The Irrawaddy Magazine

---

• Rangoon Property Developers to Petition Suu Kyi, Htin Kyaw
• Burma Army Claims Responsibility for Five Civilian Deaths in Northern Shan State 
• Dozens Treated After Fainting at Martyrs’ Day Events
• Amnesty International Calls for Relocation of Toxic Factory
• Security Tightens for Goteik Viaduct Visitors

Rangoon Property Developers to Petition Suu Kyi, Htin Kyaw Posted: 20 Jul 2016 06:24 AM PDT One of many construction sites that have sprung up in Rangoon in recent years, seen on October 31, 2013. (Photo: Reuters) RANGOON — Rangoon property developers, whose high-rise projects have been suspended pending modifications in line with newly enforced urban planning standards, will submit their grievances in a letter to President Htin Kyaw and State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi. The aggrieved property developers have already submitted a letter to Rangoon Mayor Maung Maung Soe, who is chairman of the Yangon City Development Council (YCDC), Rangoon's municipal authority. A 13-member committee appointed by the Rangoon Division government to review "high-rise" building projects (defined as structures with nine or more stories) ordered that 12 buildings currently undergoing construction be reduced in height, adhere to original designs for car parking, and improve their safety standards. The committee—which includes architects, engineers, heritage experts and a divisional government minister—started inspecting the buildings in June, which range in height between 12 and 29 stories. "We have submitted a letter to the mayor stating how much money each construction project stands to lose [due to the decision]," said Myo Myint, managing director of the MKT construction company. The letter, which bore the signatures of affected property developers, claims an average loss of US$20 million per project. The letter claims that the construction projects had already "received final approval from the YCDC," according to Myo Myint. The aggrieved developers are preparing to insert more data in their forthcoming letter to President Htin Kyaw and State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi, as well as the signatures of more developers, according to Myo Myint. "We're not opposing the [high rise review] committee, we just want them to know what is happening here," he said. Since May, the YCDC has ordered the suspension of more than 200 high-rise buildings, many of which had received only initial—and not "final"—approvals from city authorities. The post Rangoon Property Developers to Petition Suu Kyi, Htin Kyaw appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Burma Army Claims Responsibility for Five Civilian Deaths in Northern Shan State  Posted: 20 Jul 2016 06:21 AM PDT Residents of Mong Yaw village in northern Shan State's Lashio Township carry the body of one of the deceased back to the village for a funeral in late June 2016 (Photo: Khun Myo Satt / Facebook) RANGOON — The Burma Army has said it will take action against troops accused of killing civilians in a rural area of northern Shan State's Lashio Township in late June. Lt-Gen Mya Tun Oo spoke at a press conference on Wednesday in Rangoon, and said that his army would punish soldiers who had violated laws. "We did an investigation, met the victims' families, and even offered support to them. We found from our investigation that our troops violated laws and killed people. Therefore, we will take action against our troops," the lieutenant general said, without elaborating on what this action would entail. Local sources have said that a total of seven people were killed in Lashio Township's Mong Yaw village on June 25: two men were reportedly shot while riding motorbikes, and five more bodies were found buried by a corn field after the individuals were detained by members of Burma Army Light Infantry Battalion (LIB) 362. However, Mya Tun Oo said the investigation revealed that Burma Army troops had killed five people—the individuals whose bodies were found in the field—but said he did not know who was responsible for murdering the two men traveling by motorbike. He told reporters at the press conference that his troops went to Mong Yaw after the Burma Army's Northeast Regional Command Center, based in Lashio, allegedly received information indicating that 200 armed rebels were attempting to recruit locals in the area. The Northeast Regional Command Center allowed LIB 362 to go to the area; Mya Tun Oo said there was fighting between ethnic armed groups and the Burma Army near Mong Yaw village in the location where the two men were shot on their motorbikes. "They drove motorbikes through the middle of the fighting. Their motorbike fell down after they got shot, but we do not know which side shot them," he said, adding that the men had died by the time Burma Army troops reached them and buried them beside the road. He also said that two packs of amphetamines were found near the bodies. "Our troops drew the conclusion that those two persons' deaths were related to illegal drugs," Mya Tun Oo said. At the time of their death, locals told a different account of the events: the men had been traveling through a rural area and were ordered to stop by the Burma Army. They were then shot when they refused to do so. Regarding the additional five victims—of whom four were ethnic Palaung (Ta'ang) and one was Shan—Mya Tun Oo said his troops detained five people working on a corn farm. He said the soldiers allegedly found a phone on one of the detainees that held a photo of him with the Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), an ethnic armed group with whom the Burma Army is engaged in active conflict. Mya Tun Oo also said that the troops found documents stating that the farmers were members of the TNLA. "Our troops drew the conclusion that they had links