Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Democratic Voice of Burma

Democratic Voice of Burma

Bauk Ja: Prison wasted time I could have spent working for the people

Posted: 28 Jan 2014 03:20 AM PST

Activist Bauk Ja, after standing trial in northern Burma's Kachin State for allegedly causing the death of her neighbour by providing him medical treatment without a license, has been released from jail.

Bauk Ja, who is also the Kachin State chairperson of the National Democratic Force party, is well known for her activism; she has assisted farmers fighting against corporate and military land grabs, and provided education courses for Kachin State's marginalised youth. She also operated a family-owned clinic in Hpakant's Aungywa village, which provided treatment for those without access to hospitals.

Last July, Bauk Ja was apprehended for administering treatments that allegedly led to the death of her neighbour, Zaw Ja, when he fell ill in 2009. She has since been standing trial on charges of negligent homicide, administering medical treatment without a doctor's license, and unauthorised use of a syringe.

On Saturday, Hpakant Court acquitted her of the two former charges, and passed six months' prison term on the latter charge which was commuted for time spent in detention since her arrest.

Bauk Ja spoke with DVB's Nang Mya Nadi about her prison term, the Burmese justice system, and her future outside of detention.

DVB: First of all, how are you doing?

BJ: I am in good health but have not been sleeping well, because I miss my prison mates.

DVB: How was your time in prison?

BJ: I was kept in a separate cell where I was allowed to move about freely.

DVB: So you have been acquitted?

BJ: I was acquitted from two of the three charges, and sentenced to six months term on the remaining charge. But the term was commuted by time spent in detention while awaiting trial.

DVB: Do you think the verdict was fair?

BJ: No. I had nothing to do with what happened; rather, I was arrested on political motives, with elaborately framed charges which I fought. Still, I was found guilty on one charge.

DVB: What are you planning next?

BJ: I'm planning to appeal the verdict which I see as unfair, for the sake of justice in the legal system.

DVB: How many court hearings were there?

BJ: There were almost 40 court hearings. I spent 212 days in detention – the trial was prolonged due to officials deflecting responsibility back and forth, and also they had to wait for orders from superiors before making any decisions.

DVB: If you can suggest one thing to improve the legal system, what would it be?

BJ: There is a need for free and fair trials – it was clear during my case that officials from various government departments would wrap things up in red tape and await orders from superiors, which was one of the reasons why my verdict took so long.

DVB: What are the pros and cons of having your trial delayed?

BJ: It was very damaging to me to have spent such a long time in detention because it wasted a lot of time I could have spent working for the people.

DVB: Is there anything you'd like to say to your colleagues and supporters who have been calling for your release?

BJ: I am delighted to see their support expressed through prayers, statements and pressure on the government – I would also like to thank the media and the public for promoting awareness of my case, which helped lead to my release.

DVB: Is there anything you would like to say to the judges who passed your verdict?

BJ: I would like to tell them that they shouldn't be afraid of senior government authorities, and that I hope they will one day become judges who have the courage to do what is right, and really serve the interests of the people.

DVB: Would you like to make any additional comments for our readers?

BJ: I would like to thank everyone who works for our country, regardless of where they are in the world, and I would like to extend a hand to them to work together with us towards bringing development and human rights to the country.

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Guitar heroes

Posted: 28 Jan 2014 03:17 AM PST

Over 20 Burmese guitarists – some well known and some still up-and-coming – descended on Myoma Parade Ground in Rangoon on Sunday night. "Myanmar guitar instrumental show" was the first of its kind in the country, and flung guitarists themselves into the limelight – without lead singers or band members.

First up was a performance by the Lazy Club band's lead guitarist Naing Zaw, who played a heavy metal version of the Burma National Anthem.

Chit San Maung from the band Iron Cross also showed off his skills on a lead guitar with the Kachin flag imprinted on it.

The event was organised by Swe Li Guitar Store and stage appearance, such as this robot costume, was designed by film director The Khit Nay.

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The guitarists ended the show by playing Smoke on the Water together, wishing well for the Irrawaddy River.

The event drew thousands of visitors, and will hopefully be a boost for more musical events in the same spirit.

Minister says Shwe pipelines safe, ecofriendly, as fire erupts in Arakan

Posted: 28 Jan 2014 01:40 AM PST

The 800-km gas and oil pipeline corridor running from Burma's western Arakan coast to China's southern Yunnan province poses no threat to the environment or to nearby communities, according to Burmese Deputy Minister of Energy Aung Htoo.

