Tuesday, July 1, 2014

Democratic Voice of Burma

Democratic Voice of Burma

Tada-U farmers win back half their land, vow to fight on

Posted: 01 Jul 2014 05:13 AM PDT

Burmese authorities have returned some 5,000 acres (20 sq.km) of farmland to residents of four villages in the district of Tada-U in Mandalay Division.

The lands were part of a larger parcel of property that had originally been seized and confiscated by the military government in the early 1990s to make way for construction of Mandalay International Airport. That airport opened in 2000, but some 9,000 acres of land remains unused.

On 28 June, an official ceremony was held to mark the return of the land. Mandalay Division Chief Minister Ye Myint presided over the event, attended by around 500 residents of villages in the area.

However, farmers from the four villages say the land returned is a little over half of the plot they originally owned and cultivated, and they insist the rest is handed back too.

They say some 4,000 acres of unused land in Tada-U remains in government hands.

Burma's presidential-appointed Land Grab Investigation Commission has called on all fallow or undeveloped lands which were seized by the military to be returned this year or for adequate compensation to be offered to the original owners.

That parliamentary commission has outlined a precise timeframe for the land grab cases to be settled. That deadline is September.  

Khin Thandar, a local member for the National League for Democracy, questioned the government's decision to retain the large portion of confiscated land.

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"We would like to know if the government has a plan to return the remainder of the land in September," she said. "We want to know if there is a specific order on this."

However Chief Minister Ye Myint claimed that the Tada-U farmers were not entitled to the return of all their previously held property.

"A total of 9,055 acres of land was disputed and the information was submitted to the government," he said.

"They made the decision. A road divides the land. The plots to the west of the road are not to be returned," he said.

The Tada-U villagers say they are determined to press home their claim for the return of the remaining land. At this stage, Khin Thandar says, they still have nothing to be grateful for.

Bullet Points

Posted: 01 Jul 2014 05:06 AM PDT

Today’s stories for Tuesday 1 July

Two hundred protesters march through the streets of Pathein, Irrawaddy division, demanding  information surrounding the case of deposed religious affairs minister Hsan Hsint.

The government has returned 5,000 acres of land to residents in Mandalay's Tada-U, which was confiscated in 1993 to make way for an airport.

The Interim Press Council is calling on police to stop their inquest into the finances of local media outlets.

Mayanchaung village in Rangoon's Hlegu Township is home to 200 leprosy sufferers who live an isolated existence with their families.

 

Watch today’s episode on DVB TV after the 7 o’clock news.

DVB Debate: Why are drug abuse and production flourishing in Burma?

Posted: 01 Jul 2014 01:32 AM PDT

Burma is currently one of the world's main sources of opiates and methamphetamines, and the world's second largest poppy grower after Afghanistan. Production fuels rampant addiction in the country and the drug problem shows no signs of improvement.

Panellists on DVB Debate discussed the drugs industry and question how known drug lords have been able to operate in Burma without arrest or impediment.

"In the past, drug tycoons like Khun Sa and Lo Hsing Han were never arrested and became the owners of large successful businesses in Burma like Asia World," said freelance journalist Aung Kyi Soe Myint.

"This is because of money laundering. People like Khun Sa had been doing this for a long time and become rich," said Hla Htay, a psychiatrist for the Drug Dependency Treatment and Research Unit.

Cartoon: DVB Debate

Cartoon: DVB Debate

Police Maj. Khin Maung Thein from the Police Drug Enforcement Division noted that drug dealers can afford to pay bribes in exchange for impunity.

"Because they are rich, they can pay off the authorities, even the judges," he said. "This is not an issue that can be solved outright and immediately. Maybe that's why certain people decide that because we cannot solve it, it is better to accept bribes."

In the late 1990s, opium production in Burma began to decline after efforts by the UN and the government to eradicate poppy cultivation. However, crop replacement schemes were ultimately unsuccessful, and drug syndicates began focusing on manufacturing methamphetamines instead of opium.

"Fighting drug abuse is like squeezing a balloon. If you squeeze one side, then, the other side becomes inflated," said Hla Htay.

The general-secretary of the Myanmar Red Cross, Aung Kyaw Htut, said, "We know that drugs are used here [in Burma] and are exported to other countries. Amphetamines are manufactured in this country – millions of dollars' worth have been seized."

In the border areas of Shan and Kachin states, with a perfect mountainous climate, an abundance of opium poppies can grow. However, poor infrastructure and decades of civil war mean these areas have long been difficult to access.

With the election of a new government in 2011 came a slew of reforms. But the benefits of transition also helped the drugs trade.

"Since the new government came in, travel has become easier. Unlike in the past, people can travel without showing identification, and there are not so many checkpoints, so it is very convenient and much faster," said Pol Maj Khin Maung Thein.

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"But as travelling has become easier so has the transportation of drugs."

Young people and university students in ethnic areas are particularly affected by addiction, and authorities in these areas do little to prevent it.  Audience members say drug addiction in these ethnic regions feel like an unofficial government policy.

"There is no rule of law in our area. Have we been left out because we are on the border, or because it is too late for us?" asks Tawng Ra, a Kantkaw Education Centre student.

Kachin student, B. Esther Ze Naw feels the government have purposely withheld support for drug addiction in ethnic areas.

"Why is the support so weak? Are they neglecting it on purpose? Or more importantly – is this a form of ethnic cleansing?"

The studio generally agreed that the authorities need to crack down strongly on corruption, and that more support needs to be given to people already affected by addiction.

