Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Democratic Voice of Burma

Democratic Voice of Burma

Burmese Buddhists protest OIC visit

Posted: 12 Nov 2013 03:34 AM PST

Hundreds of Buddhist monks and civilians staged a demonstration in Rangoon on Tuesday to protest a visit to Burma by representatives of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) scheduled for the following day.

Around 500 protestors marched from the eastern gate of Shwedagon Pagoda to the City Hall at around 1pm.

"We don't want foreign countries meddling with our racial and religious affairs – we don't want OIC representatives discussing our racial and religious affairs," said Buddhist monk Parmouhka of Magwe Pariyatti Monastery in Rangoon's North Dagon township. "If they [OIC] set up an office in our country it will create religious riots. This is our country and we want it to be under our rule."

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Meanwhile, another 300 people held a similar protest in Insein township, on the other side of the city. Organisers of both demonstrations received official permission from local authorities to stage the protests.

"We don't want the OIC in Burma, and we would like the people of our country to be aware of the Citizenship Law," said Naung Taw Lay, a protest organiser. "We are calling for action to be taken against corrupt government officials and the animals who are trying to become citizens of our country by deceitful means."

The OIC delegation – which arrives on Wednesday and is due to visit Arakan state on Thursday – will consist of high-level officials and foreign ministers from Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Turkey, Bangladesh, Indonesia and Malaysia.

Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, the general secretary of the OIC, recently told a Saudi news agency that the delegation aimed to show the Islamic world that it was paying serious attention to the plight of the Rohingya Muslims in Burma.

But the Burmese government's Deputy Information Minister Ye Htut said the OIC delegation was only on a routine diplomatic mission.

"This trip has nothing to do with the OIC opening an office in this country," he said. "The government of Burma will never approve anything that will harm the sovereignty of our nation and we want our people to know that."

He added that the Burmese government had only arranged for the OIC delegation to observe the rehabilitation process for Rohingyas and to meet with leaders of both communities as well as representatives of political parties."

The OIC delegation is also scheduled to meet with Burmese government officials and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi during their visit.

MSF suspends Pauktaw operations after ‘misunderstandings’

Posted: 12 Nov 2013 01:36 AM PST

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), along with other international NGOs, is suspending operations in Arakan state's Pauktaw township following what it has termed "misunderstandings" that led to tensions with local Arakanese Buddhists.

Michele Trainiti, MSF's liaison officer for Arakan state, told DVB via his translator that several NGOs have temporarily suspended some of their operations in Pauktaw township following an altercation with local Arakanese Buddhists earlier this month.

"Some organisations have temporarily cut operations in the Pauktaw region due to a misunderstanding among the local public," said Trainiti. "We can only speak for MSF, but we are working closely with the government and will resume normal operations as soon as the situation gets better. We have currently cut down operations with our [mobile] boat clinic."

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He said that MSF was informed on 2 November that there were four patients with gunshot wounds at a Muslim IDP camp in Pauktaw. The group transported three of them – the ones with serious conditions – to Sittwe hospital. MSF staff were later informed that two Arakanese Buddhists had also been submitted to the hospital with wounds.

"The major misunderstanding is that the Arakanese [Buddhist] public think we were aware of the two Arakanese [Buddhist] patients but decided not to help them," said Trainiti. "This is not true – as an organisation providing medical assistance, we have never discriminated against a patient; we have never made considerations based on one's race and religion, but only on their condition."

Residents of Sittwe later staged a protest in the town accusing MSF of bias against Buddhists. The Arakan state government then summoned several NGOs last week and warned them against the alleged bias.

Burma looks to its lucky stars for SEA Games success

Posted: 12 Nov 2013 01:00 AM PST

With just one month to go till the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games begins in Burma, it has not escaped our attention that the opening ceremony in Naypyidaw will take place on 11.12.13, a catchy and auspicious date.

Everyone remembers that the former military generals of Burma – and none more so than dictator Gen. Ne Win – enjoyed a dark penchant for numerology, and a superstitious inclination toward the number 9.

Still, it's probably no more than a coincidence that the numerals from that date, 1, 1, 1, 2, 1 and 3, add up to nine. Some mystic conspiracy theorists might also point to the fact that these are the 27th SEA Games (2 + 7 = 9) or the fact that it is 44 years since Burma last hosted this event, making a nice sequence: 11, 22, 33, 44 – when one invokes the notion that the games will take place between the 11 and 22 of December, will feature 33 sports events, and is hosted in Burma for the first time in 44 years.

Even those among us who do not regard these numbers as ominous will acknowledge that Southeast Asians, Buddhists in particular, put much weight on selecting auspicious dates and times for important events. Indeed it is highly possible that one of Burma's famous soothsayers played a hand in helping the games committee tackle the challenges they were tasked with when the country was controversially awarded the honour of hosting this sports extravaganza back in 2010.

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The logistical mountain facing the remote Burmese capital appears to have been conquered. The preparations have been all-encompassing. The main Wunna Theikdi stadium has taken three years to build but is ready on time, looking pristine and appropriate for international sporting gladiators with a capacity of 30,000 spectators.

Visas on arrival are being offered to tourists during the games in order to boost attendances. More flights, buses and tours to Naypyidaw are to be laid on. Fearing that the swelling of activity causes an electricity blackout, large generators have been brought in. Speaking to The Irrawaddy recently, an anonymous official said that if a power cut occurred during the opening or closing ceremonies, the loss of face would be so severe that the responsible officials and ministers would be fired.

Some US$6 million is being spent on security training for hotel staff, and CCTV security cameras are to be installed at all major hotels. A Filipino sports official had earlier expressed his concerns about the security situation following a series of bomb blasts in Rangoon and other parts of the country; however SEA Games Operations Committee Chairman Zaw Winn, who is also Burma's deputy minister of sports, told Channel News Asia that the Ministry of Home Affairs has made the necessary security arrangements for the event and that he "is not worried" about their ability to provide security for visitors.

ATMs are suddenly sprouting up in the capital, and to counter the current lack of telecommunications services, the government has announced it will hand out 30,000 free temporary SIM cards to athletes and trainers.

Local authorities are hoping that 1,000 taxis will be on the streets of Naypyidaw during the games to cater for the hundreds of thousands of spectators, tourists, athletes, officials and media who will descend en mass for those 11 days.

In total, the bill the Burmese government will pick up for the SEA Games is estimated to be in the region of 340 billion kyat (US$350 million).

Nonetheless, excitement levels are high and many Burmese are rightly proud to play host to this event. LED screens are to be installed in public areas around Naypyidaw so that non-paying spectators can enjoy the sporting feast, while a proposal to close schools to allow students and children to watch the games is presently being discussed.

The government is clearly determined to make the SEA Games a success and to use the event as a springboard ahead of Burma's assumption of the chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 2014.

President Thein Sein has urged all Burmese sportsmen and women to do their best and to win as many of the 1,557 medals as possible. Sports Minister Tint Hsan has set the Burmese team a goal of 100 gold medals. The last time Burma hosted the SEA Games in 1969, they won a record 57 golds.

Winning a gold medal in the men's football would be the highest aspiration of most Burmese sports fans. Burma's "dream team" of the 1960s, known as the White Angels, last won gold at the 1973 SEA Games in Singapore, after dominating the event for a decade with triumphs in 1965, 1967, 1969 and 1971.

"The football gold medal is very important," Deputy Sports Minister Thaung Htike told Singapore Today. "If we have no gold medals in other sports … but the men get gold in football, the whole nation will be happy."

The team finished third in 2011 but has been preparing well for this year's tournament with a tough pair of practice matches against high-ranking South Korea and Japan.