The minister addressed concerns among the Upper House of Parliament on Monday that the project, consigned in 2008 and operational since June 2013 despite significant public outcry, may not adhere to adequate safety regulations and disaster preparedness methods.

"[A] supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system was installed to tackle the possible leak problems" said Aung Htoo.

The assurance met with scepticism from some Members of Parliament, who say that in light of the physical realities of the project's location, a quick and satisfactory response to possible leaks, fires and explosions does not currently seem feasible.

"I don't think it will be as easy as the minister said if a huge explosion takes place," said Htun Aung Kyaw, Lower House representative from Arakan State.

"The road to Ann Township is unpaved and it will be impossible for [rescue teams] to get there in less than one hour," he said.

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Ann, the township that the MP was referring to, is located in western Burma's Arakan State, just inland from the pipelines' origin and home to a fuel relay station in Singondai village that reportedly caught fire on Sunday.

Details of the cause of the fire are still unclear, with some claiming retaliatory arson related to abuses committed against ethnic workers.

"There are Chinese and Indian crews working on the gas pipeline in Singondai village," said Win Myaing, Arakan government spokesperson. "The Chinese live on the upper floor of the building and down below are Chin ethnic workers. The Chinese urinated down from their floor at night, and it landed on the Chin workers who then demanded an apology. But the Chinese refused to apologise. The Chin workers went back to their village, gathered more men and set fire to the 8,000-gallon diesel storage warehouse."

Several additional unrelated sources offered the same account. A regional official told DVB that the incident will not disrupt delivery to China.

Regardless of the cause of Sunday's fire, the sheer enormity of the Shwe gas and oil project – which carries highly flammable materials through several high-risk territories – is plausible cause for concern. The project spans two states and two divisions, some of which are among Burma's poorest and least developed, and pipes are routed through areas where armed conflict between the Burmese armed forces and several ethnic militias has broken out over the past two and a half years.

In light of the conflict, Michael Oxlade of the safety firm Westminster International warned last year that "running an over-ground gas pipeline in a location where armed conflict is taking place is absolutely unadvisable; an explosion could easily be caused by a stray bullet."

The Shwe gas and oil project is a US$30 billion collaboration between Burma's state-owned Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE) and China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), consisting primarily of two pipelines carrying Burmese natural gas and imported crude oil to China.

The project – commenced while Burma was still under military rule – has been often criticised by human rights and environmental rights advocates over issues ranging from labour abuse, gross uncompensated land loss, and unfair resource and revenue distribution. It has likewise been taken up as a potential trendsetter for future extractive operations in Burma's burgeoning energy sector.

Just before operations began in 2013, ten Arakanese activists were arrested and later jailed for leading a 400-plus person demonstration demanding a halt to the project. The activists were released from prison in a December amnesty, just weeks before their terms were set to end.

It has been suggested that pipeline procedures were expedited to elude growing opposition to the project in both Burma and China.

Even barring natural disasters or technical mishaps, danger appears to some as imminent due to the proliferation of armed conflict and other unrest in several areas along the route. Following the Deputy Minister of Energy's statements on Monday, Htun Aung Kyaw remarked, "The government insists there are internationally standardised safety measures – but I really hope nothing goes wrong."

Thai police ‘rescue’ 531 Rohingyas from human smuggling camp

Posted: 28 Jan 2014 12:29 AM PST

Thai police have rescued hundreds of Rohingya Muslims from a remote camp in a raid prompted by a Reuters investigation into human trafficking, police officials said on Monday.

Police detained 531 men, women and children in Sunday's raid at a camp near the town of Sadao in the southern province of Songkhla, on a well-established route for human smugglers near Thailand's border with Malaysia. It was the first raid on illegal Rohingya smuggling camps since 9 January 2013.

The police said they were following up on a December 5 Reuters report that Rohingya were held hostage in camps hidden near the border with Malaysia until relatives pay ransoms to release them. Some were beaten and killed.

Deadly clashes between Rohingya and ethnic Arakanese [Rakhine] Buddhists erupted in Buddhist-majority Burma, officially known as Myanmar, last year, making 140,000 people homeless, most of them Rohingya.

Since then, tens of thousands of Rohingya have fled from Burma by boat and many arrive off southwest Thailand.

