Friday, September 19, 2014

Democratic Voice of Burma

Democratic Voice of Burma

Bullet Points: 19 September 2014

Posted: 19 Sep 2014 04:52 AM PDT

On today's edition of Bullet Points:

    • Civil society leaders charged in Magwe
    • Drunk DKBA solider shot in Myawaddy
    • New 5,000 kyat notes to be circulated

You can watch Bullet Points every weeknight on DVB TV after the 7 o'clock news.

BURMA BUSINESS WEEKLY: 19 September 2014

Posted: 19 Sep 2014 04:28 AM PDT

Ups and downs

The Burmese kyat was selling on Friday at 980 to the US dollar, while buying at 980. The price of gold dropped further from 655,000 kyat per tical to 652,800. Fuel prices remain constant: petrol 820 kyat; diesel 950 kyat; octane 950 kyat per litre. High-quality Pawsanhmwe rice is still 1,300-1,700 kyat per basket, while low-quality Manawthukha rice is set at 900 kyat per basket at most Rangoon Markets.

 

Burma attracts $3bn in foreign investment this year

The Myanmar Investment Commission (MIC) has announced that Burma took in more than US$3.3 billion in foreign investment in the first five months of the 2014-15 fiscal year—over half the amount targeted by the MIC for the full year. Likewise in 2013-14, Burma exceeded its expected $4 billion foreign investment target by $1 billion.

 

New 5,000 kyat notes to be circulated on 1 Oct

In a bid to prevent forgery and boost security, the Central Bank of Myanmar will issue newly designed 5,000 kyat currency notes starting 1 October. The improved elements in the latest design include a new security thread and watermark along with a new layer of varnish on both sides. The older 5,000 kyat bank notes, introduced in October 2009, will still be valid.

 

MOGE, Brunei sign production agreement for onshore block

Burma's state-owned Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise and Brunei National Petroleum Company signed a production sharing contract for Magwe Division's EP-1 block on Tuesday, state-run New Light of Myanmar reported. The report said that MOGE will receive a US$3 million “signature bonus” for signing the contracts.

 

Indonesian state bank to open in Rangoon

Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI) is to open its first ever representative office in Burma in November, the Jakarta Post reported on Saturday. The government-owned central bank says it will open in Rangoon as soon as it receives approval from the Central Bank of Myanmar. The Rangoon office will be jointly operated by BNI and state construction firm WaskitaKarya, the report said, adding that BNI is looking to work alongside Kanbawza Bank and possibly Cooperative Bank.

 

Chin merchants licensed to trade with India

Local merchants in Chin State will be issued Individual Trading Cards (ITCs) by the Ministry of Commerce to allow them to conduct trade with India. The ITC is also an initiative by the government to control illegal border trade and to levy taxes. ITC-issued traders can now conduct export and import transactions worth a maximum of 10 million kyat (US$10,000) in any five-day period.

 

MPT sells 900,000 SIM cards through promotional offers

State-owned Myanmar Post and Telecommunications (MPT) announced that sales reached 900,000 SIM cards during the month of September. The total includes a batch of 250,000 SIM cards with redesigned MPT logos, produced in association with Japanese firm KDDI. Earlier this month, MPT launched discounted SIM cards in retail shops across Burma, competing with newly introduced international telecom service providers.

 

Toyota brings new cars to Burma

Toyota Motors introduced brand new cars to the Rangoon market on Tuesday, state-run New Light of Myanmar reported. The launch of new cars in the Burmese automobile market, which is dominated by used Japanese cars, signals the opening of an important untapped market in the country. With the price of new models ranging from US$20,000 to $200,000, Seiji Kai, Toyota's Mekong department general manager pointed out that Burma will be the most important market for automakers henceforth, the report said.

 

 

 

Explosion at Shan politician’s home injures one

Posted: 19 Sep 2014 04:18 AM PDT

A bomb exploded on the front yard of a Shan politician on Thursday night, leaving one man injured in Shan State's Namhkam Township.