In last week's draw for the men's football, Burma was drawn against East Timor, Cambodia, and two of the competition's favourites, Thailand and Indonesia. All matches will take place at the Zayar Thiri Stadium in Naypyidaw and a feverish partisan atmosphere is eagerly anticipated.

But whether Burma emerges triumphant or not, most Burmese will settle for a well-organised and peaceful 11 days of sport, hoping that the TV exposure of the Golden Land to the rest of the region will bring some much-needed prestige to the country.

Burmese firms look to list on Singapore Exchange

Posted: 11 Nov 2013 07:57 PM PST

At Rangoon International Airport, large blue and white signs in the arrival and departure halls promote Singapore’s stock exchange as the go-to destination for Burmese businesses seeking capital.

The advertisements underscore Singapore’s nascent role as a magnet for Burma's companies eager to grow as their country emerges from decades of isolation but frustrated by its crippled banking system and barely existing financial markets.

Lawyers and financial advisors who work closely with Burmese firms say about six to 10 companies are considering a listing in Singapore over the next couple of years.

“Many Burmese business owners admire the reputation of Singapore Inc and look forward to raising their own prestige that comes with a Singapore listing,” said Kim Huat Chia, head of corporate & capital markets at Singapore law firm Rajah & Tann.

But hurdles to successful offerings are high.

Singapore’s bourse says while it has seen interest from Burmese companies, they will have to meet its corporate governance standards. For many businesses, that’s still quite a distant goal, lawyers and bankers said.

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That’s further complicated by several Burmese tycoons being on a U.S. sanction list, accused of making their fortunes by colluding with the former military junta, which was notorious for corruption and human rights abuses. While the European Union ended sanctions this year, the United States has only suspended them.

The potential for resistance from Burma's government, which is planning its own stock exchange, has also made some local businesses wary about tapping capital markets offshore.

To date, only one Burmese firm has managed to list in Singapore – Yoma Strategic Holdings Ltd, which listed in 2006 through a reverse takeover.

The property and car sales conglomerate led by tycoon Serge Pun now counts Capital Group, Aberdeen Asset Management and Vanguard among its top 10 shareholders and has seen its share price quadruple since early 2012 on investor interest in the hot frontier economy.

It’s only natural that other Burmese firms would want to follow suit.

“To this day in Burma, there’s no stock market, no bond market, no banking market to talk about. There are quite a few companies that are asset-rich but have no source of liquidity,” said Andrew Rickards, chief executive of Yoma.

“If it was smart to do an RTO (reverse takeover) in 2006 for Yoma, it’s absolutely necessary now for companies to have access to international markets.”

But if corporate Burma is drawn by Yoma’s example, it is also wary of what happened to Zaw Zaw, one of Burma's most powerful businessmen.

Singapore Exchange Ltd effectively rejected in April a proposed reverse takeover deal that would have seen Zaw Zaw inject his petrol kiosk business into bed linen retailer Aussino Group Ltd.

It said it was “unable to proceed with the review of the application as major issues have not been adequately resolved.” Among these concerns, it cited Zaw Zaw’s placement on the U.S. sanctions list and the lack of clarity as to why he was on it. Zaw Zaw could not be reached for comment.

Burma’s corporate landscape is dominated by about 20 large conglomerates, with the biggest ones estimated to employ as many as 30,000 people each.

For those and smaller Burmese companies seeking funds, bank loans are often hard to obtain, with urban land usually demanded as collateral and interest rates high, said Aung Thura, CEO of Rangoon-based research and capital markets firm Thura Swiss.

The country does have an over-the-counter bourse, the Myanmar Securities Exchange Centre (MSEC), but it has only two listed firms. When the stocks are traded, which is very rarely, payments are normally made in cash.

A few companies have gone public, but not on the MSEC. Instead they sell shares from their offices or even in public places, letting people know by taking a newspaper advertisement or just through word of mouth, Aung Thura said.

While Burma’s government is working to establish a stock exchange by 2015 with the help of Japan’s Daiwa Securities Group , many in Burmese business circles worry that the deadline may be pushed back. Still, going offshore may risk incurring the displeasure of the government.

A senior executive at a Burmese resources firm said several companies have been informally warned by authorities not to list in other markets such as Singapore. Burmese officials have denied issuing such warnings.

“We haven’t protested against any company concerning this and nor have we received any confirmed information about Burmese companies planning to be listed in Singapore,” said Aung Naing Oo, director general of the Directorate of Investment and Company Administration, part of the Ministry of National Planning and Economic Development.

For now, most Burmese firms are reluctant to be too forthcoming about fund raising plans, preferring to keep their options open, which may also include partnering with a strategic or private equity investor.

City Mart Holding Co Ltd, which runs Burma’s biggest supermarket chain, is considering a Singapore listing, but it is also weighing other alternatives, a company spokeswoman said.

Aung Zaw Naing, managing director of construction and hydropower conglomerate Shwe Taung Group of Companies, says his company’s plan “depends on the situation of the stock market that will emerge here soon.”

For investors keen on Burma's story, some of the first listings are likely to be Burma-focused firms that are part of an international group.

Mongolia-based Silk Road Finance is considering a Singapore listing within three years for Mandalay Capital, a unit that provides corporate and advisory services to Burmese firms and international investors, its chairman Alisher Ali told Reuters.

Singapore-listed engineering firm ISDN Holdings Ltd , which has joined hands with Tun Thwin Mining Co Ltd to build and run a coal-fired power plant in northwest Burma, said last month it may look at separate listings for its coal-related ventures in Burma.
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Monday, November 11, 2013

Democratic Voice of Burma

Democratic Voice of Burma

Tavoy farmers demand return of lands seized in 1990

Posted: 11 Nov 2013 05:09 AM PST

Local farmers in the Tenasserim division coastal town of Tavoy staged a protest on Monday morning demanding a return of farmlands confiscated by the military and associate companies in 1990, allegedly without the landowners' knowledge in many cases.

More than 100 farmers, supported by hundreds of other residents of Tavoy, officially known as Dawei, marched around the town chanting for the return of their lands, and demanding that they be allowed to register as landholders and that construction projects currently in progress on said lands are suspended.

"We are protesting because we want our land back," said Tavoy farmer Tun Tun Win. "I had about 14 acres of land confiscated, and altogether in Tavoy, there are around 300 acres of farmland confiscated from some 60 farmers."

Yi Yi Htay, another farmer, said she was joining the rally after an application to register her farmland had been rejected.

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"For decades we had been working on our land every day and had paid tax up to year 2011," she told DVB. "But when I applied to register the land under the nationwide land registration scheme in 2012, my application was rejected under the claim that the land in question was confiscated back in 1990.

"We never even knew about this land seizure back in 1990," she said.

Than Win, a spokesperson for the farmers, urged the authorities to negotiate.

"The concerned authorities should suspend construction projects on the land in dispute," he said. "They must also provide compensation to the landowners if buildings have already been completed, and allow them to register as the genuine holders of the land that has been left unused."

Than Win added that the farmers will continue protesting until their demands are met.

However, according to Kyaw Swe, the Tavoy district government administrative director, the government authorities have already provided compensation for the confiscated plots of land.

"The authorities already paid compensation," he said. "A 40 x 60ft plot was valued at 10 million kyat [US$10,000] when the land was confiscated, and this money was paid to about 30 farmers. Now there are just 24 remaining to be accept the offer. We can compensate them in accordance with the new Land Law adopted in August 2012."

He added that when the land was seized in 1990, none of the framers made any complaint.

Monday's protest originated from a confrontation at the end of October when officials ordered fences built around several farms in Tavoy's Sanche ward and started dumping soil on the farmers' rice fields which at the time were waiting to be harvested.