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The United Nations and the United States called for an investigation into the Reuters report, based on a two months of research in three countries, that revealed a clandestine policy to remove Rohingya refugees from Thai immigration detention centers and deliver them to human traffickers waiting at sea.

"After Reuters gave us information, we ordered an investigation into the camps," said Chatchawan Suksomjit, deputy national police chief. He said they captured three suspected ringleaders at the camp, all of them Thai males.

Reuters gave the Thai authorities coordinates to one camp near Sadao which was empty by the time they arrived, but police found another camp nearby.

"From the Reuters report, we received a clue that it was in Kao Roop Chang [village]. But the camp was already moved from there when we found it. We found only an empty camp there. So we investigated more until we found the new camp," said Col. Kan Tammakasem, superintendent of immigration in Songkhla.

The plight of the Rohingya illustrates the limits to Burma's wave of democratic reforms since military rule ended in March 2011. Inside Burma, they face apartheid-like conditions and, according to the United Nations, many forms of "persecution, discrimination and exploitation".

Police are trying to identify the origins of those detained after the raid, not all of whom were Rohingya, said Chatchawan. "We are interviewing all of them to see if they are victims of human trafficking," he said.

They are being kept at an immigration detention center in Songkhla.

"We have to interview them and proceed according to Thai immigration laws," he said. "It will depend on whether they want to go back. If they are willing we will send them back as we have done before."

Last year, Thailand implemented a secretive policy to deport the Rohingya.

These deportations delivered many Rohingya back into the hands of smuggling networks and human traffickers, who in some cases ferried them back to Thailand's secret border camps, reported Reuters.

The raid comes as the US State Department is finalizing its research for its next Trafficking In Persons report, due in June, which ranks countries on their counter-trafficking performance.

Thailand is Southeast Asia's second-biggest economy and a close US ally, but has a poor record in fighting trafficking and faces a possible downgrade to the report's lowest rank, putting it at risk of US sanctions and potentially placing it on a par with North Korea and Iran.

Nine people were arrested in Thailand in relation to Rohingya smuggling in 2013, including two government officials, according to police data, but none of the arrests has led to convictions.

Thein Sein vows to prioritise access to water, electricity

Posted: 27 Jan 2014 10:47 PM PST

Burma's President Thein Sein offered the opening remarks at the 2nd Myanmar Development Cooperation Forum on Monday, pledging to prioritise seven development programmes during the remainder of his term.

Priorities over the coming 26 months, he said, are increasing access to electricity and water, agricultural growth, job creation, tourism development, financial development, and improvements to the trade and investment sectors.

"In the past, we have relied only on the State budget for development of our country. Now we can also count on other sources of finance, such as foreign aid, loans, and domestic and foreign investments," said Thein Sein.

The forum was attended by World Bank President Jim Yong Kim, as well as a spread of diplomats, international experts and civil society representatives.

Jim Yong Kim applauded Burma's emergence from civil war and economic isolation, and announced that the World Bank will offer US$2 billion towards development of Burma's energy and health sectors.

The First Myanmar Development Cooperation Forum was held on 19-20 January 2013.

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Pedal Power

Posted: 27 Jan 2014 09:55 PM PST

Inspired by the resilience of the Karen people he met at refugee camps along the Thai-Burmese border, Irishman Hugh Bergin decided to undertake a once-in-a-lifetime journey across Europe, the Caucasus, the foothills of the Himalayas, through Pakistan and India, and finally to Burma – by bicycle.

Hugh set off from Ireland on 27 April last year. Armed with little  more than a couple of changes of clothes, a few litres of water and a camera, the 54-year-old, who works in international development, would face cold nights in a tent, long sojourns across deserts, and many hours alone to his own thoughts.

After more than eight months and nearly 15,000km of pedaling and perspiring, the intrepid Irishman's adventure came to a triumphant finale when he arrived at the Nu Poe refugee camp at the Thai-Burma border where he was met with warm hospitality by hundreds of Karen refugees.

Hugh's epic cycle was not for masochistic pleasure alone – he used the journey as a platform to publicise the plight of the Karen refugees, and to collect donations for them and a hospice in his home country.

You can read more about Hugh Bergin's trip or donate to his cause on: https://www.facebook.com/BicycleToBurma

DVB's Helen Regan interviewed Hugh last week while he was in Rangoon. Watch out for the interview on DVB TV and on INTERVIEW INTERNATIONAL coming soon on www.dvb.no   
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