Democratic Voice of Burma

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• Burma govt slams Quintana allegation as ‘totally wrong’
• Without self-determination, revolution will go on: Mon militia
• Karen state hit with flooding for second time in the last month
• Burma’s electricity woes harm medicines, risk lives
• First Chin conference in six decades to convene in November
• Thailand urged to lay out clear migrant policy
• Convoy attack offers UN envoy insight into residents’ fears
• Danish freight giant confirms Burma license

Burma govt slams Quintana allegation as ‘totally wrong’ Posted: 22 Aug 2013 05:24 AM PDT The Burmese government has dismissed allegations made by a senior UN envoy, suggesting that police failed to protect his vehicle when it came under attack by an angry mob in the town of Meikhtila, as "totally wrong". A spokesperson for President Thein Sein told DVB that Tomás Ojea Quintana, the UN's human rights rapporteur for Burma, was protected by "nearly 3,000" police officers during his recent visit to the conflict-torn town and expressed surprise at the accusations. "It is not true, it is totally wrong," Ye Htut said on Thursday. "Maybe some people shouted at the side of the streets and maybe some people approached the vehicle when they tried to give him an open letter and t-shirt. [But] the police intervened and allowed the vehicle to proceed." Quintana told a press conference at Rangoon airport on Wednesday that the police stood by as his car was besieged by "a crowd of around 200 people who proceeded to punch and kick the windows and doors of the car while shouting abuse". The rapporteur was on a 10-day visit to the Buddhist-majority country, in part to investigate a series of violent incidents between Muslims and Buddhists which have spread across Burma over the last year, and which have increasingly targeted the Muslim minority. He said he got "an insight" into the fear that Muslim residents would have felt when they were attacked by angry Buddhist mobs in Meikhtila in March and police failed to intervene. Quintana was subsequently forced to cancel a trip to a Muslim displacement camp in the town, which had been planned months in advance. Quintana has been met with angry Buddhist protestors across Burma, who say he has been "biased" towards Muslims in his assessment of the clashes. But Ye Htut insisted that police had ensured his safety and begun to disperse protestors in Meikhtila at 10pm, when a local curfew came into force. "When Quintana arrived nearly 100 people were still in the area, but most of the people had already left," he said. But speaking to DVB on Thursday, Quintana insisted that he feared for his "personal integrity" and saw how police "stood by as these 200 people were all over my car". He added that Burma's chief of police had later "expressed his regret" over the incident and agreed to bolster security for his Wednesday press conference. Asked why the UN envoy had cancelled his visit to the Meikhtila displacement camp, Ye Htut responded: "Maybe he didn't want to face another protest like this." But he said that police would hold a full investigation into the incident. Related Stories Convoy attack offers UN envoy insight into residents’ fears Quintana accuses Meikhtila police of failing to protect his convoy Burmese Muslims at 'great risk' of genocide, warn activists Over 140,000 people, mostly Muslims, have been displaced since the bloody ethno-religious clashes erupted in June last year. The violence corresponds with a rise in anti-Muslim propaganda led by the ultra-nationalist "969" movement, which calls for Buddhists to boycott Muslim businesses and avoid interfaith marriages. The government has drawn criticism for defending 969 as "peaceful" and describing its most vocal advocate, monk Wirathu, as a "son of Buddha" even though he has compared Muslims to "mad dogs". Quintana also accused the Arakan police of using "systematic" torture against incarcerated Rohingya Muslims who are denied citizenship and heavily persecuted in western Burma. Hundreds have been prosecuted and jailed for their role in last year's unrest, after what he described as "flawed" trials. He also cautioned that the government's ongoing policy of segregation in Arakan state seems to have "become permanent" even though it was meant to have been transitory. "This policy of separation is mainly affecting Muslim communities because they have no freedom of movement." Quintana's visit this week coincides with the launch of a report by Physicians for Human Rights, which warned that Burma's Muslims are at "great risk" of mass atrocities, including genocide, unless the government moves swiftly to stem hate speech and a culture of impunity.

Without self-determination, revolution will go on: Mon militia Posted: 22 Aug 2013 05:01 AM PDT The New Mon State Party (NMSP) says armed revolution will continue until self-determination is achieved. Speaking on the occasion of the 66th Mon Revolution Day on Wednesday, Maj Nai Siri Mon Chan, a spokesman for the NMSP, urged all Mon people to unite and join hands for the sake of the revolution. "Though we have signed a ceasefire with the Burmese government, our armed revolt will not cease until we achieve self-determination," he said. "All our comrades need to develop greater revolutionary awareness." The Mon commander said the NMSP will work alongside the Burmese pro-democracy parties and other ethnic minorities to achieve its aims. The Mon community has scheduled a conference to include organizations representing all Mon groups to discuss equality, peace and democracy, he said. Mon Revolution Day was first established in 1948 on the full moon day of the Burmese month, War Khaung.

Karen state hit with flooding for second time in the last month Posted: 22 Aug 2013 04:43 AM PDT Monsoon rains inundated large swaths of Karen state earlier this week as local authorities scramble to set up relief camps in flood-hit areas. In the state capital Hpa-an on Wednesday, local authorities established three emergency relief camps in different wards. According to locals, no casualties have been reported in connection with the fresh flooding. “The flooding in Hpa-an was due to the flooding of the river. Emergency relief camps are set up in pagodas and a football stadium. An estimated 300 household are taking shelter in these camps," said one Hpa-an resident who spoke with DVB. In nearby Hlaing Bwe township, four wards were at risk of being deluged as water levels in the area's streams continued to rise. Chit Tin, a resident from Hlaing Bwe, said local streams had risen by three feet and relief camps were being set up at a school and monastery. On Wednesday, Burma's Meteorological Department reported that the water levels in the Salween River in Hpa-an reached 808 centimeters, which is 56 centimeters above the advised threshold. The Irrawaddy, Sitdaung rivers' water levels were also reported to have breached their advised thresholds as well. Related Stories Three KNU/KNLA-Peace Union members killed during shooting in Hpa-an Heavy rain displaces thousands across eastern Burma Monsoon rains inundate eastern Karen state According to forecasts, rain is expected to continue falling in the area for the next two days. Residents from Karen's Myawaddy on the Thai-Burmese border town also voiced their concerns over possible flooding as the Moei River continued to swell with the seasonal rains. In July, nearly 30,000 residents were relocated in Karen state due to flooding and more than 70 relief shelters were opened, according to the government statistics.

Burma’s electricity woes harm medicines, risk lives Posted: 22 Aug 2013 04:18 AM PDT The irregular electrical current across Burma is having a severe impact on the potency of various medicines that should be kept at specifically refrigerated temperatures, a senior doctor told DVB on Monday. Dr Paing Soe Kyaw said liquid medications used in injections are more affected than oral medicines because of the need to maintain vaccines at strictly controlled temperatures. "If medicines cannot be stored at fixed refrigerated temperatures they will lose their potency and effectiveness," he said. "Medication for cancer is especially vulnerable, as are vaccines for tetanus and rabies." The Mandalay-based physician cited cases of diabetic persons dying due to the ineffectiveness of insulin that had not been refrigerated. Related Stories The ability of the disabled A long way to go Power cuts force factories to close Most hospitals in Rangoon have generators but many do not in other parts of the country. Burma's national grid only reaches a quarter of the country's 60 million people and even in Rangoon, only two-thirds of homes are connected. Blackouts are common and many families and business owners rely on generators for power. Pharmacies in all regions are also victims of the power shortage. Paing Soe Kyaw warned customers about buying drugs from pharmacists that have been unable to refrigerate their medicines. "I would advise people to buy medicine only from stores which keep materials refrigerated systematically," he said. The most recent survey by the World Health Organization ranked Burma as worst for healthcare out of 194 surveyed nations. Only 3.9 percent of GDP is spent on healthcare in Burma, a figure that is astonishingly low even by comparison to its most impoverished of neighbours – Laos spends 4.5 percent of GDP on health while the figure is 5.6 percent in Cambodia.

First Chin conference in six decades to convene in November Posted: 22 Aug 2013 03:54 AM PDT A collection of Chin political parties, civil society organisations and an armed group are set to hold the ethnic group's first conference in six decades later this year. According to the conference's implementation committee, the gathered groups will focus on reviewing issues concerning politics, economics, and Chin culture ahead of a wider ethnic nationalities conference that is set for next year. Sali Nge Pe, who is a member of the implementation committee, said the conference is scheduled to kick off during the second week of November in Hakha township in Chin state. "We will re-examine the status of 53 different ethnic groups who all claim to be Chins," said Sali Nge Pe. "At the national ethnic conference in 2014, our voice will be united." At least four Chin political parties, representatives from the Chin National Front and civil society will attend the conference after holding three initial rounds of talks to discuss the event. The first Chin conference was held on 20 February 1948 in Falam township, where representatives first established Chin National Day.

Thailand urged to lay out clear migrant policy Posted: 22 Aug 2013 02:55 AM PDT Thai and Burmese migrant advocacy groups on Wednesday called on the Thai government to lay out a concrete migrant policy for those Burmese who have passed the National Verification (NV) process and have entered or are planning to enter Thailand for work. They also requested a clear policy be implemented for those migrant workers who have lived in Thailand for four years. According to a 2003 Memorandum of Understanding signed between Thailand and Burma, any migrant who has been in Thailand for four continuous years must return home for three years before becoming eligible to return to Thailand for work purposes. But most migrants need to stay with their jobs in Thailand to support their families back home in Burma, the advocacy groups said, adding that employers don't want to lose trained workers in times of labour shortages, and that Burma is not yet ready to receive all the returning migrants into its job market. Speaking to DVB on Wednesday, Sawit Keawwan, general-secretary of the State Enterprises Workers' Relations Confederation, said Burmese workers are an integral part of the Thai economy. "We have to offer a good policy and service to migrant workers," he said. "The international community, especially the USA, is watching how effective our policies are. I want Burmese workers to enjoy the same rights as Thais." The advocacy groups also urged the Thai government to provide the opportunity and a clear policy for migrant workers to have access to social security and healthcare. They added that a mechanism should be in place for punishing brokers and employers who exploit migrant workers. Aung Kyaw, a representative from the Thailand-based Migrant Worker Rights Network, said the return of a large number of migrants to Burma would have an impact on the Thai economy. "The Thai government accepts and agrees that migrant workers should be given appropriate opportunities to work in the country," he said. "But we need to hear an official policy. Everything is vague among employers, workers and brokers." Many Burmese migrants have complained that they have been victims of job brokers who have overcharged them and misinformed them. Related Stories Former political prisoners struggle to find work Several labourers injured after Thai, Burmese nationals clash Three migrants gunned down in southern Thailand Kyaw Kyaw Lwin, the labour attaché at the Burmese Embassy in Bangkok, acknowledged that migrant workers endured numerous hardships and that the number of people facing the four-year deadline is mounting."There will be nearly 100,000 workers whose visas will expire at the end of this year," he said, and recommended that all stakeholders prepare to discuss the situation at their earliest convenience. Thailand currently plays host to an estimated 3 million foreign workers, over 80 percent of whom come from Burma.

