Democratic Voice of Burma |
- Burma’s badly needed census may have come too soon
- Offshore oil and gas exploration block winners announced: Ministry of Energy
- Mae Sot migrants demand labour rights
- Japan announces more aid, loans to Burma
- DVB Debate: Will the census bring consensus?
| Burma’s badly needed census may have come too soon Posted: 26 Mar 2014 06:32 AM PDT Accurate demographic information about Burma does not and has never existed. This year's census aims to correct that and to provide the data required for successful development projects as the country lurches out of military dictatorship. Burma's development is currently underpinned by figures cobbled together from the disparate research of NGOS, companies, UN departments and the government itself. According to Khin Yi, Minister of Immigration and Population, the government's official statistic of 60.98 million is based on approximate reproduction rates taken from a basis point provided by the last census, conducted in 1983. That census was flawed by a lack of access to regions impacted by civil war, leaving the end population figure of just over 35 million drastically short of the mark. Despite this census being plagued by the same problem, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the Burmese government are determined to get it right this time. That determination —as well as the magnitude of the task — is best illustrated by the fact that enumerators tasked with interviewing the people of Kachin State's snowy northern reaches were forced to hike on foot for two weeks to count those in barely accessible villages. The stalled nationwide peace process, however, has not been completed in time to make all populations accessible. As in 1983, there is limited chance of conducting the count in Burma's war torn periphery. The process has also done little to build trust between the government and ethnic minorities, who are now being called upon to provide sensitive personal data. The most sensitive data pertains to religion and ethnicity, which, particularly in Burma's western Arakan State, has fuelled internecine violence in the recent past. There is no doubt that the census, as Dr Hla Hla Aye of the UNFPA in Rangoon believes, "has the potential to enable evidence-driven, transparent and responsive planning and policymaking for the first time in the country's history". The power of accurate results to questions on subjects such as infant mortality, household sanitation and education levels cannot be understated. "The Ministry of Immigration and Population and UNFPA have taken concerns expressed by ALL groups very seriously."— Janet Jackson, UNFPA Burma However, the count will go ahead despite a serious risk of violence, as rumor and misinformation shroud an already complicated process of ethnic categorisation. That threat is especially acute in Arakan State, where communal violence has displaced more than 140,000 people, mostly stateless Rohingya Muslims, and hundreds more have been killed in the past two years alone. The census has already caused some unrest, before it has even commenced. In mid-March, thousands of Buddhists took to the streets of major towns in Arakan to oppose use of the term Rohingya when writing in ethnicities that do not appear on the list of Burma's 135 officially recognised ethnic groups. The Rohingya are considered by many Arakanese to be illegal Bangladeshi immigrants and that "Bengali" is therefore the appropriate term. "We will not allow census data collection in Arakan State," Than Htun, one of the campaign organisers, told DVB this week, saying that all of Arakan's 17 townships will participate in a boycott if they do not receive assurance from authorities that the term "Rohingya" will be omitted. The government insistence on using the much-maligned list of 135 ethnicities has guaranteed that ethnic concerns are not limited to western Burma. The International Crisis Group (ICG), which last month called for questions about ethnicity to be scrapped completely from the questionnaire, noted that in the case of the 53 subdivisions of the Chin people, many clan titles and even village names are classified as stand-alone races. These inaccuracies splinter minorities and threaten the political status of ethnic groups by limiting their representation in government. The 2008 Constitution provides for National Race Representatives to be appointed in administrative regions that boast a "suitable population" of a single ethnic group. That form of politicised demographic data is at the heart of ethnic consternation when it comes to the census. Fears that ethnic population levels could be skewed downwards has driven ethnic leaders to call for members of ethnic groups to identify as part of an overarching "major minority". In some cases, ethnic groups have vowed to conduct their own counts. For the last year, Mon leaders have conducted a census of their own across southern Burma, in what they