to the TNLA," he added, continuing that, "whether they were insurgents or not, our army needs to respect the law. We have to punish persons who violate the law." After the civilian deaths, rights groups and community leaders in northern Shan State accused the Burma Army of involvement in the murders and called on the government to take action against the military. "We wanted the government to take action against those who violate human rights. We want this government to be a government who can protect the people's lives and property," said Sai Wann Lern Kham, an Upper House lawmaker representing Lashio and nearby townships through the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy (SNLD). "If not, our locals feel that they have no security anymore." The post Burma Army Claims Responsibility for Five Civilian Deaths in Northern Shan State  appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Dozens Treated After Fainting at Martyrs’ Day Events Posted: 20 Jul 2016 04:09 AM PDT A woman is carried by first aid workers through a crowd gathered outside of the Martyrs' Mausoleum in Rangoon on Martyrs' Day, observed on Tuesday, July 19, 2016. (Photo: Hein Htet / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — With record crowds present at Rangoon's various martyrs' monuments on Tuesday, volunteers administering emergency first aid at the sites said that dozens of people were treated after fainting and some were sent to hospital. Over 169,000 visitors gathered at the Martyrs' Mausoleum, the Secretariat building and the Bogyoke Aung San Museum on Tuesday to salute Burmese independence leader Gen Aung San and his eight colleagues, all of whom were assassinated 69 years ago on July 19. Tun Tun Win from the Rangoon-based social outreach group Free Funeral Services Society said that the organization's emergency rescue team—as well as four ambulances—were put on standby at the memorial sites during Tuesday's events. As thousands of people stood in line for hours in the rain before crowding to get inside the historical sites, some visitors fainted and suffered minor injuries, he explained. The team administered first aid to 36 such individuals. Four people, including three elderly visitors, were sent to Yangon General Hospital where they required further treatment. Yet overall, he felt that the events went smoothly. "Though there were big crowds, there were no major injuries or violence, as people were well-disciplined and followed instructions," Tun Tun Win said, describing his organization's participation in the first aid efforts as a "very meaningful" experience. "It was really great to view [the proceedings] yesterday. All of country's top leaders paid respect to fallen national heroes, including the army chief, which happened for the first time," he added, referring to Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing's attendance at the Martyrs' Mausoleum commemoration ceremony; he was the first head of the Burma Army present the event since after the student-led uprisings of 1988. The post Dozens Treated After Fainting at Martyrs' Day Events appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Amnesty International Calls for Relocation of Toxic Factory Posted: 20 Jul 2016 04:00 AM PDT The Thunder Sulphuric Acid Factory, which abuts farmland used by residents of Kankone Village in Monywa Township of Sagaing Division. (Photo: Amnesty International) London-based human rights group Amnesty International has called on the Burmese government to "immediately" relocate a sulfuric acid factory situated close to a village, which continues to operate despite adverse impacts reported on public health and the environment. In a statement released on Tuesday, Amnesty said that, during fieldwork conducted last month, residents of Kankone Village in Monywa Township of Sagaing Division told of respiratory, skin and eye ailments linked to the "strong-smelling factory emissions," as well as damage to crops. Village residents said the air had become so toxic that youth had stopped attending the local school, located only 50 meters from the factory. A 2013 examination by the government and an environmental organization identified high levels of sulphates in the soil. "[Burma's] government must intervene immediately and stop the operations of the sulfuric acid factory. The factory must be relocated to an area where it can't endanger anybody's health," said Amnesty International Business and Human Rights researcher Mark Dummett. The Thunder Sulphuric Acid Factory was built in 2007 under Union of Myanmar Economic Holdings Limited (UMEHL), a major military-owned conglomerate in Burma. An investigation led by then-opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi in 2013 discovered that it had been constructed without the required permission from local authorities—a criminal offence. UMEHL acquired official permission to run the factory shortly afterwards, in July 2013, and faced no sanctions for illegally operating over six years. The factory supplies two major, and controversial, copper mines located nearby—Letpadaung, and Sabetaung and Kyisintaung (S&K)—run jointly by UMEHL and Wanbao Mining, a Chinese company. Letpadaung mine began producing copper in May 2016, amid sustained opposition from local farmers who claim their land was seized for the mine without adequate compensation. Last month, municipal authorities chose not to renew the factory's annual operating license pending a health and environmental impact assessment. However, local residents said that the factory resumed operations after little more than a month. A local official said a "central government body" was allowing it to run despite not receiving a renewed license. The post Amnesty International Calls for Relocation of Toxic Factory appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

