Democratic Voice of Burma

---

• Deadline looms for Dagon squatters
• Census ‘needlessly divisive’ in ethnic areas: ICG
• NGOs say Burma’s military continues to abuse
• Malaysian task force to investigate attempted hit of Arakanese leaders
• All 1,300 Rohingyas now deported to Burma, says Thai official

Deadline looms for Dagon squatters Posted: 13 Feb 2014 03:34 AM PST Up to 80,000 people living in a shantytown in Rangoon's Dagon Seikkan Township have been declared illegal squatters and are now facing eviction. Township authorities have given residents living in Wards 61, 67 and 93, whose houses they say were illegally built on fallow land, until 16 February before thousands of homes are bulldozed. Those who refuse will be forcibly evicted under article 21(1) of the 1989 Lower Burma Town and Village Lands Act and could face jail time. Hla Kyi, Administrator for Ward-93, said the residents have no choice but to follow the order. "This order was passed down directly from the township authorities and so we have no choice but to follow it," he said. Related Stories Forced evictions to continue in Dagon Settlers forcibly evicted in Hlegu township Rangoon squatters return to site of despair Most residents in the makeshift slum were victims of Cyclone Nargis in 2008. Thousands moved to the site after losing their homes in western Rangoon and the Irrawaddy delta in the disaster which left up to 140,000 people dead. Dagon Seikkan is one of the poorest neighbourhoods in Rangoon and many people can only earn a living by doing odd jobs and menial labour. "We are preparing to move out and take down our huts by the deadline," said community leader of Ward-93, Soe Myint. "The mass eviction is ordered by the government so there's nothing else we can do." Locals have made a final request to township authorities to give them a little more time as many children are due to sit important exams at the end of the month. "There are 1,470 homes and over 5,000 people in Ward-93 including around 500 primary, middle and high school students," said community leader Thein Aung. "They are about to sit their end-of-year exams so we are making a request to the authorities to give us some more time." On 4 February, hundreds of '‘squatter homes'  in Rangoon's Hlegu District were demolished by bulldozers following a similar order. If the villagers are forced to leave, it will be the largest displacement by forced eviction in Burma's history.

Census ‘needlessly divisive’ in ethnic areas: ICG Posted: 13 Feb 2014 03:26 AM PST With the 30 March census date fast approaching, Burma's government insists that it has the support of both ethnic political parties and armed groups in the challenge to survey and count the country's population for the first time since 1983. Minister for Immigration and Population Khin Yi stated on Tuesday that "all armed groups were ready to cooperate" with the government. Yet the assertion comes at a time when the nationwide ceasefire process appears to be entering a difficult phase. Last week, peace talks in the Karen town of Hpa-an were again delayed by at least a month as several ethnic representatives said they needed more time to prepare. Meanwhile, the Shan State Army-South has declined to sign a multilateral agreement drafted by the National Ceasefire Coordination Team. In addition, fresh fighting has resumed in Mansi, southern Kachin State. One prominent ceasefire negotiator told DVB that a major stumbling block in talks was the Burmese military's unwillingness to heed government orders to observe the ceasefire. As the peace process plays out, the census risks intensifying divides drawn on lines of identity and religion, Brussels-based NGO International Crisis Group (ICG) warned in a statement on Wednesday. The 1983 census helped to consolidate the colonial legacy that Burma is made up of 135 ethnic groups. However, ICG suggests that now is the time to move away from such classifications. The group recommends scrapping all references to identity or religion from the census, referring to questions on ethnicity, religion and citizenship status as "needlessly antagonistic and divisive". Related Stories Fresh fighting in northeast Burma raises concern among ceasefire groups Women urged to take part in peace process Arakan statesmen dodge assassination in KL ICG suggested that the census could be amended to six questions on demographics that would be simple for people to answer and provide all the data required for the success of future development goals. The current census paperwork encompasses 41 questions, making up a document that the ICG believes to be overly complicated. However even a simplified undertaking may well be beyond the government's reach, particularly when it comes to surveying people in frontier areas so accustomed to mistreatment by Burmese government forces. Saw Tin Htwe Yee, a village administrator in the Shan town of Khaung Taing, told the United Nations Population Fund that census enumerators have been told to wear civilian clothes in order to play down people's fear of uniformed officials. This shows a clear recognition on the government's part of the uneasy relationship they hold with some people, particularly in ethnic areas in eastern Burma, where the population has suffered amidst government clashes with armed independence groups. Director-General of Burma's Population Department Myint Kyaing is out to calm nerves. "People have a right to say their real national race and the name of the national race they said will be documented. "When the process is over, there will be a discussion on collected facts and figures with the participation of everyone," Myint Kyaing said. Whether people will be willing to cooperate is yet to be seen. Sheng Shadan, of the Kachin Women's Association of Thailand, an organisation that has documented scores of attacks on Kachin women by the Burmese military, told DVB that women in Kachin State might be reluctant to provide personal and family details pertaining to their religion and ethnicity, as women from minorities have been the targets of past violence. "Women from the city, they might want to provide information about their religion or ethnicity, but women from conflict areas — they will be reluctant to provide information for security reasons." Sheng Shadan said.

