Democratic Voice of Burma

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• Burma’s fourth estate meet in Rangoon
• Bullet Points: 18 September 2014
• Severe floods swamp Shan border
• Karen rebels respond to orders to disarm
• Burmese migrants cleared as search goes on for Koh Tao killer

Burma’s fourth estate meet in Rangoon Posted: 18 Sep 2014 06:03 AM PDT The heavyweight players in Burma's press arena were in Rangoon on Thursday for a conference on media development. Ye Htut, recently promoted to the position of information minister, opened day one of the UNESCO-sponsored event. The event has been held yearly since 2012, when President Thein Sein began a programme of media reform by relaxing pre-publication censorship laws. The information minister emphasised the importance of media freedom during Burma’s democratisation. "As we already know, media reform is the most important process in President U Thein Sein's reform.To implement the reform process we didn't have enough experience of the press role in a democracy." The Interim Press Council was created by presidential decree in 2012, creating a singular body to mediate the often-malign relationship between Burma's government and fourth estate. Council members Ko Ko and Myint Kyaw were among the council representatives present on Thursday to discuss ethics and transparency in journalism. The involvement of former “exile” media organisations such as Mizzima and the Democratic Voice of Burma pointed to advances in press freedom in Burma since 2012. However, the conference comes almost exactly two months after five journalists were sentenced to ten years with hard labour for their work. Related Stories Picking on the little guys: Phuketwan British activist's defamation trial begins in Bangkok Unity five launch last appeal against harsh sentence The journalists, from Rangoon-based Unity Weekly journal, published a report in January alleging the existence of a secret chemical weapons factory. Eleven Media's Ma Khine and DVB's Zaw Pe also served prison terms this year, indicating what some call a backslide in media freedom in Burma.

Bullet Points: 18 September 2014 Posted: 18 Sep 2014 05:36 AM PDT On today's edition of Bullet Points: Search for missing mountaineers continues ABSFU condemn member’s detention Ye Htut opens Rangoon media conference You can watch Bullet Points every weeknight on DVB TV after the 7 o'clock news.

Severe floods swamp Shan border Posted: 18 Sep 2014 03:44 AM PDT Five residential areas of Tachilek, on the border between Shan State and northern Thailand, were devastated by floods on Wednesday evening. Heavy rains caused nearby mountain streams to overflow and sweep through low-lying towns. Houses in Talaw , Ponhtwan, Makahohkam, San Sai and Mae Khao in Tachilek town are reportedly submerged in several feet of water, and many stranded civilians were in need of rescue. "The water was about neck-deep and even higher in some areas," said Hla Moe, chairman of a local charity group, Tachilek Funeral Assistance Association. "We had to evacuate some residents in badly hit areas, physically carrying them out of their houses, where their beds and furniture were floating in the water." Schools in the region are closed until further notice. No deaths have been reported. While the extent of the damages have not been fully assessed, many market stalls in the town –which is a major trade hub between Burma and Thailand — were reported to be severely damaged. Earlier this month, Tachilek witnessed its worst flooding in 15 years, with more than 4,000 people forced to flee their homes, 800 houses submerged and large scale destruction of property and business assets.   Related Stories Karen rebels respond to orders to disarm Burmese migrants cleared as search goes on for Koh Tao killer Govt says Tasang dam will benefit Burma

Karen rebels respond to orders to disarm Posted: 18 Sep 2014 01:49 AM PDT An ethnic Karen rebel group has responded in kind to an order by the Burmese Army not to wear uniforms or carry firearms in certain government-controlled territory. A Burmese Army commander allegedly issued an order on 14 September to several ethnic armed groups in the area, prohibiting rebel uniforms and weapons in the Thai-Burmese border town of Myawaddy, Karen State. The KNU/KNLA Peace Council (KPC), a splinter group of the region's dominant Karen National Union (KNU), responded to the order by issuing a letter to the commander stating that Burmese troops are now likewise forbidden to enter KPC territories with uniforms or firearms. "The Burmese Army told us not to carry weapons or wear uniforms in their territories, so we issued the same restrictions against their troops," said KPC information officer Saw Min Win. Related Stories Severe floods swamp Shan border Burmese migrants cleared as search goes on for Koh Tao killer Govt says Tasang dam will benefit Burma The original order from the Burmese Army was reportedly sent to the KPC, the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army (DKBA) and another small armed group, the Klohtoobaw Karen Organisation, which was a splinter group formed out of the DKBA. A member of the KNU has denied receipt of the order, but told reporters earlier this week that they do not regularly wear uniforms or carry firearms in the town. According to the KPC, the order also required the armed groups to give prior notice to the Burmese Army if they must enter the town "for urgent reasons". The number of troops, weapons and vehicles must be disclosed in advance, the KPC officer said. Saw Min Win said that the issue will be on the agenda during upcoming talks between ethnic and government peace negotiators, scheduled to take place on 22 September in Rangoon. The KPC, a small ethnic armed group established in 2007 by former members of the KNU, signed a fresh peace pact with the government in February 2012. The group is a member of the ethnic peace negotiation bloc, Nationwide Ceasefire Coordination Team, but is not represented on the ethnic political alliance United Nationalities Federation Council.

