Democratic Voice of Burma

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• DVB Bulletin: 15 January 2015
• Htin Lin Oo makes apology to Buddhist hard-liners
• China-Burma talks on illegal timber
• OECD highlights opportunities in Burma, urges urgent reforms
• Clashes in Hpakant after KIA arrests state minister
• Latpadaung killing: Police slammed for conduct
• Nine Burmese charged with murder in Malaysia
• Local Thai Muslims reject Rohingya migrants

DVB Bulletin: 15 January 2015 Posted: 15 Jan 2015 04:26 AM PST On tonight's bulletin: Fighting flares in Kachin State. Htin Lin Oo in apology to monks Naga New Year Burmese art to feature in New York You can watch DVB Bulletin every weeknight on DVB TV after the 7 o'clock news. The post DVB Bulletin: 15 January 2015 appeared first on DVB Multimedia Group.

Htin Lin Oo makes apology to Buddhist hard-liners Posted: 15 Jan 2015 02:56 AM PST Htin Lin Oo, former information officer of the National League for Democracy (NLD), formally apologised to over thirty monks at a police station in central Burma on Thursday. The popular author stands accused of religious offense charges, after allegedly criticising the Association for the Protection of Race and Religion, referred to in Burma as the Ma-Ba-Tha. He was indicted last month on charges of religious defamation and hurting religious feelings under Article 295(a) and Article 298 of Burma's penal code. The charges stem from allegedly blasphemous remarks made during a public speech he gave in Chaung-U Township, Sagaing Division on 23 October. Related Stories Latpadaung activists' court hearing postponed NLD, AAPP look to support political prisoners in Arakan Suu Kyi calls for NLD to 'grow wiser' The speech was shared extensively online. Htin Lin Oo's comments drew the ire of the Ma-Ba-Tha and other local Buddhist monks who initiated pattanikkujana kamma, a form of excommunication, against him. He was removed from his NLD post as a result. In the subsequent court proceedings, the prosecution refuted that the lawsuit was politically motivated, insisting that it had nothing to do with his status as an NLD member. Thein Than Oo, Htin Lin Oo's defence lawyer confirmed to DVB that his client formally apologised to around 30 monks at Chaung-U police station at the end of his court hearing on 15 January. "At around 1pm, my client formally apologised to the monks in the Dhamma Hall of the Chaung-U police station, and asked them for forgiveness," he said. "As a Buddhist, we are obliged to apologise to the monks – regardless of being in the right or wrong – if they feel hurt by our remarks." He said the monks accepted the apology. Htin Lin Oo has been denied bail twice since he was detained last month. The post Htin Lin Oo makes apology to Buddhist hard-liners appeared first on DVB Multimedia Group.

China-Burma talks on illegal timber Posted: 14 Jan 2015 10:55 PM PST Senior Burmese and Chinese government officials discussed the illegal timber trade, and how to tackle it, at a forum in Nyapyidaw on Wednesday. The seminar took place in light of the recent bust of a large-scale illegal logging ring, involving dozens of Chinese nationals, in northern Burma's Kachin State. "Over the past 20 years, the illegal trade of forestry resources has grown and operations have spread, not only at the border region but also to the west of the Irrawaddy River and in central regions. This makes it essential for our two governments to coordinate and prevent these illegal trades," said Burma's Deputy Environmental Conservation and Forestry Minister, Aye Myin Maung, in his opening speech. "Everybody is aware that these illegal exports are damaging to Burma's social, economic and environment sectors, as well as the country's sovereignty." Related Stories Thousands march in Mogok to protect iconic lake Army major finally appears for Brang Shawng trial Eyes on Rangoon's precious heritage The Forestry Department director Pyi Sone Myo, who attended the event, told reporters that over 130 Chinese nationals arrested in the recent bust – a joint effort between the army, police and Forestry Department – will be charged with forestry laws. He said there had been Chinese nationals detained and jailed under immigration and forestry laws in similar cases, who had subsequently been handed back to the Chinese government. The post China-Burma talks on illegal timber appeared first on DVB Multimedia Group.

OECD highlights opportunities in Burma, urges urgent reforms Posted: 14 Jan 2015 10:44 PM PST The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), a forum of 34 countries which aims to address globalisation issues, released a new report on Burma on Wednesday, part of the group's ongoing Multi-dimensional Review of Myanmar [Burma] project. Of the latest economic investigation, it says that "overall, the report finds that the need for reform is immense." A number of recommendations for essential progress were made. There were calls to make a structural transformation towards a more manufacturing and service-based economy, filling the skills gap and financing development. The report spoke of opportunities in Burma, highlighting the scope for expansion and diversification in the agriculture sector but also acknowledging structural constraints. Only 2.5 percent of total government loans are made to the rural sector, despite the fact that it accounts for 30 percent of GDP and two-thirds of employment. Related Stories BUSINESS WEEKLY 19 DECEMBER 2014 Professors voice support for student protests France links aid to free and fair elections The report stressed meeting the needs of the labour market through reformation of education and skills policies and noted the skill-deficit and lack of employee training. Realisation of Burma's potential could be achieved if its development needs are supported by effective mobilisation and allocation of financial resources, the report went on to say. While Burma has undergone significant changes in recent years, there are still serious challenges faced if economic and social development is to be sustainable and genuinely meaningful for Burmese people, it said. Burma's failed education system is in urgent need of reform, most desperately in rural areas, the report added. The third phase of the Multi-dimensional Country Review is due later this year with a final report. The post OECD highlights opportunities in Burma, urges urgent reforms appeared first on DVB Multimedia Group.

