Burma Govt Forms Interim Press Council

By NYEIN NYEIN / THE IRRAWADDY| August 10, 2012 | 

 

Facing growing criticism for stalling on promises to abolish its draconian censorship board, Burma’s government has announced that it has formed a new 20-member interim press council, state media reported on Friday.

Called the Myanmar Core Press Council (MCPC), the new body will be chaired by a retired Supreme Court judge and include academics, lawyers and members of press associations.

The move comes two months after Information Minister Kyaw Hsan told journalists that the Press Scrutiny and Registration Division (PSRD), Burma’s censorship board, would soon be abolished and replaced by an independent press council.

However, that council has yet to materialize due to delays in drafting a new media law, which is due to be passed during the current session of Parliament, which ends in September. The government-appointed MCPC will serve in its place until the new law has been enacted.

The MCPC’s duties will include dealing with ethical issues, providing journalistic training and resolving disputes among media practitioners, according to a notification order published in the state-run media.

The council will also draft a Press Council Bill—one of the demands made by journalist associations after they rejected regulations for the council proposed by the Ministry of Information in June.

“There have to be meetings between the Information Ministry and the members of the press council, because its members were appointed by the government but haven’t even met yet,” said Ko Ko, the secretary of the Myanmar Journalists Association, who was named secretary of the MCPC.

Despite Kyaw Hsan’s promises in June to limit the PSRD’s responsibilities to registering publications,  it continues to act as a censorship board. Ko Ko says, however, that it could now be abolished within weeks.

After it is abolished, “around six daily newspapers will be established,” according to sources in the Information Ministry.

Criticism of the PSRD became more outspoken last week after it suspended publication of two journals—The Voice Weekly and Envoy—at the end of July. The move prompted protests in Rangoon and Mandalay, and the PSRD announced earlier this week that the two journals would be allowed to resume publication in the third week of August.

Despite the formation of the press council, however, some publishers say they are still not satisfied.

Aung Paw Htun, an editor with the Messenger journal, said that the members of the council should have been elected independently by journalists. “Only an independent press council can protect journalists in accordance with journalistic ethics,” he said.

The Eleven Media Group said on its website that it cannot accept the government’s formation of this interim council and does not believe that it can work for journalistic ethics.

The Myanmar Journalist Network, an association consisting mostly of young journalists, recently decided that it would not join the council, a quarter of whose members are from the Myanmar Journalists Association.
 

http://www.irrawaddy.org/archives/11336 

New Curfews Imposed in Arakan State

By NYEIN NYEIN / THE IRRAWADDY| August 9, 2012 | 

 

Three more townships in northern Arakan State imposed curfews on Wednesday following fresh clashes earlier this week between Buddhists and Muslims in the strife-torn region, where a total of nine townships are now under lockdown.

The curfews—in Kyauktaw, Minbya and Mrauk-Oo townships—are in response to a series of incidents in Kyauktaw on Aug. 5-6 that left property destroyed and an unspecified number of people dead.

“The curfews were ordered to prevent any further violence in the area after the clashes in Kyauktaw,” said Myo Thant, a member of a special media team set up by the state government in the wake of violence that first broke out in early June.

According to Thar Kyaw, a member of the state legislature, at least 300 homes owned by both ethnic Arakanese Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims were destroyed by fire after riots broke out on Aug. 5 in five villages—Apauk Wa, Shwe Hlaing, Gut Pi Taung, Ywar Nyar and Taung Pauk.

The situation in the area is now “stable,” he told The Irrawaddy on Thursday.

Local residents in the affected townships said the curfew is from 7 pm to 5 am in Kyauktaw, and from 10 pm to 4 am in the other two townships.

“Township authorities have also ordered people to hand over any knives, slingshots and jinglees in their possession,” said Thar Kyaw, who is a resident of Minbya. Jinglees are sharpened bicycle spokes that are used as arrows, often with poison applied to their tips.

Residents of the three townships said that schools and shops are open as usual, but there is a heavy security presence in the streets. Around five or six policemen or soldiers have been assigned to guard each school and Rohingya village in the area, said residents.

In the predominantly Muslim townships of Maungdaw and Buthidaung, however, schools have been  closed since the violence began in early June and markets are allowed to open only in the mornings. Sources in the area say that security has been tightened since yesterday amid fears of bomb attacks.

In Mrauk Oo, local resident Maung Than said the situation appears to be stable, despite a relatively minor confrontation on Wednesday between Arakanese and Rohingyas in a village about 6 km from the town.

Residents of Kyauktaw said that this week’s violence was much worse than the clashes in the area two months ago. At that time, several houses were burned down, but no casualties were reported.