Convoy attack offers UN envoy insight into residents’ fears Posted: 22 Aug 2013 01:25 AM PDT The United Nations special rapporteur on human rights in Burma, Tomás Ojea Quintana, on Wednesday spoke of his concern about further violence in Arakan state where two people died in clashes between police and Rohingya Muslims last week. Quintana spoke at a news conference in Rangoon where he summed up his recent trip to the region, during which his convoy was allegedly attacked by an angry mob in the town of Meikhtila, the scene of deadly violence between Muslims and Buddhist residents in March. “The police and army have now taken charge of security in Rakhine State, although there are legitimate security concerns which the police and army are addressing. I have received many serious allegations of the disproportionate use of force in dealing with large crowds of Muslim protesters,” he said. Related Stories Burma govt slams Quintana allegation as 'totally wrong' Quintana accuses Meikhtila police of failing to protect his convoy Burmese Muslims at 'great risk' of genocide, warn activists Quintana also described the scene on Monday night in Meikhtila. He said his car was surrounded by around 200 people who began punching and kicking the windows as he tried to visit a camp for displaced persons, where 1,600 Muslims were living. As a consequence, his delegation was forced to abandon the visit. “The fear that I felt during this incident, being left totally unprotected by the nearby police, gave me an insight into the fear residents would have felt when being chased down by violent mobs during the violence last March, as police allegedly stood by as angry mobs beat, stabbed and burned to death some forty three people,” Quintana said. “I must highlight the obligation of the government to act immediately to control violent mobs running riot in communities and protect all people regardless of their religion or ethnicity,” he added. The most recent unrest reignited earlier this month when the body of a Muslim fisherman washed ashore. Authorities said he had drowned after his boat capsized near his village in northwestern Burma, but local Muslims claim he was beaten to death. The number of Rohingya boarding boats from Burma and neighbouring Bangladesh reached 34,626 people from June 2012 to May of this year, more than four times the previous year, says the Arakan Project, an advocacy group that has studied Rohingya migration since 2006.

Danish freight giant confirms Burma license Posted: 21 Aug 2013 09:13 PM PDT International freight and logistics firm Damco announced on Wednesday that it had been granted a permanent license to operate in Burma. A subsidiary of Danish firm Maersk, Damco has ocean, air and land transportation contracts in 90 countries and has a notable presence in China. It becomes one of the first international companies to offer end-to-end logistics services in Burma. “We have an immediate implementation plan as well as a long-term one to set up logistics capability and infrastructure in Myanmar," said Damco Cluster Manager Kiattichai Pitpreecha. "This will allow our customers to open up their supply chains and sourcing operations in the country, whilst ensuring the highest standards are met in terms of meeting the principles of the UN Global Compact." In a statement on its website, Damco said that it is working closely with UK-based Institute for Human Rights and Business and the Danish Institute for Human Rights to ensure the UN Guiding Principles on Human Rights are applied. The firm said it has made initial steps for setting up an office in Burma, and already has a container freight station operation in Rangoon to manage their first shipments.

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National News

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• Foreign news agencies set up shop
• Private daily newspapers struggle
• New twist in village bribery scandal
• Separate budget on HIV expected to be provided
• Telenor announces network partners
• Bangkok Airways to launch Nay Pyi Taw route
• Government fails to protect UN envoy
• UN watchdog criticises Australia over refugee treatment

Foreign news agencies set up shop Posted: 22 Aug 2013 08:15 AM PDT The government plans to allow more foreign news agencies to open bureaus in Myanmar soon, a Ministry of Information official says.

Private daily newspapers struggle Posted: 22 Aug 2013 08:10 AM PDT Launched in the heady days of newfound media freedom, privately-owned daily newspapers must do battle with tumbling circulation levels and rising costs.

New twist in village bribery scandal Posted: 22 Aug 2013 08:00 AM PDT A village administrator in Nay Pyi Taw's Lewe township has denied claims he confessed to accepting a K200,000 bribe.

Separate budget on HIV expected to be provided Posted: 22 Aug 2013 05:58 AM PDT Next year's budget will create a separate budget line to the fight against HIV, a member of parliament has revealed.

Telenor announces network partners Posted: 22 Aug 2013 04:49 AM PDT Norwegian company Telenor has identified three firms with which it plans to work in Myanmar to develop a mobile phone network.

Bangkok Airways to launch Nay Pyi Taw route Posted: 22 Aug 2013 03:28 AM PDT Bangkok Airways is to become the first carrier to offer regular service between Thailand's capital and Nay Pyi Taw, with the company confirming flights are scheduled to start next month.

Government fails to protect UN envoy Posted: 22 Aug 2013 03:06 AM PDT The UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights has criticised the Myanmar government for failing to protect him when his convoy came under attack in Meiktila.

UN watchdog criticises Australia over refugee treatment Posted: 22 Aug 2013 03:06 AM PDT Australia broke global human rights rules by denying a group of refugees from Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Kuwait a chance to challenge their detention, imposed on security grounds.

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Democratic Voice of Burma

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• Quintana accuses Meikthila police of failing to protect his convoy
• Burma’s lower house to discuss amending electronics law
• Teacher forced to retire after attending 8-8-88 ceremony
• Thousands hit by flooding in Arakan state
• Graffiti artist invited to leave his mark in Naypyidaw
• The ability of the disabled
• Indonesian anti-terror unit arrests Burmese embassy plot suspects
• Irrawaddy Dolphins under threat from ‘electrofishing’

Quintana accuses Meikthila police of failing to protect his convoy Posted: 21 Aug 2013 08:43 AM PDT The UN’s rights envoy on Burma Wednesday slammed the nation’s government for failing to protect him when his convoy came under attack in a town reeling from religious unrest. “The state has to protect me as a responsibility… This did not happen. The state failed to protect me,” Tomas Ojea Quintan, the United Nations special rapporteur on human rights, told reporters at the end of his 10 day visit to the country. No one is thought to have been injured in the incident, which occurred on August 19 in the town of Meiktila, central Burma, where anti-Muslim violence in March left at least 44 dead. In a statement the UN envoy said his vehicle “was descended upon by a crowd of around 200 people who proceeded to punch and kick the windows and doors of the car while shouting abuse”. He said the incident forced him to abandon plans to visit a local camp, where some 1,600 displaced Muslims are sheltering. “The fear that I felt during this incident, being left totally unprotected by the nearby police, gave me an insight into the fear residents would have felt when being chased down by violent mobs during the violence last March,” he said. He reiterated reports of security forces failing to stop the March unrest, saying “police allegedly stood by as angry mobs beat, stabbed and burned” their victims to death. Related Stories Burmese Muslims at 'great risk' of genocide, warn activists UN envoy faces protestors in Meikhtila Quintana 'too rushed' to meet Chin civic groups Attacks against Muslims — who make up an estimated four percent of Burma’s population — have exposed deep fractures in the Buddhist-majority nation and cast a shadow over its emergence from army rule. The watchdog Physicians for Human Rights on Tuesday warned that Burma risked “catastrophic” levels of conflict, including “potential crimes against humanity and/or genocide” if authorities failed to stem anti-Muslim hate speech and a culture of impunity around the clashes. Riots in Meiktila, sparked by an argument in a gold shop and the brutal murder of a Buddhist monk, saw Buddhist mobs torch whole Muslim areas in violence that spread to other parts of the country. The victims included more than 20 students and teachers of a Muslim school on the outskirts of Meiktila, who were set upon by armed men and beaten and burned to death, according to witnesses interviewed by AFP. Graphic video footage given to AFP by activists shows an embankment next to the school turned into a killing ground, watched over by uniformed police. After the March violence, Quintana said the reluctance of security forces to crack down on the unrest suggested a possible state link to the fighting — a claim rejected by the government. The unrest followed two outbreaks of conflict in western Rakhine state in June and October last year that left around 200 people dead, mainly Rohingya Muslims who are seen by many in Burma as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. A sense of deep distrust between Muslims, Buddhists and the security forces pervades the state, which Quintana visited at the start of his trip. At least one person was killed and around 10 injured earlier this month in a violent clash in a camp for dispossessed Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine that broke out just days before Quintana toured the area. In June, five Muslims including three Rohingya women were killed by security forces who opened fire during disputes in two separate incidents in camps in Rakhine.

Burma’s lower house to discuss amending electronics law Posted: 21 Aug 2013 05:55 AM PDT Burma's lower house of parliament has agreed to debate a proposal by MP Thein Nyunt to amend the controversial Electronic Transactions Law. The current law dates from 2004 but critics claim it reflects Burma's decades of military dictatorship and extreme censorship as it has been used in the past to silence critics of the government including activists and bloggers. The Electronics Act currently allows for sentences of up to 15 years for "acts using electronic transactions technology" deemed "detrimental to the security of the state or prevalence of law and order or community peace and tranquility or national solidarity or national economy or national culture." Speaking to DVB after Wednesday's parliamentary session in Burma's remote capital, Naypyidaw, Thein Nyunt said punishments for violations of the law are too severe and are often politically motivated. "The law is too wide, and as a result severe punishments are handed down to opposition politicians, student leaders, and many other victims," he said. Related Stories Media law unresolved in Parliament Ministry to meet with civil society groups to discuss controversial association bill Labourers in Burma fight for a fair minimum wage In January, New National Democracy Party MP Thein Nyunt proposed the abolition of the Electronic Transactions Law during the sixth session of parliament, but the motion was denied. 88 Generation Students leader Jimmy, who was originally sentenced to 60 years under the Electronics Act, said on Wednesday that the law must be abolished. "Article 33(a) carries a maximum sentence of 15 years," he said. "I was given 60 years simply for sending four emails while campaigning for democracy."

Teacher forced to retire after attending 8-8-88 ceremony Posted: 21 Aug 2013 05:14 AM PDT A Naypyidaw schoolteacher has alleged that the Ministry of Education forced her to retire after she attended the 25th anniversary ceremony for the 8-8-88 student uprising. Speaking to DVB, Soe Soe Khaing said she was forced into retirement for three reasons: having contact with a political organisation; taking leave without permission; and travelling a long distance without informing the headmaster. "I don't want any other employee to have to go through this," said Soe Soe Khaing, a high school teacher from Zabuthiri township with 18 years' experience. Soe Soe Khaing joined with thousands of other people from across Burma on 8 August by observing a commemoration ceremony in Rangoon for the victims of a bloody military crackdown in 1988 when hundreds, some say thousands, of protestors were killed. However, Wai Lin Oo, a representative of the Ministry of Education, denied the decision to give the teacher retirement was related to the 8-8-88 "Silver Jubilee" in Rangoon. "We were concerned because she took leave without permission," he said. "How can she just disappear when she is supposed to be on duty?" But Mya Aye, an 88 Generation Students group leader, sided with the teacher and said that the ministry's decision was "ugly". "Forcing a schoolteacher into retirement due to the fact that she attended the Silver Jubilee ceremony was a very ugly thing to do and certainly inappropriate," he said. "The 8-8-88 ceremony was not held by any one political party but was a momentous occasion in Burmese history that drew together people from all over the country."

