob jewellers in Mogok, leaving one dead Posted: 23 Jan 2014 01:51 AM PST Armed robbers made off with almost 10kg of gold in a mid-day heist in Mogok, leaving one dead and another injured, according to the Burma Police. A convoy of around six robbers, wearing balaclavas and armed with handguns, hit up two jewellery stores in the Mandalay town. The burglary took place in broad daylight at Naga and Million jewellers in Mogok's Aung Chan Thar ward on Tuesday afternoon. Police said the robbers came in firing, as they entered the shops after arriving at the scene on motorbikes. Burma Police spokesperson brigadier-general Win Khaung said the robbers made off with nearly 10kg of gold. "The masked robbers, assumed to be in their youth, arrived at the scene on motorbikes, armed with four handguns – they split into two groups, put on balaclavas and walked right in the stores firing shots," said Win Khaung, adding that the thieves smashed showcases with hammers to retrieve the gold. He said the police force has launched an investigation to find the bandits, who left one person dead and another injured during the episode. Related Stories Mandalay ruby miners may get land-grant Permit denied for journalists seeking justice for Ma Khine Feel like it's all going downhill? Mogok resident Tun Oo said the robbery was the first of its kind in the town. It was unusual, he said, for such a crime to occur in broad daylight and with firearms, which to him suggested that the robbers are not likely from the area. "We have never heard of something like this – apparently no one had seen the robbers in the town before and residents are worried," said Tun Oo. "We've had robbery attempts at jewellery stores but not like this, involving guns." Mogok is a mineral rich town in the heart of Burma's "valley of rubies", the source of rare, highly saturated gems sometimes referred to as "pigeon's blood" rubies. The town is now within the boundaries of Mandalay Division, but until the early 2000's it sat within the Shan State borders.

Mobile classrooms roll up to Rangoon’s teashops Posted: 22 Jan 2014 10:45 PM PST Many of Rangoon's under-aged teashop workers, who often work long hours for little pay to support their families, will soon be able to study for free, just outside the workplace. Myanmar Mobile Education Project (myME), is an initiative spearheaded by a group of activists and educators to bring books and classrooms directly to those who need it: in old buses retrofitted as mobile classrooms. "Providing basic education and general knowledge for children working long hours at the teashops can not only improve their lives, but it can also allow their workplaces to operate more smoothly," said Tim Aye Hardy, director of myME. Around 120 young teashop workers have attended classes in the school buses since a six-month pilot programme was launched on 18 January. So far myME has enrolled the employees of two teashops, who commit to two hours of study each day, six days a week. Their employers are compensated for the leave. Related Stories HIV positive cyclist on awareness tour Burma stock exchange may take some time Thai protests hurting Burmese tourism The solar-powered classroom is fitted with 20 desks and four teachers, who offer basic education and computer skills training. Curricula are designed by combining materials from the government's Education Research Bureau and international textbooks. If the pilot programme proves successful, Tim Aye Hardy says they will go on to serve restaurant workers in Rangoon, and eventually move into some of Burma's remote ethnic regions, where access to education is often extremely limited. The myME is planning to suit up four more buses. "We have already reached agreements with five more teashops to offer classes at their places," he said. Most of the children working in the teashops dropped out of school to support their families because of economic hardship, said Tim Aye Hardy. Many, he added, have shown great interest in resuming study – some of them even attended class wearing their old school uniforms. Arkar Moe Thu, member of the Lecturers Union at DagonUniversity, welcomed the initiative and said the union wishes to provide assistance to the myME. "I think it will be very useful to hear from such groups, regarding their operations and difficulties they face," he said. "This will allow us to exchange policies in the interest of the public, and allow the workers a way out of hardship."

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