Democratic Voice of Burma |
- Women of Burma speak out against Interfaith Marriage Act
- Operation Smile
- Tackling the demons on Burma’s ‘Highway of Death’
- Economic challenges on agenda ahead of ASEAN summit
- DVB Debate: When does the government have the right to take land?
- Mandalay activists urge religious harmony
| Women of Burma speak out against Interfaith Marriage Act Posted: 06 May 2014 04:53 AM PDT Ninety-seven civil society organisations, including several women’s rights groups, spoke out on Tuesday against Burma's proposed Interfaith Marriage Act. In March, Burmese President Thein Sein established a committee to draft a legislative package protecting national race and religion, after a coalition of influential Buddhist monks lobbied for the laws. Civil society groups across Burma released a joint-statement on Tuesday denouncing the laws, claiming that the Interfaith Marriage Act "is based on discriminatory beliefs that women are generally physically and mentally weaker than men, and therefore need to be supervised and protected." The statement further suggests that the legislation could be used to gain favour in the lead-up to the 2015 elections. More fundamentally, the group rejected the extremism that underpins the law: "Faith-based extremist nationalism can destroy state peace and incite conflict; we reject all political violence that causes people's physical and mental insecurity." Women's rights activist May Sabe Phyu said the Interfaith Marriage Act betrays a belief that protecting national identity necessitates the subjugation of women. "Women are portrayed as mentally and physically inferior to the men," she said, "whether it's about faith or marriage or how many children to have – women should have the right to make their own decision about their life, and adopting this law will restrict freedom of choice." Related StoriesAung Myo Min, director of the rights group Equality Myanmar, said the law prohibits freedom of faith and institutionalises human rights abuse. "Requiring religious conversion in order to marry a Buddhist woman not only violates freedom of faith, but also a woman's right to make her own choice," said Aung Myo Min. "Adopting the law goes beyond protection of race and religion, it is harmful to the freedom of faith." The statement further urged the government to prioritise amending the 2008 Constitution and implement peace in the country, instead of pushing racial and religious protection laws that remain highly divisive. Presidential spokesman Ye Htut said that the law's drafting committee was instructed to ensure the legislation was not detrimental to women's rights. "The president mentioned in his directive that … [the law must] impose no harm upon women's rights," he said, "so basically this [argument by the CSOs] is not valid. "If they have concerns with the law, then they should raise them to the law drafting committee," he added. The movement to adopt laws to protect race and the Buddhist religion in Burma gained traction after communal violence swept the nation in mid-2012. Riots between Buddhists and Muslims have to date left more than 200 people dead and about 140,000 displaced, mostly Muslims. Ethno-religious violence has given rise to a Buddhist-nationalist movement propagated by influential religious leaders such as Ashin Wirathu and members of the government-appointed National Head Monks Committee. |
| Posted: 06 May 2014 03:43 AM PDT A team of medical specialists from a multi-national charity, Operation Smile, are providing free examinations and surgery in Rangoon, for children born with cleft lips and palates. Thirty-eight international medical professionals have volunteered for the Burma mission and surgeries will be performed at Rangoon General Hospital from 5-10 May. "We are evaluating the children to determine whether they need the surgery," said mission co-sponsor Win Win Thant. "The health workers are now checking data and will announce the names of those qualified for the procedure in the evening, before starting treatment tomorrow [Tuesday]." Operation Smile is an initiative of voluntary medical workers who provide treatment for children born with facial deformities. In 2013, Operation Smile teams performed 21,474 free surgeries for children worldwide. The initiative also trains local health workers to be able to perform the surgeries when the Operation Smile specialists leave town. This is the fourth year Operation Smile has come to Burma, and each year their medical volunteers have treated 150 children. Cleft lips are extremely common, with approximately one in 600 babies being born with the congenital defect in the developing world. The operation is fairly simple but many poorer families cannot afford it. "As day labourers with financial difficulties, we are grateful for this opportunity. In fact, we are delighted," said a mother from Ngathinechaung, Irrawaddy Division. On Tuesday, 30 children who qualify in a check-up will receive surgery at Rangoon General Hospital's Plastic Maxillofacial and Oral Surgery Department, to correct their cleft lips. Operation Smile's treatment will continue until Saturday.
