Democratic Voice of Burma

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• Revised energy prices closer to consumer demands
• Unity journalists’ trial begins in Pakokku
• Karen refugees seek safety guarantees
• Burmese army tortured Shan civilians, says rights group
• Thein Sein visits Kachin State on ‘peace mission’
• Burmese migrants in Phuket told not to go out at night

Revised energy prices closer to consumer demands Posted: 18 Mar 2014 04:44 AM PDT The President's office has introduced a revised energy-pricing scheme to parliament that raises the cost of energy for consumers, but not as drastically as previously proposed. An initial proposal by the Ministry for Electricity drew intense criticism from consumers — the 50 kyat (US$ 0.05) unit price for households using more than 100 units was seen as unfair. Last November, demonstrators took to the streets of Rangoon in candlelight vigil to protest the hike. The current rate for supplying electricity to households across Burma stands at 25 kyat per unit. The new proposal staggers household and industrial pricing of energy, so that households would have to expend over 200 units of energy to reach the price of 50 kyat per unit. Usage up to 100 units will be charged at 35 kyat per unit, and 40 kyat per unit for up to 200 units used. The proposal contains a bonus for large businesses. Firms expending between 100,000 and 200,000 units for industrial use will be charged at a rate of 150 kyat per unit. However, the rate will decrease to 125 kyat per unit once the 200,000 unit per year threshold is crossed. The Burmese government is prioritising the improvement of electricity supply in their bid to attract foreign investment. The Kyuakphyu Special Economic Zone now features its own gas-fired power plant, and can therefore provide 24 hour power — unheard of throughout the rest of Burma, where dilapidated infrastructure and a limited national grid mean many businesses rely on expensive personal generators. According to the Ministry of Electric Power, who floated the original price hike proposal, the softer increase will leave Burma with a deficit of 12 billion kyat (US$12m) per year. Related Stories Chinese NGO aims to tackle poverty in Burma through microloans BUSINESS WEEKLY 14 March 2014 Stop Salween dams, say 34,000 people in Burma

Unity journalists’ trial begins in Pakokku Posted: 18 Mar 2014 03:05 AM PDT The trial of four journalists and the CEO of Unity Weekly journal, charged with violating the State Secrets Act, began on Monday at Pakokku district court in Burma's Magwe Division. The Unity staffers were charged after reporting in January about a factory allegedly concealing chemical weapons in Magwe's Pauk Township. According to the defendants' lawyer, Robert San Aung, the first day's proceedings involved opening remarks by one of the public prosecutors. Paing Thet Kyaw, a senior reporter at Unity Weekly and standing trial, said the charges brought against them are unjust. "Throughout our case they have made many falsifications. Even the witnesses they bring are made up," he said. A request for bail for reporter Lu Maw Naing for health reasons was rejected, however the prison department was called on to promise that they will ensure he receives the appropriate treatment. Related Stories Ye Htut supports press freedom – on govt terms Suu Kyi and Yeoh launch health and education foundation Defamation case on hold: Thais urged to probe Rohingya smuggling The front-page article published by Unity Weekly on 25 January was headlined: “Ex-Senior General, Chinese Expert and Current Chief of Staff Build Secret Chemical Weapons Factory in Pauk Township”. The report quoted factory workers and local residents confirming allegations that chemical weapons were being manufactured at the plant in question. The journalists allegedly trespassed in a prohibited area on the factory grounds but Paung Thet Kyaw told DVB that villagers had testified to the township court that the 'no-entry' signs were erected only after the publication of the article. "The villagers already said in front of the township judge that the signs were posted after the publication in the Unity journal. Township Judge Daw Swe Swe Aye has recorded this," he said. Copies of the paper were seized across the country and the agency's chief executive officer, Tint San, was arrested on 1 February. Four of his reporters were also arrested and charged under the State Secrets Act: Sithu Soe, Paing Thet Kyaw, Yazar Oo and Lu Maw Naing. Tint San said they have been treated unfairly and authorities have purposefully made things difficult for them. "We cannot meet with our lawyer. What I want is more media freedom," he said. Presidential spokesperson Ye Htut has rejected the allegations that the facility is a cover for a chemical weapons plant, and said that it manufactures ordinary defense materials.