say is an attempt to rectify government misinformation printed on ID cards. The UNFPA however, is out to calm nerves. "The Ministry of Immigration and Population and UNFPA have taken concerns expressed by ALL groups very seriously," said Janet Jackson, UNFPA's representative in Burma. "Consultations have been taking place throughout the past year with ethnic armed groups, representatives of self-administered areas, civil society and religious groups," Jackson assured DVB last week. Khin Yi has also repeatedly told The New Light of Myanmar that "All ethnic armed groups are ready and willing to cooperate with the 2014 census", a position that contradicts claims of the Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO), still at war with the Burmese government through their armed wing The Kachin Independence Army. An unnamed KIO representative told local media outlet Kachinland News that the group was not consulted in the lead-up to the census, and that it is unlikely that civilians in KIO-controlled territories will participate. Hence the 2014 census suffers some of the very same difficulties as the last inaccurate count. But while data collection in warzones remains a major obstacle to truth, this is not the Burma of 1983 and data collected this time will likely be more reputable, if not fully accurate. Janet Jackson is right to contest that postponing the census "would lead to a delay of several years in making data available to planners". The sunken costs of an aborted project would be crippling, which perhaps lies at the heart of Burma Campaign UK director Mark Farmaner's claim that "census donors privately accept that there is a realistic chance of violence". At total of US$58.5 million is being spent on Burma's 2014 census. According to UNFPA, the Burmese government is paying US$15 million of that bill. The UNFPA is contributing US$5 million and Britain's Department for International Development (DFID) has donated over US$16 million. Given the quantifiable commitment made to the project, postponement no longer seems a possibility. About 120,000 trained enumerators wait to conduct the count based on a person's whereabouts on Saturday night, 29 March. This despite upset from disaffected ethnic leaders and fearful international onlookers, all calling for postponement. "The UNFPA, DFID and other donors seem prepared to risk anti-Rohingya and anti-Muslim violence which could result in people being killed," said Farmaner, "rather than make the politically embarrassing decision to admit they were wrong and say the census must be postponed. "Nobody deserves to die for a census," he said. |
| Offshore oil and gas exploration block winners announced: Ministry of Energy Posted: 26 Mar 2014 05:12 AM PDT Burma's Ministry of Energy announced the winners of 20 offshore oil concessions – ten shallow-water, ten deep-water – on Wednesday, the results of the country's first open exploration and production tendering process for offshore resources. An additional ten exploration blocks were offered to potential investors at the outset of the bidding process, but these have not yet been awarded. A Ministry of Energy official told DVB that the blocks in question did not receive any bids, and would be relisted in the future. Unlike earlier concessions granted to foreign oil firms, the winning companies are mostly based in Europe, the United States and Australia, although two Indian bidders – industrial conglomerate Reliance and a consortium led by state-run Oil India – were granted two shallow-water concessions each. Exploration and production activities currently take place in 18 blocks off the coast of Burma, dominated by Asian firms – including Thailand's PTTEP, Malaysia's Petronas, and CNOOC from China – granted concessions by Burma's old military regime. A joint bid by British E&P firm BG and Australia's Woodside was the single largest winner in the bidding process, earning the rights to explore and develop two shallow-water and two deep-water blocks. Netherlands-based Shell, the largest oil company in the world, was granted three deep-water blocks, the most allotted to any single company. Related StoriesFamiliar winning names include Total, which won rights to the deep-water YWB block in the Gulf of Martaban, and Chevron, which will explore the shallow-water A5 block off the coast of southern Arakan State. Total and Chevron, which jointly operate the offshore Yadana oilfield in southern Burma, are the only two companies with existing E&P operations in the country to have won in the tendering process. The three remaining shallow-water blocks went to ROC Oil and Transcontinental from Australia, as well as Berlanda, a Dutch E&P firm. Italy's ENI secured rights to two deep-water blocks, with the remaining two going to UK-based Ophir and a joint bid by Norwegian firm Statoil and US-based ConocoPhillips. Seventy-five companies initially expressed interest in developing the new blocks, which the