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| Tackling the demons on Burma’s ‘Highway of Death’ Posted: 05 May 2014 11:42 PM PDT More speed cameras are being introduced on the Rangoon – Mandalay Expressway to try to curb the spiralling death toll; meanwhile a local group wants to purge the area of evil spirits, and bus companies are selling travel insurance with tickets. Twelve insurance firms, including government-backed Myanma Insurance, have announced new policies to cover accidents and deaths while traveling on Burma's highways. The premiums for a one-way bus journey via any highway will start at 300 kyat (US$0.30) and will cover travellers up to 2.4 million kyat, or $2,500. The scheme starts at bus stations nationwide on 8 May. Also taking measures to address road fatalities are Burma's highway police, who recently announced they will install 20 additional speed cameras along the Rangoon-Mandalay expressway in a move to decrease the number of traffic accidents. No less than 113 lives have been lost on the 590-km Rangoon- Mandalay Expressway in the last year alone, earning it a "Highway of Death" moniker. A highway police official told DVB that speed cameras were previously installed at bends and stretches on the asphalt road where drivers frequently exceed the 100kph speed limit. "Twenty more cameras will be erected at other sections of the expressway to further enforce regulations," he said. Aung Kyaw Naing is a member of a group that plans to hold a Buddhist ceremony in the near future at milestone 116 to pray for those who lost their lives around that dangerous stretch of road. But he said that speeding was not the only cause of traffic accidents, and that the poor quality of the road surface contributed to the death toll. He also blamed "evil spirits" and said the ceremony would help to purge the ghosts from the area. "The poor-quality condition of the road is probably the main reason for so many accidents," he told DVB. "However another factor may be evil spirits. During the Japanese occupation [in WWII], a lot of people were killed near the spot where that milestone now stands." A survey was conducted on the expressway earlier this year – by a Japanese company – which concluded that 19 percent of the road surface is defective while another six percent also requires repairs. According to Highway Police data, from 1 January to 17 April 2014, there have been 147 traffic accidents reported throughout Burma, which resulted in 37 deaths and 262 injuries. |
| Economic challenges on agenda ahead of ASEAN summit Posted: 05 May 2014 10:42 PM PDT PARIS — Ken Zaw, Burma's Minister of National Planning and Economic Development, yesterday outlined challenges awaiting the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) as the region moves closer to regional economic integration. Those challenges, he said, include equitable and sustainable development and inclusive growth. Ken Zaw's comments were received at the Southeast Asian Forum, held at the headquarters of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in Paris on Monday. He told international participants, which included several ministers from ASEAN, that the regional body is headed towards achieving an integrated ASEAN economic community (AEC) in 2015. “We give full attention in equal share … in terms of economic growth and development,” he said, referring to the common goals of ASEAN. Under Burma's chairmanship, he said, ASEAN will strengthen small and medium enterprises, enhancing public-private partnerships for infrastructure. Ken Zaw also praised the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA) for assisting in the country's economic development and promoting competitiveness. He lauded increased engagement between ERIA and the OECD as the two organisations entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) committing to collaborate in the region. Ken Zaw said that the partnership would contribute to economic integration and good practices in the region. "ASEAN and OECD have a long history of relations. We need to learn from the OECD experience," he emphasised. Ministers from ASEAN and dialogue countries, including Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, New Zealand and India, also took part in the forum. Each attendee brought country-specific prospects and challenges to the discussions about the forthcoming ASEAN economic community. The ASEAN ministers congratulated OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurria for launching a Southeast Asian Regional Programme that would help to promote inclusive economic growth in the region. Gurria reiterated that OECD has a long history of best practices among its members, and would like to share them with emerging economies. Echoing Gurria, ERIA Executive Director Prof. Hidetoshi Nishimura said, "It is a historical moment for ERIA and OECD to forge a formal cooperation." According to the MoU, both sides will cooperate on policy studies about public-private partnership in infrastructure development, global value chain, and various other issues. The Paris meeting was held in advance of the upcoming 2014 ASEAN summit, which will be held in Burma's capital city, Naypyidaw, on 10 – 11 May. Burma assumed the ASEAN chairmanship in January 2014 for the first time since becoming a member of the regional bloc in 1997. Chairmanship is generally determined by rotation, which skipped Burma in 2006 because of fears that Western leaders would boycott meetings as the country was still under military rule and subject to severe sanctions. The AEC is a plan for regional economic integration that will come into effect in 2015. The strategy is geared towards inter-regional technical support and infrastructural development, with the goals of improving production and promoting free movement of goods and capital throughout Southeast Asia. |