Thousands hit by flooding in Arakan state Posted: 21 Aug 2013 04:22 AM PDT Some 4,000 people have been directly affected by floods in Sandoway, a coastal township in western Burma. Residents and township administrators told DVB that the River Sandoway had overflowed, flooding the downtown area on Monday, but said that no casualties had been reported. Township administrator Kyaw Soe Lin said that the local authorities had set up six emergency relief camps. "Only four camps are now open," he said on Wednesday. "The other two were closed after the residents were able to return to their homes. "The mountain streams brought the water down, but the tide has now ebbed," he said. Related Stories Burmese Muslims at 'great risk' of genocide, warn activists UN envoy arrives in Sittwe following clashes between Rohingya, police Controversial gas pipeline goes into operation National League for Democracy district secretary Win Naing told DVB that rations were being distributed to flood victims by boat. One Sandoway shopkeeper said that in his street the flood was about three feet high. Sandoway has experienced flooding regularly at this time of the year as the monsoon works its way eastward across Asia. The years 2004, 2007 and 2011 were particularly severe, residents said. Some locals blamed the recurring floods on a poor drainage system and a systematic destruction of the environment.

Graffiti artist invited to leave his mark in Naypyidaw Posted: 21 Aug 2013 03:33 AM PDT The Burmese Minister of Sports has invited graffiti artist Arkar Kyaw – who became an overnight hit in November last year when he painted a mural of US President Barack Obama ahead of his landmark trip to Burma – to ply his trade in Naypyidaw as part of a promotion for the upcoming Southeast Asian (SEA) Games. Burma will host the 27th SEA Games at stadiums and venues in Rangoon, Mandalay, Naypyidaw and Ngwe Saung from 11 to 22 December. Speaking to DVB on Tuesday, the director of the Sports and Physical Education Department, Htay Aung, said Arkar Kyaw has been invited to paint a mural at a site near Center Market in the capital. "The sports minister would like Arkar Kyaw to paint something related to the SEA Games in the central part of the city," he said. "We will set up a huge billboard for him. We just need to get permission from Naypyidaw council." Arkar Kyaw will be offered to spray-paint a billboard 18 feet high and 60 feet long. Htay Aung said the ministry would not rule out the possibility of further contracts for the urban artist if his work is met with approval. The Rangoon-based graffiti artist confirmed that he has already met with a sports department official. He told DVB that he does not know the exact details of the proposal but said he would be happy to oblige. In recent years, as Burma emerges from decades of military rule, more and more graffiti artists' works have appeared on walls and at sites around Rangoon. One artist who spoke previously to DVB estimated that no less than 100 graffiti artists regularly took to the streets to offer their own brand of colour to the former colonial capital. However, Yangon City Development Committee last year declared a prohibition of any form of drawing or painting on public places including schools and parks. Arkar Kyaw was fined for US$100 for painting a portrait of President Thein Sein on his birthday. He also painted a mural of opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi on her 68th birthday.

The ability of the disabled Posted: 21 Aug 2013 03:08 AM PDT Nearly 10 percent of all disabled people in Burma are currently attending high school, but their chances of getting jobs when they leave are slim, according to a 2012 report by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency. For those living with a physical, visual or mental impairment, work is difficult to find, and the chance to lead independent lives is nearly impossible. Bo Htun has used a wheelchair since he was a child when nerve damage in his legs left him paralysed. Determined to remain self-reliant, he took to the streets of Rangoon in a modified wheelchair where he made a living repairing umbrellas. "I wanted to earn a living on my own," he said. "I don't make much money but I am satisfied with my daily earnings. Now my wife and I live freely and happily." Related Stories Schools set to offer courses in ethnic languages Mobile libraries bring books to rural communities Migrant schools face closure amid funding cuts But most Burmese children with disabilities are not so fortunate or self-sufficient. Many lack basic literacy skills, and only a small fraction complete formal education and go on to find employment. Hta Uke, the founder of the Eden Centre for Disabled Children, believes education is vital for handicapped children, and has called for the government to introduce a disability rights law. "It is very important that disabled children go to school and have equal rights," he said. "Their lives are just as valuable as anyone else's, and they strive to be of great help to their communities." Unless effective action is taken by the government to improve opportunities for people with disabilities, many more will struggle to retain their independence.

Indonesian anti-terror unit arrests Burmese embassy plot suspects Posted: 20 Aug 2013 10:21 PM PDT Indonesian anti-terrorism police arrested five men in Bekasi, West Java, in a raid on Tuesday night targeting an alleged militant group accused of plotting several attacks in the country including a bomb plot against the Burmese embassy in May. Three of the suspects were handed over to local police, according to a report in the Jakarta Globe on Wednesday. However the anti-terrorism squad, known locally as Densus 88, held onto a 32-year-old man suspected of involvement in the foiled plot to bomb Burma's embassy in Jakarta. Police said the suspect was found in possession of ammunition, airsoft guns and explosive materials during a raid on his home. In August, Indonesian security forces arrested the alleged mastermind of the plot. Police foiled the plot on 2 May when they detained two men with a backpack holding five pipe bombs, who had allegedly been planning to launch an attack the following day. Related Stories Indonesian officials arrest alleged fundraiser behind Burmese embassy plot Indonesia temple bomb ‘response to screams of Rohingya' Stateless Rohingya face legal limbo in Indonesia Also on Tuesday, Indonesia hosted a conference aimed at curbing human trafficking in the region. Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister Marty Natalegawa chaired the summit which was attended by representatives from 13 countries. Minister for Home Affairs Ko Ko represented Burma at the conference which also included the participation of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the International Organization for Migration.

Irrawaddy Dolphins under threat from ‘electrofishing’ Posted: 20 Aug 2013 09:42 PM PDT The fishermen along the Irrawaddy know each and every dolphin in the river by name. With a rhythmic tapping of wooden sticks on the sides of their boats they let the dolphins know they are about to begin a day’s work. The dolphins round up the fish and signal to the fishermen where the net should be cast. As a reward, they get a cut for themselves. But after years of working side by side with the fishermen, the dolphins are suddenly shying away. “In the past we could rely on the dolphins to make a living”, said San Lwin, who makes a living by fishing in the Irrawaddy river. “Without their assistance we won’t be able to survive.” The explanation is 'electrofishing', which provides high yields for individual fishers at the expense of the natural environment. An electric current is passed through the water, which attracts and then stuns the nearby fish. The method poses a grave threat to the Irrawaddy Dolphins, which often drown when they are exposed to the electric current. Since the dolphins fear the electric currents, they now avoid all human contact. “They think we are the same people who use electric shocks and they become afraid. I would like to continue making a living from the river, so we should put a stop to this electrofishing,” said San Lwin. Related Stories Arakanese call for a share of natural resources profits Leaders of infamous human trafficking gang arrested in southern Thailand Thai raid on fishing operation frees dozens of enslaved migrants The Myanmar Tourist Guides Association believes tourism may offer some hope. By partnering up with conservation groups and traditional fishermen, they hope to generate awareness of the fragile state of the Irrawaddy ecology. The head of the organisation, Win Zaw Oo, said the natural environment was under threat. “I have been living along the Irrawaddy for a long time, and what I notice most is the change to the forest. In the past these forests were big enough for rhinos to live there. Now I can’t even see the forest.” The practice of 'electrofishing' is known to have contributed to the extinction of the Yangtzee River Dolphin. No one can say for sure whether the Irrawaddy Dolphins will meet a similar fate as they try to survive in a habitat scarred by electrofishing, gold mining and dam building.

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National News

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• A legacy of laughter and defiance
• Police hunt members of child gang after burglary
• Health dept cracks down on unlicensed clinics
• Rights group calls on Myanmar to address anti-Muslim sentiment

A legacy of laughter and defiance Posted: 21 Aug 2013 04:18 AM PDT A tribute to Moustache Brother U Par Par Lay, whose defiant brand of comedy embodied a nation's spirit.

Police hunt members of child gang after burglary Posted: 21 Aug 2013 04:01 AM PDT Police in Pyinmana have arrested two juveniles accused of breaking into a car service centre to steal vehicle parts.

Health dept cracks down on unlicensed clinics Posted: 21 Aug 2013 02:58 AM PDT Yangon Region's Department of Health has uncovered scores of unlicensed medical clinics across the city, an official says.

Rights group calls on Myanmar to address anti-Muslim sentiment Posted: 20 Aug 2013 11:43 PM PDT Myanmar must address anti-Muslim propaganda and stamp out a culture of impunity for religious violence or risk "catastrophic" levels of conflict.

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Shan leader supports UNFC resolution, but... Posted: 21 Aug 2013 04:00 AM PDT Wednesday, 21 August 2013 15:37 S.H.A.N. Lt-Gen Yawdserk, the leader of the Restoration Council of Shan State/Shan State Army (RCSS/SSA), said yesterday he agreed with the resolutions passed by the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC) led conference late last month. "They stand for what the people really desire," he told SHAN. "My only criticism is that it is too early to issue such calls, since the most urgent need for the country today is peace and reconciliation." One of the resolutions of the UNFC organized Ethnic Conference for Peace and Reconciliation, 29-31 July, held in Chiangmai, was the total rejection of the 2008 constitution drawn by the military. It was followed by a decision to draft a new federal constitution before the end of the year. Lt-Gen Yawdserk, the leader of the RCSS (Photo: Shan State Army) Critics have denounced it as a battle cry for a return to war and confrontation. "Nobody except for a few likes the 2008 constitution," he commented. "But for the sake of peace and reconciliation, what we can do now is its amendment. Not all of it can be amended at present either. So we need to consider what should be amended first." Earlier, he had told SHAN that the first step in the national reconciliation process should include: Full autonomy for the states, election of the state chiefs, and the transformation of the Tatmadaw into a federal union armed forces. "The country can never become federal until and unless the armed forces becomes federal first," he said at that time. So far President Thein Sein and his chief negotiator U Aung Min have both spoken of reviving ethnic armed units that were formed after Independence, in accordance with the Kandy Agreement. But there is as yet no concrete proposal how the Union armed forces should be structured. The Union parliament, on 21 July, adopted the proposal to form a 109 member joint committee for review of the 2008 constitution.

