Villagers Flee as Govt Troops Seize Another KIA Outpost
By
NYEIN NYEIN / THE IRRAWADDY On January 9, 2013 @ 11:42 am
As Burmese government troops seized control of another Kachin
Independence Army (KIA) outpost on Wednesday, relief workers said that
already overcrowded refugee camps near the group’s headquarters are
seeing a fresh influx of civilians fleeing from intensified fighting.
The outpost, at the base of the Hpun Pyan Bum hill, about 7 km west
of the KIA stronghold of Laiza, is the second KIA position in the area
to fall since the Burmese government army stepped up its offensive late
last month.
After days of airstrikes and artillery shelling that began in the
final week of December, the KIA lost control of its Point 771 outpost
near Lajayang on Jan. 3.
The Hpun Pyan Bum outpost, which was under the control of KIA Brigade
5, started coming under heavy artillery fire on Monday, and has also
been the target of aerial attacks, according to sources in Laiza.
Speaking to The Irrawaddy on Wednesday, La Hseng, chairman of the
Northern Command of the All Burma Students’ Democratic Front (ABSDF), a
KIA ally, said that Burmese forces are continuing their advance on
Laiza.
“Two columns of government troops are moving forward to launch attacks on bases surrounding Laiza,” said La Hseng.
According to Doi Pi Sa, the chairman of a committee overseeing camps
for war-displaced civilians, hundreds of refugees have fled to camps
near Laiza since the fighting began to intensify in late December.
Altogether, since a 17-year-old ceasefire between the KIA and the
government army broke down in June 2011, more than 100,000 civilians
have been forced to flee to areas controlled by both the KIA and the
government.
“As the fighting escalates, the refugees desperately need more
assistance because they have no way to support themselves,” said Doi Pi
Sa. “They are also growing increasingly worried about their safety.”
URL to article:
http://www.irrawaddy.org/archives/23651
Heavy Fighting Continues Near Laiza
By
NYEIN NYEIN / THE IRRAWADDY On January 8, 2013 @ 9:26 am
Burmese
government forces continued to shell the Kachin Independence Army (KIA)
stronghold of Laiza on Tuesday as the two sides engaged in heavy
fighting around two nearby KIA outposts, according to a spokesperson for
the ethnic armed group.
KIA spokesman La Nan told The Irrawaddy at noon on Tuesday
that government troops under Military Operation Command 21 started using
heavy artillery against the KIA targets at 4 am.
“They [government troops] fired on our headquarters with 105-mm
artillery shells six times this morning,” said La Nan, adding that
similar attacks took place on Sunday.
However, two KIA outposts on the hills of In Ta Bum and Hpun Pyan
Bum, within the area controlled by KIA Brigade No. 5, have borne the
brunt of Tuesday’s offensive, which has included aerial attacks that
began on Monday afternoon.
According to La Nan, heavy ground fighting near the two outposts
continued until 8 pm yesterday, followed by another round of shelling at
11 pm. The attacks then resumed at 4 am on Tuesday, he said.
Min Htay, a major of the All Burma Students’ Democratic Front
(ABSDF), an ally of the KIA, said that the two sides started exchanging
fire at around 8 o’clock this morning.
“We engaged the government troops on Hpun Pyan Bum, which they began
to attack yesterday, at about 8 am and continued until 10 am,” said Min
Htay.
This new offensive is taking place about 1 km from Lajayang, a major
outpost that came under heavy aerial bombardment in the final week of
December.
According to Min Htay, two fighter jets and three helicopter gunships
attacked Lajayang again on Tuesday, in a half-hour assault that began
at around 2 pm. Several houses had reportedly burned down after being
hit by rockets, he said.
No casualties have yet been reported in today’s fighting, although
there have been unconfirmed reports of the death of one KIA soldier.
Meanwhile, sources say that fighting continues around Point 771, a
KIA outpost that was seized by the Burmese government army on Jan. 3
following airstrikes on KIA targets.
President Thein Sein said the government has no plan to seize Laiza,
but La Nan said that the current offensive is part of a strategy to take
control of the area around the KIA headquarters.
“Whether they are trying to seize Laiza or not is unimportant. The
important thing is how much of the surrounding area they can get under
their control,” said La Nan.
When asked about the prospects for a resumption of peace talks, La
Nan said that under the current circumstances, the KIA is more focused
on defending its positions than in returning to the negotiating table.