Ministry of Energy whittled down to a "shortlist" of 61 companies last July. Thirty companies ultimately submitted exploration proposals to the government, from which the winners of this most recent round were drawn. Two local bids – from MPRL E&P, owned by Michael Moe Myint — the former personal pilot of dictator Ne Win — and Twinza Oil, backed by Australian mining magnate Bill Clough, were unsuccessful. Although oil and gas has long been one of the Burmese government's most important revenue sources, both the near-term and long-term economic effects of the new exploration licences could be significant. "It's a huge volume of tenders in a country where the economy isn't terribly big. If a lot of these [companies] get into exploration soon, it could create a strong demand for the human resources needed to do exploration," said Jared Bissinger, a development economist and PhD candidate at Macquarie University in Australia. "There's only a limited supply of skilled labour in the country as-is, and [exploration and production activities] could have an effect at the macro level in terms of skilled labour." For now, the windfall hoped for by the Burmese government remains a long way off. "Realistically, for most of these tenders, they aren't going to [start producing] for seven or ten years," Bissinger said. "It's not something that's going to have a near-term effect on government revenue, but long-term it has the potential to be a significant revenue source." |
| Mae Sot migrants demand labour rights Posted: 26 Mar 2014 03:01 AM PDT Nearly a thousand Burmese migrant workers staged a rally outside their garment factory in northern Thailand, calling for improved labour rights. Workers at the Thai-owned Yuan Jiou Garment Co Ltd in Thailand's border town Mae Sot are striking over unpaid wages and long working hours. A factory worker told DVB they are punished for not keeping up with demands. "We have to work from 8 am until 10 o'clock at night and make 120 garments. If we cannot make them we are all scolded. If we can make 120 garments, they ask for 140 garments the next day," he said. The minimum wage in Thailand is 300 baht (US$9) per day. However the migrant workers said they are not receiving that amount, and are forced to lie during inspections of the factory. "If we tell the truth, we are laid off from work," another worker at the factory said. One worker said they get fined 200 baht (US$6) for taking sick leave or for attending family emergencies such as funerals. "If we ask for leave we don't get it right away. We still have to work in the factory while we are sick," said a migrant worker. "We have to jump through many hoops to get a signature for leave. There are many problems." The workers are demanding they receive minimum wage plus overtime pay. They want adequate sick leave and financial help for those who are injured at work, and shorter working hours. The migrant workers have complained to the Thai Department of Labour Protection and Welfare but said they would continue with their protest, until their demands have been met. |
| Japan announces more aid, loans to Burma Posted: 26 Mar 2014 01:30 AM PDT Coinciding with Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida's visit to Burma this week, Japan has announced 1.6 billion yen (US$16m) in support for UN programmes in Burma. Funds will assist UNHCR, UNICEF and the World Food Programme (WFP), according to a UN press release. The contribution is part of an overall US$75.2 million aid package, which will also fund government projects such as hospital and railway infrastructure upgrades, according to state media. The new aid package targets ethnic populations displaced by violence, including UNICEF deliveries of emergency food aid for children and pregnant women. The money will also support UNHCR programmes for shelter, IDP camp management and services. State media reported that Japan simultaneously announced another US$23.4 million in loans to the Burmese government, partially allocated to infrastructure for the Thilawa Special Economic Zone near Rangoon. Several Japanese car makers including Suzuki, Toyota and Mitsubishi are set to open factories in the deregulated zone. Japan is Burma's largest aid donor and has contributed US$1.5 billion since Prime Minister Shinzo Abe took office in December 2012. |
