Democratic Voice of Burma

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• Bullet Points: 5 November 2014
• Forces of nature and farmers’ woes
• Par Gyi tortured before death
• Awareness campaign held for jailed Kachin refugees
• NLD confirms Suu Kyi’s first visit to China
• UEC begins revamping voter lists

Bullet Points: 5 November 2014 Posted: 05 Nov 2014 03:58 AM PST On tonight's edition of Bullet Points: Exhumed body of slain reporter shows signs of torture Obama to meet Suu Kyi on 14 November Suu Kyi to visit China in December Kachin’s gather to call for release of Brang Yung, Lahpai Gam Electricity ministry exploring wind power You can watch Bullet Points every weeknight on DVB TV after the 7 o'clock news.

Forces of nature and farmers’ woes Posted: 05 Nov 2014 03:36 AM PST Heavy non- seasonal showers, which lasted for four to five days in the lower delta region of Irrawaddy, has destroyed paddy fields and left farmers pondering the fate of their livelihoods. A local farmer, Thein Aung told DVB that the rains inundated paddy fields in the area. The flooding comes just as harvest season is set to begin in Burma. On Monday, DVB reported that the Myanmar Farmers Association (MFA) pledged to fix a set price for the new harvest, due in early December, at 350,000 kyat (US$350) per 100 baskets of paddy. "As the heavy rains took place during the harvest season, lots of paddy was destroyed," said Thein Aung. Related Stories Farmers Association to buy rainy season paddy Local boy Thein Sein attends Irrawaddy delta rally New Karen party to register in Irrawaddy delta He further pointed out that 2014 has been a rather unlucky year for rice farmers. "We suffered losses due to rat infestation," he said. "We tried to regrow the crops but heavy rains submerged the paddy fields and we lost the produce. Now, we almost reached harvest time and the grains are underwater again and destroyed." Usually during November, the grains are harvested. However due to this unforeseen occurrence the farmers now have to sundry the grains in an effort to recover as much as they can. Industry observers say this process is bound to cost farmers a significant amount of money and manpower. In a series of unfortunate events that have affected the agro industry in Burma, earlier this month rice prices and export experience a record price drop. China, one of the major exporters of Burmese rice, has halted its rice export until legal trade agreements with Burma materialise. These setbacks in the agriculture sector are serious concerns for farmers like Thein Aung, whose livelihoods are at stake. Heavy rainfall and flooding was also reported in Rangoon, leaving the streets waterlogged and daily life at a standstill. The weather department has announced that an atmospheric pressure area around the Bay of Bengal might result in further storms in Burma within two days.

Par Gyi tortured before death Posted: 05 Nov 2014 02:13 AM PST Journalist Par Gyi's body was exhumed from a shallow grave in a field in Kyaikmayaw Township in Mon State on Wednesday with evidence immediately pointing to torture. According to eye-witness Nay Myo Zin, the corpse showed signs of a broken jaw, a caved-in skull and swelling on the torso indicating broken ribs. "It is completely clear that Ko Par Gyi was tortured," he said. His widow, Ma Thandar, who was present at the exhumation, confirmed that the body was that of her husband. The corpse of the Burmese journalist was taken to Moulmein Hospital where it will undergo further forensic investigation. Related Stories Burmese embassy requests reopening Koh Tao murder case Suu Kyi writes to Par Gyi's widow Burmese journalists call for govt protection Par Gyi was a political activist and a member of Aung San Suu Kyi's personal security team during the 1988 uprising. He was also one of the first National League for Democracy Youth members and acted as the group's Karen State coordinator. After his involvement in the uprising, Par Gyi was forced into exile in Thailand and began working as a freelance journalist under the pseudonym "Aung Naing." His wife Ma Thandar spent several weeks looking for her lost husband after he went missing in late September until the military issued a report on 23 October which said the Burmese army killed him due, in part, to his involvement with the Klohtoobaw Karen Organization (KKO), the political wing of an armed group commonly known as the Democratic Karen Benevolent Association (DKBA). The military report also said Par Gyi was shot while attempting to escape from custody. Par Gyi's family and colleagues deny he was involved with the Karen rebels.

