Democratic Voice of Burma

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• Poppy replacement in Shan State will take time, money
• Anti-corruption commission to be formed
• IN PICS – Donors rally for evicted Hlegu squatters
• Burma Business Weekly – 21 Feb 2014

Poppy replacement in Shan State will take time, money Posted: 22 Feb 2014 01:55 AM PST In eastern Burma, efforts are underway to hamper opium production in Shan State, which, combined with adjacent parts of Laos and Thailand, produces a staggering 18 percent of the world's opiates. Crop substitution schemes currently being implemented in three townships are unlikely to spread to other areas without a cash injection. A governmental Central Committee for Drug Abuse Control (CCDAC) has partnered with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNDOC) to face the problem, which has far reaching effects for poor, ethnic minorities in the remote area. Poppy substitution is already being piloted in Hopong, Loilen and Panglong townships. Jason Eligh, UNODC Country Manager for Burma, told DVB on Friday that he believes about US$7 million has been spent over the past three years on poppy substitution in Shan State. Considering that CCDAC secretary Kyaw Kyaw Tun has reportedly requested projects in six other townships — Mongnai, Mongpan, Pinlaung, Pekhon, Langhko and Mongton – an effective course of action will come at a hefty price. "That is not enough money at all" said Eligh of the US$7 million already granted by the UNODC. Related Stories Timber ban, effective in April, leads to wood export rush Latpadaung locals air grievances to UN Rights Rapporteur Not enough info about Salween dam, say Shans in eastern Burma An enormous sum would be necessary, he said, for a comprehensive substitute scheme that would canvass all of Shan State, which has nearly 60,000 hectares of poppy fields for a massive drug-producing industry that involves or affects about 200,000 households. "I don't think it should come as any surprise to say we need 15-20 million a year for 10 years," he said. Eligh explained the nuances of tackling the country's drug trade during an exclusive interview with DVB in January, noting that Burma faces unique challenges because so many ethnic groups – armed, unarmed, ceasefire observing and otherwise – will all have to reach agreement with the central government in order to effectively implement eradication schemes. The Shan State Army-South's (SSA-S) Anti-Narcotics Force Chief, Col Hseng Harn, said the group signed a 2012 agreement for cooperation with the government and the UNODC to eliminate drugs, which established a platform for poppy-substitution programs in Mongnai and Mongpan townships that have not yet begun. The SSA-S said the agreement included nine agenda points, but only two of them — the appointment of liaison officers and the conducting of field trips — have been implemented due to lack of further communication from the government. According to the UNODC, last year 57,800 hectares of land were used for poppy cultivation in Burma, yielding 870 metric tons of raw opium.

Anti-corruption commission to be formed Posted: 21 Feb 2014 10:35 PM PST President Thein Sein proposed on Thursday that a commission be formed to begin tackling corruption in Burma. In a letter to the Chairman of the Union Parliament, Thein Sein recommended 15 members; five were selected by the president, five by the Pyithu Hluttaw (lower house) and five by the Amyotha Hluttaw (upper house). Former Maj-Gen Mya Win was recommended as Chairman with former ambassador U Tin Oo also among the proposed members. The list almost exclusively includes former military officials. The newly passed Anti-Corruption Law mandates that the commission be an independent body of respected staff, separate from the legislative, administrative and judicial branches of the government, and that membership should exclude those associated with state-owned companies, those who have declared bankruptcy and those who have been charged with corruption. Related Stories DVB talks to Vicky Bowman, MCRB Govt urged to settle land grab claims by September Literary repression violates basic rights: PEN "As it is meant to tackle corruption, the aim is very good," said politician Thakhin Chan Htun. Emphasising the need for a truly "honest" board, he added, "Having a commission is better than no commission, so there will be a reduction in corruption rather than elimination." Thakhin Chan Htun said that he doubts it is possible to wipe out corruption in Burma. He said that U Nu had once formed a similar anti-corruption team, but that several opportunistic members used their station for personal gain. Burma's Anti-Corruption Law was approved in July 2013, but since that time no action has been taken. Supreme court lawyer Robert San Aung said that he wishes to see results. "A law is in place, there should be direct action," he said. "The commission will take some time, and corruptions will continue. Because the authorities and cronies are now above the law, I would like to see practical changes rather than the forming of a commission.” According to the current law, corruption carries a maximum 15 year sentence for politicians. Other authorities can serve up to 10 years for a guilty verdict, as well as losing their positions. Others found guilty can serve up to seven years in jail. Phoe Thauk Kya, a journalist, said that reporters also have the responsibility to eliminate corruption, and that not enough investigative work is being done to expose corruption in the country. "Journalists are responsible for all the matters which hurt the people," he said. "If we have information, we should reveal it." Last December, however, an Eleven Daily reporter, Ma Khine, was tried and jailed for highly contested charges after interviewing a lawyer for a story on corruption in Burma. Ma Khine was released from prison on Friday after serving a three month sentence that sparked a series of protests by fellow journalists and lawyers. Global corruption watchdog Transparency International has Burma ranked at 157 out of 177 nations in its most recent Corruption Perceptions Index.

