Democratic Voice of Burma |
- Suu Kyi, other politicians pay respect for Martyrs Day
- Burma’s labour ministry to sue Korean factory owners
- Burmese newspaper publisher arrested in Thailand
- Leprosy: suffering in silence
| Suu Kyi, other politicians pay respect for Martyrs Day Posted: 19 Jul 2014 02:11 AM PDT Burma's opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi was joined by the vice-president and other MPs in commemorating Martyrs' Day at a Rangoon memorial on Saturday morning. It was 67 years ago on 19 July that Suu Kyi's father, Gen. Aung San, and seven other independence heroes – Thakin Mya, Ba Cho, Abdul Razak, Ba Win, Mahn Ba Khaing, Sao San Tun and Ohn Maung – were assassinated at the Secretariat building in central Rangoon. Family members of the seven other martyrs also paid respect at a ceremony in front of the Martyrs Mausoleum. Vice-president Sai Mauk Kham, Chairman of Union Parliament Shwe Mann, Chairman of Upper House Khin Aung Myint and senior judge Tun Tun Oo also paid homage. A similar event was held in Burma's capital, Naypyidaw, where President Thein Sein hosted Buddhist monks, Commander-in-chief Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing, Union Election Commission Chairman Tin Aye, Union ministers, senior military officials, and representatives of the Union Solidarity and Development Party, the National League for Democracy and the National Unity Party. To traditionally commemorate the event, sirens are sounded across the country at 10:37 am, the exact time on 19 July 1947 that the eight cabinet members were gunned down. Cars on the street in cities and towns all over Burma sounded their horns at the same time as a mark of respect. In Mandalay, where a curfew is in place following recent anti-Muslim riots, police blocked marchers seeking to commemorate Martyrs Day on Saturday morning, but later allowed them to pay respect at the Aung San Statue in Manawyaman Garden. |
| Burma’s labour ministry to sue Korean factory owners Posted: 19 Jul 2014 01:30 AM PDT Burma's Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security announced on Friday its intention to sue the South Korean owners of the closed Master Sports factory in Rangoon's Hlaing Tharyar Township over unpaid compensation claims for more than 750 workers. Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security director-general Myo Aung said that the Factories and General Labour Law Inspection Department will proceed with legal action against the firm owners over claims they failed to fully implement social security terms for their workers. "We are suing them for not honouring the agreement between owners and workers," he said. "The owner of the factory has also broken contractual agreements by not paying salaries and failing to issue workers with social security cards.” Until last month, Master Sports, a sports footwear firm, manufactured shoes at a plant in the Hlaing Tharyar industrial zone, west of Rangoon. Citing unprofitability due to a lack of orders, the Korean company announced its closure on 26 June, allegedly without prior notice, leaving 755 employees jobless, though staff said the management promised to pay them compensation. The Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Welfare stepped in on 10 July by writing a letter to the South Korean embassy which, in turn, mediated a solution whereby the company agreed to pay the employees their June salaries. However, only 56 of the workers agreed to accept the one-month salary payment; the rest demanded additional compensation. The majority of the workers at the factory are women. More than 700 of the workers demonstrated in front of the South Korean embassy in Rangoon on Friday, demanding compensation claims be met. The South Korean embassy has so far refused to comment on the case. |
| Burmese newspaper publisher arrested in Thailand Posted: 18 Jul 2014 11:55 PM PDT Kyaw Min Khine, the owner of Bi Mon Te Nay weekly news journal, his wife Dr Ei Ei San, and the newspaper's office manager, Yin Min Htun, were arrested on 16 July in the Thai border town of Mae Sot, according to the journal's chief reporter Thein Min Aung. The Burmese newspaper publisher had apparently been in hiding from Burmese authorities for over a week since three editors were arrested by Special Branch police on 8 July following the publication of an article that falsely claimed Aung San Suu Kyi and some ethnic leaders had been installed in an interim government. Kyaw Min Khine, Ei Ei San and Yin Min Htun were reportedly staying at the house of a friend in Mae Sot where they were arrested by Thai police on Wednesday. Kyaw Min Khine and Ei Ei San's two sons, aged 10 and 7, were also in the house at the time of the raid, but they were later returned to the custody of their grandfather in Rangoon. Related StoriesWednesday's arrest brings to seven the total number of persons apprehended in connection with the front page headline on 7 July that read: "The MDCF [Movement for Democracy Current Force] states the people have appointed Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and ethnic democracy forces as the interim government". Three editors and a reporter were previously detained. An unconfirmed report suggested that Kyaw Min Khine, Ei Ei San and Yin Min Htun were taken to Pabedan Township Court and charged under the Emergency Provisions Act before being remanded in custody. If convicted, the media workers could face up to seven years in prison. Chief reporter Thein Min Aung said that the Bi Mon Te Nay (literally Bi-Midday Sun) has ceased publishing since the scandal, but plans are afoot to reopen its pilot newspaper, Mon Te Nay.
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| Posted: 18 Jul 2014 10:59 PM PDT The Mayanchaung Centre in Rangoon's Helgu Township houses around 1,600 people, 140 of who suffer from leprosy — a disease that leaves its sufferers stigmatised by society. The centre was established in 1989 to house patients from the nearby Htauk Kyant leprosy hospital. Living conditions at the centre are poor. Though it receives funding from the government, there is not enough money to provide adequate accommodation or facilities. Also known as Hansen's disease, leprosy is a bacterial infection that causes skin lesions and loss of feeling in parts of the body such as arms and feet. If left untreated, the disease can lead to the loss of limbs. Throughout history, leprosy sufferers have been stigmatised and often made to live together in colonies. "Nobody cares about us if we have this disease. We are not accepted. We have pain in our lives; we have pain in our hearts," said one woman who lives at the centre. As the centre cannot afford to care for all the patients' needs, many must find work. In a society that is hostile to leprosy sufferers, finding a job can be extremely difficult. "We have to find jobs and work part-time. But it’s not enough to make a living. That’s why we need donors," said a man staying at the centre. While leprosy is curable these days, those living in remote areas in Burma often don't get diagnosed until the condition has reached an advanced stage when it is too late for a cure. Khin Ma Ma, 78, has been living in the centre since she was 30. She said she strives to keep her spirits up. "If you live with ordinary people and they look down on you, it is very depressing. We don’t need to be afraid of anybody when we are all the same, living together. If you are not depressed, you can live longer. Depression often leads to a short life," she said. While the government has pledged to spend 3.38 percent of the budget on health in 2014, the health sector is still woefully underfinanced. The World Health Organisation declared Burma a leprosy-free country in 2013. Despite this, up to 3,000 people develop the disease in the country every year. |
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