Clashes in Hpakant after KIA arrests state minister Posted: 14 Jan 2015 10:37 PM PST Fierce fighting broke out around Hpakant on Thursday morning between Burmese government forces and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA). This follows an incident the day before when a regional government minister and three policemen were detained by the KIA; the minister was later released. Dau Hka, a member of the KIA's Technical Advisory Team tasked to negotiate with the government, claimed the Burmese army provoked the clash. "We were informed by our commanders that the Tatmadaw [Burmese army] began shelling our 6th Brigade positions at around 6:30am," he said. "The fighting was continuing as of 9am." The Burmese government are yet to make any announcement regarding the clash in Hpakant, a jade-rich area, located 150km west of state capital Myitkyina. Than Naing, a local National League for Democracy official in Hpakant, told DVB on Thursday morning that fighting was in progress near Aungbarlay village. "We can hear very loud exchanges of gunfire and artillery shelling," he said. Related Stories Two dead, many missing in Hpakant mine landslide Burmese army captures KIA outpost near Hpakant Kachin villagers isolated as military tensions escalate "Villagers from Aungbarlay, Kanseekhaw and Ngatpyawtaw are fleeing their homes and heading for shelter at a nearby monastery. A local school has been closed. I am just about to make a run for it, too," he said, before ending the call. This most recent outbreak of hostilities comes at a time of heightened tensions between the two sides following an incident in November when 23 ethnic cadets at a KIA training camp were killed by an artillery shell fired from Tatmadaw positions. On Wednesday, Kachin State Minister for Transport Kamann Du Naw was briefly detained by KIA troops while inspecting construction work on a local highway. Although he was released, three policemen who were escorting him are still being held. "A KIA armed group comprising about 25 troops shot in the air and stopped U Kamann Du Naw, the transport minister of Kachin State, and security personnel led by SIP Myint Soe near Hwaylone Village in Hpakant Township around 11.25am while the minister was travelling along with others along the Hpakant- Seikmu- Hwaykar- Nyaungpin- Loneton- Hopin Road," reported state media on Thursday. “After interrogating the minister and his entourage, KIA armed troops allowed the minister to proceed [on] his tour but abducted the policemen with arms and ammunition." Burma's state media reported that authorities were negotiating the release of the "abductees". "A local column of the Tatmadaw is in hot pursuit of the KIA troops," the report concluded. The KIA has also clashed with government troops in northern Shan state's Kutkai Township over the past three days. The KIA experienced a 17-year ceasefire with the government until 2011 when hostilities resumed after the Kachins refused demands to incorporate its battalions into border guard units under Burmese army command. The post Clashes in Hpakant after KIA arrests state minister appeared first on DVB Multimedia Group.

Latpadaung killing: Police slammed for conduct Posted: 14 Jan 2015 09:48 PM PST The Myanmar National Human Rights Commission (MNHRC) has insisted that local Salingyi police investigate the December shooting of Latpadaung protestor Khin Win, saying her killing breached international rights standards. In a statement on Thursday, the government-appointed body recommended that action be taken against those responsible for the manslaughter of villager Khin Win, who along with 200 other local protestors had confronted riot police on 22 December. The police had been brought in to protect workers from the Myanmar Wanbao mining company as they erect fences around plots of disputed land to be used for the copper mine project. In its recommendations, the MNHRC also called for action to be taken against those police force personnel responsible for protecting the workers, some of whom were allegedly Chinese citizens, while they erected the fence, and who were injured in the resulting melee. "Actions should be taken against responsible persons from the team who failed to take necessary security measures [during the] erecting [of the] fence at the Letpadaungtaung [Latpadaung] project," the statement said, as reported in state media on Thursday. The MNHRC called for those who did not "strictly follow instructions" during the incident to be held to account. It also said that the correct crowd control equipment had not been issued to security forces. Related Stories Latpadaung activists' court hearing postponed Latpadaung investigators probe locals on Khin Win's death Phyu Hnin Htwe supporter jailed Police have maintained that villagers attacked them on 22 December with missiles fired from slingshots. Villagers contend that police responded in kind, before firing on the crowd with live ammunition. A similar confrontation the following day was broken up and dispersed by police using rubber bullets. In addition to the death of Khin Win, more than 20 other villagers were injured in the two days of standoff at the site. The MNHRC also reserved criticism for the protestors themselves, accusing them of "violent’ or ‘terrorising" conduct. Hundreds of local villagers and their supporters have been protesting the Latpadaung copper mine since its inception more than 10 years ago. Many have been displaced to make way for the project, which was originally contracted to a Canadian firm, Ivanhoe Mines. The controversial mine was temporarily suspended when activists and Buddhist monks staged a mass sit-in protest in 2012. The protest was broken up brutally by riot police on 29 November that year when some 80 protestors were injured, including several monks, many with horrific burns that experts have attributed to white phosphorous. A subsequent investigation headed by opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi failed to pronounce anyone guilty for the violent crackdown, and to many villagers' dismay, recommended to the government that the project be resumed. Since Khin Win's killing, Suu Kyi has blamed the violence on the Latpadaung Working Committee, accusing it of failing to implement the suggestions of her investigative commission. Tin Myint, secretary of the committee, rejected Suu Kyi's remarks and told reporters on 8 January that his committee is seriously evaluating and implementing the suggestions of the commission. The post Latpadaung killing: Police slammed for conduct appeared first on DVB Multimedia Group.