IN PICS – Donors rally for evicted Hlegu squatters Posted: 21 Feb 2014 07:57 PM PST Sympathisers from across Burma have been flocking to the Aung Theikdi Buddhist monastery in Pegu Division since news spread that 144 families were sheltering there after their homes were bulldozed and demolished. Donors and well-wishers, including several high-profile activists such as former students leader Moe Thee Zun and activist Nay Myo Zin, have been offering relief supplies and aid to the families who have been sheltering at the monastery since 4 February when their homes were demolished in nearby Hlegu Township where local authorities deemed them illegal squatters. READ MORE: http://www.dvb.no/news/sympathisers-flock-to-aid-evicted-squatters-in-hlegu-burma-myanmar/37527 Related Stories Awaiting eviction, Dagon Seikkan's denizens have nowhere to go Sympathisers flock to aid evicted squatters in Hlegu Court date set for prominent ex-political prisoner

Burma Business Weekly – 21 Feb 2014 Posted: 21 Feb 2014 06:27 PM PST   Ups and downs The Burmese currency's buying and selling rates have narrowed considerably. Street rate for the US dollar is 983 kyat, while the kyat sells at 983.5 kyat to the dollar. Gold is selling at 686,000 kyat per tical; that's 3,300 kyat up from last week. Fuel remains constant: petrol 820 kyat, diesel 950 kyat, and octane 920 kyat per litre. High-quality Pawhsanmwe rice is still selling at Rangoon marketplaces for 1,200–1300 kyat per basket while low-grade Emata rice sells at 850– 900 kyat.   Thein Sein to meet with business leaders Burma's President Thein Sein is scheduled to meet hundreds of businesspeople and investors at the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce office in Rangoon on Saturday, 22 February. According to a UMFCCI official, more than 350 businesses will be represented.   Foreign firms eye Thilawa SEZ About 40 foreign manufacturers have indicated an interest in setting up at the Thilawa special economic zone being developed with Japanese help outside Rangoon, according to a Reuters report on Friday which cited a Burmese official saying that commercial operations could start in mid-2015. Set Aung, vice-governor of Burma’s central bank and chairman of the committee overseeing the economic zone, said the potential investors were producers of clothing, foodstuff, electronic appliances, toiletries and car parts.   24 new hotels given green light in January Twenty-four new hotels offering a total of nearly 1,000 rooms were granted licenses in January to cater for Burma's growing surge of tourists, according an announcement by the Directorate of Hotels and Tourism. With the new additions included, there are now 947 hotels in Burma and more than 35,000 rooms. The announcement said a budget of over 250 billion kyat (US$250 million) was allocated to the Hotels and Tourism sector in the 2013-14 fiscal year.   World's second largest law firm opens office in Burma Baker and McKenzie is by revenue the world's second-largest law firm and now has an office in Rangoon. The "new frontier" office is set to serve the first wave of investors entering Burma's much-coveted energy, mineral and consumer markets. The Rangoon office is Baker & McKenzie's 16th in the Southeast Asia and will employ five local lawyers.   Thai Oil plans $1 billion investment in Burma The largest oil refiners in Thailand, Thai Oil Public Co Ltd, has announced its intention to invest about US$1 billion in Burma this year, according to the Bangkok Post. Executive officer Veerasak Kositpaisal said Thai Oil has proposed two investment projects to the Burmese government including the construction of an oil refinery in Thanlyin, just outside Rangoon, which would produce 40,000 barrels per day.   VP warns Burmese firms against falling under foreign control Burma's Vice-president Nyan Tun has warned domestic companies working in joint ventures with foreign firms in Special Economic Zones (SEZs) not to "fall under foreign control". According to a report by Dawei Project, Nyan Tun said that working together with foreigners will bring more investment, technology and know-how, but local firms must establish "a strategy for all obstacles". Burma is currently implementing three SEZs in Dawei, Thilawa and Kyaukphyu, all with heavy backing from Japan and Thailand.   Maersk makes Burma its port of call The A P Moller-Maersk Group has received a permanent licence to operate container business activities in Burma, according to industry magazine Cargonews Asia. The business will reportedly encompass the three brands: Maersk Line, MCC Transport and Safmarine and it hopes to open its Rangoon agency in May. "Macro-economic indicators signal a continuous expansion of growth in the country due to infrastructure development and investments in industries such as agriculture and garments," said Cargonews Asia.   Timber sales rise as logging ban nears Raw timber export is estimated to rise by 33 percent this year, in the lead-up to a nationwide ban on 1 April 2014. Bar Bar Cho, secretary of the Myanmar Timber Merchants Association, said, "On average, the annual value of timber exports was between US$600 to 800 million, but we are likely to see a rise in the number – estimated between US$1 to 1.1 billion this year — due to high a record of exports in the past six months." Read more: http://www.dvb.no/news/timber-ban-effective-in-april-leads-to-wood-export-rush/37575