This time, an unknown number of people were killed. “We’re still in the process of counting and identifying the dead,” said Myo Thant.

Maung Maung, a resident of Kyauktaw, said the renewed violence stemmed from two recent attacks on Arakanese-owned properties.

On Aug. 2, which marked the beginning of the Buddhist lent period, a group of Rohingyas allegedly destroyed a bus station in Kyauktaw, and on Sunday, a small rice mill in the village of Taung Pauk was allegedly burnt down and looted by a Rohingya mob.

A state-wide state of emergency was declared after the strife started in Maungdaw in June 8 and curfews have been in place in Sittwe, Maungdaw, Buthidaung, Kyaukphyu, Thandwe and Ramree townships since June 10.
 

http://www.irrawaddy.org/archives/11252 

Rights Envoy Meets Burmese Exiles

By NYEIN NYEIN / THE IRRAWADDY| August 8, 2012 | 

 

The United Nations human rights envoy for Burma, Tomas Ojea Quintana, was in the Thai border town of Mae Sot on Tuesday to discuss rights issues with Burmese exiles and ethnic groups based in the area.

Representatives of 10 groups, including health care providers, refugee relief agencies, prisoners’ rights advocates, ethnic organizations and students’ and women’s groups, were present at the meeting.

According to sources who attended the consultation, a wide range of issues was discussed, including continuing conflict in ethnic areas, the ongoing detention of political prisoners, land confiscation, proposed refugee resettlement programs and landmines in former and current conflict zones.

Saw Albert, the field coordinator for the Karen Human Rights Group, said he told the UN envoy that any effort to repatriate refugees—many of whom have been in Thailand for more than two decades—should be carried out systematically and with guarantees for their safety and well-being.

He also added that despite the current ceasefire in Karen State, human rights abuses continue, albeit not  in the same form as before, when civilians were routinely targeted by Burmese military offensives.

Now, he said, many are forced off their land by development projects that have been packaged as part of the “peace process” in the state.

Another major concern, he said, is the presence of landmines throughout the area, where conflict has raged for more than six decades.

Others expressed concern about the uncertainty surrounding the future of refugee camps in Thailand, which house around 160,000 people displaced by fighting between the Burmese army and the Karen National Union. Since Burma launched its reforms last year, many say that aid has shifted away from the border into projects inside Burma.

“Cutting humanitarian assistance to the refugee camps is also a form of human rights violation,” said Dr Naing Aung of the Forum for Democracy in Burma.

One problem with cutting back on funding for the camps and other projects on the border, he said, is that it is still far from clear if reforms inside the country are irreversible, and if they will bring a real improvement in the rights situation.

“Civil society groups should pay closer attention to the ceasefire process and the international community should set up a body to monitor whether or not human rights violations are continuing,” said Naing Aung.

Another issue raised at the meeting is the continuing detention of political prisoners. Bo Kyi, the joint-secretary of the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, said his group informed the UN envoy that there are still 442 detainees in Burma’s prisons for political offenses.

Besides issues affecting political dissidents and ethnic minorities, there are also widespread abuses against farmers and workers, who make up the vast majority of the country’s population. Quintana heard how land confiscation has become a growing problem in rural areas amid increasing domestic and foreign investment in Burma’s economy, while workers who strike for higher wages face dismissal.

Quintana’s trip to the Thai border follows a fact-finding mission to Arakan State, where clashes between ethnic Arakanese Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims have left dozens dead and tens of thousands homeless.

Before starting his week-long visit to Burma, the UN envoy said that the human rights situation is still a major concern that demands much closer attention. He made the same point during his visit to Mae Sot.

“Mr Quintana said that the international community is paying much more attention to the current reforms than to the human rights situation,” said Naing Aung.

Quintana is expected to submit his report to the UN Human Rights Council in October.

http://www.irrawaddy.org/archives/11153

Suu Kyi to Head ‘Rule of Law’ Committee

By NYEIN NYEIN / THE IRRAWADDY| August 7, 2012 |

National League for Democracy (NLD) leader Aung San Suu Kyi was approved by Burma’s Parliament on Tuesday to chair the newly formed Committee for Rule of Law and Stability, according to sources in her party.

It is the first committee that Suu Kyi has been appointed to since she and other elected members of her party entered Parliament last month.

Commenting on her new position, Suu Kyi told reporters in Naypyidaw on Tuesday that “Rule of law is not about control, but about protecting society.”

Lower House Speaker Shwe Mann announced the formation of the new committee during Tuesday’s parliamentary session.