URL to article:
http://www.irrawaddy.org/archives/23474
UNFC Seeks End to Burma Army’s Kachin Offensive
By
KHIN OO THAR / THE IRRAWADDY On January 8, 2013 @ 10:38 am
The United Nationalities Federal Council
(UNFC), an alliance of Burmese ethnic armed groups that is currently
holding a four-day meeting in Thailand, says it is seeking ways to stop
the ongoing conflict in Kachin State.
The leaders of the UNFC said that they will call on the Burmese armed
forces to end its offensive against the Kachin Independence Army, the
armed wing of the Kachin Independence Organization, one of the group’s
11 members.
“We are holding this meeting to find ways to advance the political
process after the fighting ceases,” said UNFC Secretary Khun Okkar, who
is also a leader of Pa-O National Liberation Organization.
Representatives from all 11 members groups except the Chin National
Front (CNF) are taking part in the meeting, which began on Monday.
The UNFC leaders said they will send their recommendations to the
government regarding the political and peace process and urge it to
solve political problems using political means.
Yohei Sasakawa, the chairman of Nippon Foundation and the Japanese
government’s goodwill ambassador for the welfare of Burma’s ethnic
minorities, is also attending the UNFC meeting to discuss the situation
of war refugee in ethnic areas.
Khun Okkar said the Nippon Foundation leader had agreed to provide US
$3 million to support war-displaced civilians in ethnic-controlled
areas when the UNFC leaders visited Japan last October.
URL to article:
http://www.irrawaddy.org/archives/23501
Shan State Farmers Say ‘Grow Opium Poppy, Don’t Use It’
By
KYAL PYAR / THE IRRAWADDY On January 8, 2013 @ 6:30 am
PEKHON, Shan State—Amid abundant poppy plantations in this southern
township of Shan State, local farmers find themselves in a dilemma:
Almost every household here grows opium poppy, citing a lack of other
options, but they aren’t pleased to be in the business.
“We aren’t happy growing this poppy, because we know that people will
die from opium,” a grower from Laei village told The Irrawaddy
recently. “But we’re starving, and nobody is helping us. Who cares about
us?”
The annual poppy harvest ended last month in Pekhon Township, a Kayan
ethnic minority area, and farmers noted a much smaller yield than
normal, in part due to heavy rain and wind last year.
The government’s drug eradication campaign has also added to their
difficulties, as anti-narcotics officials have tried to destroy poppy
fields throughout Burma, the world’s second-largest opium producer.
Though Kayan farmers in Shan State support the goal of eliminating
drug use, they say they haven’t been taught how to substitute their
poppy fields with other crops.
And despite the anti-drug program, they say local authorities and
armed groups in the area continue to promote poppy cultivation, often
demanding a portion of their income from harvest yields.
“Every year, we produce hundreds of tons of opium here,” said Saw
Lwin, joint secretary of the Kayan New Land Party. “The government’s
anti-drug program destroys our harvests, but then the authorities say we
shouldn’t worry, encouraging us to keep growing it.”
In addition to paying an annual tax of 20 million to 30 million kyat
(US $23,000 to $35, 000) on their crops, farmers say they bribe local
authorities to protect their fields from anti-drug officials, but at
least one third of their crops were still destroyed last year.
In Pekhon Township, villages such as Kahant, Laei and Latein have
tried to ban opium use by expelling residents caught with the drug. They
also promote local sayings such as “Grow opium poppy, don’t use it,”
and they post anti-drug notices at every village entrance.
But according to Lwi Si Nyein, a former political prisoner and a
leader of the Kayan New Generation Youth group, drug use remains common,
with overdoses leading to deaths in the township.
“We have a drug rehabilitation center in Pekhon, but the program stopped and we’re not sure why,” he said.
URL to article:
http://www.irrawaddy.org/archives/23433
Man Accused of Thingyan Bombing Dies at Home
By
NYEIN NYEIN / THE IRRAWADDY On January 4, 2013 @ 6:34 am
Phyo Wai Aung, the man accused of carrying out a deadly bombing
during the Burmese water festival in 2010, has died just months after
his release from prison from an illness that went untreated while he was
still in custody.
Family members said he died at his home in Rangoon’s Kyauk Myaung Township at around 3 am on Friday.
The 33-year-old engineer was sentenced to death in May of last year
for his alleged role in a series of bombings that killed at least 10
people and injured around 100 others during festivities to mark
Thingyan, the Burmese new year, in April 2010. He was subsequently
released under a presidential pardon on Aug. 3, 2012.
