Democratic Voice of Burma |
- DVB Bulletin: 4 December 2014
- Anti-PR upper house MPs petition tribunal
- Burma one of most corrupt countries in world: report
- Rangoon govt tackles traffic congestion
- Koh Tao murders: Burmese pair indicted
- DVB Bulletin: 3 December 2014
| Posted: 04 Dec 2014 04:19 AM PST On tonight's bulletin:
You can watch DVB Bulletin every weeknight on DVB TV after the 7 o'clock news. The post DVB Bulletin: 4 December 2014 appeared first on DVB Multimedia Group. |
| Anti-PR upper house MPs petition tribunal Posted: 04 Dec 2014 02:52 AM PST Twenty-six MPs in Burma's upper house of parliament this week signed a petition urging the constitutional tribunal to opine on whether a Proportional Representation (PR) electoral system would be in accordance with the Constitution. The petition, signed by 26 MPs, including several from Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) and ethnic-based parties, was submitted to the constitutional tribunal via the upper house speaker on 1 December. "The petition urges the tribunal to decide whether the two proposed designs for a proportional representation voting system are in line with the 2008 Constitution," said NLD's Aung Kyi Nyunt. The NLD has been vocally opposed to calls for the current First-Past-The-Post (FPTP) system being changed to PR. According to official procedures under constitutional articles 14 and 15(d), MPs can submit a petition to the constitutional tribunal via the upper house speaker if they have signatures from at least 10 percent of the house. There are 215 MPs in the upper house. "We have found that Article 14 of the Constitution implies that a PR system would not be constitutional, so we wanted the tribunal to make a judgment on this." The petitioners have appointed Mandalay-based lawyer Khin Maung Than as their legal representative. Related StoriesThe National Democratic Force party originally submitted proposals to the parliament's upper and lower houses calling for a switch from FPTP to PR. Last week, the upper house voted to adopt PR in all elections nationwide. The lower house rejected the proposal earlier in November. "This is due to the different electoral systems in the two houses," said Aung Kyi Nyunt. "In the lower house, it would clearly be impossible to use a PR system as the house is formed with one representative from each of the 330 constituencies. "But the upper house is formed with equal numbers of representatives from each administrative region – 12 representatives each – so the [upper house MPs] may assume that PR is suitable in elections covering many constituencies." The post Anti-PR upper house MPs petition tribunal appeared first on DVB Multimedia Group. |
| Burma one of most corrupt countries in world: report Posted: 04 Dec 2014 01:19 AM PST Burma is the third most corrupt country in the Asia-Pacific region and the 156th most corrupt of 175 nations surveyed, says Berlin-based watchdog Transparency International (TI). With a score of 21 out of 100 Рwith 100 being the "most clean" and zero meaning "highly corrupt" РBurma ties with Cambodia and Zimbabwe in 156th place. The most corrupt nations on earth are failed state Somalia and pariah state North Korea, according to TI. Denmark is estimated to be the least corrupt country in the world, closely followed by New Zealand, then Finland and Sweden. "Poorly equipped schools, counterfeit medicine, and elections decided by money are just some of the consequences of public sector corruption. Bribes and backroom deals don't just steal resources from the most vulnerable Рthey undermine justice and economic development, and destroy public trust in government and leaders," said TI on its website, introducing its Corruption Perceptions Index 2014. "Corruption is a problem for all countries. A poor score is likely a sign of widespread bribery, lack of punishment for corruption, and public institutions that don't respond to citizens' needs. Countries at the top of the index also need to act. Leading financial centres in the EU and US need to join with fast-growing economies to stop the corrupt from getting away with it. The G20 needs to prove its global leadership role and prevent money laundering and stop secret companies from masking corruption." According to TI chairman Jos̩ Ugaz:"Countries at the bottom need to adopt radical anti-corruption measures in favour of their people. Countries at the top of the index should make sure they don't export corrupt practices to underdeveloped countries." In August, Burmese President Thein Sein urged officials to eliminate the endemic corruption that plagues the country's civic sector. According to a UN-commissioned survey, corruption is a top concern for businesses and foreign investors in Burma, with over 20 percent of 3,000 firms surveyed saying that corruption is a "very severe obstacle" to their operations. About half of the firms said that they paid $500 in extra "facilitation fees", while a dozen said extra fees exceeded $10,000. According to a 2014 survey by London-based NGO Global Witness, corruption and corporate secrecy is also endemic in Burma's oil and gas sector. The post Burma one of most corrupt countries in world: report appeared first on DVB Multimedia Group. |