Win Myint, the NLD MP for Pathein constituency and the secretary of the committee, said that the vice-speaker of the Lower House, Nanda Kyaw Swar, informed the committee of its responsibilities.

“It is to supervise whether the four important pillars—the legislature, the judiciary, the civil service and the media—are following the rule of law,” Nanda Kyaw Swar told the committee members.

Win Tin, a leading member of the NLD, said Suu Kyi’s appointment to the chairmanship of the committee was appropriate because she has often stressed the need for rule of law as part of her party’s platform, along with establishing peace and amending the Constitution.

“It is a chance for her, as Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has repeatedly raised the issue of rule of law in her addresses to the public, in Parliament and to the international community,” said Win Tin.

Three NLD parliamentarians are listed in the committee, which is comprised of 15 members, including MPs representing the Chin, Kachin, Karenni, Arakanese, Mon and Shan ethnic minorities.

Some politicians said they could not predict how effective the committee will be, given the fact that its members come from many different parties.

Win Myint said that no exact schedule has been established yet for committee meetings.

Some of the committee’s members remarked that they had not not been informed in advance of their new appointments.

“I only learned that I was on the committee when the house speaker read out the names of the committee members,” said Thein Nyunt, the New Democracy Party MP for Rangoon’s Thingangyun Township.

Dr Zaw Myint Maung, an NLD MP from Kyaukpadaung constituency, said he also had no idea that he would be on the committee.

http://www.irrawaddy.org/archives/11057

Children of Migrants to Get Burmese IDs

By NYEIN NYEIN / THE IRRAWADDY| August 6, 2012 | 

 

Peace negotiators claim that birth certificate will soon be provided to the Thailand-born children of Burmese migrants after a second successful meeting with Dr. Cynthia Maung at Mae Tao Clinic, in the Thai border town of Mae Sot, on Sunday.

Collaboration between Myawaddy Hospital, Mae Tao Clinic and Mae Sot General Hospital is also being discussed by Dr. Cynthia and Burmese volunteer doctors including Dr. Wai Wai Thar, the wife of Railway Minister Aung Min who acts as Naypyidaw’s chief peace negotiator.

The Burmese delegation included representatives from the Ministry of Health, doctors from Myawaddy and Mandalay hospitals along with Aung Min, Immigration Minister Khin Yi, Industrial Minister Soe Thein, Karen State Chief Minister Zaw Min and Wai Wai Thar, from the Myanmar Maternal and Child Welfare Association.

Aung Min told a previous meeting that he will coordinate with Dr. Cynthia and his wife to discuss details of the process.

“We agreed on the formation of the patient transfer system as well as disease controls in the cross-border areas,” said Dr. Cynthia. Another important matter discussed was the “issuing of birth certificates for Burmese children born in Thailand,” she added.

“We come here to support [Dr. Cynthia’s] needs and we will collaborate with her,” Aung Min told journalists in Mae Sot. “Issuing birth certificate is really easy—we can just do it right away.”

According to the Committee for the Promotion and Protection of Child Rights, there were 20,661 children registered at Mae Tao Clinic between 2003 and 2011, while “tens of thousands more may be left behind due to a lack of knowledge among the migrant workers and the barriers of travelling without legal documents,” said General-Secretary Naing Min.

The clinic also raised the issue of staff being able to return over the border to provide healthcare in rural areas of Karen State, and the government ministers said they would support this.

Dr. Cynthia said that Mao Tao Clinic will continue working on some necessary projects even when migrant workers can receive full healthcare and treatment at Mae Sot or Myawaddy hospitals. But currently, “I do not see better services for migrant workers yet,” she said.

Community groups and Mae Tao Clinic are working together with the Burmese Immigration Department to help local migrant children with the details of implementation to be discussed in future meetings.

Ministers said the government will improve facilities at Myawaddy Hospital so it will be able to accept patients from Mae Tao Clinic. This second meeting focused on collaboration and finding practical solutions to unresolved problems, but did not cover funding issues.

Aung Min also met with Zipporah Sein, general-secretary of the ethnic rebel Karen National Union, in Myawaddy on Sunday morning before visiting Mae Tao Clinic in the afternoon.

http://www.irrawaddy.org/archives/10946
 

Accused Thingyan Bomber Pardoned

By NYEIN NYEIN / THE IRRAWADDY| August 3, 2012 | 

Phyo Wai Aung, an engineer who was sentenced to death in May for allegedly carrying out a bombing during Burma’s Thingyan water festival in 2010, has been released from custody after receiving a pardon from President Thein Sein.

The move comes four days after the UN’s special rights envoy for Burma, Tomas Ojea Quintana, met with Phyo Wai Aung on July 30 during his latest visit to the country.