There are around 40,000 acres of farmland and more than 3,000 farmers in Tavoy township.

Land prices in the area have greatly escalated as plans continue for the construction of a special economic zone (SEZ) featuring factories, power stations and a sea-port in Tavoy, backed by the Thai and Burmese governments. The SEZ will include a highway linking Tavoy to Bangkok.

Electric Power Minister promises to review price hike

Posted: 11 Nov 2013 04:24 AM PST

Speaking at a meeting with political parties at the Myanmar Peace Centre in Rangoon on Sunday, Burma's Minister of Electric Power Khin Maung Soe apologised to the public for the recent increase in electricity prices and promised that the decision would be reviewed in parliament.

"I would like to extend my apologies for my shortcomings," he said. "We will listen to the people's voice and undertake procedures in accordance with suggestions by the union parliament. We urge political parties to point out our ministry's shortcomings and oversights, and recommend what needs be done."

His comments came after demonstrations and candlelit vigils against the increased electricity costs were held in Rangoon and Mandalay.

State media reported on Saturday that the Ministry of Electric Power would raise the issue of electricity rates in parliament. According to The New Light of Myanmar, Aye Mauk, the secretary of the Planning and Financial Development Committee, submitted an urgent proposal calling on the Union Government to review the Ministry of Electric Power's announcement that November's household electricity rates will increase by about double for every unit used over 100 kilowatts.

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The current rate for supplying electricity to households across Burma stands at 25 kyat per unit. According to the ministry's proposed hike, it is set to increase to 35 kyat per unit, and house owners who use more than 100 units will be charged 50 kyat per unit.

For commercial usage, the current rate is 75 kyat per unit, but is set to increase to 100 kyat, and 150 kyat per unit for businesses using more than 5,000 units per month.

Speaking at a Fisheries Association meeting on 5 November, Toe Nandar Tin, a cold storage factory operator, said that fishery companies would have to suspend cold storage operations if the electricity rates are increased. She said that her commercial electricity bill, previously fluctuating around 4 million kyat (US$4,000) per month, will jump to around $8 million if the price hike goes ahead. She warned that factories may be forced to close down and many jobs would be lost.

Asia Myanmar iron smelter Aung Myo also warned that Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) would be seriously affected.

"Doubling fees from 75 kyat to 150 kyat will be implausible for SME operators as we simply cannot afford to double the price of our products," he said.

Meanwhile, it was announced last week that the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has offered Burma a cheap long-term loan of $60 million to reduce the power losses it suffers through operating antiquated and dilapidated transmission equipment.

Minister Khin Maung Soe admitted that up to 18 percent of electricity is lost during transmission, The Myanmar Times reported.

The bank loan recommended by the ADB will be used to build new power transmission infrastructure in areas outside Rangoon and Mandalay, which should lead to a significant reduction in electricity losses, Khin Maung Soe said, adding that the loan would be repaid over 24 years at 1.5 percent interest.

Burma has an overall electricity generation capacity of only 4,000 megawatts, compared with 30,000 megawatts in neighbouring Thailand, which has a similar sized population.

Much of the electricity distribution network is confined to a corridor between Rangoon and Mandalay.

Just 7 percent of all rural villages in Burma – a little more than 4,700 of nearly 65,000 small towns and village tracts across the country – are able to enjoy a supply of electricity from the national power grid. Nearly 13,000 villages, around 20 percent of the total number, attain electrical power from generators while some 21,000 are powered up by mini-hydropower, solar and biogas generators.

Beer battle brewing in Burma

Posted: 11 Nov 2013 04:11 AM PST

A legal dispute between a Thai-owned conglomerate and its military-linked local partner over Myanmar Brewery Ltd is shaping up as a crucial test for foreign investment in Burma, also known as Myanmar.

The Myanmar Brewery partners of nearly two decades began feuding after the takeover of the Singapore conglomerate Fraser & Neave (F&N) this year by companies controlled by Thailand's richest man, Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi.

Although information about the confidential arbitration is scarce, analysts say the case is centred on an assertion by Union of Myanmar Economic Holdings (UMEHL), the military's investment arm, that it should have been given an option to buy F&N's 55 percent stake in Myanmar Brewery before the deal with Mr Charoen's Thai Beverage Plc went ahead.

F&N released a statement shortly after receiving the arbitration notice in August that it would "vigorously resist" claims that it broke the terms of the joint-venture agreement.

While Myanmar Brewery does not publish separate financial results, the Internal Revenue Department listed it as the country's largest commercial taxpayer for the 2012-13 financial year.

Foreign investors will be keeping a close eye on the dispute: if the arbitration is seen to be handled unfairly, many will likely reconsider investing in Southeast Asia's last frontier market, where joint ventures with a local partner are compulsory across many sectors.

"Partnering up with a military investment vehicle such as UMEHL is a double-edged sword. Of course, having UMEHL on your side means having easier access to permits, land and so forth — but it also leaves [a foreign company] vulnerable in case of disputes," said an analyst who spoke to on condition of anonymity.

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However, the analyst said that the heavy attention the case has attracted internationally could be a game changer in a country where lack of transparency and impunity have been the norm for decades.

"Suddenly there is more international attention on the case than I think UMEHL would have wanted," the analyst said.

"It is shaping up to become a litmus test of the regime's commitment to the rule of law, so perhaps UMEHL won't be able to trump [its opponent] through their will as they would have in the past."

Not every joint venture in Burma is fated to end acrimoniously; however a high degree of caution is necessary, particularly as Burmese waters are largely untested.

"I wouldn't say that you shouldn't do joint ventures in Myanmar, but this case highlights the need to do your homework properly and know who you are going to bed with," the analyst said.

In any case, Myanmar Brewery has other concerns at the moment, including increased competition.

Mr Charoen's former business partner, Carlsberg of Denmark, held an opening ceremony for its second largest expansion programme in Asia on Oct 21, when it opened a factory in Pegu [Bago].

Myanmar Carlsberg Co Ltd is a joint venture between the Carlsberg Group and the country's top selling beverage company, Myanmar Golden Star (MGS).

According to Myanmar Carlsberg managing director Daniel Sjogren, the factory will create more than 500 jobs on the 54-acre site that is less than 90 minutes away from Rangoon [Yangon]. Pegu will also become home to a major new international airport in 2016.

"The potential for growth in the beer market in Myanmar is promising. It has one of the lowest beer per capita consumption rates in Asia, with only four litres per person in a country with a population of more than 60 million," said Thant Zin Tun, a board director of Myanmar Carlsberg.

But the consumption of beer is still limited and people in Burma are more accustomed to drinking cheaper whiskey than beer, which ends up costing more.

"Most people prefer whiskey, because it's much cheaper than beer. However we would expect to see beer consumption increase as incomes rise in the next few years," Marita Schimpl, head of marketing research at Myanmar Survey Research told the Bangkok Post.

Burma has a host of low-end, low-cost rums and whiskeys available on the market. According to May Lwin Oo deputy general manager of Victory Myanmar Group, which owns Mandalay Rum, a product that boasts a 75 percent market share of rums and whiskey and sells more than 15 million litres a year, "Sales figures [of Mandalay Rum] have not been affected by any increase in beer consumption."

In addition to the lifting of most sanctions imposed by the US and EU, Burma's beer market has also seemingly overcome another major stumbling block for investors: illegal imports.

According to Thailand's Tak Chamber of Commerce, monthly imports from Thailand to Burma through Mae Sot were estimated at 3 billion baht (US$100 million). Others said this figure was conservative.