Sai Aung Win, an executive of the Shan Nationalities Democratic Party, said his brother-in-law Sai Nyunt Maung was hospitalised for shrapnel wounds on 18 September.

"It was around five past eight in the evening," said Sai Aung Win. "I was watching the news on TV, but I narrowly escaped the explosion because I had just gone upstairs to fix the light, right before the device went off."

He said that Sai Nyunt Maung, also known as Sai Aik, sustained injuries to his leg, stomach and face.

"There was a very loud boom – the whole town could hear it – local police, military commanders and government officials all came to inspect the scene," he continued.

Sai Aung Win said the explosion left a foot-wide crater  in the yard and that some walls of the house were damaged.

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Namhkam police confirmed that the explosion occurred and said that an investigation in underway to identify the culprits.

"There was a bombing in Namhkam last evening," Namhkam police told DVB on Friday. "We have not yet identified what kind of explosive was used, but the site has been cleared."

Local sources said the device was thrown from a passing motorbike carrying two unidentified men.

Sai Aung Win suggested that it could have been a deliberate attack targeting him for his advocacy of farmer's rights in the town, but there is currently no explicit motive and no suspects have been identified.

Namhkam, located in northern Shan State near the border with China, is rife with militia activity and is frequently host to mysterious explosions. In recent years, Namhkam has also been a hotbed of conflict between government troops and the myriad ethnic armed groups that occupy the area.

 

Mayhem in Myawaddy as Karen rebel dies in drunken shootout

Posted: 19 Sep 2014 02:47 AM PDT

A member of the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army (DKBA) was killed in what is believed to have been an alcohol-related shootout with government security forces in the border town of Myawaddy early Friday morning.

Locals said that a DKBA lieutenant, Linn Naing, was drunkenly driving on the town's Kyangin Road at around 1am on 19 September, crashing into several parked cars. Residents then called the government troops, who quickly arrived at the scene.

Saw Zorrow, a liaison officer for the Karen National Union in Myawaddy, which lies along the Thai border, said the troops blocked the road ahead of Linn Naing and ordered him to get out of the vehicle. The rebel soldier opted instead to pull out a gun, at which point the troops opened fire.

"Local residents told the security forces that someone was crashing into parked vehicles, so they came and blocked the road," Saw Zorrow said, "but he kept on driving and crashed into the security vehicle. They told him to get out, but he pulled out his pistol instead."

Linn Naing was shot and seriously injured, and he died two hours later in Myawaddy Hospital. An unidentified passenger was also shot and is being treated at the hospital.

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Tun Tun, a senior official in the DKBA, confirmed that the group is aware of the incident and plans to conduct an investigation.

"We are aware that the incident took place," he said. "One of our men was killed and another was injured."

Maj. Tun Tun added that recent tensions in the area, which is a high-traffic trade hub on the border between Burma's Karen State and Thailand, have resulted in heightened security comprising Border Guard Force and Burmese army troops.

"We will look into what really happened and discuss it with the Burmese officials accordingly," he said.

Several recent and alarming incidents have caused security to tighten up on the Thai-Burmese border.

The Burmese army allegedly issued an order on 14 September for several of the state's smaller ethnic armed groups to refrain from wearing uniforms or carrying firearms into the town.

News of the order followed an incident where one armed group known as the KNU/KNLA Peace Council blockaded a roadway, stalling delivery of about 30 truckloads of goods headed to Burma from Thailand.

Earlier this week, two small explosives were found and defused in the town. No one has yet been accused or claimed responsibility for the bombs.

 

 

Labour Ministry orders Korean footwear firm to pay compensation

Posted: 19 Sep 2014 02:09 AM PDT

Burma's Deputy Labour Minister Htin Aung has announced that the now defunct Master Sports footwear factory is obliged to pay severance packages and outstanding salaries to more than 700 laid-off workers.

He said the compensation will amount to over 200 million kyat, nearly US$200,000, and is to be paid once the factory building and equipment are auctioned off on 9 October.