Speaking to The Irrawaddy on Friday, Phyo Wai Aung said he always believed he would be freed one day because the allegations against him were completely false.

“I was arrested mistakenly,” he said.

Phyo Wai Aung was arrested on April 23, 2010, for his alleged involvement in a spate of bombings at the Thingyan water festival in Rangoon earlier that month. The explosions killed at least 10 people and injured around 100 others.

During his subsequent interrogation, he was allegedly tortured and has since suffered from a variety of health problems. He was sentenced to death at a closed trial in May and two days later admitted to Insein General Hospital, where he was diagnosed with liver cancer.

When asked to comment on his treatment and the trial proceedings, he said that the system was at fault and declined to point any fingers.

Htay Htay, Phyo Wai Aung’s wife, said she was informed of her husband’s pardon two hours before his release.

“The chief warden told me to come to the hospital at about 10 o’clock this morning because they were planning to release him,” she said. “He read out the president’s order, which said that Ko Phyo Wai Aung would be freed under Section 401 [of the Criminal Procedure Code].”

Due to his rapidly deteriorating health, which went largely untreated until May, Phyo Wai Aung now suffers from paralysis of the lower half of his body. His family said their next step would be to transfer him to Rangoon General Hospital, where he can receive treatment from liver specialists.

“His health condition needs urgent medical attention and closer care,” said his brother, Dr Htet Wai Aung.

http://www.irrawaddy.org/archives/10808 

Worker Strike Probe Shot Down by MPs

By NYEIN NYEIN / THE IRRAWADDY| August 2, 2012 | 

 

A proposal to form a committee to investigate worker strikes, which took place in Rangoon factories to demand wages hikes over the past year, was rejected by Burma’s Lower House of Parliament after a vote on Wednesday.

Speaking to The Irrawaddy after the decision, Thein Nyunt, a Lower House MP for the New Democracy Party, said he proposed forming the new committee in order to keep tabs on the current political and economic situation.

Labor Minister Aung Kyi said in the Parliament session that, “labor laws are already enacted and it needs some time to be in effective. Therefore, there is no need to form such an investigation committee.”

But Thein Nyunt replied that sidelining the issue will not bring benefits to workers. “It is not enough just enacting a law,” he said. “Although there are labor councils for workers in accordance with the 1964 Labor Rights and Responsibilities Act, the workers strikes emerged since 1974 as a political issue.”

He added that it is difficult for Burma to move forward towards parliamentary democracy if people continue to deny there is a labor problem in the country.

Opposition parliamentarians Myint Thein, the National League for Democracy MP for Magwe constituency, and Khine Maung Yi, the National Democratic Front MP for Rangoon’s Alone constituency , backed Thein Nyunt’s call. Aung Thein Lin, the controversial Unity Solidarity and Development Party MP for Rangoon’s South Oakkalapa constituency, spoke against the move.

The proposal was rejected by just 43 votes in favor compared with 288 against and 17 abstentions. But Thein Nyunt said the proposal can be resubmitted during the next parliamentary session.

Aung Thein Lin, who is currently being investigated for a damning interview in China’s Southern Weekly journal, said that officials at the Ministry of Labor were working hard to solve strike issues, according to the Parliament website.

He explained that 90 factories, mostly in Rangoon, went in strike in May and June but all are now back on track after officials helped in negotiations between the employers and employees.

In June, the Ministry of Labor imposed a minimum wage for workers, Aung Thein Lin added, and more than 100 worker associations have been formed in accordance with the new Labor Association law and bylaws.

Meanwhile, the Minimum Wage Bill is due to be discussed in Parliament this month.

http://www.irrawaddy.org/archives/10695 

Burmese Officials Told to Declare Assets

By NYEIN NYEIN / THE IRRAWADDY| August 1, 2012 | 

Despite an order by Burmese President Thein Sein last week for government officials to declare their assets by Aug 1, few expect to see an honest accounting of the personal wealth accumulated by former members of the country’s defunct military junta.

Local media reported this week that Thein Sein made the decision to call on officials to disclose the extent of their wealth after Win Myint, a National League for Democracy (NLD) Lower House MP for Pathein constituency, urged the move in Parliament on July 25.

In a formal proposal submitted to the country’s military-dominated legislature, the opposition MP called on “Union government members [and] Region or State government members” to declare their assets “for emergence of good governance and clean government.”

The proposal was accepted for consideration, and a day later, the President’s Office ordered all officials appointed by the president to submit lists of their assets and businesses no later than Aug 1, in accordance with Section 101 of the Union Government Law, which was enacted in October 2010.