Weekly Wrap-up, No. 639 (10 August -18 August 2013) Posted: 21 Aug 2013 03:59 AM PDT Tuesday, 20 August 2013 19:44 SHAN GOES ON AIR THIS WEEK! QUINTANA IN BURMA! WHO IS IN NEED OF NEW APPROACH, HE OR US? AUTHORITIES TARGET ROYAL ROSE! COUNTRY NEEDS MONEY FOR SCHOOLS, NOT GUNS! SSA-BURMA ARMY AT EACH OTHER'S THROAT AGAIN! Cartoon Tips for leaders: Deeds, not words! Think Piece In 1969, the future British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher predicted that "No woman in my time will be prime minister." Ripley's Believe It or Not! Bangkok Post, 11 August 2013 The World 12 August 2013 US State Department says Cambodia has suspended military cooperation programs with US and others. Defense attaché in Washington says he has not received information from Phnom Penh about it. (AP) 13 August 213 Foreign ministers of Asean meet in Thailand's Hua Hin to discuss ways to strengthen the grouping once it becomes a single community in 2015. (Bangkok Post) 17 August 2013 Most endangered languages, having no written form, their data is collected and goes into Language Archive (TLA) in the Dutch city of Nijmegan. (DPA/BP) International Relations 13 August 2013 UN special rapporteur Quintana visits parents of Win Maw Oo, whose photo appeared in 3 October 1988 Newsweek issue. (Irrawaddy) 14 August 2013 88 Generation leaders, meeting Tomas Quintana, urge him to approach his job with greater emphasis on understanding the country's cultural and historical underpinnings more than speaking critically of the resultant conditions. (Irrawaddy) 15 August 2013 Quintana meets Kachin state government in Myitkyina. He fails to obtain permission to visit KIO headquarters in Laiza, according to UN Office Myanmar. (Mizzima) Thai-Burma Relations 11 August 2013 Tai Yai youths that attacked a 19 year old Somnuek Torbue in Chiangmai on 24 June are just copy cats, not the original Samurai gang that terrorized the city a decade ago, according to former members. (Bangkok Post) 12 August 2013 H.M. Queen Sirikit's 81st birthday, also known as "Mother's Day," celebrated nationwide. (Agencies) 14 August 2013 FM Wunna Maung Lwin proposes visa exemption for free entry of the two countries' nationals on the sidelines of the Asean foreign ministers meeting. FM Surapong Towichakchaikul says before waiving visas, the two sides should address concerns about Myanmar citizens illegally entering the country to work. (Bangkok Post) Politics/ Inside Burma 13 August 2013 Royal Rose Hall owner Soe Nyunt in Bahan township says he was summoned by the township administrator on 31 July, ordering him to seek official permission 20 days in advance if he was renting his establishment for any politically related gatherings. On 5 August (8 August according to DVB), Rangoon division issued directive for Bahan township requiring all residents, organizations and business owners to provide officials with 20 days notice if they plan to host an event. Bahan is home to NLD HQ and Royal Rose. (Irrawaddy/DVB) 14 August 2013 Shwe Mann says the controversial Printing and Publishing Enterprise Bill passed by the Lower House could still be amended before it becomes law. (Irrawaddy) 15 August 2013 House Speaker Shwe Mann says he understands why the former regime allowed land confiscations. But the government's orders were not followed properly when the Army seized large plots of land from the people. (Irrawaddy) 15 August 2013 Committee of Guarantees, Pledges and Undertaking Vetting Committee issues report on various ministries. As per the report, education ministry had failed to meet its targets in 220 counts, making it the worst performing ministry. MPs have blamed it on financial constraints as well as negligence. (Mizzima) 15 August 2013 Naypyitaw police are investigating complaints against Maj Gen Soe Shein, a personal staff office of Gen Than Shwe, who villagers said had pointed a gun at them and threatened to shoot on 5 July. Gen Soe Shein say he owns the land in dispute officially. (Myanmar Times) Ethnic Affairs 16 August 2013 The United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC) says it has received a notification from Myanmar Peace Center (MPC) to meet in the last week of August. U Aung Min will head the delegation, according to Mahn Mahn, UNFC technical team head. (Mizzima) 16 August 2013 Regional governments considering plans for local development after President pledged last week wider mandates: Better transportation in Karenni Power project in Arakan Proposal for allocation of 50% all taxes from extractive industry to state governments Management of extractive industries in own state by state government (DVB) Shans/ Shan State 12 August 2013 Sai Ai Pao, leader of White Tiger party (SNDP) says the plan to unite 3 Shan parties have been abandoned, due to restrictions by Election Commission in June: Original parties must be dissolved MPs must submit application if they wish to represent the new party Hkhun Htun Oo, leader of Tiger Head party (SNLD) says: Due to difference in ideology (SNLD is against 2008 constitution and SNDP accepts it), we have not made discussion with SNDP for unification. Sai Htay Aung of Taileng National Development Party (TNDP) says there is no plan to unite, since we are from a different region. (Mizzima) 13 August 2013 Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS) leader Yawd Serk says his units have been instructed to make direct contact with Burma Army units in the field and request notification of their movements through Shan army-controlled areas. Some units have responded positively, he says. (SHAN) 16 August 2013 Shan State Progress Party/Shan State Army (SSPP/SSA) celebrates 42nd anniversary of the founding of the SSPP at Wanhai headquarters. The ceremony presided over by party President Sao Pang Fa. (SHAN) Economy/ Business 10 August 2013 South Korea's Incheon wins tender for the construction of $1 billion Hanthawaddy Airport, says State media. (AP) 12 August 2013 Yoma, a Singapore-listed company, says that a consortium it has formed with two Japanese firms, Mitsubishi and JALUX, has been selected by Myanmar authorities to upgrade and operate Mandalay International Airport. (Mizzima) 13 August 2013 A lack of infrastructure, human resources and technology, along with unfinished legal framework for businesses, are a concern for Burma as Asean attempts to form a single market within the next two years, according to business people. Apart from rice industry, there are still gaps, says a rice federation member. (Irrawaddy) 16 August 2013 British firms are staying out of Burma until after the 2015 elections, according to Burma Campaign UK's Mark Farmaner, after talking to a number of companies: Burma is not significantly cheaper to source from Very hard to be sure factories they are dealing with are not associated with cronies or the military Also very hard to be sure workers' rights will be respected Human rights problems have not gone away Japanese firms have complained slowness of progress in obtaining approvals to start projects. (Irrawaddy) Human Rights 8 August 2013 Anti Corruption law passed by parliament. It replaces anti-corruption law enacted in 1948. (Mizzima) 9 August 2013 Police rake Rohingya crowd with gunfire, killing at least 2 people and injuring more than a dozen. The crowd had disputed over police custody of a dead Rohingya. (Reuter) 9 August 2013 30 Rohingya asylum seekers escape from Sadao district police station in Songkla province. (Reuters) 10 August 2013 Ko Myo, 42 year old Burmese national, arrested on 1 August in Surat Thani and faces human trafficking charges according to Police Maj Gen Chavalit Sawangpuech. (AP) Drugs 12 August 2013 Rule of Law Committee headed by Augn San Suu Kyi submits annual report. It states police forcuses only on arresting drug abusers rather than drug traffickers. It made field visits to Mandalay, Naypyitaw, Rangoon and Irrawaddy regions. (Mizzima) 16 August 2013 Thai authorities deport a suspected yaba trafficker, Shwe Nu, 46, who was arrested on 2 June in Bangkok. (The Nation) War 10 August 2013 ABSDF signs Union level truce with government. (Irrawaddy/Agencies) 15 August 2013 Clash in Mongyen tract, Namtu township. Unknown number killed and 4 injured on the Burma Army's Light Infantry Battalion 504 side. Shan State Army (SSA) North also suffers some wounded. Shell falls in a corn field injures a woman. Her husband taken as a guide by the Burma Army. (SHAN) Obituary 14 August 2013 Writer, poet and satirist Min Lu dies at the age of 60. He is a son of famous film director and writer Thadu. (Irrawaddy)

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The Irrawaddy Magazine

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• Gathered Farmers Call on Govt to End Land Grabs
• Dozens of Rohingya Asylum Seekers Escape Thai Detention Center
• Destined for Slaughter, 120 Dogs Find Safe Haven Near Rangoon
• Opium Eradication Agreements Lack Impact: Shan Rebels
• Paying the Debt: 25 Years Later, Burma’s Struggle for Freedom Isn’t Over
• Airlines Scramble to Land in Myanmar, but Visas Still up in the Air
• As English Football Season Starts, Burma’s Gamblers Play the Odds
• Despite Bo’s Trial in China, No Redress for Victims of His Crackdown
• Train Kills 37 Pilgrims in Eastern India
• Floods Cover More Than Half of Philippine Capital

Gathered Farmers Call on Govt to End Land Grabs Posted: 20 Aug 2013 07:48 AM PDT 88 Student Generation leader Min Ko Naing addressed the Voice of the Farmer event in Rangoon on Monday. (Photo: 88 Student Generation / Facebook) RANGOON — About 500 farmers from across Burma gathered at a two-day event in Rangoon this week to call on the government to address the worsening land confiscation issue and to return farmland that was seized under the previous military regime. Desperate farmers addressed the Voice of the Farmer event, which was organized by the 88 Generation Students Group on Monday and Tuesday. Many pleaded for help as their land — often their sole source of income — had been taken from them. "I only had this land. We live a very simple life. Our life is to grow paddy. We did not have any work after they took it," said Mya Sein. The 60-year-old farmer from Irrawaddy Division's Kyoung Pyaw Township said she lost 2 acres of land in 2006 after local authorities allocated a total of 63 acres (25 hectares) in her village to an agro-industrial company. "I will keep asking for our land. This is our right and it is our land," said Mya Sein, who represents a group of affected farmers in her village. Activists had invited hundreds of farmers from areas such as Irrawaddy, Sagaing, Pegu and Magwe divisions, and Shan, Mon and Kayah states to voice their concerns over past and current land grabs. "They [farmers] have been suffering for a long time as they had to stay under the military regime. I saw some farmers cry while they were speaking out. It was sad to see, but they are very brave," said 88 Student activist Tun Myint Aung. "If we keep working together, I believe that we will reach our goal." During the past decades, the Burma Army forcibly evicted tens of thousands of farmers from their lands to make way for industrial zones, state-run agriculture and industrial projects, or to allocate land to private companies with links to the military. A parliamentary commission found that about 300,000 hectares of land were confiscated by the army, which offered little compensation to affected farmers and crushed any local dissent. Under President Thein Sein's reformist government, these land grabs are now coming under scrutiny from both the public and Parliament. Yet at the same time, economic development is leading to a growing demand for land and complaints of land-grabbing by powerful private firms are rapidly increasing, especially in Irrawaddy Division, the country's main rice-growing area. The land confiscations have been met with a rise in land protests. Tun Aung from Nawnghkio Township, northern Shan State, said local authorities had asked farmers in 2007 to vacate about 50,000 acres (12,500 hectares) in order to make way for coffee plantations, adding that villagers had received no compensation for their loss of land. So far, he said, the Ministry of Industry had begun planting about 500 acres with coffee plants, while Moe Thet Chan Company and Ahnandar Company had planted about 1,200 acres and 85 acres, respectively. Tun Aung said the affected communities had since sent letters of complaint to local authorities and Nawnghkio Township Court, but they received no replies. He said the group recently sent letters to Parliament and to President Thein Sein's office. In downtown Rangoon on Tuesday, some 50 residents of Buthidaung Township gathered outside of City Hall to protest against the loss of their lands located along the banks of the Rangoon River. The protesters said big construction firms, such as Yuzana Company, Wa Wa Win Co, Ltd Eden Group Co Ltd, had confiscated their land for projects or declined to pay appropriate lease fees for use of the area. The group said their repeated letters of complaint to municipal authorities, the Ministry of Construction and the president's office had been ignored. "As the government didn’t take any action for us, we now have to come on the streets to express our demands," said a protestor named Myint Aung, adding that the group would continue protesting until their complaints are addressed. "We don’t want to protest against anyone. We want to live in peace as ordinary people, many here are old. But we have to come on streets and protest in the rain," he said.