Nine Burmese charged with murder in Malaysia Posted: 14 Jan 2015 08:41 PM PST Nine Burmese nationals have been charged by magistrates with the killing in Penang, Malaysia, of two other Burmese men, according to a report in The Star/Asia News Network. Bilal Mohamad Ghulam, 28, Mohamad Rafik, 28, Habibullah, 20, Mohd Rafi Shafie, 27, Yassin, 23, Hussain Swaley, 44, Soe Maung Maung, 27, Ali, 33, and Hafiz Ahmad, 28 stand accused of the murder of Myo Aung and a further, as yet unidentified, Burmese national at a property in Cherok To’ Kun, Alma, Malaysia, on the night of 23 November 2014. According to the reports, the accused all appeared to acknowledge the charges by nodding as they were read out in Bahasa Malay. Mohamad Rafik, Bilal and Hafiz were then transferred to a sessions court where they faced two further charges of murdering another three Burmese nationals. This hearing comes during the same week as another high-profile Burmese issue in Malaysia. In Kulim, Kedah, 17 trafficking victims were discovered as police officers, investigating the murder of 40-year-old Burmese man Abul Kassim Abdul Shukur, paid a visit to a house in connection with his death. Related Stories Local Thai Muslims reject Rohingya migrants IOM announces support for Burmese refugees Rohingya dies of suffocation in Thai smuggling truck Abul Kassim, a migrant registered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, was found dead by a construction worker in Jala Ara Kuda. A report in The Star indicates that the body had been moved from the site of the killing. A 33-year-old man was arrested in connection with the murder, which led police to the house in Kulim. Datuk Mazlan Kesah, senior assistant commander for the Criminal Investigation Department of Malaysian police, on Wednesday told reporters: "When we went there, we found the victims who were being guarded by two Myanmar [Burma] nationals and a Bangladeshi. We rescued the victims and handed them over to the Kulim police for further investigations. The three foreigners who guarded them were arrested." Datuk Mazlan said that Abul Kassim was last seen being taken from his house by five men. Another four men were arrested in Sungai Acheh and Bukit Tengah, Malaysia, to assist in the investigation. He added that investigations into the human trafficking group are ongoing, and that further arrests are expected. Burmese nationals in Malaysia, a predominantly Muslim country, are frequently embroiled in violence as tensions in Burma carry over to the nearby country. The post Nine Burmese charged with murder in Malaysia appeared first on DVB Multimedia Group.

Local Thai Muslims reject Rohingya migrants Posted: 14 Jan 2015 06:45 PM PST A vacant house in a police compound will be used as a shelter for 95 illegal Rohingya migrants after local Muslims in Nakhon Si Thammarat province in southern Thailand refused to allow them to be housed near their communities. Local authorities had planned to accommodate them at other locations, but Thai Muslim residents in Hua Sai district opposed the idea. Nakhon Si Thammarat governor Peerasak Hinmuangkao therefore ordered Hua Sai municipal officials to use a vacant house in the police station compound as a shelter. The Rohingyas would receive humanitarian aid pending a decision on their future, he said. Further assistance would be provided by the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security. The Rohingyas were rounded up at a road checkpoint in Hua Sai district on Sunday while traveling in a convoy of many pickup trucks. Related Stories Nine Burmese charged with murder in Malaysia Two Rohingyas die in Thai police custody: DPA Rohingya dies of suffocation in Thai smuggling truck Municipal workers fumigated the police compound house to kill mosquitoes and placed it off-limits to the public to prevent the possible transmission of malaria from the Rohingyas to local communities. Temporary toilets and lighting would be installed, and tap water, he said. It was reported that four members of the Rohingya group had died at the sea off Thailand’s Phangnga province after waiting for four months aboard a boat for a chance to go ashore. Three more died after landing from suffocation, blood infections and diarrhea. Police are investigating reports that a local human trafficking cartel is transporting Rohingya through Thailand to Malaysia and charging each illegal migrant 40,000-50,000 baht (US$1,250- $1,560) per trip.   This article was originally published in the Bangkok Post on 14 January 2015. The post Local Thai Muslims reject Rohingya migrants appeared first on DVB Multimedia Group.

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