However, the news was greeted with doubts about whether any officials who profited during their tenure in the former junta would come clean about how much they owned thanks to their former and current positions.

“I don’t think those at the government level will honestly declare all of their assets because most officials in the new government are in one way or another implicated in the corrupt and unfair practices of the previous regime,” said Win Tin, a leading member of the NLD.

However, he added, it was the government’s responsibility to continue pushing for greater accountability from officials.

Among the officials to whom Thein Sein’s order applies are members of the president’s cabinet, chief justices and Supreme Court judges, the chairman and members of the Constitutional Tribunal, the attorney-general, the auditor-general, divisional or state chief ministers and ministers, and divisional or state chief justices and judges.

Win Tin said this was no enough to ensure clean government. “I urge the president to include parliamentarians and cronies in his order. They should also be included in the investigation,” he said.

Thein Nyunt, a Lower House MP for the New Democracy Party, said that if an anti-corruption bill is discussed and approved, everyone in the executive, judicial and legislative branches of government should be forced to declare their assets and those who are found to be corrupt should be charged by an anti-corruption commission.

http://www.irrawaddy.org/archives/10666 

World bank statement on Aug 1

ကမၻာ့ဘဏ္က ျမန္မာျပည္ကို ပထမဆံုး ကူညီမယ္ဆိုတာ ထုတ္ျပန္တဲ့ ေၾကညာခ်က္-- ဒီလင့္ခ္ကေန ၀က္ဆိုက္မွာ ၾကည့္လို႔လည္း ရတယ္။


http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/2012/08/01/world-bank-group-prepares-first-grants-support-myanmar-reforms

PRESS RELEASE

World Bank Group Prepares First Grants to Support Myanmar’s Reforms

August 1, 2012

YANGON, August 1, 2012 – The World Bank Group is stepping up its support for reforms in Myanmar and opening a new country office. The Bank is preparing to present to its Board up to $85 million in grants to benefit men, women and children through community driven development programs which will allow communities to decide whether to invest in schools, roads, water or other projects.
"We are committed to eradicating poverty and the new office opening in Myanmar will allow us to reach some of the poorest people in East Asia. They have been cut off from the global economy for too long and it's very important that they receive real benefits from the government's reforms," said Jim Yong Kim, World Bank Group President.

World Bank Vice President for East Asia and Pacific Pamela Cox announced the grants in Yangon where she opened a new World Bank Group office jointly with the International Finance Corporation Vice President for Asia Pacific, Karin Finkelston.
“Myanmar is among the poorest countries in the region. The needs of the people are great – and the World Bank Group is working with partners to support government reforms that will improve people’s lives, especially the poor and vulnerable,” said Ms. Cox. “This will help lay the foundation for broad economic growth, creating opportunities for all.”
Ms. Cox and Ms. Finkelston met with President U Thein Sein, cabinet members, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, and other members of parliament. This was the first visit by Bank senior leadership since Myanmar began undertaking reforms.
The World Bank grants will support a national community driven development program providing funds to people in local communities, including in border conflict areas. Community members will select development projects they need and transparency will ensure that everyone can track the use of funds.

The grants are intended to build confidence in the reform process. A recent World Bank development report on fragile and conflict affected countries stresses the importance of generating real economic benefits for people in fragile situations to increase the prospects for lasting peace.
The Bank is also expanding technical assistance and providing global expertise to help the Government deliver services to the people. The Bank is now conducting economic research in Myanmar to gain a better understanding of the extent of poverty, to help expand and modernize the financial system, and enhance the business environment.
"Actions in these areas will help the government attract responsible foreign investment, expand trade, manage its resources better and create more jobs and opportunities for people,” said Ms. Cox.
IFC, the member of the World Bank Group focused exclusively on private sector development, has begun assessments in areas critical to private sector growth such as access to finance, investment climate, and infrastructure. The results of these assessments will form the basis of IFC’s future program in Myanmar.
"As we have witnessed in other economies in transition, the private sector plays a critical role in job creation and in providing the means for all to benefit from economic growth," said Ms. Finkelston. "We are committed to helping the people of Myanmar in the reform process and to supporting the private sector to create jobs and opportunities for businesses to grow.”
As a multilateral financial institution with 188 member countries, the World Bank will coordinate with other development partners to ensure the needs of the people of Myanmar are met effectively.
Additional Facts:
• Myanmar will have access to interest free loans from the International Development Association (IDA), the World Bank’s fund for the poorest countries, after it clears arrears of $397 million to the World Bank.
• The World Bank Group is working on a new “Interim Strategy” with the Government of Myanmar and development partners, which will guide the Bank’s work as it prepares for a full country program.
• Mr. Kanthan Shankar has been appointed Myanmar Country Manager to lead the World Bank team in the country. Shankar has over 15 years of experience working in conflict and post-conflict environments, including in Timor-Leste, West Bank, Gaza and Kosovo.
• Mr. Charles Schneider has been appointed IFC Resident Representative to lead development of its program in Myanmar. Schneider has over 15 years of private sector experience including in Southeast Asia where he has worked in Vietnam, Cambodia and Lao PDR. 
• Myanmar became a member of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) in 1952. The Bank has approved no new lending since 1987. In 1998, the Government went into arrears but has remained a member of the Bank.

