Democratic Voice of Burma |
- DVB Bulletin: 6 January 2015
- Villagers, activists condemn Latpadaung committee report
- Farmers decry fishpond-flooding trial as ‘unfair’
- Karen border guards make largest drug bust of 2014
- UN rapporteur to examine human rights in Arakan, Shan states
- 300 protestors march from Monywa to Latpadaung mine
| Posted: 06 Jan 2015 04:14 AM PST On tonight's bulletin:
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| Villagers, activists condemn Latpadaung committee report Posted: 06 Jan 2015 03:46 AM PST Latpadaung villagers, activists and academics have rejected a report by the committee charged with implementing the recommendations of the copper mine investigation commission. The report blames "a handful of people who are on an utterly destructive course with the project". The committee's report, dated 5 January, claims that all locals in Latpadaung received compensation for confiscated land – amounting to 20-times the tax they paid for it – in accordance with the Land Confiscation Law in 2011. Win Myo Thu of the environmental conservation group Green Motherland said the villagers had been paid only a few hundred kyat, since 20-times the land tax did not amount to much. "The land tax is only a few hundred kyat. Suppose it was 100 kyat [US$0.10]. Twenty times 100 amounts to only 2,000 kyat," Win Myo Thu said. "Anyone who says – just because they were paid this amount – that the farmers were compensated in accordance with the land must have absolutely no shame." The implementation committee's report on Monday stressed that the mining project operators – Myanmar Wanbao, a joint venture between Burma's military-backed Union of Myanmar Economic Holdings and Chinese state-run mining firm Wanbao – were moving ahead with recommendations. It also claimed that 10.7 billion kyat worth of compensation and welfare stipends had been paid to villagers. However, Khin San Hlaing, a member of the investigation commission and a lower house MP from the National League for Democracy in Sagaing's Pale Township, criticised the implementing committee's report for repeating the same rhetoric that it has been delivering to MPs and local villagers. He said it does not reflect the situation on the ground. Related Stories"We see that neither the committee nor Myanmar Wanbao has been able to resolve the issues on the ground, mainly because they do not seriously address or respect the feelings of the local population and their general disappointment," Khin San Hlaing said. Latpadaung villager Thwe Thwe Win slammed the report's claim that there were "instigators" behind the protests. "If the [committee] is so sure that there were instigators behind us, then they should come and arrest those people," he said. "Just mouthing about 'instigations' while taking no action whatsoever will not make any difference." 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 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 Buddhist 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.
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| Farmers decry fishpond-flooding trial as ‘unfair’ Posted: 06 Jan 2015 02:23 AM PST A fishery owner is pressing charges against nine farmers in Nyaunglebin Township, Pegu Division, for flooding his fish pond. One of the accused farmers, who requested anonymity, said he and his fellow villagers were being sued under penal code article 427 ("Mischief causing damage") because in November they had punched holes in the embankment between their farmland and the fishery in an effort to drain rainwater from their fields. As a result, the pond was inundated. "In November there was heavy raining, and some 60 acres of farmland belonging to 40 locals was flooded," he told DVB. "Our paddy and bean crops were destroyed, so we spoke to local authorities about it and then punched holes in the embankment to drain the floodwater." He said it was "unfair" that the farmers were being sued, since they had modified the embankment with official permission. Nonetheless, a trial began at the Nyaunglebin Township court on Monday. The farmers were released on bail set at 160,000 kyat (US$160) each. They reached out to the township's administrator and irrigation department chief but have been told they must face the charges on the grounds that it is what the local administrator called "a personal dispute". The Nyaunglebin township administrator and fishery operator were unavailable for comment. The farmers face a maximum of two years in prison, a fine or both if found guilty. The post Farmers decry fishpond-flooding trial as 'unfair' appeared first on DVB Multimedia Group. |
| Karen border guards make largest drug bust of 2014 Posted: 05 Jan 2015 09:48 PM PST The paramilitary Border Guard Force (BGF) in Karen State seized over 130,000 amphetamine pills at the end of December. Maj. Naing Maung Zaw, information officer of the BGF, said troops from the 1019th battalion raided a lumber mill in Myawaddy district's Thingan Nyinaung Township following a tipoff. "[BGF troops] under instruction from battalion commander Saw Chit Thu raided a house in the lumber mill and seized over 130,000 ya-ba tablets in a plastic bag," he said, adding that it was the largest drug bust in the area in 2014. A man identified as 29-year-old Saw Tee Khaung was detained in connection with the pills and handed over to Myawaddy district police on 2 January. He has denied that the drugs belong to him. Related StoriesThe Myawaddy district police were unavailable for comment. The BGF is one of six armed groups who formed an anti-narcotics joint-committee in Karen State, DVB reported in July. The groups said they aim to respond to civilian concern that drugs use is rising among young people and leading to increased crime. The Karen Human Rights Group, however, has pointed the finger at the ethnic armed groups themselves as major players in the production and sale of narcotics. The post Karen border guards make largest drug bust of 2014 appeared first on DVB Multimedia Group. |