Following his arrest on April 23, 2010, Phyo Wai Tha was allegedly
tortured while undergoing interrogation and later suffered from health
problems stemming from his mistreatment. His condition went untreated
until two days after he was sentenced to death in a closed trial, when
he was admitted to Insein General Hospital and diagnosed with liver
cancer.
When he was released from custody last August, he told The Irrawaddy that he was “arrested mistakenly” and that the political system was at fault.
Due to his rapidly deteriorating health in prison, Phyo Wai Aung
suffered from paralysis of the lower half of his body. After his
release, he was hospitalized in Insein and Rangoon hospitals, but his
health did not improve.
His brother-in-law Aung Myint told The Irrawaddy on Friday that Phyo Wai Aung returned to his home from the hospital 16 days ago.
“He was able to speak until the last night before he died,” said Aung
Myint. “It is such a loss for our family, as well as for the country,”
he added.
Phyo Wai Aung’s body has been taken to the Yay Way Muslim cemetery,
where he will be buried later today. He leaves behind his wife and two
children, aged 8 and 4.
URL to article:
http://www.irrawaddy.org/archives/23088
Gold Mine Protesters Jailed for Offending ‘Public Tranquility’
By
NYEIN NYEIN / THE IRRAWADDY On January 4, 2013 @ 10:10 am
Four protesters have received six-month prison sentences after
demonstrating in November against a gold mining company in Mandalay
Division, central Burma, according to reports from their family members.
Ye Yint Htun, Saw Naung, Naing Win and Nay Aung Htet, all from the
Moehti Moemi gold mining region of Yamethin Township, were arrested
while traveling home from Rangoon on Nov. 23 and received their verdicts
on Thursday from the township court.
“They received six-month sentences for incitement under 505 [b] of
the Burma Penal Code,” said Myint Than, the father of Nay Aung Htet.
Section 505 [b] makes it a crime to act “with intent to cause, or in a
manner that is likely to cause, fear or alarm to the public or any
section of the public, whereby any person may be induced to commit an
offence against the State or against public tranquility.”
Myint Than said the protesters were also fined 10,000 kyat (US $11)
under Section 18 of the Peaceful Assembly Act, which requires people to
obtain permission from the government for demonstrations.
Family members told The Irrawaddy on Thursday that the
sentencing was unfair because the protesters had not committed any crime
against the state, other than demanding their rights.
Small gold-miners began protests in June last year after they were
forced to leave their work site by the Myanmar National Prosperity
Public Company (MNPPC), which had verbally agreed earlier to let them
work in the area.
Myint Than said the four protesters were found guilty despite a lack of strong evidence.
“They shouldn’t be punished because they were just peacefully demonstrating on their way home,” he said.
Sandar Min, a national lawmaker working as a negotiator between the
protesters and the gold mining company, said this was the first time
since the nominally civilian government came to power two years ago that
protesters have been sent to prison for violating Section 505 [b].
She said the lawsuit was not filed by MNPPC, but by the administrator
in Yay Tar Shay Township, where the protesters were arrested in
November.
“I think the Yay Tar Shay administrator used his power to put them in
prison,” said Sandar Min, saying the protesters had not violated 505
[b].
Also on Thursday, the small-scale gold miners from Moehti Moemi held a
press conference in Rangoon, saying they had reached an agreement with
MNPPC.
Sandar Min said the protests would stop and MNPPC would pay the head of each gold pit 1.5 million kyat in compensation.
She said the small-scale miners would form a company to work on their
own, excavating gold in a location next to the MNPPC’s 6,205 acres.
Several leading protesters from other demonstrations, including those
who opposed a brutal government crackdown on monks at the Letpadaung
copper mine in northwest Burma, are also facing charges under the
Peaceful Assembly Act and Section 505 [b] of the Penal Code for
protesting without permission.
URL to article:
http://www.irrawaddy.org/archives/23113
Rangoon Starts Power Cuts for Industries
By
NANG SAI NOM / THE IRRAWADDY On January 3, 2013 @ 10:41 am
RANGOON—Authorities in Burma’s commercial capital Rangoon have begun
cutting power supply to the city’s industrial zones for seven hours per
day, a zone manager said. The outages are set to worsen and affect
residents during the coming dry season, when Rangoon’s chronic
electricity shortages become particularly pressing.
Myat Thin Aung, chairman of Hlaing Thar Yar Industrial Zone, said on
Wednesday that his zone had been informed that daily power cuts would
commence on Jan 1.