8 Dead, 21 Missing in Kachin Ferry Disaster

By NYEIN NYEIN / THE IRRAWADDY| July 24, 2012 | 

 

At least eight persons died when an Irrawaddy River ferry sank in Bhamo, Kachin State, on Friday morning. Police said they have rescued 73 people, but an estimated 21 are still missing.

Four university football players who had been travelling to Kachin State capital Myitkyina for an inter-university tournament were among the missing. Htet Wai Soe, a university football player and a student union leader, and the coach Zaw Zaw Naing were among the eight bodies recovered, confirmed the player’s father.

The stricken ferry was named as the Mya Min Aung; local rescue services said the boat developed engine trouble around Bhamo, but was carried by rapid waters downstream on the Irrawaddy before sinking soon after.

Speaking to The Irrawaddy on Monday, a police officer in Bhamo said, “We had recovered eight bodies—two women and six men— by Sunday evening, and are continuing the search.
“The ferry is still underwater. We have not been able to pull it to the surface yet,” he added.

People living along Burma’s major rivers and in the vast southern delta region often travel and transport goods by boat because of the lower cost and the inaccessibility of many areas by road.

In March this year, a similar incident occurred in the Irrawaddy delta when a Pathein ferry overloaded with goods and more than 100 passengers sank near Ngaputaw Township, causing more than 20 deaths.
 

http://www.irrawaddy.org/archives/9803 

Martyrs’ Day Ceremonies to be Opened to Public

By NYEIN NYEIN / THE IRRAWADDY| July 12, 2012 | 

 

For the first time in 50 years, the authorities in Burma have indicated that ordinary Burmese will be allowed to participate in ceremonies marking Martyrs’ Day, the anniversary of the assassination of independence leader Aung San and members of his cabinet on July 19, 1947.

In a sign of the shift, an article in the state-run Myanmar Ahlin newspaper announced on Wednesday that the Martyrs’ Monument in Meiktila, Mandalay Division, will be open next Thursday to members of the public who wish to lay wreaths in memory of the fallen national heroes.

The article also said that the site has undergone renovations, noting that it has been neglected for the past five decades. While it doesn’t say why this has been the case, the period of neglect coincides with Burma’s half-century of military rule that began with a coup by former dictator Gen Ne Win in 1962.

Prior to the army’s takeover, public participation in Martyrs’ Day ceremonies was the norm. Under Ne Win and his successors, however, ordinary citizens were barred from attending official events, although low-key private ceremonies were common in many parts of the country.

As is often the case in Burma, there has been no official announcement of plans to permit public events, but many groups in the country say they expect to be allowed to openly commemorate the occasion this year.

“We are planning to march to the Martyrs’ Mausoleum to lay wreaths for our national heroes,” said Mandalay resident Ko Ko Lay.

Even activists who were recently detained for planning events to mark another anniversary—Ne Win’s deadly crackdown on Rangoon University students on July 7, 1962, and the subsequent dynamiting of the Student Union building—believe they will be able to go ahead with plans to commemorate Martyrs’ Day.

“I think we can celebrate Martyrs’ Day with fewer restrictions than other events such as the 7th of July because it is an official day in Burma,” said Phyo Phyo Aung, the general secretary of the All Burma Federation of Student Unions’ organizing committee, who was taken into custody on July 6 and detained for 23 hours.

However, there were news reports on Wednesday that members of the opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) in Pegu were denied permission to hold a Martyrs’ Day ceremony just days after Burma’s Parliament  passed a law guaranteeing the right to protest and hold public gatherings. Under the  law, organizers must seek permission from local authorities and police five days in advance of the planned event.

This hasn’t, however, deterred others from planning events of their own.

“I don’t think we need to ask permission,” said Myint Maung, an NLD member in southern Burma’s Kawthaung Township. “We will go and lay wreaths in front of the statute of Gen Aung San in Kawthaung as we did in the past.”

http://www.irrawaddy.org/archives/9012
 

NLD Culls Security Staff after Criticism

By LAWI WENG and NYEIN NYEIN / THE IRRAWADDY| July 11, 2012 | 

 

A number of security staff for the National League for Democracy (NLD) have been sacked following severe criticism of the heavy-handed treatment of international and domestic media.