Dozens of Rohingya Asylum Seekers Escape Thai Detention Center Posted: 20 Aug 2013 05:31 AM PDT Rohingya Muslim illegal immigrants pray at an immigration detention center during the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan in Kanchanaburi province, Thailand, on July 10, 2013. (Photo: Reuters / Athit Perawongmetha) BANGKOK — A group of Muslim Rohingya asylum seekers in southern Thailand escaped from an immigration detention center on Tuesday, highlighting the growing desperation of a stateless minority fleeing sectarian violence in Burma. Rights activists are critical of the Thai government’s response to the influx of Rohingyas and have urged the authorities not to deport the refugees back to Burma, where they face pervasive discrimination. The 87 escapees used blades to cut through iron bars and hacked at cement walls before disappearing into nearby rubber plantations, prompting a large search operation, said Suwit Chernsiri, police commander of the southern province of Songkla. "The men were detained for many months and tensions were high," Suwit told Reuters. The jail break was the second after a group of 30 Rohingyas escaped from a Songkla police station earlier this month. More than 1,800 Rohingya who fled Burma by sea this past year are being detained across Thailand, often in overcrowded centers and shelters, and thousands more have been intercepted and pushed back out to sea by the Thai authorities. Burma, a majority Buddhist country, says the Rohingya are Muslim migrants from Bangladesh. A 1982 Citizenship Act excluded Rohingya Muslims from a list of 135 designated ethnic groups, effectively rendering them stateless. Thailand also denies Rohingyas citizenship and considers them illegal migrants. Bangladesh also does not recognize them. Many Rohingya hope to end up in neighboring Muslim-majority Malaysia, where some have extended families but often fall prey to smugglers and traffickers in Thailand. A Reuters investigation found that Rohingyas who fail to pay for their passage are handed over to traffickers, who sell some men into slavery on Thai fishing boats or force them to work as farmhands. Thailand's navy denies its personnel are involved in smuggling and trafficking networks. The number of Rohingyas boarding boats from Burma and neighboring Bangladesh reached 34,626 people from June 2012 to May of this year—more than four times the previous year, says the Arakan Project, an advocacy group that has studied Rohingya migration since 2006. Many have ended up in Thailand.

Destined for Slaughter, 120 Dogs Find Safe Haven Near Rangoon Posted: 20 Aug 2013 05:13 AM PDT Stray dogs are seen at a shelter in Shwe Pyauk, near Rangoon, on Sunday. More than 120 dogs are staying at the temporary shelter after being rescued from a dog smuggler near Mandalay. (Photo: Kyaw Phyo Tha / The Irrawaddy). SHWE PYAUK, Rangoon Division — In the beginning, they had a bleak destiny. Clubbed on their heads and knocked unconscious at night, they were thrown onto a cart and dumped in a cage. When their headcount eventually reached 200, they would be shipped again, this time to the butchers' blocks at restaurants over the border in China, where dog meat is considered a delicacy. Were it not for Myat Thet Mon, this group of more than 120 mutts from the town of Pa Late, near Burma's second-largest city, Mandalay, would still be crammed into small wire cages, painfully awaiting their turn for slaughter. But now, as luck would have it, they are roaming freely around a temporary shelter more than an hour's drive from Rangoon, in a space that's nearly 25 meters by 12 meters. "I can heave a sigh of relief for them now," says the 35-year old woman as she prepares food for the dogs at the shelter, which she runs with support from other animal lovers around the country. She rescued the mutts from a smuggler in Pa Late who had planned to sell them for 10,000 kyats (US$10) each in China. "Sometimes, I wonder how our nation has fallen so low to become a country that sells dogs." Her efforts to save the mutts were heartily embraced by many people in Burma, a country where dog meat is rarely seen on the menu and street dogs are voluntarily cared for by members of local communities. Many people were happy to hear about the canine rescue, although some were also upset to learn where the dogs had been originally destined for sale, in China. "Don't they think they have crossed the line?" says Ding Ra Nin, an ethnic Kachin woman volunteering at the shelter. "They have already exploited us with the Myitsone [a controversial Chinese-backed dam in north Burma]. Now it's our dogs!" Myat Thet Mon's efforts became well known in Burma thanks to local media coverage, with online posts about her rescue mission going viral in late July. The public support for the rescue highlights the resurrection of animal rights activism in the country amid an ongoing transition from military rule. Although the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals is now defunct, animal rights activists have begun to network with each in their work. Still, for Myat Thet Mon, the canine rescue was no easy task. "It took me 26 days to bring all those dogs down to Rangoon," she says. It all started with a post on Facebook. Myat Thet Mon read on the social media site that a smuggler in Pa Late had captured the strays and intended to smuggle them to China. Being an animal lover herself—with 50 stray dogs under her care at home—she visited the smuggler to determine whether it would be possible to rescue the dogs. She traveled nearly 645 km (400 miles) north of Rangoon to see the dogs. They were in dire condition, she said, with loose skin hanging from malnourished, skeletal bodies. Some had open wounds on their heads after being hit by an iron rod. "It was heartbreaking," she says. "Their sad eyes made me determined to complete my mission, as if they were pleading with me, 'Please, get us out of here!'" She says the smuggler demanded that she pay 7,000 kyats for each dog. With donations from animal lovers around the country, she initially gathered enough money to save 60 of 172 dogs, sending them to an animal shelter in upper Burma. The smuggler threatened to ship the remaining dogs to China if she did not claim them within two days. Rather than meet his demands, she took a different approach. "Why should I listen to him? He surely knew we were his easy prey. He would recapture the dogs and ask for a ransom again. It would become an endless circle," she says. Instead, she reported the smuggler to any authority who might step in and help—including the head of the Buddhist monastic community in Mandalay, the divisional minister, the chief of the Mandalay Police and the local administrator in Pa Late. She urged them to take action against the smuggler for his cruelty to animals. For a few days, nothing happened. Then she disclosed the case to the media. "As soon as the news appeared in papers, the Mandalay Special Police Branch called me on August 1," she says. "An hour later, they threw the smuggler in jail." After the arrest, Myat Thet Mon navigated bureaucratic red tape for two weeks before receiving official clearance to ship more than 130 dogs in a 12-wheeler to the temporary shelter near Rangoon. More than 30 dogs had died in the smuggler's custody. The shelter in Shwe Pyauk village appears somewhat basic—a diagonal space closed off by a wire fence and roofed with tarpaulin sheets—but it seems spacious enough for the group of dogs. Dr. Kyaw Lwin, a trained veterinarian who now volunteers at the shelter, says nearly ever mutt at the facility had been malnourished or wounded, and some were disease ridden. Since arriving at the shelter, nearly 10 dogs have died from illnesses or injuries sustained during their captivity. "Our first priority is making them healthy again," the veterinarian says. "Then we have to vaccinate them for rabies." Meanwhile, Myat Thet Mon is looking for ways to solve another looming problem: Shwe Pyauk village will only allow her to keep the dogs for two months at the current shelter, so she needs to find another permanent space. "A plot of land is urgently needed," she says. She hopes to create another safe haven for stray dogs across the city, where she could vaccinate and sterilize them. Rangoon currently has only one privately run shelter for street dogs. Her ultimate goal is to promote a law for animal rights and welfare. "At the moment we can only focus on finding a place for the dogs here," she says. "But just keeping the dogs safe is not the solution. We need to think broadly. "Dogs have feelings, like all of us. Stray dogs are more vulnerable to mistreatment. It's OK if you don't care about them, but please don't mistreat them, I plead, because they are living things."

Opium Eradication Agreements Lack Impact: Shan Rebels Posted: 20 Aug 2013 03:59 AM PDT Poppy farmers in Shan State use rudimentary tools to process black tar opium resin collected from their crops. (Photo: The Irrawaddy) The Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS) said this week that its opium eradication agreements with Burma's government and the UN "could not be achieved so far" in Shan State. The ethnic rebel group agreed to the joint eradication projects in the past year, but it now says that the issue should be addressed more thoroughly during ongoing negotiations with Naypyidaw and in closer cooperation with the UN. The drug eradication issue came up in talks soon after peace negotiations began in earnest early last year. The RCSS (the political wing of the Shan State Army South) then agreed with the government's Central Anti-Narcotics Task Force and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) on the implementation of several pilot projects in Mong Nai and Mong Pan townships. Numerous skirmishes between the Shan rebels and the Burma Army have since been reported, however, and implementation of the projects subsequently suffered. In June this year, RCSS leader Lt-Gen Yawd Serk made a first-ever visit to Naypyiydaw to hold direct talks with President Thein Sein and military tensions between the sides have been reduced in recent months. A RCSS report on opium trade and cultivation, released on Monday, said the discussions with Naypyidaw have yet to make an impact on the drug production in Shan State. "The cooperation in narcotics drug eradication has been included as one of the most important points of the discussion. In spite of the agreements made, cooperation for the implementation could not be achieved in reality so far, as had been planned," the report said. RCSS deputy spokesperson Sai Murng told The Irrawaddy that drug eradication efforts had faltered due to "a lack of collaboration from government troops in the region." More than 300,000 Shan families grow opium poppies and the illicit crop is their main sources of income, according to the UNODC. Burma is the world's second-largest opium producer after Afghanistan, and poppy cultivation has increased in the last six years in Shan State. The RCSS said it has been battling opium production since 1999 through its own program, which is led by the RCSS Anti-Narcotics Task Force. The group has been engaged in a decades-long rebellion against Burma's central government in order to gain political autonomy and respect for basic rights for ethnic Shan groups. In its report on Monday, the RCSS called for closer cooperation with the UN and Naypyidaw now that peace talks are progressing. "[S]olving the narcotic problems should not take longer. It should soon be implemented to benefit every party," the report said. "[T]he danger of narcotic drugs that Shan State people face today becomes more intense. Therefore, while we are trying to find political resolution, it is also time for us to solve narcotic drug issue." RCSS Anti-Narcotics Committee Secretary Sai Seng Wan said the group wants to wipe out opium production completely within six years after full implementation of joint projects start on the ground in Shan State. "The 6-year plan of the RCSS is to be counted only from the time when all the stakeholders start working together in the process of the drug-eradication plan," Maj Sai Seng wrote in an email. Sai Murng, RCSS deputy spokesman, said the group would also cooperate and share information with authorities in China and Thailand, the main destination countries of the illicit trade. Shan Herald Agency News editor Khun Sai, a long-time observer of the drug trade, said opium had been a key cash crop for impoverished Shan families for decades and Burma's government had failed to create policies that addressed the issue and create alternative income sources. "Despite the government's willingness to do eradication and create alternative development for residents, its policies have not yet fully succeeded," he said, adding that Burma's government lacks the means to offer alternative livelihoods to Shan farmers. "We were told by the government that financial issues play an important role here, as budget needs are key for development projects" in Shan State, Khun Sai said.