Karen refugees seek safety guarantees Posted: 18 Mar 2014 02:59 AM PDT The Karen Refugee Committee (KRC) has said that refugees on the Thai-Burmese border believe they can only return to their homeland when there is a guarantee of safety following a nationwide ceasefire. The announcement comes as reports circulate that internally displaced persons and refugees will be repatriated while the peace talks are ongoing between ethnic armed groups and the Burmese government. "The refugees need to be able to guarantee their own lives and safety," said Blooming Night Zan, the joint general-secretary of the KRC. On February 28, at an informal meeting, the KRC agreed to work together with the Karen State government on the issue of refugee repatriation. Kyaw Soe Lin, a refugee from Umpium camp in Thailand's Tak District, said the Thai border-based refugees are currently not interested in going home, citing fears for their safety. Mae La refugee camp committee secretary Naw Day Day Poe told DVB that some refugees who earlier tried to go home to eastern Burma had returned to the refugee camps for various reasons of insecurity. Related Stories Defamation case on hold: Thais urged to probe Rohingya smuggling UN envoy meets Kachin leaders, refugees Bicycle to Burma – DVB talks to Hugh Bergin A resettlement programme to the United States was ended in January, and other third countries have also halted their intakes of resettled refugees from the Thai-Burmese border camps. Around the end of last year, aid group The Border Consortium cut its food rations and educational support for the 120,000 mostly Karen refugees still at the border, said Kyaw Soe Lin. Nonetheless, he said, most refugees require more incentives to return to their homes, specifically landmine clearances, rehabilitation projects, job creation schemes, and financial assistance to cover accommodation and food.

Burmese army tortured Shan civilians, says rights group Posted: 18 Mar 2014 01:46 AM PDT The Burmese army shelled 11 villages in northern Shan State, in a 1 and 2 March attack, before torturing locals for information regarding the movements of the Shan State Army- North (SSA-N), the Shan Human Rights Foundation (SHRF) has alleged. More than 2,000 people from 11 villages south of Hsipaw, a town situated some 70km southwest of state capital Lashio, are reported to have fled their homes as the violence ensued. One thousand Burmese troops moved into an area south of Hsipaw on 26 February, setting up camp in Si Ku and Pang Tee village tracts and the surrounding forest, the report said. Burmese troops immediately seized livestock and food supplies, SHRF claimed, adding that in one case soldiers killed expropriated animals in front of their owners. Locals were coopted as guides and interrogated as to rebel positions, the Shan NGO said. Then on 1 March, government troops began an assault on the 11 villages of Si Ky and Pang Tee village tracts, firing mortars and machine guns into homes without warning. "There were no Shan troops in the village, and there was no return of gunfire," the SHRF report reads. "The Burmese troops kept firing until 2 March. A villager from Wan Si Ku heard one of the Burmese soldiers in the village speaking by walkie-talkie on 2 March to troops firing outside the village, saying, 'That's good! Keep firing!'" On the first day of the assault, Sai Moo, a Shan villager in his 30s, was arrested on suspicion of SSA-N involvement. Sai Moo, according to SHRF, was "interrogated and beaten so badly that many of his teeth were knocked out. He was then placed in a basket overnight, and wood placed on top of the basket. The next day he was taken away by the soldiers and handed over to police in Nawng Khio. He remains in custody." Women were interrogated at gunpoint as villagers desperately tried to blanket unexploded mortar shells with dirt and rubber tires. Live shells remain scattered through houses, schools and monasteries pockmarked by bullets and damaged by explosions, SHRF said. Related Stories Thein Sein visits Kachin State on 'peace mission' KNU wants genuine peace before dam construction resumes Peace talks have been “extremely positive”: Hla Maung Shwe The Burmese troops from Battalion 520, based in Hsipaw, Battalion 77 from Bago Division, and Battalion 115 from Nawng Khio then reportedly used the abandoned village tract as a springboard for an attack on an SSA-N camp three hours to the north, which they subsequently razed to the ground. That objective accomplished, three days after the initial assault, the Burmese army withdrew from the villages, the report concluded, adding that residents have now returned to their homes, having previously sought temporary refuge in neighbouring villages. As such violence continues in Shan State, contention between the SSA-N and the Shan State Army South (SSA-S) continues to mar the nationwide peace process. Ltd Gen Yawd Serk, leader of the Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS) — which incorporates the SSA-S as their armed wing — maintains that negotiations must be held between an alliance of states and the government, as opposed to an alliance of ethnic organisations. That attitude represents a refusal to acknowledge the political presence of the SSA-N in National Ceasefire Coordination Team (NCCT) negotiations with the government. The SSA-N exists solely as an armed force, unsubstantiated by a political body. RCSS's Lt-Gen Yawd Serk told the Shan Herald on Monday that the RCSS would begin to engage in the peace process once the ceasefire is signed and political dialogue is then engaged. Observers have questioned whether the RCSS sees the political dialogue stage as an opportunity to engage as the sole representatives of a unified Shan State, once their northern rivals have been sidelined by ceasefire disarmament. "The first step is unity among Shans, the second step with non-Shan groups in Shan State, and the third step with other states." Yawd Serk told the Shan Herald.