Party chairman Aung San Suu Kyi made the move upon returning from her first trip to Europe for 24 years late last month, with around 20 members of her security team, including home guards, reportedly relieved of duty.

No one from the party would confirm the reasons behind the cull, but criticism from reporters and photographers covering the Nobel Laureate’s movements is rumored to be behind the decision.

NLD spokesman Nyan Win played down the move when approached by The Irrawaddy on Wednesday. “The current people who were told to leave from their tasks are not NLD members, and they are just her security personnel,” he said.

But a source close to the party said around half-a-dozen of those sacked were party members, including Suu Kyi’s security chief Khun Thar Myint.

Nyan Win said that the democracy icon arranged her own security but the party was on hand to provide more men if requested. However, he declined to go into more detail about the job losses when pressed by The Irrawaddy.

Many observers believe that Suu Kyi is attempting to improve relations with the media while she goes about her day-to-day duties. Some reporters in Rangoon have slammed the aggressive actions by her security guards who allegedly intimidated a journalist from the city’s The Express Times business journal during an event on May 8.

Kyaw Kyaw Min, editor-in-chief of the publication, sent a letter of complaint to the NLD’s Rangoon headquarters after the incident in order to resolve the problem. And Win Tin, a party founder and himself a former journalist, told The Irrawaddy at the time that he wanted to peacefully resolve the dispute.

But Kyaw Kyaw Min told The Irrawaddy on Wednesday that he is yet to receive a response or apology from the NLD. “We condemn the action of taking someone in particular out of an event to intimidate him,” he said.

The NLD scaled down inviting Rangoon journalists to media events after the incident, according to local sources in the industry.

The profile of the NLD has mushroomed since the party won 43 seats in the April 1 by-elections and became the largest single opposition group to the military-backed ruling Union Solidarity and Development Party in the Naypyidaw Parliament.

“After the NLD won a majority of seats at the by-elections, we found that there are some people from the party who want to show their importance and talked very aggressively to journalists,” said a Rangoon-based journalist.
 

http://www.irrawaddy.org/archives/8888 

Death Sentence for Arakan Rape-Murderers

By NYEIN NYEIN / THE IRRAWADDY| June 18, 2012 | 

 

Two men have been sentenced to death for the rape and murder of an ethnic Arakanese woman that sparked recent sectarian clashes in western Burma.

The Provincial Court of Kyaukphyu Township, in northern Ramree Island of Arakan State, convicted the pair on Monday morning. They were arrested along with a third man two days after the May 28 slaying of Thidar Htwe, the authorities reported.

Ba Shein, a lawyer and Lower House MP for the Rakhine Nationalities Development Party who attended the sentencing, told The Irrawaddy that, “the verdict was made before noon under section 302(1c) [of the Burmese Penal Code].”

One of the original three men arrested, Shaun Shou (aka Htet Htet or Phyo Zayyar Kyaw), committed suicide in prison on June 9, state-run media reported on June 11.

The rape and murder case enflamed sectarian tensions between Buddhist Arakanese and Rohingya Muslims in the region with 10 Muslims pilgrims killed by a lynch mob in Taunggok Township on June 3 in apparent retaliation.

On the first day of the case being heard on June 8, a riot broke out as a group of Muslims returned from Friday prayers and torched dozens of Arakanese houses in Maungdaw Township.

Fighting spread all over Arakan in subsequent days including the state capital Sittwe. Official figures reveal that 50 people were killed, 54 people injured and more than 2,500 houses burned down in the ensuing violence. More than 30,000 people in the region have been forced from their homes as a result.

A 6 pm to 6 am curfew was imposed immediately after violence broke out in Maungdaw and a state of emergency was also declared in Sittwe.

The trial was heard in public with the victim’s family and other local residents present in the courtroom. The accused pleaded guilty on June 15.

Ba Shein said the case was concluded within a couple of weeks because there were plenty of witnesses. He also paid tribute to the local police force for their efforts in bringing the perpetrators to justice.

The accused were charged under Burmese Penal Code section 376 for rape, section 302 (1c) for murder and section 392 for looting properties.

The two convicted on June 18, Hla Win (aka Marme or Yaw Pi) and Lu Lu (aka Myint Swe or Wushee), were sent back to Kyaukphyu Prison after the sentencing hearing.