According to the Labour Ministry, the factory and equipment has been estimated between 120 and 160 million kyat, but could fetch higher bids at the auction.

Master Sports has yet to confirm the Labour Ministry's statement.

Htin Aung's comments come after an incident in Rangoon on Tuesday in which some 20 former employees of the factory were injured during a standoff with police after it is alleged they held an official captive at the facility.

A group of workers went to the Rangoon factory that day to negotiate with representatives of the Department of Labour, which was tasked with carrying out an August court ruling that the workers should receive compensation for sudden dismissal.

The group became irate when the Labour Department's Director-General Win Shein was unable to provide exact information about when and how the workers would be paid. A worker told DVB that the official said only that the workers will be paid after the factory is auctioned off on 9 October.

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The workers then decided to stay at the factory in what they called a "sit-in", and reportedly said that they would not let the official out of their sight until he gave them an absolute date for their payment.

Police arrived on the scene later in the day to remove Win Shein, ultimately leading to a physical skirmish between police and the group of workers.

Win Shein told DVB that nine police officers had also been injured in the fracas.

At a press conference in Rangoon on Friday, a spokesman for the factory workers rejected accusations that they had held Win Shein against his will.

More than 750 mostly female workers were dismissed by the factory's South Korean management when the facility was suddenly shut down in late June.

The company's owner and his affiliates are still at large, as they left the country shortly after shutting down the factory.

The employees, who claim they were not given advance notice of the closure, received assistance from the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Social Security to seek legal recourse. The ministry eventually brokered a deal through with the help of the South Korean embassy whereby the company agreed to offer one month's pay as severance; however only 56 of the 755 dismissed workers accepted the package.

Workers protested at the South Korean embassy in July to demand additional compensation. They later claimed the company had coerced some employees into signing predatory agreements relinquishing severance.

 

Magwe protestors charged with trespassing

Posted: 18 Sep 2014 09:03 PM PDT

Eleven members of the National League for Democracy (NLD) and 88 Generation Peace and Open Society (88GPOS) who staged a rally in Magwe in June calling for a revision of Article 436 of the Constitution have now been charged with trespassing by local police.

The 11 were summoned on Thursday morning to Magwe central police station where they were questioned about their involvement in the demonstration on 9 June and then informed that they were being charged with trespassing. They were formally charged in court later that afternoon.

Tin Aung Tun, the NLD's legal assistance committee member in Magwe, is among those being charged in the central Burmese town.

"Local prosecutor U Thaung Shwe charged us under Article 447 [of the Penal Code]," he said. "The police originally summoned us on 4 July and told us they were liaising with the judiciary to decide which charges should be brought against us."

Two NLD officials and an 88GPOS member were formally charged in July for using a loudspeaker at the same rally under a local administrative law.

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The 11– identified as the NLD's Nay Myo Kyaw, Than Aung, Than Naing, Chit Htwe, Ye Tint and Soe Moe; and the 88GPOS' Hla San, Maung Maung Soe, Than Tun Aung, Nyo Aye and Tun Khine Oo – were sued by Magwe Division's Religious Affairs Department administrator Thaung Shwe for organising the public rally on the grounds of Aye Zedi Pagoda in the town on 9 June.

"Regarding the rally, we negotiated in advance with the pagoda's trustee committee as well as local ward authorities, township police and administrators – we have all the evidence to prove this is true," said NLD Magwe Secretary Nay Myo Kyaw.

"We have truth on our side and are prepared to face the charges peacefully and in accordance with the law – we did not do anything wrong."

88GPOS's Hla San said, "The event took place four months ago – it ended successfully and in a disciplined manner – and I believe that they are taking action against us just because they want to. We will stand together to fight this."

The object of the June protest, Article 436, states that 75 percent of parliament must approve any constitutional amendments. As the military controls 25 percent of all seats in both houses, critics say this clause effectively gives the military veto power over all constitutional reform.
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