Thein Sein visits Kachin State on ‘peace mission’ Posted: 18 Mar 2014 01:41 AM PDT Civic society organisations, politicians and local people turned out to meet Burmese President Thein Sein in Myitkyina on Sunday for what they largely saw as a "peace mission". Accompanied by his military chief, Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing, the president was greeted by a large crowd, many dressed in traditional Kachin costume, at the airport where the President made a speech in which he reiterated his quest for peace. President said that a "ray of peace" was shining in Kachin State, and that following his talks with ethnic leaders in Rangoon, he believed the trust was in place to bring closer the signing of a nationwide ceasefire. Kachin peace delegate Sant Aung, who met with Thein Sein, said he hoped the President would carry out his promises. Related Stories Burmese army tortured Shan civilians, says rights group KNU wants genuine peace before dam construction resumes Seven Red Shan allegedly abducted by KIA "He [Thein Sein] spoke about the reforms, which he said were clearly visible," said Sant Aung. "What I like is that he said he is committed to implementing peace after more than 60 years of civil conflict. I hope he will carry out what he told the crowd he would." Kachin State Democracy Party chairman Dr. Tu Ja said he hoped the minister for social welfare, relief and resettlement, who was in attendance, would visit refugees in border areas. "Though they did not mention a visit to refugee camps, the minister of relief and welfare is with the delegation, so they should go," he said. "They will then be able to witness the reality of Kachin State." U Geness, general staff officer for the Kachin State Red Cross, said he hoped that President would focus on development as well as the peace process. "People are happy to see the President here," he said. "Many came all the way to [Myitkyina] airport by themselves just to see him. The Kachin chief minister briefed him on the need for transportation, water supply, education and health. I hope the government can help us.”

Burmese migrants in Phuket told not to go out at night Posted: 17 Mar 2014 07:50 PM PDT Business owners in the southern Thai province of Phuket have warned Burmese migrant workers not to go out after dark after the stabbing to death of a young Thai man in the popular tourist destination. Fears of recriminations for the killing abound as police question six Burmese suspects linked to the crime. The man died after a fight broke out at a pagoda festival. More than 20 migrant workers, some Burmese, were detained for two days as suspects concerning the festival fight. Those suspects were released after two nights in detention, one of the Burmese migrants said. Reports in the Thai press state that on 14 March, six Burmese workers were arrested after having been caught on CCTV footage. The men had clashed on 11 March in Patong, leading to the stabbing death of 19-year-old Saksit Photong. The warning for Burmese workers to remain at home has come as one Burmese man was beaten by a group of Thai men wanting to avenge Saksit Photong's death. Related Stories Defamation case on hold: Thais urged to probe Rohingya smuggling Slavery persists in Thai fishing industry: report PTTEP plans US$3.3 billion oil and gas investment in Burma

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