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The Irrawaddy Magazine

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• Dawei Awaits Its Destiny
• Walking to Inle
• Burmese Refugees in Thailand Are Running out of Options
• The Irrawaddy Business Roundup (February 22, 2014)

Dawei Awaits Its Destiny Posted: 21 Feb 2014 10:06 PM PST A signpost for a planned new gas terminal near the shoreline at the planned Dawei SEZ. Click on the box below for more photos. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy) MAUNGMAGAN, Tanintharyi Region — U Aung Myint, a community leader from Mudu village, stands next to a meter-long, gold-colored footprint with 108 Buddhist signs that was carved on a large boulder many centuries ago. "We believe that the Buddha visited here and that this is his left footprint," he said. The relic, around which a pagoda has been constructed, is part of the heritage of the ethnic Dawei people, who have lived in southern Myanmar's Tanintharyi Region since the 8th century. The ancient artifact gave the cluster of villages on this remote coastal plain its local name: Nabule. "The Pali word for left foot is Nabule," U Aung Myint explained. The area is known on most maps as northern Maungmagan, located some 20 km northwest of Dawei city, and it is here that Southeast Asia's biggest industrial estate is being developed: the Dawei Special Economic Zone (SEZ). The creation of a multi-billion dollar "new global gateway of Indochina" at the site of secluded, ancient villages underscores the dramatic changes that this long-isolated coastal region will experience if the project is realized. The Myanmar government considers the Dawei SEZ a great economic engine for the impoverished country and officials boast of the region's future as an industrial hub. Many Dawei residents and activists, however, fear that they will bear the costs, rather than the benefits, of the sweeping changes that the massive project will bring. They complain of the project's heavy environmental impact, forced eviction from the SEZ without adequate compensation, and a region-wide surge in land grabs. Although their pagodas will not be knocked down, many in Nabule oppose leaving their ancestral villages for fear of losing their Dawei heritage. "Our forefathers lived here for more than 1,000 years," said U Aung Myint. "I am certain that the more the project will be developed, the more our culture will decline." Losing Ground to a Stalled 'Regional Hub' In 2008, Myanmar's former military government and Thailand signed a deal to develop the Dawei SEZ, a project that includes a huge industrial estate, a deep-sea port for supertankers, and highway, railroad and oil pipeline routes to Bangkok, located some 350 km to the east. Billed as Myanmar's largest export industry zone and a regional trade hub, its strategic location would allow companies from Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and China to send goods overland to the Bay of Bengal and bypass the busy Strait of Malacca shipping lane. Government officials, such as U Aung Tun Thet of the Myanmar Investment Commission, presented glowing plans to "transform Dawei into a newly opened investment destination and logistic hub of the region" valued at US$50 billion, which would "generate a very large amount of employment." Italian-Thai Development Public Company Ltd (ITD) won the project concession and sought to attract $8 billion in investment to develop the zone's infrastructure, after which international firms were expected to build heavy industries, such a massive coal-fired plant, a steel plant, oil refineries and a chemical fertilizer plant. However, ITD failed to attract investors and the project faced numerous delays. In November 2013, Myanmar and Thailand took the firm off the project and called for the involvement of Japan's government and Japanese firms. Tokyo has since shown an interest in reviving the project and on Nov. 21 Mitsubishi announced it would work with ITD and the Thai government to develop a 7,000-megawatt coal plant at Dawei. In 2010, ITD had already begun construction of the SEZ, a water reservoir and a two-lane access road to Thailand. The plans will ultimately force the resettlement of 12,000 people from six ethnic Dawei villages in Maungmagan, while thousands of ethnic Kayin (Karen) villagers in the Tanintharyi Yoma mountain range will lose farmland. In Nabule, a coastal plain dotted with villages growing rubber, betel nut and cashew nut, hundreds of farmers have already seen their land confiscated for the SEZ, which will cover 200 square kilometers of untouched beaches and farmland. Villagers and the Dawei Development Association (DDA), a local NGO monitoring the SEZ, said authorities and ITD had pressured farmers to give up land without proper consultation, while compensation procedures have been inconsistent. Future resettlement sites, they claim, lack arable farmland. In Mudu village about 70 farmers have lost 198 acres (80 hectares) of land. "Sometimes [ITD] offers [compensation] money and then they occupy the land. Other times they first occupy the land and then they offer money," said U Aung Myint, adding that about 30 farmers received no compensation as they refused to give up their land ownership. Affected farmers