Paying the Debt: 25 Years Later, Burma’s Struggle for Freedom Isn’t Over Posted: 20 Aug 2013 01:28 AM PDT Twenty-five years have now passed since Burma started its struggle for democracy. It began as the "8-8-88 Movement," a nationwide popular uprising calling for the removal of military dictatorship and the restoration of democratic government. Tens of thousands of young Burmese took to the streets, shouting the slogan: "To achieve democracy is our cause, our cause." I was a 14-year-old high school student when I became involved in political activism in 1988 (after two of my siblings were arrested in a student protest at the Rangoon University campus). We distributed pamphlets and leaflets in our schools, staged hit-and-run protests in neighborhoods after school, established contacts with other high schools, and went together to Rangoon University to join their protests. I went on to become one of the founding leaders of the nationwide high school student union in Burma—where unions were illegal and just being a member could result in long-term imprisonment. Student-led protests eventually snowballed into a nationwide popular uprising on Aug. 8, 1988 (8-8-88). You can think of it, without much exaggeration, as the "Burmese Spring." The public, including many sympathetic members of the police force and army, took to the streets; civil society groups mushroomed in every region and social sector; and media freedom thrived as dozens of independent publications sprang up. (Even the journalists at some state-owned media practitioners joined the democracy protests and reported on the demonstrations.) The spring, however, did not last long. Winter came early and nipped our hopes in the bud. On Sept. 18 the military staged a coup, killing hundreds of unarmed protesters. According to independent estimates, at least 10,000 people were killed in August and September of 1988. After 25 years, veterans of the "Four Eight" uprising came together to commemorate the movement and its fallen heroes. The biggest event in the country was held in Rangoon on the 8th of this month with exhibitions, speeches, and a theatrical performance. More than 10,000 people attended the anniversary event, where they listened to opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi give a speech. Many of my former colleagues set up a stand in the exhibition hall to commemorate the activities of high school students in 1988 and to remember our fallen stars including Win Maw Oo, Thet Win Aung, and Maung Maung Kywe. Family members of those who died in the protests of the Four Eight movement or in imprisonment were in full attendance. For me it was an incredible reunion. For the first time I had a chance to share stories with my former colleagues, and together we filled in many of the missing parts of our revolutionary puzzle. Some of us died, others went insane, and the rest struggled through a dark age of crackdowns, torture chambers, imprisonment and exile. Political conviction, a sense of solidarity, and the occasional favorable twist of fate helped us to cope with those days of political turmoil and suffering. Some of us were struck by seemingly avoidable misfortunes, while others managed to make improbable escapes from this worldly hell of autocratic repression. Many of us tend to agree that the continuing political transition is worthy of appreciation. Some of the key leaders of the previous junta attended or sent goodwill messages to the event as a gesture of acknowledgment of the role the Four Eight movement played in Burma's political opening. In fact, the massive release of political prisoners, the removal of media censorship, Aung San Suu Kyi's entry into mainstream politics as a member of Parliament, the return of exiled activists, and the country's re-engagement with the West all constitute unprecedented progress that we have witnessed in a considerably short period of time. It doesn't mean that we don't recognize the very substantial flaws inherent in the process so far. They include the flawed Constitution that the military adopted in 2008 to entrench its supremacy in politics by reserving 25 percent of seats in Parliament, by allowing the generals to appoint the three most important cabinet ministers, by authorizing the armed forces to take power in case of state emergency, and by limiting meaningful autonomy for ethnic minorities. Meanwhile we are still contending with the effects of simmering civil war and ethnic conflict, rising nationalism and communal violence, deepening poverty and a widening gap between rich and poor. The military has allowed unprecedented popular participation in Burmese politics, but they still control real political and economic power by means of the 2008 Constitution and highly skewed wealth distribution. Access to power has been dramatically broadened, but the exercise of power remains in the same hands: the military's. For this reason, all of us who attended the reunion felt acutely that our mission still has not been accomplished. There is one 8-8-88 memory that has never let go of me. When we were marching during the 1988 democracy movement, the people had nothing to eat, but they made rice bags for us so that we could eat and keep marching. When we collected the rice bags, we always promised them: "You will get democracy one day." So far, we haven't kept our promise. I feel that our movement still owes the people for the food we ate. This is a very simple thing, but the sense of responsibility remains. The rice I ate 25 years ago still gives me the energy and power to keep going. Min Zin is the Burma blogger for Foreign Policy's Transitions, where this article first appeared on Aug. 19, 2013.

Airlines Scramble to Land in Myanmar, but Visas Still up in the Air Posted: 19 Aug 2013 11:40 PM PDT Budget airline Air Asia has moved aggressively to increase its flights to destinations in Myanmar in a bid to capture much of the tourist market. (Photo: Steve Tickner / The Irrawaddy) BANGKOK — Foreign airline companies big and small are falling over one another in a battle for landing rights in Myanmar to tap into Southeast Asia's new and rapidly rising tourist destination. Myanmar may still be a long way behind its neighbor Thailand in visitor numbers, but since President U Thein Sein began opening up the country two years ago, tourism has become one of its biggest businesses. More than 20 foreign airlines now fly direct to several cities in Myanmar, ranging from the big German holiday package charter operator Condor to Thailand's tiny Nok Air. Frankfurt-based Condor, the biggest holiday charter flights company in Germany, is already operating a weekly service, while Nok Air begins a service in September. Yangon International Airport clocked almost 500,000 arrivals in 2012 out of a total number of 600,000 people coming into the country by air, according to government figures. Last year, the number of visitors to Myanmar topped the 1 million mark for the first time, but the Ministry of Transport and the Department of Civil Aviation are forecasting annual increases rising to 6 million visitors in 2017. The planned new Hanthawaddy airport, to be built about 80 km from Yangon in Bago Region, is being designed to handle 12 million passengers annually. It's provisionally scheduled to open in early 2018. Nok Air is following the example of other budget airlines by offering flights on less crowded routes. It will fly between Mae Sot in northern Thailand and Mawlamyine in Mon State. Mawlamyine is Myanmar's fourth-largest conurbation after Yangon, Mandalay and Naypyitaw. From October, Nok Air will also fly to Yangon from Mae Sot. This seems set to intensify a battle between regional budget airlines for a slice of the Myanmar tourism cake. Nok Air joins THAI Smile, the budget line of Thai Airways International, which now flies five times a week between Bangkok and Mandalay. THAI Smile admitted it started its Myanmar service partly in answer to growing competition from Malaysia-based budget airline Air Asia, which also operates a subsidiary in Thailand called Thai Air Asia. Tiny Bangkok Airways operates between the Thai capital and Yangon and Mandalay, often providing a feeder service for European airlines flying to Bangkok. Major European airline companies are still hesitant about starting up services directly to Myanmar. For example, while the Middle East's Qatar Air flies out of London to Yangon via its Doha hub base, British Airways flies to Bangkok, where passengers have to transfer to Bangkok Airways for a Yangon connection. Etihad Airways of Abu Dhabi does the same out of London. As with Bangkok, there is competition out of Singapore to fly to Myanmar. Both Singapore Airlines and its budget carrier subsidiary Silk Air connect with Yangon, vying with budget line Jetstar, which is owned by Australia's major airline Qantas. China Eastern Airlines and All Nippon Airways, or ANA, fly direct between Tokyo and Yangon. Japan Airlines and Mitsubishi Logistics Corporation have launched a joint venture cargo business to and from Myanmar. Other regional airlines now servicing Myanmar include Malaysia Airlines, Laos Airlines and Vietnam Airlines, while another major carrier using its budget subsidiary for Myanmar routes is Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific, whose Dragon Air is expected to attract mostly Chinese passengers. The strong competition on Thailand-Myanmar routes certainly seems justified by recent visitor arrival numbers. In the first four months of this year, Thais topped the list of 253,000 tourists, according to the Ministry of Hotels and Tourism. That overall figure was over 40 percent higher than for the same period one year ago. Asians totaled 60 percent of the four-month total, led by Thais with 37,000 visitors and followed by Japanese, South Koreans and Chinese. Among Europeans, French visitors were on top with 15,000, followed by British and Germans. But despite the growing popularity of Myanmar with airlines, tourists and business seekers, actually getting into the country is still cumbersome. The visa-on-arrival service is unreliable even for business travelers, while tourists "often have to waste up to a week waiting for an embassy to clear paperwork," said the travel trade magazine TTR Weekly. "Even the visa-on-arrival that is in place for business visitors requires a letter of invitation from a government department or commercial enterprise. It is essentially a pre-processed visa that is activated at the airport by immigration officials," said TTR Weekly. The confusion over who qualifies for a visa-on-arrival has even led the US State Department's Bureau of Consular Affairs to issue an advisory to would-be visitors, urging them "not to consider the visas-on-arrival program a viable alternative to a visa." Another issue, according to TTR Weekly, is when Myanmar will relax its visa requirements for citizens of fellow Association of Southeast Asian Nation (Asean) member states. "Although tourism is opening up, there has been no clear indication when Myanmar will comply with the Asean requirement that all 10 member states should allow visa free entry for up to 14 days for Asean region citizens," the magazine said. The Myanmar Tourism Promotion Board in June told a regional tourism conference in Bangkok that a review of the present rules would be made "soon." This story first appeared in the August 2013 print issue of The Irrawaddy magazine.