| DVB Debate: Will the census bring consensus? Posted: 25 Mar 2014 09:51 PM PDT As Burma prepares for its first national census in over 30 years, concerns have been raised about the timing and method of the nationwide count. International groups have warned that questions regarding religion and ethnicity could trigger further violence against minority Muslims, and undermine the government’s peace negotiations with ethnic groups. On the panel this week; census campaigner Swe Zin Htike; Chairman of the Shan Real Population Collection Committee, Sai Kyaut Tit; Nang Raw Zakhung, from Nyein Foundation; and Myo Win, Regional Director of the Burmese Muslim Association. The panellists disagreed about the potential effect of the count at this politically turbulent time. Nang Raw Zakhung said the census should be postponed until further consultation with ethnic groups has been carried out. "By delaying, I don't mean we should postpone until there is a full ceasefire, but until there is at least some serious consultation with the ethnic groups," she said. "Right now the categories are a big problem. We cannot deny the fact that there is some political risk." But Swe Zin Htike thought it was a good opportunity for the whole country to take part, saying the benefits would be national development. "I think it should be seen as a programme for the whole country. Then the result will be inclusiveness and national development and we will know which role we have to play. Now, everyone is just looking out for his or her own rights and personal interests," she said.  Cartoon: DVB Debate But Myo Win said people were worried that if they declaring themselves in one category or another, it could legitimise discrimination. "The categories being used by the so-called democratic government come from data gathered by the dictator regime. Therefore, there are concerns about whether this gives legitimacy to the discrimination policy," he said. The census mentions 135 official indigenous ethnicities, many of which are grouped under a larger ethnic category. Many groups have been angered by the approach to the question of ethnicity. Analysts say that these questions could create more problems in the country. "It includes, sub tribes, clans, they divide the Kachin into ten different groups. In the Shan list, one group 'Tailong' is mentioned twice. Once under the Shan name 'Tailong' and the other under the Burmese name, Shangyi. So they're talking about the same people there," said journalist and Burma expert, Bertil Lintner."The purpose of that list or the outcome of that list will be to divide people, not to unite them," he said. Disagreements have arisen over concerns that the results will be used to strip minorities of their rights. "The Naga are not a small tribe. We are big race. Today, four tribes of Naga are categorised amongst the 53 Chin groups. They said this is not a political issue, but a developmental issue. For us, it is a political issue," said Nok Tun, from the Naga Community Resource Centre. However Sai Kyaut Tint said the purpose of the census was not to divide and rule. "It is not true. It is not systematic division. But since the beginning, it is needed to consult with the ethnics about the categorisation. We spoke with the minister and he said 12 kinds of Shan will be combined as one Shan group. Other groups have not been represented by census options at all. Ye Min Lwin from the Tamil Youth Association said people, who were ethnically Tamil, would have to list themselves as Indian. "We estimate that there are over 600,000 Tamils in Burma. But the census only has a category named Indian. My understanding and the worlds' understanding of calling yourself Indian is that it implies you are an Indian citizen. But I am not an Indian citizen at all," he said. The government have announced that people are free to write whatever name they want under the "other" option. However groups such as the Rohingya, a Muslim minority from Rakhine state which is not officially recognised by the Burmese government, are scared that identifying themselves will lead to further persecution. "When our party did some research we found that people are too scared to name themselves Rohingya," said Kyaw Soe Aung from the Democracy and Human Rights Party. Related StoriesImmigration Minister Khin Yi said that problems are arising because people are politicising the census. "The major difficulty comes from people relating the census to other issues and looking at it from a political point of view. It appears very complex if it is interpreted from the perspective," said the Minister of Population and Immigration. However, with unclear messages coming from some officials, panellists say people are still scared. "They said that there will be action taken against people if they do not answer correctly. The law says they have the right to take action. Law number 16 is about taking action," said Myo Win. "Isn't this intimidation?" Nang Raw agreed, and suggested that the answers could be interpreted in different ways. "We see this as a trap. It can be interpreted in different ways. Who will guarantee that they will not take action against us?" she said. The studio generally agreed there is not enough transparency from the government with regards to the census, and although collecting data is in theory a good idea, there are flaws in the process. You can join the debate and watch the full programme in Burmese at dvbdebate.com Or share your views with us by commenting on our website at dvb.no |
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