Tuesday, October 7, 2014

Democratic Voice of Burma

Democratic Voice of Burma

Alive – helicopter crew survive crash on Hkakabo Razi

Posted: 07 Oct 2014 06:35 AM PDT

All three crew members of a Thai helicopter that went missing while delivering supplies in the search for two Burmese mountaineers on Hkakabo Razi have been found alive, according to the expedition sponsors, Htoo Foundation.

The three, Thai pilot Chatchawal Thanthong, Burmese co-pilot Aung Myat Toe and the Htoo Foundation's Shwe Yin Taw Gyi, were on the Eurocopter EC130 B4 helicopter when it lost contact 20 minutes after leaving Putao in Kachin State on the afternoon of 27 September.

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Speaking to DVB on Tuesday evening, Htoo Foundation spokesperson Phyo Ko Ko Thet said, "We have been just informed that the two pilots and U Shwe Yin Taw Gyi – the missing B4 helicopter crew – arrived in a village named Lanka about 45 minutes ago. This is all we know for now and we are working to immediately provide them medical assistance."

While he could not provide any details about the state of the helicopter, he said all three crew members were in good shape.

The helicopter lost contact while flying to deliver supplies to a search and rescue team at the mountains base camp in Tahomdom village. The Thai helicopter was part of an international effort to find missing mountaineers Aung Myint Myat and Wai Yan Min Thu who have not been heard from since shortly after they scaled the summit of Hkakabo Razai, the highest mountain peak in Southeast Asia.

Over 3,000 prisoners released – but how many political prisoners remain behind bars?

Posted: 07 Oct 2014 05:28 AM PDT

President Thein Sein ordered the release of 3,073 prisoners on Tuesday as part of a general amnesty coinciding with the full moon day marking the end of this year's Buddhist lent.

On his Facebook page, Information Minister Ye Htut said, "The prisoners have been released on humanitarian grounds and for the sake of national reconciliation, the rule of law, and ethnic unity."

Among those released were several members of Khin Nyunt's former military intelligence apparatus, which was dismantled in 2004 when the spy-chief was purged by political rivals and placed under house arrest.

Bo Kyi, a former political prisoner and joint-secretary of the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners-Burma (AAPP-B), said that seven of Khin Nyunt's intelligence clique were released, including his former personal assistant, Maj. Naing Htay.

Speaking to DVB on Tuesday, Bo Gyi said, "So far, it seems that no political prisoners were released in the amnesty." However, The Associated Press cited Burma's official Political Prisoner Scrutiny Committee as saying that at least 13 of the released prisoners had been jailed for political offenses.

The Political Prisoner Scrutiny Committee is an official government body that was established in February 2013 to define the term "political prisoner" and carry out a review process to determine which prisoners satisfy the definition.

Although the government indicated that it would release those individuals designated as political prisoners by the committee, DVB reported last June that some members of the committee have criticised the review process for its lack of transparency and accused the government of deciding which prisoners to release without referring to the list of individuals designated as "political prisoners" by the committee.

Moreover, Ye Mon reported in the Myanmar Times last month that the Political Prisoner Scrutiny Committee "has essentially ceased to operate" as a functional government body. Ye Mon further said that the committee "met monthly in 2013 but has convened only three times so far this year," and that some government officials haven't been attending recent committee meetings.

And despite being tasked with creating an official definition of the term "political prisoner," the committee actually hasn't even agreed on a definition yet. Meanwhile, both NGOs and governments alike have been calling on Burma to expand the definition of "political prisoner" to encompass individuals jailed for their association with armed ethnic groups.

However, RFA reported last December that the government has prohibited the committee from recognising many individuals detained without charges as prisoners of conscience—particularly ethnic Kachins and Rohingyas.

The RFA report cited an open letter issued by the International Federation for Human Rights which called on US President Barack Obama to press Naypyidaw to release all political prisoners unconditionally. The open letter also criticised the Burmese government for "continuing to arrest farmers, activists, human rights defenders, and ethnic minorities at alarmingly high rates."

Yet ironically, AAPP-B recently cited another RFA report which quoted Aung Thein—the Political Prisoner Scrutiny Committee secretary and one of Thein Sein's deputy ministers—as saying that the committee might be disbanded because there are "almost no remaining political prisoners" and that the few political prisoners who remain behind bars are being detained for criminal offences, not political crimes.

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Although The Associated Press reported on Tuesday that most of the pardoned prisoners were petty criminals, this probably won't stop activists from criticising Burma's amnesty policy, which is often described as a cynical ploy to convince global leaders that Burma is actually making progress in its transition towards a "discipline-flourishing democracy".