They both have the right of appeal to the Union Supreme Court in Naypyidaw, added Ba Shein.

http://www.irrawaddy.org/archives/7112a
 

Gold Miners March on Naypyidaw

By NYEIN NYEIN / THE IRRAWADDY| June 11, 2012 | 

 

More than 1,000 gold miners from Mandalay Division began marching to Naypyidaw on Monday after their demands to keep working in the area were rejected.

The miners began by walking from 12 gold mine zones in the Moehti Moemi area to the center of Yamaethin Township which lies 40 miles (64 km) away. They will continue towards the capital on Tuesday.

A Moehti Moemi resident told The Irrawaddy on Monday that the miners left the area that morning.

“The gold miners planned to go with trucks but the number two gate did not allow them to cross, therefore, they had to walk,” she said. “But some people who had motorbikes have used them to travel.”

Moehti Moemi Monastery Abbot U Sandaw Batha and 10 other monks from the area are also accompanying the miners on the march.

Tens of thousands of gold miners began protesting in the first week of June after the Myanmar National Prosperity Public Company (MNPPC) told them to halt mining in the 6,000-acre Moehti Moemi area.

The company reached a verbal agreement with around a thousand small mining companies and individual miners in December 2011 which allowed them to excavate gold from the area for the length of its five-year government contract.

MNCCP is contracted to supply the Ministry of Mining with a certain amount of gold, while the smaller companies would receive half the ore that they excavated and contribute the rest.

But MNPPC has apparently since reneged on the deal and told miners to work for the company directly instead. All mining operations were halted on May 5 in an apparent effort to attract larger investments from international mining companies.

The gold miners postponed their protest at the weekend while an inspection to measure the feasibility of work recommencing was carried out by MNPPC. However, it now appears the company has decided against reopening the pits.

The marching miners, who arrive in Yamaethin on Monday evening, will stay at the Shwe Myay Tin Pagoda seven miles from town for the night before advancing the 48 miles (78 km) to Naypyidaw on Tuesday, according to worker activist Thaung Htike.
 

http://www.irrawaddy.org/archives/6475 

Tense Calm Returns after Latest Outbreak of Violence in Arakan State

By NYEIN NYEIN / THE IRRAWADDY| June 9, 2012 | 

 

The situation in northern Arakan State is stable but tense in the wake of a wave of mob violence that claimed at least seven lives and saw the complete or partial destruction of nearly two dozen villages in two townships on Friday, according to official and local sources.

The authorities in Maungdaw Township, the scene of the worst violence, imposed an indefinite curfew last night after around 1,000 Muslims swept through 22 predominantly Buddhist villages, attacking residents and burning houses and other buildings. A two-month curfew was also set in Buthidaung, a neighboring township also located near Burma’s border with Bangladesh.

As part of the dusk-to-dawn curfews, public gatherings of more than five people are banned, according to a notice published by state-run media.

The attacks marked the latest escalation of tensions between the two communities, after 10 Muslims were dragged from a bus and beaten to death last Sunday. That incident followed growing anger over the rape and murder of a Buddhist woman, allegedly by three Muslim men, late last month.

According to information posted on the website of the President’s Office on Saturday morning, in addition to the seven dead, 17 people were seriously injured in the attacks. Damage to property included the destruction of 494 houses, 19 shops and one hotel.

Local sources said, however, that the authorities have not yet completed their survey of the area and are still looking for additional casualties. They added that at least 300 people who had fled to nearby mountains to escape the attacks had been rescued.

State television announced on Saturday that troops had been sent to the area to reinforce local police who struggled to control the rampaging mobs. According to the state-run newspaper Myanmar Ahlin, security forces opened fire on the rioters to restore order on Friday. No casualties were reported.

The Ministry of Information also reported on its website that the area had been visited by Defense Minister Lt-Gen Hla Min and other senior civilian an military officials, including Arakan State Chief Minister Hla Maung Tin, Western Regional Commander Brig-Gen Ko Ko Naing and Relief and Relocation Deputy Minister Phone Swe.

According to a local resident, Hla Min assured people living in the area that the government would guarantee their security.

Meanwhile, aid for those affected by the violence has begun to flow in from other parts of Arakan State. “Donors are providing emergency assistance for people sheltering at a monastery near my home,” said Maungdaw resident Shwe Maung Thein. “Support is needed for about 400 people,” he added.

According to the Ministry of Information website, three monasteries are being used as temporary shelters for displaced villagers. A monk living in the area said that the villages that came under attack are home to around 5,000 people, of whom only several hundred have so far been accounted for.

The government also announced on Saturday that it had formed a Stability, Relief and Rehabilitation Management Committee to provide shelter, security, healthcare and food support to the victims of the violence.