Security Tightens for Goteik Viaduct Visitors Posted: 20 Jul 2016 01:09 AM PDT Visitors at the Goteik Viaduct, located in northern Shan State around 90 miles north-east of the city of Mandalay. (Photo: Kyaw Hsu Mon) NAWNGHKIO TOWNSHIP, Shan State—After banning visitors from walking on Shan State's famous Goteik Viaduct as a safety measure, security has tightened while people continue to visit during the rainy season. Located in Nawnghkio Township in northern Shan State—on a stretch of the Mandalay-Lashio railway between Pyin Oo Lwin and Kyaukme—the popular tourist site is the highest bridge in Burma and was once the largest railway trestle in the world. Visitors at the Goteik Viaduct, located in northern Shan State around 90 miles north-east of the city of Mandalay. (Photo: Kyaw Hsu Mon) Construction began during the British colonial era in 1899 and the steel towers and 2,260 feet of track was completed in 1900 by Pennsylvania and Maryland Bridge Construction, an American company. Tourism has grown in the area in recent years. "Even during rainy season, more than 500 people come on the weekends to see the bridge, so we've restricted crossing," said Yin Htwe, an official from Myanmar Railways. He said the restriction was put in place in February, because many people walked on the viaduct in order to take "selfies" on it. "The bridge is so high—more than 300 feet from bottom to top—and there were times when people have nearly fallen off. We are limiting them for their safety," Yin Htwe added. Visitors at the Goteik Viaduct, located in northern Shan State around 90 miles north-east of the city of Mandalay. (Photo: Kyaw Hsu Mon) "Some people want to sneak past the 'restricted' signpost. That's why security personnel have to watch visitors all the time," he said. Yin Htwe said that many foreign tourists now take the Mandalay-Lashio railway, which runs twice a day and takes 20 minutes to traverse the Goteik viaduct, the indisupted highlight of the route. Aung Lin, a first-time visitor from Rangoon, said it amazed him to see a train slowly crossing the bridge "We took a one hour drive on a bumpy road from Nawnghkio to Goteik. It's tiring but worth it to enjoy a new experience," he added. Prior to February, the Burmese government had allowed people to walk on the bridge, but fearing for the safety of visistors they issued the ban. The post Security Tightens for Goteik Viaduct Visitors appeared first on The Irrawaddy.

You are subscribed to email updates from The Irrawaddy. To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, United States