said they were offered compensation amounts ranging from $500 to $3,000 per acre. Although the latter amount is fairly high, residents often demand more, as land prices around the SEZ have surged to between $5,000 and $10,000 per acre. U Aung Myint lost 10 acres (4 hectares) of betel nut trees and like many farmers he is anxious about his future livelihood at one of three planned relocation sites. "I have no idea what I'm going to do, I have no land left," he said, adding that only migrant workers had been offered jobs at the SEZ project. DDA said ITD's project implementation methods had violated villagers' human rights. "Most people rely on plantation farming, but the government cannot move them and guarantee their future livelihoods," said DDA coordinator U Thant Zin. U Zaw Thura, a local activist and Dawei University scholar, expressed concern over the industrial zone's expected environmental pollution. "We are worried about the northwest monsoon, it will blow all the exhaust fumes of the coal plant and other industries inland and over Dawei city," he said, adding that ITD had refused to release the project's environmental impact assessment (EIA). Although work started in 2010, little has been achieved at the SEZ, which remains a largely empty area, with a small port, dirt roads, a few simple office buildings and barren living quarters for ITD's 1,200 local workers. Managers at ITD's project support office were reluctant to talk to Irrawaddy reporters and EIA reports by Bangkok's Chulanglokorn University on display in a glass showcase could not be made available because staff had "no key." A high-ranking official involved in the planning of the SEZ said in a phone call that the government was "trying very hard to mitigate" the project's local impacts, adding that farmers directly affected by the SEZ "are being properly compensated." The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Naypyitaw was confident that a Japanese consortium would help to resume project work in mid-2014. However, some economists question whether the SEZ will ever attract industrial investment, or offer any benefits to Myanmar. "Successful SEZs have an underlying economic need and rationality first, and proceed from there. Here we seem to have an idea akin to ‘build it and they will come,'" said Sean Turnell, a professor at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia, who advises opposition leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. Any economic benefits of the project, he said, "will accrue to Thailand rather than Burma. Dawei in no way opens up the Burma hinterland to trade." Unlocking a Region: Land Grabs and the Economics of Peace For decades, Dawei was an isolated region, located in Myanmar's deep south and cut off from nearby Thailand by a Karen National Union (KNU) insurgency in the forested Tanintharyi Yoma mountain range that runs along the border. The planned Dawei SEZ, a 2012 government-KNU ceasefire and economic reforms by President U Thein Sein's quasi-civilian government have changed all that and Dawei's days as an inaccessible backwater now seem over. In October, ITD completed a 132-km gravel access road running from the SEZ through the KNU-controlled mountain range to the Thai border. Some 30 minibuses from Thailand, carrying tourists and business visitors, now reportedly arrive in Dawei every day. Land prices have surged throughout Dawei District, as local and Thai businessmen move to buy up land for investment in tourism projects, real estate, plantation farming and mining in the newly unlocked region. Among local communities, however, concerns are growing over the projects' impacts. Near Dawei city and around the SEZ numerous investment projects have sprung up, as have controversies over land ownership. One of the biggest local investors is Dawei Development Public Company Ltd (DDPC), which was set up by a group of Dawei businessmen in 2011 with a view of gaining a stake in the region's expected, rapid economic development, managing director U Ye Htut Naing said in an interview. DDPC is chaired by local tycoon U Khin Soe, whose Anawar Hlwam Company controls much of southern Myanmar's highly productive coastal fishing industry. The firm's website boasts of $50 million in registered capital and 47 fishing vessels. U Khin Soe also owns Apex gas stations, the 55-room Apex Hotel in Naypyitaw and has announced plans to launch Apex Airline. DDPC plans to build a cement factory and a mine, and has begun constructing a $3 million shopping mall near Dawei city and a tourist resort on a 475-acre (190-hectare) pristine beach front just south of the SEZ. The resort includes a $14-million luxury hotel, bungalows and apartments, a golf course and an "ethnic races village" supposedly representing Dawei's peoples. "We already collected the [investment] money for the project," said U Ye Htut Naing. "We expect an increase in business and tourist visitors. There are no sleeping facilities at the SEZ; we want businessmen to sleep in our bungalows." At the sprawling project site a dozen bungalows have already been built on the white sandy beaches overlooking the azure waters of the Andaman Sea. A billboard shows an artistic rendition of the future resort extending far inland, into an area currently covered with mangrove forest and cashew nut trees. About half a