NGOs often criticise Burma's slow trickle of prisoner amnesties over time, which they say is merely designed to entice foreign countries into repealing sanctions and investing more money into Burma. Civil society has also expressed dismay that Burma's quasi-civilian government has demonstrated a disturbing pattern of releasing prisoners prior to important diplomatic events.

Tuesday's amnesty was issued as Burma gears up to host two important meetings of East Asian leaders in Naypyidaw next month: the 9th East Asian Summit and the 25th ASEAN Summit.

Bullet Points: 7 September 2014

Posted: 07 Oct 2014 04:57 AM PDT

On today's edition of Bullet Points:

  • Over three thousand freed in prisoner amnesties.
  • Thai police defend handling of the Koh Tao case.
  • Ministry states Thilawa SEZ regulations.
  • Police out to catch Irrawaddy pirates.
  • Elephant dancers in Kyaukse

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

Mountaineers, helicopter still missing in northern Burma

Posted: 07 Oct 2014 12:31 AM PDT

Thai army authorities have asked their Burmese counterparts for a progress report on the search for a Thai civilian helicopter missing in mountainous terrain in Kachin State since 27 September.

Lt-Gen Sathit Pittharat, commander of the 3rd Army, reportedly ordered Col Amnat Srimak, commander of a unit of the 7th Infantry Regiment in Mae Hong Son province, to inquire about the fate of the seven-seat Eurocopter EC130 B4 helicopter owned by Advance Aviation Co.

The helicopter went missing on the afternoon of 27 September during a flight to supply food to a search and rescue team looking for two missing Burmese climbers on Hkakabo Razi mountain, at 5,881 metres the highest in Southeast Asia. It is in Kachin State.

Col Amnat, the Thai chairman of the Thailand-Myanmar Township Border Committee (TBC) in Mae Hong Son, forwarded the inquiry to Lt Col Len Aung, commander of Myanmar’s 430th Rapid Movement Battalion and to the Burmese chairman of the TBC there.

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Lt Col Len Aung reportedly replied that the search was continuing for the Thai helicopter and he would inform them as soon as there was any information.

The helicopter carried a Thai pilot, a Burmese pilot and a Kachin local. An earlier report identified the Thai pilot as Capt Chatchawal Thanthong. On its website, Advance Aviation Co said the pilot was experienced and had more than 9,500 flight hours.

The helicopter took off from Putao airport at 2.20pm on 27 September. Poor visibility was reported along its planned flight path. It was due to reach its destination and drop food supplies within about 30 minutes, but did not make it there.

The helicopter did not send out an emergency signal that is normally transmitted upon an unusual impact. Consequently it was assumed the aircraft had made an emergency landing somewhere.

 

This article was originally published in the Bangkok Post on 7 October 2014.

Burma’s growth rate set to hit 8.5 percent: World Bank

Posted: 06 Oct 2014 11:48 PM PDT

In a report on East Asian countries' economies released on Monday, the World Bank estimated Burma's economic growth rate at 8.5 percent for 2014 and 2015, a figure higher than any other nation it surveyed, including China.

Currently Burma has a growth rate of 6.3 percent, although this year several international market watchers accredited Burma with the potential to achieve greater expansion. In January, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced that Burma is set to grow at 7.5 percent for the fiscal year 2014, provided inflation was monitored.

This was followed by the Asian Development Bank highlighting in September a much higher potential, and predicting a growth rate of 9.5 percent by 2030.

However, most of these predictions are followed with conditional clauses: provided Burma keeps inflation in control; it invests in upgrading infrastructure; develops human capital; and controls the political instability in the country.

The inflation rate, which IMF and ADB also predict could accelerate at the rate of 6.6 percent in 2014-15, remains the biggest hindrance for the Burmese economy to achieve high growth rates. With a predominant part of the Burmese population being poor, and the rising cost of living due to price rise of commodities and real estate in the country, questions surround whether economic growth will improve quality of life.

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Burma, until recently something of a pariah state, opened its economy after President Thein Sein assumed office in 2011.It has since achieves the status of the "fastest growing Southeast Asian economy". Burma, officially known as Myanmar, is now being re-branded on the international platform as the "last frontier" in ASEAN, in a bid to accelerate foreign investment in the country.

Increase in the export of commodities, a tourism boom, increased energy sector investments, credit growth, and more and more multinationals investing in Burma are steadily increasing growth rate in the country. Burma also boasts a massive potential in natural resources, with natural gas exports contributing to US$ 3.6 billion per annum, which is almost 40 percent of all exports.