As English Football Season Starts, Burma’s Gamblers Play the Odds Posted: 19 Aug 2013 11:32 PM PDT Men watch the opening day of English football season in Tamwe Township, Rangoon. (Photo: Simon Roughneen / The Irrawaddy) RANGOON — On a TV above the blue neon-lit bar in Rangoon's Tamwe Township, the hapless-looking Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger grimaced, sputtering an indiscernible obscenity, his hands resting forlornly on his hips. As if mimicking the scowling Frenchman on the TV above, Aung Kyaw tutted and swore in Burmese as Aston Villa's Antonio Luna bore down on the Arsenal goal, while manky street dogs, bored and yawning in the musty evening, sniffed around the booze-covered table in the unlikely chance that some scraps of food might be thrown their way. It was the 85th minute of the opening-day English league clash between Arsenal and the unfancied Birmingham team on Saturday. Aung Kyaw had staked 30,000 kyat (about US$30) on some of the weekend's matches, backing an Arsenal win as part of the outlay. But that looked like money poorly spent as the Spaniard Luna calmly rolled the ball off the foot of the goalpost and beyond the reach of the Arsenal goalkeeper, for what turned out to be an unassailable 3-1 lead. "Better delete this message off my phone," said the bespectacled 40-something-year-old, holding up the football betting odds sent to him by a bookmaker earlier that evening. Betting is illegal in Burma, and Aung Kyaw said he did not want to be caught by the police with the message on his phone. "It's better now than before, however," he told The Irrawaddy, referring to the use of mobile phones—still the preserve of less than 10 percent of Burma's population—for football betting. "Before cellphones, we had to use paper, and that was harder to manage for both collecting money and keeping hidden." Both bets and winnings are paid after the fact, with odds sent out by bookies and gambles placed in return, mostly over the phone, although Aung Kyaw says online gambling is a nascent—and illicit—phenomenon in a Burma, where most of the estimated 50-60 million population lacks Internet access. Bo Win, Aung Kyaw's heavyset, tattooed drinking buddy, chimed in from across the table—his epicene Mike Tyson-like voice seemed at odds with his man-about-town persona, after earlier nudging and laughing suggestively at the sight of young women sashaying home outside on the rain-sodden streets. "Sometimes we win, mostly we lose," he said with a laugh. "I don't bet every week, only sometimes. But it's the start of football season, so this week we bet." Gambling is a big part of Burmese culture nowadays, with nicknames translating to English as "two digit" and "three digit" for popular games based on Thailand's stock exchange and lottery. "One digit" is the third major form of gambling in Burma, referring to the European football seasons running from August to May but taking in international tournaments and off-season test-run matches as well. Of those, top-flight English football is by far the most popular and lucrative, with small-time bookie Min Maung telling The Irrawaddy that it makes up "around 70, 75 percent" of his total gambling work. Whispering below the evening din at a teashop in North Dagon Township, in the north of Rangoon, the shy-looking 32-year-old said he makes about 200,000 kyat ($200) per month taking bets from what he says are eight to 10 trusted gamblers. "I only work with people I believe," he said, with his head lowered below a sign advertising the shop's apparent specialty, seven different sorts of orchid tea—a pot of which he drained while he spoke. With gambling illegal, there's no recourse—within the law—for bookies who do not get their money, or for gamblers such as Aung Kyaw who take the chance that they might never see the money if they win. "I won 300,000 kyat some time back, but the guy disappeared. What could I do? Tell the police?" Aung Kyaw said with a laugh. Just as Min Maung only accepts bets from players he knows, Aung Kyaw now only gambles with bookies whom he know and trusts. "This one I've known for six or seven years," he said, holding up his Samsung smartphone to flag up the same weekend football wager as a few moments earlier. Min Maung is a small-time bookie, but like big-player counterpart Lin Nyo, he has to give a cut to the police to be allowed operate. "I give 10,000 kyat a month—it is for security," he said, adding that he tries to keep as low a profile as possible to avoid ending up hand-in-pocket in front of another cop looking for an easy backhander. For Lin Nyo in Thingangyun Township, football gambling is much more lucrative. He told The Irrawaddy that he handles around 30 million kyat ($300,000) each weekend during the regular football season, between bets placed and winnings paid out. A chunk of the money, however, goes to the police and local officials. "Donations, we call them," he said, laughing. "I give around 300,000 kyat ($300) per month." Lin Nyo is also trying to cut down on the amount of money he has to pay the police and officials to look the other way. "On weekends I don't stay home, I go elsewhere," he said, without elaborating. Several big downtown Rangoon hotels, he added, are weekend work hubs for bookies such as himself who do not want to work at home over the weekend, when the big money is up for grabs. The size of Burma's gambling economy is unknown—reliable and up-to-date statistics are hard to come by, even in the country's licit economy—but estimates in the past have put the value of the country's gambling economy at between $5 million to $10 million per day.  That's big money in an economy of just US$53 billion total, where millions of people live below the poverty line. Gambling has a long history in Burma. Author George Orwell, once a colonial police officer in the country, was famously prophetic in his "Animal Farm" and "1984," allegories of the totalitarian and surveillance states he feared might emerge in the decades ahead. But he might as well have been talking about present-day Burma when he wrote much earlier in his career, in "An Incident in Rangoon," that gambling was "a native taste of these people, as drunkenness is with us [British]." Referring to the two and three digit lotteries, a 2005 US diplomatic cable from the Rangoon embassy said that, "Though it is impossible to know how many people participate in these lotteries, one estimate we've heard from an organizer is that 70 percent of the adult population plays regularly (perhaps upwards of 17.5 million people)." The dispatch made no mention of football gambling, which is more a male preserve, but the hna lone and thon lone (two digit and three digit) games are played by men and women. Gambling in Burma incorporates some of the more esoteric aspects of popular culture. Numerology—the perceived occult significance of numbers—is pervasive in Burma and feeds into how people gamble, sometimes via the counsel of a palmist or astrologer. In her paper "Female Gambler, Media, and Modernity in Myanmar After 1997," researcher Mi Mi Cho recounts that "one of the famous medium worshippers, who usually give digits, both three digits and two digits numbers, is a woman in the age of around thirty. "People usually come and ask her about their economic situations, their difficulties and some students for their exam," Mi Mi Cho wrote. "According to her, she is the spirit medium worshipper of the famous female sprit of Pyay, the green goddess 'Ma May Sein.'" But for some, such arcane methodologies are not that different to how odds are assessed in the West, and not just by small-time gamblers. Professor Reuven Brenner of Canada's McGill University—who co-authored "A World of Chance: Betting on Religion, Games, Wall Street," a respected book on the historic precursor role of gambling in mainstream business and finance— told The Irrawaddy that astrology has long been a crutch for Western finance professionals. "Even now you walk on Wall Street, you see storefronts with astrologers and palm readers," he said. But football betting in Burma seems to be is less Delphic than the two and three digit games—and Wall Street and Western finance ministries, for that matter. There's team quality and form to consider, though gamblers sometimes have to see beyond their own partisan affiliations. Either way, the outcome is less down to chance than when gambling on the Thai lottery outcome, for example. "We bet on what teams we like or the teams we think might win," said Bo Min. Gambling and sports betting occupy a contentious place inside and, as in Burma's case, outside legal systems around the world. Anti-gambling advocates say the practice spawns addiction and consequent related social and financial problems. Legalization proponents argue that prohibition creates a black economy, depriving the state of revenue from a pastime that people will engage in regardless of the law. For Min Maung, who lives with and financially supports his parents, working as an illicit bookie is all he can do, he said, in an economy where youth unemployment has been described by opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi as a possible threat to social stability. "There are no other jobs for me," he said. "I want to be a merchant but I have to help my parents, so I cannot save money." In "A World of Chance," the authors compare the conclusions of the UK's third Royal Commission on Gambling (1976-78) to those heard in the United States decades before, when lawmakers there were mulling whether to end the prohibition on alcohol. The British gambling study outlined that "the strategy of prohibition has been a notable folly" and "instead of suppressing betting among poorer people, the law produced resentment and attempts to corrupt the police, contempt for authority and a bookmaking trade operating outside the law, prey to protection rackets and gang violence." A May 2013 study, undertaken by Deloitte on behalf of the Association of British Bookmakers, said that the betting trade accounted for 2.3 billion £ ($3.6 billion) of the British economy and generated almost 40,000 jobs, but conceded, in the words of a separate 2010 survey, that "there is an unfavourable view of the effects of gambling on society." The same 2010 survey showed, however, that most of those asked were nonetheless against prohibition. But betting is against the law in Burma, a place where, according to Suu Kyi, there is no rule of law to begin with. And as the country's Parliament handles a swathe of reforms—68 bills have passed since 2011—mulling over betting is not a priority for lawmakers, at least not yet. "The mindset is that gambling is against the character of the Burmese people, so no-one seems ready to pronounce anything like changing the law," Nyan Win, a spokesman for Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD), told The Irrawaddy. If that is the case, Burma's politicians are out of touch with ordinary Burmese, it seems. "It should be legal, like in other countries," said Aung Kyaw, when asked for his views on Burma's betting ban. Bo Min, sipping from a can of Red Bull, nodded in agreement, before shaking his head at the TV above as a scuffed shot by Tomas Rosicky, Arsenal's past-his-best Czech midfielder, slithered wanly across the green London turf, yards wide of the Aston Villa goal, taking along Bo Min's and Aung Kyaw's last hope of a weekend windfall. Pseudonyms have been used for bookies and gamblers interviewed for this story. Additional reporting by Sanay Lin.