kilometer away, at the edge of the forest, lies Kavee Hnit Pin village. Here, some 130 impoverished families reside in rickety huts built along a litters-strewn dirt road. They live hand-to-mouth, working as day laborers and collecting food from the forest. In October, however, the DDPC obtained the mangrove area from the Forest Department, and workers began cutting down trees and erecting fencing. The villagers have since grown desperate and complain that they have been deprived of a crucial food and income source that they have used for decades. "Before the company came we found everything we need there: fish, crabs, fruit, and firewood. Now we struggle to get food," said Daw Hla, a 43-year-old mother of nine. "We heard that they will take our village land too!" fumed Daw Eimal, a mother of five children. Emotions ran high among the roughly 100 villagers who gathered to speak with Irrawaddy reporters, and when several Special Branch officers in plain clothes showed up to take photographs some confronted the thuggish-looking men. "We want this area back, we received no money in compensation!" shouted Daw Hla. "Our future generation is lost, we planted many fruit trees in this area but the company took it all." U Ye Htut Naing dismissed the complaints and said his firm had received the forest land "for free" because DDPC Chairman "U Khin Soe is close to the [Tanintharyi Region] chief minister" and had convinced him of the project's positive economic impacts. The poor villagers, he said, would simply have to be patient because "after the local economy develops there will be new job opportunities for them." In the Tanintharyi Mountains, meanwhile, several thousand Kayin villagers have lost land to ITD's construction of a 2,970-acre (1,200-hectare) water reservoir and the new road to Thailand, which will eventually become a four-lane highway. The angered villagers have complained of poor compensation and appealed to the KNU for help. In September, they blocked the road for three weeks at a site some 50 km west of the Dawei SEZ. All along the road, meanwhile, businessmen are buying up land and complaints of land-grabbing have surged, according to DDA, which warns that tens of thousands of Kayin villagers will be directly and indirectly affected by ITD's projects. During a visit to Thapyu Chaung, a small village of thatched-roofed and wooden huts located in a lush mountain valley some 30 km east of Dawei city, impoverished Kayin villagers complained that road construction waste had polluted their local stream. "This river is now destroyed, the fish and crabs are all gone," Pi Naw Pa Lay Zar, 74, said in perfect English. "We only have one clean stream that we can use for drinking water in the [dry season]. It doesn't flow very well and we have to go very far to the upper part of the river to get water." During the interview, two pick-up trucks, including a gleaming new Toyota Hilux SUV with a Myanmar license plate, pulled up carrying a dozen fighters of Karen National Liberation Army Brigade 4. A KNLA captain inquired about the Irrawaddy reporters' visit, but discussions quickly turned to the surge in land disputes. "The buying and selling of land is a very big problem here," said the officer, who declined to be identified. "Many businessmen come here now that the roads are becoming better. They came with licenses obtained in Naypyitaw, showing that they can buy the land." "The KNU never approved these sales, and some people sell land when they don't own it—this creates a lot of problems. That's why the KNU banned land sales," he said, referring to a KNU notification placed along roads in the area that reads: "No selling, buying of land in this territory." U Thant Zin of DDA said the sudden influx of businessmen looking to buy—or grab—land was having a disruptive effect on the long-suffering Kayin communities and causing tensions in the area, which is still awash with weapons after decades of conflict. "In some villages, the bulldozers are parked [to begin work] and the people are so worried that they wait with guns to guard their land," he said, adding that the KNU had also cut business deals that affected communities, such as in southern Dawei District, where it has allowed Thailand's East Star Company and local firm Mayflower to operate a coal-mining concession. U Thant Zin warned that the rise in land sales and disputes threatens donor-backed government plans to return Kayin refugees from Thailand in coming years. "This is also related to the peace process. So many Karen refugees [from Dawei] live across the border in the camp near Kanchanaburi. How can they return when there is no access to land?" he asked. The cover story first appeared in the February 2014 issue of The Irrawaddy print magazine. The post Dawei Awaits Its Destiny appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Walking to Inle Posted: 21 Feb 2014 09:09 PM PST A sign at the train station welcomes passengers to Kalaw, Shan State. (Photo: Simon Lewis / The Irrawaddy) KALAW, Shan State — The trek from Kalaw to Inle Lake is one for those who value journeying through a lived-in landscape. The trip begins at the hill town once enjoyed by British colonialists for its cooler weather, and heads through the southwestern end of Shan State, with its richly varied agriculture,ethnically diverse local inhabitants