A transport network used to bring beer from Thai border points to a warehouse in Rangoon. The warehouse, which employs four workers on a commission basis, then sold the beer to outdoor pubs and shops, often at a lower price than for local beers such as Myanmar Beer.

"When I reached Myawaddy I'd make a call to Myanmar nationals living in Mae Sot, and 30 minutes later the beer would arrive," says driver Phoe Nge.

Phoe Nge usually transported 700 cases of beer during the four-day round trips.

"I never paid tax on beer during the military government's regime — I just paid a bit of money under the table. It wasn't problem," he shrugged. But this new government says, 'You can bring in beer, but you have to pay tax on it.' The government is bringing in containers of beer and it's cheaper than I can get it for now."

In September 2012, Phoe Nge made his last trip ferrying beer as his warehouse boss switched to the electronics trade.

One gate is manned by the Democratic Karen Buddhist Army (DKBA), who Phoe Nge said do not ask for tax. However the Shan rebels demand a payment of half the government's rate of tax.

"But it's very dangerous to go along these side roads — I could get shot," he said.

Jessica Mudditt is a freelance reporter based in Rangoon.

Read more from her at: www.jessicamudditt.com

This article was first published in the Bangkok Post on 11 November 2013.

Release of political prisoners discussed in Rangoon

Posted: 11 Nov 2013 04:01 AM PST

The Burmese government held a meeting with leaders from different political parties on Sunday to discuss plans to release all remaining political prisoners in Burma, state media reports.

President's office ministers Aung Min and Soe Thane raised the matter at a meeting with dozens of parliamentarians in Rangoon, according to the New Light of Myanmar.

"The government is making strenuous efforts for [the] release of the remaining political prisoners in cooperation with political parties and civil society organisations," said the paper.

A follow-up meeting is reportedly scheduled for December.

It follows a pledge made by President Thein Sein in July that all political prisoners would be freed by the end of the year.

Thein Sein, who took the reins of a nominally-civilian government in 2011, has already released hundreds of political prisoners – many of whom were arbitrarily arrested for their pro-democracy activities during junta rule.

In February, the government formed a multi-stakeholder committee tasked with identifying and releasing all remaining political prisoners in Burma, but its members have complained that the process lacks transparency and fairness.

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All prisoners are currently being released on "conditions" – meaning that if they are deemed to have violated any part of their parole they could be sent back to jail.

Thein Sein has also insisted that only "genuine" prisoners may be considered for release, creating difficulties for many ethnic minority rebels allegedly prosecuted for their role in violent or "terrorist" activities.

"The prisoners must be real political prisoners. Then, we will present the list of them to the president," reportedly said Soe Thane at Sunday's meeting.

It follows media reports that the government is looking to release a fresh set of inmates in the coming weeks.

"The president has said several times that there wouldn't be any political prisoners in the country by the end of this year, so we can expect their release any time," said Nyan Win, opposition party member, according to The Irrawaddy last week.

Over 70 inmates were released in July, followed by another 53 in October – mostly members from ethnic armed groups, with which the government is seeking to secure a nationwide ceasefire deal.

But some 150 political prisoners are estimated to remain behind bars in Burma, according to activists. Human rights groups also warn that dozens of new prisoners of conscience – including land rights activists – continue to be incarcerated despite the government's talk of reform.

Over 99 percent of Rangoonites support amending the constitution, says NLD

Posted: 10 Nov 2013 11:32 PM PST

More than 99 percent of 20,000 Rangoon voters who participated in the National League for Democracy's (NLD's) recent opinion poll on constitutional reform said they are in favour of amending the constitution, the Burmese opposition party announced on Sunday.

According to the NLD, only 120 of people who took part in the survey across the region of Rangoon division said they favoured rewriting the constitution from scratch.

The NLD, led by Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, said it began conducting opinion polls in various regions across the country in October and that the road tour included speeches and seminars aimed at educating the public about the pros and cons of the 2008 constitution. Leading NLD officials Tin Oo and lawyers Ko Ni and Kyaw Ho headed the delegation.

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Tin Oo reportedly addressed crowds in many cities where he said that the 2008 constitution was "flawed" and that the NLD had objected to it since it has been drafted.

The NLD said it aims to present its findings to the parliamentary Joint Committee for Reviewing the Constitution of the Republic of the Union of Burma in mid-December.

The joint-committee previously set a deadline of 15 November to submit recommendations but recently announced it had extended the date until 31 December.
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Sunday, November 10, 2013

Democratic Voice of Burma

Democratic Voice of Burma

Royal descent – the humble remains of the Thibaw dynasty

Posted: 09 Nov 2013 11:02 PM PST

In a modest Rangoon apartment, the granddaughter of Burma’s last king lives poor and unrecognised by her neighbours – a far cry from the power and riches of her ancestor.

Princess Hteik Su PhayaGyi said the childhood days when her family had a bevy of servants and retained some of its royal status were now a distant memory.

The British colonial regime dethroned her grandfather King Thibaw in 1885 and later the military junta, which ruled the country for decades, kept the family out of the public eye.

“They didn’t want us to be somebody,” said the silver-haired princess, swathed in a shimmering purple shawl worn especially for the rare interview.

“I have lived as an ordinary person for 60 years,” she told AFP.

“Of course I repent a little over the glorious times that we had when we were young,” she said, displaying a lively wit undimmed by her 90 years.

The demolition of the monarchy, at the end of the third and final war that brought the nation firmly under the colonial yoke, smashed centuries of royal rule in the country.

Thibaw and his wife, Queen Supayalat, were swiftly and unceremoniously removed from Burma and deposited in the small Indian seaside town of Ratnagiri.

Thibaw died in India aged 56 in 1916, shortly after suffering a heart attack, and the family eventually fractured.

Some settled in India while others made their lives in Burma, which remained part of the British empire until 1948 and came under junta rule in 1962.

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A cloak of silence was thrown over the monarchy by successive Burmese regimes that viewed it as a potential rival, while army leaders sought to evoke much earlier warrior royals.

“Most of Myanmar [Burma] has forgotten about the king,” said deputy culture minister and royal historian Than Swe, who has spearheaded a campaign to return Thibaw’s body to Burma.

A visit by President Thein Sein to Thibaw’s tomb in Ratnagiri during an official trip to India last December reignited interest in Burma’s monarchy.

But Than Swe said Burma’s government had more immediate priorities, such as the sweeping reforms implemented since junta rule ended in 2011.

Queen Suphayalat’s tomb in Rangoon is barely marked. When the family tried to place a simple sign there to inform visitors of the pedigree of the occupant, the former junta immediately removed it.

Thibaw was born into a courtly lifestyle steeped in incredible luxury and his fall was bewilderingly sudden.

The royals lived a lavish and isolated existence within the walls of their gilded teak palace in Mandalay. They could only be approached by people crawling on their knees.

“This man was a demi-god in Burma. He was worshipped by his people,” said Sudha Shah, author of “The King in Exile: The Fall of the Royal Family of Burma“.

“Suddenly he was controlled like a puppet on a string by the British.”

The British wanted Thibaw off the throne to appease business and Christian missionary interests in the country, Shah said.

They opted for complete destruction of the monarchy, partly due to fierce resistance to their incursion which saw the country flooded with British forces.

There were also doubts over finding a pliant royal heir that the British could rule through – Thibaw and his queen notoriously executed dozens of potential rivals for the throne.

Restitution of the royal line was vaguely considered as Burma entered independence.

But one episode when the military tried to enlist the royal family to help it counter communist insurgents ended the generals’ enthusiasm for the monarchy, Shah said.

Local people thronged to catch a glimpse of the family and women knelt and spread their hair on the ground for the family to walk on.