NGOs say Burma’s military continues to abuse Posted: 13 Feb 2014 12:38 AM PST A new report by the Network for Human Rights Documentation-Burma (ND-Burma) has revealed more than 100 cases of human rights violation committed by the Burmese military in the second half of 2013. The report, released on 11 February, highlighted human rights violations, including torture, rape, extra-judicial killing, land grabs, unlawful arrests and detentions, arbitrary taxation and forced labour that took place from July to December last year based on case studies conducted in 11 administrative regions across Burma. Among the 106 cases cited in the report, land grabbing has been the most common with 35 reported cases, followed by 20 cases of torture, 14 cases of arbitrary taxation, and eight cases of extra-judicial killing. Related Stories Henzada protestors say no more to Article 18 Poverty: a pressing human rights issue for the Chin Burmese media groups condemn Unity Weekly arrests The ND-Burma warned that continuation of human rights violations and military offensives by the Burmese army – not only in recognised conflict zones but also in other ethnic areas where ceasefire agreements have already been signed – will make the process of establishing mutual trust between the government and ethnic armed groups that much harder, in addition to undermining the peace process. According to the report, there were more than 150 military exchanges last year between government forces and the Shan State Army-South, a group which signed a ceasefire agreement with Naypyidaw in 2011. "At this moment, the government is trying to implement a nationwide ceasefire with the government through negotiations with various ethnic armed groups, but the continuation of human rights violations on such a large scale indicates that peace is still a distant prospect for the people of Burma," said Lway Poe Ngel of ND-Burma Advocacy Team. She said her organisation will be sending the data it compiled and expressing concern to President Thein Sein and to government-elected bodies such as the Myanmar National Human Rights Commission. The ND-Burma was formed in Thailand in 2004 and consists of 12 member organisations, including Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, EarthRights International and several ethnic rights NGOs.

Malaysian task force to investigate attempted hit of Arakanese leaders Posted: 12 Feb 2014 10:35 PM PST A special task force has been established by the Kuala Lumpur Police to investigate the attempted assassination of two Arakanese politicians last Wednesday, local media reported. Malaysian state-run news agency Bernama said the city's Assistant Commissioner of Police Khairi Ahrasa will lead the investigative team, and that he believes that the incident has "elements of political involvement". Rakhine National Party (RNP) Chairman Aye Thar Aung and deputy-chair Aye Maung, also a member of Burma's parliament, narrowly avoided drive-by fire when returning to their hotel during a visit to the Malaysian capital. The RNP is Arakan state's dominant political party, which was formed last year by merging the Rakhine Nationalities Development Party (RNDP) and the Arakan League for Democracy (ALD), previously the two most powerful parties in the coastal state. The two targeted officials held a press conference in Rangoon last week, where they chronologised the incident and said that the Malaysian police believe that it could have been "related to the violence in Myanmar [Burma]". The task force has already begun reviewing CCTV footage, according to Ahrasa, and are also trying to determine whether the incident was related to the fatal shooting of a Burmese national the following day. Ahrasa told reporters that police were working with the Burmese embassy in Kuala Lumpur to identify the gunmen. The embassy was unavailable for comment. Related Stories Arakanese summit to address conflict resolutions Arakan statesmen dodge assassination in KL Hearing set for Ann arson suspects