Awareness campaign held for jailed Kachin refugees Posted: 05 Nov 2014 01:33 AM PST Two innocent Kachin villagers from Wine Maw Township in Kachin State were tortured, sexually abused, humiliated and thrown in jail for no reason by Burmese government soldiers in 2012, said family members and lawyers on Tuesday, speaking at a public event in at Myitkyina Kachin Baptist Church in front of 2,000 Kachin locals, refugees and activists. Pastor Pawng Khun Naw told DVB that the town hall meeting had been called by Kachin legal rights groups to raise awareness of the case and protect local people from similar incidents happening in the future. Lahpai Gam, 54, and Brang Yung, 26, from Om Paung village were arrested by troops from a Burmese infantry battalion in June 2012, said the Kachin pastor. Related Stories DVB Debate: Ethnic perspectives Burma govt ‘wants ethnic armed groups eliminated’: KIO chairman DVB Debate: Can federalism be the solution? "The men were displaced war refugees who had been sheltering in our church," said Pawng Khun Naw. "They were not soldiers; they were farmers. While they were taking care of their cows in the Talawgyi area, the soldiers stopped them and arrested them, alleging they were KIA [Kachin Independence Army] rebels. "Then they were tortured and abused and forced to have sex. They were mocked for being Christians. The soldiers made one of them spread his arms like he was on a cross while the other had to perform a [traditional Kachin] Manaw dance in front of him. "They were accused of being rebel soldiers and of planning a bomb attack. We tried to offer ourselves as alibis and told the court that the men were at the refugee camp the whole time, but they were jailed anyway.” A Myitkyina court handed down 21-year and 20 year-sentences respectively to Brang Yung and Lahpai Gam for associating with an illegal organisation and explosives offenses. The pastor said the case is indicative of how many Kachin people are treated by the Burmese army. He told DVB that many similar incidents have happened but went unreported. The arbitrary arrest, humiliation and jailing of the Kachin pair was the focus of a campaign by Burma Campaign UK. In May 2014, the UN General Assembly's Human Rights Council Working group on Arbitrary Detention petitioned the Burmese government about the case.

NLD confirms Suu Kyi’s first visit to China Posted: 04 Nov 2014 11:34 PM PST A senior National League for Democracy (NLD) party official has confirmed that opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi will visit China for the first time in December. Speaking to DVB by telephone on Wednesday, NLD Central Executive Committee member Win Htein said, “Aung San Suu Kyi will travel to China in December, that's all I can say, so far.” The news of Suu Kyi's trip was initially revealed by Ai Ping, China's deputy foreign affairs minister and a member of the Communist Party of China's (CPC) powerful central committee. Ai Ping visited NLD headquarters on 26 February for a meeting with two party leaders during which they agreed to enhance relations between the NLD and the CPC. China's Ambassador to Burma, Yang Houlan, also mentioned during an interview with the Sunday Morning Post in January that China would officially invite Suu Kyi for a visit. Related Stories Suu Kyi disappointed by quadripartite meeting Thein Sein to host quadripartite talks NLD rejects hybrid voting system Although the NLD leader was an outspoken critic of the Myitsone dam project, China has put on a charm offensive for the NLD in the past couple of years. An official NLD delegation visited China in December 2013, but Suu Kyi did not join the group. She did, however, indicate a desire to visit China during a trip to South Korea last year. Meanwhile, President Thein Sein's office announced on Wednesday that Thein Sein will visit Beijing next week to attend a "Dialogue on Strengthening Connectivity Partnership" and the APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) CEO Summit.

UEC begins revamping voter lists Posted: 04 Nov 2014 09:53 PM PST Burma's Union Election Commission (UEC) has begun compiling new voter lists for the 2015 general election, after this year's census uncovered a gaping discrepancy in the actual versus the predicted number of people in the country. The March census tallied 51.4 million people within Burma, as opposed to 60 million, an officially held figure that had been cobbled together by projected birth rates and disparate demographic studies. On Monday, the UEC set about calculating how many people are now eligible to vote. The commission believes it will take eight months for it to construct a new list, set to be very different from the one used as recently as the 2012 by-elections. "Household lists will be collected from all villages and quarters, and population lists will be gathered from local administration offices, said Thaung Hlaing, a spokesperson for the UEC. "We will then use this information to compile a list of all people over the age of 18. Thereafter, we will remove voters who are not eligible to vote under election laws." Religious figures, including monks, are counted out from voting in Burma, as are prisoners and those who remain on bankruptcy lists. The UEC reckoned there to be a 22 million strong turnout for the previous general election, held in 2010. According to government records, 29 million people were eligible for that vote, which was boycotted by Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD). Legal expert Ko Ni believes that the 2010 election was irreconcilably flawed by spurious voter listings. "In the last election there were many errors; for instance, the voter lists included some dead people,” he said. Related Stories MOI to sue Herald for defamation Jail, hard labour for 70 year-old couple Min Aung Hlaing visits Moscow Ko Ni believes that 2010's listing problems were repeated in the 2012 by-election. That poll saw the NLD elevated into both houses of Burma's parliament. "The 2010 election lists were very ugly. The same lists were used again in the 2012 bi-elections and we discovered that they contained many errors. There were many weaknesses in the commission's methodology of compiling voter lists at the local level, but nobody took responsibility,” said Ko Ni. The commission has stated that next year's vote will take place in late October or early November.

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