“So taken aback were the generals by the depth of public sentiment demonstrated for the royal family, that they no longer involved the family in any further campaigns,” Shah said.

The family had a brief period of public activity when the princess and her siblings set up the “Miss Burma” beauty contest – she was in charge of catwalk training.

The eldest brother, Prince Taw PhayaGyi, also became involved in the Olympics before he was assassinated by insurgents in 1948.

Princess Hteik Su PhayaGyi and her younger brother Prince Taw Phaya, the 89-year-old potential heir of the Konbaung dynasty, are the only surviving grandchildren.

The royals, refusing the small allowance offered after the British left, were forced to make their own way in the world.

The princess used the impeccable English she learned as a child studying in a Catholic school in the southern city of Moulmein [Mawlamyine] to land positions at both the Australian and US embassies before settling as a teacher – a job she still does today.

But a family quarrel in the late 1990s saw her lose her inherited home and end up living “in a hut”.

“During the rain the water was up to here,” she said indicating knee-deep flooding. “The snakes come into the house. And leeches.”

She now lives with her daughter, who works at a burial association, and said none of her six children, 20 grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren showed an interest in reviving the royal line.

She is “grateful” that Thein Sein took the time to visit Ratnagiri but believes her grandfather should not be moved.

Several members of the family scraped together the money to travel to India in the early 1990s – her only visit to her grandparents’ home in exile.

She recounted her own mother’s stories of the queen standing on a balcony overlooking the Arabian Sea and weeping for her homeland.

“When I went there I looked up at that little veranda and the sun was setting. So I said ‘Oh my grandmother must have felt the same’, and I had tears in my eyes.”

The Lady doth protest too seldom

Posted: 09 Nov 2013 10:45 PM PST

In July last year, shortly after the first wave of violence which engulfed Arakan state had taken place, U Win Tin, the co-founder of the National League for democracy (NLD) and perhaps its most influential figure after Aung San Suu Kyi, told me during an interview at his house in Rangoon that "the problem is these Rohingya foreigners. We have to contain them one way or another, something like what happened in the United States during World War II with the Japanese. The US government contained them in camps and after the war they were sent to Japan or they could apply for citizenship. We can solve this problem that way."

The venerated 84-year-old former journalist – considered by many a voice of conscience among the pro-democratic opposition in Burma – said at another point in the conversation: "They [the Rohingyas] want to claim the land; they want to claim to be native. This is not right, that is the problem. But, of course, they have a lot of contact with foreign countries like those in the Middle East, Muslim communities, Indonesia, Malaysia; and this Muslim problem is really great, even all over the world – the problem is too big."

The iconic Aung San Suu Kyi has always been less outspoken than Win Tin. But in a recent interview with the BBC she expressed ideas very similar to his, albeit in a characteristically indirect manner. After denying that what is going in Arakan state is an ethnic cleansing, she said that "the reaction of Buddhists is also based on fear," before adding: "I think you will accept that there's a perception that global Muslim power is very great, certainly that is a perception in many parts of the world and in our country too."

She did not make the slightest attempt to deny the validity of such a "perception". So, if silence is often as eloquent as words, it would not be unfair to infer that she shares it, as Win Tin unmistakably does.

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Many people from abroad who have supported the NLD and the pro-democracy camp at large for many years, even among those who are advocating for the downtrodden Rohingya, seem to be reluctant to admit something that by now should be clear to any clear-eyed observer: when it comes to the crisis in Arakan state, the government and most of the opposition, including the NLD and the 88 Generation, are on the same page. Maybe Myo Yan Neung Thein, a known activist since the student protests in 1996 and founder of the Bayda Institute in Rangoon, was not off the point when he told me last year: "The military, Aung San Suu Kyi, the 88 generation students and the politicians, we all share the same opinion about national identity."

The opening process initiated two years ago in Burma is offering some hope that the country might change for the first time in five decades. But the transition is also putting into full view some ugly truths about the political realities of the country that the narrative of "good" (the democratic opposition and its supporters abroad) versus "bad" (the Burmese regime and its backers abroad, particularly China) had obscured before.

The first, and admittedly the less surprising of all, is that the human rights approach of the so-called international community – with the United States and the European Union at its head – was as easy to discard as the Burmese generals' uniforms who adopted civilian garb to establish a not-so-civilian government two years ago.

For years, these countries put pressure with sanctions on the Burmese dictatorship due to its appalling human rights record. Admittedly, it was not a risky strategy, as Burma was considered of only secondary strategic importance. The geopolitical great game was played elsewhere and it was easy to adopt a "principled approach". Now that China is getting too powerful, the US and the EU need to find allies in the region and the ex-generals in Naypyidaw are as good as any other.

It doesn't matter that the Burmese government did not reach any of the benchmarks that the EU set to remove sanctions. Last year the EU did exactly that. Apart from the always open debate on the effectiveness of sanctions, this move could only encourage the Burmese regime's sense of impunity. Meanwhile, every world leader, Obama included, seems to be eager to exonerate the Burmese government of any responsibility on the ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya in Arakan state and the wave of anti-Muslim violence elsewhere in the country, labeling it as only "sectarian violence".

There are two other two ugly truths that are closely linked and are more of a blow to Burma watchers. The first one is that many in the pro-democracy movement have proved easier to co-opt by the government than would be expected after many years of struggle, starting with Aung San Suu Kyi herself. She has defended the corrupt cronies who have made millions out of a rotten system and even accepted presents from them. The second is that the most prominent leaders in the democracy camp and the generals have many more points in common than was immediately recognisable in former times.

Aung San Suu Kyi and the NLD never had a coherent set of policies, a program or even a clear ideology. She has never spelt out a comprehensive political philosophy or strategy beyond some vagaries about the need for a "revolution of the spirit", the goals of democracy, human rights or, more recently, the need for "rule of law" in the country, without putting much flesh and bones into these concepts. Paradoxically, this very same vagueness played in Suu Kyi's favour during her years of house arrest, as it leaves room for her listeners to read in her words whatever they want to read, regardless of their political leanings. Nonetheless, and although the politics of Aung San Suu Kyi are somewhat of a mystery in details, it is possible to see some of her attitudes and her party's in general terms.

Broadly speaking, the most crucial issues that Burma faces today and in the future are fourfold: national identity; the organization of the state; a model for economic development; and its government.

Regarding the first, as we have seen, during the last two years it has become clear that the NLD, the 88 Generation, and most of the opposition share the same ideas of nationhood as the generals in Naypyidaw. It is not a looking-forward, all-inclusive and purely civic concept of nationalism able to transcend religion, race or ethnicity, where national allegiance is based on participation in public life. On the contrary, national identity in Burma, as legally enshrined in the infamous 1982 Citizenship Law, is based on an ethno-nationalism rooted in soil and blood which looks to a largely invented past for its foundations and where only the members of a limited set of ethnic groups are considered truly Burmese.

This ethno-nationalism is more likely to lead to a sort of "ethnocracy" than to a real democracy. And it is important to remember that it has led to catastrophic outcomes in many other places (the former Yugoslavia, Rwanda, Nazi Germany …), and it is particularly dangerous in a country with as much diversity as Burma.

The issue of the organisation of the state pertains mainly to the autonomy of the ethnic minorities that comprise roughly 40 percent of the population and who inhabit most of the outlying areas of the country, some of whom have been fighting for some sort of autonomy since Burma's independence in 1948. To be fair, when Aung San Suu Kyi was released she called for a second Panglong Conference to try to sort out the issue, but later she has mostly maintained a deafening silence on the issue.

