Democratic Voice of Burma |
- DVB reporter sentenced to 1 year for ‘disturbing a civil servant’
- Ceasefire talks extended an extra day
- Burmese army threatens force to complete census in KIO area
- Suu Kyi to visit Germany, France
| DVB reporter sentenced to 1 year for ‘disturbing a civil servant’ Posted: 07 Apr 2014 02:34 AM PDT Zaw Pe, a reporter for the Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB), was sentenced to one year imprisonment on Monday by a court in Magwe after being found guilty of "trespassing" and "disturbing a civil servant on duty". The charges stem from an incident in August 2012 when Zaw Pe visited the Magwe Division Education Department to conduct an interview about a Japanese-funded scholarship programme. An educational officer subsequently pressed charges against the reporter and Win Myint Hlaing, the father of a student who was inquiring about the scholarships. Zaw Pe's lawyer Thein Tun said his client and the co-defendant were sentenced to serve concurrently one year's imprisonment for trespassing and one year for disturbing a civil servant on duty. The lawyer criticised the punishment as "harsh" and vowed to appeal the verdict. DVB Multimedia Group on Monday released a statement denouncing the sentencing. "DVB is confident that reporter Zaw Pe (a.k.a. Thura Thet Tin) was fulfilling his responsibility as a news reporter to inquire about a scholarship programme at the Magwe Township Education Department, which was in the public interest," the statement read, "and therefore completely denounce his sentencing. "Despite all the government officials' pledges of press reform, we believe the jailing of Zaw Pe is an obstacle to media freedom in the country, and we call for the unconditional release of the reporter and his co-defendant," the DVB statement read. David Mathieson, senior researcher on Burma for Human Rights Watch, said, "Zaw Pe's sentencing is another reprehensible example of the government's recidivism on press freedoms, pulling out military era provisions to intimidate the media. Unfortunately the national level parliament is failing to repeal these petty provisions utilized by capricious local officials and is instead drafting laws that will intimidate the press and curtail their ability to investigate corruption and malfeasance."
For more background: http://www.dvb.no/news/dvb-journalist-questioned-after-being-sued-by-civil-servant/23475 **An earlier version of this article said that Zaw Pe was sentenced to two years. We apologise for the error. |
| Ceasefire talks extended an extra day Posted: 07 Apr 2014 02:25 AM PDT Government peace negotiators and representatives of 21 ethnic armed groups have extended ceasefire talks for an extra day. Negotiations at the Myanmar Peace Centre in Rangoon started on Saturday and have been ongoing over the weekend. Delegates are aiming to agree on points that will be included in the draft for a nationwide ceasefire. Pado Kwe Htoo Win from Karen National Union and member of the National Ceasefire Coordination Team (NCCT) said they agreed to extend their talks as they needed more time to discuss one of the subjects. "We still need to discuss certain subjects that we are yet to reach an agreement on; and so to finalise discussions, we decided to extend the negotiation process," he said. Special advisor to the Myanmar Peace Centre, Hla Maung Shwe said the delegates wanted more time to discuss the first chapter of the draft ceasefire agreement. Related Stories"We are having discussions on the draft agreement's Preamble and Chapter-1: ‘Principals’, which is the most crucial part of the agreement. We did not complete discussion on this chapter so we decided to continue the meeting on Monday," he said. There were a few new faces present at the Rangoon talks – representatives from the United Wa State Party, the Shan State Army-South (SSA-S), the All-Burma Students Democratic Front (ABSDF), the National Democratic Alliance Army, and the National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Khaplang, all attended the ceasefire talks for the first time. This round of talks is expected to close later on Monday.
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| Burmese army threatens force to complete census in KIO area Posted: 06 Apr 2014 11:07 PM PDT About 1000 troops from the Burmese army's Magwe-based 88th Light Infantry Division and Theinni-based 16th Military Operation Command on Wednesday arrived near Man Win Gyi village on the Kachin-Shan border and surrounded the village which hosts thousands of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). A local aid worker said the Burmese army troops were preparing to launch a major offensive against Kachin Independence Army (KIA) troops to take a census of people living in the KIO-controlled area surrounding Man Win Gyi village. "Burmese army officers have threatened KIA local officers that if they don't allow to take census, they will use force to take census in KIA-controlled area," said the aid worker. A mix of Kachin, Shan, Chinese and other races live in Man Win Gyi area located a few miles from the China-Burma border. A local KIA officer said they have allowed Shan leaders living in KIO-controlled territories to take census by themselves and deliver census information to Burmese authorities in order to avoid direct confrontation with the Burmese army. Related StoriesKachin IDPs living in temporary camps — Man Win Pa, Lagat Yang and Lana Zup Ja — near Man Win Gyi area fled from Kawng Ja, Mungding Pa, Mahkaw Yang, Nam Hpu and Namlim Pa in Mansi Township as battles raged between the KIA and Burmese army troops last November. Most IDPs have already been displaced twice since the renewed war began in June 2011. Naw Din of the Karuna Myanmar Social Service said, "Tension between the two parties is at highest level now. I am afraid of hearing a third displacement." |
| Suu Kyi to visit Germany, France Posted: 06 Apr 2014 08:28 PM PDT Burma's opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi leaves for Europe on Wednesday where she will meet with French and German dignitaries and receive a peace prize, her party said. Scheduled to fly to Berlin on 9 April, Suu Kyi is to meet the president, prime minister and foreign minister of Germany before paying a visit to the German Parliament where she is due to discuss parliamentary affairs. Aung San Suu Kyi will then receive a peace prize and meet with Burmese families at Freie University. On 14 April, the Burmese pro-democracy icon will travel from Germany to France and meet with senior officials including President François Hollande. She is also scheduled to visit the French Parliament and a military academy before flying home on 16 April (arriving 17 April). |
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