| Rangoon govt tackles traffic congestion Posted: 04 Dec 2014 12:35 AM PST Rangoon Division Minister of Finance San San Nwe unveiled a plan on Wednesday in the regional parliament to construct three new overpasses in the city. While proposing a budget for fiscal year 2015-16, she said the divisional government is looking at new overpasses to relieve traffic congestion in Tamwe, Bahan and Mayangone townships. "As special projects, the regional government is seeking 22.5 billion kyat (US$22.5 million) to construct the overpass in Tamwe; 16.45 billion kyat for an overpass at 8-mile Junction in Mayangone Township; and 15.4 billion kyat for an overpass at the Kokkine Junction in Bahan Township," the minister said. She added that Rangoon divisional government is allocating an additional 30 billion kyat for traffic lights at 65 busy junctions in the city. Currently, an overpass is being constructed in Mayangone on Pyay Road at a budget of 16- 18 billion kyat. Rangoon's city centre area has suffered from severe traffic congestion since economic reforms took hold over the past few years as the population increases and more city-dwellers and commuters buy vehicles. Many roads have been neglected for decades and are peppered with potholes. Traffic is frequently gridlocked. Motorcycles have been banned in the city centre by the government for more than 10 years, but some say they might be a better alternative for both the traffic and the pollution. Another solution could be to improve the existing public transportation. Today there are more than 300 bus lines that pass through downtown Rangoon, officially known as Yangon. The post Rangoon govt tackles traffic congestion appeared first on DVB Multimedia Group. |
| Koh Tao murders: Burmese pair indicted Posted: 03 Dec 2014 08:59 PM PST Thai public prosecutors have decided to indict two Burmese workers before Koh Samui Provincial Court Thursday for the murders of two British tourists on Koh Tao in September. The decision followed the prosecutors’ review of the 900-page police report into the murder of David Miller, 24, and the rape-murder of Hannah Witheridge, 23, on the Surat Thani island on 15 September. Thawatchai Saengjaew, chief of the Public Prosecution’s Region 8 Office, said that authorities will indict Zaw Lin, 21, on five counts – the murder of Miller, the rape and murder of Witheridge, illegal entry into Thailand and staying in the country without permission. Win Zaw Htun, 21, faces the same charges and an additional charge of stealing a mobile phone and sunglasses from Miller. The indictments come after three months of controversy in which domestic and foreign media questioned the police investigation every step of the way, branding it unprofessional and inconclusive. Human rights and lawyer groups, as well as labour activists, have condemned the arrest of the two Burmese migrant workers, claiming the men are scapegoats. Pressure from the media, rights groups and the Burmese embassy prompted the regional public prosecutors’ office to order police to look for additional evidence and re-investigate parts of the initial probe. Win Zaw Htun and Zaw Lin, whom police earlier said had confessed to the murders, later retracted their confessions, saying they had been tortured by police into admitting the crimes. They retracted their confessions after lawyers from the Lawyers Council of Thailand visited them on 21 October. The suspects allege that a Burmese translator provided by police had kicked one of them in the chest repeatedly to force the confessions. However, Mr Thawatchai said the authorities are confident because they have solid evidence including DNA, security camera footage and witness accounts to back the charges against the suspects. The suspects will be asked in court if they will stand by their initial statements to police in which they confessed to the crimes, Mr Thawatchai said. Meanwhile, the Metropolitan Police Bureau (MPB) deputy commissioner testified to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) Wednesday that officers did not abuse or torture the two suspects. Pol Maj Gen Suwat Jaengyodsuk, the case’s chief investigator, appeared for the first time at a meeting of the NHRC’s subcommittee on civil and political rights to deny the allegations. The police had failed to show up on the four occasions they were summoned by the NHRC, which launched an investigation in early October. The Burmese suspects have spent the intervening months in detention on Koh Samui. Niran Pitakwatchara, chairman of the NHRC subcommittee, went before the media after the closed-door meeting with police, saying Pol Maj Gen Suwat had insisted that police had conducted the investigation, DNA tests and arrests by the book. Related Stories“Pol Maj Gen Suwat said there had been no torture at any time during the investigation process,” Dr Niran said. The MPB deputy commissioner had said many agencies were involved in the investigation, including the provincial, regional, tourism and marine police, and all of them had worked according to professional standards, said Dr Niran. “Pol Maj Gen Suwat also insisted the translator did not assault the suspects,” he said. The NHRC’s subcommittee would wrap up its investigation soon and forward its findings to the Royal Thai Police, Dr Niran said. Thai police have faced severe criticism from the first day of the investigation, when they were accused of allowing people to trample on the crime scene. They were also accused of mishandling the probe by moving quickly from one suspect to another – including friends of the victims and the son of a local bar owner – and then abandoning their lines of inquiry soon after. This article was originally published in the Bangkok Post on 3 December 2014. The post Koh Tao murders: Burmese pair indicted appeared first on DVB Multimedia Group. |
| Posted: 03 Dec 2014 08:08 PM PST On tonight's bulletin:
You can watch DVB Bulletin every weeknight on DVB TV after the 7 o'clock news. The post DVB Bulletin: 3 December 2014 appeared first on DVB Multimedia Group. |
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