and photogenic vistas. Buses to Kalaw are easily booked from Yangon or Mandalay, or you can take what is reputedly a scenic train ride. I attempted to take the latter option, but slept through the 3 am change of lines at Thazi after my three Japanese cabin mates and I decided cheap local whiskey could make up for our lack of a common language. Kalaw itself has a few no-frills hotels and some decent Myanmar and Indian eateries around the main market. The surrounding hills and a monastery provide about one slow-paced day of entertainment, while you wait to embark upon the trek. A number of well-signed tour guide stalls are also dotted around the market, all offering about the same deal. Traveling alone, it wasn't difficult to latch onto a group trek, and the standard price was 15,000 kyat, or about US$15, for each day of trekking. The 31-mile (50-km) trip takes about two-and-a-half days of walking, spending a night each in a homestay and a monastery—where you might want to bring an extra blanket, depending on the season. Meals of hearty local curries and salads are included in the cost, and drinks can be bought at small shops along the way. The long days of walking could be described as challenging, depending on your fitness, but the path is never especially steep. Footwear is often a good indicator of these things: One fellow walker did the trip solely in flip flops without too much trouble, but the walk wore large holes in my aging pair of Converse. If you have less time or want an easier option, you can simply catch a motorbike taxi and start halfway, as I did. Travelers report mixed experiences with their guides, some of whom were founts of botanical and ethnographic insight, while others could offer little more than perfunctory observations. They should all at least be able to point out a rice terrace here or a Pa-O headdress there, however. They might even venture into local politics, as mine did, explaining that local ethnic families are given cash incentives to send their kids to the Myanmar-language government school. As in all ethnic areas, official education in minority languages is not an option. The trek itself takes you over hills, through fields of a stunning variety of crops, along ridges and across small streams. Then, as you approach the valley in which lies your goal, Inle Lake, the lush green of the higher altitudes recedes. The path descends into avalley with a rocky,dry river bed pitted with bright green succulents. The trip can be done in reverse, but that means more uphill walking and eliminates the joy of being rewarded for your labor by the sight of the lake, enclosed by high green slopes on both sides. The trek ends at a river jetty, where you pay the tourist fee for the Inle Lake area (about 10,000 kyat) and board a comfortable boat that speeds through a series of small weirs. After about an hour on the water, past the lake's famous fishers, you arrive at Nyaung Shwe, with its charming guesthouses, great food and drink options, and even the chance of a massage for tired legs. This story first appeared in the February 2014 issue of The Irrawaddy's print magazine. The post Walking to Inle appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

Burmese Refugees in Thailand Are Running out of Options Posted: 21 Feb 2014 06:20 PM PST Poe Suter Toe, an ethnic Karen refugee from Mandalay, stands between fences at the Mae La refugee camp near Mae Sot June 3, 2012. (Photo: Reuters) BANGKOK — Win Myint and his two younger sisters fled Burma in June 2011, after months of harassment by plainclothes officers because of a documentary about the Burmese army featuring their exiled younger brother, a former soldier who later spent 15 years in jail for his pro-democracy activism. The officers accused them of distributing the film and warned them they could be jailed. "They told us not to go anywhere overnight. They also followed me to places I gave tuition. They accused our younger brother of trying to break the unity of the armed forces," said Win Myint, speaking by phone from Umpiem Mai refugee camp in northern Thailand. "We didn't feel safe," said Myint, a 63-year-old former teacher and a Muslim. He and his sisters, both in their 50s, fled to Thailand, hoping to be recognized as refugees and reunited with their mother and three other siblings who are now in the United States. But, like some 40,000 of the 120,000 people in the nine refugee camps straddling the Thai-Burma border, they arrived too late to be eligible for resettlement. Thailand stopped screening and registering new refugees in 2007, and in January this year the United States, the largest recipient of Burmese refugees from Thailand having taken more than 70,000, announced it was ending its group resettlement program. “The United States will continue to consider for resettlement individual referrals received from the UNHCR,” said the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok, but it did not elaborate further on the criteria for these cases. The Thai government did not immediately respond to emails and calls seeking comment. As former pariah Burma garners praise for its gradual democratic reforms, and financial support to the camps dwindles, so talk of repatriating the remaining refugees has grown—creating uncertainty and fear among the thousands of refugees who have a real