Yangon Electricity Supply Board (YESB) publicly announced the outages
this week, he said, adding that the industries were warned that
“electricity will be cut for seven hours from 4 pm to 11 pm.”
YESB Chairman Aung Khaing had announced “that power cuts to
industries were being implemented in order to be able to provide power
to the public in the dry season,” according to Myat Thin Aung.
Rangoon business would suffer under the cuts, the zone manager said,
but he added that as factories were given due notice they could prepare
their diesel generators ahead of the outages. Cold-storage industries,
bakery businesses and plastics factories would be most affected by the
planned outages, he said
Up until now power supply in Rangoon had been good, according to Myat
Thin Aung. “We have been provided with 24 hours of electricity this
rainy season. It is better than before. In the past, you would never
know whether the power would be supplied or cut,” he said.
The manager warned nonetheless, that providing continuous power would
be instrumental in attracting foreign business investment in Burma’s
industrial zones.
With the dry season nearing, the concerns over power outages are now also growing among Rangoon’s citizens.
A Kyauk Myaung Township resident, who preferred not to be named,
said, “I hope the 24-hour power distribution will continue as in recent
months.” But in the dry season, we used to be provided with limited
power supply in the past,” she added. “We cannot do anything if the
power is cut in Rangoon.”
Last month, YESB warned that shortages were again likely during the
coming hot season, when water levels in hydropower stations drop due to
droughts and power output of the stations fall sharply.
During the last hot season, in the months of April, May and June,
frequent power shortages led to large-scale protests in Rangoon and
Mandalay.
About 70 percent of Burma’s current energy supply comes from
hydropower and 30 percent comes from coal, but production is far below
the needs of the country.
Only a quarter of all Burmese have access to mains grid power and
Rangoon alone needs an estimated US $237 million for infrastructure
refurbishment and expansion work for the 2013-2016 period, according to
the Asian Development Bank.
URL to article:
http://www.irrawaddy.org/archives/22998
Chinese Prospectors Stake a Claim in Arakan State
A Chinese company has been given permission to test sand in northern
Arakan State for suspected deposits of aluminum and titanium, raising
concerns among local people about the possible impact of a mining
operation in the area.
The state’s mining minister, Aung Than Tin, told The Irrawaddy
on Wednesday that the company is testing sand found along the coasts of
Maungdaw and Rathedaung townships for the valuable metals, and said
that “if the tests are successful, the project will continue.”
The company, called Shwe Shapweye (“Gold Finder”) in Burmese,
received permission to prospect along the Ale Than Kyaw beach in
Maungdaw and Angu Maw beach in Rathedaung from Naypyidaw, he added.
Local residents say that Chinese companies first started making
exploratory digs in the two areas in 2010, leaving behind gaping holes
and large piles of sand that have since caused mudslides.
“The collapse of these sand pits has damaged the beaches,” said Ko Ko
Maung, a resident of Rathedaung township, who added that there has
recently been an increase in the number of Chinese businesspeople
visiting the area.
The Chinese first started coming in 2010 in search of natural gas and
petroleum, he said, but instead discovered deposits of aluminum and
titanium.
The return of Chinese business interests to the area has prompted
local groups to threaten protests if there is any danger of further
environmental damage.
A member of Rakhine National Network told The Irrawaddy that
“if the project is not helpful for the local residents and there is a
significant negative impact on the environment, we will object to it,
because other projects operating in Rakhine [Arakan] State have brought
no benefits to local people.”
State Mining Minister Aung Than Tin said the state government will
act in accordance with the locals’ desires, but added that “the project
is still at a very early stage, and we have not made any decision yet.”
URL to article:
http://www.irrawaddy.org/archives/22900
---
KNU Rebels ‘Will Not Turn Back on Peace Process’
By
ZARNI MANN / THE IRRAWADDY On January 7, 2013 @ 12:37 pm
RANGOON—The new Karen National Union leadership said on Monday that
it was committed to building up trust with the Burmese government in
order to make the peace process a success, adding that its recent
meeting with President Thein Sein marked another step towards this goal.
“We are still suspicious of each other, but this is due to the long
years of fighting… However, on our part we are trying our best to build
up [mutual] trust, as trust is very important in peace talks,” said Mahn
Nyein Maung, an executive member of the KNU’s central committee.