As I have argued previously, Suu Kyi has shown little empathy with the ethnic minorities and little understanding of the problems. As in other issues, she and her party have not explained a policy for accommodating the ethnic minorities' demands for greater autonomy and have always given more precedence to the struggle for democracy than to this thorny issue, as if both questions could be separated. Moreover, there is an all-too-common perception among the ethnic minorities that "The Lady" only cares about the plight of the Bamar majority, a perception which has been reinforced by her refusal to defend the tens of thousands of civilians displaced in Kachin state.

When it comes to economic policies, Aung San Suu Kyi has not gone beyond advocating transparency, the need to introduce measures to reduce poverty, again without much further explanation, and repeating her mantra about the need for rule of law.

The fact that Burma is opening its economy and has the possibility of growing economically does not mean that the huge economic inequalities which affect the country will be solved automatically – on the contrary, if the experiences of other countries are to serve as example. But the democratic opposition and the government have not come out with any plan to avoid a widening of the gap between rich and poor.

The ethnic divisions that afflict the country have somewhat obscured its class differences, very conveniently for those at the top, but these divisions are not less real for being overlooked. In any case, the NLD can hardly be regarded as a party devoted to defend the masses of working poor Burmese citizens, and Aung San Suu Kyi left this quite clear when she advocated the continuing of the huge copper mine project in Latpadaung, even against the interests of the farmers evicted from lands they had been cultivating for generations.

The biggest divergences between the NLD and the government are to be found in the form of government. Suu Kyi has said many times that is necessary to change the constitution and that is necessary to reduce the power of the military to have a real democracy in Burma. But she also said recently in the United Kingdom that "the army must be the foundation of the country", a statement that, to be entirely fair, might be due more to political strategy than to any inner conviction, given her commitment to ingrain herself with the military generals.

Since she was released from house arrest, Suu Kyi has been far more engaged in playing politics in the opaque corridors of power in Naypyidaw and making tours abroad than trying to listen to the Burmese public at large, whose support she and the NLD seem to take for granted. Even Win Tin has criticized this aloofness from the public and it is increasingly easier to find Burmese saying that she is not close enough to the people.

It is possible that Suu Kyi is playing a dangerous game and that it could be risky to be too confrontational with the generals, as some argue. And it goes without saying that she is right when she demands a change in the institutions of government. However, her obsession to work at the top means neglecting another crucial part of a healthy democracy: the participation of citizens in the political process. She and the pro-democracy opposition at large are basically playing by the rules of the government, seemingly too scared to infuriate the beast, and are missing the opportunity to build a strong grassroots movement that could serve as a counterweight of the powerful military. The result is that they are leaving the former dictators to build the new "democracy" almost completely on their own.

Even though she has admitted openly her ambition to hold presidential power in the future, Suu Kyi's political vision for the country remains as hazy as ever. She won her seat in parliament by a landslide without a clear political platform, and her party has yet to publish any program. To date, no NLD MP has made a single proposal in parliament.

It is legitimate to ask whether The Lady and her party consider that their merits lie with her huge charisma and in past sacrifices, having won a general election 23 years ago, instead of aimed at a specific project for the country.

Burma is only at the early stages of an uncertain political process of change. It remains to be seen whether the opening of the country started two years ago will lead to a real democracy. For that to materialise, it is not only necessary to introduce changes to the constitution, the laws and the institutions of the state in order to create a framework where different ideas and political positions can compete peacefully, but there must also emerge a strong political movement capable of challenging both the power and the ideological hegemony of the military, and which can articulate an all-inclusive and progressive vision for the country by listening and responding to the legitimate demands of all Burmese citizens. Given the performance of Suu Kyi, the NLD and the main figures in the pro-democracy camp, all indications are that such a movement has not yet arrived.

Carlos Sardiña Galache is a freelance journalist based in Bangkok.

The views and opinions expressed in this article are the author's and do not reflect DVB editorial policy.
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Saturday, November 9, 2013

Democratic Voice of Burma

Democratic Voice of Burma

Business Weekly

Posted: 09 Nov 2013 04:25 AM PST

 

Ups and downs

Official exchange counters in Rangoon were offering 967 kyat to the US dollar and selling kyat at 975, marginally higher than street vendors who are buying at 966 and selling at 974.

Gold is selling this week at 684,500 kyat per tical, down from last week's value of between 687,900 and 690,000 kyat. Fuel prices remain the same for the fourth week in a row; rice prices also stay constant.

 

Foreign investment hits all-time high

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Burma has reached more than US$1.6 billion for the first six months of the 2013-14 fiscal year – already topping the total value of $1.4 billion recorded the previous year, according to the Directorate of Investment and Company Administration (DICA). Some 40,000 jobs have been created by this year's foreign investment, which included launches by multinational companies Heineken Beer and Nissan Motors among 57 foreign firms. DICA data shows the majority of FDI was in the garment sector, followed by food products, manufacturing and tourism.

 

Hyundai revs up for Burma

Hyundai Motor Co aims to raise its market share in Burma to over 15 percent in the next three or four years, basking in the huge popularity of South Korean culture, said the sole dealer for the automaker in the country, Kolao Holdings, this week. Hyundai reportedly plans to open 14 dealerships in Burma by 2014 – it launched its first in Rangoon in August. Vehicle models to be sold in Burma will be expanded from the Starex and Porter to include compact cars such as the Hyundai Accent.

 

Rice exports cannot top last year's record high

Burma's rice exports during April– October 2013 stand at around 450,000 tons, substantially less than the 730,000 tons exported during the same period in the fiscal year 2012-13, according to local sources. In FY 2012-13, Burma exported a record 2.1 million tons of rice, up about 40 percent from the targeted 1.5 million tons. The country is targeting exports of around 1.5 million tons of rice again in FY 2013-14, however, local sources say that it is unlikely the export target will be met this year. Burma's rice exports surged last year mainly due to a good crop and low prices. However, rice crops this year were adversely affected by weather disturbances and higher prices. Moreover, Chinese importers have turned to Thailand and Vietnam for better quality rice after both countries lowered prices.

Read more: http://www.oryza.com/news/rice-news/myanmar-exports-450000-tons-april-october-2013-down-38-last-year#sthash.6TqpdJfN.dpuf

 

Seven percent of rural villages connected to national grid

Just 7 percent of all rural villages in Burma – a little more than 4,700 of nearly 65,000 small towns and village tracts across the country – are able to enjoy a supply of electricity from the national power grid. Nearly 13,000 villages, around 20 percent of the total number, attain electrical power from generators while some 21,000 are powered up by mini-hydropower, solar and biogas generators. The Burmese government is currently receiving assistance from China, South Korea and the Asian Development Bank in a bid to widen coverage across the country.

 

Bridge over troubled motors

A 17 billion kyat (US$17.5 million) budget has been appropriated by the Rangoon divisional government to construct an overpass at the Myaynigone junction in Rangoon's Sanchaung township in 2014-15. The plan must be approved in parliament before it is finalised. The measure to relieve the city's exasperating traffic woes follows hot on the heels of the construction of flyovers at Hledan junction (14 billion kyat); the 21 billion kyat Bayintnaung double-flyover; and the13 billion kyat Shwegondaing overpass which is due to open at the end of November.

 

Indonesia unveils power plans for Burma

Indonesia's state-owned coal mining firm PT Tambang Batubara Bukit Asam plans to build steam power plants worth US$900 million in Burma in the next few years and has invited a local partner to work on the project, reported Investor Daily, quoting the firm’s finance director Achmad Sudarto. The Indonesian company will first build a 2×100 megawatt power plant worth between $350 million and $450 million, the report said, though the location was not disclosed.