Despite Bo’s Trial in China, No Redress for Victims of His Crackdown Posted: 19 Aug 2013 10:28 PM PDT A suspected gangster is detained during Bo Xilai’s crackdown on organised crime in Chongqing in this September 13, 2009 file photo. (Photo: Reuters) BEIJING — The curtain may be about to fall on China's disgraced leader Bo Xilai, but victims of the harsh brand of justice he handed out in a high-profile crime crackdown are not making any headway in their campaign for redress. Lawyers estimate there are thousands of cases demanding restitution in the foggy southwestern metropolis of Chongqing, which Bo ruled as Communist Party boss until he was dramatically sacked early last year amid lurid allegations of graft and murder. Bo is to stand trial from Thursday and his police chief and his wife have already been jailed over the scandal stemming from the November 2011 murder of British businessman Neil Heywood. But despite the official repudiation of Bo's tactics in Chongqing, China has shown little appetite to follow or publicize cases brought by the victims of his crackdown, largely because it could focus unwanted public attention on how the Communist Party operates. Critics say Bo was simply doing what other party leaders were doing elsewhere, and continue to do—using courts, prosecutors and police to enforce their will. Openly vindicating Bo's victims could open a can of worms, they said. "Bo Xilai was a leader in the party and the government, and didn't he interfere with the law? They [the government] don't want to give people a pretext to find fault with them," said Liu Yang, an attorney who published an open letter last year urging fellow lawyers to form a team to review criminal cases in Chongqing. More than 4,000 people were arrested during Bo's much-heralded campaign against organized crime, launched in 2009, according to state media, though the government has never released figures for the number jailed. Bo won national attention with his "strike the black" offensive, but critics have said it involved abuses such as torture and the jailing of innocent people. As the appeals by Bo's victims mount, their demands for justice are emerging as a potent challenge for the government, already struggling to contain the consequences of the politically divisive case that has exposed rifts within Chinese society. "When I defend my clients in court, I cite a Chinese proverb: 'One miscarriage of justice will lead to three generations of hatred,'" Liu said. "The wounds that have been borne by these miscarriages of justice, they'll never forget." Before his dramatic fall last year, Bo was set to join the upper ranks of China's leadership. But his rise was stopped by a murder scandal involving his wife, Gu Kailai, and his former police chief, Wang Lijun. Both Gu and Wang have since been jailed. Bo is set to stand trial on charges of bribery and abuse of power in the eastern city of Jinan and is almost certain to be found guilty. Red Culture Liu said the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Justice told him to disband his organization to offer legal services to families in Chongqing just three days after he had published his open letter. Officials at the bureau could not be reached for comment. According to Liu, the officials told him at a meeting: "At first, we approved of your action—it is motivated out of goodwill—but because you are not in line with policies of the central government, and your information isn't the same as that of the decision-makers, so we're afraid your work may sometimes affect the stability and unity that we have." After his appointment as party boss of Chongqing in 2007, Bo turned the region into a showcase of revolution-inspired Maoist "red" culture, as well as state-led economic growth. Bo's populist ways were welcomed by many of Chongqing's 30 million residents. But critics said the anti-crime campaign trampled rudimentary legal safeguards and was used to weed out people who Bo and Wang disliked. During Bo's anti-crime drive, Chongqing police held thousands of suspects and prosecuted dozens of businessmen and women and officials accused of extortion, graft or running syndicates to protect rackets and prostitution. One of the reasons petitions for redress are blocked is that judges and prosecutors in Chongqing who have ruled on these allegedly wrongful convictions are still in office. The Chongqing government could not be reached for comment. "Several prosecutors who handled the wrongful convictions are still in their positions in court, so to ask that they correct their own mistakes, that's somewhat difficult," said Chen Youxi, a lawyer who is representing two clients who say they were wrongfully convicted. Large Volume of Cases Li Zhuang, a former lawyer and outspoken critic of Bo, said he is giving legal advice to more than a dozen people hoping to seek redress for their jailed relatives. "If it's one or two cases, it's easy to handle, but when the volume is too large, what can you do?" Li said. "The government is now probably in a bind about this." Li is himself appealing a conviction on charges of persuading a client to commit perjury. He was sentenced to a two and a half years in jail in early 2010 after vigorously defending a client on trial in Chongqing's anti-gang campaign. Others caught in Bo's dragnet included critics such as Gao Yingpu, who was sentenced to three years in prison in 2010 on a charge of "inciting subversion of state power" after he criticized Bo's crackdown on organized crime. Earlier this year, Gao appealed to have his name cleared, said a source with direct knowledge of his situation. The source declined to be named for fear of retribution. The authorities have not responded to Gao, who was released in January after his sentence was cut by six months, according to the source. Among the people persecuted during Bo's time, a large proportion were policemen. More than 5,600 police officers were punished by Wang over three years, Chinese media reported. Family members say Wang wanted to remove officers he thought were loyal to the city's former justice chief and deputy police chief, Wen Qiang, who was executed in 2010 for protecting gangs, accepting bribes, rape and property scams. One typical case was that of a 50-year-old police officer sentenced to 17 years in prison for accepting bribes and protecting gangs. His lawyer, Chi Susheng, said her client was targeted by Wang because he had worked for Wen and maintains that the charges are fabricated. During his questioning, the police officer said he endured beatings, nine days of sleep deprivation and other torture to force him to confess to a crime he did not commit, according to his wife, who asked that the names of her and her husband not be disclosed. Now in prison, the police officer is depressed, she said. "We will probably appeal for our entire lifetimes, until the day we die," said his wife. When asked about the prospects for Bo's trial, she said: "I think even if there are loopholes in the law, God will not tolerate him. "Heaven is watching, I believe he will not meet a good end."

Train Kills 37 Pilgrims in Eastern India Posted: 19 Aug 2013 09:46 PM PDT Burnt carriages of a train that were set on fire by protesters are pictured at Khagaria in the eastern Indian state of Bihar on Monday. (Photo: Reuters) PATNA, India — A train ran over a group of Hindu pilgrims at a crowded station in eastern India early Monday, killing at least 37 people. A mob infuriated by the deaths beat the driver severely and set fire to coaches, officials said. Several hours after the accident, flames and dark smoke could be seen billowing out of the train coaches, as protesters blocked firefighters from the station in Dhamara Ghat, a small town in Bihar state, officials said. Dinesh Chandra Yadav, a local member of parliament, said the pilgrims were crossing the tracks in the packed, chaotic station when they were struck by the Rajya Rani Express train. Several other people were injured. S.K. Bhardwaj, a police officer in Bihar, said 37 people were killed. Railway official Arunendra Kumar said the train was not supposed to halt at Dhamara Ghat and had been given clearance to pass through the station. However, some pilgrims waited on the tracks thinking they could stop the train, he said. The train stopped a few hundred meters beyond the spot where it hit the pilgrims. Angry mobs then pulled out the train driver and beat him. Yadav said the driver died, but Kumar said the driver was in hospital in critical condition. The mob then got all the passengers out of the train and set some coaches on fire. Groups of young men also smashed the windows of two other trains that were in the station. A crowd of around 5,000 people gathered near Dhamara Ghat station and were chasing away the district officials who tried to remove the bodies from the tracks. The crowds blocked the railway tracks and the few policemen posted at the station had fled, state officials said. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh appealed for calm in the area so that relief and rescue operations could be carried out, a statement from his office said. Junior railway minister Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said the mob set fire to at least two coaches of the train, and protesters were preventing firefighters from reaching the accident site. Police said the state government was sending additional forces to the area, but their movement was hampered because railway authorities had shut down train traffic on tracks leading to Dhamara Ghat, police officer Bhardwaj said. Kumar Ashutosh, a passenger on the train, said that within a few seconds of hitting people on the track, the driver slammed the emergency brakes and the train ground to a halt. "Soon, groups of people began running toward the engine. They asked us to get down from the train. Some of them pulled out the driver and his assistant and began beating them," said Ashutosh, who walked nine kilometers from the accident site to the nearby Saharsa station. District magistrate Syed Pervez Alam said the dismembered bodies of passengers who had been killed were lying on the track. The angry mob has chased away policemen and officials who tried to reach the station. "I had woken up and was sitting near the window, when all this happened. There were crowds of people on the platform and some on the track. It all happened so fast," Ashutosh said. He said that although the train had been given clearance to pass through Dhamara Ghat without stopping, the driver was partly to blame. "The driver did not slow down when the train approached the station. He maintained the high speed at which the train was moving, so it was difficult for him to stop when he realized that there were people on the track," said Ashutosh, who was traveling in the first coach next to the engine. Railway officials said a rescue train on its way to Dhamara Ghat had to be halted at Saharsa because the tracks were blocked. Dhamara Ghat is about 280 kilometers north of Patna, the state capital. Monday was the last day of monthlong prayer ceremonies at the Katyayani temple near Dhamara Ghat, a popular Hindu pilgrimage site. The pilgrims were returning from offering morning prayers. More than 18.5 million passengers travel every day on India's vast railway network of about 10,000 passenger trains.

Floods Cover More Than Half of Philippine Capital Posted: 19 Aug 2013 09:39 PM PDT Bystanders push a car in floodwaters brought by the monsoon rain, intensified by tropical storm Trami, in Pasay city, metro Manila, on Tuesday. (Photo: Reuters) MANILA — Flooding caused by some of the Philippines' heaviest rains on record submerged more than half the capital Tuesday, turning roads into rivers and trapping tens of thousands of people in homes and shelters. The government suspended all work except rescues and disaster response for a second day. Officials reported at least seven people dead, 11 injured and four missing. The dead included a 5-year-old boy whose house was hit by a concrete wall that collapsed. His two adult relatives also were injured. Throughout the sprawling, low-lying capital region of 12 million people, floodwaters made most of the roads impassable and reached waist- or neck-deep along rivers and creeks. Authorities opened more than 200 evacuation centers in Manila and surrounding provinces filled with tens of thousands of people, Social Welfare Secretary Corazon Soliman said. Overall, more than 600,000 people have been affected by the floods. "I had to wade through waist-deep flood. I just need to go to the house of my boss … to get some money, then go home," said Esteban Gabin, a 45-year-old driver, who was plotting the best route to check on his family in Pampanga province, northwest of Manila. "But I may have to swim to reach my home because we live near the Pampanga River, and the flood there could reach up to neck deep." The flooding followed two nights of heavy monsoon rains, enhanced by Tropical Storm Trami. The storm hovered over the North Philippine Sea and drenched the main northern island of Luzon with up to 30 millimeters (just over an inch) of rain per hour. It was forecast to move away from the Philippines toward Taiwan on Wednesday. In many coastal towns along swollen Lake Laguna, near Manila, and in food-growing riverside provinces, residents were trapped on rooftops, waded through the streets or drifted on makeshift rafts. Many chose to stay close to their homes for fear they would be looted if they left. Floodwaters had subsided late Monday but the night of pounding rains Tuesday repeated the deluge. Authorities said that up to 60 percent of the capital region was submerged. Flooding has become more frequent in Manila because of deforestation of mountains, clogged waterways and canals where large squatter communities live, and poor urban planning. "We're surprised by the rainfall. Some areas experienced record levels," said Science Secretary Mario Montejo. According to an assessment from the Department of Science and Technology, rainfall reached 600 mm (23.62 inches) in and around Manila Bay on Sunday alone—more than a month's worth of rain in a day. That's compared to the disastrous 2009 Typhoon Ketsana, the strongest cyclone to hit Manila in modern history with 455 mm of rain in 24 hours. Many domestic and international flights at Ninoy Aquino International Airport were canceled. Key roads leading to the airport are flooded and passengers and crew are inevitably delayed. The Philippine archipelago is among the most battered by rainstorms in the world. About 20 tropical cyclones hit the country every year. Associated Press writers Jim Gomez, Oliver Teves and Teresa Cerojano contributed to this report.

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