 

Karens hold funeral for ‘strong and fearless leader’ Gen. Tamla Baw

Posted: 01 Jul 2014 01:10 AM PDT

The funeral of Gen. Saw Tamla Baw, a highly respected Karen leader and elder statesmen of the independence movement, was held on Monday and attended by more than 1,000 people from the Karen National Union (KNU) and various ethnic armed groups.

Tamla Baw, 94, passed away on 26 June. A well-respected revolutionary, he was the former leader of the KNU before he retired in 2012 after leading an armed struggle against the Burmese military government since 1949.

Sasha Htoo Waw, joint chief of staff of the KNU's military wing, said that the funeral began at 9:30am at its Thay Bay Hta military headquarters. Karen refugees from camps in Thailand along the Karen State border were in attendance, as well as representatives from ethnic armed groups, including the Shan State Army South, the Arakan Liberation Party, and the United Nationalities Alliance, an armed group coalition.

"First, the KNU leaders read out an obituary and honorary statements about the deceased, and then funeral rites were heard. Then his body was carried to the gravesite in a military procession," Sasha Htoo Waw said.

He added that the legendary revolutionary will be remembered for his role in uniting various ethnic armed groups in their resistance against the Burmese military rulers.

"He will be remember for his work to bring about unity among various armed groups and the KNU," Sasha Htoo Waw told DVB. "For example, he defused tensions with the [All Burma Students' Democratic Front] when they first joined the revolution."

"For the new generation, there is a lot to learn from him."

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The Burmese government's chief negotiator during peace talks, Aung Min, sent a letter of condolences to Zipporah Sein, daughter of Tamla Baw, on behalf of the government on Friday.

"We are saddened to hear that your father, General Saw Tamla Baw, passed away on 26 June, 2014," a letter signed by Aung Min said. "The passing for General Saw Tamla Baw, who solemnly served his duties as the Karen National Union chairman and commander-in-chief of the Karen National Liberation Army, was not only a huge loss for the family, but also for the KNU."

The European Karen Network – an organisation that brings together Karen people and refugees in Europe — also sent their condolences to the KNU and the general's friends and families.

"The passing of General Saw Tamla Baw is a great loss for the Karen people and the whole of Burma," a statement from the Network said. "He was a strong and fearless leader who dedicated his life to the struggle for self-determination, democracy and freedom, not just for the Karen, but all the people in Burma."

"General Saw Tamla Baw did not live to see peace and freedom for his people. But his spirit of hope and peace will remain with us, and the struggle for self-determination, freedom, equalities and democracy will continue," it said.

CPI cut our rice ration, say anti-dam activists

Posted: 01 Jul 2014 12:27 AM PDT

Two local Kachin women, who have been involved in anti-Myitsone dam activities, say they have had their rice rations cut by China Power Investment Corporation (CPI), the Chinese backers of the Irrawaddy River  hydropower project.

Daw Jah Khawng and Daw Lu Rah, originally from Myitsone but who were relocated to Aung Myin Thar model village to make way for the mega-project, said last week that they and their families have been told by the local rice distributor that they had been struck from the list of recipients for monthly rice rations.

As part of a compensation package, displaced Myitsone villagers were reportedly pledged a rice ration of seven and a half viss (12.25 kg) of rice per head each month.

According to Daw Jah Khawng, the rice distributor informed them one day before ration day that the pair and their families were no longer on the list to receive sacks of rice, the main staple for the more than 2,000 displaced villagers at Aung Myin Thar.

"A clerk came and told us that CPI had cut our rice ration on the evening of 24 June," she told DVB on Friday. "She said the instruction had been passed down by her superiors."

Daw Jah Khawng and Daw Lu Rah said that, between them, they have more than 20 family members including grandchildren who depend on rice rations, because the model town has no land to grow crops.

Though the staff of CPI did not notify them why their rations were being refused, the women said they believe that it is due to their involvement in activities calling for the complete cancellation of the dam project.

More than 300 families from Maliyan, Tang Hpre and Myitsone villages were relocated to the purpose-built village of Aung Myin Thar beginning in 2009.

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But according to a local Kachin NGO, Mungchying Rawt Jat, which was founded in September 2012 by farmers directly affected by government development projects in Kachin State, the houses in the model village are substandard, and many residents are suffering from ill health.

"The housing at Aung Myin Thar was built by CPI and Asia World Company," Mungchying Rawt Jat reported. "Although they told the villagers they would build them better houses than before, the new houses are poor quality. The roofs have blown off and leak during rain; houses are tilting, and the floors have been flooded during the past two years. There is no land for local people to sustain a livelihood. People are suffering from diarrhea, malaria, influenza, paralysis, and mental problems in the camp, and their health condition is getting worse."

CPI did not respond to DVB's request for comment on the case of Daw Jah Khawng and Daw Lu Rah.

The Myitsone Dam project, or Seven Dams project, was contracted between 2001 and 2016 to Burmese conglomerate Asia World and Chinese state energy firm CPI to construct a 3,600 to 6,000 MW hydropower project, which would mostly produce electricity for China.

It was beset by protests, both locally and across Burma, as many feared the dams would adversely affect the Irrawaddy, Burma's main waterway, which millions rely upon for livelihoods, transport and water.

In September 2011, Burmese President Thein Sein announced the project would be suspended during his tenure. But although construction has halted and Chinese workers repatriated, CPI and Asia World have said they remain confident the project will recommence once this presidential term ends in 2015.
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