Friday, June 27, 2014

Democratic Voice of Burma

Democratic Voice of Burma

KNU legend Tamla Baw dies peacefully, aged 94

Posted: 27 Jun 2014 04:56 AM PDT

Gen. Saw Tamla Baw, a highly respected Karen leader and elder statesman of the independence movement, has passed away at the age of 94 in his home in northern Thailand's Mae Sariang.

Tamla Baw, born in 1920 in Mon state capital Moulmein, served in the 2nd Burma Rifles under the British government before the Japanese invasion; he became an officer in the First Karen Rifles under the British re-occupation.

He joined the Karen uprising in 1949 after Burma's independence and joined the Karen National Union (KNU) where he fought in its armed wing, the Karen National Liberation Army, ultimately being promoted to commander-in-chief. He fought for Karen autonomy for over six decades until announcing his retirement in 2012 by which time he had risen to position of KNU chairman.

Mahn Mahn, secretary-2 of the KNU, said the death of Tamla Baw, an icon of the Karen independence struggle, was an irreplaceable loss.

"Even after he retired as our chairman, he continued to keep up to date and gave advice on the political process," he said. "He was an outstanding leader and his passing is an irreplaceable loss for us."

KNU Secretary-1 Thaw The Bwe said Tamla Baw was an inspiration to all young Karens.

"He was a great source of inspiration for each new generation in the Karen independence movement – he was a good soldier and a natural leader," said Thawe The Bwe. "He offered valuable guidance and revolutionary ideas."

Tamla Baw is survived by eight children, and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He wife Naw Phaw Kawaw passed away in February.

The KNU are yet to announce details for Tamla Baw's funeral.

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In eastern Burma, landmines remain an invisible curse to farmers

Posted: 27 Jun 2014 04:36 AM PDT

Vast tracts of eastern Burma are littered with landmines, remnants of a long running civil war between rebel armies and successive Burmese regimes.

Yet as ceasefire talks continue and hostile armies move towards peace, the mines continue to plague innocent villagers.

Local residents in Karenni and southern Shan states are now demanding that the government begin clearing the landscape of these deadly weapons.

Of particular concern, the villagers say, are mines laid by the Burmese army in the pastureland that surrounds electricity towers.

The national power grid stretches out through Karenni State, and throughout decades of war the Burmese army mined fields surrounding infrastructure such as the Lawpita Hydropower plant.

The towers have been designated targets by ethnic armed groups throughout the conflict in eastern Burma. Since the 1960s, locals say, these landmines have claimed the lives of civilians, cattle, and even the towers' maintenance workers.

One staff member from Myanmar Electric Power Enterprise said that several of his co-workers have been killed.

"We have lost workers to the landmines. They usually die from their injuries," he said. "It happens quite often around tower-36 near to Lawpita. One of our men stood on one and was killed on the spot."

Residents in villages along the grid, which runs from southern Karenni state north into Shan State, said for generations they have lived with the constant fear of stepping on a landmine. This fear, they say, has caused psychological trauma among the local populace.

"With all the ordinance around, we feel very unsafe walking or working in the fields, trying to make a living," said one Lawpita resident.

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"Sometimes we bring our dogs to our farm work and they play around and set off a landmine."

Ethnic political parties believe that a demining programme should go hand in hand with ceasefire agreements and peace talks between the government and ethnic armed groups.

Nan Yi, general secretary of the Kayan National Party, reinforced that sentiment.

"Since we can now see peace on the horizon, we don't think the situation demands the use of landmines. Those who are responsible for laying these mines should begin a demining programme," he said.

He added that fearful farmers are often the victims of an added injustice.

"Quite often, cattle owned by locals accidently set off mines. The owner, while having lost their cattle, is also made to pay compensation for the mine that exploded," Nan Yi said.

Burma Business Weekly

Posted: 27 Jun 2014 04:17 AM PDT

 

Ups and Downs

The Burmese currency has strengthened, with the buying rate finishing on Friday at 973 kyat – up 7 kyat since 13 June – and the selling rate up 8 kyat over that period, to 978 from 970. Meanwhile over the two-week period, the price of gold increased to 678,000 kyat per tical, up from 657,100 kyat. Fuel prices remained the same, with petrol selling at 820 kyat per litre, diesel at 950 kyat per litre, and octane at 920 kyat per litre. The price of rice remains constant, with the cost of high-quality Pawhsanmwe rice selling from at 1,300 to 1,700 kyat per basket and low-quality Manawthukha rice going for 900 kyat per basket.