fear of persecution if they return to Burma. Critics point to the arrest of journalists and activists, continuing offensives against armed ethnic groups in the north, and persistent  violence against the Rohingya in particular and Muslims in general as signs that Burma's reforms have not gone far enough. New asylum seekers are still arriving in Thailand, underlying the patchiness of the reforms. Life in Thailand, which has never ratified the U.N. Refugee Convention, is not rosy either. Refugees who go outside the camps are subject to arrest, detention and deportation. "We can't go forward or backward. We're stuck," said Win Myint. Houses Raided His brother Myo Myint lost an arm and a leg to an enemy mortar round while serving as a soldier in the Burmese army. He later became a pro-democracy activist, for which he spent 15 years in jail, where, Win Myint says, he was tortured. He later fled to Thailand and the United States, where he now works as a translator and interpreter for newly arrived refugees. His story was told in Burma Soldier, an Emmy-nominated 2010 HBO documentary in which he spoke of the army's routine abuse of civilians. "If they go back they could be arrested at any time because I was involved in what the government considers to be an illegal film," Myo Myint said in a phone interview from Fort Wayne, Indiana, where he has lived for the past five years. Soon after the Democratic Voice of Burma, a news outlet, broadcast Burma Soldier in Burma in November 2010, plainclothes officers, who Win Myint believes were from military intelligence, started turning up at their house in the former capital, Rangoon, subtly threatening them with repercussions. Coming from a politically active family – besides Myo Myint, another brother had been a student leader and a sister had helped political prisoners – Win Myint was no stranger to harassment. But a raid on their family home one night in April 2011 by police and military intelligence officers armed with automatic weapons, left his two sisters badly shaken – especially as this happened only a few weeks after a reformist government led by President Thein Sein had taken power, ending half a century of brutal military rule. The officers were looking for evidence that the family had been distributing the documentary and left empty-handed after a 90-minute search. But they kept returning, Win Myint said. He and his sisters left Burma quietly without informing anyone, even their youngest sister whose visits had become less frequent as the authorities' attentions became more intrusive. They decided to go to Umpiem Mai, where Myo Myint had lived before being resettled in the United States. Here they could sleep easier but their troubles were far from over. Individual Resettlement, No Forced Return The United Nations refugee agency, in a statement announcing the end of the group resettlement program, said that resettlement on an individual basis was continuing. "UNHCR is still identifying vulnerable refugees for submission to resettlement countries such as Australia, New Zealand and Japan," UNHCR spokeswoman Vivian Tan told Thomson Reuters Foundation. About 19,000 Burmese refugees have resettled in these countries. Both the UNHCR and The Border Consortium (TBC), a non-governmental organization that has been working in the camps since the 1980s, also say conditions in Burma are not yet conducive for Burmese to return and no timeline for such action has been set. Still, people in the camps are worried. "There are so many people in the same boat as us. Everyone in the camp is worried because our future is uncertain and there are a lot of rumours going around," said Win Myint, now a volunteer teacher at the camp. "We hear future resettlement will be to reunite families but only for those under 18," he said. "We would like to request that people who a third country would agree to accept should be allowed to go. It would lessen the burden on the Thai government too." But Thai government policy remains that unregistered refugees cannot be resettled, with a few exceptions, assessed on a case-by-case basis, where immediate family members are or could be separated as a result of resettlement, said the UNHCR's Tan. "We feel hopeless and helpless," Myo Myint, who blames his family's troubles on his political activities, told Thomson Reuters Foundation. The post Burmese Refugees in Thailand Are Running out of Options appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

The Irrawaddy Business Roundup (February 22, 2014) Posted: 21 Feb 2014 06:09 PM PST Myitsone Cancellation Would Have 'Financial Consequences' for Burma Permanent cancellation of the huge Myitsone hydroelectric dam on the Irrawaddy River in Kachin State could be very expensive for Burma, an analyst has warned. The Naypyidaw government will face "legal, financial and diplomatic consequences," said Yun Sun of the East Asia program at the Washington-based Stimson Center, a non-profit think-tank. Construction of the US$3.6 billion project by the Chinese state-owned China Power Investment company began in 2007 but was suspended in September 2011 by President Thein Sein responding to public opposition. Work was ordered halted until the end of his presidency on 2015 but the Burmese government is now under pressure from the Chinese to permit its resumption. Among objections to