All 1,300 Rohingyas now deported to Burma, says Thai official Posted: 12 Feb 2014 07:14 PM PST All of about 1,300 Rohingya people who were detained in immigration detention centres and shelters across Thailand since January last year were deported to Burma three months ago, Thailand's Immigration Bureau commissioner Pharnu Kerdlarpphon says. Pol Lt Gen Pharnu told the Bangkok Post the Rohingya were deported with the cooperation of Thai and Burmese authorities. Representatives of non-government organisations working on protecting the rights of minorities were also invited to witness each deportation. Pol Lt Gen Pharnu said provincial immigration officers took detained Rohingya to Ranong Immigration Office before accompanying them to get on boats, taking them to Koh Son in Burma, a neighbouring province of Ranong. The deportation process ended three months ago. ''We deported them under an international principle but after each deportation we don't have a chance of knowing where they will be taken,'' he said. Pol Lt Gen Pharnu insisted both Thai and Burmese authorities made the process of the deportation clear and straightforward. Related Stories Burmese inquiry concludes no evidence of massacre in Maungdaw Shwe Maung may be 'responsible for defamation' over police allegations, says Ye Htut DVB talks to British Ambassador to Burma Burmese authorities recorded the number of Rohingya people deported one after another to Burma, officially known as Myanmar, and the two countries had evidence of each deportation. Pol Lt Gen Pharnu said the immigration officers and the government took good care of the Rohingya. They were offered humanitarian assistance during their detention. Doctors from the International Organisation of Migration (IOM) had travelled to check their physical health almost every week. If they were severely ill, they would be sent to receive medical treatment at local hospitals. He said that among the 1,300 Rohingya, eight people died of various diseases, and one of them a blood infection. Meanwhile, Ismael Madadam, the chairman of a network to help Rohingya in Thailand, said five Rohingya men were pronounced dead while receiving medication at Hat Yai Hospital between 30 January 30 and 4 February. Mr Isamael said the five Rohingya were among 500 Rohingya who had entered Songkhla last month to sneak into Malaysia. They died of various diseases. Thai Foreign Ministry spokesman Sake Wannamethee said while the Rohingya were deported, no representatives from the ministry were present during the process. Mr Sake said the deportations were carried out by the Immigration Bureau and the National Security Council. However, Thailand's representative for Human Rights Watch Sunai Pasuk said he was concerned over the safety of Rohingya people deported to Burma because, as far as he knew, Burma had never recognised them as Burmese citizens. He said he believed the deportation was in breach of a customary international law as Thai authorities know these Rohingya might encounter dangerous situations in Burma but they deported them anyway. The government had reported that about 1,300 Rohingya had arrived in Thailand since January last year but in fact many more were believed to have made the journey during that time. These Rohingya were arrested and treated as illegal migrants. Shortly after their arrests, mostly in southern provinces, they were sent to be detained at immigration detention centres and shelters, mostly in the southern provinces as well as other places in Kanchanaburi, Tak, Rayong, and Ubon Ratchathani. They told Thai authorities they wanted to travel on boats to work in Malaysia and hoped to travel further to Australia.   This article was originally published in the Bangkok Post on 13 February, 2014.

You are subscribed to email updates from DVB Multimedia Group | DVB Multimedia Group To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610