| UN rapporteur to examine human rights in Arakan, Shan states Posted: 05 Jan 2015 08:25 PM PST The United Nations Special Rapporteur to Burma, Yanghee Lee, will arrive on Wednesday for her second official trip to the country. According to a statement on Monday by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva, Lee will be in Burma from 7-16 January, during which time she will "gather first-hand information on the current human rights situation in the Rakhine [Arakan] and northern Shan states, among other issues." "I will review the situation in the camps for internally displaced persons and in isolated locations in the Rakhine State, to assess if there has been improvement in the critical conditions I came across on my first visit to Myanmar in July 2014," Lee said. The UN rapporteur is scheduled to meet the Chief Minister of Arakan State to discuss current developments toward peace, stability and the rule of law, including the controversial Rakhine Action Plan, which could have severe impacts on the Rohingya Muslim population in the region. In July, Lee paid visits to internal displacement camps where over 100,000 mostly Rohingya IDPs shelter. She called conditions "deplorable" and warned Naypyidaw of "backtracking" on its pledge of reforms. Related StoriesLee previously visited Kachin State; this time she is due in northern Shan State where a similar situation prevails – an ongoing civil conflict between government forces and Kachin rebels that has left tens of thousands homeless and many facing a humanitarian aid crisis. "In northern Shan State, I will look at the human rights situation of religious and ethnic minorities," Ms. Lee noted. "I will also speak with various parties about the situation of sexual and gender-based violence in the context of the ongoing conflict in this region." During her ten-day visit, Lee is scheduled to meet government officials, members of parliament and the judiciary, the Myanmar National Human Rights Commission and civil society representatives in Naypyidaw and Rangoon. According to the UN statement, she also intends to visit political prisoners that remain in detention. "The Special Rapporteur, who visits the country at the invitation of the government, expressed her appreciation of the open engagement and cooperation that has been offered in the preparation of this mission. Ms Lee will submit a report to the Human Rights Council in April 2015," the UN OHCHR statement added. The post UN rapporteur to examine human rights in Arakan, Shan states appeared first on DVB Multimedia Group. |
| 300 protestors march from Monywa to Latpadaung mine Posted: 05 Jan 2015 07:14 PM PST Around 300 people staged a rally in Sagaing Division's capital Monywa on Monday, protesting land confiscations at the Latpadaung copper project and the use of violence against local residents who oppose the mine. Later in the afternoon, the protestors marched from Monywa across the Chindwin River to the area of the copper mine where they met with the local villagers who are staging a series of sit-ins and rallies at the site. Tun Myint Aung of the 88 Generation Peace and Open Society said Monday's march was led by a civil society group called Myanmar Alliance for Transparency and Accountability. "The problems at Latpadaung today are in a whole different direction from EITI standards," he told DVB. "The project, while not only not serving the interests of the local population, is leading to loss of their farmland and even human life. "This project is only profitable for a handful of people," he added. Related StoriesPublic demonstrations have been held across Burma in recent weeks in solidarity with the villagers in the Latpadaung area who oppose the copper mine venture. Sentiments heightened after a local woman, Khin Win, was shot dead on 22 December when protestors confronted riot police at the site. Official investigations have been launched into the death. The contractors of the project, Myanmar Wanbao, which is a joint venture between Burma's military-backed Union of Myanmar Economic Holdings and Chinese state-run mining firm Wanbao, issued a statement last week, lamenting the villager's death but reiterating its right to continue the project, stating that it has followed all the recommendations issued by the Latpadaung investigation commission. 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 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 Buddhist 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. The post 300 protestors march from Monywa to Latpadaung mine appeared first on DVB Multimedia Group. |
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