the dam is the fact that its development was agreed by the previous military regime and 90 percent of the electricity generated would be transmitted to China. If Burma is to permanently cancel the massive project, "the reasonable next question is the legal and financial liability associated with the disbursed investment, collateral damage and compensation," said Yun Sun writing in Asia Times. "Beijing needs to reconsider whether it is wise to let the destiny of one commercial project sway and affect the future of broader Sino-Myanmar bilateral relations. Indeed, since the suspension of the Myitsone dam, China has not only suspended almost all new major investment in [Burma], but also let Myitsone become a festering thorn in bilateral political relations." International Finance Corp to Aid Burma's Import-Export Trade Burmese firms involved in exports of goods and materials are to receive financial help from the World Bank's International Finance Corporation (IFC). The aid will be in form of a US$5 million credit facility to Myanmar Oriental Bank (MOB), one of the IFC's partners in Burma, to help underwrite trade financing for small-to-medium sized Burmese companies engaged in export and import markets. "By boosting MOB's capacity to deliver trade-finance solutions, IFC is helping improve trade flows that are vital to enterprise growth as the economy opens up," said the IFC's representative in Burma, Vikram Kumar, in a statement. The MOB will also be assisted by the IFC in improving its corporate governance and trade finance operations. The bank is the first in Burma to join the IFC's Global Trade Finance. The IFC is part of the World Bank, which re-opened an office in Burma in 2013 after ending liaison with the former military regime. In January the World Bank announced a long-term US$2 billion aid package for Burma, aimed at helping to expand a national electricity system, improve health care, and provide loans and grants for economic development. Reforms Bring Better Working Conditions in Burma, Says Global Survey Burma's position in an international working conditions table has improved considerably in the past year, a survey says, although the country remains in the "extreme risk" category. In the list of 197 countries surveyed, Burma's position has improved from 1st in 2013 to 14th place in this year's Working Conditions Index, which ranks nations in terms of minimum wage levels, working hours, and health and safety in the workplace. The survey by the British business risk consultants Maplecroft ranks the worst countries highest in terms of numerical position in the table. "Improvements due to political reforms have been noted in China, which climbed from 6th in 2009 to 37th in 2014, and [Burma], from 1st in 2013 to 14th in 2014, but both remain in the 'extreme risk' category," said Maplecroft. This year, three countries share the No. 1 slot for the absolute worst conditions—Eritrea, North Korea and Syria. Burma's neighbor Bangladesh is in 5th position. "In 2013, nowhere were the risks posed by substandard working conditions more evident than in Bangladesh," Maplecroft said. "Occupational fatalities and excessive working hours in the country reveal a significant lack of capacity and political will to enforce labor laws." Among fellow members of Asean—the Association of Southeast Asian Nations—Indonesia takes 20th place, Vietnam 24th and Cambodia 26th. Quick-Build Hotels Bid to Meet Burma Tourism Surge Burmese companies are planning to build and operate scores of medium-sized, middle-ranking hotels to cater for the rapidly expanding foreign tourist business, a regional trade magazine said. Hotels with 50 to 60 rooms which can be built quickly will form a large part of government plans to provide 20,000 additional rooms in the Rangoon region, said Bangkok-based TTR Weekly, quoting the Myanmar Hoteliers Association. Accommodation is struggling to meet growing demand and many popular tourist areas are short of rooms, the association said. Although there will be more rooms available for visitors in 2014 than last year, tourists in the big cities will have to compete with large numbers of delegates from Asean attending conferences during Burma's year of chairmanship of the regional organization. Earlier this month, Singapore businesses were identified by the Directorate of Investment and Company Administration, as the biggest foreign investors on new hotel construction. Bangladesh Beats Burma to Draw on Bay of Bengal Oil and Gas Licenses As international oil companies await the award of 30 offshore exploration blocks in Burma's Bay of Bengal waters, neighbor Bangladesh has signed a contract with Indian state developer ONGC Videsh to explore two offshore blocks also in the bay. The award of licenses for Burma's blocks is due to be announced in the next few weeks. The two neighbors rowed for years over territorial rights in the Bay of Bengal until they accepted settlement recently by a UN adjudication court. The Bangladesh industry newspaper Energybangla said two more offshore contracts were due to be signed next week between the state agency Petrobangla and the US's ConocoPhillips and also with Santos of Australia. The post The Irrawaddy Business Roundup (February 22, 2014) appeared first on The Irrawaddy Magazine.

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