Several critics and economists are however sceptical about Burma's ability to achieve such a high growth rate within a short period of time.

Sean Turnell, Burma economics expert at Australia's Macquarie University told DVB that, "There will be growth, driven by increasing tourism, the revival of the clothing and textile export sector, increasing gas shipments to China, and increasing activity in construction (especially in Rangoon), but it’s hard to see how this adds up to the highest growth rates in the world."

"I find the World Bank’s estimate to be on the unrealistic side of optimism," said Turnel. He further points towards the ambiguity that surrounds the achievement of this ambitious 8.5 percent growth rate.

"With 75 percent of the population engaged in agriculture (an industry in which there have been few, if any, gains in recent times), falling commodity prices, a slowing global economy, domestic uncertainties surrounding politics in 2015, waning enthusiasm for reform within the government, and an increasing understanding amongst foreign investors of the difficulties – I just don’t see where such high growth is meant to come from," said Turnel.

The World Bank this year recommenced lending to the Burmese government, and in January it pledged US$2 billion in development aid to the country for projects such as healthcare and energy supply. The World Bank last week also pledged to cooperate with the Department of Water Resources with a loan of $100 million to develop the Irrawaddy River basin.

However, rights groups say that the World Bank's investments come at a time when many human rights issues remain unresolved in in Burma.

In a counter-statement to the World Bank report on Monday, Human Rights Watch urged the institution to factor human rights concerns into its strategies and proposals.

If Burma does manage to achieve the predicted growth rate for 2014-15, it would dwarf the economic growth of the leading market player in the region; China, which has a projected growth rate of 7.4 percent.

Koh Tao ‘murderers’ were tortured, says Burmese embassy lawyer

Posted: 06 Oct 2014 10:20 PM PDT

A lawyer contracted by the Burmese embassy to defend two Burmese migrants accused of murdering a British couple on the Thai island of Koh Tao said the men confessed to the crimes on Monday, but told the legal team they had been tortured.

Lawyer Aung Myo Thant said the pair, Zaw Lin and Win Zaw Htun, both 21, from the Arakanese town of Kyaukphyu, told a Burmese embassy legal team they had murdered English tourists Hannah Witheridge and David Miller by bludgeoning them to death with a hoe on 15 September. However, he said, their stories were "somewhat inconsistent" and "their faces portrayed fear".

"From what we have learned, there are inconsistencies with both the forensic report and evidence provided in the case," said Aung Myo Thant.

"The defendants kept repeating that they were very drunk that night. Based on what we have been told, it seems to us like this case is a set-up and not based on hard facts."

Officials from the Burmese embassy in Bangkok on Monday travelled to the neighbouring island of Koh Samui to meet the two Arakanese migrants who have been remanded in custody pending murder and rape charges. The embassy officials, led by second secretary Htun Aye, were accompanied by Thai and Burmese lawyers, as well as migrant rights activists. The embassy said Zaw Lin and Win Zaw Htun signed over power of attorney to the legal team contracted by the embassy.

"Today, [Zaw Lin and Win Zaw Htun] signed power of attorney to the embassy's legal team," said lawyer Aung Myo Thant on Monday. "We will try to offer them any assistance we can from a legal perspective."

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Speaking to DVB on Monday, Kyaw Thaung, a representative of the Myanmar Association in Thailand, who attended the interview with the defendants, said, "We went to the prison [on Koh Samui] and were allowed to meet with the two freely. They confessed to committing the crime under the influence of alcohol. When asked for further details, they said they bashed the victims two or three times each with the blunt end of a hoe, but not with the sharp end. They said they did it because they were drunk but did not intend to kill the couple.

According to Thai police, the Burmese men have confessed to the crimes and their DNA matches that taken from one of the victims.

However, the case has stirred great controversy over the police's handling of the investigation, and the alleged protection of influential persons on the island of Koh Tao. The UK government has been petitioned to call for a full investigation into the case. When contacted by DVB on Monday, the British embassy in Bangkok declined to comment about the case.

The embassy's Htun Aye said the team requested a copy of the investigation report from Koh Samui police but were refused.

"We asked the police for a copy of the investigation report but they refused on the grounds that it is not complete," he told DVB. "We just want to know if their report checks out with the kids' confessions.

"We are doing whatever we can, but at the same time we also have to respect Thai law," he added.

Htun Aye said the Burmese legal team were denied permission to talk to a third detainee, Maung Maung, whom the Thai media reported as Arakanese and may have witnessed the crimes.

Police have publicly said that he is being treated well and is under their protection.

The Royal Thai Police are due to hold a press conference on the case in Bangkok on Tuesday.
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