 

Paying with plastic

MasterCard's debut ATM card in Burma has attracted nearly 4,000 customers within its first month, according to Kyaw Lin, the CEO of Cooperative Bank (CB Bank), MasterCard's local partner. The "Easi Travel MasterCard" was launched on 8 October and can be used for cash withdrawals at ATMs in 210 countries worldwide, The Voice reported. Within Burma it can be used for purchases online, and at restaurants, hotels and other outlets which accept MasterCard.

 

PETRONAS promises social, environmental assistance

PETRONAS, Malaysia's state-owned energy giant which recently won offshore energy blocks in Burmese waters after a competitive tender bidding process, has announced that it will spend around US$1 million on environmental conservation and social assistance programmes in Burma. Othman Awang Jaya, a senior official for the firm, said at a Rangoon press conference on 5 November that PETRONAS, despite being an extractive enterprise, will assist with local education and social welfare, as well as environmental and forest conservation projects.

 

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Underground bands battle to break into Burma’s music industry

Posted: 09 Nov 2013 04:12 AM PST

In Burma, it's hard for underground bands to break into the music industry. Few people have Internet access, and producers are reluctant to promote them if they're uncertain of success.

But after living with censorship for 60 years, many young people are now forming music groups and are expressing their opinions at the political and economic situation in the country.

Zaw Htet went to hang out with a few underground bands that are trying to break into the Burma music industry.

Fever 109 is a metal band that was formed 5 years ago by a group of friends. They meet regularly in their studio to play but want to make it big so they can work full time doing what they love.

"To set up a group is not easy, it takes a lot of time", said guitarist Si Thu. "Money is the biggest problem. We need someone who can help arrange the shows."

He thinks there should be organised music shows every three or four months. That way the underground bands would get promoted and the audience would grow.

The hard work has paid off and Fever 109 are finally about to produce their debut album.

"We hope to produce the album this year", said vocalist Adino. "But it is late for many reasons. We eat and drink together here and have so much fun, that's why it took time. Just kidding, we will try to get it out next year."

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Alternative bands have trouble getting signed in Burma. Mainstream pop music is more in demand and therefore more profitable.

"Producers will look for profit. They choose the music that will be popular. So we need a producer that loves our kind of music", said Si Thu.

Another problem is the market is flooded with illegal pirated CDs. As soon as a new song is released, illegal copies pop up everywhere – and it's the musicians who miss out on the profit.

According to Si Thu, the pirated copies put off the producers from working with unknown bands since they don't think they will make any profit. At the same time, some bands suspect the producers themselves sell illegal copies of the CD's they promote to make even more money.

But Fever 109 say they're not interested in becoming rich and famous – they just want to do what they love – making metal music.

"We like what we do", said Adino. "If we do what we really like, people will get to know you at some point… I believe that if underground bands work together, we will succeed.

West Coast City is an R&B/hip hop band, also from Rangoon. They've just released their debut album, but it took 6 years to get it out.

"We tried to find a producer, but we had no money", said one of the band members.

"Our colleagues try very hard. But the market here is not very strong yet", said another.

But despite the struggle, West Coast City's band members are positive and think the future looks good.

"The main point is to keep trying. You need to keep focused."

Though it is hard for underground bands to make a profit from their music in Burma, there are now so many more groups emerging. And these eager musicians have high hopes of succeeding.
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Friday, November 8, 2013

Democratic Voice of Burma

Democratic Voice of Burma

DVB Debate: Burmacare – developing the healthcare system in Burma

Posted: 08 Nov 2013 04:03 AM PST

This week's DVB Debate raises the issue of public healthcare in Burma.

On the panel this week are: retired director of the Ministry of Health, Dr. Khin Maung Lwin; former World Health Organization consultant Prof. Myint Myint Khin; and from Pun Hlaing hospital, Prof. Myint Maung Maung. Special guests include Medical coordinator for Medecins Sans Frontieres, Dr. Khin Nyein Chan; director of the Traditional Medicine Department from the Ministry of Health, Kyaw Soe; and Australian emergency services specialist, Dr. Antony Chenhall.

"The leaders of this country have never thought about the future of the country before. They need to start planning ahead if things are to improve," said retired medical professor Myint Myint Khin to applause of approval.

Prof. Myint Maung Maung agreed: "As long as the death of mothers, infants and children continues at a high rate, then this signifies low development in public healthcare."

Myint Myint Khin said that it's up to the Ministry of Health to educate people about healthcare. Khin Maung Lwin agreed they need to improve people's knowledge about self-care and hygiene, but said that even though the government has increased the budget for education with regard to health, it's still too low.

"There has been some progress, but much more needs to be done within the government's health program”, said  Dr. Khin Maung Lwin. “The budget is $14 a year per person according to the government's data, but actually it is even less than that.”

Education is made harder by advertisements for medicines such as liver pills, which imply to customers that they can binge drink and still be healthy. Also, there are quacks and charlatans who claim to have traditional medicines that can cure HIV, causing sick people to spend all their money on useless potions.

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Audience member Aung Myat Thu spoke of the time he was injured in a car accident. He is now permanently disabled after waiting at a hospital for several days without treatment because he could not provide payment on the spot. Special guest Dr. Anthony Chenhall from Australia emphasized the need for proper emergency care.

"The case with the gentleman with the injured foot I think really speaks to a lot of the problems”, he said. “I'm not sure of how he got from the accident site to the hospital, but I know there are no functioning emergency ambulance services – when you arrive at the hospital, there is really not a functioning emergency department, I heard it's more difficult if you don't come with a family member."

To sum up, Myint Myint Maung stressed that not only do the emergency cases need attention, but that general practitioners and after-care service are also very important matters.

"Duties of family doctors; providing referrals and aftercare to follow up treatment by specialists, are also very important. So in regard to their role – in today's discussion and redeveloping the healthcare system – while there are necessities for pretty much everything, the most important things are; the government's commitment and implementation, and to commission family doctors; who are known as ‘general practitioners’ or ‘primary physicians’.

Despite different perspectives, the panelists generally agreed that the problem is not the quality of the care itself, but the lack of an implemented plan on the part of the government.

Next week, DVB Debate discusses the Burmese economy.

You can join the debate and watch the full programme in Burmese at www.dvbdebate.com

Or share your views with us by commenting on our website at www.dvb.no

Burma fuelling ‘record high’ meth seizures in Asia: UN

Posted: 08 Nov 2013 01:16 AM PST

Burma continues to be the primary source of methamphetamine type stimulants (ATS) in East and Southeast Asia, contributing to record high seizures in 2012, the UN said on Friday.

In its annual report of methamphetamine-based substances, the UN Office for Drugs and Crime noted that drug seizures in Burma had more than tripled to 18 million pills since 2011.

It is the fifth consecutive year that meth seizures have increased in the region, reaching 227 million pills in total or a seven-fold increase since 2008.

Most of Burma's drugs are believed to be produced in eastern Shan state, including the Kokang special region which has long been associated with the methamphetamine and heroin trade.

"Myanmar [Burma] continues to be a major source of methamphetamine pills, crystalline methamphetamine, opium and heroin in Southeast Asia," said the report. "Significant amounts of methamphetamine originating from Myanmar continue to be seized in neighbouring countries."

Around 90 percent of the meth seized in Thailand came from Burma, even though the Burmese government dismantled its first-ever meth laboratories in the Kokang region in January 2012.

Nearly 2,000 arrests for meth-related offences were recorded in Burma in 2012, more than doubling since 2008. The surge in meth seizures corresponds with a series of democratic reforms taking place in Burma, which has led to multiple ceasefires being struck between the government and ethnic minority rebels in Shan state.