Burmese migrants cleared as search goes on for Koh Tao killer Posted: 17 Sep 2014 10:55 PM PDT DNA tests have failed to provide a match and police are still working to identify the brutal beach killer of two British tourists on Koh Tao, southern Thailand, early Monday.   Police had initially detained and questioned three male migrant workers from Burma, but DNA tests and other evidence have ruled them out of the investigation. Investigators confirmed on Wednesday they are now questioning the roommate of the male victim for possible involvement in the savage murders which left the victims mutilated. Police sources said Christopher Alan Ware, 25, was stopped as he was about to leave Suvarnabhumi airport on Tuesday and placed under police questioning after police found what they thought was a pair of his bloodstained trousers in the luggage of the male victim David William Miller, 24.  Miller and Hannah Victoria Witheridge, 23, were found battered to death on a rocky beach on the island early on Monday morning following a party at a nearby resort. Investigators who searched Miller’s room found a pair of cream-coloured trousers with what they believed were bloodstains on both legs stuffed in Miller’s luggage, one of the sources said.  Several witnesses confirmed that Ware, who left the island for Bangkok on Monday evening, was wearing the trousers the night the two victims were murdered, the same source said.  Miller and Witheridge were seen partying on the beach with a group of about six people the night they were murdered, the source said.  The stained garment was immediately sent for analysis by the Institute of Forensic Medicine (IFM) at the Police General Hospital in Bangkok, the source said.  Ware was staying in the same room as Miller while on Koh Tao. Witheridge shared a bungalow with a female friend.  Following the deaths of Miller and Witheridge, police ordered Ware to undergo a physical examination after they found some bruises on his body and cuts on the back of his hands. The check, however, suggested the bruises and cuts probably occurred long before the murders. Ware has been questioned since his detention at the airport on Tuesday, the same police source said.  A DNA test was being conducted to compare his DNA with that taken from a lock of hair found in one of Witheridge’s hands, the source said.  Related Stories Severe floods swamp Shan border Karen rebels respond to orders to disarm Govt says Tasang dam will benefit Burma Ware had the same colour hair as that in Witheridge’s hand, the source said.  Royal Thai Police adviser Jarumporn Suramanee said on Wednesday that the DNA of 12 people had been tested, including nine samples from Burmese migrant workers and one from Ware.  The tests found none of the DNA matched that collected from semen found in the female victim’s body, he said.  However, the tests found that DNA from a cigarette near the scene matched the semen.  He said the stain found on the trousers was unlikely to be blood but a chemical substance.  A police officer who asked not to be named said as police investigators were trying to piece together the murders based on the evidence found and the findings from an initial inspection of the victims’ bodies, they believed Miller was attacked from behind. The victim was also believed to have engaged in a struggle with his assailant. Witheridge, meanwhile, was dragged away from the first attack spot, said the same police officer.  The officer said Witheridge did manage to run for some distance but was hit repeatedly in the face with a hoe which suggested whoever attacked her could have held a personal grudge against her.  Pol-Col Prachum Ruangthong, chief of Koh Phangan police station, said police were still looking at all possible scenarios for the murder, including a theory that the killing might have been committed by a man of Asian appearance captured on a security camera at the crime scene. Pol-Lt-Gen Panya Mamen, chief of Provincial Police Region 8, said later on Wednesday that the Asian-looking man in question had already been detained and was being questioned. He did not elaborate on the man’s identity, however. Pol-Maj-Gen Pornchai Suthirakhun, chief of the IFM, meanwhile, told reporters that forensic experts who performed post postmortems on the bodies of the victims have confirmed that they had found semen inside Witheridge’s body. The IFM was working to find out if the semen belonged to one or more men, he said. The IFM would also next compare the DNA from semen with DNA samples of the people considered as suspects in this case, Pol-Maj-Gen Pornchai said.  The IFM chief said the wounds to Miller’s hands and bruises on his back suggested he probably fought with his attacker before being dragged to the ground.  Witheridge was found to have died from head injuries. Miller appeared to have also died from head injuries. Water was also found in his lungs, Pol-Maj-Gen Pornchai said.  There were no signs that Miller had been sexually assaulted, he added.  “From the wounds [to both victims' heads] it cannot be certain what exact type of weapons the attacker used on their victims. The only fact known here is the weapons were blunt objects,” he said.  The autopsies were completed and the bodies could now be released to their families, he said.  Pol-Maj-Gen Pornchai said the families of both victims were on their way to Thailand.  Pol-Lt-Gen Panya said that six migrant workers and several Thai nationals had already been questioned. In response to media reports that some British tourists associated with the two murdered Britons had already returned home in the UK, he said that only three females who were friends of Witheridge had already left Thailand. This article was first published in the Bangkok Post on 17 September 2014.

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