Philippine, Singaporean airlines to launch direct flights between Manila and Rangoon

Philippine airline Cebu Pacific Air and Singaporean airline Tigerair will introduce direct flights between Rangoon and Manila in the near future, according to Burma's Department of Civil Aviation. The Aviation authorities of Burma and that of the Philippines signed a memorandum of understanding in May to launch direct flight services, though details have not yet been resolved. This decision comes on the heels of a visa-exemption agreement that the Philippines and Burma signed late last year.

Govt lauds Burma's growth, foreign investment

Foreign investment and trade in Burma has grown significantly amid the implementation of a private sector reform strategy introduced by the government after it assumed office three years ago, according to official data. Foreign investment in Burma has increased from US$40 billion in 2011 to over $46 billion today, while trade has risen from $18 billion to $25 billion. The government statistics say that the number of foreign companies operating in Burma has increased dramatically from 40 in 2011 to more than 1,000.

Natural gas exports down by 12 percent

Burma's natural gas exports were $3.2 billion, a decrease of 12 percent compared to the same period last year, according to Myanmar Business Today. Earnings from natural gas exports were $3.66 billion in 2012-13. Win Maw, a senior energy ministry official, told Myanmar Business Today that the slight drop in gas exports was due to allocation for domestic consumption, after the government redrafted an agreement with Thailand's PTT.

IMF predicts GDP to reach 8.5 percent

The International Monetary Fund announced on 17 June that it expects Burma to continue strong economic growth, reaching 8.5 percent in real GDP growth for the fiscal year of 2014- 15.  Yet the IMF warned of structural frailties that will threaten the prospects for long-term growth. The Fund alluded to the virtually non-existent tax revenue collection system and to an immature financial sector, which needs to be reformed and improved in order to accommodate international interest in Burma's economy.

Shwedagon Pagoda attracted 30,000 foreigners in May

More than 30,000 foreigners visited Rangoon's famed Shwedagon pagoda in May this year, according to Myanmar Business Today. Numbers from the pagoda's Board of Trustees showed that Thai tourists were the most, reaching more than 6,700, followed by the Chinese at 3,000 and the South Koreans at 2,200.

Paddy fields may be used as collateral, says Central Bank

Burma's Agriculture and Irrigation Deputy Minister Ohn Than said on Thursday that his ministry is devising a plan with the Central Bank to allow farmers to use their paddy fields as collateral in exchange for borrowing money from the Bank. Speaking in parliament, he said any loans would only be made for investments in agricultural projects. Discussions would continue on linking loans to conditions such as crop production, he said, adding that the Central Bank would announce interest rates and conditions in the near future.

Burma job boom

Nearly 200,000 jobs have been created and 400 foreign and domestic investments initiated during the three years of rule by the Thein Sein government, reported state-run Myanmar News Agency on Monday. The report said 50 investments were given the go-ahead in the first year of government, creating over 16,000 job opportunities, followed by 75,000-plus opportunities from nearly 160 investments the following year. Over the past 12 months, some 200 new businesses have created over 100,000 job opportunities, the report said.

GE to help Burma with energy infrastructure

US-based firm General Electric (GE) will assist Burma in developing the energy infrastructure necessary to begin addressing the country's electricity needs, a Ministry of Electric Power representative said. According to Myanmar Business Today, Deputy Minister Maw Thar Htwe said that GE had provided the government with a roadmap to help Burma improve the infrastructure and the supply shortcomings. "On June 17, we received GE's assessment and we are preparing to work with the company to support the country's current electrical improvement plans," he said. The plan will help with implementing proposed generation, distribution, and rural electrification reforms.

Chin State SEZs to be completed by March 2015

Two special economic zones in Chin State will be completed by March 2015, according to a state minister. Speaking to the Myanmar Business Today, Ram Mann, Chin State's minister for planning and economy, said that the SEZs in state capital Hakha and Tedim will be completed at the end of fiscal year 2014. "The projects will prioritise businesses relating to automobiles, and the electricity for these industrial zones will be supplied through the national grid in Hakha," he said.