| DVB Debate: When does the government have the right to take land? Posted: 05 May 2014 10:14 PM PDT Wealthy Burmese companies with political leverage, often financially backed by foreign investors, have been claiming farmlands around the country for development projects over the past two years, taking advantage of constitutional loopholes. But land rights issues have risen to the top of the political agenda in Burma as events and protests on the subject begin to capture front pages. On DVB Debate's panel: Maung Maung, general manager of Ayar Shwe Wah company; land rights activist Myo Thant; MP Aung Thein Lin; and former lawyer Myint Thwin. Panellists discussed why so many victims of land grabbing have still not been compensated. "In reality, when speaking about returning plots to farmers, there are some examples where these lands have still not been handed over," said audience member Phoe Phyu, a legal consultant at Purple Equality law firm. "Even though the cases in question have been approved, the lands continue to remain seized and are being transformed into new land grab crimes."  Cartoon: DVB Debate Aung Thein Lin, a member of the Parliamentary Land Grab Investigation Commission, which was set up to resolve land disputes, said that the original landowners often do not have the correct land documentation. "It's important to create policy for farmland," he said. "Nowadays, there are many problems, such as who to return the land to. When we look at property documents, we frequently find only the names of the people who owned the land a long time ago." But Myint Thwin from the Food Security Working Group, said this was no excuse for not returning land, and those responsible should be held accountable. "This issue must be resolved, and all citizens and farmers whose lands have been grabbed unlawfully should be able to sue the government, the military and the companies responsible," he said. Panellists disagreed about whether lands had been taken illegally. Audience member Myint Zaw, who is general manager for Zaykabar, a company known to have seized thousands of acres of land for development projects, said they have done everything by the book. "Regarding the farmlands that we confiscated – we are using them, not abandoning them. So there is no reason to give them back. The documents we have are sufficient to prove ownership. Zaykabar got legal permission to keep the lands from the housing department," he said. Myint Thwin recognised there was a legal precedent for seizing land, but said the law was not being followed by the government or the army. "There is a legal precedent which says that the land can be taken after a satisfactory amount of compensation is paid to the local owners," he said. "Yet the army, the companies and the government do not follow this law. That's why these problems occur." Related StoriesAung Thein Lin said they are trying to resolve the issues, but there is still a long way to go. "It is not possible to compensate everyone by the end of September, because some cases are still being reported to our committee as recently as yesterday," he said. Others believe these cases need to be prioritised. "The current government and future governments should understand that the country cannot be governed well without solving the land disputes," said Myo Thant, a farmers’ rights activist from the 88 Generation Peace and Open Society. "It is a terrible situation for the country." The studio generally agreed that the laws surrounding these issues need to be clearer so they can be properly enforced, and that farmers need to be made aware of their rights and responsibilities. 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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| Mandalay activists urge religious harmony Posted: 05 May 2014 08:39 PM PDT More than 50 activists of various religious denominations turned out in the streets of Mandalay on Monday to promote peaceful co-existence among the different faiths. Calling themselves the Supporters of Concord, and campaigning under the slogan, "Let's shape a beautiful future without discrimination", the multi-faith activists handed out bottles of drinking water to passers-by and urged harmony. Campaign organiser Zaw Zaw Latt said, "We wish for peace among different communities in Burma." The Supporters of Concord group was founded in the central Burmese city over one year ago. Zaw Zaw Latt said among its members are Buddhists, Christians, Muslims, Hindus and even some followers of the Baha'i faith. Burma has been racked with communal violence in recent years between majority Buddhists and the Muslim community. Historical tensions have become particularly enflamed in the western state of Arakan where mob attacks between Arakanese Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims have been frequent and bloody. |
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