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The remote and mountainous terrain bordering Thailand and China has long been home to a flourishing trade of narcotics, funding decades of conflict between ethnic rebel groups and government-backed militias.

Growing domestic demand has also contributed to a rise in drug-related arrests, said the report. But it warned that most drug addicts in Burma – which number between 300,000-400,000 according to government figures – do not have access to effective treatment.

"Most drug users do not seek treatment voluntarily, and there are no treatment facilities in the country that are capable of providing evidence-based treatment and specifically focus on ATS dependency," said the report.

Although heroin and opiates remain the primary drugs ingested in Burma, the data indicates that use is declining. However, the total area of opiate cultivation reached its highest level since 2002, increasing by 17 percent to 51,000 hectares in 2012. The potential opium production was placed at 690 tons, with an estimated 300,000 households involved in cultivation.

The report also blamed rising demand in other Asian countries as well as growing regional integration for the increase in drug-related arrests and seizures. The ecstasy market has experienced a "resurgence" in Asia along with the spread in other psychoactive substances, according to the data.

The main Asian markets for Burmese-made methamphetamine drugs are believed to be India, Malaysia and Singapore. China remains the largest heroin market, with some 90 percent of seizures coming from Burma. 

Civic groups take positive signs from Myitkyina talks

Posted: 07 Nov 2013 09:50 PM PST

Several civic groups affiliated with ethnic groups in eastern Burma have said that the peace talks held earlier this week in Myitkyina between a Burmese government delegation and a loose coalition of armed ethnic groups produced positive signs and bode well for future rounds of negotiations.

"I see several positive signs from the meeting and we are surely delighted to see peace efforts starting to take shape," said Mya Aye of the 88 Generation Peace and Open Society. "We [88 Generation] view the main issue as the constitution, which must be amended in order to provide equal ethnic rights."

Khon Ja, a representative of the Kachin Peace Network, said her group did not expect much from the peace talks, which involved delegations from 16 ethnic groups. "However, we are delighted to see unity among the ethnic armed groups, and their decision to work together in a collective effort is more prevailing than working individually," she said.

Under the umbrella alliance of the Nationwide Ceasefire Coordination Team (NCCT) – which involves most of the major ethnic rebel forces in the country, including the Arakan Liberation Party, the Chin National Front, the Democratic Karen Benevolent Army, the Kachin Independence Organisation, the Karen National Union, the Karenni National Progressive Party, the New Mon State Party and the coalition United Nationalities Federal Council – the ethnic delegates came to an agreement with the government team that steps should proceed towards establishing: a nationwide ceasefire; a framework for political dialogue; and the facilitation of political dialogue.

Speaking to DVB on Tuesday after the conclusion of the two-day talks, the secretary of the Association of Shan Literature Scholars, Sai Hseng Pe, said, "I think peace is not too far away if all groups abide by the decisions agreed by the key actors at the meeting.

"I am now almost 60 years old – the civil war has been raging for over 50 years," he said. "Now I just want to have peace in my country."

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Eugene, the special advisor to the Karenni Literature and Culture Committee, echoed his Shan counterpart's sentiment. "I believe that our country can only become developed when there is peace," he said. "Based on what I saw on the news, I am quite satisfied with the outcome of the meeting. I believe the peace efforts will prevail."

The UN's special adviser on Burma, Vijay Nambiar, who was an observer at the talks, released a statement on 5 November saying he "was encouraged by the constructive spirit that characterised the deliberations and by the fact that so many groups have been able to come together on a common platform for their dialogue with the government."

He added that the commitment shown by all parties to bring peace to the country "was particularly commendable".

Speaking to DVB reporter Aye Nai on Tuesday after the meeting in Myitkyina, Lt-Gen Myint Zaw, one of the leading delegates representing the government, emphasised that the Burmese army had made concessions in a bid to help the peace process move forward.

However, not every reporter in Myitkyina viewed the negotiations in such a positive glow. The Irrawaddy reporter Saw Yan Naing noted that no press conference had been held at the end of the second day, and said that "obstacles" lay ahead.

In his report, he wrote that the ethnic leaders proposed that an army be formed based on a federalist system, combining all Burma's ethnic groups. Quoting sources at the meeting, Saw Yan Naing said that the government delegation disagreed with such a proposal and would continue to back a "one nation, one national armed forces" policy.

The Irrawaddy report quoted a Shan army spokesman for the Restoration Council of Shan State saying that any plan for a nationwide ceasefire agreement would take some time while ethnic leaders considered the government's draft proposal.

Both sides have agreed to sit down for another round of talks in Karen state capital Hpa-an in December.

EU may be breaching Burma arms embargo, say activists

Posted: 07 Nov 2013 05:43 PM PST

The European Union could be breaching its embargo against Burma by providing riot gear to the Burmese police force as part of a new training programme, campaigners have warned.

Activists have called on the EU to come clean about the nature of the training, especially relating to the provision of equipment, which they say could be used to target peaceful protestors and ethnic minorities.

"Protective equipment including anti-riot helmets and anti-riot shields are listed in the EU arms embargo, which bans any equipment that might be used for internal repression," Anna Roberts, Executive Director of Burma Campaign UK (BCUK) told DVB.

"The EU needs to provide more information to explain why the export of this equipment does not break the embargo."

It follows a report in Burmese state media, which claimed that a new EU-funded training programme, costing €10 million (US$13.5 million), will be used to provide strategic advice and riot gear for Burma's notoriously brutal police force.

The training is being carried out at the request of President Thein Sein and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who led an investigation into a bloody crackdown on peaceful protestors at the Latpadaung copper mine last year.

But the news immediately rang alarm bells among civil society groups who say that police accountability must take priority.

“Given the historic role the police force has had of repressing and cracking down on the people of Burma, the EU is playing with fire," Khin Ohmar, Coordinator of Burma Partnership, told DVB.

"There has never been an independent investigation into abuses by the police force, whether relating to the crackdown on the Latpadaung protestors in November 2012 or any other case."

Suu Kyi's investigation into the Latpadaung crackdown drew widespread condemnation for allegedly "white-washing" the crimes of police officers, who hurled phosphorous bombs at unarmed protestors, leaving dozens with third-degree burns.

The head of the EU's delegation to Burma, Roland Kobia, reportedly said the training would educate police officers on transparency, public communication, international human rights and good practice standards.

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But when contacted by DVB on Thursday, the EU's office in Rangoon refused to comment, saying only that the training material was still "being developed". They would not confirm whether riot gear would be provided or address allegations that it could violate the EU's arms embargo, which has been in place since 1996.

The EU and western countries are increasingly re-engaging with Burma, which is emerging from decades of military dictatorship and economic isolation. The UK, the US and Australia have all offered training to the Burmese army, despite accusations that it could fuel conflicts in the country's ethnic minority territories.

The European bloc has also come under fire for a perceived failure to include civil society voices in its re-engagement with the military regime.

"The EU needs to re-balance its work in Burma," said Roberts. "At present it is prioritising a partnership with the military-backed government in Burma but failing to deliver on its commitment to support and include civil society."

"By providing riot control equipment and training, the EU risks developing a security force that is more efficient at repression.”

The Burmese police force has been implicated in several atrocities over the past few months, including violent crackdowns on peaceful protestors. In April, video footage emerged which showed police officers standing idly by as a Muslim man was burned to death during religious riots in Meikhtila.

The police have also been implicated in a campaign of ethnic cleansing against Rohingya Muslims in western Burma.

Khin Ohmar insisted that a "deep-rooted" culture of impunity lies at the heart of the problem.

"There are no reliable legal remedies or compensation [mechanisms] for the people who have been the target of police brutality. The EU is neglecting this core need for justice and rule of law.”
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