Thai banks targets wealthy Burmese

Thailand's Kasikornbank aims to target affluent customers in neighbouring countries as part of its efforts to push towards 10 percent growth in assets under management (AUM) for its wealth management business this year, according to a report in the Bangkok Post. Executive vice-president Pakorn Partanapat said wealth among Laotian business owners is increasing, propelled by their dynamic economic growth. This group will be KBank’s main focus, he said, adding that wealthy Burmese are another target.

 

Military nominee pledges to improve living standards in Arakan State

Posted: 27 Jun 2014 03:59 AM PDT

Maj-Gen Maung Maung Ohn, nominated by the President's Office as the next chief minister of Arakan State, has pledged to improve the living standards of the local population and restore stability to the region.

Responding to a question by a DVB reporter at a meeting to discuss Arakanese issues, hosted by the Myanmar Peace Centre in Rangoon on Thursday, Maung Maung Ohn said, "I would like to prioritise improving the living standards of Rakhine [Arakanese] people while at the same time trying to reduce conflict.

"I can see that many Arakanese people are living in poverty and feel a strong sense of antipathy toward the other community," he said. "What we have to do, first and foremost, is explore solutions to these issues."

By "other community", the senior military man was clearly referring to the Muslim Rohingya community, which makes up a majority in several parts of the region. Inter-communal tensions between Arakanese Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims boiled over in 2012, and the subsequent mob violence resulted in at least 200 deaths and some 140,000 people displaced from their homes.

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"I think it will be hard for us to resolve this sensitive issue, so perhaps all we can do for now is improve people's livelihoods," said Maung Maung Ohn, who was border affairs deputy minister until recently appointed member of parliament. "This is what I plan to do when I take office – if we can significantly improve people's standard of living, we can steadily resolve the sectarian issues."

Maung Maung Ohn was joined at the conference on Thursday by senior government officials and representatives from Arakan-based political parties and civic society groups, as well as United Nations' Special Advisor to Myanmar Vijay Nambiar.

Also in attendance was the chairman of the Rakhine National Network, Tin Htoo Aung, who told DVB afterwards that the government had presented a plan of action to tackle the crisis in Arakan State.

"The government representatives spoke about an action plan – this was a significant part of the meeting – and so I think our responsibility is to wait and see if they can implement it or not, and how we can cooperate," he said.

He said that President Thein Sein has allocated a 15 billion kyat (US$15 million) budget for developing Arakan State, which is the poorest region in Burma next to Chin State.

Maung Maung Ohn said he understood that he is not the most popular candidate for the position of chief minister among many Arakanese, but vowed that he would do the best he can, and would regard the locals as his own family members.

"There were objections against me in the meeting today, but I understand the emotions. I don't blame anyone," said the major-general.

Meanwhile, the influential Arakan National Party (ANP) – a recent merger of the two previous largest nationalist parties in Arakan State – has released a statement calling for appointment of an ethnic Arakanese as chief minister. Maung Maung Ohn is a Burman.

The regional parliament resumes on 30 June when it is expected that Maung Maung Ohn's appointment as chief minister will be finalised.

DVB talks to Kanthan Shankar, World Bank

Posted: 27 Jun 2014 01:58 AM PDT

 

Kanthan Shankar, the country manager for the World Bank in Burma, spoke to DVB Interview International recently about several World Bank and International Finance Corporation (IFC) projects currently underway in the country, and addresses concerns over their implementation.

The World Bank is financing a schools grant and stipends programme as part of its Decentralising Funding to Schools Project, worth a total of US$100 million. The money will go towards an existing government initiative by the Ministry of Education.

"It is mainly benefiting the poor, giving them scholarships and better school facilities," Shankar said.

"We've seen similar programmes have worked in other countries so we are bringing that experience to bear. [The programme will] serve kids in primary education, in particular, with better facilities. And poorer kids will benefit. Over 100,000 kids will be benefitting and as a whole that's over eight million schools and students."

The World Bank's International Development Association (IDA) is putting US$80 million into this education stipend project while the government of Australia is adding $20 million.

Meanwhile the IFC has pledged to invest $80 million in Shangri-La Asia Ltd to expand operations in Burma. The loan will provide assistance for the expansion of the Traders Hotel in downtown Rangoon as well as for construction of the 240-suite luxury Shangri-La Residences overlooking Kandawgyi Lake.