“We will try our best to struggle for peace and will not turn back on
the peace process,” he said, adding that during the 60-year conflict
“many people have died and many suffered the consequences of civil war…
we don’t want any more suffering.”
The KNU leaders were speaking at a press conference in Rangoon, where
they had met with representatives of Rangoon’s Karen community.
On Friday, the KNU leaders met President Thein Sein, who had invited
the new leadership to Naypyidaw. KNU General Secretary Kwe Htoo Win said
the meeting had been a formal occasion to introduce the new Karen
leadership. The old leadership had met with Thein Sein last year.
In December, a KNU congress elected Mutu Say Poe as chairman, Gen Saw
Johnny as military chief and Kwe Htoo Win as general secretary. The
three are regarded as pragmatic and have good relations with the
government’s peace team.
Kwe Htoo Win said the KNU was satisfied with the progress under the
current peace process, which began following the signing of a cease-fire
in January 2012. Ethnic Karen rebels have fought a decades-long armed
struggle to demand greater autonomy and basic rights.
Kwe Htoo Win said the KNU raised a number of points with Thein Sein,
such as its concerns over the escalating conflict in Kachin State, where
government forces have recently launched airstrikes on Kachin rebels.
“If there is still war in Kachin State this relates to the peace
process with the Karens too,” he said, adding that a comprehensive peace
agreement involving all ethnic groups was required. “If we really want
countrywide cease-fires and peace, we should talk and negotiate with
every group. Only a cease-fire with one side will not work,” Kwe Htoo
Win said.
The KNU general secretary said the group would neither accept the
2008 military-drafted Constitution and has no intention to transition
into a political party until the Constitution is amended. The KNU also
wants to be accepted as a legal organization while remaining political
prisoners should be released, he added.
The President’s Office said on its website on Saturday that Thein
Sein and the KNU leadership had discussed “the continuation of peace
talks, the cease-fire, liaison offices and regional development tasks.”
The president was “committed to bringing about lasting peace during
his term, expressing his confidence that the KNU would share the same
stance,” according to the statement, which noted the KNU’s concern over
the Kachin conflict.
The statement made particular mention of the need to bring foreign
investment and development projects to Burma’s ethnic regions in order
to create jobs, once peace was achieved.
(Additional reporting by Paul Vrieze)
URL to article:
http://www.irrawaddy.org/archives/23391
KNU to Attend Karen New Year’s Celebrations in Rangoon
By
ZARNI MANN / THE IRRAWADDY On January 8, 2013 @ 12:01 pm
RANGOON — For the first time in six decades, representatives of the
Karen National Union (KNU) will attend Karen New Year’s celebrations in
Rangoon, according to a senior member of the ethnic armed group.
“Padoh Saw Thamein Tun and I will attend the ceremony as official
representatives of the KNU,” said Mahn Nyein Maung, an executive member
of the KNU’s central committee who was part of a delegation that has
just concluded a visit to Naypyidaw at the invitation of President Thein
Sein.
While the rest of the delegation has returned to the Thai-Burmese
border, the two representatives have stayed behind to attend the event,
which will be held in Burma’s largest city on Jan. 12.
Although the attendance of the KNU representatives has been
confirmed, it remains unclear if they will give a speech, as they have
not been officially invited by the event’s organizing committee as
guests of honor.
Mahn Shwe Pyi Aye, a spokesperson for the organizing committee, said,
however, that members of the KNU are more than welcome to take part in
the celebrations, even though the group is still technically regarded as
an illegal organization.
Also uncertain is whether a display of photographs of Karen
revolutionary leaders, including Saw Ba U Gyi, founder and first
president of the KNU, will be allowed at the ceremony, which will be
held in Rangoon for the 75th time this year.
“Although the KNU is engaging in peace talks with the government, we
are still not sure if it’s all right to exhibit these photos and show
this history,” said Mahn Shwe Pyi Aye.
URL to article:
http://www.irrawaddy.org/archives/23509
ဘေလာ့တခုမွာ
ေဒါက္တာဆိတ္ဖြား ဆိုသူက လႊတ္ေတာ္နဲ႔ လႊတ္ေတာ္ ကုိယ္စားလွယ္ေတြကုိ
ေ၀ဖန္ထားတဲ့အတြက္ သူ႔ကုိ စုံစမ္း အေရးယူမယ့္ အထူးေကာ္မရွင္ တခု လႊတ္ေတာ္မွာ
မၾကာမီ ေပၚေပါက္လာဖြယ္ရိွေနပါျပီ။