Shankar said it is important to attract private sector investment to the country.

"It is extremely important [for a country] that is under transition, where 70 percent of its population live in rural areas, [and where] poverty rates are quite high. If they need to reduce their poverty – they cannot completely depend on the public sector, they cannot completely depend on the government, they have to attract private sector," he said.

"They've been shut away for such a long time. Here is an opportunity that they will be able to create an environment for responsible private sector to come in."

Another project the World Bank is financing is a Community-driven Development (CDD) project, which gets local communities involved in choosing development projects for their villages.

"This is our first activity in Myanmar [Burma]. It is an $80 million development grant from IDA. In each of the regions in Myanmar, the poorest township is selected and each of the villages and village tracts benefit from this CDD programme. So on average there is about $27,000 for each village, and the community decides what they would want in terms of infrastructure upgrading, water supply, sanitation, building access pathways," he said.

Shankar said he recently visited the town of Kampalet in Chin State, one of the areas taking part in the CDD project.

"I went to visit about five or six villages and some of them you have to walk for about 40 minutes each way to reach them – they are extremely remote. But you can see the impact in terms of the process. For these communities, it's the first time for them to be responsible for the choices, rather than someone deciding for them," he said.

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However, the World Bank has faced criticism over the CDD project. The US Campaign for Burma has concerns over a lack of meaningful consultations with the local communities and a failure to ensure those with ethnic languages or limited education can understand the projects being rolled out in their communities.

"Of course it's not going to be perfect, we are just starting this work," Shankar said. "We are learning. There is a grievance mechanism where communities can, if something isn't going well, bring it up to the committee.

"I certainly don't think this is going to be perfect as it starts, we are learning, and it's the first time these projects are being implemented," he emphasised.

Other concerns have been raised over IFC pledging $30 million to invest in the Yoma Equity Project, an initiative of Yoma Bank. IFC investment would support the Yoma Bank's SME [Small-Medium Enterprises] financing programme to increase access to finance for SME's in Burma. The project was categorised as FI(2) (Financial Intermediary), which means it could forego certain social and environmental impact assessments. Given that several FI investments in other countries have been accused of a lack of transparency, there are concerns over the FI categorisation of this project.

"Look, what I can say is that IFC is trying to attract private sector into the country. There is a huge need to create jobs in Myanmar. It has to be in sectors such as in manufacturing and micro-enterprises, so creating and helping in terms of funding some of these activities and helping the government in ensuring there is an attractive environment for private sector investments, both local and international, is important, and that is what IFC does," he said.

Shankar went on to say that the World Bank does due diligence in every project they undertake.

"We do due diligence in every activity which we do. There are these assessments that we do. If we go into any type of intervention which we finance we will do due diligence. And after that is the only way we would go into the next step. And that is being done on everything that we do," he said.

UN criticises Burma’s drug efforts

Posted: 27 Jun 2014 01:35 AM PDT

For many years, Burma has celebrated the UN's International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking with fiery abandon, marking the occasion with drug-burning ceremonies intended to show how serious the government is about tackling the trade. However the 2014 edition of the World Drug Report, issued annually by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), paints a mixed picture of Burma's drug eradication efforts.

At an event marking the report's launch in Rangoon on Thursday afternoon, Jeremy Douglas, UNODC's representative for Southeast Asia, noted that Burmese opiates and stimulant production have both increased significantly in recent years.

While Burma lost the title of the world's largest opium producer to Afghanistan in the early 1990s, the country still accounts for a substantial portion of global supply, the report says, a share that has been rising steadily for almost ten years. "It's an increasing percentage, year on year, for Myanmar. In 2005, which was the low point, [Burma] was roughly five percent of global opium production," he said. "It is now 18 percent of global opium production."

Yet enforcement figures do not reflect this spike, Douglas claimed. "In this region, oddly, given that there's 18 percent of the production of the world taking place, in the golden triangle [there are] relatively low seizures. There may be some explanation for that coming from the government," he said.

Southeast Asia has witnessed a massive spike in supply and demand for synthetic drugs in recent years, most notably pill-form methamphetamine, or Yaba. "We have seen a seven-fold increase [in Yaba seizures] over the last few years. We are now projecting… the highest [seizure] levels ever recorded. 240-plus-million pills will be reported in the near future as seized in the greater Mekong sub region. The source of those… is the Shan State area."

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Because the raw materials needed to create these synthetic drugs do not originate in Burma, Douglas called for improved "precursor controls" that would limit the ability of criminal syndicates to engage in large-scale production in Burma's lawless frontier areas. Most precursor chemicals – the ephedrine and pseudoephedrine for methamphetamienes and the ancetic anhyndride used to purify heroin – have historically originated in China, but these have been augmented by increasing shipments from India recently, Douglas claimed.

Two massive pyres – laden with heroin, pharmaceuticals, methamphetamines and other drugs – were set ablaze at a ceremony held in Rangoon's northern Hlawga township early Thursday morning. Two other events were simultaneously held in Mandalay and Taunggyi, the capital of Shan State.

Commander Khin Maung Thein, of the police's Anti-Narcotics Taskforce, said that 16 different types of drugs, with a combined street value of 14 million US dollars, were destroyed at the Rangoon event. "All these drugs were seized across Burma – in Rangoon, Pegu, Irrawaddy and Tenasserim divisions, and Mon, Arakan and Karen, and were tested by the Criminal Investigation Department," he said. The combined value of the drugs destroyed at the three events totalled US$130 million, according to the authorities.

Additional reporting by Paing Soe

NLD to hold first youth congress in July

Posted: 26 Jun 2014 10:42 PM PDT

The National League for Democracy (NLD) announced on Thursday that it will hold its first nationwide youth congress on 5- 6 July.

Maung Maung Oo, appointed chairperson of the Youth Congress Organising Commission, said more than 200 young NLD members from branches across Burma will attend the meeting at the Royal Rose Hall in Rangoon's Bahan Township where party leader Aung San Suu Kyi is scheduled to deliver the opening speech.

On the agenda at the congress will be the formation of a Central Youth Leading Committee and a Central Youth Working Committee, and the appointment of its representatives.

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The conference was originally due to be held in January, then April, but was postponed each time as the NLD concentrated its efforts on a nationwide campaign calling for public support for its bid to enact constitutional reform.

The NLD reportedly has about 100,000 youth members throughout Burma, aged between 16 and 35.

The party has long been criticised for its reliance on elder statesmen; while several octogenarians are among its central committee members, few persons under the age of 65 hold any authority in the party's hierarchy.

In 2008, 109 youth members resigned from the party, claiming their voices were not being heard.

Women activists charged for protesting in Chin State

Posted: 26 Jun 2014 09:50 PM PDT

Four activists who organised a protest against sexual violence in the town of Matupi in Chin State have been charged for staging a rally without permission – Chapter Three of Burma’s controversial Peaceful Assembly and Peaceful Procession Act.

Women's rights activists Thang Zin and Khin Lwe Parh, and Chin Youth Organisation members Mong Han and Tate Manh, were summoned to the Matupi police station around noon on Wednesday after they had led some 200 local demonstrators through the streets the two previous days.

"The women were interrogated by police who informed them of the charges and instructed them to wait for the court summons," said Mai Alli of the Chin Women's Association. "The local police chief apparently told them not to be worried – as they might be let off with just a fine."

The two Chin Youth activists, Khin Lwe Parh and Thang Zin, were released on bail at around 5pm on Wednesday.

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Khin Lwe Parh later told DVB that she led the protest to raise awareness and call for an end to rampant abuses in the region, including domestic violence, and said she would face any charge for doing what she believes in – promoting female empowerment.

"I will go to prison and take whatever punishment they give me for doing what I can for women's rights," she said.

Thang Zin said she will continue to educate women so they know their rights, and to protect and defend them in cases of sexual and domestic violence.

"There is a tradition in Burma that women are not allowed to talk back to their husbands, and due to a lack of rule of law, they are reluctant to make an issue of the domestic violence they suffer, which encourages the perpetrators even more," she said.

"We staged the protest to raise awareness, and encourage women not to be afraid to speak out."

Another group of female activists who held a similar protest in nearby Rezua sub-township concurrently with the rally in Matupi have also been summoned by police.

The organisers of the two protests requested permission from local authorities and police prior to the events in accordance with the law, but their applications were rejected.
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